,transcriber's ,note3 ,minor spelling and typographical errors have been corrected without note4 ,some illustrations have been slightly relocated for better flow4 ,in some of the ,chinese or ,mongolian names1 the character 'u' with a breve appears frequently4 ,this appears in the text as 7u4 ,illustration ,,james ,,gilmour ,,of ,,mongolia ,,his ,,diaries ,,letters ,,and ,,reports ,,edited ,,and ,,arranged ,,by ,,richard ,,lovett1 ,m4,a4 ,,author ,,of ',,norwegian ,,pictures' ,,etc ,,with ,a ,,portrait1 ,,two ,,maps ,,and ,,five ,,illustrations ,,third ,,and ,,cheaper ,,edition ,,london ,,the ,,religious ,,tract ,,society #ef ,paternoster ,row1 #fe ,st ,paul's ,churchyard #ahie ,o ,christ1 in ,thee my soul hath found1 ,and found in ,thee alone1 ,the peace1 the joy ,i sought so long1 ,the bliss till now unknown4 ,i sighed for rest and happiness1 ,i yearned for them1 not ,thee2 ,but while ,i passed my ,saviour by1 ,his love laid hold on me4 ,now none but ,christ can satisfy1 ,none other name for me2 ,there's love1 and life1 and lasting joy1 ,lord ,jesus1 found in ,thee4 ,,preface ,this book in its more expensive forms has been before the public for nearly two years4 ,it has been very widely read1 and it has received extraordinary attention from many sections of the press4 ,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 workers4 ,it has deepened their faith1 strengthened their zeal1 nerved them for whole-hearted consecration to the same ,master1 and cheered many a solitary and lonely heart4 ,many requests have been received for an edition at a price which will place the book within the reach of ,sunday ,school teachers1 of those ,christian workers who have but little to spend upon books1 and of the elder scholars in our schools4 ,the ,committee of the ,religious ,tract ,society have gladly met this request at the earliest possible moment4 ,in this new form their hope and prayer is that ,james ,gilmour1 being dead1 may yet speak to many hearts1 arousing them to diligent1 and faithful1 and self-denying service for ,jesus ,christ4 ,the book1 in this its newest form1 is identical in all respects with the first and second editions1 except that only one portrait is given and the appendices are left out4 ,,contents ,,chapter ,,page ,i4 ,,early ,,years ,,and ,,education #ae ,,ii4 ,,beginning ,,work #df ,,iii4 ,,mongolian ,,apprenticeship #ee ,,iv4 ,,the ,,first ,,campaign ,,in ,,mongolia #hh ,v4 ,,marriage #ih ,,vi4 ',,in ,,journeyings ,,often1 ,,in ,,perils ,,of ,,rivers' #aje ,,vii4 ,,the ,,visit ,,to ,,england ,,in #ahhb #acd ,,viii4 ,,sunshine ,,and ,,shadow #aed ,,ix4 ,a ,,change ,,of ,,field #agf ,x4 ,,personal ,,characteristics ,,as ,,illustrated ,,by ,,letters ,,to ,,relatives ,,and ,,friends #bbh ,,xi4 ,,closing ,,labours #bef ,,xii4 ,,the ,,last ,,days #bih ,,list ,,of ,,illustrations ,,portrait ,,of ,,james ,,gilmour ,,from ,a ,,photograph ,,taken ,,at ,,tientsin ,,on ,,april #ahia ,frontispiece ,a ,,mongol ,,encampment #aji ,a ,,mongol ,,camel ,,cart #aci ,a ,,chinese ,,mule ,,litter #aef ,,james ,,gilmour ,,equipped ,,for ,,his ,,walking ,,expedition ,,in ,,mongolia ,,in ,,february #ahhd #aei ,,james ,,gilmour',s ,,tent #bde ,,maps #a4 ,,map ,,illustrating ,,james ,,gilmour',s ,,journeys ,,on ,,the ,,great ,,plain ,,of ,,mongolia #ed #b4 ,,map ,,illustrating ,,james ,,gilmour',s ,,labours ,,in ,,eastern ,,mongolia #agi ,for readers of ,james ,gilmour of ,mongolia not familiar with ,among the ,mongols1 a new ,edition of that ,work has been prepared and published1 price ,two ,shillings and ,sixpence4 ,,james ,,gilmour ,,of ,,mongolia ,,chapter ,i ,,early ,,years ,,and ,,education ,james ,gilmour1 of ,mongolia1 the son of ,james ,gilmour and ,elizabeth ,pettigrew his wife1 was born at ,cathkin on ,monday1 ,june #ab1 #ahdc4 ,he was the third in a family of six sons1 all but one of whom grew up to manhood4 ,his father was in very comfortable circumstances1 and consequently ,james ,gilmour never had the struggle with poverty through which so many of his great countrymen have had to pass4 ,cathkin1 an estate of half a dozen farms in the parish of ,carmunnock1 is only five miles from ,glasgow1 and was owned by ,humphrey ,ewing ,maclae1 a retired ,india merchant1 who resided in the substantial mansion-house on the estate4 ,there were also the houses of a few residents1 and a smithy and wright's workshops1 for the convenience of the surrounding district4 ,james ,gilmour's father was the occupant of the wright's shop1 as his father had been before him4 ,his brother ,john1 one of three who have survived him1 has furnished the following interesting sketch of the family life in which ,james ,gilmour was trained1 and to which he owed so much of the charm and power which he manifested in later years3-- ',our grandfather1 ,matthew ,gilmour1 combined the trades of mason and wright1 working himself at both as occasion required2 and our father1 ,james ,gilmour1 continued the combination in his time in a modified degree1 gradually discarding the mason trade and developing the wright's4 ,grandmother 7father's mother7 was a woman of authority1 skill1 and practical usefulness among the little community in which she resided4 ,in cases requiring medical treatment1 she was always in request2 and in order to obtain the lymph pure for the vaccination of children she would take it herself direct from the cow4 ,she was also a neat and skilful needlewoman4 ',matthew ,gilmour and his wife were people of strict integrity and ,christian living4 ,they walked regularly every ,sunday the five miles to the ,congregational ,church in ,glasgow1 though there were several places of worship within two miles of their residence4 ,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-lantern4 ,our parents continued the connection with the same body of worshippers in ,glasgow as long as they resided in ,cathkin1 being members of ,dr4 ,ralph ,wardlaw's church4 ,it was under his earnest eloquence1 and by his wise pastoral care1 we were trained4 ',the distance of our home from the place of worship did not admit of our attending as children any other than the regular ,sabbath services2 but we were not neglected in this respect at home1 so far as it lay in our parents' ability to help us4 ,we regularly gathered around our mother's knee1 reading the impressive little stories found in such illustrated booklets as the ,teacher's ,offering1 the ,child's ,companion1 the ,children's ,missionary ,record 7,church of ,scotland71 the ,tract ,magazine1 and ,watts' ,divine ,songs for ,children4 ,these readings were always accompanied with touching serious comments on them by mother1 which tended very considerably to impress the lessons contained in them on our young hearts4 ,i remember how she used to add3 ,wouldn't it be fine if some of you1 when you grow up1 should be able to write such nice little stories as these for children1 and do some good in the world in that way6 ,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 mother4 ,father1 too1 on ,sabbath evenings1 generally placed the big ,bible 7,scott and ,henry's7 on the table1 and read aloud the comments therein upon some portion of ,scripture for our edification and entertainment4 ,during the winter week-nights some part of the evening was often spent in reading aloud popular books then current1 such as ,uncle ,tom's ,cabin4 ',family worship1 morning and evening1 was also a most regular and sacred observance in our house1 and consisted of first1 asking a blessing2 second1 singing twelve lines of a psalm or paraphrase1 or a hymn from ,wardlaw's ,hymn-book2 third1 reading a chapter from the ,old ,testament in the mornings1 and from the ,new in the evenings2 and fourth1 prayer4 ,the chapters read were taken day by day in succession1 and at the evening worship we read two verses each all round4 ,this proved rather a trying ordeal for some of the apprentices1 one or more of whom we usually had boarding with us1 or to a new servant-girl1 as their education in many cases had not been of too liberal a description4 ,but they soon got more proficient1 and if it led them to nothing higher1 it was a good educational help4 ,these devotional exercises were not common in the district in the mornings1 and were apt to be broken in upon by callers at the wright's shop2 but that was never entertained as an excuse for curtailing them4 ,i suppose people in the district got to know of the custom1 and avoided making their calls at a time when they would have to wait some little while for attention4 ,our parents1 however1 never allowed this practice or their religious inclinations to obtrude on their neighbours2 all was done most unassumingly and humbly1 as a matter of everyday course4 ',our maternal grandfather1 ,john ,pettigrew by name1 was a farmer and meal-miller on the estate of ,cathkin1 and was considered a man of sterling worth and integrity4 ,having had occasion to send his minister1 the parson of ,carmunnock parish1 some bags of oatmeal from his mill1 the minister suspected from some cause or other that he had got short weight or measure4 ,the worthy miller was rather nettled at being thus impeached by his spiritual overseer1 and that same night proceeded to the manse with the necessary articles required for determining the accuracy of the minister's suspicions4 ,when this was done1 it was found there remained something to the good1 instead of a deficiency2 this the miller swung over his shoulder in a bag and took back with him to the mill1 as a lesson to the crestfallen divine to be more careful in future about challenging the integrity of his humble parishioner's transactions4 ',while ,james was quite a child the family removed to ,glasgow1 where our father entered into partnership with his brother ,alexander as timber merchants4 ,during this stay in ,glasgow mother's health proved very unsatisfactory1 and latterly both she and father having been prostrated and brought to death's door by a malignant fever1 it was decided to relinquish the partnership and return to their former place in the country4 ,james was five years old at that time4 ,when he was between seven and eight he was sent with his older brothers to the new ,subscription ,school in ,bushyhill1 ,cambuslang1 a distance of two miles4 ,here he remained till he was about twelve1 when he and ,i were sent to ,gorbals ,youths' ,school in ,greenside ,street1 ,glasgow4 ,we had thus five miles to go morning and evening1 but we had season-tickets for the railway part of the distance1 viz4 between ,rutherglen and ,glasgow4 ,thomas ,neil was master of this school4 ,we were in the private room1 rather a privileged place1 compared with the rest of the school1 seeing we received the personal attentions of ,mr4 ,neil1 and were almost free from corporal punishment1 which was not by any means the case in the public rooms of the school--,mr4 ,neil being1 ,i was going to say1 a terror to evildoers1 but he was in fact a terror to all kinds of doers1 from the excitability of his temper and general sternness4 ',here ,james usually kept the first or second place in the class1 which was a large one2 and if he happened to be turned to the bottom 7an event which occurred pretty often to all the members of the class with ,mr4 ,neil71 he would determinedly endeavour to stifle a tearful little cry1 thus demonstrating the state of his feelings at being so abased4 ,but he never remained long at the bottom2 like a cork sunk in water1 he would rise at the first opportunity to his natural level at the top of the class4 ,it was because of his diligence and success in his classes while at this school1 ,i suppose1 more than from any definite idea of what career he might follow in the future1 that after leaving he was allowed to prosecute his studies at the ,glasgow ,high ,school1 where he gained many prizes1 and fully justified his parents' decision of allowing him to go on with his studies instead of taking him away to a trade4 ,at home he prosecuted his studies very untiringly both during session and vacation4 ',after entering the classes of the ,glasgow ,university he studied in an attic room1 the window of which overlooked an extensive and beautiful stretch of the ,vale of ,clyde4 ,i remember feeling compassion for him sometimes as he sat at this window1 knowing what an act of self-denial it must have been to one so boisterous and full of fun as he was to see us1 after our work was over of an evening1 having a jolly game at rounders1 or something of that sort1 while he had to sit poring over his books4 ',james was not a serious1 melancholy student2 he was indeed the very opposite of that when his little intervals of recreation occurred4 ,during the day he would be out about the workshop and saw-mill1 giving each in turn a poking and joking at times very tormenting to the recipients4 ,if we had any little infirmity or weakness1 he was sure to enlarge upon it and make us try to amend it1 assuming the rle and aspect of a drill-sergeant for the time being4 ,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 painfully4 ,he used this finger constantly to pound and drill his comrades1 all being done of course in the height of glee1 frolic1 and good-humour4 ,this finger1 no doubt by the unlawful use to which he put it1 at one time developed a painful tumour1 to the delight of those who were in the habit of receiving punishment from it4 ,james pulled a long face1 and acknowledged that it was a punishment sent him for using the finger in so mischievous a manner4 ',there was a pond or dam in connection with the sawmill4 ,in this ,james was wont to practise the art of swimming4 ,i remember he devised a plan of increasing his power of stroke in the water4 ,he made four oval pieces of wood rather larger than his hands and feet1 tacking straps on one side1 so that his hands and feet would slip tightly into them4 ,but my recollection is that they were soon discarded as an unsuitable addition to his natural resources4 ,he was fond of hunting after geological specimens1 getting the local blacksmith to make him a pocket hammer to take with him on his rambles for that purpose4 ,he seldom cared for company in these wanderings among the mountains1 glens1 and woods of his native place and country4 ,he would start early in the morning1 and accomplish feats of walking and climbing during the course of a day4 ,indeed1 none of his brothers ever thought of asking ,james to go with them in their little holiday trips1 knowing that anything not the conception of his own fancy was but very rarely acceptable to him2 and he was never one who would pander to your gratification merely to please you4 ',james was fond of boating4 ,once he hired a small skiff near the suspension-bridge at ,glasgow ,green1 and proceeded with it up the river4 ,having gone a good way up1 the idea appears to have taken him to endeavour to get the whole way to ,hamilton1 where1 father having retired from business in #ahff1 our parents were now residing4 ,this proved to be a very arduous task1 as in a great many places on that part of the ,clyde there is not depth of water to carry a boat4 ,he managed1 however1 to accomplish the task by divesting himself of jacket1 stockings1 and shoes1 and pulling the boat over all such shallow and rocky places 7including the weir at ,blantyre ,mills1 where the renowned ,african missionary and explorer1 ,dr4 ,livingstone1 worked in his boyhood71 until he reached the bridge on the river between ,hamilton and ,motherwell1 a distance of eleven miles or more from ,glasgow in a straight line1 and much more following the numerous bends of the river4 ,here he made the boat secure and proceeded home1 a distance of a mile1 very tired and ravenously hungry4 ,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 night1 and the rough usage to which he had subjected the boat in hauling it over the rocky places4 ,he was much delighted1 when he arrived with the boat down the river during the day1 to find that the man was rather pleased than otherwise at his plucky exploit1 telling him that he only remembered it being attempted once before4 ',during part of the time ,james attended college at ,glasgow ,university1 the classes were at so early an hour that he could not take advantage of the railway1 and so had to walk in the whole way4 ,this was an anxious time for his mother1 who was ever most particular in seeing to the household duties herself1 and always careful that her children should have a substantial breakfast when they went from home4 ,i remember some of those winter mornings4 ,amidst the bustle of making and partaking of an early breakfast so as to be on the road in time1 mother would press him to partake more liberally of something she had thoughtfully prepared for him2 he would ejaculate3 ,can't take it--no time6 and if she still insisted he would add in a solemn manner3 ,mother1 what if the door should be shut when ,i get there8 which1 being understood by her as a scriptural quotation1 was sufficient to quench her solicitations4 ',to avoid the worry of getting up so early1 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 ,street1 ,glasgow4 ,so a couple of chairs1 table1 bed1 and some cooking-utensils were got together1 and ,james entered into possession1 cooking his own breakfast1 and getting his other meals there or outside as his fancy or inclination prompted4 ,here ,i think he enjoyed himself very much4 ,he had plenty of quiet time for study1 and he could roam about the city and suburbs for experience1 recreation1 and instruction1 visiting mills and other large manufacturing industries as he was inclined4 ',after our parents had removed to ,hamilton1 ,james took lodgings in ,george ,street1 a regular students' resort when the old college was in the ,high ,street4 ,it is now removed to the magnificent pile of buildings at ,gilmorehill1 in the western district of the city4 ,the site of the old one in the ,high ,street which ,james attended is now occupied by the ,north ,british and ,glasgow and ,south-,western ,railway ,companies4' ,james ,gilmour left ,england to begin his ,mongolian life-work in ,february #ahgj1 and then commenced keeping a diary1 from which we shall often quote1 and which he carefully continued amid1 oftentimes1 circumstances of the greatest difficulty until his death4 ,he gives the following reasons for this practice at the time when he was living in a ,mongol tent learning the language1 hundreds of miles away from his nearest fellow-worker3-- ',i think it a special duty to my friends1 specially my mother1 to keep this diary1 and to be particular in adding my state of mind in addition to my mere outward circumstances4 ,in my present isolated position1 which may be more isolated soon1 any accident might happen at any moment1 after which ,i could not send home a letter1 and ,i think that by keeping my diary punctually and fully my friends might have the melancholy satisfaction of following me to the grave1 as it were1 through my writing4' ,in the record of his first outward voyage he included a sketch of his early life1 which we briefly reproduce here1 as the correlative and complement of the picture outlined by his brother3-- ',the earliest that ,i can remember of my life is the portion that was spent in ,glasgow1 before ,i came with my parents out to the country4 ,of this time ,i have only a vague recollection4 ,then followed a number of years not very eventful beyond the general lot of the years of childhood4 ,one circumstance of these years often comes up to my mind4 ,one ,sabbath all were at church except the servant1 ,aggie ,leitch1 and myself4 ,she took down an old copy of ,bunyan's ,pilgrim's ,progress1 with rude plates1 and by the help of the pictures was explaining the whole book to me4 ,i had not heard any of it before1 and was deeply interested4 ,we had just got as far as the terrible doings of ,giant ,despair and the horrors of ,doubting ,castle1 when all at once1 without warning1 there came a terrible knock at our front door4 ,i really thought the giant was upon us4 ,it was some wayfaring man asking the way or something1 but the terror ,i felt has made an indelible impression on me4 ',when of the approved age ,i went to school1 wondering whether ,i should ever be able to learn and do as others did4 ,i was very nervous and much afraid1 and wrought so hard and was so ably superintended by my mother that ,i made rapid progress1 and was put from one class to another with delightful rapidity4 ,i was dreadfully jealous of any one who was a good scholar like myself1 and to have any one above me in class annoyed me to such a degree that ,i could not play cheerfully with him4 ',the date of my going to college was1 ,i think1 the ,november of the year #ahfb1 so that my first session at ,glasgow ,university was #ahfb-fc4 ,the classes ,i took were junior ,latin and junior ,greek4 ,in ,latin ,i got about the twelfth prize1 and in ,greek ,i think the third4 ,the summer ,i spent partly in study1 partly in helping my father in his trade of a wright and joiner4 ',during #ahfc and #ahfd ,i lived in ,glasgow1 and worked very hard1 taking the first prize in middle ,greek and a prize in senior ,latin1 as well as a prize for private work in ,greek1 and another for the same kind of work in ,latin4 ,this last ,i was specially proud of1 as in it ,i beat the two best fellows in the ,latin class4 ,next session 7#ahfd-fe7 ,i took a prize in senior ,greek4 ,i got nothing in the logic1 but in moral philosophy in #ahfe ,i was one of those who took an active part in the rebellion against ,dr4 ,fleming1 who1 though he was entitled to the full retiring pension1 preferred to remain on as professor1 taking the fees and appointing a student to do the work4 ,we made a stand against this1 and were able to bring him out to his work2 but it was too much for him1 and he died in harness1 as he had wished4 ',in ,english literature ,i made no appearance in the pieces noted by the students1 but came out second in the competitive examination1 which of course astonished a good deal some of the noisy men who had answered so much in the class and yet knew so little4 ,i was really proud of this prize1 as ,i was sure it was honestly won1 and as ,i also felt that from my position in class ,i failed to get credit for anything like what ,i knew4 ,this session ,i went in for the classical and philosophy parts of the degree1 and got them4 ,i enjoyed a happy week after it was known that ,i had passed2 and the next thing ,i had to look forward to was going to the ,theological ,hall of the ,congregational ,church of ,scotland1 which met in ,edinburgh in the beginning of ,may4 ,the session at ,edinburgh ,i enjoyed very much4 ,i had not too much work1 and used at odd times to take long walks and go long excursions4 ,i was often on the heights1 and about ,leith and ,portobello4' ,the ,rev4 ,john ,paterson of ,airdrie1 ,n4,b41 ,gilmour's most intimate college friend at ,glasgow1 thus records his recollections of what he was in those days3-- ',i first made ,james ,gilmour's acquaintance in the winter session of #ahfd-e at ,glasgow ,university4 ,he came to college with the reputation of being a good linguist4 ,this reputation was soon confirmed by distinction in his classes1 especially in ,latin and ,greek4 ,though his advantages had been superior to most of us1 and his mental calibre was of a high order1 he was always humble1 utterly devoid of pride or vanity4 ,no doubt he was firm as a rock on any question of conviction1 but he was tender in the extreme1 and full of sympathy with the struggling4 ,he was such a strong man all round that he could afford to give every one justice1 and such a gentleman that he could not but be considerate4 ,one day a country student through sheer nervousness missed a class question in the ,junior ,humanity1 though the answer was on his tongue3 the answering of such a question would have brought any man to the front1 and with a sad heart he told his experience to ,gilmour1 whose look of sympathy is remembered to this day4 ,he always seemed anxious to be useful1 and he succeeded4 ,during our second session1 a brother of mine married a cousin of his1 and this union led to a closer intimacy between us1 and in future sessions we lodged together4 ',throughout his college career ,gilmour was a very hard-working student2 his patience1 perseverance1 and powers of application were marvellous2 and yet1 as a rule1 he was bright and cheerful1 able in a twinkling to throw off the cares of work1 and enter with zest into the topics of the day4 ,he had a keen appreciation of the humorous side of things1 and his merry laugh did one good4 ,altogether he was a delightful companion1 and was held in universal esteem4 ,one of ,gilmour's leading thoughts was unquestionably the unspeakable value of time1 and this intensified with years4 ,there was not a shred of indolence in his nature2 it may be truthfully said that he never wilfully lost an hour4 ,even when the college work was uncongenial1 he never scamped it1 but mastered the subject4 ,he could not brook the idea of skimming a subject merely to pass an examination1 and there were few men of his time with such wide and accurate knowledge4 ',unlike many of his fellows1 he did not relax his energies in summer4 ,during the recess he might have been seen wending his way from the old home at ,cathkin to the college library1 and returning laden with books4 ,his superior scholarship secured for him excellent certificates and many prizes1 both for summer and winter work1 and it was noticeable that he shone most in written examinations4 ,on one occasion1 in the ,moral ,philosophy class1 which then suffered from the failing health of the professor1 the teacher pro tem4 appended1 as a criticism of an essay of ,gilmour's on ,utilitarianism1 the words1 ,wants thoroughness4 ,this was a problem to the diligent student1 who tackled his critic at the end of the hour1 and apparently had the best of the argument2 for he told me afterwards that he had puzzled the judge to explain his own verdict4 ,there was a strong vein of combativeness in him2 he liked to try his strength1 both mentally and physically1 with others2 and it was no child's play to wrestle with him in either sense1 though he never harboured ill-feeling4 ,he had the advantage of being in easy circumstances1 but was severely economical1 wasting nothing4 ,he had quite a horror of intoxicating drinks4 ,on one occasion1 perhaps for reasons of hospitality1 some beer had found its way into our room3 he quietly lifted the window and poured the dangerous liquid on the street1 saying1 ,better on ,god's earth than in ,his image4 ',as the close of his career in ,glasgow drew near1 some of us could see that all through he had been preparing for some great work on which the whole ambition of his life was set4 ,he always shrank from speaking about himself1 and in those days was not in the habit of obtruding sacred things on his fellow-students4 ,his views on personal dealing then were changing1 and became very decided in after years4 ,earnest1 honest1 faithful to his convictions1 as a student he endeavoured to influence others for good more by the silent eloquence of a holy life than by definite exhortations1 and ,i feel sure his power over some of us was all the greater on that account4 ,when it became known that ,gilmour intended to be a foreign missionary1 there was not a little surprise expressed1 especially among rival fellow-students--men who had competed with him to their cost4 ,the moral effect of such a distinguished scholar giving his life for ,christ among the heathen was very great indeed4 ,to me his resolve to go abroad1 though it induced a painful separation1 proved an unspeakable blessing4 ,the reserve which had so long prevailed between us on sacred things began to give way1 and much of our correspondence during his residence at ,cheshunt ,college was of a religious turn1 though still more theological than practical4 ',the last evening we spent together before he left for ,china can never be forgotten4 ,we parted on ,bothwell ,bridge4 ,we had walked from the village without speaking a word1 burdened with the sorrow of separation4 ,as we shook hands1 he said with intense earnestness1 ,paterson1 let us keep close to ,christ4 ,he knew ,him and loved ,him much better than ,i did then2 but about nine years ago1 after hearing good news from me1 he wrote to say that for twelve years he had prayed for me every day1 and now praised ,god for the answer4' ,in the diary from which we have already quoted ,gilmour thus concludes the sketch of his education3-- ',near the close of the session of #ahfg ,i opened negotiations with the ,london ,missionary ,society1 the consequence of which was that ,i was removed to ,cheshunt ,college in ,september of that same year4 ,here 7#ahfg-ahfh7 a new experience awaited me--resident college life4 ,at ,glasgow we dined out1 presented ourselves at classes only1 and did with ourselves whatever we liked in the interval4 ,at ,cheshunt it was different4 ,all the students live in the buildings of the college1 which can accommodate forty4 ,of course ,i felt a little strange at first1 and even long after had serious doubts as to the settlement of the question1 ,which is better1 life in or out of college8 ,the lectures1 as a rule1 were all in the forenoon4 ',the summer vacation ,i spent in studying for the ,soper scholarship1 value twenty pounds1 which was to be bestowed after examination4 ',i commenced the #ahfh and #ahfi session at ,cheshunt1 very busily1 and in addition to the class work and the ,soper work1 read some books which gave almost a new turn to my mind and my ideas of pastoral or missionary life4 ,these books were ,james's ,earnest ,ministry1 ,baxter's ,reformed ,pastor1 and some of ,bunyan's works1 which1 through ,god's blessing1 affected me very much for good4 ',the ,soper examination should have come off before ,christmas1 but it did not1 so that ,i remained over ,christmas at ,cheshunt1 grinding away as hard as ,i could4 ,i was longing eagerly for the time when the examination would be over1 that ,i might the more earnestly devote myself to the work of preaching and evangelising4 ,well1 the examination came and passed off satisfactorily1 and ,i got the twenty pounds4 ',now was the decisive point4 ,now had ,i come to another period1 when there was an opportunity of going on a new tack2 but ,i found myself tempted to seek after another honour1 the first prize in ,cheshunt ,college4 ,in my first session ,i had got the second only1 and now ,i had an opportunity of trying for the first4 ,it was a temptation indeed1 but ,god triumphed4 ,i looked back on my life1 and saw how often ,i had been tempted on from one thing to another1 after ,i had resolved that ,i would leave my time more free and at my disposal for ,god1 but always was ,i tempted on4 ,so now ,i made a stand1 threw ambition to the winds1 and set to reading my ,bible in good earnest4 ,i made it my chief study during the last three months of my residence at ,cheshunt1 and ,i look back upon that period of my stay there as the most profitable ,i had4 ',in ,september1 #ahfi1 ,i entered the missionary seminary at ,highgate1 and also studied ,chinese in ,london with ,professor ,summers4 ,i went home again at ,christmas1 and on returning to ,london learned that ,i could go to ,china as soon as ,i liked4 ,i said ,i would go as soon as the necessary arrangements could be made1 and ,february #bb1 #ahgj1 was fixed upon as the date of my departure4' ,in this brief and rapid manner ,james ,gilmour sketched1 with not a few most characteristic touches1 the first twenty-six years of his life4 ,he enables us to see the quick1 merry1 receptive lad1 developing1 after a brilliant collegiate course and a careful training in theology and in practical ,christian life1 into the strong1 resolute missionary4 ,no one who knew him during this time failed to perceive the force of his character and the charm of his personality4 ,the writer first came under his influence during his second session at ,cheshunt4 ,he was then in the prime of his early manhood1 in the full possession of physical and intellectual vigour1 and his soul was aflame with love to the ,saviour and to the perishing heathen4 ,he retained1 moreover1 the love of fun1 the high spirits1 the keen enjoyment of a good joke1 and the constant readiness for an argument upon any subject under the sun1 which had endeared him to his comrades in ,glasgow4 ,every ,cheshunt man of that day readily recalls1 and rejoices as he does so1 the memory of his good-natured practical joking1 of his racy and pointed speeches upon all momentous 'house questions1' of his power as a reciter1 and of his glowing personal piety4 ,to know him even slightly was to respect him2 and to enter at all into sympathy with him was to love him as long as life lasted4 ,there are many reminiscences of those ,cheshunt days1 from which we can cull only a sufficient number to enable the reader to understand what manner of man he then was4 ,these are drawn from the letters of his fellow-students1 and from their recollections of his sayings and doings4 ',how well1' writes one1 ',i remember his coming to ,cheshunt6 ,i was acting-senior at the opening of that session1 and1 according to custom with the new men1 went to his room to shake hands with him4 ,he said1 ,who are you8 ,i told him4 ,what do you want8 ,i told him ,i had come according to custom to welcome him1 and held out my hand1 whereupon he put his hands behind him and said1 ,time eno' to shake hands when we've quarrelled4 ,but where do you live8 ,immediately over your head4 ,then look here1 said he1 don't make a row2 and so we parted4 ,dear old fellow6 his memory makes life richer4' ,another writes3 ',he was a good elocutionist4 ,he was also a keen debater1 and so fond of argument that he would not hesitate to take opposite ground to his own cherished convictions and beliefs1 simply for the sake of provoking discussion4 ,so earnestly and logically 7for he was a good dialectician7 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 contended4 ,sometimes this habit of mind reacted very amusingly upon himself1 as the following will show4 ,the subject fixed one ,friday evening for debate in the discussion class was1 ,have animals souls8 ,though fully accepting the common belief that they have not1 ,gilmour1 purely for the sake of argument1 took the affirmative1 and with such enthusiasm pleaded his cause that he brought himself to believe1 as he told me afterwards1 that animals have souls4' ',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 life2 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 life4 ,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 ,mongolia4 ,an apostolic passion for the salvation of his fellow-men took hold upon him4 ,he would go out in the evening1 mostly alone1 and conduct short open-air services at ,flamstead ,end1 among the cottagers near ,cheshunt railway station2 seize opportunities of speaking to labourers working by the roadside or in the field through which he might be passing4 ,he became very solicitous for the conversion of friends in ,scotland1 and would come to my study and ask me to kneel and pray with him that ,god's grace might be manifested to them1 and that ,his blessing might rest upon letters which he had written and was sending to them4 ,the ordinary style of preaching towards which students usually aspire lost its attractions for him1 and his sermons assumed more and more the character of earnest exhortations1 and addresses to the unconverted4 ,when he knew what was to be his field of labour after his college course was over1 how solicitous he was to go out fully prepared and fitted in spiritual equipment6 ,the needs of the perishing heathen were very real and weighed heavily upon his heart1 and he was very anxious to win volunteers among his college friends for this all-important work4 ,how he longed and prayed for ,china's perishing millions only his most intimate friends know4' ,the ,rev4 ,h4 ,r4 ,reynolds1 ,d4,d41 for the past thirty years the honoured ,president of ,cheshunt ,college1 has recalled some of his early recollections of ,james ,gilmour4 ',though brusque and outspoken in manner1 he was in many respects reserved and shy1 and very slow to show or accept confidence4 ,we all felt1 however1 that underneath a canny demeanour there was burning a very intense enthusiasm1 and that a character of marked features was already formed1 and would only develop along certain lines1 settled1 but not as yet fully disclosed to others4 ,there was not a particle of make-believe in his composition4 ,he shrank from praise1 and was obviously anxious not to appear more reverential or wise or devoted than he knew himself to be4 ,he even used1 because it was natural to him1 a rugged style of expression when speaking of things or persons or institutions which for the most part uplift our diction and generally induce us to adorn or make careful selection of our vocabulary4 ,he rapped out expressions which might have suggested carelessness or irreverence or suppressed doubt1 but ,i soon found that there was an intense fire of evangelistic zeal and an almost stormy enthusiasm for the conversion of souls to ,christ4 ',some special services were held at ,cheshunt ,street ,chapel1 in which ,gilmour took part1 and the part was at least as demonstrative1 perhaps more so1 except the music1 as that of the modern ,salvation ,army ensign or commissioner4 ,he started from the chapel entrance1 on the ,sunday evening1 when considerable numbers were as usual parading the country street1 and bare-headed approached every passer-by with some piquant1 vigorous inquiry1 or message or warning4 ,in the main1 his bold summons was1 ,do you believe on the ,lord ,jesus ,christ8 ,the entire population in the thoroughfare was stirred1 and uncomplimentary jeers mingled with some awe-struck impressions that were then produced4 ',during the year #ahfi he had those interviews with the late ,mrs4 ,swan1 of ,edinburgh1 which led to his choice by the ,london ,missionary ,society1 at her instance1 to reopen the long-suspended mission in ,mongolia4 ,for a while he remained in ,peking preparing himself by familiarity with the people1 their ideas1 their language1 and religion1 for those almost historic bursts into the great desert and across the caravan routes to the huge fairs1 and the renowned temples1 to the living lamas and famous shrines of the nomadic ,mongols1 incessantly acting the part of travelling ,hakim1 itinerant book vendor1 and fiery preacher of the ,gospel of ,christ4' ,in the year #ahfi the policy of the ,london ,missionary ,society in the education of its students was very different from that which now obtains4 ,after a course at a theological college of two1 three1 or four years1 according to the literary attainments of the man at the time of his acceptance by the ,directors1 he was sent to the institution at ,highgate designed to give training suitable for the special requirements of the embryo missionaries4 ,in theory this institution was admirable2 in practice ,gilmour and others1 much as they esteemed the principal1 the ,rev4 ,j4 ,wardlaw1 found it--or thought they found it--very largely a waste of time4 ,the year #ahfi saw the beginning of an investigation which ended in closing the missionary college at ,highgate1 and in the steps that led to the enquiry ,gilmour took a leading part4 ,one of his contemporaries at ,highgate has thus described his influence upon both his fellow-students and the institution to which they belonged4 ',i first met ,gilmour at ,farquhar ,house1 ,highgate1 the ,london ,missionary ,society's ,institution1 where in those days missionary students spent their last six months before going to the field4 ,some spent the time in studying the elements of the language of the land to which they were going2 others attended ,university ,college ,hospital1 for the purpose of getting a little medical knowledge2 while all tried to make themselves acquainted with the history of the people among whom they were to labour4 ,courses of special missionary lectures1 which were highly valued by the men1 were delivered by the ,rev4 ,j41 afterwards ,dr41 ,wardlaw4 ',some of us were at ,highgate a day or two before ,gilmour came up from ,scotland2 and as his fame1 or rather reports about him1 had reached us from ,cheshunt ,college1 we were all very anxious to meet with him4 ,when he did arrive we were1 ,i think1 all more or less disappointed1 and yet ,i doubt if any of us could have told why1 except that he was not the man we had pictured from the reports we had heard4 ,when he walked quietly into the library ,i1 for one1 could hardly believe that the almost boyish-looking1 open-faced1 bright-eyed young man was really ,gilmour4 ,his dress made him appear even more youthful than he was1 while there was an aspect of good humour about his face and a glance of his eye revealing any amount of fun and frolic4 ,a great writer has said3 ,nature has written a letter of credit on some men's faces1 which is honoured almost wherever presented4 ,james ,gilmour's was a face on which ,nature had written no ordinary letter of credit2 for there was a sense in which one might very truly have said that his face was his fortune4 ,honesty1 good nature1 and true manliness were so stamped upon every feature and line of it1 that you had only to see him to feel that he was one of ,god's noblest works1 and to be drawn to the man as by a magnetic influence4 ',gilmour was a puzzle to most of our fellow-students1 and they could not quite make him out4 ,by some he was3 regarded as very eccentric1 which is another way of saying that he preserved a very marked individuality1 and always had the courage of his convictions4 ,they did not seem to understand how so much playfulness and piety1 fervour and frolicsomeness could dwell in the same person4 ,long before we parted1 however1 in ,january1 #ahgj1 ,i feel certain that all had come to have not only a profound respect1 but also a real heart-love for dear old ,gillie6 ',the night before ,gilmour left ,highgate for the ,christmas vacation we were all in his study1 when someone1 remarking on the risk he was running in going home to ,scotland by sea1 instead of by train1 said in a jocular way3 ,suppose the steamer is wrecked and you get drowned1 to whom do you leave your books1 ,gilmour8 ,yes1 he said at once1 that is well thought of4 ,come along1 you fellows1 and pick out the books you would like to keep in memory of me1 if ,i never return4 ,of course we only laughed and said it was all a joke2 but he said1 ,it is no joke with me1 ,i mean what ,i say2 and so he did4 ,he was in dead earnest1 and nothing would satisfy him but that each should pick out the book or books he would like to have if he never returned4 ,he then turned to me and said3 ,now1 ,i leave the rest to your care1 and if ,i never return ,i want all on this shelf sent to my father and mother1 and you can do anything you like with the rest4 ,had anyone else acted in that way1 we should have certainly suspected that he had gone queer2 but it was ,gilmour1 and we all understood the straight1 matter-of-fact way in which he went about everything he did4 ',through a misunderstanding1 as we afterwards discovered1 the students at ,highgate came into collision with the ,directors of the ,society over the studies to be prosecuted4 ,additional classes were arranged1 and these some of us declined to attend4 ,this act of rebellion1 as it was regarded at the ,mission ,house1 had to be put down with a firm hand1 and a special meeting of the ,board of ,directors was called to deal with us4 ',the night before we were to meet the ,board we met in ,gilmour's study1 to settle what we were to say to the ,directors when we met them4 ,one only of our number1 when he saw that there was likely to be a rather serious interchange of ideas between us and the ,directors1 caved in completely1 and would have nothing further to do with our resistance4 ',when we met the ,board ,gilmour made his defence in his frank1 straightforward way1 and1 ,i am afraid1 upset some of the ,directors very much by his plain speaking4 ,they did not know the man1 and regarded him as one of the ringleaders in rebellion1 and1 of course1 were not in the humour to do him justice4 ,but when we met the subcommittee appointed to deal with us the misunderstanding came to an end1 and they admitted that we had been in the right in objecting to the extra classes thus imposed4' ,during these last months in ,england ,james ,gilmour paid much earnest heed to the culture of his soul4 ,just before he sailed for ,china1 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 friend3-- ',companions ,i can scarcely hope to meet1 and the feeling of being alone comes over me till ,i think of ,christ and ,his blessed promise1 ,lo1 ,i am with you alway1 even to the end of the world4 ,no one who does not go away1 leaving all and going alone1 can feel the force of this promise2 and when ,i begin to feel my heart threatening to go down1 ,i betake myself to this companionship1 and1 thank ,god1 ,i have felt the blessedness of this promise rushing over me repeatedly when ,i knelt down and spoke to ,jesus as a present companion1 from whom ,i am sure to find sympathy4 ,i have felt a tingle of delight thrilling over me as ,i felt ,his presence1 and thought that wherever ,i may go ,he is still with me4 ,i have once or twice lately felt a melting sweetness in the name of ,jesus as ,i spoke to ,him and told ,him my trouble4 ,yes1 and the trouble went away1 and ,i arose all right4 ,is it not blessed of ,christ to care so much for us poor feeble men1 so sinful and so careless about honouring ,him8 the moment we come to ,him ,he is ready with ,his consolations for us6 ',i have been thinking lately over some of the inducements we have to live for ,christ1 and to confess ,him and preach ,him before men1 not conferring with flesh and blood4 ,why should we be trammelled by the opinions and customs of men8 ,why should we care what men say of us8 ,salvation and damnation are realities1 ,christ is a reality1 ,eternity is a reality1 and we shall soon be there in reality1 and time shall soon be finished2 and from our stand in eternity we shall look back on what we did in time1 and what shall we think of it8 ,shall we be able to understand why we were afraid to speak to this man or that woman about salvation8 ,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 religion8 ,our cowardice shall seem small to us then4 ,let us now measure our actions by the standard of that scene1 let us now look upon the things of time in the light of eternity1 and we shall see them better as they are1 and live more as we shall wish then we had done4 ,it is not too late4 ,we can secure yet what remains of our life4 ,the present still is ours4 ,let us use it4 ,it may be that we can't be great1 let us be good2 if we can't shine as great lights1 let us make our light shine as ,god has made it to shine4 ,let us live lives as in the presence of ,christ1 anxious for ,his approval1 and glad to take the condemnation of the world1 and of ,christ's professed servants even1 if we get the commendation of angels and our ,master4 ,the well done6 is to the faithful servant--to the faithful1 not the great4 ,let us watch and pray that we may be faithful4 ,it is a little hard to be this1 and to care little for man4 ',yesterday afternoon ,i preached here at home1 and took the most earnest sermon ,i had1 ,behold1 ,i stand at the door and knock4 ,well1 in doing so1 ,i thought ,i was acting quite independently of man2 and even after ,i had preached it1 thought ,i would not care for man4 ,but one man praised it1 and ,i felt pleased1 and1 as might then be expected1 felt a little hurt when a friend called this morning and told me that what ,i gave them yesterday was no sermon at all4 ,now1 if ,i had been regarding ,christ alone1 ,i would not have been moved by either the one or the other of these criticisms2 and ,i wish that ,i could get above this sort of thing1 and get beyond the attempt at pleasing men at all4 ,why should we confer with men8' ,james ,gilmour was ordained as a missionary to ,mongolia in ,augustine ,chapel1 ,edinburgh1 on ,february #aj1 #ahgj1 and1 in accordance with ,nonconformist custom1 he made a statement about the development of his religious life from which we take the following extract3-- ',my conversion took place after ,i had begun to attend the ,arts course in the ,university of ,glasgow4 ,i had gone to college with no definite aim as to preparing for a profession2 an opportunity was offered me of attending classes1 and ,i embraced it gladly1 confident that whatever training or knowledge ,i might there acquire would prove serviceable to me afterwards in some way or other4 ',after ,i became satisfied that ,i had found the way of life1 ,i decided to tell others of that way1 and felt that ,i lay under responsibility to do what ,i could to extend ,christ's kingdom4 ,among other plans of usefulness that suggested themselves to me was that of entering the ministry4 ,but1 in my opinion1 there were two things that everyone who sought the office of the ministry should have1 viz41 an experimental knowledge of the truth which it is the work of the minister to preach1 and a good education to help him to do it2 the former ,i believed ,i had1 the latter ,i hoped to obtain4 ,so ,i quietly pursued the college course till ,i entered on the last session1 when1 after prayerful consideration and mature deliberation1 ,i thought it my duty to offer myself as a candidate for the ministry4 ',having decided as to the capacity in which ,i should labour in ,christ's kingdom1 the next thing which occupied my serious attention was the locality where ,i should labour4 ,occasionally before ,i had thought of the relative claims of the home and foreign fields1 but during the summer1 session in ,edinburgh ,i thought the matter out1 and decided for the mission field2 even on the low ground of common sense ,i seemed to be called to be a missionary4 ,is the kingdom a harvest field8 ,then ,i thought it reasonable that ,i should seek to work where the work was most abundant and the workers fewest4 ,labourers say they are overtaxed at home2 what then must be the case abroad1 where there are wide stretching plains already white to harvest1 with scarcely here and there a solitary reaper8 ,to me the soul of an ,indian seemed as precious as the soul of an ,englishman1 and the ,gospel as much for the ,chinese as for the ,european2 and as the band of missionaries was few compared with the company of home ministers1 it seemed to me clearly to be my duty to go abroad4 ',but ,i go out as a missionary not that ,i may follow the dictates of common sense1 but that ,i may obey that command of ,christ1 ,go into all the world and preach4 ,he who said preach1 said also1 ,go ye into and preach1 and what ,christ hath joined together let not man put asunder4 ',this command seems to me to be strictly a missionary injunction1 and1 as far as ,i can see1 those to whom it was first delivered regarded it in that light1 so that1 apart altogether from choice and other lower reasons1 my going forth is a matter of obedience to a plain command2 and in place of seeking to assign a reason for going abroad1 ,i would prefer to say that ,i have failed to discover any reason why ,i should stay at home4' ,on ,february #bb1 #ahgj1 ,james ,gilmour embarked at ,liverpool upon the steamship ,diomed1 and thus fairly started on the work of his life4 ,among his extant correspondence is a long letter which describes the voyage to ,china1 and the way in which he utilised the opportunities it afforded for trying to do his ,master's will4 ',we sailed from ,liverpool1 and my father saw me off4 ,the passengers were few--nine or ten4 ,we had a cabin each4 ,there was a ,wesleyan medical missionary named ,hardey going out to ,hankow4 ,we soon drew together4 ,the doctor of the ship was a young fellow from ,greenock1 and had been at ,glasgow ,college when ,i was there last4 ,among the #a1bjj we had not stumbled upon each other4 ,the married man was something or other in the ,consular service4 ,a young lady passenger was the daughter of a judge in ,china4 ,a young man was going out to try his fortune in ,china3 his qualifications were some knowledge of tea and a love of drink4 ,another decent young fellow was going out to ,china as a tea-taster4 ,another young fellow was going out to ,australia vi ,singapore4 ,thus1 you see1 ,i was the only parson on board2 and as the ship's company was ,high ,church1 and ,i a ,dissenter1 it may be seen that we did not fit each other exactly4 ,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 ,papists4 ',the captain was a sensible kind of rough seaman1 and ,i at once volunteered my services as chaplain1 and was accepted1 though with some caution4 ,he evidently thought me too young to be trusted with a sermon2 the ,church of ,england prayers ,i might read1 and he put into my hands a book with a sermon for any ,sunday and holy-day in the year4 ,i took the book and said ,i would look through it4 ,the ,bay of ,biscay was calm when we crossed it1 but on ,sunday morning we were tumbling about off the ,rock of ,lisbon4 ,as ,i could hardly keep my legs1 ,i did not think we should have had service2 but we crowded into the smoking-saloon 7we were afraid to venture below1 for sickness71 and ,i read prayers4 ,next ,sunday ,i read a sermon from the book4 ,all the ,sundays after that ,i gave them my own1 and1 as ,i was under the impression that they had not heard much plain preaching1 did my best to let them hear the gospel pure and simple4 ,i half suspected they did not quite like it4 ,it was hinted to me that they complained of my preaching4 ,the next ,sunday came1 and1 under the impression it might be the last time ,i would have the opportunity1 ,i made the most earnest and direct appeal to them ,i possibly could4 ,i was not a little thankful and astonished when1 soon after1 in place of being asked to shut up1 ,i was thanked for it1 and assured it was the best ,i had given them1 and told that it was a waste of1 c41 c41 for me to go out as a missionary--,i should have stopped at home4 ,after that ,i had no trouble with the passengers1 and we got on well together4 ',as for the men1 from captain to cabin-boy there were about sixty4 ,among these was one earnest ,christian man1 a ,german and a ,baptist4 ,he was a quarter-master4 ,he was a little peculiar in appearance1 and spoke ,english not quite smoothly4 ,on one occasion1 when some of the passengers were laughing at something he had done and said1 the captain happened to pass1 and1 seeing what was up1 remarked that the man was a first-rate fellow--he never caught him idle4 ,if you except this man1 the captain1 and the boy1 the whole ship's company swore like troopers4 ,so universal was the vice that the men1 ,i almost think1 were hardly aware that they did swear4 ,i was puzzled4 ,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-night4 ,few of the men came to the service1 and as they would not come to us we went to them4 ,hardey and ,i1 usually in the evenings1 conducted short little services in the forecastle as often as we thought desirable4 ,we were always well received and listened to respectfully4 ,i think ,i may say safely that all on board had repeated opportunities of hearing the gospel as plainly as ,i could put it1 and a good many had something more than mere opportunities4 ,after it was dark ,i used to go out and get the men one by one1 as they sat in corners during their watch in the night4 ,all they had to do was to be within call when wanted1 and many a good long talk ,i have had with a good many of them4 ,of course1 my object in accosting them was religious conversation1 and this ,i usually succeeded in having2 but on many occasions1 that we might be quite on a footing of equality1 ,i had in return to listen to their yarns4 ,the man on the look-out was a frequent victim4 ,i was always sure to find a man there1 generally alone1 and never asleep4 ,the man1 also1 was changed at regular intervals1 so that ,i knew exactly when ,i would find a fresh man4 ,when ,i talked to the look-out man1 ,i used to keep a sharp lookout myself1 lest by distracting his attention ,i should get him into trouble4 ,many a good hour have ,i stood at the prow as we passed through the warm ,indian ,ocean1 till my clothes were wet with the dew of night2 and then ,i would find my way down to my cabin about midnight1 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 cabin4' ,,chapter ,,ii ,,beginning ,,work ,in #ahag two missionaries1 the ,rev4 ,e4 ,stallybrass and the ,rev4 ,w4 ,swan1 left ,england to begin ,christian work among the ,buriats1 a ,mongolian tribe living under ,russian authority4 ,at ,selenginsk and at ,onagen ,dome they laboured for many years2 but in #ahda the ,russian ,emperor ordered them to leave the country4 ,from the command of the autocrat there was no appeal1 and the mission came to an end4 ,but in the good providence of ,god the two missionaries had translated the whole ,bible into ,buriat2 the ,old ,testament being printed in ,siberia in #ahdj1 the ,new ,testament in ,london in #ahdf4 ,notwithstanding the suppression of the mission1 the ,word of ,god in the ,mongol tongue continued to circulate among the people4 ,it was to the reopening and development of this missionary work among the ,mongol tribes that ,james ,gilmour consecrated his life4 ,he was appointed1 in the first instance1 to the ,london ,mission at ,peking1 and that centre formed his first base of operations4 ,he continued also a member of that mission until the close of his life4 ,he reached the ,chinese capital on ,may #ah1 #ahgj4 ,at once he settled down to hard and continuous work at the ,chinese language1 endeavouring also from the first to discover the best means of restarting the ,mongol ,mission4 ,the very full diary which he kept lies before us as we write1 and enables us to understand the varying progress and hindrance1 encouragement and despondency of this time4 ',june #aa1 #ahgj4--,mr4 ,gulick advises me to pay little attention to the ,chinese and go in hot and strong for the ,mongolian4 ,i am not quite sure that he is not right1 after all4 ,however1 ,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 can4 ,i went out to-night and with the gate-keeper and two of his companions had a lot of talk1 in which ,i learned a good lot4 ,i hope to benefit largely by this pleasant mode of study4 ,perhaps by this means ,i may be able to do them good4 ,lord grant it6' ',june #ab1 #ahgj4--;,i am to-day twenty-seven years of age1 and what have ,i done8 ,let the time that is past suffice to have wrought the will of the flesh4 ,the prospect ,i have before me now is the most inspiriting one any man can have4 ,health1 strength1 as much conscious ability as makes one hope to be able to get the language of the people to whom ,i am sent1 a new field of work among men who are decidedly religious and simple-minded1 left pretty much to my own ideas as to what is best to be done in the attempted evangelization of ,mongolia1 friends left in ,britain behind me praying for me1 comfort and peace here in the prosecution of my present studies1 the idea that what ,i do is for eternity1 and that this life is but the short prelude to an eternal state1 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 happy1 and in a manner careless as to what should come4 ,in time may ,i be able to do my part as ,i ought1 and may ,god have great mercy upon me6' ,on ,june #bb1 #ahgj1 the news of the ,tientsin massacre reached ,peking4 ,a ,roman ,catholic convent had been destroyed and thirteen ,french people killed4 ,very great uncertainty prevailed as to whether this indicated a further purpose of attacking all missions and all foreigners1 and for a while things looked very dark4 ,it was a time in which the nerve and courage and faith of men were severely tried1 and splendidly did ,gilmour endure the test4 ,while unable to escape wholly from the fears common to all1 his reply to the counsels of worldly prudence and selfish dread was advance in his work4 ,when others were wondering whether they might not have to retreat1 he1 alone1 in almost total ignorance of the language1 entirely unfamiliar with the country1 went up to the great ,mongolian plain1 and entered upon the service so close to his heart--personal intercourse with and effort for the ,mongols4 ,how trying a season this was his diary reveals4 ,under date of ,june #bc1 #ahgj1 the day after the first tidings of the outbreak had been received1 he writes3-- ',the ,roman ,catholic missionaries have suffered severely1 and the ,protestant missionaries are not in a very safe condition4 ,we are living on the slope of a volcano that may put forth its slumbering rage at any moment4 ,for example1 people ask why there is no rain1 and blame the foreigners for it2 and should a famine ensue1 we may fare hard for it4 ,now is the time for trying what stuff a man's religion is made of4 ,we may be all dead men directly2 are we afraid to die8 ,our death might further the cause of ,christ more than our life could do4 ,we must die some time or other2 now that we have a near view of its possibility1 how can we look forward to it8 ,god6 do ,thou make my faith firm and bright1 so that death may seem small and not to be feared4 ,help me to trust ,thee and ,christ implicitly1 so that with calm mind ,i may work while ,thou dost let me live1 and when ,thou dost call me home1 let me come gladly4' ,the further entries in his ,diary at this time depict his inner experience from day to day3-- ',july #aj4--,rose #f4bj4 ,dull morning1 rained a little4 ,felt uncomfortable at the idea of being killed2 felt troubled at the idea of leaving ,peking4 ,how am ,i to pack and carry my goods8 ,felt troubled at remaining in the midst of a troubled city1 with a government weak and stupid4 ,how is my mission to get on beginning thus8 ,o ,god1 let me cast all my care upon ,thee1 and commit my soul also to ,thy safe keeping4 ,keep me1 ,o ,god1 in perfect peace6 ,rain made a thin meeting this morning1 but all was quiet4 ,in afternoon went with ,mr4 ,edkins to the west2 things uncommonly quiet and peaceful4 ',july #ab4--,while others are writing to papers and trying to stir up the feelings of the people1 so that they may take action in the matter1 perhaps ,i may be able to do some good moving ,heaven4 ,my creed leads me to think that prayer is efficacious1 and surely a day's asking ,god to overrule all these events for good is not lost4 ,still1 there is a great feeling that when a man is praying he is doing nothing1 and this feeling1 ,i am sure1 makes us give undue importance to work1 sometimes even to the hurrying over or even to the neglect of prayer4 ',july #bb4--;,a good deal troubled about the present state of matters4 ,i don't exactly know how to estimate rumours and reports1 and this may cause me more uneasiness than there is any need for4 ,still1 ,i don't know4 ,at times ,i feel a great revulsion from being killed1 at other times ,i feel as if ,i could be killed quietly1 and not dislike the thing much4 ,sometimes the tone of those about us is hopeful1 and that causes hope also4 ,sometimes the prospect of a speedy removal1 a half flight1 comes upon me with great force1 and to see all its annoyance1 not to speak of the danger1 is not pleasant at all4 ,oh for the simple1 childlike faith that can trust all things to ,god and leave all care upon ,him6 ,ought we not to have it8 ,is ,god not the same ,god now that ,he was when ,he delivered ,his people from ,egypt1 and ,his saints from the hands of their enemies1 from the mouth of the lions1 and the fiery furnace8 ,cannot ,god keep us yet--will ,he not do it8 ,but then comes the thought1 perhaps ,god does not wish us to live1 but to die4 ,often has ,he allowed ,his saints to be slain4 ,what then8 ,well1 as the men in the furnace said of ,god1 ,will ,he care to defend us8 if not1 be it known unto you we will not yield4 ,i might have died in childhood1 in youth1 before conversion1 and if then1 alas6 alas6 ,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 salvation4 ,death1 life1 prospects1 honour1 shame1 seemed nothing compared with this hope of salvation1 which ,i was then without4 ,could ,i ever be saved8 was the question2 would ,i ever have the hope that ,i knew others had8 ,had ,i died in darkness--,god be thanked1 the light has shined forth1 and ,i have the hope of eternal life4 ,may ,god make me more ,christlike1 and give me stronger hope6 ,well1 then1 this hope ,i have2 from this fearful pit ,i have been delivered2 in the light ,i now walk4 ,god ,i call my ,father1 ,christ my ,saviour1 heaven my home1 earth and the life here the entrance to real life4 ,if there is anything in our faith or in our belief1 then heaven is as much better than earth as it is higher than earth1 and our souls life is insured from all harm4 ,if a man is insured against all possible harm1 why should he be afraid8 ,not one hair of our head shall perish6 ,o ,lord1 help me to live this faith and to be in this frame of mind4 ,in this city are many foreigners1 who came here to learn the language1 c41 and many of them have no great hope of heaven4 ,they seem calm enough1 and are no doubt calm enough2 shall the courage of the world1 shall the courage of scepticism1 shall the courage of carelessness be greater and produce better fruit than the courage of the ,christian8 ,o ,lord1 preserve me from the sin of dishonouring ,thy name through fear and cowardice6 ,let us be bold in the ,lord6' ,by the end of ,july #ahgj1 ,gilmour had reached a fixed resolution to go to ,mongolia as soon as the necessary arrangements could be made4 ,a severe test had been applied to him1 and the way in which he met it gives the key to the whole of his after life4 ,he used the trial as a help onwards in the path of duty1 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 fields4 ,the reasons that influenced him are set forth in his official report written many months later4 ',after the massacre at ,tientsin1 very grave fears prevailed at ,peking2 no one could tell how far the ramifications of the plot might extend1 and it was impossible to sift the matter4 ,the people openly talked of an extermination1 and claimed to have the tacit favour of the ,government in this2 nay more1 the ,government itself issued ambiguous1 if not insinuating1 proclamations1 which fomented the excitement of the populace to such an extent that the days were fixed for the ,clearing of ,peking4 ,the mob was thoroughly quieted on the first of the days fixed by a twenty hours' pour of tremendous rain1 which converted ,peking into a muddy1 boatless ,venice1 and kept the people safely at home in their helpless felt shoes1 as securely as if their feet had been put into the stocks4 ,this was ,friday4 ,tuesday was the reserve day2 ,saturday and ,sabbath one felt the tide of excitement rising1 and on ,monday morning the ,peking ,gazette came out with an ,imperial edict that at once allayed the excitement1 and assured us that there was no danger for the present4 ',we had then to draw breath and look about us calmly1 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 redress4 ,the attitude of the ,chinese people and ,government made them think so1 and so they determined to wait on quietly in ,peking till things should get thick1 and then it would be time to go south4 ,i think ,i may safely say that everyone drew out an inventory of his things1 and not a few had their most necessary things packed on the sly1 and were ready to start on short notice4 ',up to this point ,i stood quietly aside2 but now was my time to reason1 and on the data they supplied ,i reasoned thus3 ,if ,i go south1 no ,mongol can be prevailed on to go with me1 and so ,i am shut out from my work1 and that for an indefinite time4 ,if ,i can get away north1 then ,i can go on with the language1 and perhaps come down after the smoke clears away1 knowing ,mongolian1 and having lost no time4 ,i felt a great aversion to travelling so far alone1 and with such imperfect knowledge of the language1 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 duty1 and so ,i conferred no longer with likings or dislikings1 resolved to go should an opportunity offer1 and in the meantime worked away at ,chinese4 ',by-and-by a ,russian merchant turned up2 he was going to ,kiachta1 so ,i started with him4 ,i could not go sooner1 as it was not safe to travel in the country before the ,imperial edict was issued2 to wait longer was to run the risk of not going at all4' ,illustration3 ,,map ,,illustrating ,,james ,,gilmour',s ,,journeys ,,on ,,the ,,great ,,plain ,,of ,,mongolia ,,chapter ,,iii ,,mongolian ,,apprenticeship ,the name ,mongolia denotes a vast and almost unknown territory situated between ,china ,proper and ,siberia1 constituting the largest dependency of the ,chinese ,empire4 ,it stretches from the ,sea of ,japan on the east to ,turkestan on the west1 a distance of nearly #c1jjj miles2 and from the southern boundary of ,asiatic ,russia to the ,great ,wall of ,china1 a distance of about #ijj miles4 ,it consists of high tablelands1 lifted up considerably above the level of ,northern ,china1 and is approached only through rugged mountain passes4 ,the central portion of this enormous area is called the ,desert of ,gobi4 ,a kind of highway for the considerable commercial traffic between ,china and ,russia runs through the eastern central part of ,mongolia1 leaving ,china at the frontier town of ,kalgan1 and touching ,russia at the frontier town of ,kiachta4 ,along this route during all but the winter months1 caravans of camel-carts and ox-carts attended by companies of ,mongols and ,chinese are constantly passing4 ,the staple export from ,china is tea2 the chief imports are salt1 soda1 hides1 and timber4 ,the west and the centre of ,mongolia is occupied by nomad ,mongols4 ,they have clusters of huts and tents in fixed locations which form their winter dwellings4 ,but in summer they journey over the great plains in search of the best pasturage for their flocks and herds4 ,they are consequently exceedingly difficult to reach by any other method than that of sharing their roving tent life4 ,in the southeastern district of ,mongolia there are large numbers of agricultural ,mongols who speak both ,chinese and ,mongolian4 ,the towns in this part are almost wholly inhabited by ,chinese4 ,the winter in ,mongolia is both long and severe2 in the summer the heat is often very oppressive1 and the great ,plain is subject to severe storms of dust1 rain and wind4 ,buddhism is all-powerful1 and the larger half of the male population are lamas or ,buddhist priests4 ',meet a ,mongol on the road1 and the probability is that he is saying his prayers and counting his beads as he rides along4 ,ask him where he is going1 and on what errand1 as the custom is1 and likely he will tell you he is going to some shrine to worship4 ,follow him to the temple1 and there you will find him one of a company with dust-marked forehead1 moving lips1 and the never absent beads1 going the rounds of the sacred place1 prostrating himself at every shrine1 bowing before every idol1 and striking pious attitudes at every new object of reverence that meets his eye4 ,go to ,mongolia itself1 and probably one of the first great sights that meet your eye will be a temple of imposing grandeur1 resplendent from afar in colours and gold4' ',the ,mongol's religion marks out for him certain seemingly indifferent actions as good or bad1 meritorious or sinful4 ,there is scarcely one single step in life1 however insignificant1 which he can take without first consulting his religion through his priest4 ,not only does his religion insist on moulding his soul1 and colouring his whole spiritual existence1 but it determines for him the colour and cut of his coat4 ,it would be difficult to find another instance in which any religion has grasped a country so universally and completely as ,buddhism has ,mongolia4'#a #a ,among the ,mongols1 p4 #baa4 ,it was to the herculean task of attempting single-handed to evangelise a region and a people like this that ,james ,gilmour addressed himself4 ,his early journeys are fully set forth in ,among the ,mongols1 and we do not propose to repeat them here4 ,our object rather is to depict1 so far as possible1 the inner life of ,james ,gilmour1 and the real nature of the work he accomplished4 ,he left ,peking on ,august #e1 and reached ,kalgan four days later4 ,on ,august #bg he started for his first trip across the great plain of ,mongolia to ,kiachta4 ,a ,russian postmaster was to be his companion1 but1 to avoid travelling on ,sunday1 ,gilmour started a day ahead1 and then waited for the ,russian to come up4 ,here is his first view of scenes he was so often in later life to visit4 ',sabbath1 ,august #bh4--;,awoke about #e ,a4,m4 just as it was drawing towards light1 and saw that we were right out into the ,plain4 ',i am writing up my diary1 with a lot of people looking into my cart4 ,i have just given them a ,mongol ,catechism1 and ,i hope it may do them good4 ,god1 do ,thou bless it to them6 ,would ,i could speak to them1 but ,i cannot4 ,i am glad to be saved the trouble of travelling to-day4 ,my mind feels at rest for the present4 ,i am looking about me1 and having my first look at the life ,i am likely to lead4 ,there are several more ,mongol dwellings within sight1 plenty of camels1 horses1 and oxen4 ,the ,mongols have a tent of their own1 and the commandant's tent has also been put up4 ,a ,mongol has just come up and changed his dress1 his cloak serving him as a tent meantime4 ,i am hesitating whether to try to read in my cart or go off a little way with my plaid and umbrella4 ',had not a very intellectual or spiritual day after all4 ,went in the afternoon away to the east4 ,had a good view and a time of devotion at a cairn from which an eagle rose as ,i approached4 ,returned to the camp and bought milk and some cheese4 ,intended to make porridge1 but the fire was not good on account of the blowing1 so ,i drank off my milk1 ate some bread1 and went to sleep4' ,the journey across the desert1 including a visit to ,urga1 occupied a month4 ,it was full of intense interest for the traveller1 and many of the most abiding impressions of his life and work were then received4 ,his diary reveals the deep yearnings of his heart for the salvation of the ,mongols4 ,under the date ,september #aa1 #ahgj1 he writes3-- ',astir by daybreak4 ,camels watering2 made porridge and tea4 ,this is the ,lord's day2 help me1 ,o ,lord1 to be in the spirit1 and to be glad and rejoice in the day which ,thou hast made6 ,several huts in sight4 ,when shall ,i be able to speak to the people8 ,o ,lord1 suggest by the ,spirit how ,i should come among them1 and guide me in gaining the language1 and in preparing myself to teach the life and love of ,christ ,jesus6 ,oh1 let me live for ,christ1 and feel day by day the blessedness of a will given up to ,god1 and the happiness of a life which has its every circumstance working for my good6' ,his constant rule was to rest from all journeying1 so far as possible1 on the ,sabbath4 ,after another week's experience1 on ,september #ah he thus records his impressions3-- ',encamped just over the plain we saw at sunset last night4 ,we are some distance from the real exit1 but not far4 ,this is the ,lord's day2 ,god help me to be in the spirit notwithstanding all distractions4 ,oh that ,god would give me more of ,his ,spirit1 more of ,his felt ,presence1 more of the spirit and power of prayer1 that ,i may bring down blessings on this poor people of ,mongolia6 ,as ,i look at them and their huts ,i ask again and again how am ,i to go among them2 in comfort and in a waggon1 with all my things about me2 or in poverty1 reducing myself to their level8 ,if ,i go among them rich1 they will be continually begging1 and perhaps regard me more as a source of gifts than anything else4 ,if ,i go with nothing but the ,gospel1 there will be nothing to distract their attention from the unspeakable gift4 '#h4ae ,a4,m4-#c4ae ,p4,m4 ,good long walk4 ,met camels and came upon a cart encampment1 estimated at one hundred and seventy4 ,know where ,i am on the map4 ,there is a camel encampment where we are4 ,two huts from which comes fuel4 ,read to-day in ,,ii ,chronicles xvi4 ,god never failed those who trusted in ,him and appealed to ,him4 ,god was displeased with the ,king of ,judah because1 after the deliverance from the ,lubims1 ,ethiopians1 c41 he trusted to the arm of flesh to deliver him from the ,syrians4 ,do we not in our day rest too much on the arm of flesh8 ,cannot the same wonders be done now as of old8 ,do not the eyes of the ,lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth1 still to show ,himself strong on behalf of those who put their trust in ,him8 ,oh that ,god would give me more practical faith in ,him6 ,where is now the ,lord ,god of ,elijah8 ,he is waiting for ,elijah to call on ,him4 ,god give me some of ,elijah's spirit1 and let my power be of ,god1 and my hope from ,him for the conversion of this people4 ',it is nothing to the ,lord to save by many or by them that have no power4 ,help me1 ,o ,god1 for ,i rest on ,thee1 and in ,thy name ,i go against this multitude6' ,kiachta1 on the southern frontier of ,siberia1 was reached ,september #bh1 #ahgj1 and there ,gilmour was at once plunged into a series of troubles4 ,the ,russian and ,chinese authorities would not recognise his passport1 and he had to wait months before another could be obtained from ,peking4 ,he found absolutely no sympathy in his work4 ,he knew next to nothing of the ,mongol language4 ,yet with robust faith1 with whole-hearted courage1 with a resolution that nothing could daunt1 he set to work4 ,a ,scotch trader1 named ,grant1 was kind to him1 and found accommodation for him at his house4 ,at first he tried the orthodox plan of getting a ,mongol teacher to visit and instruct him4 ,before he secured one he used to visit such ,mongols as he found in the neighbourhood1 trying to acquire a vocabulary from them1 asking the names of the articles they were using1 their actions1 and all such other matters as he could make them understand4 ,but his loneliness1 his ignorance of the language1 the inaction to which he was condemned1 partly by his difficulty in getting a suitable teacher1 and partly by the uncertainty as to whether the authorities would allow him to remain1 told upon his eager spirit as week after week passed by1 and he became subject to fits of severe depression4 ,here is a picture of one of these early days4 ,he had been trying to talk with a ,buriat carpenter1 in a place called ,kudara1 not far from ,kiachta3-- ',after getting my quota of words ,i walked through the town4 ,the main object in it is the church1 a large whitewashed structure built by ,mr4 ,grant's father-in-law when he was a rich man4 ,he was made poor1 comparatively speaking1 in one night by a great fire which burnt up all before it4 ,in addition to the church are some streets of ,cossack houses1 desolate enough looking1 the streets desolate enough at best1 but rendered much more so this morning by the snow melting in the sun1 which is still high1 and manages to thaw away all the snow that falls in places where it shines1 though it was frost all day in the shade4 ,passing the town ,i made for the river1 which rolled on quiet and cold4 ,passed through large orchards of apple787 trees2 doubled about1 went to the extreme west1 got on a hill1 and came round home again in time for dinner at #d ,p4,m4 ,i felt very lonely1 and not having a teacher ,i am thrown idle1 as it were1 a great part of the day after ,i get my words4 ,it is true ,i am taking notice of all ,i see1 but it always occurs to me that this is not furthering the ,mongolian ,mission in any direct way4 ,i often think of what ,dr4 ,alexander said in his charge at my ordination3 ,you do not go to discover new countries4 ,would ,i had a teacher1 that the language might go on full swing6 ,to-day ,i felt a good deal like ,elijah in the wilderness1 when the reaction came on after his slaughter of the priests of ,baal4 ,he prayed that he might die4 ,i wonder if ,i am telling the truth when ,i say that ,i felt drawn towards suicide4 ,i take this opportunity of declaring strongly that on all occasions two missionaries should go together4 ,i was not of this opinion a few weeks ago1 but ,i had no idea how weak an individual ,i am4 ,my eyes have filled with tears frequently these last few days in spite of myself1 and ,i do not wonder in the least that ,grant's brother shot himself4 ,oh6 the intense loneliness of ,christ's life1 not a single one understood ,him6 ,he bore it4 ,o ,jesus1 let me follow in ,thy steps1 and have in me the same ,spirit that ,thou hadst6 ',read papers in the evening 7,oct #e74 ,so ,jones of ,singrauli is dead6 ,i heard him in ,exeter ,hall1 ,may1 a year or two ago1 and heard a good deal of him through ,dr4 ,evans1 of ,chestnut ,college4 ,i am persuaded he was a missionary among a thousand4 ,when he returned to his station he found that during his absence matters had got out of order a good deal1 and he set about putting them right4 ,now he is dead6 ,how prodigal ,god seems of ,his workers--,hartley1 ,jones1 both ,a #a1 both gone4 ,god's ways are not ours4 ,we would have preserved these two at all risk and expense1 but ,god takes them away1 and it seems to us as if ,he were hurting ,his own cause4 ,god knows best1 but to us it is a great mystery4' ,two days later he received a letter telling him of the death of a brilliant young ,glasgow student1 and he enters in his diary comments which received only too complete an illustration in his own subsequent career3-- ',another splendid student going from college to the grave4 ,this is a thing of common occurrence with reference to ,glasgow ,college1 and1 if ,i am not mistaken1 ,i have seen it somewhere publicly commented on4 ,men1 poor it may be1 strive through college with a mind and determination beyond their circumstances and bodily strength1 fight a great battle with poverty and more clever students1 resolute to take the first place if possible1 and just as the college is finished with them1 and sending them forth to the field of life decorated with all the honours it can bestow1 the fond ,alma ,mater has to keep on mourning and drop her tear over an early grave4 ',are the young men to blame8 ,who can be restrained by the cold-blooded calculation of preserving health8 ,there is my opponent1 ,i'll thrash him if ,i can2 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 victorious4 ,then they conscientiously work themselves to death4 ,if they did not work as hard as they do1 and refrain from recreation as they do1 they would have in their breasts the uneasy feeling that they have not done as much as they might have done2 and what noble nature can be content to live under that accusation written against them by the supreme court in their own breasts8 ',several times ,i have resolved to refrain for health's sake1 but in a short time found such an uneasy feeling about not doing as much as ,i might1 that ,i had to give it up and go at it4 ,i never feel that ,i have done as much as ,i might1 and when ,i am doing most ,i feel best4' ,very dissatisfied with his progress1 and stung one day by a remark of ,grant's to the effect that he did not seem to speak ,mongolian readily1 ,gilmour changed his plans4 ,he resolved to go out upon the ,plain1 and persuade some ,mongol to allow him to share his tent4 ,on ,december #ac1 #ahgj1 he left ,kiachta and journeyed out into ,mongolia to the first cluster of tents1 named ,olau ,bourgass4 ,there he found a friendly ,mongol4 ',grant's contractor4 ,found him at his prayers4 ,he motioned me to sit down1 and when his devotions were finished he gave me a warm welcome4 ,he lives alone in his tent1 having nothing to care for but the horses for the courier service1 and a couple of lamas#b to attend to his wants1 one of whom goes with the letters when they come4 ,we talked1 and ,i learned a great deal1 when at last ,i broke my mind to him1 and was glad to find that he received it favourably4 ,i settled to remain there during the night4 ,nothing very remarkable happened except that we were invaded by a great blustering lama1 intoxicated4 ,he came ramping into the tent as if he would have knocked everything down4 ,after a time he went away and lodged in the next hut4 ,i went to bed about ten and slept well1 though my feet were cold towards morning4' #b ,a lama is a priest of the lama section of ,buddists4 ,more than half the population of ,mongolia are lamas4 ,the next three months were passed mainly in this tent4 ,gilmour used1 whenever possible1 to return to ,kiachta to spend the ,sunday at ,grant's house2 but by enduring the hardships and suffering all the inconveniences of ordinary ,mongol life he rapidly acquired the colloquial1 and he also made an indelible impression upon the minds and hearts of the natives1 who ever afterwards spoke of him as ',our ,gilmour4' ,he saw ,mongol life as it was1 free from all the illusion and romance sometimes thrown around it4 ,he became intimately acquainted with the various ,mongol types1 and he began to enter into the native habits of thought4 ,his diary contains many a scene like the following3-- ',i gave the lama a book on ,saturday1 and when ,i came back on ,tuesday ,i found he had read it through twice4 ,he set upon me with questions1 getting me to admit premises1 and then reasoned from them4 ,christ being at the right hand of ,god was a great point with him4 ,if ,god has no form1 how can anyone be at ,his right hand8 ,then1 again1 if ,god is everywhere1 ,christ is everywhere right and left of ,god1 and how can that be8 ',the omnipresence was a staggerer4 ,was ,god in that pot1 in the tent1 in his boot8 ,did he tread upon ,god8 ,then was ,god inside the kettle8 ,did the hot tea not scald ,him8 ,again1 if ,god was inside the kettle1 the kettle was living6 ,and so he held it up to the laughing circle as a new species of animal4 ,i asked him if a fly were inside the kettle1 would the kettle be alive8 ,no1 he said2 but a fly does not fill the space as ,god must do4 ,well1 then1 said ,i1 is my coat alive because ,i fill it8 ,this settled the question4' ,in ,march #ahga he visited ,selenginsk and ,onagen ,dome1 the scene of the labours of ,stallybrass and ,swan from #ahag to #ahda1 and then he took a run into ,siberia1 crossing ,lake ,baikal and visiting ,irkutsk4 ,at the latter place he reviews the past few months3-- ',another week has passed over my head with many hopes and fears4 ,this day1 a week ago1 ,i was nearing ,ana in doubt as to many things2 now ,i am in ,irkutsk1 having my path marked with mercies4 ,in many points of my journey ,i expected difficulties which might have stopped me short in my path1 but all these have disappeared1 and ,i am here1 having succeeded beyond expectations4 ,one thing is not right3 my readiness to forget the ways in which ,god has helped me4 ,sometimes for weeks and months ,i look forward to some crisis which is coming2 it comes off well1 and in two days ,i am as if ,i had forgotten that to which ,i had looked forward with so much apprehension4 ,in this manner ,i am not only guilty of ingratitude1 but lose much joy and strength of faith and hope4 ,what should make me more happy than the thought of the helps and deliverances that ,god has vouchsafed me2 and in troubles present and to come1 what can give me more faith and courage than to remember that out of such troubles ,i was delivered before8 ',one thing ,i sometimes think of4 ,i left ,britain with no intention of travelling2 ,i expected to settle down quietly and confine myself to a circle ,i could impress4 ,this plan has been completely changed and overruled4 ,two months have ,i been in ,peking2 two weeks have ,i been in ,kalgan2 a month have ,i been in the desert2 a month have ,i been in ,kudara1 a small ,russian frontier military post2 a month and a half have ,i been in ,kiachta2 two months have ,i been in ,mongolia2 and now two weeks have ,i been travelling in ,russia4 ,a year and a month have elapsed since ,i left home1 and during that time ,i have been walking to and fro on the face of the earth1 and going up and down in it4 ,in this way ,i have not found my life at all dull1 but very stirring4 ,indeed1 many people would have left home to travel as ,i have done4 ,i sought it not2 it came1 and ,i took it4 ,so as yet ,i have no hardships to complain of4 ,to see the places and things ,i have seen--,liverpool1 ,wales1 ,rock of ,lisbon1 ,gibraltar1 ,malta1 ,egypt1 ,port ,said1 ,canal1 ,suez1 ,red ,sea1 ,cape ,gardafui1 ,indian ,ocean1 ,penang1 ,straits of ,malacca1 ,singapore1 ,hong ,kong1 ,shanghai1 ,tientsin1 ,peking1 ,kalgan1 ,desert1 ,urga1 ,kiachta1 ,russia1 ,baikal1 ,irkutsk--only even to see these1 men will make long journeys4 ,i have seen them all without seeking them1 with the exception of ,baikal and ,irkutsk4 ,these are all by the way1 and ,i dwell upon them as proofs that ,god1 in sending ,his servants from home and kindred1 often gives them pleasure and worldly enjoyment on the way1 which ,he does not promise1 and which they have no right to expect4' ,after another but briefer sojourn at ,olau ,bourgass he set out on his return journey1 visited ,urga1 then crossed the great plain on horseback in the course of fourteen days1 and reached ,kalgan on ,june #aa4 ,after a rest there he made two excursions into ,mongolia1 visiting ,lama ,miao1 one of the great ,mongol religious centres1 in the first2 and occupying some weeks with a further spell of ,mongol tent life during the second4 ,his diary1 under date of ,september #bb1 #ahga1 while he was resting at ,kalgan1 thus sums up his experiences3-- ',i desire to-day to look back on the way by which the ,lord has led me for the last year4 ,in ,september #ahgj ,i was looking out eagerly1 anxiously for someone who was going to ,russia1 that ,i might go with him4 ,i could find no one4 ,i made it a subject of prayer1 and at last1 when ,i was on my knees1 in came ,mc,coy to tell me of a ,russian who was going up without delay4 ,i saw the ,russian1 and arranged to go1 and started4 ,while they are speaking ,i will answer them4 ',on the journey between ,peking and ,kalgan ,i was alone1 ,i may say1 and could speak little ,chinese1 yet ,i got on very well2 and though my money was in a box on the back of a donkey1 yet it came in all safe1 none lost4 ,in ,kalgan ,i had difficulty at first about finding camels1 but at length the ,russian postmaster turned out to be going home4 ,the time when was uncertain1 quite2 his departure depended on the coming of his successor4 ,i prayed about this1 and one day was informed that the successor had arrived much sooner than was expected1 and that we were to start in a day or two4 ,we did start1 and after a prosperous journey arrived safely at ,kiachta4 ',there ,i found ,grant and ,hegemann1 two ,englishmen4 ,i went to live in ,grant's country house at ,kudara4 ,a difficulty arose about a teacher4 ,i prayed about this1 and strolling along came upon a tent in which was a man who was out of employment1 and he being educated1 ,i engaged him to be my teacher4 ,in ,kiachta1 after some delay1 ,i got a teacher1 but not to my satisfaction4 ,after ,i had been with him a time ,grant remarked one day that ,i did not seem to be making much progress in the language4 ,this stung me to the quick1 and made me go down into ,mongolia4 ,here ,i was directed to the tent of ,grant's contractor1 and with him ,i made arrangements to live4 ,i thank ,god for not permitting me to get a good teacher in ,kiachta4 ,had ,i got a good teacher there1 ,i would simply have remained there1 and ,i am sure would not have learned half as much of the language as ,i did in the tent at ,mongolia1 would have got none of the insight ,i gained into the style of ,mongolian life1 and would not have got the introduction ,i had there to numerous ,mongols4 ,at the time ,i was immensely chagrined that ,i could not get a proper teacher1 but now1 after the lapse of only a few months1 ,i can see good reason for thanking ,god for leading me by that way4 ,this should teach me to trust ,god more than ,i do when things seem to thwart my purpose4 ',again1 ,i was under a great disappointment about the delay that occurred in the sending of my passport from ,peking4 ,in consequence of its not coming ,i was unable to go to ,urga with ,lobsung and ,sherrub in ,february4 ,i felt it much at the time1 but some months after 7in ,june7 ,i learned that these men with whom ,i wanted to go suffered excessively on the road2 so much so that1 had ,i gone with them1 ,i might have got my feet frozen and died with the cold4 ,here again ,i have to praise ,god for not giving me my own way4 ,thy way1 not mine1 ,o ,lord2 ,however dark it be4 ',then1 again1 ,i had long desired to visit the scene of the former ,siberian ,mission1 and through the mercy of ,providence ,i was permitted to do this4 ,my journey back through the desert also was marked by mercies4 ,truly ,i may stand and say1 ,when all ,thy mercies1 ,o my ,god1 ,my rising soul surveys1 ,transported with the view1 ,i'm lost ,in wonder1 love1 and praise4' ,after his wanderings even ,kalgan was a haven of rest1 and he had secured there a base of operations4 ',now1' he writes1 'that ,i have got my study window pasted up1 and a nice little stove set going1 it seems so comfortable that it would be snug to stay where ,i am4 ,but comfort is not the missionary's rule4 ,my object in going into ,mongolia at this time is to have an opportunity of reviewing and extending my knowledge of the colloquial1 which has become a little rusty consequent upon its disuse to a great extent while here1 trying to get up the written4' ,all who are even superficially acquainted with ,chinese matters know how difficult it is to acquire the colloquial1 and still more the written language4 ,mongolian is not nearly so difficult1 but it presents a task needing vigour of intellect and strength of will4 ,both of these ,gilmour possessed in a measure far above the average4 ',in the written1' he states on ,october #g1 #ahga1 ',i am still far from at home4 ,most of the ,bible ,i can read slowly and at sight4 ,many words ,i can write4 ,i think ,i could write a bad letter myself alone4 ,the other day ,i did so4 ,my teacher said it was well written1 and said also he rejoiced in the progress of his scholar2 but ,i put this down to mere politeness4' ,during this visit he stayed in the tent of a ,mongol named ,mahabul1 who lived there with his wife and an only son1 a lama4 ,they were all much addicted to the use of whisky4 ',october #ad1 '#ga4--,to-day rose before the sun1 read words1 wrote at the account of my journey from ,urga1 went to the mountain for devotion1 revisited the silver worker1 who is making the bride's ornaments1 dined1 visited the ,norying's lama son1 who fell from a horse and broke his leg1 had tea1 and went to visit tents a mile or two to the south4 ,there found1 as master of the tent1 a blackman 7a layman7 ,i had seen before1 and as visitor a lama ,i had left in ,mahabul's tent when ,i went out4 ,from one thing to another we got to speak of ,god and ,his book4 ,at last they asked me to read them a portion4 ,i read in ,english a few verses1 and then gave them the parable of the ,prodigal ,son in ,mongol colloquial4 ,i also gave them a specimen of a sermon1 and explained shortly the nature of ,god1 when they all seemed pleased4 ,the lama finished up the thing by saying1 ,your outward appearance differs from us1 but inwardly you agree with us4 ,coming home ,i felt amply repaid for all the uncomfort and solitude1 and leading a ,mongol life1 by the comparative ease with which ,i can converse with them1 and the manner in which they wonder at my proficiency in the colloquial4' ,in his official report he rapidly summarises the achievements of the last nine months3-- ',by the middle of ,february ,i had a limited knowledge of the colloquial1 picked up from listening to and joining in the conversation going on among the inmates of the tent at ,olau ,bourgass1 and those with the numerous visitors who took occasion to call on my lama1 who was rather a famous man4 ,at the end of ,february the lama returned south to ,urga1 and ,i went back into ,russia1 and got a ,buriat teacher4 ,this individual1 however1 turned out so incredibly lazy1 and ,i felt so dull alone in my large comfortable rooms1 after the friendly bustle and crowd of the little tent1 with its cheery fire1 that ,i could not stand it4 ,so ,i got my teacher and myself into a tarantass1 and went off to visit the scenes of the former mission in ,siberia4 ,my teacher proved very useful4 ,he spoke ,russian very well1 ,i spoke ,mongolian to him1 and thus we travelled1 the doubtful wonder of all ,russians1 who could not understand how a man not born a ,buriat could get acquainted with that language1 and yet know no ,russian4 ,after visiting the converts1 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 spirit1 ,i turned westward and crossed the ,baikal on the ice1 and remained a few days in the capital of ,siberia1 ,irkutsk4 ,on returning to ,kiachta ,i found another teacher1 and went out for another month into ,mongolia and tent life4 ,all the while that ,i was in ,mongolia ,i used to return to ,kiachta once a week1 usually on ,saturday1 and abide in the land of habitations till ,monday4 ',early in ,may ,i started for the south4 ,i had intended to remain over the summer in ,urga1 but unexpected difficulties turned up1 and led me to decide on going down to ,kalgan at once4 ,from ,urga to ,kalgan 7#fjj miles7 was done on horseback1 accompanied by a single ,mongol2 and as we carried no luggage1 we had to depend on the hospitality of the ,mongols for lodging and cooking1 or1 as they call the latter1 pot and ladle4 ',in this way ,i saw a very great deal of tent life during the twelve or thirteen days the ride lasted4 ,i got into ,kalgan just two days before the rainy season came on 7,june #ae71 and having1 after difficulty1 secured a teacher1 passed the summer in ,kalgan studying the book language and practising writing4 ,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 speaking4 ,i finally left ,mongolia in a furious storm on the morning of ,november #a1 and re-entered ,peking ,november #i4' ,gilmour on his return was naturally an object of great interest to all the missionary and to some of the official community4 ,he soon settled down to the study of ,chinese1 and to such mission work as he could usefully engage in during the winter at ,peking4 ,a letter to the writer1 under date of ,january #ba1 #ahgb1 enables us to realise somewhat the life of this period3-- ',my dear ,lovett1--,though ,i acknowledged receipt of your last welcome epistle1 ,i am aware ,i owe you a return1 and here it is 444 ,i have thought that perhaps an account of how a ,sabbath goes in ,peking might not be uninteresting1 and ,i'll just confine myself to to-day4 ,well1 this morning1 on getting up1 ,i found my stove was out4 ,this is a very unusual thing1 but it just happens once1 say1 in three weeks4 ,the thermometer was about #e4 ,the first thing after getting dressed was not to call my servant1 as you might suppose1 but to go in quest of letters4 ,a mail had come in the night before1 but ,i had returned home too late last night to see it4 ,so ,i went over to ,dr4 ,dudgeon's house before he was up1 prowled about till ,i found the mail1 but there was nothing for me4 ,i returned to my cold room1 and was there till the breakfast-bell rang4 ,i board with ,edkins1 and to go there is a pleasant break in the monotony4 ',on coming back to my quarters ,i found the room full of smoke1 doors and windows open1 my boy on his knees fussing about the stove1 and saying1 ,moo too poo shing--the wood won't do4 ,i saw at once that that would not do for me1 so ,i buttoned up my coat and went out on to the great street for a walk4 ,the street on which we live1 the ,ha ,ta ,mun 7great street71 runs north and south1 and a cold wind was blowing down the road1 carrying clouds of dust with it4 ,through the dust1 however1 were visible the paraphernalia of two funerals1 one going north1 the other going south4 ,they met just opposite our place4 ,that going south was much the grander of the two1 and had a long procession of people carrying emblematical devices1 honorific umbrellas1 drums1 gongs1 and musical instruments4 ,ever and anon a man took quantities of paper discs with square holes cut in the centre and scattered them to the north wind4 ,the papers are supposed to represent cash1 and were scrambled for eagerly by the urchins1 though they could be valuable only as waste paper4 ,in the procession also was carried the chair in which the deceased used to ride1 his mule cart also figured conspicuous1 and then came the mourners4 ',as you know1 mourning garb in ,china is white1 and ,i noticed that some of the mourners had adopted a neat device4 ,all ,chinamen who can afford to be warm in winter wear robes lined inside with fur4 ,a rich robe is lined with fine material1 but the common thing is white lambskin4 ,well1 these fellows simply become turn-coats for the time1 and put on their fur robes inside out1 and thus were in the fashion4 ,the coffin itself was laid in a magnificent bier towering high1 surmounted by a gilt top piece1 hung with silks1 and borne by forty-eight bearers4 ',of course everything has to make way for the funeral4 ,the ,peking streets are very wide1 and at the same time very narrow4 ,in the centre and high up is a cart road with an up and a down line1 along the sides of this are ditches and holes1 beyond these ditches and holes is another way more or less passable1 and beyond that again the shops4 ,the funeral procession took the crown of the road1 crept along at its snail's pace1 while the traffic took to the side roads4 ',after a good long walk among stalls and wheelbarrows ,i got back to my abode1 found a good fire1 and that it was high time to go to the ,chinese service4 ,i don't understand all ,i hear1 but ,i understand some1 and make a point of hearing one and sometimes two ,chinese sermons on the ,sabbath4 ,an old ,chinaman was preaching1 and ,i could see from the manner of the congregation that he was securing the fixed attention of his hearers4 ,before the sermon was ended there was a bustle at the door1 and in came three ,mongols with my ,chinese card4 ,they were asked to wait till the service was concluded1 then ,i took them to my quarters and had some conversation with them4 ,one of them had come for the doctor1 and wished to get cured of so prosaic a disease as the itch4 ',before ,i was finished with them1 my servant came to say that another ,mongol had called for me and was waiting for me in ,edkins's4 ,when ,i went over ,i found an old ,mongol1 a blackman1 fifty-eight years of age4 ,this layman was named ,amsa1 and has been in the habit of paying ,mr4 ,edkins visits every winter when he comes down to ,peking4 ,last year he did not come1 and we were concluding that he had died4 ,of course we were glad to see him4 ,i got him into my room and we had quite an afternoon of it4 ,the old man knew a good deal about ,christianity1 and ,i gave him what additional instruction ,i could4 ,of all the ,mongols ,i have seen he is1 perhaps1 the most ready to receive instruction4 ',it was quite late in the afternoon before he left1 and ,i had just time to take a walk at sunset and be back in time for dinner4 ,immediately after that the people began to assemble for evening service4 ,this is held every ,sabbath evening in ,mr4 ,edkins's parlour4 ,upwards of twenty usually compose the congregation4 ,the missionaries take the service in turn4 ,after service the mass of the congregation separated1 but one man came with me to my room1 and there we sat talking till midnight1 when my visitor rose to depart4 ',there1 you see1 ,i have given you the history of one ,sabbath in ,peking4 ,it is a pretty fair sample of what goes on here very frequently4 ,however1 when ,i find myself free on the afternoon ,i accompany ,mr4 ,edkins to some one of the two chapels1 which are in distant parts of the city4 ,i do not go so much to hear him preach as to have his conversation on the way there and back1 and1 as you may suppose1 we sometimes stumble upon an argument1 and this makes it quite lively4' ,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 ,european4 ,but even then1 as also at a later date1 the question was raised whether more fruitful work might not be done among the agricultural ,mongols inhabiting the country to the north-east of ,peking4 ,hence1 on ,april #af1 #ahgb1 he started on his first journey through the district in which in later years the closing labours of his life were to be accomplished4 ,he spent thirty-seven days in this preliminary tour1 and travelled about #a1jjj miles4 ,gilmour's first estimate of this region as a field of missionary enterprise1 expressed on ,april #be1 #ahgb1 remained true to the end1 even though in later years the exceptional difficulties of work among the nomads induced him at last1 as we shall see1 to settle among the agricultural ,mongols3-- ',though ,i saw a good many ,mongol houses1 yet ,i must say1 ,i do not feel much drawn to them in preference to the nomad ,mongols4 ,the only possible recommendation ,i can think of is that1 coming among them1 ,i might go and put up for some days at a time in a ,chinese inn4 ,this would save me from great trouble in getting introductions1 and it might be less expensive4 ,the great objection ,i have to them is that1 though a mission were established among them1 it would be more a mission in ,china than anywhere else4 ,the ,mongols in these agricultural villages speak ,chinese to a man1 and ,i cannot help feeling that1 since there are so many missionaries in ,peking speaking the ,chinese language1 these ,mongols fall to them1 and not to me4' ,soon after his return from this trip into ,eastern ,mongolia1 ,mr4 ,gilmour sent home an elaborate report upon the conditions and prospects of the ,mongol ,mission4 ,he deals with the whole question of the work1 showing why1 in his opinion1 the agricultural ,mongols should be evangelised by ,chinese missionaries4 ,mr4 ,edkins and others thought that ,gilmour should undertake that labour1 but after having seen more than any missionary of both regions and classes of ,mongols1 on the ground that he was the man 'who had to go and begin1' he decided for the ,plain4 ,even at this early date ,mr4 ,gilmour urged repeatedly and strenuously upon the ,directors the pressing need he felt for a colleague4 ,and thus early began the long series of seeming fatalities that prevented him from ever receiving this joy and strength4 ,partly from the needs of the ,peking ,mission1 and partly from respect to a notion which the ,american ,board of ,foreign ,missions had that their occupancy of ,kalgan1 on the extreme southern limit1 constituted all ,mongolia into one of their fields of work1 the ,rev4 ,s4 ,e4 ,meech1 ,mr4 ,gilmour's old college friend1 who had been designated as his first colleague1 was stationed at ,peking4 ,with reference to this1 in closing the report above referred to1 ,gilmour wrote3-- ',mr4 ,meech's perversion from ,mongolia to ,china is much to be deplored4 ,i think it would be wrong in me not to inform you of the true state of matters1 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 field4 ,i am fully aware of the difficulty of finding suitable men1 and most fully sympathise with you1 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 wheel4 ,all that ,i can do ,i am quite willing to do1 but my own progress is most seriously hampered because ,i am alone4' ,his whole subsequent life is evidence of the splendid way in which ,gilmour justified these words1 yet perhaps no legitimate blame can be laid at the door of the ,directors of the ,london ,missionary ,society4 ,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 work4 ,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 colleague4 ,he never even had a companion for his work on the ,plain1 except his heroic and devoted wife4 ,and in later years circumstances over which the ,directors could exercise little or no control successively deprived him of the fellowship1 after a very brief experience1 of ,dr4 ,roberts and ,dr4 ,smith4 ,in the summer of this year1 in the company of ,mr4 ,edkins1 he visited the sacred city of ,woo ,t'ai ,shan1 a famous place of ,mongol pilgrimage4 ,an amusing illustration of his well-known love of argument occurred on this trip4 ,in ,mr4 ,edkins he found a foeman in all respects worthy of his dialectic steel4 ,chinese mules will only travel in single file1 even where the roads are wide enough to allow of their travelling abreast1 and as ,gilmour's went in front of that ridden by ,mr4 ,edkins1 he used to ride with his face to the tail of his beast1 and thus the more readily and continuously conduct the argument then engaging their attention4 ,in ,november he tried the experiment of living at the ,yellow ,temple in ,peking during the winter1 in order that he might meet and converse with the numerous ,mongols who visit the capital every year4 ,here he not only made new friends1 but he also frequently renewed acquaintance with those he had met on the ,plain4 ,these visited him in his compound1 and were occasionally a weariness and vexation to him1 inasmuch as they very frequently severely tried his patience1 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 hearts4 ,in a letter to an intimate college friend1 the ,rev4 ,t4 ,t4 ,matthews of ,madagascar1 which he wrote1 ,november #ba1 #ahgb1 he vividly describes this part of his work1 giving some of his typical experiences3-- ',i am writing in the ,yellow ,temple1 about a mile and a half from ,peking1 and three or four miles from our mission premises4 ,i have rented a room1 brought my ,chinaman servant1 and live as a ,chinaman1 all but the clothes and the paganism4 ,the reason of all this is that near here1 and in this temple1 numerous ,mongols put up when they come from ,mongolia to ,peking4 ,our premises being three or four miles away1 and in a busy part of the town1 the ,mongols can't easily find our place2 so if they can't come to me ,i just go to them4 ,i came here yesterday1 and can't tell yet how ,i may get on4 ,mongols are shy in ,peking1 and even out here a little difficult of access2 but ,i must do what ,i can1 and have patience4 ',just now a company of eight or ten have arrived and put up1 three or four of them in the same court with me1 the others in a place close by4 ,these are likely enough to come to see me2 of course ,i'll go and see them4 ,you in ,madagascar1 ,i suppose1 can't realise what it is to be a missionary to a people whom you can't approach without difficulty4 ,here the difficulty does not end2 those ,i can catch don't care one straw for ,christianity4 ,they have a system which quite satisfies them1 and what more do they want8 ,such is their feeling1 so you see ,i have got quite plenty to do2 a hard enough task1 even the human part of it4 ,but don't mistake1 ,i am not bewailing my lot1 for that ,i have neither time nor inclination2 ,i am only telling you about my state4 ',i don't believe much in people talking about what they mean to do in the future1 but perhaps you will permit me to say that ,i would like to start for ,mongolia again in ,february or ,march4 ,i have got a sheepskin coat1 so need not fear the cold4 ,i perhaps may take with me a stock of made-up medicines for specific diseases which are common1 and this may make an introduction in some cases at least4 ,dr4 ,dudgeon has on our premises in ,peking a hospital well attended by ,chinamen1 and ,i go there sometimes and see how he doses them4 ',now let me tell you a little about the inner life of ,mongols4 ,people travelling through ,mongolia wake up in the morning as their camel-cart passes some rural encampment2 they rub their eyes and say1 ,how pleasant it would be to live in ,mongolia like these ,mongols1 free from care and the anxiety of busy life4 ,they have only their sheep1 c41 to look after4 ,this reflection is accompanied with a sigh when they reflect on their own hard lot4 ,now the fact of the matter is1 these travellers know nothing about it4 ,they may print as much as they like about the pastoral felicity of the simplicity of ,mongol life2 it is all humbug4 ,last night1 two ,mongols whom ,i know well1 a petty chief named ,myriad ,joy and his scribe named ,mahabul 7,i can't translate this last71 came into my room1 and we had a tea-spree there and then4 ,the two have been for fifteen days in ,peking on ,government duty1 and last night their business was finished1 and they were to mount their camels and head north this morning4 ,the chief gets from ,peking about #cjl4 a year1 the scribe about #dl42 and when they come thus on duty their allowances1 though small1 enable them to make a little over and above their salaries4 ,the chief can stand no small amount of ,chinese whisky4 ,i suspect he is deep in debt1 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 nose4 ,the scribe was one of my teachers in ,mongolia4 ,i lived in his house some time1 and know only too well about his affairs4 ,he is hopelessly in debt4 ,he had a large family once1 but now they are all dead except one married daughter and one lama son about seventeen years of age1 and good for nothing4 ,his old woman1 as the ,mongol idiom has it1 is still alive1 and fond of whisky1 like her husband4 ,if they had only been teetotalers they might have now been comfortable2 such1 at least1 is my impression4 ,i shall say nothing about what ,i saw in his tent1 and confine myself to last night and this morning4 ',drinking my tea last night1 ,mahabul 7the scribe7 says to me3 ,my chief here won't lend me nine shillings to buy a sheepskin coat for my old woman1 therefore she must be frozen to death in the winter2 my chief won't lend me anything1 other people he lends4 ,the chief said nothing for a while2 but the scribe went on harping on this string1 till at last the chief launched out right and left on his scribe1 shouting loud enough for all the compound to hear4 ,the scribe took it coolly1 and stopped him1 saying3 ,enough1 enough2 it is past1 it is past2 my old woman can die1 all die2 no matter4 ,this did not soothe the irate chief at all1 and a minute or two later a furious quarrel broke out between them about something else4 ,the storm raged a long time1 and in my room too1 while they were my guests6 ,after some time the scribe left the room to attend to the camels1 when the chief confided to me his opinion of his scribe4 ,later the chief left the room1 and the scribe confided to me his opinion of his chief2 and ,i must say that the two seemed well matched1 with very little to choose between4 ,the freedom with which they spoke of each other was partly to be accounted for by the fact that both were more or less drunk4 ',the chief squared up his accounts with the people about here1 and showed me in the scribe's absence a small parcel of silver which he had reserved for use on the road4 ,he showed it me under strict injunctions not to tell the scribe4 ,the scribe had more difficulty in squaring up his account4 ,the last item that stuck in his throat was a little bill his son had left4 ,this son had started a day or two before1 and of course the father was responsible for the debt4 ,how he was to pay it he did not know1 as he had not a single cash about him4 ,the ,chinaman of the place threatened to detain him1 and the scribe laughed a bitter laugh at the idea4 ,after a great row they went off to sleep4 ',this morning early the scribe was at me before ,i was dressed4 ,it was the small debt again4 ,the ,chinaman knew better than to seize the man2 that would not have paid2 he seized his coat1 and actually was detaining that as ransom for a sum equal to fourpence ,english6 ,he made a direct appeal to me to pay it1 and of course ,i did it2 though ,i was a little disgusted with the man's meanness1 as ,i had given him a present of money amounting to about #al4 a few days before4 ,this son of his is a great eyesore to me4 ,he is a young lama1 about as wicked a boy as ,i know4 ,his brothers died of consumption1 and this fact enables him to do anything he likes with his parents4 ,if they refuse anything1 he has only to feign sickness1 and they are in a huge state over him4 ,he is a thoroughly bad lad4 ,will not work1 will not study1 will do nothing but make trouble and expense for his parents4 ,just fancy6 ,his father and mother are poor as church mice2 and when his father was coming to ,peking the boy must beg to come too1 and the father like a fool must take him1 and be at great expense for travelling1 c4 ,one thing made me furious4 ,out of the money ,i gave him he spent about #ds4 or more buying his good-for-nothing son an elegant snuff-bottle4 ,in short1 the man's folly makes it utterly useless to help him4 ,i once before relieved him from threatened detention for debt for the amount of twopence-halfpenny1 just after ,i had made him a present1 and ,i expect perhaps to have to do so again4 ,what astonishes me is that the ,mongols can get into debt so far4 ,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 other4 ,and yet his debt does not seem to distress him4 ,he is most distressed because people will not lend him more money4 ',the last of the chiefs was rather rich4 ,he is 7he says7 to have a profitable piece of ,government work in hand in spring1 and on the strength of that wanted me to lend him now a shoe of silver1 about #ael41 to be repaid to me in spring4 ,of course ,i did not4 ,he then1 though my guest1 kept on saying1 ,heart small1 heart small1 which pretty much amounts to saying1 ,coward1 coward4 ,he finally took revenge by offering to lend me a shoe of silver in spring1 but of course ,i declined4 ,a pretty pair they are6 ,if what they say be true1 in spring they may make a good thing of it2 but this has happened to the scribe before1 and in two months after he was as poor as ever4 ,in short1 they are foolish and thriftless4 ',while ,i have been writing this letter ,i have overheard my ,chinese servant saying1 in reply to a question from a ,chinaman1 ,there is such a thing as a preaching letter3 you can preach by a letter4 ,so ,i am going now to preach4 ,don't get weary2 stick to it4 ,don't be lazy1 but don't be in a hurry4 ,slow but sure2 stick to it4 ,we have no great effort to make1 but rather to stick to it patiently4 ,no good work is lost1 ,sir ,william ,thomson used to say in his philosophy class1 and it is eminently true in our case4 7,i wish these ,chinamen would hold their tongue47 ,all our good work will be found1 there is no doubt about that4 ,all ,i am afraid of is that our good work will amount to little when it is found4 7,these ,chinamen are a bore47 ,i sometimes think that if all we say be true1 as it is1 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 savagely2 for not1 in fact1 taking them by the cuff of the neck and dragging them into the kingdom of ,god4 ,i speak now of our countrymen and foreigners4 ,as regards heathen1 they too shall stand revealed2 and their mud gods also1 and rotten superstitions1 shall stand revealed3 how then shall we feel when they shall look at us and blame us for not waking them up more vigorously8 ,an infidel has said that if he could believe that men's future state depended at all upon what was done in this life1 he would let nothing hinder him from being up and at men4 ,he would be content to be counted a madman--anything1 if only he could do anything to make men's state better in the world to come4 7,i wish these ,chinamen would shut up2 ,i came here to meet ,mongols1 and ,i am like to be flooded out by ,chinamen whose language ,i only half understand47 ',now1 we believe3 how much do we do8 ,are there not some men whom we might stir up who now escape8 ,could we do more8 ,are not souls valuable enough for us to face anything if only we can save some8 ,let us look to the end1 or rather let us look at the present4 ,in the room in which ,i now write 7the ,chinamen have gone7 is ,jesus1 where you read this is ,jesus3 ,he stands and looks to us4 ,he has given up the clean heaven1 and walked here and lived among dirt and poverty1 in solitude1 misunderstood1 without one intelligent friend2 ,he has borne the scorn of men1 ,he has been put to the horrible and shameful death of the cross1 all to save us and others4 ,we trust ,him1 ,he saves us2 and all ,he asks is that we should tell men about what ,he has done2 and is there one man we meet to whom we shall not speak8 shall ,christ look to us in vain to declare simply what ,he has done8 ,perish the thought6 ,whatever may be between us and speaking to men1 let us go through it4 ,if it be a foreign language1 remember ,christ lived thirty years in preparation4 ,if it be hardship1 cold1 poor food1 scorn1 slight1 deaf ears--never mind1 go ahead4 ,christ looks to us to go ahead1 or come ahead1 for ,he has gone through it all4 ,trouble1 hardship1 trial1 suffering1--all will soon pass and be done4 ,and is there a trouble or hardship we have yet surmounted for ,christ's sake that does not seem sweet to look back on8 ,then1 come what likes1 let us face it2 or1 if we be overwhelmed1 let us be overwhelmed with undaunted faces looking in the right direction4 ,by the mercy of ,god may we be saved2 and if saved how splendid it will be--no trouble1 no trial1 no indigestible beef and brick-tea3 everything better than we could wish it1 and complete joy4 ',all this is not imagination or rhetoric1 but really before us2 so1 by the strength which ,christ gives1 let us go on to it4 ,pray for me4 ,i pray for you2 and if we don't meet on earth1 you know the trysting-place1 the right-hand side4' ,it can readily be seen that1 under conditions of the kind sketched in this letter1 time was not likely to hang heavily on his hands4 ,interviews like the following were held from time to time1 and were not only encouraging and hopeful but reacted strongly upon his own heart and brain3-- ',this afternoon 7,sabbath1 ,november #bd71 ,i met ,toobshing ,baier in the dispensary of the ,london ,mission ,hospital4 ,at first ,i could not remember the man4 ,the face ,i knew4 ,after a time his name came out without1 ,i flatter myself1 his perceiving that ,i was fishing for it4 ,he was most anxious to see the doctor's medical instruments and appliances4 ,after he had seen quite a number of these1 he came to my room1 and we sat down for a talk which lasted nearly from #e to #g o'clock4 ,he began by reading a part of the rough draft of the new translation of ,st4 ,matthew in ,mongolian1 which happened to be lying on my table4 ,he suggested that in place of prophet1 a word which has been transferred bodily1 we should use juoug beelikty4 ,he also remarked that our translation of the foal of an ass was not the thing1 and gave the word he thought was right4 ,he was accompanied by a young lama1 who agreed with him in this suggestion4 ,the lama seemed well up1 read ,mongolian as easily as ,toobshing himself1 and when ,toobshing gave the ,thibetan word for juoug beelikty1 the lama looked over his shoulder1 spied a book on a shelf1 took it1 found the place at once1 and showed me the ,thibetan and ,mongolian side by side4 ',shortly after this ,toobshing set himself up and proposed questions and cases such as3 ',is hell eternal8 ',are all the heathen who have not heard the ,gospel damned8 ',if a man lives without sin1 is he damned8 ',if a man disregards ,christ1 but worships a supreme ,god in an indefinite way1 is he saved or not8 ',how can ,christ save a man8 ',if a man prays to ,christ to save him morn and even1 but goes on sinning meantime1 how about him8 ',if a man prays for a thing1 does he get it8 ',do your unbelieving countrymen in ,england all go to hell8 ',are there prophets now8 ',is a new-born child a sinner8 ',is one man then punished for another's fault8 ',has anybody died1 gone to heaven or hell1 and come back to report8 ,a ,mongol has6 ',did ,buddha live8 and so forth4 ',answer1 ,he lived1 but did not do what is now said of him4 ',if so1 how do you know that the account of ,christ is not made up in the same way8 ,could not the disciples conspire to make the ,gospels8 ',to these and all other questions ,i endeavoured to give proper answers2 and this1 our most delightful and profitable talk1 lasted till there was just time for me to snatch a hasty meal before the usual service at #g4cj ,p4,m4' ,discussions of this nature were calculated to deepen thought and to promote heart-searching on the part of the ,christian worker4 ,they also illustrate some of the special difficulties which missionaries in ,china and ,india have to meet4 ,with an elaborate religious ritual and literature1 both ,buddhist and ,hindu can often1 and do often1 object against ,christianity many of those1 sometimes obvious1 sometimes subtle1 difficulties which the ,gospel of ,jesus ,christ alone can remove1 and which it removes by sanctifying and dominating the heart4 ,in ,february #ahgc ,gilmour visited ,tientsin for the first time since he passed through it on his arrival in ,china4 ,here he took part in several readings1 temperance meetings1 and religious services4 ,at one of the readings3-- ',one joke happened4 ,i was asked to give a recitation at a penny reading for sailors4 ,the piece was ,the ,execution of ,montrose4 ,i got up in tragic style1 said1 ,come hither1 ,evan ,cameron1 with the appropriate beckoning action1 when a sailor in the middle of the audience responded to the call1 pressed his way out of the passage1 and was making for the platform4 ,i could not stand this1 so ,i uttered a yell1 and rushed off to hide myself1 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 ship4' ,,chapter ,,iv ,,the ,,first ,,campaign ,,in ,,mongolia ,in #ahgc ,gilmour resumed his visits to the ,plain and on ,march #ae he was at ,kalgan1 writing1 ',no appearance of getting away to the north4 ,i promenade daily the streets and accost ,mongols1 but with no success as to getting camels1 or even a horse to hire as far as ,mahabul's4 ,a day or two later ,mahabul arrived in ,kalgan on his way to ,peking1 and by his aid ,gilmour secured two camels1 and on ,march #bd he started north1 reaching ,mahabul's tent on the #bhth4 ,he at once endeavoured to secure the services of a ,mongol named ,lojing1 and the usual series of delays and vexations occurred4 ',to-day 7,march #bi7 ,i got impatient and went for a walk4 ,came back1 and ,lojing came and said he would go4 ,felt relieved2 he wants me to come back this way1 and ,i consent1 though ,i would rather not4 ,he came back in the afternoon1 saying that he could not get off his engagement to read prayers with some other lama for ,gichik's soul1#c so that we cannot start before ,thursday at noon4 ,mahabul's wife gave him some whisky1 and he went to the officers and got drunk4 ,he waited for a camel which was offered for sale4 ,the camel came when ,i was out4 ,he was drunk1 did not watch it1 so it drifted away before the storm4 ,a boy on horseback was sent after it4 ,when it came it was a perfect object1 yet they asked twenty taels for it4 ,he is to go after a camel to-morrow4 ,he was so drunk that1 remembering ,gichik's fate1 ,i am uneasy to think of his riding my tall camel4 ,o ,lord1 give me patience6' #c ,the son of the chief referred to on page #hj1 who had recently been killed by a fall from his horse4 ,this and the three subsequent journeys over the ,plain1 made in the course of #ahgc1 were full of incident illustrative of the difficulties of the work1 the peculiarities of the people1 and the restless energy and indomitable perseverance of the missionary4 ,but the limitations of space forbid us to linger2 we extract a few notes from the diary4 ,it was on the second of these journeys1 while at ,lama ,miao1 that he witnessed the ',mirth of ,hell1' as he calls it1 described in ,among the ,mongols1 ,chapter ,,xi4 ',april #ai1 #ahgc4--,to-day had more provocation from my ,mongol1 and my earnest prayer is that ,i may be able to stand it all1 and not get soured in temper and feeling against the ,mongols4 ,i must have patience4 ,some knowledge of camel's flesh also would help me not a little4 ,as it stands1 ,i feel an incompetent duffer4' ',may #f4--,travelled parallel to the road in a stupid manner over hill and dale1 because ,lojing chose to consider it a nearer way4 ,the way was no nearer at all and much more steep4 ,at last got to a lot of tents down in a hollow1 called the ,great ,water 7,ihha ,osso74 ,had quite a lot of people4 ,one lama the most provoking child 7#be years old7 ,i think ,i ever met4 ,he was a perfect nuisance2 even the tone of his voice ,i could not abide4 ,this individual came to my tent even after ,i was down in bed4 ,i was glad he was done for once4 ,next morning he was in my tent before ,i was up1 remarking1 ,what a great sleeper you are6' ,last night he had remarked1 ,how early you go to bed6 ,i am afraid he is the most empty1 poor fellow ,i have known4' ',may #ac4--,to-day also occurred another of my lama's conspicuous stupidities2 after asking the road to a set of tents where dwelt friends of his own1 he suddenly left the road and began the ascent of a steep hill4 ,i asked where he was going4 ,he said to the tents4 ,i followed some distance1 and then from the convergence of paths judged that there was no pass where he was going1 and accordingly shouted to him to stop4 ,stop he did1 and also looked thunder4 ,i asked him1 ,have you travelled this way before8 ,no1 said he4 ,come this way1 and follow the road4 ,you go that road1 said he1 ,i go this road4 ,nothing of the kind1 said ,i4 ,you come here1 and we'll get to tents4 ,he came2 but then and there began one of his intolerable tirades against me1 saying how disobedient ,i was1 and that this was his own native place1 he knew4 ,what a bad man ,i was6 ,he had hardly finished his fury when lo1 behold1 close before us1 right in our path1 the very tents we were looking for6 ,he is1 to use a ,mongol idiom1 ,stupider than stupid4' ',sept4 #ab4--,we are now in a diphtheria district4 ,i go into it1 and hope to remain some time1 trusting myself to the hands of ,god4 ,i am safe enough in ,his hands4 ,if ,he can forward mission work more by my death than by my life1 ,his will be done4' ',sept4 #ah4--,to-day let pass me1 as all were starting from the temple1 about six men and three women without telling them of ,jesus4' ,at the close of the year ,mr4 ,gilmour sent home another elaborate report1 a large portion of which appeared in the ,chronicle of the ,london ,missionary ,society for ,december #ahgd4 ,we extract here a few paragraphs not then printed for obvious reasons4 ,there was still a difficulty with the ,american ,board1 and there was still in ,london some inability to grasp the exact bearing and the full needs of the situation4 ,the first extract is given here simply because it illustrates the noble unselfishness of ,gilmour's character1 and the way in which he persistently refused to be stopped by hindrances that would have barred the road against most men4 ,he supplied a statement of account showing that even with the most rigid economy he had exceeded his allowance by #aaj taels1 equivalent to from #bel4 to #cjl4 ',this leaves me with a deficit of #aaj taels #fc cents1 and explains how it is that ,i ask next year's 7#ahgd7 grant to be raised to #aej taels at least4 ,i had only two courses open to me1 either to use up the grants for #ahgb and #ahgc1 and stop without accomplishing all ,i could1 or to make full proof of my ministry and exceed the grants4 ,considering the cause more important than silver1 ,i chose the latter course1 and1 despite the most rigid economy1 exceeded to the above amount4 ,present circumstances enable me to make up the deficit from my own private purse1 and ,i don't ask to be refunded1 but ,i don't know that ,i shall be flush of money next year1 and do ask that the grant may be not less than #aej taels1 which is the lowest estimate ,i can make4 ',as proof of the reasonableness of my request1 and of my anxiety to avoid drawing on the funds of the ,society beyond what is absolutely necessary1 ,i may be allowed to state that this year1 in addition to making up the lacking #aaj-fc taels1 ,i walked afoot behind my caravan in the desert for weeks1 to avoid the expense of purchasing another camel4' ,on the question of ,christian literature he placed on record some wise words1 as needful now almost as when he penned them1 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 tongue4 ,the reply of ,candace's eunuch1 ',how can ,i understand unless someone shall guide me8' meets the missionary of to-day1 as it met ,philip in the days of old4 ,the practically unanimous opinion of the ,shanghai ,conference held in #ahij shows that the same need is still strongly felt by the missionaries of all the societies4 ',in addition to the ,scriptures and the ,catechism1 ,i think small simple books containing little portions of ,scripture history or little portions of ,scripture teaching would be very useful4 ,the ,bible is all very well for those who have advanced a little1 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 places1 or quotations from the prophet ,isaiah or ,jeremiah4 ,when a ,mongol comes upon these he feels inclined to give up in despair4 ,even in ,china my experience has been that people are slow to buy a complete gospel1 even at less than the paper on which it is printed costs1 while they will buy with avidity very small books at almost their full value4 ',chinamen themselves notice this1 and when surrounded by a crowd ,i have heard them remark laughingly1 ,small books go quick4 ,remembering my instructions1 which among other things say1 ,pause before you translate1 ,i have hitherto refrained1 but now have a very small illustrated narrative in the press1 another also illustrated in manuscript1 and other two not illustrated in contemplation4 ,if ,i find funds--the ,peking branch of the ,tract ,society is bankrupt just now--and get them out1 you shall have specimens4 ,probably they won't look well1 being first attempts1 but you need not be ashamed of the ,mongol of them1 as they have been written under my direction by a crack native scholar1 and carefully revised by ,schereschewsky1 who is a general linguist of good ability1 and has paid so much attention to ,mongolian that he revised the ,gospel by ,matthew in conjunction with ,mr4 ,edkins1 and is at present at work on a ,mongol dictionary4' ,medical missions were only in their infancy in #ahgd1 and ,gilmour in the same report describes what many another has felt4 ,he illustrates also one of his fixed principles1 viz41 always do something2 and never let the work stop simply because you cannot do what is ideally the best4 ',i know very little about diseases and cures1 but the little ,i do know is extremely useful4 ,almost every ,mongol1 man and woman and child1 has something that wants putting right4 ,to have studied medicine at home would have been a great help1 but though ,i cannot hope now ever to gain a scientific knowledge of the subject1 ,i am glad that in our hospital here ,i have a good opportunity of learning much from ,dr4 ,dudgeon1 and all ,i can do now is to make the best of this good opportunity4 ,i am told that professional men at home are suspicious of giving a little medical knowledge to young men going out as missionaries4 ,i sided with them till ,i came here1 but here the case is different4 ,at home it is all very well to stand before the fire in your room1 within sight of the brass plate on the doctor's door on the opposite side of the street1 and talk about the danger of little knowledge2 but when you are two weeks' journey from any assistance1 and see your fellow-traveller sitting silent and swollen with violent toothache for days together1 you fervently wish you had a pair of forceps and the dangerous amount of knowledge4 ,and when in remote places you have the choice of burying your servant or stopping his diarrhoea1 would you prefer to talk nonsense about professional skill rather than give him a dose of chlorodyne1 even though it should be at the risk of administering one drop more or less than a man who writes ,m4,d4 to his name would have done8 ',i speak earnestly and from experience4 ,no one has more detestation than ,i have for the quack that patters in the presence of trained skill2 but from what ,i have seen and known of mission life1 both in myself and others1 since coming to ,north ,china1 ,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 themselves1 or those about them1 may sicken and die from curable diseases before the doctor could be summoned1 even supposing he could leave his post and come4' ,during the summer of #ahgd ,james ,gilmour continued his itinerating work among the nomads of the ,plain4 ,he met with much to discourage him1 but he steadily enlarged his knowledge of the people and his acquaintance with the best methods of work among them4 ,how difficult it was to adapt ordinary methods of teaching to their habits may be judged from the following sketch3-- ',my tent is not only my dwelling-house and dispensary1 but also my chapel4 ,i always endeavour to instruct the visitors and patients as far as ,i can4 ,preaching to ,mongols is a little different from preaching at home--a little different from preaching in ,china even4 ,you can get a congregation of heathen ,chinese to listen for1 say1 twenty minutes1 or half an hour1 or even longer2 but begin to preach to a lot of ,mongols1 and they begin to talk to each other1 or perhaps to ask you questions about your dress and your country4 ',the nature of their own service is partly to blame for this4 ,when a ,mongol sends for a lama or two to read prayers in his tent1 the inmates1 though present1 don't think it necessary to attend much to what is going on4 ,though they did attend1 they would not be able to understand1 so talking goes on among them pretty much as usual4 ,if ,i were to stick myself up and begin1 and start off sermonising to them1 ,i would be treated much as they treat their own lamas2 so ,i confine my preaching to conversations and arguments--a style of teaching which ,i find secures their attention'4 ,many1 too1 are the sketches in his letters and diaries of the men he met4 ,they are all drawn with that remarkable and largely unconscious power1 which he possessed so fully1 of being able to see very vividly the striking points and details of passing events1 and of enabling those to whom he wrote1 by his aptly chosen words1 also to see exactly what passed before his eyes4 ,one or two out of many examples must suffice3-- ',this season 7#ahgd7 ,i met a deaf and dumb man4 ,he was uneducated1 but of great quickness and intelligence4 ,he could converse easily and readily with his fellow-,mongols by signs1 and ,i could ask many simple questions and understand his answers without trouble4 ,his perception was remarkable4 ,while sitting in the dusk outside my tent1 a messenger came from his father's tent to tell him that some of the sheep were missing4 ,a single turn of the hand followed by a glance around1 as if searching for something1 was all that was required4 ,he had been sitting quietly in the circle1 looking at us talking2 but the moment the communication was made he uttered an inarticulate sound betraying great excitement1 knocked the ashes out of his pipe1 stuck it into his boot1 threw himself into the saddle1 and rode off into the gathering darkness to search for the lost sheep4 ,all agreed that he had an extra share of intelligence1 and he was evidently regarded as a capable and useful member of the community4 ',one of the sad sights seen was that of a sick ,chinaman near his end4 ,he was one of a company of four1 who went about dressing skins of which the ,mongols make garments4 ,he had been an opium taker1 and an incurable diarrhoea had seized him4 ,at the time he was lodging with the ,mongol for whom the party had come to dress skins2 but the ,mongol1 seeing he would die1 and fearing trouble and expense over his death1 ordered him off the premises4 ,borrowing an ox cart1 his companions had him conveyed away some five or ten miles1 jolted in the rude vehicle and suffering from the blazing sun1 to a place where some ,chinese acquaintances were digging a well4 ,they had a tent of their own1 most likely a poor ragged white cloth affair1 open to the winds and pervious to the rain2 and in this the poor man hoped he might be permitted to die4 ,it was the dark side of the picture4 ,the glorious summer1 the green and flowery plains1 the fattening flocks1 the herds exulting in the deep pastures1 the gay ,mongols riding about1 the white tents bathed in the sunlight and gleaming from afar4 ,in the midst of all this1 a feeble man1 far from home and kin1 sick unto death1 cast forth from his poor lodging1 and seeking for a place to lie down and die in4 ,the ,mongols are a hospitable race1 but pray ye that ye may not get sick on their hands4 ',on the whole ,i have been very well received everywhere1 and have been treated with great confidence4 ,i have sometimes wondered at the readiness with which they take medicine from the hand of an utter stranger4 ,one reason why they are ready to trust me1 doubtless1 is that going among them1 they can go round my tent and see that there is nothing secret and terrible behind it2 they enter it and see all that is in it4 ,they know and see that ,i am utterly in their power1 and1 perhaps1 reason that ,i am there with no intent to harm1 because if ,i made trouble ,i could not move another step without their consent4 ',in the shape of converts ,i have seen no result4 ,i have not1 as far as ,i am aware1 seen any one who even wanted to be a ,christian2 but by healing their diseases ,i have had opportunity to tell many of ,jesus1 the ,great ,physician4' ,,chapter ,v ,,marriage ,during the year #ahgc ,james ,gilmour devoted much thought to the natural and all-important question of marriage4 ,uncommon as he was1 in so many ways1 it was1 perhaps1 to be expected that in this great undertaking he would depart from ordinary methods4 ,the ,rev4 ,s4 ,e4 ,meech had married1 in #ahgb1 ,miss ,prankard1 of ,london4 ,after the return of ,mr4 ,edkins to ,england1 in ,may #ahgc1 ,mr4 ,gilmour went to board with ,mr4 and ,mrs4 ,meech4 ,there he saw the portrait of ,mrs4 ,meech's sister1 and often heard her referred to in conversation4 ,towards the close of #ahgc he took ,mrs4 ,meech into his confidence1 and asked permission to enter into correspondence with her sister4 ,the following most characteristic letters show the course of subsequent events3-- ',peking1 ,january #ad1 #ahgd4 ',my dear ,parents1--,i have written and proposed to a girl in ,england4 ,it is true ,i have never seen her and ,i know very little about her2 but what ,i do know is good4 ,she is the sister of ,mrs4 ,meech1 and is with her mother in ,london4 ,her mother supports herself and daughter by keeping a school4 ,one of the hindrances will be perhaps that the mother will not be willing to part with her daughter1 as she is1 no doubt1 the life of the school4 ,i don't know1 so ,i have written and made the offer1 and leave them to decide4 ,if she cannot come1 then there is no harm done4 ,if she can arrange to come1 then my hope is fulfilled4 ,if the young lady says ,yes1 she or her friends will no doubt write you1 as ,i have asked them to do4444 ,you may think ,i am rash in writing to a girl ,i have never seen4 ,if you say so1 ,i may just say that ,i have something of the same feeling2 but what am ,i to do8 ,in addition ,i am very easy-minded over it all1 because ,i have exercised the best of my thoughts on the subject1 and put the whole matter into the hands of ,god1 asking ,him1 if it be best to bring her1 if it be not best to keep her away1 and ,he can manage the whole thing well4' ,by some mischance this letter was delayed1 and ,mr4 ,gilmour's relatives were startled1 one ,march day in #ahgd1 by receiving from an entirely unknown lady in ,london a letter1 containing the unlooked-for statement3 ',your son1 ,mr4 ,gilmour1 of ,peking1 has asked my daughter to write to you1 telling you of her decision to join him as his wife4 ,she has wished me to write to you for her1 and will be pleased to hear from you when you feel inclined to write4' ,the friendly intercourse that followed soon convinced ,mr4 ,gilmour's family1 as any knowledge of ,emily ,prankard herself soon convinced all who made her acquaintance1 that1 however unusual it might appear1 this was indeed one of the marriages made in heaven4 ,by both parties ,god's blessing and guidance were invoked1 upon both ,his benediction rested1 and1 after a brief separation in this world1 they are now both enriched with the fuller knowledge and the perfect joy of the life beyond4 ,no time was lost in the arrangements for ,miss ,prankard's departures to ,china4 ,in a letter to his mother1 dated ,october #b1 #ahgd1 ,mr4 ,gilmour writes3-- ',you have seen ,miss ,prankard1 but you have not told me what you think of her4 ,she was delighted with her visit to ,scotland and with you all4 ,you will be glad to hear that ,i have had some delightful letters from her4 ,i wrote her1 and she has written me in the most unrestrained way concerning her spiritual hopes and condition1 and though we have never seen each other1 yet we know more of each other's inmost life and soul than1 ,i am quite certain1 most lovers know of each other even after long personal courtship4 ,it is quite delightful to think that even now we can talk by letter with perfect unreserve1 and ,i tell you this because ,i know you will be glad to hear it4 ,i knew she was a pious girl1 else ,i would not have asked her to come out to be a missionary's wife1 but she turns out better even than ,i thought1 and ,i am not much afraid as to how we shall get on together4' ,in the course of the autumn of #ahgd ,miss ,prankard sailed1 and in a letter to the writer1 ,december #ac1 #ahgd1 ,gilmour thus refers to the close of his unusual but satisfactory courtship3-- ',i was married last week1 ,tuesday1 ,december #h6 ',mrs4 ,meech's sister is ,mrs4 ,gilmour4 ,we never saw each other till a week before we were married1 and my friends here drew long faces and howled at me for being rash and inconsiderate4 ,what if you don't like each other8 ,how then8 ,it is for life6 ,as if ,i did not know all this long ago4 ,well1 the time came1 the vessel was due at ,shanghai1 but would not come4 ,mr4 ,meech and ,i went down to ,tientsin and waited there a fortnight1 but no tidings4 ,at last on the evening of ,sabbath1 ,november #bi1 a steamer's whistle was heard miles away down the river4 ,it was ,mr4 ,meech's turn to preach4 ,after sermon he and ,i walked away down the river side to see what we could see4 ,after a while a light hove round the last bend1 then a green light1 then the red light1 then came the three lights of the steamer6 ,we listened4 ,it was the high-pressure engine of the steam launch which is used to lighten the deep-sea steamers before coming up the narrow river4 ,fifteen minutes more and she was at the landing stage4 ,a friend went on board4 ,miss ,prankard was on board the ,taku1 which was still outside the bar1 waiting for water to bring her over and up to the settlement4 ,the lighter was going to unload and start down the river at five ,a4,m41 and ,meech and ,i went in her4 ,about eight ,a4,m4 we met the steamer coming up1 and when she came abreast we saw ,miss ,prankard on board1 but could not get from our vessel to hers4 ,the tide was favourable for running up1 and they were afraid to lose a minute1 so would not stop the steamer2 we did not get on board till we reached the bund at ,tientsin about eleven ,a4,m4 ,we started for ,peking next day1 got there on ,thursday1 and were married following ,tuesday4 ',our honeymoon is now almost over4 ,i am to have only a week of it4 ,i hope to start with ,meech on a mission trip to the country on ,tuesday next4' ,miss ,prankard's first view of her future husband was hardly what she might have expected4 ,mr4 ,meech has also sketched that scene on the river4 ',the morning was cold1 and ,gilmour was clad in an old overcoat which had seen much service in ,siberia1 and had a woollen comforter round his neck1 having more regard to warmth than to appearance4 ,we had to follow back to ,tientsin1 ,gilmour being thought by those on board the steamer to be the engineer6' ,two letters may be quoted in this connection4 ,the first was to one of his most intimate ,scotch friends4 ',london ,mission1 ,peking1 ',january #ca1 #ahge4 ',my dear----1 ,your kind1 long1 and much-looked-for letter dated ,may #ab1 #ahgc1 and ,august #ba1 #ahgd1 reached me on ,january #i1 #ahge4 ,many thanks for it1 but ,i think it would be quite as well in future to send me half the quantity in half the time1 if you really find you cannot write me oftener4 ,as ,i was married on ,december #h1 #ahgd1 to ,mrs4 ,meech's sister1 that lady1 ,mrs4 ,gilmour1 had the great pleasure of reading your earnest1 long1 and reiterated warning to me not to have her4 ,your warning came too late4 ,had you posted your letter on ,may #ab1 #ahgc1 it might have been in time1 as the first letter that opened our acquaintance was written in ,january #ahgd4 ,if nothing else will have effect with you1 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 early1 even though they should not be so long and full4 ',about my wife3 as ,i want you to know her1 ,i introduce you to her4 ,she is a jolly girl1 as much1 perhaps more1 of a ,christian and a ,christian missionary than ,i am4 ,i don't know whether ,i told you how it came about4 ,i proposed first to a ,scotch girl1 but found ,i was too late2 ,i then put myself and the direction of this affair--,i mean the finding of a wife--into ,god's hands1 asking ,him to look me out one1 a good one too1 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 girl1 and with some hope that she would not disdain the offer4 ,we had never seen each other1 and had never corresponded1 but she had heard much about me from people in ,england who knew me1 and ,i had heard a good deal of her and seen her letters written to her sister and to her sister's husband4 ,the first letter ,i wrote her was to propose1 and the first letter she wrote me was to accept--romantic enough6 ',i proposed in ,january1 went up to ,mongolia in spring1 rode about on my camels till ,july1 and came down to ,kalgan to find that ,i was an accepted man6 ,i went to ,tientsin to meet her2 we arrived here on ,thursday1 and were married on ,tuesday morning4 ,we had a quiet week1 then ,i went to the country on a nine days' tour1 and came back two days before ,christmas4 ,we have been at home ever since4 ,such is the romance of a matter-of-fact man4 ',you will see that the whole thing was gone about simply on the faith principle1 and from its success ,i am inclined to think more and more highly of the plan4 ,without any gammon1 ,i am much more happy than ever even in my day-dreams ,i ventured to imagine ,i might be4 ,it is not only me that my wife pleases1 but she has gained golden opinions from most of the people who have met her among my friends and acquaintances in ,scotland and ,china4 ,my parents were scared one day last year by receiving a letter from a lady in ,england1 a lady whose name even they had not known before1 stating that her daughter had decided to become my wife4 ,didn't it stir up the old people6 ,they had never heard a word about it6 ,my letter to them1 posted at the same time with the proposal1 had been delayed in ,london4 ,the young lady went to ,scotland1 and was with them two weeks1 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 choice4 ',perhaps ,i am tiring you1 but ,i want to let you know all about it1 and to assure you that you need not be the least shy of me or of my ,english wife4 ,she is a good lassie1 any quantity better than me1 and just as handy as a ,scotch lass would have been4 ,it was great fun for her to read your tirade about ,english wives and your warning about her4 ,she is a jolly kind of body1 and does not take offence1 but ,i guess if she comes across you she will wake you up a bit4' ,the other letter was to ,miss ,bremner1 and referred to the part ,gilmour was to take in her marriage in #ahhc to his brother ,alexander3-- ',now as to your affair1 a much more serious matter4 ,alex has said something about my part4 ,i want to take part1 but only such a small part as will make it true to say1 assisted by the brother of the bridegroom4 ,it is for you and ,dr4 ,macfadyen to say what that small part shall be2 all ,i have to say about it1 the smaller the better4 ',my experiences of the ceremonies of social ,christianity have been mixed a little4 ,in ,england ,i baptised a child by a wrong name1 and had actually to do it again4 ,in ,china on a similar occasion ,i began by saying1 ,friends1 ,god has given you this child1 when the seeming father stopped me1 and explained that ,god had not given them this child1 but he himself had picked it up in a field where it had been exposed4 ',i think ,i married only one ,chinese couple1 and to this day ,i doubt if either the one or the other uttered a syllable where they should have said1 ,i do4 ,in my own case ,i think ,i must have said ,i will in a feeble voice1 for my wife when her turn came sung out ,i will in a voice that startled herself and me1 and made it ominous how much will she was going to have in the matter4 ,wishing you all blessings1 ',believe me yours truly1 ',,james ,,gilmour4' ,,chapter ,,vi ',,in ,,journeyings ,,often1 ,,in ,,perils ,,of ,,rivers' ,the year following the marriage1 owing to the absence of ,dr4 ,dudgeon on furlough1 was spent almost entirely in ,peking4 ,in his absence ,mr4 ,gilmour took charge of what may be called the unprofessional work of the hospital1 the purely medical superintendence being in the hands of ,dr4 ,bushell of the ,british ,legation4 ,he varied this work and the routine of ordinary mission duties by an occasional trip to other centres where fairs were being held1 in the company of ,mr4 ,murray1 of the ,national ,bible ,society of ,scotland1 for the purpose of selling ,christian books4 ,there was often a very keen friendly rivalry as to which could sell the most1 and not unfrequently very large quantities of tracts and booklets were thus put into circulation4 ,early in #ahge1 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 like1 he set up his ,mongol tent in the compound1 and invited them in companies of five or seven to partake of a ,mongol dinner1 cooked in ,mongol fashion1 and served as on the ,plain4 ,his diary records that five such entertainments were necessary1 the utmost limit of the tent accommodation being reached on each occasion4 ',the guests came1' we are told1 'at the appointed time1 and the fire of wood was lighted in the middle of the tent4 ,while the guests sat around on felt spread upon the ground1 ,gilmour proceeded to cook the millet and the mutton which furnished the feast4 ,when all was ready a blessing was asked and the meal was eaten4 ,on one occasion a reverend gentleman was called on to ask the blessing1 but declined1 feeling apparently that what he was expected to eat was not of such a quality that he could ask a blessing on it4 ,gilmour used often to refer to this with much amusement1 though at the time he felt some chagrin4' ,in #ahgf the ,mongolian trips were resumed4 ,no colleague had yet been secured for him1 and1 with a bravery and consecration beyond all praise1 ,mrs4 ,gilmour accompanied him4 ,this she did not once simply4 ,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 loneliness1 which had been so hard to bear in past years1 were powerful reasons4 ,but she went a second and a third time4 ,she went after the novelty had worn off1 after she had learned by very stern experience how hard and rough the life was1 after previous exposure had told but too severely upon her physical strength4 ,and thus she deserves the eulogy passed upon her by her husband3 ',she is a better missionary than ,i4' ,comparisons of this kind are obviously out of the question4 ,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 compound4 ,and if ,james ,gilmour manifested a ,christlike love for the ignorant and stolid ,mongols1 so also did the delicately nurtured and refined lady who1 in order to do her part in winning them to the ,saviour1 endured privations1 faced perils1 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 endurance4 ,here are some pictures of what this life meant to ,mrs4 ,gilmour4 ,the first journey which they took together lasted from ,april #d until ,september #bc1 #ahgf1 one hundred and thirty-six days being passed in ,mongolia itself4 ',on the evening of ,april #be we came upon our servants' tent1 already pitched beside some ,mongol tents near a stream4 ,our things were unloaded from the ,chinese cart1 which soon drove off and left us fairly launched out on the ,plain4 ,we had two tents--one for ourselves and one for our servants4 ,they were both alike1 made of common blue ,chinese cloth outside1 and of commoner white ,chinese cloth inside4 ,it was originally intended that our tent should be private for our retirement and for ,mrs4 ,gilmour's use2 but we soon found that this idea could not be carried out4 ,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 haughtiness4 ,that they should think us uncongenial and distant would have been an obstacle to our success among them4 ,so we made a virtue of necessity1 and kept open house in the literal sense of the word4 ,at our meals1 our devotions1 our ablutions1 there they were--much amused and interested1 of course4 ,it was sometimes annoying to have them so much and so constantly about1 but there was no help for it1 and soon we began to care little for them1 and took their presence not only as a matter of course1 but without being disturbed by it4 ',one advantage of this sort of public life was that ,mrs4 ,gilmour1 being almost constantly in the presence of the spoken language1 picked it up very accurately and very rapidly4 ,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 use4 ',another advantage of this sort of public life was that one gained the friendship of the people4 ,this perfect freedom of intercourse pleased them much1 and even conciliated those not very friendly inclined4 ,it was quite common to hear visitors remark that1 while other foreigners in ,mongolia are distant and harsh1 these people were gentle and accessible1 and that such friendly people did a great deal to remove the unfavourable impressions made by other less considerate travellers4 ',our sojourn extended to the end of ,august1 giving us a little over four months at a stretch of tent life4 ,in that time we had experience of many kinds of weather4 ,at first it was cold4 ,even in ,may ice was to be seen in the mornings4 ,then came heat1 premature and burning1 and all the more trying for ourselves and cattle on account of the lack of rain4 ,then we had a furious tempest1 which raged for about thirty-six hours1 overturning our covered cart and threatening to sweep ourselves and our tents away4 ,we had to load down our tent ropes with bags of earth1 stones1 sod1 the bodies of our carts1 wheels1 boxes1 and anything we could find1 and even then we had but a precarious existence4 ,every now and then1 by day and by night1 there would arise a shout from the one tent or the other1 and amid the roar of the wind we heard cries for the hammer and the spare tent pins4 ,we managed to fix ourselves without being blown away1 and when the storm was over we patched our riven tents1 and were thankful we had weathered it so well4 ,then came the summer rains--late in season1 it is true1 but great in strength--pouring and lashing and roaring1 the great drops bursting through our rent cloth1 broken up into spray and looking like pepper shaken from a box4 ,we had waterproof sheets1 but it was next to impossible to keep anything dry4 ,while the rain lasted we sat huddled in our rain cloaks1 or1 spade in hand1 cut new channels for suddenly extemporised streams and pools that grew larger and continued to come closer to our bedding and boxes4 ,as soon as the sun returned1 there was a general drying of garments1 mattresses1 and sheepskin robes4 ,the heat was perhaps the most trying of our meteorological experiences2 but even that passed away at last1 and before we had left the plains night frost had reappeared1 covering the pools about well mouths with thin sheets of ice4 ,illustration3 ,a ,,mongol ,,encampment ',later in the season1 one afternoon1 the loungers in the tent looked out and remarked1 ,the ,mandarin has come1 and gave place to a richly dressed1 corpulent ,mongol1 who entered the tent1 followed by one of his servants4 ,salutations over1 he soon showed his colours and unmasked his batteries4 ,he had come to fight1 and we both went at it tooth and nail4 ,he had read a good deal1 and had come evidently prepared and primed1 not in any spirit of unfriendliness1 but under the evident conviction that a better case could be made out for ,buddhism than for ,christianity4 ,the tent was crammed with eager listeners1 and we reasoned together from the ,creation to the finish1 including all manner of side issues and important questions4 ,it was a long time before he could be convinced that our ,jesus was not spoken of and made known in the ,buddhist classics4 ,when he was at length satisfied 7on that point71 he wanted to know about the ,trinity2 how men could get good2 how it was right that men should escape punishment due to their misdeeds by praying to ,jesus2 why ,god allowed animals1 such as starving dogs1 to lead a life of suffering2 why ,god did not keep sin from entering the world2 how could ,jesus come1 when it is said ,he is always with us2 and how about the souls who died before ,jesus came4 ',at last the sun got low1 and the ,mandarin1 with many words of friendship1 rode away1 promising to come another day4 ,but he never came4' ,in a later journey they had a very narrow escape from one of the frequent perils of this tent life3-- ',in ,mongolia we had one rather serious adventure4 ,the south edge of the ,plain is famed for storms1 and the night we camped there1 just after dark1 began one of the fiercest thunderstorms ,i can remember having seen4 ,the wind roared1 the rain dashed1 the tent quivered2 the thunder rattled with a metallic ring1 like shafts of iron dashing against each other1 as it darted along a sheet-iron sky2 the water rose in the tent till part of our bed was afloat4 ,it was hardly possible to hear each other speak2 but amid and above all the din of the tempest rose one sound not to be mistaken1 the roar of rushing water4 ,there was a river to right of us1 but the sound came more from the left4 ,venturing out1 ,i found there was a great swift-flowing river on both sides of us2 that we could not move from the little piece of elevated land plain on which we had our tent2 and that a few inches more water1 or an obstacle getting into the path of the upper river1 would send the full force of the current down on our tents4 ,flocks1 herds1 men are said to be swept away now and again in ,mongolia1 and for an hour our case seemed doubtful2 but about #aa ,p4,m4 the storm ceased and the danger was over1 and1 though we had hardly anything left1 we went to sleep1 thanking ,god for ,his preserving mercy4' ,courageous1 undoubtedly1 ,mrs4 ,gilmour was2 her example of self-sacrifice in the ,master's cause was lofty in itself1 and is stimulating to every ,christian mind4 ,yet it is to be greatly feared that the first of these journeys aggravated1 if it did not actually develope1 the disease from which she ultimately died4 ,she found the ceaseless round of millet and mutton so unpalatable as at the last to be able hardly to eat at all2 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 existence1 and thus make adequate preparation for the life4 ,yet1 in #ahgh1 she not only accompanied her husband again1 better equipped by reason of previous experience1 but she also took with her their infant boy4 ,the winter of #ahgf in ,peking was devoted to work more or less directly bearing upon the ,christian conquest of the nomad tribes4 ',since returning from ,mongolia ,i have had here a teacher whom ,i had come from the plains4 ,i read some ,buddhist classics with him1 then had him write to my dictation some of the more striking incidents narrated in the ,book of ,daniel2 then finally had him write for me an explanation of the way of salvation through ,jesus4 ,the extracts from ,daniel were written mostly with the idea of accustoming him to my dictation2 but the explanation of ,christianity was a tract that ,i had long wanted to write1 in which ,i sought to make it as plain as possible1 not only that ,jesus does save1 but also that there is no salvation through any other name4 ,the ,religious ,tract ,society has consented to print for me both the extract from ,daniel and the explanation of ,christianity4' ,during #ahgg the ever-recurring question1 inevitable1 perhaps1 and yet very paralysing to any steady progress1 as to whether it was really worth while to continue labour in such a sterile field1 came up once more for discussion4 ,in an elaborate report1 designed rather to elicit the views of the home authorities than to express his own1 dated ,august #ah1 #ahgg1 ,mr4 ,gilmour depicts rapidly and clearly his relations1 on the one hand1 to the workers in the station of the ,american ,board at ,kalgan1 and1 on the other1 to his colleagues of the ,north ,china ,committee of the ,london ,society4 ,the ,american ,board had sent out another missionary1 and ,mr4 ,gilmour was at first inclined to the view that1 although working independently1 they might yet act practically as colleagues4 ',in addition1 the new man1 ,rev4 ,w4 ,p4 ,sprague1 and ,i one day undertook to climb a mountain together1 and1 by the time we got half-way up1 we discovered that our ideas about working together quite agreed1 and that there was a fair and good prospect of our making good harmonious colleagues in one work1 though we belonged to different societies and hailed from different nations4 ,here1 then1 the thing seemed to be accomplished2 here was a colleague ready to my hand1 or ,i to his4' ,but ,mrs4 ,gulick1 a most energetic and enthusiastic missionary to the ,mongols1 died1 her husband was invalided to ,japan1 and ,mr4 ,sprague found himself with the whole mission on his shoulders4 ',if things are to remain as they are1 it amounts pretty much to this1 that in the warmer months of the year ,i can travel through parts of ,mongolia teaching the ,gospel and dispensing medicines2 the rest of the year ,i can turn my attention to ,chinese work in ,peking4 ,this is a pleasant enough arrangement for me1 but it is not a very vigorous prosecution of the work of the ,mongol mission4 ,on the other hand1 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 alive4 ',as regards the opinion of other members of the ,committee here1 ,i have never called for any formal expression of it1 nor have they 7the members of ,committee7 ever been invited to discuss the question of the ,mongol mission in committee1 but ,i know their individual opinions in an informal way4 ,messrs4 ,meech and ,barradale don't say much2 ,mr4 ,owen thinks we will never do much in ,mongolia working upon so distant a base as ,peking2 ,mr4 ,lees thinks it a pity to take up such a seemingly unproductive field while so many more promising fields call for attention2 he moreover thinks that the only way to do much for ,mongolia is through ,china2 ,dr4 ,edkins thinks ,i spend too much time and labour over the ,mongols1 his idea being seemingly a combination of ,mongol and ,chinese work1 with a preponderating tendency towards ,chinese2 ,dr4 ,dudgeon has always regarded the ,mongol mission as hardly practicable4 ',on the principle1 however1 of ,sow beside all waters1 and ,thou knowest not which shall prosper1 this or that1 perhaps it is well that the ,gospel should be exhibited to the ,mongols also1 and if anyone is to go to ,mongolia1 perhaps many people would have more disqualifications than myself4' ,in #ahgg there was what seemed to be a very hopeful development of ,christian work in ,shantung1 and ,mr4 ,gilmour and ,mr4 ,owen visited that district and baptized a large number of converts4 ,still later1 ,dr4 ,edkins and ,mr4 ,owen1 on another visit1 baptized some two hundred people4 ,with reference to this latter ingathering ,mr4 ,gilmour wrote1 ',i much regret that we have not some definite system of putting men on a period of probation4444 ,about these two hundred ,i have nothing to say1 but of the hundred odd ,mr4 ,owen and ,i baptized in ,november ,i have to admit that1 making all allowances1 some of them cause me more anxiety than satisfaction4' ,there was1 unfortunately1 only too much ground for this fear4 ,ultimately the movement dwindled almost as rapidly as it had developed1 and with little permanent benefit to the missionary cause4 ,shantung had been devastated by famine1 locusts1 and cholera4 ,missionaries brought relief to the stricken people1 giving both money and food4 ,large numbers were drawn towards the new religion by this example of its deeds1 and most of the converts had professed ,christianity in the hope of getting something by its means4 ,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 missionaries1 ,dr4 ,edkins and ,dr4 ,dudgeon1 and their three younger colleagues1 ,mr4 ,gilmour1 ,mr4 ,owen1 and ,mr4 ,meech4 ,into this strenuous and protracted controversy we do not propose to enter4 ,both parties were actuated by high and honourable motives2 both were able to express their views pointedly1 and with all appropriate force4 ,in the end the view advocated by ,mr4 ,gilmour triumphed4 ,this was that1 so far as possible1 no pecuniary inducement whatever1 either by way of payment for services1 or even employment in connection with the mission1 should be allowed to influence a ,chinaman's judgment in the acceptance of ,christianity4 ,gilmour could take an active part in the discussions only during his winter residence in ,peking4 ,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 so4 ,and in depicting ,gilmour as he was1 it is essential that he should be seen when opposing no less than1 as he much preferred to be in all matters affecting the welfare of the mission1 in the heartiest concord with his colleagues4 ,and yet his keenest opponents would cordially assent to the following statement by one who took an active part in all the discussions4 ,it is mainly for the purpose of emphasising this testimony that the matter is referred to here4 ',when in ,peking ,gilmour took his full share in the debates which were constantly arising4 ,although he could and did argue to the extremest point1 and very hot and sharp words might be spoken during the discussion1 he harboured no bitterness of feeling against his opponents4 ,after excited argument he would get up and say1 ,nevertheless ,i love you4 ,nor were these empty words4 ,he was kind1 and willing to help all1 and was doing acts of service continually for those who opposed him most4' ,towards the close of #ahgh the ,rev4 ,j4 ,s4 ,barradale1 of the ,tientsin ,mission1 died1 leaving the ,rev4 ,j4 ,lees alone without a ,chinese-speaking helper4 ,mr4 ,gilmour sympathised deeply with him in his loss1 and wrote to say that1 so long as ,mr4 ,lees was thus left alone1 he would be glad to make two trips annually to his country stations1 either with him or for him4 ,mr4 ,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 colleague2 but it also gives some most realistic pictures of what ordinary life in ,china is like1 and under what conditions evangelistic itineration there is carried on4 ,some of the districts visited had just been devastated by a severe famine4 ',from ,tientsin to ,hsiao ,chang is five days' journey4 ,three hours out from ,tientsin we came upon some dogs feasting on a corpse lying at a cross-road4 ,the dogs belonged to cottagers near1 but no attempt was made by the owners to keep them away2 no one took the trouble to bury the body or cover it up even4 ,later on we passed through one famine-devastated district4 ,half the houses in the villages were unroofed2 large tracts of land were untilled2 the landscape was almost entirely destitute of animal life2 travellers were nowhere to be seen2 round the villages the little stacks of straw and fuel were not to be seen2 the lanes were silent2 no dogs1 no cocks and hens1 no pigs2 no groups of children playing or running after the foreigner as he passed by2 and the words of ,scripture came to my mind1 the land desolate without inhabitant4 ,we continued to pass these desolations for about sixty ,english miles4 ,we stopped a night in one of these ruined villages1 and ,mr4 ,lees took me round the place to see the nature and extent of the destruction4 ,closer inspection revealed even more ruin than a mere traveller's passing look would detect2 for1 evidently1 some care had been taken to leave house walls and boundary walls on the street standing1 so as to hide some part of the destruction1 and thus make things look better than they really were4 ',natives of the place gave us numbers1 which showed the population was then estimated at not much1 if any1 more than half the former population4 ,it was expressly stated1 however1 that the missing half were not regarded as all dead2 very many were dead1 had died in the place1 but many had gone elsewhere--in most cases no one knew where4 ,of these some few would doubtless return2 but it is to be feared that the mortality in a hard year among famine refugees is very large1 and of those who left their homes and native places1 the few that may eventually return will be very few1 ,i fear4 ',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 earth8 ,but of all those who died in the famine in ,north ,china there is one class whose case is perhaps more distressing than ordinary4 ,a large number of people seem to have died just as the harvest--a plentiful one--ripened4 ,through all these hard dreary months1 when1 day after day1 month after month1 they looked for and longed for rain1 those ,i now speak of struggled through1 kept up hope1 fared hard1 hoped eagerly1 and at last saw the rain come1 saw the crops flourishing1 saw them beginning to ripen1 congratulated themselves and others on the prospect of abundant food and better days4 ,but they were to see it with their eyes1 but not to eat thereof4 ,as far as could be gathered from the natives themselves1 the case would seem to be thus4 ',the great mass of the population was much reduced in bodily strength by the long period of half-starvation they went through2 summer and early autumn came with the rains and the attendant ague1 which last--the ague--still more reduced the strength of their already emaciated frames4 ,you can imagine them1 with lean faces and hungry eyes1 tottering about the fields1 and counting the days that must yet elapse before the grain would ripen4 ,the rage of hunger was no longer to be borne2 they anticipated by a few days the ripening2 took the grain1 still a little green--perhaps sometimes very green--and put it into the pot4 ,but here again was another difficulty4 ,the fuel used is grain stalks1 and the famine deprived them at once of food and fuel4 ,green grain they might cook1 but green-grain stalks would not burn4 ,fuel was thus deficient2 and was it wonderful if1 as they stood round the pot1 and the fuel was deficient1 their patience should fail them and they should fall upon the food half cooked8 ,that was bad enough2 but that is not all4 ,the ,chinese have nearly as little self-control as children2 and is it to be wondered at if1 when at last1 after long months of the slow torture of unappeased hunger1 they found a full meal before them1 they should have eaten to the full8 ,when a man emaciated from having gone through a famine1 and further enfeebled after repeated prostrations by ague1 at length rises up and gorges himself with farinaceous food1 half ripe and half cooked1 the consequences are not difficult to divine4 ,diarrhoea and dysentery set in1 and became fearfully prevalent--not only prevalent1 but peculiarly fatal4 ,to make matters worse1 medicines in that part of the country are dear2 the people were too poor to get medical help1 and great numbers who had lived to see the famine end and prosperity return lived only to see the prosperity1 and to die when it touched them4 ,the famine fever in summer seems to have been fearfully prevalent4 ,it is said that in a single courtyard two or three people would be lying about the gate1 two or three under the shadow of some house1 two or three more inside the house--all stricken down with fever4 ,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 atmosphere4 ,the fever was deadly too1 but evidently not so deadly in proportion as the autumn dysentery4 ,frequently1 when talking to a boy1 we would hear he was an orphan1 and1 on inquiry1 he told that his father had died in autumn2 frequently1 in talking to a woman1 we would hear that she was a widow1 and1 on asking when her husband died1 the reply was1 ,autumn4 ',we reached ,hsiao ,chang in a snowstorm on ,saturday afternoon4 ,a few of the people1 doubtless1 heard of our arrival2 but those of the other villages probably did not know we had come2 so that our being there1 perhaps1 did not materially increase the number of the congregation that assembled next day 7,sunday74 ,sunday was a dull1 uncomfortable day2 the ground covered with snow2 the sky still covered with clouds2 no sunshine2 yet there was a congregation of about one hundred and thirty1 of whom eighty 7about7 would be women1 and fifty 7about7 be men4 ,the next ,sabbath1 ,january #bf1 was still dull2 the congregation numbered about two hundred and eighty--men1 say1 one hundred and thirty2 women1 say1 one hundred and fifty4 ,mr4 ,lees took the women into the chapel4 ,i took the men outside in another court1 and preached to them from a terrace which gave me a commanding view of my congregation4 ,mr4 ,lees had too little ventilation1 ,i had too much of it2 but both of our congregations listened well1 though there was no sun1 though the cold was intense1 and though stray flakes of snow wandered slowly down among us as we worshipped4 ,the next ,sabbath1 ,february #b1 was fine4 ,all except adherents were excluded1 and the congregation numbered about eighty men1 and one hundred and twenty women4 ,twelve men and seven women were baptized4 ',the most novel feature of the work ,i noticed was the eagerness displayed to learn and sing hymns4 ,sometimes poor old women1 from whom we could not extract much ,catechism information about the unity in trinity and other theological mysteries1 brightened up their old wrinkled faces when asked if they could sing1 and when asked to give us a specimen of their singing1 would raise their cracked and quavering voices and go through ,there is a happy land1 or ,the ,great ,physician1 or ,safe in the arms of ,jesus1 a good deal out of tune here and there1 it is true1 but on the whole creditably as regards music1 and with an apparent earnestness and feeling that was hard to witness with dry eyes4 ,and if the old women sang thus1 what of the young people8 ,they seemed to revel in hymns4 ,the old1 big1 orthodox hymn-book used in our chapels got a good deal of patronage and attention2 but their great favourites were those in a small collection of the ,sankey revival hymns translated 7with a few exceptions7 and published by ,mr4 ,lees4 ,these hymns contain good gospel1 seem to be easily learned1 and are set to tunes which the ,chinese seem never to sing themselves tired of4 ,the preachers have mastered a goodly number of them1 and teach them to all comers2 but1 ,mr4 ,lees being a singer1 of course1 when he arrived1 there were high singing festivals1 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 defeat4 ,these hymns ,i regard as a most powerful auxiliary to the other ,gospel agencies at work1 and ,i hope a great deal of good from them4 ',every ,chinaman wants looking after4 ,even the best and most trustworthy men are all the better for being well and carefully superintended4 ,in fact1 the better a man is1 the better he pays for being well looked after4 ,the present state of country mission work in ,north ,china calls for careful supervision in an especial degree4 ,unforeseen circumstances arise that need prompt action where a wrong course of action may be disastrous2 something or other happens that dismays the whole of the little ,christian community2 something or other happens that lifts them up into pride2 the ,christians are like little islands of ,christianity isolated in a vast ocean of heathenism1 and the waves seem to threaten to swallow them up4 ,the missionary1 simply by going and putting in an appearance1 or by giving a little simple advice1 or by speaking a few words of encouragement1 or by devising a few simple methods1 or making a few simple arrangements1 can often keep the ,church out of moral danger1 infuse new hope and courage to the members and preachers1 and1 under ,god1 put fresh life and vigour into the whole concern4 ,as iron sharpeneth iron1 so doth a man the face of his friend2 and this is true in an especial degree of a missionary and his preachers and converts4' ,in the course of a subsequent tour in the same district1 in #ahhj1 he gives in his diary a sketch of a sermon preached by ,liu1 his ,chinese helper1 one which may be taken as a specimen of the best class of address given by a converted ,chinaman to his fellow-countrymen4 ',liu's subject was from ,revelation1 ,whosoever will1 let him take of the water of life freely4 ,he went into an elaborate detail about the use of water1 washing1 laying the dust in a room being swept out1 7 la ,bunyan7 making a sinking sand hard and good for a cart and man to travel on4 ,finally1 he got to a couple of good stories about a man who got drunk and had his face blackened1 so that when he came home his own father did not know him and would not let him in1 and when he saw himself accidentally in a mirror he did not know himself4 ,his drunkenness had completely changed his appearance and voice even4 ',so ,god made us in ,his own image1 but sin has terribly changed us4 ,purified by the ,holy ,ghost we may again be like ourselves and ,god4 ',the service lasted about two hours and ten minutes4 ,the story parts of the sermon were very effective4' ,a later entry in the diary runs3 ',had service4 ,preached ,jesus saves1 the sermon for the heathen of that name4' ,one who often heard him preach in ,china gives the following estimate of his power and method in delivering his message3-- ',as a preacher ,gilmour was most unconventional4 ,his sermons were direct talks1 without any attempt at rhetoric4 ,they were plentifully illustrated1 largely from events in his own experience4 ,laughable allusions or quaint ways of putting things were frequently used4 ,while there was not much attractive in the manner of the preacher1 the directness of his remark and his evident earnestness always made his sermons appreciated and enjoyed4 ,the ,chinese were always glad to hear him1 and words he used to speak are often referred to4' ,writing on one occasion to a friend in ,england being educated for the ,christian ministry1 who had just taken one of the higher degrees at the ,london ,university1 he said3-- ',i don't think our work is so much unlike1 after all4 ,you witness for ,christ1 so do ,i2 and though you are in a ,christian country and ,i in a heathen land1 human nature is human nature1 and not so different as might be supposed4 ,you may1 pray you may1 see more fruit of your work than ,i do1 but your trials1 and difficulties1 and temptations will be1 no doubt are1 pretty much the same as mine4 ,may the ,lord help you and bless you now and for ever6 ,i hope ,he will help you to have ever a heart ready to preach simply the simple ,gospel to your hearers1 half of whom1 perhaps1 know almost nothing of salvation1 though they have been listening to sermons about it all their lives1 and would not know in the least to which hand to turn if they were aroused and became anxious to be saved4 ,i'll give you a text1 which ,i think peculiarly suitable for you1 now a graduate4 ,isaiah #a4 #d--,the ,lord ,god hath given me the tongue of the learned1 that ,i should know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary4 ,i like to dwell on this text4 ,learning should not make deep sermons1 hard to be understood2 on the contrary1 it should be all employed to make the road simple and clear4 ,forgive me for exhorting you so1 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 sermons1 not in making the way simple and plain4' ,the sermon referred to in the extract quoted above from the diary is based on ,matt4 i4 #ba4 ,it was never written out2 but the notes of it lie before us1 and we quote them as an illustration of his way of addressing both ,chinese and ,english audiences4 ,it may interest the reader to endeavour to make out from it the line of thought1 and any who may have heard him preach or speak will find it easy to recall how he preached it4 ',matt4 i4 #ba4 ',he shall save people from their sins4' ',talk to a man1 he admits he is sinner2 by-and-by he will break off and become good4 ',he does not really know what sin is4 ,egypt6 ',it is a disease2 if you get it can you leave it off8 ,your blood is tainted4 ',it is a fire2 once light it1 you can't quench it1 it smoulders and breaks out afresh4 ',it is an evil root1 evil weed1 can easy sow1 not extirpate4 ',sin is like the current above ,niagara4 ',it becomes a habit4 ,indulgence makes habit grow4 ',it is like a spider2 one thread after another binds up a fly4 ',such is sin--murder1 robbery1 theft1 adultery1 uncleanness1 lying1 covetousness1 hatred1 anger1 malice1 want of love to ,god or man4 ',many of these sins you not accused of1 but you have sin3 sin is fatal1 can you free yourself8 ,jesus is to do it4 ',disease1 fire1 root1 current1 habit1 fly4 ,the man cannot free himself3 ,jesus must set him free4 ',not only from ,hell1 but from sin4 ',suppose you were freed only from ,hell1 and transported to ,heaven1 could you be happy8 ,who would be your companions8 ',ignorant 7wicked7 man in company of learned 7holy74 ',a ,tientsin vagrant became chair-bearer2 had clothes1 etc41 but only for a day2 he was soon naked again4 ',christ does not transport to ,heaven only4 ',disease4--,not die from it2 ,he cures it4 ',fire4--,not consumed by it2 ,he quenches it4 ',root of evil2 ,he clears from the ground4 ',niagara4--,he lifts you out of the current on to an island4 ',habit4--,he sets you free from it4 ',spider's fly4--,he not only takes from the spider2 but ,he sets it free from the toils4 ',jesus gives second nature2 you are born again4 ',but upon one condition1 your consent4 ,the disease is severe3 you must obey doctor2 if you do not submit to operation2 not take bitter drugs2 then he does not heal4 ',lead a man to ,peking3 not come1 not follow3 leave him3 lead to heaven1 paths of holiness not follow1 not reach4 ',has ,christ saved you8 ,if yes1 visible to self and others4 ,he is not only an object of respect1 admiration3 ,he is the doctor into whose hands you put your soul for treatment4 ',two brothers1 ,kite1 ,loe1 ,pet ,dog4 ',john of ,hankow's ,liu1 see ,chronicle2 dead v4 alive2 sick 7of fever7 v4 whole4 ,is it last time8 ,mongols feel queer4 ',missionaries4 ,mongol doctor who had not courage to treat himself4 ',s4 ,s4 ,teacher3 ,paul3 be a castaway1 ',christ ,matt4 i4 #ba-bc4 ',any religion good enough4 ,no3 no religion breaks bondage of sin3 go down to death in sin's slavery4 ,only ,jesus can save from sin4 ,ask1 and ,he'll do it4' ,during the winters in ,peking he still used every effort to get at the ,mongols frequenting the capital4 ',the ,mongols who visit ,peking connect themselves with two great centres4 ,the ,outside ,lodging1 which is about a mile or more north of the north wall of ,peking1 and is also called the ,halha ,lodging1 because it is the great resort of the ,northern ,mongols1 and the ,inside ,lodging1 which is near the inside of the south wall of the ,manchu ,city of ,peking1 is situated close behind the ,english ,legation1 and is also called the ,cold ,lodging2 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 tents1 in place of hiring courts and rooms from the ,chinese4 ,these are the two great centres for ,mongols in ,peking4 ,many of them lodge in the immediate neighbourhood1 and even those who lodge in other parts of the city frequent these two centres2 so that1 if any one wants to know whether or not any individual ,mongol has come to ,peking1 he seeks him at one or other of these marts4 ',in the winter of #ahgi-hj ,i set up a book-stall1 with a ,chinaman to care for it1 at the ,outside ,lodging1 going myself1 as a rule1 every second day4 ,this winter ,i followed the example of the pedlars1 and1 hanging two bags of books from my shoulders1 hunted the ,mongols out1 going not only to the trading places1 but in and out among the lanes where they lodged1 visiting the ,outside ,lodging first and the ,inside ,lodging later in the day4 ,the number of ,mongols outside the city became latterly so small that it was not visited very often2 but during the ,chinese eleventh and the first part of the twelfth month1 the number of ,mongols to be met with at the ,inside ,lodging was fair1 and the number of books disposed of altogether1 both outside and inside the city1 amounted to seven hundred and fourteen4 ',in many cases the ,mongols1 before buying1 and not unfrequently after buying1 would insist on having the book read1 supposing that they got more for their money when they not only had the book1 but had me let them hear its contents4 ,of course ,i was only too glad to have the opportunity of reading1 which readily changed to opportunity for talking2 and in this way1 from time to time1 little groups of ,mongols would gather round and listen to short addresses on the main doctrines of ,christianity4 ,several men whom ,i accosted seemed familiar with the name of ,jesus1 and had some knowledge of ,christianity4 ,some bought the books eagerly2 some not only did not buy themselves1 but exhorted others not to buy2 some openly spoke against ,christianity2 but a great many of those who listened to an address or took part in a conversation evinced interest in the subjects spoken of1 and remarked that salvation by another bearing our sin was a reasonable doctrine4 ,as the purchasers of these books hailed from all parts of ,mongolia1 the tracts thus put into their hands will reach to even remote localities in the west1 north1 and east1 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 minds4 ,hoping for some good result1 ,i had my address stamped on many of the books1 to enable such as might wish to learn more to know where to come4 ',in some cases1 ,mongols wishing to buy books had no money1 but were willing to give goods instead2 and thus it happened that ,i sometimes made my way home at night with a miscellaneous collection of cheese1 sour-curd1 butter and millet cake and sheep's fat1 representing the produce of part of the day's sales4' ,a short time before he returned to ,england on his first furlough he drew up a report1 in which he places on record some of the results of his ten years' experience of ,mongol life and habits4 ',on one occasion ,i was living some weeks in a ,mongol's tent4 ,it was late in the year4 ,lights were put out soon after dark4 ,the nights were long in reality1 and1 in such unsatisfactory surroundings as the discomforts of a poor tent and doubtful companions1 the nights seemed longer than they were4 ,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 tent4 ,this1 perhaps the most natural thing in the world for a foreigner1 was utterly inexplicable to the ,mongols4 ,the idea that any man should get out of his bed at sunrise and climb a hill for nothing6 ,he must be up to mischief6 ,he must be secretly taking away the luck of the land6 ,this went on for some time1 the ,mongols all alive with suspicion1 and the unsuspecting foreigner retiring regularly morning after morning1 till at length a drunken man blurted out the whole thing1 and openly stated the conviction that the inhabitants had arrived at1 namely1 that this extraordinary morning walk of the foreigner on the hill crest boded no good to the country4 ,to remain among the people ,i had to give up my morning retirement4 ',the ,mongols are very suspicious of seeing a foreigner writing4 ,what can he be up to8 they say among themselves4 ,is he taking notes of the capabilities of the country8 ,is he marking out a road map1 so that he can return guiding an army8 ,is he1 as a wizard1 carrying off the good luck of the country in his note-book8 ,these1 and a great many others1 are the questions that they ask among themselves and put to the foreigner when they see him writing2 and if he desires to conciliate the good-will of the people1 and to win their confidence1 the missionary must abstain from walking and writing while he is among them4 ',on another point1 too1 a missionary must be careful4 ,he must not go about shooting4 ,killing beasts or birds the ,mongols regard as peculiarly sinful1 and anyone who wished to teach them religious truth would make the attempt under great disadvantage if he carried and used a gun4 ,this1 however1 is a prejudice that it is not so difficult to refrain from offending4 ',the diseases presented for treatment are legion1 but the most common cases are skin diseases and diseases of the eye and teeth4 ,perhaps rheumatism is the disease of ,mongolia2 but the manner of life and customs of the ,mongols are such that it is useless to attempt to cure it4 ,cure it to-day1 it is contracted again to-morrow4 ,skin diseases present a fair field for a medical missionary4 ,they are so common1 and the ,mongolian treatment of them is so far removed from common-sense1 that anyone with a few medicines and a little intelligence has ample opportunity of benefiting many sufferers4 ,the same may be said of the eye4 ,the glare of the sun on the ,plain at all seasons1 except when the grass is fresh and green in summer1 the blinding sheen from the snowy expanse in winter1 and the continual smoke that hangs like a cloud two or three feet above the floor of the tent1 all combine to attack the eye4 ,eye diseases are therefore very common4 ,the lama medicines seem to be able to do nothing for such cases1 and a few remedies in a foreigner's hands work cures that seem wonderful to the ,mongols4 ',in many cases1 when a ,mongol applies to his doctor1 he simply extends his hand1 and expects that the doctor1 by simply feeling his pulse1 will be able to tell1 not only the disease1 but what will cure it4 ,as soon as the doctor has felt the pulse of one hand1 the patient at once extends the other hand that the pulse may be felt there also1 and great surprise is manifested when a foreigner begins his diagnosis of a case by declining the proffered wrist and asking questions4 ',the question of ,how did you get this disease8 often elicits some curiously superstitious replies4 ,one man lays the blame on the stars and constellations4 ,another confesses that when he was a lad he was mischievous1 and dug holes in the ground or cut shrubs on the hill1 and it is not difficult to see how he regards disease as a punishment for digging1 since by digging worms are killed2 but what cutting wood on a hill can have to do with sin it is harder to see1 except it be regarded as stealing the possessions of the spiritual lord of the locality4 ,in consulting a doctor1 too1 a ,mongol seems to lay a deal of stress on the belief that it is his fate to be cured by the medical man in question1 and1 if he finds relief1 often says that his meeting this particular doctor and being cured is the result of prayers made at some previous time4 ',one difficulty in curing ,mongols is that they frequently1 when supplied with medicines1 depart entirely from the doctor's instructions when they apply them2 and a not unfrequent case is that of the patient who1 after applying to the foreigner for medicine and getting it1 is frightened by his success1 or scared by some lying report of his neighbours1 or staggered at the fact that the foreigner would not feel his pulse1 or feel it at one wrist only1 lays aside the medicine carefully and does not use it at all4 ',in ,mongolia1 too1 a foreigner is often asked to perform absurd1 laughable1 or impossible cures4 ,one man wants to be made clever1 another to be made fat1 another to be cured of insanity1 another of tobacco1 another of whisky1 another of hunger1 another of tea2 another wants to be made strong1 so as to conquer in gymnastic exercises2 most men want medicine to make their beards grow2 while almost every man1 woman1 and child wants to have his or her skin made as white as that of the foreigner4 ',when a ,mongol is convinced that his case is hopeless he takes it very calmly1 and bows to his fate1 whether it be death or chronic disease2 and ,mongol doctors1 and ,mongol patients too1 after a succession of failures1 regard the affliction as a thing fated1 to be unable to overcome which implies no lack of medical ability on the doctor's part4 ',of all the healing appliances in the hands of a foreigner none strikes the fancy of a ,mongol so much as the galvanic battery1 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 persons4 ,it would far surpass whipping1 beating1 or suspending4 ,under its torture a guilty man could not but confess4 ,some one in ,england has advocated the use of the galvanic battery in place of the cat in punishing criminals1 and it is rather curious to note the coincidence of the ,english and ,mongol mind4 ',the ,mongol doctors are not1 it would seem1 quite unacquainted with the properties of galvanism4 ,it is said that they are in the habit of prescribing the loadstone ore1 reduced to powder1 as efficacious when applied to sores1 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 mouth6 ',divination is another point on which ,mongols are troublesome4 ,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 divine4 ,accordingly they come to him to divine for them where they should camp to be lucky and get rich1 when a man who has gone on a journey will return1 why no news has been received from a son or husband who is serving in the army1 where they should dig a well so as to get plenty of good water near the surface1 whether it would be fortunate for them to venture on some trading speculation1 whether they should go on some projected journey1 in what direction they should search for lost cattle1 or1 more frequently than any of the above1 they come1 men and women1 old and young1 to have the general luck of their lives examined into4 ,great is their amazement when the foreigner confesses his ignorance of such art1 and greater still is their incredulity4 ',the great obstacles to success in doctoring the ,mongols are two3--,first3 most of the afflicted ,mongols suffer from chronic diseases for which almost nothing can be done4 ,second3 in many cases1 where alleviation or cures are effected1 they are only of short duration1 as no amount of explanation or exhortation seems sufficient to make them aware of the importance of guarding against causes of disease4 ,but1 notwithstanding all this1 many cures can be effected on favourable subjects1 and the fact that the missionary carries medicines with him and attempts to heal1 and that without money and without price1 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 ,christianity4' ,,chapter ,,vii ,,the ,,visit ,,to ,,england ,,in #ahhb ,from #ahhj onwards ,mrs4 ,gilmour suffered severely from illness1 and medical advisers recommended at length the rest and change of a visit to ,england4 ,mr4 ,gilmour's furlough was also nearly due4 ,consequently1 in the spring of #ahhb1 he and his family returned to ,england4 ,this visit was helpful and memorable in many ways4 ,the rest so thoroughly well earned was greatly enjoyed4 ,the return to civilisation1 the society of loved relatives and friends1 the comforts of ordinary ,english life1 and the change of thought and occupation which these involved--all reacted happily and refreshingly upon both ,mr4 ,gilmour and his wife4 ,but a sojourn at home is not by any means a season of entire rest for the jaded worker4 ,the ,churches constantly need the stimulus and awakening that are best supplied by the men who have been filling the hard places in the field4 ,gilmour also was so full of enthusiasm for his work1 and so eager in his desire to benefit the ,mongols1 that he would doubtless have found for himself many opportunities of pleading their cause1 had not the authorities of the ,london ,missionary ,society1 following their usual custom1 furnished him with a long list of deputation engagements1 ,into these he threw himself with an energy that very greatly enlarged the circle of his friendship1 secured very many new supporters for the missionary cause1 and obtained for himself1 on the part of many1 a devout1 prayerful sympathy for the remainder of his earthly service4 ,he had brought with him a large quantity of manuscript material dealing with his twelve years of ,mongol life and experience4 ,from this he prepared the volume which was published by the ,religious ,tract ,society in ,april #ahhc1 under the title of ,among the ,mongols4 ,the book was very cordially welcomed by the press1 and we single out for quotation a portion of one review which stands out pre-eminent not only for its literary quality1 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 experiences4 ,it appeared in the ,spectator for ,april #bh1 #ahhc4 ',we have a difficulty in passing judgment on this book4 ,it is possible1 even probable1 that the impression it has made on us is individual to this reviewer1 and due to an accident which1 with other readers1 will not repeat itself4 ,having time1 and an interest in nomads1 he read a page or two1 and read on1 and read on1 for five hours1 till he had finished the book1--which is much too short1--fascinated1 lost1 carried out of himself and ,england4 ,he was in ,mongolia1 sitting under a blue-cloth tent1 with savage dogs howling around1 and gazing outside1 through the doorless doorway1 on a vast panorama of poor tufted grass1 stretching away to huge black hills in the distance1 and ,tartars on camels1 ,tartars on horses1 ,tartars on springless1 unbreakable ox-carts1 hastening up to the encampment2 while inside he listened to a quiet ,scotchman1 resignedly yet clearly explaining everything in a voice---- there was the puzzle4 ,where in the world had the reviewer heard that voice before1 with its patient monotone1 as well known as his oldest friend's1 its constant digressions and reflections1 its sentences so familiar1 yet so new1 sentences which1 as each topic came up1 he could write before they were uttered4 ,james ,gilmour1 ,m4,a4 ,never knew him1 or heard of him2 yet here was he1 talking exactly as some one else had years ago talked a hundred times4 ,so oppressive at last became the will-o'-the-wisp reminiscence1 that the reviewer stopped1 after an account of the ,desert of ,gobi1 and deliberately read it through again1 in search of a clue which might reawaken his memory4 ,it was all in vain1 and it was not till another hundred pages had been passed1 always under the impression of that bewildering reminiscence1 that he exclaimed to himself1 ,that's it6 ,robinson ,crusoe has turned missionary1 lived years in ,mongolia1 and written a book about it4 ,that is this book4 ,to any one who1 perhaps from early neglect1 does not perceive this truth1 our judgment will seem erroneous2 but to any one who does1 we may quite fearlessly appeal4 ,the student of ,robinson ,crusoe never expected that particular pleasure in this life1 and he will never have it again2 but for this once he has it to the full4 ,mr4 ,james ,gilmour1 though a man of whom any country may be proud1 is not a deep thinker1 and not a bright writer1 and not a man with the gift of topographical1 or1 indeed1 any other kind of description4 ,he thinks nothing extraordinary1 and has nothing to say quotable4 ,there is a faint1 far-off humour in him1 humour sternly repressed2 but that1 so far as we know1 is the only quality in his writing which makes him littrateur at all4 ,but ,heaven1 which has denied him many gifts1 has given him one in full measure1--the gift of ,defoe1 the power of so stating things that the reader not only believes them1 but sees them in bodily presence1 that he is there wherever the author chooses to place him1 under the blue tent1 careering over the black ice of ,lake ,baikal1 or hobnobbing in tea with priests as unlike ,englishmen as it is possible for human beings to be1 yet1 such is his art1 in nowise unintelligible or strange4 ,it may be1 as we have said1 that it is an individual impression1 but we never read1 save once1 the kind of book in our lives1 did not deem it possible ever again to meet with this special variety of unconscious literary skill4 ,we are aware of a dozen shortcomings1 of a hundred points upon which ,mr4 ,gilmour ought to have given light1 and has not2 but there has been1 if our experience serves us at all1 no book quite like this book since ,robinson ,crusoe2 and ,robinson ,crusoe is not better1 does not tell a story more directly1 or produce more instantaneous and final conviction4 ,heaven help us all1 if ,mr4 ,gilmour tells us that he has met any unknown race in ,mongolia1 say1 people with the power of making themselves invisible1 for ,tyndall will believe him1 and ,huxley account for them1 and the ,illustrated ,london ,news publish their portraits--in the stage of invisibility4 ,we do not say the book is admirable1 or perfect1 or anything else superlative2 but we do say1 and this with sure confidence1 that no one who begins it will leave it till the narrative ends1 or doubt for an instant1 whether he knows ,defoe or not1 that he has been enchained by something separate and distinct in literature1 something almost uncanny in the way it has gripped him1 and made him see for ever a scene he never expected to see4 ',we do not know that we have any more to say about the book4 ,its merit is that1 and no other2 and we do not suppose anybody ever proved ,robinson ,crusoe's value by extracts4 ,but we must say a word or two about the author and his subject4 ,mr4 ,gilmour1 though a ,scotchman1 is apparently attached to the ,london ,mission1 and seems to have quitted ,peking for ,mongolia on an impulse to teach ,christ to ,tartars4 ,he could not ride1 he did not know ,mongolian1 he had an objection to carry arms1 and he had no special fitness except his own character1 which he knew nothing about1 for the work4 ,nevertheless1 he went1 and stayed years1 living on half-frozen prairies and deserts under open tents1 on fat mutton1 sheep's tails particularly1 tea1 and boiled millet1 eating only once a day because ,mongols do1 and in all things1 except lying1 stealing1 and prurient talk1 making himself a lama4 ,as he could not ride1 he rode for a month over six hundred miles of dangerous desert1 where the rats undermine the grass1 and at the end found that that difficulty has disappeared for ever4 ,as he could not talk1 he boarded out with a lama1 listened and questioned1 and questioned and listened1 till he knew ,mongolian as ,mongols know it1 till his ears became so open that he was painfully aware that ,mongol conversation1 like that of most ,asiatics1 is choked with doubles entendres4 ,as for danger1 he had made up his mind not to carry arms1 not to be angry with a heathen1 happen what might1 and--though he does not mention this--not to be afraid of anything whatever1 neither dogs nor thieves1 nor hunger nor the climate2 and he kept those three resolutions4 ,if ever on earth there lived a man who kept the law of ,christ1 and could give proofs of it1 and be absolutely unconscious that he was giving them1 it is this man1 whom the ,mongols he lived among called our ,gilmour4 ,he wanted1 naturally enough1 sometimes to meditate away from his hosts1 and sometimes to take long walks1 and sometimes to geologise1 but he found all these things roused suspicion--for why should a stranger want to be alone2 might it not be to steal away the luck of the land8--and as a suspected missionary is a useless missionary1 ,mr4 ,gilmour gave them all up1 and sat endlessly in tents1 among lamas4 ,and he says incidentally that his fault is impatience1 a dislike to be kept waiting6' ,illustration3 ,a ,,mongol ,,camel ,,cart 7,from a ,native ,sketch7 ,the book met with a ready and wide acceptance4 ,it soon 'found its public4' ,it was only to be expected that many of the friends and supporters of the ,london ,missionary ,society would welcome it4 ,and there are others1 like the reviewer1 who 'have time and an interest in nomads1' who were certain to consult it4 ,but in addition to these special classes the book did good service in some cases1 by deepening the impression already made by other first-rate delineations of missionary enterprise and endurance1 and in others by creating respect for missions and missionaries in minds hitherto strange to that feeling4 ,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 edition4 ,the success of his book led to the suggestion that he might easily find much useful employment for his pen4 ,he did contribute some papers to the ,sunday at ,home1 ,pall ,mall ,gazette1 and other publications4 ,but in this1 as in all other enterprises1 loyalty to the great work of his life ruled him4 ,he soon came to the conviction that he ought not to take time from the work of winning souls1 and spend it in writing papers and books--and from the moment of that decision he put mere literary work resolutely aside4 ',i feel keenly1' he wrote in #ahhd1 on his return to ,peking1 'that there is here more than ,i can do1 and writing must go to the wall4' ,and as late in his life as #ahij he added1 ',i could have made1 and could now make1 ,i believe1 money by writing1 but ,i do not write4 ,i settle down to teach illiterate ,chinamen and ,mongols1 heal their sores1 and present ,christ to them4' ,towards the end of #ahhb ,james ,gilmour entered upon a long series of meetings on behalf of the ,london ,missionary ,society1 consisting of sermons and addresses to ,sunday ,school children on the ,sunday1 and speeches at public meetings during the week4 ,a long series of his letters written to his wife between ,november #ahhb and ,march #ahhc is still extant1 and they form an impressive record of the work considered suitable for a wearied missionary at home in search of rest and change4 ,he visited ,edinburgh1 ,falkirk1 ,glasgow1 ,liverpool1 ,kilsyth1 ,hamilton1 ,paisley1 ,dundee1 ,st ,andrews1 ,arbroath1 ,lytham1 ,aberdeen1 ,montrose1 ,manchester1 ,hingham1 ,cambridge1 ,norfolk1 and ,southampton4 ,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 home4 ,his wanderings brought him into contact sometimes with relatives1 sometimes with old college friends1 now grave pastors fast hastening towards middle life4 ,the meetings he attended always added to the circle of his friends1 for none could hear his ringing voice1 and feel the clasp of his hand1 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 effaced4 ,he in turn experienced a strong and abiding spiritual refreshment from this renewal1 after twelve years' absence1 of touch and fellowship with the ,christian life of ,great ,britain4 ,his earnestness deepened1 he studied with intensest interest movements like the ,salvation ,army1 then coming into great prominence1 and other agencies for improving the religious life of the nation1 and he rejoiced in all fellowship with other disciples of the ,lord ,jesus which had for its aim the strengthening of the life of faith4 ,he rejoiced greatly when at infrequent intervals a ,sunday came upon which he was entirely free from engagements4 ,such rare occasions he utilised very fully for spiritual edification4 ,he was somewhat hampered in his possibilities on these days by the fact that his temporary home was at ,bexley ,heath1 and his strong ,sabbatarian views never permitted him to travel by rail or omnibus on the ,lord's ,day4 ,the following letter shows how he passed one of these days4 ',yesterday being a fine day ,i left home at #g4ae ,a4,m41 walked to ,london 7twelve miles71 got to ,spurgeon's at #aj4cj4 ,had a permit from a seat-holder1 was close to the platform1 heard a good earnest sermon1 was introduced to ,spurgeon in the vestry after service1 went home to one of his deacons for dinner1 there met an ,american who had under ,mr4 ,moody been converted from drunkenness to ,god1 and whose craving for drink was as instantaneously and as thoroughly expelled as the devils by ,christ of old4 ,after dinner visited ,spurgeon's ,stockwell ,orphanages1 then walked to ,camberwell and dropped in1 in passing1 at the ,catholic ,apostolic ,church and heard a sermon from a man who would have described himself as an ,apostle1 ,i suppose1 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 ,church2 walked on to ,lewisham1 heard ,morlais ,jones3 and then walked home in the moonlight1 arriving here footsore and weary about #aj4bj ,p4,m4 ,i enjoyed the day very much1 all but the last four or five miles home at night4 ,i am thankful to find myself so strong4 ,i had a warm bath and slept like a top4' ,those who were privileged to entertain ,james ,gilmour1 if congenial1 and the old friends who were fortunate enough to secure him for even a brief period1 often experienced his power of vivid and entrancing narration4 ,his twelve years of service had been very full of varied and uncommon experience1 and when in the vein he could make the hours pass almost as minutes4 ',during this furlough1' writes ,dr4 ,reynolds1 ',i had several opportunities of intercourse with him1 and listened to several of his addresses on the progress and need of missionary enterprise in the north of ,china and ,mongolia1 and was profoundly impressed by his earnestness1 but ,i was more deeply moved when in quiet tte--tte he unveiled some of his special experiences4 ,i should like to mention one4 ,he once had great hope of the conversion to ,god of a ,mongol1 who had given him his entire confidence1 and who was suffering from cataract in both eyes4 ,gilmour felt that this was a case in which surgical help might restore the sufferer to at least partial sight1 and he made arrangements that in the escort of a ,mongol the patient should find his way to the medical institution at ,peking4 ,he started on the pilgrimage when ,gilmour1 with his brave young wife1 were encamped in a great temporary settlement of ,mongols1 who were in a state of considerable fanatical excitement against the new faith and its foreign teacher4 ,gilmour said1 ,we prayed night and day for the success of this experiment1 and we arranged to cover all expenses connected with the arrangement4 ,alas6 wind laden with dust1 and blinding heat and other apparent accidents conspired against the poor sufferer1 and when the necessary time had elapsed after the operation and the bandages were removed1 the patient was found to be stone blind4 ,the ,mongol companion stirred up the poor fellow's suspicion by telling him that he knew why the ,missionary had sent him to ,peking4 ,i saw1 said he1 the jewel of your eye in a bottle on the shelf4 ,these ,christians can get hundreds of taels for these jewels which they take out of our eyes4 ',when the blind man was brought back to ,gilmour1 his companion spread his suspicions and exasperating story in the entire district1 and the fanatical hatred was augmented into seething and murderous passion1 and our dear friends were in imminent peril for several weeks4 ,if they had ventured to escape1 it would have been a confession of a vile conspiracy with the ,peking doctors1 and a signal for their massacre4 ,they remained to live down the ominous and odious charge1 and in continuous effort to justify the simplicity of their motives and the purity and beneficence of their mission4 ',deeply moved1 as ,i was1 by the story of this hairbreadth escape1 ,i asked ,mrs4 ,gilmour more about those fearful weeks of suspense1 and she assured me that they had been perfectly calm1 and that they were entirely resigned to ,god's will1 whatever it might be4' ',many other trials of faith and patience were described by ,gilmour1 without one touch of self-approval or self-admiration1 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 few4' ,it was certain that ,james ,gilmour's power as a speaker would be utilised for the great event of the ,london ,missionary ,society's year1 the annual meeting at ,exeter ,hall4 ,this fell1 in #ahhc1 on ,may #aj1 and he was the last speaker4 ,this involved waiting about two hours and a half for his speech1 and corresponding exhaustion on the part of the audience4 ,but none who were present will forget the rapid way in which he secured the attention of his hearers1 and the ease with which he held it to the close4 ,he chose to speak of work in ,china1 rather than in ,mongolia2 the recent publication of his book helping among other reasons to determine this choice4 ,part of the speech deserves reproduction here1 because it outlines very sharply the work that engaged much of his time while resident in ,peking1 and because nowhere else can such a realistic1 sparkling1 and lifelike picture of the preaching work of the ,peking mission1 and consequently more or less of all preaching in great ,chinese cities1 be found4 ',in ,peking we have three chapels4 ,a chapel there is merely a ,chinese shop1 put into decent repair1 and a signboard stuck over the top4 ,the ,chinese are very fond of giving themselves very high names4 ,you will come to a man sitting in a little box scarcely big enough for himself to turn round in1 and if you read his sign1 it is some flowing name about a hall2 it may be the ,hall of ,continual ,virtue1 or something of that kind1 or the ,hall of the ,five ,happinesses4 ,so our title above our chapel just runs in the native idiomatic style1 and it is the ,gospel ,hall4' ,inside there is not very much to see4 ,the counter has been cleared away and the shelves1 and1 in place of the mud1 a brick floor has been put down2 and then there are forms arranged for the sitters1 and there is a low platform for the speaker4 ,i do not know how it happens1 but it does happen1 that up in the left-hand corner of the chapel--and it is always the left-hand corner--there is a table and two chairs1 and on that table there is a teapot and set of cups1 because in ,china everything is done with tea4 ,you must always begin in that way4 ,these chapels are open six days in the week in the afternoon4 ',now1 supposing you come in at the door1 the natural thing for the missionary seems to be just to walk up to this table and sit down1 and then the next thing is to get a congregation4 ,sometimes there is no difficulty about getting it1 if it happens to be a fair day or there is a crowd in the streets4 ,they simply pour in3 but the tide goes different ways sometimes1 and does not pour in always like that4 ,i want to give you just a fair1 square1 honest idea of what the thing is4 ,sometimes the congregation will not come in1 and sometimes1 after a little while1 one man looks in at the door and sees a foreigner1 and he is off4 ,he has seen quite enough and does not want to see any more2 and if you were to ask him what he had seen1 he would not say he had seen a foreigner2 no1 he would say he had seen a foreign devil4 ,and1 friends1 you would not be very much astonished that some of those ignorant men coming from the country are alarmed when they see a foreigner1 if you could only imagine the terrible lies that they circulate about us there2 about how we take out people's hearts for the purposes of magic1 and steal people's eyes to make photographic chemicals1 and administer medicines to bewitch them generally4 ,i say that1 if the first man who comes to a chapel on an afternoon is a man who has heard these things1 you cannot be astonished that all you see of that man is his back and his pigtail as he goes away4 ',another man sometimes comes--a bolder man1 and he comes in1 and the most natural thing for him seems to be to walk up to the table and sit down on the other side1 and there you and he are a pair4 ,the proper thing is to pour him out a cup of tea3 that is etiquette1 and the etiquette seems to be that he should not drink it4 ,sometimes1 after the service begins1 ,i see the native preacher come slyly up1 as if he did not mean anything at all2 and he walks up to the teapot1 and lifts the lid quite quietly1 and slips that tea back into the pot again1 and puts on the lid and warms it up1 and it is ready for the next man who comes4 ',if you get into conversation with one man1 the congregation is1 for the most part1 practically secured1 because1 though a ,chinaman is very much afraid of being spoken to directly by a foreigner1 most ,chinamen are very curious to overhear any conversation that may be carried on2 so if you are speaking to him1 in comes another man to listen1 and if you can get other men to come in and listen over each other's backs1 very soon more come in than the original speaker cares to overhear his private conversation2 and when that step is reached1 it is time to go to the platform and ask the hearers to sit down and begin the regular service4 ,sometimes nobody comes in1 and then you have to try something else1 and that is to go and sit down a little nearer the door1 and sometimes1 in that way1 gradually a few people come in4 ,but then in ,peking sometimes there is a great north-west wind blowing2 and ,i think that is about the hardest thing on a man's congregation before he gets it1 because1 when the weather is unfavourable1 there are not many people about1 and so we have to adopt another plan4 ,we do not go on to the streets1 but inside the chapel the native preacher and ,i do our best to sing a hymn4 ,i say do our best1 because sometimes these native preachers do not succeed in singing very well2 however1 we succeed in making a noise1 and that is the thing that draws4 ,the people look in1 and see what they suppose to be a foreigner and a native chanting ,buddhist prayers4 ,in they come2 they have not seen that before1 and they sit down1 and1 as soon as the hymn is through1 we have the opportunity of telling them the contents of the hymn2 and there you have your sermon ready to your hand4 ',but suppose you have got your congregation1 it is not all smooth-sailing water4 ,sometimes there are interruptions4 ,sometimes1 just when you have the ear of your audience1 all at once a tremendous row happens just outside the door1 and the congregation jump to their feet and rush out to see what is going on4 ,i could have told them if they had only asked me4 ,no doubt1 some unwise ,chinaman1 in place of coming straight in and sitting down1 stood on the outskirt of the crowd on tiptoe4 ,a city thief coming along says1 ,ah1 there is my man1 and he walks quietly up to him with a pair of sharp scissors1 cuts off his tobacco pouch1 and goes off with it4 ,of course1 as soon as the man misses the pouch1 his first impulse is to grab his next neighbour2 that neighbour remonstrates1 and then a fight commences4 ',sometimes a funeral passes1 and that is almost as serious an interruption as a fight2 because1 although a ,chinaman does not think much about his soul after he dies1 he thinks a vast deal about his dead body1 and1 in order to be perfectly sure that he will not be cheated by the undertaker1 he buys his coffin before he is sick1 and sees that he has a good bargain4 ,and so1 having a good coffin1 he wants a good funeral2 and it is said some men spend nearly half of their fortune in having a grand procession when they are carried to their grave4 ,when one of these enormous funerals1 with a procession sometimes a quarter of a mile long1 comes by1 it is a very bad job for your congregation4 ,out they go to have a look at it4 ',then the interruption is sometimes another thing1 and this last one is a more difficult case to settle4 ,when one of the upper ten thousand in ,china has a marriage1 they want to have a great exhibition2 and after they have bought the furniture1 they get and hire a great many men1 and have them dressed to carry that furniture in procession along the streets and show it to their neighbours4 ,first comes a great wardrobe1 and then a little cupboard1 a washstand1 a square table1 and all sorts of furniture4 ,now when that comes1 what are you to do8 ,they have been at the expense of paying for an exhibition for their neighbours to see1 and they feel that it would be unneighbourly if they did not step to the door and look out and see the things carried past1 and there goes your congregation4 ,sometimes unusual interruptions happen4 ,i remember once a woman put her head in at the door4 ,women do not come to these chapels often--,i am very glad they do not4 ,that woman put her head in at the door1 and ,i saw danger4 ,she glared round the place1 and then she spied one man1 and she shouted out something at him3 ,come out of that6 and1 friends1 he came out of that1 in a big hurry1 too4 ,he disturbed us very considerably4 ,it was not the woman so much as the man--we all pitied him as he went out4 ',those audiences are very mixed1 and they are very curious to your eyes4 ,sometimes ,i see those audiences1 most of whom we do not know anything about1 listening to what ,i have to tell them1 quite as still as you are now--their pipes out1 the smoke cleared away4 ,they lean forward and listen just as still as audiences in this country sometimes listen when the preacher1 in an interesting discourse1 is coming up to a division of his subject4 ,and1 friends1 let me tell you what it is that makes them listen best of all--it is the central doctrine of the truth of ,christianity4 ,when we come to tell them of how ,christ left the surroundings of heaven1 and came to spend so many years in such very poor1 unsympathetic company on earth 7and that is a subject that a missionary sometimes can talk feelingly upon when he has been in a foreign country for some time71 when we can tell them that1 and then come to the last and greatest part of all3 how ,christ allowed ,himself1 for love of man1 to be nailed to the cross1 and not only that1 but kept in ,him that gentle spirit that made ,him pray for those who were putting ,him to death--oh1 friends1 when we come to that and tell them of it--,i know that a ,chinaman is degraded1 corrupt1 sensual1 material1 but he has a human heart2 and when you can get at the heart1 it responds to the story of the ,cross4 ,we want to do something in drawing the net1 and so1 on this table in the corner1 there is a pile of books1 and as it gets towards the time to close1 ,i say to the friends1 ,now1 you will soon be going away to your evening meal2 and as ,i am a foreigner1 probably you have not understood all that ,i have said2 and then ,i say1 ,now1 before you go1 there are a number of books upon this table1 where you will find the whole of this subject put down in black and white2 will you just come up and have a look at the books before you go8 ,we want1 if possible1 to establish a point of contact with them1 and so to get a little private conversation1 as it were4 ,if you ask them to come up and look at a book1 and they ask the price of it1 you have an opportunity of talking to them1 and some of these men not only buy the books1 but they read them and come back for others4 ',now1 how does the matter stand8 ,these heathen have been in our chapel1 and we have taken the opportunity of putting some of the truth into their hearts2 but ,i know a good part1 much1 it may be1 of what the man has heard when he goes out--well1 it is stolen away1 or it is trampled under foot2 but some part of it remains4 ',and now ,i can come to the practical part4 ,i have not been trying to entertain you1 but ,i have been trying to interest you1 and what ,i want to impress upon you is this3 after those men have left the chapel you can do as much for their conversion as we can do in ,china4 ,i want you to pray for the conversion of these men to whom we in ,peking1 and others in other parts of the world1 are the means of communicating these truths of ,christ4 ,i believe it is not only the earnestness of the missionary that is going to produce results1 but it is your earnestness here4 ,we are your agents1 and ,i believe1 fervently1 we shall have results there in direct proportion to the measure of your earnestness here4 ,i believe ,i am speaking to the right people when ,i ask you to pray4 ,unprayed for1 ,i feel very much as if a diver were sent down to the bottom of a river with no air to breathe1 or as if a fireman were sent up to a blazing building and held an empty hose2 ,i feel very much as a soldier who is firing blank cartridge at an enemy1 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 us4 ,not long ago1 at the close of a local anniversary1 when we had been having a meeting1 as we were going home1 three of us got off a tram-car--two ministers of the locality and myself--and1 as we were walking along1 one said3 ,ah1 ,gilmour1 it is all the same over again2 it is just the old thing2 you missionaries come1 and you have an anniversary1 and the people's earnestness seems to be stirred up1 and you ask their prayers1 and it looks as if you would get them1 but1 he said1 you go away1 and the thing passes by and is just left where it was before4 ,i do not think that was quite correct4 ,i think my brother was labouring under a temporary fit of the blues1 and ,i was very glad to find his companion said it was not quite correct4 ,what ,i want is this1 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 preaching4 ,if you pray earnestly you can but work earnestly1 and then you will also give earnestly2 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 life4' ,the month of ,june and part of ,july was spent at ,millport1 a watering-place on the west coast of ,scotland1 near the lovely scenery of ,arran4 ,on ,july #d he ascended ,goatfell1 and in so doing had an adventure which might have had very serious consequences4 ,he started late1 lost his way1 but finally reached the summit at #h4de ,p4,m41 and then1 as he notes in his diary3 ',fog came on nearly at once with rain and thunder4 ,sat in the lee of a dripping rock on a wet stone and looked at a couple of acres of fog and granite boulders4 ,very dark and cold about midnight1 the time wore on very slowly1 more rain dripping1 and fog4 ,at #b o'clock ,a4,m4 ,i began the descent1 and in a short while it was light enough to see4 ,came on all right1 and saw where ,i had missed the way4444 ,i have not caught cold4 ,i was wet all night1 but kept wrapt up in my plaid and as warm as ,i could manage4 ,next day the minister congratulated me on being seen alive after my ,goatfell adventure4' ,on ,september #a the return voyage to ,china began1 and ,peking was reached on ,november #ad4 ,,chapter ,,viii ,,sunshine ,,and ,,shadow ,in ,peking the old familiar round of mission duties recommenced4 ,gilmour after his absence of eighteen months was the same man1 and yet not the same4 ,he yearned for fruit in the conversion of souls1 and he began to devote himself with more eager self-denial than ever to the winning of ,chinamen's hearts for the ,saviour4 ,the winter of #ahhc-ahhd was spent in ,peking1 and his diary is full of incidents illustrative of the time and effort he gave to dealing with individuals4 ,in ,february1 #ahhd1 he made one of the most remarkable of his ,mongolian journeys4 ,he visited the ,plain1 travelling on foot1 and thus subjecting himself to risks and hardships of a very serious order4 ,but he had good reasons for his method1 and he sets them forth with his usual clearness4 ,possibly no other journey of his life more strikingly testifies to his strict sense of duty1 the unsparing way in which he spent himself in its discharge1 and his eager desire to win souls4 ',on this occasion1 partly owing to the shortness of the time at my disposal1 which made it hardly worth while to set up an establishment1 and partly owing to the peculiar season of the year1 which would have made it difficult to find pasture for travelling cattle1 ,i determined to go on foot1 without medicines1 in a strictly spiritual capacity1 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 effect4 ,in addition there were some individual ,mongols who have been taught a good deal about ,christianity1 and on whom ,i wished once more1 while there was still opportunity1 to press the claims of ,christ4 ,illustration3 ,a ,,chinese ,,mule ,,litter ',five cold days in a mule litter brought me to ,kalgan1 and another day in a cart took me up over the pass and landed me in a ,chinese inn on the ,mongolian plain4 ,this inn has no separate rooms2 the guests all share the ample platform of the kitchen1 and sleep on straw mats laid over the brickwork1 which is heated by flues leading from fires on which their meals are cooked4 ,the ,chinese innkeeper was an old friend of mine1 and he permitted me to share his room with him4 ,from this1 as a centre1 ,i was able to make expeditions to four ,mongolian settlements4 ',my first visit was made to a lama whom ,i have known for years1 and who has been instructed in ,christianity by others1 both before and since ,i made his acquaintance4 ,he is a man of influence1 wealth1 and leisure1 and1 though a priest1 has a wife and child4 ,i spent almost a whole day with him1 and hardly know what to think about him4 ,he seems to admit that there must be a ,god of the universe1 and admits that ,christ may be a revelation of ,him1 but in the same sense in which ,buddha was4 ,from one part of his conversation ,i was almost led to believe that he had been praying to ,jesus1 but ,i could get him to make no such admission4 ,i fear that the inquiring spirit of former years has given place to a spirit of indifference4 ,he has everything he wants1 he has little or no care1 seemingly2 he is content to let things drift1 and keeps his mind easy4 ,if he were only waked up he might do much for his countrymen4 ',my second visit was to a temple and cluster of tents1 where ,i found some old acquaintances2 was politely received1 but nothing more4 ',my third visit was to another cluster of tents1 where ,i was at once hailed as the doctor1 and1 nolens volens1 compelled to examine and prescribe for a number of diseases4 ,some cures accomplished years before explained the enthusiasm of the friends there1 but for spiritual results ,i looked in vain4 ',my next expedition was to a place some miles--say eight--away4 ,some years ago1 in stormy weather1 ,mrs4 ,gilmour and ,i1 soaked out of our tent1 had found shelter in the mud-house of a ,mongol1 who refused to take anything for the use of his building1 remarking that we would be going and coming that way afterwards1 and that then we might give him a present of some foreign article or other4 ,i had sent him a few things1 but had never since personally visited him1 and when ,i reached the settlement ,i was grieved to find that the old man was dead4 ,his son1 a lad of twenty-three1 had succeeded to his estate1 and his small official dignity and emoluments1 and received me in a most remarkably friendly way4 ,he was just starting from home1 but on seeing me gave up all idea of his going away1 and1 insisting on my staying in his tent for the night1 spent the remainder of the day with me4 ',next day1 slinging on one side a postman's brown bag containing my kit and provisions2 on the other an angler's waterproof bag1 with books1 c42 and carrying from a stick over my shoulder a ,chinaman's sheepskin coat1 ,i left my landlord drinking the two ounces of hot ,chinese whisky which formed the invariable introduction to his breakfast turned my face northwards1 and started for a twenty-three miles' walk to the settlement which1 for some summers in succession1 has furnished me with men and oxen for my annual journeys4 ,now the ,mongols are familiar with the ,russians1 who1 as tea-agents1 reside in ,kalgan2 they have seen many passing foreign travellers on horses1 camels1 and in carts2 they have seen missionary journeys performed on donkeys and ox-carts2 but ,i think that that morning for the first time had they seen a foreigner1 with all his belongings hung about him1 tramping the country after the manner of their own begging lamas4 ,there were few people to meet on the road1 but those ,i did meet asked the customary questions in tones of great surprise1 received my answers with evident incredulity1 and1 for the most part rode away muttering to themselves1 ,you eldib eem1 which may be translated to mean1 ,strange affair4 ,my feet1 through want of practice1 ,i suppose1 soon showed symptoms of thinking this style of travelling as strange as the ,mongols did1 and were badly blistered long before the journey was over4 ,illustration3 ,,james ,,gilmour ,,equipped ,,for ,,his ,,walking ,,expedition ,,in ,,mongolia ,,in ,,february #ahhd ',an occasional rest and a bite of snow varied the painful monotony of the few last long miles2 the river was reached at last1 and1 crossing it1 ,i was soon in front of the cluster of huts ,i had come to visit1 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 district4 ,he was soon joined by others1 and1 rescued from the dogs1 ,i was escorted to his tent1 seated before the fire1 and supplied with a cup and full tea-pot4 ,i had intended to drink tea in his tent only for form's sake2 but his tea was good1 the snow seemed only to have increased my thirst1 the man himself was sincerely friendly2 under the circumstances my stoicism broke down1 and the mandarin's tea-pot was soon all but empty4 ,meanwhile1 his tent had been filling with friends and neighbours1 to whom the news of my arrival had spread1 and in a little while ,i had round me a representative from nearly every family in the village4 ,among the others came my two servants--the priest and the layman who had driven my ox-carts for me4 ,escorted by these ,i went to another tent1 rested there awhile1 and then moved into a mud-built house4 ,the priest ,i had come to visit was busy lighting a fire which would do nothing but smoke1 and the room was soon full4 ,finding him alone1 ,i told him that ,i had come to speak to him and my other friends about the salvation of their souls1 and was pressing him to accept ,christ1 when a layman ,i also knew entered4 ,without waiting for me to say anything1 the priest related the drift of our conversation to the layman1 who1 tongs in hand1 was trying to make the fire blaze4 ,blaze it would not1 but sent forth an increasing volume of smoke1 and the layman1 invisible to me in the dense cloud1 though only about two yards away1 spoke up and said that for months he had been a scholar of ,jesus1 and that if the priest would join him they would become ,christians together4 ,whether the priest would join him or not1 his mind was made up1 he would trust the ,saviour4 ,by this time the cloud had settled down lower still4 ,i was lying flat on the platform1 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 heaven1 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 glory4 ',but neighbours came in1 duty called the blackman 7layman7 away1 the evening meal had to be prepared and eaten1 and it was not till late at night that ,i had opportunity for a private talk with him who had confessed ,christ2 and even then it was not private1 because we were within earshot of a family of people in their beds4 ',of all the countries ,i have visited ,mongolia is the most sparsely peopled1 and yet it is1 of all the places ,i have seen1 the most difficult to get private conversation with any one4 ,everybody1 even half-grown children1 seems to think he has a perfect right to intrude on any and all conversation4 ,bar the door and deny admittance1 and you would be suspected of hatching a plot4 ,take a man away for a stroll that you may talk to him in quiet1 and you would be suspected of some dangerous enchantment4 ,remembering that one must always have some definite message or business to perform when he travels1 and hoping to be able to do something with this same blackman1 ,i had purposely left1 in the ,chinese inn1 some presents which ,i could not well carry with me1 and after a day's rest the blackman and ,i started to bring them4 ,that gave us twenty-three miles' private conversation1 and a good answer to give to all who demanded1 ,where are you going8 ,what to do8 ,he gave me the history of the origin and growth of his belief in ,christ4 ,i taught him much he did not know1 and at a lonely place we sat down and lifted our voices to heaven in prayer4 ,it was the pleasantest walk ,i ever had in ,mongolia1 and at the same time the most painful4 ,my feet broke down altogether4 ,it was evident ,i could not walk back again the next day1 so1 acting on my follower's advice1 by a great effort ,i walked into the inn as if my feet were all right2 we bargained for a cart and1 the ,chinaman not suspecting the state of my feet1 we got it at a reasonable rate4 ,mongols and ,chinese joined in explaining to me how much time and labour ,i would have saved if ,i had hired a cart at first1 taken everything with me1 and not returned to the inn at all4 ,from their point of view they were right2 but the blackman and ,i looked at the thing from a different standpoint4 ,we had accomplished our purpose1 and felt that we could afford to let our neighbours plume themselves on their supposed superior wisdom4 ',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 tribe4 ,i was especially anxious to explain to him the true nature of ,christianity1 because the ,mongol who professes ,christianity lives under his jurisdiction1 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 case4 ,the mandarin came4 ,on my last visit ,i had been the means of curing him of a troublesome complaint over which he had spent much time and money2 in addition1 ,i had brought him a present from ,england4 ,he was perfectly friendly and exceedingly attentive1 and at the close of the conversation asked some questions which ,i thought evinced that he had somewhat entered into the spirit of the conversation4 ,he is a man of few words1 but from what he said ,i hope that he feels something of the truth of ,christianity4 ',my next expedition was to a mandarin of wealth and rank1 whose encampment occupies a commanding site on a mountain-side overlooking a large lake4 ,i found him at home1 and1 as he knows well the main doctrines of ,christianity1 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 ,christ4 ,we spent great part of the afternoon in earnest talking1 and ,i was much pleased with the manner in which he1 from time to time1 explained to another mandarin1 who was there as guest1 doctrines and facts which were alluded to in our conversation4 ,next morning he started on a journey connected with the business of his office1 and ,i returned to my friendly quarters where ,i had left my belongings4 ',i felt it laid upon me to visit two lamas at a temple some seventy miles from where ,i was1 and started next day4 ,i reached the temple in three days1 and found that both the lamas ,i had come to see were dead4 ,so1 as far as they were concerned1 ,i was too late4 ,both on the road1 however1 and at the temple itself1 ,i had good opportunities for preaching and teaching4 ,i met some interesting men1 and not only in tents where ,i was entertained as guest1 but sometimes out in the open desert1 stray travellers would meet me1 dismount from their horses1 and give me occasion for ,christian conversation4 ,five days completed this round1 and after another day's rest ,i started back for ,kalgan1 escorted for ten miles by him who had professed ,christ4 ,we walked slowly1 as we had much to say4 ,arrived at the parting place1 we sat down and prayed together4 ,i then left1 and the last ,i saw of the poor fellow1 there he was1 sitting in the same place still4 ,i reached ,kalgan without adventure1 and returned to ,peking on ,march #ba1 having been away just over a month4' ,possibly the most touching comment upon this extraordinary journey is to give some of the brief entries which refer to it in the diary4 ',february #ai1 #ahhd4--,started in a litter for ,mongolia4 ,good talk in inn with innman4' ',february #bc4--,went to ,mr4 ,williams4 ,my letter had not reached them4 ,no one knew ,i was coming4' ',february #be4--,over the ,pass to ,barosaij4' ',february #bf4--,spent the day with ,tu ,gishuae4 ,urged on him the internal proof of ,christianity--the change of heart4' ',february #bh4--,shabberti4 ,boyinto ,jaugg has desire to become scholar of ,jesus4' ',march #a4--,walked here4 ,feet terribly bad4 ,snow on the road4 ,great thirst4 ,badma ,darag met me4 ,tea in his tent4 ,boyinto's confession in the smoke of the baishin4'#d #d ,fire in the centre of the tent4 ',march #b4--,sabbath4 ,quiet day4 ,much talk with all4 ,the ,lord opened my lips4' ',march #c4--,walked to ,barosaij with ,boyinto to bring my presents4 ,talk about ,christianity4 ,prayer in the desert4 ,feet terribly bad1 oh1 such pain in walking4' ',march #d4--;,carted back4' ',march #g4--;,hara ,oss4 ,walked back here4 ,called on ,tu ,lobsung4 ,talk4 ,he knew the way to heaven1 but said1 ,tell it to some of the younger ones4 ,you go first1 ,i replied4 ,you most need to know4' ',march #h4--,terrible feet4 ,got to ,chagan ,hauran4' ',march #ad4--;,boyinto accompanied me to ,chagan ,balgas with his pony4 ,saw him sitting as long as ,i was in sight4 ,feet bad4' ',march #ba4--,left ,pei ,kuan at #d ,a4,m4 ,dark and snow4 ,terrible march over slippery stones4 ,nan ,kou at #g ,a4,m4 ,no donkey on such a snowy day4 ,hired the next twenty-seven li4 ,stiff march4 ,shatto at #aa4ce4 ,terrible march to ,ching ,ho at #c ,p4,m4 ,terrible march to ,t ,sheng ,mn4 ,home at #f4aj4 ,prayer ,meeting4 ,thanks be unto ,god for all ,his mercies4' ,early in #ahhe ,mr4 ,gilmour's heart was rejoiced by the tidings of the baptism of ,boyinto1 the ,mongol to whom reference has been repeatedly made above4 ,although ,gilmour's was not the hand to administer the rite1 undoubtedly the conversion was the result of his work4 ,on ,january #bf1 #ahhe1 he received a letter from the ,rev4 ,w4 ,p4 ,sprague1 of the ,american ,mission at ,kalgan1 part of which we quote4 ',kalgan3 ,jan4 #ad1 #ahhe4 ',dear ,brother ,gilmour1--,i hasten to tell you the very good news4 ,boyinto of ,shabberti was baptized by my hand this day into the ,church of ,christ1 here at ,kalgan1 in the presence of our assembled church and congregation4 ,i'm sure you will rejoice and thank ,god more than any of us4 ,and ,i never saw our ,christians so happy to receive any one into the ,church4 ,the only thing ,i regret is that it should not be your hand instead of mine to administer the sacred rite4 ',i wrote you of his visit to us a month ago1 and his application to join the ,church here1 and our satisfaction with his appearance4 ,he turned up again yesterday morning1 and spent all day with us4 ,in the afternoon we had1 by previous appointment1 a union meeting of upper and lower city congregations1 as a continuation of week of prayer meeting1 because the interest was so great4 ,mr4 ,roberts preached1 and in the after part of meeting1 when two or three others had risen for prayers1 ,i asked ,boyinto if he wanted to ask ,christians to pray for him1 and he arose and expressed his desires1 including wanting to be baptized very plainly4 ,we called church meeting at close of the service1 and proceeded to examine him for admission to ,church4 ,he answered so well as to please every one1 making some happy hits1 as when asked what sort of a place heaven was1 replied1 ,i haven't been there--how can ,i tell8 ,then said1 ,would any one pray to go there if it were not a good place8 ,but his straightforward1 open simplicity was refreshing4 ,there seemed no reason for thinking he was other than an honest believer--seeking to follow ,jesus in all things4 ,the native church members first responded with enthusiasm that he was a most fit candidate for receiving to the ,church1 and expressed great delight at finding a ,mongol who loved and trusted our ,saviour4 ,so we felt with ,peter1 ,can any man forbid water that these should not be baptized8 ,the others then asked me to baptize him on the morrow1 when we were to have another union meeting at our place4 ,and could you have seen his rising and answering my questions1 give assent to creed and covenant1 and then see him remove his cap and bow his head reverently and receive the water of baptism1 your heart would overflow with gratitude and praise to ,god for this first fruit from ,mongolia4 ,after prayer we sang ,from ,greenland's icy mountains1 changed to ,from ,mongolia1 c1 and we felt it as never before4 ',though ,god has thus given us great pleasure in gathering this first fruit1 still ,i feel1 and we all feel1 that the honour of the work belongs to ,god1 and the reward to you and others4' ,during #ahhd and #ahhe the regular work of the ,peking mission occupied almost the whole of his time1 the ,rev4 ,s4 ,e4 ,meech being in ,england on furlough1 and most of his duties therefore falling upon ,mr4 ,gilmour4 ,during his stay in ,england he had attended many of the ,salvation ,army meetings1 and had caught much of their spirit4 ,he had also come to the conviction that men needed to be dealt with individually rather than in the mass4 ,hence he gave much time to conversation1 to teaching single persons the ,christian catechism and the ,new ,testament1 and endeavouring1 by talking and praying with them1 to lead them to a knowledge of the truth4 ,from six in the morning until ten at night he was at the service of all comers4 ,in the afternoon he attended one or both of the ,peking chapels1 preaching if there were the opportunity1 but always eagerly on the alert for any individuals showing signs of interest in the ,gospel4 ,it had been the custom of the missionaries to reserve the ,sunday evening for an ,english service1 devoted to their own spiritual refreshment4 ,this1 which was held in the mission compound1 he ceased to attend1 even although his absence sometimes made it impossible to hold the service1 in order that he might find time to read and talk and pray with his ,chinese servants4 ,frequently the meal-time would find him thus engaged1 but the meal had to wait until his visitor had left1 or until the interview came to its natural close4 ,he ceased to read all newspapers except those distinctively ,christian4 ,he found no time for books1 as he felt that direct work for the ,chinese should fill the hours he might otherwise devote to reading4 ,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 weakness4 ',december #i1 #ahhc4--;,at chapel met ,wang from a place #cjj li away down in the country4 ,he had heard a sermon there two or three years before which he remembered1 and could quote4 ,i began the service1 and brought him up here to my study4 ,we were talking when another man1 ,jui1 came in from #acj li north of ,peking4 ,he had to run away from home on account of misconduct4 ,these two kept me till dark4' ,in a letter to the ,rev4 ,s4 ,e4 ,meech1 dated ,november #i1 #ahhe1 ,mr4 ,gilmour refers to a number of these individual cases in which he has been interesting himself1 and the way in which he has dealt with them4 ,it illustrates his method of close and careful dealing with each native4 ',ch'ang attends ,sunday and ,friday services4 ,my opinion about ,ch'ang is that he wants mission employ4 ,he has no expectation of that from me1 and little from ,rees4 ,i think1 too1 that he does not mean to break with ,christianity or with us1 and ,i faintly hope that his experiences with us will do us good1 though they have been most painful to us4 ,i think you'll find him much more tractable than he would have been had he not been through these troubles with us4 ',hsing has had the devil putting philosophic doubts into him4 ,i have pressed him to pelt the devil with ,scripture1 as our ,master did4 ',li1 shoemaker1 ,i do like4 ,he cannot stay to ,sunday service4 ,i take him before service therefore4 ',fu does well4 ,last ,friday he remained after prayer-meeting1 and talked till #i4dj about all manner of things secular and sacred4 ,he has most pleasant remembrances of ,emily--,emily1 too1 liked him4 ',jui ,wu1 the powder magazine man1 is in a more hopeful case4 ,he may come all right yet4#e #e ,fu is now 7#ahib7 an evangelist1 and ,jui ,wu a dispenser1 in the ,chi ,chou ,mission4 ',old ,tai nearly went1 but will now1 ,i think1 remain till you come4 ,he wants to tiffin with me on ,sundays1 and enjoys much four1 five1 or six small cups of good strong tea with milk and sugar4 ,he is growing in grace4 ',young ,tai ,i am detaining after his father goes and reading with him and teaching him4 ,he gives up his trade for the day1 and ,i want to give him a good day4 ',chao ,erh attends well and is improved in circumstances4 ',lu ,ss7u is in his old trade1 and doing well4 ,he comes on ,sundays when he comes4 ,he was the man ,i hoped least of1 and as yet he pleases me almost most4 ',lama comes to-morrow to finish reconstructing ,mongol catechism4 ,i may go on a two months' journey to ,mongolia1 starting in ,december4 ,i'll have to see the children to ,tientsin in ,february1 and want to meet you4 ',hss as they were4#f #f ,father and son2 the only native preachers in the ,west ,city of ,peking at that time4 ',i am very much encouraged and thankful about the little ,church4 ,i can honestly say that ,i have tried to do my best for it during your absence1 and ,god has encouraged me a good deal in it4 ,i have reaped some that you have sown1 and have endeavoured to sow something for you to reap when you return4 ',i sometimes have deep fits of the blues when ,i think of the children1 but their mother was able to trust ,jesus with them1 and why should not ,i8 ',the ,mongol work1 too1 has entered on a new phase1 and that opens up a new future for me4 ,it is a formidable affair4 ,i don't think ,i'll go to ,kalgan or that region4 ,i fear no doctor would stay with me there4 ,i may go away ,north-east4 ,i can hardly tell yet4 ,meantime1 with ,god's help1 ,i hope to do another month's work in ,peking1 and then hand the thing over to ,rees once for all4 ,most of my books ,i'll sell4 ,what use are they to me8 ,i never have time to read them1 and am not likely ever to have4' ,the letter just quoted was written after the sad event to which we must now refer4 ,towards the close of the summer of #ahhe ,mr4 ,gilmour awoke to the fact that one of the heaviest sorrows of his life was coming upon him4 ,for some years past ,mrs4 ,gilmour had been subject to severe attacks of pain4 ,the visit to ,england and the rest and change of the old home life had in a measure restored her4 ,but hardly were they comfortably established in their old ,peking quarters ere some of her most trying symptoms reappeared4 ,with that brave heart and resolute spirit characteristic of her whole missionary career1 for a time she gave herself to the duties of the mission and bore her full share of its anxieties and toils4 ,but gradually she was constrained to recognise that her active work was over4 ,from the first she had thrown herself whole-heartedly into missionary ,service4 ,she could converse fluently with the ,mongols1 having acquired their language in the same way as her husband1 by enduring repeatedly all the privations of life in a ,mongol tent4 ,she had impressed them by her fondness for animals1 by her gentleness of spirit1 and by her evident interest in all that bore upon their own welfare4 ,in ,peking she had laboured hard among the women and girls1 both in the matter of education and also of direct religious instruction4 ,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 away4 ,in a letter to her sister1 ,mrs4 ,meech1 then in ,england1 dated ,may #b1 #ahhe1 she gives the first clear expression to this feeling3 ',i would have written before1 but ,i have been ill for about six weeks2 not actually ill1 except one week1 but not able to do anything except the children's lessons and the harmonium on ,sundays sometimes4 ,all the rest has had to go4 ,i am sorry1 but it can't be helped4 ,how long it will last ,i don't know4 ,i can't get stronger1 so ,i must be content to be tired4 ,i am nothing more than weak1 and a great many people are that4 ,there has been a grand revival here4 ,it seemed to pass like a mountain torrent1 while ,i had only to look on and see4 ,my only wonder was that people had lived so long without the happiness that they might have had for the taking4 ,i didn't want to go to the meeting1 ,i felt so weak and unable to bear the tension of spiritual excitement4 ,but as it was it didn't tire me at all1 but made me love a lot of the people4 ,may the ,chinese feel the flood tide of new life that has come into ,peking6 ,and they must1 there can be nothing to hinder it4' ,the reference in the last part of this letter is to a great deepening of spiritual life that took place among the missionaries1 and also among some of the ,european residents in ,peking4 ,the first explicit reference by ,mr4 ,gilmour to his coming sorrow occurs in the ,diary2 but in his report1 sent home a month later1 and dated ,august #d1 #ahhe1 he wrote3 ',mrs4 ,gilmour is very ill1 and now very weak4 ,i fear all hope of her recovery is taken away4 ,her trouble is a run-down1 but the serious complication is her lungs4 ,we are at the hills in a temple with another family1 the ,childs4 ,mrs4 ,child came out in the same ship with ,mrs4 ,gilmour1 when1 as ,miss ,prankard1 she came first to ,china4 ,mrs4 ,child renders invaluable service to the sick one4' ,in the ,diary the following entries show the course of sorrowful events3-- ',july #d1 #ahhe4--;,it really dawns upon me to-day in such a way that ,i can feel it that my wife is likely to die1 and ,i too feel something of how desolate it would be for me with my motherless children sent away from me4 ,eh1 man6' ',august #bb4--;,emily spoke of being sometimes so happy4 ,she is quite aware now she cannot recover4' ',september #ac1 ,sunday1 ,peking4--,emily saw all the women4 ,she felt very weak to-day4 ,remarked at #g ,p4,m43 ,well1 ,jamie1 ,i am going1 ,i suppose4 ,i'll soon see you there4 ,it won't be long4 ,i said she would not want me much there4 ,she said fondly she would4 ,i think ,i'll sit at the gate and look for you coming4 ,said she has been out for the last time4 ,asked me not to go to chapel1 but went4' ',september #ag4--,to-day1 in the morning1 ,i promised ,emily that ,i would remain home from the chapel and give her a holiday4 ,she was so pleased4 ,we had a most enjoyable afternoon4 ,she was so happy4 ,she sat up for an hour or so1 and we conversed about all things1 the use of the beautiful in creation1 c4' ,all the next day ,mrs4 ,gilmour slowly sank1 and soon after the midnight of ,september #ah passed peacefully within 'the gate4' ,the story of the closing scene was thus told by her husband3-- ',peking3 ,saturday1 ,september #ai1 #ahhe4 ',my dear ,meech1--,emily crossed the river last night1 or this morning rather at #ab4ae4 ',i was called in from the ,friday evening prayer meeting just as it was concluding1 and found her with laboured breath and fixed eyes4 ,for a time we thought it was all to end at once4 ,after a time she got over it4 '#aj ,p4,m4 was a repetition of #h ,p4,m4's experience4 ',at #ab midnight she was labouring much in her breath1 coughed a very little cough1 and all at once the rapidity of her breath nearly doubled1 suddenly her hand fell over powerless1 her eyes became fixed1 there was some difficult breathing1 and with ,mrs4 ,henderson on the one side of the bed1 which had been moved when we came from the hills into the sitting-room1 she departed4 ',during these four hours she spoke little2 once or twice she called for milk1 but for the most part contented herself with assenting or dissenting to and from my remarks and suggestions by moving the head4 ',at #aj4cj1 seeing me sleepy and desiring to sleep herself1 she asked me to go and lie down1 but ,i said ,i would not do so while she was so ill4 ',i asked her if she felt all safe in the hands of ,jesus4 ,she nodded her assent4 ',some month or six weeks ago we two had talked about everything to be done in case of her death1 the children1 etc41 and not only then1 but more than once we had talked over spiritual things1 because we feared that when the end came she might not be able to speak4 ,i am glad we did so4 ,during these four hours she was either in such great distress1 or1 when free from distress1 was so tired and eager to sleep1 that talking was hardly possible4 ',the ,rest she so longed for she has now got4 ',i treasure what she said one day when she had been1 ,i think1 reading her wall text1 ,to me to live is ,christ1 to die is gain1 when ,i asked her if she felt it so4 ,she said she did1 and often would remark that to go would be far better for her1 but she was so eager to get well for my sake and that of the children4 ,for herself1 too1 she was more and more enchanted with the beauty ,god had put in the world4 ,on ,friday ,i went in1 she waved her hand and said1 ,what beauty6 ,it was some flowers on the table4 ,a bunch of grapes1 a beauty1 filled her mouth with praise to ,god for all ,his goodness to her4 ,the post waits4 ,funeral ,monday4 ',yours in sorrow1 ',j4 ,,gilmour4' ,mrs4 ,gilmour was buried on ,september #ba4 ,her faith was clear and strong4 ,uncommon as their courtship had been1 the subsequent married life was very happy4 ,she was the equal of her husband in missionary zeal and enthusiasm1 and he himself bears testimony to the unerring skill which she possessed in gauging the moral qualities of the ,chinese4 ,she gave much time and labour to ,christian work among the women and girls in ,peking2 and her husband was greatly helped in his work during the nearly eleven years of married life by her sound judgment1 her strong affection1 her loving ,christian character1 and her entire consecration to the ,lord ,jesus ,christ4 ,,chapter ,,ix ,a ,,change ,,of ,,field ,during #ahhe ,james ,gilmour gradually reached the conclusion that a change of field was desirable4 ,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 ,mongols4 ,no one knew so well as himself the advantages and the disadvantages of this plan4 ,the reasons that finally led him to a decision were noble and characteristic4 ,it was a hard field1 and no one else could or would go4 ,the ,mongols of the ,plain were to some extent benefited by the ,american ,mission at ,kalgan2 those dwelling in ,eastern ,mongolia were without a helper4 ,considerations like these1 as he tells us1 decided his new course of action4 ',in these circumstances my mind has turned away north-east from ,peking1 where people are not so scarce1 and where the ,mongols live as farmers4 ,i have been to that region twice4 ,i knew some people who came from that region4 ,as soon as ,mr4 ,rees returns from ,chi ,chou ,i hope to go again4 ,a doctor might be induced to settle somewhere there1 and though it would be hard a bit1 a family might live there too1 which ,i don't think would be possible on the plain beyond ,kalgan4 ',i am fully aware of the difficulties4 ,they are3-- '#a4 ,i have no proper ,chinaman to take with me4 ,more than half the population is ,chinese1 and ,i could not do well without a ,chinaman4 '#b4 ,it is a new district and will take time to work up4 '#c4 ,it is not easily reached from ,peking or anywhere else1 and will be a very isolated part4 '#d4 ,it is rather a rough and unsafe district4 ',i know all these1 but feel1 in reliance on ,god1 like facing the thing as the best and proper thing to do4 ,there are inns all about1 and though for some time a private location may not be secured1 we can still go about among the people4 ,my main hope1 though1 is in settling down somewhere as a head centre1 in close contact with the people1 so that ,i earnestly desire that the doctor should come4 ,if he is unmarried ,i would be glad to see him to-morrow4 ,could you not get a doctor who would be willing to remain single till a location could be secured8 ,after a location has been secured let him marry if he likes4 ',i think that the region ,i have in my mind would make a good centre for a doctor1 and that he would have plenty of practice among ,mongols and ,chinese1 especially if he could start a hospital for in-patients4 ',i am very glad that the ,mongolian region around ,kalgan has shown signs of bearing fruit4 ,it has strengthened my faith much4 ,i am also glad that ,god has acknowledged in some degree my work here in ,peking1 and ,i feel more hopeful than ever ,i did4 ,god1 too1 has cut me adrift from all my fixings1 so that ,i feel quite ready to go anywhere if only ,he goes with me4' ,mr4 ,gilmour entered upon this new departure on the understanding that a medical colleague should be sent to him at the earliest possible moment4 ,this responsibility the ,london ,board assumed and endeavoured to discharge4 ,the result was a severe trial to the faith1 not only of the solitary worker but to all interested--and they were many--in the fate of the new mission4 ,as we shall see later on1 when a congenial and competent medical colleague reached him1 and was entering with vigour and hope upon the work1 ,dr4 ,mackenzie of ,tientsin suddenly died1 and before the immediate and urgent claims of ,tientsin the claims of ,mongolia had to give way4 ,but in estimating the success of both missions1 that on the ,plain1 and that in ,eastern ,mongolia1 it must never be forgotten that what ,gilmour considered essential1 the presence and help of a medical colleague1 was never in the ,providence of ,god granted to him for any length of time4 ,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 necessity4 ',i left ,peking ,december #ad1 #ahhe1 and re-entered ,peking ,february #af1 #ahhf1 so that my absence from here was just two months4 ,the part of ,mongolia ,i went to is situated #hjj li1 or say #bgj ,english miles1 north-east by east of ,peking1 and1 at the usual rate of #ij li 7or #cj miles7 a day1 is nine days distant4 ,this is not the part of ,mongolia near ,kalgan4 ,kalgan is north-north-west of ,peking1 five days' journey4 ,illustration3 ,,map ,,illustrating ,,james ,,gilmour',s ,,labours ,,in ,,eastern ,,mongolia ',whilst ,i was considering my plans a ,mongol appeared in ,peking who was willing to take me to his home1 and ,i went with him1 hoping thus to get introduced to a district of country1 an introduction being both necessary and helpful4 ,ta ,chng ,tz7u is the name of the place where1 through his introduction1 ,i was located from ,december #bc1 #ahhe to ,february #i1 #ahhf4 ,i had a room in an inn4 ,i spent some days at the home of my ,mongol friend and made two journeys to other places1 but ,ta ,chng ,tz7u was my headquarters4 ,it is a small market town1 with a daily fair4 ,the surrounding neighbourhood is peopled with ,mongols and ,chinese in about equal proportions4 ,the ,mongols are mostly lords of the soil1 and style the ,chinese slaves1 that is in the country4 ,the real trade of the whole locality is in the hands of the ,chinese4 ,the ,mongols all speak ,chinese1 and the town resident ,mongols have1 many of them1 forgotten ,mongolian1 and laugh at themselves as not being able to speak their own language4 ',the country is like ,wales in this respect1 that1 though ,mongolian is the native language1 the coming language and the language that is affected and sought after1 is ,chinese4 ,well-to-do ,mongols have ,chinese teachers for their children1 and read ,chinese well4 ,during my stay there ,i sold more ,chinese than ,mongolian books1 and talked more ,chinese than ,mongolian1 though my intercourse was largely with ,mongols4 ',opium is largely grown there1 so is tobacco1 and large quantities of whisky are manufactured and consumed4 ,it was partly a famine year4 ,at a little distance from ,ta ,chng ,tz7u the harvest had failed1 and ,i think the line of preaching that seemed to impress the hearers most was one that reasoned with them about the growth1 manufacture1 and use of these three1 being so contrary to ,heaven's design in giving land and rain to grow food1 that it was not to be wondered at if1 seeing how the land and rain were perverted1 ,god should send short rations4 ,evil speaking1 vile language1 made a fourth subject which naturally came in for notice1 and on all these four subjects ,i scarcely ever spoke without gaining the nearly universal concurrence of my little audiences4 ',the great theme1 however1 was ,christ1 and ,i think that most men in that little market town1 and a great many of those who used to come to the fair1 both heard and understood the great gospel truth of salvation in ,jesus4 ',eager to see some more of the country1 and in the hope that ,i might be able to talk to him on the way1 ,i hired a ,mongol to carry my bedding and books1 and made a descent on a village thirty miles away4 ,the general cold of the winter was aggravated by a snowstorm which overtook us at the little market town1 and ,i have no words to tell you how the cold felt that day as ,i paraded that one street4 ,i sold a fair number of books1 though my hands were too much benumbed almost to be able to hand the books out4 ,i made some attempts at preaching1 but the muscles were also benumbed--that day was a cold day4 ',i was turned out of two respectable inns at ,bull ,town because ,i was a foot traveller1 had no cart or animal1 that is1 and had to put up in a tramps' tavern because ,i came as a tramp6 ',next journey ,i made ,i hired a man and a donkey4 ,the donkey was my passport to respectability1 and ,i was more comfortable too1 being able to take more bedding with me4 ,i was warned against going to ,ch'ao ,yang1 sixty miles1 the roads being represented as unsafe2 but ,i went and found no trouble1 though there was a severe famine in the district4 ,i spent a day each at two market towns on the way1 and two days in ,ch'ao ,yang itself4 ',the journey home ,i made on foot1 a donkey driven by a ,mongol carrying my bedding and books4 ,i adopted this plan mainly to bring myself into close contact with the ,mongol4 ,he proved himself a capital fellow to travel with1 but as yet has shown no signs of belief in ,christ4 ,as we did long marches my feet suffered badly4' ,in a private letter written at this time he enters a little more fully into what he had to endure4 ',i had a good time in ,mongolia1 but oh6 so cold4 ,some of the days ,i spent in the markets were so very cold that my muscles seemed benumbed1 and speech even was difficult4 ,i met with some spiritual response1 though1 and with that ,i can stand cold4 ,eh6 man1 ,i have got thin4 ,i am feeding up at present4 ,i left my medicines1 books1 c41 there1 and walked home here1 a donkey carrying my baggage1 a distance of about three hundred miles1 in seven and a half days1 or about forty miles a day1 and my feet were really very bad4 ',at night ,i used to draw a woollen thread through the blisters4 ,in the morning ,i hirpled a little1 but it was soon all right4 ,i walked1 not because ,i had not money to ride1 but to get at the ,mongol who was with me4' ,these graphic pictures enable us to realise how ,mr4 ,gilmour began the last great missionary enterprise of his life4 ,he returned to ,peking1 and then had to pass through that severe trial which comes to almost all missionaries in the foreign field1 which is often one of their heaviest crosses4 ,his two eldest boys were sent home for education4 ,they sailed from ,tientsin ,march #bc1 #ahhf1 the diary for that day containing the brief but significant reference3 ',at #f4de ,a4,m4 came all the friends once more1 at #g4cj cast off1 and the vessel slowly fell out into the middle of the river4 ,oh6 the parting6' ,but at #h4cj on the same morning the sorrowful father had started on his solitary return journey to ,peking4 ,bereft now of both wife1 and boys he was to pass the rest of his career in ,china1 except for the brief intervals of residence in ,peking1 in the cheerless1 noisy1 uncongenial quarters of an ordinary ,chinese inn4 ,the return of the ,rev4 ,s4 ,e4 ,meech in ,april #ahhf set him entirely free from mission work in the capital4 ,he had already acquired the needful experience of his new field of labour1 and on ,april #bb1 #ahhf1 he started anew for ,eastern ,mongolia4 ,it is neither necessary nor desirable to enter into any very detailed description of the next three years4 ,in many respects day after day was occupied with the round of ever recurring and similar duties1 but it is desirable to enter1 if we can1 with some minuteness into his inner life1 and to lay bare the spiritual sources and springs of his outward actions4 ,it is in these1 in our judgment1 that the true beauty1 the abiding lesson1 and the great success of his life consist4 ,and this he has enabled us to do4 ,in a private1 not an official1 letter to the ,rev4 ,r4 ,wardlaw ,thompson1 the ,foreign ,secretary of the ,london ,missionary ,society1 he indicates his actions and the motives that were impelling him so to act1 during the summer of #ahhf4 ,differences of opinion arose with his fellow missionaries as to the wisdom of his methods and the soundness of his judgment4 ,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 ,yang4 ,but no question ever did or ever could arise as to the absolute consecration of his heart and life to the work of winning souls4 ,the truth of the words in one of his official reports was manifest to all3 ',man1 the fire of ,god is upon me to go and preach4' ',the past four and a half months has been a time of no small trial and spiritual tension4 ,since ,april #bb ,i have had no tidings of the outer world4 ,an agent of the ,bible ,society1 who was selling books in the district1 was with me for a month1 but he had gone out before me1 so that when we met he had no news for me1 but wanted news from me4 ',some men1 who gave promise of believing in ,jesus1 have fallen away1 and ,i have a haunting suspicion that it was one such man who1 on the morning of ,sunday1 ,june #f1 stole my beautiful copy of the revised ,bible1 leaving me till now with only a ,new ,testament in ,english4 ,i had much difficulty in procuring that ,bible1 and wasn't it heartless of a ,chinaman to steal it for the leather binding1 for which even he could have hardly any use8 ,i said not a single word to anyone in the town about it1 as ,i feared that making trouble over it would hinder me in future1 by making innkeepers afraid to receive me1 lest they should be held responsible for such losses4 ,i can hardly say though1 that1 at first at least1 ,i took joyfully the spoiling of my goods4 ,secret tears testified to my sense of the loss1 but falling back on the faith that all things work together for my good1 ,i was comforted1 and gave the more earnest heed to the ,new ,testament4 ',then the ,chinese would ask1 ,how many people have believed and entered the religion since you left ,peking8 and such questions kept before my mind painfully how slowly things move1 and drew out my soul in more painful longing for ,god's blessing in the conversion of men4 ',in the beginning of ,july ,i must have got a touch of the sun4 ,nearly all that month ,i was ill1 but just then was the great annual fair at ,ch'ao ,yang1 so1 ill and all1 ,i had the tent put up daily and dispensed medicines4 ,my assistant1 however1 had to do most of the preaching2 ,i had not much strength for that4 ,the first three weeks in ,august ,i had diarrhoea and dysentery4 ,i was at ,ta ,chng ,tz7u4 ,there was no fair1 and but poor market gatherings1 but1 weather permitting1 we put up our tent daily and did good work4 ,paul says 7,gal4 iv4 #ai71 ,my little children1 of whom ,i am again in travail until ,christ be formed in you1 and he is right4 ,it is a carrying of men in prayer until the image of ,christ is formed in them2 and how many of them prove abortions4 ',one of the converts at ,ta ,chng ,tz7u caused me no little anxiety4 ,i knew that he professed to be impressed last winter4 ,he said he wanted to call on me in my inn and tell me his difficulties4 ,i was eager to get home1 but as he said he would have no leisure before a certain date1 ,i waited till then1 nearly a week1 for almost no other purpose than to see him4 ,he never came1 and ,i trudged back to ,peking downcast about him4 ',this year when we came to ,ta ,chng ,tz7u on our way to ,ch'ao ,yang1 on going to his place for breakfast 7he is one of two brothers who own and manage a restaurant1 and both of them1 and a third brother1 are members of a sect which forbids opium1 whisky1 and tobacco71 we were shown into the more private part1 and he and his brother and the cook set upon us to inquire more fully about ,christianity1 how to enter it1 etc1 etc4 ,this took me by surprise1 and made me so glad that my breakfast for the most part remained uneaten1 though we had travelled eight hours that morning4 ,in the evening ,i did not go for a meal1 and my assistant on going was met at the door by the inquirers1 and so engaged in conversation about ,christianity that darkness set in1 the cooking range was closed1 and the establishment shut for the day before they were finished4 ,my man had no dinner4 ,next day we went on towards ,ch'ao ,yang thankful and happy4 ,these restaurant people had a few days before been visited by the ,bible ,society's agent1 and had derived much ,christian benefit from his ,chinese assistant4 ',our interview with the restaurant men was on ,monday4 ,in ,ch'ao ,yang next ,sunday1 just six days after being1 so to speak1 on the mount of transfiguration with these ,chinamen1 on dismissing the few hangers-on that remained at the close of the afternoon preaching1 and stepping down from the little vantage-ground from which ,i had been speaking1 one of the audience said he would go home with me to my inn1 as he had come with a letter to me from ,ta ,chng ,tz7u from the ,bible agent4 ,i went to the inn1 read the letter1 and found that he and his ,chinese helper had differed1 and he had come to ,ta ,chng ,tz7u seeking me4 ,he needed and asked my help1 so next day ,i started for ,ta ,chng ,tz7u1 and on arriving there found that the little place was full of the news of the quarrel between the ,christian foreigner and the ,christian native4 ,that was bad1 but1 worse still1 on going to the restaurant ,i found the earnestness of the inquirers gone1 and one of them said openly1 ,if this is the sort of fruit that ,christianity bears1 what better is it than any other religion8 ',in a later visit paid in ,may they seemed colder still1 and the place where ,i had hoped to gather fruit seemed barren and hopeless4 ',in ,august we again visited ,ta ,chng ,tz7u4 ,i was blue4 ,the fever of ,july1 the defection of the ,mongol donkey man1 who failed to come for us1 the diarrhoea1 which on the journey changed to dysentery1 being baffled in attempting to find suitable quarters in ,ta ,chng ,tz7u1 and the chilled hearts of the restaurant men1 made our entrance not cheerful4 ,on the way my assistant and ,i had talked over matters1 and resolved by prayer and endeavour to see what could be done for the restaurant men4 ,just ten days after our arrival the eldest brother called on me in my inn and said1 ,to-night ,i dismiss my gods1 henceforth ,i am a ,christian4 ,i am ready to be baptized any day you may be pleased to name4 ',i cannot say what a relief these words brought me4 ,there still remained anxieties in his case1 but in a day or two things came out all right1 and day by day in public in the restaurant he might be seen studying his catechism when unemployed1 and speaking for ,christianity to all who asked what book that was4 ',he is a leading spirit1 though a poor scholar1 and was the deacon or head of the branch of the sect in ,ta ,chng ,tz7u1 called ,tsai li ti4 ,there are some twelve or sixteen members4 ,most of them joined the sect through his endeavours1 and he is eager to rear up ,christianity in the same way4 ,you will partly understand now how anxious ,i am about him4 ,if he goes on all right1 we may soon have a little company of believers there4 ,if he falls away--well1 all things work together for my good4 ',one thing that moved these restaurant men towards ,christianity was an incident which happened in their establishment last winter4 ,a half-drunk ,chinaman reviled me badly one evening at dinner4 ,he laid to my charge many bad and grievous things4 ,though they were utterly false as regards me1 they might be quite true of some other foreigner whom he may have met4 ,it was useless to reason with a drunken man over a case of mistaken identity1 so ,i said nothing1 ate my dinner1 paid my bill1 and went to my inn4 ,the restaurant men were very wroth with the man1 they told me afterwards1 and felt like going for him themselves1 and never forgot what they were pleased to call my patience4 ,in ,god's providence this little incident seems to have been an important factor in impressing them with favourable ideas of ,christianity4 ',another thing which seems to have impressed them was their seeing me this ,august1 day by day at my post in my tent1 carrying on the work1 when they knew ,i was ill1 and1 according to their ideas1 should have been in bed4 ,i was not really so ill as all that1 but that was their idea4 ,i would be very glad to have another reviling and another attack of dysentery if the same results would follow4 ',the profession of the other adherent at ,ta ,chng ,tz7u1 and the moving of the hearts1 seemingly at least1 of other two men who live at a distance1 and had to leave for home suddenly before receiving full instruction1 but of whom ,i try to have hope1 have all moved my heart and seem answers to a great longing ,i had been crying to ,god about1 namely1 that ,he would give me power to move these heathen4 ,oh that ,he would do it6 ',i have felt it my duty to become a vegetarian on trial4 ,i don't know whether ,i can carry it out4 ,the ,chinese look up so much to this supposed asceticism that ,i am eager to acquire the influence a successful vegetarianism would give me1 and ,i am trying it in true ,chinese style1 which forbids eggs1 leeks and carrots1 c4 ,as far as ,i have gone all is well4 ,i am a little afraid that the great appetite it gives may drive me to eat till ,i become fat4 ,we'll see4 ',the mothers bringing their babies moves me much4 ,it reminds me of scenes in ,peking when another and more skilful hand ministered to their diseases2 then the picture of the family surroundings fills itself up1 and ,i have to seek a place where to weep4 ',altogether it is a sowing in tears4 ,the district is not an easy one1 the life which the work entails is a hard one4 ,there is no hardship or self-denial ,i am not ready to go in for1 but ,i want you to understand me and let me have your sympathy4' ,this long extract1 not too long we venture to think1 as enabling us to see into the heart of the man1 raises several points of great moment4 ,nothing could illustrate better his eagerness to get into close touch and perfect sympathy with the people4 ,he had long before adopted the native dress of an ordinary shopkeeper or respectable workman4 ,he now adapted himself1 as far as possible1 to the native food4 ,he lived on such as the poor eat4 ,often he would take his bowl of porridge1 native fashion1 in the street1 sitting down upon a low stool by the boiler of the itinerant restaurant keeper4 ,the vegetarianism referred to was1 as he indicates1 very thoroughgoing and in accord with ,chinese ideas4 ,the great poverty of the people also pressed upon his attention the enormous waste induced by whisky drinking1 and by the smoking of tobacco and opium4 ,the sect ,tsai li ti referred to was a small organisation among the ,chinese for endeavouring to secure entire abstinence from all three4 ,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 heathen4 ,famine often visited those parts1 and he came to hold the view that men could hardly pray1 ',give us this day our daily bread1' with any hope of a favourable answer1 or even reasonably expect ,god's blessing upon their tillage of the soil1 while they continued to use a large part of the grain produced in the manufacture of strong drink1 and while they continued to set apart large districts for the cultivation of tobacco and opium4 ,hence1 at first1 he made entire abstinence from all three an indispensable requisite for admission into the ,christian ,church4 ,it was hardly to be expected1 perhaps1 that his colleagues in the ,north ,china ,mission would be able to see eye to eye with him on these points4 ,with regard to opium the opinion as to abstinence is unanimous4 ,with regard to the other two1 the prevailing opinion was that1 however desirable entire abstinence may be1 it is not authoritatively commanded1 and ought not to be made an indispensable qualification for baptism4 ,it seemed to some of them that there was danger of the heathen confusing ,christianity with their own ,tsai li ti4 ,in reply to such a suggestion ,gilmour wrote3 ',my hearers not know the difference between ,tsai li ti and ,christianity6 ,thanks be to ,god1 this whole town and neighbourhood has rung with the truths of ,christianity4 ,children1 men1 shop-boys1 and1 of all people in the world1 a lad gathering grain stumps in the fields a long way off--it has been my lot to hear them repeat sayings of mine1 when they saw me1 and did not think ,i could hear them4' ,into this controversy as a mere discussion we have no desire to enter4 ,but to enable the reader to know ,mr4 ,gilmour exactly as he was it deserves more than a passing reference4 ,the following may be taken as an example of many letters that passed on this subject4 ',i start perhaps on ,tuesday4 ,pardon me for expressing myself on one matter--the ,chinese teetotal business4 ,you and some of my colleagues seem to me as if ,i could not move you on this question4 ,it is a great grief to me4 ,i think you are not right in your ideas about this4 ,i suppose you can beat me in argument4 ,i am still more than ever convinced that teetotalism is right and needful for the success of native ,christian life in ,china4 ,we have some painful instances here of that among the natives--specially two--one of the two hailing from ,tientsin4 ',i don't know your ,tientsin ,church history1 but if it is anything like ours here you would find men standing nowhere almost as to ,christian character1 who but for drink and its concomitants might1 humanly speaking1 have shone4 ,and yet these are men to get whom out of sin ,christ died--brethren1 for whom ,christ died4 ',pardon me again when ,i take a short cut to what ,i want to say3 ,i believe were ,christ here now as a missionary amongst us ,he would be an enthusiastic teetotaller and a non-smoker4 ',tobacco is comparatively a harmless matter1 but it is not so unimportant as it seems to us foreigners4 ,whisky should go1 and ,i feel that the ,chinese would be quite ready1 if led1 to turn both whisky and tobacco out together4 ,they are born brothers in ,china1 useless1 and acknowledged to be such2 harmful as far as they are anything1 and comparatively expensive4 ',i would like to see you start in your church an anti-tobacco and whisky society2 voluntary1 of course1 in a church established as yours on the old lines4 ,though ,i stand alone1 ,i believe the flowing tide is with me4 ',wishing you many souls in #ahhg1 and eager that no minor difference of opinion should hinder our prayers4 ',yours ,i-hardly-know-how-to-say-what1 ',,james ,,gilmour4' ,in the ,chinese ,recorder1 for which he had been in the habit of writing for many years1 he published a paper in which he set forth with great clearness and fulness his views on this important matter4 ,it deserves a place in the story of his life because in it he has sketched1 as no one else could1 himself1 and some of his later methods of evangelistic address4 ',in ,december1 #ahhe1 in a district of ,north ,china new to me1 ,i found myself preaching to a small crowd of ,chinese and ,mongols in a small market town4 ,i was in a lane leading on to the main street4 ,at my back was a mud wall1 in front and at both sides was the audience1 within hearing was the main street1 above1 a bright sun made the place warm and cheerful4 ,after listening a while the audience wanted to know how good seasons could be secured4 ,to the truths ,i had been preaching they had listened with respect and fair attention1 but at the first opportunity for speaking they wanted to know how to get a good harvest4 ',at first ,i paid little attention to this question1 but after a little while it was asked again1 and that by several men in succession1 and ,i soon found that the people of the place had little room for anything else in their thoughts4 ,there was good reason for it too4 ,their last harvest had been a poor one4 ,three-tenths was about the yield4 ,they too with their three-tenths were comparatively well off4 ,some distance from them the yield had not been more than two-tenths1 and a little beyond that again1 there were fields which had been sown1 but never reaped4 ,there had been nothing to reap4 ,nothing had grown4 ,i passed some of these fields afterwards and saw them4 ,was it wonderful then that the main thought in their minds should be the harvest failure1 and that they should be mainly anxious to know how to secure a good season next year8 ,looking at my audience ,i saw that nine-tenths of them were poorly clad4 ,nearly one-half of them were quite insufficiently clothed1 and many were in garments suited to summer weather only4 ,i was in a sheepskin coat and felt shoes1 and even thus was not too warm1 and could not help thinking how cold they must be1 in their torn clothes and ordinary shoes4 ,in addition to this they seemed hungry4 ,i dare say perhaps one-half of them were in actual suffering from deficiency of food4 ',taking these things into consideration1 ,i did not regard their great and often-repeated question1 ,how about the harvest8 as impertinent1 and set myself to answer it4 ,when the question was again asked ,i replied by asking another1 namely1 ,do you think you deserve good harvests8 ,this question usually made them stare and ask1 ,why should not we deserve good harvests8 and ,i would reply1 ,in the first place1 because of that tobacco pipe in your mouth4 ,a laugh of incredulity would usually pass round the audience1 but when done laughing1 and asked to consider the folly of spending money buying a pipe and tobacco when the smoker was shivering in his rags1 and hungry1 and especially when asked what was the good of smoking1 they laughed no more4 ,when pressed to say where the tobacco came from1 they would admit that the cultivation of tobacco took up no small proportion of their better-class land1 and when pressed to say how much land was given up to tobacco cultivation1 they would admit1 what did not seem to have occurred to them before1 that the amount of land given up to tobacco cultivation was very large4 ,how large it was ,i had no conception till the following summer1 when1 walking round the suburbs1 ,i would look over the low mud walls of their gardens1 and be amazed at the expanse of land covered with the great1 broad green leaf of the flourishing tobacco plant4 ',putting these things before my audience1 they would admit that the cultivation of tobacco was a misuse of a large portion of their better land1 that in cultivating and using tobacco they were doing what was wrong1 and hindering heaven from feeding them4 ,heaven had given them good land and good rains for the purpose of growing food4 ,the growth of tobacco was defeating heaven's purpose1 and as long as they did so1 what face had they to ask for good seasons8 ,to take good land and plant it with tobacco1 with what face could they ask heaven to send rain1 seeing that if rain came1 what grew would not be grain but tobacco1 a thing which they themselves to a man admitted was no use at all8 ,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 tobacco4 ',in the course of a year and a half of outdoor preaching in streets and at fairs1 and private conversation with individuals1 ,i never met an audience that defended tobacco as useful1 and do not think ,i met more than three individuals who had anything to say in its defence4 ,almost everyone1 smokers included1 admitted its uselessness4 ,many do not seem to have thought the cultivation and use of it any harm1 or having any bearing on the question of food supply and good harvests2 they usually regarded it as simply a piece of extravagance on their own part1 which had no bearing on anything or anybody beyond themselves4 ,but when pointed out to them they readily admit that tobacco cultivation lessens the production of grain1 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 rain4 ,i myself never used to look on smoking as any great evil1 till led into this district1 and thus forced to study the subject4 ,in ,england ,i had never seen tobacco grown4 ,a smoker there spends a few coppers1 and smokes2 what harm does he do8 ,does not he increase trade and help the revenue8 ,his smoking seems to harm no one but himself4 ,such were my thoughts4 ,but in this district ,i see the cultivation of tobacco limiting the supply of grain1 thus raising the price of food1 and consequently making men go hungry4 ,in addition ,i see men1 women1 and sometimes children1 in rags and hungry even1 with pipes and tobacco1 and when they complain of heaven not supplying them with enough food to eat1 it would be less than honest not to point out to them that the fault lies not with heaven1 but with themselves1 and that part at least of the scarcity of grain they experience is due to the cultivation and use of tobacco1 which throughout that whole region is very excessive4 ',i have dwelt thus at length on the tobacco question1 not because it is the most important of the three things here spoken of1 but because many good brethren have not been able to see with me on this point4 ,they feel1 as ,i used to do before ,i went to that region1 that tobacco smoking is a small affair1 not worth raising into prominence or the region of conscience or ,christian duty at all4 ,these brethren have not seen how things work4 ,i feel sure that almost any missionary placed as ,i was would have done exactly what ,i have done1 taken a stand against this excessive growth and more excessive use of tobacco1 for1 not content with what they grow1 they actually import quantities of it4 ,tobacco is not the greatest cause of poverty and hunger in the district1 but it is a much greater factor in poverty than would at first be supposed4 ,but for its use in that district a large number of men1 women1 and children1 who are deficiently clothed and fed1 would be warm and sleek4 ,christ taught men to pray1 ,give us this day our daily bread4 ,it must be wrong to make hundreds of men1 women1 and children go half clad and half fed1 simply that eighty or ninety per cent4 of the adults of that district may indulge in tobacco1 a thing1 according to their own admission1 utterly without use1 and for the continuance of which they can give no reason1 further than that they have acquired the habit and find it difficult to give it up4 ',a more serious question1 however1 is the whisky4 ,in going into that region ,i was amazed at the quantity of whisky used4 ,i used to lodge in an inn and take my meals in an eating-house4 ,there1 twice a day1 ,i had an opportunity of studying the drinking habits of the country4 ,almost every man who entered the eating-house first called for a whisky warmer4 ,supplied with that1 he would go out and buy his whisky1 coming back he would set it in the charcoal fire to warm1 and then slowly drink it from the tiny wine cups common in ,china1 inviting me to join him1 and wondering at a man who could evidently afford it1 not treating himself to two ounces of whisky1 and wondering still more when he learned that ,i did not use tobacco4 ,it would be an exaggeration1 but not a great exaggeration1 to say that every man who entered the eating-house began his meal by drinking whisky4 ,in replying to the question put by my street audiences as to how they were to get good harvests1 ,i would ask them1 after finishing the tobacco question1 ,how about your whisky drinking8 ,frequently they would anticipate me in this1 and say1 ,if tobacco is wrong1 how about whisky8 ,to convince them of the wrong of whisky was never difficult4 ,to ask good harvests from heaven1 then take grain given by heaven for food1 and turn it into whisky1 they did not need me to tell them this was wrong4 ,and there in that district it is a very crying wrong4 ,the quantity used is immense4 ,not only does it seem so to me1 but natives from other parts of ,china are struck by the excessive use of it4 ',the first time ,i travelled in the district1 ,i was struck by the manner in which they described the size and amount of trade of towns about which ,i made inquiries4 ,such and such a place had or had not a distillery and pawnshop4 ,such and such a town had so many distilleries1 and so many pawnshops4 ,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 pawnshop1 or both combined4 ,the bank notes current among the people are issued1 at but a small percentage1 by distilleries and pawnshops4 ,the first crop to ripen in the district is barley1 and that1 the natives will tell you1 all goes to the distillery4 ,on the road you will meet large carts drawn by six or seven mules4 ,the load is grain1 and of these carts a large number are owned by distilleries1 and go round the country collecting grain1 from which to brew whisky4 ,one of the first things to be heard in the morning after daylight1 in a quiet market town1 is a peculiar beating of a wooden drum4 ,ask what it means1 and you will be told it is such and such a distillery calling its hands to breakfast4 ,ask how many hands they have1 and you may find that one establishment has some sixty or seventy men who eat their food6 ,the whisky trade is simply enormous4 ,it is out of all proportion to every other trade4 ,the women as a rule do not drink1 the men do all the drinking--the males ,i should say1 for not a few boys acquire the habit of taking whisky to their meals long before they can be called men4 ,a very few men do not use whisky at all4 ,the poorer agricultural labourers drink it only when they can get it1 and just as much or as little as they can get4 ,many men take regularly two ounces--,chinese ounces--to each meal4 ,many take more4 ,many well-to-do people drink half a catty per day4 ,others drink a whole catty4#g ,some drink a catty and a half a day4 ,a small proportion of the male population find drinking a greater necessity than eating4 ,these are usually elderly men1 but as ,i write ,i can think of two men1 both young1 and both ,mongols1 one a priest1 the other a layman1 who have arrived at this advanced stage of whisky drinking4 #g ,a ,chinese weight equal to one pound and a third4 ',this excessive use of whisky has impoverished many families1 and has demoralised many men4 ,it has caused many quarrels1 and given rise to many lawsuits4 ,the evil caused by whisky is apparent to all1 but custom requires that friends should be honoured by being offered whisky1 business should be transacted over whisky1 and the general saying is that without whisky nothing can be done4 ,a farmer1 for example1 adding a few rooms to his buildings must supply his masons and joiners with whisky4 ,thus in universal use1 the quantity consumed is immense4 ,the quantity of grain used in the distilleries is almost beyond computation1 and ,i don't remember ever meeting a ,chinaman who did not admit that to distil whisky was to do evil4 ,they ask me how to get good harvests4 ,i tell them2 ,give up abusing the grain you have got1 before you ask for more4 ,if heaven sees you taking a large part of your superior land for raising the useless tobacco1 and taking a very large proportion of the grain sent you as food1 and using it not to eat1 nor to feed animals1 but distilling it into the hurtful whisky1 do you think heaven1 seeing all this waste going on1 is likely to hear your petitions and increase the supply of what you now waste so large a proportion8 ,if you bought food for your child1 and he ate only half and threw the other half to the pig1 would you be likely to buy him more just then1 even though he might say he was hungry8 ,this reasoning seems quite satisfactory and convincing to them1 and never fails to secure their expressed assent4 ',as to opium ,i never find it necessary to say much4 ,all admit it to be only and wholly bad4 ,yet the quantity grown in the district is immense4 ,in the early spring the very first movement of cultivation is the irrigation and working of the opium land1 and at the season nearly all the best land blazes with bloom of the poppy4 ,it is a sight to see the country people going to the markets with the milk in bowls and basins1 and the buyers and sellers of it riding along1 each with a weighing-balance stuck in his belt4 ,government restriction there is none1 the duty imposed is not very heavy1 and public opinion raises no voice against it4 ,it was originally grown1 say the natives1 so as to keep money from going out of the district in buying imported opium1 but the more it was grown the more it was used1 and now the quantity raised and smoked is immense4 ,there is a small proportion of farmers who have good land1 suitable for growing opium1 but who do not grow it4 ,but these men are few1 and as a general rule the very best pieces of land are set apart for the cultivation of opium4 ,the common conscience of the people tells them this is a wrong thing4 ,when therefore they ask how to get a good harvest1 they themselves acknowledge that the reply is just1 which says1 ,first leave off the waste of heaven's grace involved in the growth and manufacture of opium1 whisky1 and tobacco1 and then1 and not till then1 will it be reasonable for you to ask heaven for more bountiful harvests4 ',in connection with all this1 there is another fact that must not be forgotten4 ,drinkers of whisky1 and smokers1 especially of opium1 the better the year is1 the more they indulge4 ,in a poor year they use less whisky and opium2 the better the year1 and the cheaper tobacco1 whisky1 and opium are1 the more they use1 so that in place of making a proper return to heaven for a good year1 they only take the opportunity afforded them of running deeper into waste and wrong-doing4 ,is this the way to get better harvests8 ,considering the excessive growth and consumption of tobacco and opium1 and the excessive manufacture and use of whisky1 what could any honest1 straightforward man say to the people1 when they earnestly asked how they were to get good harvests1 but ,repent1 and cease this great waste8 ,and thus from no deliberate plan of mine1 but from the plain leading of circumstances1 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 tobacco1 as one of the first steps toward worshipping the true ,god4 ,many friends have demurred to my making teetotalism an essential of ,christianity1 and many more have still more strongly demurred to my taking such a pronounced stand against the use of tobacco4 ,the position of my friends is exactly the position ,i held myself before going into that region1 but after going to that region and seeing just how things were1 no other course seemed open to me1 but to demand in all who wanted to do right the abandonment of the whole three2 and ,i am convinced that almost any other missionary placed in the same circumstances would have taken the same stand4 ',this position too commends itself to the native mind1 and the native mind1 quite apart from me1 and before my going into the district1 had already risen up in protest against these abuses1 and1 in some parts of the country there1 the ,tsai li ti sect boasts not a few members4 ,the main practical doctrine of this sect is1 ,yen chiu pu tung--abstinence from tobacco1 whisky1 and opium4 ,the very existence of this sect1 and its flourishing condition there1 is a plain indication of what serious-minded natives felt about the excessive use of these three things4 ,friends say that ,i am putting this self-righteousness in place of faith in ,christ and the practice of higher duties4 ,i do nothing of the sort4 ,beginning with the ,chinaman where ,i find him1 and answering the questions which he insists on asking first1 ,i appeal to him to give up what he admits to be wrongdoing1 sin 7tsao nieh71 as the first step in ceasing to do evil learning to do well1 and coming into right relationship with ,god through ,christ4 ,some friends are much alarmed lest this should lead to self-righteousness4 ,there is no danger of that4 ,the danger lies all the other way4 ,to leave ,christians drinking whisky and smoking tobacco in that region1 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 sin1 and all must admit that this would never do4 ,the condition of things in that region is such that ,i have no hesitation in saying that a man1 to be honest in obeying ,god by refraining from what is wrong1 must throw up his connexion with these three things1 tobacco1 whisky1 opium4 ',in that region4 ,it will be noticed that ,i have carefully confined my remarks to the state of things in that region4 ,that region is peculiar in producing within its own bounds almost all that is necessary for life and luxury even4 ,it is peculiar too in having just exactly as many inhabitants as it can support1 no more1 no less4 ,when the population increases too much it overflows into ,manchuria4 ,when the population is less than the full complement1 it is instantly replenished by fresh arrivals from the ,south4 ,the production of tobacco1 whisky1 and opium1 not only reduces a large proportion of the inhabitants from comfort to misery1 but also reduces sensibly the number of inhabitants4 ,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 world8 ,is what is true of that district not true of the whole world8 ,opium is a bad thing anywhere and everywhere4 ,about that there need be no debate4 ,whisky and tobacco reduce the comforts and the number of the population there--is their effect not the same on the world in general8 ,is it not true that but for tobacco and whisky there would be food and clothes for a much larger population8 ,and if so1 do not tobacco and whisky take the bread out of men's mouths and the clothes off their backs8 ,and if so1 has not every smoker and drinker a part in this sin8 ,christians pray1 ,give us this day our daily bread4 ,does not consistency require them to desist from defeating this prayer by smoking and drinking1 and thus reducing the amount of the total production of the necessaries of life8 ',tobacco seems harmless4 ,it is less harmful than opium and whisky by a long way4 ,but its production sensibly reduces the supply of grain and cotton1 and thus hinders the feeding of the hungry and the clothing the naked4 ,good earnest ,christian men smoke and drink4 ,evangelists and pastors owned of ,god in the salvation of souls smoke and see no harm in it4 ,the reason is they have never seen how the thing works1 and don't know the harm it does4 ,i feel sure that if they could see with their own eyes men1 women1 and children1 hungry and in rags1 when but for tobacco and whisky they might be well fed and well clothed1 these same good brethren1 whose example is quoted against my position1 would be the first and most earnest to say1 ,i will neither smoke tobacco nor drink whisky while the world stands4' ,at a later date1 not from any change in his views1 but in deference to the views of others1 with whom he was always anxious to work in harmony1 he modified his plans so far as not to make the use of whisky and tobacco absolute bars to admission into the ,christian ,church4 ,his brethren also were opposed to the ascetic mode of life he adopted1 and the extreme of hardship which he so often and so willingly encountered in his work4 ,but he himself often said1 and there are many references in his diary to the same effect1 that the kind of life he was living in the interior was quite as healthy1 and quite as conducive to longevity1 as the ordinary and certainly much more comfortable life of a missionary at ,peking4 ,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 illness1 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 ,chinese4 ,by the close of #ahhf three main centres of work had been selected in the new district--,ta ,chng ,tz7u1 ,t ,ss7u ,kou1 and ,ch'ao ,yang--all three being towns of some importance4 ,mr4 ,gilmour used to spend a month or so in each town1 visiting also the neighbourhood1 especially those places where fairs were held1 and where consequently the people came together in large numbers4 ,he had a tent which he used to put up in a main thoroughfare1 and there he stood from early morn until night healing the sick1 selling ,christian books1 talking with inquirers1 preaching at every opportunity the full and free ,gospel of salvation4 ,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 combined4 ,his correspondence is full of sharp and clear pictures of his daily toil1 and of his spiritual experiences4 ',ch'ao ,yang1 ,may #ad1 #ahhf4--,the people are very poor here4 ,last year the crops were not good4 ,when the leaves come out on the trees1 the poor people break off branches and eat the seeds of the elm-trees4 ,i saw one woman up a high tree1 taking down the seeds4 ,she took off half the door1 laid it up against the tree1 went on the cross-bars like a ladder1 and so got up4 ,she threw down the little branches and twigs1 and her three children below gathered them up4 ,the elm seeds are just ripe now4 ,they are the size of large fish-scales2 when the wind blows they come down like snow4 ',i met three lamas going to a far-off place to worship4 ,every two or three steps they lay down flat on the ground1 then got up other two or three steps1 then prostrated themselves again4 ,they did not know about ,jesus saving people1 and thought they would save themselves in that way4 ,poor people6 yet they don't like to hear about ,jesus saving people4 ,they want the credit of thus saving themselves4 ',september #c4--;,at ,ta ,chng ,tz7u we had seven days and seven nights' rain4 ,it was a great flood4 ,the river rose and washed away about a hundred acres of land and forty or fifty houses4 ,for two days the river floated down house-roof timbers1 beams1 c4 ,one poor man pulled down his house to save his timbers1 and the house fell on him and killed him4 ,it was pitiful to see the river washing away good land1 two square yards falling into the roaring flood at a time4 ,the ,chinamen did nothing3 only stood and looked at it4 ,lots of walls and many houses fell down4 ,one house in the court next our own fell down one morning after the rain was all over4 ,the people had just time to jump out at the window4 ,no one was hurt4 ,our room did not leak much1 but the outside of the wall towards the street fell down4 ,the inside of the wall still stood1 so our room was whole4 ,chinese walls are all built in two skins4 ,the one may fall and the other stand4 ',october #be4--;,god has given the hunger and thirst for souls3 will ,he leave me unsatisfied8 ,no1 verily4 ,i am reading at night1 before going to bed1 the ,psalms in a small-print copy of the ,revised ,bible1 holding it at arm's length almost1 close up to a ,chinese candle1 to suit my eyes2 for ,i cannot see small print well now1 and ,i find much strength and courage in the old warrior's words4 ,verily1 the ,psalms are inspired4 ,no doubt about that4 ,none that wait on ,him will be put to shame4 ,he is here with me4 ',november #ag4--,we start about the fifth watch 7#f ,a4,m471 get to the fair early1 spend the day on the street2 it is late before we get quiet1 and ,i fear it is now well on towards the third watch4 ,i am in first-class health1 though my feet and socks are in a decidedly bad way4 ,the country is not at all safe1 but we have as yet been preserved4 ,some days ago1 two men who slept on the same kang with us1 and started a little earlier than we did1 were robbed4 ,we overtook the travellers arranging themselves after the interview4 ,i was annoyed at not getting away as soon as they left4 ,god so arranged it1 you see4 ',i have got a step nearer to ,god lately4 ,it is this3 ,i do not now strive to get near ,him2 ,i simply ask ,christ to take me nearer ,him4 ,why shouldn't ,i8 ,does not ,christ save men from distance from ,god and bring us near8 ,peace1 ,blessing1 and ,power1 by ,haslam1 sent me by an old college mate in ,scotland1 was the means used4 ,this chum tried my soul much when ,i was at home last4 ,i think ,i was of use to him1 and now he has been of much use to me4 ,let us sow beside all waters4 ',my attitude now here is that of ,psalm cxxiii4 #b-d4 ,i feel that ,god can perform for1 by1 or rather use me as ,his instrument in performing1 if ,he has a mind to2 so ,i am looking for ,his hand1 gazing about among the people that come to my stand to see the ones ,god has sent4 ,i feel as helpless as a ,chinese farmer in a drought2 but when ,god opens the heavens1 down it will come4 ,amen4' ,mr4 ,gilmour returned to ,peking on ,december #ac1 having been away nearly eight months4 ,the tabulated results of this missionary campaign were3 ,patients seen 7about7 #e1gag ,hearers preached to #bc1gee ,books sold #c1jfg ,tracts distributed #d1ejj ,miles travelled #a1hfj ,money spent #abj4ib taels 7about7 #cjl4 to #djl4 ,he adds1 ',and out of all this there are only two men who have openly confessed ,christ4 ,in one sense it is a small result2 in another sense there is much to be grateful for4 ,i have to part with my assistant1 and am uncertain about whom to take in his place4 ,my travelling arrangements have broken down1 and ,i am perplexed in more ways than ,i have patience to write about2 but ,where ,he may lead ,i'll follow1 ,in ,him my trust repose1 ,and every hour in perfect peace ,i'll sing1 ,he knows1 ,he knows4 ,after a visit to ,tientsin and a brief rest in ,peking1 largely occupied with preparations for his next sojourn in ,mongolia1 he started on ,january #be1 #ahhg4 ,at ,ta ,chng ,tz7u he secured a kind of home1 so as not to be exposed to all the discomforts and drawbacks of inn life1 hoping also that a fixed centre might forward the preaching of the ,gospel4 ,two rooms were taken for a year4 ,they were situated at the inner end of a little trading court1 around which were a tin-shop1 a rope-spinner's room1 and a stable4 ,in one corner there was a pigsty4 ',when first ,i saw it ,i almost refused to occupy it2 but really there is no help for it1 and finally we took it for a year4' ,it is always difficult to secure premises in a ,chinese town1 and exceptionally so under the limitation of money and of suspicion and dislike to which ,christian missionaries are always exposed4 ',it is only a lodging for me1' ,mr4 ,gilmour continues1 'convenient for seeing converts or inquirers4 ,the court is much too small1 and the place not sanitary4 ,but don't be in the least uneasy4 ,my health is quite as safe there as in the best premises in ,peking4 ,i intend to occupy them for a month at the beginning of the ,chinese year1 and ten or fifteen days in the fourth1 seventh1 and tenth months4 ,i hope also to come to some arrangement for a lodging in ,ch'ao ,yang4 ,in ,t ,ss7u ,kou ,i am simply in an inn1 and pay at the usual rate for the nights ,i am there4' ,a letter to his boys1 dated ,march #bd1 #ahhg1 depicts the kind of scene he so often witnessed1 and the routine of work which would have proved so irksome but for the love and peace with which the ,saviour filled his soul4 ',mai ,li ,ying ,tz7u is a very wicked place4 ,there were no less than fourteen large tents set up for gambling1 and1 in addition1 some thirty or forty mat-tents for gambling4 ,i was there three days4 ,the first day people were shy4 ,the second day they were not much afraid4 ,the third day ,i had quite a lot of patients4 ,we sold a good few books1 preached a good deal1 and doctored a number of patients4 ,from there we went to ,bo-or-,chih1 starting in the dark and travelling seventeen ,english miles before breakfast4 ,after we had travelled ten miles we came to a little town just as people were opening their doors4 ,a seller of chieh jao1 that sticky stuff1 had just set out his wheelbarrow with his pudding4 ,we each bought a great piece1 wrapped it in a chien ping 7a thin scone71 and travelled on1 eating it4 ,that was our breakfast4 ,arrived at ,bo-or-,chih1 we set up our table at once1 and1 after preaching for a short time1 patients came round us in crowds1 and kept us busy till late in the afternoon4 ',the inn in which ,i am staying now is owned by two men1 brothers1 both of whom are opium smokers4 ,the inn has a good trade1 but it is all no use3 it all goes to opium1 and no good comes of it4 ,there are two barbers connected with the place1 and they both drink and gamble1 so that they are in rags and poverty1 though they have a fairly good business4 ,it is so painful to see men degraded thus when1 but for drink and gambling1 they might be well off4 ',april #bh1 #ahhg4--;,for the last week ,i have been very busy at a great temple gathering1 which lasted six days4 ,such crowds of people came1 though it was only a country district4 ,it was the great religious event of the year for the neighbourhood1 and how do you think they do8 ,they hire a theatrical company to come and act six days in a great mat stage1 put up for the occasion in front of the temple4 ,theatrical exhibitions are the religion of ,china4 ,these shows are supposed to be in honour of the idols in the temple4 ,the people think the gods will thus be pleased1 and give them good seasons1 health1 etc4 ',what a crowd of women came to worship at the temple on the great day of the festival6 ,till noon that day women only were allowed to enter3 no men4 ,how the women were dressed--in all the colours of the rainbow1 red trousers being especially prominent6 ,how they moved along on their little feet6 ,walk you along on your heels--as ,i have seen you do--and that is just how they move4 ',no end of gamblers came too4 ,there were twenty-six1 or so1 large tents put up to gamble in1 and about as many straw-mat booths1 and they all had plenty of trade4 ,eh1 man1 it is sad to see the utter worldliness of these ,chinese4 ,they soon found me out4 ,i had my tent put up in a quiet place away from the bustle4#h ,in front is the great flying sign1 ,the ,jesus ,religion ,gospel ,hall4 ,at the one end1 ,god the ,heavenly ,father2 at the other1 ,jesus the ,saviour4 ,they found me out1 not because they wanted to hear me preach1 but to get medicine4 ,oh1 the numbers of suffering people ,i saw and attended to6 ,i used to go out early in the morning1 and be there all day1 most of the time so busy that there was no time to eat4 ,to get food ,i had to steal away because everyone would want me just to attend to him or her before ,i went4 ,when ,i had attended to that one there was another1 and so on4 ,i was able to cure a number of them1 and got preaching a good deal too4 ,i sold a number of books4 ,it was the first time that a missionary had ever been there1 and it was difficult to make them understand4' #h ,see the illustration on p4 #bde4 ,it is1 as a rule1 by direct dealing with individuals that the best results of ,christian work in ,china are obtained1 and to this ,mr4 ,gilmour was always ready to make everything give way4 ,in season and out of season1 at any hour of the day or night1 he was at the service of inquirers4 ,the sight of a seeking face could banish his most exhausting feeling of fatigue1 and nothing so swiftly dispelled the depression1 from which he so often and so severely suffered1 as the sight of a heathen coming to be more perfectly instructed about 'the doctrine4' ,here are one or two such scenes3-- ',in the eighth month we had great pleasure in finding ,mr4 ,sun much advanced in knowledge1 and confessing his ,christianity with great boldness4 ,before we left he was baptized1 and one or two others were coming forward as inquirers--notably one man1 who is a member of a sect1 was making earnest inquiries4 ,these men seem to be following after righteousness in their own half-instructed fashion4 ,these sects are strong in numbers in some parts of the district1 and1 if ,god should give us some of these men as converts1 we might hope for rapid progress among their companions4 ,the last that ,i heard of this man1 he was coming to ,mr4 ,sun1 asking many questions4 ,he lodged with us one night1 and ,i invited him to breakfast with me in the morning4 ,he was declining on the plea that he was a vegetarian4 ,it was with much satisfaction that ,i was able to say in reply1 ,so am ,i4 ',the ,tsai li ti are strong in ,ch'ao ,yang4 ,i have been praying and working to gain them for a year and more4 ,one evening a deputation of two men called upon me in my inn1 and said they had come representing many who wanted to know about ,christianity4 ,they1 the ,tsai li ti1 had been watching me ever since ,i had come to ,ch'ao ,yang4 ,they had listened much and often to our preaching1 and now they had come to make formal inquiries4 ,i gave them such information as ,i thought they needed1 and we got on well enough till they asked me to refute a slander4 ,the slander was to the effect that in a chapel in ,peking1 the preacher would1 when he finished preaching1 get down off the platform and have a smoke6 ,i had to admit that this was no slander1 but a true statement4 ,i had a good deal to say in explanation of it2 but1 alas6 the men came no more4' ,to form any just estimate of ,mr4 ,gilmour's work in ,eastern ,mongolia1 it is needful constantly to bear in mind that it was practically a new departure4 ,so far as we know1 he is the only missionary in ,china connected with the ,london ,missionary ,society who adopted in toto not only the native dress1 but practically the native food1 and1 so far as a ,christian man could1 native habits of life4 ,his average expense for food during his residence in his district was threepence a day4 ,this rate of expenditure was1 of course1 possible only because he adopted vegetarianism4 ,his practice acted and reacted upon his thought1 and he came at this time to hold the view1 for and against which a great deal may be said1 that it was a mistake for ,chinese missionaries to live as foreigners--that is1 to wear foreign dress1 arrange their houses and furniture as nearly as possible in ,european style1 and eat ,european food4 ,both on its economical side and also as impressing the mind and heart of the ,chinese1 he believed that his was the more excellent way4 ,most of his co-workers at ,peking and ,tientsin did not agree with him4 ,as agreement would have involved1 perhaps1 following his example1 under conditions that differed widely from those of ,ta ,chng ,tz7u and ,ch'ao ,yang1 this difference of opinion was only what was to be expected4 ,it is referred to here only as a well-known fact1 and no story of ,mr4 ,gilmour's life could be trustworthy which did not represent the decided way in which1 when he felt that loyalty to his work and loyalty to his ,master constrained him1 he could and did act in direct opposition to the wishes and views of brethren whom he fervently loved4 ,it became needful from time to time for him to justify his actions to the home authorities4 ,not that this was in any way needful from any doubt or lack of support on their part4 ,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 powers4 ,it is doing him bare justice to say that from this task he never shrank4 ,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 express4 ,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 demanded1 he says3-- ',i feel called to go through all this sort of thing1 and feel perfectly secure in ,god's hands4 ,it is no choosing of mine1 but ,his2 and1 following ,his lead1 ,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 ,sea1 the manna and water in the desert1 the crossing ,jordan1 and the fall of ,jericho4 ',one thing ,i am sure of4 ,the thousands here need salvation2 ,god is most anxious to give it to them3 where1 then1 is the hindrance8 ,in them8 ,i hardly think so4 ,in ,god8 ,no4 ,in me1 then6 ,the thing ,i am praying away at now is that ,he would remove that hindrance by whatever process necessary4 ,i shall not be astonished if ,he puts me through some fires or severe operations1 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 people4 ,i dare not tell you how much ,i pray for4 ',it is the foreign element in our lives that runs away with the money4 ,the foreign houses1 foreign clothes1 foreign food1 are ruinous4 ,in selecting missionaries1 physique able to stand native houses1 clothes1 and food1 should be as much a sine qu non as health to bear the native climate4 ,native clothes are1 ,i believe1 more safe for health than foreign clothes2 they are more suited to the climate1 more comfortable than foreign clothes1 and so dressed1 a ,chinese house is quite comfortable4 ,in past days ,i have suffered extreme discomfort by attempting to live in foreign dress in native houses4' ,and yet ,james ,gilmour had nothing of the fanatic or bigot about him4 ,at the period of his life with which we are now dealing1 his severest trial was the loneliness due to his having no colleague4 ,whenever his brethren ventured to address remonstrances to him1 they were due largely to the conviction that entire isolation1 such as he had to endure throughout his ,mongolian career1 must tell adversely upon his temperament4 ,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 work4 ,no man more readily and more constantly acted upon the principle of doing the next best thing4 ,his idea of satisfactory conditions for the work was never reached2 but this never led him for one day to relax his own efforts or to loosen the strong hand of his self-discipline4 ,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 life1 and that the right attitude of life is one of absolute dependence upon1 and submission to1 the will of ,god4 ,his diaries abound with proofs of this4 ,he is delayed one morning in starting from his inn1 and is annoyed4 ,an hour or so later he overtakes the travellers who started earlier1 and finds them just recovering from the assault of a band of robbers4 ,the delay was ,god's providential care protecting him from robbery4 ,and yet no man was ever less under the spell of religious fatalism4 ,all that active effort and promptitude of mind and body could effect in the service of life he freely and constantly expended in his work4 ,and indeed there lies before us a long letter written at ,t ,ss7u ,kou on ,march #ae1 #ahhh1 asking for an official proclamation from the ,chinese authorities at ,peking affirming 'that ,christian worship is an allowed thing1 and that native ,christians are not required to contribute1 or are exempted from contributing1 to idol and heathen ceremonies1 such as theatricals1 or the building and repair of temples4' ,the proper official document was applied for at ,peking1 and in due time obtained4 ,on ,march #bd1 #ahhh1 ,james ,gilmour was rejoiced by the seeming fulfilment of his heart's most eager desire--the arrival at ,t ,ss7u ,kou of a fully qualified medical colleague1 ,dr4 ,roberts4 ,we have seen how repeated had been his entreaties1 how earnest his yearnings after this essential factor in the success of his mission4 ,for a month he enjoyed to the full the uplifting of congenial fellowship and of skilled help4 ,then came a blow1 harder almost to endure than the previous solitude4 ',two days ago1' he writes under date of ,april #ba1 #ahhh1 'a man pushed himself in among the crowd round my table as ,i was dispensing medicines in the market-place here1 and announced himself as a courier from ,tientsin4 ,when asked what his news was1 he was silent1 so ,i led him away towards my inn4 ,oh the way ,i again asked what his news was4 ,he groaned4 ,i began to get alarmed1 and noticed that he carried with him a sword1 covered merely with a cloth scabbard4 ,this looked warlike1 and ,i wondered if there could have been another massacre at ,tientsin4 ,coming to a quiet place in the street ,i demanded his news1 when he replied1 ,dr4 ,mackenzie is dead1 after a week's illness4 ,at the inn we got out our letters from the bundle1 and found the news true4 ,in a little ,dr4 ,roberts looked up from a letter he was reading and said he was appointed to the vacancy4 ,then the full extent of my loss flashed upon me4 ,mackenzie dead--,roberts to go to ,tientsin6 ,one of my closest friends dead--my colleague removed6 ',forty-eight hours have elapsed1 and ,i am just coming right again4 ,i have been like a ship suddenly struck in mid-ocean by a mountain sea breaking over it4 ,you know in that case a ship staggers a bit1 and takes some time to shake clear and right herself4 ',as to ,mackenzie4 ,his friendship ,i very keenly appreciated4 ,the week of prayer in ,january #ahhg we spent together in ,peking4 ,the week of prayer in ,january #ahhh we spent together in ,tientsin4 ,these were seasons of great enjoyment4 ,on parting we spoke of having a week together again in ,april #ahhi4 ,that is not to be4 ,the full extent of the loss will take some time to realise4 ',the prospect of ,dr4 ,roberts settling permanently here in the autumn gave light and brightness to the outlook4 ,my faith is not gone1 but it would be untrue to say that ,i am not walking in the dark4 ,i shall do my best to hold on here single-handed2 but ,i earnestly hope that ,i am not to be alone much longer4 ,something must be done4 ,there is a limit to all human endurance4 ',amid many storms we are holding on our way1 and making progress among the ,chinese4 ,of the ,mongols ,i have nothing cheering to report4 ,they come around and daily hear the ,gospel2 but1 as yet at least1 there it ends4 ,i look into their faces to see whom the ,lord is going to call1 but have not seen him yet apparently4 ,meantime1 ,i am getting deeper and deeper into ,chinese work and connections1 and sometimes the thought crosses my mind that my knowledge of ,mongolian is not employed to its best advantage here4 ,on the other hand1 ,i see more ,mongols here than ,i could see anywhere on the ,plain4' ,god's ways of dealing with ,his work and the workers are often very dim and obscure to finite understanding4 ,humanly speaking1 no man in ,china could less easily be spared than ,dr4 ,mackenzie2 no man in all that vast empire more needed the joy of fellowship than he to whom it had just been granted4 ,but the indomitable spirit shines clearly through the words of ,gilmour3 ',it would be untrue to say that ,i am not walking in the dark4 ,i shall do my best to hold on here single-handed4' ,seeing ,god's hand1 as he did1 in these sorrowful events1 and believing that ,dr4 ,roberts also was following the path of ,god's will1 he turned again to his lonely tasks4 ,but it was at a heavy cost4 ,his health was giving way faster than he realised4 ,the views of his brethren at ,peking1 that he would break down under the strain of the isolation1 were to some extent justified4 ,the home authorities did what they could1 but nearly a year elapsed before ,dr4 ,smith1 who was appointed to succeed ,dr4 ,roberts1 reached ,mongolia1 and when he did so his first duty he felt was to order ,mr4 ,gilmour to visit ,england for rest and change4 ,but meanwhile he went bravely on4 ,like his ,master1 'he endured the contradiction of sinners against himself1' and when 'he was reviled1 he reviled not again4' ',we left ,ch'ao ,yang1' he writes under date of ,september #c1 #ahhh1 ',august #aj1 attended markets1 got much rained in1 and reached ,ta ,chng ,tz7u ,august #bj4 ,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's4 ,the delinquent turned up next day1 walked in1 and hung up his whip as if nothing had happened4 ,at the moment ,i was dining1 and he sat down beside me4 ,i asked him quietly why he had treated me so4 ,he said ,i might be easy in mind2 he had money and cattle he would pay me4 ,go1 then1 and bring me the money2 till you do so1 don't come to me again4 ,off he went4 ,days passed and nothing was done to repair the mischief4 ,meantime1 the scandal was the talk of the small town1 and the scornful things said were so keen that ,liu1 my assistant1 got quite wild4 ,he was indignant that ,i did not go to law with the man1 who all the while was swelling about on a donkey bought with the money he stole from me1 and using the most defiant and abusive language towards me 7not to my face1 happily74 ,the roughs of the place began to be insolent1 and a drunken man came and made a scene in our quarters4 ,liu redoubled his attack on me1 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 much4 ,li ,san1 the head ,christian there1 joined him in saying ,i ought to make a show of power4 ,i asked the two to read at their leisure ,matt4 v4 #f1 #g4 ,liu warned me that ,i was in personal danger4 ,the man was panic-struck and highly nervous4 ,i arranged an expedition to a place some #ij li away1 but got rained in and could not go4 ,finally1 the offender sent an embassy desiring peace1 and1 the day before we left1 a respectable deputation of mutual friends1 ,christian and heathen1 found its way one by one to my room1 coming thus not to attract attention1 and last of all came the thief4 ,according to pre-arrangement ,i asked him1 as he entered1 what he had come for4 ,he walked up to the wall1 knelt down1 and confessed his sin in prayer to ,god4 ,the end of the matter is1 he gives me one donkey and the promise of another1 is suspended as to membership for twelve months1 and is forbidden the chapel for three months4 ',i am not bright about ,ta ,chng ,tz7u1 as you may suppose4 ,worse than the stealing case is that of the head man1 ,li ,san1 who says that he was promised employment before he became a ,christian6 ,the ten days we passed there we were the song of the drunkard and the jest of the abjects2 but the peace of ,god passes all understanding1 and that kept my heart and mind4 ,we put a calm front on2 put out our stand daily1 and carried ourselves as if nothing had happened4 ',the great thought in my mind these days1 and the great object of my life1 is to be like ,christ4 ,as ,he was in the world1 so are we to be4 ,he was in the world to manifest ,god2 we are in the world to manifest ,christ4 ,is that not so8 ,iniquities1 ,i must confess1 prevail against me2 but as contamination of sin flows to us from ,adam1 does not regenerating power flow into us from ,christ8 ,is it not so8' ,meanwhile work was going steadily forward and some impression was being made4 ,he made a flying visit to ,tientsin and ,peking in the autumn1 but was soon back at his post4 ,in his report of work for the year he is able to point to progress4 '#ahhh has been a tumultuous year4 ,in ,december1 at ,ch'ao ,yang1 there was a sudden irruption of men and boys to learn the doctrine4 ,evening after evening we had from twenty to fifty people in our rooms to evening worship4 ,we hardly knew how to account for it1 but did all we could to teach as many as we could4 ,the cold weather finally did much to stop the overcrowding1 but there was good interest kept up among many till the end of the year4 ',the baptisms for the year were1 at ,ta ,chng ,tz7u1 two2 ,t ,ss7u ,kou1 two2 ,ch'ao ,yang1 eight2 total1 twelve adults1 all ,chinese4 ',one man has been put out1 so that the numbers stand as follows3 ,ta ,chng ,tz7u1 four2 ,t ,ss7u ,kou1 three2 ,ch'ao ,yang1 nine2 total1 sixteen1 all ,chinese4 ',three adults1 ,chinese1 were baptized ten days ago1 and ,i hope to baptize two children next ,sunday2 but we have almost no promising adherents here at present4 ,there are three entire families ,christian1 with ,christian emblems on their door-posts2 another family is ,christian1 but cannot fly the colours on the door-posts because the grandfather who has half the building is a heathen4 ',in still another family1 where only the husband is ,christian1 they have the ,christian colours1 but the family is heathen4 ',my heart is set on reinforcements4 ,can they not be had8 ,i had hoped ,dr4 ,smith would have spent the winter with me1 but he did not4 ,all the grace needed has been given me abundantly1 but ,i don't think there should be any more solitary work4 ,i don't think it pays in any sense4 ',in addition1 it is almost time ,i had a change4 ,my eyes are bad4 ,doctors hesitate over my heart1 say it is weak1 and that its condition would affect seriously an application for life assurance4 ,this winter ,i have gone in for a cough1 which is not a good thing at all1 and it would be well for the continuity of the work that there should be a young man on the field4 ',don't be alarmed1 though1 and don't alarm my friends4 ,the above is for your own private information and guidance4 ,i still regard myself as in first-rate health4 ',i am not satisfied that we seem drifting away from the ,mongols4 ,at present1 though lots of ,mongols are around1 our work is all but entirely ,chinese4 ,i am still of opinion that our best way to reach them is from a ,chinese basis4 ,this may involve a matter of years ahead1 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 men4 ',meantime ,i am trying to follow very fully and very faithfully the leadings and indications of ,god4 ,i have had times of sore spiritual conflict and times of much spiritual rest1 and my prayer is that you and the ,board may in all your arrangements and plans for ,mongolia be fully guided by ,him4 ,oh that ,his full blessing would descend richly on this district6' ,dr4 ,smith reached ,mongolia in ,march #ahhi1 and for the first time met his colleague4 ,he has placed on record for use in this biography his account of that first meeting4 ,on reaching ,ch'ao ,yang1 ,dr4 ,smith found that ,mr4 ,gilmour was not there4 ',i followed the innkeeper1' he writes1 'to see the spot where my devoted colleague had spent so many lonely hours4 ,we came to a little outhouse1 with a kind of little court in front of it1 not many yards wide4 ,the outer door was locked by means of a padlock2 but the innkeeper soon found an entrance by simply lifting the door off its wooden hinges1 and then we were in the anteroom or rather kitchen4 ,in it was a built-in cooking-pan1 an earthenware bowl1 and a wooden stick resembling a ,scotch porridge-stick2 and some brushwood which had been brought in to be in readiness when he next arrived at that inn4 ,one of the two rooms1 which lay on each side of this ante-room1 was locked1 and we could not open it1 but through the chinks of the door ,i could see abundant traces of ,gilmour4 ,it was specially refreshing to see some genuine ,english on one of the boxes2 it was ,ferris1 ,bourne1 ,co41 ,bristol1 the people from whom he used to order his drugs4 ,my servant and ,i decided to take up our quarters in the next room1 which was evidently the servant's room4 ,we soon managed to make ourselves very comfortable1 and there was an unspeakable relief in at last being in a place which belonged to the ,london ,mission1 rented of course4 ,we had to spend the ,sunday there4 ,mr4 ,sun1 the box-maker1 soon came round1 and seemed genuinely glad to see me1 and offered to make all arrangements for the further stage of our journey4 ,we then discharged our carts1 and ,i sent with them my letters for home4 ',after spending the ,sunday in company with the ,christians there1 we set out on the ,monday morning with a local carter for ,ta ,chng ,tz7u1 a distance of about twenty-three miles4 ,we crossed a hilly and sparsely populated district1 reminding me of some of the bleaker scenery in ,scotland4 ,on reaching the town we at once drove to the new private mission premises4 ,it was a little house surrounded by a straw fence4 ,quite a crowd of rough-looking people followed us in4 ,one of the doors had been stolen1 and altogether it looked so unprotected that ,i decided to take up my quarters in a little ,mongol inn1 where ,mr4 ,gilmour formerly lived4 ,next day ,i expected to meet ,gilmour1 and the two ,christians there were fully expecting him4 ,in the evening we had quite a levee2 ,li ,san and the other ,christian1 whom ,gilmour used to call ,long ,legs1 sat drinking tea in my room for some time1 and were very friendly2 they were evidently trying to ingratiate themselves with me2 ,i did not then know how disgracefully they had behaved to ,gilmour1 nor did ,i know the anxious business which was bringing ,gilmour there at that time4 ',next day or the following1 ,i forget exactly which1 ,i was sitting in my room1 when a young man arrived1 my servant being out at the time4 ,i could not make him out at first1 not being able to understand what he said2 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 ,mr4 ,gilmour's servant1 and this was at once confirmed on the arrival of ,lin ,seng1 my servant4 ,he had been sent on ahead to announce ,gilmour's arrival4 ,it had been blowing a dust-storm all day1 and on that account ,i hardly expected ,gilmour1 but now there was no doubt4 ',about four o'clock that afternoon ,gilmour arrived1 and ,i shall never forget that first meeting4 ,i had pictured quite a different-looking man to myself4 ,i saw a thin man of medium height1 with a clean shaven face1 got up in ,chinese dress1 much the same as the respectable shop-keepers in that part of the country wear4 ,on his head was a cap lined with cat's fur4 ,i was struck by the kindly but determined look on his face4 ,he greeted me most cordially1 and ,i remember he said1 ,i am glad to see you4 ,he looked worn out and ill4 ,i at once gave him his letters4 ',after arranging his things and seeing his men comfortably settled and getting over his first interview with the ,christians there1 he came up to my room in order to spend the night with me4 ,we sat to all hours of the morning1 chatting about things at home1 and about his boys1 whom ,i had seen before leaving ,scotland4 ',for the next day he arranged the dreaded interview with ,li ,san down at the mission premises4 ,gilmour warned me that it would be a long-winded affair1 and wished me not to expect his return for a good number of hours4 ,after waiting a long time ,i went down to see how the interview was progressing4 ,li ,san and ,gilmour were sitting on the kang1 in tailor fashion on each side of a low table1 and ,li ,san was singing hymns2 but there was a strange look upon his face1 as if he did not altogether feel like singing4 ,gilmour said to me in ,english that they had not come to business yet1 and ,gilmour was determined that ,li ,san was to say the first word1 so ,gilmour invited him to sing hymn after hymn1 and then ,i left4 ,the whole idea seemed to be to get money out of ,gilmour1 and when he found that impossible he threatened to come down to ,tientsin to accuse ,gilmour to his missionary colleagues1 of having broken his promise to give him employment4 ,gilmour had no recollection of having done so2 he said to me that possibly one of his previous assistants may have on his own responsibility led ,li ,san to form that idea4 ',long ,legs was also dogging ,gilmour for money1 and altogether they worried him2 but he settled up everything4 ,the premises were resold1 and as ,gilmour put it1 it was the funeral of that little church4 ,they were threatening to prevent our leaving the town1 as there seemed some doubt in ,gilmour's mind as to whether we would be able to get a cart2 these fears were disappointed2 ,li ,san got a cart for us4' ,before ,dr4 ,smith had passed many days in the society of ,mr4 ,gilmour it became clear to the practised eye of the medical man that his colleague had been overstraining his health and strength4 ,notwithstanding his buoyancy and occasional high spirits all through his long years of work1 ,james ,gilmour had been subject to spells of severe depression4 ,there are a very large number of brief entries in his diary to that effect4 ',felt blue to-day' is a frequent phrase1 followed soon in the great majority of instances by words indicating a speedy recovery4 ,special events1 that from time to time had a direct adverse influence upon his work1 developed this state of mind rapidly and profoundly4 ,the inevitable recall of ,dr4 ,roberts1 already described1 is a case in point1 and the diary at that season contains entries like these3 ',april #bf1 #ahhh4--,these last days have been full of blessing and peace in my own soul4 ,i have been able to leave things at ,ta ,chng ,tz7u21 and my colleagues all in ,god's hands4' ',may #g4--;,downcast day4 ,no one to prayer4' ',may #i4--;,in terrible darkness and tears for two days4 ,light broke over me at my stand to-day in the thought that ,jesus was tempted forty days of the devil after ,his baptism1 and that ,he felt forsaken on the cross4' ',may #bg1 ,sunday4--,service1 ,romans xii4 ,present1 four ,christians4 ,great depression4' ,the most constant force acting in the direction of mental depression was what appeared to him like the want of immediate success4 ,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 contact4 ,he yearned for evidence that the love of ,christ was winning the love of ,chinese and ,mongol hearts1 as a mother yearns over her children4 ,hope deferred as to his medical colleague1 ever recurring difficulties defeating all his efforts to secure suitable premises for his work1 failure on the part of natives whom he had begun to trust1 and all these things over and above the ceaseless strain of his daily toil1 are more than sufficient to account for the state in which ,dr4 ,smith found him4 ,to those who knew him best1 and who could appraise at their true value the toils and trials and disappointments of his daily lot1 the wonder was not that he broke down2 it was rather that physical collapse had not overtaken him sooner4 ,there are many kinds of heroism1 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 ,mongolia1 bravely continuing to do so until imperatively urged to cease for a season1 not by his consciousness of failing power1 but by the alarm and influence of his medical co-worker4 ,when the decision was once taken1 it was acted upon promptly4 ,march #bf1 #ahhi1 was the day1 and ,peking the place4 ,on ,april #d he left ,peking1 and on the #bjth he sailed from ,shanghai4 ,he arrived in ,london on ,may #be4 ,this visit to ,england in #ahhi was a great refreshment bodily1 mental1 and spiritual1 to the overwrought labourer4 ,the voyage itself1 enforcing rest from all ordinary avocations1 by removing ,mr4 ,gilmour from the depressing surroundings amid which he had spent so much of the last three years1 began the restorative process4 ,he was beginning to feel in himself great benefit from the change even by the time he reached ,london4 ,but the six years which had passed since he last walked the ,london streets had left their mark upon him4 ,he had drawn to the utmost upon his physical and spiritual strength in the service of those for whose conversion he lived and toiled4 ,he had been through the deep waters of personal affliction when his wife passed into the sinless life4 ,the many toils and hardships of the passing years had drawn deep furrows upon the cheery face1 and the eyes showed evidence of the mental and spiritual strain4 ,so sudden was the resolution to return1 and so prompt his action upon it1 that few knew even of the probability until he was actually here4 ,on ,may #bg1 #ahhi1 the writer was sitting in his room1 overlooking the pleasant garden that brightens up the north-eastern corner of ,st ,paul's ,churchyard1 in conversation with a gentleman1 when a knock came at the door and a head appeared4 ,not seeing it very clearly1 and at the same time asking for a minute's delay while the business in hand was completed1 the head disappeared4 ,as soon as the first visitor departed a man entered and stood near the door4 ,i looked at him with the conviction that ,i knew him1 and yet could not recall the true mental association1 when the old smile broke over his face1 and he burst into a laugh1 saying1 ',why1 man1 you don't know me' ',yes1 ,i do1' ,i replied1 'you're ,gilmour2 but ,i thought that at this moment you were in ,mongolia4' ,but when ,i was able to scrutinise him closely ,i was shocked to see how very evident were the signs of stress and strain4 ,it was not wholly inexcusable1 even in an old friend1 to fail to instantly recognise in the worn and apparently broken man1 thought to be hard at work many thousands of miles away1 the strong and cheery ,gilmour of #ahhc4 ,carrying him off home1 we talked far into the night1 not because his host thought it a good thing for the invalid1 but because he was so full of his work and its difficulties and its pressing needs1 and what he hoped to do on behalf of ,mongolia by his visit home1 that there seemed no possible alternative but to let him talk himself weary4 ,and how splendidly he talked6 ,he pictured his life at a ,mongol inn4 ,he ranged over the whole opium and whisky and tobacco controversy4 ,he gave1 with all the dramatic effect of which he was so great a master1 the story of how he forced home upon the ,chinese and ,mongols1 until even they admitted the force of the reasoning1 how natural it was that famine should visit them when they gave up their land to opium1 and their grain to the manufacture of whisky4 ,he gave in rapid dialogue his own questions1 the native rejoinders1 and he so vividly pictured the scene that his hearer could fancy himself standing under the tent1 surrounded by ,chinese and ,mongols1 and assenting1 as they did1 to the earnest and far-reaching conclusions of the speaker4 ,,chapter ,x ,,personal ,,characteristics ,,as ,,illustrated ,,by ,,letters ,,to ,,relatives ,,and ,,friends ,this break in active work affords a convenient occasion for exhibiting in a still stronger light1 by means of selections from his correspondence1 some important sides of ,james ,gilmour's character4 ,he was a good correspondent and wrote freely to his relatives and friends4 ,we have quoted largely hitherto from his official reports and from letters that refer to the condition and progress of his life-work4 ,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 life1 and the strong and tender affection of his nature4 ,he corresponded regularly with his parents until the earthly tie was broken by the death of his mother in #ahhd and of his father in #ahhh4 ,his letters to the latter were very beautiful1 especially those designed to strengthen his faith in the closing years when he had passed the eightieth milestone4 ,the tone of the correspondence may be judged from the following examples3-- ',peking3 ,friday1 ,january #bc1 #ahhe4 ',my dear ,father1--,so this must in future be the heading of my letters--no longer my dear parents4 ,mother has gone4 ,yours of ,november #ba reached me this afternoon1 or evening rather4 ,as ,i came home from the chapel ,i found a beggar waiting at the gate4 ,i thought he was going to beg1 but he did not4 ,inside ,i found the gate-keeper waiting at our house door for a reply note1 to say that the letter had been delivered4 ,i went to my study1 and was praying for a blessing on the chapel preaching when ,emily came4 ,i let her in4 ,she had your letter in her hand4 ,it had come by ,russia1 and the ,russian post sometimes sends over our mail by a ,peking beggar1 paying him of course4 ',i have not had time to think yet4 ,on my heels came in men for the prayer-meeting we hold in our house on ,friday evening1 and till now ,i have been almost continuously engaged4 ,it is now #aj4bj ,p4,m4 ,it so happens that this week ,i am much behind in my sermon preparation for ,sunday1 and it also happens that ,i am going to preach on whole families believing on ,christ4 ,what brought this subject to my mind is one of our old ,christians who is dying1 the only ,christian in his whole family4 ,his great grief is that they 7his family7 remain heathens4 ,in addition1 too1 a ,christian father admitted to a missionary the other day that he had not taught ,christ to his daughter who had just died4 ,preaching on this subject ,i will have something to say about my own dear1 good1 anxious mother1 and of how she used to say when ,i was a boy1 ,what a terrible thing it will be if ,i see you shut out of heaven6 ,she did not say terrible2 unco was her word4 ',i have not yet had time to realise my loss1 and cannot think of the ,hamilton house as being without her4 ,eh1 man6 you know how good a mother she was to us1 and ,i have some idea of what a companion and help she was to you4 ,you two had nearly fifty years together4 ,you must feel lonely without her4 ,fathers and mothers are thought much of by the ,chinese1 and you1 at my suggestion1 were most heartily and feelingly prayed for by the ,chinese at our prayer-meeting to-night4 ,you would have felt quite touched could you have heard and understood them4' ,there is a special interest attaching to the sentence used frequently by his mother4 ,on page #da he refers to his conversion1 but no record appears to have been preserved1 giving any detail or fixing with any exactness the date4 ,but his brothers have a conviction that his constant recollection of the oft-repeated and well-remembered words1 ',what an unco thing it will be if ,i see you shut out of heaven6' was one of the most potent influences in bringing about his conversion4 ,the letters immediately following were written during the last two years of his father's life4 ',let us not be disturbed at all about our not having more communication4 ,i pray often for you and remember you more frequently still1 and feel more and more that earth is a shifting scene1 that here we have no permanent place1 that heaven is our home1 that your wife--my dear mother--has gone there1 that my wife has gone there and is now in the ,golden ,city1 and that1 sooner or later1 you and ,i will be there1 and that1 when there1 we'll have plenty of time to sit about and talk all together in a company4 ,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 likes1 and ,he'll save us sure and certain4 ,he can make us willing even to let ,him change us and train us4 ',you are eighty years old4 ,i am proud of you4 ,i like to think of your life4 ,mother told me1 when ,i was a lad1 of some of your early struggles4 ,god has been with you and guided you on through all to a good old age of honour and respect and love4 ,trust ,him and ,he'll not leave you4 ,depend upon it1 ,god has something better for us in the world to come than ,he has ever given us here4 ,and it is not difficult to get it4 ,god wants to give it to us all2 offers it to us1 and is distressed if we don't take it4 ,we have only to go to ,christ and ask ,jesus to make it all right for us1 and ,he'll do it4 ,i know you are in earnest4 ,jesus will turn away no earnest man4' ,mr4 ,gilmour senior acted as steward of the little store which his son by rigid economy was amassing for the benefit of his children4 ,scotch thrift was well exemplified in them both4 ,but in the course of #ahhg ,james ,gilmour became troubled about this accumulation of even that small sum which he could call his own4 ,in his lonely introspective ,mongolian life the possession of money came to wear in his view the aspect of distrusting ,god4 ,at this juncture the ,london ,missionary ,society was in a somewhat serious state as regards funds4 ,a special appeal had been sent out indicating that if additional funds were not forthcoming1 some fields of work might have to be given up4 ,james ,gilmour's response was an order to pay over anonymously the sum of #ajjl4 to the general funds of the ,society1 and #ejl4 to that set apart for widows and orphans4 ',march #af1 #ahhg4 ',my dear ,father1--,some explanation is due to you of the order to pay the ,london ,missionary ,society #ajjl4 of my money as a contribution to their funds4 ',the money that ,i have in the bank is the result of long and1 much of it1 of self-denying savings on my part and the part of my late wife--more on hers than mine1 perhaps4 ,when she died1 and ,i was going off to this remote and isolated field1 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 education4 ,i have added to that sum all ,i could from my house-furniture sale1 c41 and it has reached a good figure--the exact sum ,i cannot yet tell--,i have not yet had your account for #ahhf4 ',some time ago ,god seemed to say1 ,entrust that money to ,my keeping6 and1 as days went on1 the command seemed to get more loud and be ever present1 so much so that finally ,i could not read my ,bible for it or pray4 ,i had no resource left but to obey2 ,i did not like to give it up2 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 needed4 ,how ,he can do this ,i need not ask4 ,he may1 for instance1 keep me alive for the sake of the lads4 ,in one sense it seems an unwise thing not to be laying up something for the children's education2 but that is only one side of it4 ,god seems to ask me to trust ,him with my children1 and ,i trust ,him with them4 ,they are far from my care and control1 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-bringing4 ',in addition1 ,i am exhorting people here to become ,christians1 by doing which they throw themselves and their children outside of the community4 ,i tell them to do it1 and trust ,god's protecting them in troubles and helping them in difficulties2 and ,i can hardly do that if ,i have not faith in ,god myself for me and mine4 ',again1 ,i need ,god's help and blessing much in my work here1 and ,i do not seem to myself to be able to expect it if ,i do not trust ,him4 ,so please regard the money removed as not lost1 only put into a safer bank4' ,the following letter1 also dealing with money matters from the ,christian point of view1 is so striking in many ways that it has been deemed advisable to quote it in extenso3-- ',ch'ao ,yang1 ,mongolia3 ,may #f1 #ahhh4 ',my dear ,father1--,enclosed please find some directions about the disposal of my money4 ,these arrangements are so contrary to my previous arrangements that some explanation is due to you and to my brothers4 ,here they are4 ',in my mission work out here ,i am much thrown upon ,god4 ,the field is a very hard one4 ,the superstitions are like towns walled up to heaven4 ,the power of man avails nothing against them4 ,as far as man is concerned ,i am almost alone4 ,i turn to ,god4 ,i hear the words1 ,not by might nor by power1 but by ,my ,spirit1 saith the ,lord4 ,i trust ,him4 ,i call upon ,him4 ,i commune with ,him4 ,he comes near me4 ,i ask ,him to convert men4 ,there are conversions1 a few true1 as far as ,i can judge4 ,but there seems some barrier between ,god and me to a certain extent4 ,thinking round to see what it can be1 ,i hear a voice saying1 ,can't you trust ,me with the money you have laid up for your children8 ,i think over it ,i pray over it4 ,i say1 ,i may die and the boys need the money4 ,god replies1 ,if you trust ,me with it1 don't you think ,i'd give them it as they needed8 ,i say1 ,but my father and brothers might not see it so1 and might not like the idea of destitute orphan children on their hands4 ,god replies1 ,with ,me for their banker children are not destitute1 and if you prefer father and brothers before ,me1 you are not worthy of ,me4 ,then ,i say1 ,what will you have me do8 ,god says1 ,give ,me the money2 ,i'll see they have all that is necessary4 ,i dare not disobey4 ,i don't want to disobey4 ,i am so much exercised over the spiritual well-being of the boys1 that ,i gladly do anything that will make them in any sense more specially protgs of ,god4 ,i am alarmed at the fate of some missionaries' children who have not turned out godly men4 ,preserve the boys from this6 ',this is no sudden resolution4 ,i have thought and prayed much over it4 ,i can delay this step no longer without feeling ,i would be refusing to follow ,god's guidance4 ,i feel1 too1 that ,god has so many ways in which ,he can bless the lads and me1 that in making this arrangement ,i am running no risk4 ,the only thing ,i am not quite clear about is the detailed disposition of the money4 ,meantime1 it seems to me that ,i can best use it for ,god in this mission here4 ,i mean to bank it in ,peking1 in the first instance1 and use it for renting or buying premises4 ',as to the general principle of having money for ourselves or children1 ,i do not think ,god asks us all to put all we may have or get thus in ,his keeping1 or asks me even to put all into ,his keeping in this especial manner4 ,you know the money was originally saved from the salary given by the mission1 and in this sense is peculiar4 ,money that ,i had earned by trade1 or otherwise come by1 ,i do not think ,god would ask me to dispose of it so4 ,but ,his voice seems very plain in this present case4 ',my salary ,i shall still have paid to me1 and the children's remittances shall come as usual4 ,if ,i live ,i guess this will be enough for the education of the lads4 ,if ,i die1 the lads are not destitute4 ,even in a worldly sense1 and quite apart from this sum which ,i am banking with ,god1 and which ,i am sure ,he'll repay with compound interest when needed1 if left orphans they would be in some sense provided for by the ,london ,missionary ,society1 which1 though it gives no pensions to any one1 yet yearly raises funds and gives money to broken-down old missionaries1 widows1 and orphans4 ,i don't suppose it is much or enough1 but it is something4 ,i say this that you may not be troubled should your faith be weak or waver4 ',i hope that these arrangements may not seem unwise to you1 and will commend themselves to you far enough to have your consent if not your warm approval4 ,for myself ,i am thankful that ,god has given me faith enough to trust ,him so4 ,it has taken time to come to this4 ,myself is a small matter--it takes more faith to trust for one's children4 ,just fancy old ,abraham offering his ,isaac4 ,just fancy1 ,god so loved the world that ,he gave ,his only ,son4 ,let us respond to ,god's love4 ',your loving son1 ',,james ,,gilmour4' ,in compliance with his wish a sum amounting to several hundred pounds was sent out to ,peking and there banked by him4 ,had not the many difficulties which ,chinese habits placed in the way prevented the completion of negotiations1 there is hardly any doubt that ,james ,gilmour would have himself spent this money on his own mission-field4 ,he died before any of the negotiations for premises which he had commenced reached a successful issue4 ,as he had not specified in his will that this sum was to be devoted to mission work1 the trustees of his boys have had no alternative1 and have felt it their duty to consider it a part of his estate1 the income of which should be devoted to the education of his sons4 ,but the intention of ,james ,gilmour was clear and well known1 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 founder1 and on the site of his glad and self-sacrificing toil4 ,a year or two later1 in a letter to his boys1 he seeks to enforce the duty of careful1 systematic giving to ,god4 ',ch'ao ,yang3 ,august #ai1 #ahij4 ',i wonder if you are giving a tenth of all the money you get to ,god4 ,i think it is a right thing to do and a good thing4 ,mamma did it3 ,i do it3 and ,god never let us want for money4 ,i would be glad if you would like to do it4 ,but don't do it merely to please me4 ,don't do it except you can do it gladly4 ,god likes people to do things gladly4 ,i am quite sure you would get blessing by it4 ,money given to ,god is never lost4 ,and it is easier to begin the habit now than later4 ',when you give it to ,god you can put it into the ,london ,missionary ,society box2 it would only be fair to give some little part of it at the collection at the church to which you go4 ,you could give some of it for destitute children4 ,it does not matter much where you give it4 ,i think the ,london ,missionary ,society has the best claim4 ,think over it1 boys4 ,jesus died to save us3 surely we can show our gratitude by giving ,him some of our money8' ,later letters to his father outline for us his religious experience1 and enable us to realise something of the spiritual experience of these years4 ',ch'ao ,yang3 ,march #bi1 #ahhg4 ',i am wondering how you all are4 ,god has been drawing me nearer to ,him these last weeks1 and ,i am living in the hope that ,he will bless me and my work largely some day4 ,there is much ignorance to be removed1 much suspicion1 much misunderstanding of me as a foreigner1 and ,i am hammering away as hard as ,i can4 ,there are mountains of difficulty to be removed1 but ,i am trusting in ,god to remove them1 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 ,jesus4 ,i have no doubt at all about my being ,his1 and sometimes the great hope is almost too much to realise4 ,but ,i am often at the same time downcast that ,i cannot see more people here converted1 and ,i think that1 if ,god has a favour to me and delights in me1 ,he can well move the hearts of these people to believe in ,his ,son1 and choose out people to come and help me in my work4 ,i am sometimes lonely here1 and wish ,i had a friend to talk to and tell all my troubles1 and then ,i think that ,jesus is such a friend1 and so ,i tell ,him all my griefs2 but ,i would like to have a colleague4 ',i hope1 my dear father1 that your heart is contented and happy in ,jesus4 ,only let ,him arrange all things for you as regards your soul1 and ,he'll do it all right4 ,he can be trusted4 ,heaven is not far away2 we'll soon be there2 comfort your heart4 ,won't it be too blessed to be again with our wives1 freed from all that is earthly1 and suffering1 and surrounded by nothing but what is nice6 ,this is no dream3 it is real2 it is true2 it is kept for us2 it will be ours4 ,we'll see it soon2 you and ,i will be there together4 ,it may be some time before we are there together2 but years soon pass4 ,cheer up1 my father6 ',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 good4 ,jesus is real and heaven is real1 and our share in heaven1 if we trust and follow ,jesus1 is real4 ,you say you are busy3 so am ,i4 ,you have cares3 so have ,i4 ,go ahead and look after your work and business2 but you'll do it all the better that your heart is at peace with ,god and at rest in ,jesus4 ,i find that the closer ,i am to ,jesus the better ,i can meet and bear all troubles1 trials1 and difficulties1 and you will find the same true if you try4 ',i feel quite lifted up to-night4 ,i have a room to myself4 ,this is the first time ,i have had a room to myself since leaving ,peking ,january #be4 ,it is pleasant to be private a little4 ,this room is private to me alone only after 7say7 #h ,p4,m41 when ,i am left in peace4 ,i hope to have this room for three weeks4 ',i am afraid1 if you saw the room1 you would not think it much of a place4 ,to-night1 too1 ,i have a pillow4 ,for over three weeks ,i have rested my head on some folded-up bag or article of dress3 to-night ,i have a pillow4 ,christ had not where to lay ,his head4 ,in all things ,i am still better off than ,he was4 ,if ,i could only see souls saved ,i would not care for the roughing it4' ,in a letter later in the same year to a missionary colleague in a distant field ,mr4 ,gilmour unveils still further his religious history3-- ',mongolia3 ,october #g1 #ahhg4 ',yours of ,may #ca to hand three or four days ago4 ,the ,china ,inland ,mission has a lot of good men in it4 ,it does a good work4 ,it is warm-hearted devotion that wins souls and gets ,god's approval4 ,my experience has been different from yours1 happily4 ,all along ,i have gone on the headlong for ,christ way of things here1 even when preaching to the most intellectual ,english and ,american audiences1 and they have received me royally4 ,man1 ,god has waked me up these last years to such an extent that ,i feel a different man4 ,i sometimes wonder now if ,i was converted before4 ,i suppose ,i was1 but the life was a cold1 dull one4 ,just the other day ,jesus1 so to speak1 put out ,his hand and touched me as ,i was reading a hymn1 something about desiring spiritual things and passing by ,jesus ,himself4 ,i wanted ,his blessing more than ,i wanted ,him4 ,that is not right4 ,lately1 too1 ,i have become calm4 ,before ,i worked1 oh so hard and so much1 and asked ,god to bless my work4 ,now ,i try to pray more and get more blessing1 and then work enough to let the blessing find its way through me to men4 ,and this is the better way4 ,it is the right way4 ,and ,i work a lot even now4 ,perhaps as much as before2 but ,i don't worry at the things ,i cannot overtake4 ,i feel1 too1 more than ,i did1 that ,god is guiding me4 ,oh6 sometimes the peace of ,god flows over me like a river4 ,then it is so blessed1 heaven is real4 ,so is ,god3 so is ,jesus4 ,our lot is a great one4 ',try not to fly around so much3 take more time with ,god4 ,be more in private prayer with ,him1 and see if ,he will not give you a greater spiritual blessing for your people4 ,after all1 the great want1 as ,i gather from your letters1 is the spiritual blessing on the people4 ,ask it1 man1 and you'll get it4 ,god's promises are sure4 ,i am trying to combine the ,china ,inland ,mission1 the ,salvation ,army1 and the ,l4,m4,s4 ,i have a great district1 and a hard one1 all to myself4 ,there is said to be a young doctor on his way out to me4 ,i am writing by this mail for three young laymen4 ,non-smoking and teetotalism are conditions of ,church membership4 ,i have seen no foreigner since ,january #be1 and am not likely to see one till ,december #e4 ,my mails take an enormous time to reach me1 and two sent in ,june and ,july from ,peking 7eight days off7 have never come to hand at all4 ,i am baffled1 battered and bruised in soul in many ways1 but1 thank ,god1 holding on and believing that ,he is going to bless me4 ',eh1 man1 never talk of not going back4 ,go back1 though you can only do half work2 go back1 and work less and pray more4 ,that is what you need4 ,i have been a vegetarian for over a year4 ,i find fasting helpful to prayer4 ,two books by ,andrew ,murray1 ,wellington1 ,cape ,town--,abide in ,christ1 ,with ,christ in the ,school of ,prayer--have done me much good4 ,may blessings be on your dear wife and children6 ,yours1 hoping to have a good long holiday with you in heaven1 ',,james ,,gilmour4' ,some years earlier in his career he had written a letter of brotherly remonstrance to one who1 in a moment of depression and without any adequate cause1 felt himself slighted4 ,the same spirit breathes through both1 but is richer and fuller in the later letter4 ,god had been teaching ,james ,gilmour in a hard1 but a fruitful school4 ',i know of your zeal in working at home as well as abroad1 and ,i am greatly grieved to find you think you are badly treated4 ,i think it is very unfortunate that any agent should have that feeling about his ,society1 ,l4,m4,s4 or other4 ,i am alarmed1 too1 my dear fellow1 to find you express yourself so strongly4 ,it is hardly the thing4 ,would ,christ have said that8 ,i do hope you will pardon my speaking so1 but you know sometimes a rash word does more harm than a deed even4 ,and ,i am anxious that you should have a peaceful mind4 ,i know your value1 and wish to see you nearly perfect4 ,let me remind you of a thing we both believe1 and a thought ,i have often been comforted by4 ,jesus has suffered even more for us than we can ever suffer for ,him1 and what you do in raising funds and endeavouring is done1 not for ,l4,m4,s41 but for ,him1 for ,him1 and ,he sees and knows and won't forget1 but sympathises and appreciates1 and at the end will speak up straight and open for ,his true men4 ,i often lug portmanteaus1 walk afoot1 and1 as the ,chinese say1 eat bitterness1 in ,china and in ,england4 ,i am not thanked for it1 but ,he knows4 ,no danger of being overlooked4 ,now1 don't be huffed at my lecturing you1 and don't think ,i must think a lot of myself to suppose that ,i am running up a bill of merit1 like a ,buddhist1 and think ,i am ,jesus's creditor4 ,my dear fellow1 you know better than that4 ,i point out to you and remind you of the only way ,i know to be persistently useful1 and at the same time happy4' ,but of all the relationships of life--son1 brother1 friend1 ambassador for ,christ--that which most naturally1 most profoundly1 and most beautifully reveals his very heart is when he writes as the loving father to his distant motherless boys4 ,a large number of his letters to them have been entrusted to the hands of his biographer4 ,many of them touch upon subjects too sacred for publication4 ,they deal with those closest of earthly ties in which not even intimate friends can legitimately claim a share4 ,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 life4 ,for this reason a somewhat extensive selection has been made from this tender and helpful correspondence4 ,when it first began the lads were too young to read the letters themselves1 but he wrote long accounts of his work to be read to them1 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 attention4 ,some of the letters are written in big letters resembling printed capitals4 ,the brief1 childlike letters that were sent to him by them were bound up into a paper volume1 which he carried about with him during his ,mongolian wanderings1 and in looking them over he found an unfailing solace and refreshment4 ,he often illustrated his own letters to them by rough but effective sketches of persons and things which he saw4 ,the death of their mother had brought the lads and their father very near to one another1 and although lost to sight1 they always thought and spoke of the dear one who had gone as still of the family1 as in perfect happiness1 and waiting only ,god's time to reunite them in the happy life of heaven4 ,when it was decided to entrust them to the care of an uncle in ,scotland1 ,mr4 ,gilmour set out the desires he cherished with regard to their training4 ,it is only to be regretted that similar plans are not formed and acted upon in the training of all children4 ',the laddies are here with me now1 and ,i am both father and mother to them4 ,to-night ,i darned three stockings for them when they went to bed4 ,you see ,i have been away two months1 and in a week or two ,i may have to part from them for ten years1 so ,i am having a little leisure time with them4 ,i sometimes do feel real bad at the idea of the two orphan lads going away so far2 but then the promise of ,christ that no one leaves parents or children for ,his sake1 without being repaid manifold1 comforts me by making me believe that ,god will raise up friends to comfort them wherever they may be4 ',cheer up6 ,the two worlds are one1 and not far separate4 ,mrs4 ,prankard1 ,i hear1 won't have ,emily's name mentioned4 ,we here go on the other tack1 and the children are all day long talking about what mamma did and said1 and adventures we had together4 ,and why not8 ,the tears come sometimes3 let them1 they do no harm1 are a relief more than anything1 and the time is coming when ,god will wipe away all tears from our eyes4 ',i wish them to be ,christ's from their youth up4 ,i wish them to get a good thorough education1 not too expensive1 to be able to read1 write1 and spell well4 ,should either of them turn out likely1 ,i might be able to let both1 or that one have a college education1 but ,i don't want either of them to go there if they don't show adaptation for it4 ',what ,i want of you is something money cannot buy1 motherly and fatherly care in ,christ for the desolate lads1 whose whole life in time and eternity too may largely depend on how they are trained and treated during the next few years4 ,i am not rich1 but ,i can support my boys4 ,this ,christian care and love1 however1 is what is not to be had for money1 so ,i beg it4 ',i had five hours' conversation with one ,chinaman at a stretch the other day4 ,i think he was not far from the kingdom of ,god at first1 and ,i believe he is nearer now4 ,all these things take time1 and ,i am most anxious to be with the children much these last days4 ,oh1 it is hard to think of them going off over the world in that motherless fashion6 ,we were at mamma's grave yesterday for the first time since ,september #ba4 ,we sang ,there is a land that is fairer than day1 in ,chinese1 and also a ,chinese hymn we have here with a chorus1 which says1 ,we'll soon go and see them in our heavenly home1 and in ,english1 ,there is a happy land4 ,the children and ,i have no reluctance in speaking of mamma1 and we don't think of her as here or buried1 but as in a fine place1 happy and well4' ,here are a few short extracts from the earlier letters3-- ',cheer up1 my dear sonnies6 ,we shall see each other some day yet4 ,tell all your troubles to ,jesus1 and let ,him be your friend4 ,i1 out here1 think often of mamma and her nice face1 and how good she was to you and to me4 ,you will not forget her4 ,she sees you every day1 and is so pleased when you are good lads4 ,we'll all go some day and be with her1 won't that be good8 ,meantime1 ,jesus is taking care of her1 and will take care of us4 ',sometimes1 when ,i am writing a letter to you1 and come to the foot of a page1 and want to turn over the leaf1 ,i don't take blotting paper and blot it1 but kneel down and pray while it is drying4 ',i am going away1 too1 in a few days2 then ,i'll have no one but ,chinese to speak to4 ,never mind1 ,i'll just tell ,jesus all my affairs2 ,i cannot go away from ,him4 ,he is never too busy to talk to me4 ,just you1 too1 tell ,jesus all your troubles4 ,he sees both you and me4' ,from the longer letters we select three or four1 and give them exactly as they were written4 ,from them the character of many others1 from which only brief extracts can be taken1 may be judged4 ',ch'ao ,yang3 ,april #aj1 #ahhg4 ',my dear ,sons1--,i am well and thankful for it4 ,i am getting on well too1 thank ,god4 ,i have had terrible weather lately though4 ,daily ,i have my tent--it is only a cloth roof on six bamboo poles--put up in the market-place4 ,we have had three days' wind4 ,eh1 man1 the first day the dust was terrible4 ,but ,i had lots of patients and remained out all day4 ,at last we had to take down our tent4 ,it could not stand4 ,the tent was carried to the inn1 but we remained with our table till evening4 ,you would hardly have known us for dust4 ,but patients came all the time4 ,next day the tent was blown down twice4 ,once a man's head got such a smack with the bamboo tent pole1 but he said nothing and took it quite pleasantly4 ,a peep-show man near us got his show blown down and scattered about4 ,he gathered it up and went home to his inn4 ,illustration3 ,,james ,,gilmour',s ,,tent ',i am so glad that the people like us and trust us and come about us for medicines4 ,women came too4 ,boys came too4 ,just now the school boys have holiday for the fair1 and they stand for a long time together looking at me doctoring the people4 ,what the boys like to see is a glass bottle of eye medicine which ,i bring out and set up4 ,then ,i dip a glass tube in and press an india-rubber bulb4 ,the air comes out in the water in bubbles and rises up to the surface1 and the boys are so delighted to see it bubbling4 ,they will wait a long time and like to see it ever so often4 ,they are sometimes troublesome1 then ,i send them away4 ,when they are good ,i shove the glass tube deep down into the bottle1 and they are so delighted to see the air bubbling up from the bottom4 ',when a man comes to have a tooth pulled even the men are delighted1 and advise him to have it out4 ,they want to see the fun4 ,mothers send their little boys for medicine1 and ,i am so pleased with some of the little lads4 ,they are so modest and so polite1 making a deep bow as they go away4 ,always be modest and polite1 my sons1 and people will love you and treat you well4 ',the boys buy a lot of books too1 and ,i preach to them earnestly1 because in ten years to come they will be men1 and if they know about ,jesus now they may more easily become ,christians some day soon4 ,you1 ,jimmie1 know ,jesus2 does ,willie8 ,teach him4 ,mamma is not here to teach him1 and ,i am far away4 ,you are his big brother4 ,teach you him like a good laddie as you are4 ',the other day when ,i was preaching a man was standing behind me with a little black pig under his arm4 ,he wanted to hear me preach1 but the pig would not be quiet4 ,he held its mouth shut1 but the little pig would still manage to give a squeak now and again4 ,at last it would not be quiet at all1 and he had to go away with it4 ,i could not help smiling at him4 ,there is an old man here in my inn4 ,he is owner of the inn4 ,his son manages the inn4 ,the old man is not very old4 ,he is about sixty-five4 ,but he used to be a great opium smoker4 ,a year or more ago he had a very serious illness and gave up his opium1 but he had wrecked his health by his smoking4 ,he cannot now live many months4 ,he can hardly speak plainly now4 ,he comes to see me in my room1 and ,i try to tell him about ,jesus1 hoping that he may be saved4 ,he listens1 but he is not very bright in his mind4 ,i hope he may pray to ,jesus4 ',the other day ,i had to pull my own tooth4 ,it was the back tooth and had been painful for days4 ,there was no one who could do it for me1 so ,i sat down with a little ,chinese looking-glass before a candle1 got a good hold of it with the forceps1 and after a good deal of wrenching out it came4 ,he was a deep-pronged fellow1 and he did bleed4 ,i was so thankful that ,god helped me to get it out4 ,i can sleep now all right4 ',our ,mongol donkeyman wants to be a ,christian4 ,i hope he is sincere1 but he is very slow and dull at learning4 ,there are three other men here who are learning about ,jesus too1 but it is too early yet to say much about them4 ,a good many people learn some1 then stop4 ,but it is late and ,i must go to bed1 else ,i won't be able to preach and doctor all day in the market-place at the fair to-morrow4 ',praying that ,god may bless you1 my sons1 and sending you much love1 ',i am your affectionate ,father1 ',,james ,,gilmour4' ',ta ,chng ,tz7u3 ,sept4 #c1 #ahhg4 ',my dear ,sons1--,i am well1 and thankful for it4 ,the three ,christians here come daily to evening worship4 ,there are here others who want to be ,christians1 but who have not courage enough4 ,one man's wife won't let him be a ,christian2 she says she will kill herself if he does4 ,another man is in the same case4 ,he is a ,chinaman1 his wife is a ,mongol4 ,still another man has a ,mongol wife1 and she kept him back4 ,the other day he came and confessed ,christianity4 ,his wife does not consent1 only says3 ,we'll see4 ,another man's father hinders his son from ,christianity4 ,the lad is a very nice lad4 ',yesterday was the day when people make offerings of food and fruit at the graves4 ,one of the ,christians was sent to do so4 ,he brought the melon here1 and we ate half of it with him4 ',still another man is forbidden by his father to be a ,christian4 ,that is1 in all1 five men are ,christians at heart1 and read our books and are learning ,christianity1 but do not confess ,christ in this one place4 ,do you know what ,jesus says about such people 7,matt4 x4 #cb-ci78 ,jesus says that1 if they obey others rather than ,him1 they are not worthy to be ,his disciples4 ,i am praying for all these people4 ,i ask you1 too1 to pray for these and all like them1 that they may be able to confess ,christ4 ,it is difficult for men in ,china to be ,christians4 ,how different with you6 ,we all want you to be ,christians4 ,your father and friends all help you to be ,christians1 and if you are not ,christians we are all distressed4 ',boys1 do be true to ,jesus4 ,in your words and deeds honour ,him4 ,make ,his heart glad4 ,jesus wants your love4 ,he loves you and died for you4 ,you cannot but love ,him if you think how ,he loves you4 ,good-bye4 ,meantime ,i am just going to breakfast1 and then for a day on the street1 trying to tell the people about ,jesus4 ,god bless you1 my dear lads6 ',it is now afternoon4 ,i write a few lines4 ,a lad in a shop here has a tame dove4 ,he has painted it all over different colours4 ,it looks absurd4 ,i don't like to see it sitting about the shop4 ,doves look so happy flying about4 ,mamma1 too1 liked to see birds on the trees and houses wild1 not kept in cages4 ',i guess you are just about getting your breakfast4 ,here it is about #d ,p4,m4 ,with you it should be #h ,a4,m4 ,saturday2 ,i wish ,i could see you4 ,my love to you1 my dear sons4 ,may you always1 both now and when grown1 be boys and men that know and love ,jesus6 ,i pray for you4 ,your loving father1 ',,james ,,gilmour4' ,in ,august #ahhd a third son was given to ,mr4 and ,mrs4 ,gilmour1 whom they named ,alexander4 ,in #ahhg spinal trouble developed1 and in ,december of that year he died4 ',though often ill1' wrote his father when announcing the death to the uncle after whom he had been named1 'his life was a happy one4 ,it is now happier than ever4 ,thanks be to ,god that there is1 and that we know that there is1 a bright and happy life beyond4 ,let us make that the great meeting-place for ourselves and our children and friends4 ,may it stand before us as a joy6 ,as ever and anon one and another goes there1 may we feel that we have more and more interest there6 ,let us live looking to the joy set before us6' ,this baby-brother is the ,alick referred to in the following letter3-- ',ta ,chng ,tz7u1 ,mongolia3 ,february #aa1 #ahhh4 ',my dear ,sons1--,i am well1 and thankful for it4 ,i got here two days ago4 ,i had such a cold time of it on the road6 ,i never felt the cold so much before4 ',people here are very busy4 ,this is the last day of the ,chinese year4 ',to-morrow is the first day of the ,chinese year4 ,everybody is buying all sorts of food1 because the shops do not open for some days after the new year4 ,they are very busy1 too1 scraping off the old papers at the sides of their doors and pasting up new papers4 ,they 7the papers7 are red1 and look fine at first with the great black ,chinese characters written on them4 ,but the sun after a while takes the colour out of them4 ',they are busy1 too1 pasting up the new gods in their houses4 ,they 7the gods7 are sheets of paper with pictures of gods on them4 ,every house has a god of the kitchen4 ,they send him to heaven1 as they think1 by burning him4 ,they burnt the old one last ,saturday4 ,they are putting up the new one now4 ,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 year4 ,i ask them if ,i burnt them would they think they were going to heaven8 ,they buy sticky sugar-cakes to give him so that he may be pleased1 and not tell on them for doing evil things4 ,they think1 too1 that the sugar sticks his lips together1 so that when he wants to tell on them he can't get his mouth open6 ,isn't it all very silly and very sad8 ,the shopkeepers1 too1 paste up a god of riches1 thinking that thus they will become rich6 ',to-morrow 7,sunday7 ,i hope to baptize a man4 ,he is a ,chinaman4 ,that will make four ,christians here4 ,they all have faults and weaknesses1 and ,i am not very easy in my mind about them4 ,pray that ,god may make them better and make them grow in grace4 ,pray1 too1 that ,god may convert more of the people4 ,pray1 too1 that ,god may give us a house of our own to live in4 ,people here are afraid to let us have a house4 ,now that ,dr4 ,roberts is coming1 we will need a house4 ,he is coming in six or seven weeks4 ,then he stays two months1 and goes back to ,tientsin for a while again4 ,we saw the ,christian at ,t ,ss7u ,kou as we passed4 ,the ,ch'ao ,yang man we have not seen yet4 ',i have made all your letters to me into a book1 and have them with me4 ,your letters are nice to read1 and show great improvement in the writing4 ,i am going to keep all your letters this year too and bind them4 ,you may like to see them when you grow big4 ,the last letter from you is dated ,october #bg4 ',my dear sons1 ,i think of you often and pray for you much4 ',you have a photo of mamma's grave4 ,little ,alick's little mound is close to mamma's1 on the side nearer little ,edie's4 ,mamma's and ,alick's coffins touch down below4 ,they lie together4 ,but mamma and ,alick are not there4 ,they are in heaven1 with its golden streets and its beautiful river1 and its trees of life1 and its beautiful gates1 and its good1 loving1 kind people1 and ,jesus and ,god4 ,they are having such a nice time of it there6 ',my boys1 don't be afraid of dying4 ,pray to ,jesus1 do the things ,he likes1 and if you die you will go to ,him1 to ,his fine place1 where you'll have everything that is nice and good4 ,i don't know whether you or ,i will go there first1 but ,i hope that by-and-by we'll all be there1 mamma and ,alick and all4 ,i like to think of this4 ,meantime let us be doing for ,jesus all we can1 telling people about ,him and trying to persuade them to be ,his people4 ,are your schoolfellows ,jesus' boys8 ,do you ever tell them of ,him8 ,tell them1 my dear sons4 ',i hope to get letters from you in about a month4 ',good-bye1 my dear boys4 ',may you be good and diligent1 and then you'll be happy4 ,jesus can make you glad4 ',your loving ,father1 ',,james ,,gilmour4' ,mrs4 ,meech had shown much motherly kindness to her little nephew ,alexander1 and only a few months after he had died she herself lost a little son4 ,mr4 ,gilmour1 on hearing the sad tidings1 wrote to her as follows3-- ',mongolia3 ,march #be1 #ahhh4 ',my dear ,mrs4 ,meech1--,many congratulations and condolences with you4 ,your little son has gone to ,emily4 ,she'll look after the little man as you looked after her little man4 ,just fancy6 we have family connections in heaven not a few1 and ever increasing4 ,i hope you are now getting better and going on all right4 ',i am much cheered by the good news of soul movements in the ,west ,mission4 ,may they continue and increase6 ',with many prayers for you all1 and kept in constant remembrance of you all by the date block1 ',yours in loving sympathy1 ',,james ,,gilmour4' ',may #cj1 #ahhh4 ',i am doctoring a little homeless lad's head here4 ,i put on ointment all over it to-day4 ,he cried4 ,i said ,i had medicine that would stop the pain1 and brought out six cash--one farthing--and told him to go and have a bowl of buckwheat meal strings4 ,all laughed1 he stopped crying1 and did not seem to feel the pain after that4 ,most of the people in the town are much impressed with the improvement in the boy's head4 ,before he came to me ,i saw a ,chinese medicine-man poking at the lad's head with a straw4 ,when he came ,i rubbed on ointment with my finger4 ,the bystanders were much pleased to see ,i was not averse to touching the poor dirty lad's sore head4 ,jesus touched a leper1 and ,i like to do things like what ,jesus would do4 ,that is the right way1 boys4 ,always think what ,jesus would have done1 and do like ,him4' ',mongolia3 ,sept4 #i1 #ahhh4 ',my dear ,sons1--,i am out on a journey4 ,i knew letters were being sent me1 and hoped to meet them4 ,a long way off ,i saw a red umbrella1 the sun shining through the oilcloth4 ,the thought passed through my mind1 ,can that be the messenger8 ,but ,i forgot all about it1 reading a book as ,i walked along4 ,all at once ,i heard1 ,he's come1 and looking up1 saw the red umbrella close at hand4 ,it was him4 ,the messenger returns to-morrow4 ,i had had no letters for eighty days4 ',i wrote you last on ,august #b4 ,since then several men have professed ,christ1 and one man has been baptized4 ',one of the ,christians at ,ta ,chng ,tz7u stole my bankbook and drew money of mine1 amounting to about #cl4 ,he says he is penitent1 and we have put him on a year's probation to see how he does4 ,he is a lazy man4 ,long ago ,i said1 ,if you are lazy1 some day the devil will make you a sinner1 and so he did4 ,had he been a diligent man he would not have been poor and would not have stolen4 ,diligence is a good thing1 laziness is a bad thing4 ,a good ,christian cannot be lazy1 because he knows ,jesus does not like lazy people4 ,i may write you again in a few days4 ,hoping next mail to get a letter from you 7there was none this mail71 and asking ,god to bless you in everything1 and guide you in all your life1 ',i am your loving ,father1 ',,james ,,gilmour' ',ch'ao ,yang1 ,mongolia3 ,saturday1 ,november #ag1 #ahhh4 ',my dear ,sons1--,on the street to-day ,i saw a crowd standing4 ,i went up to see what they were looking at1 and found two ,chinese gentlemen showing off a trained bird4 ,one of the men stood down on the street4 ,the other put three little flags so that they stuck on the wall4 ,the bird then flew away1 caught up a flag1 and came flying back to its master in the street1 carrying the flag in its bill4 ,it looked very clever4 ,every time the bird brought a flag it was rewarded by being fed with some nice food which it liked4 ,it was very pretty to see it4 ,but after all it was a very trifling employment for two grown gentlemen to be engaged in4 ,even the crowd of ordinary ,chinese seemed to think so4 ',i don't like to see birds in captivity4 ,it is pretty to see them wild flying about1 and to hear them singing1 but ,i pity them in cages1 and tied by string as the ,chinese are fond of doing with them4 ,when ,i see birds tied ,i often think of mamma who used so much to like to see them wild4 ',i remember one day in ,mongolia mamma stopped me from plucking a flower2 she said it looked so pretty growing4 ,another time a beetle flew and alighted somewhere2 mamma said1 ,it is so glad that it is alive1 don't hurt it4 ',i am a good deal distressed to see the boys in the market-place4 ,they steal just as much as ever they can from the sellers of straw and fuel1 pluck out handfuls from the bundles and run away not at all ashamed4 ,if the owner does not chase them they get off with it4 ,if he throws down his load and runs after them they drop the plunder1 the owner picks it up1 and no more is said about it4 ',in summer little naked boys follow people carrying fruit in open baskets and steal it as they can3 it all seems so dishonest1 and no one seems to care4 ,on the street lots of people will see a thief stealing a man's pipe and never say a word1 because it is not their business4' ',i often think of you and pray for you4 ,you do not forget mamma1 ,i am sure4 ,she is with ,jesus4 ,be you ,his lads1 and do your lessons well1 and ,he'll guide you all through life4 ,be diligent and careful lads1 and you'll grow up useful and honoured men4 ,constantly tell ,jesus all your affairs4 ',goodbye meantime1 my boys4 ',much love from your affectionate ,father1 ',,james ,,gilmour4' ,,chapter ,,xi ,,closing ,,labours ,james ,gilmour remained in ,great ,britain less than eight months4 ,the society of his boys was a great delight to him4 ,he rejoiced in renewed intercourse with relatives and old friends4 ,his religious convictions and his own spiritual life deepened still more4 ,he went to a considerable number of meetings to speak on missionary work and needs1 and he everywhere produced a great impression4 ,referring to this visit1 and especially to his intercourse with the boys1 a near relative writes3-- ',it was a time full of interest and pleasure4 ,what a variety of moods1 from the frolicsome to the pathetic1 he displayed6 ,but evidently his wife's death had laid hold upon his very soul1 and there seemed so much more of sadness and tenderness than on his former visit1 when he had enjoyed her bright companionship4 ,on one occasion1 referring to a medical missionary who had brought his wife home from ,china hopelessly ill1 and who was expecting the end1 he said3 ,eh1 man1 he little knows the terrible dark valley he has to come through1 and if ,christ is not with him he will be undone6 ,he spoke the words as though he were again going through his own agony1 and then added3 ,but if ,christ is with him he will come out of it with victory1 and ,christ will be dearer4 ,but he has no idea what he has to face1 though he thinks he has4 ',he had looked forward to spending part of his time with his sons at ,millport1 where he had spent ,june and ,july #ahhc with his wife and boys on his former visit4 ,so we went there for a month1 and they had a good time boating1 and walking1 and reviving old memories of the happy home circle4 ,the thought of reunion was always made prominent4 ,the boys must ever remember his earnest efforts to lead their thoughts heavenward1 and they do think of heaven as a very real place4 ',while at ,millport he spent several nights in pasting up texts on every place likely to catch the eye2 on stones and gateways and fences all round the island4 ,he felt he must work while time was granted to him4 ,i had noticed him making paste1 but thought nothing of it4 ,i had heard the sound of a softly closing door at midnight1 but thought it must be fancy4 ,it had gone to my heart to feel his icy cold hand when he gave me his morning greeting4 ,i noticed the little texts pasted up1 but never thought of them as his work till the next day1 when he began to make more paste1 and then the whole thing came to me like a flash4 ,i begged him with tears not to go out in the cold night air1 and said that ,i knew ,god would rather have him stay in his warm comfortable bed and get well and strong4 ,he answered so kindly3 ,sister1 it pains me to grieve you4 ,but he finished his work nevertheless4 ',he was always wonderfully considerate1 and grateful for any attention4 ,sometimes1 when he saw me unusually tired1 he would go and get an extra pillow and make me rest on the sofa1 or when we came to the table he would place me in a comfortable chair and pour out the tea himself1 or he would say3 ,sister1 take a cup yourself first1 then you will be able to help us4 ',on the day before he left us to return to ,china he really said his farewell4 ,we had finished dinner1 and when he went out he stood and looked in through the window at the happy faces still around the table4 ,he threw a kiss1 and then his feelings overcame him1 his lip quivered1 the tears came to his eyes1 and he hastened away4 ,later in the day1 when ,i was speaking hopefully of seeing him again1 he answered3 ,i shall see your face no more4 ',i know he felt very much giving up the comforts of civilised life1 but he set his face to it4 ,it touched me much the last evening he was with us1 when1 after ,i had to remind him two or three times of some business it was needful for him to attend to before he would go1 he said3 ,i can hardly drag myself away from this bright cosy scene4 ',his was a rarely sensitive soul4 ,it pained him to hear any one speaking evil of another4 ,i have seen him turn deadly pale when he has heard any one impute a wrong motive4 ,he longed for more of the spirit of ,christ among men4 ,how he longed1 too1 for more workers in the ,mission field6 ,many a time he would say1 after a walk through ,hamilton on a ,saturday evening3 ,just think6 ,in a little town like this there are men preaching at every other street corner1 and ,i am alone in all of those hundreds of square miles in ,mongolia6 ,what you people are thinking of ,i cannot imagine6' ,in a correspondence which he conducted with the daughter of one of his former professors there is very much that reveals how deep and strong his religious life had become1 and how he had noted the current of renewed spirituality which is evident now in all sections of the ,evangelical ,church4 ,from this correspondence we have been permitted to cull some beautiful and helpful passages4 ',glasgow3 ,november #ah1 #ahhi4 ',may ,he ,himself lead you into closer and closer communion with ,him1 and give you in very full measure ,his joy and ,his peace6 ,for myself and for you1 ,i pray that we may be more captivated with ,him and ,his friendship4 ,you know1 ,i suppose1 ,no4 #efe1 ,in the ,secret of ,his ,presence1 in the #gej edition of ,sankey4 ,no4 #cbh1 ,o ,christ1 in ,thee my soul hath found1 is one ,i like too1 as being the expression of partly experience and partly aspiration4 ,he is truly the true source of true satisfaction4 ,may we be led to trust ,him more largely in all the things of our lives6 ,i am sure1 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 end4 ,may you be largely satisfied with ,his blessing and ,himself6' ',november #bj1 #ahhi4 ',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 ,lord4 ,one or two prominent instances of this have happened to me4 ,i am glad ,he can be found anywhere1 and that ,he is easy of access always with favourable or unfavourable surroundings4 ',about feeling--never mind that at all4 ,things are so whether we feel them or not4 ,let us take ,god at ,his word1 and not consider our feelings4 ,god refuses no one who comes to ,him in sincerity4 ,let us be sure of this4 ,i once heard ,spurgeon say a good thing3 ,when doubts or the devil comes and says1 ',you are not saved2 you are not right with ,god1' ,i go to ,him and say1 ',if ,i never came before1 ,i come now2 if ,i never trusted before1 ,i trust now4' ,that cuts off all doubts about the present as standing on the past1 and gives a fresh start4 ',all over the kingdom there is a hunger and thirst among many for a life of greater nearness to ,god2 a feeling not only of the need of ,god being more of a daily1 hourly reality and factor in our life1 but that without ,him more real and present life is not a satisfactory thing4 ,when this feeling takes possession of one1 we do not need to give up things as denying ourselves for ,christ1 so much as that we are changed in attitude towards many things4 ,we drift away from them4 ,things that were gain to us we count loss for ,christ4 ,our aims are different4 ,may our lives be more fully taken captive thus6 ,to a life lived thus1 death is not a breaking off of anything2 it is an enlargement of sphere4' ',hamilton3 ,december #e1 #ahhi4 ',all ,i know about the process is just going to ,god and telling what ,i want1 and asking to be allowed to have it4 ,seek1 and ye shall find2 ask1 and ye shall receive4 ,i know no secret but this4444 ,god understands ,his scholars1 and knows how to teach each one4 ,different scholars may require different ways4 ,we may trust ourselves in ,his hands1 only let us be earnest students4 ,i have at different times been quite surprised how a book1 or a friend1 or a remark conveying just the teaching needed at the time has been brought into my way4 ,yes1 none teach like ,him4' ',december #be1 #ahhi4--,oh that we may be more completely given over and up to ,him to be used at ,his pleasure and as ,he pleases6 ,oh for more faith in ,him6 ,my lads are1 ,i think1 enjoying themselves2 ,i commit them to ,him2 but eh6' ',january #a1 #ahij4--;,just returned with my two lads after a day spent in ,london seeing my ship1 the ,peshawur4 ,the ship is full4 ,my berth is not in a good place--but it is not bad1 after all1 and it is not for long4444 ,you'll have lots of need of wisdom1 and ,jesus is made unto us wisdom as well as other things4444 ,he'll teach you all right4 ,don't let us refrain for fear we make mistakes4 ,the greatest mistake we could make would be to do nothing4444 ',everyone is amazed to see me look so well4 ,it is remarked on all round4 ,i feel remarkably well too4444 ',may ,god be pleased to use me in ,his service6' ,his heart was in ,mongolia4 ,at the very earliest moment which the medical authorities and the ,directors of the ,london ,missionary ,society would sanction he returned4 ,he sailed for ,china on ,january #i1 #ahij4 ,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 years1 and whom he was very sorry to miss3-- ',in answer to yours of ,november #ai ,i directed an envelope to you long ago4 ,it has lain in my writing-case ever since1 often seen but always taken precedence of by the thing that stepped in before4 ,now's your turn4 ,i'm sorry you'll not see me in ,england4 ,i sailed yesterday ,my health has been restored1 and ,i am off again4 ',you say you want reviving--,go direct to ,jesus and ask it straight out1 and you'll get it straight away4 ,this revived state is not a thing you need to work yourself up into1 or need others to help you to rise into1 or need to come to ,england to have operated upon you--,jesus can effect it anywhere1 and does effect it everywhere whenever a man or woman1 or men and women ask it4 ,ask and ye shall receive4 ',my dear brother1 ,i have learned that the source of much blessing is just to go to ,jesus and tell ,him what you need4 ,i am delighted to hear you say you need blessing1 because ,i know there is plenty and to spare with ,jesus4 ,oh for an outpouring on all parts of the ,l4,m4,s4 missions6 ',there is so much that ,i would like to say that it is hardly worth while beginning to say anything2 so ,i'll simply commend you to ,jesus in all ,his fulness4' ,on ,january #ba1 #ahij1 when nearing ,port ,said1 he wrote3-- ',we have excellent company on board4 ,never had such a very pleasant voyage4 ,some of the ,first ,salooners come to our ,bible readings4 ,those who are unfriendly to ,christianity are careful to give no cause of offence and are polite4 ,so far our voyage has been an exquisite picnic4 ,knowing well what is before us1 we still rejoice in the present ,elim and calmly trust for the future4 ,i went on board with a tremendous cold4 ,so did two or three others4 ,mine1 as ,i expected1 went with the exposure4444 ,no one teaches like ,him who also was the first of preachers4 ,in daily1 hourly1 humble communication with ,him you will want for no wisdom and for no guidance and for no shepherding4 ,rejoice in that you have ,him to manage everything for you4' ,he reached ,peking on ,march #ad1 #ahij1 and on ,march #bd started again for ,mongolia4 ,he entered upon his last spell of work with a good heart and with high hopes4 ,dr4 ,smith was to be his medical colleague4 ,while in ,england ,mr4 ,gilmour had visited ,cheshunt ,college1 and had there fired the heart of ,mr4 ,parker with the desire and purpose of being his colleague4 ,he was looking forward to his speedy arrival4 ,during his absence in ,england ,dr4 ,smith had paid one brief visit to ,mongolia by himself1 and another1 still briefer1 in the company of the ,rev4 ,t4 ,bryson of ,tientsin4 ,meanwhile the work had been going on slowly and steadily under the care of the native helper1 ,mr4 ,liu1 and of some of the converts4 ,we now follow the story of this last year's work as it is told in ,mr4 ,gilmour's letters and reports4 ,on ,may #i1 #ahij1 he wrote to the ,rev4 ,r4 ,wardlaw ,thompson3-- ',i have been all over the district1 spending a month at ,ch'ao ,yang4 ,there we were privileged to baptize four adults1 one a woman1 and one child1 all ,chinese4 ,two of these were young men who have been under instruction for eight or nine months1 and are very pleasing cases indeed4 ,the other two were a man and his wife1 who is the first woman who has had courage to be baptized in this district4 ,these last are an outcome of the medical work4 ,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 leg1 which had been caused by a wound from his own harvest sickle4 ,the sore was cured1 and friendly relations sprung up with the whole hamlet1 and ,i am thankful to hear that1 though only one family has put away its idols1 all the neighbours are friendly4 ',in ,ch'ao ,yang there are several inquirers4 ,some of the ,christians give great satisfaction1 others are not so satisfactory4 ,one man1 a ,christian1 tells me that his wife was possessed by an evil spirit1 and to please her and cure her he had to allow the re-establishment of the worship of that spirit for her benefit4 ,no sooner was this done than the woman was cured6 ,such things are firmly believed in by the ,chinese4 ',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 town4 ,he has been friendly and an inquirer from the first4 ,he has made no profession of ,christianity1 but says he reads his ,new ,testament regularly1 and prays4 ,he has also taught two men in his neighbourhood4 ,the one is a carpenter4 ,the other is a farmer4 ,they know the ,catechism1 observe the ,sunday1 and meet with ,mr4 ,fng for worship4 ,both of these men we saw1 and their story seems true4 ,fng came and spent a day with us4 ,i asked him why he did not make an open profession of ,christianity4 ,his reply was that he lives with his parents1 as all ,chinese do1 and that he cannot arrange his house disregarding them1 who with his wife and children are still heathen4 ,he has been able only partially to do away with idols in his own house4 ,outside too of his own house heathen pressure is so great that1 he says1 were he to join ,christianity it would be no use for him to live6 ,he says he lacks the courage single-handed to meet all the persecution that would descend on him were he baptized4 ,meantime he is instructing those about him in the hope1 apparently1 that were there several together they could better stand the trouble4 ,it is an interesting case1 but not at all satisfactory4 ,my hope about him is that1 if he keeps conversant with the ,word of ,god1 the ,spirit may give him no rest till he has courage to take his stand and make his confession4 ',we had a splendid month in the market-place4 ,chinese and ,mongols in plenty1 both to preach to and to heal4 ,one ,mongol betrayed a most intimate and full knowledge of ,christianity4 ,the drought gave good opportunity of speaking of many things1 and in most cases we had respectful attention4 ,it was a hard month's work4 ,seven till noon or a little after was our market time2 the afternoon private patients1 the evening inquirers1 makes a very long day1 which begins at daylight and does not end till after the second watch of the night has been set4 ,the ,chinese usually secure a rest just after noon1 but frequently just then some patient would turn up1 and put an end to quiet4 ,in most cases the strain is relieved by holidays through rain and storm2 but even this was wanting this time1 so we had almost uninterrupted work4 ',i am more than ever eager to have the medical work given over to a medical man4 ,one day in ,ch'ao ,yang a man came swaggering across the open space in the marketplace4 ,people pointed towards him and laughed4 ,he was laughable1 the ridiculous part of him being a straw hat which was an imitation1 caricature rather1 of a foreigner's hat4 ,i could not help laughing4 ,it was no laughing matter1 though4 ,he was a messenger from the cavalry camp just outside the town4 ,he had come to take me to treat two soldiers who had received bullet-wounds in an encounter with ,mongolian brigands4 ,i had never seen a bullet-wound in my life1 but ,i knew ,i could do more for the wounded men than any ,chinese doctor2 so ,i went4 ,the wounds were then forty-eight hours old1 and ,i dressed them as best ,i could1 paying a daily visit for about a fortnight4 ,two wounds1 though deep1 were merely flesh2 with these ,i had no difficulty4 ,the third was a bone complication4 ,i knew nothing of anatomy1 had no books1 absolutely nothing to consult2 what could ,i do but pray8 ,and the answer was startling4 ,the third morning1 when in the market-place attending to the ordinary patients1 but a good deal preoccupied over the bone case1 which ,i had determined should be finally dealt with that day if possible at all1 there tottered up to me through the crowd a live skeleton1 the outline of nearly every bone quite distinct1 covered only with yellow skin1 which hung about in loose folds4 ,i think ,i see him yet--the chin as distinctively that of a skeleton as if it had bleached months on the plain4 ,the man was about seventy1 wore a pair of trousers1 and had a loose garment thrown over his shoulders4 ,he came for cough medicine1 ,i think2 if so1 he got it2 but ,i was soon engaged fingering and studying the bone ,i had to see to that afternoon4 ,i was deeply thankful1 but amidst all my gratitude the thing seemed so comical that ,i could not help smiling1 and a keen young ,chinaman in the crowd remarked1 in an under tone1 ,that smile means something4 ,so it did4 ,it meant1 among other things1 that ,i knew what to do with the wounded soldier's damaged bone2 and in a short time his wound was in a fair way of healing4 ,i was and am very thankful2 but1 after all1 ,i am more impressed than ever with the fact that things are badly out of joint when there are lots of ,christian doctors at home1 and abroad too1 and ,i1 knowledgeless1 am left to do the doctoring in a large district like this quite beyond the reach of medical help1 not only for the natives but even for myself should ,i need it4 ',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 road4 ,as saith the ,scripture1 ,the highways were unoccupied1 and the travellers walked through byways4 ,i had avoided this road twice1 and was ashamed to avoid it again1 so we went straight through it4 ,we saw no one to harm us1 but a week ago it was just as likely that ,i should to-day have been lying on a ,chinese kang1 trying to dress my own wounds1 as that ,i should have been sitting here writing to you4 ',i am at present waiting for ,dr4 ,smith1 whose last word to me1 dated ,tientsin1 ,april #i1 was that ,i should either see him or hear from him here between ,june #f and #ab4 ',yesterday1 ,sunday1 ,june #h1 had a pleasant day4 ,the three ,christians here have grown4 ,two of them have been through a good deal of trouble and stood it well4 ,the farmer1 who has been very ill1 guessing we would be here1 came in and spent the day with us4 ,they seem very earnest4' ,the beneficial result of the home visit of #ahhi was very evident at this time4 ,it had arrested the 'running down1' from which he had severely suffered4 ,it had enabled him to renew old friendships1 and to form new ones4 ,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 home1 who gladly responded to his oft-repeated request1 ',pray for me and for the conversion of the ,chinese and the ,mongols4' ,he renewed his interest in the broad current of the world's life4 ,we have seen how some years previously he gave up all reading but the ,bible4 ,now1 while he studied the ,bible with all his old eagerness1 he had various newspapers sent to him1 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 day4 ,the selections from his correspondence which follow illustrate these changes in him4 ,he modified his mode of life in ,mongolia4 ,having given up vegetarianism on his homeward voyage he did not resume it upon his re-entrance on ,mongol life4 ,he remained a total abstainer1 and his hatred of opium1 whisky1 and tobacco continued as strong as ever1 although he did not now make abstinence from the two latter a test of ,church membership4 ,he reserved more of the ,sunday as a day of rest1 taking only the religious services with the ,christians and inquirers1 and not1 as formerly1 setting up his tent on the street4 ,the old careworn look disappeared1 his form regained much of its former life and spring1 and his face filled out1 his smile resumed the brightness of old1 and the voice came back to a good deal of its early clearness4 ,all these evidences of a change for the better served to augur many years of happy work4 ,in a letter to a friend he playfully alludes to the twenty or thirty years of labour yet remaining1 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 ,peking4 ,by the mail that conveyed the letter quoted on page #bfc he also wrote to an ,edinburgh friend3-- ',do you know ,adolphe ,monod's ,farewell8 ,it was sent to me lately by ,rev4 ,c4 ,new1 of ,hastings1 an old ,cheshunt fellow-student4 ,i have enjoyed it all1 but most1 ,i think1 chapter xii41 ,of ,things not seen4 ,a volume of sermons1 entitled ,the ,baptism of the ,spirit1 and other ,sermons1 by ,mr4 ,new1 ,i have enjoyed intensely4 ,to the meek child-like spirit desiring the sincere nourishing of the ,word nothing1 ,i think1 could be more helpful4444 ,if ever you send a book to the boys1 let it be one that will do their souls good4 ',i may be filling my life too full1 but between medical work and spiritual work ,i have barely time to sleep1 and ,i find that1 for any hope of continuance of work1 ,i must have time to sleep4 ,for the last month ,i have been getting up at #d4cj ,a4,m41 and our evening worship and after conversation was not over till1 say1 #i or #i4ae or #i4cj1 or even1 once or twice1 till #aj ,p4,m4 ,then it would take us some time to square up the day's affairs1 and spread out my bedding4 ,in the daytime ,i used to bolt my door1 determined on an hour's quiet2 but often this was in vain4 ,i would hear some poor cultivator come for medicine2 he had a long way to go home1 and ,i could not but let him in and attend to him4 ',yesterday1 as no one knew we were here1 ,i escaped at #e4cj and made for the hot springs1 twelve miles away4 ,i walked there and back1 and in consequence to-day am lame on my feet--badly blistered4 ,i had a grand day--so quiet4 ,going1 ,i sat down behind a mud wall and read the four first chapters of ,hebrews4 ,arrived1 ,i had my bath1 then got an empty room in an inn1 had sleep1 dinner1 tea1 and read the rest of ,hebrews4 ,i never saw so much in ,hebrews before4444 ,on the road ,i had a four-mile conversation with a farmer1 who finally said he believed ,christianity was true4 ,we have baptized six in all since ,i returned1 five adults and one child--all ,chinese4 ,be not weary in well-doing4 ,in due time we shall reap1 if we faint not4 ,we are on ,god's side4 ,god has need of us4 ,oh let us be such as ,god can take pleasure in6 ,faithfulness and love to ,him are what ,he wants4 ,surely we can let ,him have these two4 ,oh that it might be that everyone in every contact with us might feel the spiritual touch6 ,would not this be ideal ,christian life8 ,may ,he work it in us6 ',have you been to any ,salvation ,army efforts8 ,i always felt better for going1 but latterly did not go much--,i could not stand the row4 ,i am eager that you should identify yourself with some soul-saving agency4 ,if it really is a soul-saving concern1 ,i don't think it matters very much what it is4' ,on ,july #ba1 #ahij1 he wrote to the same friend3-- ',since ,july #c we have had most extraordinary weather for this part--rain and dull2 there have been only four or five days when ,i could go on to the street with my tent4 ,i am therefore not so busy4 ,in addition1 ,dr4 ,smith has joined me1 and as he does all the indoor medical work1 ,i am still less busy1 and so ,i can write you more at leisure than usual4 ',the rain reached a climax on ,saturday night1 ,july #ai4 ,till then1 roofs and walls held out well4 ,there were leaks in places1 but nothing serious4 ,we thought it had cleared off4 ,not a bit of it4 ,the wind changed1 it is true1 but then rain came down in torrents1 the ceilings--all reeds and paper--began to give way4 ,ever and anon splash came a bag of water1 as the paper burst in different places1 and ,dr4 ,smith and ,i had a lively time of it shifting our boxes and bedding to dry spots4 ,by dusk it was serious4 ,i was just about my wits' end when a ,chinaman put his head into my room1 and said with a grin1 half in jest1 half in earnest1 ,there is a tent standing idle out in that room1 why not put it up in your room8 ,the idea of putting up a tent in your bedroom seemed so absurd that we had a good laugh over it2 but after thinking over it awhile1 and thinking out how the thing could be done1 we actually did it4 ,it covered two-thirds of my kang1 and a little space on the floor where ,i put my boxes4 ,the inner corner of the tent ,i put up to cover my stock of books and medicines1 lit my lamp1 brewed a pot of tea1 and1 squatting on my feet1 called in ,dr4 ,smith4 ,he said ,i looked just like an opium-smoker4 ,dr4 ,smith had a portable iron bedstead4 ,on the top he put floor mats and a waterproof1 and1 without undressing1 we went to bed4 ,after a little a great crash was heard4 ,some part of the buildings had come down4 ,in the rain and dark it was not easy to see what it was1 but we at last found there had been more noise than real damage4 ,we were thankful when day dawned4 ',the ,chinese suffered much more than we did4 ,such a rain happens so seldom--once in three or four or five years--that houses are not roofed to resist it2 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 rain4 ',in the wet weather ,i have been going into the ,chinese ,psalms1 and have been much struck with the happy state of those who fear the ,lord1 trust in the ,lord1 and who1 under a variety of expressions1 are described as being on the ,lord's side1 and under ,his protection4 ',and all these promises we can take for ourselves4 ,did you see in ,the ,christian some time ago a story from ,annan1 of an old woman who was on the point of being sold out for not paying her rent8 ,she had no money4 ,her son was in ,america4 ,a neighbour1 thinking it strange that her son had not sent her money1 asked to see her letters4 ,there was one with a ,post-office ,order for #gl4 #ajs4 in it4 ,she had had it for some time1 but thought it was only a picture4 ,when cashed she was in funds4 ,wasn't she a stupid old woman8 ,to be bankrupt1 with an uncashed ,p4,o4 ,order in her possession6 ,how often we are much more stupid than she6 ,to be fearful1 anxious1 troubled1 cast down1 when we have all the promises of ,god in our possession1 ready for our use4 ',let us cash our cheques4 ,nay1 we have not only ,god's promises1 but ,god ,himself for our portion4 ,why should we be spiritually bankrupt8 ',another thing ,i notice is the difference subjective states make in reading the ,psalms4 ,sometimes ,i go over a ,psalm and see little in it4 ,at another time ,i go over the same ,psalm and find it full of richness4 ,how important it is to have the light of the ,holy ,spirit in our ,scripture reading6' ',july #cj4--,the little ,wordless ,book you sent soon fell into the hands of a ,chinese convert1 who asked to be allowed to carry it off4 ,he wants to speak from it4 ,he likes it because it gives him carte blanche1 and lets him say just what he likes4444 ',how full the ,psalms are6 ,these days ,i am going through them in ,chinese1 as ,i said2 ,i take one each morning and commit some verses of it carefully4 ,then1 during the day1 as time permits1 ,i read a few more4 ,how one the soul of man is6 ,when dull and cold and dead1 and feeling as if ,i could not pray1 ,i turn to the ,psalms4 ,when most in the spirit1 the ,psalms meet almost all the needs of expression4 ,and yet deluded men talk of the ,bible as the outcome of the ,jewish mind6 ,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 for4444 ,now ,i am off to the street with my tent4' ',mongolia3 ,july #bh1 #ahij4 ',my dear ,meech1--,dr4 ,smith came here ,july #b4 ,the rains set in immediately on his arrival1 and we have had it since4 ,the spiritual rain has not come yet1 nor are there any signs of it4 ,when it does come may it come like the physical rain6 ,glad to see you have been having some4 ,may you have much more6 ,make the valley full of ditches1 brother1 and then look out for the flood4 ,do you think we'll be able to go up to ,him at last and say1 ,we did our part1 but you did not do yours1 ,lord8 ,eh1 man6 ,elijah called down fire with a short prayer1 but his servant made six vain journeys to the summit only to return with the discouraging news--nothing4 ,may the good ,lord1 who knows our frame and remembers we are dust1 give us a little now and again1 at any rate1 if only to keep us going meantime6 ,eh1 man6 there will be no lack on ,his part4 ,he'll shine up all right1 not only to perform1 but to succour ,his servants who trust in ,him4' ',july #bh1 #ahij4 ',my dear ,owen1--,i know worry should be an unknown element in a believer's experience4 ,i am eager to have done with it4 ,i thank ,him for much of its absence4 ,but dissatisfaction with the present state of things is not worry1 but legitimate soul-longing1 and the death of that would be a bad thing4 ',i can hardly tell how ,i am2 ,since ,dr4 ,smith came ,i have taken little note of inward things or outward either4 ,it is very pleasant to have him here1 and as the best sign of digestion is not to know one has a stomach or a digestion1 is the best sign of spiritual health not to know one has a soul at all8 ,i wonder is this so8 ,his presence has made a difference4 ,duty has kept me living quietly in good lodgings1 with only such work as ,i can easily do without any over-rush1 and the prospect of another month like it6 ,i fear ,i am not such company to him as he is to me4 ',we have had terrible rains2 the rivers were not crossed for five or six days1 and1 even after that1 two men were swept away on two separate days--four men1 in all1 from this one town alone4 ',i know you pray for us here4 ,eh1 man6 if the thing would move1 if the rain would come6 ,as the eyes of servants1 etc4 7,psalms cxxiii41 cxxvi474 ,i often read these ,psalms together4 ,and then ,i think what would please me best as a master would be to see my servant going ahead1 energetically1 and faithfully1 and loyally with his work1 not moping about downcast4 ,then is not this what ,god wants in us8 ,so here goes cheerily and trustfully4' ',august #aj1 #ahij4 ',i cannot say ,god gives me all the victories ,i want1 but ,he keeps me in peace and faith1 and that is not a little thing4 ,my devotional reading lately has taken the form of the ,chinese ,psalms1 and ,schereschewsky's high ,chinese notwithstanding 7for which may he be forgiven71 they are very refreshing and strong4 ,how like are the heart-longings and soul-breathings of the old ,judean hunted outlaw--brigand1 if you like to call him so--to the heart and soul feelings of the educated ,occidental of the nineteenth century6 ,poor old ,moses1 another outlaw1 what a battered old life he led1 but what a grand soul1 and how wonderfully he outlived it all1 and was quite hale when called to die6 ,how his people troubled him6--so like the ,chinese4 ,fancy ,moses going up the mountain to die alone4 ,it is so nice to have a later glimpse of him in the ,new ,testament alongside of ,elijah1 who too was once under a cloud4 ,god does not keep up things4 ,as far as the east is from the west1 so far hath ,he removed our transgressions from us4 ,love to all4 ',,james ,,gilmour4' ',ch'ao ,yang1 ,august #ai1 #ahij4 ',my dear ,sons1--,i have just got here after a very hard journey of four days4 ,it is summer and the rains are on2 the roads are very bad4 ',our first adventure was in a deep narrow gully going up a mountain4 ,we met a cart coming down4 ,there was no room to pass and no room to turn back4 ,what were we to do8 ,one of the carts had to be pulled up the bank4 ,neither would go up4 ,both carters sat and looked at each other4 ,our cart was heavy1 the other cart was light4 ,after looking at each other awhile the other cart was pulled up and our carter helped him down again after we had passed4 ',our next adventure was in a river4 ,the leading mule sank in a quicksand4 ,the carter1 shoes and all1 jumped into the water2 in a few seconds ,i had stripped all but a cinglet and pants1 and was in the river too4 ,we got out after a little while4 ',next day we stuck in a quagmire4 ,we hitched the mules to the tail of the cart1 pulled it out1 then dug a new road in the side of the ravine and got past4 ',the third day we upset our cart in a very muddy place early in the morning1 and got caught in a thunder-shower in the afternoon4 ,the fourth day we stuck in a mud-hole half a mile from the end of our journey1 and when we got to our inn found our rooms in possession of a crowd of people doing a wedding4 ',one thing made the journey very pleasant3 it was this4 ,just as we were starting1 one of the ,christians1 a ,chinese farmer1 but a man who is poor and dresses and eats very poorly1 came and gave me two tiao1 about #cs4 #b;d41 to give to ,god4 ,i was so glad to see him do it1 and no doubt ,god was glad too4 ,then at the end of the journey1 when we were stuck in the mud-hole and could not get out1 up came one of the ,christians1 took off his stockings and shoes1 went into the mud and helped us out4 ,the country was very beautiful all the way--just at its best4' ,in a letter to another correspondent he depicts what is involved in ,chinese travelling during the wet season3-- ',the last thing we had to do was to make a journey of eighty miles4 ,you would soon do that in ,england4 ,here1 in ,august1 it is no easy matter4 ,it is just the time when1 on account of the rains1 no one should travel1 and no one does travel who can help it4 ,carts would not go4 ,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 dark4 ,next day ,i had much brightness shed on the journey by one of the ,chinese ,christians--a poor man with1 oh1 so poor a coat--giving a donation to print ,christian books4 ,it amounted to about #a4jj 7one dollar7 in all1 but it meant a lot of self-denial to him2 and as ,i passed1 a little later1 the drought-parched district where he lived1 and looked at the poor fields1 ,i wondered where he got the money4 ,i suppose ,god gave him the heart to give it4 ,starting a journey with such a bit of light made it cheery4 ',we travelled at those eighty miles four days1 and rested one ,sabbath1 five days in all4 ,within three-quarters of a mile of the end of our journey our cart stuck in a mud-hole4 ,we had passed1 shortly before1 the cottage of a ,christian1 and1 after we had been some half-hour or more in that hole1 this ,christian suddenly appeared on the scene4 ,he is a great fellow for being neat and clean4 ,in a few moments he was in the mud1 ordering about the carter1 shouting at the mules1 and lifting at the stern of the cart4 ,even the mules felt there was some new factor added to the problem4 ,they made a new effort and out the cart came4 ,would you credit it8 ,a cart had been upset there some days before2 it was said they had lost some thirty shillings in silver4 ,the natives1 hoping to find the money1 literally dug up the highway and left a pit there4 ,we did not know this1 thought it was an ordinary pool1 and drove straight into it4 ,the ,christian touch at the beginning of the journey1 and the little ,christian adventure at the end1 made the journey and its remembrance quite pleasant4 ',i am now reading ,moule's ,veni ,creator1 which came a few days ago4 ,what helps me most just at present is the ,psalms4 ,i take a few verses every morning 7almost71 and learn off the ,chinese translations of them4 ,i never knew there was so much in the ,psalms before4 ,i believe that even at the end of a long life1 this 7discovery of more and more in ,god's ,word7 will hold true of all the ,bible1 and then for the beyond there is the ,inexhaustible ,himself--satisfaction for the present and plenty for the future4 ',the endless sorrows and sufferings of this people here come home much to me4 ,i see much of their bodily suffering1 and in some feeble measure bear their sorrows and carry their griefs without being able to relieve them much4 ,how dead and dark they are to things spiritual6' ,dr4 ,smith1 who spent some weeks with ,mr4 ,gilmour during this summer1 has sent the following most interesting sketch of his daily life at this period4 ,they were together for the most part at ,t ,ss7u ,kou4 ',he always got up at daylight1 folded up bedding1 and then began reading4 ,about six a man arrived1 selling hot millet and bean porridge4 ,he bought two bowls of this for early breakfast4 ,he continued reading ,chinese1 generally aloud2 and when he came to a difficult word he repeated it again and again1 in order to impress it upon his memory4 ,about eight he had breakfast1 consisting of ,chinese rolls and a cup of cocoa4 ',at nine he went to the street with his tent1 ,mr4 ,liu1 the native preacher1 accompanying him4 ,one of the inn-servants assisted the latter in carrying tent and medicine boxes and in erecting same4 ,the tent was erected in a broad street at the back of our inn1 where a daily market was held4 ,the medicine boxes were placed on a little table1 in front of which stood a wooden form and another at the side4 ,the patients were seated on these4 ,any difficult cases were sent to the inn to be treated by me4 ,on the table were also a number of copies of various tracts and portions of ,scripture4 ,mr4 ,gilmour dispensed medicines1 talked and preached as the opportunity offered4 ',about one he returned to the inn1 and had dinner1 consisting of meat1 etc41 which was bought at a ,chinese cook-shop4 ,about three we generally took a walk to the country4 ,we used to go out to look at the various crops1 and ,mr4 ,gilmour would chat away to one and another whom we met on the road4 ,he was generally recognised1 and in the most friendly way4 ,i have a very pleasant recollection of these times2 often our conversation would turn to home1 to our boys and friends4 ,sometimes he would tell me about his student friends1 while at other times he used to tell me of his deputation work at home1 and about the various people he had met there4 ',often a gentleman would come up and ask1 ,where are you going8 to which ,mr4 ,gilmour would reply1 ,we are cooling ourselves2 we are going nowhere4 ,it was always a mystery to people what we could possibly mean by taking walks to the country4 ,one day two lads followed us for some miles across some low hills1 anxious to know our business1 and getting well laughed at by their friends1 poor fellows1 on their return to the town4 ',one thing about ,mr4 ,gilmour always impressed me deeply--his wonderful knowledge of the little touches of ,chinese politeness1 and his wonderful power of observation4 ,he loved the ,chinese--looked upon them and treated them as brothers1 and was a man who lived much in prayer2 and in this lay his great power as a missionary4 ',when he met a ,mongol he would exchange a few words of ,mongol with him1 and it was wonderful to see the man's face light up as he heard his own tongue4 ,all the ,mongols knew that he could speak their language1 and as one of the few who did4 ',as we returned to the town and were walking along the street1 many of the passers-by would bow2 and here and there a shopkeeper would give him a friendly bow4 ,sometimes he would buy a few peaches or apples1 and not unfrequently he would give a sweetmeat vendor two cash for two sweets1 handing one to me4 ',about half-past four we returned to the inn1 and then1 as a rule1 some people would be there waiting to see him4 ,mr4 ,sun1 the box-maker1 used often to come to read the ,scriptures with ,mr4 ,gilmour1 and then they would discuss various points2 ,mr4 ,sun giving his opinion1 and then ,mr4 ,gilmour putting him right4 ,sometimes an outsider would drop in1 and then1 not unfrequently1 ,mr4 ,sun would talk to him about the ,gospel4 ',about six ,mr4 ,gilmour had some cocoa and bread4 ,at the time of the lighting of the candles ,mr4 ,gilmour had made it a rule for the ,christians to assemble for evening prayers1 and1 accordingly1 they all turned up then4 ,a ,chinese table was placed in the centre of ,mr4 ,gilmour's room1 and three wooden forms were placed round the table for the accommodation of the preacher and the ,christians4 ,mr4 ,gilmour and ,i used to sit on chairs at the vacant side of the table4 ,on the table stood two ,chinese candlesticks1 each surmounted by a ,chinese candle4 ,a ,chinese candle is made from the castor bean1 and is fixed to the candlestick by running the iron pin on the latter into a hollow straw in the end of the candle4 ,then we also had a ,chinese oil lamp4 ,the upper vessel is simply a little earthenware saucer1 containing a little oil1 and in it lie some threads of cotton 7a cotton wick74 ,this is made to project over the edge of the saucer and is then lighted4 ,the lower part of the lamp is simply an earthenware receptacle1 in which the oil for replenishing the lamp is kept1 and1 while in use1 the little lamp is supported in it4 ,this often used to remind me of the parable of the virgins1 and in reading that parable by the light of such a lamp one is able to make it very realistic to ,chinamen4 ',our evening worship consisted in first singing a hymn1 ,mr4 ,gilmour leading4 ,then ,mr4 ,gilmour offered up a short prayer2 after which we read a chapter either in the ,old or ,new ,testament1 reading verse about4 ,each man had a copy of the ,scriptures4 ,then ,mr4 ,gilmour gave a little address on the chapter2 after which we had another prayer--one of the ,christians being asked this time4 ,then another hymn and the benediction4 ',usually one or more of the ,christians would remain chatting with ,mr4 ,gilmour4 ,as soon as they had gone we had a cup of cocoa together4 ,then ,mr4 ,gilmour and ,i used to have evening prayers together4 ,he used to read a chapter from a little book by ,mr4 ,moule1 and then we both prayed4 ',after this we used to sit chatting together until bedtime1 and so ended a day4' ,in ,august #ahij ,dr4 ,smith lost his wife1 who as ,miss ,philip had become known and beloved by a large number of friends of the ,london ,missionary ,society1 both in ,great ,britain and ,australia4 ,he had also become so ill that the ensuing weakness1 together with the great shock of his wife's sudden loss1 compelled him1 early in #ahia1 to return to ,england on a visit4 ,before doing so he was able to take ,mr4 ,parker1 the young and active colleague appointed to assist ,mr4 ,gilmour1 out to ,mongolia1 reaching ,t ,ss7u ,kou on ,december #e4 ,greatly encouraged by the arrival of his young helper1 ,mr4 ,gilmour was grievously disappointed by the enforced return of ,dr4 ,smith1 and the indefinite postponement of the hospital scheme that was so near to his heart1 and upon which he always asserted1 in his judgment1 the ultimate success of the mission depended4 ,but discipline of this kind only drove him back more entirely upon ,god4 ,in a letter to ,mr4 ,owen1 dated ,december #bi1 #ahij1 he writes3-- ,about myself ,i have lots to be thankful for4 ,i am mostly in the light1 sometimes very sweetly4 ,sometimes1 though1 it is cold and dark2 but ,i just hold on1 and it is all right4 ,romans viii4 ,i find good reading in dull spiritual weather1 and the ,psalms too are useful4 ,when ,i feel ,i cannot make headway in devotion1 ,i open at the ,psalms and push out in my canoe1 and let myself be carried along in the stream of devotion which flows through the whole book4 ,the current always sets towards ,god1 and in most places is strong and deep4 ,these old men--eh1 man6 they beat us hollow1 with all our ,new ,testament and all our devotional aids and manuals4 ,and yet ,i don't know4 ,in the old time there were giants--one here and there4 ,now there are many nameless but efficient men of only ordinary stature4 ',brother1 let us be faithful4 ,that is what ,god wants4 ,what ,he needs4 ,what ,he can use4 ,i was greatly struck by one saying of ,mrs4 ,booth's4 ,it will not be so very different there 7in heaven7 to what it is here4 ,i guess she is right4 ,i guess there will be differences of occupation there as here1 and ,i guess that our life here is a training for life and work there4 ,oh the mystery6 ,how thin a wall divides it from us6 ,how well the secret has been kept from of old till now6 ,may the richest blessings be on you and yours and your work6 ',yours affectionately1 ',,james ,,gilmour4' ,the year #ahia found ,mr4 ,gilmour hard at work as usual1 in good health and spirits1 and with the hope and apparently the prospect of many years of service before him4 ,and yet1 just as the summer was beginning1 he was called to the presence of the ,king1 and to the perfect work and fellowship of 'the ,church of the firstborn4' ,had he been able to choose his fate he would hardly have wished it other than it was4 ,his work in ,mongolia was steadily growing2 slowly1 it is true1 but yet gaining a strength and impetus that will abide1 and has well begun the conquest of ,mongolia for ,christ4 ,though practically without a medical colleague1 and actually without the hospital for which he had so toiled and prayed1 he was cheered and strengthened by the constant presence and fellowship of ,mr4 ,parker4 ,his letters are all in a cheery and buoyant strain1 and1 although referring not unfrequently to the future life1 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 out4 ,in a letter to ,mr4 ,thompson1 dated ,january #g1 he says1 ',you will be glad to hear ,i am in good health and spirits4' ,to ,mr4 ,owen he wrote on ,march #b3-- ',does ,god not mean to have a medical man here8 ,i wonder6 ,wondering1 ,i tell ,him as ,i tell you1 and try to leave it with ,him1 and in very great part do leave it to ,him too4 ,it is good to have ,his calm mercy and help4 ,how's your soul1 brother8 ,i'll tell you how mine is--eager to experience more of the ,almighty power inworking inside4 ,eager to be more transformed4 ,less conformed to the world4 ,eager to touch ,god more1 and have ,him touch me more1 so that ,i can feel ,his touch4 ',i am distressed at so few conversions here4 ,but again sometimes very fully satisfied in believing ,i am trying to do ,his will4 ,that makes me calm4 ,i am scared at our property venture1 but again trust in ,god1 and the fears subside4 ,the world to come1 too1 sometimes looms up clear as not far distant1 and the light that shines from that makes things seem different a good deal4' ,from other letters that remain we catch glimpses of the course of his action and thought during these last weeks4 ,during the year #ahfi he met in ,edinburgh ,mrs4 ,swan1 the widow of one of the pioneers of the ,mongol ,mission of #ahag to #ahda1 and that interview gave the chief direction to the work of his life4 ,in ,march #ahia he heard of ,mrs4 ,swan's death1 and he wrote to ,miss ,cullen1 her niece1 the following letter3-- ',i sent you a post-card acknowledging receipt of your kind letter of ,december #aj1 saying that ,mrs4 ,swan had passed away on ,november #bb4 ,i had not heard1 and just then ,i had not time to write4 ,i am now at the east end of my district1 three days' journey from where the mail reached me4 ',i am much moved to think that letter to me was her last4 ,and there is a fitness that it should be so4 ,baptized for the dead1 as the phrase is4 ,in some sense ,i am successor to her work1 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 heart1 where so many more good works found a place4 ,i often think of all the kindness and friendship ,i have experienced at her hands1 both on my visits to ,edinburgh and through letters4 ,missionaries miss such lives much when they are removed4 ,i need not speak to you1 who knew her so well1 of what a charming hostess she made1 and of how1 even in her old age1 all her great and abiding earnestness had running through it all so much happy ,scotch humour4 ',i had no idea ,mrs4 ,swan was so old4 ,eighty-one1 she did not look old except about the last time ,i saw her1 and then ,i had no idea her age was so great4 ,she has gone2 but for many years to come1 if ,i am spared1 ,i shall from time to time revisit her in her house in ,edinburgh1 and see her at the table with the quiet ,jane moving noiselessly around1 or see her seated at her desk in the corner1 writing letters4 ,remember me very kindly to your father--fit brother for such a sister4 ,their separation cannot be very long at the longest4 ,for that matter of it1 those of us who are here longest must soon be gone1 and when the going comes1 or looms before us1 let us look not at the going1 but at the being there4' ,having paid considerable attention to the work and methods of the ,salvation ,army1 the publication of ,in ,darkest ,england interested him greatly1 and on ,march #i he sent in a letter the following trenchant criticism1 all the more noteworthy because of his strong sympathy with much in the ,army that others find it hard to accept4 ',got here ,saturday4 ,had a good ,sunday with the ,christians4 ,to-day it snowed1 and thus we have had time to put our house in order4 ,i have read ,booth's scheme in the ,review of ,reviews4 ,i am greatly puzzled4 ,it is so far a departure from ,booth's principle of doing spiritual work only4 ,it reads well1 but ,booth must know just as well as ,i do that much of the theory will never work in practice4 ,what ,i dislike most in it is1 it is in spiritual things doing exactly what it attempts to do in secular things--namely1 it threatens to swallow up in a great holy syndicate no end of smaller charities which have been and are working efficiently4 ,again1 the finally impenitent are to be cast off4 ,yes1 that is just the rub4 ,it will leave the good-for-nothings1 many of them cast out as before4 ,nor will ,booth's despotism do in the long run4 ,but ,i am for the scheme and for old ,booth too2 but1 nevertheless1 there is both a limit and an end to all despotism and despotisms4 ,but ,i am more favourable to the scheme than these words would seem to indicate4' ,mr4 ,parker1 who bids fair to be a successor after ,gilmour's own heart1 in his first report of his experiences in ,mongolia gave a bright and hopeful view of his colleague4 ',on arriving at ,t ,ss7u ,kou we found ,gilmour very well indeed2 looking better than he did when ,i saw him in ,england4 ,he was jubilant over our coming1 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 servants4 ,i have had a slight taste of being left alone1 and ,i must confess ,gilmour has had something to endure during the last few years4 ',we are living in hired rooms of an inn4 ,gilmour is not in this courtyard4 ,i have been alone here with my ,chinese boy for the last five weeks 7,dr4 ,smith being in ,ch'ao ,yang until a few days ago74 ,i have been unable to get a proper teacher at present4 ,gilmour's student has been teaching me4 ,he speaks distinctly4 ,with him ,i have made very fair progress4 ,i hope in a few days to secure a proper teacher4 ',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 generally4 ,i am thankful to ,god for past experiences in my life1 though they were rather rough2 for here ,i find they come in very usefully4 ,i had to teach my boy how to cook and do things generally4 ,it was rather an amusing piece of work1 seeing that ,i knew nothing of the language4 ,each order ,i gave him was a comedy in two or three acts1 all played out in dumb show4 ,in telling him what ,i wished purchased ,i was obliged to imitate sounds which are peculiar to certain beasts and birds1 which when he understood1 he announced that fact by opening wide his eyes and emitting a loud ,ah6 which was generally followed by the name of the thing indicated bellowed forth at the top of his voice as if ,i were deaf4 ,also he in turn1 when he had anything to tell me1 always stood in the centre of the room and went through a whole performance4 ,on one occasion1 when he wished to tell me that a certain dog had stolen the day's meat1 the performance was so amusing that1 when he had got through1 ,i asked him what he was trying to say1 in order that ,i might once more see the fun4 ',forgive me for taking up your time with such frivolous things4 ,but ,i have picked up much of the language in that way1 although at the cost of being grimed with soot and burning my fingers4 ,all that is now past1 and the boy is very useful1 and1 although now a heathen1 ,i am hoping that by my influence he may be led to know the love of ,jesus ,christ4 ,i am very glad that ,i came straight out here4 ,i am sure ,i shall learn the language 7of the people1 perhaps not of the books7 better than in the frontier cities4 ,i am constantly forced to try and speak4 ,every day ,i have some visitors here whom ,i must try and entertain4 ,i feel stupid at times with them1 and perhaps they think ,i am2 but1 nevertheless1 each day's experience is adding to my vocabulary4 ,and when so learnt1 ,i know that people will understand me when ,i speak4 ',gilmour is doing a valuable work4 ,every day he goes to the street and sets out his table with his boxes of medicines and books4 ,he has three narrow benches1 on one of which he sits1 the other two being for his patients4 ,of the latter he has any amount1 coming with all the ills to which humanity is heir4 ,it is a busy street1 not of the best repute1 for it is where all the traders in second-hand clothes and dealers in marine stores spread out their wares4 ',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 plums4 ,he generally left me with a patient or two requiring some lotion in the eye or some wound to dress4 ,then ,i1 being a new-comer and a typical foreign devil 7being red of hair and in complexion71 always brought a large following down the street with me1 and attracted a great crowd round the stand4 ,at first it was not pleasant to sit there and be stared at without being able to speak to them2 but after a while ,i got very interested in the different faces that came round4 ,on one occasion ,i noticed the crowd eagerly discussing something among themselves1 giving me a scrutinising look now and then4 ,now and again one would turn to his fellow and rub his finger across his upper lip as if he was feeling for his moustache4 ,i had only been here a week or so then1 and knew very little of the language2 but ,i listened attentively1 and at last ,i heard them speaking the ,chinese numerals1 and then it all dawned upon me that they were inquiring about and discussing my age2 so ,i up with my fingers indicating the years of my pilgrimage4 ,i never saw a crowd so amused4 ,ah1 ah6 they said1 and opened their eyes1 highly delighted that ,i was able to tell them what they wanted to know4 ,then ,i had my turn1 and1 pointing to a man here and there in the crowd1 ,i used what little of ,chinese ,i had in guessing their ages4 ',but the sights of misery1 suffering1 and wretchedness which gather round ,gilmour's stand are simply appalling4 ,his work seems to me to come nearest to ,christ's own way of blessing men4 ,healing them of their wounds1 giving comfort in sickness1 and at the same time telling them the gospel of ,eternal ,salvation through ,jesus ,christ4 ,one day that ,i went ,i found ,gilmour tying a bandage on a poor beggar's knee4 ,the beggar was a boy about sixteen years of age1 entirely naked1 with the exception of a piece of sacking for a loin cloth4 ,he had been creeping about1 almost frozen with cold1 and a dog 7who1 no doubt1 thought he was simply an animated bone7 had attacked him4 ',the people here are desperately poor1 and the misery and suffering one sees crawling through the streets every day is heart-rending4 ,i have not a doubt that ,i am in a real mission field1 and thank ,god that ,he has given me the opportunity to do something towards alleviating some of this misery4 ,but what about the work as regards the saving of souls and establishing of a ,church8 ,i can only speak of the work in ,t ,ss7u ,kou4 ,it is in its initiatory stage4 ,all the ,christians and adherents can sit round the four sides of my table4 ,but ,i am highly pleased with them4' ,the letters of this period have a very tender and sacred association for all who received them1 since they reached ,england after the telegraphic tidings of ,james ,gilmour's death had brought sorrow to his many friends4 ,they came1 in a sense1 like a message from one 'within the veil4' ,some of these refer to the books he was reading1 and from which he had derived benefit2 some depict phases of his experience2 some bear directly upon his work and its needs2 all possess the solemn value and are read in the clearer light imparted to them by ,death4 ,the first was written to one of his brothers4 ',do you know ,in the ,volume of the ,book1 by ,dr4 ,pentecost8 ,it is ,a #a4 ,i have just read it4 ,it is not a dear book4 ,read it1 man1 by all means4 ,it gives zest to the old ,bible4 ,i am reading through the ,new ,testament at about the rate of a gospel a day1 or two epistles4 ,rapid reading has advantages4 ,close study of minute portions has other advantages4 ,all sorts of reading are valuable4 ,go for your ,bible1 brother4 ,there is no end more in it than ever you or ,i have yet seen4 ,i am going for it both in ,chinese and ,english1 and it pays as nothing else does4 ,in ,jesus is all fulness4 ,supply yourself from ,him4 ,may the richest blessings be on you from ,him6 ,heaven's ahead1 brother4 ,hurrah6' ,the next was to the ,edinburgh correspondent from whose letters we have previously taken extracts4 ',this mail was sent off ,february #b4 ,it came back the same day4 ,the man was scared by robbers4 ,he leaves to-morrow4 ,we are well4 ,we are idle4 ,would you believe it8 ,it is ,chinese ,new ,year time1 and ,i cannot go on the street with my stand4 ,no people3 soon will be4 ,we are thankful for the rest4 ,it won't last long4444 ,oh1 it is good to have ,jesus to tell all to4 ,may ,he be more of an intimate friend to you and to me6 ,the troubles of this earthly life are not few4 ,how many were ,paul's6 ,i am reading ,farrar's ,life and ,work of ,paul4 ,it puts much new light on the epistles4 ,what a time the man ,paul had of it6 ,yet he called them light afflictions4 ,how much lighter are ours6 ,and the same heaven he looked to is for us--the same crown--not to him only1 but to all who love the appearing of ,christ4 ,you love ,him4 ,rejoice and be glad4 ,i am so glad that the crown is not only for such as ,paul1 whom we cannot hope to imitate1 but for those 7ii4 ,timothy iv4 #h7 who have loved ,his appearing4 ,we do that1 don't we8 ,may the joy set before us enable us to endure1 when endurance is needed6 ,may your heart rest in ,him6 ,may your soul cling to ,him6 ,may ,his light always shine on your path6 ,may ,i always1 even in dark days and dark times1 have ,his light in my heart and soul6 ,don't regard me as one always on the sunny heights1 but as one often cast down1 often in much feebleness1 in much unworthiness1 and falling so far short of my own ideal4 ,but it is good to think that1 in ,christ1 we are perfect1 that ,he makes up all4 ',parker and ,i read ,holy of ,holies1 when together4 ,it is a good book4 ,meantime1 he and ,i are three days' journey separate1 and may be so for a month to come yet4 ,i hope he likes it4 ,it is a little hard on him1 but ,i had to come here on mission business1 and1 if needed1 will return to him at any time4 ,looking again at ,heb4 vi4 #d-f4' ,his correspondent had asked him about this passage4 ',it is said--it is impossible to renew them again to repentance4 ,does it not seem clear that what is described cannot be the case of one who has the repentant heart8 ,i think so decidedly1 and that passage has no bearing on the sinner who repents4444 ,no one will come to harm who commits himself to ,his keeping4 ,and no one will lack leading who has ,god for his guide4 ,if ,i could only hear of or from the friends ,i pray for1 that they had given themselves over to ,god's keeping1 ,i would be at rest and thankful4 ,you are trusting in ,him4 ,you will not be ashamed4 ,he will take care to supply every needed blessing at the right time and in the right way4 ',some day1 ,i believe we shall stand in ,eternity and look back on ,time4 ,how ashamed we then shall be of any want of trust and of any unfaithfulness6 ,may ,he help us to look at things now in that light1 and how to do as we then shall wish we had done6444 ',i would be glad if you would send me half a dozen copies of the ,wordless ,book4 ,two copies fell into the hands of robbers and were thus lost4444 ',i shall be glad to have the ,life of ,faith4 ,you might mark any passages that strike you4' ,in a letter to the ,rev4 ,j4 ,paterson1 dated ,april #a1 he writes3-- ',it helps me much out here to get the best consecrated literature1 and to get it early4 ,men in the most difficult and dangerous fields should be the best armed and equipped4 ,some of these books open up new treasures to me in ,god's ,word4 ,i do not use them in place of ,god's ,word1 but as openers to the treasures4' ,in almost the last letter from him received by his brother ,alexander and dated ,april #bd1 #ahia1 the following passage occurs3-- ',the ,practice of the ,presence of ,god1 being conversations and letters of ,brother ,lawrence4 ,please send a copy to yourself1 ,john1 ,matthew1 ,paterson1 ,miss ,gowan1 and ten copies to me1 charging all costs to me1 of course4 ,it is by a ,roman ,catholic3 don't imitate his ,roman ,catholicism1 but his practice of the presence of ,god4' ,in ,april ,mr4 ,gilmour journeyed to ,tientsin1 and was unanimously elected to preside over the annual meeting of the ,north ,china ,district ,committee of the ,london ,missionary ,society as chairman4 ,his last communication to the home ,society1 with the exception of one brief note upon a matter of committee business1 was a post-card1 dated ,april #bj1 #ahia1 received in ,london some weeks after the tidings of his death4 ,it runs3-- ',arrived here yesterday4 ,the world keeps shrinking4 ,left ,t ,ss7u ,kou ,monday #h ,a4,m4 ,tuesday noon dined in a border ,mongol village1 in a ,mongol's inn1 served by a ,mongol waiter1 in presence of a number of ,mongols4 ,got to ,london ,missionary ,society's ,compound1 ,tientsin1 ,saturday1 #e ,p4,m4 ,our headquarters are just five days from the extended railway4 ,am in ,a #a health1 everybody says so here1 and that truly4 ,meantime am in clover1 physically and spiritually4 ,with prayers for the home end of the ,london ,missionary ,society's work4 ',yours truly1 ',j4 ,,gilmour4' ,just thirty-one days later he was lying dead in the same compound4 ,how the interval passed is told by those who enjoyed those closing days of lofty spiritual fellowship4 ,had it been foreseen that the end was so near1 the fervour and impressiveness and help of his presence could hardly have been increased4 ,before1 however1 passing to the details of this last month1 the following letters are given in extenso as they form the last lengthy sketches of his work drawn by his own hand4 ',tientsin1 ,l4,m4,s43 ,april #bj1 #ahia4 ,my dear ,mrs4 ,lovett1--,i guess you are at the bottom of #ajl4 from ,clapham ,congregational ,church ,working ,society 7,ladies74 ,ar'n't you8 ,if so1 thanks4 ,if not--,i was going to say you ought to be--but my courage fails me4 ,anyhow1 you can read and please forward the enclosed with my best thanks to the friends4 ,i got here two days ago1 and am here for a short time4 ,the railway has gone out eastwards1 is still going1 and has now a station near me in ,mongolia--near me being five long days' journey2 but that is near1 as near and far go here4 ',i have many grateful and many prayerful remembrances of ,england and ,english friends1 and a vivid remembrance of your kindness when ,i was with you4 ,my regards to your parents4 ,i hope you and your husband and children are all well4 ,i heard of ,mr4 ,lovett being in ,america--,american ,pictures on the stocks8 ',i had intended to write you a nice letter1 but it won't come1 and the letter must go as it is4 ,please read into the remaining blank sheet all the feelings and good wishes ,i should express and do feel1 and next time ,i write you1 may it not be in the ebb tide1 at the end of a mail4 ',your husband's a ,director4 ,i do hope they are sending me a doctor4 ,if he can do anything in the matter1 ,i wish he would4 ',yours1 dried up and feeling dumb1 ',,james ,,gilmour4' ,enclosed in the above was the following letter1 dated ,march #aj1 and addressed to ',the ,clapham ,congregational ,church ,ladies' ,working ,society4' ',dear ,friends1--,many thanks for your handsome donation 7#ajl471 notice of which has reached me last night4 ,i am told you want to hear from me4 ,all right4 ,i am just back from a month's raid into ,ch'ao ,yang4 ,had a fine time4 ,good weather and plenty of work in the marketplace4 ,baptized four adults1 three being women--all ,chinese4 ,it is the day of small things truly1 but ,i am not a little encouraged1 over the women especially4 ,that now makes four ,christian families in ,ch'ao ,yang or its immediate neighbourhood4 ,the two wives baptized this time have ,christian husbands4 ,it has all along been our prayer that the unsaved relatives of the saved might be saved4 ',mrs4 ,chu's husband was baptized a couple of years ago4 ,she consented to his taking their two children to me to be baptized1 but she herself would have nothing to do with ,christianity or ,christ4 ,this time she got over her difficulties4 ,i was much pleased1 especially as she had annoyed her husband a good deal last year about his having been beaten about his ,christianity4 ,she also had her little child baptized4 ,pray that ,god may keep and help them in all the many complications that will arise on account of their ,christianity1 living as they do in a composite family1 the ruling powers of which are heathen4 ',mrs4 ,ning is a model wife4 ,they are poor4 ,her husband cannot dress in good clothes1 but is always as neat as a virtuous wife1 skilful with her needle1 can make him4 ,she mends so neatly4 ,i once discarded a vest 7,chinese7 and gave it to her husband4 ,he took it home1 and later on ,i saw him swelling about in it quite like a neat old gentleman1 though ,i was almost ashamed to give it him4 ',they have had family worship in their home for a year or two--they say4 ,we went to baptize her4 ,it was such a small1 poor house1 but so very nice inside4 ,mother and grown daughters and little girl1 with father and grown son1 all sleep on a little brick platform1 hardly big enough for me--one man4 ,she and the grown daughter support the family by needlework--making horsehair women's head fittings1 which the father sells1 when he has nothing more to do4 ',the son is epileptic and can earn nothing1 and is1 in addition1 a great eater4 ,he is a good man and a ,christian4 ,as we entered1 the son and daughter went out4 ,the mother and little daughter were baptized4 ,the father did not wish his big daughter baptized4 ,when she is married she will get a heathen mother-in-law1 who will go for her and make her worship idols4 ,so said the father4 ,in a few days the father came back1 saying that out of fear of the coming mother-in-law he had not had his daughter baptized1 but that his daughter had pressed him so hard that she was as formidable as the mother-in-law4 ,the daughter says she'll stick to her ,god and let them stick to theirs1 and so she was baptized4 ,she has a hot time before her4 ,chinese mothers-in-law are no joke4 ,pray for the lassie that3--7a7 she may be steadfast2 7b7 she may be wise2 7c7 she may be gentle in her resistance2 7d7 enabled by ,god to endure2 and that the mother-in-law may be restrained4 ,god can do all things4 ',here1 in ,t ,ss7u ,kou1 two of the ,christians have wives very much opposed to ,christianity1 and give their husbands hot times4 ,remember the husbands1 please1 and all such in their shoes1 in prayer1 and may the darkened women themselves be enlightened4 ,you have no notion how deeply sunk in superstition the women are4 ,still another ,christian has a wife whom he has to allow to worship a weasel1 because the woman shows symptoms of being possessed by the beast if she does not worship it6 ',the other day a woman came to my stand in the market-place1 saying that ,mr4 ,yellow troubled her4 ,mr4 ,yellow turned out to be the weasel1 and she firmly believed her sickness was due to the beast4 ',we are badly in want of a lady medical man in this district4 ,don't you know of one who would do8 ,are there none of you who could study medicine and go out as doctors to some of the many needy places8 ,much was hoped for this district from the late ,mrs4 ,smith1 but ,god took her4 ,any one who comes here should have good health1 and not fear seclusion from foreign company4 ,i would suggest that a couple should come1 a medical and a non-medical4 ,there is a house which could be got for such a couple1 only ,i don't see how they could get on without knowing some ,chinese4 ,perhaps some one of the ,peking or ,tientsin ladies already speaking ,chinese would volunteer to be a medical lady's companion4 ,would that ,god would stir some of you up6 ,meantime1 thanks for the money4 ,thanks also for the prayers which ,i take for granted you let us have4 ,you might also pray for a woman who has a very good1 quiet1 ,christian husband1 but herself has such a temper that she cannot in decency take on a ,christian profession4 ,eh1 man6 eh1 man6 it is curious that ,i1 a widower1 should be left to look after women's souls out here1 when lots of women are competing for men's situations and businesses at home4 ,i guess things will come right some day1 though ,i may or may not see it4 ',very gratefully1 ',yours sincerely1 ',,james ,,gilmour4' ,on ,may #h he sent the following note to ,mrs4 ,williams1 the wife of the ,rev4 ,mark ,williams of the ,american ,board4 ,their ,society happened to be holding its annual meeting at the same time in ,tientsin as the ,london ,society4 ,mr4 ,gilmour was just entering his fatal illness as he penned these lines1 the last1 we believe1 that he wrote4 ,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 before1 and on whose behalf they had suffered so much and so deeply4 ,standing as he was on the borderland of the heavenly country1 he recalls the hard toil of his early days1 and he leaves to those who must carry on to a successful issue1 not only his work1 but also the great enterprise of winning all ,china for ,jesus ,christ1 this as a last legacy--the fruit of his prayer1 his faith1 his toil and his utter self-sacrifice--namely1 the conviction that the need of ,china is 'good1 honest1 quiet1 earnest1 persistent work in old lines and ways4' ',tientsin3 ,may #h1 ,friday4 ',my dear ,mrs4 ,williams1--,thanks for returning the photos4 ,not having delivered them to you personally1 ,i feared that in the present whirl of people and business they might have been mislaid1 or even not reached you4 ',it is a great pleasure to see you here at this time4 ,many memories of past times and days come up4 ,though never again likely to see ,kalgan1 ,i often in thought go along its narrow1 hard streets1 and its up and down sideways1 call in at your house1 see all your faces1 even that of the youthful ,stephen1 and the studious ,etta2 and often go up over the ,pass into the grass land4 ',it is like a rest for a little while beside the palms and wells of ,elim to meet you all here4 ',your peaceful1 happy family fills me with gratitude to ,god4 ,may ,he bless them all 7your children71 and lead them not only into paths of peace and pleasantness1 but of useful service for ,him6 ,you and your husband seem well4 ,may many useful years of ripely experienced labour be yours6 ',lately1 ,i am being more and more impressed with the idea that what is wanted in ,china is not new lightning methods so much as good1 honest1 quiet1 earnest1 persistent work in old lines and ways4 ',with many grateful memories of all old-time ,kalgan kindness1 and hoping to see a note from you1 or ,mr4 ,williams1 say once a year or so1 and with prayers for you and all ,kalgan-wards ,mongols1 ',yours1 cheered by the vision of you all1 ',,james ,,gilmour4' ,,chapter ,,xii ,,the ,,last ,,days ,at ,tientsin ,james ,gilmour was the guest of ,dr4 ,roberts--for too brief a time his colleague in ,mongolia--and the doctor's sister1 who kept house for him4 ,the story of the closing days cannot be better told than in their words4 ,to ,miss ,roberts fell the sorrowful task of sending the news of their irreparable bereavement to the two motherless lads in ,england4 ',tientsin3 ,june #f1 #ahia4 ',my dear ,willie and ,jimmie1--,you will wonder who ,i am that call you by your names and yet have never known you4 ',but ,i think1 when you hear that your dear father spent the last five weeks of his life with my brother1 ,dr4 ,roberts1 and myself1 perhaps you will not be sorry to get a few lines from an unknown friend4 ,it is now many weeks since we received a letter from ,mr4 ,gilmour saying he hoped to be able to attend the annual meetings in ,tientsin1 and who would take him in8 ,my brother replied at once1 saying what a real pleasure it would be if he would stay with us4 ,and so he came1 and about a fortnight before the time1 of which we were all the more glad4 ,he looked the very picture of health on his arrival1 and was in excellent spirits2 many remarked how very well and strong he looked4 ',i remember well the day he arrived1 it was a ,saturday afternoon4 ,i suggested that he should have some dinner at once1 but1 thoughtful-like1 as your father always was1 he said1 ,no1 thank you1 ,i have already had all ,i want2 ,i shall not require anything more till your next ordinary meal4 ',by-and-by we showed him his room1 whose windows opened to the sun-rising4 ,we had made it as pretty and comfortable as we could1 and brightened it with freshly cut flowers4 ,the next day ,i noticed he had taken the tablecloth off his writing-table1 and in the evening he handed it to me1 saying1 if ,i remember rightly1 ,here1 mademoiselle1 is your tablecloth4 ,i am afraid of inking it4 ,you had better put it away4 ,i was grieved1 and begged he would use1 and ink it1 too1 for the matter of that2 but it was no use1 not on any account would he spoil my cloth1 and therefore would not use it4 ',he seemed very happy with us1 and ,i think thoroughly appreciated the homelikeness of his surroundings after his lonely life in ,mongolia1 and the dismal rooms of a ,chinese inn1 and it was such a pleasure to minister to his comforts in every possible way we could think of4 ',he used to spend his days1 as a rule1 in the following way3-- ',after breakfast he would write letters4 ,at #aj4de1 after a cup of cocoa1 he would go over to the hospital1 returning at #a o'clock to dinner4 ,this over1 he would go back with my brother to see the in-patients4 ,at #d4cj we would all have tea together1 after which he would make calls1 or go for a walk1 or talk over committee matters with ,mr4 ,lees or ,mr4 ,bryson4 ,many evenings he would be invited out1 or would be at a meeting1 or would spend it quietly at home2 and so the time went by till meetings began4 ,then the whole day till #d ,p4,m4 was spent in committee1 and at six ,mr4 ,gilmour had a ,bible-class for an hour with the ,chinese preachers who had come to attend some of the meetings4 ',these were nearly over when your father began to complain of feeling done up and of having fever4 ,the following ,sunday he was in bed4 ,this was only eleven days before he died4 ,on ,monday1 however1 he was better4 and up1 and was able to be with us all day1 and took the ,communion with us all in the evening4 ,then we chatted together for some time and sang hymns1 amongst others1 ,god be with you till we meet again6 ,no4 #did in ,sankey's ,songs and ,solos4 ',in this connection let me tell you some of ,mr4 ,gilmour's favourite hymns in the book just mentioned4 ,amongst these were ,nos4 #did1 #ece1 #aej1 #cbh4 ,i dare say you would like to learn them and sing them for his sake4 ',your dear father was only in bed ten days before the end came1 and all this time he spoke but little4 ,he was too feverish and ill to want to talk or to listen3 he just lay quietly1 bearing his sickness with remarkable patience4 ,one day1 observing he was a little restless1 ,i went to his bedside and asked him if he wanted anything4 ,no1 nothing1 was his reply1 only that the ,lord would deliver me out of this distress4 ',the last few days his mind was not clear1 but all his wanderings were about his work4 ,it was the last day but one of his life2 he was more restless than usual1 trying all the time to rouse himself1 as if for a journey1 when he looked up and said1 ,where are we going8 ',to heaven1 ,i answered1 to see the ,lord4 ',no1 he replied1 that is not the address4 ',yes it is1 ,mr4 ,gilmour1 ,i said again4 ,we are going to heaven2 would you not like to go and see the ,lord ,jesus8 ',then he seemed to take in the meaning of my words1 and reverently bowed his head in assent1 his lips quivered1 and his eyes filled with tears2 and he was quieted1 like a weary child who has lost his way and finds on inquiry that only a few more steps and he will be at rest and at home4 ',the next day1 his last1 was still more restless4 ,at one time he seemed to be addressing an audience and earnestly gesticulating with his hands2 and1 with as much force as he could command1 he said3 ,we are not spending the time as we should2 we ought to be waiting on ,god in prayer for blessing on the work ,he has given us to do4 ,i would like to make a rattling speech--but ,i cannot--,i am very ill--and can only say these few words4 ,and then he nodded his head and waved his hand1 as if in farewell to his listeners4 ',it was seven o'clock in the evening when my brother saw the end was not far off1 and at once we sent for all the other members of the ,mission that all might watch with him in this last solemn hour4 ,he was unconscious the whole time1 and his breathing laboured4 ',the two doctors battled for an hour and a half to keep off ,death's fatal grasp1 but to no purpose3 the ,lord wanted ,his faithful worker1 and we could not keep him1 though we wanted him much1 and knew that ,willie and ,jimmie in ,england needed him more4 ',gradually the breathing became quieter and quieter1 till at last1 about #i4cj1 he just closed his eyes and fell asleep1 with the peace of ,heaven resting on his face4' ,in a letter sent by ,dr4 ,roberts to ,dr4 ,smith1 who was then in ,england1 a few further particulars are given4 ',he preached one ,sunday evening a very solemn sermon on ,examine yourself1 and no one can soon forget the way he preached4 ,during the annual meetings he was extra busy4 ,everyone remarked what a good chairman he made1 and in the devotional meetings from #i to #i4cj ,a4,m4 he was always ready to lead in prayer or speak a few words4 ,freshness1 to the point1 and to the heart--characterised all he did or said4 ,in the evenings he conducted services for the native preachers present at the annual gathering1 and to these meetings he took one foreigner each night to assist in the speaking4 ',it was at the close of this busy week1 when tired out1 that he got the fever which eventually carried him home4 ,the fever was very irregular in type1 but after some days ,i felt it was an exceptional type of typhus fever4 ,great weakness of the heart was a characteristic feature all through his case1 and but for this sad complication ,i believe he would have been alive to-day4 ,weak action of the heart was an old enemy of his4 ,for the first week of his illness he did not feel very poorly1 and we had many chats together1 and some prayer and reading of ,god's ,word every night nearly4 ,but in the second week his temperature went up to #ajf1 and1 though it came down under anti-pyretics1 he seemed never to regain his former ground4 ,his mind became more and more clouded4 ,parker took the night nursing1 my sister the day1 and ,i sat with him when time allowed4 ,on ,thursday1 ,may #ba1 the day on which he died1 he was very delirious all day1 though he knew us all4 ,i did not give up hope till #g ,p4,m41 when his heart failed him in spite of active stimulation4 ,it was then that we all gathered round his bed4 ,i did my utmost with the help of ,frazer to avert the sad end2 but ere long1 seeing our efforts were vain1 we ceased1 and sat in his room and saw him gradually and very peacefully pass away1 his breath getting feebler and feebler till he closed his eyes and fell asleep in ,jesus4' ,the funeral took place towards evening on ,may #bc1 #ahia4 ,it was a lovely afternoon1 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 grave3 ',the pilgrim they laid in an upper chamber whose window opened towards the ,sun-rising4' ,the coffin was borne to the grave by two relays of bearers2 the first consisted of three ,european and three native preachers2 the second1 on the one side1 of the ,rev4 ,s4 ,e4 ,meech1 his brother-in-law2 the ,rev4 ,j4 ,parker1 his colleague1 and ,dr4 ,roberts2 and on the other ,liu1 his faithful ,chinese preacher and helper1 ,chang1 the tutor of the theological class at ,tientsin1 and ,hsi1 his courier1 a native of ,t ,ss7u ,kou4 ,his last resting-place immediately adjoins that of his dearly loved friend1 ,dr4 ,mackenzie1 and the service at the grave was conducted by the ,rev4 ,jonathan ,lees and the ,rev4 ,j4 ,parker4 ,chang offered prayer1 and a farewell hymn was sung4 ,sleep on1 beloved1 sleep1 and take thy rest2 ,lay down thy head upon thy ,saviour's breast2 ,we love thee well2 but ,jesus loves thee best-- ,good night6 ,good night6 ,good night6 ,until the shadows from this earth are cast2 ,until ,he gathers in ,his sheaves at last2 ,until the twilight gloom be overpast-- ,good night6 ,good night6 ,good night6 ,until we meet again before ,his throne1 ,clothed in the spotless robe ,he gives ,his own1 ,until we know even as we are known-- ,good night6 ,good night6 ,good night6 ,little ,chinese boys who had known and loved ,mr4 ,gilmour came forward and threw handfuls of flowers into his grave1 loving hands laid upon the coffin a wreath of white blossoms on behalf of the now orphaned boys far away1 and the simple but beautiful service was closed by a spontaneous act on the part of the ,chinese converts present4 ,pressing near the grave of him whose heart loved ,china and the ,chinese with a fervour and an enthusiasm that may have been equalled1 but certainly have never been surpassed1 they sang in their own tongue the hymn beginning1 ',in the ,christian's home in glory4' ,the labourer had entered into the rest he had so often seen by the eye of faith4 ',there remains1' he wrote1 less than a year before his death1 'a rest4 ,somewhere ahead4 ,not very far at the longest4 ,perfect1 quiet1 full1 without solitude1 isolation1 or inability to accomplish2 when the days of our youth will be more than restored to us2 where1 should mysteries remain1 there will be no torment in them4 ,and the reunions there6 ,continuous too1 with no feeling that the rest of to-day is to-morrow to be ended by a plunge again into a world seething with iniquity1 and groaning with suffering4' ,many pages might be filled with loving eulogies of ,james ,gilmour4 ,but the best of all is the simple story of his life4 ,yet two or three references to his work and influence must here find a place4 ,from the pen of ,dr4 ,reynolds comes this weighty testimony3-- ',the end of his career came all too suddenly1 and in gathering together my impressions of it as a whole1 ,i am convinced that ,i have seldom seen a man so entirely possessed by a grand idea1 so utterly persuaded that we had a debt to pay to the heathen world1 so invincibly sure that ,christian faith and life was the one supreme need of these regions beyond our circle of light4 ,few men have cast the bread upon greater waters1 have sown the seed over a wider area1 or had to mourn more sadly over those heart-breaking months which intervene between the seedtime and the harvest4 ,impartial critics have recognised the intense honesty1 the shrewd wit1 the faculty of vision1 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 narrative4 ,but his ,christian brethren saw a deeper vein than this in ,gilmour's achievements4 ,he was ablaze from first to last with a passionate desire to set forth ,christ in ,his majesty and mercy1 in all ,his power to heal and to command4 ,i had unexpected opportunities of finding how tender and affectionate his nature was2 how grateful and enthusiastic his love to his ,hamilton home1 to his father1 mother1 and wife1 and how faithful and loyal he was to the society and the brotherhood of his ,alma ,mater4' ,the ,rev4 ,g4 ,owen1 at a memorial service held in ,peking very shortly after ,mr4 ,gilmour's death1 gave a sketch of his character and work1 and thus summed up his life3-- ',he spared himself in nothing1 but gave himself wholly to ,god4 ,he kept nothing back4 ,all was laid upon the altar4 ,i doubt if even ,st4 ,paul endured more for ,christ than did ,james ,gilmour4 ,i doubt1 too1 if ,christ ever received from human hands or human heart more loving1 devoted service4 ',if anyone asks1 ,would it not have been better if ,mr4 ,gilmour had taken more care of himself and lived longer8 ,i would answer3 ,i don't know4 ,his life was beautiful1 and ,i would not alter it if ,i could4 ,a few years of such service as he gave ,christ are worth a hundred years of humdrum toil4 ,we need the inspiration of such a life as his4 ,heaven1 too1 is the richer for such a man and such a life4 ,the pearly gates opened wide1 ,i have no doubt1 to receive him4 ,angels and men gave him glad welcome1 and what a smile would light up the ,saviour's face as ,he received ,his faithful servant home6 ',and he being dead yet speaketh4 ,he says1 ,be faithful1 work hard1 for the night cometh when no man can work4 ,be earnest1 for life is brief2 be ready1 for life is uncertain4 ,but why did ,god call him away in the midst of life and work8 ,i don't know4 ,possibly work here is not of such importance as we think4 ,or there is more important service elsewhere waiting for such men as ,mr4 ,gilmour4 ,he has been faithful over a few things2 he has been made ruler over many things1 and has entered into the joy of his ,lord4' ,mr4 ,parker wrote to the sons of his late colleague on ,june #f1 #ahia3-- ',it is sad that my first letter to you should be to tell you about your father's death1 of which no doubt you have heard long ago4444 ,the last photographs of yourselves which you sent out he always had where he could see them4 ,whenever he travelled he took them with him4 ,at ,tientsin during his last illness he had them on a low side table1 just on a level with his bed1 so that as he lay there he could see them4444 ,he was very happy1 and died like a faithful soldier who had finished his work4 ,it is sad1 dear boys1 to lose a father such as he was1 but it is a great blessing to have had such a father1 one so brave1 so courageous1 one who for the sake of ,christ suffered bodily discomfort and pain1 suffered terrible loneliness that he might win some of ,god's sinning children back to their ,father's arms4 ,he lived and suffered for the ,mongols1 and though ,god denied him the honour of baptizing even one of them1 yet so faithful was he to his work that he toiled on to the very last4 ,faithful unto death are words fully exemplified in your father's life4' ,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 ,mr4 ,gilmour had been summoned away ,mr4 ,parker depicts the grief of the native ,christians on learning their loss4 ',the sorrow of the converts here 7,ch'ao ,yang7 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 dead4 ,all along the route where ,gilmour was such a familiar visitor1 in the market-place1 and at their fairs1 the first question they asked as soon as they saw me was1 ,has ,mr4 ,gilmour come8 ,and at my reply there was always great astonishment1 accompanied by expressions of sorrow4 ,every day at evening prayers ,i can hear ,gilmour's name mingled with their petitions4 ,the ,christians here have sent a letter of sympathy to his two boys4 ',here in ,ch'ao ,yang there are any amount of ,mongols1 not nomadic1 tent-loving1 but settled here1 and hence they do not have to be sought4 ,right in the centre of the town is an immense ,mongol temple with two or three hundred priests4 ,every day ,i have several of the priests in here1 and yet ,i have heard again and again that this mission is misplaced4 ,some such words often pained the heart that is now still in death4 ,but this is1 and shall be1 essentially a ,mongol mission in this1 that as the best efforts of dear ,gilmour were for making ,christ known to the ,mongols1 my best endeavours shall be to this end4 ,but if some hungry ,chinaman1 standing by as ,i hold out the bread of life to his ,mongol brother1 seeks to eat of it1 he shall have it1 and be as welcome as the other4' ,the letter to the children referred to in ,mr4 ,parker's report is a fitting description of ,james ,gilmour's life1 and he himself would have desired no other panegyric4 ,it came from the hearts of men on whose behalf he had given his very best1 and it shows how strong a hold he had obtained upon their affection4 ',we respectfully enquire for the peace and happiness of your excellencies1 our brothers ,gilmour1 also for the peace of your whole school4 ,in the first place ,pastor ,gilmour in his preaching and doctoring at ,ch'ao ,yang1 north of the ,pass1 truly loved others as himself1 was considerate and humble1 and had the likeness of 7our7 ,saviour ,jesus4 ,not only the ,christians thank him without end1 but even those outside the ,church 7the heathen7 bless him without limit4 ,we1 who through ,pastor ,gilmour have obtained the doctrine of the second birth1 and received the grace of ,jesus1 had hoped with ,mr4 ,gilmour to have assembled on the earth until our heads were white and in the future life to have gone with him to heaven4 ,little did we think we should have been so unhappy4 ,he has already gone to the ,lord4 ,we certainly know he is in the presence of the ,lord1 not only praying for us1 but also for you our brothers4 ',we pray you1 when you see this letter1 not to grieve beyond measure4 ,we hope that you will study with increased ardour1 so as to obtain the heavenly wisdom1 like ,solomon1 and that afterwards you may come to ,china1 to this ,ch'ao ,yang1 to preach the ,gospel widely4 ,as the father did1 may the sons follow1 is our earnest desire4 ',signed by the ,ch'ao ,yang ,christians1 ',,liu ,,mao ,,lin 7preacher74 ,p',,ang ,,tien ,k',,uei4 ,,wang ,,sheng4 ,,ning ,,fu ,,tung4 ,,chang ,,wan ,,ch',,uan4 ,,chang ,,kuei4 ,,chiang ,,sheng4 ,,wang ,,hui ,,hsien4 ,,liu ,i 7your father's servant74 ,,sung ,,kang4 ,,ch',u ,,wen ,,yuan4 ,,chang ,,chen4 ,,chang ,,mao ,,chi4 ,,ning ,,kuang ,,chen4 ,,liu ,,cho4 ,t',,ien ,,te ,,ch',,un4 ,,hu ,,te4' ,here1 then1 we leave him4 ,if the story of his life fail to touch the heart1 to deepen faith1 to exalt our estimate of renewed human nature1 and to revive enthusiasm in work for ,christ at home and abroad1 the fault must be in him who has tried to tell it1 and to set in order the facts4 ,god's ways are ofttimes dark4 ,james ,gilmour had often felt this1 and1 to those who knew him1 it seemed as though he were taken just when ,god's work needed him most1 when the first-fruits of the coming harvest were being gathered1 when his knowledge of the ,chinese and the ,mongols1 and their knowledge of him and affection for him1 were beginning to tell4 ,but ,god knows best1 and nothing can deprive the ,church of ,christ of the splendid self-sacrifice1 of the noble perseverance in the path of duty of the bright example of courage1 devotion1 enthusiasm for souls1 and patient continuance in well doing shining so clearly through all the long1 years of toil4 ,love1 self-crucifixion1 ,jesus ,christ closely followed in adversity1 in loneliness1 in manifold perils1 under almost every conceivable 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 ,plain1 and over its ,eastern mountains and valleys4 ',in due time we shall reap if we faint not4' ,his work goes on4 ,he is now doing the ,master's bidding in the higher service4 ,there1 we must fain believe1 he is finding full scope for those altogether exceptional spiritual affinities1 and powers and capacities which stand out so conspicuously all through the story of his inner life4 ,upon us who yet remain rests the responsibility of carrying forward the work he began1 of reinforcing the workers1 of bearing ,mongolia upon our prayers until ,buddhism shall fade away before the pure truth and the perfect love of ,jesus ,christ1 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 doctor1 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 bodies4 ,is not the real lesson of ,james ,gilmour's life twofold8 ,if it be looked at from the point of view of results1 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 ,china4 ,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 tongue1 and then preach to them the good tidings of salvation4 ,no man in this1 or in past generation1 has done this more faithfully than ,james ,gilmour4 ,no man ever believed more firmly in the truth that it is 'not by might nor by power1' but by the direct influence of the ,holy ,spirit1 that the intellect and conscience and heart of the heathen are to be subdued to the ,saviour4 ,no man ever wrestled more eagerly and fervently in prayer on behalf of the ignorant and sinful1 and yet his avowed converts can be numbered on the fingers4 ,does this prove that ,god is unfaithful8 ,does this tend to show that the enterprise is hopeless8 ,or has ,god been teaching us1 by the life of one of ,his ablest and truest servants1 the lesson of patient continuance in the path of ,his commands1 whether ,he blesses or whether ,he withholds8 ,is ,he not proclaiming to ,his ,church the need of a self-sacrifice in all its members commensurate with that displayed by ,james ,gilmour and others who like him have not counted their lives dear unto themselves in the struggle with heathenism8 ,some must go in the 'forlorn hope4' ,some must lay down their lives in preparing the highway of our ,god4 ',herein is the saying true1 ,one soweth and another reapeth4' ,but succeeding toilers in the ,mongolian field1 as the direct result of ,james ,gilmour's sowing1 will be able in days to come to apply to themselves our ,lord's words1 ',i sent you to reap that whereon ye have not laboured3--others have laboured1 and ye are entered into their labour4' ,if the life of ,james ,gilmour be looked at altogether apart from the results that can be entered in tables of statistics1 how splendidly inspiring it is6 ,faithful to his ,master1 faithful to his work1 although the ,master seemed to delay the blessing1 although the work wore down the worker4 ',i1' said ,st4 ,paul to the thankless ,corinthian ,church1 'will most gladly spend and be spent for your souls4 ,if ,i love you more abundantly1 am ,i loved the less8 ,but be it so4' ,and in the ,epistle to the ,romans he applied to the ,jews who were resisting the ,gospel the ancient words of ,isaiah3 ',but as to ,israel ,he saith1 ,all the day long did ,i spread out my hands unto a disobedient and gainsaying people4 ,i say then1 ,did ,god cast off ,his people8 ,god forbid4' ,nor will ,god cast off the ,israel of ,china1 or the ,mongols who gave to the faithful teacher respect1 attention1 and in a way the love of their hearts1 but who as yet have not surrendered those hearts to their true ,lord4 ,james ,gilmour1 in season and out of season1 in almost constant solitude1 in superabounding physical labours that often overburdened him1 and once nearly broke him down1 in the long disappointment of the most cherished hopes1 and under the constant strain of what would have crushed any but a giant in faith1 lived a life which1 if it taught no other lesson1 was yet well worth living to teach this--that ,jesus ,christ can and does give ,his servants the victory over apparent non-success1 after the most vehement and long-sustained effort to secure success1 and that this is the greatest victory possible to renewed and sanctified human nature4 ,,printed ,,by ,,spottiswoode ,,and ,,co41 ,,new ,,street ,,square ,,london ,,cheap ,,edition4 ,crown #hvo4 #bs4 #f;d4 cloth boards4 ,,james ,,gilmour ,,of ,,mongolia3 ,,his ,,diaries1 ,,letters1 ,,and ,,reports4 ,illustration3 ,sincerely yours ,james ,gilmour ,,edited ,,and ,,arranged ,,by ,,richard ,,lovett1 ,m4,a4 ,author of ',norwegian ,pictures1' ',the ,printed ,english ,bible1' ',london ,pictures1' c4 ,,published ,,by ,,the ,,religious ,,tract ,,society1 #ef ,,paternoster ,,row1 ,,london4 ,p4,t4,o4 99 99 99 99 99 ,press ,notices ,,of ,,the ,,life ,,of ,,gilmour4 ',the story of ,james ,gilmour will1 if we mistake not1 take a place of its own in modern missionary literature4 ,to a world devoted so much to mercenary interests1 and a ,church too given to take things easily1 the life is at once a rebuke and an appeal not easily to be forgotten4'--,,christian ,,world4 ',we are sure that this work will be read with the deepest interest by ,churchmen as well as ,nonconformists4'--,,record4 ',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 ,mackay4'--,,british ,,weekly4 ',james ,gilmour may appear to some as a hero1 to others as a deluded enthusiast1 but no one who takes up this account of his life and work can fail to be fascinated by it4'--,,manchester ,,guardian4 ',out of sight the most interesting and valuable missionary biography of recent years4'--,,literary ,,world4 ',not only deeply interesting as a record of missionary labour1 but teems with characteristic sketches of ,chinese manners1 customs1 and scenery4'--,,times 7,,weekly74 ',unlike many missionary records1 his letters and journals can be read4 ,indeed1 it is difficult to stop reading1 once you have begun4' ,,national ,,observer4 ',for an age which1 as the editor remarks1 likes large and quick returns for its investments1 the history of a man who had for many years to possess his soul in patience has a real and permanent value4' ,,daily ,,telegraph4 ',from every point of view the book deserves the highest praise4' ,,glasgow ,,herald4 ',not the least interesting portion of the book will be its strange pictures of life amid ,mongol surroundings4'--,,liverpool ,,courier4 99 99 99 99 99 ,by ,,james ,,gilmour4 ,,among ,,the ,,mongols4 ,,by ,,the ,,late ,,rev4 ,,james ,,gilmour1 ,m4,a4 ,with ,engravings4 #bs4 #f;d4 cloth1 gilt4 ',there has been1 if our experience serves us at all1 no book quite like this since ,robinson ,crusoe2 and ,robinson ,crusoe is not better1 does not tell a story more directly1 or produce more instantaneous and final conviction4 ,no one who begins this book will leave it till the narrative ends1 or doubt for an instant1 whether he knows ,defoe or not1 that he has been enchained by something separate and distinct in literature1 something almost uncanny in the way it has gripped him1 and made him see for ever a scene he never expected to see4'--,,the ,,spectator4 ',mr4 ,gilmour tells a story well1 and though he tells it quite simply and straightforwardly1 he never misses the point of it4 ,he writes1 moreover1 after having had exceptional chances of gaining a thorough acquaintance with the ,mongolian character4'--,,the ,,guardian4 ',there is a charm in the quiet way in which the modest missionary tells of his life in ,tartar tents1 of the long rides across the grassy plain1 and of the daily life of the nomads among whom he passed so many years4' ,,fortnightly ,,review4 ',mr4 ,gilmour's volume is one of the most charming books about a strange people that we have read for many a day4'--,,nature4 ',mr4 ,gilmour has lived tte--tte with a ,buddhist ,lama under his own movable roof2 he has shared the hospitality of the desert caravan2 he has taken his turn in the night-watch against thieves2 and he has dwelt as a lodger in their more permanent abodes of trellis-work and felt4 ,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 value2 while from the point of view of the reader for amusement alone they are full of liveliness and local colouring4' ,,pall ,,mall ,,gazette4 ',although it appears in unpretentious form1 this is a really remarkable chronicle of travel and adventure4'--,,the ,,globe4 ,by ,,james ,,gilmour4 99 99 99 99 99 ,crown #hvo4 #es4 cloth4 ,,more ,,about ,,the ,,mongols4 ,selected and ,arranged from ,mr4 ,,gilmour',s ,diaries and ,papers ,by ,,richard ,,lovett1 ,m4,a41 ,author of ',james ,gilmour of ,mongolia' c4 ',the style of the writer and the novelty of the theme1 and the heart which so longs for ,mongols showing itself on many a page1 combine to make the work intensely interesting1 instructive1 and impressive4'--,,the ,,presbyterian4 ',the experiences of a devoted missionary1 whose gift of circumstantial narrative has not inaptly been likened to ,defoe's4'--,,the ,,times4 ',it is indeed a delightful volume1 which will be welcomed by all who desire the extension of ,christ's kingdom on earth4'--,,english ,,churchman4 ',extracts from the diaries of one of the most adventurous and self-denying of missionaries4'--,,saturday ,,review4 ',will be welcomed wherever the name of ,james ,gilmour is known4' ,,the ,,record4 ',a fascinating volume of travels1 and a series of observations on men and manners which show the stuff of which our ,british missionaries are made4' ,,methodist ,,times4 ',will delight readers of all ages4'--,,christian ,,world4 99 99 99 99 99 ,crown #hvo4 #bs4 #f;d4 cloth1 gilt edges4 ,,james ,,gilmour ,,and ,,his ,,boys4 ,by ,,richard ,,lovett1 ,m4,a4 ,with ,facsimile ,letters and many ,illustrations4 ',ought to be in every ,sunday ,school library4'--,,the ,,christian4 ',it is full of curious passages of adventure2 and has a strong religious interest which will not fail to give young readers an intelligent appreciation of the nature of foreign mission work4'--,,scotsman4 ',it has been skilfully put together and will make an admirable gift-book4' ,,british ,,weekly4 ',it should find a place in all ,christian homes4' ,,western ,,morning ,,news4 ',it is one that all boys1 and girls too1 will delight to read4' ,,scottish ,,leader4 ',a fascinating volume from beginning to end4'--,,baptist4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,published ,,by ,,the ,,religious ,,tract ,,society1 #ef ,paternoster ,row1 ,london2 and ,sold by all ,booksellers4 ,spottiswoode ,co4 ,printers1 ,new-street ,square1 ,london4