‘But I must not write only of trials, love. If you could have dropped in upon us yesterday evening, you would have thought us a very happy party. See Char, in one part of the room, playing at chess with our good Pastor, Nobin Chanda;[132] ... dear Babu Singha, the excellent and wise, a special comfort to me, looking on in his quiet benevolent way. At the other side see sweet Daisy, animated and bright, playing at our famous Batala game with a choice set of Natives; ... and last, not least, dear Rosie Singha, our honorary and very steady worker in the Dispensary. I feel giving these kinds of parties a real duty; and they give, at little cost, so much innocent enjoyment. It is well for the Missionaries too to have pauses, in a struggle with so much that is repulsive and saddening.... I think that Rowland is not now actually ill, as he writes about being in the midst of a sermon. I hope that he will be able to pay Batala a flying visit before long.... He has so many Missionary troubles, and we cannot help adding to them. But—
‘“Soon and for ever, we’ll see as we’re seen,
And learn the deep meaning of things that have been!”’
‘Sept. 27, 1891.—I will steal a bit from the morning to write a little to you. We are living rather in a bustle at present; the tide of Missionaries running down from the Hills, rather sweeping over Batala. Dear Rowland is here.... Miss Boyd is here. She is to be married, please God, next week.... Her visit has been a real help to me, at a time of much Missionary difficulty.... Her Betrothed has been to Muscat, to gather information about the last days of dear Bishop French.... Miss —— returned here on Saturday; Miss Dixie and the Corfields start for Batala to-day. One lady comes here from Amritsar to-day; we are to start her from hence at 4 A.M. to-morrow, Tuesday.... I shall be very glad to be quietly off, ... out of a kind of whirlpool. We will have eight at dinner to-day; quite as much as our table will hold.’
‘Futteyghur, Oct. 11.—I watch with much interest the Christian father, R. M., when at our long Services his little four-years old Z. is beside him. It is lovely to see the peaceful confiding loving clinging trust of the little child, as she cuddles to her strong father, and his gentle tenderness to the wee girl.... It makes me think of our Heavenly Father and us, His weak little ones. But an elder girl of R. M. was bitten by a snake; and then the tender father showed “the hardness of love.” He resolutely cut out the poisoned part with a penknife. The poor child screamed terribly, but still the parent cut on. I dare say that his own heart felt gashed. The child was saved. O when our Heavenly Father thus wounds to save, may we have grace to lie still!’
One would much like to know the rest of this story, and how the poor father managed to keep his little girl from bleeding to death. His courage must indeed have been great.
Later in the same letter, when again on the never-failing topic of troubles and disappointments in the work, Miss Tucker says,—‘O what need we Missionaries have of wisdom! We are so liable to make mistakes.’
TO —— ——
‘Oct. 24, 1891.
‘I was in Sikh villages this morning. The Sikhs are more friendly than the Muhammadans. I have often told them that if their respectable Guru Nanak were here on Earth now, he would probably become a Christian. I said that I had heard that there was something about our Lord in the Granth. The Sikh with whom I was conversing at once gave me the “Slok,” and translated its difficult antique Panjabi. This is the Slok in English; “That Cutter of demons’ heads, the world’s revered Jesus!” The Sikh said that “Isa” (Jesus) was thought by them to be “Ishur,—God Almighty.” I replied that we too called Jesus, God!’