Another of the trials that touched deeply his heart was the contact into

which he was brought with the sufferings of the people through famine. In

1876, 1877, and 1878 there was great scarcity in the general region of

Tengchow, and consequently the prices for food rose so high that it was

impossible for the poor to obtain the necessaries of life. Dr. Mateer, as

also other missionaries, helped them to the extent of his ability, and

became the almoner of charitable people who sent money from western lands

to buy food for the famishing. But in 1889 he was brought face to face

as never before in his life with destitution in China. The inconstancy

of the Yellow River was one cause of the terrible disaster. Twice within

about a third of the nineteenth century it had changed its bed; and as a

consequence, finding its new channel too small to carry off the waters

in times of heavy and protracted rain, it had repeatedly flooded vast

districts, often to a depth of several feet, carrying destruction to

the mud walls of the buildings and desolation to the cultivated ground.

Drought also in a portion of northwestern Shantung had prevailed to such

an extent as to prevent the growth and maturing of grains and vegetables.

At last a climax was reached by these disasters; and it was recognized

by missionaries and others as so awful in its character and so vast in

its sweep that a Famine Relief Committee for Shantung was organized, and

an appeal was made for help from Great Britain and the United States,

and from the southern ports of China. At least two hundred thousand

dollars came in response, and it was especially in connection with the

distribution of this that Dr. Mateer was brought into direct personal

contact with the suffering. Districts were assigned to missionaries and

others, and a careful canvass with the aid of reliable helpers was made.

They ascertained that many tens of thousands of the people had wandered

away from their homes, either to seek food or at least to leave to the

more feeble and helpless such sustenance as might yet remain. No one

ever was able to form a definite idea of the number who had died from

starvation, either on their wanderings or at their places of residence.

The canvassers found multitudes trying to sustain life by eating the

husks of grain, the seeds and roots of grasses and weeds, the bark of

trees, and the blades of wheat. Some of those who had been considered

rich had provided themselves with poison, so as to take their own lives

when they must come to the point where to live would be to see their

children perish from starvation. The allowance furnished by the relief

fund to an individual was fixed at about a cent a day in all ordinary

cases, and it was ascertained that on this allowance at least a hundred

thousand lives were saved. On some old, faded Chinese sheets of paper,

closely written with his own hand, the record of a part of Dr. Mateer’s

experiences in the famine canvass, out in northwestern Shantung, has come

down to us. As it is all now a thing of the remote past, there probably

would be no good in recording the dreadful details here. It is a story

of children reduced to skeletons, eager to lick up every crumb as big

as a pinhead that fell from the bit of coarse bread given them; of men

and women falling down on their knees and begging for food for their

families, and bursting into tears at the prospect of relief; of the sale

of wives and daughters to procure something to eat; of unburied corpses,

and of graves just filled with those who have perished. He said under

date of April 9, 1889: “It is the hardest work I ever did in my life. To

look all day long on a continual succession of starving people, and to be

beset by their entreaties to enroll more names than you can, is very hard

on the nerves. There is no end to the starving people.” Again, May 17,

he said: “After seven weeks and two days I am at last about to leave for

Tsinan. We have now enrolled about thirty-three thousand, and the work of

enrollment in this place is finished.” What as to the religious outcome?

The impression made upon multitudes even in excess of those who received

aid was most favorable to Christianity. One of the leading Chinese

assistants in the work wrote to the people who furnished the aid: “This

must be the right religion. If not, why is it that the followers of other

religions do not do such things?” Thus they were willing to examine into

Christianity, and the more they examined, the more they believed, until

they were converted to Christ. As an ultimate outcome, several hundred

were received into the churches.

The controversies which he had with some of his fellow-missionaries in

China were a serious trial to him. He was not by inclination “a man of

war,” but in connection with the prosecution of the missionary work in

which he was engaged in common with his brethren, questions of great

practical and immediate importance arose, and as to some of these he

had strong convictions that were at variance with those of other wise

and able men on the field. It was best for the cause that these should

be thoroughly discussed, and there was much that could be fairly and

earnestly urged upon either side. All that could be rightly demanded was

that the “fighting” should be open and honorable, and that it should

be conducted in such a manner as not to hinder the missionary work or

to descend into personal controversy. Dr. Mateer, as to ability and

efficiency, stood in the front rank of those who were giving their lives

to the evangelization of China. It was his duty to express his views

on these questions, and to do this in such a way that no one could

misapprehend them. If any fault could be found with him in this matter,

perhaps it would be that he saw his own side so vividly that he was not

always able to recognize the entire force of that which was said in favor

of what ran counter to it. Those who knew him well and appreciated the

greatness and tenderness of his heart waived the sting which sometimes

seemed to be in his words; but perhaps some others who were not so well

acquainted with him occasionally winced under its pungency. Everyone who

was concerned in these discussions, long ago has come to recognize him in

these as an earnest, capable man, trying to do his duty as he saw it.

By far the most protracted of these controversies was over the word that

ought to be used in Chinese to express the idea of God. Under date of

November 4, 1865, he made this entry in his Journal: “This week I had a

note from Mr. Mills, saying that a proposition was current at Peking to

get out a Union New Testament in Mandarin, and to use in it _Tien Chu_

for God, and _Sheng Shen_ for Holy Spirit, and that all but Mr. ⸺ had

signed it. I cannot sign it at all; I am utterly opposed to any such

a proceeding. I cannot conscientiously use these words.” That was his

first gun in a battle that for him completely ended only with his life.

His contributions to the discussion were sufficient to be in substance,

as we have already seen, gathered into a separate volume. In 1907 his

“Letter Book” shows that he was still remonstrating against a request

to the Bible societies to employ for God and for spirit Chinese terms

that violated his convictions. His very last recorded utterance on the

subject was in a letter dated November 17, 1907. In it he expresses

his gratification that in an edition of the New Testament for China,

issued by an English Bible society, they were “to use the terms _Shen_

and _Sheng Ling_ for God and Spirit.” He added: “This suits me. These

and these only are the right terms, and despite all appearances will

ultimately win in the really orthodox and evangelistic church of China.”

It is not improbable that the drift of opinion for various reasons as to

this was against him; but it was in this faith that he died.

As to his part in the discussion concerning what came to be known as

“Methods of Missions,” no more need be said here than that the men who

took part in this were alike seeking the best solution of a difficult

problem, and never wavered in unbroken fellowship and confidence as

comrades in the larger work of giving the gospel to China. It was not

until 1905 that Dr. Mateer published his book on this subject, and then

only when urged by some of his associates.

In the battle as to English in the college, Dr. Mateer had to yield to

the majority who came into control after the removal to Wei Hsien. He

was great enough not to allow the new policy to chill his love for the

institution, or to stay his hands from such help as, in addition to his

occupation with the Mandarin version, it was possible for him to lend

either by influence or money, or even by physical toil. In his final

relations with the college he proved himself to be still its loyal and

generous supporter.

It has often been remarked that one never meets a foreign missionary who

has thrown himself or herself unreservedly into the work who is unhappy.

They are human, and feel their trials often keenly; but their faces shine

with an inward peace, and they rejoice over the one sheep, or the many,

whom they have found in the wilderness and won to Christ. When Dr. Mateer

advanced in age, and thought of what he had helped to accomplish for

the evangelization of China, he must have felt a satisfaction such as

seldom possesses a soul. In view of this supreme joy it almost seems out

of place here to tell of the “incidents by the way” which ministered to

his pleasure. One of these consisted of the signs of appreciation shown

him by men or bodies of men whose commendation meant something worth

while. We have seen how the missionaries on the field trusted and honored

him by calling him to leadership in several most important enterprises

looking toward large and permanent results. But others besides

missionaries recognized him as worthy of their honors and trust. Hanover

College in 1880 conferred on him the doctorate of divinity. In 1888 the

University of Wooster, for his “attainments, literary and scientific,

philosophical and theological, and for his success in his work as a

Christian missionary and teacher,” gave him the doctorate of laws. At

the centennial of his alma mater in 1902, Washington and Jefferson

College also conferred on him the doctorate of laws, in recognition of

his “distinguished ability and service as a scholar and minister of the

gospel.” In 1894, the British and Foreign Bible Society by making him

an honorary foreign member gave him an exceptional distinction. In

August, 1898, his lifelong friend, Rev. Dr. W. A. P. Martin, who had

been called to the headship of the new Imperial University planned for

Peking, wrote to him, asking whether he would accept the deanship of the

school of engineering; but in reply he declined, on the dual ground that

he was under obligation to continue in his missionary work and in the

translation of the Scriptures. In December of the same year he received

from the “superintendent” of the new Imperial University at Nanking an

invitation to become the “head master” of that nascent institution.

Coming as this did directly from that high Chinese dignitary, it was an

extraordinary mark of respect and confidence; but this also he declined,

and for the same reasons as in the preceding case. In writing of these

offers he said to one of the secretaries of the Board of Missions:

Both these positions offered me a salary much greater than

a missionary gets. Though not now doing much active work

in teaching in the college, I yet feel that my work and

influence here are very important. Having embarked in the

work of Bible translation, I cannot turn my back upon it,

unless the conditions of the work itself constrain me to do

so. Also I am anxious to preach,—especially to work in revival

meetings amongst the native churches. I also value highly the

opportunity I have to preach to the students of the college.

One of the minor but notable honors that came to Dr. Mateer was the

celebration of his seventieth birthday at Wei Hsien. The Chinese have a

curious custom as to the birthday of the emperor, and perhaps of other

distinguished persons; they celebrate it a year, a month, and a day in

advance of the true date. This custom was followed on the occasion of

Dr. Mateer’s seventieth birthday. An eyewitness has given the following

graphic description of the affair:

“The alumni and students of the college planned the “birthday

party”; and a most elaborate affair it was. In the morning

a long procession of hired rejoicers, with gay banners and

doleful native bands, marched into the compound from the

city and were reviewed at the great gate by Dr. Mateer and

the college faculty. Wasn’t it a fortunate thing that the

doctor-of-laws hood of Dr. Mateer agreed so well with the

Chinese idea of crimson as the most appropriate color for any

celebration? At the chapel, which was packed to the limit

with natives and out-of-town guests, presentation speeches

which none but Orientals would ever have sat through, and

responses were made, world without end. The most successful

native pastor in this part of China, who was once Dr. Mateer’s

table boy, spoke first. The highest officials of the country

were present in all their grandeur, looking properly haughty

and impressive,—though I shall never cease feeling that the

typical expression of dignity and authority in China resembles

the lime-in-the-mouth look more closely than anything else.

If a concrete argument for the existence of the college were

necessary, I can think of none better than a look at the

alumni. Such splendid, manly fellows they were, with keen,

intelligent faces! Some have become wealthy business men, who

show their appreciation; and many are native pastors and

teachers. A double quartet of college students furnished the

music; and it was remarkable how well they sang the complicated

part tunes. They have had no regular training, but have kept at

it by themselves, and have surprised us all by their progress.

But for the music, the real, soul-uplifting music, give me the

native band! Imagine several bagpipes and flutes, diminutive

drums, and two or three toy trumpets which sound only one note;

and then conceive of each player carrying on an independent

enterprise, and you may know something about the Chinese native

band. It is too rare for words. Large bunches of firecrackers

fastened on tripods, and cannon crackers, were used all through

the festivities, so that it seemed exactly like the Fourth of

July. A Chinese feast was given to all the invited guests, and

the rabble from the villages near by encamped on the compound

and ate the lunches they had carried about with them all

morning in their handkerchiefs. It was a great day for the

college, and a great occasion for the village people; but most

demoralizing to language study. The gold-embroidered, scarlet

banners were so many and so immense that since that one day in

the church no place has been found sufficiently large to hang

them.”

In the general section of China where he lived he made many journeys.

Over that part of Shantung situated to the east of the Yellow River he

traveled often, and far and wide. Several times he visited Peking. Once,

as we have seen, he went down the Grand Canal, to Nanking, and the lower

Yangtse. Frequently he steamed up and down the coast to Shanghai, and

once as far south as Ningpo. But those immense and populous provinces

situated in the west and south of China he never visited, not because he

was not interested in them, or could not afford the expense, but because

he could not spare the time. In the spring of 1868 the “Shenandoah,”

an American war steamer, came to Tengchow on its way to Korea, where

search was to be made for any survivors that might remain from the

“General Sherman,” lost there two years before. The “Shenandoah” wanted

an interpreter, and by general consent the duty seemed to fall on Dr.

Mateer, so that he fell constrained to accept, though the health of his

wife and other affairs rendered this very inconvenient. The cruise lasted

about six weeks, and carried them to several places on the west coast

of Korea, and among these to the river Pyeng Yang, since so familiar to

readers of missionary journals, and to those who followed the Japanese

troops on their march against the Russians in the recent war. That was

then a “forbidden land” to foreigners, and the expedition found it

difficult to get into peaceable or forcible communication with officials

or other natives, and accomplished almost nothing. In the light of the

fuller present knowledge of that politically unhappy but religiously

hopeful country the observations of the interpreter or of any of the

other persons belonging to the expedition are now of little interest.

Dr. Mateer came back to the United States only three times on furlough

during the more than forty-five years that intervened between his

sailing for China in 1863 and his death. The first of these absences from

China began in May, 1879, and ended about the first of January, 1881.

Under the rule of the Board of Missions he was entitled to a furlough

home long before that time, but he felt that he could not sooner leave

his work. He also held the opinion that there is usually no sufficient

reason to justify this privilege to a young missionary so early as is

established custom. His wife, on account of health, had preceded him

some six months. He came by way of Japan, and brought with him two

Mills children, their mother having died. They crossed the Pacific on

a slow vessel, but the voyage was delightful, and in about as great a

contrast as is possible with his experience on the ship which originally

carried him to China. He was made more than comfortable and the captain

went out of his way in order to show him courtesies. On arrival in the

United States his time was spent in the main as by other home-coming

missionaries,—in family reunions, visiting here and there, preaching to

churches, addressing ecclesiastical meetings of various sorts, seeking

recruits among theological students, and other engagements,—the total of

which so completely fill up the time that little is left for real rest

and recuperation. To this customary list he added two other items,—a

period spent in attending medical lectures at Philadelphia, and a hasty

trip across the Atlantic to England and to Paris.

His second furlough extended from July, 1892, until October, 1893.

He went and came by the Pacific route, and was comfortable on these

voyages. Julia was with him. During that sojourn in the United States, in

addition to the occupations usually engrossing the time of a missionary

on furlough, he went to Chautauqua and studied Hebrew in order to fit

himself better for revision work. He also made at the World’s Fair at

Chicago that exhaustive examination of machinery, and especially of

electrical appliances, of which Dr. Corbett, in the quotation previously

given, has told us. One of the greatest pleasures that came to him on

this leave of absence was the privilege of once more seeing his mother,

then advanced in years. In the last of his letters to her that have come

down to us he mentions that he and Julia are at the writing just going

into the harbor at Chefoo, and he concludes by saying: “We are very glad

that we are at the end of our journey, and back again in China. This is

where our work lies, and this is where we ought to be.” It was on his

arrival at Tengchow that his students gave him that royal welcome already

described.

On September 25, 1900, he was married to Miss Ada Haven, who had been

for many years a missionary of the American Board at Peking, and as

such was recognized as an accomplished Chinese scholar and a successful

and highly esteemed teacher in the Bridgman School. Her engagement to

Dr. Mateer briefly antedated the siege of Peking, and she was one of

the company of foreigners of whose fate the western world waited with

bated breath to hear during the midsummer of 1900. In her book, “Siege

Days,” she has given an inside view of the experiences of herself and of

many others, and as such it has not only a passing but also a permanent

interest and value as a record of that remarkable episode of madness on

the part of the “old” China. After the relief of the city and a little

season of recuperation from the strain of the siege, Miss Haven came down

to Chefoo, and the marriage took place in the Presbyterian church at

Chefoo, Dr. Mateer’s old friend, Dr. Corbett, performing the ceremony.

As his wife, Ada rendered him valuable assistance, by taking part in the

preparation of the smaller book of “Mandarin Lessons.” She also greatly

helped the committee on the Mandarin version of the New Testament by

making a Greek and English concordance of their first revision. For eight

years they two walked together; and he had from her in his literary

labors, as well as in other ways, an inspiration and often a direct help

of which the world outside of their home can know very little.

His last furlough extended from June, 1902, to August, 1903. Dr. and Mrs.

Mateer came to the United States by way of the Siberian railroad and the

Atlantic, so that when he arrived in China on his return he had a second

time gone around the world. In a letter written to me in April, 1908,

he says, “We went home seven years ago by the Siberian railroad, and it

was exceedingly comfortable,—much more so than traveling in an ordinary

Pullman car.” Perhaps in the interval that had elapsed the recollection

of the discomforts that attended the first stage of that journey had

somewhat faded from his memory; or he may have had in mind only the part

that lay through Siberia proper and in European Russia. A Chinese naval

officer who had often come to his study to talk over various matters

had expressed a desire to take him and his wife over to Port Arthur

in a gunboat when they started on their homeward route. The officer

intended by this only one of those empty compliments which Orientals are

accustomed to pay, without any thought that the offer involved would be

accepted. Dr. Mateer was himself the soul of truth and honor, and, being

such, took what this officer said to him at its face value. So, in this

case, he sent word of acceptance of the offer, but an answer came back

that “after all, it would be inconvenient to take them just then, and

that orders had been left with a Chinese junk to take them.” The junk

could not come in to shore and they had to go out in a rowboat. When they

went aboard, they found that there was no cabin,—nothing, indeed, at

their command but a little hold about breast-high, stowed full of Chinese

baggage, some of it consisting of malodorous fish and onions. In order

to make room for them, the onions were piled in stacks just above on the

deck; but even this change left for human occupation merely about a cube

of five feet. The boat was crowded with Chinese passengers, and it poured

down rain, from which the Mateers could protect themselves only by

hoisting an umbrella over the hatchway which was at the same time their

only source of ventilation. It was not until the third day that they

reached Port Arthur.

It was characteristic of Dr. Mateer that under these conditions he spent

every moment of daylight in putting final touches on the manuscripts

of the “Technical Terms” and of the “Chemical Terms,” so that these

might be mailed immediately to the printer. They came very near missing

the train, and if this had happened they would have been compelled to

wait a week for another opportunity. The railroad had but recently been

completed at that end, and no regular schedule as to service had yet been

established; but with many delays and with various inconveniences, after

a week, they reached the point at which they overtook an express train

bound for Irkutsk. This was luxury indeed, compared with the beginning

of the journey. From Irkutsk onward the commendatory language of Dr.

Mateer was justified by the accommodations. The Mateers visited Moscow

and St. Petersburg; then came on to Berlin, and thence, successively,

to Düsseldorf, Cologne, Paris, and London, the latter place brilliant

with preparations for the belated coronation of King Edward, which took

place while they were there. From Liverpool they crossed the Atlantic to

Halifax, and then entered on their American vacation.

A part of the furlough he spent in efforts to secure endowment for the

Shantung College. In the prosecution of this work he visited various

churches, and in Pittsburg he remained for six weeks. It was during this

furlough that he sat as a commissioner from his presbytery in the General

Assembly at Los Angeles. Among other celebrated spots which they included

in their itinerary was the Yosemite Valley. But the part of the furlough

that probably afforded them both the most unalloyed pleasure was spent in

a visit to the region of the “old home.” His wife, in a letter, tells the

story thus:

Ever since our marriage it had been the cherished plan of

my husband to take me on a wedding journey when we got to

America,—a carriage journey, to see all the spots familiar

to his childhood. By planning with this in view we were able

to spend the anniversary of our wedding in Mechanicsburg,

with Calvin’s cousins. One of these made a feast for us. Many

were the reminiscences exchanged,—a happy binding of past

and present. In a day or two we started on the long-promised

journey, in a “one-horse-shay,” a journey of several days,

our stops at noon, and again overnight, always being with

friends of his childhood. But the friend to which most of all

he wished to introduce me was his beloved old Long Mountain;

and as I looked first at that, and then at his glowing face, I

saw whence, next to his Bible and catechism, he had drawn his

sturdy love of truth and freedom. Either on that journey, or on

subsequent trips from Mechanicsburg or Harrisburg, we visited

all the localities familiar to his childhood,—his birthplace,

where the wall that used to seem so high to him now appeared

so low to the white-bearded six-footer,—the brook where the

clover mill used to stand,—the Silver Spring church, where he

was baptized, and its adjoining graveyard, where lie many of

his old Scotch-Irish ancestors, under quaint inscriptions....

It rained hard the day we visited the battle field of

Gettysburg. This trip we took in company with an old friend of

Calvin’s, a veteran of the war. Not less interesting were the

surroundings of his second home, the “Hermitage.” Almost more

noteworthy than the house was the big “bank-barn,”—the mows for

hay, the bins for grain, the floor where he used to ride on

horseback around and around over the grain in order to thresh

it, the old workbench, and, above, the swallows’ nests. The

rush of memory was so strong that the white-haired missionary

could not keep back the tears. He showed me the little old

schoolhouse, the stream near by, the old flour mill, within an

inner room of which he and his boy companions used to meet on

winter evenings around a “ten-plate” stove for debate. Another

place of great interest was the old haunted churchyard, the

fence of which he had mounted to fight his battle with the

ghosts, and from which he got down a conqueror, never more to

fear the face of man or devil.

But the most sacred of all the spots which they visited was the grave of

his mother, in the cemetery at Wooster, Ohio.

From Seattle they sailed to Japan, and thence after a short season of

fellowship with the venerable translator of the Old Testament, Bishop

Schereschewsky, and with other friends, they came back to Tengchow.

XV

FACING THE NEW CHINA

“China is a great land, and has a great future before it. I am

thankful that I have had the opportunity to do what I could to

make it what it ought to be. The Church of God is bound to have

a great triumph here, with great trials in the process.”—LETTER

TO JAMES MOONEY, November 27, 1906.

When Dr. Mateer wrote that letter, the new China had not come. Nor has

it yet appeared. The utmost that can be said confidently is that there

are signs of a spring thaw in the vast sheet of ice that for so many

centuries has held that country in fetters. Some great rifts can be

seen in the surface and sounds that are indicative of movement can be

heard. People who stand on the shore, and some of those who are on the

ice, are shouting, “Off at last!” It seems scarcely possible that the

apparent thaw shall not continue until the streams are cleared and the

land is warmed into new life by the ascending sun. But how long it will

be before this is accomplished it is almost useless for the best-informed

men to attempt to forecast. When the ice does really go, will it be with

a sudden rush that will carry with it great injury to much that is well

worth preserving? Or will the change come so quietly and gradually that

the ice will sink without a tremor, and the frost will gently melt away

into waters that only freshen the soil? Probably the new China is not far

away; as sure as progress is the law of civilization and enlightenment

in the world, it cannot be postponed much longer. Dr. Mateer lived long

enough to recognize the signs of its approach, and while he was glad

because of this, he also was deeply anxious.

His direct acquaintance with the old China extended over the long period

of forty years,—from his arrival at Tengchow in 1863 to his return

from his last furlough, in 1903. During the five years immediately

preceding his death he was face to face with the signs indicative of

the China that is to be. He was therefore exceptionally qualified to

speak intelligently concerning the present situation in that country;

for it is not the man who now for the first time finds himself there,

amid the demand for railroads, and telegraphs, and up-to-date navy and

army, and schools, who is most competent to interpret the movements of

the hour. We are more likely to learn the whole truth if we turn to

veterans like Sir Robert Hart and Dr. W. A. P. Martin and Dr. Mateer,

who by almost lifelong experience know the real mind and heart of China;

which surely, notwithstanding the occurrences of to-day, have not been

completely changed. On the one hand, there can be no doubt of the love

which Dr. Mateer had for the people of China. To promote their welfare

in this world as well as in the next he gave himself to the uttermost

all his long time of residence among them, and when death confronted

him at last, his only reluctance to obey that call of his Master was

because he would be unable to complete what he regarded as perhaps his

greatest service for them. As we have already seen, in his explanation

of the causes of the Boxer outbreak, notwithstanding his heartbreak and

indignation for the horrors and outrages perpetrated, he lays bare the

secret of it, as consisting in part of the wrongs done by foreign nations

and persons to China and the Chinese. There were hundreds and perhaps

thousands in Shantung who revered him as a father, and confided in him as

they did in almost no other human being.

I mention this side of his attitude because there is another that must

be brought out here so clearly that no failure to see it is possible.

He never allowed himself to be blinded as to radical faults of the most

serious nature in the Chinese. It was about the same time as his entrance

on his missionary work that Americans were set agog by the “Burlingame

Mission,” and indulged in very extravagant notions of the civilization of

old China and very rosy anticipations of the future. Even missionaries

caught the fever of the hour, and for home publication wrote articles

that seconded this view. This was so completely foreign to the reality,

as Dr. Mateer saw it, that he responded with an elaborate article in

which he calmly punctured these current notions. It was the fashion

then to regard the Chinese as leading the world in past ages, but in

his opinion in none of their boasted achievements do they deserve such

credit. Largely they have been imitators; and in the realm of their own

inventions and discoveries and organizations they have seldom shown

themselves capable of making the applications that ought to have been so

patent to them that they could not miss them. Perhaps—writing as he did

in reply to overdrawn appreciations on the other side—he may have fallen

into the opposite mistake, to some degree. Perhaps also in later years

he would not have gone quite so far in the direction he then took; but

he never wavered in his opinion that in the lapse of ages during which

the Chinese had lived so exclusively within themselves, characteristics

that are racial have been developed, some of which must be overcome, and

others of which must be immensely transformed, before China can take her

place among the advanced nations of the world. Also, ignorance, prejudice

and superstition stand in the way, and cannot suddenly be dispelled. He

continued to believe that, notwithstanding the present rush to introduce

western appliances, the hatred of the foreigner, except among a minority,

remains in the heart of officials and people. He believed too that,

because of their faithlessness to obligations which they had assumed

toward other governments, the apparent aggressions of foreign nations

were not always and altogether without a measure of justification.

Chinese law he considered to be still so much a mere whim of officials,

often corrupt, that the time has not yet come for an American citizen,

whether missionary or merchant or mechanic, to be left safely to the

uncertainties of a native court.

Dr. Mateer was one of the leading “makers of the new China.” It is

because of his “Mandarin Lessons” that it is now, in comparison with

the olden times, so easy to acquire the language; thus not only the

missionary but also the agents of modern civilization are helped to gain

speedy access to the people. He was the first to plant a college in the

great province of Shantung, the birthplace of Confucius and Mencius,

and still the center to which the race turns as that from which has

emanated their most dominant cult. He took the lead, even of all the

missionary colleges, in the place which he assigned to physical science.

With his own money he built a museum which he described as “a kind of

polytechnic, for exhibiting foreign sciences and machinery to Chinese

students and visitors.” There they could see the appliances of steam and

of electricity at work, including a model railroad, and the telephone and

telegraph. When the governor of the province organized his university at

the capital, it was the man whom Dr. Mateer had made his successor in the

college at Tengchow who was at first placed at its head, and five of the

graduates were chosen to fill chairs in the new institution. He prepared

text-books in mathematics, for which there is an enormous demand in the

schools which are supplanting those of the olden time. To him more than

to any other individual is due the translation of the New Testament

into a form of the language which is just as intelligible to the man

who can read but little, as to the educated; and which cannot be widely

circulated without starting upward tendencies more mighty than those of

railroads and western machinery. It would be preposterous to claim for

any one person that he has been the maker of the new China; but there are

not very many who, as to the mighty transformation apparently not far

distant, rank so high up as Dr. Mateer.

Thus far in holding him up as one of these leaders I have not mentioned

his influence as an effective missionary in the sphere usually occupied

by the representatives of the gospel; and for the reason that, as to

this, he is a sharer with a multitude of others. At present there must

be about four thousand men and women—ordained ministers, and lay men and

women—in that line of Christian service in China, and there are about

two hundred thousand Chinese Christians. These, though scattered far and

wide among the hundreds of millions of the population, are sufficient to

be powerfully felt on the side of genuine progress. Though in rapidly

lessening numbers, their presence stretches back to the coming of Robert

Morrison, a hundred years ago. Dr. Mateer’s own judgment as to the

relation of the missionary work to the present situation is well worth

attention. In an article written by request, about nine months before his

death, he said:

The nation is in a state of transition which, when compared

with her past and her traditions, is nothing short of

marvelous. Who would have predicted thirty-five years ago that

such a state of things as the present would so soon prevail?

God has used a variety of powerful forces to awaken China from

her long sleep, not the least of which have been the presence

and influence of the missionary. Aside from his main business,

which is the conversion of individuals and the upbuilding

of churches, he has had a powerful influence in a number of

important matters. First, his residence in all parts of inland

China has done far more than is generally known to remove

prejudice and to familiarize the people with foreign ideas

and things. Second, he has been a main factor in starting the

anti-foot-binding movement that is now sweeping over the land.

Third, he has been the chief mover in the remarkable anti-opium

reformation that is now enlisting the utmost effort of the

Chinese government. Lastly, in the intellectual awakening, and

in starting the wonderful educational propaganda now being

pushed forward by the government, he has been a potent factor.

Missionaries have made the text-books, and the graduates of

their schools have set the pace for this remarkable movement;

and this has been done notwithstanding the intense prejudice

that exists against Christianity and its professors.

Of the fact that he was face to face with a state of things that promised

tremendous changes he was fully conscious. No man could have been more

alive to his environment during these last years of his life. May 2,

1905, he wrote to a generous friend in the United States: “The state of

things in China to-day presents a great contrast with what it was when I

arrived here forty-one and a half years ago. Then everything was dead

and stagnant; now all is life and motion. It is just fairly beginning, it

is true, but there is the promise of great things in the near future.”

September 1, 1907, in another letter to a friend, he says: “This great

and massive people, so long below the horizon of the western world,—a

misty, unknown land,—is looming large in the east, and the eyes of the

west are on it. China is awakening from the sleep of ages. Her senses

are still dull, benumbed by the traditional customs and conservative

follies of the past, but her eyes are opening more and more, day by day.

It is true she still wants to sleep on, but she cannot. The clamor of the

world’s progress dins in her ears. Giant hands are shaking her. Specters

fill her imagination and groundless fears make her troubled. She essays

to rise, but has no strength. She is growing frantic at the realization

of her own weakness and incompetence.”

[Illustration: CELEBRATING DR. MATEER’S SEVENTIETH BIRTHDAY]

Facing the new China he, while gladdened on the whole by the outlook, yet

saw grave dangers in the way. Some of these are due, in his estimation,

to characteristics that have rooted themselves very deeply in the spirit

of the people at large. In his article on “Education in China” he said:

It is a peculiarity of the Chinese character that they are

very hard to convince of the utility of a new thing, and must

always be doubly sure before they decide to act; but as soon as

the decision is made, they at once grow recklessly impatient

for the consummation. The old educational methods and ideals

are now abolished and the government is rushing headlong

into new and hitherto untried measures. They issue commands

to their subordinates without providing the means of carrying

them out. The result is a chaos of more or less futile effort,

attended by burdensome taxes and illegal exactions that produce

disaffection and rebellion. The lack of competent teachers

handicaps the whole movement. To the eye of a western educator

most of their primary and secondary schools are little short

of a farce. Mission schools have trained a large number of

competent teachers, but in most cases the prejudice against

Christianity is so strong that heathen schools will not use

them. This prejudice is much stronger in the secondary schools

than it is in the provincial colleges and universities. The

high officials generally take more liberal views, and they are

free from the social ostracism that prevents a small official

or a private gentleman from employing a Christian teacher.

On account of the characteristics just described, while he rejoiced in

the immense progress which Christianity was making both in the conversion

of increasing thousands and also in its indirect influence over

multitudes more, he had anxieties as to the near future of the church

in that land. Writing to one of the secretaries of the American Bible

Society, in January, 1906, he said: “If I understand the signs of the

time in China, it will not be many years—I put it at ten to fifteen—until

the Chinese church will declare her independence of the missionaries,

pay her own expenses, and make her own creed.... What this creed will

be, will depend very much on the kind and number of preachers we train

in the meantime.” The speeches made at the Chinese Students’ Alliance,

held at Hartford, August 24, 1910, both by the Chinese and by Americans,

indicate a very strong tendency in this direction.

In view of the entire situation, national and religious, he iterated

and reiterated that the most imperative duty of missionaries in China

at present is the training of native preachers and teachers on a scale

and in a manner that will fit them to meet the emergency, and to take

advantage of the opportunity for the evangelization of the land and the

starting of the church that soon must be, on a voyage that will not,

through lack of chart and compass and proper guidance, wreck itself on

the way. Here are some of his deliberate utterances within the last three

years of his life:

Allow me to say that at the present time in China I regard

schools and the training of teachers and preachers as the chief

thing,—much more important than the founding of new stations,

with expensive buildings, in order to cover new territory. This

is not a passing thought, but is said advisedly. The time for

training these teachers and preachers is limited; before many

years the native church will declare her independence, when all

will depend on the intelligence and soundness of her leaders.

Again taking a view that includes the church, but that is so broad as to

sweep over the entire national situation, he said:

“China is fascinated by the power, skill, and knowledge of the

west. She covets these things, and clamors impatiently for

them, but they do not come at her call. She has caught up the

idea that education will solve the problem and speedily lift

her into the family of nations. She issues edicts to annul

the old and inaugurate the new. She commands the opening of

schools in every county, not realizing that without teachers,

or methods, or money efficient schools are impossible. True to

her character, she is deceiving herself with a sham; a mere

pretense of knowledge. The old is passing faster than the new

is coming, and there are ominous signs of danger ahead. There

are already a good many competent Christian teachers in China,

and very few others; but Chinese conservatism hates and fears

Christianity, and will not employ Christian teachers if it can

possibly be avoided. China has still one great and fundamental

lesson to learn, namely: that Christianity is not her enemy,

but her friend; that faithful and honest men are not made by

simply teaching them geometry and chemistry. She will presently

learn, however, that Christianity holds the only patent there

is for the construction of high moral character. She resents

the idea now, but sooner or later she will be compelled to

admit it. In the meantime she needs men to teach her, and to

show her the way. Never perhaps in the world’s history was the

saying of Christ more conspicuously exemplified: “The harvest

truly is plenteous, but the laborers are few.”

Ever since he set foot on the soil of that country he had kept on

pleading for reinforcements in his work,—now a physician, then a teacher,

again a man capable of overseeing mechanical operations, and always more

ordained missionaries. He entertained very common-sense notions as to

the sort of reinforcements that are desirable. He says in an old letter

directed to theological students in the seminary where he was trained:

“I might add more especially that missionaries should not be men of one

idea, unless perchance that idea be a zeal for saving souls. The men

needed are those who have well-balanced, practical minds.... The man of

vivacious temperament, pleasing address, ready wit, and ready utterance,

other things being equal, will make the best missionary.” The language

he did not regard as at all beyond the acquisition of any person with

fair ability and faithful application, though he recognized more than a

moderate measure of these as essential to the writing of books. As the

new China loomed up before him, his cry for help became, if possible,

more earnest; it came from the very depths of his soul, and with an

intensity which words could not adequately express.

Before proceeding to relate the story of his death, can I do better than

to give the last of these appeals of which we have the records? The

letter from which I quote is dated Wei Hsien, September 1, 1907, just a

year before his Master called him home. He said:

Tell the young men of America for me, that China now presents

to the church the greatest opportunity of the ages. God has

opened the door,—opened it wide. Three hundred and fifty

millions of people are ready to hear the gospel message. This

door has not been opened without great strife and effort. In

the face of steady and persistent opposition, and through much

suffering and bloodshed, a large and lasting impression has

been already made. The dark and discouraging days are over and

the future is bright with promise. As I look back over the

first twenty-five years of my missionary life, it seems like a

troubled dream. The last fifteen years have wrought wonders in

China. Old customs and prejudices are giving way. The bright

dawn of better things is upon us. The most conservative and

immovable people in the world, persistently wedded to the

old ways, are getting used to new things, and are ready to

accept whatever promises profit and prosperity. All ears are

open, and the preaching of the gospel is nowhere opposed or

resisted. I often wish I were young again, just ready to start

in on the bright opening campaign. In a large sense the future

of the church and of the world lies wrapped up in this great

people. Why in the providence of God the gospel of salvation

has not long ere this reached this oldest and greatest nation

is an unexplained mystery. These unconverted millions of the

Mongolian race will presently come into their inheritance of

truth and grace, and then who shall say what they will become,

and do? Their fecundity, their physical stamina, their patient

persistence and intellectual vigor, are factors that will count

in the world’s future history.... As I look at the situation

in the light of the past, and forecasting the probabilities

of the future, a more inviting field for the exercise of

consecrated talent has rarely, if ever, presented itself in

the history of civilization. Very few people in the church in

the west understand and appreciate the present condition of

things in China. The political forces and problems are better

understood than the moral and religious. It is still true that

“the children of the world are wiser in their generation than

the children of light.” The faith of the long, old centuries

is passing rapidly away, but what shall the new faith be? This

is the great Christian question of the hour. The young men of

China are mad to learn English, because there is money in it.

With English come books and newspapers, sowing the seeds of

agnosticism, and skepticism, and rationalism, and so forth.

The cry is, Who will champion the truth? Who will administer

the antidote? Who will uphold the cross? Who will testify

for Christ? The call is urgent. Satan is in the field. The

opportunity is passing. The time is strategic. The changes of

many years are now crowded into one. Young men, it is time to

be up and doing! The march of events will not wait on your

tardiness. Who will hear the Master’s trumpet call?

XVI

CALLED UP HIGHER

“I have given my life to China: I expect to live there, to die

there, and to be buried there.”—FROM HIS FAREWELL ADDRESS IN

THE CENTRAL PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, Allegheny, Pa., 1862.

“I expect to die in heathen China, but I expect to rise in

Christian China.”—ANOTHER FAREWELL ADDRESS.

In the chapter on the Mandarin revision we left the committee on the Old

Testament, in the summer of 1908, at work on Genesis and the Psalms,

down at Chefoo, with the Goodrich and the Mateer family keeping house

together. Dr. Goodrich had been the dean of the Union Theological

Seminary at Peking, and so was thoroughly versed in the educational phase

of missions, still occupying so large a place in the heart and mind of

Dr. Mateer. These two men also had served together on the revision of the

New Testament, from the beginning to the end. They were in many features

of their character very different from each other, and yet in their

common labors and in their convictions they were in thorough harmony.

Mrs. Goodrich and Mrs. Mateer had come out on the same steamer in 1879,

to join the forces of the American Board, as unmarried missionaries; and

the subsequent years had served to cement their friendship. The house in

which they resided at Chefoo during that summer looked out on a charming

scene: the “island,” the bay, and the passage, with craft of all kinds,

Chinese junks and sampans, and steamers, small torpedo boats, and big

battleships of every nation, either riding at anchor or coming up into

the harbor. From the back windows the eye rested on a jagged range of

hills, crowned at the top by a curious wall, so like the views of the

Great Wall shown in pictures that ignorant sailors imagined it to be that

famous structure. One can easily understand that under such circumstances

the two families greatly enjoyed the earlier part of the session of the

committee. Dr. Goodrich, in the following quotation from the article

which he published in the January issue of “The Chinese Recorder,” in

memory of Dr. Mateer, had in mind his entire acquaintance with him,

extending over thirty-five years, but it is tinged especially with the

recollection of the preceding summer. He says:

Much of the time we have been together in the protracted daily

sessions of the committee, as well as in the long evening

walks, when we talked on everything between the zenith and the

nadir; for then his thoughts were “ready to fly East as West,

whichever way besought them.” If he were not widely read, he

had thought widely and deeply, being at once conservative,

progressive, and original. He had strong opinions, and was

at times severe and stern in maintaining them. But he loved

those of a contrary opinion with a true and deep affection.

From first to last he was a royal friend. Dr. Mateer thought

naturally in terms of logic and mathematics, but not without a

side in his nature for poetry and sentiment.

Dr. Mateer’s character, especially during the later years,

was constantly mellowing, and the past summer, which our two

families spent together in our own “hired house” at Chefoo,

must ever be remembered as one of the happiest periods of our

lives, without a break or jar to mar its enjoyment. Was it a

sort of unconscious preparation for the sweeter joys and more

perfect fellowship in the dear upper home?

Dr. Mateer worked on with his usual untiring faithfulness,

during the last summer, though not quite well at times. How

he lived in the Psalms, upon which he bestowed loving labor!

Sometimes he would look out from his little study to the room

which held all too closely his beloved wife, who has followed

the Bible revision with an interest scarcely less intense than

his own, and consult with her on some difficult phrase, or tell

her of some beautiful figure he had succeeded in translating.

In the early morning we took a dip in the sea—he was a good

swimmer—and after he had “talked with Him,” at six o’clock he

was ready for his teacher. In the evening his walks were less

regular and shorter than in other years.

In explanation of one sentence of the preceding it needs to be stated

that by an accident Mrs. Mateer was then so disabled that she kept her

room.

During the summer he suffered from a chronic tendency to dysenteric

diarrhea, yet it was not until well toward the close of the session

of the Committee that he remained in bed for the entire day. At first

he worked on there, upon the translation of the Psalms, which he was

especially anxious to give to the people in such language that they

could readily catch it with the ear, and that the Psalms might be to the

Chinese church the rich heritage they are to the English-speaking race.

At length it became evident that his case was fast becoming so critical

that if medical aid under the most favorable conditions could save his

life, the very best that could be had must be secured at once. So it was

decided that he ought to go on a steamer down to Tsingtao in the German

concession. It would require twenty-four hours to make the trip; but when

asked whether he was able to endure the journey, he replied: “I must. I

shall die if I remain here.”

The necessity for the change was not due to any lack of medical care

or friendly ministrations at Chefoo; it was made in order to secure

the superior advantages which a good hospital affords. Fortunately the

voyage was quiet. His wife went with him; and Dr. and Mrs. Goodrich

also accompanied them. It was Tuesday night when they reached Tsingtao,

and friends were at the landing; and, supported in loving arms, he was

carried at once in a carriage to the Faber Hospital, where Dr. Wunsch,

a skilled physician, exhausted his efforts to save him. Dr. Hayes was

already there, and at Dr. Mateer’s request spent each day in the hospital.

Friday of that week was the anniversary of their marriage, but it was

impracticable for his wife to be brought to his bedside. Saturday it

became evident that the end was not far away, and she was permitted

to see him; and he seemed so comforted by her presence, though he was

too weak to talk much, that they allowed her to stay. In response to

a telegram, his brother Robert and Madge, his wife, came at once.

Saturday afternoon his mind wandered, and seemed to run on the affairs

of the college. Sunday morning he asked Robert to pray with him; and in

connection with this one of the great passions that had long possessed

him manifested itself. As on the journey down on the boat he lay

exhausted, he had said to Dr. Goodrich: “They must do their best to cure

me at the hospital, so that I can finish the Psalms. That is all I have

to live for now”—meaning, of course, by this, only the work to which he

had given himself. Now, when his brother in his prayer asked that the

sufferer at whose bedside he knelt might be given an abundant entrance

into the heavenly rest, Dr. Mateer cried out: “Raise your faith a notch

higher, Robert. Pray that I may be spared to finish the translation of

the Psalms.” Then he asked that Dr. Hayes be called in, and he requested

him to pray for this; and when this was done he added, “O Lord, may this

prayer be answered!”

On Sabbath when some of his “boys,” alumni of the Shantung College, who

were living in the town came to see him, he was so weak that he could

only say to them, “Good-by.”

All those last days he took great comfort in prayer. As he gradually went

down into the shadow of death, his faith continued firm and bright. To

an inquiry by his wife as to his trust in Christ, he replied: “Yes, I

have nothing to fear.” Some time before the end he said to his brother

Robert, “I have laid up all in my Father’s keeping.” The very last

words which he was heard distinctly to articulate were indicative of a

passion that possessed his soul even far more strongly than his desire to

complete his work on the Scriptures. Those who knew him most intimately

recognized in him a man of extraordinary reverence for God,—for him

whom, from his childhood’s memorizing of the catechism on to the end, he

believed to be infinite, eternal, and unchangeable in his being, wisdom,

power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth. He was one of those who

in the public services of a house of worship always stood in prayer,

though about him all might be sitting in their seats. He thought no other

posture except kneeling or standing appropriate in this act of social

worship. His whole conception of religion, theoretical and practical, was

saturated with a holy fear of God. To him God was his heavenly Father,

who has manifested himself above all else in the person and work of

Jesus Christ, and unto whom he constantly turned with holy boldness; but

whenever he came consciously into the divine presence he was devoutly

reverent. It was in keeping with his whole religious life, therefore,

that his last audible words, were “Holy! Holy! True and Mighty!” Then—not

long afterward—he fell asleep. He died at 10:25 in the morning of

September 28, 1908.

Among his papers a little book was found which when it was opened proved

to be a collection of private prayers recorded in 1863, the year in which

he went to China. The last of these prayers is the following:

Permit not the great adversary to harass my soul, in the last

struggle, but make me a conqueror, and more than a conqueror

in this fearful conflict. I humbly ask that my reason may be

continued to the last, and if it be Thy will, that I may be so

comforted and supported that I may leave testimony in favor of

the reality of religion, and thy faithfulness in fulfilling

thy gracious promises, and that others of thy servants who

may follow after, may be encouraged by my example to commit

themselves boldly to the guidance and keeping of the Shepherd

of Israel. And when my spirit leaves this clay tenement, Lord

Jesus receive it. Send some of the blessed angels to conduct my

inexperienced soul to the mansion which thy love has prepared.

And oh, let me be so situated, though in the lowest rank, that

I may behold thy glory!

This prayer, which in his young manhood he had recorded in that little

book, was fulfilled so far as its petitions concerned his end upon earth;

and who doubts that equally fulfilled were also those petitions which

looked forward to his entrance upon the eternal life?

At Tsingtao a funeral service was held in the little Chinese Presbyterian

chapel. Among those present were Rev. Dr. Bergen and Rev. W. P. Chalfant,

from the Shantung Presbyterian Mission, then holding a meeting at Wei

Hsien, representatives from the Basel and Berlin Protestant Missions, and

a large number of Chinese. After the casket was placed in the church,

former students of the Shantung College came in with long wreaths of

immortelles, and so festooned these about the coffin that they could

remain on the journey yet to be taken. Addresses were delivered in both

English and Chinese, and were full of appreciation for the missionary

just gone up higher. The Chinese speakers were some of his own “boys,”

who then testified to their appreciation of their “old master,” as they

were accustomed to call him. After the service the casket was taken to

the same steamer on which he had been brought down, and thus was removed

to Chefoo, in care of his brother Robert and Mr. Mason Wells. That

evening the casket was escorted by a number of Chinese Christian young

men to the rooms of the Naval Young Men’s Christian Association; and the

next morning to Nevius Hall, on Temple Hill, where it remained until the

time of burial, covered with flowers provided by loving hands.

During this delay the missionaries up at Tengchow had, in response to a

telegram, exhumed the remains of Julia, and caused them to be transferred

to Chefoo, where they were placed in the vault prepared in the cemetery.

Her monument, however, was left standing in the original burial place,

and the name of Dr. Mateer has also been inscribed on it.

The funeral service was at 2.45 P.M., on Sabbath; and the large, new

church on Temple Hill was filled to overflowing. The conduct of this

service was in the hands of the Chinese, Pastor Wang of the Temple Hill

church presiding, and Pastor Lwan of the Tengchow church assisting. In

a sermon based on Revelation 14:13, Pastor Wang spoke of Dr. Mateer’s

long and active life, of his power as a preacher who addressed himself

straight to the hearts of the people, and of the enduring character of

the work he had accomplished. Rev. Lwan followed in an address in which

he dwelt upon the large number of people who would mourn the death of

Dr. Mateer, and the many different places where memorial services would

be held; on his adaptability to all classes of men in order to win them

to Christ, and on his unfailing assurance that the gospel would finally

triumph in China.

The English service followed immediately afterward in the cemetery; but

on account of the large number of foreign missionaries who had come, and

the limited space, announcement had to be made before leaving the church

that of the many Chinese who were present, only those who had been Dr.

Mateer’s students could be admitted. One of the great regrets incident to

the burial was that Dr. Corbett, who had come out to China with him on

that long first voyage, and who had been his close associate on the field

in so much of the work, and who cherished for him the warmest regard,

could not be present. He was away in a country field when death came to

Dr. Mateer, and the news did not reach him in time for him to return to

the funeral. In his absence Rev. Dr. W. O. Elterich, of Chefoo, conducted

the service. After he had spoken, Rev. J. P. Irwin, of Tengchow,—who

had been associated with Dr. Mateer in the same station, and who as a

consequence knew him intimately,—bore his testimony especially to the

unceasing activity of the life of him whose body was about to be lowered

into the grave, and the impossibility that his work should have been

finished even if he had lived to be a hundred years old; to the warm

heart hidden beneath an exterior that did not always reveal it; and to

the purpose now fulfilled, but formed nearly half a century before by him

and by her whose remains now rest at his side, to spend their whole lives

in giving the gospel to China, and to be buried in its soil.

Their graves are in a very beautiful spot, directly in front of the upper

walk leading in from the gate, and in close proximity to those of Dr.

Nevius and of others of their missionary friends and associates.

[Illustration: AT THE GRAVE OF DR MATEER]

The tributes paid to his character and work were so numerous, both out

in China and in the United States and in other Christian lands, that all

that is practicable here is to make some selections that may serve as

representatives. That of Dr. Corbett deserves the place of precedence.

Their strong attachment was mutual. In an article filling several

columns of “The Presbyterian Banner,” Dr. Corbett paid his tribute to

his deceased friend. Much of this is of necessity a condensed rehearsal

of his life and of the leading characteristics therein revealed. He

concludes by saying:

Personally I shall ever esteem it one of the greatest blessings

of my life that it has been my privilege to have enjoyed

the friendship, and of being a colaborer with this great

man for nearly fifty years. More than forty years ago it

was my privilege to spend with him weeks and months on long

itinerating journeys, preaching daily to hundreds who had never

heard the gospel, and at no place finding Christians to cheer

our hearts. Often after a long day of exhaustion, preaching in

the open air at great markets and on crowded streets, in the

evening we would kneel together at the inn and earnestly pray

for God’s richest blessing upon our efforts to bring men to a

saving knowledge of the truth. Often the thought came into our

mind, Can these dry bones live? Shall we live to see Christian

churches established and shepherded by Chinese pastors? His

unwavering faith in the ultimate and universal triumph of the

gospel in China was a tower of strength to all associated

with him. When the news of his death reached me at our inland

station, the thought rushed into my mind: “Know ye not that

there is a prince and a great man fallen this day in Israel?”

The world will ever seem more lonely without him. His sympathy

and help could always be counted on in every kind of true

missionary work. His labors were crowned with success and honor

continuously, until he was summoned by the Master to a higher

and wider sphere where his saints serve him.

It seems to me that the man who is entitled to be heard next is the

Rev. Dr. W. M. Hayes, now of Tsingchow fu, but formerly—after the

resignation of Dr. Mateer—the head of the Tengchow College. There is

no one of his associates on the mission field in whom Dr. Mateer had

greater confidence; and for years they were in such constant contact

that they knew each other most thoroughly. A few days after the burial

a memorial service was held at Wei Hsien, and at this Dr. Hayes made

an extended address before an audience including the students of the

college. The respective lines of thought which he first elaborated were

his faithfulness to Christ’s service, his resolution, his attention to

great matters, and his industry. In the conclusion he said:

Let us strive to make his strong spiritual qualities our own.

Of these, the most conspicuous were three: First, his faith.

The morning he died, replying to an inquiry of his brother,

he said, “I have left those things long ago in the hands of

my Father.” Later, and only a few hours before his death, he

said, as if speaking to himself, “We are justified of the

Lord Jesus.” It is not strange that with such a faith he fell

asleep as a little child would in its mother’s arms. Second,

his reverential spirit. Though he did not fear the face of

man, and was outspoken in his convictions, yet, especially

in his later years, as one who had served with him on the

Translation Committee from the first remarked, his reverence in

approaching the divine presence was apparent to all. This was

characteristic of him to the end. The last distinct utterance

which he made was, “Holy! Holy! Holy! True and Mighty.” Lying

prone on his couch, it seemed as if he saw the King in his

beauty, and the vision filled his soul with godly fear.

Third, his forgiving spirit. Being a man of decided views, and

disapproving of what did not seem to him wise and good, he did

not always approve of the course taken by his colleagues; yet

if convinced that a man was working with a single heart for the

interest of Christ’s kingdom, he was ready to forgive, and to

hope for the best. He loved the Lord who had forgiven him, and

so loved those who had offended against himself. This extended

both to those with whom he labored, and to those for whom he

labored. One of his marked characteristics was not to give over

any man who had fallen away, and he was always ready to give

him another chance.

I have already noticed the intimacy of Dr. Chauncey Goodrich, of Peking,

with Dr. Mateer. The tribute which he paid his long-time friend, and his

associate and captain on the Mandarin Revision Committee through the many

years of their labors, is perhaps the most comprehensive of all that have

been published. It filled fourteen pages of “The Chinese Recorder,” and

touches all the leading features of the life and work of Dr. Mateer. What

he says as to the Mandarin version has especial weight. His testimony was:

In the interest of truth it must be added that no man gave

so much time and hard work, or dug quite so deep. His effort

to produce a translation which should match the original,

to translate the figures and preserve their beauty, was

extraordinary.... At these sessions Dr. Mateer by his strong

and masterful personality, as well as by the thoroughness of

his preparation, did much to set the style of the work.

Turning to some of his leading characteristics, he proceeded thus:

First, his personality. In the Conference of 1890, Dr. Wright,

secretary of the British and Foreign Bible Society, was

with us. He remarked that “of all the men present at that

conference, there were two whose personality most impressed

him.” One of these was Dr. Mateer. He bore himself like a

sort of prince among men, _facile princeps_. He was born to

lead, not to follow. Having worked out his own conclusions, he

was so sure of them that he expected, almost demanded, their

acceptance by others. Yet he was not arrogant and was truly

humble. Moreover, he could ask forgiveness for words that he

felt had been too hasty or too harsh, feeling much broken by

giving pain to a friend. In this he showed his greatness. He

could also forgive and forget. But he was still a leader by the

very force of his personality.

He had the quality of perseverance in a large degree.

Having undertaken a work, he held to it with unwavering and

unconquerable persistence to the end, ... and that not only

because he gripped the work, but because the work gripped him.

Had his life been spared, he would have worked steadily on

through the Old Testament till the last verse of Malachi was

finished, and the whole was carefully reviewed. Of Dr. Mateer’s

habit of working till the end was reached Dr. Hamilton writes:

“Not many months ago, at a meeting of the Shantung Board of

Directors, we had a considerable amount of unfinished business,

and the week was hastening to its close. No one had more work

awaiting him at home than the Doctor. Yet when the question

of the time of our dispersion was raised, he said: ‘I have

always made it a rule, when I attend meetings of this kind, to

finish up the business in hand, no matter how long it takes.’”

United to this quality of perseverance was a kindred quality of

thoroughness, that appeared in everything he attempted.

Dr. Mateer possessed a rugged strength of character. He was

almost Spartan in his ability to endure hardships, and in his

careless scorn for the amenities and “elegant superfluities”

of modern life. Yet “beneath a rugged and somewhat austere

exterior” he had a heart of remarkable tenderness. He was a

block of granite with the heart of a woman.

Rev. Mr. Baller also had been associated with Dr. Mateer in the revision

of the Scriptures since 1900. He says of him:

He has left behind him an example of strenuous toil that it

would be difficult to parallel; of iron constitution, he was

able to do an amount of work that would have killed most men.

His devotion to the cause of Christ was beyond praise. His

recreation consisted in change of occupation, and he made all

tend to the one end.

Ada, who in the last eight years of his life stood nearer to him by

far than any other, and knew his innermost life, puts on record this

supplement as to some of his traits not so fully brought out by the

testimony of his friends:

Next to his reverence, the most noteworthy feature of his

character was his love of truth: truth in the abstract,

scientific truth and truth in the common conversation of life,

but especially in matters of religion. He had no patience with

the popular maxim that it does not matter what a man believes,

so long as he is sincere. “Is there no such thing as truth?”

he would say. “Does it make no difference to a man whether the

bank in which he invests is broken? Men are not such idiots in

the ordinary affairs of life.” If it came to a choice between a

polite lie and the impolite truth, he would choose the latter.

He exalted truth above every other virtue. His love of it freed

him from that trammeling of conventionality which binds so

many. He would be the slave of no man-made custom.

Associated with this characteristic, perhaps a result of it,

was the kindred love of freedom. One of his favorite texts was,

“And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you

free.” This sturdy independence he sought to impress on all

minds coming under his influence. He had no patience with that

kind of education that simply trained the Chinese to become

“lackeys of the foreigners.” How his lips would curl as he

muttered that phrase! He would waste money often in trying to

help some one to assertive, manly work in independent lines,

rather than as an employee. This sturdy force in his character

was like the magnetic crane, which lifts pieces of iron, even

though they have been hidden in the ground. It compelled the

manhood in other men to assert itself; though hidden from view,

yet to burst from its covering, and to be drawn up higher.

As already noted, the West Shantung Mission was in session at Wei Hsien

when the tidings of Dr. Mateer’s death came; and before they adjourned

they adopted a highly appreciative minute concerning him. In it they

said, among other equally strong tributes to his worth:

No one ever went to him in trouble without finding sympathy

and help. Frugal in his style of living, he gave generously

of his personal means to many a needy man; and he made many

considerable gifts to the college and to other departments of

the work he so much loved. His name will long be a fragrant

memory in our midst, and the Chinese will more and more, in the

years to come, rise up and call him blessed.

The English Baptist Mission at their first meeting after his death

adopted resolutions expressive of their deep sense of loss. One of these

will serve as an example of all:

Combined with great strength of will and an enthusiasm which

overcame all difficulties and opposition which stood in the way

of the accomplishment of the great and arduous tasks, he was

endowed with much tenderness of heart and a devoted loyalty to

the gospel. He was a successful educator, a fine administrator,

a powerful preacher, and a distinguished scholar; and his

removal from amongst us has left a gap which will not soon or

easily be filled.

The Presbyterian Board of Foreign Missions, under whom he had served for

forty-five years, adopted an extended and highly appreciative paper. In

one of the paragraphs, they say:

Dr. Mateer was a man of unusual ability and force of character;

an educator, a scholar, and an executive of high capacity....

The Board records, with profound gratitude to God, its sense

of the large usefulness of this great missionary educator.

It mourns that the work is no longer to have the benefit of

his counsel, but it believes that he builded so wisely and so

well that the results of his labors will long endure, and that

his name will always have a prominent place in the history of

missionary work in the Chinese Empire.

Secretary Brown, of that Board, in a letter to Rev. Robert Mateer, of Wei

Hsien, said: “I regarded him as one of the great missionaries not only of

China, but of the world.”

Scores upon scores of personal letters, and a large number of articles

published in newspapers and periodicals, are available as tributes to

his work and character. Necessarily, they repeat what is said in the

quotations already given, though almost every one makes some valuable

addition. Few of them were meant for publication, and it is not because

of a lack of appreciation that any of them are omitted here.

Shall his biographer add his own estimate of the work and character of

Dr. Mateer? If the writing of this book has been at all what it ought

to be, this cannot be still needed; for, if he has revealed the inner

and the outer life of this great Christian missionary as it deserves,

and as he has aimed to do, then to turn back now and rehearse his

characteristics would be a superfluity. Besides, if I begin, where shall

I end? I must tell of his personality; his individuality; of his physique

and of his psychical nature; of his peculiarities of intellect,—its

vigor, versatility and vision; of his great heart, and the tenderness

of it that was not always externally manifest enough to command

recognition; of his will that yielded never to numbers or force, but

only to truth and duty; of a conscience whose voice would have made him

defy anything that man could do to him; of a piety that rooted itself in

the sovereignty and in the grace of Almighty God, and in the redemption

which Christ finished on the cross; of a consecration that laid himself

and all that he could bring upon the altar of divine service; of the

preacher, the teacher, the scholar, the man of science, the man of

business, and of the son, the husband, the brother, the fellow-disciple

and associate in Christian service; of his economy of time and of money,

and of his generosity; of his conservatism and his progressiveness; of

his singleness of purpose, his courage, his persistence, his efficiency;

of his weaknesses as well as of his strength; of his many successes and

his few failures; and of how much more I cannot enumerate. I would be

justified in comparing him with the very foremost of the servants of

Christ, living or dead, who during the past century have consecrated

their lives to the evangelization of China; or with Verbeck of Japan, or

Duff of India. However, I will here venture further, only to invite as

many as may to look well into the story of his life; and I am confident

that they will join with me in saying: “This was a Christian; this was as

distinctively a missionary, and as efficient as anyone of our age; and at

the same time this was as manly a man as our generation has seen.”

In the “Pilgrim’s Progress” we read: “After this it was noised abroad

that Mr. Valiant-for-truth was taken with a summons by the same post as

the other; and had this for a token that the summons was true, ‘That his

pitcher was broken at the fountain.’ When he understood it he called

for his friends, and told them of it. Then, said he, I am going to my

Father’s; and though with great difficulty I am got thither, yet now I do

not repent me of all the trouble I had been at to arrive where I am. My

sword I give to him that succeeds me in my pilgrimage, and my courage and

skill to him that may get it. My marks and scars I carry with me, to be a

witness for me that I have fought His battle who now will be my rewarder.

When the day that he must go hence was come, many accompanied him to the

river side, into which as he went he said, ‘Death, where is thy sting?’

And as he went down deeper, he said, ‘Grave, where is thy victory?’ So he

passed over, and all the trumpets sounded for him on the other side.”

INDEX

Aground off coast of China, 63

Algebras, 164

Anglo-Chinese college, 216, 218

Anniversary of graduation, 39

Apparatus, 209, 211, 244

Apprehensions as to China, 308, 313

Arithmetic, 162

Baller, Rev. Mr., 182, 258, 333

Baptism, infant, tract, 160

Beaver Academy, 43, 239

Bergen, Paul D., 225, 229, 325

Birth, 15

Birthday, seventieth, 273, 295

Books in preparation, 160, 166

Boyish traits, 17, 25, 237

“Boxer” uprising, 264, 284, 286

Brown, Arthur J., 9, 12, 336

Brown, Julia A., 53

Brown, Margaret, 54, 123, 143, 153, 168

Business capability, 154

Canal, Grand, 169

Candidate for ministry, 42, 44, 48

Capp, Mrs., 54, 123, 143, 144, 153, 168, 276

Caring for converts and churches, 123, 126, 174, 178, 183, 192, 193,

194, 201

Catechism, 161

Chalfant, W. P., 325

Chapel at Tengchow, 110

Characteristics, personal, 25, 28, 45, 82, 83, 90, 91, 101, 148, 170,

171, 236, 320, 324, 330, 332, 333, 335, 336

Characters written, Chinese, 165, 253

Chefoo, 67, 203, 264, 265, 273, 281, 299, 300, 320, 326

China, appointed to, 57

China as a mission field, 70, 317

China, the “new,” 150, 286, 305, 311, 317

Chinese characteristics, 308, 312

Chinese language, 105, 108, 165, 252, 269

Chinese Presbyterian church, 199, 200, 204, 205

Chow Yuen, 123, 184

Christianity in China, 173, 310, 313

Classmates, 37, 38

Coal press, 75

Coffin, making a, 242

College student, 34, 93

Conference, first missionary, 252, 255

Conference, second missionary, 252

Conference, third missionary, 266, 267, 272

Controversies, 151, 170, 197, 203, 290

Conversion, 92

Converts, early, 123, 142, 143, 176, 177, 192

Corbett, Hunter, 59, 62, 67, 76, 102, 116, 119, 144, 176, 239, 300,

327, 328

Country school, 29

Cumberland valley, 15

Curriculum of Tengchow school, 136, 138, 144

Dangers, 63, 121, 122, 124, 280, 281, 283, 284

Death, 324

Delaware, Ohio, 52, 58

Delay after appointment, 51, 54, 99

Discipline, church, 142, 175, 200

Discipline, school, 140, 141

Diven, grandfather, 20

Doctorate of Divinity, 293

Doctorate of Laws, 293

Duffield, James, 30

Dunlaps creek academy, 32

Dwelling houses, 80, 228

Education and missions, 129, 159, 312, 315

Education, the “new,” in China, 244

Electrical machinery, 214, 248

Elterich, W. O., 328

Employment for converts, 246, 334

English Baptist mission, 225, 335

English in school and college, 203, 216, 218, 230, 292

Entertainments, 245, 250

Experimentation, scientific, 213

Faber hospital, 322

Famines, 287

Farm life, 22

Father, 16, 18

Field, Cyrus W., 213

Fitch, G. F., 157, 163, 170

Funeral services, 325, 326

Furloughs, 145, 298, 299, 300

General Assembly, 206, 303

Generosity, 171, 172, 287

Geometry, 163

Goodrich, Chauncey, 91, 165, 166, 258, 259, 266, 271, 272, 319, 320,

322, 323, 331

Graduates of college, 144, 145, 149, 233, 295, 323, 326

Grier, Margaret, 82

Hamilton, W. B., 332

Happer, Andrew P., 216

Haven, Ada, 299

Hayes, Watson M., 147, 164, 179, 210, 214, 225, 240, 322, 323, 329

Hays, Isaac N., 93

Hebrew at Chautauqua, 299

“Hermitage,” the, 22, 238, 304

Home life, 23, 41, 79, 82

Honors and distinctions, 38, 293

House-building, 76, 78, 228

Hunterstown academy, 31

Hymn book and hymns, 161

Illness, last, 321

Inns, Chinese, 68, 116

Invitations declined, 43, 52, 218, 294

Irwin, J. P., 328

Itinerations, 112, 116, 119, 123, 124, 125, 127, 184, 186, 329

Japanese bombardment of Tengchow, 284

Jefferson College, 33, 238

Kiao-chow, 195, 286

Kirkwood, Mrs. Jennie, 17, 23, 40

Korean expedition, 297

Kwan Yin temple, 73, 129, 135, 210

Language, learning the, 105, 108, 109

Licentiate, a, 49

Licentiates, Chinese, 201

Locomotives and Baldwin Works, 239, 243

Lwan, Pastor, 327

Maker, a, of “new” China, 309

Mandarin Dictionary, 165, 166

Mandarin Elementary Lemons, 170, 300

Mandarin Lessons, 167, 169, 172

Mandarin version, 252, 255, 256, 259, 263, 264, 265, 267, 268, 271,

319, 321, 322, 331

Manufacturing, 240

Marriage, 53, 299

Martin, W. A. P., 167, 249, 306

Mateer, Ada Haven, 82, 170, 241, 248, 250, 266, 299, 303, 319, 321,

322, 324, 333

Mateer, Horace N., 17

Mateer, Jennie W., 17, 23, 40

Mateer, John L., 17, 156, 278

Mateer, Julia A., 53, 62, 78, 108, 114, 123, 126, 129, 134, 137, 147,

169, 170, 192, 194, 276, 280, 298, 299

Mateer, Lillian, 17, 146, 147

Mateer, Robert M., 17, 146, 323, 324, 326

Mateer, William D., 17, 240

Mechanical ability, 155, 236

Medical work, 86, 298

Mercer, S. B., 32

“Methods of Missions,” 151, 196, 292

Miao, 123, 184

Miller, J. R., 44

Mills, Rev., 72, 114, 126, 167, 174, 179, 194, 199, 243, 276, 291, 298

Ministry, a Chinese, 161, 200, 314

“Mission,” the, 196

Missionary, a foreign, 40, 42, 49, 51, 54, 57

Missionary qualifications, 316

Moderator of Synod, 203

Mother, 16, 20, 40, 50, 299, 304

Museum, 245

Nanking, 169, 294

Nevius, J. L., 71, 145, 151, 196, 256, 259

New Testament revision, 258, 260, 264, 266

Ningpo, 203

Observatory, 209, 214

Old Testament revision, 272, 273, 319, 322

Ordination, 53

Parentage, 16, 18

Pastorate, 179, 180, 192

Pecuniary affairs, 171, 172

Peking, 264, 278, 285, 294

Periodicals and contributions, 150

Persecutions, 187, 195

Policy of college, 230

Preacher, as a, 91, 102, 181

Preaching in Chinese, 109, 204

Premises of school and college, 129, 135, 147, 209, 210, 229

Presbyterian Board of Foreign Missions, 335

Presbytery of Shantung, 199, 200

Presidency of college, 179, 214, 229, 231

Press, the mission, 152, 155, 157, 278

Profession of religion, 33

Provincial college, 215, 247, 309

Publications, 150, 160, 161, 162, 164, 165, 166, 167, 169, 170

Pupils, 129, 132, 134, 135, 137, 138, 146

“Rebels,” Tai-Ping, 71, 280

Religious life, 33, 89, 93, 101, 104

Removal to Wei Hsien, 226

Revisers, Mandarin version, 256, 258, 264, 272

Sabbath School letters, 133

School-Book Commission, 159

Science Hall, 228, 229

Science teaching, 212

Shanghai, 62, 152, 202, 252, 278, 282, 285

Shantung, province, 71, 111, 284, 289

Shantung college, 128, 207, 220, 253, 303

Shantung Christian University, 222, 234

“Shen,” 151, 170, 291

Siberian trip, 243, 300, 302

Social life, 82, 193

Southern Baptist mission, 70, 220

Stated supply, 178, 179

Stereotyping, 155

Stove, making a, 75

Student visitors, 108, 245

Students converted, 142, 143, 149

Superintending the mission press, 152, 153

Surgery, 86

Synod of China, 152, 201

Tai An, 124

Tengchow, 68, 70, 84, 108, 208, 215, 264, 280, 281, 304

Tengchow church, 72, 174, 177, 192

Tengchow school, 129, 132, 135, 138, 140, 146, 149, 153, 277

Tengchow station, 71, 73, 81, 223

Terms, ecclesiastical, 204

Terms, technical and scientific, 159, 160

Theological student, a, 46, 96

Theology, teaching, 212

Tientsin massacre, the, 281

Tours and travels, 68, 112, 114, 116, 119, 123, 124, 125, 126, 169,

171, 192, 193, 296, 298, 299, 300, 322

Translating and its lessons, 269, 271

Travel, modes of, 68, 112

Tributes, 327-338

Tsinan, 125, 226, 234, 289

Tsingchow, 119, 120, 125, 226, 229

Tsingtao, 233, 322, 325

Tsou Li Wen, 259, 260

Type-making, 155

Union in Shantung Christian University, 226

Union of Presbyterians in China, 204, 205

Voyage, first, 58, 99

Walker, Mrs. Lillian, 17, 18, 146, 147

Wang Yuen Teh, 259, 327

War, Chino-Japanese, 284

Wedding journey, 303

Wei Hsien, 119, 226, 228, 285, 295, 330

Wei Hsien, at, 228, 243, 248, 250, 295

Welcome at Tengchow, 145

Wells, Mrs. Margaret G., 82

Wells, Mason, 82, 285, 326

West Shantung mission, 325, 334

Western Theological Seminary, 43, 46

Wilson, Samuel, 33

Workshop, 240, 241

Yangtse, the, 169, 171, 253

Yuan Shih K’ai, 215, 284