On the 9th of June 1868, he writes to Lieut. Acklom:–... "The opposition this year to my work in Kashmir is very much less than last. This is shown beyond a doubt, by our numbers. Last year up to this date we had three hundred and ten patients, this year during the same time the numbers on the roll are seven hundred and fifty-nine. The mission this year, so far as numbers go, is more prosperous than it has ever been. For this I give God hearty thanks. The devil seemed to make a gigantic effort to crush us, but thanks be to God, we still live and work. Your last letter was precious to me; how marvellous it is that we who are in ourselves impure, and unworthy, are nevertheless in the sight of God perfectly holy and worthy, on account of the perfect holiness and infinite worthiness of our adorable Divine Redeemer which are imputed to us. Christ is our righteousness, as well as our everything else. Are we not prone to forget this precious cheering Bible truth? Hence the feebleness and gloom of many of God's people. The more we identify ourselves with Christ, the holier, the happier, and the stronger we become, for He is our righteousness, He is our joy, He is our rock. The Christian needs to know the depravity, and the desperate wickedness of his own heart, but having known it somewhat, he requires to be ever looking unto Jesus in whom we and God are revealed. Look steadily to Jesus, dear Acklom, there sin is revealed, there love is revealed; there is no danger of your forgetting your sins and their deserts if you look to Jesus. Some say there is danger, but this is a great mistake, for Jesus is the price–the infinitely valuable price which the loving Father gave to atone for our sins, and to enable the Father, without doing violence to His attributes of justice and holiness, to pardon, justify, and save such sinful and unworthy creatures as we are. What beauty and harmony there are in the Gospel scheme as made known to us in the infallible word of God!"
To the same,–"Srinagar, 8th July, 1868.–I should say that the two surest signs of a man's being a true Christian, are growth and gladness–growth in the Christian life,–the Christian graces–growth manifest to the man's own consciousness, and manifest too to his fellow Christians; and gladness rooted and grounded on what Christ, God's own well beloved Son, has done for him, suffered for him in Gethsemane and Calvary, and is now doing for him at God's right hand in heaven. There is something wrong when a Christian is not a happy man. Considering everything he ought to be the happiest of men. For myself I know that whenever I have lost that serene and inexpressible feeling of a full and filling joy, it has been caused by some cloud of unbelief, a looking away from Jesus, a surrendering to the world or the devil, a forgetting of the grand work of life. The Christian's joy is not a boisterous joy, but is like the calm sunset peacefulness which pervades this fair valley in the 'gloamin.'"
"Srinagar, August, 1868.–My dear Thomson,–I was grieved to learn that you had been compelled to leave home in search of health. Three lectures in one week, and then a ducking into the bargain! The old Martha spirit, Thomson–the bustle and the lots of service. O that we could mix the Martha and the Mary. What an excellent compound they do make. To influence the world we need to be full, and running over with faith and love. To be so we must often, Jesus-like, repair to the mountain side, or desert place, alone. It is often a great blessing for a Christian man to be laid aside for a little from the busy engrossing pursuits of this high-pressure life, which in these days we are forced to live. Even the Christian life is not exempt from this pernicious feature of our age. God did not stop your work; He only modified it for a season, and made praying your working. Doubtless the workers in prayer are most successful. I often wish I had half a dozen old, faithful, loving, lonely women, praying for me and my work. But though a visit to the desert may refresh, we must not stay there, for sinners now-a-days won't come after us as they went after John; and so I hope dear Mrs. Thomson and you are again in the pit digging for diamonds. I entirely agree with you in your remarks on the relative position which piety and cleverness should hold in the medical missionary character. Without any doubt, piety first, and then attainment. Nothing but the cable of love to our precious Saviour, will be able to keep us fast to our moorings in these stormy days. I have scarcely left time to speak about my own work. So far as numbers go, this is by far the most successful year of the Kashmir Medical Mission. We have treated nearly 2000 patients during the last two months. Opposition at present is asleep, only asleep and nothing more. It cheers me greatly to know that you remember me and Kashmir in your prayers."
"Srinagar, 24th August, 1868.–My dear Acklom,–It is too bad of me to be so dilatory in writing to you, but the truth is, I have been in a sea of troubles. My native doctor I found out to be a great thief, and I gave him his leave immediately. This of course increased our work very greatly. He was also a 'din-raiser' and succeeded admirably. I fear he has completely spoiled one of my native dressers,–Thomas,–whose conduct this season has been far from satisfactory.... You complain of a cold heart! The fact is our hearts–all human hearts–are as fickle as April or the thermometer. It is well to remember that the connection between our body and our affections is very intimate, and very often extremely disadvantageous to the Christian. A heavy dinner, a sluggish liver, or constipated bowels, will frequently freeze our affections, or rather make them as flat as thunder does beer. But let us not brood over the coldness. Our union to our blessed Saviour, and our possession of eternal life through His merits, does not depend upon, or vary with our feelings and affections,–were it so, this would make salvation like Joseph's coat, of many colours. Remember Jesus' dying words, for they are very precious, 'It is finished.' What is finished? Man's salvation. It is sad to think that we sinners, for whom the glorious Jehovah gave up His only begotten Son, should have cold ungrateful hearts towards Him who gave so much for us. The place to warm our hearts is the cross."...
"Srinagar, 2d October, 1868.–To Rev. Mr. Mallett.–Don't you think we are apt to forget that we have not yet finished our spiritual education? We are apt to forget that in all that befalls us, our heavenly Father is making everything subservient and conducive to our spiritual nourishment and growth in grace. What we need, you and I, M., is more of that spirit–that Christ-like spirit, which, looking lovingly and confidingly up into the Father's benign face, ever says, 'Father, not my will but Thine be done.' If there is matter for thankfulness on my part in your letter, there is in my circumstances much which ought to make you thankful when you compare your lot with mine. Here I am almost as lonely as John in Patmos. Without a tender loving wife to cheer me with her hearty sympathy. This great blessing you have, and doubtless you feel very grateful to God for the blessing. How expansive our capacity for happiness is. In all probability before you were married, you thought if you only had a wife you would be contented and happy. You got the wife, and now want something else. And doubtless if you got that something else, you would long for something more. Don't you think that this fact of our spiritual nature points to the strong probability of there being a future state? This is an argument apart from the Scriptures. This thought in passing."...
"Srinagar, 5th October, 1868.–My dear Mother,–Long ere now you will have got my letter, in which I tell you that although the Church Missionary Society in Salisbury Square, London, have most generously granted me permission to visit home this cold season, instead of next winter, according to agreement, I have after much thought and prayer, decided on not going home till the close of next year, as was previously arranged.... I am busy collecting materials to make a Dictionary of the Kashmiri language, of which there is not one. I hope when I come home, to employ part of my time in having it published.... Then again, dearest mother, one or two natives are in a very promising religious condition. I should like to be with them a little longer before making a considerable break in my visits to the valley.... I feel greatly drawn to this unfortunate country and people. The power of sympathy and kind deeds has very greatly melted their prejudice, bigotry, and ill will, and gained for the precious Gospel a patient and dispassionate hearing. The people generally now consider me their friend, and it would do your old heart good, and lift it up in warm gratitude to God, to hear the poor people praying for blessings on the head of your dear Willie. This is all God's doing, for He alone has given me a heart willing and capable to sympathise with these poor people, and to help them in their distress. I know that my presence here has some influence for good on the heartless, bigoted, and tyrannical government which rules over this most beautiful country. Pray much for us, dearest mother."
A few days before closing the dispensary, Dr. Elmslie wrote a long letter to Mrs. Lake, from which the following passages are taken:–
"Srinagar, 12th October, 1868.–I fear medical missions are not likely soon to spread in the Punjaub, or, indeed, anywhere else. Men and money are so scarce. You will be sorry to learn that nothing has, as yet, been done with respect to the training of native medical missionaries. I refer to the Lahore Medical Missionary Training Institution. I think the friends of this most needful and feasible scheme are waiting to see the good people of the North-West carry out their intention of setting on foot such an Institution. I think this delay is a pity, because their success is not likely to benefit the Punjaub. They will have enough to do to supply home, not to speak of exporting. And I fear, even if the Institution of the North-West prove a success, that we in the Punjaub shall not be able to prevail upon our Punjaubi converts to go all the way to Agra or Allahabad for their medical education. Besides, in my opinion, this is altogether unnecessary, seeing we have a good Medical School in Lahore.
"You and Colonel Lake will be happy to learn that this year, so far as medicine and surgery are concerned, has been very successful,–indeed, the most successful year the mission has yet seen. From the 8th May last till the 12th October, to-day, a period of five months and four days, 4161 individual patients have received medical and surgical aid at the Mission Dispensary. All these persons have heard the gospel, more or less, and many of them have obtained books. Many of these people come very considerable distances. We have had several merchants from the interior of Asia as patients. Some of these have seen the Russians. But nearly the whole of the number are Kashmiris, living in the valley or on the surrounding mountains. Those people are much less bigoted than formerly. We can speak to them much more freely and plainly, without fear of offending them, and a very large number of the inhabitants of the valley, both high and low, now look upon us as their friends, and, in their difficulties and sorrows, come to us for advice and sympathy.
"As to decided converts, there is none this season. One family is in a very hopeful condition, as also my pundit. They are nothing more than hopeful. May God reveal Himself in Christ to them, and influence their hearts with love to Him, for what He has done for them.