An Englishwoman's twenty-five years in tropical Africa

BEING THE BIOGRAPHY OF GWEN ELEN LEWIS, MISSIONARY TO THE CAMEROONS AND THE CONGO
BY GEORGE HAWKER MINISTER OF CAMDEN ROAD BAPTIST CHURCH, LONDON AUTHOR OF “THE LIFE OF GEORGE GRENFELL”
WITH ILLUSTRATIONS AND MAP
HODDER AND STOUGHTON LONDON NEW YORK TORONTO

To WILLIAM COULSON PARKINSON, WHO HAS SERVED THE BAPTIST MISSIONARY SOCIETY ON COMMITTEE FOR TWENTY-TWO YEARS, WHO WAS SUPERINTENDENT OF CAMDEN ROAD CHURCH SUNDAY SCHOOL WHEN GWEN ELEN THOMAS WAS A TEACHER, WHO BECAME AND REMAINED HER TRUSTED FRIEND, WHOM THE AUTHOR ALSO GLADLY CLAIMS AS FRIEND, THIS BOOK IS AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED.


In July, 1910, I was requested by the Committee of the Baptist Missionary Society to write the life of Mrs. Thomas Lewis of the Congo. I had shortly before arranged with Mr. Lewis to undertake the work independently; but it accorded well with his feelings and my own that it should be done under the direction of the Society which Mrs. Lewis had served for five-and-twenty years. Unfortunately the final decision was not arrived at until Mr. Lewis was on the point of returning to Africa, having already sent forward his wife’s journals and papers. Consequently, in executing my task, I have missed the great advantage of consultation with him. Chapters III., IV., V., and VI. only have received his revision.