Publisher's Synopsis
This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1893 edition. Excerpt: ... CHAPTER II THE FIRST JOURNEY ACROSS THE DESERT OF GOBI IN May 1870, James Gilmour reached Peking, and became attached to the London Mission in that city. He had been there only a little over a month when the massacre of Roman Catholics at Tientsin took place. It was in keeping with the character of the man, that at a time of difficulty and danger, when the air was full of rumours, and when many of the most experienced missionaries were anxiously con- sulting how to secure personal safety for themselves and their friends, his chief concern was how to get the work done for which he had been sent. He finally resolved to get that work done by doing it; and so, ignorant of the language, an absolute stranger to the country, taking his life in his hand, with childlike trust in the loving care of the God to whose service he had fully consecrated himself, he left Peking and went forth to attempt to conquer Mongolia for Christ. Missionary annals of the nine- teenth century abound in heroic and self-denying deeds, but even they can furnish no finer example of whole-hearted devotion to work. It was also characteristic of James Gilmour to keep a full record of his daily experiences, and of his spiritual state from time to time. His diary of those early and lonely days and years of Mongolian life is unique. This generation will never again see through eyes so keen and so sympathetic Mongol life and character in all its freshness. Hence it has been thought advisable to put on permanent record, in an easily accessible form, his own story of his hopes and fears, his wearying journeys, his strenuous toil in acquiring the language, his willingness to share all the hardships of winter life in a Mongol tent, if by so doing he could master their hard speech, ..