Chapter XIII: Visit to Calcutta, and Work in Amritsar

It is time to set out on the march for Amritsar. Dr. Elmslie on this occasion travelled to the plains by the Baramula Pass. He was detained for some days at Dhanna, a little mountain village, on the journey, owing to the illness of a friend whom he overtook. While there he visited among the villagers, and enjoyed the comparative rest and leisure which he much needed after the hard work of the summer. Here he read Ruskin's "Ethics of the Dust." He always after associated that book with the grand mountain scenery by which he was surrounded, and with the sense of repose which followed that season of pressure. He writes to his mother:–

"_October, 1867._–If you knew all that has befallen me during the past year,–the difficulties I have had to contend with in the prosecution of my work, my anxiety during the epidemic of cholera when I went daily to the city and spent hours among the sick and dying, you would say that from my heart there ought to flow a river of gratitude towards that gracious Father who has given me strength to bear up through it all. Without Christ one can do nothing, but with Him we can do all things. _Scarcely a day passes without my seeing a reason for the manner in which God has trained me for His work._ God is truly all wise in all His ways. I shall not give you special examples at present, but if spared to meet after a year or two, we shall compare our charts, and mark the goodness of our Heavenly Father to us in all the past.

"Ill that God blesses is our good,
And unblessed good is ill,
And all is right that seems most wrong
If it be His dear will."

"_Peshawur, near the Kyber Pass, 19th November, 1867._–At the Annual Missionary Conference it was agreed that I should visit this part of the mission field, and report as to the desirability of planting a Medical Mission here. Accordingly my friend Wade and I left Amritsar on Wednesday last, reaching Peshawur on Saturday. I have greatly enjoyed my stay here, and am much interested in the operations of the missionaries which are carried on chiefly among the warlike Affghans. The language usually spoken is Pushtoo. I purpose, God willing, returning to Amritsar on the 21st, finishing some writing work which I have on hand, and afterwards setting out for Calcutta, in order to lay the whole state of affairs in Kashmir before the Committee of the C. M. S. there.

"_Calcutta, 20th December, 1867._–MY EVER DEAREST MOTHER,–Before you shall have received this letter another year must have begun its course. Let me with all a son's love wish you, my mother, and best and truest friend on earth, a very happy new year. May you this year get near to our dear Redeemer,–may you be able to realize His comforting presence,–may your faith in Him and in His great and marvellous work be strong,–may your will be made submissive to our loving Father's will,–and may you really consider that to depart and be with Christ is far better than to remain here. These precious blessings I wish for myself as well as for you. I commit myself to God's keeping; may He graciously spare me to be a help and comfort to that dear mother who has done so much on my account, and who now loves me as no earthly being can. May I be spared to labour for Christ in poor unhappy Kashmir! May God's rich blessing rest on my work. May He hear our prayers for the political and spiritual emancipation of that unhappy country. Oh that the spiritual darkness and tyranny and oppression which prevail in Kashmir were dispersed,–that God would raise Him up a people to praise Him there,–a people made free by the truth!

"I am sorry to tell you I have not been greatly encouraged by what I have seen and heard since I came to Calcutta. Kashmir is far removed from the head-quarters of the Indian Government, and few or none seem to care much about that poor oppressed people. But we will give God no rest from our prayers until He in His mercy and grace take pity on that deplorable valley....

"I feel brimful of health again; very different from my state during the cholera in Kashmir last season. Oh how very good God was to me during that trying crisis. I shall never forget it,–never cease to be grateful to Him who did so much for me then.

"I purpose, God willing, to leave this for the Punjaub next week.... Your ever loving and dutiful son, WILLIAM."

On the same day (_Calcutta, 20th December, 1867_) he wrote to his much valued friend, Mr. Ritchie:–"Will you," he asks, "do a little commission for me? Mrs. –– my old lodging-house keeper, was so kind to me when I was under the cloud of adversity and trial, that I have never forgotten her kindness. She gave me a six months' credit when my exchequer was clean empty. Will you get the enclosed cheque for £5 cashed, and pay the money to her, saying that it is a small token from me of my gratitude to her for her kindness to me whilst a poor student in Edinburgh. May God bless her and hers." These were days of sore trial, and yet Elmslie never referred to them, but with thanksgiving. Again and again in these pages we find him praising God for his early discipline. In the same letter he says, "Many a time do I think of you, and the many happy days we spent together–the days of our college life–those were days full of happiness, seasoned with trial and difficulty. They were the very training we needed. We needed to have patience wrought in us–we needed to be braced up for the surmounting of no ordinary trials and difficulties, and our Father, in His wisdom and love, gave us the schooling which we required to fit us for the great battle of life."

Dr. Elmslie returned from Calcutta to Amritsar, and at once wrote to his beloved mother.

"_Amritsar, 22d January, 1868._–TO HIS MOTHER.–... I am once more in my old quarters, having arrived here from Calcutta two days ago. I have now before me your two letters, which I shall answer bit by bit. You cannot tell what joy it gives me to know that you approve of my having stayed among the suffering inhabitants of Srinagar during the terrible plague. You say you are living in hope that God may be pleased to spare us to meet. The fourth year of my absence from you has begun, and at the end of the fifth year, it is my intention to avail myself of the opportunity I shall then have to return home to see you....

"Alas for my poor friend B., I fear his genius was of the unsanctified kind, which brings little or no joy or peace to its possessor. To be happy is to seek, _first_, the kingdom of heaven.... This world is a great school: poor –– has very difficult lessons to learn in it; may God help him. I find all my past experience useful. Our lessons are sometimes very disagreeable, but only let God our heavenly Father be our teacher, and they will all prove profitable. How kind God's people are to you, dear mother. It is a great comfort to me to know that so many show you kindness. May God bless them for it. Now I must tell you something more about my visit to Calcutta. It was arranged by Mr. Stuart, Secretary of the Church Mission Society, that I should have the privilege of an interview with the Governor-General, Sir John Lawrence. His Excellency invited me to breakfast with him on the 2d. He received me very kindly, his private secretary read prayers, after which we went to breakfast. I was the only stranger present, and he spoke freely on the subject of Kashmir, and the frontiers generally. He asked me many questions, and appeared to take an interest in the mission, to which he has all along contributed. The Government now know the condition of Kashmir.... Pray much for Kashmir, dear mother. I am sure you will be glad to hear that Sir Donald M‛Leod, in his report of the cholera which raged in the Punjaub last summer, makes honourable mention of the names of those who did valuable service during the epidemic; the name of your son Willie is in the list! This is a very small matter to us, dearest mother. I hope we work from love to Jesus, and never for the praise of men. Still I value the praise of good men; the opinion of bad men I reckon as the dust in the balance,–valueless....

"I have re-opened my dispensary here.... Now may the Lord bless you, and keep you, and comfort you throughout this year.–Your ever loving son."

Again he writes to his mother from the same place:–

"_6th Feb. 1868._–MY EVER DEAR MOTHER,–I have but a few minutes to write to you to-day, but I cannot let the mail go without a line for you. I am thankful to say I am well, with the exception of a cold, which is now on the wane. The people are coming to me in ever-increasing numbers; there is a wonderfully attractive power in kindness, dearest mother, and God does enable me to be kind and gentle with those poor people. Oh that they only knew the true God and Jesus,–the loving, gentle One.

"I have just heard good news.... A gentleman of great ability and Christian character has been appointed as Resident in Kashmir this year. His name is the Hon. Mr. Roberts, C.B., Judicial Commissioner of the Punjaub. I hope the day of liberty for my poor groaning Kashmiris is near at hand; they are doubly enslaved; they need political as well as religious liberty. God helping me, I shall do my utmost to put them in possession of both. What a delicious pleasure to be helpful in breaking one link in the chains of the slave! Pray much and earnestly for the emancipation of Kashmir.

"May the rich blessing of God ever rest upon you, to comfort you now and to ripen you for glory.–Your ever loving and dutiful son, WILLIE."

A few days later he writes as follows to Colonel Lake:–

"_Amritsar, 22d February, 1868._–You ask me to give you further information respecting the work of last season, and the time I have spent since I left Kashmir. If I remember rightly, my last letter to you was dated about July of last year, just at the time when cholera was at its acme in Srinagar. It raged furiously the whole of that month; and although the type of the epidemic was not of a very virulent nature, still great numbers were carried off. It was especially fatal among women and children. Towards the beginning of August, the virulence of the disease had decidedly abated, and by the end of that month, scarcely a case occurred in the whole city. It had entirely left the city by the 15th September. The epidemic, therefore, lasted from the 8th June till the 15th September, a duration of more than three months. It is very sad to have to state, that the local authorities, with unheard-of cruelty, did all in their power to prevent me visiting the poor, pestilence-stricken inhabitants of Srinagar. They had the effrontery to request the British Resident to prohibit my frequenting the city for the purpose of visiting the sick. This, he said, he would not do. I feel quite sure that, had the local Government acceded to my offer to co-operate with them in battling the common enemy, the mortality would have been less, with God's blessing on our efforts. But, as I said, they did everything in their power to prevent and frustrate my efforts to assist the poor people, who were left in the hands of the ignorant, cruel, and mercenary Hakims. The neglect, cruelty, and rapacity which I witnessed during that epidemic are inconceivable. As a specimen, I may mention this fact: When the cholera was at its worst, it was announced in the city, that His Highness the Maharajah had discovered an effectual cure for the disease. This cure consisted of a printed _manthar_ or charm, which was to be repeated, and pasted above the doors of the houses. This charm, it was announced, was not only curative, but preventive also. Each copy cost four annas (sixpence), and was to be had at the Maharajah's post-office. I went and bought several copies. I have them in my possession now. Large numbers of the Hindoos bought them; but, poor people, they soon discovered their inefficiency. I could mention more things of a piece with this, but space forbids."

"_Amritsar, March 28th, 1868._–TO HIS MOTHER.–I am now preparing for another campaign in Kashmir, and have closed the Dispensary in Amritsar to-day. I purpose going by the same route as last year. I send you a photograph of one of the passes which we shall have to cross.

"In Amritsar, the Medical Mission Dispensary was open from the 23d January till the 28th March, 1868, during which time five hundred and fifty-seven patients were treated. The mode of conducting the operations of the Dispensary was similar to that followed in Kashmir. One Mussulman and one Hindu were greatly roused by the preaching of the Gospel; may they have no rest till they find it in Jesus."