CONCLUSION - Burns, William Chalmers
Chapter xxi
So your loved and honored William, ” wrote the rev. Dr. C. J. Brown to his mother, on hearing the tidings of his death, “has obtained the fulfillment of Christ’s prayer, ‘father, i will that they also whom thou hast given me be with me where i am, that they may behold my glory. i am confident that amid the sorrow of your great loss, you are enabled to give thanks and say, ‘it is the lord: ‘ ‘it is well.
He makes no mistake as to the time, or the place, or the way of removing his servants to be with himself. Your dear William’s history has, in fact, been one so palpably stamped with the signatures of a divine leading, that it were unlawful to entertain a doubt that the lord just saw his work done, and the time, for him, of the everlasting rest arrived. I confess that i was quite unprepared for the tidings. I had dreamed that there remained for William a time of coming home (necessitated of course by his serious illness); that you would have the happiness of embracing him once more; that we should all see again his grave benevolent countenance; and that the church and the cause of china and her missions might be greatly benefited. But now that the lord has given his own unerring decision, i think i can see things that go to reconcile me to it, even apart from its simple un-erringness as given by him. I am not sure that William would have taken kindly to going up and down this country and talking. China and its labors, far from the ear and eye of man, was his sphere. He had literally buried himself in that vast land a noble, living burial!
No doubt, also, his system was spent. He had done his work (not a short one, be it remembered) in such a manner that even his robust constitution “was undermined. And so things have just reached their natural close.
Doubtless this is the true reading of the matter, so far as it can be read by us on this side the Vail. If now i must speak more of the character and work of my beloved and lamented brother, it must still be in the words of others; and for this there are abundant materials in the numerous and most touching tributes to his noble life and precious labors which have spontaneously come from every side. Of these it is fitting that i should quote first the words of his esteemed colleague and friend, the rev. W. S. Swanson, in a sermon preached at amoy shortly after receiving the tidings of his death: “and now that his life has closed, so far as regards earth, it remains as a precious legacy to us who are left. In reviewing it, what shall we say were the main characteristics of this man? He was a thorough scholar, with a well-furnished and an active mind; he possessed in no ordinary degree a sound judgment, and a large amount of common sense; he was one of the ablest and most popular preachers of his day; he was a man of great energy, indomitable perseverance, and of ardent zeal. But not these properties severally, nor all combined, seem to me to be the reason to account for the power he possessed, the success that followed his public work, or the mark he has left behind him.
In personal intercourse with him one thing struck me above all others his prayerful; and herein i believe we get some insight into his remarkable success and power. No matter what he did, or had to do, whether of importance or of a nature you might call trivial, he made it a matter of prayer. This prayerful of his seems to me to be the outstanding feature of his christian life and his missionary work.
Another very marked feature of his character was his faithfulness. You never could mistake what he was, nor whose servant he considered himself to be. He believed, as we all do, that Christ and the world could not amalgamate; and he was faithful to his belief. And what was the result? The testimony of those who care little for Christ and the things of his kingdom are unanimous in this, that he was a faithful, earnest, and consistent christian; and this testimony they never withheld. Agree or not with him as they might, they did not fail to perceive, and were not slow to acknowledge, the faithfulness of the man to the great master he served. This faithfulness made him sometimes seem harsh, it may be, to some, and not so regardful as they might have wished him to be of the feelings of others. But this could be thought only by those who did not know him. He was very tender, and very chary of giving offense; but not so much so as to prevent him from denouncing where denunciation was needed, or rebuking where rebuke seemed to him to be required.
There is one other point in his character to which i must refer, and then i have done. To many he seemed eccentric, and to some morose. He was neither. There might be some shadow of seeming evidence for the former; there was none for the latter. He set a high ideal before himself as the ideal of the christian missionary; and he did not hesitate to adopt any mode of life, or to enter upon any course of action, that seemed to him to be necessary, or even beneficial, to the proper carrying on of the work he came to do. As i have said already, the motive from which he acted was always the same; and one hardly dared to blame him in matters of no importance whatever when this was known. And now when we look back on his history, we may perhaps be led to believe that even in regard to the mode and localities of his missionary life, he acted in the way which, in his case, and with his peculiar and most marked individuality, was calculated to be of most benefit. the feature of his christian life here first referred to, is so preeminently characteristic, that i am tempted to add the following words of another:
Above all, ” says an able writer in the Sunday at home, “Mr. Burns was a man of prayer. No one could be long in his company without discovering that. All the week long ‘he filled the fountains of his spirit with prayer/ and on sabbath the full fountain gave forth its abundant treasures. There was freshness, simplicity, a scriptural force and directness in his prayers that formed the best of all preparations for the discourse that was to follow. Out of doors, we have often felt, as we heard him preach, that the opening prayer of the service was like the ploughing up of the field, it so opened the heart, and quickened and informed the conscience; the sermon that followed was the sowing of the seed in the prepared soil; and the concluding prayer was like the after harrowing of the ground, fixing down the seed that had been sown.
To anyone in the least degree acquainted with him, or who had come even for a day into casual contact with him, it would not have been needful to have said even this much in regard to that which was in truth so much a part of himself, as to be inseparable from his very idea. His whole life was literally a life of prayer, and his whole ministry a series of battles fought at the mercy-seat. A friend who was under the same roof with him the day before he began his labors in st. Peter’s, tells me that after walking round the parish with one of the elders, whose guest he was, he shut himself up in his chamber, and was found long afterwards lying on his face in an agony of prayer the source doubtless of the holy calm which so struck the hearers on the succeeding morning. (“i had the privilege of getting acquainted with him at the commencement of his ministry in st. Peter’s, Dundee, while he resided at the crescent, with Mr. P. H. Thorns; in whose family i had been resident governess for several years. The day after he came to us, Mr. Thorns took him out to show him the boundaries of the parish, and to see a few of the people in st. Peter’s district. They returned in the evening. Mr. Burns went to his room, and whilst we waited for his coming down stairs to dinner, we heard a heavy groan. Thinking he had been taken ill, Mrs. Thorns ran up stairs, and found him lying on his face on the floor groaning before the lord! He had gotten such an overwhelming sense of his responsibility for the souls of that people that he could then think of nothing else. In his absence of mind, he had left his door partially open, which Mrs. Thorns shut; and we did not see him again till late in the evening, when he came for the family worship. His prayer then was one continued strain of self-loathing, and pleading for mercy through ‘the blood of the lamb of god. it happened that his room was next to mine, and all that night i heard him still groaning in prayer! ) there is an entry in his journal, during the time of his residence in Edinburgh, which is perhaps too sacred to quote, but to which i cannot withhold a reference in this connection. He seems to have possessed a private key to the church of st. Luke’s, and there we find him, at least on one occasion, “detained” a whole night in solitary prayer “before the lord. ” such incidents as these let us far into the secret of where his great strength lay. The rev. Dr. Talmage, of the American board of missions, who, along with his admirable and lamented colleague, Mr. Doty, knew him so well during his early labors at amoy, adds one or two characteristic traits which his friends will delight to recognize: “he was, ” he says, “very careful of his health, avoiding unnecessary exposure, abstemious in his diet, and very particular in regard to his clothing, guarding against sudden changes of temperature. Although living by himself, he made it a rule to take tea, and spend a part or the whole of the evening of every day of the week, except one, with some one of the missionary families. We all enjoyed greatly, and felt profited by this social intercourse with him. … He also carefully watched the indications of providence, expecting to be led in the right way. I may mention a fact to illustrate this. He had planned a visit with some of our native helpers to the island of mosque, situated on the north-east side of the entrance to amoy harbor. The day appointed to go proved rainy; from this he gathered that he should go in some other direction. While meditating on this subject an inquirer from a village near pechuia came to his room, and requested him to visit the region of his native place. This was forthwith decided on. On their way to the boat they were met by an elderly man, an inquirer, who, on learning in what direction they were going, told them that he had a son in business at the village of pechuia, and invited them to go to his son’s shop, who, he said, would give them a hearty welcome. Such were the leadings of providence, by which the gospel was first carried to that region. The remarkable blessings which followed that visit are well known. . . . his greatest power in preaching seemed to me to consist in the manner in which he quoted the holy scriptures. In this i do not think that i have ever heard him surpassed. Hence, in labouring among the chinese, it was over the native christians and inquirers that he exerted his greatest influence for good.
On this account it seemed to some (perhaps to all) of us that his labors would have been still more efficient if he had remained longer, or had settled down permanently in some one district of country, instead of pursuing so desultory a course of labor. A man with his gifts, i should suppose, would be just adapted to a field of labor such as amoy now is, where there are so many small churches and companies of inquirers scattered throughout the region, and where the good seed of the word has been sown so widely. Such a field would have had more likeness to those fields in Scotland and Canada, where his labors had been so wonderfully blessed. i say it seemed, for knowing his earnestness in seeking the divine guidance, we dare not say that he did not obtain it. he was a great (not perhaps in the eyes of the world) and good man; but he regarded himself as having peculiarities, and did not think that others should adopt his plan of labor. of the style of his preaching at his best times, i cannot better speak than in the words of a writer already quoted:
His voice was clear, full, and of a great compass and power. By nearly constant use, indoors and out, it’s finer tones were roughened when we heard it; but, for all the purposes of an evangelist, it was one of the finest we have ever heard. In preaching he used no notes, had but little action, and no art. His power was solely, humanly speaking, from the weight, clearness, abundance, and vigor of his matter, and from the vivid force of his own feelings and convictions of the truth of what he was uttering. He believed, and therefore spoke. God was visible to him as he preached; and so he soon became visible also to at least some of his hearers. He used but few illustrations, and when he did use them they were short and telling. His style was firm, terse, saxon, abounding in short sentences; and he was mighty in the scriptures. Sometimes you would have thought, in listening to some of his solemn appeals, that you were hearing a new chapter of the bible when first spoken by a living prophet. His manner was not only solemn, but pre- eminently solemnizing. Few we might say none that came to laugh remained long in the laughing mood. He was a man, whether in the pulpit or out of it, whom you might treat many ways, but you could nowhere, no when, laugh at him. And if you tried to argue with him, you came away, if victorious in your own eyes, at least thoroughly conscious that you had grappled with no despicable, no common adversary. He was ever calm, cool, self-possessed. Preaching one day in Montreal Mr. Burns was roughly handled by a polish crowd, some of whom threw stones, by one of which Mr. Burns was cut in the face. A party of the 93 rd highlanders heard of the fracas, and rushed to the rescue, headed by one hector McPherson, now laboring as a missionary at st. Martin’s, near Perth, and to whom the preaching of mr. Burns had been blessed. To the earnest inquiry of the soldier, ‘what’s all this? ‘ Mr. Burns quietly wiped off the blood, and with a smile said, ‘ never mind; it’s only a little wound received in the master’s service. ‘ if in preaching, indoors or out, he was in any way interrupted; he was never flurried, and knew well how to turn any interruption to his own advantage. A friend has often graphically repeated to the writer an instance illustrative of this. Once on a fine summer sabbath evening, he was preaching to a vast crowd at the approach to a railway station. A tall man, slightly intoxicated, in the outer edge of the crowd was rudely interrupting, and interjecting occasional comments, exciting the risibility of those around him. Mr. Burns paused a moment, turned his eyes on the man: ‘you are tall . And strong; but you are not too tall for a coffin, nor too strong for the worms! You are tall and strong; but not too tall for the grave, nor too strong for death! You are tall and strong; but you will soon have to stand forth, one of the crowds, before the great white throne; and how will you face the judge of the whole earth! Tall and strong as you are, you cannot be hid from god; the rocks and mountains will not cover you; his all-seeing eye is on you now! this was spoken with a slow deliberation that made every word tell, not only on the man, but on the crowd. it was absolutely withering and terrible, ‘ our informant used to say; the man was sobered in one moment. He seemed to bow himself down, as if to hide himself from that eye, and became at once the most attentive, and eager and respectful listener the preacher had.
In regard to the manner of his outer life, no man ever held himself more absolutely loose to the world, and to the things that are in the world. Literally he deemed not that anything that he possessed was his own, save only that he might use it in the service of Christ and human souls. Scrupulously exact and methodical in the use of his means, and rigid m his economy as regarded himself, he was conspicuously bountiful and free-handed in the dispensation of them to others. His whole income, from the first day on which he had any income to the last, was thus spent, with the exception only of what was necessary to supply for himself the barest necessities of life, and an annual gift of love to his one surviving parent. He literally fulfilled his own ideal, as conveyed in words that have been often quoted: “the happiest state of a christian on earth seems to be this that he should have few wants. If a man have Christ in his heart, and heaven before his eye, and only as much of temporal blessings as is just needful to carry him safely through life, then pain and sorrow have little to shoot at such a man has very little to lose. To be in union with him, who is the shepherd of Israel, and to walk very near to him who is a sun and shield that comprehends all that a poor sinner requires to make him happy between this and heaven.
How vividly do i remember the moment, a little more than a year ago, when the trunk which had come home from china containing nearly all of property that he left behind him in the world was opened, amid a group of young and wondering faces, a few sheets of Chinese printed matter, a Chinese and an English bible, an old writing-case, one or two small books, a Chinese lantern, a single Chinese dress, and the blue flag of the “gospel boat. ” “surely, ” whispered one little one amid the awestruck silence, “surely he must have been very poor! ” there was one, we felt, standing amongst us, though unseen, who for his sake had been poorer still. Of the results of his work in the Chinese field it is difficult to speak. Undoubtedly his life there was far more powerful as an influence than as an agency. It was not so much by what he said, or by what he did, as by what he was, that he made his presence felt over so wide a surface of that vast land, and that “being dead, he yet speaketh. “l never expect to see his like again, ” says an esteemed missionary of another communion, who only knew him for a very short time. we are all, as i believe, serving god in our divine vocations, with greater gladness, and more fervid zeal, from having communed with your brother in his heavenly walk and noble aspirations. ” “know him, sir? exclaimed another, with almost indignant surprise, when asked if he knew a brother missionary of the name of William burns, “all china knows him; he is the holiest man alive. his life, in short, was “a sign” to all who came in contact with him, and in the face of a luxurious and self-indulgent age, of an absolute consecration of heart to god, which knew no reserves, flinched from no sacrifices, and in very deed counted all things loss for Christ. In fine, to use the words of the rev. James Johnston, once his colleague in mission work, and since for many years the esteemed secretary of the Scottish committee:
Reckoned by the number of conversions under his direct preaching, the results are small; measured by the effect of his personal influence, the results are great. From the nature of the work for which he was specially qualified, and to which he entirely gave himself that of a pioneer or evangelist he could not expect to reap the fruits himself. His work was to break up the ground and sow the seed, not to gather the harvest. No man in this age, so far as we know, has so entirely devoted himself to this self-denying work. Again and again has our departed brother labored for years in some dark and unpromising field, and just when the first streak of dawn appeared on the horizon, he would leave another to enjoy the glorious sunrise, while he buried himself in some other region sunk in heathen darkness. Again and again have we seen him thus in prayers and tears sowing the precious seed, and as soon as he saw the green shoots appear above the dark soil, he would leave to others the arduous yet happy task of reaping the harvest, and begin again his appointed work in breaking up the fallow-ground. The full extent of his great life-work will not be known until that day when he that soweth and he that reapeth shall rejoice together. The faith and patience of this devoted servant of god is an example to the church, and to every laborer in the lord’s vineyard, teaching us not to live upon the stimulus of a present success, even in the conversion of souls. No man enjoyed so great success as he did, or thirsted for the salvation of sinners with more intense longing than he, yet have we seen him laboring for seven years, according to his own testimony, ‘ without seeing one soul brought to Christ f yet laboring on only with increased diligence and prayer, until he saw, as he shortly did, the awakening at peculiar, which reminded him of kilsyth. His influence in this way has been extended over a larger field, and with his strongly marked individuality he left the impress of his character and piety wherever he went. Missionaries felt it, and blessed god for even a casual acquaintance with William burns; converts felt it, and have been heard to say that they got their idea of what the savior was on earth from the holy calm and warm love, and earnest zeal of Mr. Burns. ‘walk with god. the converts in many parts of china, and their children, will remember his high type of piety. His many translations of scripture and sacred books, like the pilgrim’s progress and line tipon line, will prove a rich legacy to the church, and his psalms and hymns in different dialects will help the faith and fan the love of the christian disciples, and spread abroad the savior’s name among the heathen in the new songs sung in their hearing by the converts at their work, or by the way, and in their worship in the church and family. As a mission, we bless god for all that our departed brother was, and for all that he did. . He was god’s gift to us, and while we fondly looked forward to a longer life, and further conquests in the new and vast region on which he had entered with impaired strength but undiminished zeal, we bow to our father’s will in his removal on the 4 th of April. His grave stands on the borders of the great kingdom of Manchuria, the advanced post of christian conquests, beyond the northern limits of china. The little mound casts its shadow over many lands for where is burns not loved and mourned? But his life is the church’s legacy, and loudly calls for self- sacrifice and devotion to the cause of Christ, and especially the cause of missions. His indomitable spirit beckons us to the field of conflict and of victory, while his four last converts, the conquest of his death-bed, stand like sentinels by his grave, and pray and long for the advance of the church’s hosts.
In stature he was about the middle height, of strong, muscular, and well-knit frame, and with a ruddy and pleasant countenance, which is but faintly recalled by the worn and aged features of his Chinese picture, but which will doubtless appear again in glorified form when he comes who maketh all things new.
IN MEMORIAL.
As gazed the prophet on the ascending car,
Swept by its fiery steeds away and far,
So, with the burning tear and flashing eye,
I trace thy glorious pathway to the sky.
Lone like the Tishbite, as the Baptist bold,
Cast in a rare and apostolic mould;
Earnest, unselfish, consecrated, true,
“With nothing but the noblest end in view;
Choosing to toil in distant fields unsown,
Contented to be poor and little known,
Faithful to death. O man of God, well done!
Thy fight is ended, and thy crown is won.
God shall have all the glory! Only grace
Made thee to differ. Let us man abase!
With deep, emphatic tone thy dying word,
Thy last, was this — “Thine is the kingdom, Lord,
The power, and glory!”Thus the final flame
Of the burnt -offering to Jehovah’s name
Ascended from the altar! Life thus given
To God, must have its secret springs in heaven.
O William Burns! we will not call thee dead,
Though lies thy body in its narrow bed
In far-off China. Though Manchuria keeps
Thy dust, which in the Lord securely sleeps,
Thy spirit lives with Jesus: and where He,
Thy Master, dwells, ’tis meet that thou shouldst be.
There is no death in his divine embrace!
There is no life but where they see His face!
And now, Lord, let thy servant’s mantle fall
Upon another! Since thy solemn call
To preach the truth in China has been heard,
Grant that a double portion be conferred
Of the same spirit on the gentler head
Of some Elisha who may raise the dead,
And fill the widow’s cruse, and heal the spring,
And make the desolate of heart to sing;
And stand, though feeble, fearless, since he knows
Thy host angelic guards him from his foes;
“Whose life an image fairer still might be
Of Christ of Nazareth and Galilee —
Of thine, O spotless Lamb of Calvary!
China, I breathe for thee a brother’s prayer:
Unnumbered are thy millions. Father, hear
The groans we cannot! Oh, thine arm make bare,
And reap thy harvest of salvation there.
The fullness of the Gentiles, like a sea
Immense, O God, be gathered unto Thee!
Then Israel save; and with his saintly train,
Send us Immanuel over all to reign!
H. Grattan Guinness.
Appendix.
Additional reminiscences.
Additional communications from Mr. Douglas and Mr. Swanson reached my hand just as the first edition of this work had left the press. They seem to me, however, so valuable that i gladly avail myself of the opportunity of a fresh impression to insert here as much of them as is compatible with the limits of a brief appendix. Mr. Douglas devotes the chief part of his letter to the correction of certain “mistakes and mis- statements, some made by opponents, some by over-zealous or ill- informed friends. “in case i may myself in the foregoing pages have used expressions, or quoted words used by others, fitted in any measure to encourage such errors, i am very glad to be able in this way to provide the corrective. Mr. Douglas first notices the very prevalent impression,
(1) that he was gloomy. He was indeed often reserved towards strangers; and his faithful rebukes of sin might tend to create an impression that his mind was gloomy. But in fact he was genial and hearty. Especially among his friends this warm and happy character of his mind was very conspicuous. Though he usually liked to live alone (especially in a room connected with some chapel or hospital), so as to be fully master of his own time, yet he was fond of having some missionary as a companion in going about the country: and he delighted to spend his evenings with missionaries and their families, or with any like- minded friend. He had a keen sense of the ludicrous, and was fond of a hearty laugh, which was often the effect of his conversation when he unbent his mind among his intimate friends. Jokes upon words he did not relish: the form of the ludicrous which was most congenial to him was what may be in general styled the humorous, as, for instance, anecdotes about remarkable adventures or strange mistakes, examples of unexpected skill in escaping from a dilemma or a difficulty, and singular traits of national peculiarities or personal character. I recollect one occasion, when … On board the challenger, while reading aloud the speech of tertullus before felix, he burst into a fit of laughter, and having recovered his composure explained that it appeared irresistibly ludicrous as being so like what a china man would say in similar circumstances. He had a wonderful fund of varied anecdotes, both of the graver and the lighter sort, connected with his wide-spread evangelistic labors in so many lands, which gave a great charm to his society. In him also was well exemplified that text, ‘is any merry? Let him sing psalms. ‘ he was extremely fond of sacred music, and delighted in singing psalms and hymns, both alone and with others, both in English and Chinese. His acquaintance with music was a great help to him in his mission work, as well as a means of keeping up his cheerful, joyous spirit.
(2) that he was careless of his comfort: e. G. , such absurd stories as his being ready to leave England for china with a carpet-bag; that he went about in china without a change of dress, ‘ready with only scrip and staff, ‘ as i see in a recent Dublin tract. The fact is that he was exceedingly careful of his health, and for that reason, of his comfort, both in regard to clothing and food and general care of himself. Of clothing he had always an abundant supply suited to the different states of weather. . . . When i began to go with him into the country, i was struck with the large quantity both of bedding and body-clothes which he carried with him (more than i have seen other missionaries use), for we must carry our bedding as well as our changes of dress. His explanation to me was that he always made himself comfortable wherever he went, just as if he were at home. He was also very particular about having his dress thoroughly clean and well arranged. In summer he was so careful in airing his clothes that it was a frequent proviso in appointing a meeting to consult on any matter, ‘if it be not a north wind, ‘ as that is the best wind for airing clothes. . . . as to food (both its material and its preparation) he was very particular. While in amoy and its neighborhood he used to eat heartily, especially of pork. I suspect that his spare diet at nieu-chwang must have been the result of a general feeling of weakness and want of appetite. I recollect hearing that before his last illness he was observed to complain of being exhausted even by the walk (about a mile) from his lodging to the foreign settlement there. But whatever was the cause of the spare diet at nieu-chwang, the quantity of his food while at amoy was much about the same as that of his brethren. “when at all out of sorts he was very careful of himself, and he used to recommend similar care to others. He used often to blame me for not taking what he considered sufficient rest in the hot weather.
(3) that he was generally engaged in pioneering work, & mistake into which even Mr. Johnston has fallen. (Mr. Johnston’s view and that of mr. Douglas i think admit of reconciliation. Mr. J. , whom i have quoted with so much pleasure in the body of the work, meant, as i understood him, to distinguish my brother’s work simply as evangelistic, and not pastoral, and on that account necessarily in large measure that of a pioneer visiting and exploring fields of missionary labor rather than stately cultivating them. This i think really was the distinctive idea and purpose of his life, though in prosecuting this object he made the existing missions and missionary churches in every case his starting-point, and thus spent much of his time and strength in co-operating with other missionaries. His labours on the mainland opposite hong-kong, his early excursions amongst the villages around amoy, his journeys along the canals and rivers of the shanghai plain, his tentative operations at swatow, his last days at nieu-chwang were of the former sort; his labours at hong-kong, at amoy, at fuh- chow, at peking were of the latter. I am glad, however, that mr. Douglas has called special attention to an aspect of his missionary life which had been too much overlooked. ) the fact is that he was usually assisting other missionaries in work already begun. A phrase very frequently on his lips was, ‘ do not let anyone be sent out to co-operate with me: i co-operate with others. ‘ i am not certain of the exact character of his work during the three years before he first came to amoy. Certainly about half that time he was residing in hong-kong and in canton, and during most of the remainder was co-operating, i think, with the german missionaries. The only periods of any length after that time that can be properly called ‘ pioneering’ are his first stay at swatow (somewhat over two years), and the few months of his residence at nieu-chwang. But in the swatow region he had been preceded by the german missionary lechler; indeed . One special reason of his going there was to carry on the work of mr. Lechler, which had been for some time suspended, and soon after going there he found one of lechler’s converts, a man of very decided character. In his later visits to swatow, as well as at amoy, fuh-chow, shanghai, and peking, almost his whole work was co- operating with the missionaries previously settled there, usually in stations already begun or a place where a spirit of inquiry had been already excited.
(4) that he was a baptist. This report has been industriously spread in some quarters, being founded on the facts that he never administered baptism and that on some occasions he worked along with baptists. I need hardly remind you that he firmly held the scriptural authority of infant baptism, and also of sprinkling, whether as applied to children or adults; and that his sole reason for never baptizing was the desire of so avoiding anything like a pastoral relationship. Again, his occasional co-operation with baptists merely arose from the catholic spirit in which he could co-operate with Christians of any evangelical denomination, along with the circumstance that on one or two occasions the persons who happened to be most thrown in his way were baptists. By the same style of reasoning it would be easy to prove him an independent, a Methodist, a Lutheran, or even an Episcopalian, or all of them at once.
(5) that he approved of the mode of action of the Plymouth brethren or of the ‘ china inland mission? I need hardly say as it is so abundantly manifest that he had no sympathy with the doctrines and church order (or rather the want of definite doctrine and utter absence of church order) which characterize the Plymouth brethren. . . .
In regard to his own mode of action, he did not set himself up as a pattern to be copied in these respects. On the contrary, he was accustomed to defend his mode of action, not as a rule to be followed by others, but as a course suited to the special character of his own mind.
He used to speak of himself as one of those supernumeraries or light-armed soldiers of whom a small proportion may be attached to the regular troops. . . .
As regards the so-called ‘inland mission, ‘ his previous acquaintance with Mr. Taylor, and his catholic manner of ‘hoping all things, ‘ led him indeed in a private letter (published apparently without any authority) to express his hope that good might come of that movement; but in that very letter he stated very distinctly his disbelief of the practicability (under existing circumstances) of establishing missionaries permanently at such vast distances in the interior as ‘all the provinces where there is yet no missionary. ‘
He has often given expression to his decided opinion that the standard of the qualifications of missionaries ought not to be lowered, as what the chinese field specially needs is not merely men who can preach a little simple truth, but men fully furnished with the gifts and learning, as well as the piety and zeal,
411 necessary for wisely watching over the infant churches and native assistants, and for the great work of teaching and training the future ministry of china. Over and over he decidedly refused offers of that very kind of under- educated laborers which the ‘inland mission’ so largely employs. It is a common mistake in determining the views of any historical person to use passages from all parts of his writings, and incidents from all periods of his life, as of equal value, regardless of the law of change and progression which acts on all human minds. To the influence of this law Mr. Burns was no exception. It may be well to indicate a few examples.
(1) as to residence at the ports.
In his earlier letters there is often found a tendency to depreciate work at the treaty ports, and a desire that missionaries should mainly reside or travel about in the interior. But afterwards, as he found the difficulties of obtaining healthy residences in the interior, and as the climate began to tell on his own constitution, originally so very strong, and as the importance appeared of having strong churches at these centers of ever-increasing influence, his views were gradually modified; and while he still urged a greater amount of country work than had been usual in other missions, he was more alive to the need of having comfortable healthy residences at the treaty ports, as points from which to act on the interior. Of this no stronger proof could be desired than the fact that when he left Peking it was not to go to any of the great cities in the interior, but to settle at the port of nieu-chwang, a place of comparatively small population, which derives its chief importance from being the treaty port of Manchuria.
(2) as to colloquial hymns.
During the year (1858-9) that we were together at amoy, he strenuously opposed the attempt to make more colloquial hymns than the thirteen then in use (made by the rev. W. Young, now in Australia), and urged in opposition the claims of hymns in the literary style, especially of the ‘sin-si nap-swan, ‘ a collection in the literary style which he had made some years before. But very rapidly he not only changed these views, but set himself vigorously to make hymns in the colloquials of swatow, fuh-chow, peking, and of amoy itself. The hymns in the literary style are no longer used at public worship in the chapels here; and in the collection of sixty colloquial hymns used by the presbyterian church here (under the care of the American mission and our own) there are five hymns almost exactly as they came from his hand, and five others which are about half by him, and there is about the same proportion in the hymn-book of the l. M. S. At swatow, fuh-chow, and Peking also many of his colloquial hymns continue to be used in the several missions.
In a subsequent letter Mr. Douglas sends me the following deeply touching document, the last lines ever traced by the dying missionary’s hand, and bearing date about a month after his parting message to his mother. it is very touching, ” writes Mr. Douglas, “to copy out again these minute details about his friends, especially his Chinese friends, and that wonderful composing of his own epitaph when face to face with death: so calm and collected and peaceful; and those last strokes which he ever traced with the pen, his own old well-known hand, yet strangely altered, irregular and trembling from extreme weakness ‘wm. C. Burns, ‘ on that 25th February when all his intercourse with old friends, even by pen and paper, came to an end: “-
For rev. Carstairs douglas, amoy.
I got a severe chill at the end of the year, which has resulted in a low fever, preventing me from getting refreshing sleep, and so bringing down my strength. In case i should be taken away, i take my pen to say that dr. Watson will send down my boxes to your address when he meets with a suitable vessel. The key of the overland trunks i shall enclose in this (there is a spare one), and in one of them the keys of the other boxes will be found. The Chinese clothes can be given to old acquaintances, among whom do not forget tan-tai. (one of the deacons of the l. M. S. At amoy. ) the Dr. ‘s watch can be restored to him; my own watch can go home with the overland trunks when there is an opportunity. There is some new flannel and a few pairs of new socks which are at your disposal. Of four coloured silk handkerchiefs please give two to my friend Mr. A. Stronach. I would wish all my packets of letters (which mr. Swanson took out of my chest of drawers, and put along with books, &c, in a box you must remember it) to be put in one of the overland’s, and sent home along with such as are at present in the boxes. I suppose it will be best to prepare a grave-stone at amoy, and send it up well packed. For the inscription i would suggest, ‘to the memory of the rev. Wm. C. Burns, a. M. , missionary to the chinese from the presbyterian church in england. Bom at dun, scotland, april 1st, 1815. Arrived in china, november, 1847. Died at nieu-chwang . . . 1868, aged 53. 2 corinthians 5th chapter. ‘
I have more than 300 taels at the British consulate, and when all local expenses are paid, Dr. Watson will remit what remains to your address to pay for the grave-stone, my subscription for pechuia, &c. As to my present state of feeling, i may refer to the words of paul, phil. 1:23, &c. &c. “port of nieu-chwang, jan. 22d, 1 868. ” [thus far in his own hand: what follows is written by dictation.
P. S. Of my Chinese articles the following i should like sent home to my relatives in my overland trunks: 1st, a new port-wine coloured camlet ‘ma-kwa. ‘ (sort of jacket worn over the long gown. ) 2nd, a long gown of blue merino (or some such fabric), clean, though not new. 3rd, a woven silk or floss sash. 4th, a Chinese leather-covered pillow. (stiff and round. ) 5th, a new Chinese pouch (for tying round the abdomen). 6th, a pair of ivory chop-sticks. A feather fan.
7th, the long fur gown may perhaps suit yourself as a winter house-gown. The fur ma-kwa may be given to the native pastor of the hok-tai church. (also called tek-chhiu-kha, or the second church of amoy. ) to tau-lo, the pastor of the sin-koe a native church, may be given a blue gown of heavy and excellent silk, along with a pair of Chinese leggings of flowered blue silk, and not wadded. The cloth ma-kwa with silk lining may be given to tan-tai. Four or five good gowns i would wish sent down to swatow to be distributed to a-kee and kilin of our mission, and a-sun and l-u of the American mission. For a-kcfi may be selected a blue silk gown of inferior quality to that given to tau-lo, also a full-length camlet ma-kwa which i have worn a good deal. Then you must still find gowns for such men as l-ju, liong-lo, bu-liet. Other articles you can distribute north and south among the most worthy assistants and members, not forgetting my old friend nui at pechuia. In making your distribution please consult with your brethren messrs. Cowie and macgregor.
I already have asked you to give two silk coloured handkerchiefs to Mr. A. Stronach. Of the three remaining white ones please take for yourself, and ask Mr. Cowie and Mr. Macgregor each to accept a coloured one. “Mr. Sandeman’s geneva watch which i left in Mr. Swanson’s hands, i should wish returned to his mother (Mrs. Sandeman) or sister. “the knife, fork, and most, if not all, of the spoons in the leather case which you gave me belong, i believe, to Mr. Swanson, and should be returned to him. “the chest of drawers and cane-bottomed couch i leave for the use of the mission: the members can arrange at any time who has the most need of them. There are three volumes of morrison’s dictionary, the gift to me of the rev. Mr. Keedy of london, which have been lent to mr. Johnson of the amer. Bapt. Mission, swatow, for a number of years. He should be requested to give a receipt for the same, and promise in case of his leaving china, or prospective decease, to return these to our mission at swatow. 25th february, 1868, [signed with his own hand. ] “wm. C. Burns.
Mr. Swanson has written an important paper on the general history of the amoy mission, of which i cannot now avail myself, but which i hope will appear in another form. The following glimpse, however, of my brother’s last visit to amoy is so bright and life-like that i gladly insert it here:
In 1862 he came here from fuh-chow. He arrived in the spring of that year, and remained in amoy till august of the year following, when he left for peking. Mr. Douglas left amoy for a furlough home in June of 1862. It was during this last visit that i learned to know, love, and value Mr. Burns: and i can never think of that time without recalling our companying together, and without thanking god for permitting me to know him as i then did. Although he refused to take any part with me in the examination of inquirers, the administration of ordinances, and the general business of the mission, yet his labors and his advice were most valuable. He visited the stations regularly, and preached every sabbath-day. I can recall how heartily and zealously he threw himself into the breach to help the persecuted brethren at khi-boey; and i am certain that it was his wisdom and tact that were mainly instrumental in bringing matters to a happy conclusion in that region.
At that time our American brethren and we jointly had a station at chang-chow. The native church there had long been forced to meet in a small, confined house, quite unfit for a chapel in such an immense city as chang-chow. They succeeded in getting a large and commodious house suited for a chapel. We expected some disturbance at its opening, and our expectations were not unfounded. There was some trouble. Mr. Burns went up soon after the opening, stayed in the chapel for two weeks or so, and then Dr. Carnegie and i joined him there. The doctor soon became most popular, and patients came crowding in. Mr. Burns, myself, and the native evangelists had some excellent opportunities for preaching, and i remember yet how delighted he seemed to be to see us all as busy as we could be with this work. during this time Mr. Burns also made several visits to our then most northerly station, anhai. We frequently went there as well as to the other stations together. On these journeys he has again and again given me accounts of his life and labours in scotland, england, and canada. We often sat up till far on in the morning i, a most eager listener to the deeply interesting details of his labors.
While we were in amoy together we saw each other twice daily. He lived in a room in the amoy medical missionary hospital, and there i went to see him daily at 11 o’clock in the forenoon, he coming to see me about 5 o’clock in the evening. He had always some very nicely boiled rice and a delicate little pork- chop for me, and used to force me to eat. Oftentimes i used to feel weary and oppressed with a number of things connected with such a scattered and extensive field of labor as that of our mission. I can yet recall his loving, kindly manner, how he used to pat me on the shoulder, lead me to the side of the room where stood a large bamboo couch, and kneel down and pray. These prayers i shall never forget. I was young and inexperienced then, and felt keenly the weight of responsibility that was on me, but he always had a kind word to encourage me. I can remember well one such day when i felt more than usually troubled on account of some mission matters, when he clapped me on the back and told me to keep my mind easy, for if i were pastor of a church at home, and had some troublesome elders or cantankerous deacons, it would be worse for me than even such trials as i had in amoy.
But i cannot omit one thing so bright, so profitable to us during that brief season. He spent most of his evenings in the houses of his brother missionaries, and in our house he was naturally more frequently than in any other. He was one of the most genial, cheerful men i ever met, but he took great care as to when, how, and where he unbent himself. The presence of any one with whom he had not full sympathy immediately made him quiet, and i have seen him sit long in such circumstances without uttering a single word.
His short expositions at family worship were always remarkable and most deeply interesting. Mrs. Swanson and he were great friends, and seemed always to understand one another. I remember yet his great anxiety about her at one time when she was rather indisposed.
He left me for peking in august, 1863. I saw him on board ship, and very soon after our getting on board the ship left the inner harbor. Next day i saw she was still at anchor off amoy. I went out to see him, and stayed two hours with him. We prayed together, and i turned to leave. He sent his love to my wife, and i think i hear him yet saying, ‘ the lord bless her and willy ‘ (my little boy) ‘ and yourself. i saw him no more, and shall not see him again till, i trust, we meet above. “
Long months ago, with anxious heart and sore,
We prayed for him, whom our dim fancy’s sight
Saw, faintly labouring, ‘mid the harvests white,
On Sinim’s distant shore;
For selfishly we grudged that one who bcre
So well the fiercest onset of the fight,
And used so well the arms of heavenly might,
Should give the conflict o’er.
But even while, with blind, weak love we pray’d
Thus for the toil-worn, bowed, and weary one,
The Master, more compassionate, had said —
“Rest now, thou soldier, rest! Servant, well done!
“Let others hold thy plough, and wield thy blade,
And wrestle for the crown which thou hast won.
July 8, 1868. W. B.
(Lines by an unknown hand, which appeared in the public prints immediately after the tidings of Mr. Burns’
death, reached Scotland.)
THE END
Editor
Peter-John Parsisis (Also Known as Bryan Edwin Dean)
