MEMORIAL . 
 
 OF 
 
 Lydia Evelina Ballagh, 
 
 WIFE OF 
 
 JOHN C. BALLAGH, 
 
 Died January 13, 1884, 6 p. m. 
 
 MISSIONARY AT TOKIO. JAPAN, 
 
 OF 
 
 THE BOARD OF FOREIGN MISSIONS OF THE PRESBY¬ 
 TERIAN CHURCH IN THE UNITED STATES 
 
 OF AMERICA. 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 am $ & iii i 
 
 
 
 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 in 2018 with funding from 
 Columbia University Libraries 
 
 https://archive.org/details/memorialoflydiaeOOunse 
 
THE FUNERAL SERVICES 
 
 WERE HELD IN THE 
 
 FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH 
 
 (Washington Square), Philadelphia, 
 WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 16, 1884, 
 
 AT FOUR O’CLOCK, P. M. 
 
 The following gentlemen acted as pall-bearers : from the 
 First Presbyterian Church , Philadelphia , Samuel C. Perkins, 
 Norris W. Harkness, George Griffiths and George 
 T. H arris, Elders; and from the Clinton-Street Immanuel 
 Presbyterian Church , Philadelphia , John Moore, Elder , 
 Thomas E. Ashmead, Trustee , and John H. Dingee, 
 Superintendent of the Sabbath-school. 
 
 As the procession entered the church the choir sang the 
 following anthem.— (C. Everest , “The Sabbath ,” page 375.) 
 
 “ And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto 
 me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the 
 Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that 
 they may rest from their labors; and their works do 
 follow them.”— Rev. xiv. 13. 
 
 Rev. Lawrence M. Colfelt, pastor of the church, 
 then read 1st Corinthians xv. 42-58; Rev. xxii. 1-7. 
 
4 
 
 PRAYER BY MR. COLFELT. 
 
 O God, Thou hast brought us into very close relation 
 to Thee. Thou dost meet us in the secret passages of our 
 own souls. Thou dost confront us as the God of eternity 
 —as the arbiter of human destiny ; and Thou hast sent 
 into our midst the angel of death, Thy special messenger; 
 and Thou hast come very near to our hearts by this Thy 
 providence. We humbly pray Thee this hour that Thou 
 wouldst meet us in the midst of our sorrow ; that Thou 
 wouldst sanctify it graciously to us by Thy Holy Spirit, 
 and that Thou wouldst help us to interpret the meanings 
 thereof, that we may be spiritually benefited; that our 
 zeal may be quickened ; that our love of Christ may be 
 intensified, and that we may devote ourselves, each one, 
 with renewed earnestness to the work which remains for us 
 to do. O God and our Father, appear Thou in the midst 
 of us. D raw Thou near unto us, uttering the words of 
 Thy promises and manifestations of Thy love. May we 
 know, even in this hour, that Thou art the Father; that 
 Thou dealest with us as with sons: “Whom the , Lord 
 loveth He chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom He 
 receiveth.” O Thou Saviour, Thou Son of God, we pray 
 that Thou wouldst draw peculiarly near in this experience 
 of our life, and that we may look upon Thee as Thou 
 art lifted upon the cross, and since Thou hast given 
 Thyself freely for us ; since Thou hast sacrificed Thy life 
 in our behalf; since Thou hast consented unto death that 
 we may not die, but forever live ; may we know that Thou 
 wilt with Thyself freely give us all things ; that Thy love 
 is unto death—that it is stronger than death ; and that 
 
5 
 
 there is no ordination of Thy providence that is not gen¬ 
 tle ; that there is no arrangement of Thy will that is not 
 wise; that all is guided by Thine infinite and tender and 
 unutterable love. O Thou Holy Spirit, we pray that 
 Thou wouldst reveal Thyself this hour to each one of us— 
 to this bereaved husband—to these dear friends who have 
 gathered here, companions of this dear friend of their life 
 —to all these sympathizing Christian hearts. We pray 
 that Thou wouldst show Thyself as the Comforter, and take 
 of the solace of Thy truth and speak it to each one of our 
 hearts, so that we shall not grieve; so that we shall rather 
 rejoice; yea, so that we all shall give her joy that she hath 
 gone to be with Christ, which is far better. 
 
 Let Thy benediction, the comfort of Thy holy gospel, 
 the peace of God which passeth all understanding, the love 
 of Christ which passeth that of woman, rest upon us this 
 hour, comforting us, uplifting us above all our human 
 grief, and enabling us to rise triumphant into the sphere 
 of faith, and to transform darkness and sorrow with the 
 very light which Thou dost shine down upon us from Thy 
 reconciled countenance, and from the heaven which Thou 
 hast opened to our gaze. And all we ask is for Jesus’ sake. 
 Amen. 
 
 Let us sing the hymn that was greatly preferred by our 
 dear deceased friend, the 761st in the Presbyterian Hymnal: 
 
 When our heads are bowed with woe. 
 
 When our bitter tears o’erflow. 
 
 When we mourn the lost, the dear, 
 
 Jesus, Son of Mary ! hear. 
 
 * Thou our throbbing flesh hast worn. 
 
 Thou our mortal griefs hast borne, 
 
 Thou hast shed the human tear ; 
 
 Jesus, Son of Mary ! hear. 
 
6 
 
 Thou hast bowed the dying head. 
 
 Thou the blood of life hast shed. 
 
 Thou hast filled a mortal bier; 
 
 Jesus, Son of Mary ! hear. 
 
 Thou the shame, the grief hast known; 
 Though the sins were not Thine own. 
 Thou hast deigned their load to bear ; 
 Jesus, Son of Mary ! hear. 
 
 REMARKS BY MR. COLFELT. 
 
 My dear friends, does not the spirit of this touching 
 hymn, so much preferred by our friend, come home with 
 peculiar emphasis to our minds and hearts this hour? It 
 is the Son of Mary who is our Saviour. The Christ that 
 we love and worship is the Christ specially anointed for 
 our human darkness and for our human grief. I know 
 that we love to think of Christ as risen again and in great 
 power; but there are other moods and experiences in which 
 He comes even more near to us, and is a Saviour of greater 
 preciousness and greater power. When we follow Christ 
 in His humiliations; when we see Him go down into the 
 depths of His anguish; when we put the most disastrous 
 overthrow of our expectations, and the profoundest gloom 
 of the deep-falling darkness about us, over against the 
 sorrow which touched and enveloped and overwhelmed the 
 soul of Christ—how close and tender and near H e comes 
 to us ! And so I often think that the door of sorrow 
 opens more immediately upon the heart of Christ than 
 does the door of our joys. And this is especially true in 
 the time of our bereavements, when, in the providence of 
 
7 
 
 God, we are commanded to look at the grave that is opened 
 at our feet, and bend over and gaze down into its mystery. 
 H ere, where the best beloved of our hearts and lives are 
 put out of sight; here, where human darkness and human 
 grief reaches its lowest point; here, too, is the sepulchre 
 of Jesus, and it is very near the breaking light of the dawn 
 of the resurrection. Here we come, I think, the closest 
 to our Saviour, when we see H im humbling and giving 
 H imself to death, and consenting to descend into our grave, 
 and wait there in infinite patience and power until the hour 
 of the resurrection, and when we see Him rise again never 
 to die any more. And now we have a Saviour for our ex¬ 
 hilaration, for our times of rational enjoyment, and, better, 
 a Saviour for our disappointed hours. We have a Saviour 
 for our fears and for our anxieties; we have a Saviour for 
 the ruin of sin, for the wreck and overthrow of death and 
 for the heart-searching bitterness which follows so often 
 after it. Our Saviour went through it all. He was ex¬ 
 ceeding sorrowful, even unto death. The burden that 
 pressed upon His heart our word cannot utter. He was 
 tried in all respects even as we are, yet without sin. And 
 now we have a perfect Saviour, who has all sympathy and 
 all knowledge and all power for this hour, for this bereaved 
 husband, for these dear friends who have come from afar, 
 for these missionary associates, who are touched now with 
 a thousand recollections of anxieties and work for Christ 
 which they conducted together with this devoted woman— 
 for you and for me, and for every one that needs the sym¬ 
 pathetic and helpful Christ. 
 
 Now it is not with any accident of speech—it is with 
 deliberate intention—that I would fain point your minds 
 and hearts, first of all, to Christ now. It is true that we 
 walk beneath the shadow of a most unexpected providence. 
 This gracious woman; this Christian wife ; this member 
 
8 
 
 ofj esus’ church; this missionary of the cross of Christ— 
 one of the choicest spirits, one of the noblest workers of 
 our time—has been arrested in the very midst of her work 
 here amongst us, and has been transferred to the nobler 
 activities of heaven. We thought we would have had 
 another missionary meeting with her, but not this. We 
 thought we would keep other appointments, and hear her 
 voice as she told us, with accents of womanly sympathy 
 and with aspirations akin to the very yearnings of Christ, 
 about Japan and its perishing millions, and the work of 
 Christ resting on her heart there; but we did not think 
 that we would keep this appointment here to-day, and 
 listen to nothing but the eloquent voice of her silence. 
 And yet, dear friends, do you not think now that there 
 was something in the work and the prayer which you en¬ 
 joyed together with her in the last few weeks; that there 
 was something in the joy that stirred her own heart, and 
 that illumined her whole face; that there was something in 
 her speech that bewrayed her; that there was a ripeness of 
 thought and of feeling; that there was a zeal for Christ; 
 that there was an unction of the Holy Ghost, which 
 seemed to betoken that she was near to the heavenly gates; 
 that she was almost meet for the inheritance of the saints 
 in light ? But, ah ! we did not know that the gates were 
 even then ajar, and that they were only waiting for her to 
 speak her last words and do her last work ere they would 
 close and shut her in with the Lord forever. It is all plain 
 now ! but we wist not then. Our eyes and hearts were 
 holden. And yet, astonished and overwhelmed as we are 
 by this providence of God to-day, all you who know her 
 character must feel that her wish would have been that the 
 first and the last and the whole utterance of this hour 
 would and should be missionary; that our minds and our 
 hearts should go forth, away from ourselves and from our 
 
griefs for her, and that we should turn all the manifesta¬ 
 tions of our regard for her memory into a manifestation of 
 regard for Christ; that her death and burial, like her whole 
 life, might be absorbed and swallowed up in the life of her 
 Saviour. For this is the one succinct, comprehensive 
 estimate of her whole character: “For me to live is 
 Christ, and to die is gain.” For in the very hour in 
 which, at eighteen years of age, she consecrated herself to 
 Christ, in the Presbyterian church at Bainbridge, New 
 York, her prayer was that “God would give her a heart to love 
 Christ and a heart to serve Christ and if ever a prayer was 
 gloriously answered it was that. 
 
 As a dutiful child in her own home, bearing the respon¬ 
 sibilities of the household, caring for the children of her 
 parents, on account of the bereavement of her mother at 
 an early age; as a devoted wife; as the head of a home of 
 her own—in all the duties and cares and responsibilities of 
 life, from the very beginning to the end, she showed noth¬ 
 ing but this same heartiness of love and this same 
 thoroughness of service unto Christ. It was, however, 
 about ten years ago, in the fall of 1873, t ^ lat h er devotion 
 took on its most heroic form. Her heart burned with a 
 desire to show a higher love and to do nobler work for 
 Christ; and so she chose to be a missionary of the cross. 
 The heroes of the olden time were warriors ; the men who 
 went to battle inspired by the love of glory, and the cru¬ 
 saders who went to the East, with fanaticism and cruelty 
 attendant in their train. But the heroes of our age are the 
 missionaries of the cross of Christ; the men who obey 
 no suggestion but that of Christian benevolence, and who 
 have no ambition but that the gospel of the Son of God 
 may be preached to the very ends of the earth. They are 
 the real chivalry of our day. They are the true crusaders. 
 They have no thought of any low motive. They are 
 
IO 
 
 stirred with the breath of the Holy Ghost. They have 
 no idea of consequences; they reck not for applause or 
 scorn. They do not go forth as travellers, out of mere 
 curiosity, to dwell on historic associations, to dream ro¬ 
 mantic dreams. They go for nothing but labor and noth¬ 
 ing but sacrifice. 
 
 And it was in this spirit of heroic consecration that she 
 went, ten years ago, to the city of Yokohama, in Japan, 
 with no inspiration but the love of Christ, and no ambition 
 but that the kingdom of heaven might come in all the 
 coasts and bounds of that interesting land. Those have 
 been ten glorious, signal, eventful years ! When she went 
 there the gospel had but a commencement; now it is firmly 
 planted. When she went there it was C£ an handful of corn 
 upon the mountains”; now it is a waving harvest in the 
 valleys. When she went there there were but two churches, 
 and they were very feeble at that; now there are a hundred 
 or more of churches, and there are thousands of Christian 
 communicants. And in this work of foundation-laying, 
 of which we now see the glorious results, this devoted 
 woman bore a most conspicuous part. Her first work 
 was, of course, that of teaching—the general organization 
 and management and administration and care of schools ; 
 and in this work her character came out in very bold 
 relief. She was firm, she was dignified, she was kind; she 
 inspired respect and aroused affection at the same time. 
 She had the self-control of Christ. She inspired self- 
 government in others. But the impression of a religious 
 character was the profoundest she made. Her heart was 
 full of the love of Christ, and it could not but spread its 
 infection to those about her; and so she was enabled to 
 instill religious principles and inspire many with faith in 
 the Son of God. And it is not astonishing that her pupils, 
 wherever they are distributed throughout Japan, manifest 
 
eminent usefulness and eminent piety; and there are many 
 of them who are now pastors and ministers of the gospel 
 of the Son of God. It would thrill your hearts to read the 
 letters which have been written to her expressive of the 
 profound debt of gratitude felt by so many who were 
 blessed in early life with the influences of her sympathy 
 and her Christian faith; and there is many a heart of 
 Christian native in Japan that will tremble and thrill with 
 sorrow when they hear of God’s providence to her in this 
 land of her love and her birth. 
 
 Another work that she originated was that among what 
 are called the <c tea children” in Japan. There are great 
 firing establishments in the city of Yokohama, which are 
 used for the preparation of teas ; and in these establish¬ 
 ments there are thousands of women and mothers who 
 work all day long, and who leave their children unkempt and 
 uncared for. And one of the sights of her daily life was 
 to see these neglected children—to witness the older sisters 
 carrying these wretched infants on their backs through the 
 streets. There were the multitudes of little ones, who had 
 nobody to care for their minds or for their souls, growing 
 up in the contaminations and temptations of the streets of 
 that eastern city. Her heart was profoundly touched; so 
 she started schools in which they might be taught, and 
 rooms in which these little children might be cared for and 
 fed, while their mothers were at work in the manufac¬ 
 tories. And that is the work that is going on and that is 
 being nobly carried forward by Miss Alexander, and which 
 will speak eloquently of her long after her presence, and 
 even her personal memory, has been forgotten amongst 
 them. 
 
 Another work which she did was one of a peculiar kind— 
 perhaps the most wonderful of all—giving signal illustra¬ 
 tion that God does still, in this day, bring about His 
 
grandest purposes by the most insignificant means ; that 
 “ He hath chosen the weak things of the world to con¬ 
 found the things which are mighty, and things which are 
 not to bring to naught things that are.” I refer to her 
 sickness. Several years ago she became very ill. But she 
 turned her couch into a pulpit, from which she preached 
 such lessons of faith and patience and hope in God that 
 they have sunk very deep and made an abiding impression 
 in the whole missionary life and the whole spiritual history 
 of Japan. Thither the other missionaries came when they 
 were despondent, and thither, too, the native Christians 
 came when they were in doubt and perplexity, and when 
 they were overthrown and weak and anxious and full of 
 remorse; and all alike gave evidence and testimony that they 
 went away from her sick room comforted and blessed. It is 
 a rare spirituality that can take a sick-bed, with its burdens 
 and pain and anguish, and turn it, not into an occasion of 
 weariness and repining, but into one of spiritual and moral 
 improvement to those about the sick one. And yet this 
 woman brought the very atmosphere of heaven into her 
 room. But, meanwhile, the physical misery of her own 
 condition was growing more intense. The way in which 
 God was leading her was becoming more dark and secret 
 every hour. The agony of her own condition was so great 
 that she was unable to permit the most delicate touch of 
 one of the limbs of her body, because the misery of it was 
 so keen. Her own heart fell into despair—not of the 
 goodness of God, not of faith in Him, but despair of the 
 propriety of her living any longer. And her husband in 
 the adjoining room, in the long night-watches, heard her 
 again and again pleading with Christ that He would take 
 her to Himself. Her whole condition was so deteriorated 
 that medical skill was altogether exhausted, and her physi¬ 
 cian thought that amputation was absolutely necessary; 
 
l 3 
 
 and yet her weakness was such that it meant instant death. 
 Man’s extremity, however, became God’s opportunity. 
 The husband and the missionaries of the cross in that city 
 gathered together in prayer—in believing prayer, mark you 
 well! They knew the words of Christ, cc If thou, canst 
 believe, all things are possible unto you.” They knew the 
 words of Christ, “Verily I say unto you, if ye have faith 
 when ye pray : if ye believe that ye will receive, it shall be 
 given unto you.” And so they prayed—they prayed in 
 utter faith. They cast themselves down and surrendered 
 wholly to the promises of Christ; and the answer was 
 marvellous. From death’s door this woman rose to health 
 and strength. The process of physical deterioration, 
 which had gone on to the lowest point for two long years 
 of suffering, terminated and was rectified and turned about. 
 The limb that had not been touched to the floor in all this 
 period became good as the other one. It was a remark¬ 
 able experience. It is one of those marvels that physical 
 science acknowledges, but says that it cannot explain. The 
 whole of the missionary church, the ministers themselves 
 and the native Christians, had their attention turned and 
 concentrated on that sick-room, and when this woman 
 came forth, God was visibly glorified in their midst. They 
 felt that another miracle had been wrought. That recovery 
 made an overwhelming impression. The missionaries were 
 quickened in their zeal; the people came together for 
 prayer. They cast themselves on the arm of God in faith, 
 and the stupendous revival of Christianity in Japan—a 
 revival that will have such vital power and influence on 
 the destiny of that country; a revival that will conserve 
 the revolutions that have taken place ; a revival that will 
 plant the foundations of Christianity firmly in the con¬ 
 science of that nation so that it can never be disturbed 
 —took its origin from that sick-room, in the prepara- 
 
14 
 
 tion of heart that went on about the bed of this devoted 
 woman. 
 
 My dear friends, that were enough for one life. But 
 growing out of the circumstances of this sickness, and the 
 fact that for two years she was in this helpless condition, 
 with no one to nurse her day or night for a long period 
 except her own devoted husband; with her husband doing 
 his work by day and watching by night, until his own strength 
 failed and his own brain weakened ; this experience devel¬ 
 oped in her mind the importance of nurses in Japan. 
 The consideration of the ignorance of those people, and 
 , the absence of all qualifications for such a task, impressed 
 on her the thought that one of the greatest philanthropies 
 that could be organized and set on foot for that country 
 would be a hospital in which nurses should be trained to 
 do their work intelligently and wisely, and in which the 
 poor sick folk would be cared for and comforted and 
 healed and blessed in the name of Jesus. And that was 
 the work which she inaugurated before she came to this 
 country, and she has been prosecuting it with enthusiasm 
 here, and she has been advocating it in your hearing in this 
 city again and again. It was this that opened her lips, it 
 was this that caused her to break the silence of her womanly 
 timidity in the church to which she had originally dedicated 
 herself. She found it necessary when called upon, in the 
 providence of God, by an occasion over which she had no 
 control, to say something, and asking God to hold her 
 heart with His hand, and to still its flutterings, she tried 
 to tell of the needs of Japan, and especially of this hos¬ 
 pital that rested so heavily upon her mind and heart. And 
 she has been going on the way that providence has opened 
 up for her, telling to you the same things in this city with 
 a pathos and power you cannot forget. 
 
 The last work she did on earth was to make an address 
 
J 5 
 
 last Sabbath afternoon at the Home for Incurables. Her 
 last public work was to tell them of the healing of Christ 
 for body and soul, and ask those poor heart-sick and hope- 
 deferred folk to join with her in prayer to God that there 
 might be a hospital like theirs to care for the sick and bless 
 the dying in the land of Japan. And when she had ended 
 her work, she came home to the house of Mrs. Samuel C. 
 Perkins, whose hospitality she and her husband had been 
 enjoying for some days, and she said that she would fain 
 rest. And there, her work done,—on the holy Sabbath, 
 when the shadows of the evening were gathering, when the 
 sun was breaking forth and casting his last glories through 
 an otherwise dark day, when the moon and the stars were 
 getting ready to come out and keep their clear vigil—in 
 the home and household of those who love the woman’s 
 foreign missionary work ; with the arm of a woman-mission 
 lover about her, this holy, precious, devoted woman mis¬ 
 sionary went to “ the rest that remaineth for the people of 
 God.” “So He giveth His beloved sleep!” “Let me 
 die the death of the righteous, and let my last end be like 
 hers!” It was not death! She did not believe in death 
 for a Christian. Ever since she gave her heart to Christ, 
 death to her has had no sting, and the grave no victory. 
 She had no fear thereof. Her life was subject in nowise to 
 this bondage. She was always looking for her Lord, and 
 her life was a preparation for His appearance. She felt 
 with Peter, “ The day of the Lord will come as a thief in 
 the night.” Her daily ejaculation was, “ What manner of 
 persons ought we to be in all holy conversation and godli¬ 
 ness, looking for and hastening unto the coming of the 
 day of God.” Therefore there was no suddenness in this 
 event to her. There was no surprise whatever. There 
 was no consciousness of any valley of death’s shadows. 
 There was an instant transition from the home on earth to 
 
the home in the heavens. There was an instant passage 
 over the threshold into the light, leaning on the arm of 
 her Beloved. 
 
 And now, dear friends, do you think it a matter of sur¬ 
 prise that Woman’s work for Woman is an enterprise of 
 such power as it is in the history of our church to-day ? 
 When you look over the record of a life like that, is it 
 startling that there is such diligence and such usefulness, 
 and such manifest tokens of Christ’s favor upon this aux¬ 
 iliary of Christ’s church ? Why it seems as if a new 
 power, as if a latent force, had burst in these last times 
 from a quarter whence we knew not—from the very centre 
 of the Christian church. It is more marvellous in spirit¬ 
 ual matters than electricity is in material. God has touched 
 and stirred the heart of woman. Power has descended on 
 the head of woman, and she has been baptized with her 
 Pentecost, with celestial heat and light and flame, and she 
 has electrified and strengthened all the established organi¬ 
 zations of the gospel; and she is sending forth to-day 
 fresh, gushing streams of Christ’s love to the very ends of 
 the earth. Here are the elements which constitute the 
 strength of this movement, and which will increase its 
 power for all good and for all time : it is prayer that be¬ 
 lieves, it is faith that waits till it feels the pressure of 
 Christ’s hand before it will walk a step, it is hope that is 
 heroic unto death and clear beyond it, and it is love that 
 fills the heart to bursting, that devotes itself very tenderly 
 to Christ, and that serves Him thoroughly and well. 
 
 Is there not a word in this beside that of encouragement? 
 Is it not one of warning? My dear friends, do you think 
 that this whole providence has not been specially arranged 
 for you and for me ? Do you think that this messenger 
 came so swiftly, and that Christ beckoned her to Him so 
 peremptorily, that she was not given opportunity to call 
 
her husband and bid farewell to them that were in the 
 house; do you think that happened without especial per¬ 
 tinency and meaning for you and for me ? Does it not 
 seem to say to us. cc Be active ! Be instant! The hours 
 hasten ” ? Your own life is but a point in the eternal line 
 of destiny. Do your work; do it diligently, do it well, 
 do it now, do it for Christ, do it for eternity, do it for 
 the whole world. By the command of the Father, by the 
 love of the Son, by the presence and power of the Holy 
 Ghost, obey your orders, and <c Go ye therefore and teach 
 all nations; baptizing them in the name of the Father, and 
 of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.” Amen. 
 
 REMARKS OF REV. J. F. DRIPPS, 
 
 PASTOR OF CLINTON-STREET IMMANUEL PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 
 
 Dear friends, when a king requests, the request is a 
 command; and when, upon such an occasion as this, he to 
 whom of all the world it means the most requests me to 
 speak, it is a command. Nothing but that command could 
 induce me now to rise and add one word to that which has 
 been said. 
 
 cc The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away. 
 Blessed be the name of the Lord.” It was the word 
 spoken regarding this act of God, by him at whose request 
 I stand here. The hand of the Lord is in this thing, and 
 beyond that point I cannot yet go. I am thankful that in 
 the providence of God it has been my privilege, with you, 
 to sit and listen—not to rise and speak, for I could not 
 help feeling that my place was down among you who 
 
18 
 
 » 
 
 mourn and yet are glad. I came here in no official spirit. 
 You know how it would be with yourselves, if every little 
 while, all the way along through the years since this saint 
 of God began her work in connection with our society, 
 letters had been coming into your hands, as they have into 
 mine, unfolding her inmost heart; making known those 
 facts which here have so touched and thrilled your souls ; 
 until her name was a household name with you, as it has 
 been with me and mine. And how it would be with you if 
 you had been looking forward, as I have been, in the hope 
 of sustaining still this relation of pastor to her for coming 
 years ; and you were given the privilege, for which I can 
 never cease to thank God, of opening your own home to her 
 when she came here to Philadelphia, and being permitted, 
 under very peculiar circumstances, to perceive the very 
 deepest springs of motive within her, under circumstances 
 such that they would have brought out anything, I was going 
 to say, that was merely human, anything that was unchristian. 
 They revealed nothing in her but what could be summed 
 up in that word which was spoken of her just now, cc For 
 me to live is Christ!” Her only feeling, her only ques¬ 
 tion, seemed to be how this or that or the other thing 
 might affect the Christ who lived within her and for whom 
 she lived. 
 
 I am just trying with you to find out what the Lord 
 means for you and for me in this, and I cannot think 
 clearly about it yet. I can only say these words to myself 
 over and over again, “ The Lord gave, and the Lord hath 
 taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.” The 
 Lord gave ! Just in proportion as we knew her, our souls 
 bless H is holy name for giving unto our lives such a pres¬ 
 ence and such a blessing. And if the Lord has taken 
 away, it is away from sickness and sorrow and weariness, 
 it is away from all sin, it is away unto His own blessed 
 
*9 
 
 presence. And we ought to lift our hearts up, turning our 
 eyes not downward, but upward, with every thought of her, 
 and then forward unto the work that is' yet left for us to 
 do here on earth. May we go, as we have been asked, in 
 her name, in Christ’s name, to go :—following her, even as 
 she followed Christ. May God help us so to do! Noth¬ 
 ing but an almighty Saviour could have helped this soul 
 to live the life it did ; could have ripened it so gloriously; 
 could have made it speak to the uttermost depths of our 
 hearts, as it hath spoken, as it will speak. Oh that the God 
 of the holy prophets may grant unto us who yet remain 
 grace, in her spirit, to carry on her work—His work 
 —until in His own good time He may say unto us one 
 after another, “Well done, good and faithful servant; 
 enter thou into the joy of thy Lord” ! And to His name 
 shall all the glory be—for the giving and the taking away 
 and the reuniting. 
 
 PRAYER BY MR. DRIPPS. 
 
 Blessed Lord Jesus Christ, we thank Thee that this 
 parting is but for a little time ; that there is reunion before 
 us; that the smile which has gladdened our hearts during 
 these days and weeks past will greet us again ; that the 
 Christ, shining through this bodily presence, we shall see 
 again. Our prayer is that in Thine infinite goodness Thou 
 wilt enable us, through the time that intervenes, to follow 
 her as she followed Christ; to drink from that same stream 
 of spiritual influence and power from which on earth she 
 drank, from whose fountain-head she drinks to-day. And 
 so reveal Thyself as the Blessed One with whom she is, 
 
20 
 
 making Christ more real to us. May all that is mean and 
 vile and sinful within us be cast out, O Christ, by the 
 effectual grace of Thy Holy Spirit; that we may each be 
 able to say, “ For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” 
 And so, doing Thy work with Christ abiding within us, may 
 the spiritual power of the indwelling Christ guide us on¬ 
 ward and upward until, in Thine own good time, the work 
 done, we can say, with her and with her Master, c< It is 
 finished.” Wilt Thou receive us there, where we shall be 
 able better to express our thanks to Thee for Thy good¬ 
 ness in giving her to us here on earth, and for calling us 
 after her up into heaven. 
 
 Lord, hear us in these petitions ; in all that shall go up 
 unto Thee during this hour, this day and through coming 
 days ; and to Thy most blessed name shall all the praise be 
 ever more. Amen. 
 
 The choir then sang the following hymn, which was 
 another favorite of Mrs. Ballagh.— [Gospel Hymns , No. 48.) 
 
 Saviour, more than life to me, 
 
 I am clinging, clinging close to Thee ; 
 Let Thy precious blood applied 
 Keep me ever, ever near Thy side. 
 
 REFRAIN. 
 
 Every day, every hour. 
 
 Let me feel Thy cleansing power; 
 
 May Thy tender love to me 
 
 Bind me closer, closer. Lord, to Thee. 
 
 Through this changing world below. 
 Lead me gently, gently as I go ; 
 
 Trusting Thee I cannot stray, 
 
 1 can never, never lose my way. 
 
 Every day, every hour, etc. 
 
21 
 
 Let me love Thee more and more. 
 Till this fleeting, fleeting life is o’er ; 
 Till my soul is lost in love. 
 
 In a brighter, brighter world above. 
 Every day, every hour, etc. 
 
 The benediction was pronounced by Rev. Mr. Colfelt. 
 
 The coffin was then opened, and an opportunity afforded 
 to the friends to look for the last time upon her mortal 
 
 Attended by the clergymen, the pall-bearers and a few 
 of the immediate relatives, the remains were taken to Mon¬ 
 ument Cemetery, and beneath the brilliant starlight of the 
 clear, early evening, tenderly borne over the snow-covered 
 ground and committed to the receiving-vault, till a final 
 resting-place should be determined. 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
RESOLUTIONS 
 
 Of respect and condolence upon the sudden and 
 
 LAMENTED DEATH OF Mrs. BaLLAGH, PASSED MON¬ 
 DAY, January 14, 1884, by The Presbyterian 
 
 Ministers Association of Philadelphia. 
 
 Having learned that by a sudden and mysterious prov¬ 
 idence our beloved missionary to Japan, Mrs. Ballagh, 
 was called from her earthly labors to her heavenly rest on 
 Sabbath evening, January 13, 1884:— 
 
 We hereby record our high appreciation of her labors in 
 the distant field to which she had devoted her life. 
 
 We will remember with pleasure and, we trust, will keep 
 for inspiration her last faithful labors performed in our 
 midst during the Week of Prayer. 
 
 Her spirit of consecration, and its blessed influence, 
 cannot fail to fix the fidelity and zeal of her fellow workers. 
 
 Resolved , That this testimonial of our regard for Mrs. 
 Ballagh be sent to her bereaved husband, with the expres¬ 
 sion of our sympathy for him in his great affliction and 
 sudden loss. 
 
 Resolved ,, That a committee of five, consisting of Rev. 
 Charles A. Dickey, D.D., Rev. H. L. Dickson, D.D., 
 Rev. Andrew McElwain, Rev. Alfred Nevin, D.D., and 
 Rev. William Hutton, Jr., be appointed to convey this 
 action to our afflicted brother, and to represent the Asso¬ 
 ciation in the funeral services of Mrs. Ballagh. 
 
24 
 
 From The Presbyterian , Philadelphia , January 19, 1884. 
 
 Lydia Evelina, wife of John C. Ballagh, of Tokio, 
 Japan, died suddenly in Philadelphia on Sabbath, January 
 13, 1884. Mr. and Mrs. Ballagh for many ye,ars have 
 been missionaries in Japan, under the Presbyterian Board, 
 and were spending some time in this country for the benefit 
 of his health. 
 
 By this death the Week of Prayer for January, 1884, 
 has been crowned with a new and touching significance to 
 the Woman’s Foreign Missionary Society. It was a sea¬ 
 son of unusual fervor and full of unction. From day to 
 day the interest deepened and glowed into keener life. 
 Surely the Spirit of God was there ! Among those who 
 prayed, one earnest, tender voice melted all hearts with its 
 fervid utterances. Whether she prayed that greater fullness 
 of the life that is £C hid with Christ in God ” might quicken 
 hearts longing for it in the church at home, or whether 
 that the blessed Spirit might be shed abroad on God’s 
 people in all lands, her petitions seemed to come from a 
 boundless desire for God, a craving hunger which only 
 Himself could satisfy. How she poured out her heart in 
 confession of sin, and how she prayed for the coming of 
 the kingdom ! Who that heard her petitions will forget ? 
 
 So she prayed each day in those blessed meetings for 
 prayer until the week ended. And when the Sabbath of 
 rest came she wrought in Christ’s service through the day; 
 and then suddenly, as the evening fell, on the wings she 
 was pluming when we understood it not, she soared away 
 into the celestial glory and was seen no more. Oh the 
 brightness and the darkness ! What an ending of this 
 precious Week of Prayer! Surely God’s purposes in 
 
2 5 
 
 sending this sainted missionary to Philadelphia are full 
 of meaning which can be understood. The hearts that 
 glowed while Mrs. Ballagh prayed can surely never grow 
 cold and lifeless again ; the fire that was kindled will burn. 
 God grant that we may read His purpose in a great out¬ 
 pouring of His Spirit—in a broader, fuller, deeper life in 
 the hearts of those who are working for the coming of His 
 kingdom,—and through the sudden translation of this de¬ 
 voted missionary, the accession of many to take up the 
 work where she laid it down—the work of winning the 
 world for Christ. 
 
 ACTION OF THE WOMAN’S FOREIGN MISSION¬ 
 ARY SOCIETY. 
 
 Philadelphia, February 5, 1884. 
 
 The following minute was adopted:— 
 
 As one by one those connected with this society as 
 workers at home or abroad are called from among us to 
 the higher service of heaven, it is fitting that we should 
 together give thanks to God for their testimony and work 
 on earth, and for their victory over the last great foe— 
 stimulating each other by their example that we may fol¬ 
 low them as they followed Christ. Some have gone from 
 us under such peculiar circumstances or from such pre¬ 
 eminent usefulness that we have felt impelled to put upon 
 permanent record our appreciation of their great value to 
 us and to the special cause of the Master which we have 
 made our own. 
 
 It is with this desire that we now place upon our min- 
 
26 
 
 utes an expression of our deep sorrow in the sudden death 
 of Mrs. John C. Ballagh, of Tokio, Japan, and our sincere 
 thankfulness for her swift, painless entrance into the city 
 of her King. The last weeks of the year 1883, and the 
 first of 1884, will be forever hallowed in our thought by 
 the coming and going of this most lovely, blessed servant 
 of God. 
 
 We who were more or less closely associated with her 
 will each bear our own individual memories of her and her 
 words and voice and smile and gracious, gentle ways. But 
 as a society we rejoice to remember her noble, faithful 
 work in Japan, testified to by those with whom she labored 
 there, and by the harvest of souls which God had already 
 given to her and her husband as the fruit of their labors. 
 Her missionary life was one of great devotion to her work, 
 and its trials as well as its joys were accepted and, by the 
 grace of God, made to advance rather than retard its 
 progress. She was filled with intensest interest in the 
 present condition of mission work in Jrpan and with live¬ 
 liest hope for its future, and had plans for her own part in 
 it, which seem now to be altogether lost and vain—but we 
 know that this is only seeming. Her work was done, and 
 well done! God’s work, even that which He had appar¬ 
 ently given into her hands, will go on and be multiplied 
 and strengthened, and her death will do what her life could 
 not have done. So we believe, and therefore we record 
 here no moan or lament, only heartfelt gratitude for what 
 she was, praise to God for what she is, and bright faith in 
 what she will be among us here and in Japan, for many 
 years to come. 
 
2 ? 
 
 « 
 
 The last words written by Mrs. Ballagh, dated 
 Philadelphia, January 12, 1884, the day before her 
 translation from earth to heaven : 
 
 To all the missionaries connected with the Women's Boards of the Presbyterian 
 Church of America. Greeting :— 
 
 May mercy, peace and great success attend you and your labors for the 
 Master during the year we have just entered, through the indwelling of the 
 Holy Spirit, and His blessing upon all your efforts. 
 
 How very often we wish those who are laboring so untiringly to keep 
 up this end of the “ gospel rope,” often amid discouragements of which 
 we are ignorant, could look in upon our schools, women’s meetings or 
 Sabbath services when some of those in whom we are interested are being 
 baptized and taking vows to follow the only true and living God. We 
 have felt that they would be so cheered and encouraged by a sight which 
 fills our own hearts with thanksgiving and joy. 
 
 The rest of her thought, the expression of which was 
 thus begun, never was committed to paper; but from her 
 conversation on the subject, it is known that her intention 
 was to show how encouraging to the active laborers on the 
 field it would be could they have had the privilege which 
 she so much enjoyed of attending and taking part in the 
 meetings held by the Woman’s Foreign Missionary Soci¬ 
 ety of Philadelphia, during the Week of Prayer. 
 
 LETTER FROM THE LADIES 
 
 OF THE 
 
 FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, GERMANTOWN, PA. 
 
 Germantown, Pa., December —, 1883. 
 
 D ear Mrs. Ballagh : — Some of your many friends in 
 the congregation of the First Presbyterian Church of Ger- 
 
28 
 
 mantown during your long and faithful labor in the field 
 as our missionary adopt this means of expressing to you 
 our sincere affection and warm appreciation of all you have 
 done for us. During this time your name has become a 
 “household word;” and even the children have learned to 
 know you, through the long and interesting letters and 
 wonderful curiosities which came to us from far-off Japan. 
 We can give you no idea of the work you have done here 
 as well as there, for the great cause of missions. Many first 
 had their interest awakened to its importance by your earnest 
 appeals coming to us across the seas, warm from the heart 
 of our faithful laborer in the field. 
 
 Only the dear Lord Himself knoweth the full amount of 
 work you have been enabled to accomplish for Him ; yet 
 even we, who see but in part, think it little wonder that 
 He hath called you apart to “rest awhile.” We earnestly 
 pray that the change may indeed prove refreshing to body, 
 soul and spirit, and that in His own good time strength 
 may again be given you to labor in the field for which you 
 are so specially qualified. 
 
 With gratitude and love, your friends, 
 
 M ARY D. We STCOTT, 
 Mrs. Isaac C. Jones, 
 Mary E. Henry, 
 
 H annah More Johnson, 
 A. E. Campbell, 
 
 F. K. Graham, 
 
 Emily Darrach, 
 
 Emily M. Whartenby, 
 Mary A. Mansfield, 
 
 K. H. Wilson, 
 Catharine McLean, 
 May C. Wilson, 
 
 Anna De Forest, 
 Theo. B. H ENRY, 
 Jeannie H. Bacon, 
 Mary D. Pease, 
 
 M. T. R ICHARDS, 
 Anna Neill, 
 
 Emily L. Penrose, 
 Sarah Dwight Pease, 
 Maria S. Higgins, 
 Sara E. Jones, 
 
 Sallie Sprigman, 
 Emma L. Van Pelt, 
 
I 
 
 29 
 
 Mrs. John Garrett, 
 
 Miss Bessie Garrett, 
 Miss Laura H. Campbell, 
 Emma N. Garrett, 
 Bertha M. Campbell, 
 Jennie S. Graham, 
 
 M. L. Penrose, 
 
 Valeria F. Penrose, 
 
 H elen Prosser, 
 
 Cornelia E. Jones, 
 
 M. C. Duffield, 
 
 M ARGARET F. H IGGINS, 
 
 Jennie E. Barry, 
 Priscilla Barry, 
 
 Miss Jennie Grime, 
 
 Sarah L. Mansfield, 
 
 Sarah G. Beck, 
 
 r 
 
 Louisa F. French, 
 Louisa C. Lang, 
 Lillie E. Campbell, 
 Angie E. Campbell, 
 Sadie L. Lukens, 
 Fannie Creighton, 
 Florence S. Cook, 
 
 E. L. Linnard, 
 
 H elen Penrose, 
 Belle D. Westcott, 
 Emily H. Frick, 
 Katie Sprigman, 
 Mary Powers, 
 
 A. M. Armstrong, 
 Miss A. MacKellar. 
 
 Some letters received by Mr. Ballagh since the 
 death of Mrs. Ballagh : 
 
 Syracuse, N. Y., January 17, 1884. 
 
 My D ear Mr. Ballagh :— You can well imagine my 
 great surprise and sorrow on opening the New York 
 Tribune , on Tuesday evening, and at once seeing the notice 
 of the departure of your dear wife, our dear Mrs. Ballagh. 
 My constant, heartfelt sympathy has been with you ever 
 since. 
 
 The notice said “suddenly,” and so in following her I 
 have loved to think that her dear Lord came and called 
 her unexpectedly, knowing she was all the time ready and 
 
30 
 
 “waiting,” and that it was not given her to endure pro¬ 
 tracted suffering. Dear precious soul ! the light of heaven 
 was on her face all the while she was here; and as it comes 
 over me so vividly now, why couldn’t we see that she was 
 then taking on the heavenly, and that she was speaking 
 her last words and doing her last earthly work ? I am sure 
 that all who were brought into contact with her felt spirit¬ 
 ually quickened. Her influence is with us now. It will 
 never die or be forgotten ! Her loving, earnest words for 
 the Master were blessed to us and will bring forth fruit. 
 I am so thankful that we have that blessed visit to remem¬ 
 ber. It was the theme of remark at our prayer-meeting 
 last evening, after Mr. Thurber announced that she had 
 gone. How certain and confident we feel that she is 
 among the redeemed, “ perfectly satisfied,” with her dear 
 Saviour. I love to think of her present reward. 
 
 But oh how deeply we feel for your sorrowing heart! I 
 am sure you will find great comfort in the very precious 
 memories, and in knowing how much your love added to her 
 earthly joy and happiness. She spoke very deeply of this 
 to me, and of what an exceptional happy married life she 
 had enjoyed with you whom she so deeply loved and fully 
 trusted. She said, “ I believe this happiness has prolonged 
 my life.” May the One who says, “ When thou passest 
 through the waters I will be with thee ; and through the 
 rivers, they shall not overflow thee,” richly sustain and 
 hold you up in the midst of this great sorrow. Believe 
 me, dear Mr. Ballagh, 
 
 Yours in deep sympathy, 
 
 Sarah W. Thurber. 
 
3 1 
 
 Johnstown, N. Y., January 24, 1884. 
 
 My Dear Mr. Ballagh :—We scarcely know how to 
 come to you in your great sorrow, almost shrinking from 
 the attempt; and yet we feel that we cannot stay away, but 
 must in some way express our sympathy in it. Our ac¬ 
 quaintance with Mrs. Ballagh, though short, was of such a 
 nature as to endear her greatly to us. Indeed, before we 
 saw her we had learned to love her; and we deeply grieved 
 when we learned that she was not, because the Lord had 
 taken her to Himself,—weeping, not for her, but for our¬ 
 selves and all who loved her so well. The ladies of our 
 society each feel that they have lost a personal friend—so 
 did she win all hearts while here. It will be long ere we 
 forget that visit to Johnstown; nor will we soon forget that 
 among the last of her efforts for good on earth was an 
 appeal to us, stirring us up to renewed and greater effort 
 in the Master’s cause. I refer to a letter written us on 
 the Friday preceding her death. 
 
 We know well in how small a degree our loss, however 
 deeply we may feel it, can be compared with yours, my 
 dear sir. Words fall but coldly at such times, yet we can 
 in no other way convey to you our warmest, deepest sym¬ 
 pathy in this bereavement. 
 
 If at any time you feel that you can write, anything 
 relating to our beloved Mrs. Ballagh will be of the greatest 
 interest to us. And of yourself also, it would give us 
 great pleasure to know that you were regaining health and 
 strength. 
 
 That our Father in heaven may sustain you under this 
 great affliction, is the earnest prayer of each and every one 
 who join me in Christian love and esteem. 
 
 Yours very truly, 
 
 Adelia S. Murray. 
 
The letter of Mrs. Ballagh referred to by Miss 
 Murray above is as follows : 
 
 Philadelphia, January 11, 1884. 
 
 D EAR M iss Murray:— 1 have not heard of the welfare 
 of the dear friends in Johnstown since our very delightful 
 visit with them. We sincerely hope you are all well and 
 enjoying the Week of Prayer, as we are in Philadelphia. 
 I am sure you will all be glad to see by the Circular on 
 which I write, that my plea for a hospital and training- 
 school for nurses has met with a warm reception by the 
 Board. The central Board in New York, as well as 
 the Ladies Board here, are both behind in receipts up to 
 the present time this financial year, which closes in May 
 next. It is my earnest desire that no funds should be 
 taken from the regular contributions to the Board, but 
 that this great work should be started by <c special thank- 
 offerings ” in addition to usual subscriptions for foreign 
 missions. I shall expect a special divine blessing upon 
 the work so commenced. I was so much impressed with 
 the great possibilities of your society. Do you know you 
 are stronger and better able to support a missionary than 
 the church who have assumed my support ? and I am truly 
 expecting great things from you. Let me again beg you to 
 send the usual $50 to poor, needy India. You will still 
 have more than $100 for this hospital. How I would like 
 to see you again ! Mr. Ballagh joins in kindest regards to 
 each and every one. 
 
 In Christian love yours, 
 
 L. E. Ballagh. 
 
 The Circular on the back of which the above 
 was written is as follows: 
 
33 
 
 TRAINED NURSES IN JAPAN. 
 
 A DOUBLE BLESSING. 
 
 All over this world of ours there are special burdens of 
 sickness and suffering to be borne by women , in the endur¬ 
 ance of which they need all the comfort and help which can 
 be given them. In Christian lands not many are beyond 
 the reach of such assistance ; in heathen lands it is only a 
 very few favored ones who can obtain it, while the mass 
 must stagger and often fall under the weight of suffering 
 which no helpful hand diminishes or relieves. It is not 
 only medical care which is lacking among our sisters of 
 heathen countries ; there is also no proper nursing known 
 among them. The most absurd and injurious customs 
 prevail; superstition and ignorance of all laws of health 
 combining to render their treatment of the sick such as to 
 increase rather than alleviate pain and disease. Doubtless 
 many die, or live in agony, because of ailments which kind 
 skillful nursing would greatly soothe, if not altogether 
 remove. 
 
 Here is where the blessed gospel comes in with the same 
 gentle ministry of healing and saving which our Lord 
 Jesus Christ began when He was on earth. He indeed 
 cured with one touch of His divine power, while in our 
 day human hands working for Him must day after day 
 tend and nourish and comfort the sick and suffering ones, 
 who may be won for Him by this means. 
 
 Following out this principle, we now seek to establish in 
 one centre of Christian influence in a heathen land a school 
 where pupils may learn to do this work for Christ, hoping 
 that in course of time others may be opened in similar 
 places. We want to have a Training-School for Nurses 
 in Tokio, Japan. 
 
 Do you ask where will be found suitable Japanese women 
 to be thus trained? They are ready at our call. In the 
 
34 
 
 Christian churches now forming with such wonderful 
 rapidity in that awakening land, there is a large number of 
 women, once secondary wives or concubines, now, under 
 the new Christian order of family life, desiring and needing 
 to find some occupation for hands and heart. The profes¬ 
 sion of nursing will give this to them in a way which seems 
 opened by the very hand of God for this time of their 
 need. They will be able to support themselves honorably ; 
 they will be under the supervision and guidance of expe¬ 
 rienced Christian workers ; they will have opportunity to 
 minister to souls as well as bodies ; and they will bring un¬ 
 told comfort and blessing to the large class of sufferers 
 who have hitherto known only neglect and misery in sick¬ 
 ness. Two objects will thus be accomplished, by the help 
 of God, through this one instrument of good in Japan. 
 The sick will be cared for, and those women to whom 
 Christian work will be safety and defence will have ample 
 employment, for which also they are naturally well fitted, 
 and which will bring them very close to the Master Him¬ 
 self in spirit and aim. 
 
 Mrs. Ballagh and Mrs. True, both now in this country, 
 will take charge of the matter and give any information 
 concerning it. They can be addressed at 1334 Chestnut 
 Street, Philadelphia. 
 
 This undertaking must be outside of all regular mission¬ 
 ary work, no funds being taken from the latter for it; but gifts 
 beyond and above what is pledged or already appropriated 
 must be laid upon this altar. 
 
 Will you not, for the sake of this double blessing to your 
 Japanese sisters, give up some one luxury in dress or table 
 or life during this month of January, and send the sum 
 thus redeemed for God to this object? 
 
 Direct to Mrs. J. M. Fishburn, 
 
 1334 Chestnut Street , Philadelphia , Pa.