Morning journal and courier., 1892-03-07
IN MISSION FIELDS.

IN MISSION FIELDS.
 The PIodders Make the Most Suc-
 cessfuI workers-They Labor Stead.
 fastly and Persevere-Obstacles Do
 Not Daunt Them and They over.
 come Dif1c 1culties-The Life of Will
 liam Carey is Recited as an Exam
 pie of Accomplishment.
 What should constitute the basis of character of a modern missionary is a question often asked in organizations that pursue the field of mission work. It is an important question, one lying at the root of successful labor. No two men agree precisely upon what clements in man will make him a leader among strange peo- pie, and more especially in the important consideration of modifying and changing religious faiths. To accomplish results in this field requires true missionary spirit and the selection of the proper people to fully realize all that may be expected of them, is a source or anxiety to the associa tions that are responsible for the selection.
 One of the prominent officers of one of the most important missionary bodies in New York was asked short time ago: "What do you consider the most essential qualification of missionaryi" To the utter surprise of the questioner, he re- piled: "Plodding; pure and simple plod- dingl"
 When requested to define this the officer went on to say: "In my long and practi- cal experience I have found that the men and women who had definite idea of their labors, laid out their order of procedure and pursued them steadily, were the mis- sionaries who reported the best results. It requires perseverance in definite pur- suit. We have bright men and women, hopeful men and women, who in their hearts believe that they can cope with and overcome all difficulties; but when the hour of retribution arrives, when the days and months and years of trial have come like a nightmare upon them, they are unable to offer combat-they have neither the power of resistance nor of perseverance. The plodder never goes into the work with sauguine spirit. He expects to labor, to meet with obstacles, and by diligent hammering, for hammer ing is an applicable word, to overcome all that stands in the way. The plodders sell dom grow discouraged, and that counts for much in such line of operations as our missions have to cover."
 AS an example of what patient plodding will do, the career of William Carey, fre- quently termed the founder of missions, was recited- He is also alluded to as to Wyckliffe of Asia, and his whole career is a profitable one for study. Although more than & century has passed away since his birth and his death has been near six ty years, the lesson of his life as a mis- sionary is just as pregnant to day as when he turned his footsteps toward India.
 Carey was born in the midland district of England, and he had the advantage of schooling up to the time when he was apprenticed to 8 trade It is related of the lad that once when playing with others of his age they endeavored to climb a tree. They were all bzffied, but Carey to win and strove harder than the rest. He fell and was injured, laying him up for a while, but just as soon a- he was fully restored to health he went back to the tree and succeeded in climbing it. - He was ssudious boy, taking great pride in natural siences and botany. He always kept nice, fine garden; and in af- ter years, when stationed at Swampore, he had what was considered the best botani- cal garden Tn 1nQla. The SaIOeu WAS nls spot for meditation and recreation. But while still a boy he was spprenticed to trade which, Coleridgs de- clares, has given the world more eminent men than any other hsndicraft.
 Carey was about eighteen when he be- came converted and was about twenty when he married. His master had died and he bought the business. Like many others he did not draw & prize in the mar riage lottery. When he finally determined to go into the hesthen world his wife sc- him, but without zeal or en- and she really caused suffer ing by her upbraidings. When she be- came insane he showed her tenderness that marks the excellence of his Christian character. His two succeeding wives. however, were helpmeets in every sense of the term.
 It was while on the bench in the rnde shed at Hackleton that young Carey was training for the great after work of his life. He picked out Greek words, he gathered up Hebrew, Latin, Dutch and French, and with the assis- tance of surrounding ministers and friends he made himself a competent scholar. Upon his conversion he commenced to take au interest in converting others; finally he was licensed to preach, and when he had reached the age of twenty six he was ordained. He taught school, made shoes and preached at the same place. He barely made living, but he was an unceasing plodder. It is quite likely, as the story comes to us, that poverty was his steady lot in those days It advantaged him in after days in India, for it caused habits of ridid economy, a training that enabled him to make better use than ordinary of the large sums ap- for eastern evangelizarion. A man who could fast to buy books, and who would not borrow to save part, is & man to make a hero of. Carey would fast when he had not earned.
 As he grew in years he became impressed with the idea that there was a broad field for gospel extension in remote regions. He had read Captain Cooks voyages, and as he read at his cobbler's bench he, made B globe of leather, and with pieces of pa- per pasted together a map of the world, noting from time to time important facts regarding different countries This led his mind into a careful consideration of the possibilities of work in India When he finally ventured forth into the field of his future life it was with definite pur pose There was to be no backward step, and all through his career in the east the labor of steady application and is seen. There was no halt ing and shifting, but unwearying, unws- vering toil-the plodding which never lets go. And William Carey's name and the labor he performed will always serve ss a to the true missionary.
 This, in brief outline, was what the of 6cers of .he mission society believed were the necessary qualifications for those who, whether at home or abroad, were desirous of doing evangelical work in situations or locations where such work should be done.
 WILLIAM VALENTINE