The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1885-06-18
THE MISSIONARIES.
Necessity of Teaching Them How to
Live.

At the public breakfast recently given in
his honor in London Mr. Stanley, in the
course Of his remarks upon missionaries, said
that he had but a sort of legendary idea of
missionaries until he saw Livingstone, and
then he recognized what atype of noble man
hood, both physical and spiritual, fine mis-
slonary, good man, could be. Ever since
he found Livingstone he had, through think
ing of Livingstone's friendly manner and the
intense earnestness Of his language, enter
tanned high opinion of missionaries, and he
should like to send his educated idea of mis-
sionaries right through England among the
masses. His original idea of missionary,
he candidly confessed, was of man taking
Bible in his hand something after the style
of city missionaries in London or Liverpool.
and converting pagans by hundreds of thous-
antlS by the magic elOquence of the tongue;
and he constantly looked out for such a man.
but he regretted to say he never found him
When, however, he saw how Livingstone
went about his work, he saw what an eyre
gl0us error he had committed. He had seen
the young missionaries on the COngO-Mr
Comber and his friends-and he had never
seen them holding forth to tens of thousands
at once or converting even thousands at one
time. II he had, he was sure he should have
tried to brlbe them to come over to his staff
and if there were any power in gold they
would have come. And what grand thing
It would have been. They could have told
the exact hour when Africa would be con-
yerted to the faith, when the people would
behave themselves.
The real work of the missionary was very
hard indeed Where lay their rewardP
Many wOrldly.minded men perhaps won
dered why young men Of the COmber type
devoted themselves to the work on the Con-
go; Tor would 1t pay? How could it posi-
ply pay? Instead OF the legendary eloquence
TO which he had referred, or the power Of
wonderful missionary like Mr.. Spurgeon,
speaking to those who could understand
him, or converting the tribes of Africa at
one stroke, they must imagine "a great mis-
Slonary beginning with the very alphabet
Just In the very same manner that children
at home learned it before they could get on
with advanced subjects. And what did the
missionary society give him as an encourage
ment? A few sOdden bananas a pound or
two OF beans and few ears of rice. He was
regarded as being treated in a princely way
if he got little flour. There was no wine.
no whlskey, no champagne. He must drink
Congo water, tea, coffee and cocoa, and with
it drink to the health of the friends at home,
and think kindly OF the Society. If they re-
fleet on what their own thoughts would be of
any one who had given them fever, they
might realize how unbounded was a mission
ary' charity to enable him constantly to
think kindly of his society. 1t was only
when the missionary had schooled himself
by long days of patient industry that he
could hope to convert the people around him,
or even to impress them with kindly feelings.
And then began the stories Of hope, the stO-
rleS OF his own country and of those beauti-
full young ladies who had sent him out He
knew all about it; he had heard of it all.
One of the most interesting books he could
write would be The True Story of Mission
ary''s Life in Africa He thought he could
do it, for he was mprejudieed and unbiased.
People at home thought the missionaries
were wont to exaggerate; they always ac-
cused him OF exaggerating. After learning
enough OF the language of one tribe to be able
to benefit them, the missionary heard per-
haps OF another tribe, more promising, in the
interior, higher up. He must drop what he
had learned; leave that field to another man,
and begin to learn another tongue. Every
time the missionary advanced he had to 90
through the same process of studying the
new language, and trying to obtain the same
power over the natives by convincing them
of the kindly motives and intentions of the
white man towards the African. Otherwise,
1t was no use trying to kindle any interest in
the souls of black men. SuppoSing q Spur
geon, with all his eloquence went to the ma
tiyes of the Congo without this sort Of prep
aratlon? Why, the natives would think ne
was swearing at them The meeting could
enlarge this picture at will. Abiding to the
country, he expected they at home all had
sort OF dim idea that Africa was kind Of
vast botanical garden-a conservatory full Of
bananas, beautiful flowers, and so on. Ina
great measure it was. They could go ON inn
agining vast conservatory but in the place
of glass dome they must put burning sky,
with white sun shining through it. 1t was,
indeed, like an overheated conservatory, with
q temperature between so and 100 degrees.
This was the botanical garden to which the
Baptist Missionary Society had sent their
young men. When they sent them out did
they get doctor to examine them, to ask
about organic disease and for reference as to
moral character? Did they ascertain what
Judgment they had? A man ought to be
blest with an abundance of good sense to
know how to live in the Congo country Mis-
sionary societies had solemn duty before
them, not to send young men out there any
more than the government had a right to
send young soldiers to Africa without teach
ing them how to live wisely, and that duty
was as incumbent upon the society as if the
young men were their own children, to whom
they wished long life. Dead missionaries six
feet under the ground were of no more value
than other dead men. Let them imagine Mr..
Comber dead at Stanley Pool; they would
have only the memory Of his goodness, and
constant and unceasing regret at his end.