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 EBW!y<J»'t.T»;?*»PSF? 
 
PRINCETON, N. J- 
 
 Shelf. 
 
 Division , 
 
 Section . 
 
 
 Montgomery Sinclair 
 Life and letters of Williai 
 T7lpmina gt^vftnson, D 
 
Life and Letters 
 
 O]'- 
 
 WlLLL^M , 
 
 Fleming StevensOxN 
 
 D.D. 
 
 MINISTER OF CHRIST CHURCH, RATH GAR, 
 DUBLIN 
 
 B V HIS W I F E 
 
 THOMAS NELSON AND SONS 
 
 Land at!, Ed inbtirgh, and Neiv York 
 1888 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 In bringing out this record of my husband's Kfe and work, 
 I wish gratefully to acknowledge the help I have received 
 from many friends, and especially from the Eev. A. C. 
 Murphy, D. Lit., by whom originally it had been my desire 
 that the book should be edited. Circumstances, however, 
 prevented this, and I would here express my indebtedness 
 and gratitude to him for the time and labour he generously 
 expended in preparing and arranging materials, and for his 
 kind advice and assistance throughout. 
 
 To the Eev. Adolph Saphir, D.D., the Eev. W. S. Swan- 
 son, the Eev. G. T. Eea, and Thomas Sinclair, Esq., I am 
 also under deep obligation, as well as to those friends who 
 have kindly furnished letters and reminiscences. 
 
 E. M. STEVENSON. 
 
 London, November 1888. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 1 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 EARLY YEARS. 
 1832-1848. 
 Birth and parentage — Early education — A great sorrow 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 STUDENT LIFE. 
 
 1848-1854. 
 
 Undergraduate days in Glasgow — Love of literature and 
 music— Theological study in Edinburgh— College friend- 
 ships^A missionary union — Kingsley's Lectures — Reminis- 
 cences by Dr. Saphir 8 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 STUDY AND TRAVEL IN GERMANY. 
 
 1854-1855. 
 
 Hamburg — Visit to Wichern and the Rauhe Hans — At the Uni- 
 versity of Berlin — Nitzsch — Hengstenberg — The Wingolf 
 Chor— Strauss — A German Christmas — Gossner — In Wit- 
 temberg and Halle — Tholuck — To Erlangen — Hofmann — 
 Delitzsch — In Nuremberg— Study in Heidelberg — Chevalier 
 Bunsen 24 
 
viii Contents, 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 EARLY MINISTERIAL LIFE. 
 1855-1859. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Return to Ireland — Death of his father — Mission work in Bel- 
 fast — Dangerous illness — Work at Bonn — Visit to Hol- 
 land — Ministry at Alfred Place, Belfast — Letters . . 61 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 PASTORAL WORK IN DUBLIN. 
 
 1860-1886. 
 
 Call to Rathgar — Ordmation — Origin of Christ Church, Rath- 
 gar — Growth of the congregation — Church work and 
 methods — Children's Services — Missionary enthusiasm — 
 Letters — Pastoral visiting and sympathy — Dr. Smylie 
 Robson 89 
 
 CHAPTER VL 
 
 LITERARY WORK. 
 
 1855-1886. 
 
 Contributions to Edinburgh Christian Magazine, Good ^Vords, 
 Cojitemporary Review, &c. — "Praying and Working" — 
 Hymnology — Letters from Norman Macleod and Dora 
 Green well — Dr. Saphir on "Hymns for the Church and 
 Home "— " The Dawn of the Modern Mission "... 119 
 
 CHAPTER VIL 
 
 VISIT TO AMERICA. 
 1873. 
 
 Death of his mother — Invitation to the Conference of the 
 Evangelical Alliance in New York — First Impressions — 
 Niagara — Chicago — Salt Lake City — San Francisco — The 
 Yosemite Valley — Account of the Conference . . .132 
 
Contents. ix 
 
 CHAPTER YIII. 
 
 FOREIGN MISSION. 
 
 1871-1886. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Appointed Assistant Convener — Origin of the Mission to India — 
 The field of work — Gujarat and Kattiawar — Statistics of the 
 Mission — Mission to China — Occupation of Manchuria — 
 Letter from Dr. Morgan, the Convener and founder of the 
 Mission — His death — Founding of the Zenana Mission — 
 Letters to the missionaries and to friends of the Mission . 151 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 MISSIONARY JOURNEY ROUND THE WORLD. 
 
 1877-1878. 
 
 Widespread desire that the Convener should visit the Mission 
 field — Resolution of the Board of Missions — Valedictory 
 meeting — Across America — Typhoon in the Pacific — Land- 
 ing at Yokohama — Tokio — Japanese Missions — Daibuts at 
 Narra — The Inland Sea — Nagasaki — Shanghai — Newch- 
 wang — Tientsin — A Chinese inn — Pekin — Southern China — 
 Landing in India — Through Travancore — Madras — Among 
 the Irish Missions in Gujarat and Kattiawar — Calcutta and 
 the cities of the North-west — Cairo — Return to Ireland — 
 Reception and welcome by the General Assembly — His 
 speech in reply 190 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 PUBLIC LIFE. 
 
 1878-1886. 
 
 Abundant labours — Moderatorship — Royal University — Degree 
 of D.D., Edinburgh — Inaugural Address as Moderator — List 
 of offices held in 1886 — Public lectures — Evangelistic theo- 
 logy — The Smith Lectureship — Dufi" Missionary Lectiu-e- 
 ship — Appointed Honorary Chaplain to the Lord Lieutenant 
 of Ireland — Bm-den of correspondence — Overwork . . 236 
 
Contents. 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 HOME LIFE. 
 
 1S65-1886. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Marriage — Orwell Bank — The father m liis home — Letters to 
 his chikken — Family praj^ers — Bright Sundays — Holiday- 
 time — Letters to his son at school 250 
 
 CHAPTER XIL 
 
 THE END. 
 
 1886. 
 
 The last winter's work — Unconscious windings up — Death of 
 his brother — Last sermons in Christ Church — Sudden ill- 
 ness — Visit to Wales — Letter to Mr. Swanson — The last 
 days — Called home — The funeral 269 
 
 CHAPTER XIIL 
 
 IN MEMORIAM. 
 
 Universal sympathy — Memories and letters from the Rev. W. 
 S. Swanson; the Right Hon. the Earl of Aberdeen; the 
 Rev. William Beatty ; the Rev, Hamilton Magee, D.D. ; the 
 Rev. Alexander Rentoul, M.A. ; the Rev. George Shaw ; the 
 Rev. Principal Baton, D.D.; the Rev. Professor Charteris, 
 D.D. ; the Rev. Theodore Cuyler, D.D. ; the Rev. John Hall, 
 D.D. ; the Rev. J. S. Macintosh, D.D 283 
 
LIFE AND LETTERS 
 
 WILLIAM FLEMING STEVENSON, 
 
 D.D. 
 
CHAPTER I. 
 
 EARLY YEARS. 
 
 William Fleming Stevenson was born on the 20tli Sep- 
 tember 1832 in Strabane, a pleasantly situated and impor- 
 tant town of County Tyrone. He was partly English by 
 descent, the Stevensons having come from Cheshire to 
 Ireland with Cromwell, while the Flemings, the family of 
 his father's mother, as well as his mother's ancestors, the 
 Mortons, were originally Scotch ; but as his character 
 ripened he became an Irishman with sympathies and 
 aspirations wholly divested of provincial prejudice. To 
 this twofold descent he doubtless owed the tenacity of 
 purpose, the unconquerable perseverance, and the lofty 
 sense of duty which have combined to render the Ulster 
 Irish race such a remarkable factor in the progress of 
 English-speaking peoples. 
 
 His father was an exceptionally intelligent, capable, 
 and well-educated man, a lover of books, of music, and of 
 scenery. He had the faculty of making companions of his 
 children (rarer in those days than it is now), conversing 
 with them freely, reading aloud to them in the evenings, 
 and taking them for afternoon strolls through the glens 
 and lanes of the neighbourhood, calling their attention to 
 anything strange or beautiful in nature — a flower, a flight 
 of birds, a rainbow, a rising or setting sun. Thus their 
 powers of observation and sense of sympathy with all 
 
Life of William Fleming Stevenson, 
 
 natural objects were called forth at an early age, and tlie 
 result was, that the literary and artistic tastes of the father 
 were not only inherited by the children, but woven through 
 the whole custom of the house ; and, better still, the germs 
 of a deep, reverent, and loving confidence were implanted 
 in the children's hearts. Mr. Stevenson was more than a 
 man of genial spirit, sound understanding, and literary 
 culture ; he was an eminently godly man, loyal to the Pres- 
 byterian Church, of which he was a member, and liberal- 
 minded towards all other Churches. Believing that the 
 Church of Christ was not limited by the bounds of any one 
 denomination, he eagerly sought the bread of life wherever 
 it was to be found. His sympathies (as became the father 
 of the man who was one day to give such a missionary 
 impetus to the Christian life of his generation) were most 
 widely drawn out by the needs of the great heathen world ; 
 and when the Irish Presbyterian Church established its 
 Indian Mission, in 1841, he was among those who most 
 heartily welcomed the new enterprise, both for its own 
 sake and as a proof of the quickened life of the Church. 
 His house was always open to the deputations of the 
 London Missionary Society and other kindred agencies who 
 visited Strabane from year to year. The names of Williams, 
 Moffat, and Duff were household words among parents 
 and children ; and to the boy's acquaintance with these 
 heroes of missionary enterprise of different Churches and 
 of various creeds may be traced the beginning of that 
 noble catholicity of spirit which was so characteristic of 
 the man. 
 
 Mrs. Stevenson was a woman of a most quiet, sweet, 
 unselfish spirit. A devoted Christian, her religion took hold 
 of a character already beautiful and transfigured it. Her 
 influence and example were an abiding blessing to her 
 
Early Years. 3 
 
 children while she lived, and at her death she bequeathed 
 to them the memory of a life of singular unselfishness, of 
 womanly tenderness, and of rare saintliness. She prayed 
 much for her children, and she prayed much with them : it 
 was at his mother's knee that the child first began to develop 
 that power in prayer which was through life one of his con- 
 spicuous gifts. Her mother was a remarkable woman, of 
 a highly emotional and imaginative turn of mind, and of 
 great power of endurance. In her later years she seems to 
 have lived abidingly in the presence and fellowship of God. 
 Many of her qualities, her enthusiasm, her sensitive sym- 
 pathetic temperament, and her strong force of will were 
 inherited by her grandson ; while to his mother he owed 
 his gentle, loving disposition, his marvellous patience and 
 self-denying consecration. 
 
 William Fleming was the youngest of five children, having 
 two brothers and two sisters older than himself. He was a 
 bright-minded and affectionate boy, gentle, sensitive, con- 
 siderate, but full of vitality and sparkle. He had a strong 
 and lasting love for an old Koman Catholic nurse who 
 served the family for thirty years ; and no home-letter was 
 closed, as long as she lived, without some kind message 
 or reference to her. From his earliest childhood he 
 delighted in poetry, and reading a passage once or twice 
 to him was quite sufficient to imprint it on his memory. 
 When a mere infant he could repeat an extraordinary 
 number of poems and hymns without ever being at a loss 
 for a word. He often regretted in later years that this power 
 had passed away as he grew up. 
 
 He inherited all his father's love for scenery. One day, 
 when a "little tiny boy," his nurse suddenly missed him. 
 The garden and all his favourite haunts were searched in 
 vain. At last he was found in an attic window utterly 
 
4 Life of William Fleming Stevenson, 
 
 absorbed, looking at a neigbbouring knoll through a telescope 
 as large as himself. When asked what he was doing there, 
 he said he was " busy watching the cows grazing and the 
 shadows chasing each other among the rocks and over the 
 grass." 
 
 It was their father's strong wish that his two youngest 
 sons should be trained for the office of the holy ministry, 
 and in his plans for their education he kept this desire 
 in view. Accordingly, when Willie, who was four years 
 younger than his brother, was considered old enough, a 
 resident tutor was chosen to direct their studies. Mr. 
 MacKeown, afterwards minister of a church in Ballymena, 
 and whose early death cut short a career of brilliant promise, 
 was rather taken aback to find that one of his pupils was a 
 boy not six years old. On being set up on a stool, how- 
 ever, before a blackboard, the child soon showed that he 
 could draw maps of various countries with the greatest ease 
 and correctness, and his tutor discovered, to his great relief, 
 that, thanks to the broad and generous home discipline, the 
 boy both knew many things and could do many things not 
 usual in a child of his age. 
 
 He was educated by private tuition till 1844, when he 
 and his brother were sent to Belfast to live under the care 
 of their tutor, and attend the Belfast Royal Academical 
 Institution. A number of letters written at this time 
 have been preserved. They are simple, artless, outspoken 
 effusions, giving full account of school- work done and 
 holiday pleasures and country walks, overflowing with 
 affection to every member of the family, the old nurse 
 never forgotten ; genuine boy's letters from first to last, 
 full of the warm heart and open eye and gathering wonder 
 of life. 
 
 The following extract from a letter to his father, written 
 
Early Years. 
 
 in the round, unformed hand of a boy of twelve, shows how 
 susceptible he was to all the impressions of nature : — 
 
 " We drove to Carnmoney last Sunday to hear Mr. M'Dowell 
 preach. The drive was the pleasantest I ever had, and the view 
 the most delightful I ever saw. On the one side was the Cave 
 Hill, with its dark, precipitous sides frowning over us, and beyond 
 it the rugged and higher Mount Divis ; while on the other lay 
 the sea, stretching away down between Holywood and Carrick- 
 fergus, undisturbed by a single ripple and studded with number- 
 less ships fixed immovably at anchor, while all around was quiet 
 and peaceful, true emblem of the day." 
 
 The two brothers were for the first time separated in 
 1845, when Samuel became a student of the University of 
 Edinburgh. He was a bright, high-spirited boy, clever at 
 games and boyish exploits, and idolised by his little brother, 
 who looked up to him with the unbounded admiration due 
 to his four years' seniority and his greater prowess in all 
 feats requiring strength and muscle. 
 
 Willie felt the separation very keenly, kept up a close 
 correspondence with his brother, and was constantly looking 
 forward to the day when he would join him at the Univer- 
 sity. But that day was never to dawn. On the 17th 
 March 1847, Samuel, who had already begun to make his 
 mark in the University, and who was at this time working 
 hopefully for the Greek and mathematical prizes, went out 
 to spend the evening with some friends of the family who 
 lived near the Calton Hill. He never reached their house, 
 and notwithstanding the most patient and persistent efforts 
 to trace him, no clue to the awful mystery was ever ob- 
 tained, and the elements for forming even a distant conjec- 
 ture as to his fate do not exist. An occurrence so dark 
 and tragic cast a gloom over the family gladness, which was 
 never afterwards to be entirely lifted. Down to the end of 
 
6 Life of William Fleming Stevenson. 
 
 her days, the heart of the mother refused to accept the 
 alternative that her boy was dead, and she was always wist- 
 fully watching for some token that he was still alive and 
 would yet return to her. The father's life was without 
 doubt shortened by this agonising suspense. The shock 
 was felt most acutely by his brother Willie. From being 
 the merriest boy, brimful of fun and frolic, he became 
 grave and thoughtful as a man. His whole life seemed 
 lifted into another groove, as if by the heave of an earth- 
 quake, and the unseen world was made very real and near 
 to him from that day forward. The following extract 
 from a letter written years afterwards, when visiting his 
 old homestead, shows what abiding impressions the old 
 home life had left upon his mind : — 
 
 ''Home is a relative word, and may mean two or three places 
 in one's life ; though I hold the first to be the sacred one, as I 
 feel this evening, returning after a year and a half's absence. 
 The old home feeling rushes back, full of thoughts of the joy and 
 gladness of childhood, of the early loving ways, of my mother's 
 stories ; of games and walks and playfellows, school and tutors ; 
 the river frozen for weeks at a time, and the wonderful slides ; 
 the contracted thoughts, contracted to the narrowness of a child's 
 world, but deeper and happier often than the man's ; the intensity 
 of pleasure and pain ; thoughts of my noble-minded father, his 
 delighted love for his children, the strangeness with which I 
 used to watch the occasional careworn look, the pride I took in 
 the respect which everybody paid him ; the household word he 
 had become in the town for whatever was honourable, spirited, 
 intelligent — above all, Christian. These thoughts rushed upon 
 me as I stepped out on the platform at the station, and kept 
 rushing in like a full stream the whole evening. ... I paid two 
 visits to-day ; one to the garden, my father's pride, a place that 
 educated his children in the love of flowers and in such culture 
 of thought as the love of beautiful things produces; and the 
 other to his grave. It seemed as if it were yesterday that I 
 
Early Years, 
 
 stood by it when it was open, the tears and the dull drizzling 
 rain falling together. That is the most awful moment of life — 
 the opening and closing of a grave. I felt his spirit close to 
 me. I used to worship his character, and he remains for me 
 a perpetual type of a true man." 
 
 After his father's death his mother resided chiefly in 
 Italy, and a few lines written on the eve of a visit to her, 
 in 1863, seem fittingly to close this record of his early 
 years : — 
 
 " My mother writes the most picturesque letters, full of 
 genuine photographs of Italian life and manners. Costume, 
 scenery, character, all come under her notice, and are described 
 with such a simple, observant, graphic force that I tell her she 
 has become a genius in her old age, and is blossoming into youth 
 among the orange-groves of the Adriatic. We have never been 
 so long separated before, and I grow very restless to see her. 
 She is one of the most beautiful types of the Christian woman : 
 all the depth of a woman's self-sacrifice and forgetfulness, ele- 
 vated by love and dedication to God; very simple and unused 
 to the world ; very shy, and blushing like a child when noticed ; 
 with a pious faith that flows over all her heart ; with the simplest 
 tastes ; she goes about the rooms like a silent prayer, the prayer 
 of a happy heart that shrinks from everything but sympathy, 
 and reveals itself only to God. Clever people may attract us, but 
 the good dwell with us ; the very thought of them is fragrant 
 like a wind that has blown over a garden. I never pray or visit 
 the poor without my mother." 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 STUDENT-LIFE. 
 
 In the autumn of 1848, Fleming Stevenson entered the 
 University of Glasgow as a student in arts, the intention of 
 sending him to Edinburgh having been abandoned after the 
 loss of his brother. He threw himself with great eagerness 
 into the work of the several classes, and the range of his 
 study went far beyond the subjects taught in them. His 
 whole student-life — and he never ceased to be a student — 
 was marked by intense application, painstaking accuracy, 
 and thoroughness. He had the rare power of being able 
 to do with little sleep, and, what is still rarer, he could 
 command it when he wished. This habit was acquired 
 when he became an undergraduate, and but too faithfully 
 adhered to through life. After a month's experience of 
 college work, he writes to his elder sister Mary : — 
 
 " This student's life is fearfully hard work — little sleep, long 
 quick walks, and close, continuous, never-ending study. Some 
 one says a student should sleep three hours and study seventeen. 
 I go as near to this as I can without injury to my eyes." 
 
 During the three years of his undergraduate course, his 
 professors were Buchanan, Lushington, Sir William Thom- 
 son, Ramsay, Reid, and Fleming. There is little to record 
 of his college work ; he did not aim so much at distinction 
 in any special branch as to lay a good foundation for acquir- 
 
Shident-Life. 
 
 ing comprehensive and many-sided knowledge. In his first 
 year he began the study of German, and was fascinated by 
 the wide range of literature opened up to him by the ac- 
 quisition of that language ; and his extensive acquaintance 
 with it helped to enrich his thinking and to form his style. 
 
 To his sister Jane, with whom during his whole college, 
 course he kept up a lively correspondence, interchanging 
 ideas on books read, and keeping her abreast of all his 
 doings, he writes : — 
 
 ** I cannot well tell how I am learning German. I study it 
 very little, only about an hour each evening, and I am sometimes 
 amazed when I think it is scarcely a month since I began, and 
 that now I can read ' Faust ' with comparative ease — about eight or 
 nine pages in two hours. ' Faust ' indeed is most captivating, at 
 least so far as a blending of all that is most horrible with all that 
 is most sweet and delicate and pure can be said to be captivating. 
 My tutor is not a disciple of the school of which Goethe was an 
 eminent master — indeed he holds strong views on the other side ; 
 so that we fight many a battle over Coleridge and Wordsworth, 
 Goethe and Shelley. I never learned a language {i.e., tried to 
 learn it) with so little difficulty and so much pleasure." 
 
 In another letter to his sister he gives an account of his 
 holiday readings : — 
 
 "Of my studies I cannot report very favourably since the 
 commencement of the holidays ; I am much more inclined than 
 I should be to read Macaulay instead of Potter, Wordsworth 
 instead of Thomson, Philip van Artwelde and ' Faust ' instead of 
 Comstock and even Gesenius. Tennyson's 'In Memoriam ' is 
 magnificent." 
 
 \To the samc:\ .. p^^^,^^^,^^ ^850. 
 
 " I have been quite absorbed in Talfourd's * Final Memorials 
 of Lamb.' All week I have felt overtasked, so tried the experi- 
 ment of light reading. Fortunately I have a sort of yielding 
 
10 Life of William Fleming Stevenson. 
 
 elasticity in my nature, and a light-heartedness which rises over 
 every depression, so that I can endure this hard labour with 
 tolerable good-humour ; and the moment the weight is the least 
 degree upraised, my indiarubber temperament pushes it a little 
 farther on its upward way. I admired Lamb's letters greatly, 
 though sometimes there runs through them a vein of light 
 sarcasm on religious subjects, rendered more painful by the 
 recollection of beautiful lines written on the sad anniversary of 
 his mother's death. And poor Mary Lamb ! All the sympathies 
 of the reader are enlisted in her favour wherever she makes her 
 appearance ; and her chequered life, sweetness of character, and 
 gentleness of disposition must leave a lasting impression on the 
 coldest heart, and will survive as long as the ' Essays of Elia.' . . . 
 " But ' Chapter the Last ' is his triumph. How admirably he 
 draws the portraits of the eminent men who formed the reunions 
 at the Temple ! and with what vividness he paints the ' suppers 
 of the Lambs ' and the dinners at Holland House — vividness so 
 nearly approaching to reality, that you can fancy yourself listening 
 to the ' gentle voice of Coleridge undulating in music,' or to the 
 outpourings of Wordsworth's noble soul, the dazzling beauty of 
 Hazlitt's criticisms, or the sparkling conversation of Moore, the 
 delicate wit of Sydney Smith, or the severe logic of the melancholy 
 Lloyd." 
 
 In a similar vein of criticism he writes of ^' Villette " and 
 ^' Moore's Journal and Letters " : — 
 
 " February 15, 1853. 
 *'I wish I could sketch you the child with which 'Villette ' opens ; 
 so slim, maidenly, precocious, at times positively unnatural, yet 
 somehow always a child. There is a rare power in this, though 
 after all a useless display of it ; it reminds you of a man who will 
 walk on the brink of a precipice to show what strength of head 
 he has. Be sure you read it by the fireside, for it abounds in 
 winter scenes that need a cosy corner, and the red curtains close 
 drawn, thoroughly to enjoy their admirable reality. Besides, 
 there is in it a good deal of what a late writer fancifully terms 
 the winter of the soul. 
 
Student- Life. 11 
 
 "'Moore's Journal and Letters' have just made a sensation, 
 containing as they do a vast collection of the most refined scandal, 
 told in the wittiest and happiest style. Every booby will now 
 know how he ate and drank and dressed, and will believe himself 
 vastly advanced in an appreciation of genius by his knowledge. 
 Bessie, shy as ' a violet by a mossy stone half hidden from the eye,' 
 will be the common talk of the nation. The veil will be drawn 
 away from the private life of a very happy, affectionate couple, 
 and their inmost thoughts and feelings, known to and only to be 
 known by each other, will be paraded before the heartless curi- 
 osity of the world. A man's genius may be the property of the 
 public, but surely not his home. If an Englishman's house is 
 his castle, ten times more sacred and inviolable should be his 
 afifections." 
 
 His love of music was intense. His whole soul seemed 
 to be possessed by it as by a spell. The wild enthusiasm of 
 the lad of seventeen on hearing Catherine Hayes (the Irish 
 singer, whom few will now remember) shows the power 
 music exerted upon him then. Years never lessened it ; in 
 after-life, when most weary and overpowered by work, no 
 rest or refreshment could ever equal that given by an even- 
 ing's music. He thus writes : — 
 
 " Up and down she wavered, performing a series of the most 
 difficult runs with the most exquisite skill, and then higher and 
 higher and higher rang out her clear sweet tones, till we seemed 
 to be listening to some of the fabled 
 
 ' Heaven-born symphonies, those bright-eyed things 
 That float about the air on azure wings.' 
 
 Her voice is like the ringing of a silver bell, and maintains in the 
 highest notes all its beauty and all its softness, and one low shake 
 of great pathos was reallj^, in the words of Keats, 
 
 ' More subtle-cadenced, more forest-wild, 
 Than Dryope's lone lulling of her child.' 
 
 The effect upon me I can hardly express. Were I a Mohamme- 
 dan, I should say she transported me to Paradise ; and as it was. 
 
12 Life of William Fleming Stevenson. 
 
 her voice sent a thrill through my whole frame, and I was 
 actually all trembling with excitement." 
 
 In 1851 he finished his studies in Glasgow, and took his 
 degree of M.A. It was during his first winter there that 
 he met Adolph Saphir, the now well-known preacher and 
 writer, who had come from Germany to study at the Uni- 
 versity. There was a strong intellectual and spiritual 
 affinity between the two students, and they became life-long 
 friends. Mr. Stevenson always delighted to acknowledge 
 how much of the impulse of his life he owed to his friend. 
 Mr. Saphir spent the summer with him at Strabane. There 
 they read books together, discussed problems, sang songs, 
 and talked over the arrangements for their theological 
 studies at the New College, Edinburgh, then under the 
 presidency of the late Principal William Cunningham, who 
 was at the same time Professor of Church History. It was 
 probably under the teaching of this distinguished man that 
 Mr. Stevenson acquired that love of the study of Church 
 History which afterwards characterised him, and the fruits 
 of which he turned to such good account in his missionary 
 lectures. He spent three sessions in the New College, during 
 the whole of which he enjoyed the close companionship of 
 his friend, Adolph Saphir. 
 
 The same enthusiasm that marked his undergraduate 
 years was carried into the study of theology. Exegesis did 
 not then occupy the prominent place in theological teaching 
 that it does to-day. But he recognised its true value, and 
 he writes to his father : — 
 
 " We are endeavouring to form a select exegetical society of 
 our own, to meet once a week ; a passage of the Bible to be given 
 out ; one to read what Luther says, another what Calvin says, 
 another what De Wette says on it, and so on ; and then each to 
 read an abstract of the commentary he has read. Afterwards, 
 
Student- Life. 13 
 
 we talk over the passage and arrange our own views. Exegesis 
 is lamentably neglected in this country, and consequently one 
 finds the people resting on the form, the minister preaching 
 from the form, texts distorted, and Scripture misapplied." 
 
 " Exegesis is the other study which I have set apart chiefly 
 for this winter, and a most valuable one it is, though, unfortu- 
 nately, apt to be neglected where a pure form of religion has for 
 a lengthened period prevailed, and the people, accustomed to the 
 form, have grown more careless about the spirit ; where Chris- 
 tianity has been drawn away from the inexhaustible well of the 
 Bible, and emptied into the pitchers of Confessions and Catechisms 
 and Church constitutions, from which alone the people have drawn 
 until the supply has been exhausted, and now when they go for 
 water, the pitchers stand empty. In many countries and in 
 many ages of the Church this has been more or less the case. 
 Happily, the restless spirit of inquiry which is now prevalent 
 gives promise that it may not occur again, at least in our day." 
 
 The third member of the trio who lived together at 18, 
 South Castle Street, was Charles de Smidt, who was Dutch 
 by descent, but had been born at the Cape, his father holding 
 an honourable Government appointment there. Writing of 
 him to his sister, Mr. Stevenson says : — " His character is so 
 honest, open, and childlike, that no one could help liking 
 him. We get on very happily together, not a single flaw 
 in our unity, the most harmonious, merriest, studiousest 
 ' klee-blatt ' that ever was." 
 
 De Smidt's career was a short one. After leaving Edin- 
 burgh he studied in Utrecht, was ordained by the Free 
 Church of Scotland, and resisting every temptation to 
 remain in Europe, where he would have had a more con- 
 genial and comfortable sphere, he went back to devote his 
 energies to his native country. He died young, after a few 
 
14 Life of Willia^n Fleming Stevenson, 
 
 years' good and promising work in a country parish at the 
 Cape. 
 
 In allusion to their birthplace or lineage, the three 
 dubbed themselves Shem, Ham, and Japhet. They pos- 
 sessed qualities, intellectual and moral, which so admirably 
 harmonised with or supplemented one another, that their 
 joint Edinburgh life seems to have been joyous, stimulating, 
 and full of benefit to all. 
 
 Living in Edinburgh naturally brought many sad thoughts 
 with it of the great and mysterious sorrow of Mr. Stevenson's 
 young life ; and with that quick reaction that only belongs 
 to the young, he passes from the most lively descriptions, 
 full of fun and frolic, to deep undertones of yearning for the 
 brother who was gone : — 
 
 {To his Sister.'] 
 
 " March, 1849. 
 " I am not merry just now, though this letter may lead you to 
 think so ; none of us can be. And to me there is no flower calls 
 up so many painful associations as the shamrock on St. Patrick's 
 Day (but don't let the children think so)." 
 
 And again : — 
 
 ''Much there is certainly to sadden me. Associations there 
 are here in every street, in every view, in the sky, in the air, 
 for everything in Edinburgh speaks of him. There are dark 
 shadows that cross me often, and they make me very gloomy 
 and melancholy, and I go up to my own room and walk about 
 there alone and cry. The other night I went out by myself, and 
 found my way to the University, and walked round and round it 
 as if I should have seen something there, I could hardly tell 
 what, and I came home tired and sad, because I had seen nothing 
 —yet I could not say what I expected. That Adolph is here is 
 my greatest comfort, for I feel sometimes that I must talk of our 
 lost one to somebody ; and I tell him of all our happy childhood 
 and our schoolboy life, and how we planned to live together happily 
 
Student- Life. 15 
 
 in Edinburgh, and how different everything is now. I cannot 
 write you more of this now. I am not able to do it calmly." 
 
 It was in Glasgow he first made public profession of his 
 faith in Christ by joining the communion of the Church 
 under the ministry of the gifted William Arnot. In Edin- 
 burgh he became a member of Dr. Charles Brown's congrega- 
 tion, and writes in November, 1851 : — 
 
 " He has impetuosity, energy, and earnestness ; but what 
 struck me most about him was his remarkable familiarity with 
 Scripture, and the correctness of his applications. He was never 
 at fault in this respect; and his Bible illustrations admirably 
 harmonise with and complete the sermon. Altogether I think 
 him not only the best, but the most fascinating preacher I have 
 heard." 
 
 \To his Sister 7\ 
 
 "- -■ ''December 3, 1851. 
 
 " I heard Saphir preach in German last Sunday. He expresses 
 his ideas with great force, earnestness, and pictoriality. He will 
 be a celebrated preacher. His piety is deep, earnest, overflowing ; 
 it is not stuck on or into his nature — it is his nature. Not with- 
 out struggle has it become so. He reminds me often, in his 
 tolerant Catholicism, of Jeremy Taylor, and as with him God-love 
 and human love go hand in hand — ' Let us love one another, for 
 God is love : ' ' Let him that loveth God love his brother also.' 
 This is the main feature in his piety ; this, and its straightfor- 
 wardness and anti-sham. I intend, God helping me, that it 
 shall be my motto also." 
 
 His high ideal of the perfect brotherhood and unity there 
 should be among those who serve the same Master, without 
 shackling in the smallest degree individual freedom, made 
 him peculiarly sensitive to any bitterness of feeling among 
 Christians. 
 
 \To Ids Fatlurr\ 
 
 ■- -* "October 5, 1851. 
 
 "It makes me sometimes very sad to think that nearly two 
 
16 Life of William Fleming Stevenson. 
 
 thousand years after the establishment of Christianity its spirit 
 should be so little understood and practised ; that the external, the 
 doctrine, the shell, the pulpit dress of the gospel should be so 
 studied in the closet, and so preached in the church, but that 
 of the spirit j'-ou only see faint glimmerings. Men have put 
 ugly, ill-fitting habiliments on the Christ-spirit, and under such 
 an uninviting cold exterior one has great difiiculty in finding out 
 the divine, the true, the Life." 
 
 \To the samel] 
 
 " December 11, 1851. 
 "... But I most sincerely hope that, while expressing my 
 dislike to narrow, one-sided Christianity, I may always be enabled 
 to look beyond the boundaries of a particular Church, and see 
 and gladly embrace the gospel-spirit wherever manifested." 
 
 [_To the same.'] 
 
 " I'm afraid, however, the Church will never have peace until 
 those who now steadily contend for distinctive principles will 
 as eagerly strive for the Spirit of Christ. It is most miserable 
 when men prize the shell as of higher value than the kernel, 
 thus undervaluing earnest devotion, fulness of spiritual life, deep, 
 intense love of Christ. I feel how much more easily one may 
 slip into temptations when isolated from Christian sympathy 
 and feelings, and lost ground is ever hard to recover. 
 
 " What a relief it is to turn from all the party bitterness, con- 
 tracted views and sectarian excrescences, which have grown on 
 Christianity, and bury oneself in the glowing pages of Jeremy 
 Taylor, and his scarcely less eloquent disciple. Archdeacon Julius 
 Hare ; glowing with love, with zeal, with faith, with charity for 
 all, with hatred only for the devil ! " 
 
 Mr. Stevenson was an omnivorous reader on all subjects, 
 and possessed the rare faculty of getting the gist of a book 
 and carrying away all that was best worth remembering, 
 while apparently only dipping into it. 
 
 Books were the necessity of his life. He could readily 
 
Shident-L ife, 1 7 
 
 give up many things tlie loss of which would be a great 
 sacrifice to most men ; but his zeal in collecting books yielded 
 to no obstacles, and no self-denial was considered too great 
 which enabled him to procure some much-coveted volume. 
 
 {To his Sister?^ 
 
 "February 14, 1 852. 
 
 '' I have been reading a medley this week, feeling that the 
 remaining time is short : the usual books for the classes, Car- 
 lyle's ' French Revolution,' Grote's ' History of Greece,' Spenser's 
 ' Faery Queen,' Thackeray's * Vanity Fair,' Maurice ' On the 
 Hebrews,' Jeremy Taylor — all of them, you will see, fine books. 
 Grote is in magnitude the greatest undertaking, with the notable 
 exception of Gibbon. The first of the ten published volumes, 
 which I have nearly finished, is altogether occupied with the 
 early legendary history of Greece, and the myths of that period 
 and the chivalric tales and legends of the ' Faery Queen ' har- 
 monise delightfully. In spite of my expectation, I can enter 
 fully into the interest which Spenser throws about his * Knights 
 of the Round Table,' and find the * Faery Queen ' one of the most 
 fascinating of poems. I feared I had outgrown the age when it 
 could be thoroughly enjoyed, and I am quite happy that I am 
 still in the romantic epoch. ' Maurice ' is an answer to Father 
 Newman's development theory." 
 
 Those who have enjoyed the privilege of Mr. Stevenson's 
 letters, so natural, tender, and sympathetic, with vivid pic- 
 tares of his surroundings and doings, or it may be telling 
 of his inner thoughts and fancies, will be amused at his own 
 description of the troubles of letter-writing : — 
 
 [To his Sister.'] 
 
 "March 19, 1853. 
 "I would not for all the friendships in the world have to 
 write your two letters a day. It would kill me. There would 
 be written in friendly warning on my grave, 'Died of friend- 
 
 B 
 
18 Life of William Fleming Stevenson. 
 
 ship.' But then you throw off your easy epistles as you unwind 
 a skein of silk ; it gives you no trouble ; what you wish to say 
 flows from your soul to your fingers, and thence along the 
 pen, without effort, almost without will ; you can think of fifty 
 things while you write of one, or vice versa. But with me it 
 is different. I cannot write without severe and concentrated 
 thought; it is a business to me, something which taxes and 
 strains my powers, just as the unwinding of the silk would." 
 
 It was one of his fixed beliefs that, were sufficient pains 
 taken to give full, accurate, interesting information about 
 the needs of the heathen world, and the results of what had 
 been already done, there would be little difficulty in firing 
 the enthusiasm of the people, and raising their gifts to an 
 incredibly high standard. His becoming secretary to the 
 Irish Prayer Union and Missionary Association gave him an 
 opportunity of putting in practice this belief: — 
 
 *' I have been able to carry into effect a proposal made at our 
 last meeting, that one of the members should at each meeting 
 read an abstract of missionary intelligence, chiefly Irish of course, 
 but including also such noble evangelistic work as is carried on by 
 the Inner Mission in Germany, the Church Pastoral Aid Society 
 in England, the colporteurs in France, Switzerland, and Lom- 
 bardy, and the Missionary Society in China, &c. What we felt 
 was our ignorance of missionary operations, though we are pro- 
 fessedly a missionary association." 
 
 In the spring of 1854, Charles Ivingsley delivered four 
 lectures in the Philosophical Institute, Edinburgh, on '' The 
 Schools of Alexandria." The enthusiasm he evoked kindled 
 a responsive glow in the heart of the young student, whose 
 whole soul was stirred by the influence, strong yet subtle, 
 of that brilliant genius, and with whose abhorrence of cant 
 and lofty conception of the manliness of true Christianity 
 he had such deep, instinctive sympathy :— 
 
Student- L ife. 1 9 
 
 \To his Sister.'] 
 
 ''February 18, 1854. 
 
 " Kingsley speaks with the fire and energy of a man in earnest, 
 possessed by a message which above all things he must deliver. 
 
 ''His open, clear eyes of bluish brown, his thin, almost hollow 
 cheeks, his delicate, fine lips, his sweet, gentle smile, the melan- 
 choly voice soft and low and sad; the stooped shoulders, the 
 full, intense earnestness, the brave, fearless truth, the singleness 
 and unaffectedness, I had almost said innocence, but should say 
 entire absence of self-consciousness, which they who would might 
 read in his fine, expressive, though not handsome face — these are 
 a living picture to be hung up in the picture-gallery of one's 
 brightest memories. 
 
 " That there is a truth deeper than all falsehood ; that things 
 are not right or wrong according to our mutable opinions, but as 
 they are in themselves ; that we have a craving for wisdom and 
 teaching and light, and must find that which answers this our 
 craving ; that the fountain of this eternal truth, wisdom, light, the 
 measure of this righteousness, is God; that He alone can answer 
 our cravings, satisfy our hopes, end our fears ; that in the mani- 
 festation of the Son, the God-man, these cravings, hopes, and 
 fears find a ready solution and end ; that by it they are excited in 
 those who have stifled them ; that through it God is brought nearer 
 to man, and man nearer to God — this, whether you contemplate 
 it as one truth or many, was the beginning and end, the constant 
 though outwardly varying burden of all he said. 
 
 "It is far from the least proof of his great genius that he 
 could make a very mixed, though, on the whole, intellectual 
 audience familiar, more or less, in four lectures with a subject 
 so knotty, hard, dry, extended over many centuries, entangled 
 in a succession of events of world-wide importance, involving a 
 discussion of the profoundest problems with which the human 
 mind has ever puzzled itself, stretching on either side into the 
 mysteries of our being and God's. 
 
 " Mrs. C said to me as we came out, ' It is not often our 
 
 thoughts are raised here above earth ; but I never heard a preacher 
 who brought heaven so close to it, and set us so face to face with 
 
20 Life of William Fleming Stevenson. 
 
 God.' Yet it was a lecture on the downfall of Alexandria, the 
 rise of Mohammedanism, Arabian metaphysics, and the like; it 
 had investigations into astronomy and decimals, and the burning 
 of the great library, and facts, figures, and quotations from 
 Carlyle. So true it is that out of the abundance of the heart the 
 mouth speaketh ; not that it was a sermon substituted for a 
 philosophical dissertation, but that, as it was said Whitfield 
 could move an audience to tears by saying ' Mesopotamia,' so a 
 man whose heart is with God will show you God in the dustiest, 
 mouldiest, sterilest epoch, in the most insignificant and common- 
 place of every-day realities." 
 
 Dr. Saphir gives the following reminiscences of his college 
 friend : — 
 
 " My acquaintance with Stevenson commenced in the winter 
 of 184:8-9, when we attended the same classes in Glasgow 
 University ; and, living in the same neighbourhood, had almost 
 every day long conversations on our way to the college. Perhaps 
 the fact that Stevenson was Irish attracted me to him, as it 
 was a new nationality to me. I very soon discovered his kind 
 and genial nature. When we parted in the month of May, we 
 had become friends, though neither of us, I think, was aware of 
 the depth and strength of the bond which united us. Stevenson 
 wrote very characteristic letters, describing Dublin and its attrac- 
 tions, his quiet life in the country, and his varied reading. He 
 was very happy and sanguine, and tried to cheer me, who felt very 
 lonely in a strange country, and depressed by ill-health and other 
 trials. I remember distinctly the time when we, as it were, 
 looked into each other's soul, and felt that we were one. That 
 was in reply to a letter in which I had told him of the peace 
 and sunshine which had come to me from the eighth chapter of 
 Romans, when I saw clearly the consolation and firm foundation 
 of election, that they who believe in Jesus know that God is for 
 them^ and that all things work together for their good. The 
 experimental view of this doctrine struck him very much, and 
 his reply was full of sympathy. From that time began our real 
 friendship. When in 1850 he repeated to me his invitation to 
 
Stitdent-Life, 21 
 
 spend the summer holidays with him, I gladly accepted it. I was 
 received by his parents with the greatest kindness, and soon felt 
 at home in that truly Christian and peaceful household. Stevenson 
 and I were inseparable, reading and talking. He was preparing 
 for entering the Divinity Hall, but general literature had great 
 attractions for him. I was then full of German literature — 
 Schiller, Goethe, Tieck, &c. ; he was steeped in the English 
 classics ; and so we exchanged thoughts and information. I 
 noticed during that summer many characteristics which distin- 
 guished him all his life. His favourite poet was Wordsworth. 
 His taste in poetry was very catholic. He already possessed 
 the calmness, patience, and humility which recognise the merits 
 and beauties of authors who were not congenial to him. But 
 Wordsworth was the poet whom he loved, who both expressed 
 and developed his own individuality. Stevenson had an intense 
 and living love of nature, and a warm appreciation of true human 
 nobility in every form and shape, even the simplest and most 
 unpretending. Another feature that was very prominent in his 
 character was his unselfishness, and his great joy in doing acts 
 of kindness. He thought nothing of an immense amount of 
 labour, involving often self-denial, if he could afford help or 
 pleasure to any of his friends, or comfort and aid any sick and 
 suffering. His anxiety to do this in the best and most effective 
 manner, his minute forethought and skilful arrangement, and 
 the delicate and unobtrusive way in which he accomplished his 
 object, had something feminine and touching in it. It was only 
 during this visit that Stevenson told me the sad story of his 
 brother's disappearance. It made me feel, if possible, still more 
 attached to him, and I looked upon him, as I have done through- 
 out my life since, as a gift of God's love to me, who had been 
 separated from brother and sister and relative of every kind 
 since my seventeenth year. It was settled that we, joined by 
 Charles de Smidt, should live together during our divinity course 
 in Edinburgh. Our circle was varied and somewhat cosmopoli- 
 tan, owing to De Smidt's Dutch and Cape fellow-students, and 
 to my Jewish and German friends. I have no doubt that the 
 missionary spirit which afterwards distinguished Stevenson was 
 nourished by this contact with missionary and Church news 
 
22 Life of William Fleming Stevenson. 
 
 from different parts of the world. Our most intimate friend 
 was the Rev. Theodore Meyer, who was Assistant Professor of 
 Hebrew in the New College. He came over in the year 1848 
 to Scotland, after having witnessed the exciting scenes of the 
 Revolution in Berlin. Mr. Meyer came to Christianity out of 
 Judaism and Rationalism. Having been brought into contact 
 with the various forms of neology in Berlin, he had a very sym- 
 pathetic and genial manner with young men who were passing 
 through similar phases and conflicts ; so that, Avhile we looked up 
 to him on account of his experience and learning, we felt quite 
 at home in his society, and he frequently joined our Saturday 
 expeditions. Stevenson continued his general reading with great 
 diligence while at college; and as he was at the same time a very 
 conscientious and laborious student, the only time at his dis- 
 posal for his more severe studies was at night. He often sat 
 up till three o'clock in the morning. He was able to do with very 
 little sleep, and he seemed determined to do a great many things, 
 and to do them leisurely; and somehow it was marvellous how 
 much he could pack into the short time ; for he availed himself of 
 the many social invitations which we received ; and concerts and 
 the lectures at the Philosophical Institution, such as Ruskin and 
 Kingsley delivered, had great attractions for him. So he went 
 on cheerily without any of the features of the hard student, 
 apparently always at leisure, and interested in everything that 
 referred to humanity. He was full of earnest purpose to avail 
 himself of all the opportunities afforded him to prepare for the 
 work of the holy ministry. He never lost sight of this purpose, 
 and sought to make everything subservient to this great object. 
 His faith in Scripture as the word of God, in Christ as the 
 Saviour, and in the work of the Holy Spirit, was clear and 
 strong. He greatly valued the ministry of the late Dr. Charles 
 Brown ; and this fact alone shows that he appreciated spiritual, 
 Scriptural, and experimental preaching. While he was inwardly 
 rooted in the truth, and living a life of communion with God in 
 prayer and study of Scripture, his theological views were as yet 
 undeveloped, and he felt, as most thoughtful students do, the 
 disturbing effect of modern speculation and of neology. His 
 mind was candid and active. His temperament was calm. He 
 
Studen t- L ife. 2 3 
 
 was determined to examine carefully and slowly, and to collect 
 material diligently. The writings of Archdeacon Hare, of Trench, 
 Maurice, and Kingsley, exerted a great influence on him. He 
 was keenly alive to the culture, breadth, and manliness which 
 characterised them, and fascinated by the power and vividness 
 of their mode of thought and expression. On the other side, 
 there was much in the old-fashioned representations of so-called 
 orthodoxy wdiich repelled him, or at least offered difficulties to 
 be overcome. He was very sensitive to any want of justice and 
 candour in the treatment of divergent views, and still more to 
 any want of reality or delicacy in the expression of spiritual 
 experiences. But the real conflict was occasioned by his mind 
 now coming into close contact with the solemn and mysterious 
 doctrines of revelation, with the question of revelation itself, of 
 the authority and inspiration of Scripture, of sin, of atonement. 
 He read more largely than the average student, and perhaps 
 with more sympathy with what I may call vaguely the modern 
 theology ; and those who did not know him intimately might have 
 fancied that he had become one of its disciples, while in reality he 
 had a deep conviction that the simple Scripture truth which he 
 had embraced in his childhood would in the end shine forth to his 
 mind more clearly; and that, while many misconceptions and un- 
 essential additions in the old mode of thought would be removed, 
 applications of greater breadth would be educed and a more 
 healthy tone imparted. Although his time was so fully occupied, 
 he undertook the visitation of a district in the poorest part of 
 Edinburgh — the Canongate. Most diligently did he fulfil his 
 duties; and I have known him, when suffering severely from 
 rheumatism and unable to walk, take a cab to his district and 
 climb with difficulty steep stairs to see the sick and suffering 
 people. Stevenson thought that he was called to the work of 
 evangelisation in the west of Ireland. He was very fond of his 
 native country. He loved to remember the bright light of the 
 missionary heroes who in olden days went forth from the Isle 
 of Saints. He sometimes spoke of his possible future missionary 
 labours in the west of Ireland, and of the difficulties and hardships 
 they might involve, and had the idea that he ought therefore to 
 prepare himself to endure privation and poverty." 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 STUDY AND TRAVEL IN GERMANY. 
 
 On comi^leting his theological course in Edinburgh, Mr. 
 Stevenson set out for Germany, where, in contact with 
 various forms of Christian activity and in converse with 
 many eminent Christian men, he spent the most spiritually 
 eventful year of his life. He entered by way of Hamburg, 
 spending a month with his friend, Mr. Saphir, who was 
 then engaged in mission work among the Jews. In a letter 
 to his father (written October 4th) he notes all that he sees 
 with the fresh, keen enjoyment of a first glimpse of foreign 
 ways and foreign life. Starting from Leith in brilliant 
 moonlight, he describes the passage and the passengers, the 
 quaint dress of the pilot who, on boarding the steamer at the 
 mouth of the Elbe, brought news of the fall of Sebastopol, 
 the softly-wooded rich green banks, the innumerable wind- 
 mills, the red-roofed and green-gabled old farmhouses 
 peeping out of their clusters of trees, the pretty villas of 
 Blankenese creeping up the hills, nestling in every hollow 
 and standing out on every projection, green, black, grey 
 and blue, with high-peaked roofs, twisted into fantastic 
 curves, and windows peeping out from the oddest corners. 
 Shrubberies, brilliant gardens, summer-houses, all sugges- 
 tive of life lived out of doors ; the German boatmen 
 with their red head-kerchiefs and aprons and blue 
 
Study and Ti^avel in Germany. 25 
 
 jackets, the deliglitful sensation of being in a new country 
 all come under his descriptive pen. Finally : — 
 
 " Through a forest of shipping we slowly sail up the middle of 
 the river, stop and swing round, anchor. Meanwhile many little 
 boats, each paddled by one man, come round the ship. I get a 
 lady's luggage and my own into one of these ; lastly, with much 
 trouble, the lady and myself. We pull in for the quay, are 
 nearly run through by an iron-beaked gig, wind tortuously till 
 we come off the floating custom-house. Ehvas contrahandisch ? 
 Nothing, say we and pass on. On a low jutting pier are A. and 
 S. waving hats and handkerchiefs. We are whirled off in a cab 
 to the Hotel de Saxe. My little room opens off their sitting- 
 room on one side, theirs on the other. We are happy beyond 
 measure." 
 
 But far beyond picturesqueness or novelty of the country 
 was the attraction that lay in the marvellous mission work of 
 Immanuel Wichern ; and two days after his arrival he writes 
 to his sister : — 
 
 *' Yesterday we went out to Horn to visit the famous Raulie 
 Haus. After a pleasant drive of about three miles, we got out 
 and turned into a well-trodden path shaded by chestnuts, and in 
 five minutes reached a wooden gate, through which we entered a 
 broad avenue bordered by flowers, grass, and trees, leading straight 
 up to a quaint-looking, red-gabled house, reminding me in its 
 effect — the approach included — of Hawthorne's 'Old Manse,' 
 except that there was no settled gloom, but, on the other hand, 
 a pleasant light and cheerfulness. We found that Dr. Wichern 
 had set off that morning for Berlin, so my introduction was 
 useless. However, we were shown into the strangers' room, and, 
 as it was dinner-hour, amused ourselves by looking over the names 
 in the visitors' book, where we found those of Elihu Burritt, 
 the Bishop of Ripon, Hengstenberg and Hoffman, the celebrated 
 theologians. We were told that a candidat (licentiate) would hurry 
 over his dinner and be with us ; and presently he arrived, looking 
 frank and intelligent. He knew the place well, was a sensible Chris- 
 tian man, up in statistics, and very ready with all his information. 
 
26 Life of William Fleming Stevenson. 
 
 " When Dr. Wichern was a young candidat twenty-one years 
 ago he conceived the plan, which he has here by degrees developed, 
 of reclaiming the outcasts of society, thieves and low characters 
 of every kind, who were not so old and hardened in crime as to 
 make their reform altogether hopeless by such means as he had 
 in his power. He had no money, and few friends ; but he had 
 energy, strong love, faith, and was possessed with a noble idea. 
 One by one he gathered about him young reprobates from the worst 
 quarters of Hamburg, took a little house at Horn in a pleasant 
 situation, educated these unfortunate and neglected boys under his 
 own roof as members of a family, and gathered friends about him 
 through whose assistance he was enabled gradually to enlarge his 
 plan, to which he very soon added a house for the reception 
 of deserted children. This was the beginning. ' At present the 
 ground which his Institution occupies is as much as a peasant 
 with four horses will plough in a day,' said the candidat, who did 
 not know our land-measures. There are twenty-one detached 
 houses, containing eighty-five boys and twenty-five girls who are 
 under training, besides ten candidaten who act as general superin- 
 tendents, and are so trained for taking charge of similar institu- 
 tions elsewhere, or for some other ofiice in the Inner (Home) 
 Mission. We visited the workshops, where the male inmates are 
 taught carpentry, shoemaking, &c., so that, when they leave the 
 Institution, they can gain an honest livelihood, and where all the 
 trades- work needed on the place is done, including wooden soles for 
 the bo3's' shoes, making clothing, and such-like. Next to the 
 stables, tenanted by cows and pigs, as the horses were all out at 
 work ; then to the printing-house, where we found the types of 
 three or four works in progress. In the last two years four hun- 
 dred thousand sheets were issued. Near this is the bookbinding 
 shop, and a continuation of it is devoted to lithographic printing ; 
 for many of their books are illustrated — exceedingly well, too. Pass- 
 ing through the vegetable garden we came upon a newly-built house, 
 the gift of a German prince. In the under part were a very neat 
 bedroom with thirteen beds, on the other side of the passage a sit- 
 ting-room with bookcases, slates, &c., and a kitchen ; above was a 
 sitting-room of rather nicer appearance and better furnished (I 
 noticed three violins hanging against the wall), and a bedroom open- 
 
Stttdy and Travel in Germany. 27 
 
 ing off it contained five beds ; so that here lived eighteen people. 
 Dr. Wichern, in developing his benevolent schemes, held strictly 
 to what might be called his fundamental idea, the training up of 
 these outcasts in family life. Consequently, instead of being, as 
 is the case with us, brought together into one large establishment 
 and there herding in a public gregarious fashion, he has divided 
 them among several houses, each containing twelve boys, one 
 candidat who sleeps with them, and five 'brothers,' elder ones 
 who have been brought to Christ through the instrumentality of 
 the Institution. Each little household is thus complete in itself, 
 and is surrounded by its garden ground, where every boy has 
 his vegetable and flower plot, and also some little spot for play, 
 independent of the general playground. The house was kept 
 daintily clean. We then looked in at one of the girls' houses, 
 where there were about a dozen young girls with bright, happy, 
 intelligent faces sitting round a desk writing. The neat laundry 
 and kitchen followed in due course, and then tlie chapel, a 
 large room, simple and tasteful, with ivy running up and down 
 and across the walls, and a little orchestra- gallery facing the 
 pulpit. Over the latter there is the usual (in Lutheran churches) 
 crucifix, and on each side of it a small statue of Christ. In front 
 of the gallery there are three beautiful, simple statues of chil- 
 dren; the central one playing a harp, with the inscription below, 
 ' Praise and sing unto the Lord ; ' on one side a figure holding 
 out a little plate, and with a lovely childlike expression, ' Blessed 
 are the merciful ; ' and on the other a kneeling figure, the hands 
 clasped, the face upward-looking, 'Ask and ye shall receive.' 
 The seats in the chapel are plain forms. One is struck by the 
 extreme simplicity, the absence of all pretension and ornament, 
 and the homely air which pervades the whole place. It is a real 
 country life the inmates live, and they have fine scenery, noble 
 trees, a wood on a small scale, fields, flowers, everything to contri- 
 bute to the development of healthy tastes and to innocent enjoy- 
 ment. There is service in the chapel every morning and evening, 
 and also on Sunday for the smaller children. The elder attend 
 one of the churches. In every room a verse for the year, as well 
 as a text for the day, is hung up and framed. It may give you 
 some idea of the class of people who are admitted if I tell you 
 
28 Life of William Fleming Stevenson. 
 
 that one boy of nine years old attempted twice, a few months ago, 
 to burn his father's house, and afterwards to commit suicide : 
 now he goes about among his companions, telling them of ' the 
 dear Lord Jesus Christ,' and urging them to come to Him. The 
 houses are all separated from each other by trees, gardens, and 
 shrubbery. I intend returning to the place on Tuesday to see 
 Dr. Wichern, and probably then I shall glean some further 
 particulars of this most interesting Institution and its founder." 
 
 " October 19, 1854 — Journal. — Set out this morning for the 
 Rauhe Haus, accompanied by Saphir. On reaching Dr. Wichern 's 
 house, which was built for him by the King of Prussia and is 
 separated by a shrubbery from the rest of the grounds, we 
 awaited the reception of my introduction. Presently we were 
 taken upstairs and through three rooms, furnished with desks, 
 presses, and bookcases, to a fourth, where some clerks were 
 sitting, and where Dr. Wichern cordially welcomed us. He led 
 us by the hand into an inner room, and there we sat down for 
 talk. I was greatly attracted by his frank, genial bearing, his 
 warmth, cordiality, and enthusiasm. His face is full of bene- 
 volence and practical wisdom ; he has a fine forehead and a well- 
 shaped head, clustered over with a mass of grey, almost white, 
 hair ; a clear, searching, honest eye, and a mouth that when at 
 rest is firmly compressed, and a key to the extraordinary energy, 
 will, influence, and controlling power of the man, but when he 
 smiles has a sweet, innocent, childlike expression. He is of a 
 slight well-knit figure, and about middle height. 
 
 " Our conversation turned at once on Germany, he maintaining 
 strenuously that ' no Englishman, Frenchman, Scotchman, or 
 North American can understand Germany, either socially, poli- 
 tically, or ecclesiastically, unless by personal observation during 
 residence in the country, if even then ; but that without leaving 
 his home the German can enter into, and sympathise with, 
 the standpoint of other nations.' I was amused at the energy 
 with which he supported this proposition, and the practical 
 application he was continually making of it to me, evidently 
 fearful lest I should carry away as wrong impressions of the 
 nation and literature as one-sided people usually do. 'Arch- 
 
Study and Ti^avel in Germany. 29 
 
 deacon Hare,' he says, ' is among the few Englishmen who 
 understand and fairly judge us.' Of the united Church of 
 Prussia, on which I anxiously questioned him, he does not seem 
 sanguine, does not even profess to like it. It is still in the pangs, 
 he says, and there he evidently thinks it will remain. Nor would 
 he acknowledge any part of it Calvinistic. * In Switzerland 
 you find Calvinism ; here, in Germany, we are Lutlieriscli und 
 Melanditlionisch.^^ Of the Inner Mission he spoke with remark- 
 able modesty and sobriety, * It is an institution altogether 
 different from what you are accustomed to ; you must not bring 
 to bear on it English notions and English experiences. You 
 must allow for its novelty, for the state of the country, for the 
 general absence of a missionary spirit. There is no central com- 
 mittee governing, managing everything; the Inner Mission is 
 rather a pulse beating in many societies, and linking them to one 
 another ; it is the common life that circulates through all and 
 each. Our work is very noiseless, but still we work. Even here, 
 in Hamburg, we have five weekly Bihelstunde, and good is doing ; 
 yet most people in Hamburg will tell you we are not there at all.' 
 
 " Before we separated he asked me what introductions I had 
 to Berlin, and on hearing, said they would do excellently ; I did 
 not need others. I felt it exceedingly kind of him to take such 
 interest in a stranger. Throughout our interview he was, as 
 they say here, ' very friendly ; ' before we were five minutes 
 together he was rapping his fingers on my knee, or catching me 
 by the arm as he said * Verstelien Sie ? ' 
 
 " It was amusing to observe the pains he was at to hunt up the 
 simplest German for me. His own language is, however, remark- 
 ably simple, his sentences short and telling, and he speaks Ger- 
 man with a purity and clearness and music as rare here as it is 
 delightful. With children he must be irresistible; his gentle, 
 playful ways would quite win their love, his strong self-command 
 and resolution would win their respect and obedience. 
 
 ** After a memorable hour and a half, we parted. I could have 
 looked for hours at the beautiful play of his expressive face." 
 
 Berlin was reached by the middle of November, and 
 having matriculated in the University, he settled down with 
 
30 Life of William Fleming Steve^ison. 
 
 the most buoyant enthusiasm to a steady winter's work. 
 " Exegesis will be my chief study," he writes. " With 
 Hengstenberg, Tweesten, and Erdmann for exegesis, and 
 Nitzsch for dogmatics, one must be a sad dolt not to get a 
 lift for life that will carry one on through theology and into 
 the inner meaning and connection of Holy Scripture." 
 
 His letters give bright descriptions of his pleasant rooms 
 " looking out over the woods of the Thier Garten," of the 
 far-famed " Unter den Linden " with its Gate of Victory, the 
 palaces and public buildings, statues and paintings, the 
 churches and their preachers, the enormous distances, the 
 striking preponderance of the military element ; and he 
 enters fully into all the minutiae of German student-life, its 
 simplicity and brotherliness. He became a member of the 
 '' Wingolf Chor," one of the many University guilds, but 
 one which had the distinction of being avowedly a Christian 
 society. He had with him introductions from Edinburgh, 
 which, here as elsewhere, proved most valuable, bringing 
 him into contact with several of the greatest thinkers of the 
 day. Every moment that could be spared from study was 
 spent in investigating the state of the poor, the working of 
 the " Inner Mission," with its many plans for aggressive 
 action on the evils of our modern social life. The noble 
 Christian devotion of the Brethren of St. John fired him with 
 the enthusiasm which, when describing the conception of 
 their mission in the pages of " Praying and Working," ^ 
 breaks out into these burning words : — 
 
 " But why should it be a dream ? Our young men are thirsting 
 for excitement ; the exuberant life of our age seems to find no 
 sufficient outlet; old and quiet forms, traditional habits and 
 
 ^ For a full account of this Brotherhood, their origin and aim, see 
 "Praying and Working," chapter v. 
 
Study and Tj^avel in Germany . 31 
 
 limits are forsaken, burst through with impatience ; the spirit of 
 the time is for adventure. Why should there not be a Christian 
 chivalry ? Why should there not be hearts to join in the new 
 crusade % Why should there not be life-service for the good of 
 your poor neighbour as much as for war or travel, as heroic 
 spirits to fling themselves into the battle against sin as into the 
 strife of a kingdom ? Romance, adventure, action, sacrifice, a 
 purpose worth living for, the springs of generous minds are 
 touched here, and the delicate subtle springs of religious feeling 
 which the clumsy fingers of the world can never reach." 
 
 The following extracts are taken from his home-letters : — 
 
 \To his Father?^ 
 
 " Berlin, November 15, 185i. 
 "There are about 1500 students in the University, some 
 Americans, several English, Egyptians, Malays, French, Japanese, 
 &c. The University is a noble pile of buildings, and seems every 
 way well adapted to its objects ; has fine lecture- halls, museums, 
 grounds. The lectures are from 8 a.m. till 7 p.m. There are in 
 all ninety-two professors and 350 courses of lectures. Here a pro- 
 fessor may lecture on any subject which he is qualified to teach, 
 instead of, as with us, having a definite subject allotted to him. 
 When a student joins the University he becomes a citizen of it — 
 what is called a University Burgher. With his matriculation 
 paper he receives a copy of the statutes, and he then finds that 
 the Senate has over him a civil authority ; has the power not only 
 of inflicting heavy fines, but imprisonment ; that there is a dis- 
 tinct University police, and that they only have the power to 
 arrest him. His passport (if he is a stranger) is deposited with 
 the Senate. He is removed from all jurisdiction on the part of 
 the city ; he has become a member of a distinct corporation. I 
 don't apprehend much difficulty from the lectures being in German, 
 as I can now follow an ordinary lecturer or preacher with com- 
 parative ease. I am tolerably sure of making pleasant acquaint- 
 ances among the students — they seem a very frank, hard-working, 
 hearty, be-spectacled set of men." 
 
32 Life of William Fleming Stevenson. 
 
 {To his Sister:] 
 
 ''November 25, 1854. 
 *' The professors address the men as ' fellow- students.' In that 
 simple form of address you have one of the great points of the 
 relation subsisting between the two great classes of the University. 
 The professor puts himself at once on your footing. That he has 
 a title and an office does not interpose any barrier. He is still, and 
 must to the end of his life continue, as he believes, just what 
 the young man entering college is, and resolves to be— a student. 
 We are all students, he knows, and when we die we have most to 
 learn. So these German professors think, and in this spirit they 
 lecture. Elected as the best of us, they strive to ' impart the gift 
 of seeing' to the rest of us : a nimbler runner may take the torch 
 they carry, and bear it further than they were able to go. In 
 that hope they teach ; and when it is fulfilled they rejoice for 
 the truth that is won ; they do not murmur that another is the 
 winner. It is this principle that guides their conduct to the 
 University men. They are happy and willing to afford them 
 any help and sympathy it is in their power to bestow ; they feel 
 no shame to confess that problems which are now troubling the 
 mind of their students once troubled, perhaps still trouble, theirs ; 
 that the same doubts have thrown a dark shadow over days and 
 weeks; that they have had the same struggles and fought the same 
 battles ; and even the absence of a professional dress, of all that 
 might mark a distinction between the teaching and the taught 
 student, is not followed by want of respect on the part of the latter 
 to the former. On the contrary, the professor here is infinitely more 
 respected than with us. He is looked up to with both reverence 
 and affection. You never hear him carelessly or contemptuously 
 spoken of ; never but as if the heart of the speaker paid him the 
 involuntary homage due to an earnest seeker after truth. You 
 don't see them sleeping during the lecture, or laughing over cari- 
 catures of the lecturer, or reading ' green-books ; ' you don't hear 
 them talk in the class, or when they come out yawn and abuse it. 
 If they don't take notes they pay large attention, or if not they 
 are very skilful at deceiving an onlooker ! " 
 
Study and Travel in Gerviany, 33 
 
 [To Us SisUr:\ 
 
 " Nitzsch comes in noiselessly like a spirit, and with a slow 
 solemn step glides up the room and to his desk. An elderly man, 
 spare, of middle height, with greyish hair, and an eerie look about 
 him, as if he w^ere not of this world, as indeed he scarcely is. 
 With his manuscript lying before him, he rests his chin on his 
 hand and begins to speak in a low thoughtful voice, perhaps two 
 fingers playing with his under-lip, his small bright eyes looking 
 far away as if he saw visions, as if he were receiving like an old 
 prophet from the Invisible the thoughts he uttered. Though 
 his voice is low, and passes frequently between his fingers, it is 
 remarkably distinct, and one wishes that his meaning were as 
 easily intelligible as his language. He is the 'hardest' theologian 
 in Germany, but also the profoundest; and when one under- 
 stands him, which indeed is oftener than I have expected, it is 
 a rare delight. Always you can pick up multitudes of detached 
 and profound thoughts that drop from him with a marvellous 
 prodigality, but the difficulty is to find the link that binds them 
 to each other, and which, evidently clear and present to his own 
 mind, is too often present to no other. He reminds me of what 
 De Quincey says of Coleridge, that when in his conversation most 
 people thought he was wandering, and gave up following him, he 
 was then most strictly logical, and was pursuing relations and 
 consequences which, plainly seen by him, were invisible to his 
 less gifted audience; and that those could perceive this who, 
 though unable to soar with him, kept fast hold of his point of 
 departure, and compared it with his point of return to their 
 comprehension. 
 
 " Hengstenberg, again, is a stout short man, with brown hair. 
 He is active and bustling, speaks slowly and with a loud voice, 
 and when reading Hebrew is fond of intoning in the Jewish 
 style." 
 
 \To the Same?^ 
 
 " I have tried, and successfully, to introduce English theology 
 to the notice of the students. It annoys and vexes me to find 
 
 C 
 
34 Life of William Fleming Slevenson. 
 
 them here so ignorant of our great and right noble divines, quite 
 as well worth study in their own place as the Germans. Ignor- 
 ance of their writings would not grieve me so much, but there 
 seems to be a prevalent ignorance of their names. Now, cer- 
 tainly, any respectable student at home, if not well read in the 
 theology of this country, possesses some familiarity with its 
 eminent names, from Luther down to the recent time ; and one 
 might fairly add also with their theological opinions and in- 
 fluences. We not only know of Bengel, and Rambach, and 
 Spener, and Arndt, of Schleiermacher and Neander, and the 
 mighty host which this century has produced, but they are read 
 by us, and many of their writings are translated and widely 
 circulated. But of all the * bright particular stars ' among our 
 theologians, from Hooker and Jewel down through the golden 
 chain which binds these to Hare and Hampden, Whately and 
 Trench, Alford and Treffry, and the many other men of great 
 ability and depth in our own day, they profess the most en- 
 tire unconsciousness. They take a deep interest in our Church 
 matters, but they pass over our divinity. It is quite true that 
 in scientific exegesis, in the history of the Church, in the philo- 
 sophical development of doctrines and systems, and in systematic 
 theology we are but children playing at their feet ; that, instead 
 of writing on these most important subjects, we translate or 
 pirate or ' crib ' from what they have written, or make as clumsy 
 and rickety a castle as any child of five ever made by the sea- 
 shore ; but in the systematic theology of the good old Elizabethan 
 and Jacobite eras, in practical exegesis, and in all that pertains to 
 the upbuilding of the Christian life in family. Church, and State, 
 we are no whit behind them, and in the clear exposition of Biblical 
 truth through sermons we are at all times vastly superior. And 
 so I try to induce the men here to read our books, for I know, if 
 they read, it is their noble peculiarity that they have sufficient 
 candour, admiration of genius, and love of truth to admire. I 
 am already beset with applications for the loan of what I can 
 offer, and I am sanguine enough to hope for better things, 
 through the very limited means I can command. Of course, 
 when our theology is held so cheap by the students, it is scantily 
 and at haphazard represented in the libraries 
 
Study and Travel in Germany. 35 
 
 ''As to ' Kneipes ' I am no judge, having seen none but that of 
 our ' Wingolf ' in Berlin. I believe in Heidelberg and Bonn they 
 are more like drinking revels than social meetings. The beer in 
 itself, indeed, must be.pretty harmless; for, with the exception of 
 the cabmen, who drink brandy and carry their bottles constantly 
 in their pouch, I don't remember having seen any one intoxicated 
 since I came to Berlin. As to the genial character of the ' Win- 
 golf-Kneipes ' I can bear pretty competent witness. The conver- 
 sation is not merely such as ought to be heard on any subject from 
 Christian students, but it is predominantly about the very heart 
 and essence of Christianity itself — about the struggles that beset 
 Christian men, the thoughts that are stirring in them, the diffi- 
 culties that beset their path, the practical duties that belong to it. 
 All through the room in the intervals between the songs the mem- 
 bers may be seen in earnest little knots of two or three, and if you 
 passed from one to the other you would hear in each a chord on 
 the same keynote, and that keynote the purpose to know nothing 
 but Christ and His cross, since all things find their true meaning 
 there. Of course there is much social relaxation; the great 
 majority smoke, a third have thrown off their coats, many have 
 on their quaint little caps ; there is plenty of loud, merry laugh- 
 ing at times, and the older members are occasionally called on for 
 humorous speeches. The intention is generally better than the 
 wit, but a bad joke provokes more risibility here than a good one 
 anywhere else. The nation seems inexhaustibly good humoured, 
 and disposed to be on the best terms with everybody and every- 
 thing. We have occasionally part-singing, quartette or sextette. 
 At the end of the regular ' Kneipe ' — eleven o'clock — there begins, 
 for as many choice spirits as choose to remain, what is called the 
 'Gemiithlichkeit,' for which there is a particular song to the 
 melody of ' Wohlauf Cameraden ! ' This lasts an indefinite time, 
 but not usually longer than twelve, I am told. We had an inter- 
 esting ceremony on Monday week. Moehring, who had been five 
 times successively elected president (presidentship is for four 
 weeks), was suddenly called home. We had a special ' Kneipe ' in 
 his honour, and near the close the new president, after making a 
 most brotherly address, full of sympathy and kind feeling, and 
 urging him throughout to hold fast the profession of his Chris- 
 
36 Life of William Fleming Stevenson. 
 
 tian faith in the changed circumstances of his life, in his active 
 struggle with the world and its temptations, presented him with 
 a New Testament in the name of the 'Wingolf.' The songs 
 sung that evening were admirably chosen ; among others, ' Es ist 
 bestimmt in Gottes Rath,' and ' Juchhe vallera, juchhe vallera.' 
 On Friday last Moehring went off, and half the ' Wingolf ' accom- 
 panied him to the first station — fifteen miles from this — on the 
 Stettin railway, where, as he was detained, they made up their 
 minds to remain with him in the little village all night. What 
 men would do as much for one of their number in Scotland? 
 But the life in the ' Yerbindung ' is so open and brotherly that a 
 friendship, or many, may be rapidly formed, and by the hearty 
 intercourse of each ' Semester ' deepened and ripened. The friends 
 a man has here he linows ; they are the confidants of his most 
 secret thoughts, and his counsellors and sympathisers in all 
 times of difficulty and distress. The attachment is stronger than 
 a similar one with us, and more romantic ; partly because of the 
 greater opportunity it has for being developed through the 
 peculiar character of the student-life." 
 
 \_To his FatJicrr\ 
 
 " I have had a most satisfactory interview with Otto Strauss. 
 He received me in the friendliest, kindest manner. He is one 
 of the three deacons of the cathedral — a Grecian cathedral (the 
 Dom Kirche) — for which there are, besides, four preachers, of 
 whom his father and Hoffmann are chief. As there are 22,000 
 in the parish, the deacons and a number of candiclats have formed 
 themselves into a sort of religious order, their employment being 
 to visit the people parochially ; their time is portioned out, and 
 they have regular religious exercises. David Brown of Glasgow,^ 
 who spent a fortnight with Strauss during his recent visit to the 
 Continent, calls it an evangelical monastery. Of this monastery 
 Otto Strauss is the resident governor and inspector ; Hoffmann 
 is the president. Strauss at first talked in German, but turned 
 
 ^ Now Principal Brown of Aberdeen. 
 
Study and Travel in Germany. 37 
 
 over to English with a compliment to my 'excellent German,' 
 and a wish that I would speak English, as he was afraid of 
 forgetting what he had learned from Dr. Brown, and knew I 
 would pardon his mistakes. He certainly did make some odd 
 ones — talking more than once of the ' ghost ' of God resting 
 on a man — but on the whole spoke with remarkable correct- 
 ness and fluency. He is one of the ' Hlilfprediger ' in the 
 Dom. To-morrow, between eight and nine, I am to see him 
 again, also his father, with whom he begs me to walk between 
 three and four every fine day I like. What a droll thing to 
 see me arm-in-arm with the courtly old professor ! He is to 
 take me with him to-morrow to see his brother, a University 
 lecturer and a ' Divisionaprediger.' He is an exceedingly pious, 
 fine-spirited young fellow I should say from what I saw of 
 him. I think it will be my own fault if I am not happy and 
 if my stay here does not prove a blessing, as Strauss prayed it 
 
 might 
 
 " This was actually a fine day, and in the afternoon I went to 
 have a walk with Professor Strauss. These walks are curious, 
 and characteristic of the country. The Thier- Garten is turned 
 into an academic grove, where scholars walk up and down the 
 alleys with their teachers in friendly familiar intercourse, dis- 
 coursing of all things great and small. The old man has some- 
 times four or five student companions, sometimes only one ; but 
 nothing makes him so happy as to feel he is not permitted to 
 walk alone. We wander through by-paths of the wood, 'through 
 bush, through briar, through water, through mire ; ' stop here 
 to listen to a story of Schelling, or there to be told to admire 
 the sunset through the trees ; when the path is broad, arguing 
 theology ; when it is narrow, following in silence the commen- 
 taries of our master on nature and on trees, where he is not 
 quite as wise as Solomon. To-day, for instance, we were three 
 students, and left Lenne-Strasse about half-past three o'clock. 
 We had only to cross the street in order to be in the free forest. 
 At first the roads were wide and dry, so we could walk together 
 and hear Strauss's exposition of the reading of the Psalms in the 
 different liturgical Churches, varied occasionally by little general 
 conversations and remarks of 'the master' suggested by any 
 
38 Life of Williavi Fleming Stevenso7i. 
 
 passing object or thought. By-and-by, however, we got into 
 solitary narrow footpaths, muddy and slippery, and here he could 
 only roll round an occasional wise saying on us, to keep us 
 in thought or in talk until the briars gave him leisure to utter 
 another. At last, after wading though mud and predestination- 
 from-the-Baptist's- standpoint, we emerged, a little after sunset, 
 on an open space hedged round by tall fir-trees, over which the 
 moon rose, and through whose bar-like branches came the after- 
 glow of the evening sky. Returning, we passed a walk that he 
 told us now bore the name of the ' Philosopher's Alley,' from 
 Hegel and Schelling both making it their daily haunt. This led 
 on to reminiscences of the latter, and of ISTeander, ' his dear col- 
 league, and frequent companion in the Thier-Garten.' This is a 
 fair specimen of our walk, except that when I am alone with him 
 the conversation is more connected and less didactic." 
 
 The approach of Christmas was signalled by all the joyous 
 preparations that mark its celebration in Germany : the 
 Christnaas fair, with its toy and sweetmeat markets, that 
 were like a carnival ; the universal demand for Christmas- 
 trees, which converted some of the chief squares for the 
 time being into fir forests ; the feasts and distribution of 
 gifts to the poor ; and the merry revelries for the children. 
 Mr. Stevenson entered into the spirit of everything with 
 keen enjoyment. " What a marvellous hold the festival has 
 over the people ! " he writes. " How beautifully the child- 
 life shines through, and becomes the central point of all ! 
 ^Riiprecht^ and the ' Weilmachtsmaim ' (Father Christmas) 
 carry you back into the dimmest antiquity of the Norsemen 
 and of the old hero- world of Scandinavia ! I almost feel 
 about Christmas as a German, and that, I can assure you, is 
 a great deal." 
 
 He was invited, with his friend Hengstenberg, to be 
 present at a '^ Beschcerung " (a distribution of gifts from a 
 Christmas-tree) for fifty poor children at the house of the 
 
Study and Travel m Gerinany. 39 
 
 then prime minister, Baron Manteuffel. Passing up a wide 
 staircase and through several anterooms, they found them- 
 selves in a large salon filled almost exclusively by members 
 of the German nobility. 
 
 "There are but few seats. Most of the ladies stand, but we, 
 victims of gallantry and good nature, must stand in front of the 
 stove like tea-kettles, as H. says, simmering over a strong fire. 
 Souchon is with us, so is his fellow-clergyman. The lights are 
 burning round the table and on the trees like innumerable stars ; 
 the gifts make a fine show, and the servants are passing in at 
 every available door. Presently the children come thronging in, 
 little and tall, plain and pretty, but all neatly dressed, and gazing 
 at the tables and the Christmas-trees and the people with a 
 long intense look of happiness. They fill up the side of the 
 room opposite us. When they are settled there is a hymn given 
 out. It is one of Luther's ; the beautiful old '• Vom Himmel hoch 
 da Jcomm' idi her.' All sang, even those that could only croak ; 
 there was a devotional enthusiasm kindled that passed from 
 heart to heart, and gave a new beauty to the words and the 
 melody, which is also Luther's ; and one felt that the angels with 
 their golden wings overshadowed the room, announcing to these 
 poor children now, as to the poor shepherds of Bethlehem, the 
 birth of the holy child Jesus. The hymn over, the children were 
 all placed round the table opposite the presents that bore their 
 names. How their eyes sparkled, and what a joy lightened over 
 their features, as they turned over the shoes, the apples, and the 
 pictures, and examined the pattern of their dresses ! How the 
 talking and the merry laughing waxed louder and louder; how 
 the parents came forward from the shadow of the door to share in 
 their children's joy ; how the little lights were put out that the 
 leaves might be packed in the white handerchiefs, into which 
 anxious mothers and children were endeavouring to stuff the 
 abundant gifts; finally, how entirely happy everybody looked, 
 and especially, I am told, your brother, simmering worse and 
 worse by the stove ! — all this I can't describe to you. One little 
 child drew my attention particularly. It was near us, was a tiny 
 
40 Life of Williavi Fleming Steve^ison. 
 
 thing about four years old, and not very steady on its feet when 
 walking ; but during the entire hymn it stood with its small 
 hands clasped and its great, full, deep eyes gazing upwards, some- 
 times with an abstracted expression uncommon in a child, some- 
 times fixed on M. Souchon's face. It was a little poem. And 
 before it was taken up by these charitable ladies it was, I've no 
 doubt, a very dirty little poem." 
 
 Though absorbed in his studies, and deeply interested in 
 all the phases of life to which his residence in Berlin had 
 introduced him, he was yet a watchful observer of every- 
 thing that concerned the home-land he had left. During 
 the winter of 1854, the Crimean War was the foremost topic 
 in men's thoughts, and one can enter into the pride of the 
 young student in the blessing God gave his country in the 
 person of Florence Nightingale : — 
 
 " What a noble spirit Englishmen inherit ! Is anything in 
 history finer than the self-sacrifice and devotion during and after 
 the battle of Alma ? Can any crusading or pre-crusading era 
 point to a w^oman of so fine yet purely feminine a type as Miss 
 Nightingale ? Elizabeth of Hungary was devoted to the poor, 
 but after a middle-age fashion, and not till stricken by the death 
 of her husband. Margaret Fuller nursed in the hospital at Rome, 
 and with a woman's tenderness, but her life was not given to it. 
 Caroline Fry had not so much to sacrifice, and by no means so 
 painful a situation. But that a young girl of cultivated tastes, 
 of most liberal education, richly endowed by nature and fortune, 
 idolised in the love of her numerous friends, should quietly visit 
 one hospital after another, in one country after another, nurse in 
 them all, and after three years' experience in St. John's Hospital, 
 London, listen to the call of her country and leave kindred and 
 home for a military hospital in Scutari ; going quietly and unob- 
 trusively, with a feminine delicacy and sensitiveness that shrinks 
 from publicity, so that till she has gone scarce any one knows 
 that she has the intention of leaving ; this is grand ! Thank 
 God for this noble spirit." 
 
Study and Travel in Germany. 41 
 
 *' Went to-day to hear old Pastor Gossner, a marvellously hale 
 and hearty man in his eighty -third year, of good height and erect 
 air, who himself trains his own vines, and lives quite alone, and 
 who this morning not only read out the hymns line by line with a 
 powerful voice, but the Liturgy, and, besides, had his own prayers 
 and a sermon of forty minutes, delivered, it is true, sitting. He 
 wears a little black skull-cap, and his white hair streams out from 
 under it on each side of his head. He has a sweet, intensely 
 calm and peaceful, loving, and spiritual face. On every Sunday 
 and feast-day he holds a service at nine o'clock in the Elizabethan 
 Kranken-Haus, chiefly for the deaconesses, though others may 
 attend ; and I am told through the last severe winter he never 
 missed a Sunday. His address was on the epistle for the day — 
 the preaching of repentance by John the Baptist. It was beauti- 
 fully simple and affectionate, like the voice of a man whose heart 
 was lifted up to God. Dear old man ! one could fancy it was a 
 little room in Ephesus eighteen centuries ago, and that St. John 
 was addressing his little flock." 
 
 His many engagements were never allowed to interfere 
 with deeper spiritual interests. The following extract from 
 a letter to his sister shadows forth the yearnings of his 
 inner life, and shows also his high ideal of the Christian 
 ministry : — 
 
 " I feel sometimes a strange unmanly shrinking from the 
 Church, as if the work were too high and noble, or too arduous 
 and painful for me to attempt, forgetting that we can do all 
 things through Christ which strengtheneth us. But my dear 
 mother's perfect trust and confidence that God has a work for 
 me to do has greatly strengthened my weak faith and helped to 
 banish these perplexing misgivings. What a riddle and strange 
 hybrid we are, a cross between heaven and earth, sometimes the 
 one uppermost, sometimes the other, now utterly prostrate before 
 God in deep humility and self -negation, and again filled with the 
 one idea of ourselves, our powers, our thoughts, our work, as if 
 God were not working in us, as if the blessed Holy Spirit were 
 not ever moving in the chaos of our hearts to shape them into 
 
42 Life of William Fleming Stevenson. 
 
 some god-like order, to bring our wills into harmony with the 
 all-perfect will of our Heavenly Father ! Oh ! it is fearful some- 
 times to wake as if from a dream and find how you have been 
 tossed about by the devil as a play-ball, and to have your good 
 resolutions and pious purposes brought before your face and see 
 how there is not one of them that has not been broken and 
 trampled upon ! And yet how often one has such a waking ! 
 But then the joy to find a higher strength and wisdom than 
 yours ; to be 'an infant crying in the night, and with no language 
 but a cry,' and to have that cry for help answered by all the 
 might of the Almighty ; to sink one's whole being into Christ 
 and be lost in Him; to have our dear Saviour standing by us, 
 to feel the grateful shadow of His presence on our burning souls, 
 to be shielded by His love, soothed by His sympathy, upheld by 
 His grace ! Surely there is nothing so wonderful as this infinite, 
 ever-flowing, never-failing love of Christ. And love with no 
 upbraiding ; love as rich and full in the misery of our wayward 
 wanderings from Him as in the height of our communion with 
 Him. May we ever be kept warm in the folds of that Divine 
 Love, daily pressing closer to Christ, and farther from the world, 
 the flesh, and the devil. I do hope and believe that if God spare 
 me I shall be able to do something for the establishment of His 
 Kingdom. I am trying to concentrate all my energies and studies 
 on that one end (with what weakness and unsatisfactoriness is 
 known only to God and myself), and I have a firm conviction that 
 if, in His providence and goodness, permitted to join the holy 
 ministry, my present experience, and whatever knowledge of 
 books, of the world, myself, and of the blessed Evangel I may 
 gain in Germany, will be among the more material helps to my 
 usefulness as a pastor. I don't feel disturbed by the thought 
 that meanwhile the Church may want a labourer, and that 
 precious time is quickly slipping by unimproved ; the Church has 
 no need for raw, unskilled labour, and such, I feel, at present is all 
 I can offer. It is no light office that is undertaken ; it is hedged 
 round with the weightiest responsibilities ; what preparation it 
 requires must precede it, for after it is assumed it admits of no 
 interruption, scarcely of breathing- time to recover lost strength ; 
 and to rush into it while conscious of such unfitness as a little 
 
Study and Travel in Germany. 43 
 
 time and study might go far to remove seems little less than to 
 insult the Church and the Church's Head. God will show me 
 what is right ; and I pray that He may keep me mindful that, as 
 what talents I have are given me of Him, so in His service it 
 becomes me to use them with the least possible delay." 
 
 {To the Same:] 
 
 " Berlin, May 11, 1855. 
 
 "It is now being tolled from the neighbouring bells, and 
 shrilly piped by the watch, the last midnight I am to spend in 
 Berlin. To-morrow morning, a few minutes after eight, I set off 
 for the south and the spring. The leave-takings are mostly over. 
 I have parted from all the friends to whom it is hardest to say 
 '■ Good-bye,' though I daresay many of them will be good-natured 
 and romantic enough to come to the railway station. I shouldn't 
 like to repeat two such weeks as these last have been ; visit has 
 succeeded visit, and parting parting, in such rapid succession. 
 One evening has been my last with old Dr. Strauss, another with 
 the Hengstenbergs, with younger friends, and with the ' Wingolf.' 
 Yery rich and blessed by God have I been in warm and kind 
 friends. I never had so many real Christian friends, men to 
 whom to speak of and work for Christ is their greatest happiness, 
 who are so earnest, so grafted into deep and living union with 
 the Saviour, while they retain all the cheerfulness and light- 
 heartedness of children. 
 
 " On Monday the ' Win golf ' had a special ' Kneipe ' to take 
 leave of one more their guest than member. We had speeches 
 and farewell 'lieder,' and I received a Testament from the presi- 
 dent. They are all turning out, Foxes, Bursche, and Philistines, to 
 the number of thirty-five, to see me to the railway. I am fairly 
 done up. 1 have walked, on the lowest average, fifteen miles a day, 
 and the exhaustion is not merely physical, but I assure you when 
 in visiting one passes from Steffan to Lepsius, and Lepsius to 
 Nitzsch, and Nitzsch to Hengstenberg, the strain of keeping up a 
 conversation with these men, though pleasant and invigorating 
 while it lasts, is yet in the end more fagging than walking from 
 end to end of the town. Such is the close of what, with full 
 
44 Life of William Fleming Stevenson. 
 
 acknowledgment of all my faults and shortcomings, has been the 
 most valuable winter of my life." 
 
 After leaving Berlin, and before entering upon his studies 
 in Heidelberg, Mr. Stevenson spent the intervening time in 
 visiting the Luther country, Leipsic, Dresden, and the Saxon 
 Switzerland. He returned to Leipzig, and thence visited 
 Erlangen, Nuremberg, and Frankfurt on his way to Heidel- 
 berg. Though nominally alone in this journey, yet the 
 warm, brotherly kindness of the " Wingolf " followed him all 
 through. Li the cities he was usually met on arrival by 
 some of the members, with plans arranged so as to enable 
 him to make the best use of the short time at his disposal ; 
 and often one of their number was deputed to speed him on 
 his way by accompanying him to his next stopping-place. 
 He fraternised with the country-folk wherever he went, and 
 gives quaint little sketches of some of the peasant com- 
 panions he picked up on his long walks, as well as of his 
 interviews with the men of note to whom he was introduced 
 by his Berlin friends. On looking over the letters of this 
 period, one is struck by the bright happiness of his disposi- 
 tion and the power he had of finding enjoyment in every- 
 thing, also his rare quickness of observation and the care 
 with which he noted even trifling details. We give a few 
 extracts : — 
 
 '' After being whirled by the train through the uninteresting, 
 flat, sandy, pine-covered country that radiates in every direction 
 from Berlin, and discharged at the station half-a-mile outside the 
 town, and huddled up into a high cou^pe of an ancient vehicle 
 drawn by two lank, uneven-paced horses, we wound through the 
 tedious fortifications, passed a church with the air of being both 
 ill-used and venerable, and clattered up a narrow street, to the 
 delight of some ragged urchins, into a market-place crowded 
 with buxom peasant women in their national dress, where I was 
 
Shidy and Ti^avel in Ger7nany. 45 
 
 deposited at the door of the ' Black Eagle.' I was in Wittenberg ; 
 and there in the centre of the market is the great bronze 
 statue of Luther, portraying him as he may have stood before the 
 Diet of Worms, sublime in his noble earnestness. 
 
 " Accompanied by a Wingolfite, my first pilgrimage was to 
 the Schloss-Kirche, which, however, is not the old church that 
 resounded to the blows of Luther's hammer when he nailed up 
 his theses on the door on the night of the 31st October 1517, for 
 the church has twice since then been gutted by fire, and little 
 remains of the original but the old flagging. 
 
 " It is with the strangest thoughts tossing in your mind, with 
 a strange confusion of past and present, that you pass under that 
 portal and in a few minutes stand by the grave of Luther. For 
 better preservation the tablet over the tomb has been let down 
 some feet into the floor and covered with a heavy stone : when 
 that is lifted the inscription is fresh as if newly cut ; and that 
 stone is all that separates you from the dust of the Reformer. 
 
 "Luther lies to the right, Melanchthon to the left, and on the 
 opposite wall hang their full-length portraits, carefully drawn by 
 their warmest friend, old Cranach. Luther's is not very good, 
 but Melanchthon's, the quiet, gentle scholar, with the placid and 
 yet suffering face, his slight stoop, long nose, and reddish hair — 
 Melanchthon's is a perfect likeness. I don't think any accurate 
 drawing of Luther would satisfy one now ; we seek too much for 
 our ideal in the man. He had an honest, somewhat animal and 
 full Bavarian face, prominent cheek-bones, and small eyes deeply 
 sunk in his head. It is true they are a beautiful hazel, and as 
 clear and honest as the sun, and his mouth has a dignity and a 
 mighty energetic will about it that belongs to the great hero ; but 
 his features have no element of beauty, and the total expression 
 of his face seems to me summed up in an honest purpose and 
 manly integrity and firmness. Cranach has painted him over and 
 over again, but I have never found any head rising higher than 
 this in expression. 
 
 " Two other great men rest here, though perhaps greatest by 
 their association with Luther — John the Steadfast and Frederick 
 the Wise. They lie before the altar, and their figures and the 
 record of their lives are embossed on the chancel wall — records 
 
46 Life of William Fleming Stevenson. 
 
 that would take a day to spell through. This is what the Schloss 
 Kirche has got to show, and for those to whom the battle of life 
 is beginning, these men have a mighty living voice, and from the 
 dusfc of the four great heroes who fought in the van of the Refor- 
 mation their battle-cry sounds, ** For Christ and our Father- 
 land ! " Would that that were the thought of our heart of hearts 
 in Ireland now ! 
 
 " At the corner of the market-place farthest from Luther lived 
 Lucas Cranach, in a fine old house. Not far from the cloisters 
 we passed the house where Melanchthon lived, laboured, and died. 
 We entered Luther's house by a faded and ruined courtyard, the 
 remains of what had once been a garden making it look still more 
 desolate. It is a large, imposing building, three stories high, 
 and six or seven windows broad — a present from the Elector — 
 and in the centre there juts out a tower with odd, sloping win- 
 dows. When Luther was alive this tower used to be tenanted 
 by the poor students. His own rooms are kept precisely as when 
 he used to sit in them, pouring forth his table-talk at the simple 
 dinner, or dancing Hans upon his knee and telling him what 
 heaven was like, or writing his wonderful books, or making 
 whatever other use a quiet family man might make of his library 
 and study. We saw his massive deal writing-table, and the 
 enormous stove with porcelain figures of his own designing. 
 Two volumes of the Latin missal lay on the window-sill which his 
 hands had often turned over, and from which he had sung many 
 a chant. From the window in his time he could see the green 
 fields and trees of which he writes so feelingly — a Wordsworth 
 in the guise of a Reformer. On the upper part of a closed door 
 in the room is a great sprawling ' Peter,' written roughly in 
 chalk, and carefully framed with glass, for it is the autograph of 
 Peter the Great — a characteristic memento of the man. In a 
 large carved press at one side are preserved several objects of 
 great interest, among them a relic of Catarina, the sampler 
 in which she worked a portrait of the Doctor, faded now and 
 tarnished, but in its day no doubt very precious, especially to 
 the little Hans and Margaret, who would think their mother a 
 very great woman indeed. 
 
 '' Descending to the courtyard, I sat down on one of the rough 
 
Study and Travel in Germany. 47 
 
 stone seats placed at each side, and hollowed out by Luther for 
 himself and his wife, that they might enjoy the balmy air and 
 flowery perfumes of the summer evenings. How long I might 
 have sat here would be hard to say, but we had to hurry back to 
 the ' Seminar ' where my 'Wingolf ' friends live — once an Augus- 
 tinian convent, now one of those preaching seminaries common 
 throughout Germany for the instruction of the speculative theo- 
 logian fresh from the university in his practical duties. The 
 members receive instruction from distinguished men, regular 
 courses of lectures on practical theology and kindred subjects 
 are delivered, the students preach publicly in rotation in the 
 church, and after about two years of this excellent preparation, 
 they are thought to be tolerably well fitted for the active duties 
 of a parish minister. Twenty-four is the number which can be 
 accommodated at Wittenberg ; each has a private room in the 
 cloisters, and receives 200 thaler — about £30 — a year, together 
 with free lodging and firing, and except under peculiar circum- 
 stances they cannot remain longer here than two years 
 
 *'To Halle from Wittenberg is like a journey from the dead to 
 the living. In Halle you think only of the present, of the men 
 who, having their tendencies shaped by that present, are in their 
 turn shaping and guiding those of the future. There is a spell 
 in the names of Miiller and Tholuck that is wanting in names of 
 the same reputation at home. A master- theologian in Germany 
 not only influences the German mind, but by it America, Eng- 
 land, France; for these countries, unable at present or unwilling 
 to create a scientific theology for themselves, borrow that w^hich 
 is laboriously fashioned here, and if they do not always follow it 
 in its wanderings, at least in general accept its results. 
 
 *' Tholuck has not a speculative mind. His popularity here as 
 well as in England springs from his practical common sense and 
 well-balanced mind. We respect him because he introduces to us 
 the results of the higher German theology in that mode of thought 
 and treatment with which we are familiar. He is respected 
 in Germany because, from the German standpoint, he looks at 
 theology in a practical, common-sense way. If he has helped us 
 to understand the theology of this country, and has made us 
 tolerant of it by beguiling us into an interest in it, he has no 
 
48 Life of William Fleming Stevenson, 
 
 less made our English method known here, and won for it a 
 hearing it could have obtained at the hands of no Englishman. 
 The little, keen man in his study, his face set in an expression 
 of constant pain, his manner brusque and abrupt, his caustic 
 remarks, his intolerance of 'mere ideas,' his biting satire, 
 applied as readily to a first visitor as to any one else— this 
 is no ideal, but a real, every-day man, living in an every-day, 
 practical world. When I first saw him, he did not, beyond 
 the coldest greeting, show that he was aware of my presence, 
 but talked fitfully for half-an-hour with two young trembling 
 students sitting on the sofa. Once, indeed, he turned round, 
 after a fit of absence, to ask how long I had been in Berlin, 
 and when he heard, said quickly, ' Hope you learned something 
 there,' and continued his catechisation of the two youths. By- 
 and-by he relented, his coldness thawed, and before we parted 
 he was even genial, and had asked me to accompany him on one 
 of his walks the next day. When I called again I found him 
 writing a letter of introduction for me to Heidelberg and singing 
 over his work. When he had finished his letter and the song 
 together, we went out, first into his garden, along one wall of 
 which runs a covered arcade to serve as walking ground in wet 
 weather. He takes immense, quick strides, and might be known 
 at the distance of a mile by his long coat, old hat, and peculiar 
 gait. We walked furiously about the suburbs, and the conver- 
 sation became more and more animated. At last he fell into a 
 vein of meditation, of thinking aloud, that was very like hearing 
 him read a new chapter in the ' Hours of Devotion.' With his 
 blessing and a hearty shake of the hand I parted from him. He 
 has the most distinctly marked individuality of any man I have 
 met in Germany, and his great amiability and geniality when he 
 chooses and when he takes to his companion make his company 
 much sought after by the students. He walks twice a day, each 
 time for nearly two hours, and never unaccompanied. It is one 
 of the necessary sacrifices he must make to secure even tolerable 
 health, and he uses it as a means of doing all he can for the 
 students and of bringing them into contact with him. His lecture 
 is not scientific in the strict sense of the word. It is more 
 a higher class of conversation, in which he is the sole speaker. 
 
Study and Travel in Germany. 49 
 
 He sits comfortably in Lis chair and works out of the ends of his 
 fingers quaint and excellent remarks, with which he interweaves 
 either a fine thread of poetry or a number of personal stories 
 illustrative of his point and full of peculiar humour. 
 
 "Among the other living names of interest in Halle are : — 
 
 '' Miiller, whom I heard dictate a lecture on ' Symholik^ giving 
 a remarkably succinct and intelligible account of the early Eng- 
 lish creeds, grouping them together and stating their mutual 
 bearing in a philosophical spirit and with a fine criticism that 
 bore out his reputation. 
 
 '' Jacobi, who lectures on Church History, his whole countenance 
 and bearing animated almost to inspiration. In the study he is 
 a quiet, thoughtful, gentle student, who when he speaks says 
 something suggestive, and who has the knack of managing the 
 conversation without perceptible effort. 
 
 " And Moll, whom I heard speak admirably, with sound piety 
 and common-sense, on practical visitation of the poor. 
 
 " In Halle I saw a good deal of the students, who have a much 
 jollier, merrier and, as they delight to say, more historical life 
 than in Berlin. The 'Chors' (student unions or corporations) here 
 are numerous ; one often sees them marching together thirty 
 strong or more, and feels that being a student here gives one a 
 position in the town, places one among the privileged classes. I 
 was the guest of the 'Wingolf;' the men were very kind, planned 
 all sorts of amusements for me, including a ' Kneipe.' But, 
 after all, the most interesting building in Halle is the AYaisen- 
 haus (Orphan Home), with which the name, and to us in 
 England the life and labours, of Francke are for ever asso- 
 ciated, and where upwards of two thousand children are at pre- 
 sent educated. In one of the large courts which intersect the 
 building stands Francke's monument, with these pregnant words, 
 ' He trusted God.' " 
 
 After visiting the Saxon Switzerland in all the freshness 
 of its spring beauty — Dresden, with its glorious pictures ; 
 Meissen, with its cathedral and china factory ; and Leipzig, 
 with its records of battles stamped upon its walls, and its 
 
50 Life of William Fleming Stevenson, 
 
 reminiscences of Luther and Schiller — he reached Erlangen, 
 where he met, among others, the great theologians, Delitzsch 
 and Hofmann. Of the latter he writes : — 
 
 "He received me very kindly, even warmly, and we were 
 soon deep in an animated conversation over his ' Princip.' How 
 strange it seemed to be quietly talking over his theories with 
 such a man in his study, a man whom at home I had set up on 
 a pinnacle, where he shone like a star and dwelt apart. One 
 by one the difficulties with which I had contended in his book 
 vanished before the clearness with which he unfolded his views in 
 conversation, and I felt half inclined to prefer a petition to him 
 that he would write as intelligibly as he spoke ! He was greatly 
 interested in what I told him of Bishop Hampden's opinions in 
 his learned book on the Scholastics, which are almost identical 
 with his own." 
 
 He thus describes his last visit to Delitzsch : — 
 
 " He had left directions that I was to follow him to the 
 ' Harmonie,' should he not be at home when I called. I was rather 
 amused at this new insight into German life, and went to the inn 
 with some curiosity. There he was reading his papers, his glass 
 of beer beside him, in a room where thirty or forty others were 
 sitting and smoking, and among them the most famous names of 
 our classical literature, an eminent astronomer, a pair of philo- 
 sophers, &c. Insensibly we fell into close earnest talk, and the 
 conversation ranged over so many interesting subjects that I 
 look back upon the hour or two in the ' Harmonie ' as among the 
 pleasantest I have spent in Germany. Hofmann had been expected 
 to join us, but did not return to town in time. 
 
 ** After we got into the street Delitzsch took me by the arm, and 
 we walked about for nearly an hour. I parted from him with great 
 regret. He was so hearty, friendly, and unaffected that it was 
 impossible not to love him. More than this, he is one of the 
 most pious of men. His spirit is something like Baxter's, not 
 so liberal, but every day makes him more catholic. The depth 
 and tenderness of his love for Christ, and the childlikeness and 
 
SUtdy and Travel in Geinnany. 51 
 
 naivete which accompany it, are very beautiful. I learned more 
 from him in an evening than I would from sermons and commen- 
 taries in a year. And let me not forget to add that he is at 
 present the first commentator on the Old Testament in Germany. 
 His hair is almost white, though he is not much above forty. 
 He has a beautiful, loving, gentle expression, in which one soon 
 forgets his plain features." 
 
 Thence to Nuremberg, escorted by a ^ Wingolfite,' who 
 had been told off to attend him. He gave himself up to the 
 spirit of the place, which still lies under the spell of the 
 Middle Ages, never wearied of exploring the ancient, Gothic 
 architecture, endless in its variety, but always picturesque, 
 and delighted in the irregular, straggling, old gables and 
 peaked turrets, with rich decoration of dark, carved wood 
 and massive stone, the exquisitely delicate tracery of its 
 ironwork castings, the many wondrous memories of departed 
 greatness, and the mixture of real and unreal, that seemed 
 almost like the illusion of a vivid dream. 
 
 He passed from reminiscences of Hans Sachs, the cobbler 
 poet, to traces of Albert Diirer, the impress of whose genius 
 is stamped on the entire city; inspected the houses where 
 they lived, and then wandered in the evening to the quiet 
 ' God's Acre ' where they rest in death — a quaint spot lying 
 on a little platform below the castle, where the flat stones 
 covering the graves are laid side by side in long unbroken 
 rows. 
 
 '* As I read the inscriptions I felt face to face with the past, 
 and I lingered till the last glimpses of red had died away in the 
 western sky. I was only anxious lest the wind should rise, not 
 that it would howl mournfully through the trees, for trees there 
 were none; nor that it would drift clouds quickly across the 
 moon, and chase their shadows over the bare white stones, for 
 the sky was cloudless; but lest it should touch one particular 
 tomb. An old Nuremberger has got screwed into the stone that 
 
52 Life of William Fleming Ste 
 
 venson. 
 
 covers his ashes a metal skull, and the under jaw is made so 
 loose that, when the wind creeps about and touches it, it clatters 
 violently against the upper. Is it not horrible % Think of the 
 fearful shrill rapping of that black skull in a storm, gnashing its 
 hideous iron jaws in a rage that rises with the fury of the blast ! 
 
 "Just as the flash of the sunset was vanishing in the dull 
 evening grey, as the moon was rising over the Heidenthurm, as 
 the stars began to peep and twinkle one by one, all the bells rang 
 out slowly nine, and then began the sweetest chiming I ever 
 heard ; the great deep bell of St. Lorenz and the clear mellow 
 bell of St. Sebald and many another bell from tower and spire 
 far and near, all ringing in soft harmony and tune, filled the 
 air with their dreamy music. Over the quiet town, that lay 
 already indistinct in the fading twilight, the sweet tones came 
 and Avent and came again, till the whole air vibrated with a deli- 
 cious melody that 'lingered wandering on as loth to die,' 
 
 ' Like thoughts whose very sweetness yieldeth proof 
 That they were born for immortality.' 
 
 This welcome to the night, or this lullaby to the day, which- 
 ever you choose to call it, lasted for about fifteen minutes, and 
 then died gently as one bell after the other softly ceased. 
 
 " I sat down on the low parapet wall and wondered what the 
 twelve statues meant in the garden below, and watched the moon 
 sailing slowly through the faint, pale stars. Suddenly the quiet 
 light fell on one of the stiff white figures, and I saw by the key it 
 was St. Peter, and St. Peter was the key to the rest. The twelve 
 apostles stood in silence among the sweet flowers in the garden, 
 and above was the Heidenthurm, thrown into darker shadow by the 
 same light that revealed them. It was Whitsuntide. Eighteen 
 centuries ago another light streamed down on these twelve as 
 ' they were all with one accord in one place, and they were all 
 filled with the Holy Ghost.' On a summer evening eighteen 
 centuries ago three thousand were gathered into the Church by 
 one sermon. How vividly the whole story grew on one ! " 
 
 But Heidelberg and work lay before hiui, and he could 
 not long indulge iu day-dreams in romantic Nuremberg. 
 
Study and Ti^avel in Germany. 53 
 
 A summer night's journey tlirougli a rich country, here 
 passing by steeply terraced vineyards, and there through 
 thickly wooded valleys, brought him to Frankfurt. All 
 along the route the number of small principalities was a 
 novel feature. 
 
 *' It is incredible how many Grand Dukes' territories you may 
 pass through in a few hours. Between Leipzig and Bamberg, for 
 instance, you may have been lost in thought for five minutes, and 
 when you turn to your guide-book you find during your reverie 
 
 you have shot through an hereditary kingdom. If A had 
 
 purchased in Middle Germany instead of Ireland, young A 
 
 would be hereditary Grand Duke, own a regiment, a theatre, a 
 museum, a lottery, and a ministry; marry a princess, have a 
 daily bulletin of his movements circulated among his tenantry 
 through the court journal, and probably would have felt called 
 on to send Atty M'Swiggin as his special ambassador to the 
 court of St. Petersburg to offer his condolences on the death of 
 the Emperor Nicholas." 
 
 Dannecker's '' Ariadne," and all the reminiscences of 
 Goethe, from the house where he was born to his statue in 
 the town library, were religiously visited and their impres- 
 sion fully noted ; but coming from the " delicious, irregular, 
 old-world Nuremberg," he felt " out of tune " with the 
 bustle and gaiety of the busy town, and was glad to leave 
 it behind him and reach the last stage of his foreign life. 
 At Heidelberg he writes : — 
 
 " The charm of the place began in the station, where every 
 traveller is struck by the profusion of lovely trailing creepers, 
 clematis, woodbine, and vines that adorn it. Then came the old 
 red castle, with its background of soft, green, wooded hills, all 
 aglow in the western sun. Heidelberg is the most romantic city 
 in the world ; it is girdled round with the beautiful. I have not 
 matriculated in the University here, and will not, having received 
 permission from the professors to attend, as a guest, all the 
 lectures they give." 
 
54 Life of William Flemhig Stevenson. 
 
 One of tlie principal subjects of liis study during the two 
 months he spent here was the Roman Catholic controversy. 
 
 \_To Us Father.'] 
 
 "Heidelbeeg, June 21, 1855. 
 "I am delighted with the University library. I have free 
 access to it, to roam among the bookshelves two hours daily, and 
 to carry away as many books as I choose. This is a high privilege, 
 for the library is one of the most extensive and valuable in Germany. 
 My reading is at present confined to the Roman Catholic question, 
 and the grounds of difference between that Church and the Pro- 
 testant, and I find it takes up much time, but is a most interest- 
 ing study. I had my attention directed to a number of books 
 bearing on it by Professor Hengstenberg, and here Rothe and 
 Schoeberlein have told me of others. I am sometimes in despair 
 when I think of what a huge work it is, and how little of it I can 
 accomplish with the best will and the greatest zeal before August. 
 The greatest man in Heidelberg is undoubtedly Rothe, who also 
 stands at the head of speculative theology in Germany. He is a 
 very curious little man, with a small face, and he speaks in a 
 finnikin way, like a precise old maid, like the birds in ' David 
 Copperfield.^ There is a peculiar contrast between the little 
 sharp speech, in which all the words have the ends cut off, and 
 the profound, wonderfully comprehensive, and deep-searching 
 views he utters and develops. His eye is remarkably fine, full, 
 gentle, benevolent, and sparkling with a restless light." 
 
 He received much kindness from the Chevalier Bnnsen, 
 with whom he had many interesting conversations, of which 
 he gave full accounts in his home-letterSj the topics being 
 such as were naturally suggested by meeting an English 
 student of divinity in Germany. He thus describes his first 
 reception : — 
 
 " This evening I drove out with his cousin, who lectures on 
 chemistry, to see Bunsen. When we arrived at the house we 
 
Study and Travel in Germany. 55 
 
 walked in past a huge dog that lay sleeping on the steps, up a 
 flight of stairs to the lobby, past the servants, without ceremony 
 to the drawing-room, where I was introduced to the lady, and a 
 daughter, who proposed we should seek her father in the garden. 
 We walked out through pretty grounds, climbed up higher and 
 higher, and at last caught sight of B., hat on, walking with a 
 gentleman, and some distance above us. By-and-by we neared 
 him, and he waited for us at the head of a small flight of steps, 
 where I was introduced to him. He said he had heard of me, 
 and that my friends in Berlin were the last people he would 
 wish me to come from, but nevertheless he reached me his hand 
 warmly enough, saying jokingly, ' We'll see.' 
 
 " At a little arbour on the summit he paused and began to 
 point out the great beauty of the view, regretting it was not 
 clear enough to see Speyer. ' Ah ! ' he cried, ' why weren't you 
 here half-an-hour ago, when the setting sun shone on these hills % 
 It was gbttlicli.^ Going down the hill again to the house, he took 
 me by the hand aside and began a theological discussion at once, 
 making his conversation brilliant and intensely interesting. 
 
 " We afterwards went into the house and enjoyed a quiet 
 English tea very much ; his wife and four daughters who joined 
 us were very pleasant and agreeable, one of them serving as 
 tea-maker. During the whole time he talked philology and of 
 the Taeping rebellion in China. After tea we adjourned to the 
 drawing-room, where he assigned us our places, and while he 
 talked every one was expected to listen. His conversation 
 ranged over hieroglyphics, the early modes of speech, the tele- 
 graph, &c. Humboldt, he says, has a remarkable talent for 
 languages, and his skill in them is very great — wonderful for a 
 man of eighty-five. He told how he had lately had a long letter 
 from him about a view he had stated in a work written when 
 he was young, which, as well as the curious experiment in con- 
 nection with it, had struck Humboldt, and been most accurately 
 remembered by him. ' He views men and things in relation to 
 the cosmos,' said B., * but the cosmos is not wider and freer than 
 his views are.' 
 
 "We began to speak of my studies. He recommended me 
 especially De Wette for New Testament exegesis. 'Exegesis 
 
56 Life of William Fleming Stevenson, 
 
 and philosophy are tlie t^YO pillars of dogmatics.' "We passed on 
 to speak of Isaiah in connection with Hengstenberg's lectures. 
 This led us on to the Books of Moses, the first of which he 
 declared was not written by him, nor the last ; and as for the 
 second and third, they were probably drawn up from materials he 
 left behind. This brought us at once to Egypt and its chrono- 
 logy. And here for a long time he continued, with the nicest 
 exactness and without pause, to explain his recent investigations 
 and their result. 
 
 " B. had always something good and ap'o^os ready to say, and 
 seems to possess a remarkable knowledge on almost all subjects ; 
 yet where he has not obtained it, is not only willing but most 
 anxious to seek it. He has a very fine face, a glorious face, 
 kindly, and full of thought and cultivation; snowy hair in 
 abundance. His eyes are full, prominent, and keen ; his manner 
 genial. His daughters and he usually speak English together. 
 He rises at four and works till nine. His daughters seem to 
 know almost as much as himself. AYhen he is at a loss for the 
 name of a man or for a date or fact, he says, '■ Kinder ! ' and 
 is at once gracefully supplied. 
 
 '' We sj^oke of England in general. ' There is not so much 
 a want of science,' he said, ' as of religious life. How little 
 genuine Christianity there is here, in England, in the world ! 
 In England there is formalism, empiricism, materialism. And 
 yet there it is best. So long as England has its Christian family 
 life and its free citizenship, it is safe. Why, from its constitu- 
 tion it learns a moral discipline and dignity; every Englishman 
 learns it, unconsciously ; and how much there is in the family 
 life of England ! It is the germ of the Christian life.' We 
 spoke of the troubles and discords now prevailing in London. 
 ' This unrest, and the miserable immorality in high places, and 
 the materialism in low, are only a boil on a healthy body. 
 There is no fear for England, sir.' We spoke of difficulties in 
 signing creeds. I said there were three ways — literally, historic- 
 ally, and esoterically. He said a creed must be signed in the 
 way accordant with your own belief ; you must explain it so, and 
 you must not above all things strain at gnats and affect diffi- 
 culties. We spoke of Maurice. I said I had heard him called an 
 
Sttidy and Travel in Germany. 57 
 
 atheist. ' No man will dare to print it,' he replied eagerly. * Yes, 
 yes ; there are people who will talk madly both before and after 
 dinner.' 
 
 "'"Dear Maurice! don't mind them," Kingsley said at the 
 time, and I have been always saying it since. But the good man, 
 he minds it far too much for his own peace ; he cannot bear that 
 he should be reported for a teacher of evil, and it grieves and 
 depresses his gentle spirit cruelly to be so misunderstood.' We 
 talked of Red Lion Court. ' Ah, yes ! Julius Hare wrote to him 
 to remind him of how Paul, when put out of the synagogue at 
 Corinth, cried, "Henceforth I will go unto the Gentiles;" and 
 Maurice took the counsel earnestly to heart, and founded the 
 Red Lion University. He is an inexpressibly gentle, earnest, 
 humble, and most holy man. He is as noiseless as charity, and 
 unobtrusive to excess ; but I have no doubt he will overcome in 
 the end. He has already won a great influence over the think- 
 ing young men of England. He is gentle and unassuming, and 
 so the people attack him ; but Kingsley comes with his club, and 
 they run frightened into their holes and caves. Kingsley attacks 
 them ; he is aggressive.' 
 
 " We talked a good deal over ' AYestward Ho ! ' * It is a 
 splendid book — magnificent,' he said. ' As to the Catholics, 
 Kingsley only shows a picture of the time, and it would have 
 been historically unjust to paint them as other than those who 
 planned the infamous Armada. He protests against their lying 
 spirit and Jesuitry, against what is foul and detestable in them, 
 and he protests like a manly, honest Christian; but in an 
 epilogue he explains for those of weaker capacity that he does 
 not mean to say the Catholic of to-day was not as brave at 
 Alma as the Protestant. Kingsley is right; we must protest 
 against the foolery that Puseyitism has brought in during these 
 last twenty years. " Westward Ho ! " you should by all means 
 read.' ' " Hypatia," ' I said, ' seems to me the most artistic of 
 his works after the "Saint's Tragedy."' * Yes, you are right; 
 the "Saint's Tragedy" is the most finished of his writings, 
 " Hypatia " is very noble. Too bad that it is not yet in a second 
 edition. It will make its way, and take my word for it, thirty 
 or forty years after this it will be read as a classic. Have you 
 
58 Life of William Fleming Stevenson. 
 
 read that fine article by Kingsley on Raleigh in the Nortli 
 British Revieio ? ' 
 
 "When we were speaking of the struggle liberal opinion on 
 theology had in England — a struggle for the bare life — B. said it 
 would all go right soon, and spoke of the great advance that has 
 been made in the last forty years. ' I have talked with many of 
 your stiffest men, and when they were excellent, sincere Chris- 
 tians I found strong opinions and narrow enough, but candour 
 and a wish to see what was good in mine. As to inspiration, 
 they have argued it with me step by step, but I hope have found 
 in the end that those views they call loose, if by no harsher name, 
 can coincide with as warm a love for Jesus Christ as their own. 
 They say, " But if you don't believe the Bible in our sense you 
 reject much that is true." I reply, " My circle of truth is wider 
 than yours. You hold that every word of the Bible is inspired ; 
 beyond that, nothing. I may hold with you, but I go beyond the 
 Bible, and say God has inspired much more. Which embraces 
 the most truth, your circle or mine 1 " They find that argument 
 won't hold, but they can't be persuaded to give it up.'" 
 
 \_To his Sister.'] 
 
 " Heidelbeeg, June, 1855. 
 " In B.'s dangerous illness I can't but read a warning and 
 lesson for myself. What if it should come to my turn '? What 
 then could I think of that I had done to make others rejoice in 
 the same Blessed Saviour *? How have I used these past precious 
 years ? What fruit has grown out of them for others ; nay, even 
 for myself ? And I feel that to answ^er these questions better I 
 must look to the future rather than the past ; that my work has 
 not yet begun ; that I have been one of our dear Master's most 
 unprofitable servants, and I dare no longer trifle ; that there are 
 solemn duties, the sad neglect of which is to be redeemed by 
 double zeal. I have rested too much in the want of ofiice to do 
 that which, more or less, it is the office of every Christian to do. 
 Christ has not so many preachers that He can afford to let one 
 follower of His idle. We must all be His messengers, and we 
 must be His messengers all our life long, not merely from twenty- 
 
Study and Travel in Germany. 59 
 
 one years old or twenty-three. Would that I had felt this earlier, 
 that I had not been satisfied with the mere routine of Sunday- 
 school and Bible-class ! How many opportunities we thought- 
 lessly miss — the common daily speech, the casual visit, the friendly 
 intercourse, even the chance companion on the road ! With 
 God's help it must not continue so. How many little ways we 
 can find in which that most wonderful message of peace and good- 
 will may be proclaimed ! It need not be noisily in meetings, but 
 silently as love itself ; the quiet influence of an earnest life 
 revealing itself unconsciously in manifold forms of Christian ac- 
 tivity, noiseless, persistent, gentle, yet full of power. This should 
 be our aim. May we not be more earnest in Sunday-school 
 teaching, strive more to bring Christ before the children, Christ 
 the living friend, teacher, kee23er. Saviour ? There is a good deal 
 in preparing the lesson, but there is more in giving it a centre in 
 Jesus, in making Him the heart of it that sends the warm life 
 beating through it all ; making it felt that He is not the awful, 
 ineffable, mysterious Being, who was once very near people on 
 this earth, and whose divinity we prove by texts cut and dry out 
 of the Catechism, so much as the infinitely tender and loving 
 Jesus Christ, who is as near and real to us, nay more, than to 
 the apostles, to Peter when he was sinking in the sea, to Thomas 
 when he cried ' My Lord and my God ! ' I have confided to you 
 my inmost thoughts for you and for myself ; may they at least 
 serve to remind us that we are all labourers in Christ's vineyard, 
 and that it is a shame to be idle there." 
 
 \To his Father:] 
 
 "Heidelberg, June 21, 1855. 
 " How noble and full of dignity and duty, how solemn in its 
 responsibility, the pastoral office is, I feel the more deeply, some- 
 times even awfully, the nearer I approach it, and can only rest on 
 God's almighty support, and on Him who, our Lord promises, 
 will lead us into all truth, to give me the courage to enter upon 
 it, and the ability and wisdom to discharge it. I know that you 
 also, my dear father, pray earnestly for me that I may not shame 
 
60 Life of William Fleming Stevenson. 
 
 the Blessed Master ; that, striving to follow in Christ's footsteps, 
 I may be the means of leading many others on the same boly 
 road ; and I cannot tell you what comfort I have in the conscious- 
 ness that those who are dearest to me, and who know and love 
 me best, are beseeching God on my behalf." 
 
CHAPTER lY. 
 
 EARLY MINISTERIAL LIFE. 
 
 In July, 1855, Mr. Stevenson left Heidelberg and returned 
 to Ireland. Several montlis were then spent at home in 
 quiet study and preparation. At this time his mind was in 
 a somewhat unsettled state regarding some elements of the 
 creed in which he had been brought up, and to which he 
 clung with loyal reverence. It was by plunging into prac- 
 tical mission work that light was to come to him upon these 
 thorny points of theology. Meanwhile he brooded over the 
 mysterious system of truth of which he was about to become 
 the exponent, and lost no opportunity of gathering guidance 
 from those in whom he had confidence. Especially to his 
 friend Adolph Saphir he wrote fully and freely, but these 
 letters have not been preserved. 
 
 In 1856, he received license from the Presbytery of Stra- 
 bane, and preached occasionally in vacant charges. It was 
 when preaching in Dervock on the 22nd March, 1857, that 
 he received the news of the second break in the home-circle. 
 His father was then a hale man of sixty-five. He had a 
 wonderful love of flowers, and his garden was his special 
 pride and pleasure, being considered one of the show-places 
 in the county. He had only returned from morning service, 
 and was taking his usual Sunday walk with his wife among 
 his flowers, when in a moment the call came, and he was 
 summoned from earth to be for ever with the Lord. His 
 
62 Life of William Fleming Stevenson. 
 
 sudden death brought grief to the whole neighbourhood. 
 The sorrow extended far beyond his own circle, and could 
 only be measured by the love and reverence in which he was 
 held by rich and poor. Their sympathy was deepened by 
 the fact that, at the time, all the members of tlie family 
 were from home, and their mother had to bear the first 
 shock of desolation alone. Mr. Stevenson hurried back, and 
 wrote on the 24th to the Eev. Theodore Meyer (afterwards his 
 brother-in-law) : — 
 
 " The change which that brief minute has brought to us ! The 
 centre of the family life, one in whom we all confided all our 
 joys and sorrows, whose laugh made us all merry, whose trouble 
 made us all anxious, never more to be seen among us ! There 
 was scarcely a family, I think, so happy as ours ; none happier. 
 And how much of that happiness rested in him who is now 
 among the saints in light we shall only realise now that he is 
 no longer here." 
 
 The absorbing labours which were to solve for him many 
 a perplexing question in theology began in the autumn of 
 1857, when the missionary impulse that had commenced 
 to move within him impelled him to offer himself to the 
 directors of the Belfast Town Mission for work among the 
 poor and outcast in the lanes and alleys of that busy town. 
 At that time the town missionaries were selected by a local 
 committee from among the ablest and most devoted licen- 
 tiates of the Church ; and the Brown Square district, which 
 was that assigned to Mr. Stevenson, opened up peculiar 
 opportunities to a man who was prepared to spend and be 
 spent in the service of Christ. It is a densely populated 
 locality, and in 1857 contained some of the most poverty- 
 stricken and depraved lanes in Belfast, most of which have 
 recently been cleared away. It was, however, just the 
 
Early Ministerial Life. 63 
 
 place for a man who had Immanuel Wichern's faith in the 
 power of the Gospel ; and Mr. Stevenson entered on his 
 work in the profound conviction that the same story of 
 Divine love which had softened the hearts of the thieves 
 and vagabonds of Hamburg was able to subdue the outcasts 
 of Belfast. The poverty and sufferings of the people, how- 
 ever, were found to be great hindrances to his work. He 
 used to say how forcibly their reception of his message 
 seemed to illustrate the mental condition of the children of 
 Israel when " they hearkened not unto Moses for anguish of 
 spirit and cruel bondage." Nevertheless, with that uncon- 
 querable courage which distinguished him, he went from 
 door to door, visiting every house in the district, and in each 
 presenting the Gospel of Jesus Christ, in full assurance of 
 the living, quickening power of the Word of life. In those 
 days there was no agency in Belfast such as the society for 
 nursing the sick poor in their own homes, which now, with 
 its perfect organisation, is introducing relief and comfort 
 into hundreds of afflicted households. Thirty years ago 
 any labourer among the poor, whether district missionary or 
 dispensary doctor, had scarcely an available resource in cases 
 of special sickness outside his own limited means. Not 
 infrequently Mr. Stevenson carried off his entire dinner in 
 order to provide sustenance for some starving family. His 
 work in Brown Square produced a profound impression on 
 the district. The poor-law physician no sooner came into 
 contact with him than he declared, "This missionary is a true 
 man; he cares for the people's souls." A lady, whose name is 
 still a household word among the poor of the neighbourhood, 
 entered one day the house of a woman crushed by infirmity 
 and want. " The young missionary has been here," said 
 the woman. " He talked to me and prayed with me, and I 
 think I feel the pinches less." 
 
64 Life of William Fleming Stevenson. 
 
 \To Ms sister Mary.'] 
 
 "Belfast, November, 1858. 
 *'I am very busy, of course; any one beginning a new life 
 will be awkward and irregular, and wasteful both of time and 
 energy. However, I have not been allowed here to do even as 
 much as I should. They are very kind and considerate. There 
 are probably about eight hundred Protestant families to be 
 visited ; after these as many Roman Catholics as will not drive 
 the missionary out with the poker. In some Roman Catholic 
 houses I have read and prayed, but probably that could not be 
 done in more than half-a-dozen in my district. They are very 
 fierce and wantonly irritated by injudicious treatment. There 
 are some cases of terrible distress, and as the mills go on half- 
 time from next week, the pressure of this winter will be most 
 terrible on the poor. It is very hard upon them, and upon the 
 missionary, who has little power to relieve their bodily wants. 
 The meetings are tolerably well attended, but many come out 
 with the expectation of blankets, or coals, or a stray sixpence, 
 written on their faces. The Bible-class is filling up ; more 
 importance belongs to it than to the Sunday evening service, for 
 it wins a hold over the young, and especially the mill- workers, 
 who are sorely tempted in many ways. I would like to have it 
 number sixty or seventy. T visit on an average about four hours 
 a day, but gradually hope to increase the time. The visiting is 
 the key to the whole work." 
 
 Short as was his connection with the Belfiist Town 
 Mission, it exercised a powerful influence on his after-life. 
 The experience which he thus gained of human misery 
 and sorrow, and of the efficacy of the Gospel to soothe and 
 assuage it, affected the direction of his whole subsequent 
 ministry ; and he always gratefully acknowledged that it 
 was as a town missionary, and under the direction of the 
 friend of the widow and orphan, the Rev. W. Johnston, D.D., 
 that he learned his first lessons in the Christian ministry. 
 
Early ]\Iiniste7'ial Life. 65 
 
 But his labours were soon sharply interrupted. He was 
 careless then, as always, of securing for himself sufficient 
 sleep or leisure. He shrank from no exposure or fatigue. 
 The consequences were such as might have been expected. 
 Visiting in an alley where typhus fever raged and where 
 every case had so far proved fatal, he was seized by the 
 disease and brought to the very brink of the grave. He 
 was tenderly nursed by his mother and sister, but more 
 than two months passed before he could be taken home to 
 recruit, and even then a severe snowstorm which came on 
 during the journey occasioned so serious a relapse, that he 
 remained some months in a condition of great weakness. 
 
 As he tossed in the delirium of the fever, the one theme 
 traceable through his broken utterances was his beloved 
 mission work in Brown Square. " Willie constantly offers 
 up the most beautiful prayers for his poor people, but quite 
 unconsciously," Miss Stevenson wrote to her sister. 
 
 As his strength gradually returned, he was able to take 
 charge of a little summer congregation at Moville, then 
 only a pleasant watering-place on the western shores of 
 Lough Foyle, but now the calling-place for several of the 
 American lines of steamers ; and before the autumn had 
 set in he had so far recovered that, at the urgent request 
 of Dr. Morgan, he accepted the post of temporary minister 
 at Bonn during the absence of the Eev. Dr. Graham, who, 
 besides his work in connection with the Jewish Mission, 
 was the pastor of a congregation of English residents. His 
 church and house had become a meeting-place for earnest 
 Christians of various countries and creeds, so that Mr. 
 Stevenson was thrown into intercourse with Christians 
 of many nationalities and beliefs, and, always catholic in 
 his sympathies, he received profit and enjoyment from all. 
 Here again, as whenever he went abroad, his long home- 
 
 E 
 
66 Life of William Fleming Stevenson. 
 
 letters throw a steady liglit upon Lis thoughts and move- 
 ments ; many of them express longings to return to his poor 
 people and his Mission. 
 
 We give a few extracts : — 
 
 \To his Mother?^ 
 
 "Bonn, October 25, 1858. 
 
 '' My duties will be light enough : to hold the English service, 
 attend to the Sunday-school, and visit the people; and during 
 the week to hold a class for young English ladies on Wednesday, 
 and a prayer-meeting on Thursday. . . . 
 
 " It is not merely that the congregation is composed of men of 
 better education than myself, but that they are ripe C^hristians, 
 among whom I stand up like a child. I have felt often that it was 
 they who should speak and I hear, and I hope to get more than 
 one to share the prayer-meeting with me. As might be expected 
 where there is warmth of Christian life, there is an absence of 
 denominationalism, and there is a deep religious, holy tone in 
 many hearts, and continually manifesting itself. There is a real 
 Christian sympathy, intercourse, interchange of thought, a true 
 Christian society, such as it would be very rare to meet at home. . . . 
 
 "Yesterday was an entirely happy day; the service of the 
 morning, sustained by the sympathy and response of feeling 
 which I knew were in the congregation; visiting some sorely 
 tried but patient sufferers; tea with one whose mind is in 
 heaven and with whom heavenly things are ever uppermost, and 
 the quiet Christian converse and simple worship at the house of 
 the Countess von Limburg-Stirum ; and then, on returning here, 
 an hour or two more of interest over some Bible truths. That is 
 a real rest, and T felt so braced that I could have begun the day 
 again with a lighter and more vigorous spirit at the close." . . . 
 
 [To the same.'] 
 
 "Bonn, November 29, 1858. 
 *' The work here continues to prove a great blessing to mj^self, 
 and God has vouchsafed me many tokens of its blessings to others. 
 Many, indeed, have begged that I would remain, and forget 
 
Early Ministerial Life. 67 
 
 Ireland. And Dr. Graham is very anxious for that also. But 
 it is impossible for me to entertain the idea for a moment. I 
 feel that I must soon go back to Belfast, and probably remain 
 there. It was where I was happiest, and felt most that I was 
 doing God's service, and where my mind and hope have con- 
 tinually turned me since I l^ft it." 
 
 '' Surely when we follow God's plan it is best. There is very 
 much missed often in the Christian life by looking too much to our 
 feet instead of to Jesus our light. If we keep only watching over 
 ourselves we shall have no time for anything but mourning over 
 ourselves, and that is weary work, and makes us stumble. How 
 much there is to be learnt from the way in which the Apostle 
 (Heb. xii.) joins the riddance of our besetting sins with the look- 
 ing unto Jesus ! It is perplexing how little, though risen with 
 Christ, we dwell with Christ, for this means daily, hourly looking 
 to Him ; it shows us how feebly we know Him when the world 
 can so draw off our thoughts. 
 
 "At the prayer-meeting I have already taken up Abraham 
 and Communion with God ; Jacob and Wrestling with God ; for 
 next day it is Moses and Intercourse with God— all in Old Testa- 
 ment prayers, you see ; and on the 9th I think I will read the 
 ' News of the Churches.' " 
 
 \To the saine.'] 
 
 "Bonn, January 17, 1859. 
 
 " As there are so many Indians here, I am trying to establish 
 a united prayer and mission meeting for India. Help is given 
 me by many. One is preparing a large map, another personal 
 recollections, and another will give accounts of such missionary 
 operations as have come under his own knowledge 
 
 "... Unions for prayer are the very centre-point of Christian 
 communion, energy, and action here. On Sunday I have now 
 two; they have existed, indeed, for the last two months. On 
 Tuesday next, in the afternoon, we begin another. Thursday 
 evening is our regular meeting, and on Monday we hope to have 
 the prayer-meeting for India I have had so long at heart. Thus 
 there is a true vitality and fellowship with one another because 
 it is with the Father and the Son. To gain this blessed 
 
68 Life of Williain Fleming Stevenson. 
 
 experience I would gladly have made any sacrifice — this deeper 
 knowledge of the life that is in Christ Jesus, this higher faith 
 and power and clearer sight of the things that are eternal." 
 
 \To his brother James.'] 
 
 '' Ajiril i, 1S59. 
 " Last Monday I took my first holiday ; went up the Rhine 
 with a cloudless sky overhead as far as St. Goar, spent the even- 
 ing, and especially the sunset, gazing from the ruined windows 
 and ramparts of the great Rhein stein, went on early the next 
 morning to Lorch, and taking the down-boat there, arrived in 
 Bonn for our Bible-reading on Tuesday afternoon. As Monday 
 is the solitary free day of the week, 1 have taken advantage of it 
 to visit Kaiserswerth again. It is about six miles nearer than 
 Diisseldorf, washed by the Rhine, but very unromantic — as notice- 
 able, however, for the rarity of its Christian charity as it is 
 wanting in natural beauty. Twenty-five years ago the pastor 
 received a poor fellow out of prison, turned his garden-house 
 into the first reformatory, and in faith and prayer has gone on 
 ever since till now. His institution numbers more than 400 
 people, and has become the parent of others in Germany, Egypt, 
 Palestine, Syria, and Turkey. His objects are manifold, and 
 embrace the care and cure of the sick, the treatment of the 
 insane, the support of orphans, the restoration of fallen women, 
 the reformation of criminals, the education of servants for 
 Christian households and governesses for Christian families, and 
 through all this the training of deaconesses and supply of them 
 to the Church wherever they are needed. Miss Nightingale was 
 trained here in 1850-51, and the place is now famous in the 
 Christian world. Dr. Fliedner is ill, probably dying, of consump- 
 tion : his son-in-law takes his place, and will probably be his 
 successor." 
 
 A lady who had much intercourse with him during the 
 winter he spent in Bonn, thus refers to the impression made 
 upon her by the young minister : — 
 
 " Looking through my journal of that time," she says, " I was 
 
Early Ministerial Life. 69 
 
 disappointed to find my records so meagre and inadequate, in 
 comparison with the impression that my intercourse with Mr. 
 Stevenson had left on my mind. I know that he opened to me 
 long vistas of thought, and greatly modified and enlarged my 
 ideas on many subjects, while I find that I have recorded chiefly 
 the expressions of opinion which seemed most strange and 
 startling to me. One of the things that impressed me most was 
 his interest in the working of other minds, his power of under- 
 standing the thoughts and feelings of others ; and he probably 
 expressed himself strangely sometimes for the sake of argument, 
 or at least put forward some of his ideas in rather an exaggerated 
 form to draw out the opinions of others. His knowledge of books 
 appeared to me wonderful, and I have always felt very grateful 
 to him for making known to me many of the books that I have 
 most valued and delighted in ever since. In lending me books, 
 he sometimes sent interesting notes and criticisms with them. 
 I find that my records show very little of his helpfulness and 
 readiness to be useful in every way to those with whom he came 
 in contact at Bonn, both English and German. However different 
 we might be, and incapable of sympathising wdth one another, 
 each of us found in him a friend who could understand and 
 sympathise. My Bonn entries close with the following sentence : 
 ' I could hardly find words to bid farewell to the friend whose 
 kindness had so often cheered me. May the help and sympathy 
 he is ever ready to give return to him abundantly in every time 
 of need.' " 
 
 Some extracts from letters written to one of his Bonn 
 congregation after he had left may fitly be given here \ they 
 show something of his way of dealing with anxious souls. 
 He always made the difficulties of each case his own. They 
 lay on his heart, he thought over them, prayed about them 
 as if he had no other care, and never ceased till God gave 
 him the joy of seeing the clouds lifted, driven away by the 
 sunshine of His presence and peace. 
 
 " You are still in a deep, if not deeper anxiety than when we 
 
70 Life of William Fleming Stevenson. 
 
 talked in the long winter evenings at Bonn. You still believe 
 that you are far from God, far from real peace, far from a new 
 and living heart. You still mourn over unanswered prayer and 
 hope deferred that has made your heart sick. You remember 
 once telling me you feared anxiety would pass away and careless- 
 ness set in. How little that corresponds to what you feel ! And 
 I think you see now that your very fear was a proof that the 
 anxiety was not passing away ; it was only a new and more terrible 
 form of it. God be praised that we are kept anxious till we rest 
 in peace ! And the only question, thus early, is, How far is this 
 anxiety true and well-grounded? We have spoken of that 
 previous time when you felt joy and a new world about you. 
 Now it is possible that we can deceive ourselves in this, that our 
 own feelings, kindled to an unusual intensity, may be taken for 
 the abiding presence of God's Holy Spirit. It is quite possible, 
 also, that, while the work in our heart is genuine, a mysterious 
 darkness may afterwards wrap the glorious thoughts and light 
 in which we exulted, and we may mourn as if forsaken. How 
 is one to know ? Best of all by not seeking to know, by going 
 now to our Lord Jesus, who is saying, ' If any man thirst, let 
 him come unto Me ; ' by testing His word now, and by asking, 
 not for a state of feeling that is past, or a state of feeling like it, 
 but for His Spirit. It is not our feeling we are concerned 
 
 with so much as His gift 
 
 <' Eemember how little the Bible tells us of feeling, how it con- 
 fines itself to certain objective realities. These will have their 
 corresponding subjective states of mind and affection. Only we 
 must seek the former and the latter will follow. Our feelings 
 are very much a kind of circumstantial evidence, but all we abso- 
 lutely need is the direct proof given by the Holy Ghost that 
 what God has said is true for us. Till we have that w^e must 
 never stop, though we pass from agony to agony. Above all, do 
 not grow weary, nor think that God has closed His ears to your 
 prayer. What you seek, a whole lifetime of disappointed wait- 
 ing would cheaply purchase 
 
 " It seems that there are natures less susceptible of the feeling 
 of sin than others, that by their whole organisation they are led 
 to look at sin through a different eye from the rest. Such minds 
 
Early Ministerial Life. 71 
 
 will always have difficulty and pain in attempting to reconcile 
 their experience with that of ordinary religious people; and much 
 more they will be perplexed to reconcile it with many passages of 
 the Scriptures, and what seem to be contradictions of it occasion- 
 ally rising out of their own minds. They will often feel a sense 
 of want, and many spiritual things will lack reality to them. 
 
 " The Spirit shows every one his sin as he pleases, and as one 
 is able to see it. Every one must see it with his own eye; 
 and every one who sees it must go to Christ as the only De- 
 liverer. I may not realise sin as St. Paul did, but then just so 
 far as I do realise it must I hasten to the cross of Christ. Any 
 one may be sure from one day's trial that there is more sin 
 behind than has ever been discovered ; yet one is not to await 
 that discovery, nor to mourn because it has not been made, but 
 rather to flee to God with whatever one has found, not only to 
 have it pardoned, but removed. ... Do not mind, then, what 
 other people, and above all the religious world, say they experi- 
 ence : do not unduly sorrow because sin is less to you than it 
 seems to be to them ; but let the sin as it is be brought to Christ, 
 and the heart purged from the stain. If you steadfastly do that, 
 and so come regularly into God's holiness and Christ's love, the 
 shadow of both will fall upon you." 
 
 {To Ms Brother:] 
 
 '*B0NN, April, 1859. 
 
 " It will not be with unmixed joy that I shall turn my face 
 Englandwards, for Bonn has become associated with blessings 
 that are for life and friends with whom I have had closer and 
 happier intimacy, more fraught with the blessing of God's grace, 
 than I dare look for again. But I feel only joy when I think of 
 seeing you all again, and of resuming the work of God among 
 the poor to whom I can speak in my own tongue. Here one is 
 sorely baffled by ignorance of the language, so that frequently 
 what is most needful to be said falls meaningless from the lips." 
 
 " Thank you for sending the funeral sermons. One wonders 
 what words will be left for use when the highest princes in 
 Israel fall. If Elijah receives no eulogy but Elisha's, and if 
 
72 Life of William Fleming Stevenson. 
 
 Christ says to those who have most nobly overcome no more than 
 ' Well done, thou good and faithful servant,' the ringing of our 
 human praises must jar strangely in heaven, where faults and 
 sins that have escaped us are seen like a shadow of night across 
 the day." 
 
 \To Ms Mother?^ 
 
 "Bonn, April 25, 1859. 
 
 "... Some good also I have been enabled to do to the glory 
 of God : there are some who have been comforted and confirmed ; 
 some whose faith has been quickened ; some who have come con- 
 fessedly as open unbelievers, and have thanked me for the words 
 that were spoken ; some the needs of wdiose hearts were touched 
 and their darkness removed by thoughts that seemed to have 
 been framed especially for them. I waited upon God for His 
 teaching, and His Spirit gave the words and carried their mes- 
 sage. But any review of the past is mixed with regrets so deep 
 that one looks on it more with sorrow than with joy, and turns 
 more eagerly to ^ forget the things that are behind, and to press 
 on to those that are before.' Our life should rather be day b}'' 
 day with Christ in. the present than either the past or the future. 
 This will keep us in a steadier joy, and more in the way of doing 
 God's will. And joy is wherein we fail. We are more ready to 
 be overcast with clouds and to mourn over our hearts, than to 
 walk in the light and fight cheerfully against sin. AVe should 
 be more calm, happy, peaceful, bright, than any ; and that I am 
 convinced we shall not be, so long as we do not spend every 
 moment looking unto Jesus, reflecting back His image, content 
 to see our wrong in the mirror of His truth and love, always 
 rejoicing and yet always bearing about in us the dying of the 
 Lord Jesus ; for if we die daily we shall rejoice daily in Him who 
 is the Resurrection and the Life." 
 
 lu such congenial work and society the winter months 
 passed quickly by, and Dr. Graham's two months of absence 
 became extended to six. It was not till the end of April 
 that Mr. Stevenson finally left Bonn, going to Amsterdam 
 by way of Elberfeld and Barmen, where he visited the 
 
Early Ministerial Life. 73 
 
 " Missions Haus," anxious to learn all he could of its 
 management from Herr von Eotlie, tlie inspector. Among 
 liis warmest friends in Bonn were several families of the 
 old Dutch nobility, to whose relatives in Holland he 
 carried introductions. Everywhere he was received with 
 the greatest kindness and hospitality, passing from one 
 country seat to another, and enjoying the new life to the 
 full, the music, the private picture galleries ; meeting poets, 
 statesmen, and courtiers, and feeling wherever he went the 
 bond of union was the same, the common love and service 
 of the Master. 
 
 {To Us IlotJier.J 
 
 "Amsterdam, 3fa)j 7, 1859. 
 
 "If you hear me describe Amsterdam in the cheerfulest, 
 friendliest, most laudatory words, you will not think it strange ; 
 first, when you know that the sun has been shining down on the 
 tall gabled houses and brown canals through the bluest of blue 
 skies ; second, that I have friends who are very kind, and place 
 their kindness entirely at my disposal ; third, because everybody 
 is clean, and almost everybody good-looking — a tall, well-made 
 race of people, with nothing foreign about them except their 
 speech and a little of the peasant women's headgear ; and, 
 fourth, that the only acquaintances I have are earnest Christian 
 people, whose pleasure and life lie in Christian activity and 
 Christian fellowship 
 
 "... I dined yesterday with the von W 's, who had 
 
 invited some friends to a lecture in the evening. I chose 
 from the seventh to the seventeenth verse of the third chapter 
 of Philippians, and dwelt chiefly on the unity of Christian 
 walk through all the diversity of Christian opinion, showing 
 that it depended on the being ' thus minded,' and then unfold- 
 ing all that the Apostle included in that mind. At the close 
 we had animated discussion, and entered fully into the sub- 
 ject, many pressing me very much afterwards to go to their 
 houses. Thus God is opening many ways in Holland of speaking 
 
74 Life of William Fleming Stevenson. 
 
 for Him. I only feel ashamed that it is in English, for these 
 Dutch families speak German, English, and French with the 
 same facility as their own language. Before separating we sang 
 together hymns in English and French, and commended one 
 another to the grace of God." 
 
 The condition at that time of the Church in Holland fur- 
 nished some perplexing problems. 
 
 \To his Mother.'] 
 
 "Amsterdam, May, 1859. 
 
 "This morning I spent two hours with Dr. Hasebrock, one of 
 the most genial of men, full of heartiness, pleasantry, kindness, 
 and knowledge. He has a sound heart and a -wide mind, enters 
 with interest into every side of human life and thought, and 
 has a frankness about him that wins a stranger at once. His 
 picture of the Dutch Church was quite as gloomy as that given 
 me by everybody else, though he sees also hope in the future. It 
 has been the custom since the Reformation for the elders and 
 deacons to elect the minister; but then it has also been the 
 custom for the elders to elect the deacons and each other; so 
 that the people have actually nothing to say in the matter ; and 
 now, when in many places they are quickened, they cannot make 
 their life tell directly upon the Church 
 
 " All the Reformed Protestants in Amsterdam form one parish 
 with a population of about 160,000, with twelve churches, and 
 perhaps twice as many clergy. No clergyman preaches in the 
 same church two Sundays in succession. Round they go like 
 the sun through the Zodiac, and their adherents follow them. 
 The consequence is, there is no parochial interest, no attach- 
 ment to a church, and no congregational unity. There is some 
 link — at least it lasts through Sunday — between a favourite 
 preacher and his hearers, but none between pastor and people. 
 Each clergyman, however, has a district assigned to him, in 
 which he is to visit ; but probably the greater number of those he 
 sees may hear him preach only once a quarter, or even once a 
 year, while many may change their residences to another quarter 
 of the town where he cannot follow them 
 
EaiHy Ministerial Life. 
 
 " It is, as you know, of our kith and kin, a Keformed Cal- 
 vinistic Presbyterian Church, but dead, unless preachers who 
 deny the Resurrection of Christ can be called living. Many of 
 the people are alive, however, and, on the whole, far before their 
 clergy ; and if a faithful and believing clergyman preaches, 
 crowds go to hear him. Mr. Schwartz speaks Dutch well, and 
 the consequence is that his church, which holds eighteen hundred 
 people, is crowded to the doors. The congregation is mostly of 
 the artisan class. Of course tliat is a very wide field, and one 
 that it is needful to occupy. And so with his paper, which, 
 having started in small compass, and with smaller circulation for 
 the Jews, no sooner took in the Christians than it swelled up to 
 a portly sheet, and more than trebled its subscribers, thus, no 
 doubt, exerting a most healthful influence on the future of 
 the Church here. But by this excessive prominence of what is 
 Christian, I always dread the swamping of the Jewish element. 
 It is certainly a ho7id fide Jewish Mission field, for there are 
 30,000 of as bigoted an Israelitish population as could be found 
 in the whole world 
 
 " I went to hear Da Costa lecture at the seminary, and was 
 introduced by him to his students. Perhaps you do not know 
 that he is the first living Dutch poet, that his wild and fiery but 
 uncertain eloquence is renowned, and that as a conjmentator he 
 is attracting now some notice among learned men in Germany. 
 He has a queer way of slipping out quaint humorous sayings 
 as if they scarcely belonged to him, and he wondered how they 
 were born into the world. His reputation as a poet and wit 
 attracts many to his Friday evening lectures through the winter 
 who would not set foot within a church." 
 
 Mr. Stevenson's cherished ideal of Christian deaconesses 
 banding themselves together to nurse the sick and tend the 
 dying has now come to be an acknowledged necessity of 
 Christian philanthropy. Thirty years ago it was thought a 
 visionary enthusiasm. His first conception of what might 
 be done dated from his visit to the Eauhe Haus in Ham- 
 burg, but was greatly enlarged and quickened by all that he 
 
76 Life of Williaui Fleming Stevenson. 
 
 saw at Kaiserswertli. In Holland lie visited and minutely 
 noted the details of any similai^ institution with increasing 
 interest and a growing sense of the need that there was for 
 such work at home. After one of these visits he writes to 
 
 his mother : — 
 
 "Amsterdam, May, 1859. 
 ''This morning we drove to the hospital for deaconesses. It 
 is somewhat on the principle of Kaiserswertli, but on a much 
 smaller and more luxurious scale, and there is much less soiling 
 of one's fingers in it. The building is large and handsome, the 
 rooms airy, comfortable, and well furnished, the lobbies all softly 
 carpeted, the windows even in the passage nicely curtained. 
 There are twenty- two sisters at present on the foundation. 
 There were twelve patients, and there is room for fifteen. The 
 sick pay for everything, medical attendance included, five, two and 
 a half, and in the lowest class one and one-fifth guilders per day. 
 Of course this scale of prices keeps out the poor and makes the 
 hospital, so to say, select ; and then the small number taken in 
 is just sufiicient to afford practical training to the nurses. Most 
 of them are of the small farmer class ; but there is also a sprink- 
 ling of gentlewomen. Three sisters were in the house attending 
 the patients ; one was sick, and the rest were out nursing. They 
 are available for every part of Holland, and sometimes go to 
 Germany, but cannot stay longer with a patient than eight 
 weeks, unless by special permission. As it was Tuesday, and 
 there was Divine service in the afternoon, as many of the nurses 
 as were in Amsterdam dined at the house, and this weekly union 
 keeps them linked together. 
 
 From Amsterdam he went to Utrecht. 
 
 {To Ids Mother.'] 
 
 '•'Utrecht, Afay, 1859. 
 "One of my first visits here was to the deaconess's establish- 
 ment. It is larger than that of Amsterdam, but not nearly so 
 luxurious. There is more an air of business about it. There 
 are places for forty sick, and they do not pay so much as at 
 Amsterdam. The total number of sisters and probationers is 
 
Early Ministerial Life. 77 
 
 thirty-five, most of them out nursing. They are very particular 
 about admission to the work, and, unless there is good evidence 
 of Christian life, refuse it, avoiding those who offer from motives 
 of mere benevolence or self-mortification. The poorer class lie 
 many in one room, but the rooms are airy enough. There is a 
 separate kitchen upstairs for preparation of particular niceties 
 ordered for the patients. Texts are written on blackboards 
 hung in every room, rubbed out often and changed. In the 
 chapel some of the sisters were assembled, and I was asked to 
 read and pray with them. They were to lay the foundation in 
 the afternoon of a large additional building for children alone, 
 the means for which have been entirely furnished by one of the 
 sisters, an interesting lady of not more than thirty, of noble 
 birth and ample fortune, and who came in dressed simply in 
 checked linen like the rest. I prayed also for blessing of spiritual 
 healing in this building when completed, and as we left was 
 seized by the hand by the deaconesses in turn and thanked. 
 This shaking hands between gentlemen and ladies is a welcome 
 given to foreign Christians, for here even rather near acquaint- 
 ances would not venture upon it." 
 
 A few extracts from his journal must close the record of 
 his visit to Holland : — 
 
 " Dined with Beets, who is, next to Da Costa, the best living 
 poet of Holland ; as a translator, particularly of Byron's 'Hebrew 
 Melodies,' superior to Longfellow. He is also the writer of the 
 purest Dutch, the preacher of the best Dutch sermons, and as 
 a Christian leader in the strife, his form is always watched, his 
 word waited for. His poems are mostly of the affections, and 
 remind one of Wordsworth, who has not been without influence 
 upon him. He has translated from him also, and among other 
 things the well-known ' We are Seven ; ' but, as he lamented to 
 me, he had to increase the number to eight, to preserve the 
 metre. In former days also he wrote some witty and piquant 
 sketches of Dutch life. And now his real work is preaching, first 
 by word of mouth, and then through the press. He is one of 
 the few faithful, fervent men of God in the Dutch Church. . . . 
 
78 Life of William Fleming Stevenson. 
 
 ''Visiting a large school called the Diaconie, I was much inter- 
 ested to find among its arrangements a workshop where those 
 who think of becoming missionaries are taught for two hours 
 daily all kinds of carpentry, &c., so as to be able to build houses 
 for themselves if need be when they go abroad. . . . 
 
 " I was present to-day at the defence of a doctor's degree, one of 
 those Middle Age customs still in vogue here. On the appointed 
 day the student, having hired a band of music and placed it in the 
 orchestra of the examination hall, and having attired himself in 
 full dress, laced white cravat, knee-breeches, buckled shoes, and 
 a sword, and having two friends or supporters, also in full dress, 
 appears before as many professors and students as choose to 
 assemble. His thesis having been previously printed and cir- 
 culated, he stands prepared to defend it against all opposition, 
 for any one in these public defences (they can also be made 
 privately before professors alone) may stand up and offer opposi- 
 tion. The professors usually muster strong, since the student 
 pays each one who is present five guilders, while each one absent 
 must himself pay a fine. The beadle, in mighty cocked hat, 
 mace, and broad cloak, saluted us as we went in. The hall was 
 nearly empty, a few lady friends of the student in the gallery, 
 a few student friends scattered over the benches. The professors 
 were ranged round the upper end. They wear high square 
 velvet caps, but all save one were uncovered. Three bore down 
 upon the poor man, who took it wonderfully, and, being scarce 
 allowed time to speak, seemed not ill-pleased. It was all in 
 Dutch; for theology it is in Latin ; but this was an LL.D. At 
 two a beadle came in with all a beadle's pomp, and assumed the 
 air which belongs to him of the oldest and most knowing man 
 present (there are three beadles, whose united ages are far over 
 200), and advancing to the front of the professors' bench, shook 
 his silver mace cunningly, so that all the little scales above the 
 top rattled. The signal was soon taken, and he began to march 
 slowly away, but not until the student had read a brief address of 
 acknowledgment to the faculty, this time in Latin. So soon as 
 the old beadle turned, the band struck up a triumphal march, the 
 professors moved over to deliberate which of the three classes of 
 the degree to confer, and the students sprang over the railings 
 
Early Ministerial Life, 79 
 
 to grasp the hand of the martyred doctor. In the evening the 
 ceremonies are concluded by his giving a great supper, where 
 even the professors honour his table. Altogether the expenses 
 
 cannot be less than XI 00." 
 
 ''.... The simplicity, earnestness and interest which they show 
 in every work of God's Spirit are very genial recollections of the 
 Dutch I have met. One must remember, however, that they are 
 exceptional among the nobility, and also that such people are 
 somewhat confined to Utrecht. It is the residence of many old 
 families, and among them there is a good deal of piety. Yet the 
 prevalent tone is strongly worldly, and on some sides their piety 
 is tinged with aristocratic feeling, and they shrink from contact 
 and sympathy with the popular element." 
 
 {_To Us Motlier?^ 
 
 "The Hague, May 26, 1859. 
 '* I came here on Saturday, and the kindness of other places 
 has even been surpassed. Mr. von Hogendorf and the Countess 
 take me about everywhere, and already I have come in contact 
 with many of the most notable among the aristocracy and states- 
 men of Holland. Tuesday evening Dr. Capadose, with whom 
 I dined, invited a large party. Most of the gentlemen wore 
 orders. I anticipated an interesting exposition from Capadose, 
 but to my dismay found that they had been invited to meet me, 
 and that I was to speak to them. God gave me courage to speak 
 very plainly, and many came up afterwards and caught my hand 
 and thanked me. I preach in Amsterdam on Sunday, and then 
 have to return here to stay with the von Hogendorfs some days 
 before I leave for Rotterdam and London." 
 
 Early in July Mr. Stevenson reached home again, realis- 
 ing w^ith heartfelt gratitude how much his health had been 
 re-established by the change. He had spent a day at Bristol 
 with George Mliller, and marvelled at the wonderful work 
 he was doing, and the faith God gave him. He was the 
 bearer of a letter to him from the Baron Boetzellar, but 
 
80 Life of William Fleining Stevenson, 
 
 unconscious of its contents. On opening it Mr. Mtiller 
 found a thousand guilder (about £80), wliicli came as a 
 direct answer to prayer in a time of special need. Then 
 followed a fortnight at South Shields with the Saphirs, 
 where he writes : — 
 
 " I am resting in a delicious quiet, while our talk flows on 
 from day to day, and we measure over many a question how 
 much we have gained, and preach Christ together through the 
 congregation." 
 
 \To Ms Sister.'] 
 
 " Steabane, July 29, 1859. 
 
 "I arrived here on Wednesday three weeks ago ; preached the 
 same evening, and every evening or day since, sometimes three 
 times, and often in the open air. You see what a new man 
 I have come back. We are in the midst of the revival move- 
 ment; and these are glorious times on which we have fallen. 
 Immense good has been done, but not according to the news- 
 papers, which are inflated reports of nonsense, and worse. Much 
 evil is being done also ; tares and wheat must grow up together. 
 The excitement is cooling down, but the real work is advancing. 
 There is need for great caution and fervent prayer. Men have 
 been converted whom I should have thought it hopeless to attack 
 (I speak of what I know), and the seriousness, the Bible-read- 
 ing, the inquiry, the attendance at public meetings are extra- 
 ordinary." 
 
 In the previous autumn the devoted minister of a small 
 mission church in Alfred Place, Belfast, the Rev. David M'Kee, 
 had been most anxious to secure Mr. Stevenson's services 
 as assistant, his own health having broken down, so much 
 so that the post was kept vacant for him during his absence 
 in Germany. Early in August he entered on his duties 
 with fresh vigour and great thankfulness to find himself 
 once more in his element, at work among the poor. His 
 unstinted labours, the power of making services attractive 
 
Early Mi7iiste7nal Life. 81 
 
 which he had manifested so conspicuously in Brown Square, 
 and his fervent preaching of Christ soon filled the unpre- 
 tending little church to overflowing ; while mingled among 
 its humble worshippers were to be found some of the most 
 cultured people in Belfast, who discovered in his preaching 
 a spiritual insight and breadth rarely to be met with. 
 
 He felt very happy during this period in Belfast, and 
 could look back and see how much he had gained spiritually 
 since he had begun his mission work in Brown Square. 
 The time had come of which he had written to his sister 
 two years before, in the weary restlessness of long-delayed 
 convalescence. 
 
 " In about a year Dr. Browne thinks I shall be well and strong 
 again. As for any settlement, it is less likely than ever ; and as 
 this is God's way, it is for good. ' Cast thy burden upon the 
 Lord, and He shall sustain thee.' If He saw fit to employ me, 
 if there was no need that I should pass through other discipline 
 and training, I know I should have a fixed charge. But if I 
 look at myself and my abilities for it (no one dare think of 
 fitness), I see quite sufiicient reason for the delay. When God's 
 grace has wrought some mighty changes in my heart ; when my 
 life is really hid with Christ in God, and not covered with daily 
 vileness in His sight ; when I am more content to be taught by 
 His wisdom, and to glory only in the cross of Christ, it will be 
 time enough to wonder why I am, as it were, hindered. When 
 I think that I must deny myself, I feel that I am secretly most 
 ambitious and striving to please the flesh. But God is my 
 helper, and though it be through much tribulation and bitter- 
 ness, yet I know He will give me the victory." 
 
 How abundantly that confidence was fulfilled those who 
 know what his after-life was do not need to be told. It 
 was always a refreshment to him to revisit the scene of his 
 early labours. In July, 1863, he wrote : — 
 
 " I had two interesting meetings in Belfast, one at Spring- 
 
 r 
 
82 Life of William Fleming Stevenson. 
 
 field, where I had not spoken since the Sunday that the fever 
 struck me down five years ago. After service a young lad came 
 up and said, all trembling with excitement, that he wished to 
 beg my pardon for the w-ay he had spoken to me on that Sunday. 
 It had lain upon him and been very heavy ever since, and he 
 wondered would God ever send me back that he might confess it, 
 and tell me that now he had given his heart to Christ. I took 
 also the prayer-meeting in the old church at Alfred Place. 
 What warm grasps of the hand as they all came up when the 
 service was over ! Actually there were old men, hard-featured, 
 hard-handed masons, shoemakers, weavers, with tears rolling 
 down their cheeks, praying God's blessing upon me, till the tears 
 came in mist across my own eyes. I never was happier than 
 among those poor people ; and they stick by me w^ith the most 
 unwavering affection. I often wish that I were with the poor 
 again." 
 
 A few extracts from letters to his future wife, though of 
 a later date, may be inserted here : — 
 
 " Those charming mornings, those careless musical hours, those 
 fresh walks, and the merry combats with the children over the 
 poets, are already a dream before this pressing, toiling, matter- 
 of-fact round of homely duties, a dream so airy and delicate that 
 it seems ready to fall to pieces before a steady look. Yet life 
 without duty would be worse than duty without dreams, and duty 
 will always be homely ; 
 
 ' The trivial round, the common task. 
 Will furnish all we ought to ask.' 
 
 Nor can these be either trivial or common, since Christ has 
 once done duty in them, and thus made the simplest act of life 
 more glorious to the Christian than the highest heroism with- 
 out Christ. How it must nerve one against pain that Christ 
 also suffered ! If we were but living Christ in the humblest and 
 pettiest of earthly services, like Him in some ordinary unnotice- 
 able thing, we should have an inward joy and power that would 
 let no work be hard or grinding, but would always impel us to 
 fresh efforts." 
 
Early Ministerial Life. 83 
 
 "We need to live closely to God in little and indifferent 
 things, not only because they make up so much of life, but be- 
 cause they make living to God so much more easy and consistent. 
 The life that is hid with Christ in God is very sacred ; and when 
 we lower that sacredness in little things and act for ourselves, we 
 can draw little comfort out of that life in higher moments ; we are 
 left in doubt, and sometimes in dread. We cannot deviate harm- 
 lessly from the strictness of Christ. Sheep that wander ever so 
 little suffer before they are brought back. But then the strict- 
 ness of Christ is very different from what the narrow-mindedness 
 of some good people would make it. Christ will go with us in 
 whatever belongs to the duties and real pleasures of life; in 
 study, intercourse, direction and satisfying of our taste, love of 
 art, enjoyment of nature, all that properly belongs to life ; for 
 there is a great deal that men think belongs to it, and that only 
 belongs to the sin of it, to life as it has been spoiled and changed. 
 But Christ will go with us freely, unless we refuse to take Him ; 
 and His Spirit will point out the besetting sins and defend us 
 from temptation ; and we have not reached a healthy and really 
 satisfactory way of life unless we can look frankly up to Him and 
 feel the purity of our enjoyment, and the knowledge that nothing 
 we have done has separated us from Him, made us ashamed 
 before Him." 
 
 "It is the most curious thing how associations grow over 
 places, like the layer over layer of our rocks, and how little we 
 can spare the earlier while we may remain half unconscious of 
 them. I would not miss the old merry days here and what they 
 brought with them ; they have faded off into the rest of life ; 
 yet I am sure the later days would never have been what they 
 are without them. It is the upper strata that bear the harvest, 
 but I suppose the lower have something to do with it. I came 
 down from Dublin yesterday, to my mother's satisfaction. She 
 had begun to think I was a myth. Most of the Portrush world 
 is as unknown as London. But there are the old waves with 
 their familiar cadences, and the old rocks with their familiar 
 faces, and the glorious free spaces of sea and sky, the most 
 
84 Life of William Fleming Stevenson. 
 
 solemn and wonderful sight on which the eye can rest. And 
 after the city one is filled with a peace that is like the peace of 
 God. People here would laugh at this ; they believe that the 
 chief end of the sea is a bathing-machine, that the twilight was 
 created for promenading, and the Giant's Causeway for picnics ! " 
 
 " I met a clever young girl last night. Poor thing, she is 
 lame and on crutches, and .unreconciled to her misfortune. I 
 tried her with the supreme will of God, and then with His love 
 in Christ, who took all these visitations upon Himself. She 
 fought stubbornly, with a savage earnestness, for her right to 
 grumble ; but when leaving she thanked me for my words, so they 
 may have done her real good. But I wonder how I would have 
 felt in her place, cut off from so much of life and all its prospects, 
 and I blessed God humbly that He had not tried me. Do you 
 ever feel as if it was a piece of hypocrisy to reason with suffering 
 people while you are not a sufferer ? I never get comfortably about 
 one of these sad hearts unless I can say, ' I was almost as bad.' " 
 
 " If I were a Dissenter I feel I would be proud of it, or else 
 cease to dissent. But I have so much respect for the unity of 
 the Church and its visible grandeur, and so much dislike to 
 severance from the past, that I am glad not to be a Dissenter, 
 but to belong to an older stock of the Christian body than the 
 Anglican. The Church of England has material to work on very 
 different from ours, more men of social standing and familiar with 
 the world, the best intellects and scholars. But we can keep 
 abreast of it in piety and intellectual power, and superior to it, 1 
 believe, in the excellence of our system. Our defects in church 
 service are traceable to the dominance of intellect over feeling. 
 The very language of the English Prayer-book, the purity and 
 simplicity of thought, are themselves educating and refining 
 those who use it. I like silent prayer on entering the church, 
 silent prayer on leaving it ; the prayer of the service to be litur- 
 gical in form, though neither read nor stereotyped ; the people 
 to kneel and respond with a hearty Amen ; the Psalms to be 
 chanted in prose to plain and slow chants ; the Apostle's Creed 
 and Lord's Prayer to be repeated each Sunday ; the Te Deum to 
 
Early Ministerial Life. 85 
 
 be sung ; church music to be purged of all Christy-minstrel airs 
 and accompanied by the organ; the Communion to be at least 
 once a month ; young communicants to be solemnly and joyfully 
 received by the Church ; the real members of the Church to have 
 frequent opportunities of helping and strengthening one another, 
 and meeting in groups for that purpose ; deaconesses for nursing 
 the sick and attending the poor; and bright funeral hymns. 
 Dislike of some of our customs had almost driven me from our 
 Church. Saphir gave me up as hopelessly a dean or a minor 
 canon in a cathedral town ! I am thankful and happy to be 
 where I am, to escape the shame of having left a noble and 
 historic Church, with the freest and most workable constitution 
 in Christendom, merely from wounded sensitiveness. 
 
 *' A liturgy would be a blessed thing when the minister cannot 
 or will not pray ; just as the want of free prayer is an awful 
 thing when the minister can. The tendency of prayer is to be 
 liturgical, and the prayer of the Church of England is at the 
 head of all liturgies. But all the freedom and inspiration of the 
 Christian life revolt against an absolute form. It is a theo- 
 retical denial of the continued presence and teaching of the Holy 
 Spirit. Our own form demands personal holiness of the minister ; 
 the effect of the service depends on that. In theory it is very 
 fine — it is sublime. We ought to demand that holiness in the 
 strictest way. We feel it is the power of the Holy Spirit that 
 has overcome and possessed the speaker, and that unconstrained 
 power thrills suddenly and immediately through a congregation. 
 It goes deeper than the most solemn form, beyond the dim 
 mysteries of feeling, till it enters the very soul. I have a great 
 love for our worship, for its purity and unfettered simplicity; 
 a great thankfulness that I was born a Presbyterian and can 
 enjoy it." ....... 
 
 " Your account of B 's end is that of so many — slept peace- 
 fully away. The consciousness of the Hearer of prayer is a great 
 reality and comfort in such instances ; but greater far, and the 
 only comfort that is not perplexed with doubt, is that of a life 
 for Christ. We can have no peace like that on a deathbed. 
 The sudden flash of spiritual intelligence that occasionally lights 
 up the last moments, by its suddenness induces doubt of its power. 
 
86 Life of William Fleming Stevenson. 
 
 But those who walk close to Christ in their life may on their 
 deathbed make no sign. They may sleep away, dream off in 
 morphine, or die suddenly or alone, and yet there remains the 
 undisturbed and blessed faith that God has withdrawn them to 
 Himself. ... I have a superstition that the family link in 
 Christ is never broken ; that the dead are conscious of it ; that 
 we are still and always seven. My father is never distant ; he 
 is as living to me as he was. At times the very room seems 
 charged with him." ..... 
 
 " No matter how softly death comes into a house, and above 
 all into a home, it is death still, and a great sorrow that wakens 
 a hundred slumbering sorrows. It starts all one's craving for 
 sympathy and whatever is solemn in one's own heart. For the 
 little child itself one cannot be unhappy. Coleridge's lines come 
 up instinctively : — 
 
 * Be, rather than be called, a child of God, 
 Death whispered ! — with assenting nod, 
 Its head upon its mother's breast, 
 The Baby bowed, without demur — 
 Of the kingdom of the blest 
 Possessor, not inheritor.' 
 
 " Did Macleod's ' Mystery of Sorrow ' reach your friend ? I 
 trust sorrow will be no mystery to her \ only a filmy cloud 
 through which the great light of God falls softly. The hands 
 reached out to us in our darkness, blind as we are with tears and 
 pain, are more blessed than any others. It is blessed to press 
 them, to touch in them the pulse of feeling hearts. But I think 
 that to miss the hand of Christ among them is unspeakably 
 awful. Just as the first genuine comfort comes when He lays 
 His hand upon ours and takes us aside and says, ' I am the 
 Resurrection and the Life ; ' ' As the Father hath loved Me, so 
 have I loved you.' "..... 
 
 " I never hate sin so much as when I come to Christ as one of 
 His disciples might have come, and watch Him there in Judea 
 day by day and listen. I never feel so much that it will be a 
 steady, constant fight as when I follow Him to the cross and see 
 the strength of sin there. But I never feel sin so weak as when 
 
Early MiJitsterial Life. 87 
 
 I think of Him risen, and — the very same Jesus — gone into 
 heaven, and from heaven watching, succouring, strengthening, 
 fighting for me, just as on earth He prayed and bled for me. I 
 have been betrayed into a sermon, which you can keep for Sunday 
 if you like ; but tell me how you feel about this, if you feel at all 
 with me, that one moment's consciousness of the living Christ is 
 worth a thousand sermons upon doctrine ; that indeed the aim 
 and end of doctrine is to bring us to Christ by the shortest, 
 truest, most direct way ; and so one might almost define holiness 
 as companionship with Christ. When we confide our thoughts 
 to Him and receive His lessons about life, and note what He is 
 Himself, and draw towards Him, we are unconsciously growing 
 holy ; not puritanical, not starched, not censorious, not narrow- 
 minded, not incapable of the brightest enjoyment, but pure, 
 reverent, holy." ...... 
 
 " If one has so little conception, without travel, of the exceeding 
 lavishness of heart with which God has arranged the earth, I 
 often think what surprise the world of heaven will open to us ; 
 for in comparison to that Kingdom we are here like people that 
 live and die motionless on the same hillside. And we have not 
 even travellers' tales of it, but will meet its beauties with a sudden 
 amazement, like the peasants in fairy tales that are brought by 
 the opening of a door into the blaze of a palace." . . . 
 
 " Sunday is to me a very sacred day ; peculiarly Christ's day. 
 And in the practical spending of it this thought is uppermost. 
 Other days, no doubt, are also His ; life is His, week-day and holi- 
 day. But He fills the Sunday in a way unlike any other ; with 
 memories of Himself and great thoughts, with His sacrifice and 
 resurrection, and His peace. I feel that whatever would interrupt 
 or weaken those thoughts should be avoided either in employment 
 or in reading or in conversation ; that what we do should be in 
 harmony with them, as if Christ were present. But conversation 
 and employment branch off in a hundred directions ; our human 
 life has a hundred interests. Christ is to be met in all those 
 directions ; those interests are sacred to Him ; they cannot be too 
 trivial to escape Him ; they do not escape Him as God ; they are 
 part of Him as Man. It does not follow, therefore, that we must 
 be naming the name of Christ, or reading the Bible, or singing 
 
88 Life of William Fleming Stevenson. 
 
 hymns all Sunday. There would be danger of shallowness and 
 deceit and hypocrisy in that. It would be an undue strain upon 
 thoughts in one direction, a fatal ignoring of the variety of those 
 thoughts and of our life. It is simply the question, Are we doing 
 what we would not do or saying what we would not say in 
 Christ's presence, remembering that He is the Christ of Bethany, 
 whom men and women like ourselves called a Friend, talked with 
 and talked before and consulted as a Friend ? There is no day 
 on which one enjoys so much the intimate intercourse of the 
 family or friends ; and when intercourse is broken by distance, 
 no day on which we have more pleasure or a better right to re- 
 new it by letter. It is peculiarly a home day, and what we would 
 say to others by our side, why should we not say it when they 
 are all the more dear by absence ? There are others also who 
 come before us on Sundays, sick or Christless friends, or those 
 who have S3'mpathy with us in our spiritual life. If they were 
 near us we would speak with them ; why should we not write ? 
 The quietness and sanctity are encouragement. Only I would 
 say, do not use the day for ordinary correspondence. 
 
 " We need its peace and withdrawal for ourselves ; we need pri- 
 vate thought, time and prayer for private dedication. The public 
 services supply the strength for this, but they can never take its 
 place. It is a day of our own renewal, and we must not let that 
 suffer. And again, while we ought to be perfectly natural, it 
 would be a lax rule to make our conversation the authority for 
 our correspondence. There are many causes that may prevent 
 our conversation being all that it might be on these blessed Sun- 
 day evenings. But in a letter we have more in our own power. 
 I am often ashamed that my thoughts do not urge me to say 
 more of Christ and the treasures of wisdom and knowledge in 
 Him : we ought to live so that it would be more natural and 
 lively to speak of what touches upon Him than that pleasant 
 gossip that flows up to the surface of speech. . . . 
 
 " I should try to make everybody, children above all, take a 
 natural, lively interest in the day as God their Father's, and 
 even more, Christ their Friend and Saviour's — link it with happy 
 thoughts of God's presence and nearness and love, revealed in 
 the Bible and the world and in ourselves." 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 PASTORAL WORK IN DUBLIN. 
 
 We have now to follow Mr. Stevenson to the sphere of 
 work with which his name will ever be associated. The 
 Master was preparing the place for His servant, and through 
 the long months of suffering and discipline was educating 
 him for a ministry of power and blessing. In the autumn 
 of 1859, a movement was set on foot for the erection of a 
 new church in Rathgar, a pleasant and rapidly increasing 
 suburb of Dublin. It had its origin in a prayer-meeting 
 which had been held for some months previously in the 
 adjoining district of Rathmines. Dr. Hall, now of New 
 York, at that time the junior minister of Mary's Abbey, 
 took a deep interest in the meeting, conducting it for some 
 months during the summer, and urging the members to 
 form themselves into a congregation. At first the feeling 
 that there did not exist material out of which it could be 
 formed was so strong that there was no response. But 
 Dr. Hall persevered, and on making a canvass of the neigh- 
 bourhood, the two friends who had undertaken the work 
 reported to the Presbytery of Dublin that twenty-one fami- 
 lies were prepared to join. In November the little meeting 
 was raised into the status of a congregation, and with con- 
 stant prayer for guidance step by step, and a deejD sense of 
 the responsibility and far-reaching issues involved in their 
 choice, they began to look out for a pastor. Dr. Hall 
 
90 Life of William Fleming Stevenson. 
 
 directed their attention to the young minister whose earnest, 
 thoughtful preaching was drawing men of all classes round 
 him in Belfast. Careful inquiries were made. They found 
 that the humble mission church was crowded to the doors ; 
 that many had applied for pews for whom there was no 
 accommodation ; and they found, what they valued far be- 
 yond freshness of thought or beauty of diction, a man 
 penetrated by the Spirit of Christ, filled with sympathy for 
 every form of human want and suffering, and with the con- 
 viction of the glorious power of the message he carried to 
 meet the needs and satisfy the cravings of every worn and 
 weary heart. Here seemed the very man for the emergency, 
 if he could but be induced to come. Mr. Stevenson, on 
 being asked, took some weeks for consideration, requiring 
 much information bearing on the questions whether there 
 was actual need for a church there, and if work there would 
 really advance the Redeemer's kingdom and possess a true 
 missionary element. The courage of the small congregation 
 is very evident from the fact that the unanimous call was 
 signed by only twenty-seven persons. On the other hand, 
 it required no small amount of faith and courage on the 
 part of Mr. Stevenson to leave a post where he was deeply 
 loved, where his work was so congenial, and was growing in 
 power and influence, and to enter a field where the congre- 
 gation had still to be gathered and the church to be built. 
 
 But once the path of duty was clearly seen, no difficulty 
 could ever hold him back ; and after much heart-searching 
 he felt that God had called him to this work, and the way 
 was plain. The consternation among his people in Alfred 
 Place Church on learning the news was very touching, and 
 the separation was a sharp trial to his own affectionate, 
 clinging nature. As he was only assistant to their pastor, 
 the people were not in a position to make any effort to 
 
Pastoral Work in Dublin. 91 
 
 retain him, and sorrowfully took part in a farewell presenta- 
 tion at a crowded meeting presided over by Dr. M'Cosh, 
 afterwards the honoured President of the University of 
 Princeton, in America. Three months later their pastor 
 died, and immediately most earnest entreaties were sent to 
 their loved friend and teacher to return to them ; but the 
 step had not been lightly taken, and the responsibilities 
 could not be lightly laid aside. Once convinced that God 
 had called him to work in Dublin, nothing but the command 
 of the Master would move him till he could feel that his 
 work there was done ; and so, as on many a future occasion, 
 even when an income of six times what he was then enjoying 
 was offered to him, he quietly put all inducements aside, and 
 set himself to face the duties and difficulties of the work he 
 had undertaken. 
 
 On the 1st of January, 1860, Mr. Stevenson entered on 
 his ministry at Eathgar, but he was not ordained till the 
 1st of March. The services were held in a long, low room 
 known as the " Old Schoolhouse." Twenty years later it 
 was purchased by the congregation, and became the centre 
 of their home mission. The arduous work of church- 
 building and of raising the needed funds had now to be 
 begun. But never could it be more truly said of any 
 edifice that its foundations were laid in faith and prayer. 
 Little wonder that the structure grew to be a blessing to 
 the neighbourhood. In the building committee, of which 
 Mr. Stevenson was the never-absent and most active member, 
 no step was taken without earnestly seeking for light and 
 guidance, and more than one of its members have thankfully 
 looked back to its meetings as fruitful in spiritual blessing. 
 
 In July, 1860, the foundation-stone of Christ Church, 
 Eathgar, was laid by the Eev. Dr. Cooke. It is a simple, 
 Gothic church, surrounded by trees and shrubbery, which 
 
92 Life of William Fleming Stevens 
 
 son. 
 
 in the spring burst into a blaze of golden laburnum and 
 sweet- smelling lilac. Standing at the head of the Rathgar 
 Road, it occupies a commanding position at the meeting- 
 point of five roads, so that its spire is one of the landmarks 
 of the neighbourhood. On the 2nd of February, 1862, the 
 church was opened for public worship by the Rev. Norman 
 Macleod, D.D. The subjects of his sermons were : " The 
 character of Christ as a test of Christianity," and " The 
 selfishness of man and the unselfishness of Christ." At a 
 public breakfast given to him the next mornii^g, Dr. 
 ]\Iacleod, in his own inimitable way, announced that he 
 did not intend to leave his seat until the entire debt 
 remaining on the church was cleared off. The appeal 
 proved irresistible, and the sum required was subscribed 
 upon the spot. From that time the history of the church 
 is a record of steady progress, quiet, uneventful, and, like all 
 true growth, with much of its work hidden from sight. It 
 would be tedious to those not personally interested to give 
 minute details of the Rathgar pastorate. It will be suffi- 
 cient to say, that the church, originally seated for 450, had 
 twice to be enlarged. It became a centre of active spirit- 
 ual work, complete in organisations and methods, many of 
 them new at the time, but now adopted by every working 
 church. Christ Church and its minister were known far and 
 wide; the light burning brightly there cheered many a dis- 
 heartened toiler in lonely districts, and the church with its 
 work was a stimulus to many a young pastor and to not a 
 few congregations. Mr. Stevenson's conception of the pas- 
 toral office was very high, and he brought to the discharge 
 of his duties every expedient that his varied educational 
 training, his remarkable fertility of resource, and, above all, 
 his humble dependence on his Master could supply. His 
 preparation for preaching was conscientious and thorough. 
 
Pastoral Work in Dtiblin. 93 
 
 Before he began to write, and while his subject was still 
 simmering in his brain, he read everything within his range 
 that bore upon it, accumulating round him, as he worked, 
 piles of books on tables and chairs, composing slowly, and 
 as careful in revising as if he were writing for the press. 
 And when he went to his people it was to teach them what 
 he had himself been taught, and the solemn tones of his rich, 
 tender voice, and his whole demeanour, bore the impress of 
 one who had a message to deliver from his Master. Very 
 specially was this noticeable at the Communion seasons, 
 which were often times of great blessing. There was a 
 peculiar solemnity about them, and the perfect quiet and 
 stillness in which the services were conducted, with inter- 
 vals for silent prayer, were very helpful to thought and 
 communion ; while those who saw the rapt expression of 
 their minister's face, and listened to the outpourings of his 
 soul in prayer, felt as if he had come from the very presence 
 of the Lord. 
 
 In the biographical preface to the latest edition of 
 " Praying and Working," Mr. Sinclair says : — 
 
 ''The centre of his work was the public worship of the sanc- 
 tuary. In conducting it all the spiritual and intellectual force 
 that was in him seemed to be called into exercise. Conspicuous 
 above everything was the sense of the presence of God which 
 evidently pervaded his own spirit, and evoked in the hearts of 
 the worshippers a corresponding impression of solemnity. This 
 was felt all through the service. The announcement or reading 
 of a psalm or hymn was not a formality, but a solemn summons 
 to the people to enter into God's courts with praise. The reading 
 of the Word was to him the delivery of a Divine message, and it 
 was a part of the service he never shortened. In his prayers he 
 seemed to lead his people into the Holy of Holies, and there to 
 plead the case of every soul before him. His petitions were all- 
 embracing. Individual and household histories were clearly 
 
94 Life of William Fleini^ig Stevenson. 
 
 present to him. Each worshipper somehow felt that his own 
 needs had been specially laid before the Answerer of requests, 
 and before the prayer was finished even the most troubled heart 
 had forgotten its sorrows amid the overmastering sympathy with 
 the burdens of humanity which his pleadings had enkindled. 
 
 ''In his preaching he seemed to be impregnated with the 
 spirit of Martin Boos' motto : ' Christ for us, Christ in us.' The 
 secret of his ministry may be found in his published sermon on 
 the text, ' Other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, 
 which is Christ Jesus,' in which he enlarges with all his powers 
 of illustration on the successive themes — ' Christ is the foundation 
 of the Church ; He is the foundation of the Christian congrega- 
 tion; He is the foundation of the Christian life; He is the 
 foundation of the sinner's hope ; and He is the foundation of the 
 hope of men.' All his teaching centred in Christ and brought 
 men into close contact with Christ, whether to find mercy at His 
 cross, or consecration from His life, or constraint from His love, 
 or sympathy for humanity from His world-embracing pity. His 
 preaching was not expository, at least not in the old-fashioned 
 sense of the term. While based on a thoroughly sound exegesis, 
 its power rather lay in the skill with which he seized on the great 
 principles which underlay his subject, and in the resistless force 
 with which he lodged their lessons in the hearts and consciences 
 of his hearers. It was impossible to frequent his ministr}^, 
 whether on the Lord's Day or at his week-evening service, with- 
 out gaining the most attractive views of the person and character 
 of Christ, without being fired by a sense of the nobility of a life 
 lived after Christ and for Christ, and without the conviction of 
 the dignity and blessedness of being fellow- workers with Christ 
 in His beneficent purposes towards our race." 
 
 As might be expected from his catholicity and breadth 
 of view, as well as from the wide reading which kept his 
 preaching abreast of contemporary thought, Mr. Stevenson 
 attracted to his church persons of all shades of religious 
 belief. And here his ready sympathy, warmth of heart, 
 and delicacy of spiritual tone brought him into cordial 
 
Pastoral Work in Dublin. 95 
 
 contact with every honest seeker after truth ; and the pro- 
 foundness and humility of his spiritual knowledge made his 
 teaching helpful to many whom any assertion of dogmatic 
 superiority would have driven from his influence. Men, 
 of the most reserved and reticent natures, had often such 
 perfect confidence in him that they opened their minds 
 to him with a freedom that surprised themselves. Few 
 ministers were larger recipients of the doubts and difficulties 
 of others, and none ever guarded the sacredness of their 
 trust more jealously. His many-sidedness was of unspeak- 
 able value in his private intercourse with those who had 
 speculative difficulties. He put himself in the place of his 
 questioner and tried to get on the same line of thought 
 with him ; and eternity alone will reveal to how many souls 
 he was permitted to be a means of blessing by clearing 
 away the dark mists of doubt. Even when they went away 
 unconvinced, as one has recorded, they went away the better 
 of having been with him. 
 
 His work among the young was to him a peculiarly 
 sacred part of his pastoral office. His conviction of its 
 importance in moulding the character of the men and 
 women of the future was intensified by the experience of 
 years. At the commencement of his ministry, children's 
 services, now so common, were comparatively unknown ; 
 and when, at the close of his first year's ministry, he 
 announced that on the last Sunday of each month the 
 service would be especially for children, it was regarded as 
 a rather startling innovation. Soon after that he wrote : — 
 " I still want the faculty of reaching the child's thoughts, 
 and without that it is a very random aim one can take 
 at the child's conscience. A child's thoughts are so subtle 
 and dependent on impulse, that even if you catch them you 
 may find them slip quickly away. One must be as subtle 
 
96 Life of William Fleming Stevenson. 
 
 and nimble as tliey are. It would be a capital scliool to 
 learn quickness of speecb. Whoever can bold a bundred 
 cbildren in quiet attention for twenty minutes bas tbe 
 power of becoming a true orator." He loved preacbing 
 to cbildren, bowever be migbt feel bis own disqualifications. 
 His intuitive syrapatby, bis power of putting great trutbs 
 simply and entering into tbe cbild's tbougbts, and bis ricb 
 store of illustration and anecdote made it a special gift. 
 Furtber, be believed tbat tbe simple words addressed to 
 tbe young were often blessed to bearts tbat long indiffer- 
 ence bad hardened to tbe ordinary appeals of tbe Gospel. 
 After some time tbe service became quarterly, but usually 
 a part of every morning service was given to tbe cbildren, 
 and many of tbe little ones looked eagerly for tbeir portion, 
 and felt aggrieved wben any special subject interfered witb 
 tbe usual course. There was always a brigbt and bappy 
 cbildren's service on Christmas Day, and in summer a flower- 
 service for tbe benefit of the Cbildren's Hospitals, wben eacb 
 cbild brougbt its offering and laid it on tbe great pile that 
 rose up below tbe pulpit, and tbe sweet fragrance filled the 
 cburcb, and the brigbt faces of tbe living flowers and tbeir 
 quick sympathy and earnest attention seemed to toucb tbeir 
 dear pastor's words witb a new power and tenderness, and 
 made tbe whole service one not soon forgotten by any who 
 bad tbe privilege of being present. 
 
 The following letter to a young girl, one of bis children 
 in Christ, who bad just gone to scbool in England, may be 
 belpful to others in similar circumstances : — 
 
 "... Since you left for school you have been very constantly 
 in my mind, and I have been realising many difficulties and 
 temptations you are likely to meet. By this time it bas fairly 
 settled down in your mind tbat not only are you redeemed by 
 Christ, but are His disciple. You have faith that His atonement 
 
Pastoral Work in Diiblhu 97 
 
 was needful for you, that without it you could have no peace, 
 and could not live as you would like to live. The best wishes to 
 be good and the best efforts give no comfort until we trust that 
 Christ has reconciled us to God. Then we have peace with God 
 through our Lord Jesus Christ. Though your mind may some- 
 times be swept by shadows, and you may sometimes suspect 
 yourself, I trust you are past all serious and profound doubt on 
 this point. Do not think so much of your interest in Christ as 
 of Christ's interest in you. 
 
 *' You now accept this position that God has defined for you : 
 it is the only safe position, that you are redeemed. That is now 
 to be the position of your whole life, and you cannot too often 
 dwell on what it means, for it will give you great comfort. It 
 will also remind you of your conduct. You know, dear, that j^ou 
 are now a follower of Christ. That is of more importance to 
 you than anything else in your life. It means that you will 
 act like Him, that you will do nothing that you would not do if 
 He were with you — nothing that you will be afraid to tell Him ; 
 that your character will grow to be very like His. You will 
 very likely have to overcome something in your natural disposi- 
 tion ; you will certainly have to watch yourself ; you will have to 
 remember that we unconsciously fall into faults and wrong habits. 
 It is not enough to be sorry when we find out that we have been 
 doing anything faulty, that our temper and spirit have been 
 unlike His. We must be as gentle, as obedient, as patient, as 
 kindly, as meek as He was. That is diflficult everywhere, par- 
 ticularly difiicult for a girl at school. You may not find others 
 who think and believe with you. You may sometimes have hard 
 words and jests to bear, when it is found out that you obey Christ. 
 Other girls' tempers may try you. The want of privacy and 
 retirement you may feel deeply. Remember all the more that 
 you go to school as a disciple of Christ. If girls who do not 
 trust Him are obedient, quick, ready to serve, gentle, thoughtful, 
 unassuming, you ought to be more so. Meekness, readiness to 
 submit one's own judgment to that of older persons, readiness to 
 conform to rules, are essential qualities. You cannot dispense 
 with them ; you ought to excel in them. And I am sure you 
 will find it hard, because the discipline of a school will be novel, 
 
 G 
 
98 Life of Williavi Fleming Stevenson. 
 
 and may sometimes seem unreasonable. And then beware of 
 being dissatisfied or feeling the least like a martyr because your 
 position may not be very comfortable at times. If other girls 
 are happy, you should be happier than they. They should say, 
 ' Why, here is a girl who loves Christ and reads the Bible, and 
 she is the happiest of us all' Perhaps they are not tempted to 
 be unhappy, and perhaps you may have to bear some things that 
 are unpleasant from them. You surely would not give up because 
 it is difficult ; you would not desert Christ because it is sometimes 
 unpleasant. 
 
 " Keep very close to your sister. Think of your influence over 
 her, the influence of example, of affection, of the dearest inter- 
 course. Win her to Christ. If you should have different com- 
 panions, never forget that you two are the closest companions ; 
 that you ought to be to one another what no companion will ever 
 be to either of you. As you are the elder and the more formed, 
 this will fall most on you. Think of her, consult with her, work 
 with her, help her. Learn as much as ever you can, and always 
 believe that those who teach you know more than you. But 
 examine everything you learn ; when you understand it, you will 
 remember it and never be ashamed. Set the example of perfect 
 order and submission to all the rules of the house. Implicit 
 obedience is part of the Fifth Commandment, and it is not con- 
 fined to home, where it is a great charm of character ; it extends 
 to ' tutors and governors.' 
 
 *'Be very careful to read, and read thoughtfully, in the Bible. 
 Read it regularly, and think well over it as you read. Read 
 much or little at a time, according as it gives you more or less to 
 think about. You must make leisure for this at any sacrifice. 
 And make also some space for prayer. These are absolutely 
 necessary ; you might rather do without food. Value and use 
 the Sunday. I do not know to what church you may go. In 
 some of the churches in England now the service is made every- 
 thing; there is a feast for the eye and ear, and hunger for the 
 heart ; and doctrines are taught little different from the errors 
 of the Church of Rome; and many earnest and some good people 
 defend all this. At any rate, you will attend the Church of Eng- 
 land, mix exclusively with members of it, and perhaps sometimes 
 
Pastoral Work in Dublin. 99 
 
 hear Presbyterians and Dissenters harshly and contemptuously 
 mentioned. I will tell you again more about the difference of 
 one Church from another. People who are Presbyterians believe 
 that the order of their Church and their worship is more Scrip- 
 tural, that it allows less error than in, let us say, the Church of 
 England. I believe so firmly ; and I feel thankful to God, and 
 I feel it as an honour, no matter how men speak, that I was 
 born among Presbyterians, and I am sure so will you — an here- 
 ditary honour. Take notes of the sermons. It will help you to 
 understand them and profit by them. . . . You may find some 
 things hard that I have mentioned ; all of them, I dare say : but 
 remember the Holy Spirit is promised to you. You cannot do 
 one of them without Him. You cannot be good and wise of 
 yourself. But there is a grace that is sufiicient for you. Claim 
 it, ask for it, trust it. 
 
 " May God's presence be very bright to you, dear , and 
 
 may you daily fulfil His will, and may you grow as Christ grew, 
 in favour with God and man." 
 
 When at home he always came to the Sunday-school in 
 time to close it with prayer, and often added a few words 
 of personal appeal to the lesson of the day, or gave some 
 brio-ht little bit of mission intellio-ence. The love between 
 the children and their minister grew and deepened with 
 the growing years. To see him among them recalled in- 
 stinctively our Laureate's picture : — 
 
 " The child would twine 
 A trustful hand unasked in thine. 
 And find his comfort in thy face." 
 
 Those who went to push their fortune in foreign lands were 
 seldom lost sight of. They looked on him as their wisest 
 counsellor, and used to turn to him in times of sorrow or 
 difficulty ; as far as possible he kept np correspondence with 
 them, and often through his large circle of friends was able 
 to be of substantial service. 
 
100 Life of William Fleinincr Stevensoii. 
 
 To one who had opened her lieart to him, when much cast 
 down and depressed about her spiritual state, he wrote : — 
 
 " You seemed under the impression that I was perhaps making 
 too little of your depression, and setting it more down to physical 
 weakness than was just. So I only want you to remember that, 
 if that had been so, I would not have entered into it at all, 
 trying to show you the stepping-stones across the quagmire, but 
 would have tried to laugh you out of it. Besides, whatever in- 
 fluence ill-health may have, the condition of doubt and misgiving 
 in which one is is the same painful thing to meet and bear, — 
 the same hard thing to be overcome. And He that overcomes 
 is He that fighteth for us, even God Himself, our God and 
 Saviour Jesus Christ. 
 
 " Now, as I have said already, I want to say again that, no 
 matter what you are or have been, or may think of yourself, one 
 fact you cannot change : the love of God to you, the wish of God 
 for you that you should be perfectly happy. What you have 
 done, or may think you have done in your coldness, or let us 
 even suppose self-deception, does not change that love. 'God 
 is love.' . . . ' God so loved . . . that He gave His Son, that who- 
 soever.'' . . . 'I am the Lord; I change not . . . ' ?.(?., in love Jesus 
 Christ is ' the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever. ' No matter how 
 long you may feel uncomfortable, and pained, and restless, and 
 dead, and without response to the love of God, that condition is 
 no more than a shower of rain to the sun. It hides the sun from 
 us for a time, but the sun outlasts, and is bigger than the shower. 
 And if you mourn that you are so helpless, and worse instead of 
 better, is not that what we ought, each of us, to recognise, that 
 of ourselves we can do nothing ? God must quicken us. ' Shine 
 on us with Thy face.' Only, hard as it may be, we must seek 
 patience. * It may not be my time, it may not be thy time, but 
 still in His own time the Lord will provide.' Our times are in 
 His hand, and one of our sweetest singers says, * My God, I wish 
 them there.' Remember Gerhardt's hymn, ' Give to the winds 
 
 thy fears,' and its companion. And now, dear , remember 
 
 you are in Christ's hands ; the Good Shepherd has you. Leave 
 
Pastoral Work in Dublin. 101 
 
 it with Him. And daily I shall pray for you, and often probably 
 with you." 
 
 For many years he conducted a Saturday Bible-class for 
 young women, and only relinquished it to one of his elders 
 when the day was changed to Sunday, for the sake of 
 those who were engaged on week-days. He considered 
 this and the similar class for young men, as the training- 
 school from which chiefly to recruit the inevitable blanks 
 constantly occurring in the ranks of the Christian workers 
 of the congregation. His personal dealing with those who 
 desired to make public profession of their faith in Christ, 
 while full of sympathy, was close and searching, and was 
 often greatly blessed. He had no greater joy than to hear 
 that his children walked in the truth. 
 
 \To , on joining the Chnrch^ 
 
 " Oewell Bank, 1874. 
 
 " Your note has given me a great pleasure, and I feel very 
 thankful that you have decided to come forward for Christ, the 
 best of all masters, and the truest of all friends. A life in Christ 
 is always a bright, peaceful life, for it does not depend on circum- 
 stances outside of us, but the brightness and peace are within. 
 It is a life of surrender to Him, to do His will because we love 
 Him ; and we love Him because He first loved us. It means the 
 confession of our sinfulness and the forsaking of our sin ; but it 
 means also that Ave have a Father in heaven, and that Jesus 
 died to bring us there. It means that we walk by faith, joining 
 the great and happy company of pilgrims who have washed 
 their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. 
 It requires wonderful strength and firmness and courage ; but 
 God promises us the entire support of His grace, and we find that, 
 when we lean on God, all is easy. It means that we live a life 
 of communion with God, and know and delight in the power of 
 prayer and of the Word of God, because we have believed in the 
 Lord Jesus, and are saved." 
 
102 Life of William Fleming Stevenson. 
 
 \To a memlcr of the Young Mens Bihle-class.'] 
 
 "Orwell Bank, 18S4. 
 " . . . . Your letter gave mo a thankful joy. The step of 
 deciding for Christ is the happiest in all our life. May He who 
 has drawn you to it through doubt and difficulty now keep you 
 and make the brightness and peace of this life to increase ! May 
 He also keep you steadfast and earnest and close to Himself ! 
 Our common danger is that of growing lukewarm, half in ear- 
 nest only. Therefore use every means of His grace to confirm 
 you — the Bible, prayer, the Lord's Day, the prayer-meeting. 
 Seek strength to live out your faith ; others will see it. Try to 
 influence others to turn to the same Saviour, and so live the 
 same life. Thank jou for letting me know how it came about. 
 I have been always looking for such fruit of that class, and 
 know the good it has already done. Those who have received 
 the blessing, like you, are the best recruiting agents. Try to 
 get others to join under the same teaching. You will want 
 strength every hour ; let me give you a strong verse, Isaiah xxvi. 
 3 and 4 : ' Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is 
 stayed on Thee, because he trusteth in Thee. Trust ye in the 
 Lord for ever, for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength.'" 
 
 He was deeply anxious about the spiritual character of 
 the Young Men's Association, which was begun in the first 
 year of his ministry, and when away he often travelled long 
 distances to be present at their meetings, and never allowed 
 any home engagement to prevent his attendance. 
 
 ^ '' Mr. Stevenson's efforts to cultivate a missionary and 
 philanthropic spirit among his people were unceasing. He 
 had confidence in the capabilities of consecrated lives. He 
 believed that every congregation could, in its own measure 
 and degree, repeat the noble doings of Hermannsburg. And 
 beyond question Fleming Stevenson brought to his work for 
 God in Kathgar the same qualities which he has so vividly 
 portrayed as distinguishing Louis Harms. He had the 
 1 Preface to " Praying and Working," p. 23. 
 
Pastoral Work in Dublin. 103 
 
 same ' exceeding faith in God,' the same ' nearness and 
 perfect confidence of his relation to God,' the same ' per- 
 petual and most deep communion with Jesus,' the same 
 * utter earnestness and consecration.' He became a power 
 in his church ' by giving himself up to the power of God,' 
 and under this influence he led the way with striking gener- 
 osity in every fresh development of congregational energy." 
 
 His enthusiasm for missions so infected his people that 
 Christ Church, Rathgar, took the first place in the Irish 
 Presbyterian Church in the comparative liberality of its 
 members. Once a month the weekly prayer-meeting be- 
 came a missionary meeting, where a summary was given of 
 all that was most striking in the mission news of the day ; 
 and it was characteristic that this was never confined to the 
 fields in which the Presbyterian Churches are engaged, but 
 took in and enabled the people to follow with intelligent 
 interest the woi'k of all the Churches and missionary socie- 
 ties throughout the world. Nor was he in any sense one- 
 sided. He proved in his own person his favourite axiom, that 
 the most earnest advocates of the mission abroad are the most 
 diligent workers in the mission at home. The mission with 
 him w^as one and undivided, and a congregation without 
 direct work among the poor he considered as not living in 
 the spirit of the Master. A mission Sunday-school, a night- 
 school, a band of district visitors, a Bible-w^oman, a mothers' 
 meeting, a weekly evangelistic service, a Band of Hope, a 
 Dorcas society, and many other agencies were employed. Of 
 one and all he was the centre, keeping his hand firmly on 
 them, and encouraging them in every way by word and w^ork. 
 And so, step by step, the work grew, and God set His 
 seal of blessing on the labours of His servant. A few ex- 
 tracts from letters of this period may be inserted here : — 
 
 " The state of the congregation lately is spiritually more encour- 
 
104 Life of William Fleming Stevenson. 
 
 aging than it ever was. People that it was hopeless to rouse, whose 
 hardened indiiference used to stab me as I went into the pulpit, 
 are singularly arrested and listen with the most fixed attention. 
 One man for whom I had prayed in vain for years came to the 
 Communion to-day, saying that he dared no longer hold back. One 
 that was in darkness by miserable doubts has been altogether 
 relieved. Several have come to a clearer knowledge of their 
 redemption by Christ." 
 
 And aofain : — 
 
 '' You don't know what need I have of your prayers before 
 entering the pulpit. It is unspeakably solemn to realise that you 
 are speaking for God to men ; that for you almost every distinc- 
 tion will vanish at the judgment-day before these two, preacher 
 and hearer. . . . There is an awful tendency to fall into routine, 
 and say right things without that power that says them to the 
 heart. And there is also the same tendency in the people, the 
 want of spiritual thought, of being earnest about unspeakably 
 solemn truths. Daily life seems to have the power of mesmeris- 
 ing the forces of our spiritual life, though we know it ought to 
 brace and develop them. 
 
 " One of our elders told me of real good done by these last 
 sermons. It needs a little encouragement of that kind when the 
 work is so uphill, and people sit in the same seats for years with- 
 out believing in Christ. It gives one a bright hope even when a 
 listless, careless man lifts up his head eagerly for two sentences, 
 though he should drop it again. The man was hit at least. But I 
 long to find the secret of holding these people attentive for a 
 whole sermon, and groan wearily over my want of skill. Pro- 
 bably they go home and groan over the stupidity of the preacher, 
 which is true, or he would have made them think of the sermon 
 instead. I see their faces often on Sunday night if I lie awake, 
 always in accusation. If they listen to the two courses of lectures 
 I am planning for this winter on the ' Sermon on the Mount ' 
 and the ' Pilgrim's Progress,' I shall feel lightened. Do you not 
 understand the feeling ? It is this : these people have been 
 given you by God. You have the power of speaking to them, a 
 
Pastoral Work in Dtidlin. 105 
 
 .power that angels would covet. They may be indifferent or 
 stupid, but still it depends on you more than on any human being 
 whether they will be turned from the road they are on to Christ 
 — from death to life. It is a fight with them that ends in tre- 
 mendous issues ; and perhaps you have to fight all the time with 
 your own wish to say fine things and send the people away say- 
 ing, ' What a brilliant sermon ! ' I have been preaching 
 
 the most elementary truths in the most elementary way; and, above 
 all, what reaches hearts with most directness and comfort, Christ 
 Himself. For Christ Himself is the key to all peace and strength, 
 and there is no way of being happy but by being His friend. 
 
 *' I have been busy and specially happy to-day. One of my 
 people, to whom I had often spoken, told me the simple story of 
 her anxiety and her rest in Christ. At one of last week's meet- 
 ings an address of mine to three classes of sinners seems to have 
 touched her. She fell into great trouble of heart, so much so that 
 she 'could not hear a word of the sermon last Sunday.' Her 
 trouble grew worse until yesterday, when, in her own words, ' I 
 saw all of a suddint I was just to trust myself to Christ.' I found 
 her busy and happy. She had often wanted to hide from me ; now 
 she was glad to see me ; she could understand what I used to say 
 now. About a year ago her husband was also led to Christ. 
 This is the third instance of the good that has come out of our 
 meetings, and you may be sure it has put me in good cheer for 
 our services to morrow. Our church is small, but every year has 
 seen some brought into the light." 
 
 In his later years the pressure of public work did not 
 permit of his visiting at stated periods, but he was keenly 
 alive to the importance of pastoral visitation, as well as the 
 great diflficulty of making it profitable : — 
 
 " For the last fortnight I have been visiting from six to eight 
 hours every day, pulling up arrears, and it is hard work, so ex- 
 haustive of all mental and spiritual faculties that after the last 
 visit I am good for nothing. There is a special gift for visiting. 
 I have not got it. To study the character of people, to get below 
 the formalism of the ministerial relations one bears to them, to 
 
106 Life of William Fleming Stevenson. 
 
 reach their thoughts when perhaps they have but few, and to. 
 speak to them as an earnest friend would if roused, . . . this is 
 to me the most wearing of all labour." 
 
 In 1864 his heart was cheered by evidence of a greater 
 interest and earnestness, and he writes : — 
 
 ^' In visiting, it is not such a hard thing, such a sustained and 
 skilful effort to have Christian conversation. The truth is wel- 
 come ; above all, a few words about the sufficiency of Christ to 
 save; and I note this because I cannot bear religious com- 
 monplaces, and if people drop into religious phrases and a 
 religious voice I change the conversation to the flattest and 
 most directly secular subject. I determined from the beginning 
 to wait, no matter how long, until the heart would be touched 
 and the crust of phrases disappear ; for it is an awful tempta- 
 tion both to me and to them to be satisfied with a gloss of 
 words." 
 
 To a nature so simple and true the conventionalities and 
 want of reality in so-called religious life were at all times 
 most repugnant, and he fought against everything artificial 
 by every means in his power. 
 
 '' The attempted Bible-reading degenerated into a monologue. 
 T would only admit those who could and would speak. A stiff 
 religious meeting is horrible, and the absurdity of a set of decent 
 people, when they come together to speak about their best friend, 
 sighing incessantly like so many wheezy bellows, irritates me 
 beyond measure. Why can't they be frank and natural, as they 
 were ten minutes ago, when you met them in the street, as they 
 would be if you met them at any social gathering the next even- 
 ing % And then the awful commonplaces that echo grimly across 
 the dull silence of the room. Oh ! to banish shams out of such 
 assemblies and make the people and the evenings more sprightly 
 and comfortable ! 
 
 " You are thoroughly right in all you say of the responsibility 
 we bear to others. It meets us every day in some shape. We 
 
Pastoral Work in Dtibliii. 107 
 
 might use our relationships and intercourse to such blessed pur- 
 pose, and we pass them over as the merest commonplaces of life ; 
 and what we might have done and did not will be as sure to come 
 back to us as what we did. The feeling is sometimes awful. 
 
 '' Last night I was called out to see a young fellow who had 
 come up to town for medical advice, and had become unexpectedly 
 worse an hour before. Two minutes after I went into the room 
 he died. His sister had come up to nurse him. It was the 
 saddest scene ; she could not believe it, and I sat with her till 
 near two, doing what I could. He was her favourite brother, 
 and her whole heart went out after him, always returning sadly 
 to the burden of its pain : ' O sir ! if I only knew that he was 
 safe ; but there was no time.' It is startling to come face to face 
 with one whom you never saw till' you saw him die. Macleod, 
 I remember, dilated once on the sudden meeting of four eyes in 
 carriages going opposite ways. But the meeting on the confines 
 of the two worlds is all over awe. I could not help sketching it 
 as a possible picture in speaking of repentance at our prayer- 
 meeting next day. The horrible, final ' too late ' rushes up 
 through every other thought." 
 
 It was in times of sorrow and affliction that his people 
 learut to the full to value their minister : — 
 
 " We always remarked in session," says one of his elders,^ 
 " how he knew everything about everybody. He seemed to be 
 omniscient, and we felt it was because he cared. Wherever there 
 was sickness or sorrow in any home there he was to be found, 
 and not only when first apprised of the trouble, but day after 
 day. He seemed to have the faculty of throwing the whole 
 force of his sympathy and power of consolation into each indi- 
 vidual case. The service required was the measure of the service 
 rendered, no matter at what cost of time or trouble ; and though 
 the increasing pressure of work in his later years made regular 
 pastoral visitation more difficult, I remember on one occasion, 
 when we were discussing the question of visitation, his telling us 
 that he had paid over 900 visits in the previous year (1883). 
 
 ^ [Alexander Gray, Esq.] 
 
108 Life of William Fleming Stevenson. 
 
 The wonderful charm of his presence, and the unconscious kindly 
 influence that it shed, gave him, as a pastor, special power. He 
 was an eminently wise counsellor, as well as a patient, sym- 
 pathetic listener. When absence made sympathy in person 
 impossible, his letter was never wanting, entering so fully into 
 all the circumstances that often it would have been difficult to 
 conceive the pressure under which it was probably penned." 
 
 \To Mr. Norman, on the loss of his so7i.] 
 
 " MuLLAGHMOEE, September, 1878. 
 " . . . To me it was always a new lesson in patience, cheerful- 
 ness, courage, and faith to see him or to think of him ; and the 
 presence of such a living sermon among us during these late 
 years has been for good to every one. There is a great power 
 in such a life. Purified by discipline, lifted nearer to God and 
 aloof from the business that engrosses others, it is exercising a 
 continual influence, and every one in contact with it is the better 
 for it. . . . Unconsciousness may seem a hard price to pay 
 for immunity from pain, but there was no testimony that he 
 needed to bear to the Saviour whose love had sustained him ; and 
 since it is not a farewell he has taken, but that he has gone a 
 little sooner than we may beyond the reach of suffering and 
 into the perfect life where we shall rejoin him, God will enable 
 you even to bear the loss of what, no doubt, you longed for with 
 a great hunger, the recognition of his last moments. What you 
 missed then will be forgotten in the joy of the recognition yet to 
 come. ... I know what faith, what silent endurance, you will 
 need in these days. It is a weary blank that is left by one who 
 fills such a space as he did ; and when the tender occupations 
 that are caused by illness suddenly cease, and the one for whom 
 every one planned needs no planning, it is hard, hard to go on and 
 live through the days. It is hard not to murmur ; and hard to 
 feel so absorbed in the joy he has found as not to have a thousand 
 painful thoughts about ourselves. . . . You will have very wide 
 and very tender sympathy. And you will experience that there 
 is no sympathy like that of our Blessed Lord, who is touched with 
 the feelings of our infirmities, and who, in the secrecy of our grief, 
 
Pastoral Work in Dublin. ^ 109 
 
 endues us with the strength to say, 'Thy will be done.' Let us 
 lean all the weariness on Him. The Good Shepherd has taken 
 one that He tended to the fold where the sheep are folded for 
 evermore. But the eyes of that Good Shepherd look into our 
 hearts ; we are also His care. He sees the void as clearly as we 
 feel it. Let us be sure that His thoughts are about us, and let us 
 yield ourselves to the consolations of His Word. It is there we 
 find there is a God of all comfort, who comforteth us in all our 
 tribulation. It is there we find that His grace is sufiicient for 
 us. Every comforting word in it is the voice of the Lord Jesus, 
 whose own sorrows rise before us, not to drown ours, but to 
 make us certain that He knows what sorrow is, and that the help 
 and pity He offers are such as only the sorrowful can offer. 
 
 * He sympathises with our grief, 
 And to the sufTerer sends relief.' 
 
 And if you are now in the dark chamber of mourning, you 
 cannot but see how the hand of our Lord has hung it round with 
 visions of heaven. Let us also feel their brightness ; for He died 
 that they might be bright to us, bright with reality." 
 
 \_To William Young, Esq^ 
 
 "Orwell Bank, February, 1880. 
 "It was with great pain and deeper sympathy that I read 
 your letter, and found out what a trying and hard road God had 
 been leading you both. Sorrows of that more intense kind are 
 apt to make us wonderfully lonely ; and if they only shut us up 
 with Christ, to whom all power is given over and for us, we shall 
 not murmur in the end. I have seen it in others ; it has not 
 pleased God yet to try us in that form, but I can feel what an 
 anguish and burden there must be in it. And yet at every 
 point of life we have openings into that glorious kingdom where 
 there is no death, long avenues of endless life, down which we 
 look and see our children redeemed, pure and without pain. 
 Yet the old Hebrew longing for the joy that life on earth brings 
 us is very near to us all ; and postponements have their bitter- 
 ness, while, of course, the exact pleasure the life would have 
 brought us we lose for ever. But we lose it as some struggling 
 
110 Life of William Fleming Stevenson. 
 
 ray of sunshine, baffled b}^ the clouds, is lost in the flood of sun- 
 light over a clear sky. Then we go further and remember that 
 our Sun that gives us all our light is Jesus Christ Himself, Sun 
 of grace and of glory; and the sunshine rests also on the grave." 
 
 The following letters to a girl of fifteen, cut off by rapid 
 consumption, show how simple he could be when weakness 
 and suffering made all mental effort difficult, A slight 
 incident called forth by her illness reveals the depth and 
 tenderness of the love by which pastor and flock were bound 
 
 to one another. A was at school in Germany when 
 
 attacked by the disease, which ran its course in a very few 
 weeks after she was brought home. Towards the end of her 
 illness a multiplicity of engagements detained Dr. Steven- 
 son in Scotland, but his anxiety about her was so great that 
 he crossed in the teeth of a storm, hurrying from the plat- 
 form at the close of one of his Duff Lectures in Glasgow to 
 catch a steamer for Belfast, and after a couple of hours in 
 Dublin spent in the sorrow-stricken home, starting back 
 again to fulfil his next engagement in Scotland : — 
 
 "Southampton, February, 1885. 
 
 " My dear a , You were not able to bear much yesterday, 
 
 and I thought I would like to write you this evening just a line 
 or two. I saw you were very weak, but in weakness and sick- 
 ness we are just as near to our Lord Jesus as in health. I would 
 like to remind you again of His love, and that He is our Saviour. 
 We all need a Saviour, for we have all sinned and wandered 
 away from God. Jesus is that Saviour, and all that He asks us 
 to do is to trust Him. When we are young, we all look forward 
 to living a long time here, and life looks so long that we almost 
 forget it will come to an end. We do not think that our sick- 
 ness means more than a few weeks in bed ; but sometimes when 
 we lie down sick we are never to rise again. And if we should 
 not, and if we trust ourselves to Jesus, we may be sorry to leav^e 
 those whom we love and so much that is bright in the world, but 
 
Pastoral Work in Dtiblin. Ill 
 
 we need not be afraid. For those that trust themselves to Jesus 
 will always live with Him and will always be happy with Him. 
 They may feel they have done ever so wrong a great many times, 
 and they may be full of awe as they think of the great holiness 
 of God, but they know that Jesus came to take away their sin, 
 and that Jesus died for them, taking their place, and that God 
 forgives them for Jesus' sake, and that His Holy SjDirit will give 
 them good thoughts and a clean heart, and that there is no one 
 in all the world so gentle and loving as Jesus. * God so loved 
 the world,' they say to themselves, 'that He gave His only be- 
 gotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, 
 but have everlasting life.' 
 
 " Now, my dear A , you know the doctors do not think 
 
 you will get better, and I am sure when I spoke of that yesterday 
 as possible, you may have felt it yourself. But if you did not, 
 do not, dear child, shut your eyes to it now. It is not what you 
 thought life would be ; and I am sure at first you would find it 
 very hard to give up the thought of living here. And Jesus 
 knows how hard that thought may be. But Jesus Himself died 
 that you may not be afraid to die. And Jesus is now in heaven 
 in perfect joy, and He says He went there first to prepare a 
 place for us who believe in Him; and when you read about 
 heaven in the Book of the Eevelation, and think how beautiful the 
 life must be there, and that no one there ever is unhappy, or ever 
 sins, or ever dies, might you not even wish to be there ? Jesus 
 will take you there if you trust Him. And Jesus is saying to 
 you by this sickness, * Trust me,' ' Come unto Me.' 
 
 '' And now, dear child, let me entreat you to trust yourself to 
 Jesus ; yourself, with all you feel is not right in you ; yourself, 
 with all your sin ; yourself, just as you are. Jesus will bring you 
 straight to your Father, and straight to heaven ; for death can- 
 not divide us from heaven and from Jesus. 
 
 " Ask them to read to you the 23rd Psalm, and the fifteenth 
 chapter of St. Luke, and part of the last two chapters in the Pteve- 
 lation. I would like to be beside you, to read them to you ; but 
 I am obliged to preach here (Southampton) and in Glasgow, so I 
 write now, and I shall write again. Trust yourself to Jesus and 
 you will hear Him say, ' Let not your heart be troubled.' " 
 
112 Life of William Fleming Stez 
 
 vensoii. 
 
 \To the samc7\ 
 
 "Glasgow, March, 1885. 
 " My dear Child — When I said good-bye yesterday I could 
 not help thinking when I might see you again ; and I thought 
 it was most probable that it would not be on earth. Our 
 Heavenly Father alone knows that. But when we went over 
 the beautiful psalm, and I said, 
 
 ' Yea, though I walk through death's dark vale, 
 Yet will I fear no ill,' 
 
 and you said you were not afraid to die, I felt that if you had 
 strength you could sing the last words clear and loud, 
 
 ' And in God's house for evermore 
 My dwelling-place shall be.' 
 
 We read in Isaiah that the ransomed of the Lord shall come 
 there with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads. Heaven 
 is the brightest, sweetest place we can think of, and Jesus gave 
 Himself a ransom for us that it might be our home. 'I go,' He 
 said, * to prepare a place for you.' He will have all things ready 
 for us, and He will welcome us as we enter, and we shall hear and 
 join in the song ' to Him that loved us, and washed us from our sins 
 in His own blood.' 'Washed from every spot and stain.' Some- 
 times our memory shows us all the forgotten wrong things and 
 wrong thoughts. Will heaven, the holy place, let us in with all 
 these ? But when we remember how God made St. John write 
 for us, ' The blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth from all sin,' we 
 are made white in the blood of the Lamb, our sins are remem- 
 bered no more. 
 
 ' I lay my sins on Jesus, 
 The spotless Lamb of God.' 
 
 Jesus hears us saying that, though we can say it only very softly 
 and like a child, and we can never praise Him better than by 
 just trusting Him. Give Him up yourself, dear child; just let 
 Him keep you. You may feel weaker, but as you say, ' The 
 Lord is my Shepherd,' say also, * He said, "I will never leave you." ' 
 Some day, some hour, He will come for you, some day very soon. 
 The doctors will say it is death, but you will hear the step of 
 
Pastoral Work hi Dublin. 113 
 
 Jesus coming to take you where He is, and you will hear Him 
 saying, 'It is I; be not afraid.' And I think you will not be 
 afraid to go away with Jesus to the home you have above." 
 
 [7b , on the death of his wife.'] 
 
 '' It would not be right to say that the news of to-day has 
 found us unprepared. I hoped and longed, and hoped because 1 
 longed, until it was sometimes difficult to look for any issue but 
 the one, and to look forward to anything but a longer life of 
 thankfulness and service upon earth. A short word blots out 
 that dream, and I feel, what you must feel like torture, that we 
 and our lives here are all dream-like, and as against the everlast- 
 ing future will be only as a dream w^hen one awaketh — a happy 
 dream, that will always remain, and be linked with the heavenly 
 life as a part of it. We cannot dissever the heavenly from the 
 earthly of our life ; the same threads are in it ; only, as they 
 reach near the sun, they glow like gold ; and all our thoughts 
 and affections are easily carried across the river of death to gather 
 round those we love as if they were with us. To us who know 
 in whom and what we believe the change can scarcely make 
 a separation. For I cannot conceive there is such a division 
 that you have not all you ever had, and as much belonging to 
 you as it ever did, and, indeed, in a more full and tender way. 
 Being with Christ, close by His side, in the companionship 
 we have longed for when even faith did not satisfy us, must 
 strengthen as it purifies our affections until they reflect the 
 tenderness and depth of His own. It has that effect here, and 
 much more in heaven, where all the conditions of life must 
 favour the growth of what is pure and holy and is a part of our 
 better or best self. I do not relish even those words that speak 
 of death as loss. What have we lost ? Not our beloved ones — 
 not a jot of their affection or sympathy, or of the certainty of 
 their fellowship. The great delight they brought us by their 
 love and the running of our lives together, nothing can rob us 
 of it. We shall miss them as we would if they were from home, 
 and therefore we shall long to see them again ; but the only 
 difference is on the side of gain — that when we meet it will be 
 
114 Life of William Fleviing Stevenson. 
 
 in a fairer house, that will have more of home about it than the 
 home here. Excuse me thinking out what is often in my mind. 
 The best of our life is before us ; and the past is only like a porch 
 to the house that will be really beautiful. 
 
 " The passages in the Bible that speak of death are full of a 
 sweet music ; the words seem striving which shall comfort us the 
 most, because they are written by those who feel that death is 
 dead in Christ, and those who have fallen asleep in Jesus are as 
 living as we. They comfort, however, because comfort is needful, 
 and they will gather round you now. It must be a great agony 
 to have to bear it ; and it is a great mystery why sorrow should 
 light so soon on some lives and not on others ; but God thinks of 
 us in our agony, and I can try to understand with what great 
 love and tenderness He will deal when I think how tender grief 
 makes me. 
 
 " In this long cry we lifted up for life we did not trouble the 
 Master, we obeyed Him ; and He has been doing something in 
 us all the time, and carrying out His ministry of sorrow. 
 
 " There is a space around you into which even our affection 
 cannot enter, where every man must bear his own burden, a 
 sacred, private place, at which we stop ; but Jesus, blessed be His 
 name, crosses the line and fills even all that vacant space with 
 Himself, so that we are not left alone. May you find the fulness 
 of His present comfort, present and abiding ! ]\Iay you find that 
 His presence links the dead and the living ! The sting is taken 
 from death, and even we who remain can say, in a very solemn 
 way, but truly, 'Thanks be to God that we have so blessed a 
 hope ; ' and after we have borne our burden we lay it down and 
 join those whom we love, and by our love of whom w^e are now 
 drawn more than ever to the throne of God, where we find them. 
 ' I am persuaded that neither death nor life shall be able to sepa- 
 rate us from the love of God, w^hich is in Christ Jesus our Lord.' " 
 
 At the close of twenty-five years of work in Rathgar 
 he writes to the Eev. Hamilton Magee, D.D., enclosing a 
 card of invitation to the annual congregational meet- 
 
Pastoral Work in Dublin. 115 
 
 "Orwell Bank, January 10, 1885. 
 
 " My dear Magee, — It is not simply this formal invitation 
 I send, but a wish from my heart that you will come out on 
 Wednesday evening next. You and I now belong to the Old 
 Guard, though I suspect we are younger than our juniors ; and 
 it would be a gratification after these twenty-five years, so swiftly 
 flown, if you would be with us — a greater gratification than I can 
 express. 
 
 " Now kindly do make an exception for us this time. We are 
 scarcely likely to meet here after another quarter of a century. 
 — Yours ever, W. Fleming Stevenson." 
 
 "Orwell Bank, January 16, 1885. 
 " My dear Magee, — I cannot let a day pass without thanking 
 you warmly for letting me feel and everybody hear you were at 
 our congregational silver wedding. May God bless us to stand 
 together in the dear old city for some time longer ! You do not 
 know how often you have quietly stimulated and greatly re- 
 freshed me." 
 
 \_To T. J. Aimers, Esq?^ 
 
 "Liverpool, March 16, 1885. 
 
 "... I think there is a good deal in this, that — independent 
 of the difficulties in the Confession being no more than in the 
 Word, save that they are presented more in the form of a theo- 
 logical system and under needful theological phrases — a Confession 
 or Creed must always be interpreted, more or less, as by the mind 
 of the living Church at the time. It is possible that a Church 
 drawing up a Creed now would vary it a good deal in form, and 
 in the proportion in which doctrines are stated, from 1643 ; and 
 yet it does not feel that it should change a Confession which 
 substantially expresses the theology of the Word of God. 
 
 "I am sorry I looked tired, though I felt it. Yesterday fort- 
 night I preached twice and lectured once in Glasgow in large 
 churches and to large congregations. On Wednesday I lectured 
 again, and crossed immediately after to Dublin to be with little 
 
 Annie M , returning same night to Glasgow. Yesterday week 
 
 the University authorities insisted that I should preach before 
 
116 Life of William Flevmig Stevenson. 
 
 the University of Glasgow, and I lectured in the evening, and 
 again on Wednesday evening, and spoke, besides, at some meeting 
 or other every day I was in Glasgow ; crossed to Dublin Wednes- 
 day night, reached this Saturday night, and after preaching 
 yesterday for the Moderator of the English Synod to two crowded 
 congregations, I lecture to-night, and then catch the 10*30 train 
 for Holyhead. 
 
 "You can imagine I am thankful to be from to-morrow 
 onward at home." 
 
 Pre-eminent among the willing helpers who gathered 
 round Dr. Stevenson was the Kev. Smylie Robson, D.D., 
 whose death in 1884 was a sharp sorrow to his pastor. 
 The two men were curiously complementary in character, 
 and the affection they bore each other was unique and 
 beautiful. No one knew so well as Dr. Eobson the over- 
 whelming burden of work that lay upon his friend, and no 
 one could have more lovingly laboured to lighten it. Dr. 
 Robson had spent many years in Syria as missionary to 
 the Jews, and his health had never recovered the trying 
 experiences of the Damascus massacre in 1856, when his 
 fellow-missionary, William Graham, was killed, and he and 
 his wife escaped as if by a miracle. Coming to Dublin in 
 1872, he settled in Rathgar for the sake of the ministry 
 there, and became an office-bearer in the church. His 
 health was delicate, and he suffered from sleeplessness, but 
 the via'our and acuteness of his mind remained unchano-ed 
 to the last, and his clear judgment and wise counsel were 
 always at his minister's service. Knowing well what late 
 hours were kept at the Manse, it was no uncommon thing 
 for him, if some helpful suggestion occurred to him re- 
 garding any point which was a subject of anxiety at the 
 time, to appear at midnight or later, with some quaint 
 apology for housebreaking, and the two w^ould hammer 
 
Pastoral Work in Dtiblin. 117 
 
 away for hours together in the study, regardless of the 
 flight of time. Quiet and gentle by nature, there was yet 
 in Dr. Eobson a noble indignation against wrong, which, 
 when roused, showed itself in the flashing eye and rever- 
 berating tone, and sometimes broke out into vehemence of 
 speech, but always fell back easily and sweetly within the 
 bounds of Christian courtesy. Every one who knew him 
 mourned for him, but to Dr. Stevenson the loss was irre- 
 parable. Though usually capable of great self-control, he 
 was quite unnerved in conducting the funeral service over 
 the remains of his staunch and loyal friend. 
 
 [To Alexander Gray^ Esq^ 
 
 "Dublin, June 16, 1884. 
 *' Hearty thanks for your thoughtful, comforting letter. It is 
 like you to have written it. God lent us a blessed gift, and we 
 made full use of it. Certainly there should be no mourning for 
 him. That has come which he expected and often wished. But 
 few men will be so much missed ; and I feel that parting from 
 him is hard, although it may not be for long. He was a wonder- 
 fully unselfish and inspiriting helper. One could not dwell on 
 dark sides with him. This is the first member of the session we 
 have lost by death." 
 
 "No one," says a friend, " was ever more loved by those who 
 knew him than Fleming Stevenson. From the moment he 
 opened his lips, one felt him to be a man of rare capability, 
 refinement, and elevation of soul. The soft light in his kindly 
 eyes, the tenderly wistful lips, which even the full beard of later 
 years did not quite conceal, the rich resonant voice, the curious 
 felicity of speech, the quickness to catch not only the meaning of 
 the word, but the quality of the feeling behind the word ; the 
 power to put himself into the speaker's place, and make all 
 allowances, and say the word that was at once kindly and wise; 
 the overflowing humour, never sharp -edged, yet always dying 
 down in a sort of seriousness, as if to make amends for its 
 
118 Life of William Fleming Stevenson. 
 
 momentary play; the eager sympathy; the almost invincible 
 reluctance to refuse a favour to a friend; the singular detach- 
 ment and leisureliness of manner by which he disarmed the fears 
 of the most scrupulous that they might be intruding on his 
 time ; the winning smile, the lingering clasp of the hand, all 
 conspired to make of him a man whom it was a distinction and 
 delight to know." 
 
 Such was the minister who for twenty-seven years lived 
 and laboured among his people in Eathgar. Their best 
 friend and human counsellor in trouble and in dark days, 
 the first to sympathise with their happiness and joys, he 
 was always to them the same. When the severe strain of 
 work for the Church at large made heavy inroads on his 
 time, he toiled late and early, and wore himself out rather 
 than bring to them the fag-ends of his labours. He stayed 
 by them when tempted as few men have been by calls to 
 larger and more influential spheres. He died among them, 
 and was laid to rest in their midst; and in generations 
 yet to come his memory will be fragrant, as the older ones 
 tell the children of the first pastor of Christ Church, 
 Rath gar. 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 LITERARY WORK. 
 
 The published works of Dr. Stevenson do not give a fair 
 estimate of his literary power. It had always been his 
 cherished desire to reach men's hearts by his pen, a desire 
 strengthened by the consciousness that he had the power 
 of doing so, and that herein lay his special gift. He had 
 comprehensive and carefully arranged plans for doing much 
 in this way, and it was with a weary sigh that he saw the 
 possibility of accomplishing them recede into the distance, 
 and his literary work become more and more pushed into 
 odd snatches of time redeemed from other engagements, and 
 too often taken from the hours of sleep. He always wrote 
 slowly and carefully, and was most fastidious as to the 
 finish of his composition. In later years his contributions to 
 religious literature were few, and his aspirations reached 
 buoyantly forward to a time of possible rest in the future, 
 when he might give to the world a History of Missions 
 from their earliest dawn down to the present day. This was 
 the dream of his life, and in preparation for this great under- 
 taking he had collected a vast number of books bearing on 
 the subject, and had prepared a mass of notes and material 
 which could only be utilised by himself. Fruitless and per- 
 haps wasted work it may seem, but yet surely this preparation 
 was fitting him to arouse enthusiasm for "the mission" all 
 over the Christian Church, a purpose in which he succeeded 
 
120 Life of William Fleming Stevenson. 
 
 beyond almost any other man of his time. A little incident 
 referred to by Dr. Mackintosh of Philadelphia, in his grace- 
 ful sketch in " The Church at Home and Abroad," explains 
 in a single word the non-fulfilment of these high hopes. 
 He says : — 
 
 ** On a sweet June morning some three years ago I was sitting 
 in a wide sunny window, looking out on green grassy slopes and 
 garden-beds fragrant with many a blushing rose, and across the 
 thick-piled books on the library floor, gazing at a loved friend, 
 who, with his kindly eyes warm with a brave heart's glow and 
 sparkling with Irish fun, looks at me cheerily yet steadfastly. 
 ' Stevenson ' — for it is Fleming Stevenson (who gave the world 
 * Praying and Working,' and made himself one of the foremost 
 authorities on Christian Missions) to whom I am talking — 
 ' Stevenson, when is that big book of yours to be ready ? You 
 remember telling me of it just before I went to Philadelphia ? ' 
 The broad, honest face saddens just a little ; then it brightens, 
 at last settles into almost stern fixedness — the hardness of heroic 
 resolve and self-denial, and the answer comes slow, deep-toned, 
 and short, 'India and China are now my book.' " 
 
 His literary faculty ripened early. After his return from 
 Germany in 1855 he was asked by Dr. Norman Macleod, 
 who was not slow to perceive his peculiar gift, to write for 
 the Edinhurgh Christian Magazine^ of which he was then the 
 editor. He contributed several papers on German hymno- 
 logy, one or two sermons, and a criticism on the character 
 and writings of the Rev. Frederick Robertson of Brighton. 
 In the latter paper he analysed with acuteness and sym- 
 pathy the peculiar features and excellences of Mr. Robert- 
 son's preaching. His sketch was so accurate that it drew 
 forth grateful acknowledgment of its power and perception 
 from his father, the late Colonel Robertson of Cheltenham, 
 who furnished him with additional particulars, which were em- 
 bodied in a later article in the second number of the Contem- 
 
Literary Work. 121 
 
 porary Revieiv. From these papers tbe publishers extracted 
 largely for notices of Mr. Robertson's sermons, and they are 
 included in the American edition of his life. 
 
 On the establishment of Good Words, Dr. Macleod enrolled 
 him as one of its regular contributors, and was anxious to 
 assign him a more prominent position, but Mr. Stevenson 
 felt that his ministerial duties would not permit him to 
 give up the requisite time. His advice, however, was con- 
 stantly sought, and Dr. Macleod used often to call him his 
 " right arm." The tie between them was very close and ten- 
 der, and Mr. Stevenson's admiration of the genius and great 
 loving heart of " the chief," as the Good Words staff used to 
 call their editor, deepened a friendship which he regarded as 
 one of the great privileges of his life. 
 
 In the early numbers of the periodical, besides the articles 
 which were afterwards embodied in '' Praying and Working," 
 there appeared a remarkable paper on " Matthew Claudius, 
 Man of Letters ; " a sketch of three young Bavarian Jesuit 
 priests and the revival they effected within their own 
 Church, entitled " Three Lives Worth Knowing About ; " 
 several papers on hymns ; a series of mission sketches under 
 the heading " Devoted Lives," and many others. The later 
 articles contributed were nine papers on " The Mission- 
 fields of China and Japan," written after Dr. Stevenson's 
 return from his journey round the world ; and another 
 series, " Bible Truths and Eastern Ways." Other magazine 
 articles are to be found in the Sunday Magazine, the Day 
 of Best, the Catholic Presbyterian, and the Contem]Jorary 
 Bevieiv. 
 
 " Praying and Working, being some account of what men 
 can do when in earnest," appeared in the autumn of 1862. 
 It consisted largely of papers which had previously appeared 
 in Good Words, but which were now given to the public in 
 
122 Life of William Fleming Stevenson. 
 
 a fuller and collected form. Without doubt the germ of 
 the thoughts that issued in this work may be traced in the 
 deep impression made on Mr. Stevenson by his visit to the 
 Eauhe Hans when in Hamburg in 1854, and his coming 
 into personal contact with the remarkable man whose faith 
 and compassion lay at the root of the beneficent work carried 
 on there. Wandering through the narrow lanes and alleys 
 of Hamburg, he had found the most repulsive forms of 
 sin and suffering, childhood tainted with moral leprosy, dis- 
 torted from the Divine image in which it had been created ; 
 and side by side he had found a mighty tree of blessing 
 with its leaves of healing, that had grown from the tender 
 slip planted by Wichern on that dim October evening twenty- 
 one years before, when he and his mother passed under the 
 low thatched roof of the little Eauhe Haus and began their 
 life of Christ-like self-sacrifice. During his residence in Ger- 
 many Mr. Stevenson studied closely the working of what 
 is known there as " The Inner Mission." Wherever he 
 went he visited all institutions aiming at the alleviation 
 of suffering, the rescue of the fallen, and the elevation of 
 humanity, feeling painfully how far behind we in England 
 were in the practical development of charity involving per- 
 sonal effort and self-sacrifice. Happily the state of things 
 that existed thirty years ago has long since passed away, 
 and there is no more striking feature of the present day 
 than the number of earnest lives, beautiful in their self- 
 surrender, that have been devoted to the service of their 
 fellow-men. 
 
 The sketches embodied in " Praying and Working " were 
 written witJi a definite aim and earnest purpose to awaken 
 the Christian conscience of the country. The vivid and 
 picturesque style of the book, its pure and lucid English, 
 keen analysis of character, accuracy of detail, and the 
 
Literary Work. 123 
 
 burning enthusiasm of tlie writer combined to rivet the 
 attention of every thoughtful mind. Alike in religious and 
 literary circles on both sides the Atlantic it was warmly 
 received and favourably reviewed. A nephew of John Talk 
 translated into German the chapter describing his uncle's 
 life and labours, and had it published in parts in the chief 
 newspaper in Dantzig, Falk's native town ; and permission 
 was asked to translate the book into several European 
 languages. On reading it a London philanthropist sent a 
 thousand copies to the Colonies at his own expense, and the 
 Bishop of Argyle gave a copy to each of the clergymen in 
 his diocese. But no appreciation gratified its author so 
 much as the abundant evidence he received that the book 
 was the means of stimulus and direction to other lives. 
 Several philanthropic institutions, as their founders have 
 cordially acknowledged, owed their inspiration to these 
 noble examples of faith in prayer. 
 
 The Eev. Bowman Stephenson, D.D., says : — 
 
 " * Praying and Working ' has always appeared to me one of 
 the most fascinating and fruitful of the many Christian books 
 published in my time. I met with it early in my ministry, 
 when my mind was much occupied with the social aspects of 
 Christian church work, and I trace to its powerful influence much 
 of what is best and most valuable in the system of Christian 
 philanthropy under my care, and, indeed, I doubt whether that 
 book was not the most powerful influence used by Divine Provi- 
 dence in turning my thoughts and energies towards the work for 
 children with which my life has been so largely identified. I am 
 still in the habit of urging every helper in my work to read it, 
 in the hope that they may catch something of the spirit which 
 breathes through every page." 
 
 In many cases it was used by God to change the whole 
 course of men's lives. One instance may be given here. 
 
124 Life of William Fleming Stevenson. 
 
 A tlioughtless young Englishman, stricken by fever in the 
 Australian bush, had a copy lent him during convalescence, 
 and as he read, listlessly at first, in the weary hours of 
 enforced idleness, he was so fired by the nobility and gran- 
 deur of such lives, and so penetrated with a sense of the 
 uselessness and selfishness of his own, that he resolved from 
 that day forth to consecrate all his powers to God and his 
 fellow-men, and became one of the most faithful and earnest 
 servants of the Cross. 
 
 One of its critics says that '' the secret of the power and 
 persuasiveness with which the author has written, lies in his 
 having been guided by a simple spiritual purpose, both very 
 noble and very practical," and introduces the book to " all 
 who have any tenderness and responsibility of feeling as to 
 the due worth of Christian life, with confidence that it will 
 arouse, direct, and encourage them ; that they will learn from 
 its facts the great principle ' that prayer never nullifies a 
 man's wit, or thrift, or counsel, or prudence, but intensifies 
 and purifies and guides them.' " '' No man," says another, 
 '' with one particle of true life within him can peruse the 
 volume without his conscience smiting him for the little 
 that he has done for God or for man, or without forming the 
 resolve that, with God's help, he shall henceforth become 
 by prayer a worker for the cause of Christ and the good of 
 humanity." 
 
 Six weeks after its publication Mr. Stevenson writes to 
 his sister : — 
 
 " 'Praying and Working' goes on its way, and I hope will do good 
 equal to its popularity. Already the eighth thousand is almost 
 exhausted. Many notices show that the meaning and spirit of 
 the book have been caught, and I have cause to feel abundantly 
 thankful. If in any way it spreads the faith and kingdom of 
 Christ, Godwin have used a very humble and unworthy servant. " 
 
Literary Work. 125 
 
 \To Ids Mother:] 
 
 " November, 1862. 
 " * Praying and Working' has met with an extraordinary re- 
 ception from all parties — highest of Churchmen, bluest of Pres- 
 byterians, Baptists, and Wesleyans. I enclose some newspaper 
 notices, among them a Parthenon. T could not help going back 
 to the old boyish days when the Parthenon was the Literary 
 Gazette, and came in with breakfast. How little I ever dreamt 
 then of seeing my name in its pages ; and I thought how glad 
 my father would have been, and felt how much the pleasure of 
 working, and altogether the pleasure of being praised had passed 
 away with him, without whose generous expenditure at every 
 step it could not have been written; and long since, dearest 
 mother, and all through the writing of it, it was inwardly and 
 devoutly dedicated to you — your book, indeed, more than mine." 
 
 \_From Br. Norman Macleod.'] 
 
 "Adelaide Place, Glasgow, Oct. 4, 1862. 
 "Thanks, dear friend, for your kind words, but I would to- 
 morrow gladly give up the authorship of the ' Old Lieutenant ' 
 for 'Praying and Working.' Therefore more thanks for your 
 delightful volume. No Presbyterian has before written in such 
 a catholic spirit, and this I feel to be a great want in our 
 Church. We ignore sixteen centuries almost. We dig trenches 
 deeper and deeper, which genial nature was kindly filling up 
 with sweet flowers, to keep up the old division lines, instead of 
 building bridges to connect us as far as possible with the Church 
 Catholic. Judaical separation won't do — far less Pharisaical. 
 The only separation which is good is that of greater praying and 
 working, which, like love, is at once the most separating and 
 uniting element." 
 
 The following extracts from the letters of Dora Greenwell 
 will be of interest here : — 
 
 " Will you allow me, a stranger, to thank you for your deeply 
 interesting papers in Good Words, and to tell you how anxiously 
 I, with others, am looking for their appearance in a collected form ? 
 The very look and name of one of them before I begin to read it 
 
126 Life of William F leaning Stevenson. 
 
 always gives me a feeling of comfort and inner joy, and I find 
 others in our Churcli read them with the same interest, and the 
 wish to be able to say of our own country, ' Like as we have 
 heard, so have we seen.' I believe, however, that bright days 
 are yet in store for the various branches of Christ's family — days 
 such as we have not yet seen. We have certainly more light to 
 work by, and the warmth will come, and we shall help on both 
 the light and the warmth by communications such as these you 
 are now engaged with ; passing them on from hand to hand as in 
 an Athenian torch-race — no matter who is first so that we run 
 all. I am sure you have quite an unusual gift for this peculiar 
 line of writing — that of engaging the heart and passing by, 
 maybe, without ignoring vexed questions. But you must tell 
 us a great deal more about Sailer and these good Romanists. 
 We must now hope and pray much for that branch. It is so 
 wonderful and interesting to a Christian thinker to find such a 
 core of vital religion in such a system as theirs is. In them too 
 there must soon be a great change, breaking up, and renovation, 
 when once the power of Rome is gone j and we may surely say 
 
 now, * Delenda est Carthago.' " 
 
 " . . . I do not feel so much inclined to thank you for your 
 book as to tell you how delighted I am to see it ; its arrival has 
 made quite a little holiday in my heart, connected with so much 
 warmth and gladness, and so many cheering hopes for our own 
 Church and nation. I cannot tell you how much I admire the 
 preface ; it seems to me so full of wisdom and Christian discretion, 
 touching as it does upon points where a delicate yet firm hand 
 is needed. How I love, too, all that you say about the rationale 
 of prayer, viewing it as De Maistre does, as the dynamic force 
 of spiritual life. My own thoughts have been led far of late in 
 this direction, but you have the gift of bringing forward these 
 deep and, if handled scientifically, difiicult truths in a way that 
 is at once both common -sense and affecting. I sent the book off 
 before nightfall to a friend in the country, who of all persons I 
 know will the best appreciate it, so that my own reading of it 
 was necessarily very hasty ; but when I awoke this morning my 
 mind seemed full of happy and hopeful thoughts. I wondered at 
 first where they had all come from, but soon traced them all to 
 
Literary Work. 127 
 
 one place. I must congratulate you again and again on having 
 brought home such a blessing to many, many waiting hearts. I 
 
 hope you will yet make us many more presents " 
 
 '' I mean from time to time to stick a pin into you, or a thorn (!), 
 until I get you stirred to write a history of the Moravian Church, 
 that ' dove in the rock,' so blameless and harmless, and continually 
 abiding in the wounds of her Lord. I never lose the idea of this, 
 and of your doing it ; it would be a present to the universal 
 Christian Church, part of its great Saga to stir a pulse of heroism 
 in the hearts of the young. In addition to the two great branches 
 of missionary interest in Greenland, and those of such affecting 
 beauty to the North American Indians described in Carne's book, I 
 met with an account of a Moravian settlement in Africa, begun by 
 a solitary man among the Hottentots, and (I think) nearly fifty 
 years after his death and the decay of almost all his pious labour, 
 continued by the brethren with success. I found an account 
 of this, full of touching poetry, under the head of ' An African 
 Valley,' in a now old-fashioned book of miscellanies by J. Mont- 
 gomery, called ' Prose by a Poet.' The Church of England wants 
 stirring and stimulating to missionary enterprise. Do think of 
 this. Have you done much more at the ' Hymns and Hymn- 
 writers ' ? " 
 
 " I find Mr. Strahan has mentioned my idea to you, and that 
 you are disposed to receive it favourably ; so I wish to send you 
 a few desultory thoughts on the subject, that you may revolve 
 them at your leisure. I feel that you are rich in accumulated 
 materials, rich, too, in that peculiar turn of thought which would 
 remove the work out of all that is dry and external into its true 
 spiritual region ; so that perhaps you only need some outward 
 impulse to make you begin. Two thoughts press greatly on my 
 mind. To begin with perhaps the least important — that in my 
 opinion the German hymns in themselves are not such valu- 
 able contributions to our devotional literature as we are apt to 
 consider them in these days, when they have become a sort of 
 fashion — not so valuable, I mean, to us. A hymn, above all 
 other compositions, is a flower that must be plucked on the spot 
 where it grows. It has its roots in the heart, entwined with all 
 
128 Life of William Fleming Stevenson. 
 
 manner of individual and social associations. A translated hymn 
 is an exotic flower, fair to the eye, but far less eloquent to the 
 heart than those we have cherished in our own little gardens. 
 Then, too, the peculiar merit of the German hymns is one which 
 realises the truth of the Latin proverb, ' It is more easy to paint 
 the rose than to convey its odour.' I could dwell much longer 
 on this point, but you will see how it is that I am inclined to lift 
 the weight and value of the book on to another basis — to make 
 the hymns illustrative of a deep religious national life, as Madame 
 Guyon's hymns, in her Life lately published, sweetly and fully 
 illustrate a wonderful individual life. Oh, how valuable a con- 
 tribution this will prove in your hands to the true Church His- 
 tory, in which there are so many blanks ! " 
 
 The last reference is to a work of considerable magnitude 
 which both had at heart, and which they had planned to 
 undertake jointly, " The Hymns and Hymn- writers of Ger- 
 many." Various circumstances, however, caused delay, and 
 the work was never completed. Hymnology was a favourite 
 study of Mr. Stevenson's, and was the subject of his first 
 published articles. Very early in his pastorate he printed 
 a collection of hymns for the use of his own congregation, a 
 forerunner of the larger volume which was given to the 
 public in 1878, under the title of ''Hymns for the Church 
 and Home." In reference to this work Dr. Saphir says : — 
 
 " When he commenced his ministry the Presbyterian Churches 
 of Scotland and Ireland did not use hymns in their public 
 services, but only psalms and metrical Scripture paraphrases. 
 From his childhood he had known the hymns in which the 
 Christian experience and devotional feeling of England have found 
 expression. He had learned to love them, and they had been help- 
 ful to him in his spiritual life. His interest in hymns was much 
 increased during his stay in Germany, when he became acquainted 
 with the wonderfully rich treasure of Christian song w^hich the 
 German Church possesses, and which has proved an important 
 and powerful element in the preservation of Christian doctrine. 
 
Literary Work. 129 
 
 and in the promotion of Christian life in the individual, the 
 home, and the Church. The study of hymnology had great 
 attractions for him, both on account of his love for poetry and 
 on account of his great interest in all that referred to the develop- 
 ment of the inner life, personal and congregational. He began 
 to collect hymn-books and books bearing on the writers, the 
 history, and the editions of hymns,' and he was in possession 
 of most ample and valuable material for the production of a 
 book which was ultimately published in 1873. It was entitled 
 "Hymns for the Church and Home." Dr. Stevenson's primary 
 object was to furnish his congregation with a hymn-book 
 adapted not merely for the public services of the Church, but 
 also for private and domestic use, and for the Sunday-school 
 and children's meetings. The selection and arrangement of the 
 hymns are admirable. The book is divided into three sections : 
 Hymns for Public Worship, Hymns for Private Worship, and 
 Hymns for Children. Each division is arranged alphabetically. 
 Both these points are very practical. The first, because many 
 hymns which do not reach the objective grandeur and dignity 
 which ought to characterise the hymns of the Christian con- 
 gregation met for worship are suitable and helpful either for 
 private devotional reading or in the family circle. The second, 
 because the first line of a hymn is almost always remembered, 
 and thus the use of the book is greatly facilitated. 
 
 "A copious Index of Subjects is prefixed to the book, and 
 shows how very comprehensive and full the compiler's view was of 
 the doctrine and experience which should be expressed in his selec- 
 tion. The hymns are chosen with great care, the text restored 
 to its original form with wonderful accuracy, and while the 
 classical catholic hymns of English Churches constitute the chief 
 portion of the book, some of the most excellent German and 
 Danish hymns are added. The twofold appendix is particularly 
 valuable, and the result of great industry and research. The 
 first, entitled 'Notes,' is interesting to the student of hymnology, 
 containing much bibliographical information and criticism of 
 various readings ; the second is a Biographical Index, and sup- 
 plies information which before was accessible only to a few. Dr. 
 Stevenson had made the lives of the hymn-writers a study, and 
 
 I 
 
130 Life of William Fleming Stevenson. 
 
 sometimes in his Sunday evening services he would illustrate the 
 truths of the hymn sung by a sketch of the life of the author. 
 
 ''This hymn-book attracted much notice, and was the admira- 
 tion of some of the most competent authorities on church-praise. 
 It has proved a valuable book to the student, and is highly 
 appreciated in many congregations. It is a book very charac- 
 teristic of its author ; of his devoutness, catholicity, large sym- 
 pathies, as well as of his culture and taste. It reminds us of that 
 inmost worship in spirit and in truth from which alone ' praying 
 and working ' can emanate." 
 
 No one who is not acquainted with the labour involved 
 in verifying the accurate text of even the commonest hymns, 
 or balancing the merits of the various renderings, could 
 form a conception of the painstaking research required in 
 compiling such a book ; for example, no fewer than thirty 
 variations of the well-known hymn " Rock of Ages " had to 
 be examined. The hymnals in various languages which he 
 acquired during the preparation of this work exceeded five 
 hundred, and have been for the most part preserved in the 
 " Fleming Stevenson Memorial Library " in the Assembly's 
 College, Belfast. He revised the entire volume eight times 
 with the most punctilious minuteness and thoroughness ; and 
 his reputation for accuracy was so well established, that in 
 most of the hymnals since published by the leading Protes- 
 tant Churches of the United Kingdom the text found in his 
 collection was accepted as the correct version. He was 
 asked by Mr. Murray to undertake the subject Hymnology 
 for a forthcoming Encyclopaedia, and had procured a number 
 of new works on the subject and begun his preparations at 
 the time of his death. 
 
 The posthumous work, " The Dawn of the Modern Mission," 
 which w^as the subject of his Duff Lectures, published in 
 1887, is only a fragment of what he had meant it to be, 
 the pressure of engagements at the time causing him to 
 
Literary Work. 131 
 
 give a great part of these lectures extemporaneously from 
 the briefest notes. 
 
 This chapter may seem to be almost as much a record 
 of unfulfilled plans as of work accomplished. Engagements 
 multiplied with the years, and the time of leisure for which 
 he longed never came. 
 
 And yet we cannot speak of failure, though we may wish 
 the literary record had been greater. The faithful servant 
 of his Master does the work as it is laid to his hand, and 
 waits patiently for time to undertake what is less pressing. 
 If the literary record is small, another record has been 
 written in the outcome of a life busy in every good and 
 great enterprise of his time. It can be read in the revival 
 of the missionary spirit in his own and other Churches ; and 
 traces of it are to be found in India and far away China. 
 And so the Master gave him his reward. He conquered 
 his longings for more leisure by a new buckling of himself 
 to the work before him and a cheery acquiescence in what 
 God had appointed for him. With him we join and say, 
 '' He doeth all things well." 
 
CHAPTER YII. 
 
 VISIT TO AMERICA. 
 
 Many events combined to make 1873 a marked year in 
 Mr. Stevenson's life. Early in the spring a unanimous 
 call to a cliurch in London caused him weeks of anxious 
 deliberation, intensified by the distress of his people at the 
 possibility of his removal. Scarcely had the decision to 
 remain brought relief, when his mother, who for some time 
 had been in failing health, was called to her rest, and her 
 death cast a deep shadow over the circle of which she had 
 so long been the centre. What she had been to him his 
 early letters abundantly testify ; and her love and example, 
 which had done so much to mould his character, never 
 ceased to be a living power within him. His friends 
 rejoiced when a pressing invitation from the American 
 branch of the Evangelical Alliance to take part in the 
 Conference which was to be held in New York in October 
 gave him the opportunity of a complete change of thought 
 and scene. 
 
 The prospect of a visit to America was full of pleasant 
 anticipation. With his inborn love of travel and keen en- 
 joyment of nature and scenery, he had many inducements to 
 visit the glorious new country, with its unsolved problems, 
 its magnificent future, and the marvellous growth of its 
 past. There were dear friends and relatives of his wife 
 whose home in the far West he longed to see ; and by this 
 
Visit to America. 133 
 
 time his name and work were well known in America and 
 had made for him many friends who urged his coming, 
 and whose warm-hearted welcome and hospitality when he 
 arrived remained a grateful recollection to the end of his 
 life. 
 
 A few extracts from his journal and letters to his wife 
 will give some idea of his tour, and the impressions made 
 by the three months' visit. He left Dublin on the night of 
 the 31st July ; the next morning the little tender steamed 
 out from Queenstown in brilliant sunshine to meet the 
 American steamer on its way from Liverpool. 
 
 "... Suddenly a gruff voice at my elbow exclaimed, ' By 
 King George and King David, that's a clipper ! ' How two such 
 saints got coupled together in his mind has never been clear to 
 me since ; but the speaker used the strongest language at his 
 command, and evidently considered that no one would dispute 
 their testimony to the undeniable beauty of the * Celtic ' as she 
 approached Queenstown harbour with a swift, easy grace like a 
 waterfowl. We had sailed for about twenty minutes, until 
 Queenstown behind us looked a white glare of stone along the 
 hill-face. As we turned a point the harbour opened out to the 
 sea, and there was the steamer gliding along in soft curves, 
 apparently with as little purpose as a skater on the ice. 
 
 " Two forts guard the passage to the ocean — one with slopes 
 of that hard, yellow grass that is dear to fortifications, and 
 the other on the left putting a steeper and greener front to 
 the sea. We steamed all day along the coast, near enough to 
 see the few houses and the surf beating gently on the shore ; a 
 flat, dull land at first, then higher and rising into mountain 
 ranges that gathered their massive folds together to sleep among 
 the evening shadows. As the shadows deepened we left them, 
 but first passed right below a rough pyramid of rock 200 feet 
 high, and crowned with a lighthouse — a curious, lonely spot, 
 miles from shore ; then in the misty distance some narrow rocky 
 islands slanting landwards, and with a wall-like face to the west 
 
134 Life of William Fleming Stevenson. 
 
 to meet the dash of the rough Atlantic, and then water, and 
 water only. . . . 
 
 " To-day the wind blows from the N.W., and the sight is 
 magnificent. The waves grow long and stately. They march 
 like an army, crest after crest ; their bulk grows enormous and 
 for the first time dwarfs the ship. As far as the eye can reach, 
 they advance line upon line; they tower 15 or 20 feet above the 
 deck, but it is all in play, for as they swooj) down with curling 
 ridges and streaming plumes they catch the vessel in their arms, 
 raise it gently up, and rush with a hiss of foam and a smooth 
 black ridge away on the other side, and toss and play with their 
 companions, leaping, dancing, and flinging jets of water up in 
 sport till they are out of sight." 
 
 The restful sense of quiet and leisure to read, and the 
 invigorating sea-breeze, "damp with brine," made the voyage 
 a rare enjoyment, and he landed in New York in high spirits 
 on the 10th of August. 
 
 "The real perils," he wrote after his return home, "did not 
 begin till we were well in sight of land, and most of us passed by 
 them unconsciously. The peril of being ' interviewed ' is perhaps 
 the chief. I heard of only one who came safely through this 
 trial. ' We are so glad, sir, to find you arrived,' said one of the 
 interviewing party to Mr. Arnot of Edinburgh, not knowing, but 
 determined to find out his name. ' Your writings have gone 
 before you, sir, and prepared a place for you in the hearts of our 
 countrymen. You will receive quite an ovation among us. We 
 were scarcely prepared to see you so j^oung. You are, — you are — ? ' 
 The Scotchman was not to be taken off his guard. 'Yes,' said 
 
 Mr. Arnot, ' I am, — I am . ' No place, indeed, seems safe from 
 
 the reporter. The man who politely shows you the missed street 
 may put your innocent remarks in the morning paper. Reporters 
 haunt the houses, the steps of public halls, the churches, the trains, 
 the cars. They are like the frogs that covered the land of Egypt. 
 When crossing the plains by the Pacific Railway and making some 
 entries in a note-book, I observed that a fellow-passenger winced 
 uneasily, shifted his seat, and was afterwards suddenly taciturn. 
 
Visit to America. 135 
 
 ' I beg your pardon, sir,' he said the next day, ' but I thought you 
 were a reporter for the Npao York Herald.' On Sunday morning 
 in New York, about eight o'clock, a gentleman was ushered in. 
 ' Excuse me, sir, but I have come to report your sermon : I have 
 four on my Ust, and I find they are all preached at the same time. 
 Kindly give me your leading thoughts. If I have the skeleton 
 I can put on the flesh and blood. Never fear, sir, you may feel 
 perfectly safe with me.' " 
 
 Leaving the city, which at that season was deserted by 
 all his friends, he started immediately for Niagara, making 
 a detour to visit some relatives at Pocasset. He spent 
 three days at Niagara, giving himself up to the fascination 
 of the mighty rush of waters, and enjoying in every variety 
 of light and shade the exquisite beauty of the colouring. 
 Thence to Chicago. All along his route the rapid growth 
 of the cities he passed was one of his most striking impres- 
 sions. " They want," he writes, '' the picturesqueness, the 
 quaintness, the beautiful irregularities, the colouring, the 
 rich and stately histories of Europe. They want all the 
 mellowed tone, the subtle and powerful charm, the glory 
 even in decay, which only time can bestow. They are 
 uniform in character, repeating the same broad and rectan- 
 gular streets, the same shops, the same suburbs and public 
 buildings, the same spick-and-span newness. But for 
 stately modern streets — streets where the eye is content 
 with the rich and long succession of lofty and decorated 
 buildings piled up of marble or granite as high as the 
 old-town houses of Edinburgh — there are none in Europe 
 that surpass some of the avenues in New York and the 
 thoroughfares of Chicago that have been built since the 
 
 fire." 
 
 "Palmee House, Chicago, Auj^ist 21, 1873. 
 " This is a city of magic. Burned three years ago ? Not a 
 bit of it ! It is as old as London or Methuselah. I have walked 
 
136 Life of William Fleming Stevenson. 
 
 through street after street to-day of the stateliest houses I have 
 ever seen, not broken into by mean ones as in N^ew York, nor 
 run up in a hurry ; but tall, solid, dignified buildings, row after 
 row, about uniform in height and seldom less than seven 
 stories, but delightfully varied in design. London and Paris 
 have nothing to show like it in continuous stateliness, street 
 crossing street. And these are the shops of a city in the middle 
 of the prairies. I can understand Palmyra and Tadmor now." 
 
 At Cedar Rapids there was the happiness of a meeting 
 with his brother-in-law, Mr. Thomas M. Sinclair, and of 
 seeing something of the many-sided usefulness of a life 
 that had become interwoven with all the interests of that 
 growing city. 
 
 " It is curious," he writes, " how our home feelings grow up. 
 Cedar Piapids is Ids home ; and his associations and likings are 
 clustering round it as well as his interests. It is the settled 
 place for wife and child ; that is the secret. Given this, we 
 begin to weave our web of home ties, affections, and preferences. 
 And how well for him and for us all ! We bring the sunshine 
 and the rest to the spot where we pitch our tent, and do our work 
 in peace without the hungry longing to be elsewhere." 
 
 Then past Omaha over the rolling prairie sea, with its 
 grey grass and dwarf cactuSj its prairie-dogs and buffalo 
 skeletons, through desert alkali plains, where nothing seems 
 to live but the sage brush, over low spurs of the Rocky 
 Mountains, and down through canons and gorges to Ogden, 
 where nearly half the passengers turned out of the train for 
 Salt Lake City, which is reached by a rough side-line of 
 thirty-six miles, running between the Lake and the range 
 of mountains that rise up steeply and encircle it. The neat 
 comfortable houses, the orchards and greenery, the air of 
 tidiness, the visible thrift and order, the Swiss-like effect of 
 the mountains glowing in the glorious purple and gold of 
 
Visit to America. 137 
 
 the setting sun — all combined to make a most favourable 
 impression, wliicli was confirmed next day, so far as externals 
 go, by tlie beauty of the situation and the marvellous fer- 
 tility of the gardens and the trees laden with fruit which 
 surround every house, the clear streams of fast-flowing water 
 that take the place of our gutters at home, the handsome resi- 
 dences, the utter absence of poverty. " Such was the outside of 
 life ; but within, what horrors ! " He visited the Tabernacle, 
 "inside like a soup-tureen, with the lid forming the roof;" and 
 chanced to hear the annual sermon on polygamy delivered by 
 Orson Pratt, '' a blasphemous rhodomontade, but considered by 
 the saints superb and overwhelming. There were no intellec- 
 tual faces ; humble origin and present comfort were stamped 
 on nine-tenths of the male portion of the congregation, while 
 the women either look bold and hardened, or have a crushed, 
 soulless expression, as if nothing was left but the animal 
 qualities. Inquiring of an elder with whom I got into 
 conversation if the women liked it, ' No, sir,' was the 
 answer. ' You see, it goes against their training ; and I 
 may say there is something in the grain of a woman that it 
 goes against ; but many of them get to see it as a Divine 
 doctrine, though of course it is a cross ; but you know our 
 life here is in the wilderness, and the cross must be borne, 
 and they come to look at it in that light.' " When, four 
 years later, he was again in Utah, Mr. Stevenson visited 
 Brigham Young about a month before his death. " I found 
 him less repulsive in appearance than I had been led to 
 expect," he writes ; " with a firm mouth, a look of great deter- 
 mination, and some dignity and command of manner. He 
 admitted that they had but few Irish in their community." 
 Mr. Stevenson, however, found his countrymen ubiquitous. 
 " In the dusk, as the passengers stepped out among the 
 crowd at a busy station in the desert, it was refreshing to 
 
138 Life of William Fleming Stevenson. 
 
 hear a burly voice and an Irish tongue — ' Boys, we're at 
 Corinne.' I could have shaken that rough, coatless fellow 
 by the hand. And in Salt Lake City, as a polite Mormon 
 elder explained that ' Holiness to the Lord ' was not incon- 
 sistent with the after-part of the signboard above our heads, 
 which ran, ' Licensed to sell spirituous liquors,' because they 
 were only allowed as a drug in case of sickness, there was 
 no mistaking the nationality of the voice that rolled in 
 unceremoniously behind us, ' Bedad, then, there's a power of 
 sickness in Salt Lake.' " 
 
 Four hundred miles had now to be traversed before 
 beginning the ascent of the Sierra Nevadas. An unbroken 
 desert lay between, varying in character from baked mud 
 to dry sand, with distant mountain ranges forming the 
 horizon. As the train slowly crawled up to the summit 
 the views were magnificent, but constantly interrupted by 
 aggravating snowsheds. Then down seven thousand feet in 
 nine hours, through pine forests, past Cape Horn, a thou- 
 sand feet above the valley, down into tropical luxuriance of 
 growth and magnificent trees, recalling an English park 
 (save that at this season the grass is burnt brown and the 
 dancing streams are dry beds of sand), through a flat country 
 with the comfortable cultivated look of a brown England, 
 past Sacramento and Stockton and Lathrop, ascending by a 
 wooded and beautiful gorge a low range of hills. At the 
 top they caught the first glimpse of the waters of the Pacific. 
 
 San Francisco was reached by a huge ferry-steamer from 
 the station, which at that time was built out in the bay on 
 an island formed by wooden piles, at a distance of two miles 
 from land, and approached by a narrow wooden jetty about 
 two feet above water, along which the train rushed out into 
 the Pacific at the rate of thirty miiles an hour. 
 
 Among the chief points of interest to Mr. Stevenson in 
 
Visit to America. 139 
 
 this Western capital, besides the Chinese settlements, which 
 he thoroughly explored, from the '' Joss House " or Temple 
 to the theatre and the opium dens, were the beautiful 
 cemetery, " the brightest resting-place of the dead that I 
 have ever seen," and the great public school which perpetu- 
 ates the memory of Lincoln. 
 
 On the 8th of September he started for the Yosemite 
 Valley, feeling with a joyful heart that he had turned his 
 face homewards. At Lathrop he changed the rail for a 
 stage-coach. 
 
 '' We toiled over the plains ; and then among curious low 
 humps, like sand drifted by the wind, and covered with thin 
 withered grass, occasionally plunging into a drift of loose stones, 
 down which in wet weather some river runs, wheels up and 
 down, out and in, jolting intolerable. Then passing the foot- 
 hills, we came to a loftier range, where pines began to show 
 themselves, and up which we climbed with a weary, dust-smitten 
 crawl, seeing them rise higher, while our waggon creaked and 
 strained after them till we reached the half-way house, kept by 
 a woman and a savage dog. More climbing, more dust, and 
 we turn the summit among the hrs, and whirl down, the horses 
 flying off at a gallop, until half an hour after sunset we run 
 across a meadow in the dark, and pull up at the lights of White 
 & Hutching's." 
 
 The Big Trees in Mariposa Grove were reached two days 
 later. '' The gigantic character of their vegetation," he 
 writes, " can be felt. You dream of the stillness in which 
 these trees have grown for a thousand years, and feel as you 
 look round you are in the forest primeval." 
 
 Altogether nine days were spent in the enjoyment of 
 this wonderful Californian valley, sometimes riding on horse- 
 back for twelve hours at a stretch, and then wandering out 
 alone to some point of special beauty, "where I experi- 
 enced the most intense sense of stillness and solitude I have 
 
140 Life of William Fleming Stevenson. 
 
 ever felt." On tlie Sunday he arranged with some diffi- 
 culty to have a service in a small room at '' Hutching's," 
 the only service they had had that year. " About thirty 
 people collected — one or two students from Yale, some 
 coloured people, a few Indians or half-breeds, some of the 
 helpers about, and a sprinkling of the other folk in the 
 valley. I gave out the Hundredth Psalm. Nobody knew 
 it, and I had to sing it alone ; so I read the remaining 
 hymns, choosing the most simple and those most expressive 
 of the Gospel. It was by no means an ideal service, but it 
 affected me peculiarly, — the motley congregation of careless 
 people, the various races represented, the secluded spot, the 
 still night (for the hush of all nature is very deep), the 
 sense of being walled in by rock, the only voice lifted up 
 there for Christ that whole summer, and to me the solitude 
 of feeling so far from home." 
 
 Eejoining the railway at Lathrop, his next stopping-place 
 was Denver, then a rough mining centre whose population 
 had increased in four years from 4000 to 20,000. 
 
 " Denver, Septeniher 21, 1873. 
 " Forty -one years old to-day ! and what to show for it ? Well, 
 I feel as if there was more to come than has been. Perhaps the 
 years already spent have been seed-time. I hope so. I am often 
 planning better things for this winter, but not sanguinely, know- 
 ing how one hard necessity will bowl down a hundred plans. I 
 would like to have some free time for chat and rest and music 
 and fun with the children from dinner-time till nine. Perhaps 
 some evenings that can be managed. How the birthdays get 
 intertwined, yours and mine and the children's, all to be woven 
 together with the fadeless lilies of Heaven ! Our thoughts are 
 busy crossing to-day, mine hastening to you from the Pocky 
 Mountains, now spread out in panorama before me. I have a 
 growing, gnawing hunger for St. Louis and letters — and then for 
 home ! " 
 
Vzsil to America. 141 
 
 " This country is the paradise of advertisers. The rocks that 
 rise a few inches above water are gay with announcements of 
 ' Bitters ' and ' Blacking.' As we entered Fall river the tide was 
 out, and on a huge piece of wrack-covered stone there stared us 
 in the face, ' Closer than a brother sticks Spalding's Glue.' The 
 rail-fences for thousands of miles exult in ' Sozodont ' and ' Hall's 
 Cough Candy.' On the great divide between the Atlantic and the 
 Pacific a few masses of sandstone stand out to the left. On every 
 side the rolling prairie stretches away to the foot of the mighty 
 hills. It is a place of solitude and almost awe. But the sand- 
 stone is painted over with ' Bising Sun Stove Polish/ and ' Plan- 
 tation Bitters ' glares out from the wild red cliffs that border 
 Echo Canon." 
 
 From St. Louis to Louisville, and thence by Cincinnati 
 to New York, which he reached in time for the Conference 
 of the Evangelical Alliance, which began on the 1st of 
 October. The meetings were most remarkable, and left an 
 impression on those who were present that could never be 
 effaced. The essential unity of Protestantism was demon- 
 strated most unmistakably. Mr. Stevenson felt stirred to 
 his inmost soul, and entered with enthusiasm into the work 
 of the Alliance. Of his own paper, of which the subject 
 was, " The Working Power of the Church, and how to utilise 
 it," he writes to his wife : — 
 
 " The papers were all of an unusually high character, and this 
 made me sufiiciently nervous about my own ordeal, which was to 
 come off on Saturday, at the very end, when everybody would be 
 tired and exacting. It turned out better than my fears 
 
 " It must have struck some chord of which I was unaware, 
 since there was no merit in itself, and I have said it in substance 
 in Bathgar twenty times. Many persons have since come up 
 and introduced themselves to express their thanks." 
 
 All through his journeyings he wrote long, bright, 
 strengthening letters to his congregation, and we give some 
 
142 Life of William Fleming Stevenson. 
 
 extracts from an account he gave them of the Alliance after 
 his return : — 
 
 " The meetings were held in the rooms of the Young Men's 
 Christian Association, itself the youngest creation of the busy Chris- 
 tian life of that young world. The Lecture Hall was the central 
 point of the Alliance. Its motto, ' Unum corpus sumus in Christo,' 
 hung above the platform ; underneath ran the other ancient 
 words, ' In Necessariis XJnitas, In Dubiis Libertas, In Omnibus 
 Caritas ; ' while, as if smothering the asperities of their difference 
 under sweetness and light, masses of flowers were heaped round 
 the names of Luther and Calvin, Knox and Wycliffe, Wesley 
 and Edwards and Bunyan, and Jesus shone down upon them all. 
 In mere size the Conference was not remarkable, for there were 
 not quite 500 delegates ; nor had they the stamp of any special 
 rank, nor was there any show of dress to lend dignity to the 
 assembly. The impression made upon the mind was of a dignity 
 that was in no way derived from external accidents, but depended 
 solely on the object for which these men were met. They had 
 come, many of them, from the other side of the sea, to testify 
 that the body of Christ is one, and in that unity ' to discuss the 
 great matters of Christian faith, Christian life, Christian work. 
 Christian hope, and Christian destiny.' The proceedings were 
 very simple. Every morning there was a united prayer-meeting 
 in a neighbouring Presbyterian church, a crowded meeting, 
 earnest, hearty, and effective, as such meetings are in America. 
 There is magnificent swing and impulse about American Christian 
 life — a mingled enthusiasm and practical good sense that are 
 very beautiful together. There is energy in it, but not mere 
 rude, reckless force ; it is the energy of passionate conviction of 
 men whose Christian impulses act at once upon their Christian 
 conduct. Their enthusiasm does not evaporate, but, as far as 
 one may judge, is a steady force. If their religious life exceeds 
 ours in warmth and impulsiveness, it is not inferior in the more 
 solid and staying qualities that we reckon our best. From this 
 meeting, and bearing something of its fervour away, the Con- 
 ference adjourned to the halls w^here the sections met, each pre- 
 sided over by its chairman. The reading of papers followed until 
 
Visil to America. 143 
 
 one, when there was an hour's adjournment for luncheon, lavishly 
 provided in the rooms of the Association. On reassembling at 
 two, the sections continued at work till after four, and in the 
 evenings there were public meetings. 
 
 "As the business and the audience increased it was found 
 needful to have various sections meeting simultaneously, and 
 occasionally a paper that had attracted notice in one was re- 
 delivered in another. The attendance was quite as striking as 
 the rapid growth of interest. As many as three large buildings 
 were occasionally occupied at the same time, and some of them 
 crowded. Yet on the very eve of the Conference there were 
 well-informed persons who mistrusted its success. There was 
 little apparent public interest; and a financial panic was run- 
 ning its course. The country shook under the monetary storm. 
 One strong house went down after another. Banks began to 
 close. The millionaires of yesterday were the paupers of to-day. 
 Nothing could be more unpromising than the outlook of the 
 Alliance. Even the newspapers were filled with the panic to the 
 exclusion of almost every other topic. Yet by the Friday of the 
 first week they were filled with the Conference. 
 
 " The reporting of the Conference was a wonder by itself. One 
 paper (the Trihime) devoted as much type to the meeting as 
 would print half the Bible. Essays which occupied several hours 
 in delivery could be read with leisure in the morning issue. 
 There was nothing left unreported, down to the prayers and 
 the benediction. The Tribune was said to have increased its 
 circulation by forty thousand a day, and a greater and more 
 immediate publicity was secured than at any similar meeting in 
 any country. There was not a town in the United States to 
 which a daily summary of the proceedings was not telegraphed. 
 The halls were so crowded that it was a favour even to stand, 
 and political associations were held so slight at the time that one 
 of the largest assemblies was packed into Tammany Hall and 
 presided over by a well-known Republican. It was impossible to 
 keep pace with the interest, which grew with every sitting, and 
 the number of men always present was very striking. 
 
 " For the rest, the Conference was like those that had pre- 
 ceded it, with some salient and characteristic features that lent 
 
144 Life of William Fleming Stevenson. 
 
 it distinctness, and with the old features enlarged, as befitted the 
 vast continent that had welcomed and, it might be said, imported 
 it. Generous and exceeding hospitality had never been wanting ; 
 but in Ne-vv York, and in New York no more than everywhere 
 else, the hospitality was unbounded. Merchants shortened their 
 summer trip to Europe that they might receive their guests ; 
 public institutions were thrown open ; the Mayor and Corpora- 
 tion placed a steamer at the disposal of the delegates, and con- 
 veyed them round the famous municipal charities. One day they 
 were driven in open carriages through Greenwood, another day 
 through Central Park; one evening it was a dinner at Brooklyn, 
 the next a reception in a Fifth Avenue palace ; there were ex- 
 cursions up the Hudson, and first-class railway passes to and 
 from Niagara, and special trains to Washington ; hotel bills and 
 ferry-boats were paid, and return tickets were given, not only free, 
 but usable to the remotest period ; and all this was due as much 
 to the spontaneous kindness of individuals and companies as of 
 the general committee. No more thoughtful courtesies could be 
 rendered than were at the service of every deputy. The kindness 
 had even its ludicrous side, for photographers tendered appli- 
 cations for sittings, and an enterprising dentist offered to draw 
 the teeth of members at half-price. But, these trifles apart, it 
 might fairly be said by those who looked on, 'See how these Chris- 
 tians love one another.' No promise was ever more strictly 
 fulfilled than that which greeted the strangers as they entered 
 Association Hall, ' We bless you in the name of the Lord, and 
 welcome you most heartily to our country, our churches, our 
 pulpits, and our homes.' 
 
 " The subjects were also on a larger and more comprehensive 
 scale than had been attempted before. Starting from a discus- 
 sion of the true unity of Christendom, they included a survey of 
 Protestantism as it is, both in its settled Churches and in its mis- 
 sions, a keen and many-sided examination of the prevalent forms 
 of unbelief, and a distinct attempt to grapple with not only tlie 
 problems of the Church, but the weighty social problems that 
 demand solution. 
 
 " The Protestant Churches defiled before the spectator, march- 
 ing like troops on review, some strong, others only a handful, with 
 
Visit to AnieiHca. 145 
 
 banners that had been borne in many a battle, faded and ragged 
 and never lowered, the names of their glorious and imperishable 
 dead flashing out through the mists of history as they passed. 
 They came from English Canterbury and the heather braes of 
 Scotland ; Waldenses from their valleys of the Alps, and Spaniards 
 from the cities of the Inquisition ; from Holland with its memo- 
 ries of Orange, and Belgium with its memories of Alva ; Hugue- 
 nots from France, and Genevese from the city of Calvin ; from 
 sunny plains of Italy and the white snow-fields of the North ; 
 from Ireland, that had once covered Europe with its mission- 
 aries, and from the Mission Churches that are now covering 
 India ; from the stately German Empire that has sprung of 
 Martin Luther, and the statelier Republic of the children of the 
 ' Mayflower.' As the spectacle swept by there was no possibility 
 of misreading the lesson. The vital energy of Protestantism was 
 there. The powers of the world had been hurled against it ; 
 it had been chained, tortured, butchered, burnt; it had been 
 wasted by incessant strife and crushed by its own carelessness 
 and formalism ; if it had flourished in some countries it had 
 been almost stamped out of others ; it had been a prey to con- 
 tending political factions and had no visible unity to bind and 
 control it. Yet it was there in its old undaunted power. If 
 there were districts where its forces were small and scattered, it 
 was bravely labouring to attack sin over as large an area as else- 
 where. If there were states disordered and disorganised, it was 
 the sound and healthy and stable element in them. There could 
 be no doubt about its intense and abundant earnestness. 
 
 " It is impossible to review the proceedings in detail. Nearly 
 a hundred and fifty papers were read, and there were almost as 
 many addresses at extra public meetings. Discussion was rarely 
 possible, and the exchange of views was confined to private inter- 
 course, a serious loss of the real gain that such a Conference may 
 be expected to secure. The range of papers covered every question 
 of moment that is at present agitated in the Christian Church. 
 The various forms of unbelief, and the relations of the Church 
 and of Christian thought to scientific truth, were treated with 
 abundant care, and by so skilful oversight that even the local 
 forms assumed by unbelief in particular countries came under 
 
 K 
 
146 Life of William Fleming Stevenson. 
 
 notice. It was impossible not to be struck by the masterly power 
 with which these subjects were treated, the thorough, painstak- 
 ing way in which men of brilliant reputation went into each, the 
 absence of all superficial, perfunctory work, so that what was done 
 was evidently done from a sense of duty that was more than usually 
 earnest, in some intensely earnest. The writer of the most bril- 
 liant paper in this section, and indeed at the Conference, spent, I 
 have learned, many months in its preparation, and simply because 
 he felt he was discharging a debt to the doubting ; and scientific 
 as it was, wrestled over it in prayer as a message to the souls of 
 men; while just as noticeable were the breadth and dignity of 
 these papers, without a trace of that fretfulness and dogmatism 
 that often marks the scientific apologetics of Christianity, per- 
 fectly manly, honestly fair. 
 
 *' The most noticeable was an essay on modern scepticism by 
 Professor Christlieb of Bonn. In spite of the variance of country 
 and language, it was remarked that every speaker used English, 
 that it was the bond of a common tongue not only between the 
 cities of Europe, but between Europe and America, and between 
 Asia and them both ; but this German student, by long residence 
 in London, had made himself master of English idiom, and by 
 study and prayer had devoted himself to his subject with a really 
 beautiful enthusiasm, that it might not end in an intellectual 
 triumph, but ' be a message of God to wounded consciences.' 
 
 " If another point may be singled out of many, it would be the 
 appearance of the Old Catholics, though it was only by letter and 
 not in the person of their representatives, of whom von Schulte, 
 Huber, Friedrich, and Hyacinthe were unable to attend. Already 
 meeting for worship in many of the Protestant churches of Ger- 
 many, and claiming the Reformation right for every man to search 
 the Scriptures, and by them to prove all things, it was the less 
 difficult for them to hail the members of the Alliance as brethren. 
 Yet it was with strange and solemn feelings that an assembly of 
 Protestants received a greeting and a God-speed in their work of 
 union from the members of the Church of Rome, and possibilities 
 of a great return and crowning victory of truth and love rose to 
 the mind in response to their prayer for ' that object unto which 
 we should all strive, that under one Shepherd, the Lord Jesus 
 
Visit to Ame7Hca, 147 
 
 Christ, the members of His holy Church may form a single 
 flock.' 
 
 "But the clearly outstanding features of the Conference were 
 two, the evening meetings and the common communion. It 
 was announced that on the first Lord's Day meetings would be 
 held in the Academy of Music or Opera-House, and in the large 
 Steinway Concert-Hall. Had it not been for my companion, an 
 eminent Irish and now New York minister, it would have been 
 impossible to obtain footing in either building, vast numbers 
 having been turned away from both; and a more impressive 
 spectacle could not easily be found than these huge areas as seen 
 from the orchestra or the stage. There was the dense mass of 
 faces eagerly bent upon the platform, and so close together that 
 the audience, look where one might from the pit to the upper 
 gallery, seemed one enormous face ; the burst of song that swept 
 over it when some familiar tune was sung, like Coronation ; the 
 stillness with which it listened ; the reverent hush of prayer, 
 more like the quiet of a private room ; and there was the knot 
 of earnest men gathered from every part of the world, some of 
 them the foremost theologians, philosophic thinkers, and brilliant 
 scholars of the time, but all addressing the multitude in language 
 as simple as it was affecting, urging upon them the claims and 
 majesty and the sweet tenderness of Christ, taking up one 
 pleading of the Gospel after another and pressing it close to 
 the weariness and misery and emptiness and hunger of human 
 hearts — men of the most various speech, nationality, culture, and 
 gift, yet all, as at a Pentecost, pointing to the same Lamb of God, 
 and declaring the wonderful work of His redemption. 
 
 " On the next Lord's Day these scenes were repeated on a larger 
 scale. Additional public halls were taken, and churches were 
 pressed into the service, but even this accommodation Avas insuffi- 
 cient. Eager crowds beset each building before the doors were 
 opened, and poured in until every inch of ground was occupied, 
 and yet it was computed that almost as many were disappointed 
 as had been fortunate enough to secure admission. The addresses 
 were of the same character as before, touched then, indeed, with 
 the brightness of welcome, and now with the sadness of parting, 
 a sadness that lent them a pathetic solemnity. There was no 
 
148 Life of William Fleming Stevenson. 
 
 more attraction than then ; and it was now everywhere known 
 that nothing was to be expected but plain, brief, simple preaching 
 of Jesus. By this time the novelty had worn off, and most of 
 those who cared had seen the strange faces, while the very brevity 
 and simplicity of the services forbade any expectation of oratory, 
 or even much freshness in the statement of old truth. But there 
 is no magnet to attract men like 'the old, old story,' and the 
 Churches that are content, humbly and in faith, to hold up Jesus 
 will find the truth of His divine Word : ' /, if I he lifted up, ivill 
 draw all men unto Me.' It was, perhaps, the most impressive 
 lesson of the Conference, the one of which men have thought the 
 most since. And these meetings were not the only illustration 
 it received. 
 
 '' It happened that the two Lord's Days on which the Con- 
 ference fell were those usual for the Communion of the Lord's 
 Supper in some of the prominent Presbyterian congregations, 
 and when ministers of the various Churches were invited to take 
 part in these several Communions, they gave a hearty consent. 
 The form was the simple one of Presbyterian use. Episcopalian, 
 Baptist, Wesleyan, Moravian, Congregational, Conformist and 
 Nonconformist, Germany and France, England and America, 
 white and black, took part after this ancient ritual. And as the 
 bishop and the Scottish minister, the subject of Emperor William 
 and the citizen of republican France, drank of the same cuj) and 
 broke the bread together, there was a thrill of union so touching 
 that no one might wonder when those who shared in it said they 
 had not expected to be so near heaven on this side of the grave. 
 The Dean of Canterbury and his brother deputies, and Bishop 
 Cummins and others of the Episcopal Church in America, were 
 carrying Christian union a great stride forward when they dis- 
 pensed the sacrament under the presidency of a Presbyterian 
 minister and within the walls of a Presbyterian church. 
 
 "Though the Conference formally closed its sessions in New 
 York, it was compelled, by the pressure of American hospitality, 
 to prolong its existence and make a stately progress to Washing- 
 ton. The railway companies furnished trains of palace-cars, and 
 the cities overflowed with practical courtesies. The first halting- 
 place was Princeton, flooded with sunshine and buried in its 
 
Visit to America. 149 
 
 beautiful trees, that were now all crimson and gold, and looking, 
 in the pleasant autumn weather, the ideal of a studious retreat. 
 The long procession wound up from the cars between rows of 
 students, who discharged, as it passed, volleys of the famous 
 Princeton ' tiger ' with a gravity that was irresistibly comic ; 
 and under the guidance of President M'Cosh, who within a few 
 years has received for his college over £220,000, the little Uni- 
 versity town was thoroughly explored, almost every step of the 
 way revealing some new building among the many that have risen 
 up, like palaces of fairyland, since his accession ; among the rest, 
 a library, hall of science, and gymnasium that would not be un- 
 worthy of any European academy. After a few hours the train 
 was again reached, and the Alliance left for Philadelphia, Prince- 
 ton lying midway between it and New York. A reception was 
 accorded here in the historic hall from which had issued the 
 Declaration of Indepeudence ; but the real reception was in the 
 huge halls and churches, crowded by thousands who came to listen 
 to such simple and earnest addresses as had been already spoken in 
 New York, and by merging all denominations in their welcome 
 to act out the happy appropriateness of their motto, ' The Church 
 of Pldladelphia sahiteth youJ Early the next morning the trains 
 swept the delegates away to Washington, where they were re- 
 ceived at the White House by the President and his Cabinet. 
 The prayer by the Dean of Canterbury before the members were 
 presented, and the speeches called for afterwards, were novel 
 features to most of those present, and marked a simplicity and an 
 elasticity of form peculiar to American people. Their directness, 
 frankness, freedom from routine, and quickness to seize and act 
 upon a salient thought, so that a single word will gather to it the 
 simultaneous response of a vast multitude, were nowhere more 
 noticeable than at Washington. Whether it was the singing of 
 a hymn under the dome of the Capitol, or when the crowd 
 swarmed on the steps, and a clear voice cried, ' Jesus shall reign 
 ivhere'er the swi,' the hand of the speaker pointing at the same 
 time to the sun in the cloudless sky overhead, and with a sudden 
 burst the song leaped out from every lip ; or even when, with in- 
 imitable earnestness, ' three cheers ' were given ' for the whole 
 world,' there was the same absence of conventionality, the same 
 
150 Life of William Fleming Steveiison. 
 
 swiftness of infectious impulse. The eager welcome to the Alli- 
 ance spread as fast and wide as the telegrams that flashed the 
 new^s of its meetings, until the entire country was up with open 
 arms of welcome, and invitations poured in so incessantly and 
 with offers of such reckless generosity, that but for the difhculty 
 of time, the delegates might have made the tour of America, 
 and been the guests of every city and railroad board of the States. 
 The final leave-taking, however, was to be among the dignities, 
 and magnificent buildings, and lavish hospitalities of the capital. 
 There was not only the reception by the President, and the 
 dinner by the Governor of Columbia, and the inspection of the 
 Government oflSces, where the heads of each department received 
 the strangers ; but, as before, the densely packed churches, the 
 warm, loving, earnest addresses, enthusiasm, a sense of unity 
 more vivid and more practical and abiding than men had yet 
 felt, welcomes and farewells." 
 
 The 3rd of November saw the joyful return to the dear 
 home-circle at Orwell Bank, to which Mr. Stevenson had 
 looked forward so longingly during the months of separation. 
 
 America, in its religious and social aspects, had deeply 
 impressed him, and he spoke of the country and the people 
 with admiration and love. And he, in his turn, had im- 
 pressed them, for again and again they tried to w^ean him 
 from the mother-country, and to get him to settle among 
 them ; and though his loyalty to duty made such efforts 
 fruitless, he never ceased to feel that among his warmest 
 friends he could count those he had made in the great 
 Western Eepublic. 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 THE FOREIGN MISSION. 
 
 The early life and training of Mr. Stevenson's home fostered 
 his interest in everything connected with Foreign Missions, 
 which in later years grew into a supreme conviction of the 
 importance of the Mission as regarded the Church itself 
 He felt that the Church of Christ must be aggressive, and 
 that if she was to grow in spiritual power, the Mission, in its 
 widest sense, must be kept in the forefront of her work — 
 that, in the last words of her Lord on earth, the command 
 and the promise joined together by Him must never be put 
 asunder : " Go ye and teach all nations," and " Lo ! I am 
 with 3'ou alway." Yv^hen he became the pastor of a congre- 
 gation he spared no effort to fire his people with the same 
 enthusiasm. He believed that at the bottom of much of the 
 half-heartedness and lukewarmness of Christian people lay a 
 want of reality in their conception of the state of the heathen 
 world. And so in the preparation for his monthly mis- 
 sionary meeting he took infinite pains to make his informa- 
 tion interesting, throwing into it all the picturesqueness of 
 description of which he was master, and by side-lights 
 drawn from all sources — the newspapers of the day or the 
 latest book of travels — making his audience realise intelli- 
 gently the need and the remedy. By lectures, missionary 
 sermons, letters, and special appeals, he kept this subject 
 before his congregation. His home had a warm welcome 
 
152 Life of William Fleming Stevenson. 
 
 for the missionary, and lie never was happier than when he 
 could bring some labourer fresh from the field to tell his 
 people what he had seen, and how God was fulfilling His 
 word. 
 
 He made himself thoroughly acquainted with the details 
 of the history and development of the mission-work in which 
 the Irish Presbyterian Church was engaged, and ere long he 
 was recognised by a wide circle outside his own Church as 
 an authority on all missionary subjects. 
 
 The conduct of the entire mission-work of the Presby- 
 terian Church of Ireland at home and abroad is entrusted 
 to a board or committee appointed by the General Assembly. 
 Each separate Mission is represented by its " convener," who 
 is virtually the director of the Mission, and the medium of 
 communication between the missionaries and the board, and 
 between the board and the Church, holding the post (which 
 is honorary) by appointment of the Assembly. Such a posi- 
 tion demands from its occupant gifts of organisation and 
 administration of no common order. It requires tact and 
 judgment, firmness and discrimination, patience and sym- 
 pathy. For thirty-one years the venerable Dr. Morgan 
 held this office, and his administration of it commanded the 
 esteem and gratitude of the whole Church. In 1871 he 
 felt that advancing years and the growing responsibilities of 
 the work were making it impossible for him to continue 
 longer in a post that demanded all the vigour and energy 
 of the strongest man, and when the Assembly met in 
 Dublin in June, he asked to be allowed to retire. The 
 Church refused to dissociate his name from the Mission 
 with which it had been so long identified, but proposed to 
 relieve him of the burden of work by appointing a coad- 
 jutor. When asked if there was any one to whom his mind 
 had been turned as suitable for this post. Dr. Morgan replied 
 
The Foreign Mission. 153 
 
 that there was one man whom he considered pre-eminently 
 qualified, and that for years it had been his prayer that Mr. 
 Stevenson might be chosen as his successor. No sooner 
 was the name of Mr. Stevenson mentioned than the Assembly 
 assented to the proposal by an outburst of acclamation. A 
 friend who was sitting near him at the time, turning to 
 congratulate him on the honour so spontaneously and enthu- 
 siastically conferred, was struck by the solemnity of his 
 countenance and the words of deprecation and misgiving 
 which followed. Never was a charge less lightly assumed. 
 Had it not been for the pressure exercised by those whose 
 pleading it was difficult for him to resist, it is probable that 
 he would have given a courteous but firm refusal ; but after 
 earnest prayer and due deliberation, he felt that he could 
 not disobey the call of the Church so heartily given. In it 
 he heard the voice of the Master bidding him go forth to 
 new labour and a fresh sacrifice of self, and he loyally 
 acquiesced, bringing to his work all the enthusiasm which 
 such a conviction inspired. 
 
 The following is an account of the beginning of the 
 Mission to India in Dr. Stevenson's own words : — 
 
 " It is a little more than half a century — it was in Septem- 
 ber, 1833 — since the Synod of Ulster held a special meeting 'in 
 the Scots' Church, Mary's Abbey, Dubhn.' The object was to 
 consider the most efiicient means of promoting a missionary 
 spirit. Four sermons were preached, the Report of the Synod's 
 Mission was read, speech followed speech upon the great question, 
 and the Rev. Duncan Macfarland and the Rev. Norman Macleod 
 were present to bring the blessing of the Church of Scotland. 
 The meeting stood out with a happy prominence. In 1811, Dr. 
 Hanna had shrunk from proposing so simple a motion as that 
 the Synod should support the London Society for promoting the 
 Conversion of the Jews. The very next year missions were 
 denounced in the Synod as absurd and impious, and a hearing 
 
154 Life of William Fleming Stevenson. 
 
 could scarcely be obtained for Dr. Waugh to plead for the 
 London Missionary Society. Those who now took part spoke of 
 the Church as 'experiencing some degree of revival,' and as 
 'impressed with the grandeur of the missionary cause.' No 
 one, it was said, could have dared to predict such a meeting 
 in the capital. The venerable Dr. Horner declared that ' his 
 delight almost stifled his powers of utterance ; ' and the interest 
 was sufficiently great to induce the separate publication of the 
 proceedings, in the hope that the profits of the sale would be of 
 advantage to the cause. It was resolved that, ' though the 
 attempt may be difficult, it is within the power of the Church 
 to extend her missionary operations to other lands ; ' and the 
 Presbytery of Dublin was ' instructed to prepare a plan for the 
 formation of a Foreign Missionary Society.' 
 
 "The resolution was a great advance, but for some years it was 
 the point at which advance was stayed ; and it was not till 1839 
 that the Directors of the Home Mission were instructed to take 
 steps to have this work carried out. Letters were written to 
 twenty of our ministers, who were thought qualified for the 
 work, and when six had placed themselves without reserve at 
 the service of the Board, two were finally chosen, the Rev. James 
 Glasgow and the Rev. Alexander Kerr. 
 
 "The principle that underlay this method of selection is im- 
 portant, and it was emphasized at the time. * We have pro- 
 ceeded,' it was said, ' on the principle that all the ministers of 
 the Church are the servants of the body, and are bound to labour 
 wherever the Church may think proper to send them.' It was 
 the assertion of the true theory of missions, in which there is no 
 room for rivalry between Home and Foreign fields, and which 
 regards all the work as one, the various expression of the same 
 response to the love and authority of Christ, and the various 
 fulfilment of the one divine plan which is represented by the idea 
 of the Church. 
 
 "It was on the 10th of July, 1840, that two processions, 
 issuing from two of the churches of Belfast and mingling their 
 ranks as they met, defiled through crowds of spectators up to the 
 Presbyterian Church in Rosemary Street. They were the Seces- 
 sion Synod and the Synod of Ulster, each headed by its Moderator; 
 
The Foreiojt Mission. 155 
 
 '^ 
 
 and on that summer day, under the venerable presidency of the 
 Rev. Dr. Hanna, they consummated their union into the General 
 Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of Ireland. It was only fit- 
 ting that an occasion of such high and solemn service should be- 
 come the beginning of the Foreign Mission that we find to-day, 
 and that the first public act of the new Assembly should be the 
 dedication of its first missionaries to India. Those who were 
 present still recall the enthusiasm with which the Mission 
 thrilled that meeting. The ministers subscribed £500 upon the 
 spot; the people of Belfast soon added £600- 'our Secession 
 brethren had a little stock of near £200, which they cast into 
 the common treasury ; ' an appeal made to all the congregations 
 in the November of the same year was met by £1700 ; and the 
 support of the enterprise became a matter of certainty. 
 
 " No time was lost. The Assembly met in July, and on the 
 29th of August the missionaries sailed from Belfast. They went 
 out on a wave of prayer. Those who wished to commend them 
 to God crowded one of the largest churches of the town; and 
 half an hour before they left the quays, the cabin of the steamer 
 was turned into a prayer-meeting, where Dr. Cooke's fervour so 
 moved men who usually resented the signs of emotion that the 
 tears ran down their cheeks. 
 
 " The work of our Church began upon historic ground. Bom- 
 bay had been occupied by Scottish missionaries since 1827, and 
 Dr. John Wilson (already rising to his place of the foremost 
 European in Western India) had cherished the hope that some 
 Church would commence a Mission towards the North, and was 
 on the point of urging it upon the Synod of Ulster, when he 
 received a letter from Dr. Morgan asking his consent to the new 
 enterprise. It was easy to forecast his answer, and before our 
 missionaries sailed, they were aware that their destination was 
 the Gujarati-speaking district of Kattiawar. 
 
 " Gujarat lies north-west of Bombay, and is separated only by 
 Scinde from the famous and mighty Indus. It is a fertile and 
 well- watered region, directly south of the tropic of Cancer, * one 
 of the richest and most populous districts of Hindostan,' covered 
 with groves of mango, guava, cocoa-nut, and plantain, and, besides 
 growing cotton for the English market, yielding rice and other 
 
156 Life of William Flemino; Stevenson. 
 
 sustenance for about five millions of people. The Tapti and the 
 Nerbudda, the Sabarmathi and the Mahi, pour their waters across 
 a level plain that varies from thirty to sixty miles \\i width, and 
 the breezes from the Gulf of Cambay temper to some extent the 
 excessive heat. 
 
 '■'• The towns of Gujarat were once far better known than the 
 capitals of modern India. Surat and Ahmedabad, Gogo, Broach, 
 and Baroda were places of note when Bombay was so insigni- 
 ficant that the map-drawers spelt it with a small ' b.' Broach 
 was a famous seaport when Christ was born, and Broach cloth 
 has been prized in the market since the second century. Two 
 hundred years ago Surat was 'the prime mart of India, all 
 nations of the world trading there ; ' its brocades and coloured 
 cottons were famous over Asia ; two of its merchants were once 
 said to be the richest men then living, and its population rose to 
 nearly half a million. 
 
 " It was not to Gujarat itself, however, although to a people 
 speaking the Gujarati tongue, that the first missionaries directed 
 their steps. As it reaches the west, this district runs into the 
 broad hammer-headed peninsula of Kattiawar, less wooded, but 
 also fertile and populous, and broken up into a multitude of native 
 and independent States. There were a million and a half of people 
 in it, and towards this point the Irish Church directed its slender 
 Christian army ; and others looked on with the more interest be- 
 cause ' up to this time there had been no instance of a Christian 
 Mission in a native State,' and the new venture was to solve a new 
 problem of religious liberty. Dr. Wilson eagerly used his influ- 
 ence with the chiefs, the people, and the Government, and he 
 was able to enclose to the Assembly a permission from the 
 Governor's Council ' for these gentlemen to proceed to and reside 
 in Kattiawar, so long as they conduct themselves according to the 
 principles set forth in your communication.' 
 
 " The stations chosen were Rajkot, a military settlement, almost 
 in the centre ; Poorbundur, on the west coast ; and Gogo, a port 
 on the shore of the Gulf of Cambay, nearly opposite the mouth 
 of the Nerbudda, and a 'nursery of seamen.' Since the sixth 
 century the Mohammedan element has been dominant at Poor- 
 bundur; the common Hindu faith prevails at Rajkot and Gogo ; 
 
The Foreign Mission. 157 
 
 and the Jains have their points of pirgrimage at Joonaghur and 
 on the curious mountain that towers above Palitana, and where, 
 from every part of the broken and precipitous summit, there 
 spring the walls and pinnacles of some fantastic temple. It was 
 into this unknown territory that Mr. Glasgow and Mr. Kerr 
 ventured with implicit faith ; and Dr. Wilson wrote, with char- 
 acteristic kindness and eagerness, * I propose to accompany your 
 dear brethren to Kattiawar, and to give them such advice and 
 assistance in the formation of their plans as the experience of 
 twelve years may warrant me to offer.' " 
 
 The early work of the Mission was similar to that of all 
 such enterprises at their beginning. At the close of the 
 first ten years a large portion of the Scriptures had been 
 translated, sixteen vernacular schools established, twenty-one 
 converts baptized, and although Poorbnndur, where the first 
 baptism took place, had been abandoned, the large and 
 influential town of Surat had been occupied. Gradually the 
 Mission was extended to the magnificent old capital ot 
 Ahmedabad, and to Borsad, which became the chief centre 
 of its country work, the London Missionary Society having 
 generously handed over to it, for a nominal money considera- 
 tion, their valuable buildings there and at Surat, on the 
 condition that they should carry on the work already begun 
 in these places. The little Christian settlement at Borsad 
 increased and threw out colonies into new neighbourhoods, 
 while the villages all around became more or less pervaded 
 by Christian influence. Six agricultural colonies have been 
 founded, for which the Government granted land on veiy 
 reasonable terms, and in them there is growing up a popu- 
 lation of robust and independent farmers, who will be the 
 supporters of the Church of the future. 
 
 And so from small beginnings the Mission grew, and 
 year by year new means of usefulness were devised. The 
 
158 Life of William Fleming Stevenson. 
 
 following summary may give some idea of its extent at the 
 time of Dr. Stevenson's death : — 
 
 Stations 16 
 
 Native evangelists . . . . . . 19 
 
 ,, colporteurs ...... 6 
 
 ,, Christian school teachers . . . 43 
 
 ,, non-Christian ,, ,, ... 67 
 
 Native church — • 
 
 Communicants . . . . . .299 
 
 Baptized, but not communicants . . 1174 
 
 XJnbaptized adherents . . . . 797 
 
 Vernacular schools — 
 
 For boys, 21, with 1309 scholars. 
 For girls, 15, with 828 scholars. 
 Orphans — Boys 49, girls 56. 
 
 There were thus 2270 native Christians in Gujarat, 36 
 vernacular schools with over 3000 scholars, and 2 high schools 
 at Surat and Ahmedabad with 900 on the rolls, where students 
 are instructed up to the standard of matriculation in the 
 University of Bombay. Over 320 children have been cared 
 for in the orphanages, the majority of them girls ; and from 
 the ranks of these many of the mothers of Christian families 
 and best helpers of the missionary have been derived. The 
 press at Surat employs from thirty to forty hands, printing 
 some three million pages annually, which comprise, besides 
 the Bible, of which the original Gujarati version of the New 
 Testament has been revised, a large number of religious 
 tracts and books. By the report of 1886—7 the income from 
 all sources, including the women's association, amounted to 
 £12,728. Twenty-four missionaries had been sent out since 
 the foundation of the Mission, of whom ten were still at 
 work, nine having died and five retired. 
 
 Where the Lord's Supper was celebrated by five or six in 
 an upper room some five-and-twenty years ago, it is celebrated 
 
The Foreig7t Mission. 159 
 
 now by hundreds in separate cliurches. Congregations liave 
 sprung up in the country districts, not strong in themselves, 
 yet large enough to require separate places of worship, of 
 which eleven have already been built. Their members are for 
 the most part poor and scattered, but they have already begun 
 to face the problem of a self-supported native ministry/ 
 
 But, in addition to the work in India, there was also the 
 burden of the more recently established Mission of the Irish 
 Church to China. Dr. Stevenson realised, as few men did 
 twenty years ago, the unlimited possibilities that would lie 
 before a Christian China, and the corresponding importance 
 of mission-work in that country. Of its origin he wrote in 
 1855 :— 
 
 "Our mission to China has been sustained for over fifteen 
 3^ears. William Burns and Carstairs Douglas urged the occu- 
 pation of Manchuria on the Irish Church; the prayer was 
 granted, and the Church sent out two missionaries, one of whom 
 was a medical man. Some years after, the missionaries of the 
 United Presbyterian Church came to the same region. It was 
 at the port of Newchwang that Barns closed his brilliant career, 
 the most northerly of those open trading towns, and certainly the 
 most depressing. A collection of mud houses spreads along the 
 river, large enough to house fifty or sixty thousand of a popu- 
 lation. The shores are flat and oozy ; the nearest hills are two 
 days' journey ; the outer world is shut off by ice during half the 
 year. A migratory character is stamped upon the people ; for, 
 in some aspects of it, Manchuria is to the rest of China like 
 Australia to Great Britain, a field for emigration. Yet there is 
 a vast region to which the port is the key, and there are cities in 
 the interior with 70,000 and 80,000 inhabitants, and one at least 
 with a population of about 250,000. The land is moderately fertile, 
 the scenery often beautiful, and the people are fairly well to do. 
 Long journeys have been made over it, sometimes by the seller 
 
 ^ In February, 1888, the first two native pastors were ordained over prac- 
 tically self-supporting congregations. 
 
160 Life of William Fleming Stevenson. 
 
 of Bibles, sometimes by the missionary. Dr. Hunter of the Irish 
 Mission was up as far as the Amoor, has shaken hands with 
 Kussian soldiers, and found the books of the Greek Church in 
 the houses. He wrote that he had carried one end of the Gospel 
 chain until he put it into the hands of those who met him from 
 the other side, and thus put a blessed girdle round the globe. The 
 response to the Gospel has not been great, and the apparent lack 
 has tried the faith of the Church. But there is a huge territory 
 to evangelise, and although we have had but five missionaries, only 
 three of whom remain, it seems as if a reaping-time had come." 
 
 In the face of discouragement and difficulty, of disap- 
 pointment and almost despair, occasioned by failing health 
 and by death, the Mission held on its way. The dawn was 
 just breaking when Dr. Stevenson went to his rest. That 
 dawn is now brightening into day ; and although he has 
 not lived to see its brightness, yet his name will be associ- 
 ated with the rise and early progress of the Mission to Man- 
 churia. The missionaries there yielded nothing to those 
 in India in their love to him when living, and their mourn- 
 ing for his early removal. 
 
 It was to this great work that, for fifteen years, Mr. Steven- 
 son consecrated all his powers with unflagging energy, and 
 an ever-increasing desire for the spread of the Kingdom of 
 Christ in the dark places of the earth. What incessant 
 labour that work involved when added to his previously 
 busy life ; what thought, and care, and anxiety it brought, 
 only those within the home-circle fully knew. But they 
 also knew how willingly and unreservedly the sacrifice was 
 made, rather how the sense of sacrifice was lost in the joy 
 it brought him to be able to help on the work so dear 
 to the heart of his Lord. 
 
 At the close of the meeting of Assembly Dr. Morgan wrote 
 to the missionaries in 1871 : — 
 
 " You will be desirous to know what arrangements were 
 
TJie Foreign Mission. 161 
 
 adopted at the Assembly in reference to my proposal to resign 
 the office of Convener to the Foreign Mission. I did as I in- 
 tended, and asked the Assembly to accept my resignation. The 
 greatest kindness and deepest interest were shown toward the 
 Mission and its interests, as well as to myself personally. ... I 
 was requested to accept a colleague and continue to appear with 
 him as representative of the Mission. To this I was willing to 
 consent, if I was satisfied with the fellow-labourer they would 
 give me. I had made reference to Mr. Stevenson of Rathgar 
 as a brother into whose hands I could gladly transfer the work. 
 He was offered to me, and I may say this was all I wanted. 
 I agreed to the offer, and all was settled harmoniously and 
 pleasantly. He accepted the appointment as the resolution was 
 conveyed to him, and all, I trust, is now arranged in a way that 
 promises well for the Mission. I do not know any minister so 
 well acquainted with the subject of Missions as Mr. Stevenson. 
 I believe he is preparing a volume as a history of Missions, 
 so that the work is most congenial to him. Professor Wallace 
 proposed his election and Dr. Smyth seconded, and it was carried 
 unanimously and heartily. ... I have thus reason to be thankful 
 that I stand to the Mission in the same relation as I do to my 
 congregation, having a colleague in whom I can confide and in 
 whose hands I am satisfied all will be well when it pleases God 
 to separate me from both." 
 
 An extract from Mr. Stevenson's first letter to tlie mis- 
 sionaries in the field reveals the spirit in which he approached 
 the work : — 
 
 " You have already heard from Dr. Morgan of the decision to 
 which our Church has come at his request, and that the General 
 Assembly, at its last meeting, agreed to relieve him of some of 
 the burden and responsibility of his work by appointing me to 
 assist him in whatever way he should deem needful. To this 
 proposal I could offer no objection but one. It is a happiness 
 and privilege to assist the father of our Mission in any way, and 
 to be associated with the Foreign Mission is not only the highest 
 honour the Church could bestow, but it is work round which 
 
 L 
 
162 Life of William Fleming Stevenson. 
 
 all my sympathies and longings gather at once ; and I wish to 
 throw myself upon your sympathy and to ask of you your 
 constant prayer that such grace and wisdom and energy may be 
 given me as the Lord can abundantly bestow. With some of 
 you I may claim a personal acquaintance and fellowship, and for 
 you all I have learnt a profound regard, and cannot feel as if I 
 was writing in any way to strangers. IMay our God strengthen 
 and sanctify our intercourse ! Some of you are my fathers in 
 at^e and experience : remember me as Paul remembers Timothy. 
 You will be as glad as I am relieved to know that Dr. Morgan 
 continues to occupy his post and hold relation to the Mission ; 
 that I am simply his helper ; that we reap all the benefit of his 
 tried wisdom and personal interest ; and our prayers will unite 
 that he may be long spared such health as to make the help 
 rendered chiefly nominal and in matters of detail. Of the Mis- 
 sion, or of the relation of the Church to it, I do not trust myself 
 to speak in this letter. We need a mighty kindling of the 
 missionary spirit, and God will surely send it. May He greatly 
 bless you in your daily work, and in every place may your faith 
 to God- ward be spread abroad! " 
 
 Two years after the appointment of his successor the 
 venerable Convener, after many months of weakness and 
 suffering, was called home, and the sole conduct of the 
 Mission devolved upon Mr. Stevenson. 
 
 November 13, 1873. 
 ''My dear Brethren, — Since my last letter, Mr. Wallace's death 
 has been rapidly followed by that of the father and founder of our 
 Mission. The tidings did not reach me for many weeks, and till I 
 was on my way back from the far West. A day or two before I 
 sailed I was with him to say good-bye, and, though in pain, he was 
 as full of the Mission as ever. We both looked forward to meeting 
 again before he joined the saints in glory, but it was to be other- 
 wise. He had been spared to hear and rejoice in the blessed 
 tidings from Borsad, and happy thoughts of the victory of Christ's 
 kingdom must have been with him in his death. Dearly beloved 
 brethren, left as we are without his counsel and sympathy and 
 
The Foreign Mission. 163 
 
 continual prayer, let us be cast more and more upon God. Pray 
 much for me, unfit and unworthy to bear the burden which he 
 bore. Pray much for our Church, that to her may be given the 
 spirit of grace and of supplication for you and for the bringing 
 of the heathen unto Christ. Pray for the breath of a divine 
 spring that will break through the crust of our indifference and 
 unwillingness at home. Let us pray for our own spiritual life, 
 that it may be heightened and purified, and made richer in self- 
 sacrifice and all real power to the glory of Jesus. — Yours affec- 
 tionately in the Lord, W. Fleming Stevenson." 
 
 With the exception of a single annual meeting in Dublin 
 and in Deny respectively, the ordinary bi-monthly and all 
 special meetings of the Board of Missions were held in 
 Belfast. Nothing but illness prevented Mr. Stevenson's 
 attendance, or induced him to relegate his business there to 
 another. Even when in Cornwall for mnch-needed rest, he 
 insisted on taking the long and weary journey thence to 
 Derry and back, involving four days' continuous travel by 
 land and sea. The business he had to bring before the 
 Board was arranged beforehand with the most scrupulous ex- 
 actness, that no time might be lost. Seldom was any paper 
 or letter required which he could not instantly produce. To 
 gain the unanimous assent of so large a body of men to any 
 proposal, required no little tact and judgment in the presenta- 
 tion of his case ; and to those who, on the one hand, knew the 
 intensity of his anxiety on various points that he believed to 
 be vitally important to the welfare of the work, and, on the 
 other, saw the unruflaed patience with which he bore delay 
 or disappointment, it will be no surprise to learn that often 
 much of the preceding night was spent wrestling in prayer 
 for the presence of the Holy Spirit at the next day's meeting, 
 and that " his own impatience might be curbed " and seeming 
 mistakes over-ruled for the good of his beloved Mission. 
 
164 Life of William Fleming Stevenson, 
 
 On assuming tlie sole responsibility of the Convenersliip, 
 the stirring up of the Church at home appeared to him to 
 be his first and most imperative duty, and he wrote to the 
 missionaries : — 
 
 " It rests much with us to cry in earnest prayer, ' Thy kingdom 
 come ! ' Would that the Lord would fill our people with this 
 holy, intense desire, that they might give Him no rest day nor 
 night, and that we might be bold to ask for signs and wonders 
 to be done in the name of Jesus ! It is so easy for us to get 
 satisfied with a little, with the regular average progress. We 
 want the faith to go forward and conquer, the restless faith that 
 hurries us into the future for greater things, and laughs at im- 
 possibilities : we want this, as well as the patience of the husband- 
 man that waiteth for the precious fruit. May God give it to 
 His Church and servants everywhere, a faith that groweth ex- 
 ceedingly, a zeal that will burn like fire ! The immediate future 
 of India is a pressing problem. The Mission is only one of many 
 forces at present operating to loosen the attachment of the people 
 to their faiths ; and with the advance of European culture and the 
 development of commerce and the spread of the knowledge of 
 English, this process of detachment from ancient beliefs is sure 
 to be accelerated. But the Mission is the only force that can 
 create a future for the people, and preserve the country in the 
 time of danger. Statesmen can see this. May the Church not 
 be blind to it ! " 
 
 He was always eager to get missionaries from other 
 Churches to stimulate his own by accounts of what God had 
 wrought through them, and he felt specially grateful to the 
 Presbyterian Church of England, who, in 1874, gave him for 
 six weeks the valuable services of the Rev. W. S. Swanson, 
 one of their foremost missionaries from China. Together 
 they visited numbers of the churches, not only in the towns 
 but in the country districts, where the interest awakened 
 was so great that Mr. Stevenson looked back with the 
 liveliest gratitude to his friend's rousing addresses ; and 
 
The Foreign Mission. 165 
 
 one of his last efforts on behalf of the Mission was the 
 endeavour to arrange for a repetition of Mr. Swanson's visit 
 in the winter of 1886-87. 
 
 In May, 1874, there were good tidings to send to the 
 field. 
 
 " Three candidates for India will be proposed at the Board on 
 Monday ; the Rev. Mr. Hewitt of Whitehouse, Mr. W. Wallace 
 Brown, and Mr. John Shillidy. They are all offering themselves 
 with their whole heart, and are sacrificing the certainty of high 
 distinction and rapid advancement at home. Mr. Hewitt is a 
 tried young minister, who will move the adoption of the Foreign 
 Mission Report at the Assembly. Mr. Brown and Mr. Shillidy 
 are two of the most distinguished students in our Church, and 
 their resolution has caused no small stir. There is little doubt 
 but that one or two of the same stamp could be sent each year 
 for the next two or three, and thus not merely the Mission 
 sustained but enlarged. Meanwhile we should be glad to hear 
 from you of new stations, if you think it desirable that any should 
 be opened." 
 
 Two years later came the shadow of a great sorrow. 
 
 '' The illness of our beloved brother, Mr. Hewitt, is a heavy 
 trial that has been making our hearts sore. An extract from 
 a letter that reached me this morning gives a more alarming 
 account of the fever than I had been at all prepared for. The 
 Lord restore him ! is our constant prayer. When, just on the 
 eve of the Assembly, I had a bright, happy letter from him, there 
 was no anticipation that almost the next news would be that he 
 was brought so low. My heart aches all day from the news of 
 this morning. A darkness seems to gather over the summer, and 
 I write more by way of relief than for anything I can say." 
 
 " Your letter lies like a dead weight upon me that I cannot 
 shake off. Until to-day I had had great hope that the fever, if 
 not conquered, was on the way to be conquered ; and still I cling 
 to hope, but with the impression that hope has been long over 
 
166 Life of William Fleming Stevenson. 
 
 even while I write. There is the widest and keenest anxiety 
 everywhere. So much was built upon Mr. Hewitt, so much was 
 known of the proof he had made of his ministry at home, and 
 so much affection was entertained for him, that this tragic 
 illness has excited universal sympathy throughout our Church. 
 Here we wrestle in prayer, but at this distance we wrestle in the 
 dark and we ask for faith and light. . . . We rejoice to think 
 of the wonderful care our brother has experienced. Such tender, 
 brotherly consideration as Mr. Conder's, and such unwearied and 
 loving attendance as Dr. Macdonald's cannot be measured by our 
 gratitude." 
 
 "It was difficult, when I wrote a fortnight ago, to surrender 
 the hope that our brother, Mr. Hewitt, would be spared ; it was 
 also difficult to resist the impression that made way against all 
 hope. The letters received have put all uncertainty to rest, and 
 you and we at home are alike bearing the burden of a personal 
 sorrow and a heavy trial to the Mission. The letters were read 
 by the Directors with the most painful interest and the deepest 
 sympathy. The goodness of God has been wonderful, and 
 another illustration of how precious in His sight is the death of 
 His saints. It was touching and it was a comfort to read of 
 the kindness of every one, and to realise the genuine brotherhood 
 of the missionaries of every Church, from several of whom we 
 have had letters. The burden of all is the same — a lament for 
 the early loss of promise so great. When Mr. Hewitt resolved to 
 go to India, it was only after long and deliberate reflection, and 
 much questioning of himself, much weighing of circumstances, and 
 much argument with friends. But when he had decided, there 
 was no after hesitation, and his heart went straight out into his 
 work ; and what his work was you know. His letters about it 
 reflected his character. The last I had was written just before 
 going to Bombay, from, that tent at Khadarna, where, speaking 
 of the heat, he said he was passing through a baptism of fire. It 
 is we, the Mission and the Church, that are passing through that 
 baptism now, to be tried, we shall pray, as silver is tried. When 
 he was sixteen he made a covenant with God that he would do 
 His will, follow His call, and be entirely in His hand. It was 
 
TJie Foreign Mission. 167 
 
 in that spirit he met the summons from India. The sorrow has 
 produced a deep and widespread impression ; it has been felt as 
 a very solemn message. . . . The Board has authorised the send- 
 ing of more missionaries as soon as they can be found. Pray for 
 us that the best men may be moved to go." 
 
 Far and wide over the Church his influence was felt. By 
 lectures and sermons, by public circulars and private letters 
 to individuals, by securing the generous help of friends in 
 scattering broadcast Mission literature and giving large sums 
 for special objects, by direct and pointed appeals, and by 
 urgent and passionate pleadings, — by all the force of all 
 the faculties God had given him, he sought to rouse the con- 
 gregations to a sense of the glorious possibilities before them 
 in the conversion of a people to whom, in the providence of 
 God, theirs was the only Mission throughout the length and 
 breadth of a district equal in area to their own Ireland. 
 
 ''July 10, 1876. 
 
 " I am hoping during this summer and autumn to reach some 
 districts where the work of the Mission has been halting, and to 
 stir up the churches, and will try to use in this way the usual 
 rest I take in summer. Trade is still so bad that it has seemed 
 hopeless to launch the Medical Mission circulars ; but I am only 
 waiting the opportunity. I have hopes that our Sabbath- schools 
 alone may raise £1000 this year for the Mission in India and 
 China; and when these children grow to be men, the Foreign 
 Mission will meet a proportionate response. 
 
 " I am staying at Finaghy, near Belfast, and trying to over- 
 take work in a quieter place than Dublin. Next Sunday I hope 
 to address two congregations for the Mission, and the Sunday 
 following I hope to be in the neighbourhood of Coleraine. Little 
 by little, as the Jews drove out the Canaanites, I hope God will 
 spare me to do something to drive out the narrow spirit that 
 shuts its love against the Mission." 
 
 The following graphic picture is taken from the bio- 
 
168 Life of William Fleming Stevenson. 
 
 graphical preface to the late edition of " Praying and 
 Working " :— 
 
 " He was an intense believer in the rejSex benefits conferred at 
 home by the cultivation of the missionary spirit. Consequently 
 his appeals on behalf of the heathen were unceasing. His yearly 
 statements preliminary to the annual collection were marvels of 
 industry, presenting in striking and compact form information 
 and statistics, both as to his own Mission and as to those of the 
 leading Churches of Christendom. Illustrations, maps, diagrams, 
 were freely used ; the local religious press was enlisted on his 
 side ; his brethren in the ministry were earnestly urged to plead 
 the cause, and a wealth of missionary literature was placed at 
 their disposal. But not alone at collection-time was he thus 
 energetic ; his enthusiasm burned all through the year. He was 
 constantly preaching and lecturing on his all-absorbing theme. 
 To-day he is found in some provincial town forming an auxiliary 
 for the Zenana Mission ; to-morrow he turns up at a sewing- 
 party to communicate the latest intelligence ; next day he spends 
 the forenoon among the students in Belfast or Derry, pressing 
 the claims of the heathen ; and at night he is delivering stirring 
 appeals to a crowded gathering of the young men of the city. 
 No foreign missionary ordination took place without his being 
 present to deliver the charge ; no missionary band left our shores 
 without his assembling them to address to them, amidst the 
 anxieties of parting, brave and cheery words of farewell. He 
 seemed to work for the Mission as if he had no other work to do. 
 And ere the banner fell from his hands he thought he saw mar- 
 shalled under it a company and an enthusiasm greater than at 
 any period of the history of the cause." 
 
 The difficulty of getting suitable men was at times a heavy 
 burden ; but nothing tempted him to lower, by the smallest 
 degree, the high standard of qualifications he deemed essen- 
 tial. " Better starve the Mission by want of mcD," he often 
 said, " than send out any but the best." 
 
 ''June 25, 1879. 
 
 " I have been trying to secure suitable missionaries all spring, 
 
The Foreigji Mission. 169 
 
 but as yet without success. The men suitable decline to go ; and 
 unless men are suitable, increase of members is no strength." 
 
 " December 11, 1879. 
 
 " The Day of Intercession for Foreign Missions was observed 
 by all the Presbyterian Churches of the kingdom, and, as far as 
 I can learn, very generally observed in Ireland, and many sermons 
 were preached on that day on our duty to the heathen. Mean- 
 while there are no new missionaries at present ; but let us be 
 earnest and ceaseless in prayer that God will raise them up by 
 next autumn. It is melancholy to find such a continual repulse 
 and timidity. 
 
 " The Lord has been trying us lately ; and I feel it has been 
 good for me to be driven back to the very foundations of the 
 Kingdom, to the Rock on which it is built. The necessity of 
 privacy in some of these trials, the consequent sense of isolation 
 and want of sympathy, have all driven me back to Christ, and 
 enabled me to realise more powerfully that He is able to stay and 
 comfort His servants and to maintain His work, and that the 
 work itself rises above all the temporary embarrassments and 
 moments of failure in its history ; and I do not doubt that, as 
 far as it has been needed, the same blessed assurance has been 
 quickened, dear brethren, in you." 
 
 '' March \%, 1880. 
 
 " Our students in Belfast asked me to meet them on Friday 
 last, when about forty came, and for two hours we had a constant 
 fire of questions and answers about Missions, specially our own ; 
 so that I was very reluctant to break off the conference. There 
 are some excellent men among them bent on the Mission, but 
 unfortunately none in the last year." 
 
 The following letter to a yonng minister who had some 
 thoughts of the foreign field is very characteristic. The 
 need of men, and men of the right stamp, pressed on him 
 continuously, and he lost no opportunity of pleading with 
 those who seemed to him to possess the spirit and the 
 necessary qualifications. 
 
170 Life of William Fleming Stevenson. 
 
 "August 14, 1879. 
 " My dear Sir, — When I wrote last, it was only to ask the 
 favour of your preaching in my pulpit. There is another pulpit 
 that I am anxious to bring under your notice now. I do not 
 know if the service that can be done for Christ in the East has 
 already crossed your mind with anything like a personal applica- 
 tion ; but it is of that I wish to speak. We have vacancies at 
 home ; and I catch myself always looking beyond them to the 
 wide gaps rather than vacancies in India, gaps which remain 
 year after year. Our Church has a noble Mission to Western 
 India — a Mission that will be well discharged in proportion as 
 our best and most vigorous men respond to it with warmth and 
 self-sacrifice. Our field of work has many advantages, and not the 
 least the variety of method by which the missionaries endeavour 
 to approach the people. We have room there for almost every gift 
 of the Church, and the powers and grace that a man has received 
 are drawn there into a more quick and many-sided, and, I do not 
 hesitate to add, a happier activity than in any but the rarest 
 places at home. Our Mission in India has in it, moreover, some- 
 thing of a national as well as a Christian summons, and the vast 
 population there is so bound up with us to whom its welfare is 
 committed, that it seems as if the cr}^ from India were irresistible. 
 Home work is sure to be done : but men postpone the work 
 yonder, apparently, until there is no more to do here. All the 
 while God is opening up so many opportunities, that it is like 
 treason to Him if we let them pass ; and thus this Mission work, 
 which is the crown of Christian service, gathers to it a great in- 
 tensity at present. I need not pursue that line of thought, but 
 come at once to w^hat I beg of you to consider as fully and as 
 fairly as you can. Would you allow me to suggest your name as 
 a missionary to India ? I mention India because we are sorely 
 crippled there for want of workers. But there is China as well. 
 1 am simply putting it for your consideration ; not ignoring nor 
 making little of what it may seem to involve, sacrifices and sepa- 
 rations that it may demand. Work for Christ is worthy of these. 
 And I question if there is much nobler or more inspiriting work 
 than out in India and beside our brethren who are building up 
 
The Foi'eign Mission. 171 
 
 the Church there. Pardon me if I beg you will weigh it ear- 
 nestly in the light of God, and if you will be so good, write 
 frankly your mind on the matter to yours very truly, 
 
 " W. Fleming Stevenson." 
 
 Equally typical of his care for those who had decided to 
 join the Mission is the following letter to a young missionary 
 on the eve of embarking for India. Though of a later date, 
 it may fitly be inserted here. 
 
 {To the Rev. Bohcrt Boydi] 
 
 " Oewell Bank, November 11, 1880. 
 
 " You have enjoyed, I hope, your days in London ; and now 
 the work that lies out in India will be bulking before you. The 
 voyage will give you a quiet time to think over it and pray for 
 strength and guidance, and for entire surrender to it. Whole- 
 hearted makes strong-hearted. You will be met, of course, on 
 arrival at Bombay, and I dare say you will all spend a day or 
 two there and make your first acquaintance with India. Keep a 
 record of expenses, extra charges, &c., and send me the memoran- 
 dum when you are settled down. Write at least three times a 
 year ; oftener if you can. Don't think of laboured epistles ; but 
 tell about what you see. Incident, quiet talk, what runs off the 
 the pen, these are what I want. Don't think there must be a 
 given length. What I suggested before I repeat, that if you 
 jotted down anything that struck you, or any piece of pleasant 
 news, and just put the loose leaves of jottings together into an 
 envelope, you would have an excellent letter. You need not 
 mind writing about what Hinduism is ; but tell as much as you 
 like about the Hindus. 
 
 " Pray much. If ever you prayed in your life, pray now. 
 Pray for consecration to Christ in the work. Pray to be content 
 with nothing but soul-winning. 
 
 " Cultivate and profit by the other missionaries. They are 
 men you can thoroughly trust. Trust them, and take their 
 advice. The Mission had its time of trial a few years ago ; you 
 go_to strengthen it. Feel that you are among brethren, and be 
 
172 Life of Willi ant Fle7ning Stevenson. 
 
 brotherly. You can wonderfully help by the power of God ; but 
 keep out all lower motives. 
 
 " Be always frank with me ; be frank with the brethren. Be 
 careful in the acquaintances you make outside the Mission. 
 Christian acquaintances, spiritual men will help you ; others will 
 not. If you cultivate them, they will draw you down towards 
 themselves. 
 
 " Make the preaching of the Gospel first. There are indirect 
 methods, but lay all the stress on the direct. Keep up the fire ; 
 do not be ashamed to be enthusiastic. It is easy for a man to 
 drop into routine ; keep out of it. The Lord bless you, and fill 
 you with His Spirit, and make you His messenger. Ask for 
 converts, for the souls of men. They that turn many to 
 righteousness shall shine as the stars (Eph. vi. 10)." 
 
 In 1879, permission was granted to establish congrega- 
 tional associations. Mr. Stevenson had long and anxiously 
 desired this. It seemed unwise that a work involving such 
 heavy expenditure should depend chiefly for its support on 
 a single yearly collection, which might be affected by the 
 weather to the extent of hundreds of pounds. There were, 
 however, many difficulties to be overcome, and he wrote : — 
 " It will need to be used at first gently and judiciously ; 
 ultimately it will no doubt work a great improvement in 
 the annual income." It was a great disappointment to him 
 that the danger of confusion with the auxiliaries of the 
 newly started Zenana Mission prevented this scheme being 
 freely launched, and as yet it has only been very partially 
 adopted. 
 
 The pitiful wail of hopeless, down-trodden, heathen women 
 sounded in his ears, and the thought of their imprisoned, 
 colourless lives weighed heavily on his heart. In 1873, he 
 arranged that two of the deputies from the Free Church 
 of Scotland, the Rev. Dr. Murray Mitchell and the Rev. 
 Narayan Sheshadri, should address a meeting of ladies on 
 
The Foreign Mission, 173 
 
 the work of Female Missions in tlie East, and at the close 
 of the meeting it was resolved to establish a Female Asso- 
 ciation in connection with the Foreign Mission, with the 
 aim of taking the Gospel to the women of the East. It 
 was proposed to carry on four forms of work, teaching in 
 private families and in schools, together with orphanages and 
 a medical agency; the funds to be raised by a system of branch 
 auxiliaries in central places, and local auxiliaries in connec- 
 tion with these branches. India was to be the first field 
 occupied, but it was hoped that the blessings of its ministry 
 would be extended to China, and that ere long the Female 
 Association would spread its agencies over the area covered 
 by the Foreign Mission of the Church. The success of the 
 new undertaking exceeded all expectation ; and Miss Brown, 
 its first missionary, was sent out in 1874. 
 
 \To the Missionaries^ 
 
 ''June 23, 1875. 
 '' On Saturday we had the first annual meeting and report of 
 our Women's Association. It has not only to show a receipt of 
 .£1227, but has done very much to stir up interest in the Mis- 
 sion, and, regarded from that point of view alone, is of the utmost 
 importance. We have done nothing in this work (which is pro- 
 mising to become very popular) without the co-operation and 
 advice of our brethren from the field at home, who take part 
 with us at all meetings of our executive committee. They have 
 strongly approved of the medical department of our work, and 
 urge its extension ; and we should be very grateful if you would 
 let us know your further thought upon the subject— your opinion 
 on the multiplying of this form of agency, on the places that 
 might be occupied, and on house accommodation. It might not 
 be desirable that a lady visiting constantly among the sick, and 
 practically a nurse in many illnesses, should reside under the 
 same roof as a missionary's household. Some of the societies 
 arrange for the missionaries living two together in a detached 
 house." 
 
174 Life of William Fleming Stevenson. 
 
 And again : — 
 
 " The Female Association, which our missionaries at home are 
 busily planting in new districts, helps us greatly ; and we find, 
 as is natural, that what makes the people think and talk of the 
 Mission, though it be only of one department, strengthens the 
 hold it has on them." 
 
 A sentence may be given here from the closing paragraph 
 of the first annual report : — 
 
 " In many — and they are the most accessible — parts of India 
 the strong desire among all the native educated gentlemen is for 
 the education of their women. They say it is the hope of India. 
 We say so in a far profounder sense than they. ' There is not 
 in the whole world,' cried Martin Luther, ' a sweeter thing than 
 the heart of a pious woman.' And we labour that the bitter 
 waters of female life in heathen lands may be touched and trans- 
 formed by that sweet and holy potency. There are no more 
 effectual nurses of the fanaticism of the Mussulman and the 
 superstition of the Hindu than the women of India; and there 
 will be no more effectual propagators of Christianity. Ambrose 
 was the son of a Gothic prefect; Chrysostom of an Imperial 
 general ; Augustine's father was a heathen. It was by the daily 
 influence, it was in answer to the constant prayers of Christian 
 mothers, that the early Church gained these bearers of its stan- 
 dard. We want to win the mothers of India. We are not too 
 bold ; it is simple faith to expect that India too will have its 
 Chrysostom, its Ambrose, its Augustine ; and when the Church 
 of India recalls her past, there will be none remembered with 
 more gratitude than those who sought to bring the Gospel to the 
 women of the East." 
 
 In 1879 he wrote : — 
 
 " We had a successful meeting, though the day was wildly and 
 mournfully wet. It is still undecided whether we can recruit 
 our small female force this year ; but if not, there will be no difli- 
 culty in supplying the want next year, if God spare us all ; and 
 at present our Christian women have more of a missionary spirit 
 than their brothers." 
 
The Forei(rn Mission. 175 
 
 In the last year of his Convenership the income of the 
 Association had risen to £2600. Of the eight ladies in the 
 field, two were medical, one being a fully qualified medical 
 practitioner. There were fifteen girls' schools, with 828 
 pupils, and in the two dispensaries, one of which had only 
 been opened for a few months, over 10,776 cases had been 
 treated. 
 
 After Dr. Stevenson's death one of the zenana missionaries, 
 who had been highly honoured by God in the success of her 
 work, wrote : — 
 
 "I have lost my best earthly friend. His letter, which I 
 enclose, was the means of deciding my mother to let me go to 
 India. I hesitated on account of her feeble health and wrote 
 Dr. Stevenson to that effect. I read his reply to her, and when 
 I had finished, she took it in her own hand and repeated slowly 
 and firmly the text he quoted : ' He that loveth father or mother 
 more than Me is not worthy of Me,' and added, 'or son or 
 daughter ; ' then in a few minutes she looked up and said, ' You 
 must go.' " 
 
 The following is an extract from the letter referred to : — 
 
 "... Illness is not sent or suffered to break off our work for 
 Christ, but to purify and strengthen us in it. The missionary 
 leaves his wife behind him ; though the minister's wife may be 
 in sore illness, the minister must, as a shepherd, care for the 
 sheep all the same. And though the wrench is hard — and I 
 know something of the pain of it — I would say that, unless there 
 is immediate danger, your way was plain to return. Work for 
 Jesus will be done the more solemnly when it is done under the 
 shadow of the illness of those we love ; and this seems to me just 
 one of the instances where our Lord's words operate : ' He that 
 loveth father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me.' . . 
 The Lord sustain and guide you now, that He may be glorified, 
 and that you may walk in light and peace. In all present and 
 coming sorrow, may you find Him the Good Shepherd that calleth 
 
176 Life of William Fleining Stevenson. 
 
 His own sheep by name and loveth them, so that He laid down 
 His life for the sheep." 
 
 But his earnest desire to advance the cause never blinded 
 his judgment. The following letter to a young girl eager 
 to enter on Mission work in China shows with what wisdom 
 he weighed conflicting duties : — 
 
 ''■June 19, 1885. 
 
 *' But that you have some notion how busy I get among per- 
 haps often little things, but of which not one can be put off, I 
 would feel myself in deep disgrace not to have acknowledged long 
 since the pleasure of your letter, and continued the conversation 
 which it suggests. . . . 
 
 " Our conduct, as we follow Christ, will always be shaped more 
 or less by the reconciUng of often apparently opposite counsels. 
 We are to care first for our own ; are to begin at Jerusalem ; are 
 to seek the fullest work within the relationships immediately 
 round us. We are, at the same time, to leave father and mother, 
 to deny ourselves, to wrench ourselves away from home ties, to go 
 into all the world. Each has to decide how these opposing but yet 
 not really opposed views may be reconciled in his own circum- 
 stances ; and it is here we need the greatest care, so as to act, not 
 from impulse or craving, however generous, or under the impres- 
 sion of a need, however vivid, but from duty and from Christ-like 
 love. . . . 
 
 " There are certain difficulties being taken out of the way, and 
 I do not disagree with the interpretation you put upon them, 
 that their removal is one of those finger-posts that God places 
 for us in His loving and guiding providence ; but it is perhaps 
 premature to agree. We have to be very careful, in construing 
 these signs, not to let them wear even a little the complexion of 
 our own desire ; and self-denial and taking up the cross may 
 sometimes mean crushing back for a season our most cherished 
 hopes and expectations, just as much as giving up a career at 
 home or going into foreign service. There is always a large and 
 pressing duty for the time, and we have each to discover what 
 that is. . . ." 
 
The Fore {oil Mission. Vll 
 
 \To the samc^ 
 
 "June 23, 1885. 
 
 " I have been disappointed at not being able to continue my 
 letter before now ; and even yet, of much continuance there is 
 some doubt. I feel like a top that has been set spinning, and a 
 dozen small boys gather round it — Congregation, Meeting, Mis- 
 sion, Zenana, Committee, and such other chappies, — and every 
 one gives a scourge to keep the top going. . . . 
 
 " But if the Mission is to be the end, God will take His own 
 way to train you for it, very likely a way of unexpected and un ■ 
 welcome disappointment about the how and the when of the 
 matter. Discipline of that kind may be just as needful as the 
 first strong enthusiastic thought of dedication. If I had had 
 time, it would have been spent writing that I thought you were 
 going too fast in one or two of the things you mentioned, at a 
 pace that took the wind out of your old-fashioned friend, who, 
 like * panting time,' ' toiled after you in vain.' Looking frankly 
 out on the circumstances, I do not see that the way is yet clear 
 for you to go, or that the time has come to make any arrange- 
 ments about going. Now, you will be vexed w^ith me for saying 
 that, and were I in your place I would be vexed with anybody 
 who said it to me. For, God be praised, the longing to carry the 
 Gospel to the heathen is upon you, and you feel that while you 
 and they are waiting time steals away with a horrid noiseless 
 certainty. Now, if that longing is deep and true enough to carry 
 you helpfully and not simply enthusiastically out to the East, it 
 will outlast the delays and broken hopes that prevent you from 
 immediately fulfilling your design. If I could make so violent a 
 supposition as that circumstances would arise that would hinder 
 you from ever going, it would still be the brightest and strongest 
 passion of your life ; and though you never went, your desire, 
 burning brighter as 3-ou drew nearer the source of it, w^ould inspire 
 a crowd of others to do what you would have done if you could. 
 
 " But as I am not making violent suppositions, but contem- 
 plating you in the Mission, you will say, ' What about age ? ' 
 A young age is thought desirable because we are all more plastic 
 then, both in the acquiring of a new speech and in the power of 
 submitting to new conditions of life ; and there are those who 
 
178 Life of Willia7n Fleming Stevenson, 
 
 profanely say that this is specially true of women. It is also 
 desirable from its greater eagerness and enthusiasm, though I 
 believe, if Adam and Eve had lived to the same age, Eve would 
 have preserved her enthusiasms when Adam was only a shrunken 
 old bagful of dry bones. They say it is also desirable because of 
 the greater ease with which it bears the change of climate. No 
 society observes rules as to age strictly, and many of those who 
 have gone out in full womanhood, or even in grey hairs, have 
 
 served splendidly " 
 
 " Now, shall I venture to say what I would do, and try to do, 
 in your place ? In such leisure as I had, work up China, if China 
 it was to be ; marking out my course of reading so as to get from 
 it the most good. Also, come in contact as much as I could with 
 those here who need teaching about even the elementary truths 
 of God's kingdom. That is the work of the missionary ; and the 
 better we can do it, and the larger the variety of our experience, 
 the better for the Mission. Further, interest all others in this 
 blessed work of the Mission. Quietly propagate its enthusiasms. 
 It keeps our own enthusiasm warm, and it stirs the Mission 
 sympathy in this inert and unreflecting mass of the Philistine 
 Christian public. I should get all the mastery of the Word that 
 I could : that comes first— that sword of the Spirit which is the 
 Word of God. But I would take no other preparatory step ; when 
 the time is ready the arrangements will all fit into their places. 
 My dear child, you must be weary of this endless letter, and I 
 have not said a twentieth part. Am I not longing for the sands 
 of New Quay and the talks ! Till then I break off, like a story, 
 with Ho be continued.' " 
 
 In the number of the little quarterly paper called 
 Woman's JVork which appeared immediately after his 
 death, the Editor, now for the first time no longer Dr. 
 Stevenson, writes : — 
 
 " Nowhere, perhaps, was he seen to better advantage than in 
 the Zenana committee-meetings. So wide, so sympathetic, so 
 ready to take the best and kindliest view of everything, so full 
 of information on all points of Mission work, we felt that Dr. 
 Stevenson was the very beau ideal of a missionary Convener." 
 
The Foreign Mission. 179 
 
 And in the same strain the Missionary Herald ^ says : — 
 '' The band of zealous men and women who surrounded him 
 in the enterprise felt they owed everything to his ceaseless 
 industry, his unquenchable courage, trust and enthusiasm. Of 
 Dr. Stevenson and our Zenana Mission it may be truly said, * Si 
 monumentum qicceris circ2imspice.' " 
 
 It was Dr. Stevenson's custom to write long monthly 
 letters to the Mission staff generally, which were passed on 
 from one missionary to another. Bat sickness or trial always 
 drew forth the special letter, that, as one of their number 
 wrote, " showed a perfect comprehension of our difficulties, 
 and a brotherly sympathy in our sorrows." Another says, 
 " He seemed to come close to us then, to write as if he 
 were one of us ; and so, indeed, he was." His thorough 
 mastership of details was a striking characteristic, while 
 the clear perception he had of the individualities of char- 
 acter, and the delicacy with which he arranged points of 
 difficulty and soothed over-sensitive feelings, keeping at 
 the same time a firm hand on the reins of government, were 
 no less valuable. A few extracts taken at intervals from 
 the mass of correspondence which has been kindly furnished 
 by the missionaries are all that the necessities of space will 
 allow us to add to those already inserted : — 
 
 "Oewell Bank, April, 1873. 
 "Our hearts, and the heart of our Church, have been greatly 
 cheered by the news of the blessed awakeniug and ingathering 
 at Borsad ; and not the less because it is so evidently linked with 
 the impulse by which the Church was moved to pray for the 
 Mission-field. We have reaped almost as soon as we sowed, and 
 we ask, in this merciful and gracious rebuke of our little faith, that 
 we may be quickened to pray much more often and fervently for 
 the blessing to descend upon your labours. The admirable nar- 
 rative of the Allahabad Conference which has just come to hand, 
 
 1 The organ of the Mission work of the Irish Presbyterian Church. 
 
180 Life of William Fleming Stevenson. 
 
 has also greatly cheered us, and filled us with fresh and glorious 
 hopes for India. And the tidings of literary work have been 
 very gratifying. We have also been noticing indications of a 
 Government policy more favourable to Missions, and that the 
 Mission schools and colleges are receiving the very highest tribute 
 to their efficacy and influence. All these signs must be as en- 
 couraging to you as they are to us. May they draw us more 
 and more together to the throne of grace, to wrestle there till the 
 breaking of the day ! Now from China Dr. Hunter writes to us 
 of the free access that he has, of the chapel filled, of the Bibles 
 sold, and of journeys he has made to distant markets and fairs. 
 And yet the Church is unwarrantably slow in sending help. One 
 after another has declined the call, and the general reply is, 
 'Our sphere is at home.' There is, no doubt, a want of the true, 
 burning missionary spirit, of enthusiasm for Christ, of the self- 
 sacrifice and willingness of hearts wholly consecrated to the Lord. 
 And you must pray with us for a mighty baptism of the Holy 
 Ghost, that our Church may be lifted up into higher things, and 
 may experience the drawing power of Christ lifted up upon the 
 cross. But you will also take into account that there were never 
 so many good openings into fields of great usefulness in the 
 Church at home as now, and that there are few more likely stu- 
 dents than will fill the vacant places here. It may not be that 
 the missionary spirit is less, but I fear it is no greater. Yet our 
 students are volunteering ; and when God is pleased to quicken 
 us as a Church, no doubt the flower of our youth will em- 
 bark for India and China. There have been but few applica- 
 tions for the office of lay teacher. Still, we do not bate one jot 
 of our faith that in the autumn we shall be sending you the 
 sorely needed recruits ; and meanwhile cheer you with words 
 of faith to hold on under your double burden. Whatever ebb 
 there may have seemed to you in the missionary affection and 
 sympathy of the Church, the tide is now again in the flood. In 
 many ways the Lord continues to prosper us. The Sustentation 
 Fund has reached £2G,000 this year, so that its equal dividend 
 to the ministers is £20 beyond the Regium Donuin ; and yet all 
 other contributions have increased, although the harvest in the 
 north is unusually bad. Evangelistic services, of which I wrote 
 
The Foi^eiorji Mission. 181 
 
 you already, are multiplying. One very interesting series was 
 arranged, by which the ministers of the Dublin Synod (which 
 met at Gal way) evangelised on their several routes, and reached 
 their meeting warm from that work ; and the meetings were 
 crowded and blessed. And here and there over the north of 
 Ireland there is the breath of a spiritual spring. Near Randals- 
 town between eighty and a hundred persons have been converted 
 within the last few months in one of our congregations ; and the 
 capacious old church, which is in a district that seemed hard and 
 cold enough, is crowded with frequent assemblies. The converts 
 have stood a severe test for some months, and stood it well. 
 They are mostly young, but the old are also brought in ; and one 
 evening there was the touching scene, in one of the pews, of an 
 aged woman stiff and almost rigid in her seat as she thought of 
 her sins, and unable to speak or stir, while at her side a grand- 
 child was artlessly prajdng that 'Granny might see Jesus.' 
 This good work sprang from a little knot of praying people, and 
 similar knots have lately been tied all over Ulster, and often in 
 places marked by revival in 1859, but from which the spirit of 
 prayer had decayed. Then the College in Belfast has been fur- 
 nished with a new library at a cost of nearly £2000 by Mrs. 
 Gamble, the widow of one of our ministers ; and, besides a bazaar 
 last month that produced nearly £700, an anonymous friend has 
 just sent it a donation of XI 000. And large donations are made 
 to various objects, such as XIOOO to the Sustentation Fund, 
 another £1000 to the China Mission, and from one gentleman 
 £1500, divided equally between the Orphan Society, Sustentation 
 Fund, and a new work projected by our indefatigable Moderator 
 (now kindly sentenced to a second year of office) for the educa- 
 tion of ministers' children. 
 
 " For myself I have little to say ; though it may interest 
 you to know I have accepted an invitation from the Evangelical 
 Alliance to read a paper at their Conference in New York in 
 October, and hope to leave for America in August. But let me 
 close by assuring you all of the warm interest of the Church in 
 your work, and asking of you often to remember us at home, 
 dear brethren, whose hearts are w^ounded by carelessness, as yours 
 are by idolatry." 
 
182 Life of William Fleming Stevenson. 
 
 June 23, 1875. 
 
 " Three persons have undertaken to build and furnish each an 
 entire church for the Dherds at their own cost, so that there is 
 now a church- building fund of over £1000 at home. A friend 
 in America has sent me £70 to place seven of our missionaries 
 as life members on the Society for the Orphans of Ministers and 
 Missionaries, thus securing a preference for their children. May 
 the Lord give us all to walk in the light as He is in the light, 
 and may He abundantly bless our labours, and bear our burdens 
 in the dark time of trial ! 
 
 " And here let me say how much I feel indebted for the letters 
 that have lately reached me. It may not be possible to put them 
 entirely in print ; but even if not, it is putting me in possession 
 of a far clearer knowledge of Gujarat and of the Mission than 
 I could otherwise hope to have. Incidents and conversations — 
 anything of detail — are eagerly read, but I find that people, with 
 us as a rule, skip general statements. I would also at all times 
 be grateful for any intelligence of local interest, local reports that 
 may fall in your way, papers or paragraphs from the local press. 
 Conveners have a huge digestion." 
 
 ''April 20, 1876. 
 *' We would gladly have welcomed fuller news from Mr. Taylor 
 of what must have been his most interesting visit among the 
 Dherd villages with Mr. Hewitt. It is details and incidents that 
 quicken the interest of our people ; and I do not mean by that 
 glowing descriptions or coloured narratives, but the simple ex- 
 periences of such a missionary journey, with now encouragement 
 and then discouragement. How is the old Patidar ? What led 
 some of these people to profess being Christians ? Are they still 
 evangelising of themselves ? About how many are there alto- 
 gether of this Dherd people ? " 
 
 ''December 11, 1879. 
 
 " This evening I heard from Mr. Eea of the death of Kim- 
 
 chund. We both here feel this blow keenly. Kimchund had 
 
 so marked a personality that he was very often before me as I 
 
 thought back over India, and recalled his manly, energetic figure 
 
The Foreign Mission. 183 
 
 moving about Shahawadi, his quick and eager ways, and heard 
 him (as at Neriad with a group that he had gathered round him 
 in the verandah) reading the Bible to them by the light of a dull- 
 burning oil- wick, or preaching in the bazaar. You will all feel 
 this loss deeply, and together we can realise that the Lord is 
 able to raise up many more of the same stamp, and no doubt He 
 is, though unseen by us, raising them up even now." 
 
 " October 7, 18S0. 
 
 " We enjoyed our stay at Cornwall to the end as much as you 
 enjoy Mahableshwar. Nor were Missions absent. Two of the 
 great English Societies were represented by deputations while we 
 were there, the S. P. G. and the C. M. S., and I found a house 
 where Sherring (who had been in the town for his own Society) 
 w^as bitterly lamented. 
 
 '' I was asked to be one of the deputies at the Church Mis- 
 sionary Meeting, and had the opportunity of telling of the work 
 of other Missions, and rambled on for, I fear, an unconscionable 
 time. There was no clock in the room, and when I looked at my 
 watch, which had been laid on the table, it had disappeared, the 
 Chairman having quietly put it in his pocket, so that I had 
 simply to go on until my conscience grew mutinous. At an 
 evening service last Sunday, and at two meetings, they raised 
 about £30 in this quiet country place, and I noticed that ladies 
 went round every house beforehand leaving papers about the 
 work of the Society." 
 
 In 1880, the Eev. Robert Montgomery, one of the fathers 
 of the Indian Mission, and one of the most loved and revered 
 of all the missionaries, died. 
 
 " Oewell Bank, November 4, 1880. 
 " My dear Brethren, — The heavy tidings I must write to-day 
 will fall upon you with as little preparation as they came upon 
 myself. Our beloved father, Mr. Montgomery, has passed from 
 us into the presence of God and to his everlasting rest. The 
 only news I have is by telegram, and letters will not come until 
 too late for me to catch the mail. All we know is that, after 
 a brief illness of only thirty minutes, he died peacefully last 
 
18-i Life of William Fleining Stevenson. 
 
 night at twelve o'clock. The suddenness of this loss has over- 
 come lis with awe. On Tuesday I went down to Belfast to see 
 him. We were meeting with the Presbytery of Kattiawar, for 
 there were five of the members in the room besides Rama Kalyan ; 
 and as I drove up he was walking in with Rama, and looking 
 more active and bright than when I had last seen him. We 
 were two hours together, and he struck me as wonderfully cheer- 
 ful and animated. When we parted, it was to meet again on 
 Saturday, for he was coming up to spend some days with us, and 
 our parting greeting was more an anticipation of our meeting. 
 The meeting on earth will never take place, but the long heavenly 
 intercourse is before us. I remarked on Tuesday that it was 
 evident that his heart was full of joy to see the old faces round 
 him. It was like a dream of the India he was never to see again, 
 and I like to think that in those last days he had the companion- 
 ship that he liked the best. Elisha's cry may well befit us; 
 horsemen and chariots of Israel were with us while he was 
 spared. His ripeness of wisdom, his intense and affectionate 
 nature, his passion for India, and the universal regard and even 
 honour in which he was held, were a strength to the Mission that 
 pervaded the whole Church. There was something in his spirit 
 that was infectious of good ; and while there was no lack of the 
 old fire, a wonderful sweetness was the characteristic that drew 
 men to him. I do not think there was a more welcome guest in 
 our house, and in the congregation every one loved him. And 
 it was all because he was so true to Christ, and so full of Him. I 
 think of the sorrow that will pass over every part of our Church 
 as the news makes its way ; I think of the sorrow that will be 
 felt in India among those to whom he was a spiritual father ; 
 and then I think of the home that has been smitten so often, 
 and the shadows darken over the thoughts, until Christ breaks 
 through them with His words of comfort and power. The mys- 
 tery of sorrow is deep and full of awe. A sorrow like this is 
 unspeakably trying, and perhaps perplexing to our faith. We 
 must look for grace, and w^ait. One day we also shall be behind 
 the veil. May we catch his spirit, that true prophet's mantle. 
 Like him, may we be ready, our work finished and without 
 arrears. He lived and died for the heathen : so may we." 
 
The Foreio[n Mission. 185 
 
 Among those ou whom Dr. Stevenson felt he could always 
 rely for sympathy, counsel, and help in any case of diffi- 
 culty, there was one who stood out pre-eminently as the 
 friend to whom he could confide all his anxieties, and who 
 was always ready to second him in any cherished enterprise. 
 This was his brother-in-law, Mr. Thomas M. Sinclair, of Cedar 
 Rapids, whose sudden death by accident, in the spring of 
 1881, cut short in its prime a life of rare beauty and usefulness. 
 In the previous year Dr. Stevenson had written to him : — 
 
 " Our Mission work in India goes bravely forward. Letters 
 last week reported twenty-seven more baptisms, the founding of 
 another Christian village, and the very high and spontaneous 
 testimony borne by Government officials to the wisdom of the 
 methods by which the Mission pursues its work. It is now 
 drawing in about a hundred every year to the Church, and is 
 making its influence felt as a powerful element in the district. 
 You ask, Is there anything that could be further done ? Well, 
 I have an old plan. The experiment I tried of inducing the 
 annual collection to run up to £4000 by the offer (anonymously) 
 of £200 of your money has been tried for two years, and failed 
 to elicit the full advance. We shall now, however, be able to 
 manage it by the permission of the Assembly to create auxili- 
 aries. Our greatest want is a Medical Mission. . . . With about 
 £600 or £700 I would undertake to float the project upon the 
 support of the Church, and all I wish is to know if you would 
 approve of this use of what I still have unapplied of your former 
 donations." 
 
 In his first letter to the missionaries after Mr. Sinclair's 
 death, he says : — 
 
 ''May 12, 1881. 
 
 " My brother-in-law was forming many plans with me for the 
 development of our Mission, in which he took as much interest 
 as if he did not live in America. Many of those plans must now 
 be deferred, for the papers will have carried you the news of his 
 death, and I write crushed by the sorrow of a great loss. His 
 
186 Life of William Flemi7ig Stevenson. 
 
 early death is spreading the perfume of an unselfish, Christ-Kke 
 life, yet I miss mournfully the sympathy that was always en- 
 couraging us to go on. . . . 
 
 " I see the Free Church raised for foreign missions this year 
 =£7000 more than last, an increase more than double our whole 
 collection. In our own little congregation the people respond 
 heartily. They sent £160 to the Foreign Mission, and £140 to 
 the Zenana. I would like to see the time when we could support 
 a missionary for each Society." 
 
 But, brave as was the spirit in which he braced himself 
 up to meet new duties, increasing cares, and growing restric- 
 tions, the loss of one so like-minded, and whose heart for so 
 many years had beat in unison with all his aspirations and 
 responded with unwavering fidelity to every demand upon 
 its sympathy, was a searching trial, which left traces of 
 depression that were never quite to pass away. He 
 seemed to have lost something of the old vitality which 
 rebounded after the strain of overwork, and in many of 
 his letters the weariness is all the more pathetic because 
 it is forced back by the iron will that would not give in. 
 Had it not been for his power of sleeping soundly for hours 
 after a long spell of work, his brain could not have stood 
 the ceaseless labour imposed upon it. 
 
 , "/anwaj-y 5, 1882. 
 
 *' I am writing, as you may recognise, hurriedly, not knowing 
 in these days of office anything but the distressing tendency of 
 overwork ; so much of the lahora that it is sometimes perplexing 
 to find time for the ora. May God give you daily the grace of 
 patience and the hopefulness of faith ! and may you see the work 
 grow ! Dear brethren, while we pray for you, do not forget to 
 pray for the Church at home, for her spiritual power and mis- 
 sionary outcome." 
 
 His usual answer to frequent appeals made to him to take 
 more care of his health was, " God has laid the work upon 
 
The Foreign Mission. 187 
 
 me, and I must do it." He had an impression that he was 
 slower in doing work than most people, the fact being that 
 he was more painstaking, and less content with anything 
 done hurriedly or without careful research. 
 
 The statistics he compiled on all sorts of subjects con- 
 nected with the Mission were marvellous in their minute- 
 ness and accuracy, and are a valuable legacy to those who 
 come after him. Scarcely had the yearly circular gone its 
 rounds, till his mind was full of some new idea that might 
 be worked up for that of the next year. The following 
 letter to his dear and valued friend, Mr. Young of Fenaghy, 
 is typical of his energy in this direction : — 
 
 "Dublin, October 15, 1883. 
 "An offer was made to me last week, and required to be 
 promptly seized. It was of Christlieb's admirable book on foreign 
 missions, at about 6d. a copy. The one I have cost me 2s. 6d. I 
 have accepted the offer with a view of sending a copy to each 
 of our ministers in the end of January next, so that they might 
 get a little inspiration before their missionary sermons. Now, 
 would your ' Uncle Ben's Bag ' be in a condition to bear the 
 cost ? I have many plans simmering in my lazy head, and shall 
 write you soon, perhaps, of one or two of them. One is a scheme 
 for auxiliaries, which is almost matured. I shall also send you 
 our Presbytery scheme as soon as reac^y, and I am busy with 
 a project for getting single congregations to support each a mis- 
 sionary, I have had our three men, who are to be ordained in 
 a fortnight, successively with me, and thank God for such mis- 
 sionaries ! In November it may be possible to go down among 
 the students and secure men for next year, but it becomes increas- 
 ingly difficult to work a Mission in Belfast and a congregation in 
 Dublin ; and then we are facing the necessity of enlarging our 
 church. The last news from China is the most encouraging for 
 years. It would seem as if we were at last striking root. I write 
 this before going down by the early train to Belfast, a journey 
 which church-meetings of many kinds have made an almost 
 
188 Life of William Fleming Stevenson, 
 
 weekly necessity for a long time. But the constant round of 
 work is keeping back the lectures on Missions, which ought long 
 since to have seen the light." 
 
 In the beginning of 1885 he was greatly touched by a 
 spontaneous contribution sent him for the Foreign Mission 
 by the members of a working men's Bible-class which he 
 had addressed a few weeks previously. The following is his 
 reply :— 
 
 ^^ January, ISSo. 
 " Thank you very w^armly for the good cheer contained in your 
 letter, and thank your men warmly from me for so generous a 
 contribution to our Mission to the heathen. It lies very close 
 to my heart, and I am glad to find that it lies close to theirs, for 
 it certainly lies close to the heart of our Blessed Saviour. I know 
 something of what this large amount must mean to those who 
 gave it ; that it represents a great deal of thought and saving ; 
 that sacrifice lies away behind it. Is it not pleasant that we can 
 make sacrifices and show our love to Jesus, and that He can use 
 what we give Him to help our brother-men ? I am sure a bless- 
 ing will go with their money out to India, and I will consult with 
 Mr. Beatty, who is just now reaching England, how it may be 
 best spent, and will let you know. Wish your men from me a 
 very happy New Year. Some of them will find it the happiest 
 year they have ever spent, because there is more of Jesus in it. 
 If there are any who have not yet put their trust in Him, may 
 they take Him as their Saviour now." 
 
 And the last extract we can give will show how, busy 
 as he was, he sought to make the missionaries sharers in 
 whatever of special interest was going on at home. He 
 realised how sorely those who labour in heathen lands must 
 often miss the stimulus there is in Christian fellowship. 
 
 " Belfast, July 10, 1S84. 
 " We have all greatly enjoyed the meeting of the Pan-Presby- 
 terian Council. Belfast outdid itself. There was not a hitch in 
 the arrangements, and a happy impression has been left. Those 
 
The Foreign Mission. 189 
 
 who have been prominent at previous Councils tell me this was 
 decidedly the best. It was felt to be the critical meeting, which 
 would greatly help to make or mar the Alliance ; and the con- 
 viction is universal that there has been a consolidation and a 
 practical outcome that ensure vitality to the organisation. The 
 debates were admirable, the leaders of different Churches taking 
 part, and sometimes realising what one has thought one of the 
 early Councils may have been. Those of you who studied under 
 Dr. M'Cosh would have been glad to see his face once more and 
 witness the heartiness of his welcome. But the striking feature 
 of the Council was this, that the Mission became the centre of 
 it, and that men of all parties, schools, and Churches were one in 
 the conviction that the strength of the Council lay in developing 
 missionary activity. A long step was also made forward in the 
 direction of co-operation, and, where possible, corporate union 
 in Mission territories, and by the expressed conviction that 
 the largest freedom must be allowed to the missionaries while 
 building up the kingdom of Christ. The missionary evening — 
 when St. Enoch's Church was crowded, and missionary followed 
 missionary from seven till half-past ten o'clock — was not only a 
 touching spectacle, but has left the deepest impression. The 
 next Council is appointed for London in 1888, two centuries after 
 the Revolution. It has been very refreshing to meet Mr. Jeffrey, 
 the Murray- Mitchells, and your still later visitors, the Mac- 
 Donalds. It is the next best thing to being in Gujarat, where I 
 often wish we both were once more. 
 
 " Mr. Balfour gives us the pleasant news that a lady, formerly 
 a member of his congregation, has handed him £150 to found a 
 scholarship for our girls in the Normal School. To-day I was 
 sent another brooch. God does not forget His work nor us. We 
 are just founding a prayer union, where you will all be remem- 
 bered before the throne. May you all find the riches of His 
 grace, and may the infant Church grow in graciousness and 
 spiritual power, and spread itself over all the land ! " 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 MISSIONARY JOURNEY ROUND THE WORLD. 
 
 At the first meeting of the missionaries after the appoint- 
 ment of Mr. Stevenson as Convener, they expressed their 
 strong desire and hope that he would visit them and their 
 work. In 1875, "with one mind" they again urged the 
 matter on the Board of Missions, stating that, though the 
 expense might be an obstacle, " the fruits would many 
 times repay the outlay ; " and so strong had the wish 
 become, that one of their number, at home on furlough, 
 pleaded in their name for its fulfilment in the meeting of 
 Assembly. Mr. Stevenson, however, could not entertain 
 the proposal. He felt that it was surrounded with diffi- 
 culties ; that his own congregation could not safely be left 
 until it was further consolidated and strengthened ; and 
 while fully realising the value of such experience in the 
 future conduct of the Mission, he could never consent to 
 allow the expense of this journey to be a charge on the 
 funds of the Foreign Mission. He was, moreover, convinced 
 that, if such a visit was to be practically useful, it should 
 not be limited to a survey of the work of his own Church, 
 but should include as far as possible the fields of work of 
 other Churches and Societies, so that he might be able 
 carefully to study their methods and observe their results. 
 Much as he desired to visit scenes already familiar by 
 description, and to see face to face men whom he loved 
 
Missionary Jo7ir7tey Rou7id the World. 191 
 
 and honoured, as well as to acquire, by personal acquaintance 
 with tlie work, additional fitness for carrying on his own 
 part in it, he felt the time had not come, and he put the 
 idea away from him with a strength of will that had often 
 been of substantial service when duty and inclination pointed 
 different ways. 
 
 But the time came sooner than he anticipated, and friends 
 who saw the immense benefit to the Mission of such a visit 
 urged it on. Early in 1877, the Rev. George Shaw brought 
 the matter up again, enforcing his appeal by the assurance 
 that the means would be furnished without any expense 
 to the Mission funds. At the meeting of the Directors of 
 the Mission Board, on the 21st of February, the proposal 
 was submitted to them, when the following resolutions were 
 unanimously and cordially passed : — 
 
 " I. That the Board have received with very great satisfaction 
 the proposal now made to them by the Rev. George Shaw and 
 Mr. Charles Finlay, that the Convener of the Foreign Mission 
 should be requested to visit the stations in China and India, 
 believing it would promote the highest interests of the Mission 
 in these foreign fields, and be of special advantage in stimulating 
 the missionary spirit at home; and that, by observation and 
 intercourse with the various agents and members of the native 
 churches, Mr. Stevenson would obtain that thorough acquaint- 
 ance with all the departments and details of the work which 
 can only be acquired by a personal visit. The Directors all the 
 more readily approve of the proposal, seeing it has been coupled 
 with the assurance that some generous friends of the Church will 
 defray the pecuniary expenses of the journey, and they earnestly 
 make the request desired, and recommend it to the favourable 
 consideration of their beloved brother. They also agree to ask 
 the General Assembly to sanction whatever arrangement may be 
 made with the Convener. 
 
 " II. That this minute be communicated by letter to the Pres- 
 bytery of Dublin, and to the Session and congregation of Rathgar 
 
192 Life of William Fleming Stevenson. 
 
 by deputation, with the expression of the earnest wish of the 
 Board that they will kindly facilitate the object which the 
 Directors have in view. 
 
 "The Moderator of the General Assembly, the Rev. George 
 Bellis, General Secretary of the Board of Missions, the Rev. W. 
 B. Kirkpatrick, D.D., and the Rev. Charles L. Morell w^ere 
 appointed as the deputation." 
 
 In accordance with this resolution the deputation, accom- 
 panied by the Rev. George Shaw, met with the congrega- 
 tion, and laid before them the desire of the Board and its 
 assurance that, should they consent to this temporary 
 separation, the Board would willingly undertake all arrange- 
 ments necessary for sustaining the services of his church 
 during the absence of their minister. The congregation 
 loyally and unanimously consented, no small sacrifice on 
 their part ; but they made one distinct condition — that his 
 wife should accompany him. The idea was new to both, and 
 at first sight seemed impracticable ; but the wisdom of the 
 suggestion commended itself to every one, as it was felt 
 that in making it the congregation had taken the best pos- 
 sible means to preserve their pastor's health. When it was 
 finally arranged that their children w^ere to be left in the 
 loving care of their grandmother, Mrs. Sinclair of Beech 
 Lawn, Mr. and Mrs. Stevenson felt that the last difficulty 
 had been taken away, and that they could hear a voice 
 
 bidding them " go forward." 
 
 "Orwell Bank, June 2, 1877. 
 " Since I wrote, I decided on the proposal made by the Board, 
 and was able to mention at our Communion on the 1st of April 
 that my mind was made up to go, if the Assembly agreed to the 
 Board's request. I was unstrung at the time by the thought of 
 so long an absence and of all that might take place in the 
 interval ; but ever since I have been in perfect peace about it, 
 the peace of fiillilling a clear duty to which God has led me. 
 The decision also affects Mrs. Stevenson, who has made up her 
 
Missionary J 07ir7iey Round the World. 193 
 
 mind to do what has been from so many sides urged upon her, 
 and to part with the children that she may accompany me. It 
 will be a hard struggle yet, I have no doubt, for both of us ; but 
 it may help us to sympathise more truly with your struggles. 
 If I w^ent, the following is pretty much the outline that is before 
 me : — Reach Ceylon from China about the middle of November ; 
 from Ceylon visit the Travancore and Tinnevelly Missions, and 
 work up by rail to Madras, and from Madras on to Surat, to be 
 there by Christmas, if possible ; stay as long as practicable in 
 our own field, and learn all I can be made to learn from you all ; 
 then to Calcutta by Central India ; from Calcutta visit the North- 
 west Missions ; and then from Bombay to Suez. The undertaking 
 is large, but I feel that I would not be justified in this serious 
 separation if I did not try to get acquainted with the charac- 
 teristic Mission-fields of every important Church in India, where- 
 ever there may be time to reach them." 
 
 The proposed journey was a matter of interest not alone 
 to the Presbyterian Church of Ireland, but to all the other 
 Protestant Churches engaged in missionary work. All the 
 great Societies that have missionaries in the East, English, 
 American, and German, furnished warm letters of intro- 
 duction and commendation. Letters were also received from 
 the Marquis of Salisbury, Secretary of State for Foreign 
 Affairs, and from the Earl of Derby, Secretary of State 
 for India, as well as from the Government of the United 
 States, " all of which," as Mr. Stevenson acknowledged in 
 his speech before the Assembly on his return, " not only 
 enabled me to receive the most valuable information, but led 
 to many courtesies that have laid us under the pleasantest 
 oblifration." 
 
 o 
 
 On the eve of their departure from Ireland, a valedictory 
 service was held in the largest Presbyterian church in 
 Belfast, to commend them to the loving care of God during 
 their long journey. The sympathy with the travellers and 
 
194 Life of William Fleming Stevenson. 
 
 tlieir mission shown by tlie numbers wlio came to the 
 meeting was very cheering, and the fervent prayers that 
 God would ^vatch over their children during their absence 
 strengthened them to face the long separation. 
 
 On the 23d of June they sailed from Liverpool for New 
 York in the Cunard S.S. Ahyssinia. With the long journey 
 before them, they found in America little more than the 
 shortest route by San Francisco to Japan ; but the rapid 
 progress across the great continent realised in a fresh and 
 striking way the vastness of the area covered by the rule of 
 the President, and how like, and yet unlike, the land was to 
 their own. Even four years had added considerably to the 
 belts of farming that line the road for hours after passing 
 Omaha, but the loneliness, and the absence of cities, houses 
 and villages, were as striking the second time as the first. 
 
 The extracts which follow have been taken from various 
 sources, and Dr. Stevenson's impressions are, as far as pos- 
 sible, given in his own words. 
 
 " There are no people in the fields ; there is no highway ; we 
 miss the carter's whip and the ploughman's whistle. When the 
 train stopped once and a man got down and walked off across 
 the grey plains, we watched him with a curious pity as if he 
 must get lost," 
 
 '' On the 8th of August, with hearty God-speed from a crowd 
 of friends, we sailed out of the stately harbour of San Francisco 
 in the S.S. City of TolHo, past the ends of successive streets that 
 climbed in painfully regular straight lines up the hill, past the 
 mountain slopes that ran with rough bare face down into the sea, 
 out between the pillars of the golden gate into the rough swell 
 that rolled before the stormy coast wind." 
 
 *' Our cabin passengers were not numerous, but we carried 
 twenty-five returning Chinese in the steerage, as well as the 
 cofiins of some more, that their bones might rest in their native 
 soil. The anxiety to die at home is so great that people in the 
 
Mis sionaiy Journey Round the World. 195 
 
 last stage of illness are sometimes helped up the gangway, and 
 one who was in this condition died before we reached Japan, and 
 was embalmed by the ship's doctor, according to contract. It 
 was a lonely journey, for we never saw a sail. AYe might have 
 been ' the first that ever burst into that silent sea.' Every day 
 a few albatrosses flew round the ship with heavy wings, but 
 as swift as arrows ; now and then there were porpoises, at 
 the end some flying fish — and that was all. As we crossed the 
 parallel, there was the excitement of the lost day. Sunday 
 should have been dropped out, but our Commodore declared that 
 Monday would be sacrificed instead. One captain is so scrupulous 
 that he contrives to have two Sundays on the return journey, 
 when the days allow it ; we were content not to lose, and bade 
 each other good-night on Sunday evening, to meet again on 
 Tuesday morning, with the puzzled sense of a loss that was 
 not deserved. We had been taking the northerly course through 
 rough and foggy weather, which disturbed all our ideas of Pacific 
 warmth and calm, and made us thankful for ulsters and wraps, 
 when, on the 23rd, we burst into a sudden heat, the thermometer 
 lising twenty-three degrees during the night, and the air feel- 
 ing clammy with moisture. That evening there was a wondrous 
 sunset. To the left three- fourths of the heavens were covered 
 by a curtain of cloud, extending in soft folds from the zenith to 
 the horizon in a golden drapery, each fold distinctly marked 
 and flushed with a marvellously rich and pompous glow, which 
 remained for nearly twenty minutes, deepening in warmth to 
 blood-colour, and then fading down, till the last we saw of it 
 was only the red light upon the lower folds, as if a host of angels 
 had lit up the sky with their wings, and were slowly passing in a 
 long procession out of sight. To the right the unclouded belt of 
 sky assumed the most exquisite and tender hues, from pure deep 
 blue to dainty pink, and at the horizon the faintest apple-green. 
 That night the moon looked sickly, and had a huge ring ; we felt 
 that it boded ill. Before morning every sail was down, every boat 
 made fast, the sailors hurrying here and there, preparing for the 
 fight. The wind had freshened to a moderate gale, and the scud 
 flew along the sky ; the sea looked angry, and the rumour spread 
 that we were 'in for a typhoon.' Up till luncheon we amused 
 
196 Life of William Fleming Stevenson. 
 
 ourselves watching the lively gambols of over a hundred por- 
 poises tossing over and over in the white caps of the waves, leaping 
 out of the crest of a sea, and touching the water in the trough 
 with giant springs, sometimes fifty in the air at once. They 
 seemed the very spirits of the storm. But about two o'clock the 
 wind suddenly burst upon us. It shore the white top off the sea 
 and smote it into a sheet of foam. It hurled a furious rain along 
 the decks ; it howled in the rigging. Till after seven in the 
 evening it kept increasing in force. The sight was magnificent ; 
 all around us a dense curtain of storm, and white seas dimly 
 seen through the gloom, while about the ship the masses of water 
 rose ten to fifteen feet above the bulwarks. At sunset the sky 
 was a mass of glowing, uniform, blood-red — like pandemonium, 
 the Captain said. The barometer was still falling one-tenth of 
 an inch every hour. The sea leaped up in pyramidal heaps that 
 mocked the great ship they overlooked, and the wildness and 
 height of the waves defied description. Everybody had been 
 ordered below, after the crashing of some furniture which broke 
 loose from its screws in the deck saloon, and injured some of the 
 passengers. The heat below was insufferable, and it was only 
 by constant exertion that anyone could keep either on sofa, 
 berth, or chair. From nine in the evening till 2 a.m. the 
 wind almost ceased, though the sea retained all its motion. 
 We were then in the centre of the cyclone. About 3 a.m. it 
 commenced with redoubled fury from an opposite quarter, and 
 was at its height by about seven in the morning. That after- 
 noon it had all passed away like a frightful dream ; we were in 
 smooth water, the sails were spread; and as we joined in the 
 thanksgiving service in the evening, to some of us at any rate the 
 107th Psalm came with a depth of meaning it had never had 
 before. Two days later we neared the coast of Japan. Right 
 before us, flushed with the rosy sunset, Fusiyama, the sacred 
 mountain of the islands, rose 14,000 feet into the air, clearly seen 
 from base to summit, though ninety miles away. To the south a 
 tall island cone flung a column of smoke from its volcanic peak 
 high into the sky. The ship glided through the still water; the 
 stars shone out brilliantly ; the phosphorus bubbles danced on 
 the dark, warm sea. We turned the lighthouse point, and sailed 
 
]\ I is sionary Journey Rotmd the World. 197 
 
 up the Gulf of Yeddo, while the moon shone like a soft sun, 
 putting out the stars, and the shadowy ranges of the mysterious 
 land slipped by on either side. We ran out the anchor ; the 
 engines ceased, leaving a stillness that might be felt. Yokohama 
 was three miles away, and at daybreak we were to steam up to 
 the town, through the crowded shipping that lay between. . . . 
 
 '■'' \Sejptem'ber 5, 1877.] Safely packed in the hotel boat, the 
 rowers chanting an incessant mournful groan, as if expiring 
 from want of breath, we threaded our way between monitors, 
 gunboats, swift China clippers, and such picturesque but un- 
 gainly junks as might have been built before Columbus. We 
 landed at a custom-house, and had our luggage inspected, while 
 the coolies who carried it withdrew attention from their want 
 of clothes by the rich colour of the marvellous patterns with 
 which they were tattooed in blue and red. We walked through 
 streets bordered by tall stone buildings, and past shop-windows 
 that would have been no discredit to a European city ; then 
 in a moment turned into a region of dark, brown, low-roofed 
 houses, gay with coloured signs, while the road between was 
 filled with figures that had walked off fans and tea-trays. 
 No one would recognise the fisher-village of yesterday in the 
 Yokohama of to-day, with its fifty thousand people, its broad 
 streets lighted by gas-lamps, its handsome public buildings, and 
 the lines of charming villas along its bluffs. But the population 
 of the fisher- village is still about the town, and Europe and this 
 primitive Asia meet at every corner. The watering-cart was a 
 man with a pair of wooden buckets slung one to each end of a 
 bamboo pole across his shoulders, a slight aperture where the 
 bottom joined the side allowing the water to splash out while 
 he gently ran and sang. Sweetmeats could be purchased from 
 another coolie, whose pole suspended a deep lacquer-box as bril- 
 liant as vermilion. Sounds of smothered entreaty drew near, 
 and a heavily laden cart lumbered up, drawn by two men and 
 pushed by two more, who were chanting a quaint sad refrain 
 that seemed to express the weariness of life. A policeman, in 
 dark frock-coat and white trousers, loitered in the shade ; sol- 
 diers went past in the baggy trousers of Zouaves, and sailors in 
 the garb of the British navy. 
 
198 Life of William Fleming Stevenson. 
 
 " We strolled through the crowd of gay, lazy, curious folk, 
 full of good-nature and politeness ; then drove along the bluffs 
 and out among the rice- fields. The carriage— little bigger than 
 a child's perambulator and of the same shape — was almost too 
 large for the mud cause^vays that led through the farmers' lands. 
 Here and there a light-brown house; here and there a village 
 of them. Then, at the summit, the paper lanterns were lighted, 
 and w^e dashed down the steepest of lanes among a multitude of 
 other lanterns, brilliant and restless as fire-flies, and past rows 
 of quaint interiors apparently illuminated, shops and family 
 parties, artisans at their trade and students at their books, some 
 men writing accounts, and others tramping oil and flour, down 
 this interminable lane and past the railway station, with cabs 
 drawn up in front. 
 
 " We drove one morning to the station. It was not in a cab 
 exactly, but in ' man-power carriages,' the perambulator already 
 mentioned, and known as a jinrikisha, with hood and apron of 
 oiled paper, and a man to run between the shafts at six miles an 
 hour, for two cents a mile. This man- powder wears a solitary 
 garment, which, as he warms to his work, is hitched up, tuck after 
 tuck, like reefs in a sail, until presently he is running under bare 
 poles. If he is tattooed he is an art exhibition, and by judicious 
 change a new picture may be studied every day. There are fifty 
 thousand of these vehicles in the large cities of Japan, rushing 
 about in all directions, swift, cheap, and convenient. We took 
 tickets for Tokio, more familiar by the old name of Yedo — tickets 
 that w^ere printed in English and French, as well as Japanese. 
 They were taken at the orthodox ticket-window, and nipped by 
 the inevitable porter. As the luggage was checked we had leisure 
 to look round the waiting-room. One corner w^as sacred to the 
 bookstall, with its newspapers, cheap books, and time-tables, the 
 latter either with a map or on a fan. There were also the odds 
 and ends of things that belong to this institution in other parts 
 of the world, and a pile of little cushions, from which a third- 
 class passenger could hire one for a trifle, and return it at the 
 station where he stopped. 
 
 " Close to the suburbs of Tokio we come upon the Tokaido, 
 the great thoroughfare that for centuries has connected the 
 
Missionary J 02irney Round the World. 199 
 
 eastern and western capitals. The sea stretched to the right, 
 and the boats, with their heavy sails, lay becalmed in the soft 
 autumn haze ; to the left ran old Japan, this street of shops 
 and tea-houses and ceaseless traffic, that, for picturesqueness, has, 
 perhaps, no rival in the world, 
 
 '' Friends met us at the station ; man-power coolies drew 
 lots for our persons, and in half an hour we were sitting in 
 the room of a former Daimio's home, in the native quarter 
 of the modern capital of Japan, and with a missionary for our 
 host. The house was surrounded by a trim grass lawn, crossed 
 at more than one point by large stepping-stones that con- 
 nected the walks and kept the feet dry. Big, vulgar, impudent 
 crows pushed about here with a perpetual caw-caw that was 
 dictatorial. A small basin of rockwork, where a few pretty 
 ferns hung over the waters, was filled with goldfish ; the rock- 
 work, the fish, and some attempt at green, or perhaps a gro- 
 tesque and twisted root or two, or a dwarfed tree, are a universal 
 arrangement for the house-yard : a walk along any street will 
 reveal a hundred such interiors, sometimes of the tiniest and 
 poorest, but always neat and clean. Broad eaves projected round 
 the house, and covered a wooden ledge that ran outside and made 
 a passage to the rooms, which were formed at will by sliding 
 panels of paper and bamboo, that could be pushed aside at any 
 point ; so that it was impossible to tell where one person might 
 enter or another emerge, or at what moment an inadvertent 
 hand might reveal the strictest privacy. These frail and mov- 
 able walls were hung with narrow scrolls, six or seven feet long, 
 charmingly painted in faint colours, and varying in subject with 
 the season of the year. The floor was formed of mats deftly 
 woven of fine straw, and tightly stretched on frames about two 
 inches thick, that fitted closely together, soft, pleasant, and spot- 
 less ; for Japanese rooms are not to be entered with the reckless 
 muddy boot of Britain, but in slippers or on stocking-soles ; and 
 as these mats are of a uniform length and breadth through- 
 out the country, they serve as a convenient measure,^ and a house 
 or a room is simply so many 'mats.' " 
 
 1 Six feet by three. 
 
200 Life of William Fleiniiig Stevenson. 
 
 "The men in power would have no objection to Christianity, 
 but they have no great wish for it, and they will certainly not 
 hurry in that direction. The bulk of the converts belong to the 
 middle class, and are persons of education ; and there is freedom 
 to teach the Gospel, and no actual persecution. Few, however, 
 of those who have been educated in Europe and America stand 
 by Christianity when they return. They have little depth or 
 moral courage, and are Komans in Rome '' 
 
 ''The heads of the present Government would have exter- 
 minated the Christians, and intended it; but pressure was 
 applied by foreign Governments, and as the people made no 
 stand against tolerance, tolerance gained the day, tolerance even 
 of their old enemy the Church of Rome. Yet, though the 
 edicts against Christianity are no longer hung up at Nihon, the 
 Government would say they are taken down only because the 
 boards on which they were written are decayed; and in point 
 of fact, the edicts against murder and other crimes were taken 
 down at the same time. Until the Japanese learn to distin- 
 guish between the men who can serve them and those who 
 cannot, there is nothing certain. They have an absurd notion 
 of their own superiority and their power to absorb and master 
 what they learn, but they skim over their instructions, as quick 
 and shallow people skim the pages of a serious book " 
 
 "These are the opinions expressed to me by two of the 
 shrewdest men in Japan, and who have had the best oppor- 
 tunity of forming an opinion. They are not sanguine opinions, ' 
 and they may be erroneous ; for, after a revolution so recent and 
 complete as that which has taken place, there is room for little 
 but conjecture. They have a use, however, beyond their own 
 value, that they may help to moderate the expectations which 
 sanguine people entertain at home. It is natural that the large 
 changes which have taken place should breed large hopes, and 
 that they should encourage dreams of a Christian conquest that 
 may be remote; and it is, perhaps, impossible to state these 
 changes as they fall under the eye of a traveller without sug- 
 gesting as probable what is only possible. All that the Govern- 
 ment implied in the creed of 1872 might run, "Fear God, 
 honour the King, keep the fifth commandment, and obey the 
 
Missionary Journey Rozmd tJie World. 201 
 
 laws of nature." Japan may even return to its exclusiveness, 
 as some of the residents are bold enough to think ; but at present 
 Christian teaching has a singular vantage-ground, and Christian 
 missionaries have not been slow to seize it. 
 
 " It needs to be remembered, however, that much of this ad- 
 vance may be only apparent, that in many directions it is recent, 
 and that there are thoughtful and well-informed men who say it 
 is only skin-deep. It is a country where a stranger, taken by 
 surprise at what he sees, may easily form erroneous impressions, 
 and especially in noticing Christian progress. Foreign sermons 
 and foreign doctrines will be listened to with apparent eagerness ; 
 for the Japanese is polite. Politeness is almost his present creed. 
 He would not wound a foreigner by not hearing what he has to 
 say. He will often veil his real indifference, and even hostility, 
 under courteous phrases. For months, and perhaps longer, a 
 crowd will gather round a missionary, cheer his hopes, and then 
 disperse ; and he may be forced to remember that Japan is pro- 
 verbially fickle, a land out of which religion has almost died, where 
 religious yearning scarcely exists, and where there is a reign of 
 indifference, for the religious heart of the people has withered till 
 it is dry " 
 
 " While we were at Tokio, a conference of all the missionaries in 
 that city was assembled at the house of our host. They were of 
 several Societies — the Church Missionary Society and the Society 
 for the Propagation of the Gospel, the United Presbyterians of 
 Scotland and the American Presbyterian Board, the Episcopal 
 Methodists of the States and the Wesleyan Methodists of 
 Canada, the Dutch Reformed and the American Lutherans, so 
 that there were about thirty-seven in all, men and women. 
 From four o'clock until after nine we were together, hearing 
 and answering questions; enjoying practical unity, which at 
 home we always pray for and yet never seem to reach ; 
 feeling (for I can use no other word) the fine, brave, humble, 
 patient, confident spirit of all these workers, and recognising in 
 their unity the room and mission for the special gifts and tem- 
 perament of each. There were thus eight Protestant Societies 
 represented ; but there are others in Japan, besides the Greek and 
 Roman Churches, so that the staff of missionaries is large. The 
 
202 Life of William Fleming Stevenson. 
 
 head of the Russian Mission is a man of singular earnestness and 
 a most striking appearance, with a face that is full of dignity, 
 suffering, and love. He holds the principal service in a chapel 
 simply fitted up in his own house, reading the liturgy from a 
 manuscript translation. We found his little chapel crowded, and 
 his day occupied by incessant work, among which a Bible-class is 
 well spoken of ; but he has helpers serving in different parts of 
 the town, and his official position in the Russian Embassy has 
 given him influence over many of the official Japanese. 
 
 '■^ The oldest Missions are the American, and, on the Sunday 
 we were in Tokio, one of the native chapels was opened after its 
 enlargement, of which the cost (about £100) was defrayed by the 
 effort of the Christians themselves. The building would accom- 
 modate more than three hundred, and was crowded with a reverent 
 and earnest congregation. Two of the native elders assisted 
 at the Communion ; and the Communion addresses, the passing 
 of the bread and wine among the dusky worshippers, the bowed 
 heads of young and old, and all the quiet of the solemn service, 
 so natural, and yet, in the very centre of this heathen people, so 
 unlikely, stirred many deep and blessed thoughts. Ten minutes' 
 walk from this spot, and ten minutes of a very hot day, there 
 was another native service, where the sermon was preached by 
 a native, and where the church, a schoolroom adjoining, and 
 rooms for residence and an orphanage, have all been built by 
 a native Christian at his own expense. The next service we 
 attended had not been long begun, but from forty to fifty per- 
 sons were present, and many of them are communicants. It was 
 late in the afternoon before I was able to return to the Union 
 English Church. One of the native congregations has permission 
 to use the building till it has completed one for itself. Here also 
 there was the Communion, and had we been able to arrive a little 
 earlier we should have had the joy of seeing six adults baptized. 
 We closed a very happy day by accompanying our host to his 
 final service. It was rather a free talk than a service, and was 
 held in a low room that opens directly off a crowded and, as 
 usual, a narrow street. A lamp hung above the door bears on 
 one of its sides an invitation to enter. The room could hold 
 about sixty people. They squatted on the matted floor as they 
 
Missionary J otu^ney Ro2ind the World, 203 
 
 entered, men from their work, for, except in Government offices, 
 there is no Sabbath in Japan, and women with children at the 
 breast. They filled up all the space, and then a crowd of figures, 
 just visible through the semi-darkness, blocked up all the room 
 about the door. Some would move away, but others always took 
 their place. First the catechist spoke, and then the missionary. 
 All listened, though in the gloom there could sometimes be seen 
 little but the sparkle of the dark eyes. One old man of eighty- 
 two, clearly visible under the light of the lamp, was absorbed 
 and happy. He had been a physician and a keen student of 
 Confucius, and after a struggle had yielded to Christ, and was 
 baptized the week before. Near him sat three jinrildslia-mQii, 
 who were entreating baptism for themselves and their families. 
 After the service was over, a number remained for conversation, 
 and it was late when we got to rest, wearied, but beyond measure 
 thankful " 
 
 "Although some of the congregations I had visited were among 
 the most characteristic and the largest in Tokio, there were 
 many other points in the city where there were bands of wor- 
 shippers, and beyond the city there were meetings in the neigh- 
 bouring villages, so that there were probably twenty voices pro- 
 claiming on that day and in that district the blessed Gospel of 
 our Lord. 
 
 '< The number of hearers at some of these stations was no 
 doubt small, and of thoughtful hearers smaller still ; yet it was 
 impossible to forget that five years ago, for example, there were 
 only eight members in the congregation that has now a hundred 
 and seventy- five, and that most of these additions have been led 
 to Christ through the earnest persuasion of their converted 
 neighbours. 
 
 '' Preaching plays a large part in these services, for the 
 Japanese are great sermon-hearers, even when heathen, and 
 the sermons of some of their own priests are justly celebrated. 
 The sermon is irregular in form — a frank and inartistic, but 
 not unstudied talk over the topic that has been in the preacher's 
 mind. He takes a passage for a text, and then probably passes 
 on to some cognate passages as he proceeds. Beginning with 
 the soft low voice of his people, he soon warms, and often uses 
 
204 Life of William Fleming Stevenson. 
 
 much gesture and eager rhetoric; but one of his strong points, 
 as it is of the old Buddhist sermons, is his power of iUustration. 
 To take an example or two only from the sermons I heard. 
 Speaking of the impatience of the Christian under trial : ' Sum- 
 mer and winter are each hard to bear ; but they are soon over, 
 and we take them as they come. Let us also take trial as one 
 of God's seasons, and believe that it is only for a season.' Of 
 faith and works : ' A hawk and a crow ' (the two common birds 
 here, and the former the model of the Japanese kite) — '■ A hawk 
 and a crow, you know, can fly away when they have two wings. 
 And if one wing be maimed or shot off, the bird flutters 
 to the ground and cannot fly. "We also have two wings on 
 which we fly to heaven : the one is faith, and the other works. 
 But we can only fly thither with two ; and if we try with one 
 we fall to the ground, and flutter and crawl there like a maimed 
 bird.' Of the hopes of heaven : ' When you fly a kite ' (a uni- 
 versal amusement in Japan), ' if you tie the string to one place 
 the kite will fall; if to another, it will whirl and tumble un- 
 steadily in the air, but never mount ; if to another, it will rise 
 a little way, and then flutter and begin to descend; but if to 
 the right spot, it will soar into the sky. So, if we tie our hopes 
 to anything earthly, they come to nothing, though they some- 
 times seem, by our affections and aspirations, to mount unsteadily 
 for a little space; but when we tie them to heaven, they soar 
 into the sky, and dazzle us with the sunshine of God. ' 
 
 "Among the courtesies received at our Embassy in Tokio, not 
 the least were the suggestions of what it was best to see, and 
 what, with our limited time, it was needless to attempt. The 
 ride to Nikko would have given the best impression of the coun- 
 try ; and finding that impossible, we did as we were told, and 
 chose the ride to Narra, with its temples and its great bronze 
 Daihuts, or image of the sitting Buddha. Narra lies twenty- 
 seven miles out of Kioto, and as we proposed going and return- 
 ing the same day, we started early, long before it was light, 
 hurrying through the silent streets, the brown houses all shut 
 up and lying in dark shadows, fragile, and indeed rickety-look- 
 ing, now that the gaiety of life had deserted them. A young 
 student from the Christian College was our companion, and no 
 
Missionary Journey Round the World. 205 
 
 one could have a more thoughtful or a better. We crossed the 
 long bridge at Fujimi half an hour before the dawn, and full 
 twenty porters, their bundles slung from bamboos, stood to 
 watch us pass. We had made the first seven miles in an hour, 
 and our thoughts wandered back to Xavier, who reached Fujimi 
 walking, with a wallet on his back, frozen feet, and a body- 
 covered with ulcers. As the light broadened, we found all 
 round us a sweep of lofty mountains, and from the woods that 
 clothed them the smoke of charcoal-burning rose straight into 
 the sky. The road was irregular, sometimes on the top of an 
 embankment that divided the waters of a still lagoon, where 
 tall white cranes and Japanese fishermen vied in their motion- 
 less watch; and sometimes between fields, or bounded by the 
 curious glint of the bamboo groves that spread their feathery 
 crowns fifty feet above our head. We ran for miles between 
 tea plantations, and noted how the shrub took the place of 
 the cabbage in the peasant's plot at home, and that it was not 
 shy of even winding in and out between the open spaces of a 
 village, and making the hedge round a villager's garden. Eice 
 shared the culture with tea, and at some points the freshly 
 picked cotton was spread upon a mat or a tray for sale. As the 
 sun rose, so did the people, and, like children of the sun, came 
 out into the light. The paper screens disappeared, and the 
 quaint, neat, modest interiors came into view. Women cooked 
 the early meal, the father dandled the baby in front of the door, 
 and made him laugh to see the white-skinned strangers, and 
 toilets went on without reserve. Endless shops revealed their 
 w^ares, for in Japan every one has something to sell, yet so little 
 that a pound would buy up a large establishment. There were 
 pots and pans, vessels of wood, kerosene lamps, blouses and 
 sandals, hats and umbrellas, books and stationery, and mys- 
 terious forms of cookery ; while fox-like curs haunted the 
 doorsteps. 
 
 " Our men sped on with their ceaseless chant, steering care- 
 fully among the ruts in the sandy track, and when a plunge was 
 made, looking round with a merry smile. We crossed wooden 
 bridges, and passed Shinto shrines with the priest's house beside 
 them like a manse ; we climbed low hills where the mosses and 
 
206 Life of William Fleming Stevenson. 
 
 ferns were as vivid as at home ; we ran by the bank of a rapid 
 river, then disappeared among narrow paths through the weedless 
 fields, wound in and out among the walls and houses of a village 
 as if we proposed to visit every family in turn, and without 
 warning emerged on a country road as wide as one of our own. 
 There were few birds and few flowers, and of the latter little 
 more than some patches of chrysanthemums, the purple bell 
 of thje egg-plant, and coxcombs that stood six feet high and 
 were sometimes broad in proportion. We met perambulators 
 packed with vegetables on their way to market, and men with 
 the bamboo shoulder-pole innumerable ; one carried sixteen 
 barrels, presumably empty, eight to each end ; and another rose 
 up from a well with seventeen small kegs of water : if one basket 
 was full, a baby, an umbrella, or a hat was slung into the other. 
 Messengers met us ; a parcel- post swift as Mercury, and no 
 better clothed; porters pushed their loads; and farmers with 
 broad hats pressed forward on business to the nearest town ; 
 bands of pilgrims clothed in white, long staff in hand, and 
 wearing huge rosaries and scallop-shells, with usually one that 
 had a bell about his neck to keep the rest from straying, would 
 stop as we went by. Ev^ery one was good-humoured, and every 
 one said, 'Good-morning' (' Oliaio^); and the boys from school 
 curtseyed low as they did this pretty piece of manners. Only 
 the yellow-robed priests, with shaven crowns and sly small eyes, 
 looked at us askance, as if some evil speech was in their heads. 
 And all the way it seemed as if every one was bent on doing the 
 opposite of what we do at home. The cows had bells on their 
 tails instead of their necks ; the horses are clothed in winter, the 
 men naked ; the draught bullocks wear straw shoes, carry an 
 extra pair, and leave the w^orn ones untidily about the streets ; 
 the horse stands in his stable with his head from the stall, and 
 when he is brought out the rider mounts him from the right ; 
 when acquaintances meet, each tenderly shakes his own hand ; 
 people write down the page, and they kneel at dinner; the tailor 
 sews from him, the carpenter planes to him ; the teeth of the 
 saw and the thread of the screw run in the opposite direction 
 to ours, and their locks turn to the left ; the blacksmith pulls 
 the bellows with his foot, the cooper holds the tub with his toes ; 
 
Missionary Journey Round the World. 207 
 
 house- contractors begin to build from the roof; gardens are 
 watered from a little pail with a wooden spoon ; it is not the 
 nightingale but the crow that is their bird of love; the lamb 
 is an emblem of stupidity ; suicide is a pleasure which has to be 
 prevented by royal decree; and it is a compliment to be called 
 
 a goose " 
 
 '' We were sailing among the three thousand islands of the 
 Inland Sea. The islands were often little more than a single 
 rock, with probably one tree peering over the summit ; but there 
 were numbers of them big enough to allow the brown-roofed 
 villages to nestle among the rice-fields, or to lie at the foot of 
 steep hillsides, terraced up to the very top; and sometimes 
 there were glorious mountains, range behind range, till the 
 highest had a delicate crown of cloud, superb mountain amphi- 
 theatres, and masses of tumbled hills, and the soft light of the 
 grass upon them all, like Killarney on a summer day, blended 
 with the mighty sweep from Mull to Ben Cruachan. It was the 
 most shifting view I ever saw, and sky and sea and land all 
 shared the inconstancy. Now a calm strait that reached for 
 miles between two islands on our right, speckled with boats, and 
 fringed with woods and little bays of pure white sand fit for the 
 feet of fairies, and the heaven above a clear pearl grey ; then a 
 blue sky and a merry breeze, scattering foam over the sea, and 
 sweeping on the ungainly junks, with their white, full-bellied sails, 
 the hills grey and blue and purple, and dim and mighty islands 
 like clouds in the far distance ; now so close to the shore that we 
 were under the shadow of the cliff, the rocks and wooded points 
 narrowing in on both sides till we could believe we were sailing 
 on some Eastern Rhine ; then, in a moment, out into an open 
 sea with space and light and far-off land. And this procession 
 passed us unceasingly from sunrise until sunset. It might have 
 been Loch Linne or Ross Island, Arrochar or Windermere, until 
 we rubbed our eyes and saw the junks at anchor, the spectral 
 fringe of trees along the hilltops, the brown roofs, and the curves 
 of country temples. Then, in the late afternoon, we ran below a 
 lighthouse rock, and the light-keeper ran up his flag ; and, look- 
 ing back, we saw long stretches of the loveliest green water, 
 changing, as we looked, under every play of light and shade and 
 
208 Life of William Fleming Stevenson. 
 
 colour ; then a line of telegraph-poles, and a green point jutting 
 out on the left to meet the hills upon the right, so that the 
 steamer has little more than room to pass in the clear, still 
 water, and we were in a land-locked bay, anchored off the pretty 
 town of Simonasaki, and the setting sun lit up the woods and sea 
 and sky with crimson and gold. When the evening falls and 
 the sea is calm, the fishing-boats crowd it with the sparkle of 
 their lights ; but away from shore there are many junks that 
 carry no lights, and are slow to answer their helm, and a cause 
 of much explosive speech among sea-captains. In the morning 
 the sea was smooth, the sky a lovely blue, broken with motionless 
 spots of soft white cloud, and the bays and hills, the low cliffs, 
 and the gaps into narrow glens and upland valleys, the pebbly 
 beaches and sandy bays of yesterday, were repeated ; until, at 
 last, through a passage seemingly not wider than a hundred 
 yards, we entered another harbour girt about with pleasant 
 mountains, and glided by swards of vivid green that wandered 
 up into a maze of wooded heights and knolls ; then swung round 
 among the men-of-war, and before us there was Nagasaki, stretch- 
 ing its streets up the steep spurs, and behind the streets innumer- 
 able gravestones, and behind the gravestones meadows and trees 
 and the dark shadows of the mountain " 
 
 " The Captain had run us close by an island rock. It was 
 scarcely picturesque ; a steep slope of grass upon the landward 
 side, and seaward a precipitous fall of perhaps fifty feet to a 
 beach that dipped rapidly into the water ; but every one looked 
 at it with interest, for it was Pappenberg, the Kock of Martyrs. 
 How many hundreds or thousands of native Christians were 
 flung over that sea-wall we may never know. It was a cruel 
 death, for they must first have been mangled on the sharp ledge 
 below before they were drowned. But two hundred and forty 
 years ago that islet of modern picnics was spattered with blood, 
 and one of the most painful and perplexing episodes of Christian 
 Missions came to an end. 
 
 "Nagasaki was our last peep at Japan, and we wandered 
 through the streets reluctant to bid them good-bye. Two men 
 with a huge drum-like tambourine beat a long tattoo, and when 
 they stopped, a third man called out in a loud voice the name of 
 
Missionary Jouriiey Round the World. 209 
 
 the play at the theatre, and invited the people to come. A blind 
 man passed along blowing a shrill, plaintive note upon a reed, 
 and thus clearing the way. We had not seen any tubbing of 
 this much-bathing people in the open street, nor that promiscu- 
 ous washing of their person which appears in travellers' tales. 
 We missed here the light-hearted courtesy of other Japanese towns, 
 where no man ever seems rude to his neighbour, where common 
 porters will salute one another with an air of perfect breeding, and 
 where a cabman helps his weaker fellow up a stiff bit of hill and 
 is repaid by a charming ' Oliaio.^ But the shopkeepers were as 
 busy with their smallwares ; the children toddled about as hap- 
 pily, sisters carrying brothers as big as themselves, and every one 
 of them with a shaven head on which the hair grew in four black 
 tufts, the forehead, the crown, and above each ear ; their fathers 
 laughed with them as they flew dragon-flies like kites, tying a 
 light thread round the body of the unfortunate insect so as to let 
 it up or down ; the women walked about painted and powdered 
 like their own dolls ; peasants came in from the country thatched 
 from head to foot in a mantle of straw against some passing 
 shower ; broad umbrellas (each stamped with the owner's name) 
 lay out in the street to dry, and the sun streamed through their 
 oiled paper of every shade of brown ; paper wares were vended 
 of every kind, parasols, overcoats and carriage- aprons, fans and 
 twine, and paintings on paper instead of canvas, and paper 
 pocket-handkerchiefs, which as a lady uses she throws away; 
 and anxious people chewed paper prayers well in their mouths 
 and spat them at their god. 
 
 " Then we lingered about Desima, the little scrap of artificial 
 island or ' made land,' covered to the water's edge with Dutch 
 warehouses and native churches, the tiny foothold which the 
 Dutch maintained with such magnificent patience, and surely the 
 strangest of all trading factories or sea-^^risons. It was impos- 
 sible not to think of what Japan had been till thirty years ago. 
 Then it was absolutely shut off from the world, now it is repre- 
 sented at every European capital; then it was a capital crime 
 for a Japanese to leave his country, now he studies in a dozen 
 foreign colleges ; then it was death to a foreigner to be seen on 
 the public road, now he takes his seat beside the Japanese in a 
 
 
 
210 Life of William Fleming Stevenson. 
 
 railway train; then their only ships were junks, pierced by a 
 hole in the stern that was to warn them against pushing out to 
 sea — junks that occupied months in a journey between two of 
 their ports — now they own steamers that trade along the coast as 
 steamers trade along the Clyde, and they have a line to China ; 
 then the sea was their bulwark, now it is their pathway ; the 
 taxes were then collected in kind, now in money ; then Buddhist 
 temples made the bravest show, now hundreds of them have 
 been suppressed, their revenues diverted to the State and their 
 bells sold for old bronze ; then there was a perfect feudal tyranny, 
 now there is a limited monarchy, a responsible Cabinet, and the 
 Code Napoleon ; then the Emperor was absolutely invisible, now 
 the people are not even compelled to kneel as he passes ; then 
 there was the bitterness of caste, now even the outcast Ainos have 
 received citizenship; then the edicts against Christianity were 
 posted up at the street-corners, now there are over a hundred 
 missionaries, and Christian men are in the employment of the 
 
 State " 
 
 *' In the evening we sat in the verandah of our host's house, 
 some hundreds of feet above the sea. The harbour was brilliant 
 with the lights of the shipping, and through a fringe of flowers 
 and tropical trees we could see them gleam distinctly in the water, 
 and a misty moonlight in the air revealed the soft mountains 
 beyond. We were talking of the Missions and the converts. 
 The next day we steamed past Pappenberg once more, and past 
 the lonely rocks through which successive storms have worn the 
 stateliest archways, fifty or sixty feet in height, the hills seen 
 through them looking like pictures in a frame. We coasted all 
 day below the woods and mountains ; the blue islands that had 
 been far ahead were now far astern ; and there was at last nothing 
 but sea. It was long after sunset when the captain called us to 
 take farewell of Japan ; it was only a solitary rock, scarcely visible 
 among the shadows of the evening ; but Japan claimed it, and 
 would have the honour of crowning it with a lighthouse." 
 
 " Stptemher 20, 1877. 
 *' We reached Shanghai to-day, after some unfriendly tossing 
 in the Yellow Sea. We start to-morrow for four days' similar 
 
Al is sionary Journey Round the World. 211 
 
 tossing up the coast water to Newchwang. Wonderful storms 
 are predicted, as it is the equinox, but no other ship will sail 
 for ten days, and we could not miss the chance. They are plan- 
 ning to have two meetings here on our return — a conference 
 with all the missionaries, and a general meeting of all the native 
 Christians. But now for the north ; for the home faces of our 
 own missionaries, and for our own Mission. As yet it is a tiny 
 speck upon the map ; but it lies with the Church at home how 
 big that speck will grow." 
 
 " Off Newchwang, SciAnnhcr 25, 1877. 
 " We left Shanghai on Friday, and it is now Tuesday after- 
 noon. We have just crossed the bar, with its heavy rollers and 
 dirty yellow water, and are in a broad river bordered by reedy 
 banks. The Chinamen have come upon deck, gorgeously arrayed 
 in wonderful leggings and armless overcoats quilted with blue 
 satin. Thirty or forty miles away there are ranges of blue 
 mountains to the east, but the view at hand is of low, swampy, 
 featureless ground, made inexpressibly dreary by a few melan- 
 choly hovels. We pass endless ranges of junks, anchored in 
 rows, eight and ten and twelve deep, faded and dirty-looking, 
 with pennants flying, and some with tall bamboos at the stern 
 covered over with coloured balls, while a broad crimson flag 
 droops over the water. The setting sun makes a ruddy glow 
 behind the forest of low masts and the tall spars of the foreign 
 ships. Some meagre trees rise from the muddy shore among low- 
 roofed foreign houses, in compounds surrounded by mud walls. 
 The evening wind is cold, the sky looks chill, the shore dull and 
 friendless. The anchor-chains run down, and we are at New- 
 chwang, the most northerly of the treaty-ports, not long since 
 only a village, though now a bustling town, with a population of 
 sixty thousand. The principal street runs parallel with the river 
 for more than two miles ; but to call it a street might convey an 
 erroneous impression. We reached it by a number of what we 
 should call lanes lined with mud walls. At frequent intervals 
 the walls were pierced with doorways, opening into vast, irre- 
 gular courts, of perhaps three to four hundred feet square, and 
 littered over with carts, mules, dogs, pigs, and men, great inn- 
 
212 Life of William Fleming Stevenson. 
 
 yards, \Yhicli in winter present a curious spectacle, thronged with 
 the traffic from places hundreds of miles away. Now these 
 streets or lanes were deserted, often filled with water, and 
 elsewhere deep in mud. But once in the main thoroughfare, a 
 crowd was always coming and going. The street was lined with 
 substantial shops— shops for the sale of clothes and shoes, caps 
 and furs, tobacco-pipes and opium. Carts wandered up and 
 down, drawn by five to eight mules apiece, and absorbing all 
 the room, most of them freighted with merchandise, but some 
 with people. Men stood at the fruit and vegetable stalls with 
 bamboo tubes in their hands, rattling the dice; and people 
 stopped to buy, for a Chinaman would rather pay double for 
 his food than not gamble to have it for nothing. Huge mangy 
 dogs were everywhere. An awful drain crosses the thorough- 
 fare, six feet wide and twelve or fourteen feet deep, black with 
 the most horrid filth, and polluting the air. Manchus and Can- 
 tonese, Buddhists and Mohammedans, people of Shanghai and 
 people of Amoy, people with turbans and people with skull-caps, 
 the coolie and the merchant, the long rough dray and the blue- 
 covered country cart, donkeys and oxen, junk-sailors and Tartar 
 soldiers, jostled each other in the narrow way, where one Irish 
 cart would scratch the wall on either side. Beggars followed in 
 tattered garments, asking for alms with a leer ; and here and 
 there a temple lifted its carved and storied roof high above the 
 crowd. The foreign settlement lies at the upper end, made up 
 of the usual four elements of society— consular, customs, mercan- 
 tile, and missionary. The houses are placed upon a bare bank of 
 mud; a mud square interposes between them and the native 
 quarter; little rough causeways, raised above the yielding mud, 
 lead from one house to the other ; melancholy trees struggle out 
 of the muddy soil. It is the broad road to the north, and mules 
 flounder and carters swear in this Slough of Despond. Close by 
 where the traffic runs to the lower temples is our chapel, which 
 often quickly fills when a foreigner begins to preach. In the 
 foreign settlement are the houses and compounds of our mis- 
 sionaries, with the dispensary and another chapel. The United 
 Presbyterian Mission is not far off, and their chapel for preaching 
 is in the middle of the busy part of the town. 
 
Missionary Journey Ro2tnd l/ie World. 213 
 
 " It was here that William Burns spent his last days. At the 
 lower part of the town, not far from a temple, there is the house 
 he lived in, ah-eady considerably changed, and tenanted by people 
 who never heard his name ; they were merely two little rooms in 
 a Chinese house, for he had adopted many of the Chinese habits 
 as well as dress, and could live on eggs and Chinese scones that 
 to any one else have the flavour and consistency of putty. The 
 families change rapidly at these ports, ten years effecting more 
 than forty would at home ; but there are a few that preserve the 
 pleasant traditions of the man, his earnestness and holiness, his 
 genial ways and bright smile. He did not lay much stress upon 
 his costume, though they tell that long habit had rendered it 
 natural, and that his face had wonderfully caught the Chinese 
 expression. He used to say that he was content if it allowed 
 him to pass among men without notice. He was revising his 
 translation of the * Pilgrim's Progress,' and would slip into a 
 quiet corner of a tea-house, sip the tea, and listen eagerly to the 
 conversation. As soon as he had heard a new colloquial phrase 
 he was content, and would withdraw rejoicing, and the first 
 greeting that his friends had would be, * I have got a new phrase,' 
 as he repeated it in high glee. There is no personality, appa- 
 rently, so marked as his among the Christian missionaries. Men 
 spoke of him everywhere with regard and admiration, and 
 the impression he left upon Chinese whom he did not win to 
 Christianity seems to have been profound. It was mainly the 
 impression of a noble and unselfish character, of a pure and 
 single-minded and intensely earnest man " 
 
 " We were thirteen days in Newchwang before a steamer came 
 to take us off, and I was thus able not only to visit the out- 
 stations, but to form an acquaintance with all the families of the 
 settlement. The territory that is open to the missionary from 
 this point is enormous. A great part of it is thick with villages 
 and towns. The population is orderly, industrious, and thrifty, 
 and one may travel with as much safety, and be sure of as much 
 civility, as at home. So far the conditions of missionary work 
 are extremely favourable, and judging by the analogy of other 
 Missions, they are the conditions of success. We have since seen 
 several Missions that for more years than we have laboured bore 
 
214 Life of William Fleming Stevenson. 
 
 no fruit, and have now groups of powerful native churches. The 
 same man has had ten years of discouragement, and nearly twice 
 ten years of plentiful return. These all sowed in faith, and we 
 must sow likewise ; and when the day of harvest comes, there will 
 be no richer grain than that from the Chinese of Manchuria." 
 
 Tientsin, where some pleasant days were spent, and 
 where there were many glimpses into the busy Mission 
 life and its powerful influence, was reached after three 
 days of sea travel, and two more of impatient detention 
 amono- the mud-banks of the river Peiho. 
 
 o 
 
 " For hundreds of miles round Tientsin, it may be said, there 
 is a Christian boundary, a track marked by the villages where 
 there are Christian families, villages never so far apart but that 
 one holds easy communication with the next. This roadway is 
 of recent years, and every year will now add to the villages in 
 the line of it and the roads that will branch off it in every direc- 
 tion. Our Protestant Missions are no longer a fragment of fringe 
 along an enormous coast. The fringe is extending so steadily 
 that it will soon be complete, and already lines of stations are 
 pushing off from it into the interior. Few of us probably have 
 any more definite conception of Tientsin than that it is a treaty- 
 port and the scene of an ugly massacre. Yet Manchester and 
 Liverpool together have not as large a population, and it is the 
 great mart of Northern China. We attended several services 
 here. There are now many congregations that support their 
 own pastors, and build their churches, and look after their church 
 property just as we do. 
 
 " We heard a sermon there, preached in the ordinary course 
 by a young native clergyman, which, if preached in English, 
 would have produced a very striking impression anywhere at 
 home, such a sermon as is rarely heard from any pulpit. We found 
 devout congregations, and had delightful meetings with them ; 
 and there, as well as elsewhere, we had meetings with all the mis- 
 sionaries, and learned more of the character of the work than 
 could be gathered from years of correspondence and sending of 
 reports. Nor has this been the only gain. We have learned many 
 
Missionajy Journey Round the World. 215 
 
 lessons of faith and patience, and carried away a constant stimu- 
 lus from the unselfish, unsparing, trying, yet always cheerful 
 work of hundreds of men and women who are not known beyond 
 their own Mission, but whose names are written in heaven." 
 
 The journey to Pekin can usually be made in a comfort- 
 able house-boat, but the state of the river at the time of our 
 visit, owing to a strong north-west wind, left no choice, and 
 the ride of eighty-seven miles in a Chinese mule-cart, spring- 
 less and seatless, was a never-to-be-forgotten experience. For 
 seven-and-twenty hours it jolted over roads that were a suc- 
 cession of ruts often a foot deep, or made tracks for itself, 
 bumping across the hard furrows of a field, while the unfor- 
 tunate occupants, stiff and aching, held wearily on by the 
 sides, and felt as if every joint was being dislocated. 
 
 " At last, when the sun had gone down, the mules, which had 
 once or twice intruded their noses into inns, were turned into 
 a large courtyard, about sixty feet long and not half as wide, 
 and filled with carts, waggons, and beasts of burden. Hotels 
 vary in China, and one or two in Manchuria had a spacious 
 dignity about them, and rooms tha;t were bright and fairly kept ; 
 and some are worse than that we entered now, for we were on a 
 highroad where foreigners are becoming frequent. At the upper 
 end was a small building for superior guests. It was divided 
 into three compartments with earthen floors; the eating-den 
 had a broken table and a broken chair ; the other two were for 
 sleeping, and a lamp cast a dim light into the darkness — a tiny 
 wick that floated in a sea of oil in an iron saucer crusted with the 
 dirt of centuries. A meal under such circumstances was not ex- 
 hilarating. The beef we had carried with us was so manipulated 
 in the cooking that it looked exactly like a dish of caterpillars ; 
 there was egg-plant stewed in pork broth — but pigs and dogs are 
 the scavengers of China ! There was seasoning of sea- slugs, and of 
 other condiments that were spread at an open window in reach of 
 the cook's brawny arm ; there were messes in bowls, balls of soft 
 cakes, like putty from a glazier's shop, and there was musty rice 
 
216 Life of William Fleming SteveJtson. 
 
 The trusty Li changed the uneaten courses with evident concern ; 
 at last,- in triumph, he carried in hot water for the tea ; but against 
 the bowls which he offered for tea-cups, lip, nose, and stomach 
 revolted, and we withdrew to bed, cold and supperless, like naughty 
 children. A mattress was stretched upon the hollow brick counter 
 which serves as bedstead, and underneath which we forbade the 
 usual fire, afraid of what the heat might bring forth. We shivered 
 through the early hours of the night, with our feet to the bare, 
 repulsive wall and our heads to the passage. In the dull light it 
 seemed as if hideous things crept along the ceiling, shining things 
 rested on the walls, and crawling things gnawed among the paper 
 and straw on the floor ; fingers were thrust through the paper panes 
 of the little lattice- window, and curious eyes peeped in, and the 
 rush of chill air was welcome because it was pure ; and as we dozed 
 and watched, the mules munched outside, and the carters talked, 
 and the querulous song of some gayer spirit rose above the other 
 voices. There was a patter of little feet, a squeak, a rat, more 
 rats: 'They sometimes fall down through the thin ceiling,' a 
 friend had said. AVe could stand it no longer. The ' Hall of Ten 
 Thousand Felicities ' had become to us a * Temple of Horrors ; ' 
 and in the third watch of the night we had taken to the road 
 once more, and saw below the frosty stars the lamps of other 
 carts as they sparkled over the plain." 
 
 Owing to many previous delays, a week was all that 
 could be given to Pekin, where the travellers were the 
 guests of the American Legation, and where every facility 
 was afforded them of making the best use of their time. 
 One day was devoted to the sacred Temple of Heaven, w^hich 
 Mr. Stevenson explored with especial interest. An exciting 
 expedition was made to the ruined Summer Palace, forbidden 
 ground to all barbarians, and where entrance was only made 
 possible by the fortunate accident of a gap in the wall not 
 having been repaired. Among other places, the Observatory, 
 with its gigantic astronomical instruments, some of which 
 have withstood exposure to the elements for six hundred 
 
Mi ssiona7y Journey Round the World. 217 
 
 years, the great Llama monastery, and the temple of 
 Confucius were visited, as well as all the Mission schools 
 and agencies. 
 
 " We met one evening, at the invitation of our host, more 
 than thirty missionaries, and there were some who could not 
 come. Some of these men have pushed on their journeys as far 
 as Thibet, others occupy the districts round the capital, and there 
 was not one of them but was encouraged by the prosperity of 
 the Mission, by the feeling that its influence was increasing, and 
 by the character of many at least of the native Christians among 
 their people. They belonged to half-a-dozen Societies, and they 
 were a friendly brotherhood, meeting together every Sunday 
 evening, and preaching to this little company in turn. They 
 had more than one native congregation. The church of the 
 London Mission, where I heard a striking sermon from the 
 native pastor, was formerly a temple in a public street ; and 
 on the Sunday of our stay a pretty chapel was opened for the 
 American Presbyterian Mission, when all the other missionaries 
 joined in the dedication, and the native Christians from other 
 quarters flocked to the service, so that the church could not hold 
 nearly all the people. There are schools and medical missions 
 and meetings for instruction scattered over the city. It was 
 evident that the Christian doctrines had gained some substan- 
 tial hold — that the work was at least a stage further advanced 
 than at Newchwang. It was a thoroughly independent work, 
 making way by its preachers and books, its schools and hos- 
 pitals, and asking nothing from the Government but toleration. 
 And there were two features in it that were certainly encourag- 
 ing — that it had grown in a few years, and that part of the 
 secret of its growth was that it had extended to and not from 
 the capital. It was not sixteen years since the first foreign 
 lady had been seen in the streets, and Christian ladies were now 
 not only freely moving through the city, but teaching the girls 
 and even practising medicine ; and the Christian doctrine, with 
 the Bible well in front, was advancing from the coast-line as its 
 base deliberately and steadily, and preserving its communications 
 by the way." 
 
218 Life of William Fleming Stevenso7i. 
 
 Coasting southwards to Hong-Kong, tlie travellers halted 
 to inspect the Mission work in Chefoo, Shanghai, and Foo- 
 Chow, and some delightful days were spent with the mis- 
 sionaries of the English Presbyterian Church at Amoy and 
 Swatow. 
 
 ''It would be impossible to tell you now of the wonderful 
 street in Foo-Chow which runs in a narrow tortuous course for 
 three miles, past every variety of shop and handicraft, and with 
 every unutterable form of evil odour, bounded, it may be said, by 
 a missionary settlement at one end, and a theological college at 
 the other ; or of the conference of almost 200 native Christian 
 workers that met in this same city; or of the view from the 
 highest point of the island at Amoy, where village and river and 
 mountain pass lie under the eye, each with its own story of the 
 widening of the kingdom of God ; or of the Christian hospitals 
 that are rising at Swatow, and the Christian Bible-women that 
 are trained there for patient, wise, and welcome service in many 
 a native town ; or of the nineteen chapels that, almost every day, 
 are open in Canton ; or of the Missions among the rude people, 
 that, like similar Missions elsewhere, have been wonderful in 
 their perseverance, and then wonderful in their success " 
 
 " While we were at Canton an intimation was receiv^ed from 
 the Anti- Opium Society that, if I could fix a time to meet them, 
 it would be esteemed a great favour. This Society is, strictly 
 speaking, only a department of a general association which has 
 been formed chiefly by the gentry and literati to protect the faith 
 and morals of the people. The activity of Christian Missions has 
 called it into existence, and it has borrowed from them its mode 
 of action. For some years it has maintained halls in the city, 
 and supported literary men, who there expound the popular 
 faiths and defend them from the new doctrine. The audiences 
 are considerable, and I am told the addresses are often clever 
 and so full of gossip and droll stories that they can scarcely fail 
 to be entertaining. A missionary who had gone to hear one was 
 amused at the dexterity with which the speaker turned his presence 
 into an admission that Confucianism was right : ' Even the mis- 
 
Missionary Journey RoM7td the World. 219 
 
 sionaries are coming over to iis.' The work of the Society (which 
 is supported by voluntary contributions) covers a wide field, and 
 allows of this anomaly that, while the members were drawn 
 together by hostility to Missions, in the reform or anti-opium 
 section the missionaries are honorary members. 
 
 " At the close of a service of the London Missionary Society I 
 was requested to speak. When concluding, I told them that we 
 in England believed China would be given to Christ. Was I to 
 carry back the message that they also believed it ? To my sur- 
 prise, one man, almost stopping me, cried out what meant, ' We 
 do ; ' another held up his hand, and then every man present did 
 the same, and I held up both mine. One of them asked leave to 
 speak: 'That was the message they returned.' and then added 
 some of the usual warm words of welcome and thanks." 
 
 The night before they left China, all the missionaries in 
 Hong-Kong were invited to met them at the Basel Mission- 
 house. During the evening a number of Hakka girls from 
 the school came into the verandah and sang some German 
 chorales deliciously in parts, led by one of their number who 
 was blind, and as the music floated in with the moonlight 
 through the open window, Mr. Stevenson was obliged to re- 
 verse his opinion of the musical capabilities of the Chinese. 
 
 India was reached on the 11th of December, the three 
 weeks' journey from China having been broken by a day or 
 two at Singapore, Galle, and Columbo. Wherever he went 
 the Mission work was his first interest, and his visits, though 
 brief, cheered many a lonely worker. Taking a coasting- 
 steamer from Ceylon, they were landed in a native limder- 
 boat, and carried through the surf to the little village of 
 Allepey, whence they rowed along the backwater to Trevan- 
 drum, and were the guests of the London Mission : — 
 
 " It seems as if one day we had fallen asleep off the coast of 
 China, and on the next awoke off the coast of India. There 
 is no proper bridge between the two, but an almost violent con- 
 trast, affecting both land and people. The bare and hard moun- 
 
220 Life of William Fleming Stevenson. 
 
 tain range, the weary miles of featureless sand, the turbid and 
 troubled waters yellow with the muddy deposit of vast rivers, 
 are all gone ; and instead we have shores that are fringed with 
 feathery palms, broad-shouldered hills clothed with woods of the 
 most glorious green, and streaked with the white foam of falling 
 waters, and seas so lovely and transparent that the sand and 
 stones at the bottom are like the floors and jewels of a palace. 
 The change of feature, habit, and costume is quite as great. 
 Instead of the vague roads and narrow streets crowded with 
 a throng of busy, eager, bustling Chinamen, sullen-faced, and 
 dressed in a universal dull blue, we had got accustomed to, there 
 are lithe and graceful forms, brilliant with every gay harmony 
 of colour, and with all bustle quenched in them by the hot sun- 
 shine and languid air. Only, you will remember that these are 
 simply the contrasts of the coast-line, and the impressions of 
 first sight " 
 
 " We have not yet been more than a week or two in India ; 
 but the number of Christian congregations, the high and manly 
 type of many of the native Christians, and their genuine acquaint- 
 ance with the Bible, have made it a time of singular interest. It 
 is with a curious sensation that one finds in part of Travancore 
 and Tinnevelly Christian churches as near each other as in 
 Ulster, Christian men giving a tenth of their income to further 
 the kingdom of God, Christian mothers better acquainted with 
 Bible truth and more familiar with Bible language than a vast 
 majority of professing Christians at home, and a meeting for 
 worship on a week-evening in a country village drawing hundreds 
 of people. Not that this would be a fair picture of Missions over 
 India, or that where we found it there are not dark shadows to 
 be filled in. But this is what has come among a large class of 
 people after more than half a century o'f patient toil saddened 
 often by disappointment ; and this, if we are resolute and have 
 faith, is what will come in Gujarat. 
 
 " Trevandrum is the capital of a spirited native state, Travan- 
 core, ruled by a Maharajah who speaks excellent English, and 
 who was dressed when he received us in English costume. It is 
 so much in the power of bigoted Brahmins that a foreigner dare 
 not enter into the temples, and there is even trouble about walk- 
 
Missionary Journey Ro2ind tJie World. 221 
 
 irify through some of the Brahmin streets. Yet in the Govern- 
 ment High School the Bible is taught to 800 natives, mostly 
 Brahmin lads ; the Prime Minister was educated in a Christian 
 school, and the First Prince, ^ one of the ablest men in India, gives 
 public lectures in the College Hall, Like all the towns we saw in 
 Southern India, Trevandrum, seen from one of its high places, is 
 a mass of foliage, out of which a tower or a roof projects at one 
 point or another, and the streets, even when one is in them, are 
 like shaded roads in a pleasant suburb. It has a museum, an 
 observatory, a reading-room and people's library, and a charming 
 botanical and zoological garden, where a native band plays Euro- 
 pean waltzes and the airs of the last opera. Native * society ' 
 drives about in open carriages on broad and well-kept roads that 
 rival any in England, The Government has its inspectors of 
 schools, and even experiments in female education ; it publishes 
 Blue-books and makes an annual statement to the country ; it 
 has its public works, canals, and tunnels, that would draw notice 
 anywhere, and telegraph-wires run below the cocoa-nuts to the 
 sacred shrine at Sechundram. Yet we could never forget we 
 were in India. Tigers lurk in the glorious folds of hills which 
 the Maharajah pointed out with pride from his country villa; 
 advertisements were up offering a handsome reward, besides the 
 tusks, for the capture of a ' rogue ' elephant ; our hostess had 
 killed a snake in her bathroom the morning before we arrived ; 
 while we sat at breakfast a monkey chattered and gambolled be- 
 hind the chair; beyond the verandah lay the hot sunshine, like 
 something tangible, on scarlet and purple flowers, heavy-winged 
 moths as large as wrens, and broad glossy leaves that covered 
 the ground like a tent ; out on the road, dusky forms slightly 
 clad in white moved softly past ; the streets were full of Brah- 
 mins with the sacred cord over the shoulder and the broad 
 streaks on the forehead that marked the worshipper of Yishnu 
 or Siva; there were the spacious tanks where only Brahmins 
 bathed, and the spacious caravansary where only Brahmins 
 were fed, but where the State must feed as many of them as 
 may come; the pagoda towered high above the arch through 
 
 1 The title of the heir apparent. 
 
222 Life of William Fleining Stevenson. 
 
 which a stream of worshippers poured into their sacred place ; 
 hideous and battered figures of stone lay below some tree 
 where these gods were served ; and now and then an ascetic, or 
 fakir, with matted hair and filthy body, would glare at us from 
 the depths of his fierce eyes " 
 
 " We were to leave Trevandrum by moonlight. An hour or 
 two before the time, some figures issued out of the dark and 
 came on the verandah. One of them had a violin, and presently, 
 to this accompaniment, a number of voices joined in a plain- 
 tive air. We could distinguish the word ' Stevenson,' which 
 came in at regular intervals; and when the song was over 
 the leader presented us with a copy of this Malayalim poem 
 which he had composed in our honour. It was a deputation of 
 the native Christians (and all round among the trees we could 
 see the white turbans of others who did not venture so near) to 
 thank us in their fashion for our visit. They recounted in these 
 irregular stanzas every address, lecture, and sermon of the three 
 busy days we had spent among them, and commended us to the 
 care of God. The poet is a man of culture, several of whose 
 hymns are sung at Christian worship all through North Travan- 
 core ; and, as we found in many more striking and picturesque, 
 as well as very touching, instances afterwards, the native Church 
 in the south of India is rich in Christian poets, and the way in 
 which they sing Christian lyrics to their popular airs suggested 
 what one might imagine of Luther's hymns on which he floated 
 Reformation truth among the people " 
 
 " A page or two out of these past days must be all that I can 
 give ; and time even for this is by no means easy to find. To 
 travel all night, sometimes through a wild tropical thunderstorm, 
 in a leaky boat, or in a bullock-cart without springs, and jolting 
 over a muddy road, where, perhaps, the bullocks lie down or the 
 cart overturns, or in a loose hammock carried by bearers, not 
 a word of whose language one can understand, and over roads 
 that have been swept away for perches by the rains, and are still 
 mostly under water, or in a railway train where the dust never 
 ceases to vex the eyes nor the mosquitoes to vex the ears ; and 
 then all day, from early morning till night again, to visit schools, 
 examine classes, pass from institution to institution, lecture. 
 
Missionary J oitrney Round the World. 223 
 
 preach, and in the interval to talk with perhaps thirty men, and 
 weigh, or try to weigh, the answers to a hundred questions, and 
 then to wind up with a dinner at one house, and an evening 
 meeting at another — when all this is put together, there is not 
 much time nor strength for correspondence " 
 
 " Much of what I would fain write must be passed by with but a 
 word. Edeyengoody, where we passed the days about Christmas 
 with its noble-minded and primitive bishop, to whom, as Dr. 
 Caldwell, all that is good in India looks up, and in whose simple 
 church I had the privilege of preaching to the people of his 
 Christian village ; Palamcottah, where we could make but the 
 briefest stay with Bishop Sargent, whom we found presiding 
 over his Church Council (and both these missionary bishops, with 
 their European but mostly native clergy, care for a Christian 
 population of nearly fifty thousand) ; Tranquebar, where the 
 waves have swallowed many a spot ou which the first Protestant 
 missionaries in India preached, but have spared their church and 
 their graves ; Tanjore, where we found the native Christians on 
 New Year's Eve following their own poets through the streets, sing- 
 ing hymns by torchlight, and then crowding into the church which 
 holds the tomb of Schwartz ; Arcot, where, in the Relief Camp, we 
 saw awful traces of the famine, and pictures of misery that can never 
 be described ; Madras, where we had a delightful conference with 
 seventy missionaries, men and women, where the mission of a 
 Christian education is wrought out in its highest form, where we 
 renewed and formed acquaintance with the ministers of the native 
 churches, the Rajahgopauls, and others, and where such a plea- 
 sant network of kindness was cast round us by everybody, from 
 Government House down, that it seemed hopeless to get away. 
 And then from Madras we swept for hundreds of miles right 
 across the Dekkan by mail-train into Bombay, joined at Poonah 
 station, one morning before dawn, by Mr. Taylor of our Mission, 
 who had kindly come so far to meet us, and with whom I have 
 since travelled more than two thousand miles, chiefly through 
 Gujarat and Kattiawar. We spent Sunday in Bombay, and then 
 pushed on to Surat, reaching our own stations and our own 
 people, among whom we spent nearly five delightful weeks. ..." 
 
 " At Borsad, as elsewhere, our missionaries had kindly planned 
 
224 Life of William Fleming Stevenson. 
 
 out what was to be done, and filled in every corner of every day, 
 from even before sunrise till long after sunset, with work ; and 
 there, as elsewhere, the native Christians gave us a welcome 
 which had a peculiar value in its spontaneity and purely native 
 character, and which testified to the affection cherished for the 
 Church at home. Torches and illuminations marked our way to 
 the Mission-House ; and we were scarcely seated there, when the 
 native Christians came singing to the door, and at midnight led 
 us away in procession under triumphal arches bright with mottoes 
 from the Bible and strung with little lamps of cocoa-nut oil. 
 They led us to the church, where a short service was extem- 
 porised. We were presented with an address of welcome, and a 
 hymn of greeting, composed for the occasion, was sung steadily 
 through twenty-six stanzas. All the members of the Presbytery, 
 except those in Ireland on furlough, were present, and for five 
 days there were incessant meetings and addresses ; for many 
 Christians had assembled from the neighbouring districts, and 
 all the native workers that could be spared from the Mission 
 field. There were as many as five hundred, besides the people of 
 the Christian village, on the spot ; and it was a striking sight, 
 and very touching to those who could remember the Mission 
 in its infancy, to look at the upturned faces with which the 
 church was crowded. As the people sat together on the floor, 
 and so close that one touched the other, the eye took in a greater 
 number in the same space than would be possible with us. 
 
 " The people filled up the passages, flowed out of the porch upon 
 the sandy walk, and looked in at the windows. Though most of 
 them belong to the poor and despised, there are many fine faces 
 and fine men. One has mastered the principles of a somewhat 
 obscure, yet in many places powerful, Hindu sect; there is a 
 native poet whose versions of the Psalms are sung in all our 
 churches; there are blind musicians who wander about singing 
 native hymns ; some are grey-headed in Christian service, and 
 many are the children of Christian parents. We had meetings 
 of Presbytery, conferences, evangelistic services, ordination of 
 elders, street-preaching, baptisms, and even a marriage; and 
 whatever time was not thus occupied was spent in visiting the 
 surrounding villages, seeing the people and inspecting the schools." 
 
Missionary Journey Round the World. 225 
 
 " One evening the Christians of Khasawadi, the native Chris- 
 tian quarter of Borsad, entertained us. We walked under an 
 avenue of trees and up the village street, between brilliant rows 
 of lights. A band preceded us, entirely native, and marked by 
 the fitful blasts of a gigantic horn, that wound like a serpent 
 high above our heads. Rockets and other fireworks were dis- 
 charged at every step, and their glittering stars fell back through 
 the soft moonlight. A slight barrier of wood kept off the dense 
 mass of people on either side. When we reached the enter- 
 tainment, we found it was spread under the open sky and in 
 the open roadway. The heads of the city and the Parsee judge 
 had been invited, and there was the curious spectacle of Dherds, 
 whose touch was supposed to be pollution, entertaining high- 
 caste men, while high caste and low caste crowded outside the 
 barrier, pushing patiently against each other to catch a view of 
 the strange sight. It was an assertion by the Christian com- 
 munity of its own free and casteless life, and we are told it 
 produced a deep 'impression " 
 
 " Ahmedabad is the literary centre of the province, the place 
 of education and culture, and a place of august memories and of 
 ruins (mostly mosques) of the most exquisite beauty. I gave a 
 lecture here, which was attended by the principal natives of the 
 town, who filled the room till it overflowed, and most of whom, 
 with the English students in our own and the Government High 
 School, attended the English service which I was asked to take 
 next day in the common hall of our school. What a stranger 
 realises most forcibly in the cities is the enormous growth of 
 the changes which are spreading among educated men in India, 
 the result of influences that are not directly Christian, and to 
 w^hich a thousand causes outside the Mission contribute, but to 
 which the Mission has contributed the largest share of all. That 
 these influences are playing a great part at present no man doubts 
 whose opinion has any weight in India. There is no fixed direc- 
 tion which the change is taking; certainly not towards Chris- 
 tianity : but it is the Mission alone that proposes to lead and 
 control it to a definite end, and were the Mission on as large a 
 scale as the Churches of Great Britain could easily place it, one 
 can well believe that that end would be reached, and at no great 
 
226 Life of William Fleming Stevenson. 
 
 distance of time. A few miles from Ahmedabad there is an 
 illustration of the more direct change wrought through preach- 
 ing of the Gospel ; for there, at Shahawadi, we saw one of the 
 thriving Christian villages of our Mission ; the houses numerous 
 and comfortable, fat oxen and good horses in the compound, wells 
 from which the water is drawn to irrigate the farms, and English 
 ploughs in the fields. In the middle of the village is the Chris- 
 tian school, and at one end of it the Mission bungalow and the 
 church, of which you have read already in the Herald. These 
 people, with their industry and comfort, are, one may say, the 
 creation of our Mission ; they have grown to be what they are 
 through the preaching, and the anxious, wise and kindly care 
 of our missionaries; and though, compared with one of our 
 country congregations, they are few and poor, yet they give 
 to the kingdom of Christ with a liberality larger than our 
 best. I had told them one day that they must be prepared 
 to take up the burden of Christian manhood and maintain their 
 own ministry, and, as the wind swept through an empty belfry 
 above our heads, I suggested that they might gain courage for 
 the larger, by attempting the smaller work of procuring a bell. 
 The next morning we drove out to see their farms, and the people 
 met us in their schoolroom. A few w^ords from our missionary 
 at Ahmedabad, and one man offered twenty rupees for the bell ; 
 another followed ; promises of fifteen, tens, and several fives came 
 dropping in as one neighbour stood up after another, till every 
 one had given something, and the total was above two hundred 
 and forty rupees. Presently one or two of the women, at a 
 hint from their husbands, and being not only good wives but 
 faithful bankers, stepped out and brought the money subscribed. 
 The example was infectious, and in a few minutes almost the 
 whole amount was shining in silver rupees on the table. It was 
 considerably more than the cost of the bell, and (relatively to the 
 means of the people and the value of money to the native) it pro- 
 bably represented at least five times the amount that it would at 
 home. I dare say it was a sacrifice, and made with what might 
 be called a spurt, but it was a willing and generous spurt. For 
 not only has the church here not cost our Mission funds one 
 penny, but the congregation has largely subscribed to it ; and 
 
Missionary J oiumey Round the World. 227 
 
 this incident shows the fine Christian temper into which, 
 through patient years, our missionaries are moulding the native 
 
 Christians " 
 
 "Northern and Central Kattiawar were visited on the way 
 to our pleasant old station at Rajkote, which, on a small scale, 
 without ruins, and with nothing like the same pretensions, 
 occupies a similar relation to Kattiawar that Ahmedabad does to 
 Gujarat, a scholastic centre, and possibly a centre of intellectual life 
 to that curious province of feudal chiefs and feudal customs. Like 
 many another journey we have had, it was fagging, an endless ride 
 at two miles an hour in lazy, jolting bullock-carts, on and on, night 
 and day, with now a hasty meal in a caravanserai among camels, 
 buffaloes and donkeys, and now in the open road, with only the 
 stars above us, the soft thick dust below, and from the neighbour- 
 ing hamlet the voices of children at play, singing idol-hymns that 
 float over a land of idol-stones and idol-temples, where the eye 
 searches for a church spire in vain. The last Sunday we spent 
 in Gujarat most of the missionaries were able to be with us 
 at Neriad, some under canvas, and some in rooms off the new 
 church, which attracts the eye of every traveller who passes 
 the railway station. The day might be said to have been spent 
 in public worship ; for we had not only frequent services, the 
 people, as at Borsad, crowding the building and sitting out in 
 the open, but they themselves spent the intervals sitting in a 
 picturesque circle, under the shade of the great trees, while 
 one evangelist addressed them after another ; and when the last 
 service was over we sallied out into the town, a place larger than 
 Derry, where, in the twilight, preaching was commenced in 
 the bazaar or market-street, and soon turned into an animated 
 discussion on the respective merits of Siva and Christ. At 
 Neriad, as at other halting-places, the day was marked by the 
 solemn joy of baptisms, between thirty and forty persons having 
 been baptized during these weeks ; and to me it was most 
 affecting to have the privilege of seeing so many received into 
 the Church of Christ, and of pronouncing over them the ancient 
 words that have been taught us by the Lord of Missions. The 
 next day we spent at Anund, a rural district, which is likely to 
 be one of our strongest missionary centres, and where Mrs. 
 
228 Life of William Fleming Stevenson. 
 
 Stevenson had the honour of laying the foundation-stone of the 
 Children's Church. Before the ceremony, which was a novel 
 one in the district, very touching words of gratitude to the 
 Church at home and for our visit were spoken by some of the 
 native Christians, words which no one could hear unmoved. If 
 the children could see what we have seen and hear what we 
 have heard, they would not only try who would be first in giving 
 most to build this house of prayer, but every household would 
 have its own treasury-box, where offerings would be kept for 
 India and China." 
 
 Leaving the Irish Mission at Surat and returning to 
 Bombay, they went by rail to Calcutta, stopping near the 
 top of the Ghauts at Nassick to see the work of the Church 
 Missionary Society there ; and from Nandgeon, a station two 
 hours farther on, branching off to Jalna, to visit the Chris- 
 tian village built by the Eev. Narayan Sheshadri. 
 
 In Calcutta, where they were received everywhere with 
 unbounded hospitality, and entertained by the Viceroy, Mr. 
 Stevenson wrote : — 
 
 " We have been in Calcutta for more than a week, staying in 
 an honoured house (for our host tells us the room we occupy was 
 Dr. Duff's) ; visiting schools and Missions and missionaries; talk- 
 ing with native students, editors, clergy and professors ; visiting 
 zenanas (that is, Mrs. Stevenson) with the devoted women who 
 make this their work; preaching, attending meetings, seeing 
 idol-worship of the most repulsive kind side by side with a cul- 
 ture like the best at home ; wearily peeping at the lions ; and as 
 wearily dining out after each hard day " 
 
 " Now, at a bound, we have got into one of the wildest spots, 
 and to me the most intensely interesting, in modern India. We 
 are at Ranchi, in the heart of Chota Nagpore, the seat of the 
 German Mission which the faith of Gossner planted thirty-three 
 years ago and sustained through fruitless years of trial, where 
 there are now forty thousand Christians, and where three to four 
 thousand were baptized last year. Yet all this has happened so 
 
Missionary Journey Round the World. 229 
 
 rapidly, that I have been talking with the first missionary who 
 came out, and who was five years without a convert. To gain 
 leisure at each place, we have had to travel harder than is the 
 custom in India. Small ponies, changed every few miles, took 
 Mr. Taylor and myself to Jalna at a constant gallop through 
 the day and through the night. They were harnessed to a tonga^ 
 where you have scanty support for your back, sit upright all the 
 time, and bear the jolting of the gallop with philosophy. A mis- 
 sionary who has roughed it for sixteen years here told me that 
 nothing but a solemn sense of duty would take him by the mail 
 tonga on that road again " 
 
 " As we return by another route, we have to time our leaving 
 so as to pass an ugly spot by daylight ; for a man-eating tiger 
 has haunted it these two years, and killed between a hundred and 
 fifty and two hundred people, lately carrying off even a bearer 
 from a palanquin, so that the men, I suppose properly, decline 
 to be there at night. Seventeen hours of palanquin, then seven 
 hours' rest in the afternoon, two- and -twenty hours in another 
 vehicle, what is called a gliarry, drawn by men instead of horses, 
 the rest of a short night, twenty hours of rail, and then we shall 
 be among the missionaries at Benares. 
 
 " You can imagine how weary one often is, and how wistfully 
 we look to home. But work like this can be done only once, and 
 must be honestly faced and not shirked as long as strength and 
 health hold out." 
 
 Nearly a month was spent among the cities of the north- 
 west, going from the dense superstitions of Benares to 
 Cawnpore, Lucknow and Delhi, with their memories of the 
 Mutiny. From Agra a detour was made into Rajpootana 
 to inspect the Mission stations of the United Presbyterian 
 Church; and before reaching Lahore, the farthest limit 
 of their journey, they spent a happy Sunday among the 
 hearty workers in the Church Missionary Society's Mission 
 at Umritzar, visiting, on their return to Bombay, the 
 American Missions at Dehra Doou, Missouri and Allahabad. 
 
230 Life of William Fleming Stevenson. 
 
 The long strain of incessant labour had taxed Mr. Steven- 
 son's energies to the utmost, and, weary and exhausted, he 
 was ill fitted to bear the shock of the news that awaited 
 him at Jubbalpore of the death by accident of his brother- 
 in-law, Mr. John M. Sinclair. After a short farewell visit 
 to Surat, the Bombay doctors imperatively ordered him to 
 Mahableshwar, to await the sailing of the homeward-bound 
 steamer. 
 
 A letter to the missionaries after his return closes this 
 slight record of a missionary journey which covered 47,000 
 miles. 
 
 "Oewell Bank, July 31, 1878. 
 
 " My deae Brethren, — Although I have been able to write 
 brief notes to one or two of you, I have not been able to return 
 to the good old habit of a regular letter, and I seize the oppor- 
 tunity now, just to tell you how it fared with us since we parted. 
 Every day we were on board we had a Bible-reading, to which as 
 many as eighteen of the passengers were willing to come. The 
 American Mission in Egypt seems admirably manned, and its 
 success is at present very cheering to the missionaries. In 
 Cairo they are raising a building which is almost as substantial 
 as the Citadel, and which will be the largest block in the 
 handsome street which it adorns : judging by the stone and 
 lime, it is certainly like taking possession of the land. The 
 Mohammedan University in Cairo was also full of interest. 
 Dr. Lansing kindly procured us the necessary firman to visit 
 it, and was himself our interpreter and companion. I do not 
 know that anything in my journey produced on me a more 
 profound impression than to see that enormous crowd of evi- 
 dently eager and attentive students grouped around their pro- 
 fessors, and to see the teachers, each absorbed in his own 
 subject, and seeming to carry with him the full attention of the 
 class ; and then to realise that these students came from every 
 part of the world (the Mohammedan world), and were being 
 moulded there into future teachers of the great system " 
 
 '■'■ Taking passage by the Ruhhatino steamer from Alexandria to 
 
Missionary Jo7irney Rotind the World. 231 
 
 Genoa, we got out at Leghorn to save time, having first enjoyed, 
 as we sailed on a perfect day along the coast of Sicily, from 
 Catania to Messina, the most lovely views, I think, that I have 
 ever beheld, or rather the most lovely succession of views, 
 unfolding themselves in every variety of beauty as we steamed 
 slowly past. From Leghorn we went, for the only real rest 
 that I had enjoyed since leaving home, to Bellagio, on the 
 Lake of Como, a lovely spot about 400 feet above the lake, 
 where, though the house was full, there was, except at meal- 
 times, a sense of being absolutely alone, and where the rest 
 consisted in trying to read and write up old note- books in our 
 bedroom, which from its window commanded a view of the 
 Lecco arm of the lake ; but then in two minutes one was among 
 gardens and woods, where the songs of the countless nightingales 
 vied with the songs of the blackbird and the thrush, and where 
 roses, a triumph of the gardener's art, seemed to grow wild 
 among thorns and in shrubberies. I had scarcely begun to feel 
 the benefit of stopping when it became necessary to push 
 on for home; and by travelling all night for three or four 
 nights in succession, we reached our children near Belfast, on 
 Friday, the 31st May. Our thankfulness to find them well 
 was deepened when we found that a letter had been written 
 during our absence to announce that by the next mail we must 
 be prepared for tidings of the death of our youngest, of whose 
 recovery, after a long illness, the doctors had given up all 
 hope. God, however, had mercifully spared them all, and even 
 in my own congregation the only two deaths recorded were of 
 persons who had been hopelessly ill before I left home, and to 
 whom I had then bidden farewell. On the Saturday we went up 
 to Dublin, and our first Sabbath in Rathgar was, like the last 
 Sabbath we had spent before leaving, devoted to the Communion 
 of the Lord's Supper. You will readily understand what a joyful 
 and what a touching meeting it was, and how many thoughts 
 came crowding on one's mind. You will scarcely understand, 
 however, how the sight of faces that seemed exactly as they had 
 been left a year before, and under exactly the same circumstances, 
 produced an impression that the twelve months of constant travel 
 were only a dream, from which one had awoke ; and sometimes 
 
232 Life of William Flemijtg Stevenson, 
 
 still, I feel as if it had been a strange and wonderful dream, 
 until the edge of a note-book or the sight of a pile of Government 
 Blue-books reminds me to the contrary. 
 
 " On Monday we returned to Belfast, and on that evening there 
 was begun one of the happiest Assemblies, one of the most 
 brotherly in spirit, one of the most important in its appoint- 
 ments, and one of the highest in its tone, at which I remember to 
 have been present. You will already have received, I trust, papers 
 that I sent containing the report of the evening devoted to the 
 Foreign Mission. I suspect that the effort, and the wonderful 
 warmth of welcome offered by the Assembly, and the sight of so 
 vast a multitude, were too much for one already overwrought. 
 The next Sunday was unwillingly spent in bed. I returned to 
 Dublin again towards the end of the week, and have been here 
 ever since; not, however, that I have been doing much work. 
 Fagged and weary and listless, both in body and mind, almost 
 incapable for the present of exertion, and having tried to fight 
 down the feeling of intense lassitude and prostration, I have 
 been at last compelled to consult the doctors in Dublin, who 
 have agreed in their description of what is astray, and in the 
 imperative remedy that they prescribe ; and by their orders we 
 have to start again this week for the seaside, the most bracing 
 place and the quietest that can be found, and to stay there, short 
 or long, until there comes perfect restoration of tone. You will 
 be glad to know that, after the closest examination, the heads 
 of the profession here agree independently that I have con- 
 tracted no organic disease, and tell me I should consider myself 
 particularly fortunate in that condition of things, since such a 
 journey, so undertaken, ought to have left some organic wrong 
 behind it ; and they also say that, if their instructions are rigidly 
 carried out and work absolutely stopped during this time of 
 change, I shall be able for even the additional burden that must 
 be expected during the coming winter. I have scarcely yet even 
 thought of taking the reins from the hands that have held them 
 so prudently and with so great advantage to the Mission during 
 the twelve months of absence,"^ not feeling in any way equal to 
 
 ^ The Eev. Eobert Montgomery, senior missionary to India, who acted 
 as temporary Convener. 
 
Missionary Journey Round the World. 233 
 
 the task ; but I suppose T shall gradually fall into the old groove, 
 although with a wonderful change of scenery and thought when 
 thinking of the East. 
 
 " I dare not begin in this letter, or it would never end, to tell 
 you of all the deep and happy and solemn thoughts that have 
 been left by our visit to not only the broad fields of Missions in 
 the East, but especially to Gujarat. Every day we feel more 
 thankful that it was put into the hearts of any in our Church to 
 think of this visit, and that God so wonderfully prepared the 
 way ; and we shall carry with us, almost as freshly as we feel 
 them at present, those recollections of all that you and we 
 witnessed together. The memory of those delightful talks and 
 interviews, and the sight of those congregations of Christian 
 worshippers — first-fruits of the Mission work — can be now renewed 
 every day as we talk round our table. . . . 
 
 *' Our work is a spiritual work where every qualification that 
 a Christian man may have is needed, but all else sinks low 
 beside spiritual fitness and spiritual power. Let us for our Church 
 at home, let us for those who may propose to serve in the Mission 
 field, let us for ourselves covet this earnestly as the best gift, 
 a gift for which we will pray without ceasing. It is the impression 
 that, deep already, has been made deeper than any other, that 
 only through the righteousness and power of spiritual life, a life 
 that is very holy because it is very close to Jesus Christ, will the 
 real work of the Mission be ever done. Intensity of spiritual life, 
 intensity of spiritual fervour, let us ask for these ; and surely, 
 as we ask in the spirit of the Master, we shall receive. 
 
 "It is, I suppose, somewhat irregular in a letter like this to 
 introduce any one but myself as correspondent ; but this time 
 at least I must bring Mrs. Stevenson along with myself in the 
 most cordial remembrance to every one of you, and in the prayer 
 that all we saw of the Mission in Gujarat, much blessed and in 
 many ways wonderful as it is, will soon be far eclipsed by what 
 you on the spot will see. — With warm regard, affectionately 
 yours, W. Fleming Stevenson." 
 
 At the meeting of the General Assembly, on the night set 
 
234 Life of William Fleming Stevenson. 
 
 apart for Foreign Missions, the large building in which the 
 Court met was filled to overflowing. As Mr. Stevenson 
 entered the Assembly, the whole house rose and greeted him 
 with an outburst of welcome, which was repeated again and 
 again. The enthusiastic reception took him by surprise, 
 and it was only by a strong effort he was able to master his 
 emotion. His account of his mission had been eagerly looked 
 forward to, and the expectations of the vast audience were 
 not disappointed. Many, after an interval of years, have 
 said that his speech was the noblest piece of Christian oratory 
 to which they had ever listened. The address, wh:^ii printed, 
 had a circulation of nearly 40,000 copies, and one who read 
 it forwarded anonymously £500 to the Mission. 
 
 Mr. Stevenson began by enumerating the general im- 
 pressions produced by his contact with the strongholds of 
 heathenism. Among these were the enormous populations of 
 India, China, and Japan, amounting to at least 700 millions, 
 the traces he met everywhere of a high culture and a forward 
 civilisation, and the antiquity of the religious systems and 
 religious life. Over against all this he had an ever-gather- 
 ing sense of the vast and beneficent forces which were being 
 brought into play by the Church of Christ. With few ex- 
 ceptions, the Missions in these countries were of quite recent 
 origin, scarcely dating back further than to the beginning 
 of the century. The work already accomplished had quite 
 surpassed his expectations. Nor was it only the direct results 
 which were to be regarded ; almost everywhere faith in 
 heathenism had been weakened. The first rough work of 
 making grammars and dictionaries and the grand task of 
 translating the Bible were over, and the missionary proper 
 was rapidly replacing the pioneer. The Home Missions were 
 not to be neglected for the Foreign. Once the heart of the 
 Church was touched, the strength of her quickened pulse 
 
Missionary Journey Round the World. 235 
 
 would be felt in every Mission ; and there was need of that 
 quickening power. He had borne away with him from the 
 field the painful and universal impression that the Mission was 
 undermanned. On the other hand, the catholicity of spirit 
 and frank co-operation subsisting among the missionaries of 
 the different Churches formed a delightful spectacle, and one 
 that might be better imitated at home. In the face of an 
 infidel English press, and the growing indifference towards 
 the old idolatries, he was convinced that the Christian Mission 
 was the one power that would keep India loyal and make 
 India great. 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 PUBLIC LIFE. 
 
 Before his long journey Mr. Stevenson had become widely 
 appreciated. On both sides of the Atlantic his earnestness, 
 eloquence, and Christian devotedness had won for him an 
 honoured name among all the Churches. The demand for 
 his services in the management of Christian and other 
 public institutions was widespread and incessant. He 
 never coveted publicity, and yet no man was better known. 
 The duties that fell to him as pastor and as Convener of 
 the Foreign Missions of his own Church were more than 
 sufficient for any man, as has since been recognised.^ If to 
 these be added the innumerable calls for lectures and ser- 
 vices of all kinds which came from England and Scotland 
 as well as Ireland, some idea may be formed of the pressure 
 under which he was working. All these conditions were in- 
 tensified after his return from his missionary tour. His life 
 then became one of labour and toil without end. It almost 
 appals one to look at its details during these last years, and 
 to find that he went through it all. It was the pathetic 
 effort of a strong and noble nature to do the work of two 
 men, and to do it perfectly ; and to the very end he united 
 the instincts of a student and the ideals of an artist with the 
 dogged perseverance of a practical worker. 
 
 ^ These duties are now shared by the Eev. William Park, M.A., the Rev. 
 Wm. Rogers, D.D., and D. G. Barkley, Esq., late Judge of the Chief Court 
 of the Punjaub. 
 
Public Life. 237 
 
 These busy years may by some be regarded as hastening 
 the end ; but one can easily see how, with the sense of his 
 serviceableness, the compass of his engagements widened 
 and their grasp tightened, while to spend and be spent in 
 the service of Christ he accepted as a postulate of his Chris- 
 tian calling. He worked through them with all his energy 
 and power, and all the while kept planning for the future, 
 however long or short it might be. Even under such con- 
 tinued pressure, his mind was clear and his spirits buoyant. 
 It is not possible to detail all he did ; we can only touch on 
 some of his abundant labours. He had fulfilled the aspira- 
 tion of an earlier day, when, in 1864, he wrote to his 
 brother-in-law, Mr. Thomas M. Sinclair : — • 
 
 " The life of a clergyman is not the life of a man who fills his 
 barns and dies in plenty, but of one who trusts in God to satisfy 
 very moderate wants, whose first wish is to do His work, and 
 who sets an example of humility and faith. It might please 
 God to keep me poor, but I trust it will never please Him to 
 keep me idle." 
 
 During his absence in India there was a very wide- 
 spread desire that on his return home he should be elected 
 Moderator of the General Assembly, the highest honour 
 the Presbyterian Church has in her power to bestow. On 
 hearing of this intention, although deeply touched by the 
 sympathy with the Mission which it indicated, Mr. Steven- 
 son at once telegraphed from India to request that it should 
 not be carried out, feeling that, after so long an absence from 
 his own congregation, it would not be fair to subject them 
 to a year of such irregular service as would have to be given 
 by one occupying a position charged with so many duties 
 as the Moderator's chair entails. The Church submitted to 
 his wish, and his friends felt all the more thankful for his 
 decision, when, soon after his return home, it became evi- 
 
238 Life of William Fleming Stevenson. 
 
 dent that the long strain of unremitting toil and incessant 
 travel had completely overtaxed his strength, and he was 
 imperatively ordered a period of absolute rest. 
 
 In 1879 the Government appointed Mr. Stevenson a 
 senator of the Royal University of Ireland, which was 
 founded in that year. 
 
 Thirty years before, to meet the needs of the Roman 
 Catholic population, as well as of all Protestants outside 
 the Episcopal Church, who were at that time excluded 
 from any share in the government or emoluments of the 
 University of Dublin, Sir Robert Peel's Ministry founded 
 the Queen's University, to which were affiliated the three 
 colleges of Belfast, Cork, and Galway. This University had 
 no religious tests whatever, denominational instruction being 
 given by Deans of Residence belonging to the various 
 Churches in the country. 
 
 After some years, however, the University had become 
 unpopular with the more ultramontane section of the 
 Roman Catholic Church, and it was to meet their demands 
 that the Royal University was founded, to take the place of 
 the Queen's University. The new body was, like London 
 University, purely an examining board for the purpose of 
 granting degrees to students of all denominations, where- 
 ever educated ; while the three Queen's Colleges, as well as 
 the denominational colleges in Ireland, continued to exist 
 merely as teaching institutions, a number of their professors 
 being however selected to be the fellows and examiners of 
 the new University. A large number of the candidates for 
 ordination of the Presbyterian Church had received their edu- 
 cation in arts through the Qaeen's University ; while Magee 
 College, Derry, an institution under the control of the General 
 Assembly, possessing complete faculties both in arts and 
 divinity, now sent up its students to receive their degrees 
 
Public Life. 239 
 
 from the Royal University. Apart, therefore, from the 
 general interests of education in Ireland, it was of the 
 highest importance to the Presbyterian Church that a man 
 of Mr. Stevenson's experience and character should have a 
 seat on the Senate. 
 
 In 1881 the University of Edinburgh conferred upon 
 him the degree of D.D., and in June of the same year, 
 when the General Assembly met in Dublin, he was unani- 
 mously elected Moderator. The following passage from the 
 inaugural address shows his wide vision and high ideal : — 
 
 "We have flourished by the reading and preaching of the 
 Word of God. If we have any moral firmness and reliance, if 
 we have made any prosperous advance, we owe it to the freedom 
 and the love of that blessed Book. We make no secret that we 
 wish that Book to be as free to all our countrymen as it is to us. 
 As Irishmen, we can do Ireland no greater service. It is the 
 spiritual conquest that we keep before us, not the prevailing of 
 one special Church, though we may think it the purest and best, 
 not even the prevailing of Protestant over Roman Catholic, but 
 the prevailing of Christ over all. That is the Irish mission, the 
 Home mission, to which all our history seems to point ; that is 
 the mission which it is the province of this Assembly to foster, 
 till the spirit and ambition of it seize on all our members, and 
 we ' rise on stepping-stones of our dead selves to higher things.' 
 The very strife of these discordant times is summoning us ; the 
 sense of past neglect is urging us. There is a legend that lingers 
 in the wilds of Donegal, that, before Columba, the founder of 
 lona was born, his mother saw in a vision a fair robe that an 
 angel took from her and flung into the air, and as it floated there 
 it grew until it covered the mountains and all the country round, 
 and there was a voice that spoke of innumerable souls that would 
 be gathered to their heavenly home. May our history fulfil the 
 dream ! May the fair robe of primitive doctrine and the primi- 
 tive simplicity of worship and order that our fathers brought with 
 them from Scotland — the robe that has been always spreading 
 
240 Life of William Fleming Stevenson. 
 
 wider its folds of royal blue — grow until it cover every moun- 
 tain, valley, and plain in this dear Ireland, and may the voice 
 that is heard be the voice of a living Church ; the one great 
 eminence that we covet, the witness of innumerable lives that 
 God has redeemed by His grace ! There is one mission which, 
 by its overwhelming magnitude, overtops the rest. Twelve cen- 
 turies ago there was a gigantic problem to be solved. Christianity 
 had conquered the races of culture. It had found the world like 
 a weary spendthrift, sated, dissatisfied, and in want, and the ful- 
 ness of its message had fallen on the emptiness of life. But the 
 vast hordes of the North had swept down from their forests 
 in Gaul and beyond the Danube. Would the same power 
 cope successfully with these barbarian races, full of rude joy and 
 strength % 
 
 " It was left to a little speck of land in the outer fringe of the 
 Roman Empire to lead the way in settling that question then ; 
 and this narrow island of oars, beset with the restless breakers 
 of the Atlantic, became for three hundred years a starting- 
 point of missionary impulse, its surface studded with missionary 
 colleges, its princes not disdaining to be missionaries, and from 
 its moors and mountains a race of brave and large-souled men 
 issuing in a stately and unique procession to scatter the Pagan 
 shadows that brooded over Europe. That Irish Church sowed 
 its workers with a lavish hand, reaping as it sowed. It was not 
 a Church supporting a mission, which is our modern innovation, 
 but a missionary Church. Its schools of theology and its 
 peculiar constitution pointed mainly in that direction ; and I 
 would ask you, fathers and brethren, to keep up the repute of 
 that old Irish mission. 
 
 " In an eager and impetuous age, an age of fervour and 
 triumph, we stand perplexed and full of shame that we should 
 be confronted by thick belts of heathenism, representing a larger 
 population than was in all the world when Christianity began, 
 and, if we add Mohammedans, a population vastly larger. If it 
 needs, apparently, the presence of forty thousand clergymen, with 
 a countless company of other Christian workers, to maintain 
 Christianity in Great Britain and Ireland, what provision are 
 we making to reach a Pagan world as huge as if thirty kingdoms 
 
Public Life. 241 
 
 like our own lay side by side ? What we are to do with these 
 thousand millions of heathen is the gravest and greatest 
 problem of our time. History teaches us that there is a force 
 capable of solving it, that that force lies in the Word of God. 
 The Word of God teaches us that the Church is, in one aspect 
 of it, a vast missionary institution, planted, sustained, and 
 ministered to, that it may subdue the world under Christ. The 
 roots of this divine idea twine round the roots of revelation. It 
 is as essentially in the one Testament as in the other. Abraham 
 is the father of the mission, the prophets are its seers, the 
 psalmists its poets. And when the command, ' Go and teach all 
 nations,' is at last uttered in its magnificent breadth, the new 
 dispensation is only bursting like a flower from the restraining 
 sheath of the old. Lines of promise run through the Bible from 
 the beginning to the end of it, promises that can be fulfilled only 
 when the passion for this conquest seizes on the whole Church 
 of God. Lines of prophecy lie beside them, lines of prophecy 
 ever widening with the suns, prophecies that can only be fulfilled 
 when forces of some divine intensity will break up the crust of 
 things at home. There are other lines that we can trace to-day 
 converging upon the same point, lines of the intellectual energy 
 and the rush of commerce and the enterprise that are charac- 
 teristic of our time, and along which, as we hear of new lands 
 uncovered, and of how the East and West are touching at innu- 
 merable points, we hear also a voice that cries, * Prepare ye the 
 way of the Lord ; make His paths straight.' " 
 
 The pressure upon his time and thought was greatly in- 
 creased by the new and, by no means idle, dignity conferred 
 upon him. To his pastoral duties and Mission work, not to 
 speak of the numerous committees on which he served, was 
 now added that of Chairman of the Church and of all the 
 Church's Boards, and the necessity of representing her on 
 all public occasions, opening new churches, preaching anni- 
 versary sermons, corresponding with the Government, plead- 
 ing for charities, and addressing public meetings. Into this 
 
 Q 
 
242 Life of William Fleming Stevenson. 
 
 work, common to all Moderators, Dr. Stevenson threw him- 
 self with an energy that made him seem almost nbiquitous. 
 His previous life had been so busy, that it was only by 
 shortening the hours of rest that more work could be done. 
 He was seldom able to take more than four consecutive 
 hours of sleep during his year of office. The multiplicity of 
 committees or boards on which he served made dire inroads 
 on his time. It may be interesting to insert a list of the 
 offices he held in 1886, taken from his pocket-book : — 
 
 Duff Lecturer, Wbitsun 1882 to Whit- 
 sun 1886. 
 
 Senator of the Koya] University. 
 
 Member of Standing Committee, Eoyal 
 University. 
 
 Examine!', General Assembly's Theo- 
 logical Committee. 
 
 Member of Dublin Libraries Committee. 
 
 Honorary Secretaiy, Hibernian Bible 
 Society. 
 
 Honorary Secretary, Dublin Social 
 Purity Society. 
 
 Convener, Foreign Mission. 
 
 Convener, Zenana Mission. 
 
 Trustee, Magee College, 
 
 Trustee, Orphan Servants' Home. 
 
 Vice-President, Dublin Y. M. C. A. 
 
 Vice-President, Hibernian Band of 
 Hope. 
 
 Vice-President, Indian Vernacular Edu- 
 cation Society. 
 
 Vice-President, Sunday-school Society. 
 
 Vice-President, Presbyterian Associa- 
 tion, Sackville Street. 
 
 Director, Presbyterian Orphan Society. 
 
 Member of Committee of — 
 
 United Services Committee, Dub- 
 lin. 
 
 Member of Committee of — 
 
 Conventions Sub-committee. 
 
 Evangelical Alliance. 
 
 Bible and Colportage Society. 
 
 Turkish Missions Aid Society. 
 
 British and Foreign Sailors' Society. 
 
 Pan-Presbyterian Council on Mis- 
 sions. 
 
 Pan-Presbyterian Council on Wo- 
 man's Work. 
 
 Waldensian Aid Society Consult- 
 ing Committee. 
 Member of General Assembly's Com- 
 mittee on — 
 
 Elementary Education. 
 
 Higher Education. 
 
 Home Missions. 
 
 Psalmody. 
 
 Systematic Beneficence. 
 
 Aged and Infirm Ministers' Fund. 
 
 Committee in Correspondence with 
 Government. 
 
 Mission Board. 
 Member of Dublin Presbytery's Com- 
 mittee on State of Keligion. 
 Secretary of Dublin Presbytery's Com- 
 mittee on Missions. 
 
 From the time of his return from India it was his ardent 
 desire to be able to preach or lecture for Missions in every 
 congregation of his Church in Ireland. The demands of 
 
Public Life. 243 
 
 liis own congregation and other duties naturally made the 
 accomplishment of this plan a work of time, but he kept it 
 steadily before him, and when an engagement to preach on 
 the Sunday took him to some country district, he often 
 arranged to deliver four or five lectures in different places 
 before returning home. 
 
 In June, 1879, he w^rote to the missionaries: — 
 
 " I am, as usual, overworked, but see no way to work less. At 
 the urgency of the United Presbyterian Synod and of the Free 
 Church Assembly, I addressed both those bodies upon Missions, 
 the one in the beginning and the other in the end of May, and 
 was refreshed to see those vast audiences which ' only Missions ' 
 drew together in the Synod and Assembly Halls. Since then the 
 College Committee of the Free Church have written with such 
 frequency and urgency, that, after refusing, I must probably 
 yield to their request to deliver the lectures of the Duff Evan- 
 gelistic Chair to their students in Edinburgh and Glasgow during 
 this winter. They can be compressed, I hope, into a few weeks, and 
 of course it is delightful to have a try at these young fellows, and 
 perhaps stir them up for the Mission. We have as yet no chair 
 of that kind in our colleges ; but having been appointed to deliver 
 the first course of lectures on the Richard Smyth Foundation — 
 a course of ten, to begin in December 1881 — it may be that it will 
 be possible for me to deliver them in Belfast as well as Derry, 
 and I have chosen as the subject, ' The History and Methods of 
 Christian Missions.' Of course, I have been pleading for the 
 Mission in many of our congregations, and will be continuing this 
 work during the autumn ; and as these are all extra labours, it is 
 sometimes rather fagging, though the cause is worth it all." 
 
 The enthusiasm with which he was received in Edinburgh 
 and the interest his addresses excited were quite remarkable. 
 Soon after, the Rev. Hugh Macmillan, D.D., wrote : — 
 
 "It will be an honour to preach in the pulpit of one whose 
 praise is in all the Churches, and a gratification to show in this 
 
244 Life of William Fleviing Stevenson. 
 
 way, in a small degree, the sense of gratitude which I feel, as a 
 member of the Free Church, for the most valuable services which 
 you are about to render to her. I was thrilled by the most 
 admirable and eloquent address which you gave at the last meet- 
 ing of our Assembly, and felt inclined to go up and almost wring 
 your hand off at the close ; but you were borne off in a whirlwind 
 of a^Dplause and a chariot of triumph, and I saw you no more." 
 
 The allusion in this letter to future services refers to a 
 request which had been preferred, that for one winter he 
 would undertake the lectures in connection with the Chair 
 of Evangelistic Theology in the New College, Edinburgh, a 
 chair instituted and endowed by the friends of Dr. Duff, who 
 was the honoured occupant of it till his death. 
 
 In reference to these lectures Mr. Stevenson wrote to the 
 missionaries in the following spring : — 
 
 "Dublin, Marcli 18, 1880. 
 " I need not repeat what I have already written about Scotland. 
 Since the death of Dr. Duff his chair has been put into commis- 
 sion. Dr. M. Mitchell, Dr. Thomas Smith, and Mr. Wilson of 
 the Barclay have all given lectures in connection with it. This 
 winter I was asked to give twelve lectures to the first- year students 
 in Edinburgh and Glasgow. In Edinburgh the professors sacri- 
 ficed their own lectures that the students might attend, and, to 
 my discomfiture, there were always professors, ministers, and 
 elders among the auditors. Nothing could be warmer than the 
 welcome given, or greater than the kindness shown; and the 
 feeling among the men was delightful. A good many seem bent 
 on Mission work, and they include some of the best students in 
 both the Colleges, while I understand there are others in Aber- 
 deen. The lectures were delivered daily (except Saturday) for 
 five weeks, and a student was scarcely ever absent. But as there 
 were public addresses besides, one in Edinburgh, where even the 
 passages were crowded in the Assembly Hall, and one in Glasgow 
 to over 4000, and missionary sermons, I was fairly tired out, yet 
 have now a requisition to return in April and give at least half 
 
Public Life, 245 
 
 the lectures to the public, a requisition signed by a very Evangeli- 
 cal Alliance, for it includes the Moderator of the Free Church, the 
 leading ministers of the Established, the Bishop of Edinburgh and 
 the Dean, the Principals of the various Colleges, the Provost, and 
 laymen as well as ministers of every denomination. It is plain, 
 from the interest in Mission subjects, that Missions have got a 
 mighty hold upon the Scottish people ; and yet if the interest were 
 analysed it would be found that it is meagre, and that it does not 
 yet affect the bulk of the Church members ; and if that is true of 
 Scotland, we are much further behind." 
 
 Among the subjects chosen were — "The Helplessness 
 and Hopelessness of Heathenism ; " " The Mission of the 
 Church of God ; " " Missionary Epochs and Methods ; " 
 " The Apostolic and the Modern Mission ; " " The j\Iission 
 of the Church at Home." On the conclusion of the series 
 the Senatus of the New College passed the following 
 resolution : — 
 
 " The Senatus, in taking leave of Mr. Fleming Stevenson, record 
 their very strong sense of the thoroughly able manner in which 
 he performed the duties of the Evangelistic Theology Chair, the 
 admirable character of the lectures he delivered, and the interest 
 which he excited in the minds of the students. They believe that 
 the impression produced by the lectures and by the personal 
 intercourse with the students is likely to bear abundant fruit in 
 years to come." 
 
 In forwarding this resolution, the Secretary, Professor 
 Duns, added : — 
 
 "Your visit has been of the very greatest profit to us all. I 
 have seen its influence in my class. We have a half-hour of 
 prayer weekly, conducted by the students of the class — my part 
 being only to give out a psalm — and I have been much impressed 
 by the directness and earnestness of the cry for blessing on 
 Mission work." 
 
 The immediate practical result of these lectures was, that 
 
246 Life of William Fleming Stevenson. 
 
 a large number of students resolved to devote themselves to 
 Mission work. With these he came afterwards into personal 
 contact, inviting them to meet him, and dealing lovingly 
 with them one by one. After his return, the requisition 
 already referred to followed him. The catholicity of its 
 spirit, embracing so many representatives of all Churches 
 and schools of thought, gave it a peculiar value in his eyes, 
 and he felt it to be an oj^portunity that he dared not put 
 aside, though the pressure of other engagements was so 
 great that, in order to lessen as much as possible the period 
 of absence from home, the lectures, which were to be de- 
 livered in Glasgow as well as in Edinburgh, were most of 
 them given in both cities on the same day. Many friends 
 were anxious he should be appointed permanent successor to 
 Dr. Duff in this chair, and he was nominated by a number 
 of Presbyteries in the Free Church ; but more and more he 
 felt that God had given him a work to do for the Missions 
 of the Irish Presbyterian Church, and he gratefully but 
 firmly put their proposals aside. 
 
 In tlie winter of 1881—2 he delivered eight lectures in 
 Derry in connection with the Lectureship founded as a 
 memorial of the labours of Dr. Richard Smyth. They were 
 concluded in the spring of 1883. The subjects were — 
 " The Kingdom of God ; " '' The Mission of the Church ; " 
 ''The Working of the Leaven;" "The Ages of Delay;" 
 '' The New Era ; " " The Church and the World ; " '' Prob- 
 lems in Solution ; " " The Work before us." 
 
 Dr. Alexander Duff, the missionary to India, whose 
 devotion and labours have lett an imperishable monument 
 in the triumphs of the Gospel among the people to whom 
 he consecrated his genius and his life, died in 1878, and, in 
 accordance with his wishes, the Duff Missionary Lectureship 
 was founded by his son, and committed to trustees of various 
 
Public Life. 247 
 
 denominations representing the catholicity of his own spirit 
 and life. The Lectureship was to be held for four years, 
 and the subject of lecture was to come " within the range 
 of Foreign Missions." In 1882, Dr. Stevenson was offered 
 the appointment. The overwhelming amount of work 
 to which he was pledged made him hesitate to acccept 
 an honour which, for many reasons, was peculiarly grati- 
 fying to him ; but through the courtesy and considera- 
 tion of the trustees, represented by their chairman. Lord 
 Pol worth, several difficulties were removed, and in the 
 winter of 1884-5 he delivered a series of lectures in Edin- 
 burgh and Glasgow, repeating them in Aberdeen in 1886. 
 One of the conditions of the trust required the publication of 
 the lectures, and this condition has been fulfilled, so far as 
 was possible after his death, in the little volume bearing the 
 title of the first lecture, " The Dawn of the Modern Mission." 
 
 The General Alliance of the Presbyterian Churches, which 
 meets every four years, and represents twenty-two millions 
 of Christians throughout the world who have adopted the 
 Presbyterian form of Church government, assembled in 
 Belfast in June, 1884. Dr. Stevenson read a paper on "The 
 Missionary Consecration of the whole Church,'"^ which, at the 
 late meeting of the Council in London, was characterised by 
 Professor Charteris of Edinburgh as the nearest approach to 
 inspiration of any paper he had ever listened to. 
 
 In April, 1886, the Earl of Aberdeen, then Lord-Lieutenant 
 of Ireland, appointed him one of his honorary chaplains, the 
 first Presbyterian clergyman in the present century selected 
 for such an office. Lord Aberdeen has recorded with touch- 
 ing affection his impressions both of the man and of his 
 ministry. 
 
 1 See " Keport of tlie Third General Council of the Alliance of the Re- 
 formed Churches holding the Presbyterian System," page 173. 
 
248 Life of William Fleming Stevenson. 
 
 More and more, as the Christian public recognised his 
 capabilities, he was pressed into service far beyond his 
 strength. Seldom was any philanthropic work started in 
 Dublin without his assistance being sought. Only his in- 
 domitable energy, coupled with his ready spirit of self- 
 sacrifice, could have enabled him to accomplish what he did ; 
 but it was at a terrible cost, a cost of which those who each 
 in turn pressed him to undertake some fresh duty had no 
 conception. Urgent appeals to preach anniversary sermons, 
 to lecture on all subjects and for all conceivable charities, 
 to attend Mission conferences, to help forward this or that 
 sorely needed work, were constantly pouring in; and with 
 his boundless sympathy and his readiness to help any work 
 for the Master, were undertaken, when a more careful and 
 less generous character would have hesitated. The effort 
 to overtake work which had accumulated during absence, 
 the meetings, night after night, both at his own church 
 and in the city, from which he would return wearied, to 
 find a pile of letters on the study table waiting to be read, 
 many of which required answers to be written till far on 
 into the night (since the busy hours of the next day were 
 all filled up) — all this, and much more, combined to break 
 down a naturally strong constitution. 
 
 The burden of his correspondence was very heavy, and 
 was constantly increasing. Once, in reply to the incredulity 
 of a friend, he kept an account of the letters written and 
 received during a year, and found that in 1885, they con- 
 siderably exceeded 11,000. It is true that, as one of his 
 brother ministers in Dublin ^ has written, 
 
 " He did not suffer from sitting up late and early, as most men 
 would. He could fall asleep in a railway carriage or in his easy- 
 
 ^ The Rev. Alexander Rentoul, M.A., Sandymount. 
 
Public Life. 249 
 
 chair ; he could start from lecturing in Limerick, catch the night 
 mail for Dublin, cross to Holyhead, and lecture the next evening 
 in Edinburgh or London. But it was killing work. It was such 
 work that killed him. Only, to me it is a relief to think that it 
 was, possibly, not the burden, oppressive as it was, laid on him 
 by the Church that killed him. It was his own determination to 
 work while it was day, his own idealism, his spirit of consecration. 
 I do not say it was right ; I do not even excuse it ; but he had 
 looked at the whole question on every side of it. He had counted 
 the cost, as he believed ; and I for one have not the heart to say 
 a word against it. He was, in splendid labour and in grand spirit 
 of consecration, so much above the best of us, that possibly the 
 best of us cannot quite understand him. I have my own view 
 of it. But I am just forced to bow my head and to whisper, ' I 
 am dumb, opening not my mouth, because Thou didst it.'" 
 
CHAPTEH XL 
 
 HOME LIFE. 
 
 On the 1st of June 1865, in the church erected to her 
 father's memory/ William Fleming Stevenson was married 
 to Elizabeth Montgomery, eldest daughter of the late John 
 Sinclair of the Grove, County Antrim. The family of the 
 Sinclairs had long been loyal members of the Irish Presby- 
 terian Church, and generous supporters of all her enter- 
 prises. After their marriage some weeks were spent 
 wandering through Switzerland and by the Italian Lakes, 
 over the Apennines to the shores of the Adriatic at Ancona, 
 where Mrs. Stevenson was then living, " to crown our 
 happiness," he wrote, " with my mother's blessing." The 
 holiday wound up with the LLandel Festival in London — an 
 unspeakable delight to one whose love of music was a 
 passion which in after-life he could only indulge in very 
 rare intervals of leisure. During the first years of Mr. 
 Stevenson's ministry in Dublin he had lived in Leinster 
 Road, Rathmines ; but the place with which his memory 
 will always be associated by those who knew him in the 
 innermost circle of his home-life is Orwell Bank, the birth- 
 place of his children, for twenty-one years his dearly loved 
 home, and, since 1878, the Manse of Christ Church, Pathgar. 
 It stood on a high, wooded bank, at the foot of which the 
 little river Dodder sped on its way — a quiet, sluggish stream 
 in fair weather, but often rising in a few hours into a foam- 
 
 1 The Sinclair Seamen's Church, Belfast. 
 
Home Life. 251 
 
 ing mountain torrent, which burst its bounds and flooded 
 the fields and rushed down the high weir close to the house 
 with a noise of thunder, to the infinite delight and excite- 
 ment of the Manse children, who in very early days regarded 
 it as a second Niagara. Beyond the river to the south 
 stretched the long range of the Dublin mountains, with the 
 clear outlines of the Three-Eock and Glendhu, and the 
 rounded curves of Tibradden, and Montpellier crowned by 
 its ruined castle, while away to the west lay the far-famed 
 "green hills of Tallaght." The lower slopes were thickly 
 wooded, from the beautiful demesne of Killakee to the glen 
 of the little Dargle, whose deep hollow, as seen from the 
 Manse windows, proved an unfailing weather-prophet. In the 
 valley to the right was Rathfarnham Park, with its fine old 
 trees and " wilderness walk," and the picturesque entrance- 
 gate, said to be copied from the triumphal arch of Constantine 
 in Rome. It was a rarely extended and beautiful view to be 
 enjoyed so near a great city, especially when the hills were 
 touched with purple and gold in the evening lights, or when, 
 on bright autumn days, the shadows came and went across 
 them in fitful beauty. To one with Mr. Stevenson's love of 
 scenery, the view from his study window across a foreground 
 of dark fir, holm-oak, copper-beech and lime trees was a 
 constant inspiration and refreshment, to which he returned 
 from the multiplied absences of later years with an ever- 
 increasing sense of restful enjoyment. The place was very 
 dear to him ; he had watched the growth of every shrub and 
 tree on the steep bank which divided the grass terrace, with 
 its flower-beds and shrubbery, from the low-lying garden by 
 the river side. It was to this bright home that Mr. Stevenson 
 brought his wife on a dark November evening in 1865. Into 
 the tenderest, deepest side of his nature we dare not enter, 
 nor touch on the passionate devotion, the strong, chivalrous, 
 
252 Life of William Fleming Stevenson. 
 
 and self-forgetful love that blessed the life of her ^'who is so 
 proud to have been his wife," and will bless it through all 
 eternity. Such memories are too sacred to be laid bare to 
 the public eye, and yet only through them could be fully 
 understood what that nature was in its innermost depths, 
 how joyous, sympathetic, earnest and pure, how full of 
 " sweetness and light." In the spring of 1866, the home 
 was gladdened by the birth of his first child, a daughter. 
 Two years later a son was born, named after his grand- 
 father, John Sinclair, and the after years added two 
 daughters and another son, who was but a little child of 
 three when his father died. Busy as was their father's 
 life, the time sacred to the children was the last to be 
 encroached upon. He had the power of being able com- 
 pletely to throw aside his own cares or business, and to 
 enter with all his heart into their games and pleasures, no 
 matter how trifling they might seem to others. A very 
 child among children, delighting in fun and frolic, it went 
 hard with him to pass the nursery door without looking in 
 for a romp, or, if time failed, for a bright greeting. Each 
 child's character was carefully studied, and their different 
 traits watched over and guided. Absolute obedience and 
 truthfulness were expected as a matter of course, but their 
 father depended chiefly on the love and trust and perfect 
 friendship between him and them ; and although he defended 
 corporal punishment as a last necessit}^ in certain cases, he 
 would have felt deeply humiliated had he ever been obliged 
 to resort to it himself After all, his deepest teaching lay 
 in the influence of his own life of unselfishness. Scolding 
 in any form was a thing unknown ; if anything went wrong, 
 a quiet, loving talk in the study, and the pain the child 
 felt as well as saw in its father's face, made a far more last- 
 ing impression. When absent for a year on his Mission 
 
Home Life. 253 
 
 tour, he wrote to them regularly, simple little letters such as 
 they could understand by themselves. 
 
 "On board the 'Abyssinia,' July 3, 1877. 
 "My dear Ethel, — If you were here now, you would see the 
 ocean all round. It is all tossing water as far as we can see on 
 any side. Some days we have seen a steamer a great way off, 
 rising and sinking on the waves, and almost every day we have 
 seen sailing-ships with all their sails spread, and they looked like 
 beautiful birds, and in the setting sun they shone like gold. 
 There were birds about the ship every day. I do not know where 
 they slept, nor if they ever rested ; but whenever they were seen, 
 they were flying round us and after us ; and I suppose they 
 rested on the waves when they were very tired. They could 
 fly a good deal faster than the ship, though they were so small ; 
 and though man can make many things that are wonderful and 
 strong, some little creature that God has made is more wonder- 
 ful than them all. We are always feeling how God must keep 
 the people who are at sea, for some of these waves are a great 
 deal larger than the ship." . . . 
 
 "New York, Jidij 5, 1877. 
 " My dear Clair, — One day your mother and I were taken 
 down by the engineer to see the steam-engines of our ship, down 
 steep iron ladders slippery with oil, into a large room, as large 
 as a church, and quite dark, except for the light of huge fires. 
 There were four-and- twenty of these, twelve on each side, and a 
 great many men who did nothing else but pour shovels full of 
 coal in upon the fires, so that in one day every one of those fires 
 burns as much coal as would be burnt in Orwell Bank from Hal- 
 low-eve till Christmas. The flames roared, and the fire was 
 scorching, and the men and all things were black with coal-dust, 
 and we were glad to get up on deck, where the wind blew across 
 the sea. But first we saw a beautiful little marker that is con- 
 nected with the screw and writes down in iron figures the number 
 of times the screw goes round. There were more than five hun- 
 dred thousand times when we saw it. And I was thinking how 
 the angels watch over us, and write down all we say and do, so that 
 
254 Life of William Fleming Stevenson. 
 
 it is always kept in an open book in heaven. And if they write 
 down many naughty things, how ashamed and sorry we shall be ! 
 Let us try how many kind and gentle and unselfish and bra"\e 
 things we can give them to write, and every morning let us give 
 our hearts to God to keep. — Ever your affectionate Father." 
 
 "NiAGAiiA, July 7, 1877. 
 " My dear Lilian, — I wrote to Clair about the dark fires and 
 the boiling water on board the steamboat ; but we saw a much 
 more wonderful boiling of water to-day — a great river, that is a 
 great many times broader than the Liffey in Dublin, and is so 
 deep that, if you were to put five men one on the top of the other, 
 the head of the topmost would only reach the surface of the w^ater. 
 This river comes to a great rocky wall, a great deal higher 
 than the spire of papa's church, and with a great rush it leaps 
 over it dow^n to the bottom. The water boils so much that a 
 great steam rises from it, through which you can scarcely see, and 
 it makes so much noise that yon can scarcely hear. But what we 
 did see was very wonderful and beautiful, like all the works of 
 God. We saw the clear green mass of river- water tumbling 
 over ; and rainbows upon rainbows that the sun wove in the 
 white steam \ and water that came down in soft streams like a 
 fall of feathers ; and as far as we could see the water seemed 
 falling. We went down to the river to a little house, and though 
 the sky was blue, the spray of the fall dashed against the win- 
 dows and made everything dark like the heaviest rain in Novem- 
 ber ; then we went out into the spray in flannel dresses, and in a 
 moment we were wet ; and we crawled along the rocks with a 
 guide, and walked into the rushing w\ater, and lay down in it till 
 it came tumbling over our heads and carried paj)a's spectacles 
 quite away ; afterwards we crossed the river lower down in a little 
 boat, and were tossed up and down like a bit of cork. We felt 
 how helpless and small we were, and how mighty and glorious God 
 must be, who could make such marvellous things ; and we thought 
 how good it was of Jesus Christ to come down and die for us, 
 that we might be kept from all that is wrong, and might live in 
 heaven. And papa is quite sure that Lilian will often think of 
 Jesus Christ, who loves her. — Ever your affectionate Father." 
 
Home Life. 255 
 
 "Cedae Eapids, July 21, 1877. 
 
 " My dear Ethel, Clair, Lilian, and Muriel, — We are now 
 staying at ' The Farm ' with all your merry cousins. It lies on 
 the slope of a hill, and down below it is the river, and beyond 
 the river fields of Indian- corn and wooded hills. There is a 
 wood behind the house, where there are wild raspberries, and 
 in front there is an orchard. The cows wear bells round their 
 necks, and the pleasant tinkle, with the fresh odour of the 
 woods and the cool air, makes us think we are in Switzerland. 
 Yesterday a family of nine little pigs came tumbling in and 
 began to eat the grass, and when they were put out, they ran 
 as fast as if they had been dogs. There are also dogs and sheep 
 and horses here, so that it is a very lively and merry place. There 
 are also Bohemians here and Germans, and a German pastor 
 will preach to-morrow in a box-factory. We have been seeing 
 new towns and new people almost every day, so that you may 
 think this is a very large country. One town that we saw on 
 Wednesday was nearly all burnt down six years ago ; but when 
 we drove through it, the houses were so large and beautiful, you 
 would think they had always been there. This town (Chicago) 
 is on the banks of a beautiful blue lake, that stretches away as 
 far as the eye can see ; and when you are on this lake in a 
 steamer you can see no land, and indeed you could nearly put 
 all Ireland into it. There is a river there that is about fifty feet 
 deep. It ran into the lake, but the people wished it to run 
 another way, so they turned it back, and now its waters run into 
 the Gulf of Mexico, which you will find on the map. Tell nurse 
 that she could walk through green corn here, and if Clair was on 
 the top of her head and baby on Clair's shoulders, it would cover 
 them all. We kept mamma's birthday at a place where there 
 were a great many waterfalls and a lake, and it was very quiet, 
 and we wondered where you would think we were. Now, dear 
 little ones, good-bye. When you get this we shall be on the 
 Pacific Ocean perhaps, or in San Francisco, and we shall have 
 seen the first Chinese people. Pray that they may all become 
 Christ's people. Kiss each other ever so many times, and say. 
 
256 Life of William Fleming Stevenson. 
 
 ' This is mamma's hug,' and ' This is papa's.' God bless you, 
 dear children. — Your very affectionate papa, 
 
 " W. Fleming Stevenson." 
 
 " S.S. ' Zambesi,' December 5, 1877. 
 
 " My Dear Lilian, — If grandmamma was to cut a line just 
 round the middle of an orange, it would be like the equator, which 
 runs round the middle of the earth, near which we have been 
 sailing in our steamer for many days. Indeed we were one day as 
 near the equator as you are to Dublin when you get to Drogheda. 
 Now this is the hottest part of the earth, but just here it is the 
 open sea, and cooler than if we were on land. It should be very 
 bright, clear, sunny weather, with a cool wind from the north- 
 ward ; but the weather with us has never been as it should be, 
 so we have a warm wind from the south, and heavy rains, and 
 the fog- whistle. We shall be very glad to-morrow to see the land 
 again. It will be a beautiful island that you often sing about, 
 called Ceylon, and I suppose we shall see the groves of cinnamon 
 and cloves that make the ' spicy breezes.' 
 
 " But a great deal rather than see Ceylon, we would like to see 
 four dear little faces that are in Beech Lawn ; and the happiest day 
 of all these months will be when we do see them. But every day 
 we ask God for the little people that wear these faces, that they 
 may have pure and happy hearts, and be kind, loving, obedient 
 and gentle, true in every word, and never selfish. Won't you 
 ask God every day, my dear little Lilian, to make you all that ? 
 What story-telling we shall have when we get home; for the 
 stories are all too big for these little sheets of paper, that just 
 leave room to say how much mamma and papa thank their little 
 girl for the letters she wrote. — Your affectionate father, 
 
 " W. Fleming Stevenson." 
 
 Many visitors to the Manse have recalled the simple 
 service at morning prayers. The formal way in which 
 family worship was conducted in many homes was a matter 
 of great concern to Dr. Stevenson. He felt how seldom the 
 children were considered in the service, and how often they 
 became careless and inattentive because they were not in- 
 
Home- Life. 257 
 
 terestecl, and he tried to plan for his own home a service 
 that would be bright and helpful to old and young, children 
 and servants. First came the singing of a hymn and read- 
 ing a portion of Scripture. Then the Psalms were read 
 responsively, after which each one present repeated a verse 
 in turn, and the brief prayer was closed by all joining in the 
 Lord's Prayer. In his prayers he generally embodied one 
 or more of the verses given that morning, and was always 
 careful to use the very plainest words. Any sorrow in the 
 household or the congregation was tenderly remembered, and 
 the little special needs of the children, it might be a journey 
 in prospect, or a difficult lesson, or an examination; and while 
 he taught them that nothing was too trivial to bring " as 
 children to a father," yet there breathed through his simplest 
 prayers the spirit of deep reverence. One of the earliest 
 problems the parents had to solve was how to make Sunday 
 a genuinely happy day, and yet keep its sacredness very 
 distinct. The children had special Sunday games, drawing 
 Bible subjects or filling in texts. A favourite one was to 
 tell a Bible story, giving all the details, but leaving the 
 names to be guessed by the listeners, at which even the little 
 ones grew expert. The greatest treat was when their father 
 turned story-teller, and held them breathless over some 
 thrilling incident, or chose some quaint character that no one 
 else had thought of, but through which he always led their 
 thoughts up to the Christ-life he desired they should make 
 the pattern of theirs. It was a real joy to him when he 
 once overheard one of them telling a friend, '' We call 
 Saturday our silver day because we have a holiday then, but 
 Sunday is our golden day." It exactly expressed the feeling 
 he had so earnestly tried to implant. The afternoon ended 
 with hymn-singing, till it was time for evening church, and a 
 skilful choice of his known favourite hymns seldom failed to 
 
258 Life of William Fleming Stevenso7i. 
 
 draw him from the study to join the young voices at the 
 piano. Their father was essentially the centre of all their 
 pleasures. He read aloud delightfully, with admirable feel- 
 ing and emphasis, and among the children's happiest recollec- 
 tions of holiday-time are those of long summer afternoons 
 spent lying on the deep, springy beds of sea-pink that cover 
 the Cornish cliffs, or among the heather braes of Ross-shire, 
 while they rested after some long expedition listening to one 
 of Scott's novels, or to some poem or story from the collec- 
 tion that was so carefully made by their father for this 
 purpose before leaving home. He realised the ideal of 
 which in early years he had written : — 
 
 " There must be some susceptibility to poetry in all but a few ; 
 and I have often dreamt, if any one would place me with a group 
 of children, of educating them in simple and natural ways to feel 
 the poetry there is in nature, to watch the colours in the sky and 
 the fall of the leaf, teaching them simple reverence for the Father 
 who cares for all His creatures, encouraging them to observe the 
 harmony and regularity in all His common works, quickening 
 in them a watchfulness and love of outward things, and they 
 would soon turn of themselves to our written poetry, and would 
 understand before they could parse it." 
 
 While his children were very young, his ideal relaxation 
 was a ramble among the Swiss mountains, but as soon as 
 they were old enough to join in walks, his enjoyment was 
 bound up in theirs. Mullaghmore, on the west coast of 
 Ireland, and various places in Wales, Scotland, and Corn- 
 wall were successively visited, and have furnished those old 
 enough to remember with a priceless legacy of happy 
 memories. From New Quay he writes to his brother-in- 
 law, Mr. Sinclair of Cedar Rapids : — 
 
 "August, 1880. 
 
 " Since we came here not a day has passed, nor has a spot 
 
Home- Life. 259 
 
 been visited, without a chorus of wishes, * If everybody from 
 Cedar Rapids were only here ! ' Of all the sea- side places I have 
 seen or tried, this bears away the palm for a children's holiday, 
 and for the weary seeking rest in the most unsophisticated 
 enjoyment of nature. Situated on the north-west coast of 
 Cornwall, about forty miles north of the Land's End, facing 
 the restless surge of the Atlantic, on a coast-line which pre- 
 sents for innumerable miles a level of the smoothest and 
 hardest sand, divided by promontories on which the moss is a 
 foot thick into numberless bays, and backed by a wall of cliff 
 from three to four hundred feet high, where the rocks are shin- 
 ing with all the colours of the rainbow, and where at every 
 few hundred yards there is some magnificent cavern or group 
 of natural arches; a sea exceptionally clear and exceptionally 
 lovely in its hues ; charming wooded valleys and country walks 
 inland ; so quiet and primitive, that you are constantly the sole 
 figure on the headland where you stand, that the rabbits scamper 
 about your feet, that there are no bathing-boxes, and you dress 
 in caves, yet with rail direct to London ; in fact, as quiet, and 
 more quiet, than Mullaghmore, as bracing, and with a still 
 grander sea and far finer sands — what more could one want ? 
 I came pretty tired, but resolving to overtake work that T never 
 could touch at home; and the only trouble is that the glo- 
 rious fresh air and views have continually beguiled me from 
 books and writing. The children now swim pretty well, thanks 
 to your early lessons and their present practice, and if we w^ere 
 to return another season here, the family would be amphibious. 
 If yours and ours were together, the sea would be as lively as if 
 there was a shoal of mackerel. You must be enjoying life still 
 more primitive among the Indians, and the sense of doing good 
 as well. Would I not like to be with you ! Your last letter 
 was a plea that deserved any notice the Observer could give it ; 
 and I expect, between your Assembly speeches and newspaper 
 correspondence, the Indians will find you one of their best friends." 
 
 \_To Miss Sinclair.'] 
 
 "New Quay, Coenwall, August, 1884. 
 *' Your ' Rondo Ccqiriccioso ' round by Loch Maree seems to have 
 
260 Life of William Fleming Stevenson, 
 
 been a most successful performance, and it did us almost as much 
 good to think of you all enjoying it as we have had from the sight 
 and air of this delightful spot. With an ocean as open as ocean 
 can be, a surf more constant and high than at Portrush or Mul- 
 laghmore, air as bracing as a tonic, more lovely colours in the 
 sea than anywhere outside the Mediterranean, a primitive and 
 independent population ; sands, caves, cliffs, and bare feet for the 
 children ; one or two charming drives and wooded valleys for 
 their elders ; a railway to London, the daily papers, lawn tennis 
 and clotted cream — what more could weary minister want ? 
 Besides, as things go, it is not expensive, and we cannot grumble 
 if the holidays bring us here when the season and the prices 
 are at their height. Well, what are we wishing you % Health 
 and pleasure, the one that you may have the other, and that 
 highest form of pleasure which you enjoy of working for Jesus. 
 So may our Heavenly Father crown the year with His goodness, 
 and make it the best of years, the sunniest with the Sun of 
 Righteousness, the sweetest with the fragrance of grace." 
 
 His thonghtfulness in little things was characteristic. 
 On his wife's return after any absence, her room was always 
 filled with flowers, which he arranged himself, to welcome 
 her back. Birthdays and all family festivals were held 
 peculiarly sacred by him. It was part of his household 
 creed to make much of them ; he held that much of the 
 brightness and joy of family life lay in these apparently 
 trivial things. He had great sympathy with the young in 
 their eager activity and high spirits ; they never wearied 
 him, and he believed that in a joyous, sunny childhood 
 they would best gain strength for the graver duties of life. 
 Especially he delighted in all the joys and pleasures asso- 
 ciated with Christmastide. As a student he had written 
 to his mother : — 
 
 " I like the festival of Christmas far better than New Year's 
 Day, which is always associated in my mind with gloomy, melan- 
 
Home- Life. 261 
 
 choly thoughts of duties neglected, time misspent and wasted, 
 and such sad statistics as are the results of, I suppose, every- 
 one's yearly retrospect. Be that as it may, T had rather welcome 
 in the birth of Christ than bid farewell to an old year. Dearest 
 mother, you will join me in praying that He may be born in 
 very many hearts during the year that is advancing, and born 
 again in each of ours." 
 
 \To a child on her thirteenth Birthday^ 
 
 " My dear L , — So your age has grown by almost a year 
 
 since last I saw you. And I hope it will grow on, dear L , 
 
 on and on by one at a time, and every year happier than another. 
 For I would like you every birthday to say, ' Oh, how happy I 
 am ! how good God is ! ' God has all the years in His hand — 
 thousands of them; and He has all the gifts that make life 
 happy ; and so you and I will ask Him to-morrow to open His 
 hand and let the years and the gifts fall down upon you like 
 May-blossoms. The secret of being happy is to love God, and 
 the secret of loving God is to trust in the Lord Jesus and not to 
 love ourselves, and that is a secret which I hope you have found 
 out already, and which will be far better to you than any birthday 
 present in the world. Thirteen ! and you will be very thoughtful 
 and wise and diligent, and try to learn and know a great deal, for 
 it will soon be fifteen ! — seventeen ! — so there is not much time to 
 spare. And if one grows tall, one must grow wise and good, and 
 not be like a tree that shoots straight up and lias no leafy branches, 
 where the birds can sing and the sun hides his arrows." 
 
 \To one of his Ne2)hews^ 
 
 " Orwell Bank, Eatiigar, July 15, 1881. 
 '' My dear Boy, — You may be sure we were astonished to 
 hear of your being so suddenly berthed, and yet you will only 
 reckon it good fortune to be in so fine a ship. We had hoped to 
 have you with us before you sailed to anywhere, but we must be 
 content now to wait until your return from your first voyage. 
 Last summer seems wonderfully near, with all our pleasant boat- 
 ing and fun, and watching the big ships sail along the horizon. 
 It is perplexing to think that you will be dropping out of sight 
 in one of those white- winged creatures within a few days. ... 
 
262 Life of Williavi Fleming Stevenson. 
 
 I am sure yon will be a good sailor and will like it (after you 
 have been sea-sick), and if you live, w^ill rise high in the service. 
 But, mind, there is one thing I would like to hear about along- 
 side of all that. Of course we all know that steady men are the 
 only men that are sure to rise ; and I predict that you will be 
 what many men would call steady. But the only really steady 
 man, in my judgment, is the man that honestly fears and loves 
 God, fears Him with reverence, loves Him because He is so 
 good. There are captains and captains ; and I would like to see 
 you a captain that was not ashamed of being a Christian. 
 
 " Of course there are plenty of fellows who will tell you not to 
 mind the parsons. But you know better than that ; and if there 
 were no parsons in the world, there would still be sin, and con- 
 science, and God, and the love of Jesus Christ, and the future. 
 
 " Stick to the Bible. It will never lead you astray. If j^ou 
 do what it tells you, you will never do what you would be ashamed 
 of ; you will never do an unrighteous or unkind or a mean thing, 
 and nobody will ever be ashamed of you. 
 
 " Best of all, if you would take Jesus Christ for your own 
 Saviour, and let Him be your pattern. It will never he right 
 till it comes to that. You will be strong then, because He will 
 make you strong. And all your strength will be to do what is 
 right and manly and noble, and to help others to do the same. 
 I don't like to make people promise, but I just ask you some- 
 times on the voyage to think of this. 
 
 " Supposing anything was to happen to you, as it befell your 
 friend last winter, just think of the difference it would make if 
 at home (and we are part of home) they knew you had behaved 
 like a Christian, God-fearing lad when you were on board ship. 
 ' Wait on the Lord, and keep His way : behold the upright man, 
 for the end of that man is peace.' " 
 
 As his children grew older and went to distant schools, 
 however busy he might be, he never allowed anything to 
 prevent his driving with them to the steamer, making all 
 arrangements for their comfort, and giving the last cheery 
 words of advice and guidance. 
 
Home Life. 263 
 
 \To one of his daughters ivhile at school^ 
 
 " My darling Child, — Your letter gave me unmixed joy, and 
 made for your mother and me one of the happiest days through 
 which we have Hved. 
 
 *' You have just suggested what we talked over ; that, as you 
 could not be here before the class for young communicants was 
 held, we should correspond about it. I would have made the 
 suggestion to you when the time came ; but, dear child, you have 
 made me far happier by proposing it yourself. 
 
 '' This summer has been far more than pleasant for us all. 
 God has been doing His own work in His own way behind our 
 pleasant holiday. I am sure you have felt Him very near you, 
 and that He has been drawing the trust of your heart to Himself. 
 And if you feel sometimes weaker than others, ' Trust ye in the 
 Lord for ever : for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength.' 
 
 " I shall write to you very soon more particularly of the Lord's 
 Supper. Meanwhile I shall pray for you, that God may make 
 you more and more to feel how good it is to trust Him, and how 
 surely His good Spirit will keep us doing right, and make us 
 choose always the better side." . . . 
 
 Some of his letters to his son while at school at Clifton 
 College will show the minuteness of his interest in all his 
 boy's doings, and the perfect confidence existing between 
 
 them. 
 
 "Oewell Bank, October 3, 1882. 
 
 " My dear Clair, — Your letter gave us a very bright day. It 
 was as welcome as the sun would have been at Gairloch, and your 
 details help us to understand your daily life and surroundings. 
 We keep them very constantly before us, and you need never be 
 afraid of writing too much of them. 
 
 " I would like (if you had time) you would sometimes mention 
 the text and subject of the head-master's sermon. Of course the 
 Sunday will be very different from ours. You will also be left 
 more to your own judgment in spending as much of it as is free. 
 Your comrades may not help you much to be true to Christ, or 
 
264 Life of William Fleming Stevenson. 
 
 sympathise with what they might think your greater strictness. 
 Do not be ashamed of your old Sundays and their old ways, for 
 all that ; and if others do not help you up, perhaps, without being 
 at all a prig, your firmness and your honest love and reverence 
 for God's Word may help them. You may not have the support 
 of finding others in sympathy with you, the support that makes 
 our Sunday life so easy ; but we must often walk without other 
 support than the grace to be true to what we believe to be right. 
 Keep to Sunday reading. You wdll find Geikie's * Hours with 
 the Bible ' a help, and you might make your own Bible-reading 
 on Sunday be what he writes about. Never take what even the 
 best writers say on trust ; you will always find something fresh 
 in your own reading of the Bible passage. You may sometimes 
 find it difficult to get a quiet corner, but there is a key to it and 
 patience turns the lock. ' Seek and ye shall find.' 
 
 "ISTow remember, my dear old Clair, how much pleasure it is 
 to hear everything about your life. If you are in any perplexity, 
 write to me or mother. Keep true to God, to prayer, to the 
 Bible. Be sure you tell us all about your ways and doings. God 
 will strengthen you to be the manly, truthful, unselfish, high- 
 minded boy that we pray for; to resist temptation, and, when 
 necessary, to dare to stand alone. — Ever, with all our love, your 
 affectionate father, W. Fleming Stevenson." 
 
 " P.S. — The old cat now walks with me at night to the Orwell 
 post-office box, usually in front, grave and steady, with uplifted 
 tail. 
 
 ''January 25, 1883. 
 ** We are having a very lonely time, and after to-day it will 
 be still lonelier. It makes the time at Christmas wonderfully 
 bright, my dear boy, to have you with us. May God guide you 
 now and always, and give you strength always to stand uj) for 
 what is right, and for Him ! " 
 
 ''February 3, 1884. 
 ^' My dear Clair, — A bright greeting on your birthday ! 
 
Home Life. 265 
 
 May God spare you, my dear boy, to see very many of tliem, and 
 us to greet you ! 
 
 " We have been full of interest in all you have told us about 
 your promotion, duties, and place both in house and chapel. 
 May you long be able to hold, not your own, but God's gifts to 
 you, and to hold them against all comers, by His grace ! My 
 dear, dear boy, I do not think you will forget that our highest 
 promotion is in the kingdom of God, the promotion to be a 
 humble, faithful, self-denying citizen in the unchanging city of 
 God, If you have more freedom and privilege now in school, you 
 have also more responsibility and are more noticed by others. 
 
 "It is lonely not to greet you here ; but our love loses no 
 warmth by crossing the Channel. Write often ; every scrap 
 from you makes the day brighter. — Ever your affectionate father, 
 
 " W. Fleming Stevenson." 
 
 " Oewell Bank, Novemher, 1884. 
 " My dear Clair,— The days have gone by and gathered into 
 weeks since I wrote, and I am sure you would know it was 
 nothing but hard work postponed the pleasure. . . . 
 
 "I see you are finding the comfort of the library and the 
 Times and the illustrated papers. I only say, have a care. 
 Nothing dissipates the energy of work like a newspaper, and 
 next to that an easy luxurious seat by the fire. One of the worst 
 temptations is the temptation to be desultory, to find an interest- 
 ing book and read in it, and then turn to another. The only 
 way to distinction at Clifton will be downright hard work wliile 
 7J0U are at it, and I feel sure you are bent on distinction. Over- 
 work would be too dear a price to pay for it ; but hard, intense 
 
 w^ork for the time need not be overwork 
 
 " Now this is a very long letter, but you hear too seldom from 
 your affectionate father, W. Fleming Stevenson." 
 
 ''Scptemher 21, 1885. 
 
 ''My dear Clair,— Thank you for card and letter; for that 
 
 delightful greeting that I had on Sunday morning, smothered in 
 
 a wreath of flowers and fruit. For the day was kept thus in 
 
 roval fashion. It was a very bright day. And now I have 
 
266 Life of William Fleming Stevenson. 
 
 turned the road past the fifty-third milestone, not knowing how 
 much farther there may be to w^alk, but wishing that along the 
 road there may be more seeking of the things that are above, 
 and more work done for Christ. Thank you for the card and 
 for the verses and for the thought. 
 
 " Our two subjects yesterday were in the morning, our work for 
 Ireland (Exod. iv. 2), ' What is that in thine hand ? ' We have 
 always the means, if we will use them, for every work to which 
 God calls us. In the evening we were thinking, as at New 
 Quay I sometimes used to think, of the converse of Mark vii. 
 24, where we read that Jesus could not he hid. It is so easy 
 when we have received Jesus and He dwells in us as the very 
 light and spirit of our life, to hide Him. We may effectually 
 hide Him by our worldliness, our self-seeking, our low morality, 
 our want of courage, our choice of company. May we never be 
 tempted to hide Christ ! 
 
 " I am very thankful (as were we all) for your calm passage. 
 To-day I suppose you are in the swing of business. We are 
 getting into the lonely epoch. Our united, hearty, constant love 
 is always about you, my dear boy. And Jesus is by your side. 
 
 " Ever your affectionate father, AY. Fleming Stevenson." 
 
 " February Z, 1886. 
 " My dear Clair, — So to-morrow will be your birthday. I 
 used to rush for some engagement far from Dublin when that day 
 would come round (at least all you naughty people at home said 
 so), and now the rush of school has swept you away from us. 
 Well, my very dear boy (for you seem to grow dearer every year), 
 absent or present, it will be a strange fourth of February that 
 does not fill our minds with thoughts and love of you. So, what- 
 ever else may be in this letter, a scent of Irish love — home-made 
 — should pervade the room when you open it. May God con- 
 tinue all His blessings to you, and may He add all that He thinks 
 for your good ! You are moving steadily up out of boyhood, and 
 will soon be crossing the border-line among the '■ men ' at the 
 University. If you can say to-day, as we were saying here all last 
 
Home- Life. 267 
 
 year, ' Hitherto hath the Lord helped us,' i so you will be able 
 to say then, as we are saying now, ' Be strong and of a good 
 courage.' ^ You will be saying it to yourself ; rather God will be 
 saying it to you, which is far better. And we need it said, ring- 
 ing out cheerfully among our disappointments and fears. As the 
 years steal thus quietly over us, is it not pleasant to think of the 
 seed that is all the while growing in us, ' one knoweth not how,' 
 but growing over more of our life ? 
 
 " From 's repute, I am scarcely surprised at the views he 
 
 expresses on Genesis. You have come close to the time when you 
 will meet many such opinions, and many that will seem to you 
 more strange. They are not new. Under one form or other they 
 are almost as old as the time of the Apostle John. At present 
 a great many men of influence hold them, and during the last 
 eighteen centuries there have been several periods when this hap- 
 pened. But the prevalence of such opinions never lasted long. 
 The hearts of men grew restless, their consciences unsatisfied, and 
 the old truths, as you have been accustomed to them, resumed 
 their place, and have been always growing in power. The more 
 you read and think over the Bible, I am persuaded you will find 
 it a clear and simple book, and the book described in the Cate- 
 chism as telling us what man is to believe concerning God and 
 what duty God requires of man. Such opinions, however, openly 
 expressed, show you that you must read and think for yourself. 
 If you are puzzled, or are following out any thoughts in these 
 directions, write to me all about them. Geikie's ' Hours with 
 the Bible,' vol. i., and Saphir's 'Christ and the Scriptures' 
 would help you. Keep to your own steady reading and to prayer. 
 The closer we keep to God, the closer God seems to keep to us. 
 
 "Your very loving father, W. Fleming Stevenson." 
 
 ''July 2, 1886. 
 "My dear Clair, — How the time flies, and without bearing 
 you a letter from me ! And how I long for a line from you, but 
 feel I do not deserve it. 
 
 1 The Christ Church motto for 1885. - The motto for 1886. 
 
268 Life of William Fleviing St events on. 
 
 " It has been very helpful and bright for you, I have no doubt, 
 to have had the meetings so often, and to feel that good was 
 being done to leave behind you. For we must think twice of 
 others for once of ourselves. We must remember also to be true 
 to our own character, as David was to his sling. Christ lives in 
 us and works Himself out through us by the channels of our own 
 individuality. 
 
 '' I am looking forward constantly to August, when you will be 
 back. I am sure you are rather down-hearted about leaving. It 
 has been a genuinely pleasant term of years. More of character 
 has been built up in them than you are aware of ; and happily 
 that upbuilding has been in far more than what is taught at 
 school. Then, if the school gates are closed behind you, the 
 college gates are opening, and, God sparing you, there are happy 
 years to come for real joy of spirit, and development, and friend- 
 ships the richest in a man's life. And for serving Christ there 
 are no finer opportunities." 
 
CHAPTER XII. 
 
 THE END. 
 
 During the year 1885, two series of Evangelistic services 
 were held in Christ Church, Rathgar, one in May and the 
 other in November. Dr. Stevenson was extremely anxious 
 that the spiritual gain from these meetings should be definite 
 and lasting. In the winter he began a Bible-reading, in 
 which all who came were expected to take part, and which 
 occupied the half-hour preceding the Wednesday evening 
 service. The first subjects of study were the letters to the 
 Seven Churches. Prizes were also given by the pastor to 
 the young men of the congregation for essays on Scriptural 
 subjects ; but though his efforts never relaxed, he had often 
 during the winter a great sense of weariness and longing for 
 rest. Little wonder, since, between the pastorate, the Mis- 
 sion, and the multitude of other public duties, the work of 
 two lives was being crowded into one. 
 
 The spring of 1886 saw the beginning of the various 
 improvements and additions in the church buildings which 
 he had so long desired; but strange and mysterious as 
 it may appear to us, the year which left the instrument 
 perfect took away the agent for whose hand it was prepared. 
 As the operations involved considerable outlay, he determined 
 that the autumn should not close till the entire sum needed 
 had been secured. It was to be a year of unconscious 
 windings up; and many things which his friends would 
 
270 Life of William Fleming Stevenson. 
 
 have wished otherwise were best as they were, considering 
 the nearness of the end. In the spring, he concluded the 
 delivery of the Duff Lectures at Aberdeen, and he intended 
 to devote the autumn to preparing the lectures for the press, 
 and collecting for the new building fund. During the summer 
 he was urged by many who believed he had peculiar fitness 
 for the post to become a candidate for the vacant Chair of 
 Sacred Rhetoric in the Assembly's College, Belfast. He 
 deeply felt there could be no higher work than that of mould- 
 ing the future ministry of the Church. He was aware also 
 that the long summer vacation would provide a much-needed 
 rest, and allow him to realise his old literary dream of a 
 history of Christian Missions. But his allegiance to the 
 duty of the day proved a barrier which nothing short of the 
 nnanimous call of the Church would have been sufficient to 
 remove, and he quietly stood aside. The same principle 
 induced him to refuse a very generous and tempting invita- 
 tion to himself and two of his family to spend his holiday 
 in America. 
 
 The last meeting of the General Assembly he was ever to 
 attend was a w^onderfully happy time. As usual when the 
 Assembly met in Belfast, he stayed with his wife's mother, 
 Mrs. Sinclair, who had been living for several years at Beech 
 Lawn, Dunmurry, and whose improved health enabled her 
 to gather around her, in the old generous way, friends who 
 were attending the meetings. Dr. Stevenson's eminently 
 sociable nature opened out to his friends in the full enjoy- 
 ment of intercourse which the press of intervening years 
 had largely interrupted. '' That week at Beech Lawn," he 
 said, '' had a flavour of the old Grove days about it." 
 
 But the clouds were gathering. Early in August he 
 attended the Mission Board in Derry for the last time, going 
 sadly from the new-made grave of his last surviving brother, 
 
The End. 271 
 
 Mr. James Stevenson of Strabane. Shortly afterwards, in 
 sending a birthday greeting to a dear relative, he wrote : — 
 
 " I am not to be outdone by other scribblers, and, like them, 
 acknowledge the inspiration of this day. If I were to fashion my 
 own wish, it would be that when they each came round we might 
 not be farther from each other, and I hope often nearer. It does 
 me good every time I think of your work, and how God has 
 blessed it and encouraged you. It often strengthens me in mind. 
 Then I feel you are only at the beginning, and that as it has been, 
 so it will be, and that God will show you fresh work, and give you 
 the strength and the wisdom for it. Is there not a wonderful 
 refreshing stimulus in working for Christ ? The permanence 
 of it, reaching into eternity, and the thoroughness of it, as it 
 influences the whole nature and colours all the springs of life, 
 make it delightfully different from all other work. Sudden death 
 like my brother's makes no difference in the plan of life, but I 
 feel it has emphasised many things. We stand very near the 
 edge, and we must see that our work is done ; and when Christ 
 says there are twelve hours in the day, perhaps He means there 
 is time enough to do it all, and that there should be no flurry or 
 pressure; and I do not intend to work at pressure any more." 
 
 Many years before, he had written to his wife : — 
 
 " Death itself should be no shock to us. It is only the begin- 
 ning of life ; a great change indeed for all who are still spared, 
 but one of hope and joy. And our turn will come, perhaps, the 
 next, and the better we do our duty it is the more likely to come. 
 God grant us to be ready and waiting ! " 
 
 On the 22nd of August he preached in Kilkenny on 
 behalf of the Foreign Mission. That afternoon a young 
 man, who had strolled into the church to hear the stranger, 
 met his death by being thrown from a car a few minutes 
 after the close of the service. The incident was made the 
 basis of a very solemn appeal in his own church the next 
 Sunday evening, when he referred to it, pleading with those 
 
272 Life of William Fleming Steve7tson. 
 
 who had not yet come to Christ to accept Him without 
 delay, and adding, " To some of you also I may now be 
 speaking for the last time." 
 
 While preaching in the morning, he had so sharp an 
 attack of pain that only his strong power of self-control 
 enabled him to close the service. It yielded, however, to 
 home remedies, and he made light of it, declaring that he 
 was quite able for the evening service. Afterwards, as they 
 walked home together in the bright moonlight, in reply to 
 his wife's anxious questioning, he assured her he had felt 
 quite well all the time he was preaching, adding with eager 
 emphasis, " Oh ! it's a grand thing to speak for Christ." 
 All arrano^ements had been made to start next morninof 
 with the elder children for a ten days' ramble in Wales, 
 and he was speaking cheerily of some of the preparations, 
 when suddenly the ^2i\M returned with such increased 
 intensity that it was with great difficulty he reached home. 
 His kind friend and physician. Dr. Henry Kennedy, re- 
 mained all night with him trying one remedy after another. 
 It was not till the morning that the agonising pain abated, 
 but his family were relieved to learn that the cause was simply 
 acute indigestion. For a day or two he was very weak and 
 prostrate from the effects of such extreme suffering, but even 
 while confined to bed he worked incessantly, keeping his 
 wife and daughter busy writing letters to his dictation. 
 
 He was restlessly anxious to get off to Wales, having the 
 feeling that he could not get well till he had left the atmos- 
 phere of work behind him. On Thursday he was able for a 
 country drive, and felt so exhilarated by the fresh air that he 
 determined to leave next morning. The start was accordingly 
 made, and the party reached Beddgelert in the afternoon after 
 an easy journey. While waiting for a carriage at Ehyddu, 
 where the railway ended, he began to make inquiries about 
 
The End. 273 
 
 gaides to Snowdon, aud so sanguine was he of being able to 
 make tlie ascent, which had been a long-cherished plan, that 
 he did not relinquish the hope till a few days before he left. 
 It was a great pleasure to find Beddgelert such an unsophis- 
 ticated little village. Here they were soon established in 
 comfortable quarters facing the rugged heiglits of Moel 
 Hebog, and looking across the village down the pass of 
 Pont Aberglaslyn ; while below the windows a mountain 
 stream ran by with a pleasant murmur, and the birds sang 
 in the apple-trees, laden with fruit, in the little rock-crowned 
 garden. Dr. Stevenson declared he felt better already, and 
 it was with a sense of lessened anxiety and good hope for 
 the future that they all joined in the evening prayer, into 
 which, as was his custom, he gathered all the events of the 
 day with heartfelt thanksgiving. On Saturday he dictated 
 several letters, among them the following to Mr. Alexander 
 Gray, one of his elders : — 
 
 " Beddgeleet, Septemler 4, 1886. 
 '' I am keeping rigidly by the doctor's directions, and, though 
 absurdly weak as yet, am certainly stronger than he expected I 
 should be, I had a short walk, or rather saunter, and am now 
 resting. Very sorry not to see you after your return from, I 
 hope, health-giving holidays. God willing, I shall be back for 
 Wednesday the 15th, for, though this will be my only breathing- 
 space this summer, there are important engagements that cannot 
 possibly be postponed over that week. To-morrow week I have 
 to fulfil a long-standing engagement to preach at Sefton Park 
 in Liverpool, and for which I hope this invigorating mountain 
 air will make me able. I felt it very solemnly, the awe of 
 preaching last Sunday evening — awe of responsibility, I mean 
 — and still more when illness seized me with such a sudden 
 grip as I was going home, and I was only thankful that it had 
 remitted its grasp so as to allow of the service." 
 
 In the evening Miss Sinclair arrived from Ireland. Her 
 
274 Life of William Fleming Stevenson. 
 
 coming was a great joy to lier brother-in-law, and he was 
 full of interest in all her home news, bright and merry 
 in spite of his weakness and the evident shake he had 
 received. 
 
 Next day he felt equal to writing himself the bulletin 
 that was so eagerly watched for in Rathgar. 
 
 \To John Gailey, Esq.~\ 
 
 " Beddgeleet, September 5, 1886. 
 " You were kind in coming so often ; it was like the medicine 
 in Proverbs ; but I was very sorry not to be allowed to see you. 
 Yet it was right — I was not able, an unusual condition for me. 
 I am writing you my first letter; it must be brief, but will 
 report progress. Indeed, it would be a sin not to feel better in a 
 spot like this ; and I am positively gaining something every hour. 
 Last night we had one of the fiercest thunderstorms known for 
 many years. The flashes lit up every mountain to the summit. 
 This morning there is perfect Sabbath peace. We have had an 
 hour's delightful Bible-reading over John xiv. and xv. If you 
 saw me, you would admire my caution and obedience, and though 
 I must be back next week, I shall still rest. Our sicknesses are 
 clouds with a very broad silver lining ; and I see so much of the 
 silver I have lost sight of the cloud." 
 
 All through the week that followed he was the life of the 
 party, reading aloud in his old way the usual medley, 
 making light of his wife's anxieties, enjoying long drives 
 without fatigue, and rebelling against her strictness in 
 insisting on a day's rest between each excursion. He re- 
 velled in the wild mountain scenery and freedom of the 
 country, the clear rushing streams fringed with moss and 
 fern under the fir-trees, and the quaint simplicity of 
 the people, with whom he loved to get into talk as he 
 sauntered along. One afternoon, when they had wandered 
 as far as Lake Din as, they were obliged to seek shelter from 
 a shower in a shepherd's cottage. A little blind girl sat by 
 
The End. 275 
 
 the fire, to whom lie spoke with the wistful tenderness that 
 suffering childhood always drew from him. That little child 
 was lovingly remembered in the evening prayer. On Tues- 
 day they made an expedition to Harlech Castle and Criccieth, 
 driving to Port Madoc through the beautiful ^^ass of Pont 
 Aberglaslyn. The day was so clear that Snowdon was seen 
 for the first time free from cloud. As they drove home 
 the changing colours of the mountain-tops before them filled 
 him with delight, and he joined the children in their sing- 
 ing. So fresh was he, notwithstanding the long drive, that 
 for over two hours in the evening he read aloud " Christmas 
 Rose," a poem by his son's house-master at Clifton, and 
 sang with the rest " Lass micli gcheii, lass mich gehcn, class 
 icli Jcsu moge selun!' 
 
 Thursday was devoted to another excursion, driving to 
 Llanberis through the wild rocky pass by Pen-y-gwryd. 
 Next day they left Beddgelert very regretfully. It had been 
 a most happy week. Before starting. Dr. Stevenson wrote in 
 his landlady's book that he had come there an invalid, but 
 was now leaving almost well. Each day there had been 
 the morning Bible-reading which had latterly become asso- 
 ciated with the leisure of holiday-time, and in the evening, 
 among other things he had read aloud the " Life of Henry 
 Bazely, the Oxford Evangelist," a book which had so strongly 
 attracted him that he wished all to share the great pleasure 
 he had had in reading it. 
 
 They went to Bettws-y-coed by Ffestiniog for the sake 
 of the lovely views of the valley beneath, seen through the 
 trees that clothe the steep banks of the Toy railway. In 
 the evening they drove to the Swallow Falls and Capel 
 Curig, Dr. Stevenson having determined to visit the latter 
 place, that he might give Mrs. Sinclair a description of it, 
 as she had stayed there on her wedding tour fifty-one years 
 
276 Life of William Flemi7ig Stevenson. 
 
 before. That evening, Bazely's Life was finisliecl, and before 
 they separated all joined in repeating the 121st Psalm. On 
 Saturday the pleasant holiday came to an end. His wife, 
 whom all week he had constantly rallied on her '' morbid 
 anxiety" about him, had done her utmost to prevent his 
 fulfilling his engagement in Liverpool, but in vain. As 
 two of the party were going into Yorkshire, and the re- 
 maining children with their mother returning to Dublin, 
 they separated at the station, little conscious that they were 
 never all ao^ain to meet on earth. It was like his thouofht- 
 fulness that, when the travellers reached Orwell Bank late 
 in the evening, they found a telegram awaiting them to wel- 
 come them home, giving also a cheery report of himself to 
 lessen his wife's anxiety. On Sunday the 12th of September 
 lie preached the anniversary missionary sermons in Setton 
 Park Church, and though he was terribly exhausted at the 
 close of the services, he was able to telegraph that he had 
 had less difficulty than he had apprehended. The morning 
 text was Psalm xxxvi. 8, and in the evening his last sermon 
 was preached from Isaiah Iv. 3. One who had often been 
 his auditor said he had never heard him preach with more 
 mastery and power than on the evening of this, his farewell 
 Sabbath on earth. He reached home next evening, and as 
 he came up the steps, the little child of three, who more 
 than any other member of the family recalls the features 
 of his father, darted across the hall and ran straight into 
 his arms. All his children, except his eldest daughter, had 
 returned, and two of his nieces were with them on a visit. 
 He was thankful and happy to be at home again, and as 
 he lay resting in an arm-chair, his niece playing from his 
 favourite Bach and Beethoven to refresh him, he entered, 
 in spite of weariness, into all their fun with the greatest zest 
 and enjoyment. 
 
The End. 277 
 
 Early on Tuesday he was busy putting bis study into 
 order for his winter's work. The Rev. Mr. Buchanan, 
 Secretary of the United Presbyterian Church of Scotland, 
 came to the Manse by appointment to arrange about various 
 missionary matters affecting their common work in Man- 
 churia, and Dr. Stevenson was closely engaged with him 
 for three hours. In the afternoon he proposed a drive to 
 one of the lovely wooded glens that run in among the 
 Dublin mountains. On the way home he joined the young 
 people in walking down the hill, talking hopefully about 
 Ireland and the spread of the Bible through the country. 
 As the sun set among rosy clouds, he said softly, " The 
 crimson of the sunset skies," leaving it to his companions 
 to finish the verse for themselves. That night he was dis- 
 turbed by a ticklish cough for half-an-hour, but slept well 
 afterwards. 
 
 On Wednesday he dictated twenty- one letters, most of 
 
 them about engagements for the next two or three weeks, 
 
 and wrote one with his own hand to the Bev. Mr. Swanson. 
 
 — It was his last letter. 
 
 " September 15, 1886. 
 
 " Clair has just written twenty-one letters as amanuensis for 
 his father (he goes to Oxford next month, gravitating there 
 through a scholarship he took at Lincoln), but I must write to 
 you myself. Sunday fortnight, after evening service, I had a 
 savage attack of indigestion : the doctor was up with me all night 
 and a good deal of the next day ; and it has left some complica- 
 tions which may be tedious and will hinder me from work — I 
 mean for some time from a good deal of the work I have been in 
 the habit of doing. As soon as I could crawl from bed I felt an 
 irresistible impulse to be away in some absolute quiet, and per- 
 suaded the doctor that, as I had an old engagement to preach at 
 Sefton Park, Liverpool, on the 1 2th, I might be allowed to rest in 
 Wales. So Mrs, Stevenson and the three elder children came 
 with me, and at Beddgelert, under Snowdon, I found the place I 
 
278 Life of William Fleming Stevenson. 
 
 wanted — a trout-stream hurrying past the window, the mountains 
 stretching into the sky, absokite privacy and quiet. It was 
 broken weather, but the place was so restful that after a week, 
 on Saturday last, I said I would face Liverpool. So Mrs. Steven- 
 son, Clair, and Lilian turned towards Holyhead, Ethel went 
 with her aunt to Ilkley, and I encamped under Mr. Guthrie's 
 care at Mossley Hill until Monday. I found it was Foreign Mis- 
 sion Sunday, and used a little liberty in preaching. Now there 
 is a good deal of autobiography in all this, but you drew it on 
 yourself, for your letter found us at Beddgelert just before we 
 moved, or would have been answered sooner. What a joy it was 
 to hear from you ! You see all my plans about our stumping 
 Ireland together broke down ; and I really had not the heart to 
 tell you. After fifty, a good many of one's plans break down? 
 and I sometimes wonder, as one thing gets postponed after 
 another, whether any of my plans will work out to the end. I 
 thought I would have ready for the press this summer the old 
 Edinburgh lectures. But with the thousand -and -one things 
 that must be done, it is still " to-morrow and to-morrow and to- 
 morrow." Just now I want to get off my hands an article on 
 Irish Hymnologyfor Murray's "Cyclopsedia of Hymns." And then 
 I have promised Dr. Charteris to prepare a lecture for the Young 
 Men's Guild in Edinburgh, on (whatever the title may be) the 
 mission of the Church, an appeal to young men to organise and 
 carry out the plan of Christ and redeem as much of the world as 
 He means to be redeemed, every man round about his own door 
 and his own life, and then crusading to the ends of the earth as well. 
 " Autobiography still ! I may as well go on with it and finish. 
 If able, I have to give the charges at the ordinations of two 
 splendid young fellows for India (we are looking out a medical 
 man for China, which Avould give us four in Manchuria) within 
 the next three weeks ; then to be at the Conference in Edinburgh 
 on the 6th of October; and the last two Sundaj^s of October in 
 Cambridge. The dream of conquering the heathen is steadily 
 making way. What a year of Conferences on Foreign Missions ! 
 They crowd upon each other in October ; and prayer seems going 
 before this revolution of the Church, as it went before that of a 
 century ago. .......... 
 
The End. 279 
 
 "What else? 
 
 My dear Swanson, I can write no more, neither sense nor non- 
 sense. But now do tell me about yourself and yourselves, and 
 all that interests you and me." 
 
 In the afternoon he sauntered about the garden watching 
 his children play tennis. He took the evening service him- 
 self without much apparent effort, but with a weaker voice 
 than usual. The subject was " Christ, our Great High Priest," 
 taken from the seventeenth chapter of St. John. Discuss- 
 ing some of the thoughts started by the address as they 
 walked home, his son recalls with what deep solemnity he 
 repeated the words, " This is life eternal, that they might 
 know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou 
 hast sent." At prayers that evening he chose Charlotte 
 Elliott's hymn, " Let me be with Thee where Thou art," 
 read part of the First Epistle of St. John, and prayed very 
 tenderly for his brother's sorrowing family in Strabane. 
 
 Thursday the 16th was a lovely, bright morning, and he 
 came down to breakfast full of plans to give his nieces a 
 long day in the country. With some difficulty he was in- 
 duced to abandon a long drive to the foot of the Sugar-Loaf, 
 on account of the fatigue, and the wild valley of Glen-na- 
 smoil, beyond the hills of Tallaght, was decided on instead. 
 The party was a very merry one, and Dr. Stevenson 
 took his full share in all the conversation, and read aloud 
 several interesting newspaper cuttings which he had brought 
 with him. As they descended the valley, they were all 
 quieted down by the extreme beauty of the sunset, which 
 flooded the whole landscape with golden light. On his 
 wife's expressing her uneasiness lest he might be too much 
 tired, he replied he only wished she was as w^ell as he felt. 
 When they returned, he had a romp with his little boy who 
 was going to bed, chasing him round the room till inter- 
 
280 Life of William Fleming Stevenson. 
 
 rupted by tlie summons to tea, when he bade him good- 
 night, saying, " Never mind. Will, we must finish the game 
 to-morrow." Later the Rev. Wyndham Guinness and his 
 son called and spent part of the evening. The conversation 
 turned chiefly on Ireland, and on different aspects of foreign 
 missionary work. At prayers he gave his niece the choice 
 of a hymn in reward for her music, which he said was his 
 best doctor, and seemed pleased when she repeated his choice 
 of the night before. He read the third chapter of the First 
 Epistle of St. John. The opening sentences of his prayer 
 were about heaven and habitual readiness for it ; then he 
 prayed for ministers of all denominations, and finally for his 
 own beloved Ireland. After prayer an interesting conversa- 
 tion arose out of the hymn. Characteristically enough, he 
 began to criticise the scansion of the last line, maintaining 
 that the version given in his own hymnal was correct, and 
 arose from the author's desire to give the hymn a personal 
 reference. The discussion then turned on the resurrection, 
 and finally, as if the ruling passion of the missionary enthu- 
 siast as well as of the hymnologist must be strong in death, 
 it wound up with the Mission-field ; and almost his last 
 words were expressions of strong confidence in the ultimate 
 triumph of Christianity over the nations. " He seemed to 
 me," said Mr. Guinness afterwards, " like one just waiting to 
 enter into his rest." After their friends left, he begged some 
 more music from Bach and Schumann, and the family parted 
 for the night in the cheeriest way, making plans for the 
 next day. 
 
 What followed his wife has tried to recall : — 
 
 "We were chatting as usual in our room. He stood a good 
 while watching baby, who looked so rosy as he lay asleep in his 
 little cot ; then kissed him and said, ' Dear little man ! ' I told 
 him of a talk I had had with a young girl who was perplexed as 
 
The End, 281 
 
 to whether her present occupation was the life Christ meant for 
 her, and who had said to me, ' If I knew the Lord Jesus were 
 coming next week, I would not go on teaching.' 'That is simply 
 a morbid feeling,' he replied. I said, 'Why, would you?' He 
 answered very emphatically, ' I would go straight on doing my 
 business.' 
 
 " He had only been a few minutes in bed, when the slight 
 cough that had disturbed him two nights before again began. 
 He rose to walk up and down the room, but the cough changed 
 immediately into asthmatic breathing. I asked had he any pain % 
 He said, ' None whatever ; don't be foolish, it's only a touch of 
 asthma, and will soon pass off.' I brought various remedies, but 
 he would not try anything, nor hear of my sending for the doctor. 
 Presently he consented, to please me, adding, ' Perhaps a doctor 
 could suggest some temporary relief.' I ran to call Clair; he 
 had not gone to bed, and was off in a second. 
 
 " When I came back my husband was sitting in the arm-chair, 
 leaning forward a little. His breathing seemed to be getting 
 worse. Up to that time it had been comparatively but slightly 
 affected, and he could speak quite easily. I told him that I had 
 sent for the doctor. He said, ' Don't be so anxious,' and made 
 light of my uneasiness. Presently he began to walk up and down 
 again, and asked if the windows were open. One was. I threw 
 open the other and pulled up the blinds. His breathing was 
 now much worse. Suddenly he stopped in his walk, his voice 
 quite changed, and there was the most wonderful look in his face. 
 It had come to him as if by a lightning flash that God was call- 
 ing him; yet his first thought was for me. With an almost 
 superhuman effort to speak, he put his arms around me, and in a 
 few words said good-bye. Then he sat down on the sofa, lying 
 back in my arms. His breathing grew gentler and gentler, 
 and in about ten minutes more I knew he was with Christ. 
 
 "It was a lovely, clear, still, moonlight night, and it seemed as 
 if one could almost see into heaven." 
 
 All day long on the following Sunday, a constant succes- 
 sion of mourners passed through the Manse, taking a last 
 
282 Life of William Flemhig Stevenson. 
 
 look at tlie clear face of their pastor, as he lay asleep, 
 surrounded by the flowers he had so loved in life. 
 
 On Tuesday the 21st September 1886, he was laid to rest 
 in Mount Jerome Cemetery. 
 
 After a brief service in the Manse for the members of the 
 family, public service was held in the church so identified 
 with his life,^ and few eyes were dry, as the coffin, covered 
 with tokens of love and affection, was laid before the pulpit, 
 where for nearly seven-and-twenty years he had faithfully 
 proclaimed the Gospel of Christ. An immense concourse of 
 all classes had gathered to pay the last tribute of respect to 
 his memory, not alone from his own Presbyterian Church, 
 which sent her members from every part of Ireland, but 
 representing the sympathy of the Irish Episcopal Church, 
 through the Archbishop of Dublin and numbers of her 
 clergy, as well as that of almost every other Protestant 
 denomination in the country. Deputations were sent by 
 the Royal University and many other public bodies, while 
 outside the church a group of Roman Catholic clergy and 
 laymen waited to join the sad procession as it moved slowly 
 away through the crowd of sympathisers who had been un- 
 able to gain admission. All along the route to the ceme- 
 tery the blinds were drawn, a spontaneous tribute from 
 rich and poor. The brave, strong words of the 23rd Psalm 
 rose high above the broken sobs of men bowed by grief; 
 and sorrow and bereavement were written on every face 
 as the grave closed over all that was mortal of William 
 Fleming Stevenson. 
 
 1 The service in the church was conducted by the Moderator of the 
 General Assembly (Kev. Eobert Eoss, D.D.), the Kev. J. Whigham, D.D., 
 and the Eev. Hamilton Magee, D.D., and that at the grave by the Rev. 
 W. Johnston, D.D., and the Rev. George Shaw. 
 
CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 IN MEMORIAM. 
 
 The intelligence of his death, so sudden and so unexpected, 
 brought gloom to many hearts. To his own Church the 
 loss was felt to be irreparable ; and the Church of Christ 
 everywhere mourned the removal of one whose heart's sym- 
 pathies were as wide as the world. Letters of sympathy 
 and sorrow poured in from every quarter of the globe ; 
 from high and low ; from his smitten congregation ; from 
 dear friends and fellow-workers ; from those who regarded 
 him as their father in God ; from many who only knew 
 him by his writings ; and not a few tributes came from 
 those whose lives he had unconsciously quickened and influ- 
 enced. For six months they never ceased to come, till they 
 numbered nearly a thousand ; from America and Germany ; 
 from Italy and Holland ; from India and China and Japan, 
 where the memory of his visit and his sympathy were still 
 tenderly cherished ; and from lonely toilers in distant 
 corners of Australia.^ 
 
 1 Addresses of condolence were sent to his family from many public 
 bodies, including among others, the General Assembly of the Presbyterian 
 Church of Ireland ; the Synod of Dublin ; the Presbyteries of Dublin, 
 Connaught, Gujarat and Kattiawar ; the Foreign Missions Committees of 
 the Pan-Presbyterian Council, the Church of Scotland, the Free Church, 
 the United Presbyterian Church, and the Presbyterian Church of England ; 
 the Koyal University ; the Hibernian Bible Society ; the Evangelical Alli- 
 ance ; the British and Foreign Sailors' Society ; the Female Missionary 
 
284 Life of William Fleming Stevenson. 
 
 A few of his friends have desired to add their memories 
 to this record of his life and labours. 
 
 The Rev. W. S. Swanson says : — 
 
 "It is difficult to picture to others your dearest friends. They 
 are yours by an indissoluble tie, and they are so endeared that 
 it seems almost sacrilege to attempt to tell why they are so. It 
 is not possible to have many such friends. Their place in your 
 heart is sacred to them, and it can hardly ever be filled by 
 others. In one sense it can never become vacant. And such a 
 friend was Dr. Stevenson to me. I met him first many years 
 ago, and I admired him then for his own sake and for the work 
 he had done. But the friendship arose at a subsequent meeting, 
 and sprang into an intensity that was a joy and a strength to 
 me. I only knew the measure of that intensity when I was 
 
 Association of the Irish Presbyterian Church ; the White Cross Associa- 
 tion (Dubhn branch) ; the Hibernian Band of Hope Union ; the Dublin 
 Y. M. C. A. ; the Belfast Y. M. C. A. ; the Bible and Colportage Society ; the 
 Dublin United Services Committee ; the Eathmines Young Men's Services 
 Committee ; the Waldensian Aid Society ; the Sinclair Seamen's Church 
 Sunday-school ; and from the following organisations in connection with 
 Christ Church, Rathgar : — the Session ; the Congregational Committee ; 
 the Zenana Mission Auxiliary ; the Sunday-school teachers ; the Rathgar 
 Y. M. C. A. ; the Rathmines Mission ; the Band of Hope, &c,, &c. 
 
 On the Sunday following his funeral, many touching references were 
 made throughout the kingdom to his life and work, and kind notices 
 of the press in reference to his death were very numerous both in this 
 country and in America. 
 
 A memorial fund has been started by friends who sought to honour his 
 memory, and, by the wish of his family, it is to be devoted to training a 
 native pastorate in India. 
 
 From his library, which had grown to be one of great value, over 6000 
 volumes were presented to the General Assembly's College, Belfast. 
 
 In the south transept of Christ Church, Rathgar, a stained-glass window 
 of great beauty has been placed, in loving memory, by the past and 
 present members of the congregation. The subject is, St. Paul taking 
 leave of the elders of the Church at Ephesus. Of this window it has been 
 said that " in the boldness and vigour of its design, and in the wonderful 
 depth and richness of its colouring, it is unapproachably beyond anything 
 that has yet been seen in Ireland." 
 
Ill Me7no7'iam. 285 
 
 stunned and broken by the startling intelligence of his sudden 
 death. More than twelve years ago I spent some days with him 
 in Orwell Bank. That visit opened up to me the full flood of 
 a sympathy strong and tender, and so sweet and restful in some 
 conditions of life's battle. And this was the foundation on 
 which the friendship was built up. It began as if by a flash, and 
 we knew each other. At any rate, he read in me what I would 
 fain have concealed, but to reveal which to him soon became a 
 privilege. And tender and true I ever found him ; and while I 
 loved him dearly as my friend, I looked up to him as a master. 
 
 " It did not take long to learn that one was dealing with a 
 man penetrated by the purest and noblest Christian principle, 
 and also with one possessed of the most powerful intellect. I 
 wondered at the extent of his scholarship and the breadth of his 
 thinking. Trained in the very best schools in this country and 
 in Germany, of wide and varied reading in general literature 
 and theology, with an exquisite literary taste and a complete 
 literary furnishing, one soon felt that he was no ordinary man, 
 that he towered above the ordinary run even of those distin- 
 guished in the special departments named. For there was with 
 him such a perfect unconsciousness of his own superior powers 
 as I have never met — no spurious humility, for he was too noble 
 and manly for that, but the transparent simplicity of a truly 
 great man. 
 
 "And this was the man whose heart the Lord touched, and 
 whom He thrust forth into His own harvest-field with an educa- 
 tion and equipment rarely possessed, with the very simplicity of 
 Christ, willing ever to be the servant, fired with the conception of 
 the true mission and ideal of the Church of Christ, as bearing to 
 men the knowledge of Him who alone could meet human wants 
 and cure human woes. And this conception filled his heart and 
 moulded his life. He was true to it with a zeal ever growing, 
 a love ever widening, an intentness of purpose never wavering, 
 and an energy and activity that wore him out. 
 
 "To myself this soon became the main factor in our friend- 
 ship. We were one here. For us the Church existed for the 
 Mission. And I gathered strength of purpose and readiness for 
 sacrifice from the enthusiasm that was filling him and infecting 
 
286 Life of William Fleming Stevenson. 
 
 others. With him this was no fancy idea, no mere romantic 
 pursuit. His acquaintance with missionary literature and mis- 
 sionary history was unequalled, and his enthusiasm was the out- 
 come of what he knew the Mission had done and was certain to do. 
 He looked at these matters with no narrowed vision, but over the 
 broad sweep of past history, and he felt confident as to the future. 
 In all his writing and speaking on this subject he seemed to have 
 a remarkable faculty of seizing on those very details that involved 
 advance. His range was as comprehensive as his sympathy. 
 
 " This is not the place to speak of his public work and of his 
 power of impressing his fellow-men. He was a man fitted to be 
 a leader, but not a leader in Church politics or Church courts. 
 In these he took his own place, and his words were always highly 
 valued. In a wider and freer sphere he found his congenial 
 place. In every enterprise that involved the well-being of man 
 his heart was engaged. The Mission, in its widest sense, was his 
 sphere for action. He was one of the most eloquent men of his 
 time. He had a richness of diction I have never heard equalled ; 
 not diction without thought, but packed with richest thought. 
 His style was simple and forceful, brimful of the fire that burned 
 in him, and he swept his audience along with him. Few who 
 were present can ever forget the spell of his marvellous address 
 on the Mission at the meeting of the Pan-Presbyterian Council 
 in Belfast, and his sermon preached before the General Assembly 
 of his own Church at the close of his Moderatorship. It was 
 worth living to hear him on such occasions. 
 
 " He was to me the very embodiment of a pure-minded, 
 chivalrous. Christian gentleman. He was tender as the tenderest 
 woman, and as brave as he was tender and gentle. Against 
 meanness, selfishness, and duplicity I have seen him blaze out 
 with a force that astonished me. And when it passed, I felt it 
 was but another evidence of the great and brave Christian soul of 
 my friend. I learnt some new lessons of Christian heroism in 
 his quiet and sweet patience, and in his warm and keen resent- 
 ment of everything that was mean and untrue. 
 
 " In the quiet of his own home and at his own fireside he 
 shone most brightly. Where the light was keenest on him he 
 came out best. It would be presumptuous in me to picture that 
 
In Memoriam, 287 
 
 home ; it would be wrong if I did not testify to its beauty and 
 charm. The union of hearts and aims in the heads of that house- 
 hold was perfect ; and while it was never obtruded in expression, 
 its depth and intensity were most marked. He was brimful of 
 fun and frolic, had a merry infectious laugh, and his inexhaust- 
 ible store of story and of legend was ever ready. He had rare 
 conversational powers, and with them he never failed to charm. 
 But these powers were never allowed to run to excess ; and he 
 stood out as the Christian head of one of the happiest homes. 
 To go there was joy and rest ; and Orwell Bank, to those who 
 knew it, was ever fresh and green. I go back to it now in 
 memory as one of the brightest spots of my own experience, 
 and I reckon it a privilege to have ever had a joyous welcome 
 there. And the brig^htness of the li»ht that was there is the 
 measure of the darkness to those who knew and loved and have 
 lost him for a while. 
 
 " Within the bounds of his own Church he was honoured and 
 loved, and he served her with rare devotedness and self-denial. 
 He consumed himself with the energy and zeal that kept him 
 working as few men have ever worked. While a Presbyterian of 
 strong conviction, he was a man of the broadest catholic spirit. 
 So single was his aim, so transparent his motives, so filled was 
 he with the grand ideal of the great mission of Christianity, and 
 so unsparing of himself in its prosecution, that sectarianism and 
 narrowness found no quarter with him. His aim was so high 
 and his range so sweeping that every one saw in him a true 
 Christian man and minister. He was the property of all the 
 Churches ; and when he passed away, the representatives of all 
 joined to mourn for a common loss. 
 
 '' I part from him now, thanking God that I ever knew him. 
 I cherish his memory as one of my most precious possessions. 
 He has gone, but he lives ; lives in the work that he has done, 
 in the lives he has influenced, in the impulse he has given to the 
 mission of Christ, and in the hearts of many of us who loved him 
 deeply and love him still. We shall not see his like till we see 
 himself again ; and we regard it as one of the rich and precious 
 treasures of our life that he gave us a place in his own large 
 Christian heart, and won from us our tenderest, deepest love." 
 
288 Life of William Fleming Stevenson. 
 
 The Right Hon. the Earl of Aberdeen writes : — • 
 
 '' The circumstance of Dr. Fleming Stevenson having been an 
 honorary chaplain to the Viceroy of Ireland, when I occupied 
 that post, gave me the great privilege and advantage of frequent 
 intercourse with him, leaving memories which can never be 
 effaced ; and I feel a melancholy satisfaction and a sense of 
 privilege in undertaking, however inadequately, to contribute 
 anything to the memorials of that bright and noble life. 
 
 "My personal acquaintance with him was brief, but long 
 enough for the formation of a warm friendship, and, on my part, 
 a sincere admiration of his gifts, and a deep sense of the value of 
 his work and influence. I first saw him in the pulpit of his 
 church at Rathgar, Dublin. The impression produced by the 
 sermon and whole service led me to remark, on leaving the 
 church, that we were apparently fortunate in having been 
 present on that particular Sunday, as it could hardly be sup- 
 posed (although we were, of course, aware of his high reputation) 
 that the sermon was not, even for him, more striking, more 
 deeply spiritual than usual. Subsequent experience, however, 
 soon showed us that this high standard, both as to sermon and 
 prayers, was uniformly maintained. He was shortly afterwards 
 appointed an Honorary Chaplain to the Lord Lieutenant. 
 
 " His mode of receiving the offer of the post was characteristic. 
 He replied that he regarded it as intended to convey a mark of 
 courtesy and respect towards the Church to which he belonged, 
 and in that sense accepted it with appreciation. Certainly no 
 better representative of any Church could have been found. We 
 had various opportunities of hearing him, both at his church 
 and at the private chapel of the Vice-Regal Lodge; and I will 
 only add that his ministrations were, as Principal Brown once 
 remarked in a letter to myself, ' a combination of spirituality and 
 culture.' It is impossible to overestimate the lastingly beneficial 
 influence of such a sympathetic and, in the best sense, tolerant 
 spirit and disposition as that manifested by Dr. Fleming Steven- 
 son, combined as it was with great firmness of purpose as well 
 as gentleness of manner. 
 
 " No one could know much of him without observing his great 
 
In Memoriam, 289 
 
 love for children, and it is brought out in the large number of 
 hymns for children contained in the valuable Hymnal which he 
 compiled. Our own children treasure many tokens of his love 
 and kindly thought for them. We were present at his last 
 annual ' flower-service' for children. In the course of his address, 
 he affectingly illustrated some lesson by alluding to the fondness 
 of children for flowers, and the eagerness with which they culti- 
 vate little gardens of their own. And in a few short weeks, some 
 of those young hearers, who were then intently listening to his 
 wise and tender words, were sending flowers from their own 
 gardens far away, to deck the last honoured resting-place of that 
 form then so full of life and vigour. 
 
 " The amount of work accomplished by him must have been 
 immense, but, like some other men whose whole time is filled 
 up, he never seemed to be hurried or restless. His letters had 
 usually a graphic force and character of their own. When 
 reading them it often seemed to me that one could imagine that 
 the living voice was uttering the words. Doubtless this was. the 
 unconscious exercise of that literary ability which he so largely 
 possessed. 
 
 *' I must not now linger on the attractiveness and value of his 
 society personally. It is with regretful sadness that I think 
 over the many projects for future work which we discussed 
 together. In all such conversations he seemed to impart a 
 peculiar strength and inspiration, always impressing one with 
 a sense of a life ever lived in the presence of a loved Master. 
 He set a bright example of Christian cheerfulness, courtesy, and 
 unselfishness, and even those who knew little of him will have 
 known enough to lead them to deplore his loss, though we may 
 well mingle w^ith our sorrow a true thankfulness concerning all 
 that he was enabled to accomplish during his comparatively 
 brief but intensely active life ; and especially will all wish to join 
 in the feeling of profound and deferential sympathy towards 
 her who so nobly and brightly helped him in all his life-work. 
 
 "Bat 'he being dead yet speaketh.' This is emphatically 
 true with reference to his vigorous and long-sustained labour in 
 connection with the great work of Foreign Missions. His large 
 experience, his energy, and, above all, his broad and sympathetic 
 
290 Life of Williavi Fleming Stevenson, 
 
 catholicity of spirit must have been invaluable in the further- 
 ance of that work, surrounded as it so often is by peculiar diffi- 
 culties and perplexities ; and in that, as with all the home-work 
 in the country which was so dear to him, and in connection with 
 which his last prayer was uttered, we must surely believe that 
 his influence and example will remain as a permanent heritage 
 towards the promotion of the Kingdom of the Lord and Master 
 whom he loved and served so well." 
 
 From the Kev. William Beatty, Senior Missionary in 
 India of the Irish Presbyterian Church : — 
 
 " While I speak for myself, I believe my personal views of Dr. 
 Stevenson are those of all the brethren, and would be subscribed 
 by them all. 
 
 " He was a man of unusual ability, and of great intellectual 
 power. His mind was broad and deep. There was no narrow- 
 ness about him. He combined qualities usually dissociated in 
 other men. He was many-sided and all round. Whilst extremely 
 cautious, he was full to overflowing with enthusiasm. His 
 mastery of details, which was unrivalled, never prevented him 
 from seeing the important and salient features of a subject. He 
 hated conflict, and, rather than encounter it, would wait patiently 
 for an open door through which he could enter without oppo- 
 sition. He would yield much for peace, but when peaceful 
 means were exhausted, and the stand had to be taken, he was 
 immovable, 
 
 " He was quite an artist. He beautified everything he touched. 
 All his letters were written in chaste and charming English. He 
 gave expression to his ideas clearly, and yet with the sweetness 
 of a saintly Christian, a master painter, and a true poet. 
 
 " There was a great charm in his manner. He put strangers 
 at once at their ease, and made them satisfied with themselves 
 and with him. He was naturally kind, and could not bear to 
 hurt the feelings of any one. 
 
 " He was the brother of the missionary more than an official 
 of the Assembly, the friend rather than the Convener. We mis- 
 sionaries were perfectly sure of one thing, that the Mission, in all 
 
In ]\Ieinoriam. 291 
 
 its aspects and concerns, was as dear, aye, far dearer, to the Con- 
 vener than to any one of us, and I think it is the passion of all 
 our lives. We felt that, no matter how much we loved it, he 
 loved it more : it was the supreme, the absorbing passion of his 
 life. There was nothing he could do to advance it which he was 
 not ready to do, even to the minutest detail, and his whole family 
 shared his spirit. If there was one place in the world where we 
 were welcome, it was Orwell Bank, and we all knew that. He 
 would never deny us anything for our work or ourselves he could 
 possibly do for us. We depended on him, indeed, so much, that 
 when we heard of his death we felt as if a strong pillar had given 
 way beneath us. In our prostrate condition we did not see how 
 we were to rise again, and we felt as if the life and the glory of 
 the Mission had been extinguished. 
 
 *' The central point of his Convenership seems to me to have 
 been the organising of the Mission abroad in such a way as to 
 make it self-supporting. He held that the aim of the mission- 
 aries should be to train the natives to be missionaries to their 
 fellow-countrymen. A Divinity School for the training of a 
 native ministry and native missionaries through the medium of 
 their own language he believed to be a prime necessity. That 
 the memorial to his name should take this form will appear ex- 
 ceedingly apposite to all who knew his aims and hopes. 
 
 " He strove to bind the workers in the field together in fraternal 
 bonds. There is, perhaps, no Mission in India where there is 
 greater harmony among the workers than in ours, and much of 
 this no doubt is due to the example of Dr. Stevenson. And his 
 letters were written so as to fill them with hope, courage, and 
 genuine enthusiasm, and make them feel the grandeur and 
 nobility of their calling. 
 
 " Dr. Stevenson never underrated the difficulties of the jQeld. 
 He knew more of the paganism of the world than any living man. 
 He had a high ideal of the qualifications needed in a missionary. 
 He looked for a solid basis for enthusiasm in true piety, sound 
 judgment, and a fully educated and well-balanced mind. 
 
 " Knowing the great systems of religion to be encountered, 
 and the absolute necessity of able and thoroughly educated men, 
 he would accept none but the very best our Church could produce. 
 
292 Life of William Fleming Stevenson. 
 
 I look upon his insight in selecting and his power in inducing 
 such men to volunteer for the Foreign Mission as showing a 
 remarkable judgment. 
 
 " Dr. Stevenson was careful to know every detail of Mission 
 work. He knew the field by personal inspection, had met many 
 of the native agents, was aware of the needs of every spot, could 
 understand every missionary's references to his work, and thus 
 provide for the wants of every station. 
 
 " He always encouraged the missionaries to confide their 
 troubles and difficulties to him. They could do so with perfect 
 trust. He was extremely cautious lest injury might be inflicted 
 on a cause so precious, and yet bold and daring in his plans to 
 advance. 
 
 ''Another thing ever present to his mind was the blessing 
 Missions conferred on the Home Church. Missions were to him 
 signs of life in the Church which originated them and carried 
 them on, and not only so, but means of grace ; and just in pro- 
 portion as individuals and Churches engaged in this blessed work, 
 might they expect the strengthening and developing of their 
 Christian life. As he loved the Home Church, he wished her to 
 rise to the height of her responsibilities and privileges. 
 
 " Other Missions were proud of our Convener ; he belonged to 
 the Church Universal. He was a source of power to all. We 
 were proud of having such a man at our head. He honoured 
 our Church and Mission. His very name was a tower of strength. 
 
 *' We have had no man like him in the past, and we may not 
 see his like again. He was unique. We can thank and praise 
 God for the honour and privilege he gave our Church in conferring 
 such an eminent servant on her. I, for my part, will ever esteem 
 it one of the highest privileges a man and missionary can have 
 had to have known him as a friend, and to have laboured under 
 his guidance and leadership for the beloved Master whose right it 
 is to reign." 
 
 One of his oldest friends in Dublin, the Rev. Hamilton 
 Magee, D.D., says : — 
 
 "I never knew a man so immeasurably raised above petty per- 
 sonal pique, and the disturbing influences arising out of it. I 
 
/;/ Memoriam. 293 
 
 often consulted him in difficulty, and ever met with brotherly 
 sympathy, and with advice characterised by great caution and 
 great breadth. 
 
 '' He was the life of our ministerial meetings. To the pleasant 
 evenings thus spent socially together once a month the remark- 
 able brotherliness prevailing in the Dublin Presbytery is to be 
 largely attributed. No matter how busy he was, he generally 
 cheered us by his bright and genial presence. So far back as 
 1862, I remember Dr. Norman Macleod's saying to me that, 
 for information, versatility, conversation, and literary power, he 
 reo-arded Fleming Stevenson as one of the most remarkable men 
 he had ever known. 
 
 " Though capable of the loftiest flights of pulpit oratory, he 
 would sit at the feet of an unordained evangelist as a learner, 
 and his sympathy and help could always be counted on in any 
 kind of true evangelistic or mission work. He latterly showed 
 a marked advance in the spirit of consecration in his prayers, 
 letters, addresses, work, and entire intercourse with others. 
 
 " Though a member of the Presbyterian Church by intelligent 
 conviction, he was an utter stranger to all narrow and selfish 
 bigotry. He rejoiced to recognise the image of Christ wherever 
 it was to be seen. Perhaps no man had a wider range of Chris- 
 tian brotherhood in all the Churches, and it is not too much to 
 say that the choicest spirits in all branches of Christ's great 
 family on earth felt themselves enriched by being privileged to 
 regard William Fleming Stevenson as their personal friend. It 
 is a touching evidence, too, of his large-hearted catholicity, that, 
 while some might have concluded from his unparalleled devotion 
 to the cause of Foreign Missions that he had little care for mis- 
 sion-work at home, the Irish Mission collection was wrought up 
 in Rathgar better, perhaps, than in any other congregation of 
 the Church, and the last audible prayer that passed his lips was 
 a prayer for Ireland. 
 
 "Humanly speaking, he would have been with us to-day if he 
 had been able to spare himself more. But where there was work 
 to be attended to, he must be up and doing. He laboured con- 
 stantly, ' in season, out of season,' and, like the Master, never for 
 himself, ever for others. He undertook too much work for 
 
294 Life of William Fleming Stevenson. 
 
 others. He could not say ' No/ when most others would have 
 had no difficulty. His congregation lay close to his heart. The 
 cares and difficulties of his brethren in the ministry he made his 
 own. But above all he carried about with him everywhere the 
 mighty load of the great world's heathenism. His soul was 
 straitened for the redemption of India and China." 
 
 Another Dublin minister, the Rev. Alexander Rentoul, 
 closes a short sketch, to which reference has already been 
 made, in these w^ords : — 
 
 "When I took up the evening paper of the 17th September 
 and read the news of his death, I remembered the words he used 
 at the first induction at which I ever heard him speak — ' When 
 some great one falls, we are inclined to cry with Elisha, " The 
 chariots of Israel, and the horsemen thereof," as if Divine 
 power had vanished from the Church, A great rush of fear, the 
 dread uncertainty of all things, comes on us, and we hardly know 
 on which side to look for help.' It is under such feeling that I 
 write even now. I know not how the loss can be made up. 
 God knows, and we must leave it to Him. 
 
 "On the Saturday, as I uncovered the face, it seemed to me 
 that, but for the great brown beard, it might have been the boy's 
 round face over which his mother bent long ago. A strange 
 look of innocent childhood seemed to come back again. God 
 grant that we who are left, when, in the last sleep, the pain 
 leaves our hearts and the trouble vanishes from our brows, may 
 have passed with spirits as truly childlike to ' see Him face to face.' 
 
 " For the thought struck me then, and clings to me now, that 
 this man was of so childlike a spirit that he permitted the 
 Church to lay on him a burden greater than he could bear. It 
 is little to me that he would have worked as incessantly in any 
 case. 
 
 " And yet all highest work is done thus, with a blessed child- 
 like unconsciousness, and with no true appreciation from others 
 till, in the after-time, they see more clearly. I am not sure that 
 his friends would have it otherwise. Possibly even the nearest 
 can rise into that glorious atmosphere of martyrdom in which 
 
In Memoriam. 295 
 
 all God's worthiest witnesses live and die. When we think of 
 the nights spent over the Foreign Mission, or with some wakeful 
 invalid who could sleep in the day but lay sleepless all the night- 
 watches ; when we think of the grey dawn breaking on him as 
 he sat in his study or walked home after his watching ; when we 
 remember the crowded church and the great throng with sorrow- 
 stricken faces, the long sad procession to the cemetery, and the 
 bowed head and great sobs of strong men around the open grave, 
 we are inclined to think it was better that William Fleming 
 Stevenson died at the age of fifty-four, leaving behind him an 
 orphaned home and a bereaved congregation, and a bereaved 
 Church and a bereaved Mission, than to have died at eighty, 
 leaving behind what work he might have done as other men 
 work — better for the Mission and for the whole Church, better 
 even for what lay nearest his heart, in his own home. For as 
 the falling leaf of September is but the preparation for spring's 
 emerald green, so I am sure his life and death are the sure pre- 
 cursors of such gifts of liberality and such deeds of consecration 
 and of sacrifice as our Church has never yet imagined in her 
 most blessed hours." 
 
 In a letter to Mrs. Stevenson the Rev. George Shaw, 
 Belfast, says : — 
 
 " I need not speak to you of that strange, sweet attractiveness 
 which drew all hearts to j^our beloved husband. What rests 
 upon my memory most, I think, was his wonderful sympathy — 
 sympathy not in kindly and fitting words only, but in that great 
 tenderness of spirit which made you feel instinctively that he 
 truly shared your sorrows or your joys. Hardly ever did I meet 
 one to whom I felt I could so fully and so freely speak of the 
 deep thoughts that lie within. In truth, he seemed to have so 
 much of the Blessed Master's spirit, that one felt one had got 
 away into a purer, serener atmosphere when conversing alone 
 with him. So gentle, so pure, so much of Christ, so emptied of 
 self, is it strange that many, like myself, felt the power and the 
 charm of so lovable a nature, that wondrous unconsciousness 
 that drew us closely to him ? Often did I urge him to spare 
 
296 Life of William Fleming Stevenson. 
 
 himself. But it seemed a hard thing to do. One and another 
 and another were gently laying hold of him to urge their suit, 
 or sought some kind, brotherly advice, and well they knew how 
 ready he was to respond to such appeals. 
 
 " Let us not forget that a true life is not measured by days or 
 years. Fain would we have kept him here ; but is it not some- 
 thing for the Church, and for the world too, to have the example 
 of a noble life consumed with the love of Jesus, and whose his- 
 tory may be summed up in the words, ' To me to live is Christ ' ? 
 The holy radiance of that short life will not soon fade away. 
 Coming generations will, I believe, thank God for the memory of 
 one who seemed to reflect so much of the light which comes from 
 fellowship with Jesus. For myself, I count among the blessings 
 of my life the sweet hours spent with your loved husband, and the 
 times when, in the quiet of my study, we two knelt in prayer. 
 Never shall I forget those hours, when I felt as though we had 
 entered within the veil ! Our converse was often on Missions — 
 that cause which lay so near his heart. I was much impressed 
 by the calm, clear judgment and thorough knowledge of men, 
 combined with enthusiasm, which glowed in his public addresses. 
 He was no visionary. His faith in the ultimate and universal 
 triumph of ' the glorious Gospel ' was based upon the sure Word 
 of the Living God. His soul yearned to see this unfaltering 
 faith taking fast hold of the whole Christian Church. For this 
 he lived; for this he worked; for this he prayed. Who of us 
 can fail to see how, in the growth of the missionary spirit 
 throughout our Church, that word is abundantly verified : ' He 
 being dead yet speaketh ! ' 
 
 " India was much in his thoughts, and he longed for the 
 strengthening and enlarging of our Indian Mission. But China 
 was not forgotten, and he earnestly desired to see our little band in 
 that vast Empire greatly increased by the addition of gifted, true- 
 hearted, and devoted men. Often, when we got on the missionary 
 theme, it was hard to separate, though the midnight hour was 
 past, and I well knew that rest was sorely needed. Many a time 
 1 have gone with him to his room after a long day of exhausting 
 work, when he looked weary and spent ; and when about to say 
 
In Memoriam. 297 
 
 good-night, some thought about India or China would come up. 
 In the fulness of his large, loving heart, he seemed wholly to 
 forget himself and the sleep that was so needful, and again and 
 again one more word was spoken, until at last we parted, one at 
 least refreshed in spirit." 
 
 The Rev. Principal Paton, D.D., of Nottingham, writes : — 
 
 '' It always seemed to me that the German heroes and saints 
 whose life -histories Dr. Fleming Stevenson had so brightly 
 sketched were his own spiritual kindred. He had been at- 
 tracted to them, and had so clearly interpreted and pictured 
 their aims and methods, because of his profound sympathy with 
 them and likeness to them. Like them, he had the Teutonic 
 passion for labour, which, in his preface to ' Praying and Work- 
 ing,' he tells us, belongs to this age, * probably the quickest and 
 busiest of any the world has seen ; ' but he also had that peculiar 
 grace of patience, of inward peace and victorious persistency, 
 which so wonderfully impresses us in all these calm German 
 workers with whom he has made us familiar. By faith he saw, 
 like them, the spiritual root of all the world's wrongs and woes in 
 sin, and therefore he felt and knew that only the Divine power 
 of a salvation which forgave and subdued sin would avail for the 
 true redemption of the world ; and the secret of his strength and 
 peace lay in his communion by faith with the Almighty Saviour 
 from sin. But, like Wichern, Fliedner, and the other wise 
 master- workers of his book, he also saw that the business of 
 the kingdom of heaven needed the consummate power of true 
 statesmanship, instinct with the spirit and life of the King they 
 served. . . . And ' Praying and Working ' was thus to me not 
 only a portraiture of great heroes of faith, it was a self-revela- 
 tion. My friend there unconsciously, but most faithfully, dis- 
 closed himself. . . . 
 
 " Dr. Fleming Stevenson had three great endowments which 
 I did not at first recognise, but which soon impressed and in- 
 terested me. His subtle and critical sense of music, in speech 
 and in song, made him one of the best judges of hymns and of 
 psalmody. I might, indeed, have conjectured his eminence in 
 
298 Life of William Fleming Slevenson. 
 
 this sacred art from his pure literary taste, the rhj^thmic beat of 
 his style, his true * Church ' feeling, and his impassioned sym- 
 pathy with the grander impulses and movements of faith which 
 always ring out in reverberations of song ; but as I knew him 
 better, I learnt to admire his fine inner sense for the * harmonies ' 
 of spiritual thought in the ancient and modern hj^mns, and in 
 the chorales and tunes which they have inspired. He had joy 
 in the grand rhythmic march of words and sounds so inbreathed 
 into one another as to make one music, which is in all its 
 cadences the voice of faith. 
 
 "Then there was the bright honliomle, the unfailing spring 
 of cheerful energy and affection, the loving sympathy that 
 touched and opened the heart like sunlight, and the willing 
 helpfulness that sought and carried the burdens of many ; these 
 made Dr. Fleming Stevenson the beloved pastor of a large con- 
 gregation, formed under his ministry. Other gifts made him an 
 eminent preacher, but these several qualities, blending in a most 
 happy unison, attracted multitudes like myself who were not 
 privileged to hear him preach. A wide circle in many lands 
 knew and loved the friend who had always a pastor's heart in his 
 friendship. 
 
 " And, finally, I was enabled, during many years of acquaintance, 
 to discern the powerful gifts for organisation, the capacity for 
 business, the knowledge of men, and the instinct to catch the fluc- 
 tuating movements of opinion in a public assembly or a church, 
 which gave him so great influence and won him such gratitude 
 and honour in the Irish Presb^^terian Church. He was a true 
 ecclesiastic in the noblest sense of that word, a man who em- 
 bodied and governed the catholic life of the Church of which he 
 was a member and a leader. And few ' Churchmen ' have kept 
 their devotion to the Church, and their power within the Church, 
 so blamelessly, pure from the least stain of selfishness. Lahori- 
 osus et diidurnus ecclesice miles — he died, as he lived, for the 
 Church of his Lord. 
 
 "The 'Inner Mission,' which first united us in brotherly bonds, 
 continued to be the watchword till the last. And we both hoped 
 that we might be associated in drawing together all Christian 
 Churches in our country in the fellowship of this mission, even as 
 
In Memoriavi. 299 
 
 they are united in their Missions in foreign lands. Reunion may 
 not at present be obtained by any act of comprehension, or by 
 any agreement in ritual or polity or creed ; but all our Churches 
 might unite in the practical service of man without any unworthy 
 compromise or sacrifice. . . . 
 
 " How often have we together, and with other deeply pledged 
 confederates, prayed that God might lead us and help us thus to 
 establish the ' Inner Mission ' in this country. He is gone — his 
 aspiration and vow remain. May they inspire others to fulfil 
 that task he wished to be his own ! And may the Church of 
 Christ realise her unity in spirit and in life as she realises her 
 one mission to preach good news and heal the world, sick unto 
 death with divers diseases ! " 
 
 In answer to a request for letters, the Rev. Professor 
 Charteris, D.D., writes : — 
 
 "You know that he and I had little time for writing letters ; 
 so, though I had known him personally for five-and-twenty years, 
 our intercourse in the last few years of his life was not by letter, 
 but in times of respite and recess, when we had something like a 
 holiday together. He was all but overwhelmed by the multitude 
 of letters to missionaries and on Missions which he was writing 
 day and night, and often in the train, on his way to hold 
 missionary meetings through the country. I do not mean that 
 he gave less of his strength to his pastorate than other people 
 give. I think he gave more ; for his living force was so great, 
 and he so completely did all his work with all his might, that, 
 alike in preaching and in visiting, he exerted an unusual influence 
 at great cost of his vital energy. I scarcely understand how he 
 stood the strain so long. It was doubtless because of his peace 
 of mind and purity of heart. There was little inward friction, 
 except when some one disappointed him. 
 
 " I had few letters from him except notes fixing appointments. 
 I remember one he sent me in answer to an intimation that the 
 University of Edinburgh proposed to confer on him the degree of 
 D.D. It was very lively. He was pleased that he had been 
 thought of ; but assured me that his gifts were not academical ; 
 
300 Life of Wilbam Fleming Stevenson. 
 
 that the greater part of his time as a student had been occupied 
 with practical subjects; that his work as an author was not 
 dignified or learned; and that it would be absurd to make a 
 doctor of so desultory a man. But then he bethought him that, 
 in his modest disclaimer, he was in danger of being ungracious, 
 and so he assured me that he was very proud of the offered 
 honour, although too much surprised to understand how it had 
 come about that our staid Scottish University had proposed to 
 lay its hand on a restless Irishman. In answer to this delightful 
 bit of thinking aloud, he was told to appear to be capped on a 
 certain day in April, because the University was quite able to 
 judge of his worthiness. And he came, and ever afterwards was 
 an enthusiastic member of the University. During our Ter- 
 centenary rejoicings, he threw himself with characteristic fervour 
 into all our proceedings. On one occasion he not only joined a 
 student procession by torchlight, but prevailed on an Anglican 
 theologian, who was our guest along with him, to follow the 
 rejoicing lads till the last lights were put out (on the Calton Hill, 
 if I remember rightly) about midnight. 
 
 " It was at that time, and in your dear mother's house, and in 
 your own Orwell Bank, that I saw him and knew him as he was. 
 What humour there was in him, as there is in all men whose 
 pathos is true ! What quick Irish wit he had ! What wealth 
 of information from his wide reading ! And how inevitably all 
 things were seen by him to bear on the twin objects of his life — 
 to raise the neglected poor at home, and to call in the heathen in 
 foreign lands. After an evening with him one wanted to build 
 a Rauhe Haus in every British town where rough boys need to 
 be broken in, and to send a missionary — or oneself to go — to 
 every heathen city where men and women live and die without 
 Christian hope. I do not wonder that he moved so many ; my 
 wonder is, that any one could resist him, and that all of us have 
 not grown more like him. 
 
 ''If I were asked to say what he was, I know not how to 
 describe what rises in my mind. He was so strong and tender, so 
 bright and patient, a man of such wide knowledge and deep 
 feeling, a man with his heart so true to home, while sensitive 
 to every movement of Christ's Church in the distant Mission- 
 
In Mejuoriam. 301 
 
 field ; so powerful, therefore, as a pastor, while so truly a mis- 
 sionary to the heathen, that the titles of his own books strike 
 me as an epitaph on himself : ' Praying and Working,' a 'Hymn 
 of the Church and Home.' 
 
 " I always think of him as of music and light and love, for he 
 was full of all God's best things. No one who did not know him 
 well had any true idea of what he was. He could have done so 
 much greater things, and let all men better know how richly he 
 was endowed. But then he would not have been so great as he was 
 in self-repression, in quiet helping of others, in leading a life that 
 was like Christ's, falling into the soil of other hearts to grow up 
 with eternal harvest joy when they are reaped. I never knew 
 any man with half his gifts so delivered from self. You and 
 your children have a great possession in having had him." 
 
 From America also came touching tributes to his 
 memory. 
 
 From the Rev. Theodore Cuyler, D.D., Brooklyn: — 
 
 "1 regret exceedingly that I cannot lay my hands on any 
 letter of my beloved friend, Dr. W. Fleming Stevenson, but I 
 send you instead some brief reminiscences of his visits to America 
 in 1873 and 1877. In the autumn of the first-named year he 
 came over as a delegate to the Evangelical Alliance. The paper 
 which he read before that distinguished assemblage in New York 
 was one of the finest that was presented during the whole week. 
 
 " During the month which brought so many distinguished 
 ministers to the Evangelical Alliance (October 1873) I determined 
 to give my congregation a taste of royal dainties. And so I 
 invited four representatives of as many different nationalities to 
 occupy my pulpit on four successive Sabbath evenings. 
 
 "After my people had listened to an Italian, an Englishman, 
 and a Scotchman, I told them I would give them a chance to hear 
 one of the princes of the Irish Presbyterian pulpit. The spacious 
 church was packed to the door, hundreds standing in the aisles 
 and the vestibule. 
 
 ''Dr. Stevenson was that evening at his best. He was inspired 
 
302 Life of William Fleming Stevenson. 
 
 by the vast assemblage. Wishing to give him also a hymnological 
 treat, I selected two of his favourites, and they were sung w^ith 
 immense enthusiasm by the audience. Under the quickening 
 inspiration of this grand burst of sacred song, he rose and 
 announced his text. It was Paul's answer to Agrippa (Acts 
 xxvi. 27 and 29). Although his discourse was written, yet he was 
 not pinioned by his manuscripts, and for nearly an hour he 
 enchained the crowd with a most fervid, direct, and powerful 
 presentation of the pure Gospel. It was argument made red- 
 hot with holy enthusiasm. 
 
 " Four years afterwards I was startled one evening by the 
 apparition of Brother Stevenson ! He was on his way through 
 America to India, and had halted overnight at Saratoga Springs. 
 Hearing that I was in the town, he kindly came up and bestowed 
 the evening upon me. It was my last interview with him, and 
 he was charged with the electricity of Foreign Missions like a 
 walking battery. Of that memorable tour to the harvest -fields 
 of Asia, and of the magnificent and unrivalled oration on Foreign 
 Missions which he delivered to your General Assembly on his 
 return home, I need not write. Thankful I am, and ever shall 
 be, that I have been permitted to see and hear, to know and to 
 love, that beautiful combination of manhood and modesty, and 
 that consummate fruit of the Christian graces, William Fleming 
 Stevenson. Beautiful and beloved herald of the Cross ! How 
 fervently I loved him, and how deeply thousands will mourn 
 him ! He has made a deep, broad mark on the religious history 
 of his native land ; he has influenced many a life and inspired 
 many a Christ-loving heart by his * Praying and Working ; ' 
 his will be the brightness of the firmament, and of the stars, of 
 them who turn many souls unto righteousness." 
 
 From the Rev. John Hall, D.D., New York : — 
 
 *' For true eloquence in preaching and true earnestness in 
 pastoral effort the country had no superior to Dr. Stevenson ; 
 and for chaste, exact, scholarly, dignified, and attractive presen- 
 tation of the cause of Missions it had no equal. Many remem- 
 ber his appearance at the meeting of the Evangelical Alliance in 
 
In Mevioriam. 303 
 
 New York iu 1873. Modestly taking his place at the desk, 
 with nothing remarkable to arrest attention but a striking face 
 and an impressive voice that betrayed no provincialism — that 
 might have been English, Irish, or American — he laid his 
 manuscript on the desk, and proceeded to read. As his own 
 feeling, and that of the audience, which kept pace with it, 
 warmed, an energetic swinging motion of his hand, becoming 
 more and more vehement as he proceeded, recalled the descrip- 
 tions one gets of Chalmers, and certainly the riveted attention, 
 the sympathy, the enthusiasm of the audience, as he painted 
 picture after picture and flashed out appeal after appeal, realised 
 the accounts we have of the effects of Chalmers' influence on an 
 audience. Many a time the like triumph was achieved by him 
 since, in his own land and in Scotland, where he again and again 
 rendered brilliant service to the cause of Missions. His preaching 
 was no less attractive than his speaking, thoroughly scholarly 
 in style, evangelical in its substance, delivered with entire for- 
 getfulness of self and complete absorption in his subject. But 
 behind his preaching, speaking, and writing, there was the man 
 — generous, loving, large-hearted, and noble, whom to know was 
 to admire, whom to know closely was to love with an affection 
 mingled with enthusiasm. 
 
 " While his presence and his efforts will be widely and sadly 
 missed, they who loved him the most will rejoice in the blessed 
 memory he leaves behind, will try to believe that the Master will 
 provide for the continuance of the work, and will hope for renewed 
 fellowship by-and-by." 
 
 From the Eev. J. S. Macintosh, D.D., of Philadelphia, 
 formerly of Belfast : — 
 
 *'I was first introduced to Dr. Stevenson in 1862; in 1865 I 
 came to know him well ; and in 1867 we grew close and confiding 
 friends. As I met him in Church courts, in committees, in evan- 
 gelical conventions and public meetings, he continued to grow 
 in every sense a larger and more lovable man. It was not by any 
 means a man of one phase or a single feature who was laid down, 
 at fifty-three years of age, in Mount Jerome Cemetery, a willing 
 
304 Life of William Fleming Stevenson. 
 
 sacrifice to the exhausting work of Missions. Dr. Stevenson was, 
 in all truth, many-sided. A student — yes, all his life ! There 
 were few departments of appropriate knowledge with which he 
 had not intermeddled. His library was large, carefully selected, 
 and well read. In the many literary societies of which he was 
 a specially honoured member, his words and papers were always 
 hailed with gladness, for lawyer, minister, teacher, and journalist 
 were forced to feel that those simply spoken utterances were the 
 fresh thinking of one never forgetful of the past, yet ever abreast 
 of the present, literature. His reading was all laid under contri- 
 bution to advance Missions. A student — j^es, but also a wise man 
 of affairs ! Year after year I sat beside him in the Psalmody 
 Committee and on the Mission Board, and I saw, as all others 
 did, how painstaking, self-possessed, judicious, and practical he was 
 with all his enthusiasm. A man of affairs — yes, and a power on 
 the platform, a foremost authority on hymnology, a brilliant 
 journalist and writer, and an eagerly welcomed preacher. A de- 
 cided Churchman of the strongest Presb3^terian frame, one who 
 loved his Church to the last fibre of his being, gloried in her God- 
 sealed history, strove to hold her where the Master placed her, 
 in the very van of His host, and magnified all in her and of her, 
 yet lived so true and gentle and generous a brother in the common 
 family of the common Father, that, as the good men bore him to 
 his burial, seventy ministers of the Episcopal Church, including 
 the Archbishop of Dublin, and honourable representatives of all 
 denominations, followed the large-hearted presbyter, on whose 
 coffin lay the flowery tributes of three lands. All Churches felt 
 that it was the strongest of arms from which death had taken the 
 banner with this high device — ' The World for Christ ! ' 
 
 " Yes ; and only death could take it. Nothing in life could move 
 him to lay it down. For the sake of Missions, as represented in the 
 work of the Irish Presbyterian Church, he resisted every tempta- 
 tion to change, and refused to hear the loudest summons from man. 
 The public was ever seeking him for large spheres and important 
 positions. Literature courted him eagerly, and with no stinted 
 doles of tribute. Professorial chairs again and again were within 
 his easy reach. Foremost churches called him frequently and with 
 force. Great cities set before him influential seats of far-reaching 
 
In Mernoriam. 305 
 
 opportunities. But Missions had mastered him. Behind the 
 heathen he seemed always to see Christ, and to hear Him say, 
 ' Do not forsake them. Too few care for their souls.' And he 
 had come to say, with all a Scotch-Irishman's dogged determina- 
 tion, and with, what is far holier and more constraining, the 
 deepening conviction of a Spirit-taught man realising more and 
 more the love of Christ and the value of souls, ' This one thing 
 I do.' Fleming Stevenson came back from his great life-taxing 
 Mission pilgrimage, from his personal contact with actual 
 heathenism, and with the noble men and women fighting it for 
 Christ, an intensely moved and fully consecrated man. Stirring 
 ambitions and sacred aspirations cherished beforetimes and 
 stimulating him as he toiled in certain lines of study and fields 
 of action, had all yielded to the expulsive power of a not wholly 
 new, but a wholly renewed and now overmastering, affection. 
 
 '' The day after the news of his death reached us, I was stopped 
 by a gentleman — ' Is it the Stevenson who wrote " Praying and 
 Working" who is dead? The man who made that splendid 
 speech at the Evangelical Alliance in New York ? ' * Yes, sir. ' 
 Then came a pause, and then, ' It was that man first made me 
 really believe in Missions and work for them. I heard him in 
 Edinburgh.' It was a noble tribute. How easily it might be 
 multiplied ! All the younger missionaries in the Gujarati field 
 of India and in the Manchurian district of China, where our 
 Irish brethren labour, are the trophies of his glowing appeals to 
 college men. How many consecrated youth, called forth by him, 
 are to-day in the seminaries at Belfast and Derry I know not. 
 Not a few devoted men and women from Scotland and England 
 are doing good service in Mission-fields because he stirred them 
 to go forth. Scores of aroused pastors and quickened Churches 
 trace their new life of zeal and labour for Missions to his un- 
 stinted work. Elders in Belfast and Dublin, in Derry and Cork, 
 in Edinburgh and even New York, date their new departures in 
 honest giving to his forceful statements. Stevenson had come 
 to take Duff's place in Britain, the great authority on Missions, 
 the great orator and worker for them. The whole man went into 
 his work. The fire burned purer and hotter. Some of us saw 
 that the fire was eating him up. He was often spoken to about 
 
 U 
 
306 Life of William Fleming Stevenson. 
 
 rest in his weariness, and we ever got the answer, * I have no 
 time to be weary.' So the life flamed on and flamed out. But 
 that life told, and mightily. And now he is not, for God took 
 him. But this so fast-sped life reads afresh and sharply to 
 Presbyterian Churches the old lesson so often taught us by the 
 Church of Rome — set apart the special man for special work; 
 make him do that special work with all his might ; let him do 
 no other ; and thus save waste and gain completeness. Keep 
 the God-sent man for God-set work." 
 
 On the simple stone which marks his resting-place in 
 Mount Jerome Cemetery is written the prayer of his life : — 
 
 COME." 
 
 Amen. 
 
 THE END. 
 
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