{"collection":"scripture-revelation","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_59457/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_59457","id":"gutenberg_59457","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/59457","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Biographies","Category: Health & Medicine","Category: Religion/Spirituality","Elmslie, William Jackson, 1832-1872","Missionaries -- India -- Jammu and Kashmir -- Correspondence","Missionaries -- India -- Jammu and Kashmir -- Diaries","Missions -- India -- Jammu and Kashmir"],"text":"Produced by Sonya Schermann, Chris Pinfield, and the Online\nDistributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This\nfile was produced from images generously made available\nby The Internet Archive)\n\n\n\n\n\nTranscriber's Note:\n\nThere are variations in the spelling of local words, in the use of\nhyphens, and in the placement of quotation marks. These have been\nretained.\n\nApparent typographical errors have been corrected.\n\nItalics are indicated by _underscores_. Small capitals have been\nreplaced by full capitals.\n\n\n[Illustration: W. J. Elmslie]\n\n\n SEEDTIME IN KASHMIR:\n\n A MEMOIR\n OF\n WILLIAM JACKSON ELMSLIE,\n M.A., M.D., F.R.C.S.E., ETC,\n LATE MEDICAL MISSIONARY, C. M. S., KASHMIR,\n\n BY\n HIS WIDOW;\n AND\n HIS FRIEND, W. BURNS THOMSON,\n MEDICAL MISSIONARY.\n\n LONDON:\n JAMES NISBET & CO., 21 BERNERS STREET.\n 1875.\n\n\n\n\nPREFACE.\n\n\nIt would have gratified me had this memoir of Dr. Elmslie been placed,\nat an earlier date, in the hands of his friends; but circumstances, that\nneed not be recorded here, caused delay.\n\nAn earnest desire was expressed that it should be published, at the\nlatest, by Christmas; and, in meeting this wish, I have found it\nimpossible to afford Mrs. Elmslie, who is in India, an opportunity of\nrevising the work,\u2013to the value of which she has contributed\nlargely,\u2013prior to its publication; and so I regard myself as responsible\nfor the selection and setting of the matter it contains.\n\nI owe thanks to those who have sent me reminiscences of Dr. Elmslie, or\nwho have accommodated me with the use of letters which they received\nfrom him.\n\nI trust this brief memoir of a manly, earnest student; a dutiful son; a\ndevoted medical missionary; and a true, steadfast friend, may be blessed\nto do good, in answer to the much prayer that has accompanied its\npreparation.\n\nW. BURNS THOMSON.\n\nMEDICAL MISSION-HOUSE, 1 RAMSAY GARDENS,\nEDINBURGH, _December 1874_.\n\n\n\n\nCONTENTS.\n\n\n                                                                    PAGE\n\n     I. EARLY LIFE                                                     1\n    II. SCHOOL AND COLLEGE LIFE                                        8\n   III. MEDICAL STUDENT LIFE IN ABERDEEN                              17\n    IV. MEDICAL STUDENT LIFE IN EDINBURGH                             30\n     V. JOURNEY TO INDIA                                              45\n    VI. FROM CALCUTTA TO KASHMIR                                      54\n   VII. KASHMIR\u2013ITS PEOPLE, ETC.                                      70\n  VIII. WORK IN KASHMIR                                               87\n    IX. WAYSIDE MINISTRIES AND WORK IN AMRITSAR                      117\n     X. SECOND YEAR'S WORK IN KASHMIR                                133\n    XI. WORK IN CHAMBA                                               157\n   XII. THIRD YEAR'S WORK IN KASHMIR                                 173\n  XIII. VISIT TO CALCUTTA, AND WORK IN AMRITSAR                      200\n   XIV. FOURTH YEAR'S WORK IN KASHMIR                                209\n    XV. WAYSIDE MINISTRIES AND WORK IN KASHMIR                       225\n   XVI. THE TRAINING OF NATIVE MEDICAL MISSIONARIES                  238\n  XVII. FEMALE MEDICAL MISSIONARIES                                  246\n XVIII. HOME VISIT                                                   251\n   XIX. LAST YEAR'S WORK IN KASHMIR                                  259\n    XX. LAST JOURNEY AND DEATH                                       271\n   XXI. CONCLUSION                                                   279\n\n\n\n\nMEMOIR.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER I.\n\nEARLY LIFE.\n\n\nOn the 29th June 1832, the subject of this memoir was born in Aberdeen\nto James and Barbara Elmslie. Their eldest child, a little girl, had\nbeen taken from them shortly before his birth, so the mother called\nWilliam her \"son of consolation,\" and most tenderly did she cherish this\nfirst-born son during the early years of his life. The family was in\ntolerably comfortable circumstances, as the father a boot-closer, was a\nclever tradesman, and had plenty of work. William's earliest memories\nwere of a home in which his mother's presence was always pre-eminently\nfelt as the source of comfort and love. Mrs. Elmslie was no ordinary\nwoman. She was blessed with a vigorous intellect, a large measure of\ncommon sense, much ingenuity and forethought, and a certain combination\nof qualities that gave her the power to interest, to warm, to comfort,\nand to command; and all was pervaded by the spirit of an unostentatious\nChristianity. Her childhood had been spent among the sea-faring people\nof Cromarty, amidst those scenes now made familiar to the world by Hugh\nMiller's sketches of his early home. Her father, William Lawrence, as\ncaptain of a vessel which sailed to all parts of the world, had an\nadventurous history; and the details of his experience, fresh in her own\nmemory, were graphically conveyed to her boy; and it was his delight to\nsit beside her and listen to these wonderful stories. He thus imbibed\nmuch useful information; his imagination was stirred; and the spirit of\nenterprise unconsciously fostered. The quiet life in Aberdeen was varied\nby occasional visits to his paternal grandfather at Ballater, and deep\nand fruitful impressions of the beauties of nature were gained amid the\ngrand mountain scenery of his native land. As William was delicate, when\na child, he was not much given to the romps of other boys; but preferred\nstaying beside his mother, who was always to him a treasury of comfort\nand knowledge.\n\nHaving, through industry and economy, succeeded in saving a little\nmoney, William's father, with the view of improving his fortune, removed\nwith his family to London; but, as might have been foreseen, the change\nwas not a happy one. A stranger in the mighty crowd of busy men, he soon\nfound that money was not more easily won there than in his native\ncountry; and after struggling on for a year, without meeting the hoped\nfor tide of prosperity, his health failed, and he became seriously ill.\nWorn out with constant watching and care Mrs. Elmslie was seized with\ntyphus fever, of so malignant a type, that their one servant fled from\nthe house in terror. The picture of the little household is most\ntouching. The father is still prostrate through weakness; the mother\nraves in the delirium of fever; and the only attendant is a child eight\nyears of age! His sense of responsibility; his distress at witnessing so\nmuch suffering; and his alarm, caused by the mysterious mutterings of\nhis much loved mother, broke in rudely upon the sweet dreams of\nchildhood, and set him face to face with stern realities. But matters\ngrew worse. A physician had occasionally dropped in upon them, and now\nhis aid is indispensable; but where is he to be found? The servant, who\nmight have told, is gone; the mother is unconscious; and the father does\nnot know; and so the brave boy sallies forth to seek him in the crowded\nstreets of London! As he wanders along he scans eagerly the face of\nevery one who seems like the friend he so much needs, but in vain; the\nbusy stream of human beings rushes past unheeding, and he feels utterly\ndesolate and in despair. Unable longer to bear up, he stands still, his\nyoung heart bursting under its accumulated sorrows, and through his\ntears sends up to heaven the cry, \"God help me!\" That is the burden of\nhis prayer. The lessons of his mother bear fruit in the hour of trial.\nRight speedily comes the answer. A passer by stops, asks what is wrong,\nand the child explains. He is directed to a house close at hand, where\nhe finds not a doctor merely, but a friend,\u2013a friend whose unwearied\ncare and kindness are never to be forgotten. Soon after, William too was\nprostrated by the dreadful fever; but this good physician watched over\nhim and never remitted his generous kindnesses\u2013which were administered\nin every needful form\u2013till he saw the little family safely away from the\ngreat city on their return to Aberdeen. When Dr. Elmslie arrived in\nLondon on his return from India in 1870, one of his first visits was to\nthe house of this friend, but he was not there; and he could not\ndiscover whether he still lived, or had gone to reap his reward from Him\nwho said, \"Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these,\nmy brethren, ye have done it unto me.\"\n\nStrange to say, William's father seemed to give himself little thought\nabout the education of his boys, and insisted that William should follow\nhis own humble trade; and so the child was fully set apart to the\nservice of St. Crispin when only nine years of age. It was impossible\nthe slender youth could attempt any heavy kind of work, and so of\nnecessity he stood, in his new calling, on a platform a grade higher\nthan that occupied by the venerable Carey, who boasted that he was only\na \"_cobbler_.\" \"He excelled,\" writes Mr. William Martin, \"specially in\nthe finer departments of the work, which required great care and\nattention; and many a weary hour he spent at it, when other boys were\nfast asleep, that he might earn sufficient to pay his fees and augment\nthe comforts of the mother whom he loved so well.\" William soon became\nso expert that he was able to turn out a greater quantity of first-rate\nwork, in a given time, than almost any competitor. This not only\nsensibly improved the domestic finance, but won for him a little\nleisure, which he devoted to his much loved books.\n\nIt is good to bear the yoke in one's youth; but it was placed on William\nso early, and pressed so heavily, that had it not been for the\nencouragement of his mother, and his own unconquerable energy, he must\nhave remained ignorant of even the rudiments of learning. His mother did\nall she could to cheer and help him; she often read aloud to him, and\ngot others to read, and in the evenings young friends frequently gave\nhim a share of what they were picking up at school. Thus he struggled on\nfor some six years before he entered the grammar school. Yea, the duties\nof the trade lay hard upon him all through the time he was at school,\nand continued even while attending the University; long, indeed, after\nthey ceased to be needful for his own support, for he gained a bursary,\nand had good private teaching; but as the father's health declined, and\nhis eyesight became weak, the more the work was thrown over on the\ndutiful son. But his application never flagged. To save time and help\nhimself forward, he used to fix his book in the \"clambs\" (an instrument\nemployed for holding the leather), and placing them conveniently in\nfront of him, he learned to pick up right quickly a sentence from Zumpt,\nor a line from Homer, or any other book, and thus he stitched and\nstudied for long weary years; and so successfully, that before he had\nreached the end of his Art's course, he had gained five prizes in\nvarious classes, and a bursary. He used to refer to those days of\nsubjection to his father's will\u2013of hard uncongenial work and repressed\ndesires\u2013as a time of much mental and moral discipline. He learned\npatience, perseverance, self-control, the value of time, and\nfaithfulness in discharging duty, however irksome. In going through his\ndaily drudgery in obedience to his father, he learned the invaluable\nlesson that his life must be ruled, not by what is _pleasing_, but by\nwhat is _right_.\n\nWilliam Elmslie could not recall a time when he was without thoughts,\nmore or less serious, regarding divine things. From his earliest years,\nhis mother earnestly sought to convey to him some of her store of\nspiritual knowledge, which was her only riches. Many passages of\nScripture she repeated to him, till even when a very little boy he knew\nthem as familiar household words. The Westminster Shorter Catechism was\nrendered precious to him all through life by her simple loving\nexpositions, and her quaint homely illustrations, drawn largely from her\nown observation and experience. But it was not till he was fourteen\nyears of age that he came savingly to know Jesus. At that time, the\ninstructions of his mother received impressiveness through the faithful\ndealing of his Sabbath School Teacher, who, in private personal\nintercourse, pressed upon him the necessity of a new heart. Two passages\nwere made particularly useful at this time, and these were ever after\nmuch prized. The first was, \"God commendeth his love toward us, in that,\nwhile we were yet sinners, Christ died for us\" (Rom. v. 8). The second,\n\"Ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich,\nyet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through His poverty might be\nrich\" (2 Cor. viii. 9). Although at this time, William came in contact\nwith a real living Saviour, his faith was very feeble; but, as it was\nfaith unfeigned, it grew. Religion became more satisfying to him than it\nhad ever been. He got pretty clear glimpses occasionally of his pardon\nand acceptance in Immanuel; these multiplied and brightened till the\nsettled conviction of his life became\u2013\"_My beloved is mine, and I am\nHis._\" He had been a dutiful son all along, but there was now a new\nprinciple infused into his obedience that sweetened all the elements of\nbitterness. He learned, when serving from love to his Father in heaven,\nthat if called to sacrifice in one direction, he reaped joys in another;\nand that, after all, the way of _right_ is a way of pleasantness and a\npath of peace.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER II.\n\nSCHOOL AND COLLEGE LIFE.\n\n\nIn 1848 William Elmslie was regularly enrolled as a pupil in the Grammar\nSchool of Aberdeen, and never student more eager started in pursuit of\nknowledge. At that time its Rector was the Rev. Dr. Melvin, whose\ncharacter and mode of tuition have been made famous as much by their\nresults in the men they helped to mould, as by the graphic description\nof one of our finest writers. A few sentences from Professor Masson's\npaper may enable us to trace the kind of influence now brought to bear\non William. \"I have known many other men,\" writes the Professor, \"since\nI knew him\u2013men of far greater celebrity in the world, and of\nintellectual claims of far more rousing character than belong to Latin\nscholarship; but I have known no one, and I expect to know no one so\nperfect in his type as Melvin. Every man whose memory is tolerably\nfaithful, can reckon up those to whom he is indebted; and trying to\nestimate at this moment the relative proportions of influences, from\nthis man and that man, encountered by me, which I can still feel running\nin my veins, it so happens that I can trace none more distinct, however\nit may have been marred and mudded, than that stream which, as Melvin\ngave it, was truly 'honey-wine.'\"\u2013(_Macmillan's Magazine_, 1863, p. 231.)\n\nWhen William first entered school he only felt in part the power of this\nremarkable man, but when promoted to the advanced classes, directly\nunder Melvin's care, the enthusiasm of his nature was stirred, and his\nmind yielded itself to be moulded by him. He owed much of his success at\ncollege, and of his power in mastering languages, to the very careful\nmental training received from Melvin. \"He gave us hard work,\" he said,\n\"but it was intense enjoyment, for one's mind was strengthened,\nexpanded, and in the truest, fullest meaning of the word, _educated_.\"\nDuring his first year William was often down-cast, for school life was\nnew to him, and he felt himself far behind others of his age. However,\nhe resolved to do his best, and to make the most of the much-prized\nprivileges so long denied him. During holiday time, when others were at\nplay, he was at his books; and not in vain, for at the beginning of his\nsecond year he gained by competition a bursary that helped to relieve\nhim from pecuniary anxieties. By the end of the next session he stood\nhigh in his classes, and carried off the first prize in Greek. The Rev.\nMr. Salmond, Free Church, Barry, one of William's friends at school and\ncollege, writes thus of these early days:\u2013\"We were close companions and\nstudied very much together in private as well as in public. These were\never-memorable days, rich in generous friendships and affluent also with\nwhat should have been most helpful for the up-building of manly moral\ncharacter and energetic intellectual life, when Dr. Melvin kept the\nyoungest of us in fixed devotion to the genius of the Latin tongue, and\nwhen, after the decease of that unique master, Professor Geddes made us\nall a-glow with his own enthusiasm, and fired us with the classic spirit\nof Greek. Into what was best, in these buoyant and productive times of\nearliest mental discipline and most unselfish companionships, William\nElmslie threw himself with all his heart, and was a friend to most. His\nposition, too, was in some respects peculiar among us. His seriousness\nwas more marked, and his independent spirit and his determination to do\neverything for himself, and to make the utmost of his opportunities, had\nmethods of expressing themselves which were altogether his own.\nCommencing his course at a somewhat more advanced age than most of us,\nand possessing the advantage of having learned a trade, he used to\nexcite our admiration by the sturdy diligence with which he toiled to\nsupport himself, in a way which many a silly youth would have counted\nbeneath him, and also, in truth, our envy at the ability which he had\nthus acquired to possess himself of books beyond the reach of others. I\nwell remember how ambitious some of us were to get a week's loan of some\nof his laboriously-earned treasures, and how ready he was to indulge us\nin that line of things. Thus it happened that, in addition to the\ntext-books usually studied at that stage in Greek and Latin, not a few\nboys of some thirteen or fourteen years of age voluntarily mastered\nvolumes ordinarily reserved for a later period,\u2013such as \"Zumpt's\nGrammar,\" \"D\u00f6derlein's Synonyms,\" \"Ramshorn's Synonyms,\" the first part\nof \"Jelf's Greek Grammar,\"[1] &c. And for a certain measure of the\nattainments aimed at and made by a good many beyond the stated\nrequirements of the classes in these and other branches, we were\nindebted not a little to the stimulus of his example as well as to his\nwillingness to help others with his books and counsel. His own\nacquirements in Latin were very considerable, and to Greek also he took\nwith a burning affection and a determined perseverance, which might have\nled him on to distinguished results had the opportunity of continuing\nhis studies been given him in Providence. In these youthful days, in\nshort, the great features of character, which appeared subsequently in\nhis work in a distant country, and in taxing circumstances, were the\nvery qualities that constrained respect from all his comrades in school\nand college,\u2013his readiness to take in hand all kinds of honest labour,\nmanual and mental, his patient dedication to the task of the time, his\nthirst for knowledge, his zeal in helping others, and the hearty and\nfearless interest which he displayed all through his course in every\ndecidedly religious movement. This last made him a somewhat outstanding\nmember of our student-circles, and rendered the impression which he left\nupon his associates a very happy one.\"\n\nWhen William got in some measure abreast of his school-fellows in\nlearning, he rejoiced to join them in the playground in every manly\nsport. His hard work never inclined him to mope. With his whole heart he\nthrew himself into the game. Of cricket he was particularly fond, and\nthe company of which he was a member was called the \"_Thistle Club_.\" He\nstood A-1 at bowling. He could not endure those meandering, sneaking\nballs that creep in upon you at unawares. No; the enemy got fair\nwarning. Drawing himself well up, the body thrown back, and the lips\ncompressed, he took careful aim; then off shot the ball, swift and\nstraight as an arrow; and when he heard the delightsome clatter of the\ntumbling wickets, he cut a demi-somersault, and sang out merrily, \"_Nemo\nme impune lacessit._\"\n\nIt was near the close of William's fourth session at school that the\ndeath of the reverend rector took place. He fell paralysed to the ground\none day while engaged in his classroom, and William Elmslie was one of\nthe sorrowing pupils who helped to bear the almost lifeless form to his\nhome,\u2013not many days later to be borne thence to its narrow bed in the\nchurchyard. William never ceased to be thankful that so much of his\nstudent life had been passed under an influence so beneficial, being\ndeeply conscious of having gained in the Grammar School of Aberdeen such\na mental training as enabled him to grapple with, and to overcome, the\nintellectual difficulties which, in after days, he had to encounter.\n\nIn November 1853, he passed from school to college; and with no little\npride and pleasure his mother saw him don the scarlet cloak worn by the\nstudents of King's College, Aberdeen. \"It was there,\" writes his friend,\nthe Rev. Andrew Ritchie of Coull, \"that I first met with William\nElmslie. We were students of the same year, and I shared the same room\nwith him in his parents' house. We both worked hard. It was no unusual\nthing for us to restrict ourselves to five hours' sleep. We engaged a\nwatchman to waken us at three o'clock every morning; and we took it in\nturn to rise first, kindle the fire, and boil the coffee, which Mrs.\nElmslie had made ready the night before. After enjoying a slice of bread\nand that good, warm coffee, we began our day's work. William was always\nprayerful and earnest, and from the very first we engaged in devotions\ntogether, as well as separately; it was our delight to talk of Christ,\nand of our desire to devote ourselves to his cause.\n\n\"William's work was harder than mine, for his father's failing health\nand eyesight made him now more and more dependent on his son's\nexertions. On this account, William undertook an engagement to teach in\na school in Aberdeen, and he had also several private pupils. Being a\nfirst-rate student, and of gentlemanly manners, he had no difficulty in\ngetting as much employment of this kind as he wished; but the constant\nhard work and severe study told on his health, and, at the close of the\nsecond session at college, he was forced to obey doctor's injunctions,\nand to seek rest and country air.\"\n\nHe spent some time with relatives in Elgin, and in the neighbourhood of\nInverness, and returned, strengthened in mind and body, to take up again\nthe double burden of supporting his parents and maintaining himself at\ncollege. Sometimes when his prospects were peculiarly dark, and he\nneeded sympathy, friends took the occasion to urge him to give up the\nstruggle altogether, and turn aside to something that would be\nimmediately remunerative. He had a hard time of it when passing through\nhis philosophical classes. To most honest, earnest students, this is a\nseason of much conflict, and Mr. Elmslie's circumstances did not tend to\nmake the doubts and temptations that usually encompass it easily borne.\nSometimes, when he knelt to pray, troop after troop of doubts rushed in\nupon him, and made such assaults on his long cherished beliefs, that he\ngradually ceased to plead with God, and entered into regular mental\nwarfare, becoming altogether unconscious of his kneeling posture.\nRecovering himself, he was shocked at his irreverence; tried to smooth\nhimself down and feel solemn, but in the stillness a withering chill\nstole over him as if he were encircled by a _boundless nothing_. The\n\"_Eternal Silences_\" sent very cheerless responses to the groans that\nburst from his burdened spirit. With keen powers of analysis, and a\nslight tendency to introspection, it will be believed that such battles\nwere not infrequent. It is needless to ask, in surprise, \"But was he not\na Christian?\" Yes; but a far older and more experienced Christian was so\npuzzled by the mysteries of Providence that he exclaimed, \"As for me, my\nfeet were almost gone; my steps had wellnigh slipped.\" Mr. Elmslie's\nfeet were on the rock, but he staggered greatly notwithstanding. Through\nall his varied forms of trial, his mother stood by him to sustain and\ncheer; and when his philosophic perplexities went beyond her depth, she\nat least could sympathise and pray. He used to say \"that a mother's\nsympathy, if she had a Mary's faith, was the greatest blessing a young\nman could possess when first installed into the mysteries of\nphilosophy.\" The mother and son had, all through, an unwavering\nconviction that God intended him for a higher form of service than\nboot-closing, and therefore trials did not discourage so much as might\nhave been expected; for they were regarded as a fatherly discipline; a\npreparation for future usefulness, upon which they ceased not to ask the\nDivine blessing.\n\nHaving taken his degree in arts, he felt anxious, before deciding on a\nfurther course of study, to see something of the world, and to have a\nchange from the scene of so much labour. He therefore gladly accepted a\nproposal to go abroad as tutor in the family of an Aberdeenshire\ngentleman, who was to spend the following winter in Italy. It was a\ncurious fact which he sometimes quoted as an instance of God's\noverruling even our failings as a means of carrying out His own plan of\nour lives, that this gentleman's choice of him as tutor for his sons was\ncaused by a preference for his handwriting, the very point on which he\nwas most conscious of deficiency.\n\nThe year spent in Italy was not one of much enjoyment. William's\nsensitive nature suffered acutely in this first experience of life among\nstrangers, and his position was rendered more trying and lonely from a\nmisunderstanding between him and the father of his pupils. Nevertheless\nthe lessons in human nature, and the experience of the world gained\nthere, proved invaluable to him ever after.\n\nHere, too, his self-reliance was strengthened, and he gained a firmer\nconviction of God's power to give him joy and peace, however untoward\nhis outward circumstances might be.\n\nIn Florence he had the great privilege of meeting with some very helpful\nChristian friends, among whom was the Rev. Mr. Hannah, a young Irish\nclergyman, who had been appointed to minister to the English residents\nin that lovely city. William spent much of his spare time with this dear\nservant of God, who was then drawing very near the close of his service\non earth, and was fast ripening for glory. The Spirit of God seemed to\nreveal to him much of what eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither\nhath it entered into the heart of man to conceive, and for which he was\nbeing made ready. To all who then ministered to him much blessing was\ngiven, and William richly shared it in a realisation of the unseen and\nthe eternal such as he had never known before. During Mr. Hannah's\nillness, William agreed to relieve his mind of anxiety by conducting\nSabbath services for his little congregation. He read to them some of\nhis favourite sermons, such as Chalmers on \"The expulsive power of a new\naffection;\" Caird on the \"Solitariness of our Lord's sufferings;\" and\nMaclaren on the \"Soul's thirst after God.\" The Rev. Mr. Macdougall, who\nrelieved him of his position some six weeks later, used laughingly to\nsay that Mr. Elmslie had quite spoiled the people, for they would never\nlisten to any ordinary man's sermons after having enjoyed those\nintellectual feasts. William returned to England in June 1858, and in\nLondon heard an encouraging sermon from the Rev. Dr. Hamilton from a\ntext well suited to his circumstances, \"Casting all your care upon Him,\nfor He careth for you.\"\n\n[Footnote 1] Mr. Elmslie was not able to purchase such books as the\nabove; he _hired_ them from a bookseller at so much per week.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER III.\n\nMEDICAL STUDENT LIFE IN ABERDEEN.\n\n\nAfter his return from Florence Mr. Elmslie's thoughts were directed to\nthe ministry; and having passed the required preliminary examinations,\nand gained a bursary by competition, he entered the Free Church Divinity\nCollege in November 1858. During the session his attention was drawn to\nthe mission field, and as he searched his Bible, for instruction and\ndirection, an element in missionary service so obtruded itself on his\nnotice that it could neither be overlooked nor thrust aside. It became\nclear to his mind that when the Divine Spirit gave marked prominence, in\nthe New Testament, to the combination of _healing with preaching_ in the\nplanting of Christianity, it was intended to instruct and guide those\nwho, in after ages, might devote themselves to the extension of the\nkingdom of Christ. He accepted the lesson, and resolved to acquire the\npower of healing. Instead of attempting to follow the subjective changes\nthrough which Mr. Elmslie passed, as his thoughts gradually turned from\na pastorate at home, to service as a medical missionary abroad, it may\nbe more instructive to indicate, in a few brief sentences, how the\nsubject of medical missions\u2013_the combination of healing with\npreaching_\u2013is presented in the Word of God. The more he studied the\ninfallible missionary guide; and the more he contemplated the perfect\nModel Missionary\u2013for He hath left us an ensample that we should walk in\nHis steps\u2013the more he became enamoured with the delightful form of\nservice to which he now consecrated his life. But let us, for a moment,\nturn to the Scriptures. When the disciples of the Baptist approached the\nSaviour with the inquiry, \"Art thou He that should come, or do we look\nfor another? Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and show John again\nthose things which ye do hear and see: the blind receive their sight and\nthe lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are\nraised up and the poor have the gospel preached unto them\" (Matt. xi.\n3-5). He healed the sick and preached the gospel and pointed the\ninquirers to that combination as proof conclusive that He was the Sent\nof God. The combination was not fortuitous or incidental; it was\nforetold; and it was a striking way of delivering part of the message He\nbrought us from the Father,\u2013that He came \"to bear our sicknesses\" and to\nbe \"the Saviour of the _body_.\" This mode of procedure was wondrously\nfitted to secure a friendly consideration to his claims among the\nignorant, the indifferent, or the hostile; and was full of wisdom and\ntenderness. It is well to note that this is not a solitary instance of\nthe combination of healing and preaching, got up to settle doubts in the\nminds of John's disciples. In the life of Jesus it is \"_use and wont_,\"\nand their attention is directed to it as a sample of what He is doing\nevery day, and occasionally to such an extent that there is not time \"so\nmuch as to eat bread,\" and His relatives think \"He is beside Himself.\"\nIt is not necessary to multiply quotations. One must suffice. \"And Jesus\nwent about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and preaching the\ngospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner\nof disease among the people. And His fame went throughout all Syria; and\nthey brought unto Him all sick people that were taken with divers\ndiseases and torments, and those which were possessed with devils, and\nthose which were lunatic, and those that had the palsy; and He healed\nthem\" (Matt. iv. 23, 24.).\n\nThis combination of healing with the preaching of the gospel is not only\nlargely exhibited in the ministry of Jesus, but was enjoined by Him upon\nthe Apostles who practised it in the home and foreign mission field,\nduring their Master's lifetime and after His ascension to glory. Their\ncommission is particularly clear on this point,\u2013\"As ye go, preach,\nsaying, The kingdom of God is at hand. Heal the sick; ... freely ye have\nreceived, freely give\" (Matt. x. 7, 8). \"He sent them (the twelve\ndisciples) to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick\" (Luke ix.\n2). Very similar are the instructions given by the Lord to the seventy\nhome missionaries whom He sent, two and two, into every city whither He\nHimself would come. \"Heal the sick that are therein, and say unto them,\nThe kingdom of God is come nigh unto you.\"\n\nThe case of Paul is very instructive. Most of his life, after his\nconversion, was spent in pioneering mission work, in which the \"healing\"\nelement was likely to be of much use, and we find he was endowed with\nthat power in a remarkable degree. In Ephesus, an important heathen\ncentre, where opposition was strong and his difficulties many and great,\nit is said, \"God wrought special miracles by the hands of Paul; so that\nfrom his body were brought unto the sick handkerchiefs or aprons, and\nthe diseases departed from them, and the evil spirits went out of them\"\n(Acts xix. 11, 12). An apron or handkerchief having touched the\nApostle's body is carried to a sufferer and suffices to effect a cure.\nThis indicates a marvellous latitude for the exercise of the healing\npower, and yet it is evident there were limitations to it. This great\nApostle, who was not a whit behind the chiefest of the apostles, was not\nable to cure Timothy, though much depended on his enjoying vigorous\nhealth. We infer this inability from the fact that Paul left him in his\ninfirmity, and fell back on the very humble \"Recipe\"\u2013\"Take a little wine\nfor thy stomach's sake.\" Why not heal him right off? Why not send a\n\"handkerchief\" to him? Again, we read, \"Trophimus have I _left_ at\nMiletum, _sick_.\" Very strange, if there be no restrictions imposed on\nthis power to heal! Why cure Sergius Paulus, a heathen, and _leave_ his\n_Christian friend lying ill_? More striking still; Epaphroditus was\nsick, nigh unto death, and Paul's heart was breaking lest he should die,\nand he should have sorrow upon sorrow. Why not try the efficacy of the\nhandkerchief here? Paul assuredly _would_ have cured him if he _could_.\nThere were not many such labourers as Epaphroditus, and so he could ill\nbe spared from active duty; and Paul's affection made sure that\neverything possible would be done for him, yet the sickness presses on;\n\"_nigh unto death_\" and the apostle's sorrow deepens. These restrictions\ntend to show that the exercise of the healing power was much limited\nwithin the domain of the _Church_. On the other hand it seemed to enjoy\nunlimited scope in its approaches to an outlying heathenism. The\ncombination of healing with preaching was plainly intended to be a\n_pioneering_ agency. \"Into whatsoever city ye _enter_, heal the sick.\"\n\nThe significance of these lessons, as pointing out the path of duty to\nus, is not weakened by the fact that all the \"_healing_\" was performed\nby supernatural power; for, in those early days, the same power that\nenabled the missionary to heal enabled him to speak in \"an unknown\ntongue.\" But the withdrawal of the miraculous from this latter element\nof missions does not free us from the obligation \"to go into all the\nworld,\" and, by the use of our natural faculties, acquire the ability to\nspeak in foreign tongues. So in regard of the power to heal\u2013it must be\nnow gained by diligent study. The Scriptures thus seem to show very\nplainly that the best way of reaching the heathen, and, consequently,\nthat the most effective form of mission agency is to combine healing\nwith the preaching of the gospel. Most certainly this was the practice\nof Christ and the apostles; and it must surely be unwise to disregard\nthe plain teaching of that practice regarding the best means of\nspreading the gospel. Mr. Elmslie, as we have said, bowed to the\nScripture teaching, and resolved to acquire the power of healing\u2013to\nbecome a medical missionary. The cause at that time was little known and\nlittle esteemed; but he was fully persuaded in his own mind; and this\nclear conviction helped to uphold him during the storm that burst upon\nhim when he made known his intention to study medicine. To face four\nyears of study, _with winter and summer courses_, besides the heavy\nexpense of a _medical_ education, seemed madness to his friends, and\nthey vehemently opposed him in his resolution; but hitherto the Lord had\nhelped him, and to be a workman thoroughly furnished for the Master's\nservice appeared to him worth any amount of effort and self-denial.\nAccordingly he braced himself up to his work. Again he taught in the\nAcademy, received private pupils, stitched the '_uppers_' of boots and\nshoes, and pored over his books. Sixteen hours of work daily was the\nrule in those busy years. _Study_ was rather a relaxation than anything\nelse. Long-continued custom had begotten a love for it, and obstacles\nseemed to add a certain zest to his pursuit of knowledge. But during\nthis preparation period there were seasons when the cares of poverty\npressed heavily; and faith, hope, and patience required to be in fullest\nexercise.\n\nAt one time, when sorely bestead, he made a journey on foot all the way\nto Inverness, where a brother of his mother's lived in comfortable\ncircumstances. His purpose was to lay his case before him, and to ask\ntemporary aid, to be restored with interest when God should give him\npower to win money for himself. He was kindly welcomed, and invited to\nspend some weeks in the family, but no inquiry was made as to his\ncircumstances, nor was any assistance offered. He could not muster\nfortitude to break to his uncle the subject of his necessities; and so\nhe returned to Aberdeen with an empty purse and a \"full\" heart, to work\nharder, if possible, and to pray more earnestly. Remembering the hopes\nand the bitter disappointment of that journey, he used to say that a\nrich man could hardly give greater comfort, or do more good than by\nextending a helping hand to \"A STRUGGLING STUDENT, REALLY IN EARNEST IN\nHIS WORK, AND WITH HIS MASTER'S SERVICE AS HIS DEAREST AIM.\" These words\nare in capitals, to express Mr. Elmslie's strong views as to the _kind_\nof students to whom help would be a benefit. They must be \"_struggling_\"\nstudents, who, above all things, love the Master and His work. He came\nto know that some who had no love for Jesus might take up the profession\nof religion, to be helped into the profession of medicine. They did not\n\"struggle,\" and had not the remotest intention to struggle, but were\nmean enough to accept the fruits of self-sacrifice on the part of\nothers, that they might live in comfort and self-indulgence. He held\nvery strongly that no student with a trace of manliness in him, would\naccept such help from others, save in real necessity, and then only as\nan accommodation.\n\nIt is necessary to advert to the difficulties with which Mr. Elmslie had\nto contend, but very pleasing it is to note how cheerily he grappled\nwith them. Writing to his friend, Mr. Ritchie, from Ballater\u2013whither he\nhad gone for rest\u2013in 1859, at a time when dark clouds in abundance\nclustered around his horizon, he says: \"I am living here very much like\na hermit. But, for all that, I feel very happy, except now and then when\na cloud comes over the horizon of my mind. I then feel a temporary\nsadness, which, however, soon passes, as when a cloud crosses the disc\nof the sun. O for another such laugh as we had the first day we were\nhere, it would do us good. It's a delicious thing, a good hearty laugh.\nYou will be thinking I am getting mighty wise, having so much time and\ninclination for reading. Far from it. It takes a great deal of reading\nto make one wise. One retains so little of what he reads, that it is a\nlong, long time before the grains of gold gathered assume any\nconsiderable bulk.\" Writing to the same friend a few days later, he\nsays: \"I was extremely glad yesterday to see you before me in 'black\nupon white.'\"\n\n\"I knew you had been doing business by the address on the envelope\u2013it\nwas so smart and commercial like, as much as to say, Get out of the way,\nyou poor student, you can't transact business like me; what do you\nthink, I am a man with an income of a hundred\u2013a hundred and twenty\npounds! every farthing\u2013that's something worth writing. No more two\nguineas an hour. No more rushing from house to house, like one begging\nhis bread from door to door, in a cold night in December. No, no;\nnothing so beggarly; I am a little gentleman now, and shall be able to\nspend my winter evenings within doors as far as is agreeable to my\ntaste. I say I almost saw all that, and a great deal more, depicted on\nthat commercial envelope of yours. And when I opened, I found my most\nsanguine expectations fully realised; you being the proud master of \u00a3120\na year, with twenty-two urchins to drill scholastically. Your bread's\nbaken, Andrew, I said, for the next year, at least. Now I think you\nacted wisely in accepting the offer, although you should hold the\nsituation only for a year. And I will tell you why. Your responsibility\nis increased, and that not to such an extent as to crush you under its\nweight. It's of great consequence, I consider it, to have one's\nresponsibility thus gradually increased. It fits one for a farther\nincrease, when he has successfully carried his previous burden. Why is\nit that some men, and especially ministers, so completely fail in\nsustaining the weight of responsibility that is suddenly laid upon their\nshoulders? Just because their shoulders are strangers to the weight, and\nthe weight is too much for them at first. I suppose you see what I am\ndriving at.\"\n\nAt the election of Lord Rector for the University in 1860, Mr. Elmslie\ntook a somewhat prominent part. In Aberdeen, on such occasions, the\nvotes are given by \"_Nations_,\"\u2013a nation representing the students from\ncertain defined districts. They sometimes differed greatly in numerical\nstrength. This year, for example, _Mar_ contained 149 matriculated\nstudents, _Moray_ registered only 49, and yet in electoral value, they\nwere equal! On this occasion, two nations voted for one candidate, and\ntwo for the other, but there was a majority of 38 students in favour of\none of the candidates, so that when the Principal intimated his\nintention of settling the difficulty by giving his casting vote against\nthe candidate supported by the majority of students, the Mar and Angus\nnations resolved to dispute said vote as \"inexpedient, incompetent, and\nillegal.\" Funds were raised to meet the law expenses, and Mr. Elmslie\nwas appointed treasurer. It is amusing to note the carefulness with\nwhich, in letter after letter, he impresses on the agents in Edinburgh\nthat he and his companions are not to be held responsible for the\npayment of a single farthing beyond the monies actually received.\n\nThe election was carried against his party, and on the 16th March 1861,\nthe professors and students assembled to hear the Rector's inaugural\naddress. At the close of the preliminary services, when the successful\ncandidate was just going to speak, Mr. Elmslie, being a procurator,\nascended the platform, and very deliberately read a protest against the\nvalidity of his election. He then, with a low bow, placed the document\nin the hands of the Principal, and walked out of the room, followed by a\nconsiderable number of students. But many of the same party remained to\nsee what was to be the upshot of their proceedings; and not a few, to\ngive _impressiveness_ to their protest, had come to the hall armed with\npeas, shot, stones, and other such-like persuasive but most illogical\narguments, and the result was a \"_row_,\" prodigiously out of keeping\nwith academic propriety. Although Mr. Elmslie was entirely blameless in\nregard to these low proceedings, the amount of censure awarded him was\n_singularly_ liberal. \"Nothing,\" writes his companion in the\nstruggle,\u2013now the Rev. Mr. Mackie of St. Mary's E. C. Dumfries\u2013\"nothing\ncould be more alien to Elmslie's feelings and sense of duty than any\nbreach of university discipline. He took no part in it, and restrained\nit to the utmost of his power.\" Referring to these student days, Mr.\nMackie writes, \"My early acquaintance with Mr. Elmslie impressed me\nequally with esteem for the greatness of his intellect, and the goodness\nof his heart. He was slow of speech, but swift in judging. Often, when\nplans were proposed, he would simply say 'No' very slowly, and then\nrender a single reason which left no room for any other reply than 'I\nsee.' He was one of the most satisfactory friends I have ever had in\nlife; for you could count upon him at all times. I cannot recall a\nsingle instance in which his counsel seemed to fail me when we were\nacting together under very trying circumstances, with very few\nopportunities for consultation. His memory was remarkably tenacious of\nany agreement as to co-operation, as he was remarkably tenacious of his\npurposes. One always knew where he would find him.\"\n\nIn the end of July of 1862 he passed his second professional\nexamination. \"It was,\" he writes to Mr Ritchie, \"a long, stiff, but I am\nhappy to say, a successful pull. We had nine hours hard work,\u2013to me at\nleast it was hard. There was no little manual work, apart from the\nmental effort required in summoning up so many facts and putting them\ntogether in a connected form. I was exceedingly fortunate in the subject\non which I was examined (_viv\u00e2 voce_). I answered the questions as fast\nas they were put to me, and altogether got on splendidly until I felt\nsorry when the examinations were ended, because I could not get any\nlonger opportunity of showing off how thoroughly I was '_up_.' This was\na bit of vanity, but pardonable, I think; was it not? At the close of\nthe examination, on being called into the Senatus Chamber, I was\ninformed by the Dean of the Faculty that I had passed with '_much\ncredit_.'\"\n\nAt an early stage of his studies Mr. Elmslie had heard of the Edinburgh\nMedical Missionary Society, an organization which paid the class fees,\ntext books, and cost of licences of young men desiring to prepare\nthemselves for the mission field. The reader is already aware that it\nwas no easy task for Mr. Elmslie to open up his difficulties to others,\nbut pressed by necessity, and encouraged by friends, he laid his case\nbefore the society in Edinburgh, and on the 7th May 1860 he got the\nfollowing reply from the secretary, Dr. Coldstream, \"I was instructed to\ninform you that the committee cannot consent to relax in your favour,\ntheir regulations as to residence in Edinburgh, during the Medical\nCurriculum, and the requiring their students to abstain from private\nteaching.\" It is due to the gentleman who sent this official notice to\nstate, that he spoke a word of kindly cheer from himself which helped to\nlessen the bitterness of disappointment.\n\n\"Afflictions are not joyous but grievous;\" sometimes, however, they are\nvery profitable: and there is nothing for which Mr. Elmslie gives more\nfrequent or more hearty thanks, than for his \"afflictions\"\u2013for the very\ntrials, the record of which awakens our sympathy. Soon again he was\nbattling as cheerily with his responsibilities as if he had received no\ndisheartening repulse. Some twelve months after, an influential friend\nin Aberdeen brought his case a second time before the Board in\nEdinburgh. This gave rise to a very instructive correspondence, but our\npresent object requires us to cull from it nothing more than the simple\nfact, that notwithstanding the difficulties mentioned above as lying in\nthe way of his getting help from Edinburgh he did get a grant in aid of\n\u00a315.\n\nHaving passed his second professional examination with honours, he came\nto the last year of his medical course, rejoicing, as students usually\ndo at that period, in the thought that practically his battle was\nfought. I was anxious, he writes, \"to spend the winter in Edinburgh, as\nit was in all likelihood my last before going abroad.\" And so he came\nsouth prepared to accept gratefully, as a temporary accommodation, such\nbenefits as the Missionary Society could bestow. Mr. Elmslie feared\nthere might be some risk in coming to attend medical classes in\nEdinburgh, if he purposed\u2013as he did\u2013to return to Aberdeen for his final\nexamination and degree; but his desire to be even for one season under\nmen like Syme, Simpson, Miller, &c., overcame his hesitation, and in\nNovember 1862 he became an inmate of our humble home in the Dispensary\nin Edinburgh.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IV.\n\nMEDICAL STUDENT LIFE IN EDINBURGH.\n\n\nIt seems becoming to give a brief notice of the society from which Mr.\nElmslie got temporary assistance, or rather to permit the society to say\na few words for itself. It began in November 1841. Its objects are thus\nstated: \"The objects of the Edinburgh Medical Missionary Society shall\nbe to circulate information on the subject of medical missions, to aid\nother institutions engaged in the same work, and to render assistance at\nmissionary stations to as many professional agents as the funds placed\nat its disposal shall admit of.\" After existing for twenty years it thus\nreports itself: \"The Society has now entered upon the twentieth year of\nits existence. The retrospect is at once humbling and encouraging.\nHumbling in respect of the small extent to which the objects\ncontemplated have been carried out, and of the imperfections of the\nmachinery now in operation; encouraging, because the principle for which\nthe society had at its formation to contend, has now been generally\nacknowledged by the friends of missions as a sound one.\"\n\nThe year before Mr. Elmslie came to Edinburgh, this society was\namalgamated with another and independent Medical Missionary Society,\nwhich, though young in years, gave strong evidence of vitality. The two\nsocieties being \"germane in their objects,\" they became one, and after\nthe union, the following prospectus was issued, bearing the imprimatur\nof the whole directorate:\u2013\n\n\"The object of the Society is to promote the propagation of the gospel\namongst heathen and other unenlightened people, through the agency of\nwell-qualified medical practitioners, who are either partially\nsupported, or aided by grants of medicines, books, and instruments.\n\n\"The society aids and directs the education of promising young men who\nresolve to devote themselves to medical missionary service.\n\n\"It provides for the half of the salary of a medical missionary at\nMadras, whose labours, extended over four years, have been greatly\nblessed\u20135760 persons having received aid last year. This mission deals\nwith a portion of the heathen population of Madras, beyond the direct\ninfluence of any other missionary agency.\n\n\"The society maintains a dispensary in the Cowgate of Edinburgh, in\nwhich religious instruction is combined with medical treatment. During\nlast year this dispensary administered medical aid to 5332 patients, all\nof whom had the Word of Life set before them. A well-qualified\nsuperintendent, with assistants, takes charge of the dispensary, which\nsupplies an admirable training school for the society's students. The\nattendance at the prayer-meetings, held for persons in their\nworking-clothes, is very encouraging. There are not wanting proofs of\nthese means having been blessed to the awakening and conversion of souls.\n\n\"The society organises monthly meetings for the benefit of the medical\nstudents attending the Colleges in Edinburgh, who are addressed on\nvarious subjects, more or less illustrative of the principles and\nprogress of Christian Missions.\" Reminding our readers that this refers\nto the state of matters some twelve years ago, we return to Mr. Elmslie.\n\nThe mission work of the dispensary he enjoyed greatly; but only a little\nof it was permitted to him, or to any of the students, lest they should\nbe diverted from their medical studies. In all mission dispensaries it\nis the practice, when the patients have assembled, to hold a short\nreligious service with them, which affords an excellent opportunity for\ncommending Christ. It fell to Mr. Elmslie to conduct this service once a\nweek, and it was quite a refreshment to himself to do so; but he was not\neffective as a speaker on such occasions. There was a monotony in his\ndelivery that disposed to drowsiness, and a want of point and power that\nsurprised those who knew his logical cast of mind, and his varied stores\nof information. But in another part of the work he was quite an adept.\nThe superintendent, distressed at witnessing large numbers of neglected\nyouths lounging idle about the district where he laboured, resolved to\ndo something for their spiritual benefit, and Mr. Elmslie joyfully\nassisted. The lads were frightfully wild. On the Sabbath evenings\nespecially, work being suspended, they gathered in the neighbourhood in\nlarge and numerous groups. \"It was _impossible_ to be indifferent to\ntheir presence. Their noisy demonstrations _compelled_ attention; and\nthough we might contrive to pass them, utterly regardless of the\ninterest of their souls, we were obliged to be most considerately\nmindful of the interest of our own '_shins_.' It was not safe to go near\nthem, for they were continually fighting, and wrestling, and plunging\nabout in the most alarming fashion.\" Fourteen of these lads sat down to\ntea with Mr. Elmslie every Sabbath night in one of the rooms of the\ndispensary, and this attractive opening service was followed by a Bible\nlesson. At first they were inclined to be troublesome, but the quiet\nfirmness with which he grasped the reins made the most reckless feel\nthat opposition was hopeless. His mastery over them was complete; and\nwithout any visiting efforts on his part, the attendance was wonderfully\nregular. Several of his pupils were at least outwardly reformed; and\none, it is hoped, got real spiritual blessing. He gave up his evil\npractices, attended to his business, began to go to church, and became a\nrespectable tradesman. Dropping in at the close of Mr. Elmslie's\nmeeting, as the writer often did, it was a touching sight to witness the\nband of lawless outcasts kneeling reverently around him, whilst he\npoured out the deep yearnings of his heart on their behalf to Him who\ncame to seek and to save the lost.\n\nIn the household visitation of his patients, Mr. Elmslie soon became a\ngreat favourite. He had suffered, being tried, and was therefore able to\nsympathise with those in trial. Young as he was, he could to some extent\nuse the language of the apostle, \"That we may be able to comfort them\nwhich are in any trouble by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are\ncomforted of God.\" He was welcomed amongst the poor not merely as a\ndoctor, but as a friend. The children clung to him, and he had many pets\namongst them who amused and refreshed him. \"I am very sorry, indeed,\" he\nwrites of one of these, \"to learn that wee Sandy has been taken away\nfrom you. He was a great pet of mine, and I think the wee man liked the\ndoctor. I trust Sandy is singing to-day in heaven, not 'There is a happy\nland, _far, far away_;' but _this is_ the happy land. I do sympathise\nwith you and Mrs. \u2013\u2013 very sincerely, but what is in heaven is certainly\nnot lost. Heaven has now a greater hold upon you, and if Sandy's going\naway helps to make you think more of Jesus, and to desire and strive to\nlive a godly life, then wee Sandy will not have lived and died in vain.\"\n\nMr. Elmslie was usually so wide-awake, that it was not often he was\nfound off his guard. But in the course of this session he was fairly\ncaught _napping_. The incident is trifling, but it shows how a good and\ndiligent student may get into an awkward predicament through mere\nthoughtlessness. Mr. David Young and he were grinding in one of the\nempty rooms of the college. They were overheard discussing a knotty\nquestion, when \u2013\u2013 laid his hand on Mr. Young's shoulder, and said, \"If\nyou will both promise to be _good boys_, I think I can help you in\n'grinding' up that difficult bit.\" \"How?\" was at once the inquiry. \"Dr.\n\u2013\u2013 has a splendid preparation, and I'm sure he won't object to\n_diligent_ students seeing it sometimes.\" (Rather generous, to be\nobliging with another man's goods!) Next day they were duly introduced\ninto Dr. \u2013\u2013's sanctum, and the magnificent preparation placed before\nthem. Their friend then withdrew, and they fastened the door on the\ninside. It was a golden opportunity; but \"we had not done much,\" says\nMr. Young, \"when a sharp footstep came along the passage towards us. We\ninstinctively held our breath, and looked at each other. The surprise\ndeepened when a key was hastily thrust into the door of our sanctum, but\nbeing snibbed, it could not be opened, and Dr. \u2013\u2013 went along the passage\ncalling loudly for our obliging friend, who found it _necessary_ to be\nengaged elsewhere at that moment, and did not appear. Meanwhile I rose\nand unfastened the door, and Dr. \u2013\u2013 soon returning, entered and found us\nsitting before his model. He held up both his hands, and exclaimed,\n\"What is this? My almost priceless preparation, which I would not allow\nmy most intimate friend to touch!\" By this time the culprits were\nstanding; and, after a becoming pause, Elmslie began to sing _Miserere_,\nbut was cut short at once. \"That will do, gentlemen; you may go.\" They\ncrept out in the meekest attitude possible, and certain uneasy\nmisgivings regarding the propriety of their conduct, suggested some\nanxious glances behind them during their departure.\n\nThe time for his final examination in Aberdeen, in the spring of 1863,\ndrew near, and the hopes and fears that usually agitate students on such\nan occasion, Mr. Elmslie felt with peculiar force. He knew that the\nstand he made at the rectorial election had not gained favour for him in\nthe senate; and he feared his coming to attend medical classes in\nEdinburgh might not be relished by the medical faculty; and therefore,\nduring the whole session, he had studied earnestly. \"I never,\" he said,\n\"studied harder in my life.\" He did so because he wished to maintain his\nreputation as a student. How natural, also, that he should desire to see\nthe end of his severe struggle, not to support himself merely, but his\nlittle household; and, besides, he longed to be free to go forth,\nwithout let or hindrance, to the blessed work of winning souls. Knowing\nhow much depended on this, his last appearance, he says, in another\nletter, \"I studied with might and main.\" He went in to his examination;\nhe did his best; he thought he had done well, but, to his inexpressible\nastonishment and grief, he was \"_plucked_,\"\u2013an ugly word, but it is the\nterm we students best understand; it comes closest home to our\nconsciousness, and carries in it the concentrated essence of all that is\nundesirable in our student life;\u2013_plucked_ in Aberdeen in the two\nsubjects which unhappily he had not studied there; rejected in Aberdeen\nin midwifery, for which, during the session, he won Sir J. Y. Simpson's\ndiploma, and a certificate of merit to boot; rejected in Aberdeen on\nmedical jurisprudence, for which, in Edinburgh, by fair competition, he\ncarried off the _gold medal_. It is not our province to comment, and we\nstudiously abstain from it; it is ours simply to chronicle; but a single\nword of sympathy from a personal friend of Elmslie's may not be out of\nplace:\u2013\"Dear Elmslie,\" writes Professor Miller, \"I sympathise with you\nmost keenly in your heavy trial.... 'God defend the right,' was a stout\nand good old battle-cry, and He will.\" Mr. Elmslie returned to Edinburgh.\n\nOn rejoining us in the dispensary, there was much prayer for divine\nguidance, for it was a time of great perplexity. He was strongly urged\nto go back to Aberdeen, and take his degree in July. This, it was truly\nsaid, was the easiest course, so far as work was concerned. It was\ncertainly the _cheapest_, and that was a consideration he could well\nappreciate. For a time he felt the sore pangs of suspense as to the path\nof duty; but the more he thought over it, the more evident it became,\nthat were he to go back to Aberdeen, so shortly after being publicly\nrejected, it would appear that he was getting his qualification as a\n_favour_, and not as a _right_, and that all through life a certain\nsuspiciousness or doubtfulness would attach to his degree,\u2013and therefore\nto his professional standing,\u2013seeing it was so immediately preceded by a\n\"_plucking_.\" He could not return to Aberdeen. The following short note\nto his mother, which is the first he wrote after his rejection, shows\nthe quarter in which he sought support and guidance:\u2013\"_M. M. Dispensary,\n16th May 1863_.\u2013DEAREST MOTHER,\u2013I was delighted to get your cheering\nnote, and very glad to hear that you feel comforted in mind, though very\nlonely. Let us cling close to Jesus, let us draw out of His fulness, and\nnever forget that He cares for us,\u2013for you, and for Stewart, and\nme\u2013infinitely more than for the flowers which are looking so lovely just\nnow. We may look upon ourselves as belonging truly to Him. May we not,\ndear mother? Then let us believe that all things will be made to work\ntogether for good for us,\u2013even this, sore trial though at present it\nseems. May God bless and comfort you by His Spirit, dear mother.\u2013Your\naffectionate son, WILLIAM.\"\n\nWhen it was finally determined that he should take an extra year of\nstudy and graduate in Edinburgh, he withdrew as soon as possible from\nall official connection with the dispensary, and took lodgings in Brown\nStreet; borrowing money from private friends to enable him to meet the\nresponsibilities so unexpectedly thrown upon him. This was, to Mr.\nElmslie, perhaps the hardest winter of his life. There was no\ndifficulty, it is true, in finding those who were willing enough to lend\nto him, but a man must borrow with great hesitation and consideration,\nwho honestly intends to repay, as Mr. Elmslie did; and, besides, one of\nan independent spirit is the less inclined to borrow the greater his\nneed. Then Mr. Elmslie's mother was feeling so much her loneliness,\nthrough his continued absence from home, that he strove to the utmost\nthat _she_ should be comfortable, whatever might become of himself.\nFriends could not fail to notice that it was to him a season of serious\nself-denial, and once and again, with the view of moderating the\nseverity of the pressure upon him, found means to convey help to him\nwithout letting him know whence it came. These love tokens were\naccompanied with the single sentence, \"Your Father knoweth that ye have\nneed of these things.\" Soon after the packets reached their destination,\nhe ran along to us to ask us to help him to give God thanks.\n\nBefore settling down to the hard study of the winter, he cleared off his\nfirst professional examination in the University at Edinburgh, and sent\nhis mother the following account of the appearance he made:\u2013_\"6 Brown\nStreet, Edinburgh, Nov. 4, 1863._ MY EVER DEAR MOTHER,\u2013Bless the Lord\nwith me for His great goodness to me! I have passed (my first\nprofessional) at the University of Edinburgh, and more than passed, for\nthe professors passed high encomiums on the excellence of my papers.\nProf. Balfour was so satisfied with my paper on botany, that he merely\nshowed me some microscopic preparations, and asked me to name them.\nProf. Playfair said my paper on chemistry was so good, that he did not\nintend to put a single question more. On learning that I had been a\npupil of Prof. Brazier's, he said I reflected great credit on my former\nteacher. Oh, mother, these were little words, but how sweet they were to\nme! In my heart, all the time I listened to them, I was blessing God for\nhaving given me power to write such papers, and thus to corroborate all\nthat had been said in favour of my character as a student. The paper on\nnatural history was without one error, and Prof. Allman, in my _viva\nvoce_, was fully satisfied with my answers. How thankful I am and ought\nto be. I don't think I ever studied so hard as during the past five\nweeks. The subjects to which I had to devote my attention were\nextensive, and I knew that much depended on my success. The thought of\nthat nerved me. I prayed constantly and earnestly that the Lord would\nbless my efforts, and He has! ... Please let me have dear Stewart's\nletter, that I may write him a long answer.... My communion last Sabbath\nwas not so happy as I could have wished; my mind was too exhausted for\nfull enjoyment, but I was enabled to feel myself a sinner, and once more\nto take Jesus to be my Saviour.\"\n\nFew could say more truthfully than Mr. Elmslie that he prayed\n\"constantly and earnestly.\" This session, especially, when labouring to\nredeem his character as a student from the slur cast upon it by his\nrejection, he seemed to feel the need of constant waiting upon God. He\nprayed as much as if study were of little use; he studied as hard as if\nto pray were vain. He furnished a good illustration of \"Praying and\nWorking.\" This winter he became secretary to the \"Medical Student's\nDevotional Society,\" and did what he could to promote its interests.\nThere was something touching in Mr. Elmslie's _manner_ in prayer. He\nspoke in his natural voice, without a trace of the artificial in its\ntone. His sentences were short and very simple, which gave a child-like\ncharacter to his supplications; and it was encouraging to note the\n_confidingness_ with which, in humbleness of spirit, he made known his\nwants to his Father in heaven.\n\nThe following short letter to his mother notes the progress of his\nstudies:\u2013\"_6 Brown Street, 29th February, 1864._ MY DEAREST MOTHER,\u2013Your\nlast note was very cheering to me. The same post brought me one from\nStewart, telling of his safe arrival at his ship, for which I join you\nin thanking our Heavenly Father. I continue to feel less nervous, and am\nable to study very hard. God will bless those strenuous efforts, and, as\nyou say truly, dear mother, the time will soon slip away, and we shall\nsee each other again. Take great care of yourself till then, dear\nmother. My examinations take place early in April, but I don't intend,\nat present at least, to appear again in Aberdeen till I am doctor of\nmedicine from the university; that can not be till the 1st August. Dr.\nCandlish is to deliver the first of his course of lectures on the\nFatherhood of God to-morrow, and a great treat I expect it to be. We\nhave lost Mr. Dykes; you will be sorry to hear his health has obliged\nhim to leave St. George's, where his preaching was so much\nappreciated,\u2013and he has gone to rest in Italy for the present. God bless\nand comfort you with the precious consolations of His Spirit!\u2013Dear\nmother, your loving son, WILLIAM.\"\n\nOne subject for prayer which was never omitted was _guidance_ as to his\nfuture sphere of labour. Only two of the places brought under his notice\nrequire mention\u2013Bombay and Kashmir. Friends interested in the extension\nof medical missions were exerting themselves to raise \u00a32000, to\nguarantee a fair start to a medical mission in Bombay; but, till the sum\nshould be completed, even those who looked upon Elmslie as the very man\nfor the sphere, and longed to possess him, had not faith to enter into a\ndefinite agreement with him. Gladly would Mr. Elmslie have gone to\nBombay, for he considered it one of the most important heathen centres\nin India, where there was full scope for the exercise of all the gifts\nand graces wherewith God had blessed him. He more than once spoke of the\n_unbelief_ that shrunk from fixing him, when the hand of God was so\nmanifest in all the antecedent movements connected with that mission.\nKashmir was under his notice for a considerable time. This was also a\nnew mission.\n\n\"It was in the year 1862,\" says the Rev. Mr. Clark, \"that the Kashmir\nMission was commenced by an address which was sent to the Church\nMissionary Society, signed by most of the great and good men who then\nheld in their hands the government of the Punjaub. They knew that the\nbest means of benefitting Kashmir was the gift of God's Word, and the\nexemplification of Christian charity. Kashmir, from the earliest times,\nhad been an outlying province of the Punjaub, and had been made over by\nus to the present reigning family not twenty years before; and Christian\npeople desired to place within reach of the people in Kashmir the same\nblessings which they had endeavoured to give to the Punjaub. It was\nduring a journey on the mountain-road between Murree and Abbottabad,\nthat the idea first occurred to _Dr. Cleghorn_, that Kashmir was one of\nthose countries where the influence of medical skill would greatly avail\nto aid the introduction of Christ's gospel.\"\n\nThe \"Church Missionary Society's Committee of Correspondence, April 5,\n1864, resolved\u2013That, adverting to the Christian zeal and extraordinary\nliberality of the friends of the Society in the Punjaub towards the\nestablishment of the Kashmir Mission, and their judgment of the\nimportance to its success of a medical missionary, this Committee will\nmake the present case an exception to their general practice, and will\nbe willing to enter into communication with Mr. Elmslie, with a view to\nhis appointment to the Kashmir Mission, provided that he is prepared\ncordially to act upon the missionary principles of the Society.\" The\nmovement in this country was promoted by Professor Balfour, Dr.\nColdstream, and the Rev. G. D. Cullen, all of whom took a kind interest\nin Mr. Elmslie, and the result was, that he was appointed for five years\na _lay_ agent of the Church Missionary Society, and hence his\nPresbyterianism was not much of a difficulty. But there was a permanent\ndrawback connected with the mission in Kashmir: \"He seems,\" writes Dr.\nColdstream \"to be somewhat staggered by the rajah's law of exclusion\nfrom his possessions for six months of each year; but I have encouraged\nhim to believe, that it may be quite possible for him to find abundance\nof occupation during that period of exclusion, in territory under\nBritish rule or protection.\"\n\n\"I can bear testimony,\" continues the worthy doctor, \"very fully and\nwith confidence, in favour of Mr. Elmslie, as having apparently all the\ngifts and graces which one desires to see conjoined in a medical\nmissionary.\"\n\nHis medical examinations in Edinburgh, at the College of Surgeons and\nUniversity, were duly passed with credit (he did \"splendidly,\" he wrote\nto his mother), and he was capped in August 1864, and there was\ntherefore now no ambiguity circling round his professional Status.\nInstead of writing to his much-loved mother, he rushed home to enjoy her\ncompany during the few weeks he could now afford before sailing for\nIndia. The following passage from a letter to Mrs. Coldstream shows the\ndirection of his thoughts at this time:\u2013\n\n\"_27 Blackfriars Street, Aberdeen_, _31st August 1864_.\u2013It does greatly\ngladden my heart to know that you have been making me and my future\nlabours the subject of earnest supplication at the throne of grace. I\nvery much need your urgent petitions in my behalf, for although I have\nused my prayerful endeavour all along to have myself qualified for the\nspecial work to which, I trust, I have been called; nevertheless, when I\nget but a dim glimpse of the numerous and heavy responsibilities and\ngreat difficulties of my future position, as a labourer for Jesus among\nthe benighted heathen, the irresistible exclamation of my heart is, Who\nis sufficient for these things? Quickly, however, I have the cheering\nresponse whispered into the ear of my faith by the loving and\nsympathising One, 'My grace is sufficient for thee.' I rest in that\ndeclaration of our Saviour. My dear mother, I am happy to be able to\nsay, loves the Saviour, and does not grudge to give up a son to work\nunder His banner, who has done so much for her soul. Who would not be\nwilling to give up all to Jesus when He makes the demand? You can easily\nfancy how very much this willing surrendering of me to the Lord by my\ndear mother diminishes the sorrow which we mutually feel at the thought\nof being so far and so long separated. Jesus sweetens everything.\"\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER V.\n\nJOURNEY TO INDIA.\n\n\nAs mentioned by Dr. Elmslie in his letter to Mrs. Coldstream, it greatly\nlessened the trial of parting from his mother, that she came at length\nto be willing to give him up to _foreign_ service. Long after his own\nmind was satisfied that he was called to labour amongst the heathen in\ndistant lands, the mother failed to see that there was any need that her\ndarling son should go so far from home. Sometimes she tried to introduce\nthe subject, to plead with him from _her_ standpoint; but whenever she\napproached it, he held up his hand, and, with an earnest deprecating\ngesture cried, \"No! mother, no.\" Having got, as he believed, his\nmarching orders from the \"Captain of Salvation,\" he could not confer\nwith flesh and blood. \"Let her tell Jesus,\" he used to say; \"_He_ will\nput all right,\" and He did, for she gave him up willingly; and fondly\nshe blessed him. It aggravated the trial on both sides that Mrs.\nElmslie's other son\u2013a sailor\u2013was then far away from home; but William\ndid his utmost to arrange for her comfort after his departure. His first\nnote addressed to her after rejoining us in Edinburgh bears date,\n\"_Friday night_,\" and was written after special prayer by a few friends,\nthat the Lord would graciously sustain and comfort her: \"My dearest\nmother ... cheer up. I am well, and our loving Father is supporting me\ngraciously in this hour of trial. He will sustain both of us if we lean\non His almighty arm. I leave in an hour for London after very laborious\nwork in Edinburgh. Every one is very kind to me. God bless and comfort\nyou.\u2013Your loving son, WILLIE.\"\n\n\"_Southampton, 19th September 1864._\u2013MY EVER DEAREST MOTHER,\u2013When I\ndropped you my last note I was indeed in a very great hurry, for I had\nbut a few minutes before leaving for London. Dear Mr. Ritchie's coming\nwith me has been a source of great pleasure. I heartily wish he were\ncoming all the way to India. After transacting all my business in\nLondon, we went down to Windsor, and spent the remainder of Saturday and\nSunday with Uncle Stewart and Emma, who welcomed us most cordially. Vine\nCottage is a little paradise of a place, I wish I could transport you to\nit, dear mother; how much good it would do you. We went to church in old\nWindsor where we heard a pitiably poor sermon. In the afternoon we went\nto St. George's Chapel at Windsor Castle; there was no sermon, but the\nmusic was very grand. I believe most of the members of the choir are\nprofessionals....\n\n\"I am really well now, dearest mother. I trust you are leaning on God\nand rejoicing in Him. _Rejoice in the Lord alway._\u2013Your ever loving son,\nWILLIE.\"\n\n\"_Southampton, 20th September 1864_, '_Poonah._'\u2013Just about to sail.\nSorry about you, dear mother; only kept up by the knowledge that the\nLord Himself is with you. Lean hard on the Lord, and may He spare us to\nmeet! The Lord bless you and comfort you. I shall write from Gibraltar\nin a very few days.\u2013Your ever loving son, WILLIE.\"\n\n\"_Poonah, off the coast of Portugal, Sept. 24._\u2013MY EVER DEAR MOTHER,\u2013We\nexpect to arrive in Gibraltar to-morrow morning, and I cannot let an\nopportunity pass without posting a few lines for you.\n\n\"I have great reason for thankfulness to our gracious Father for all His\nkindness since I left you. With the exception of one day's sickness, I\nhave kept well even through the heavy swell on the Bay of Biscay....\n\n\"I daresay you feel curious to know how I like board-ship life, and who\nmy fellow-passengers are. We have Englishmen, Scotchmen, Irishmen,\nDutchmen, and old Indians on board, and among the servants there are\nnatives of India and China. Poor things, they are so looked down upon; I\nlong to be able to speak a kind word to them, and to tell them that God\nloves them. There are two others in the cabin with me,\u2013one a Christian\nman, an officer from the Punjaub, who knows the missionaries there. He\nalso knows Dr. F\u2013\u2013, and speaks highly in praise of him.\n\n\"We have three clergymen with us, one of whom is Archdeacon of Madras,\nto whom Major R\u2013- proposed that we should have morning prayers, and\nthis has been begun. Only a few have, as yet, attended, but it was\npleasant to unite in thanking God for His great goodness, and to claim\nfulfilment of the promise that where two or three are gathered together\nin Christ's name, He will be in the midst of them. To-day we had a\nlarger attendance.... My own morning reading is the Bible; I also have\nhad great pleasure in reading 'Gentle Life.' Our usual routine is: at 9,\nbreakfast; 10, prayers; reading till 12, the hour for luncheon; on deck\nreading or conversing till 4, when the summons to dinner is heard. I\nmust tell you what a fix I was in the first day at dinner. You know what\na fear I have of being called on to carve; but where do you think I\nfound my place at table, but right before a dish of fowls! I had to do\nmy best, but have managed to avoid that seat ever since. After dinner\nthere is the same round of reading, talking, or playing chess. I long to\nbe in India, settled to work, for this kind of life is mere vegetating.\nI mean to begin the study of Hindustani next week: this will be my chief\nwork for some months to come. Pray for me, dear mother. It is a very\ndifficult language; but you remember the miracle of the gift of tongues.\nThe Archdeacon is to preach to-morrow. I am sorry to think we are to\narrive at Gibraltar on a Sunday, as I shall not be able to go and\nexplore.\n\n\"I shall take up the thread of my story before we reach Malta, so as to\nhave a letter ready for you when the mail goes out....\n\n\"Good-night, dearest mother; may you enjoy much of the presence of the\ngood Spirit.\u2013Your ever loving son, WILLIE.\"\n\n\"_Mediterranean Sea, S.S. Poonah, 28th Sept. 1864._\u2013MY EVER DEAR\nMOTHER,\u2013We have had a very calm and pleasant run from the Rock, but now\nwe are being so roughly tossed by the blue waters of the Mediterranean,\nthat it is with difficulty I can write.... The Archdeacon and captain\narranged that worship should be in the evening on Sunday, as there was a\ngreat deal of noise and bustle on the morning of the Lord's day. In the\nevening, accordingly, everything was beautifully arranged. A large\nawning was spread over the quarter-deck, a box erected as a desk, having\nin front a large lantern, and the Archdeacon preached a very good sermon\nfrom those words, 'What think ye of Christ?'\n\n\"After service I had an interesting conversation with a young Dutch\nlady, who is evidently dying of consumption. She told me she had lived a\nvery thoughtless life, but the glorious light of the Gospel seems to be\ndawning on her mind. I trust it is so, for her sun is fast setting.... I\nhave begun Hindustani, and am kindly helped by Major R.\n\n\"The Lord bless and comfort my dear mother.\u2013Your ever loving son,\nWILLIAM.\"\n\n\"_To the same._\u2013Yesterday forenoon we arrived at Malta, and I had the\npleasure of visiting Valetta, its principal city, which is composed\nchiefly of military forts of the greatest strength. I am told by\nmilitary men on board that the island is considered impregnable. Passing\nalong the main street of Valetta, we saw the Governor's palace. The\nwomen almost all wore black mantles over their hair, in some cases\nfastened with flowers. Every second person we met was a priest: there\nare 1600 in the capital alone. We visited the great Church of St.\nJohn's,\u2013a truly magnificent building, so far as costly embellishments\ngo; but it is florid, and not in harmony with the sacred purpose of the\nedifice. It reminded me of Notre Dame in Paris, but neither of these\nbuildings please me so much as Te Duomo in Florence, of which you have a\nphotograph. A host of importunate beggars besieged us as we entered St.\nJohn's,\u2013arrant rogues they seemed, every one of them. The son of Louis\nPhilippe was buried in this church, and over his tomb there is an\nexquisite piece of sculpture.\n\n\"We spent a very interesting afternoon with Mr. Gibb, who took us to see\nthe depot of the British and Foreign Bible Society, the superintendent\nof which is an old soldier, a soldier of the cross, too, and of the\nright stamp for such a post. Four thousand Bibles were sold the year\nbefore last, and through his laborious exertions no fewer than twelve\nthousand were disposed of last year. There cannot but be fruit where\nGod's word is sown, accompanied as the sowing is, by many an earnest\nprayer for the increase. Mr. G. next took us to see the Public Library\nof Valetta, which belonged originally to the knights of Malta, and in\nwhich I saw copies of the writings of the Fathers in Divinity. There is\na university in Valetta, and a capital normal school, in which, in\naddition to a good education, the boys have lessons in shoemaking,\nprinting, and carving....\n\n\"We had to leave the young Dutch lady at Malta, as she was too ill to\nstand a further voyage. I trust the Lord has begun a good work in her\nsoul, and that Mr. W., who has promised to act as minister to her, may\nbe the means of helping her heavenward. I am often with you in thought,\ndearest mother, and trust you are enjoying peace and happiness. Turn\nyour heart to Jesus, as your flowers turn their heads to the sun, and\nlet your language be,\u2013\n\n  \"'Sun of my soul, Thou Saviour dear,\n  It is not night if Thou be near;\n  Oh, may no earth-born cloud arise,\n  To hide Thee from Thy servant's eyes!\"\n\n\u2013Your ever loving son, WILLIE.\n\nVisiting Alexandria and Cairo, he writes of the interest with which he\nsaw the classic remains in these cities, the palm trees, the camels, or\nships of the desert, the crowded bazaars, and the many other\ncharacteristics of an eastern country. As a medical man he could not\nfail to notice the sad state of the eyes of many of the Egyptians. The\nwhole voyage was full of novelty to him, and he tried, by minute\ndescriptions of all he saw, to cheer his friends at home.\n\nOn the way up to Calcutta the vessel called at Madras. \"I was one,\"\nwrites Dr. Elmslie, \"of a party who went on shore. We had but a short\ntime to spend on land, so we had to be active. We first went to the Free\nChurch Mission premises, which we found easily, owing to my recollection\nof the description given of them in the 'Free Church Missionary Record.'\nThe Rev. Mr. Miller welcomed us most heartily. You may remember that he\nwas a member of a literary society which met weekly in the College, of\nwhich Salmond and I were also members. He kindly showed us all the\nmission premises. We saw the various classes at work and were surprised\nat the extent of the students' scholarship. Everything is in first-rate\norder. We then drove on to see Mr. Paterson of the Medical Mission in\nMadras. We were fortunate in finding him at home, and both he and Mrs.\nPaterson were cordial in their welcome. Of course our whole conversation\nturned on medical missions, but it had to be short, as we were soon\nhurried off to our floating home.\"\n\nAgain he writes to his mother:\u2013\"_S.S. Simla, 27th Oct_. 1864.\u2013MY EVER\nDEAR MOTHER,\u2013Hurrah! We are expected to reach Calcutta to-morrow\nforenoon. Since writing from the wild barren Aden I have feasted my eyes\non the luxuriant verdure of Point de Galle, and breathed the 'spicy\nbreezes' of which Reginald Heber sang, and now here I am drawing near to\nthe field of my future labours.... During the voyage I have read a story\ncalled 'Trevelyan Hold,' in which you will find a not inaccurate\ndescription of my old master: 'Gentle Life;' 'Leisure hours in town,' do\nget, you would enjoy it, dear mother; 'True Yoke-fellows;' 'Life of\nJudson.' Pray, dear mother, that I may be like the noble Judson in all\nin which he resembled our blessed Saviour. 'Lady M. Wortley Montague's\nLetters' also have interested me much. You remember it was she who\nintroduced 'Inoculation' from the east. Last, and best, I have read in\nmy Greek Testament. The study of it has given me much enjoyment. Tell me\neverything when you write; the smallest details about yourself and all\nmy friends, and dear Stewart, will be interesting to me. I hope you are\nnot mourning over my absence, dear mother, but rather thanking God for\nsending me on the best and noblest of errands,\u2013to win some hearts among\nthe perishing thousands of Kashmir to the loving Saviour. Oh, dear\nmother, I long for the time when your heart and mine shall love Jesus\npurely and with all their strength. Pray very earnestly that our\ngracious Father may pour out upon us the sanctifying influences of His\nSpirit.\"\n\nOn the 28th October, about 3\u00bd P.M., Dr. Elmslie landed in Calcutta, and\nin a letter to his friend, Mr. Ritchie, he refers to the ravages of the\nterrible cyclone, which just a short time before had swept over that\nregion:\u2013\"It was a sad, sad sight, indeed, to see innumerable and\nunmistakeable proofs of the wild and irresistible fury of the recent\ncyclone, as we sailed up the Hoogley to the Indian metropolis. The whole\nsurrounding country appeared to be in ruins. Houses were unroofed,\nothers completely blown down, gigantic trees totally uprooted, and ships\nof the heaviest tonnage lay high-and-dry on the river's banks. By the\nliberality of the Europeans and Parsees, much of the consequent\nsufferings of the poorer classes have been relieved. The beautiful\ngardens at Calcutta are a total ruin. It will take a year at least to\nclear the ground of the trees that have been felled, and a hundred years\nto restore some of the most beautiful and valuable. How very friendly\nand unsectarian all evangelical denominations are here. All who profess\nto love and serve Christ seem to form one loving brotherhood, as it\nought to be.\"\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VI.\n\nFROM CALCUTTA TO KASHMIR.\n\n\nAs the secretary of the Church Missionary Society was up country when\nDr. Elmslie arrived in Calcutta, and none of the mission circle expected\nhim so soon, he found no one awaiting him, and so for a time he went to\na hotel. To his mother he writes:\u2013\"On Sunday we went to the Free Church\nMission Church and heard a good Scotch sermon from the Rev. Mr. Don.\nAfter service I was introduced to Dr. Robson, who is Free Church Medical\nMissionary in Calcutta. Dr. and Mrs. Robson kindly asked us to spend the\nday at the Free Church Mission House, where we were introduced to the\nnative Christian students, and to one who is not yet in Jesus, but who\nis groping his way to the Saviour out of heathen darkness. I accompanied\nDr. Robson and two of the native Christian students to a small open\nmeeting-house, situated in the native town. Here Dr. Robson read one or\ntwo chapters of the Holy Scriptures in Bengali to a crowd collected\noutside. Many listened with great attention as if pondering what they\nheard. After Dr. Robson had finished, one of the students addressed the\nassembly in Bengali on the words to which they had been listening. His\naddress seemed earnest and eloquent. Questions were asked and objections\nraised, and, while the two students were busy in answering them, Dr.\nRobson was giving away religious tracts in English to those in the crowd\nwho could read English. In the evening Dr. Robson took me to the\nDeistical Church, where thirty young men were gathered together. The\nservices were begun by a hired musician, who played on a kind of native\nharp accompanying it with his voice. After this, one of the members read\nprayers, the congregation repeating them after him. Prayers ended,\nanother of the company read what would correspond to a sermon, but which\nconsisted of a description of the miseries of the pitiable sufferers in\nthe recent cyclone, and a collection was made on their behalf. The\nmembers of this association are men thoroughly convinced of the\nabsurdities of Hinduism, but to whom the pure and man-humbling doctrines\nof Christianity are unattractive and therefore rejected. Oh that the\nLord would open their eyes that they may see!\n\n\"On Monday, the 31st, the Governor-General arrived in Calcutta, and Dr.\nF. came at once to see me, and I got a very cordial reception from him.\n\n\"_Journal, Nov. 2, 1864._\u2013Visited the Medical College and the Sailors'\nHome with Dr. F.\n\n\"_Nov. 3._\u2013Read in 1st Epistle of John (Greek); met several members of\nChurch Missionary Society Committee, among whom was Colonel Bacon, who\nhas been in Kashmir, and thus able to give me some information about the\nstate of its people. My Lord, fit me for my work among them, I beseech\nthee!\n\n_Nov. 6th._\u2013To-day read Duff's Missionary Addresses. Oh for his\nenthusiasm as a missionary! I do love Thee, my Saviour, and think I am\nquite willing to take up my cross and follow Thee, if only thou fulfil\nThy considerate and loving promise to be ever with me! Thou wilt fulfil\nit, dear Jesus! Went with Dr. Cleghorn to church. How my heart warmed\nwhen I saw him and Mrs. C.,\u2013children of God from dear old Scotland. We\nspent the evening in reading God's Word and in prayer. It was a feast to\nmy soul. Oh! that our gracious God may richly answer the prayers we then\noffered up for an outpouring of blessing on missions everywhere, and\nespecially on the Medical Mission to Kashmir. Oh! that He may qualify me\nfor the difficult work which lies before me, granting me heavenly wisdom!\n\n\"_Nov. 8th._\u2013Read an interesting account of the analysis of some\nspecimens of Cinchona Succirubra Bark, grown in Ootacamund. The result\nof the examination proves that this species of C. bark, cultivated in\nIndia, is far superior to the same species reared in South America. Six\nper cent. of alkaloid was obtained from it, of which three parts were\nquinine. Cultivation seems to have the desirable effect of increasing\nthe percentage of quinine.\n\n\"_Nov. 8th._\u2013Was present at the Missionary Conference, which is composed\nof all the Evangelical Missionaries in Calcutta. They meet monthly in\neach other's houses.\n\n\"Dr. F. thinks I ought soon to set off for Lahore, where I shall enjoy\nthe advantage of a large hospital, with opportunities of performing\nsurgical operations, and where I shall be near the scene of my future\nlabours. This arrangement commends itself to me, therefore please send\nletters to Post Office, Lahore.... Dear mother, you are often in the\nthoughts and ever in the prayers of your loving son, WILLIAM.\"\n\nDr. Elmslie spent a fortnight of much enjoyment with Mr. Vaughan of the\nChurch Missionary Society in Calcutta, and during this time visited all\nthe important institutions of the city. He was much interested in the\nwork carried on by Dr. Robson, then Medical Missionary in connection\nwith the Free Church. Of a visit paid to one of Dr. Robson's patients,\nhe writes thus:\u2013\"The young man was a student of the university. I asked\nif he had studied the Bible, but he confessed that for some time he had\nnot given it serious consideration. He said he had found great\ndifficulty in some portions of the New Testament. I asked him to specify\none of those portions, and he immediately mentioned that passage where\nour Lord enumerates the marks of a disciple. I rashly hazarded an\nexplanation, but it would have been wiser to have avowed its difficulty,\nas it was a subject I had not studied in its theological bearings. How\nmuch I have to learn! How much I need Heavenly wisdom! I meet many who\nare far better qualified than I for carrying on the glorious work of\nevangelisation. Nevertheless, I believe there is a niche for me, Father,\neven me! Thou knowest my heart, O Lord; and Thou knowest that I love\nThee!\n\n\"_Nov. 18._\u2013Punctually at 7 A.M., the Hon. Mr. Muir, Dr. F., and Dr. C.\nrode into the compound of the Church Mission House to bid me farewell,\nand Dr. F. and Dr. C. accompanied me to the railway station. We crossed\nthe Howrah by ferry, and at 8 o'clock I was hurried away from those dear\nChristian men who, during all my stay in Calcutta, were ever doing me\nkindnesses.\" ... And their kindnesses accompanied him; for \"It was\narranged,\" writes Dr. Cleghorn, \"at a little conference in the Church\nMission House, consisting of the Rev. Mr. Stewart, Dr. Farquhar, Dr.\nCleghorn, and Dr. Elmslie, that Dr. Elmslie should start yesterday, the\n18th. The route was prepared, and special friends were advised of his\nexpected arrival. A little company of us here have more than once\ncommended Dr. Elmslie to God in united prayer. We partook together of\nthe communion on Sabbath, and at the railway station we felt it to be a\nsolemn duty to wish this new labourer 'God-speed,' and to pray for large\nsuccess. We have suggested that Dr. Elmslie should remain for several\nmonths at Lahore to learn the language, see the system of instruction at\nthe Medical College, and perhaps find a native agent to accompany him to\nKashmir when the season opens.\"\n\nOn the way to Lahore, he ever after remembered most gratefully the\nkindness received from all his brother missionaries. His next letter to\nhis mother is dated Amritsar, Dec. 20, 1864, and in it he recounts some,\nout of many, of the interesting events of the journey:\u2013\n\n\"Since I last wrote to you, my time has been spent in travelling nearly\nfourteen hundred miles, receiving hearty welcomes from dear Christians\nat every halting-place, visiting schools, dispensaries, hospitals, and\nprisons. One of the most interesting sights I saw in Calcutta was the\nexamination of the college instituted by Dr. Duff, and the distribution\nof prizes to the most deserving students by Sir John Lawrence. It is the\nfirst time that a governor-general of India has done the like in a\nmissionary institution, and we may hope that it betokens a new and\nbrighter era in the history of the land. I believe there are scholars\nfrom this institution in almost every corner of Northern India, and that\nthey are noted for their learning, and for their Christian character.\n\n\"My first resting-place on the journey from Calcutta to Amritsar was at\nBenares, the Rome or Mecca of India. It is the stronghold of Hinduism,\nand the most bigoted city in India, so that you can believe I saw much\nto sadden me, much, too, to make me glad; for missionary operations are\nbeing carried on most vigorously. I must tell you an incident which\nhappened when I was visiting one of the great temples there. As the\ncrowds of worshippers entered the temple, I saw that every one was\nfurnished with flowers, some in garlands, others in bouquets, which were\nmeant as offerings to the god, or to make them fit to appear before it.\nThe room into which we were conducted was dimly lighted. I could only\njust perceive a block of wood or stone, shaped in the form of the head\nof a fish. It stood on the ground, enclosed by a little fence of stone\nwork, and near it stood a priest, who, on seeing me, stepped forward,\nand threw a garland of flowers round my neck before I was aware. Fancy\nme decked as if ready to worship this contemptible deity! He,\u2013this\nsensual-looking priest, implored me for money, which, however, I did not\ngive.\n\n\"At Allahabad I spent some very happy days in the house of the Hon. Mr.\nMuir. I was asked to conduct a prayer-meeting among the soldiers, which\nI consented to do, but with very mixed feelings. I do desire to commend\nChrist by word as well as by deed, but I am such a poor speaker.\nHowever, I do not think this a sufficient reason for refusing, when\noffered the opportunity of speaking for the Lord. With God's help, I\nshall try to speak more for Him than I have ever yet done. I spent some\npleasant days at Delhi, Umballa, and Jullunder, where I had the\nprivilege of meeting Sir Herbert Edwards, who was staying with my kind\nhost Mr. Elliott. Sir Herbert is a great friend to the Kashmir Medical\nMission, and spoke freely of his views as to our policy there. His\nopinion corresponds with that of Mr. Clark. From Jullunder I went to\nLoodiana, and, along with the American missionary, Mr. Woodside, visited\nthe Rajah of Kapurth\u0101la, who seemed anxious about the real good of\nhis people.... With all my heart wishing you and dear Stewart a very\nhappy New Year,\u2013Your own loving son, WILLIE.\"\n\n\"_Amritsar Journal, Dec. 16, 1864._\u2013Drove with Mr. W. to see the Mission\nSchool. On our way, ascended one of the very lofty minarets, from which\nwe had a wonderfully extensive view of the city and its neighbourhood.\nThe famous tank and splendid _Golden Temple_ of the Sikhs lay at our\nfeet. We visited the temple, but, before entering, we were requested to\nchange our shoes for cloth slippers, as the cow is considered a sacred\nanimal with the Sikhs. The temple is situated in the midst of the famous\ntank of Amritsar, and is approached by a pier paved with most beautiful\nmarble. It is one sheet of gold and mirrors within. A man wearing a\nlarge crimson turban was seated in front of an immense cushion, on which\nlay the Sikh Bible, or Granth. Around this man several other priests\nwere seated, and near them there were three musicians, who continued to\nplay in a strange monotonous style.\n\n\"The offerings brought and laid before the Granth by the poor\nworshippers were not very munificent, consisting chiefly of flowers, or\nrice, or paise. The chief priest uncovered the book, and read a portion\nof it, not much to our edification.\n\n\"There are two sects of Sikhs, the followers of Namak, who was,\nconsidering his opportunities, an enlightened man, and a lover of peace;\nand the followers of Govind, who held that the Sikh religion should be\npromoted by the sword. His sword is kept in a separate temple....\n\n\"We next visited the Mission School, where I examined three of the\nclasses, and found them very well grounded indeed.\n\n\"_18th Dec._\u2013Went to English Church, where Mr. Watkin preached from the\nwords, \"The Lord is at hand,\" an impressive sermon. Afterwards I enjoyed\nsome sweet communion with God. In the evening Mr. and Mrs. C., Mr. R.,\nand myself formed a little party for Bible reading, and had a very\ninteresting conversation on Rom. iii.\n\n\"_21st._\u2013Hard at work at Hindustani. Read paper on Kashmir, kindly lent\nme by Mr. Clark. O Lord, how much he and I need Thy Holy Spirit to be\ninfused as a spirit of wisdom and of strong faith.\n\n\"_25th._\u2013Partook of the Lord's Supper, and afresh dedicated myself to\nthe Lord who died for me. Realised how unworthy I am, how imperfect my\nlife is! O Lord, make Thine own child something like his Father; give me\nmuch more of the family likeness! Went in afternoon to native church,\nand heard Daud Singh, the native pastor, preach. The boys and girls from\nthe orphanages formed the principal part of the congregation. The church\nis most suitably planned, so that heathen listeners may gather in the\nverandah, and hear the word of God.\n\n\"_26th._\u2013Studied hard all forenoon. Aid me, Lord!\n\n\"Mr. C. received peremptory orders from Jummoo to remove all his\nfurniture from the bungalow in Srinagar, in which he had deposited it on\nhis departure from the valley. This is trying and perplexing. I would\nrefer it all to Thee, O Lord; for the matter is Thine, not mine. I am\nlamentably ignorant, but Thou art omniscient. At present the horizon\nlooks black and lowering, but affairs committed to God's care cannot but\ngo well in the end. Read H\u00fcgel's Travels in Kashmir.\n\n\"_30th._\u2013Went with Mr. C. and Mr. F. to have an interview with Sir E.\nMontgomery, who received us cordially, and made many inquiries\nrespecting the various missions with which we are individually\nconnected.... O Lord, make me a better servant and missionary! I mourn\nover my leanness: fill me with Thy Spirit, that I may bring forth fruit\nto Thy praise! Read H\u00fcgel.\n\n\"_Jan. 1st._\u2013Had some delightful hours alone with God. Oh, for a closer\nwalk with my God and Saviour!\n\n\"_3d._\u2013Hindustani for three hours. Home letters at last. Dr. Burns\nThomson's first Medical Missionary circular. May the Lord copiously\nbless it! Spent some hours in a native druggist's shop in the city, and\nlearned a great deal about the medicines used by Hakims. While there, a\nfuneral procession passed, followed by a number of women dressed in very\ncoarse garments, and wailing bitterly. Am told their grief is not all\ngenuine; some of them were paid mourners.\"\n\nDr. Elmslie reached Lahore on Jan. 18th, and wrote next day:\u2013\"_Lahore,\n19th Jan. 1865._\u2013At Lahore at last, and hoping to have some earnest hard\nwork before it is time to go to Kashmir. We are likely to meet with many\ndifficulties in our missionary operations, but the Lord is on our side,\nand He will turn the hearts of those high in power, so that the good\nnews of His dear Son may be told to the inhabitants of that lovely land.\nI had a brief interview with Mr. M\u201bLeod, the lieutenant-governor,\nto-day, and also visited Mr. Cooper, who was for some time British\nresident in Srinagar. He said he would readily give me letters of\nintroduction to the leading men in Kashmir, if I were merely going there\nas a physician, unconnected with a Christian mission.\n\n\"_Feb. 3d._\u2013Have undertaken a class in Mr. Forman's school; got on\npretty well, having studied carefully beforehand; first wrote out the\nlesson in Hindustani, and had it corrected by my Moonshee. The boys are\nso dirty. Dear mother, what would you think of them! yet they are often\nprofusely decorated with ornaments of gold and silver.\n\n\"_14th._\u2013Your troublesome cough back again! I can't tell you how sorry I\nam for that. I am delighted to hear of J. W.'s success: he must press\non, and make 'Excelsior' his motto. And is it true that my little\nname-daughter has been taken away to swell the numbers of the lambs in\nthe fold above? I remember a sweet verse of a hymn which you may like to\nsend her mother\u2013\n\n  \"'Ere sin could blight, or sorrow fade,\n    Death came with friendly care;\n  The opening bud to heaven conveyed,\n    And bade it blossom there.'\n\n\"I shall write to her mother, whose kindness to me I can never\nforget.... I am labouring hard at the language, and have a teacher\u2013a\nMoonshee\u2013for two hours daily. I teach for two hours in the Mission\nSchool, and sometimes spend as much as three hours in the Government\nHospital, which I visit daily, in order to become familiar with Indian\ncomplaints. I meant to spin you a long yarn about the country and the\npeople, but must defer till my next.\u2013Your ever loving son, WILLIAM.\"\n\n\"_Lahore, Feb. 28th._\u2013So thankful, my dearest mother, that you feel\nbetter. Summer is coming, with its genial sunshine and bright blue\nskies, and all the gladness which nature in our dear Scotland can\ndisplay, and you must go to the country and see it all. I should like\nyou to go to Ballater, and see the beautiful everlasting mountains I\nlove so much. Yes, you will go and write and tell me all about them. How\nI long to see hills. This country of India is just a dead level,\u2013as\nsmooth as the table of your best room. When journeying from Calcutta I\nsaw some hills, though very diminutive ones; my heart was gladdened\nwithin me, they reminded me so much of Deeside. The other day I read a\ngood criticism of Enoch Arden, one of Tennyson's poems, which I read to\nyou on the banks of the Fench, near Banchory, when you and I visited\nthat lovely spot. How I delight in recalling those bright days in our\npast. If it please God, dearest mother, I hope we shall again visit the\n'Falls,' and again speak together of God's wonderful goodness to us\nboth. I shall soon see higher mountains than you or I have ever yet\nbeheld. The great Himalayas, in the midst of which lies cradled my\nfuture home, or perhaps I should say my field of work. I know you would\nlike to read about it. The books which I find give one the most\ninteresting information are, Jacquemont's Travels, Moorcroft's, and\nVigne's ditto. If God spare me I purpose writing a book more\ncomprehensive than any of them, as I shall have valuable opportunities\nfor gathering information if spared to remain for a sufficient length of\ntime in the valley.... Let me have much of your earnest prayers; I shall\nneed them and expect them. By praying, dear mother, you will\nimmeasurably help me, even more than if you were travelling with me over\nthese strange lands. How the people of this dark land need the gospel,\nwhich alone can elevate and purify them! You can form no idea of their\nwickedness, but it corroborates the description given by St. Paul in\nRomans i. Much is being done for them, both by Government and by\nMissionaries, but so deep-seated is the evil, that you see as yet but\nlittle resulting from those efforts,\u2013the evil seems to absorb the good\njust as a burning sandy waste absorbs the rain which falls on it. There\nare no fewer than 604 female schools in the Punjaub, but what are they\namong the millions? and if taught by heathen teachers, what result can\nwe look for? You would laugh many a time, dear mother, at the\nsignificant looks and smiles of my little brown-faced charge at the\nMission School, when I attempt to launch out, and make blunders in the\nlanguage in so doing. I never mind, but hold on my way, for some direct\nmission work I _must_ do, however feebly. It is encouraging to me that\nthose signals of my mistakes are becoming fewer and fewer. When I go to\nKashmir I shall have a new language to learn, and it will be much more\ndifficult to acquire, because there are no grammars nor dictionaries of\nKashmiri. Those I must make for myself, and have already done something\ntowards this work.\n\n\"I forgot to recommend to you a delightful book, written by that good\ndoctor in Edinburgh, George Wilson; it is called 'Counsels of an\nInvalid.' Get it if you can.... My warmest love to you, dearest mother.\"\n\n\"_April 5, 1865._\u2013So \u2013\u2013 is after the loaves and fishes, is he? Tell him\nhe will never cease to repent it if he draw back from the service of the\nLord, to which he has devoted himself many times. I trust the Lord may\nshow him that it is a glorious service, from which none should swerve.\nPoor R. B., his race has soon been run, but today he is reaping the\ninexpressible joy of being saved by Jesus. It is this assurance which\nmakes life on earth bearable. It is the bright hope of this that has\nsustained me up to this time. It is very remarkable that every letter\nfrom home has told me of some well-known friend's death; this makes me\nanxious, but, as you say, we are each one in God's hands, and this\nthought should allay our fears, and calm the disturbed mind. 'I will\nnever leave thee, nor forsake thee.' I feel sorry and astonished to hear\nthat Mrs. \u2013\u2013 is so proud. But, dear mother, we are all frail in some\nway. Oh, to be really like Jesus! in humility and in everything else in\nwhich it is possible for us to resemble Him. To strive after this is\nreally our life-work.\n\n\"It was resolved at a harmonious meeting of the committee, which met on\nFriday, that I should start for Kashmir on April 11th, and travel by\nRawal Pindee and Murree. A proposition was made that I should go along\nwith the Bishop of Calcutta, who is to spend a month in the valley for\nthe benefit of his health, but I was opposed to this plan, for this\nreason, that the natives look on him as a great public functionary, in\nshort, as one of the highest in the Government; and I fear, if I were to\naccompany him, that the natives of Kashmir would consider me too a\nservant of Government, and so my mission would be frustrated. The\ncommittee agreed with me. My policy in Kashmir is to be one of peace.\n\n\"_Journal, April 20th._\u2013Travelled from Lahore to Rawal Pindee in a\nGovernment g\u0101ri, a curious lumbering conveyance, drawn by the most\nwretched and stubborn of horses. From Rawal Pindee partly by hill-cart,\nand partly by mule. The hill-cart certainly excels the g\u0101ri in speed if\nnot in comfort. It is something like an Irish car on two high wheels,\nand although the road to Murree is all more or less steep, the horses\nseemed almost to fly along the way. It is curious to find one's self\nmounting terrace after terrace of the steep mountain side, and to look\ndown on the great landscape of the plains you have left. Rhododendrons,\nhoneysuckle, clematis, geraniums, acacias on every side, mingling with\nthe grand Alpine firs. Murree itself is a Swiss-like station, every\nhouse built in some cleft of the mountain side; from it you see the\neverlasting snows not very far off.\n\n\"_21st._\u2013Left Murree with the Rev. Mr. Handcock of Peshawar. After ten\nmiles ride reached Dawal about midnight.\n\n\"_22d._\u2013From Dawal to Kohalla; a beautiful ride all down mountain side;\npassed through quantity of snow. Saw tiny yellow Potentilla Tormentilla,\nalso the Pteris Quadrifolia, and Primula Vulgaris; very few birds to be\nseen among the pines which clothe those mountains through which we\npassed; the odour of the pines most charming. Half way to Kohalla saw\nthe river Jhelum wending its way from Kashmir. Arriving at Kohalla,\nfound the rest-bungalow preoccupied. Dined under a tree. Afterwards\nQadir Bakhsh addressed the coolies and people from the village. One of\nthe men was almost totally blind from cicatrices on the cornea; an\nartificial pupil would have done wonders for him.\n\n\"_April 24th._\u2013After seeing most of our baggage off on coolies' backs we\ncrossed the rapidly flowing Jhelum in a ferry-boat, the oarmen of which\nseemed wonderfully dexterous. In climbing the rugged road to Dhunna had\nmany a fall, and arrived in a bruised and tired condition, but said that\nI should be glad to see any of the sick people in the village if they\ncame after breakfast. It was now 11 A.M., and an hour after, a large\ncompany had assembled; some sixteen of whom became my patients.\"\n\nIn a communication to us, written as he passed up country, it came out\non every page how much Dr. Elmslie magnified his office as a Medical\nMissionary. From the time he left England till now, when he enters\nKashmir, he never let slip an opportunity of gathering or giving\ninformation about Medical Missions, and anything hopeful regarding their\nextension gladdened his heart. \"When at Jullunder, on my way to Lahore,\nI met with the Rev. Mr. Woodside of the American Presbyterian Mission,\nwhose sphere of labour is Kapurthala. You are perhaps aware that the\nRajah of Kapurthala is favourably disposed to Christianity. He\ncontributes very largely to missionary objects, and has built a handsome\nchurch entirely at his own expense. His Highness has also built a large\nand commodious house for a Medical Missionary. I trust a suitable agent\nwill soon be appointed to this place. The sphere is an excellent one. As\nDavid (Young) is nearly finished, I have asked Mr. W. to write to him.\nAt Allahabad I met the Rev. Mr. Williamson, Presbyterian Chaplain in one\nof Her Majesty's regiments, now serving in India. He belongs to the\nEstablished Church of Scotland. But there is little or nothing of the\n'_Isms_' in India. Love to the Saviour is the shibboleth. Mr. Williamson\nbecame so full of Medical Missions that he resolved to write to Dr.\nNorman M\u201bLeod about having a Medical Missionary sent to the Established\nChurch Mission at Sealkote.\" When Dr. Elmslie returned to Scotland in\n1870, he had the joy of meeting for an hour or so, in Edinburgh, a young\nMedical Missionary\u2013Dr. Hutchison\u2013just starting for Sealkote.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VII.\n\nKASHMIR\u2013ITS PEOPLE, ETC.\n\n\nIt may be well to precede Dr. Elmslie into the valley that is to be the\nprincipal scene of his future labours, to get a glimpse of the country,\nthe people, the Government, &c., that we may the more intelligently\naccompany him in his work.\n\nThe valley of Kashmir is situated to the north of the Punjaub, between\nnorth latitudes 33\u00b0 and 35\u00b0, and east longitudes 74\u00b0 and 76\u00b0. Its height\nabove the level of the sea is about 5350 feet. The range of mountains to\nthe south of this far-famed valley, and separating it from the Punjaub,\nis called the Pir Panjal, the average height of which, above the level\nof the sea, is about 12,000 feet. The two main passes in this mountain\nrange are the Banihal, at an elevation of 9200 feet, and the Pir Panjal\nat a height of 11,400 feet. The valley itself, which is very flat and\nfertile, is about 50 miles in length and 20 in breadth. Through the\nmiddle of the valley flows the broad bosomed Jhelum in a westerly\ndirection. On both banks of this river, and equally distant from either\nend of the valley, stands Kashmir or Srinagar, the capital of the\ncountry. Although Srinagar, as a city, is possessed of uncommonly great\nfacilities for excellent sanitation in a magnificent river and numerous\ncanals, it is nevertheless extremely filthy.\n\nThe climate of the valley of Kashmir is characterised by great\nsalubrity. From the middle of June till the middle of August, the heat\nin the valley is sometimes a little disagreeable. The nights, however,\nare always cool and pleasant. The temperature is sometimes as high as\n90\u00b0 indoors during the time specified.\n\nThe total population of the valley, excluding that of any of the\nsurrounding countries, and the inhabitants of the mountains is 402,700.\n\nThis number is divided thus:\u2013\n\n 1. Sunnees, or Mussulmans as they call themselves,  312,700\n 2. Sheeas, sect of Mussulmans,                       15,000\n 3. Hindoos,                                          75,000\n                                                     -------\n       Total population,                             402,700\n                                                     =======\n\nPopulation of Srinagar:\u2013\n\n 1. Sunnees,                                           95,400\n 2. Sheeas,                                             7,000\n 3. Hindoos,                                           25,000\n                                                      -------\n       Total population of Srinagar,                  127,400\n                                                      =======\n\nIn Kashmir there are 29,430 shawl weavers.\n\n\"The clothing of the Kashmiris, both men and women, consists essentially\nof one long loose woollen garment, which extends from the neck to the\nankles, and is not very unlike a woollen night-gown. So far as this\narticle of clothing is concerned, men and women are dressed exactly\nalike. The men, however, frequently wear a kamarband round their waists\nwhen they have a journey to make, or some piece of work to perform which\nrequires more or less of activity. The sleeves of the garment being wide\nand capacious, the wearer can with the greatest facility take his or her\narms out of them, and place them alongside the body, in immediate\ncontact with the bare skin....\n\n\"The houses of the Kashmiris are not at all calculated to afford\nefficient shelter to their occupants against the inclemency of the\nweather in winter, being for the most part built of wood, and being\nbesides generally in the most rickety and tumble-down condition\nimaginable. So far as the writer is aware, they are entirely destitute\nof fireplaces, and when a fire is kindled inside one of them, the smoke\nmust find a way of escape, either by the door or the window, which is\nnever of glass, but, as a rule, of trellis work, which is often very\npretty, and for which Kashmir is justly famous.\n\n\"Coal being unknown in the valley, wood is the material generally\nemployed as fuel. The very poorest of the people, however, collect in\nthe summer and autumn the ordure of cattle, which they mix with straw\nand then form into round cakes, which they dry in the sun's rays and\ncarefully preserve against the coming winter....\n\n\"The Kashmiris being extremely poor and inactive, and the climate at\ndifferent seasons of the year being unpleasantly and bitterly cold, the\ninhabitants of the Fair Valley are in the habit of carrying about with\nthem, wherever they go, earthenware pots, which they have denominated\nkangris. These kangris or portable braziers are made of clay of varying\nfineness, and are usually covered with wicker-work, more or less\nornamented according to the price of the article. Men and women, young\nand old, rich and poor, Hindoo and Mussulman, all have their kangri, and\nall consider it indispensable in the cold season. The fuel consumed in\nthe kangri is charcoal, and the heat evolved is often considerable....\n\n\"When the weather is extremely cold, it is customary for both men and\nwomen, while walking about out of doors, to carry the kangri under their\nloose woollen gowns, and in close proximity with the bare skin, the\neffect of which is often to produce a kind of cancer on those parts of\nthe body most frequently subjected to this kind of irritation.\"\n\nIn the \"_Christian Intelligencer_\" for March 1871, there is an anonymous\npaper of much beauty and power from which the following particulars are\ngleaned:\u2013\"Let me speak first of the beauties and excellencies of the\nvalley, and let me afterwards tell why, notwithstanding all these,\nKashmir has left a sad picture on my mind. First\u2013The country itself.\nWhere, taking it as a whole, is anything more beautiful? I do not mean\nto say, that after all one has heard of it, there is not a shade of\ndisappointment as one enters the valley by the Murree route; for it is\nnot until you are fairly in the midst of the valley that you appreciate\nits beauty. To say that it is like an emerald set in silver, is to give\nbut the faintest idea of the exquisite beauty of that bright green\nplain, with its broad stream, the Jhelum, running through it, and\nencircled on every side by snow-capped hills. Beautiful as a whole, it\nis far more so in its details. Its great swelling quiet river rippling\ndown from one end to the other; its glittering lakes overshadowed by\ngiant rocks of every shape and shade; its grand groves of chinar (the\ngrandest tree I have ever seen, its colouring so full of contrast, its\nshade so perfect, its size almost incredible); its orchards of fragrant\nfruit; its numberless mountain streams and rushing brooks (for it is\nindeed a land of fountains and streams of water); its quaint picturesque\nvillages, with their houses almost like the fanciful Dutch houses of our\nchildren's toys; its massive ruins carrying one back into another world,\nand about which the English visitor is almost inclined to endorse the\nsuperstition of the natives,\u2013that they were not built by men, but by\nsome race of giants who lodged those great stones in the places from\nwhich man has never been able to remove them,\u2013all these make its beauty\nas varied as striking; such a variety as perhaps is seen nowhere else in\nthe world. And then, whichever way you branch out from the central\nvalley up its smaller vales, there is still the same or even greater\nbeauty. Rushing rivers with snow cold water flinging themselves over\nrocks and stones; little villages hid under the shade of towering walnut\ntrees; and, as you get further up, peaks reaching up to heaven,\nglaciers, from under which bellow forth dark dazzling streams. Or, if we\nclimb the hills round the valley, we come upon beautiful _murgs_, as\nthey are called, plains on the tops of hills, covered with wild flowers,\namong which you may wade above your knees and in ten minutes gather such\na variety, as your two hands cannot clasp,\u2013forget-me-not, Canterbury\nbells, buttercups, columbine, and a hundred other dear old English\nfriends,\u2013while round the edge of these bright green meadows rise up the\ndark green deodars. Or we go up bleaker hills, and come upon great\nmountain lakes (tarns we should call them in Yorkshire), so cold, so\nsolitary, so awing.\n\n\"But there are other things in Kashmir to please besides the scenery.\nThe people are certainly a peculiarly fine race. The men strong and\nhandsome, capable of carrying with ease a maund, or even more, for\nfifteen miles over steep difficult hills, with such sturdy limbs as\ncontrast almost ridiculously with the long thin tight-trousered legs of\nthe Sikh soldiery. They really are, too, a most ingenious and clever and\ntasteful people. This is evident not merely from their exquisite shawls,\nbut from the good taste of their papier-mach\u00e9, and silver work, and\njewellery, so far superior, not merely in execution, but in design and\ntaste, to that of their Hindustanee neighbours. The women, perhaps, owe\nmost of the fame of their beauty to their contrast with the\nexpressionless faces of Hindustanee women; but still no one can go into\nKashmir without seeing some few faces that strike him as very fine, not\nmerely from the fresh colour and animated expression, but from the real\nexcellency of the features. The climate, too, is unquestionably very\ndelightful.... I doubt whether an English summer is, on the whole, so\nequable and pleasant....\n\n\"Lastly, the produce of the country is almost everything that heart\ncould wish. As regards grain, it is especially a rice-growing country,\nbut really almost every kind of grain may be and is grown there. No\ngreater testimony to the extreme fertility of the country can be given\nthan the fact that, notwithstanding the terrible extortion and\noppression to which the people are subject, the agricultural part of the\npopulation is well clothed, and generally far from lean. But, of course,\nwhat strikes a visitor is not the grain, but the fruit, and of this\nthere is the greatest variety and abundance....\n\n\"But there is a great 'but' to all these which spoils everything. With\nall this light there is a deep shadow. And why should I stop and\nhesitate to mention and to repeat that which comes up first into my\nmind\u2013the disgraceful oppression of the people. Yes, disgraceful to _us_\nEnglish, for we sold, literally sold, the country into the hands of its\npresent possessors; and selling it, sold with it the flesh and blood of\nthousands of our fellow creatures,\u2013sold them into a perpetual slavery.\nDisgraceful, too, that it should lie under the shadow of our well-ruled\nprovinces, and yet be so ground down; that the ruler should be a\ntributary of ours, and yet be allowed so to tyrannize.\n\n\"It is impossible that this oppression can cease so long as the\nMaharajah keeps up an army so utterly disproportionate to the size of\nhis country. He must grind the faces of the poor to sustain such a large\npermanent force. That the army is ill-paid, discontented, inefficient,\nnone can doubt, but still the men must have something given them to keep\nthem in service.... This year, at a review which was on a Sunday, in\nhonour of Sir H. Durand, the powder flask of one man blew up while a\nregiment was formed in square, and the explosion passed from man to man\nuntil more than eighty were prostrate. The army may do very well to\nbully the Kashmiri, or plunder the weak native states around, but it\nwould never even think of standing before a British force....\n\n\"But what is this oppression that I have spoken of? It is this\u2013that at\none swoop half of every man's produce goes into the Government treasury.\nHalf of everything, not merely of his grain, but even of the produce of\nhis cattle, or whatever he has; so that from each cow he must give every\nsecond year a calf to Government, and from every half dozen of his\nchickens three go to the all-devouring sirkar. More than this even, his\nvery fruit trees are watched by Government and half taken for the\nMaharajah. A poor Kashmiri can call nothing his own. But, in reality, it\nis not only half a man loses, for at least another quarter is taken by\nthe rapacious government officials who have to collect the nominal half.\nShakdars, K\u00e1rd\u00e1rs, Zilad\u00e1rs, soldiers, and others, all come in for their\nshare. The wonder is, how the people exist at all. Of course I am a\ncredulous missionary, and believed every story I heard, but I should\nlike to find the man in Kashmir who could deny these facts. But it is\nnot only the poor peasants who suffer; perhaps the condition of the\nshawl weavers is worse still. They are all the servants of the\nGovernment, which supplies them with material, and doles out to them a\nscanty pittance of two annas a day, and then sells them the rice (which\nit has taken from the peasants) at any price which it chooses to set\nupon it. These shawl weavers are a lean wan race, recognisable at once\nfrom their sallow complexion, thin cheeks and desponding look. Of course\nthe idea at once suggests itself, why do not all the people run away and\ncome into India? But if they had the chance, can you wonder at their\nalmost preferring to starve in their own home paradise rather than live\nin the furnace of India? Yet numbers of Kashmiris do prefer India to\ntheir own lovely land, simply because in India every man can live and be\nhis own master, whatever else he has to put up with. But few are the\nhappy men who can get away. A few are allowed to go into India, if they\nleave their wives and families behind as a guarantee for their speedy\nreturn, but only a few. As I was leaving Kashmir, two or three of these\nshawl weavers smuggled themselves out of the country as my coolies. I\nknew they must be shawl weavers from their pinched faces, and so did the\nsoldiers stationed at the top of the Pir Panjal to prevent people\nescaping into India, and the guard would have stopped them, but that\nthey had no coolies to give me instead of them to carry my loads.[2]...\nOf course, this oppression gives the whole country a look of poverty. No\none can help being struck as he enters Srinagar by the dilapidated look\nof the place.... There is no respectable quarter, not a single good\nstreet; scarcely even a single respectable bazaar, considering the size\nof the place. And what is true of Srinagar is more than true of all the\nsmaller towns. They are ruinous in the extreme.\n\n\"In the country hundreds of acres of land are mere swamp, or almost\nunused pasture ground that might smile with corn. Everywhere the fruits\nare degenerating, because the people don't care to cultivate that of\nwhich they obtain so little; and an old Kashmiri told me that he could\nrecollect the day when there were eighteen different kinds of grapes,\nbut now most of them have died out, and there are only four or five\nkinds to be had in the whole valley....\n\n\"But there are other things in Kashmir which most terribly detract from\nits pleasure as a place of residence. The dirt is beyond description.\nWho can tell what Kashmir smells are? Not the odours of roses, such as\none has expected to fill the air; but, oh! such, that the dirtiest of\nLondon courts is sweeter than the cleanest of Kashmir villages. The\nclothes, too, of the people are filthy; not that the filth shows much,\nfor all their garments are of grey wool, which is a most perfect\nconcealer of dirt; but not a few of their diseases are the result of\ntheir uncleanliness, and how often I have almost shrunk away from them,\nas, in my dispensary, while I have been examining a patient, I have seen\nthe lice crawling on his clothes and his fleas skipping over to me. Of\ncourse, if you can avoid all intercourse with the natives, then dirt is\nnot such a continual source of annoyance, but to us it was a daily\ntrouble. But yet there is one thing which makes a Christian man far more\nsad than those things I have spoken of, and that is the frightful\nimmorality of the people, and the even less excusable wickedness of our\ncountrymen. It may be that the latter is not _so_ bad as it was\u2013that\nvice is less open and shameless than it was a few years ago\u2013but it is so\nopen and so bad that no one need be afraid to speak of it. It is a fact\nthat none can conceal, that numbers of young men only know Kashmir as\nthe place where they can gratify every unhallowed passion; and an army\nsurgeon, high in the service, told me that numbers of young officers\nwent up every year to Kashmir in perfect health, and, after six months\nin its splendid climate, came down into India only to be invalided home,\nand many to suffer more or less for life from their own wicked folly....\nWell might I be taunted, as I was, when I tried to preach the gospel in\nvillages far distant from the capital, with the unblushing wickedness of\nmy own countrymen. How steeped the people themselves are in sin none can\ntell but those who have seen them as I have done. How one corroding sin\nseems to be eating out the vitals of all classes, casual visitors to the\nvalley would perhaps scarcely guess. They may say, as every one does,\nthat there are no such liars and deceivers in the world, as in Kashmir;\nno, not even in India; but the utterly rotten state of social life they\nwill probably have little idea of.\n\n\"But let me leave this and just say a few closing words as to mission\nwork. It seems to me that the Church Missionary Society have most wisely\nassociated themselves with the Punjaub Medical Missionary Society in\nsending a medical man as missionary to this difficult and delicate field\nof labour.\"...\n\nThe _Church Missionary Intelligencer_ for 1st August 1866 gives the\nfollowing brief notice of what had been attempted in the way of\nmissionary effort amongst the truly necessitous Kashmiris, up to the\nseason that preceded Dr. Elmslie's arrival:\u2013\n\n\"The two first missionaries of the Church Missionary Society by whom the\nvalley was visited, the Rev. W. Smith of Benares, and the Rev. R. Clark\nof Peshawur, reached Kashmir in the spring of 1863. At the end of the\nsummer Mr. Smith returned to his station at Benares, and Mr. Clark,\nafter an ineffectual attempt to remain in the valley during the winter,\nwas compelled, by the opposition of the authorities, to return to the\nplains.\n\n\"In the month of April 1864, Mr. Clark, accompanied by Mrs. Clark, and\nhaving with him some reliable native assistants, re-entered the valley,\nhaving secured beforehand a house which he had rented from the\nproprietor. On their arrival at Srinagar they were at once mobbed by a\ncrowd of a thousand people, who threatened to set the house on fire,\nsome of them coming within the compound and throwing stones. Further\ndisturbances being threatened, a French gentleman resident in the city,\naccompanied by two of his friends, waited on the authorities, and\nremonstrated with them on their permitting such tumultuous proceedings,\nnot only insulting to the missionary, but endangering his personal\nsafety and that of his family. The mob-greetings were accordingly\nstayed, but other means were adopted of obstructing the missionary in\nhis work, in the hope that, becoming discouraged, he might abandon it,\nand, retiring from the valley, allow all things to fall back into that\ncondition of spiritual death in which they had for ages lain. Men were\nstationed on the bridge close to his door, to prevent any one from\ncoming to visit him, or, if they persevered, to report their names to\nthe Wuzeer. His servants could not succeed in purchasing the mere\nnecessaries of life, and M. Gosselin's servant had to be sent to the\nother end of the city to buy \u00e0t\u00e0 for them. So determined were the\nauthorities to prevent all intercourse between the missionary and the\ninhabitants, that when, on the occasion of a large fire, in which many\npoor people lost their all, a little sum was collected and distributed\namong them, they were compelled to refund it, because the native\nChristians, with Mr. Clark, had contributed to it.\n\n\"Meanwhile, although in the presence of so great irritation public\npreaching was not attempted, yet inquirers came in, some of them\nentreating that they might be baptized at once. One of them was beaten\nby his master, who threatened to kill him if he persisted in frequenting\nthe missionary's house. This young man, Husu Shah, during the previous\nyear had been imprisoned for the same offence, having been forcibly\ntaken out of Mr. Clark's house under the written orders of the\nauthorities. During the time of his imprisonment he had been repeatedly\nbeaten, and had logs of wood tied to his feet.\n\n\"At length, at the suggestion of the British Resident, Mr. Clark offered\nto vacate the house within the city, provided suitable accommodation was\nprovided for him outside the city, near the Shekh B\u00e1gh. And yet, while\nthus in every way consistent with his duty, endeavouring to conciliate,\nhe had the pain of learning that Husu Shah was again imprisoned. They\noffered him, indeed, his liberty, on the understanding that he would not\nagain visit the Christian missionary, nor try to escape to the Punjaub;\nbut, on his refusal, the logs of wood were again fastened to his feet.\nThrough the interference of the British Resident, he was, after some\ndays, liberated, and his first act was to revisit the missionary.\"\n\nAlthough the Resident, Mr. Cooper, wrote to the Maharajah, asking that\nMr. Clark might be allowed to remain, he was \"inexorable, and as he had\nby treaty the right to insist on the withdrawal of Europeans from the\nvalley during the winter season, he claimed to exercise it in relation\nto Mr. Clark, who was thus compelled to return to the Punjaub.\"\n\nOne of the reasons urged by the Resident for the extension to Mr. Clark\nof the privilege of remaining in the valley, is interesting:\u2013\"His\nHighness is not perhaps aware that the wife of Mr. Clark is an\naccomplished physician, and has devoted her life, her strength, and her\ntalents to the relief of the sick and the suffering. I suggest,\ntherefore, my dear friends (the Diwans), that you represent to his\nHighness that while he is consulting the religious feelings of his\nSrinagar subjects, and perhaps the general peace, in maintaining, as\nlong as may be necessary to his Highness, the principle or custom that\nEuropeans should not be allowed to reside in the city without express\npermission of the Government, his Highness would be inflicting a real\ninjury on his people, if he withheld his permission from Mr. Clark and\nhis family to continue to reside during the cold weather, because the\nhumane exertions of the lady have already been attended with wide\nbenefit and comfort to the Maharajah's people.\" The lady, who still\nseeks to improve her medical knowledge, would not, in 1864, have\nendorsed the compliment that she was an \"accomplished physician,\" but\nshe may take the comfort of knowing that her medical services were\nuseful and much appreciated. It gives us peculiar pleasure to record\nthis, for the encouragement of female medical missionaries. Her husband,\nwriting to Mr. Wm. Coldstream from Srinagar, in May 1864, informs him\nthat \"Mrs. Clark has begun a dispensary, which is crowded daily, and\ntakes up daily three hours of her time in _hard_ work. To-day there were\neighty-four (?) cases,\u2013one man came twelve miles from a village, and a\npoor woman, thought to be dying, having recovered, the dispensary stands\nhigh in public estimation. The native apothecary, who is supposed to\ncure all the Maharajah's soldiers at one pice a-head daily (_when the M.\nH. is here_, for they have no medical attendance at other times), came\nto-day, and wants to send his son for instruction. All this will do\ngood.\" But it is time to accompany Dr. Elmslie in his interesting work.\n\n[Footnote 2] Coolies are used everywhere, for there is not such a thing\nas a road, nor a cart in the whole of Kashmir, though in the valley\nitself it would be the easiest thing to make good and permanent roads.\nThe country is level, and kunkur abundant.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VIII.\n\nWORK IN KASHMIR.\n\n\n\"On the 12th April,\" writes Dr. Elmslie, \"I left Lahore for Kashmir, the\nfuture scene of my medical missionary labours.... Through the kindness\nof the Rev. R. Clark of Amritsar, two of the most promising of the boys\nbelonging to the Missionary Orphanage are to accompany me as assistants.\nThe Rev. Messrs. Forman and Newton of Lahore have very obligingly\ntransferred to K. M. M. for the season, one of their catechists. He is a\nKashmiri by birth, and, on that very account, suitable for the work in\nwhich we are to be engaged. He is able to speak fluently the language of\nthe valley, and is intimately acquainted with the habits and character\nof the people. (_See Woodcut._)\n\n [Illustration: QADIR BAKHSH.\n The Kashmiri Catechist.]\n\n\"_24th April._\u2013To-day we crossed the Jhelum, and entered the territories\nof the Maharajah of Kashmir and Jummoo, and made our way to Dhanna, our\nhalting-place for the day, by a very rough path. From what had befallen\nthe Rev. Messrs. Smith and Clark on previous years here, I fully\nexpected my difficulties to begin. But in this I was most agreeably\ndisappointed, for I found the Maharajah's servants both civil and\nobliging. On my arrival, I had intimated to the principal man of the\nvillage that as I was a doctor, I would be happy to see and treat all\nthe sick people, whom he might bring to me after breakfast, from Dhanna\nand its neighbourhood. In a very short time, sixteen patients were\ncollected outside the rude and dirty bungalow where we were lodging.\nAfter breakfast, Qadir Bakhsh, the catechist, having congregated the\nsick, and the coolies who had carried our baggage from Kohalla, read to\nthem a suitable portion of Scripture, and addressed them from it in a\nplain, easy, and intelligible style, quite level to the capacities of\nthese ignorant people. The little group listened to the words of divine\ntruth with great interest and attention. The service was closed with\nprayer. Our small supply of medicines and instruments having been laid\nout, the sick were brought out one by one and examined. One case, of a\nvery trifling nature in itself, is worthy of a passing notice, because\nthe relief afforded by surgery was immediate, and duly appreciated. The\ncase was one of excessive elongation of the uvula, which caused a most\ntroublesome cough, and compelled the man every now and then to perform\nthe act of swallowing. The lengthened member was shortened with ease,\nthe cough ceased, and the act of deglutition became less frequent. The\npatient took his leave with many expressions of gratitude.\n\n\"_25th April._\u2013This morning early we packed up, and set out for Maira,\nthe next resting-place. We had no difficulty with coolies, although the\nnumber required was considerable. About 9 A.M. we reached our\ndestination, and resolved to breakfast in Maira, and then to push on to\nthe next village. Qadir, the catechist, somewhat hastily proceeded to\naddress a small group of natives whom he happened to find congregated\ntogether. He had not proceeded far in his remarks, when the Tekeedar of\nthe village told him he must stop immediately, which Qadir had the good\nsense to do. I am fully persuaded that if the people and the Maharajah's\nservants had been aware that the sahib was a doctor, and would give them\nboth advice and medicine gratuitously, we should have had no veto put\nupon our evangelistic work. I learned a lesson by this incident by which\nI intend to profit. After breakfast we had a small reception of\npatients, when words about the love of God in Jesus were spoken to the\npatients individually, and those who were able to read got religious\ntracts and copies of the Gospels. The moonshee of the place told us he\nhad learned to read and write in a neighbouring school, where he said\nthere were as many as two hundred scholars. This high number of pupils\nis scarcely credible. At 5 P.M. we arrived at Chekar, somewhat fatigued\nwith the two marches of the day. The first thing I did was to summon the\nchief man of the village, and to tell him how many coolies I should\nrequire next morning,\u2013generally about forty,\u2013and collect all the sick of\nthe place and vicinity in the compound of the rude bungalow next morning.\n\n\"_26th April._\u2013To-day, after seeing twelve sick persons, we departed for\nHatti, which is the next resting-place on the way. Arrived late in the\nevening.\n\n\"_27th April._\u2013On getting up this morning, and going outside my tent, I\nfound a number of sick persons sitting on the ground, affected with\nvarious maladies. Before giving advice or medicine, Qadir, according to\ncustom, addressed them from a part of God's Word. The attention was\nmarked, and every now and then one here and another there in the\ninteresting company would exclaim, 'Durust,' 'Sach bal.' May God, by His\nquickening Spirit, vitalise the seed sown for His own glory's sake.\nArrived very late at Chikote, but in time to see the Tekeedar, and to\ngive him the usual orders about coolies and the sick.\n\n\"_28th April._\u2013At the usual reception of patients to-day, one old man,\nlabouring under an affection of the stomach, presented us with a\nquantity of walnuts,\u2013a present of no great value, but nevertheless\nindicative of grateful feelings towards the doctor.\n\n\"_29th April._\u2013Left Chikote this morning about 5 A.M. On the way met a\nman who inquired very particularly if I was the doctor, as he had heard\nthere was one coming, and he very much wanted to consult him about his\nlittle son. The boy happened to be affected with a well-known cutaneous\ndisease, for which I strongly recommended soap and water. From what I\nhave already seen of the people of Kashmir, poverty and dirt are the two\ngreat enemies I shall have to contend with as a doctor amongst them. On\narriving at Uri, pitched my tent under some apricot trees near to a\nshady chinar. We soon had a visit from Juliar Khan, the Namah of the\ndistrict of Uri. He came to consult me about his eyes, and another\ndisease of which he had been ill for a long time. Advice and medicine\nwere given him. The Tekeedar of Uri having also presented himself as a\npatient, received appropriate remedies, and was requested to give\nintimation of our readiness to see the sick of the village and\nneighbourhood.\n\n\"_30th April, Uri, Sunday._\u2013Got up very early this morning, and on going\noutside the tent found a large company assembled under the surrounding\napricot trees. We soon had the small deal table and chair with the\nmedicines and instruments placed in a convenient spot, and the sick and\ntheir friends were arranged all round. Everything being ready, Qadir,\nthe catechist, read the third chapter of John's Gospel, and showed the\nnecessity and nature of the new birth. The people as usual were most\nattentive, and listened with manifest pleasure to many of Qadir's\nremarks. After prayer, the sick were examined and treated as well as our\npresent circumstances would permit. Among the fifty sick persons, who\nconsisted of men, women, and children, there was an old Mullah, or\nMussulman Priest, who, on being asked if he possessed a copy of the\nKoran, replied in the negative. I said, I suppose if you had the Koran\nyou could read it. 'Oh, no,' he said, 'I not able to read at all.' I\ncould not help saying to the old man, whose hair was like snow, and whom\nin my heart of hearts I pitied, How can you be a Mullah if you are\ntotally unable to read? I received no reply. It was not a little amusing\nto watch the countenances of the listeners, who first smiled, then\nlooked at each other, nodded, laughed, and then exclaimed,\n'Bas,'\u2013enough. Such priest, such people. I have already been struck with\nthe fewness of those who are able to read. How are these poor people,\nwho are dying for lack of the knowledge of the Saviour, to be fitted to\nread His Holy Word? Juliar Khan, our friend of yesterday, came to pay\nhis respects and to say that he felt better from the remedies which were\ngiven him. After breakfast we assembled for family worship, and seeing\nJuliar Khan with a few of his followers sitting under an adjacent\nchinar, I sent him my salam, to say I should be most happy if he would\njoin us in the worship of God. No sooner did he receive the message than\nhe rose and came to us, accompanied by nearly all his retainers. I read\nthe fourth chapter of John's Gospel, to which he paid the greatest\nattention; after which, Qadir concluded the services with prayer. We\nthen had some little conversation on the Koran and the Gospel, but not\nbeing very communicative, he soon took his departure, again expressing\nhis gratitude for the advice and medicine which he had received the day\nbefore. Lord, fructify the seed sown for Thine own glory's sake. The\nMaharajah's officials very civil and obliging.\n\n\"_1st May._\u2013Road still lies along the Jhelum, and is beautifully wooded.\nAmong the trees I passed I recognised the peach, fig, and fir, and,\ntwining amongst these, the vine. The beautiful red flower of the\npomegranate delights one's eye at every turn, and the rose trees are\nbudding into beauty. Passed a lime-kiln at work to-day, and behind a\nlarge ledge of rock I came upon a Fakir: There he sat with his back to\nthe road, covered with rags, thereby meaning to show his indifference to\nthis world. Poor fellow! he has discovered part of the truth,\u2013that this\nfleeting world cannot satisfy, but he does not know the way whereby\nalone his soul can find satisfaction and be made perfectly happy the\nwhile, enjoying the present world according to the mind of God, who has\nfilled the earth with so much that is lovely and loveable. Came to a\ndilapidated Hindu temple. A flight of steps led up to a large gateway.\nIn the centre of the inner court saw the shrine, which was also\napproached by a flight of steps. The stones are of immense size and\ngranitic. The priest forbade me to enter, so I stood at the door, and\nheard the monotonous voice of the man who was performing service. He\nconcluded by blowing into a large univalve shell, producing a sound\nexactly like that of a trumpet. I was reminded of Elijah and the false\nprophet on Carmel.\n\n\"_May 2d._\u2013The scenery becomes more and more lovely as you near\nBaramula; the Jhelum, which you have known hitherto as a boisterous\nrapidly flowing river, is here gentle and placid. Poplar and willow\ntrees abound, and the very mountains are richly wooded, reminding one of\nthe Trossachs near Loch Lomond. The system of irrigation carried on here\nseems to be first rate. Before reaching Baramula a steep hill has to be\nclimbed; it bears marks of the work of water; the different strata of\nsandstone of which it is composed vary in degrees of coarseness, and\nthere are many water-polished pebbles to be seen. As you reach the\nsummit, suddenly the far-famed valley of Kashmir bursts upon your view.\nI thought of Moses at Pisgah getting his view of the promised land.\nThere lay the valley, bathed in sunshine,\u2013the full-bosomed and now\ngently-flowing Jhelum meandering through its midst, and its lofty\nguardians, the snow-capped Himalayas, towering around. I gazed long on\nthis wonderful scene, and with David praised the Lord for the excellent\nbeauty of His works. I earnestly prayed that His rich and effectual\nblessing might rest on the work I was about to begin.\n\n\"_3rd May._\u2013Reached Nowshera at 11 A.M., and after bathing, proceeded to\ntreat the sick who had been collected by the Moonshee, who informed me\nhe was the only adult in the village who could read, and that he had\nopened a school and had at present six scholars. I gave him a copy of\nthe New Testament in Hindu, and promised to give him a present on my\nreturn to Nowshera if he should satisfy me he had carefully read and\nstudied the book. How very important it is to influence for good those\nwho are, like this young man, the only channels of learning to the\npeople. As usual the coolies and sick having been placed near each\nother, Qadir proceeded to address them, after which the coolies received\ntheir pay and were allowed to depart. Thirty-six were then seen and\ntreated.\n\n\"_4th May._\u2013To-day we sailed in sight of Srinagar, the capital of\nKashmir. When about three miles from the city we halted to breakfast.\nWhile seated at my morning meal I observed two women pass me carrying\nbaskets on their heads full of provisions for the market. Shortly after\nthey had passed, my attention was arrested by cries in the direction in\nwhich they had gone, and on looking round, observed two men busy rifling\nthe women's baskets. I took these men for servants of the Maharajah's,\nbut discovered afterwards that they were not. On landing in Srinagar my\nfirst business was to find a house suitable for my work. To be so, it\nmust be situated near the city. I learned that the bungalows belonging\nto the Maharajah, and which he assigns to the Europeans visiting the\nvalley, were either already occupied or reserved, at least those nearest\nthe city. I had to go elsewhere therefore, and was very fortunate in\ngetting part of a bungalow quite close to the uppermost bridge of the\ncity. For the scanty and rude accommodation I had to pay twenty rupees a\nmonth, an exorbitant rent in Kashmir. The accommodation consisted of one\nlarge room, which served for drawing-room, dining-room, sitting-room,\nbed-room, &c., three verandahs, and four very small closets situated\nround it. Down stairs there was a large verandah. Being anxious to have\na proper bargain made about the house, I sent for the owner's agent, and\ndesired him to sign an agreement, which one of my assistants had drawn\nout. I was afraid that should I not have a sure bargain made the\nproprietor of the house might raise some objections when he should see\nthe work which I intended carrying on. The man told me that no agreement\nof this kind could be made in Kashmir without the presence and consent\nof the Maharajah's Baboo. I need scarcely say I felt very anxious about\nthe result of his being present. He was, nevertheless, sent for and\ncame. When all was amicably and satisfactorily arranged, as I thought,\nthe Baboo said to me that I should require to state in the written\nagreement that I was prepared to quit the bungalow on the 15th of\nOctober next. Seeing that it would be worse than useless to make any\nobjection, I took my pen and wrote as he desired, feeling greatly\nashamed that I belonged to the country of which Kashmir is a tributary.\nIt is most devoutly to be wished that the policy of our country towards\nsuch states as Kashmir were more becoming a great and Christian nation\nlike Great Britain. How contemptible and inconsistent as a nation we\nmust appear to such a people as the Kashmiris.\n\n\"_9th May._\u2013To-day is memorable in the history of the Kashmir Medical\nMission, from the fact that I opened my dispensary this morning. I had\ngiven notice that I intended receiving patients from this date. The\nverandah on the southern aspect of the house was prepared for the sick\npeople to meet in. Punctually at seven o'clock A.M., I, Qadir, the\ncatechist, and my two native assistants went into the verandah, after\nsupplicating together the blessing of God on the work which we were\nabout to initiate in Srinagar. Qadir read the opening verses of the\nfifth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew, and made a running and suitable\ncommentary on the passage. The service was closed with a brief prayer\nfor the divine blessing. I now retired to the small verandah on the east\nside of the house, which I had had fitted up\u2013very rudely, I must\nconfess\u2013as a dispensary. Here the patients were seen one by one. The\nnumber present to-day was ten. In the course of the day the Baboo called\nto see me. During his visit he told me that some Padre Sahib had been\npreaching in the B\u00e1z\u00e1r, and that the Diwan had commanded him (the Baboo)\nto inform the gentleman, whoever he might be, that he was not to repeat\nhis B\u00e1z\u00e1r preaching. I ascertained afterwards that the Rev. W. Handcock\nwas the clergyman referred to.\n\n\"_10th._\u2013Received a note from the Rev. W. Handcock to say that as he had\nbeen prohibited by the Diwan's order from preaching any more in the\nbazaar, and as his servants found it impossible to obtain supplies of\nfood, he had resolved to quit Srinagar on the 12th inst. 'If they\npersecute you in one city, flee into another.' With Mr Handcock's fate\nbefore me, it would be most unwise on my part to permit my catechist to\npreach in the bazaar. It appears to be the best course in the\ncircumstances, however desirable it may be that it were otherwise, to be\ncontent with the day of small things in Kashmir, and to wait patiently\nand prayerfully for a brighter day to dawn on this most unhappy country.\nAfter the morning reception of patients, I, accompanied by Qadir,\nvisited two of the bazaars of the city, not for the purpose of\npreaching, but to know the people and to spread the news of our\ndispensary. Began to read English with my native assistants.\n\n\"_13th May._\u2013Began my Saturday itinerations to-day. We hired a boat and\nsailed in the direction of the Takht-i-Suliman, and landed at a small\nvillage, where we had a meeting of the villagers, among whom four\napplied for medicine. The name of the village is Gagribal. I purpose to\ndevote the Saturday afternoons to these short itinerations to the\nneighbouring villages, that the people may hear the gospel in their own\ntongue, and know of the Medical Missionary Dispensary in Srinagar.\n\n\"_16th May._\u2013The number of patients thirty, the majority of whom were\nsepoys. I begin to suspect that this is the result of some plan or other\nto prevent the Kashmiris from coming to our dispensary. We shall see.\nThe devil is doubtless busy. The Bishop of Calcutta, accompanied by his\nprivate physician, arrived at a little past seven to see our operations.\nHe heard the greater part of the address which Qadir was delivering when\nhe entered. The passage of Scripture being commented on was Our Lord's\nPrayer. His lordship adjourned to the surgery after prayer, and remained\ntill he had seen a number of the sick examined and treated. Received a\nnote in the course of the day from Colonel Gardner, requesting medical\nadvice for one of his children.\n\n\"_17th May._\u2013Began tract distribution to-day in the Bazaar. The people\nreceived them gladly. I make it a point not to give away any books\nunless the receiver can read them. The people are very friendly indeed.\n\n\"_18th May._\u2013The number of patients this morning was forty. Excised a\ncystic tumour from a young man. Having explained the object and effects\nof chloroform, I asked him if he wished me to give it to him. After some\nslight hesitation he consented. In all probability this is the first\ntime a native Kashmiri has been an\u00e6sthetised in the valley with\nchloroform.\n\n\"_19th May._\u2013The Lord Bishop of Calcutta paid the Dispensary a second\nvisit this morning, along with his private chaplain, the Rev. Mr.\nHarley. Paid my first domiciliary visit to-day to see the young man from\nwhom I had excised the cystic tumour yesterday. Was gladly received.\n\n\"_20th May._\u2013After this morning's reception we hired a boat, and set out\nfor a pretty large village called Hazrat Bal, which is situated on the\nshores of the large lake near to Srinagar. We took a supply of medicines\nand tracts with us. On landing at the place, a shady tree was selected,\nnear to the Musjid, and there my chair and the medicines were placed.\nWhile Qadir, the catechist, was giving information of our arrival and\nobjects, I went to see the neighbouring Mussulman temple. There I saw\nthe principal Mullah or priest with a few of his subordinates. We had\nsome conversation together, after which I left them, thinking that by\nthis time Qadir would have collected the people. On leaving the Musjid\nand its priests, I found Qadir standing under a shady walnut tree\naddressing a numerous company of hale and sick folks, who were quietly\nseated on the ground round him, listening most attentively to his words.\nThe Mullahs, as soon as they heard what Qadir was speaking about to the\npeople, rushed amongst them, shouting out that they were to go away\nimmediately. Their efforts were successful. All left us except one poor\nwoman, who appeared to be imbecile. She would not move. One priest\napplied very liberally a rope, which he carried in his hand, to those\nwhose movements were slower than he thought they should be. It was a sad\nscene, and the only antidote I could think of for my feelings of\nindignation was prayer to that God who was looking on and seeing all\nthat was taking place against His blessed gospel. Qadir, the two native\nassistants, and myself, all knelt down under that same shady walnut, and\nprayed God to forgive these enemies of His truth and change their\nhearts. Only three sick persons availed themselves of the opportunity\npresented to them of obtaining advice and medicine. We got into our boat\nand made for home, much depressed by what had happened.\n\n\"_24th May._\u2013Mr. Jenkins, the British Resident, called on me to-day, and\nin course of conversation expressly told me I was not to ask or expect\nany support from him, in his official capacity, in my medical missionary\noperations.\n\n\"_25th May._\u2013No fewer than eight women were present amongst the patients\nthis morning. The number of female patients is gradually increasing. Had\ntwo surgical operations to-day, for which chloroform was administered.\nNo objection was made to its being exhibited, either by the patients or\ntheir friends, who were present at the operations. Indeed the natives\nare taking most kindly to this invaluable auxiliary to surgery. Was\ninformed by a friend that the priests of Hazrat Bal had complained to\nthe Diwan about my catechist, accusing him of having said all sorts of\nuntrue and unseemly things respecting them. These charges are entirely\nfalse, and are made with the view of having a stop put to our Medical\nMissionary itinerations. The Lord thwart their purposes.\n\n\"_26th May._\u2013The young man from whom I extirpated the cystic tumour,\ncalled to-day to show himself. He presented me with two rupees as a\ntoken of his gratitude. I merely touched them and returned them. The\npoor fellow seemed at a loss to find words to say how grateful he felt\ntowards us.\n\n\"_27th May._\u2013Thirty-four patients this morning. The subject of the\naddress, The Fall of man and his redemption by Jesus Christ, God's Son.\nIn the course of the day, the Rev. Mr. Cowie called, in company with one\nof the Maharajah's servants, for the purpose of hearing what I had to\nsay of the Hazrat Bal transaction. It appears from what is told me that\na very black account of my doings had been given by the Mullahs to the\nDiwan\u2013that my catechist had called His Highness, the Maharajah, anything\nbut good, and had uttered every sort of abuse to the Mussulman\npriests\u2013abuse too bad to be even mentioned. Having been present myself,\nI am able to say that the kind old man did not make one unfavourable\nallusion to the prince of these realms. Indeed, I have given strict\norders that whatever we of the medical mission may either see or hear\nwith respect to the government of this country, we are not to speak\nabout the matter in our dealings with the natives. Of all things in\nKashmir, truth is the scarcest, so that one has to be continually on his\nguard as to what he believes. In Kashmir, I only believe what I see, and\nsometimes hardly that. The Diwan's messenger, having heard my version of\nthe affair, took his departure.\n\n\"_29th May._\u2013The Rev. Mr. and Mrs. Yeates of Moultan, and Captain Lewin\nof Amritsar, came to see our operations. To-day the bishop returned the\nVisitor's Book, in which he expresses himself as much pleased with what\nhe had seen of my work.\n\n\"_30th May._\u2013The number of patients present this morning fifty-three, of\nwhom seventeen were women. The subject of address, the Vision of Dry\nBones. The attention of the people great. At 11 A.M., called on Mr.\nJenkins, the British Resident, according to request, regarding the\nHazrat Bal transaction. He informed me of the nature of the charge the\nfifteen mullahs of Hazrat Bal had brought against my catechist, of which\nmention has already been made in a previous entry. Mr. Jenkins then\nrequested me to promise I should give up these Saturday itinerations,\nwhich I refused to do, as I knew for certain that the charges brought\nagainst Qadir were a fabrication from beginning to end. I promised this\nmuch, I should not pay a second visit to Hazrat Bal during the season. I\nalso stated I was most ready to give due consideration to any official\ndocument coming from the heads of the native Government prohibiting me\nfrom itinerating. How humiliating and inexplicable it is, that states\ntributary to India should be allowed to do that which, if the Sultan of\nTurkey were to attempt, would be sure to call forth a sharp remonstrance\nfrom the Secretary for Foreign Affairs at home.\n\n\"_31st May._\u2013Opened my small hospital to-day. It accommodates from four\nto five patients. The verandah, in which the patients used to assemble\nto hear the address, has been fitted up for this purpose, while the long\nverandah downstairs is in future to be our meeting-room, being much\nlarger than the one above. Vaccinated the two children of the Brahmin at\nthe head of financial matters in Kashmir.\n\n\"_3d June._\u2013To-day, went with Qadir into the city, and spoke to a good\nmany maimed persons and others whom we met in our peregrinations. The\npeople listened very attentively and politely to us. Gave away a good\nmany tracts and larger treatises on religious subjects.\n\n\"_6th June._\u2013Whilst distributing tracts, and speaking to the people in\nthe bazaar, was requested by a goldsmith to go and see his wife, who, he\nsaid, had become totally blind. Went with the man to his house, and was\npermitted to enter with him. His wife turned out to have double\ncataract. The case is in every respect fit for operating on.\n\n\"_8th June._\u2013The number of patients present this morning was\nsixty-three, seventeen of whom were women. As usual, the people were\nvery attentive to the portion of Scripture which I read. With the aid of\nchloroform, removed another tumour in the forenoon. Have great reason\nfor heartfelt thankfulness to God, inasmuch as hitherto nothing untoward\nhas happened with respect to my medical work.\n\n\"_14th June._\u2013To-day, eighty-three patients were present, and of that\nnumber thirty-nine were women. The greatest quietness prevails during\nthe religious services.\n\n\"_15th June._\u2013With the aid of chloroform, removed a large staphyloma.\nThe people are becoming acquainted with the fact there is a medicine\nthat takes away pain by making them sleep, and readily take it when it\nis required. Heard to-day that orders had been issued by the heads of\nthe native Government that no sepoy is to come to me for advice and\nmedicine.\n\n\"_17th June._\u2013A poor coolie, who had been accidentally shot in the\nthigh, died this morning in hospital. His relatives would not grant a\n_post mortem_ examination. It is impossible for medicine to make much\nprogress in India as long as it continues to be so difficult to obtain\nspecimens of morbid anatomy.\n\n\"_19th June._\u2013Assisted by the Rev. Mr. Yeates, performed resection of\nthe wrist-joint. The patient was a young woman. Her parents were present\nduring the operation.\n\n\"_23d June._\u2013One of the principal pundits of the city sent his boat for\nme to come in to see him, as he was very ill. Accompanied by Qadir, I\nwent, and found the old man sitting in a summer-house, propped up on his\nbed, and surrounded by his male relatives. There was no female friend\nnear him. I examined the old man, and prescribed for him accordingly.\nWhilst so engaged, Qadir was busy talking with some of the relations\nabout Christ and the gospel. We gave copies of the separate Gospels to\nfour of those men. How very different a Christian sick-chamber would\nhave been from this one.\n\n\"_29th June._\u2013To-day, laid up with fever. Obliged to send away the\npatients who had assembled.\n\n\"_2d July._\u2013To-day, the collection for the Kashmir Medical Mission was\nmade at the station church; the Rev. W. G. Cowie, M.A., chaplain,\npreached.\n\n\"_11th July._\u2013I still feel so weak, that I have deemed it necessary to\nhave a change, and set out to-day for the south-east of the valley,\nintending to go as far as Islamabad. I purpose to go by slow stages, and\nto halt at the villages and towns on my way, and distribute tracts and\nmedicines. Qadir, my two assistants, and servant accompany me. We take\nalong with us a large supply of medicines, tracts, and gospels. Having\nasked God to bless us and our journey, we took our leave of Srinagar,\nintending to make Pampur our first resting-place. We reached Pampur\nabout 6 P.M., and immediately pitched the tent amongst a clump of\nwillows on the river's bank. We had not been long encamped before a\nlittle company gathered round us, and we had some interesting\nconversation. Qadir was the chief speaker. Pampur is a town of some\nimportance, situated on the right hank of the river Jhelum. It is said\nto contain 300 houses, and 2000 inhabitants. It is celebrated for the\nsaffron-fields adjoining it, and carries on a small trade in shawls.\n\n\"_12th July._\u2013To-day, we had two receptions for the sick, at which\nforty-five patients were seen, and received advice and medicines, after\nthe usual religious services. Those who were able to read received books\nalso. The people most civil and obliging. The governor of the place\nhappened to have been a patient of mine in Srinagar, but as he had to\nleave Pampur for the capital on business, he kindly sent a servant of\nhis to wait upon me, and assist in every way. Qadir and I, between the\ntwo receptions, went into the town, where we gave away tracts and copies\nof the Gospels. We had some quiet friendly discussion with one of the\nmullahs belonging to the musjid. In the evening, six Hindu pundits came\nto see us, and Qadir, who can speak about nothing but Jesus and His\nlove, had a most animated discussion with one of them, which was carried\non in the most friendly way.\n\n\"_13th July._\u2013To-day, had another reception, at which a large number of\nsick folks attended. Treated fifty-eight new patients. At 12 o'clock\nnoon, entered our boats, and sailed up the river towards our next\nhalting-place.\n\n_14th July._\u2013\"Went with Qadir Bakhsh, to examine the ruins of the temple\nof Avantipura, which is said to have been built to the honour of Siva in\nthe eighth century. The stones, or rather blocks, of blue limestone, of\nwhich this grand structure was formed, lie heaped one on another, but in\nsuch a state of preservation, that one is inclined to believe that its\npresent state of ruin has been caused by earthquake, and not by the\ndilapidating hand of man or time. The Rev. Mr. Cowie has collected a\nlarge sum of money for the purpose of excavating some portion of the\nburied ruins; and one whole side of the square of the colonnade which\nsurrounded the shrine is now laid bare. The remains of the splendid\npillars are worthy of Athens or Rome; large blocks of carved stone lie\nbetween them, and towards the north side there are the remains of an\narched gateway, through which must have been the entrance to the inner\ntemple. It stands almost entire. The ground-plan is about fifty-four\nfeet square, and the height is supposed to have been sixty-eight feet.\nOn two buttresses, at either side of the interior, are traces of carved\nidols. Avantipura was once the capital of Kashmir.\n\n\"_18th July._\u2013I forgot to mention that, through the kindness of Drs.\nBrown and Dallas of Lahore, a native doctor had been sent to help me\nfrom the Punjaub. He arrived in Srinagar a day or two before our\ndeparture. On arriving at Islamabad, we had encamped on the left bank of\nthe river, which was the only convenient camping-ground near the city.\nWe are awkwardly situated for the sick, as the river lay between us and\nthe city. In consequence of this drawback to our position, we had to\ncross the river daily; and, as there was a large grove quite close to\nthe city, we met there for worship and the reception of the sick. The\nnumber of patients present to-day was (?). Qadir addressed the group,\nand was patiently and quietly listened to. Islamabad lies on low ground\nnear the river, which is here a comparatively small stream. The\nsurrounding country is well wooded, and finely cultivated. Behind the\ntown is a long lacustrine promontory, stretching back for several miles,\nand on this platform, at its upper end, is built the ancient temple of\nMartand. It is by far the most perfect ruin of its class in the\nvalley\u2013the inner temple being still almost complete, and on the walls it\nis not difficult to trace the remains of carefully carved images. The\nsurrounding walls are much broken, but have evidently been formed of the\nsplendid blocks of hewn and carved limestone which lie heaped in every\ndirection. The temple faces the sun, in whose honour it was built about\n350 A.D.\n\n\"_20th July._\u2013To-day, we loosened our moorings, and sailed away from\nIslamabad, not without the hope that what had been done and said would,\nin God's good time, bear fruit. The Maharajah's servants were\nexceedingly civil and obliging, and the kotwal spoke very kindly of the\nRev. R. Clark, who had visited Islamabad the previous year.\n\n\"_22d July._\u2013The previous evening, we arrived at the village of K\u00e1kapur,\nwhich is situated on the left bank of the river Jhelum. On arriving,\nintimation was given that the hakim would receive patients in the\nmorning. In the morning, a company of fifty was gathered under the shade\nof a gigantic plane tree on the bank of the river, near to our boats.\nQadir read the third chapter of St. John's Gospel, and then explained\nthe nature of the new birth, with its fruits. The people most attentive,\nand apparently interested. Twenty-six persons applied for advice and\nmedicine. The poverty and filth of the people great. The majority of the\ncases ophthalmic.\n\n\"_27th July._\u2013(Srinagar). In the afternoon, performed Chopart's\noperation for caries of the bones of tarsus. The patient was a girl,\nwhose father and mother were present during the operation. Chloroform\nwas administered to the patient, who went off very quickly. In\noperating, my difficulties are legion, for I have everything to do\nmyself.\n\n\"_10th August._\u2013Twenty-seven men and twenty-seven women present. One man\nfrom Baramula, another from Islamabad, the two extremities of the\nvalley. Addressed them myself from the opening verses of St. John's\nGospel: one of the Diwan's principal officers was present, and when he\nheard me speak of the Son of God made manifest in the flesh, it was too\nmuch for him: he quietly rose and took his leave.\"\n\n\"_11th August._\u2013Number of patients thirty-two. Subject of address from\nSt. John xv., 'This is my commandment, that ye love one another, as I\nhave loved you.' I always take care to select such passages as embody\nthe cream of the Gospel\u2013the Father's love, and the Father's Gift, Jesus\nthe Son of God, Jesus God, His voluntary sacrifice of Himself for all\nwho shall believe on Him, the free invitation to all to come and be\nsaved. I touch but little on Mohammedanism or Hinduism. I think the\nspread of the gospel would be hindered by my doing so, and that more\nprogress would be made if there were less of polemics in missionary\noperations. Let the gospel be fully preached, and we shall see that\nChrist is still the power of God unto salvation to everyone that\nbelieveth.\n\n\"_12th August._\u2013Twenty-seven men and seventeen women present to-day.\nAfter dispensary work, my assistants and I sailed up the river to see\nthe ruins of Pandrenton, an old Hindu Temple; distance no more than\nthree miles, but it took us four hours to reach the place by water, the\nJhelum meanders so. The temple is situated in the midst of a small lake,\nwhich is covered with reeds. It is built of large blocks of stone, and\nshows, in its style of architecture, a close affinity to the form of the\ncommon Hindu temple of Bengal, _i.e._, the square block surmounted by a\npyramid roof. The floor is under water; lying near the edge of the small\nlake, we saw the God, a stone image, with red paint marks. It is still\nworshipped much. Returned by land. Saw quantities of hemp growing, and\nalso some plants of \"_thorn-apple_.\" Met many worshippers returning from\nAmarnath, one of whom told me that six men had been killed in ascending\nto the Holy Cave by the falling of some rocks.\n\n\"_15th August._\u2013Fifty-three patients to-day. Addressed them from St.\nJohn iii. 16, 17. Felt my own heart glow with love to the Saviour, as I\ntried to commend Him to others. It is very trying to speak to an\nassembly on matters in which they have not the least sympathy. But the\npromise, 'Lo, I am with you alway,' is fulfilled.\n\n\"_22d August._\u2013Learned to-day from one of the Maharajah's military\nservants that the report I had heard some time ago about the sepoys and\npeople having been prohibited from coming to me was quite correct.\nBesides, it turns out that a sepoy had been placed at the end of the\nwooden bridge adjacent to my bungalow, to keep a watch upon my\nmovements. Both the sepoys and people have up to this time paid very\nlittle attention to the prohibition. The collection made by the Rev. Mr.\nCowie, the chaplain, for the Kashmir Medical Mission amounted to\nRs.113, 6a.\n\n\"_26th August._\u2013To-day, there were forty-four women and thirty-two men\npresent at the morning's reception. A native gentleman called on me in\nthe afternoon, to tell me he had spoken to the Diwan or governor of\nKashmir, about my being allowed to remain during the winter months in\nthe valley. I had operated on this man some time before, and he took\nthis way of showing his gratitude. He said to my friend I could not\nobtain permission from the native Government to stay in Kashmir\nthroughout the year, for the following reasons: 1. Because it would be\ncontrary to the treaty; 2. Because there is a famine in the country, I\nmight not be able to get provisions in the winter; 3. Because more than\none European has lost his life by remaining in Kashmir during the winter\nmonths; and 4. Because it is contrary to the Maharajah's wish that\nEuropeans should stay in Kashmir in winter. The sepoys and people who\nhave derived benefit from the dispensary talk of petitioning the Diwan\nto allow me to remain.\n\n\"_29th August._\u2013The number of patients present to-day was ninety. The\naddress was delivered as usual, and the attention marked. Had two\nsurgical operations\u2013one the excision of a fatty tumour, and the other an\noperation for ectropion. Yesterday, was asked to conduct service in the\nusual place of worship\u2013the chaplain being absent. Was greatly agitated\nat first, but became calmer as the service advanced. Read the first\nchapter of Bonar's 'God's Way of Holiness.' I greatly relish that book\nfor its clear and thorough exhibition of divine truth. To-day,\nseventy-three patients, diseases chiefly 3d January, 1866.\n\nHe thus writes to his mother:\u2013\"_Sept. 23d, 1865_.\u2013I am able\u2013still very\nimperfectly, it is true\u2013to tell the poor Kashmiris of God's overflowing\nlove to sinners. The sinful heart is hard, but I firmly believe that, if\nanything will break it, and soften it, and make it holy and loving, it\nis the exhibition of God's infinite love to lost man. In speaking to\nothers of Jesus and His unutterable love, I feel my own soul glowing and\ngoing out towards God in yearning desires for greater holiness, greater\nlikeness to my blessed Redeemer, and for a complete consecration to His\nservice. My heart's most earnest desire is, next to my own salvation,\nthat God would honour me to lead many to the Saviour before I die, and I\nam hopeful of one or two of those among whom I labour. Paul may plant,\nand Apollos water, but it is God alone who can give the increase. Pray\nfor the increase, dearest mother.\n\n\"I have good news to tell you; the chaplain here, the Rev. Mr. Cowie, is\ngoing home, and as he purposes visiting Aberdeen, he has kindly promised\nto call on you, and tell you all about me and the mission work. He has\ngiven me his horse and saddle\u2013this horse was the property of Sir Colin\nCampbell during the mutiny. I forgot to tell you that a native gentleman\nhas had a handsome signet ring made for me as a mark of his gratitude\nfor my having cured him of a chronic and painful disease. My work goes\non steadily; no spiritual fruit as yet; but, perhaps, I should not say\nthis, for a Kashmiri, who fearlessly declared his faith in Christ in an\nopen bazaar yesterday, endured a terrible beating from his\nfellow-countrymen, and still seems to stand fast. I had fifty patients\nthis morning. They always listen attentively, but I can see by the\ncountenances of many, that the word is not received with gladness. It\nwould indeed be a miracle if it were, for the gospel strikes at the root\nof all that those benighted people look to for happiness in the next\nworld or in this, and reproves them with a voice of thunder for the\nwicked life they live now. I have now no hope of being allowed to remain\nduring the winter. Dear mother, pray that the Lord may mollify the\nMaharajah's heart.\n\n\"_24th._\u2013To-day had sixty patients. Oh, dear mother, that we could\nwholly live to God and for others! How happy, truly happy, we should\nboth be now and _on the other side_. Pray for me, dear mother. The devil\nwould fain tempt me to think that this is fruitless work, and that I am\na fool for not living for the present world, with its honours and\nwealth. Lord, we believe, help Thou our unbelief. Blessings on you, dear\nmother! Let us think more of Jesus, and of heaven, and of the life\nbeyond! then we shall certainly be happy.\n\n\"_25th Sept._\u2013Heard glad news to-day from the catechist, to the effect\nthat my Kashmiri pundit had declared to him that he firmly believed the\ngospel was true, but that he was afraid to make a public profession of\nhis faith in Jesus for fear of the consequences. He is but a Nicodemus\nin faith. Lord strengthen him. I was not at all surprised at this news,\nfor the pundit generally spent his Sundays with us in reading the New\nTestament, and speaking about Christianity.\n\n\"_29th Sept._\u2013Long conversation to-day with my servants on divine\nthings. We spoke of baptism; its import, and what makes a man a true\nChristian. My pundit, a sepoy, a merchant, and native doctor, listened\nwith manifest interest.\n\n\"_6th Oct._\u2013Was called to see the Maharajah's chief military officer in\nKashmir. He confirmed the report formerly spoken of. I could not help\njocularly saying, that according to our European notions, the\nMaharajah's army must be in a state of insubordination from the colonel\ndownwards.\n\n\"_16th Oct._\u2013Was requested by the Brahmin, who is at the head of\nfinancial affairs in Kashmir, and on whom I had operated a short time\nbefore, to go with him and see one of the female members of his family\nwho had sore eyes, according to his account. I was only too glad to go\nwith him, in order to get an entrance into this Hindu family.\n\n\"_17th Oct._\u2013To-day left Srinagar. The Brahmin of yesterday accompanied\nme out of the town, and expressed how grateful he felt for the benefit\nhe had received from the Medical Missionary Dispensary. I purpose\nreturning to the Punjaub by the Pir Panjal, and following the same plan\nas I did on my way into the valley, _i.e._, of having receptions and\naddresses at each of the resting-places.\"\n\nBefore starting with Dr. Elmslie on his return to Amritsar, the\nfollowing testimonies to the value of his work in Kashmir, and of\nMedical Missions in general, may be suitably introduced:\u2013\n\nThe Bishop of Calcutta entered the following remarks in the visitors'\nbook:\u2013\"During my present stay in Kashmir I have twice been present at\nDr. Elmslie's reception of patients, and bear willing testimony to the\ngreat interest and practical usefulness, as well as to the wise and\nChristian character of his proceedings. He presents Christianity to the\npeople in its most obviously beneficent aspect; and for this union of\ncare for men's souls with the healing of their bodies the gospel\nnarrative furnishes us with the very highest justification and\nprecedent. It is but little that we can, at present, do to make known to\nthe people of this country the blessings of Christ's salvation; but I\nquite believe that Dr. Elmslie is knocking at the one door which may,\nthrough God's help, be opened for the truth to enter in. I heard two\nHindustani sermons from his catechist, addressed to the sufferers from\nvarious maladies, who were gathered in the verandah, one on the Lord's\nprayer, and the other on the parable of the sower. Both were excellent,\nsimple, unpretending, suited to the hearers, placing before them plain\nChristian truth, and without any offensive remarks on their own\nreligions, or the very slightest political allusion. The fact that there\nare not (and, under present circumstances, apparently cannot be) any\nproperly educated doctors in Kashmir, makes Dr. Elmslie's presence here\nan act of Christian benevolence, quite apart from its missionary\ncharacter; and I cannot but hope that this, joined to the quiet efforts\nof the chaplain to keep alive in English travellers a feeling of\nChristian faith and responsibility, will at least remove from the minds\nof the people any prejudice against the Gospel which may, I fear, have\nbeen excited by the too frequent misconduct of Englishmen visiting the\nvalley. On all accounts I heartily commend Dr. Elmslie's efforts to the\nsympathy of all thoughtful persons, and I feel sure that he will be\nguided by prudence, as well as zeal, and will not forget what is due to\nthe wishes of the Government of the country, while, at the same time, he\nwill of course maintain the directly Christian character of his work.\"\n\nThe subjoined was written by the Rev. W. G. Cowie, M.D., chaplain on\nduty in Kashmir:\u2013\"Dr. Elmslie has asked me to state here any suggestions\nI may have to offer respecting the system pursued by him at his daily\nreceptions of patients. I have been present on several occasions during\nthe last four months, and much pleased each time by what I saw and\nheard. I frequently ask natives of Kashmir what they think about the\nMedical Mission, and am invariably told by them that they consider Dr.\nElmslie's work a great blessing to the poor of Srinagar, and of the\nvalley in general. I am not acquainted with the working of any other\nmission whose system I consider so hopeful as that adopted by Dr.\nElmslie; and during my expected sojourn in England and Scotland (in\n1866-67), it will afford me the greatest pleasure to advocate the claims\nof the mission on the Christian public in every way I can.\"\n\nOne more testimony may be introduced, by the Rev. G. Yeates, M.A.,\nmissionary, Moultan:\u2013\"As a brother missionary, I feel great pleasure in\nadding my testimony to the value of the Medical Mission in Kashmir, as\nconducted by Dr. Elmslie. While in Srinagar, I have frequently been\npresent at his receptions of patients, as also at Islamabad, when he\nvisited that town, and have enjoyed the meetings very much. I have\nseldom heard gospel truths more faithfully preached than in the\naddresses to the patients, which, along with the prayer that followed\neach, could not have been better suited to the audience. The spirit of\nlove was manifested in all that was said, while the more tangible appeal\nto the senses which followed, in the way of medicines and advice,\nafforded a strong proof of the intention to benefit them which, under\nGod's blessing, cannot but result in good.\"\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IX.\n\nWAYSIDE MINISTRIES AND WORK IN AMRITSAR.\n\n\nIn India Dr. Elmslie had two homes\u2013if indeed he had a home at all, for\nhe spoke of himself as being like Noah's dove, without a resting place\nfor the sole of his foot\u2013two homes and three spheres of labour. For six\nmonths in the year he lived and worked, as we have seen, in Kashmir.\nThen going each season to and from this, his main centre of action, he\nhad no home whatever\u2013sometimes like his Divine Master he had no place to\nlay his head\u2013but he had a precious sphere of usefulness in wayside\nministries amongst the sick and suffering, of which he gladly availed\nhimself; and then for a few months in the year, in Amritsar, or some\nother city, he opened a dispensary and carried on his Medical Missionary\noperations. Leaving the beautiful valley we shall accompany him as he\nmoves by the Pir Panjal towards Amritsar, exemplifying as he goes the\n_heaven-appointed_ plan of missions\u2013HEAL AND PREACH.\n\n\"_Journal, October 20th, 1865._\u2013Road to Haripur rough, but the scenery\nmore and more beautiful, reminding me of the dear Scotch Highlands. No\nshelter at Haripur, so breakfasted on the path-side and set out for\nAliabad Serai, which is near the very highest point to which we ascend\nthe Himalayas. Road all precipitous and rough, a pony indispensable for\ncomfort, but not quite free of danger, for as I was urging my tuttoo up\none of the knotty points of the mountain he fell back. I threw myself to\none side and escaped all injury, but the pony went rolling down the\nrocks for some distance. The scenery from Haripur to Aliabad is very\ngrand; the towering mountains are covered with magnificent pines, and\ndeep down in the ravine below, there dashes a wild river, its course\nfretted by many a boulder. About five P.M. I reached the Serai, tired\nand longing to rest, very hungry, but my servants had not arrived. The\nnight was bitterly cold, and I had to spend it without even a blanket to\ncover me, for my servants had stayed at the foot of the last ascent and\ndid not arrive till morning.\"\n\n\"A little beyond Aliabad Serai the traveller reaches the summit of the\npass, about 12,000 feet above sea level. On it there stands a\nwatch-tower, inhabited by the guardian of the pass. The view is\ninconceivably grand, it entrances one, making one forget all the\nfatigues of the journey and rejoice in the glories of God's creation.\nIndia's plains lie stretched before you, with an intervening foreground\nof marvellously verdant mountains, while towering above and around are\nthe thousand snowy peaks of the Himalayas. The descent is not so easy as\nit seems at first. The paths are precipitous, and often dangerous, and\nalways lonely. The marches from one Serai to another are sixteen miles.\"\nOn arriving, tired and footsore, Dr. Elmslie often found that his\nservants were far behind him, and he was thankful to accept the\nhospitality of the natives, and to partake of milk and chipatties gladly\nsupplied by them. At every resting place he called the sick, and did\nwhat he could to relieve their sufferings, while his catechist addressed\nthem from the Word. He writes, \"I am delighted to be able to follow\nQadir Bakhsh in his addresses now: his similes are always apt; for\ninstance, to-day when speaking of faith he said, 'Faith is like a seed\nwhich the Holy Spirit takes and sows in the heart; from the seed grows\nthe Christian tree, and the fruit of the tree is good works.' Though\ntired, I felt impelled to say a word or two about God's unspeakable\nlove. The people listened with marked attention.\" Again he\nwrites:\u2013\"_October 25th._\u2013Soon after leaving Rajaori we saluted a company\nof Chinese Mussulmans on their way to Mecca, and again we met in the\nSerai at Sialsui\u2013a wretched mud building in which I took refuge from a\nthunderstorm. Qadir Bakhsh told me he had had a long conversation with\none of them, and it had ended in his asking him for a Testament. He\ncould read and speak Persian, he said, so I called him and had some\nconversation. I learned that he came from Foochow, one of four Mussulman\ncities in China, and, anxious to show his repentance for sin, he had set\nout on the pilgrimage to Mecca. I tried to show him the utter\nimpossibility of any man obtaining eternal life through mere repentance\nwithout an atoning sacrifice, such a sacrifice as our blessed Saviour\nhad offered up. He listened to Qadir Bakhsh and me silently, and again\nexpressed his desire to possess a copy of the 'Injil.' Not having any\nwith me in Persian, we gave him a copy of the Old Testament, and he was\nmuch pleased. He read the Decalogue with great interest. Poor fellow, he\nsaid he had been nine months on his pilgrimage already. What a lesson in\nearnestness! Lord, bless thine own word to this deluded follower of the\nfalse prophet.\n\n\"While conversing with him, the Kotwal of the village and his followers\nhad come in. Afterwards we had a remarkably interesting conversation\nwith a very intelligent Kashmiri, who had been listening attentively to\nall that was said to the Chinaman.\n\n\"_October 28th._\u2013One of our Chinese friends who follow in our track, has\nan attack of tonsillitis, for which he applied for medicine, which he\ngot, along with a few words intended to reach the seat of the spiritual\ndisease. This is my Indian birthday. Help me, Lord, to do more in the\ncoming year, towards spreading the news of Thy marvellous love to lost\nmen!\n\n\"_31st October, near Th\u0101h._\u2013Crossed the Chenab by a rudely constructed\nferryboat; the road to Th\u0101h comparatively good, but long and broken by\ntributaries of the Chenab. There is a wonderful difference between the\ncultivation of the neighbouring country compared to that of the\nterritory through which I have come. An extensive system of irrigation\nis carried on by the native farmers. About three o'clock I arrived alone\nat Th\u0101h, where I was intending to pass the night, but found that the\n'Sahib Log' went to a village at some distance. So at least the rogue of\na bombard\u0101r informed me. After a ride of ten minutes, I reached the said\nvillage and dismounted under the shade of a clump of trees, requesting\nmy conductor, the son of said bombard\u0101r, to go back to Th\u0101h and send me\nsome milk and fruit, also some grain for my horse, as I feared my\nservants would not arrive till late. His promises of a speedy return\nwith all I wanted were not fulfilled, and I sat there alone, tired with\nmy journey, from four till seven o'clock, when Qadir Bakhsh arrived,\nmuch to my joy. He at once set out to forage, but without success.\nHaving tasted nothing since early morning, and seeing no prospect of\ndinner, I set out with Qadir Bakhsh to see what we could effect by our\ncombined forces. I shall never forget the furious rage dear old Qadir\nBakhsh acted, greatly to the terror of all who came near him. When no\none was looking he turned round and laughed heartily to me. It was an\namusing scene even to a hungry man as I was, and as the fruit of it, one\nwoman brought us, partly from fear, partly from pity, some milk, a\ncharpae and some straw, and with these we had to be content for the\nnight. I drank my milk, thanking God for all His goodness during the\nday, and went to sleep under the shade of the trees. In the morning\nfound my followers had arrived through the night. Walked most of the way\nto Sealkote with a mussulman, and told him about Jesus and His great\nsalvation.\n\n\"_November 5th._\u2013Early this morning arrived at Amritsar. Busy preparing\nhouse in city for dispensary, &c. Mean to live there in order to be near\nmy patients.\n\n\"_Amritsar, 20th November, 1865._\u2013MY EVER DEAREST MOTHER,\u2013Since my\nreturn from Kashmir I have had a very sorrowful work to perform; one of\nthe young missionaries connected with the work here, had had an attack\nof dysentery, and had been ordered off to Dalhousie in hope of\nbenefiting from the mountain air. But he became worse and worse. I went\nup to this hill station in order to help his poor young wife in nursing\nhim, and if possible, to bring him down to the plains again, but it was\ntoo late; he died three hours before I arrived. You can imagine the\nscene of sorrow. Mr. Watkin was a very promising young missionary, and\nwe all feel deeply our loss in his death. After a few days my friend and\nhis, Mr. R., came down, bringing Mrs. W. with us.\n\n\"_3d January, 1866._\u2013God continues to give me in His great goodness an\nordinary quantum of health and spirits. I know nothing so conducive to\nboth, as the assurance that God is reconciled to you, and you to God,\nthrough the precious blood of Jesus. How is your soul prospering? Is\nJesus becoming more and more precious, and is the world becoming more\nlike a wilderness to you? We have been taught this lesson very solemnly\nof late. Another of our number has been summoned home. The Rev. W.\nStevenson of Peshawur died some days ago of fever. Mr. Clark's fine\nlittle boy too has been taken away. These events solemnize us greatly,\nwhile they remind us also of God's great mercy in sparing us a little\nwhile longer. Yet St. Paul is right when he says that to depart and be\nwith Christ is far better than to remain here in this sinful imperfect\nworld. My work is slowly progressing in Amritsar. Yesterday I had\ntwenty-nine patients, all of whom listened attentively to the word read\nand explained. You will be happy to hear that I am now able to read the\nnative language, and to make short comments on the passages of\nScripture, and also to close our meetings with extempore prayer. I have\nfour assistants here besides the native doctor, and for these lads I\nhave begun two classes,\u2013one for the study of materia medica, and another\nfor anatomy. I find the people here more bigoted than in Kashmir. They\nwould much rather pay a small fee than listen to the address and prayer,\nalthough they love money ardently. Next week I hope to open a class for\nchemistry, in hope of gathering some of the lads in the city who speak\nEnglish, and who intend taking a degree in the University. It is said I\nshall have a large class, and I think I may thus come into closer\nrelationship with many young men.\n\n\"You express a hope that we may be found in Jesus. Why should we doubt\nit? Jesus is ready to receive us. We know He is more willing to bless\nthan we are to receive the blessing. The Father has constructed a\nstupendous machinery for the express purpose of bringing us to Him; we\n_will_ go to Jesus and dwell where He dwells.\n\n\"_February 19th, 1866._\u2013Did I tell you that I had commenced a course of\nlectures on chemistry? There are twenty-six names on the list, and I\ntrust my object may be realized in counteracting some of the evil\ninfluences of much of our scientific literature.\n\n\"_July 19th, 1866._\u2013As the Lieutenant Governor, with his court, is\nexpected to be present at the Durb\u0101r, which will be held here next week,\nwe purpose having a meeting of our Medical Mission Committee, when a new\nSecretary and Treasurer is to be appointed. I trust I shall not be\ncalled on to undertake this work, for I feel sure it would hinder me\nfrom doing so much direct mission work as I should be able to do if free\nof all money matters and correspondence. They say in Amritsar that I am\nto meet with much opposition from Government this season in Kashmir. If\nthe work is the Lord's, then all things must ultimately work together\nfor His glory. He can restrain the fury of men, saying to them, as He\ndid to the great deep, 'Hitherto shalt thou come, and no further.' I am\noften with you in spirit, often with you, dearest mother, at the throne\nof grace, breathing out desires for a blessing on you. How very near we\nare in Christ.\n\n\"I had a visit from three priests of the golden temple to-day, who\npresented me with a quantity of sweetmeats and flowers, and after the\nusual civilities, we entered into conversation about 'Namak Sahib' and\nthe Grunth; I trying to tell them something of the gospel. They were,\nhowever, bent on something else. After telling me of the liberal\nbakhshish so many great sahibs had given them, they at last, provoked at\nmy not taking the hint, asked me point blank what I would give them. I\nreplied in some such words as Peter, 'Silver and gold have I none, but\nsuch as I have give I thee,' and assured them of my willingness to give\nthem medicine for body and for soul. They gathered up the sweetmeats and\nflowers, and stalked off, not a little disappointed.\n\n\"_January 23d, 1866._\u2013TO DR. CLEGHORN.\u2013It would have afforded me\nunbounded pleasure to have met you, and talked over with you the\nconcerns and prospects of the mission, of which you have the honour of\nbeing the father, and I that of being the agent....\n\n\"We had a most delightful week of prayer the week before last. We felt\nindeed that the Lord was in our midst. We shall expect great blessings\nafter such united supplications on the part of God's people, according\nto His own gracious promise. On the 31st inst. we are to have another\nday for prayer on behalf of medical missions, according to the\nappointment of the home society. Would that God would pour out His Holy\nSpirit on our Universities, that men may come and offer themselves for\nthis glorious work!\n\n\"_March 6th, 1866._\u2013_To be ready!_ What does this imply? Does it require\nsome great effort or labour on my part to become ready for the coming of\nthe Son of Man? Nay, I have only to believe in Jesus; He is my\nrighteousness. In Him is all the Father requires. Blessed Jesus, how\nvery very precious Thou art to me! Why should I ever hunger or thirst,\nwhen in Thee is fulness of all I need. Why should any perish, seeing\nthat Jesus has done and suffered so much that we might have life. Let\nme, with humble, thankful, loving, joyful, and faithful heart, take this\nfull salvation, and even _now_ feast upon it, even _now_ become rich\nthrough it, even _now_ rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory!\"\nThis precious thought regarding our completeness in Christ came out in\nan interesting form during his student days in Edinburgh. A patient of\nhis was subject to attacks of cramp, and on one occasion fainted from\nthe severity of the pain. When the sufferer emerged from\nunconsciousness, he found the hand of the young doctor resting gently on\nhis clammy brow and exclaimed, 'Oh, doctor, to be ready, and to get away\nfrom this terrible suffering!' The doctor answered softly, '_You are\nalways ready_ IN JESUS, _you will never be ready_ OUT OF HIM.'\n\n\"_March 7th, 1866._\u2013Still labouring away in Amritsar, but intend to\nclose my dispensary soon, and to pack up for the journey over the\nmountains. I continue to enjoy excellent health, and am very happy in\nsoul. Jesus, my Saviour, becomes dearer and dearer to me every day. My\nfaith in Him is growing stronger, and my delight in my work is also\nincreasing. I am persuaded that to labour for Christ in this world is\nthe greatest honour and the surest and speediest way to becoming strong\nand happy in the Lord.\n\n\"Last week we had a series of grand meetings here. Numbers of Europeans\nand native gentlemen met together for the purpose of discussing many\npoints bearing on the social condition of this province. The first day\nwas devoted to the delivery of speeches, and reading of addresses on\ndifferent social questions. We met in a large tent, and the brilliant\ncolouring of the dresses worn by the natives made the scene a most\npicturesque one. On the second day, prizes were given to all who had\ndistinguished themselves at the recent examinations. The third day was\nthe crowning one, because the wise and noble Governor of the province (a\nScotchman, Mr. M\u201bLeod) honoured the meeting with his presence. On that\nday and on the next, I had the honour of dining with the Lieutenant\nGovernor. On Thursday, he kindly offered to drive me to a conversazione,\ngiven to the native gentlemen. He made me sit by him in the carriage on\nhis right hand, and spoke to me of Scotland. But now, dearest mother, I\nmust stop short. My message for you is Genesis xv. 1, a lovely, true,\nand comforting word. Pray for me and for poor Kashmir. O may God richly\nbless you in soul and body.\u2013Your ever loving son, WILLIE.\n\n\"_April 2d, 1866._\u2013TO DR. CLEGHORN.\u2013I brought my operations here to a\nclose a short time ago, just immediately before we had our last meeting\nof committee. One day, while I was engaged in giving my lecture on\nchemistry, which I continued to do till the last, two of the honorary\nMagistrates of Amritsar waited on me, as a deputation from (what we\nshould call) the Town Council, to request me to prolong my stay in\nAmritsar. I need not say that this was exceedingly gratifying to me, as\na doctor and as a Christian; and my heart was filled with gratitude to\nour heavenly Father, who had graciously granted me such favour with the\nvery people whose temporal and spiritual welfare are so dear to my\nheart. Thinking that I was connected with the Government, and that I was\nabout to leave Amritsar on account of a Government order, the deputation\nsaid that they were prepared to draw up a petition to Mr. Egerton, the\ncommissioner, and to have it signed, soliciting him to use his influence\nin getting the order for my departure cancelled. I explained all to\nthem, and expressed my sorrow at not being able to be in two places at\nthe same time; but that I felt it to be my duty to go to Kashmir, where\nmy proper work lay. The time may be near when we shall see a large\nMedical Mission Hospital in Amritsar. There is room and need for it....\nJust another item of news about our pet, and I must have done. Sir John\nLawrence has sent a message to Mr. Macleod, the Lieutenant-Governer of\nthe Punjaub, to request the Resident, this year, to inform the Maharajah\nof Kashmir, that his hostility to Christianity is not neutrality, and\nthat his policy towards missions is unworthy of a prince of his\nenlightened views. This is the spirit of the message, but not the very\nwords. 'The Lord reigneth!'\n\n\"_Lahore, 3d April, 1866._\u2013Once more I am on my way to Kashmir, to\ndelight in its beauty, and to cope with its sin and wretchedness.\n\n\"We had our annual meeting of the Kashmir Medical Mission a few days\nago, and to me it was a very great pleasure to find that all the members\nwere satisfied with the manner in which I had conducted the work in\nKashmir. I need not tell you how glad I am for this, not so much on my\nown account as on account of the work I have so much at heart. 'If any\nman lack wisdom, let him ask of God, who giveth liberally and upbraideth\nnot.' God is my wisdom; the constant cry of my inmost heart is, 'Make me\ntruly wise to win souls, _keep me from doing a right thing in a wrong\nfashion_.' It does cheer me to remember that you, at least, are praying\nfor me; we have to fight against a strong foe; the devil and his\nemissaries have long held the fort in Kashmir\u2013poor perishing Kashmir,\nfor whom I could weep all day. I have made my first attempt at\nReport-writing, and, like all my works, it displeases me: I suppose I\nnever shall be pleased with anything I attempt to do or be, till I stand\nbefore God, clothed in the perfect righteousness of Christ; _then_ I\nshall be _perfectly satisfied_.\n\n\"I have sent off my servants and luggage to the borders of Kashmir, and,\nGod willing, hope to set out myself about the 5th inst. I am well, and\nenabled to lay hold with a firmer grasp on the precious promises of God.\n\n\"By-the-bye, if you have not read 'God's Way of Peace,' and 'God's Way\nof Holiness,' do get them. They have helped me wonderfully. Ever praying\nthat the God of grace and comfort may be with you, I remain your ever\nloving son, WILLIE.\"\n\n\"_April 9, 1866._\u2013To-day left the hospitable roof of my friend and joint\nSecretary, Dr. Gray, and set off on the journey to Rawal Pindee. Had a\nlong time alone for prayer, that God would greatly prosper my own soul,\nmaking it spiritually fragrant and verdant, that thus I might be enabled\nto serve Him more truly. Oh, that He would grant to me and all who work\nwith me a double portion of His Spirit, without whose vitalising\ninfluence no eternal good can accrue from our efforts. My beloved\nSaviour, in Thy strength I go up\u2013_strong in Thee_. I enter an enemy's\ncountry to fight with Thy weapons the common foe.\n\n\"_10th._\u2013A military man is my fellow traveller. Wishing to unfurl my\ncolours, I asked a blessing aloud at breakfast. He did not like my doing\nso. My soul is very sun-shiny just now. God be praised.\n\n\"_13th._\u2013Long march to Haripur. Sat down under a clump of trees and read\nSch\u00f6nberg-Cotta Family. The female characters in it are beautifully\ndrawn. The approaching campaign in Kashmir much in my thoughts to-day,\nand I have had great joy and peace in making over the care of it all to\nthe great Care-bearer. Blessed Jesus, _go with me_!\n\n\"_April 16th._\u2013I look on no trial now in the same light as formerly,\nwhen I had not tested fully how good the Lord is! The child of God is\nlifted above the world when there subsists between him and his Saviour a\nvital union\u2013the union of faith. This union makes the believer\ninvincible. He may be cast down, but he will speedily rise again, to\nbecome stronger than before. This is the effect of the divine schooling.\nIt educates the man for the battle of this life, as well as for the life\nwhich is to come.\n\n\"_18th._\u2013Left Abbottabad with the Rev. Mr. Wade of Peshawur. Road to\nManserah very beautiful, passing through extensive pine forests, scenery\nmore and more grand. Reached the Jhelum about 3 P.M., and crossed it by\nthe rope bridge. The current is rapid and the river eighty yards across\nat this point.\n\n\"_19th._\u2013Busy all morning with sick people who had obeyed my summons in\ngreat numbers. Qadir Bakhsh addressed them on the opening verses of our\nLord's Sermon on the Mount. Journey from Muzufferabad to Do Patta long,\nand our ponies insufferably bad. About half way my animal stumbled, and\ndown he went. The severity of the blow fell on my right shoulder and\nside, and at first I really thought some part of the bony apparatus had\nbeen fractured. It was some time before I could move, but at last\nremounted and rode till I could bear the excruciating pain no longer.\nWalked slowly to the resting place.\n\n\"_20th._\u2013Spent to-day in bed, resting my arm and doctoring myself. Qadir\nBakhsh addressed the sick, and the native doctor prescribed so far as he\ncould.\n\n\"_April 21st._\u2013Starting at 7 A.M., reached Khanda at 1 P.M., having\nwalked all the way. Very much better to-day. The Nawab of the district\nsent to ask me for two bottles of wine for his horse. Had some doubt\nthat the article was for himself, not for the horse, and was glad to be\nable to say I had no wine with me. The chief men of this village confirm\nmy suspicions that the wine was for himself, although he is a Mussulman.\nTold the people, who came to pay their respects to us, something of\nGod's love to fallen man, and gave notice of a reception of the sick\nto-morrow morning.\n\n\"_22d, Sunday._\u2013Early this morning had a gathering of the sick.\nTwenty-three came, and Qadir Bakhsh addressed them. The Rev. J. R. Wade\nheld service in the afternoon. Another reception of sick in the evening.\n\n\"_24th._\u2013Much hawthorn on the way to-day, the fragrance of which was\ndelicious. Visited the tomb of a Mussulman, and was allowed to enter.\nWithin the court a square building of trellis-work, which we entered,\nand then within a screen, we saw the tomb.\n\nIn the evening saw twenty sick people, and addressed them from John iii.\n15. Gave two men who could read, copies of St. John's Gospel. Lord,\nwater this seed sown!\n\n\"_April 25th, 1866, Gingal._\u2013Terrible thunder storm overtook us on our\nmarch to-day, saw a splendid trough cut out of the solid rock. Reception\nof patients as usual.\n\n\"_26th._\u2013Scenery on the way from Gingal to Baramula perfectly sublime.\nThe proud mountains bearing their glistening crowns of snow, the nearer\nones clothed with dark-coloured majestic pines. Passed some very ancient\nruins, which we thought bore traces of Buddhist origin. Immediately on\nour arrival here, engaged four large boats for ourselves, servants, and\nluggage. After tea loosed our moorings and sailed away up the river,\nwhich, on account of the melting of snow, is much larger than usual.\n\n\"_27th._\u2013What a rest after the toils of the journey this delicious\nsailing is! Spent the day in admiring the surpassingly beautiful scenery\nof this fairest portion of God's earth, and in prayer for its spiritual\nemancipation. One cannot help seeing that the marvellous capabilities of\nthe country are but partially developed, the cultivation is very\nimperfect, the buildings seem everywhere to be falling into ruins, and\nthe people are rendered indolent and heartless by oppressive taxation.\"\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER X.\n\nSECOND YEAR'S WORK IN KASHMIR.\n\n\nIt is our privilege, during another season, through means of his journal\nand letters, to accompany Dr. Elmslie in his Medical Missionary services\nin Kashmir.\n\n\"_Journal, April 28, 1866._\u2013Reached Srinagar to-day. Committed my work\nto the God of missions, and felt calm, trustful, hopeful.\n\n\"On reaching the bungalow I had rented last year, found I could not have\nit again. Disappointed, I sailed up the river and at last secured a\nbungalow, which I think may do as a make-shift. It is the most remote of\nthe houses set apart for bachelors, and I chose it because there is\nplenty of ground round it for my patients (if God grant me any) to\nassemble, without annoying the other visitors. The house needs repair,\nso Wade and I resolved to pitch our tents till it is ready. Dined\noutside our tents; weather most beautiful; mountains still covered with\nsnow....\n\n\"Here I am once more in this sinful country, for the very purpose of\nexhibiting some of the loving power of the Gospel. Oh, be pleased to\nbless and quicken me, and to pour out Thy quickening Spirit on this\npeople, that they may undergo a spiritual resurrection, and live\nhenceforth to the glory of Thy name. Be pleased, O Father, to direct me\nin all my plans; may souls be converted; this is my one great desire;\nbut, dear and loving and wise heavenly Father, if it should seem good to\nThee to withhold from me this great honour and joy, help me to say from\nthe heart, Not my will but Thine be done! In Thy strength I resolve to\nbe more diligent than ever I have yet been, laying hold of every\nopportunity of doing good both to the souls and bodies of men, and in\nprosecuting my linguistic studies.\n\n\"_30th._\u2013Heard to-day that the man who rented me his house last year is\nforbidden to do so again, as it is too near the city!\n\n\"Whilst engaged in treating a poor sepoy this morning, was waited on by\na messenger from the Diwan. After common civilities, we spoke of\neverything except my mission. Was this wise? Or should I speak out? God\nguide me, for I know not what is best. The pundit, who taught me\nKashmiri last season, brought me to-day the translation of the Gospel of\nSt. John, which I had engaged him to make.\n\n\"I find, after much inquiry, that there is no special Kashmiri\ncharacter, and that the religious books of the Hindu people living in\nthe country are written in Sanscrit, which most of them can read.\nKashmiri is always expressed by the Persian character; and Persian\nitself is specially the language of the Mussulman portion of the\ncommunity.\n\n\"_May 2d._\u2013Busy arranging bungalow, and hope fairly to begin operations\nto-morrow. Relish Leighton's work very much: his spirit is Christ-like,\nfull of love and good will to men. Blessed Jesus, give me this likeness\nto Thyself. My patience is greatly tried with the slowness of the\nwork-people. Had I come here merely for my own pleasure it would be\nbearable, but when my work is hindered by it then my wrath is roused.\nHad actually to write to the Baboo to-day about supplies of food,\u2013so\nhelpless is an Englishman, ay, and a Scotchman too, in the hands of the\nKashmiris.\n\n\"_3d._\u2013The fruit trees are now laden with blossom. Busy getting ready a\ntent for the sick to assemble in to hear the Gospel before coming to the\ndispensary. Have taken the outside of a large Swiss tent, and by means\nof chicks and poles have formed a kind of pavilion, likely to prove\nserviceable.\n\n\"Wade and I had a long walk after dinner, and on our way home took it\ninto our heads to count the trees on both sides of the long Poplar\nAvenue. On Wade's side he counted 8 chinars and 882 poplars, and on my\nside there were 7 chinars and 788 poplars. There are great gaps to be\nseen among them, and many more must speedily die, as they have been\nbarked. In the evening read Persian with Wade.\n\n\"_4th._\u2013In our walk to-day intimated to all we met that our dispensary\nwill be opened to-morrow. Examined some guns at the Fort, and found them\nperforated and unfit for use.\n\n\"_5th._\u2013Opened dispensary to-day. Mr. Wade, Qadir Bakhsh, Jewan Lal,\nThomas, and Benjamin, met me in the lower room of the little house we\nare now occupying, and we together prayed God to command His blessing on\nthe work we were about to begin. We then adjourned to the tent, and Q.\nB. addressed the few patients who had come. My blessed Saviour, I\ndelight to think Thou wilt one day reign here, and this land shall then\nbe inhabited by men wise unto salvation: now, how ignorant, deluded,\nsuperstitious this people is!\n\n\"Afterwards Wade and I went to the top of Takht-i-Suliman, said to be\n800 feet high, and I verily believe it, for the ascent is by no means\neasy. The formation is trap, like the Edinburgh Castle Hill or Arthur's\nSeat. Near the summit sheep and cattle were grazing, and on the very top\nthere are two poplar and several fruit trees in a thriving condition.\nMet with some fine specimens of the Iridace\u00e6; those Irises cover the\ngraves of all Mussulmans buried in the valley, some are pure white,\nothers are violet. Read Cunningham's essay, describing the wonderful\ntemple which crowns this hill.\n\n\"_6th._\u2013Fourteen new patients to-day; one a case requiring a serious\noperation. I have offered him a bed in my tent till he recovers, and all\nhe requires. He promises to return, but I cannot be sure, as patients\noften profess to acquiesce and depart never to re-appear. Qadir Bakhsh\nhad a long and interesting conversation with some pundits to-day, on the\nsubject of \"God manifest in the flesh.\" Finished reading Dr.\nColdstream's life. Lord make me like him in all in which he resembled\nChrist.\n\n\"Qadir Bakhsh informed us that three men had declared that they would\nbecome Christians but for fear of the consequences to their families.\n\n\"_8th._\u2013Two sepoys have been set to watch my house, and a Kashmiri, whom\nthey saw conversing with Qadir Bakhsh, was beaten and driven away.\n\n\"Began my Materia Medica class with Benjamin and Thomas, and resumed\nlessons with my native doctor in ophthalmic surgery. Qadir Bakhsh told\nme to-day that the Maharajah coins new money every two years and issues\nit, receiving that of the previous years at about half its value.\n\n\"_11th._\u2013Took my moonshee in the _morning_ to-day, but fear this plan\nwon't do, for it interferes with my study of God's Holy Word, and I must\nallow nothing to come between me and the words of everlasting life.\n\n\"Visited a merchant from Cabul, who had had his ribs fractured in a\nquarrel. Several men were in attendance, but no woman. On his arms were\ntwo massive golden rings. A man's ornaments are like banked money; on a\nrainy day they are pawned or sold.\n\n\"Saw the man who bakes for the English, and, noticing the dirty state of\nhis garments, expostulated. He said he dare not wear clean clothes, for\nif he did, he would be thought wealthy, and more taxes would be required\nof him.\n\n\"Friendly and quiet discussion with some Mullahs from the city to-day.\nWater with Thy Holy Spirit, Lord!\n\n\"_12th._\u2013One hundred maunds of silk are produced annually in Kashmir.\nThe mulberry tree grows very freely here, and the silk-worm is largely\ncultivated.\n\n\"_13th._\u2013The Resident informed me to-day that I must not have the sick\npeople so near the sahibs' dwellings. I explained my case, and he said\nhe would give orders at once for a house to be built or provided for my\ndispensary near the city. This is just what I wish. The catechist has\nbeen busy all day with inquirers about Jesus Christ and the gospel. Mr.\nWade conducted worship to-day, and seven strangers attended; my pundit\nwas one of them.\n\n\"_14th._\u2013Oh, for more of the Spirit of God, and more of the gifts of the\nSpirit, that I may be able to hold up Christ to this people. No fewer\nthan seventy-four patients present to-day, and all listened to the\ngospel message. God bless it to them! My lithotomy case ran away this\nmorning, so I am baulked of my operation. Heard from Dr. Gray to-day. He\ntells me that the Supreme Government have despatched a minute to the\nMaharajah of Kashmir, giving him to understand that they do not expect\nhim to aid in the propagation of the Christian religion, but that they\ndo expect him to remain neutral. The Resident called to-day, and asked\nmany questions. I have made it a rule never to discuss Kashmir affairs\nexcept with those whom I know to be on the Lord's side. I listen to all\nthat is said, but say little in reply.\n\n\"_16th._\u2013Eighty patients present to-day; excised a fibrous tumour from\nbehind right ear. Tent crowded, and the word attentively listened to.\nFor last four days a mullah from the city has come to converse about\ndivine things. At first showed temper, but to-day he listened very\nquietly.\n\n\"_18th._\u2013To-day, because a carpenter had come to repair a boat for us\nwithout informing the Baboo, orders were given for his being beaten;\nlashed on the spot he was, and hurried off to prison.\n\n\"_19th._\u2013Eighty-nine patients. Went to see the house which the Resident\nsaid was nearly ready for my dispensary, but could not find it.\n\n\"_20th._\u2013Informed by civil surgeon that the Europeans who have lately\ncome to the valley object to my having my patients near their quarters.\nThe ways of approach do not interfere in the least with the other\nbungalows, and it is my opinion that there is not the slightest danger\nfrom infection to the lives of those who occupy the other houses. I told\nDr. R. that Mr. Cooper had kindly given orders for a dispensary to be\nbuilt, and that I am now waiting for its completion, as I am most\nanxious to do all I can to please every one. Dr. Ray wished me to\npromise to pitch my tent in another part of the valley, there to carry\non operations; that I refused to do. To remove my instruments,\nmedicines, tents, and everything elsewhere would damage my work to a\ngreat extent, besides causing me a great deal of inconvenience. I said,\nhowever, that if Mr. Cooper gave an official order for me to do so,\nhaving first proved that my remaining was injurious to the Europeans, I\nshould obey. He has power to provide me with twenty houses if he\nchooses, and why he is so dilatory about this one dispensary, I cannot\ntell. Father, I need wisdom; graciously grant it me!\n\n\"_23d._\u2013A great crowd of people present. Ninety-five patients, besides\ntheir friends. Attention to the word great. Operated on a case of soft\ncataract. Went to see frost-bitten pundit in the city; the entrance to\nthe house where he lay shamefully dirty. Removed a large portion of one\nfoot which was almost severed from the affected part.\n\n\"_24th._\u2013One hundred and five patients to-day.\n\n\"_23d._\u2013Heard from Dr. L. that my lithotomy case at Rawal Pindee did\nwell; patient quite recovered. To-day a poor cowherd from Gingal\narrived, having walked all the way from Abbottabad to Baramula. On\nexamination, found him to be suffering from stone. Gave him a dose of\ncastor oil, and in due time I removed the stone. (He had chloroform.) It\nweighed four drachms and four grains. After the operation there was a\nlittle oozing, and as cold had not the desired effect in stopping it, I\nsoaked a piece of lint in a solution of alum (strong), and introduced it\ngently into the wound with the happy result of arresting the h\u00e6morrhage.\nI had the poor man placed in my own tent. I feel very much now the want\nof an hospital, both for the success of the medical part of my work, and\nfor the prosperity of the missionary element, but I must wait patiently\non Thee, dear Father, for this.\n\n\"_24th._\u2013Lithotomy patient doing well.\n\n\"_25th._\u2013To-day my poor lithotomy patient died from gradual sinking. I\nfear this may interfere with my medical success, but all things are in\nGod's hands, and there I leave this.\n\n\"_26th._\u2013Killed two non-venomous snakes, one 5 feet 10 inches long by 4\u00be\nin circumference. Measured a chinar tree on my way home from a visit to\nthe picturesque ruins at Pandrenton: at about 3 feet from the ground its\ncircumference was 38 feet. Spent a pleasant evening at Mr. S.'s,\npractising singing for church. Ninety-four patients to-day.\n\n\"_28th._\u2013Very tired to-night. Another lithotomy case came this morning,\nand I operated.... Lord, if it be Thy will, prosper this case! much\ndepends on it. Heard sad news to-day from Col. Rothney, under whose kind\ncare I had left my assistant Sikandar at Abbottabad, because he was ill\nof fever. He gradually grew worse after my leaving him, and died on the\n20th inst. He was a good lad, and I doubt not is now with Christ in\nglory.\n\nTo-day the Resident, Mr. Cooper, promised the chaplain the proceeds of a\nlarge wager if he gained it, on condition that it should not go to the\nKashmir Medical Mission. Yet he every other day receives medicines from\nmy dispensary.\n\n\"_29th._\u2013Lithotomy case doing well. Ninety-nine patients present. Had a\nnumber of surgical operations.\n\n\"_May 31st, 1866._\u2013Yesterday, I began the translation of St. John's\nGospel into Kashmiri, and earnestly pray that God may grant me the\nefficient help of His Holy Spirit, that I may be enabled to execute this\nwork intelligently. To-day, there were 134 patients.\n\n\"_June 3d._\u2013Partook of the Holy Communion. Jesus is mine, and I am His!\n\n\"_4th._\u2013At this morning's reception, 150 patients were treated. I\nexpected a lithotomy case, as a poor sepoy, who came yesterday, was\nsuffering much from the disease, and promised to return for operation\nto-day. He did not come, so I sent my native doctor to inquire what had\nbecome of him, and ascertained that the Diwan had forbidden him to come\nto me. No surgery is done in the native dispensaries, so the poor fellow\nmust continue to suffer from his enemy.\n\n\"_5th._\u2013Numberless boats went up the river to-day, filled with\nworshippers, on their way to Martand. Those boats are in form like\nVenetian gondolas, on a large scale. They are divided into three\ncompartments, in one of which the boatman himself lives with his family\nand assistants; in the second, or middle compartment, the passengers\nsleep, cook their food, and eat it; and the third division may be called\nthe verandah of the floating house. Those boats are literally crowded\nwith human beings, men, women, children, all congregated in the height\nof merriment, and dressed in their gayest garments. Those who can afford\nit, hire boats for their private use, and in such cases, the inner\ncompartment is carefully enclosed with matting, so as to form a regular\nzenana. But the poorer people are not particular about privacy. This\nfestival will continue for some days, during which the people take a\ncomplete holiday.\n\n\"The number of patients to-day was 139. A French shawl merchant called\non me to-day, to ask me to visit a sick man in the city. Mr. Wade and I\nwent with him, and found the sufferer lying on a mat on the floor,\nsurrounded by friends. On examination, I found that he was suffering\nfrom disease in the left lung\u2013consumption. The native doctors had bled\nand purged him. I offered to undertake the case; he said he would\nconsult his friends and let me know his decision. On returning home, we\nmet Mr. C., who told me that the Maharajah had not yet allotted a site\nfor my dispensary!\n\n\"I wrote to Dr. H. at Lahore to-day about the establishment of a Medical\nMissionary Bursary in the college there.\n\n\"_7th._\u2013One hundred and ten patients were present to-day. Lithotomy case\nis quite well. I was grieved to hear this evening that the poor man in\nthe city, whom I went to see, died two hours afterwards. The hakims had\nheard what I said as to the seat of the disease being in the lungs, and\nat once applied leeches: the poor fellow sank from loss of blood.\n\n_8th._\u2013One hundred and forty-nine patients present. The numbers of\nsurgical cases give me anxious work. To-day, I removed a cystic tumour\nfrom the outer angle of the right eyelid. Performed the operation, by\ndepression, for cataract, for the first time to-day. Early this morning,\nmy assistant came to tell me that the sepoy, before mentioned, had\nobtained leave from the Maharajah to come to me, and he had been brought\nto my tent on a charpae (native bed). I arranged to operate on him\nto-morrow morning. To-day, being Saturday, Mr. Wade, our assistants, and\nI, sailed to the Dal Lake, in order to visit Hazrat Bal, the scene of\nlast year's assault. The temple there is considered a peculiarly sacred\nplace, being the shrine of a hair of Mohammed's beard. It stands at a\nlittle distance from the shore of the lake; before it is a grassy slope,\nwhich might correspond to a village green in Scotland, and there\nworshippers annually congregate from all parts of the country. Behind\nthe temple, and extending to some distance, is the straggling village.\nWe walked through the bazaars, intimating a reception of the sick, but\nthe remembrance of last year is evidently lingering among the people\nstill, for we were told there were no sick there! We sailed to the other\nside of the lake, through the lovely floating gardens to the Nishat\nBagh, where preparations are being made for the approaching visit of the\nMaharajah. It is a beautiful place, its buildings, gardens, groves, and\nfountains, give evidence of an age far beyond this era in Kashmir, in\npoint of art. The architect and landscape gardener of the Nishat Bagh,\nwas Asaf Khan, who lived in the reign of the Mogul Emperor, Shah Jehan.\n\n\"_10th._\u2013This morning removed a stone from the poor sepoy, which weighed\n3 oz. 6 drs.\n\n\"_12th._\u2013To-day I sent a subscription-list round the station, and\nreceived 145 rupees for the mission. O Lord, Thou art very gracious.\nBless the mission spiritually also.\n\n\"_15th._\u2013Yesterday his Highness the Maharajah entered the capital,\naccompanied by the Resident and a number of Europeans. Twenty-one guns\nwere fired in his honour.\n\n_17th._\u2013Heard to-day of the failure of the Agra Bank, in which I had\nplaced my money. The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be\nthe name of the Lord. I fear the mission suffers in this failure. I\ndined to-day, after a pleasant sail to the Shalimar Gardens, with \u2013\u2013,\nwho has lost \u00a38000 in the Agra Bank. Poor old man, he is in the dark.\nLord, give him Thy light! What a good thing it is to have our treasure\nin the Bank of Heaven, where there is no stoppage of payment, but where\nall is sure as God Himself.\n\n\"I requested the Baboo to arrange an interview with the Maharajah for\nMr. Wade and me, but have received no answer.\n\n\"The Rev. Mr. Brinckman brought me 38 rupees to-day for the mission,\nbeing the proceeds of four copies of his book, 'The Rifle in Kashmir.'\nHe has resolved to devote all profits from the second edition to the\nMedical Mission here.\n\n\"_21st._\u2013There were 152 patients present to-day. We were invited, along\nwith all other residents in Srinagar, to a great dinner, given by the\nMaharajah: but, hearing that there was to be one of the objectionable\n'naches' afterwards, we did not accept the invitation.\n\n\"_23d._\u2013To-day 163 patients were treated.\n\n\"_14th July._\u2013I received a letter from Mr. C., informing me that his\nExcellency the Viceroy of India had sent him 200 rupees for the benefit\nof the Medical Mission in Kashmir. How God is reassuring me that _He\nwill provide!_\n\n\"_15th._\u2013A few days ago a gentleman invited me to dine with him. I went.\nHe drew attention to some of the most vital truths in Christianity, and,\nto my sorrow, I found him at heart an enemy to the cause of Christ. I\nthank God He enabled me to bear clear testimony to my precious Saviour.\n\n\"During dinner my host informed me that the Maharajah was prepared to\ngive me 1000 rupees a month if I would give up the missionary element of\nmy work, and enter his service. Should such an arrangement ever be\nproposed, God helping me, I will not agree to such terms, true though it\nbe that for my dear old mother's sake I should be glad to have a little\nmore money at my disposal. To cease to labour for Christ for the sake of\na few perishable rupees would be, Judas-like, to forsake and to betray\nmy Lord; rather far be poor as a beggar than that.\n\n\"I suppose this idea has been suggested to the Maharajah by what I heard\nhad happened in his dispensary a few weeks ago. The native doctor being\nannoyed that most of his patients were leaving him for the Mission\nDispensary, on account of the superior surgery, in an evil hour for\nhimself and his patient, thought he would try his hand at surgery. He\nproceeded to open a boil in the groin of a sepoy; in doing so he cut\ninto the femoral artery, and his unfortunate patient bled to death. I am\ntold that the doctor was at once dismissed. Colonel Gardiner, an\nEnglishman, or rather, I believe, a Canadian, who is in the pay of his\nHighness, came to ask me to vaccinate his little child. He told me the\npeople have now the greatest confidence in my surgery and medicine, but\nthat they dislike the missionary element in my work, the feature of it\nwhich I love the most. For some Sabbaths I have missed my pundit at our\nlittle services. On inquiry to-day Qadir Bakhsh told me that some men\nhad become aware of his attending, and had threatened to report to the\nnative authorities if he did not desist, so my Nicodemus has drawn back.\n\n\"_22d._\u2013My pundit, who has been deterred from attending our religious\nservices, returned to-day, much to my delight. I think the truth is\nleavening this man's heart, and that though his faith does not as yet\nprove strong enough to make him come out on the Lord's side, it will,\nnevertheless, suffice to unite him to the Fountainhead of Life.\n\n\"_23d._\u2013I have at last obtained a copy of the Kashmir alphabet, along\nwith the Sanscrit equivalent.\n\n\"The Resident informed me to-day that the long-promised dispensary was\nready, and asked if he could obtain anything else that I required. I\nwrote in reply that I felt most grateful for his having got the\ndispensary for me, and that, as he kindly offered to help me still\nfurther, I ventured to propose that a rude hospital might be prepared\nfor the accommodation of those patients who come from a distance. He\nreceived the proposal graciously, and wrote again in the evening to say\nthat he had spoken to his Highness about it, and that he had been\npleased to grant permission for the erection of an additional shed.\"\n\nWhen Dr. Elmslie went to take possession of the building proposed for a\ndispensary, he found it quite unfit for the purpose, the building being\nof wood so roughly put together as to admit rain freely. The second\nbuilding was never erected.\n\n_Srinagar, August 11, 1866._\u2013He writes to his mother:\u2013\n\n\"... You will be happy to hear that, in a medical point of view, at\nleast, my work in Kashmir is prospering. In spite of opposition on the\npart of the local authorities, the work continues to progress. A few\ndays ago I had as many as one hundred and eighty-three patients, and at\nthis moment a fine-looking elderly Mussulman of rank, from the east end\nof the valley, has called to ask my advice. Many of my patients come\nfrom a great distance; and never a day passes without one or two\nsurgical operations. The result is, that I am becoming more and more\nexpert in this department. _At present three men are living in my tent\nwho were totally blind, but now they see._ As to spiritual fruit, I wish\nI had something more definite to say. The people listen most attentively\nto our expositions of the divine Word, and receive our religious books\ngladly. Two Hindoos profess to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, but, as\nyet, lack courage to come out; and until they do confess Him openly, one\ncannot feel sure of their profession. I long, above all things, to see\nsouls turning to Christ. What honour can be compared to that of leading\na soul to Jesus, the Fountain of Life? You will be grieved to hear that\nthe Kashmir Medical Mission has lost every farthing it possessed,\nthrough the failure of the Agra Bank; but, against this bit of bad news,\nwe must lay this pleasant fact, that Sir John Lawrence has sent me the\ndonation of 200 rupees for the benefit of the mission. I continue in\nvery good health, although exceedingly hard wrought, having at present,\nin addition to my regular missionary work, that of the doctor of the\nstation, who is now in another part of the valley. Remember me kindly to\nall my Aberdeen friends,\u2013I never forget them. And give my brotherly love\nto Stewart, who is now, I hope, with you, cheering your heart by his\npresence, and helping you to church on his good, strong arm.\n\n\"_17th._\u2013I find that the Maharajah has placed sepoys at the different\navenues leading to my house to prevent the people from coming to me. I\nhave also heard that the Diwan has issued an order that the pundits are\nnot to frequent my dispensary, but to attend the dispensary which the\nMaharajah has opened for them in the city. The pundits held a meeting\nyesterday, and deputed some of their number to represent to the Diwan\nthat no one was ever benefited from going to the native dispensary, but\nthat, if the Maharajah prohibited them from going to the Padre doctor's,\nthey were willing to obey.\"\n\n\"_Srinagar, Kashmir, 25th August 1866._\u2013MY DEAR THOMSON,\u2013 ... When I\ntell you that I have really been overwhelmed with work ever since I\nentered upon the discharge of my proper duties in Kashmir, I am sure you\nwill excuse me, and rejoice that I am so engaged. I am greatly indebted\nto you for the notice of the Kashmir Medical Mission, which appeared in\nthe 'Medical Missionary Journal' you kindly sent me. Our little friend\nis always a very welcome visitor in this far-out-of-the-way corner of\nthe world. The news that the Medical Mission principle is steadily\nmaking progress at home delights me much. God grant that it may continue\nto do so, till every mission station in heathendom shall have its\nChristian Medical Missionary. I am extremely happy to communicate a\nsimilar pleasure, by telling you that in this Indian province, which our\nheavenly Father has so highly favoured by bestowing on it Christian\nrulers, medical missions are becoming more and more recognised as a\npowerful adjuvant in the evangelisation of the heathen. Within the past\nyear several applications to the Punjaub Medical Mission Society have\nbeen made for Medical Missionaries, or for pecuniary assistance, to\nenable the applicants to apply to the parent society at home for men to\noccupy the existing vacancies. My dear Thomson, it makes one's heart\nbleed to think that so few young men are willing to devote themselves to\nthis glorious work, and that our societies have comparatively so small\nfunds at their disposal. Oh, that God would again raise up such men as\nthe brothers Haldane were, to make a spiritual invasion of our\nuniversities and schools of learning to awaken the sleepy souls of our\nyoung men to a recognition of their duty, and an appreciation of the\ndignity and blessedness of denying one's self in the service of our\nblessed Redeemer. When will men be wise? When will they cease to be like\nthe dog in the fable, which lost the substance for the shadow? It augurs\nbadly for the religious future of our beloved native land that such men\nas Carlyle and Mill are the Rectors of two of our four universities. It\nmade my heart sad to think, when reading the rectorial address of Mr.\nCarlyle, that so many young plastic, loving, and enthusiastic hearts\nwere being fed with husks instead of the children's bread. Earnestness!\nunless it spring from love to God and man in our divine Saviour, Jesus\nChrist, is but the quintessence of selfishness and of all that we shall\ncontemn as most hateful when we get to the other side, and stand before\nGod. The man who tells his fellow men to be earnest in their worldly\npursuits, is doing a superfluous work. The selfish, worldly, sensual,\nmammon worshipping, God-hating heart of man, as it is by nature, does\nnot require to be told\u2013be earnest as doctors, as lawyers, as merchants,\nas soldiers, for the prizes are only to the earnest, and it is the\nprizes that the natural man longs and lives for. But man\u2013we, whoever we\nare\u2013requires to be told to trample with an iron heel upon his indigenous\nselfishness and worldliness. He does require to be told of the matchless\nlove of God, as exhibited in the marvellous gift of His only begotten\nand well-beloved Son, Jesus Christ. He does require to be told of the\nendless claims that God has upon him. We do require to be told what is\nreal truth and wisdom for us poor frail dying mortals. When one thinks\nof the vast power\u2013moral, intellectual, and religious\u2013being prepared and\ndeveloped within the walls of our universities, how unspeakably\nimportant that every influence for good should be brought to bear upon\nour students. It strikes me we have not yet done all we ought to and\nmight have done to them. My dear Thomson, can't you discover some way by\nwhich students may be more impressed, and have the claims of God and a\nperishing world forced upon their notice. In your letter you lament the\nwant of men to fill existing vacancies in the medical mission field.\nManifestly we must pray more faithfully and importunately to the great\nLord of the harvest to send more labourers into His harvest. Why, if you\nhad men, there are at least three openings in the Punjaub alone at the\npresent time. It occurs to me that perhaps our heavenly Father may be\nteaching us, who are labouring in the foreign field, to put forth more\nstrenuous efforts to rear as quickly as possible a native agency,\u2013a\nnative medical mission agency. Ever since I gave missions my serious and\nprayerful consideration, I have been convinced that one of the very\nfirst things a Christian Missionary ought to direct his attention and\nenergies to, is the educating of a band of natives to carry on the\nvarious departments of evangelistic work among their fellow countrymen.\nI left home with this conviction, and now my plan is ready, having\nsurveyed what materials lie ready to our hands. It is very remarkable\nthat at the very time I was writing a paper, which I intend reading at a\nMissionary Conference, to be held in Amritsar in November next, I should\nhave received your letter bearing upon the same most important\nsubject.... At present it would take me too long to give you all the\ndetails of my plan. Suffice it to say I propose having after a time, if\npossible, a Medical Missionary stationed at Lahore, the political\ncapital of the Punjaub, where there is a very well equipped Medical\nCollege. The Principal and Professors I know well. They all take a\nlively interest in our Medical Mission, and what is more, one of the\nprofessors is at present engaged in collecting funds to be given as\nscholarships or bursaries to the medical mission students. The students\nare to be supplied by the various mission stations throughout the\nprovince, and from what I have heard, I am led to believe that there is\nscarcely a station which could not supply at least one promising young\nlad. But, God willing, we shall soon see. Another point which I intend\nbringing before the conference, is the training of native midwives, both\nfor the native Christians, and to act as Bible women among the heathen.\nI will send you a copy of my paper, and shall be happy to receive any\nhints which may occur to you after perusal. Dr. Young will get a warm\nwelcome from us on his arrival. May God bless him in himself and to\nIndia. Recruits!\u2013the very name cheers and encourages one,\u2013send more\u2013send\nall you can. Love is unconquerable\u2013the Christian's love. O God, fill us\nwith love\u2013fill us with Thyself, for Thou art Love. Fight, and toil on,\nmy dear Thomson, hopefully, faithfully, joyfully, and lovingly too. We\nshall win the day, and follow Gentle to the other side\u2013to the better\nland, to be for ever with our adorable and most precious Saviour.\"...\n\nTo his friend, Mrs. Cleghorn, he writes:\u2013\"_Srinagar, Sept. 5, 1866._\u2013...\nI have had my own difficulties since arriving in Srinagar in carrying on\nmy work. They would not let the bungalow I occupied last year. I was\nobliged, in consequence, to go to a distance from the city, and was very\nmuch afraid that this would materially interfere with the poor sick\npeople coming to me. But no, I expect there will be but few short of\ndouble the number of patients we had last year. We have had more quiet\ndiscussion this year than last. Many copies of the Gospels have been\nsought, and gladly received. As to my pundit, he is still with me. His\nspirit is like that of a Christian, but he has not yet had the courage\nto declare himself on the Lord's side. It is only the fear of the\nconsequences of such a decided step that deters him from making a public\nprofession of Christianity.\n\n\"The Rajah of Chamba has just made the handsome offer of 200 rupees a\nmonth, a free house, dispensary, and hospital buildings, with current\nexpenses, to the Punjaub Medical Mission Committee, to induce them to\nbegin a medical mission in his Highness's territory, similar to that in\nKashmir. This offer ought to make our hearts rejoice. The committee are\nthinking of sending me to Chamba during the ensuing cold season, and\nduring my compulsory absence from Kashmir, to initiate the work while\nthe Rajah is favourable. Let us, with all our hearts, return thanks to\nGod for this great opening.\"\n\n\"_Srinagar, 10th October, 1866._\u2013MY EVER DEAR MOTHER,\u2013I was delighted to\nhear how much you had enjoyed your stay at Ballater. I wish I could have\nbeen with you, to behold once more the beautiful scenery around our\nQueen's Scotch home, but I look forward to having that pleasure, after\nthree years more of work in this land of my adoption.\n\n\"Another season has passed away. Much has been done this year in\nKashmir, to commend Christ, our divine and precious, precious Saviour,\nto its ignorant and bigoted inhabitants. But the ground is very dry and\nthirsty, and although apparently the seed which has fallen has been very\nabundant, nevertheless it has sunk without producing any apparent\nspiritual verdure. Yet although this seems to be the case, God's own\nword will not return unto Him void. He _will_ make it accomplish that\nwhereto He sent it.\n\n\"This season my health and spirits have kept up well, although I have\nhad not a few things to trouble me, and make me anxious at times. There\nhas been and is, deep, deep down below the ruffling on the surface, such\na serene and delightful calm, springing from faith in my beloved\nSaviour, and partly perhaps, from being devoted entirely to His exalted\nand holy service, that I enjoy in my heart of hearts much of that peace\nand joy of which a world, out of Christ, knows nothing. The devil has\nbeen tempting me much this past season. You know that India is in many\nrespects an excellent field for a good doctor. He is sure to have a\nlarge income very soon if he acquire a good name by his professional\nskill. During this season through the blessing of God I have been\nremarkably successful in one or two cases. The result has been that the\nMaharajah, at the instigation of the British Resident, has made me an\noffer of \u00a3100 a month, if I will enter his service. This of itself was\nnot to be condemned, but it was stipulated that I was on no account to\nmake any effort to spread the knowledge of Christ among his people,\u2013that\nis to say, _I was to forsake my Saviour's service, and enter the\nMaharajah's_. Ah dearest mother, although we would perhaps be the better\nof a little more money, \u00a3300 a year with Jesus, is better, ten\nthousandfold, than \u00a31,200 without Him. It gladdens my heart to be able\nto give up some worldly advantage for Christ's sake. Oh what is money,\nor worldly glory, and a passing name, when all here below is transient,\nand unsatisfying, and God, and Jesus, and heaven, with all its\nindescribable felicities and glories, alone are stable, eternal, and\nsatisfying.\u2013Your loving son, WILLIE.\"\n\nReferring to the same subject in a letter to the Rev. Mr. Mallett, of\ndate 11th May 1866, he writes, \"The Rajah is prepared to give me the\nprincely sum of 1000 rupees per month; but what are the conditions? To\nenter his service and give up speaking for Jesus. Heavy conditions; too\nheavy for me. My dear Mallett, Jesus, blessed be His name, is too\nprecious to me personally to be sold for a thousand pieces of silver.\nAh, Mallett, there is of a truth that which overcomes the world\u2013our\nfaith, and blessed be God, He has given us some of it. Doubtless we\nshould not be sorry to have a little more money; but heaven is ours, and\nour Father's _promise_ is better than the Rajah's _cash down_.\"\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XI.\n\nWORK IN CHAMBA.\n\n\nAfter leaving Srinagar, Dr. Elmslie came down to Amritsar, but instead\nof re-opening his dispensary, the Committee of the Punjaub Medical\nMissionary Society deemed it proper to send him up to Chamba, of which\nthe reader has already heard, to carry on mission work there during the\ncold season. He thus writes from Amritsar to his mother:\u2013\n\n\"_17th November, 1866._\u2013EVER DEAREST MOTHER,\u2013I hope long ere this\nreaches, you may have received some of the letters which I wrote to you\nfrom Kashmir. I cannot tell you how grieved I am to learn you have been\nso long without hearing from me. I wrote to you regularly, but, as many\nof my other letters have also gone astray, I strongly suspect that the\nnative officials have seized on them to discover what I say of\nGovernment matters to my friends. Your having received so few during the\npast season confirms my suspicions in this matter. You must not be\nanxious in future. I shall continue to write regularly, and you may be\nsure if there were anything wrong some of my friends here would let you\nknow. I am brimful of health through the goodness of God. My heart is\nbrimful of joy, my faith in our precious, precious Saviour is getting\ngradually stronger and stronger, and I delight more and more in His\nhonourable service. I have just reached Amritsar. If you have a map at\nhand you will readily ascertain the route I took in this journey from\nKashmir. In the north-west corner of the map of India you will, by\ncareful inspection, discover the position of the following places:\nBaramula, Uri, Poonch, Bimbhar, and Amritsar. This was almost all fresh\nground to me. We had to cross a mountain pass about nine thousand feet\nabove the level of the sea, twice the height of your famous Lochnagar,\nand with the exception of my catching a very bad cold, everything went\nwell. We followed the same old plan of holding receptions at each of the\nvillages and towns where we rested on our march, for the purpose of\ndoing some good in a medical point of view, and also, and chiefly, to\nscatter a few of the precious seeds of the life-giving Gospel by the\nway, in the sure hope of its springing up at some future time, and\nbearing fruit to the praise of God. The people everywhere received us\ngladly, took our medicine and medical advices thankfully, and listened\npatiently to our news of the Gospel. Those who could read received parts\nof the New Testament and tracts. Pray, dearest mother, to our heavenly\nFather for His rich blessing on the labours of your loving son. We are\nmost powerful when most prayerful. I am now drawing up an account of the\nKashmir Medical Mission during the past year, and writing a lot of\nletters in reply to a heap which had accumulated for me during my march.\n\n\"_Amritsar, 17th November, 1866._\u2013MY DEAR THOMSON, ... I heard\ndelightful news the other day\u2013news which will assuredly gladden your\nheart. Mr. Rudolph, one of the American missionaries stationed at\nLoodiana, the Punjaub, told me that some months ago two Kashmiris came\nto him desiring to receive instruction respecting Christianity. They\nsaid they were Mussulman priests, that one of them had heard the Gospel\nfor the first time in his life, at the Medical Mission Dispensary,\nSrinagar (during its first season), that what he had then heard had\ntaken such a hold of him, that he felt an insatiable thirst for more\nknowledge about this new way of life, that as it was fraught with very\nconsiderable danger to be an inquirer after Christianity in Kashmir, he\nhad resolved to find his way to the plains of the Punjaub, where he\ncould with safety satisfy his thirst. Before setting out on his\npilgrimage he prevailed on another of the priestly order to accompany\nhim. They both reached Loodiana, were introduced to Mr. Rudolph, and he\nwho had heard of salvation through a crucified Redeemer, at the Medical\nMission Dispensary in Srinagar, was baptized after receiving sufficient\ninstruction from Mr. Rudolph. He is now a most zealous and consistent\nChristian. His companion, too, is making progress in Divine things. Mr.\nRudolph expects he will be baptized very soon. Here is some fruit\n_already_\u2013never dying fruit. I cannot tell you, my dear friend, how\nbrimful of joy my heart is, and how thankful to God too, for this great\nblessing. I feel now doubly strong, doubly hopeful, and doubly willing\nto labour on ministering to these wicked, dirty, and despised,\nKashmiris. This is the Lord's doing. Let us wait on Him, let us wait\n_patiently_ on Him. May not the prayers offered up by the friends of\nmedical missions at your last winter's meeting have had something to do\nwith this? We shall know some day when we get to the other side.\n\n\"This morning, (the 19th), I received your paper on the _Status of\nnative medical mission agents_. I do not mean to say anything on the\nsubject just now, but will do so, soon after our conference, which is to\nbe held next week, God willing. Very many thanks for sending it. The\nsubject will be discussed at the conference. I hope to send a full\naccount of our proceedings, so far as medical missions are concerned.\n\n\"_Amritsar, 3d December, 1866._\u2013EVER DEAREST MOTHER,\u2013This very evening I\nset off for Chamba, my new sphere of labour for the next four months. In\na former letter I told you about the Rajah's invitations, and about the\nmission I am about to inaugurate. It is apparently an interesting field\nof labour.\"...\n\nOn reaching Chamba, Dr. Elmslie wrote as follows:\u2013\n\n\"_Chamba, among the Himalayas, 3d July, 1867._\u2013MY DEAR THOMSON,\u2013You will\nsee, from the heading of this letter, that I write from Chamba, which\nGod in His providence has opened to Medical Missions. It is situated to\nthe south-east of Kashmir, and to the north of the Punjaub. Chamba forms\na country, through the midst of which one of the _five rivers_ of the\nPunjaub\u2013hence the name Punjaub\u2013flows. The R\u00e0vi is the name of the river.\nThe whole valley is surrounded by lofty mountains\u2013the genuine\nHimalayas\u2013whose peaks are at present covered with snow. Up to this time,\nno snow has fallen in the valley. The winter is temperate, and very much\nwhat I suppose the best parts of the South of England are. I learn the\npeople of the valley enjoy excellent health as a rule. Aguish fevers\nprevail to some extent, with spleen complications. Bronchocele (goitre)\nis exceedingly common among both men and women\u2013as much amongst the\nformer as the latter. On entering the valley, the other day, I was\nparticularly struck with the joyful and happy appearance of the people.\nAs they went along, they kept cheering themselves with songs. This is an\nagreeable contrast to the inhabitants of Kashmir, who, poor people, have\nhad the song knocked out of them by iron-handed tyranny.\n\n\"The population of the valley is 101,664, and that of the city of\nChamba, the capital, 6000. The medical missionary, therefore, will not\nhave very heavy work. But now let me tell you how it was that an\napplication was made for a medical missionary for Chamba.\n\n\"Last hot season, much to the joy of the Rajah, one of the Ranees, or\nregal wives, gave birth to a fine boy. Both mother and child went on\nwell for some time, but by-and-bye the little one sickened and died. The\ngrief of the Rajah was unbounded, and he had the idea that if he had\npossessed European medical skill his infant son would have been spared\nto him. Shortly after this heavy bereavement, the mother of the deceased\nchild, who was the favourite Ranee, also fell sick and died. The Rajah\nnow besought his Superintendent, who is the British representative at\nhis court, to procure for him a European medical man from the supreme\nGovernment, and that he would give \u00a310 a month, house, dispensary,\nhospital, and all current expenses towards the defrayment of the\ndoctor's salary, &c. The Rajah was told the Government could not supply\nhim with a doctor, as they were greatly in want of doctors themselves.\nBy the advice of the superintendent, who is a Christian man, the Rajah\nnow increased the \u00a310 a month to \u00a320, and urged the Punjaub Medical\nMission Society to undertake to supply Chamba with a medical missionary.\nAbout this time another son of the Rajah's died, and he became still\nmore importunate. Various communications were sent home to get a man for\nthe station, and so important did the Punjaub Medical Mission Society\nconsider this opening, that they agreed to allow me to spend the cold\nseason in Chamba, instead of Amritsar.\"\n\nThis Chamba arrangement is important, and deserves consideration. The\nprinciple that underlies it is familiar to us, cases involving it having\nfrequently passed under our notice. Planters in Northern India,\nmerchants in South America, and others located in out-of-the-way places,\nwho know that no skilful physician, who proposes to make money by his\nprofession, would ever look near them, catch at the idea of a medical\nmissionary, because they think they may get a first-rate doctor at a\nmoderate cost. _They obligingly seek to turn our self-sacrifice to their\nown profit._ Dr. Elmslie does not seem, at first, to have realised the\nbearings of such an arrangement, for he wrote quite jubilantly about it,\nand with a hopefulness which events did not justify; but soon he grasped\nthe principle in its full significance, and spoke and wrote against it\nearnestly. In a letter to Mrs. Burns Thomson, he says:\u2013\n\n\"Mr. \u2013\u2013, of \u2013\u2013, wishes the medical missionary to be considered as the\nservant of the Rajah,\u2013a grand mistake, as you can easily see. Such an\narrangement would be sure to have a prejudicial influence on the medical\nmissionary's work. I hold, and I hold it firmly, that the earthly master\nof no medical missionary should be a _heathen_\u2013a professed\nheathen\u2013however favourable to Christianity he may appear to be. I must\ntell you that the native princes of India, from their seeing how pleased\nthe British Government at present is with the establishment of medical\ndispensaries in native states, are very anxious to gain the favour of\nGovernment in this easy and cheap way. It stands to reason, my dear Mrs.\nB. T., if a medical missionary receive his wages from a heathen prince,\nthat the credit of the missionary's labours goes to heathenism, and not\nto Christianity. If a heathen prince approves of medical missions for\nthe physical good that they bring to his people, and wishes to have such\na mission established in his state, let him contribute to the common\nfunds of some Missionary Society who will be prepared to send a medical\nmissionary to that particular state to labour as their (the _Society's_)\nagent. The Punjaub Medical Missionary Society is ever ready to entertain\nsuch cases. But an arrangement like this does not suit these\npraise-seeking natives. They must have agents of their own; _heathens_\nmust have _Christian_ agents to convert their people!!! No, the native\nprinces know right well that as soon as a Christian man enters their\nservice, his Christian influence is in a great measure nullified. Let me\nremind you that the history of Christian missions verifies this\nstatement. Our medical missionaries, therefore, must not be the servants\nof heathens, but must labour independently, or in connection with some\nmissionary society.\"\n\nThere is another aspect of this principle. For example, a dozen planters\nsubscribe, say \u00a310 each, towards the funds of a missionary society; and\nthey pledge themselves to contribute that sum annually _on condition\nthat the medical missionary shall be bound to attend professionally on\nthemselves and their families_. \"Now to this arrangement,\" writes Dr.\nElmslie, \"I strongly object, for several reasons. It is very evident,\nfrom the nature of this condition, that these planters are trying to\ndrive a bargain for their own advantage. In fact, they wish a European\ndoctor, and, moreover, they wish him cheap. You must also know that\nthese planters are in all probability scattered over a large area, and\nthat to attend them and their families would be very likely to eat up\nthe lion's share of the medical missionary's time and energies. Now this\nbrings me to another axiom in medical missions abroad. The medical\nmissionary should not be bound to attend a single European (save his\nbrethren in the mission). Medical missionaries sent out under the\nauspices of missionary societies are intended for the natives of the\ncountries to which they are sent. In such countries as India and China,\nour fellow countrymen can easily obtain the services of medical men if\nthey are only willing to remunerate them sufficiently. They have only to\nwrite home to Scotland or England for a medical man, mentioning his\nsalary, which must, of course, be proportionate to their own large\nincomes. It makes one angry to see our countrymen taking advantage of a\ncharitable work like medical missions to save their own pockets. I hold,\ntherefore, that our medical missionaries should not be bound to attend\nprofessionally on any Europeans. Moreover, medical missionaries, as long\nas they are servants of any missionary society, should not be allowed to\ngive themselves out for this sort of practice. Such practice may fill\ntheir purses, but it will and must impair their usefulness among the\nnatives of the country to which they have been sent. A medical\nmissionary's time and energies are limited; he should husband them,\ntherefore, with extreme care. If he has any spare time after his labours\namongst the natives, let him rest, or engage in some study bearing on\nhis work.\"\n\nThe Chamba arrangement was about as hopeful a measure of this nature as\ncan well be imagined, but it did not work well. The Rajah gave a very\nhonourable equivalent for the modicum of professional service he asked\nin return; and the Punjaub Medical Missionary Society, one would\nsuppose, secured in articles 5 and 6 of the Rajah's Administrative\nOrder, the independence of their agent, and perfect freedom for him in\nthe prosecution of missionary work. These articles run thus:\u2013\n\n\"5. The Chamba medical missionary shall have full liberty to prosecute\nthe calling of a Christian missionary, in the same way as he would be\nallowed to do, were he employed in any of the provinces of India which\nare under the immediate administration of the British Government.\n\n\"6. The medical missionary shall be bound, on my demand, to render to\nme, and to my immediate relatives, due professional attendance; but\nbeyond this I will not interfere in the way in which he may see fit to\ncarry on his medical duties in Chamba.\"\n\nWhat could be more explicit? And yet, Dr. Elmslie soon found himself\ninvolved in a complicated and unpleasant correspondence regarding these\nvery rights.\n\n\"_Chamba, 3d January, 1867._\u2013TO DR. CLEGHORN.\u2013The dispensary is now\nopen, and patients are treated _daily_. Medical missionary dispensaries\nshould be open _daily_. Some are not, I am greatly astonished at this. I\nfear practice amongst Europeans has something to do with this. We\nmedical missionaries need constantly to remember we did not leave home\nto be doctors to our own countrymen, who can in most cases be attended\nby other medical men, but we left home to labour among the perishing\nheathen, that by the blessing of God on our medical labours we may lead\nthese same perishing heathen to the truth as it is in Jesus.\"\n\nAbout a month after, to the same friend he says, \"Within the last four\nweeks we have had four cases of lithotomy, one of which is well, and has\nleft for his own home; the other three are progressing favourably. I am\nof opinion stone is extremely common in Chamba, goitre too is met with\nby the hundred. The biniodide of mercury rubbed in locally, and\nexhibited internally in the form of pill at the same time, works\nwonders. This medicine is far more effectual than iodine alone.\"\n\nTO HIS BROTHER.\u2013\"_Chamba, 2d January, 1867._\u2013DEAREST STEWART,\u2013I am\ndelighted to hear you are once more at home beside our dear mother, whom\nit is our delightful duty and privilege to cherish and comfort.... I\nknow nothing will please her so much as to see you give evidence of\nbeing a lover of Jesus.\n\n\"I am not going to preach to you, dear Stewart\u2013Dr. Davidson will do that\nwith all the love and skill for which we honour him, but there is one\nquestion which I wish affectionately to ask you. It is this, 'What think\nye of Christ?' Oh, love Him, dear Stewart, and serve Him with all your\nheart, with all your might and main. May God who has done so much for us\nin the past greatly bless you, and guide you, and enlighten you, and fit\nyou for glory. May the sunshine of a Father's reconciled countenance\never rest on you!\u2013Your loving brother, WILLIAM.\n\n\"_Chamba, 19th January, 1867._\u2013DEAREST MOTHER,\u2013You do not tell me enough\nof yourself. Let me share all your trials as well as your pleasures. I\nthink I can sympathise. The more we know of the great Sympathiser the\nbetter we can feel with others; the more we know of the great heart of\nGod overflowing with unquenchable love, the more our hearts are\nenlarged, and enabled to weep with those who weep, and to rejoice with\nthose who rejoice. I trust you really do bask in the sunshine of a\nreconciled Father's love and grace. Jesus was never so dear to me as He\nis now. Oh how manifold are His loving kindnesses to me! Bless the Lord,\nO my soul.\n\n\"I have now got the Medical Mission Dispensary in full working order\nhere. We had a large attendance to-day, and I addressed them in Urdu.\nThey listened attentively to all I said about the unsearchable riches of\nChrist, and I do so enjoy speaking to them about Him. One here and\nanother there in the crowd heard the good news with apparent joy.\"\n\nTO C. J. RODGERS, ESQ.\u2013\"_Chamba, February 3d, 1867._\u2013So you have got a\nclock to preach to you! You could not have a better monitor, for who can\nlook at a clock and hear its _tempus fugit_ tick-tack without being\nreminded of the shortness of this life, and of the near eternity with\nall its dread verities. _One life!_ only one have we. How short that\nlife on earth! _So much to be done, and so little time to do it._\"\n\n\"_Chamba, 5th February, 1867._\u2013MY DEAR MALLETT.... We do indeed enjoy\ninnumerable precious opportunities of speaking for Jesus our adorable\nRedeemer. Blessed be God there is no lack of such privileges. I don't\nknow how it goes with you, dear Mallett, but as for myself, I have\nfrequently sad cause to mourn over the misimprovement of these most\ninvaluable opportunities. It is so very difficult to be always earnest,\nalways watchful, always full of Jesus, always looking far ahead into\nthat awful eternity, to which time is hurrying us along with such\nlightning speed. Oh what an endless journey of improvement lies before\nus. My dear M., if we are ever to be like our beloved Saviour, we must\nbe much in His transforming company. We must meet Him at the\n'_trysting_' place of His throne of grace. We must study His holy Word\nmore humbly, teachably, and prayerfully, and we must realise that we\npossess an ever present Saviour, for, 'Lo! I am with you alway, even\nunto the end of the world.' Pray for me, my dear M., that I may attain\nto this more and more. I will not forget you. We can help each other\nmightily.\"\n\nWritten in apology after a discussion with \u2013\u2013.\n\n_Chamba, February 7th, 1867._\u2013MY DEAR,\u2013I am extremely sorry about our\ndiscussion on Monday last, because I readily confess that I am not at\nall satisfied with the part I played in it. To be told in the heat of\ndebate that one is talking in utter ignorance of the subject, is rather\ntrying. That I did not take this meekly or quietly, I am now very sorry;\nour Divine Master would certainly have acted thus; but I have much still\nto learn of the mind that was in Jesus. Let me say that, as the\nintention to cause another pain is as far distant from me as the north\nis from the south, I fully and heartily apologise to you for anything I\nmay have said which gave you pain.\u2013Yours, very sincerely, W. J.\nELMSLIE.\"\n\nTO HIS MOTHER.\u2013\"_19th February, 1867._\u2013The Lord Himself make your soul a\nvery garden in which He delights to dwell, so that you may be truly\njoyful! There is nothing like spiritual comfort. There is nothing like a\nwell-grounded faith in Christ, God's own dear Son, our precious,\nprecious Saviour. This is great riches. I hope you are basking in the\nglorious sunshine of His matchless love and favour, which are\nunquestionably better than life. But \u2013\u2013 has not yet found the Saviour.\nThis is an awful thought, and one which has for some time caused me much\nanxiety. What a thought for us, that we may be with Christ in glory, but\nfind no \u2013\u2013 there. We must pray, mother. The time may be short with all\nof us.\n\n\"In about six weeks from this date, I shall, God willing, be quitting\nChamba for Kashmir. How thankful we ought to be that God in His all-good\nprovidence has cast my lot in a region so lovely.... In my soul there is\nperpetual sunshine. I have sins and temptations to battle against, both\nin my heart and in the outer world, but with Christ we are more than\nconquerors over all these.\n\n\"The Rajah is most favourably disposed towards the mission, so that my\nstay here has been extremely pleasant, although not free from\ndifficulty. I have had some of the most serious operations to perform,\nand God, up to this time, has made all things go well with me in this\nrespect. Two men, who have been attending the dispensary for some time,\ncalled on me to-day privately, to speak about the wonderful story of the\ncross. I have great hope of them.\n\n\"We dined to-day with the new Resident, to bid Mr. W. good-bye. The\nRajah was present at table, but did not eat with us, being still a\nHindu.\"\n\n\"_Chamba, 29th March, 1867._\u2013MY DEAR MRS. THOMSON,\u2013The reception of your\nand the doctor's letters was to me indeed a 'feast and a fine day.' It\nis always most cheering to the child of God to know that his brothers\nand sisters in Christ are holding up his hands by their prayers.\"\n\nSpeaking of the self-denial involved in the procedure of the friend\naddressed, he continues:\u2013\n\n\"It is a glorious thing, although tremendously difficult to the flesh,\nto make sacrifices for our adorable Redeemer's sake. Nevertheless, if we\nare Christ's, we must deny ourselves and take up our cross and follow\nHim. It strikes me that it is just more of this self-denying and this\nup-taking of the cross that the world needs. It is undeniable that our\nown beloved Scotland is rapidly and generally becoming unbelieving and\nworldly....\n\n\"Oh that the young and rising sons of Scotland could be aroused. Oh that\nthey could be freed from the galling chains of worldliness and\nmoney-worship, and could be made to believe that really to live for God\nand not for self\u2013really to live for the good of our fellow-men, with the\neye of faith and hope fixed upon the sublime and awful verities of an\nunseen, but coming world, is verily the perennial source of man's\ngreatest happiness and glory. I am glad the doctor is trying to awake\nthe sleepers. Stir him up to this work. It is with the young whose\nhearts have not yet become like baked bricks, that our hope is....\n\n\"I cannot tell you how grieved we all are here that no man has yet been\nfound for Chamba. On the 1st April I leave Chamba for Kashmir. There is\nnobody to take my place. It is very sad to think that if the world had\nmade the call, and offered a large salary, &c., instead of not having\none applicant, we should have had perhaps a score. Ah, dear friend, this\nis certainly not as it ought to be. As I told you in my former letter,\nthis is a most favourable and promising field for medical missions. I\nhave spent an extremely pleasant winter in this lovely\u2013physically\nlovely\u2013valley. God has greatly blessed our medical and surgical work,\nand I am not without the hope that at least another star will be added\nto my crown from this winter's labours. A Brahmin, who has attended the\nMedical Missionary Dispensary for some six weeks, has manifested a\ndelightful spirit of inquiry; and both Mr. Ferguson and myself entertain\nthe hope that this man, through the help of God's enlightening and\nconverting spirit, may soon declare himself on the side of Christ.\"\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XII.\n\nTHIRD YEAR'S WORK IN KASHMIR.\n\n\nAgain Dr. Elmslie strikes his tent, and leaving Chamba, starts for\nanother campaign in Kashmir. These constant changes are very trying. His\nfirst letter _en route_ is dated\n\n\"_Goojerat, 17th April 1867._\u2013MY EVER DEAREST MOTHER,\u2013I am now on my way\nto Kashmir, and am hopeful that the season may be a blessed and\nprosperous one. I am sure I am followed by earnest prayers for my\nsuccess as a winner of souls to our blessed Saviour. This only is worth\nliving for.\n\n\"_Journal, 18th._\u2013Left Goojerat early in the morning along with the Rev.\nR. Paterson. After resting a little while on our arrival at Bimbhar, we\nwent together into the city. Passing along the bazaar I saw several\ncases of disease, and as I stopped to examine one or two of them we were\nsoon surrounded by a little crowd. One man in the throng was very\nearnest and importunate that we should go and see a female relative,\nwho, he said, was very ill. We went, and, as a good many people were\ngathered near the house, I asked Mr. P. to address them. This he did,\nand they seemed interested. We were importuned to go and see another\ncase of illness. There is no lack of opportunity everywhere. Oh, God,\nbless the seed sown for Thine own name's sake! About a dozen sick people\nwere waiting our return, but, as the daylight was almost gone, I was\nobliged to dismiss the little company, with the request that they would\nreturn next morning.\n\n\"_19th._\u2013Mr. P. left me and returned to Goojerat. The patients returned\nthis morning, and were treated. On the way from Bimbhar to Saidabad I\nmet a number of camels laden with salt, on their way to Kashmir. Read\nArnold's life on the journey. Admire the man.\n\n\"_21st.\u2013Sunday._\u2013I am resting in this picturesque village, Nowshera,\nto-day, having arrived yesterday evening, after a good ride from\nSaidabad. I held a reception of the sick, and my assistant, Thomas,\naddressed them in a very simple, earnest way. After this I held service\nwith the servants, and in the afternoon went into the little town, where\nI saw an old dilapidated serai, which is said to have been built by the\nMogul emperor, Shah Jehan. On the roof of this ruinous building a trial\nfor theft was being carried on. In the evening had a second reception\nfor the sick. Treated in all 85 patients to-day.\n\n\"_22d._\u2013Started from Nowshera at 6.30; reached Chungas Serai about\n1 P.M. The road good. Captain \u2013\u2013 is here, and we dined together. After a\nstruggle with myself I summoned courage to ask a blessing aloud. What a\nreligious coward I sometimes am!\n\n\"_23d.\u2013Rajaori._\u2013Twenty-five sick people here. Addressed them on John\niii. 16. Jesus Christ is the only balm for a sinner's wounds. Nothing\nbut Jesus will do. The people's interest increased as I went on, and\nthey gathered more closely round me to hear better. One man said that\nthe prophets were good and holy, and had interest in heaven to procure\nus blessings, especially salvation. I answered that their own testimony\nwas that they were themselves sinners, and therefore needed a Saviour to\natone for their sin. No one could save us without bearing the penalty\ndue, even death. Oh, that God may bless His own Word for His own glory!\n\n\"_24th.\u2013Dhanna._\u2013How glad I am that I had an opportunity of bearing\nmedical testimony in favour of total abstinence in presence of Captain\n\u2013\u2013! It may be helpful to him. We had a large gathering of sick people\nto-day.\n\n\"_25th._\u2013After proceeding for a short time along the Pir Panjal route, I\nturned to the left and began the ascent of the Ratan Pir, which is by no\nmeans easy. The descent is particularly rough, and my boxes were a good\ndeal damaged by to-day's journey. This place\u2013Surim\u2013is not a town, but\nonly a number of houses scattered on the hillside.\n\n\"_28th.\u2013Kahuta, Sunday._\u2013We have had two receptions here, and a large\nnumber of sick people attended. The little son of a distant Nawab was\nbrought to me by a servant. The little fellow was suffering from partial\nparalysis of the lower extremities, caused by bathing in cold water when\nin a state of perspiration.\n\n\"_29th._\u2013Through the snow to-day, and across the Haji Pir, 7000 feet\nabove sea level.\u2013_Hyderabad._\n\n\"_30th._\u2013Uri.\u2013A most beautiful march from Hyderabad. Passed a lovely\nwaterfall on the right hand of the stream along which we marched. Its\nheight is about 50 feet. The mountains have their summits crowned with\nsnow; soft, white clouds nestle in their bosoms or float down their\nrugged cliffs. The firs wear their beautiful fresh green, and the other\ntrees present a variety of lovely blossoms; the flowers, the birds, the\never-changing face of the landscape, all lighted up by the glorious sun!\nWho can behold such scenes without lifting up the heart in thankfulness\nto Him who has clothed His earth with such beauty and grandeur? I\nvisited the dilapidated-looking fort which guards the road near Uri. It\nboasts of one brass gun of 10 lbs. and four iron ones of smaller\ncalibre. The Nawab whom I here treated two years before came to see me,\nand stayed to the address given to the sick. He listened attentively\nwhile I spoke on 'The wages of sin is death,' and he answered questions\nintelligently. May the Spirit of Life quicken him!\n\n\"_Nowshera, May 1st._\u2013Left Uri at 6.15, and arrived here at 11.45. March\na long one, but the scenery very lovely and grand. I intimated my\nreadiness to receive the sick from the neighbouring houses, but the\nmoonshee of the place told me the people here think that one day's\nmedicine could be of no avail.\n\n\"_2d.\u2013On the River Jhelum._\u2013This morning started from Nowshera for\nBaramula, where we arrived about 10 A.M., and at once hired two large\nboats to convey us to Srinagar. Sailed at noon. The change from walking\nto sailing delightful. The view we had of the valley from Baramula hill\nis most enchanting. The valley lies encircled by lofty mountains, whose\npeaks are white with snow. The mountains on the north and east of the\nvalley seem as if the materials of which they are composed had at one\ntime been molten, and as if, while in this state, they had been lashed\ninto great waves, and then suddenly set into their abrupt forms. They\nare remarkably barren. The mountainous ridge on the south and west has a\nmore diversified outline, and two or three very lofty peaks towards the\nsouth form a grand offset to the whole range. The quantity of snow on\nthe northern aspect of this mountain boundary is much greater than that\non the southern range. Reached Sopur about 6 P.M. This is a\npicturesque-looking town on the western extremity of the Wular lake,\nthrough which the Jhelum flows. Sleeping in one's boat is cold at this\nseason.\n\n\"_3d._\u2013Awoke early and found we were still sailing on the spacious Wular\nlake. Much engaged in prayer for God's blessing on me and mine, and on\nHis own work. Very happy from trust in Jesus. Reached Srinagar about 5\nP.M., and at once called on the Rev. A. Brinckman.\n\n\"_4th._\u2013Early this morning I took possession of the bungalow I occupied\nlast year. Paid my boatmen 3 rupees, which is the proper price for the\njourney from Baramula. Gave the men each 8d. as bakhshish, but found\nthat the Maharajah's officials were already on the spot to take from\nthem the usual tax at the rate of one anna on the rupee, Breakfasted\nwith Mr. Brinckman\u2013called on the Resident. Busy the rest of the day in\ngetting my house into order. Dedicated myself and all that I am to God\nafresh, imploring His gracious blessing on my work and my people.\n\n\"_Sunday, May 5th._\u2013Divine service at the Residency. In the evening the\nRev. Mr. Walsh, American missionary from Futtegurh, held a Hindustani\nservice which was pretty well attended.\n\n\"_6th._\u2013I heard to-day by a letter, from the Rev. Mr. Ferguson of\nChamba, that the Rajah of that state has declared that henceforth there\nshall be the widest religious toleration in his territories. This is\njoyful news, the Lord's name be praised! Dined with Major Maclean, and\nat half-past six, attended the first prayer-meeting of the season at the\nRev. Mr. Walsh's house; it was a delightful meeting. Spirit much\nrefreshed.\n\n\"_9th._\u2013Opened the dispensary to-day\u2013four present. In God's strength I\nhope to be more diligent than ever before, in spreading the glorious\ngospel of God's marvellous grace, and in everything which my hand finds\nto do for God's glory. _I must_ study Persian: it is an essential part\nof Kashmiri; Lord, help me!\n\n\"_10th._\u2013Ten patients present to-day. Read the parable of the Prodigal\nSon which I always find arresting to the people. One man told me that a\nGovernment officer had tried to prevent his coming to me, by urging him\nto go to the Government Dispensary, where medicine, clothing, and food\nwould be got for nothing. I took the man to the Resident, but, as his\nhouse is surrounded by spies, the poor man was timid in his answers to\nall the inquiries put to him. The result of the examination proved,\nhowever, that the people have been prohibited from attending the Mission\nDispensary. Here the matter ended. The shed built by order of the\nMaharajah for the dispensary last year is still uninhabitable, I have\ncomplained to the Baboo in charge of English affairs, and he promises to\nhave it completed. [This was never done.] Persian for two hours.\n\n\"_11th._\u2013The man whom I took to the Commissioners yesterday has not\nreturned to-day, I fear some mischief has befallen him.\n\n\"_Sabbath, May 12th._\u2013The man referred to is still absent, and the\nattendance of patients so small that I fear there is truth in the report\nI have heard\u2013_i.e._, that the sepoys are employed to prevent the sick\nfrom coming to me. I am told that during my absence the Diwan exacted a\nwritten promise from the Pundits to the effect that they should never\nagain come to the Padre Doctor Sahib, on the penalty of a fine of 500\nrupees.\n\nAfter divine service at the Residency, I had a large gathering of the\nblind beggars of Srinagar in the tent, when I read to them the story of\nthe blind man who saw men as trees walking. After the address they each\nreceived a small gratuity, and were told to return next Sabbath. O Lord,\nbless this effort to open the eyes of the blind!\n\n\"_13th._\u2013Rained very heavily. Began Materia Medica and Chemistry Class\nwith my native doctor and assistants.\n\n\"_16th._\u2013Still only five patients. I do fear that the local Government\nis using some means of preventing the sick from coming, but the Lord\nreigneth!\n\n\"_17th._\u2013Nine patients present. Oh, my God, how helpless I am! my trust\nmust be in Thee only.\n\n\"_18th._\u2013Still only a few patients present. A man and a woman told me\nthey had been sent away by a sepoy stationed at the gate through which\nthey had to pass from the city; they came round another way. Went to the\ncity to see Samad Shah, shawl merchant, who is ill, and on the way\nstopped at the house of my Kashmiri Pundit, who ought to have come to me\nlast Monday. Found him at home and well; he stated that he had been\nprohibited from coming to me, on pain of imprisonment, fine, and the\ndestruction of his house. He also informed me that a prohibition had\nbeen issued by the Diwan, to the effect that no one was to go to the\nPadre Doctor; the penalty\u2013imprisonment and fine. The Pundit also told my\ncatechist that inquiry had been made as to what wages he had received\nfrom Mr. Brinckman and me, and that employment was to be given him to\nthe same amount.\n\n\"_Sabbath, May 19th._\u2013Went out very early this morning and met an old\nman and woman, who said, in answer to my inquiry where they were going,\n'to the Doctor Sahib's.' I asked if they were not afraid, they answered\n'yes,' for they had been on their way to me yesterday, but had been\nbeaten and sent away by sepoys stationed near one of the bridges. They\ncame to the dispensary, and in the presence of Mr. Brinckman, my\ncatechist, and native doctor, told me exactly the same story. A sepoy,\nevidently a spy sent to report who were present at this morning's\nreception, was asked to sit down, and he heard the gospel for once in\nhis life.\n\n\"_21st._\u2013My catechist tells me that copies of the prohibition have been\ngiven to each zilladar, and that more active measures are being taken to\nprevent the people from coming to my dispensary. They dare not come. The\npoor old man and woman who ventured to come on Sunday, were beaten\npublicly, and their names with all particulars were noted. An old pundit\nhas attended at each morning's reception, for the purpose of writing the\nnames of all present. To-day I sent him about his business.\n\n\"_Srinagar, May 27th, 1867._\u2013MY DEAREST MOTHER.\u2013You will see by the\nheading of this letter, that I am again in Kashmir. The journey to the\nvalley this year was rather difficult, owing to the amount of snow on\nthe high mountains we had to pass, two of which are about twice the\nheight of Ben Nevis. We were busy on the way, as formerly, in telling of\nJesus and His marvellous love, and in dispensing medicines and advice.\nMy dispensary is now fairly opened, but I grieve to say that the usual\nnumber of patients have not yet taken advantage of it. The native\nGovernment do all in their power to oppose me, and I sometimes despond\nand think my lot a trying one, being cast among so down-trodden and\ndegraded a people. At such times a voice seems to say to me, 'Wait\npatiently on the Lord; in due season ye shall reap _if ye faint not_.'\nAssured that the Lord reigneth I shall stick to my post, and you, dear\nmother, can help me much by prayer. In the secrecy of your own chamber,\nmeet me often at the throne of grace, and thus you will do genuine\nmission work of the most exalted character. Be like Jacob\u2013wrestle with\nGod in prayer, and, through faith in our beloved Saviour, you will win\nthe victory. He loves to bless us; He delights to grant our requests,\nbut He will try us first whether we desire them with all our hearts.\nPray much for poor enslaved Kashmir. Few take pity on her and the evils\nwhich exist, and which daily come before my eyes, are inconceivable!...\nMy word of comfort for you today is Lam. iii.\u2013Your ever loving and\ndutiful son, WILLIAM.\n\n\"_Sabbath, June 2d._\u2013Received from the chaplain Rs. 12, 15a. 6p., to be\ndistributed among the poor. Had my usual meeting with the blind and\nlame. Qadir Bakhsh addressed them, after which I distributed among them\nthree annas each. While I was doing so one of the boatmen of Mr. L.'s\nboat, which was lying close by, robbed a poor old blind man of his few\npaise. Mr. B. saw it, and pursued the man, made him restore the money,\nand took away his turban for the purpose of identification. On\ncomplaining of him to his master, he received such a thorough beating\nthat I do not mean to say anything further about this. I have sent a\nreport of the past month's opposition to the Resident, and he means to\nforward it to headquarters.\n\n\"_June 16th._\u2013Cholera has appeared among the troops; to-day six men\ndied. Sher Ali Khan, the Pathan, has been fined 200 rupees, and the\nmerchants in the city have been forbidden to supply him with provisions\nbecause he is suspected of being a Christian. Eighteen were present at\nthe Dispensary this morning, and I think they were more anxious than in\nformer years to hear the Gospel. Their hearts seem softer and more\nimpressible. The Rev. W. Walsh has written to ask one of his sons in\nAmerica to devote himself to Medical Missions. Lord, let Thy kingdom\ncome!\n\n_19th June, 1867._\u2013TO C. J. RODGERS, ESQ.\u2013\"... I sympathise deeply with\nyou in your domestic loss. If the attractive power of the unseen and\neternal world be increased to you through this means however, then you\nwill yet rejoice and thank God for this tribulation. Heaven is our home,\nall that is most precious and desirable is there, Jesus our Divine\nSaviour and Friend is there, besides many dear ones. Let us then not\nsorrow as those that are without hope!\n\n\"The training of Christian native teachers is a noble work. May God\ngrant you strength and grace to accomplish it. Let us not be weary in\nwell-doing, for in due season we _shall_ reap, _if we faint not_.\n\n\"I am meeting with unusual opposition from the native Government this\nyear. Cholera has been committing its ravages among the Maharajah's\ntroops, but we trust the efforts made to check the progress of this\nawful scourge may be blessed. Pray for us in this trying crisis.\n\n\"_Journal, 20th._\u2013Cholera has broken out in the city, and an order is\nissued by the Resident forbidding any people to come to the European\nquarters. I wrote a polite letter in Persian to the Diwan, expressing my\ndeep sorrow at the sad news which I hourly receive of deaths in the city\nfrom cholera. I said I should be delighted to assist him with advice and\npersonal attendance. Have received no answer. Am studying hard. As Mr.\nClark says:\u2013'While the door of ministry to the sick is closed, God may\nopen the door of my lips. He may give me the gift of this difficult\nlanguage, and touch my tongue as with fire. May He grant me wisdom and\npatience!'\"\n\nThe journals during the months of May and June are filled with instances\nof the opposition of Government, and the sufferings of the people; that\nof July recounts daily visits to the city, where cholera raged for seven\nweeks. A few notices may be given.\n\n\"_Journal, June 29th._\u2013Nursed Colonel S. to-day. He is very ill but\npeaceful.\n\n\"_July 1st._\u2013Went early this morning to see Colonel S. His spirit passed\naway at 7.45. May the Lord comfort his family, and bless this heavy\ntrial to me and to all who knew him! This is the first case the least\nresembling cholera which has occurred amongst Europeans here.\n\n\"_7th._\u2013To-day recovering from a threatening of cholera. The Rev. Mr. B.\nand I had a long conversation with two Kashmiris, who have been for some\ntime inquiring after the truth. They stated their disbelief in the\nKoran: they firmly believe it to be false. They gave instances wherein\nstatements made in it contradict each other. They believe Jesus Christ\nto be the Son of God, equal with God the Father, and the only Saviour of\nmen. They say they have taken Him to be their Saviour, and now wish to\nreceive baptism. Their answers to all our questions were remarkably\nsatisfactory, yet they have not been long inquirers, and I feel disposed\nto recommend delay. What was the apostolic practice (?) that must guide\nus. Told them to return on Wednesday.\n\n\"_9th._\u2013Abadu and Alunad Jan returned, and declared their desire to\nreceive baptism. We again spoke to them about the way of salvation, and\nasked them to consider the momentous nature of the step they were about\nto take. We put the whole case before them, and urged them to make their\ndecision prayerfully.\n\n\"_11th._\u2013Abadu and Alunad Jan returned to-day, and after again trying to\ngive them a true view of what it is to be a Christian, we agreed that it\nwould be wrong to withhold the rite of baptism from them. They were\nbaptized in the Medical Mission Bungalow, in the presence of all my\nservants. May the Lord bless and keep them, for doubtless a stormy\nfuture lies before them, if they remain steadfast to their Saviour.\nAfter the baptism, Mr. Brinckman left for Gulmarg\u2013the 'meadow of\nflowers' is the Kashmiri signification of this name. Here the Resident\nand European visitors spend most of the summer.\n\n\"_13th._\u2013Sailed down the river to the Habba Kadal, where cholera seems\nto be worst. There I visited 28 cases of indubitable cholera. I was\ngladly welcomed even by the women, who remained in their houses instead\nof fleeing from me, as they usually do. Hindoos and Mussulmans alike ask\nme to come into their houses, and there is no purda-work now.\"\n\nMore than once formerly Dr. Elmslie was called to give advice to native\nladies, in cases of serious illness, but he was obliged to judge of the\ncase with the usual thick veil between him and his patient, through a\nhole in which he examined the tongue. He was not troubled with veils in\nthe present emergency.\n\n\"No wonder that cholera carries off hundreds of victims here, for the\npoverty, filth, and distress which prevail are most favourable agents\nfor its development. To-day saw many dead bodies carried out of the city\nfor cremation....\n\n\"_14th._\u2013Several of my patients much better to-day. Going into the house\nof a poor man, who was very ill, a few days ago, I found him discussing\na quantity of boiled rice and vegetables with an apparently keen\nappetite,\u2013his wife, with her baby in her arms, looking on with a face\nbeaming with joy. Her words of gratitude flowed in swift torrents; and\nit did make me happy to think I had, under God's blessing, been the\nmeans of saving that life. Received a fresh supply of medicines to-day,\nand have made a large quantity of pills for distribution through the\ncity.... Had a large congregation of beggars, who heard the gospel in\nits fulness of blessed promise, and received alms. The two converts were\npresent at service to-day, and seem anxious to learn the will of God.\nThe Resident urges me to go to Gulmarg. I feel exhausted, but cannot\nleave. The cry of woe reaches me wherever I go. I am alone among\n127,000, and the utmost I can do is but like a drop in the ocean.\n\n\"_16th._\u2013Went to the quarter inhabited by people from the Punjaub,\nwhere, I had been told, that there were many cases of cholera. Saw\nfifteen. One poor woman's jaw was dislocated on both sides from\nexcessive yawning. I reduced the dislocation in a few moments, much to\nthe astonishment of her friends. Heard to-day that search is being made\nfor the two men who were baptized. The Baboo called during my absence to\nexamine my servants.\n\n\"_18th._\u2013Dear Mr. Brinckman has returned. In company with him and my\nservant, saw thirty cases. Every one glad to receive our medicine. I\nhear that a Mussulman fakir has offered to cause the cholera to\ndisappear, and that the Diwan has given him money on condition that his\npromise is fulfilled within three days. This is now the sixth day since\nthe bargain was made, but there is no abatement. Saw one remarkable\ncase: Patient, a man of 30, recovering from worst symptoms, but\ngradually consecutive fever supervened, and with it a red or purple\nrash, like that of measles, slightly raised above surrounding skin,\ndisappearing on pressure and returning on removal of pressure.\n\n\"_23d._\u2013Quantities of unripe fruit are daily sold in the bazaars. This,\nwith the filthiness of the whole city, accounts for the development of\nthe epidemic. The Diwan has requested the British Resident to command me\nnot to visit the cholera patients in the city. He has refused to give\nsuch an inhuman command. I have been going to the city ever since I was\nsure that cholera existed, and shall continue to do as I have done.\n\n\"_26th._\u2013Mr. Brinckman has returned to Gulmarg. I should have been\nextremely lonely but for him. The majority of cases met with in my\nrounds to-day are very bad. One poor boy had lost father and mother\nwithin the past few days, and seemed very ill himself. Made an\narrangement to have him cared for. Met the hakim of the district, who\nconfessed that he knew nothing of medicine, but had been sent by the\nDiwan to distribute the same medicines as the hakims in other districts\nwere giving the sick. Those, he said, were arak, and one or two\ncarminatives. On my way home met boats containing ten dead bodies.\n\n\"_29th._\u2013Received a letter from Dr. Dallas, authorising me to spend 100\nrupees among the distressed in the city. Sent for native banker, and\nbade him give me 10 rupees in paise. He gave 600 instead of 640, telling\nme that the local government orders the English rupee to be valued at 15\nannas instead of 16. Made him write this statement on paper, and sent it\nto proper quarter, with inquiry as to its truth. Had a large gathering\nof blind and lame in the Chinar Bagh. Distributed 10 rupees among them.\n\n\"_August 1st._\u2013Mr. Brinckman came back on 30th. We translated a charm\nagainst cholera which has been issued by order of His Highness the\nMaharajah. Each copy is sold for four annas. It directs the possessors\nto perform certain acts of worship and to give alms, assuring them that\nin so doing they are safe from the plague.\n\n\"_2d._\u2013Great storm of wind and rain for about an hour. May good result\nfrom this!\n\n\"_8th._\u2013Mr. Brinckman sent for the Baboo in order to obtain a pass for\nAbadu and Alunad Jan, that they may accompany Mr. B. to the Punjaub. We\nsaid we wished them to be known as distinct from Mr. B.'s servants,\nbeing Christians, who, as such, were leaving the valley. He objected,\nbut in the evening brought a '_parwana_,' saying that they had been\nincluded as Mr. B.'s servants. Against this we protested. Saw Mr.\nBrinckman off. May God bless him! I feel very happy just now. Jesus is\nmore precious to me than ever. My will _seems_ to be more submissive to\nGod....\n\n\"_13th._\u2013Pestilence seems to be on the wane. Saw thirteen patients\nto-day. Met my old pundit, who tells me it would be as much as his life\nis worth to come and see me. My heart much drawn out in prayer for the\nsalvation of my assistants. Have mercy on them, O God!\n\n\"_21st._\u2013Rained heavily. I spent all forenoon in the city with my\nassistant and catechist, and saw seven new cases of cholera. Two of\nthose were boys, both of whom were left orphans within the last month.\nWhat is to be done with the many orphans?... My assistant, a Brahmin,\nreceived a letter from Jummoo to-day, asking him to become editor of the\nnewspaper which the Maharajah proposes to publish, containing news from\nall parts of his territories. He has declined the honour. Called at\nAmiri Kadal dispensary; no cholera patients; but saw a case of cancer of\nthe breast being treated with poultices. Also case of nasal polypus; the\ntumour had not been touched, although the nose had been slit open;\npoultices were being applied.\n\n\"_24th._\u2013Feel very weak to-day. Mr. A. called for me.... After some\ndeeply interesting conversation we prayed together that God might\nstrengthen both of us to walk before Him holily all the days of our\nlife. May God bless this young man and help him with His all-sufficient\ngrace! The Cordon is still in force.\n\n\"_25th._\u2013Few new cases now. Met my congregation of beggars, and\ndistributed first the Word of Life, then 10 rupees, amongst them. Mr. A.\nspent part of evening with me. Lord, bless him, keep him in Thy ways,\ngive him no rest till he has found it in Christ! Very dissatisfied with\nmyself. The spiritual life within me is not vigorous; indeed it is very\nweak and alloyed. O God, purify it\u2013quicken it\u2013strengthen it\u2013renew it!\nLet love reign within me\u2013make it the motive power of my inner man!\n\n\"_26th._\u2013Mr. A. breakfasted with me. Much interested in him. May God\nkeep him!\n\n\"_28th._\u2013Saw four new cases of cholera to-day and two old cases. Took\ntea with Sher Ali, the Pathan, this evening. Saw his old father and his\ntwo fine boys. Sat with them on the floor, like a native, eating rice\nand fowl. This was followed by a large dish of almonds, then tea, made\nvery thick, so that I almost mistook it for chocolate. On my way home I\nmet a lad in great distress, and he told me that Mahdu Ku Karn had\nforcibly taken away his little sisters and sold them, one to Mahommed\nBakhsh, merchant, the other to a man in the city. Lord, have mercy on\nKashmir, for this is not an uncommon case!\n\n\"_Sept. 4._\u2013Heard the sad news from Mr B. that his dear wife was seized\nwith cholera on the journey, and died at Abbottabad. O God, comfort my\nsorrowing friend, who so joyfully helped me during these weeks of\ntrial!... Great sorrow is felt at this everywhere. In the evening had a\nlong and interesting talk with Mr A. May God continue the good work in\nhim!\n\n\"_Sept. 5._\u2013This morning received a letter from the civil surgeon,\nrequesting me to come immediately to assist him in a case at Baba\nMurishi. After making necessary arrangements started at 9 A.M., and\nreached journey's end at 10 P.M.\n\n\"_Sept. 6_.\u2013This morning assisted Dr. J. in stopping the h\u00e6morrhage\nproceeding from the wound from which Major \u2013\u2013 was suffering. As Major \u2013\u2013\nexpressed a wish that I should remain and travel with him to-morrow. I\nhave consented to wait. Went this evening to see Gulmarg, a beautiful\nlittle mountain valley it is.\n\n\"_7th._\u2013Set out at 7 A.M. with Major \u2013\u2013, who was carried all the way on\na charpae to Suttaupur. We reached it about 4 P.M., and I started at\nonce for Srinagar in my little boat.\n\n\"_Sunday, Sept. 8._\u2013Arrived here (Srinagar) about 4 A.M. and found a\nletter from the Resident, informing me that he had removed the Cordon\nSanitaire. Had my gathering of blind and lame in the mission tent\nto-day. Finished reading Goulburn's 'Thoughts on Personal Religion.'\n\n\"_9th._\u2013Re-opened dispensary, but few patients were present, the guard\nof sepoys still being posted at the avenues.\n\n\"_12th._\u2013Had some interesting talk with the Pathan to-day. He allows\nthat the Christian religion is vastly superior to theirs, and that its\neffects are wonderful on those who with the heart embrace its doctrines,\nand make them the rule of life. I am hopeful of this man, but the love\nof money and the fear of man are strong in him. O God, grant him the\nenlightening influences of thy Holy Spirit! To-day a remarkable scene\ntook place. A Hindu fakir, who has frequently come to the mission\npremises for conversation on religious subjects, returned a few days ago\nfrom a pilgrimage. He happened to see a Hindu bathing in the Jhelum\nto-day, praying at the same time. The fakir called to him, and said that\nhe must not suppose that there was any efficacy in washing with water.\nHe said\u2013'Ever so much water can never wash away sin; only the atonement\npaid by Christ can suffice to do that.' He then spoke of the Christian\nreligion being the only true one. He was overheard by one of the\nMaharajah's servants, who gave him into the charge of a sepoy. Orders\nhave been given to see him out of Kashmir without delay.\n\n\"_15th._\u2013A Mullah, who has been a bitter enemy to the Gospel, called on\nme to-day. He seems softened. I tried to lay the Gospel scheme before\nhim, and to show its adaptability to fallen man's every want. Qadir\nBakhsh joined us, and we prayed in turn for him in his presence, that\nGod would graciously grant His Holy Spirit to teach him. Dined with M\u2013\u2013.\nMay God lead him into the truth; he is groping after it.\n\n\"_20th._\u2013The Pathan and his eldest son took tea with me this evening:\nthey ate heartily of everything, much to my surprise, as in former days\nthey have refused to touch what has been prepared by my Christian\nservant. He told me much about the war in Cabul, about the advance of\nthe Russians, &c.; then consulted me about the education of his two\nsons. O God, give him Thy light.\n\n\"_22d._\u2013Read Judson's Life again with much pleasure. O God, make me like\nhim in so far as he resembled my precious Saviour! Mr. A\u2013\u2013 called, and\nbrought me a present of beautiful peaches. We have long talks together.\nI think the truth is taking firm hold of him.\n\n\"_29th._\u2013Read Whately's essay on the 'Love of Truth.' Mr. A\u2013\u2013 was\npresent at our native service.\n\n\"_30th._\u2013Sixty patients present. A Hindu called on me, he had been in\nthe service of the Maharajah, Dhuleep Sing, in England; he has travelled\na great deal, and expresses great admiration of the English nation.\n\n\"_October 4th._\u2013Received a notice from the Resident, to the effect that\nall visitors must quit the valley on the 15th inst. An order has been\nreceived from the Maharajah, by the Jagirdars for 1,400 maunds of grain\nto be sent by coolies to Gilghil. There are 45 Jagirdars in Kashmir,\nonly 5 of whom are Mussalmans, the remaining 40 are Hindoos.\n\n\"_10th._\u2013Saw a great crowd of coolies preparing to set off to the seat\nof war, with grain, &c., for the troops. Two regiments are gone, and\nanother is going. Every village is bereft of its male inhabitants with\nthe exception of the old men. Had a long talk with K. S. a Sikh, who\ncame to our service to-day\u2013a good attendance at dispensary.\n\n\"_14th._\u2013Removed an enormous fibrous tumour from the right breast of a\npoor woman. This and many other cases require close attention, and I am\nobliged to close the dispensary to-morrow, and next day must prepare to\nleave.\n\n\"_16th._\u2013Many recovered patients came to show themselves. When the Baboo\nin the service of his Highness the Maharajah, called with my parwana\n(passport), I spoke to him on the subject of Christianity. He is very\nblind spiritually, and what he sees of Christians so-called prejudices\nhim effectually against Christianity. God can give him light. Received\nthe usual parting present from his Highness. It consisted of two sheep,\nsome sugar, tea, flower, salt, condiments, butter, and a few eggs.\n\n\"_17th._\u2013Temper much tried by the slowness of my servants, and delay in\narrival of boats. God enable me to keep my temper.\"\n\nBefore starting with Dr. Elmslie on his journey to Amritsar, a few\nextracts from letters to friends written in Srinagar during this season,\nmay serve to throw light on some of the points touched upon in his\nJournal, and may supply one or two items of additional information. To\nMrs. Cleghorn on 9th July, 1867, he writes:\u2013\n\n\"The present season in Kashmir has been a most eventful one to the\nmedical mission. It appears that the local Government and the Mussulman\nMullahs are now greatly afraid of us, especially as two of their priests\nhave become Christians. The result of this fear and hatred has been\ngreat hostility and opposition to my work. From the very beginning of\nthe season, sepoys were placed at the entrances of all the avenues\nleading from the city to the European quarters. These sentries confessed\nthemselves, that their orders were to stop the sick from going to the\nPadre Doctor Sahib, as they style me. Some were allowed to pass on,\ngiving the sepoys some money; others who were caught coming to me were\nroughly handled and beaten, some were fined, and others were imprisoned.\nThe fact that the local Government of Kashmir were thus forcibly\npreventing the poor, helpless sick of the city of Srinagar, and of the\nvalley generally, from frequenting the Medical Mission Dispensary,\nbecame known to the Supreme Government of India, and they sent a request\nto the Government of the Punjaub to investigate the matter. The British\nResident, who is a Christian man, showed me the request, and asked me to\nstate my experience and opinion. This I did, and my report was sent up\nto the Punjaub Government, who are convinced of the fact, and strongly\nurge the Supreme Government to adopt measures to put a stop to such\ncruel, bigoted, and tyrannical proceedings on the part of the Native\nGovernment of Kashmir.\n\n\"Just as the hostility and opposition of the local Government of Kashmir\nhad reached a climax, cholera broke out amongst his Highness's troops.\nIt appears that some sepoys who had got leave to go and wash in the\nGanges at Hardwar, had returned to their regiment at Srinagar, and\nbrought the seeds of cholera with them. At any rate, those sepoys had\nscarcely arrived, when that awful pestilence broke out and began to\ncarry off many. Everything was done to prevent the spread of the\ndisease, but it at last invaded the city; and the British Resident\ndeemed it necessary, for the safety of the European visitors, to\ninstitute a _Cordon Sanitaire_ round the European quarters. As my\ndispensary is situated there, I was compelled to put a stop to my work\nfor a time. When it was intimated to the suffering sick, that they were\nnot to return to the dispensary until they should receive intimation to\ndo so, the scene can be more easily fancied than described. It would\nhave melted a heart of stone. Since then, I have visited the city almost\ndaily, and done what I could to alleviate the sufferings of the\nmiserable inhabitants, many of whom are daily carried off with cholera.\nMore than a fortnight ago, I sent a most polite letter, in Persian, to\nthe Diwan, or native Viceroy, expressing my sorrow at the heavy calamity\nthat had fallen on his people, and offering him my professional advice,\nand personal assistance, in this trying emergency. He promised to reply\nto my letter the day following its receipt, but, up to the present time,\nI have not heard from him. This is cruelty, bigotry, and tyranny with a\nvengeance. The poor people of the city are sadly neglected, even by\nthose who ought to take some care of them.\"\n\nReferring to the same subject in a letter of 13th July to Mrs. Col.\nLake, he says:\u2013\"In spite of the sepoys, about two hundred and fifty sick\nhave found their way to me. This number, however, is only about\none-sixth of what ought to have attended, when compared with the numbers\nof last season.\" Adverting to the cholera, he says in the same\nletter:\u2013\"I am left alone here, with my dispensary still closed, as the\n_Cordon_ has not yet been authoritatively removed. I am not idle,\nhowever, as I spend daily several hours in the city amongst the poor\npeople, doing all I can to alleviate their sufferings. This morning I\nvisited and treated twenty-eight cases of cholera; and while on my way\nhome, I saw the bodies of three men being carried away for cremation and\nburial. It is awfully solemnizing work. This pestilence may be the\nLord's messenger for the punishment of some, and for the after good of\nthe valley. I have had a presentiment for some time that God is about to\nwork a change in Kashmir.\"\n\nTo another friend he writes:\u2013\n\n\"_Srinagar, 15th July 1867._\u2013MY DEAR BURNS THOMSON,\u2013Your very welcome\nand refreshing letter of January last is now before me. Let me answer\nits items one by one; and in doing so we shall have cause to rejoice and\nheartily to thank God for His unmerited goodness to us. Our little\nmedical mission friend, the _Journal_, is always a welcome visitor with\nme; indeed it often comes in, just when I most need a word of comfort. I\nfeel greatly stimulated and encouraged when I hear of what others are\ndoing for our unspeakably precious Saviour and a perishing world. The\nlabour you spend on the _Journal_ is therefore well spent. It is a great\nand necessary work to be fishing for new labourers, but it is an equally\ngreat and necessary work that those who are already in the field do\ntheir work contentedly, patiently, joyfully, lovingly, and faithfully.\nYour little _Journal_ helps me in some measure so to work. Ever welcome,\ntherefore, to our little friend! Your graphic sketches about the Arabs\ndelight me much. Continue them. When you have finished the Arabs, why\nnot begin a series of such sketches of a general nature about your home\nwork? What I mean by general is not sticking to one subject, but making\nsuitable selections from your note-book. And such a note-book yours must\nbe! With God's blessing such pictures are likely to do the medical\nmission cause good, and to gain for it new friends to fill the place of\nold ones. Verily the cause needs new recruits. Miller away, Coldstream\naway, Jackson away, Craigie away, and others. Ah! Thomson, when shall we\nwho are graciously allowed to remain labour for Christ as we ought, with\nour money, our gifts, and all that God has been pleased to bestow upon\nus? When shall we convert the _meum_ into the _tuum_, and look upon all\nthat we possess as Christ's, and only His? You mention that you and dear\nMrs. B. T. try to hold up my hands at family worship and at your\nprayer-meetings. Let me tell you, for your encouragement, I feel it\u2013I\nknow it. I was never so happy all my life as I am now. Not that I am\nwithout troubles and trials of a very heavy description; but in spite of\nthem I rejoice\u2013yea, in them I rejoice, for they drive me the oftener and\nthe quicker to the sheltering, sympathizing breast of Jesus. But in the\nmidst of much to discourage me\u2013of which I shall speak by and bye\u2013God is\ngraciously pleased to give me great reason for gladness and gratitude. I\nrejoice that God has added two more Kashmiris to His Church. Yes, my\ndear Thomson, I suppose you are, like me, gladly astonished. What a\nlarge element of sheer unbelief there is in our faith! It is\nnevertheless true that on Thursday last, in this very house of mine,\nAbadu, clerk or moonshee, and Alunad Jan, shawl-maker, were both\nbaptized by the Rev. Mr. \u2013\u2013, in presence of the medical mission\nservants. The men were subjected to a very searching examination as to\nthe reason of the faith which they were professing, and their answers\nwere very satisfactory. May the Lord _keep_ these two men, and spare\nthem to become preachers of His gospel to their perishing\nfellow-countrymen! They both possess very fair abilities, and it is my\nintention, God willing, to take them with me to the Punjaub for further\ninstruction, should I, at the end of this season, be compelled to leave\nthe valley.\"\n\n\"_Srinagar, 2d Sept. 1867._\u2013MY DEAR M.,\u2013I long to hear from you. How are\nyou and Mrs. M. in this season of sudden death?...\n\n\"I don't forget you, my dear M. How sweet a thought it is to know that\nJesus never forgets His people\u2013any of His people. Oh, if we were only\nwise enough to open wide all the doors and windows of our souls, that\nthe sunshine might come in to cheer and gladden us! 'Rejoice evermore!'\nLet me hear soon, if you have a moment to spare.\"\n\n\"_Srinagar, 28th Sept. 1867._\u2013MY DEAR MRS. THOMSON,\u2013Your long and most\ninteresting letter of the 14th June duly reached me and is now before\nme. Let me tell you, by way of a secret, that such goods always bring a\nhigh, very high, price in this out-of-the-way market. I heartily pity\nthose missionaries who are not blessed with such letters! Speak a word,\na quiet word, for the Punjaub to your young friends. There are several\nploughs here, standing waiting for good, sturdy, loving, faithful hands\nto guide them. 'Come over and help us!' I am glad to hear you have taken\nup the poor female city Arabs. Pardon me for saying it\u2013I think in some\nrespects they are worse than the male ones. I am of opinion that, if\nthere were no female Arabs, by and bye there would be no male Arabs. Get\nthe females of a people put to rights, and the males will soon improve.\nThere have been few good men who hadn't good mothers. If all this be\ntrue, you will naturally ask me, What about poor India, where woman is\nso degraded and unapproachable\u2013what hope is there for her? Comparatively\nlittle, humanly speaking, I reply, so long as the women of India occupy\ntheir present condition. You have heard of female medical missions. I\nthink they are likely, with the blessing of God, to help forward what\nzenana work has been effecting.\"\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XIII.\n\nVISIT TO CALCUTTA, AND WORK IN AMRITSAR.\n\n\nIt is time to set out on the march for Amritsar. Dr. Elmslie on this\noccasion travelled to the plains by the Baramula Pass. He was detained\nfor some days at Dhanna, a little mountain village, on the journey,\nowing to the illness of a friend whom he overtook. While there he\nvisited among the villagers, and enjoyed the comparative rest and\nleisure which he much needed after the hard work of the summer. Here he\nread Ruskin's \"Ethics of the Dust.\" He always after associated that book\nwith the grand mountain scenery by which he was surrounded, and with the\nsense of repose which followed that season of pressure. He writes to his\nmother:\u2013\n\n\"_October, 1867._\u2013If you knew all that has befallen me during the past\nyear,\u2013the difficulties I have had to contend with in the prosecution of\nmy work, my anxiety during the epidemic of cholera when I went daily to\nthe city and spent hours among the sick and dying, you would say that\nfrom my heart there ought to flow a river of gratitude towards that\ngracious Father who has given me strength to bear up through it all.\nWithout Christ one can do nothing, but with Him we can do all things.\n_Scarcely a day passes without my seeing a reason for the manner in\nwhich God has trained me for His work._ God is truly all wise in all His\nways. I shall not give you special examples at present, but if spared to\nmeet after a year or two, we shall compare our charts, and mark the\ngoodness of our Heavenly Father to us in all the past.\n\n  \"Ill that God blesses is our good,\n    And unblessed good is ill,\n  And all is right that seems most wrong\n    If it be His dear will.\"\n\n\"_Peshawur, near the Kyber Pass, 19th November, 1867._\u2013At the Annual\nMissionary Conference it was agreed that I should visit this part of the\nmission field, and report as to the desirability of planting a Medical\nMission here. Accordingly my friend Wade and I left Amritsar on\nWednesday last, reaching Peshawur on Saturday. I have greatly enjoyed my\nstay here, and am much interested in the operations of the missionaries\nwhich are carried on chiefly among the warlike Affghans. The language\nusually spoken is Pushtoo. I purpose, God willing, returning to Amritsar\non the 21st, finishing some writing work which I have on hand, and\nafterwards setting out for Calcutta, in order to lay the whole state of\naffairs in Kashmir before the Committee of the C. M. S. there.\n\n\"_Calcutta, 20th December, 1867._\u2013MY EVER DEAREST MOTHER,\u2013Before you\nshall have received this letter another year must have begun its course.\nLet me with all a son's love wish you, my mother, and best and truest\nfriend on earth, a very happy new year. May you this year get near to\nour dear Redeemer,\u2013may you be able to realize His comforting\npresence,\u2013may your faith in Him and in His great and marvellous work be\nstrong,\u2013may your will be made submissive to our loving Father's\nwill,\u2013and may you really consider that to depart and be with Christ is\nfar better than to remain here. These precious blessings I wish for\nmyself as well as for you. I commit myself to God's keeping; may He\ngraciously spare me to be a help and comfort to that dear mother who has\ndone so much on my account, and who now loves me as no earthly being\ncan. May I be spared to labour for Christ in poor unhappy Kashmir! May\nGod's rich blessing rest on my work. May He hear our prayers for the\npolitical and spiritual emancipation of that unhappy country. Oh that\nthe spiritual darkness and tyranny and oppression which prevail in\nKashmir were dispersed,\u2013that God would raise Him up a people to praise\nHim there,\u2013a people made free by the truth!\n\n\"I am sorry to tell you I have not been greatly encouraged by what I\nhave seen and heard since I came to Calcutta. Kashmir is far removed\nfrom the head-quarters of the Indian Government, and few or none seem to\ncare much about that poor oppressed people. But we will give God no rest\nfrom our prayers until He in His mercy and grace take pity on that\ndeplorable valley....\n\n\"I feel brimful of health again; very different from my state during the\ncholera in Kashmir last season. Oh how very good God was to me during\nthat trying crisis. I shall never forget it,\u2013never cease to be grateful\nto Him who did so much for me then.\n\n\"I purpose, God willing, to leave this for the Punjaub next week....\nYour ever loving and dutiful son, WILLIAM.\"\n\nOn the same day (_Calcutta, 20th December, 1867_) he wrote to his much\nvalued friend, Mr. Ritchie:\u2013\"Will you,\" he asks, \"do a little commission\nfor me? Mrs. \u2013\u2013 my old lodging-house keeper, was so kind to me when I\nwas under the cloud of adversity and trial, that I have never forgotten\nher kindness. She gave me a six months' credit when my exchequer was\nclean empty. Will you get the enclosed cheque for \u00a35 cashed, and pay the\nmoney to her, saying that it is a small token from me of my gratitude to\nher for her kindness to me whilst a poor student in Edinburgh. May God\nbless her and hers.\" These were days of sore trial, and yet Elmslie\nnever referred to them, but with thanksgiving. Again and again in these\npages we find him praising God for his early discipline. In the same\nletter he says, \"Many a time do I think of you, and the many happy days\nwe spent together\u2013the days of our college life\u2013those were days full of\nhappiness, seasoned with trial and difficulty. They were the very\ntraining we needed. We needed to have patience wrought in us\u2013we needed\nto be braced up for the surmounting of no ordinary trials and\ndifficulties, and our Father, in His wisdom and love, gave us the\nschooling which we required to fit us for the great battle of life.\"\n\nDr. Elmslie returned from Calcutta to Amritsar, and at once wrote to his\nbeloved mother.\n\n\"_Amritsar, 22d January, 1868._\u2013TO HIS MOTHER.\u2013... I am once more in my\nold quarters, having arrived here from Calcutta two days ago. I have now\nbefore me your two letters, which I shall answer bit by bit. You cannot\ntell what joy it gives me to know that you approve of my having stayed\namong the suffering inhabitants of Srinagar during the terrible plague.\nYou say you are living in hope that God may be pleased to spare us to\nmeet. The fourth year of my absence from you has begun, and at the end\nof the fifth year, it is my intention to avail myself of the opportunity\nI shall then have to return home to see you....\n\n\"Alas for my poor friend B., I fear his genius was of the unsanctified\nkind, which brings little or no joy or peace to its possessor. To be\nhappy is to seek, _first_, the kingdom of heaven.... This world is a\ngreat school: poor \u2013\u2013 has very difficult lessons to learn in it; may God\nhelp him. I find all my past experience useful. Our lessons are\nsometimes very disagreeable, but only let God our heavenly Father be our\nteacher, and they will all prove profitable. How kind God's people are\nto you, dear mother. It is a great comfort to me to know that so many\nshow you kindness. May God bless them for it. Now I must tell you\nsomething more about my visit to Calcutta. It was arranged by Mr.\nStuart, Secretary of the Church Mission Society, that I should have the\nprivilege of an interview with the Governor-General, Sir John Lawrence.\nHis Excellency invited me to breakfast with him on the 2d. He received\nme very kindly, his private secretary read prayers, after which we went\nto breakfast. I was the only stranger present, and he spoke freely on\nthe subject of Kashmir, and the frontiers generally. He asked me many\nquestions, and appeared to take an interest in the mission, to which he\nhas all along contributed. The Government now know the condition of\nKashmir.... Pray much for Kashmir, dear mother. I am sure you will be\nglad to hear that Sir Donald M\u201bLeod, in his report of the cholera which\nraged in the Punjaub last summer, makes honourable mention of the names\nof those who did valuable service during the epidemic; the name of your\nson Willie is in the list! This is a very small matter to us, dearest\nmother. I hope we work from love to Jesus, and never for the praise of\nmen. Still I value the praise of good men; the opinion of bad men I\nreckon as the dust in the balance,\u2013valueless....\n\n\"I have re-opened my dispensary here.... Now may the Lord bless you, and\nkeep you, and comfort you throughout this year.\u2013Your ever loving son.\"\n\nAgain he writes to his mother from the same place:\u2013\n\n\"_6th Feb. 1868._\u2013MY EVER DEAR MOTHER,\u2013I have but a few minutes to write\nto you to-day, but I cannot let the mail go without a line for you. I am\nthankful to say I am well, with the exception of a cold, which is now on\nthe wane. The people are coming to me in ever-increasing numbers; there\nis a wonderfully attractive power in kindness, dearest mother, and God\ndoes enable me to be kind and gentle with those poor people. Oh that\nthey only knew the true God and Jesus,\u2013the loving, gentle One.\n\n\"I have just heard good news.... A gentleman of great ability and\nChristian character has been appointed as Resident in Kashmir this year.\nHis name is the Hon. Mr. Roberts, C.B., Judicial Commissioner of the\nPunjaub. I hope the day of liberty for my poor groaning Kashmiris is\nnear at hand; they are doubly enslaved; they need political as well as\nreligious liberty. God helping me, I shall do my utmost to put them in\npossession of both. What a delicious pleasure to be helpful in breaking\none link in the chains of the slave! Pray much and earnestly for the\nemancipation of Kashmir.\n\n\"May the rich blessing of God ever rest upon you, to comfort you now and\nto ripen you for glory.\u2013Your ever loving and dutiful son, WILLIE.\"\n\nA few days later he writes as follows to Colonel Lake:\u2013\n\n\"_Amritsar, 22d February, 1868._\u2013You ask me to give you further\ninformation respecting the work of last season, and the time I have\nspent since I left Kashmir. If I remember rightly, my last letter to you\nwas dated about July of last year, just at the time when cholera was at\nits acme in Srinagar. It raged furiously the whole of that month; and\nalthough the type of the epidemic was not of a very virulent nature,\nstill great numbers were carried off. It was especially fatal among\nwomen and children. Towards the beginning of August, the virulence of\nthe disease had decidedly abated, and by the end of that month, scarcely\na case occurred in the whole city. It had entirely left the city by the\n15th September. The epidemic, therefore, lasted from the 8th June till\nthe 15th September, a duration of more than three months. It is very sad\nto have to state, that the local authorities, with unheard-of cruelty, did\nall in their power to prevent me visiting the poor, pestilence-stricken\ninhabitants of Srinagar. They had the effrontery to request the\nBritish Resident to prohibit my frequenting the city for the\npurpose of visiting the sick. This, he said, he would not do. I feel\nquite sure that, had the local Government acceded to my offer to\nco-operate with them in battling the common enemy, the mortality would\nhave been less, with God's blessing on our efforts. But, as I said, they\ndid everything in their power to prevent and frustrate my efforts to\nassist the poor people, who were left in the hands of the ignorant,\ncruel, and mercenary Hakims. The neglect, cruelty, and rapacity which I\nwitnessed during that epidemic are inconceivable. As a specimen, I may\nmention this fact: When the cholera was at its worst, it was announced\nin the city, that His Highness the Maharajah had discovered an effectual\ncure for the disease. This cure consisted of a printed _manthar_ or\ncharm, which was to be repeated, and pasted above the doors of the\nhouses. This charm, it was announced, was not only curative, but\npreventive also. Each copy cost four annas (sixpence), and was to be had\nat the Maharajah's post-office. I went and bought several copies. I have\nthem in my possession now. Large numbers of the Hindoos bought them;\nbut, poor people, they soon discovered their inefficiency. I could\nmention more things of a piece with this, but space forbids.\"\n\n\"_Amritsar, March 28th, 1868._\u2013TO HIS MOTHER.\u2013I am now preparing for\nanother campaign in Kashmir, and have closed the Dispensary in Amritsar\nto-day. I purpose going by the same route as last year. I send you a\nphotograph of one of the passes which we shall have to cross.\n\n\"In Amritsar, the Medical Mission Dispensary was open from the 23d\nJanuary till the 28th March, 1868, during which time five hundred and\nfifty-seven patients were treated. The mode of conducting the operations\nof the Dispensary was similar to that followed in Kashmir. One Mussulman\nand one Hindu were greatly roused by the preaching of the Gospel; may\nthey have no rest till they find it in Jesus.\"\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XIV.\n\nFOURTH YEAR'S WORK IN KASHMIR.\n\n\nThe following short note from Dr. Elmslie to his mother forms a suitable\nintroduction to another season's work in Kashmir:\u2013\n\n\"_Srinagar, Kashmir, 14th May 1868_\u2013.... I am once more in Kashmir, in\nmy old house on the banks of the broad-bosomed Jhelum. I travelled from\nthe Punjaub by the Rattan Pir,\u2013many an extensive field of snow I had to\ncross, many a stiff climb to make. We had some interesting meetings with\nsick on the way, and now my dispensary is in full working order in\nSrinagar. The people are flocking to me. I have heard rumours of\nopposition, but as yet have not experienced it this year. The common\npeople love me, and hear me gladly; it is a very sweet thing to be loved\nby the poor and needy. The demand for shawls is low just now, and the\nconsequence is that there is much distress among the shawl makers. They\nare selling work at half its proper value, in order to save themselves\nfrom starving.\n\n\"TO C. J. RODGERS, ESQ.\u2013My mental food on the journey was Boswell's Life\nof Johnson. It has given me many a good laugh, and much instruction. It\nis a delightful book. How severe the old lexicographer is on the Scotch!\nNever mind, we can bear it. All he says is sheer abuse, and will not\nharm us.\n\n\"TO MRS. CLEGHORN.\u2013I arrived here on the 1st instant, and have now my\ndispensary in vigorous working order. How I long to be allowed to settle\nhere, and to carry on my work without these periodical breaks! I am like\nNoah's dove. The work greatly suffers by these frequent interruptions;\nas you can easily fancy. Will you make this a matter of prayer? I long\nfor an hospital too; that is another desideratum for both the medical\nand the spiritual work. If you saw the shifts I have to make, you would\nbe amazed and smile. But I firmly believe that there is a better day in\nstore for poor Kashmir. I need not now tell you of my griefs and\ndisappointments and discouragements; suffice it to say, I have all\nthese. But should we expect to be different from our Divine Lord? It is\nenough for the disciple to be as his Lord. I count upon your prayers.\n\n\"One of the two converts of last season is reported to have died in\nAmritsar, shortly after his arrival there. They say he died declaring\nhis firm faith in Jesus. The other convert must have left Amritsar\nbefore my return, for I was unable to find him.\"\n\n\"_Journal, Sunday, May 10th._\u2013Church in the morning. Many pretty things\nin the sermon, but little theology. I had my old friends the blind and\nlame for their service in the afternoon, and distributed alms among\nthem. In the evening feasted on Conybeare and Howson's Life of St. Paul,\ntaking notes of all that is most valuable in the book. Received letters\nfrom Dr. Bell, E. M. M. S., and from Brinckman; greatly tempted to open\nthem.\"\n\nDr. Elmslie never opened his letters on Sabbath, fearing lest some of\ntheir contents should be of such a nature as might distract his mind\nfrom spiritual things; he often found good reason to confirm him in this\npractice.\n\n\"_Journal._\u2013Help me, O Father, in striving to do Thy will! Make my every\nmotive pure! May love to Christ be the grand motive power within me! I\nthink I have some genuine love to my precious Saviour, but it is not\nenough, alas! it is deplorably small; O increase it, Lord!\"\n\nTo a friend he writes,\u2013\"I am sorry to hear you say you are cold. You\nmust be in the shade. Come out into the _sunshine_. Coldness is a sign\nof diminished vitality, and if your spiritual vitality is lessened, then\nthere must be some obstructing cause at work preventing the vitalizing\nsap from flowing out of the great Root into you, one of the branches.\nMake an examination, and may you detect the baneful cause, and have\ngrace given you to remove it immediately.\"\n\n\"_13th._\u2013Had a large reception of sick in early morning. Resumed study\nof Kashmiri with my pundit. Dined with \u2013\u2013 in the evening. I thank Thee,\nO God, for any measure of boldness Thou didst give me to speak out on\nseveral points.\n\n\"_14th._\u2013Began class with dressers and assistant for the study of\nMateria Medica and Chemistry. Two sepoys attended the reception for the\nsick to-day; they were importunate in imploring me to help them to get\naway, for out of their nominal wage of six chilkies a month, they never\nreceive more than three. Saw a lovely fire-fly this evening, a rare\nthing here.\n\n\"_18th._\u2013Number of patients very large to-day. Several operations.\nLambardar of Islamabad present, from whom I removed a cancerous tumour\nin the neck two years ago; no appearance of return of cancer. Taught my\nassistants and studied Kashmiri as usual. I am told that Nasir Shah has\nprohibited the people from attending the Medical Mission Dispensary. If\na woman go, she is to be divorced from her husband; if a man go, he is\nto be divorced from his wife. He is the leading Mussulman judge of the\ncity, and is spreading reports that the Doctor Sahib makes his medicines\nof swine's flesh and blood. Before a marriage is celebrated the\nofficiating priest reads a proclamation that if either man or woman go\nto the Doctor Sahib, there will be a divorce!\n\n\"_19th._\u2013A poor sepoy came to the dispensary some days ago complaining\nof severe pain; on examination, it was found that he is suffering from a\nlarge abdominal aneurism. He told me he had been ordered off to Gilghil.\nI wrote a short certificate stating that he was utterly unfit for such a\njourney. He came to-day and told me he had shown his certificate to his\nColonel, and that he had fined him a year's pay, ordering him to set out\nfor Gilghil tomorrow; 3,000 sepoys have already gone.\n\n\"News from home not good; my mother is ill. Have written to ask the\nCommittee to sanction my return home next cold season. If this is right,\nI ask God to grant it; if not for His glory, I sincerely trust that my\nrequest may fall to the ground.\n\n\"_28th._\u2013A large gathering of sick to-day. I feel nervous, and\nirritable, and restless. O God, give me strength and grace, let Thy\nblessing rest upon me in my work, or rather in Thy work, which Thou hast\nbeen pleased to entrust to my care.\n\n\"_29th._\u2013W. M., merchant, called on me to-day, to ask when the great\nSahib was coming to Kashmir to dispense justice. He told me that there\nis no tariff of taxes, but that each official may charge what pleases\nhim at the time, and according to the influence and tact which the\nmerchant may have. On the Murree and Abbottabad roads the merchant is\ncompelled to unpack his goods at each stage, and the officer on duty has\npower to make him pay anything he pleases. This man takes shawls and\ncloth from Kashmir to Persia, selling them there for money and precious\nstones, especially turquoises. He replied in answer to my question, as\nto what would make Kashmir prosperous, that a code of good laws, or a\nchange in the administrators of those laws would be necessary. He added\nthat if the Maharajah would reign in person and afford opportunities for\nthe poor to make their wrongs known to himself, the state of the country\nwould be very different; the great Mogul Emperors took an active part in\nthe business of the State, and ever lent a ready ear to the complaints\nof the poor. Where fidelity and principle are low, it is absolutely\nnecessary that the ruler of a State should exercise keen scrutiny over\nhis subordinates. In the evening I had an interesting conversation with\nSher Ali Khan, on one remarkable feature of Christianity, _i.e._, that\nit takes cognizance of the thoughts and intents of the heart of man\u2013that\nit deals primarily with them.\n\n\"_30th._\u2013Went with my assistants to the Nasim Bagh, where there is a\ngrove of most beautiful Chinar trees, planted by one of the Mogul\nEmperors. We visited the prison on the Dal lake, and saw some men boring\na four pounder\u2013they can make an eight pounder, but no larger. Saw men\nbruising grain by means of a grinding stone driven by water. I was told\nthat there were no prisoners in jail at present, that the Maharajah had\ncaused the prisoners' quarters to be pulled down. I ascertained that\nthere were between two and three hundred prisoners within the prison\nboundaries, but the officials were afraid of their making complaints of\nthe treatment which they receive from their keepers; it is said to be\nvery cruel. The lake is covered with water-lilies just now.\n\n\"_Sabbath, 31st._\u2013One hundred and sixty-two patients today. One man told\nme that his brother had beaten a cow so that blood had been drawn. He\nwas cast into prison, and previous to the arrival of the English, had\nbeen removed he knew not where.\n\n\"Received letters from my brother, from Acklom, and from Dr. Farquhar.\nIt is very remarkable that my most welcome letters usually come on\nSundays, as if to tempt me to open them. Have felt happy to-day, and had\nmuch of the spirit of prayer. My text for to-day\u2013'He is faithful that\npromised.'\"\n\n\"_Srinagar, 6th May, 1868._\u2013MY EVER DEAR MOTHER, (After some advices and\nexpressions of sorrow about her failing health, he writes): Those\ninfirmities of age will not pass away\u2013will rather increase. Happy\nthought it is that those very infirmities are but carriers to the shores\nof a better land, where there is full, perfect, and endless joy. It is\nthis hope which gives resplendent glory to the sunset of the ransomed\nsoul.\"\n\nOn the 9th of June 1868, he writes to Lieut. Acklom:\u2013... \"The opposition\nthis year to my work in Kashmir is very much less than last. This is\nshown beyond a doubt, by our numbers. Last year up to this date we had\nthree hundred and ten patients, this year during the same time the\nnumbers on the roll are seven hundred and fifty-nine. The mission this\nyear, so far as numbers go, is more prosperous than it has ever been.\nFor this I give God hearty thanks. The devil seemed to make a gigantic\neffort to crush us, but thanks be to God, we still live and work. Your\nlast letter was precious to me; how marvellous it is that we who are in\nourselves impure, and unworthy, are nevertheless in the sight of God\nperfectly holy and worthy, on account of the perfect holiness and\ninfinite worthiness of our adorable Divine Redeemer which are imputed to\nus. Christ is our righteousness, as well as our everything else. Are we\nnot prone to forget this precious cheering Bible truth? Hence the\nfeebleness and gloom of many of God's people. The more we identify\nourselves with Christ, the holier, the happier, and the stronger we\nbecome, for He is our righteousness, He is our joy, He is our rock. The\nChristian needs to know the depravity, and the desperate wickedness of\nhis own heart, but having _known_ it somewhat, he requires to be ever\nlooking unto Jesus in whom we and God are revealed. Look steadily to\nJesus, dear Acklom, there sin is revealed, there love is revealed; there\nis no danger of your forgetting your sins and their deserts if you look\nto Jesus. Some say there is danger, but this is a great mistake, for\nJesus is the price\u2013the infinitely valuable price which the loving Father\ngave to atone for our sins, and to enable the Father, without doing\nviolence to His attributes of justice and holiness, to pardon, justify,\nand save such sinful and unworthy creatures as we are. What beauty and\nharmony there are in the Gospel scheme as made known to us in the\ninfallible word of God!\"\n\nTo the same,\u2013\"_Srinagar, 8th July, 1868_.\u2013I should say that the two\nsurest signs of a man's being a true Christian, are _growth_ and\n_gladness_\u2013growth in the Christian life,\u2013the Christian graces\u2013growth\nmanifest to the man's own consciousness, and manifest too to his fellow\nChristians; and gladness rooted and grounded on what Christ, God's own\nwell beloved Son, has done for him, suffered for him in Gethsemane and\nCalvary, and is now doing for him at God's right hand in heaven. There\nis something wrong when a Christian is not a happy man. Considering\neverything he ought to be the happiest of men. For myself I know that\nwhenever I have lost that serene and inexpressible feeling of a full and\nfilling joy, it has been caused by some cloud of unbelief, a looking\naway from Jesus, a surrendering to the world or the devil, a forgetting\nof the grand work of life. The Christian's joy is not a boisterous joy,\nbut is like the calm sunset peacefulness which pervades this fair valley\nin the '_gloamin_.'\"\n\n\"_Srinagar, August, 1868._\u2013MY DEAR THOMSON,\u2013I was grieved to learn that\nyou had been compelled to leave home in search of health. Three lectures\nin one week, and then a ducking into the bargain! The old Martha spirit,\nThomson\u2013the bustle and the lots of service. O that we could mix the\nMartha and the Mary. What an excellent compound they do make. To\ninfluence the world we need to be _full_, and running over with faith\nand love. To be so we must often, Jesus-like, repair to the mountain\nside, or desert place, _alone_. It is often a great blessing for a\nChristian man to be laid aside for a little from the busy engrossing\npursuits of this high-pressure life, which in these days we are forced\nto live. Even the Christian life is not exempt from this pernicious\nfeature of our age. God did not stop your work; He only modified it for\na season, and made praying your working. Doubtless the workers in prayer\nare most successful. I often wish I had half a dozen old, faithful,\nloving, lonely women, praying for me and my work. But though a _visit_\nto the desert may refresh, we must not stay there, for sinners\nnow-a-days won't come after us as they went after John; and so I hope\ndear Mrs. Thomson and you are again in the pit digging for diamonds. I\nentirely agree with you in your remarks on the relative position which\npiety and cleverness should hold in the medical missionary character.\nWithout any doubt, piety first, and then attainment. Nothing but the\ncable of love to our precious Saviour, will be able to keep us fast to\nour moorings in these stormy days. I have scarcely left time to speak\nabout my own work. So far as numbers go, this is by far the most\nsuccessful year of the Kashmir Medical Mission. We have treated nearly\n2000 patients during the last two months. Opposition at present is\n_asleep_, only asleep and nothing more. It cheers me greatly to know\nthat you remember me and Kashmir in your prayers.\"\n\n\"_Srinagar, 24th August, 1868._\u2013MY DEAR ACKLOM,\u2013It is too bad of me to\nbe so dilatory in writing to you, but the truth is, I have been in a sea\nof troubles. My native doctor I found out to be a great thief, and I\ngave him his leave immediately. This of course increased our work very\ngreatly. He was also a '_din-raiser_' and succeeded admirably. I fear he\nhas completely spoiled one of my native dressers,\u2013Thomas,\u2013whose conduct\nthis season has been far from satisfactory.... You complain of a cold\nheart! The fact is our hearts\u2013all human hearts\u2013are as fickle as April or\nthe thermometer. It is well to remember that the connection between our\nbody and our affections is very intimate, and very often extremely\ndisadvantageous to the Christian. A heavy dinner, a sluggish liver, or\nconstipated bowels, will frequently freeze our affections, or rather\nmake them as flat as thunder does beer. But let us not brood over the\ncoldness. Our union to our blessed Saviour, and our possession of\neternal life through His merits, does not depend upon, or vary with our\nfeelings and affections,\u2013were it so, this would make salvation like\nJoseph's coat, of many colours. Remember Jesus' dying words, for they\nare very precious, '_It is finished_.' What is finished? Man's\nsalvation. It is sad to think that we sinners, for whom the glorious\nJehovah gave up His only begotten Son, should have cold ungrateful\nhearts towards Him who gave so much for us. _The place to warm our\nhearts is the cross._\"...\n\n\"_Srinagar, 2d October, 1868._\u2013TO REV. MR. MALLETT.\u2013Don't you think we\nare apt to forget that we have not yet finished our spiritual education?\nWe are apt to forget that in all that befalls us, our heavenly Father is\nmaking everything subservient and conducive to our spiritual nourishment\nand growth in grace. What we need, you and I, M., is more of that\nspirit\u2013that Christ-like spirit, which, looking lovingly and confidingly\nup into the Father's benign face, ever says, 'Father, not my will but\nThine be done.' If there is matter for thankfulness on my part in your\nletter, there is in my circumstances much which ought to make _you_\nthankful when you compare your lot with mine. Here I am almost as lonely\nas John in Patmos. Without a tender loving wife to cheer me with her\nhearty sympathy. This great blessing _you_ have, and doubtless you feel\nvery grateful to God for the blessing. How expansive our capacity for\nhappiness is. In all probability before you were married, you thought if\nyou only had a wife you would be contented and happy. You got the wife,\nand now want something else. And doubtless if you got that something\nelse, you would long for something more. Don't you think that this fact\nof our spiritual nature points to the strong probability of there being\na future state? This is an argument apart from the Scriptures. This\nthought in passing.\"...\n\n\"_Srinagar, 5th October, 1868._\u2013MY DEAR MOTHER,\u2013Long ere now you will\nhave got my letter, in which I tell you that although the Church\nMissionary Society in Salisbury Square, London, have most generously\ngranted me permission to visit home this cold season, instead of next\nwinter, according to agreement, I have after much thought and prayer,\ndecided on _not_ going home till the close of next year, as was\npreviously arranged.... I am busy collecting materials to make a\nDictionary of the Kashmiri language, of which there is not one. I hope\nwhen I come home, to employ part of my time in having it published....\nThen again, dearest mother, one or two natives are in a very promising\nreligious condition. I should like to be with them a little longer\nbefore making a considerable break in my visits to the valley.... I feel\ngreatly drawn to this unfortunate country and people. The power of\nsympathy and kind deeds has very greatly melted their prejudice,\nbigotry, and ill will, and gained for the precious Gospel a patient and\ndispassionate hearing. The people generally now consider me their\nfriend, and it would do your old heart good, and lift it up in warm\ngratitude to God, to hear the poor people praying for blessings on the\nhead of your dear Willie. This is all God's doing, for He alone has\ngiven me a heart willing and capable to sympathise with these poor\npeople, and to help them in their distress. I know that my presence here\nhas some influence for good on the heartless, bigoted, and tyrannical\ngovernment which rules over this most beautiful country. Pray much for\nus, dearest mother.\"\n\nA few days before closing the dispensary, Dr. Elmslie wrote a long\nletter to Mrs. Lake, from which the following passages are taken:\u2013\n\n\"_Srinagar, 12th October, 1868._\u2013I fear medical missions are not likely\nsoon to spread in the Punjaub, or, indeed, anywhere else. Men and money\nare so scarce. You will be sorry to learn that nothing has, as yet, been\ndone with respect to the training of native medical missionaries. I\nrefer to the Lahore Medical Missionary Training Institution. I think the\nfriends of this most needful and feasible scheme are waiting to see the\ngood people of the North-West carry out their intention of setting on\nfoot such an Institution. I think this delay is a pity, because their\nsuccess is not likely to benefit the Punjaub. They will have enough to\ndo to supply home, not to speak of exporting. And I fear, even if the\nInstitution of the North-West prove a success, that we in the Punjaub\nshall not be able to prevail upon our Punjaubi converts to go all the\nway to Agra or Allahabad for their medical education. Besides, in my\nopinion, this is altogether unnecessary, seeing we have a good Medical\nSchool in Lahore.\n\n\"You and Colonel Lake will be happy to learn that this year, so far as\nmedicine and surgery are concerned, has been very successful,\u2013indeed,\nthe most successful year the mission has yet seen. From the 8th May last\ntill the 12th October, to-day, a period of five months and four days,\n4161 individual patients have received medical and surgical aid at the\nMission Dispensary. All these persons have heard the gospel, more or\nless, and many of them have obtained books. Many of these people come\nvery considerable distances. We have had several merchants from the\ninterior of Asia as patients. Some of these have seen the Russians. But\nnearly the whole of the number are Kashmiris, living in the valley or on\nthe surrounding mountains. Those people are much less bigoted than\nformerly. We can speak to them much more freely and plainly, without\nfear of offending them, and a very large number of the inhabitants of\nthe valley, both high and low, now look upon us as their friends, and,\nin their difficulties and sorrows, come to us for advice and sympathy.\n\n\"As to decided converts, there is none this season. One family is in a\nvery hopeful condition, as also my pundit. They are nothing more than\nhopeful. May God reveal Himself in Christ to them, and influence their\nhearts with love to Him, for what He has done for them.\n\n\"A little progress is being made in the valley. The first school\nestablished in Kashmir by the Maharajah has just been opened. Its\nhistory is the following. The father of the family of which I have\nalready spoken, was particularly desirous that his two sons, two very\nfine lads, should learn a little English. He asked me if I would teach\nthem. I said I had not time to do so, for my medical and other duties;\nbut I would allow one of my assistants, who knew a little English, to\nteach his sons. One of the two lads has been very regular in his\nattendance, and has made some progress. A report of all this was carried\nto the Diwan, the Maharajah's representative in the valley. Thereafter,\na vigorous effort was made to get the father to give up sending his son\nto the mission bungalow to learn English. The effort failed, however.\nThe father, I must tell you, is a Pathan, and is not so much afraid of\nthe Kashmir Government as indigenous Kashmiris generally are. The\nMaharajah, in due time, received a full account of all that was going\non; and His Highness, after some time, gave orders for the opening of a\nschool for the teaching of Arabic, and desired the Diwan to try to\nprevail upon Sher Ali, my Pathan friend, to desist from sending his sons\nto the Doctor Sahib to receive instruction in English. In this effort, I\nam happy to say, the Diwan has failed. The boys come daily to us. This\nclass for Arabic, got up primarily to decoy Sher Ali's sons away from\nus, is the _first Government school_ the valley has seen during the\nreign of Gulab Sing and his son, the present Maharajah. The class, I am\ntold, is intended exclusively for the sons of those who may be called\nthe nobility of Kashmir. It is a pity the language was not Persian, and\nthe school intended for any who was willing to attend. This is trying to\nboil the kettle from above.\"\n\nThe dispensary was closed on the 19th October, and Dr. Elmslie and his\nassistants returned to Amritsar.\n\nShortly after his arrival in Amritsar, he had a pretty smart attack of\nfever, to which he thus refers.\n\n\"_Amritsar, 22d December, 1868._\u2013MY DEAR MALLETT,\u2013I would have written\nto you before this time, had I not been in the sick list for the last\nthree weeks. I have had a very sharp blow of intermittent fever, which\nhas extracted all the pith out of me, besides running off with a good\nmany pounds of my flesh. However, I am mending rapidly now, and expect\nsoon to be myself again\u2013I mean as to strength. The less we are ourselves\nthe better, dear Mallett. Oh, to be more Christ-like, to have more of\nHis wise, humble, submissive, loving mind. The mind of Christ! What a\ntreasure to have! May our heavenly Father graciously grant you and me\nmore and more of it.... I have _put off_ my visit home for another year.\nThe parent Society (Church Missionary Society) were most gracious in\ngranting me leave to go home this cold season. A whole year sooner than\nthe time specified when I left England. How is God's work prospering\nwith you? Dear Mallett, let me wish you and Mrs. Mallett a very happy\nChristmas and New Year. If the dear Saviour is present with you, then\nassuredly Christmas cannot but be happy. For if we have everything else,\nand want Jesus, then the season is no _Christmas_, but a worldly and\nsensual occasion. May the Master preside at His own feast, and make you\nHis guests really happy.\"\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XV.\n\nWAYSIDE MINISTRIES AND WORK IN KASHMIR.\n\n\nThe work of Dr. Elmslie since he came to India, has been detailed so\nfully, that a brief notice of this his fifth year's labours may suffice.\nIn Amritsar the dispensary was opened in the cold season as usual, and\nupwards of six hundred patients were treated, surgically and medically.\nWhen it was closed, he again betook himself to Srinagar to toil amongst\nhis much loved Kashmiris.\n\n\"_Srinagar, 7th May, 1869._\u2013MY DEAREST MOTHER,\u2013Just before departing\nfrom Lahore on the 14th April, I wrote a brief letter to you, telling\nyou I was well and happy, and was to start for Kashmir for the fifth\ntime. I am now, dearest mother, able to tell you that our heavenly\nFather has vouchsafed to me and the mission servants, a safe journey\nover those lofty mountains that raise their snow-covered heads so\nproudly up to heaven. Last year, or the year before, I gave you some\nparticulars respecting this interesting route. You may remember that I\nmentioned that the road by which I have come to Kashmir this year, was\nthe route followed by those splendid emperors who lived in Delhi as\ntheir capital, and ruled over nearly the whole of India. All along the\nroute there are remains\u2013ruins\u2013of their serais or rest-houses, and right\nimperial those wayside inns must have been in the days of yore. But the\nglory hath departed, and the imagination has now to people them with\nemperors and their queens and their gorgeous retinues. You may remember\ntoo, that I told you formerly that we have to cross two mountain passes\nthat lie in our way. The first one is called the Pass of the Ratan Pir,\nwhich is some seven thousand feet above the level of the sea, and is\ncovered with the dark green pine and the beautiful rhododendron. The\nother pass is that of the Haji Pir, and is about seven thousand four\nhundred feet above the sea. This pass is neither so beautiful nor so\neasy to cross, for in ascending to it we had to make steps out of the\nsnow that lay on its face. And then on reaching the ridge, mile upon\nmile of dazzling white snow lay before us. It is impossible to do\njustice to the view. It was one of surpassing grandeur, purifying and\nelevating the soul to that glorious and almighty God, who by the word of\nHis power had called this beauty and grandeur into existence. One would\nthink that the inhabitants of this lovely valley, and those grand lofty\nmountains would be purified, and have their devotional feelings raised\nto God their Creator. But sad to tell it is not so. The extensive,\nunsurpassed, and varied beauty and grandeur with which they are ever\nsurrounded, falls upon them without effect, as if they had no more soul\nthan the beasts that perish. If I remember rightly, I sent you a\nphotograph of the snowy Haji Pir Pass. We reached Srinagar on the 30th\nApril, having been a fortnight on the march, which, as has been my wont,\nI did on foot, walking every inch of the way. On the march, at each\nhalting place, we gave notice that we should see all the sick who should\ncome to us, and prescribe for them. This news soon brought us an\ninteresting group of patients with their friends, some of them as usual\ncoming from great distances. The Gospel of life and love was then\npreached to those perishing ones. Some listened wonderingly, others\nlistened unbelievingly and unaffectedly. But the message of life through\nJesus Christ, God's own dear and well-beloved Son, was preached, and the\nseed of the Word may have fallen into the rifts of some rocky hearts,\nand may at some future time spring up and come to fruit to the praise\nand glory of God. My work, dearest mother, is very much that of a sower.\nI may never see much of the fruit of my labours. Blessed be God, He has\nvouchsafed to let me see some,\u2013some among my own countrymen, and some\namong the heathen. An officer in the army, and one who is related to the\nhighest authorities in India, has come all the way to Kashmir to see me,\nbecause he regards me as his spiritual father. God blessed to his soul a\ndiscussion which I had with a gentleman, one night at dinner, two years\nago. What a glory it is to receive from God, to be the means, in the\nhands of the Holy Spirit, of leading a sin-laden soul to Jesus, the\nDivine burden-bearer. I tell you these things, dearest mother, to cheer\nand comfort you. After considerable delay and trouble, I got my\ndispensary into working order, and began operations yesterday. You will\nbe happy to learn that the attendance yesterday was larger than it ever\nwas before, on the first day of the season.\u2013Your own loving, and dutiful\nson, WILLIE.\"\n\n\"_Journal, 6th May._\u2013To-day opened dispensary. I, and Qadir Bakhsh, and\nthe two dressers met in the dispensary, and all kneeling down, implored\nthe blessing of that God whose servants we are. I felt much affected,\nand had my heart greatly drawn out in prayer. I felt my joy and faith\nincreased. After thus placing ourselves and the work in God's hands, we\nwent to the tent pitched on the lawn behind the mission bungalow, and\nthere were found sixteen patients with their friends assembled. Part of\nthe Sermon on the Mount was read to the suffering and interesting little\ngroup, who were seated on the velvety grass; and briefly, simply, and\npractically explained to them. The quiet and the attention of the little\ncompany were marked. After the short address, a brief prayer was offered\nup for the Divine blessing, and this ended the religious exercises. The\nmedical and surgical part of the proceedings then began. One of the\npatients present was the brother of the chief judge of the valley.\n\n\"_10th May._\u2013A large turn out of patients to-day. Began an hour earlier.\nSnow rapidly melting on the mountains. Have bread as good as English\nevery day. Had greens to-day to dinner. No potatoes, because too dear.\nAir fragrant with the odour of the Iris. The Iris is generally found\ncovering the graves of the Mussulmans\u2013three kinds, the white, the\npurple, the yellow. I am greatly cheered by the remarkably unusual\nspirit of inquiry that prevails among the people, both Hindoos and\nMussulmans. All day long some one is present, with the catechist,\nhearing him read and expound the Gospel, or discussing with him on the\nsubject of religion. Never before have I seen such readiness to converse\non religious subjects as this. May the Lord bring many to a saving\nknowledge of the truth as it is in Jesus.\n\n\"_11th May._\u2013A large turn out of patients. Numbers important, because\nmore hear the Gospel. This afternoon there was a dense mist over the\nvalley.\n\n\"_15th May._\u2013Heavy rain this morning, and in consequence, a small number\nof patients present. At Kashmiri the most of the day. The change in the\npeople for the better is most remarkable. God be praised.\n\n\"_16th May._\u2013Heavy work this morning, from the large number of patients.\nMust take the women and the men on alternate days. The pundits are\ngreatly at a loss to account for my annual visit to the valley. Other\ndoctors, they say, came to Kashmir for one, or at most perhaps two\nyears; they go away and are no more heard of, but the Daktar Sahib comes\nevery year. This is wonderful. At worship in forenoon and evening, had\nmy heart much drawn out in prayer.\n\n\"_17th May._\u2013Astonished the people twice to-day, by quoting two of their\nown proverbs correctly, in their own language, and appositely. I must\npush on with my study of the Kashmiri proverbs.\"\n\nThe following particulars are from Dr. E.'s last report:\u2013\n\n\"It is greatly to be deplored that the Medical Mission, notwithstanding\nits charitable and beneficent character, still unavoidably labours under\ngreat difficulties, from want of permanent and suitable hospital and\ndispensary buildings.\n\n\"The patients who frequent the Medical Mission Dispensary generally\nbelong to the lower and middle classes. But last season, two of the\nhigher officials of the valley, who had been ill for some time, and had\nspent considerable sums of money on their native hakims, but were\nnothing bettered, at last applied in their helplessness to the Medical\nMission Dispensary, and, after taking appropriate remedies for a time,\nwere both restored to perfect health, and as no fees are taken from\ndispensary patients, they are held perpetual debtors to the mission.\n\n\"From the 6th May, when the dispensary was opened, till the 25th of\nOctober, 169 receptions for the sick were held, and 3,902 patients\nreceived surgical and medical treatment. The average daily attendance of\nnew patients was therefore twenty-three, and as the number of individual\nvisits paid during the season was 15,579, the average daily attendance\nof old and new patients was ninety-three. Each patient, on an average,\nvisited the dispensary four times.\n\n\"In the evangelistic branch of the mission's operations, much precious\nseed was sown. God grant that it may not remain fruitless. In no former\nseason were demands for copies of the Holy Scriptures, and other\nreligious books, so numerous and importunate. The works of the Rev.\nMoulvie Imad ud din, of the Amritsar Mission, were in especial request.\nTwo Mullahs or Mussulman priests, who had heard of his well-known work,\nthe 'Hidaiyat ul Musulmin,' came to the dispensary from a distant part\nof the surrounding mountains to obtain a copy.\n\n\"The Sunday afternoon meetings with the beggars and incurably blind and\nlame of Srinagar were held regularly, as in former seasons. Every Sunday\nafternoon at one o'clock, from sixty to eighty of those unfortunates\nassembled on the lawn behind the mission bungalow, or near to the\nmission tents.\n\n\"Several Kashmiris were, as far as man could see, in a hopeful religious\nstate; but the character of the people, and the government of the valley\nbeing what it is, great caution must be exercised in forming a judgment\nfrom appearances for a short time. However, two male adults, of those\nwho had been in the habit of frequenting the mission during the season,\ndeclared themselves Christians, and quitted the valley in the month of\nNovember to go to the Punjaub, as it is impossible, under present\ncircumstances, for a native Christian to remain in Kashmir during the\nwinter months.\n\n\"_Srinagar 28th June, 1869._\u2013DEAR MRS. THOMSON,\u2013Yours of the 1st April\nlast reached me all safe, and received a hearty welcome. I hope the trip\nto Biarritz has completely established the doctor's health; but\n_soldiers_ must not think much about health, but go and do what their\ncaptain commands, leaving health, and life, and all things in God's\nhands. It is very cheering to hear of recruits coming to fill up the\ngaps which are ever being made in the ranks. When will this cry\ncease?\u2013only when the native Christian Church takes firm root in those\nlands whither Christian Europe and America are sending agents. What a\npity it is that many of those western recruits appear desirous of\nperpetuating the present needy and feeble state of the Church in the\nEast. Would that the natives of India, China, Africa, and the islands of\nthe sea, were strong enough to carry on their Christian war, unaided\nfrom without. It is pleasing to know that the native ranks are being\nfilled up with men of the right stamp\u2013men of courage, faith, and holy\nzeal. You have, doubtless, heard long ago of Dr. Gray's death in\nRajpootana. How brief his career! Was not his death lonely!\u2013lonely as to\nman\u2013but Jesus and the angels may have been in greater force for its\nhuman loneliness. How inscrutable are God's dealings with His people!\nThe cry is for men, and when the men come, many of them are called hence\nbefore they have well begun their great work. Gideon did with his\nhandful of men better than he would have done with his thousands. So\ndoes God. What a privilege it is to be among the number of God's chosen\nones\u2013God's picked men. May we be humble and thankful.\n\n\"I am again busy at work in this fairest spot of God's earth. After a\nvery pleasant journey from Amritsar, over the Himalayas, I arrived here\non the 30th April last, and began work a few days after. On the march to\nthe valley, we had some interesting work\u2013partly medical, and partly\nevangelistic. The mission is becoming so well known in these mountainous\nregions, that the poor people look out for our return in spring, as they\ndo for that of the swallow. The people's knowledge of Christ, and the\nplan of salvation, is yearly growing. I trust there is at least a\nleavening process going on in these mountains\u2013a sowing of seed\u2013precious\nseed\u2013which, when the fulness of time is come, will bear much fruit. The\nmission in the valley is gaining more and more influence, and is being\nfrequented by ever-increasing numbers of sick. I am thankful that our\nnumbers are increasing, because the more bodily sick that come to us,\nthe more spiritually sick hear of the Balm of Gilead and the Great\nPhysician. During last month, the number of individual patients was well\non to a thousand. I have just been writing my report of last year's\nwork, and I see that our numbers increased to 1085 over what they had\nbeen in the previous most successful season as to numbers. What a battle\nof faith and patience I have had to fight here, dear Mrs. Thomson. But\nit is delightful to fight, and to be like to win. There are signs of\nsoftening in the opposition to the mission, I am happy and thankful to\nsay, but I cannot speak definitely of them yet. You will be happy to\nhear of another Kashmiri being brought to Jesus. Lately I heard of an\nold woman\u2013the mother-in-law of one of the native catechists who have\naccompanied me to the valley\u2013having, on her return to her distant\nvillage, after a visit to the medical mission in Srinagar, declared\nherself a Christian, and after some months having fallen asleep in\nJesus. This is the first Kashmiri woman I have heard of to whom the Word\nheard in the medical mission has been blessed. Her old son-in-law, Qadir\nBakhsh, who yearns over his fellow-countrymen, and longs and prays for\ntheir salvation unceasingly, is greatly delighted that his dear relative\ndied in the faith of Jesus. I am writing this letter to you under a\ntent, on the shores of a beautiful lake, near the city of Srinagar. What\nis the reason of this, you will say. Well, I will tell you. Twenty days\nago it began to rain very heavily in the valley, and this continued for\ntwenty-six hours. The consequence was that the river\u2013I believe the\nancient Hydaspes\u2013rose high, and overflowed its banks, and inundated the\nsurrounding country. The Europeans, occupying the married quarters in\nthe station here, were obliged to quit their bungalows, and seek for\nsafety in their boats on the evening after the rain began to fall. As\nthe medical mission bungalow was situated on a higher level, by dint of\ngreat exertions I was able, with assistance, to repel the advancing\nwaters till the morning of the third day of the flood; but on they\nsteadily came, and at last the embankment we had made gave way, and in\nrushed the waters like a flood. In a very short time my out-houses were\nwashed away, and I and my servants had enough to do to get to a boat\nwith a few necessary things. I am glad to say my house stood the angry\nassaults of the water, and at some risk we rescued all the mission\nproperty from it. The river rose fourteen feet above its ordinary level.\nThe valley, as far as you could see, was one extensive lake, with its\nsurface diversified with beautiful clumps of leafy trees. The sight was\none long to be remembered for its great beauty. The loss sustained by\nthe Maharajah and the cultivators of the soil, must be very\nconsiderable, as the first crop of the year was about mature when the\nrain came. The mission bungalow was greatly damaged by the water, but it\nhas been repaired, and I hope to be able to return to it in a few days\nnow. I have been carrying on my work here as well as I can under present\nadverse circumstances. I hope this calamity may turn out for the\nfurtherance of the gospel in Kashmir.\n\n\"As to my coming home, it is still uncertain when I shall leave India.\nIf it were not to see my dear mother, whose health has been very feeble\nfor some months, I don't think I should take advantage of the\nopportunity which I shall have at the end of the year of visiting home,\nfor I am becoming more and more interested in my work and the people,\namongst whom God has seen fit to cast my lot. However, if I do come\nhome, to see you and the doctor, and to tell each other how great things\nthe Lord hath done for our souls, will not be the least of our\npleasures.\"\n\nThe very day Dr. Elmslie penned these lines in Srinagar his mother, over\nand above her usual ailments, was seized with congestion of the lungs,\nwhich, acting on an enfeebled system, carried her in a few days to her\ngrave.\n\nAs Mrs. Elmslie fills a prominent place in this Memoir, it would be\nunseemly to let her pass away without a parting word. Her influence over\nher son for good was unquestionably very great, and he loved and\ncherished her with the most intense affection. For such a mother it\nwould have rejoiced us to record an \"_abundant_ entrance.\" But that\npleasure is denied us. Continued bodily infirmity seems to have weakened\nher naturally strong intellect, and she inclined latterly to brood over\nher absent sons, rather than cultivate communion with a present Saviour,\nand this was not favourable to the life of God in her soul. Still, when\nshe approached her end, there seemed a measure of sunshine on her path.\nThe medical attendant said to her, \"I am sure no message you can leave\nbehind you for your sons will be so acceptable as the assurance that you\ndie with a strong hope of a blessed resurrection, and that all is well\nwith your soul.\" She replied, \"Not a _strong_ hope, but with _a_ hope,\"\nand then she went on to quote several very appropriate promises out of\nthe Word of God.\n\nIn due course the news of her death reached Dr. Elmslie, and, writing to\nhis friend, Mr. Rodgers, he says (17th August 1869):\u2013\"You see, my dear\nRodgers, that I am become one of the mourners. My best and dearest\nfriend on earth is dead\u2013my mother. You can more easily picture to\nyourself my intense grief than I can describe it to you. Since Sabbath\nlast, I scarcely know what I have been about. I have been doing my work,\nbut I have had no mind for it. I was looking forward with great pleasure\nto my going home to see my dear mother, and to gladden her aged heart\nwith the sunshine of my presence and love. But God had different things\nin store for her and me.\" Poor Elmslie had not leisure to brood over his\ndistresses, for at this very time the surgeon of the station took it\ninto his head to run away from Srinagar, alleging, as his reason \"for\ndeserting his post, the unhealthiness of the station! This is extremely\nrich!\" writes Dr. Elmslie. \"Doctors, I thought, were specially for such\nplaces! The result of the doctor's cowardly desertion has been to\nincrease my work very considerably, and that, too, much against my\nwill.\"\n\nDr. Elmslie had for some time been giving his spare moments to a little\nwork, about which he thus writes to the Rev. E. C. Stuart:\u2013\n\n\"_Srinagar, 24th September 1869._\u2013MY DEAR FRIEND,\u2013As I promised in my\nlast letter to you, I despatched by post two days ago a translation in\nKashmiri of Mr. Justice Campbell's list of words and phrases for testing\nthe radical affinities of languages. Will you kindly look over it, and\nif you think it of any value, will you send it to the editor of the\nAsiatic Society's _Journal_. I have purposely made my translation full\non one or two points\u2013fuller, perhaps, than some may think necessary.\nStill, that is an error on the safe side. For example, I have given,\nunder the head of phrases, several translations\u2013some verbal\ntranslations\u2013of the English with the Kashmiri government, and others\nwhere the English meaning is expressed according to the _idiom_, as well\nas the mere rules of Kashmiri grammar. I hope the little paper will be\nof some interest. Of this I am very sure, without any boasting, that it\nis the most correct thing that has been written on the language of this\ninteresting people. The mistakes that have been made by those who have\nwritten on Kashmiri\u2013and two or three persons have done so\u2013are very\namusing. One gentleman, for example, has confounded the verb 'to be'\nwith the termination of the plural. He evidently did not see that his\nteacher gave him the verb 'to be' with the declension of the noun, to\npoint out its, the noun's, gender and number. But enough on this head.\"\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XVI.\n\nTHE TRAINING OF NATIVE MEDICAL MISSIONARIES.\n\n\nIt is now very generally believed, by those interested in the extension\nof the Redeemer's kingdom, that, if Heathendom is ever to be brought\nover to Christ, it must be by _native agents_. Dr. Elmslie was fully\nconvinced of this before he went to Kashmir, and his Indian experience\ndeepened the conviction. He set himself, therefore, to excogitate a plan\nwhereby native medical missionaries might be trained on the spot. He\ndrew up a paper on the subject, which embodies much thought and careful\ninvestigation, and submitted it to the Conference of the Church Mission,\nand also to the Punjaub Medical Missionary Society. The following,\nwithout the introductory sentences, is Dr. Elmslie's paper:\u2013\n\n\"It may interest this Conference to know that, during the past year, I\nhave been asked to aid in establishing a medical mission at no fewer\nthan eight different stations in this extensive province.... To obtain,\nat present, European medical missionaries for these numerous stations in\nthe Punjaub being all but hopeless, it behoves us to look around and see\nwhether or not we cannot, from the material which we already possess,\nsupply, in a great measure at least, our wants in this respect.\n\n\"No one, even for a moment, will maintain that a native agent is, in all\npoints, equal to a European one; but every one will readily admit that,\nas to command of the vernacular, and an intimate acquaintance with the\nmanners, customs, and modes of thought of the inhabitants of this\ncolossal Empire, the former is greatly superior to the latter. What,\ntherefore, is lost in one way is gained in another; and while we are, on\nno account, to slacken our efforts to import as many European agents as\nwe can find, and as the means at our command will allow, it is\nmanifestly wise and expedient on our part, to do our very utmost to rear\nan efficient native medical mission agency.\n\n\"Though the different missions in the Punjaub are young, compared with\nthose of Bengal, Madras, and Bombay, nevertheless, I am led to believe\nthat, with comparative ease, a little band of students, in every way\nqualified as to head and heart, could be mustered from among them.\n\n\"Since my arrival in India, I have heard more than one experienced\nmissionary complain of the considerable difficulty met with in finding\nagreeable and suitable employment for their better gifted and educated\nconverts. If facilities were afforded to this class of native Christians\nto study medicine, with the view of devoting themselves to missionary\nwork in the capacity of doctors, it is highly probable that this\ndifficulty would, in some measure at least, be obviated, and much direct\nChristian power and influence would be utilised and retained within the\npale of the Church, which, as things now are, is, comparatively\nspeaking, lost to her; for, I am given to understand, that many of the\nyoung native Christians of good parts enter Government employ as\nwriters, &c., after quitting the higher mission schools and colleges,\nand thus, of course, their direct influence and help are, to a great\nextent, lost to the Church. This, we think, is more than she can at\npresent afford. She requires to husband her resources, and turn them to\nthe very best account. But further, on this head, in all probability,\nand that at no very distant day, there will be lucrative and influential\nopenings in the large and prosperous cities of the Punjaub for private\nnative physicians and surgeons, who have been educated by European\nteachers, as we find to be the case in the other large cities of the\nEmpire,\u2013for example, in Calcutta, Bombay, Madras, &c.; and it is\nunquestionably most desirable that these openings, when they do occur,\nshould be occupied by native Christian men, whose example and influence\nwill be on the side of Christianity, and not by heathens, who will\nperpetuate and thicken the awful surrounding darkness.\n\n\"With respect to the young medical missionary students, it is\nimperatively incumbent on the ordained missionaries, in charge of the\nmissions from which they are respectively sent, to see well to it that\nthey are really converted men, so far as they are able to judge, and\nhave, more or less, a desire to serve God in direct mission work. Next\nto this all-important and indispensable qualification, I think the\nmedical mission students, before beginning their proper professional\nstudies, should possess a competent knowledge of the English language,\nand be well grounded in the Hindu and Mohammedan controversies, so that,\nwhen favourable opportunities present themselves to them in their\nintercourse with the people, they may be able, in a clear, quiet, and\naffectionate manner, to give a reason for the faith that is in them, and\nto show the glaring errors and absurdities of Hinduism, and the religion\nof the false prophet. That they may do this efficiently, it is\nabsolutely necessary for the students to be intimately acquainted with\ntheir Bibles.\n\n\"But, having found young men suitable, so far as we can judge, as to\nfaith and mental attainments, the next question that forces itself upon\nour notice for consideration is, How are we to give these young men such\na medical education, as will be likely to command the respect and\npatronage of their bigoted and adverse fellow-countrymen? At first\nsight, this is a question which it is not easy to answer. Medicine, both\nas a science and art, has of late years been so extended and developed\nin every branch, that we hold it to be now utterly impossible for one\nman, as formerly, to teach it efficiently and comprehensively. To do so\nrequires a staff of able teachers, an expensive apparatus, and, more or\nless, suitable accommodation, all of which would entail such an enormous\namount of expense, as would put it completely out of our power to\npossess an establishment, solely and exclusively, for medical mission\npurposes. But, most fortunately for the feasibility of our scheme, such\nan establishment already exists, and we need only to avail ourselves of\nits advantages, to procure from it all that we can desire.\n\n\"In the Government Medical College, Lahore, with its experienced and\nChristian Principal, Dr. Scriven, and his able colleagues, we possess a\nmedical school in every way suited to our present purpose. So much\nregarding the medical mission students, and how they are to receive a\nmedical education that will really fit them for the very responsible\nduties of their profession.\n\n\"But further, with whom are the medical students to reside, during their\nstay in the capital and attendance at college? Who is to be their\nhelper, counsellor, and true friend, when they are far away from those\nwho had previously been all that to them? And who, above all things, is\nto cherish the missionary spirit in them, and show them how to apply\ntheir medical and surgical knowledge and skill to the spread of the\ngospel? It appears to me that no one is nearly so well qualified for\nthis most important work as one who is himself performing the functions\nof the medical missionary. In addition to the discharge of this duty,\nthe medical missionary would have ample time to carry on extensive\nmedical mission work in Lahore. Indeed, for the proper and complete\ntraining of the medical missionary students, it is unquestionably\nindispensable that he should do so. As some difficulty may be\nexperienced, at least for some time, in finding a suitable agent for\nthis important post, and as the necessary funds for carrying on this\npart of the present plan may not be realisable just now, one of the\nAmerican missionaries resident in Lahore might be requested to allow the\nstudents to live in his compound, and to take a friendly and Christian\ninterest in them, till a medical missionary arrives from home to assume\nthe whole superintendence.\n\n\"With reference to the extent of medical education which our students\nshould receive, I am of opinion that we should qualify them for becoming\npractitioners, equal in attainments, at least, to the Government\nsub-assistant surgeons.\n\n\"That we may get and retain the very best of the young men belonging to\nthe respective missions of the Punjaub, it is necessary, we think, to\nhold out to them adequate inducements as to status and salary. Unless we\ndo so, we are likely to get inferior men, and, it is probable, the whole\nscheme may thereby prove a failure. It is to be hoped, however, that the\nPunjaub Medical Missionary Society, especially, will look to this point.\n\n\"I am very happy to be able to inform this meeting, that already some\nprogress has been made in collecting funds to defray the necessary\nexpenses of this scheme in its embryo beginnings. Dr. Henderson, one of\nthe Professors of the Lahore Medical College, undertook, at the\ncommencement of last hot season, to collect as much money as would be\nsufficient for three scholarships of twelve rupees each a month, for one\nyear. I have little doubt that, if suitable young men come forward, we\nshall soon find ourselves in the possession of funds, amply sufficient,\nto defray the increased expenditure. From the little I know of the\nPunjaub, I feel fully convinced, that our fellow-countrymen only require\nto have a really needful and feasible scheme presented to them, to\nelicit their generous liberality.\n\n\"Such, then, is a very brief and rough outline of the scheme I have to\npropose respecting medical missions in this province. And I trust, if it\nmeet the approval of those now present, we shall soon see at Lahore, a\nlittle band of Christian young men, preparing themselves for this\ncomparatively new and important sphere of Christian usefulness.\"\n\nThe scheme was very cordially approved by the members of the Conference,\nand of the P. M. M. Society, and Sir Donald M\u201bLeod also spoke warmly in\nits behalf.\n\n\"I have,\" he said, \"carefully read the paper, drawn up by Dr. Elmslie,\non the subject of training native Christian youths for the duties of\nmedical missionaries; which paper was recently read by him at a\nConference of the Church Missionary Society, held at Amritsar, as well\nas before a meeting of the Punjaub Medical Missionary Society.\n\n\"I have long been convinced, that medical missions are eminently\nsuitable and appropriate in the present circumstances of India, and\ncalculated, accordingly, to prove of the very greatest value and\nimportance here; and as I have, on many occasions, recorded my opinion\nto this effect, I need not enlarge on it in this place.\n\n\"Holding, then, this opinion, I highly approve of Dr. Elmslie's\nproposal, which I think likely, if carried out, to enable us to extend\nmedical missions much more rapidly and widely than we can hope to do in\nany other way, at the same time that it adds another most important and\nappropriate mode of employing and providing support for our native\nChristians, to the very few which have, as yet, suggested themselves;\nthus helping largely towards the solution of one of the most difficult\nproblems we have to solve, in respect to the heterogeneous bodies of\nnative Christians assembled, under the existing system, at our mission\nstations.\"\n\nDr. Elmslie wished the native Christians to be educated up to the\nstandard of sub-assistant surgeon. \"And I entirely agree with Dr.\nElmslie,\" writes Sir Donald M\u201bLeod, \"in considering this to be a very\nessential point.\"\n\nThe reader will observe that Dr. Elsmlie's paper altogether ignores the\nvaluable services which, as matter of fact, have been rendered to the\ncause of medical missions, by \"_non-qualified_\" Christian natives in\nMadagascar, Travancore, Madras, and other places. It is a valuable\ndocument, notwithstanding, and will doubtless get due attention when the\nsubject of the training of native medical evangelists, and native\nmedical missionaries, receives the comprehensive and exhaustive\ntreatment which its importance merits.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XVII.\n\nFEMALE MEDICAL MISSIONARIES.\n\n\nAnother subject of interest to Dr. Elmslie, and about which he wrote an\nable paper, was _Female Medical Missionaries_.\n\nThis paper _in extenso_, may be found in the \"_Indian Female\nEvangelist_,\" for January 1873. The following abstract will indicate its\nvalue:\u2013\n\n\"_1st_, With the exception of the lowest classes, the women of India are\nvirtually prisoners in their own homes.\n\n\"_2d_, Their physical, intellectual, moral, and religious condition is\ndark and deplorable.\n\n\"_3d_, Ameliorating influences, to be effectual, must be those which can\nenter the Zenanas of India.\n\n\"_4th_, In those parts of India where education is prized by the men,\nthe Christian Zenana educationalist will generally be admitted.\n\n\"_5th_, Bengal, and one or two other parts of India, have shown a\nlaudable readiness, in accepting the invaluable boon of western science\nand learning.\n\n\"_6th_, The Mussulmans of India have not, as a body, followed the good\nexample of the Bengalis and others, in accepting and promoting English\nEducation.\n\n\"_7th_, The Mussulmans, as a body, are not well disposed towards the\nBritish rule in India.\n\n\"_8th_, Their Zenanas are generally closed against the European female\nmissionary, and, where exceptions to the contrary are met with, it is\nfeared that they are explicable by the fact of the heads of the\nrespective homes wishing to obtain favour with some missionary or\nGovernment official for selfish ends.\n\n\"_9th_, The Government Medical Dispensaries are not patronized by the\nfemales of India, in any due proportion to their numbers and wants.\n\n\"_10th_, The women of India are lamentably destitute of proper medical\naid.\n\n\"_11th_, The hakims, or native doctors of India, know nothing of the\ndiseases peculiar to women, and are seldom consulted in such cases.\n\n\"_12th_, The native nurses or midwives, who are virtually the only\ndoctors of the women of India, are grossly ignorant of their work, very\nmeddlesome in the discharge of their duties, and of most immoral\ncharacter.\n\n\"_13th_, From the constitution of social life in India, neither European\nnor native gentlemen can exert a direct influence for good on the female\nportion of the community.\n\n\"These are some of the points which we have already touched, and the\nquestion now arises, Is there no other key but that of education with\nwhich to open the door to the inner social life of India? We think there\nis certainly one other such key, and that key is female medical\nmissions. But what is meant by the phrase, female medical missions?\n\n\"A female medical mission may be defined to be the practice of medicine\nby a lady, for the purpose not merely of curing, but of Christianizing\nher patients. Now, it is not difficult to see, from what has been\nalready said, how admirably suited such an agency is to the present\ncondition and wants of the women of India. This is a key which may be\nsaid to fit every lock, for we believe, that there are few, if any,\nhomes into which the lady medical missionary would not be heartily\nwelcomed and blessed for her humane efforts. She would find an entrance\nwhere the educational missionary would find the door closed. She would\nsoften bigotry, remove prejudice, dispel ignorance, drive away gloom,\nand unobtrusively, but nevertheless effectually, deposit the\nall-pervading leaven of the Gospel in numberless hearts and homes.\n\n\"But are we justified by Scripture in employing such an agency in\nmissionary operations? No one who, even cursorily, reads the life of our\nDivine Saviour, as contained in the four Gospels, can have any doubt on\nthis question. For of what was His blessed life made up, after He\nentered upon His ministry, but of holy lessons and miracles of healing,\nby which the loving spirit and divine origin of His mission were\nincontestably proved? The friends of female medical missions to India\nmust be prepared to meet with no inconsiderable amount of opposition, on\nconventional grounds, in their efforts to promote this undertaking. But,\nit may be a comfort to them to remember, that no effort of a new shape,\nto ameliorate the condition of mankind, and to spread the Gospel, ever\nmet _at first_ with anything but the most bitter and determined\nopposition, and that, _too often_, from those of whom better things\nmight have been expected.\n\n\"A few words respecting the agents, and the professional training which\nshould fit them for the efficient discharge of their important duties,\nseem necessary.\"\n\n\"They must be blessed,\" writes Dr. Elmslie, \"with hearty devotion to the\nSaviour's service, and with a sound head and loving heart. The question\n_how_, and _when_, these agents may be trained, is gradually approaching\nsolution, but not in \"mixed classes.\" \"_Mixed classes cannot be\ncondemned in too severe language_,\" says Dr. Elmslie. It is well to\nremember that there are two grades in this class of workers, as amongst\nmale medical missionaries\u2013the qualified and the _non_-qualified. If the\nlady is to be located in a sphere where she can fall back on the counsel\nand support of the ordinary doctor, like the nurses in Madagascar, she\nmay be fitted for her duties in twelve months; but if she must labour\nalone, with no one to aid in emergencies, she must be more thoroughly\nequipped. Dr. Elmslie concludes his paper thus:\u2013\n\n\"India is not now an entire stranger to female medical missions. In the\nprovinces of Northern India female medical missionaries are already at\nwork, lessening pain, saving life, and training native Christian women\nfor the same end. One lady medical missionary writes: 'We are always\ntreated with much respect in the Zenanas, and are called upon by all\nclasses of natives. Many of our patients are among the better class of\nnative ladies.' Another lady medical missionary has more work in the\nbest families where she is located than she can overtake, and that, too,\nalthough she has let it be well known that she is a Christian\nmissionary, anxious to do all the good she can to the souls as well as\nthe bodies of her patients.\n\n\"In conclusion, if Florence Nightingale, a thorough English lady,\u2013being\nall that that term implies,\u2013left home and friends, and went to Scutari\nout of philanthropy, to nurse and doctor England's wounded and dying\nsoldiers, surely other ladies, who have it in their power, should see no\ninsuperable objections or difficulties in giving up home and going to\nIndia, to nurse and doctor their needy and suffering sisters _for\nChrist's sake_.\n\n\"At any rate, India needs female medical missionaries. India will\nwelcome them, India will bless them for their work; and many homes, now\ndark, will be lighted up, through their labours, with the knowledge of\nHim who is the Light of the world.\n\n\"Surely it is a thing incredible, that, among the many Christian\ndaughters of England, there are none brave and noble-minded enough to\nundertake this work, which, of all works, most resembles that of the\ngreat Master Himself, who, 'though He was _rich_, yet for our sakes\nbecame _poor_, that we through His poverty might become rich;' and of\nwhom it is written, 'Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their\nsynagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all\nmanner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people.' I have\ngiven you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you.\"\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XVIII.\n\nHOME VISIT.\n\n\nThe death of Dr. Elmslie's mother, which took place 6th July, 1869, was\na heavy blow to him. The severity of such a trial is measured by the\nplace the departed holds in our thoughts; and next to his Saviour, Dr.\nElmslie loved his mother, and lived for her. In his letters, and often\nsubsequently in conversation, he spoke mournfully of his great loss,\nremarking, that by her removal his greatest attraction to home was gone.\nBut his stipulated time of service had expired; he needed rest; and\nother considerations made it important he should return to England.\n\nAt Bombay, on his way to this country, in the early days of 1870, he\nspent a fortnight with his former fellow-student Dr. Young. \"We had many\nconversations about our spheres of labour,\" writes Dr. Young, \"and he\nmentioned, as one of the greatest difficulties he had to contend with,\nthe careless way in which the Europeans lived before the natives,\nespecially in regard to the keeping of the Sabbath,\" adding, \"I have\nnever tasted wine, or any kind of (intoxicating) drink since leaving\nScotland, that I might not be a stumbling-block to the Kashmiris; and\nfor the same reason, I never opened a home letter on the Lord's day\nexcept once, when my dear mother was very ill. We cannot, as\nmissionaries, live too strictly for our Master.\"\n\nHearty welcomes awaited Dr. Elmslie in Britain. One deserves especial\nnotice. \"I can never forget,\" writes a friend, \"how, on Dr. Elmslie's\narrival in England, a father shook his hands, as the tears started to\nhis eyes on seeing him, and how he could say no more than 'You have\nsaved my boy!' It was not his body only that Dr. Elmslie was the means\nof saving, during a dangerous illness, but he had been the means of\nsaving his soul.\"\n\nIn the spring, he came to Edinburgh, and was cordially welcomed to our\nheart and home. He stayed with us most of the summer, renewing in the\ncity and neighbourhood former acquaintanceships and forming new ones. As\na token of \"filial gratitude,\" as he called it, he undertook duty for\nus, and sent us off to rusticate among the beauties of Braemar. Dr.\nElmslie's principal work at home was the preparation of a vocabulary of\nthe Kashmiri language. While busy putting the material together, he\nconsulted \"a gentleman who professed to take a deep interest in Kashmir.\nTo this friend he submitted a portion of his MSS., requesting his advice\nand aid in publication. The reply was that nothing could be said till\nthe opinion of a certain learned professor was obtained. After a\nconsiderable time, a letter was received, which Elmslie characterised as\na regular _damper_, intimating, that another person had made an\nexcellent contribution on the same subject to a Journal in Calcutta, and\nthat Dr. Elmslie might do worse than not to push the matter further at\npresent. He was vexed at the coldness of the letter; surprised, but\ndelighted to hear of another worker in the same field, and once more\nwrote to his friend, asking him if he could procure the name of the\nperson referred to. The professor took some trouble, and found amongst\nhis papers the contributor's designation, and it turned out that the\npaper had been written by Dr. Elmslie himself.\" The vocabulary was, of\ncourse, proceeded with; but it took much time, and he stuck so close to\nhis task, that he brought on a severe attack of \"liver,\" the effects of\nwhich he did not entirely shake off, so long as he remained in this\ncountry. In October 1871, he writes us from London, \"I have been busy\nwith my little book, and to-day I saw the first page in print. The\nprinter has promised to push on with it to the utmost of his power.\"\nNext month he writes to Dr. Farquhar, \"You will be happy to learn that\nthe small Kashmiri dictionary is making progress. We have got as far as\nS. in the English-Kashmiri part, which comes first.\" The work was not\nout of the hands of the publishers till Dr. Elmslie had returned to\nIndia, and a completed copy, intended for him, reached Amritsar the day\nafter his death. \"Their works do follow them.\"\n\nWhatever seemed fitted to advance the cause of medical missions,\nafforded pleasure to Dr. Elmslie. It is needless to say, therefore, that\nwhen a _Convalescent Home_ seemed likely to be realised, as an adjunct\nto a medical mission, through the generous kindness of a lady, it\nawakened in him the liveliest interest. The only out-standing difficulty\nwas a suitable house; and for this Dr. Elmslie scanned the\nadvertisements as carefully as if seeking a home for himself. In the\ncountry three tenements advertised seemed worthy of examination, and the\nwriter and he fixed March 6th for an expedition to the country for that\npurpose. It was interesting and encouraging, in turning, on the morning\nof the visit, to \"_Daily Light on the Daily Path_,\" to find this verse,\n\"The Lord your God went in the way before you, to search you out a place\nto pitch your tents in.\" The first house visited was St. Ann's Mount,\nPolton, which was so commodious, and in every way so suitable, it seemed\nas if built on purpose. Dr. Elmslie could not help recalling the\nmorning's Promise, and in one of the empty rooms of the house he pleaded\nthat the God who had guided, would grant possession, and make the home a\nblessing to many destitute poor. That delightful retreat, which has now\nbeen open for four seasons, is thus sweetly associated with our departed\nfriend.\n\nFrom the time his attention was first turned to medical missions, the\nScripture argument for them bulked largely in his mind; but he always\nfelt that the full significance of it had never been brought out, and he\nlonged to see some giant intellect take it up and give it the treatment\nit deserves. \"In August, 1871,\" writes Dr. Young, \"when Dr. Gauld and I\nwith our families were living at Braemar, Elmslie joined our party and\nremained ten days with us. Elmslie's heart was then full of the\nScriptural argument for medical missions, and was anxious to see the\nsubject _fully_ opened up. So much so, that on our return to Edinburgh\nwe sent a conjoint letter to the Rev. Dr. \u2013\u2013 asking him to preach on the\nsubject, or write an article upon it for a Review. The Rev. doctor sent\na kind and encouraging reply, and asked various questions anent medical\nmissions, but the correspondence closed, as both Elmslie and I were soon\nbusied in preparations for going abroad.\"\n\nDuring the greater part of Dr. Elmslie's stay in this country, his mind\nwas a good deal unsettled respecting his future sphere. His heart was in\nKashmir, and his thorough knowledge of the language imposed obligations\nupon him that could not be lost sight of, but the interruption of his\nwork every year, just when it was getting into proper order, tried him\nexceedingly. He felt he was always going on without making progress. He\nwas so perplexed, that he admits in a letter to Dr. Farquhar, \"My mind,\nfor a time, was turned towards home.\" During this period various\nappointments, missionary and professional, were placed within his reach.\n\"He relinquished,\" writes a friend, \"the prospects of a practice that\nwould have produced \u00a31000 a year.\" Writing to us of another sphere, he\nsays, \"There are too many ornamental names in the list of members I\nfear. It is a fine thing for a doctor to have his name on a committee\nfor some Christian work. It may tell favourably at the year's end. \u2013\u2013\nsaid \u00a3200 or \u00a3250 would be enough for salary. I looked at him! _He_\ncould not live on that.\" A third appointment was rather pressed upon\nhim, but learning that it was in the offer of another party, he\nwrote:\u2013(\"25th April, 1871).... As \u2013\u2013 (naming the place) is now under Mr.\n\u2013\u2013's consideration, it would be both premature on my part, and not quite\nkind to him, were I to entertain the proposal at present.\" As his\nprofessional attainments were of a very high order, he was urged to\nstand as a candidate for a vacant chair in one of our universities.\nSpeaking of the subject, one day, he said, jocularly, \"It would swamp\nany university to let a medical missionary into one of its chairs, for,\nyou know, '_No man worth his salt would be a medical missionary!_'\" He\nwas content to forego academic honours, to which he might justly have\naspired, and as a humble missionary to lay out all his attainments for\nthe furtherance of that gospel that brought peace to his own soul.\n\nAt length his mind was set at rest. Writing to Mrs. B. T. (London, 25th\nNovember, 1871) he says, \"At the end of last month I wrote a long letter\nto the committee of the Church Missionary Society, giving them a full\naccount of the great difficulties with which God's work in Kashmir is at\npresent beset. I did this that they might not be ignorant of the true\nstate of matters there, and that they might have the materials on which\nto form a judgment as to the desirability of continuing the medical\nmission.... The decision to which they came was that I should be sent\nback to Kashmir, to continue the work as before. A future of no ordinary\ntoil and trial is therefore before me, but I trust that He who sends me\nback will make His grace sufficient for me, and make me strong in His\nstrength. I rejoice at the prospect of undergoing trial in God's\nservice.\" This same month, to Mr. Wade, he writes, \"I am willing to\nreturn to Kashmir. The missionary life is the only one worth living. It\nis the only one that can be called Christ-like.... My dear friend, I\nhave had a terrible battle to fight with selfishness, and the love of\nease, and the fashion of this world that passeth away. But I trust our\nheavenly Father has enabled me to overcome in His strength. I return to\nIndia joyfully and thankfully to rough it in God's work. Oh, it must be\nterrible to become old, and to look back upon a life spent for self, in\nease and comfort, with little likeness to the life the dear Saviour\nlived\u2013_and lived for us_.\"\n\nWhen one reads in his diary Dr. Elmslie's account of his _missionary_\nlabours in India, there seems wondrously little time left for anything\nelse; yet we have seen he contrived to gather materials for a\ndictionary, and he also accumulated a large amount of matter for a\ncomprehensive work on Kashmir. In the ensuing campaign he hoped to go\nsomewhat thoroughly into the botany of the region. For counsel, how best\nto overtake this department, he naturally turned to his friend Dr.\nCleghorn.\n\n\"MY DEAR FRIEND,\u2013My chief object in writing to you now, is to inquire of\nyou what a copy of Wight's 'Icones Plantarum Indi\u00e6 Orientalis' in good\ncondition is worth; also what should I give for a copy of Royle's\n_Botany of the Himalayas_? Can you tell me where I am likely to meet\nwith works of that kind.\n\n\"Should I return to India, which I am now very likely to do about the\nend of January next, I should like to do a little to the botany of those\ninteresting and far-away regions. I should feel extremely obliged to you\nfor any hints as to how to proceed in the study of the botany of Kashmir\nand the surrounding mountains; also, as to how to do with any specimens\nwhich I may collect, and also as to any points of pre-eminent importance\nin _Flora_ of the valley and the neighbourhood. I feel sure that I could\nnot apply to one better qualified than yourself to give me directions as\nto how to proceed in the study of the _Himalayan_ _Flora_.\" Dr. Elmslie\nwas permitted to do little amid the rich flora of the Himalayas. He was\njudged worthy of speedy promotion; and was soon called to study a\nbotanical system of far higher development than any to which Linnaeus or\nDe Candolle has yet introduced us, in which the trees yield twelve\nmanner of fruit every month, and the leaves thereof are for the healing\nof the nations.\n\nThe more intimate friends of Dr. Elmslie, were very anxious he should\nnot return to India alone. He was not sufficiently careful of his\nhealth, and desirous for the preservation of his valuable life, there\nwas much prayer that God would give him a companion, who, loving Jesus\nand His service, might be truly a helpmeet to him in his missionary\nlabours, and care for himself also, that Gaius-like, he might prosper\nand be in health even as his soul prospered. On one point Dr. Elmslie\nwas most particularly in earnest, that _if_ it should be the Lord's will\nthat he be accompanied to Kashmir by a fellow worker, she might be very\nmanifestly _a gift from God_. Miss Duncan, daughter of the late Rev.\nWallace Duncan of Peebles, was given to Dr. Elmslie in answer to\nearnest, united, and continued prayer. The marriage took place 23d\nFebruary 1872, at Eyre Place, Edinburgh.\n\nIt would afford us peculiar satisfaction to give a detailed account of\nDr. Elmslie's proceedings during this home visit, as he was much with\nus, and proved a blessing to us beyond what we can well record; but this\nmight lead to the consideration of interests that do not claim special\nnotice here, and divert attention from his great life work as a\nmissionary of Christ in Kashmir.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XIX.\n\nLAST YEAR'S WORK IN KASHMIR.\n\n\nDr. and Mrs. Elmslie left Edinburgh for India on the 5th March. In\nLondon they met loving friends and relatives, with whom they had sweet\ncommunion. They went aboard the _Massilia_ on the 7th, and that morning\nMrs. Elmslie, on turning to her book of daily texts, got a verse to\nwhich subsequent events gave a touching significance, and which was not\nwithout impressiveness even at the time,\u2013\"_Thy_ MAKER _is thine\nhusband_.\"\n\nThe passage, on the whole, was good. Writing to his mother-in-law, Dr.\nElmslie says:\u2013\n\n\"_Bombay, 6th April._\u2013Have at last got to the end of our voyage. On\nlooking back, have much cause to be very thankful to God for the mercies\nthat have attended it. God permitted us both to do something for\nHimself. We found Dr. Bonar's kind and valuable gift of books of great\nservice. Both M. and I found our powers of playing chess of use in\nhelping us to get to know some of our fellow-passengers. Since I began\nthis sentence, I have been to the city with a missionary friend, and\nhave seen to-day what I never had seen before. If you were to try to\nguess, I don't believe you would succeed in telling me what I have seen.\nIt was nothing more or less than an hospital\u2013not for human beings, but\nfor the lower animals! The invalids were a porcupine, deer, monkeys,\ngoats, sheep, dogs, horses, cows, and oxen. I saw some of the sick kine\ntaking their medicine. It is supported by a wealthy native merchant.\"\n\nThey got a cordial welcome back to India. \"You will not fail,\" writes\nthe Rev. E. Stuart, \"to convey this, my hand-o'-write, welcome to your\ndear wife,\u2013a real hearty Scotch grip of friendship. I rejoice to hear of\nyour so wisely _doubling_ your usefulness.\" \"We had the pleasure,\" says\nMr. Clark, \"of welcoming Dr. Elmslie and his bride from England. His\nstep was even then (April) less elastic than usual, but his warm\naffections were the same.\"\n\nThe following items of intelligence are culled from various letters from\nDr. and Mrs. Elmslie, addressed to relatives and others during their\nIndian campaign. Here is a glimpse of our friends, _en route_:\u2013\n\n\"Marching orders were\u2013up at half-past four, breakfast at a quarter past\nfive, off at twenty minutes from six; servants on before to have regular\nbreakfast ready half way. I reach first, being carried in a dandy,\nspread the carpet and table-cloth in a pleasant place, sometimes under\npomegranate and rose trees, sometimes by a waterfall. Then come the\nweary walkers, and don't we make a hearty breakfast. The rest of the way\nis the fatiguing part, as the sun is up, and the climbing and rough\nwalking are trying. We reach the next stage about half-past eleven, have\ntea as soon as water can be got, then rest, write, or read till dinner\nat five; after which the doctor gathers the servants together, and the\nsick who have come for advice. It makes a picturesque group\u2013about forty\nnatives, all seated on the grass, the old catechist arranging things,\nthe native medical assistant and his wife, with the large khitta, full\nof medicines, and Mr. Wade in white costume, leaning forward in his\narm-chair, reading and speaking with the people, who always answer him,\nsometimes with arguments, which he shows great tact in meeting, while\nthe doctor prescribes. He has met with some interesting cases; one poor\nsufferer is to follow us to Srinagar, as he requires a serious\noperation. It was touching to see his old father weeping over him. One\nwoman, with fever, was brought on the back of her husband. The twilight\nis short; and, after the sick people leave, we have a little chat, then\nprayers, and off to bed.\n\n\"I confess I was rather horrified with the first specimen of a Cashmere\nbungalow\u2013nothing better than a large mud hut, unfurnished, and hardly\nplastered, and the floors so dirty that you felt ashamed of your boots\nafter once crossing a floor. The people are much finer looking, and have\nmore open countenances, than the Hindoos; but it is marvellous to me\nthat such nice-looking men and women can wear such garments. They do not\nseem to know the use of soap and water\u2013their blankets, which they wrap\nround them, are perfectly brown, and in many cases you cannot count\ntheir rags.\n\n\"When we reached the spot from which we had the Pisgah view of\nKashmir\u2013the _vale_ itself\u2013I could but exclaim, 'Truly the half has not\nbeen told me.' It seemed to me a perfect paradise, which should know\nnothing but peace and plenty, purity and joy.\n\n\"After many difficulties we have at length got a house, which, though\nonly a native one, is really very suitable, being quite among the\npeople. We have, therefore, gladly and very thankfully left off tent\nlife for the present. The house is entered from the river by a flight of\nsteps, which brings you into a wide archway. Our garden is large, and\nfull of the delicious ottar roses. They are pink, not very large, but\nvery rich in perfume. I fancy they must refresh the patients very much,\nso I don't grudge their gathering some as they wander about during the\nwaiting time. The doctor has real, earnest, hard work now. For the last\nfortnight the attendance has been daily increasing. To-day there were\nnearly 170 patients. It is quite too much, for many of the poor things\nrequire serious operations. The weather is very hot now, too hot to go\nout, except in early morning or evening. The poplar avenue is our\nfavourite resort; it is quite near us, and very shady and quiet; for,\nstrange to say, the river is more popular, and the visitors may be seen\nsailing up and down in their gondolas, just as they would drive in the\nLondon parks.\n\n\"We rise at six, and, after reading and prayer together, the doctor goes\nto work, prays with his assistant, arranges the waiting crowds of\npeople, and leaves the catechist to address them, which he does very\nearnestly in Kashmiri for about a quarter of an hour. Then the doctor\nexamines patients till breakfast at ten, after which he goes down again\nto his people. He has had to separate the men and women now, taking one\nset to-day, and the other to-morrow, and giving them medicines for two\ndays, as they increased to an unmanageable number; but, even with that,\nhe has nearly 90 women on an average, and double that number of men. The\noperations are trying, for he has the whole to do himself, and he is\noften quite exhausted when he comes upstairs again about one.\"\n\n\"Our work here, I am thankful and glad to say,\" writes Dr. Elmslie, \"is\nnow in full play. Yesterday 165 patients were present. Many of the cases\nwere grave surgical ones, for the people have been waiting for me for\ntwo years. They are being plied, too, with the glorious Gospel of\nChrist. I have a dear native Christian with me as an assistant, who is\ndeeply interested in his poor benighted countrymen, for he is a\nKashmiri. Then my friend, the Rev. T. R. Wade, has been sent to the\nvalley this year, to strengthen my hands. He, too, labours amongst the\nwaiting patients all morning. So, as I said, we are earnestly,\nprayerfully, and hopefully at work. I am thankful to say that the native\nauthorities seem less hostile than formerly. Not that they are friendly,\nand smile upon our work,\u2013that we do not expect from heathens,\u2013but, so\nfar as I have been able to ascertain, they do not throw obstacles in the\nway of the sick coming to us. That is a great thing, and we are heartily\nthankful for it. God, too, has blessed us in our premises. Not that they\nare palatial, but they are conveniently situated near the city, so that\nno one is incommoded by our work. Dwelling-house, dispensary, operating\ntheatre, servants' rooms, are all under one roof. The crowds of the sick\nmeet outside in a garden, which we have, fortunately, to the back. In\nthis fine weather there is matting below them, and above them a canvas\ncovering.\" Mrs. Elmslie, writing at the close of the month's labours,\nsays, \"He has just had to-day his 1100th patient, and finished his 70th\noperation in a month.\"\n\n\"The weather having broken, rain fell in torrents, such as only mountain\ncountries know. The river gradually rose higher and higher, till the\nbank disappeared; and, on the opposite side, fields were covered. When\nwe went to church yesterday, the doctor was very much afraid our house\nwould be surrounded in a few hours. The Baboo sent boats round to all\nthe Europeans. You may believe we were not very happy at the thought of\nhaving to live on the waters, Noah-like, till the waters diminished, and\nthis we quite expected to have to do to-day. The servants had to flit to\nthe verandah, the kitchen, a hundred yards behind us, being surrounded.\nTo our great joy and thankfulness (this morning), we found the sky\nclear, the sun shining, and the waters abating; thus our fears have been\ndisappointed.\n\n\"_August 12th._\u2013We had given up thinking of floods, and only yesterday\nthe doctor said to me how very thankful he felt for this blessing;\nhowever, here we are to-day, not very unlike Noah. This flood is caused\nby the melting of snow in the mountains, where there was a fresh fall\nlast week; and it must have burst the embankment lower down, for the\nwhole of the large orchard, where our house and all the European's\nhouses are, is flooded. The kitchen is several inches deep in water, so\nthat Fakira, his pots and pans, have had to take refuge in Mr. Wade's\nverandah. How he means to convey dinner across the intervening waters I\nknow not, but he always manages well for himself,\u2013specially when he\nknows he has made a mistake. I suppose he prefers risking the dinner,\nand being at a little distance from Nana Sahib's eyes and ears,\notherwise our own verandahs would have been more suitable. Three boats\nare in readiness to carry us off somewhere, but, as yet, I don't know\nwhere. I have packed my boxes, and now am waiting till the doctor\nreturns from the dispensary. There is a great deal of sickness in the\ncity. The doctor is keeping decidedly better, but he is still far from\nstrong. The house is now quite surrounded; all looks calm and bright;\nbut the great river comes rolling on. I am a little concerned as to the\nfate of our dinner, as there is now quite a lake between us and our\nfactotum. The boatmen and women keep wading about as if enjoying it\nimmensely. The doctor has just come back, and is greatly dismayed at the\nstate of things. He sailed through the orchard right up to the back\ndoor. We are thinking of going to the gardens, as the Baboo has got\nwritten permission for us from the Rajah to occupy one of the palaces.\nDinner has come off very well, considering that it had to travel through\nthe waters.\n\n\"_August 16th._\u2013Notwithstanding the unceremonious way in which we were\nturned out of our house, we are enjoying our place of refuge\nexceedingly; and no wonder, when you think it was made according to\nKashmiri ideas of Paradise. Some traditions of Bible history, lingering\namong them still, having suggested it to a king who lived, I believe,\nabout the time of our second Charles. There are two pleasure houses or\npavilions on the gardens, one close to the lake, the other high up on a\nterrace of the mountain, and almost hidden in the rich foliage of the\nchinar trees. We chose the latter, as we have learned to seek shade in\nthis sunny land. The way to it lies through orchards of pears, quinces,\npeaches, &c., on one hand, and beautiful mown lawns on the other, in the\nmiddle of which is an artificial bed of a stream. The trees by the side\nof it are the grandest I ever saw. Some of their trunks have been\nhollowed out, and inside three people can stand quite easily. After\nmounting by terraces, you reach the pavilion, where we are to be found,\nlooking very small in our crimson covered chairs, in comparison to the\nlofty place in which we are. It is an open hall, 60 feet in breadth, by\n40 in length, and the brilliantly covered roof is supported by sixteen\npillars. On either side are large rooms; one wing occupied by Mr. Wade,\nthe other by us, while the pavilion itself is our dining and sitting\nroom. I am afraid you can hardly appreciate, in a Scotch autumn, the\nluxury which we are enjoying so much. The same stream of water which I\nmentioned before runs through the middle of the hall. The mountain\nstream is caught, and caused to rush down a fretted iron causeway into\nthe prepared bed (about 6 feet wide), and in it are innumerable\nfountains. I count twenty-two between us and the zenana, which (I am\nashamed to say) we use as a kitchen. It flows through our hall, casting\nspray all around, sparkling in the sunshine, and then gushes down\nanother causeway, about 60 feet, into an immense pond, in which there\nare also many fountains, and so on, feeding many of these jets, till it\nhas descended all the terraces, and mingled its waters with those of the\nbeautiful lake. This stream had been turned off by the villagers to\nwater their rice fields; but on our arrival the gardener brought it\nback, and caused all the fountains to play. The sound of its sweet\nmurmur is very charming, and the sight of the jets, each in some\ndifferent form, is delightful. The trees have grown too luxuriantly, and\nhide the lovely vistas of snowy mountains and of the lake, but we see\nenough to be full of admiration. We went up the mountain side this\nevening, and sat down under the shade of a vine-tree, laden with grapes,\nand watched the glorious setting sun.\n\n\"_August 19th._\u2013Here we are in our own little house once more. We came\nin to church on Sabbath. We think it so good of him to persevere when he\n(Mr. W.) has had so little encouragement. There were only six present.\nIt is very sad to find how little people attend to Christian duties\nhere.\n\n\"_September._\u2013I have been finding out how very few real Christians there\nare in India, and how very little even of outward regard for religion,\nand this makes me feel very warmly to all who really are God's people.\nWe went to church yesterday, and hoped for an average congregation, as\nsixty Europeans were said to be in Srinagar. Mr. Wade had prepared an\naddress on Medical Missions, and meant to ask for a collection on their\nbehalf, but none were there but ourselves. After the service was begun,\none gentleman made his appearance. We often long much for a Sunday at\nhome. However, Spurgeon preaches to us very well. Cholera has been\nraging in Srinagar, but it is nearly gone now, and the visitors are\nbeginning to return from Gulmarg. We had a pic-nic to the Shalimar\nGardens last week, taking all the medical assistants and pupils, &c.\nwith us. They appeared to enjoy themselves very much. The climate here\nis liker that at home now. Kashmir is becoming very dear to me now. I\nshould like to remain here as long as there is work for me to do. Plenty\nof work there certainly is. It is an untilled field, but the Holy Spirit\nwill surely be granted to break up the fallow ground, and make the soil\nready to receive the seed. Indeed, we are very hopeful that something\nhas been effected, which time will reveal. Dear old Qadir the catechist\nhas been very much cheered by the number of inquirers this summer. If we\nare allowed to remain here many will come forward, but the fear of\npersecution _without us_ keeps many back.\"\n\n\"I suppose,\" writes the doctor to Mr. Duncan, \"dearest M. will have told\nyou that our Committee in Calcutta have presented a petition to the\nGovernor-General, begging of him to grant us permission to remain in\nKashmir during the winter months. If this petition is granted, in all\nprobability the good work will more rapidly prosper. Will you pray that\nall may be ordered of God for the best? As for myself, I have not been\nat all strong this summer. The truth is that my work has been\noverwhelming. Indeed, the people have been waiting for me for two years\nto perform many operations. Medical mission work at home is very\ndifferent from medical mission work abroad. Here in India you have to be\na Begbie, Spence, and Walker all in one, while at home you merely nibble\nat medical and surgical work. That makes a great difference.\"\n\nOf later date. \"I am now nearly myself again, thanks to God's blessing\non my dearest M.'s tender and judicious nursing. She has been the best\nof nurses, just as if she had been under Miss Nightingale for years.\n\n\"An answer has come to a telegram which I sent to Simla, where the\nGovernor-General now is. The answer is to the effect that 'Dr. Elmslie\nis not allowed to remain this winter in Srinagar.' Now, both M. and I\nsay truly, 'The will of the Lord be done,' but we mourn over this\noppressed and perishing country. It would have been for its good that we\nhad been allowed to remain, although it is doubtful if it would have\nbeen for our comfort and happiness, for we should have been without\nEuropean society of any kind, and that would have made it very lonely\nfor us for two or three months. But we were heartily prepared to forego\nthe pleasures of society for the sake of this poor country and its\noppressed people. However, so far as we are concerned, the Lord has\nwilled it otherwise. We leave this matter in the Lord's hands. He will\nwork when His time comes. We shall probably be commanded to leave the\nvalley in a few days. This has been a season of very hard work, but the\nLord has graciously brought us in safety to its close. Since we began\nwork in the dispensary at Srinagar in the end of May last, over 3000\npatients, suffering from all manner of diseases, have received medical\nand surgical treatment gratuitously. Over 200 of these patients have\nbeen operated on for surgical maladies, and besides all these cases 382\ncholera patients were treated at their own homes by the agents of the\nKashmir Medical Mission.\n\n\"This merely gives the professional part of the season's work. I have\nnot been at all well since our arrival in Kashmir. This has been caused\nby the severe nature of the work, and the close application to it\nthroughout the season, and I am almost sure I shall begin to recruit as\nsoon as we begin our tent life.\"\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XX.\n\nLAST JOURNEY AND DEATH.\n\n\nIt will be remembered that Dr. Elmslie brought on a rather serious\nillness in Edinburgh, by too close application to his desk, when\npreparing his vocabulary. He had not _fully_ recovered his wonted energy\nwhen he left this country for Kashmir; but, as he had been steadily\nimproving, it was confidently believed that the sea voyage would\ncompletely re-establish his health. On meeting him in India, Mr. Clark\nnoticed that his step was not so elastic as formerly; and, on his way to\nSrinagar, Mrs. Elmslie remarked, especially at Murree, that Dr. E. was\nbreathless and weak. It has already appeared from the narrative that\nduring the whole season he was not at all strong. His work was\noverwhelming truly, and to his own many duties were added the labours\nand anxieties connected with an outbreak of cholera. He was saddened too\nby the heartlessness and tyranny of those in power, and by the slanders\nof the Baboos, to whom his life was a daily rebuke. At the close of the\nseason he was quite prostrate, and instead of entering on a journey\nfitted to try even the robust, he needed rest and nursing. But he was\nobliged to leave. The detailed account of the sad journey written by\nMrs. E. is before us. We trust we may be guided in making such a\nselection as shall satisfy his many loving friends, without unduly\nobtruding on the sanctity of these sacred letters. Before starting, Dr.\nE. got a chill while waiting in a cold day in the fireless, windowless\nchamber of a native gentleman. Next day he had to walk in the rain a\nlong way to see a dying man. This, also, was hurtful to him. The day\nafter they were cheered by the arrival of home letters. The account of\nthe Perth Conference by Miss \u2013\u2013 was particularly interesting. \"I said to\nhim,\" writes Mrs. E., \"that much of the experience mentioned\u2013the love\nfor Jesus and joy in Him\u2013was far beyond what I knew. He drew me near to\nhim, and said, Why mourn! Let us ask and receive that our joy may be\nfull, and he forthwith poured out his heart in prayer to God.\" On\nSunday, they took their last walk in Srinagar, but Dr. Elmslie, on\nreaching home, was so exhausted he needed a little brandy. In the\nevening at worship, contrary to custom, he chose the hymns, selecting,\n\"One is kind above all others,\" and spoke afterwards very earnestly to\nthe Pundits and Moonshees present. On Monday, Mrs. E. suggested that he\nshould delay his journey, but he longed to be off, saying he would be\nbetter when fairly on the way. As they sailed down the river, crowds of\npeople ran along the banks to pour out their thanks and say farewell.\n\nLeaving Islamabad on the 25th, Dr. E. said, cheerily, \"I'm glad to tell\nyou the liver is in better order to-day;\" but the journey was fatiguing,\nand he consented to take the dandy by turns with Mrs. E., and so they\nreached Mohumpoora. \"Next day we went together to see Carrie (the wife\nof one of his assistants) and her newly-born infant, lying in a shed. So\nlike the accounts of the babe at Bethlehem it seemed that we were both\nstruck by it, and went away speaking of Jesus in that low estate,\u2013being\nrich, yet for our sakes becoming poor. He insisted on my using the\ndandy, but after a little I got out, and sent it back for him. He said,\non our meeting again, 'I could not have walked another step.' The dandy\nmen always trot, so that it was to my great distress impossible to keep\nbeside him. On reaching Shupeyon, I found him lying on the bed in the\nwretched bungalow, and he asked me to get a poultice at once.\" Various\nremedies were applied, and he felt much relieved, and wished the epistle\nto the Philippians read to him. \"We read, too, Mrs. Gordon's book on\n_Work_. He was much interested in it, and then came the last chapter on\n'For Ever.' He spoke about heaven; about the joy of eternity being in\nknowing Jesus and being with Him,\u2013of his confidence that the\nemancipated, glorified spirit should still have work to do.\" The night\nfollowing the breathing was greatly oppressed and the palpitation of the\nheart very distressing. \"That was my first warning,\" writes Mrs. E.; \"an\nawful night, but he assured me still the liver was the member at fault.\"\nAfter the use of appropriate remedies, he got relief, and slept\ncomparatively well; and next day was again on the march. \"Every march is\nsixteen miles, and all are more or less dangerous and difficult. Indeed,\nno one who has not crossed the Pir Panjal can have any idea of the awful\nprecipices one has to climb, the roads being mere cuttings, hardly broad\nenough to walk upon, along the sides of mountains rising sheer up to the\nheight of 12,000 feet. Our next resting-place was Haripur. There he was\ntired, but not breathless. Next day the march was nearly twenty miles\nup\u2013up to the snows and ice. We started at eight, and did not reach the\nold bungalow near the height of the pass till nearly six o'clock. My\ndarling was very vexed about my walking all the way, but I hardly felt\ntired, so eagerly anxious I was about him,\u2013the air, too, was bracing,\nand I had slept well. There we had a room, where was a good fireplace,\nand we kept up a glowing fire of logs. He was very breathless again, and\ncomplained much of pain in the back.\" Suitable remedies were\nadministered, and Mrs. E. sat up all night watching him and looking\nafter the fire. He awoke better, and said it was only natural he should\nsuffer from the great rarity of the air at such a height (11,900 feet).\n\"We went on next day over the snows. He never walked now. Many, many a\ntime, as I turned a corner, and saw the bearers carrying him over the\nbrink of such awful abysses, my heart stood still with horror, and I\ncould only cry to God to strengthen them. Once a man slipped his foot,\nbut mercifully the path was just at that place a little wider. However,\nit distressed us both very much, for my darling was in a terribly\nnervous state, and such a perilous mode of travelling, over places where\nthe missing of a foot must have caused death, was a great, great trial.\nSixteen miles brought us to Poohiana, and there William insisted on the\nbearers keeping a slow pace in case of losing sight of me, as there were\nmany tracks of bears, and one large black one was quite near us. At\nPoohiana the bungalow was a mere stable, without windows or opening of\nany kind except the door. He wakened breathless; four pillows were not\nhigh enough, and he lay on my shoulder and slept again. He suffered more\nor less from diarrh\u0153a all the way, and next day was very weak. We\nreached Baramula on the first November, and proposed resting over\nSaturday and Sabbath. That was my second night of preparation. I laid my\nhand on his heart, the beating of which, in irregular thumps, seemed for\na few minutes to be heard all through the tent. Those were dreary\nnights, and in the tent we felt it cold and windy. I fastened plaids and\ntravelling rugs all round to keep out the wind. The servants were tired,\nand slept sound. Next day we came to Rajaori. He suffered from\nrheumatism very much, but sent back the dandy for me several times, and\ntried to walk, for I was very tired.\" Here there was a dilapidated\npalace, the only habitable room in which had neither door nor window,\nbut two great openings, and it was agreed to try the tents. A thunder\nstorm drove them from the tent to seek shelter in the building; a large\nstraw-door was made, and the wax-cloth covering of the bedding was\nplaced over the window. He slept pretty well, but next day never offered\nto rise. Mrs. E. read to him chapter after chapter of the Gospels. He\nalways said, \"Read some of Jesus' words\u2013His own words.\"\n\nMrs. E. remarked that God must have some great purpose in trying them so\nmuch. \"Yes,\" he replied; \"I know what He means to teach me. I have sore\nneed of patience.\" Mrs. E. said how gladly she would suffer for him, but\nhe looked at her with a strange wistful gaze, and said, \"Ah, but you\ncan't be my Simon, the Cyrenian. I must bear my own cross.\" Only eight\ndays' journey further, and then the crown.\n\nOne of the little beds was moved into the verandah of the old bungalow,\nand there he lay for some hours on Sabbath the 9th November. When Mrs.\nE. was reading aloud to him, he interrupted her, \"Ah, darling, how\nlittle we remember that we have only one life! Surely we should use them\nvery differently if we thought of that more\u2013_one life here_\u2013so much to\nbe done, and so little accomplished.\" He found it an easy position to\nkneel and lean forward, and he would remain a long time in that\nposition. But again they must move on. The dandy, with pillows, could be\nmade pretty comfortable, and he seemed easier when moving. They held\nstraight for Goojerat. Every morning forty coolies gathered, talking,\nshouting, quarrelling over the luggage, &c., and nothing would induce\nthem to be quiet. The next march was very long to Nowshera, and the\nbearers let the dandy fall one time. The following night was a restless\none, and the supply of candles failed. As Mrs. E. was nearly exhausted\nwith sorrow, travelling, and want of sleep, Dr. Elmslie insisted on her\ntaking the dandy, and sending it back for him. \"The next was our last\nmarch, a very long one, very rough, and the bearers were not good, and\nsomehow I could not make the pillows suit the wearied frame. How much of\nagony there was in this constant journeying to him in body, and to me in\nspirit! Many a time I cried aloud, and made the rocks and mountains echo\nwith my sorrow, when he was carried on out of sight and hearing.\" When\nhe reached the first stage, his energies were all but at an end. On\narriving at Bhimbar, as the tent was not ready, the bedding was laid on\na charpae, and he lay down. \"How thankful I am,\" said Mrs. E., \"that we\nare safely here.\" \"Ah, yes, safely, so far as our limbs are concerned\u2013no\nbroken legs or arms, but I feel there is something wrong _here_,\"\u2013and\nDr. Elmslie put his hand on his chest. He was much worse. After going to\nbed, the pain became unbearable, and he cried, \"I cannot stand this pain\nand sleeplessness any longer!\" A dose of morphia was administered, and\nhe got a little sleep. They were still thirty miles from Goojerat, and\nit became an anxious question if he could ever reach it. The dhoolie was\nmade soft and comfortable,\u2013they had scarcely started when he became very\nill. \"My bearers would not keep me alongside of his dhoolie, and I used\nto leap from the dandy and fly to his side just to see him, and then\nshocked, terrified, go back again, feeling like Hagar in the wilderness,\nand crying to the Lord to send help lest William should die.\" A special\nmessenger despatched to Goojerat brought the civil surgeon to the place\nwhere they rested for the night, and he whispered hope. As the doctor\ndrove out, he met Mr. Perkins, the new commissioner for Goojerat, and\nhanded him Mrs. E.'s note, so that when the sufferers reached the\nbungalow, Mr. and Mrs. Perkins appeared, and did everything that\nChristian love and sympathy could suggest. Cheered by these friends of\nJesus, with a doctor at hand, and everything necessary for the invalid\nnow easily procurable, hope revived for a brief space, but the disease\nsteadily progressed, and on the evening of the 18th November, Dr.\nElmslie quietly fell asleep in Jesus.\n\n\"I gazed once more,\" writes Mr. Clark, \"on his well-known features as he\nlay peaceably in his coffin. There was an expression of repose on his\nface,\u2013there was even a smile, the smile of rest and victory; and we laid\nhim there to rest on the battlefield, where the whole Punjaub had been\nwon by English arms; and there he quietly sleeps awaiting the\nresurrection of the dead.\"\n\n\"I HAVE FOUGHT A GOOD FIGHT, I HAVE FINISHED MY COURSE, I HAVE KEPT THE\nFAITH: HENCEFORTH THERE IS LAID UP FOR ME A CROWN OF RIGHTEOUSNESS WHICH\nTHE LORD, THE RIGHTEOUS JUDGE, SHALL GIVE ME AT THAT DAY.\"\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXI.\n\nCONCLUSION.\n\n\n\"The missionaries, lately assembled in conference at Allahabad,\" writes\nthe Editor, _Indian Medical Gazette_ of January 7, 1873, \"seemed\nunanimous in their belief regarding the advantages to be derived from\nthe presence of medical missionaries in the country; and we most\ncertainly join in this opinion. Men, like the late Dr. Elmslie of\nKashmir, are indeed an ornament to any profession, and, independently of\ntheir missionary labour, must influence for good any society into which\nthey may cast their lot. We most sincerely desire to see medical men of\nthis stamp scattered over India; we look upon them as being among the\nvery best representatives of the English character\u2013well educated,\nliberal-minded individuals, pursuing with earnestness the healing art,\nnot for the greed of gold, but that they may spend and be spent in doing\nthe work of their Master.\"\n\n\"One could not long be with dear Doctor Elmslie,\" writes Mr. Wade,\n\"without seeing how eminently he was fitted by nature and grace to be\nthe pioneer of Christianity in a heathen land. His active habits called\nfor strength of mind and body, which were given in a great degree. His\nfaith and patience kept him labouring without despair or despondency in\na good, but most difficult work. His great soundness of judgment, and\ndecision of character, and firmness of purpose, were of inestimable\nvalue in guiding the frail medical mission bark through all the stormy\nbillows which threatened, time after time, either to engulph it, or to\nstrand it upon the shores of the Punjaub. His prudence preserved him and\nthe mission from many entanglements, yet, when God's honour was\nconcerned, nothing could keep him quiet; and sometimes did he stir up\nwrath and make enemies by the bold way in which he rebuked vice. His\nforethought was such that he often jokingly spoke of himself as 'a\ncautious Scotchman'; and I can bear testimony to his great and continued\nattachment to his friends. With burning zeal and untiring devotion he\nlaboured on in his Master's work, and only his friends, who were much\nwith him, knew how earnestly he prayed for those, who by their unholy\nlives, caused God's name to be blasphemed amongst the heathen; and how\nhis heart longed to see the light of truth and liberty adorn the\nbeautiful valley of Kashmir,\u2013\n\n  'Where every prospect pleases,\n    And only man is vile.'\n\nWith thought and tenderness for others he spared not himself. When weak\nand wearied, and others saw how necessary a little rest and change were,\nto all the solicitations of his friends to leave Srinagar for only a\nshort time, he replied, that nothing should induce him to leave the\nplace whilst his poor people were suffering from cholera. And as he\nloved and laboured for the people, so they learned to trust and to love\nhim in return. Some were punished and others threatened for coming to\nhim, but come they would and did, even from great distances. One man,\nwhose blindness had been removed, actually fell at his feet to worship\nhim, saying, he had given him sight, and he would be his slave for ever;\nand others spoke of him as an avatar (incarnation of God) come to pity\nand heal them in their misery. Everything that was done was undertaken\nin a spirit of prayer. Every morning before the gospel was preached, or\nany medicines distributed, the Christians were assembled to entreat God\nto give His blessing, and after the address had been given by the\ncatechist to the assembled sick, a prayer was offered again, with all\nwho would join of the multitude.\"\n\nNor was it only the poor outcast Indians he sought to benefit, but his\nown country-folk of every rank to whom he had access in sickness or in\nhealth. Cases have been noted, and here is just one more:\u2013\"In the year\n1867, in Kashmir,\" writes a young officer, \"Dr. Elmslie spoke words to\nme which, through the blessing of the Holy Ghost, threw a flood of light\non my dark soul, and made me perceive the love of God in Christ. 'The\nblood of Jesus Christ cleanseth us from all sin': These were the words\nblessed of God to my conversion, and I ought surely to love dear Elmslie\nfor the good that he was in God's hand the means of doing me. For\nhimself, dear fellow, I am comforted, and feel him to be even nearer to\nme (in England) than he was when present in the body in India. You will,\nperhaps, wonder what I mean by this, but I mean simply that he is with\nJesus, and it is only a narrow boundary\u2013that of death\u2013which separates\nthe Lord from them who are to be with Him hereafter.\"\n\n\"From the time of Dr. Elmslie's first arrival,\" writes the Rev. Mr.\nClark, \"we could not fail to notice his true missionary spirit, which\nled him to give himself at once to the work for which he had come to\nIndia. He began to acquire the language, and quickly commenced his\nmedical labours amongst the people. He divided his time with great\nmethod and tact, so as to make the most of every opportunity. We quickly\nobserved his great conscientiousness, and the fidelity with which he\nengaged both in his professional and other duties. His judgment was very\ngood, and it was at once seen that he was one who could be consulted in\ndifficulties and emergencies, as they arose. He soon acquired influence,\nnot only amongst the natives, but amongst his missionary brethren, to\nwhom he endeared himself by his gentle and loving spirit; and his\npresence was ever felt to be an acquisition in our missionary\nconferences. He was known to be a firm friend to everything that was\ngood, and a staunch opponent to error and evil, in every form. He could\nnot 'bear that which was evil,' but boldly exposed it, and often in the\nstrongest language denounced it. Above all, we noticed his habitual tone\nof earnestness, and genuine Christian spirit of devotion, which\ncontinued with him in the midst of many occupations throughout the day.\nContinually did he renew his strength by communion with God, through\nprayer and the study of His Word; for he knew that (especially in this\nheathen atmosphere, so lowering and antagonistic to the hidden life)\neven daily duties eat out the missionary's strength and neutralize his\nefforts, unless men hourly walk in the strength of that meat, with which\nGod feeds His people in this wilderness world.\"\n\nBut it is of Amritsar, and of Dr. Elmslie's annual visit to my own\nmission, that I would especially speak. \"The natives looked forward to\nhis visits with great expectation, and both Christians and heathen used\nto think much of his approach. Some had perhaps an operation to be\nperformed; others wished to consult him about their own health, or that\nof their children. All knew that in him they would find a sympathising\nfriend. He generally arrived without any announcement beforehand, and\nappeared some morning almost unexpectedly in our midst; for no letters\ncould be despatched on the march to tell of his approach, and when he\nemerged from the hills into English territory, he travelled almost as\nfast as letters could come. There was not one member of our native\ncongregation who did not at once know when Dr. Elmslie had arrived; and\nthere were few perhaps amongst the 1000 boys and 350 girls in the\nmission schools who had not seen or heard of him. The orphans in the\norphanages felt the benefit of his presence; and the poor who throng\naround the catechist or the missionary when they preach in the bazaars,\nspoke of the Doctor Padre who had come to live amongst them for their\ngood. The rich also knew him, and appreciated his labours, for they once\npetitioned Government that he might be allowed to remain amongst them.\nHe had access to houses and families where the English cannot generally\ngo; and his kind, loving manner, and his professional skill, presented\nour missionary work to the people in altogether a new light. It was\nsometimes difficult for them to see from our direct missionary labours\nthat we really desired their welfare; for every now and then some young\nman from the schools, or some parent from a happy home, would sever\nthemselves suddenly, and in one moment, from every past association:\nwhen swords would pierce through breasts, and the secret thoughts of\nhearts would be revealed. Such anguish was then caused, such division\namongst families, such ruin of hopes, that they sometimes terminated in\n_death_. But the Doctor Sahib was, at any rate, the friend of the\npeople. Though a Christian and a missionary, he cured their ailments,\nand set their broken bones.\"\n\nFrom the very commencement of his labours in Kashmir, Dr. Elmslie ceased\nnot to work and pray for the abrogation of the iniquitous law to whose\noperation he eventually fell a sacrifice. He felt that the truly\nbeneficent character of his services gave him a vantage ground from\nwhich to make his appeal. It is touching to note that the law was\nabolished _the very day after his death_. The Rev. Mr. Wade writes thus\non the subject from Lahore (Nov. 27th).\u2013\"How mysterious God's ways often\nare, the very object which Dr. E. so much desired, and laboured, and\nprayed so much to obtain, was thought by him to have been lost entirely;\nbut a letter, dated the day after his death, was received by Mrs.\nElmslie, immediately on her arrival at Lahore, granting permission to\nthose who are not Government servants to remain in Kashmir all the year.\nIt says, 'His Excellency desires me to inform you that, so far as the\nBritish Government is concerned, there are no objections to Europeans,\nwho are not in the service of Government, proceeding to, or remaining in\nthe territories of the Maharajah of Kashmir at any time, so long as they\nconduct themselves with propriety, and submit to the laws of the\ncountry.' This is all that Dr. Elmslie wanted. The country is now open,\nand missionaries may remain there the whole year.\"\n\nBut the doctor was not only largely instrumental in thus opening the\ndoor to that beautiful country, but he has also provided a key to it, in\nthe shape of a valuable vocabulary of the Kashmiri language. This work\noccupied much of his time during the two years he was at home, and no\ndoubt he worked at it too assiduously. Strange it is that he was denied\nthe pleasure of seeing this work in its completed state. The Dictionary\nhad reached Amritsar to await his arrival,\u2013but he never arrived.\n\n\nEXTRACT FROM THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE ELEVENTH CONFERENCE OF THE CHURCH\nMISSION SOCIETY MISSIONARIES IN THE PUNJAUB,\u2013_18th December 1872_.\n\nII. Proposed by Mr. Clark, and seconded by Mr. Wade, That this\nConference, whilst sorrowfully lamenting the removal from their midst of\ntheir dear brother and fellow-labourer, Dr. Elmslie, by an early death,\ndesire to bow with reverence and resignation before the mysterious\nProvidence which has called him away from his important missionary work\nin Kashmir, at the very moment when, for the first time in its history,\nit has become completely opened to missionary effort.\n\nThat this Conference desire to bear testimony to the devotion and\nsingleness of purpose with which the beloved brother, for a series of\nyears, carried on his work with great ability and success, to the\nalleviation of sickness and sorrow amongst the people, as well as to the\nmaking known of the gospel of Christ.\n\nThat they desire also to express their sincere sympathy with Mrs.\nElmslie, who has thus been called to pass through such deep affliction\nat so early a period in her missionary life; and in the event of her\nremaining to engage in missionary work amongst the females of this\ncountry, they assure her, as a Conference, of a hearty welcome, and all\nsuch help as they are able to give. That this Conference request their\nsecretary to write to the Home Committee of the Church Missionary\nSociety to urge the Church Missionary Society to maintain the Kashmir\nMission in full efficiency, believing that the opening up of that\ncountry in answer to prayer is a sign that God has purposes of mercy to\nthat unhappy land. And they pray that God will raise up other labourers\nof like spirit to him whose death they now mourn, to carry on this work,\nwhich is one of no ordinary difficulty, and not unattended with danger.\n\nCarried _nem. con._\u2013Signed and certified by\n\nT. I. HUGHES, _Secretary_.\n\n\n_Amritsar, January 1873._\u2013MADAM,\u2013While all the friends of Indian\nMissions are bewailing with one heart the sudden and untimely death of\nDr. Elmslie, we, who were so intimately connected with him, would be\nsadly wanting in our duty if we failed to give vent, however feebly, to\nour grief at his death; and to our sincere sympathy with you, who have\nbeen so nearly touched by this mysterious providence of God. We have, of\nall people, to mourn most this loss, though Dr. Elmslie came originally\nas a missionary for Kashmir, yet the peculiar political state of that\ncountry rendered it necessary for him to live in this city for six\nmonths in the year. How usefully he was employed during that time is\nknown only to the natives of this place, who crowded to his dispensary\nto be cured of their diseases. He was a very good physician, and was\neminently successful in eye operations. Many waited for his return from\nKashmir for operations to be performed, and great numbers of this city\nowe the present enjoyment of their eyesight to him. He was particularly\nkind to us. He was our doctor, counsellor, and friend. We therefore wish\nto express our heartfelt sorrow, and to convey to you our sincere\nsympathy with you in your affliction; and may God think upon you for\ngood, according to all that your beloved husband has done for us.\n\nWe have heard that there is some probability of your remaining in\nAmritsar to carry on the great missionary work with which Dr. Elmslie\nwas connected. May we be allowed to express our hope that you may remain\nhere. We would even venture to ask you to remain, if this is not\nimpossible, in the sure belief that it will be for our great good, and\nfor that of many women and children in this country. We shall not forget\nto pray that God may direct your steps to remain amongst us if this be\nHis will.\n\n\u2013We remain, Madam, yours very faithfully, (_then follow thirty-four\nnames in native characters_).\u2013[To Mrs. Elmslie.]\n\n\nELMSLIE HOSPITAL AND DISPENSARY.\n\nAt a Conference of missionaries of the Church Missionary Society in the\nPunjaub, held at Amritsar in December 1872, a wish was expressed that\nthe love and esteem in which Dr. Elmslie was universally held might find\nexpression in some lasting memorial. It was proposed, and unanimously\nagreed, that such a memorial should be raised in connection with the\ncause which he had so much at heart, and in whose service he died. The\nLord Bishop of Calcutta has suggested that an endeavour should be made\nto establish in Srinagar, the capital of Kashmir, an 'Elmslie Hospital\nand Dispensary,' through which the name of William Elmslie, endeared as\nit is to the present generation of Kashmiris, may be permanently\nassociated with the great work which he has been instrumental in\nbeginning.\n\n  \"THE MEMORY OF THE JUST IS BLESSED.\"\n\n\nTHE END.\n\n\nDUNCAN GRANT AND COMPANY, PRINTERS, EDINBURGH.\n\n\n\n\n_June, 1874._\n\nA SELECTION FROM JAMES NISBET AND CO.'S CATALOGUE.\n\n\n\"THE WORDS OF CHRIST,\" and other Sermons. By the Rev. R. ALLEN, M.A. of\nGypsy Hill. Crown 8vo, 5s., cloth.\n\n\nCHRIST AND THE CHURCH. Sermons on the Apostolic Commission. (Matt.\nxxviii. 18-20.) By the Rev. ADOLPH SAPHIR, B.A. Crown 8vo, 6s., cloth.\n\n\nSELECT REMAINS OF ISLAY BURNS, D.D., of the Free Church College,\nGlasgow. Edited by the Rev. JAMES C. BURNS. With Memoir by the Rev.\nProfessor BLAIKIE, D.D. 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MACDUFF,\nD.D., Author of \"Memories of Bethany.\" Crown 8vo, 4s. 6d. cloth.\n\n\"Told with all his vigorous power of enforcing Scripture truth, and\nbringing it home to the heart and conscience. It teaches, in a striking\nmanner, many most useful lessons.\"\u2013_Christian Observer._\n\n\nDARK SAYINGS OF OLD. Being an attempt to Elucidate certain Difficult\nPassages of Holy Scripture, in a Series of Ten Lectures. By the Rev. J.\nB. MCCAUL, Honorary Canon of Rochester, &c. Post 8vo, 5s. cloth.\n\n\"A valuable contribution to current theological literature, and well\nadapted to counteract some of those erroneous opinions on sacred\nsubjects which are sadly too prevalent in the present day.\"\u2013_Church of\nEngland Magazine._\n\n\nTHE LITTLE CAMP ON EAGLE HILL. By the Author of \"The Wide Wide World,\"\n&c. Coloured Illustrations. Crown 8vo, 3s. 6d. cloth.\n\n\"Well written, full of dialogue, and clever.\"\u2013_Nonconformist._\n\n\"An excellent tale for the young, with a distinctly Christian\ntone.\"\u2013_Our Own Fireside._\n\n\nTHE RELATIONS OF THE KINGDOM TO THE WORLD. By the Rev. J. OSWALD DYKES,\nD.D. Author of \"The Beatitudes of the Kingdom,\" &c. Crown 8vo, 3s. 6d.\ncloth.\n\n\"For a certain nervous clearness of style, delightful freshness and\nvigour of thought, he has few equals in the Presbyterian Church.\"\u2013_North\nBritish Daily Mail._\n\n\nTHE GATES OF PRAYER. A Book of Private Devotion for Morning and Evening.\nBy the Author of \"Morning and Night Watches.\" 16mo, 2s. cloth.\n\n\"The prayers of which this volume is composed are of a high order, and\nwill be found full of suggestions.\"\u2013_Rock._\n\n\nTHE INGLISES; or, How the Way Opened. By MARGARET J. ROBERTSON, Author\nof \"Christie Redfern's Troubles.\" Second Edition. Crown 8vo, 3s. 6d.\ncloth.\n\n\"Full of the little details which give vitality and interestingness to a\nstory, and introducing characters queer, quaint, and peculiar, as well\nas those of a higher type.\"\u2013_Sunday School Teacher._\n\n\nBLACK IVORY. A Tale of Adventure among the Slavers of East Africa. By R.\nM. BALLANTYNE, Author of \"The Lifeboat,\" \"The Norsemen in the West,\" &c.\nIllustrations. Second Edition. Crown 8vo, 5s. cloth.\n\n\"A captivating story, and likely to do good withal, with incident and\ninformation, the picturesque and the practical, adventure and pathetic\nappeals, skilfully mingled for a good purpose.\"\u2013_Record._\n\n\nTHE CHRIST OF GOD. By the Rev. HORATIUS BONAR, D.D., Author of \"Hymns of\nFaith and Hope,\" &c. Crown 8vo, 3s. 6d. cloth.\n\n\"Thoughtful, reverent, earnest, and practical. It breathes a truly\ndevout spirit, and can scarcely fail to be profitable.\"\u2013_Watchman._\n\n\nTHE WORD OF LIFE. Being Selections from the Work of a Ministry. By the\nRev. CHARLES J. BROWN, D.D., Edinburgh. Post 8vo, 6s. cloth.\n\n\"Good specimens of the higher class of sermons given from the Scottish\npulpit.\"\u2013_Edinburgh Courant._\n\n\nTHE GOSPEL AND ITS FRUITS. A Book for the Young. By the Rev. J. H.\nWILSON, Edinburgh, Author of \"Our Father in Heaven,\" &c. Crown 8vo, 3s.\n6d. cloth.\n\n\"The book is quite unique. Full of sound doctrinal teaching, illustrated\nby anecdote and hymn and picture, it commands and rivets\nattention.\"\u2013_Daily Review._\n\n\nTALES OF ADVENTURE ON THE SEA. From \"Ballantyne's Miscellany.\" By R. M.\nBALLANTYNE, Author of \"The Lighthouse,\" &c. With Illustrations by the\nAuthor. Second Edition. Crown 8vo, 3s. 6d. cloth. CONTENTS: 1. Fighting\nthe Whales. 2. Fast in the Ice. 3. The Cannibal Islands. 4. The Battle\nand the Breeze.\n\n\"A better prize for the deserving school-boy could not be found than\nthis pleasant-looking book full of seafaring experience and tales of\nheroism.\"\u2013_English Independent._\n\n\nTHE MINISTRY OF SONG. By FRANCES RIDLEY HAVERGAL, Author of \"Bruey,\" &c.\nCheaper Edition. 32mo, 1s. 6d. cloth.\n\n\"Exquisite poems.\"\u2013_Our Own Fireside._\n\n\"Full of real poetry\u2013rich, deep, true, sweet, and brave thoughts.\"\n\u2013_Woman's Work._\n\n\nALICE L'ESTRANGE'S MOTTO: And how it gained the Victory. By RABY HUME.\nWith Illustrations. Royal 16mo, 2s. 6d. cloth.\n\n\"A beautiful story.\"\u2013_Watchman._\n\n\"Nicely written and well told.\"\u2013_South London Press._\n\n\nMEMOIR OF THE REV. J. J. WEITBRECHT, Late Missionary of the Church\nMissionary Society in Bengal. Compiled by his WIDOW from his Journals\nand his Letters. With a Preface by the late Rev. H. VENN, M.A. Cheaper\nEdition. Crown 8vo, 3s. 6d. cloth.\n\n\"The book ought to have a place in every library that has a missionary\ndepartment.\"\u2013_Literary World._\n\n\nLITTLE MAGDA. The Story of a Child. By ROSE BURROWES. With\nIllustrations. Royal 16mo, 3s. 6d. cloth.\n\n\"A charming picture of bright childhood.\"\u2013_Guardian._\n\n\"A beautiful and true picture of child-life.\"\u2013_Edinburgh Courant._\n\n\nA YEAR WITH THE EVERARDS. By the Hon. Mrs. CLIFFORD-BUTLER, Author of\n\"Little Elsie's Summer at Malvern,\" &c. Crown 8vo, 3s. 6d. cloth.\n\n\"One of Mrs. Clifford-Butler's pretty graceful stories for\nchildren.\"\u2013_Court Circular._\n\n\nNIDWORTH AND HIS THREE MAGIC WANDS. By the Author of \"Stepping\nHeavenward,\" \"Little Susy,\" &c. Royal 16mo. With Illustrations, 2s. 6d.\ncloth.\n\n\"The writing is pure and the lessons valuable.\"\u2013_Christian World._\n\n\nTHE WELL IS DEEP; or, Scripture illustrating Scripture. Arranged as\nMorning and Evening Bible Readings for Every Day in the Year. 32mo, 2s.\n6d. cloth.\n\n\nOUR FRIENDS IN HEAVEN; or, The Mutual Recognition of the Redeemed in\nGlory Demonstrated. By the Rev. J. M. KILLEN, D.D., Author of \"Our\nCompanions in Glory,\" &c. Fifteenth Edition. Crown 8vo, 3s. 6d. cloth.\n\n\"A full, earnest, and conclusive investigation of the entire\nsubject.\"\u2013_British and Foreign Evangelical Review._\n\n\nCHRIST GIVEN, RECEIVED, AND USED; or, Gratuitous Redemption: How we have\nit, and how to live on it. By the Rev. BEEDAM CHARLESWORTH, M.A.,\nMinister of the Memorial Church, Clifton. Second Edition, with\nadditional Sermon. Crown 8vo, 5s. cloth.\n\n\nTHE FOUR HAPPY DAYS. By FRANCES RIDLEY HAVERGAL, Author of \"Bruey,\" &c.\nRoyal 16mo, 1s. cloth.\n\n\"A pretty little story.... There are four little hymns with suitable\nchildren's music.\"\u2013_Glasgow Herald._\n\n\nLIGHT AND LIFE IN CHRIST. By the Rev. F. WHITFIELD, M.A., Author of\n\"Voices from the Valley,\" \"Earthly Shadows of the Heavenly Kingdom,\" &c.\nCrown 8vo, 5s. cloth.\n\n\nTHE CHILD OF THE CHOSEN PEOPLE. A Tale. Crown 8vo, 5s. cloth.\n\n\nCHILD LIFE. A Collection of Poems. Edited by JOHN GREENLEAF WHITTIER.\nWith many Illustrations. 4to, 6s. cloth, gilt edges.\n\n\"Turning over its leaves, it appears to us a charming volume, and we\nknow of no other which strings together so many gems of the like\nwater.\"\u2013_Times._\n\n\nTHE LITTLE PREACHER. By the Author of \"Little Susy's Six Birthdays,\"\n\"Stepping Heavenward,\" &c. 16mo, with Illustrations, 1s. 6d. cloth.\n\n\"A grave though interesting tale.... The teaching is done quietly and\npleasantly.\"\u2013_Edinburgh Courant._\n\n\nSERMONS AND LECTURES. By the late Rev. JAMES HAMILTON, D.D., F.L.S.,\nAuthor of \"Life in Earnest,\" \"The Great Biography,\" &c. Post 8vo, 7s.\n6d. cloth.\n\n\nLOWENCESTER. A Tale. By SYDNEY HAMPDEN. Crown 8vo, 5s. cloth.\n\n\"A clever tale.... The book is interesting and Christian.\"\u2013_Watchman._\n\n\nSOLDIERS AND SERVANTS OF CHRIST: or, Chapters on Church History. With\nPreface by the Rev. F. V. MATHER, M.A., Vicar of St. Paul's, Clifton,\nand Canon of Bristol. Second edition. Crown 8vo, 5s. cloth.\n\n\"An exceedingly valuable book.... The narratives embrace chief names\nfrom the 1st to the 16th century, and are so told that they will\ninterest young people.\"\u2013_Christian Observer._\n\n\nQUESTIONS OF THE DAY. By the Rev. JOHN HALL, D.D., of New York, late of\nDublin. Crown 8vo, 4s. 6d. cloth.\n\n\"A volume of admirable papers, full of acute thinking, attractively\nexpressed. A section would make admirable fireside reading in the\nfamily.\"\u2013_British and Foreign Evangelical Review._\n\n\nBLENDING LIGHTS; or, The Relations of Natural Science, Arch\u00e6ology, and\nHistory to the Bible. By the Rev. W. FRASER, LL.D. Second Edition. Post\n8vo, 6s. 6d. cloth.\n\n\"A very able volume. It is the fruit of much research, scientific,\nhistorical, and Biblical.\"\u2013_Quarterly Journal of Prophecy._\n\n\nTHIS PRESENT WORLD. Sketches from Nature and Art, taken in the Vacations\nof a Professional Life. By the Rev. WILLIAM ARNOT, Edinburgh, Author of\n\"The Parables of our Lord.\" Crown 8vo, 3s. 6d. cloth.\n\n\"A delightful little book, and one likely, we think, to be very\nuseful.\"\u2013_Edinburgh Courant._\n\n\nTHE STORY OF THE LIFU MISSION. By the Rev. S. MCFARLANE, Missionary of\nthe London Missionary Society. With Illustrations. Post 8vo, 6s. cloth.\n\n\"One of the most fascinating missionary books that has been published\nfor some time past.\"\u2013_English Independent._\n\n\nSERMONS ON OLD TESTAMENT SUBJECTS. By the late Rev. EDWARD WALKER,\nD.C.L., Rector of Cheltenham. Edited by the Rev. T. P. BOULTBEE, LL.D.\nCrown 8vo, 5s. cloth.\n\n\"Full of sound Gospel truth, these sermons are marked by great\nearnestness and directness of appeal.\"\u2013_Rock._\n\n\nCHRIST CRUCIFIED. Lectures on 1 Corinthians ii. By the Rev. ADOLPH\nSAPHIR, B.A. Crown 8vo, 3s. 6d. cloth.\n\n\"A valuable commentary.\"\u2013_Sword and Trowel._\n\n\"An earnest, forcible, luminous presentation of the mind of the\nSpirit.\"\u2013_Literary World._\n\n\nCOMFORT YE, COMFORT YE. Being God's Words of Comfort Addressed to His\nChurch, in the last Twenty-seven Chapters of Isaiah. By the Rev. J. R.\nMACDUFF, D.D. Second Edition, Small Crown 8vo, 5s. cloth.\n\n\"Every page is full of beauty, and the book will certainly be found\nuseful and suggestive by all into whose hands it may fall.\"\u2013_Rock._\n\n\nTHE EVERLASTING RIGHTEOUSNESS; or, How shall Man be just with God? By\nthe Rev. HORATIUS BONAR, D.D. Second Edition, Small Crown 8vo, 3s. 6d.\ncloth.\n\n\"A rich book, suggestive, gracious, full of holy unction.\"\u2013_Sword and\nTrowel._\n\n\nVOICES FROM THE VALLEY TESTIFYING OF JESUS. By the Rev. F. WHITFIELD,\nM.A., author of \"Earthly Shadows of the Heavenly Kingdom,\" &c. Seventh\nEdition, Small Crown 8vo, 3s. 6d. cloth.\n\n\"Eloquent, evangelical and simple, we cannot express too high an opinion\nof these expositions of Scripture.\"\u2013_Our Own Fireside._\n\n\nTHE NORSEMEN IN THE WEST; or, America before Columbus. By R. M.\nBALLANTYNE, author of \"The Iron Horse,\" &c. Second Edition, Crown 8vo,\n5s. cloth, with Illustrations.\n\n\"A book that cannot possibly be laid down till the very last word of the\nlast line has been read.\"\u2013_Athen\u00e6um._\n\n\nTHE LAWS OF THE KINGDOM. By the Rev. J. OSWALD DYKES, D.D., Author of\n\"The Beatitudes of the Kingdom.\" Second Edition, Crown 8vo, 3s. 6d.\ncloth.\n\n\"An expositor worthy of the theme.... We recommend the book\nheartily.\"\u2013_Edinburgh Courant._\n\n\nSYNOPTICAL LECTURES ON THE BOOKS OF HOLY SCRIPTURE. First Series\u2013Genesis\nto Song of Songs\u2013Second Series\u2013Isaiah to Acts. By the Rev. DONALD\nFRASER, D.D., Marylebone. Crown 8vo, each 6s. cloth.\n\n\"Singularly interesting, instructive and comprehensive lectures.\"\n\u2013_Record._\n\n\nSCRIPTURE ITSELF THE ILLUSTRATOR. A Manual of Illustrations, gathered\nfrom Scriptural Figures, Phrases, Types, Derivations, Chronology, Texts,\netc., adapted for the use of Preachers and Teachers. By the Rev. G. S.\nBOWES, B.A. Small Crown 8vo, 3s. 6d. cloth.\n\n\"Evidently the result of attentive and persevering study.... We strongly\nrecommend it to the notice of preachers and teachers, feeling sure that\nthey will derive many suggestive hints from it.\"\u2013_Church of England\nMagazine._\n\n\nPULPIT DISCOURSES, EXPOSITORY AND PRACTICAL, AND COLLEGE ADDRESSES. By\nMICHAEL WILLIS, D.D., LL.D., Emeritus Professor of Divinity, and\nPrincipal of the Knox College, Toronto, and formerly Minister of\nRenfield Church, Glasgow. Post 8vo, 7s. 6d. cloth.\n\n\"Remarkable specimens of exegetical exposition and defence of truth,\nwhich students of theology would do well to read, ponder, and inwardly\ndigest.\"\u2013_Inverness Courier._\n\n\nBRUEY, A LITTLE WORKER FOR CHRIST. By FRANCES RIDLEY HAVERGAL, Author of\n\"The Ministry of Song.\" Third Edition, Small Crown 8vo, 3s. 6d. cloth.\n\n\"Written in a fascinating style.\"\u2013_Woman's Work._\n\n\"A peculiarly interesting volume.\"\u2013_Churchman's Shilling Magazine._\n\n\nPAPERS FOR HOME READING. By the Rev. JOHN HALL, D.D., New York. Second\nEdition, Small Crown 8vo, 3s. 6d. cloth.\n\n\"Lively, practical, and earnest, and on themes of the deepest\nmoment.\"\u2013_English Independent._\n\n\"The whole collection is excellent.\"\u2013_Presbyterian._\n\n\nMORAG; A Tale of Highland Life. Second Edition, Small Crown 8vo, 3s. 6d.\ncloth.\n\n\"One of the most touching children's stories we have for a long time\nread.\"\u2013_Nonconformist._\n\n\nTALES FROM ALSACE; or, Scenes and Portraits from Life in the Days of the\nReformation, as drawn from old Chronicles. Translated from the German.\nCrown 8vo, 3s. 6d. cloth.\n\n\"We can assure readers of this volume a genuine treat.... Young and old\nwill be arrested by their charm, and touched by their pathos.\"\u2013_English\nIndependent._\n\n\nTHE CIRCLE OF THE CHURCH'S LIFE. Translated from the German of Dr.\nTholuck by the Rev. ROBERT MENZIES, D.D. Small Crown 8vo, 3s. 6d. cloth.\n\n\"Whatever be our views of these ecclesiastical days, we will find our\nfaith strengthened and our devotional feeling quickened by the calm and\ncareful perusal of this excellent volume.\"\u2013_Daily Review._\n\n\nMATTHEW FROST, CARRIER; or, Little Snowdrop's Mission. By Mrs. MARSHALL,\nAuthor of \"Stellafont Abbey.\" Small Crown 8vo, 3s. 6d. cloth.\n\n\"A pretty story told with all the author's well known charm of\nmanner.\"\u2013_Watchman._\n\n\nTHREE PATHS IN LIFE. A Story for Girls. By ELLEN BARLEE. Small Crown\n8vo, 3s. 6d. cloth.\n\n\"Written especially for girls, who will find in it some pleasant reading\nas well as much good sensible advice.\"\u2013_Guardian._\n\n\nTHE DEATH OF SELF, THE LIFE OF SERVICE. Lectures on Isaiah vi., preached\nin Portman Chapel, during Lent, 1872. By the Rev. J. W. REEVE, M.A.\nSmall Crown 8vo, 3s. 6d. cloth.\n\n\"Weighty truths expressed with much earnestness and plainness.\"\u2013_Church\nof England Magazine._\n\n\"Can hardly be too fervently commended to the attention of the Christian\nreader.\"\u2013_Record._\n\n\nTHE BEATITUDES OF THE KINGDOM. By the Rev. J. OSWALD DYKES, D.D. Third\nEdition. Small Crown 8vo, 3s. 6d. cloth.\n\n\"The purity of Mr. Dykes's language and the lucidity of thought and\nexpression, combine to render this one of the choicest contributions to\nChristology which we have lately met with.\"\u2013_Nonconformist._\n\n\nOUR FATHER IN HEAVEN. The Lord's Prayer Familiarly Explained and\nIllustrated for Children. By the Rev. J. H. WILSON, Edinburgh. Crown\n8vo, 2s. 6d. cloth, with Illustrations.\n\n\"One of the most interesting and successful expositions of the Lord's\nPrayer in our language. It abounds in illustration and anecdote, and\ncannot fail to be a favourite with young people.\"\u2013_Evangelical\nMagazine._\n\n\nANNALS OF ENGLISH PRESBYTERY, FROM THE EARLIEST PERIOD TO THE PRESENT\nTIME. By the Rev. THOS. MCCRIE, D.D., LL.D., author of \"Sketches of\nScottish Church History,\" &c. Small Crown 8vo, 5s. cloth.\n\n\"A valuable historic contribution.\"\u2013_Christian Work._\n\n\"A book full of interest.\"\u2013_Record._\n\n\nCHRISTIAN INSTRUCTION FOUNDED ON THE CATECHISM OF THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND.\nIn three successive Steps. By the Rev. W. DALTON, B.D. Twelfth Edition.\nSmall Crown 8vo, 2s. cloth. Also, separately, 1st Step, 2d.; 2nd Step,\n8d.; 3rd Step, 10d.\n\n\nTRUTH IN CHRIST. By the Rev. F. WHITFIELD, M.A., author of \"Voices from\nthe Valley.\" Third Edition, Small Crown 8vo, 3s. 6d. cloth.\n\n\"His readers will find his notes and comments very valuable when perused\nin conjunction with the passages on which they are founded.\"\u2013_Rock._\n\n\nHEAVENLY PLACES. Addresses on the Book of Joshua. By STEVENSON A.\nBLACKWOOD. Second Edition. Small Crown 8vo, 2s. cloth limp; 2s. 6d.\nboards.\n\n\"Sound, earnest, and practical enforcement of Evangelical\ntruth.\"\u2013_Evangelical Magazine._\n\n\nAN EXPLANATORY AND PRACTICAL COMMENTARY ON THE NEW TESTAMENT. Intended\nchiefly as a help to Family Devotion. Edited and continued by the Rev.\nW. DALTON, B.D. Fourth Edition, 2 vols. 8vo, 24s. cloth.\n\n\nTHE IRON HORSE; or, Life on the Line. A Railway Tale. By R. M.\nBALLANTYNE, author of \"The Lifeboat,\" &c. Second Edition. With\nIllustrations. Crown 8vo, 5s. cloth.\n\n\"A captivating book for boys.\"\u2013_Guardian._\n\n\"A most engaging tale, in which there is also a substratum of very\nuseful practical information.\"\u2013_Inverness Courier._\n\n\nST. PAUL IN ROME; or, the Teachings, Fellowships, and Dying Testimony of\nthe great Apostle in the City of the C\u00e6sars. Being Sermons preached in\nRome during the Spring of 1871. With a copious Introduction, containing\ndetails of Local, Historical, and Legendary interest, gathered on the\nspot. By the Rev. J. R. MACDUFF, D.D. With Photograph. Second Edition.\nSmall crown 8vo, 4s. 6d. cloth.\n\n\"Simple, earnest, and evangelical.\"\u2013_Evangelical Magazine._\n\n\nTHE CULTURE OF PLEASURE; or, The Enjoyment of Life in its Social and\nReligious Aspects. By the author of \"The Mirage of Life.\" Third Edition.\nCrown 8vo, 6s. cloth.\n\n\"A very readable, enjoyable and profitable work.\"\u2013_The Daily Telegraph._\n\n\"A pleasant volume to read; full of anecdote and illustration. It has a\nflavour of the raciness of the Doctor of Southey and of the philosophy\nof the Lacon of Colton.\"\u2013_The English Churchman._\n\n\nINCIDENTS IN THE LIFE AND MINISTRY OF THE LATE REV. A. R. C. DALLAS,\nM.A., RECTOR OF WONSTON. By HIS WIDOW. With Portrait. Third Edition.\nPost 8vo, 7s. 6d. cloth.\n\n\"An important and well-timed contribution to the religious biography of\nthe nineteenth century.\"\u2013_Christian Observer._\n\n\nSTORIES OF VINEGAR HILL. Illustrative of the Parable of the Sower. By\nthe author of \"The Golden Ladder.\" With coloured Illustrations. Small\ncrown 8vo, 3s. 6d. cloth.\n\n\"An admirable example of the way in which the teachings of Scripture,\nand especially the parables of the Lord, may be used so as to engage the\nattention and sympathy of children.\"\u2013_Nonconformist._\n\n\nTHE SONG OF THE NEW CREATION, AND OTHER PIECES. By the Rev. HORATIUS\nBONAR, D.D. Author of \"Hymns of Faith and Hope.\" Crown 8vo, 5s. cloth.\nCheap Edition, 32mo, 1s. 6d., cloth, circuit or gilt edges.\n\n\"Fresh specimens of that poetic power by which the author has often\ndriven away evil spirits from the hearts of men and cheered them in the\ndark.\"\u2013_British and Foreign Evangelical Review._\n\n\nTALES OF THE WARRIOR JUDGES. A Sunday Book for Boys. By the Rev. J. R.\nMACDUFF, D.D. Foolscap 8vo, 2s. 6d. cloth. With Illustrations.\n\n\"Told with freshness and force.\"\u2013_Evangelical Magazine._\n\n\nLITTLE SUNBEAMS. Stories by JOANNA H. MATTHEWS. With Coloured\nIllustrations. Second Edition. Crown 8vo, 3s. 6d. cloth.\n\n\"Many important lessons are taught in its pages, which, while never\ndull, are always instructive.\"\u2013_Rock._\n\n\nA TALE OF TWO OLD SONGS. The Bridge and the Village Blacksmith. By the\nHon. MRS. CLIFFORD-BUTLER. Second Edition. Small crown 8vo, 2s. 6d.\ncloth.\n\nALSO\n\nA SUNBEAM'S INFLUENCE; or, Eight Years After. By the same Author. Small\ncrown 8vo, 2s. 6d. cloth.\n\n\"This lady writes very pleasantly and without exaggeration.\"\u2013_Evening\nStandard._ \"Well-written and somewhat pathetic tales.\"\u2013_Record._\n\n\nTHE MIRACLES OF OUR LORD. A Course of School-room Lectures. By the late\nRev. E. WALKER, D.C.L., Rector of Cheltenham. Edited by a Member of the\nCongregation. Crown 8vo, 5s. cloth.\n\n\"Model examples of what, we think, deserves to be called 'preaching the\nWord.'\"\u2013_Our Own Fireside._\n\n\nWITHOUT AND WITHIN. A New England Story. With coloured Illustrations.\nSmall crown 8vo, 3s. 6d. cloth.\n\n\"The story is well told; the characters are well delineated; the\npathetic and the humorous are skilfully blended.\"\u2013_Maryland Church\nRecord._\n\n\nMEMORIES OF PATMOS; or, Some of the Great Words and Visions of the\nApocalypse. By the Rev. J. R. MACDUFF. D.D. With Vignette. Fifth\nThousand. Post 8vo, 6s. 6d., cloth.\n\n\"Dr. Macduff has given us a volume of beautiful thoughts, and has\nclothed these thoughts with language which is at once elegant and\nforcible.\"\u2013_Rock._\n\n\nMOSES THE MAN OF GOD. A Series of Lectures by the late JAMES HAMILTON,\nD.D., F.L.S. Second Edition. Small Crown 8vo, 5s., cloth.\n\n\"Graceful description, imaginative reconstruction, unconventional, and\noften very ingenious, sometimes learned disquisition with the light\ngraceful touch of poetic style and delicate fancy.\"\u2013_British Quarterly\nReview._\n\n\nLAYS OF THE HOLY LAND. Selected from Ancient and Modern Poets by the\nRev. HORATIUS BONAR, D.D. New Edition, with Illustrations from original\nPhotographs and Drawings. Crown 4to, 12s., cloth.\n\n\"The Holy Land is a subject to which all great poets have devoted some\nof their best endeavours, and these are now brought together and adorned\nby illustrations worthy of such a text.... The volume will long remain a\nfavourite.\"\u2013_Times._\n\n\nTHE ATONEMENT; in its Relations to the Covenant, the Priesthood, and the\nIntercession of our Lord. By the Rev. HUGH MARTIN, D.D. Post 8vo, 6s.\ncloth.\n\n\"A volume written with remarkable vigour and earnestness.\"\u2013_British\nQuarterly Review._\n\n\"Well worthy of a careful perusal, and we cordially recommend it to all\nour readers, and especially to ministers and students of\ntheology.\"\u2013_Evangelical Witness._\n\n\nTHE FLOATING LIGHT OF THE GOODWIN SANDS. A Tale by R. M. BALLANTYNE,\nAuthor of \"The Lifeboat,\" &c. With Illustrations. Crown 8vo, 5s. cloth.\n\n\"As full of incident, as healthy in tone, and as fresh and vigorous in\nstyle as any of its predecessors.\"\u2013_Scotsman._\n\n\nTHE LIFE OF THE LATE JAMES HAMILTON, D.D., F.L.S. By the Rev. WILLIAM\nARNOT, Edinburgh. Post 8vo, 7s. 6d. cloth. With Portrait.\n\n\"We rejoice to recommend this volume as a congenial and worthy record of\none of the noblest and most fruitful lives with which the Church of\nChrist has been blessed in modern days. The editor's work has been done\nwith admirable judgment.\"\u2013_Weekly Review._\n\n\nA MEMOIR OF THE LATE REV. WILLIAM C. BURNS, M.A., Missionary to China.\nBy the late Professor ISLAY BURNS, D.D., Glasgow. Crown 8vo, 6s. cloth.\nWith Portrait. Cheap Edition. Small Crown 8vo, 3s. 6d. cloth.\n\n\"A more apostolic life has rarely been spent.... It is impossible to\nestimate too highly the good that may flow from this record of Christian\nlife and labour.\"\u2013_Sunday Magazine._\n\n\nTHE LORD'S PRAYER. Lectures by the Rev. ADOLPH SAPHIR, B.A., Greenwich.\nFourth Edition. Small Crown 8vo, 5s. cloth.\n\n\"A work so wide in its range of thought, and so concentrated in its\ndoctrinal teachings, so rich and well packed, yet so simple and\ninteresting, and so clear, pure, and intelligible in expression does not\noften make its appearance.\"\u2013_Christian Work._\n\n\nTHE SHEPHERD AND HIS FLOCK; or, The Keeper of Israel and the Sheep of\nHis Pasture. By the Rev. J. R. MACDUFF, D.D. With Vignette. Eleventh\nThousand. Small Crown 8vo, 3s. 6d. cloth.\n\n\"A remarkably well-written volume, eminently practical and devout in its\ntone, and one which spiritually-minded persons will read with both\npleasure and profit.\"\u2013_Journal of Sacred Literature._\n\n\nLIGHT AND TRUTH. Bible Thoughts and Themes\u2013First, Second, Third, Fourth,\nand Fifth Series\u20131. THE OLD TESTAMENT. 2. THE GOSPELS. 3. THE ACTS AND\nTHE LARGER EPISTLES. 4. THE LESSER EPISTLES. 5. THE REVELATION OF ST.\nJOHN. By the Rev. HORATIUS BONAR, D.D. Crown 8vo, each 5s. cloth.\n\n\"Rich in matter and very suggestive.\"\u2013_Christian Advocate._\n\n\"Valuable work. It contains a series of brief expositions well suited\nfor private use, or for family reading.\"\u2013_Record._\n\n\nSERMONS. Preached at King's Lynn. By the late Rev. E. L. HULL, B.A.\nFirst, Second, and Third Series. Post 8vo, each 6s. cloth.\n\n\"This new volume of twenty sermons has all the claims of the first\u2013the\nsame happy use of Scripture, the same clear and firm grasp of the\nprinciple of every text he selected, the same earnest longing after the\nbeauty and holiness on which he has now entered, the same play of\nimagination, the same freshness of thought, and fitness of\nutterance.\"\u2013_Freeman._\n\n\nSTEPPING HEAVENWARD. By Mrs. PRENTISS. Author of \"Little Susy's Six\nBirthdays,\" &c. With coloured Illustrations. Seventh Edition. Small\nCrown 8vo, 2s. 6d. cloth.\n\n\"A faithful diary, recording the experiences of a good and gentle soul\nin its onward march to a better land.\"\u2013_Rock._\n\n\nBOOKS FOR WAYFARERS. By ANNA WARNER, Author of the \"Golden Ladder.\"\n32mo, cloth. 1. WAYFARING HYMNS, ORIGINAL AND SELECTED. 6d. 2. THE\nMELODY OF THE TWENTY-THIRD PSALM. 8d. 3. THE OTHER SHORE. 1s. 4. THE\nFOURTH WATCH. 10d.\n\n\"There is an unction and a beauty about the books that well fit them to\nbe pocket or table companions.\"\u2013_Freeman._\n\n\"Two little books, beautiful without and within.\"\u2013_English Presbyterian\nMessenger._\n\n\nMEMORIALS OF THE LATE JAMES HENDERSON, M.D., F.R.C.S.E., Medical\nMissionary to China. With Appendix. Seventh Edition. Small Crown 8vo,\n3s. 6d. cloth. With Portrait. Also, Cheap and Abridged Edition, 16mo,\n1s. cloth limp.\n\n\"The memorials of Dr. Henderson form as beautiful and exhilarating a\nlittle history as it has been for some time our task or pleasure to\nread.... It is the story of one of those noble lives before which power\nand difficulty recoil, and give up the contest.\"\u2013_Eclectic Review._\n\n\nNOONTIDE AT SYCHAR; or, The Story of Jacob's Well. By the Rev. J. R.\nMACDUFF, D.D. With Vignettes. Ninth Thousand. Small Crown 8vo, 3s. 6d.\ncloth.\n\n\"One of the most attractive of the many pleasant and profitable\nreligious studies published by Dr. Macduff.\"\u2013_Daily Review._\n\n\nDEEP DOWN. A Tale of the Cornish Mines. By R. M. BALLANTYNE, Author of\n\"The Life-Boat,\" etc. With Illustrations. Small Crown 8vo, 5s. cloth.\n\n\"This is just the subject for Mr. Ballantyne, whose stories in\nconnection with that enterprise and adventure which have made England\ngreat are amongst the best of modern days.\"\u2013_Daily News._\n\n\nTHE WORKS OF THE LATE JAMES HAMILTON, D.D., F.L.S. Complete in Six\nVols., Post 8vo, each 7s. 6d. cloth.\n\n\"More than most men he has embalmed his qualities in his writings....\nThey well deserve to be published in a permanent form, and this handsome\nlibrary edition will be a great boon to many families.\"\u2013_Freeman._\n\n\nFROM SEVENTEEN TO THIRTY. The Town Life of a Youth from the Country; its\nTrials, Temptations, and Advantages. Lessons from the History of Joseph.\nBy the Rev. THOMAS BINNEY. Fifth Edition. Small Crown 8vo, 1s. 6d.\ncloth.\n\n\"Nothing can exceed the quiet dignity, beauty, and simplicity of style\nin which this book is written. Not only is it a model of wise Scriptural\nexposition, but we cannot at this moment recall anything that approaches\nit.\"\u2013_English Independent._\n\n\nMEMORIES OF OLIVET. By the Rev. J. R. MACDUFF, D.D. With Vignette.\nSeventh Thousand. Post 8vo, 6s. 6d. cloth.\n\n\"The almost photographic clearness with which every point around\nJerusalem is described, and the frequent though unobtrusive illustration\nof the sacred text from Eastern life, together with the vivid\nrealization of the movements of our Saviour during the last few days of\nhis earthly career, make the _Memories of Olivet_ a most valuable\ncompanion in the study of the preacher and teacher, and in the chamber\nof the home student.\"\u2013_Record._\n\n\nTHE LIFE OF THE LATE REV. DR. MARSH, of Beddington. By his DAUGHTER,\nAuthor of \"English Hearts and English Hands,\" etc. With Portrait. Eighth\nEdition. Post 8vo, 10s. cloth; Fourth and Cheap Edition, Small Crown\n8vo, 3s. cloth.\n\n\"We have read this volume with much interest, and can recommend it as an\nexcellent account of Dr. Marsh's life and career, and of the\nassociations connected with them.\"\u2013_Times._\n\n\nPLAIN SERMONS ON THE GOSPEL MIRACLES. By the Rev. ARTHUR ROBERTS, M.A.\nCrown 8vo, 5s. cloth.\n\n\"Plain and simple, without attempt at critical disquisition or\nphilosophical inquiry, they are earnest, scriptural, and attractive. The\nstyle, with nothing lofty in it, is pleasant, and the sermons are\nthoroughly readable.\"\u2013_Church of England Magazine._\n\n\nTHE SHADOW AND THE SUBSTANCE. A Second Series of Addresses by STEVENSON\nA. BLACKWOOD. Small Crown 8vo. 2s. cloth limp, 2s. 6d. cloth boards.\n\n\"A very thoughtful and thoroughly scriptural view of the Passover.... To\nthose who wish for useful reading to adult classes, or to mothers'\nmeetings, we commend this book.\"\u2013_Record._\n\n\nTHE PROPHET OF FIRE; or, The Life and Times of Elijah, and their\nLessons. By the Rev. J. R. MACDUFF, D.D. Eighth Thousand. Post 8vo, 6s.\n6d. cloth.\n\n\"Full of incident, rich in illustration, smooth and pleasing in style,\nand abounding in practical lessons.\"\u2013_English Presbyterian Messenger._\n\n\nST. PAUL; His Life and Ministry to the Close of his Third Missionary\nJourney. By the Rev. THOMAS BINNEY. Crown 8vo, 5s. cloth.\n\n\"Mr. Binney has elaborated into a volume his magnificent lectures on St.\nPaul's Life and Ministry.... Mr. Binney's books need no commendation of\nours.\"\u2013_Quarterly Messenger Young Men's Christian Association._\n\n\nFIFTY-TWO SHORT SERMONS FOR FAMILY READING. By HORATIUS BONAR, D.D.\nCrown 8vo, 6s. cloth.\n\n\"These are short plain sermons for family reading, and are admirably\nfitted for so good a purpose.\"\u2013_English Presbyterian Messenger._\n\n\nHYMNS OF FAITH AND HOPE. By HORATIUS BONAR, D.D. First, Second, and\nThird Series. Crown 8vo, each 5s. cloth. Also, Pocket Editions, Royal\n32mo, each 1s. 6d. Also a Royal Edition, printed at the Chiswick Press,\nand handsomely bound. Post 8vo, 7s. 6d. cloth.\n\n\"There is a freshness and vigour, an earnestness and a piety in these\ncompositions, which is very gratifying. The language is highly\npoetical.\"\u2013_Evangelical Christendom._\n\n\nILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS FOR PREACHERS AND TEACHERS. By the Rev. G. S.\nBOWES, B.A. First and Second Series, Small Crown 8vo, each, 3s. 6d.\ncloth.\n\n\"Its tone is thoroughly evangelical and spiritual, and it is fitted to\nfurnish useful hints and illustrations to the Christian teacher.\"\n\u2013_Christian Witness._\n\n\nENGLISH HEARTS AND ENGLISH HANDS; or, The Railway and the Trenches. By\nthe Author of \"Memorials of Captain Hedley Vicars.\" Small Crown 8vo, 5s.\ncloth. Also a Cheaper Edition, 2s. cloth limp.\n\n\"The Memorials of Vicars and these Memorials of the Crystal Palace\nNavvies are books of precisely the same type and must not be overlooked.\nWe recognize in them an honesty of purpose, a purity of heart, and a\nwarmth of human affection, combined with a religious faith, that are\nvery beautiful.\"\u2013_Times._\n\n\nTHE EXETER HALL LECTURES TO YOUNG MEN, from their commencement in\n1845-6, to their termination in 1864-5, all uniformly printed, and\nhandsomely bound in cloth, and embellished with portraits of the Friends\nand Patrons of the Young Men's Christian Association. Complete in 20\nvols., price of each volume, 4s.; or the whole series for \u00a33.\n\n\nMATTHEW HENRY'S COMMENTARY ON THE HOLY BIBLE, comprising upwards of 7000\nPages, well printed (the Notes as well as the Text in clear and distinct\ntype) on good paper, forming Nine Imperial 8vo volumes, and handsomely\nbound in cloth. Price \u00a33 3s.\n\n\u2042 The work may also be had in a variety of extra bindings, particulars\nof which will be forwarded on application.\n\n\nTHE REV. THOS. SCOTT'S COMMENTARY ON THE HOLY BIBLE, comprising Marginal\nReferences, a copious Topical Index, Fifteen Maps, and Sixty-nine\nEngravings, illustrative of Scripture Incidents and Scenery. Complete in\n6 vols. 4to, published at \u00a34 4s., now offered for \u00a32 10s.\n\n\nTHE BIBLE MANUAL: an Expository and Practical Commentary on the Books of\nScripture, arranged in Chronological Order: forming a Hand-book of\nBiblical Elucidation for the use of Families, Schools, and Students of\nthe Word of God. Translated from the German Work, edited by the late\nRev. Dr. C. G. BARTH, of Calw, Wurtemberg. Third Edition. Imperial 8vo,\n12s. cloth.\n\n\nTHE WORD SERIES.\n\nBy ELIZABETH WETHERALL and ANNA LOTHROP, Authors of \"The Wide Wide\nWorld.\" With Coloured Illustrations. Crown 8vo, each 3s. 6d. cloth.\n\n1. WALKS FROM EDEN: The Scripture Story from the Creation to the Death\nof Abraham.\n\n2. THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL: The Scripture Story from the Birth of Isaac to\nthe Death of Jacob.\n\n3. THE STAR OUT OF JACOB: The Scripture Story Illustrating the Earlier\nPortion of the Gospel Narrative.\n\n\nTHE GOLDEN LADDER SERIES.\n\nUniform in size and binding, with coloured Illustrations. Crown 8vo,\ncloth.\n\n1. THE GOLDEN LADDER: Stories Illustrative of the Eight Beatitudes. By\nELIZABETH and ANNA WARNER. 3s. 6d.\n\n2. THE WIDE WIDE WORLD. By ELIZABETH WARNER. 3s. 6d.\n\n3. QUEECHY. By the same. 3s. 6d.\n\n4. MELBOURNE HOUSE. By the same. 3s. 6d.\n\n5. DAISY. By the same. 3s. 6d.\n\n6. THE OLD HELMET. By the same. 3s. 6d.\n\n7. THE THREE LITTLE SPADES. By the same. 2s. 6d.\n\n8. NETTIE'S MISSION: Stories Illustrative of the Lord's Prayer. By ALICE\nGRAY. 3s. 6d.\n\n9. DAISY IN THE FIELD. By ELIZABETH WARNER. 3s. 6d.\n\n10. STEPPING HEAVENWARD. By Mrs. PRENTISS. Author of \"Little Susy.\"\n2s. 6d.\n\n11. WHAT SHE COULD, AND OPPORTUNITIES. Tales by ELIZABETH WARNER. 3s.\n6d.\n\n12. GLEN LUNA. By ANNA WARNER. 3s. 6d.\n\n13. DRAYTON HALL. Stories Illustrative of the Beatitudes. By ALICE GRAY.\n3s. 6d.\n\n14. WITHOUT AND WITHIN. A New England Story. 3s. 6d.\n\n15. VINEGAR HILL STORIES. Illustrative of the Parable of the Sower. By\nANNA WARNER. 3s. 6d.\n\n16. LITTLE SUNBEAMS. By J. H. MATTHEWS. 3s. 6d.\n\n17. THE HOUSE IN TOWN AND TRADING. 3s. 6d.\n\n18. THE LITTLE CAMP ON EAGLE HILL. By ELIZABETH WARNER. 3s. 6d.\n\n19. WILLOW BROOK. By the Author of \"The Wide Wide World.\" 3s. 6d.\n\n20. DARE TO DO RIGHT. By the Author of \"Nettie's Mission.\" 3s. 6d.\n\n\nTHE SELECT SERIES.\n\nCrown 8vo, each 3s. 6d. cloth. Bound by Burn. Most of them with\nIllustrations.\n\n1. DERRY. A Tale of the Revolution. By CHARLOTTE ELIZABETH.\n\n2. THE LAND OF THE FORUM AND THE VATICAN. By the Rev. NEWMAN HALL, LL.B.\n\n3. THE LISTENER. By CAROLINE FRY.\n\n4. DAYS AND NIGHTS IN THE EAST; or, Illustrations of Bible Scenes. By\nthe Rev. HORATIUS BONAR, D.D.\n\n5. THE HOLY WAR. By JOHN BUNYAN.\n\n6. THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS. By JOHN BUNYAN.\n\n7. THE MOUNTAINS OF THE BIBLE; Their Scenes and their Lessons. By the\nRev. JOHN MACFARLANE, LL.D.\n\n8. HOME AND FOREIGN SERVICE; or, Pictures in Active Christian Life.\n\n9. LIFE. A Series of Illustrations of the Divine Wisdom in the Forms,\nStructures, and Instincts of Animals. By PHILLIP H. GOSSE, F.R.S.\n\n10. LAND AND SEA. By P. H. GOSSE, F.R.S.\n\n11. JOHN KNOX AND HIS TIMES. By the Author of \"The Story of Martin\nLuther,\" etc.\n\n12. HOME IN THE HOLY LAND. By Mrs. FINN.\n\n13. A THIRD YEAR IN JERUSALEM. A Tale Illustrating Incidents and Customs\nin Modern Jerusalem. By Mrs. FINN.\n\n14 & 15. THE ROMANCE OF NATURAL HISTORY. By P. H. GOSSE, F.R.S. First\nand Second Series.\n\n16. BYEWAYS IN PALESTINE. By JAMES FINN, Esq. F.R.A.S., late H. M.\nConsul of Jerusalem and Palestine.\n\n17. BLOOMFIELD. A Tale by ELIZABETH WARREN, Author of \"John Knox and his\nTimes,\" &c.\n\n18. TALES FROM ALSACE; or, Scenes and Portraits from Life in the Days of\nthe Reformation, as drawn from old Chronicles. Translated from the\nGerman.\n\n19. HYMNS OF THE CHURCH MILITANT. Edited by the Author of \"The Wide Wide\nWorld.\"\n\n20. THE PHYSICIAN'S DAUGHTERS; or, The Spring Time of Woman. By the\nAuthor of \"Wandering Homes and their Influences,\" &c.\n\n21. WANDERING HOMES AND THEIR INFLUENCES. By the author of \"The\nPhysician's Daughters.\"\n\n\n\n_Henderson, Rait & Fenton, Printers, 69, Marylebone Lane, Oxford Street._","title":"Seedtime in Kashmir: A Memoir of William Jackson Elmslie","tradition":"scripture-revelation","translated_text":null,"word_count":83841}