William Jones Boone, D.D.

Bishop Schereschewsky in his study with his Chinese and Japanese secretaries.

Bishop Ingle in his study at Hankow.

THE RT. REV. WILLIAM JONES BOONE, D. D.

William Jones Boone was born in Walterborough, S. C. July 1st, 1811. In 1825 he was graduated from the University of that State, and studied law under Chancellor de Saussure. He was admitted to the Bar in 1833, but abandoned that profession, and shortly afterwards turned his attention to the sacred ministry. He entered the Theological Seminary of Virginia, where he pursued a regular course in Divinity, and was graduated from that institution in 1835. As he earnestly desired to give his life to missionary work in China, he took, prior to his ordination, a course in medicine, in order to better qualify him for his future work. Having received the degree of M. D., he was ordered deacon in St. Peter's Church, Charleston, S. C., on the 18th of September, 1836, by the Rt. Rev. Nathaniel Bowen, D. D.

The application of Dr. Boone to be appointed as Missionary to China was made through Bishop Bowen to the Foreign Committee of the Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society then located in the city of Philadelphia.

At their meeting October 18, 1836, the committee had passed a vote implying the inexpediency of increasing at that time the number of Missionaries to China. But in view of the special qualifications of Dr. Boone and his self-consecration to the spread of the Gospel in China, they were induced to rescind their former action and to make the appointment at their meeting held in January, 1837.

It is interesting in this connection to note that the congregation of St. Peter's Church, Charleston, S. C., then under the rectorship of the Rev. W. H. Barnwell, "liberally subscribed [3/4] the annual sum of $1,000, the amount of Dr. Boone’s salary.” In addition, the sum of $500 was also subscribed by frineds of the Mission in that vicinity towards furnishing a suitable library, and the further sum of $300 for surgical instruments and medical outfit.

On the 3d of March following, Dr. Boone was advanced to the priesthood in St. Michael's Church, Charleston, S. C., by the same prelate who had ordained him to the diaconate. The spirit and devotion of Dr. Boone in behalf of the China Mission at that time may be attested by his words, uttered just prior to his depapture: "If anything could stimulate a man to spend and be spent in any service, surely here is the stimulus--360,000,000 of perishing sinners reading one language. Man for man, undoubtedly the salvation of a North American Indian is as precious as that of a Chinaman; but as part of the integral mass, it would appear that the conversion of one in China must operate with ten fold more power in hastening the great day when the world shall be reclaimed to God."

In the spring of 1837 Dr. Boone married the daughter of Chancellor de Saussure, a most accomplished lady and devoted Christian, and with her on the 8th of July of that same year sailed from Boston on the ship Louvre for Batavia and Singapore. After a most pleasant and prosperous voyage lasting one hundred and six days they landed at Batavia, on the Island of Java, the 22d of October, 1837, in the best of health and spirits. Upon reaching Batavia the first disappointment that Dr. Boone had to meet was the forced retirement of the Rev. Francis R. Hanson, one of the two Missionaries first sent out to the China Mission. His health had become so impaired as to make it imperative for him to return to America, where he arrived in May, 1838.

The first task which Dr. Boone assigned to himself was [4/5] the study of the language. He also engaged in teaching in the Rev. Henry Lockwood's school some thirty pupils, which proved a great help in acquiring Chinese colloquially. Mrs. Boone organized a school for girls, with nine pupils who came to her three times a week for instruction in Malay. At first Mr. Boone went but twice a week to the school as he was not able to give the pupils much instruction, and spent the rest of his time in the study of Chinese.

In the fall of 1838, however, owing to the failing health of his colleague, Mr. Lockwood, and his temporary absence, Dr. Boone was compelled to assume full charge of the school. He shortly afterwards purchased a few copies of St. Matthew's Gospel in Malay, and so inaugurated regular instruction in the Word of God as a daily lesson, in addition to the exercises on the Lord's Day.

In his medical character Dr. Boone found opportunity also to minister to the physical needs of the Chinese.

Again, in the Providence of God, he was called upon to meet a bitter disappointment in the withdrawal from the work of Mr. Lockwood, because of impaired health. Mr. Boone felt keenly the loneliness of the situation as may be seen by a closing sentence in one of his letters: "We commend ourselves and our afflicted Mission to your prayers and those of the whole Church, and may God Almighty grant that this cloud which seems almost to threaten its existence may break with blessings on our heads."

Undaunted by this severe blow and though not in the best of health, Dr. Boone, with the aid of his faithful wife, continued on in the work. The Doctor was suffering from the effects of overstudy, and his wife from the unhealthfulness of the climate. Convinced of the importance of the careful training of the native agency, Dr. Boone, in March, 184o, inaugurated a new movement, gathering into his own family [5/6] sixteen Chinese boys, whose parents had freely given them up to the Mission for a term of years. These boys proved themselves studious, docile and affectionate, and of them Dr. Boone wrote: "We sanguinely hope if our lives are spared to see many of them the sincere disciples of our blessed Saviour."

These plans, however, were soon frustrated by unfortunate circumstances. The health, of both Dr. Boone and his wife, became so seriously impaired that it was necessary for them to seek a cooler climate. An absence of six months was contemplated and arrangements were made with other missionaries to continue the instruction of the pupils in the schools at Batavia. In September of 1840, Dr. Boone with his wife left the scene of their labors, and sailed for Singapore. After three days spent there they sailed for Macao. While there Dr. Boone became convinced of the importance of removing the mission from Batavia and of establishing it at Macao. The residence of Dr. and Mrs. Boone at that place, during November and December, 1840, contributed much to the restoration of their health, and settled the question, for the time being of their contemplated visit to America. In deference to the convictions of Dr. Boone, the Foreign Committee in May, 1841, formally gave their approval of the transfer to Macao. During the February previous, Dr. Boone returned to Batavia for the purpose of removing the effects of the Mission, and if possible to get the consent of the parents to take with him the most promising Chinese boys who were pupils of his school. It is supposed that the Doctor with some of these boys became settled at Macao in May, 1841. It is a coincidence not a little singular that on the very day a motion was made at a meting of the Board having in view the discontinuance of the Mission, Dr. Boone under date of October 13, 1841, Wrote from Macao: "We must not let the China Mission go down, when every [6/7] thing in and around China seems to call upon us to increase it. I think there is every reason for a rational hope that in less than two years we may reside quietly at Amoy, and with prudence prosecute our labors within the heart of that great emporium of commerce."

Dr. Boone saw with prophetic vision Amoy subsequently surrendered to the English arms and the door opened into the very heart of China.

With the purpose of entering into the privileges thus opened, which were secured by a treaty of peace, terminating the war between China and England and opening the ports of Canton, Amoy, Foo-Chow-Foo, Ningpoo and Shanghai, Dr. Boone sailed from Macao February 1st, 1842, and arrived at Amoy February 24th. He took up his residence at Kulangsee, a small island, half a mile from Amoy, and there established the Mission.

His arrival was hailed with great delight, as his knowledge of the language enabled him to confer many favors upon the Chinese by interpreting for them. On the 10th of April Mr. Boone left for Macao for the purpose of taking his family to his new quarters at Kulang-see, where he arrived June 7th. A great sorrow, however, awaited this happy reunion. On the 2d of August following, Mrs. Boone was attacked with bilious remittant fever, which at that time prevailed extensively as an epidemic; from which she died on the 30th, and on the following day was buried in a sequestered spot. There her mortal remains rest, but the moral influence of her character still lives, and her dying declaration--”If there is a mercy in life for which I feel thankful, it is that God has condescended to call me to be a missionary,"--has not been lost upon the Church. She left behind her two children, one of whom, Dr. H. W. Boone, is now the head of our medical work in Shanghai.

[8] Dr. Boone continued his missionary labors with unabated activity, preaching on Sundays to congregations of Chinese, averaging from sixty to seventy in numbers; distributing tracts and translations of the Scriptures, and acting as interpreter as occasion required. Toward the close of that year (1842) he moved from Kulang-see to Amoy in order to facilitate the work of the Mission.

In the spring of 1843, Dr. Boone returned to the United States with his children, in compliance with the wish of Mrs. Boone, that he should bring them to this country in the event of her death, for proper care and education. He also had in view the pressing necessity of obtaining reinforcements and of urging the claims of the Mission upon the Church.  His visit was most opportune, for the Church had suffered itself to be depressed by the trials which had attended the work in China, and the interest in the Mission had consequently abated.

Dr. Boone, however, was not at all disheartened. His faith was still firm, and the voice which called him to the work had lost none of its distinctness. His abiding confidence and zeal stimulated anew the flagging interest of the Church; liberal contributions began to pour into the Mission treasury, and several individuals offered themselves as missionaries for China. Moreover, the conviction had settled down upon the whole Church that the Mission needed the presence and oversight of a chief shepherd.

In October, 1844, the General Convention met and then and there redeemed its pledge to send Missionaries to the China Mission and a Bishop at their head. The choice of the Convention for this high office fell upon him whose life and ministry in China had qualified him for it the Rev. William J. Boone, M. D. On the 25th day of October, 1844, he was consecrated in St. Peter's Church, Philadelphia, by the Rt. [8/9] Rev. Philander Chase, S. T. D., assisted by the Rt. Rev. William Meade, S. T. D., of Virginia and the Rt. Rev. Stephen Elliott, D. D., of Georgia, as presenters. There were also present Bishops G. W. Doane, Otey, Kemper, Polk, Whittingham, Lee, Johns and Henshaw, with a large number of clergymen.

Following the consecration of Bishop Boone, the Foreign Committee, at their meeting in November, appointed the following as missionaries to China: the Rev. Messrs. Henry W. Woods, Richardson Graham and Edward W. Syle, and Misses Mary J. Morse and Emma G. Jones.

Another event of interest at this time was the new Bishop's marriage to a sister of Bishop Elliott, of Georgia.

On December 8th, 1844, a farewell service was held in St. George's Church in the City of New York, to bid God-speed to the missionaries about to sail to the field of their labors.

On the 14th of December they sailed from New York, and reached Hongkong on the 24th of April, 1845--a voyage lasting one hundred and thirty-one days and free from all storms. Upon his arrival in China, Bishop Boone was greatly elated to find that Christianity was making its way into the very centre of the social and, political life of that country. During his absence an imperial edict had been issued granting to foreigners permission to teach the Christian religion in five ports, and to the natives in China to profess it in any part of the empire. But the Roman Catholics, through political intrigue, succeeded in securing a subsequent edict, which excluded Protestants from all participation in the toleration granted by the former edict. This, however, was soon over-ruled, through the efforts of Bishop Boone, and His Excellency Sir John T. Davis, the British Governor of Hong Kong, who at once brought the matter to the attention of the Imperial Commissioner, Ke Ying. A third edict was issued, [9/10] granting to all Chinese subjects complete toleration in the profession and practice of the Christian religion.

Upon reaching shore, the Bishop and Mrs. Boone, with Misses Morse and Jones, were hospitably entertained by the Rev. Mr. Brown, a missionary in China. Mr and Mrs. Woods, with Miss Gillette, were received into the family of the Rev. Dr. Bridgman, and the Rev. Mr. Graham and wife were given a welcome into the home of the Rev. Mr. Stanton.

Bishop Boone held his first confirmation service in China in May, 1845, in the Church where the Rev. Mr. Stanton officiated, confirming for him a class of sixteen persons.

The question of settling the place where the chief seat of the Mission should be, and which should be the centre of all missionary operations, engaged the attention of both the Foreign Committee and of the Bishop in charge of the work. The former gave the preference to Shanghai, and Bishop Boone, after much inquiry and study, came to the conclusion that Shanghai offered the most favorable prospects for missionary labor. It was one of the five ports opened by treaty, situated on the Woosung River, near its mouth, in the southern part of the province of Kiangsu, which at that time had a population of more than 37,000,000 inhabitants. The Bishop accordingly determined to locate the Americin Mission at that place. In a month's time after arriving atHong Kong, i. e., on the 24th of May, the Bishop with Mrs. Boone, Miss Jones, Miss Morse and the Bishop's little son, Henry, sailed from Hong Kong and arrived at Shanghai June 17th, and were entertained by the Rev. Mr. Medhurst, and Dr. Lockhart, of the London Missionary Society. The Bishop shortly afterwards succeeded in renting a house which furnished accommodations for several members of the Mission.

In November following, the Rev. Mr. Woods in consequence of impaired health was compelled to return with his [10/11] wife to America. On the 19th of that same month, this loss was somewhat made up by the arrival of the Rev. Mr. Syle and wife.

The Bishop inaugurated the Church's Mission in Shanghai by opening a school for Chinese boys. These boys with the consent of their parents, were taken for a period of ten years; and so popular did this school become that it was impossible for the Bishop to provide accommodations for the number of applicants.

An incident of great importance occurred during the year 1846, that brought cheer and encouragement to the Bishop as nothing had done in years before, namely, the conversion and baptism of a Chinese youth by the name of Kong Chai Wong. This boy accompanied the Bishop to the United States on his last visit, and on his return voyage evinced great interest in Christianity. On his arrival at Hong Kong he declared to the Bishop that he purposed to renounce idol worship and to serve the true and living God. He was anxious to join the Mission at Shanghai, but his father positively refused his permission. The subsequent sudden death of his parents and his own illness led him to seek the comfort and help that he knew he could receive at the Christian Mission in Shanghai. He immediately went there and was received most cordially by the Bishop, and on Easter Day, 1846, he was baptized in the Bishop's house in the presence of all the children of the school, the teachers and servants. This boy in after years was ordained to the ministry and served the Church most faithfully until 1886, when God took him. He left a daughter, Su N. Wong, who, on August 22d, 1888, became the wife of the Rev. Francis L. H. Pott.

In addition to his daily routine of duties, Bishop Boone found time for literary work--assisting in the revision of the New Testament into Chinese, preparing a Catechism for the [11/12] use of candidates for baptism, and translating into the vernacular certain portions of the Prayer Book, including Morning Prayer, Baptism of Adults, Confirmation and Communion Office.

The first public service by the Bishop in the Chinese language was held on November 29th, 1846, in the large lower hall of the new school house which had been secured for the Mission. The meeting was attended by an orderly and attentive congregation. These services were continued every Sunday with growing interest and favor. This was the beginning of the evangelistic work in the China Mission, which has now spread in all ditections around about Shanghai and far up the Yangtse River to Ichang, one thousand miles distant, and now having over 3,000 baptized persons and 1,200 communicants The Holy Communion was celebrated every Sunday at the Bishop's house, and before the close of 1847, he had gathered about him seventeen Chinese communicants.

The need of a Church building and other necessary houses for the better equipment of the work began at this time to engross the anxious attention of the Bishop. There was no possibility of raising the funds in China, so he sent an urgent appeal to the Church in the United States. This appeal, greatly to the Bishop's encouragement, met with a liberal response. The sum of $14,000 was raised through private contributions, and forwarded to the Bishop, when arrangements were made by him for the erection of a suitable chapel, spacious school buildings and dwellings for the missionaries.

Toward the close of that year, 1847, the Bishop had secured an excellent site for the church, the center of the city, and had the pleasure of occupying his own new house. Another event of great importance during that year was the baptism and confirmation of Yung Kiung Yen, who subsequently became an honored priest of the Church in China, [12/13] and a distinguished professor in St. John's College. The Bishop was successful also in securing a plot of ground outside of the city for a new school building, which was occupied for the first time in the third week in July, 1848.

The old school building was subsequently converted into a chapel, with dormitory upon the upper floor. In this chapel the Rev. Mr. Spaulding and the Rev. Mr. Syle conducted Sunday-school and week day services. The Bishop preached in the Mission Chapel connected with the new school building on Sundays, and the Rev. Mr. Syle on week days.

During this period the health of the Bishop, and in fact of all the missionaries, suffered considerably.

At the close of the year 1848, Mr. Syle wrote that the Bishop had recently endured more than his average amount of pain and distress. The health of the Rev. Mr. Spalding at last became so seriously impaired that he was obliged to relinquish his labors, and on the the 30th of August, 1849, he sailed from Shanghai for the United States, but the ship on which he sailed foundered at sea and all on board were lost. The Mission also was deprived of the labors of Miss Morse, whose illness compelled her to return home, after five years of toilsome and self-denying labors.

On Epiphany Sunday (January 6th) 185o, the Bishop consecrated the first church erected in Shanghai (native city) The funds necessary for the purchase of the ground and erection of the building were provided by Mr. William Appleton, of Boston, Mass. The work was begun on March 17th, 1849; it was built of brick and was 40x80 feet in area. This was an occasion of great rejoicing to Bishop Boone, and was marked by him as an epoch in the history of the China Mission.

For a long time the Bishop felt the need of providing for the education of the girls in that country, and sent an urgent [13/14] appeal to the Church at home to make provision for that pressing need. In 1851 that call was heard,i the Bishop receiving over $4,000 for the erection of a building in which to carry on the work. Soon afterwards the land was purchased, and the school house erected. At the close iof the year (1851) the Bishop saw his long deferred hopes fully realized--the girls school was inaugurated and Miss Emma G. Jones was placed in charge as principal.

During the following year the health of the Bishop had become so very feeble that it became advisable for him to take a sea voyage. He sailed from Shanghai October 24th and arrived in New York on the 30 of January, 1853. Shortly after, the Rev. Mr. Syle, was also compelled to return home.

During the absence of the Bishop, a serious rebellion broke out, involving the whole Empire of China in anarchy and confusion; barbarous excesses and cruelties marked the progress of the strife, but although conflagration raged all about the Mission church, it stood uninjured, a monument of God's unfailing mercy. Our missionaries suffered much from anxiety and many privations, but were providentially saved from bodily injury. This Tai-ping rebellion continued with varying fortunes until it was finally suppressed in the spring of 1855.

While Bishop Boone was in the United States he was constantly engaged presenting the claims of the China Mission with great earnestness and much success. Accompanied by his wife and two children, and several new missionaries, he sailed for Shanghai, October 14th, where all arrived on Good Friday, April 14th, 1854.

The return of the Bishop was hailed with great delight by the little band of missionaries who had passed through many bitter trials since he left them the year previous.

But little progress had been made during his absence. [14/15] With his return and the restoration of peace throughout the empire, the prospects became more hopeful.

On Easter Day, 1855, he confirmed six persons and baptized three in the chapel. The attendance upon the chapel services had shown a marked increase, and the Mission staff was reinforced by the arrival of several newly appointed missionaries. In the Boys' Boarding School there were forty pupils, and the same number in the Girls' Boarding School, while at the day schools for boys, there were fifty pupils, and four day schools for girls, with about one hundred pupils.

In 1857 Bishop Boone was again obliged to seek the benefits of a sea voyage, and a few months' residence in the United States. Accompanied by his family, he sailed from Shanghai on the 13th of May and arrived in New York on 28th of August, 1857.

The close of 1857 found China convulsed with civil dissensions and engaged in war with England, and although Shanghai had not become the seat of actual conflict, the situation was such as to awaken the gravest apprehension. One good result, however, of the political disturbances was the enlargement of the circuit in which missionaries were permitted to labor.

In view of these new opportunities, the Foreign Committee at home made a special effort to increase the force, and Bishop Boone succeeded in securing $20,000 for the support of the missionaries. He also raised several thousand dollars for the establishment of a mission station in the interior of China.

With this equipment and the appointment of several new missionaries, eight in all, together with four ladies, Bishop and Mrs. Boone sailed for Shanghai on the 13th of July, 1859, and reached their destination on the 21st of December following.

Soon after his arrival the Bishop confirmed twenty-seven [15/16] persons at the school chapel and eight at Christ Church.

The following year, 1860, proved a very anxious one for the missionaries, China was not only threatened by the hostile attitude of France and England, but a formidable insurrection broke out in the northern provinces. The rebels burned the city of Soo Chow, whereby nearly 300,000 people lost their homes. The insurgents elated by their success in the north, advanced toward Shanghai and attacked the city. They were repulsed, however, by the forces of the allied powers.

In 1861, the Bishop's heart was saddened by the Civil War in the United States, which compelled the retirement of so many of his devoted missionaries, Mr. and Mrs. Doyan, Mr. Hubbell, the Rev. Messrs, Purdon and Yocum and Miss Emma G. Jones. The Rev. Mr. Syle was ompelled to bring his motherless children to America, while the Rev. Mr. Nelson was unavoidably detained in Virginia. Later on Miss Conover's health gave way, and she too was compelled to relinquish her labors and return home. Addeld to all these trials came the murder, in October, 1861, of the Rev. Mr. Parker, by a band of rebels in the vicinity of Che-foo.

The following year, 1862, proved as trying as the previous one had been. Shanghai was infested by large numbers of the Tai-ping insurgents, who committed great ravages upon the adjacent villages, but were finally dispersed by the English and French forces. Added to these troubles came an epidemic of small pox, typhus and typhoid fever and cholera, which swept away thousands of both Chinese and foreigners.

It was in the midst of these terrible scenes and awful surroundings that Bishop Boone, and those associated with him, had to carry on the work of the Mission. The strain upon them was more than their physical strength could stand. One after another became broken in health, and was forced to leave the work. By April, 1863, there were left in the [16/17] Mission at Shanghai only the Bishop, the Rev. Elliot H. Thomson, one native deacon and two women missionaries, Miss Lydia M. Fay and Miss Catherine E. Jones. The latter died from small pox on the 24th of November. The health of Mrs. Boone finally gave way at this time, and the Bishop was constrained to take her on a sea voyage to Singapore. The journey did not prove beneficial and it was determined to try the climate of Egypt. They landed at Suez on the 16th of January, 1864, and on the 20th, four days later, she passed away.

Mrs. Boone had endured prolonged suffering with uncomplaining patience, but the final moment was like sinking into a gentle slumber. She was buried at Suez in the cemetery for foreigners, borne to the grave from the boat by four Chinamen. For nineteen years she had served their nation, and they were appointed to carry her to her last resting place.

The Bishop, crushed by this overpowering calamity, turned his steps to England, and crossing the continent left his youngest son in charge of Miss Emma G. Jones at Wiesbaden. He then set his face toward China, and while sailing between Aden and Singapore his ship encountered a terrific cyclone in which the vessel came near foundering. The shock of this storm upon his already enfeebled constitution added greatly to his physical sufferings, and when he landed at Shanghai, June 13th, 1864, he was a shattered wreck. He lingered until the 17th of July, 1864, when he died in the fifty-third year of his age and the twenty-seventh of his missionary labors. The funeral services were held in the chapel on the 18th of July, the Rev. Mr. Thompson and the Rev. Mr. Michel officiating. At the close of the service, the body was borne from the church out to the hearse and thence carried to the cemetery, one mile distant, where it was interred near the graves of Miss Jones, Mrs. Syle and others of the missionary band who had fallen asleep at Shanghai.

[18] Thus passed away a man of deep and earnest piety, a man of strong intellectual power, of practicial good sense and sound judgment, affectionate, loving, holding close to his heart those who were united to him by the tender ties of kindred, a man whom all classes and all sects looked upon as the impersonation of what is most lovable in the character of a Christian gentleman, and most admirable in the walk and practice of a Bishop and pastor.

NOTE--Bishop Boone had a son by his second wife, William Jones, Jr., who was born in Shanghai in 1846. He was educated in America but returned to China and served as missionary of the American Church. from 1870 to 1884, when he was consecrated in the English Cathedral in Shanghai to be fourth American Bithop to China. He died October 5th, 1891, and was succeeded by Bishop Graves.

BISHOP WILLIAMS

The Rev. Channing Moore Williams was born in Richmond, Va., on the 18th of July, 1827. He graduated with the degree of M. A. at William and Mary College, Va., studied theology in the Virginia Seminary and was ordained by Bishop Meade in Christ Church, Alexandria, in June, 1855.

On Nov. 30, he sailed from New York with the Rev. J. Liggins in the ship "Oneida" for Shanghai. He writes in June, 1856, that they arrived safely after a voyage of "only seven months," that the Bishop received them in the kindest manner possible and the missionaries greeted them not as strangers but as friends and brothers.

In the evening after their arrival they attended a prayer meeting in the Bishop's study which was held every Saturday, for the benefit of communicants. He says; "It was good to be there, to bow in prayer with so many followers of the Lord Jesus who once bowed down to idols of wood and stone." The first Sunday spent in a heathen land was far more delightful than I had imagined it would be. At nine o'clock attended service in Chinese at the Chapel. With the aid of the Prayer Book in English I could follow the different parts. The chants were sung to tunes with which I had been familiar from youth. I had understood that no music but the most simple could be taught the Chinese. My surprise was great when they sang the Venite and Gloria in Excelsis in a manner that would have done credit to many of our churches at home.

Mr. Tong officiated. He seemed to preach with fluency and earnestness. He is the first-fruits of the schools. In the [19/20] afternoon we went to the Church in the city. Mr. Syle has it in charge. Here we had a specimen of a Chinese congregation. At first they were disorderly--disposed to laugh and talk--and after remaining a few minutes would leave--but when they were told the impropriety of such conduct they were more quiet.

The curiosity of some was soon satisfied, then they would leave. Some sat gazing about in great astonishment at the novelty of what was going on. Others would fall asleep. One other class, small in number, cheered the heart of the missionary. These persons were very attentive. Some were communicants and knew the value of the words of eternal life, which were spoken to them. Others seemed disposed to listen that they might understand these strange things; such is the congregation to which the missionary has to proclaim glad tidings of salvation. Day by day the same classes of hearers are present, though seldom does he see the same persons. He must not be discouraged.

Two days later, he writes "The custom here of newly arrived missionaries calling on all the missionaries in Shanghai prevented my commencing Chinese yesterday."

The next day he visited the boys' school and heard them recite in English. He was interested in their translation of the Scriptures. They would render the Gospel of St. Matthew written in "book style" into the dialect of the province and then translate into English. The next Sunday the Holy Communion was administered in the church.

"One old man of four-score years, one of the first converts, was present. He was so feeble that he had to be supported to the chancel. Several were blind and with their long staves would feel their way to the rail where they would kneel. It was impossible that any Christian could be present without being deeply affected."

He says, "What a contrast to this was a heathen [20/21] procession, two miles in length, of several thousand persons which passed by in the afternoon. Gaudy banners were displayed, gongs beaten and crackers fired. Near the end a large idol was borne on the shoulders of men. This display was to obtain rain of the gods."

Mr. Williams now spent his time in studying Chinese in preparation for his work. By Dec. loth he was able to read prayers in Chinese at the opening of the boys' school, the Bishop being too unwell to attend.

In January, 1857, he was ordained priest by Bishop Boone. One day he rode with Mr. Syle to Sing Zah, to rent a house for a day-school and preaching place.

Sing Zah was about two miles from Shanghai and seemed a favorable place for a new station. They visited the Temple of the god of war, which had been the headquarters of the Imperial general, while the rebels had possession of Shanghai. As this god was considered to have given victory to the Imperialists, the Mandarins had put the temple in good repair.

Mr. Williams was put in charge of Sing Zah and in September, 1857, he writes of baptizing several persons.

In October he went with Mr. Liggins on a missionary tour to the country around Suchow. They preached in the open court of the temple of the Zing Wong to about 100 persons--quite orderly and attentive. The priests in the temple struck up their not-very-melodious music to drown their voices or draw off the people but they did not succeed.

In the afternoon they preached in the city to a small congregation of "respectable, genteel-looking men." They distributed Bibles and tracts in Suchow, ascended the nine story pagoda and had a fine view of the great city and the country.

They also visited the largest temple, and the Sih to ling, the residence of a former Emperor when on a visit. Mr. Williams says, "In this quiet shut in garden we proclaimed [21/22] the glad tidings of salvation to about seventy-five persons who had followed us."

They went to the Tanist Monastery on the mountain of Choong Loong and preached in front of the Monastery to about seventy-five persons, twenty-five of whom were priests. They gave away all the books they had brought and seven priests went to the boat with them to get more.

They went to Hine z Kwau and preached to about five hundred persons, but the next day the Mandarin sent them a polite request not to go further, as he feared the people might insult them. This reason did not satisfy them, and at last the messenger told them the Mandarin was afraid of being degraded or even bambooed, if he should allow a foreigner to go beyond Hine z Kwau. So they turned back.

They visited Wu Sih and considered it remarkably clean and well ordered. They preached to an attentive congregation but were obliged to return home on account of Mr. Liggins' illness.

In November Mr. Williams started on another tour, preaching from place to place, and in two places he received for the first time bad treatment. He worked in China a couple of years longer and then was appointed Missionary to Japan. [After this came the rebellion of Shanghai and dark days for the Chinese Missions. Deaths, lack of funds, etc., on account of the war at home.] He worked at Nagasaki at first with Mr. Liggins and then alone under great difficulties.

In January, 1866, he was elected Missionary Bishop of China and Japan. He arrived at Shanghai in March and waited to take passage in the first vessel going to the United States, being obliged to go home on account of health. After much deliberation he accepted the Bishopric and was consecrated in October, 1866, in St. John's Chapel, New York. The next year he attended the Pan Anglican Conference.

In January, 1868, he arrived at Shanghai. In February [22/23] he writes that Mr. Burlingame, United States Minister to China, had been appointed by the Chinese Government to represent it at the Courts of the different treaty powers. It was a high mark of confidence in him and a step towards bringing the Chinese more effectually into the family of nations.

Mr. Burlingame was very kind and friendly to our missionaries at Pekin, and gave Bishop Williams a circular letter recommending him to the kind offices of all Mandarins from whom he might require assistance. The Bishop thought this would be of great value in establishing missions in the interior. The Prime Minister at this time was well disposed towards the non-Roman missionaries, and said he wished more would come to China as they were only doing good. He looked upon Roman missionaries as political agents.

The Bishop and Mr. Nelson went up the Yang tse on a tour of inspection to find the best place for an interior station. They visited Kiu Kiang and Hankow. The latter with Wuchang, a free city, on the opposite bank is one of the most important places in China. The Mission was started at Wuchang with Mr. Hohling and Mr. Yen, a Chinese, in charge.

The Bishop writes in January, 1869, "Let me entreat that a missionary for Wuchang be sent out at once. Our boarding school should be commenced forthwith for to this with God's blessing we look for the training of teachers, catechists and ministers of the Gospel." He considered the China mission in an encouraging state but it badly needed workers, and he was gratified at the appointment of Mr. Hoyt and Mr. Boone, who later succeeded Bishop Scheresehewsky.

This sketch shows how the foundations of the work, which is now becoming so prosperous, were laid by Bishop Williams. He continued to divide his time between China and Japan till 1874 when he asked to be relieved of part of his [23/24] immense jurisdiction. After this he devoted himself entirely to Japan and Bishop Schereschewsky succeeded him in China.

Later he resigned the Japan jurisdiction and, always a scholar, gave himself to translating the Bible into Japanese. He also does the work of an evangelist and is much loved in Japan. He was the senior Bishop present at the last general Convention in Boston, though he did not preside.

BISHOP SCHERESCHEWSKY

Samuel Isaac Joseph Schereschewsky was born of Jewish parents in Tanroggen, Russian Lithuania, the sixth of May 1831. He was educated partly in his native town and partly at the Rabbinical College at Thetomeer, Russia. He spent two years in the University of Breslau, Germany, and came to this country in 1854 going directly to the western Presbyterian Seminary in Pennsylvania, but soon after entering the General Theological Seminary in New York. In 1859 Bishop Boone came to this country to raise money and get men for his Chinese work. He visited the different Theological Seminaries in New York and Virginia. He took back with him eight young men, and among them Mr., now Bishop, Schereschewsky. He was ordained a deacon by Bishop Boone at St. George's Church, New York, on July 7, 1859, and sailed with him for China on the steamer Golden Gate the 13th of the same month.

His first work was in the hill country about thirty miles from Shanghai, but when a spirit of unrest arose among the people, he was recalled to the mission. Dean Hoffman says, --My first acquaintance with Bishop Schereschewsky was in Shanghai soon after his arrival. I remember one evening, on calling upon him, I found he had not left the building for a week but had been engaged night and day reading a very celebrated work in Chinese, The Three Kingdoms. In this way, by unremitting study, he laid the foundation for that eminent Chinese scholarship for which he is so distinguished.

He was ordained a priest in the mission at Shanghai October 28th, 1860. In 1861, according to the latest foreign [25/26] treaties with China, foreigners might visit but not live there, unless attached to some Legation. Mr. Schereschewsky was appointed interpreter for our Minister, Mr. Burlingame. From 1862 to 1875 he lived at Pekin doing missionary work in the city and neighboring towns and villges, but devoting much time to the careful study of the Chinese language. It was in 1864 that he began his work of translating, a work of such wonderful magnitude and far-reaching service. In 1867 he went to the Province of Honan where for centuries there had been a settlement of Jews. Some of them had come to Pekin asking that a teacher of Hebrew be sent to them. Owing to the jealousies of prominent literary, men, who stirred up the natives to drive him out, he was obliged to return to Pekin. Besides other work, with the help of three others he translated the New Testament, and alone the Old Testament out of the original Hebrew, (of which, being of Jewish birth, he had uncommon knowledge,) into Mandarin. We may well thank God that one of our missionaries has been so highly honored as to have been the sole translator of the Old Testament into a tongue understood by a hundred and fifty million people. In 1874 the Missionary Jurisdiction of Bishop Williams was divided; he was made Bishop of Yedo, and a new Bishop was placed over the other Jurisdiction, that of Shanghai. In 1875 after fifteen years' service Mr. Scherechewsky returned to the United States for a well earned rest. During this year the Bishopric of Shanghai was offered to him but he declined it. When it was offered again in 1877 he accepted it, and was consecrated in Grace Church, New York, in October 1878, returning to China that same year.

To him is due the idea of higher education among the Chinese. He fully appreciated their mental qualities, and always felt that could they have instruction along the same lines as those of our colleges they would benefit by it. While in this country he received a promise of financial support [26/27] and his long cherished dream of St. John's College, Shanghai, became a reality. Immediately on his return he bought the Jessfield estate, and the college buildings were ready for occupancy in the fall of 1879. Along with this work he translated the Prayer Book and Psalms into the book language of China. In 1881, as the result of a sunstroke, Bishop Schereschewsky became partially paralized. In 1883, being still a great invalid he resigned the bishopric and returned to this country. He wished it to be distinctly understood he had not resigned as a missionary, and hoped to return as a translator. Through years of invalidism he worked steadily, translating the Bible into easy Wenli, classical Chinese, though he could not write and his manuscript was made by using one finger on a typewriter. In 1895 he returned to China to oversee the printing of his work in Chinese characters. The New Testament was printed in 1898 and the Pentateuch in 1899. Dr. Martin, President of Pekin University, bears testimony to the accuracy and literary excellence of Bishop Schereschewsky's work. Before his return to China he made a pathetic appeal to the Church people of our country:

 

"For some time past it has been my desire to lay before our Church some particulars of the work upon which I have been engaged for the past seven years. When I resigned from the Episcopate I did not resign my position as missionary. I felt that there remained a great work for me to do. Beside having in mind the revision of my Mandarin Old Testament, I felt that I ought to undertake and by the help of God could accomplish a new translation of the whole Bible, including the Apocrypha, from the original Hebrew and Greek into Wenli, the book or literary language of China. There have been made, from time to time since the beginning of this century, five different versions of the Bible in literary Chinese. Of these three have never been in general use, and two of them, although used extensively by missionaries, have not for one [27/28] reason or another been found satisfactory. None of these versions have been made directly from the originals, but are mainly translations of the English Bible. Moreover none of these versions use the term for God which has been employed for more than two hundred years by the Roman Catholic and Greek churches, i. e., Tien Chu, which expresses to the Chinese the idea of the Christian's God. These versions all use either the term Shin for God or Shangti, both of which obscure the central truth of Christianity or expose it to pagan or pantheistic conceptions. There is also a translation of the whole Bible in the Mandarin Colloquial made directly from the originals some twenty years ago. The Mandarin Colloquial is the vernacular of at least two-thirds of the Chinese population, say two hundred millions. According to Western ideas it may be regarded as a literary language. The Chinese themselves do not so regard it. For literary purposes they make use of the Wenli or book language which is supposed to be identical with the language of ancient China. It will be seen that the Mandarin version of the Scriptures is in a sense limited. It is not nor can it be extensively used in those parts of China, where the Mandarin is not the vernacular. The Mandarin version has never been much used in our Shanghai Mission. Its influence is confined to the less educated portion of the population, amid is not acceptable to the lettered class. This version of the Scriptures in Mandarin is very important. It is the Bible of the common people but a good version of the literary language is equally so. This literary language is one and the same all over the Chinese Empire. It is used in Cochin China, Annam and Tung Ring, also in Corea and to a large extent in Japan. It is the most widely used language in the world. It its the language of literature among one-fourth at least of the human race. Such a version of the Bible should be made directly from the Hebrew and Greek. Whilst faithful to the original it should be in [28/29] good idiomatic Chinese, the style plain, easy and dignified, equally free from vulgarisms and fine writing. It should include the Apocrypha, as we all know that the Apocrypha forms a part of our authorized Bible and lessons are taken from it.

"I have been at work over seven years. The first year I spent in revising my Mandarin version of the Old Testament, and the remaining years have been spent in making the revision in the literary or book language of China. I undertook this work not as one making a literary venture, but as a missionary of the Church doing missionary work. I feel that God has called me to do it and had especially prepared and fitted me for it. Nearly two years ago I proposed to Bishop Scott of North China (Missionary Bishop connected with the S. P. G.) that he should join me in the work of publishing this Wenli Bible and asked him to undertake the translation of the Apocrypha, which he consented to do. On his way to England last Spring he visited me here, and we conferred together about the version. A year ago I laid the whole matter before our Board of Missions and made application to be sent out to China to complete the work. The Board appointed a committee to take the matter into consideration. The expense of bringing out suitable editions of these two versions, the Wenli and Mandarin, will necessarily be heavy. Besides this there will be my expenses out. The Church of England, as represented by the S.P.C.K., will contribute largely towards the printing. I now appeal to our Church people to do their share, and I ask them to contribute five thousand dollars towards printing and other expenses connected with this work. I have spent more than seven years of incessant toil upon this work, and, disabled as I am, I do not shrink from going out to China. I count all the difficulties I have or shall encounter, as nothing if I am only permitted to see this work accomplished. Will not the Church [29/30] contribute speedily and liberally to this end? The Church is about to celebrate the rising of her Lord from the darkness of the tomb. Will she not give an Easter offering towards setting the Light of His Word amid the darkness of heathen China?"

S. I. J. SCHERESCHEWSKY.

Cambridge, Mass., March, 1895.

"After spending nine years at work in this country, he returned to the far East in 1895, and began re-writing his translation from the Romanized manuscript into the Chinese character. From 1896 he made his home in Tokyo. There he worked six years with a Chinese and a Japanese secretary perfecting his translation, which was finally printed in 1903 by the American Bible Society. Through his g1at achievement Bishop Schereschewsky made the Scriptures available for nearly one-fourth of the world's people. Then, with devotion undimmed, he set himself to prepare a reference Bible in Chinese. This work is still unfinished."

One who knew Bishop Schereschewsky in Tokyo says of him: "I have often wondered at the patience of the man as he sat with his Hebrew Bible before him, reading it into Chinese for the Chinese scribe who acted as amanuensis. That in itself was a very pathetic sight, but far more pathetic it must have been to watch the crippled scholar working all by himself in America, and slowly spelling out his translation with the aid of a typewriter and one finger, which was only a little less useless than the others. Milton composed ‘Paradise Lost' in blindness, and that has always been looked upon as a great feat of human genius struggling against adversity. I am not sure that Bishop Schereschewsky's feat does not deserve to rank with that of Milton, for anybody who has watched the old bishop being lifted in or out of his carriage to go to church will, I think, acknowledge that the physical difficulties to be overcome have been far greater in this case than in the case of the poet." [The Churchman, October 20, 1906.]

On October 14, 1906, this patient worker and heroic sufferer won his release. He died at the home he had chosen in Tokio ten years ago.

BISHOP BOONE THE SECOND

William Jones Boone, son of the first Bishop of China, was born in Shanghai, in 1847. His early education was given him by Miss Fay.

He came to this country and entered Princeton, was graduated in 1865 and began to study for the ministry at the Philadelphia Divinity School. The last two years of his preparation were spent at Alexandria, Va. He was ordained deacon in Petersburg in 1868 and in 1869 was appointed missionary to China.

At a farewell service, Rev. John Paddock (afterwards Bishop of Washington Territory) made an address. He said of Bishop Boone, the father of Mr. Boone, that "he was a man possessed not only of high intellectual gifts, but of a faith in God and His word and cause that never wavered. He had no more doubt of the dispersion of the darkness of heathenism in China by the beauty of the Son of Righteousness than of the scattering of this night's gloom by the rising of to-morrow's sun at God's appointed time. He consecrated one of his sons, in the sacrament of baptism, to missionary work that he might fight the foe his father had fought, and carry forward the banner of the cross. Wm. Jones Boone, faithful to this vow, leaves this land tomorrow to lift the standard on the spot where he, whose name he bears, fell, and where his earthly remains repose. May the sympathy and prayers of the Church go with this youthful labourer." Mr. Boone in reply, said that he should not dare to trust himself to speak except that he was sure of the sympathy of those who heard him. "I must obey," he said, "the Voice that calls me to the 400,000,000 Chinese in their degradation." [31/32] Let it come home to your hearts how helpless these people are without your aid. It is your privilege to pray for them, and sustain them, not only by subscriptions, but by your prayers, and thus work with Christ, the first Missionary.

Mr. Boone reached Shanghai in 1870 and was ordained priest. Bishop Williams was then Bishop of China.

In the SPIRIT OF MISSIONS, for May 1870, we read in a letter from the Rev. Mr. Hoyt at Hankow. "We were rejoiced to welcome the Rev. Mr. Boone and wife to our little circle. Every new hand at the wheel adds strength to those turning. The carpenters have just begun work upon our house at Wuchang. It is a double one and calculated to accommodate Mr. Boone and myself. We have a pretty site upon the hill in the midst of extensive flower-gardens, and trust that we can make a pleasant home there.

The first thing will be to open a school for boys. Mr. Boone settled at Wuchang with the Rev. Mr. Hoyt doing the daily work of the school, the Street Chapel, and also the work of the Rev. Mr. Yen, who had gone to Shanghai because of ill health. He says, "Our Street Chapel is well nigh done. . . . With the end of the New Year's holiday, we hope to open it daily for the proclamation of Christ's message of love, to many hundreds who pass its doors."

In 1874 by the gift of John Bohlen the school called the Jane Bohlen School was built in Wuchang. Of this Mr. Boone writes, "The School is planned to be substantial and pleasing, with room for forty girls and a foreign teacher. The people at first were afraid to put their children into the school in the fear that their eyes and brains would he taken to make medicine."

In November 1875, Mr. Boone's wife died at the age of twenty-nine, leaving him three little children, the eldest not six years old. A few years afterward he was married a second time to Miss Henrietta F. Harris.

[33] In 1880 Mr. Boone writes words of urgent entreaty that the schools and colleges in China should be more fully sustained. Of the mission at Wuchang he says, "It wants youth, and strength and certainly a double team to pull the load."

In 1882 Mr. Boone, from Shanghai, pleads for reinforcements and describes vividly the need of more men. "For the second time in the few years of my missionary life I am left in charge by the withdrawal of all my seniors. Surely it would be wise by timely reinforcement to prevent such strain being put on the workers in a trying field." Personally I am very well, thank God, and have no complaint to make, but I would not wish another to be called to a like experience."

In 1883 Rev. Dr. Boone was consecrated Bishop of China. This was the first consecration of an Anglican Bishop which had ever taken place in China. The Consecrators of Bishop Boone were, The Rt. Rev. C. M. Williams, D. D., Bishop of Yedo, The Rt. Rev. G. E. Moule, D. D., Bishop of the Church of England in Mid-China, and the Rt. Rev. C. P. Scott, D. D., Bishop of the Church of England in North China. Bishop Scott preached the sermon. Nine Chinese in Holy Orders were present.

Dr. Boone's first public act, as Bishop, was the consecration of the Collegiate Memorial Church of St. John and an ordination to the priesthood. As we read his yearly reports, we see a quiet growth, but the Bishop tells of great possibilities unfulfilled. Of Wuhu he writes, "We hope for a resident missionary who shall be our pioneer for the Church in this great province. Oh! what a great opportunity for the brave Soldier of the Cross, and yet years go by and only two native deacons hold the post, and wonder why the Church leaves them so long unaided by priestly care and help." In 1890 in speaking of new work at Hankow under a Chinese deacon he says,"Dear friends pray for this work and the [33/34] Christian brethren doing it for Christ's sake and in your stead."

In 1891 comes his last report. He speaks of Rev. Mr. Thompson's return, with the New Year, making many hearts glad and relieving him of much care; of the death of Miss Esther A. Spencer at St. John's College; of how she had distinctly raised the level of English teaching and of the affection between between her and her pupils;' of how the work had been hindered by the riots between Shanghai and Ichang, the whole valley of the Yang tse; then of the encouragements in the appointment of several new missionaries; that the work in Wuchang had gone on steadily; that Hankow had been greatly blessed; and that large numbers had been confirmed.

In 1891 the Bishop and missionaries in Wuchang were under a great strain on account of the danger from riots. A letter speaking of them says "the Bishop and Mr. Graves stayed long after we thought it was not safe." They were about to leave when the Bishop was taken ill and was brought over to Hankow to Mr. Lock's. He lived only four days. Mr. Graves was with him most of the time, and he and Mr. Locke and the physican were untiring in their care, till the Bishop's work was over and God took him.

He died on the fifth of October, 1901. The disease was typhoid but anxiety and care hastened his death. "Here is the patience of the saints. Here are they that keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus."

BISHOP INGLE

John Addison Ingle, son of the Rev. Osborn Ingle, Rector of All Saints Church, Frederick, Md., was born March 11, 1867. He went to school in Frederick until he was fourteen, then he was sent to the Episcopal High School near Alexandria, Va. In ’88 he graduated from the University of Virginia and entered the Theological Seminary of Virginia, where he was known as a remarkably good scholar. In January ’91 he was ordained deacon, and later in the same year made priest by Bishop Paret of Maryland.

He left Frederick October 12th for China, reaching Shanghai November 17th. At that time the mission had no Bishop so each man did what he thought best. Here Mr. Ingle probably expected to stay, for he commended the study of the language, but he received a letter from the Rev. Mr. Locke of Hankow asking him to help him in his work. He went to see it and early in January settled in Hankow. The Har River enters the Yang tse about 600 miles from its mouth. At the junction of these rivers are the cities of Hankow, Wuchang, and Han-yang, with a population of over a million, of whom a large majority live in Hankow. The American Church Mission was established here in 1868, but while the work at Wuchang had been well started and Boone School brought to a state of efficiency, owing to a lack of workers, Hankow had been somewhat neglected.

In 1886 the Rev. Arthur H. Locke had been put in charge and immediately started the work along new lines. Classes of evangelists were instructed and sent to labor in the city and neighboring towns. Large numbers of converts were baptized, and a new church built. But the work was too [37/38] big for one man, the converts were insufficiently instructed, and the catechists not always examples to the catechumens, thus the spiritual standard was sensibly lowered.

Mr. Ingle came to this work when it was at its height, but first he had to learn the language, while teaching English at a night school and holding occasional services. At the end of his first June he had an attack of fever and went to Japan for the summer. Two months after his return Mr. Locke returned to America, and at the request of the Chinese clergy Mr. Ingle was made head of the mission. The work continued as before, except the catechist classes which he gave up temporarily, owing to his lack of knowledge of the language, to the study of which he gave most of his time.

In 1894 he made a hurried trip to America and was married to Miss Charlotte Rhett, of Charleston, S. C. At this time the work was carried on in three 'chapels in Hankow, and in two towns, one sixty, and the other one hundred and twenty miles distant. There were eight or nine day schools and one small boarding school. The catechist school was now reopened with a course extending, over one year, but this was later lengthened to two: This is a very difficult work, for the men are of all ages and vary greatly in scholarship. Further they are all men who are earning their living, and most of them supporting families which makes it necessary to give them scholarships. At first the dismissal of catechists, often for very disgraceful conduct, was common. Christians with little training were taken to fill their places, and they in turn succumbed to the same temptations, but the graduates of the catechist school have nearly always been able to resist them. This improvement was mainly due to Mr. Ingle's great personal influence.

In the Spring of 1899, Mr. and Mrs. Ingle and their children returned home. At the request of the Board they stayed until the Autumn of 1900 and most of the year Mr. Ingle [36/37] engaged in deputation work. So, when he returned to China, he was nearly worn out and in no condition to stand the strain of work waiting for him.

During the Boxer outbreak our work had been practically suspended. All the schools and most of the churches had been closed. The first thing to be done was to open these and start everything afresh.

In October, 1901, Mr. Ingle was elected Bishop of Hankow. He was consecrated on St. Matthias Day, Feb. 24, 1902, in St. Paul's Cathedral, Hankow. He was the first Anglican bishop consecrated in Hankow.

The wisdom which distinguished his work as a presbyter was even more marked during his brief Episcopate. He aimed at establishing stations at all the centres and reaching out from these to the surrounding towns and villages, but his time was so brief and workers so few, that he was only able to occupy one new region. The curriculum of the day schools was changed so as to correspond in a general way with American primary schools, and the boys are becoming very intelligent.

His work on the Chinese language should also be mentioned. He early made a harmony of the Gospels which was very useful. His later literary labors were chiefly lectures for his classes; these were not published, but his Hankow syllabary will long be of great use to foreigners living in Hankow and the neighborhood. Everywhere North of the Yang tse Mandarin is spoken, and in this are included many dialects. The Chinese character gives no definite information as to sound, but is pronounced differently in different places.

The Hankow dialect had never been thoroughly written out in roman letters. Bishop Ingle took from existing manuscript works about 10,000 characters, arranging them under their proper tones and sounds, and giving references by which each could be found in Giles dictionary, which is [37/38] the fullest and newest of Chinese-English dictionaries. To his work on this is largely due his exceptionally good pronunciation.

In the Bishop's first pastoral letter he speaks of need of well trained native workers, but first they must have men and women to train and supervise the natives and funds to support them. "I am sure," he wrote, "that both the latter needs will be freely supplied, when the home Church knows our plans and work better. But a well trained body of native workers is not to be had for the asking. It requires years to prepare them. Yet we must have them, for, looking to the future, they are the only absolutely indispensable Arm of the Service. There will come a time when foreigners are no longer needed, perhaps will not be tolerated, but the Chinese Church will never be able to dispense with the ministry of its own people. The main duty of the Mission, then, in my opinion, is the raising up, out of their own people of men and women who will be leaders, spiritually, morally and intellectually, to the Chinese. All this, of course, with the sole aim of bringing the nation unto Christ. And our ideal should be to have such a body of Chinese workers, that if, at a moment's notice, we should all be withdrawn, the Church in all her various activities would go on steadily without us."

After Mr. Ingle's return from America he was never in good health, having almost constant fever, but in spite of these illnesses which would have incapacitated most men, he continued his work. In accordance with the doctor's orders he spent a longer time than usual at Kuling, in the Summer of 1905. Though he gained some strength, he labored almost as hard as if he had been in Hankow and he returned there the end of September far from well.

In spite of fever and severe and constant headache, he kept up until the evening of Sunday, thel 8th of November. When after delivering the charge at the First Conference of [38/39] Chinese Clergy, for which he had planned everything, even to the smallest detail, he gave up. For the first two days he was able to hear an account of the proceedings, but that made his fever so much worse that it was forbidden. For a month he lingered but on Monday, the 8th of December, 1903, he died.

The day before he sent a message to the Chinese Christians and Clergy, "Tell them that as I have tried to serve then in Christ's name while living, so if God please to take me away from this world, I pray that even my death may be a blessing to them, and help them to grow in the faith and love of Christ. May they be pure in heart, loving Christ for his own sake, and steadfastly follow the dictates of conscience, uninfluenced by sordid ambitions or selfishness of any kind."

The funeral was in St. Paul's Cathedral; at noon, the Chinese service, when the building, which holds 600 or 700, was filled with native Christians; in the afternoon the English service for the family and foreigners.

In the December, 1905, SPIRIT OF MISSIONS there is a letter from Dr. Jeffries, of Shanghai, written particularly to the people of Frederick. It is called, "If Ye Love Me." At the end he says, "There was a Christlike man who gave his life for China. It was given to him to feed the Sheep and be their Shepherd, because, I believe, he loved more than these. It was his ever-present ideal of Mission work to plant the Church firmly, to train up a few strong native Christians upon whose faith the Church in China should stand as upon the solid rock, and I tell you that when the day shall come that Christ's little flock in China can count among its number ten such Christians as the man of whom I speak, the future Christianity of China will be an assured fact. He gave his body to be burned and it profited much, for he loved much."

BISHOP GRAVES

Frederick Rogers Graves, fifth American bishop in China, was born in Auburn, New York, in 1858. He was graduated from Hobart College in 1878, and from the General Theological Seminary in 1881. His whole ministry has been spent in China. He was ordained priest in the Church of Our Saviour in Hankow. After a short time spent at Shanghai in St. John College, he was appointed to Wuchang, where with his native deacons and catechists he labored faithfully until 1893. He was elected Missionary Bishop of Shanghai by the General Convention of 1892, but a number of the deputies had returned to their homes when the testimonials were received an irsufficient number remained to confirm the election. At a special meeting in New York of the House of Bishops in 1893 he was re-elected, and was consecrated the same time as was Bishop McKim of Japan, in St. Thomas's church in New York, on June 14th, of the same year.

After laboring for eight years as Missionary Bishop of Shanghai and the Lower Yang-tse Valley, while the work grew and broadened out under his courageous Christian statesmanship, Bishop Graves applied to the General Convention of 1901, for the long contemplated division of the District. His jurisdiction extended over 200,000 square miles and included a population of 100,000,000 people. The chief centres of the Mission were over 600 miles apart, and the only means of communication up to recent days a slow and tedious water route. The difference in dialect in the upper and lower parts of the District amounted practically to two distinct languages. The Convention granted the request, and the following [40/41] February, Bishop Graves had the happiness of consecrating in Hankow for the charge of the upper district the Rev. James Addison Ingle, his co-worker in the field for over ten years. He himself retained the older part of the work at Shanghai, with its all important educational centre at St. John's Jessfield, where the work has had since 1887 the very able services of the Rev. Francis Lester Hawks Pott. Since the division Bishop Graves has continued to strengthen his old stations and open up new ones, while the great drawback to all progress has been here, as elsewhere, in the insufficiency of money and of workers to take advantage of the openings.

NOTE--See "A Chinese Pulpit" By the Bishop of Shanghai. Sp. of M. Dec., 1902, p. 873. This short article not only shows the importance of the work done in the Bishop's jurisdiction and pays a well deserved tribute to the Rev. F. L. H. Pott, President of St. John's College, but gives a better insight into the Bishop's character and point of view as regards his work than any words by another could do.

BISHOP ROOTS

Logan H. Roots was born in the West thirty-four years ago, but nearly all of his student life was spent in Massachusetts. In 1887 he entered Harvard, receiving his A. B. with the class of 1891. During his university course he not only took a high academic stand, but he was a leader in the religious interests, especially in St. Paul's Society. While a student he decided to volunteer for the foreign mission field, and thenceforth exerted a strong influence in leading other men to the same decision. He was graduated from the Theological School in Cambridge, in 1896, and was ordained deacon by Bishop Lawrence. When he applied for appointment as missionary to China, the alumni association of the school asked the privilege of paying his stipend, so that he might in a real sense be regarded as the representative of theSchool abroad. This arrangement, was maintained during the six years before he was appointed Bishop. In the autumn of 1896 Mr. Roots sailed for China crossing the Pacific on the same steamer with Li Hung Chang, who was then returning from his tour around the world.

While studying the language during the first months, Mr. Roots was assigned to Boone School, Wuchang, as instructor in English. Here he learned to recognize the supreme importance of training an intelligent clergy and laity for the Chinese Church of the future. Later he was transferred to Hankow, one of the largest cities of Central China, about six hundred miles up the Yang-tse River, and did effective work in building up the Chinese, congregations of the city. When the late Bishop Ingle was consecrated in 1902, Mr. Roots succeeded him as rector of St. Paul's Church, [42/43] with its congregation of several hundred Chinese. At the same time he became president of the standing committee of the new district, and in scores of ways proved himself one of Bishop Ingle's "right hand men."

The district of Hankow includes the most fertile and populous part of Central China. While there are many dioceses covering a larger area, it is said that there is no other diocese or district in the Churches of the Anglican Communion that contains so many people. A conservative estimate places the population at not far from 100,000,000.

After nearly eight years of service in the field Mr. Roots returned to this country in 1904 for his regular furlough, and was the clerical deputy from Hankow to the General Convention of that year in Boston. At this Convention he was chosen to succeed Bishop Ingle as Missionary Bishop of Hankow, and was consecrated in Emmanuel Church, Boston, Mass. on Monday, November 14th, 1904. He returned to China early in January 1905 and has made the city of Hankow his residence, as it is the centre of the diocesan work.

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