Reapers of His Harvest

173 Pages·1915·8.558 MB·English

by  John Thomson Faris

HisHarvest
Reapers of
By
JOHN T. PARIS
Author of "Winning Their Way" "Men
Who Made
Good," "The Life of
Dr. J. R. Miller," etc.
"Prayye therefore the Lord ofthe harvest, that
he send forth laborers into his harvest."
Matt. 9;38.
Philadelphia
The Westminster Press
1915
AYY- 3072.
Copyright, 1915,
BY F. M. BRASELMANN
Contents
PAGE
I. WITH BIBLE AND RIFLE IN AFRICA . i
TheStory ofJames Stewart,ofLovedale.
II. A MAN WHO FORGOT SELF . . 9
The Preparation of James Robertson
for Conquests in Canada.
III. " THROWING HIMSELF AWAY" . 18
How William Duncan Built an Indian
Community. ...
IV. A MAKER OF MINISTERS 28
Glimpses of Herrick Johnson^ Master of
Sermon-Making.
V. THE UNUSUAL EXPERIENCES OF A
MISSIONARY 35
Chapters in the Life of Calvin W.
Mateer.
VI. THE FATHER OF EDINBURGHS POOR 46
The RecordofThomas Guthries Service.
.....
VII. SEVEN YEARS IN THE WILDS OF
AFRICA 56
The Life Work of William Johnson.
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CONTENTS
VIII. THE PUBLIC LIFE OF WASHINGTON
GLADDEN 68
How a Printer** Apprentice Became a
Leader of Men. ...
IX. CALLED TO SAVE SOULS 79
The Strenuous Life ofJohn Wesley.
X. THE APOSTLE TO THE LAO
. . 87
Daniel McGilvarfs Half Century of
Eager Preaching.
.....
XI. THE ENGLISH-SPEAKINGWORLDWAS
His PULPIT 98
"Maclaren of Manchester" and His
Tremendous Service.
XII. THE MANWHOWOULDNOTGIVEUP 109
George GrenfelFs Experiences in England
and in Africa.
XIIL DOWN AMONG GODS PEOPLE .120
.
The Joyful Service of Herbert Roswell
Bates.
XIV. THE APOSTLE OF THE NORTH 128
.
How William Carpenter Bompas
Pressed On.
XV. LEARNING TO MINISTER TO ALIENS . 138
The Long Apprenticeship of Edward A.
Steiner.
XVI. A HUMBLE WORKER ON THE ZAMBESI 146
William Waddell, Artisan Missionary.
XVII. IN A COUNTRY PARISH . . . 158
The Intense Life of Charles Kingsley.
BIBLIOGRAPHY .168
. . .
[iv]
Foreword
EECOEDS of biography are the most vital books.
Other volumes may present principles or describe
conditions, but the worthy biography tells ofa man
or a woman who has lived for a principle, and has
sought to improve conditions.
And of all books of biography those most worth
while tell of heroes who heard God s call to make
their lives count by service to their fellows.
"Beapers of His Harvest" gives glimpses of
seventeen ofthese heroes andtells oftheirdiscovery
that the onlyjoy worth while is thejoy of the man
who says to God, "Here am I ; send me."
Some ofthese men served in thehomeland some
;
went to mission fields. Some became famous the
;
names of others are unfamiliar to many Christians.
All were ordained ministers, except one missionary
whose self-effacing life demands for him a place in
the volume.
In the appendix will be found a list of the bi
ographies from which the material for this volume
has been gathered. This list is given in the hope
that readers will become so interested in these brief
sketches that they will not be satisfied until they
turn to the complete biographies.
J. T. F.
Philadelphia, July, 1915.
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WITH BIBLE AND RIFLE IN AFRICA
The Story ofJames Stewart, ofLovedale
uDOCTOR STEWART aiid General Gordon were to
me the two greatest heroes of the age, the saintly
servants of God and of Queen Victoria, the Elijah
and Joshua ofmodern said a steamshipcap
times,"
tain who manytimes carried JamesStewartbetween
England and Africa. This statement would have
been endorsed by thousands who followed the mis
sionary in his wonderful work during nearly half a
century.
The first impulse to become a foreign missionary
was received when young Stewart was fifteen years
old. At the time, he was following the plow in
Perthshire. " Leaning on the stilts ofthe plow, he
began to brood over his future. Whatwas ittobe?
The question flashed across his mind, Might I not
make more of my life than by remaining here?
He straightened himselfand said, Godhelpingme,
I will be a missionary. " On another occasion,
while out hunting with his cousins, he said, "Jim,
I shall never be satisfied till I am in Africa with a
Bible in my pocket and a rifle on my shoulder to
supply my wants."
Years ofbusiness training, made necessarybythe
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REAPERS OF HIS HARVEST
desire to help his father, and to provide for hisown
education, gave him invaluable preparation for the
life to which he was looking forward and taught
him to make the most ofhis opportunities.
While a student in the Divinity Hall of the Free
Church of Scotland, he read and made a careful
analysis of the life of Livingstone. He was so
captivated by the volume that for a long time he
could talk oflittle else ; hisfellowstudents, whohad
called him " Long Stewart," because ofhis height,
now gave him the name " Stewart Africanus."
Stewart began his ministry in the homeland, but
it was not long before he heard the definite call to
cross the sea, and in 1859 he proposed to the
Foreign Mission Committee ofthe Free Church that
he be sent to Africa to do missionary work in the
region made famous by Livingstone. As the com
mittee felt unable to assume the responsibility, he
organized among his friends " The New Central
African Committee," composed of eighteen men,
" with the view of turning to practical account the
discoveries of Livingstone, and of opening a new
mission in Central Africa." The initial expenses
were largely paid from contributions solicited by
himself, supplemented by the gift of his entire in
heritance. Then he gave himself, for he was the
man chosen bythe committee to go toAfricatolook
over the ground.
Stewarts indomitable perseverance carried him
through obstacles in the face of which many a man
would perhaps have turned his back forever on the
mission field. Hewas expectingtoaccompanyMrs.
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WITH BIBLE AND RIFLE IN AFRICA
Livingstone from Durban to the Zambesi on a brig
chartered to carry another mission party to a
neighboring field, but strenuous efforts were made
to persuade him that he was not wanted by Living
stone and that he would better return to England.
When Mrs. Livingstone assured him that her hus
band would welcome him and declared to the cap
tain that she would not sail unless Mr. Stewart was
permitted to accompany her, he paid no further at
tention to the protests of those who would detain
him.
For five weeks the delay, the efforts to persuade
him that he was on a fool s errand, and the assaults
on his character continued. The time was spent in
conducting gospel meetings and gathering informa
tion that might be of value to him later. Always
his comfort was gained in reading the Bible and in
prayer. Once he wrote in hisjournal :
"Make me patient under calumny, whether it be
at home or abroad. Give me patience to labor at
details as much as if they were the highest work.
Let me not get disappointed with the opposition
that may be thrown in the way. If it shall prove
not to be thy call to labor here, help me to take the
lesson thou givest for my good. Help me to be
content with thy work in me ifnot by me, and out
of all vexation and trial it has brought, only let my
heart be brought nearer thee."
Consecrated perseverance conquered. At last he
reached Livingstone and received a welcome that
repaid him for all he had suffered. After a season
with the great explorer, he pushed on into the
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REAPERS OF HIS HARVEST
forests on his own account, supporting his party by
his rifle, frequently nearly dying from, fever, and in
constant danger of a violent death. " The Scots
man in 1899 insisted that this expedition should
share with Livingstone the honor of opening the
way for the abolition of the slave trade in Central
Africa.
On his return to Scotland after two and a half
years of wandering, Stewart reported that the mis
sion project was possible. Livingstone himself
wrote to the Foreign Mission Committee of the
Free Church, "For such a man as Dr. Stewart there
are no insuperable obstacles in the way."
During a brief stay at home he completed his
medical course, and gained some valuable experi
ence in work in the churches. Then he was sentby
the Free Church to the missionaryinstitutein Love-
dale, Cape Colony, and there for three years, or un
til 1870, he labored under Dr. Govau, the principal.
When he was free to work out his own plans the
wonderful development of the institution began.
His aim, which was thought visionary by most peo
ple, " was to uplift the native by touching him at
everypoint, instructinghiminalltheartsofcivilized
life and fitting him for all Christian duties. 7
One ofthe first stepswas to discontinue theteach
ing of Latin and Greek, the study ofEnglish as the
classic being substituted. Another innovation was
that the native pay tuition fees. Many prophesied
failure, but the fees were soon paid without com
plaint. Littlebylittletheopportunityforindustrial
education was presented, Dr. Stewart sideabeing to
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WITH BIBLE AND RIFLE IN AFRICA
give " a practical training for brain, eye, hand and
heart." Business men of the colony and relatives
and friends at home furnished the funds required
for new buildings, which were erected by artisans
brought from Scotland.
The fame of Lovedale spread. In 1873 the
Fiugoes, who lived one hundred miles to the north
east, appealed to Dr. Stewart to give them asimilar
school, promising to raise 1,000 ifhe would do as
much. The promise was more than kept, five-shil
ling contributions being received from each Fingo
until 1,450 was heaped up before the missionary.
"There are the stones ; now build ! " said a Fiugo
orator, pointing to the money. Returning to Scot
land, Dr. Stewart raised the needed money, and on
his return the natives doubled their subscription.
Thus Blythswood was built at a cost of more than
7,000.
As a result of this institution, twenty-two years
later it was declared that the Fingoes of Trauskei,
among whom Blythswood was located, were half
a century ahead of their countrymen in wealth,
material progress, agricultural skill, sobriety, and
civilized habits of life, both in food, clothing and
dwellings."
During Dr. Stewart s visit to Scotland and Eng
land, he took part in the burial of Livingstone s
body in Westminster Abbey. Later, when it was
proposed to erect a monument to the memory ofthe
missionary explorer, he insisted that the monument
should be a mission in Nyasalaud, in the region
which he had explored twelve years before, and that
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