Calvin Wilson Mateer, forty-five years a missionary in Shantung, China

by D. W. Fisher

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.

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.