The Madisonian. (Virginia City, Mont.) 1873-1915, 1896-03-28
HEROINE OFTHEWAR
THE FLORENCE NIGHTINGALE OF THE
CHINESE ARMY.

ary-Ths Splendid Tribute of a Chinese
Naval Omcer-Christianity Helped b,
Good Works Rather Than Words.
In conversations l have had with Tsoy
Chan, the young Chinese naval officer
who was i'll charge Of the torpedo fleet
at Wei-Hai-We and was captured, and
has since resided in Japan, he spoke in
the highest terms of the Miss Talcott
whose hospital and missionary work has
been referred to in a former letter. At
my request he prepared a testimonial to
her, which l give herewith. I learned
from him that Miss Talcott is a lady of
nearly 60 years of age. She performs
her %arduous, patient work in an unos-
tentatious way. She keeps away from
missionary crowds and conventions in
order to avoid rotoriety. She never
talks for publication Or refers to her an
tecedents. Her friends in New England
Will be pleased to learn that she is
highly appreciated here. She enjoys
universal respect, and it is conceded
that no woman ever labored in this mis-
slonary field with such good results as
Miss Talcott has obtained. She performs
her work under the auspices of the
American board. She has been here a
number OF years aud The probabilities
are that she will end her days here.
The following is the tribute to her noble
character, written By the x prisoner:
In the early part Of February, 1895.
a few days after l reached Hiroshima,
TWO Chinese officers from the Japanese
hospital came, by order, to stay with us
IN our place Of confinement. They were
prisoners from hing-Chow, a city about
4o miles northeast of Port Arthur. One Of
these officers was wounded in the thigh,
and the other i'll the arm. They had
been III the hospital about three months |
and We're we'll pleased with the treat
ment they received. The Japanese doc
tors and nurses had been very kind in
every way possible, SO these officers |
spoke OF them with gratitude,
But louder still We're the praises of
these officers over a certain foreign lady,
whose Kindness and acts of love had
made a deep impression on them, as
well us the other Chinese prisoners.
They related her gifts Of candy, oranges
and other tokens of sympathy, and al
though they could not converse with her
yet, they knew by her looks and behavior
that She a great interest III them. She
had given to the Chinese officers and
men portions of the New Testament,
Ky h1fI ypoyn ,AaI NV tl,-o, who ~ ,l1o
to do so, for many Of the soldiers could
not read. The officers said they heard
Christianity was perverse doctrine, but
they will never say in the future anoth-
er word against it, for as far as they can
judge, its object was kindness and be-
nevolence, so we'll illustrated by the acts
Of this lady. They said 10 amount Of
preaching could have produced such eff
feet as the simple hearted love Of this
lady, Their hearts were quite melted by
her loving gantleness. I was quite sur !
>prlsed to hear this from such men,
whose conservatism "a proverhial, bat
even the most stubborn hearts seem to
yield TO the piercing rays Of Christian
love and b~onevOlence. Their c0nversa-
ton so constantly drifted to her good
ness that my curiosity was quite arouse0
to know who she VAS. I asked the Jap |
anese interpreter to find ont this lady
and beg her to call on rs, but lie said
the Japanese authorities were very strict
about outsiders calling on prisoners OF
war. However, this lady did call one
day, without our begging, but was re-
fused entrance, is she had no uellnit.
Our curiosity drove US to the board
fence, through which we peeped to get
a glimpse of this good angel. As she re-
coded slowly with i disappointed heart, !
our yearu!ng and anxious souls followed !
her till she vanished entirely out OF
sight. Never did thirsty crops pine more
tOr pleasant rain than We did to see her.
I'm March the Rev. Mr. Loomis, in
his second cali upon us, was accom-
panied b. four ladies. Among these was
Miss Talcott, the lady whose famous
kindness and b2nevoience we heard so
much about. Her very face was sun
light, beaming with Christian love.
Her countenanca was aglow with an i'll
ward delight and seemed even ready to
soothe and bless the sorrOwful and
broken hearted. She had in her a mys- I
terious happiness, whose deep fountain
we could not fathOm or understand. ;
Our friends had not given all exagger-
ated account of her kindness and char
lty, for we ourselves had the rare oppor
tunlty to Share these and appreciate
their divine effects. Before they left
the ladies sang The Rock Of Ages
which moved our hearts deeply. The
EGN Mr. Iannln l-AIforal -.Al :