MISSIONARY HEROES COURSE LIFE STORIES OF GREAT MISSIONARIES FOR TEEN AGE BOYS ARRANGED IN PROGRAMS Ion Keith-Falconer Defender of the Faith in Arabia SOURCE BOOK “ION KEITH-FALCONER OF ARABIA” By JAMES ROBSON Program Prepared by FLOYD L. CARR Baptist Board of Education DEPARTMENT OF MISSIONARY EDUCATION 276 FIFTH AVENUE. NEW YORK CITY Course No . 1 jj^ninninniiiiiniiiiiii n n r h rngiutuu liuuuimnniii iiiiiimnmuiniiLLRiiiiiiiti Ion Keith-Falconer Defender of the Faith in Arabia SOURCE BOOK “Ion Keith-Falconer of Arabia” By James Robson Baptist Board of Education DEPARTMENT OF MISSIONARY EDUCATION 276 Fifth Avenue, New York City OUTLINE PAGE Introductory Statement. 2 Program for Meeting . 3 Lite Sketch. 4 Life Incidents . 6 Program based on “Ion Keith-Falconer of Arabia” by James Robson Doran, $1.50 FOREWORD T HE Missionary Heroes Course for Boys meets a real need. It is a series of missionary programs for boys, based on great biographies which every boy should know. Course Number One, now available, provides programs for the ensuing twelve months and may be used in the monthly meetings of boys’ groups. Other courses are in preparation and will be issued for subse¬ quent years. It is suggested that the leader purchase three copies of each leaflet; one to be kept for reference and the other two to be cut up to provide each boy with his assigned part. In order to tie together the life incidents as they are presented by the boys, the leader should master the facts outlined in the biographical sketch and read carefully the volume upon which the program is based. These volumes are missionary classics and may be made the basis of a worth-while library of Christian adventure. Boys are keenly interested in stories of adventure and achievement and it is hoped that participation in the programs will lead many of the lads to read these great missionary biog¬ raphies. Attention is called to the eleven other life-story pro¬ grams in the series now available for Course Number One, and to the series now in preparation for the ensuing year, both of which are listed on the last page. The books upon which these programs are based can be ordered from the nearest literature headquarters. Portraits of these missionary heroes will also lie made available for purchase. While these programs have been developed to meet the needs of boys’ organizations of all types— i.e., Organized Classes, Boy Scouts, Knights of King Arthur, Kappa Sigma Pi, etc.—they were especially prepared for the chapters of the Royal Ambas¬ sadors, a missionary organization for teen age boys, originating in the southland and recently adapted to the needs of the North¬ ern Baptist Convention by the Department of Missionary Edu¬ cation. We commend these materials to all lovers of boys. William A. Hill. PROGRAM FOR MEETING 1. Scripture Lessons: Hebrews 12:1-4; verses 1-2 were quoted in a telegram to the committee when notifying them of his inability to enter the University Champion Bicycle Race (see “Ion Keith-Falconer of Arabia’’ by James Robson page 45.) 2. Prayer. 3. Hymn: “Beneath the Cross of Jesus” (this hymn expresses not only the climatic hardships of life in Arabia but also the testimony of a Confessor of the Faith in the midst of the Muslims).’ 4. Introduction to Life Story # (based on pages 1-17 of above book). 5. His Success as a Student (pages 18-19, 20-22). 6. A Champion Cyclist (pages 26-28, 29-30). 7. Interest in Practical Christianity (pages 41-44, 46-47, 48). 8. Factors in His Life Decision (pages 66-67, 69-70, 76-77). 9. Decision and Plans for Sheikh Othman (pages 86-89). 10. Life in the “Shanty” (pages 123-124, 124-126, 129-130). 11. Opening Medical Work (pages 133-135). 12. The Losing Struggle with Fever (pages 147-148, 155-157). 13. Attaining His Coronation (pages 158-159). * The leader should read the brief sketch in this leaflet and Robson’s “Ion Keith- Falconer of Arabia,” in order, as the program progresses, to fill the gaps between the assignments. 3 SKETCH OF ION KEITH-FALCONER, MISSIONARY TO ARABIA D ESCENDED from heroic forebears, of noble birth and with godly parents, Ion Keith-Falconer seemed destined from birth to a great life. He was born at Edinburgh on July 5, 1856, and his early years were mainly spent at the family seat of Keith Hall, near Inverurie, in Aberdeenshire. In October, 1874, he entered Trinity College, Cambridge, where he earnestly applied himself to his studies. At first he determined to specialize in mathematics but later followed his natural bent and changed to theology. He was a prizeman year after year during his course and received many academic honors. He was not only a brilliant student, he was also an expert cyclist. He was elected Vice-President of the University Cyclist Club several months before he entered college. He had the build of an athlete, being six feet three inches in height and broad proportionally. During his University course he won many bicycle races and made several records. On May 11, 1878, in a two-mile race, he gained the title of “ Short Distance Champion,” and in October of that year he won a five-mile race, beating John Keen, the professional champion. The deeper interests of life also claimed attention during his student days. In the autumn of 1878, he took an active share in the purchase of the Royal Theatre in the Barnwell district of Cambridge, which was converted into a mission hall. He also cooperated with F. N. Charrington, the son of a prominent brewer who had renounced his inheritance and en¬ gaged in Christian work. The University course completed, in October he went to Leipzig, Germany, to continue his studies in Arabic. Wishing to supplement his knowledge of classical Arabic with that of the colloquial language, he went the following fall to Assiout, Egypt. Here he made good progress in the language during a stay of four months. On March 4, 1884, he was married to Gwendolen Bevan. After a tour of Italy they returned to Cambridge where he was serving as one of the University Examiners. But his mind had for some time been filled with the idea of undertaking missionary work in Arabia. This crystallized into a life-purpose 4 after an interview with Major-General Haig who had in February 1885, published an article in The Christian urging missionary work in Arabia. On September 14, 1885, he was accepted as a missionary to Arabia by the Free Church of Scotland. Ion Keith-Falconer sailed from London with his wife on October 7, 1885, and arrived at Aden on October 28. He spent the winter in surveying the situation, studying the people and reading and talking Arabic. He visited Sheikh Othman and decided that it would be a more suitable place than Aden to establish his mission; its climate being less enervating and its position more central. On March 6, 1886, he sailed for Eng¬ land to secure a doctor as a colleague. In the fall he sailed again for Arabia and arrived at Aden on December 8, 1886. Dr. Cowen who was to assist him with the medical work had arrived the preceding day. While super¬ vising the erection of a house at Sheikh Othman, he had hoped to rent an attractive bungalow in the village, but the cupidity of the owner made this qnwise. He found a small hut, forty feet square, which the owner was willing to alter and to let. He termed it “the shanty,” but set about making it habitable as temporary quarters. A rude hospital was erected in the compound, measuring only fifteen feet by twelve, yet, small as it was, it contained beds for three in-patients. During the first six weeks of its operation about three hundred visits had been paid to the dispensary and the fame of the new doctor was spreading. On January 24, 1887, Ion Keith-Falconer accompanied Doc¬ tor Cowen to the neighboring village of Bir Ahmad to enlarge the range of their usefulness. Two weeks later on February 9, he again visited Bir Ahmad with Dr. Cowen. This was his last missionary journey, for the next day he had the first of many repeated attacks of the fever from which he died. For a time he seemed to gain, but during April he had two other severe attacks. He was again convalescing and on May 5th even rode to view the new house. But the next morning the fever returned and by the 10th a nurse was summoned. Just about dawn on May 11, 1887, his soul passed from the hut in Arabia to the mansions of light. James Robson closes his story of this immortal life with the words: “He died at just Henry Martyn’s age” in his 31st year and like him devoting his life for the sake of winning the Muslims. The work at Sheikh Othman which he laid down his life to found, was taken up by loyal hands. “Being dead, he yet speaketh. ” 5 INCIDENTS IN THE LIFE OF ION KEITII-FALCONER Reprinted from <( Ion Keith-Falconer of Arabia” by James Robson By permission of the publishers, George II. Doran Co. His Success as a Student. (P. 18-19, 20-22.) In October 1874 Keith-Falconer entered Trinity College, Cambridge. He did not reside in College, but bad rooms on the north side of the Market Square. The noise and bustle of such a district would normally make it most unsuitable for a student, but he enjoyed it. When he was at Hitchin he seems to have appreciated the songs of the boys outside and the ringing of the bells. He had such powers of concentration that, when he was studying, no noise was able to distract him. He enjoyed the situation of his rooms at Cambridge, and at times, when he was resting from his study, he took a great interest in watching the people going busily about their work. At the beginning of his course he intended to read for Honours in the Mathematical Tripos, and accordingly his first session was devoted to this subject; but his heart was not alto¬ gether in the work, and in his second year he changed and began to read for Honours in the Theological Tripos. This change was not made because he had found himself unable for the studies which he had undertaken; it was wholly due to the fact that he did not have a real interest in them. He had been quite successful in his first year’s work, for he had obtained a First Class, and was a prizeman; but he was not satisfied, so he decided to adopt the unusual course of changing his subject of study. It was a wise decision, for it enabled him to devote himself to a line of study that he could take up with his whole heart, and in which he was to prove himself notably successful. . . . The maximum number of papers set for the Theological Tripos was fifteen, of which six were necessary to pass. The fifteenth was a special paper for the Hebrew prize. With characteristic thoroughness Keith-Falconer prepared himself for the whole fifteen, a heavy programme of work, which might 6 well have occupied all his time; yet in the course of it he sat an examination for proficiency in the Greek of the Septuagint, and was successful in gaining one of the prizes. In addition to this, he was a prizeman at the annual College examinations in June 1876 and 1877. The Tripos examination was held in January 1878. ITis hard work had had its effect on his general fitness, and he was in need of rest; then, in December 1877, the month before his examination, his younger brother died. This was a great blow to him; but he went forward to his examination, and was one of the six whose names appeared in the first .class. He was also awarded the Hebrew prize, and on the Saturday after the announcement of the result he graduated B.A. He spent his time till the following October in a more leisurely fashion, and then set out to undertake more serious study. He began to work for the Tyrwhitt University Hebrew Scholarships, the examination for which was to be held in May 1879; and also for the Semitic Languages Tripos to be held in February 1880. When the time came, he was elected a Tyrwhitt scholar, and in the following year he was placed in the first class in the Semitic Languages Tripos. This latter examination had introduced him to the study of Arabic, the language that he was to use later in the missionary work that lay before him. This account of his University successes has been short, but behind it lies concealed an immense amount of work, which was not only undertaken with enthusiasm; it was eminently successful, as is shown by the results. A Champion Cyclist. (P. 26-2820-30.) During his University course he won many bicycle races and made several records. In May 1875 he won a fifty-mile race for Cambridge against Oxford, the race being run from St. Albans to Oxford. In April 1876, he won the Amateur Championship Four-Mile Race at Lillie Bridge in the fastest time then on record. On 1st May, 1877, he was elected President of the London Bicycle Club, and was annually re-elected Presi¬ dent for nine years, till he resigned before leaving England for the last time. In 1877, in the Inter-University races at Oxford, he rode the two-mile race in 6 minutes 1 second, the ten-mile race in 32 minutes 25 seconds, and the twenty-five-mile race in 1 hour 30 minutes 25 seconds, all of which were at that time the amateur records. On 11th May 1878, in the two-mile race of the National Cyclists’ Union, he gained the title of “Short Dis- 7 tance Champion,” and in October of that year he won a five- mile race open to amateurs and professionals, beating John Keen, the professional champion, by five yards. Keen was a man for whom Keith-Falconer had a great admiration, saying of him that his soul was above prizes, and that he was a man whom one should be proud to call a friend. This victory over Keen is all the more notable because Keith-Falconer had for¬ gotten everything about the race until he was reminded of it nine days before it was to be run. In a letter to Sir (then Mr.) Isaac Pitman, he describes how he trained during those nine days: 44 1 immediately began to make my preparations and to train hard. The first great thing was to knock off smoking, which I did. Next, to rise early in the morning, and breathe the fresh air before breakfast, which I did; next, to eat wholesome food and not too much meat or pastry, which I did; and finally, to take plenty of gentle exercise in the open air, which I did. “What was the result? I met Keen on Wednesday last, the 23rd October, and amidst the most deafening applause, or rather yells of delight, this David slew the great Goliath: to speak in plain language, I defeated Keen by about five yards. ”... He says further: “When the race was going on, I thought actually that we were going slowly and that the time would be bad, and the reason was, I was in such beautiful condition. I did not perspire or 4 blow’ from beginning to end. And that after only nine days ’ training ! ’ ’ In the following May he defeated John Keen in a two-mile race by three inches. The time was 5 minutes 36 3-5 seconds, a record not beaten for several years. Three days later, he made a record for the twenty-mile race, winning it by sixteen yards in 1 hour 4 minutes 15 3-5 seconds. He had a wonderful power of making a final spurt, in which his opponents were left behind. In this twenty-mile race all the competitors but Keith-Falconer and another had fallen out. He contented him¬ self by keeping behind the other till the last two hundred yards; then came an astonishing spurt, and he won easily. What makes these races all the more remarkable is that in the pre¬ ceding week he had sat the examination for the Tyrwhitt Scholarships, an examination which lasted four days, with six hours’ examination each day. A man who could break records within a few days after such an ordeal was no ordinary man. On 29th July 1882, he won his last race of any importance. It was the fifty-mile Bicycle Union Amateur Championship at 8 the Crystal Palace. His time was 2 hours 43 minutes 58 3-5 seconds. This time not only gave him the title of Amateur Champion; it beat by seven minutes all previous records. Interest in Practical Christianity. ( P. 41-44, 40-47, 48.) Another branch of home mission work in which he was keenly interested was the Tower Hamlets Mission in the Mile- End Road, London. This work was started and is still being carried on by Mr. P. N. Charrington, who first met Keith- Falconer when he visited Keith Hall during a walking tour. When Mr. Charrington was a young man, he was faced with a problem that few would have the courage to meet. His father was one of the partners in the brewery firm of Messrs. Charrington and Head, and it was only natural that Mr. P. N. Charrington, his oldest son, should take his share in the business. But one day, outside a public-house owned by his firm, he saw a man knocking his wife into the gutter, which made him feel that by becoming a partner he would be responsible for such scenes. In thinking over that sight he said to himself: “ Well, you have knocked your poor wife down, and with the same blow you have knocked me out of the brewery business.” He refused to accept the position waiting for him, thus sacrificing, as his biographer says, a sum of a million and a quarter pounds. At first he had helped in a night school held in a hayloft over a stable; soon a schoolroom was taken; then a boys’ home was started. One of the results of this work was that a gang of young thieves was broken up, because several of its members, including the leader, had been influenced for good. In 1872, the East-End Conference Hall was opened, a building capable of holding over six hundred, and work was carried on there until it became too small for all that was being done. The next move was to the Mile-End Road, where a tent was erected on a large piece of ground which had previously been used as a show- ground, and services were held in that tent every night for two summers. Then a better site was obtained at the broadest part of the Mile-End Road, and the largest tent was superseded later by the first great Assembly Hall, capable of holding about two thousand. This was a temporary building of corrugated iron, and was open every night of the week, with an attendance of over six hundred on week-nights. On Sunday nights many had to be turned away, so large were the numbers who came. Since the work at the Assembly Hall, great as it was, did 9 not cover all that might be done, it was supplemented by evange¬ listic services in music-halls. Every means possible was used to raise the people, and to give them pure and healthy inter¬ ests. . . . The winter of 1879 was very severe. During that time the workers in the mission helped greatly to feed those who were in want. Keith-Falconer tells how multitudes were literally starving. Employment was scarce. “Hundreds of men were waiting daily at the Docks in the hope (nearly always a dis¬ appointed hope) of a job.” The result was starvation. “Starving men were found in several instances eating muddy orange peel picked off the road.” The work that was being done by the mission aroused great interest, and was made public by means of correspondence in some of the daily papers; many came to see what was being done, and helped liberally with donations, so that during a period of over six weeks, twenty thousand meals were given, and over three hundred families were helped every week in their houses. He took an active share in the efforts made to replace the Assembly Hall by a permanent building. The ultimate cost, including the site, was over £40,000. Keith-Falconer wrote a pamphlet on the proposed new hall, which described the needs in a remarkably clear and succinct manner. It was a model appeal for funds. It told clearly what was required, giving reasons for everything, and described the principles on which the work was based. He not only appealed for funds; he also gave liberally himself, his own donations amounting to £2,000. Factors in His Life Decision. ( P. 66-67, 60-70, 76-77.) It was towards the end of 1884 that he seems to have first thought definitely of going out as a foreign missionary. One of his missionary heroes was Dr. John Wilson of Bombay, of whom he was accustomed to speak in glowing terms. He was enthusiastic about Dr. George Smith’s Life of John Wilson, which revealed to him Dr. Wilson’s great ability as well as his efforts to help the people of India. He took a great delight in reading missionary biographies. Another influence towards the mission field was the accep¬ tance of his friend, Mr. C. T. Studd, for service by China Inland Mission. Keith-Falconer and his wife were present at the farewell meeting to Mr. Studd at Cambridge early in 1885, and also at the meeting at Oxford. It can readily be under¬ stood how one like Keith-Falconer, who was keenly interested in the advance of God’s Kingdom in the world, should have 10 had his imagination fired by such an event, and should have felt that he too ought to take his share in the work of the foreign field. . . . Major-General Haig, R. E., had written a paper strongly advocating the evangelization of Arabia. A summary of this paper was published in The Christian in February 1885, where Keith-Falconer read it. His mind was fired with the idea that he might help to carry out the General's desire. Without delay he asked for an interview with General Haig, and met him in London on 21st February. General Haig said of that interview: “My impression of that conversation was that he came not only to -get information, but to say that his mind was already made up to go out for six months and see what the place and prospects of work were like. We joined in prayer that he might be guided and blest in all his thoughts about Arabia.” . . . Keith-Falconer was going out to Aden at his own expense, but he felt that it would be a mistake to go out as a freelance, for by offering himself as a recognized missionary of some so¬ ciety he would have the sympathy and support of a large body of people at home. He had spent most of his life in England, and had been educated there, but his heart was still true to the Church of which his father had been an elder; so on 14th September 1885, he met with the Foreign Mission Committee of the Free Church of Scotland, described the work he intended to do, and asked to be recognized as one of their missionaries. This proposal was gladly accepted, and he went out as a mis¬ sionary of the Free Church of Scotland. Decision and Plans for Sheikh Othman . ( P. 86-80.) He had not been long in Aden when he recognized that Sheikh Othman would be the most suitable place for a mission station. It was a village on the mainland about eight miles from the Crater and ten from Steamer Point, and had, as it still has, several advantages over Aden. It has a more pleasant climate than most parts of the peninsula. Practically all the year round the nights are cool, a very valuable point, for the opportunity of a good sleep at night makes up for a great deal. There is a considerable amount of vegetation at Sheikh Othman. It is on the edge of the desert, and cannot boast of any grass, but there are large numbers of trees and some large numbers of date-palms. These points are of im¬ portance for the comfort of the missionary. But apart from having more greenery than Aden, Sheikh Othman has another great reason for being a good place for a mission station. It 11 \ is on the trade routes from the interior, and all the caravans that make their way into Aden must pass through it. Thus it affords an opportunity of getting into touch with people from many parts of Arabia to which the missionary cannot go himself. Arabia was, in Keith-Falconer’s time, and is still, practically a closed land. It can thus readily be seen how Sheikh Othman is in a strategic position. Being a smaller place than Aden it is easier there to meet and influence those who pass through in caravans. At that time, too, there was some talk of the Church Mis¬ sionary Society commencing work in Aden, and Keith-Falconer felt that by moving out to Sheikh Othman he would leave Aden as a field for that society. While he hoped to work in coopera¬ tion with any others who should come, he wisely decided that it would be better for the two missions to have definite spheres of work, so that there should be no overlapping. The work that Keith-Falconer hoped to start at Sheikh Othman consisted of an industrial refuge, a day-school, and a surgery. He felt strongly that work among the children and medical work were among the principal doors to Arabia. It seemed to him to be well-nigh impossible to do much with Muslim adults. But he was sure that much might be done with the children. He had found that there was not even one in Aden whom he could call a good carpenter, a fact which made the idea of the industrial refuge appear more valuable. Much good could be done if the boys were taught a trade while, at the same time, they were brought up in the Christian faith. Medical work, too, provided great opportunities, for Arabs frequently came long distances to the Government hospital at Aden for treatment. If a surgery and dispensary were opened at Sheikh Othman these people would probably come there where they would hear the message of the Cross. Life in the “Shanty.” (P. 123-124, 124-126, 120-130.) Keith-Falconer describes the hut which he succeeded in renting thus: “It is a roof on four pillars with walls of iron lattice, the roof extending beyond the pillars on all sides. By putting in three wooden partitions, a dwelling-house, with veran¬ dah, two bedrooms, and sitting-room (used also for eating and studying) is created. The house stands in a garden, and both belong to an Indian merchant. The servants will live in offices made of mud bricks, with rooms of bamboo and matting.” It will readily be seen that such a house was not a suitable one for Europeans to inhabit in the tropics. It might have been good enough for cold weather, but there was little or no hope 12 of having a bungalow built by the beginning of the hot weather. Things might have been very different if Keith-Falconer could only have rented Hassan Ali’s bungalow; but he felt that he could not reopen the bargaining after the way in which he had been treated when he first of all offered to rent it. . . . Keith-Falconer and Dr. Cowen exerted themselves to get their hut in order, or the “shanty,” as Keith-Falconer called it, so as to be ready for Mrs. Keith-Falconer, who was to come out there to live on 12th January. A thatch roof was put over the existing roof to give more protection from the sun. At this time Keith-Falconer wrote: ‘ ‘ Our temporary quarters are very comfortable.” About a fortnight later he wrote again: “We have at last got our temporary abode in order. The rooms are really very comfortable, and no one need pity us in the least.” At a later date Dr. Cowen wrote: “Once in our little hut, we were very well and comfortable for about six weeks, but of course it was not a place for continued sickness, such as we had (though this again could not have been anticipated), and wdiich indeed delayed the building of our new stone bungalow in which we might reasonably expect to be well quite two months altogether. All this, I think, shows that every precaution that care and thoughtfulness could suggest was taken, and that our living in that little hut was not due to any care¬ lessness or indifference to health on his part. Also his firm stand against Eastern cupidity at the outset made him more respected even by those who tried to swindle him; and his contentment and happiness in such humble quarters were also characteristic.” . . . At this period he started his work with vigour, and he was quite contented with the conditions in which he had to live. It was different a few months later, when he had suffered from several attacks of fever. Then he wrote, wdth an element of sardonic humour: “This rather miserable shanty in which we are compelled to live is largely the cause of our fevers. It is all draughts. Our address ought to be ‘The Draughts, Sheikh Othman. ’ I sincerely trust that when we get into our house, which is now six feet above the ground, we shall be exempt from this nuisance.” But he was not destined to live in that house. A better mansion was already being prepared for him in a land where fever should rack him no more. Opening Medical Work. (P. 133-135 .) The Arabs have their own system of medicine, a system which in general is similar to that of mediaeval Europe. It contains many prescriptions which are good, but it consists 13 \ to a great extent of magic, certain verses of the Koran being credited with mighty power to protect from or cure disease. These verses are written out in form of charms and are worn by the people in the belief that they will do their expected duty. One woman not long ago said that she had burned her arm and had tried one kind of medicine after another to no purpose; but when at last she bought a charm and tied it round the burn it began to heal at once. The Arabs have also a great belief in the cautery, which is supposed to be of value for almost any kind of trouble. A few years ago an Arab, who was being treated for phthisis in one of the Government dispensaries, declared that he did not approve of the treatment which he was getting. He pointed to another man who had once had the same trouble as he, and had recovered at once whenever he had been cauterised. When the people have such ideas of their own so firmly rooted in their minds, a European doctor must be able to prove himself an efficient doctor and surgeon before he can wean them away from a belief in their native remedies. Dr. Cowen was soon successful in gaining the confidence of the people. The hut which Keith-Falconer and he had erected, in their compound, as a consulting room and dispensary, was small, measuring only fifteen feet by twelve, yet, small as it was, it contained beds for three in-patients; and even at a fairly early period two people came a distance of eight miles for treatment and were received as in-patients. The hut was not much to look at: it had mud walls and a planked roof, to which a verandah of matting was added later; but to many it proved to be a very paradise. In the last week of January twenty new cases came for treatment, and in six weeks about three hundred visits had been paid to the dispensary, in addi¬ tion to visits paid by the doctor to people in their own houses—a remarkable record for such a short space of time. The fame of the new doctor was spreading. The Losing Struggle with Fever. ( P. 147-148, 155- 157.) The story of the last three months at Sheikh Othman is one of continual struggle against sickness. On 9th February, Keith-Falconer and Dr. Cowen visited Bir Ahmad a second time, Keith-Falconer ? s last missionary visit outside Sheikh Othman; for on the following evening he had the first of many repeated attacks of the fever from which he died; yet he was able to go out with his wife to the verandah and talk to some Somali 14 Women who had gathered there. Next day a high fever de¬ veloped which lasted for some days, so that Dr. Colson was called out from Aden to see him. He tried to encourage him by telling him that there was no danger in the fever and that it left no bad after effects. To make matters worse, the whole establishment seemed to become ill at one time: Mrs. Keith- Falconer took a bad attack of fever; one of the Somali servants went down with fever; and when Keith-Falconer was recovering, his butler began to complain of fever. Fortunately, Dr. Cowen escaped it at this time. On the 19th, Keith-Falconer was able to get up in the evening for dinner, and two days later he took a walk in the next garden. When he was convalescing he said in a letter that he had “never felt so utterly miserable” in all his life as when he was suffering from that fever; but there' is one remark in the letter which would probably require modification in the light of more recent knowledge of the subject. He said: “Quinine is quite useless in this fever, one must simply grin and bear it.” . . . On 5th May he felt better, and drove to the compound where the new house was being erected, and spent more than half an hour there inspecting the progress of the building and giving instructions to the workmen. Next morning, however, he suffered another attack of fever. That day he said to his wife : 44 Isn ’t it very strange ? I get generally so depressed when I am unwell, but now I don’t feel in the least cast down. After all these weeks of illness, I feel in perfectly good spirits.” He still had his Bible, his Hebrew Old Testament, and his Hindustanee Grammar near him, which he read when he was able. On the 8th, the fever was still high, and he had a severe attack of ague. In the morning he said to his wife: 44 How I wish that each attack of fever had brought me nearer to Christ, nearer, nearer, nearer. ’ ’ By this time he seemed to have realized that his death might be near, for he said: 4 4 1 can most truly say that I am not afraid to die, in spite of my many short¬ comings, but I do pray God that I may be spared pain.” Attaining Ilis Coronation. (P. 158-159.) On 10th May the nurse came. That evening Keith-Fal¬ coner again returned to the subject of death, asking Dr. Cowen if he thought there was any danger. Dr. Cowen tried to encourage him, telling him that he hoped there would be none; but it was in the early hours of the following morning that he passed away. 15 Dr. Cowen had left him sleeping 1 peacefully at ten, when he had gone to take a much-needed night’s rest; Mrs. Keith-Fal- coner, herself ill, was sleeping in the room next to her husband; and the nurse sat up during the night with him. He was sleeping more calmly than he had done for some time, so at 4 a.m. the nurse lay down beside his bed and fell asleep. About a quarter to six his wife came in to see him, and found him “ lying on his back, with eyes half-open, and hands resting on the bed by his sides.” It appeared that he died in his sleep. His prayer was granted. His death was peaceful and painless. He died at just Henry Martyn’s age, like him devoting his life for the sake of winning the Muslim. In the evening he was buried in the cemetery outside the town of Crater—- a lonely spot in a hollow among the rocks, within sound of the waves of the sea. His mortal remains were placed in a grave there, far removed from many whom he held dear; but they rest near the people for whom he worked and sacrificed. 16 SERIES OF TWELVE PROGRAMS Course Number One (Now available) JAMES CHALMERS, Martyr of New Guinea JAMES GILMOUR, Pioneer in Mongolia WILFRED T. GRENFELL, Knight-Errant of the North ADONIRAM JUDSON, Herald of the Cross in Burma ION KEITH-FALCONER, Defender of the Faith in Arabia DAVID LIVINGSTONE, Africa’s Pathfinder and Emancipator ALEXANDER M. MACKAY, Uganda’s White Man of Work HENRY MARTYN, Persia’s Man of God ROBERT MORRISON, Protestant Pioneer in China JOHN G. PATON, King of the Cannibals MARY SLESSOR, The White Queen of Calabar MARCUS WHITMAN, Hero of the Oregon Country Course Number Two (In preparation) CAPTAIN LUKE BICKEL, Master Mariner of the Inland Sea WILLIAM CAREY, Founder of Modern Missions ALEXANDER DUFF, India’s Educational Pioneer MARY PORTER GAMEWELL, Heroine of the Boxer Rebellion FRANK HIGGINS, Sky Pilot of the Lumbermen ROBERT LAWS, Founder of Livingstonia RAYMOND LULL, First Missionary to the Moslems JOHN K. MACKENZIE, The Beloved Physician of Tientsin JAMES COLERIDGE PATTESON, Martyr Bishop of the South Seas ALBERT L. SHELTON, Pioneer in Tibet J. HUDSON TAYLOR, Organizer of the China Inland Mission JOHN WILLIAMS, Shipbuilder in the South Seas No. 232-M.E.-I-iM-June, 1925 ’ l ; : . ■ ' V * r Booklets 25 Cents Each A reduction of 50 cents allowed if set of 12 Booklets is purchased