TO W. F. T. HAMILTON.

‘May 20 (probably 1879).

‘Your dear Mother sends me delightful accounts of the devotion of some of the Cambridge men, and their readiness to engage in Missionary work, if they saw the way clear. Now, dearest Fred, could there be a clearer opening than at Batala for an earnest Christian man, whether in Orders or not? I am not thinking of you, for I would not have any one subject to headaches come to this feverish land; but I am thinking of your brother collegians. Batala, for evangelisation, is a very central point; no end of work might be done; and it is a hopeful place....

‘But I will be more minute in particulars.... I am not writing of one who wishes to become one of the regular salaried Missionaries of our Society; but of one who has the means to be an Honorary worker. Say he has an income of £100. He would find at Batala a home,—not a very luxurious one, but quite enough so for a Missionary. His £100 would be enough for all his personal wants, unless he travelled much; and he might keep a little horse, unless, like ——, he preferred spending his extra rupees on something else. He could at once help with English classes, if he chose to do so, and in the meantime learn the language.... If he had a taste for shooting and fishing, he would find means of gratifying it; and if he were a good cricketer, it would add to his influence over our boys. If he had any architectural skill, he would help us to build our church. If he were musical, it would be a great advantage. He might lead a very happy life, and an exceedingly useful one. We are in such want of men; not mere bookworms, but earnest, devoted, bright, active Christians, who can turn their hands to everything, and help to mould the minds of our rising generation. We want more St. Pauls!’

This chapter can hardly be better closed than by quoting Miss Tucker’s descriptive lines as to the necessary qualifications for a ‘Mission Miss Sahiba,’ already alluded to. They were written at Amritsar, as early as the year 1876:—

RULES AND REGULATIONS

‘The Mission Miss Sahibas must never complain;

The Mission Miss Sahibas must temper restrain—

When “sust”[91] pankah-wala won’t pull at the cane;

Must never be fanciful, foolish, or vain.