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GIFT OF

First Baptist church,
New Haven

Mary Reed.

MARY REED

MISSIONARY TO
THE LEPERS

BY

JOHN JACKSON
( Organizing and Deputation Secretary to the Mission to Lepers
in India and the East)

WITH INTRODUCTORY NOTE BY
REV. F. B. MEYER, B.A.

ILLUSTRATED

New York Chicago Toronto
Fleming H. Revell Company
Publishers of Evangelical Literature

Extract from Miss Reed's Letter, dated
June gth, i8gg :
" Since the receipt of your letter, requesting a brief
account of God's dealings with me, and of some of my
experiences during 1897, 1898, and so far in 1899, I
feel it to be my duty to give you some sketches from
an almost blank diary, supplemented by something
from a poor memory. This I consider a duty on my
part, since your object is worthy any sacrifice any one
could make. . . . Never could I have been
induced to sanction the publication you purpose send
ing forth on the blessed mission of interesting kind
hearts in Christ's little ones, had I not realized during
these years that I belong to Jesus ; and so I am glad
to be used in any way for His service and in the ad
vancement of His Kingdom."

Contents
chap. page
Extract from Miss Reed's Letter  6
Introductory Words by Rev. F. B. Meyer . . 7
I. Early Life  9
II. Discovery and Decision  13
III. The Way of the Cross  17
IV. Appointed to Chandag  22
V. Among the Lepers  27
VI. Trials and Triumphs — 1894  33
VII. Praise and Progress — 1895  41
VIII. A Welcome Visitor— 1895  S1
IX. Travail of Soul— 1896  61
X. Year by Year  69
XI. Christmas with the Lepers  81
XII. A Vision of the Night  89
XIII. Divided Duties— 1897  98
XIV. Light and Shade— 1898  109
XV. The Prayer of Faith— 1899  "7

List of Illustrations.

Miss Mary Reed, Chandag
Willie Russell
A Group of Indian Lepers
at Sabathu Asylum .
Three Burmese Lepers

Frontispiece
Facing page 18
. " " 28
" 92

Introductory Words
One of the pleasantest episodes in my recent visit
to India was the privilege of enjoying the hospitality
of Miss Thoburn at Lucknow. One of her guests
was Miss Mary Reed, with whom I had more than
one delightful talk. This is my plea for writing a few
introductory words to this record of her life and work.
She told me her wonderful story ; how she first dis
covered that she was afflicted with the painful and
loathsome disease of leprosy; tore herself away from
those who loved her, without trusting herself to say
good-bye ; and finally consecrated her life to the re
lief of the lepers of India. From the first day until
now she has borne her heavy cross in a spirit of con
secration which makes the story of her life one of the
most inspiring in missionary biography.
Next to sitting with her, and hearing the account of
God's dealings with her from her own lips, is the op
portunity of reading her story as told by the compiler
of these pages, who has brought a sympathetic spirit
and a full knowledge of the facts to aid him in the
delineation of this noble life.
Not only does she never utter a murmuring word at
her lot of suffering and isolation, or her environment
of sin, disease, and death, but she joyfully acquiesces
in what she accepts as God's will. She has already
7

8 Introductory Words
labored for eight years among her fellow-sufferers with
evident tokens of the Divine approval. Necessarily
debarred in a great measure from the privileges of in
tercourse with fellow-workers, she has, in her lonely
retreat amid the Himalayan snows, been cast the more
utterly upon God and has proved that
" They who trust Him wholly
Find Him wholly true."
She has had the privilege of seeing the Institution
under her care extend. Her afflicted flock has also
increased in number ; but, above all, she has had the
rare joy of seeing many lepers welcomed into the
fellowship of the Christian Church.
In a strength which is distinctly God-given, she la
bors on in faith and hope, receiving a present reward
in the knowledge that in the deepest sense it is still
true that the "Lepers are cleansed."
I cannot refrain from expressing my sincere admira
tion for Miss Reed's devoted spirit and Christlike
work, and I commend this little volume to all those
who are interested in foreign missions, and trust that
it may be the means of eliciting sympathy and support
for the work of The Mission to Lepers in India and
the East,1 of which Society Miss Reed is an honored
and valued worker. F. B. Meyer.
1 Contributions in aid of this most interesting work may be
forwarded through the publishers of this volume.

Mary Reed

early life
The subject of this brief biography was born at
Lowell, Washington County, in the State of Ohio, and
was the first girl in a family of four brothers and four
sisters. Already blessed with a son, we may be sure
the hearts of the parents accorded a warm welcome to
their first little daughter. Happily, their joy was
clouded by no prevision of the special lot of suffering
awaiting her. In this quiet home, watched over by
her parents, and surrounded by an atmosphere of love
and happiness, the years of Mary Reed's childhood
glided rapidly away.
When about sixteen, an age critical to the moral
character, her nature was first awakened to the reality
of the things that are not seen, but are eternal. As
the young and supple seedling is bent to the shape that
the sturdy oak bears in after years, so by the sweet
constrainings of the Divine Spirit, the fresh young life
was gladly yielded to her Saviour, and thus early was
commenced the service which is now being consum
mated among her afflicted fellow-sufferers in India.
From the time of her first surrender to the claims of
9

10 Mary Reed
Christ, she appears to have realized that she had been
saved to serve, and that if she received, it was in order
to bestow. An intense longing that others should share
her newly-found joy induced her to engage earnestly
in every form of Christian effort open to her. She
was led to adopt the profession of a public school
teacher, and for some ten years she pursued this call
ing with success, availing herself of the many oppor
tunities her position afforded to impart to her pupils
the knowledge of heavenly, as well as earthly, things.
May we not see in this experience a providential prep
aration for the work in after years, of the organization
and supervision of a large institution, peopled by those
who, although men and women in years, she loves to
speak of as her "little ones," or still more frequently
as " Christ's little ones ! "
But the Master had need of her for more difficult
service than teaching work in America. She became
conscious, dimly at first, of an inner voice pleading on
behalf of her sisters in the Zenanas of India, still sit
ting in darkness and in the shadow of death. With
the true humility which still characterizes her, she
hesitated to believe that it was really a Divine call to
leave all and follow whithersoever the Spirit led. But
she was not disobedient to the heavenly vision. In
spite of conscious weakness and a deep distrust of her
fitness for such high and holy work, she cried at length,
like Isaiah of old, "Here am I, send me," and also,
like him, she heard the Divine command, " Go, and
tell this people."
In connection with the Methodist Episcopal Church

Early Life n
of America, there is an old-established and well-organ
ized Women's Foreign Missionary Society, and to the
Directors of this Miss Reed offered her services. They
were gladly accepted, and her name was added to the
roll of her sisters, then numbering forty or fifty, but
since increased to 200, who are being supported by
this earnest and energetic body. To the Cincinnati
Branch fell the privilege of being represented by Mary
Reed, and the loving but sad farewells having been
said, she reached India in November, 1884. This
surrender, on the part of the dear home circle, though
it cost them many a pang, was endured for the Gospel's
sake, and must, in some measure, have prepared them
for the greater renunciation, then hidden in the dark
ness of the future.
At the Society's North India Conference in January,
1885, Miss Reed was allocated to Cawnpore, for work
in the Zenanas of the city where the white marble
angel marks the site of the well into which the treach
erous Nana Sahib flung the bodies, dead and dying, of
125 English women and children. It is surely a
Christlike recompense that into a city stained within
living memory with so foul a crime as this, Christian
women should carry with prayer and patient labor the
glad tidings of redeeming love. But not immediately
was this herald of the Cross to proclaim her Evangel
to the women of Cawnpore. At this juncture her
health gave way, and a period of rest and change be
came imperative. In unconscious pursuance of the
divinely ordered plan of her life, Pithoragarh, in the
bracing climate of the Himalayas, was selected for

12 Mary Reed
the purpose. Here she spent a few weeks of earnest
preparation for the work then awaiting her. In addi
tion to study of the language, and observation of mis
sionary work being carried on in the neighborhood,
she had an opportunity of seeing the very spot in
which was to be erected (two years later), the Asylum
over which she is to-day presiding with marked ability
and success. Her pity was powerfully awakened on
learning that within a comparatively small radius of
this lovely spot, some five hundred lepers were to be
found in a condition of utter misery and hopelessness.
With restored health, she gladly returned to Cawn
pore to enter upon the work to which she had been
appointed, and which for four years she was permitted
to prosecute with zeal and energy, and not without
tokens of success. No doubt this may be regarded as
a further stage of training and preparation for the
work, so peculiarly difficult from a merely human
point of view, which the providence of God had as
signed to her. From Cawnpore she was transferred
to Gonda, where for twelve months she taught in the
Girls' Boarding School. By this time her health was
seriously undermined, and in January, 1890, she re
turned to America in search of renewed strength for
further service.

II
DISCOVERY AND DECISION
It was while resting in Cincinnati, some months
after her return from India, that the real nature of her
malady was revealed to Miss Reed. She had under
gone a lengthy course of treatment, including at least
one operation, but without the hoped-for restoration.
Amongst the symptoms, which for some time com
pletely baffled her physicians, were a constant tingling
pain in the forefinger of the right hand, and later, a
strange spot on one cheek, near the ear. Then one
day, with the suddenness of a flash, and the certainty
of a voice, there was revealed to her, not only the
character of her disease, but the purpose of it. Close
upon the first feeling of dismay which must have ac
companied so terrible a discovery, came a mental
vision of the hopeless sufferers among the Himalaya
mountains. It was borne in upon her, then and there,
that these were to be the sheep of her flock, and there
was to be the sphere of her future labors. After
searching such medical books as she could lay her
hands upon, she confided her suspicions to her physi
cian and to one friend (the Cincinnati Secretary of her
Society). Her fears were confirmed by her doctor,
but as his knowledge of the disease was purely theo-
13

14 Mary Reed
retical, he transferred his patient to New York as soon
as she was fit for the journey. So this modern martyr
set out upon her via dolorosa — her pilgrimage of suf
fering and isolation. In New York, she was examined
by a specialist who had studied the disease in the
Sandwich Islands. His verdict confirmed her own
conviction, and this educated, refined, Christian
woman found herself face to face with the appalling
and paralyzing fact that she had fallen a victim to
leprosy — the most dreaded, loathsome, and hopeless
disease known to mankind.
Although this account of God's dealings with her is
written by permission, it is also under the express in
junction to "say not one word in praise of Mary
Reed. ' ' Nor will we attempt to evade that restriction,
but we will here invite the reader to unite with us and
with her in admiring and extolling the Divine Grace
that has, from the first, enabled her to accept this
heavy cross with entire resignation, and to say, in her
own words, not with a sigh, but with a song — "Thy
will be done."
Desiring to spare her family the pain the sad knowl
edge must have brought to them, and denying herself
the motherly sympathy for which she must have
yearned, she kept them, with the single exception of
her sister Rena, in ignorance of what had befallen
her. " If you will let me go without a special good
bye, as though I were returning to-morrow, it will be
so much easier for me," she said. And so, self-
debarred from even a farewell kiss, she went forth
from that happy home-pircle to become the centre and

Discovery and Decision 15
head of one of the saddest of all the families of suffer
ing humanity.
Arrived in India, however, it became apparent to
Miss Reed that the dear ones at home, for whose sakes
she was prepared to suffer in silence, must shortly
learn the sad truth. Accordingly, from Bombay she
wrote: " After prayerful consideration, I find it wisest and
kindest to tell you, or allow dear, brave-hearted sister
Rena, with whom I entrusted this mystery of God's
Providence, to tell you what she pledged to keep from
you. She will tell you how our loving Heavenly
Father, who is ' too wise to err,' has, in His infinite
love and wisdom, chosen, called, and prepared your
daughter to teach lessons of patience, endurance, and
submission, while I shall have the joy of ministering
to a class of people who, but for the preparation which
has been mine for this special work, would have no
helper at all ; and while I am called apart among these
needy creatures, who hunger and thirst for salvation,
and for comfort and cheer, He, who has called and
prepared me, promises that He, Himself, will be to me
as a little sanctuary where I am to abide, and abiding
in Him, I shall have a supply of all my need."
Surely the Grace of God shines forth here, and the
strength of Christ is once more made perfect in human
weakness. And the language of this letter, in which
is revealed the view she was enabled to take of her
affliction, is but the keynote of all her letters. Her
confident faith in the presence and help of her Saviour
has been abundantly justified. Strengthened with ;

1 6 Mary Reed
might by His Spirit, she has been enabled to say, in
the words of one of her favorite hymns :
No chance has brought this ill to me,
'Tis God's sweet will, so let it be ;
He seeth what I cannot see.
There is a need be for each pain,
And He will make it one day plain,
That earthly loss is heavenly gain.

Ill
THE WAY OF THE CROSS
From New York Miss Reed proceeded to London.
She brought with her letters of introduction to two
eminent specialists, who both confirmed the decision
of the American physician. During her brief stay in
England, she was thrown into contact with a young
countrywoman of her own, who was, moreover, as
Miss Reed had been, a public school-teacher (from
New England) and an earnest Christian. To her
were permitted some days of close intercourse with
this devoted sufferer which must have been inspiring
as an experience, and must remain precious as a mem
ory. I have the advantage of quoting from an ac
count of these days, written by this sympathizing
companion. She says : " I wondered instinctively at
the ivory pallor of that sweet face, and at the cruel
spot that disfigured it, so different from anything I had
ever seen. I wondered, too, as the days went by,
why the forefinger, always covered with a white cot,
refused to yield to healing remedies." Miss Reed's
suggestion that she should continue her journey to
ward Brindisi, in the company of the small party of
whom her friend was one, was readily acceded to, al
though they doubted her ability to travel with the
17

1 8 Mary Reed
rapidity of the average American tourist, which was,
perforce, their rate of progression.
Grateful as her sad heart was for this sympathetic
companionship, so grateful that she said, "I think
God has sent you here in answer to my prayer," she
did not yet confide the knowledge of her secret sorrow
to her friend. What a pathos the circumstances give
to their visit to Canterbury ! Centuries had passed
since the last leper pilgrim had approached the tomb
of the martyred Becket. Old historians have minutely
recorded how in bygone days all sorts and conditions
of sufferers from this terrible scourge made their
weary way hither in the hope of being healed. But if
Mary Reed followed in the far-off steps of Henry Le
Pomerai, the wealthy Norman Knight, of the noble
kinsman of Roderick, King of Connaught, and of the
long procession of nameless and obscure sufferers
whose knees wore away the stones of the shrine, it was
not with the hope of leaving behind the heavy cross
she had so bravely accepted. May we not say, as we
believe she would say, that some better thing was re
served for her? To minister, as a very angel of
mercy, to the souls and bodies of her fellow-sufferers
with a sympathy, and with a success, perhaps only
possible to one similarly afflicted, will, in the day of
the "Inasmuch," be recognized as a higher good than
even healing would have been. Describing their visit
to Canterbury, Miss Reed's companion writes : " Un
der the smiling English skies we walked up to St.
Martin's, the little church whose memories go back at
least 1,300 years. Near the chancel, the English

Willie Russell (a Leper).

The Way of the Cross 19
lassie, who guided us, stopped, and, pointing to an
opening in the thick wall, said, " That is the lepers'
squint." This was the orifice through which the
poor sufferers, creeping to the sanctuary in olden
times, were allowed to listen from without to the
words of life, or behold what they could of the wor
ship within. If I had known then what I knew after
ward, my heart would have bled for the woman at
my side. Calmly she stood there before us with a
heavenly light in her eyes, not a muscle of her face
betraying her heart's secret."
During one of their hours of intimate intercourse,
this friend, still unacquainted with the true motive for
Miss Reed's return to India, ventured to question the
wisdom of such a course in view of her evident bodily
weakness. But it was a brave reply that came from
the quivering lips : " My Father knows the way I go,
and I am sure it is the right way." It was in Paris
that this sister, whose sympathy had been so sweet to
her suffering companion, was at length permitted to
share her sad secret. The incident is best described
in her own touching words :
" On memory's walls there will hang while time lasts
for me the picture of that scene. A wax taper burned
dimly on the table beside her open Bible, that Book of
all books from whose pages she received daily consola
tion ; and while, without, Paris was turning night to
day with light and music and wine, within, Mary
Reed's gentle voice, faltering only at her mother's
name and coming sorrow, told the secret of her afflic
tion.

20 Mary Reed
"As my throbbing heart caught its first glimpse of
her meaning, I covered my face to shut out the swiftly
rising vision of her future, even to the bitter end, and
almost in agony I cried out, ' O, not that ! — do not
tell me that has come to you ! ' And when, in calmer
moments, I said that every Christian ought to unite in
prayer for her recovery, her only response was, ' I
have not yet received any assurance of healing ; per
haps I can serve my Father better thus.'
" I come with sorrow to my last evening with Miss
Reed. I sat in the shadow, and she, where the full
moon rising over the snowy mountains just touched,
with a glory that loved to linger, her pale, sweet face.
Again I hear her voice in song :
" Straight to my home above,
I travel calmly on,
And sing in life or death,
' My Lord, Thy will be done.'
"And with the anticipation of our parting on the
morrow, she told me of her last hours in her western
home, of her father's farewell breathed out in his
morning prayer, telling the All-Father and the heart
of his daughter the sorrow that, for her sake, should
be repressed ; how, upheld by a strength not her own,
she went out as if some day she might return, and
then hastened on to the land of her exile.
"On the shores of lovely Lake Lucerne, hand
clasped in hand for the last time on earth, and with
eyes blinded by gathering tears, our farewell was
whispered : ' God be with you till we meet again.' "

The Way of the Cross 21
And in this spirit of consecration, and with the
Christlike resolve that her affliction should not hinder
her usefulness, but rather triumphing over it, she went
her way, alone, yet assuredly not alone, returning to
India, as she herself had said, "under conditions in
which no other missionary ever returned."

IV
APPOINTED TO CHANDAG
In September, 1891, the Mission to Lepers in India
and the East was approached on behalf of Miss Reed,
with a view to finding her a sphere of service among
her fellow-sufferers. A letter from Bishop Thoburn,
the Superintendent in India of the Methodist Episco
pal Church, first informed the committee of this new
worker who had been so strangely consecrated, but
whose name was, for the time being, withheld. In
writing to propose that Miss Reed be appointed Su
perintendent of the Asylum at Pithoragarh, Bishop
Thoburn says : "It is a hard thing to say, and yet it
does look as if Providence was sending her to a very
needy people who otherwise could receive no help.
The district in which Pithoragarh is located, that is,
Eastern Kumaun, has more lepers in proportion to its
population than any other district in India ; at least,
so the census indicates. It is a mystery how she ever
contracted the disease. She accepts her fate in the
best possible Christian spirit, and feels that she is set
apart for the poor creatures who are similarly afflicted
in Eastern Kumaun."
Shortly after this, our American newspapers, whose
vigilance no private sorrow that will make "copy"
can long evade, made public Miss Reed's name, to-
22

Appointed to Chandag 23
gether with such particulars as could be collected or
invented. A deep impression was created on the
mind of the Christian public, and much admiring
sympathy was elicited.
In the meantime, while waiting the decision of the
committee, Miss Reed found a welcome resting-piace
at Pithora with Miss A. M. Budden, who, together
with her sister and preceded by their devoted father,
has done faithful service among the women, the chil
dren, and the lepers of that district. The large Leper
Asylum at Almora, founded by the late Sir Henry
Ramsey in conjunction with Mr. Budden, still stands
as a memorial to the faithful services of these two, the
Government Administrator and the Christian Mission
ary, who cooperated in its establishment and in its
management for many years. From Pithora, under
date of January ist, 1892, Miss A. M. Budden wrote
to Mr. Wellesley C. Bailey, Secretary and Superintend
ent of the Mission to Lepers: " I have been expect
ing to hear from you about the future arrangements
for Miss Reed, who has come for shelter to Pithora
as being the only place in the world that would shelter
her. You will have heard that Miss Reed was for
five years in this country as a Missionary of the
Women's Foreign Missionary Society of the Methodist
Episcopal Church, and went home in utterly broken
health. It seems now that this complaint was coming
on for some time before she left, and for a year after
she arrived in America it was not suspected. At last
the Lord Himself revealed it to her, and at the same
time told her that Pithora was to be her future home,

24 Mary Reed
and that He had much work for her to do among those
similarly afflicted. She informed the doctors of the
nature of her complaint, and was sent by her own
physician to see an expert in New York who con
firmed her suspicions, and she was hurried out of the
country before others were made aware of her com
plaint. She saw doctors in London and in Bombay
— the doctor of the Leprosy Commission in the latter
place — and all agreed that there was no doubt about
the matter." After reference to the terms on which
the charge of the work should be transferred to Miss
Reed, Miss Budden continues : " You know there are
more than 500 lepers in the Shor Pargannah alone,
and the need of further assistance is very great. At
present we are reducing rather than increasing, as we
do not fill up vacancies caused by death — but oh !
such piteous cases as have to be refused. After hear
ing Miss Reed's account of the wonderful way in
which the Lord revealed His will to her about her
self, and about Shor, it seemed to me that the day for
ample help to these poor creatures had dawned, and I
still believe it has. He who has led His servant by
such an awful valley of the shadow of death to come
here to serve Him thus, will surely touch hearts to
supply the pecuniary assistance necessary to carry out
His plans. . . . Miss Reed suffers constantly and
most patiently. She feels that she has had her life
call to work among these poor creatures, and, I be
lieve, will end her days among them. She is highly
sensitive, and of all my acquaintances I know of no
one who would naturally more loathe this complaint,

Appointed to Chandag 25
and yet to her it has been given ! It is very, very
wonderful, and so is His grace that enables her to
bear it without a murmur, though often with scalding
tears and a breaking heart. I feel it to be a special
mark of my Master's favor that I am permitted to be
the one to shelter and care for her."
The sisterly sympathy so fully extended to Miss
Reed at Pithora must have been one of the allevia
tions of her lot, and a welcome sign that, in hastening
to the place so strongly indicated to her as the sphere
of her future service, she was following the Divine
leading. The committee were glad to be able to act on the
recommendations of Bishop Thoburn and Miss Bud
den, and to appoint Miss Reed to the superintendence
of their Asylum for Lepers at Chandag. They had
the satisfaction of affording her a suitable sphere of
service and at the same time of providing the afflicted
inmates with a friend who, while giving them the
sympathy and the succor they so specially needed,
could also point them to Him who gave it as one of
the proofs of His divine mission that the lepers were
cleansed. In penning this record of devoted service among
those from whom human nature would instinctively
shrink, and remembering that the subject of our nar
rative is herself most sensitive to suffering, and would
naturally be repelled by the victims of this terrible
malady, we are reminded of another of God's true
saints who made the lepers his special care — St. Francis
of Assisi. In Sabatier's account of his life we read :

26 Mary Reed
"In 1205, just when Francis was struggling toward
a full surrender of his will to God, and an entire con
secration to the service of humanity, he was one day
riding out, and came suddenly face to face with a
leper. The frightful malady had always inspired in
him an invincible repulsion. He could not control a
movement of horror, and by instinct he turned his
horse in another direction. He soon reproached him
self bitterly. Was the knight of Christ then going to
give up his arms ? He retraced his steps, and, spring
ing from his horse, gave to the astonished sufferer all
the money he had, then kissed the hand of the leper
as he would have done that of a priest. This new
victory, as he himself saw, marked an era in his
spiritual life."
This victory of Francis over the repugnance in
spired by this dread disease was not only a notable
event in the spiritual life of this holy man, but marked
the beginning of a new era for the lepers of Europe.
The brotherhood into which the followers of Francis
were organized, following the Christlike example of
their founder, made the lepers their special care, visit
ing regularly the many lazarettos then to be found in
England and other European countries. Francis set
an example of personal service, often of the most re
pugnant kind, amongst these sufferers, which the
brothers of the order were not slow to follow, and it
is probable that from this period the lot of the leper in
our land was increasingly alleviated until, happily, the
scourge was banished from our shores.

AMONG THE LEPERS
" Chandag Heights, the beautiful, in the Himalaya
Mountains," is the address from which Miss Reed
dates a letter lying before me as I write. It is surely
one of the many compensations she is so ready to
recognize in her lot, that it is not cast in the sultry
slums of an Eastern city, but amidst scenes of natural
beauty which are, to her appreciative nature, a source
of constant enjoyment. But she shall describe the
prospect in her own words :
"Away to the north, seemingly only two or three
days' journey, are the eternal snows whose grandeur
and sublimity are indescribable ; they are so pure and
bright and peace-suggestive ! At sunset and sunrise
it is easy to imagine them visible foundations of the
Eternal City, they are lighted up with such a halo of
glory. But it is of the mountains among which I live
that I want to tell you. They enclose a lovely valley
called Shor, like a massive and exquisitely beautiful
frame around a magnificent picture. My home is on
the crest of the range which forms the western bound
ary of the valley, or the left side of the picture frame.
And the picture ! A rich and beautiful valley, con
taining about six square miles, lies more than one
thousand feet below my lofty and lovely "retreat,"
27

28 Mary Reed
and is dotted with numerous villages which are sur
rounded by clumps of trees and terraced green fields
of rice, wheat, and other grains. Through this valley
a little river and its tributaries wind in and out, and a
ridge of low hills divides it, while almost in its centre,
situated on prominent eminences, are the Mission
buildings of our Methodist Episcopal Church."
If the feelings awakened among the lepers by the
advent of Miss Reed could be recorded, the account
would be full of pathetic interest. We know that
these sorrowful people were profoundly touched when
they understood why and how this new helper had
been given to them. Having walked up from Pithora
— which was her temporary home pending the prepara
tion of her own bungalow at Chandag — to hold a short
service with the lepers, she told them how she had
been set apart by God to minister among them. This
announcement deeply affected them, and tears coursed
down many cheeks as they realized the suffering and
self-sacrifice of their new friend. On this occasion,
as on others since, they seemed to forget their own
affliction in their loving sympathy for hers.
Her own little residence stands on the crest of the
hill, some 6,400 feet above the sea level. Eastward it
commands a charming view of the valley in which
Pithoragarh is situated, while to the West another
valley affords a lovely prospect. The gifts of many
friends have contributed to make the interior of her
home refined, comfortable, and even artistic, and she
greatly prizes her "picture gallery," as she terms the
extensive collection of photographs with which her

A Group of Indian Lepers at Sabathu Asylum.

Among the Lepers 29
rooms are adorned. Music is a joy to her, and an
organ, presented by a sympathizing friend, is a source
of constant pleasure to one to whom praise is a daily
delight. One of her earliest European visitors, the Rev. G.
M. Bulloch (of the London Missionary Society, Al-
mora) affords us an interesting glimpse of Miss Reed
in the fulfillment of her ministry of mercy. " We
reached Chandag Heights," he writes, "early on Fri
day morning, and found dear Miss Reed busy in the
hospital, tending three patients in a much advanced
stage of leprosy. She was binding up, with her own
hands, the terrible wounds, and speaking soothing
words of comfort to these poor distressed ones. It
has always been a trial to her to witness suffering in
others, yet she is most devoted in her attentions, and
so gentle and kind. We were very much surprised
and pleased to find her so active and cheerful, and
looking so well. She told us she had never felt better
in health, more cheerful in spirits, nor happier in serv
ice than she does now." . . . (This is) " not the
result of any medical treatment she has adopted, as
she gave up all treatment of that sort under a strong
sense that God only required of her faith in Him and
in His healing power."
Lest any reader should be tempted to regard this as
fanaticism or unpractical sentiment, let it be remem
bered that Miss Reed gladly uses, for her flock, what
ever remedies she considers likely to alleviate their
sufferings. Her faith is for herself rather than for
others in this respect. Moreover, it is doing her the

30 Mary Reed
merest justice to say that she is eminently gifted with
sound judgment and business ability. The work she
has been able to accomplish in less than eight years
would not be readily paralleled in the records of mis
sionaries working in the enjoyment of perfect health.
Single-handed, or at most with a limited supply of
native assistance, she has developed the institution
under her charge from a mere collection of huts and
stables, in which some thirty-seven lepers were housed,
to an establishment with an average of eighty-five or
ninety inmates, sheltered in substantial houses specially
erected for them. This has involved the acquisition
of at least two considerable additions of land, the sur
mounting of legal and other difficulties, the arranging
of various building contracts, the supervision of native
workmen, and the control of the finances as well as
the food requirements of her large and growing family.
When to these are added the spiritual, moral, and
medical supervision of the hopeless and ofttimes help
less beings around her, we have here surely a tale of
work and a load of responsibility to tax the strongest.
And yet it has been successfully accomplished by
Divine help in answer to daily prayer, as she herself
would be the first to testify.
It is therefore from no feeling of unpractical fanati
cism that remedies are dispensed with in her own case,
but rather from the deep conviction that even this
affliction is in the line of the Divine will for her. As
from God's hand she received it, so in God's hand
she leaves it. About this time Miss Reed herself
wrote :

Among the Lepers 31
•' The disease made most decided progress for six
months after my arrival at this mountain retreat, and I
suffered intense pain most of the time. But I found
His grace sufficient. The everlasting arms are under
neath, upholding and keeping me trustful, and I find
the love of Jesus adequate consolation, soothing and
cheering my heart."
" There are briers besetting every path,
Which call for patient care ;
There is a cross in every lot,
And an earnest need for prayer ;
But a lowly heart that leans on Thee,
Is happy anywhere.''
" Oh, Master, dear ! the tiniest work for Thee,
Finds recompense beyond our highest thought,
And feeble hands that worked but tremblingly,
The richest colors in Thy fabric wrought ! "
"I am sure His love, His wisdom, and His power
are at work. Words are empty to tell of a love like
His, He has enabled me to say, not with a sigh but
with a s ong, 'Thy will be done.' As God will. The
end may come, and that to-morrow, when He has
wrought His will in me."
Quoting from Ruskin, she continues: "In our
whole life-melody the music is broken off here and
there by 'rests,' and we foolishly think we have come
to the end of the tune. God sends a time of forced
leisure, a time of sickness and disappointed plans, and
makes a sudden pause in the choral hymn of our lives,
and we lament that our voices must be silent and our

32 Mary Reed
part missing in the music which ever goes up to the
ear of the Creator. . . . Not without design does
God write the music of our lives. Be it ours to learn
the tune and not be dismayed at the 'rests.' If we
look up, God will beat the time for us."

VI

TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS
(l894)
The most definite impression of Miss Reed's life
and work among the lepers will be conveyed by quo
tations from her own letters. For the large number
of these placed at my disposal by Mr. and Mrs.
Wellesley C. Bailey, I beg to express my sincere
thanks. In every instance where it is not otherwise
indicated, the extracts from Miss Reed's letters are
from her correspondence with Mr. and Mrs. Bailey.
October 9th, 1893. "Blessed be the Lord because
He hath heard the voice of my supplications. . . .
My heart trusted in Him and I am helped ; therefore
my heart greatly rejoiceth." — Psalm xxviii. 6, 7.
"This is a Hindoo holiday, therefore a vacation in
the half-dozen schools under my care, and the small
army of men who have been working on the boundary-
wall, as well as the fifteen or sixteen haymakers, have
taken 'a day off.' As I need not therefore give my
thoughts and attention to the work of the carpenters
and coolies at work on the hospital and men's barracks,
I hope to be able to satisfy your longing about some
of the things I imagine you are wanting to know.
. . Yes, I am more and more satisfied with
knowing that each moment of suffering, both mental
and physical allotted by the dear hand of God, is
33

34 Mary Reed
working out His will in and through this poor, frail
instrument. I am comforted that not one unkind
thing can be done or said but by His permission. My
times are in His hand, whatever they may be.
" Two weeks ago I would have said, had I been
writing you, that not one was left out of the fold, for
to my joy, the last one of the seven unbaptized ones
requested baptism, and upon questioning him, I found
him much better prepared than I supposed he could
have been in the few months' teaching given him.
But since that service, two weeks ago, four new pa
tients have been admitted, and we now number fifty-
seven — not a great number, but they require much
care and prayer, much teaching, training, and nurs
ing. But I am richly rewarded for all I can possibly
do for them. In addition to my duties here in the
Asylum, I now have six village schools, three Sunday-
schools, and six pupils in their homes in the village.
I am to visit three of the schools every week and the
homes every week. In order to reach all the schools,
I must ride, walk, and climb steeps a total distance of
forty miles, and superintend the teaching of two hun
dred boys and girls, as well as teach the teachers how
to teach. I enjoy the work, though it is wearing in
addition to all else I find to do."
December nth, 1893. "Our numbers have not
greatly increased this year, only eighty having been
enrolled — fifteen of whom have gone away because I
could not conscientiously give them leave to go and
come at their own will, nor as often as they wished to
visit their relatives. Their relatives visit them quite

Trials and Triumphs 35
frequently, and it seems to me decidedly unadvisable
to permit them to endanger their friends by remaining
for weeks in their own homes. Seven have been bap
tized on profession of faith in Christ, whom they have
learned to love. Of the fifty-nine now with us, all
but six are Christians, and a goodly number of them
give clear evidence of a deep experience of God's
saving and keeping power. Gentleness, patience, and
peace, are now manifest in the lives of some who, one
year ago, were unhappy and so quarrelsome that I
was often called several times daily to settle differ
ences. Individual care for each one, in addition to
the power of the sweet Gospel, adds so much to the
brightness and hope it brings into their lives. Human
kindness and love seem to make them to realize so
much more clearly our Father's love, that my heart is
often filled with inexpressible joy because of the ten
der mercy He has shown me in permitting me, in
Jesus' name, to minister to these my fellow-sufferers.
He owns and blesses the lessons taught, and I have
some precious meetings in which earnest prayers and
intelligent testimony are given. Some have found
their way to the Home of Many Mansions, six having
died during the year. Truly this has been a year of
lengthening of cords and strengthening of stakes of
this beautiful retreat, and, during the coming year, I
pray and hope that the two new buildings recently
completed may be occupied by another fifty of the
more than four hundred who are living within a radius
of ten miles of us, and who ought to come and share
the comforts and blessings so much appreciated by the

36 Mary Reed
patients now here. The village and school work I
have in addition to my special work here, involves
such a large amount of wear and tear that, sometimes,
I am very weary, and now is one of those times when
I feel worn and hurried. Pray for me that I may be
the better fitted for all the duties and privileges that
may come to me with the new year. ' '
On New Year's Day, 1894, we have a glimpse of
some of the external difficulties of Miss Reed's work :
" The villagers are giving trouble about water, and
I don't wonder, for I myself think we ought to have a
well instead of using water from a stream from which
others must drink. There is no water on the premises
here, but on the new land there is a good prospect for
a good well just inside our wall. I need a wall round
the garden and one around my fowl-house, as the
jackals, porcupines, and other wild animals, destroy
almost all the vegetables, and have carried off more
fowls than I use, and I find it difficult to live without
vegetables, eggs, and chickens."
On April 4th we hear further as to the water supply :
"Now about that well. Since writing you I have
made a discovery. Finding such a bed of rocks near
the proposed site for the well, I feared to risk spend
ing the amount needed to experiment in digging
through to the fountain, which I am sure lies under
this rocky surface, lest the money thus used be wasted.
So I set out upon another search for water, and to my
surprise found upon some waste land belonging to
Government, a strong spring, within half a mile of our
boundary wall. It lies in a deep ravine in an out-of-

Trials and Triumphs 37
the-way place, hence my failure to find it before. It
sends forth a good volume of excellent water, and by
skillful engineering I think the water can be brought
around the brow of the hill, conveying it through
troughs and ditches into our own grounds. So this
very week I am setting men to work to make the
troughs and ditches. ... I am very busy get
ting ready to leave home this week to attend a great
mela at Thall on the Ram-gunga, a river up among
the mountains — two days' journey from Shor. I hope
to induce a goodly number of my fellow-sufferers to
return home with me."
The result of this visit, which was somewhat disap
pointing, is given in the next letter :
"For various reasons given by persons of whom I
enquired, the mela was not attended by the great
throng of worshippers who have been wont to resort to
this noted place annually. A native official told me
that not one-eighth of the usual number were present.
I do not think there were more than 1,000 or 1,200 in
all, and among that number I found but four patients
who returned with us. My faithful servants made a
thorough canvass of the crowds to satisfy my heart
that none should be missed. Had we but found and
brought in one, I should have felt repaid for the jour
ney. There are now just seventy patients in this beau
tiful retreat at Chandag."
The following extract is from a letter dated August
1 8th :
"There are at present sixty-four patients in the
Asylum, of whom thirty are men, twenty-five women,

38 Mary Reed
seven boys and two girls. Of this number forty-nine
are Christians, and fifteen non-Christians. There
have been but two baptisms this year. I do not urge
or ask baptism ; when hearts are made new, and the
light of the Son of Righteousness shines in they will
ask for this rite. We hear from every direction that
the many around us who ought to be here in the
Asylum are not willing to come because of the Chris
tian influence exercised. For this reason our num
bers are not increasing as rapidly as I hoped they
would. I want to spend much of my time in the dis
trict, going out to call them in as soon as the rains are
over after the middle of September. May I request
special prayers for these in the district, that their hearts
may be turned to this Refuge, and that all who enter
may find Christ as their Saviour. Pray that I may
have wisdom, tact, and love according to my need as
I go out to urge them to come in. I myself have
some weary and most trying days physically now and
again, though on the whole my health is a marvel to
me. The good hand of the Lord is upon me, and it
holds me still, and I trust, and am not afraid of what
the future may bring. I am so thankful for the won
derful degree of good health He gives and for the
blessed privilege I have of serving Him who is dearer
to me than life."
Under date October 27th, Miss Reed speaks of
some of the trials of her work :
" . . . experiences some of which would have
been heartbreaking did not He uphold me, whose I
am, and whom I serve. My flock has been the prey

Trials and Triumphs 39
of Satan's wiles, and some of my precious ones have
followed his leading and gone out into lives of sin.
My heart was so rent and torn and I was so weary —
not of, but in the work, which taxes my strength
physically — when the way was opened for me to go
away for a month for rest and change on a visit with
some of my dear old Missionary friends at Naini Tal.
. . I was absent from my post three weeks and
a half, travelling over the mountains, camping in my
cozy little tent. The visit did me a world of good.
Since my return I find the work piled up, waiting for
me, and I am busy from dawn to dusk, and my heart
is heavily burdened for the souls committed to my
care. Oh, please pray for them earnestly, that they
may be made free from the bondage of sin."
In a long and interesting letter dated November 3d,
1894, Miss Reed writes :
" I began this letter before sunrise, and while sitting
at my eastern window writing to you, the sun rose in
splendor over the majestic mountains, lighting them up
with a halo of glory. The magnificent views I have
of the eternal snows and of the beautiful forest-clad
heights are a never-ceasing delight to me. Pray for
me, please, that my soul's life may be strengthened by
the lessons and thoughts suggested by these glorious
works of God which lie about me. Did ever mortal
woman need more the lessons and help to be found in
communion with nature and nature's God than this
dweller on these heights here, for all around me are
not only pain and sorrow, but what is a thousand
times worse, sin."

40 Mary Reed
This letter contains an account of the moral lapses
of some of her inmates which caused Miss Reed much
sorrow, and led her to realize the need of more com
plete separation of the men from the women which has
since been carried out. But the year closes with a
note of praise for penitents restored. Thus, on De
cember 15 th, we find a letter saying :
"One object I have in writing to-day is the joy of
telling you that God is graciously answering my
prayers and is pouring out His spirit upon my dear
people once more. Humbled, repentant hearts are
receiving forgiveness, and being melted into love, and
the atmosphere of peace pervading the last meeting
we had gave such sweet rest to my tired heart. The
Angels, I know, have rejoiced over some of the wan
derers who so grieved the dear Lord, but have now
" come home" to Him (and to their mother-friend).
Praise His name forever ! ! "

VII

PRAISE AND PROGRESS
(l89S)
In the letters of this year we are not surprised to
come upon occasional references to wakeful nights,
as well as physical weariness and nervous strain ; the
matter for wonder is that such references are so few
and so casual. The prevailing notes are those of hope
and praise, notwithstanding the inevitable difficulties
of such a work — difficulties arising through inexperi
enced assistants and troublesome inmates, together
with the labor involved in the extension of the Institu
tion and the daily supervision of the affairs and inter
ests of the little community over which Miss Reed has
been called to preside, in addition to her general mis
sion work.
Although the first hurried letter of this year speaks
of "the great hinderer" being busy among her
afflicted flock, the next is full of thanksgiving :
" Oh that I knew how to express the gratitude my
heart feels for the prompt responses you always give to
my appeals in times of need in the work so dear to
you and to me. Words of mine fail to convey my
appreciation of the loving-kindness and help so gener
ously and promptly bestowed, and so I console myself
with this thought : ' In the grand leisure of eternity
41

42 Mary Reed
we shall have freedom of expression, and then we
shall be able to recount the mercies and blessings with
which our loving Master crowns our lives here ! ' "
At a later date, after expressing her concern at the
" tiny old mud-houses " in which her faithful servants
— ("to whom I am much attached ") — have to live,
we have the following warm expressions of gratitude :
"I did not expect to have my request granted so
soon ! That is practical sympathy and cooperation in
earnest. The prompt responses you always make en
courage and strengthen my heart, but never have I
been so cheered and rested as by the last two letters,
with their enclosures. God is indeed good to me in
permitting me to share in this blessed work with you
for Him."
On March 16th she writes of that which is ever
uppermost in her thoughts, as it is foremost in the ob
jects of the Mission, viz, the conversion of the lepers
to Christ :
"I can only tell you to-day that my heart is filled
with joy this week, because of the presence and guid
ance of Him whose blessing is so manifestly upon the
work given us for Him here. A goodly number of
the people who came into the Asylum last year are
now coming into the fold of our Blessed Redeemer.
Some most interesting and precious experiences am I
having with them nowadays. Two baptisms last
Sunday, and several to receive the rite to-morrow or
next day. Seven or eight more have requested bap
tism, but I fear all are not fully ready, so I will only
present those who appear to be really prepared."

Praise and Progress 43
The next letter reports substantial progress as re
gards the material side of the work. Details are
given of the acquisition of five or six acres of land
for the erection of new quarters, especially for the
male inmates, as well as of the happy provision of an
abundant supply of good water for the exclusive use
of the Institution — in itself a very great boon.
" You will remember that not one spring is to be
found on all the land we (formerly) possessed, but
now I feel we have all we need ; and this building site
and location is just what we require. I wish I could
write you more fully, but my hand cramps, and I
must leave off for to-day. I have great rest and peace
in my heart over the whole affair. God's guiding
hand and His smile of blessing are so consciously
upon all that concerns us here this year that my heart
is filled with praise and thanksgiving to Him."
As showing how narrow is the margin between "just
enough " and "partial famine " in India, we give the
following extract from a letter of June 6th, 1895 :
" Many, many thanks for your kind letter with first
of Exchange received to-day. While I am always
grateful for the prompt and generous help you freely
give us in this far away Retreat, this remittance is
doubly precious since a partial famine has raised the
price of grain until, now, for one rupee we get only
half as much rice and wheat as at this time last year,
and it is only with much difficulty we can get any at
any price nowadays. And yet my poor people have
never had to go hungry once, while hundreds all about
us are suffering from hunger."

44 Mary Reed
To American friends and helpers Miss Reed re
ports in the following interesting letter, dated April
6th, 1895 :
" If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if
any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit
. . . fulfill ye my joy that ye be like-minded, hav
ing the same love. Phil. ii. i, 2.
" To my dear helpers-together by prayer and love :
I have been blessedly conscious, during the past three
years, of a fellowship of hearts and an atmosphere of
love and prayer surrounding me because of the many
prayers ascending from hearts in whom Christ dwells,
for this one of His little ones. Many dear brothers
and sisters, with whom I have otherwise had no com
munication, have stood with me ; there has, indeed,
been to me a deep and real meaning in the words of
the text at the head of this letter.
"In answer to prayer, scenes of sadness are changed
to those of gladness, and I do not need to draw out
rejoicings and praise; they just flow out. Every
token of love from earthly friends is to me a sweet
symbol of our Father's love ; a pledge of His love to
me and to each individual in whose heart He has
prompted the desires that find beautiful expression in
letters and useful and lovely gifts. For however
bright and beautiful the gifts received are, the bright
est part is His giving hand. In some ways God seems
to be doing for me even more than He promised, not
only in supplying my needs, but so many of my ' no
tions ' as well.
"Time is valuable capital to us here. Were my

Praise and Progress 45
hands, heart, and time not so filled with duties, and
did I not have writer's cramp these days, how gladly
would I reply to each and all the kind and precious
letters received, and thus gratify my longings to ac
knowledge in private letters the pretty and useful gifts
received during the past few months. But my heart
is full of loving gratitude for all loving kindnesses,
thoughtfulness, and prayers.
" The flowers and garden seeds, nearly half a
bushel of them, make these mountain-tops and valleys
blossom and yield abundant fruit in more than one
sense. Tell the dear children I have shared the seeds
with at least a half-dozen of our native Christian
families who live in villages from ten to twenty miles
from Pithoragarh. They will bring brightness not
only to my poor, dear people here at Chandag
Heights, but other mountain-tops and valleys are
made glad as well. The bandages prepared in such
generous quantities are most gratefully utilized, and
my poor patients much appreciate the care and com
fort given. May I hope for a new supply this year ?
"For the comfort of the dear, interested friends
who have not read my report for '94, I must add that
there is in mission work, as in other things, an ebb
and flow of trials and blessings, and the tide turned
at the beginning of this year in blessings. Praise
Him who is peace, strength, hope, and ' shelter in the
time of storm ' for all those who put their trust in Him.
" On New Year's Day my heart was rejoiced by the
receipt of a letter from the Society in Great Britain
under whose auspices I have been so signally called to

46 Mary Reed
work, granting my request for permission and means
to purchase more land and erect a branch asylum for
our men and boys of the Institution at some distance
from the place now occupied by them. Most provi
dentially have I been guided in selecting and buying
a beautiful site adjoining our property, fully one-fourth
of a mile distant from the house of my women and
girls. You see from this that our domain is not a very
limited one. I desire you to realize more fully how
God has sweetly and lovingly smiled upon us and en
abled us to ' lengthen the cords and strengthen the
stakes ' from year to year.
" This year more is being accomplished than in any
of the three years past. In a few weeks seven more
new buildings will be completed ; three of these are
now in the process of erection, and the other four will
be well under way before this letter reaches you.
These, when completed, will provide accommodation
for eighty people. In the buildings now occupied,
seventy-eight are living in comparative comfort, feel
ing quite at home, and most of them are very grate
ful for the comforts provided by our dear Lord's good
stewards and caretakers.
" Now I must add a few words of assurance to re
lieve your dear, anxious hearts concerning my health.
I would that you could realize how wonderfully well I
am. My general health has never been so good as
during the past two and a half years. And as for the
dread malady which did cause me indescribable suf
fering until I made my body and the care of my
health over to the Great Physician, there are only the

Praise and Progress 47
faintest traces ; the marks have become nearly invisi
ble. They have always been to me like the borings of
the ears of the Hebrew servants. (See Ex. xxi. 1-6.)
" I will close with extracts from a letter written by
dear Miss Budden to my precious mother a few weeks
ago ; this will help you to realize more fully how well
I am. She says : ' I have been up to see your Mary
to-day, and we had more than one hearty laugh. I am
sure had you been there you would have found more
cause for thankfulness than sorrow. The improve
ment in her condition is nothing short of a miracle ;
those of us who have known her intimately for the
past three years know that for her general health to be
what it is, and for all symptoms of this dread malady
to be so completely in abeyance that to onlookers they
have virtually ceased, show the working of a mighty
power in her system that is divine indeed, for none other
could accomplish such palpable results as we witness.'
"The Lord is my strength and my shield; my
heart trusted in Him and I am helped ; therefore
. . . with my song will I praise Him."
Referring to a suggestion that some special remedies
(Mattel's), should be applied to her inmates, Miss
Reed writes :
" I think it worth while to try them on some special
cases. My poor, suffering ones beseech me to find
relief for them. My heart aches to see them suffer,
and all remedies, tried so far, only alleviate suffering
for a short time."
Concerning her own health at this time (in Septem
ber, 1895), one of her occasional visitors remarked

48 Mary Reed
after seeing her, "If Miss Reed had lived in Bible
times, and were to show herself to the Priests now, she
would surely be pronounced clean. With reference
to this, she herself writes :
" This remark will help you to realize how wonder
fully well I have become, and you will rejoice and
praise God with me that I am, to all outward appear
ances, a healed woman ! How loving, merciful, and
good God is ! How gently He has led me ! Oh ! I
have no words to express the tender loving-kindness
of His dealings. I will need all eternity in which to
praise Him."
It should be remembered in this connection that
Miss Reed has all along consistently declined the use
of remedies in her own case, on the ground that since
God had permitted this disease to come to her, she
would trust Him entirely about it — although quite
prepared to apply remedial treatment to her patients.
This neglect of medical agency which arises from
absolute subjection to the will of God in her affliction,
will not elicit the approval of every reader. But in
view of the impenetrable obscurity which still conceals
the origin of the disease, of her own mysterious seizure
by it, and of the admitted incurability of leprosy,
many will not be surprised at Miss Reed's attitude in
reference to the use of remedies.
The report of the Leprosy Commission, which made
an exhaustive inquiry into the existence and treatment
of leprosy in India in 1890-1891, is before me as I
write. As the findings of the Commissioners who
conducted the investigation in India are in several im-

Praise and Progress 49
portant points dissented from by the Committee,
whose representatives they were, it is difficult to sum
marize its results. For instance, as to the vital ques
tion of the degree in which leprosy is contagious, the
Commissioners report : " That though in a scientific
classification of diseases, leprosy must be regarded as
contagious and also, inoculable, yet the extent to which
it is propagated by these means is exceedingly small."
From these concluding words the majority of the Ex
ecutive Committee dissent, and as the names of eight
eminent medical authorities are appended to the pro
test, it may be fairly inferred that the danger of con
tagion is by no means, so "exceedingly small" as
the Commissioners suppose.
But however undetermined this elaborate report of
450 pages is obliged to leave such questions as origin,
contagion, and heredity in relation to the scourge of
leprosy, the Committee and their Commissioners were
unanimous on one point, viz, that of incurability.
By any means as yet known, leprosy, they say, must
be declared to be incurable. And this is borne out
by detailed returns from upward of 100 stations or
asylums throughout India. From these reports, we
learn that although some thirty-six supposed remedies
were applied, singly and in combination, there is no
recorded case of actual cure. "Partial improve
ment," "slight relief," "temporary benefit," are oft-
recurring phrases in these returns, varied not infre
quently by such less hopeful terms as "no effect,"
"no satisfactory result," "no permanent relief," etc.
In view of the mystery surrounding the origin of

50 Mary Reed
leprosy, whether considered historically or patholog
ically; in view of the instinctive repugnance with
which it inspires the beholder ; in view of its fearful
ravages in the human frame, of its incurable charac
ter, and, not least, of its place in Holy Writ, it is no
far-fetched assumption that regards it as being, above
all other forms of disease, a type of sin. Certainly it
works in the physical part of man a slow, wasting
destruction which bears a close analogy to the evil
wrought by sin in his moral nature. How impercep
tible in its beginning, how subtle in its working, how
relentless in its course, how inflexible in its grasp, and
how fatal in its results ! How similar alike in its
origin, progress, and effects in the body of man is it
to spiritual evil in his soul ! Should this analogy lead
us to wonder how God's providence can be reconciled
with such a calamity as has been permitted to over
take one already devoted to His service, we may per
haps find the explanation in the answer of our Lord
when asked, "Who did sin, this man or his parents,
that he was born blind?" To this enquiry, which
expresses the ideas of sin and suffering as cause and
effect, the Master made answer, "Neither hath this
man sinned nor his parents ; but that the works of
God should be made manifest in him." And as we
read of the boon of bodily relief and of the infinitely
higher blessing of spiritual life that have come to many
as the results, instrumentally, of Mary Reed's afflic
tion, we must admit that, however inexplicable and
painful be the fact of her disease, it has at least led to
the works of God being made manifest in her.

VIII
A WELCOME VISITOR
While we cannot too much admire the fortitude
and hopefulness, arising from the spring of Divine
grace in her heart, which have enabled Miss Reed to
minimize the trials of her suffering life and of her iso
lated lot, yet to ignore the darker side of her experi
ence (as she would have us to do) would be to convey
an imperfect impression of her life. Let the reader
endeavor to realize the position for a moment. Here
is a woman, by nature of a most sensitive habit, in
stinctively inclined to shrink from physical suffering,
especially when of a visible and loathsome kind.
Herself mysteriously overtaken by this dread disease
whose victims she knows are without hope of human
remedy, she is surrounded by a community of doomed
beings who are cut off from the rest of mankind, with
no longer any share in the hopes and interests of
healthy humanity. Think of the burden laid upon
her of caring for the souls, as well as for the bodies,
of her afflicted flock, of pleading with the indifferent, of
reproving the evil-minded, of restoring the backsliding,
of cheering the downcast, and of striving to awaken
the dormant faculties of these despairing people to the
possibilities of spiritual cleansing and newness of life,
still, through the Divine love open to them.
51

52 Mary Reed
And there has to be added to the daily trials of faith
and patience inseparable from such a position the bit
terest pang of all, viz, the certainty that the same
subtle, relentless enemy whose foul handiwork she sees
around her at every turn is at work in herself, and that
she is, apart from a miracle of Divine healing, destined
to spend the remainder of her days in separation from
those for whose sympathy she most longs, and to whom
her affections naturally turn. But let it be borne in
mind that this is not her conception of her life and
work, nor her description of the sphere of her labors.
This is merely the perspective of the picture as seen
from our standpoint. To her there is cast over all the
dark and repulsive features of the scene a heavenly
light which enables her to see in the suffering objects
around her possible sons and daughters of the Lord
Almighty. Praying without ceasing, laboring without
flagging, sympathizing unfailingly, she counts it a
privilege to give time and strength, thought and affec
tion, for those with whom her only link is that of a
common affliction. Surely nothing but the "love of
Christ" could "constrain" to this, and to this she
would have us ascribe it wholly. However effectually
the fell disease may do its work in that which is cor
ruptible, we cannot fail to behold and to admire the
incorruptible beauty of Divine grace in a human soul
when, under conditions so adverse, we find a life of
such devotion and thankfulness being consummated.
Here, beyond question, is the true moral loveliness,
"the beauty that endures in the spiritual height."
One of the inevitable trials of Miss Reed's lot, but

A Welcome Visitor 53
one which, like the many others, she is enabled to bear
with cheerful acquiescence, is its comparative isolation
from intercourse with Europeans, and especially with
her fellow-missionaries. When from time to time she
journeys down from her mountain retreat to Pithora
for conference with Miss Budden and others, or pays
a visit — a rare event — to her friend, Miss Dr. Sheldon,
at her lonely station in Bhot, her heart is lightened by
affection and sympathy, and she returns, with strength
renewed, to her suffering flock.
At rare intervals she is gladdened by a visit from a
sympathetic and congenial Christian friend, such as
one of her sister missionaries just named. But one
day late in November, 1895, witnessed the arrival at
Chandag of a guest long expected and warmly wel
comed. Mr. Wellesley C. Bailey, whose own labors
amongst the lepers commenced in 1869, was one of
the founders (in 1874), and is still the superintendent,
of the Mission to Lepers in India and the East. To
Mr. Bailey and his committee was accorded the privi
lege of appointing Miss Reed to the work to which she
felt God had called her, and it was with no ordinary
feelings, therefore, that in the course of his last visit
to Leper Asylums in India and Burma he approached
Miss Reed's mountain home. And no less eagerly, we
may be sure, did she anticipate the coming of a visitor
to whom her letters, for four years or more, had con
veyed many an urgent invitation. I am glad to be
able to conclude this chapter with Mr. Bailey's account
of his visit, but I may add that the days these two de
voted friends of the lepers spent in prayer and com-

54 Mary Reed
munion, social intercourse, and business conference,
were full of intense and mutual interest. Some ob
scure points were cleared up, some perplexing things
made plain, sympathy and counsel freely given ; the
lonely laborer was cheered, and the visitor more than
ever impressed as he " saw the grace of God " in the
work and in the worker.
Mr. Bailey writes as follows :
" On Friday, 29th November, I spent the whole day
at Chandag with Miss Reed, and heard from her all
her wonderful story, went over all the place with her,
had a little service for the women lepers, and visited
the men.
" Sunday, ist December, was a very happy day,
thank God ! I preached in Pithora to the native
Christians, a good congregation of about three hun
dred, mostly women. Afterward went up to Chan
dag with Miss Budden and Miss Reed (who had been
down at Pithora for service and for Sunday-school),
and after tiffin up there had a most delightful service
with the lepers. Spoke on the New Birth. Was
greatly helped, and was listened to with breathless at
tention. I trust there was blessing. After the service,
Miss Budden, Miss Reed, and I had singing together.
" To-day (2d December), spent a very happy day
with Miss Reed. Examined D. and N. The former
is a very decided case of leprosy which seems to be
fast increasing, but N. is, I think, not a leper at all.
She has certainly some white spots, but they are in my
opinion merely leucoderma.
"4th December, 1895. — Chandag Heights, Pithora.

A Welcome Visitor 55
This is Miss Reed's birthday. When I arrived at her
house this morning, I found the veranda nicely deco
rated with ferns and flowers, the work of the Bible-
women and other Christian workers. I spent all yes
terday with her, and had a very interesting day.
There are some very, very sad cases in this asylum.
Poor little Gangali is terribly bad ; I did pity her so
yesterday when talking to her. She was in great pain
with one foot, the toes of which seem literally to be
rotting off. She is a little Trojan, and bears her suf
ferings so bravely.
" This morning, between two and three, Miss Reed
was awakened by hearing singing in her veranda^ and
when she got up and peeped out she found her four
Biblewomen and Tima's wife, standing there with
lights, singing hymns in honor of her birthday. She
is evidently greatly beloved by her workers. The
decorations in the veranda were done at night, and
Miss Reed knew nothing about them till she got up
this morning.
"There is a man here in the asylum whose two
children and niece are all lepers, and are here. His
wife is the only one not afflicted with the disease. At
first only the man and his niece were here. The niece
used to live with this man and his wife, and was the
first to develop the disease, and the wife and two chil
dren, Rupwa (a boy) and Dipah (a girl), were at Miss
Budden's home, but after a time the boy became
affected, and was removed here, and since that poor
little Dipah developed the disease, and has been
brought here also. When the poor mother saw that

56 Mary Reed
Dipah must go to the asylum too, she was in a terrible
state, and said to Miss Budden : ' They have all got it
now, and are all at the asylum ; I must go there too,
I cannot remain here alone.' Poor thing ! Miss
Budden tried to comfort her, and at last persuaded
her to remain where she was, and not risk herself by
going to live at the asylum. The disease is develop
ing with terrible rapidity in these two children. The
poor boy is scarcely like anything human, and the
girl, too, is very bad, though her face is, so far, spared.
I believe it was a very, very touching scene when it
was discovered that the boy was a leper, and he was
removed from the boys' school, where he had been so
happy. They are all Christians, thank God !
- "sth December, 1895. — Chandag, 9:30 A. m.
Standing at Miss Reed's door, the sun shining brightly,
bees humming, and three exquisite butterflies basking
on the flowers of a large bush of heliotrope which
grows beside the door, while in front of me and be
low me the whole of the Pithora valley is hidden from
view in one vast sea of white, fleecy clouds, here
it is like a genial summer morn in the homeland,
down there, under those clouds, is the chill and damp
of winter. I am up here to-day holding special serv
ices with the lepers. At 10:30 A. m. we all assembled
at the side of Miss Reed's house, where the lepers
might sit in the sun and be warm ; it makes such a
difference to them, poor things. At first the women
assembled, and Miss Reed had great work getting
them all to sit as she wanted them. At last all were
arranged to our satisfaction, and the women employed

A Welcome Visitor 57
the time singing bhajans till the men should arrive up
from Panahgah ("place of refuge"), their home. I
stood up, and walked to the brow of the hill to see if
there was any sign of the men and boys coming, when
a touching sight met my eye. I saw a long, strag
gling, white line of very helpless creatures wending
their way up the mountain-side with considerable
difficulty. At last they arrived, and we got them all
seated, and ah, what a sight it was ! In front of the
women, and close to us, were seated three dear little
girls with winsome, wee faces, but all far gone in
leprosy; they were Minnie, Dipah, and Gangali, all
supported by kind friends at home. Amongst the
men were several boys with sad, wistful faces — one, a
little Nepalese chap, had a specially pathetic look on
his face. All were lepers, most of them peculiarly
bad and distressing cases. When all were ready we
had a hymn and prayer, then I preached to thern on
an interview with Christ, illustrated by the story of the
woman at the well. The Lord opened my mouth,
and I spoke to them without any difficulty in Hindu
stani. It was precious to tell out the riches of re
deeming love to such an audience. The appreciative
smiles, the nods of satisfaction, and the verbal
answers I got from time to time showed that they un
derstood and gladly received what I preached. We
afterward asked those who had really given them
selves to Jesus Christ and had received the gift of
eternal life from Him to rise. Quite a large number,
both of the men and women, did so. I observed the
little Nepalese lad hesitating, but finally he, too, stood

58 Mary Reed
up. Later on we called together those who had stood
up and those who are candidates for baptism, and had
a prayer and testimony meeting. Several, both of the
men and women, gave the most clear testimony to the
blessed salvation they had received through Christ.
One young woman, Kaliyani, in a very beautiful
prayer, thanked God that He had brought this disease
upon her, as it had been the means of leading her to
Christ. Amongst our audience to-day were a father,
mother, and son, all victims of the terrible disease.
"Sunday, 8th December. — Pithora. A very happy
day, thank God. Got my home letters in the morn
ing, then went up to Chandag, where I breakfasted
with Miss Reed. After breakfast, service for the
lepers in the little chapel, where I had a delightful
time. I conducted the service, and preached from
' To-day I must abide at Thy house,' specially address
ing the converts who were about to be baptized. I
was greatly helped, and the lepers showed their ap
preciation of what was said by frequent smiles, nods,
and responses. In order to find out how far they un
derstood, I sometimes asked them to finish the sen
tence, which they would do correctly. At other
times, I would give a wrong turn to something, and
ask them if it were so, when they would, without
hesitation, correct me.
"There were eighteen baptisms, nine men and nine
women. One of the women baptized was Jogiani, of
whom Miss Reed had the highest opinion. Jogiani is
about twenty-two or twenty-three years of age. She
has never been married. Her health has improved

A Welcome Visitor 59
since coming to the asylum. Shortly after her bap
tism, Miss Reed remarked how pleased she looked,
and asked her the cause. ' Oh ! ' she said, ' I feel so
happy now, my heart feels so light.' She then went
on to tell Miss Reed that she wants to visit her old
father once more, to tell him all about it. She said
she did not expect to do much by singing bhajans.
She is no singer, but she could pray for him, and I
suppose with him too. She will probably lead him to
Christ. One of the Christian women, Kaliyani, such
a dear, bright woman, said to Miss Reed about the
service to-day, ' Oh, I shall never, never forget it ! '
" Of the eighty-two inmates now in the asylum,
sixty-four are professing Christians. This leaves
eighteen still nominal heathen, of whom five are al
ready candidates for baptism.
"One of the newly-baptized women had her first
test almost immediately after the baptism. Another
woman is very ill, and required some one to sit up
with her all night. The sick woman was originally
low caste, while this woman who has just been bap
tized was originally high caste. Miss Reed asked the
newly-baptized one if she would sit up with the sick
one and look after her. At first she hung her head
and did not seem willing, but on Miss Reed putting it
to her that she was now a Christian, and all these
ideas must go, she consented without any more ado,
and so her first stand and fight are over, and she has
been given the victory.
"My parting from the lepers was most touching;
both men and women assembled to say good-bye, and

60 Mary Reed
seemed quite moved. They sent many loving salaams
and ' piyars ' to all their kind friends at home. The
last I said good-bye to were little Minnie and Dipah,
who smiled so sweetly and sent their 'bahut bahut,'
' piyar ' and ' salaam ' to the kind friends who support
them. Poor little Gangali was with the women when
I said good-bye to them, and I spoke specially to her,
and asked her if her foot was better now, and if she
were not in such pain now. She seemed pleased at
my special notice, and said she was better. Poor,
poor child, what a heritage of woe is hers !
"After I left Chandag I could see the lepers watch
ing me for a long way down the road. Once or
twice, when I came to a favorable turn of the road, I
waved my handkerchief to them."

IX

TRAVAIL OF SOUL
(I896)
" O bless our God, ye people, and make the voice
of His praise to be heard." This is the note of
thanksgiving with which Miss Reed opens her first
letter for the new year. She had just been cheered
by a long-expected visit from Mr. Wellesley C. Bailey
recorded in the last chapter, and had also enjoyed a
two days' stay in Bhot with her sister-missionary, Dr.
Sheldon, who in her turn testified to the help and
comfort Miss Reed's presence and counsel had been
to her in her lonely post and her difficult work. But
probably that which most filled her heart with grati
tude at the opening of another year was the fact that
during 1895 she had seen as many as thirty-one of her
suffering flock admitted to the fellowship of the Chris
tian Church by baptism. And this out of a number
of inmates averaging about eighty. Surely the Di
vine Husbandman has led His handmaiden to labor in
a fruitful field ! Gratitude for the privilege of suc
cessful work is the prevailing tone of the correspond
ence of all the year. From a letter dated March we
take this extract : " Could I but give you an idea of
how my time has been filled with happy, blessed work
ever since you were here, you would not wonder at
61

62 Mary Reed
my long silence. Aside from my special work among
and for my dear people here, I have been called out
into the district work in which God has given good
success." (In connection with this, it should be re
membered that Miss Reed, in addition to her large
and trying work among the lepers, was still the mis
sionary of her old Society.)
In the next letter we are permitted for a moment to
see the veil lifted from the sorrow that has been press
ing so heavily on the mother's heart during the years
that have elapsed since, all unsuspectingly, she bade
a last earthly farewell to the daughter so beloved and
to be henceforth so isolated. Mrs. Reed had recently
been writing : " My mind has been wandering away
to your far-off home. When we do not hear from you
every week or two, I cannot help feeling anxious about
you. It is now three weeks since we heard. When
we hear often, you do not seem so far away. Do
write frequently, if only a post-card, so that we may
hear from you often, while I stay. . . . Pray
that I may be ready when He calls. . . . God is
very near to me. He has been good to you and to
me." Without intrusion upon a grief so sacred as
this, we may surely feel grateful for such a testimony
— grateful that she who, of all others, might have
yielded to a spirit of murmuring under a stroke so
heavy, is found acknowledging God's goodness in so
great and mysterious a sorrow.
A touching life-story is recorded in one of Miss
Reed's letters, dated April in this year. It is, unhap
pily, typical of many from amongst India's unnum-

Travail of Soul 63
bered thousands of lepers. "My little girl, Rebli,
married when she was eleven years old, and says she
lived happily with her husband and mother-in-law for
two years, and then the marks of this dread disease
appeared on her face. They put her away from them,
and gave her a corner in their cow-stable, in which
she slept and ate her food, but had to work very hard
in the fields the livelong day. She says they were
very cruel to her, and that her heart was full of grief
because of her affliction. Finally, they tried to drive
her away to wander alone in the world, but she re
fused to go. One day, thirteen months ago, one of
my helpers in village work went to this village and
was told of this child, and went to see her. He spoke
to her of Chandag, and how the people here are cared
for, and she came home with him to us. She is very
grateful for this refuge, and appreciative of the com
forts and care afforded her. To-day, when I told her
of the desire of these dear women * (a Bible Class in
Birmingham) to support some one in affliction, she said :
' Tell them I am so thankful for this home, for I am
very happy and comfortable here, and I am so glad I
have come to know the Lord, and I do thank Him for
what He does for me.' Rebli became a Christian in
less than a year after coming to us, and was baptized
in December last. Her prayers and testimonies in our
1 The cost of supporting a boy or girl is £4, and of an adult
leper £$ a year, and any friends wishing to follow the example
of these kind working-women in Birmingham are invited to
communicate with The Mission to Lepers in India and the
East, at 17, Greenhill Place, Edinburgh, Alma, Monkstown,
Dublin, or Exeter Hall, London, W. C.

64 Mary Reed
meetings always make my heart glad. She is a gen
tle, bright girl, much loved by all her associates.
There are many marks on her face, hands, and feet,
though she does not yet suffer much physical pain,
but her poor little heart has suffered, and no doubt
the prayers and loving interest of those dear mother-
hearts will bring much comfort and blessing to this
little one."
Surely the peace, and the prayers, of these good
women in busy Birmingham, devoted to the sup
port and comfort of their afflicted little sister in
distant Chandag, must be well pleasing to Him
who said, " Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one
of the least of these ... ye have done it unto
Me." "A thousand thanks" for a remittance of 1,000
rupees, and gratitude to God that " the rains have set
in fifteen days ahead of the usual time," are the bur
den of a brief note on the 6th of June. "Malaria
has even reached lovely and lofty Chandag Heights,
and I am having some fever these days, and am ob
liged to go slowly, for a change. ' '
A glimpse of that "travail of soul" which is the
mark of the true missionary is given us in a letter of
September, when Miss Reed writes, "I am feeling
worn and tired the past fortnight, and my heart has
been greatly burdened over the souls entrusted to my
care. ... I have much to be thankful for ; but
more over which my heart grieves nowadays, but I
will continue to pray with, and for, these sin-blinded
ones, and to try to lead them to Him who alone can

Travail of Soul 65
cleanse them. Please pray that the Spirit's presence
may be manifest in quickening power here. So many
need to be quickened and made ' alive unto God '
and 'dead indeed unto sin.' "
Part of the suffering by sympathy which she en
dures is expressed by Miss Reed in a letter of this
period. She describes, with deep regret, the deser
tion of some of the younger members of her flock.
Of one youth in particular, whose flight was a sorrow
ful surprise to her, she says, "I can only account for
his running away by the thought that he wanted to
see something more of the world than is visible from
our beautiful abode here. ' ' She deplores the existence
of a rendezvous for wandering lepers in the district,
where they herd together amid surroundings of the
worst kind both physically and morally, and fears her
wanderer may have found his way there. (This
proved to be the case, but in a few weeks his return is
gladly recorded.) But as a contrast, and in some
sense a compensation, for this deserter, we hear a
cheering account of " Har Singh," a youth of seven
teen years of age, who is an inmate of the Institution
along with his parents, both of whom are lepers also,
and very great sufferers, but " earnest, growing Chris
tians and great comforts " to their kind superintend
ent. Har Singh, who has been a leper since he was
six years old, and is now " a most piteous object," is,
notwithstanding his sad condition, a teacher in the
school of the Asylum, and has "a good heart, tender
and teachable, and has, I trust, received eternal life.
His earnest prayers cheer and comfort my heart often,

66 Mary Reed
because they tell me he is one who has been made
alive by God's Spirit."
One more of these sad but interesting "human
documents " may be recorded here from the same
long letter : " Gauri Datt is about eighteen years of
age. He came to Chandag four years ago with only
faint traces of the disease, but had been turned away
from home because of these marks, and had wandered
begging his food for months before seeking shelter and
ease. He was a high caste Brahmin, and doubtless
did not wish to come under Christian influence, but
when he did come, the truth soon found its way to
his heart, and his was one of the brightest, clearest
conversions I have witnessed since I have been at
Chandag. He has learned to read, and is now able
to read his Bible. He has sadly changed in appear
ance, and his face is greatly disfigured, and he suffers
much at times."
In a letter of grateful acknowledgment of some gifts,
sent by a London friend, Miss Reed writes :
" Only yesterday I had the pleasure of opening the
box you had packed with such loving thoughtfulness.
How I wish I knew how to express the gratitude and
thanksgiving that filled my heart as I took out the
parcels and opened them one by one ! The sewing
machine is a beauty ! But of that I shall have more
to say after I use it, as I hope to do a few weeks hence
in making the thirty-four warm chaddars (a sort of
head covering and wrap combined) for my women
and girls for Christmas gifts. Miss Pim has asked me
to buy the flannel in India at her expense. Can you

Travail of Soul 67
imagine the pleasure I shall have in combining youi
gifts and hers, and my service, to make these poor
sufferers happy and comfortable at Christmas? "
The following stanzas from a leaflet much appreci
ated by Miss Reed may fitly bring this chapter to a
close : He who lived this life I'm living,
When the robe of flesh He wore,
Died the death on Calvary, giving
Life to me forevermore ;
Risen now and interceding,
That His glory I may see,
God, my Saviour,
" Not a stranger,"
Waits in heaven to welcome me.
He, whose constant Presence cheering
All my path, my faithful Guide,
While I wait for His appearing,
Longing still unsatisfied,
Till at length, faith's full fruition,
My enraptured soul shall see,
God, my Saviour,
" Not a stranger,"
Will to glory welcome me.
Closer than a brother cleaving
To the soul He died to save ;
Friend Divine ! on Him believing,
I shall triumph o'er the grave.
He, who bore the shame and sorrow,
That the victor I might be —
God, my Saviour,
" Not a stranger,"
With a crown shall welcome me.

68 Mary Reed

Blessed Saviour ! closer pressing
To Thy side my steps shall be,
All my worthlessness confessing,
All my confidence in Thee.
When amid life's evening shadows,
Homeward shall my footsteps be,
God, my Saviour,
" Not a stranger,"
Come ! Oh, come to welcome me. A. F. H.

X
YEAR BY YEAR
Possibly a still clearer impression of Miss Reed's
work ; its nature and progress ; its difficulties and en
couragements ; its light and shade ; will be conveyed
by extracts from her own reports as Missionary of the
W. F. M. S. for a few consecutive years. She writes
(February, 1896): "Last year I had five workers,
this year the number has increased to ten, and I am
obliged to make tours, at least once a month, camping
for a week at a time during these journeys, which take
me from twenty to thirty miles from home. But I am
glad of these varied duties." The workers here re
ferred to were Hindustani, or native Bible women and
teachers, the supervision of whose work formed part of
Miss Reed's duties. This will serve to make clear
the following extracts :
"Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord
Jesus Christ, the Father of Mercies, and the God of
all comfort.
"Who comforteth us in all our tribulation that we
may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble,
by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted
of God."
"During the past two years I have experienced so
much of the loving compassion and tender mercy of
69

70 Mary Reed
'the Friend that sticketh closer than a brother,' that
it is with a very grateful, humble heart I attempt to
recount, for the dear friends of our widening mission
ary circle, something of God's dealings with me and
the people to whom He has called me to minister
here, in this beautiful place, Chandag Heights. That
His seal of blessing is upon the special work going
forward among the poor afflicted ones occupying this
retreat, as well as among the inhabitants of adjacent
villages, will be evident from the following report :
"The past two years have been years of improve
ment — 'lengthening of cords, and strengthening of
stakes.' The Missionary Society in Great Britain
supporting this work, not only sent means for the sim
ple needs of my poor people, but very generously re
sponded to appeals for funds with which to erect the
needed additional buildings, so that now we have two
large buildings, capable of accommodating sixty men
and boys, three smaller buildings for forty women and
girls, and a little hospital for separating the extreme
cases from less affected ones. To the latter I have a
little dispensary attached. Four of these new build
ings and a house for a native preacher and family who
assist me in village work, have been erected during
the past eighteen months.
"The Government recently granted us forty-eight
acres additional land, around which we are now hav
ing a stone wall built. This generous gift, in addition
to the eighteen acres owned by the Mission, provides
ample building room for years to come, and allows
plots of ground to be portioned out to all who are abla

Year by Year 71
to work, while acres are left for grazing ground. So
many unknown interested friends have written ask
ing me how this work is supported, that I take the
liberty of making a brief explanation regarding the
Society under whose auspices I have been so mysteri
ously called to work. It is called the 'Mission to
Lepers in India and the East,' and works, not by
sending missionaries of its own, but by utilizing exist
ing agencies, making grants of money for the erection
of asylums, and undertakes the support of patients
who find shelter and care in these homelike retreats.
"Any help from anywhere will be most gratefully
received, especially from those who have not hitherto
given much to missions. I cannot tell you how sad
and how serious the need is here.
" This mountain district, one of the fairest spots of
God's beautiful earth, has the sad reputation of being
one of the very worst districts in India for this dread
malady. During the past eighteen months eighty
patients' names have been enrolled on my books, and I
am told that within a radius of ten miles of us there
are more than four hundred who ought to be here in
the asylum. I hope to see the last of these new build
ings occupied as soon as the walls become thoroughly
dry. How my heart yearns to see all these people,
not only sheltered and cared for, but all gathered into
the fold of Christ ! Of the fifty-seven patients now
enrolled, only five are outside the fold. They are
newcomers, are being taught, and will, I hope, soon
come out of darkness into 'His marvellous light.'
The power of the Gospel to bring brightness and hope

72 Mary Reed
into their lives has been manifest in the wonderful
changes in temperaments which I have rejoiced to
note in so many cases this year. I used to be called
so often to settle disputes amongst quarrelsome ones,
but now peace and gentleness and patience are mani
fest, and I delight to watch their growth in goodness,
and to hear the voice of praise, not in tuneful sounds
— (the singing is not good), but in a joyful noise they
make unto Him, whom many of them have learned to
love. A goodly number give clear evidence of a deep
experience of God's saving grace. He owns and
blesses the services, and the lessons taught. I have
some precious meetings with them, in which earnest
prayers and intelligent testimonies make my heart re
joice in Him in whose service there is so much of
blessedness. Some have found the way to the home
of many mansions.
" Aside from the special work for which I have been
called apart ... I have had the privilege, dur
ing the past year, of opening four schools for boys and
girls in the villages, lying in the mountain valleys,
from two to five miles distant from my home. About
six months ago two other schools were made over to
me by the preacher-in-charge of Pithoragarh circuit.
In these six schools there have been over 200 pupils
enrolled this year. They have memorized a number
of hymns, texts, and lessons in our catechism, and
eagerly look for the Sunday-school papers.
"The little boys in the schools are my special
adherents, and many a little hand has been the means
of conveying the gospel message to idolatrous homes

Year by Year 73
into which I otherwise have had no access, it being a
favorite habit of mine to distribute books, papers,
gospels, hymns, etc., to all who can read.
"In my attempts to reach the women in their
homes, rebuffs and rude speeches have been a frequent
experience, and after a whole year of effort I have
only five women and one girl learning to read in their
homes. I have time to visit and teach them but once
a week ; but a Biblewoman has recently taken up this
village work and gives them one lesson weekly ; so
with the Bible lessons and teaching given, I trust that
such a change may come into their hearts and lives
that other homes and hearts will be opened to our
visits and to the gospel message the coming year.
"This school and village work involves a large
amount of wear and tear, and calls for the exercise of
much faith and patience. But I know that it is the
steady grind of the workaday machinery that in the
end produces results which, I trust, shall be better and
more enduring than any that can ever appear in a
missionary report. My view of progress is a brighter
and more hopeful one than even the brightest and
most hopeful which statistics furnish.
" It is a wondrous sweetener of what otherwise would
be an unbearable burden, that through this dispensa
tion of God's providence and grace He is not only
working in my own heart and life to will and to do
of His good pleasure ; but that it is also being utilized
by Him in rousing wills, moving hearts, quickening
thought, influencing and enlisting new recruits for
the ' great company ' needed to publish His blessed

74 Mary Reed
word. Blessed, ever blessed be His glorious Name
forever !
"It has been most refreshing to receive the many
letters that have come from the dear home helpers,
individuals, and auxiliaries, whose precious messages
fraught with love and prayer, have cheered and
strengthened my heart again and again during the
past two years. May I here thank all who have
written and who have had no reply to their kindly
enquiries, many of which are either answered or im
plied in this very incomprehensive review, which is so
void of details or incidents that I fear it will be want
ing in interest to many."
The Report for the following year reveals to us
somewhat of the burden and travail endured by the
faithful worker owing to the moral lapses of some who
had formerly given good grounds for hope :
"In reviewing the past year's work I am not' privi
leged to reckon up a balance of success. No harvest
songs have I to sing — this sower's songs are tears ; and
to faithfully report the 'labor of love,' and the trials
caused by sins, weakness, and wickedness of some of
the flock entrusted to my care, who had been ' my joy
and crown of rejoicing ' until the enemy of souls en
tered, enticed, and led into paths of sin some of those
whom I had thought were settled and established in
the faith, is beyond my powers of portrayal. My
heart is heavy with sorrow over those who, oh, so
much more than comfort need 'to be set at liberty.'
Liberty from the bondage of sin and Satan. Here, as
in Job's time, ' when the sons of God presented them-

Year by Year 75
selves before the Lord, Satan came also among them.'
(Job i. 6.) Oh ! the grief to one who watches for
these precious souls as one who must give an account,
to learn that some of these called ' sons of God ' have
not yet really come out from Satan's kingdom into the
Kingdom of God's dear Son ! How much more than
ever before these words, ' to set at liberty them that
are bound,' mean to me now ! and I am learning from
these painful experiences that before broken hearts can
be bound up and healed they must first be cleansed.
Dear helpers-together-by-prayer, the solemn interests
involved here compel me to entreat you, even unto
tears, to continue to pray for the salvation of these
precious souls, and to pray for me, that in the mo
ments when I most deeply feel my own impotence and
the awful force of the ' principalities and powers mar
shalling their unseen array,' I may hold on to God's
promises, and ' lean hard ' upon Jesus, who says, ' I
know thy labor and thy patience, and how thou canst
not bear them which are evil.' May this 'I know'
suffice amid all the chilling influences the great Hin-
derer can put forth this coming year ! During the
past year eighty-six poor sufferers have been sheltered
and cared for. Of that number seven died, four ran
away, several had to be sent away for bad conduct,
and one case proved that a mistake had been made in
the diagnosis, and my heart rejoiced in being able to
return one dear girl, healthy and sound, to Miss Bud
den's school. There are seventy here at present.
Leaving all to His patience and forgiveness, and trust
ing Him to supply all my need of grace, wisdom, pa-

76 Mary Reed
tience, gentleness, firmness, and abounding spiritual
power, I enter upon another year of service for my
blessed Master. " He careth, and He will not let
Me have too much to bear ;
Nor any burden great or small
But what He, too, will share.
"No words of mine can express the personal obli
gation I feel to the dear helpers together across the
seas, for the many, many, kind and helpful letters, and
for the boxes of bandages, towels, soap, pictures, seeds,
etc., all of which have been most thankfully received.
Thank you all, very much ! and with a very grateful
heart I do most truly
" Thank God for love, the love of friends,
That golden cord that binds
Us each to each, and links us on
To kindred human minds !
" That Christlike thing that reaches down
To depths of human woe,
And sheds o'er darkest paths and sad
A benediction glow !
" But thank God most for His great love
That living source Divine
Which stoopeth down to earth, and cares
For your love and for mine."
A year later we find the clouds have lifted some
what :
"Those who read my last year's report will know
that it is with no spirit of self-complacency or boast-

Year by Year 77
ing, but with gratitude and humility, I look back over
the year that is now closing, for I recognize that the
good hand of the Lord has been upon us.
" At times it has been very heavy, but He has
enabled me, " Just to leave in His dear Hand
All I could not understand.
Just to let Him take the care
Sorely pressing,
Finding all I let Him bear
Changed to blessing.
" We have had a blessed year, and that means more
than a happy one. And over and above the blessed
ness vouchsafed, I have had the three essentials of
happiness, i.e., plenty of work, remarkably good gen
eral health much of the year, and love.
" The care and teaching given to those entrusted to
me to serve and train has not been wasted. The work
in the surrounding villages has been steadily and sys
tematically done by the four village visitors. Much
seed has been sown, and that sown in the nearer vil
lages last year has seemed to spring up and has been
cultivated and watered with many prayers this year.
And shall we not trust that in due season fruit will
appear ? For, like a solid rock beneath our feet is our
Father's promise that His word shall not return unto
Him void, but shall accomplish that whereunto He
hath sent it. . . .
" The great event of the year connected with the
special work for which I was recalled to dear India,

78 Mary Reed
was the purchase of more land and the erection of new
homes for the men and boys of the institution. Pan-
ahgah (place of refuge) comprises one half-dozen neat
stone houses which grew up like magic in a few weeks'
time, and this group of white houses is surrounded by
garden-plots neatly laid out and carefully cultivated by
the dwellers, who are very much pleased with their
new abode."
In the following extract Miss Reed gives grateful
expression to the value she attaches to the prayers of
her many friends, as well as to the stimulus she derives
from the " blessed hope " of the coming again of her
Lord and Saviour.
"In all their affliction He was afflicted, and the
Angel of His Presence saved them : in His love
and in His pity He redeemed them; and He bare
them and carried them all the days of old. ' ' Is. Ixiii. 9.
"August 22d, 1896.
" Dear Sisters and Friends,
"Greeting and loving gratitude from a heart
filled with praise and thanksgiving to Him who still
' crowneth with loving -kindness and tender mercy '
her whom He thus continues to bless in answer to your
prayers. He has been so tenderly gracious to me since
my last annual letter was written to you just one year
ago to-day ; it has been such gentle, faithful, ' loving-
kindness ' all along, and I go on my way sure and glad,
taking strength and health as precious gifts from Him
Whose presence is salvation. Most marvellously is
He fulfilling His gracious word : ' I will do you no
hurt.'

Year by Year 79
"Often and often I am conscious of especial bless
ing and help given in answer to other prayers than
mine. How much the interests of His kingdom, the
varied and pressing needs of His work here in this
corner of His vineyard need your prayers ! Prayer
will open the hard hearts of these idolatrous nations,
and prayer will bring the little flock for whom Jesus
is coming soon. Dear sisters, what can be more ma
jestic than the thought that we, the King of kings'
children, have it in our power to hasten the close of
the tragedy of sin and sorrow, and to hasten the ad
vent of an era of peace and glory, perhaps, even in
our own lifetime. To me it is increasingly precious,
the thought that just as soon as the Gospel is pub
lished equally to all the peoples of the nations of the
earth, so that all may have the opportunity of salva
tion, and when, from among these, the Bride of Christ
be gathered from all tribes and tongues, ' then shall
the end come ! ' (See Matt. xxiv. 14.) This 'blessed
hope ' is a buoy to my soul during the storms and bat
tles that surge round us here, it lifts me above the
waves of worry and anxiety.
"Delightful as it is to write to you of our Lord and
His dealings with this one of His 'little ones,' I must
not take more of your time and mine for this precious
theme, because you will be wishing to hear something
of the opportunities He is granting to me for service
in varied spheres this year.
" I can only give you an outline of the different
phases of work for Him in which it is my privilege
and joy to be engaged heart and soul.

80 Mary Reed
"Aside from the special work of caring for and
teaching the flock of poor suffering ones, which has
varied in numbers from eighty to ninety this year, I
have been very busy and happy in itinerating and Dis
trict work, in which are engaged six Evangelists and
teachers, besides my six dear Biblewomen, and in
addition to superintending and helping them in this
village work, five boys' schools are being opened, and
these will be centres of light in needy, neglected cor
ners of this vineyard. . . .
"And now, before closing this letter, I want to as
sure you that the loving messages your letters bring
are real blessings for which I am deeply grateful to
you and to Him who puts it into your hearts to send
me such cheer and help.
"Yours in His love and service,
"Mary Reed."

XI
CHRISTMAS WITH THE LEPERS
" Glad tidings of great joy which shall be to all the
people." This was the message of the angels on the
first Christmas morning, and when we find the sad
hearts of the lepers of Chandag made happy by Christ
mas cheer and Christmas gifts, we seem to hear the
music of the angelic song still sounding on "through
the ringing grooves of change." If the lives of these
afflicted and hopeless people can be brightened by the
rays of the Star of Bethlehem, then we may be sure
that no lot in life is too sad and dark for their cheer
ing and illuminating power.
And that they can be so brightened, the following
accounts of Christmas among the lepers will abun
dantly demonstrate.
The Christmas festivities of 1893 are thus described
by Miss Reed, in a letter to Miss C. E. Pim, of Dub
lin, whose interest in the needs of the lepers has been
warm and active ever since she helped, twenty-five
years ago, to found the Society of which Miss Reed is
now a Missionary.
"I am giving you the tidings of the very happy
Christmas I had in seeing all my poor dear people's
hearts filled with such real joy and gratitude and sur
prise over the very substantial manner in which you
and your circle of dear workers have manifested the
81

82 Mary Reed
love and care of Him whose birthday had such a joy
ous celebration in our Retreat here this year. This
expression of your loving-kindness has wonderfully
helped to emphasize God's love to these, ' the least of
His little ones.' These new, bright, warm garments,
so lovingly prepared, in His name, for them, deeply
touched their hearts ; there is an infinite satisfaction
to me in the thought that He whom you thus served,
heard and appreciated all the salaams and messages I
was authorized to send to you ! For I cannot write
them for you, else there would not be space left in this
letter to tell you of our Christmas tree.
"I put all the gifts on an evergreen tree which
stands near the Hospital: there were dolls for my
dear little girls, bright scrapbooks for the boys, hymn
books and other books for all who have learned to
read, bags of nuts, etc., oranges in abundance, sweets
(J^flb. for each), and last and most appreciated of all,
were the warm sulukas and waistcoats ; all was a
complete surprise to them on Christmas morning.
Just after the service, they filed out of our little
chapel joyously singing 'Jai Prabhu Yisu,' — 'Glory
or Victory to Jesus,' as they went to receive what will
make them happy for many weary months to come.
Accept my heartfelt gratitude for this help to them
and to me, for it is an untold delight to my heart to
witness their growth spiritually. Peace, gentleness,
patience, and love are being cultivated in hearts com
forted and touched through the constraining love be
ing manifested to them in various ways, and I thank
you, oh, so much, for your large contribution to this

Christmas with the Lepers 83
end. I must not write more now. Many, many
thanks for the copy of the 'Christian Choir.' Yes,
I have a musical soul, and often and often do I prove
that love, work, and song cause sorrow to depart.
Many of the sweet hymns in this book are very fa
miliar, and I love to sing them in praise to Him who
so wonderfully keeps and blesses me."
Another letter, also to Miss Pim, tells of gifts and
gladness in connection with the Christmas of 1895.
" Chandag Heights, February 29th, 1896. — I very
much regret my inability to write to you ere this of
the happy, blessed Christmas we had here on Chandag
Heights. " The wondrous love of Him whose birthday we had
such joy in celebrating was made more real by the
gifts, the handiwork of those who prepared the splen
did warm garments, as tokens of the love of Christ
constraining and drawing hearts to thus lovingly min
ister to the comfort of the 'least of His little ones.'
It gave me more pleasure than I can ever express to pre
sent these precious gifts in His name, and I do assure
you they were received with loving gratitude, and are
much appreciated by all the recipients, who wish to
send more salaams than I have time or space to re
cord. But the record of this ' labor of love ' is on
high. Believe me inexpressibly grateful for the
happiness and help you have given to me, and to
the dear ones to whom I have been called to min
ister. . . .
"The gift of dear Mrs. Buttfield and her husband,
affording a bounteous dinner of curry and rice, and

84 Mary Reed
cakes fried in ghi, of which Hindustani people are so
fond, and sweets and oranges, were ' treats ' indeed,
which were relished with very evident appreciation.
How I wish you could have witnessed the scene, the
happy, orderly groups, which took us nearly two hours
to serve. The services in the Church, too, were
greatly blessed, and several received the rite of bap
tism. . . ."
I am glad to be allowed to quote the following
graphic account of Christmas, 1896, from the pen of
Miss Martha Sheldon, M. D., who is one of Miss
Reed's most valued friends. Dr. Sheldon is a Medical
Missionary of the Women's Foreign Missionary So
ciety of the Methodist Episcopal Church of America
and is laboring in the adjacent territory of Bhot. On
several occasions this friend and fellow-worker has
cheered Miss Reed by her welcome presence at Chan
dag, and has, as her letters testify, herself returned to
her work encouraged and stimulated by intercourse
with her sister-friend. Dr. Sheldon thus describes the
Christmas she spent at Chandag :
" On my way to the Conference from my distant
home in Bhot, I was privileged to spend Christmas
with dear Miss Reed. In the afternoon of Christmas
Eve there was the distribution of warm jackets to the
women of the Asylum, which took place on the open
grounds ; twenty-nine women and four girls were al
ready seated on the grass when Miss Reed and I ar
rived. The sloping rays of the afternoon sun fell
gratefully upon us and the poor creatures who sat be
fore us ; in the distance stretched the mountains of

Christmas with the Lepers 85
snow on the North, beyond which lay my field of
work among the Bhotiyans and Thibetans.
"After song, talk, and prayers, in which the women
took part, the presents were distributed. It was a
touching sight to see the stumps of hands, which up
to this time had been hidden beneath the enveloping
chaddars, now emerge, and in one way or another,
appropriated the nice, warm garments which interested
friends across the sea had sent, while each expressed
her grateful thanks. The girls' presents had been re
served till the last. They received warm chaddars,
dainty dolls, etc., etc. As Miss Reed called them to
her, and gave them their presents, each girl said,
'Mama, salaam.' Miss Reed turned to me with a
smile, and said, 'I have allowed them to call me
" Mama " ; they began it themselves — if it is any hap
piness to them I am willing they should call me so.'
" In the evening we had dinner together. Miss Reed
sitting at her little table with separate dishes, and I
at another, eating chicken, curry and rice, and peaches
from far away America. We talked with many a
ripple of laughter as we enjoyed our meal in the cozy
little dining-room where the wood fire burned cheerily.
" Then what an evening we had together ! There
were heart experiences to tell, difficulties of the work
to recount, and travail of soul over wayward ones to
relate. In the course of conversation, I asked Mary,
' Do you think the disease is making any progress with
you ? ' She said, ' I feel that it will never be any
worse for others to bear than it is now, but I am con
scious of its presence within, especially during the last

86 Mary Reed
few months ; but I feel the power of God upon me in
holding me quiet. There are days, too, when the ex
ternal symptoms are aggravated and more noticeable.
Then again, they recede. What I pass through in my
experience no one knows. The furnace is only heated
a little hotter. What dross there must have been in
my nature ! ' she added. 'No, Mary,' said I, 'it is
all for the glory of God, and He has honored you in
choosing you to suffer for Him, and to show His
keeping power. Not you only, but many, many, are
blessed with you.' But I felt deeply that, as far as
human help was concerned, she was walking in the
furnace alone, and that there was only One who could
enter in and comfort her.
"Later, at the sweet-toned organ, the gift of kind
friends in America, we sang several hymns, including
the one beginning, ' Father, whate'er of earthly bliss
Thy sovereign will denies,' and the Christmas one,
' Hark the Herald Angels sing.' Then I left to go to
my tent which was pitched in her yard. A gentle
rain, almost snow, was falling. O blessed rain, greatly
needed all over India. It was as though, at this holy
Christmas time, the heavens, full of consolation and
peace, were gently brooding over a parched and weary
world. " Christmas morning we were up bright and early,
as it was to be a full day. After our little breakfast,
we went to the dedication of a new chapel which Miss
Reed has built at Panahgah, the men's refuge, about
a quarter of a mile from her house. As I walked with
Miss Reed to the chapel, I realized the exquisite

Christmas with the Lepers 87
beauty and adaptability of the location. She has, as
Mr. Bailey expresses it, ' the whole side of a moun
tain,' and nature is not niggardly here. Those who
are accustomed to look upon Miss Reed's work from a
purely sentimental standpoint, do not realize the prac
tical and permanent character it bears. The Asylum
for lepers which, formerly, had been all in one, has
now been divided, and new houses for the men and
boys built on another and separate portion of the es
tate. To this locality we went. The rows of neat,
well-built houses, with many a green, well-kept garden
patch, cultivated by the inmates, presented a pretty
sight. The chapel has been built this year. It is
commodious and convenient. The caretaker of the
men and boys is Yuhanna, a most valued servant;
though not afflicted himself, he has, as Miss Reed
said, a genuine call for the work.
" Miss Reed's organ had already been carried there,
and soon fifty lepers, men and boys in all stages of
the disease, were seated on the clean matting in the
back part of the chapel. The visitors, including Miss
Budden, the preacher in charge, two native pastors
and myself, and a number of sweet-voiced singers
from the boys' and girls' schools, Pithora, occupied
the front part of the chapel. Large, open doors, fac
ing each other, furnished a draught of pure, fresh air
between us and the afflicted ones.
" Very touching were the exercises, and very ear
nest and tender were the prayers that went up to the
Lord, who, on this day, made Himself of no reputa
tion, and took upon Him the form of a servant, to

88 Mary Reed
serve just such needy ones as these. After these ex
ercises, Miss Reed and I went to distribute the warm,
comfortable garments which had come for the men and
boys. In giving to these helpless people, or in wit
nessing the bestowal of gifts upon them, one may
enjoy the most unalloyed pleasure of giving. I
thought of the givers far away in Great Britain, and
wished they might have been present.
" One old man could not wait till he reached his
house, but at once slipped his new flannel shirt over
his other clothing ! Oranges were distributed to all,
and an extra dinner of goat's meat and rice provided.
" Miss Reed and I, with full hearts, went back to
the house for our Christmas lunch, after which there
was a service for the women and girls.
" The sweet memories of this most blessed Christ
mas Day will ever remain with me."
A few glowing sentences from one of Miss Reed's
own letters will aptly close this Christmas chapter.
"Yesterday (she writes), we had the most blessed of
any of the five Christmas Days I have spent in this
work and in this much-loved home of His choosing.
Never was the meaning of that wonderful word Im-
manuel more consciously realized than during this
Christmastide. Surely, surely, the names 'Wonder
ful, Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father,
Prince of Peace,' given to our blessed Saviour are
fitting, — " Oh ! Sing of His mighty love,
Sing of His mighty love,
Mighty to save."

XII
A VISION OF THE NIGHT
"For God speaketh ... in a dream, in a
vision of the night." Whatever theory the reader
may entertain as to the origin and purpose of dreams,
the following recital of one will, I think, be found not
uninteresting. The lucid account contained in the
following letter requires neither introduction nor ex
planation. I need only premise that it was written by
Miss Elise Roper (now Mrs. Buttfield), a friend and
helper of the Mission to Lepers, to Miss Pim.
"What place do you think dreams hold in our
practical, everyday life? Do they always come as
Solomon says, 'through the multitude of business,'
or are they sometimes sent to direct our thoughts into
a particular channel, or to concentrate them on some
special object? Anyhow, I have learned something
from dreams, and am going to tell you something
about two little visions which have made Miss Reed a
personal friend of mine, and the Asylum for Lepers at
Pithora a reality it never was to me before. Miss
Reed's sad and interesting story lost none of its pathos
in the hands of the narrator who told it me one even
ing the week before last. So the materials for my
dreams were prepared for me before going to bed that
89

90 Mary Reed
night. As soon as I fell asleep I thought I was sitting
in a room with a bare floor, bare walls, and with little
or no furniture in it. One side of the room was en
tirely open on a veranda, supported at intervals by
pillars, between which I looked out, and saw first a
white, glaring, sun-dried strip of ground, at one side
of which was another building. I could only see a
corner from where I sat. Beyond this hot strip, and
sloping downward from it, was a green and fertile
country, and beyond that rose mountain peak after
mountain peak, in exquisite and majestic beauty. I
took this all in at once, while feeling oppressed with
an overwhelming conviction that I had a lot of work
to do; indeed, I was in one of my inward fusses,
knowing that I must get a great deal done, but not
knowing in the least what to begin with. I knew I
was in Miss Reed's bungalow, and longed to make it
snug for her in European style, with carpets, curtains,
etc. While fuming over all I had to do and could not
begin I became aware of a quiet presence in the room
with me. It was a lady seated in a small armchair
(the only article of furniture in the room besides the
stool I sat on) a little way off from me and near the
edge of the veranda. I knew that was Miss Reed,
but did not feel the least surprised to find myself in
her company. I could only see her profile, but her
face seemed pale and thin, with small, delicate fea
tures, her hair — dark brown — was parted in the mid
dle, and done in a knot, rather low down on the back
of her head. I thought how interesting, quaint, and
intellectual she looked, and felt glad she was able to

A Vision of the Night 91
take pleasure in the beautiful view which lay before
her. Her right elbow was on the arm of her chair,
and she rested her cheek on her right hand as she
looked away from me into the distance before her.
She was dressed in some sort of an indefinite loose
garment, and altogether looked the perfect picture of
calmness and repose, while I frizzled all over with an
irrepressible longing to go at something or another in
the way of work.
" ' Miss Reed,' I said, feeling as though I were
continuing a conversation began before. ' I want to
begin at once, what can I do? ' 'Thank you,' said
Miss Reed, quietly, ' I really don't think you can do
anything just now. I shall soon have everything I
want, and am most happy.' ' But look here,' said I,
feeling quite exasperated, ' you must let me do some
thing for you. Why, you want everything here, car
pets, chairs, curtains. You haven't anything nice
about you.' She half turned toward me at this, and
seemed rather amused, for she smiled, and then said,
' Oh, you know the Mission to Lepers has given me a
grant of fivepence for a muslin curtain, and that really
is all I want. I shall put it up there.' And she pointed
to the space in front of her chair, between it and the
open veranda. Here I made a few confused calcula
tions as to how much art muslin it would take to
drape the space prettily, and how far the Society's
grant of fivepence would go in the purchase of this
material. I then began to reflect, also confusedly, on
her marvellous contentment, which kept her calm and
happy with so much discomfort about her. During

92 Mary Reed
these meditations she and the room faded away, then
I dropped into a dreamless sleep, or awoke, I am not
sure which, but the feeling of longing for scope for
my energy went on, and I hated myself for doing
nothing. Suddenly I was in the bare room again, and
saw Miss Reed standing before me, looking most
animated and business-like. Her full face was to
ward me this time, and now I saw on the right cheek,
which before had been turned away, a large, dark-
colored patch, which I felt was the mark of that
dreadful disease with which she is afflicted. Beside
her was a great tub of water, and she was busy tuck
ing up her skirt preparatory, I thought, to scrubbing
the floor. I seized this opportunity for using up some
of the energy I was pining to devote to her cause, and,
dashing forward, laid hold of the tub with a trium
phant feeling of having at last got something to do.
But alas ! in the moment of triumph, the much-
longed-for opportunity slipped from me — the tub re
fused to be grasped, and I awoke with a start to find
that my ' Mission to Lepers ' was as yet unaccom
plished, but with a very vivid impression of having
had a real interview with Miss Reed. I shall never
meet her in the flesh, but from this time forward will
ever feel the deepest sympathy with her in the sad
affliction God has permitted to come upon her, and
also take special interest in her work among the poor
lepers of Pithora."
It would appear from the following letter of grate
ful thanks that this particular dream did not vanish
"like the baseless fabric of a vision and leave not a

Three Burmese Lepers.

A Vision of the Night 93
wrack behind." Unlike most dreams (either of the
day or night), it seems to have resulted in some tangi
ble tokens of interest in Miss Reed and her afflicted
flock. Under date of December 20th, 1892, she
writes to Miss Roper :
"It would be impossible for me to tell how de
lighted I was to receive your letter ten days ago, and
the beautiful expressions of united love of the little
circle who prepared the petty 'trifles,' as you call
them, contained in the box, which received a welcome
last evening. Each of you must have been greatly
blessed indeed by Him, ' who is not unrighteous to
forget your labor of love which you have shown to
ward His name,' for has He not told us, 'It is more
blessed to give than to receive.' And since the ex
pressions of your kindly thoughts and wishes have
been such a blessing to my heart, how greatly, I say,
you must have been blessed in giving. These pre
cious gifts are more highly valued because I am sure
our loving Heavenly Father prompted you to this kind
act, and so I give a grateful and cordial welcome to
the love which designed and prepared these memorials
— and they are all so beautiful, to, as well as useful.
I do admire the selection of these delicate colors, and
am so pleased with all the articles, each of which is
moat acceptable. This beautiful art muslin will be
useful in draping two doors, instead of only the one
you saw in your dream. (How very strange that you
should dream about my little home.) One door leads
from my little sitting-room into the east veranda, and
the other into the veranda facing the west. I had no

94 Mary Reed
drapery for either. These beautiful mottoes are in
scribed with precious texts which have so often com
forted and cheered my heart. Over and over again,
during the past two years, have I sung this favorite
hymn (a copy of which I enclose) ' which has so
voiced my experience, that it has become peculiarly
sweet, since He has enabled me trustfully to say and
to sing from the depths of my heart, ' My times are in
Thy hand.' I find so much help and blessing in
•" My times are in Thy hand,"
My God, I wish them there ;
My life, my friends, my soul, I leave
Entirely to Thy care.
" My times are in Thy hand,"
Whatever they may be ;
Pleasing or painful, dark or bright,
As best may seem to Thee.
" My times are in Thy hand ; "
Why should I doubt or fear ?
My Father's hand will never cause
His child a needless tear.
" My times are in Thy hand,"
Jesus, the crucified !
The hand my cruel sins had pierced
Is now my guard and guide.
" My times are in Thy hand ; "
I'll always trust in Thee ;
And, after death, at Thy right hand
I shall forever be.

A Vision of the Night 95
song, and from day to day, I prove that 'faith, hope,
love, work and song, cause sorrow to depart.' Oh,
how my heart goes out in praise and gratitude to Him
who so wonderfully verifies His blessed promise, ' Lo,
I am with you alway.' With me, not only keeping
and blessing my own soul, but He has condescended
to use me, a poor, weak instrument, in blessing others.
Blessed, ever blessed be His Name! So many pre
cious testimonies come to me through scores of letters
received from known and unknown friends, telling
me that our Father is graciously using the affliction
He permits to come on me in touching hundreds
of hearts, leading them to a deeper, fuller consecra
tion to His service, of time, strength, means, and
heart. The joy of being thus used for the ad
vancement of His Kingdom is, to me, a richer feast
than millions of those who enjoy health and all earth's
comforts can ever know. What infinite comfort and
blessing in the blessed assurance that a wise and lov
ing purpose underlies the mysterious providence which
calls me to this special service for Christ.
"I presume that dear Mr. and Mrs. Bailey keep
Miss Pim (our Hon. Sec.) informed about the growth
of all the interests connected with this mission work,
both here and elsewhere. I endeavor to write very
frequently and very fully from this outpost, that they
may be enabled to make real to all who are interested
in the Mission the needs of my fellow-sufferers — no, I
must not say fellow-sufferers, for though they do suffer
so much, the great Physician has my case in hand, and
so wonderfully hears and answers the believing, im-

96 Mary Reed
portunate prayers from multitudes of hearts being
offered for me, that He wards off the pain, except
now and again when He lets me know what they en
dure; but my heart suffers more with them than I
could ever do, should this dread disease be allowed to
run its course in this 'house of clay.' So, in that
sense, I am a fellow-sufferer, and oh ! how thankful
am I, how humbly and devoutly thankful, that (I say it
with reverence) He does use me in binding up the
broken-hearted — to give unto them ' beauty for ashes,
the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for
the spirit of heaviness, that they might be called trees
of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He
might be glorified.'
"My letter is growing too long, but I would like to
tell you before closing that my precious mother's heart
will be much touched by your loving-kindness. I
shall send her your letter, and a description of each
article your box contained, for no pleasure is complete
for me unless, so far as it is possible, it is shared with
her. And then, too, when I tell you that her mother
was born at Strabane, in the North of Ireland (her
maiden name, grandmama's, was Anderson), do you
not imagine her heart will be touched by the memen
toes coming from the land of her mother's birth
place ?
"Now, with more gratitude than words can express
to each of the dear sisters whose names you men
tioned, and whom I shall love to think of as praying
for this work so dear to my heart, and trusting that
you will pray that I may have the abiding presence of

A Vision of the Night 97
the Holy Spirit, that I may be strengthened with all
might according to His glorious power, unto all pa
tience and long-suffering with joyfulness.
"Believe me,
" Yours very gratefully,
" Mary Reed."

XIII
DIVIDED duties
(1897)
Those who have so far followed this record of
steadfast service under conditions of exceptional dif
ficulty will not be surprised to find the strain begin
ning to tell, as Miss Reed herself expresses it, on "my
health as well as on my heart." For upward of five
years, with few and brief intervals of rest, she had
been fulfilling a twofold ministry. Not only was she
district missionary for the Women's Foreign Mission
ary Society, but also Superintendent of the large and
growing Institution for Lepers. In the former capac
ity there devolved upon her the supervision of a band
of native Biblewomen, whose labors extended over a
wide area, as well as much direct spiritual and educa
tional effort, while, in the work to which she has been
so specially called and consecrated, many duties, both
painful and exhausting, had to be personally per
formed. Let the reader endeavor again to realize the position.
The multifarious duties arising from the two depart
ments of work just noted ; dependent solely on very
limited native help, in frequent contact with suffering
and death in its most loathsome form, and painfully
reminded from time to time of the presence of this

Divided Duties 99
most dreaded malady in her own person — no surprise
need be felt that the strong brave spirit seems to falter
for a moment, and that occasionally the entries in the
diary for this year sound a despondent note.
I am glad to be permitted to reproduce some ex
tracts from Miss Reed's daily journal for the early
months of 1897 :
January ist. — " Praise God from whom all bless
ings flow," was the first thought that entered my mind
as I awoke at dawn on this New Year's morning; and
then followed the precious promise " Certainly I will
be with Thee." May my heart and life praise Him
continually throughout the year ! I sat down at my
organ and played and sang —
Come, let us anew our journey pursue.
His adorable will let us gladly fulfill,
And our talents improve,
By the patience of hope and the labor of love.
January 3d (Sunday). — No message from above
this morning when I awoke. Sick and in pain almost
all day. Misery indescribable. Very stupid and
dull, too. However, I managed to teach the Sunday-
school lesson to my women and girls.
January 4th. — No message this morning after a
wakeful night. Worked at accounts and wrote letters
to-day. Taught women and girls from Hebrews,
chapters ix. and x., and had a good meeting.
January 10th (Sunday). — Most trying day of phys-

ioo Mary Reed
ical suffering. Much depressed mentally, and not
bright and happy spiritually.
January 1 2th. — Much better to-day. Lessons given
and letters written in the morning, Spent the after
noon with Miss Budden.
January 24th. — A blessed meeting with the women
to-day, lesson from Ephesians, chapter iii.
January 25th. — Went to Panahgah (the quarters for
the male lepers), but was not able to give the Bible-
lesson. My throat too painful to talk to-day.
April 1 2th. — A glorious day! My heart rejoices
with joy unspeakable over Tarwa's conversion. His
face is so bright and his heart so happy, it delights my
soul to look at him. The Sunday-school lesson yes
terday, "The Conversion of Cornelius," affected him
deeply, and after an almost sleepless night — spent in
prayer, he says — he was converted in the early morn
ing in his little room at Chandag. Now that he knows
Christ's power to save, and to forgive sins, may he
know also His power to keep and be eternally saved !
April 24th. — A glorious victory Tarwa won to-day
through the grace and strength that Jesus gave him.
We had a solemn time with his mother and brother,
and finally they yielded for him to be freed from per
forming the idolatrous ceremony on the anniversary of
his father's death to-morrow.
April 25th. — A blessed day. I went down to Pithora
to hear Mr.  preach, and was so delighted to meet
Tarwa and his brother with their faces toward Chan
dag, on their way from Sunday-school, instead of go
ing home to-day. They knew the Brahmin priest was

Divided Duties 101
coming to perform the ceremony of their father's
sharad. They were absent, and thus Satan was foiled.
They are by this brave act set free from idolatry.
May the Son make them " free indeed ! "
These earlier entries give us a glimpse of the times
of bodily suffering and mental weariness, which have
been so minimized by Miss Reed in the many letters
used in the preparation of this biography. It is well
that the veil should be so far lifted, in order that the
sympathy to which she is entitled, and the prayers she
so much values should be called forth. These selec
tions from Miss Reed's diary may be supplemented by
the following record of one day's duties — a specimen
doubtless of many — (Wednesday, October 5th) :
"Immediately after chota hazri went to the Hos
pital and spent more than an hour giving directions
and seeing them carried out, about the making of the
concrete floors.
" Called and examined my class of six boys in Hindi
ist book. They are making good progress for boys
who suffer so much — poor fellows ! I hope they will
be ready by Christmas to read the Testament intelli
gently. " Next, a call from some villagers, pleading for a
school for their village.
"Settled down with account-books, on camp-stool
in veranda of Hospital, so as to oversee the workmen
and do accounts. An hour spent thus.
" Call from native preacher in charge of Pithora,
who called for my report of the schools for his annual
report.

102 Mary Reed
"Another hour given to carpenters and accounts.
Home to breakfast at twelve o'clock.
" After breakfast called a woman, one of my helpers,
herself a sufferer ; gave her carbolic soap and direc
tions for bathing and dressing wounds of a new case,
recently admitted. Gave out clothing for another new
woman. "Went to look after people cutting grass and mak
ing hay. Returned home, swept and dusted, and set
my house in order. Transplanted some pansies.
"Had lunch, and then called to see Miss Sheldon.1
Called to see the cook's son, and gave him some med
icine. Spent another hour with carpenters. Then, a
wild-goose chase to see a lame woman, who sent word
pleading for admittance to the Asylum. Not a leper,
only wanted food and clothing. Not admitted.
"Rang the bell to assemble people for service.
Gave lesson, and then at sunset walked down the hill
half a mile and back.
" I trudged up the hill, stopping to see Dr. S., then
came home to dinner, read for an hour or so, and
finally scribbled these notes of my day's work."
It is gratifying to note how the lives of the lepers are
brightened and their characters improved by their ex
periences in the Asylum. Evidence of this is afforded
us in a letter giving some particulars for the informa
tion of those who have kindly become responsible for
the support of individual inmates. Respecting some
of these Miss Reed writes :
1 Dr. Sheldon was on one of her occasional visits to the
neighborhood, from her station in Bhot.

Divided Duties 103
" Chandra, a woman of thirty years or upward, is
growing in usefulness, and during the past year has
become one of my three matrons. She has the over
sight and care of six or seven women and girls, to
whom she is learning to minister help. She used to
be a most selfish mortal, and the joy of service is a
new one to her. Strange to say, she is more healthy
now that her soul-life has begun to prosper.
" Parli is a girl of about seventeen, who has been
here only five months, but has improved wonderfully
in that time, just by being an attentive listener while
our Christians were being taught their little catechism.
She learned to repeat the whole of this with only one
slight mistake. Her heart seems permeated with the
blessed influence in the lives of Kaliyani, and her own
sister Rebli, and others who take delight in teaching
her of Christ. She would receive baptism to-morrow
if permitted to do so, but I cannot consent to it until
she experiences an outright change of heart. I shall,
however, pray and look for her conversion. She is
learning to read, and was so happy two or three days
ago, when I told her I would ask special prayer for her
(This prayer was answered, and on August 13th Parli
joyfully confessed Christ in baptism).
" Kaliyani is a real deaconess in her works of love,
untiring in her ministry, and manifesting the sweet
spirit of the Master. She is a blessing to all and a
great joy and comfort to me. She is very happy that
you have enrolled her trying brother Nankiya in your
list to be prayed for. Verily a change does seem to be
coming over him. He has suffered much lately, his

104 Mary Reed
feet have been in a terrible condition. He, too, is
reading the New Testament daily with a teacher.
"Dipah, poor little girl, has become more of a suf
ferer, and it makes my heart ache to witness her suf
ferings — such a gentle little thing she is. The disease
makes much progress in her little brother Rupwa. He
is much disfigured and is hard of hearing.
" Gauri Datt is growing in knowledge and years
and is a great comfort to Yuhanna, because he is de
veloping into a most earnest Christian. The disease
makes much progress in his case.
"Har Singh has become a teacher of the men and
boys who read and of those who are learning. He
goes down to Panahgah from his home here (his par
ents are at Chandag) four times during the week to
teach his classes. His father and mother suffer ter
ribly and almost constantly. Har Singh repeated the
Catechism from beginning to end to me this week
without one single mistake. I do not teach this
by rote either, but ask many questions, bringing
out all the many good points in this excellent little
book." These notes of special cases may be supplemented
by an extract in which Miss Reed speaks of the effect
of her work on the lives of her inmates in more gen
eral terms.
" As to the spiritual life among my dear people at
Chandag Heights, I am deeply gratified to be able to
say my heart is often made happy by evidences that
other hearts have been made new. The Holy Spirit's
blessed influence permeates, teaches, and enlightens

Divided Duties 105
minds, and comforts hearts that used to be filled with
only thoughts of self seemingly."
Chandra tasting the joy of unselfish service; Parli
drinking in the Divine teaching, influenced by the
lives of others ; Kaliyani showing the Spirit of Christ
in her steadfast service ; little Dipah bearing her terri
ble sufferings with gentle submission; Gauri Datt
growing in the spiritual life ; Har Singh gladly teach
ing his fellow-sufferers ; besides the fruit of the spirit
manifested in many others ; these are cheering points
of light, as they shine out from the dense darkness of
heathen ignorance and of foul disease. Let it be re
membered that these are they that are counted un
clean or outcast by all save the Christian Missionary,
and that, apart from such beneficent work as that of
Mary Reed, they would almost certainly be enduring
the wretched lot of the homeless leper. This surely
is to find the jewel in the mud, and to cause the desert
to blossom as the rose.
As the question of Miss Reed's health, and the prog
ress or otherwise of the disease in her own case, is to
many, of equal interest with the story of her work,
quotations from two letters of 1897 are appended,
which reveal some of her experiences in this respect.
In touching on this subject, I wish as far as may be,
to imitate the reticence which characterizes all her
own references to it. An obvious shrinking from the
use of the words "leper" and "leprosy," together
with a brave determination to make the very least
of her symptoms and sufferings, give added weight
to the mildly expressed allusions to be found in

106 Mary Reed
Miss Reed's letters, and of which the following are
specimens :
February 6th, 1897. — "I, myself, am not in the
best of health. I have some very trying sieges, though
there is no cause for anxiety. I am kept through all.
. . . The 'Friend that sticketh closer than a
brother' is so tender, and His presence is salvation
from sin and from care. His love satisfieth."
Toward the close of this year the shadow of suffer
ing seems to be falling more darkly over her life. In
November she writes: "My throat is becoming
much affected by disease, and is often very painful,
and I feel as if I could not talk and sing more than I
do in my work among my own people, during the
coming year. I am becoming a fellow-sufferer, with
many of them. Their throats cause them much pain.
A certain type of the disease has affected a dozen or
more of those now here. Some have lost their voices
entirely, and suffer agony at times to get breath.
They are all praying much for me lately, and dread
to see me suffer. I am alone this month, as Yuhanna
has gone to Naini Tal to attend District Conference.
I miss his help much. I go to Panahgah to have
service with the men and boys every day and to min
ister to the sick ones, of whom there are a goodly
number who are in an indescribable condition just
now." A very pleasant experience may find a record at this
point. In May of the year under review Miss Reed
had the great enjoyment of meeting her co-workers of
the Women's Foreign Missionary Society at their

Divided Duties 107
Sanatorium in the hills above Almora. Thither, at
their cordial invitation, she journeyed for fifty miles,
camping in her little Swiss-cottage tent, which also
formed her dwelling during her sojourn with her
friends. It was pitched in the shade of an evergreen
tree in the lovely grounds of the Institution, and
beautified by her sister missionaries with flowers and
shrubs and creeping plants.
The gracious act of these friends in welcoming her
into their midst once more was much appreciated by
Miss Reed. Not only for her own sake did she value
it, but also for the assurance it would give to her dear
home circle that the disease was being kept in check,
and had not as yet developed to such a degree as to
render her an absolute exile.
If the Lord of the harvest has specially fitted His
servant by painful experience to labor in this difficult
work, it is that she may reap many golden sheaves
from a field which, to human eye, would appear so
unpromising and uninviting. At the close of 1897,
we find eighty-five lepers being sheltered and cared
for in the Asylum, of whom sixty-seven had confessed
their faith in Christ by baptism, and in many of whose
lives the fruit of the Spirit was being manifested.
This large proportion of conversions testifies power
fully to the fruitful character of Christian work among
this afflicted class. The outcast leper is preeminently
ready for the Gospel of Christ. With no help from
his kindred, no hope from his religion, no remedy for
his disease, no means of subsistence, he is surely, of all
men, most miserable. When to people in such a

108 Mary Reed
plight as this the Christian Asylum offers freely food,
clothing, and shelter, as well as bodily relief and
spiritual hope, small wonder that the lepers are found
pressing into the Kingdom. It may well be ques
tioned whether any form of missionary and philan
thropic effort better repays the self-sacrificing labor
and the money expended upon it than this work of
caring for the bodies and souls of God's lepers.

XIV
LIGHT AND SHADE
(I898)
The Autumn of 1897 found Miss Reed so weary
and worn physically that she was at length obliged to
seek relief from further service as a missionary of the
American Society, whose representative she had been
since her arrival in India in 1884. The severe de
mands of her special work among the lepers, together
with the subtle inroads of disease, had at length made
this step imperative. The final severance of official
relations with her old Society did not, however, take
place till October, 1898, at which date Miss Reed en
tered upon undivided service for the Mission to Lep
ers in India and the East. The committee gratefully
recognized the valuable service she had already ren
dered them, and thankfully accepted her offer of e ntire
devotion to their special work. When it is borne in
mind that the management of this large institution
devolved upon Miss Reed, assisted only by one care
taker and one servant, both natives, it will be recog
nized that work, more than enough for the strongest,
lay ready to her hand. The supply of sufficient and
suitable food, the simple, but very necessary, medical
treatment, the directly religious work, comprising
many services, classes, and meetings for prayer, the
109

no Mary Reed
correspondence and bookkeeping, the general super
vision — all these, plus the incessant incidental claims
upon time, strength, and sympathy, surely demand an
expenditure of physical and spiritual energy which can
only be made good by "the supply of the Spirit of
Jesus Christ," and by a constant waiting upon God
for the renewal of daily strength.
In a letter to the headquarters of her Society in
America, Miss Reed says : "I must be free after Oc
tober ioth, 1898, from the very unsatisfactory effort I
have been making for nearly seven years to serve in
two capacities. . . . From my childhood I could
never do things by halves, and have a satisfied heart
and mind, and as the years have passed since I came
to these Heights I have found the effort to do two
things, /. i?., serve under the auspices of two Societies,
increasingly difficult. And now that disease — though
so slightly manifest outwardly, thank God for His
tender mercy — affects my throat more and more, and
preys upon my system, I do not feel equal, physically
or mentally, to try longer to serve in two capacities.
And, whereas I have recently been adopted by the
entire Committee of the Mission to Lepers ... I
trust you will give me leave to reply that this change
may take place on October rst, 1898. I fix that date
in order to complete my fourteen years in connection
with the W. F. M. Society. I shall ever continue, as I
have time and strength given, over and above that
needed for the special service for which I have been
' set apart, ' to help, when and where I can, in this
end of the earth — so full of opportunities to proclaim

Light and Shade in
salvation, full and free, through Jesus Christ our
Lord." Very brief quotations from the replies of the two
Secretaries of the American Society will suffice to show
that the facts of the case were recognized by them,
and that they regarded Miss Reed's request as a rea
sonable one.
Mrs. Cowen writes in terms of warm appreciation
and continues, "lam glad you have given up, or will
give up, your double work. It has been too much for
any woman to do and do justice to herself, even if she
had good health."
Mrs. Stevens says : "lam confident that the work
of the Mission (to Lepers) is all you can do without
overburdening yourself, and we would not have you
do that."
These frank and kindly assurances enabled Miss
Reed to enter hopefully on the closing period of her
dual service, during which time considerable itinerat
ing work was accomplished in the regions lying around
the Shor district, among the many villages of which
Miss Reed had now for seven years gone teaching and
preaching Jesus Christ, and whence doubtless fruit of
her efforts will be seen in the day when every laborer's
work shall be made manifest.
From an interesting letter, dated June 16th, 1898,
we take the following extract :
" This is an exquisitely beautiful morning — clouds
and sunshine chase each other over the mountains,
hills, and valleys that lie within my range of vision.
There is a break in the rains to-day — the monsoon set

112 Mary Reed
in up here in May this year, a whole month earlier
than usual. I have brought my writing materials,
with chair and table, into the front (east) veranda to
get the benefit of the delicious atmosphere and to en
joy the beauty of the fleecy, flitting clouds, and the
smiling landscape, of which I have a magnificent view
from my lofty and lovely abiding-place.
" As I have been writing to you, and looking out
now and again upon the beautiful scene before me, I
have recalled to mind a gem from Ruskin, he who so
loves the true, the beautiful, and the good. I must
share it with you — so here it is, an extract from one
of my treasures : ' There is not a moment in any day
of our lives when Nature is not producing scene after
scene, picture after picture, glory after glory, and
working still upon such exquisite and constant prin
ciples of the most perfect beauty, that it is quite cer
tain that it is all done for us and intended for our per
petual pleasure. The sky is fitted, in all its functions,
for the perpetual comfort and exalting of the heart ;
for soothing it, and purifying it from its dross and
dust. Sometimes gentle, sometimes capricious, some
times awful ; almost human in its passions, almost
spiritual in its tenderness, almost Divine in its infinity,
its appeal to what is immortal in us is as distinct as its
ministry of chastisement or of blessing to what is
mortal is essential.' "
But when we turn from the lovely and suggestive
scenes of nature in some of her sublimest aspects, to
the effects of sin and disease on what should be the
noblest part of God's creation, sad reflections await us.

Light and Shade 113
In this same letter we read of an event which (and not
for the first time) deeply grieved the heart of this
friend of the friendless. This was the flight from the
sheltering, though at the same time restraining, care
of the Asylum, of two couples who broke away,
there is too much cause to fear, to a life of sin. Since
separate quarters had been provided for the male in
mates at Panahgah, in 1895, Miss Reed had been
spared this particular form of trouble. Being both
missionary and mother to her flock, such a trial as
this would in any case have been keenly felt, but it
derived an added pang from the circumstance that one
of the runaways was a young girl, only thirteen years
of age, of whom Miss Reed had made a special com
panion, and for whom she felt a special affection.
While she could be kept in close association with her
benefactress this poor child was safe and happy, but
the disease had in time so disfigured her that her
transfer to the women's quarters was absolutely neces
sary. Here she fell under the evil influence of a
wicked and hypocritical woman, who finally induced
three others to accompany her in her flight. (It may
be added that this girl and her companion, a young
man of eighteen, have both since returned with pro
fessions, apparently sincere, of penitence and regret.)
Such an incident need occasion no surprise, and
should certainly suggest no question as to the kind
supervision exercised in this or in any of the Asylums
of the Mission to Lepers. The inevitable restraint
and mild discipline of institutional life form a contrast
to the unbridled license of the homeless leper's wan-

114 Mary Reed
dering existence. Herding together in encampments
or colonies, these outcasts from the common life are
exempt alike from moral influence and legal supervi
sion. In thousands and thousands of cases the one
thing the authorities do for these miserable people is —
to leave them alone ! Losing by their leprosy almost
all that makes life dear, they gain liberty, at least, and
who can wonder that liberty with them means license
to live as they list — a law unto themselves ? Gathered
in, in most cases, from an existence of aimless wan
dering and unbridled restraint, it speaks eloquently of
the kindness and comfort they meet with in the Asy
lums that instances of flight are so rare. The follow
ing testimony, given recently by His Honor the Lieu
tenant Governor of Bengal, respecting the Society's
large asylum at Purulia may be quoted here, as it
would apply with equal force to the institution under
Miss Reed's care : " I have been greatly impressed by
my visit to this asylum. It has now upward of 500
inmates, and the sight of so great a company of
stricken people would have been most distressing had
it not been for the surprising contentment of their
bearing. No leper is sent by the authorities, and no
wall prevents an inmate from leaving, and yet the
numbers rapidly grow — evidence of the constant kind
ness and sympathy with which the poor creatures are
treated. I have seen no more truly benevolent work
in India than this."
The question of occupation and medical treatment
are of great importance in connection with work among
lepers. Any form of work, or even of pastime, which

Light and Shade 115
relieves the tedium of their weary days and gives them
the sense of being useful is helpful to them, acting, as
it does, as a kind of mental tonic. But it is only in
the earlier stages of the malady that they are capable
of even the simplest forms of labor. Writing of some
of her less afflicted inmates, Miss Reed says : "Every
day, from nine o'clock to four or five p. M., they graze
the cows. I arranged this that they might be kept in
the pure air, and as much as possible away from those
in whom the disease has made more headway. I give
them in the first stages medicine three times a day, to
arrest further progress as long as it may be possible.
They are all improving so nicely. There is now not
one mark on Punnia, except a faint reddish tinge oc
casionally on her cheeks where there were marks when
first the disease appeared." Gardening is both a pleas
ant and useful form of occupation for those less af
fected, who are also encouraged to do all in their power
for others who have become practically helpless. At
the close of 1898 Miss Reed reports twenty inmates as
either able to read or learning to do so, nearly half of
this number having learned since their admission.
Two interesting and encouraging Bible classes were
also being conducted by Miss Reed — one at Chandag
Heights for the women and girls, and one at Panah
gah for the men and boys. In addition to these classes
and other services, the children in the little commun
ity were being taught to read, and were learning to be
helpful to others.
Of the seventy-nine inmates at the end of the year,
fifty-five were Christians and twenty-four non-Chris-

116 Mary Reed
tians. Nine died during the twelve months, of whom
six gave good evidence that they passed away in the
faith of Christ and in hope of a perfect life hereafter.
Among the new admissions were two girls, — one from
distant Meerut, and the other from Bareilly — the latter
from a Girls' Boarding School in connection with the
Methodist Episcopal Mission.

XV

THE PRAYER OF FAITH
(l899)
The most notable event in Miss Reed's experience
of this year was her visit to Lucknow in January-
February. She journeyed thither at the unanimous
request of the Missionaries of the Women's Foreign
Missionary Society (of America), with whom she had
been so long associated, and who, at their North India
Conference in 1898, had passed the following resolu
tion : " That, as year by year, we hear that our sister,
Mary Reed, is not only continuing in active service,
but is also in better general health than in former
years, we assure her of our sincere gratitude to God
for His great goodness to her, and of our prayers that
He will bless all her service in His name, and we send
her a hearty invitation to attend our Annual Confer
ence (of January, 1899), and to give us the joy of wel
coming her in our midst once more."
In accordance with this invitation, Miss Reed
packed up her camp outfit and made the eight days'
journey to the foot of the mountains, in the congenial
company of her dear friend, and sister-Missionary,
Dr. Sheldon. From Kathgodam, eighteen or twenty
hours by rail brought them to Lucknow, where a right
royal welcome was accorded to her who had been for
117

118 Mary Reed
nine years absent from the gatherings of her col
leagues. Profound gratitude was the uppermost feel
ing in Miss Reed's mind, at finding herself once more
assembled with so many friends and fellow-workers,
and when Bishop Thoburn summoned her to the front
with a request that she should address the audience,
she felt unable to utter any words but those of praise
As she stood before that great company, the desire
was flashed into her mind to express her thanksgiving
in song. She simply said, " ham git gawen " (let us
sing) ; and joyfully hearts and voices went up to God,
in the beautiful Hindustani translation of the fine old
hymn — O for a thousand tongues to sing
My great Redeemer's praise,
The glories of my God and King,
The triumphs of His grace !
The experiences of these days at Lucknow were at
once sweet and bitter. Sweet, because of loving wel
comes from so many from whom she had been long
severed, and because the greeting so often was, " How
well you look." While these friends marvelled at the
wonderful degree of health restored to Miss Reed,
they also rejoiced with her to recognize the hand of
God in it, and to see how He was crowning His serv
ant with loving kindness and tender mercies. Among
the privileges most valued by her were interviews with
the Rev. F. B. Meyer, to which reference is made in
the introduction to this volume, and which were
amongst the most inspiring of Mr. Meyer's experi
ences in India.

The Prayer of Faith ug
It is perhaps scarcely a matter for surprise that some
showed a tendency to shrink from intimate associa
tion with one who had been for years "without the
camp," owing to the taint of this most dreaded dis
ease. Miss Reed frankly admitted the reasonableness
of this attitude, and showed then, as always, the ut
most solicitude for the safety of those with whom she
was brought into close contact.
But the really " bitter " drop in her cup at this time
was the pronouncement of a self-appointed body of
four medical missionaries that the disease from which
Miss Reed had so long suffered was not leprosy at all.
While differing materially among themselves as to the
real nature of the malady which for nine years or more
had driven this brave soul into exile, they more than
hinted their scepticism as to her ever having contracted
this most dreaded of all diseases.
This opinion, however hastily arrived at, having
been expressed by those possessing apparently some
medical qualification, necessitates a restatement of the
evidence against which their hasty dictum was placed.
After many months of perplexity as to the nature of
the complaint which first attacked the forefinger, and
subsequently further betrayed itself by a mark on the
cheek, Miss Reed became at length convinced that
leprosy had overtaken her. In this conviction she
was confirmed by the decision of several eminent
medical men, whose names will be recognized as those
of leading authorities on this class of disease. Their
opinions, it should be added, were arrived at in every
instance after close personal examination. Miss Reed's

120 Mary Reed
case was diagnosed as one of undoubted leprosy by
the following specialists, who examined her in the order
named : Dr. P. A. Morrow, of New York City, who
is regarded by the profession in America as their
highest authority; Sir Joseph Fayrer, K.C.S.I., M.
D., and Mr. Jonathan Hutchinson, F.R.C.S., of Lon
don, both members of the Committee of the National
Leprosy Fund ; Dr. Chowsky, physician of the Bom
bay Leper Asylum ; and, lastly, Dr. Condon, a med
ical man of many years Indian experience. To this
body of medical testimony may be added the decided
opinion of Mr. Wellesley C. Bailey, the secretary and
superintendent of the Mission to Lepers, who spent
some days with Miss Reed in 1895, and felt no doubt
whatever as to the nature of her disease. Mr.
Bailey's opinion derives weight from his experience of
work among lepers, and from many years special study
of the subject.
To all this is to be added the fact that Miss Reed
herself has never faltered in her conviction that she
was "set apart " by personal experience of this most
dreaded malady for work among its victims, and in
that belief has submitted to eight years of almost en
tire isolation. When, moreover, some of her own de
scriptions of her symptons (already quoted) are borne
in mind it will be obvious that but little importance
can attach to an opinion formed upon a cursory and
incomplete examination, and which was arrived at
moreover, at a time when the distinctive symptoms
were exceptionally abated and the general health re
markably good.

The Prayer of Faith 121
There, is, however, another aspect, beside the med
ical one, to this question of the holding in check, or
partial healing of the disease of leprosy in this re
markable case. When we remember that in the de
cided and unanimous opinion of the experts just
named, Miss Reed has been for nine years suffering
from a disease which in that period usually reduces its
victims to a condition of hideous disfigurement, and
when we also bear in mind that she has always de
clined the use of medical remedies, and that, neverthe
less, she is now, and has been for many months past,
in better general health than she frequently enjoyed
in former years, we must admit that we have to do
with a very unusual case indeed. And our wonder is
enhanced by the fact that, at times, the outward symp
toms so far subside as to be scarcely visible to an
ordinary observer. But to the believer in the prayer
of faith the explanation is not far to seek. There
have been few missionaries for whom more constant
prayer has been made than for Miss Reed. Since her
story became more widely known, multitudes of Chris
tian hearts, on both sides of the Atlantic, have offered
up earnest petitions for strength, and, if it pleased
God, even healing, to be granted to His servant. We
cannot doubt, moreover, that Miss Reed's wonderful
health is closely connected with the splendid spirit of
consecration in which she accepted her cross of suffer
ing and isolation. She has found an opiate for her
own sorrow in devoted service among those whose
sufferings far surpassed her own. The record of self-
sacrificing labor contained in these pages, and the

122 Mary Reed
spirit of courage and consecration breathing through
her letters, as well as the marked blessing vouchsafed
to her efforts, are ample evidence that these many
prayers have been graciously answered. But the won
derful health granted by the Divine Master to His
faithful servant has brought with it some misunder
standing. Ardent enthusiastic sympathizers have
hastily jumped to the conclusion that their prayers
have received the full answer for which they longed,
and currency has been given to premature statements
that Miss Reed has been healed. But the truth, as
usual, lies between the two extremes. While the
eager expectations of those who would fain see in
Miss Reed an example of Divine cleansing from
physical leprosy is not borne out by the facts, the
scepticism of those who question that the disease has
ever been present is still less justified.
But on this vital point it is as well that the subject
of this biography should speak for herself, and my
readers will be glad to peruse the following notes
kindly contributed by Miss Reed, under date of June
9th, 1899. Referring to the doubts expressed by some
who saw her when the outward marks of the disease
were least evident, she writes :
"It was a great grief to me, and to some of my
nearest friends to realize that there are those even
among our dear missionaries who prefer to doubt the
existence of this most dreaded of all maladies rather
than believe in what is by many called ' faith healing,'
but what, in reality, this manifestation of God's keep
ing power is to me, viz, Divine Health.

The Prayer of Faith 123
" And so after that ordeal, which was followed by
continuous trial for some months because of untrue
and conflicting newspaper reports, I was enabled to
make over to Him who cares and will not let me have
too much to bear, this new phase of the trial of which
we shall never know the full meaning here on earth.
We shall know hereafter. Since my return home I
have more than ever enjoyed singing with all my heart :
" I leave it all with Jesus,
For He knows
How to steal the bitter
From life's woes ;
How to gild the tear-drop
With His smile,
Make the desert garden
Bloom awhile ;
When my weakness leaneth
On His might,
All seems light.
"I found such a beautiful text only to-day. And
because it has been, is being, and will continue to be
verified to me I quote it : ' The heavens and the earth
shall shake ; but the Lord will be the hope (or the
place of repair, or harbor) of His people and the
strength of the Children of Israel' (Joel iii. 16, with
marginal reading). That is the secret ! The Lord
Himself our ' place of repair ' and our harbor in times
of storm. His presence is Salvation. Surely He
hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows, and
does not wish us to bear and carry them any more
than the burden of sins.

124 Mary Reed
"He gives me wondrous health and strength, far,
far beyond what could be expected from a purely hu
man standpoint. My general health has never been
so good as it has been now for nearly a year past.
Some of my friends have the impression from my ap
pearance, and from the fact that Dr. Condon himself
stated some months ago that he considered me ' prac
tically ' healed, that I have been ' made whole. ' But
/ know that the ' seal ' to the work of my Master's
appointing here at Chandag Heights becomes so plainly
visible at times that no one could doubt that disease
still lingers in my system, though my finger does not
now burst open as it did more than a score of times
before 1898. (The italics are Miss Reed's.)
" Who can fail to recognize the hand of God stay
ing the malady in answer to the prayers of a multitude
of Christian hearts bound by the blessed tie of Chris
tian love?
"Most humbly do I praise and thank God our
Father and the Lord Jesus Christ our Saviour, the
Fountain of life and health and peace, for marvellously
improved health ! ' He hath heard the voice of my
(our) supplications . . . my heart trusted in Him
and I am helped; therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth,
and with my song will I praise Him.'
" And now, in closing this very imperfect review of
some experiences of these latter days, let me quote
part of one of the chapters of the ' Book of Books,'
which I committed to memory when a little girl. It
made an indelible impression on my mind and heart,
and — (dare I say it ?) — upon my life also :

The Prayer of Faith 125
" 'Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto
Thy Name give glory, for Thy mercy and for Thy
truth's sake.'
"Wherefore should the heathen say, where is now
their God ?
"But our God is in the heavens; He hath
done whatsoever He hath pleased.
" Their idols are silver and gold, the work of men's
hands. "'They have mouths, but they speak not; eyes
have they, but they see not.' (Ps. cxv. 1-5.)
"Oh ! how painfully true I have found it here, in
this end of the earth, that ' they that make them are
like unto them,' deaf to God's voice, and blind to
His wondrous love until the entrance of His word, and
the influence of His Holy Spirit enlighten and quicken
those who are ' dead in trespasses and sins.'
" The dead praise not the Lord. . . .
"But we will bless the Lord from this time
forth and forevermore. Praise the Lord.
" Please pray for the salvation of the thousands of
unsaved souls who have heard the call to come to
Jesus and be saved. There are many all about us
here who have heard the message of salvation, but are
halting between two opinions. Please pray for them
every time you think of us here in this outpost.
"As we pray and wait before the Lord, we come
more and more to see with His eyes, and think His
thoughts. The flame of love burns more brightly,
and we become missionary-hearted, with a heart some
what akin to that of the first Great Missionary who

126 Mary Reed
came such a long, long journey to this lost and ruined
world, ' that whosoever believeth on Him should not
perish but have everlasting life.' May God help us
all to assist in carrying the Gospel to perishing souls.
May the Lord Himself teach us, and help us to be
faithful in the 'ministry of intercession,' that His
kingdom may come, and His will may be done on
earth as it is in Heaven."
But few words remain to be added by the compiler
of this volume, who would here gratefully acknowledge
the spiritual stimulus he has often received from the
life and the letters of Mary Reed, in the odd hours of
a busy life, during which this labor of love has been
fulfilled. At sundry times and in many places the
work has been done, and to this the reader is asked in
his charity to attribute the defects which a critical eye
will readily discover.
Now the sum of what has been written is this : A
gentle and sensitive woman awakes suddenly to the
appalling fact that she is a leper ! Instantly her pur
pose is formed to devote herself to work among her
fellow-sufferers. In unquestioning obedience to what
she regards as the Divine voice, she journeys to the
verge of the Himalayas. Near by is a small commu
nity of stricken people among whom Miss Reed is at
once appointed to minister. Her labors have resulted
in the admission, after careful testing, of 123 lepers
into the Church of Christ. To this is to be added the
provision of food, clothing, shelter, and relief for her
large and growing flock, together with the comfort

The Prayer of Faith 127
brought to their sad hearts by Christian sympathy and
kindness. She has moreover acquired the extensive
grounds, and supervised the erection, of what is now
one of the finest leper asylums in the world. For
nearly eight years she has labored with unswerving
purpose, in a degree of health that is amazing, and
which all who believe in the power of prayer will
gratefully recognize as Divinely bestowed.
This record of Mary Reed's life and work is issued
in the hope that it may stimulate others to a consecra
tion as complete as her own, and may, at the same
time, call forth compassion and help for the many
thousands of outcast lepers in our Indian Empire and
other Eastern lands.

Founded 1874.
THE MISSION TO LEPERS
IN INDIA AND THE EAST.

OBJECTS OF THE SOCIETY.
To preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the
Lepers.
To provide for their simple wants, and to
relieve their dreadful sufferings.
To provide Homes for Lepers and for their
untainted children.
WHAT MONEY WILL DO.
$20.00 supports a Child for 12 Months.
$25.00 supports a Leper for a Year.
$60.00 to $100.00 supports a Christian
Teacher for a Year.
$750.00 to $1,500.00 will build an Asylum
for Outcast Lepers.
SOME OF THE RESULTS.
Number of Stations of all kinds .. .. 53
Asylums entirely supported by the
Society  20
Homes for Untainted Children .. .. 14
Total wholly or partially supported
(about)  4,000
Christian Lepers in connection with
the Society (about)  2,000

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