Part II, Chapter X — The Hand of Death (1888-89)
UiSTDER the Rules and Regulations which went into effect in the Mission at the beginning of the year 1887, the adminis- tration on the field was placed in the hands of the foreign missionaries who met semi-annually as a Mission Council. To this Council was delegated the duty of considering and recommending to the Home Committee, with whom the final decision rested, whatever measures were necessary for the proper administration and development of the mission work, the erection of buildings, the appointment of native agents, the schools and whatever pertained to the care and control of the Mission. At each meeting of the Council each mission- ary was required to submit a written semi-annual report of all official acts and expenditures, and an estimate of expenses for the coming six months, to be approved by the vote of the Council and sent as an official communication to the Com- mittee in America for its sanction or amendment.
The Rules and Regulations also provided for an Annual Conference of foreign missionaries, native agents and dele- gates of native congregations, which was to receive the written reports of the pastors, catechists and evangelists, and oral reports of the teachers, and consider such matters as per- tained to their work.
The Conference met January 1-4, 1888, beginning on Sunday with divine services in St. Paul's Church. After the formal opening on Monday morning Schmidt was elected President; Dietrich, Enghsh Secretary; and C. James, Telugu Secretary. Business sessions were held every morning and public meetings every evening. The Conference expressed its gratitude to Sir Arthur Cotton for his continued interest in the Mission as evidenced by his support of a colporteur (Talluri Joseph) during the year. The holding of weekly
THE HAND OF DEATH ( 1 888-89) 249 prayer-meetings at the homes of Christians was recommended. With regard to the Widows' Fund it was resolved that if a widow marries again or has a son sixteen years of age or a married daughter, her stipend shall cease. On the subject of the baptism of a man having more than one wife, the opinion was expressed that the admission of such a person into the Christian Church is contrary to the Word of God and the practice of the Church of all ages, and that those who have already been admitted 'Vhile in this unfortunate and unrighteous state" should be urged to abandon all but one wife or forfeit all rights to Christian communion. The Mission Council met January 6-10, 1888. Poulsen was elected President and Schmidt, Secretary. Regulations with regard to the transfer of members from one congregation to another, and to discipline, were adopted. The minimum of required knowledge was fixed for such as applied or were proposed as teachers and had not been graduated from the Ramahmundry Training-school.^ Mark and Prakasam were examined, passed and assigned positions as teachers. Sriramulu was appointed evangelist under Schmidt, on trial for one year.
In April, 1888, Poulsen withdrew from the Mission and came to the United States with his family, stopping on the way in Denmark. He had been the missionary at Samulkot for six years and had spent seventeen years in the service of the General Council as a missionary in India. He had been a faithful pioneer, and his permanent withdrawal was the first of a series of misfortunes which within two years overwhelmed the Mission and left it badly crippled. He served Danish congregations in Portland, Me.; Omaha, Neb., and Marinette, Wis. He died September 26, 1913, at Marinette, having reached the age of sixty-seven years. * The following were to be the requirements: Reading, the Telugu Bible! Writing, a fair hand in Telugu; Composition, expressing thoughts properly; Arithmetic, notation, numeration and the four simple rules; Geography, a general knowledge of the Godavery district; Bible History, a general outline of Bible History from the birth of John to the imprisonment of Paul and from the creation of the world to the death of Solomon; Catechism, the principal parts by heart and a fair understanding of the whole; Hymns, ability to start at least four tunes.
Dietrich took charge of the Samulkot district after Poulsen's departure, attempting to look after it in addition to his work in the Jegurupad district. Concerning the Jegurupad con- gregation and school Dietrich wrote: "Here we have a nice congregation, a substantial church building and a house for the pastor. Rev. Joseph's daughter teaches the school, which numbers about 25 pupils. She has done real good work. Of all the schools in the out-stations hers stands first. In the congregation we have introduced the full liturgical service." Concerning the work at Muramunda he said: "At Muramunda, also, we have a nice congregation and a substantial school building. Owing to the lack of a qualified teacher the school is in a poor condition and the congregation not what it might be." In other villages of the Jegurupad district the so-called congregations "are not yet worthy of the name," is the missionary's language. Dowlaishwaram, however, was fast approaching the state and character of a regular congregation, for in 1888 the chapel was enlarged so as to seat about two hundred persons, sitting cross-legged on the floor.
As a result of the decreased income from America the boarding schools in Rajahmundry were closed during January and February, 1888. Groenning took advantage of this vacation to make a visit to the Schleswig-Holstein Mission stations at Salur and Jeypur. On the first of May the schools were reopened with several new teachers. V. Jacob left the Government College to devote a year to teaching in the Mission School. Paradesi, a graduate of the school, took Alfred's place^ as teacher of the two lower classes. Subbarayudu was substituted in the place of Perayya as the Telugu teacher in the higher classes. All of the 41 boarding boys and 12 boarding girls attending the school in 1888, were supported by patrons in America; 17 boys and 15 girls, in addition, were day-pupils.^
1 Alfred had died in the service. "Though not a gifted man, he was a pious and upright Christian," is the testimony given concerning him. ^ The following is a summary of the parochial reports for the tiscal year ending June 30, 1888: Foreign missionaries, 4; missionaries' wives, 3; native pastors, 2; catechists and evangelists, 7; teachers at Rajahmundry, 8; at other stations and
THE HAND OF DEATH ( 1 888-89) 25
McCready closed the Mohammedan Boys' School on March 15, 1888; but it was contmued for a while longer by the School Union of Rajahmundry. On June ist the Mohammedan Girls' School was transferred by McCready to Groenning who took charge of it in the name of the Mission with the understanding that its "gosha," or secluded char- acter, was to be abohshed, because that prevented direct supervision by the missionary. Rather than comply with this requirement the parents of the girls forbade their daughters to attend the school, and it was teniporarily closed.
Dietrich who, in 1888, baptized as many as 33 persons in Dowlaishwaram, cast an interesting side-light on the mission work in the following language: "The Hindus seem never so happy than when they are engaged in a wedding, in a law-suit or in making debts. The Christian converts seem unable to shake ofif this characteristic. It is pitiable to note that nearly two-thirds of our mission agents are in debt. I have taken special notice of this evil during the last six months and am fully persuaded that it has had a baneful influence on our mission work. Agents contract debts and then allow the exorbitant interest to accumulate, until it becomes impossible for them to liquidate them. The consequence is that they shirk their debts, htigation follows, and in the end they disgrace the Christian nam^e."
On November 26, 1888, McCready laid the corner-stone out-stations, 54. Baptisms during 1887, 235; from January to June, 1888, 170; confirmations, 7; communicants, 810. Contributions. District. Christians. Communicants. Pupils. Rs. 1. Rajahmundry 153 83 132 15. 4 2. Korukonda 23 13
3. Dowlaishwaram, town. 70 30 86 20. 9. 6 4. Velpur 1331 321 333 77.10 5. Jegurupad 294 191 112 25. o. 4 6. Samulkot 122 84 11 2.4 7. Tallapudi 176 107 124 64.4
Totals 2169 816 811 204.15.10 The income in India for the fiscal year, exclusive of missionaries' salaries, amounted to $5019.04, which, though somewhat larger than the income of the previous year, was still less than that of 1886, and much too small for the work in hand, not to speak of the opportunities for expansion which, consequently were lost.
of the new St. Peter's Church at Tallapudi. He had secured quite a number of subscriptions from relatives and friends in India and in America, as well as a Httle money from his dis- trict teachers and Christians; but the funds came in slowly and the completion of the building was considerably delayed. With money sent by the Rev. C. W. Groenning, Schmidt, on September 28th, secured three lots in the village of Bhimawaram as a site for a proposed church, pa3dng Rs. 600 for them. From the same source Groenning received sufficient funds to erect an addition to the school building at Rajahmundry. At the close of the year 12 young men were per- mitted to leave the school to be assigned positions as teachers, although they had not actually finished the course outlined by Groenning. They were welcomed as the first addition to the corps of native workers in two years.
More than a passing notice must be given at this point to the value of the service of the Rev. B. M. Schmucker, D. D., whose death occurred on October 15, 1888, at Phoenixville, Pa., while on his way from Pottstown to Philadelphia. He was born on August 26, 1827, at Gettysburg, Pa. Ordained in 1844, he served congregations at Martinsburg and Shep- herdstown, Va., Easton, Pa. (St. John's), Reading, Pa. (St. James'), and Pottstown, Pa. (Church of the Transfigura- tion). He was a recognized leader in the General Council and served on a number of its most important committees, notably the Church Book and the Foreign Missions Com- mittees. All of the reports of the Foreign Missions Committee to the General Council from the beginning until 1887 were prepared by him. He was the EngKsh Recording and Corre- sponding Secretary of the Committee without interruption for twelve years, from the time the Committee was first ap- pointed in 1876; and before that he had served in the same offices on the Executive Committee of the Ministerium of Pennsylvania.
With regard to his influence in the Committee the editor of ''The Foreign Missionary" wrote: "Dr. Schmucker had been so long connected with the work at Rajahmundry, so
THE HAND OF DEATH ( 1 888-89) 253 familiar with all its details, so heartily devoted to its earnest and judicious administration and so hopeful of great success, that he seemed to his colleagues largely to concentrate in himself the life of the Committee. His counsels were judi- cious, his action was wise and prompt, and he appeared to them to be indispensable." The Foreign Missions Committee adopted the following minute on October 2 2d: ''The Committee on Foreign Missions, under a deep sense of personal bereavement, shares in the profound sorrow which has been awakened in many hearts by the decease of their late English Secretary, the Rev. Dr. B. M. Schmucker. They hereby bear testimony to his personal worth and to the value of his service in the official position which he filled so faithfully and so long in connection with this Committee. Thorough in his acquaintance with our foreign mission work, familiar with all its details, prompt and diligent in all the divers labors of his ofiice, he commanded, as a co-laborer, our fraternal love and highest esteem, and was acknowledged as a leader who knew what ought to be done, and whom it was safe for us to follow." How Dr. Schmucker was esteemed in India may be learned from President Schmidt's report to the Missionary Confer- ence, held at Tallapudi in January, 1889, from which the following is quoted: "He was the home-leader. Since 1869 all orders went through his hands, and he remitted all money contributed for our Mission. . . . The principal leader of our Mission has ceased to work for us; but we are not left destitute while God abides with us."
In its report to the General Council at Minneapolis, September 13-19, 1888,^ the Foreign Missions Committee incorporated this significant passage: "In some parts of our Church—we may mention the Pittsburgh Synod especially there seems to be an increased interest in our work, and earnest efforts are put forth and faithful prayers are offered ' In the place of the Rev. M. J. Englund the General Council, in 1888, elected the Rev. P. J. O. Cornell, and added the following members: The Revs. W. J. Mann, D. D., L. P. Bender and E. J. Pohle. The Rev. William Ashmead Schaeffer was elected by the Committee to succeed Dr. Schmuckler as the English recording and corresponding secretary.
254 THE TELUGU MISSION OF THE GENERAL COUNCIL in behalf of the great cause of bringing the heathen to know the true God and Jesus Christ, Whom He hath sent. Never- theless, we are convinced that a still more generous interest in foreign missions should be manifested by the congregations and people connected with the General Council. That we have but one mission station in heathen lands is hardly to the credit of our part of the Church; and that this station is not better supported, so that its boundaries might be yet more widely extended, is a fact that, we respectfully submit, should engage our earnest attention, if haply measures might be adopted, commending themselves to our people, which would secure for this work such a generous support as would enable us to send out more missionaries, locate new stations, erect the necessary churches, schoolbuildings and dwellings, and in every possible way develop the field to the glory of God and the salvation of souls."
The gratification of the Committee at the increasing in- terest and effort of the Church at home was caused by the increased income, which amounted to $10,288.20, as com- pared with $9066.88 during the previous year. Nevertheless, there was a deficit of $19.69, and an indebtedness of $1000 to Mrs. A. Spaeth of Philadelphia, who had loaned the Committee that sum.
The year 1889 began auspiciously both in the Mission and in the Church at home. A strong appeal of the Foreign Missions Committee, printed in the March and April issues of "The Foreign Missionary" and '•Missionsbote," copies of which were distributed broadcast throughout the Church, resulted in increased contributions, so that in June it was resolved to increase the quarterly remittances to the Mission for general expenses from $1000 to $1300. The Committee, moreover, agreed to give two rupees for every one contributed by the native Christians for the Tallapudi church. Further- more, Dietrich was authorized to proceed with the erection of a house for his catechist, J. Wilham, and to begin what was intended to be the Artman Memorial bungalow in Dowlaish- warvam, the cost of which was estimated at $1800. Nearly $1000 had already been collected.
THE HAND OF DEATH ( 1 888-89) 255
In the Mission the year began, as usual, with the meetings of the Mission Conference and the Council, which were held for the first time outside of Rajahmundry, in Tallapudi. McCready had planned to finish the church in time for these meetings, but his plans miscarried, for the masons had done their work so poorly that the walls of the new building had to be torn down again. As a consequence the meetings were held in a temporary structure of palm leaves.
About sixty native agents attended the Conference, which lasted from Sunday, January 5th, to Thursday afternoon,, January 9th. It was resolved "that those who do not attend the Preparatory Service be excluded from the Lord's Table, except under exceptional circumstances." After a lengthy discussion on the policy to be adopted with regard to the use of wine and "toddy," the Conference resolved "that this Conference is of the opinion that although the use of wine and fermented liquor is not in itself sinful, nevertheless, it should be observed, as a rule, that all mission agents should abstain from strong drink and not take part in any feast where strong drink is used to excess. Also, that they should endeavor to teach all converts to live soberly; and that if a mission agent goes for drink to a toddy or liquor shop or is found drunken, he must be discipHned, and if he does not discontinue such habits, he must not remain in the service of the Mission."
An important decision was reached by the Mission Council, held directly after the Conference, when it was resolved to place all mission schools under government supervision after November, 1889. Groenning's finished manuscript in Telugu on the History of the Old Testament was recommended for publication.^ Many plates used for illustrations in this book had been sent from America in the Christmas boxes which were being shipped each year under the direction of Mrs. R. A. Diehl and other women of Allentown, Pa.
When the Rajahmundry schools were reopened for the year 1889, another attempt was made with the Mohammedan Girls' ^ This Old Testament History was published by the Mission in 1895. It was printed in Madras by the press of the Society for the Propagation of Christian Knowledge.
256 THE TELUGU MISSION OF THE GENERAL COUNCIL School. Instead of being driven from their homes to the school in a bullock bandy, as formerly, the girls were asked to walk, and did so, but not without complaining somewhat of the public exposure which it necessitated. At first the Mohammedan teacher, Abdul Rahim Sheriff, agreed to teach the Christian religion in Hindustani ; but a day or so after the school opened he declared that as an honest Mohammedan he could not possibly do so. He offered, however, to interpret into Hindustani whatever instruction in Christianity might be given by a Telugu teacher. Thereupon Mrs. Groenning devoted an hour a day to teaching Old Testament history and Scripture passages translated by the Mohammedan. After this hour in religion Mrs. Groenning spent another among the girls, teaching them how to sew. Under her direction and that of Mrs. Schmidt in the other Rajahmundry schools as many as 250 or 300 garments were made in a year, which were distributed as Christmas presents in the districts.
The Samulkot boarding school was discontinued, and the 5 boys and i girl remaining in it were sent to Rajahmundry. On January 23, 1889, Mr. and Mrs. Schmidt started on the "Dove of Peace" for a trip through the canals of the delta. "Mrs. Schmidt," wrote her husband, "makes it her special work when we are on tours to conduct the examination of the schools, and we get through considerably more work by this divided labor." The school children were usually brought by their teachers to the boat, accompanied by their parents, relatives and friends. A school examination, described as follows, may serve as a typical example: "To-day the school marched up to the side of our boat and the examination began at once. Sriramulu had brought the school register from the village. The attendance had been noted down as fair. Half a dozen boys were still at spelling, and many had begun to read the First Telugu Book. The best pupils could repeat the Lord's Prayer and a part of the Apostles' Creed. They also knew a little about the birth of Christ and his death, and something of his miracles. About twenty men and women and some children stood on the shore, evidently feeling quite proud that these children had mastered the first steps of
THE HAND OF DEATH ( 1 888-89) 257 knowledge. Every boy got a jacket and the best girls a skirt, besides some fruit, sweet-meats and a picture card. The little girl who had attended i8o days in seven months received a doll as a special prize."
At Chittipet, ten miles from Rajahmundry, our mis- sionaries, as they passed in their house-boat, saw the Plymouth Brethren missionary located there, actively engaged in super- intending the erection of a church. The Plymouth Brethren mission intruded even farther into our field by locating Mis- sionary Miles at Dowlaishwaram, less than five miles from Rajahmundry, and building a bungalow for him there, close to the one which Dietrich was beginning to erect.
In March Schmidt went to Korukonda to preach to the multitudes at the annual festival there. He was assisted by a number of native agents and accompanied by the Rev. A. Theophilus, the superintendent of colporteurs for the Madras Bible Society. Missionary Heelis from Narsapur also went to the festival. "We missionaries," wrote Schmidt, "had large crowds around us, and my wife sat under a tree with the wife of B. John, our teacher in Korukonda, and they had a large crowd of women around them, who were not a little astonished to hear a native woman read the Word of God." On the way farther north a visit was paid to Srirangapatnam, where a school enrolhng 20 pupils had just been begun. N. Prakasam was the teacher. He is still working at that place. In Kovur, on the bank of the Godavery River opposite Rajahmundry, where McCready had succeeded in making a number of converts from the Madiga class, he induced the Christians to build a large prayer-house and a smaller building for the teacher on ground donated by two brothers, one of whom was a convert. In Tallapudi work on the new church was slowly progressing. In April, 1889, McCready made a trip up the Godavery River to the gorge (Bison Hill), visiting every village on the right bank of the river on the return voyage.
Summoned to appear at court in Madras as a witness against a man who had forged his name to a check, Schmidt, accom- panied by his wife, left Rajahmundry on April 6, 1889. While in Madras he purchased t>pe and other material for the
258 THE TELUGU MISSION OF THE GENERAL COUNCIL printing-press at Rajahmundry. The funds for the necessary outfit of the printery had been contributed by Mrs. C. W. Schaeffer. Mrs. Schmidt proceeded to Kotagiri, Nilgiri Hills, whither her husband followed, to spend the hot season.
"Dietrich died June nth." This was the sad and sudden intelligence which was telegraphed by Groenning at Rajahmundry to Schmidt at Kotagiri, and cabled by the latter from Madras to America. Saturday, June 8, 1889, had been an exceptionally hot day. The thermometer registered 150 degrees in the sun at noon. Dietrich was busily engaged at Dowlaishwaram superintend- ing the laying of the foundation of the new bungalow. He worked in the hot sun all day long. Robust and strong, he believed he could endure as much as the natives.^ Tired and overheated, he lay down on the little verandah of the catechist's house to rest for the night. While he slept the monsoon broke over the land with cyclonic force. The rain fell in torrents. The temperature dropped many de- grees. At midnight Dietrich awoke chilled and wet through and through. He called his catechist who helped him to a chair from which he fell in a swoon. The symptoms at once became so alarming that Groenning was summoned from Rajahmundry. Although it was Whitsunday, Groenning came, leaving Pastor Paulus who happened to be in Rajahmundry, in charge of the services. Dietrich was removed to Groenning's home in Rajahmundry, and the assistant surgeon was called in. He diagnosed the case as not seri- ous and said that the patient would be quite well again after a few days' rest. Dietrich seemed to improve under medical treatment; but suddenly, on the morning of the nth of June, his temperature rose to 107 degrees, and before noon he passed away. Because the city officials insisted on it, his body was buried before sun-down in the mission cemetery. Pastor Paulus conducted the service in the church and Groenning at the grave. 1 Groenning wrote that he was prone to take risks. If the house-boat was not handy, he would travel in an ordinary radari boat. If he happened to be travelling without a tent, he would sleep over night under a tree like the natives.
THE HAND OF DEATH (1888-89) 259
Dietrich was a missionary in India only six and one-half years. Endowed with an even temperament, sturdy health and a happy disposition, it seemed as though he were emi- nently fitted to endure the hardships of the climate and of the mission work in India. Groenning described him as a gen- erous, affectionate, sociable, contented and cheerful man, a noble friend, a faithful counsellor, an indefatigable worker. His affectionate and cheerful voice and manner won the hearts, especially of the children; his earnestness impressed the young men, especially the Brahmins. The high esteem in which he was held was shown by the fact that wherever the physician who attended him went, he had to answer solicitous inquiries concerning the sick missionary. He died unmarried but at the time of his death he was engaged to be married to a young lady who was a member of Holy Trinity Church of Philadelphia, and was looking forward to her coming to India, and the completion of the Dowlaishwaram bungalow in which they were to live. The Foreign Missions Committee adopted the following minute on his death: "Information of the death of our late missionary, the Rev. F. S. Dietrich, awakened in the Com- mittee on Foreign Missions a sense of profound sorrow; and whilst we humbly bow to the Divine Will that has taken him to his rest and his reward, we shall long lament our loss and the loss the Mission has sustained in his departure. We cherish with fondness and gratitude to God the memory of the excellent traits that marked him as a man, and of the happy endowments which he exemplified as a Christian mis- sionary. His agreeable manners, his studious habits, his unaffected sincerity, the earnestness and purity of his heart, and his devout consecration to the service of our Lord, were known and seen of all men who moved within the sphere of his companionship in his native land. His missionary fife was a growth that developed itself into a correct apprecia- tion of the needs of the heathen and of the best methods for meeting them; in an enterprise of spirit that was at once varied and successful; in an activity that never tired; in a hope that was always rejoicing; and in plentifully sowing the
26o THE TELUGU MISSION OF THE GENERAL COUNCIL good seed of the Word, that will bear fruit unto eternal life."
After Dietrich's death McCready took charge of the Samulkot district in addition to his work in the Tallapudi district; Schmidt, besides his other work, continued the building of the Dowlaishwaram bungalow; Groenning, in addition to his school work, took charge of the Dowlaishwaram congrega- tion and the Jegurupad district. Moreover, Groenning was elected a member of the municipal board of Rajahmundry, and during the absence of its chairman he assumed the duties of that office. He also was a member of the Local Fund Board. Scarcely had the Church at home recovered from its bereavement over the loss of Missionary Dietrich, when the news of another death reached it. Groenning died even more suddenly than Dietrich. Mrs. Groenning communicated the sad in- telligence as follows: "On the ninth of July my dearly be- loved husband, Wilham Groenning, fell asleep. In firm faith and with a clear confession he went home to his Saviour. The cholera took him off in a day." On July 7, 1889, Groenning had preached at Dowlaishwaram and baptized six persons. The next day he signed an ordi- nance, as acting chairman of the municipality of Rajahmun- dry, directing that certain measures be carried out to prevent the spread of cholera, which had broken out in the city. He personally directed the work of scavengers as they filled up a hole in his yard with refuse gathered from the city. Here he must have contracted the dreaded disease. Monday afternoon he became very ill. By seven in the evening all the symptoms pointed to cholera. Without having removed his clothing he lay on a couch in his home, while the physicians fought the disease. At half-past ten on Tuesday morning, July 9th, he died in the faith of Jesus Christ.^ 1 Schmidt wrote of this sad event as follows: "I repeated a stanza of a precious hymn, which speaks of Jesus as His people's strength, through Whom they are more than conquerors, because He redeemed them with His precious blood. Then Mr. Groenning said to his wife, 'If I die, go to your home soon. Tell our friends in Germany that I hope to meet them in a better world; to-day is the anniversary of my mother's death.' I could not, as yet, yield to the thought that his end was approaching, and said, 'You may get well again. The Lord
THE HAND OF DEATH (1888-89) 261
At four o'clock in the afternoon his body was interred by the side of that of his brother Charles, who had died of the same disease in Rajahmundry, as a child, in 1865. "Crushed," said Schmidt, ''we all stood around the grave. Our Mission had lost a force the like of which we never had before and may not soon have again."
The Foreign Missions Committee paid him a very high tribute. "In the sudden and unexpected death of our dear brother," reads the minute, "we experienced the heaviest blow which our Mission has ever suffered. ... In the few years during which in God's providence he was permitted to work in our Mission, particularly as superintendent of our educational institution, he had done most noble and effective service in all faithfulness and conscientiousness, with a clear insight into the character of the work, with great energy and unselfish devotion to our Mission, the fruits of which we may hope to reap in coming years."
Mrs. Groenning left Rajahmundry for Bremen on August 2 2d. Before leaving, at a farewell service in St. Paul's Church, a boy handed her a bag containing 50 rupees as a gift of love and esteem on the part of the native Christians.
Before the news of Groenning's death had reached the Foreign Missions Committee the Rev. Emanuel Edman, M.D., had volunteered to take the place of Dietrich and had been accepted.
Emanuel Edman, the eleventh foreign missionary of the General Council, was born in Sweden in 1857. While pastor of the Swedish Lutheran Church in New Haven, Conn., he studied medicine for three years. He then went to Prince- may yet restore you. Do you trust in Him, that He will do all things right? 'Yes, He will do all things right,' was the dying man's reply. Mrs. Groenning then repeated Psalm 23 : 4, and asked him, 'Is your Saviour with you?' 'Yes,' said he, 'yes, He has redeemed me; that is my faith and my comfort. For me to die is gain, salvation—salvation!' While suffering from the cramp and the difficulty of breathing, he said, 'He was more patient when He died for us.' When Mrs. Groenning began, saying, 'I am the resurrection and the life; he that believeth in me'—Mr. Groenning continued, 'shall never come into condemnation,' and Mrs. Groenning finished the sentence, 'but has passed from death to life.' After Mrs. Groenning had repeated the verse, 'I have loved thee with an everlasting love; therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee,' Mr. Groenning replied, saying, 'Abba, Father.'"
ton, 111., and from that place he was called to go to India as a missionary. He was commissioned on the evening of October 10, 1889, in the First Church, Pittsburgh, in connection with the convention of the General Council. Rev. and Mrs. Edman with their Kttle daughter sailed from New York on October 1 6th, visited Sweden and arrived at Rajahmundry on January 18, 1890.
^arly in July, just before Groenning's death, the Rev. E. Pohl started from Salur in India, where he had been at work as a missionary of the Schleswig-Holstein (Breklum) Missionary Society for seven years, to bring two boys to the Anglo-vernacular School in Rajahmundry to be trained by his former teacher, Groenning, to be Christian workers. He arrived at his destination to find Groenning dead and buried. His presence in Rajahmundry, however, at once directed the attention of Schmidt to him as a most suita- ble person to take Groenning's place and carry Groenning's plans of educational work to completion. Pohl expressed his willingness to undertake the task, provided his Society gave its permission. The Foreign Missions Committee seized the opportunity thus offered and was overjoyed to receive a communication from Inspector Fiensch of Breklum, in which he said, among other things: "Groenning's death caused us deep sorrow, and we are very much concerned about the sad plight of your Mission. We rejoice in our fellowship with you who are of the same faith and confession with us. More- over, our Mission has received from your missionaries many evidences of love and help. The American Lutheran Missions must serve as the binder for the Missions north and south of them on the eastern coast of India. We cannot allow them to be separated by a wedge of the Baptist sectarians. What- ever we can do to avoid this, we will do out of love for our dear Lutheran Church, our common mother."
The agreement was that the Breklum Society should loan to the Rajahmundry Mission the service of Mr. Pohl for a period of one year, and that Mr. Pohl's travelling expenses to Rajahmundry and his salary of $1000 should be paid into the treasury of the Breklum Society. It was understood, how-
THE HAND OF DEATH ( 1 888-89) 263 ever, that Pohl would be subject to the control of the Foreign Missions Committee under the Rules and Regulations of its Telugu Mission.
Pohl began his work at Rajahmundry on November 12, 1889, moving into the bungalow in the church compound, and taking charge at once of the school, in which he taught two or three hours a day. He also preached at the Telugu services in St. Paul's Church and in Dowlaishwaram when- ever Schmidt needed a substitute. He tried to carry out the plans of Groenning in the educational work, and concen- trated his efforts on making the Anglo-vernacular School a training-school for the education of native agents.
In 1889 the Foreign Missions Committee fixed on a schedule of salaries to be paid the missionaries, which was adopted by the General Council in session at Pittsburgh that year. This schedule, which is still in force, is as follows: For an unmarried man, unacquainted with the language, for the first two years' residence in India, $600 a year. For a married man in the same position and for same time, $800 a year.
For an unmarried man from the third to the fifth year of his residence in India, inclusive, $700 a year. For a married man for the same time, $900 a year.
For an unmarried man from the sixth to the tenth year of his residence in India, inclusive, $800 a year. For a married man for the same time, $1000 a year. For an unmarried man after ten years' residence in India, $1000 a year. For a married man for the same time, $1200 a year.
In December, 1889, the Rev. F. W. Weiskotten succeeded the Rev. F. Wischan as the editor of the "Missionsbote." The latter had ably edited this paper for twelve years and had increased the number of its subscribers to 18,000. The ac- counts had shown an annual balance, and each year a surplus could be turned into the treasury of the Committee.^
'The total amount paid over by the "Missionsbote" into the treasury of The Foreign Missions Committee during the years 1886-89 was $855.80. The Foreign Missions Committee extended a vote of thanks to the Rev. Mr. Wischan for "his earnest and faithful labors in behalf of the cause of foreign missions."
The Rev. C. G. Fischer, who had faithfully served as the business agent of the "Missionsbote" and "The Foreign Missionary," and whose compensation for this work had been only $100 a year, was succeeded in this ofhce by the Rev. H. Grahn on December i, 1889. Up to this time the Foreign Missions Committee had used a room in the Theological Seminary on Frankhn Square, Philadelphia, as its place of meeting, but the removal of the Seminary to Mt. Airy obhged it to seek another place. After meeting a number of times in the vestry room of Zion's Church, it received and accepted an invitation in November, 1889, to hold all of its meetings in the Mary J. Drexel Home and Motherhouse of Deaconesses in Philadelphia.
Charlotte Svvensun Kate L. Sadtler Betty A. Nilsson Agnes I. Schade Lydia Woepner Amy B. Rohrer
WOMEN MISSIONARIES
"THE ZENANA HOME"
First residence Iniilt at Rajahimiiidry for wnnifii missionaries. A CANAL SCENE IN Tin-; GOiLWi: in' lU-TlvK r