When, in 1897, the Presbyterian Board of Foreign Missions
celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of the beginning of permanent
work in Siam, the doctor was the only survivor of the group who
met together in Bangkok half-a-century before. None of the workers
in the field doubtless had greater rejoicing at that jubilee than
Dr. House. The following letter of felicitation he wrote on that
occasion to the daughter of his fellow missionary, herself born in
Siam and from childhood knowing him as “Uncle Samuel”; it was a
delicate tribute to the memory of his companions in labours.
“WATERFORD, NEW YORK, March 18, 1897.
“_To Miss Mary L. Mattoon_:
“MY DEAR MARY:
“You will excuse the familiarity of my address when you learn
why my heart just now goes out to you with affectionate
interest. You are the child, the Siam-born child of the
honoured, now sainted missionary couple who with my unworthy
self just fifty years ago, March 22, 1847, after eight months
of weary voyage, landed in Bangkok and founded the present
prosperous mission of the Presbyterian Board in the Kingdom
of Siam. Yes, the coming Monday, the 22nd, will be the
fiftieth birthday of that mission, and 1897 is its jubilee
year.
“How vivid are the memories of that never-to-be-forgotten
day of our arrival, our welcome from the old missionaries
of the other Boards, our first impressions of our strange
yet interesting surroundings; and of the busy week and month
and years that followed; and of work for the Master, with
our full share of the peculiar joys and sorrows, trials and
disappointments of mission life! How all the mercies come
thronging into my mind.
“And what cause for gratitude that God has so honoured the
humble beginning with such glorious results in these later
days. ‘The little one has indeed become a thousand’; yes,
thousands now of baptised converts from heathenism are
rejoicing in Siam and Laos in the knowledge and the love of
Christ who, had that mission not been begun and watched over
and prayed over by those godly devoted parents of yours and
their associate (would he had been a wiser and better man),
would have lived and died without God and without hope, in
the darkness of Buddhistic idolatry and atheism.
“To God be all glory given! Well may a jubilee be kept by all
who know of the contrast between that day in Siam and the
present. What wonders God hath wrought.
“Sincerely yours,
“S. R. HOUSE.”
Perhaps it was the celebration of this jubilee in Siam that
reminded former pupils of the Bangkok boys’ school of how much they
were indebted to Dr. House for the immeasurable difference between
their Christian enlightenment and the paganism around them. At any
rate in the following summer Dr. House received from a group of
his former pupils a gift of one hundred and twenty-five dollars,
accompanied by this letter:
“SUMRAY, BANGKOK, June 15, 1898.
“_The Rev. S. R. House, M.D._:
“SIR: We have learned that your old age coming to eighty-one
on the 16th of October next. On the occasion we are glad to
subscribe among your oriental scholars of Siam to offer you
a small present, which we obtained for your birthday.
“We herewith request you to accept this small sum for
your birthday present for the recognition of your Siamese
scholars, and we beg to thank you for the knowledgment
which we obtained from you when you were with us in our
lovely country. And we noted you were the foundation of our
knowledgment, and we will place your name on the stone of our
hearts as long as we live.
“We pray God to bless you, to comfort and to help you in all
circumstances; and we hope to meet you again in the Kingdom
of our Father.
“We have the honour to remain, Sir, your affectionate
scholars.”
(Signed by twenty-eight former pupils.)
But that birthday never arrived. Only a few days after the receipt
of this affectionate token and grateful testimonial, Dr. House took
leave forever from his friends of Siam and from his friends of all
the world. On the thirteenth day of October, 1898, he reached _Home
At Last_.
His affection for Siam outlived his days; for he had provided a
small bequest for the Harriet House school in memory of his wife.
Dr. House and his wife lie buried in the Waterford Rural Cemetery.