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 3<Dth of August they left 
 Moradabad for Pauri. It was in the midst of the rainy 
 season, and the exposure and privation of the way were 
 such that they suffered much from illness and reached 
 Pauri in worse condition than when they left Morad- 
 abad. At Pauri Mrs. Parker grew worse, rather than 
 better, and after two weeks they retraced their steps. 
 When at last they came to the mission house at Bijnor 
 she was too ill to travel farther. On October 22 they 
 finally reached Moradabad. Concerning Mrs. Parker's 
 condition Mr. Parker writes : "Her lungs are so much 
 affected by the fever we fear for her life. Should her 
 lungs improve then she must go home to America at 
 once to get rid of the fever. This is our only hope. I 
 wrote a letter asking for leave, but did not send it, as 
 we really did not know what to do." 
 
 The names of Zahur-ul-TTaqq and Andrias are often 
 
 found on the pages of Mr. Parker's journal, and it is 
 
 117
 
 LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER 
 
 fitting that they should here receive fuller notice. In 
 Mrs. Humphrey's Six Years in India there is an ac- 
 count of Zahur-ul-Haqq's conversion and baptism at 
 Bareilly in April, 1859. He was originally a Moham- 
 medan, and he was the first fruit of the Methodist 
 Episcopal Mission in India. He was one of the four 
 native ministers received on trial at the Lucknow Con- 
 ference in 1864. He was the first native presiding 
 elder in India, and long occupied a leading position 
 among the native members of Conference. He was for 
 many years Dr. Parker's "right-hand man," and each 
 was a valuable assistant to the other. Parker and 
 Haqq made a strong team. It was a unique combina- 
 tion of West and East. A Yankee and an Oriental! 
 What the energy of one could not accomplish the 
 diplomacy of the other would achieve. Haqq stood 
 well with all the missionaries from the beginning, but 
 it was Mr. Parker's good fortune to more specifically 
 set feet in the pathway of opportunity which led to suc- 
 cess. Mr. Parker was always quick in discerning the 
 good qualities of his fellow-workers, and his sagacity 
 and fitness for leadership in the Church were clearly 
 indicated by his early recognition of Zahur-ul-Haqq's 
 abilities, and the wisdom with which he utilized them 
 in the interests of Christ's kingdom. The two men 
 were about the same age; they were true yokefellows, 
 and their names are associated in the memories of thou- 
 sands in India. 
 
 Andrias was altogether different ; as unlike Zahur-ul- 
 Haqq as both were unlike the Vermont missionary. 
 He was from a low caste among the Hindus called 
 Chumars, or workers in leather, though many of them 
 
 are farmers and laborers. Bishop Thoburn describes 
 
 118
 
 THE MORADABAD DISTRICT 
 
 him as "a short, square-shouldered, resolute man, with 
 very little culture, but an immense store of ready wit, a 
 robust faith, a manly courage, and an eloquent tongue." 
 Before his conversion he was a religious mendicant, or 
 fakir, having all the peculiar characteristics of his class. 
 Such men move about with authority among their co- 
 religionists. Their word is law among their people; 
 they nominally live by begging, but their call for alms 
 is hardly distinguishable from the demands of the gov- 
 ernment taxgatherer. Such men see much of the world 
 and are usually observant, intelligent, free from care, 
 very companionable, and very interesting. Their mode 
 of life gives them an independent and authoritative 
 manner. It is almost impossible to disconcert, though 
 it is easy to enrage, them, and they show about as much 
 respect to dignitaries as Diogenes did to Alexander. 
 Their profession being a religious one, they are more 
 or less given to discussion of religious matters. Such 
 a man was Andrias. He became a Christian in 1862, 
 but at first there was no thought of his becoming an 
 evangelist. The following extract from Bishop Tho- 
 burn's Missionary Apprenticeship tells how Andrias 
 became a preacher : 
 
 Andrias had attained some celebrity as a Guru be- 
 fore becoming a Christian, but he had been in the Mis- 
 sion some time before any one suspected that he had in 
 him the elements of a popular preacher. He was hold- 
 ing a petty post on five rupees a month when one day 
 his ability as a speaker was unexpectedly discovered. 
 Mr. Parker was going out to Kunderki to preach on a 
 market day, when at the last moment he discovered that 
 he had no one to go with him. In noisy market places 
 it is very desirable for the missionary to have some one 
 to take his place when he becomes tired, that he may 
 
 119
 
 LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER 
 
 obtain a brief rest and be able to take the stand again 
 with renewed strength. On this occasion no one else 
 could be found, and as the emergency was great An- 
 drias was asked if he could take a turn in talking to the 
 people, merely for the purpose of occupying the time, 
 and he at once consented. When his turn came he 
 mounted the cart, which served as the outdoor pulpit, 
 and began to talk, and at once the people began to press 
 around. He spoke like a master. He parried blows 
 from opponents with great readiness and gave thrusts 
 like a master of his art. From that day Andrias was 
 numbered among our preachers, and when I first met 
 him he had just become settled in his first independent 
 appointment. 
 
 The camp meeting at Sambhal near the close of 
 October was a very successful one, and amid so much 
 discouragement from failing health cheered the mis- 
 sionaries very much. Mr. Parker writes concerning it 
 that he had one of the "best times" preaching in Hindu- 
 stani that he had ever known. But he was perplexed 
 on account of the condition of his own health as well as 
 that of Mrs. Parker. His journal shows how he felt 
 about it : 
 
 During this cold season I worked in the school regu- 
 larly three hours daily and visited the outstations. 
 Yet all the time I had a very bad cough and was very 
 weak and unfit for work. Mrs. Parker also was in very 
 poor health. All said we would have to leave India for 
 a time or die. Yet we disliked to think of going, as 
 there is so much to do and so many others must go. 
 Sister Gracey is so poorly that they are going off at 
 once. Mr. Hauser is also about going, and Mr. Jack- 
 son is talking of going. On this account we said noth- 
 ing, but determined to keep on another year. On the 
 24th of December I had a public examination of the 
 
 1 20
 
 THE MORADABAD DISTRICT 
 
 Moradabad school with distribution of prizes. It 
 passed off very well. 
 
 Although during 1867 I worked very hard all the 
 time in every way, and tried to pray and trust in God 
 as never before, yet I did not see the fruit of my labors 
 as I had hoped. There was too much work, and hence 
 effort was not sufficiently concentrated. 
 
 Jan. 2, 1868. All the missionaries and native helpers 
 on the district met at Amroha to-day for District Asso- 
 ciation. This association or Annual Conference for the 
 district had its first meeting at Amroha in November, 
 1865, and has been maturing ever since. At the present 
 meeting a constitution and course of study were 
 adopted. The constitution makes this a District Con- 
 ference for the direction of the work generally and for 
 the general improvement of the members. The ap- 
 pointments of the local preachers and exhorters are 
 made at this Conference by a cabinet composed of the 
 presiding elder and all the preachers in charge on the 
 district. The course of study provides for one year's 
 course before entering the Conference and four years 
 afterward. If I do no other work in India, I think the 
 maturing and starting of this native Conference is a 
 good deal. The other districts are following us in this. 
 I believe God directed it. 
 
 In Bishop Thoburn's Missionary Apprenticeship he 
 remarks that this District Conference organization was 
 the principal topic of discussion with Mr. Parker, Mr. 
 Mansell, and himself while the three were together at 
 Pauri in September. It was the harvest of counsel and 
 experience. With very slight modification it became a 
 part of the organic law of the Methodist Episcopal 
 Church, and the experience of subsequent years affirms 
 that the measure was a wise and helpful step forward. 
 
 The Conference of 1868 was held at Bijnor, begin- 
 ning January 16. Mr. Weatherby was sent to Bahraich 
 
 121
 
 LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER 
 
 and Mr. Thoburn took his place at Moradabad. Mr. 
 Mansell took Mr. Thoburn's place at Pauri, and Bijnor 
 was left for Mr. Hoskins, then on his way from Amer- 
 ica. He arrived at Moradabad on the 8th of February, 
 and on the 5th of March the presiding elder accom- 
 panied the new missionaries to Bijnor, starting them in 
 their work where, more than eight years before, he had 
 begun his own. While at Bijnor the civil surgeon, Dr. 
 Gardener, told Mr. Parker that he and Mrs. Parker 
 should not risk their lives by remaining longer in India. 
 If they did not soon go to some other country their 
 lives would be cut short; it was necessary to get free 
 from the fever which for six years had clung to them. 
 Impressed by the advice of their good and sagacious 
 friend, Mr. and Mrs. Parker began to think seriously 
 of following it. They secured further medical advice, 
 then submitted the question by circular to the mission- 
 aries, who unanimously voted in favor of their going 
 at once. This decided the matter. The journal says : 
 
 As all of the brethren in the Mission voted us emer- 
 gent leave we decided to go at once, before we were 
 weaker from the heat. We do not leave India because 
 we are afraid to die, but because we love India and 
 want to live for India. We hope to recover our health 
 and return to India and spend years yet for God there. 
 Meantime while away we design working for India 
 constantly. We can write, preach, lecture, and collect 
 money for our loved work. We continued our work in 
 Moradabad until time to start for Calcutta. We 
 taught daily in schools and preached as usual until 
 April 12. Our passage had been engaged on the sail- 
 ing ship Zephyr, advertised to sail April 20 from Cal- 
 cutta to Boston direct. All the native Christians at 
 Moradabad remained up until midnight to see us off. 
 All seemed to show love and gratitude for what we had 
 
 122
 
 THE MORADABAD DISTRICT 
 
 done for them. O, how we love those dear ones, chil- 
 dren of Christ who have grown up around us, and for 
 whom we have labored and prayed so much ! 
 
 Thus unexpectedly terminated Mr. Parker's first 
 term of missionary service. On the I2th of April, 
 1859, he said farewell to friends in Boston, and on the 
 1 2th of April, 1868, he took leave of his missionary 
 colleague and the native church at Moradabad. When 
 he became presiding elder of Moradabad District there 
 were forty church members and thirty-eight probation- 
 ers; when three years and three months later he gave 
 over the district to Mr. Thoburn there were five circuits, 
 with one hundred and ten church members and ninety- 
 five probationers. Progress was necessarily slow in these 
 days of beginnings, yet the Moradabad District stood at 
 the head in regard to converts. Deducting the children 
 in the orphanages at Bareilly and Shahjahanpore, the 
 number of Christians on the Moradabad District was 
 much more than one half the number in the entire Mis- 
 sion. And concerning all the advance in workers, 
 membership, schools, stations, and substations on the 
 Moradabad District its first presiding elder could justly 
 
 say Quorum pars fui. 
 
 123
 
 LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER 
 
 IIL INTERLUDE 
 
 CHAPTER I. HOMEWARD BOUND 
 
 IN 1859 it was an eight days' journey from Calcutta 
 to Lucknow. In 1868 Mr. and Mrs. Parker were able 
 to reach Calcutta in five days from Moradabad, which 
 is two hundred miles beyond Lucknow. If the Par- 
 kers had been disposed to interpret hindrances to their 
 departure as signs of God's disapproval they would 
 have had good reason for believing that it was not his 
 will for them to leave India. They had had a tedious 
 time getting into Calcutta in 1859, but now getting 
 away was far worse. In the first place, they learned 
 that the Zephyr, instead of sailing on the 2Oth of April, 
 would not start before the 5th of May ; in fact, the ship 
 did not get off until the 9th of May. This, however, 
 was only a false start. The steam tug took the vessel a 
 short distance down the river and then returned to the 
 dock for coal. The Zephyr remained at anchor in 
 the river five days, at one time narrowly escaping col- 
 lision with another vessel, and several times in danger 
 of being driven from her anchorage by "Nor'westers." 
 On the 1 3th the steamer returned and towed them down 
 the river. On the way the Zephyr struck a sand bar 
 and was in danger of capsizing. She, however, worked 
 her way through the bar and at night cast anchor at 
 
 Saugar Island. There the steamer left them, and they 
 
 124
 
 HOMEWARD BOUND 
 
 waited four days longer in the dangerous river. At 
 last, on the I7th of May, the captain paid another 
 steamer eleven hundred rupees to take him out to sea. 
 By 2 P. M. the Zephyr was outside and, spreading sail, 
 started with a head wind for home just one month after 
 the Parkers' arrival in Calcutta. The delay at Cal- 
 cutta was all the more regrettable because at that very 
 time the schools at Moradabad were in such urgent 
 need of their services. 
 
 A disappointed man is generally more or less dispir- 
 ited and given to complaint. Mr. Parker in coming to 
 India had no reason for anticipating failure in health, 
 and it was no doubt a sore disappointment to him to be 
 driven from the field. But his journal is free from 
 either discouraged or querulous records. Judged by 
 this severe test he appears to have been a man of healthy 
 and courageous spirit. On the 5th of October, when 
 nearing the American coast, he writes : 
 
 All things considered, we have had a pleasant voy- 
 age. Our physicians prescribed a long sea voyage and 
 we most certainly have had one. Two days more will 
 make five months we have been on board this ship. Yet 
 the months have passed quickly, quietly, and pleasantly. 
 
 And yet the condition of his health was such as to 
 give cause for anxiety. He had no fever while at sea, but 
 during the last four months of the voyage he had been 
 obliged to restrict his diet until when the extract given 
 above was written he had been living for weeks on 
 bread toast. Mrs. Parker's health was benefited by the 
 voyage much more than his own. He comforted him- 
 self with the belief that the air of Vermont would soon 
 
 make him all right. Another extract from the entry 
 
 125
 
 LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER 
 
 of October 5 is given because it shows so clearly the 
 manner of man he was : 
 
 We have been very happy all the way along with 
 each other and with God. How good it is to have such 
 a God as our God, such a present and loving Saviour ! 
 How we love him and love to feel his presence in our 
 hearts ! We have prayed much during this voyage and 
 have been cheered in our hearts. We have also tried to 
 consecrate ourselves anew to God's work, and become 
 more and more fit for what he may have for us to do. 
 We have thought much and talked much more of get- 
 ting back to India than of getting home. We have 
 also prayed much for our loved work and loved 
 brethren, and trust that God permits us in this way to 
 do something for him and his work, so dear to us, in 
 India. Nothing short of the providence of God in tak- 
 ing away our health could keep us from returning to 
 India in God's good time. May God keep us both and 
 return us safely to India. Sometimes for a moment I 
 have feared that our health was too far gone to be re- 
 gained sufficiently for our return to India. Yet only 
 once did such a thought get full possession of my mind. 
 At that time I prayed God that, if I must be laid aside, 
 a better man might take my place. But now my hope is 
 very strong that the air of our native hills will help us 
 and restore us to India and India to us. We are cheer- 
 ful and happy. Although Mrs. Parker has not seen a 
 woman's face for five months, she always presents a 
 smiling countenance. This voyage will not be put 
 down as one of the dark spots of our life, but a season 
 of peace, comfort, and sweet communion with God and 
 with each other. 
 
 This certainly is a unique testimony from a man 
 who, after years of suffering from ill health, was at last 
 driven from the field, and after five months at sea was 
 
 on prison diet. He appears, however, to have suffered 
 
 126
 
 HOMEWARD BOUND 
 
 much less from seasickness than on the outward voy- 
 age, and he and Mrs. Parker were able to do an amount 
 of literary work which made the voyage "a season of 
 pleasant labor." The story of William Taylor's work 
 in Africa, a little book, The Bible True, and Woman 
 and Her Saviour in Persia, were translated into Hindu- 
 stani, and by Mrs. Parker neatly copied in Roman 
 Urdu, ready to be sent back to the press in Lucknow. 
 It was indeed an ideal opportunity. The absolute free- 
 dom from interruption and the unlimited leisure at their 
 command were conditions which might well excite 
 envy. 
 
 The Parkers landed at Boston October 8, 1868, just 
 one hundred and fifty-two days from their going on 
 board at Calcutta. Mr. Parker's health at first im- 
 proved much, but soon his old maladies returned, and 
 he was sorely disappointed when, in October, 1869, his 
 physician absolutely forbade his return at that time to 
 India. During the year 1870 there was some improve- 
 ment, yet physician and missionary secretary both op- 
 posed his going back. But so urgent was Mr. Parker 
 in his request that at last Dr. William L. Harris, the 
 missionary secretary, said, "Very well, go; but at your 
 own risk." In a subsequent interview, however, the 
 secretary was more pliable, and said to Mr, Parker that 
 if his health should necessitate a speedy return to 
 America the Missionary Society would sanction his re- 
 turn and meet the expense. So with a glad heart these 
 two went out the second time, and, as will be seen in 
 the course of this narrative, they were enabled to give 
 more than twelve years of good work to India before 
 
 returning a second time to America. 
 
 127
 
 LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER 
 
 CHAPTER II. THE WOMAN'S FOREIGN MISSIONARY 
 SOCIETY 
 
 THAT very successful benevolent and evangelistic 
 organization known as the Woman's Foreign Mission- 
 ary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church is the 
 outcome of the experience and prayers and efforts of a 
 large number of persons, men and women, missionaries 
 and others. And yet, although so many persons had a 
 share in the work, there is no doubt that the society 
 owes its existence more to Edwin W. Parker than to 
 any other man or woman, not even excepting Mrs. Par- 
 ker herself. The plan of having a number of coor- 
 dinate branches was his idea; the constitution of the 
 society was mainly prepared by him ; the rules for the 
 society's work in the mission field in connection with 
 the work of the general society, which were first 
 adopted by the Central Conference in India and which 
 at the General Conference of 1884 saved the Woman's 
 Foreign Missionary Society from absorption into the 
 general society, were mainly thought out and arranged 
 by Mr. Parker. The whole story is an interesting one 
 in the annals of Methodistic mission efforts, and as the 
 Woman's Foreign Missionary Society will probably 
 stand out as the greatest achievement of Mr. Parker's 
 missionary career it is fitting that an extended notice 
 of its origin and of Mr. Parker's share in the work find 
 a place in the story of his life. Mrs. Parker's story of 
 the beginnings of the society is clear, concise, and 
 
 authentic, and naturally has right of way in this record : 
 
 128
 
 THE WOMAN'S FOREIGN MISSIONARY SOCIETY 
 
 When the mission work of our Church was com- 
 menced in India there was very little that could be done 
 for the women. The most of them were inaccessible 
 even to the missionary's wife. But the ladies com- 
 menced work by teaching the daughters of Christians 
 and inquirers, and sometimes children of the servants, 
 in what were called then "veranda schools." Several 
 of our present native preachers' wives commenced their 
 education in these little schools. But as time went on 
 here and there the ladies were able to open schools for 
 Hindu and Mohammedan girls and a few zenanas were 
 open to the lady missionary and her assistants. Then 
 we began to feel the need of money to carry on this 
 work, as the people were not willing to pay for books or 
 teachers for their girls. The work seemed very impor- 
 tant, as we knew Christianity would not prevail where 
 the women were left in ignorance. We appealed to 
 Secretary Durbin for funds for this work. He replied 
 that we had received for our mission work all the 
 money the Church had placed at his disposal and he 
 could do no more. So we went on doing the best we 
 could, and collected money from local sources and 
 friends so that we could keep up the work open to us in 
 schools and zenanas. 
 
 In 1868 we were obliged to return to America on ac- 
 count of failing health. Before leaving India in 1868 
 I received letters from Mrs. Waugh, Mrs. Judd, and 
 Mrs. Messmore asking me to tell the story of our needs 
 to the women of our Church at home and ask their help 
 in this new work. On the long voyage home we 
 thought much of this need and often asked Cod to open 
 the way by which money for this work could be se- 
 cured. On reaching Boston we were entertained by 
 Dr. and Mrs. William Butler, who became much inter- 
 ested in our accounts of the work, and wherever we 
 went we found friends ready to aid. It soon became 
 evident that this irresponsible way of collecting and 
 disbursing money would not result in permanent help 
 to our work. We knew of the ladies' Union Society, 
 
 (9) I2 9
 
 LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER 
 
 and our Mission had received gifts from it. The ladies 
 of the Congregational churches had a short time before 
 organized a Woman's Missionary Society. So we began 
 to think that this was what Methodist women ought to 
 do ; but it was new work, and the women at first shrank 
 from the responsibility. But the Butlers urged the 
 matter in the East, the Graceys were active in Philadel- 
 phia, and on our travels in the West we found several 
 persons ready to help in the matter. Mrs. Jennie 
 Fowler Willing, of Rockford, 111., promised to work up 
 the matter in that section. 
 
 The city of New York, as headquarters of the Mis- 
 sionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church, 
 was evidently the place where this woman's society 
 should be organized and located, but for some reason 
 the New York people did not get started and Boston 
 has the honor of beginning the organization. The 
 actual commencement is traced back to a missionary 
 sermon preached in Boston, March 14, 1869, by the 
 founder of the Methodist Episcopal Missions in India, 
 Dr. William Butler. Mr. and Mrs. Lewis Flanders, of 
 the Tremont Street Church, heard this sermon arid 
 afterward met Mr. and Mrs. Parker at Dr. Butler's 
 residence. As the result of this meeting an invitation 
 was read in Boston pulpits from a committee of the 
 Ladies' Benevolent Society of the Tremont Street 
 Church, asking those who were interested in the forma- 
 tion of a Woman's Foreign Missionary Society to be 
 present at the Tremont Street Church on Tuesday, 
 March 23, and hear what Mrs. Parker and Mrs. Butler 
 had to say on the subject. The day proved stormy and 
 only seven ladies met the two missionaries. Mrs. Flan- 
 ders presided, Mrs. Butler led in prayer, and Mrs. Par- 
 ker told the story of woman's needs and woman's respon- 
 
 130
 
 THE WOMAN'S FOREIGN MISSIONARY SOCIETY 
 
 sibility in such a thrilling and impressive manner that 
 those who heard her resolved that a Woman's Foreign 
 Missionary Society should at once be organized. A list 
 of names of officers of the society was prepared and ac- 
 cepted, and the meeting adjourned until the next Tues- 
 day. This day also was very stormy, but the meeting 
 had been advertised in all the churches and the attend- 
 ance was larger. At this second meeting a carefully 
 prepared constitution was presented to and adopted by 
 and for the Woman's Foreign Missionary Society of 
 the Methodist Episcopal Church. 
 
 Mr. Parker was not present at these historic meet- 
 ings, but his hand wrote the first draft of the constitu- 
 tion which was presented and accepted at the second 
 meeting. This organization was the first fruits of 
 months of thought and prayer on the part of Mr. and 
 Mrs. Parker, and now, when the society had actually 
 been formed, he advertised its existence, explained its 
 character and aims, and advocated its claims in his mis- 
 sionary addresses everywhere. 
 
 It was, however, soon discovered that if the new 
 society would receive the hearty support of the entire 
 Church its constitution must be modified and broadened 
 to allow greater freedom of action in other centers of 
 Church influence. While New England was content to 
 follow the lead of Boston, and it seemed appropriate to 
 have local organizations auxiliary to a Boston society, 
 New York and Philadelphia and Baltimore and the 
 Central West and the great Northwest were not ready 
 to have their benevolences managed by a committee of 
 Boston ladies. An attempt was made to harmonize 
 these conflicting claims. Mr. and Mrs. Parker were 
 
 sent to New York in the hope that some plan might 
 
 131
 
 LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER 
 
 there be devised which would work to the satisfaction 
 of all parties, but after a day spent in fruitless dis- 
 cussion they were returning unsuccessful. They trav- 
 eled by sea, and on the boat Mr. Parker thought out the 
 present plan of coordinate branches, instead of auxil- 
 iaries, in all the great centers of the country. This plan 
 met with entire approval and saved the society from 
 early shipwreck. 
 
 Another serious menace to the existence of the so- 
 ciety as a separate organization reached its climax in 
 the General Conference of 1884, when the society was 
 fifteen years old and its missionaries were at work in all 
 the principal missions of the general society. In some 
 of the foreign missions there had been trouble between 
 the missionaries of the two societies. There were ques- 
 tions of administration which were not easily settled. 
 There were differences of opinion concerning rights 
 and responsibilities of missionaries. In some cases 
 there was ignorance of the organic law of the Church 
 and the duty and right of preachers in charge. There 
 were property questions, and, perhaps most serious of 
 all, there was the matter of control of the native agents 
 of the societies. A teacher or preacher was in the em- 
 ploy of the general society and his wife was in the 
 service of the Woman's Foreign Missionary Society. 
 If each society exercised independent authority in ap- 
 pointing its agents to their work the husband might 
 be sent to Dan and the wife to Beersheba, and some- 
 times the latter appointment would be made just for 
 the sake of asserting the right of independent appoint- 
 ment. These things harassed the missionaries and 
 were often a trial to the superintendents and missionary 
 
 secretaries, and in certain influential quarters a strong 
 
 132
 
 THE WOMAN'S FOREIGN MISSIONARY SOCIETY 
 
 purpose was formed to deprive the Woman's Society of 
 its autonomy and reduce it to the position of a collect- 
 ing agency for the general society. 
 
 But, strange to say, one great mission field was free 
 from these troubles. In India the two societies worked 
 in harmony. The credit of maintaining this harmony 
 largely belongs to the wise leader of the Woman's For- 
 eign Missionary Society in India, Isabella Thoburn, 
 and to Edwin \V. Parker. Miss Thoburn's personal 
 influence was a constant and effective restraint upon 
 any missionaries of the society who were so unwise as 
 to wish for complete freedom from the authority of the 
 agents of the general society who were in charge of the 
 mission stations, and Mr. Parker, as the framer of the 
 wise rules concerning the relation of the Woman's 
 Foreign Missionary Society missionaries to the author- 
 ities of the Church, removed all cause for complaint 
 and left no reason why sensible Woman's Foreign Mis- 
 sionary Society missionaries should wish for complete 
 independence. "The rules which fix the relation of the 
 Woman's Foreign Missionary Society to the mission- 
 ary authorities of the Church and also to the other 
 workers in the foreign fields, which were first adopted 
 by the first Central Conference in India and afterward 
 incorporated in the chapter in the Discipline on Wom- 
 an's Foreign Missionary Society work, were prepared 
 by Mr. Parker in consultation with the ladies in the 
 India Mission." These had worked so well in India 
 that they were approved by the Woman's Foreign Mis- 
 sionary Society executive in America; and when Mr. 
 Parker was able to assure the General Conference that 
 the Woman's Society was ready to work under these 
 
 regulations the strength of the opposition was broken. 
 
 133
 
 LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER 
 
 In ttoe General Conference of 1884 Mr. Parker as- 
 sisted largely in preparing the chapter in the Discipline 
 which was then adopted. At each visit to America he 
 did much to aid the society, and had more invitations to 
 speak for the ladies' than for the general society. Some 
 of his last work in America was for the society. The 
 ladies often made grateful mention of the help he had 
 given them. The secretary of the New England 
 Branch, Mrs. L. A. Alderman, writing in 1885 to Mrs. 
 Parker, makes the following hearty acknowledgment of 
 help the society had received from Mr. and Mrs. Parker 
 during their visit home in 1883-84: 
 
 I thank God that you were permitted to come home 
 in 1883, and by your personal presence and words of 
 knowledge, wisdom, and courage to give new inspira- 
 tion to so many hearts in this land. How much we 
 owe to you both for the present position and command- 
 ing influence of our Woman's Foreign Missionary So- 
 ciety as one of the benevolences of our Church we can- 
 not compute mathematically, but this we do know : 
 Brother Parker was the God-honored leader in bring- 
 ing us to the place where we now stand. 
 
 The same lady in writing to Mr. Parker assured him 
 that the record of his efforts is on high, and the results 
 were being realized through the length and breadth of 
 the home land wherever the work of the Woman's For- 
 eign Missionary Society had reached. Surely it is sim- 
 ple truth to affirm that this noble society may be consid- 
 ered a memorial of the missionary career of Edwin W. 
 Parker and his wife. And yet the service he rendered 
 this society was merely supplementary to his duty as 
 
 a missionary of the general Missionary Society. 
 
 134
 
 GETTING BACK TO INDIA 
 
 IV. SECOND TERM OF SERVICE J87J-J882 
 
 CHAPTER I. GETTING BACK TO INDIA 
 
 THE Suez Canal made Africa an island, but it joined 
 India to Europe and America. The opening of this 
 new route between West and East brought many new 
 privileges to Europeans living in India ; American mis- 
 sionaries especially have much reason to be thankful 
 for it. In earlier times a long and monotonous sea 
 voyage separated them from the home land. Now 
 they leave New York or Quebec with the prospect 
 of a pleasantly diversified journey of four or five 
 weeks, by sea and land, leading through interesting 
 parts of the Old World and furnishing opportunity 
 for visiting such places as London, Paris, and Rome. 
 This change in the route between America and India 
 had been made during Mr. Parker's first term of serv- 
 ice in India, but as his physician had prescribed a long 
 sea voyage he returned home by the old route by way 
 of the Cape. When he set out from home the second 
 time he went to Bombay by way of Liverpool, Gibral- 
 tar, and Port Said. 
 
 On the 2 1st of September, 1870, Mr. and Mrs. Par- 
 ker sailed from New York and on the nth of Novem- 
 ber reached Bombay. This second departure from the 
 home land lacked some of the elements which in 1859 
 made their outgoing a memorable event. Then they 
 
 135
 
 LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER 
 
 went out not knowing what would befall them. They 
 were taking a leap into the dark. They were going out 
 to a new world, to a new life and experiences, and the 
 romantic, mystery of the occasion was increased by the 
 fact that they had little hope of ever returning to their 
 native land. In 1870 all was different. India was no 
 longer to them a shadowy, unknown land. Its towns 
 and villages filled with interesting people, its boundless 
 plains beautiful with growing grain or terrible in the 
 desolation of famine, its life-giving yet often destruc- 
 tive rivers, its great mountains, its hot winds and floods 
 of rain, its fever and pestilence, its strange combination 
 of ignorance and intelligence, of wealth and poverty, of 
 luxury and distress, its terrible need of missionary serv- 
 ice, and the laborious and often discouraging character 
 of that service all these things and many more were 
 clearly visible to their eyes, now once more turned 
 toward India. And this was not all. There were men 
 and women and little children over there in Lucknow 
 and Bareilly and Moradabad with whom they had lived 
 and worked and who were quite as near and clear as any 
 of the loved ones in America. And there were scores 
 of natives of India, men and women, boys and girls, 
 some of whom had been faithful and beloved fellow- 
 workers ; some of whom they had led out of ignorance 
 and heathenism into a knowledge of Christ, and whom 
 they loved as sons and daughters. And there were 
 definite plans of work to be accomplished; plans 
 and hopes and ambitions which had formed in their 
 minds and hearts as the vigor of restored health ener- 
 gized them, and the almost abandoned hope of living 
 and working for India repossessed them and filled 
 
 their hearts with joy that was too deep and too sacred 
 
 136
 
 GETTING BACK TO INDIA 
 
 for utterance. Verily this was unlike the exodus of 
 1859! and, without detracting aught from the merit 
 of the first, this second was richer in promise and 
 well-founded hope. 
 
 Returned missionaries are not the simple-minded, 
 unworldly folk some suppose them to be. Travel and 
 residence in foreign lands broaden and develop the in- 
 telligence of missionaries quite as much as of other 
 men. It is a part of the foreign missionary's business 
 to know all that can be learned of the strange land into 
 which he has come. It is his duty as well as his pleas- 
 ure to know all that can be known of the people for 
 whose sake he has become a voluntary exile. He must 
 not only learn their language, and as much as he can of 
 the conditions under which they live, but he must learn 
 to see with their eyes and hear with their ears ; he must 
 get into sympathy with them ; and this can only be at- 
 tained through knowledge. And because of this the 
 missionary becomes observant, attentive. He is alert 
 and always ready to learn. Things earthly as well as 
 things spiritual claim his careful attention and study. 
 He learns to ponder the many new and often puzzling 
 problems which confront him ; he desires to understand 
 each new and strange phenomenon, because all things 
 bear some relation to the prosperity and destiny of the 
 multitudes which are about him. 
 
 Mr. Parker's letters written en route from New 
 York to Bombay indicate this observant habit of life. 
 He travels with his eyes open, and not only sees but 
 tries to comprehend and understand. In one letter he 
 describes the Suez Canal and takes up the then unset- 
 tled question whether or no the canal would ever pay. 
 He considers it a work of such utility that, whether it
 
 LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER 
 
 pays or not, the nations of the earth will keep it open. 
 Another letter, written after calling at Malta, reviews 
 the Pauline and medieval history of the island. The 
 miseries incident to bad weather in the Bay of Biscay 
 give rise to the suggestion that missionaries should al- 
 ways be sent by that route, since the memories of the 
 passage would effectually deter them from planning a 
 return home. From grave to gay his pen wanders on, 
 always leaving the impression that the writer is a living 
 man among men, glad that he is alive, interested in 
 everything, and in all respects ready to play a man's 
 part in the world. Such a man necessarily makes a 
 more practical and successful missionary than the mere 
 ecclesiastic, with no thought for anything except his 
 creed and no eye for anything except that which direct- 
 ly and confessedly concerns religion. The letters writ- 
 ten by Mr. Parker during his second journey to the 
 East show intense personal interest in all the move- 
 ments of the world's life. Thirty years later, when 
 making his sixth and last journey from America to In- 
 dia, he showed the same freshness and intensity of 
 spirit. In this respect he never grew old. He enjoyed 
 life to the last ; he was greatly interested in everything 
 men were doing everywhere. This, added to his in- 
 stinct for going ahead ^and "taking hold of things," 
 kept him busy, and this is one reason why he accom- 
 plished so much and why so much that he did was of 
 abiding practical value. 
 
 The second arrival in India was unlike the first in 
 every respect. In 1859 nineteen days were spent in 
 getting from the Sand Heads to Lucknow. In 1870 
 they reached Lucknow in forty-eight hours after land- 
 ing at Bombay. 
 
 138
 
 GETTING BACK TO INDIA 
 
 And the difference in the work to which they came 
 and their own personal relation to that work was very 
 great. The India Mission had changed much during 
 the years which lay between September, 1859, an d 
 November, 1870. Its four stations had become eight- 
 een, and the number of male missionaries was now 
 twenty. There were now five native members of Con- 
 ference, thirty local preachers, and nearly eight hun- 
 dred members and probationers. The Mission admin- 
 istration had settled down and was running smoothly 
 according to the established procedure of Methodist 
 ecclesiastical law. The current had widened. The 
 missionaries were not quite so much like the mem- 
 bers of one family. The personal element was less 
 prominent. The arrival or departure of a mission- 
 ary family was not quite such an important event 
 as in the earlier times. Leaving their traveling 
 companions Mr. and Mrs. Craven, Mr. and Mrs. 
 McMahon, and Mr. Buck at Lucknow, Mr. and Mrs. 
 Parker went on to their old station, Moradabad; and 
 the people who nearly three years before had sat up 
 until midnight to bid them good-bye now came out 
 some distance along the road to welcome them on their 
 return. The arrival at Moradabad is described by Mr. 
 Parker in a letter to the Messenger: 
 
 From Lucknow we passed up through the Mission to 
 our old station, Moradabad, where we worked until 
 Conference. I sometimes told the children in America 
 about my schools and scholars at Moradabad, and often 
 remarked that I expected a hearty welcome from my 
 boys when I should go back to India. I was not disap- 
 pointed in this, for no sooner had we crossed the river, 
 which runs near the city but full two miles from our
 
 LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER 
 
 house, than we began to meet old friends, as they had 
 heard of our coming. First came an old man and his 
 son who had walked a mile and a half to meet us. The 
 boy was the one that frightened me once by falling 
 under my horse's feet and we supposed him killed, but 
 as he was not harmed at all the old heathen man 
 thought a peculiar providence attended the missionary, 
 and became his friend and gave me his boy to educate 
 as soon as he was old enough. This old Hindu and his 
 boy were the first to welcome us back to Moradabad. 
 Their presents of sweetmeats were very acceptable after 
 a night's ride in our doolies. As soon as we entered the 
 city old friends, young and old, greeted us, and we felt 
 as though we were getting home. One of our native 
 preachers was also out watching, and running by the 
 side of the doolies told us the news of all our Christian 
 friends as we rode along. At our old home we re- 
 ceived the welcome that missionaries always get from 
 missionaries. For a number of days we did little 
 but visit our schools and talk with those who came to 
 see us. All our experience in returning to this former 
 field of labor was gratifying, because it proved to us 
 that the missionaries' way is open to the hearts of this 
 people. 
 
 140
 
 WAITING FOR AN APPOINTMENT 
 
 CHAPTER II. WAITING FOR AN APPOINTMENT 
 
 THE Parkers reached Moraclabad about the middle 
 of November, some two months before Conference. 
 The interval, however, was rilled with service for which 
 there was urgent need as well as good opportunity. As 
 Mr. Parker had no appointment he was free from the 
 business cares which press upon a man who is in charge 
 of a circuit or district, and was able to give his whole 
 time to evangelistic work among the Christians in the 
 villages and the non-Christians in the bazaars of the 
 towns and at the melas. Soon after reaching Morad- 
 abad they went into camp at Babukhera among the 
 Sikhs, the same class of people as those with whom the 
 colony at Wesleypore had been opened. Here they re- 
 sumed the service of ministering to the sick, for at this 
 time the fever prevailed to such an extent that in some 
 villages scarcely a man, woman, or child remained un- 
 affected by it. The rainy season crops, which are cut in 
 October and November, were drying up in the fields or 
 destroyed by cattle because there was no one to harvest 
 the crop or take care of the fields. The land that should 
 have been prepared and sown for the cold weather crop 
 was unfilled because the farmers were all sick or dead. 
 Going from house to house, administering medicine, 
 giving directions for proper care of the sick, and talk- 
 ing and praying with the sufferers, they recommenced 
 their missionary work and renewed the experiences of 
 Wesleypore. 
 
 Leaving this locality they went on to Hussanpur. 
 
 Here a local preacher was stationed and the Quarterly 
 
 141
 
 LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER 
 
 Conference was about to be held. The Conference 
 brought a number of preachers to the place and a vigor- 
 ous campaign was carried on for a week, deepening the 
 impressions already made by the preacher living there, 
 and strengthening his position very much among the 
 people. An incident recorded by Mr. Parker shows in 
 what light paid employees of the Mission are usually 
 regarded by their non-Christian fellow-countrymen: 
 
 One evening, after Brother Zahur-ul-Haqq had 
 preached in the street and was quietly listening to the 
 preacher who followed him, a man came and motioned 
 to Brother Haqq, wanting to speak to him alone. 
 Brother H. moved to one side, when the man asked : 
 
 "Are you really a Christian ?" 
 
 "O yes, I am a Christian," replied Brother Haqq. 
 
 "I do not believe it; you are a servant hired to do 
 this work, and you preach for these white Christians to 
 get your bread." 
 
 "You are mistaken. I am a true Christian, and tell 
 what I know and experience." 
 
 "I cannot believe it," said the man. 
 
 "Come away from the congregation, to where we 
 will disturb no one, and I will explain all," said Brother 
 Haqq. 
 
 So they moved away to a quiet place where he ex- 
 plained to the man all he could about Christianity, 
 especially about Christ as a present Saviour. The in- 
 terview was evidently satisfactory to the questioner, 
 for he attended all the preaching services that followed, 
 and on Sunday evening invited us to preach in his 
 house, where a company of about sixty persons gave 
 courteous attention to a Christian discourse. 
 
 From Hussanpur the Parkers went on to the great 
 Hindu bathing festival at Gurmukteshwar, on the 
 Ganges, and for several days preached the Gospel to the 
 
 vast multitude. Then came the Moradabad District 
 
 142
 
 Conference, with its forty native preachers and teach- 
 ers and its unique opportunities for advancing the king- 
 dom of Christ in India. Mr. Parker's leading part in 
 the formation and development of this organization has 
 been already described. Bishop Thoburn contributes 
 the following interesting historical note on the subject : 
 
 It began as a District Association, and I am not sure 
 whether Brother Mansell or Parker first organized it. 
 They were together at the time, and I think Mr. Man- 
 sell had got the idea from organizations which were 
 then quite common in the Pittsburg Conference, but 
 Mr. Parker gave it shape and made it a possibility. In 
 1867 Parker, Mansell, and I were in Pauri together, 
 and while there we carefully drew up the constitution 
 and by-laws of the association, making it include the 
 Conference members, local preachers, and exhorters of 
 the district. Year by year this little body developed 
 and acquired moral weight until 1870, when Bishop 
 Kingsley gave a decision in open Conference which 
 virtually authorized the presiding elders to make ap- 
 pointments of all preachers and exhorters employed by 
 the Missionary Society. This made the District Asso- 
 ciation practically a District Conference, and gave it 
 greater weight than had before been possible. A sketch 
 of this organization was published in the Pittsbiirg 
 Advocate and taken up by W. H. Kincaid, who at that 
 time was active in the Local Preachers' Association in 
 America. This was brought before the Church at 
 home, and afterward was incorporated, with some 
 changes, into the Discipline of the Church when the 
 District Conference was first authorized. 
 
 The following account of the District Associations' 
 work, written by Mr. Parker himself, shows why he 
 and his colleagues valued them so highly : 
 
 It is often said that in heathen lands there are usually 
 two conversions : one of the head, or intellect, from a
 
 LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER 
 
 belief in a non-Christian religion to a belief in Chris- 
 tianity, and the second a conversion of the heart to 
 Christ. Such is our almost universal experience among 
 the masses of the people of this country. Men often 
 profess Christianity, and take upon themselves its forms 
 and live greatly improved lives, yet their experience 
 does not satisfy one who has tasted the good word 
 of God. But when God's Spirit is poured out in sea- 
 sons of refreshing these persons are led to see wherein 
 they lack, and looking unto Jesus are saved and bap- 
 tized of the Spirit. The first seasons of such special 
 outpouring of God's Spirit upon assemblies were at 
 these District Conferences, when the native helpers 
 were baptized anew and received clear witness of the 
 power of Jesus to save now, and when many others 
 were converted, or, as they express it, "received the 
 Spirit." As these annual meetings have been from the 
 beginning seasons of spiritual power the brethren have 
 come to expect great blessings every year when they 
 come up to their Jerusalem. This year at the Bareilly 
 District meeting and at the Moradabad meeting souls 
 were converted and all were refreshed. Over twenty 
 persons professed conversion at the close of the Morad- 
 abad meeting. We are working hard that every person 
 who declares belief in our religion may experience 
 God's love in his heart. 
 
 Unconverted converts are the despair of mission- 
 aries and the great paradox of missions. In countries 
 where men have much to lose and little to gain by pro- 
 fessing Christianity it is reasonable to expect that most 
 converts will be genuine Christians. Christian people 
 in Christian lands generally have this view of the mat- 
 ter, and this is one reason of their failure to gauge the 
 true value of a correct and honestly written mission re- 
 port. People persistently read into the missionary's 
 
 words a meaning he did not intend to convey. The 
 
 144
 
 WAITING FOR AN APPOINTMENT 
 
 missionary knows that few converts are at first real 
 Christians. In most cases their apprehension of Chris- 
 tian truth is too incomplete for them to receive Christ 
 in anything approaching the fullness of spiritual life. 
 The knowledge of sin is rudimentary, and consequently 
 the sense of need is small; the desire for holiness is 
 wanting, and the convert is satisfied with an intellectual 
 acceptance of the theory of salvation by Christ. To lift 
 a Christian community out of this merely preparatory 
 state and lead its members into the possession of spir- 
 itual life and the enjoyment of Christ's personal com- 
 panionship is a problem which everywhere confronts 
 the missionary ; and there are scores, perhaps hundreds, 
 of mission stations in India where the missionaries 
 have to confess that they have not yet succeeded in 
 raising their converts about the level of merely formal 
 Christianity. 
 
 Edwin \V. Parker's work as a missionary and his 
 right to be considered a successful evangelist can best 
 be judged in connection with this question. He gath-- 
 ered the people together in the District Association and 
 then led them into the experience of vital personal 
 Christianity. In this way he exerted an abiding influ- 
 ence among and upon the missions of North India, 
 for a living Christian convert means more for the con- 
 quest of India by Christ than a fine church building or 
 any other merely material expression of organized 
 Christianity. 
 
 An interesting illustration of the manner in which 
 this kind of work was moving on in the Moradabad and 
 Bareilly Districts is found in the following note written 
 by Mr. Parker at the close of the Lucknow Conference, 
 in January, 1871 : 
 
 (10) MS
 
 LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER 
 
 Our native preachers are getting filled with the Spirit 
 and clothed with power, and our nominal Christians are 
 getting converted, and we seem to be getting ready for 
 a successful siege. We go back to our old station, 
 Moradabad, where we have been laboring since our re- 
 turn. It was very gratifying to us to mark how the 
 work had prospered while we were away. Preachers 
 were baptized of the Spirit, sinners were converted, and 
 all had grown in grace. One case especially interested 
 us. A young man who had been reared and educated 
 by us as a Christian boy was rebellious to God, a source 
 of trouble to those who had adopted and reared him, 
 and a hindrance to the Church. But in our absence he 
 became converted powerfully, and we came back to find 
 him a reliable, prominent, and successful preacher of 
 Jesus. God is marching on in India. 
 
 146
 
 THE MORADABAD HIGH SCHOOL 
 
 CHAPTER III. THE MORADABAD HIGH SCHOOL 
 
 A PAIR of happy missionaries were Mr. and Mrs. 
 Parker when they returned from the Lucknow Confer- 
 ence of January, 1871, for Mr. Parker was appointed 
 to the Amroha Circuit and the Moradabad schools. 
 This double appointment was every way to his liking ; 
 he understood the details thoroughly. Amroha city, 
 twenty miles west of Moradabad, was the center of 
 work among the Sikhs whom Mr. Parker first met in 
 the early days at Bijnor. They had been his companions 
 in tribulation at Wesleypore, and in later times had re- 
 ceived his care when he was presiding elder of the 
 Moradabad District, from 1864 to 1868. The Morad- 
 abad schools had also received a large share of his at- 
 tention during the same period. Mr. Parker's health 
 and vigor were not yet fully restored, yet there was 
 great improvement upon the fever-stricken days of 
 1863-67, and he took up the work with enthusiasm and 
 hope. 
 
 "Beating the air" was never a favorite occupation 
 with Mr. Parker, although there are few missionaries 
 who can say they have never done it. He was a man 
 who generally "brought things to pass," and he suc- 
 ceeded because he always had definite ends in view. 
 And so with the Moradabad schools he made it his 
 aim to secure and conserve results and make them a 
 definite and effective part of the work of evangelizing 
 the city. As he studied the problem he became im- 
 pressed with the necessity of providing a home for the 
 school. And so there grew up in his mind a plan for a 
 
 14?
 
 central building on the main street of the city a build- 
 ing which would be both schoolhouse and church 
 whose doors would stand open, inviting men of all 
 creeds when passing by to enter where the Gospel was 
 preached and Christian service performed. It was no 
 easy task to provide funds, secure a site, and prepare a 
 building, and not until July 4, 1875, was the dream 
 realized. Then the completed building was filled with 
 the Christians and non-Christians who were present at 
 the opening services of the new house. As this build- 
 ing, together with the school which uses it, is now 
 called "The Bishop Parker Memorial High School," 
 a peculiar interest attaches to his own account of the 
 way in which the site was secured : 
 
 For ten years we had been praying and working for 
 a house in this city where our work could be with the 
 natives. We were first prevented by not getting land, 
 then by not getting money. Finally we received prom- 
 ise of half the money if we could raise the other half. 
 This seemed like an impossibility. In a non-Christian 
 city, where no Christian worth five hundred dollars 
 lived who was interested in our work, and yet the half 
 of fifteen thousand dollars to raise. We, however, ac- 
 cepted the proposal, and now the beautiful church and 
 schoolhouse is nearly completed. With the land it is 
 worth quite fifteen thousand dollars, and we are only 
 five hundred dollars in debt. It is in the best possible 
 position for our work and seems to me almost a miracle. 
 We had offered six thousand dollars for a lot just large 
 enough for our building, but could get nothing. When 
 we were about despairing of getting into the main part 
 of the city we learned that the city government had a 
 small plot of land for sale. The magistrate was our 
 friend, and urged the municipality to give us the land 
 as our schools had been a benefit to the city. But the 
 
 148
 
 Moradabad School Hall
 
 THE MORADABAD HIGH SCHOOL 
 
 lawyers said, "The city cannot give it." So they leased 
 the land to us, free from tax forever, for fifty cents a 
 year. This gave us a nucleus, but not enough for our 
 house. Soon, however, we learned that a mortgage 
 had been foreclosed on land situated on three sides of 
 our lot and that it would soon be sold by auction. A 
 Hindu friend bid it off for us, and thus we had room 
 for our building. Afterward we were able to get 
 enough more to give us a nice yard. Thus for three 
 thousand dollars we have three times as much land, and 
 in a better location than that for which we had offered 
 six thousand dollars. 
 
 As an interesting item of mission history it is worth 
 recording here that the first cablegram to India from 
 the Mission Rooms in New York was sent in connec- 
 tion with the mission grant to this building. There 
 was need of haste, as the lieutenant-governor and the 
 director of public instruction, who were ready to make 
 a building grant under the usual conditions, were both 
 retiring from government service, and it was necessary 
 to have the promise of aid from home before accepting 
 the government grant in aid. And an item of melan- 
 choly interest is the fact that twenty-six years and six 
 months after it was completed the same building was 
 crowded with missionaries, native ministers, and other 
 natives, Christian and non-Christian, who had come to 
 take part in the memorial service for Bishop Parker, 
 under the direction of the North India Conference, 
 then in session. 
 
 This house, so long, prayed for, was not allowed to 
 remain unused. How it was used, and what Mr. Par- 
 ker thought of its value to mission work in Moradabad, 
 may be learned from a letter written by him more than 
 
 a year after it was completed. The Moradabad plan 
 
 149
 
 LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER 
 
 was so successful that arrangements were made for 
 building similar houses in Bareilly and in Shahjahan- 
 pur, and Mr. Parker's letter was an appeal to the Mis- 
 sionary Society for aid in completing the chapel in the 
 city of Shahjahanpur : 
 
 Our expectations concerning the help we would re- 
 ceive from the chapel in .Moradabad have been more 
 than realized. In the first place the people see that we 
 are here not as foreigners, for a day, but that we have 
 really come to stay, and in the schoolhouse with its 
 clock and bell they see that we desire the good of the 
 city. They see all this as they never saw it before. 
 Then the work is much more satisfactory since we 
 opened our chapel hall. Formerly no outsiders attended 
 our Sunday services. We had Sunday schools for 
 the non-Christian children, we preached in the noisy 
 market places, but our regular Sunday school and 
 preaching services were attended only by Christians. 
 An account of last Sunday's work will show you how 
 different it is now : 
 
 At 7 A. M. we went to our large public Sunday 
 school in the chapel hall of the new house. It was a 
 rainy morning and people were a little late, yet by seven 
 minutes after seven the hall was well filled. On one 
 side were boys Hindus, of all castes, Mohammedans, 
 and Christians sitting together as though of the same 
 caste. There were no less than one hundred and fifty 
 of these boys. On the other side, in front, were the 
 girls, mostly Christians. Behind the girls were the 
 Christian women, and behind them the men of all castes 
 and religions. We commenced by singing a hymn full 
 of Christ, aided by the organ played by Miss Lore 
 and led especially by the Christian girls and women. 
 Prayer followed, closing with the Lord's Prayer in 
 unison. Review questions of the last week's lesson 
 were then asked, and answered with great animation 
 by all the children. Then followed the reading of the 
 
 150
 
 THE MORADABAD HIGH SCHOOL 
 
 lesson for the day, responsively, with introductory 
 questions; after which all were sent to their classes. 
 The eight class rooms are all occupied and the hall is 
 left for the women and girls, of whom there are eight 
 large classes. One class room is occupied by the boys 
 from a low caste school, who are always present. Two 
 of the rooms facing the street are for men and out- 
 siders who drop in. Another class of educated teach- 
 ers, etc., nearly all of whom are non-Christians, is 
 taught in English. 
 
 After the lesson all were called together and the les- 
 son reviewed, all answering. We closed with singing 
 and prayer ; the house being crowded, the aisle near the 
 door filled with persons standing who had come in from 
 the street. In our questions we catechize exactly as 
 though all were Christians. Our lesson last Sunday 
 was, "Proof of the power of Jesus's name, and of all 
 families being blessed through his name." And the 
 Golden Text was given, "There is none other name," 
 etc. We enter into no controversy with other religions, 
 but teach the Gospel as though it were the only way 
 and beyond all controversy. The children drink it in 
 as naturally as a thirsty man drinks pure water. I 
 never turn from that school without thanking God for 
 that building, so well adapted for such work. 
 
 At 6 o'clock we met again for our public preaching 
 service. At the time fixed the hall was about half filled, 
 but by the time the sermon commenced there were no 
 empty benches, and very few empty seats in the house. 
 More than half, perhaps quite two thirds, of the audi- 
 ence were outsiders. During preaching a few went out 
 and more came in, but nearly all listened quietly until 
 the sermon was over, and until they had seen a young 
 convert baptized. This congregation of listening out- 
 siders has steadily increased since the day we opened 
 the hall, one year ago. 
 
 Almost immediately after this Hindustani preaching 
 service a lecture service in English was held. We com- 
 menced by singing and prayer, and then a lecture was 
 
 151
 
 LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER 
 
 given on "Jesus of Nazareth, the Christ, and his de- 
 mands upon us." About a dozen Europeans and 
 Eurasians were present and about seventy-five English- 
 speaking natives. Not more than five or six of these 
 natives were Christians. After the lecture we gave op- 
 portunity for remarks, and a Mohammedan spoke, ob- 
 jecting, of course, to the doctrine of Christ's divinity. 
 We have these lectures every Sunday evening, but usu- 
 ally our audience is not so large as it was this evening. 
 In these lectures we have discussed Revelation, Mira- 
 cles, Accounts of Creation, Truth, etc., in all of which 
 our gain has been steady and encouraging. The best 
 spirit has prevailed in each discussion. 
 
 Now, is it possible to estimate, after this account of 
 our Sunday's work, the worth of this building, which 
 enables us to gain the young people and draw all classes 
 under our influence? Is not every dollar expended 
 here worth twice as much to the cause of God as it was 
 when we had no place in which to gather these people 
 together? We still continue bazaar preaching, but at 
 the close of every such service we tell the people of our 
 hall service, and invite all to come. Then, if an im- 
 pression is made in the bazaar, we can increase it in the 
 hall. 
 
 Some of the Christian girls referred to in Mr. Par- 
 ker's letter were from Christian families living in the 
 city, but most of them were from Mrs. Parker's board- 
 ing school in the Mission compound, about one mile 
 from the city chapel. The way to the chapel leads 
 through the main street of the city, and the girls from 
 the boarding school march in procession through this 
 bazaar four times each Sunday of the year, and twice 
 on Wednesday. A stronger proof of Mr. Parker's 
 great personal influence in the city could not well be 
 given than the fact that this large company of well- 
 dressed Christian girls and young women walks un- 
 
 152
 
 THE MORADABAD HIGH SCHOOL 
 
 molested through this bazaar six times a week. The 
 custom is now established, and there is no trouble, but 
 to those who know what Eastern cities are, and the cus- 
 toms concerning women, it seems almost incredible that 
 such a thing was ever introduced. But the people of 
 Moradabad knew and respected Mr. Parker, and they 
 also knew that he had the respect and confidence of the 
 English and native officials and also of the leading na- 
 tives in the city. And so when he marched the girls 
 through the bazaar the people said, "It is Parker 
 Sahib," and that settled the matter. 
 
 The Anglo-vernacular school which found a home in 
 this new building had been for years Mr. Parker's 
 special care, and to it had been given many days of his 
 busy life. Often for months together he taught full 
 hours in the school, taking Saturday and Sunday for 
 attending to work away from Moradabad. Ten years 
 after its completion the building was enlarged by the 
 addition of wings which almost doubled the seating 
 capacity of the chapel hall. While John F. Goucher, 
 of Baltimore, made Moradabad the center of the sys- 
 tem of village schools which he supported for nineteen 
 years, and furnished a large number of scholarships for 
 boys in the boarding school at Moradabad, this institu- 
 tion was known as the Goucher High School. A large 
 number of Christian young men passed from this school 
 into the theological seminary and from there into the 
 ministry. Others have gone through the Reid College 
 and occupy important places in business and profes- 
 sional life. When, in 1892, Mr. Parker was removed 
 from Moradabad to Lucknow he kept up his personal 
 interest in the educational work at Moradabad. 
 Through his influence, and at his earnest request, Dr. 
 
 153
 
 LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER 
 
 Goucher continued his munificent support of this work 
 several years longer than he had at first engaged to do. 
 In 1901 this help was withdrawn, the year of Bishop 
 Parker's death. But as the income from the Bishop 
 Parker Memorial Fund is to be divided between the 
 Reid Christian College, Lucknow, and the Moradabad 
 High School the institution will be placed on a basis of 
 permanent usefulness, and will remain a monument, 
 "more enduring than brass," to the memory of one 
 who, departing, left behind him "footprints on the 
 
 sands of time." 
 
 154
 
 THE ROHILKHAND DISTRICT 
 
 CHAPTER IV. THE ROHILKHAND DISTRICT 
 
 AT the Moradabad Conference of 1872 Mr. Parker 
 was appointed presiding elder of the Moradabad Dis- 
 trict, retaining charge of the Moradabad schools. At 
 the Conference of 1873 * ne districts were rearranged. 
 The work in the mountains became a separate district ; 
 the Bareilly and Moradabad Districts became the 
 Rohilkhand District, with Edwin W. Parker as presid- 
 ing elder, his residence continuing at Moradabad. He 
 held this post five years consecutively. Then, at the 
 Bareilly Conference of 1878, he was at his own earnest 
 request relieved of charge of this large district, and 
 Edward Cunningham was presiding elder of Rohil- 
 khand in 1878, 1879. In 1880 Mr. Parker again took 
 charge of the district, and held the appointment until 
 his furlough to America in January, 1883. As superin- 
 tendent of the Rohilkhand District he had charge of 
 territory which held more than two thirds of the Chris- 
 tians in the Conference, and his position was one of 
 great influence and opportunity. 
 
 This old Rohilkhand District is now divided into five 
 presiding elders' districts, having an aggregate of sixty 
 circuits. In 1873 there were only ten circuits, but 
 geographically the ten circuits were as large as the 
 sixty and the presiding elder's work was very heavy. 
 It is impossible to give here a detailed account of the 
 work of those nine years. The number of Christians 
 was rapidly increasing, and new and important inter- 
 ests were growing up, bringing with them new prob- 
 lems, new difficulties, new opportunities, and new re- 
 sponsibilities to the men in charge of them. There was 
 
 i55
 
 LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER 
 
 the rapidly growing theological seminary at Bareilly; 
 and a large part of the work of selecting students for 
 the institution and assigning fields of labor to the grad- 
 uates naturally fell into the hands of the man who was 
 president of nearly all the Quarterly Conferences which 
 recommended these men for admission into the sem- 
 inary and who was presiding elder of the district in 
 which the majority of them found work. His peculiar 
 relation to the growing work during the period under 
 review made it possible for Dr. Parker to affirm, as he 
 did in the General Conference of 1884, that one hun- 
 dred and ten of the one hundred and twenty-five 
 preachers and exhorters within the bounds of his Con- 
 ference had his name upon their licenses. And as the 
 North India Conference gradually filled up with native 
 ministers chosen from among these men, until at last 
 they numbered nearly three fourths of its membership, 
 it is easy to understand how it came to pass that Dr. 
 Parker attained to controlling power in the Conference, 
 and during the last twenty years of his life had virtu- 
 ally at his command a majority of its votes on any 
 question to which he gave his support. Few Methodist 
 preachers have enjoyed such an opportunity for wield- 
 ing power in the Annual Conference, and it is quite 
 within bounds to affirm that during all these years this 
 unique power was exercised without the taint of self- 
 ishness or personal ambition, with a sincere and su- 
 preme desire for the public good, and for the most part 
 also with such wisdom and moderation that candid, 
 intelligent men rejoiced that the interests of the Church 
 were in the hands of such a safe and efficient leader. 
 There was Panahpur, the Christian industrial village 
 
 near Shahjahanpur, an estate of nearly nine hundred 
 
 156
 
 THE ROHILKHAND DISTRICT 
 
 acres of jungle land, purchased in 1869 and colonized 
 somewhat after the Wesleypore manner, by native 
 Christians, with the hope that an industrious, self-sup- 
 porting native Christian community would there take 
 root and be a center of Christian light and influence. 
 The place was named Panahpur, "the city of refuge;'' 
 unfortunately it became a cave of Adullam rather than 
 a city set on a hill. For nearly thirty years it was a 
 thorn in the side of those who had charge of it ; a con- 
 stant disappointment ; an emphatic reminder of the evils 
 attending foreign intermeddling with the economic life 
 of the people, and one among the many unsuccessful 
 attempts which missionaries in India have made to fill 
 the place of a special providence to native Christians. 
 As long as the land remained the property of the Mis- 
 sion so long did the tenants refuse to believe that they 
 ought to pay fair rent for their farms. At last the vil- 
 lage was sold to a business man, a friend of missions 
 and of native Christians. When the people found that 
 the Mission was no longer landlord they ceased their 
 efforts to hold their farms free of rent, and began to 
 pay their way. While Panahpur was a sore trial to the 
 missionaries and a heavy charge upon the finances of 
 the Mission, it was a particularly heavy burden to the 
 presiding elder. His patience was often completely 
 exhausted by the perverse conduct of these people, who 
 fancied that Panahpur had been purchased that they 
 might be fed and clothed and have their children edu- 
 cated without expense or trouble to themselves. 
 
 Early in his second term of service Mr. Parker, Mr. 
 Mansell, and others made another attempt to aid the 
 native Christians of the Sikh villages near Moradubnd. 
 
 A joint stock company was formed and money loaned 
 
 157
 
 LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER 
 
 at moderate interest to enable Christian farmers and 
 artisans to get a start in life. But this, too, ended un- 
 fortunately. Crops failed, cattle died, men who had 
 taken loans were indolent, or improvident, or dishonest, 
 and the scheme came to naught ; the leaders in the en- 
 terprise lost their money, getting in return the sad ex- 
 perience of failure in a self-sacrificing attempt to give 
 indigenous Christianity a better foothold in India. 
 
 If it is asked why an experienced, practical man like 
 Mr. Parker allowed himself to become involved in these 
 enterprises, the answer is easily given. It is very hard 
 for a kind-hearted missionary to see Christian converts 
 lose their livelihood because they have become Chris- 
 tians, to see a village farmer or laborer driven from his 
 fields because he is a Christian, and not obey the almost 
 irresistible impulse to help the men. It seems a simple 
 and practicable plan for the missionaries to get posses- 
 sion of a tract of land and settle it with Christian tenant 
 farmers. But the almost universal experience goes to 
 show that it is better to leave the converts to fight their 
 own battles ; that in a country like India it is not wise 
 to meddle with the temporal affairs of the people. It 
 is particularly difficult for the missionary to stand aloof 
 from the temporal relations of his charges when the 
 social conditions are so dominated by idolatrous cus- 
 toms as to be antagonistic to Christian morality. The 
 marriage customs of the people of India are largely of 
 this character, and the presiding elder of Rohilkhand 
 was never free from perplexities and anxieties con- 
 nected with the innumerable marriage disputes and en- 
 tanglements in which all classes of native Christians 
 were perpetually involved. He traveled thousands of 
 
 miles, wrote thousands of letters, and spent thousands 
 
 158
 
 THE ROHILKHAND DISTRICT 
 
 of trying and difficult and often despairing hours in 
 dealing with marriage questions among Christians on 
 his district. This story illustrative of the point is 
 found in a letter written by Mr. Parker in 1876 and is 
 part of his account of a Quarterly Conference : 
 
 r 
 
 Before we reached our camp we learned that there 
 was great dissatisfaction throughout the circuit and 
 that a large representation of the people would be pres- 
 ent. We at once inferred that some phase of the mar- 
 riage complication had caused the trouble, and knew 
 that the great hill of difficulty, the marriage of children, 
 was to be traveled over again. Parents for ages past 
 have all married their children in childhood, so that it is 
 considered a great disgrace for children to grow up un- 
 married. Christians are not allowed to marry in this 
 way, and the law makes such marriages illegal. Still 
 some parents in the villages, even when they know they 
 will be expelled from the church, have their children 
 married according to the old customs by a heathen 
 priest. 
 
 At the time of this Quarterly Conference, however, 
 the question presented a new phase which caused great 
 excitement. A Christian several years ago married his 
 daughter to a heathen lad, taking the usual gift or price 
 of the girl from the boy's father. The Christian was 
 separated from the Church and little more was thought 
 of the matter. The girl afterward came to our board- 
 ing school and was educated, becoming an intelligent, 
 sensible girl. Hence, when old enough to be claimed 
 by the heathen husband, she declined the call and mar- 
 ried a worthy Christian young man. Another girl had 
 also signified her intention of selecting for herself 
 rather than accepting an illegal marriage made in her 
 childhood by her father for the sake of her price in 
 money. Her marriage had been announced to take 
 place at this quarterly meeting. These marriages 
 divided the people into two hostile parties. 
 
 159-
 
 LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER 
 
 As soon as we arrived in camp we found that a good 
 number were already present, and early on Saturday 
 morning many more came, and from early morning to 
 late at evening the marriage question was the sole topic 
 of discussion. The preachers and many of the laymen 
 were firm, and decided that they would in no way rec- 
 ognize child marriage; yet they were sad, as many of 
 the Christians, among whom were some of our most 
 promising new accessions, were on the opposite side 
 and it was feared that very many would turn back to 
 their old faith. The heathen men who had bought the 
 girls were there, determined to carry the matter to 
 court and warning the native pastor not to marry the 
 girl. We, however, replied, "We will marry the girl 
 and stand the suit." 
 
 "But," said the men, "we have paid our money for 
 the girls, and they are ours." We replied, "We are 
 sorry you wasted your money on Christian girls, but 
 they are free, notwithstanding, and they are not yours 
 in any way." Thus hour after hour the discussion 
 went on. Every argument possible was used to show 
 how much better the Christian marriage was for them 
 all, and to persuade all to give up their old customs. 
 Some were persuaded, but others desired and deter- 
 mined to marry their children in some way, and at 
 evening the leaders of this party drew away all they 
 could and formed a party in favor of marriage of 
 Christian children. This discussion is still going on. 
 Many of the opposing party have since then married 
 their little children, and our little classes scattered 
 through the villages are sadly broken and divided. 
 
 This heart-breaking dispute was poor preparation 
 for quarterly meeting Sunday, and hardly measures 
 up to the popular conception of Christian converts or 
 the duties of a missionary presiding elder. But a large 
 portion of Mr. Parker's time and thought was neces- 
 sarily occupied with such perplexities. It is a sore trial 
 
 160
 
 THE ROHILKHAND DISTRICT 
 
 of a missionary's courage, patience, and zeal to lose the 
 promising fruits of years of prayerful evangelistic serv- 
 ice through the persistence of some idolatrous or super- 
 stitious practice. The power of anti-Christian social 
 custom comes as a revelation to the missionary. If he 
 is a weak man he is discouraged, and retires from the 
 contest. If he is a strong-willed, self-centered, im- 
 patient man he rides roughshod over the reprehensible 
 customs and destroys the work. If he is strong and 
 firm and patient, is wholly given to the service of Christ 
 and really loves these weak, ignorant, semievangelized 
 Christians, he will neither abandon effort nor deal vio- 
 lently or hastily with the obstinate reactionaries, but 
 will continue to follow them with prayers and counsel 
 and warning until at last he achieves the desired result. 
 That for forty years Bishop Parker lived in the midst 
 of such experiences as those described in his letter, yet 
 year by year loved the people more, had greater hope 
 in their improvement, made broader and more enthusi- 
 astic plans for their advancement, and with increasing 
 zeal wrought for their temporal and spiritual welfare, 
 shows him to have possessed the true missionary spirit. 
 The "water question" was another of those mixed 
 affairs which at times occupied the attention of the 
 Rohilkhand presiding elder. It was not so universal as 
 the marriage question, and being a difficulty between 
 Christians and non-Christians it did not disturb the 
 harmony of the Church, yet it often brought the Chris- 
 tians into sore trial and affliction. 
 
 The water question in India is a great mystery. It 
 is as illogical and incomprehensible as Hindu philoso- 
 phy, and its application is as elastic as the Hindu 
 conscience. It is a convenient agency for use in perse- 
 
 (11) 161
 
 LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER 
 
 cuting Christians, and when the mild Hindu has oppor- 
 tunity he works the system for all it is worth. Run- 
 ning water is free, and cannot suffer religious pollution. 
 A Brahman may drink of a stream in which a corpse is 
 floating near by or a low caste man bathing. A well is 
 different. The Hindu would allow no one to draw 
 water from the well except Hindus of proper caste. 
 But throughout the Moghul Empire the Mohamme- 
 dans taught the Hindus toleration at the point of the 
 sword, and now, wherever there are Mohammedans, 
 they and the Hindus use the water and the Hindus are 
 not defiled. But when Christians sought to use the 
 wells the Hindus objected, and the Hinduized Moham- 
 medans, glad of an opportunity for persecuting Chris- 
 tians, joined with the Hindus. Water is a necessity of 
 life everywhere, especially in a warm country like In- 
 dia, and to close the wells against the Christians is very 
 cruel. They must either use the stagnant water of the 
 ' village horse ponds or pay some one to draw water for 
 them. To poor villagers the cost is prohibitive, and 
 those who can pay are at the mercy of Hindu or Mo- 
 hammedan water carriers who sometimes refuse to 
 serve Christians at any price. 
 
 It seems incredible that such oppression is possible 
 in British territory. But the administration of law in 
 rural districts is largely in the hands of native officials, 
 and the law regulating the use of wells by Christians 
 practically depends upon the will of the local authority. 
 In one of Mr. Parker's letters is an interesting account 
 of the way in which one of these water disputes was 
 settled. 
 
 He had gone up the main line of the railway from 
 
 Bareilly to Aligarh to preach to a company of Euro- 
 
 162
 
 THE ROHILKHAND DISTRICT 
 
 peans on the canal works in the direction of Aligarh. 
 The junction alluded to is Chandauri, some thirty miles 
 from Moradabad, and Mrs. Parker came this distance 
 to enable her husband to go on without delay to the 
 spot where his presence was so urgently required. This 
 furnishes also an illustration of the way this wise and 
 thoughtful woman aided her husband in his work. And 
 now Mr. Parker shall tell his own story : 
 
 Monday afternoon I got half way home when at the 
 junction I met Mrs. Parker, having come down to tell 
 me that a telegram had come saying there was trouble 
 at one of the village appointments and urging me to go 
 there at once. So I took the train going down country 
 and stopped off in the middle of the night at a way sta- 
 tion one hundred miles from home. Here I found a 
 little pony, just large enough to keep my feet from the 
 ground, waiting for me, and the native preacher ready 
 to accompany me six miles back into the country. The 
 country, however, was covered with water, and in many 
 places it was over the road. We moved on at a slow 
 walk and did not mind the water, as it was not very 
 deep, until we came to.what seemed to us to be a large 
 lake. A villager said it was only a river which had 
 broken away from its course and overflowed the coun- 
 try, and that he would take us around through the fields 
 where it would not be over our shoulders. He went 
 forward and showed us the depth, which I saw was 
 over my pony's back. Hence I got down, took off my 
 clothes, adopting the warm-weather fashion of vil- 
 lagers here, and waded through the lake at least one 
 third of a mile. Coming to dry land I resumed my 
 usual dress and we moved on. 
 
 The trouble that called me to this place was the usual 
 water difficulty. A few persons had Income Christians, 
 and had been beaten and turned out of their houses and 
 refused water from the public wells. The native 
 preacher had tried to reason with the villagers, but they 
 
 163
 
 LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER 
 
 came out with their large clubs and threatened to kill 
 him if he did not keep well at home. Some of the lead- 
 ing natives were on our side simply because they were 
 not on good terms with our persecutors. This kind of 
 friendship did not help us much except that it gave a 
 sort of protection to our people, and it made our op- 
 posers more ferocious when they saw their own ene- 
 mies adopting our cause. The real difficulty was about 
 the water. The Hindus and Mohammedans were de- 
 termined that Christians should not draw water from 
 the village wells. Even those who befriended us, and 
 sent men to protect the preacher's house, were not will- 
 ing to have the Christians draw from their wells, but 
 were very willing to have them draw from their ene- 
 mies' wells which were near the Christians' houses. I 
 saw that I could do nothing alone, hence I sent a letter 
 to the native magistrate, who had already been ordered 
 by the European magistrate to settle the difficulty, but 
 who had not dared to venture through the water, ask- 
 ing him to come as soon as possible and aid us. Hence, 
 getting on an elephant, he rode over to investigate mat- 
 ters. 
 
 He heard the excuses of the Hindus, who claimed 
 that their caste would be broken if they drank water 
 from a well with people of another religion. "Why, 
 then, do you allow Mohammedans to draw from your 
 wells?" was the reply. "If Mohammedans draw, why 
 not Christians ? If two religions, why not three?" To 
 these questions the Hindus had no reply, and hence they 
 said: "If these leading men in the village, who claim 
 to be so friendly to the Christians, will allow one bucket 
 of water drawn from each of their wells, then we will 
 let them draw freely. But if only our wells are touched 
 by the Christians these others will persecute us, as de- 
 filed from contact with Christians." Our friends, not 
 anticipating this turn, had already told the native mag- 
 istrate they were anxious that Christians have their 
 rights. The magistrate, seeing a way out of the diffi- 
 culty, turned at once to the leading man of our party 
 
 164
 
 THE ROHILKHAND DISTRICT 
 
 and said, "Go at once, take a Christian man and have 
 him draw water from your well." The man could not 
 refuse, after his professions of friendship, and went 
 at once and had the water drawn by a Christian, and 
 our other friends followed his example. Then the peo- 
 ple who used water from these wells demanded that the 
 other wells in the place should be drawn from, so that 
 no one could persecute them ; so the Hindus, to make 
 all alike, took the Christian to all the wells in the vil- 
 lage and had him draw from each well and make them 
 all alike! These people are of the soldier caste, and 
 that morning everywhere they had their long clubs 
 ready for use if need be. They have no conscience, 
 except fear of the government, about beating a man's 
 brains out if he comes in their way. 
 
 Bishop Thoburn had a thrilling experience at Har- 
 tala, near Moradabad, some thirty years ago, when at- 
 tempting to settle a water dispute between the Jats and 
 Christians. The story confirms Mr. Parker's remark 
 that these men are quite prepared to use extreme vio- 
 lence when excited. The Jats of Hartala had decided 
 that the Christian preacher in the village should not 
 draw water from the wayside well. Mr. Thoburn, 
 thinking the villagers would not dare resist the acts of 
 a European, thought to end the dispute by drawing 
 water himself. Taking the brass vessel and cord used 
 by the Christians he stepped upon the well curb and 
 began to lower the lotah into the well. The exasper- 
 ated Jats roughly seized him, bound him fast to a tree, 
 and then sat down to consider what should be done 
 with him. Some were for killing him, others, having 
 fear of punishment before their eyes, urged it would 
 be safer for them to let him go. Meanwhile one of the 
 
 native Christians ran into the city and told the terrible 
 
 165
 
 LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER 
 
 news that the Jats of Hartala were going to murder the 
 missionary. The head master of the Mission school, 
 himself an old police officer, mounted a horse and with 
 a naked sword in his hand rode out toward Hartala, 
 breathing vengeance upon the Jats. About half way to 
 the village he was met by Mr. Thoburn, who had been 
 released by the Jats and was returning home, his con- 
 fidence in European invincibility being somewhat weak- 
 ened by what had occurred. The government took the 
 matter very seriously that such an indignity should 
 have been offered to a European, and at one time it was 
 proposed to raze the whole village to the ground. 
 Finally, at Mr. Thoburn's earnest request, the offenders 
 got off with a comparatively light punishment. 
 
 Mr. Parker's second term of service synchronized 
 with the period of William Taylor's successful evangel- 
 istic work in India and with the development of Sun- 
 day school work among non-Christians. Mr. Parker 
 was in full sympathy with both movements and heartily 
 seconded the plans suggested by the young missionary 
 from Chicago, the Rev. T. Craven, whose is the credit 
 of first demonstrating that non-Christian children could 
 be gathered by thousands into Christian Sunday 
 schools. At the time of Mr. Craven's arrival there 
 were in the Conference 34 Sunday schools, with 1,116 
 scholars. In four years the number of schools was 
 more than four times this number; and when, at the 
 close of 1882, Mr. Parker took furlough to return to 
 America there were 344 schools, having 15,397 
 scholars. More than one half of these were in the 
 Rohilkhand District. Mr. Parker was an experienced 
 and enthusiastic educationist and had given many years 
 
 of service to the schools of the Mission; children and 
 
 166
 
 THE ROHILKHAND DISTRICT 
 
 young people were everywhere his friends and always 
 received special attention, and it is not surprising that 
 the Sunday schools always had his fostering care. In 
 one of his letters he gives an account of two days' work, 
 Saturday and Sunday. The Saturday's work is sum- 
 marized by himself in this manner : 
 
 This altogether made a very good day's work. Com- 
 mencing at three o'clock in the morning we drove twen- 
 ty-four miles, examined and laid out work for two 
 schools, and visited two more, giving us a walk of three 
 miles and a ride of six, straightened out and audited 
 a quarter's accounts of the circuit, held an evening 
 service, settling some trying difficulties after the meet- 
 ing. This was Saturday, however, and with a day of 
 rest near we often do a hard day's work. 
 
 His Sunday could not well be called a day of rest, for 
 work began at six in the morning and continued until 
 late at night. The day's work included a love feast, 
 two preaching services, administration of the Lord's 
 Supper, and baptism of eleven persons, and last, but 
 not least, four Sunday schools in as many different vil- 
 lages, which could only be reached by weary tramp 
 through sandy lanes and fields. His remarks concern- 
 ing the four schools he had that day examined express 
 his feelings regarding the one hundred and seventy 
 Sunday schools on his district : 
 
 At four o'clock we rode three miles to yet another 
 Sunday school, where the usual examination and distri- 
 bution of prizes was gone through with. These Sun- 
 day schools among non-Christian children are a won- 
 der to us all. The singing, tickets, Sunday school 
 papers, prizes, etc., keep the boys interested, and give 
 them much Scripture knowledge, and at the same time 
 they scatter Scripture texts and religious truths broad- 
 
 167
 
 LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER 
 
 cast over the land. God seems to be giving us the chil- 
 dren by the thousand. In one city of sixty thousand 
 people we have ten of these Sunday schools. 
 
 Church discipline was another matter which made 
 numerous calls upon the wisdom and patience and 
 Christian charity of the presiding elder. Converts from 
 non-Christian communities bring with them ideals and 
 standards of morality in some respects unlike those 
 which prevail in Christian lands. It is a difficult matter 
 to deal wisely with such cases. The missionary is often 
 placed on the horns of a very painful dilemma. He 
 dares not set the standard of Christian morality below 
 the New Testament model, and he knows that in this 
 land, where custom has greater authority than law, it 
 is particularly desirable to begin right. But, on the 
 other hand, he knows that even the most sincere con- 
 verts are not yet emancipated from the authority of 
 customs which in some things are absolutely forbidden 
 to Christians, and that a strict administration of ecclesi- 
 astical law is more than these weak brethren can en- 
 dure. Mr. Parker spent thousands of weary hours in 
 dealing with such cases and trying to save the delin- 
 quents without being unfaithful to the Church. To be 
 utterly loyal to his Master and at the same time to show 
 mercy to those who deserved punishment was a diffi- 
 cult matter to one who had a tender conscience as well 
 as a sympathetic heart. In the performance of such 
 duty Mr. Parker learned much of that "fellowship of 
 sufferings" which Paul sought to realize. 
 
 Two interesting cases taken from Mr. Parker's let- 
 ters show the kind of questions that came up and how 
 they were dealt with. The first is a story of lapse into 
 
 performance of idolatrous ceremony. At a camp meet- 
 
 168
 
 THE ROHILKHAND DISTRICT 
 
 ing of village Christians, held shortly after a fearful 
 epidemic of fever, many of those present spoke in the 
 love feast of their trials and temptations because of 
 sickness, and thanked God that they had been kept 
 from turning to idols for aid in their affliction. Then 
 came a testimony of a different sort, which is given as 
 described by Mr. Parker : 
 
 There was, however, a dark side to this same love 
 feast. When nearly all had spoken, one of the local 
 preachers arose, a man much respected, a graduate 
 of our theological school, and at the time in charge 
 of an important work. He also referred to the sick- 
 ness and said he had a confession to make. When 
 his wife and children were very sick, the men who per- 
 form these idolatrous ceremonies came to his wife, 
 while he was away, and made her believe 'that a very 
 simple offering made to a certain deity would cure her. 
 Hence his wife gave him no rest, as she wanted this 
 worship performed and the offering made. In the 
 midst of the pleadings of his wife and the assurances 
 of his friends he had yielded and had allowed and 
 aided in the ceremony. Lights were placed around the 
 sick bed and around the room, and a chicken was 
 brought in with great solemnity, and while the per- 
 former mumbled certain prayers and incantations the 
 chicken was moved about all over and around the body 
 of the sick woman, and then it was taken outside to a 
 certain place and killed. Rice was passed around in the 
 same manner and thrown out, and finally a donkey was 
 led to the door and the evil spirit induced to go away 
 with this' donkey. Thus the spirit that was afflicting the 
 woman was said to be taken away. The desired result, 
 however, did not follow. The penitence of the preacher 
 was evidently sincere, and his shame such that he could 
 not lift up his head. All were grieved teyoncl expres- 
 sion at such a fall, but all said the man must be pun- 
 ished. Hence the preacher in charge, a native, at once 
 
 169
 
 LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER 
 
 called a committee of local preachers and suspended 
 the man until the next District Conference. I never 
 saw a church trial before where all was conducted in 
 such love, and where all agreed as they did at this one. 
 The offender said, "I have sinned and deserve to be 
 punished." The man who brought the charge said, "I 
 bring this charge against a dear friend, not because I 
 would harm him, but because I love the church, and 
 must see the church kept pure though it cause the fall 
 of those I love most." 
 
 The affair ended in the suspension of the offender 
 for one year, a sentence which was felt as much by the 
 church as by the delinquent, for he was an energetic 
 and successful worker, and there was urgent need of 
 his services. 
 
 The other case was more of a comedy than a tragedy, 
 although it relates to one of the most serious questions 
 connected with the evangelization of India. A proba- 
 tioner in the church had beaten his wife so severely 
 that the poor woman was lying ill in consequence. The 
 husband acknowledged that he had beaten his wife. 
 He said he was not in the habit of beating her, but this 
 time a woman's disobedience and the devil's tempta- 
 tion had been too much for his temper. He had not in- 
 tended to hurt her so much, but when he struck her she 
 fell backward and hurt her head in falling. The ques- 
 tion of punishment then came up. It was not desirable 
 to bring him before a magistrate for punishment, since 
 the magistrate was a non-Christian and it would be a 
 disgrace to the whole Christian community to have such 
 a case brought up. It would be of little use to drop the 
 man's name from the list of probationers ; he had been 
 baptized, was known as a Christian, and would be con- 
 sidered a Christian whether in the church or out of it. 
 
 170
 
 THE ROHILKHAND DISTRICT 
 
 A more practical suggestion was that the other Chris- 
 tians refuse to eat or smoke with this man for a few 
 months. Finally the majority of the Christians agreed 
 that the best punishment would be to require the man, 
 who was their water carrier, to furnish water at half 
 the usual wages for one month. Mr. Parker's account 
 of the close of the discussion gives a glimpse of the 
 "woman question" from the oriental standpoint: 
 
 The preacher in charge thought this punishment not 
 equal to the offense, and this led to a discussion. One 
 local preacher said that if the punishment were too se- 
 vere all the ignorant women who were being lifted up 
 by Christianity would get proud and become disobe- 
 dient and refuse to do their proper work. He said that 
 these women were not like foreign women, but having 
 been kept in ignorance so long they were proud and 
 overbearing if not properly restrained ; that some pun- 
 ishment was at times necessary, and if men in cases of 
 abuse were here punished too severely, the influence 
 would be to make the women willful and proud. An 
 exhorter said that he believed that the women in India 
 sometimes needed an "exhortation ;" that when he was 
 first married his wife refused to cook or take care of 
 the house, and he, after bearing it a while, gave her 
 one "practical exhortation," and she had been an excel- 
 lent wife ever since. He believed in punishing such 
 offenders as the one present, but not so hard as to make 
 the women think that they could rule and refuse to do 
 their work. 
 
 These remarks called forth an exhortation from the 
 missionary on the treatment of their families, on the 
 power of love, and on the rights of women. I have 
 noted this incident as it reveals a little of the condition 
 of the people and shows one of the difficulties which we 
 have often to meet when men are first brought out of 
 heathenism. It is a fact also that the past treatment of 
 
 171
 
 LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER 
 
 woman has not been such as to develop the hotter quali- 
 ties of her nature. 
 
 When the subject of woman's degradation in non- 
 Christian lands is under consideration it is too com- 
 monly assumed that these women are conscious of their 
 condition and anxious for improvement, and that they 
 would improve if opportunity were given. But the sad 
 truth is that the \vomen are degraded in their own 
 moral and spiritual and intellectual natures: so much 
 so indeed that, generally speaking, their moral condi- 
 tion is worse than that of men. There is less con- 
 science, feebler response to lessons of truth, less desire 
 for improvement. Ill usage and unwise treatment have 
 no doubt made women what they are, degraded quite 
 as much in their own natures as in their outward con- 
 dition, and mere change of environment or bringing 
 them within the reach of opportunity will not at once 
 make them all that women ought to be. 
 
 In 1877 Mr. Parker had the great pleasure and satis- 
 faction of baptizing a very promising convert from the 
 Chumar caste, or leather workers. About 1 50,000 peo- 
 ple of this caste live in the division of the Northwest 
 Provinces called the District of Moradabad. For many 
 years the Gospel had been preached among these people, 
 who everywhere heard it gladly. In many places their 
 idolatry was virtually abandoned and they really had 
 no religion except Christianity, although in their social 
 life traditional customs prevailed. But, though appar- 
 ently convinced of the truth of Christianity and always 
 ready to be taught, none were baptized. Though their 
 caste is very low, to them it is as important a matter in 
 social and business life as a Brahman's is to him. If 
 
 they became Christians they could not eat with their 
 
 172
 
 THE ROHILKHAND DISTRICT 
 
 friends again, no one would give them work, they 
 would be turned out of their houses, the wells would 
 be closed against them, and life would be altogether in- 
 supportable. So caste could not be given up. But at 
 last a young man, a leader among his people, so ear- 
 nestly desired to become a Christian that he was ready 
 to sacrifice everything. He broke his caste by eating 
 with Christians, and in so doing found peace in Christ. 
 The story of what followed, written by Mr. Parker, 
 sheds light on the complicated questions and interests 
 which attend missionaries' work in India : 
 
 The man was at once excommunicated, and day after 
 day the council met to provide means to prevent others 
 from breaking loose. The people where the young man 
 lived were ordered to turn him out of that block alto- 
 gether or they would also be excommunicated at once. 
 And it was proclaimed that if any others became Chris- 
 tians they would also be turned out of their houses. 
 The wife and children of the young man were kept from 
 being baptized through fear, and the parents, who 
 owned the house, were ordered to turn out their son at 
 once. Just here, however, a division occurred in the 
 council. Some of the leaders members of the council 
 were inquirers and believers in Christianity, and they 
 saw that if this man was turned out of his house the 
 next man who received Christ must be turned out also. 
 Hence a strong party soon took the part of the young 
 man. He is therefore still in his house with his family, 
 though he has to eat his food separately. His family 
 will no doubt soon follow him and receive Christ. 
 
 I have held several series of meetings among this 
 class of people this year and have seen many under 
 deep conviction, so that they had no rest, day or night, 
 yet this strong chain of caste bound them and they 
 would not yield. Hundreds say, "Sometime we will, 
 we must yield, but not now : wait a little." This people 
 
 173
 
 LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER 
 
 have but little caste, and yet how it binds them down 
 to old customs and keeps them just where Satan would 
 keep them, in idolatry and superstition ! No one in 
 America can at all understand the power of caste over 
 this people. Now that we have made a new break in 
 this chain by releasing this young man we shall keep 
 to work within this caste, and when we have a Christian 
 community formed from these people it will be easier 
 for others to come over. Each new break will weaken 
 the chain until by and by it will have but little force 
 left. Our work thus follows caste lines. Converts will 
 have great influence over people of their own caste but 
 very little over persons of other castes. The reason of 
 our having so many inquirers among this particular 
 people is that some years ago two priests of this people 
 were converted and have been working ever since for 
 their old disciples. 
 
 The life and work of the presiding elder of Rohil- 
 khand may be in some measure apprehended by these 
 echoes from the villages and towns in his diocese. His 
 was a most laborious life, .and after five years of such 
 service he was at his own earnest request relieved of 
 charge of the district. During 1878 and 1879 his work 
 was nominally confined to the Moradabad Circuit. In 
 the beginning of 1880 ill health compelled Mr. Cun- 
 ningham, the presiding elder, to return to America, and 
 Mr. Parker resumed charge of the district, returning on 
 furlough to America in 1883. Two years of severe 
 famine during the eleven years under review increased 
 his cares. His attention was also given to various 
 questions pertaining to the consolidation of the work 
 of the Methodist Episcopal Church in India : the kind 
 and amount of episcopal supervision necessary, the 
 massing together of large numbers of native Chris- 
 tians, ministers, and laymen, in order to develop con- 
 
 174
 
 THE ROHILKHAND DISTRICT 
 
 sciousness of numbers and increase the momentum of 
 progress, the public defense of the Mission from the 
 attacks of enemies and the misconceptions of friends, 
 and through letters to the Church papers and private 
 correspondence doing all he could to increase the in- 
 terest of the Methodist Episcopal Church in the great 
 work of its missions in India. Some of these will re- 
 ceive further notice in the next chapter. 
 
 175
 
 LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER 
 
 CHAPTER V. THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH 
 IN INDIA 
 
 IN India the decade from 1871 to 1881 was the 
 period of the advancement of the work of the Metho- 
 dist Episcopal Church beyond the territorial bound- 
 aries of the original India Mission. William Taylor 
 and J. M. Thoburn were leaders in this movement, and 
 the late lamented Dennis Osborne also had much to do 
 with it. Mr. Parker was fully occupied with his work 
 on the Rohilkhand District, and had little to do with the 
 work in the regions beyond, but his eye was upon it, his 
 heart was interested in it, and his brain and pen were 
 busy suggesting and devising and discussing and com- 
 pleting plans for the unification of the work of the 
 Church in India. His ecclesiastical statesmanship is 
 manifest in the various plans and efforts which found 
 completion in the regularly constituted Central Confer- 
 ence of India, authorized by the General Conference 
 of 1884 and duly organized under the presidency of 
 Bishop Hurst at its first session, held in Bareilly in 
 January, 1885. 
 
 Years of consultation, correspondence, and experi- 
 ment preceded this consummation. Looking back upon 
 the accomplished work it appears to be the natural out- 
 growth of the condition of the Church, and such it is ; 
 and this is the highest proof of the practical wisdom 
 and sagacity of the men who brought it to pass. Never- 
 theless the work was not easy, and there were serious 
 obstacles to be overcome and dangers to be avoided 
 
 which in one way or another threatened to defeat the 
 
 176
 
 THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH IN INDIA 
 
 enterprise. There were differences of opinion among 
 the men on the field concerning the advantages or the 
 possibility of such an organization. Some of the mis- 
 sionaries in the old field were rather dubious at times, 
 seeing the somewhat erratic and apparently irrespon- 
 sible movements of the men skirmishing so vigorously 
 on a frontier line which extended from Ouetta to Sing- 
 apore, and which occupied posts at Bombay, Madras, 
 Calcutta, Rangoon, and Penang. And some of these 
 skirmishers themselves, in return, looked askance upon 
 the slower movements of men who were in the pay of 
 the Missionary Society, and were accustomed to regu- 
 late their movements according to suggestions from the 
 Mission Board and the financial aid received therefrom. 
 It was no easy matter to weld these differing, though 
 by no means antagonistic, elements into a homogeneous 
 body. But the difficulty emphasized the need. For if 
 at the beginning there was so much difference of senti- 
 ment and opinion the divergence would increase as the 
 years went on. 
 
 And there were fears in some circles at home. What 
 was this plan for the organization of an ecclesiastical 
 court, or committee, or Conference, which was to be 
 something greater than an Annual Conference? Per- 
 haps the leaders in India were ambitiously desiring the 
 organization of an independent church. And when 
 they understood that this court was to take cognizance 
 of the whole of India they asked, "What is this but a 
 General Conference under another name?" The vari- 
 ous names given at different times to this organization 
 l>ear 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 :3<D to 9 was spent in 
 singing. Then followed prayer, Scripture lessons, and 
 several short sermons, closing with class meeting, sing- 
 ing, and prayer. It was a good meeting. All that I 
 have belongs to Jesus on this last evening of the year 
 and will always remain his. My heart has been very 
 full of praise to his name for many weeks. 
 
 Jan. i, 1889. To-day is a happy New Year. We ar- 
 ranged for our Christmas holiday gathering to-day. 
 Our city hall was filled, and we had singing and recita- 
 tions, review of Sunday school lessons, etc. We had 
 nice gifts for the people this year, as many were sent 
 to us from America. About fifteen hundred, old and 
 young, were present. Pleasant family dinner in the 
 evening. 
 
 Jan. 2. Treasury opened to-day; drew money from 
 bank and commenced on accounts. Worked all day 
 getting year's accounts in order. The circuit accounts, 
 the district accounts, and the Goucher schools accounts 
 must be kept separately, and the three sets of books 
 make much work. 
 
 Jan. 24. At home. Telegraph from Bishop Fowler 
 to meet him at Agra the 26th. 
 
 Jan. 28. Took Bishop and Mrs. Fowler to Muttra 
 and spent the day there. Went with them to Brinda- 
 
 216
 
 A WORKMAN NOT ASHAMED 
 
 ban. New mission house at Muttra nearly finished. 
 Preached, with pictures, at evening. Left for Delhi. 
 
 The 1 4th of February found him at Lucknow attend- 
 ing a meeting of Christian College trustees. The pre- 
 siding elder of Oudh and the principal of the college 
 both wished to have the college buildings erected at 
 once with borrowed funds. Mr. Parker and others dis- 
 approved of this plan, and the matter was laid over until 
 the July meeting of the trustees. Returning to Bareilly 
 the afternoon on the train was spent in writing letters 
 about an editor for the Indian Witness, to take the 
 place of Dr. McCoy, who had just died, and letters re- 
 garding the time of holding the session of the Central 
 Conference. On the 29th of March he was at Agra, 
 to assist in dedicating the new church building, and his 
 diary notes with much satisfaction the great change 
 which two years have wrought : "We came here two 
 years ago and found on our mission gatepost a notice 
 to sell us out. Now we have a large dwelling house, 
 a good church building, good dormitories for girls, out- 
 houses, etc., all paid for except about two thousand 
 rupees." A few clays after he held a Quarterly Con- 
 ference at the Christian village of Panahpur, and makes 
 note of the fact that the farmers agreed to give one 
 fortieth of the produce of their fields toward support of 
 their pastor. Stewards were appointed to collect the 
 same. But, alas! these promises, like many others of 
 the same sort, were but made to be broken. To the last, 
 Panahpur remained a thorn in the side of the presiding 
 elder and superintending missionary. 
 
 About the middle of the previous year Baker Uni- 
 versity had conferred the honorary title of "Doctor in 
 
 Divinity" upon the presiding elder of the Rohilkhand 
 
 217
 
 LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER 
 
 District. It was a little difficult at first for men who 
 had for twenty or thirty years familiarly addressed him 
 as "Parker" to get used to the new title. But the dig- 
 nity seemed to fit him so well that soon he was "Dr. 
 Parker" to all, and such he will remain on the pages of 
 this memoir. "Bishop" he was indeed for years before 
 his election to the episcopate, but he was known and 
 loved as "Dr. Parker," and it is not easy to write or 
 speak of him by any other name. 
 
 A few additional extracts from the journal near the 
 close of 1889 will help the reader understand more 
 fully the varied and unremitting nature of the work 
 with which his days and often his nights were occupied : 
 
 Oct. 10, 1889. Left Muttra for Moradabad. Came 
 to Hathras junction and waited three hours ; on to Ali- 
 garh junction and waited four hours; on to Chandausi 
 junction and waited five or six hours, reaching home 
 at 6 A. M. I had gone to Muttra to see about building 
 the dormitories for the girls' boarding school. But 
 
 Miss S and I could not agree on a plan. As I 
 
 could not sleep at Chandausi I got up and drew two 
 different plans of dormitories for Miss S 's ap- 
 proval, and hope to arrive at some agreement. 
 
 It would be a slander on Indian railways to affirm 
 that the delays in the journey from Muttra to Morad- 
 abad are an ordinary sample of the facility with which 
 people go from place to place in India. The timing of 
 the trains on the three roads connecting Muttra and 
 Moradabad seems to have been made on the assump- 
 tion that no one will wish to travel direct from one city 
 to the other. It was Dr. Parker's misfortune to be 
 obliged to travel that way frequently; with what loss 
 
 of time and rest his diary shows. It is to be hoped 
 
 218
 
 A WORKMAN NOT ASHAMED 
 
 Miss S was satisfied at last. The dormitories cer- 
 tainly were built, and no one complains that they are 
 not just what they should be. 
 
 Oct. 15. Came to Bisauli; from Moradabad to 
 Chandausi by rail; drove to Mundiya, in Bisauli Cir- 
 cuit, where my tent was pitched. Saw Bheta school on 
 the way. Poor school. Quarterly Conference at 3 p. M., 
 followed by a good meeting. At evening a large meet- 
 ing, with lantern pictures. Tired at night. Two teach- 
 ers on the circuit had misbehaved and a committee was 
 appointed to investigate the matter. 
 
 Oct. 1 6. Quarterly Conference met again; commit- 
 tee reported and the offenders were punished. One of 
 the two was required to send his wife to school. Meet- 
 ing at 10; another meeting, at 3 p. M., spoiled by a big 
 dinner given for all. There was quarreling over the 
 dinner. After eating they became happier, and we had 
 a big meeting and baptized a number of persons. Work 
 at this place good generally. Came on to Bisauli this 
 evening after evening service at Mundiya. 
 
 It is probable that the dinner was given by the mis- 
 behaving teachers; that the punishment awarded had 
 been that they should feed the whole company. In 
 India such punishments are often assigned to offenders. 
 The quarreling about the dinner is an outcropping of 
 that childishness of character which among the sons of 
 the East is so strangely joined with the craft and cun- 
 ning and astuteness by which foreigners can be made 
 the tools and playthings of the oriental. A few ad- 
 ditional extracts from the diary bring the record down 
 to the end of the year. Some of them show how 
 arduous was Mr. Parker's work, and to what extent 
 he was often obliged to sacrifice that which to a man 
 
 of his years was essential to health, his night's rest : 
 
 219
 
 LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER 
 
 Oct. 19. Drove in to Bndaim. Very ill after arriv- 
 ing; headache and vomiting. Felt better in the after- 
 noon and commenced Quarterly Conference at three 
 o'clock. Adjourned at five. Then followed preaching. 
 A good meeting. 
 
 Monday, Oct. 21. Resumed Quarterly Conference 
 session at 7 130 A. M. Public service at 9 A. M. Good 
 meeting. After dismissing the congregation asked all 
 the men to remain, and gave them counsel and admo- 
 nition to live in all things carefully and avoid reproach. 
 At 5 P. M. service ; preached on the work of the Holy 
 Spirit, and in the after-meeting many prayed for this 
 great gift. After meeting Dr. Wilson tried to take 
 out a broken tooth, but I was too tired and nervous and 
 he failed. 
 
 Oct. 22. Up early. Tea at 5 A. M. Dr. Wilson 
 then took out my tooth and drove me eight miles to- 
 ward Datagunge, where my own buggy was ; went on, 
 nine miles farther, to Datagunge; had breakfast; ex- 
 amined three schools; preached short sermons in the 
 mohallas of the town, and then drove on twelve or fif- 
 teen miles to Kherabajhera, where Brother and Sister 
 Hoskins were in camp. They gave me dinner, but I 
 was too tired to attend the evening meeting. 
 
 Oct. 23. Looked into the school work at Khera- 
 bajhera; talked with people, then drove on to Fateh- 
 gunge ; preached in the bazaar ; had a good long picture 
 service; then went on with Sister Hoskins to Bareilly, 
 where she remained. At 2 A. M. I got my train for 
 Moradabad, and changing at Chandausi reached home 
 at sunrise. 
 
 Nov. 7. Still at Bisolpur; kept my bed till nearly 
 noon. Got up and held Quarterly Conference and at 
 evening held a meeting in the city. Am better. 
 
 Nov. 8. Drove this morning twenty-three miles to 
 Pilibheet; feeling better. Wrote up arrears of corre- 
 spondence and held meeting in the evening. 
 
 Nov. 9. Brother and Sister Neeld came out to Pili- 
 bheet to see how I was and determined to take me to 
 
 220
 
 A WORKMAN NOT ASHAMED 
 
 Bareilly. Held Pilibheet Quarterly Conference; ex- 
 amined schools and left by afternoon train for Bareilly ; 
 horse and buggy to follow. 
 
 Jan. i, 1890. Moradabad. Watch-night service 
 last evening; a large number present and an excellent 
 meeting. The young people spoke and prayed freely. 
 We organized our band of ready workers, about one 
 hundred in all. The testimonies of the mission work- 
 ers and young people took all the time, and there was 
 no preaching. God gave us large blessings. I never 
 attended a better meeting. Dr. Mary Sheldon is the 
 captain of the band and is a good worker. To-day \ve 
 started for our Annual Conference at Lucknow. We 
 were joined by others at Bareilly and had a pleasant 
 journey. Our work in the district promises well for 
 the coming year. All I have belongs to God. My entire 
 being is consecrated to him and his work, for time and 
 eternity. I am so thankful that wife and I are so well. 
 The prospect is that I may give up my district and take 
 other work. I have had this district for many years. 
 
 The next chapter will show that the anticipated 
 change took place. And this was really the close of 
 Dr. Parker's long career as presiding elder of the Rohil- 
 khand District. In 1897 he returned as presiding elder 
 of the Bareilly District, a part of the old Rohilkhand 
 District; but after the Conference of January, 1890, 
 he no longer had charge of work in Moradabad, and 
 after the Conference of 1891 Moradabad was never 
 again his home. His name had been in some form or 
 other connected with the place for nearly thirty years. 
 At the first session of the North India Conference after 
 Bishop Parker's death Mrs. Parker received her ap- 
 pointment to work in the city of Moradabad, and the 
 sorrow of her bereavement is alleviated by the fact that 
 she has her home and her work in the only place which 
 has been home to her since the year 1863. 
 
 221
 
 LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER 
 
 CHAPTER IV. GENERAL EVANGELIST 
 
 LARGE additions were made to the membership of 
 the Methodist Episcopal Church in North India during 
 the year 1889. The number of adults baptized that 
 year by ministers of the North India Conference was 
 2,291, and the total membership was 9,782, being an 
 increase of 1,838 upon the membership of the preceding 
 year. As the numbers of nominal Christians increased 
 so did the openings for advance among non-Christians 
 multiply. At the Lucknow session of the North India 
 Conference, January 2-7, 1890, Bishop Thoburn, now 
 beginning the third year of his episcopal administra- 
 tion, was very desirous of making special effort for the 
 evangelization of the multitudes who appeared to be 
 ready to receive the Gospel. His wishes and efforts 
 in this direction, in which he had the hearty support of 
 many members of Conference, resulted in the follow- 
 ing Conference action : 
 
 Whereas, There is now so large a number among 
 certain castes and classes of both Hindus and Moham- 
 medans throughout all parts of our mission field who 
 seem almost persuaded to leave their ancestral faiths, 
 and are without doubt very impressible material, and 
 need only to have the superior claims of Christianity 
 pressed home upon them in order to urge them to 
 prompt and hearty decision; and, 
 
 Whereas, We are persuaded that, in order to the 
 most successful and speedy accomplishment of this very 
 important phase of mission work, some one of our 
 number, with special fitness and long experience, be 
 requested to give himself entirely to this movement in 
 all its varied features ; therefore, 
 
 222
 
 GENERAL EVANGELIST 
 
 Resolved, That Bishop Thoburn, who, we are happy 
 to know, is in hearty sympathy -with this measure, be 
 requested to appoint one such member of the North 
 India Conference to this great work, and to assist him 
 in every way possible by giving him as good a staff of 
 assistants as may by any means be available; and that 
 all pray the prayer of faith for the success of this work. 
 
 This Conference resolution resulted in Dr. Parker's 
 appointment as general evangelist, and the Rev. C. L. 
 Bare became presiding elder of the Rohilkhand Dis- 
 trict. Dr. Parker had not sought this position, and it 
 is evident he would have preferred remaining on the 
 Rohilkhand District. His diary has the following en- 
 try, dated January 7, 1890: 
 
 Conference and Finance Committee closed to-day. 
 My district is given to Brother Bare. He is a good 
 man and will do well. He is the man of my own choice, 
 and as good a man as is often found in this world. I 
 have an appointment as "General Evangelist." A new 
 appointment. The bishop very much wished such an 
 appointment made and the Conference requested it. 
 
 Although Dr. Parker made such generous mention 
 of his successor, and did all he could to assist him in 
 getting acquainted with his new duties, it is evident 
 that his wishes and his judgment were in favor of re- 
 taining his old work some time longer. And reasons 
 for such an opinion were not wanting. During the 
 year 1889 there had been 2,956 baptisms on the Rohil- 
 khand District. There were now 6,470 church members 
 on the district, and the total Christian community num- 
 bered almost 9,000. The most sanguine of the mis- 
 sionaries admitted that the great majority of these 
 
 thousands were as yet but nominal Christians, under- 
 
 223
 
 LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER 
 
 standing little about personal spiritual religious experi- 
 ence. No other missionary knew all these people and 
 the condition of their lives so well as Dr. Parker. No 
 other man could approach him in that wonderful activ- 
 ity which made it possible for him to visit so many 
 places in a short time. His services were very much 
 needed by this Christian community, and the subse- 
 quent history of a large portion of the old Rohilkhand 
 District confirms the opinion that Dr. Parker's judg- 
 ment was correct; it would have been better for the 
 work if he had remained a few years longer in charge. 
 The North India Conference session at Lucknow 
 closed January 7, and on the Qth the Bengal Conference 
 session opened in Calcutta. As Dr. Parker's work was 
 to be in both Conferences, and Bishop Thoburn wished 
 him to attend the session of the Bengal Conference, Dr. 
 Parker left Lucknow at the close of his own Conference 
 and spent three days in Calcutta. Concerning his visit 
 he writes that he addressed the Conference regarding 
 his work as general evangelist, and that much interest 
 was awakened and sympathy with the movement mani- 
 fested. He spoke at the Conference missionary meet- 
 ing, and on Sunday morning gave a missionary address 
 to the Dharamtala congregation. Tuesday morning 
 early he arrived at Shahjahanpur, the residence of 
 Mr. Bare, his successor. The following entries in his 
 journal tell their own story : 
 
 Jan. 14, 1890. Tuesday. Went to work on accounts 
 as soon as it was light and worked all day, getting the 
 money, names of men, etc., etc., of each station ar- 
 ranged correctly for orders on the treasurer. Brother 
 Bare got very tired ; and I was tired enough. 
 
 Jan. 15. Still helping Brother Bare. Got all the 
 orders correct by n A. M. Took i o'clock train for 
 
 224
 
 GENERAL EVANGELIST 
 
 Bareilly. Visited theological seminary with Dr. Scott 
 and looked over plans for buildings. Met Brother and 
 Sister Wilson, from Budaun, and audited the books of 
 that circuit. Audited the year's accounts of the the- 
 ological seminary ; attended a Bible meeting at Brother 
 Neeld's. A busy day. 
 
 Jan. 16. Left Bareilly at 7:15 A. M. for home. Ar- 
 rived at 10. Wife was at station to meet me. 
 
 Jan. 20. Wrote up Finance Committee secretary's 
 book. Sent copies of certain portions of minutes to all 
 parties concerned : To m Mansell about Cawnpore 
 schools; to Dr. Johnson about work to be done at 
 home, children's allowance, sanitarium expenses; to 
 Dr. Waugh about treasurer's affairs. 
 
 Jan. 21. Sent letters to Dr. Peck, Dr. Butler, Mother 
 Parker, Mrs. Davis. Clearing up papers, and am near- 
 ly ready to begin outside work. 
 
 The arduous work at Shahjahanpur, undertaken im- 
 mediately after thirty-six hours in a railway carriage, 
 was no exceptional occurrence in the life of Dr. Par- 
 ker. He burned the candle at both ends until the very 
 last. Indeed the last four months of 1899 and the first 
 two months of 1900 brought him the heaviest work of 
 his life. Long journeys, late hours, numberless en- 
 gagements, wearying perplexities, scores and hundreds 
 of letters to be considered and in some way answered 
 all these things seemed inevitable; but how he man- 
 aged to live through it all is not easily understood. One 
 explanation will throw a little light on the problem: 
 his was a mind at leisure from itself; there was peace 
 within. None of his strength was wasted or spent in 
 conflict with himself. 
 
 Although general evangelist his home was still at 
 Moradabad, and Mrs. Parker retained charge of her 
 girls' boarding school. He began his work in the 
 
 (15) 225
 
 LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER 
 
 neighborhood of Moradabad, among: the villages; in 
 no wise considering that his general appointment im- 
 plied any change in his methods of work. He visited 
 the villages and towns exactly as before, only the 
 boundaries of the Rohilkhand District were no longer 
 the limit of his labors or responsibilities. His first tour 
 led him westward to Garhmukteshwar on the Ganges, 
 and across the river into the civil district of Buland- 
 shahr, where he had arranged to work among the vil- 
 lages on the Ingram estate. A few extracts from the 
 record of this tour are given : 
 
 Feb. 7. This morning went to join Brother Haqq 
 at Saidpur. Good meeting. Preached to Christians 
 and inquirers, and Brother Haqq baptized six persons 
 in a new village an old man, his wife, and sons. A 
 very promising opening, which will result in a large 
 ingathering. 
 
 Feb. 8. Examined school at Narainiya; 'had long 
 talk with the preacher about his work, urging him to 
 experiment among other classes. Sent letter for circu- 
 lation to Brother Cutting, at Moradabad, to be printed. 
 At evening came on to Gajraula. Preached, with pic- 
 tures ; large and quiet audience. Good service ; all were 
 friendly and happy, though formerly they had been 
 against us. Came home late. Had commenced the 
 day determined to rest, but failed somewhat. 
 
 Feb. ii. Came on to Garhmukteshwar; good serv- 
 ice at evening, with pictures. Brethren went here and 
 there, but no openings except for preaching. Brother 
 Luke and some men from Meerut joined us here. The 
 preacher at Garhmukteshwar is sick, and does little 
 when well. 
 
 Feb. 17. At Gilautiya. This is a good center for 
 work. A number were baptized in the villages and 
 thirty in Gilautiya. We left a teacher here and opened 
 a school; remained here until the iQth, when we went 
 
 226
 
 GENERAL EVANGELIST 
 
 on to Bulandshahr and pitched our tents in Mr. In- 
 gram's compound. 
 
 Feb. 20. Held a meeting of our leaders, with Brother 
 and Sister Ingram present. We planned to open 
 schools and have preachers in five or six places on their 
 estates. Mr. Ingram agrees to support the teachers for 
 five schools, also two preachers and perhaps a doctor. 
 
 These extracts from Dr. Parker's diary and the re- 
 port given below are the only available written records 
 of the year's work. His report made at the Morad- 
 abad Conference, January, 1891, shows what was at- 
 tempted and in some measure what was accomplished. 
 The report is given in full ; the last two sentences were 
 evidently written because adverse criticisms had been 
 made of some of the methods adopted by the Methodist 
 Episcopal missionaries in India. Dr. Parker subse- 
 quently became involved in newspaper discussion with 
 the critics, and he made strong defense of the so-called 
 "hasty" baptisms in Northern India. In reporting his 
 work as general evangelist Dr. Parker wrote the fol- 
 lowing : 
 
 When this appointment was made the object sought 
 by the evangelist was to secure a revival of evangelistic 
 effort looking for direct and constant results all over 
 our mission field in every part of India. In this we be- 
 lieve that much success is being attained. A new inter- 
 est has been awakened, and new efforts are being made 
 to turn preaching and school work more effectually to 
 the saving of the people and to gathering them into 
 little churches under pastoral watch-care. In the 
 Moradabad, Meerut, Bulandshahr. Muzaffarnagar, 
 Aligarh, Etah. Agra, Ajmcre, and Khandwa civil dis- 
 tricts the work has received new impetus, not in every 
 case through the direct work of the special evangelists, 
 but by the counsel and assistance given. Including the 
 
 227
 
 LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER 
 
 places opened through the extra aid secured by Dr. 
 Peck and Bishop Thoburn, which the success of this 
 work called out, more than two hundred new centers 
 will be opened by the end of October, and more than 
 two hundred other places are still calling. These cen- 
 ters are scattered all over India. Most of this work is 
 done by the regular laborers in the various circuits, and 
 thus our object is secured, as we are turning attention 
 to this kind of work, waking up an interest in it, and se- 
 curing the means needed for it. We can do but little 
 personally, but if all over India the efforts of our people 
 can be turned into channels of success in bringing peo- 
 ple who are accessible and ready to Jesus now, and in 
 building up a native Church, our object will be attained. 
 Let no one believe for one moment that our object is 
 merely to baptize; all converts are placed under the 
 watch-care of Christian pastor-teachers, and schools are 
 opened for their children. We open no new center 
 when we cannot supply the pastor-teacher, who teaches 
 the children to read and write, and the inquirers and 
 Christians the way of life more fully. 
 
 Dr. Parker held the office of general evangelist for 
 one year only. At the Moradabad Conference of Jan- 
 uary, 1891, he became presiding elder of the Oudh 
 District. At the same Conference a resolution was pre- 
 sented by the leading native ministers expressing their 
 great appreciation of the services of the general evan- 
 gelist and praying for his continued success in this 
 service. The report of the special committee on evan- 
 gelistic work affirms that "if the exigencies of the 
 work prevent the appointment of a general evangelist 
 for the coming year, the correspondence, the advice 
 by circular letters, and the special efforts by all should 
 be continued until a revival flame shall sweep over our 
 entire Indian field." It was doubtless in harmony with 
 
 this idea that at this Conference Dr. Parker, in addition 
 
 228
 
 GENERAL EVANGELIST 
 
 to the charge of the Oudh District, received an appoint- 
 ment to evangelistic work. But the work in Oudh soon 
 absorbed all his energies, and his work as general evan- 
 gelist virtually came to an end. 
 
 During the year 1890 Moradabad was Dr. Parker's 
 home, and the serious illness and departure to America 
 of the missionary, the Rev. Mr. Simmons, made it 
 necessary for Dr. Parker to act as preacher in charge 
 of Moradabad during the latter part of the year, and he 
 had neither wish nor expectation of leaving his old 
 station. Bishop Thoburn's suggestion that he should 
 take charge of the Oudh District brought surprise and 
 sorrow. In December he writes, "Our hearts were 
 made sad to-night by a letter from Bishop Thoburn. 
 He wishes me to go to Oudh." Nevertheless he ac- 
 cepted the new appointment loyally ; and, though Luck- 
 now never became home to him like Moradabad, the 
 six years of service he gave to Oudh were among the 
 most diligent, enthusiastic, and self-sacrificing years of 
 
 his missionary career. 
 
 229
 
 LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER 
 
 CHAPTER V. THE OUDH DISTRICT 
 
 ALTHOUGH the province of Oudh borders Rohil- 
 khand the people are much more difficult of access, and 
 mission work had not prospered here as it had farther 
 north. Dr. Henry Mansell, the former presiding elder, 
 had returned to America in the fall of 1890 on account 
 of Mrs. Mansell's poor health, and it was thought ad- 
 visible that Dr. Parker should take up his work. The 
 appointment was made partly because there was at the 
 time no other person available for it, but the chief rea- 
 son was the hope that the man who had been so suc- 
 cessful in Rohilkhand would be able to bring about 
 great results in Oudh. 
 
 The district was an enormous one and the difficulties 
 to be faced were great, and it was with some forebod- 
 ing that this new duty was undertaken. The work of 
 general evangelist had been agreeable, promising as it 
 did such definite and extended benefit to the whole field 
 and also harmonizing completely with his own ardent 
 nature, and it was given up with reluctance. Indeed, 
 at the time of making the appointments it was arranged 
 that it should go on as usual, and it so appears in the 
 Conference records; but the district work proved so 
 heavy that it was impossible for Dr. Parker to do any- 
 thing outside its boundaries in the way of holding evan- 
 gelistic meetings. In addition to the entire Province 
 of Oudh, which it embraced but did not fully occupy, 
 the district included the civil districts of Allahabad and 
 Cawnpore, adjoining on the south, the whole having a 
 
 population of about eighteen million people, and con- 
 
 230
 
 THE OUDH DISTRICT 
 
 taining within its boundaries most of the institutional 
 work of the Methodist Episcopal Church in Northern 
 India. The existence of two high schools, two colleges, 
 and a large publishing house within the bounds of 
 Oudh greatly increased the responsibilities of Dr. Par- 
 ker's work. 
 
 But the greater part of his hesitation in going to 
 Oudh did not grow out of the expected difficulties of 
 the work so much as it did out of some partly personal 
 considerations, mainly the condition of his health. This 
 is the entry made on the day the Conference session 
 closed : 
 
 The Conference work was hurried through, and we 
 closed, this evening, with the sacrament. It was a 
 good session. I go to Oudh as presiding elder, but 
 Mrs. Parker remains here in Moradabad. I feel very 
 badly about this, but could not and would not refuse. 
 It is a hard work, and it seems worse as for six weeks 
 I have been far from well, suffering from chest diffi- 
 culty and from cough. 
 
 The appointment once made there was no further 
 thought of hesitation or doubt, but rather a remarkable 
 energy and ability displayed in grasping the details of 
 the work and mastering its difficulties. The cough 
 from which he suffered clung to him during the greater 
 part of the year, and for some months kept him from 
 preaching, but his journal shows constant journeyings 
 from one part of his vast district to another, with meet- 
 ings and conferences with the workers almost every 
 day. During the first year a source of great incon- 
 venience and discomfort to him was the lack of his 
 usual home life, the Conference having thought best, 
 on account of the exigencies of the Woman's work in 
 
 231
 
 LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER 
 
 that place, to leave Mrs. Parker for the year in Morad- 
 abad. What this meant to the two most concerned can 
 be realized only by those who knew the beauty and 
 happiness of the home life thus interrupted. 
 
 In the midst of this first crowded year Dr. Parker 
 found time to accompany the suffering Dr. Badley in 
 his visit to a distant mountain sanitarium, hoping that 
 the change might save that valuable missionary life. 
 Later in the season he again made the weary marches 
 to bring the failing friend back to die in his own home. 
 The daily entries in the journal at this period reveal a 
 very tender love for the afflicted worker and his family 
 and bear witness to the warm-hearted unselfishness of 
 the writer himself. 
 
 In taking over Oudh District it was but natural that 
 Dr. Parker should look forward to and work toward 
 the inauguration of a mass movement among the people 
 similar to the one experienced in his old field of labor. 
 After carefully studying conditions the first year he 
 decided to call to his help men who had been with him 
 in Rohilkhand and to introduce some of his tried meth- 
 ods. Experienced workers were placed in the chief 
 centers and for some time all seemed to go well. It was 
 thought the plan would succeed. In these centers, 
 through the efforts of the tried men, large numbers were 
 baptized, but Dr. Parker soon saw that the converts 
 were not so trustworthy as had been those from the 
 same classes in Rohilkhand, and that the method was 
 unsuited to his new district and must be abandoned. 
 This was a sore trial, for Dr. Parker cherished sanguine 
 Hopes, but he had no wish to burden the infant church 
 with unworthy adherents. It is but fair to say, how- 
 ever, that in the civil districts of Hardoi and Shahabad, 
 
 232
 
 THE OUDH DISTRICT 
 
 where the conditions more nearly resemble those of 
 Rohilkhand, the work was much more substantial, and 
 that Christian communities of good material were col- 
 lected and still remain. 
 
 This failure of the mass movement plan only made 
 Dr. Parker more determined that the work in this hard 
 field should not be in vain. He began a careful selec- 
 tion of promising men and women and started in to 
 train them according to his own ideas of what mission 
 workers should be. In this he was remarkably success- 
 ful, and soon had gathered around him a very superior 
 body of fellow-laborers. Two years later he was able 
 to report to the Conference on this point thus : 
 
 Perhaps our most encouraging success in Oudh is 
 found in the growth and work of our native preachers, 
 teachers, and official members of our churches. We 
 have strong, true men and women among us, who, with 
 a full and clear experience, feel the responsibility of this 
 work and are efficient leaders in the various depart- 
 ments. 
 
 There now began a steady and solid growth in all 
 the circuits. Not only did the number of baptisms in- 
 crease, but the character of the converts was much more 
 satisfactory, and church organizations were formed in 
 the various centers. 
 
 During the six years he was in Oudh we find very 
 few Journal entries. Such as do appear are most frag- 
 mentary in character, and usually refer to business 
 transactions or itinerating trips. As illustrating, the 
 following entries for a few days in March, 1895, niav 
 be quoted : 
 
 Sunday, 3rd. At Unao. Meetings all clay; preached 
 on "What lack I yet?" Sacrament and one baptism. 
 All workers present. 
 
 233
 
 LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER 
 
 Monday, 4th. Went to Lucknow and worked at the 
 press; attended business at the bank. Met Dr. Scott. 
 Long talk on accounts and arranged [college] invest- 
 ments with Mansell. Settled "funds" [treasurer's] ac- 
 count with Hewes. Arranged Miss Thoburn's [Wom- 
 an's College] money. Caught a severe cold. 
 
 Tuesday, 5th. Settled with Dr. Scott. Worked 
 with Mansell on accounts, etc. 
 
 Wednesday, 6th. Came back to Workers' Confer- 
 ence at Unao, and drove out at once to Safipur; the 
 tent had come on and was ready. Wrote letters; had 
 magic lantern in the city; talked to workers. Cold 
 rather increasing. 
 
 Thursday, 7th. At Safipur. Wrote important let- 
 ters; got program for district workers' meeting ready 
 and sent it to Mansell. Not well cold very trouble- 
 some. Talked with workers. This place is a bad one. 
 
 Friday, 8th. Came to Bangarmau early and selected 
 a place to pitch tent. Rested in Yaqub's tent until ours 
 came. Cold seems developing into influenza. Rested 
 much and wrote some letters. 
 
 Saturday, Qth. No better; had a bad night. Took 
 medicine and kept in bed much of the day. Hope to be 
 better; if not, we must go back. 
 
 Sunday, loth. At Bangarmau. No better. Yaqub 
 had a meeting in the tent. Terrible storm, and broken 
 branches fell all around. Yaqub's tent blown away, 
 but ours stood. 
 
 Monday, nth. Came on to Malawan. Tupper met 
 us at Moradabadganj. Mud all day and wet all night. 
 Stopped in a house, as the tent was too wet. Meetings. 
 
 Tuesday, I2th. Came on this morning to Rudamau 
 to see the zamindar, and on this evening to Bilgram. 
 Stopped in house. Meetings in both places. 
 
 These entries mean very little to those unfamiliar with 
 Indian roads and Indian weather and native huts, but 
 they show something of the life of the presiding elder. 
 
 The cold mentioned in these passages proved very trou- 
 
 234
 
 THE OUDH DISTRICT 
 
 blesome, and some months afterward had maintained 
 such a hold that it was feared it would result disas- 
 trously. But such a thought as sparing himself did 
 not come to this missionary, whose only desire seemed 
 to be to push the work given him. For six years, when 
 not tied down by his office and other work, he traveled 
 over the district in this manner, seldom more than a 
 day or two in a place; making the journey by rail when 
 he could, but oftener traveling over the rough roads 
 from village to village in his American buggy. His 
 constitution was rugged, otherwise he never could 
 have endured such overwork; but in the light of 
 after events it can hardly be doubted that the ex- 
 ertion was a tax on his health that contributed to his 
 final breakdown. 
 
 At the end of his disciplinary term as presiding elder 
 Dr. Parker was transferred from the Oudh District, 
 not because he wished to leave the work, but as a pro- 
 test against the custom then followed of allowing pre- 
 siding elders to retain their districts more than the dis- 
 ciplinary term. It was a self-denial for him to take 
 this step, as the work had grown steadily under his care 
 and the outlook was promising. But in this case, as 
 always, he chose duty, not inclination. When he as- 
 sumed charge of the district in 1891 it contained less 
 than three thousand Christians, with but a few church 
 organizations. The territory then occupied he thought 
 too large to be worked well, and so followed the policy 
 of dividing it as fast as he could get the different parts 
 properly organized. As a result, when he left it the 
 original territory had been cut up into five separate pre- 
 siding elders' districts, each of which contained almost, 
 if not quite, as many Christians as had the original 
 
 235
 
 LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER 
 
 one. If during his term of service in Ouclh he had 
 done nothing else than thus develop the evangelistic 
 work of the province it would have been accounted a 
 great success, for not only had the Christian commu- 
 nity been largely increased, but he had developed a 
 class of workers much superior to the average, and 
 splendidly organized the whole work. 
 
 In view of the difficulties of the Oudh District work, 
 when Dr. Parker was assigned to it he was promised 
 that he should be left free from local work in Lucknow. 
 All his time and strength should be put into the direct 
 evangelistic work among the people. But it was very 
 soon found that this promise could not be kept. In 
 every large mission station, especially where there are 
 institutions, emergencies are constantly arising which 
 require most unexpected adjustment, and it was 
 through some of these emergencies that very heavy ad- 
 ditional burdens were laid on Dr. Parker. Early in the 
 year 1893 the R CV - Thomas Craven, the agent of the 
 Methodist Publishing House in Lucknow, went to 
 America, and as no other person was available for the 
 position thus made vacant it was arranged that Dr. 
 Parker should assume it. The publishing house is one 
 of the most extensive of its kind in the world, and not 
 only employs a large number of workmen, but has all 
 the complicated machinery that goes with any modern 
 press that does work in half a dozen languages. As the 
 institution is self-supporting, depending entirely upon 
 profits derived from its job work for money to push 
 its religious publications, it is really a business enter- 
 prise that requires an agent of more than average abil- 
 ity. At this time the task was an especially difficult 
 
 one. The foundations were in for a large new build- 
 
 236
 
 THE OUDH DISTRICT 
 
 ing which must be completed before the advent of the 
 rainy season ; the issuing of a series of school and other 
 related books had involved some heavy financial respon- 
 sibilities, and financial obligations were to be faced, 
 growing out of a successful attempt to secure an en- 
 dowment. To carry on the usual work of the press, 
 to raise money for the new building, and to adjust the 
 investments on endowment this was the additional 
 work that fell to the lot of the already hard-worked 
 missionary. For the overseeing of the building opera- 
 tions and for managing the mechanical department he 
 secured the help of a local missionary, but the general 
 planning of the work and the financing of the entire 
 concern were in his own hands. 
 
 In the Methodist Episcopal Church Mission in South- 
 ern Asia the election of publishing house agents is in 
 the control of the Central Conference, and the term 
 for which they were elected at that time was two years. 
 At the expiration of the term for which he had been 
 supplying, the Mission was so well satisfied with his 
 work that he was requested to continue in the position 
 for another term. He accepted on condition that a co- 
 agent be elected, and J. W. Robinson, who had been 
 assisting him in the press the previous year, was chosen 
 for the place. Even thus lightened, however, the bur- 
 den was too heavy to carry for any length of time, and 
 at the Central Conference session of 1896 he asked to 
 be allowed to retire altogether from the press. The 
 three years spent in this work furnish few events that 
 need to be mentioned in a biography, but the task per- 
 formed so successfully had been a very onerous one. 
 Dr. Parker left the publishing house in possession of 
 a large and new property, a good plant of machinery 
 
 237
 
 LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER 
 
 and material, an endowment amounting to almost a 
 hundred thousand rupees, and practically no debt. 
 
 A part of this endowment was money invested in 
 shares of the Upper India Paper Mills, located in Luck- 
 now, and with it came a task which Dr. Parker heartily 
 disliked, but which was to furnish another evidence of 
 his great business ability. These mills, with a value 
 of about two millions of rupees, are prosperous, but the 
 larger part of the capital stock is in the hands of native 
 shareholders, who in turn commit the management to 
 native directors. But with oriental methods of busi- 
 ness there is danger of mismanagement under such con- 
 ditions, and the English shareholders in this concern 
 have from the first required that one of their commun- 
 ity shall be on the Board of Directors. As a number 
 of the Methodist Episcopal Mission institutions have 
 endowment funds invested here its interests are impor- 
 tant, and for three successive years Dr. Parker was the 
 representative of the foreign element on this board of 
 management. So frank and straightforward was he in 
 his dealings with his fellow-directors that he was unan- 
 imously chosen president of the board, and in all mat- 
 ters concerning the conduct of the great business insti- 
 tution it was usually his advice that prevailed. Thus, 
 in his connection with the publishing house and with 
 the mills, Dr. Parker proved himself not a missionary 
 only, but a financier and a business man as well. 
 
 In still another position he demonstrated his effi- 
 ciency. The treasurer in a Mission Conference is not 
 only the fiscal agent of the board, receiving and dis- 
 bursing monthly the money sent out to the field, but the 
 channel as well for the private accounts of the mission- 
 aries in their dealings with the home land. The com- 
 
 238
 
 THE OUDH DISTRICT 
 
 plications of these public and private accounts, the 
 fluctuations of exchange, the emergent demands, and 
 the inevitable misapprehensions that will creep in, call 
 for not only financial skill, but also a large amount of 
 patience and tact. In the latter part of 1893 Dr. J. W. 
 Waugh, who had been set apart by the board as treas- 
 urer for all India, went on furlough to America, and it 
 was arranged that thereafter each Conference should 
 have its own treasurer. This change in policy involved 
 temporary complications and made it necessary to put 
 the office in charge of a thoroughly competent man. 
 The North India Conference nominated Dr. Parker 
 for the place, and he was appointed by the board 
 to the position. This new and intricate work could 
 only come as a disagreeable duty, to an already bur- 
 dened man, but for two years it was cheerfully carried 
 to the entire satisfaction of all who were in any way 
 interested. 
 
 From the very beginning of their career in India 
 both Dr. and Mrs. Parker had shown an active interest 
 in the children and young people of the land. With in- 
 creasing age this interest was more and more manifest. 
 When the Oxford League was first organized in Amer- 
 ica it attracted the attention of these two young hearted 
 missionaries as being probably what was needed for 
 work among India's young people. Adapted from this 
 model, the first chapter in India was organized by them 
 in connection with their Moradabad work, and as soon 
 as its effectiveness in training and character-building 
 was proved the organization spread rapidly over the 
 entire Mission. In 1894, after the Epworth League 
 had been adopted by the missionaries as the form of 
 organization best suited for practical results, it was de- 
 
 239
 
 LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER 
 
 cided to effect a national organization. In choosing a 
 president for the national league it seemed the natural 
 thing that the father of the society in India should be 
 elected, and so it came about that the venerable but 
 youthful-spirited Dr. Parker was chosen for the posi- 
 tion. This was an honor of which he was very proud, 
 and he held the office until his death. His interest in 
 the movement was great. In all its national con- 
 ventions he was the central figure, and it is largely 
 owing to his wise counsel and skillful leadership that 
 the organization has had such a remarkable growth in 
 India and has been so effective. 
 
 He looked to the boys and girls of the Church as its 
 hope, and was confident that, if they could be rightly 
 trained, they would prove an arm of power in all efforts 
 to promote the cause and the Gospel of Christ. His 
 love and confidence were heartily reciprocated by all 
 the young people who came in contact with him, and as 
 a result he had a wonderful influence over them. The 
 Epworth League has before it a promising outlook in 
 Southern Asia, and it will in time grow to large pro- 
 portions, but it will always be indebted to its first 
 national president, not only for its birth, but for the 
 right direction and great momentum it received during 
 his administration. Before his death it was working 
 in thirty different languages within the bounds of his 
 official territory, and he looked forward with faith to 
 the time when the youth of India should be leagued 
 together in the accomplishment of what he so ardently 
 desired and so confidently expected, "India for Christ 
 and Christ for India." 
 
 When Dr. Parker went to Lucknow and began his 
 
 work there he found the mission poorly equipped in the 
 
 240
 
 THE OUDH DISTRICT 
 
 matter of buildings for carrying on its work. The boys' 
 college had no home, the girls' college was crowded 
 in with the high school, the large Hindustani con- 
 gregation gathered in the largest room of a dwelling, 
 and the residence of some of the missionaries was too 
 far from their work. In the earlier days the Missionary 
 Society had been lavish in its appropriations for real 
 estate, but now it was impossible to get a grant for any- 
 thing save current work, and although the buildings 
 were most urgently needed there was absolutely no 
 hope of getting them save on the basis of money raised 
 locally or gifts received from friends. As a people is 
 not anxious to furnish with funds an agency that is 
 attempting to overthrow its religion it is impossible to 
 raise money for mission work among the non-Chris- 
 tians. The Christian community is as yet neither large 
 nor in any sense wealthy, so the task undertaken to 
 secure a better equipment of buildings was a most 
 difficult one ; one that would try both the faith and the 
 resources of the man attempting it. 
 
 Dr. Badley, the founder and first principal of the 
 Christian College, had long been endeavoring to secure 
 funds for the much-needed building for his work, but 
 up to the time Dr. Parker went to Lucknow had not yet 
 succeeded. The latter at once began actively assisting 
 in the matter and enlisting the assistance of others, and 
 before his death, in 1891, Dr. Badley had the privilege 
 of seeing a fine new structure under way. The money 
 for its completion was the gift from Dr. J. M. Reid, 
 for many years Missionary Secretary of the Methodist 
 Episcopal Church. He had first intended to leave the 
 money as a legacy, but after personal interviews with 
 several missionaries, Dr. Parker being one of the num- 
 
 (16) 241
 
 LIFE OF BISHOP PARKER 
 
 ber, the money was given outright and so became avail- 
 able for immediate use. 
 
 In this connection it may be mentioned that the busi- 
 ness department of the college, at the time of its incep- 
 tion a new departure in education in India, owes its 
 existence to this same missionary. In a letter from 
 America in August, 1892, Dr. Parker wrote to a friend 
 in Lucknow : 
 
 I have the college on my mind all the time, but as yet 
 I have secured little. I am asking the bishop for a man 
 for the college who can open a sort of business depart- 
 ment for special training work. For this we need a 
 man who can teach shorthand and typewriting. I am 
 sure that such a course would give our college a name 
 and our boys the inside track. 
 
 The man was secured and his salary also, and the 
 business department thus established has been remark- 
 ably successful, fully proving the wisdom that planned 
 and brought it into existence. 
 
 One Sunday, a few months after taking up the Oudh 
 work, Dr. Parker had been preaching to the Hindustani 
 congregation in Lucknow. The day was a hot one, the 
 crowded room, a part of a private house, was badly 
 ventilated, and both the preacher and the people had 
 suffered discomfort. On the way home he said to a 
 friend walking at his side, "We must have a new 
 church." This marked the beginning of what became 
 a very difficult but ultimately successful building ven- 
 ture. No money was available from mission funds, 
 and it looked like madness to expect from the poor 
 congregation such help as would be needed, but the 
 man who proposed the new scheme went to work with 
 
 his usual energy and wisdom. He first called the Hin- 
 
 242
 
 Methodist Episcopal Publishing House. Lucknow 
 Methodist Episcopal Church (Hindustani). Lucknow
 
 THE OUDH DISTRICT 
 
 dustani congregation together, and after presenting 
 the matter secured a promise of a gift from almost 
 every wage-earner these gifts ranging in amount 
 from one month's salary to three. The old building 
 had been for many years the place of a series of revival 
 services known as the Dasahra meetings, because of 
 their being held during a public holiday called by that 
 name, and in these services hundreds of English people 
 had been converted. The next move was to secure a 
 donation for the new church from each of those who 
 had been in any way helped in these meetings. This 
 brought in a large sum. Then private appeals were 
 made to personal friends all over the world. All the 
 needed money was obtained, and early in 1892 a sub- 
 stantial brick structure, costing about fifteen thousand 
 rupees, and capable of seating eight hundred people, 
 was dedicated free of debt. 
 
 During his incumbency in Oudh the large publishing 
 house building, the Harriet Warren Memorial Hall 
 and Isabella Thoburn College building, the Lai Bagh 
 mission house, and other minor buildings, were erected 
 in Lucknow, in all of which* Dr. Parker had an impor- 
 tant part as counselor and financial backer. In the 
 district he also carried forward this part of the work, 
 and aside from erecting the Learned Chapel at Lakhim- 
 pur he built a numr>er 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. 
 
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 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." 
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