1888-1889
Gibraltar, Algeria, Malta, Egypt, India, Burma, Singapore, China, Japan, Korea, Russia
November 10th, 1888
Lahore, India, Saturday
My Beloved Angee,
Your letter at Lucknow this week I am hoping to receive on Monday morning at Umballa where I have requested the Postmaster to send them. I expected to have left here before this, but have been visiting two places within a hundred miles and returning again which has occupied me up to Friday and I felt glad to stay over another Lord's day. Dear Major Jacob arrived here yesterday morning and I was glad to meet him – he is here on official work but returning to Umballa this evening to spend the day with his family tomorrow and returns here again on Monday or Tuesday – he has kindly invited me to stay with him there on Thursday so I may see him again there. The Lord has prospered the business here in a very marked way and all around the neighbourhood and the work among the Christians has been very interesting too – dear Johnson here got the young men's Christian Association to lend their large room for the gospel on Wednesday evening and had the city placarded with bills announcing it. We had the room full and a great number of natives. Two ministers were also present belonging to the Methodist Episcopalian Church and the chief of them came up after the meeting and acknowledged that God had blessed the Word to his own soul and begged me to take his place for a continuation of the meetings for Friday, Saturday and Sunday night which I consented to do. We had a good company there last night and dear Major Jacob spoke a little after me – this evening we have another meeting and again tomorrow night and trust and pray that God may bless His Word to many souls – one lady present last night said to me to say how is it with the Bible in our hands we never saw these things before. The wife of one of the brothers residing here called Young has been set free in a most blessed way and rushes to take her place at the Lord's Table – it is such a joy to her husband and what a joy for the Lord's heart to find one turning to Him to own the sufficiency of His name in a world that rejected him.
Lahore Nov. 12th
I did not expect to be here this morning but here I am still – we had a nice meeting again on Saturday evening at the chapel and after this I returned to the hotel which was not far away just in time for dinner – soon after 9 I retired to rest but my dinner was not very comfortable inside and not long after I was taken very poorly with sickness and diarrhoea - felt a little better in the morning and went to the breaking of bread, but was glad enough to get to bed again on returning to the hotel having some fever on me – I was obliged therefore to give up the preaching in the evening. Dear Mrs Young and her husband came in to see me in the evening and gave me some medicine and this morning through the Lord's mercy I am feeling all well again – on one or two occasions last year I was upset exactly in the same way and think it something in the food my stomach refuses. D.V. I had intended leaving by mail train after the meeting last night but purpose now to go on this evening - I am writing this in bed as I thought I may as well take all the rest I could today – Rana has brought me a nice breakfast which I have enjoyed – soon after 9 this morning I had quite a congregation in my bedroom – five gentlemen who had called to see me – Mr Bushy and Mr Plomer[?] the two Methodist Episcopalian ministers who have been blessed and refreshed in their souls through the preaching – a Mr Fellows I had noticed at the meetings and who also confesses to have received blessing and the two dear brethren here Johnson and Young – all dropping in at different times – of all the moments I have had in Lahore it was the happiest – the two Methodist ministers are very fine men and love the Lord Jesus Christ – some good fruit resulted from the Lord's laying me down yesterday – it appears Mr Bushy (one of the ministers) has always been accustomed to read his sermons and on hearing last night only a few minutes before the meeting that I was not able to be present said he was very sorry for he had no sermon prepared and had to preach without this help last night and the Lord seems to have opened up to his soul another source of matter and strength and I hear he spoke very sweetly and simply.
Umballa, Nov. 13th
Left Lahore last night at 5.40 and arrived here about 4 in the morning glad enough to lay down for a little sleep as I had not had a wink in the train.