PRISON f.^ Limt'st:i¥ifs. B Cornell University y Library The originalWthis book is in Tliere are no j^nowrrcopyriglit restrictions in the UrM^^§it^¥fi4ftfeW^@Mhe text. COLLECTION CHINA AND THE CHINESE THE GIFT OF CHARLES WILLIAM WASON CLASS OF 1 876 1918 http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924023221421 Cornell University Library ^ 3427.M88T75 1891 3 1924 023 221 421 Robert Morrison Hiomer of Cljims^ Sissbiis WILLIAM JOHN TOWNSEND AUTHOR OF " THE GREAT SCHOOLMEN OF THE MIDDLE AGES ' 0*-^i--'V^ %ts\ii)Oxi ^tesionarj (Sxrtietjj's ©bitixin ... i-.l'UKl-l. L : LONDON, S. W. PARTRIDGE & Co., 9, Paternoster Row \NcLrcnA r3V5'|a7 FEINTED BV HAZELL, -WATSON, AND VINEY, LD., LONDON AND AYLESBURY. PREFACE. THE ever-growing interest now being manifested in the evangelisation of the Chinese Empire has created a favourable opportunity for issuing a brief memoir of the first Protestant missionary to that country, and thereby extending a knowledge of his life and character amongst the young of our Churches and Sunday Schools. This present enlarged edition is prepared specially for circulation amongst the Sunday Schools and Juvenile Missionary Associations of the London Missionary Society, and it is hoped that the spirit of the subject of this memoir may rest abundantly on the youth of this generation. The Author has collected the materials of the book from sources too numerous to be mentioned, but he desires to express his fervent thanks to Mrs. Hobson, the a2"ed and amiable surviving <■-> PREFACE. daughter of Dr. Morrison, who has kindly allowed him to have access to and make extracts from many letters of Dr. Morrison not hitherto published, and to his revered friend, the Rev. J. C. Bruce, D.D., for a similar favour, and also for the use of an unpublished lecture on " Morrison and Chinese IMissions," given by him in Newcastle-upon-Tyne in 1859. CONTENTS. ClIAI'TER I. CHINA AND ITS PEOPLE CHAPTER II. THE RELIGIONS OF CHIXA .... CHAPTER III. EARLY ATTEMPTS TO EVANGELISE CHINA CHAPTER IV. ROBIRT MORRISON : CHILDHOOD AND YOUTH CHAPTER V. PREPARATION FOR THE GREAT WORK CHAPTER VI. INITIAL LIFE AND WORK IN CHINA CHAPTER VII. PERSECUTION. — LONGING FOR SUCCESS PAGE 9 41- 51 67 S CONTENTS. - CHAPTER VIII. PAGE A FELLOW-LABOURER ■ • 99 CHAPTER IX. VISIT TO PEKIX. COLLEGE AT MALACCA . . . .112 CHAPTER X. CHINESE BIDLE COMPLETED. — DR. MILXE's DE.\Tn , . I2S CHAPTER XI. WORK IN ENGLAND 1 53 CHAPTER XII. LETTERS TO HiS CHILDREN . . . . . . -175 CPIAPTER XIII, RENEWED LABOUR 1 84 CHAPTER XIV. WHAT HE WAS AND WHAT HE DID . . . . . 213 CHAPTER XV. THE LONDON MISSIONARY SOCIETY , . . . . 2lS CHAPTER XVI. CONTINUANCE OF THE WORK : AMERICAN AND CONTINENTAL SOCIETIES ......... 232 CHAPTER XVII. CONTINUANCE OF THE WORK : BRITISH SOCIETIES . . 24I CHAPTER XVIII. THE OPIUM TRADE OF CHINA ...... 253 CHAPTER XIX. CHINA FOR CHRIST ■ . , . 258 ROBERT ^IORRISO> CHAPTER I. CHJXA AXD ITS FEOPLF. " It iS Christ alone can lead in the glorious cawn of the Cliinese renaissance, the new birth of a mighty- nation to libertj* and riehteous- ress and an ever-expanding ci%ilisation." — G. Iohx. CHIXA is a great empire situated in Eastern Asia, lying frcm 20" to 40" north latitude, and from 100" to 12;" east longitude. It is a wonderfully compact territory, its length and breadth being nearly equal. It includes more than a million square miles, and possesses, on the whole, an excellent climate. Two noble rivers flow down ks centre, watering and fertilising its extended plains and beautiful valleys. The ocean, adorned mth numerous islands, washes round its eastern and southern coasts ; the mountains of Thibet bound it upon the west, and the north is protected by a wall thirteen hundred miles in length. iMuch of this wall is now crumbling away, but it took the united labours of the nation to build it two thousand years ago. Beyond these mountains and this great wall are bleak deserts and sterile wastes, forming a contrast so striking to the general fertility of the country, that the Chinese lo ROBERT MORRISON. have from remote ages called their teeming soil "The Flowery Land." Extensive as is the surface of China its immense population requires every inch. From the late imperial census the number of the people is estimated at three hundred and ninety-two millions, or more than one- quarter of the earth's inhabitants. To accommodate such a number every scrap of space requires to be economised, and therefore the people are packed together in houses and corners in a way that is astonishing to our Western ideas. Crops are sown and gathered on tiny and almost inaccessible CHINESE HOUSELO.VT. spaces, thus utilising every possiljle foot of the land. The Chinese gather two crops a year from their fruitful fields ; and that the more land may be left for cultivation the people in large numbers live on the water, and the surface of the great rivers presents the appearance of floating villages. This economy is the more needful as there are large tracts in China which cannot be cultivated. There are grand mountain ranges to the west, with stern lofty peaks and frowning sides, varied with slopes covered with cedar and pine forests. The centre provinces are hilly, interspersed with fertile plains, where the tea plant flourishes luxuriantly ; CHINA AND ITS PEOPLE. ' ' whilst to the east and all round the extensive seaboard are flourishing cities and seaports, the centres and outlets for numberless villages and wide agricultural districts, which give these provinces an aspect of a garden of the Lord. China is the home of a very ancient and advanced civilisation. Its inhabitants were clothed in their silken and linen fabrics when our forefathers were simply staining their skins with woad. They had their great cities when the tribes of Britain rambled in primeval forests. They manu- factured paper nine hundred years before Europe had dis- covered the useful art. They invented printing at least five hundred years before the Dutchman took the impres- sion of the letters he had carved upon the tree. They had used the mariner's compass for five centuries before Marco Polo brought it into Europe. They had an extensive manufacture of pottery and porcelain ages before the ele- gant forms of Grecian or Etruscan pottery were moulded. They were acquainted with abstruse philosophies and curious sciences before the Republic of Rome had arisen. From hoar antiquity popular education had existed in the land, and by a system of competitive examinations every office of the State has been throv^'n open even to the poorest. Thus China, as a great and civilised nation, comes down the stream of time side by side with the ancient empires of Egypt, Assyria, and India. These passed away, and there succeeded the splendid empires of Greece and Rome, and these again have been followed by the young, fresh nations of Europe and America. But China has not passed away, as its early contemporaries did, but is to-day as populous, as strong, and as promising in regard to the future as it has ever been. It is true that the civilisation of China has been arrested in its growth. All progress comes from a sense of short- coming, and the Chinese long since imbibed the paralysing notion that they had attained perfection, and styled them- selves "The Celestial Empire." This was fatal to all further 'ill III' I if ' J'' ''111'' ' III''' li'll'^K //J \m \' i m' ^/ J-J ^' W^^'ify,^ I I, -' iiiiii>. ihA V .^^.^ CHINA AND ITS PEOPLE. 13 growth, and therefore the Chinaman despises all things that are called new, and, with his head turned the wrong way, looks to and worships the past. Old forms and patterns are therefore endlessly reproduced in manufactures, old customs are jealously guarded, and the intellectual growth of the people has long since stopped. Nor is this all ; for as the Chinese have become simply a nation of imitators, they are being left behind in the march of progress not only by Western nations, but by the more progressive peoples of the East, who welcome and cultivate modern ideas and inventions with great advantage to their development and prosperity. The people are quiet, peaceful, and law-abiding ; they are outwardly and ceremoniously polite ; they are industrious in their habits and refined in their tone. Like all heathen nations, they are deeply sunken in vice, but their vices take the milder rather than the ruder forms. They are shame- fully sensual, dishonest, and untruthful, but they are not violent or cruel ; and, unlike the warlike nations of the West, they have generally sought to avoid war, and to live undisturbed on their own homestead. They have culti- vated the home and family sentiment beyond all other peoples, and yet, in common with other Eastern nations, they have so low an estimate of women as to expose to death in large numbers their female babies. Many of their social habits are in strange contrast to ours. When we meet our friends we shake their hands ; they shake their own hands. We salute our friends by wishing them " Good- morning " or " Good-evening ; " they salute theirs by asking questions, " Have you eaten rice ? " " Will you drink tea ? " " Is your father hving ? " " How many children have you ? " In the presence of our superiors we uncover our heads ; they cover theirs. We treat our women as our equals ; they reckon them the foolish ones of the family, and relegate them to the inner rooms of the house. Our badge of mourn- ing is black, theirs is white. They mourn for the dead by 14 ROBERT MORRISON. proxy ; we sorrow for ourselves. We read and write from left to right, horizontally ; they do so from right to left, per- pendicularly. Our women pinch in their waists ; they bind and dwarf the feet. Our place of honour is the right, theirs is the left. Our young people select their own husbands or wives ; their parents decide who their children shall marry. We eat with knives and forks, they with chopsticks. ^Ve CHINESE MANDARIN IN SUJIMER DRESS. page our books at the top of the page, they on the margin. We print on both sides of the page, they only on one side. We put the title of a book on the back of the binding, they on the margin of the leaf. We set our volumes on the edge, they lay theirs down. We educate our girls, they put them to service. We carry out our manufactures largely by machinery ; they work by hand. We print by a press, and with marvellous rapidity ; they print slowly, with wooden blocks and a hand-brush. So it is with many other things ; i6 ROBERT MORRISON. all showing how much they differ from, or how far they are behind, the '\\'estern nations of the world. Their garments are made of satin, silk, cotton, hemp, the grass of the field, and the feathers of birds. The men wear a long pigtail, a broad-sleeved coat, and wide trousers ; the women wear an embroidered skirt, loose-fitting jacket, and tiny shoes. The patterns of their clothes are uniform and old-fashioned, but they are mads for ease and convenience LANTERN SELLER. rather than for ornament ; and in this respect they show- more sense than we do. The dwellings of the common people are poor and filthy. They contain usually but one room with one window. They are built of stone, or bricks, or mud according to the means of the family ; but the Chinaman easily adapts himself to circumstances, and will sleep soundly -in any corner on land or water. Their food is various ; but they eat fowls, fish, puppies, rats, and cats. CHINA AND ITS PEOPLE. 17 Tliey grow and consume rice, maize, millet, wheat, and barley ; they cultivate potatoes, turnips, tomatoes, pears, peaches, grapes, guavas, pineapples, and pomegranates, with many other fruits. The upper classes are rich, many of them enormously so ; the common people are poor, so that if the Yellow River inundates a province or a harvest fails it means starvation and death to millions, and beggars, reduced to skin and bone, and many sorely afflicted, swarm in every part of the land. The language of the Chinese is a difficult and singular one to Englishmen. It has no conjugations or declensions, no affixes or terminals, no syllables or alphabet. It is made up of upwards of forty thousand symbols or characters, many of which have the same sound, but several meanings, the differ- ence between which can only be known by observing the tone, or emphasis, or inflexion with which it is accompanied. The forty thousand characters are arranged in two hundred and fourteen classes, each class being placed under a certain root, which forms a component part of each character in its class. This somewhat simplifies the finding of words in the dic- tionary, and helps to impress them on the memory. Although it is an unwieldy and inconvenient language, and contains many dialects within itself, yet the written language is the same in all Chinese-speaking nations. Thus, in mastering it, we have a key wherewith to reach not China only but Japan, the Corea, Cochin China, the numerous races beyond the Great Wall, and the millions of Chinese in Siam, Borneo, and the inhabitants of the Straits Settlements, not to speak of the emigrants in Australia, California, and India. No language was ever so widely diffused or so largely used, and probably, with the single exception of Hebrew, it is the oldest upon the face of the earth. The Chinese are a merry-making people, and have numerous holidays and festivals, into which they enter with extraordinary zest. The chief of these is the New Year festival. It is elaborately prepared for ; and before it arrives 2 1 8 ROBERT MORRISON. houses, shops, and puljlic buildings are cleaned and decorated, illuminations are arranged, and holiday attire provided. When it dawns business is suspended, and there are nothing but salutations, visits, feastings, and rejoicings, which continue for ten days. Then there is the feast of " Welcoming the Spring," observed by civic processions and ceremonies, ploughing a furrow by prefects or other officials, and offering sacrifices. The " Festival of the Tombs " is the occasion of sacrificing to the spirits of the dead, and often takes the form of a family excursion, by boat or road, to the hills, where reverent services are held, followed by great feastings. Many other popular holidays occur, prominent among which is the "Feast of Lanterns," held in the autumn. This is to propitiate the spirits of those who have been drowned, and to please the water-gods of China. Long processions of boats, each covered with rows of lanterns, glide over the rivers, while Taoist priests, arrayed in scarlet and embroidered robes, offer prayers and beat gongs to secure the goodwill of the deities, and cast gilt paper, burning, into the streams. It is a splendid scenic effect. A great feast is held when a son is married. Relatives assemble at the bridegroom's house to drink and rejoice. The bride, after elaborate preparation, is taken from her home, shut up in a Sedan chair, and carried to her future husband's home. When she arrives there fireworks are sent up, and revelry commences. The bride conceals her face from public view, holding her hands in a semicircle before her head, and allowing the broad sleeves of her wedding dress to hang before her features. Thus supported by two attendants, she goes round, as tea is presented to the guests, receiving compliments, and bowing in response. Coarse jests pass from lip to lip, and often efforts are made to trip up the bride as she goes about, or to pull down her wearied arras so as to expose her face ; and if she manifest any im- patience on such occasions, it is reckoned as an augury of 20 ROBERT MORRISON. an unhappy career, and the bridegroom is condoled with on the prospect before him. Theatres abound in China. Not magnificent buildings like those we have in our cities, but slight movable con- structions of bamboo poles, covered with sheets of matting, painted red, and roofed with palm leaves woven together. Stage and galleries are formed of rough boards placed on bamboo sticks, and accommodation is often provided for a thousand people. The plays are so long that sometimes they will require several weeks for their presentation ; but they can be abbreviated at the will of the manager or the audience. It is a curious scene. The actors are dressed in gaudy colours, with false beards, they recite their parts in the absurdest fashion, and a deafening sounding of gongs and cymbals fills up every interval. These travelling per- formances are immensely popular in China. The capital city of China is Pekin, which contains the enormous population of about two millions. It is in the north, in the province of Chih-li. There are the Palace of the Emperor, the seat of Government, and the Temple of Heaven, where once a year, as the high-priest of the nation, the Emperor offers worship and sacrifice. Here idols and coloured glass are manufactured, and extensive printing works are in operation. Canton is in the south, and con- tains a population of a million and a quarter. The provinces of the south are largely cultivated for rice-growing, and also for the growing of the mulberry plant and the breeding of silkworms. In the city of Canton there are great manu- factories in iron, brass, and stone. Hankow, an inland city, situated on the river Yang-tse-Kiang, is the centre of the great tea trade. Foochow exports tea, timber, and bamboo. Amoy manufactures porcelain and paper. Nankin was the old capital of the empire and the centre of the silk and nankeen manufactures ; but it is now decaying, and these trades are migrating elsewhere. Hong Kong is an island at the mouth of the Canton river, which was ceded to England CHINA AND ITS PEOPLE. 2 1 in 1843, ^nd from which the trade of England with China is superintended. The great Chinese Canal is the longest in the world, being seven hundred miles in length, and by it the products of the north-eastern provinces are brought uj) to the northern seaboard. All over the land are great cities, which teem with life. Rivers and canals throughout the provinces are lined with towns and cities, many of which are filled with populations numbering from one hundred thousand to half a million. In the north, coal and silver mines are being opened and vigorously worked. Here also railways, telegraphs, tele- phones, and other wonders of modern times are being introduced, all foretelling a day of increased commercial prosperity and importance to the old hoary land. CHAPTER II. THE RELIGIONS OF CHINA. ' While a slave bewails his fetters, While an orphan pleads in vain, While an infant lisps his letters, Heir of all the age's gain, While a lip grows ripe for kissing, While a moan from man is wrung, Ivnow by every want and blessing, That the world is young." KlNGSLEY. T is probable that in the early history of the Chinese empire correct ideas of the true God were maintained, but these were lost in the idol worship which afterwards prevailed universally. The images and idols of China are now innumerable. There are gods of the heavens and earth, of the stars and planets, of the rains and winds, of the seasons, of mountains, pastures, rivers, and lakes, of thunder and lightning, of fire and cold, of wealth and war, of com- merce and agriculture, of every trade, profession, and calling, and even evil spirits are worshipped, because the Chinese say that to worship a good god is of no use, because he will not harm you, but it is very important to keep right with the evil one. THE RELIGIONS OF CHINA. 23 While China is a nation of idolaters, there are three great religions into which they may be distributed. These are Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism. The first of these is derived from Confucius, who lived about 550 b.c. He was born in the province of Shantung, and was the son of a statesman. He founded rather a system of moral philosophy than a religion, for his teaching has no reference to a Supreme Being who is to be worshipped, or to a soul that needs to be saved from sin. He gave utterance chiefly to moral maxims, some of which seem to be related to the Proverbs of Solomon, and inculcate a lofty tone of virtue. Confucius lost his father when three years old, and he passed his youth in obscurity and comparative poverty. As he grew up he gave himself to diligent study, and at the age of twenty-four resolved to devote himself to the improve- ment of his countrymen in knowledge and virtue. With this object he issued books expounding his views, and in course of time he had trained three thousand pupils, some of whoni became the preachers of his doctrines throughout the nation. He travelled throughout the land, speaking much in the open air, and, like other sages and prophets, drawing many lessons and illustrations from common life and from the objects of nature. After many years spent thus he returned to his native province, where his house became a common resort for the thoughtful and inquiring. Unlike Socrates, who taught largely by asking questions of his pupils, Confucius en- couraged those who sought his instruction to question him on all subjects of morals, politics, or literature. ITis pupils were earnestly attached to him, and propagated his opinions throughout the whole country. He was afterwards ap- pointed chief minister of State, and carried out many reforms in the administration, giving encouragement to trade and industry, and greatly increasing the prosperity of the people. But jealousy and opposition arose against him, he retired into private life, and for more than ten years happily devoted 24 ROBERT MORRISON. himself to literature. When he felt his end was approaching he summoned his disciples to a hill in the neighbourhood of his dwelling, built an altar, on which he placed his books, then, kneeling with his face towards the north, he gave thanks that he had been able to complete the work given him to do, and implored a blessing on his country from his ANCIENT CHJNEiE TEMPLE. labours. He died at the age of seventy-two years, 479 B.C. He lived in a great period of the world's history, during which the Jews returned from captivity, the second temple was built, Greece was invaded by Xer.xes, Egypt was conquered by the Assyrians, the Persian empire was firmly established, and within seven years of which Socrates, perhaps the only superior to Confucius in the heathen world, was born. His system, both of morals and national economy, was 2 6 ROBERT MORRISON. founded upon the sentiment of filial piety. From the reverence and obedience due from the child to the parent he educed the obligations binding upon all ages and all classes in the State. He enforced the principles of honesty, justice, and benevolence, but also he permitted, or incul- cated, idolatry, polygamy, and the bitterest revenge. He became the favourite and adored sage of the empire. His name is intensely reverenced, his sayings are household words, his writings are text-books in every school, his prin- ciples are professedly practised by every civil official in the land. He lived a noble life, and left behind him a grand heritage to his countrymen. Temples are built everywhere, and worship offered to his memory. His system, whilst pure and elevating in many respects, yet leaves quite un- touched the great truths of a Deity, a future life, the real nature of sin, or the means of human salvation. Con- fucianism is the State religion of China. It has for its votaries nearly all the scholars, the officials, and Government agents, many of whom, however, unite with the profession of Confucianism the rites and observances of other religious systems. Buddhism is the great religion of Eastern Asia. It was introduced into China about a.d. 6o in a curious and interesting manner. The Emperor, prompted, it is said, by a dream of the night, sent messengers to the West to seek for a knowledge of the true religion. Confucius had long before stated that in the West a great and holy sage would arise, and such a dream might have sprung out of this saying. The messengers proceeded on their errand as far as India, and there met with Buddhist priests, who imparted to them a knowledge of Buddha and his doctrines. They concluded they had obtained what they sought, and re- turned home with a new god and a new religion for their countrymen. Buddhism was founded by Sakya-mouni, or the Wise Man, who lived about seven centuries b.c. The life and The religions of china. ^7 history of this sage is surrounded with a haze of myth and romance. He is said to have been an Indian prince, who turned from tlie pomps and vanities of a palace, and devoted himself to a life of meditation, of works of mercy, and of self-inflicted privations and tortures, until he reached the state of Buddha, or " perfect knowledge." From this he taught that men might pass into a higher state called "Nirvana," in which they lose personality, pass from rela- tions and intercourse with material things, and lose all individual desires ; in short, in which human nature is annihilated. Buddha, however, lingers on the verge of this highest state, denying himself its repose in order to promote human happiness and lessen the sum of human misery. Buddhism teaches the existence of a benevolent Deity, surrounded with lesser ones, who seek to save men from the practice and consequences of sin. It inculcates belief in the transmigration of souls and the doctrine of human merit. Flowing from these teachings there come prayers and offerings to the numberless gods of the system, works of penance and merit, the offering of presents for the sup- posed needs of spirits in Hades, and for their departed friends. Temples for the worship of Buddha are scattered all over the land. Many of them are splendid and costly buildings. As the system is promotive of habits of quiet meditation, they are chiefly situated amidst the hills or in secluded valleys, and are charming for their natural surroundings. Idols, representing the many gods of the system, fill up these temples, several hundreds being sometimes found in one building. Some of the temples have pagodas connected with them. These are graceful towers built of stone or brick, in some special cases of porcelain, and rising from eighty to two hundred feet in height. The idols are made of many materials — of bronze or brass, or other metals, of stone, wood, clay, and pottery. The images of Buddha represent a human figure with a sleepy countenance, having 2 8 ROBERT MORRISON. the toes and fingers of equal length, and the ears reaching to the shoulders. Besides the images found in the temples and joss houses they may be found in private houses, on doorsteps, in porticoes, or almost anywhere, thus giving sad proof of the extent to which the minds of the Chinese are given to idolatry. Buddhist priests swarm in China, and in many of their practices resemble the priests of Romanism. They shave the head, they profess to fast, they are not permitted to marry, they recite prayers, they receive and appropriate the offerings presented in the temples, and they perform a service morning and evening. They attend funerals and festivals to preach or to tell stories, and often are engaged to officiate on such occasions in private houses. They are daily and impor- tunate beggars, and make their own garments. Nunneries are also prevalent in China, and in these companies of women associate, who shave the head, pass through rounds of religious rites, and train the novitiates who have entered their institution. Buddhism is by far the most popular religion in China, and is a system which is marvellously adapted to the con- dition and circumstances of human nature. It recognises the religious longings, the depraved habits and the distressing miseries of the race of man ; but by diverting the religious element in man into gross idolatry it leads the soul from the true God, by teaching the doctrine of merit it fosters human pride and self-sufficiency, and by teaching the doctrine of final annihilation as an escape from misery it plunges the mind into the darkness of despair. Taoism, although much inferior to the preceding, both in the weight of its influence and the number of its ad- herents, is the third great religion of China. Its founder was Laotse, a philosopher who was born 604 e.c. He composed a book called "A Treatise on Truth and Virtue," which is reckoned as a leading classic in Chinese literature. The word "Tao," meaning Truth, is derived THE RELIGIONS OF CHINA. 29 from the leading name in the title of the book, and is the subject chiefly enlarged upon It is said that Confucius visited Laotse and discussed important subjects with him. Taoism has greatly degenerated from the sim- plicity of its early history. It has become corrupted by super- stitions, it has absorbed many of the vagaries of astrology and alchemy, reading the stars, seek- ing for the elixir of life and the philosopher's stone, and is now a form of the grossest idolatry. In its root it is a system of pure materialism. It teaches that matter is eternal, that its grosser forms tend downwards, and become the substance of the earth, while its finer essences tend upwards, and become pos- sessed of individuality and life. The stars are some of these, which have assumed visible forms, and look down with in- terest upon the earth. The body and soul of man also repre- sent the more gross and refined essences or prin- ciples of nature. This system declares Laotse to have been a living principle pervad- ing space long before the creation of the heavens ANCESTRAL TABLET. 30 ROBERT MORRISON. and the earth. In the course of long ages this principle developed into a Deity, called the " Holy Ruler of Won- derful Identity." After further prolonged ages this Deity emerged as the "Holy Ruler of Wonderful Entity," and by-and-by a third evolution produced the " Holy Ruler of Chaotic Confusion." Beginning with this chaotic jargon, there is taught a system of semi-pantheism. Laotse is said, after the appearance of man upon the earth, to have lived under the names and persons of several great sages and prophets, and finally to have been born of a virgin. His hair was white with old age at his birth, and his votaries claim for him the possession of the most astounding qualities and powers. He is now worshipped with many other gods and deified sages, for Taoism, like Buddhism, has invented deities for every occasion and for almost every locality. Amongst its gods must be mentioned the dragon, whose domain includes seas, lakes, rivers, and ponds, with all their living creatures. All the varied phenomena of clouds and rainfalls are also supposed to be under his control. In his realm are said to be innumerable lesser dragons, who are his subjects and agents. References to other gods of this religion might be multiplied indefinitely, but space will not permit. Taoism is preferred by the rulers of China to Buddhism, because of its native origin. Therefore its priests and ceremonies are employed in the State worship. Its temples and priests are comparatively few, and women are not attracted to its worship in crowds as they are to Buddhism. It deals too much in mere abstruse speculation to be generally popular, although, as if to illustrate the curious meeting of extremes, it has long practised all the forms of modern spiritualism, with its rappings and table turnings. In all public places in China its mediums are to be found, who, for a small payment, may be consulted on the future world, or departed friends, or events which are transpiring in other parts of the world. There are certain idolatrous practices common to all these religions which interlink them 32 ROBERT MORRISON. in the history and belief of the nation. The chief of these, and the only one requiring notice at present, as being the most deeply rooted in the religious life of China, and forming the most formidable obstacle to the spread of Christianity, is Ancestral Worship. Its rites are looked upon as being an indispensable element of filial piety, and every person in the nation has the duty enforced upon him of observing these forms in the most positive manner. Each family is expected to preserve ancestral tablets or paintings for this purpose. The ancestral tablets are made of wood, and are about twelve inches long. They are inscribed with the names and titles of the dead, the dates of their birth and death, and the names of their sons. The paintings are taken after death, and seldom can be reckoned as faithful portraits. These tablets are brought out and worshipped at the new year and on the birthdays of the deceased. The worship of ancestors consists of prostrations, offerings of cooked foods, burning of incense, candles, and paper-monc)', and sometimes dramatic performances are gone through. The worship may be offered at will in the dwelling-house, or the family temple, or at the grave. In all the religions of China there is nothing which efficiently restrains from the practice of evil or enables a man to lead a holy life. The teachings of Confucius, which ignore the existence of God and the immortality of the soul, cannot cleanse the heart or inspire a noble and pure life. The superstitions of Buddhism, leaving its votaries without a guiding Providence in this life, and pointing to extinction as the highest goal of human nature, cannot feed or fill the cravings of the soul for endless happiness. The specula- tions of Taoism end in its magic and spirit-rapping, and show it to be the doctrine of darkness and devils. From such a review we turn with unspeakable relief to the pure and purifying teachings of Christianity, and cry, with deepest gratitude, — None v.vt Jesus, none but Jesus, CHAPTER III. EARLY ATTEMPTS TO EVAATGELISE CHINA. " Hark ! the strains of music roll, Like a tide they fill the soul ; As they to their highest rise We will launch our enterprise." Lynch. ARDENT longings for the conversion of Cliina early stirred the souls of consecrated Christian workers, and attempts to diffuse the Gospel throughout the land were made in different periods of the history of the Church, Nor is this to lie wondered at. The tenacious life which had prolonged itself during four thousand years, surviving the tempests of time which have carried succes- sive leading empires of the world into utter destruction, stamps the Chinese as being a peculiar people, and invests them with a halo of romance well calculated to fire with enthusiasm the adventurous spirit. Their hoary systems of religion and philosophy, their attainments in various sciences, their proficiency in many arts and manufactures, the immense mineral treasures of the land, have all operated to attract the attention of the student, the merchant, and the statesman. But the enormous population, sunken to 34 ROBERT MORRISON. the lowest moral depths, might well move the benevolent impulses of the philanthropist, and rouse the zeal of every Christian whose soul vibrates to the command, " Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature." One insuperable difficulty prevented for centuries Christian effort being put forth for the conversion of the empire of China. The nation has been rootedly and perseveringly opposed to intercourse with foreigners, especially with such as would attempt to proselytise from the accepted religions of the people. Therefore it has hermetically sealed itself at every point against the Christian propagandist. The result was that, up to the commencement of the present century, no evangelical teacher of truth had been able to enter the country ; and, until the middle of the century, no real foothold for the Gospel had been obtained. It is true that upwards of a thousand years ago an attempt was made to enter China by Christian missionaries. The Nestorians, in the sixth or seventh century, sent out messengers to China ; and an interesting relic of their labours remains in a monument at Se-ngan Fu. This monument contains a short history of the Nestorian sect from the year 630 to 781, and also an abstract of the Christian religion. Scarcely a trace remains of the work done through this movement. When Roman Catholic missionaries entered the country in the fourteenth century they found the Nestorians swaying considerable influence both amongst rich and poor ; and it may be reasonably hoped that, through the eight centuries of their history in this land, great numbers of the Chinese were brought under the sanctifying power of the Gospel. The sect eventually lost its simplicity of faith and became extinct, any lingering remnant becoming absorbed in the Romish Church. During the twelfth century repeated and widespread rumours travelled to the West, in which there may have been some element of reality, concerning Prester John, said EARLY ATTEMPTS TO EVANGELISE CHINA. 35 to have been a great Christian king who ruled over a professedly Christian people in the country contiguous to the north of China. It was rumoured that he united in his person the offices of both king and priest, and that he had successors ruling in a similar manner for some generations. In the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries there were pioneer messengers from Europe — men of devoted spirit and great capacity, who made their way into China and made known some of the doctrines of the Gospeif The leader of these was a Franciscan monk, John de Monte Corvino, concerning whom the judicious historian, Neander, testifies that he was the pattern of a true missionary. He penetrated to Pekin, and succeeded in gaining a high posi- tion in the Court of the Emperor. He became an adept in the language, and translated into Chinese the New Testa- ment and the Book of Psalms. With true sagacity he devoted himself to work among the young, and the rearing up of native missionaries, who might disseminate the new doctrine among their countrymen. He baptised six thousand converts, and founded two churches in Pekin, one of which was so close to the royal palace, that the sweet singing of the Christian hymns was wafted on the morning breeze into the chamber of the Emperor. Corvino overtaxed his strength by his multiplied efforts, so that when fifty-eight years of age he died, prematurely old, and worn out by hard- ships and privations. Two and a half centuries rolled by, when a man having a truly apostolic spirit made another attempt to penetrate the great moral desert. In the year 1553 the saintly and lofty Francis Xavier reached the island of Sancian on his way to China. He had passed through gigantic toils in India and Japan, but a hungry dissatisfaction rose within him until he had declared the name of Jesus to the millions of China. Many difficulties arose before him, but he perseveringly strove to overcome them, and he seemed to be on the eve of attaining his desire. From the little islet he strained his 36 ROBERT MORRISON. eyes, and gazed on the rocky beach of the land he yearned to penetrate, and waited impatiently for a junk to carry him over the intervening waters. He meant to land under cover of the darkness of night. He anticipated being seized and cast into prison ; but so also were Paul and Silas at Philippi, and a great revival arose out of that persecution. God could still make the wrath of man to praise Him ; and if nothing else could be done, some seed could be sown in the hearts of Chinese prisoners which would produce a bounteous harvest when he was laid low. But the All-wise Ruler, who had inspired the idea, and would reward the spirit of devotion, yet did not permit the realisation of the purpose. ^Vhile he waited for the vessel to take him over the waters he was smitten down with raging fever. He lay upon the beach, with the bleak winds of a bitter winter driving around him. In his delirium his soul seemed to be filled with his apostolic fervour, and he cried out Anipliiis, aiiifhii/s, " Wider, further ! " As the fever abated his strength failed, and he lay facing the last dread foe. His face shone with more than earthly radiance, and he wept with holy joy, crying out, " O Lord, in Thee have I trusted, let me never be confounded." Thus triumphantly he passed from the bitterness of an earthly winter to the eternal summer of heaven. Other kindred spirits soon resolved to attempt again to pierce the great dark heathen continent. The Italian Jesuit Valignano, being stayed at Macao on his way to Japan, be- held afar off the shores of China still closed to the Gospel. He cried, " Oh, rock, rock ! when wilt thou open ? " and being anxious to carry his aspirations to a practical issue, he induced two of his companions — both men of remarkable character and abilities — to try to storm the impregnable fortress. The attempt succeeded, owing to the united determination and wiliness of the agents. They disguised themselves as Buddhist priests, and then posed as Utevafi of China, with the result that ere long one of them, Mathew 38 ROBERT MORRISON. Ricci, was appointed to an important literary post in Pckin, and became a favourite with tlie Emperor. However otlier- wise he seemed to be employed, he never failed to labour indefatigably for the establishment and spread of his faith. He spent twenty-seven years thus, and in 1610 he died, deeply lamented by his fellow-labourers and by the Christian community which had been formed under his guidance. He left upwards of three hundred churches behind him as monuments of his zeal and prudence. He was followed by others of a kindred spirit, men of cautious and sagacious habit of mind, but of fixed purpose. Chief among these were Adam Schaal, who died 1666, and Ferdinand Ver- biest, who died 1688. These were both skilled in science and various knowledges, and, as learned philosophers, had conceded to them an eminence which would have been denied them as Christian propagandists. They arranged the calendar of the year, they directed the casting of cannon, they negotiated treaties with other nations ; but through all they kept before them, as their real and sole mission, the diffusion of Christianity. They proclaimed their message in Pekin and the imperial court, they cast their shield over their humbler brethren labouring in various distant provinces and cities, and they contrived to open the gates of the country for the stealthy admission of fresh helpers from time to time. Persecution broke out, and raged for some years, during which the Christian churches were closed, and the members dispersed; but in 1671, when the tribulation had passed by, and when the existing churches were opened, although further attempts at extension were forbidden, not less than twenty thousand baptisms were reported. It may be that these baptisms were largely nominal, and that the conver- sion to which they witnessed was only on the surface ; it may be that the doctrines disseminated were wofully de- ficient, from an evangelical standpoint ; it may be that the poison of Popery was intermingled with their system, so as largely to discredit their work in our eyes ; but let us K^ARLY ATTF.VFJ'S TO E\'.4.\GELISE CHIXA. 39 be just to them, and even charitable. The tracts they spread over the land were far superior to the miserable and shallow productions distributed by Roman Catholics of later days, which are largely filled with legendary nonsense. They were clear in their statements as to the nature of sin, the incarnation of Christ, and the reality of the atonement. They had many genuine converts, who were ready to seal their faith with their blood : and whatever estimate may be formed as to the character of the work done, let them have the honour paid to their memories, which is their just due, as being the first Christian missionaries to the great centre of heathendom, and as setting an example worthy of imita- tion to the Reformed Churches. The Roman Catholics have maintained to this day an extensive mission in the land. They have about two hundred churches, and two hundred and fifty thousand professors or members. Their interi'erence with the civil and political life of China draws upon them much jealousy and dislike from both the officials and the cominon people, and but for this they might progress at a much more rapid rate than they have done of late years. One result of the great evangelical revival of the eight- eenth century was the intense desire for the conversion of the heathen which took possession of Protestant Christen- dom. As a result of that desire, and through the agency of chosen instruments, modern missionary societies arose, and the great evangelistic movement of the present century came into being. It was impossible that, in the urgent vearning to scatter the Gospel amongst the nations still given up to superstition and idolatry, China could be overlooked, or that it should fail to absorb to itself much prayerful attention. Its antiquity, its exclusiveness, its peculiar ci^-ilisation, its overwhelming population, made it at once the most interesting, the most ditticult, and the most extensive field opened out for conquest by the Church for the Lord Jesus Christ. The Apostles themselves had 40 RO-BEKT MORRISON. no grander or wider sphere opened before them, as they went out in faith to attack the strongholds of sin in the Roman empire. The faith, zeal, and unction required by them in their great work were also imperatively demanded of the men who should undertake the task of attacking this hitherto invulnerable fastness of sin. To briefly trace the career of the first modern apostle to China, who, with indomitable and persevering zeal, went forth to this giant enterprise, is the object of these pages ; and it is earnestly hoped that the narration of this story will fire many hearts with a generous and Divine enthusiasm in aid of the great work for the conversion of this enormous nation. The motto of every Christian just now should be — China for Christ, and in this Generation. CHAPTER IV. ROBERT MORRISON : CHILDHOOD AND YOUIIL " Fair boy, the wanderings of thy way It is not mine to trace, Through buoyant youth's exulting day, Or manhood's nobler race. *' What discipline thine heart ma}' need, What clouds may veil th}^ sun, The eye of God alone can read, And let His will be done." ROBERT MORRISON was born on January 5th, 1782, at BuUer's Green,* in the little picturesque town of Morpeth, Northumberland. His father, James Mor- rison, was a farm labourer, who removed, when Robert was three years old, to Newcastle-upon-Tyne, where he esta- blished a busmess as a last and boot-tree manufacturer in the Groat Market. The place where he and his family resided was long called by the name of "Morrison's Close," in remembrance of his famous son. Here he employed several workmen, earned a comfortable livelihood, and brought up his family of eight children in the fear of God. He was a Scotchman by birth, his wife was a Northum- * The house was in existence till March 28th, 1SS7, when it was razed to the ground. ^ 42 ROBERT MORRISON. brian, and both of them were people of fervent and consist- ent piety. They became members of an old I'resljyterian church in the High Bridge, the entrance to which was through a public-house yard. Mr. Morrison was held in high estimation by the church, and an old lady, who knew him and his son Robert well, and who was a member of the same church, recently testified that the father was a most worthy man, and that no member or officer of the church was so highly esteemed. He was for many years a much valued elder of the church. The minister at that time was the Rev. John Hutton, a man faithfully devoted to the interests of his people, and one who exercised a health- ful and powerful influence on the mind of the subject of this memoir. Robert was sent to a school kept by James Nicholson, his maternal uncle — a man of respectable attainments. Here he received a ^ound elementary education. For some time he showed great slowness in learning, and has been ranked amongst the illustrious dunces of history ; but after- wards he brightened up, manifested great delight in his studies, and made rapid and satisfactory progress. He was also carefully trained in Scripture knowledge and religious duties by his pastor, Mr. Hutton, who frequently catechised him, both at home and in public, after the fashion long in vogue in Scotland and in the North of England. The story is a favourite tradition in Newcastle, and used often to be told by the old lady already referred to, that when he was twelve years of age, he repeated in the chapel one Sabbath evening the whole of the 119th Psalm ; and, to further test his memory, the pastor exercised him on different parts in various ways, the boy passing through the ordeal without a single error. On leaving school at the age of fourteen, he was bound apprentice to his father, and wrought at his trade with great diligence and industry. P'or a brief period he seems to have been led into evil courses by careless companions, but at CHILDHOOD AND YOUTH. 43 home he manifested such dutifulness that his father rarely had need to utter a word of rebuke. Towards his mother he showed a loving attention that was almost chivalrous ; and he had so keen a love of truth that never but once was he ever known to tell a falsehood, and then, although he had no fear of detection, he felt such qualms of conscience that he made an open confession of his fault. In 1798 he re- linquished his bad habits, separated himself from all friends that were evil or doubtful, and became soundly converted to the service of God. The great change seems rather to have been the outcome of long previous training, and of health- ful religious influences around him, than of any special instrumentality ; but he at once sought union with the church, and joined a meeting for prayer which assembled in his father's workshop on Monday evenings. He also began a course of devotional reading, chiefly of the Scrip- tures ; drew out a plan for the regulation of his time, which he carefully observed ; and even learnt a system of short- hand to facilitate his studies. He formed an intimacy with a young man at Shields of kindred religious fervour, and they met almost daily for prayer and pious conversation. They also visited together the sick poor, and engaged in work for God in various ways as they had opportunity. Gradually his soul became more deeply engrossed with religious subjects. In iSoo he removed his bed into the workshop for the sake of greater privacy, and often till one or two o'clock in the morning was engaged reading Romaine's " Life of Faith," or Hervey's " Meditations," or Marshall on " Sanctification," or Mosheim's " History of the Church," but most of all searching the treasures of Matthew Henry's incomparable " Commentary." He also strove to perfect himself in English grammar, and carefully examined the evidences of Christianity. The Missionary Magazine had begun to appear from an Edinburgh publisher, and this he borrowed regularly from a friend ; and probably from this periodical he received the first bias of his mind towards the 44 ROBERT MORRISON. mibsion field. The workshop where he studied and slept remained till lately in much the same condition as when he left it. In 1S59 a rude attack was made in Newcastle-upon- Tyne upon the memory of Dr. Morrison, by Rev. R. I, ■\Vilberforce, then a Romish pervert. This was taken up and replied to in a lecture by Rev. J. C. Bruce, D.D,, from which we extract the following passage : — " The shop is at present occupied by a joiner. I visited the room last week in company with my friend, Mr. John Fenwick. The place is in a somewhat frail state, and its whole aspect is such as rather to depress than to excite any- noble elevation of soul. My friend, on entering, felt himself carried back fifty years. He pointed to the bench where he had scores of times seen Morrison at his work, and told me that he generally found him with a book lying open before him. In this humble workshop two of Northumber- land's greatest men must frequently have met — Robert Morrison and George Stephenson. The families of each were mutually acquainted. Mr. Stephenson, when a young man, filled up his spare time with making shoes. He made his own lasts, and boasted of his performances in this way. On one occasion Stephenson entered into competition with a fellow-artist, and, in order to exclude the possibility of prejudice on the part of the umpire, obtained leave from the Morrisons to affix their stamp to his production." Young Morrison also rented a little garden in Pandon Dene, then a charming suburb of Newcastle, but which has now disappeared before the march of building and commerce. Here he often repaired for quiet meditation and prayer; and, even when at work, the Bible or some other book was open before him, in order that his heart and mind might be refreshed while his hands were busily occupied. On the Sabbath he regularly attended the services of the church, he often conducted family worship in his father's house, he regularly visited the sick and devoted a proportion of his scanty earnings to their relief, and the intervals between 46 ROBERT MORRISON. worship on the Sabbath he generally gave to the instruction of poor children. His father had a young apprentice whom he strove to win for Christ, and he often took him aside to pray with him privately. His soul became intently earnest in seeking the conversion of his kindred and friends. He appealed to one young relative — a sailor — with such per- tinacity, imploring him to seek the Lord, that the young man said his words were never out of his ears, until he was led to come to Jesus. Thus from his earliest Christian life he manifested those profound convictions of duty, that intensity and fixedness of purpose, and that desire for the salvation of souls, which characterised all his future course. His early Christian life is very interestingly described in a letter he wrote to the Committee of Ho.xton Academy, when, in 1802, he offered himself for the work of the ministry. In it he states as follows : — " In the early part of my life, having enjoyed the inestim- able privilege of godly parents (a blessing for which I ever desire to be thankful), I was habituated to a constant and regular attendance on the preached Gospel. My father was ever careful to keep up the worship of God in our family, and educated me in the principles of the Christian religion. When farther advanced in life, I attended the public cate- chising of the Rev. John Hutton, from whose instructions I received much advantage. By these means (under the good hand of God) my conscience was somewhat informed and enhghtened, and I was kept from running to that e.xcess of riot to which many persons in an unregenerate state do, though as yet I lived without Christ, without God, and without hope in the world. I was a stranger to the plague of my own heart ; and, notwithstanding that I often felt remorse and the upbraidings of conscience, yet I flattered myself that somehow I should have peace, though I walked in the ways of my own lieart. " It was about five years ago that I was much awakened CHILDHOOD AND YOUTH. 47 to a sense of sin, though I cannot recollect any particular circumstances that led to it, unless it was that at that time I grew somewhat loose and profane, and more than once, being drawn aside by wicked company (even at that early time of life), I became intoxicated. Reflection upon my conduct became a source of much uneasiness to me, and I was brought to a serious concern about my soul. I felt the dread of eternal condemnation. The fear of death com- passed me about, and I was led to cry nightly to God that He would pardon my sin, that He would grant me an in- terest in the Saviour, and that He would renew me in the spirit of my mind. Sin became a burden. It was then that I experienced a change of life, and, I trust, a change of heart too. I broke off from my former careless company, and gave myself to reading, to meditation, and to prayer. It pleased God to reveal His Son in me, and at that time I experienced much of ' the kindness of youth and the love of espousals ; ' and, though the first flash of affection wore off, I trust my love to and knowledge of the Saviour have increased. Since that time (soon after I joined in com- munion with the Church under the Rev. John Hutton, my present pastor, and likewise became a member of a praying society) the Lord has been graciously pleased to humble and prove me ; and, though I have often experienced much joy and peace in believing, I have likewise experienced much opposition from the working of indwelling sin — ' the flesh lusting against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh' — and these being contrary the one to the other, 'I could not do the thing that I would.' I have gradually discovered more of the holiness, spirituality, and extent of the Divine law, and more of my own vileness and un- worthiness in the sight of God, and the freeness and rich- ness of sovereign grace. I have sinned as I could ; it is ' by the grace of God I am what I am.' " For some years he kept a diary, or journal, in which he recorded his doings and experiences. The entries reveal, 48 ROBERT MORRISON. in a natural and easy manner, the real bent of his mind. Two or three extracts from that kept in iSoo may be given as a specimen of many : — "February e^th. — Rose at five. Text, Nahum i. 7 : ' The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble, and He knoweth them that trust in Him.' Comfortable words ! In the evening I took a walk, and was delighted with the works of God. The sun descending, the moon shining brightly, the night was come, and the ocean murmured at a distance. God is my Maker and my Saviour. This night I was alone in the house, when I engaged in prayer to my God. Slept five hours." " February 2yd. — Sunday. Rose at half-past six. Went and took a walk to the Forth, very misty. Came home and went to prayer in the shop. O blessed solitude, I love thee ! I am not alone, for God is with me. Read a part of iVIr. Romaine's sermon on the death of Mr. Hervey. Went to the meeting-house, and heard a lecture on ' Simon Magus.' After dinner I took Jem into the shop and prayed with him, and then asked him his catechism. In the after- noon I heard a sermon on 'Christ Crucified.' I took my tea with my brother Thomas. C. H. and I joined in singing, prayer, and reading the Scriptures. Text, Psalm xlviii. 14. I was beset with vain thoughts, and ' when I would do good, evil is present with me.' " "■June \Wi. — Rose at five. After prayer I sat till six, then went to work, and wrought till nearly 8 p.m., when C. H. came up. We joined in singing, prayer, and reading a sermon, after which I took a walk as far as the garden with him. We called on Mr. Hutton. We were engaged in serious conversation. Oh that I may watch and be sober when my Lord cometh ! " In 1801 he began to entertain definite ideas as to entering the Christian ministry, and prepared to study systematically with this object before him. The following passage from his diary indicates his state of feeling at this time : — CHILDHOOD AND YOUTH. 49 '' Friday, /line icjth. — This day I entered widi Mr. Laidler* to learn Latin. I paid ten shillings and sixpence (the entrance money), and am to pay one guinea per quarter. I know not what may be the end — God only knows. It is my desire, if He please to spare me in the world, to serve the Gospel of Christ as He shall give me opportunity. O Lord, my God, my whole hope is in Thee, and in Thee alone. God be merciful to me a sinner through Christ my Saviour, and grant Thy blessing with this attempt, if it please Thee. Amen," This extract plainly shows the direction of his thoughts, and he arranged all his movements accordingly. He wrought at his trade from six to six, save that from nine to ten he waited on Mr. Laidler. He arranged his meals so as to facilitate his studies, and nightly he was at work with his books when the rest of the household had retired to sleep. So assiduously did he cultivate knowledge that, eighteen months afterwards, when he entered Hoxton Academy as a student, he had not only a fair knowledge of Latin, but had also acquired the rudiments of Greek and Hebrew. While he was thus earnestly devoting himself to prepara- tions for future advancement, he went for a short time to Sunderland to gain a knowledge of another branch of his father's business, and there became acquainted with a young man called Wilson. This friend relates the following incident : — " Four or five of us very young men were conversing together about some of those things which the hoary- headed Christian places among the secret things of God, and which he adores in silent submission. As Mr. Morrison was not forward in speaking, we requested him to favour us with his mind on the subject before us. He replied, ' What- soever I may not know of these things, this I do know, that I am a sinner, and that Jesus Christ is a suitable Saviour.' * A raiiiistcr resident in Ncwciistlc. 50 ROBERT MORRISON. Such a remark from the youngest in the company forcibly struck us all." Between Robert and his mother there existed a most tender affection. He was her favourite son, and with true maternal instinct she soon guessed the bent his mind was taking towards the ministry of the Church. But, as infirmi- ties increased upon her, she clung passionately to him, and was distressed at the idea of him leaving home. His sense of filial obedience was so strong that he promised he would never do so as long as she hved. Such was her confidence in him, that she looked to him for comfort and solace in the later experiences of her life. In 1802 she was taken from her family and from earth by death. During her illness he assiduously attended her bedside, marking her wants, giving her medicine, offering prayer by her side, and finally, after receiving her last blessing, closing her eyes in death. CHAPTER V. PREPARATION FOR THE GREAT WORK. "Great oflices will have Great talents, and God gives to every man The virtues, temper, understanding, taste, That lifts him into life and lets him fall Just in the niche he was designed to fill." CoWPER. AS Mr, INIorrison laboured diligently in his preparations, his purpose became more definite and settled. The way into the ministry of the Presbyterian Church did not open, and his thoughts were directed to the Congre- gational Theological Institution, then known as Hoxton Academy, afterwards as Highbury College. The two following extracts indicate the yearning of his soul both as to progress in the Divine life, and a ministerial course : — ■ "O blessed Jesus, long have I sought for rest to my immortal soul, at one time in the gratification of ' the lusts of the flesh,' and at another 'of the mind.' A\'hen very young I was a companion of the drunkard, the Sabbath- breaker, the profane person ; but in these my heart smote me, I had no rest. Then I made learning and books my god ; but all, all are vain. I come to Thee : ' Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give 52 ROBERT MORRISON. you rest.' Fatigued with unsuccessful pursuits after happi- ness, and luirdened with a sense of guilt, Jesus, Thou Son of God, I come to Thee, that I may be refreshed and my burden removed. " ' Jesus, my Lord ! Thou art possest Of all that fills the eternal God ! Oh ! bring my weary soul to rest, Remove my guilt, tfiat ponderous load.' " On September 25th, 1802, he wrote thus ; — "This day I wrote to desiring to know some things respecting the Hoxton Academy. What shall I say on this day now closing ? O Lord, pardon my sins, and make me Thine in that day when Thou makest up Thy jewels ; in ' that day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ.' ' Have faith in Jehovah with thy whole m nd : but lean not to thy own understanding. In all thy ways acknow- ledge Him, and He will direct thy paths.' 'Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy mind, and with all thy thought. This is the first and great com- mandment.' " On November 24th he made formal application for admission to the Academy. His letter deals at great length w'ith his early religious impressions and his con- version to God, and then proceeds in the following sentences to refer to his doctrinal sentiments and his call to the ministry: — " As the compass of one letter will not suffer me to enlarge with respect to my principles, it will perhaps be sufficient to observe that, being educated in the doctrines of the Church of Scotland, as contained in the Westminster Confession of Faith; so far as I have been enabled to examine them as yet, I have espoused them from principle. Hence also my views with respect to the ordinance of baptism will be known. "As to the motives that induce me to wish to be a PREPARATION FOR THE GREAT WORK. 53 minister, thicy are these — viz., an earnest desire of being instrumental (under the good hand of God) in turning sinners from darkness to hght, and from the power of Satan unto God— of being instrumental in building up tl^ie Church — being zealous of spiritual gifts, I seek that I may excel to the edifying of the Church. I covet to prophesy, for he that prophesieth speaketh to men to edification, to exhorta- tion, and to comfort ; and I would moreover observe that these passages not only express my motives, but also con- tain what I considered a warrant for my present undertaking, as they come from the apostle to the Church of Corinth in the form of an exhortation, ' Seek that ye may excel.' ' Covet to prophesy.' "However, I would willingly resign myself to the direction of my heavenly Father. He knows best, and will choose and use what instruments He seeth meet. His will be done." He was immediately accepted by the Committee and summoned to London, where he arrived on January 6th, 1803. Hoxton Academy was then under the care of the Revs. Ur. Simpson and W. Atkinson, and amongst the students he found congenial spirits in men known afterwards as Revs. H. F. Burder, D.U., of Hackney ; J. Clunie, LL.D., of Manchester; J. Fletcher, D.D., of Stepney; and G. Payne, LL.D., of Exeter; with all of whom he maintained a firm friendship, and with the two former a close intimacy until his death. He had scarcely settled at the College before a trial came which deeply moved his spirit. His father's health had been feeble for some time, and the business had been largely dependent on the exertions of Robert. His father grew worse, and an urgent and affectionate summons came for his son to return home and resume his former position. His heart was too fixed and his enthusiasm for his new calling too imperative to permit him to do so, and he wrote 54 ROBERT MORRISON. a reply which, whilst brimming with tenderness and filial piety, yet expressed his unalterable purpose to pursue his sacred calling. '■^February c^th, 1803. " Honoured father, brother, and sisters, — I received your letter on the 19th ult. The account of my father's leg growing worse and worse concerns me ; but what can I do? I look to my God and my father's God. ' He doeth all things well,' and He will make all things work together for good to those that love Him. My father, my brother, my sisters, I resign you all and myself to His care, who I tru.st careth for us. Are not our days few ? Yet I desire, if the Lord will, that He may grant you \yhcrewithal to provide things honest in the sight of all men during the few days of your pilgrimage. I trust He will ; and may the Lord bless you with rich communications of saving grace and knowledge. You advise me to return home. I thank you for your kind intentions ; may the Lord bless you for them. But I have no inclination to do so ; having set my hand to the plough, I would not look back. It hath pleased the Lord to prosper me so far, and grant me favour in the eyes of this people." His family were still not satisfied with his decision, and it was a painful subject for him to write about ; but he never swerved for a moment from what he firmly believed to be a sacred duty, and both his father and brother and sisters lived long enough to recognise that he had been led by Divine Providence in his chosen path. He had not been long in the Metropolis before he pre- sented himself to the Rev. Dr. Waugh, a minister of fervent piety and affectionate spirit, who then presided over a large church in Wells Street, Oxford Street. He was received into membership, and shortly afterwards preached his first sermon in St. Luke's Workhouse, and from that time he became a frequent preacher in the villages around London. He also found many opportunities to visit 56 ROBERT MORRISON. the poor and sick, after the habit he had formed at Newcastle. He pursued his studies at Hoxton with untiring assiduity, and his fellow-students above referred to have left glowing testimonies as to his fervid pursuit both of mental and spiritual attainments. iJr. Clunie sums up a very full de- scription of his college life in these words : " He was a most exemplary student, and always aimed at distinction, even in some branches of study for which he appeared very little adapted. But his chief reliance to secure success was not on any effort of his own, however diligently and constantly exerted, but on the Divine blessing. Hence few ever entered more fully into Luther's great axiom, 'To pray well is to study well ; ' for of him it may be very justly said, that prayer was the element in which his soul delighted to breathe. Though it was little apprehended that he would so soon be called to fill one of the most arduous and important spheres which could be conceived, or that he would rise to such eminence in it as to com- mand the admiration of all classes of the Christian Church and of the community in general, yet it is impossible to reflect on his diligent and devoted course at Hoxton without clearly recognising the incipient elements of all his future success. Others possessed more brilliant talents, a richer imagination, a more attractive delivery, or more graceful manners, — but I trust I may be permitted to say that there was no one who more happily concentrated in himself the three elements of moral greatness, — the most ardent piety, indefatigable diligence, and devoted zeal in the best of all causes." After he' had been a short time at college a desire for foreign missionary work, which had occasionally arisen within him at home, became a definite and ruling purpose of his soul. He made this known to the tutors and tre-asurer of the institution. They represented to him the arduous nature of the work, and the special opportunities he had PREPARATION FOR THE GREAT WORK. 57 for great usefulness in the home field, and offered him the privilege of a training at one of the Scotcli universities. They advised him to carefully pray and think about the matter. This advice he readily adopted, with the result that his purpose became greatly strengthened ; and on May 27th, 1804, he wrote to the Rev. A. Waugh, then chairman of the Committee of Examination of the London Missionary Society, offering himself for labour in a foreign sphere. His letter has been often referred to as a model one. It briefly records the facts of his conversion, of his desire to enter the ministry, and of his growing interest in mission work. He says : — "My first wish was to engage as a Missionary. This was the burden of my prayer. I avowed this design to my friends. I frankly own it was the wish of my heart when I came to Hoxton ; and had the question been asked of me I should have professed it. I had no design to conceal it ; but I then considered myself unfit, and believed learning necessary. I knew nothing of a Missionary Academy. I still cherished the desire of being a Missionary, but thought it premature to come to a determination, and therefore entered upon the foundation at Hoxton. Knowing that ' Jesus wills that His Gospel should be preached in all the world/ and that ' the redeemed of the Lord ' are ' to be gathered out of every kindred and tongue and people ' ; recollecting, moreover, the command of Jesus to ' go into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature,' I conceive it my duty, as a candidate for the Holy Ministry, to stand candidate for a station where labourers are most wanted. My affectionate relatives in the country, and my kind friends and patrons in town dissuade me from it, tell me of the diflSculties I shall have to encounter, and promise me much should I stay at home. I have considered these things, prayed to the Lord to direct me and to enable me to count the cost, that I may not act the part of a foolish builder. I am extremely suspicious of myself, jealous of 58 ROBERT MORRISON. the strength of my love to Jesus to bear me through. But leaning on Flis love to me, I have now, sir, made up my mind, if the Lord will, to ' forsake all and follow Him,' to spend and be spent for the elect's sake, that they may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory." In coming to this decision he had a painful struggle with his home relatives, who were strongly opposed to it. He pleaded the case most tenderly and affectionately with his father, offering to desist from his purpose, " If my father or other friends can give such reasons why I should not take this step as will satisfy my mind on a dying bed." No such reasons were forthcoming ; but the struggle of mind he endured may be imagined from these words, extracted from a letter he addressed to his very intimate companion Cuthbert Henderson ; " My brother Thomas has sent a letter which grieves me very much. He represents the situation of my father's affairs in such a distressing light . . and then charges me with wilfulness that I can help them, and won't. Shall I see my father's house thus thrown into confusion ? I myself, my dear brother, wander from day to day, mourning an absent Lord. I wander under the hidings of my Father's countenance, under a sense of my own ignorance and weakness. What can I do ? For years past I have desired and prayed and laboured night and day for that which the Lord has been pleased to bring about ; and now when my wishes are gratified, iriy prayers are answered, shall I turn back ? O my God, I lift my soul to Thee. How shall I stand before Jesus in the day of judgment, should I now forsake Him and His work when a difficulty arises ? O my friend, pray that the Lord may remove all my sins, that He may make my way plain before me, that He may be near to my precious and immortal soul; pray for my brother and father, I entreat thee, my good friend — go often to see them ; and may the Lord bless thee and keep thee through faith unto eternal salvation." PREPARATION FOR THE GREAT WORK. 59 On Monday, May 2Sth, he appeared before the Missionary Board. The interview was so satisfactory that the usual custom of a second examination was dispensed with. He was accepted at once, and ordered to proceed to the Missionary Academy at Gosport, then presided over by the venerable Dr. Bogue. He prepared to ol)ey the order at once. His fellow- students affectionately commended him to "the special grace of God," in a meeting for united prayer ; and on the ^^'ednesday following his acceptance, he proceeded to Gosport, where he received a warm welcome from the Governor of the Institution. His stay there was but a short one, his fitness and preparedness for the work being soon demonstrated ; and arrangements were quickly made for his appointment to a sphere of labour. For some time he was in uncertainty as to his destination, and writing to his friend Mr. Clunie, on July 31st, he says : — " My future destination is altogether unknown to me. It is in agitation to send a mission to China. Mr. Bogue seems quite fond of it. I have had some thoughts of going into the interior of Africa, to Timbuctoo. I give up my concerns to the Lord. I hope He will open a door of useful missionary labour in some part of the world, and give me souls for my hire." At the same time also he wrote to his sister Hannah : " It is in agitation to send me on a mission to China ; however, it is altogether uncertain as yet. I have thought of going to Timbuctoo, in Africa. I hope the Lord will carry me out to some situation where He will make me abundantly useful to the souls of men." The references to Timbuctoo may be explained by the fact that the brave but unfortunate traveller, Mungo Park, was at this time contemplating the formation of an English settlement there. It was in deliberation to send a medical gentleman, Mr. Anderson, to Africa, and a clerical missionary with him. Mr. Morrison seems to have been anxious to 6o ROBERT MORRISON. go; but the Committee of the Society designed him for other work, and at first were disposed to send him to Prince of ^VaIes' Island, in the Malacca Straits. He was not left long in uncertainty as to his destination, but was appointed to China, and directed to turn his atten- tion to gaining an elementary knowledge of the Chinese language, with the object of qualifying himself to translate the Bible into that tongue. Mr. Morrison ever firmly be- lieved that the appointment to China was providential. He had made his appointment a matter of special and prolonged prayer, and had even poured out a supplication that for lofty self'forgetfulness was truly apostolic — viz., "That God would station him in that part of the missionary field where the difficulties were the greatest, and, to all human appear- ance, the most insurmountable." The sequel seems to show that this prayer was certainly answered. The idea which was in the mind of the Committee in making the appointment, was that the agent selected should proceed to China, either seeking a residence in the country itself, or finding a refuge on one of the adjacent islands, and should there obtain a knowledge of the language, and pro- ceed with a translation of the Biljle. More than this was not contemplated just then ; when it was accomplished, the next step was to be considered. The design of the Committee also included the appoint- ment of two or three others to accompany Mr. Morrison ; and a son of the celebrated Rev. Dr. John Brown, of Haddington, was actually selected, but he declined the invitation. Then Dr. Vanderkemp was requested to leave Africa, and proceed to China to superintend the mission. This also came to nothing. Evidently Providence was directing the movements of the Society by unrecognisable means. As we look backwards from our standpoint to-day, it seems quite evident that if a company of agents had gone to China, they would have drawn towards themselves the virulent opposition of the ruling powers, and rendered all PREPARATION FOR THE GREAT irORK. 6 1 efforts to obtain an introduction for the Gospel unavailing. The appointment of Mr. Morrison therefore remained, no companion being found to share with him the trials and responsibilities of the enterprise. In August 1S05 he left Gosport, and proceeded to London, that he might gain some useful knowledge in astronomy and medicine, and also that he might gather up as much knowledge of the Chinese language as was there practicable. • He walked St. Bartholomew's Hospital, and attended a course of lectures on medicine given by IJr. Blair. He went to Greenwich, and studied astronomy under Dr. Hutton. He resided in Bishopsgate Street, and walked to and from Greenwich, carrying his various mathe- matical and other instruments, and reading the whole of the way. He also engaged the services of a Chinese teacher then residing in London, called Yang-Sam-Tak. This man was possessed of some learning, but was of a most im- petuous, passionate, and proud spirit. Mr. Morrison was greatly tried by his fierce and domineering temper ; but he bore with him with marvellous patience, for the sake of attaining his great object, and also for the sake of the man himself, whose spiritual welfare he greatly coveted. On one occasion Mr. Morrison burnt a piece of paper on which Sam had written some characters. He had committed them to memory, and had no more use for them; but such was his teacher's indignation, that for three days he refused to con- tinue his instructions; and to avoid similar offence, his pupil afterwards wrote on a piece of tin, from which he could rub out the characters when they were no longer needed. It is gratifying to know that Sam was so far won by the kindness and patience of his pupil, as to join him in reading the Scriptures, and also to unite in the worship of the house- hold — a thing he had previously regarded with scorn. In after life he obtained, through INIr. Morrison's inlluence, an excellent situation in the warehouse of a merchant at liong Kon.Lr. 63 ROBERT MORRISON. In the British Museum a manuscript had been discovered by the Rev. W. Moseley, Congregational minister of Long Buckby, Northamptonshire, which contained the principal portion of the New Testament translated into the Chinese language. It was a folio volume, and by mistake had been lettered, Evangelia Qiiatuor Siiiice. On a blank leaf at the beginning of the volume is this note : " This transcript was made at Canton in 1737 and 1738, by order of Mr. Hodg- son, who says it has been collated with great care, and found very correct. Given to him by Sir Hans Sloane, Bart., in 1739." Mr. Moseley was incited by this discovery to pub- lish a treatise on " the importance and practicability of translating and publishing the Holy Scriptures in the Chinese language." After Mr. Morrison had acquired some famili- arity with Chinese characters, he commenced to transcribe this MS., and also a MS. Latin and Chinese Dictionary, which was possessed and lent to him by the Royal Society. By extraordinary application, he copied these 1\ISS. in the few months of his residence in London, besides pursuing with ardour the other studies previously mentioned, and engaging in many works of practical benevolence. Speak- ing of these endeavours to prepare himself for his work, Ur. Milne says : " What was acquired of the language proved afterwards of trifling utility. The Dictionary and the Harmony of the Gospels were more useful. These were originally the work of some of the Romish missionaries in China. By vi'hat individuals, or at what time, these works were compiled, has not been ascertained; but Pro- vidence has preserved them to be useful, and the just merit of their authors will doubtless one day be reckoned to them." During this period of preparation his mind was deeply concerned for the salvation of his brothers and sisters, and their children. He wrote many letters to them, overflowing with affection and desire for their welfare. Lie paid a fare- well visit to them in July. His friends gathered round him, PREPARATION FOR THE GREAT WORK. 63 and manifested such attachment to him as greatly to try his resolution, although without in any degree shaking it. He spent a fortnight amongst them, preaching thirteen times, and visiting all his friends and acquaintances, going down also to Edinburgh and Glasgow. Then he returned to London, and prepared for his departure. On October 23rd he wrote to his father : "I met the Directors on Tuesday last, when it was agreed by the Committee that I should proceed by the first conveyance to Madras, thence pass on to Malacca, there leave my luggage, and pay a visit to Canton, to see whether or not I can settle there. If I can, I will send to Malacca for my books ; and if not, I shall return and take up my residence at IMalacca, where there are a few thousands of Chinese, and where I shall endeavour to learn the language, and also, as soon as I can, preach the Gospel to the Malays." Again, on December 23rd, he wrote to his brother Thomas : "" I hoped when I wrote to you last that ere this time I should have been on my way to China. It was fully the intention of our friends that it should have been so ; but, owing to the indisposition of Messrs. Hardcastle and Cowie, the necessary steps were delayed. You must understand that none of our missionaries can go out to India in an English vessel, without the express leave of the East India Company. Their leave was solicited for the Baptist missionaries, who are now at Serampore, near Calcutta, and they refused it. Our missionaries who are now in India went out in foreign neutral vessels. Our Society never asked their leave, but now think of doing it for me." The permission, however, could not be obtained. A passage was secured for him and two fellow-students — Messrs. Gordon and Lee, who, with their wives, were about to proceed to other portions of the mission field — in the good ship Reiiiittance to New York, whence he would pro- ceed to Canton direct or by way of India, as might seem most fitting on his arrival in America. 64 ROBERT MORRISON. His feelings at the near prospect of bidding farewell to home and fatherland may be judged by the following words from his journal under date January 2nd, 1807 : — "This is one of the most important periods of my life. O Lord ! ' except Thy presence go with me, carry me not up hence.' May the blessing of God Almighty accompany me. May the angel of His presence go before me. I feel not much cast down. I endeavoured this evening to re- collect some of the promises on which I hope. ' Fear not, for I am with thee,' came into my mind ; and again, ' Fear not, thou worm Jacob.' I hope to be enabled to lean always and only on the arm of God ; none else can hold me up." He was ordained and consecrated to his sacred and apostolic work on January 8th, 1807, in the Scotch Church, Swallow Street, in company with the two missionaries above named. Prayer, reading of the Scriptures, and exhortation were conducted by the Rev. T. Townsend ; questions were proposed to the missionaries by the Rev. G. Burder, D.D. ; the band of missionaries made a confession of the solemn truths they thereliy undertook to teach the heathen, and then a dedicatory prayer was offered by the venerable and venerated pastor of Mr. Morrison, the Rev. Dr. Waugh, accompanied by the laying on of hands ; then the Rev. Dr. Nicol delivered an affecting charge from Acts xx. 17-27, and the Rev. C. Buck concluded with prayer. It was a deeply touching and impressive service, and was long remembered by those present, not only because of the memorable addresses and prayers of the venerable brethren, but even more by the simple and natural statement by Mr. Morrison of his experience and faith. His letters to his father, his brothers, and sisters, on bidding farewell to England, overflow with affectionate feeling, especially regarding those who had not become Christians. Thus he wrote to his sister Hannah : " My dear, dear Hannah, do think of your soul now; set heaven PREPARATION FOR THE GREAT Il'ORK. 65 and hell and a dying Saviour before you. My brotherly love to )-our dear partner; tell him these things from ine. Low down together, and call upon (Sod with tears, and for the sake of Jesus ask for mercy. I hoi)e to go to-morrow, or Wednesday morning at the latest, to Gravesend, to embark for New York. I am in good health, and am not depressed ; I sorrow to leave you all, but I do hope and pray (oh, God grant it !) that we shall in a little time be brought to glory everlasting. But, dear sister Hannah, I stand in doubt of you lest you should be in an unconverted state. Forgive me, forgive me ; it is not in harshness but in love for your precious soul that I speak. Come to Jesus ; come to Jesus. There is nothing worth attending to till that be done." The intensity of this pleading shows the spirit of a true evangelist and missionary. In his farewell letter to his father he gives the following particulars as to the arrangements made for his voyage and settlement : " I have letters of introduction to a great many Christian friends in New York who will endeavour to obtain for me a residence in the American Factory in Canton. The Society puts into my hand ^150 in dollars, which I am to keep untouched till I arrive in China, as I have my passage paid. I have, moreover, ;^2o for current expenses. They give me likewise letters of credit to the amount of ;j£2oo on persons in Canton, Malacca, and Prince of Wales' Island. I am instructed to act very much as circumstances may arise, and to provide either in whole or part for myself if I possibly can. Thus you see that there is not any care wanting, but every precaution that can be is taken." Mr. Morrison proceeded to Gravesend, and embarked in the ship which was to convey him across the Atlantic. His feelings were profoundly stirred. He wrote : " I am alone; to go alone. Oh that I may not be alone ; but that the good hand of my God may be upon me, and the angel of His presence go before me I What is my object in leaving friends and country ? My object was at first, and I trust 5 66 ROBERT MORRISON. Still is, the glory of God in the salvation of poor sinners. Oh for faith in God ! Oh for strong confidence in the great and precious promises ! " On Saturday, January 31st, he went on board, and sailed out of the river on his way to his chosen sphere and calling. CHAPTER VI. INITIAL LIFE AND WORK IN CHINA. ''There is no substitute for thorough-going, ardent, and sincere earnestness." — Dickens. "Prayer and painstaking will accomplish everything." — John Eliot. AFTER leaving Gravesend, the ship Remittance, con- taining Mr. Morrison and his fellow-missionaries, who were bound for the mission field in India, was detained in the Downs waiting for a fair wind. On February 7th, 1807, a tremendous storm raged, which occasioned great destruction of shipping, so that a number of vessels were sunk, and many driven on the shore. Out of a large fleet which was anchored in the Downs, the Remittance was the only one that was able to pursue the voyage. It was indeed a serious time. Mr. Morrison wrote as follows concerning it )n the 19th : — " God has preserved us. Yesterday morning I hoped to have sent this letter on shore by the pilot, but the gale came on so suddenly that he could not leave the ship. Before daylight our anchor snapped in two, our mizen and fore sails split, and we scudded down the Channel under bare poles. The sea ran mountains high, and the atmo- sphere was so thick with snow that we could not see the 68 ROBERT MORRISON. lenc,th of the ship around us. In the midst of our extremit)', an alarm was raised that the ship was on fire owing to the bursting of some bottles of vitriol. The pilot and one of the men leaped into the mizen-chains in order to jump overboard — which was to cast themselves into the arms of death — as they preferred death in that form to being burnt to death. Happily, however, the other men had courage enough to seize the bottles and push them overboard. My mind, in the midst of this, was only exercised in casting my burden upon the Lord." After a long, tedious, and trying voyage, Mr. Morrison at length reached NCw York on April 20th, and at once took steps to secure a passage to Canton. He obtained inter- course with several of the leading Christian ministers and laity of the city, and then proceeded to Philadelphia, in order to o1;)tain, if possible, from the Government the interest and protection of the United States Consul at Canton. There he found friends, who used their utmost influence at Washington, and succeeded in obtaining a letter from Mr. Maddison, then Secretary of State, addressed to Mr. Carrington, the Consul at Canton, requesting him to do all he could, consistently with the interests he repre- sented, to further the designs of the mission. He had great difficulty in procuring a passage to China. There was only one vessel bound for India, and the captain, apprehending difficulty with the British Government, absolutely refused to take any passenger. Another was bound for China, but the owners demanded one thousand dollars for the passage. At last a gentleman, to whom h| had been introduced by Dr. Mason, a leading clergyman of New York, arranged for him to sail in the Trident, com- manded by Captain Blakeman, who kindly offered to take him to Canton, only charging him for the amount of his stores. The gentleman at whose house Mr. Morrison was enter- tained in New York communicated, many years afterwards. INITIAL LIFE AND WORK IN CHINA. 69 a paper to the Observer, which narrated many interesting particulars in reference to this visit. A few extracts from this paper will throw further light on the character of Mr. Morrison, and the spirit in which he anticipated entering upon his work. The writer says ; — " I shall never forget the evening on which the Missionary Company was brought to my house by Dr. Mason. The appearance of a Missionary of the Cross then was a rare thing, and that of a company of missionaries still more so. The countenance of Morrison bore the impress of the effect of grace on a mind and temperament naturally firm and somewhat haughty. His manner was civil rather than affable, serious and thoughtful, breathing a devoted piety. The interview was solemn, but pleasant. Strangers born on different sides of the Atlantic, there was but one bond between us, yet the Divine nature of that ' mystic tie ' was speedily recognised as Christian communion unlocked the hidden treasures of the heart ; and when, at the close, we bowed our knees in social prayer, the tears which fell on every side were witness to that strange affection to an unseen Being, and all who love Him, which knows nothing of oceans or separating mountains, nothing of distance or of time. " In a day or two after Mr. Morrison was seized with sudden indisposition. As I sat by his bed, he took my hand, and, adverting to the uncertain issue of the attack, expressed, in language which told of a mind at ease and prepared for every event, his resignation to the Divine will. After urging me to greater devotedness to the cause of Christ's glory, he closed with these words, which I after- wards found were ever on his lips, ' Dear brother, look up, look up ! ' " As the notice had been very short, he was placed for the first night in our own chamber. By the side of his bed stood a crib, in which slept my little child. On awaking in the morning, she turned, as usual, to talk to her mother. 7© ROBERT MORRISON. Seeing a stranger where she expected to have found her parents, she roused herself with a look of alarm ; but, fixing her eyes steadily upon his face, she inquir\5,d, ' Man, do you pray to God ? ' 'Oh yes, my dear,' Mr. Morrison replied, ' every day. God is my best friend.' At once reassured, the little girl laid her head contentedly on the pillow and fell fast asleep. She was a great favourite with him ever after. " There was nothing of pretence about Morrison. An unfriendly critic might have said he was too proud to be vain ; a Christian would more willingly have said he was too pious to be proud. Nothing could be more plain, simple, and unceremonious than his manners. His fellow- missionaries looked up to him as a father, resorted to his room for prayer, and took his advice in all their movements. He exhibited less of the tenderness of the Christian than they did; his piety had the bark on, theirs was still in the green shoot. His mind stood firm, erect, self-determined ; theirs clung to it for support, and gathered under its shadow for safety. ... I will only add a brief notice of the parting scene as he left us for his destination. On the morning he sailed, his missionary companions assembled in his room, and there had a most solemn interview — their last in this world. Poor Gordon was completely overwhelmed. MorrisoM was composed and dignified. He reproved the excessive grief of his brother, and conducted their parting devotions with great firmness and self-possession. We then set out together to the counting-house of the ship-owner, previous to his embarkation. I cannot forget the air of suppressed ridicule which lurked in the merchant's features and in his speech and manner towards Morrison, whom he appeared to pity as a deluded enthusiast, while he could not but secretly respect his self-denial, devotion, courage, and enterprise. When all business matters were arranged, he turned about from his desk, and, with a sardonic grin addressing Morrison, Avhose countenance was a book wherein INITIAL LIFE AND WORK IN CHINA. 71 men might read strange things, said, ' And so, Mr. Morri- son, you really expect that you will make an impression on the idolatry of the great Chinese empire ? ' ' No, sir,' said Morrison, with more than usual sternness ' I expect God will.' We soon left the man of money, and, descending to the wharf, took our last farewell of the future apostle of the Chinese, as he stepped into the stern-sheets of a boat that was to carry him to the ship that lay off in the bay. He said little, he moved less; his imposing figure and solemn \ 'X,\wr countenance were motionless as a statue. His mind was evidently full, too full for speech : his thoughts were with God, and he seemed regardless of all around him. By the return of the pilot I received an affectionate note." He sailed for his destination in the Trident about the middle of May, and reached China in September 1807. No incidents of special interest occurred during the voyage, but he frequently preached on board with great earnestness, and was unremitting both in ministering to the religious welfare of all on board, and in pursuing his own studies. 72 ROBERT MORRISON. He gives a very graphic account of "crossing the line," which iUustrates the rough horseplay which was in vogue amongst the tars of that period. " As we passed the equinoctial line our people went through the ceremony of ducking. Neptune and Amphitrite, most ludicrously dressed, he having an immensely long beard and tail, with a trident in one hand and a speaking trumpet in the other, she clothed in a rough, shaggy .skin, presented themselves in the forecastle. The men who had before crossed the line accompanied the god and goddess, having their trowsers and shirt sleeves rolled up so as to present their legs and arms bare, painted, or rather bedaubed in a most rude manner. Neptune hailed the ship, to which a person answered in the steerage. Advancing with the goddess and their retinue to the quarterdeck, ' I under- stand,' said he, in a hollow, grumbling voice, ' you have some of my children here who have not before passed this way ; bring them out that I may see them ; bear a hand ! ' One was immediately brought, blindfolded, by two con- ductors. Each of them laid a large cudgel on the man's shoulder. Having dragged him before Neptune, they seated him on a half barrel full of water. ' Well, my son,' said the god, ' I am glad to see you pass this way ; you must now hail the line,' putting the trumpet to his lips for that purpose. He cries, ' Line a-ho ! ' at which instant a seaman throws with violence a pail of salt water down the trumpet into the man's mouth. ' Come now, barber, and shave my son,' says Neptune. The man steps forward with a large painter's brush, and bedaubs the man's face and neck with tar or black paint. Amphitrite gives him a cordial — viz., a glass of salt water. An old rusty hoop is then applied to the man's face, and as the tar is scraped off the razor is wiped between his lips. ' Now,' says Neptune, ' you must make some vows to me ; first, you must never eat brown bread when you can get white, unless you like it better.' ' Yes,' answers the man, between whose lips a Initial life and jvokk in china. 73 tarry stick is thrust, tliat lie may, as they say, ' Iciss the boolc.' ' You must never drinlc water when you can get wine or porter ; you must never leave the pump till it sucks ; you must serve as you have been all who come this way.' To each of these the man must reply, and when he opens his lips the tarry stick is thrust into his mouth. Si.x or eight buckets of water are then dashed against him, his seat is removed, and he tumbles down in the dark, almost suffocated, amidst the loud laughter of his shipmates." Half of those on board were thus treated, but fortunately, through the intervention of the captain, Mr. Morrison was spared the ordeal." Before reaching China he called at Macao, an island on the coast about ninety miles from Canton, and which then belonged to the Portuguese Government. Here the East India Company had a Factory, and on landing he was surprised to find there Sir George Thomas Staunton, the President of the Select Committee of the East India Com- pany. He also met Mr. Chalmers, chief of the Factory at Macao, and presented to him a letter of introduction he had brought from Mr. Cowie, one of the Directors of the Missionary Society. Mr. Chalmers welcomed him heartily, and wished him success, but said, " The people of Europe have no idea of the difficulty of residing here or of obtain- ing masters to teach." He told Mr. Morrison that the Chinese were prohibited from teaching the language under penalty of death. He also promised to talk the matter over with Sir George and Mr. Roberts, the chief of the English Factory at Canton. Then Mr. Morrison waited on Sir George, and presented a letter of introduction from Sir Joseph Banks, the President of the Royal Society. Sir George also spoke seriously as to the difficulties of the enterprise, stating that the East India Company forbade any one to stay there, save on account of trade ; but eventually he promised that he would do all in his power . to promote the object Mr. Morrison had at heart. Sir 74 ROBERT MORRISON. George was supposed to be the only Englishman living' who had a proficient acquaintance with the Chinese lan- guage. He was a gentleman of noble spirit, and this introduction ripened into a life-long and ardent friendship between him and the missionary. On his arrival at Canton Mr. Morrison sought an interview with Mr. Carrington, the United States Consul, VIEW OF CANTON. and presented Mr. Maddison's letter. He received a cordial welcome, and was offered a room in the Consul's house, which he gratefully accepted. But as this house was thronged with visitors, he soon removed to another, occupied by INIr. Milnor, where he was more retired, and able also to hve at less expense. This house was part of the old French Factory at Canton, then in charge of Mr. Milnor and his partner Mr. Bull, as super-cargoes. He received INITIAL LIFE AND IVORK IN CHINA. 75 great kindness from these gentlemen, and as an American citizen he remained under their protection. As an Enghsh- man he dared not he known. From Canton he wrote to Sir George Staunton, as follows : " Sir George is most respectfully informed by R. Morrison that he has at present an apartment in the old French Factory at Canton. If Sir George thinks any particular line of conduct necessary for Mr. Morrison to pursue, in order to his being permitted quietly to reside in Canton, to communicate it will be rendering Mr. Morrison an essential service. Mr. Morrison will wait the arrival of Sir George at Canton, before any attempt be made to procure assistance in learning the language." When Sir George came to Canton he at once introduced Mr. Morrison to Mr. Roberts, the chief of the English Factory, and also obtained for him a teacher. This was Abel Yun, a Roman Catholic Chinese from Pekin ; and from this time he devoted himself with extreme diligence to learning the language. It is scarcely possil)le for us to realise the cautious prudence required from Mr. Morrison at this point in his career. One false step must have pre- cipitately closed his career in China, but the difficulties which gathered round him only seemed to fire his zeal and develop the resources of his nature. In writing to the Society he detailed his various movements at great length, and gave utterance to the deep feeling within his breast, in words as follows : " It is a hazardous but not a doubtful enterprise on which ^ye enter — doubtful, I mean, whether we be right or wrong. We shall not have to reproach ourselves for having published the truth of the Gospel amongst ignorant, deluded, guilty men. The n:iissionary of Jesus will have cause to reproach himself that he served not his Lord more fully, but not that he was a missionary. O Calvary, Calvary, when I view the blood of Jesus stream- ing down thy sides, I am amazed at my coldness of affection towards the Lord, of my slothful performance of the duties 76 ROBERT MORRISON. which the authority of God, but shall I say, which the love of Jesus more strongly imposes upon me. Yes, O Father, Thy love in sending Jesus, and, O my Saviour, Thy love in giving Thyself for me, and Thine, O Holy Spirit, in apply- ing the salvation of Jesus to my guilty conscience, unitedly overcome me, and constrain me to live not to myself but to Thee." He gives also an account of the opportunity opened to him of learning the language, a work that must necessarily precede any other step in the direction of the accomplish- ment of his great task. " There are two Chinese who will, I hope, be useful to me ; at present, however, they are so. The name of one is Le Seensang. He possesses considerable knowledge of Chinese, writes an excellent hand, and having obtained one degree as a man of letters, is not so afraid as some of the tradespeople are. The other person, Abel Yun, was sent to me by Sir George. Abel is here the agent of the Romish missionaries at Pekin, a native of Shan-si, where the Mandarin language is generally spoken. A great part of his life (he is about thirty years of age) has been spent with the missionaries at Pekin. They have taught him the Latin language, which he speaks fluently. He came to me to-day, accompanied by another Christian. Being the Lord's Day I could not receive instruction from him. The Vulgate translation of the Scriptures was lying on my table. On his looking at it we entered into conversation respecting its contents. I turned to the fourth Commandment in Exodus, and to the closing verse of the 58th of Isaiah. He read them, explained them to his Chinese friend, and if I understood him rightly, said he had hitherto erred respecting the Sabbath. He alluded with readiness to the discourse of our Lord respecting the Sabbath, when some said that He profaned it by healing on that day." Mr. Morrison's position was a trying one, because of its isolation and uncertainty. He knew that at any moment yS ROBERT MORRISON. he might be ordered to leave the country, and his expenses were very great. His rooms in the Factory cost him 350 dollars a year. His board 400 more. He had to keep a boy, which cost 100 dollars. Then he had the expense of a teacher, candles, furniture, books, and other necessaries, besides which he on several occasions became a prey to the merciless and deceitful covetousness of the natives. He employed a Chinese to buy him a few books in the city, and this person bribed the boy to aid him in defrauding his master, which he succeeded in doing to the amount of thirty dollars. His early impressions of Chinese superstition and idolatry he described to his friend Cuthbert Henderson, at Newcastle, thus : — " By the Lord's good hand upon me I am preserved in health amidst very close application to the Chinese language. I have some opportunities of saying a few things concern- ing Jesus in private conversation, but cannot make myself understood for want of words. I find much difficulty in speaking of God, for the Chinese have no proper idea of one living and true God, and consequently have no words to express such an idea. Your heart, dear Cuthbert, would be grieved to see them falling down prostrate, or on their knees, touching the earth with their foreheads, before large figures in the form of men. Sometimes, instead of a graven iiiiage, they have a painting of a man. The person worship- ping kneels, and on his knees keeps the body erect a short time, then bends forward, and placing his hands on the floor to support his body, brings the forehead into contact with the stones or earth, of one or the other of which their floors generally are. He again raises his body erect, and again bends forward three times. He then stands up for a short time, after which he kneels and goes over the same number of prostrations a second and a third time. To what a low state has sin reduced man ! Why this external adoration of a lifeless image ? Blessed book the Bible, which reveals to man the true God, and which reveals man INITIAL LIFE AND WORK IN CHINA. 79 to himself. Blessed Jesus, who was in the bosom of the Father, and who has declared Him to us." The rooms which Mr. Morrison occupied were called in CIITNESE WORSHIP. Canton a "go down." They were, in fact, simply a base- ment story, and had been commonly used as warehouse roomsT In these he studied, ate, and slept. In order that 8o ROBERT MORRISON. he might attract less attention, he adopted the dress, food, and habits of the natives. He wore a pig-tail and loose dress, he ate with chopsticks, he allowed his nails to grow long. So closely did he devote himself to study, and so Httle did he eat, that in a short time his health failed, and his life was in serious peril. Without questioning the excellence of his intentions, the wisdom of some of these steps he himself afterwards doubted, as the following lines from Dr. Milne's "Retrospect of the First Ten Years of the Chinese Mission,"* which was mainly prepared from an account written by Mr. Morrison himself, will show : — " At first he supposed it would greatly facilitate his object to live in the manner of the natives ; and under this idea he supplied himself with such articles as are commonly used by the Chinese in dress and at meals; but he shortly perceived that the idea was erroneous. To make himself remarkable in external appearance would have been pro- claiming to the Chinese that he was not in circumstances similar to those of other foreigners at Canton, and that he had objects different from those of commerce, which is the only one sanctioned by the local and general authorities. Again, as religion does not consist in the form or colour of one's dress, he not only declined assuming a native dress, but also did not make a point of being always dressed in black ; the white jacket and straw hat were worn, as other Europeans do in warm chmates. Whatever may be be- coming in other countries, in those places where the Governments are averse to the diffusion of Christianity, all external distinctions of this kind had much better be laid aside by missionaries ; let piety towards God and benevolence towards men be the characteristics which dis- tinguish them. " At first, as above observed, he ate in the Chinese manner, and dined with the person who taught him the language. His mode of living was rigidly economical. A * Pages 64, 65. INITIAL LIFE AND WORK IN CHINA. 8i lamp made of earthenware supplied him with light ; and a folio volume of Matthew Henry's Commentary, set up on its edge, afforded a shade to prevent the wind from blowing out the light. He did not find, however, that dining with a native increased his knowledge of the language ; in the time of taking a hasty meal little advantage was gained. The same reason which led him to pare his nails, cut off his hair, and give away his Chinese dress, induced him to desist from being singular in his manner of eating also. His nails were at first suffered to grow that they might be like those of the Chinese. He had a tail {i.e., a tress of hair) of some length, and became an adept in the use of chop-sticks. He walked about the Hong with a Chinese frock on, and with thick Chinese shoes. In this he meant well ; but, as he has frequently remarked, w^as soon con- vinced that he had judged ill." Soon after his settlement in Canton he attempted to hold public worship in his rooms, and invited a few American and English gentlemen to attend. He had much dis- couragement and disappointment in the effort. In order to conciliate some who were members of the Church of England, he made use of the Liturgy ; but he found, to his sorrow, that residence in a heathen land too often fostered indifference to Divine worship, rather than imparted a greater desire for it. From the commencement of his residence in China Mr. Morrison strove to induce his native teachers and servants to observe the Sabljath. He, of course, gave up all work on that day, and engaged in private or public worship, as he had opportunity, and thus set them an example which he hoped would produce a happy result. When he could induce them to stay with him he got them to read the manuscript copy of the Harmony he had prepared in London, giving exposition and application of it as he had the opportunity. He tried also to get them to unite with him in singing and prayer. Although he did not make 6 82 ROBERT MORRISON. these efforts in vain they were not crowned with the success they deserved. As Mr. Morrison became more accustomed to his posi- tion, he removed from the small and unhealthy "go down" which he occupied, and rented a building called "The Factory," which had been occupied by the French, but which was offered to him by Mr. Parry. He had here EATTNG WITH CHOP-STICKS. more room and convenience, and here he resided till he was obliged to leave Canton by reason of failing health. His character and pursuits began to draw towards himself the attention and friendship of the leading foreigners in Canton. Mr. Roberts, the chief of the English Factory, showed increasing disposition to further both his literary studies and missionary aims ; Mr. Ball, another leading ejiiployc of the East India Company, also offered him con- siderable sympathy; the Hon. J. Elphinstone sent him a present of a Latin-Chinese Dictionary, valued at ^50 ; INITIAL LIFE AND WORK IN CHINA. 83 and Dr. Pearson, the medical attendant of the Company, offered to him and his family the most efficient and con- siderate attention for twenty-five years. Above all, Sir George Staunton showed himself a friend indeed, and in every need, as long as he lived. The anxieties of his situation, and his unremitting appli- cation to study without sufficient air and exercise, so told upon his strength, that he was unable to walk across the room. His physician advised a change of air, and by the agency of the gentlemen just referred to a residence was obtained for him at Macao, where he removed on June ist, in a condition of great mental depression. There is no doubt that his desire to economise the funds of the Society led him to exercise a measure of self-denial that must have been injurious to the strongest constitution. But as to his mission he maintained a firm spirit, and "bated not one jot of heart or hope, but still held on most bravely." He remained at Macao till the end of August 1808, studying with his Chinese assistants, and his health im- proved so much that he was able to return to Canton. In November political difficulties arose, which led to all Englishmen being commanded to leave the city. He remained for a brief period on board ship, and then returned to Macao, where he took up his residence in his old quarters. A few days afterwards Low Hiien, one of his teachers, ventured also to Macao, but he was in great peril from his countrymen, who were strongly opposed to any Chinese residing with foreigners. A few days after Mr. Morrison's arrival at Macao, a young gentleman called upon him to say that his father, Dr. Morton, had a letter for him from the Rev. Mr. Loveless, an event which had a very serious influence upon his future. He invited Mrs. Morton and family to come to his house, and unite with him in social prayer. On the following Sabbath the whole family spent the day with him, and imited in Divine worship. The young man, William 84 ROBERT MORRISON. Morton, manifested great desire for tlie salvation of his soul, and Mr. Morrison entertained hopes that he might Lie induced to give himself to missionary work altogether. The loneliness of his position was greatly relieved by inter- course with this Christian family, and between Miss Morton and himself there soon sprang up a warm attachment, which, by-and-by, culminated in their marriage. She was led by Mr. INlorrison to give herself entirely to God's service, and he thus became the instrument of her salvation. CHAPTER VII. PERSECUTIOX.—LONGING FOR SUCCESS. " Some men live near to God, as my ris^ht arm Is near to me ; and thus they walk abont, Mailed in full proof of faith, and bear a charm That mocks at fear, and bars the door on doubt, And dares the impossible." — Blackie. DIFFICULTIES as to Mr. Morri.son's continued resi- dence a.s a missionary at Macao, or in any part of China, increased around him so seriously that he resolved to leave and proceed to Penang, and there con- tinue his study of the language until his way to re-enter China was open. He made preparations for his departure, when Providence interfered to arrest his flight. The opposition arose from the jealousy of the Chinese and the enmity of the Roman Catholic missionaries combined, and in addition to this, decided opposition was displayed by some of the chief emplnycs of the Factories, ^^'hat, there- fore, must have been his surprise when, on the very day of his marriage to INIiss Morton, February 20th, 1.S09, he received a request to become the official Translator of Chinese for the East India Compan)', at a salary of p/^ 500 per annum. If any fact could testify to his proficiency in the language and to the prudence and consistency of his 86 ROBERT MORRISON. character, this does so in the most ample way. This offer decided his destiny, and to a great extent the future of Christian missions in China. There was no need now to embark for Penang ; Macao or Canton were both open to him for residence and for pursuing the great enterprise of his hfe. Mr. Morrison had so far succeeded in obtaining a knowledge of the language, that he had prepared a Chinese Vocabulary, made considerable progress with his Anglo- Chinese Grammar and Dictionary, besides having given much attention to the translation of the New Testament, which he was slowly preparing. He was, however, greatly troubled by the capriciousness and ill-temper of his Chinese assistants. One of them, when Mr. Morrison was alone one evening, tore his coat from his back, and was proceed- ing to assault him, when his master called some gentlemen in the neighbourhood to his assistance. Yang-Sam-Tak, who had come out to China, and had been engaged to teach him, sent away his other two helpers, and gave him intense distress by his violent temper and his high-handed doings. Still he did not venture to resent this ill-treatment, or he might have been left without a teacher altogether. On the contrary, he bore with them, prayed with them, expounded the Word of Life to them, and yearned night and day for their salvation. Then his house was a miserable one. The roof fell in; but he would still have clung to it, only the landlord raised the rent by one-third, because his house, he said, had been turned into a chapel. Therefore Mr. Morrison had to seek another residence. .So afraid vfas he of being noticed by the people of Macao that he never walked out, much to the injury of his health. The first time he ventured to walk into the fields, skirting the town, was on a moonlight night, in company with his two teachers. Indeed, his standing in Macao was so precarious that he was strained with continual anxiety lest by any step he should bring about his dismissal. This PERSECUTION.— LONGING FOR SUCCESS. 87 severe mental tension occasioned a renewal of torturing headaches, to which he was constitutionally prone, and sulijectcd him to other attacks of illness. His marriage with Miss Morton also added to his other trials, as her health began to fail shortly after their union, and she became a permanent invalid. One more disappointment came to try him. His brother4n-law, William Morton, was obliged to relinquish his studies, give up the calling of a missionary, and seek a more favouraljle climate by reason of his delicate health. The offer which came to him from the East India Com- pany was undoubtedly a great relief to his mind. In accepting it he had the full approval of the Directors of the London Missionary Society. There are some who have blamed him for accepting an office of a civil character, and the functions of which were outside of his sacred calling as a Missionary of the Cross. But such do not seem to thoroughly grasp the difficulties of his situation. In entering on these duties Mr. Morrison saw at once that he would have new facilities afibrded him of becoming familiarised with the language, that he would be able to remain in the country, and that he would not be burdensome to the Society ; whilst he would be able to discharge fully his duties to the Company, and still give the major portion of his time to the work of his life. The course of events fully justified the step taken. By becoming an employe of a great, wealthy company, he would be protected at once from the hostility of the natives and the Romish emissaries. The steps he took to make known the Gospel to the Chinese were necessarily of the most quiet and limited character. Indeed, to preach publicly had never been the purpose of the Society until the conditions of things should entirely alter in China. Still, Mr. Morrison could not rest without doing something to make known the way of salva- tion to the heathen around him. His own teachers and servants were his first hearers. On the Sabbath, the 88 ROBERT MORRISON. Harmony of the Gospel in Chinese, which he had taken out with him, was read. The enormous difficulties to an Englishman of learning the language made it for a long time impossible for him to give any fair view of Christianity, or to argue with the Chinese as to their false systems. But the effort was made ; one or two, sometimes from four up to ten Chinese, would be gathered in an inner apartment, and the door securely locked ; then the opportunity would be afforded to the missionary of declaring his message. For a long time this was done without any cheering result to encourage or reward his faith. At the end of 1810 he wrote to his friend the Rev. John Clunie, describing his progress and position, as follows : — " I have experienced since I wrote to you a considerable share of affliction ; not indeed in my own person, but in the person of my dear Mary. A nervous disease strongly agitates body and mind ; she is, I thank the Lord, now somewhat better, and I hope will recover her former health and peace. Affliction in a foreign land lies doubly heavy ; no kind rela- tives to assist, no Christian friend to cheer. The mind in perfect peace will, I know, sustain any deprivation, or merely bodily calamity, but ' a wounded spirit who can bear ? ' My daily occupations are the same as when I last wrote to you in the beginning of this year. I believe I was then in Canton. I continued there till March, carrying on a dis- cussion with the Chinese Government respecting the alleged murder of a Chinaman. I obtained great hiat by the public examination of the witnesses ; everybody was astonished that in two years I should be able to write the language and converse in the Mandarin and vulgar dialects. In conse- quence of that, three of the Company's servants determined to begin the study of the Chinese language, and I have during the summer been a regular Chinese tutor. In addi- tion to these three, a gentleman who has been twenty years in the country attended ; these remained two hours every day, and my fifth pupil, a Dutch youth, remained all the PERSECUTION.— LONGING FOR SUCCESS. 89 day. Throuij;!"! the summer I have had much translation to do for the Company, and frequent conferences with tlie Mandarins ; neither the one nor the other, I am sorry to say, was amicable. The Mandarins are extremely haughty, overbearing, and clamorous ; sometimes three or four of them will speak at the same time, and as loud as if they were all scolding. My tutor Ko Seen-siing yet continues with me, and also my assistant Low Heen. I employed him to get one thousand copies of the Acts of the Apostles printed in Chinese, and he connived at my being charged twenty-five or thirty pounds more than the proper price. He told me so this evening, and confessed his fault. It grieves me very much, as I cannot now trust him. It is very desirable to have persons in whom we can place entire confidence, but that is not the case with the Chinese. A want of truth is a prevailing feature in their character ; hence mutual distrust, low cunning, and deceit," It was shortly after this that the translation of the Acts of the Apostles just referred to was published. One thousand copies were printed. The charge for printing was exorbi- tant, amounting to about half a dollar per copy, the price at which the whole of the New Testament was afterwards printed. But, as it was considered to be a prohibited book, some risk was incurred by the printers, and they expected to be pro- portionately compensated, besides that the Chinese thought themselves at liberty to impose in any way open to them upon the foreigner. Three ambassadors from the Islands of Lekyo, who had come with tribute to China, had copies presented to them on their landing, and the book was cautiously circulated at every opportunity. Mr. Morrison next prepared a tract, called Shin-taou, or the Divine doctrine concerning the Redemption of the World. This was printed, and one thousand copies issued. Then he translated the Gospel of St. Luke, which was also printed. He also composed a Catechism to put into the hands of inquirers. At this time the authorities of China evidently 90 ROBERT MORRISON. began to be disturbed at the promulgation of other religious views than those long estalilished in the empire, and an imperial edict was issued prohibiting the teaching of Chris- tianity, and four Roman Catholics were expelled from Peldn. These steps rendered I\Ir. Morrison additionally cautious as to his next movements. His Chinese Grammar had been ready for some time, but he found it difficult to obtain its publication. He submitted it to Sir George Staunton, who wrote his most cordial approval of it in these words : — " I return you the Chinese Grammar with many thanks for the perusal. I am happy to congratulate you on a work which will prove, both in regard to its plan and its execution, a most valualile acquisition to the student of the Chinese language. He will no longer be imder the hard necessity of working his way through the ponderous volumes of Four- mont, Boyer, and others ; and which, after all, are often very inaccurate and defective. I hope therefore you will soon proceed to the press." The Grammar was sent by Mr. Roberts to Lord Minto, the Governor-General of India, in order that it might be printed. For some reason, never explained, it was kept back nearly three years ; then it was printed at the Serampore Press, in 1S15, at the expense of the East India Company, and was of signal service to many who hitherto had found the acquisition of the language a task too difficult for them. Several important events in relation to Mr. Morrison's domestic and family affairs transpired in the year 18 12. His good and pious father died; two of his brothers also passed away ; and he was cheered by the birth of a daughter, and the prospect of imp)rovcd health to his afflicted partner. As Sir George Staunton had been withdrawn from China, Mr. Morrison's official duties became much more responsible, and his salary was increased to a thousand pounds a year, with allowances for teachers, a place at the public table, PERSECUTION.— LONGING FOR SUCCESS. 91 and other privileges. His services were represented as being of the highest value, and the Honourable Court of Directors, when asked to sanction the appointment which had been made by the Select Committee, gave " a kind of consent to it." The meaning of this apparently tardy consent was that the Directors of the East India Company, both in England and in China, considered it a visionary enterprise to attempt the conversion of the Chinese to Christianity, and also feared that such efforts might be opposed to the commercial interests of the Company. But the prudent and unostentatious, though invaluable labours of Mr. ]\'Ior- rison, won their esteem and admiration, and led them to treat him with great coniidence. He now gave himself with renewed enthusiasm to the preparation of the Anglo Chinese Dictionary — a formidable undertaking, which involved an acquaintance with Chinese classical literature such as no Engh'shman or European had ever possessed. Three copies of his translation of the Acts of the Apostles, which he forwarded to England, aroused the deepest in- terest in the minds of the lovers of missions. The Directors of the London Missionary Society presented one copy to the British and Foreign Bible Society, which liberally voted ^500 towards the printing of the whole Bible in Chinese, when the translation should be complete ; another copy was unstitched, and its leaves distributed amongst the friends of the Society in various parts of the United Kingdom. It seemed to them to be the first demonstrated step towards the eventual conquest by the Gospel of the whole heathen empire, and they rejoiced accordingly. In the same letter that told him of the welcome reception of his translation, the glad tidings were communicated that at last, in response to his frequent and earnest pleadings, a helper had been appointed to come and share his labours. This was Mr. William Milne, a young man of most devoted piety, and of perfect fitness for the work to which he was designated. 92 ROBERT MORRISON. Mr. Morrison's apprehensions were now painfully excited by an edict against Christianity issued by the Emperor. The following extract from his letter to the Society, dated April 2nd, 1812, will show at once his danger and his calm resolution : — " By the last fleet, which sailed about a month ago, I wrote and enclosed you a copy of my translation of the Gospel by Luke, and a Chinese tract on the Way of Salvation, which I hoped would reach you in safety. I now enclose you a translation of a Chinese edict, by which you will see that to print books on the Christian religion in Chinese is rendered a capital crime. I must go forward, however, trusting in the Lord. We will scrupulously obey governments so far as their decrees do not oppose what is required by the Almighty. I will be careful not to invite the notice of Government. I am, though sensible of my weakness, not discouraged, but thankful that my own most sanguine hopes have been more than realised. In the midst of discouragement, the practica- bility of acquiring the language in no very great length of time, of translating the Scriptures, and of having them printed in China, has been demonstrated. I am grateful to the Divine Being for having employed me in this good work ; and should I die soon, it will afford me pleasure in my last moments.' That there was abundant ground for grave fears for the future of Christianity may be seen from the following para- graph from this proclamation : " From this time forward, such European as shall privately print books and establish preachers, in order to pervert the multitude, and the Tartars and Chinese who, deputed by Europeans, shall propagate their religion, bestowing names {i.e., baptising), and dis- quieting numbers shall have this to look to : the chief or principal one shall be executed. Whoever shall spread their religion, not making much disturbance, nor to many men, and without giving names, shall be imprisoned waiting PERSECUTION. -LONGING FOR SUCCESS. 93 for the time of execution, and those who content themselves with following such religion shall be exiled," etc. The Directors of the Society, in publishing the persecuting document, remark : " AVe are pleased to perceive that the mind of our Chinese missionary is undismayed by this edict, and that he is resolved to go on in the strength of the Lord, to whose omnipotent care they cheerfully cominit him, as- sured that the set time to favour China is approaching, when this edict, which will act at present as a most exten- sive proclamation of the publication of the Scriptures and thereby excite the curiosity of the millions of China to peruse them, shall not only be revoked, but followed by another in favour of Christianity." Mr. Morrison was working with great diligence at his work of translating the Scriptures and compiling his Dic- tionary. He had printed most of the Epistles, and also the Gospel of St. Luke, already referred to ; but he found the preparation of the Dictionary a task which severely tested his patience and his resources. To the Grammar, which still lay in the hands of the Company, waiting for their decision as to printing, he added a volume of Dialogues. He became increasingly anxious to see some visible result of his efforts to affect the hearts of those natives to whom he had access, and was greatly cheered by being informed that the life of one person, a Chinese police orderly in Canton, had been reformed through reading the tract pub- lished by him on the Way of Salvation, which tract this person had taken up by chance from the table of a relative. He had been a notoriously bad man — too bad, in the esti- mation of the person who had distributed the tracts, to receive one. The reform in his life was marked by many, but did not result in his becoming a Christian. Other faint signs of success began to brighten before his mind. His Chinese assistants were evidently becoming familiarised with Divine truth, and proportionately became convinced of the sin and absurdity of idolatry. Several 94 ROBERT MORRISON. entries in Mr. Morrison's journal seem to make this evident : — " October i ith. Lord's day. — Discoursed on the parable of the Prodigal Son. My people, as usual, were attentive. In the evening A-Tso read part of the tract, and explained it in a satisfactory manner. He mistook the original right- eousness of man for the time of every one's birth. A-Fo also read it, and attempted to express the sense in his own language, but misunderstood its scope. He proposed to attend on the Lord's days and at the usual times of worship. In the evening I heard the boys repeat their catechism and read a chapter of the Gospel by St. Luke. As usual they were dismissed with prayer. They all appear to feel the absurdity of idol worship. Ko Seen-siing seems ashamed of it. The truth appears to have enlightened him in some degree. I asked him some time ago if any of his country- men with whom he was acquainted affirmed that there is no God. He did not give a direct answer, but said ; ' How can any affirm it, when the heavens and the earth and all things were made by Him ? ' Ko Seen-sang is a man forty- five years of age. His father was a Mandarin of some rank. He is of a mild and amiable disposition, of good natural parts, and has been accustomed all his life to teach. Low Heen is about thirty, is mild, but insincere. He writes a good hand, and is very useful in writing lor the press. K5 Scen-sang revises what is translated. They both do their parts without scruple." A-Fo cheered him by apparent increasing earnestness in his inquiries after Scripture doctrine. Ko Seen-siing mani- fested growing interest in sacred subjects ; but the young boys gave him most pleasure and encouragement. One day A-Fo brought him some idols to look at. He desired that his countrymen miglit not be told he had brought them, because they would be extremely angry if they knew of it. They were greatly opposed to selling or parting with their idols, lest they should be insulted. " For my part," said PERSECUTION.— LONGING FOR SUCCESS. 95 A-Fo, " I believe in Yay-soo (Jesus), and hearken to what you say of the vanity of worshipping wooden, clay, and other images." On November 8th, 1S12, A-Fo inquired about baptism, and declared his willingness to be baptised if his brother might not know of it. Mr. Morrison endea- voured to explain to him that if his motive was a prudential one, in order to avoid drawing the attention of the civil authorities to himself, it was allowable ; but if he was ashamed to be known as a Christian, it was not. He re- mained with the missionary after the others had gone for further instruction, and for weeks repeatedly asked him to offer prayer with him and for him. He seemed to be really sincere in his desires for salvation. The Roman Catholic Bishop at Macao issued an anathema against any who had intercourse with Mr. Morrison, or received his books, or supplied him with Chinese books ; but it had no appreciable effect on his work. He reports as to his efforts for the conversion of the natives thus : " I have endeavoured to communicate to a few, by oral instruc- tion, the knowledge of the truth. [Here follow the names of eleven persons.] These have attended with the utmost seriousness and the utmost decorum. In Macao'every Sab- bath day I conducted worship with the above persons. I began by prayer, next read a portion of the Scriptures, some part of that which I have already printed, or some portion translated for the occasion. These I endeavoured to explain and enforce, and then concluded by prayer and singing a psalm or hymn." Another evidence of growing seriousness is afforded in the following extract : — • "December I'&th. — K6 Stien-sang, who has been at home for several days presiding at the marriage of his son, re- turned to day. In the evening he had again to go home. He therefore requested me that I would engage in family prayer sooner, that he might join in it ; for he felt uncom- fortable in his mind from not having engaged for several days. I bless God for this sign of an awakened mind. 96 ROBERT MORRISON. O Lord ! carry it on to complete conversion, through Jesus Christ." It was just now that Mr. Morrison first broached to the Directors of the Missionary Society a project he was some years afterwards able to realise in large measure — viz., the establishment of a Missionary College at Malacca. He says : " I wish that we had an institution in Malacca for the training of missionaries, European and native, and designed for all the countries beyond the Ganges. There also let there be that powerful engine the Press. The final triumphs of the Gospel will be by means of native missionaries and the Bible ; the spring that gives motion to these, under God — European Christians. We want a central point for our Asiatic missions, we want organised co-operation, we want a press, we want a committee of missionaries. Such a com- mittee, being engaged in missionary work in heathen lands, would have means of judging which a person in England who had never removed from his study or his desic could not have. They would know the heart of missionaries. The final decision in every case would yet remain with the body of directors." Mr. Morrison's time was now about equally divided be- tween Canton and Macao. His wife and infant daughter resided at the latter place, and he was under the painful necessity of being separated from them for half of the year. Mr. Elphinstone, the chief of the Company in China, offered him the situation of chaplain, with a salary attached. He did this, he said, with the object of increasing the com- fort of his position, as living at Macao was very expensive. 'J'he offer was that Mr. Morrison should read the Church Service, but not preach. He offered to conduct full service on the Lord's day, but declined the salary. Ho could not accept such a position unless it enabled him to preach the Gospel of Jesus. The arrangements, therefore, were brought to an end. Eresh opposition to the Gospel was manifested at this time in Macao. The Government there was a ■* * ■■infill ^ •"ill'"'^** 'i t m 'if 7 oS ROBERT MORRISON. mixed one, partly Chinese, partly Portuguese. The Chinese ordered that no more Europeans should be allowed to be landed on the island to remain. The Portuguese ordered that no such persons were to be admitted except such as were connected with the European factories. Following in these directions, a proclamation was announced by the Chinese chief magistrate, prohibiting any Chinese from adopting the Christian religion. Under Mr. Morrison's earliest entreaty, the Society in London had determined to establish a mission in Java, in which there were thirty millions of inhabitants, half a million of whom were Chinese, and amongst whom the Scriptures — which were being so rapidly translated and printed — might be freely distributed. ':.^ CHAPTER Vlir. ^ FELLOW-LABOURER. "He holds no parley with unmanly fears ; Where duty bids, he confidently steers, Faces a thousand dangers at her call, And, trusting in his God, surmounts them all." CowrER. IT is impossible to adequately realise the delight of Mr. and Mrs. Morrison when, on July 4th, 1813, being the Sabbath, and just as they were sitting down at the Lord's table, a note arrived with the news that Mr. Milne, the brother missionary long promised and expected, had arrived with his wife at Macao. A more welcome or admir- able fellow-labourer never entered the mission field. It may be convenient at this point to state in a few sentences some- thing concerning his early days and training for the great work. He was born in Aberdeenshire, in Scotland, in 1785. His father died when he was six years old, and his mother gave him such education as was common to boys in humble life. Soon after his father's death he was put under the guardianship of a relative, who neglected his morals, until he became notoriously wicked, especially as a profane swearer. But he was not long to be given up to sin. In 100 kOBERT MORRISON. his early years he attended a Sabbath evening school, which was taught in the neighbourhood of his residence. Here his knowledge of evangelical truth increased, and its value was impressed upon his mind. Sometimes he walked home from the school alone, about a mile over the brow of a hill, praying all the way. At this time he began to conduct family worship in his mother's house ; and he also held meetings for prayer with his sisters and other children in a barn that belonged to the premises. When removed from his home, he was placed in a situa- tion near a very poor man who was rich in faith and holiness. He often went to his house at the hour for family prayer, and united in the worship. After reading the Scriptures, this man was in the habit of expounding them for the instruc- tion of the children, and his remarks deeply interested young Milne, and greatly helped to increase his affection for the Biljle. Religion was presented to him in this household in such an attractive manner, that he was led to make a full and delilierate choice of Christ as his Saviour and Friend. The family in which he lived were not only irreligious themselves, but derided the youth for his piety, making his position most uncomfortable. The only place obtainable for meditation or prayer was a sheep-cote where the flock was kept in the winter, and here, surrounded by animals, he often knelt in prayer, on a piece of turf kept for that purpose. Many hours were thus spent on winter evenings, and here he often had sweet refreshment while the members of his master's household were contriving some fresh morti- fication for his spirit. He read some books at this time which greatly influenced him, especially "The Cloud of Witnesses," and Boston's " Fourfold State." He became a member of the Congregational Church at Huntly, saying on his reception, "What a wonder am I to myself! Surely the Lord hath magnified His grace to me above any of the fallen race." Hours were spent by him every day in prayer for the conversion of the world to Christ ; but it was not till .4 FELLOir-LABOURER. lOI he was twenty years old that he consecrated himself for mission work, and then he had many obstacles in his path. He spent five years in hard labour to make provision foi his widowed mother and sisters ; and when this object was accomplished he at once offered himself to the local com- mittee of the London Missionary Society. On his appearance before the Committee at Aberdeen, he seemed so rustic and unpromising that a cautious member took Dr. Philip aside, and expressed his doubts whether he had the necessary qualifications for a missionary, but he added that he would have no objection to recommend him as a servant to a missionary, provided he would be willing to engage in that capacity. " At the suggestion of my worthy friend," says Dr. Philip, " I desired to speak with him alone. Having stated to him the objection which had been made, and asked him if he would consent to the proposal, he replied without hesitation, and with the most significant and animated expression of countenance, ' Yes, sir, most certainly ; I am willing to be anything, so that I am in the work. To be a hewer of wood and a drawer of water is too great an honour for me when the Lord's House is building.'" He was then accepted by the Committee, and directed to Gosport, where he went through a regular course of training under Dr. Bogue. He says : " I began with scarcely any hope of success, but resolved that failure should not be for want of application. His subsequent course proved that he had both capacity and perseverance to enable him to leave a permanent landmark in the cliffs of time. He passed through his college course with great success. Li July 1S12 he was ordained to the work of the ministry, and dedicated to the service of Christ among the heathen. Shortly afterwards he married Miss Cowie, daughter of Charles Cowie, Esq., of Aberdeen. She was an eminently pious and prudent woman, and contributed greatly to his happiness and usefulness until her death, in 1S19. 102 ROBERT MORRISON. A month after his ordination they embarked at Ports- mouth for China, and having touched at the Cape of Good Hope and the Isle of France, were warmly welcomed at Macao by Mr. and Mrs. Morrison Mr. Morrison says: FTfTi^^ |1^>' f' ^ 11 'I 'If A i' , Li -* \ };^^'^ y MR. AND MRS. MILNE. " I went down immediately to the tavern, about ten minutes' walk from our residence. On the way I lifted up my heart in prayer to God for His blessing and direction in all things. After we recognised each other, Mrs. Milne was sent home in a palanquin, and brother Milne and I called on the A FELLOW-LABOURER. 103 Minister and Governor, according to the custom of the place. They both received us with civiHty, and offered no objection to Mr. Milne at the moment. " The next day I called on Mr. to state that Mr. Milne had arrived, and asked his permission to allow him to remain. He demurred for some time, alleging that no person is allowed to come here — that the object of the English here had been fully stated to be purely mercantile — that the Chinese would disallow a religious establishment, etc. He finally consented to do nothing actively. He would consider Mr. Milne a Chinese student." The following prayer was entered in Mr. Morrison's journal: " Thus far (blessed be the great Disposer of events) the door has been opened. Oh that the Lord's servant may be spared in health, may soon acquire the language of the heathen, and be a faithful missionary of Jesus Christ ! " When the news circulated as to Mr. and Mrs. Milne's arrival, there was excitement both amongst the English and Portuguese. Hostility at once broke forth. The Roman Catholics appealed to the Governor, the Senate met, and it was decreed in full council " that Mr. Milne should not remain." In a few days a messenger from the Governor waited on Mr. Morrison with a message for him to go up to his house. When the missionary arrived, he was coolly received. The following conversation took place: "Does the Padre," said the Governor, "at your house purpose to remain here ? " " Please, your Excellency, for the present, if you please," was the answer. " It is," said the Governor, " absolutely impossible ; he must leave in eight days." Mr. Morrison entreated him on one knee not to persist in this order, but to at least extend the term. The Governor said his orders were not to allow people to remain, that the Senate and the Roman Catholic Bishop had required him to act, that he had been appealed to against Mr. Morrison for publishing books in Chinese at Macao, but from motives of friendship he had forborne to act. Finally, he extended I04 ROBERT MORRISON. liis permission for Mr. Milne to remain eighteen clays. All further efforts in the same direction proved fruitless. On July 2oth Mr. Milne left Macao in a Chinese fast boat. He couid get no legal conveyance, and therefore had to proceed by stealth to Whampoa, thence taking ship to Canton. This treatment on the part of the authori- ties at Macao greatly grieved Mr. Morrison, the more so as an intimation was given him that he ought to surrender his mission work and devote himself exclusively to the affairs of the Company. But they had not properly understood the man if they thought such a thing possible. Mr. Morrison was missionary first and essentially ; he was a servant of the East India Company for its convenience and his own. A few days later he went to Canton, where he found Mr. Milne well, busily engaged with his studies, but in very uncomfortable quarters. Thence he returned to Macao; and on September 30th again arrived at Canton, having just finished the translation of the New Testament in Chinese. He now devoted himself increasingly to the Anglo-Chinese Dictionary, which severely taxed his powers and resources. In the midst of these labours, his position was rendered the more trying by the death of Mr. Roberts, the chief of the English Factory, who had proved a warm friend to him since his arrival in China. The year 1S14 opened with fresh opposition from the Chinese authorities. The Viceroy had reported Mr. Mor- rison to the Government as becoming fully acquainted with the language and customs of the country, and as being the translator of all English official documents which were received by the Government. The Government sent a document denouncing in harsh terms all who were con- cerned in imparting to him any help in the composition of oflScial despatches, and the Viceroy issued an order for their apprehension. Ko Seeng-siing and his son were therefore dismissed and sent to a place of safety. But, on the other hand, the New Testament was printed and A FELLOIV-LABOURER. lo- ready for circulation, so tliat there was the prosiicct of good being done througli its finding a way into the homes of many of the people. Two thousand copies were first printed, which were taken from wooden blocks. From these blocks one hundred thousand copies might have been printed without material damage being done to them. Mr. Morrison also issued simultaneously ten thousand copies of a tract containing an outline of the Christian system, and five thousand copies of a Catechism. It was soon found that Mr. Milne would not be permitted to remain at Canton, and that he must look out for a residence elsewhere. Mr. Morrison therefore addressed to him an earnest letter as to their future steps. He says: "To the attainment of our object under the blessing of God a free and unshackled residence in the heart of China would be the most desirable, but that is at present impracticable. Next to that a residence in the suburbs of Canton or at Macao may seem desirable. Were we at liberty to exercise our missionary functions it would be so, but confined to a room and debarred from free intercourse with the natives, it is not so desirable for the seat of the mission as may at first sight appear. ... As a residence is denied to us here it is ours to fix the Jerusalem of our mission elsewhere. We want a headquarters at which to meet and consult, from which to commission persons to go out on every hand, a home to which to retire in case of sickness or declining years. We want, if it be in the course of Divine Providence, a school for the instruction of Native and European youth ; for the reception and initiation of young missionaries from Europe. It is yours to seek for and found this important station. Perhaps, at Malacca, or Java, an open door may be found." It was therefore settled that Mr. Milne should go through the chief Chinese settlements in the Malay Archipelago with the following objects in view: first, to circulate the New Testament and tracts just published amongst the io6 ROBERT MORRISON. a tens of thousands of Chinese who lived in those islands ; secondly, to seek a quiet and peaceful retreat, where the chief seat of the Chinese mission could be fixed and its labours pursued without the harass- ing persecution of a bigoted and ex- clusive Government ; thirdly, to gather up such information as to populations, etc., as might afford good grounds for deciding as to the best means of pur- suing mission work among them ; and fourthly, to ascertain what opportuni- ties there were of printing a volume of dialogues in Chinese and English to assist other agents in the acquisi- tion of the language. With the pur- poses of his voyage thus defined, Mr. Milne proceeded to visit Java, Ma- lacca, Penang, and other places. During Mr. Milne's absence Mr. Morrison proceeded with his work of publication. He issued in Chinese a pamphlet in which he traced a concise outline of Old Testament his- tory, chiefly relating to the Creation, Deluge, Exodus, giving of the Law, and principal events of the kingdom of Israel. He also translated and printed a selection of hymns to be used in Divine worship ; consisting mainly of psalms rendered from the Scotch version, and the hymns of Watts, Cowper, and Newton, in most '''"'^''^•'^'^- general use at home. So many copies of the New Testament had been required by Mr. Milne for distribution on his travels that a new ^ m ^ ^ % m m w. 5^ -k ^ n ^y^ % 7k '^ m m m # m A^ -4 ^^ ?1 .1 M ^k m m^ M ^ ^ Jf] -\t %f^ li ± ^ ^ m Vi m ^h ik 7^ m ^ m iF # j?p ^ m r^ ^r A FELLOW-LABOURER. 107 edition was quickly called for. The book had been printed in large octavo form, and Mr. Morrison decided to print it in duodecimo, as being more generally convenient. Be- sides, in the critical condition of the Mission, it was of importance to have two sets of blocks, to be kept in different places, so that if one fell into the hands of opponents the other might be in reserve. New wood-blocks were therefore prepared, at a cost of five hundred Spanish dollars,* besides half-a-dollar each copy for printing off. But this cost was greatly increased by the dishonest advantage afterwards taken of Mr. Morrison by the Chinese. The Anglo-Chinese Dictionary now approached comple- tion. Immense labour had been spent upon it, and its publication became a matter of extreme anxiety to Mr. Morrison. It would have been comparatively useless to have remained in manuscript. The expense of transcribing it for the use of other missionaries or the employes of the Company would have been immense. To copy the Dic- tionary prepared previously by Romish missionaries had cost two hundred Spanish dollars, and it was only one-sixth the size of this prepared by Mr. Morrison. The expenses incurred already in gathering up materials for its composition had been very great, and the cost of its publication was alike beyond the means of the author and of the Missionary Society. It was, therefore, with thankfulness and a sense of gracious relief that Mr. Morrison, after much negotiation, obtained from the Company a promise to print it at its expense. At once the Select Committee made arrangements, and shortly afterwards Mr. P. P. Thoms was sent out from England to China, with presses, types, and all requisites for the work, to superintend its publication. The translation of the Old Testament was then in progress, and Mr. Morrison finished the Book of Genesis, which was printed separately at the beginning of i8r5. In the meantime Mr. Milne retuined from his travels. * Then valued at five shillings per dollar. lo8 ROBERT MORRISON. He had visited Java, and received much encouragement and help in his enterprise from the enhghtened and truly Christian Governor, Sir T. Stamford Raffles. After visiting other places he called at Malacca, and was received by Colonel Farquhar, the Resident and Commandant, with great cordiality. This gentleman showed much interest in the project of the missionaries, and proved a warm friend to them in their future operations. On Mr. Milne's return to Canton, it was decided between Mr. Morrison and him- self that Malacca should be adopted as his future residence, and as the base of a new mission. The reasons for this choice were several and very weighty. Malacca was near to China, and there was frequent and easy intercourse between it and all the islands in the Eastern Archipelago, where the Chinese resided in large numbers ; it lay con- venient to Cochin-China, Siam, and Penang ; it was en route between India and Canton, and ships sailing between these places frequently called there. No other place presented such advantages for intercourse and transmission of books, etc. The climate was healthy, and as a mission station it would be a desirable residence for any agents who were ill - or in failing health. Then it was a quiet place, the authori- ties were friendly, Colonel Farquhar cordially so, and here could be established a missionary settlement which should embrace the various and comprehensive scheme which had been seething in Mr. Morrison's soul for many months. A full report of Mr. Milne's expedition, and the suggestions based upon it, were drawn up and transmitted to the Board of Directors in London. On April 17th he had the happiness of having a son born to him, whom he baptised on May ist, in the name of John Robert. His little daughter Rebecca was now about twenty months old. They were both dedicated prayerfully to God's service, and both were permitted to render service to the cause of missions in China. The year 1814 Itrought to Mr. Morrison what was the A FELLOJV-LABOURER. I09 greatest joy he had hitherto exiierienccd in his arduous work. For seven years he had hoped, prayed, scattered the seed of the kingdom, yearning that it might fall into good ground and bear fruit ; but time seemed to pass by only to try his faith and patience more severely. Lut at length he was to be refreshed by having one convert to his prolonged ministry. This was Tsae-Ako, one of his early teachers, and brother of A-Htjen, still employed by him, who now made application for baptism, giving the following confession of faith : — "Jesus making atonement for us is the blessed sound. Language and thought are both inadequate to exhaust the gracious and admirable goodness of the intention of Jesus. I now believe in Jesus, and rely on His merits to obtain the remission of sin. I have sins and defects, and without faith in Jesus for the remission of sins should be eternally miserable. Now that we have heard of the forgiveness of sins through Jesus, we ought, with all our hearts, to rely on His merits. He who does not do so is not a good man. I by no means rely on my own goodness. When I reflect and question myself, I perceive that from childhood until now I have had no strength, no merit, no learning. Till this, my twenty-seventh year, I have done nothing to answer to the goodness of God in giving me existence in this world as a human being. I have not recompensed the kindness of my friends, my parents, my relations. Shall I repine ? Shall I hope in my own good deeds ? I entirely call upon God the Father, and rely upon God for the remission of sins ; I also call upon God to confer upon me the Holy Spirit." The account given by Mr. Morrison of this first convert to Christ by Protestant missions is interesting ; " Ako lost his father when he was sixteen years of age. When he was twenty-one, he came to my house and heard me talk of Jesus, but says he did not understand well what I meant. That was my first year in China. Three years after, when no ROBERT MORRISON. I could speak better and could write, he understood better ; and being employed by his brother in superintending the New Testament for the press, he says that he began to see that the merits of Jesus were able to save all men in all ages and nations, and hence he listened to and believed in Him. " His natural temper is not good. He often disagreed with his brother and other domestics, and I thought it better that he should retire from my service. He, however, continued, whenever he was within a few miles, to come to worship on the Sabbath day. He prayed earnestly morn- ing and evening, and read the Decalogue as contained in the Catechism. He says that from the Decalogue and instruction of friends he saw his great and manifold errors, that his nature was wrong, that he had been unjust, and that he had not fulfilled his duty to his friends or brothers, or other men. His knowledge, of course, is very limited, and his views perhaps obscure ; but I hope that his faith in Jesus is sincere. I took for my guide what Philip said to the eunuch — ' If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest be baptised.' Oh that at the great day he may prove to be a brand plucked from the burning ! May God be glorified in his eternal salvation ! " He writes a tolerably good hand. His father was a man of some property, which he lost by the wreck of a junk in the China seas returning from Batavia. Tsae- Ako, when at school, was often unwell, and did not make so much progress as his brother, A-Heen, who is with me. A-Heen is mild and judicious, but is, I fear, in his heart opposed to the Gospel. His attendance to preaching on the Lord's day is also constant. But insincerity and want of truth are vices which cling to the Chinese character." Tsae-Ako had long been preparing for Christian disciple- ship. A slow, gradual work of grace had been proceeding in his heart, and he had given many proofs of his deep sincerity. Mr. Morrison, with his usual caution, had done A FELLOW-LABOURER. Ill nothing to hasten the final step, save to pray for liim and to instruct him carefully in Divine things. It was with much confidence, therefore, that his confession of faith was received, and he was baptised into the Church of Jesus. In his journal, under date July i6th, 1814, Mr. Morrison thus recorded the baptism : — " At a spring of water issuing from the foot of a lofty hill by the seaside, away from human oliservation, I baptised, in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, the person whose name and character have been given above. Oh that the Lord may cleanse him from all sin by the blood of Jesus, and purify his heart by the influences of the Holy Spirit ! May he be the firstfruits of a great harvest — one of millions who shall come and be saved." Tsae-Ako adhered to his profession of the Gospel until his death, which took place from consumption in 18 ig. Mr. Morrison was not with him at his death ; but he never doubted as to his faith in the Lord Jesus at the last moment. - -^ CHAPTER IX. VISIT TO PE KIN. —COLLEGE AT MALACCA. " Every great and commanding movement in the world is the triumph of enthusiasm." — Emerson. ^r^HE apprehensions which Mr. Morrison had felt as to I the firmness of his position were fully justified by the reception of a letter from the Select Committee of the East India Company, dated October 14th, 1815, which contained the following paragraphs : — " We feci it necessary to acquaint you that the Hon. Court of Directors, having been informed that you have printed and published in China the New Testament, together with several tracts translated into the Chinese language, and having further understood that the circulation of these translations has been effected in defiance of an edict of the Emperor of China, rendering the publisher of such works liable to capital punishment, are apprehensive that serious mischief may possibly arise to the British trade in China from these translations, and have in consequence directed that your present connection with the Honourable Company should be discontinued. The Honourable Court remark at the same time that they nevertheless entertain a very high respect for your talents, conduct, and character, and are fully sensible of the benefits derived from your 114 ROBERT MORRISON. services ; in consideration of which they have directed us to present you with four thousand dollars on the occasion of carrying the orders into effect. " Notwithstanding the tenour of these orders, which we have implicitly communicated to you, we are under so strong an impression of the importance of your services to the affairs of our honourable employers, and so well assured, from our personal knowledge and past experience of your prudence and discretion in forbearing to place yourself in a situation which may be calculated to implicate the national interests through your connection with the Factory, that we have resolved to postpone giving effect to any part of the above instructions until we receive further orders upon the subject." Explanation and vindication on Mr. Morrison's part were offered by him in a voluminous correspondence, in which it became apparent that the local officials of the Company were loath to carry out the decision of the Chief Board ; and in a few weeks such complications arose between the Chinese Government and the Company, that an embassy, headed by Lord Amherst as Ambassador Extraordinary, was despatched from England to the Court at Pekin, to accommodate and arrange the matters in dispute. Mr. Morrison's services as secretary and translator to such an embassy could not be dispensed with, Tind he was requested to accompany the Ambassador to Pekin. For a considerable time Mrs. Morrison's health had caused her husband and friends much anxiety, and her medical adviser strongly urged that she should try a sea voyage and change of climate as means to benefit her. Her husband's presence in China at the particular juncture of circum- stances was deemed too important to be dispensed with, and therefore without him, but with her two children, Mrs. Morrison embarked for England on January 21st, 1815. One more trial was in store for Mr. Morrison during VISIT TO PEKIN.^COLLEGE AT MALACCA. 115 this year. The spirit of religious intolerance was so fully aroused, that the type-cutters engaged in preparing the blocks for the Dictionary were arrested ; and, in alarm, the blocks which had just been completed for the fresh edition of the New Testament and the Book of Genesis, were de- stroyed by the printers to prevent discovery. This was a deep disappointment to the indefatigable and dauntless labourer; but he at once took heart of grace, and set about the preparation of new types. Very soon the intelligence reached him that the British and Foreign Bible Society had made a grant, as liberal as it was timely, of one thousand pounds, which enabled him to have blocks cut, not only for the duodecimo edition of the Testament, but for the Book of Psalms, the translation of which was just complete. In writing to inform him of this grant, the Rev. J. Owen, Secretary of the Bible Society, said : — "Should your translation be, on the whole, a faithful image of the sacred original, and the understanding of the Chinese be opened by its Divine Author to understand and admire it, what an honour will be conferred on your labours, and what blessing will you have been called upon to inherit ! Desirous of participating in that honour and that blessing, the British and Foreign Bible Society has furnished you from time to time with contributions of pecuniary aid, and you may assure yourself that it will continue to assist you in the prosecution of an undertaking so congenial with the object of its appointment and the wishes of its conductors." It may be mentioned here, that a short time before this an English merchant had died in China, and had left Mr. Morrison one thousand pounds for the purposes of his Mission, which sum had been devoted to the printing of the New Testament and other Christian books. Lord Amherst and his attendant officials arrived at Canton in the Alceste on July 13th, 1S16, and look on board Sir George Staunton and IN'lr. Morrison ; then the vessel pro- Il6 ROBERT MORRISON. ceeded on its way till, on July 28th, it anchored at the mouth of the River Peiho. On August 13th they were entertained in the city of Tien-tsin at a great banquet, given by two Imperial Commissioners in the name of the Emperor. Mr. Morrison gives an interesting description of the recep- tion and entertainment. The Imperial Commissioners and the English Ambassadors and Commissioners sat on very low cushions, raised about six inches from the ground, while the suite of the Emperor sat on the ground, on which a red cloth had been placed. On August 20th they all arrived at Tung-chow, a day's journey from Pekin. Here eight days were spent in dis- puting a question of ceremony. It was required of the English Ambassador that, on being brought before the Emperor, he should perform what is called in China " The Ceremony," or San Kwei, Kew Koiv, rendered in English, " Three kncelings and nine knocks of the head." The mode of performing is, that the person introduced to the Emperor kneels on the ground, places his hands when bowing forwards on the floor, and strikes his forehead against the earth thrice ; then the person rises, and, again kneeling down, repeats the performance ; and then, rising once more, repeats the whole a third time. Thus it is the Chinese worship their gods — some by three knocks, others by six, and others by nine, according to the veneration in which they are held. Lord Amherst was not very likely to go through such a foolish and degrading ceremony, and, after prolonged disputes, the Chinese noblemen professed to waive the requirement. On the 29th the company arrived at the Imperial Palace. The hour appointed by the Em- peror for giving audience had arrived. The Ambassador and his suite had travelled all night, were unwashed and unrefreshed, and ill-prepared for the interview with royalty. His lordship therefore pleaded with the nobleman who received him, that the fatigues of the night had been so great that he must beg his Majesty to defer the reception CHINESE EMPEROR. Ii8 ROBERT MORRISON. until the following morning. To effect this, the messengers went into the Emperor and told him the Ambassador was so ill that he could not stir a step. The Emperor graciously permitted him to retire to his lodging, and sent his physician to attend him. The physician did not find Lord Amherst ill, and no doubt made a representation to the Emperor that did untold harm. His Majesty thought he had been imposed upon. A special meeting of the Cabinet was called. No one dared to explain the real fact.s of the case, and an order was issued that the Ambassador should depart immediately. The order was obeyed. The whole party left Pekin the same afternoon, and, after incurring a journey of fifty thousand miles there and back. Lord Amherst had to report a result of nothing. The Emperor afterwards dis- covered the real state of the case, and degraded the Duke, who was brother to the Empress, from all the high offices which he held. Three other persons were also degraded, and an edict was issued in which the Emperor lamented that his courtiers could be so selfishly indifferent to the public welfare. He reproached the Duke's friends, that although they professed great attachment to him, smiling and fawning upon him, yet when they saw him perplexed by misrepre- sentation, they would not tell him the true state of affairs, but simply said, " It is not my business." "Alas ! " he said, " on what a dangerous rocky eminence does a statesman stand. If you had no regard for the Duke, had you none for your country ? " The Emperor's false pride would not permit him to explain or reverse his treatment of the Am- bassador, but he ordered his officers to treat him everywhere with politeness, and sent three presents to the King of England. He also accepted three from the Ambassador. With the same childish idea of his pre-eminence over all other potentates, he called his articles sent to the king a " donation," but those received he called "tribute." Although the object of the Embassy had thus failed, the journey gave Mr. Morrison a few months of relaxation which VISIT TO PEKIN. ^COLLEGE AT MALACCA. 119 his health greatly craved. He was able to extend his know- ledge of the country and the [jeople, and especially he was able to gather up some knowledge of the various dialects of the provinces through which he passed, which was of great service to him afterwards. He and the distinguished party returned to Canton through the provinces of Chilhi and Shantung, crossing the Yellow River and the Great Canal. They were struck with the graceful pagodas and Ijeautiful temjiles which ornamented the scenes they passed through, but the moral and religious phenomena n:iost interested Mr. Morrison. He met and conversed with a Mohammedan gentleman, who gave him full details of the peculiarities of his religion, and its position in China. He was surprised to find that, whereas Protestant Christianity was not allowed a foothold, Mohammedans were allowed the exercise of their religion, were admitted into the service of the Government, and that they existed in some provinces in large numbers. He also found that in Honan there were a number of families called "Teaou Kin Keaou," or the sect which plucks out the sinews from the meat they eat. They had a temple of worship, and they kept the seventh day as a Sabbath. Some time after Ur. Morrison was dead a deputation was sent by the Bishop of Victoria to visit these people. They were found to be Jews, who had lost the memory of their own history. They had a number of Hebrew books, which none of them could read, but which, when examined, were found to be portions of the Old Testament, some of them beautifully written on white sheepskin, cut and sewn together, about twenty yards long, and rolled on sticks. Other groups of Jews have been discovered in various provinces of China, all giving emphasis to the Divine prediction concerning them as a "nation scat- tered and peeled, and a people meted out and trodden under foot." In Shantung the party passed near to the birthplace of Confucius, and on the Po-Yang Lake they found a college t20 ROBERT MORRISON. at which Choo-foo-tsze, the most esteemed commentator on the " Four Books " of the great sage, taught about six hundred years before. The college was at the top of a glen, through which a sparkling brook sang its quiet tune. At the top of the glen a huge mountain lifted its black and frowning summit, as though to shelter the " College of the White Stag Valley " from the bitter blast. Here Choo-foo- tsze taught, and they were shown the rock on which he angled, and a tree still bearing flowers which he planted with his own hand, to pluck the leaves of which was strictly forbidden. In crossing the dividing line between the provinces Kiang-si and Canton, they passed through a deep mountain cutting made through the solid rock by the liberality of a retired statesman, a thousand years ago. His image stands in an adjoining temple, and divine honours were offered to it. The embassy arrived at Canton after an absence of si.x months. During Mr. Morrison's absence a volume of dialogues in Chinese and English, which he had prepared, had been carried through the press at Canton, under the superintendence of a gentleman in the British Factory. Mr. Milne and his family had left China and taken up their residence in Malacca, to carry out the great scheme so long a daydream with Mr. Morrison, but which was now about to become in great part a reality by the agency of his faithful fellow-labourer. Mr. Milne had collected Chinese books, printing paper, and other needful materials, secured a teacher of the language, engaged workmen, and sailed on April 17th, i8r5, for his new home. On the voyage his family was increased by twins ; and, after thirty-five days' sail, he reached his destination, and was cordially received by Major Farquhar, who proved himself to be a friend indeed. The scheme indicated previously in regard to the mis- sion at Malacca had been carefully formulated by Messrs. Morrison and Milne, presented to the London Missionary Society, and fully approved and sanctioned by it. The 122 ROBERT MORRISON. programme was an ambitious one, and, whilst successful to a degree which fully justified the outlay of its founders, it did not realise all that their faith and enterprise merited. According to the plan sketched out, a portion of land was to be purchased, on which buildings could be erected suitable for the purposes contemplated and intended. A free school was to be established as a preparation for a more advanced seminary, in which native ministers might be trained and educated. A monthly magazine in Chinese was to be issued. A printing-press was to be set up and kept at work, for the purpose of issuing the Scriptures in Chinese, and for the diffusion of Christian literature gene- rally. An English periodical was to be issued also, with the view of promoting unity and co-operation among missionary societies in the East. Divine services were to be held, and places of worship to be erected as quickly as practicable. The whole scheme was to be called " The Ultra-Ganges Mission," as denominating the scene or area of the enterprise. Mr. Milne quickly began the attempt to realise the scheme. A small house in the British compound, which had formerly been used as a stable, was fitted up as a school. Notices in Chinese were posted up in the town, announcing the commencement of a school for the children of the poor. Great unwillingness was at first shown by the people to send their children, and when the school opened on August 5th only five scholars had been obtained; but, by sedulous effort and wise caution, the number increased, until by the end of the first year the number in daily attendance was fourteen, who received the ordinary ele- ments of Chinese education. By-and-by the Catechism prepared by Mr. Morrison was introduced, and the children were familiarised with the leading words of religious cha- racter, such as God, Creation, Soul, Death, and many others. Then the teacher and children were drawn to attend Divine worship. Great prudence was required here, VISIT TO PEKIN.^COLLEGE AT MALACCA. 123 First, a few domestics brouglit from Canton were drawn to attend, and then tire scliool teaclier and his pupils were in- duced to follow them. Thus very slowly had Mr. Milne to take step after step towards the attainment of his great object. A small church of Dutch Christians in Malacca was at this time without a pastor, and they invited Mr. Milne to occupy the vacant place. This he declined, on the ground that he was commissioned for another purpose ; but he undertook to conduct Divine service for their benefit once a week. For about a year no land was obtained for the erection of the meditated buildings; but at the beginning of 1816 Mr. Milne obtained a grant of land from the English Governor at Penang, subject to approval from the Dutch authorities. This was a considerable distance from the town, and not suitable for the purposes of the Mission. It was, therefore, exchanged for a smaller piece near the city gates, a sum of about two hundred pounds being paid as a further re- compense to the vendor. Thus was a site obtained in a most eligible situation. It has been mentioned that work- men as printers had accompanied Mr. Milne from China. He now procured a printing-press, founts of English and Malay types, and all necessary apparatus for setting to work. In order to keep his men employed, he printed an edition in English of Doddridge's " Rise and Progress of Religion in the Soul," and Bogue's " Essays on the Truth of the Christian Religion." These were sold or distributed amongst the English residents and adventurers in China, India, and in the wide Archipelago of the East. On ]\Ir. Morrison resuming his work at Canton, he was quickly tried by fresh difSculties which beset him. A quarrel broke out among his workmen at the press ; one of whom, to revenge himself on others, took a sheet of the Dictionary to the Tso-tang, a district magistrate. This otficial was only too glad of an occurrence which seemed to aflbrd an opportunity of extorting money, and sent his police runners to seize the printing materials, and the 124 ROBERT MORRISON. natives who were engaged in the illegal task of assisting foreigners to print the Chinese language. Sir Theophilus Metcalf, the English chief of the Factory, interfered with great firmness, and prevented the presses and types being impounded. The Viceroy of Canton issued prompt orders that no natives should aid foreigners in printing the Chinese characters ; the names of Mr. Morrison's teachers and transcribers were recorded for arrest ; K6-Seen-sang ab- sconded, while Sam-Tak, A-Fo, and A-Heen were in great apprehension. The result was that Portuguese workmen had to be instructed to cut the Chinese characters on wood- Ijlocks for the printing of the Dictionary. Besides his incessant labours on the Dictionary, usually occupying six or eight hours a day, Mr. Morrison translated and published the morning and evening prayers as they stand in the Book of Common Prayer, also " Horaa SinicK," a series of translations from Chinese classics, and a Chinese Primer, all of which, with other works already recorded, [trove a zeal and diligence of application that must have tried the most patient mind and tested the strongest con- stitution. The progress the translation of the Bible was making is indicated in the following letter to the Bible Society, under date November 24th, rSiy : — " During the ensuing year Mr. Milne and I hope to finish a translation of the whole Bible. He has completed Deuteronomy and Joshua. The Book of Genesis has been printed some time. I have made a first draught of the Book of Exodus and the Book of Ruth. The Psalms I have finished, and they are now in the press. The Book of Isaiah is about one-half translated. Several type-cutters are engaged to go down to Malacca for the purpose of printing Deuteronomy, Joshua, and an edition of the Psalms in duodecimo ; that which I am perfecting here is smaller than our duodecimo New Testament." A letter from America at this time informed Mr. Morrison that a young Chinaman, about twenty-six years VISIT TO PEKIN.— COLLEGE AT MALACCA. 125 of age, from Macao, who had settled in New York, had been led, through the reading of the Chinese New Testament, to profess faith in Christ, and was manifesting the utmost earnestness and consistency. These tidings, amidst the dry, monotonous grind of translation work, were pecuHarly refreshing to his soul. Mr. Morrison's labours now began to excite attention and interest in all parts of Great Britain, and also in many parts of Europe and America. He received letters from some of the most learned professors in Germany and France, most warmly recognising his eminent attainments and services. Dr. Vater, Professor of Konigsberg Univer- sity, and M. Remusat, Professor of Chinese, etc., in the Royal College of France, one of the most erudite men in Europe, with others, frankly and cordially congratulated him upon the thorough and varied knowledge he had gained of Chinese language and literature, and the firm foundation he was laying for his successors. He was unanimously and gratuitously created Doctor of Divinity by the Senatus Academicus of the University of Glasgow, as a recognition of the great value of his labours as a philologist and a Christian teacher. He had now been ten years at work in the far-off land — years that had been devoted to intense and grinding labour, years of prolonged strain and trial by reason of the annoy- ance and persecution of Chinese officials and the scarcely concealed dislike of many of the English merchants, years of severe and depressing disappointment on account of the stubborn and dogged indifference to Gospel truth manifested by the natives. The sterling qualities of Mr. Morrison's nature had all been brought into active and energetic exercise by the pressing exigencies of his position, and they had admirably enabled him to grapple with those exigencies. Not that he had been uncheered in his labours in the interim. Providence had, on several trying occasions, interfered in his behalf in a special manner, enabling him 126 ROBERT MORRISON. to maintain a foothold in the land, giving him a position by which he might prosecute evangelistic work undisturbed by the official arm, and affording throughout all his labours such a fresh, clear sense of peace and comfort that he was maintained in hope and courage, and was prepared to labour on, resting on the promise, " In quietness and in confidence shall be your strength." And certainly the results of those ten years were permanent material for the future. An ample knowledge of the most difficult lan- guage and the most obscure literature had been obtained. Large plant of printing-presses, types, woodblocks, and other material had been accumulated ; one large edition of the New Testament in Chinese had been printed and circulated; another edition of nine thousand copies was nearly printed off; a Chinese grammar, a volume of translations from Chinese classics, a psalter, a book of prayers, several small publica- tions on Christian doctrine and history, had also been issued as the result of his own application ; not to speak of the Looks of the Old Testament already translated, and some of them printed, awaiting the completion of the whole before passing into circulation. Besides this must be taken into account the help given to Mr. Milne in his acquisition of the language, and the establishment of the mission in Malacca. All this was accomplished, besides the invaluable services rendered by Mr. Morrison to the East India Company as its official translator and secretary. Nor had the ten years been utterly fruitless as to the main work of the Christian missionary — the conversion of souls to God. Two persons at least had given up idolatry and professed faith in Christ ; one of these had been baptised, and maintained a good confession, and the other was giving promise of such growth in Christian knowledge and piety as to warrant his reception by baptism before long. The experiences of other pioneer Protestant missionaries had been far different to Mr, Morrison's. They had faced greater risks and dangers from savages and VISIT TO PEKIN. ^COLLEGE AT MALACCA. 1 27 barbarians, they had passed through exciting adventures and romantic trials, but they had also been cheered and inspired by great successes ; and ' it may be doubted whether any of them had shown greater calmness in pre- sence of danger, heroism more grand, or determination more unwavering, in spite of repeated disappointments, than had been manifested by Robert Morrison during this period. CHAPTER X. CHINESE BIBLE COMPLETED. DEATH. -DR. MILNE'S " God did anoint thee with His odorous oil, To wrestle, not to reign ; and He assigns All thy tears over, like pure crystallines. For younger fellow-workers of the soil, To wear as amulets. So others shall Take patience, labour to their heart and hand. From thy hand, and thy heart, and thy brave cheer." E. B. Browni^'G. ON November loth, 1818, the foundation-stone of the Anglo-Chinese College at Malacca was laid by Colonel W. Farquhar, in the presence of the Hon. J. S. T. Thyson (the Governor), Hon. J. J. Erskine (Judge of Penang), the members of the College of Justice, and many other distinguished persons. Mr. Milne represented Dr. Morrison, and delivered a suitable address. The object was announced as the reciprocal cultivation of Chinese and European literature, and the machinery was CHINESE BIBLE COMPLETED. 129 to comprise a library furnished with books treating on the language, histor)', science, etc., of European and Oriental nations. European professors of the Chinese language, aided by native Chinese tutors, were to impart knowledge ; a printing-press was to be made use of in divers manners, and it was also intended soon to form a botanic garden, so as to have in one focus the plants of the Eastern Archi- pelago. To the advantages of the institution Europeans were to be admitted, to be fitted and prepared for missionary, commercial, scientific, or official pursuits in tlie East, and also youths from Chinese-speaking countries, who desired to be trained for service under Europeans or in the Christian Church. Dr. Morrison contributed one tliousand pounds towards the establishment, and promised a hundred pounds a year for five years towards its maintenance. He otherwise, especially in respect of the library, contributed largely towards the College. Another gentleman gave the sum of four thousand Spanish dollars towards the building, the London Missionary Society gave five hundred pounds, and European residents in Canton five hundred pounds. One friend wrote : — " I confess that the plan far outstrips my expectations. It is benevolent and liberal to a degree ; it is extensive also, and so ought our donations therefore to be. I shall be obliged to you to draw on me at any time you like for S420 [that being equal to one hundred guineas]. " ' In faith and hope the world will disagree, But all mankind's concern is charity: Thus God and nature linked the general frame, And bade self-love and social be the same.' " No words can describe the bright visions of usefulness which Dr. Morrison entertained as to the results of this institution. Malacca was to be not the Athens only, but the Jerusalem of the East. Streams of knowledge and spiritual grace were to flow from thence until the Chinese world was sanctified thereljy. Malacca was one of the 9 130 ROBERT MORRISON. first European possessions in Asia, being captured by the Portuguese a very few years after the successful voyage of Vasco de Gama round the Cape of Good Hope. They did not do much to improve the moral condition of the natives. It was visited by Francis Xavier, who testified that the excess and number of their vices alone distinguished the Christians from the unbelievers. It was afterwards captured by the English, and it was chosen as the most convenient and promising centre for the great work Dr. Morrison had so much at heart. The College erected was a plain substantial edifice, ninety feet in length, thirty-four in breadth, with a verandah back and front supported by pillars, one hundred and three feet long, and sixteen and a half wide. The interior was suitably arranged, on one side being the Chinese and English printing offices, schools and apartments for native masters, workmen, etc. ; on the other the residences of the governor and his assistants. The front, which faced the sea, was shaded by a row of senna trees, and the whole was surrounded by grounds which were well laid out and cultivated. For some time there was great disappointment in the minds of the promoters, as the natives refused to send their children, until Mr. Milne was obliged to offer a small weekly payment to each child to induce its attendance. As the natives became familiarised to the presence of the College, and understood better the spirit of its conductors, they became more trustful, and the school prospered. Pupils and students were trained, during Mr. Milne's life, varying in number from twenty up to sixty at one time ; and of these several were converted and became consistent Christians. Books — some of them of great importance — were poured forth from the press, periodicals were main- tained, and vigorous methods taken to make Malacca the centre of Christian propagandism on a large scale. A few years after the institution had been opened it was visited 132 ROBERT MORRISON. by the Hon. C. Majoribanks, the President of the Select Committee, who in the course of a deeply interesting account of his visit said ; — " When I visited the College it contained upwards of thirty students. Were its funds greater, its opportunities of doing good would be necessarily more extensive. It was a source of gratification to hear nearly every one of those boys reading with fluency the Bible in the Chinese and English languages. Many of them wrote elegantly both Chinese and English, and had attained considerable proficiency in arithmetic, geography, the use of the globes, and general history. Thus does a son of a Malacca peasant derive an enlightened education denied to the son of the Emperor of China." In 1S20 Dr. Milne says : " Connected with the Mission are thirteen schools in all, containing about three hundred children and youths." The higher work of conversion seems also to have been proceeding in some minds. A native printer, called Leang Afa, who acted as tutor, had professed faith in Christ, and after giving satisfactory evidence of his sincerity, had been baptised and received into Church meiirbership. He com- posed and printed a paraphrase on several parts of the New Testament, and when called to suffer persecution very patiently endured it. He maintained his faith to the end, having it tested by the loss of property, scourging, and im- prisonment. He laboured as an evangelist in several parts of China, and was the first person ordained to that work by the London Missionary Society. It was through the reading of tracts written by Leang Afa that the leader of the Taeping rebellion was led to an acquaintance with Christianity, some elements of which he professed and advocated in seeking to establish his mongrel government in China. Several volumes of the gigantic Dictionary were now completed and issued; but on November 25th, 1819, it was the unutterable pleasure of Dr. Morrison to be able to write to the Directors of the London Missionary Society that the CHINESE BIBLE COMPLETED. 1 33 greatest object of his life and the largest hope of his heart was realised. The whole Bible was now translated into the Chinese tongue. He, of course, had by far the larger share of the great work ; but Mr. Milne had given most effective and willing service since his acquaintance with the language had enabled him to do so. The whole of the New Testament was the work of Dr. Morrison, the Chinese MS. found in the British Museum being a basis for a part of it ; and of the Old Testament he had done the whole, with the exception of the Books of Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings, Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, and Job, which had been translated by Mr. Milne. In his letter to the Society Dr. Morrison expressly disowns any claim to perfect correct- ness, and only professes to have laid a foundation for other and more perfect translations in after years. A few extracts from the letter will be interesting. He says : — " If Morrison and INIilne's Bible shall in China at some subsequent period hold such a place in reference to a better translation as Wickliff' s or Tyndale's now holds in reference to our present English version, many will for ever bless God for the attempt ; and neither the Missionary Society nor the Bible Society will ever regret the funds they have expended, or shall yet expend, in aid of the object. " It is not yet five hundred years since Wickliff's bones were dug up and burnt, chiefly because he translated the Scriptures ; and it is not yet three hundred years since Tyndale was strangled by the hands of the common hang- man, and then burnt, for the same cause. The alleged inaccuracy of Wickliff's and of Tyndale's translations was the ground of cavil with all those who were averse to any translations of the sacred Scriptures ; and it is but two hun- dred and seventy-seven years since the English Parliament decreed that 'all manner of books of the Old and New Testaments,' of the crafty, false, and untrue translations of Tyndale, be forthwith abolished and forbidden to be used 134 ROBERT MORRISON. and kept. If such things occurred so recently, more modern translators need not be surprised if their works are censured and condemned. "King lames' translators were fifty-four in number, and rendered into their modern tongue in their native country under the patronage of their prince. Our version is the work of two persons, or at most of three (including the author of the MS.), performed in a remote country, and into a foreign and newly acquired language, one of the most difficult in the world, and the least cultivated in Europe. The candid judge of men's works will not forget these circumstances. " In my translations I have studied fidelity, perspicuity, and simplicity. I have preferred common words to rare and classical ones. I have avoided technical terms which occur in the pagan philosophy and religion. I would rather be deemed inelegant than hard to be understood. In diffi- cult passages I have taken the sense given by the general consent of the gravest, most pious, and least eccentric divines to whom I had access. " To the task I have brought patient endurance of long labour and seclusion from society; a calm and unprejudiced judgment, not enamoured of novelty and eccentricity, nor yet tenacious of an opinion merely because it was old, and, I hope, somewhat of an accurate mode of thinking, with a reverential sense of the awful responsibility of misinterpreting God's word. Such qualifications are, perhaps, as indispens- able as grammatical learning in translating such a book as the Bible. " To have Moses, David, and the Prophets, Jesus Christ and His apostles, using their own words, and thereby de- claring to the inhabitants of this land the wonderful works of God, indicates, I hope, the speedy introduction of a happier era in these parts of the world, and I trust that the gloomy darkness of pagan scepticism will be dispelled by the Dayspring from on high, and that the gilded idols of 136 ROBERT MORRISON. Buddha, and the numberless images which fill the land, will one day assuredly fall to the ground before the force of God's word, as the idol Dagon fell before the ark. " Tyndale, while he was being tied to the stake, said, with a fervent and loud voice, in reference to Henry VIII., ' Lord, open the King of England's eyes ; ' and his prayer seems to have been heard and answered. Let us be as fervent in a similar petition in reference to the Sovereign of this Empire. " In the Apostle's words I conclude this letter : ' Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may have free course and be glorified, even as it is with you.' " The joy entertained by the friends of Christian missions throughout Europe and America on the accomplishment of this great work was intense. Congratulations to Messrs. Morrison and Milne poured upon them from many quarters, the University of Glasgow conferred the degree of D.D. on Mr. Milne, and fervent gratitude was expressed to the bene- ficent Providence which had presided over their labours, The Rev. G. Burder, D.D., Secretary to the London Missionary Society, wrote : — " The herculean task is at length completed. To Him alone who gave the power to effect this great work, and who alone can render it effectual for its intended purpose — the illumination and renovation of human minds — to Llim alone be the glory now and evermore. But, my dear friend, we ought not, we will not, we do not, forget the laborious agents whom He has been pleased to employ for this great end. We thank Him for you and your helper, Mr. Milne. We bless God, who has continued your lives in a sultry climate, maintained your mental and corporal powers, and spared you to see the completion of your great labour. . . . Never mind what opponents say. The work is done, and God will bless it ; nor will He forget this work of faith and labour of love when He shall render to every man according to his works. Bless God, my dear sir, that ever you were CHINESE BIBLE COMPLETED. 137 born, and born again, and enabled to effect this great work. You have lived to good purpose in having lived to publish a Chinese Bible. Thank God, and take courage." APOTHECARY STREET, CANTON. The Committee of the British and Foreign Bible Society wrote in a similar strain of thanksgiving and congratulation, rjS ROBERT MORRISON. and granted a fresh sum of one thousand pounds in aid of tlie multiph'cation and circulation of copies of tire translation. The Committee of the American Bible Society presented ] )r. Morrison with a copy of the best edition in octavo of the Bible, in splendid binding, as an expression of its esteem and approbation, and the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions wrote offering their most cordial thanks and congratulations. Besides these. Sir George Staunton and many other eminent scholars wrote in a similar strain, giving proof of the intensity of interest felt throughout the Christian world in the great achievement. This absorbing task being now accomplished, Dr. Morrison pursued his work in other directions with unwearied assiduity. The Rev. Dr. Baird, principal of Aberdeen University, had written to him seeking information as to the poor of China. This led him, in connection with Dr. Livingstone, the surgeon of the East India Company in Canton, to give attention to the enormous numbers of destitute poor and sick people who infest all Chinese towns and cities. The l)lind, the lame, the leprous, often filled the highways, and their condition excited little concern or compassion. The melancholy condition of these sufferers was only equalled by the gross ignorance that prevailed as to medical science. In the public streets and markets might be seen here and there a stall on which dried vegetable substances were exposed for sale, these being sold for any, and some for every, complaint, without an attempt at discrimination. The apothecaries' shops at Canton contained professedly about three hundred medicines, but only thirty were in abso- lute practice, whilst one eminent physician chiefly used only one — viz., rhubarb. His name was Wang, "a king," and in allusion to his practice he was called " The Rhubarb King." To meet this crying evil. Dr. Morrison opened a dispensary for supplying the poor with advice and medicines, super- intending it himself for one or two hours daily, and being CHINESE BIBLE COMPLETED. 139 assisted in its management by Dr. Livingstone. He also purchased a Chinese medical library, consisting of upwards of eight hundred volumes, with a complete assortment of Chinese medicines, and engaged a respectable Chinese physician and apothecary, with the occasional attendance of a herbalist (whose complete stock he purchased for Dr. Livingstone's analysis), to explain the properties of the various herbs he collected and sold. The afflicted Chinese of Canton and the adjacent districts crowded to this dispensary, and in a few months thousands of cases had been under treatment with gratifying success. This institution must be considered as tlie forerunner of a crowd of similar institutions, which have been established in connection with Christian missions in the East, and which are increasingly vindicating their claim to lie con- sidered an integral part of Christian propagandist enter- prises. Amidst more important occupations. Dr. Morrison found opportunity to send from the press several useful works of lesser account. One was a small treatise contrasting the principles of the heathen religions of China with those of Christianity ; another was " A Voyage Round the World," which was meant to enlarge and enlighten the ideas of the Chinese as to mankind, and especially as to Christians and practical religion ; a third was " Translations " of the Morn- ing and Evening Prayers of the Church of England, and also of the Psalter. Two thousand copies of this last work were ordered by the Prayer Book and Homily Society for distribution amongst the Chinese. On April 23rd, 1820, Mrs. Morrison, in much improved health, embarked with her two children in the Jllarchioness of Ely, to rejoin her husband in China. On August 23rd he had the great happiness of receiving them at Macao, and of spending a few weeks of blessed home enjoyment in their society. Then he had to leave them, to undertake again his official duties in Canton. 140 ROBERT MORRISON. In the meantime Dr. Milne had devoted himself to the management of the College at Malacca, and other missionary work, with such devotion as greatly to overtax his never very robust constitution. He had much to try him in the midst of his labours, but in March, 1S19, he was called to endure the severest earthly trial. Death had already snatched from him two dear children, but now his beloved partner was called from his side. She died in perfect peace and full hope of a glorious immortality. Most bitterly did the bereaved husband and father feel these trials. From the time of Mrs. Milne's departure from earth, to the time of his own death, his journal was often blotted and blurred with his tears. " O Rachel ! Rachel ! " he wrote, " endeared to me by every possible tie ! But I will try not to grieve for thee, as thou didst often request before thy departure. I will try to cherish the remembrance of thy virtues and sayings, and teach them to the dear babes thou hast left behind. ' The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away ; blessed be the Name of the Lord.' " From this time he wrought on, with the interests of his four surviving children resting heavily upon his mind. And there was sufficient in the expenses and difficulties of the College to cause both Dr. Morrison and him great anxiety. The wealthy East India Company had promised to give twelve hundred dollars annually towards its maintenance, but, on Lord William Bentinck's appointment to the Govern- ment of India, the allowance was withdrawn. The members of the Select Committee of the Company in China were, however, so convinced of the excellence of the institution, that they wrote a joint letter to Dr. Morrison, expressing their deep regret at the step taken, and stating that they had resolved to make up the amount themselves, so that its influence might be still exercised for the good of the East. At this time, also, several missionaries were sent out by the London Missionary Society to labour in Batavia, Penang, Singapore, and Malacca, and an experienced 142 ROBERT MORRISON. printer arrived at Malacca to aid Dr. JVIilne in his various efforts to scatter a Christian hterature throughout tlie settlements. In the spring of 1S21 Dr. iMorrison returned to Macao, and for a brief interval he was permitted the delightful and restful joys of home life. But a dark cloud hovered over that household, and for a time filled it with gloom. He had occasion soon to write the following letter to his father- in-law, Mr. Morton: "My beloved Mary, from the last time of her arrival in China, enjoyed remarkably good health, seldom requiring medical aid. We were pleasantly situated, and had a piece of ground before our house by the seaside in Macao, where we and the children walked happily together every evening. We then, after family prayers, sat down round a table, all occupied in something useful or amusing. My Mary was occupied innocently and pleasantly in making clothes for her expected babe, and got all her house in order most comfortably ; yet amidst this she never went to rest, nor rose to work, without reading considerable portions of her Bible ; and since she came out to China, she read, I beUeve, the whole of Milner's 'Church History,' which she found edifying." On June the 8th she was suddenly taken ill, and not- withstanding that doctor, husband, and friends did all that human skill or affection could devise, she died in her husband's arms on Sunday evening, the loth. Dr. Morrison wished to bury her by the side of her little son James, whose body lay in a grave amongst the hills ; but the Chinese would not suffer the grave to be reopened. The Roman Catholics refused to allow the dust of a Protestant to repose in their cemetery, and therefore the Committee of the English Factory purchased a piece of ground, worth about a thousand pounds, as a Protestant burying-place, and here the remains of Mrs. Morrison were reverently placed. The blow was so sudden and afflictive to Dr. Morrison, and the desolation was so awful, that he seemed stunned CHINESE BIBLE COMPLETED. 143 and paralysed. His health and spirits suffered for a con- siderable time ; and while he diligently fulfilled his official duties, and wrought with undiminished ardour for the com- pletion of his Dictionary, his correspondence, generally so varied and multitudinous, was limited to his nearest relatives. When his duties required his presence in Canton he took his son with him, leaving his daughter in the care of his kind friends Dr. and Mrs. Livingstone, at Macao, intending to send both children to England as soon as a convenient opportunity occurred. His skill and tact as an interpreter and diplomatist were to be very severely tested on his arrival at Canton, in con- sequence of & fracas which broke out between the English and Chinese authorities. Some men from an English frigate had gone ashore at the island of Lintin, adjacent to the Chinese coast, for the purpose of obtaining water. Although they were unarmed, a party of Chinese attacked them, and several were wounded. A company was sent from the ship to defend them, and in the struggle two Chinamen were killed. The local government demanded that the murderers, as they were called, should be given up, to be executed according to law. The English denied that there was any murder in the case, and refused the demand. Both parties firmly maintained their ground, and as a result trade was interfered with, the relations of the two nations were strained, the English Factory at Canton was closed, its employes and stock were put on board ship, and an unfriendly attitude \Yas taken up. Some of the Chinese merchants deeply re- gretted the affair, and did their best to end the unfortunate quarrel by seeking to induce the English to accommodate matters somewhat. They even suggested to the officers of the frigate that they should say that two of their men had fallen overboard, and that, as these were the murderers, they could not be given up. They would have been con- tent to allow the matter to blow over on such a wild story as this ; but their pride would not allow them to acknow- 144 ROBERT MORRISON. ledge the pica that the men had been killed by the English in self-defence. The English would not concede any point, and especially would not give up the men to be strangled to death, as they certainly would have been, if surrendered. The result was that two months were spent in wearying and vexatious correspondence, ending at last in a compromise to the effect that friendly relations were to be re-established and trade resumed, on the condition that the English Government would cause full examination to be made into the circumstances of the melee. Mr. Morrison's services in the discussion were invaluable, and on its conclusion a report was drawn up by Sir James Urmston, in which the following words occur : " During the progress of this affair, which had involved the East India Company's representa- tives in one of the most serious, vexatious, and harassing discussions they had ever been engaged in with the Chinese, the zeal and exertions of Dr. Morrison were unremitting. His extensive and indeed extraordinary knowledge of the Chinese language, both written and colloquial, and of the system, character, and disposition of the Chinese Govern- ment, enabled him clearly and fully to comprehend its sentiments, views, and meaning, as well as to detect the sophistry, duplicity, and even falsity which but too fre- quently marked the official documents of the local authori- ties, as well as the language and arguments of the Hong merchants ; the latter being always the vehicle of com- munication between their Government and foreigners. This close and correct insight into the Chifiese documents proved of the utmost importance to the Select Committee, who were enabled thus to frame their correspondence and communica- tions with the Chinese in a form, language, and spirit suitable to meet and to resist the arrogant language and pretensions, and the unjust demands, of the Viceroy of Canton and his colleagues. These communications were translated into such perfect Chinese by Dr. Morrison as to render it impossible for the Chinese Government to misunderstand, or even to CHINESE BIBLE COMPLETED. 145 affect to misunderstand, the feelings, sentiments, and deter- mination of the East India Company's representatives ; and this circumstance is at all times of immense importance in negotiations or discussions with the Chinese. Dr. Morrison's invaluable talents and services were fully understood and appreciated by those whose vast and important interests he had on this as well as on various former occasions so essentially benefited." The Company's ships returned to their usual stations, the trade resumed its course, and Dr. Morrison arranged for his children to return to England. His daughter sailed in the good ship Ke7it, in the care of Mr. and Mrs. Maloney, from whom she received almost parental kindness. The little boy sailed in the Atlas, under the protection of Mr. Dill, the surgeon. In writing to his brother concerning their depar- ture Dr. Morrison said : " I desire that my children may be taken good care of, and be brought up in a plain way, but, above all things, be taught to fear ' the Lord betimes ' — that is wisdom." Dr. Morrison now retired to his desolate home at Macao, and devoted himself with renewed application to his mis- sionary duties and the completion of his Dictionary. He was, however, alarmed at the intelligence which speedily reached him as to the failing health and critical condition of his beloved fellow-labourer Dr. Milne, who seemed to manifest an ever-intensifying zeal as his physical capabilities appeared to diminish. For upwards of two years the con- cerns of the Mission in Malacca devolved almost exclusively on him. He negotiated with the Government, took the oversight of Mission buildings, edited the Gleaner, taught in the College, translated pamphlets and books, and regularly preached the Word. His chief work was the translation and composition of Christian books. His part in the translation of the Old Testament has already been narrated; but, besides this, he wrote in Chinese or English not less than fifteen tracts, varying from ten to seventy leaves each, besides a 10 146 ROBERT MORRISON. full commentary on the Epistle to the Ephesians, and an elaborate work in two volumes, called an "Essay on the Soul." Some of his tracts published in Chinese are un- equalled for their acceptability and their adaptation to [^articular cases. In reviewing these results of intense application shortly before his death he says : " They appear many for my strength, especially if to these the care of my family be added. I humljly hope also that they are and will be useful to the Church of God. But when I view them as connected with the imperfection of my motives and the dulness and deficiency of spiritual affections in them, I am disposed to adopt the language of the Prophet, ' Very many and very dry.' They appear almost to be dead works. Woes me ! Woe's me ! My dead soul ! Lord, make it akin to Thee, and this will give life to all my labours." Amidst his manifold labours his health failed ; he had many premonitions of danger, followed by partial recovery. Profuse spitting of blood indicated disease of the lungs ; but it was afterwards ascertained that the liver was the seat of his complaint. He took a voyage to Penang, hoping thereby to recruit his health ; but deriving no benefit from the change, he returned, utterly worn out, to Malacca, only anxious to die at his post. There he passed peacefully to his rest and reward, being thus reunited to his faithful partner, and leaving four children utterly orphaned and cast destitute on the fatherhood of God. He had written to his recently widowed friend. Dr. Morrison, from Penang, and on June 3rd, 1822, the following reply was penned : — " I have received your letter from Penang, and deeply regret the afflicting news which it contains. Oh that God may spare your life and restore your health I I am going on mourning all the day — an unprofitable servant ; Lord, pity me ! " Aheen has written to me from Canton, saying that he is convinced of sin, and desiiing to be washed therefrom by DR. MILNKS DEATH. 1 47 the Saviour of the world, in tolnblished A DICTIONARY OF THE CHINESE LANGUAGE, founded the Anglo-Chinese College at Malacca, and for several years lahonred alone on a Chinese version of THE HOLY SCRIPTURES, which he was spared to see completed and ividely drcjiJatcd among those for whom- it was destined, he siveetly slept in Jesus. He ivas horn at Morpeth, in Northuinherland, January ^th, 17S2, was seitt to China by the London Missionary Society in 1S07, was for twcniy-fivc years Chinese translator in Hie employ of The East India Company, and died at Canton, August 1st, 1S34. '^ Bh'ssed arc the dead ivhich die in the Lord from henceforth : Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours ; and their ivorks do follow tJiein.'" CHAPTER XIV. WHAT HE WAS AND WHAT HE DID. *' ' Who sow good :i.eed with tears shall rca]) in joy.' So thought I as I watched the gracious rain, And deemed it like that silent sad employ Whence sprung thy glory's harvest, to remain For ever. God hath sworn to lift on high Who sinks himself by true humiiit}'.'' — Keule. THE intelligence that so great and good a man had passed away from this life produced a profound sensation, not only in C'hma and in England, but in every part of Christendom. The religious societies of England, America, and even of the continent of Europe, were prompt to express the lofty esteem in which they held his character and the work he had sought to perform. The London Missionary Society appointed a public service commemorating his long devotion to the Mission cause, at which a sermon was preached by the Rev. Dr. Fletcher, of Stepney, to an overflowing and much impressed audience. The personal friends of Dr. Morrison in China, very numerous and influential, promptly resolved to establish a memorial institution by which a portion of his work could be permanently conserved, and the public esteem in which he was held could be suitably expressed. A liberal subscrip- 2 14 ROBERT MORRISON. tion was opened, by ■which about two thousand pounds were collected, and in 1835 " 'J'he Morrison Education Society " was established and put into operation. His life was an unbroken course of self-sacrificing effort for the attainment of the great end he had set before him at the beginning of his student course — the salvation of the heathen. His attainments in philology were all consecrated to this ; the civil and official duties he discharged through so many years were only undertaken and fulfilled for the sake of the opportunity afforded of maintaining a standing in the country, and of being permitted to pursue his higher work unmolested, and yet they were discharged so efficiently as to merit and receive the most flattering and grateful acknowledgments of the wealthy and influential Company that employed him. The large salary he for a time received enabled him to live without drawing on the funds of the Missionary Society for his personal support, and to give with even princely liberality, considering his means, to promote the work of education and religion in the East. By the learned and distinguished personages with whom he came in contact he was treated as an equal, because his own extensive attainments in learning, and his natural dignity, diminished all sense of distance which might other- wise have been felt on account of their different social positions ; and by his Chinese, Portuguese, and English dependants he was revered as a friend whom they could approach without fear, and confide in with assurance. The work he accomplished will ever remain as a monument of indefatigable and patient industry. The translation of the Scriptures, carried out mainly by his own agency, has long since been surpassed by others, more perfect in their renderings, and more idiomatic in style, but this does not detract from the praise due to his untiring labour in having laid a foundation on which others have nobly built. The Anglo-Chinese Dictionary was a miracle of plodding and sagacious diligence, prolonged through many years, and for WHAT HE WAS AND WHAT HE DID. 215 its proportions and encyclopa;dic character stands peihaps unrivalled in human literature as the work of one man. The catalogue of his other works cannot be enumerated ; but Ijooks of doctrine, history, education, catechisms, prayers, hymns, etc., flowed from his unceasing pen until the list is contemplated with amazement. Dr. Medhurst, in " China : Its State and Prospects,' 'says that no fewer than 751,763 copies of tracts and books were poured forth from the Chinese Mission presses from 1810 to 1836. A very large proportion of these came from the pen of Dr. Morrison, and indeed Dr. Medhurst declares that his list making up that number was by no means complete. To his literary labours must be added also the time and effort consumed in establishing and aiding to carry on the various benevolent and religious institutions which owed their origin to his energy and zeal. The Anglo-Chinese College at Malacca occupied much of his thought, and to its welfare he devoted time and money ungrudgingly. It accomplished much good, although it came far short of the idea of its founder. That it did not accomplish more, and that the Singapore Institution and the Language Institution failed, vfas in no sense due to Dr. Morrison, but rather to the unfaithfulness of agents in the one case, and the slowness of the Christian sense of England to appreciate the possible benefits to be derived from the other. His character presents many features and qualities which must command fervent admiration. He had an ardent thirst for knowledge ; he cultivated a fine sensitiveness of nature as to moral uprightness ; he manifested unswerving conscientiousness ; he had an inexhaustible genius for patient, persevering, plodding industry ; and, as an internal fire, there ever glowed within him the steady flame of love for Christ and zeal for His glory, which lighted with lambent glow all the qualities of heart and mind which made up a noble personality. He was precisely fitted to the position he was called to fulfil. His caution, his 2l6 ROBERT MORRISON. common sense, his soundness of judgment, never foiled him, and the result was that he never had to take a back- ward step. If he baptised but few converts, he had great reason to rejoice that those who were received into the Church by baptism gave him no cause to mourn over their defection or apostasy ; and if he gathered no crowds to hear him preach the Gospel, it must be remembered that his conditions and circumstances forbade him exercising such public ministrations, and forced him to adopt the only other way open to him of reaching the Chinese intellect by appeals through the press. His patience was severely tried, but his faith in the ultimate success of the work never faltered ; he was often exposed to persecution, and his life was threatened by imperial edict, but his cheek never paled nor his heart palpitated with apprehension. He did all that he could, and what few men could have done, and he lives to-day in the deep and growing interest in the Chinese Empire, and in the intense enthusiasm which is being manifested for its conversion. The influence of such a life and character can never die, but must extend and diffuse itself in ever-widening fragrance and blessedness wherever his name is known or his deeds are recorded. On the death of Dr. Morrison, his son, although only nine- teen years of age, was appointed his successor as Chinese Secretary and Interpreter to the British Embassy. Such was his maturity of character, general knowledge, vigour of intellect, and high attainments in the Chinese language, and such his knowledge of forms, usages, and principles of the Chinese Government, that his services won the highest appreciation from the British Government. He was employed by Sir Elenry Pottinger as chief interpreter in all his negotiations with the Chinese authorities during the whole of the war, and was the chief agent in arranr'ing with the Chinese the treaties which formed the basis of a settlement between the two countries. He was prudent n-HAT HE irAs and what he did. 217 in counsel, conciliatory in style, jealous of the honour of England, but fair to the Chinese, and he gave himself with unflagging zeal to his delicate and onerous duties until peace was established between his own and the foreign goveinment. He was a devoted Christian, the adviser and protector of the native converts when they were exposed to persecu- tion and injustice, the companion and benefactor of the missionaries who were sent into the Empire or the con- tiguous settlements, and the enlightened advocate of every effort which tended to ad^■ance the intellectual or moral welfare of the East. His [juhlic duties, however arduous, were discharged so as to draw out the confidence and admiration of those who employed him, and he was so unremitting in his attention to them that his health failed. He received leave of absence for a time, that he might seek its restoration ; but pressing duties led him to delay his holiday, until he was seized with a fever, which was at the time an epidemic, and of which he died at Macao on August 29th, 1S43. He was buried in the cemetery by the side of his father and mother. Besides being Interpreter and Chinese Secretary, he had been elected a member of the Legislative Council at Hong- Kong, and appointed the Colonial Secretary. In announc- ing his death. His Majesty's plenipotentiary, Sir Henry Pottinger, expressed his conviction that it was a national calamity, and said that no man living could supply his place. Sir Robert Peel, Bart., speaking in the House of Commons in reference to both tlie father and the son, declared that in the whole range of public service two men could not be found more remarkable for their high character and fidelity. Ur. Morrison's eldest daughter married Dr. Hobson, a scholarly medical missionary in Canton, who left an enduring record in eighteen medical works, most of them illustrated, and still survives, a worthy descendant of her honoured and famous father. CHAPTER XV. 'I HE LONDON MISSIONARY SOCIETY. "Through midnight gloom from Macedon, Tlie cry of mj'riads as of one ; The awful silence of despair Is eloquent in awful prayer ; The soul's exceeding bitter cry, 'Come o'er and help us or we die ! ' " THE London Missionary Society having once boldly attempted to enter China and make known the Gospel, sent out in rapid succession a number of men who laboured faithfully to lay the foundations of a widely extended Christian Church amongst the Chinese- speaking peoples of the East. Eollowing Dr. Milne, who was sent out in 1813, there came the Rev. W. H. Medhurst in 1S17, who laboured first at Malacca, and then amongst the Chinese in Batavia, on the island of Java. Upon the opening of the five treaty ports in 1842, he removed to Shanghai. He was long the senior missionary in the field, and obtained a very familiar acquaintance with the Chinese language. He had a fine presence and dignified manner. His command of language made him an impressive speaker both in Chinese and English. He laboured much to THE LONDON MISSIONARY SOCIETY. 219 diffuse a kno\vlcdy;e of Christ by the voice, but even more still by the pen. In 1S35 he published an English and Chinese dictionary containing fifteen hundred octavo pages, and which is well adapted for use by the general student. Afterwards he prepared vocabularies for Corea, Japan, and China. He prepared a version of the New Testament, and several valuable tracts on the Christian religion. When on a visit to England in 1S36, he published a most interesting volume, called " China : Its State and Prospects," which had a large sale, and did much to deepen the concern of the churches for the welfare of that land. He returned to his work, and sedulously pursued it till 1856, when he again returned to his native land to plead the cause of China. He was suddenly cut short in his career soon after reaching his native shores. He died January 24th, 1857, aged sixty years, leaving a reputation unblemished for its piety, and fragrant with works of love and mercy. Several others laboured at Penang, Malacca, and Singapore, chiefly amongst the Chinese settlers, who soon returned to England through failure of health or other causes, and who need not be further particularised. Rev. David Collie was a man of much promise, who was sent to Malacca in 1S22. He succeeded Dr. Milne as principal of the Anglo-Chinese College, and translated the Four Books of Confucius. He mastered the language in an unusually short time, and laboured with great energy and success till 1S28. Then his health failed, and he started upon a homeward voyage, during which he was removed to the rest of heaven. Rev. Samuel Dyer was another worthy agent of the London Missionary Society, who Avas born at Greenwich in 1804, and in 1827 arrived at Penang. While Dr. Mor- rison was in England he and Mr. Dyer had much inter- course, and chiefly under his instructions he was able to read imperfectly the Bible in Chinese before starting on his voyage. He performed really splendid service in trans- lating, preaching, type-making, and teaching the young : THE LONnnN MrSSIONARY SnciETY. 22T shedding a blessed influence around liim cvcrywliurc till 1S43, when the end came. He had gone to a convention of missionaries at Hong-Kong, called to confer as to the more perfect translation of the Holy Scriptures. He was appointed the secretary of the meeting, which involved much labour and anxiety. The object of the meeting was to unite the various evangelical agents in China in the use of one version of the Bible. The good men could not be drawn into accord, especially as to the term which was to be used for God ; and so, after several days' discussion, the meeting ended without any conclusion being reached. He pro- ceeded to Canton, where he suffered a severe attack of fever, but recovered so far as to sail for Singapore. But as the ship called at Macao he had a severe relapse, was taken ashore, where he soon peacefully slept, nevermore to wake till the trumpet shall sound. His last words were, " Blessed Jesus ! Sweet Saviour ! I go to be with Him who died for me." He was buried by the side of Dr. Morrison, and the two who had been united pleasantly in life found a resting-place together. Agents of the London Missionary Society assiduously sought to lay the foundations of the Christian religion amongst the Chinese in the Straits Settlements ; but ^vhen at the close of the opium war of 1842, the five ports — Canton, Shanghai, Amoy, Foo-chow, and Ning-po — were opened to foreigners, and the island of Hong-Kong became a British possession, they were removed to China, and in some of these cities there were soon to be found churches, schools, and large printing establishments. The Anglo-Chinese College founded by Morrison was removed to Hong- Kong, and was for years under the excellent management of Uev. Dr. Legge. In that seminary great numbers have been taught English and Chinese, have been carefully in- structed in religion, and many have given evidence of real piety. Some have become Christian agents, others have gone out as interpreters in merchants' offices and govern- 2 22 ROBERT MORRISON. nient departments, where they have been able to exercise a widespread and useful influence. REV. JAMES GILMOUR, M.A. In 1839 the London Missionary Society sent out its first medical missionary, Dr. W. Lockhart, who first laboured at THE LONDON MISSIONARY SOCIETY. 223 Macao, and then removed to Shanghai. He was accom- panied or followed by Rev. James Legge, Rev. W. C. Milne (a son of Dr. Milne), and Dr. Hobson, afterwards son-in-law of Dr. Morrison. These again have been succeeded by many others who have written their names indelibly in the history of the evangelisation of the Chinese Empire. Amongst these may be named Rev. W. Muirhead, Rev. J. Edkins, D.D., Rev. J. Chalmers, D.D., Rev. Griffith John, D.D., and others, who have done earnest and successful work in Hong-Kong, Canton, Hankow, Shanghai, Tientsin, and other places. This Society has now extensive missions and valuable establishments in five provinces, and still maintains a position that befits the pioneer Society in the work of piercing with Divine light the densest and largest heathen empire in the world. The principal centres occupied by the agents of the Society are as follows : — Pekin, where there are not only preaching centres, but medical hospital and girls' training schools, with a staff of eight European missionaries, supplemented by many pious native helpers. The Rev. G. Owen is the senior missionary in the field. It is with deepest regret that we observe that the Rev. J. Gilmour has recently died. He was a man of great force of character, of somewhat original methods, adapting himself freely to the habits of the natives, that he might better win their confidence if possible, and counting no sacrifice too great to be made if he could thereby pro- mote the great work. He gave himself up enthusiastically to work in Mongolia, and came to be called affectionately by the natives amongst whom he lived " our Gilmour." There was everything about him to attract the affections of the people. He devoted himself to the welfare of the Mongols in every respect. As a doctor he prescribed for their ail- ments; he denied himself home comforts, that he might travel from place to place the more readily ; he was a vegetarian, that he might have the more to spend upon his work ; and in a brilliant review of his fascinating book, " Among the f/ 1^ ' t. IFlbV THE LONDON MISSIONARY SOCIETY. 225 Mongols," which appeared in the Spectator, it is said, " As for danger, he had made up his mind not to carry arms, not to be angry with a heathen happen what might, and, although he does not mention this, not to be afraid of anything whatever — neither dogs, nor thieves, nor hunger, nor the climate ; and he kept these resolutions. It has been justly said by a friend, ' He has been called away perhaps to higher service, because no one can imagine such a restless, untiring spirit as his doing nothing.' " The girls' training school in the capital city is a fine institution and under skilful management, and doing much to train Christian women, who may hereafter become Bible readers to their own sex, or will make pious and helpful wives to the native agents and members in the Mission. Tientsin. — In this great seaport the London Missionary Society commenced its work in i86j. There is scarcely a finer sphere for the Christian agent in China than here. Tientsin is not only the location of an immense population, but it is the centre of a wide district, the inhabitants of which come crowding into it from all quarters both by sea and land. It is, moreover, the principal centre of the railway and telegraph systems in China, and is more deeply touched by the modes of western civilisation than any other place. It is no wonder, therefore, that it is the headquarters of several missionary societies. Rev. Jonathan Lees is the senior agent, having laboured here since the commence- ment of the Mission in 1S61. He is well sustained by several other clerical missionaries, and also by two medical and two lady agents. A very beautiful medical hospital was built here some years ago, chiefly through the liberality of the great commissioner, Li Hung Chang, Viceroy of the Imperial Province. Lady Li had been greatly benefited by the instrumentality of Dr. Mackenzie and Miss Dr. Howard, now Mrs. Dr. King, and in gratitude they erected the hospital, which for many years was under the manage- ment of the London Society. Through the interference '5 2 26 ROBERT MORRISON. of the Chinese officials some alteration has been made in the management but not in the usefulness of the institution. A very interesting feature in the work at Tientsin, is the girls' school under the management of Mrs. Bryson, wife of Rev. T. Bryson, who has been on the Mission for twenty-five years. In the year 1885, Mrs. Bryson com- menced a class for women on Thursday afternoons. A large number attended at first, no doubt prompted by curiosity. But gradually the number decreased until only a handful renaained, who, however, showed deep seriousness, and learned to engage in prayer with much earnestness. In a few months a girls' school was attempted, and a well- qualified native female, who had been trained by Mrs. Edkins at Pekin, was engaged as teacher. Fifteen girls were soon under careful tuition, most of whom have given satisfactory evidence of conversion and proficiency in Christian knowledge. Already this school has borne fruit in providing pious wives for native helpers and useful workers in the Mission in several departments. Too much impor- tance cannot be attached to such an agency in a heathen land like China, where the education of women is utterly neglected, and where social customs forbid women entering public assemblies where the Gospel is preached. Hankow. — The life and soul of the Mission in Hankow has been Rev. Dr. Griffith John. He went out to China in 1855, and is now a well-worn but still a stalwart veteran in the field. He was aided in the coirimenceme>nt of his work by the Rev. R. Wilson, B.A., who died in 1863, and is buried in the cemetery. There is a chapel in the centre of the city where daily preaching of the Word is carried on for four or five hours without intermission to ever-varying crowds of people by the missionaries and native helpers. Near to the English settlement is the hospital and boys' school, with teacher's house, and in another part of the mission compound is a school for girls with house for the 2 28 ROBERT MORRISON. teacher. This is a very complete mission establishment, and is doing a great work. There are several country stations, and also a mission at Wuchang ^Yhere two English ministers reside. The commercial importance of Hankow makes this mission a very promising and influential one. The hospital, which is under the care of Dr. T. Gillison, accommodates about seventy patients ; and in addition to this, a new hospital for women has recently been erected chiefly at the expense of Dr. John, in memory of his devoted wife, Mrs. Margaret John. AmoY. — In this important seaport, the two brothers. Revs. John and Alexander Stronach, established a mission when the treaty of 1842 opened it to foreign residents. They had previously laboured at Singapore. They were followed by Drs. Hirschberg and Hislop in 1847 and 1S48, and slowly a substantial work arose round them. The senior agent now there is Rev. J. Macgowan, who began his labours in 1859, "^'""^ '""^^^ to him is Rev. J. Sadler, who went in 1866. Two lady missionaries are engaged on the Mission, and in addition to the ordinary agencies employed, a gospel boat has been built that the missionaries may visit places round the neighbouring coast, where preaching stations have been established. The boat is an excellent one, and built with special reference to the needs of the Mission. Shanghai. — The veteran missionary of China, Rev. W. Muirhead, has long been in charge here, and is looked up to by the agents of all the societies in China with respect and confidence. He superintends the general work, and has two lady helpers who arc accomplishing much good for the girls of the city, in the management of an excellent Christian school for their benefit. This is fitting, indeed, in the city where the celebrated well exists in which female babies have been for generations abandoned to die by starvation. Hong-Kong. — On the cession of this island to England THE NEW ASIOV GOSPEL BOAT. 230 ROBERT MORRISON. in 1S42, Rev. J. Legge, afterwards Dr. Legge, went thither and actively carried on mission work of various kinds. He was an able and accomplished man, whose fame became a universal possession, and who by his literary labours did much for Christianity in China. On the transference from Malacca to Hong-Kong of the Anglo-Chinese College, he found a congenial sphere as the principal thereof, and he was afterwards joined by Revs. W. Gillespie, J. F. Cleland, and J. Chalmers, with the medical agents Drs. Hirschberg and Hobson. The hospital carried on by these healers of the body was of signal service to the general work of the mission. A few years since the Alice Memorial Hospital was established, and is now very ably and successfully superintended by Dr. Thomson. The senior missionary is Rev. J. Chalmers, D.D., and he is assisted by Rev. G. H. Bondfield and Miss Rowe. Canton. — In this original centre of mission operations in China, all vestige of the work done by Dr. Morrison seems to have been lost, except what was preserved by the cautious labours of Dr. Parker, who established the Medical Mis- sionary Society, but who was only permitted to operate within the narrow limits of the foreign factories. In 1S48 Rev. T. Gilfillan arrived there and commenced operations anew. The Rev. T. W. Pearse is now in charge of the work. The record of the London Missionary Society, in regard to Chinese missions, is a noble one. It has accomplished great things through its medical missions and its day and boarding schools for boys and girls, but chiefly it has given to China and the cause of universal missions scholars so learned, and ministers so zealous, as Dr. Legge and L^r. Chalmers and Dr. Griffith John, with others who are worthy successors of the great man whose name is the title of this volume, Robert Morrison. In connection with this society there are thirty-one ordained missionaries in China, with thirteen lady agents. There are eight ordained native ministers, and seventy-two unordained helpers. THE LONDON MISSIONARY SOCIETY. 231 There are about four thousand communicants, and two thousand pupils in schools. ^^'hen the ditticulties of the position are all duly estimated, this must be reckoned a very wonderful result. "When China ^Yas opened in 1S42, and missionaries began to settle there in large numbers, it was deemed needful to prepare a new revision or translation of the New Testament. A Committee of Delegates was appointed, representing different Missionary Societies, which began its labours in July, 1S47. The acting members of the Committee were the Revs. Drs. Medhurst and Bridgman and John Stronach. They finished their work in two years. It was a scholarly production, clear and idiomatic in style, as well as being a faithful translation. In view of the success of the work, it was resolved to prepare a similar translation of the Old Testament. The Rev. W. Milne was added to the Com- mittee, and the task was brought to a happy conclusion in 1S54. Shortly afterwards a version of the New Testament in colloquial Mandarin was prepared. Soon after these important translations were finished the hand of death was laid upon Dr. Medhurst, the veteran head of the Committee. The British and Foreign Bible Society at once resolved to scatter the new translation broadcast. On the earnest appeal of the Rev. J. Angell James, one million copies of the New Testament were printed and circulated, and the Bible Society sent out agents to superintend and carry out the work of distributing and selling copies throughout the land. CHAPTER XVI. CONTINUANCE OF THE WORK: AMERICAN AND CONTINENTAL SOCIETIES. "The hand of God sows not in vain ; Long sleeps the darkling seed below; The seasons come and change and go, And all the fields are deep with grain.'' — Lowell, THE society which was the first to follow the example set by the London INIission in seeking to enter China was the Netherlands Society. It sent out Rev. Charles Gutzlaff in 1S26, with some duties as chaplain under the Dutch Government. He reached Java in 1827, but in 1829 he left the service, and gave himself largely to preaching, writing and distributing Christian books, visiting the ships in the seaports of Siam, Singapore, Macao, and other places. On the death of Hon. J. R. Morrison, he succeeded him as Chinese Secretary in the Government of Hong-Kong, which post he held till his death. He became a very expert Chinese scholar, and prepared a translation of the Bible. He also issued many historical and religious books, which prove him to have been a diligent student and industrious man. He was followed by Rev. Herman Rottger in 1832, who laboured in Macao and Hong-Kong AMERICAN AND CONTINENTAL SOCIETIES. 235 until 1846, when he retired, and the Netherlands Mission expired. Dr. Gutzlaff died in 1S51. The Americans were the next to venture into the great field. The Board of Commissioners for Foreign INIissions, representing the Congregational Churches of the United States, sent out Revs. David Abeel and E. C. Bridgman in 1829, and who were received in February 1830 by Dr. Morrison. These devoted men assiduously laboured among the Chinese and Malays of the Straits Settlements, Ijut from 1S42, up to his death in 1S46, Mr. Abeel devoted himself to establishing a mission in Amoy, and the future success of the work of God in that city is largely due to his prudence and energy in its beginning. The American Board followed up the appointment of these men with many others in rapid succession. Revs. I. Tracy and S. W. Williams, LL.D., followed in 1833, and settled at Singapore and Macao. In the same year Revs. S. Johnson and S. Munson went to Bangkok and Sumatra, and up to the piesent time this Society has spared neither men nor means in order to follow up providential openings in the great dark empire. At present it has four great centres from which smaller stations are maintained. These are Foo-chow, in connection with which are fifteen churches ; North China, embracing Pekin, Kalgan, Tientsin, Tung-chow, and Pao-ting-fus with smaller stations in the various districts of the centre missions ; Shansi, with two stations in the midst of districts cursed by opium cultivation; and Hong- Kong, where a missionary for the past seven years has resided chiefly to interview and seek to impress the multitudes of Chinamen going to and from the United States. At Tung-chow a college has been established, over which Dr. Mateer presides. Tung-chow is one of the centres for the literary competitive examinations of China, and therefore an important place. Dr. Mateer believed that the light of modern science shown in contrast with Chinese superstition would prove effective. He has, therefore, 234 ROBERT MORRISON. taught astronomy, mathematics, natural philosophy, and history, devoting himself, along with his helpful wife, to the young men and boys under his care. The result is that he has placed a stamp upon his young men, which makes them acceptaljle as teachers all over North China. The young men whom he has specially trained in Biblical in- struction have proved the best material for a native ministry. Drs. Nevius and Corbett have co-operated in this latter work, by giving a theological education to candidates for the ministry during a portion of each year at Che-foo. This Society has in connection with its principal stations large medical dispensaries and hospitals, boarding schools for boys and girls, colleges for native students, and other agencies for effecting the great purposes of the mission. It has twenty-eight missionaries, sixteen lady agents, ten medical missionaries, four ordained native ministers, one hundred and five unordained native helpers, nearly one thousand communicants, and four hundred and fifty pupils in its schools. Other American churches speedily followed the example of the Congregationalist Board, and commissioned agents to go forth in their names to aid in the work of evangelising China. The American Baptist Board sent out Rev. William Dean in 1834, who settled at Bangkok, but afterwards removed to Hong-Kong. Then in 1835 the American Episcopal Board sent out Rev. H. Lockwood, who went to Batavia, and in 1S37 the American Presbyterian Board designated Revs. R. W. Orr and J. A. Mitchell to go out to Singapore. These societies have vigorously prosecuted the great work, and at the present time have a large aggregate of labourers on their various missions. The Baptist Board has sixteen agents at work in Ning-po, Swatow, and other places, and six other Baptist Associations have stations and missionaries in the land, although one or two are in a very feeble condition. STREET IN HONG-KONG, 236 ROBERT MORRISON. The Protestant Episcopal Mission has its head- quarters in Shanghai, where it maintains a very efficient staff, and does a good work. Following Mr. Lockwood, l\.ev. W. J. Boone, D.D., went out in 1837 to Batavia. He afterwards removed to Amoy, but in 1843 he was appointed to Shanghai, and made the missionary bishop of China. Speedily, boarding and day schools were established, a medical hospital opened, and Dr. Schereschewsky was set apart to prepare a new version of the Holy Scriptures, in the Mandarin dialect, which he completed in 1S75. There is also in Shanghai a medical school for the training of native physicians, surgeons and nurses, and a college for the training of native missionaries. There are other stations at Wuchang, Hankow, Che-foo, and Pekin, which, including those at Shanghai, comprise forty-three places of worship, ten missionaries, three medical agents, three lady agents, seventeen ordained native ministers, three unordained helpers, and about five hundred communicants. The Presbyterian Board of America transferred two of their missionaries from Singapore to China, in 1S43. It has now four great centres. Canton was entered in 1845, l^ut it was sixteen years before they were able to baptise the first convert. Now upwards of four hundred in that city reward the persevering faith of the patient workers. A medical hospital is a very important factor in the work of the Mission. Missions in Macao and Hainan are sustained from this centre. Hospital work has been a prominent feature in this Mission. Dr. Peter Parker com- menced a hospital in 1835, which was transferred to this society in 1854, and placed under the care of Dr. Kerr. The Central Mission has live main centres which branch out in many directions. These include Ning-po, Shanghai, Hang-chow, Foo-chow, and Nanking. At Shanghai the extensive printing operations of the Society are carried on. These comprise not only several presses which arc constantly at work, but a foundry where seven sizes of AMERICAN AND CONTINENTAL SOCIETIES. 237 Chinese type, besides English, Korean, Manchu, Japanese, Hebrew, Greek and others, are cast. There is also complete apparatus for electrotyping and engraving. IS'Iuch splendid translation work has been done by this Society, and hand- books of Christian history and doctrine prepared by it are in use on most of the Protestant missions in tlie land. The Shantung Mission extends from the capital city, Chi- nan-foo, northwards to Che-foo, and has many stations which report about three thousand members. The Pekin Mission is of latest date, and is doing much work in diffusing throughout a wide district a knowledge of the Gospel by its earnest proclamation of the truth to the vast numbers who crowd from all the surrounding regions to the imperial city. The totals of the mission are, forty-eight missionaries, eighteen lady agents, twenty-three ordained native pastors, eighty-four unordained native helpers, and nearly four thousand communicants. The American Presbyterian Board was followed, in 1S42, by the American Reformed Church (Dutch). It has now seven missionaries and one hundred and fourteen unordained native helpers, working with Amoy for head centre, with about fifteen associated churches. In 1S47, the American Methodist Episcopal Society (North) entered the field, and has surpassed all others in the number of its agents and members. Its pioneer was Rev. Judson D. Collins, who passionately besought the society to enter China. When he was told that no money was availaljle for the purpose, he wrote : " Engage me a passage before the mast in the first vessel going to China. My own strong arm can pull me to China and can support me when I arrive there." Such enthusiasm was irresistible, and Mr. Collins was sent to Foo-chow, where, after ten years' weary preparation, a splendid work broke out, which has spread itself over six large districts, and comprises sixty stations. A printing press is kept busily employed, which, in the year 1888 alone, issued 14,000 pages of Christian literature. A 238 ROBERT MORRISON. large college is in use through the generosity of a native gentleman. The mission also winds along the banks of the Yang-tse-Kiang for three hundred miles, and has stations in Nanking and other large cities. Northwards it has churches in Pekin, Tientsin and Isunhua, with full accompaniments of schools and hospitals, and it extends westward to Chung- King, 1,400 miles from the sea. It has thirty-two mis- sionaries, seventeen lady agents, forty-three native ordained pastors, ninety-one unordained native helpers, and over four thousand communicants. Two Baptist Societies already named followed in chrono- logical order from America, and in 1848, the Methodist Episcopal Church (South) followed the example of its sister denomination of the north, and sent out its agents to Shanghai, where they have since laboured, extending to several neighbouring cities. They have ten missionaries, fifteen lady agents, and employ one hundred and ninety- eight native workers. They maintain a college at Shanghai, and do much dispensary and hospital work. Later missions from America have been established, as, the Presbyterian Board (South) in 1867, the Canadian Presbyterian in 187 1, the American Bible Society in 1876, the American Scandinavian Congregational Society in 1889. These young recruits in the field are occupying many important spheres and give promise of much development. It may be convenient here to notice the Continental societies which have contributed their forces in the attack on Chinese heathenism. In 1847, missionaries from the Basle Evangelical Mission arrived at Canton. These were the Rev. T. Hamberg, who died in 1854, and the Rev. R. Lechler, who still lives to superintend the work. Eleven churches exist around Canton as the centre, and much money and labour have been expended in the production of Christian tracts, school books and handbooks of doctrine. AMERICAN AND CONTINENTAL SOCIETIES. 239 In the same year, the Rhenish Mission sent Revs. ^V. Koster and F. Genaehr to China. They settled at Canton, but the mission has experienced much difficulty and dis- couragement. It has four missionaries, three lady agents, eight unordained native workers, and numbers about one hundred and fifty members. The Berlin Society sent agents to China in 1850, and some standing was preserved by them till 1S73, when the work seemed to expire. But in 1882 another effort was made to occupy the field, and now three central stations are opened, four foreign missionaries are at work with thirty- five native agents, and about five hundred communicants have been gathered. The Berlin Foundling Society has also established a benevolent mission in Hong-Kong, where Rev. F. Hartman, assisted by four lady agents, is carrying out earnest labour. This institution was established in 1850. Dr. Gutzlaff visited Berlin in that year, and gave such a graphic account of the distressing misery existing in China, that the wife of a Lutheran pastor, named Knack, resoh-'cd to seek to alleviate it. Dr. Gutzlaff had spoken of the great number of infants cast away by their parents in China, and Mrs. Knack formed a ladies' association to organise a plan to rescue some of these foundlings. A house was rented in Hong-Kong, and a commencement made. Not many chil- dren were found in Hong-Kong, but many were brought in baskets from the country districts of China. Some were in such a reduced condition when they were received that they speedily expired, but soon a large number were received and placed under instruction. In 1861 new and enlarged pre- mises were built, the funds being supplied by foreign residents in Hong-Kong and by benevolent donors in Germany. In the course of twenty years three hundred children were received, but of these a considerable number died. They receive careful religious instruction, and learn to read and write. They are taught arithmetic, geography, history, and 24° ROBERT MORRISON. singing. They learn also to perform all household duties. The school is under Government inspection, and the girls have acquitted themselves well in the examinations. The girls have generally turned out well, some having married native Christians, some being school teachers, and others having gone to other countries. It is pleasant to think of these castaways Ijcing rescued and trained to become jewels in the crown of the Lord Jesus. In 18S4 the General Protestant Evangelical Society of Germany sent Rev. E. Faber to Shanghai, where he is working alone. Thus it will be seen that extensive and variously adapted means are being freely used, in order to extend the Gospel in China by the societies of America and the Protestant countries of Europe, and it is not to be doubted but that, as the sore needs of the vast populations of the enormous empire make themselves felt, the Christian conscience will vibrate more adequately to the call of duty, and the instru- mentalities, already in operation, will be multiplied mani- fold. It is fitting now that a slight review should be taken of the work being done by British Societies. CHAPTER XVII. CONTINUANCE OF THE IVORK SOCIETIES. BRITISH " Fall warm, fall fast, thou mellow rain ; Thou rain of God, make fat the land; That roots which parch in burning sand May bud to flower and fruit again." — Kingslev. THE first British Society to follow in the footsteps of the earliest and pioneer agents was the Church Mis- sionary Society, which sent out its messengers soon after the opening of the Empire after the treat)' of Nanking. Shanghai was first occupied by these agents, then Ning-po, then Foo-chow, afterwards Hong-Kong and Pekin, more lately in succession Hang-chow, Shaou-hing, and Canton. The work in Foo-chow and neighbourhood has been especially encouraging. Eleven years passed without one soul having been converted, and during that period two missionaries had died and two had retired, leaving only one in the field. Then promise of a harvest was given, and during the past twenty-five years more than seven thousand have professed conversion in one hundred and thirty towns and villages where preaching of the Gospel has been established. Very much of the work is done by i6 242 ROBERT MORRISON. native evangelists, and, in order to train these, a theolo- gical college has been established, besides several boarding schools. Medical missions are also carefully cultivated. Similar happy results are reported from Ning-po and Hang- chow. At the latter place, in addition to the usual mission operations and agencies, there is an opium refuge provided, to which even the mandarins of the city contributed. This Society has published many portions of the Scriptures, the Prayer Book, and other Christian books in Roman character in several of the dialects spoken in the localities where its missions are situated. It has twenty-eight missionaries, five lady agents, eleven ordained native ministers, eighty un- ordained native helpers, two thousand eight hundred and thirty-two communicants, and two thousand and forty-one pupils in its many schools. The Baptist Missionary Society entered China in 1S45, ^^'hen the Revs. T. H. Hudson and W. Jarrom went to Ning-po. In this connection it may be mentioned that the earliest missionaries of this Society when in India had intense interest aroused in their minds in behalf of China, inasmuch as Dr. Marshman became an expert in the language, translated the Bible into Chinese, prepared a grammar of the language, and translated the works of Confucius into English. The mission attempted in 1S45 lingered feebly and expired for a time, but in 1877 a new commencement was made, and a useful work has been done in the provinces of Shansi and Shantung. This Society is laying deep foundations of future usefulness by paying earnest heed to the training of native evangelists. Medical missions are also engaging its attention. It has now twenty-one missionaries in the field, with one ordained native pastor and eight unordained native helpers. It numbers nearly twelve hundred communicants. The Presbyterian Church of England resolved to establish a mission in China in 1847. The services of the Rev. William Chalmers Burns were accepted, and he went 244 ROBERT MORRISON. forth, residing first at Hong-Kong and then at Amoy. Ten years later he was joined by the Rev. George Smith. Mr. Burns was a man of flaming zeal and devotion ; and, along with his colleague, amidst inauspicious circumstances and many disappointments, laid the foundation of what is now one of the most extensive and prosperous missions in the Empire. Its principal centres are Swatow, Amoy, and Tai-wau. It has several most complete and beautiful esta- blishments, combining churches, mission houses, hospitals, and schools, and spends money freely in carrying out every department of operation. The senior missionaries in the field are Rev. H. L. Mackenzie, M.A., of Swatow, and Rev. W. McGregor, M.A., of Amoy. Rev. George Smith, the coadjutor of Mr. Burns, died only last February (1891), and was a man of sterling qualities. This Society is greatly aided by a women's association, by which female agents are sent out from this country. Several of these have certificates for the practice of midwifery, and possess a general practical knowledge of medicine, being thus able to alleviate the sufferings of the native women to a very considerable degree. ■ It has one hundred and six stations in China and Singapore, and employs fifteen ordained missionaries and medical workers. It has nine lady agents, five ordained native pastors, and ninety-three unordained native helpers. It numbers nearly three thousand six hundred members, and has four hundred scholars in its training schools. The Wesleyan Missionary Society sent out Revs. W. R. Beach and J. Cox to Canton in 1852. It afterwards established itself in Hankow, and has now its principal stations in that city and others of the province of Hupeh. Lay agency, under the direction of Rev. David Hill, is a pro- minent feature in the Mission at Hankow, and this Society is also trying the experiment of giving to some of its mis- sionaries a medical training, that they may combine preaching and healing gifts in their labours. The result of these BRITISH SOCIETIES. 245 experiments will be looked for by other societies with much interest. In 1884 it resolved to open a college or high school in connection with their Central Mission, and the Rev. \W. REV. J. INNOCENT. T. A. Barber, M.A., was appointed principal, and arrived at Hankow early in 1S85. The object of the institution is to provide a liberal Western education for the sons of ofilicial and other wealthy Chinamen. Attempts to purchase land for the erection of a suitable building were unsuccessful, 246 ROBERT MORRISON. but in 18S7 a large house was rented in the main street of Wuchang, and the work begun. It is proceeding with growing success, and much may be expected from it both directly and indirectly to benefit the work of the Mission. A ladies' auxiliary society interests itself in sending out female workers, and almost every branch of the Mission is encouraging. There are twenty-five missionaries at work, with six lady agents, two ordained native pastors, thirty-three unordained native helpers, and nine hundred and seventy- five communicants. The Methodist New Connexion entered China in i860, immediately after the close of the second opium war, and after the signing of the Tientsin treaty, which virtually opened all China to the Christian agent. The pioneers of the movement were Revs. J. Innocent and W. N. Hall, who established themselves in Tientsin, which was then virgin mission ground. Mr. Hall died of fever in 187S, but Mr. Innocent still survives, and is the Nestor of the Mission. There are three preaching rooms in the city of Tientsin, one being in the main thoroughfare, and in these daily preaching is kept up. On the English concession there is a large mission establishment, consisting of a training college for native students for the ministry, missionaries' houses, and a boarding school for the training of native women and girls in Christian life and work. Rev. J. Robinson is the principal of the college, and Miss Waller is in charge of the girls' school. The largest mission of this Society is in the north-east portion of the province of Shantung, where about fifty native churches are maintained in an agricultural district extending over about three hundred miles. The headquarters of this circuit are in Chu Chia, Lao-ling district, where are situated the mission houses, and a medical dispensary and hospital. Mr. Innocent is at present the head of this circuit, and the hospital is in charge of Drs. W. W. Shrubshall and F. W. Marshall. In this place also is located Rev. J. K. Robson, BRITISH SOCIETIES. 247 who has devoted himself to the work of the Mission at his own charges. More recently a new mission has been opened at the Tang-san Collieries, near Kai Ping, in the north of the province of Chih-li. This is under the charge of Rev. F. B. Turner, and is rapidly extending, having a church in the ancient city of Yung-ping-fu, near the old wall, and also several rural chapels in the district round Kai Ping. The work of this Society is chiefly carried on by native agency ; a large number of efficient men have been trained and qualified by means of the training college. Several pious native women are also set apart as Biblewomen to their own sex ; one of these, Mrs. Hu, has laboured in this capacity for nearly twenty-five years, and was the first such agent ever employed in China. This Mission now numbers seven missionaries, two medical agents, one lady agent, forty-six native helpers, and six female native helpers. It has over thirteen hundred communicants, and about two hundred and fifty scholars in its day and boarding schools. The United Presbyterian Missionary Society of Scotland sent its agents to China in 1S64. Work was commenced at Ning-po, and afterwards extended to Che-foo, but latterly these stations have been left, and Manchuria has become the special sphere of the Society. The Rev. A. Williamson, LL.D., is the patriarch of the Mission, having been in China since 1855, working in various departments. He has of late years devoted himself entirely to literary work, and has prepared some books of Christian history and doc- trine, which must in the future be important helps to Chinese students and converts. The work in Manchuria has been remarkably successful. The Revs. J. Ross and J. Mclntyre, who went out in 1872, are at the head of the two great centres of operation, Hai-chung and Moukden. A medical hospital is in operation in each of these places. Mr. Ross has lately completed a translation of the New Testament into the Corean dialect, and from this Society useful work 24S ROBERT MORRISON. in Corea is to be expected shortly. There are seven missionaries employed, one lady agent, fourteen native helpers, and about eight hundred communicants are re- ported. The China Inland Mission commenced its extraordi- nary history in 1865. The chief instrument in the formation of the Mission, under God, was Rev. J. Hudson Taylor, ]\I.R.C.S., who in 1853 went to China as a medical missionary in connection with the Chinese Evangelisation Society. He separated himself from this Society in 1S57, and in 1S60 he returned to England in broken health. He had for some time been in charge of a large hospital in Ning-po, and the heavy strain of being alone in such an institution completely prostrated him. As he sailed home- wards he was intensely anxious about China, and fervently prayed that God would cause his return home to forward the conversion of the Empire. He specially asked that he might have five labourers given him for Ning-po, and tlie province of Che-kiang. He had already written to a friend in England asking if he knew of any earnest devoted young men who, not wishing for more than their expenses, would go out and labour tliere. On his arrival in England he soon met with several young men who were willing to under- take work on such terms as he could offer. Mr. James Meadows was the first to volunteer, and he with his young wife sailed to Ning-po in 1862. The five workers first asked were obtained, and then Mr. Taylor felt that his faith was enlarged to ask for and expect larger blessings from God. Therefore lie asked for twenty-four more labourers to enter the interior, which, with the exception of Hankow, was as yet untouched by mission effort. This led to the for- mation of the Inland Mission. In commencing a new association for the conversion of China, Mr. Taylor was anxious not to interfere with any of the existing Societies, but the need of increased effort and agency was painfully evident, from the fact that m 1865 there was only about BRITISH SOCIETIES. 249 one missionary in the country to every three millions of the population, and that eleven out of the eighteen provinces were as yet unvisitecl by any Christian agent. The Inland INEission was commenced on these principles : {a) That the agents should be employed without reference to their de- nominational attachments, only provided they believed the truths accepted by Evangelical churches ; {l>) that they should go out in dependence upon God for their support, without any guaranteed income, and knowing that the Society could only maintain them so long as its funds permitted ; (c) that there should not be any collections or personal solicitation of moriey. Mr. Taylor sailed for China in 1866, with fifteen missionaries. This was the real commencement of this wonderful movement. Since that time the Mission has extended in every direction. It has established itself in fifteen provinces. It has ninety-one principal stations, and about as many out-stations. Its income for the first ten years averaged ^5,000 per annum, but it has risen of late years to from ;^3o,ooo to ^40,000 per annum, and the mission staff has multiplied from fifteen in 1865 to four hundred and twenty-four in 1891, including the wives of missionaries, many of whom were already employed by the Mission, and still continue their labours. The agents have been drawn with remarkable impartiality from every Protestant community ; and while many of them are of the poorest in condition, some of them are both wealthy and of high social standing, who have gladly maintained themselves, and \j\ addition have contributed largely to the general work. In the year 1888 Mr. Taylor made a special appeal for one hundred missionaries, and during the year had the pleasure of seeing his prayer gratified, for more than the number asked for were forthcoming. Besides the immense number of agents directly connected with this association, there are seven societies, chiefly Continental, which maintain seventy-nine missionaries, who work under its direction. The 250 . ROBERT MORRISON. number of communicants counted is under three thousand, which if less than is returned by some Societies who employ but a tithe of the agents of the Inland Mission, is yet a return to be thankful for, considering the enormous difficulties encountered by the missionaries in breaking up fresh ground in the interior, in having untold opposition to encounter from those to whom the very sight of a foreigner was a novelty and a scandal, and also from the fact that many of the agents of this Mission have been itinerating preachers, passing from town to town and village to village with the message of the Gospel, rather than settling down as pastors and teachers after the manner of other Societies. The facts above recorded have been principally gleaned from " China's Spiritual Need and Claims," by J. Hudson Taylor. Mr, Taylor has been nobly seconded in his efforts by Mr. B. Broomhall, the devoted secretary of the Society. The United Methodist Free Churches entered China in 1S64, Rev. W. R. Fuller being the first agent. He settled in Ning-po, and was shortly afterwards joined by Rev. J. Mara. Rev. F. W. Galpin went out in 186S, and laboured in Ningpo till iSgo. In iSgi E.ev. R. Swallow was ap- pointed to the same place. In 1SS7 Rev. W. S. Soothill went to Wan-chow, and has recently been able to record a large number of interesting conversions. This latter Mission experienced a severe trial in 1SS8 by the Chinese wrecking its premises, along with other foreign property, in rioting arising out of the war with France. Compensation was fully made by the Government, and more eligible premises were secured. There are three missionaries, two ordained native pastors, eight unordained native helpers, and about three hundred and fifty members on the Mission. Rev. R. Swallow combines medical work with his ministerial labours. The Society of the Irish Presbyterian Church began work in China in 1S69. It has chosen Manchuria as its sphere ; and its agents, from Neu-chwang as their head- BRITISH SOCIETIES. ■ 251 quarters, take long evangelistic journeys northwards, and are arranging to settle in some of the large towns they have visited. There are three missionaries and one medical agent, and nine unordained native helpers at work, and twenty-eight memljers are recorded. The Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts has attempted work in the Straits Settle- ments for many years, but only in 1874 did it seek to establish itself in China. It has appointed a Bishop of North China, with four helpers, and is training a number of young men for missionary work. Several other Societies have also recently entered the Empire to aid in its evangelisation ; among which may be enumerated the Established Church of Scotland, which commenced in 1878; the Bible Christians, who entered in 1S85, and work in conjunction with the China Inland Mission; the Society of Friends, who sent one agent in 1886, and a few others. All this activity shows the widespread interest China is arousing in the Christian Church, and how properly its conscience is responding to its claims. It would not be right to omit reference to the wonderful work being done in behalf of the blind of China by Mr. W. H. Murray, of the Scotch Bible Society. He went to China in 187 1 ; but knowing that there are immense numbers of blind people in that land, before he went out he studied the systems of Moon and Braille for reading and writing by the blind, and also took lessons in Bell's system of visible speech. On arriving in China he found that the latter system aided him in acquiring the Chinese language. He carefully noted every sound he mastered, and reduced them to the number of four hundred and twenty. Meeting with crowds of the blind at every turn of his work, he became possessed of an intense longing to alleviate their hard lot by teaching them to read. He set to work to reduce these sounds to a system of dots after Braille's system, and after numberless experiments succeeded 252 . ROBERT MORRISON. in forming a category of signs to represent the sounds of the language. Then he sought out a subject on whom he might tr)' his system. He took a httle blind orphan beggar who was lying almost naked in the streets ; he washed and clothed him, and offered to house and feed him if he would try to master his teaching. The boy was delighted with the change in his condition, and in six weeks, to the mutual joy of master and pupil, the child was able to read both fluently and accurately. Then two blind beggar men were induced to learn, the boy acting as teacher. One read well in two months ; the other not so quickly, but with great pleasure. Miss Gordon Gumming says it was intensely pathetic to stand at the door of a dark room and hear these men read the words of Holy Scripture, who four months before had sat in misery and r,ags, begging in the streets. For more than sixteen years Mr. Murray has pursued his work among the blind, and many of his pupils have become earnest Christians and respectable citizens through his instrumentality. AVhile he has been pursuing this novel method of doing good, he has diligently per- formed his duties as a colporteur of the Bible Society of Scotland, and has taught his pupils in hours stolen from sleep. He has also denied himself at every end to provide board, lodging, and raiment for his ragged regiment of blind students. A special blessing has been conferred by him on a number of blind women he has taught to read, who have thus had not only a new charm given to their own lives, but have become centres of interest and living power as readers of the Bible to their friends and neighbours. CHAPTER XVIII. THE OPIUM TRADE OF CHINA. " Man's inhumanity to man ]\]akes countless thousands mourn." — Burns. THERE is one evil in China which it is important to speak of, as being a dire foe to the welfare of the people, and an enormous hindrance to the progress of missions. It is the use of opium. Opium is made from the juice of the poppy head, and although it has a place as a medicine, when it is taken habitually it becomes the most frightful curse to the man who becomes its victim. It mas- ters both body and mind, paralysing the one and gradually destroying the other. It deadens the conscience so entirely, that a man will sacrifice his mother, wife or child in order to gratify its insatiable cravings, and will commit any deadly crime sooner than be deprived of it. This curse has so spread itself in China, as to threaten the happiness of the nation throughout its whole extent. About a hundred years ago opium was almost unknown in China. It was then brought in the ships of the East India Company, and offered for sale. Some of the natives began to smoke it, not knowing its deadly nature ; and being delighted with its soothing influence, they bought it readily. 254 ROBERT MORRISON. This encouraged the foreign traders to bring more, and so gradually the poison obtained a footing in the land. When at last the Emperor and statesmen found out the harm opium was doing, a law was passed that no one was to buy, sell, or use it under penalty of death, and for a brief time the traffic was stopped. The mandarins of China are proverbially corrupt ; and when bribes were offered them by English merchants to permit the entrance of opium into their ports, they accepted the bribes, and thus the buying and selling of the drug still went on. Then smuggling sprang up and prevailed extensively ; British ships brought the opium within easy reach of the shores of China, and Chinamen went out in boats, which were rowed with many oars, and brought the fatal drug to the land. This became known to the Government, which issued strict orders to the mandarins, commanding that the smugglers should be seized and imprisoned or beheaded. The English merchants had now discovered what a source of wealth opium might become to them ; and, as the strict- ness of the Chinese Government made smuggling difficult and dangerous, they armed with guns and soldiers small strong boats, and sent them up to Canton, offering larger bribes to the mandarins, and thus still forcing their nefarious traffic upon the people. At last the Emperor became so incensed that he sent a Special Commissioner from Pekin to stop the trade in opium. This man boldly grappled with the evil. He shut up the English merchants in their houses, seized twenty thousand chests of opium at the island of Lintin, at the mouth of the Canton river, and threw them into the sea. The East India Company re- sented this action, and, being sustained by the British Government, war was declared against China, and a cruel, bloody, disastrous war it proved to the unfortunate heathens. When at last peace was made, the Chinese were condemned to pay a fine of twenty-one millions of dollars, including six millions of dollars for the opium which had been destroyed. THE OPIUM TRADE OF CHINA. 255 Then a proposal was made to the Emperor that opium should be admitted into China, and that he should share the revenue obtained from its sale. The proposal was in- dignantly rejected, and, with a magnanimity worthy of imitation by some so-called Christian potentates, he said he would not become rich by destroying his people. Two wars afterwards broke out between the English and the Chinese, in which the former were again victorious. Then the Emperor was obliged to sign a treaty making it lawful to bring opium into the Empire. The English would only permit a small tax to be placed upon it, which was insufficient to materially check its use. Thus the weak and helpless natives have been dragged into the use of this poison, which, when once used, creates such a craving for more that men and women speedily become slaves to its use. The opium that is most largely used in China is grown in India, and the money obtained by its sale in China helps largely to maintain the British Government of that empire. The opium traffic with China is not like the accursed drink or gunpowder trades with the barbarous tribes of Africa, because these are carried on by private individuals or com- panies, and neither the Government nor the people who support the Government are directly re.sponsible. Nor is the opium trade like the drink traffic in England, because, although the Church of England is a large owner of public- house property, and many professing Christians stain their hands and consciences by engaging in the traffic, yet the Government does not carry on nor maintain breweries or distilleries or public-houses. But the British Government in India is responsible for the opium traffic. It advances the money for its growth and cultivation ; it receives and manufactures the juice into opium, and the sale of it is a Government monopoly, from which it draws an annual revenue of five millions of pounds. It has spent millions of money and thousands of lives in keeping the ports of 256 ROBERT MORRISON. China open for its sale, and insists still upon the necessity of persevering in the trade because it cannot do without it. In vain Christians and philanthropists denounce the traffic the wide world over ; in vain Chinese governments entreat and bewail and seek to check the demoralisation of the people. Every consideration is of no avail when five millions of pounds is concerned for the support of the Indian Government. The influence of this diabolical trade upon the work of the missionary in China is distressing. It is the most gigantic stumbling-block in the way of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. As the missionary preaches the Gospel of peace and love in the city chapels or at fairs and festivals, as he denounces idolatry in the native temples, he is raked with questions as to the opium wars, as to the destruction of the people by a drug which " Christians " have introduced and forced upon them, and is reproached with the ruin manifestly spread through the land by this awful vice. Now, opium is being cultivated largely in China itself. The quality is not so good in the judgment of opium smokers as that produced in India ; but as the vice increases amongst the people, and the habit weakens the perceptive power, the coarser and cheaper quality comes to be used, and thus China is learning to furnish itself with the means of its own destruction. The only possible antidote to the evil is the restraining power of the Gospel ; the only com- pensation which England can make to China for the ill it has done through the introduction of this vice is to insist upon the stoppage of the traffic, even if the deficiency in the Indian revenue has to be made up by the British tax- payer, and then to multiply Christian agents and agencies, until by the preaching of the Gospel and the power of the Holy Spirit the evil is retrieved and the land is purified from the great curse. In the month of March of the present year, a convention was held in London by Christians of every branch of the THE OPIUM TRADE OF CHINA. 257 Church, including delegates from all parts of the United Kingdom and from Holland, to consider the evils of the opium system, and how to remedy them. One day was devoted to fervent prayer for Divine direction, and three days were spent in solemn and devout discussion of the subject. Forty-five thousand ministers about the same time called the attention of their congregations to the results of the evil thing, and finally a fund for ,2^20,000 was commenced to carry out by pen and voice an undying crusade against its continuance. The moral power of the council has already made itself felt, for shortly afterwards a majority of the House of Commons voted in favour of the motion of Sir Joseph Pease, that it was inexpedient any longer to maintain the traffic in opium, simply for the purpose of sustaining the Indian revenue. It becomes now the duty of the Government to consider in what way the decision of Parliament can be carried out, and it becomes the duty of every Christian to use his influence and insist that it shall be carried out. 17 CHAPTER XIX. CHINA FOR CHRIST. "Oh! mighty King of glory, Thy chosen heralds send To tell the old, old story To earth's remotest end. Give hearts of love and pity, And willing, zealous feet, Through forest, plain, and city Th}' mercy to repeat." WE need an army of workers in China. We must have a large brigade of our noblest youths for the great work waiting for labourers over there. We have hundreds of young men and women, the children of rich and well-to-do people, who have no special work in life, and to whom life will be a humdrum monotony, bringing little joy and no growth to the higher nature unless they rouse themselves to sublime and self-sacrificing work in the Lord's Harvest Field. Will their parents and friends consent to their being devoted to a calling as grand and inspiring as ever called Paul to the " regions beyond," or Wesley to labour so zealously for the semi-barbarous and totally degraded masses of England in the last century ? CHINA FOR CHRIST. 259 It is a fact that hitherto all the efforts of the Christian world for China have only resulted in supplying one mission- ary for 350,000 souls. Take the province of Chih-li ; the whole Protestant force is only forty, or one missionary to 675,000 souls. If we had the means we could place in the iinworked portion of this province 150 missionaries, each one having a radius of twenty miles as his circuit of operation. This great nation cannot wait indefinitely. ^^'hile we are lingering, all- the evil forces of the world — infidelity, gambling, licentiousness, idolatry, opium-smoking, spirit- drinking, and a host of others — are vigorously at work, and unless Christians wake up to this terribly vast responsibility, we shall have China waking up from its long sleep of twenty centuries only to plunge into an abyss of atheism and immorality the depths of which can never be sounded. Every minute that the Church delays responding to the cry of China, twenty-four immortal souls sink into a Christless grave ; every day's delay means 35,000 more who have gone ; every month's delay means one million, whom Christ died to redeem from sin, who have gone into the great future without having received the glad tidings of great joy. The people are willing to listen to the Gospel. If they are slow to receive it, they hold it the more firmly when it is received. The Chinese character, when it is truly converted and sanctified by the love of Christ, is a noble one ; and while the cry for help comes to us from China, it also comes to us from the Master who has thrust us into the great harvest field and given us such pre-eminent success therein. In the readiness of the people to hear the Gospel we have great encouragement to persevere ; for that mighty and all- effectual talisman which of old, in Greek and Roman cities, proved itself to be the " power of God unto salvation," has still "the dew of its youth" resting upon it, and as the gods of the Pantheon were not able to withstand its attack, so the gods of Buddhist and Taoist temples must also fall before it. 2 6o ROBERT MORRISON. "The idols He shall utterly demolish." "He shall dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel." There is much encouragement to be found in the fact that the Chinaman, when he is converted, develops a Christian character and a firm adherence to principle which will bear comparison with the members of any church in the world. Trained to consider revenge a Divine quality, Chinese converts have manifested a meekness and for- givingness of disposition truly admirable ; educated in pride and conceit, they have become as docile as young children; covetous and deceitful, taught to consider lying and stealing a virtue, they have showed willingness to suffer persecu- tion and to endure death itself rather than deny their Master or turn from their faith. Two or three examples may be given out of hundreds that are ready to hand, and which the piles of modern reports plentifully supply. Indeed, few more charming and inspiring books could be produced than one filled with such examples of grace as Chinese missions have recorded. Mr. Wang was a magistrate and scholar residing in a large city in the north of China. He was over sixty years of age when he was taken with a serious illness. In the course of this sickness a friend came into his house one day and said, " See, the foreign teachers in the city have given me this book. Now, I don't care to read it, but you are a great reader, and I have brought it you to read during your sickness." The old man took the book and carefully examined it. It was a Bible in the Chinese language. He read it, and was deeply impressed with its contents. He was not able fully to understand it, and when his friend called upon him shortly afterwards he said to him, " Will you ask those foreign teachers to give me something to explain that wonderful book you brought me ? " His friend did so, and was supplied with Dr. Martin's handbook of Christian truth, which is kept on several missions in China to be placed in the hands of CHINA FOR CHRIST. 26 1 inquirers. Mr. Wang eagerly received tliis book, and as he examined it and compared it witli tlie statements of tlie Bible the darkness began to pass from his mind. Up to this time he had been a proud Confucianist, but now he firmly grasped these two foundation truths of religion : {a) that there is one God, the Almighty Maker of heaven and earth ; and {l>) that He is willing to hear and answer pra)-er. Under the influence of these great truths, the next time his native doctor called upon him, he told him he would not require his services any longer, that he had called upon the Almighty God of heaven to cure him, and that He would answer his prayer. Upon his reco\-ery he repaired to the hall where the daily preaching of Christ and His salvation was maintained in the city. He listened to the message as one entranced. He remained behind the congregation as an inquirer, and, like many other Chinese convert, she asked questions without end, going down to the roots of things with scholarly acuteness and satisfying his mind step by step for many days. At last his scruples and difficulties were all removed, and with the simple faith of a child he rested himself on Christ for full salvation. In the eagerness of his new-found peace he declared himself a Christian to his family and friends. But now came the trial of his faith. All his relatives and his friends turned against him. He was degraded from his place on the seat of justice ; he was not allowed to associate with his literary friends ; his very children rose up against him and expelled him from home, a step in a country where reverence for parents is the first law of life, which shows the extreme to which religious persecutions may be carried : but none of these things moved him. He found refuge in the Mission premises, and gave himself to preparation for the work of an evangelist. Soon he proved himself an earnest and effective preacher of the Gospel, and for years stood up boldly declaring Jesus to be the Friend and Saviour of sinners, always setting forth him- self as being the subject of His power to save. In this 262 ROBERT MORRISON. way he wrought, preaching in public halls and in the open air until the infirmities of old age made such exercise too much for him. Then he devoted himself to the preparation of a book on Christianity, which he entitled " The Bright Lamp of the Heavenly Way." As he concluded his task his strength failed and his end drew near. He called the missionaries of the Societies represented in the city to his side, and bade them farewell ; he confessed again his undying faith in Jesus. To one of them who was about to return on furlough to England he urged his request that he would tell his English friends who had sent him the message of Divine peace that he would wait for them at the door of heaven, and when they arrived there he would lead them to the throne and say to the Saviour, "These are the people who sent to me the tidings of eternal life." After his death the book he had prepared lay for some time unpublished, — money was scarce, and perhaps the spirit of enterprise was low ; but in iSS6 Mr. Crossett, of an American Society, borrowed it, and was so struck with its eloquence and learning that he had it printed at the Mission press in Pekin, and the leading missionaries in the north — Revs. Drs. Martin, Edkins, Blodgett— and others, ordered several hundreds of copies. Many others were sent to southern stations ; and thus old Wang, being dead, yet speakech. Mr. Hu was born in a large city near the mouth of the river Peiho. His father was a flourishing merchant, who owned several seagoing junks. He gave his son a good education, and trained him for a business life. He became supercargo of one of his father's ships, but while on a voyage to the south one day pirates boarded the vessel, robbed him of all he had in the world, and he was cast ashore at Shanghai penniless, and had to seek other employment. He became a teacher of northern Mandarin to students for the consular service, one of his pupils being Mr. Morrison, a younger son of the subject of this CHINA FOR CHRIST. 263 memoir. One day, as he wandered along the main street of the city, he saw a mission chapel with open doors, and a foreigner speaking to a congregation of people. Impelled by curiosity he entered and listened to the message. He repeated his visit, and obtained a copy of the Holy Scriptures, which he carefully read. The Lord opened his heart, he became a sincere believer in Jesus Christ, and united himself with the church where he had first heard the "\\'ord of Life. Soon after this he became possessed with a desire to return to the neighbourhood of his early days, and he left Shanghai, carrying with him letters of recommendation to the missionaries in the town to which he was going. On arriving there he went to the mission church and presented his letters of introduction. The agents who received him were at that time offering special prayer to God that some one might be given to them to help in the work which was opening out before them. They welcomed Mr. Hu, and he quickly proved himself to be a devoted and able helper. He was a man of fine presence, he had an excellent voice and style of speaking, he was intelligent and courageous, and as he became familiar with the truths of the Gospel he proved himself to be a preacher of extraordinary power. Soon after his ordination to the work of the ministry a very wonderful revival of religion broke out in a number of towns and villages in the northern part of the province of Shantung, and Mr. Hu was sent to inspect and take charge of the work. He went, and for about twelve years he laboured with untiring zeal, going round the district as an evangelist, superintending the building of chapels, keeping the accounts of the various churches, and fulfilling all the duties of a pastor with extraordinary diligence and success. After a tour through the eastern portion of his district, he was smitten down with sickness which proved to be fatal. He manifested the utmost calmness and cheerfulness, and when the end was approaching he placed his hand on his heart 264 ROBERT MORRISON. and said, " All is peace here," and with this testimony to the elficacy of redeeming love he passed from earth to heaven. Mr. "Wong was a young landscape painter in a large city in the province of Fuh-kien. An intimate friend of his named Hu, also a painter, was a Christian and a member of the church. After much prayer and persuasion he induced Wong to read the Bible and attend the services. Results were soon manifest. 'Wong's mother, who was tenderly attached to her son, was warned that something was wrong, and that he should be looked after. " What is wrong?" she said; "my son has always been industrious and dutiful: what has happened?" "He attends foreign churches." "Impossible!" she cried; "it cannot be that my son would do such a thing." On questioning him she found to her horror it was too true, and he declared that he found what the foreigners said to be " very reasonable." It needs some familiarity with social life in China to understand the power of the parent over a son in mature life. She kept him closely confined to the house, and tried in every way to shake his determination, weeping, scolding, and threatening by turns. But all was of no avail, and her wrath grew more intense as she heard him praying, " Lord, bless my mother," and continually invoking the name of Jesus. At last she said, " Son, you ?iiiist stop this praying." "Mother," he replied, "I have always obeyed all your commands, but this I cannot do." "But the noise disturbs me." " Then I will pray silently." " You shall never pray in this house again." "Mother," said Wong, "I cannot stop praying." " Leave the house then," she exclaimed ; " I disown you for ever as my child, and when I die dare not to join with the family in celebrating my funeral rites." Wong was driven from the house, but not from his faith. He went and lived with his friend Hu, and rapidly grew in knowledge and grace. One day his mother sent to bid him come to her. He could only think it was a plot to seize CHINA FOR CHRIST. 265 and kill him, but after a painful mental struggle he said to his minister, "I will go; pray for me." He went. The mother asked him if he was still determined to be a Christian. "Mother," he said, fully expecting some assault, "7 am." "Then," she said, "if you will not change your mind I will change mine. You may be a Christian and you may live at home." Overwhelmed with joy, Wong fell on his knees and thanked God. For some months he continued his occupation as a painter, and was then taken into the service of the Mission, and laboured zealously as an evangelist for about four years. Then a discussion arose amongst the missionaries about the right term to use in Chinese for " God," and a word was imposed on the agents which Wong could not conscientiously use. He resigned his office, but shortly afterwards joined another Society, which not only gladly employed him, but ordained him to the ministry, the members of his former communion expressing their hearty concurrence in his reception. Thus the Chinese are proving by their steadfastness and zeal that the Gospel can find as good material to operate upon in that empire as anywhere under the sun. The most difficult and yet the most pressing need of missions in China is to obtain access to the women of the land. Women are generally excluded from society. Elderly females are allowed considerable freedom; but all the younger ones, and more especially the unmarried, are held by rigid etiquette to such complete retirement that it is often difficult to get them to attend public worship, and this not- withstanding the fact that the women assemble in a separate compartment, where they cannot be seen by the men. They do not take their meals with the men of the house- hold. If you visit a Chinaman's house, you do not see the ladies. Unless some degree of intimacy exists, it is impolite to ask after the health of a Chinaman's wife or daughter. 2 66 ROBERT MORRISON. Pulolic sentiment is against teacliing women to read. There are some few among the higher classes, but not many, who can read. You seldom meet with one, except such as has been educated in mission schools. It is very seldom you meet with a woman having any desire to learn to read. Again, they have very little leisure time. In rural neighbour- hoods the women work harder than the men. They spin cotton and weave cloth. They are the cooks and tailors and dressmakers of the household. They seldom work in the fields ; but when the crops are brought in they take their full share of work at threshing, winnowing, and grinding. All this in spite of their little feet disqualifying them for any great activity. The only females who have any spare time are the old women ; and teaching them to read is almost, if not quite, out of the question. At the same time the women form a very important element of society. Their influence in the household, as in England, counts for a great deal. Having far less knowledge, they are far less under the influence of Confucian ideas, the most conservative ideas in the Empire. Their nature is much more religious than that of the men. The men trifle with their beliefs ; the women are in earnest. They are capable of a practical faith, the men much less so. As a rule the male part of the family are Confucian, the women Buddhists or Taoists. It is they who visit the temples. The incense pots which smoulder before the placid coun- tenance of Buddha are filled and kindled by them. It is they who may be seen prostrating and K'6 T'owing before the monstrous images alike of general and local deities. They burn ten sheets of paper to the men's one. Left to the men, Fo Yeh, the San Ch'ing, the eighteen Lo Huns, Kuan Yin, Kuan Yiin Ch'iang, the god of medicine, the god of wealth, the innumerable P'u Sah, all the countless host of the Chinese Pantheon, would have crumbled on their seats and been buried under the undistinguishable ruins of their own temples long ago. When the men CHINA FOR CHRIST. 267 pretend to -worsliip them tliey only play at it. But the zeal of the women has kept alive the faith in these grotesque and senseless deities, and supplied the impulse which from time to time has reconstructed their broken shrines and renovated their falling habitations. On this account they make much better Christians than the men. The men are satisfied with the cold abstractions and moral maxims of Confucianism, are interested in nothing higher than the earth or wider than the bounds of human life ; the women must have something warmer and more emotional — they have deep cravings for the spiritual and the eternal. The men talk about their religion much, but practise it little ; the women feel their religion, and hence practise it. The men can do without worship, the women cannot. Earnest idolaters make earnest Christians. The affections and aspira- tions which clung around and sanctified imaginary and super- stitious beings, transferred to a living Christ and a God of eternal love, are the impulse to a new and holy life. Indifferent heathens make indifferent Christians. The habits of insincerity and practical scepticism which through a lifetime have been associated with a false faith are too often, on their conversion, retained in connection with the true. Until woman, as the ruling power in the home and the influential factor in moulding the successive generations of China, is grasped and sanctified by the Spirit of Christ, the work of the missionary will be largely in vain; but as in other great onward Christian movements, let the women be drawn into the Church, and the conquest of the Empire will be chiefly accomplished. China is just now in a transition state, and is passing through the greatest crisis of its history. Old things arc passing away, and all things are becoming new. Institutions and customs of slow growth, hoary with age, are tottering to their fall. Old superstitions, with which the life of the people is inoculated, are losing their hold, and the nation 268 ROBERT MORRISON. is Ifke a giant roused from a long stupor — a stupor which missionaries with their Divine message have had some share in breaking. Now a strange and undefined feehng is leading the nation to desire better things than she has had in the past. There must now go on a great fight between the new and the old. The intrusion of foreigners, and the intro- duction of Western modes of civilisation and of war, must change the social and political life of the people. The breaking up of old religious ideas and practices must affect the Empire either for better or for worse. That it may be for the better in every possible sense we must Christianise China through its length and breadth. We have been in the last hundred years training small detachments of Christian soldiers, and doing much preparatory work ; but now the cry for more help and multiplied workers deepens itself, and comes from every province and every city. Shall England, that in the opium traffic and the opium wars has so deeply cursed China, not have mercy and extend towards it the love of Christianity ? Buddhism is a religion of mercy in Asia. She has a concrete embodiment of a beautiful idea in the goddess of mercy with a thousand arms, a relief for the thousand ills of life. But Christianity has the more effectual relief for these ills in living agencies and beneficent institutions. There is no power that conciliates men like love, no force that can save like love. It is the power of God. The cry is truly a Macedonian call from China. It is a cry from a " man," mighty for untold and incalculable good, but without the Gospel a curse to himself and the world. ' It comes from the deepest need of the most ancient and populous nation of the world. It comes from all classes, of false creeds and of no creed. It comes from myriads of infants who come to an untimely end, because of the misfortune of their sex or deformity. It is the sobbing, yearning cry of women oppressed by degrading wrongs, and who never knew the true blessedness and dignity of CHINA FOR CHRIST. 269 womanhood. It is the cry of millions of the poor, lame, and blind. It expresses the yearning of spirits to be delivered from a bondage of corruption into a Divine liberty. It is the language of a widely diffused and undefined feeling and striving after a higher Someone, albeit along a road of torturing idolatry and asceticism that they may flee from a wrath to come or an abyss of nothingness. It is the cry of a strong man bound and crippled, his eyes put out, and crushed into almost utter hopelessness, but who in his last extremity stretches out piteous hands for a Healer, a Deliverer, a Saviour, and pleads "Oh that I knew where I might find Him ! " The answer to the piteous cry for help which comes from China, and, indeed, from all parts of the heathen world, can only be supplied by the thorough consecration of the whole Church to the advancement of Christ's kingdom. As Dr. Stevenson says: "The Church has been consecrated to this work by its Master; and when the consecration is accepted, penetrating not only into assemblies and councils, but into every little group of Christian people — penetrating like a fire that burns into men's souls, and then leaping out in flames of impulse and passionate surrender — we shall see the Mission as Christ would have it be. The story of it will be told from every pulpit ; it will be the burden of daily prayer in every Christian home ; every one will study for himself, as Canon Westcott recommends, the annals of the present conquests of the Cross ; the children will grow up believing that this is the aim for which they are to live, and churches will meet to plan their great campaigns, and send out the best and ablest men they have to take part in this war of love. It will be the cause of the hour into which men will pour all that they would spend on the greatest struggle they have ever known. It is time for the Church to ask for this consecrated spirit, to ask for the entire congregation the consecration that is asked and expected of the single man or woman whom it sends into the field." 2 70 ROBERT MORRISON. A year ago four hundred and thirty missionaries met in conference in Shanghai to consider the extension of missions in China. It was attended by many of the most venerable agents in the field, and for several days the members occu- pied themselves in prayerful and solemn consideration of living suljjects touchingthe conversion of the empire of China. The main outcome of the Conference was the resolve to make a fervid appeal to the Christian world for multiplied agents, and the following touching and powerful address has been issued. That its trumpet-tongued words may vibrate sympathetically in the hearts of all the readers of this volume is the earnest prayer of the writer. an appeal for ®ne ITbousanb HDen. To all Protestant Churchmen of Christian Lands. Dear Brethren in Christ, — We, the General Conference of Protestant Missionaries in China, having just made a special appeal to you for a largely increased force of ordained Missionaries to preach the Gospel throughout the length and breadth of this great land, — to plant Churches, to educate native ministers and helpers, to create a Christian literature, and in general to engage in and direct the supreme work of Christian evangelisation, and Having also just made a special appeal to you for a largely increased force of unordained men, evangelists, teachers, and physicians, — to travel far and wide distributing books and preaching to the masses, to lend a strong helping hand in the great work of Christian education, and to cxhiljit to China the benevolent side of Christianity in the work of healing the sick ; Therefore, we do now appeal to you, the Protestant Churches of Christian lands, to send to China in response to these calls — CHINA FOR CHRIST. 271 ONE THOUSAND MEN WITHIN FIVE YEARS FROM THIS TIME. We make this appeal in behalf of three hundred millions of unevangelised heathen ; we make it with the earnestness of our whole hearts, as men overwhelmed with the magni- tude and responsibility of the work before us ; we make it with unwavering faith in the power of a risen Saviour to call men into His vineyard, and to open the hearts of those who are His stewards to send out and support them, and we shall not cease to cry mightily to Him that He will do this thing, and that our eyes may see it. On behalf of the Conference, Chai7-m€ii Permanent Conwiittee f Rev. J. L. Nevius, D.D. \ Rev. b. Hill. Rev. J. Hudson Taylor. Rev. Wm. Ashmore, D.D. Rev. H. COREETT, D.D. Rev. C. W. Mateer, D.D., LL.D. Rev. C. F. Reid. Shanghai, May, 1S90. Dr. Griffith John, in addressing a company of young men on his recent visit to England, spoke these words, with which this volume may fitly end : — " It is not my habit to say anything to induce young men to devote themselves to this work, for I have a wholesome dread of man-inspired missionaries. But I cannot allow this opportunity to pass without telling you young men who are preparing for the ministry, that I thank God most sincerely and devoudy that I am a missionary. I have never regretted the step I took many years ago in opposition to the strongly expressed wish of my best friends ; and if there is a sincere desire burning within my breast, it is that I may live and die in labouring and suffering for Christ among the heathen. Oh, it is a glorious work ! I know 272 ROBERT MORRISON. no work like it, — so real, so unselfish, so apostolic, so Christ-like. I know no work that brings Christ so near to the soul, that throws a man back so completely upon God, and that makes the grand old Gospel appear so real, so precious, so divine. And then think of the grandeur of our aim ! Our cry is, China for Christ ! India for Christ ! The world for Christ ! Think of China and her hundreds of millions becoming our Lord's and His Christ's ! Is there nothing grand in the idea ? Is there nothing soul-stirring in the prospect ? Is not that an achievement worthy of the best efforts of the Church and of the noblest powers of the most richly endowed among you ? And then think of the unspeakable privilege and honour of having a share in a work which is destined to have such a glorious issue. Oh! young men, think of it, dwell upon it; and if you hear the voice of God bid you go, manfully take up your cross and go, and you will never cease to thank Jesus Christ our Lord for counting you worthy to be missionaries." THE END. Printed by Hazell, Watson, & Viney, Ld., London and Aylesbury. M ^^ -A-^' >-» \''s