THE LIFE OE EDWIN WALLACE PARKER, D,D. J, H. MESSMORE THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES The Life of Edwin Wallace Parker, D.D. Missionary Bishop of Southern Asia FORTY-ONE YEARS A MISSIONARY IN INDIA By J. H. Messmore With an Introduction by Bishop James M. Thoburn New York : Eaton & Mains Cincinnati : Jennings & Rye Copyright, 1903, by EATON & MAINS. PREFACE " AT a representative meeting of missionaries of the Methodist Episcopal Church in India, held in Allaha- bad a few weeks after Bishop Parker's death, it was roposed that a life of Bishop Parker be prepared by the writer of this volume. It was a task he would not have voluntarily assumed, and often during the prog- ress of the work it would have been abandoned had such a course been practicable. Such as it is, the work is now completed. The writer has had two objects in view : I. To give a fairly intelligible and connected ac- count of the life and work of Bishop Parker; 2. To give as much information concerning the Missions of the Methodist Episcopal Church in India as could prop- erly be associated with the name of Bishop Parker. Chapter V of Book V has been prepared by the Rev. J. W. Robinson, of Lucknow, who was Dr. Parker's colleague during his six years of service in Oudh. When the preparation of this volume was first sug- gested it was with the thought that the book would find a place in the Epworth League reading course, and in this way assist in the Epworth missionary campaign. PREFACE Whether the book be utilized in this way or not, it is not unreasonable to hope that its general circulation in America will increase public information concerning Mission work in India, and in some hearts at least ex- cite new interest in the work of the Church in Southern Asia. 4 CONTENTS PAGE. INTRODUCTION 9 I. Preparation Chapter i . Birth and Boyhood 19 " 2. Youth and Early Manhood 25 " 3. The Missionary Call 40 " 4. The Ship Boston 49 II. First Term of Service September, 1859- April, 1868 Chapter I. The India Mission 56 " 2. Bijnor 62 " 3. Wesleypore 69 " 4. Mountain Air 84 " 5. The India Mission Conference . . 96 " 6. The Moradabad District 101 III. Interlude \ 868- 1 870 Chapter i . Homeward Bound 1 24 " 2. The Woman's Foreign Missionary Society 128 IV. Second Term of Service 1871-1882 Chapter I. (letting Back to India 135 " 2. Waiting for an Appointment 141 3. The Moradabad High School 147 4. The Rohilkhand District 155 " 5. The Methodist Episcopal Church in India. 176 PAGE. 6 CONTENTS V. Third Term of Service 1883-1896 Chapter I. A Missionary's Holiday I9 1 " 2. Among the Lowly 2O 3. A Workman Not Ashamed 213 " 4. General Evangelist 222 5. The Oudh District 2 3 VI. Fourth Term of Service 1897-1900 Chapter i. The Bareilly District 2 4-8 2. Light and Shade 2 57 3. TheBishop ....271 VII. Supplementary Chapter i. Uncle Parker 28 4 2. The Counselor 2 9 2 3. His Last Appointment 2 9^ 4. The Last Days.. 3 APPENDIX INTRODUCTORY NOTE 35 From the Indian Witness. A Revival Its Lessons -. 306 All Must Help 308 Mr. Sherburne's Address preceded by The Last Things : At Naini Tal ; at St. Johnsbury, Vt 310 From the Vermont Messenger. Tribute by a Fellow-missionary 315 Official Utterances 317 North India Conference Memorial 318 Memorial Address 327 Lines Written on the Death of Bishop Parker 333 ILLUSTRATIONS BISHOP E. W. PARKER FRONTISPIECE. The Farm at St. Johnsbury Facing page 20 Rev. Edwin Wallace Parker in 1858 Facing page 50 Naini Tal Facing page 68 Near the Pindari Glacier Facing page 92 The Moradabad School Hall Facing page 148 Hindustani Church, Lucknow Facing page 242 Methodist Publishing House, Lucknow Facing page 242 Spring Cottage, Naini Tal Facing page 280 Grave of Bishop Parker Facing page 282 INTRODUCTION THE great war in India popularly known as the Sepoy Mutiny was one of the most decisive events of the century which has just closed. It belonged to In- dia, a remote region, and one not often affected by the movements of the great nations of the world, and yet it arrested the attention of both Europe and America in a peculiar manner. Great issues were at stake in the struggle, but these were instinctively felt rather than clearly denned. It was a struggle of two civilizations, of two historic eras, of the old and the new, of progress and retrogression. Perhaps the only persons who clearly saw the real issue involved were those whose views were least regarded by the leaders of that period. In Europe and America, among those whose profession of the Christian name was more than nominal, were many who had received a measure of that promised gift known as "vision;" that is, the power to see God's hand in the great events which transpire in our world as well as in the minor events which pertain to indi- vidual interests. Among this class of Christians the great tragical war in India was instinctively recognized as a trumpet call to missionary duty. They did not be- lieve in war any more than they believed in earth- 9 INTRODUCTION % quakes, but they recognized facts, and knew well that out of political chaos God can bring order and peace, and they were able to perceive that one conspicuous result of the war was that the way of the messenger of peace had been more fully prepared in India than it had ever been before. The immediate result was a marked revival of missionary interest in Europe and America, and a notable increase of missionary workers, especially in India. Among the first bands of new workers sent out to India in connection with this movement was a company of six young men representing the Methodist Episcopal Church. One of these went to the field by way of Eng- land, while the others, taking ship at Boston, sailed directly to Calcutta, where they arrived August 21, 1859. Among these was Edwin W. Parker, a young man of twenty-six, in perfect health, with a splendid physique, a good practical education, an unqualified devotion to his Master's service, a conviction, never for one moment clouded, that he had been specially called of God for work in India, and an assurance of success which was inseparable from his trust in Christ as a per- sonal Saviour. He was not a man to attract attention among strangers and he cherished no ambitious thought of future promotion, but he was preeminently a man for the new missionary era which was then opening, and one who could not fail to make his mark in the new field in which his lot was to be cast. First of all, strong men always have a ruling motive INTRODUCTION in life, and, in this case, our departed brother was pos- sessed of an almost passionate instinct which led him to give his missionary calling the first place in both his heart and his thoughts. He was an American, but he belonged to India. He lived for India, he sought in every way the welfare of her people, and he believed God had a future in store for her, a work for her people to do among the nations. He loved his calling with an ardent but manly affection, and always regarded with manifest impatience the old-time ideal of the foreign missionary as a sad and lonely exile, enduring sore privations, and perhaps living in daily peril of his life. Our brother was a worker. His capacity for work was indeed exceptional. Whether with brain or muscle, his ability to do solid work was so exceptional that his Hindustani brethren were wont to say that no one could take him as a model, because he stood above and beyond all ordinary standards! But it was not so much his conspicuous power of endurance that marked the man as his power of application. In the pulpit, in the bazaar, in the schoolroom, in long night journeys over rough roads, in chilling nights and burning days, in close and wearisome study, in constant correspondence with all manner of people, in building and repairing all manner of structures, in carrying on his heart the cares and sorrows and sometimes the sins of hundreds, if not thousands, of persons in whom he felt a personal interest, in managing finances in which deficits were nearly always inevitable, and, finally, in that most diffi- ii INTRODUCTION cult task, in holding through long years a post in which he was to bear rule and yet be the servant of all, our brother very seldom showed signs of weariness, and perhaps never complained that his burdens were too heavy. It is possible that he did not sufficiently conserve his strength, but it is certainly worth some- thing, in these days in which activity is so often mis- taken for work, to see so conspicuous an illustration of the value of downright, unmistakable application to personal work. Our brother possessed the gift of leadership, a gift sorely needed in all the great mission fields of the world to-day. Position and authority do not by any means confer the gift of leadership upon men, but, on the con- trary, too often serve to make its absence conspicuous. In all great movements which require united effort the presence of leaders becomes a necessity, and this rule is nowhere more apparent than in the great mission fields of modern times. But the missionary leader must be a man of action, who goes forth with his brethren into the open field, and who knows from personal experience the nature of the work to be done and the best means to be employed in accomplishing it. Bishop Parker was a conspicuous illustration of this kind of leadership. He knew the work, for he had borne a part in nearly every kind of missionary work which had been at- tempted in North India. He knew the workers, for a large majority of the preachers and exhorters with whom he had worked carried credentials which con- 12 INTRODUCTION tained his signature. He had been personally engaged in preaching on mountain and plain, in mud chapels and city churches, in great melas and noisy bazaars, in quiet mohullas and remote villages, at early dawn and by evening starlight, to audiences which represented every class of the Indian people. He had taught in mission schools, had superintended the mission press, had edited a paper, had superintended industrial work, had personally done heroic work in trying to plant a Christian colony in Oudh, and, in short, had by per- sonal service acquired a knowledge both of work and workers which admirably fitted him for the leadership which his brethren so instinctively recognized. Our brother was a practical man, and in nothing was this more apparent than in his missionary plans and missionary labors. He did not believe for one moment that he had been called to labor in vain or spend his strength for naught. He believed that God had given him a specific call to India to preach a living message to a perishing people, and that a faithful proclamation of this message would not and could not be in vain. Hence all his plans and purposes were of a practical 'nature. He expected God's work, if faithfully exe- cuted, to abide, and he believed that, though the messen- ger of Christ must often exercise the virtue of patience while waiting to see the fruit of his toil, yet he should never cease to expect the fruit, assured as it was by the divine promise. He lived not only in hope, but in the assurance that God would openly put his seal upon the 13 INTRODUCTION efforts which his servants were putting forth in Christ's name, and he lived to see his faith abundantly rewarded through many long years of missionary prosperity. The hearty acceptance of the Saviour's commission as a straightforward letter of instructions, as an assign- ment to a specific line of work, plain to the understand- ing and definite in the results promised, has a tendency to make men practical in all their plans and direct in all their methods. Such men are the last to be betrayed into an activity which exhausts itself in "beating the air." They recognize the common sense of the apostle's advice, "So run that ye may attain." In other words, the Christian worker has a definite object set before him, and of all men he should be the last to assume that the inevitable result of his best efforts must be a painful failure to achieve the object in view. A measure of seeming failure may attend his efforts, but the main object, the actual end to be achieved, should ever be regarded as an assured event, more certain than the rising of the morrow's sun. Bishop Parker, while ever cherishing a feeling of profound reverence, and also a kindred feeling of self- distrust, never hesitated in accepting the fact that under * the present dispensation, both in the material and the spiritual realm, man's success depends upon his co- operating with hidden forces with which God has brought him into touch. Hence the practical bent of his character made him a practical worker. He used "means" not because he lacked dependence upon God, 14 INTRODUCTION but because he heeded the inspired reminder that he was a "coworker" with God. He did not expect a great revival in the absence of preparation for it. He be- lieved in the use of means, but of appropriate means. His work, his preaching and teaching, his methods and policies, his administration and leadership, were all and always of a practical cast, and pointed directly to some profitable result. Our brother was a man of broad views and progres- sive sympathies. His world was a wide one, his heart was big enough to make room for all nations, and his vision was clear enough to penetrate beyond his own local horizon. The term "broad" is sometimes applied in a loose way to vague or speculative opinions in refer- ence to religious truth, but there was nothing of this kind in our brother's character. The essential truths of the Gospel which he preached were to his mind firm and immovable as the great mountains, but his view of these truths was not a narrow one. His gospel was one of hope and love, and his vision brought into view a brightening horizon for all nations. He was tolerant, and more than tolerant, to those who were less hopeful, but in his later years he often expressed his regret that so many missionaries were tempted to contract their horizon and regard the missionary movement as one which had but a limited future. It is possible indeed, I had almost said easy for good men who have long been isolated from the active influences of the outside Christian world to lose their 15 INTRODUCTION interest in distant events and to fail to perceive that our world is one whole, that, each nation is a member of one great family, that one nation cannot suffer with- out all suffering in some measure, that the blessing of one is the blessing of all, and the affliction of one the affliction of all. Such, however, is not apt to be the mistake of a missionary who has been anointed for his service, and who shares in constant measure the love of Him who is no more the respecter of nations than of persons. A heart filled with the love of Christ must in a measure stimulate the mind and enlighten the vision of its possessor. The missionary, of all men, should carefully note God's dealings with the nations. The study of history has its value, but the study of current events is even more important. In these extraordinary times men make more history in a year than those of the Middle Ages did in a century. Our brother was preeminently a man for the times in which he lived. He came to India at the opening of a new missionary era. He went as a pioneer to a new field. He was to spend his life among new converts and take a leading part in providing the organization which a large and rapidly growing body of untaught Christians needed. For the peculiar duties which such a position imposed upon him he was specially fitted. His sagacity was exceptional, and at times seemed to amount to a spiritual gift. Every successful mission- ary is familiar with the bewildering perplexity which must be encountered when a serious problem is sud- ib INTRODUCTION clenly thrust to the front and the circumstances are such that it can neither be evaded nor postponed. For such emergencies, whether in legislation or administration, our brother seemed peculiarly fitted. In shaping the organization of the new mission and in the administra- tion of its affairs he bore a leading part, and when it fell to his lot to represent his brethren in the highest council of his Church in the home land he left a marked impression upon the legislation of that body, more marked, indeed, than was perceived by any one at the time. After forty-one years of faithful and successful service our brother received from the Church which he had so long represented in a foreign land the highest mark of confidence which a faithful missionary could receive at her hands. By the largest vote ever cast in the General Conference for an episcopal candidate he was elected to the office of Missionary Bishop, and in due time returned to the country of his adoption and entered upon its duties. He was no longer young, but it was hoped, confidently expected, indeed, that he would live long enough to render the most valuable service of his life in a field with which he had become so familiar. But it was not so to be. His work on earth was done. He was needed, no doubt, for higher serv- ice. It is more, much more, than a fancy to suppose that service in this world is but a training for higher service in the world of everlasting light. For one, I do not hesitate to regard the vision which our brother saw (2) 17 INTRODUCTION in the early part of his illness as a message sent from God, not for the sufferer's sake alone, but for the in- struction as well as comfort of those of us who remain in the lower vineyard. We have long been prone to think of heaven as afar off, and having no more connec- tion with earthly interests than one of the fixed stars. We are not so taught in the New Testament. When we draw near to God we join not only the angelic host, but "the spirits of just men made perfect." Our brother has passed on before, and yet he is one with us still. He laid down the task of earth, but he did so to resume it in heaven. It is fitting that the life and work of such a man as Edwin W. Parker should have a permanent record in the annals of missionary work in India. Such a record is due to the memory of the man, but it is still more due to those who are to follow him. His life was one from which much can be learned, and for long years to come as the record is studied it will be realized that "he, being dead, yet speaketh." The task of recording the story has been committed into capable hands, and I doubt not the memoir will take its place among the permanent missionary literature of Methodism. J. M. THOBURN. Kingston, Ohio, January 17, 1902. 18 THE LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER L PREPARATION CHAPTER I. BIRTH AND BOYHOOD EDWIN WALLACE PARKER, son of Quincy B. Parker and Electa McGaffy, was born at St. Johnsbury, Vt., January 21, 1833. Quincy B. Parker, son of Nathan Parker, was born in Lyndon, Vt., September 27, 1800. Nathan Parker had migrated from Massachusetts and settled in Vermont near the close of the eighteenth cen- tury. Nathan and Quincy B. Parker were farmers, cultivating their own land, and lived the industrious, simple, self-denying yet not unprosperous lives of New England farmers in those early times. After his marriage, in February, 1827, Quincy B. Parker moved to St. Johnsbury and began life on a farm four miles from St. Johnsbury Center. They lived at first in a log house, as the country was new, and in that house their first three children were born, Edwin Wallace being the third. In the year 1835 the comfortable brick house was built which was Edwin's home during his childhood and youth. The name of Bishop Parker's mother and his own name, Wallace, indicate a Scotch strain in the family stock. 19 LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER The Parker farmhouse was a "Methodist hotel" and a Methodist preaching place. The father was a quiet, strong man, decidedly religious; the mother was, how- ever, the leader of the two, and from his mother her son evidently inherited those qualities which made him a natural leader and gained for him a prominent place in the Church. While, like Paul, he could say, "By the grace of God I am what I am," he always acknowl- edged his great indebtedness to his parents for their holy example and Christian counsel. In and through them the grace of God was brought nigh unto himself. He was never heard boasting of his parentage, but nearly every page of his private journal shows that his whole life was brightened with filial love and gratitude. Bishop Parker's earthly life illustrates and confirms the truth of the remark that "the boy is father of the man." Not by accident was he the man his life showed him to be. The home from which he came and the training which he received in that home largely helped make him the stanch, true, faithful, and helpful man he was. Recollections of his early home life, written long ago by Mr. Parker himself, are fortunately available for use in this memoir. The following extracts will be read with interest by those who knew the man who wrote them, and they are of especial value as giving a natural and simple account of life on a New England farm seventy years ago: My first recollections are of a good home with kind and affectionate parents and two loving sisters and one little brother. Among my earliest recollections are the family altar and the prayers offered there, which made a deep impression upon my mind and taught me things never to be forgotten. I never can be thankful enough 20 BIRTH AND BOYHOOD that I was taught early the things of God ; and as soon as I knew anything I knew there was a God and a heaven and a hell. I knew also that I was free to choose whether I would go to the heaven or be driven to the hell. I have been told by my oldest sister that when very small I was much inclined to be preaching and praying ; and once when our hired man laughed at me I told him he would go to hell and be damned. I remem- ber how my mother used to teach me to be good and to pray to God to make me a good boy. The theory that it is unfair to a child to give him religious instruction before he is old enough to inquire for himself into the foundations of faith evidently was not followed in the Parker home. Parents, themselves knowing what is truth, and believing it as they believe in the reality of their own existence, have an indispu- table right to give their children the fullest possible benefit of their own knowledge and experience. They have a natural and moral right to improve to the fullest extent the peculiar opportunity given them of impress- ing their own most sacred religious and moral convic- tions and ideas upon their children's hearts and minds. They have the opportunity of making impressions which are simply indelible. And it is a discouraging fact that Christian parents in the twentieth century so often fail to utilize this opportunity, allowing others to impress their moral and religious convictions upon the understanding and conscience of the children. In this respect people acted more wisely a hundred years ago. The "recollections" continue : As I was the oldest boy I was put forward in almost every way. I was sent to school when only three years of age, although the schoolhouse was one mile and a quarter from home. I think that, like most children, T LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER was roguish at school. I remember one day the teacher gave me a seat at her desk to keep me still. During the afternoon she took from one of the scholars a large shell and laid it on the shelf of her desk. I in some way managed to get it into my pocket, thinking, I suppose, to carry it home. At the close of school the teacher called for the shell, to give it back to the owner. But no one had seen it. It was soon discovered, as it was so large it could be seen in my little pocket from any part of the room. I think shame for that cured me en- tirely of ever trying to take things at school or any- where else. As soon as I was large enough I was taught to do certain kinds of work, especially taking care of horses. As soon as I could hold the halter I led the horses to water, and also learned to drive at the plow, and could drive for a little while at a time. Thus when very young I learned to work. When I was seven years old I began to stay at home from school to help in "hay- ing," and at this age I could ride horseback as fast as any horse could go and could drive a span of horses about almost anywhere. When I was eight years of age I was driving the horses for my uncle, who was plowing a plot of newly cleared land on our farm. While plowing we came to a log lying across our way, and in order to turn it around I was set to hold one end while my uncle rolled around the other. Not being able to hold it, I ran before it and, falling down, it rolled over me completely. The log was eighteen feet long and nearly two feet through, and would have crushed me in a moment had I not providentially fallen into a little hollow, and so I was not badly hurt, though my head was bruised and one knee injured. God's watch- ful eye was over me there or I would surely have been killed. The winter following this incident the boy's mother died, after four years of illness. Shortly before her death she called him to her bedside and talked to him 22 BIRTH AND BOYHOOD about her death. "She told me I had often heard the bell toll, and soon I would hear it toll for mother. She made me promise to try and be a good boy." In course of time Mr. Parker married again and the family life went on much as before. Meanwhile the little boy was growing to be a sturdy lad. He had three months at school each winter and also a short time during summer. He made fair improvement in his studies, but his heart was on the farm. My favorite employment was riding and driving horses, and in this I found, much to do when out of school. In the spring I did most of the harrowing with horses and driving to plow. During the fall or first part of winter and also in the spring I often drew fire- wood, father being in the woods to load and at the house a man, who was chopping firewood, to unload the heavy logs. Once, while teaming in this way, I was helping to roll a large log from the sled and, running my lever too far over, the log struck it and the other end, in my hands, flew up and struck me under the chin, knocking me senseless for a few moments. So well had I learned to manage horses at the age of nine or ten years that I was sent to do most of the errands about town and on the far.m. Whatever was being done I usually did the driving; in this way I learned to love horses very much. It is not strange that when this boy became a mis- sionary he always managed to have just the right kind of horses; never expensive ones, but always good ones; and that he knew so well how to get good service out of these his faithful servants that, in his innumerable journeyings among the towns and villages of India, he was able to do an amount of traveling which was im- possible for others. Dr. Parker was in no sense of the 23 LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER word a "horsey" man ; he kept his horses so many years that it seemed he never bought a horse on his own account. But few of his fellow-missionaries failed to take advantage of his wise counsel when buying horses for themselves. The boy was father of the man. Another short extract closes the chapter of childhood recollections : One thing I remember concerning my childhood is that I was always taught that my parents' word was law for me. My father, although kind to his children, made them mind his word. Never do I remember speaking an irreverent word to my parents. I did no more dare do that than put out my right eye. And it seemed perfectly awful to me to hear other boys speak saucily to their parents. For this I feel thankful now, as I look back. This testimony to the force of character possessed by this boy's parents is very significant. Such a moral atmosphere was as bracing and invigorating to the moral nature of children reared therein as was the mountain air of New England to their bodres, and Bishop Parker's childhood surroundings account in a large measure for the man: Like Timothy, the founda- tions of his character rested upon early home influences and early acquaintance with the sublime truths of the word of God. 24 YOUTH AND EARLY MANHOOD CHAPTER II. YOUTH AND EARLY MANHOOD BETWEEN the placid waters of childhood and the strong deep stream of mature life there intervenes a more or less extended reach of broken water. There are ripples and rapids, and sometimes cataracts. Here and there are eddies, as though the stream were in doubt which way to take. Sometimes there are stag- nant pools which threaten to pollute its remaining course. It is not necessarily a dangerous period, but it always is critical. Few pass through it with entire safety. But, so far as can be ascertained, Edwin W. Parker was singularly fortunate in this respect. His obedient, industrious, joyous childhood imperceptibly changed to obedient, industrious, ambitious youth. The change was almost unnoticed; and as the years went on, and the youth became a man, there was no break in the uniformity of his life. Apart from occa- sional expressions of regret that he did not apply him- self to his studies more diligently while a lad at school, his journal contains no lamentations over misspent years or neglected opportunities. In body, mind, and heart he grew up whole and sound. There were no scars ; no wounds healed for the time but liable to dis- close some weakness in the future. From his twelfth to his seventeenth year he lived at home, working on the farm and generally, not always, getting three months at the district school in the winter. But there was little in that school to stimulate lads to study, and Edwin evidently cared more for athletic sports and farm life than for books. Still he made 25 LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER some progress in his studies, and in the winter of his seventeenth year he was studying algebra, history, and German in addition to the common English branches. Concerning this period of his life he writes : During these winters, from the time I was thirteen until I was seventeen, I learned but little when com- pared with what I ought to have learned. I was not considered a bad or idle boy at school, yet I learned but little. The spring of 1850 I was a student in St. Johnsbnry Plain Academy. My studies were algebra, grammar, and philosophy. The next spring also I at- tended this academy. I enjoyed these two terms at the academy very much, and desired in my heart to con- tinue at school, but could not do so at that time. This was the last of my going to school until after I was twenty. During these years my whole time, excepting the three months of winter, was spent on the farm, a kind of work I then loved very much and still do. I spent the winters of my eighteenth, nineteenth, and twentieth years working in the "woods," chopping and drawing firewood and sawlogs. It seemed to me at that time to be very hard work, but I found no fault with my lot although I suffered much from the cold. Perhaps it was a good discipline for me, as I learned something of the world from association with a class of men who were different from my farm associates. I often think how much better it would have been for me had I known my future work (as I would have done had I been a Christian) and spent those years at school preparing myself for this great work in India. The autumn after I was twenty years of age I left home to attend school at Newbury, having bought my time, or rather having it given me; for my father gave me one hundred dollars and I gave back twenty-five dollars for time. From this time I was my own "boy." In those days a father was supposed to have a right to the service of his sons until they were of age. Quincy 26 YOUTH AND EARLY MANHOOD B. Parker evidently insisted upon this right. Edwin lacked three or four months of being of age. And though the father gave the son one hundred dollars toward his education the son paid the father twenty- five dollars in lieu of his work for the remaining months of his minority. This little business transaction is a significant illustration of the manners and strict business ideas of the class of people among whom he lived. Frugality, strict honesty in meeting all liabili- ties, and sturdy independence in all business matters characterized the men of rural New England, and Ed- win W. Parker was in these particulars a genuine son of the soil. And now let him tell in his own words why he "bought his time" and left his father's house to at- tend Newbury Seminary: During my childhood I was often interested in things of religion. I was brought up to attend Sabbath school and church regularly. Although we lived four miles from church there was seldom a Sunday throughout the year when some of us were not at church. In this respect my parents were very strict. If circumstances were such that they could go out for business of any kind they could also go to church. Hence cold or heat or rain could not keep us at home. In this way as well as at the family altar I was continually receiving im- pressions from God. Often was I convicted of sin and made to feel my duty, but as often did I resist the Spirit's influence. I remember that when I was fifteen or sixteen years of age I was led to think seriously of my condition, and I then felt a desire to be a Christian. One evening at a "protracted meeting" I felt a desire to go to the "anxious seat," but the enemy told me I was too young, and as no one encouraged me I kept back. When I was nineteen or twenty the Rev. W. D. Malcolm came to St. Johnsbury to preach. He was a 27 LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER young- man, and his heart was full of love for souls and his sermons made a deep impression upon my mind. From the time he first came upon the circuit I was con- vinced of sin, and each Sabbath I returned home from church more deeply convicted. Many times did Mr. Malcolm try to talk with me, but he never had a chance. I always evaded him, so that prior to my conversion he never spoke to me personally on the subject of religion. And yet many times I felt that I would give anything to have a talk with him upon the subject which most interested me. During Mr. Malcolm's second year at St. Johnsbury I was more deeply convicted than ever. While at work in the woods, many times with only a step between me and eternity, I was made to tremble. Once while roll- ing a log upon a sled in a position that a single slip of the foot would have brought the log back upon me and killed me, the danger of losing both worlds faced me. At such times the Spirit of God would call loudly to me to repent of sin and turn to God. Toward the end of this winter a protracted meeting was held at St. Johns- bury Center and I felt I ought to attend, but deter- mined not to do so. And instead of going to meeting I went off to Lyndon to visit my friends. But this time the enemy was caught in his own trap; for at Lyndon my cousins and uncles had all become converted. It was a warm place for me, and I became still more deeply convicted. As I was about starting for home Saturday evening I entered my uncle Hollis Parker's shop. He was reading the Bible; but as I entered he turned to me and said : "Another week has passed and gone, Its days how quickly fled ! And time is bearing us along To mingle with the dead." I returned home and next day attended church, when Mr. Malcolm preached with power. At noon, instead of Sabbath school, we had a prayer meeting and an op- 28 YOUTH AND EARLY MANHOOD portunity was given for persons to rise for prayers. I felt anxious to rise, but showed no such sign, apparent- ly looking negligently on the company to see if any arose. That afternoon my convictions were deepened. Yet I had not decided while at church. I returned home feeling deeply, yet undecided, until toward even- ing as I was taking care of the horses at the barn, while I stood waiting for one to drink, I resolved to become a Christian. I resolved to go back to the meet- ing that evening and arise for prayers. We went back to meeting with two horses and carried a good load of people ; that night I gave myself to God. As I entered the church I went and took a seat with the Christians instead of sitting down with my young associates, and thus evaded what was to me a great obstacle. That night I believe I gave myself up, to a degree, but I had not yet learned that I must follow the dictates of the Spirit. That night at family prayers I felt I ought to pray, but neglecting to do so I was kept longer from entering into salvation's stream and being healed. I felt, however, much better than before, as I had taken the great step and would in no wise return. On Mon- day father and I were at work in the woods, far from the house, and it made it hard for us while at work here to attend meetings, as we used the horses in our work and our house was four miles from church. We worked all day Monday and had very bad luck. Tuesday we commenced again, but our luck was still worse, and we accomplished very little. We had been at work nearly all the afternoon and had accomplished nothing, when father threw down his handspike and said, "We will go home and go to meeting awhile, and then see if we cannot have better luck." I went to meeting that even- ing and was blessed. The next day I also attended and received a great blessing. That day at noon Brother Malcolm proposed that any who so desired should stay and pray and fast. A few of us remained with the pastor, and in that little prayer meeting I offered my first prayer in the hearing of others and was greatly 29 blessed ; and in the evening meeting I was able to testify that my sins were forgiven and that my soul was happy in God. For a few weeks we did nothing but attend meetings. It was all our work, and our only work. This account of Edwin W. Parker's conversion is taken from a manuscript yellow with age, written about forty-five years ago. Whatever attractions this archaic story may have for those inexperienced in such scenes as it describes, the record is fragrant with suggested memories precious to those who fifty years ago were living such lives and passing through such experiences as those herein described. The old, almost forgotten expressions have in them the melody of years long gone by. The "protracted meeting" and the "anxious seat" bring again to mind rich experiences. Meeting them is like finding the shoes of little feet that have been moldering in the grave for years. The peculiar refer- ence to "bad luck" may surprise some who have no practical knowledge of the many vicissitudes of a woodman's day's work. The dangers and the possi- bility of accidents or of less serious hindrances to work through various little happenings are almost as numer- ous in the forest as at sea. A breaking chain, a slipping skid, an awkward movement of a log, a stubborn knot, or a tool caught fast may mean the loss of hours of hard work. And a natural explanation of the "bad luck" might be given. Both father and son, probably thinking of the meetings at St. Johnsbury more than of their work in the "woods," were no doubt glad to find an excuse for leaving it, that they might go and worship. It is significant of the religious fiber of their character that these practical New Englanders dropped their work for a season and attended the "protracted 30 YOUTH AND EARLY MANHOOD meeting" in the expectation that when work was re- sumed the "luck" would change. The young convert, however, soon found that victory in one conflict brought him to the commencement of another. He had settled one question and was re- joicing in the assurance that he was a child of God and in the firm resolution to live the life of a Christian. But now another question arose. Here is his own story of this second conflict : As soon, or nearly as soon, as I was converted I felt that I must leave the farm and preach the Gospel of the Son of God and try to call men to repentance. This was impressed upon my mind and I could not drive the impression away. I felt like one of old, and like many of my brethren, "Woe is unto me if I preach not the Gospel." I tried to rid myself of such feelings, as at times I felt I could not do such a work. I saw my in- ability so clearly. I, an inexperienced farmer's boy, with no education for my work, how could I do it? And then, on the other hand, I loved farming, and had no higher ambition than to be a good farmer. I had studied out improvements in farm building and in other things, and it was hard for me to give up all my long-cherished plans and take a very different field of labor. There was a long and severe struggle in my mind, which I kept mostly to myself. At last I yielded to the convictions of duty, which I could not and dared not resist, and promised "for God to live and die." While these convictions were in my own mind I was continually hearing from others that it was generally understood that I was to be a preacher. This was either conjecture or the operation of God's Spirit upon the church to lead them to feel as I felt. When people asked my parents al>out it they always had to say they did not know. These things confirmed me in the belief that my convictions of duty were from God. 31 LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER This conviction, that God had called him to be a preacher and not a farmer, necessarily changed the young man's plans for life. It led him to buy his time of his father and sent him to Newbury Seminary to commence the work of education for the ministry. The next three and a half years were spent in preparation for attendance at the Methodist Biblical Institute at Concord, N. H. The process was slow, because he had to earn his own living meanwhile and because the years of hard physical labor on the farm had left him unpre- pared for successful application to study. His journal has many touching references to the difficulty he experi- enced in his efforts to become a close student. "I found it very, very hard to fix attention upon my books," he writes, "and did not make the improvement I should have done. I lacked energy in that direction, although I had enough for the games of football." And in an- other place, referring to some of his experiences as a student-preacher, he writes : Often when I returned from the pulpit I was tempted never to enter it again but to return to farming. I knew that as a farmer I was up to any man, almost. I could work as hard, lift as much, and do it as long as any one I ever worked with. But study came hard after three years without it, and I was often tempted to drive all thought of preaching from my mind and go back to my favorite work on the farm. But these temporary shadows across his path could not turn him aside from that which had now become conviction of duty and the unalterable purpose of his life. Before making fuller reference to his experiences at this time a short account of the events of the period will give the reader a clearer idea of what he was doing. 32 YOUTH AND EARLY MANHOOD In the autumn of 1853 he left home and for three months attended the seminary at Newbury, some thirty miles from St. Johnsbury. During the winter he taught district school at Oxford, and in the spring of 1854 he went back to Newbury for another term of three months. He worked on his brother's farm during mid- summer and in the fall of the year went back for his third term at Newbury. The following winter he taught the district school where his parents lived, and in the spring of 1855 went to the academy at St. Johns- bury Plain. He attended three full terms at this school, spending the winter vacations teaching and in mid- summer working on the farm, and on the second of March, 1856, accompanied by his fellow-student and bride, Lois Lee, he entered the Concord, N. H., Biblical Institute. There he remained as a student until the end of May, 1858, at which time he w r as appointed pastor of the church at Lunenburg, a station within the bounds of the Vermont Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church. He was appointed missionary to India in January, 1859. As his personal religious experience had led him to leave the farm and seek preparation for the ministry, so did it continue to be an important factor in his life dur- ing the years of preparation, and on this account must not pass unrecorded. A most important feature of his religious experience is described in his own words : Soon after I was converted to God I commenced to feel the importance of being wholly sanctified to God, and for this I commenced to seek and to pray earnestly. Within a few weeks I was at Lyndon again, and there, while praying alone in the woods, I felt that I was wholly the Lord's; that I loved him with all my heart. (3) ' 33 LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER After I returned home the enemy tempted me severely, but by careful examination of my heart and calm trust in God I conquered and continued on my way re- joicing. During this season I enjoyed much of God's presence. I tried to do all things in the right way and to do all my duty. It was a happy summer, very happy. I was happy at prayer, happy in study of the Scrip- tures, happy at meeting, happy everywhere. I lived two miles from class meeting, yet I was generally there, al- though I had to work until seven in the evening and class was at half past seven. I always made it a point in meeting to speak and pray whenever I felt it my duty, which was at nearly every meeting. From this I received great strength and many great blessings. This was a good beginning for a young man in the first year of his Christian experience, and was a good foundation on which to build the superstructure of min- isterial preparation and missionary service. He was a happy Christian. "The joy of the Lord was his strength." They tell us that the waters from the smit- ten rock followed the Israelites during the forty years of their wilderness wanderings. In like manner the invigorating stream of Christian joy refreshed his soul during forty-one years of strenuous missionary life. He could not have served his Master as he did if he had not been at heart a happy man ; and it is almost certain that the severe trials and sore disappointments of his first term of missionary service would have proved too much for his buoyant spirit if his Christian experience had not from the beginning been such a happy one. But there were troubles ahead. At St. Johnsbury Plain and at Lyndon he was among brethren and friends ; but when he left this familiar circle and found himself a stranger among the students at Newbury diffi- 34 YOUTH AND EARLY MANHOOD culties arose. Concerning his religious experience dur- ing the first term lie says : "I grew in grace somewhat, yet not as I ought. I had too much of the fear of man before my eyes. I neglected to take an active part in meeting, as I had done before, and this hurt me. It was not until nearly the close of the term that I got strength to pray in public." In another place, after describing the experience which followed the blessing of a clean heart, he adds, "After I left home for school I, through fear and neglect, lost much of this second blessing, although at times I felt it as before." The second term at Newbury was better. He was no longer a stranger and he had found congenial, help- ful, Christian associates. He writes that he enjoyed himself much more than before; he had more courage, and worked more earnestly, not only at his studies but in the prayer meetings and class meetings. Some of his fellow-students were, like himself, preparing for the ministry, and it was in association with them that he was encouraged and led on to make definite beginning of his life work. This story of the beginning of the making of a missionary must be told in his own words : During this term Brother H. F. Austin and I were accustomed to go out to hold prayer meetings on Sun- day evenings among the people living in the country back of the village. Here commenced my itinerant work. We often walked out four miles to hold a meeting and then walked back the same night. Brother Austin was a noble soul. At the close of this term I felt I had made advancement in my studies and in spirituality. Newbury is a good place for boys. They are continu- ally in the midst of a revival there, and every privilege is enjoyed which could tend to help our spiritual growth. 35 LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER The next step soon followed. Two years from the time of his conversion, in 1852, he began to give short religious addresses to a few people in prayer meetings. In the spring of 1855 he received his exhorter's license, and in the winter of 1856, shortly before going to the Biblical Institute at Concord, he received his local preacher's license. He was then nearly twenty-four years of age. The beginning of his pulpit work is thus described : In the fall of 1854 I commenced exhorting a little. I was first led into this by Brother Bridge, who got me to go out to Kirby with him and then almost forced me into the pulpit to preach. I had not then received my exhorter's license, but had been recommended by the class and had the promise of the license from Brother Button, our pastor at St. Johnsbury. But I did not re- ceive the document till the next spring. The young man was now fairly started in his work. In the spring of 1855 he preached at St. Johnsbury Center while the pastor was absent attending Confer- ence. Occasional service of this sort followed, but for the most part his efforts were still limited to prayer meetings in schoolhouses or in the homes of the people. Meanwhile he was getting on. Many have made more rapid progress, but he was working his way ; not only supporting himself but working his way up to that grade of scholarship which was necessary for carrying out his plans of life. When he had completed his pre- paratory studies and had gone to Concord the same necessity for working his way was upon him, and he tells us that while at the Institute he supported himself by preaching on the Sabbath. He had an appointment at Goffstown, some distance south of Concord. Each 36 YOUTH AND EARLY MANHOOD Saturday he went by rail to Manchester and from there walked some eight or ten miles out to his appointment, reaching the place Saturday evening. He usually had three services on Sunday, and on Monday morning re- turned by the same route to Concord. The Goffstown work practically occupied him three days of the week, and this must have interfered somewhat with his work at school. His preparatory studies were so far ad- vanced that he arranged to take the three years' course in two; and although he left Concord two months be- fore the completion of the second year he was duly graduated as completing the course. He afterward re- gretted that he had not taken another year at Concord and given more time to the various subjects. He was received as a probationer in the Vermont Conference in April, 1857, one month after entering the Biblical Institute. The Rev. Schuvler Chamberlain / was his presiding elder. The Conference year began in April, the Institute session closed in July. Hence Mr. Parker's appointment to Lunenburg at the Confer- ence session of 1858 removed him from Concord more than two months before the close of the term. Lunen- burg is among the hills on the Connecticut a few miles east from the St. Johnsbury home. The young pastor gives the following account of the place and his work there: At Lunenburg we found a very poor house and a small, scattered church, and I at first was a little low- spirited. But my good wife said it was all right and good, so we went to work. The good Lord blessed us here. Many were converted and many of them were heads of families. The church was built up indeed. When we left Lunenburg many of the members of the 37 LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER board of stewards were our converts in the Lord: God blessed us indeed, and our hearts clung to that people. Never can we forget them. May God keep that little church ! This reference to Mrs. Parker may remind the reader that when Mr. Parker entered the Concord Biblical Institute his bride accompanied him. As Mrs. Parker's cooperation in all the labors and success of her hus- band's life was so effective, and as he was at each step of the way indebted to her for invaluable assistance of every kind, and as it is impossible to separate his work and life from hers, it is fitting that fuller notice be given to this marriage, which was no doubt the most fortu- nate event in the whole life of this successful and happy man. It hardly accords with popular ideas of New England thrift that a young man who was working his way through school, and would have to earn his own living in some way while passing through the Biblical Institute, should have increased his responsibilities and apparently added to his burdens by marrying a wife. But this plan was well thought out, as the plans of "the Parkers" always were, and there were good reasons for following this course. Mrs. Parker's ancestors were among the first settlers in St. Johnsbury, going there when the place was a mere wilderness. Her maternal grandfather, Stiles, was a deacon in the Freewill Baptist Church; her father's family were nearly all Methodists, but Mr. Lee himself and his wife were Congregationalists. Mrs. Parker had joined this church when eleven years of age, remaining a member until her marriage, in 1856. On account of this association with Congrega- tionalists at St. Johnsbury the sympathy and prayers of 38 YOUTH AND EARLY MANHOOD both denominations were given to Mr. and Mrs. Parker on their appointment to India, and this interest has been maintained until now. The story of the early ac- quaintance of Edwin W. Parker and Lois Lee, and of their marriage and removal to Concord, is by no means the least important or least attractive item in this mem- oir, and it is a fortunate circumstance that it can be given here as written by Mrs. Parker herself : My parents lived in St. Johnsbury, about three miles from Mr. Parker's home. Our first real acquaintance began when I was about twelve years old. His sister was teaching our school and boarded at my father's, and he used to come for his sister Saturdays. We were both in school at Newbury, Vt., and later at St. Johns- bury. It was while at this last school that we were en- gaged. Our plan at first was for me to finish the course at the Woman's College in Newbury, as I was within two terms of graduation, while he studied at the Biblical Institute at Concord. But in view of the prob- ability of becoming missionaries we thought I might get a better preparation for work by going on with many of the studies he would take. In those days there were many married students at Concord. So we were married and went on studying together while he re- mained at Concord. I have always been thankful for those days at Concord ; not only for the opportunity for study, but for the association we had with Bishop and Mrs. Baker, with the professors and their families, and with the older students, among whom were Albert L. Long and Stephen L. Baldwin. 39 LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER CHAPTER III. THE MISSIONARY CALL IN the year 1855 the Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church resolved to establish a mission in British India. Early in 1856 the Rev. Wil- liam Butler was sent out to select a field for the new mission. Oudh and Rohilkhand were chosen, and the superintendent established himself at Bareilly and awaited reinforcements. On September 22, 1857, the Revs. James L. Humphrey and Ralph Pierce, with their wives, reached Calcutta, expecting to go on at once to Bareilly. But about the time of their departure from Boston the mutiny had broken oul in Oudh and Rohilkhand, the mission premises at Bareilly had been destroyed, and the superintendent, his family, and other Europeans had fled for safety to Naini Tal. For the present it was impossible to continue their journey. They were obliged to wait five months in Calcutta be- fore it was considered safe for them to go on. On February 24, 1858, they left Calcutta and, meeting Dr. Butler, the superintendent, at Agra, proceeded via Meerut and Mussoorie to Naini Tal, reaching that place in a little less than two months from the time they left Calcutta. As the Chinese disturbances in 1900 were followed by a remarkable revival of missionary effort in China, so in India the Mutiny of 1857 inspired the churches of Great Britain and America to increased effort for the evangelization of India. Dr. Butler returned to Ba- reilly as soon as it was safe to do so, left Mr. Humphrey to begin work there, and went on himself with Mr. 40 THE MISSIONARY CALL Pierce to Lucknow, intending to make that city the headquarters of the mission. But before leaving Naini Tal he had applied to the missionary secretaries at New York for six married missionaries. The secretaries published the call and appealed to the Church for volun- teers. The hour was a propitious one. The story of the massacre of Cavvnpore, of the defense and relief of Lucknow, of the siege and capture of Delhi, gave India a large place in the thoughts and sympathies of the American people; and when the call went forth, "Six men for India," it stirred the hearts of hundreds of de- vout men, who asked themselves the question, "Is this call for me?" The call soon reached Lunenburg, where the Rev. Edwin W. Parker was nearing the close of his second year's pastorate. The church there was weak in num- bers and the people were poor. So few and so poor, in fact, that the pastor and his wife both taught in the local schools to eke out a support. Knowing the won- derful sequel to the story, there is naturally a desire to know just how that call reached those two persons whose lives were destined to be so closely connected with India. Mrs. Parker herself shall tell us : Mr. Parker had a conviction very soon after his call to the ministry that he must also be a missionary. His mother had this conviction almost from his birth, but he did not know this until after he began to preach. When he asked me to be his wife he said it was no more than right that I should know of this conviction. I told him that I had felt from a child that sometime I would be a missionary, so that whenever the way opened for him I should not object. One of my father's sisters, Miss Ethelinda Lee, was one of the first missionaries of the Methodist Episcopal Church to the Indians at Green 41 LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER Bay, Mich. It took her longer to go from St. Johns- bury to Green Bay than for us to come to India in 1900. It was my great delight as a child to read and hear read her letters telling of her work among the Indians, and the idea never left me that sometime I would be in similar work. It was during our second year at Lunen- burg that Dr. Butler's call for six men for India was published in the Church papers. At that time we were both teaching in the village school in order to eke out the small allowance that the church was able to pay us. Family circumstances were such that it seemed out of the question for us to leave America at that time. My mother had died leaving her youngest child to my care, for whom there seemed no other protector. Still that call from India did not leave us, though for some days we did not even speak to each other about it. At last Mr. Parker asked me if I had noticed the call, and did I think we could respond to it. After much prayer and much opposition from friends we decided to offer our- selves and abide by the decision of the Missionary So- ciety, thinking that probably others better qualified than we were would offer, and we would not be accepted. But in December, 1858, the appointment came, and early in March we left our Vermont home ; all our work at Lunenburg and all our family interests having been satisfactorily arranged for. Mr. Parker's commission as missionary to India is dated New York, February 22, 1859, and bears the signatures of Bishops Janes and Simpson. It is an in- teresting historical document, and is moreover worth presenting here as it shows how missionaries were ap- pointed in those early days : To Rev. Edwin W. Parker, Minister of the M. E. Church in the U. S. A. and member of the Vermont Conference of said M. E. Church. DEAR BROTHER: You are hereby appointed a mis- sionary of the M. E. Church in India. You will sail 42 THE MISSIONARY CALL for that country as soon as practicable. On reaching Calcutta you will report yourself to Rev. William But- ler, Superintendent of said Mission, and commence and prosecute your study of the language and your mission- ary labors under his direction. While you continue in the Mission you will conform to the direction of the Missionary Board at New York and to the instruction from time to time of the Bishop having charge of the Methodist Mission in India. Yours fraternally, E. S. JANES, M. SIMPSON. In addition to this official paper from the bishop there is a letter from Dr. Durbin giving certain business directions for the guidance of the missionaries. The letter was written from the mission rooms on April 6. The closing paragraphs of the letter are given here be- cause they reveal the intense earnestness of the great missionary secretary, and also because they show the character of the covenant between the Missionary So- ciety and its missionaries and what was expected of them. Dr. Durbin writes: After I have said so much in regard to what refers to the more temporal aspects of your mission allow me now to say, I trust you have accepted this mission as the great work of your life; and that you will consecrate your life and all that you have to it ; not counting your life dear unto you, nor the life of your beloved wife, if need be, so that you may fully accomplish your great mission. And I also hope and trust that you are deeply impressed with the necessity of personal piety, so that you may prosecute your mission with great power and effect, not only by giving an example to those around you, but likewise by preaching to them the Gospel with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven. This piety, with these objects in view, will lead you to work with 43 LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER your brethren in the mission in great harmony, and thus, by unity of purpose and concord of action and communion one with another, you will not only save your own souls but also the souls of those that hear you. We shall be glad to hear from you personally when- ever you feel like writing, and in all personal matters you may write freely, and you will find a feeling re- sponse in your own hearts. And may God give you grace and preserve you unto his heavenly kingdom. We do not know how fully the bishops and the mis- sionary secretary understood the character and quali- fications of the young Vermont preacher whom they appointed missionary to India on that Washington's Birthday. But the truth is that he was in many re- spects marvelously well equipped. His physical body was so firmly knit together in symmetrical strength that, after forty years in the debilitating climate of In- dia, his nine months' struggle with the disease which finally conquered him was a continual surprise to his physicians and one of the most notable illustrations of human physical endurance on record. He was as for- tunate in his temperament as he was in bodily strength. One of the most practically minded men that ever lived, he was yet an optimist of the first quality. Under sore disappointment, and amid circumstances of real dis- couragement which he clearly, apprehended, his inborn hopefulness always asserted itself and inspired him to renewed effort. His moral equipment was also exceptional. Honest, candid, true, sympathetic, generous, earnest, affection- ate, and free from selfishness, he was well fitted to be a living representative of Christian morality among non-Christian people. His moral and mental qualities 44 THE MISSIONARY CALL united to make him one of the most reliable and helpful of friends and fellow-laborers. A clear-headed, observant, practical man; one who readily understood things, who could see into dark- things and discover a way out, he had the qualities of mind which enable men to recognize opportunities and improve them or apprehend dangers and avoid them. He apprehended mission problems with remarkable clearness, and this faculty, added to his hopeful, helpful sympathy, enabled him to be, more perhaps than any of his fellow-missionaries, the trusted counselor of his brethren, Indian or European. He was also a man of humble, sincere piety ; a man who lived and labored in the presence of God, whose zeal for the cause of God was the honest expression of the most sacred and pow- erful sentiments of his heart. Bishops and missionary secretaries have made some serious mistakes in select- ing men for mission work, but there is no room for doubt about the wisdom of those who sent Edwin W. Parker as a missionary to India. The Parkers had but three months for getting ready to depart. Farewell meetings were frequent and im- pressive. In these days a missionary under appoint- ment to India expects to revisit the home land at least after ten years' service, and if farewell meetings are held they cannot possibly be as impressive as they were in the days when missionaries were told they w r ere ap- pointed for life and it was generally uiiderst(xid that they were not to show their faces again in (lie home land. The farewell meeting at St. Johnsbury, February 23, 1859, was really a representative gathering of all the churches in the place. A writer in the local news- paper records that "the churches of St. Johnsbury gen- 45 LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER erously mingled with the Methodists and a congrega- tion of some six or seven hundred gave up a citizen and a brother to the missionary work." Encouraging and inspiring addresses were given by the Rev. Peter Mer- rill, presiding elder, by the pastor of the Congregational Church, and other ministers and laymen. The young missionary, according to custom, gave an address, and if the reporter did his work faithfully Mr. Parker's ad- dress was brief, simple, and modest. He referred to his call to the mission field, to the gladness with which he obeyed the call, although it meant painful separation from home and friends. He was convinced of the need for mission work and of his own duty in the matter. Although he expected toil and privation he went to In- dia as cheerfully as any of the audience would return to their homes that night. After the closing hymn Mrs. Parker came forward and stood by her husband, when the presiding elder took them by the hand and, in behalf of the preachers of the Vermont Conference and other Christian friends, bade them an affectionate farewell. The congregation expressed their sympathy by presenting Mr. Parker with a purse of money which he said he would devote to the service of God. An earnest prayer by the Rev. N. W. Aspenwell closed the memorable meeting. While completing arrangements for their departure and waiting for the vessel to sail the missionaries re- ceived words of counsel and encouragement from those who approved and from those who disapproved of their going to India. It is a singular fact that most mission- aries have had to meet no little opposition to their going, and this not from irreligious persons alone, but from Christians and ministers of the Gospel. "Mis- 46 THE MISSIONARY CALL sions are noble undertakings, and it is a grand thing for men and women to leave home and live and work in foreign lands among non-Christians. But when prom- ising members of our own Church and family circles talk of throwing themselves away in this manner it is another matter entirely." Opposition from friends and relatives was not the only adverse influence they ex- perienced. Mrs. Parker tells of unintentional discour- agement which they received from nearly all their Christian acquaintances : Dr. Vail, one of the professors at Concord, spoke to us when we were starting for India the only encourag- ing words any one gave us. Every one else said, "You must not be discouraged if you work many years and see no fruit of your labors." Dr. Vail said, "I cannot conceive of a missionary working on many years in the name and with the spirit of Christ without seeing some result from his labors." This gave us great comfort, and we thought of his words many times afterward. The missionaries were to sail for Calcutta from Bos- ton in a merchant vessel, and the exact date of their departure could not be fixed many days before the actual time of sailing. Several times they were warned to be ready by a certain date, and each time the day was postponed. The Parkers passed the time of waiting among friends at Concord, N. H., a few hours' ride from Boston. It had been arranged that the missionaries should be ordained at Lynn, Mass., where the New England Con- ference held its session in 1859. At the appointed time Mr. and Mrs. Parker came on to Boston, and thence to Lynn on April 7. TTcre for the first time the whole company of missionaries met each other. On the 47 LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER Sunday following, April 10, 1859, J. Downey, C. W. Judd, E. W. Parker, J. M. Thoburn, and J. W. Waugh were ordained by Bishop Ames, assisted by Dr. Durbin and others. The Conference missionary anniversary, held the same evening, was also made a farewell meet- ing. The church was crowded and an overflow meet- ing was held in the vestry. The missionaries who spoke addressed the congregation in the church and then the people in the vestry. It was a memorable occasion, and added much to the public zeal for the India Mission and to the interest in the missionaries themselves. The next Tuesday morning the party went on board ship, a farewell prayer service conducted by Dr. Dur- bin was held in the cabin, friends went ashore, and a steam tug took the vessel into the outer harbor; but strong easterly winds prevented her getting out to sea until Saturday. 48 THE SHIP BOSTON CHAPTER IV. THE SHIP BOSTON ON April 16, 1859, the ship Boston sailed from the New England port whose name she bore. Her destina- tion was Calcutta and her cargo was ice from Wenham Lake. Her small cabin was crowded with missionaries, five men and four women. For the most part person- ally strangers, yet by virtue of a common purpose and a special calling they were supposed to be more in sym- pathy with each other, to have closer intimacy and greater affection for each other, than lifelong friends or members of the same family. Each of the number was conscious of a high calling, and each was in dead earnest about that calling; each had just left a circle of loving and admiring friends, and each was almost "an object of adoration in a community of considerable size. If anyone had hinted that these nine persons were tak- ing themselves rather seriously and were in danger of being a little puffed up, the insinuation would have been resented with grief, if not with anger. Nevertheless, human nature being what it is, and human weaknesses l>eing what they are, a thinking man could not escape the conviction that it was something of an experiment to imprison nine such people where during four long months, while enduring the miseries of seasickness and enforced idleness, they would be shut up to each others' society and compelled to live as one family. There was much personal inconvenience and a great deal of Ixidily suffering during the voyage. The cabin accommodation was insufficient, and not one of the number had ever been at sen. All suffered severely (4) 49 LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER from seasickness, and some of them were subject to attacks of the malady throughout the entire voyage. On the second day out Mr. Parker writes in his jour- nal : "This seasickness is perfectly awful; far beyond description. One feels utterly miserable and lost to all desire and care for anything. Many times one feels it would be pleasure and relief to have the old ship sink and take us all to the bottom." This entry is dated April 21. On July 19, on account of Mr. Waugh's ill- ness, the usual Sunday morning service in the cabin could not be held, and Mr. Parker writes of himself that for three days he had suffered but was now a little better and hoped soon to recommence his studies. The one hundred days from April 12 to July 19 were days of recurring discomfort, if not severe illness, to one or another of the party. References to seasickness and other ailments are very prominent from beginning to end of Mr. Parker's log. The "Bostonians" were unfortunate in their captain and in some of the peculiar regulations on board the ship. At first the captain was exceedingly friendly and even weared his passengers with his attentions. But he soon changed to the opposite extreme. When he began to experience bad weather and unfavorable winds he attributed his misfortunes to his clerical passengers; the voyage would surely be unlucky. He allowed no public religious services on deck and he forbade the missionaries holding any communication with the sailors. The common sailor is supposed to be like the Ameri- can army mule, needing the incentive of profanity to make him do his work. In the merchant marine cap- tains and mates generally use vigorous language, and so Rev. Edwin Wallace Parker (From u likeness made in 1858) THE SHIP BOSTON in moments of difficulty or danger the amount of swear- ing is usually proportionate to the emergency. On July 24 the ship's fore-topgallant mast was carried away and the top hamper came down. Nothing, how- ever, was lost except the captain's temper, and the missionaries were much afflicted by his violence. But all of the time was not spent in vainly wishing for death to release them from the miseries of seasickness or in chafing under the restrictions, and though Mr. Parker writes in his journal that "To-day Brother reproved me for frivolity," and in another place that "Brother Thoburn and I are a great trial to Brother ," they were on the whole a sane, harmoni- ous company, making the best they could of rather trying circumstances. There was a large amount of reading, studying, praying, and even preaching, among the "Bostonians." Mr. and Mrs. Parker completed an extended course of historical studies and they prose- cuted the study of Hindustani to the full extent of their strength and opportunities. An earnest spirit of prayer pervaded the company. All were either in the enjoy- ment of the blessing of "perfect love" or were seeking its attainment. On June 19 Mr. Parker wrote in his journal, "To-day Brother Waugh, Brother Downey and wife experienced the blessing for which they have been so long seeking." In another place he makes a similar entry concerning "Brother Thoburn," and all through the journal are repeated entries acknowledging special blessings he himself had received. Such things are conclusive evidence that, although the party cannot be said to have had a very happy voyage, they were in no sense demoralized by their trials, and they left the ship stronger and better men than when they went on board. 51 LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER The tedium of the long voyage was occasionally re- lieved by such little incidents as the catching of a shark by the captain, occasional captures in the South Atlantic of the albatross, measuring eleven feet from tip to tip, and, above all, by a near view, on June 24, of the in- teresting island of Tristan D'Acunha, in forty degrees south latitude. Mr. Parker's account of the event shows how much such an incident meant to themselves : About daybreak the second mate tapped on our win- dow and said, "Land!" We were on deck in a few minutes, but at first could not distinguish the land. Soon, however, we saw what looked like rocks at a dis- tance rising out of the ocean. These we were told are called, "The Inaccessible Island." We soon saw an- other, called "The Nightingale," and then, directly ahead, we saw the main island. It appeared at first like a large rock rising out of the sea, but as we neared it we saw a small level fertile piece of land and a few houses. Upon this live a few people. At present there are six families, thirty-two persons all told. They raise cattle and sheep, potatoes, and some kinds of fruit. When we came nearer a boat put out to us with six men, who brought with them a few geese and fowls and some potatoes. Our captain took what they had and gave tea, sugar, and other groceries in exchange. We gave them some books and tracts and some articles of clothing. It was an interesting time to us, as we had not seen land for over two months. How good it does seem to one shut out from the world for months, with no home but a plank, as it were, and with little society, to see land again, even if we cannot set foot upon it. We are well to-day, and are following our usual course of study. I am trying to serve my God all the time. To-day I feel happy in his love. May God bless our little missionary service of to-day to the good of the people in Tristan D'Acunha. 52 THE SHIP BOSTON The Fourth of July came duly a few days after the island episode, and these young Americans, who were for the first time in their lives in foreign latitudes on the anniversary of their national independence, felt more than ordinarily patriotic and celebrated the day by holding a missionary meeting. Each of the five men gave a missionary address. The brief account of the day and its doings is taken from Mr. Parker's diary. Bishop Thoburn, Dr. Waugh, and Mrs. Parker are the only survivors of the nine who composed that unique missionary meeting. The personal interest in the speakers themselves is increased by a desire to know what sort of missionary speeches men would make in such peculiar circumstances : To-day is the anniversary of our nation's inde- pendence, and to me is a good clay. We celebrated the day on board ship by holding a little missionary meet- ing. Speeches were made by each man of our company. Brother Downey spoke first. He remarked upon the importance of our work. Compared the condition of the world to a planet which had left its orbit and was in confusion. We were to be a power for restoring it to its place. Such is the condition of India religiously. Compared our position to that of Lafayette helping the United States. It was an honor bestowed upon him. We shall make many hearts rejoice, and shall joy to meet them in another land. Thoburn spoke of means to be used to accomplish the work in India, and of the present prospects of im- mediate success. He spoke well and to the point. Par- ker said but little. He thought we as missionaries must conclude to work, and to work hard, if we are to make an impression for good, and we must have faith in Cod. Waugh related an anecdote of General Clark taking an important fort, and drew from it the lesson that we must first subdue our own hearts and then try and 53 LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER win over as many native helpers as we can ; also in this way declare the great power of God. Then we shall succeed. Judd gave us an imaginary sketch of his first sermon to the heathen: i. Prove there is a God. 2. There is a Saviour. 3. The human race is depraved. The day has passed pleasantly. Weather fine. Wind fair. Health good. Soul happy. I feel independent to-day. Especially do I feel as though I came nearer being free from the bondage and servitude of sin and Satan than ever before. I want to feel in my soul in- dependent, with strength to overcome self and the ad- versary. While my native land to-day celebrates the nation's independence I would feel it a day of freedom from sin. I feel new strength, indeed, and a new zeal for the cause of God. The sentiments expressed at the close of this inter- esting record characterize nearly all the entries made by Mr. Parker in his journal while voyaging to India. They are such as ought to prevail in the heart of every man who assumes to stand as a guide and instructor to his fellow-men. Mr. Parker's successful missionary career was the natural harvest from such a sowing. These records reveal the secret of his effective service. Had his heart-life been different his missionary career would have been different also. On Saturday, August 13, the Boston first made land off the coast of Orissa. The next morning the ship was some five miles from the coast near the mouth of the Mahanadi, before noon she made False Point, early next morning, August 15, the pilot came on board, and after four months' isolation the "Bostonians" renewed their connection with the world's contemporary life. About noon they dropped anchor and waited for next day's tide. Tuesday morning they were early under way, but an accident detained them and they cast 54 THE SHIP BOSTON anchor that night at Saugar Island. Not until Sunday evening, August 21, did they reach Calcutta, where they found Dr. Butler, the superintendent, waiting for them. Five days were spent in Calcutta before it was pos- sible to begin the last stage of the long journey. With the exception of one hundred and twenty miles of rail from Calcutta to Raniganj, and another one hundred and twenty miles from Allahabad to Cawnpore, the seven hundred and fifty miles from Calcutta to Luck- now were to be traveled in carriages drawn by horses, and several days' notice had to be given for such a large party. They set out from Calcutta on Friday evening, the 26th, and late on Saturday night, September 3, they drove into the mission compound at Hoosainabad, Lucknow. The journey of one hundred and fifty-four days was ended. 55 LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER IL FIRST TERM OF SERVICE CHAPTER I. THE INDIA MISSION AT the time of their arrival at Lucknow the follow- ing persons formed the India Mission : The Revs. Wil- liam Butler, James L. Humphrey, and Ralph Pierce, with their wives ; also Mr. Samuel Knowles, Mr. Josiah Parsons, and Mr. James A. Cawdell, with their wives. The first six persons were missionaries sent from America ; Messrs. Knowles, Parsons, and Cawdell were Englishmen who had joined the Mission in India. The Bostonian reinforcement of five men and four women, and the arrival a few days previously of the Rev. James Baume and Mrs. Baume nearly doubled the strength of the force, which now numbered twelve men and eleven women. The Rev. William Butler was superintendent of the Mission. His office made him virtually bishop, presid- ing elder, finance committee, treasurer, and correspond- ing secretary. This left nothing for the other men to do but obey directions and thankfully receive such funds as he thought proper for carrying on their work. The superintendent was not to blame that things were so. It was his duty to exercise the authority given him and the offices for which he was responsible. Yet the situation was an unfortunate one, and in time grew to be intolerable. 56 THE INDIA MISSION All the missionaries were ordained Methodist preach- ers holding membership in Annual Conferences. Most of the number had been in charge of work at home, and were accustomed to exercise the authority and enjoy the freedom of such a position. Arriving in India they found themselves disfranchised, without authoritative voice in the management of affairs, and with no law or guide but the will of the superintendent. And the superintendent was a European, with Old World ideas of position and authority, while the missionaries were American Methodist preachers with New World ideas of freedom and independence of conduct. The energetic superintendent, impetuous, strong-willed, and at times changeable, was often a trial to the mis- sionaries, and particularly in matters of finance. To open new stations, build houses, establish schools, em- ploy teachers and other helpers requires not only a large income, but a fairly reliable one as well. Many and sore were the complaints of the perplexed mission- aries in those early days that the superintendent's fre- quent alteration of plans increased the difficulty of their work. It was the superintendent's practice to call the mis- sionaries together for "Annual Meeting," a sort of An- nual Conference, but with this peculiarity: its delibera- tions and decisions had no authority ; and the next week after the meeting, if he saw fit, the superintendent could upset all its arrangements and go contrary to its decisions. The Annual Meeting of 1859 was convened at Lucknow, and was so timed as to be held on arrival of the Bostonians. Their presence made the imprac- ticable character of the Mission organization more ap- parent. As long as the superintendent had only two 57 LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER missionaries to deal with there was not much need for fixed rules of administration, but this large reinforce- ment necessarily changed the aspect of affairs, and the unworkable character of the concern became painfully evident. The new men did not look on as idle spectators. Mr. Parker writes in his journal concerning this, his first Annual Meeting, that "it was a time never to be forgot- ten by anyone present, as it was from beginning to end one continued contention, into which all, old or young, were more or less drawn before the close." This was not exactly what this single-hearted, devout missionary expected to find among his brethren on the field, but it is a characteristic illustration of the charitable, hopeful spirit of the man that, with the exception of this re- mark, neither his journal nor his letters make any refer- ence to this rather discouraging introduction to prac- tical missionary life in India. Thoburn's Missionary Apprenticeship mentions in detail some of the perplexing and altogether new ques- tions which came before the Annual Meeting ; questions concerning which neither precedence nor experience furnished a guide, and about which various and con- flicting opinions were not only possible but inevitable. He says : We had not sat in council an hour before perplexities began to meet us. The first question raised was a most important one, but we had no answer ready at hand. Young men were present to be received among us, but how were they to be received ? The Conference mem- bership was to be held on the other side of the globe. We had no legal right to touch them, and yet we could not but see that we as a body were expected to do some- thing in the premises, and, even if not expected, we saw 58 THE INDIA MISSION at a glance that it was of the most vital importance to the future harmony and efficiency of the Mission that we should have something to say in the matter. Then a most important question arose as to the character of the work to which we were to be assigned. A large and important school had been offered to the Mission, and we were suddenly called upon to discuss the question of education as a missionary agency and teaching as a legitimate part of a missionary's duty. We had first to decide whether we had any right to discuss the ques- tion at all, whether the authorities at New York, through the superintendent, should fix our policy, or whether it should be done by formal action of the mis- sionaries as a body. Next we had to decide whether we should establish schools or confine our work to preaching alone. Next, if schools were to be main- tained, what kind of schools were to be established vernacular, or Anglo- vernacular ? schools for Chris- tians only, or for non-Christians as well? And, if all these questions could be settled, then who were to be the teachers? Was every missionary to be subject to an appointment to the work of teaching? Was a man who had consecrated all his days to the one work of preaching the Gospel to find himself most unexpectedly transformed into a schoolmaster? At this Annual Meeting in Lucknow, Bijnor was added to the list of mission stations, making a total of six places occupied by missionaries. The appointments furnish an interesting item. The superintendent, R. Pierce, J. Baume, and J. A. Cawdell were stationed at Lucknow ; J. W. Waugh at Shahjahanpur ; J. L. Hum- phrey and J. R. Downey at Bareilly; J. M. Thoburn and S. Knowles at Naini Tal ; C. W. Judd and J. Par- sons at Moradabad ; and E. W. Parker at Bijnor. One of the men on the list never reached his appointment. J. R. Downey fell sick soon after his arrival in Luck- 59 now and on September 17 his body was laid in the Mission cemetery at Hoosainabad. Mr. and Mrs. Parker remained in Lucknow a few days after the meeting closed, in October; then, ac- companied as far as Bareilly by Mrs. Downey, they continued their journey to Bijnor, reaching this place on October 19. Bijnor is two hundred and fifty miles from Luck- now, but the Parkers went by a route which made it over three hundred miles. From Lucknow to Cawn- pore, across the Ganges, and thence along the south bank of that river to Fatahgarh they had a fine road and traveled in a wagon drawn by horses. The re- maining one hundred and eighty miles of their journey was by palanquin, the rate of progress being about three miles an hour. Leaving Fatahgarh, sacred to the memory of the martyred missionaries of 1857, they re- crossed the Ganges ; thence on to Bareilly, some seventy miles, their way led through the fertile valley of the Ram Ganga. From Bareilly to Moradabad, fifty-six miles, their way continued through the rich but at that season fever-stricken plain of the Ram Ganga. At Moradabad they crossed the stream, and traveling due northwest fifty-four miles, through a slightly undulat- ing and sandy country, they reached Bijnor, four miles from the Ganges. The journey was made at the beginning of the cold season. The farmers were gathering their summer or rainy-season crops and getting the fields ready for the cold-weather crop. The young Vermont farmer had, no doubt, his own ideas about Indian farming, and probably began making plans for showing these people how the work ought to be done. And yet his farmer's 60 THE INDIA MISSION eye could not fail to observe the high agricultural char- acter of the country. Much of the journey was made in the night, unfortunately, and even in the day time opportunities for seeing the surrounding country were limited. The traveler reclining in a palanquin barely twelve inches above the ground is liberally covered with dust raised by the feet of the bearers ; he has more than sufficient opportunity for tasting and smelling the soil, but very little chance for seeing it. 61 LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER CHAPTER II. BIJNOR THE energetic superintendent of the Mission hac] made the necessary arrangements at Bijnor. A house had been provided, and the next day after their arrival Mr. Parker opened his commission by preaching in the streets, the late Rev. William Plomer serving as inter- preter. Mr. Parker's own account of the beginning of his missionary work is interesting because it shows the spirit and manner in which he began this great work : On the i4th of October, 1859, we arrived at Bijnor, our first station in India. We were happy thus to com- mence our work, and we had great faith, strong hopes, and a fixed determination to do all we could, and I here record that God blessed our labors at Bijnor. On the first Sabbath after our arrival we held our first service under a tree ; William, our native helper, preached to a little congregation. We also at once opened class meet- ings and had daily prayers with our servants, a custom we have ever since kept up. From the faded pages of the Missionary Advocate for January, 1860, is taken a portion of Mr. Parker's first letter to the Missionary Secretary at New York : We came here to commence our work in October, 1859. We found a little bungalow ready for us. It is a house with four rooms, built high, and conveniently arranged, situated in a beautiful grove of mango trees. It makes us a much more pleasant home than we ever expected to have in India, for which we are thankful. Our field of labor is the District of Bijnor, which con- tains about seven hundred thousand people. The city is small, but there are several large towns fifteen or 62 BlJNOR twenty miles away, and a number of places having over five thousand inhabitants. Besides our work in Bijnor city, we have been in nearly all the important places of the district. This is an excellent field for itinerating, as we can seldom go three miles in any direction with- out finding a village, so that on our way to the cities we can preach continually. On Christmas Day, 1859, Mr. Parker gave, as he tells us, his first little talk in the bazaar. This was quick work, but he and his wife were diligent, earnest students and had had nearly five months preliminary study on shipboard. There is no record of that first talk in the Bijnor bazaar. Would that it had been taken clown with all its inevitable crudities ! Tradition says that another of the Bostonians, C. W. Judd, in making his first effort in Hindustani gave an address of six words which covered the entire ground. It took six words in Hindustani but five will give it in English, "Be good; die; go up." From such feeble beginnings are efficient missionaries developed ! The Parkers remained at Bijnor nearly two years. The things accomplished, as recorded in Mr. Parker's journal, show a good beginning for new missionaries who were opening a new work : "We acquired much of the language, built a mission house, and servants' and teachers' houses, and a little chapel. We also collected a little church of eight or ten members and as many more probationers, and a school of some thirty-five , scholars." The following extract from Dr. Butler's correspondence gives a fuller account of what was doing at Bijnor in 1860: Bijnor station is rising in interest and efficiency. Brother Parker is a hard-working missionary. What 63 LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER human energy, under God's blessing, can accomplish he will certainly accomplish if God spares his health and life. The average number of hearers in the chapel is fifty. The two schools are in successful operation, thirty attending the boys' and twenty the girls' school ; the latter being taught by Mrs. Parker and the wife of the native preacher. The Sabbath school contains forty scholars, in five classes, and is also prosperous. The building of the mission house is now completed, so that more time can be given to preaching in the future. After the Sabbath evening preaching Brother Parker holds a prayer meeting and is looking for the power of God to come down and convert the hearers. The Parkers were well received by the local English officials, who also contributed liberally to their support. In a letter written January 4, 1861, the following grate- ful reference to this matter is made : We have now completed a little chapel, thirty-five feet long by twenty-one wide inside. We dedicated it to God's work on the i8th of November, 1860. Dr. Butler was present and preached in English in the morning, and in the afternoon we had Hindustani preaching. Our hearts were full of joy and gratitude that we hac :.t last a place for the worship of God here, where many heathen temples rise, but where until now a temple to the living God had never been erected. It is worthy of remark that our few European friends in Bijnor gave us enough to build the chapel and nearly enough to build the native helpers' houses. They are truly very kind and liberal to us, although not one of them is a Methodist. They attend our services regu- larly on the Sabbath, and all except one give to our Mission for its local expenses sixty rupees a year ; and that one gives a little less. The Europeans of India have done nobly for our Mission in this land. May God abundantly reward them, and may India soon be- come a land whose God is the Lord. 64 BlJNOR While busy building up the work in the city of Bijnor the work among the towns and villages was not neglected. In a letter written to the Messenger, August 12, 1860, Mr. Parker tells of his work in a village forty miles from Bijnor, among the Sikhs, and of a visit made to the place in July, one of the worst months of the year for itinerating. The first twenty miles was done in a palanquin; then mounting his pony, which had been sent on before, he rode ten miles. There he found the second horse, which had also been sent on from Bijnor, and so reached the Sikh village a little after sunrise. Some missionaries would not consider it practicable to visit an outstation forty miles distant in the height of the rains, traveling over country roads where only an ox cart could go, with no bungalows and only a native house and native accommodations at the end of the journey. But Mr. Parker was a first-class itinerant, and he kept up his itinerating habits to the end. Before the new missionaries had completed their first full year at Bijnor the dark shadow of famine began to fall upon the land. The plains of Rohilkhand received a scant supply of rain in the season of 1860 and the summer crops were almost a total failure. In October and November the farmers sowed their wheat, barley, and other winter crops, but the fields were dry and the seed did not germinate ; the usual Christmas rains also failed and famine followed. Relief works were opened by the government and much was done to save the lives of the starving people. Mr. Parker became a member of the local famine relief committee. From a letter of February 18, 1861, the following account of his first famine experiences is taken : (5) 6 s LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER The famine is steadily increasing and will continue to increase for at least four months more. There are now thousands of families in the northwest who only eat one meal a day, many more cannot get even this, and a few are starving to death. A laboring man, when he can find work, can barely earn enough to buy his own food, and were it not for the relief fund many women and children must starve. In Bijnor we daily feed from four to five hundred. It is pitiful to see the poor half-starved creatures pleading for food. This afternoon as I went toward the large yard where the poor are fed I found all the field around crowded with hungry people. We selected from among these all who were able to work and, directing them where to find work, fed them and sent them away. The others we placed in rows and found there were over five hundred. Some of these were very old, many were women with young children, others were weak and trembling for want of food. Apparently all were half starved. When all were arranged we commenced the distribution of bread. We found this no easy task, for as soon as the bread was seen there was a general rush and cry for it. Those that received food hid it in their clothes and again rushed into the crowd for more, or if kept sep- arate they would rob each other, and thus with their quarreling continue the confusion. It is dreadful to see the poor half-starved creatures, with outstretched hands and open mouths, rush and scream for bread ; and after we have given them all we can allow they cry for more and cling to us so that it is with difficulty we leave them. These early famine experiences brought home to the heart of the young missionary a new conviction of the needs of India and the varied claims of her millions for the sympathy and help of Christian philanthropists. The famine interfered with his work. It stopped his itinerating, and for a while it seemed as though he had 66 BlJNOR left "the word of God" to "serve tables." But it was unavoidable duty, and, whether he knew it or not, the process of his education for mission work in India was advancing very rapidly in those days. Again and again during his Indian service was he called to witness and in this way share the sufferings of the famine- stricken people. Famine was not the only interruption to their work. From the beginning India had given both Mr. and Mrs. Parker a characteristic welcome by making them suf- ferers from malarial fever. They entered the country at an unpropitious time. September and October are in North India the most unhealthy months of the year, and particularly so to fever subjects, and from the very first it was evident that the Parkers would have their share of the good things of the season. The fever caught them while yet at Lucknow, and partly on this account their departure for Bijnor was delayed until the second week of October. Although the official gazette affirms that Bijnor has the best climate of any Plains station of the Northwest Provinces, yet Mr. Parker was obliged to record in his journal the fact that both Mrs. Parker and himself suffered much from illness during their two years at Bijnor. In 1860 Mrs. Parker's severe illness made it necessary to leave their work and take refuge in Naini Tal. In 1861 Mr. Par- ker had the smallpox. This was followed by an attack of peritonitis which nearly proved fatal, and he was obliged to spend August and September and part of October in Naini Tal. The civil surgeon at Bijnor was unremitting in professional care of the sick missionary. Mr. Parker wrote in his journal a grateful acknowl- edgment of his indebtedness to the good physician. 67 LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER Reviewing his experiences at Bijnor he closes the record with the following : Exposure to sun and excessive work so injured my health that I have not been well since April. I tried to regain health and strength at Bijnor, but was obliged to come to the hills, where I remained a number of weeks. My health is now much improved, and I hope soon to be equal to my work, so far as bodily health is concerned. As goodness and mercy have thus far fol- lowed me, so I trust they will follow me through life. I "feel like recording here the gratitude I feel toward Dr. G. Grant, of Bijnor, for his great kindness to us while there. Night and day he watched over me when sick, and I feel that it was mainly owing to his efforts, by God's blessing, that I was raised up. He was very, very kind, and would accept no compensation for his services. While resting and recuperating at Naini Tal Mr. Parker was appointed to the Lakhimpur Circuit, in Oudh, in order that he might have charge of the Chris- tian agricultural colony which was to be planted in that locality. He remained at Naini Tal while Mrs. Parker went down to Bijnor, packed up the household goods, and sent them off by carts to Lakhimpur, over two hun- dred miles distant, collected and sent off the Christian farmers who were to form the nucleus of the colony, settled all business matters at Bijnor, and then re- turned to Naini Tal. By this time Mr. Parker was in better health, though by no means fully recovered. But as the new settlers had gone on to Lakhimpur the mis- sionaries must go too. They left Naini Tal, traveling via Bareilly and Shahjahanpur to Lakhimpur; and thus ended the trying, laborious, promising and yet dis- couraging Bijnor chapter of their missionary life, 68 WESLEYPORE CHAPTER III. WESLEYPORE PERSECUTION has been the universal and inevitable portion of the Christian convert from the days of Stephen until now, and Christian converts in India have their share in the common experience. The old and highly organized civilization of India, with its economic conditions based upon religion, is necessarily disturbed and disorganized if not almost destroyed by change of faith. The bonds of family and social and even business life are severed by perversion from the ancestral creed. The estrangement and ostra- cism and loss of employment which become the lot of the convert are the inevitable result of the condition of things. The Hindu father disowns his son who has become a Christian, because he has to do it. The neces- sity for removing from the house the dead body of a dear child is scarcely more imperative than the necessity for severing all connection with the convert. Hence follow persecutions; and in India, where Christian mis- sionaries are of the same race and creed as the rulers of the land, converts naturally look to them for protection and all that it implies. And missionaries, following the impulse of the heart rather than the voice of reason, have generally responded to the appeal of the convert and assumed the responsibility of protecting him from personal violence and in some way providing for his daily bread. The landlords of India are not Christians, and hence when the farmers who till their fields as tenants or work 69 LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER for them as laborers become Christians they are dis- possessed of their lands and no longer given work. Hence arose the idea of Christian villages. Let the Mission become landlord; then the dispossessed tenant farmers and laborers can settle on this land. A double advantage will be gained : the converts are provided for and a Christian settlement is established which is to be a center of Christian light and influence, benefiting the whole region round about. The theory is a beautiful one. And so when, in 1861, large numbers of Sikh agriculturalists in Moradabad and Bijnor accepted Christianity and began to feel the force of persecution the enterprising and energetic superintendent said, "We must have a Christian village for these people," and the missionaries said, "We must have a village," and this was the beginning of the settlement called Wesleypore, one of the most unfortunate enterprises in the annals of India missions. With William Butler, to decide was to act; and it was not long until he had found a tract of land for the settlement, had secured possession, and had also in his own mind decided that the Vermont farmer, who had shown himself to be a most energetic, industrious, and practical man, and who with his equally capable wife had made such a good beginning at Bijnor, was the providentially appointed man to take charge of this grand enterprise. And, providentially too, just at the time the superintendent wished to break the matter to the Parkers they were driven by sickness from Bijnor to Naini Tal, where Dr. Butler lived. But, as though restrained by premonition of impending disaster, the Parkers were reluctant listeners to the superintendent's plans, though set forth with his persuasive eloquence. 70 WESLEYPORE Mr. Parker in his journal writes, "We would have pre- ferred remaining at Bijnor, but we go as sent, hoping there may be a providence in all." This arrangement was made late in September, and on the 9th of October, 1861, Mr. and Mrs. Parker were at their new appointment, nearly two hundred and fifty miles southeast from Bijnor. Lakhimpur had been oc- cupied as a station of the Mission early in 1861, and the land for the Christian settlement was in the jungle, twenty miles from this place. On arriving at Lakhim- pur the Parkers found only "a temporary mud house, and no regular plans for work except an English Sab- bath service." At Bijnor they had had a comfortable home, and various branches of mission work were in full operation. Concerning their feelings on arriving at Lakhimpur Mr. Parker writes: "We desire to be happy in this work, but it is hard to leave our home at Bijnor, for we had supposed we were fixtures there. Mrs. Parker especially felt the change, yet submits cheerfully ; we bring our people with us, which makes it more pleasant." The people referred to are the native preacher, William Plomer, and the Sikhs who were to begin the Christian colony. The story of beginning at Wesleypore, the name given the new colony, written by Mr. Parker, June 30, 1862, and published in the Vermont Messenger, shows with what high hopes the work was commenced. The fact that within less than a year from the time this ac- count was written the surviving settlers had fled from the place, the enterprise had been abandoned and the land sold, is a sad illustration of the blindness of human hope. But here is the bright side of the story, written by Mr. Parker himself: 71 LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER Wesleypore is situated in one of the most fertile dis- tricts of the Province of Ottdh. It is about twenty miles from Lakhimpur and easy of access for all the stations of the Mission. The land is bounded on two sides by a small winding river. On this river are several hundred acres of fine meadow land now covered with tall grass, like our Western prairies. This land is under water during the rains, thus making it excellent land for rice in the rainy season and for wheat and bar- ley in the cold season. The rice is sown as the first rain falls, about the middle of June, and grows up through the water and is found "after many days." It is usually harvested in October, after which, as the land dries, wheat or barley is sown and is harvested in March or April. The remainder of our land is a little higher, all very level and fertile. Water is excellent here and is found at a depth of ten feet, making it easy to provide for watering the fields in the dry season. We have five thousand acres which we received from the government as a grant on condition that the land now covered with forest be brought under cultivation within a certain number of years, after which time a certain portion of the profits from the land must be paid to government. The work here was commenced last October, at which time Dr. Butler and I, with about twenty native Christians, came here. We spent the first day in select- ing a site for our village, which we finally located on the main road leading from Lakhimpur to Pilibheet, near the center of our land, in the midst of a dense for- est. We sent immediately for our tent and baggage, built a large fire and made arrangements for the night. While I pitched the tent and arranged our baggage Dr. Butler attended to the supper, which was quite impor- tant, as we left home at midnight, had been on our feet all day, and up to this time, nine in the evening, we had eaten neither breakfast nor dinner. After our sup- per, all our people having come together, we sang a hymn in Hindustani and sought the blessing of God upon the place, the people, and ourselves, praying that 72 WESLEY PORE this wilderness might be made to blossom as the rose, materially and morally. Next morning work com- menced. Some of the men dug a well, some cleared a place for houses, and others prepared materials for building. In a few days a spot was cleared and our temporary buildings commenced. They were made of poles and grass, and were built on three sides of a square, while our tent was pitched in the center of the fourth side, thus leaving an open court into which all the doors of the houses opened. We build in this way as a protection against the winds and wild beasts. When these temporary arrangements were completed the men sent for their families. Mrs. Parker also came out, and for weeks we lived among the people in a small tent which served also as a chapel and schoolhouse for the village. We had not been here long before many of our people were taken sick with fever and ague. This nearly put a stop to all our work. Just before this we had gone to Sitapur, a station thirty miles beyond Lakhimpur. Returning to Lakhimpur we found a let- ter from William Plomer, the native preacher, saying that he and nearly all the men of the village were sick. Leaving our work in Lakhimpur we hastened to the village and found, as we had suspected, that much of the sickness was imaginary. A few were really very ill ; the remainder, fearing that all were to die, had be- come discouraged and imagined that they were also suffering. They were talking to William as the chil- dren of Israel talked to Moses, saying, "Why have ye taken us from our former homes of ease and plenty to die in this wilderness?" How soon do people forget the past ! Many times had these people said to William and to me: "We are so scattered that we cannot edu- cate our children nor have the privileges of Christian worship ; and since we became Christians the landhold- ers will not allow us to work their fields, and we are in great trouble for food and clothes. Help us that we may have a village where, as Christians, we can live to- gether, educate our children, and learn more of Chris- 73 LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER tianity ourselves." And now when we are trying to assist them they are, as William says, always murmur- ing against us. Old trials were forgotten. Only the "leeks and onions of Egypt" were remembered, and compared with the trials of the wilderness. In this way we found our people some ill, others discouraged, and the rest murmuring, and poor William was very much tried, tempted, and perplexed. We gave medicine to the sick, cheered the discouraged, reproved the discon- tented, and the next morning we had eighteen out of the twenty- four sick ones at 'their work. Our work was, however, for some time very much hindered by fever and ague among the people. Notwithstanding all our hindrances, our work has gone on steadily and rapidly, and where a few months since a forest stood there is now a village with gardens and fields of grain. The principal road through our land forms the main street of our village. The farm- houses are arranged on three streets which cross the main street at right angles and extend to the borders of our land. On either side of all these roads we design having beautiful fruit trees. There is no village or town in all India at all like what Wesleypore will be. It may be well also to remark that at present a more contented and happy people than the residents of this village cannot be found in this country. All are now busily engaged preparing their fields for rice and cot- ton. I endeavor to assist them in clearing their land and cultivating their fields by giving them the benefit of my experience as a Vermont farmer's son. I am also introducing some American agricultural imple- ments, such as axes, plows, and harrows. The people are greatly pleased with the axes and also with the har- rows, a thing before unknown to them. We have not yet succeeded in obtaining a plow light enough to be used profitably with the oxen of the country. To properly apprehend the indomitable hopefulness and splendid optimism of this Wesleypore letter it is 74 WESLEYPORE necessary to keep in mind the circumstances under which it was written. Mr. Parker came to Wesleypore partially convalescent from severe illness at Bijnor, and during the fifteen months of his stay at Lakhimpur and Wesleypore not a month passed in which he was free from attacks of disease. The handful of village farm- ers for whose sake he was giving his time and service and risking his life were a constant source of trial and discouragement. He had not yet learned that such people are in most respects children, and that the same patience and consideration which must be practiced in dealing with children were necessary in dealing with them. He thought they were men, and he expected them to be men in all things, and was daily disap- pointed. There was trouble, too, with the superin- tendent in regard to the business side of the Wesley- pore enterprise. Mr. Parker wished to have the man- agement in his own hands, in definite business style. The superintendent hesitated about giving such power and responsibility to the young missionary, and five months passed before the matter was finally adjusted. Four months after commencing work at Lakhimpur the station was reinforced by the arrival of the Rev. W. W. Hicks and wife from America. Mr. Hicks was a man of marked ability, an eloquent preacher, but alto- gether inexperienced in such matters as building mis- sion houses and looking after workmen, and he too was at times a trial to his practical, punctual, systematic colleague. In addition to these things it began to be apparent that the people for whose sake the village had been prepared were unwilling to come and occupy it. Sinister rumors of sickness and death at Wesleypore began to spread among the Sikhs in the Northwest and 75 LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER the people were afraid to come. There was in fact everything to worry and discourage those who were trying to build up Wesleypore, and under these circum- stances the letter was written. As the purpose of this memoir is to give, so far as practicable, a correct picture of the man and his work, a series of extracts from Mr. Parker's private journal, written at Lakhimpur and Wesleypore, are here given. The first item bears no date, but it was evidently writ- ten shortly after commencing work at Lakhimpur: In reviewing my life I find that I have often in many respects failed to accomplish all I would or should have done. I find that I have put my hand to many things that I did not complete. I have laid many plans with- out carrying them out, and this has been on account of two things : plans have been made too hastily and with- out reflection, which afterward proved to be inex- pedient. And plans well formed have been, I fear, neg- lected for want of proper decision or perseverance. I desire to improve in this respect in the future, and with deliberation lay out my work and with energy and per- severance do it. There is work for all my powers in this work now undertaken, and I desire to be all the Lord's, that I may employ all my faculties of body and mind as I ought. Nov. 4, 1 86 1. Monday is a lazy day for me, as I get so tired on Sunday. I was quite ill yesterday after preaching, and was unable to attend the evening serv- ice. I enjoyed preaching and was thankful to be able to preach once more, as it is now three months since I have preached regularly. Nov. 8. This is a most beautiful morning. The weather is getting cool and morning and evening it is very pleasant. God has made this a truly beautiful country for those who care for country life. But the people ! O, the depth of degradation, the perfection of 76 WESLEYPORE deceitfulness that is found in them! Their deceitful- ness is to me a great trial continually. I am making great effort to avoid all wrong feeling toward the peo- ple, notwithstanding their wickedness. I do love them and pity them. Nov. 10. Philip preached to-day from John iii, 14: The brazen serpent. He did not get off much of a ser- mon. This evening we had an interesting prayer meet- ing. I had a good time praying with the poor natives and also in talking to them of the earthly and the heav- enly treasure. May God make our little church here an honor to his name, and multiply it daily ! O for heav- enly light and power! My own heart has been drawn out in love to God and his cause to-day more than usual. I have also felt a strong desire to be more holy, more devoted, and more useful. O, my Lord, grant me grace for all thy work ! To-day my thoughts have been turned homeward. O, parents, brothers, sisters, how my heart clings to you! How I long to see you! How truly do I love you ! Yet I have little hope that I may ever meet you in this world again. I can but hope that I may one day meet you all in heaven. Dec. 1 8. To-day came in from the grant (Wesley- pore). The people give us much trouble with their lack of interest in their work. They think we are under great obligation to them for coming to form a village. Many have been sick and one has died. May God yet bless our efforts to great good ! We have sent- home orders for a "horse power" for village work with thresher and sawyer. Jan. 25, 1862. Cutting jungle as usual. Our work- goes on very slowly, yet takes a great deal of money. We meet many trials here, and often know not what to do. O for grace to direct and help! The people fear on account of sickness, and this troubles us much. Feb. 25. Dr. Butler came as arranged for, and Brother Hicks is duly appointed to Lakhimpur with us. The deeds for the grant are also all right. The 77 LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER land is made over to Brother Hicks and myself. We are to carry it on, and make it over to the Mission at the end of eleven years. Or if the Mission buy they buy with all the debts. Feb. 26. Philip resigned to-day. I accepted his resignation, and then he begged to come back. But I said, No. He is a useless man entirely, and we were all glad to have him leave. I hope that he may grow better and at last get to heaven. March 10. Last week some of our people ran away from Wesleypore and I had to hurry out to keep all quiet. I find that the people are filled with fear on ac- count of sickness. We had expected many from the North, but none came, and I fear they do not intend to come. This perplexes me. We are spending much money on the grant, and if the Christians do not come I hardly know what we are to do. Sometimes I fear that this is not the right plan, or at least the right local- ity. But I am determined to go on with it one year and see what can be done. April 30. We find it hard sometimes to be so much separated from congenial friends. We have many friends among our Christians, but they cannot take the place of our own countrymen. We love them, how- ever, and they love us, and this makes up for much that is wanting. Our great trial, however, is not our separa- tion from friends, but in not having a comfortable place to live. We first tried a little mud house, but found it too hot. We then moved to another, and there found a little more protection from heat, but rain comes in free- ly. We have long lived in hope of having a home to live in, and we now feel that we must have a house, and that soon. But my heart is in my work. I love my Jesus and the work he has given me to do. I feel happy in my work. This secular work weighs heavily, and I desire soon to throw it off that I may attend to the school and preaching. My heart goes out at times toward home, and I hope to live to see loved ones once more, if God wills. 78 WESLEYPORE Oct. 13. Since May my health has been very poor and my labors and cares many. On account of Brother Hicks's departure the entire work of Lakhimpur and Wesleypore came upon me. During July our people at Wesleypore began to sicken, and this continued until nearly all were down with fever and many died. We then removed them all to Lakhimpur, where we our- selves were. Our grant was intrusted to eight watch- men who looked after the growing crops and protected the village. Our sickness increasing, Mrs. Parker and I went to Sitapur for a time, where we got much better. Often, however, I suffer from fever and liver com- plaint. Some thirty of our Christians have died; we are now very doubtful about our location, it is so sickly, and begin to think it may be necessary to locate our Christian village somewhere else. Oct. 20. I am glad that with cares, anxieties, and perplexities, and with severe illness, I can trust in God. God is mine. I feel it. I have a desire and a deter- mination to leave secular work and get at real spiritual work. Conscience will not let me go on. I must get away from here for health's sake and for conscience' sake. May God direct us ! The journal from which these extracts have been taken was not written for the public. Few India mis- sionaries know anything of the Wesleypore affair, or have ever heard that any missionaries of the Methodist Episcopal Church in India passed through such suffer- ings and trials as were borne by Mr. and Mrs. Parker. The record shows that the days of heroic self-sacrifice have not yet ended. And these extracts show that Mr. Parker's piety was not professional. Every page of the journal reveals the sincerity of his piety and his abso- lute loyalty to God. The journal, however, is incom- plete. It makes no mention of the personal service ren- dered the sick and dying at Wesleypore by Mr. and 79 LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER Mrs. Parker. Themselves suffering from fever, they ministered to the sick with their own hands day and night, prayed with them, tried to comfort and cheer them, as they would have done had the sufferers been of their own flesh and blood. And there is no mention of the fearful day when devouring flames in a few moments consumed the grass huts in which the people lived and left them with no other shelter than the trees of the forest. The men were all at work in the fields when the fire broke out and nearly everything in the houses was destroyed before help arrived. One man, named Gurdyal, the first man Mr. Parker baptized in India, had a Hindi Bible, purchased with money given Mr. Parker at Concord and which was to be spent for a Bible to be given to his first convert. This Bible was all that Gurdyal saved from his house. He said, "I have my Bible ; let the rest go." The book is, no doubt, still in the family. This man afterward became a faith- ful preacher, and in his last illness in his delirium he was constantly exhorting those about him to be faith- ful in the work God had given them to do. This man's twin brother, Manphul, still lives, and works in the Sambhal District. A woman who had gone to the river for water reached her burning house just in time to save her babe from the fire. She snatched up the child and said, "Never mind about the things ; I have saved my baby." The missionaries were surprised at the quiet way in which all the people bore the loss of all they had. But their patience was simply a part of that indolent nature which was such a trial to the Vermont farmer missionary. It is in the air of India, and in the blood of the people. It is partly the outcropping of the omnipresent fatalism of the oriental world, and partly 80 WESLEYPORE the result of the absence of hope or expectation of better things. On the ninth of October, 1861, the Parkers began their work at Lakhimpur, and just two weeks later the Rev. J. T. Gracey and wife arrived from America and occupied the new station of Sitapur, a short thirty miles from Lakhimpur. The Graceys and Parkers soon found each other. They were congenial friends and fellow-workers, a comfort and inspiration to each other. Mr. Parker's journal tells of frequent visits to Sitapur and of visits from the Graceys at Lakhimpur and Wes- leypore. Plans for work and schemes practical and visionary were discussed and sometimes attempted. The journal says that in May, 1862, a mutual improve- ment missionary association was organized at Sitapur, to include the Oudh missionaries as well as those at Shahjahanpur. The association also included the native helpers, and at its first meeting essays and ad- dresses were given by all present. It is quite possible that this Sitapur association was the germ from which developed the District Conferences and similar gather- ings which now form a very important and helpful part of mission work in all parts of India. Unlike Lakhimpur, Sitapur is a most healthful spot. These two places, though less than thirty miles distant from each other, have the distinction of being the sick- liest and the healthiest stations in Oudh. Sitapur was a city of refuge for the lonely fever-stricken mission- aries at Lakhimpur. The following extract from the journal describes the last flight from Lakhimpur to Sitapur: On the twentieth of January, 1863, we left home for an itinerating tour through Mithauli to meet the (6) 81 LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER Graceys at Maikal Gunge, and so visit our native brother at Asmanpur and preach in the villages. We had a hard trip getting to Maikal Gunge, but a pleasant time itinerating. On Sunday evening we left for Sitapur. We were compelled to go on Sunday, for I had a severe attack of fever and we had to go to Sitapur. We re- mained with Brother and Sister Gracey until Wednes- day following, when I was able to leave for home. But as my sickness increased at Lakhimpur I found it neces- sary to return again to Sitapur on Saturday. Here 1 soon recovered so as to be able to leave my bed. We remained at Sitapur until the next Tuesday, February 3, when we started for Bareilly to attend the Annual Meeting, arriving at Bareilly on Thursday afternoon. At this Annual Meeting Mr. Parker was appointed to Moradabad, and thus closed this eventful, and to Mr. Parker almost fatal, chapter if his missionary career. And that the readers of this memoir may better realize how great a disappointment the failure of the Wesleypore enterprise was, there is here given an ex- tract from a letter written by Mr. Parker not long after the colony was planted, in which his hopeful spirit leads him to describe in glowing terms the coming triumphs of Christian Wesleypore: Our object is not to collect all of the Christians of the Mission together here, but to collect those who are un- provided for. Some may at first object to this plan, as it does not appear to answer the design of Christ that each Christian should, by exhibiting the characteristics of true piety, be a preacher of the Gospel to a wicked world. It is our opinion that true Christians can do this work in India in no more effectual way than in a village. While one man among a thousand can be seen but little and can exert but little influence, one village among a thousand must be seen. It is as a "city set on a hill." Everything about our town will attract notice ; 82 WESLEYPORE our houses, our chapel, our schoolhouse, so different from anything in all the Northwest Province; then the morality of the people, their equity in dealing, their independent, cheerful bearing, with the superior intelli- gence that our schools must give, will all lead the world around to look and wonder. Alas! the bright anticipation was never realized. And now the missionary, broken in health, and the remnants of his colony dispersed and discouraged, turns his back on Wesleypore to begin again somewhere else ; and yet his purpose to do what he can to win India for Christ and his hope and expectation of success are as firm and as sure as when he took his first step toward India. 83 LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER CHAPTER IV. MOUNTAIN AIR IN the year 1863 the Annual Meeting of the Mission was held at Bareilly, beginning on the 5th of February. There were now fourteen missionaries on the field, ex- clusive of four men who arrived a few days before the meeting commenced. During the year there had been some friction between the missionaries and the superin- tendent, owing to absence of method and fixed pro- cedure in administration, particularly in regard to finance, and on this account a number of the mission- aries, including Edwin W. Parker, thought of declining to meet the superintendent in Annual Meeting until the Mission was organized as an Annual Conference or some radical changes were introduced into the methods of administration. But when the time for the meeting came around all, with one exception, were present. The superintendent presented a document which placed affairs on a more satisfactory footing, and the meeting passed off harmoniously and with evident indications of God's blessing upon his servants. As the Wesleypore scheme had failed, and as it was evident that neither Mr. nor Mrs. Parker could live at Lakhimpur, on account of fever, Mr. Parker was re- moved from Lakhimpur and sent to Moradabad, with J. L. Humphrey as senior colleague and Zahur-ul Haqq local preacher and Andrias exhorter. Repeated attacks of fever prevented the Parkers reaching Moradabad before the nth of March, more than one month from the close of the Annual Meeting, and Mr. Parker was not able to begin work until the 23d on account of an 84 MOUNTAIN AIR accident at Bareilly which for a time threatened to de- prive him of the use of an eye. Misfortune and disap- pointment seemed to dog his steps persistently. Never- theless, he began hopefully at Moradabad, and on the 3Oth of March wrote in his journal that he had com- menced his work in the city of Moradabad a week be- fore ; that he had a fine large school to teach and all the bazaar preaching he could attend to. Prospects were good, and past troubles were forgotten. But, alas ! they soon returned. He was once more doomed to disap- pointment. The next entry in his journal is dated, "Naini Tal, i/th April," and tells its own sad story with pathetic candor : Two weeks I worked in the school at Moradabad and preached a little. They were happy, hopeful weeks. I never in my life enjoyed two weeks better, and I felt sure that I would remain well and work for God and souls. But on the 8th of April I was taken sick with my old fever and was ill for a whole week. Mrs. Par- ker, too, suffered more or less from fever during the week. We found that we could not live at Moradabad during the heat, hence we left for Naini Tal. We both felt sorry to leave Moradabad, but were certain it was our duty to come away. We arrived in Naini Tal the 1 6th, and now feel much better and hope for better health. I feel like submitting all to God. I often feel nearly discouraged, but still trust and hope on. I de- sire to work. It is a great trial to feel that I am doing next to nothing and yet am being supported by the liberality of the Church. This sick-ness has been the great trial of my life. May God help us to be willing to do or suffer. At the Annual Meeting of 1863 Mr. Henry Mansell, who had just arrived in India, was appointed to Luck- now. But on his way from Bareilly to Lucknow he 85 LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER was detained several weeks at Shahjahanpur by the dangerous illness of his wife. As soon as Mrs. Mansell was able to travel she was taken to Naini Tal for the remainder of the hot season. Meanwhile the Parkers had arrived from Moradabad, and as it was evidently necessary for Mr. Parker to have several months in the mountains, that he might shake off the fever, the super- intendent sent Mr. Mansell to the Moradabad school, and appointed Mr. Parker colleague of his old ship- mate, Mr. Thoburn, at Naini Tal. There was ample work at Naini Tal for two men. There were English services in the Mission church and among the Euro- pean miners at Kurpo Tal, there were Hindustani serv- ices in the church, there was bazaar preaching, a large Anglo-vernacular school in Naini Tal, and a number of smaller schools in the region about. Mr. Parker found abundant work and did all he could. But his "old fever," as he called it, did not leave him. During the whole of the year a continued fight with ill health was made, and near the close of the rainy season, when the delightful September weather of the hills had arrived, Mr. and Mrs. Parker started for the Pindari glacier, hoping in this way to get rid of the disease which had fastened upon both of them. They left Naini Tal on the 8th of September, returning on the 3Oth, and with them went Messrs. Gracey and Messmore, two of their fellow-missionaries. Mount Cheena at Naini Tal is eighty-five hundred feet above the sea. Standing on Cheena and looking toward the snowy range, distant some seventy miles in an air line, the intervening space appears filled with a succession of wooded or grassy ranges running, for the most part, parallel with the snowy range. It is like 86 MOUNTAIN AIR looking across an immense plowed field whose furrows are mountain ridges from five to twelve thousand feet high, bounded on the farther side by the Himalaya, whose highest peaks, opposite Naini Tal, are over twenty-six thousand feet in height. The route from Naini Tal to the snows lie across these great furrows, and though at times the road runs for miles along a river at the bottom of a deep valley the general char- acteristic of the way is that it leads up one side of a mountain and down the other. There are no broad un- dulating valleys, as in many mountainous countries; the Himalaya valleys are V shaped canons, with a stream at the bottom. The Pindari glacier is eleven marches from Naini Tal. The European traveler must take with him his bed and bedding, his chair and table, his dishes and cooking utensils, nearly all his commissariat supplies, and in 1863 it was necessary for him to take his house also, as there were no rest houses in the farther half of the way. As all these things have to be carried by coolies the length of a day's march is determined by the distance a cooly can carry his load. The marches are from ten to fourteen miles. The number of coolies re- quired depends upon the size and habits of the travel - jng party. Four coolies for each traveler, exclusive of men for tents or dandies, is a very economic ar- rangement. Most travelers require a larger number. The travelers are either on foot or horseback or in dandies. The dandy of 1863 was a hammock on a pole in which the rider sat erect with support for the feet. The present dandy is a sort of open sedan chair, light and comfortable. From four to six coolies are required for each dandy. On this trip there was a dandy for 87 LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER Mrs. Parker. The men had horses, but the latter half of the way was unsafe for horses and this part of the journey was done on foot. These mountains are by no means densely popu- lated; it is always a difficult matter to get a sufficient supply of coolies, and generally it is necessary to have the assistance of local government officials. Three marches beyond Naini Tal is Almora, the only large town in the Province of Kumaun ; the missionary party made this place the base from whence they marched on Pindari. The Naini Tal bazaar furnished coolies for the three marches to Almora. At Almora two govern- ment peons or chaprasis were engaged. These men were furnished with a written order from the govern- ment officer at Almora, addressed to the head men of the villages in the district through which the party would travel, requiring them to furnish the specified number of coolies and also to supply the travelers with flour, milk, vegetables, and other necessaries for their comfort. The duty of furnishing coolies and supplies comes upon the villages in turn, and when a traveling party passes that way the head men of the villages know very well whose turn it is to supply their needs. On the route one of the peons always kept one day in advance, notifying the head men of the various vil- lages. The other peon traveled with the party, and it was his business to see that the coolies were present and did their work. Each set of coolies went one stage only. It is a disagreeable and expensive arrangement. Although the coolies are well paid for their work they seldom go willingly. Most of them have their fields and cattle to look after, and they do not like to be dragged off to carry a heavy load for a long march. MOUNTAIN AIR The Parkers themselves had planned this expedition, and all arrangements were in their hands. Mrs. Par- ker had charge of the commissariat, and so thought- fully and efficiently was the difficult task performed that she fully merited the name of "providence" which was given her for like service some years after, a name which is occasionally given her to this day. None of the party had had any experience in Himalayan travel, and there was much to learn. They started ten days too soon, and on the way to the glacier and at the glacier itself there was a good deal of rain. There was sometimes trouble with the coolies or with the negli- gent head men of the villages. The marches were long; the sun was hot in the valleys, and particularly at Bageshwar in the valley of the Sardu, where unfortu- nately the Sabbath halt was necessary. The Parkers had a small hill tent for themselves. The other two had provided themselves with a pair of native blankets each with which a sort of tent could be made for use in ordinary times, but in rain or excessive heat they were obliged to avail themselves of the shelter of the real tent. Bageshwar is five marches out from Naini Tal, and each day the way led over one or more high ridges. The road over the ridge nearest to Bageshwar led through the possessions of an ancient rajah, and in one place were one thousand steps cut in soapstone leading up to the now deserted place. From Bageshwar the road leads for nearly two days up the valley of the Sardu. This being one of the main water courses of this part of the Himalayas the valley is low and very hot. But after leaving Bageshwar the rise is rapid and cooler regions are soon reached. Some distance be- yond Bageshwar the road led through a pine forest 89 LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER with a dense underbrush of date palm. The pine and palm are supposed to represent the vegetation of ex- tremes in temperature. But here they were together. The low hills about are covered with pines, and these had crept down to the bottom of the valley; and the sheltered position and southern exposure of that par- ticular spot made it also a suitable place for the palm. Seven days from Naini Tal is Lohar Khat, well away from the Sardu valley and some distance up the side of the vast mountain ridge which divides the Sardu from the Pindari. Over this ridge the travelers must go. There are so few villages beyond Lohar Khat that the custom of changing coolies at each stage could not be kept up, and the men furnished there were to go on to the glacier and remain with the party until they re- turned. Lohar Khat thus became a sort of advanced base. From this onward the roads were rougher. The loads of the coolies must be smaller, the horses must be left behind, and the three men go on foot. All super- fluous articles and stores of food to be used on the re- turn trip were left at Lohar Khat, and in lightest possi- ble marching order the party undertook this last and most interesting part of their journey. From Lohar Khat, over the immense Dhakri Banaik ridge, down to Karti, in the valley of the Pindari River, is a long and difficult march, now made two by a rest house well up near the pass. In 1863 the road up the face of the mountain was impassable for any quad- rupeds except bears and goats. In some places there were great steps like the face of the pyramids. As- cending, the pines gave place to oak and rhododendron. The oaks near the pass were covered with light pea- green pendant moss hanging from the trees in festoons 90 MOUNTAIN AIR from twenty to thirty feet long. The pass is about ten thousand feet high, and as this is the range next the snows themselves the view from the place is most im- pressive. On the south is a well wooded, cultivated mountain region extending to the plains and to the in- habited civilized world. On the north rises the desert of rock and ice and snow, inaccessible and uninhabited ; the portal of the savage, inhospitable, unknown region which is the appropriate boundary of the unknown land called Tibet. Karti is in the valley of the Pindari River, nearly fif- teen miles from the spot where the stream issues from the glacier, and from this place onward the route lay directly up this wild, rocky, and, for the most part, well- wooded mountain gorge. Karti is the last village on the way, though in summer shepherds camp here and there up to the glacier itself. The valley rises rapidly and the stream is rapid and tumultuous. Rhododen- drons of immense size and large horse-chestnuts are found in the lower part of the valley. But the grade is so steep and the ascent so great that within ten miles of Karti there is a marked diminution in the size of the timber. This continues until the rhododendron be- comes a mere shrub, and the timber limit is passed two or three miles before the glacier is reached. In Mr. Parker's journal there is special mention made of the first near view of a snow peak from the Pindari valley. The party were plodding on up the narrow valley, grass-covered or wooded mountains alone visible on either hand. Suddenly turning a corner, the view up the gorge terminated in a great iceberg which seemed to rise up out of the valley, and the question in the mind of each beholder was this, "Why is that a snow mnun- 91 LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER tain, when these mountains on either side, which are so much higher than it, are free from snow and covered with vegetation?" The optical illusion was complete, and it was some time before the travelers could realize that this peak, which looked so near, was a score of miles distant, and that it was at least ten thousand feet higher than the wooded hills on either side of the valley. On the iQth of September the party reached the camping ground, some three miles below the mouth of the glacier. The weather was rainy and cold. Mr. Parker and Mr. Gracey had fever, and the altitude affected Mrs. Parker unfavorably. The whole party were crowded together in the little tent, the coolies and servants finding shelter under an overhanging rock. It was an uncomfortable and a very disappointing time. The coolies declared that here was the end of the trip. But where were the snows? Where was the glacier? The second day Mr. Parker and Mr. Messmore climbed a peak near by. Nearing the top, the rarefied air made climbing almost impossible. At last the summit was reached, but the vast wall of the Himalaya towered above it exactly as it appeared from the camp more than a thousand feet below. The camp was several hundred feet above the valley of the river, and in fact the river seemed to be inacces- sible. The valley had widened out into a sloping plain covered with diluvium a dreary and desolate place. The third day, after breakfast, Mr. and Mrs. Parker decided to go a little farther up the valley, and before starting suggested the desirability of removing the camp to a more sheltered place a little way down stream. The suggestion was either intentionally or accidentally misunderstood. The tent was struck and the whole 92 MOUNTAIN AIR camp moved down the valley some five miles to Diwali, the halting place between Karti and the glacier. Ar- rived at Diwali, the tent pitched, and preparations for the evening meal commenced, Messrs. Gracey and Messmore awaited the return of the Parkers. But they did not appear. The afternoon passed and still they had not returned. When darkness began to settle down upon the valley servants with lanterns were sent back toward the glacier, and about an hour after dark they returned and the Parkers with them. The glacier was reached on the I9th of September, and camp was pitched for several days in its vicinity. The petty hard- ships of the journey only gave zest to the experience, which was of benefit to the entire party. The return to Naini Tal was hastened, as Mr. Par- ker desired to see Mr. Thoburn before his departure for America with his motherless child. On the 2Qth the party left Almora, intending to make a forced inarch into Naini Tal. The coolies were sent on in ad- vance with orders to camp where night should find them. The travelers set out from Almora about the middle of the afternoon, and as night came began to look anxiously for their camp. They kept on, hour after hour, until near midnight, and finding no camp were obliged to bivouac in the road. Fortunately one cooly was with them, and his load furnished a blanket or quilt for each of the party. They lay down under the stars in the dry, hard road. The road is in the valley of the Kosi, a warm but malarious region, but three weeks' marching had hardened the travelers, and apparently they suffered no injury and very little incon- venience from the exposure. They reached Naini Tal in good time next forenoon, and before night the coolies 93 LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER came in, having, as was suspected, taken the upper in- stead of the lower road from Almora to Naini Tal. As Mr. Parker's fever still troubled him a second journey to colder regions was 'taken in hope of finding relief. They left Naini Tal on the I3th of October, and proceeding via Lokha and Adh Badri, went as far as Tumnath, where they spent several days in the cold bracing air on the top of a high mountain. They re- turned to Naini Tal on the 7th of November, and the three months following were spent in Naini Tal and in work among the villages at the foot of the hills, now filled with people who had come down for the winter. The following extract from Mr. Parker's journal tells how he was employed : Dec. 19, 1863. During the past week I have visited the schools at Huldwani and Golapur. The schools are doing well. There is much doubt about the expediency of having schools out from the station taught by heathen teachers. I think, however, nothing is lost, while much may be gained. One gain is evident now. We get the hearts of the boys in the schools, and thus find an open door to the parents in the villages. The school here at Naini Tal is not yet closed for the winter. Our health is very good now; very much improved indeed. I have been in the habit of working a little daily for some weeks with my carpenter's tools, and I think this work has done me much good. To-day I brought in my first almira, or clothes press. I call it a very good one, and making it has done me much good in health. Three of these almiras were made at this time, and after Bishop Parker's death Mrs. Parker gave one of them to Miss Alice Means, who had rendered invalu- able service in helping nurse her husband many weeks 94 MOUNTAIN Am during his last illness. The other two were given to the Reid Christian College. The improvement in Mr. Parker was not lasting. On the Qtli of January he writes, "Our health seems getting poor again ; during the past week we have both been ill much of the time." And one week later : Jan. 1 6, 1864. Still unwell. Worse with fever at times. A letter from Brother Gracey saying that the grant is sold. I am glad of that indeed. That grant at Wesleypore has caused me much trouble and ill health and profitless labor. It has injured the constitu- tion and health of my wife, and has cost the health and lives of many native Christians. On January 22 Mr. and Mrs. Parker left Naini Tal to attend the Annual Meeting at Bareilly, commencing February 5. As the superintendent had decided to send Mr. Parker to open a new station at either Sam- bhal or Amroha they sent their belongings by cart to Moradabad. They themselves went on to Bareilly. both in poor health and suffering from frequent attacks of illness. The year had been a trying and disappoint- ing one for the missionary, and he had grounds for in- dulging in gloomy anticipations concerning his pros- pects in India. On the 2Qth he writes : "I do not know what to do, my health is so poor. I want to work, and to be in India in these times and nearly idle is very hard." At the Annual Meeting Mr. Parker was ap- pointed to Moradabad, with H. Mansell and J. A. Cawdell as colleagues. But his poor health was so ap- parent to all that he was voted leave to try a sea voyage sometime during the year if it were necessary. Fortu- nately, however, the voyage was not necessary, and prospects brightened very much during 1864. 95 LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER CHAPTER V. THE INDIA MISSION CONFERENCE ON February 17, 1864, Mr. Parker for the second time took up work at Moradabad. Mr. Mansell had charge of the rapidly growing Anglo-vernacular school, Mr. Cawdell assisted Mr. Parker in the city and village work, and all three preached regularly in the bazaars. A second school of sixty scholars was opened in the city, Ambica Cham had a school of sixty boys at Sam- bhal, twenty miles distant, Zahur-ul-Haqq was at Babukhera, among the Sikhs, and Andrias was sent to the Chamars at Kundarki. Mr. Parker's health im- proved as the year went on, and on the i4th of Sep- tember he wrote in his journal that for some time past he had preached in the bazaar daily. He was happy in having a zealous and congenial colleague. In one place he writes : "Brother Mansell is a good man and an excellent missionary, and our labors together were al- ways pleasant. Our love continues like that of own brothers until now." It was a good year at Moradabad. Foundations of important work were laid and signs of present prosperity were not wanting. When Bishop Thomson, at the close of the year, visited Moradabad eleven persons were received into the church at that place, and twenty-seven were baptized at Babukhera. Still the missionaries were hoping and praying for bet- ter days, as may be seen by the following journal entry in September: We have visited the villages regularly once a fort- night, and all our work has been prospering. God is with us. We have been trying to live near to God and 96 THE INDIA MISSION CONFERENCE do all our work well. I feel many times weak and al- most discouraged when I see so little accomplished. O for faith ! Brother Mansell is a noble man, an ear- nest Christian, and an excellent colleague. I love him more and more daily. The missionaries at Moradabad early in 1864 formed an association for training and educating native preach- ers. Mr. Parker says in his journal that this was the seed of the District Associations which a few years later were doing so much good. Out of these associa- tions the "District Conference" has been evolved. The value of these district meetings caused the India mis- sionaries to urge the necessity for General Conference action regarding them, and the legislation which fol- lowed was probably more influenced by Mr. Parker than by any other man. At the General Conference of 1864 the India Mission had been made a Mission Conference. This gave to the presiding bishop the right of veto, and the Conference proceedings required his official sanction to make them valid. In addition to this restriction, the Mission Con- ference could not send delegates to the General Confer- ence, or draw annual dividends from the Book Con- cern and Chartered Fund, or vote on constitutional changes proposed in the Discipline. The newly elected bishop, Edward Thomson, came out to India to inspect the work of the Mission and or- ganize the first Methodist Annual Conference in Asia. Accompanied by the superintendent he proceeded from Bombay via Cawnpore to Meerut and entered the terri- tory of the India Mission at Garmukhtcshwar, on the Ganges, midway tetween Delhi and Moradabad. It was the time of the great bathing festival in November, (7) 97 LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER and there they met the Moradabad missionaries who were preaching at the mela. Traveling with the super- intendent, the bishop visited all the stations of the Mis- sion before the opening of Conference, December 8, 1864, in the Mission schoolhouse, Hoosainabad, Luck- now. The missionaries were a good deal stirred up by the action of the General Conference, which gave them a Conference organization without Conference powers. The night before the Conference was organized they met in council to determine what was to be done under the circumstances. A very stiff declaration of rights and demand for justice had been prepared by some of the leading missionaries, and at this council some two hours were spent in "drawing the teeth of the document." The truth is, that Bishop Thomson's wise and con- ciliatory suggestions had already removed the fears of most of the missionaries. In the end they adopted a protest against being organized into a Conference in which the members have no rights except by permis- sion, and again memorialized the General Conference for an Annual Conference organization. The records of this historic Conference are among the most valuable in the annals of Indian Methodism. The bishop's opening address was a classic production, deserving preservation on account of its literary value as well as because of the themes it discussed and the circumstances under which it was delivered. His judicious performance of official duty brought relief to the entire Mission. New hope and courage inspired every one. Without departing from traditional pro-' cedure the bishop virtually gave the Conference the privilege of electing the presiding elders, an innovation 98 THE INDIA MISSION CONFERENCE which was not only very popular, but worked well a number of years. The Conference was asked to elect by ballot a missionary committee, whose work it would be to prepare the financial estimates and generally do the work of a finance committee. And it was under- stood that the members of this committee would be the presiding elders of the Conference. Fourteen men were entitled to vote, and C. W. Judd received nine votes, E. W. Parker twelve, and J. W. Waugh nine. These three became the bishop's cabinet, and were placed in charge of the Lucknow, Moradabad, and Bareilly Dis- tricts respectively. The most important act of this first Methodist Con- ference in Asia was that by which four native preachers were received into Conference as probationers. This was a radical step in advance. Mr. Parker was the leader in the movement, and it was largely .through his influence that the Conference adopted the policy of making native ministers the ecclesiastical peers of the foreign missionaries. From letters written by Mr. Parker to the Church papers it appears that at that time his thought was that eventually the number of native ministers in the Conference should be kept about the same as the number of missionaries. But this theory was soon set aside, and now in the North India Con- ference there are nearly four times as many Indians as foreigners. It is, however, the opinion of some that it would have been better had the original plan been fol- lowed, and meml>ership in Annual Conference reserved for men of character and ability such as the first four who were admitted. The names of these first Indian Conference members are J. T. Janvier, H. M. Daniel, J. Fieldbrave, and Zahur-ul-Haqq. The last men- 99 LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER tioned was the first convert gained by the India Mission and afterward the first Indian presiding elder. The last survivor of this worthy band, Rev. Joel T. Jan- vier, went to his reward some thirty-six years after the Lucknow Conference. 100 THE MORADABAD DISTRICT CHAPTER VI. THE MORADABAD DISTRICT THE Moradabad District, to which Mr. Parker was appointed as presiding elder at the first session of the India Conference, included the civil districts of Morad- abad and Bijnor, and the district of Garhwal in the mountains. There were four circuits: Moradabad, in charge of Mr. Mansell; Sambhal, in charge of Mr. Cawdell; Bijnor, in charge of Mr. Hauser; and Garh- wal, in charge of Mr. Thoburn, who did not, however, return from America until more than a year after the Lucknow Conference. Mr. Parker lived in Morada- bad. The city and all the work within ten miles were in Mr. Mansell's charge ; the presiding elder looked after the remainder. The following extracts from Mr. Par- ker's journal tell in what spirit and with what purpose the new presiding elder began his work : Dec. 24, 1864. I feel altogether unworthy of being a presiding elder, as I am so young and inexperienced. I am determined, however, to do what I can for God in this way. I shall endeavor to travel through my en- tire district and become acquainted with the people everywhere. Dec. 27. We had a pleasant time with our native Christians on Christmas Eve. On Sunday I preached from Isa. ix, 6. Had a good time. Jan. i, 1865. We had a blessed watch-night meet- ing last night. Brothers Cawdell and Haqq preached, and I also. All passed off well and God blessed us. Before commencing the story of Mr. Parker's mis- sionary service as presiding elder of the Moradabad 101 LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER District it is fitting to give a brief account of the kind of work a missionary in India has to do, and the methods he follows. A few words of explanation and a brief reminder of certain self-evident but sometimes forgotten truths may remove some incorrect impres- sions : There is no royal road to success in missionary work anywhere. Human nature is essentially the same among all the families of mankind. The world, the flesh, and the devil are everywhere the great enemies of the kingdom of God. The ignorance of men, the earthliness of men, the selfishness and pride of men, the customs of the world, and many of the strong currents of human influence are obstacles to the progress of the Gospel in all lands. It is a hard task to make a sinner in New York repent of his sins, and it is no easier in Lucknow. It is not easy to lead a sinner in Boston to accept Christ as his salvation from sin, and it is not an easy task in Bareilly. A Christian man in England or America needs much pastoral oversight to keep him from yielding to the adverse influences about him, and a Moradabad Christian is equally in need of pastoral care. The European Christian, with generations of Christian ancestors, has many temptations and is obliged to fight and watch and pray all the way through. The Indian Christian, with his non-Christian ancestry, is subject to the same necessity. There are many unsatisfactory Christians in European and Amer- ican churches, and such characters are also found among the converts who have been gathered into In- dian churches. In regard to all these things there is essentially no difference between the East and the West. Differences in temperament and in religious THE MORADABAD DISTRICT ideas and standards of morality do produce an appre- ciable difference between the people of the East and West, but these variations call for no radical difference in evangelizing methods. The work of winning men for Christ and shepherding them is essentially the same in all lands under the sun. Men hear the word, under- stand, accept, believe, obey, and live. No other way is known among mankind. Friends and supporters of foreign missions some- times get the impression that the people of non-Chris- tian lands are more concerned about their souls' salva- tion than those who live in Christian countries, that they are hungering and thirsting after righteousness. In all countries there are a few earnest seekers after God, but there are many more such people in Christian than in non-Christian lands ! In India the people are very religious; religious questions are discussed more generally among men and religious observances bulk more largely in the daily life of the people than in Europe or America ; but this is no proof that the In- dians are more spiritually minded or less worldly than Europeans. A few, like Simeon of old, are looking and waiting for the coming of the King, but the great multitude is as sordid and worldly and in- different to spiritual things as the multitude any- where else. And this Indian multitude is surrounded by peculiar^ barriers. Its ideas of God and man and life and destiny are radically wrong. The people are in- volved in a network of superstitious beliefs, and shut in by idolatrous and semi-idolatrous social and national customs which make it very difficult for them to hear, and understand, and believe, and olx?y the word of the gospel messenger. It is a serious disadvantage to 5n- 103 LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER herit the traditions of a non-Christian ancestry, and, taking all together, it is harder and slower work to evangelize such people than it is to reach and save the unconverted in Christian lands. A brief account of the various agencies used for the evangelization of the non-Christian inhabitants of the Moradabad District will enable the reader more intelli- gently to follow the story of the presiding elder's work : i. Preaching the Gospel in the streets of towns and villages, at village markets, and in village courtyards, and at the great religious festivals. 2. Preaching to individuals, as Christ did to Nicodemus and to the woman at Jacob's well, as Ananias did to Saul and Philip to the Ethiopian. 3. Conducting all forms of religious service in Christian congregations. 4. Main- taining schools in which secular and religious instruc- tion is given. 5. Gathering children into boarding schools or placing them in Christian families where they would be reared as Christians. 6. Selecting and training agents for mission service. 7. Preparing and circulating Christian literature. Duties such as these, and the many occupations inci- dental to them, filled up the days of the presiding elder. Wherever he went he found work of this sort to do. Where Mission agents were stationed he supervised their work and assisted them. Where there were no Mission agents he endeavored to gain foothold and place a representative of the Christian faith among the people. It was mostly pioneer work. Such work is usually very interesting, sometimes it is very disheart- ening, and always it is toilsome. On the Moradabad District the difficulties pertaining to such work were much greater than ordinary, the people having to be 104 THE MORADABAD DISTRICT sought for in distant towns and villages, while there are few roads, no public conveyances, no hotels, and few houses among the people in which a European could lodge comfortably. While at Lakhimpur Mr. Parker had provided him- self with an imitation American buggy drawn by two horses. This in a year or two was replaced by the genuine article, imported from New England direct. With his light buggy and pair of good ponies Mr. Par- ker was able to do much more traveling than if he were restricted to the use of the palanquin or saddle. Food and bedding could be carried with him, and this allowed a freedom of action impossible for men who had to shape their course according to the movements of a cart or a kahar with their commissariat supplies. Mrs. Par- ker generally accompanied her husband in his tours, and her presence made the missionary's visit doubly effective, giving to the work done a completeness and reality which cannot be secured where the missionary agency reaches the men alone. The first tour through the district was begun in Jan- uary and continued until the middle of March. In this time Mr. and Mrs. Parker visited all parts of the dis- trict, including Pauri, the headquarters of the Garhwal Mission, at which place arrangements were made for purchasing a mission house and opening a school. A few weeks in the hot season were spent in Naini Tal, and then back again to Moradabad, for Mr. Mansell's health had failed, and he had gone to Pauri. Being in the Ram Ganga valley Moradabad has more than an average amount of fever in September, and now. though Mr. Parker had been well during the year, his old fever returned. But in a short time he recovered 105 LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER and then resumed his work. On the I5th of Septem- ber he writes : During the past season God has helped me much. In April Brother Mansell's health failed and he had to go to Pauri, so that all the work here fell upon me, besides all of my circuit and district work. I have taught usu- ally four hours daily in the city school, and have preached once every day in the street or in the chapel, and have held daily evening services for our native Christians, besides a large amount of official and other writing. I don't think I ever worked more earnestly in my life, and I never enjoyed better health. For a few months past I have gone out each Friday after school or Saturday morning for quarterly meeting or to visit outstations. Our work has steadily progressed during the season. More schools have been opened. Amroha has been occupied. Two girls' schools have sprung up in the city and our way is open for more. One Chamar school, the first ever started in the city, is prospering, and a Sabbath service has been opened in the same place. Thus the work goes on. The seed is being sown and a little fruit is seen. "Thus the work goes on !" This was a favorite ex- pression through all the years of Mr. Parker's mis- sionary service. He was at work, and the work was ever moving on; sometimes more rapidly than at others; sometimes sorely hindered by sickness or other obstacles, but always "moving on." This was his un- shaken conviction, and this conviction was one of the chief reasons why he was so indefatigable and accom- plished so much. At Moradabad, in the midst of the follies and superstitions of a non-Christian land, the moral destitution of the people forced itself upon his attention and constantly compelled him to do all he could to help and to save them. 106 THE MORADABAD DISTRICT In the month of July an incident occurred which re- vealed the deplorable credulity and superstition of the people. It was said that a Hindu fakir came one even- ing to a river in the territory of the Nawab of Rampur, some thirty miles from Moradabad, and demanded to be taken across the stream. The ferryman, doubtless a Mohammedan, refused, as these fakirs never pay for anything. The fakir that night made a bridge of earth across the stream and went on his way. The story of a miraculous bridge began to spread among the people. Thousands flocked to the place. It was reported that blind and lame and lepers were healed by bathing at the now sacred spot. Two months afterward Mr. Par- ker, going to a Quarterly Conference in the direction of this famed bridge, found the road filled with pil- grims on their way to the river. He also met the blind and lame returning from the place. When asked if they had been helped, they said that they had not been cured, but others had. The next week, in another place, Mr. Parker counted four hundred pilgrims on the way to the bridge, some of whom had walked two hun- dred miles to reach the place. And the sole foundation for all this excitement was the simple fact that a large l)ank of earth had been cut away from a place where two streams met and this had formed a sand bar some distance down stream, so that now there was a ford where formerly the river was impassable. How, or why, or by whom the story of a miracle wrought by the fakir was evolved from the sand bank is one of those mysteries which elude investigation and make all at- tempts to reach the foundations of popular belief in In- dia so inconclusive and unsatisfactory. .Westward forty-five miles from Moradabad is Garh- 107 LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER mukteshwar ghat, on the Ganges, one of the most popu- lar bathing places at the full moon of the Hindu month Katik. Usually more than half a million of people at- tend this festival ; and as it is in the cold season the mis- sionaries arrange for a preaching campaign in force while the festival continues. How they work is ap- parent from a letter written by Mr. Parker December 5, 1865: We Christians went to. the fair determined that we would preach, though the Hindus did not. At the com- mencement we selected two good positions for preach- ing and arranged our tent for a book stall and a preach- er's stand. We then divided our company of twelve into four parts, arranging that two companies were to keep up preaching near the book stalls while the other companies were to take each an ox cart as a moving pulpit and go where they could find the most people. In this way we had preaching at four different places from four to seven hours daily. Our congregations were large. Each of the two missionaries and each native preacher talked, on an average, four hours daily. While one preached the other would sell books or an- swer questions. If our crowd got too noisy at one place we only had to drive our moving pulpit on to a more quiet place. We thus worked four days, until near the close of the fair, when the noise of the people singing the praises of the Ganges became too great for preach- ing. At this fair we sold about eight hundred Chris- tian books and tracts. This extra effort on our part disturbed the Hindu pandits, and during the last two days they tried to break up our congregations. I never before saw them so much disturbed. May God keep and bless the seed sown ! That these fourteen Christian preachers were per- mitted to carry on such a campaign for four days un- molested, in the midst of six hundred thousand non- 108 Christians, is a fact to be pondered by those who would rightly understand the conditions of the Christian prop- aganda in India. The easy tolerance or indifference which led the people to hear what the preachers said is no proof that Hindus are liberal minded or tolerant in religious matters. If one of those Christian preachers had performed an overt act affecting the caste of any- one present he would probably have paid for it with his life. Not many years later a few Hindu villagers near Moradabad tied Mr. Thoburn to a tree and then sat down to consider whether or not they should kill him because he had attempted to draw water from the vil- lage well. The Hindu is mild in disposition compared with the European, and he will generally submit to mere verbal attacks upon his creed, but touch his caste and you arouse a spirit of most cruel intolerance. Shortly after the Garhmukteshwar fair Mr. Parker led another attack upon the forces of error in India by means of a Christian camp meeting. It was opened in a grove on the outskirts of the city of Amroha Novem- ber 8, 1865, and was held with the purpose of increas- ing the effectiveness of the native preachers and ad- vancing the standard of spiritual Christianity in the native church. The indigenous religions of India are mere formalism, and Mohammedanism is very little better. Among such people it is difficult to implant the idea or develop the experience of practical spiritual re- ligion. The first converts were all simply nominal Christians. The most sincere among them had merely given intellectual assent to the truth of Christianity ; the idea of spiritual personal union and communion with Christ was scarcely apprehended by any of them. For some years after the commencement of the Mission 109 LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER the missionaries often, when by themselves, discussed the question, "Are any of our native Christians really converted? Do the native preachers know Christ?" And often was the desire expressed and the prayer offered that the power of God would come down upon the native brethren. The Amroha meeting was held in hope of such a result. It was the annual meeting of the District Association, which Mr. Parker had organized at the beginning of the year, and it was resolved to make it, as far as possible, a real camp meeting. Four missionaries, twenty native assistants, and about one hundred other native Christians occupied the camp. Mr. Parker began with a sermon on camp meetings; telling what they were, what they had accomplished in Christian lands, and what they hoped might result from them in India. The morning meeting was fol- lowed by a literary session of the District Association. At 4 P. M. five bands of preachers went into the city and preached in the streets. There was preaching at night in the camp, followed by prayer meeting. What Mr. Parker thought of this first Methodist camp meet- ing in North India is evident from the following : This meeting did much to shake the formality out of our little church, and make its members realize that ours is a religion of the heart. One man, eighty-five years old, who has for five years been a Christian and one of our good men outwardly, said his heart had never been melted before. "But now," said he, as the tears ran down his cheeks, "my heart is tender." On Tuesday morning we met for our closing service and again our Saviour met with us. Love filled all our hearts, tears streamed from our eyes, and all felt that they could go to work with new strength and courage. That meeting, although very small compared with the no THE MORADABAD DISTRICT Hindu gathering at Garhmukteshwar, will not be for- gotten so long as any who were there are alive. No one at home can know how much good it did us mission- aries. We have so longed and prayed for a season of refreshing among the people. How often have we thought of the blessed revival meetings at home and longed for them here ! God has blessed us with a little church, and we love its members with a holy love, yet we have often mourned over their lack of spiritual life. Most of them had not clear views of conversion to God, although they live Christian lives. This meeting has done much to revive these persons. Although it was not such a time of power as we often witness when a thousand hearts are joined together, yet it was a step in advance and next year we will look for still greater triumphs. The Amroha meeting raised the level of spiritual life throughout the district, and the last two months of Mr. Parker's first year as presiding elder were prosperous and promising. On the 2Oth of December the mission- ary force on the district was increased by the arrival of Mr. and Mrs. S. S. Weatherby from America. The pre- siding elder closed his personal record of the year's work with thanks to God for grace given him to get on so pleasantly with all his brethren and for the great love which filled his heart. The comparative progress and importance of the Moradabad work appears in the sta- tistical returns for the year. The total number of adults baptized in the Mission during the year was forty-seven, and twenty-eight of these were in Morad- alxid city and circuit. The second session of the India Mission Conference was held at Moradabad February 1-7, 1866, the Rev. James Baume, president, by appointment from the bishop. At this Conference the Mission press was re- iii LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER moved from Bareilly to Lucknow, thereby necessitating exchange of districts by Messrs. Judd and Waugh. No other change was made in the appointments of mis- sionaries. Mr. Parker had charge of the Amroha Cir- cuit. Mr. Thoburn, after more than two years' absence, returned from America, arriving the morning Confer- ence opened. At this Conference the first step was taken toward the establishment of what is now the Reid Christian College at Lucknow. It was the centenary year of American Methodism, and a. committee ap- pointed to consider a suitable method of celebrating the occasion brought in a report which contained the fol- lowing : Resolved, That as a Conference we will attempt to raise during the coming year an endowment fund for the Lucknow school of not less than Rs. 10,000, as a nucleus around which other resources may gather suf- ficient to justify us in applying for an affiliation with the Calcutta University. Conference adjourned on the 7th of February and Mr. Parker spent the next two months visiting those parts of his district which were on the plains. Oppor- tunities for work were multiplying on every hand and he longed for spiritual victories. On the I5th of April he held the Babukhera Quarterly Conference. This was the center of the region whence came most of the Sikh converts, and there was a good deal of heathenism mixed with their Christianity. "The Babukhera peo- ple," he writes, "need religion very much. O for power to arouse and transform all this region !" In the mean- time Mr. Thoburn, who had not yet gone to his new appointment in Garhwal, was assisting the presiding elder, and together with Mr. Mansell they held pro- 112 THE MORADABAD DISTRICT tracted meetings at one or two places near Moradabad with very promising results. On the i6th of April Air. and Mrs. Parker turned their steps toward Pauri, ar- riving there on the 23d. Mr. Parker's journal has the following : Arrived at Pauri all right with Brother Thoburn and Hettie Mansell. Hettie is to remain here with us for six months. We take this change, as we believe our health demands it. Pauri is a beautiful place. I intend translating some Sabbath school books while here. A record of Mr. Parker's work which made no men- tion of Mrs. Parker's share in it would be very incom- plete, and in like manner a portraiture of the man him- self which tells nothing of his domestic life would be very imperfect. On this account room is made here for the following extract from Mr. Parker's journal which some may consider almost too sacred to be made public : March 2, 1866. To-day is the tenth anniversary of our wedding day. I spent the day alone with my wife. How good God has been to us through these ten years ! I love my dear wife very much. She is an invaluable helper to me in all my work, and she saves me from all care alxiut our private affairs and makes my home so happy. May God bless my dear wife and give us wis- dom and strength for yet another ten years ! The Parkers returned to Moradabad on the 25th of September, having had six months at Pauri with Mr. Thoburn. If the schemes of ecclesiastical administra- tion and the plans for mission work discussed by that brace of embryo bishops during their six months' com- panionship in Pauri had been written down the record would have l>een truly wonderful. But it was not all talk or visionary speculation. There are now on the (8) "3 LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER pages of the book of Discipline of the Methodist Epis- copal Church many paragraphs which were first thought of by those two young men as they paced back and forth on the veranda of the Pauri Mission bunga- low, and there are methods of mission work now in successful operation which are the materialization of visions which passed before the eyes of the two men as they looked on the inspiring panorama which begins in the mission garden and ends with the inaccessible sum- mits of Badrinath and Kedarnath. But years of hard work and scores of practical experiments intervened between the visions and their fulfillment, and these sifted the seed and purified the crude ore, and hence when at last opportunity came for translating thought into action there was a surprising and convincing prac- ticability about that which was devised which com- pelled the assent of all who were in any way concerned with such matters. While at Pauri Mr. and Mrs. Parker together pre- pared a Hindustani version of Amos Amfield, and also a translation and enlargement of an English work on Bible evidences. They returned to Moradabad, by way of Naini Tal, in September, and Mr. Parker at once began his district work. He had an unpleasant task to perform at Bijnor, where the missionary in charge had incurred a debt of three thousand rupees in his work and was disposed to resent the presiding elder's action in the matter. The annual camp meeting and District Association was held at Haraura, near Moradabad, at which time the organization of the District Associa- tion was brought nearer completion and arrangements were made for an "industrial association." A company was to be formed to assist poor native Christians by 114 THE MORADABAD DISTRICT furnishing them with work which would be profitable to laborer and employer. This, however, proved a failure. The year closed with a good watch-night meeting at Haraura. From there the Parkers marched with tents by way of Buda on to Shahjahanpur to Confer- ence, which opened January 10, 1867. At this Confer- ence Mr. Mansell was transferred from Moradabad to Bijnor, taking Mr. Hauser's place, who was appointed to Shahjahanpur. There were now five circuits on the Moradabad District and five European missionaries, including the presiding elder, who was also in charge of the Moradabad and Chandausi Circuits, with S. S. Weatherby as colleague. The Moradabad city school was now for the first time put in the hands of a Euro- pean head master, who was dismissed for drunkenness the next year. . The first eight months of 1867 were spent in visit- ing all parts of the district except the mountains, and in teaching and preaching in and about Moradabad. The presiding elder's ponies went everywhere, and worked almost as hard as their master. Moradabad is fifty- three miles from Bijnor, and the road is in places very heavy. But Mr. Parker in his journal writes: "Feb. 2. Left Bijnor at 6 A. M. and reached Moradabad at 1 1 P. M." Such a day's work was no uncommon thing for Mr. Parker down even to 1899. The record of this journey has the following touching illustration of the characters of the two men, "Leaving Bijnor Brother Mansell came out with me to a grove where we prayed together for God's blessing." This was a good "stirrup cup" for the presiding elder with the heavy day's work before him. LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER Another entry, in April, shows that Mr. Parker, like Cyrus Hamlin of Robert College, Constantinople, had a Yankee's handiness with tools : Arranged for building a buggy after the pattern of my own. About this time a nice cabinet organ arrived from home and was so injured that it would not make a sound. I took it to pieces, renewed the glue, and now it is all right and pleases us very much. In 1867 came the "Maha Coomb" of the Hardwar mela, the Hindu bathing festival. This occurs once in twelve years and is always an immense gathering. In 1867 it was estimated that nearly ten millions of people came. On the fifth day cholera broke out and the crowd was dispersed by government order. The roads leading from Hardwar were strewn with bodies of the dead. Thousands upon thousands perished. New roads were made around the towns and cities so that the returning multitudes should not pass through them. Hardwar is less than one hundred miles from Morad- abad and lies on the edge of Mr. Parker's district. There was death everywhere, yet none died except such as had gone to the mela, and the missionaries and their people escaped. The following incident, however, shows that cholera was not the only danger to which the missionaries were exposed : June 25, 1867. We went to Joa and from there to Babukhera with Zahur-nl-Haqq. It rained on the way over and all the way back. The mud-built houses were in a fearful condition. It ceased raining at midnight and we started for home, twenty miles distant. Before we had gone a mile the rain began again, and being in our faces we were soon wet through. When within six miles of home Mrs. Parker became so ill she could go 116 THE MORADABAD DISTRICT no farther. We stopped at a schoolhouse, built a fire on the ground, and tried to dry our clothes. We re- mained here until eight next morning; then, though it still was raining, we ran the ponies toward home. When near Moradabad we found that the Ram Ganga River was in flood, had overtopped its banks, and was running over the road for a mile. We, however, got safely across, and reaching home found the people try- ing hard to keep the houses from falling down. The chapel particularly was in danger, walls coming down at each corner and on one side. The weakening effects of the Indian fever which from the first had troubled both Mr. and Mrs. Parker now began to be more apparent, and they realized that it might be necessary for them to leave India for a while to regain their strength. But they resolved to try the hills once more, and on the 3ear testimony to the existence of such opinions in America and to the efforts which the missionaries in India made to remove all stumbling-blocks out of the (12) i77 LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER . way. At first this body was called the "Delegated Con- ference;" then it was called the "Central Committee;" and the use of the name "Conference" was carefully avoided until the General Conference itself had passed an order for the organization of the Central Confer- ence. A number of the prominent men in the North India and South India Conferences shared in all the prelimi- nary and preparatory work pertaining to this enter- prise, but J. M. Thoburn and E. W. Parker were the leaders in the business. The following account of the beginning of this work, written by Bishop Thoburn in January, 1902, gives a clear account of his own share in the work and also of Mr. Parker's relation to it : In 1879 I became impressed that we needed an or- ganization, in which all parts of our scattered work in India would be represented, to look after the general interests and to keep us from drifting apart. I thought this out for some time and then wrote to Brother Par- ker, giving an outline of what I thought seemed to be needed. By an extraordinary coincidence my letter on its way to him crossed one from him to me of almost practically the same import. Our minds had been run- ning in the same channel, and the coincidence im- pressed us both very deeply as an evidence that God was leading us. We discussed the subject by letter and afterward when we met, and also brought it before other brethren, until finally a meeting was effected at Allahabad representing all parts of India, and a memo- rial sent to the General Conference asking that a Cen- tral Conference be organized. This met with little favor at the General Conference of 1880, but four years later, when Dr. Parker was delegate from the North India Conference, he succeeded in securing the authori- zation of the Central Conference as it now stands in the Discipline. I have always regarded this as perhaps 178 THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH IN INDIA the greatest measure of his life. He managed the mat- ter with great skill and good sense, and the chapter on the subject incorporated into the Discipline was sub- stantially his production. Mr. Parker's personal connection with the evolution of the Central Conference and the intrinsic importance of this organization justify a more detailed account of this landmark in the history of the Methodist Episcopal Church in Southern Asia. Bishop Thoburn's refer- ence to a meeting at Allahabad prepares the way for inserting here the opening paragraphs of the "Minutes of a united session of the North India and South India Conferences of the Methodist Episcopal Church :" The North India Conference and the South India Conference by joint action met in the Methodist Epis- copal Church at Allahabad, January 13, 1880, for a Conference reunion. The Rev. George Bowen, presi- dent of the South India Conference, took the chair and announced the hymn beginning, " Our God is love, and all his saints His image bear below." After singing he led the Conference in prayer. The president then gave an address of welcome to the mem- bers of the North India Conference who had joined the South India Conference at their place of session. The Rev. E. W. Parker, of North India Conference, made a reply. The Conference reunion was then com- pleted by the election of George Bowen as chairman and T. J. Scott as secretary, the hymn beginning, "Jesus, united by thy grace, And each to each endeared," was sung, and the assembly of the united Conferences was thrown open for remarks. Earnest words of love and welcome were uttered by several members of both 179 LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER Conferences. The members of the two Conferences were then introduced to each other by the secretaries calling the rolls, each member rising as his name was called. This united Conference held three sessions and trans- acted several important items of business, two of which are here recorded: I. The Conference resolved itself into "a corporate body for the management and con- trol of our common interests in India, and to exercise such functions as may be assigned to it by the General Conference; provided, that the delegated body shall take no action contravening the organic law of the Methodist Episcopal Church ;" 2. The Conference as- sumed for itself the name of "Delegated Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church in India." The next Conference was composed of clerical and lay dele- gates from the North India and South India Confer- ences, and met in Allahabad, July 14-18, 1881. Mr. Parker was present, as one of the delegates from the North India Conference, and was chairman of a special committee appointed to prepare a minute on the rela- tion of mission agents, not members of Annual Confer- ences, to the Conferences. This committee prepared a report which dealt with the general question of lay workers and also gave special attention to the "official relation of missionaries of the Woman's Foreign Mis- sionary Society." As already affirmed, in another part of this memoir, these rules were framed by Mr. Parker ; and when in the General Conference of 1884 an at- tempt was made to destroy the autonomy of the Wom- an's Foreign Missionary Society the society escaped because Mr. Parker was able to present these rules as being in successful operation in India. They received 180 METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH IN INDIA the hearty approval of the Committee on Missions and were subsequently approved by the General Conference. This brief account of the beginnings of the Central Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church in Southern Asia finds its appropriate ending in the re- mark that, when the constitution of the Delegated Con- ference came before the Annual Conferences in India for approval, in 1882, the name of "Delegated Confer- ence" was rejected and "Central Committee" became the name of the organization ; and by this name it was known until it became the Central Conference by authority of the General Conference in 1884. In a non-Christian land like India foreign mission- aries, native ministers, and native Christians suffer moral injury from being always in the minority. Men lose an appreciable amount of courage and faith and hope from this cause, and foreign missionaries are much helped in maintaining the tone of an aggressive Christianity by occasional visits to the home land. This is one of several reasons why mission boards should in- sist upon their missionaries returning at stated inter- vals. But for the native ministers and native Chris- tians generally this kind of help is unprocurable and some other method must be followed. Since the isola- tion of the native ministers and the comparative small- ness of the Christian communities in the different sta- tions brought a depressing and harmful sense of weak- ness to the Christians, it was argued that the evil could be partly removed, or its injurious effects neutralized, by occasionally massing together large numl)ers of na- tive Christians for protracted religious services. It would give new life and hope and zeal to preachers and people to worship together for several days in a great 181 LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER congregation of Christians, instead of the little com- panies of twos and threes which met for worship in the villages. And at these camp meetings, moreover, preachers and people were sure to make some definite advance in personal religious experience and reach a higher plane of spiritual life than they had before en- joyed. In reference to the second united camp meet- ing Mr. Parker wrote: This year we had our second meeting, and about nine hundred were present on the ground. This is small compared to the Hindus, for at their "great times" they collect more than nine hundred thousand instead of nine hundred. Still, we who came to this field when there were no Christians in all this region were very, very happy to see nine hundred intelligent Christian people gathered together for the worship of God. These nine hundred were made up of about five hundred men and women, the leaders in our work; nearly all of the men and women present could read and write, and all are well instructed in religion; the other four hundred were boys and girls large enough to get good at such a meeting. The farmers, weavers, shoemakers, etc., were generally unable to be present. Many of our large boys and girls were converted, others, who were doubting, were brought into clear light, and all of the preachers were baptized with new strength. These gatherings do our native preachers great good. It seems very remarkable to us that God has raised up such a company. We have not been long at work, yet the boys we first taught were the preachers at this camp meeting. When one native brother sat down after preaching a clear Gospel sermon a missionary remarked, "When we get one hundred and fifty such men as that we may all pack up and go home to Amer- ica." Our camp meeting gives us an idea of our strength. Here are nine hundred well-dressed educated 182 THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH IN INDIA men, women, and children. These are the leaders in this great field of ours, and their flocks are far away, scattered over the plains from fifty to two hundred miles distant. Mr. Parker was the acknowledged leader in this movement, though other missionaries were prominent and active. The first united meeting of the Christians of the whole Mission was attempted in Shahjahanpur in the year 1880. But there were comparatively few Christians in Oudh, and Chandausi, some thirty miles south of Moradabad, a circuit of the Rohilkhand Dis- trict, became the center, and for many years the Chan- dausi camp meeting, or mela, with its leader, Dr. Par- ker for the two seemed inseparably associated was the chief event of the year among preachers and people. And it was just the place for such a man as Edwin W. Parker. Whether in making practical arrangements for the comfort of the people, or in devising a program of services, or in preaching to the multitude, or con- ducting prayer meetings in which so many were greatly blessed, he was confessedly the right man in the right place. Much as he is missed in the Annual and District Conferences and in the Finance Committee, perhaps the place where it seems least possible to supply the vacancy caused by his death is in the united camp meet- ings of the Christians. Dr. M. V. B. Knox, who visited India in the cold season of 1888-89, attended the Chandausi mela of that year, and from his published account of the gathering the following extract is given ; it shows what an im- pression it made upon the visitor, and incidentally what encouragement the assemblage must have brought to the missionaries and native Christians who attended it: 183 LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER At eight, in the cool clear air of the December morn- ing, the great awning under which all the public serv- ices were held was crowded for the love feast. The prayers, the singing, and speaking were all along Meth- odist lines. That gathering was a sight to see. In the front sections were seated the hundreds of boys and girls from the five school stations represented, their eager, happy faces and well-clad forms giving a glimpse of what Christianity was doing for them. Beyond these sat hundreds of native Christians, collected from the cities and villages of the district. The former Brah- man sat beside the one who used to be of the lowest caste; the warrior Rajpoot crowded against the former caste of shoemakers, whom he would have spurned as too vile a thing to speak to ; all now sitting together in sweetest communion, where caste distinctions are ob- literated and the grander brotherhood of man, male and female, is an accomplished fact. Across the open aisle sat a thousand Christian women, whose shackles, stronger even than those of caste, are broken by the power of Christ. And such testimonies, of rest, joy, light, hope, faith, of loving God with all the heart, of wonderful answers to prayer, of conversion of friends, of eagerness to work for Christ these testimonies, three hundred of which were given in two hours, would have convinced any one in America, if skeptical, of our grand work in India, that our work pays, and that money and workers and prayers should be freely given to carry it on. Personally, any doubts in my mind were shined away in that hour. When no more could be permitted to speak, though half a dozen would stand waiting at a time, Dr. Parker called on all to stand who by that would witness for Christ and had not already spoken; and so vast was the number that it seemed as though no one had spoken, the three hun- dred sitting being hidden by the multitude that stood up. After this, on call for seekers to come forward for prayers, thirty-three responded sixteen men and sev- enteen women, mostly from the schools. 184 THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH IN INDIA The second book of this memoir incidentally shows wliy Mr. Parker from the first gave much attention to the question of episcopal supervision of the Methodist Episcopal Church in India. His first day's experience showed him that the peace and prosperity of the Mis- sion were in a large measure contingent upon suitable administration of its affairs, and his first four or five years' service as a missionary, and careful study of the subject, caused him to realize its great importance. Yet even if his experience had been of a different kind it would have been strange indeed if, with his mental make-up, he had not given much thought to the sub- ject of the possibly best form of such supervision. Be- sides, his intimate association with James M. Thoburn encouraged and stimulated thought in this direction. The warm personal friendship of these two men, their confidence in each other and their agreement on ques- tions of mission policy cannot be left out of the annals of the India Mission or passed by in the story of Bishop Parker's life. Working together, the pair were irre- sistible. Each was a leader, yet in all the plans and labors of forty years they were undisturbed by feelings of jealousy. Indeed, it is not likely that any one among all their fellow-workers ever thought of the possibility of such a thing as ill feeling of any sort arising between Thoburn and Parker. These men were born to be bishops and each achieved his destiny years before the vote of the General Con- ference gave him the office. Their correspondence and their conversation naturally and inevitably dealt with problems pertaining to mission work, and among the many such as that of episcopal oversight found a prom- inent place. Three possible methods were under discus- 185 LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER sion : First, occasional visits of general superintendents from America. This was the system in operation from 1864 to 1887, and under it Bishops Thomson, Kings- ley, Harris, Andrews, Bowman, Merrill, Foster, Hurst, and Ninde made short visits to India and presided at the Annual Conference sessions. Second, a missionary bishop for India; a method which had been already adopted for Africa. Third, fixing the residence of one of the general superintendents in India; a method adopted by the General Conference of 1900, which gave to Europe and China the official residences of Bishops Vincent and Moore. According to the avail- able correspondence of Mr. Parker, he at first advocated the plan now followed in regard to China. In the General Conference of 1884 Mr. Parker was present, as delegate from the North India Conference, and he earnestly advocated the claims of India for a resident bishop. His speech on the subject closed with the fol- lowing paragraphs : Methodism is a child of Providence, and as the work demands we shall go forward. We have occupied eighty-six large towns and with such missions it is time to go forward. And, sir, where do we need a general superintendency ? In Philadelphia, or where we have to fight? Sir, I think we need it where the battle is with the heathen and where the fight is to be fought ; and that is to-day in India, and hence it is a conviction that rests upon my soul that we must have the general superintendency there. Some have said, If this should fail how are you going to feel ? Why, I am going to feel to praise the Lord for what he has done for India. I will draw the belt a little tighter around me and will go back to India and in four years come again. 186 THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH IN INDIA During the next four years he continued to advocate the claims of India for a resident bishop, and though he himself was not present at the General Conference of 1888 his personal influence with leading men in the Church was not the least important agency in the elec- tion of his colleague, James M. Thoburn, to the office of Missionary Bishop for India. When Bishop Parker died the native ministers were the most heartbroken ofall who mourned his departure. "We have lost our father," said they; and in this they spake truly. Other missionaries notably President Scott and Dr. Hoskins have been and are very dear to them. But Bishop Parker sustained a unique rela- tion with native ministers. His dealings with them were both personal and official. At the General Con- ference of 1884, when claiming his right to be heard as representing the wishes of the native ministers, he made this remarkable statement : "I know personally nearly every native Christian in our field. Of all the 125 licensed men, no have my name on their licenses. I know the native preachers personally, and I may say, without egotism, I know the whole work in the North India Conference." It is no doubt true that chiefly to him the native ministry of the Methodist Episcopal Church in India owes its present unique position. He loved them individually; he knew most of them inti- mately; he had much confidence in them and large expectations concerning them; and he had broad and unusually liberal views concerning their place in the Church and their fitness for positions of administrative authority. A remark at the close of a letter describing an extended tour among the circuits of his district shows his habitual mental attitude toward them : "We 187 LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER found," writes he, "the native brethren everywhere cheerful and happy in their work, and our conviction is deepened that these men have the spirit of Christ and are his faithful colaborers for the redemption of this land." The expectations of the home churches are largely centered upon the missionaries they have sent out, but the missionaries themselves know well that the real work of evangelizing India must be done by her own sons and daughters. The work of developing a native ministry is the most urgent and most important duty that faces the missionary, and among the many prob- lems pertaining to mission work none calls for a higher grade of ecclesiastical statesmanship than that which deals with the status of the native ministry. To this problem Mr. Parker gave close attention, and another page of this memoir tells what he did in 1864 in regard to granting them Conference membership. It was a radical step in advance. Eighteen years later Mr. Par- ker took another step which startled many of his col- leagues by its bold liberality. At the Moradabad Con- ference of 1882 he presented the following resolution: Resolved, That in the opinion of this Conference the interests of our work in the Sambhal and Amroha Cir- cuits would be greatly conserved by forming a separate district, including the sixteen subcircuits of that vicin- ity, to be placed under a native minister as presiding elder. The Conference passed this revolutionary resolution, and in accordance therewith the Amroha District was formed from territory within the Rohilkhand District. When the Conference appointments were read the name of Zahur-ul-Haqq appeared as presiding elder of the 188 THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH IN INDIA new district, the first native presiding elder of the Methodist Episcopal Church in Asia. There had been native presiding elders appointed in China some years before this but their authority was limited to ecclesias- tical functions, and in each district a foreign mission- ary had charge of all matters connected with the finances of the Mission. But Zahur-ul-Haqq in his dis- trict exercised as much authority as Mr. Parker did in his own. This native minister, who had been for fourteen years the ecclesiastical peer of the missionaries, now became the peer of the presiding elders in matters finan- cial as well as ecclesiastical. He had a vote in arrang- ing the finances of the Mission, all the Mission agents in his district received their pay from his hands, and more than all this this Indian presiding elder sat with other presiding elders in the bishop's council or cabinet. And so it came to pass that American Methodist preachers who had come to India as missionaries re- ceived their appointments in Annual Conference at the hands of an ex-Mohammedan, one of their own con- verts ! An act which carried with it such possibilities may well be called revolutionary, although it was in all re- spects according to the law of the Church. Zahur-ul- Haqq was as eligible for the office of presiding elder as any other minister of his standing, white, black, yellow, or brown. Nevertheless it was a bold experiment, and deserves to be classed among the decisive steps of Mr. Parker's missionary career. And it not only indicates his courage and liberality of mind and great confidence in his native brethren, but it also reveals the far-seeing quality of his ecclesiastical statesmanship. "The time 189 LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER must come," said he, "when the administration of the affairs of the Methodist Episcopal Church in India will be very largely in the hands of native ministers. Native presiding elders will have charge of the work, and if they are not trained or taught to do their work the Church will suffer. It is necessary and wise and safe to begin now to intrust them with responsibility and with authority. If mistakes are made there are mis- sionaries enough to set things right again." A torn and faded scrap of paper was found in one of Bishop Parker's books, after his death, on which he had written these words : Oppression gives men no opportunity to plan and act for themselves. In training the native church lead people to think out matters for themselves. It was in harmony with this theory of developing a native ministry, capable of bearing full responsibility, that he and some of his missionary brethren advocated and carried out the plan of appointing native presiding elders. The experience of twenty years vindicates the wisdom of his course. It has been demonstrated that it is possible for native ministers to be faithful and ef- fective presiding elders, and that the work of preparing them for this office is a necessary duty which has not been taken up prematurely. 190 A MISSIONARY'S HOLIDAY V. THIRD TERM OF SERVICE J 883- J 896 CHAPTER I. A MISSIONARY'S HOLIDAY MR. PARKER'S second term of service measured twelve years and three months in India. Although his health was much better than it had been during the fever-stricken years of his first term he was never for a long time quite free from illness, and during the latter part of this period he was often laid aside by an attack of fever or some other form of disease. Troubles of this sort increased during the year 1882 ; and his own health and that of Mrs. Parker was in such a precari- ous condition that friends and physicians insisted upon their taking health-leave to America in 1883. Bishop Foster, with Dr. J. M. Reid, the senior mis- sionary secretary, and Mrs. Reid, visited India officially near the close of 1882 ; and at the Lucknow Conference of January 10-16, 1883, it was arranged that Mr. and Mrs. Parker should accompany these friends on their Tiomeward journey. The Rev. D. W. Thomas took Mr. Parker's place as presiding elder of the Rohilkhand District. The last two weeks of January were spent in settling affairs at Bijnor and Moradabad, and on the ist of February they bade farewell for the second time to their friends in Rohilkhand and turned their faces toward America. It was hard for them to leave India in 1868; it was harder still in 1883. Home ties were 191 LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER fewer in number; the bonds to India had grown stronger. Mr. Parker's journal makes special mention of Mrs. Parker's grief at leaving : "A large number of friends were at the railway station to see us off. Our hearts were sore at parting. God bless the people ! It was very hard for Mrs. Parker to leave the one hun- dred and sixteen girls in her boarding school." They traveled via Chandausi, Aligarh, Jeypore, and Ajmere, reaching Bombay on the 6th. At each place missionary friends or native Christians met them. On the Qth they went aboard the steamer Kashgar, bound for Suez. Their route, instead of being confined to the pathless sea, as on previous journeys, was a pilgrimage to Egypt, Palestine, Constantinople, the Grecian Archi- pelago, Naples, Rome, Florence, Venice, Milan, Turin, Paris, London, and Ireland. Twenty years' residence in the East had prepared these missionaries for intelli- gent and discriminating study of all the interesting places included in this itinerary. The informing and inspiring experiences of this extended journey in- creased Mr. Parker's efficiency as a missionary during the nineteen years of service that followed it. The comment has been made that some missionaries, and even bishops, display more interest in art and ar- chaeology than in mission work. Mr. Parker, though traveling with his eyes well open to all that was to be seen, was everywhere throughout this tour first of all a missionary. The entries in his journal clearly indicate what things particularly attracted his attention and were to him best worth recording. He was no stranger to the squalor and poverty of the cities of the East ; but British rule is very different from Turkish, and his at- tention was arrested by the unsanitary condition of the 192 A MISSIONARY'S HOLIDAY streets of Jaffa and Jerusalem, in marked contrast with the well-paved, drained, and swpt streets of Morad- abad. The Palestine tour included two inland excur- sions : one from Jaffa to Jerusalem and the Jordan, the other from Beyrout to Damascus. Leaving Port Said at 5 P. M., February 24, they reached Jaffa next morn- ing: "Wandered through the filthy streets of Jaffa; saw Simon's house by the seaside, and Dr. Reid read the story as recorded in Acts. Visited the Arcott girls' school, attended service at the American mission school, spoke to them on missions, and afterward talked with the ladies in charge of the work." At Jeru- salem the weather was cold and stormy, and they failed in their attempt to reach the Jordan : "Started with a large company on the Jordan tour. Went to Bethle- hem through terrible rain and wind; then on to Mar Saaba, where we passed a fearful night. Wind, rain, hail all night long. Tents blowing down and flapping and swaying, and water running through them all night long. It was an awful time, and in the morning the whole party returned to Jerusalem." The bad weather doubtless gave color to the picture of Jeru- salem which Mr. Parker carried away with him : "Our trip to Jerusalem has been unsatisfactory and yet satis- factory; disappointing and yet pleasing; a commin- gling of good and bad, sacred and profane, true and false, fact and mean, debasing tradition. It did us good, but made our hearts sad." The illusions of imagination are cruelly dissipated by a visit to the Holy City ; very often the most vivid impressions which remain are such as Mr. Parker has recorded. The "awful stench and filth," the physical discomfort, and, above all, the alloy of tradition which (13) i93 LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER has debased the pure coin of sacred history inspire sen- timents of aversion to the place made sacred by the world's great tragedy. Still the supreme interest of the place is able to overcome all these things, and those who have seen Jerusalem once would gladly go again. A short sea trip from Jaffa brought them to Beyrout, and in that great center of missionary activity Mr. Par- ker found much to interest and please. The work and impressions of the first day in Beyrout seem like a visit to a mission station on the Rohilkhand District. "Vis- ited missions and bazaars ; had a good day. The mission work here is good. Dr. Bliss has a good college, and the ladies have a good school for girls. Sunday serv- ices very good." The next morning they were off to Damascus, and Mr. Parker's journal again reads as though he were on a round of missionary inspection. He mentions a town of sixteen thousand inhabitants, near the Damascus road, nearly all of them Christians and among whom a missionary labors. "Damascus is merely a large Eastern commercial emporium ;" but he found a mission there and visited it, and was much pleased with the school work. Returning to Beyrout for Sunday and Monday he attended the Arabic and English services and gave two addresses to the chil- dren. On Monday the Mission Press and other schools were visited and addresses given, and on Tuesday, March 13, they boarded the steamer in a rough and dangerous sea. The same evening they were off for Cyprus, Rhodes, and Scio, at which place Dr. and Mrs. Reid and Bishop Foster went ashore to take the steamer for Athens, the Parkers keeping on through the archi- pelago to Constantinople, where they were to be the guests of their Concord schoolfellow, Dr. Long, of 194 A MISSIONARY'S HOLIDAY Robert College. Dr. Long boarded the steamer as she came to anchor, and Mr. and Mrs. Parker passed sev- eral delightful days among their friends. Comparison of missionary ideas and experience, discussion of politi- cal and missionary problems, visits to the college and other missionary institutions, with a little sight-seeing, filled up the time of their sojourn in the great Eastern capital; then away for Naples calling at Athens, where their traveling companions rejoined them. Early on Easter morning their vessel cast anchor in the Bay of Naples. "Hunted up the native preacher," is the characteristic entry in Mr. Parker's journal; and Mon- day's entry is still more significant, "Telegraphed to Dr. Vernon to come and see about property. There are two lots, both good," etc. The superintendent of the Italian Mission came down from Rome, but whether one of the two lots was purchased is not recorded. They had, however, the advantage of his company when visiting Pompeii and accompanied him back to Rome, where five days were spent; Professor Bowne being with them part of the time, and again at Florence kind- ly assisting them. Sunday, April 7, was spent at Flor- ence, and Mr. Parker spoke on India to the congrega- tion in charge of the Italian minister. "Good church, good congregation." From Florence they went on to Venice, then returning to Milan and on to Turin. There the Italian Conference held its session under the presidency of Bishop Foster. Mr. Parker writes : "The Conference looks well ; several ex-priests in it. There seems to be a need of more spiritual power; the danger is that they may get converted merely from Romanism to Protestantism and not wholly to Christ." The 2Oth of April found our travelers at Paris, where a week 195 LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER was spent in shopping, sight-seeing, and attending ses- sions of the Evangelical Alliance for France. They reached London on the 28th, remaining until the 1 6th of May. In addition to the usual sight-seeing they enjoyed a visit among friends from India living in the country, heard Canon Farrar, Mr. Spurgeon, and Dr. Parker, attended the Wesleyan Missionary Society anniversary, the Christian Vernacular Educa- tion Society anniversary, the Church Mission Society anniversary, the Bible Society meeting, and other gath- erings. At these places they met many friends from India and wellwishers of missions, among whom were Dr. Murdoch, Dr. Murray Mitchell, and. Sir William Muir. On the 1 7th of May they sailed from Liverpool, but the vessel was detained in Queenstown harbor for re- pairs until the 25th. After a stormy and tedious pas- sage across the Atlantic they reached New York on the 4th of June. So ended their eventful journey of one hundred and fifteen days from Bombay. Nearly thirteen years had passed since Mr. and Mrs. Parker had seen their relatives in Vermont, yet on ar- riving at New York ten days were given to mission affairs before Mr. Parker went to St. Johnsbury. His diary has this significant entry, "Worked in New York all week, and found enough to do." He had two serv- ices on his first Sunday on shore; Monday morning he addressed the Preachers' Meeting and in the afternoon took the train for Waterford, to see a missionary candi- date. The next day he was at Mechanicsville, calling on the presiding elder, who gave him the name of two more possible missionary candidates. On Wednesday he reached Chazy, hoping to find there a man for India. 196 A MISSIONARY'S HOLIDAY His man was not at home, and Mr. Parker called on the village doctor, who told him his man had poor health and should not be sent to India. At last, on the I4th of June, he took the train for St. Johnsbury, and on the afternoon of that day relatives and friends met him at the railway station. This record of Mr. Parker's first ten days in Amer- ica is a fair sample of the way he spent his furlough, from June 4, 1883, to October, 1884, at which time he and Mrs. Parker for the third time left America for India. The following memorandum tells how he was occupied : During winter of 1883-84 lectured many times with magic lantern, representing and explaining Indian life and mission work. Spoke at a number of Conference missionary anniversaries and at General Missionary Committee anniversary. Was at Baltimore with Dr. Goucher, completing plan for "Goucher Schools" in India. Spoke at Conference missionary anniversary in Washington. W. F. M. S. work took much time. In the summer of 1884 spoke at eight camp meetings in New England. His diary records visits to places as distant from each other as Martha's Vineyard, Mass., and Beloit, Wis. ; Evanston, 111. ; Wheeling, W. Va. ; Pittsburg and Newcastle, Pa., were visited. Rochester, N. Y., the residence of Mr. Parker's missionary colleague, J. T. Gracey, was frequently visited, and judging from an entry in Mr. Parker's journal, dated September 16, 1883, the Rochester people cannot be accused of neg- lecting to utilize the services of returned missionaries : "Spoke at First Church in the morning, Cornhill Sun- day school at noon, City Mission at three, and Asbury at half past seven." 197 LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER In January, 1884, the North India Conference elected Mr. Parker delegate to the General Conference, Ram Chandra Bose being lay delegate. "Provision for or- ganization of Central Conferences in foreign mission fields," "Rules for the administration of the Woman's Foreign Missionary Society," and "Placing an episcopal residence in India" were the measures which Mr. Par- ker made it his especial care to get through the Confer- ence. His work in connection with the first and second measures has been already recorded in this memoir. The General Conference action in the premises was not only a wise arrangement for maintaining the unity and peace and prosperity of the Church in her foreign mis- sion fields; it was also in no small degree a personal victory for Mr. Parker himself. The General Confer- ence, however, refused to adopt the report of the Com- mittee on Missions which "recommended that an epis- copal residence be placed in India." The debate on the adoption of this report was enlivened by speeches from the two delegates from North India, who took oppo- site sides of the question, Mr. Parker advocating and Mr. Bose opposing the measure. Mr. Bose urged that he himself, being a native of India, should be heard as the true representative of the native Christian com- munity, and that the native Christians preferred exist- ing arrangements according to which general super- intendents from America visited the India Missions periodically. Mr. Parker urged that he himself was in closer touch with the native churches than Mr. Bose, that he knew what they wanted, and that they desired an episcopal residence in India. Mr. Bose's remarks strengthened the opposition to the measure, and the committee's report was not adopted. Later in the ses- 108 A MISSIONARY'S HOLIDAY sion William Taylor's election as Missionary Bishop for Africa indicated a disposition to return to the for- mer system of missionary bishops, and prepared the way for a movement which resulted in the election of J. M. Thoburn as Missionary Bishop for India in 1888. Mr. Parker spent three months following the ad- journment of the General Conference in much the same way as he had the preceding months of his American vacation. The missionary's holiday was now drawing to a close, and preparations were made for returning to India. The sea voyage and sight-seeing of 1883, the frequent change of residence in America, the bracing American winter weather, the freedom from the con- stant pressure of heavy responsibility, and all the stimu- lating and exhilarating influences of the home life had brought great improvement in the health of both Mr. and Mrs. Parker, which was quite poor at the begin- ning of this holiday. On the 2Oth of September, 1884, they sailed from New York, and traveling via Liver- pool and Gibraltar they reached Bombay October 31, thus making the whole journey by sea in forty days. The missionary party with whom they sailed was a large one. There were two missionaries, five wives of missionaries, six children, and seven missionaries of the Woman's Foreign Missionary Society. The size and composition of this missionary company shows how much the missionary effort of the Methodist Epis- copal Church had widened, and also that women were outnumbering men as missionaries of the Church. Ar- riving in India Mr. and Mrs. Parker proceeded at once to their old home, and during the remaining two months of the year took an active share in the various departments of mission work in and about Moradabad. 199 LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER CHAPTER II. AMONG THE LOWLY RETURNING to India at the close of 1884 Mr. Parker was present at the Bareilly Conference of January 7-12, 1885, Bishop Hurst presiding. At this Conference Mr. Parker was elected Corresponding Secretary, an office he had previously held, and to which he was from this time annually reelected until his election as dele- gate to the General Conference in 1892. This officer is the regular channel of communication between the Conference and the Missionary Society, and as he is also secretary of the Finance Committee the duties of the office are responsible and at times very heavy. Mr. Parker was also appointed chairman of a committee of North India Conference men who, together with a similar committee from the South India Conference, were to prepare an order of business for the first session of the Central Conference, which was to be held under the presidency of Bishop Hurst immediately after the adjournment of the Annual Conference. During Mr. Parker's absence the Rohilkhand Dis- trict was in the hands of the Rev. D. W. Thomas ; on his return he once more became its presiding elder, holding the appointment until January, 1890, when he was made Conference evangelist. The following ex- tract from the report of Mr. Thomas for 1884 will show the responsible character of the place now occu- pied by Mr. Parker: I am impressed more and more with the magnitude of the work and weight of responsibility of those in charge. It will be seen from the accompanying statis- 200 AMONG THE LOWLY tics that on this one district there are 6 foreign mission- aries and 4 assistant missionaries of the parent society, and 5 foreign missionaries of the Woman's Foreign Missionary Society. There are 16 ordained native preachers and 50 unordained, 46 exhorters or helpers, and 235 native teachers, all connected with the parent society; in the Woman's Foreign Missionary Society there are 138 assistants and teachers. There are 222 day schools, with 5,254 scholars ; 233 Sunday schools, with 8,520 scholars; there is a boys' orphanage of 158 and a girls' orphanage of 282 ; a theological seminary with 30 students, and a normal school with 30 in at- tendance; also 3 boarding schools for girls, having about 250 pupils. There are 60 primary schools sup- ported by Dr. J. F. Goucher, and in the Moradabad school 34 poor boys supported by Dr. Goucher. This same gentleman has this year given 3,000 rupees to- ward the purchase of land and erection of dormitories for the 100 poor boys whom he proposes to support in our Moradabad High School. Several boys and young men belonging to the Goucher schools have been con- verted this year, and others are hopeful inquirers. Turning back two years, to the minutes of the Con- ference of 1883, there is the record that "E. W. Parker presented a communication from the Rev. J. F. Goucher, of Baltimore, U. S. A., proposing to estab- lish fifty village schools and to endow one hundred special scholarships in the Mission." The Conference gladly listened to this generous communication, ap- proved the plan proposed, and promised to do all they could to carry out the provisions of the same. Mr. Parker had been for some time previous in correspond- ence with Dr. Goucher and had visited him at Balti- more, where the whole scheme was fully discussed. Meanwhile the schools were opened with success, as is shown by Elder Thomas's report. During the next 201 LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER sixteen years the Goucher schools occupied a large place in the life of Dr. Parker. He made many plans for in- creasing their efficiency. While the liberality of Dr. and Mrs. Goucher alone made this enterprise possible, it must be placed on record that Dr. Parker was their very efficient colaborer. There were seventeen circuits on the Rohilkhand District, which gave the presiding elder a little over one Quarterly Conference per week. But holding Quar- terly Conferences was a very small fraction of his work. He was village evangelist throughout the whole district, inspector of schools, advisor and director of hundreds of mission agents, preachers, and teachers now scattered far and wide over the almost intermin- able plains of Rohilkhand. He was referee in the trou- bles and disputes of the people. In one place an ejected tenant farmer came to him for help ; in another he had to settle a marriage dispute. Here a preacher brought complaint that some of the Christians had been guilty of idolatrous practices ; there it was an appeal for help in securing privilege to use the public wells or in get- ting a plot of ground for the burial of their dead. There were inquirers to be dealt with, opposers to be conciliated, new openings for work to be provided for, new schools to be opened and teachers appointed. There were consultations with missionaries, plans for regulating or directing work that could not be kept from spreading beyond fixed boundaries, discussions of mission policy and administration, correspondence with missionary secretaries and bishops and friends of the Mission in America and England, letters to the home papers, and defense or explanation of mission affairs in the Indian press. And with all this were the 202 AMONG THE LOWLY financial details connected with the payment of hun- dreds of mission agents on the district, all of whom, in one form or another, required the attention of the pre- siding elder. It is not strange that wherever he made his temporary home, whether in his tent in a village grove, or in the house of a brother missionary, or in a railway waiting room, or in his own home at Morad- abad, he always found "plenty of work to do." Rohilkhand is an alluvial plain crossed by many water courses subject to freshets. In all Mr. Parker's district not a stone is found except such as have been brought thither by man's hand. The roads leading from village to village, along which the missionary must pass if he faithfully performs his duty, are for the most part mere trails made by ox carts; nine months of the year deep in dust, the remaining three months rivers of mud. There is nothing very inspiring in this weary plodding, through heat or rain or cold driving slowly from village to village along such roads. Noth- ing short of genuine love for the souls of men and gen- uine interest in the welfare of the simple village people and sincere devotion to the service of Christ can inspire and sustain a man in such service of drudgery. That Mr. Parker worked at this for so many years, with so much faithfulness and even zest, is the best proof possi- ble that his whole heart was in this cause, and that he was a genuine missionary, bearing a message from Christ. If Mr. Parker's itinerary had led him to historic places in which all men are interested, and whose geo- graphical position is well known, the record of his work- would be an intelligible and perhaps an interesting story. But Aonla, Pilibheet, Kherabajhera, Bilsi, Bi- 203 LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER sauli, Mandawar, Nagina, Bashta, etc., etc., are mere- ly names, unmeaning and some of them unpronounce- able for most readers, and it would be unwise to ask them to follow Mr. Parker as he goes from place to place, his magic lantern under his buggy seat, driving his faithful ponies over or through the heavy roads. Yet such was a large portion of his life during the years 1865-1890, and again from 1896 to 1900; and some records of these journeyings must be given or this memoir will signally fail in its attempt to portray the life and work of its subject. The story begins some- where in his first tour in 1885 : Feb. 4. Drove from Chandausi to Mausampur. Pony did well. Mud and water from Kundarki. Had a nice service, with pictures. Good feeling at service. Indirect testimony to the Scriptures. Feb. 5. Came on to Bilari. Held a service in the morning with the Christians. Helped a man who is laid up with sore eyes. Baptized a man, who is a wid- ower, and his two children. Came on to Haraura. Mud, water, and rough roads. Mare did grandly. Feb. 6. Drove in from Haraura to Chandausi. Rain all the way. Examined schools and other work. Went by rail to Moradabad for Saturday's work. Good meeting at Moradabad. Revival work. Feb. 7. Had meeting with all the teachers. Set them at work on their studies and talked with them on teaching. Returned to Chandausi. Feb. 8. Good time in Sunday school. Was dis- turbed by people coming to measure the land we are getting for mission premises. Tried to settle the mat- ter once for all. Feb. 9. Tried to settle the land boundary. Arranged work for new building at Islamnagar. Came on to Chandausi. Had meeting at night, with lantern, in the home of the Christians. Wrote to Dr. Goucher. 204 AMONG THE LOWLY Feb. 10. Had a meeting with the Christians. Preached on "New Heart." Examined school; had a good time last evening with Christians. Came on to Islamnagar with Antone Dutt. Wrote letters about Quarterly Conference. Visited Islamnagar school and preached a little sermon. After dinner drove to Mau and saw school and people. A few Christians here. At evening had service, with pictures. But it was the worst failure I ever had too many people and too much noise. Feb. ii. Went on via Mundiya to Bisauli. In- spected Mundiya school and preached there. Met Brother Neeld at Mundiya. Saw Bhurtpura school and preached there. At Bisauli stopped in Brother Neeld's tent, as mine had gone on to Birauliya. Ex- amined Bisauli school and afterward had a long talk with some Aryas. Twenty miles' ride. Feb. 12. To-day moved on to Birauliya. Good school here. Preached three times to-day and had grand good time at evening, with pictures. Large quiet crowd in the house of a zamindar (landowner). This brief outline of nine days' work, taken at ran- dom from Mr. Parker's journal, is probably dull read- ing for some folk. And it would not be strange if they should think it very uninteresting and monotonous to actually live such a life and perform such service as this journal records. There is, truly, nothing romantic about such work, and unless one is really interested it is simply impossible to keep at it for weeks and months together. Mr. Parker's appreciative notice of the way his horses did their work is as characteristic of the man as other items of the record are. He had returned to the district after a two years' absence and had purchased new horses. He was giving them their first trial on 205 LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER this round. That he was satisfied with their work shows that he knew how to select a good horse, and he was disposed to take pride in his choice. Many en- tries in his journal give praise to these humble fellow- workers, and among them is one of a pathetic tone in which he records that, on arriving at a place where he was to change horses, his faithful Charlie, who was to have taken him on the next stage, was found stretched lifeless on the ground. Another feature of these entries is the number of times he takes the trouble to record that he "had a good time." All his life through he seemed to be having "good times." When, a few hours after the physician had pronounced his patient's case hopeless, the writer of this memoir sat down by the bedside of Bishop Par- ker in Lucknow it was this characteristic remark of the dying man that came to his lips, and all he could say was, "Well, you have had a good time ;" and from the sick bed came the assenting response with thankful triumph. He had indeed had a good time because his whole heart was in his work. He enjoyed preaching the Gospel to a handful of villagers and in this re- spect was like his Master, who thought it not waste to tell the story of living water to a single listener. This itinerant evangelistic work was the ground color of Mr. Parker's missionary career on which were projected the more public and prominent events of his life. The annual reports of the district, together with the pub- lished minutes of the North India Conference sessions, help fill out the picture. Concerning the year 1885 he writes that "The most fruitful work of the year has been that of the primary schools in the city wards and villages." He was also much occupied in building dur- 206 AMONG THE LOWLY ing the latter part of the year. The Moradabad city church hall was enlarged by adding wings, and the Moradabad Girls' School buildings were commenced. The work of planning and supervising had to be done by the missionary himself. The report for 1886 begins with these words: "If we look at the evangelistic work done in this province we see enough to give the workers encouragement and joy; but if we look at the great work still left undone we have a dark, sad picture. In this report we have to do with the progress made and the field gained, rather than with that we have not yet been able to accom- plish." It was Mr. Parker's happy faculty of seeing always the progress attained which made him such a hopeful and enthusiastic missionary. In this report Mr. Parker describes the work carried on by the three hundred and forty-seven paid mission agents on the district, occupying one hundred different towns and villages as centers. About eighty of the teachers re- ferred to were supported by Dr. Goucher : Our plan of operations places an experienced native preacher in some important center, and he opens little schools, under Christian teachers, in the surrounding villages within a radius of four or five miles; the teach- ers also acting as evangelists. These schools are under the direct supervision of the native preacher, and a number of these centers combined are under the direc- tion of a missionary. These little centers are fast in- creasing, and most of these small circles or circuits have from twenty to fifty villages in which Christians now reside. Our Christian community now numbers 5,396, and our schools contain 1,757 Christian pupils. At the Chandausi camp meeting this year over 500 school children were present. 207 LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER The reopening of the enlarged city church hall and the dedication of the girls' school building were the two great events of the year in Moradabad. In the former no less than twelve hundred persons crowded into the city church hall, though seated for seven hun- dred only, and in the girls' building five hundred women and girls, Christian and non-Christian, at- tended a service conducted entirely by women, no men being present. In his report for 1887 the presiding elder makes special reference to progress in the devel- opment of the Goucher school scheme : The Central School has been raised to the high school grade, and a good staff of teachers are doing efficient work under Dr. Butcher's charge. The board- ing house contains about one hundred Christian boys, promoted from the small schools in Rohilkhand. These small schools are affiliated with the Central High School, and the friend in America who supports these small schools gives scholarships to these boys in the boarding house. The plan is to select only the bright- est boys from these schools for scholarships. There are now one hundred and fifty Christian boys in the Central School being trained for future work as preach- ers, teachers, and business men. The plan was wise and most promising, and to its realization Mr. Parker gave a large part of his time and energy. If results have come in any degree short of expectations the reason is found in failure to work strictly according to the specified plan. During the years under review the work in the Rohilkhand District showed a decided tendency to advance beyond the boundaries laid down. The native preachers and peo- ple in Budaun had family connections across the Ganges, which was the boundary of the district and of 208 AMONG THE LOWLY the North India Conference at that place. Little com- panies of Christians began to appear, and during the year 1877 this movement had so developed that in the appointments of 1888 the Rohilkhand District included the trans-Ganges Circuit of Kasganj, with Hasan Raza Khan as preacher in charge. In the same list of appointments Agra and Muttra also appear among the circuits of the Rohilkhand District. This enlargement of the district was in keeping with the growing influ- ence of the presiding elder. In the year 1886 the late Rev. Dennis Osborne, the presiding elder of the Alla- habad District in the South India Conference, felt strongly impressed that Muttra should be opened as a mission station. Bishop Ninde, presiding at the South India Conference session of February, 1887, approved the plan, and, the name of the Allahabad District being changed to Mussoorie District, Muttra was put down in the list of appointments "to be supplied." The same year at the Central Conference the readjustment of boundaries of the North India and South India Con- ferences brought Agra and Muttra within the North India Conference territory, and at the next session of the North India Conference the Rev. J. E. Scott was appointed preacher in charge of Muttra, now made a circuit of the Rohilkhand District. In regard to the question of making Muttra a mis- sion station Dr. J. E. Scott writes that "Dr. Parker favored the enterprise. I presume if he had not fa- vored it there would have been no Muttra Mission. He did favor it, help from every side came in, and the work went forward." For him to "favor" any enterprise meant also that he helped it on. He was himself one of those reservoirs of power who appar- (14) 209 LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER ently could never rest satisfied with merely wishing well to any undertaking. In the following short para- graph Dr. J. E. Scott tells how Dr. Parker helped in opening the Muttra Mission : During the two years Muttra remained under his charge as presiding elder he displayed that wonderful energy and foresight which made him the great mis- sionary he was. He gave his hearty approval to all efforts of the preacher in charge to build up the work. He gave a loan from his own funds toward the erec- tion of a mission house, and anticipated the sanction of the Finance Committee in directing the missionary to push forward the work. He advised W. E. Blackstone, Esq., of Oak Park, Chicago, to found a deaconess home and training school at Muttra, and the main buildings were completed during his administration. He took a deep interest in finding a site for Flora Hall, and was present at the great Krishna car festival at Brindaban both years. He was a great worker; be- lieved in things and brought things to pass. His encouragement largely helped make Muttra what it became. After thirteen years at Muttra Dr. J. E. Scott, on leaving for A j mere, was able to report that nearly two lakhs of rupees of mission property and ten thousand Christians were the visible results of opening the Mut- tra Mission. The grand results of this Muttra enter- prise invest with peculiar interest Dr. Parker's own ac- count of the beginning of this work. Agra and Muttra were both in his district, and the following extracts from his diary tell of his connection with important events at both cities : Jan. 17, 1888. Started for Agra at 9 A. M. At Chandausi met Dr. T. J. Scott, also going to Agra. 2IO AMONG THE LOWLY After a pleasant journey we reached Agra and were met by Brother Clancy. Dr. Johnson was also there. Our object was to select site for a church and fix upon a plan for the building. I had invited Drs. Scott and Johnson to meet me at Agra and talk it over. Jan. 1 8. This morning Brother J. E, Scott came in on his way to Muttra. We settled on site and plan for the Agra church ; staked out the ground and arranged for the work to go on. At evening* attended a station prayer meeting at the house of Dr. Valentine.. Jan. 19. This morning started for Muttra, arriving about noon. After lunch at the dak bungalow went out to see the city and select a location for future work and, if possible, hire a house for Brother Scott's resi- dence. We selected what we think is the best location, hired half a house for Brother Scott, and went all through the city. Our whole party were pleased with what we saw and thankful that we had come. It does seem as though a divine hand were leading us in this work here at Muttra. I never felt more sure that God leads than I now feel in this matter of entering Muttra. To-morrow we go to Brindaban. Jan. 20. Visited Brindaban with Brothers T. J. Scott, J. E. Scott, and J. T. McMahon. Visited the new temple being built by the Maharajah of Jeypore, also the very large one at Brindaban with an endow- ment of more than one hundred rupees a day. Visited the owner of the house we wished to hire and, returning to Muttra dak bungalow, next morning took train for Moradabad. The history of the Muttra Mission justifies the belief that God was leading the men who first suggested and also those who planned and carried out the work. But at its very beginning Dr. Parker, as he says, was firmly convinced that God was leading. This feeling was not limited to Muttra work, but in greater or less degree was present in all his plans and labors. Those who 211 LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER would correctly analyze the character of this mission- ary, and correctly estimate the quality of his work and account for his success, must never lose sight of this characteristic ; he was strong and hopeful and intensely earnest, and maintained a good conscience in all things because he was profoundly convinced that he was doing just what God would have him do. Such a conviction, balanced by a large endowment of practical common sense, generally makes its possessor invincible. 212 A WORKMAN NOT ASHAMED CHAPTER III. A WORKMAN NOT ASHAMED IN this story of a missionary's life and work it is necessary not only to tell what he did but to record his own opinion of his work, for confidence in one's own efforts and some expectation of success are essential to efficiency in all fields of human activity. Extracts from Air. Parker's journal and quotations from his letters are valuable because they not only show what he did but also what he thought of it. He put all his heart into his work, and he believed in his work with all his heart. He honestly believed his work was prosperous, and he fully expected the triumph of the cause. All missionaries cannot follow him in this particular. Some there are who honestly believe that the cause is making very little real progress, and they cannot see how it is to succeed. To their vision the way seems hedged up. Whether such men are correct or those who feel as Mr. Parker did is not a question for discussion in these pages. The missionary who can honestly look upon his own work as Mr. Parker looked on his, and can hope for success as Mr. Parker always did, gives him- self the better chance and will be the more effective. The following extract from a letter written by Mr. Parker in 1884 shows the enthusiastic confidence with which he contemplated the work of his own district : Note a few facts that make us confident of great success in the Rohilkhand District : i. There are about ninety regularly appointed preachers and Christian teachers giving their entire time to the work. 213 LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER 2. The ladies' missionary society have just about as many native female workers laboring among the women and girls. 3. We have already a church of 2,500 communi- cants, a very large proportion of whom are more or less educated and are helpers in all our work. 4. There are in our 3 orphan schools 500 girls and boys being prepared for various kinds of work and use- fulness by being well educated and by being taught some kind of a trade. In our boarding schools for girls there are 230 Christian girls being well educated, and in a different boys' school there are about the same number of Christian boys. 5. We have, besides these, more than 3,000 boys and girls in our day schools who are being daily trained and drilled in Christian truth and prepared for future use- fulness. In these children we have a mortgage on heathenism, and we will foreclose one of these days. 6. In this district there are 174 Sunday schools, with 7,500 pupils in them, including most of the 4,000 chil- dren of our day schools, thus bringing all of our non- Christian pupils in our schools into a closer connection with us and our forms of worship, and making it easy for them to come to our other services. 7. We have openings into certain castes from which we have secured many of the leaders already, and in which all the priests and multitudes of the people are discussing and inquiring concerning this wonderful religion that saves from sin. In one of these classes there are 500,000 people in this district, and they are separate from other Hindus in their religion, and hence everywhere inclined toward Christianity. Some of their old priests are Christian workers among their old followers, teaching them and leading them to Christ. This seems a wonderful opening, for not in one place only has the work commenced, but at various points all through our district, 200 miles long, there are little classes of these people, and little schools for their chil- dren, where all the people are faithfully taught by the 214 A WORKMAN NOT ASHAMED school-teacher, who is usually a convert from their own caste. The call for teachers for this class is very great, and we are everywhere giving attention to training teachers to meet the demand of this wonderful work. I once was thought an enthusiast for expecting to see a Church of 10,000 Christians in my time in this district, but now I put the figures at 100,000. Bishop Parker lived to see a Christian community of 38,053 persons within the bounds of the old Rohil- khand District. His report for the year 1888 sounds the same note of confident progress : Last year we reported 105 different centers where a worker resides, as a teacher or evangelist, or both. This year the returns show 144 centers. Last year we had Christians living in 300 towns and villages. This year the returns give 463 villages in which Christians live. The native preachers have generally done very good work. They are growing every year and becom- ing better and better fitted to bear responsibility. The workers in this district should expect to see a Christian community numbering 100,000 within the next twenty- five years. This can be brought about by faithful work, trusting in God, if we will enter without fear every open door, whether it leads us to the honored rich or to the despised poor. But with such prospects before us we must be faithful in educating and training all con- verts. Mr. Parker was preacher in charge of the Morad- abad Circuit as well as superintendent of the district during the year 1888, and in the report of the circuit he records the formation of "A Young People's Chris- tian League," made up for the most part of the teachers and pupils in the two boarding schools, which had an aggregate of two hundred and ninety-three pupils. 215 LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER This was in advance of the Epworth League organiza- tion in America. When the Epworth League became a recognized institution of the Church Mr. Parker brought the Moradabad Young People's Christian League into line, and this Moradabad League has the distinction of being the first chapter of the Epworth League organized on the continent of Asia. The story of Mr. Parker's work in the year 1888 finds its appro- priate ending in the following extracts from his diary : On the last day of the year we had a very good watch-night meeting in the chapel of the girls' school, Moradabad. The house was well filled with men and women, boys and girls. From 8 :3er of small diuretics and schools at various centers. At the time he left it the district had a splendid equipment of buildings, all practically free of debt. In a city like Lucknow many duties arise that grow out of inter-missionary relations. These duties can hardly be classified, and yet they are important and often add considerably to the missionary's burdens as 243 LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER well as to his opportunities for usefulness. For three of the years he was in Lucknow Dr. Parker was president of the United Missionary Conference, a body composed of all missionaries of the various de- nominations working in and around the city, and for three years he was also president of the local organiza- tion of his own mission. In both of these positions his experience and his ability did much to shape profit- ably the discussion of the questions that came before the two bodies. His relations with all missionaries in the station, of his own and other denominations, were the friendliest, and his advice was usually sought and followed when difficult and important matters were pending. He found the social life of the circle in Luck- now very enjoyable, and took great interest and pride in the younger missionaries that he had under his care, doing all that could be done to develop the best in every one. In name he was "Uncle Parker" to each, but in reality he was a wise and loving father to them all. Little need be said of the part taken by Dr. Parker in the various Conferences held during this period. Few things save routine work came up; important in itself but of little interest to any save the missionaries directly concerned. He was present at each session. and always as a worker. Few important pieces of leg- islation were effected which did not originate with him. and in the many perplexing difficulties it was usually his advice that was sought and followed. Always chosen delegate to the Central Conference, he was here as prominent as in the Annual Conference sessions. In the great Decennial Conference of all missions work- ing in India, held in Bombay in 1892, he was a leader 244 THE OUDH DISTRICT among leaders, and his wisdom and experience were recognized by the strong men of other missions. In 1892 and 1896 his brethren honored him by elect- ing him at the head of their General Conference dele- gations. As in previous sessions which he had attended of this great law-making body of the Church, his chief work was quietly and effectively done in committees. In the Conference of the latter year he made a strong speech advocating the continuation of the missionary episcopacy in India, and urged the necessity of electing a coadjutor for Bishop Thoburn. On the latter point he failed to convince the Conference, but time has amply vindicated the wisdom of his plea. The following extract, from a letter written by Mrs. Parker about the voyage to America in 1892, incident- ally mentions an important work assigned Dr. Parker by the bishop in charge of India : In 1892 we sailed from Calcutta. Bishop Thoburn had appointed Mr. Parker superintendent of the work- in Malaysia. We had a few days in Rangoon, and after that Mr. Parker held the annual meeting in Sin- gapore. From Hongkong we went to Foochow, meet- ing missionaries at Swatow and Amoy. While in Foochow we stopped with the family of Dr. Sites, where we saw their work and talked much of our work- in India. Dr. Gracey, a classmate of Mr. Parker's in Concord, was United States consul there then, and in- vited all the missionaries to meet us at his home, when Mr. Parker was asked to tell them of our work in India. From Foochow we went to Shanghai, where we stayed some days, and where we met about a hun- dred missionaries, many of whom were from the in- terior and were waiting for the river to become free of ice so the steamers could go on up. Mr. Parker was asked to speak here also. At Kobe we visited Rev. and 245 LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER Mrs. Lambuth, missionaries of the Methodist Episco- pal Church, South. At Tokio and Yokohama we met our own missionaries, two of whom went on with us to General Conference. Dr. Parker's presidency of the Malaysia Mission Conference was very satisfactory to the missionaries working there, and the missionaries in China who came in contact with him were much refreshed and encour- aged by his cheerful optimism and helpful sympathy. During his short sojourn in America he was con- stantly speaking in public and in private, doing all he could to increase interest in missions in general and to get help for India. But he was always in a hurry to get back to his work, and the following, from a letter written just after landing from his return trip in 1892, gives a glimpse of his love for India and his desire to be back among those for whom he labored : Our captain told us we would land Tuesday morn- ing, but he soon talked of Tuesday noon and then of Tuesday evening. We, however, did not get our ship into dock on Tuesday at all, but at nine at night we came to anchor out in the harbor. Our kind Bombay agent had his man aboard with a letter in a few mo- ments, and we asked, "What time does the train for Lucknow leave?" "At ten just one hour." "Can we catch that train ?" "Yes ; I have a boat and can get you there." "At this time of night can you get me money for my check?" "I can get you enough money for your tickets and can send you the balance." "All right; make for the train." The customs officer was aboard by this time and passed our luggage and we pulled for the landing nearest the depot. All went well. Our agent borrowed money for us at the station and secured good accommodations on the through car- riage for Lucknow. We made our beds and were soon 246 THE OUDH DISTRICT moving rapidly through the coast mountains for the plains of India. All night, all the next day and the next night we rolled on, and on the second morning we ran in to the magnificent depot at Cawnpore, the first station iii our North India Mission. Here friends met us, and we spent the time set apart for breakfast in talking of work and changes. Our through carriage was changed to another road and we were soon off for Lucknow, as thankful and happy as mortals can be in this life. At one in the afternoon our train drew into the depot and there were the missionaries from the col- leges, the publishing house, and the ladies' home, with college students, all to bid us welcome. How different from the old time when we worked our way up coun- try to begin work in a place where no one welcomed the missionary ! We were now taken possession of and driven to Residency Hill, near our college, where many of the friends had been invited to lunch with us. Our "home coming" in dear old Vermont was blessed in- deed, and this second "home coming" was equally blessed ; for is not this our work ? 247 LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER VI. Fourth Term of Service J 897- \ 900 CHAPTER I. THE BAREILLY DISTRICT DR. AND MRS. PARKER made their fifth voyage from America to India near the close of the year 1896. Leaving New York September 23 they reached Bom- bay October 20; a journey of twenty-seven days only, being a little over one fifth of the time spent in their first voyage, in 1859. At Lucknow Conference of January 7-12, 1897, Dr. Parker was appointed to the Bareilly District, with his residence at Shahjahanpur, midway between Morad- abad and Lucknow. The Bareilly District comprised the civil districts of Budaun and Shahjahanpur and part of Bareilly. It was part of the old Rohilkhand District, which had now become four districts, two of these being in charge of native presiding elders. Dr. Parker's dis- trict was divided into twenty circuits, and had within its boundaries two large orphanages, three boarding schools, and the Theological Seminary. With the ex- ception of Budaun and Shahjahanpur all of the circuits of the district were in charge of native ministers. There were about ten thousand church members, a Christian community of over fourteen thousand, and four hundred and eleven paid mission agents in the employ of both societies. The presiding elder's report presented to Conference at the close of the year 1897 gives a clear, concise, yet definite statement of the work he was doing on his district and also incidentally fur- 248 THE BAREILLY DISTRICT nishes valuable information concerning the condition of the native churches. On this account the entire re- port, with slight abbreviations, is transferred to these pages : In taking up the work in this our old field again a special effort has been made to ascertain just what has already been gathered in and what is the condition of the converts. Hence each village was visited early in the year by the preachers in charge, and the name of each convert, man, woman, and child, residing in that village was written down, arranged under three heads: members, probationers, and children. We ascertained how many had been taught to sing and pray, and how many had been neglected and had not been so taught. Many of the people were not found all that Christians ought to be, but in every place it was found that their knowledge of Christianity and the conform- ity of their lives to the teachings of Christ were in pro- portion to the teachings they had received. . . . We were convinced that the great need in building up this community was faithful, persistent, loving teaching, so that our people could intelligently receive Christ and daily hold communion with him in prayer. Hence the field of each preacher in charge was laid out into sub- circuits, and the name of each village and of each Chris- tian in that village written in a small register, and given to the preacher who had supervision of the sub- circuit, so that he would know just where each Chris- tian lived and what relation that person bore to the Church, whether member or probationer. Then, as far as possible, a class leader was appointed for each vil- lage, the best man in the village being selected for this position. ... A plan of work was then arranged, giv- ing a particular day for visiting each village, and on the blank pages of the register for that village the preacher in charge was to enter the date of each visit, and the number of people who were taught, and to pre- 249 LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER sent this book at each Quarterly Conference. Special attention was given to teaching the leaders, so that each could hold prayers in his own village and teach his peo- ple to pray. The next special effort was to teach the Christian people to sing Christian hymns, and to in- struct the probationers so that they might be received into full membership. . . . The plan is in no way new, but a reorganization, so that the men in charge of cir- cuits and the superintendent of the district could know about each man, woman, and child all that was needed. The plan accomplished this, and with good results. No man is appointed a class leader who is in mission employ in any way, so that none of the leaders can re- ceive any remuneration whatever from the mission or from the Church. Our experience thus far shows us that the plan can only be made to succeed by constant watching and persistent working, and the class leaders must be faithfully taught not only to receive Christ and sing and pray themselves, but to lead others and hold little meetings among the people. They will have to be urged over and over again to attend the Quarterly Conferences; to aid in collecting contributions for the pastors ; to stand by their Christian teachers in every- thing; to keep their people from old heathenish customs. This plain, practical report gives the conclusions of thirty-five years' experience in the work of bringing the people of India to the knowledge of Christ. There is no romance or sentiment about it. It means plain, prosy hard work; work faithfully performed; work carefully and constantly supervised by presiding elder and preacher in charge. The plan is a good one, but to work it successfully the presiding elders need to be as untiring in industry as the man who devised it, and the ministers in charge of circuits need to be as diligent as men become who know that not only the eye of God, but the eye of a watchful presiding elder is upon them. 250 THE BAREILLY DISTRICT Unfortunately the continued reductions in mission in- come the past decade have so weakened the staff of workers that proper supervision has become impossible, and the fruit of past years of toil is sinking back into the earth unharvested. The concluding paragraph of Dr. Parker's report refers to a peculiar form of missionary effort which is attracting more and more attention, and in which, as in so many other methods of work, Dr. Parker was a prominent and efficient leader : In our first round of quarterly meetings we gave two or three full days to each place, and large numbers of people in each circuit came to the meetings and many were greatly blessed. In these meetings we not only tried to lead the workers and the people into closer re- lations with Christ, but tried to show the workers how to -teach the people and lead them to Christ. Our workers' meeting in April was a means of helping many. The important phases of the work and of our difficulties were thoroughly canvassed, and all were made stronger by thus praying and counseling together for a week. In our last quarterly meetings all these methods of work were pushed forward on every cir- cuit and meetings for deepening spiritual life were held. Dr. Parker's place on the trustee boards of both col- leges in Lucknow and also of the Naini Tal schools brought him many duties quite distinct from his dis- trict work. Three days of the month of May, 1897, are covered by this entry : "Writing letters these days for colleges; some for Mr. Bare, some for Miss Tho- burn. Want to get some aid to help out." Though now a confirmed "old Indian," and being also sixty- five years of age, he had not left off his early habit of working with his hands. An American windmill pump 251 LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER had been put in the well of the Shahjahanpur garden, and on the 24th of May he took up the pump and put things to rights. The same day he notes that they com- menced putting a roof on the guest room of the mission house and sent out eighteen thousand rupees famine relief. The famine of 1896-97 pressed heavily on ter- ritory occupied by the missions of the Methodist Epis- copal Church, and Dr. Parker was treasurer of the funds sent out through Dr. Leonard, Missionary Secre- tary. The pressure of work did not make him forget the children, and on the 27th and 29th of May he mentions their visit to a balloon ascension, the first attempt being a failure. The Central Conference of 1896 had given to Dr. Parker and Mr. Buck the duty of preparing a revised edition of the Discipline in Urdu. On the I7th of August he left Shahjahanpur for a month's residence at Almora, in the mountains. While marching through the hills and at Almora most of his time was given to this work. The task was, first, to select such portions of the Discipline of 1896 as concerned the churches in India, and, secondly, to put them into clear, simple Urdu such as the uneducated could easily understand. Returning from Almora on the 4th of October he left home for Calcutta, to take charge of the Dasahra services there, October 7-10. The Calcutta District Conference followed the Dasahra meetings, and the Calcutta missionaries were very glad to have the pres- ence and counsels of the veteran presiding elder from Rohilkhand. The District Conference was followed by the All India Epworth League Convention, October 14-17. Dr. Parker, being president of the League in India, was chairman of the convention, and in addition 252 THE BAREILLY DISTRICT to other duties had charge of the "question drawer," and on the closing day gave an address on an assigned topic, "The Importance of Work Among the Young." On the 8th of November, 1897, Bishop Foss reached India on an official visit, according to the General Con- ference plan which required one visit in each quadren- nium from a general superintendent. Dr. John F. Goucher accompanied Bishop Foss, being deputed by the Board of Managers of the Missionary Society "to familiarize himself with the facts and questions of finance," and also to "study the educational work in India." Dr. Parker's leading position in his own Con- ference, and his personal association with Dr. Goucher in the "Goucher schools" work, naturally made him the companion of these official visitors during much of the time they were within the bounds of the North India Conference. Bishop Foss's visit was a novelty in the history of the Methodist Episcopal Church in India. An official visit made by a general superintendent to territory under the administration of a missionary bishop might possibly develop difficulties in administra- tion and cause friction between the local and the gen- eral superintendent. Neither Bishop Foss nor Bishop Thoburn had any precedent for their guidance. But the good sense and fraternal feeling of the two men was sufficient, and if there was any friction between them it was kept a profound secret. The experiment was a complete success, and as these words are written, early in the year 1902, the Methodist Episcopal Church in India is looking forward with pleasant anticipation to the second of these quadrennial visits, Bishop War- ren having lx?en designated for the work. When the North India Conference of January 5-11, 253 LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER 1898, met in Bareilly, the first item of business trans- acted by the Conference was the unanimous adoption of the following resolution, which was presented by Dr. Parker : Resolved, That we do hereby express to the Rev. Bishop Cyrus D. Foss, our president, our very great satisfaction at receiving this official visit from him to our field of labor and to our Annual Conference. We give him a hearty welcome to India, to our homes, to our institutions, and to our Conference, and we pray that his wise counsels while with us, and his repre- sentation of our work when he shall return to America, may prove of great benefit to our entire Mission. Dr. Parker also presented the following resolution, in which he expressed not only his own personal rec- ognition of Dr. Goucher's valuable assistance in the work of the Missionary Society in many lands, but also gave the Conference an opportunity of showing how much they valued the help which for many years they had received from him : Resolved, That we heartily welcome the Rev. Dr. J. F. Goucher, of Baltimore, India, China, and Japan, to our Mission and to our Conference. His name has been familiar to us for many years, and we now rejoice greatly in welcoming him to his and our field of labor and to the inspection of his work. All that we can offer is at his disposal. We respectfully request Dr. Goucher to participate freely in all the business of our Confer- ence, giving us suggestions and information as oppor- tunity may offer. We also welcome Dr. Goucher as the representative of the Board of Managers of the Mis- sionary Society, and we invite him to attend and give us his aid in the meetings of our Finance Committee, and to confer with our Board of Auditors, that we may receive the benefit of his advice concerning financial methods of work. 254 THE BAREILLY DISTRICT Nothing worthy of special notice here took place during the Conference session of 1898. The minutes of the session show that Dr. Parker presented an im- portant resolution on educational work, which was sent on to the Central Conference. This resolution sought to secure greater unity and efficiency in the educational work of the Church in India, and recommended the appointment of a General Secretary of Education for all India, and also the formation of Boards of Educa- tion in each Conference, the secretaries of which shall constitute a Central Board of Education for Southern Asia. The Central Conference at its next session, held January 20-25, 1898, in Lucknow, adopted these sug- gestions. The Central Board of Education came into existence, but the General Secretary of Education has not been found. Dr. Parker was reappointed to the Bareilly District for the year 1898. A convention of presiding elders and preachers in charge was held in April of this year at Shahjahanpur. Dr. Parker was the leader in this movement, and the meeting was perhaps the most sat- isfactory and helpful conference of mission workers in the history of the North India Conference. The fol- lowing extracts from the presiding elder's report for the year shows that his chief attention was given to Chris- tianizing the converts, and that his plans of work were very specific and practical. He knew the condition of the people and he knew how to deal with them : The special work of the district has been on three lines : i. We have everywhere laid special stress on having every man, woman, and child taught to sing and pray. The condition of the village and muhallah people in 255 LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER this respect is very unsatisfactory. In their old religion these people never prayed, and hence the habit of prayer must be acquired. 2. Our second special effort has been to appoint and train leaders in each village, and induce them to hold a little service of prayer with their people every even- ing. If we can persuade these leaders to call together their people who live in the same court every evening and have one song and one prayer the influence on the people will be very great. On these men we must also chiefly rely for aid in removing idolatrous customs and introducing Christian customs, including the day of rest and giving for the support of the pastor. There are 842 leaders in the Bareilly District, and none among them receive any pay from the Mission. 3. Our third specialty has been an effort to se- cure something toward the support of the pastor from every Christian family in the district. Had the paid workers of the Mission all been faithful in this respect we would have been more successful here. The lack of sympathy for a scheme of self-support which is shown by many paid workers is a great hindrance to progress. "The kingdom of God cometh not by observation." It is "line upon line, precept upon precept." If in ten thousand village courtyards ten thousand simple men collect the people in the name of Christ, and teach them to sing a Christian hymn and offer a Christian prayer, the Church of Christ will so fasten its roots into the soil of India that its future growth and stability will be assured. Dr. Parker knew that the millions of India dwell in the villages of the land, and he also knew that if he could win the villages for Christ the cities would soon follow. 256 LIGHT AND SHADE CHAPTER II. LIGHT AND SHADE NORTH INDIA is a land of contradictions. Hot though the climate is, yet people suffer greater physical discomfort from cold than in Canada. When Bishop Foss was in India he wore a heavy overcoat, a sola hat to protect his head from the heat of the sun, and carried a white umbrella. The land and all pertaining to it appear to be a mixture of high civilization and barba- rism, of convenience and inconvenience, of luxury and privation, of comfort and discomfort; a land to be loved and anathematized. Dr. Parker lived and moved and had his being in India; and the conditions peculiar to that country must be remembered by those who would intelligently apprehend the story of his life. It is very evident that he lived a strenuous life, but so kaleido- scopic in character that the reader may sometimes well ask, "Is this a laboring man or a minister? is he a mis- sionary to wild sea-islanders or pastor of a city church ?" The story of the year 1899 will be in his own words, so far as possible, copied from his journal, since in this way the most vivid picture can be given. The North India Conference of 1899 met at Shah- jahanpur, the residence of Dr. and Mrs. Parker, Jan- uary 4-10. Houses sufficient for lodging the large numbers attending the sessions are not available at that place, and a number of tents were put up. But the winter rains came, the cold was intense, and the work of making everybody comfortable was a heavy burden upon these New Englanders, who, although they had now been forty years in the country, had never fully (17) 257 LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER learned the India trick of leaving everything to servants. The principal railway trains pass through Shahjahan- pur at very late hours, and on the sixth day of the Con- ference Dr. Parker wrote in his journal, "We are very tired ; our trains come in so late we have not had a full night's rest this week." It was in other respects, too, a hard Conference for Dr. Parker. He writes: "We lose three native ministers this year through bad con- duct. Very sad indeed. Two of the men withdrew and we escaped the worry of trials. One was tried and partially cleared. I was kept occupied with this trial every moment for some days." The financial condi- tion, too, was difficult. The cut in missionary appro- priations made it necessary to reduce expenses more than sixteen thousand rupees. The real burden of adjusting finances fell upon the presiding elders, and Dr. Parker had not only the care of his own large dis- trict, but being the confidential adviser of the three native presiding elders a part of their burdens fell on his shoulders. At this Conference he was reelected cor- responding secretary but resigned, as he had already more than enough work. He was reappointed to the Bareilly District. The day after the Conference closed Dr. Parker writes in his journal : "Bishop Thoburn left us this evening. I went to the station to see him off. He feels very strongly that he should have help in supervision. He talks very freely that he wishes me appointed. I have no personal ambitions to serve or to be served, but I do wish the work well cared for." The Northwest India Conference session com- menced on the 1 2th, and Dr. Parker spent one day with the Conference at Aligarh. He writes : 258 LIGHT AND SHADE Jan. 13. Arrived 5:30 A. M. at Aligarh; remained at the station until daylight. Then went to the camp ; found an empty tent and took possession. Saw a servant carrying tea and toast and asked for a cup for myself. Good day with the brethren. Good time at meetings. Left Aligarh 9:15 P. M., reached home at 4:35 A. M. Other entries follow. The journal of the following months affords these glimpses of his activity : Jan. 21. Helped Mrs. Parker on her W. F. M. S. accounts nearly all day. Her many Branches giving money and the many circuits receiving money must all agree in totals. There was a slight difference between the totals given and the totals of circuits receiving, and it took several hours to find the mistake that caused the trouble. Jan. 25. Drove with Mrs. Parker 21 miles to Jalala- bad. Quarterly Conference and meeting. Work diffi- cult; workers weak; yet was encouraged. Had an- other meeting at evening, Mrs. Parker meeting in another place with others. The people want a chapel. I told them if they would put up the walls I would put on the roof and put in the doors. Jan. 30. Drove with Mrs. Parker to Mohamdi. Got in about noon. Quarterly Conference. All present. Preaching service in the evening. Good meeting. All witnessed for Jesus. Holy Spirit present to help and save. A strange case happened here which troubled me much. Two brethren fell out with each other, and one accused the other of giving him poison, which of course was denied. One has gone to the theological seminary. The other is in mission employ here. I fear that both have told a lie and both denied the truth. It troubles me to have such men in our work, as they can never receive any power. Came back to Shahjahanpur through a very strong wind and clouds of dust. It was hard for Mrs. Parker and not easy for me. 259 LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER Feb. 2. Quarterly meeting at Pawayan. Twenty- six village class leaders and sixteen women present. Had a long talk about idolatrous practices among the Christians. All declare there are no more idols in the people's houses. They are still weak in regard to child marriage. Feb. 4. In camp at Tilhar. Quarterly Conference at 8 A. M. All say that the people have thrown away their idols and dug down the worshiping platforms. The fight against idol worship among Christians seems to be real and strong. A long preaching service in the afternoon, and another in the town in the evening. Feb. 5. Sunday. Love feast and long talk to the workers in the morning. Meeting among chumars after breakfast; preached in church in the afternoon. Am a little tired to-night. God has helped me all day. Feb. 6. Wrote letters at Tilhar until noon. Sent off cart with tents. Drove 17 miles, to Khudagunj. Reached Nawada at nightfall. Pitched tent by lan- tern light. Rainy day ; damp and dark in grove. Tent and ponies settled, went for a meeting. House full. A good meeting. Storm at night. Feb. 9. Quarterly Conference at Faridpur. A weak circuit, helpers weak. There is not the interest in the work I would wish. Made some changes in workers. Dimissed one man and set him to farming. Helped him with Rs. 15 for oxen. Feb. 10. Drove into Bareilly this morning. Met Brothers Bare, Buck, Hoskins, D. Buck, and Dr. T. J. Scott. Organized a committee for trying to get some aid for our institutions out of the Twenty Million Twentieth Century Fund. Feb. 13. Quarterly Conference and other meetings at Bhamora Circuit. This is a good circuit ; very good. The preacher in charge, Nizam Ali, is supported by a lady in Sacramento, Cal. He is an efficient man. He is at present working hard to build a chapel and also to break up idolatrous social customs and introduce Chris- tian ways. 260 LIGHT AND SHADE Feb. 1 8. Buclaun. Quarterly Conference two hours. Discussion of all kinds of heathenish customs which Christians should be forbidden to follow. In one part of the city a new idol and worshiping place had been built and it was feared Christians were involved in the business. Feb. 22. Drove to Sahiswan. This is an old, old city, and Christians have been here many years. The work has not been satisfactory for some time. Persons who have lost their position in mission work have set- tled in the place, and much dissatisfaction with the mis- sion has naturally found a home here. March 8. Arose very early, got tent off by daylight, from Kakrala for Dataganj, and set off ourselves on a long, difficult, sandy march. Stopped three miles out and held meetings with men and women. Got into Dataganj in heat of the day. Full meeting in the even- ing. Lodged in engineer's bungalow. March 10. Drove to Kherabajhera for a day of rest. Stopped in schoolhouse. School all run down and place very discouraging. No real work done. Mrs. Parker drove six miles to railway station and went home. March u. Kherabajhera Quarterly Conference. Held meetings. Was very tired, and depressed withal, and in afternoon drove to Tilhar railway station and reached home at 10 P. M. Many of these simple entries mean much more than is on the surface. His tent was for the time his home. So when he writes that he "got tent off by day- light" it means that he was up, packed up books, papers, clothing, bedding, and was out of the tent in time for it to be struck and loaded on the cart before sunrise. And sometime between getting up and sending off the cart the breakfast had to be prepared and eaten, things packed up, and the kitchen and pantry placed upon the cart along with the tent. A man who loved ease would 261 LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER not attempt such an exploit, and only a man of energy and system, who knew how to push things and who was not afraid to take hold w'ith his own hands and help, could possibly succeed in getting his camp off by daylight. And when the march is long, the road heavy, and the slow, weary oxen bring the cart to the camp- ing ground late in the afternoon, the situation is almost as difficult. The missionary's home and all the accus- tomed comforts and necessaries of civilized life are on that cart. They must be unloaded, the tent pitched, bedding and furniture and office and kitchen belongings arranged, a fire kindled, and a meal prepared before the tired missionary breaks his fast, his last meal hav- ing been eaten under the stars in the early dawn. Apart from the moral and spiritual conflicts that pertain to life in such surroundings, the physical discomforts are no light matter; and when the man who lives such a life is nearing his threescore and ten such physical hard- ships are seriously intensified. Or, if the constant conflict with idolatry among the Christians is considered, it will be seen that these refer- ences to idol worship among the people are hints of a desperate contest, and a contest that often seemed to be hopeless. It is as hard to wean ordinary converts from fear of idols, and prevent them from occasionally re- sorting to idols for help in moments of extreme danger, as it is to make some European and American Chris- tians cast aside the feeling that Friday is an unlucky day and thirteen at table an omen of disaster. But, most of all, this honest, true, earnest, hopeful mission- ary was tried when mission agents proved unworthy or inefficient. The story of the incapable man whom the presiding elder sent back to the plow he should 262 LIGHT AND SHADE never have left, and then the gift of fifteen rupees to help him buy oxen, is full of pathetic interest. How many such there were to vex the soul of this devoted man! And no one will ever know how many of his own hard-earned rupees Dr. Parker gave to men of this sort, to keep them from discouragement and to save them to the Church. At the Shahjahanpur Conference Bishop Thoburn had asked Dr. Parker to go to Pauri and inspect the industrial mission at Gadoli under charge of Dr. Ashe. Leaving Shahjahanpur at 9 P. M. on the third of April he reached Kothdwara, the railway terminus at the foot of the hills, and by seven the next morning, in company with Mr. Messmore, set off at once up hill. This Pauri trip of eighteen days was a pleasant and restful break in the year's work. Eight days in the saddle, going and returning, with ten days at Pauri, mainly spent in moving about among the mountains at a delightful sea- son of the year, when many of the hillsides were bril- liant with spring flowers, all together made the eighteen days one continued picnic, free from care or annoyance of any kind. Pauri is never more charming than in April, and the white mission house, facing the mountain snows, with its gable end covered by a climbing rose tree then in full bloom, seemed a paradise to the men who had come up from the heat and dust of the plains. On the first day of the return trip Dr. Parker began talking of his early life at St. Johnsbury, and the pros- perity which had crowned his attempts to have a church built and a society organized. As he indulged in rem- iniscences of events which were now hidden by the haze of more than forty years, his joy in the life he had lived and his satisfaction from the permanent good results 263 LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER of work he had planned were so evident that his travel- ing companion envied him his good fortune, for he seemed in truth to be, what is so seldom found on earth, a really happy man. Early in the seventies the missionaries of Rohilkhand began giving special attention to the evangelization of people in the "sweeper" caste. This low caste seemed to be very accessible to missionary effort. They desired relief from the serious social disadvantages of their position. They saw that if they became Christians their children could get a little education, and many forms of industry from which they were at present excluded would be open to them. Thousands of these people in the civil districts of Bijnor, Moradabad, Budaun, and Bareilly became Christians. Dr. Hoskins, at Budaun. especially pushed this "sweeper" work, but all the mis- sionaries in Rohilkhand were in hearty sympathy with the movement, and none was more earnest or enthu- siastic than Dr. Parker, the presiding elder. Unfortunately these sweepers could profess Chris- tianity and receive baptism without losing caste or being in any way separated from their idolatrous con- nections. They had, apparently, everything to gain and nothing to lose by professing Christianity. Among the tens of thousands who did so there were many spir- itually-minded men, who sought in Christianity deliv- erance from moral degradation as well as emancipation from social disabilities, but as time went on the mission- aries began to perceive that it was a mistake to suppose that there are no barriers in the way of sweepers be- coming real Christians. In this respect there is very little difference between the high caste Brahman and the low caste sweeper. Either convert has to sacrifice 264 LIGHT AND SHADE his livelihood and his social connections in much the same way. And with this discovery came the knowl- edge that large numbers of the sweeper Christians had in no real sense separated themselves from their heathen environment. They were neither cut off from the hereditary emoluments associated with various idola- trous observances among higher castes, neither were they absolved from performance of certain duties which formed the basis of these emoluments. They were, though nominal Christians, still in the sweeper guild or caste, and the custom or mandate of the guild was in all practical matters their master. The Christian minister or missionary taught and advised them, but the word of the heathen panchayct, or council, was law, and not the word of the Christian teacher. Two great evils resulted from this state of things. The majority of the sweeper Christians really remained in heathenism; and as they constituted more than nine tenths of the Christians on the Rohilkhand District the terms "Christian" and "Sweeper" in many places be- came synonymous, and all native Christians were in danger of being dragged down to the sweeper level. To save the Church from these clangers Dr. Parker, with some others, advocated the formation of a Chris- tian guild or brotherhood within the church, to which those only would be admittecl who were entirely sep- arate from all idolatrous associations or obligations. Acting in concert with the presiding elder of the Morad- abad District, Dr. Parker arranged for a meeting of leading missionaries and native ministers in order that the reform movement might be inaugurated. This con- vention was held at Moradabad, April 24-27, Bishop Thoburn presiding. The bishop and some of the lead- 265 LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER ing missionaries and native ministers refused to believe the evil was so serious as had been represented, while others claimed to see in the proposed guild an attempt to introduce something like caste into the Church, and the convention accomplished very little seriously to the disappointment of Dr. Parker. On the 1 6th of March, 1900, Dr. Parker sailed from Bombay to attend the General Conference at Chicago, to which he had been elected delegate and by whose voice he became bishop. On the i6th of October of the same year he landed in Bombay and at once took up the duties of his office, but in less than one month he was laid aside. In general terms it may be said that his active career in India closed on the i6th of March, 1900. The nine months preceding his last departure from India appear to have been the most strenuous of his life. Early in the year 1899 the Rev. Stephen Paul, native minister and presiding elder of the Pilibheet District, was obliged to leave his work on account of severe illness, and on October 5 he died. From the middle of the year the charge of this district fell upon Dr. Parker, and until the Conference of 1900 he filled the office of presiding elder of the two districts, having an aggregate of thirty-one circuits, many of them diffi- cult of access, far from railways, in a land threaded by numerous unbridged rivers. It is generally admitted that the toil and exposure of these last six months of 1899 so taxed his powers that he was unequal to the strain of the following year. If he had known that this was to be the last year he would be permitted to work in India he could not have wrought more earnestly and incessantly than he did. The months of May and June are the hottest of the 266 LIGHT AND SHADE year in Northern India. Schools are closed during these months and many missionaries spend a part or the whole of this time in the hills. But Dr. and Mrs. Parker generally took their vacation later in the year, and all through the hot season of 1899 Dr. Parker was more than ordinarily active. Our brief summary of the work of that season makes no mention of the large correspondence constantly going on with scores, even hundreds, of native ministers and other mission agents, nor of the pulpit work at Shahjahanpur, which at times required two English sermons each Sabbath in addition to Hindustani work. A few days after the close of the Moradabad meeting Dr. Parker left home to attend a workers' meeting on the Gonda District. The presiding elder, a native min- ister, the Rev. W. Peters, always had a large share of Dr. Parker's confidence and brotherly regard, and the younger and less experienced man often received valu- able assistance from the other. At this time Dr. Parker spent five days in the hottest month of the year in the workers' meeting, usually speaking three times a clay. On the 3Oth of the month he set out for Naini Tal to attend an important trustees' meeting, and in addition found time to preach one sermon and give an address to the boys in the Oak Openings High School. He re- turned from Naini Tal June 3, and on the 5th went to Btidaun to take charge of the workers' meeting there, which was in session until the I2th. Then he returned to Shahjahanpur and commenced the workers' meeting there, which continued until the i7th. He celebrated the Fourth of July by completing and sending to the press a tract on "Christian Marriage," which was an outcome of the convention at Moradabad. He was at 267 LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER Meerut from the i/th to the 22cl of July, assisting Mr. Buck with his workers' meeting, and thence back to Bareilly for the mid-year session of the Finance Com- mittee, July 25-27. May and June of 1899 were unusually hot months, and the entries in Dr. Parker's journal show that he was sometimes sorely oppressed by the extreme heat. It made life a burden, and any kind of work, particu- larly such work as he was doing, became exceedingly difficult. Of the Budaun meeting he writes : "In four days we held thirty hours of meetings. Left for home after the last meeting at 9:30 p. M., arrived at 4:30 A. M. All night out. Little sleep. It has been a very hot week, but I was at each meeting from beginning to end." After the Shahjahanpur meeting he writes : "It has been awfully hot all through and very trying, but we have held full seven hours' meetings daily and much talking besides. And again: "Am tired; heat great. Could not rest last night after preaching. Wrote some half dozen letters. Weather very trying. Our meetings were very profitable. Never held better in all my experience." On the 3ist of July he was at Lucknow on Press Committee work. On the 2d and 3d of August he was at the headquarters of the Pilibheet District mak- ing arrangements for the work of the district. Then came the trip to Almora, in the hills, returning the 25th of September. His health was not good while at Almora; influenza troubled him. On the 2 ist of August Dr. and Mrs. Parker cele- brated the fortieth anniversary of their first arrival in India ; a very pleasant occasion, at which missionaries of various societies, then resting in/ Almora, were 268 LIGHT AND SHADE present. In his diary the following is written under date of 2Oth September : To-day received a letter from Bishop Thoburn giv- ing the news of the death of our dear old superin- tendent, Dr. Butler, at Newton, Mass. Dear old man ! He did a great work for India. His heart was large and his hand strong, and he laid deep and broad foun- dations for our Church here. It was well that Bishop Thoburn could attend his funeral. The doctor con- tinued to work for India almost to the last. On the 2 ist of August, three days after his death, I wrote a long letter of love and about old times. He was gone even before it was written. The Parkers returned from the hills at the close of September, reaching home on the 29th. Dr. Parker attended and took a leading part in the convention of the India Sunday School Union at Cawnpore, October 5-10. The Lucknow Dasahra meetings followed, Oc- tober 11-15. Dr. Parker was in charge, and as simul- taneous meetings in English and Hindustani were held the work was heavy. Returning from the Luck- now meeting, Dr. Parker at once commenced holding the Quarterly Conferences of the two districts under his charge. He took time to run up for two days to Moradabad and attend the District Conference there. The Bareilly District Conference kept him busy until the 2Oth of November, and next day he began his long, wearisome tour on the Pilibheet District, closing his work there on the 4th of December. The next week was spent at home, preparing statistical returns for Conference, and on the I2th he was at the District Con- ference of the newly formed Hardoi District assisting the native minister, Rev. S. Tuppcr, who for the first 269 LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER time in his life had charge of a District Conference. On the 1 8th and igth of December he was at Bareilly in connection with the closing services of the theo- logical seminary. The remainder of the year until Conference, January 8, 1900, was given to auditing the books of the circuits on the two districts and getting reports ready for Conference. 270 THE BISHOP CHAPTER III. THE BISHOP THE close of the year 1899 found Dr. Parker at his usual place the watch night service at his own home. The diary for 1900 begins with this entry: "We had a good watch night service last night. Dr. and Mrs. Humphrey were with us to the close. Am clearing up accounts and letters, etc., to-day. All that we have to-day belongs to the Lord." The thirty-sixth session of the North India Confer- ence, Dr. Parker's last Conference, was held in Luck- now, January 10-15, 1900. The financial difficulties of the work and the bishop question were the principle items claiming the attention of the Conference. In electing delegates to the General Conference Dr. Par- ker received fifty-seven votes out of seventy-three, and Dr. Humphrey forty-nine. A resolution asking the Central Conference to request the General Conference to elect another Hindustani-speaking bishop for India passed the Conference by a vote of forty-four to ten. The Central Conference, dealing with this question, asked the General Conference to elect two additional bishops for Southern Asia. At the close of a heavy Sunday's work Bishop Thoburn's strength gave way, and he was able to do very little work of any sort for three or four months. Dr. Parker was reappointed to the Bareilly District. Returning home he arranged the finances of the dis- trict and held three Quarterly Conferences before going to Calcutta to attend the Central Conference. Bishop 271 LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER Thoburn, in broken health, was barely able to read his address to the Conference. His inability increased the labors of the leaders in the Conference and Dr. Parker, as usual, had a busy time. The report of the Com- mittee on Episcopacy was a very colorless production. Concerning it, Dr. Parker wrote in his diary : "Com- mittee on Episcopacy reported. Said very little, so that all could agree." After returning from Calcutta, February 6, Dr. Par- ker devoted a month to the round of Quarterly Confer- ences on his district and to making such arrangements as were necessary for maintaining the work of the dis- trict during his contemplated absence of six months in America. These duties kept him busy until the 5th of March, when the last Quarterly Conference was held at Jalalabad. Three days were. spent in getting ready to leave. On Friday, the 9th, he prepared a program for the mid-year workers' meeting and attended a fare- well gathering managed by the native Christians. On Saturday Dr. Dease came down from Bareilly and Dr. Parker made over charge of his district. He preached in English and Hindustani Sunday, the nth, and on the 1 2th at midnight, in company with Mrs. Parker, left Shahjahanpur for Bombay. On the i6th of March he sailed from India, landing in New York on the I4th of April, two weeks before the opening of the General Conference in Chicago. Dr. Parker went to Brattleboro, Vt., where the Ver- mont Conference was then in session, and he stayed three happy days with the members of his old Confer- ence. Two days more were spent at the old home in St. Johnsbury, after which Dr. and Mrs. Parker re- turned to New York and had the privilege of attending 272 THE BISHOP the Ecumenical Missionary Conference, where they met many missionary friends from various lands. At this Conference he read a paper on "The Training of Na- tive Helpers," also spoke in Carnegie Hall at a mass meeting in the interests of the thousands of famine suf- ferers in India. While in New York Dr. and Mrs. Parker were the guests of Mr. and Mrs. Woolverton, the generous benefactors of the Woman's College at Lucknow. The General Conference opened May 2 in Chicago. At this Conference the missionary interests of Southern and Eastern Asia received a large share of attention. The request of the Central Conference of Southern Asia that two additional missionary bishops be chosen was granted, and on the first ballot Edwin W. Parker and Frank W. Warne were elected. Dr. Parker received five hundred and fifty-eight votes out of six hundred and sixty-seven, being the highest proportion- ally and the largest numerically ever received by any episcopal candidate. The India missionaries, particularly those who began their career when numbers were few and all the mis- sionaries were like members of one family, sustain a peculiar relationship with each other ; and when, by act of the General Conference, one of the number is sep- arated from the others and placed in authority over his brothers and sisters, there is naturally a little curiosity regarding the mutual bearing of the old friends in the new relationship. In Bishop Parker's case there was room for embarrassment because a small minority in his own Conference had with some persistence opposed the plan which resulted in his election. The following letter, written at General Conference soon after the (18) 273 LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER election and addressed to the leader of this opposition, shows with what candor and fraternal feeling he sought to preserve "unity of spirit in the bonds of peace :" You of course have seen all that the General Confer- ence did for India. The feeling was very strong that this was the thing to do, and not more than twenty per- sons voted against the plan. . . . Now that this is all settled, and settled without personal effort on my part, I am sure you will do all you can to help us, as you ever have done. I write to ask that you will continue to aid me with your suggestions and advice, just as you have always done, and I will always do all I can to aid you in your work. This matter to me is not one of exultation or joy, as though a victory were gained. Wife and I have not for one moment had such a feeling. With us it is a call to duty. We have prayed very earnestly that only the better plan should prevail, and lately we have, hand in hand, prayed this prayer : "O Lord, if there is a better plan for the work, let that prevail." To us it comes, not as something which leads to exultation, but as a burden of work and care to be borne. . . . Efficient leadership must be given to all our work on the line of real success at every point. No one man, or two, can bring this about; it can only be done by working to- gether all along the line. Hence I write you asking that you will help me help us with advice and sug- gestions, by word or by letter, whenever and wherever you see opportunity. I am sure you will do this. I do not in the least blame you for working against the plan, nor against my election, for I know that you could only have done so for what seemed to you as good reasons. But now that God has evidently called me to this work I am sure you will give me your co- operation. This does not mean that you agree with me always, but that so far as we agree in opinion, and so far as majorities rule, you will help. I am assured that you will so do. I am not thinking of position or 274 THE BISHOP authority at all, but of helping in the work; an assistant with authority to act when it is necessary. On the 25th of July Bishop Parker wrote the editor of the Kaukab i Hind at Lucknow requesting him to say in the paper that "We have very greatly appreciated the many kind letters and resolutions and congratula- tions received, but that we are not able to reply to each one personally, for want of time. We hope to greet all very soon in India." In the same letter he writes : We are trying to do something for India and wish- ing for a little rest among these green hills. We cannot get rest. The next day after we arrived here at our old home they gave us a reception which lasted from 3 130 until 10 at night. First a social, in which all the St. Johnsbury churches took part and had supper. Then another public union meeting of all the churches, in- cluding ice cream and other refreshments. We felt a good deal "received" by the time we reached home, at 10 130. Since then we have been busy with old friends. We are going out to a farm for rest soon, but I have much work. It has been stated in a previous chapter that Bishop Parker's strength had been weakened by excessive toil during most of the year 1899. To this may be added that a multiplicity of engagements during the months following General Conference, up to the time of his sailing from New York, prevented his taking that rest which, as the sequel proved, was absolutely necessary for the preservation of his life. Mrs. Parker has made the following brief sketch of the time referred to: While General Conference was in session Mr. Par- ker spoke every Sunday, and often during the week, 275 LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER either in the interests of mission work or on the famine. The day he was consecrated bishop he spoke twice, in widely different parts of the city. He remarked that he expected that day's work was a sample of the way he was to work the remainder of his life. From Chicago we went to Beloit, Wis. He spoke to a large congre- gation in northern Illinois. From there we went to North Dakota, where he spoke to a large congregation in a grove, as there was no building large enough to hold the people, who had come from long distances. His work there was followed by quite an extensive re- vival. In Larrimore we met the Methodist preacher, who had been taught as a boy by some of our mission- aries in Lucknow. From there we went to Mr. Hewes' father's residence in Illinois, and Mr. Parker spoke in the church there. Then we went to his brother's, in Logansport, Ind., where we spent several days, and he spoke a number of times in different churches. While there we ran up to Lake Bluff and the three bishops for Southern Asia had a meeting and made plans for their work. From Logansport we went to Delaware, Ohio, and spent a Sunday with the Waughs. He spoke twice that day. From there we went to Cleveland, Youngs- town, N. Y., and Rochester, visiting the McGrews, the Monroes, and the Graceys. Then to New York, as Mr. Parker had an engagement to speak at an Epworth League convention near the home of the Weatherbys. From there to Islip, L. I., where we spent the Sab- bath with the Cunninghams, Mr. Parker speaking twice that day. From there to Boston to meet friends and to attend an Epworth League convention at which Mr. Parker had an appointment to speak. He also spoke in the People's Church and in another church at Beachmont. From Boston we went to my brother's in New Hampshire, intending to have a quiet Sunday. But early in the morning they came for him to speak in a church near by, and sent for him from another place to speak on the famine, and a large collection was given. From there we went to St. Johnsbury, where 276 THE BISHOP a reception and an evening meeting had been arranged, in which all the ministers of the town participated. He spoke somewhere every Sunday of our stay in St, Johnsbury, sometimes going to distant places, such as Worcester and Springfield, Mass. At the St. Johnsbury District Camp Meeting the preachers gave him a watch. Our last Sunday in America was spent with the Ros- coes, in Bayonne, N. J., and Mr. Parker spoke twice that day in another town. The last English sermon he preached was to the steerage passengers on the steamer New York. It is not necessary to say that Bishop Parker had not planned such a laborious campaign. They wished to visit relatives, friends, and, particularly, former mis- sionaries. Mrs. Parker says: "We planned to have time for rest, but Mr. Parker could not resist the temptation to speak when invited. He gave himself no rest so long as he could work for India." The last entries in Bishop Parker's diary furnish indirect proof of his weak physical condition and his unfitness for such a heavy round of exhausting services : Sept. 14. 1900. Came on to New York for a new start for India. Sunday, i6th. At Jersey City. Spoke morning and evening. Fell going to church. Sept. 19. Sailed from New York in company with Drs. Johnson and Neeld and Miss Holman. A nice day for starting. Bishop Thoburn and others came to see us off. Oct. 8. In Red Sea. Fearfully hot; no wind. Awful at night! Oct. 9. Hot: little wind; a bad night; no energy. Aden. Oct. 10. Came in at 4 P. M. Hot and difficult. Oct. IT. A very bad night; noise and coal dust. No sleep until 2 A. M. This is a hot, trying place. Oct. 15. Moving on; will reach Bombay to-morrow morning. 277 LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER These are the last words of Bishop Parker's diary ; al- though he knew it not, and his friends knew it not, they were written by the hand of a dying man. The unusual complaint of weakness and weariness, the half -uttered suggestion that the burden of existence is almost too heavy to be borne, such things have hitherto found no place in the journal by whose aid the readers of this memoir have followed the course of this valiant soul from the day he "became his own man" unto the hour when he received the merited acknowledgment of effi- cient service at the hands of the General Conference. If this last page of his diary is different in tone from those preceding it the explanation is that already given : he was a dying man. He remained, indeed, seven full months longer among men, but his work was already nearly finished. What remained was little more than a brave battle for life, and death at last prevailed. The remainder of the story can be told in few words, or it can be enlarged into a volume. Landing at Bom- bay October 16, Bishop Parker found the heroic presid- ing elder of the Baroda District lying at death's door, and it was feared, though happily the fear was not realized, that Mr. Frease's name would be added to the long list of missionaries, medical men, and other officers of government who gave their lives for others in the great famine of 1899 and 1900. In the division of the work between Bishops Parker and Warne the Bombay Conference and the two Northern Conferences had fallen on Bishop Parker ; and ere he had been an hour in Bombay he was confronted by difficulties and re- quired to act in emergencies such as he had hitherto never experienced. That such burdens should fall upon a man already sick unto death is one of the painful 278 THE BISHOP features of the sad yet triumphant history of Bishop Parker's last year of life among men. Leaving Bombay Wednesday evening Bishop and Mrs. Parker reached Lucknow Friday morning, and the same evening went on to their home at Shahjahan- pur. On Saturday an enthusiastic reception was given them by the native Christians and other friends. The next week the bishop went to Allahabad to meet his colleague, Bishop Warne, and also the treasurer of Bishop Thoburn's Special Fund. On the Saturday of the same week they were at Bareilly, where a reception had been arranged and where they remained over Sun- day. On Monday morning, October 29, they went to Aligarh to attend the District Conference there, and on that day Bishop Parker preached his last sermon, in Hindustani. The next day he was so ill it was thought best to remove him to Meerut, where he could receive better medical care. His life was despaired of at Meerut, but he rallied, and on the 24th of November they went to Lucknow, which had been made his official residence. During the month of December he appeared to be improving in health, and on Christmas Day he intended dining with the Lucknow missionaries at the Deaconess Home, one mile from his residence. But he was unable to go out, and from Christmas Day on he continued getting weaker, although from time to time his strength returned for a few days in a manner which gave some hope of his recovery. He remained in Lucknow until the 2Oth of March, and with Mrs. Parker's assistance gave more or less attention to official correspondence. He also at this time prepared two articles for the Indian Witness which are given in the appendix to this book : a remarkable dream which 279 LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER he had is referred to elsewhere in a contribution from Bishop Warne. Before leaving Meerut for Lucknow Bishop Parker wrote the following letter to one of the Lucknow mis- sionaries. It shows how fully he expected to be able soon to go about his work. The letter is dated ipth of November, 1900 : I am still keeping myself to the one thing of trying to get well, but I was very much run down in strength before the breakdown came. The latter part of the time on board the ship I was weak, and going upon deck would take the strength out of me; and all the time after landing I seemed to get weaker and weaker, and the abhorrence of all food grew stronger; hence the recovery of my strength will be slow, for this weakness did not come to me all at once; it culminated in the breakdown, but I am gaining steadily. We hope to go to Lucknow either on Friday night of this week or on Monday night of next, according as my strength comes up. My first plans of work are to be at Ajmere about the Qth or loth of December, and then to be at Baroda for the Bombay Conference the i3th of December. These are all the plans I have made. I hope they may not fail, as all my others did. On the second of March the bishop and Mrs. Parker celebrated the forty-fifth wedding anniversary. The increasing heat made removal to a cooler climate neces- sary, and on the 2Oth of March they went to Bareilly on the way to Naini Tal. After resting a few days at Bareilly they went on to Naini Tal and for a few weeks found a home in the Ramsay Hospital. They reached Naini Tal on the ist of April and on the loth Mrs. Parker wrote the following letter to a missionary in Sitapur : 280 n THE BISHOP Mr. Parker was glad to receive your letter to-day. I read it to him as he lay on his bed, out on the veranda room in the upper story of this hospital, where he can look out and see many things. The plains are visible, but he can't quite see them from his bed. Yes, he has had many "ups and downs" since you saw him in Luck- now. He gained steadily in Bareilly and stood the journey up here very well. But the change, and espe- cially that terrible Friday's storm, upset him and for three days he was down again. But to-day he is much better. If he continues to improve we will go to Spring Cottage. There is not much to be gained by staying in the hospital, though it is a beautiful place and all are exceedingly kind. When the Dr. has the case well in hand we will go to Spring Cottage and Mrs. Dease will be with us, and she is a capital nurse. The case is still a doubtful one. This is the sixth month, and it remains to be seen what the next six months will do for him. The trouble is he gets no nourishment from his food. The doctor thinks he has hit on the medicine to help him, and they are still ex- perimenting on diet. Mr. Parker says to tell you that his vision of a long, weary, painful way back to life was none too highly colored. He is passing through it all. It seems as though he has suffered enough ; but the dear Lord knows all about it, and he has given wonderful patience all these weary months. Mr. Parker sends loving greetings and hopes you will write again. The Ramsay Hospital overlooks the plains of Rohil- khand and is fifty miles from Moradabad. The Sitapur missionary had remarked in his letter that Bishop Par- ker from his sick bed could look over his old district and live in the memories the places recalled. Hence Mrs. Parker's remark that the plains were not visible from the spot where his bed was. According to arrangements, the bishop was removed to Dr. T. J. Scott's bungalow. Spring Cottage, in which 281 LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER quiet place, surrounded and attended by many friends, the last six weeks of his earthly life was passed. Spring Cottage is near the mission houses and the sanitarium, and toward the end of May a number of the mission- aries were in Naini Tal. Dr. and Mrs. Scott had come up, and together with Dr. and Mrs. Dease were living in Spring Cottage, Mrs. Dease, assisted by one or two deaconesses, serving as his very efficient nurse. The last six weeks, like the preceding six months, were alternating periods of hope and fear. The bishop died on the fourth of June, and some of the bulletins sent by the nurses to friends indicate the fluctuations in the tide of life during the last few days: "May 23. The bishop is failing and the doctors have no hope for him. He does not realize this, nor does Mrs. Parker, but I can see that he has failed since I came here." "May 24. Mrs. Parker is discouraged this morning, and I think realizes there is no hope." "May 26. The bishop seemed better yesterday evening, that is, brighter, and not so low spirited as the day before. He is still hope- ful, and interested in everything that goes on." "May 28. The bishop was very bright and jolly yesterday, and Mrs. Parker was very cheerful. He continues to say he will get well, so you had better not mention in your letter the possibility of his not getting up." "May 31. The bishop was weaker yesterday and somewhat discouraged. The symptoms are bad. Mrs. Parker had received your letter and seemed to feel it, that anyone had written you her husband would not get well. She appreciated your letter, and I think she will read it to him before many days." The letter referred to was a farewell message from an old missionary. The latest item was written by Mrs. Parker herself 282 THE BISHOP the day before the end. ''June 3. Thanks for your letter to Mr. Parker, which he enjoyed. He is going very fast." And so at last hope was reluctantly given up, and a few hours before her husband's death Mrs. Parker solemnly and affectionately returned to the keeping of her heavenly Father the dear one whom, forty-five years before, she had received as a precious gift from God! 283 LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER VIL SUPPLEMENTARY WHEN the Rev. E. W. Parker, D.D., was elected a Missionary Bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church for Southern Asia, Dr. Buckley, the editor of The Christian Advocate, wrote these words for his own editorial columns: A traveler in India whom we had the pleasure to meet declared to us that in his opinion the most efficient missionary now living, judged by universal adaptability, proficiency in the native tongue, and power to win men to Christ, together with grasp of details and mastery of organization, is Edwin W. Parker. When these words of commendation were read by men who had been forty years fellow-workers with Dr. Parker it was felt they were substantially correct. The writers of the following appreciations, as well as of the very interesting papers in the Appendix, all con- firm in one way or another the assertion that Bishop Parker stood in the front rank of great missionaries. "UNCLE PARKER" THE CHILDREN'S FRIEND BY W. A. MANSELL THE missionaries who came to India in '59 and the early sixties undertook a far more serious enterprise than those who now take passage in a fast Atlantic steamer and, following the mail across Europe, embark in a P. and O. steamer at Brindisi and reach India SUPPLEMENTARY in less than a month. Then it meant a four months' voyage in a sailing ship, with no hopes of a furlough and very little of a return at all. Under such cir- cumstances the little band gathered in a strange land, with family ties at home broken, as it seemed, for life, became a real family, and the ties of affection which bound them together were as close as ties of blood. "Brother" and "sister" meant far more than the token of ecclesiastical fraternity. The early missionaries became "brothers" and "sisters" to each other in a very real sense in the place of those left behind. Into this close family relationship the children were also admitted. Some had crossed the seas in the long voyage, others had come across the Unknown Ocean and made port first in India all alike became the chil- dren of the whole missionary family and objects of interest and affection to all. And if the parents were brothers and sisters to each other, were they not "uncles" and "aunts" to the children? Nature is often kind in her compensations. If no children came to gladden "Uncle Parker's" home, a score of children lavished on him and "Auntie Parker" an affection scarcely less hearty than that they gave to their own parents. There is a missionary boy to-day who is not ashamed to be reminded that he had to ascribe a dual personality to himself, saying stoutly. "Me two boys," in order to make it possible at the same time to be "Uncle Parker's boy" and "papa's boy." To many missionary children the days or the weeks spent in visits at his home are among the brightest of child- hood's memories. Two generations of missionary children have been won by the merry eyes, the deep musical voice, the big, 285 LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER firm handshake, and the sympathetic magnetism of Uncle Parker. There are mothers to-day who remem- ber him as one of their earliest playmates, and there are babies just having learned to talk who still clap their hands with joy before Uncle Parker's picture. No visitor was more warmly welcomed at mission- ary homes than he. The birthdays he never forgot, the little tokens he sent from time to time, the prominent place the children had in any excursion or entertair*- ment he planned, all these were ways of showing that he always remembered the children. At Almora, the mission sanitarium on the lower Himalayas, he loved to spend his outdoor hours of recreation in "fix- ing up the place" as he used to say. Broken boundary walls, dilapidated houses, and overgrown paths were an abomination to him. He planted many of the trees on the place. A fine pine grove, well started, and a level road around the hill to the limits of the estate are memorials of his last visit. It was he who planned a summer house for the children on a pleasant knoll over- looking the valley, and he was the chief child in the day's pleasures when the foundation stone was laid. He suggested that a baby girl lay the foundation stone, and he guided her tiny hands while she held the trowel. And who that was present on that occasion can forget his earnest prayers, full of a love as deep as that of a father, for all the children of the mission ? When once the heart was bound to him in childhood no subsequent changes of scene or circumstances al- lowed the bond to break. A missionary bishop preach- ing in an Eastern metropolis sees a tall young man crowding forward to meet him. Grasping his hand the newcomer cries out, "Uncle Parker ! that's what I shall 286 SUPPLEMENTARY call you." "Why, Charlie!" responds the bishop, when, looking through the disguise the years had made, he recognizes in the bearded college professor the mis- sionary boy he knew in India. They met again on the same plane on which they had first formed their life- long acquaintance. This constancy and fidelity of friendship was no more marked on the side of the chil- dren than on his side. No element in Bishop Parker's many-sided character is more attractive than the deep personal interest he took in all the affairs of the mis- sionary children. When on furlough at home he made it his uniform practice to see as many of them as he could. If in a city where any of them lived he made it a point to visit them, making his arrangements and appointments with that in mind. He would take long journeys, too, to bear a message to them if they hap- pened to be out of the line of regular travel. And when he visited them he, with his wife, looked at them through their parents' eyes. He took note of physical health and appearance, spiritual condition, environ- ments, tastes, habits, striking resemblances, amusing and pathetic incidents, and faithfully reported them to the hungry parents in the far away mission fields. He made no pretensions to literary style, sometimes referring to the fact and explaining that he had no time while he was building up a work to write about it. But a homelier, more genial letter writer it would be hard to find, and he never shone better at letter writing than when describing missionary children to absent parents. Thus on one occasion he wrote : L - has written all that needs writing, perhaps, and yet I want to write a little. Frankie knew us as soon as we stepped from the cars and ran for us at once. 287 LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER All the children think they know all about us. Robbie "remembers" all about us. You should hear his big talk about remembering us. He is a remarkably nice boy. Last evening I showed pictures all the evening, and I had no idea that he would keep awake, but he sat in his little chair for an hour, entering into all as heart- ily as any one. Then Mrs. D. got him to sit in her lap, but he still kept up his courage and finally, with a long yawn, said, "I am not tired." He sat with me at church and listened, or kept awake, through a long sermon.* It was a funeral sermon, and the other children listened all through, seeming interested; showing an intelligent interest noticeable in a child like Nora or Willie. Nora is a perfect little lady. She is easy and natural in her manners. A gentleman called, and the way she invited him in and gave him a chair and said she would speak to Mrs. Davis was so natural and easy and ladylike that I noticed it. The older boys are improving they read at prayers and seem to be doing very well. The children do not show a restrained or subdued feeling at all. They are free and easy and run about like home. The older ones are nice to the others. Mr. D. is now talking with a neighbor, and Willie has gone and is sitting on his knee listening in his sober way. Frankie is at play with his kitten and Signie is watch- ing things generally. The two youngest are sleeping, as they want to go to church to hear Uncle Parker this evening. The same qualities which made him popular with missionary children made him natural leader of young people. His unbounded confidence in their future, his watchful care of their interests, his willingness to place reliance upon them, all attracted the young people and made them respond to his appeals. His face was never so radiantly happy as in a young people's meeting. On one occasion, when he announced a meeting for young 288 SUPPLEMENTARY people in a District Conference, some one rose and asked the age limit. "Seventy-five," called out Dr. Parker; "I expect to be young until I am seventy-five, and then we shall see how much it will be necessary to extend the limit." The schools and the pupils were with him an object of especial care in his mission work. It was because he saw the need of a more rounded development of character in the boys and girls of the mission schools that he, with Mrs. Parker, instituted the first Young People's Society in Moradabad in 1888. This society was organized before the Epworth League began. It was modeled after the Oxford League, but with impor- tant modifications, giving especial prominence to train- ing in spiritual work. When the Epworth League was organized in America the society at Moradabad, and a number of others patterned after it, quickly fell into line and became Epworth Leagues. It was therefore eminently fitting that Dr. Parker should be chosen as the first president of the Epworth League for India, when a general organization was effected. Later this office brought him in touch with children and young people everywhere. Whenever his engagements took him to stations other than his own he would try to ar- range for special meetings for the League, or such other young people's societies as existed. During the last season of special Dasahra revival meetings, which he conducted at Calcutta, an incident occurred which showed how quickly and easily he won the hearts of children. During the services a number of the pupils of the Calcutta girls' school were espe- cially blessed, among them some of the tiny ones in the infant standard. When Dr. Parker was about to leave, (19) 289 LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER at the close of the series of meetings, two of these little girls came to say good-bye, bringing with them, as a token of love for him, two tiny dolls in little match- box cradles their special treasures. These they left with him, saying, as they went away, "Good-bye; we want to be good and love Jesus just like you, Dr. Parker." One secret of his influence over the young was his personal and individual interest in them. And this wa ' shown not only toward the missionary children, but toward all classes of young people with whom he had any dealings. One testimony in the memorial services held in his honor was repeated so often that it came as a surprise to those who did not know how close and intimate had been his relations with his workers. Again and again preachers occupying important and influential positions in Conference testified how they owed all that they were to the patient forbearance of Dr. Parker. As boys in school they had run away, or perhaps for faults had been disciplined and sent away, as preachers they had been found unfit and had been dismissed, but he had given them trial after trial, had encouraged them to persevere, had personally supported them while they were in straits, until finally they had overcome. There was hardly ever a time when he was not personally supporting two or three young men in one or more of the schools of the Mission. There are presiding elders, Conference members, local preachers, and young men in secular employments all over North India who are in this special sense "Dr. Parker's boys." Through all his life his motto in dealing with men was, "It is better to make men than to break them." This same temper he had in dealing with the young 290 SUPPLEMENTARY showed itself in his dealings with the Christians about him, all of whom he regarded as more or less children. It was the universal testimony of those who knew him that he was wonderfully mellowed and sweetened in his later years. The old strength and masterfulness remained, but there was added to it a kindliness and fatherly love which showed itself more and more in the increasing benignity of his countenance. Like the apostle John he began to regard all the church as in a special sense his own and to think of all Christians as "little children." The "Uncle Parker" of the smaller group of admirers had become the father of the whole Church. During the weary hours of his last illness the condition of these weak children of the Church in India was his chief anxiety and care. Then there came to him that strange dream or vision, with what was to him a message and a prophecy that he should still be per- mitted to be a teacher and leader of the weak ones, and he was at peace. Thus he died, as he had lived, the friend and helper of the weak. He had not only impressed his personal- ity on the foreign missionaries' children, but had won their love. He inspired them, as he did all the younger missionaries, to make his ideals their own. In the affections of the young people at large he had an as- sured place, and when he spoke it was with the author- ity of love. In the Indian Church he rilled a place which will long be vacant. But his spiritual children on every hand rise up to call his memory blessed. The places they now fill mul- tiply many fold the influence of him whose strong and sympathetic touch has helped to make them what they are. 291 LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER THE COUNSELOR BY P. M. BUCK A MISSIONARY standing amid countless multitudes of pagans dwelling in thick darkness experiences a sense of insignificance and helplessness difficult to dupli- cate. He can personally at best but touch a very few souls here and there. As regards his direct efforts the great masses must live on as if no message of salvation * had ever found utterance. If a worthy success is to attend his life he must find means of reproducing him- self over and over again, especially in messengers of grace from among the sons of the soil. He must be- come a power-center from which shall radiate, through those he molds and controls, lines of holy influence and virtue in every direction. Bishop Parker was eminent- ly successful and fruitful because he was able to pass on to many others of his own strength and spirit, and because he was a pathfinder and guide in methods of work and in dealing with the legion of difficulties inci- dent to this field. Perhaps in no sphere did his ability appear to better advantage than in his counsels and advice regarding an almost endless variety of things connected with the work to which he consecrated his life. Bishop Parker was peculiarly fitted by nature and grace for the direction of work and for counsel to workers. He was very largely endowed with the high- est order of common sense, a commodity that would bless the world far more than it does were it not so uncommon. His judgment was wondrously well balanced. He had the rare faculty of seeing things all round and within and without. The relative impor- 292 SUPPLEMENTARY tance of things stood out to him as in broad sunlight. He was a man of rare tact. His clear conversation and deep spiritual life placed his peculiar practical abili- ties wholly at God's disposal. He was possessed of deep sympathy and tender sen- sibilities. He loved much and bound hearts to him- self with links of steel. His large strength, attended with purity and goodness, won ready ears for his words of instruction and advice. He had the advan- tage of joining the work in India near its fountain head. He was familiar with all its developments and difficulties from the beginning. He was at an early date recognized as one of the chief leaders, and soon found himself in positions affording large fields for the exercise of all his gifts. He was a master organizer in the work. He could fit all sorts of men into their rightful places. He could instruct them in the per- formance of their individual parts. He could check exuberance of energy on one line and turn it into and encourage its activity in another of worthy fruitful- ness. His singleness of heart and inborn energy and spirit of industry made untrue and indolent men a peculiar trial to him. Such found the weight of his heavy hand decidedly uncomfortable. In all this work- in's wisdom in counsel was an element of very special strength. During perhaps most of the years of Bishop Parker's busy ministry his work was by no means limited by cir- cuit or district lines. He was for a long period pre- eminently the counselor and adviser in all our work in Northern India. I imagine that during the past quarter of a century there have been very few young missionaries indeed who did not soon learn to go to 293 LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER Brother Parker in dealing with difficult problems. Missionaries have grown gray in the work who have scarcely thought of initiating new plans or methods without first seeking suggestions from him during all their years of service. He somehow seemed to have gained the knowledge of a specialist in all departments of our work. It mattered little whether the problem had regard to evangelism or education, finances or social questions, printing or literature, his judgment had great weight in its solution. Native workers outside his own immediate field too learned to go to him with all sorts of matters as to none other. If they found fellow-workers going wrong and injuring the work, he was likely to be the first to receive the information. If new difficulties arose which they could not manage, his counsel was almost sure to be sought. If new enterprises were to be launched, it was deemed needful to know his mind. If special per- sonal need became pressing, he was asked to advise as to a way of relief. All who knew him well recognized him as a wise, sympathetic, true, and real friend, to 'whom they could with utmost confidence commit their most vital interests. Bishop Parker's peculiar relation to the entire work in upper India involved him in an enormous measure of work, which seemed to increase to the end. Through many hours of the day, week in and week out, month in and month out, year after year, he might have been found at his table, at home and when on his tours of supervision, dealing with important matters from far and near. His correspondence was very extensive in- deed. Until late in life he never indulged in the luxury of a private secretary. How he got through with all 294 SUPPLEMENTARY and kept it up for so many years is a mystery to those familiar with the constant demands upon his strength and time. Had he not been a man of almost herculean strength and indomitable energy such tasks would never have been accomplished. There seems good rea- son to believe that in the end his life became a sacrifice upon this altar of service. If such be the explanation of an end that seemed to come far too soon for one so well endowed, the offering must have gone up as a sweet smelling savor to God, for it was love that con- strained the ministry of toil. In nothing is Bishop Parker more missed, nor will he be for years to come, than in the matter of wise counsels in connection with problems difficult and grave that arise in the work and press for a solution. Workers accustomed to look to him for suggestions and advice through all the years of a lengthened mis- sionary career, or of ministerial service, and who have never been disappointed, experience a deep and peculiar sense of loss when, under pressing need, they would turn almost instinctively to him, their memory reminds them he is no more accessible for advice and help. But many should prove stronger themselves for the peculiar work he did because of their long association with him. Thrown upon their own resources, not a few should yield their contribution of proof that his life and spirit have become extensively reproduced in the field he served so well. 295 LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER His LAST APPOINTMENT BY BISHOP FRANK W. WARNE WHEN Bishop Parker had been an Indian mission- ary over forty-two years I heard him say, with his powerful right arm outstretched, "This arm is as strong and as steady as when I first came to India." It was thus we all thought of this godly man with his tall and manly form, his flowing white beard, his sonorous and melodious voice. But between the time of his election to the episcopacy and the time of his arrival in India disease had fastened itself upon him and wasted his great frame. We parted in Chicago in June, just after the General Conference. I went to India by way of the Philippines and met him next at Allahabad, almost im- mediately after his arrival in India, and was shocked at the change in his appearance. His neck had shrunken to that of an invalid, and he was only able to walk a few steps, and that with difficulty. I was at once impressed with the idea that his work was done. I saw him next on New Year's Day at his home in Lucknow. He had sent for me to instruct me concern- ing his Conferences, at which I was to preside. He was then extremely weak, and it was thought the end was near. My last interview was when I had held the North and Northwest India Conferences and went to him to report before leaving for Burma, Malaysia, and the Philippines. I went from Cawnpore to Lucknow, ar- riving late in the evening. Mrs. Parker said, "I will not let him know to-night that you have come, lest he should not sleep, but I will let you see him first one in the morning." Early in the morning I was admitted to 296 SUPPLEMENTARY the sick room, to find the good man's countenance all aglow with a light from the Spirit World, and I heard from his lips the following remarkable experience be- fore he even had an opportunity to tell it to his beloved wife: "I had a vision last night," he began; "the Lord Jesus came into my room and appeared to me in his glory and said, 'I have two propositions to make to you.' With awe and rejoicing I replied, 'What are they ?' Jesus said, The first is that you may continue to live, but you can never be strong.' I asked, 'Can I be of any use to any one and do any good in the world ?' He said, 'No; you can never be strong enough to help any one, but will always have to be taken care of as you are now.' I said, 'Then I do not care to live; what is the second proposition ?' He then took me away into a very bright and beautiful place which he called the lower department of heaven. He showed me the higher and still higher, grander and much more beautiful and wonderful departments of heaven, but asked me to look around me and see the people by whom I was then sur- rounded. I looked and saw great multitudes of people, and noted and rejoiced that many of them were our Indian village Christians who had passed on before. He said, 'These are my little ones who have received me in India, but have never had the opportunity of re- ceiving much teaching, and they are here waiting to be taught before they are promoted to the higher and high- est places in heaven. If you will choose to come with me I will appoint you to teach these little ones, and you will have the privilege of doing much good.' This was an entirely new idea of heaven to me, and when I thought that I could do no more good on earth I at once 297 LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER said, 'Blessed Lord Jesus, I will go with thee, and I rejoice in the prospect and privilege of being permitted to further teach our Indian village Christians.' All at once all anxiety about leaving the work and the world was gone, and there opened up before me a new and blessed work of which I had never thought : the blessed privilege of teaching Christ's little ones. I said to Jesus, 'I will be delighted to teach these poor people as long as you wish.' ' Filled with this thought Bishop Parker patted his wasted hand upon his chest outside of the bed covering, and while tears of joy coursed down his emaciated cheeks he said : "O, I am so happy at the prospect of teaching Christ's little ones! I have a new appoint- ment ! The future is all glorious ! I long to be away to my new appointment !" Just then his wife came in and he with great emotion retold the vision. Never have I witnessed a scene at once so pathetic and inspir- ing. Pathetic because it seemed the parting between a devoted husband and the wife who had seldom been separated from him in all his missionary toils. In- spiring, because he spoke with the inspiration of his Master's visit and the glories of his new appointment filling him with unspeakable anticipation. Thus be- tween sobs of grief and visions of glory, with a broken voice, he retold to his grief-stricken wife the story of his Saviour's visit and his glorious commission. I sat and looked at the two veterans who had been the rec- ognized leaders of our Indian village Christians for many years, who had thought and planned together the organization and work of our great and growing Woman's Foreign Missionary Society, and who looked out into the glorious future as it had been revealed to 298 SUPPLEMENTARY him. I thought of how in youth they had forsaken all, and had spent most of their lives in the humble Indian villages among outcasts and the poorest of the poor ; I thought of the tens of thousands they had led to Christ and of the wealth of love that was theirs, and saw illustrated Christ's wonderful promise, "There is no man that hath left house, or parents, or brethren, or wife, or children for the kingdom of God's sake, who shall not receive manifold more in this present time, and in the world to come life everlasting." The great of the earth might well envy these humble missionaries at such an hour. One can, I think, without indorsing any of the vagaries of spiritualism, believe this vision to have been a special revelation of comfort in that trying hour given to one of the greatest missionaries the Church has ever had. Need we doubt that it also gave a true view of the service such saints may be permitted to render in the future life, and of the method of advance- ment of Christ's little ones in the home beyond? 299 LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER THE LAST DAYS BY J. N. WEST ONE of the strong sentiments that marked the char- acter of Bishop Parker was a passion for hard work; and in proportion as this was so, to that degree was his lingering sickness a personal trial. But the gold of his character never shone brighter than in the furnace of affliction, and some of his greatest battles were there quietly fought and the victory won. One day he said to the writer, "Brother West, I want you to pray that patience may be given to me." I replied, "Bishop Parker, it seems to me that the Lord has given you wonderful patience, for I have been very much with you in your sickness and I have not heard you speak a harsh word to anyone." "O, I do not mean that," he said ; "I do not think that I will forget myself so as to speak impatiently. What I want is this : If I must lie here day after day and week after week, when I see so much work to be done, I want to be able to bear it patiently." In those days of suffering and waiting he was ful- filling a mission and doing a great work. However pale his face might be, it always wore a smile for those who visited his sick chamber. The little talks with different ones who were called to see him were an in- spiration to greater faithfulness and service, and many recall these times as seasons of sacred fellowship with God. Not only did many who were called to his bed- side in quiet converse feel that from his lips they were receiving the message of God, but also in distant vil- 300 SUPPLEMENTARY lages poor and ignorant Christians would gather around the visiting worker and inquire with tears how "Bishop Parker Sahib" was. I always had a desire that a formal message to the Indian Christians might be dictated by the bishop and written down for them. But it was needless. He had written his message on the hearts of the thousands that he had brought to Christ. They themselves were his epistles, upon whose lives he had written so many kind words and so many deeds of love. Had it not been so sad and pathetic it would have been a grand sight to see this strong man fighting for life. He was not accustomed to be conquered by any- thing, and he now exerted all his power to resist disease and death. At Naini Tal he said to me, "I have put my hand in the hand of Christ and have promised him that if he will help me I will get well." There is no doubt that this cheerfulness of temper and this exertion of indomitable will power kept him alive long after most men would have given up the struggle. In January, while sitting at his bedside, he dictated to me the follow- ing testimony to be sent to the Annual Conference in session at Bareilly : "I wish to add my testimony to the Conference love feast. These to me are the days of trusting and wait- ing. I can trust because God is faithful, because Jesus, in the infinite love of the Father, has made a full atone- ment for all my sins, and because by living faith in Jesus Christ I am redeemed from all sin and made a child of God. As God's son I can trust him as a faith- ful Father, and a loving Redeemer. This trust brings perfect peace, joy, and hope, and gives anew eternal life. Hence it is all right with me. I cannot see, I can- 301 LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER not understand, but I can trust and know that it is well." There was another sentence at the end which he dic- tated and then immediately requested that it should not be sent; but now I feel at liberty to give it as illus- trating not only his solicitude for Mrs. Parker, but also his great desire and purpose to get well. After telling of his Christian experience as stated above he dictated the following: "And now I commend to your kindly care one who has stood by my side . . ." (Here his full heart found vent in tears and he was choked with emotion.) "No; don't send that sentence, for I do not intend to die I want to get well." On being asked if he referred to Mrs. Parker he nodded assent, and when assured that the brethren of the Conference would do all in their power to carry out his wishes, he said, "Yes, I know that is true." Those who were present at Bishop Parker's death- bed can never forget the impressive scene. By a coin- cidence that seems more than accidental nearly all his fellow missionaries of the North India Conference and a number of the native brethren were assembled in Naini Tal to attend the Finance Committee meeting and were present at the scene of triumph. As I looked upon that group of sympathetic friends gathered in that room it reminded me of a picture I had seen of the deathbed of Wesley. With equal appropriateness might the words be used, "The best of all is, God is with us." It was very evident to us all that the end was near. Several songs were sung in Hindustani, such as "Yesu Masih mero prana bachaya" ("Jesus Christ has saved my soul"), "Main musafir aur main pardesi" ("I'm a pilgrim, and I'm a stranger"). As 302 SUPPLEMENTARY the life was slowly ebbing away all was silent save that ever and anon some one would read a hymn, "Jesus, lover of my soul, let me to thy bosom fly," "Rock of Ages, cleft for me," "Some day the silver cord will break," or repeat some verse of Scripture. What im- pressed us all was the reality and appropriateness of the sentiments expressed. That was a hallowed spot; that was a sacred hour, and as we knelt we felt that it was the threshold of the presence chamber of God. Several of the Hindustani brethren with whom he had so long labored offered tender and earnest prayers. Miss Thoburn then offered a wonderful prayer, full of triumph ; a triumph into which she herself was so soon to enter. The veil was very thin that day and she talked face to face with God. She began by saying, "O God, there is no death ; in Christ all is life, life, eter- nal life, abundant, victorious life," and then she went on, step by step, vanquishing all doubt and fear and darkness and sorrow by realizing to herself and to us all the presence of an almighty and risen Saviour who gives us overwhelming victory. There, in a ledge of the Himalayas, in the sight of the placid lake, Naini Tal, in view of the churches and schools that he had done so much to establish, almost on the very spot where forty-three years before Dr. Butler had laid the foundation of the first Methodist Church in India, surrounded by loving friends and companions in conflict for India's redemption, he quiet- ly closed his eyes on earth to open them in heaven. There was a few moments' silence, and then Dr. T. J. Scott led in prayer, beginning "O God, we turn to thee," and in tender, loving words consecrated us all to the work yet remaining to be done. 303 LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER The concourse that followed the silent form to the cemetery was very large. It filled the intervening val- ley and extended up the mountains on either side. We laid him in the bosom of a mighty mountain, where he rests, by the side of Phoebe Rowe, till the heavens be no more. 304 APPENDIX APPENDIX IN this appendix will be found a number of papers which were not originally prepared for this volume, and yet ought to find a place between its covers. The first two articles are reprinted from the Indian Witness, and were written by Bishop Parker during his last illness. There is an account of the memorial services held at Bishop Parker's American home, St. Johns- bury, Vt., and the full text is given of the eloquent address by the Rev. J. O. Sherburne. There are other extracts from period- icals. The resolutions passed by the Mission Board at New York, and an extract from the report of the Committee on Memoirs of the North India Conference are also given. Papers from Bishop Thoburn, Bishop Foss, Dr. J. W. Waugh, Dr. Leonard, which were read at the North India Conference me- morial service, Moradabad, have been inserted ; and also the address given by Dr. J. E. Robinson at the memorial service in Calcutta. Some of these papers reproduce ideas and statements which are found in the body of this work. They are confirmatory and illustrative of the longer records. Persons who may not wish to read the entire volume can find in some of these papers in the appendix such a summary of the character and services of Bishop Parker as will give them n clear and correct idea of the manner of man he was. (20) 305 LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER A Revival Its Lessons (BISHOP E. W. PARKER, IN THE "INDIAN WITNESS") More than forty years ago, when I graduated from the Bib- lical School and joined Conference, I was sent to what was known as a very hard circuit. The Sunday school had been given up for a time on account of unfavorable circumstances, there were no class meetings or prayer meetings held, and the attendance at Sabbath service was small. The Sunday school was at once renewed, the class meeting was appointed, and other means taken to increase the efficiency of the church. At the first class meeting three women and one man, besides ourselves, attended, but we, after praying and talking together, pledged ourselves to pray regularly and earnestly for a revival of re- ligion in that community. This pledge was faithfully kept and often referred to in later meetings, and as others came to the class meeting they were also pledged to this prayer. The work of the Sabbath in that circuit was so arranged that the preacher had three preaching services every Sabbath. At the Central Church the afternoon service closed about three o'clock, and there was no evening service. When evenings be- came longer, in October, an evening service in the Central Church was also opened, called a prayer meeting, but there were so few people to pray or exhort that we had to turn it into a preaching service followed by a prayer meeting. All of these services were conducted with an object of gaining the re- vival for which we were praying. Interest increased in the community in the Sunday evening services until at each Sabbath evening the country church was well filled. At the close of the service one Sabbath evening an invitation was given for seekers who wished to become real Christians to arise. This was such a very strange circumstance that it led to a great deal of com- ment during the week following. On the next Sunday evening a man of middle age, a leading business man of the community, the head of a family, arose just before the close of the meeting and with an outburst of feeling that sent a thrill through the entire congregation exclaimed, "I am determined from hence- forth and for evermore to be a Christian." The effect upon the congregation cannot be described. This man was converted. Soon other middle-aged men and women, with many young people, followed his example and sought Christ. Extra meetings were arranged and for weeks the work went forward, bringing in the best people of the community as well as the most ungodly 306 from every part of the country town. Farmers from the hills and valleys came and confessed Christ and became happy in his service. A sister church near by also became awakened, and many young people of that church were also converted in our meetings. The revival was notable in this that it gathered in so many heads of families who had neglected Christ for years, as well as many young people. The fruits of the revival lived and are alive and fresh still. Soon after the close of the special efforts we -were appointed to India, and left the circuit in the middle of tlie year. On the last day of our preaching in that circuit one family who had held out through all the meetings broke down, confessed Christ, and were happily converted. This man became a noted class leader, well known throughout that entire Conference for his works' sake. Another middle-aged man, whose wife was a Christian, in bidding us Good-bye pledged himself to the service of the Lord Jesus Christ, and was for many years a steward in the Church. There are a few lessons that we may learn from this revival, ist, The beginning of it was a covenant between the pastor and a few earnest souls in his church that they would pray for a revival. 2d, Means were taken week by week to bring about this result, not only by the pastor but by these pledged members. 3d, In answer to these earnest prayers, extending through weeks, the Spirit of God had penetrated to many homes and a convic- tion was awakened in many hearts of parents and young people throughout the community, so that when the work commenced it proved successful in gathering in the thoughtful, earnest people of the community. 4th, The converts of the revival nearly all lived and grew and remain faithful until to-day. After more than forty years that revival work is often referred to in that community. One other result of that notable meeting might be mentioned. The enemy had often tempted the young pastor to believe that he had made a great mistake in giving up his business prospects to become a minister, and many doubts arose in his own mind from time to time on this question ; but when God gave us this seal to our ministry no more doubts ever found place in our hearts. This meeting was a wonderful preparation for the work that was to follow in India and has been an inspiration and an encouragement all the way. In our efforts for a revival in our churches in India may we not learn something from this revival of many years ago! 1 307 LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER All Must Help (BISHOP E. W. PARKER, IN THE "INDIAN WITNESS") In the effort known as the Forward Movement, in seeking for a revival in the Church all round the world during this coming year, our Lord needs the help of all his people. He cannot do this work alone. He cannot do all the work that he would ac- complish withojut the aid of all his people, whatever their con- dition and circumstances may be. To whatever extent God's people, men, women, and children, lend a helping hand, to that extent the work will succeed. Hence the importance of every minister of the Gospel, and everyone interested in the success of this movement, seeking to enlist everyone who loves the Lord Jesus Christ in this great work. Our Lord needs witnesses. His enemies still deny his claims and his work, still deny that he is the Son of God and the Divine Saviour of the world. Christ can only establish his claims through witnesses who can stand up before the world and clearly testify to the claims and divinity of Jesus Christ. As witnesses the Lord Jesus needs all classes and conditions of men, and he needs witnesses who can testify clearly that he is indeed the great Saviour of mankind. Every follower of Christ should come forward at this time ready to testify for the Master. Has he done a divine work in your soul, proving himself your Divine Saviour? Then be ready to help him with your testi- mony and let the great fact be known. Has he, with his divine right and power, forgiven all your sins? Then be ready to testify that you know that he has power on earth to forgive sins and to forgive sins now. Has he raised you from the death of sin into a life of righteousness, so that the life you now live, you live in Christ, and so that you have entered into the everlasting life which is through faith in him? Then testify everywhere of this fact, and let the unsaved know that Jesus indeed rose from the dead and has raised you from death to life in him. India, among Europeans and among Indians, needs such testimonies as these more than anything else. In the new movement one hundred thousand volunteers were called for. It was hoped that these would mostly be lay mem- bers, men, women, and young people in the Church, and the hope was that these would all become special witnesses for Christ; that business men would seek out unsaved men of their class and tell them the story of their own salvation; that women would 308 APPENDIX in the same way testify as opportunity might offer with the hope of bringing friends to Christ; that the young people in their societies, in the Sunday schools, in the homes, everywhere, would try to save other young people through telling them of this great truth and bearing testimony to its results. In speak- ing of these volunteers to one pastor in America he remarked that he had not called for volunteers, as all his people were vol- unteers already. In a sense this was true, and yet in a special sense we are calling for volunteers in this work. There are many volunteer companies in India under the British Govern- ment, and they are very valuable in their communities, but the Lumsdon Horse formed a company of volunteers of a very dif- ferent class and for a very special work. For special work, then, this movement calls for volunteers, and the Lord Jesus needs every true follower in this corps. The work to be done everywhere is, first of all, to lead those in our congregations who are our friends and supporters, yet are unsaved, to the Lord Jesus Christ, that they may become true Christians and members of the household of faith. The next work is to find the indifferent, careless, godless Christians in our communities, and seek to interest them, lead them to the church, and bring them to Christ. This can only be done by per- sonal effort. And hence the need of the volunteers and witnesses. In our great Hindustani work in the large cities, like Lucknow, the conditions are very much the same as among Europeans. There are in our Lord's congregation regular attendants and friends who are unconverted; these we must save. There are many others in the community who have become careless and ungodly, do not attend church, and are in no respect Christian^ except in name; these must be sought out, gathered in. and saved, and this can never be done except by personal work. Who will volunteer in all such large cities? In our extended work among uneducated people, where we have many nominal Christians, the work is different and yet must be carried on in the same way. Volunteers, witnesses, must be organized and set to work personally among these masses in order that they may be saved truly. The Lord Jesus in this great movement needs the aid of every one of his tme followers. Would that every true Christian may come forward and do what he or she can do to help the Lord Jesus save many in India this year. 309 LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER The Last Things AT NAINI TAL There are always a number of missionaries in Naini Tal in the month of June. It is the hottest month of the year, and is vacation time for most of the schools. The finance committee of the North India Conference had arranged to have its mid- year meeting on the 5th of June in Naini Tal ; and thus it was that a large number of the missionaries of the North India Con- ference, with their wives and the missionaries of the W. F. M. S., were at Spring Cottage when Bishop Parker breathed his last. Bishop Warne, just returned from Manila, reached Naini Tal some twenty hours after his colleague's death, but was in time to lead the funeral service, at which time, with one single exception, all the families of the missionaries of the North India Conference and many native missionaries were present. Mourn- ful representations are sometimes made of missionaries dying alone, as Livingstone did, in a foreign land. Bishop Parker's translation was not under such circumstances. If he had died at his father's home in St. Johnsbury his bed would hardly have been surrounded by such a company of brothers and sisters as saw him breathe his last. AT ST. JOHNSBURY, VT. A month later a company of old time friends in Vermont gathered in Grace Methodist Episcopal Church in St. Johns- bury, to honor the memory of the departed. The Vermont Messenger reports the service: It was particularly fitting that a memorial service should be held in St. Johnsbury, for it was Bishop Parker's home and, as one of the speakers expressed it, there was no place in the world so dear to the heart of this great and good man, excepting, of course, his beloved India. A special printed program was is- sued. The service began with an organ prelude by Miss Mar- jorie Batchelder, and the male quartette of the church rendered the twenty-third Psalm. Rev. A. C. Hussey, of the First Baptist Church, led in the responsive reading of the ninetieth Psalm. Prayer was offered by Rev. E. M. Chapman, of the North Church. Rev. G. W. Hunt, pastor of Grace Church, read a memoir of Bishop Parker in which he traced the chief events 310 APPENDIX of his life from his school days, and the brief period when he was a member of the Vermont Conference and pastor of the church in Lunenburg, and through the more than forty years of distinguished work in India. The memorial addresses were delivered by Rev. Sylvester Donaldson, of St. Johnsbury Center, Rev. Dr. Edward T. Fair- banks, of the South Congregational Church, and Presiding Elder J. O. Sherburne. Mr. Donaldson said that it was a pleasure for him to be present, as representing the church with which Bishop Parker was first connected and through which he was led to be- come a minister of the cross. He paid a tribute to the mission- ary's great-heartedness and related incidents that occurred during his visits to his native land. Dr. Fairbanks spoke of Bishop Parker's connection with St. Johnsbury and of the high place he occupied among the sons of the town who have gone out into various fields of activity. Rev. J. O. Sherburne's address, which follows, was a notable tribute to the noble missionary from a brother minister who knew him well, and also knows well the history of his great work in India : When a steady star has sunken from our sight, and its bril- liancy no longer cheers and charts us, it is only natural and perhaps wise to consider what gave our star its luster, how it came to be reckoned as one of our sure guides. When a life- giving river has run dry, and even the trees that line its banks wither and grow sere, we are prompted to ask whence had our stream its former fullness? From what forest fountains was it fed? Why such perennial profit from its flow? When exquisite music has ceased and its thrill or its calm arc vanishing, we are moved to make inquiry as to why its strains so charmed us, and what in the construction of its chords so moved our hearts. The grand luminary of our work in India has gone below our horizon. The spiritual Nile of North India has ceased its flow, the cathedral harmonies of a pure, majestic life have fainted from our ears. Bishop Parker lives on earth no longer. May it not befit us, as his friends, and in some sense his associates, to inquire for a little this quiet Sabbath afternoon into the se- cret of his greatness, the sources of his power? Among the many excellencies of his character I shall at this time only call attention to three prominent traits that seem to rise like symmetrical summits before the eyes of all beholders. This is by no means saying that other characteristics were not LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER striking, or that these peaks were positively higher than any others, but rather that they stand out with such prominence as to catch and hold the gaze of all who look that way. First, Bishop Parker was a man of single purpose and of one work. From the time when, after no slight struggle, he gave up his own plan of a teacher's career and decided to give himself to the ministry and to mission work in India, just one purpose dominated all his powers. On his charge in Lunenburg he read the call for workers in that distant field just opening. In a winter's storm he drove with his young wife to this town to consult his presiding elder, who still lives within our borders. So disguised with wraps and snowy mantle were the couple that their elder did not recognize them as they drove to his door. The cause of their coming was soon explained. Would the elder commend them to the missionary society of the Methodist church for work in India? There was hesitation. The matter was canvassed. They prayed together for counsel from Heaven. The elder craved a few days to deliberate. He was doubtful as to their qualifications. But the young couple never wavered. They had already fixed their plans and were determined as to the future if the way should open. From that time on to the day of death there was no swerving in purpose on the part of Bishop Parker or his wife. One straight course he walked. One work consumed all his energies and occupied all his time. With him there was no exploiting in mission work. No three years of trial service. His lifetime and his life were both swallowed up in the great work to which he had absolutely given all. He was not in India as a naturalist, to study her fauna and flora, and make interesting collections, though these things did not escape his notice. He was not there as a philosopher or a social science expert, though he could have given valuable hints to all these men along their special lines. He was not in India as a politician, though well abreast of the times in his comprehen- sion of the very grave questions of government in that country. His work was to aid in planting Christianity in that far land ; to help his King in the conquest of the world. He knew no other calling. All his powers were trained to this one line of doing. His was Paul's dictum, "I am determined to know nothing among you save Jesus Christ and him crucified." Morning, noon, and night, in early manhood, in life's midday, and when the shades drew on, he was ever active in his chosen field. Life had for him little meaning else. He could say in verity "The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up." Every item of 312 APPENDIX nerve vigor, every acquisition of mind, all potencies of heart and soul were gratefully given to his grand work. Relieved of the boon and the burden of family care, he could the more readily give his whole time and energy to the one calling to which every- thing was pledged, and most perfectly was the vow performed. On a furlough or in the field, in the mountains or on the plains, rainy season or dry, the redemption of India was his sole theme, his constant task. Every man becomes great who is wholly given to a great cause, and this totality of consecration is surest proof of in- trinsic greatness. Another noteworthy characteristic of Bishop Parker was his marvelous industry. "I must work the work of him that sent me" seems to have been his lifelong motto. Toil with him was not degraded to a task. He took up labor with a zest and prose- cuted it with unflagging cheerfulness. On his outbound voyage he was industriously studying as best he could the Hindustani tongue, in which he expected to preach Jesus to the men of India. And from that time on he was perpetually busy, heart and hand, with the books, the leaflets, the periodicals, the schools, the mission compounds, the preachers' homes, the churches, col- leges, orphanages, famine-relief offices, and all the vas't enter- prises of his great and growing work. Once he said, "In all the years since I left America, from the General Conference of 1896 till I reembarked for that of 1900, I have not seen a day's vacation. And with him a day's work meant something. Once in the writer's home he gave a schedule of a Sunday's work in Moradabad. An early morning service before 7 A. M. ; a short sermon and general class, sometimes in the suburbs of the town ; regular church service in the mid-forenoon ; at 2 P. M. a long walk to the center of the city to visit and aid in Sabbath schools, sometimes visiting three during an afternoon ; League service at 6:30 and preaching at the barracks before the English soldiers at 8 p. M. Few men in literary or professional life average to put in eight hours of real work per day. and their working weeks have many vacations interspersed. Bishop Parker knew another kind of labor, wherein scarce a day knew less than eight hours of actual toil, and these often doubled, and on occasion eighteen or twenty hours put in with only slight recess for meals. This kind of service, on and on through years, with little intermis- sion save on shipboard: for on this side of the sea he was busy as beyond with the life-consuming work for his loved India. In LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER two General Conferences, where it was my privilege to sit with him through the protracted sessicfhs and in many committee meetings, I can hardly remember of his being absent a single hour from his appointed place. And a picture that will ever live in memory is that of Dr. Parker and his wife, arm in arm, with the smile of heaven upon their faces, walking briskly to the Exposition Building at Omaha or the Armory at Cleveland, at just about three minutes before nine. His labor ended only with his life. Only a few hours before his death he was in consultation with his leading colleague on matters pertaining to the finances of the Mission. With him to live was to labor; life without work was meaningless to him. It is not strange that he scarcely reached his three score and ten when we reflect that he put into fifty years of life more actual service than the ordinary hard worker gets into seventy. To my thought it is safe to calculate that Methodism in North India is twice as large as it would have been had Bishop Parker been only a man of average application and industry. His example of prodigious activity has proved a contagion among all his asso- ciates and native helpers and the end is not yet. The effect of the monumental industry of John Wesley has not spent itself in these i ro years since his death. All the ranks of Methodism feel its impulse and impact still. So, I think, it will be with the in- fant Church in India. Generations yet to come will be molded and inspired by the scrupulous fidelity and phenomenal industry of Edwin W. Parker. A third prominent trait was his almost perfect unselfishness. Because he thought last of himself he was ready always to serve others. And even heathen soon perceived that he came not to be ministered unto, but to minister. In some sections and in earlier times the bandits of India tried to inflame the people against the missionaries on the ground that these foreigners were among them only to make gain. But with such men as Bishop Parker laboring there for years every traducing tongue was stopped. And because of this commendation of the Gospel which the American missionaries carried to North India that Gospel can never be rooted up. Its foundation is in that love which never faileth. And with no thought of unfavorable com- parison, and no desire to disparage the work of hundreds of noble missionaries and native helpers who had the true spirit of Christian sacrifice, it is not too much to say that this noble Christian altruism which has so marvelously marked the career of our missionaries and churches in that plague-cursed, famine- 314 APPENDIX smitten region is due more to the words and works of Edwin W. Parker than to those of any other man ; I might safely say any half score of men. The world knows little of the kindliness of that great New England heart that beat in the breast of this devoted follower of Him who saved others though himself he could not and would not save. And when the King Eternal shall say, "Come, sit at my right hand ; for I was thirsty and ye gave me drink, I was hungry and ye fed me, naked and ye clothed me, sick and ye visited me," uncounted thousands from teeming India will re- spond in Babel tongues and variant dialects, "All this has Sahib Parker done for Jesus in the person of his humblest followers." Tribute by a Fellow-missionary ("J. H. M.," IN "ZION'S HERALD") Readers of Zion's Herald have heard by cable of the death of Bishop Parker at Naini Tal on the 4th of June, 1901. Bishop Thoburn and other friends and fellow-laborers of our lamented leader have no doubt given the Church full and loving accounts of him whom the Church so honored and loved, and who served her so faithfully and successfully in India during the past forty- two years. Yet we, who have been his fellow-workers here and who have been at his bedside during the long struggle, which ended so peacefully yesterday, have the mournful yet pleasant privilege of adding our testimony to the worth of this good man's life and of expressing our sorrow at his removal. Bishop Ninde died suddenly and alone in the silent night. Bishop Parker, after a severe illness which lasted more than seven months, died on a bright afternoon, surrounded by a score or more of missionaries, men and women, some of whom had faithfully, day and night, assisted Mrs. Parker in loving and skillful care of her husband, which made it possible for him to make such a prolonged and heroic struggle for his life. Months before the end came those who were in constant attendance re- alized that this would be a sickness unto death; but neither the Bishop nor Mrs. Parker gave up hope of his recovery until a few days before the end came. His mind was clear during all his sickness; within two or three days of his departure he was in frequent consultation with the missionaries concerning our work, and within an hour or two of his death, though unable to speak, he gave intelligent attention to all that was passing about him. His end was peaceful and apparently painless. 315 LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER It is not easy for those unacquainted with the peculiar posi- tion which Edwin W. Parker filled for the past twenty-five or thirty years in North India to realize the character of the be- reavement that has come to us. Among the missionaries, and in a still greater degree among the hundreds of native ministers in the two northern Conferences, the sense of personal loss is very great. "My father, the chariot of Israel and the horsemen there- of," is in the hearts of thousands. There are two kinds of men in the world those who help, and those who do not. E. W. Parker was a man who helped ; . a man to whom those about him naturally looked for help. It is no exaggeration to say that hundreds of native ministers and other native Christians will mourn his removal because his helping hand did so much to make them what they are. He was bishop for one year only ; and during most of that year he was fighting for his life and could do but little work. But he had been doing bishop's work long years before the General Conference made him one; and there is no doubt whatever that the disease which at last removed him from among us was directly caused by the unusually heavy work he carried during the twelve months preceding his elec- tion to the episcopacy. He was an enthroned episcopos in the hearts and minds of hundreds of native ministers, local preach- ers, and men of that sort. Methodism is not supposed to have popes or cardinals; but certainly for many years past Dr. Park- er's voice in Conference and in committee work has been ex cathedra for the great majority of missionaries and ministers here. He was a providential man for India ; a man who built up interests; a man of strong hand and very tender heart. Among the Sikhs and Chamars of Rohilkhand he perceived the won- derful providential openings of forty years, and the wise and resolute manner in which he did his work among them is abund- antly declared on the statistical pages of Indian Methodism. And in all of this strong man's work, and in all his success, it was well known that he accomplished what he did because in everything he was assisted by the unique wisdom and strength of her who, after a happy married life of nearly half a century. now sits and weeps alone. He is where he has no need of our recognition, or sympathy, or prayers. She is with us, and I do not think that a bereaved wife has ever inherited a richer legacy of sympathy and confidence than is given and will be given by the Church in India and America to the widow of Bishop E. W. Parker. 316 APPENDIX Official Utterances The Board of Managers of the Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church, under whose direction Bishop Parker had carried so many enterprises to success, adopted the following Minute, dated June 18, 1901 : The Board of Managers of the Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church has heard with great sorrow of the death of Bishop Edwin W. Parker, at Naini Tal, India, June 4. In his death the Church mourns the loss of one of its most faith- ful and efficient missionaries. He was born at St v Johnsbury, Vt., January 21, 1833, and was received into the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1853. After graduating from the Concord Biblical Institute in 1857 he served as a pastor in the Vermont Conference for two years. He was or- dained deacon and elder under the missionary rule at the New England Conference in 1859, and sailed in that year for India in company with C. W. Judd, J. W. Waugh, J. M. Thoburn, and C. R. Downey. He began evangelistic work among the natives, and was as- signed to the District of Bijnor, among a million of people who had had no missionary work done among them. He rapidly acquired the Hindustani language, and was soon appointed to Moradabad, where he had the privilege of receiving a large num- ber of converts into the church. When the India Conference was organized, in 1864, he was appointed presiding elder, and filled this position, with the ex- ception of three years, until he was elected bishop by the Gen- eral Conference of 1900. The great revival movement among the natives began under his leadership in the Rohilkhand District in 1885. Thas district has since been divided into five presiding elders' districts. Bishop Parker, while earnest in evangelistic work, was no less attentive to the educational work, in all forms of which he took great interest. He delighted greatly in the work of the Gouchcr Schools and in all the educational progress of the Mission. He was deeply interested also in the Sunday school work, and in later years in the work of the Epworth League, of which he was made the president. Throughout his long career he has been known as a man of deep and earnest piety, and while he had strong convictions, and 317 LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER was always earnest in following them, he was at the same time patient and kind toward all his associates ; so that throughout the years of his service he has had the hearty reverence and affection both of his foreign missionary associates and of the native preachers and church members. Although the failure of his health prevented him from pre- siding at a single Annual Conference, he was able, before he was laid aside, to perform work that was very helpful in a few District Conferences and in other services for the Church. In the fullness of an heroic, earnest, and successful life he has been called to his heavenly reward. We express our deepest sympathy with Mrs. Parker in her great affliction, and with the missionaries and native preachers and members in all Southern Asia in their bereavement. The North India Conference Memorial At the session of the North India Conference following Bishop Parker's death an impressive memorial service was held. Let- ters were read from Bishop Cyrus D. Foss, who had seen the great missionary in the prime of his activity, and from Bishop Thoburn and Rev. J. W. Waugh of the original company of missionaries who sailed for India in 1859 m the ship Boston, as well as from the Rev. Dr. Adna B. Leonard, Secretary of the Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church. The report of the Conference Committee on Memoirs in- cluded the following from the pen of Rev. Dr. T. J. Scott : His varied work, and the spirit with which it was carried out, was an expression of the man, and makes it easy for us to form an estimate of his character. Bishop Parker was a consecrated man. All he had and was and could do was on God's altar. This meant all his strength of body, mind, heart, and will ; his ability, natural and acquired, his time and money and oppor- tunity. He gave all to God and his work. In duty he was faithful. At Lucknow in the earlier days of his final illness, when it was thought he could not recover, he said to the writer of this, "I have tried to be faithful." Faithful he was in the largest plan, in the smallest. detail. No form of work intrusted to him was ever neglected, or slighted in the smallest matter. In all his earnestness and zeal were manifest. There was no more notable example of true enthusiasm in work. Characters of ro- bust energy are sometimes wanting in kindness, but his was a APPENDIX nature of gentle sympathy for the young, for the weak and poor. His work for the young and for Christians struggling with worldly poverty was a marked feature of his life. Bishop Parker filled a very large place in the plans and suc- cess of our mission. His was a genius for work, and the range of work, as one recalls it, was marvelous. As the apostle said of himself we may say of our departed bishop : "In labors more abundant." Itinerating, building, superintending education, Sun- day school work, the press, temperance work, the Epworth League, these and more are words that suggest the widening sphere of our lamented fellow worker. On all these lines he initiated much of the activities and enterprises of our mission. Perhaps he was the greatest itinerater and camp meeting man we have had. Tireless in building many of our structures attest the wisdom and enterprise with which he wrought. An enthu- siast in Sunday school work, he was always at it. He contrib- uted much to the expansion of our press, contributing with his own hand to the publications. He was equally devoted to edu- cational work and did much to promote both the higher and primary education of our mission. Founder and patron of the Epworth League in Southern Asia, he did much to make it a success. He was an earnest advocate of the temperance move- ment with voice and pen on every opportunity. On all these lines of work he was fertile in resource and tireless in pursuit. His aid in founding the W. F. M. Society, of which he was always a ready friend, is a matter of history. Bishop Parker was a man of both legislative and executive ability. Some men can plan, and make rules, but are not them- selves noted for effectiveness in carrying to success, in details. But our brother seemed equally wise and at home in largest planning and in the execution of minute details. Thus he built his life and thought into our mission field in North India and in a measure in the work we now call Southern Asia. No mention of such a career would be at all complete without recognition of the fact that Mrs. Parker, who mourns and feels this bereave- ment as none of us can, was an inspiration and coordinate spirit in all this work. We will not cease to pray that a loving God may continue to sustain her in the great work husband and wife built together till the day it pleases Mm to join them again amid the spirits of just men made perfect. But a life of such varied toil and exposure, though long sus- tained, must feel the strain. Bishop Parker, stalwart of frame and with muscles like tempered steel, shrank from no labor or 319 LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER exposuie. His endurance in itinerations and fight with malaria in the attempt to found a Christian community in the Lakhimpur jungles is a story never yet fully told to the Church. The seeds of death were then sown. We may linger a moment at the death scene, where, as writ- ten of him by the editor of The Christian Advocate, "his death in the field must have been pleasing to the warrior." His last hours were calm and resigned, but there was thought and care for the loved work. The ruling passion was strong in death. To the last letters were dictated and messages sent. One has said, "The last hours of a cherished friend are those we best remember. There is a meaning in his words which death alone gives them." By a fortunate opportunity, a number of our for- eign missionaries and Hindustani workers were in Naini Tal and were present in the last hour. There was recognition, almost to the final moment, in the gentle pressure of "the vanishing hand." As a restful sleeper, with closed eyes he passed away amid the suppressed tones of prayer and hymn. "Servant of God, well done !" As to thy mortal body, rest till sea and plain and mountain side give up their dead ! TRIBUTE BY BISHOP JAMES M. THOBURN I first met our dear brother Parker in April, 1859, when we entered upon our long voyage around the Cape of Good Hope to Calcutta. Almost immediately be became one in sympathy, one in our views of missionary work, one in our convictions of duty, and one in our hopes of immediate as well as ultimate success. From the day of our first meeting down to the time when I bade him adieu at Lake Bluff, in Illinois, a short time previous to his departure for India, our mutual confidence and love never lapsed and never lessened. From our first meeting, I always found him to be a man who could not be diverted from his great life work. He lived for nothing else; he had no per- sonal interests to serve apart from the task which God had given him ; and never for one moment did I ever hear him speak of turning aside to right or to left. First, last, and always, he was a Christian missionary, and without overlooking the in- terests of other fields he never lost sight of the fact that his own personal call was to the people of India. Bishop Parker was a practical man and never allowed himself to be deceived by general considerations of duty. From the first, he set before himself clear ideals, and so laid out his work that it might all point to practical results. He also understood, and 320 APPENDIX never allowed himself to forget that in the beginning of a mis- sionary's work the leader must also be a worker. Hence he bore a part in every task. He taught in the first schools and Sunday schools; he led in all the little meetings which were held, and stood by his brethren in the bazaars, where most of the preaching was done; he made constant journeys among the villages ; and daily might be found engaged in humble tasks which missionaries in these days usually find others ready to undertake. He was a great worker. He was never idle, and in his earlier days did not understand the necessity for systematic rest. As his years increased he corrected this error, though up to his last working day in India he was able probably to do much more work than is usually allotted to the average missionary. In fact, I never knew his equal as a worker. He was also a builder. The term might be used in a literal sense when we remember the many structures in our mission fields which owe their ex- istence either to his planning or to his actual superintendence. In a broader sense, he was a builder of churches and institutions which will live for many long years. He understood not only how to lay foundations, but also how to build wisely thereon. In the various stages of our organization as a mission, as Con- ferences, and finally in the creation of our great central Con- ference for Southern Asia in all these our brother bore a lead- ing part. He was gifted with what might be called the instinct of organization. In short, he possessed a marvelous combina- tion of those elements which are needed in the character of a practical missionary. He could personally engage himself, or if need be act as leader of others in nearly every form of missionary labor known in our great Asiatic fields. In character, our brother was one of the excellent of the earth. He was generous in his feelings toward others, unselfish when his own personal interests were at stake, thoughtful of the welfare of those around him, helpful in his disposition and ability to render assistance where needed, practical in all his plans, and born to be a leader in every good word and work such as falls to the lot of a Christian missionary. It remains to notice our dear brother's character as a dis- ciple of our divine Leader and Commander. Through all the long years of his missionary career he ever proved himself worthy of the noble service to which he had been called. His faith was steadfast, his devotion supreme, his service unselfish, his love of the brethren unvarying, his habitual outlook checr- (21) 321 LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER ful and hopeful, and his consecration thorough and always complete. My personal relation to our dear brother Parker from the day of our first meeting was more than fraternal. I was drawn to him by a special affection and confidence from the day of our first meeting, and through all the years that followed the bond which united us constantly grew stronger. I never had an in- terest which I could not have committed into his hands without a second's hesitation, feeling sure that it would be as safe with him as with myself. He was a true man in the broadest sense of the word, as well as a true Christian in the more ideal sense in which we often employ that term. I rejoiced greatly when I was a personal witness to his election as a missionary Bishop. I had been deeply and even bitterly disappointed when the Gen- eral Conference failed to place him in that position four years earlier, and when I saw him at last clothed with this responsi- bility, I rejoiced greatly because I anticipated great results from his service in a position in which he could bring greater resources to bear upon our work. In all my past years, perhaps, no event has seemed more mysterious than the death of our dear brother just as he was standing upon the threshold of what seemed to be a new opportunity to glorify his Master upon the wide sphere covered by our work in Southern Asia. Perhaps I might ven- ture to say that he had stood in a closer relation to me for more than forty years than any other missionary in the wide world. Memories of years long gone by come flowing into my mind and heart as I write these lines, reviving for the moment sweet as- sociations, and yet creating emotions of unspeakable sadness as I remember that I can no more see him on earth, and especially that I cannot join him again upon the great spiritual battle fields of Southern Asia. I praise God that I ever met him. I thank God for all my hallowed associations with him on the mission field, and I look forward with glad anticipation to the time when I shall sit down with him in our Father's house above, and re- view all the long years of our pilgrimage while still members of the Church militant. May God make us all worthy of the honor of having been associated with one upon whom God has put so marked a distinction as a leader in the missionary host in India. 322 APPENDIX BISHOP Foss's LETTER PHILADELPHIA, PA., Dec. 6, 1901. To all in India and Malaysia who mourn Bishop E. W. Parker, and especially to the North India Conference: DEARLY BELOVED BRETHREN AND SISTERS: Permit me to tender you the assurance of my deep sympathy in your very sore be- reavement in the loss of Bishop Parker, which I also feel as a personal affliction. I had known and highly respected him for many years before my visit to India. During that visit it was my good fortune to be much in his company, and to have abundant opportunity to observe his relations to his own Conference and to the Central Conference, and the high intelligence and consecrated spirit which characterized all his work. This enabled me, in some de- gree, to appreciate the very high esteem in which he was mani- festly held by you all. I rejoiced in his election to the Episcopacy; and at his conse- cration I had the privilege of giving him the solemn Charge of the Consecration Service, and of assisting in the laying on of hands. Of course I cordially joined in the frequently uttered hope that his two score years of strenuous and successful labor as a missionary might be crowned by at least a half a score of years of still more widely useful labor as a Bishop. I think of our dear departed friend as a stalwart man, a gen- uine brother, a tireless worker, an earnest evangelist, a sagacious administrator, a wise counselor, a patient sufferer, and a crowned conqueror. Please tender to Mrs. Parker my sincere condolence in her temporary loss, and my high congratulation on her eternal union with such a noble soul. God bless India, which he loved so well, and make its deserts of heathenism to rejoice and blossom as the rose. Your hearts are sad, and so is mine, because a too laggard Church is so slow to hear the trumpet calls of Providence, to enter doors so wide open, and to reap in vast fields so white for harvest. But let us be patient. Christ's solemn "Go ye" will soon awaken legions now slumbering; and we shall see that Bishop Parker and Miss Thoburn, and many others who, having toiled with them, are now resting from their labors, have not lived in vain, and that "their works do follow them." With cordial Christian salutations, I remain, Most truly yours, CYRUS D. Foss. 323 LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER AN OLD COMRADE'S TRIBUTE 75 OAK HILL AVENUE, DELAWARE, O., U. S. A., Dec. 7, 1901. MY DEAR BROTHER CORE: Your letter received a week or more ago, asks that I write a few words appreciative of Bishop Parker, to be read in the memorial service. I respond willingly, though I cannot say it gives me pleasure to do so. It is fitting that one who has known Brother Parker for more than forty- two years, who has been intimately associated with him in mis- sion work for nearly all that time, and, when distant from, has had almost uninterrupted epistolary correspondence with him, should say a word "appreciative." I have no other kind of word to say. How could I have with such a manly man, such a model Christian, such a mission worker, such a leader, guide, friend, and brother before my mind nay, his very form and features be- fore my face as I write ! His very face was one which once seen was never to be forgotten, or mistaken for some one else. We do not think of any other friend or fellow-worker as being Brother Parker, or being like him his great benign counten- ance, illuminated with love, and an earnest Christian anxiety to do some good to help, uplift, benefit whether Christian, Hindu, or Mohammedan, whether native or foreign all saw and could not help seeing in him a friend who would love and help them if they would only let him. Through all his years he carried that great open countenance, wreathed with benignity and love, asking every one who looked into it if he might not help or do some one some good. That face and manly form I say are be- fore me now. Here in our Delaware home, he was with us only a little more than a year ago. With Sister Parker he made us a few days' visit before leaving for the Far East. His presence here and his ministrations were a blessing to us all, and to all who met or heard him. We had no thought then that God would take him so soon. (Why not take some of the rest of us that could better be spared?) I have no doubt many were very de- sirous that his life might be spared that he might exercise the high office to which he had been called, for a few years at least but had he not shown by his work and administration for years just what he could be and do, when the vows of a Bishop were upon him? I think we all knew, for no Bishop did more, or could do more than he had done during the past few years, save in the one matter of laying on of hands in ordina- 324 APPENDIX tion. He was doubly consecrated to the office and work of a Bishop. I looked into his face, as he bowed his head and the hands of Bishops Foss and Thoburn, Brother Mudge and myself were laid on his head, and I felt sure I saw how he was not only receiving the disciplinary form of Episcopal consecra- tion, but that he was with his eyes nearly closed and quivering, consecrating himself, with his great heart, soul, mind, and strength, to the high duties of a Christian missionary Bishop. It was a solemn hour, a memorable scene, on that Sunday after- noon, in the great Auditorium, filled with thousands in the pres- ence of the General Conference. No man there was more humble, more devout, more entirely consecrated than our dear Brother Parker. I was sorry Sister Parker could not, in that great crowd, be upon the platform, and see as the few of us near him could. I met Brother and Sister Parker first in Boston, when we at- tended the New England Conference, in session at Lynn, Mass., in early April, 1859. We sailed together for India on the i6th of that month; in our company were other devoted souls, Brother and Sister Judd, Brother and Sister Downey, Brother and Sis- ter Parker, Brother Thoburn, Lillie Waugh, and myself. We reached Calcutta on the 21 st of the following August. 127 days around the Cape of Good Hope, and now after more than forty- two years, three of our company are left, and only one will be present at your Conference when these lines will be read. I have been reading part of the correspondence between Brother Parker and myself, and would like to quote from it (but cannot here) how during all these years (for I have letters of every year, letters written on the date of our arrival in India) Brother Parker's sole thought was to put in as many years of earnest work for the blessed Master in India as were allotted. He first coveted the privilege of twenty-five years, then thirty. then forty, and he had really set out for another ten years, when the Master called him ! Blessed man ! Blessed memory ! . What God wrought through him is known to you all. I could write much, but need say no more. My heart is with you. Pray for us. I would be there to join in this service, but cannot now. God bless all who may be present at your memorial service for my dear brother a great and good man. Your brother, as ever, J. W. \V.\rnn. 325 LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER FROM A. B. LEONARD, D.D., SECRETARY OF THE MISSIONARY SOCIETY Bishop Parker possessed all the essential qualities of a suc- cessful minister of the Gospel of Christ. He was first of all called of God. He felt in the depths of his soul "Woe is me if I preach not the gospel." Doubting not that God had called him, he went forth as God's messenger. No man should enter upon the Christian ministry whom God does not call. A man may en- ter upon any other profession without any deep conviction that a great moral obligation impels him, but not upon the gospel ministry. Second. He was well equipped for his work by careful train- ing and study. He was a man of wide reading. He felt that having been called to the ministry, he must prepare himself for his great life work. The best preparation possible should be made by all who enter the sacred office. Time spent in institu- tions of learning is well spent. Third. He was wholly consecrated to his work. All his pow- ers of soul, mind, and body were presented to the Lord a living sacrifice. During the whole term of his service in India he could say, "This one thing I do." He did not divide his time between the secular and the sacred. He vowed to devote all his time to the work of the ministry, and he kept his vow. In this regard, as in many others, he may well be held as an ideal minister by all our brethren, foreign and native, in India. Fourth. He was wise in his plans and methods. His words were uttered in wisdom. He was not rash, having no need to apologize for or explain what he did. His words and his works vindicated his wisdom. Many preachers have learning and consecration, but they lack in wisdom, and so do many things that bring them into trouble, but this could not be said of Bishop Parker. Fifth. He was heroic. He did not count his life dear unto himself. There was no burden he would not bear or danger he would not brave when duty called. He did not fail to declare the whole counsel of God, even when men were displeased or even offended by his utterances, but his words and his bearing were always prompted by love. The Christian ministry is no place for a time server or a coward. Brave men who fear God, speak the truth and work righteousness are needed in the gospel ministry. Sixth. He was patient. In him patience had its perfect work. 326 APPENDIX He knew how to bear with the weak and to strengthen them. Many in India have been helped by his patient and painstaking labors to enter into the Christian life, and they have been steadied and guided by his" friendly hand. He could bear with the infirmi- ties of the weak. May there be raised up many ministers of his kind in India ministers who are called, equipped, consecrated, heroic, wise, and patient. Memorial Address DELIVERED IN THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH, DHARAMTALA STREET, CALCUTTA, BY REV. J. E. ROBINSON, EDITOR OF THE "INDIAN WITNESS" God's best gifts to our sin-scarred world are good men. To a nation he can give nothing better than men of lofty ideals, unselfish patriotism, and pure life. What a blessing to the na- tions they served so acceptably, such men as Cromwell, Wash- ington, and Lincoln ! God's best gifts to his Church are ministers and missiona- ries of Christ-like spirit, pastors after his own heart, true under-shepherds who feed the flock of Christ, who seek the lost, who relieve the suffering, and in purity of life and sincerity of purpose seek the advancement of the kingdom of God. Choicer gift in all respects was never bestowed by hand Divine upon the Methodism of India during its half century's history than Edwin Wallace Parker, to do honor to whom we gather in the Lord's house this evening. There have been missionaries of our Church possessed of riper culture and broader scholar- ship; there have been missionaries who in one or other particu- lar qualification were his superiors. But I risk nothing in affirm- ing that the Methodist Episcopal Church never commissioned a missionary to represent it in the foreign field more symmetric- ally endowed by nature and grace for the most effective kind of all-round missionary service. I deliberately place this judg- ment on record, after a thoughtful survey of the history of our Church's Missions, and after careful consideration of the quali- fications of others. Were I to pause to compare our translated friend with the great and good missionaries of other Churches whose names arc famous in the annals of Christian service in this land, the name of Parker would not suffer. Carey was unquestionably a great biblical scholar, whose work of translation and other unique services have been of inestimable value to the Church of Christ LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER in India. Judson was illustrious as the pioneer of a new and prosperous Mission in Burma and as a great personal sufferer for Christ and his Gospel's sake, nor will his translation work ever be forgotten. Duff stands as the foremost missionary edu- cator of the century, whose principles and methods underlie the whole fabric of modern Indian education. But as a builder in the Church of God, as a winner of souls, as an organizer of churches, founder of new stations and enterprises, leader in evangelistic work which has yielded thousands and thousands of converts to Christ, brought hundreds of families into the Church, and introduced scores of native ministers into the ministry, Dr. Parker was the peer of any, and in the particular respects indi- cated, more successful than any. Dr. Parker's services to his Church are beyond computation. His sagacity, forethought, power of organization and manage- ment, warmth of feeling, power to inspire and rule others, calm consideration in laying his plans, vigor and determination in executing them gave him an unrivaled place in the work of our Methodist Mission. His American and native brethren have expressed their sense of the value of his missionary labors in the resolutions adopted after the Bishop's death : His labors have extended to all the districts of the 'North India Conference. His duties as Presiding Elder for a long series of years caused him to tour through the entire field of Oudh, Rohilkhand, and to some extent of Kumaun and Garhwal. He has really been identified with the laying of the foundation of our Church in all Northern India. All the institutions of the Church without exception in this field have felt his guiding hand and been benefited by his wise counsels. Bishop Parker was a man of one work, and to that all his time was conscientiously devoted, namely, the upbuilding of the kingdom of God in this heathen land. Numerous church and school buildings, large and small, in cities and in country places were reprojected and carried to completion under his superin- tendence. His efficiency never waned, although his years in- creased, and he was called to his reward in the sixty-ninth year of his age. A large number of our native preachers had been trained by him from youth to manhood, and ultimately inducted into signally useful service as ministers of the Church. In his death they deeply feel his loss, for he was to them a true father in Christ. Whether in the General Conference in America, of which he was frequently a member, or in the Central or Annual Confer- 328 APPENDIX ences in India, his position was always a prominent one, because of the high value placed upon his wide experience and faithful service. On account of his unusual financial and administrative ability his advice has always been considered invaluable, and we shall sadly miss his counsels. Bishop Parker was a holy man of spotless character. He was tender and gentle. He could be stern and severe when it was necessary so to be. We know nothing he did not sacrifice for the Church in India. Whatever limited means he possessed, all his time and talents were literally spent, as was his life itself, for this object. This was the spontaneous testimony of those most intimately asso- ciated with him some of them having been his Conference col- leagues for forty years. The good man had good report of his brethren and there is nothing more precious to a Methodist preacher than this and was also held in repute by "them that are without." His magnificent physique, equal to the hardest experiences of missionary toil, gave him an initial advantage over many, and this he utilized to the full. His sound judgment on all mis- sionary questions gave him a recognized foremost place in the counsels of his Church. His wise generalship in the conduct of evangelistic campaigns and the great gatherings of native Chris- tians which he was among the first to institute constituted an acknowledged claim to leadership which all his brethren gladly conceded. In every department of missionary activity in evan- gelistic work, in educational work, in pastoral work, in financial administration he easily took place in the front rank. But these great abilities and varied talents which Dr. Parker possessed would have been of comparatively little worth in the mission field had they not been backed up and glorified by a spirit of deep and thorough consecration to God. To my mind this was the conspicuous, the crowning feature of his missionary career. He was wholly given up to the service of Christ and the Church. The passion of his life was to promote the cause of God. His highest ambition unquestionably was to advance the interests of the kingdom of God among the people of this land. He had no ulterior ends. There were no by-paths into which he could be lured. Like the great missionary apostle of old, Dr. Parker could say, "This one thing I do." In doing this he was willing to spend and to be spent. He lived and moved and had his being in the work of God, and everything to which he could be induced to turn his hand was only taken up that it might be 329 LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER laid under tribute to serve the cause he loved so well, and for which he was willing to lay down his life. On such an occasion as this it would be unadvisable to spend too much time in dwelling upon the virtues and abilities of our deceased leader. It seems to me that it is of more importance to my hearers, and more likely to be useful to them, if the re- maining time should be spent in ascertaining the secret of his power and usefulness. How came this man of humble parentage and ordinary social position to occupy such an honorable and useful place in the ranks of the Church's chief workers, and to serve his generation so acceptably? 1. First of all, he was well-born. The offspring of God-fear- ing, upright, temperate people have a tremendous advantage over those who first see the light in ungodly homes and spend their early youth in a worldly, immoral environment. From his birth young Parker breathed an atmosphere of piety, inspired by the best example in his own home. And though he did not enter upon the Christian life until he was twenty years of age, his mind was so saturated with Christian ideals, and religious truth had entered so fully into every fiber of his being, that he was ready to take his place at once as a disciple prepared to serve with all his ransomed powers, fortified by all he had seen and heard and gathered up into his intellectual and moral nature in a godly home. 2. This leads us to emphasize another important factor in his history. Young Parker's conversion was clear and definite. To my mind, this is of great importance in one's religious career. If the seeker after God does not come to the enjoyment of conscious acceptance with God if he does not lay hold fully by faith and obtain the witness of his adoption into the family of God his Christian experience will always be unsatisfactory. He will lack the strength and courage which the joy of the Lord brings. The atmosphere by which he is encompassed will be one of doubt and uncertainty. No man can live a victorious spiritual life, nor can he do his best work in the world, if he is uncertain as to his relation to God. Fortunately, young Parker so fully surrendered himself to God, in separation from the world and devotement of his whole being to his Saviour, that it was possible for God to save him through and through, and to start him out on the road to heaven with the glad and strengthening assurance in his heart that his sins, which were many, had all been forgiven, and that he had truly become a new creature in Christ Jesus. In all his after life it meant a great deal to him, both as a Christian dis- 330 APPENDIX ciple and as a missionary of the Gospel, that he knew himself to be a child of God and an heir of glory. The meridian evi- dence of his conversion which he enjoyed was not only an in- spiration and unspeakable comfort to himself, it enabled him to be a successful teacher and guide of others. 3. As a natural corollary to such a conversion as I have de- scribed, his life was marked by unswerving obedience to the voice of God. It would be out of place to affirm that no diso- bedience ever marred his religious life. But it was most mani- fest in Dr. Parker's life that he was governed by a general spirit of obedience to what he believed was God's will and purpose concerning him. This was illustrated by the readiness with which, soon after his conversion, he yielded to the call to for- sake all worldly ambitions and devote himself to the work of the ministry. Later, when the providential call to leave home and kindred, and engage in foreign missionary service came, it found him ready. This obedient attitude characterized him all through life. 4. His life was characterised by a most practical consecration. There is a dreamy type of consecration, pervaded largely by the spirit of unpractical mysticism, with which Dr. Parker had no sympathy. But all who knew him would cheerfully agree that his was a life of truest practical consecration to the highest ideals. He lived for his Redeemer, and for the work to which his Redeemer had called him. He had no greater joy than to see the poor idolaters among whom he labored so faithfully coming into the kingdom of God and developing in Christian life. To the work of building up the native Church he strenu- ously devoted his best powers. The needs of the poor, ignorant ones *who had but recently emerged from the gloomy depths of superstition and idolatry lay close to his heart. His highest ambition was to promote their spiritual and temporal welfare. It may be truthfully said that, to accomplish this, there was no sacrifice he was not prepared to make, no duty he was unwilling to perform. Bishop Parker loved India and its people with a love born of the indwelling Christ who inspired him. No man better knew the failings and defects of poor people for whose salvation he wrought. But these very failings and weaknesses constituted the most powerful plea that could present itself to his mind. He knew what the Gospel was able to do for the disadvantaged peo- ple, and realized the possibilities opened to them through the grace of the Lord Jesus. To the very last his thought was for 331 LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER the needy, for whose instruction and help he would gladly have lived on. But it was not to be. For forty and two years his best energies had been unselfishly and unceasingly devoted to the people of this land. When the summons to "come up higher" reached him it found him prepared for the great ordeal. He fell asleep in Christ his Lord; He gave to him to keep The soul his great love had redeemed, Then calmly went to sleep. And as a tired bird folds its wing, Sure of the morning light; He laid him down in trusting faith, And dreaded not the night. In an article published in the Indian Witness I found occa- sion to speak of our translated Bishop as "our Methodist Great- heart." The term seems beautifully appropriate to the great and good man who has been taken from us. No character in Bun- yan's immortal allegory appeals to me more powerfully than Greatheart. It is an exquisite conception of the Dreamer of Bedford Jail the conception of a man fully devoted to the service of his Lord in behalf of his fellows. My heart was warmed this afternoon as I refreshed my mem- ory respecting Greatheart by turning to his portraiture in Pil- grim's Progress. The more I read the more appropriate did my application of the term Greatheart to the beloved missionary leader who has gone home seem to be. Greatheart, as you will remember, was the Interpreter's armed servant! His chief em- ployment at the Interpreter's command was to convoy pilgrims to the House Beautiful, over the Delectable Mountains, and down to the brimming waters of the river that divides the heavenly land from ours! In rendering this service to many a pilgrim, and many a company of pilgrims, Greatheart encoun- tered numerous difficulties. But the work to him was inex- pressibly sweet. It was his meat and drink. Neither lions nor giants, nor the reproaches of evil men, nor the fear and weak- nesses of the pilgrims themselves, discouraged him. Sometimes Greatheart vacillated just for a moment when he came near to heaven and felt its magnificent and almost dissolving attractions full in his soul. He wavered between rest and labor, between conflict and peace, between "Christ" and his service on earth and "Christ" and his glory in heaven. 332 APPENDIX On his sick bed, which proved to be his dying bed, Bishop Parker had a vision of his Saviour and the celestial city, for the one part, and of needy multitudes requiring instruction and guid- ance, for the other. To depart and be with Christ would have been to him "better;" but most joyfully was he ready and will- ing to abide in the flesh for those who needed him. After weeks of suffering, the Master gave the signal, "It is enough," and our Methodist Greatheart Gave his body to this pleasant country's earth, And his pure soul unto his Captain, Christ, Under whose banner he had fought so long. Lines Written on the Death of Bishop Parker The following lines, written on the death of Bishop Parker by J. Gordon Kennedy, of Calcutta, may well conclude our record : "Mingle his dust with hers ! No other land Shall fold in her embrace his form of clay. Scarce did he deem the soil a foreign strand Wherein his bones we lay. "For two score years his best, his all, he wrought Into the texture of her common life; His Father's glory it alone he sought Through all his earthly strife. "Though hid from us the pattern, yet we know His faithful hand will answer to the call When the Great Judge shall final praise bestow Upon his servants all. "How glorious then shall be the vast design Which by the Spirit's guidance men did weave Each his own part! And there perchance shall thine Some meed of praise receive. "What art thou weaving in the loom of Time? Say, brother! Is it God's eternal plan? Blessed art thou if pattern so sublime The Judge s eyes shall scan. ******* "Lay him to rest whose labors now are o'er; Whose spirit now has passed beyond the bourne; With saints he waits upon the farther shore The Resurrection Morn." 333 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY Los Angeles This book is DUE on the last date stamped below. 315 ! I Hi 1 1 i !!l HI