Chapter V: Part 5

“Much influence is really possessed by the missionaries. They
have rendered eminent services in the medical and chirurgical
fields; they have lent great assistance to the spirit of
philosophical inquiry; many of them have been councillors
and favourites of king and nobles, admitted to intimate
intercourse and treated with a deference which could not but
elevate them in the eyes of a prostrate, reverential and
despotically governed people.”

But concerning the prospects of success for the Gospel the diplomat is not so optimistic:

“I know not what is to impede religious teachings in Siam,
but at the same time I fear there is little ground to
expect a change in the national faith. Neither Catholic nor
Protestant speaks hopefully on the subject.”

The significance of that statement, written for the year 1855, lies chiefly in its contrast with the fact of the certain if slow growth of Christianity in Siam and the record of attainment to date. Even the keenest human observer cannot forecast the fruits of the Spirit’s work.

TREATIES WITH OTHER NATIONS

In 1856 a diplomatic mission from the United States reached Bangkok, seeking a revision of the existing treaty. The mission was headed by Hon. Townsend Harris, who, it is interesting to note, came from Sandy Hill, New York, the home of Mr. Mattoon and Mr. Bush. The Siamese government was quite ready to negotiate, for they had the recent experience to guide them and the English treaty for a model; and a new treaty was speedily effected. Had Dr. House been in Bangkok at this time, the Foreign Minister assured him later that the Siamese government would have asked to have had him appointed first consul under the new treaty.

In the same year a French embassy negotiated a treaty similar to that of the English and American. In one point, however, the French advanced a step. Sir John Bowring could secure the right for the English to own lands or build houses only within twenty-four hours of Bangkok (a very extensible limit, as time has shown), and Mr. Harris accepted the same provision. The French, however, demanded and secured the provision that “French missionaries may travel to any part of the kingdom and build houses, churches, schools, hospitals, etc.”; a privilege which immediately accrued to the Americans by reason of the “favoured nation” clause in their treaty.

When the ratifications of the American treaty were exchanged, a year later, King Mongkut issued the following memorandum:

“We now have embraced the best opportunity to have made and
exchanged the treaty of friendship and commerce with the
United States of America, and we shall be very glad to esteem
the President of the United States at present and in the
future as our respected friend, and esteem the United States
as united in close friendship, as we know that the government
of the United States must ever act with justice, and is not
often embroiled in difficulties with other nations.

“And if the treaty of friendship between the United States
and Siam has been (shall be?) long preserved in harmony and
peaceful manner it will ever be the occasion of the highest
praise among the Siamese people.

“(Signed) SUPREMUS REX SIAMENSIIUM,
“S. P. P. MONGKUT.”

The influence of the missionaries in bringing about the treaty relation of Siam with the Western world has been testified by several. The king himself sanctioned the following statement of esteem towards the missionaries for their influence on the country:

“Many years ago the American missionaries came here. They
came before any Europeans, and they taught the Siamese
to speak and read the English language. The American
missionaries have always been just and upright men. They
have never meddled in the affairs of government, nor created
any difficulties with the Siamese. They have lived with
the Siamese just as if they belonged to the nation. The
government of Siam has great love and respect for them and
has no fear whatever concerning them. When there has been
a difficulty of any kind, the missionaries have many times
rendered valuable assistance. For this reason the Siamese
have loved and respected them for a long time. The Americans
have also taught the Siamese many things.”

In the same line spoke the Regent, during the regency over Chulalonkorn, to United States Consul General Hon. George F. Seward:

“Siam has not been disciplined by English and French guns as
China has, but the country has been opened by missionaries.”

The recognition of the indirect influence of the missionaries in facilitating the treaties was acknowledged by Dr. Wm. M. Wood, late surgeon-general in the United States Navy, who accompanied Mr. Harris on his diplomatic mission; stating in his book, _Fankwei_, that the

“... unselfish kindness of the American missionaries, their
patience, sincerity and truthfulness, have won the confidence
and esteem of the natives, and in some degree transferred
those sentiments to the nation represented by the missions,
and prepared the way for the free intercourse now commencing.
It was very evident that much of the apprehension they felt
in taking upon themselves the responsibilities of a treaty
with us would be diminished if they could have the Rev. Mr.
Mattoon as the first United States Consul to set the treaty
in motion.”

A VISIT HOME

The first decade of Dr. House’s service was drawing to a close without any apparent need for a furlough, as need was then understood. He had become acclimated, accustomed to conditions of Siamese life and was apparently contented with his bachelor state. That the tropics had proved to be more friendly than he had expected, is implied in his frequent expressions of surprise at continued good health, even assuring his friends at home that his physical condition was better than before he left America. But this was not the common lot of missionaries in the early days. On the tenth anniversary of his departure from New York he wrote:

“Of the company of the _Grafton_ two already are dead and
three compelled to return home from broken health. Mr.
Mattoon and I alone are left on the field—besides Mrs.
Mattoon, the eighth of the party.”

The enervating conditions of life in Siam are described with good understanding by Mr. George B. Bacon in his volume on _Siam_:

“It is when we remember the enervating influence of the
drowsy tropics upon character that we learn fitly to honour
the men and women by whom the inauguration of this new era
in Siamese history has been brought about. To live for a
little while among these sensuous influences without any
very serious intellectual work to do or any grave moral
responsibility to bear is one thing; but to live a life among
them with such a constant strain upon the mind and heart as
the laying of the Christian foundations among heathen must
necessitate is quite another thing.

“This is what the missionaries of Siam have to do. The battle
is not with the prejudice of heathenism only, nor with the
vices and ignorance of bad men only; it is a battle with
nature itself.... The fierce sun wilts the vigour of his
mind and scorches up the fresh enthusiasm of his heart....
Therefore I give the greater honour to the earnest men and
to the patient women who are labouring and praying for the
coming of the Christian day to this people.”

When Dr. House parted with his parents in the New York harbour, it was with the mutual expectation of never seeing each other again. The separation was intensified in its realism by the slowness of communication. His message announcing safe arrival in Siam did not reach his parents until thirteen months after his departure. Their response to this message was one which stirred his emotions to the depths and made him oblivious of all around him; it told of his father and mother and cousins kneeling together upon receipt of the news and offering thanksgiving for the beginning of his missionary work. The many friends who wrote letters to him doubtless never understood what joy they gave him by their messages. After receiving a consignment of mail he writes: “Their letters do cheer, do strengthen, do inspire new resolves, and make me ashamed of my unworthy service.” He records with expressions of esteem the names of those from whom he receives communications by each mail; and to one who knows something of the home church these names stand as a roster of zealous workers, names of families that continue to the present day.

The affectionate interest of the people was more than individual; it came to be almost a community interest. The “monthly concert of missions” saw the old session house filled with people eager to hear the latest letter from their own foreign missionary. On his part he kept in mind the day of these church gatherings and, allowing for the difference of time, he estimated that his Monday morning hour of devotions corresponded with the Sunday evening at home, and surmised “in our little session room at Waterford many a fervent prayer was going up for me and my fellow labourers from those whose prayers will prevail at the throne of grace.”

It is not surprising that the home church grew mightily in the grace of giving and developed a generosity which, long before forward movements, attained a standard of giving more to beneficence than to their own work and led the Presbytery in their gifts to the foreign work. Arthur T. Pierson, D.D., who served the church as pastor 1863-9 and later became one of the most powerful public advocates of missions, bore this testimony to their zeal, on the occasion of the church’s centennial in 1904:

“I owe much of my own enthusiasm for missions to my six
years in this church. It was most active and aggressive in
this department of service. It had its own missionary in the
field, and kept in living contact with him by correspondence,
gifts and prayer. This missionary atmosphere I breathed
with immense profit, and I was compelled either to lead my
people in missionary work or to resign my pastorate. My real
missionary education began here in a church far ahead of me
in intelligence and enthusiasm for God’s work.”

No mention of home-going appears in Dr. House’s journal or correspondence till a letter from his mother, in 1852, shows her sternly-repressed desire to see her son:

“The Lord has a work for you to do in Siam, and much as I
long to see you I would not call you home from it. But if
health or benefit of mission require it, I would say ‘Come at
once—come home that we may embrace you once more; and then
return with new vigour to help forward that glorious work
which is yet to be accomplished in Siam.’”

More than a year later a joint letter from the parents enlarges upon the subject. First the father writes:

“When your health should make necessary that you should have
the invigourating influence of a sea voyage and our climate,
you may tax me for the expense, if I should be spared. If
not, I hope to leave sufficient at your disposal to relieve
your mind from any anxiety on the subject. I am anxious only
for you to be wise and to adopt the course most likely to
prolong your life and to serve your Master as a missionary.
Whether we shall be permitted to meet again on earth is a
small matter (although there is nothing here that would offer
me more happiness) when compared with the magnitude of the
work in which you are engaged. Therefore I can say with your
dear mother that I cheerfully submit to the disposal of Him
who has crowned our lives with loving-kindness and who will
order all that concerns our children and ourselves for His
own glory.”

His mother then adds:

“I hope that you will not think because I do not ask you to
come home that we do not desire to see you—we do indeed long
for your return that we may see you in the flesh. But we
cannot, dare not ask you to desert your post which we feel is
one of great honour and responsibility; and we trust you may
be made an instrument in the hand of God for doing much for
the interest of the Redeemer’s kingdom.”

Just at this juncture occurred the beclouding of friendship on the part of King Mongkut. As the mission work came to a standstill, the missionaries held a conference to determine their course of procedure. Dr. House was ready to carry out his long-cherished plan to transfer his labours to Lao, but the decree forbidding travel rendered this impossible. The letter of his parents had insinuated into his mind the alternative of a visit to America. When he casually mentioned this to his fellow missionaries they gave cordial and earnest approval. The expectation of the early arrival of a recruit to their force removed the objection of leaving the Mattoons alone. Then came the visit of Sir John Bowring, with his eventual offer of a free passage to Singapore. Availing himself of this offer, Dr. House left Siam in April, 1855, and sailed for America _via_ England, reaching home in midsummer.

WELCOME HOME

It was indeed a joyous homecoming. The son had come again to the embrace of loving parents after an absence of nine years. He had returned to his native land after many adventures in a strange country, little known to the Western world. He had returned to a church that keenly felt the solemnity of her commission to preach the Gospel and had high reverence for her servants that carried the banner. He had brought back first hand knowledge of pagan lands and vivid memories of personal experiences and observations. Then a returned missionary was more rare than even a departing missionary. The Church at large was eager to see through the missionary’s eyes the strange peoples to whom they were sending the Gospel message.

Numerous opportunities came to Dr. House to tell his story. Large audiences greeted him wherever he appeared. These opportunities he used especially to awaken the Church to the importance of the work in Siam. The periods of obstruction were past. The treaty with England had just been completed, and the American government was about to send an envoy to ask for a treaty. The glowing promise of the sunrise inspired the hearts of people at home to listen with a ready mind to his appeal. With great joy he secured two ready recruits to go back with him, Rev. and Mrs. A. B. Morse. Following this visitation to the churches a new interest in Siam is manifest through the reports, and there began a series of reinforcements checked only by the Civil War.

BELATED MARRIAGE

During this sojourn in America Dr. House was married on November 27, 1855, to Miss Harriet Maria Pettit, formerly of Waterford. The marriage came as a surprise to most of his friends. He had so frequently declared that he would never marry that his change of mind came without warning. His missionary friends had frequently twitted him on this subject, but in good part he defended his position. Usually after these banterings he would enter in his journal the reason why he chose to go out single and why he thought best to remain unmarried.

His argument was that it would have been an imposition upon a woman to have led her into a strange world, into a primitive state of civilisation, afar from kin and friends. He persuaded himself that the care of a wife, the anxiety for her safety and the responsibility of rearing children would seriously interfere with his one great purpose, an undivided attention to the propagation of the Gospel. The Siamese, among whom polygamy was practised, could not understand why this one missionary had no wife. Several of the princes suggested that he take a Siamese woman in marriage, and one nobleman even offered to provide a wife for him.

However, there are indications that his arguments were as much to repress his own idea as to confute the bantering. During those years he was a permanent guest at the family of the Mattoons. He frequently expresses generous appreciation of sharing the home comforts of his friends, and confesses that he did not know how he could have gotten along without this domestic care of Mrs. Mattoon. Thus while stoically denying the need of a wife he gratefully accepts the ministrations of the wife of his colleague.

Then, after having married and having fully settled in a home of his own, his real feelings assert themselves, for he writes, upon return to Siam:

“And mine, too, is a pleasant home, the one to which four
weary months voyaging have brought me, a pleasanter home
than once—for it has a new inmate. Taking such a partner
into the concern is indeed a great addition to a bachelor
establishment.”

And a year later:

“You don’t know how nicely we are jogging on in the good old
road of domestic felicity. And when you hear me say at the
end of fourteen months that I am more fully than ever of the
opinion that I have as my companion in my journey the most
suitable one for me that could have been found had I tarried
seven months or seven years longer in the States, you will
allow that, at least, I am contented with my choice.”

He shows the reversal of mind on this subject complete when, in 1871, he writes:

“I must confess that I feel this wholesale sending out of
unmarried women into the field just now so in vogue in our
church is an experiment.... And I do not think much better
of the sending unmarried young men to some fields. ’Tis a
pity the secretaries of our Board who ought to know the
wisest way do not guide opinion on this subject and more
strongly impress upon candidates who apply to them the
desirableness of making their arrangements before they leave
home—not but what Providence may bless some favoured mortals
more than they deserve.”

ORDINATION AND RETURN

Another event of personal moment to the doctor was his ordination to the Christian ministry. Before his first departure for Siam he had been licensed to preach, a Presbyterial authorisation necessary to give the seal of approval to the preaching which it was expected would be incidental to the medical profession. But now, having given himself exclusively to the Gospel work he sought full ordination with its authority to administer the sacraments and perform the rites of the church. In January, 1856, he was duly ordained by the Presbytery of Troy.

Accompanied by the new recruits, Rev. and Mrs. A. B. Morse, Dr. House and his bride sailed in March, 1856, by way of England and Singapore, and arrived at Bangkok in July. The reception accorded Dr. and Mrs. House was an evidence of the position which the missionary had attained in the esteem of the Siamese. He was the recipient of many gifts from the Chinese and Siamese servants and attendants at the mission; while a period of two weeks was largely occupied with calls from the prime minister, the minister of foreign affairs, several of the princes, many of the old friends among the nobles, the old teachers and a multitude of native friends at large. The welcome was so spontaneous that it gave evidence of a genuine honour, and of an appreciation of the years of service rendered by the doctor higher than he had imagined the people felt.

But perhaps the most signal token of esteem on this occasion was shown by King Mongkut. No advance notice of the arrival of Dr. House and party having been received, their appearance at the customs house some miles below the city was a surprise, which in some manner was quickly heralded to the king, so that when the party approached the city, officials were waiting to receive them:

“Before we got to our own landing our friendly neighbour,
H. R. H. Prince Kromma Luang Wongsa, hailed us, and we must
needs land at his place. Shaking of hands was not enough, but
his arm was offered in English fashion ... and thus escorted
by the leading prince of the kingdom was Harriette conducted
to her future mission home, Mr. Mattoon and I following....
And soon our native church members and teachers and the
school children came flocking around.

“But the king had heard of my arrival and the prince had a
message from him for me that he was waiting to see me at
the palace. So, thither I must go—the prince took me in
his own boat. Some public ceremony was going on, and the
whole court was assembled at the river house in front of
the palace. The king, on a lofty platform handsomely roofed
over, by the water edge; while yet at a distance he saw me
and called out my name, inviting me to ascend the steps that
led to his pavilioned seat, when he shook hands cordially.
His Majesty spoke of the letter he had received from me while
away. Then he said, ‘Your wife has come with you!’—and then
turning to his courtiers added, ‘Formerly Maw House declared
he would not have a wife, and now he has taken one.’ ‘Oh,
your majesty,’ I replied, ‘wisdom has come to me and I have
changed my heart in that matter,’ which made them all smile.

“He then said my wife must come and visit the royal palace.
He had missed me very much. I must come and live near him.
Turning to one of his ministers he said, ‘He guessed they
must build a house over there’ (pointing out a spot near the
palace). I must take an office under the government. The
prime minister told me I must become a Siamese nobleman.”

Dr. House and Mr. Mattoon were sent for again by the king a few days later, and availed themselves of this occasion to present to His Majesty several useful presents sent out by American admirers.

TOURS WITH MRS. HOUSE

While in America, in 1855, the Sunday school of his home church provided funds for the purchase and outfitting of a boat for touring. The result was a boat equipped for the work, affording more comfort than possible in the native boats. Along the side of the small cabin, lockers were fitted, serving both as seats and place for storage. A removable table between afforded space for writing or eating. For the night an extension bridged the space between the lockers, and this, covered with cushions, made a comfortable double bed. In December of 1856 Dr. House made the first tour with Mrs. House. Customs, and scenes in Siam had by this time grown so familiar to him that his letters home do not contain details as did his earlier letters. Their first tour together, in company with some of the other missionaries, was up the Meklong River in western Siam as far as the town of Kanburi amidst some fine mountain scenery. Several other trips occurred; one of them to Petrui:

“A fortnight or more,” he writes, “exploring some of the
totally unvisited districts of the eastern portion of the
plain which constitutes central Siam—you know my passion for
penetrating into remote and unexplored regions and out of the
way places.”

If perchance this enthusiasm conveys the impression that these journeys were of unmingled pleasure and simple romance it is well to have that fancy checked by some material facts; for, continuing the narrative of this trip, the doctor writes:

“Upon review of the tour I can recall but few that I remember
with more satisfaction. But for pleasure—I cannot say much
for a tour. Our confined quarters (cabin five by seven),
the rocking of the boat with every movement of ours or of
the boatmen, the hot sun upon the roof and sides by day and
the myriads of mosquitos as the evening comes on (and such
ravenous merciless mosquitos, too), the monotony of the
scenery on the lower stream and absence of all that is pretty
or picturesque in the villages and houses of the natives, and
last but not least the universal uproar among all the dogs
whenever one steps ashore anywhere in their villages—all
detract largely from the romance and not a little from the
comfort of a mission tour in this country.”

MARKS OF GROWTH

Dr. House continued to be superintendent of the mission school after his return in 1856, and although he makes very few references to this work in his journal from now on, yet there are occasional items which mark the growth. From this period Mrs. House appears as a factor in the educational work, but her achievements will occupy a separate chapter. In August after the return the doctor writes:

“Our school is much enlarged—many applicants to learn
English. The eldest child of the son of the Prime Minister
now comes regularly to Mrs. Mattoon, a very bright lad of
seven. At the request of the king I am teaching two princes;
one of sixteen, his grandson, the other a grandson of the
late king, a boy of eleven. And by order of H. M. a dozen
of the sons of his servants are now learning English in our
school as day scholars.... There is a spacious bamboo school
house going up in the back part of our lot.”

This growth, however, was in the educational work. While the workers did not belittle the importance of the school, they were well-nigh sick of heart with deferred hopes, a feeling that is reflected in their report to the Board for the year 1856:

“It requires no little faith to conduct, day after day and
year after year, these patient labours; especially as they
have not resulted in the conversion of those on whom time,
talents and prayers of the missionaries are spent.”

This increase in school was so rapid that shortly after they had established themselves on the site granted by the king it became evident that this lot in the city would not allow for the expansion commensurate with the growth. With the awakening of a desire for education and of an interest in the foreign religion the earlier necessity of having a location within the city itself had passed, for what the mission had to offer was being sought after. Accordingly, a parcel of ground, the gift of Mr. D. O. King, was obtained on the west bank of the river in the lower suburbs known as Sumray. There new buildings were erected, and in November, 1857, the transfer of the mission was effected to that site, which became the scene of the most notable achievements of the mission in Bangkok and continues to the present day the center of a pervasive Christian influence.

At the end of the first year in the new location, Dr. House wrote home: “School occupies me much of the time. We have a new Siamese teacher, a most respectable old gentleman; may he get good from us, saving good.” This teacher was Nai Chune, who, a year later, became the first Siamese convert. The significance of this addition to the teaching force is that the pupils are no longer predominantly Chinese lads, but that the demand for teaching the Siamese language requires a native teacher.

The winter season, being free from rains, was the time best suited for touring in the country. In February of 1858 Dr. and Mrs. House started up the Meinam to revisit the scenes of their former tour. Finding the river alive with pilgrims going to Prabat for the annual veneration of Buddha’s footprint, they decided to join the pilgrimage as affording an excellent opportunity for distributing tracts. On this visit to the shrine the visitors did not experience the same opposition to entering the sanctum as Dr. House had on his first visit.

A PRESBYTERY ORGANISED

The recruits to the mission force so far had been temporary additions only. Owing to the death of his wife, followed by the failure of his own health, Mr. Bush was compelled to resign after four years. Mr. Morse, who went out upon Dr. House’s return, was forced to give up within two years by reason of health. At the end of ten years there had been only one net increase in the mission force, Mrs. House. In 1858 two men arrived who became important factors in the work, Rev. Daniel McGilvary and Rev. Jonathan Wilson, with his wife. When the announcement was received that these two men had been commissioned, Dr. House wrote home:

“These two friends became interested in Siam mission at the
time of my visit to Princeton. If they reach us, I shall have
new reason to bless the heavenly Guide who led me almost
unwillingly back to my native land.”

The doctor’s estimate of the reflex benefit to Siam from that trip to America was all too modest; for that visit was the beginning of an ever increasing interest in that country on the part of the church and of a constantly enlarging supply of men and money. Concerning this visit to Princeton, Dr. McGilvary says in his Autobiography:

“I was entering upon my senior year when it was announced
that Dr. S. R. House, of Siam, would address the students.
Expectation was on tip-toe to hear from this new kingdom of
Siam. The address was a revelation to me.... My hesitation
was ended....

“The call found Jonathan Wilson and myself in much the same
state of expectancy, awaiting for a clear revelation of duty.
After anxious consultation and prayer together and with Dr.
House, we promised him that we would give the matter our
serious thought; and that if the Lord should lead us thither
we would go.”

With the increase of ordained men on the field, the time seemed ripe to associate themselves together in the official relationship of a Presbytery. At an informal meeting in the summer of 1858 the following call was issued:

“Whereas, in the providence of God there are now in the
mission a sufficient number of ordained ministers to
constitute a Presbytery and as it seems expedient that we,
cut off as we are from the privileges and oversight of our
respective Presbyteries, should meet together from time to
time in a formal public capacity as a judicatory of the
Church of Christ to consult for her best interests in this
our field of labour; and hoping that it may be beneficial to
ourselves and the Church at large,

“Therefore, Resolved, That in accordance with the resolutions
of the General Assembly held in Baltimore in May, 1848,
making provision for ‘the formation of Presbyteries by the
action of missionaries in foreign fields’ a Presbytery be
constituted at Bangkok on the first day of September next, to
be called the Presbytery of Siam and to be composed of the
following persons, viz.: Rev. Stephen Mattoon and Rev. S. R.
House, of the Presbytery of Troy, New York; Rev. J. Wilson,
of the Presbytery of Beaver, Pennsylvania, and Rev. Daniel
McGilvary, of the Presbytery of Orange, North Carolina;
and that said Presbytery be opened by a sermon by Rev. S.
Mattoon, the oldest of the ministers of the mission; and

“Resolved, second, That the day of the opening of the
Presbytery be observed by the members of the mission as a day
of special prayer for the blessing of the Spirit of God upon
us, and that a special meeting for prayer be held at 9 A. M.”

At the appointed time the Presbytery of Siam was formally organised, Rev. Samuel R. House being chosen first Moderator and Rev. Daniel McGilvary being elected Stated Clerk. Mr. Mattoon, who was about to take a furlough in America, was appointed the first commissioner to the General Assembly, to meet in Indianapolis the following spring. Here, again, as in the organisation of the first church, the missionaries were taking a step in anticipation of the fruit of faith more than in actual need. Two of the very important functions of a Presbytery are to oversee the churches and to ordain candidates for the ministry. But there was only one church in Siam at the time and there were only two “native” members on the roll; and a Presbytery could add little to the fellowship of the missionaries except the formalities. However, the workers in the field were certain of the harvest and in simple faith they went about setting up the organisation for the proper care and nurture of the native churches that were yet to be established.

In December of 1858, when the dry season had returned, Dr. House, accompanied by Mr. McGilvary, made a twelve-day tour up the Meinam, commencing labours at Angtong and continuing as far as Bansaket. The results of the tour were unusually hopeful:

“In two or three instances it did seem as if the Spirit
had prepared their hearts to welcome the doctrine of
Christianity.... I could not but say to my good Brother
McGilvary, who as well as myself was struck with the deep
interest manifested, ‘Surely there must be much prayer going
up for us here in Siam.’ Tears would come in my eyes as I
solemnly urged them to leave their refuge of lies and trust
in a living Saviour, ready and mighty to save. And on their
part they desired to know, not how they might make merit
(the usual question of Siamese), but what they were to do to
secure the salvation, the news of which then for the first
time reached their ears. It seemed like the dawning of a
better day.”

IX

FIRST THE DAWN, THEN THE DAYLIGHT

In the annals of missions much has been made of the long years of patient labour before a first convert was gained in other lands. It is written of Judson that he preached the Gospel six years in Burma before a native made confession of the Christian faith. Morrison patiently taught the Gospel seven years in China before he was rewarded with one disciple. The Telegu mission in India is described as one of the most remarkable in the history of missions in the contrast between the first long fruitless period and then the rapid growth; and in confirmation it is cited that “at the end of two decades only one native assistant could be reported, one church with nine members and two schools with sixty-three pupils.”

But in Siam, from the time Dr. Gutzlaff arrived until the first enduring convert from among the Siamese was gained, thirty-one years elapsed. It is true that during those years much of the energy of the other missions had been directed toward the conversion of the ex-patriate Chinese, from whom there had been an encouraging response; none the less, the Siamese were also the object of constant prayer and faithful wooing. From the time that Dr. House and Mr. Mattoon reached Siam to devote themselves particularly to the winning of the Siamese, twelve years and six months passed before one lone Siamese renounced the faith of his fathers and acknowledged the Christian religion to be the truth. These wearisome years of waiting were lengthened in their tediousness by the chagrin of having impostors simulate conversion for iniquitous ends.

The story of this remarkable first native convert is best given by Dr. House in his own way. First under date of March 6, 1859, he writes home of the promise of the first-fruit:

“I have had a long talk with Nai Chune. Since the fourth
month of last year he has been convinced of the truth of
Christianity. He has broken the necks of his household gods
and melted them. ‘If I think he venerates the gods still he
will go into the temple and do the same.’ Those stories in
their sacred books about its raining diamonds and gold he
regards not like the beneficent miracles of Christ which I
told him.

“I was going to give him some idea of the historical
evidences when he cut me short by saying, ‘I have _tried_
Buddhism—and what benefit has it been to me? I have thrown
away a large part of my life in studying it. But I was a
child then—God must forgive me.’ He has ceased to gamble
and to drink spirits, to both of which he formerly was
addicted. He says that he sometimes weeps with joy when he
thinks of God’s goodness to him. He prays to Jehovah, keeps
the Sabbath, and for months has been a faithful attendant
on preaching, to which he often invites his acquaintances,
bringing them with him.

“He is an educated man of about forty years, has a wife but
no living children. He was once a priest, in the king’s own
watt for some eight years. At one time he used to call upon
me often and learned several chemical experiments. Since the
mission moved to its new location in his neighbourhood (where
he has a small property) he called to renew acquaintance.
I had much conversation with him formerly about religion;
but he seemed almost too willing to believe. I mistrusted
his motives, past experience having made me too cautious
perhaps. When he called subsequently I had no confidence in
his sincerity. Mr. Mattoon, however, thought somewhat better
of him.

“He is now the Siamese teacher of our school, and is very
faithful to his duties. The most interesting feature of his
case and what, with other things, has removed my doubts, is
the true moral courage with which he avows his change of
his belief to his countrymen and relatives. I do not think
anything but the grace of God could make a Siamese brave
enough to do this.”

Five months later, the doctor records the reception of the convert into the Mission Church on Aug. 7, 1859:

“My eyes have at length been permitted to see what has long
been my heart’s desire and prayer to God, the baptism of a
Siamese. Nay, to my unworthy hands has this privilege fallen,
to receive into the visible fold of Christ by the ordinance
of His appointing this new member of the flock.

“For over twelve years of hope deferred has this great
blessing been sought and prayed for, but ‘sought and never
found’ till now. Blessed be the name of Him who in His mercy
and sovereign grace has been pleased to visit us with His
favour and make the teaching and preaching of His servants
here the means at last of bringing one heathen soul out of
nature’s darkness into the light and peace of His kingdom.

“Nai Chune, a Siamese, an educated man of nearly forty years
of age, after a satisfactory examination on his views and
experience was today received to our fellowship by baptism
in the sacred name of the Father, the Son and the Holy
Ghost. May he walk worthily of the name he has named today,
and be a witness for Christ his God and Saviour among his
countrymen. He appears remarkably well. He is courteous
and intelligent, a true Siamese gentleman in manners; is
serious-minded, sedate, seems to realise the goodness of his
Heavenly Father to him.”

The joy of this conversion was soon followed by a shadow of sorrow. For a little more than three months later occurred the death of faithful Quakieng. Fortunately the work among the Siamese had developed so favourably that less emphasis was being placed on the instruction in Chinese; and in a sense Nai Chune took the place of Quakieng, but with a transfer of the major effort to the teaching of the Siamese language.

During this year King Mongkut had finished a new grand audience hall in connection with the palace, fashioned partly in European style. At the opening of the hall the king gave a feast to which many of the European and American sojourners were invited, among whom were Mr. and Mrs. House. In a letter to his father the doctor tells privately of a proffer of honour and service made to him by the king: “H. M. said, ‘You with your wife must come and live here [at the palace] and have the young princes, my children, for your pupils.’ I excused myself, my hands being already full.” With the cessation of teaching by the missionary ladies in the palace, the king had engaged an English lady, Mrs. Leonowens, as a tutor for some of the inmates of the palace, including his sons. Apparently, however, her teaching duties diminished after a time and she was occupied chiefly as an amanuensis for the king, and she was still connected with the palace at the time the king made this request of Dr. House.

Whether the king had serious intent in this proposition it is difficult to judge; but the suggestion does indicate that he still held Dr. House in high regard and that his estimation for Western education had not waned. The mission school by this time had become a well-established, well-organised institution, the management of which required the full attention of the doctor. His original term of service as Superintendent continued until 1861, when relinquishment of the office was apparently due to the fact that he was appointed to open a new mission station at Petchaburi.

NEW STATION AT PETCHABURI

Although the work at Bangkok had been steadily growing, no extension of the field was undertaken until 1861, when a station was opened at Petchaburi, where Dr. House and Mr. Mattoon had made several visits. In that year two new missionaries with their wives had come out in company with Rev. and Mrs. Mattoon on their return from furlough in America; these were Rev. S. G. McFarland and Rev. N. A. McDonald. Of the many places where the missionaries had visited with the hopes of one day establishing a local work, Petchaburi then seemed the most favourable because the acting governor had personally solicited the missionaries to provide teaching of English; and had offered, on condition that they would teach his son the language, to provide a place for their school.

The Mission had voted to assign Dr. and Mrs. House to establish the new station. The doctor visited the field, procured a lot and made ready for the work, and then returned to bring his wife. But the day before their departure, the doctor had the misfortune to fall from a horse, sustaining injuries which, at the time, it was feared would prove to be permanent. Under these circumstances the mission changed the appointment, and sent instead Revs. Daniel McGilvary and S. G. McFarland with their wives, who thus became the first occupants of the new mission.

At this point it will be interesting to note that in his journal, in 1861, Dr. House records that the missionaries had felt constrained to ask the Board for an increase in salary from the prevailing six hundred dollars to seven hundred dollars, giving as a reason that the cost of living had greatly increased since the country had been opened to Western commerce, so that articles of provisions had in some cases increased as much as one hundred per cent. Dr. House himself had received a patrimony at the death of his father, which he used not only to supplement his salary for living expenses, but very generously for assisting in the work of the mission. Entries in the journal indicate that he had undertaken, at his own expense, repairs and enlargement of the mission house in which he lived.

THE REMARKABLE STORY OF NAI KAWN

Within a month after the new station at Petchaburi was opened, the missionaries reported the extraordinary case of a Siamese who had come to believe upon God and Christ through portions of the Scripture that had come into his hands, although he had never seen a missionary and had never met a Christian. The name of this man was Nai Kawn. Writing to his family in America under date of July 17, 1861, Dr. House quotes in part from a letter which Mrs. McFarland had written to Mrs. House giving the story; and in part from Mr. McGilvary:

“I wish Dr. H. could be here to examine a ‘diamond’ we have
found here (_i. e._, a native of Petchaburi, which name
means ‘city of diamonds’). We do believe it a true, genuine
diamond, and though it needs to be polished it will one
day shine in our Saviour’s diadem in glory. It seems an
extraordinary case in many respects. The man is a middle aged
Siamese, resides about five miles from Petchaburi capital;
had never seen a missionary, but some of our Christian tracts
and portions of the Scripture—which he had got from his
neighbours—appears to have been the means of enlightening
his mind and converting his heart. He had taught his little
boy the Lord’s prayer and the ten commandments.”

“Mr. McG. writes: He certainly has the clearest idea of
the Scripture of any heathen convert I have met with. He
literally knows John, Acts, Romans (all the Bible he has yet
seen) by heart; can repeat whole chapters without missing
a word. He evidently studied for months and years....
Seems delighted to find us, as if his highest wish had
been realised. Wishes to come and live with us at once to
learn more perfectly the Gospel, and to assist to teach and
distribute books. To try his sincerity, no encouragement
was offered him, fearing he might wish support from the
missionary. ‘Oh, no,—he wished no compensation, as he had
enough to live on.’ He has a few hundred ticals and wants
no more. He has settled one son with three hundred ticals,
and the other son he has just left with us where he can be
taught the Christian religion. Says he would not give up the
new religion for the offer of being king of Siam. Comes to
worship, walking five miles over muddy roads. Longs to see
another Siamese Christian—has hunted all over to find one.”

In the fall of that year Dr. and Mrs. House were obliged to spend several months in Petchaburi to relieve the McFarlands, who went to Bangkok for medical attendance. During that sojourn the doctor had several conversations with Nai Kawn; and in letters to his brother in America narrates the confession of that remarkable convert:

“Doctor, the Siamese think only of getting a living. That
they must have nor always are they very scrupulous as to the
means they resort to. Before—in the days of my sinfulness—I
was so too. Then I had not reflected upon, was not attentive
to my condition. I saw myself a sinner; when I became
conscious of this, the Lord Jesus Christ was pleased to
forgive me.

“My wife formerly—when I began to talk in the house with
those that came to see me about the religion of Jesus—would
go away, stop her ears, would say ‘I won’t hear it,’ and off
she would go. Now she says nothing, listens, sometimes says
there is good in it; will hear me when I pray in the room at
night.

“I remonstrated with my neighbours but, Doctor, they are
wilfully set in their wickedness. But, Doctor, we cannot make
them repent. It is only those whom God pleases to choose.

“They tell me that when the king hears that I have become
a disciple of Jesus I shall be whipped. I tell them, if he
kills me I care not. If the Lord gives me to die, I must die
as the Lord willeth. But while I live, I must bring forth
fruits to offer Him.”

Nai Kawn was never formally enrolled in the Church. He had found the acme of joy and of liberty in the Gospel before he knew of the church as an organisation. The witness of his conduct, the testimony of his lips and the evidence of his fellowship with Christians was more vital and compelling than a formal profession of ecclesiastical relationship. The honour of having been the first native at Petchaburi to become a member of the Church was gained two years later by Nai Kao.

Another honour of primacy in the profession of religion was attained at Bangkok in 1861, when Maa Esther became the first Siamese woman to unite with the Church of Christ. She had been given, a poor sick child, to Mrs. Mattoon by her father at an early age; and had been adopted and reared by Mrs. Mattoon. She had accompanied her foster mother to America in this same year. Maa Esther has continued a faithful, consistent Christian all these remaining years, and has been a zealous worker for the cause of Christ.

What was the final evangelising tour by Dr. House was taken in 1862, when, accompanied by Rev. N. A. McDonald, who had lately joined the mission, and Rev. Robert Telford, who was maintaining the Baptist work among the Chinese in Siam, he made a trip along the eastern coast of the gulf as far as Chantaboon. The responsibility for the school, together with the condition of Mrs. House’s health, made it inconvenient for him to continue this phase of the work which he greatly enjoyed.

PERIOD OF THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR

During the Civil War in the United States the mission was not very seriously affected by the conditions of the home church. Except for the first injunction from the Board against enlargement of the work and for the exceeding high rate of bank exchange, Dr. House gives no indications of adverse results on the field. Although the missionaries then in Siam were from both sections of the divided fatherland, they continued to live in cordial relations. During this period several reinforcements reached Siam, showing that the church at home had not allowed the war to curtail their work entirely. These additions were: Rev. and Mrs. C. S. George (1862), Mrs. F. F. Odell (1863), Rev. and Mrs. P. L. Carden (1866). On the other hand, the mission suffered the serious loss of Rev. Mr. and Mrs. Mattoon, who were constrained to resign in 1865 on account of Mrs. Mattoon’s continued ill health.

SECOND FURLOUGH

Dr. House left Siam only twice during his twenty-nine years of service. After a second period of seven-and-a-half years of labour, he sailed for America on a furlough in February, 1864. Even then the leave was taken not so much on his own account as because of Mrs. House’s urgent need of recuperation. Since they left America, both of Dr. House’s parents had died. He made the second journey at his own expense. At this time the Civil War in America caused the rates of exchange to be very high; to avoid this high rate, Dr. House accepted a loan of one thousand dollars from the king’s private treasury, giving only his personal note as security; and of this sum the king authorised Dr. House to pay over to the widow of Rev. Jesse Caswell, in America, five hundred dollars as a further token of appreciation of his former tutor.

The journey home was made by way of the Red Sea, Palestine, Egypt, Paris and England. Inclusive of the travel, their absence from Siam covered two years and ten months. The return trip was made by way of the Pacific, leaving San Francisco Sept. 9, 1866, thus for the first time completing for these two the circumnavigation of the globe. On the way out a stop was made at the Hawaiian Islands. The travelers reached Hong Kong Nov. 4, and while waiting for a vessel to continue their voyage they went up to Canton, where they were most friendly received and hospitably entertained by the family of Mr. S. E. Burrows, the head of a great commercial and shipping firm of that place. The Burrows extended to Dr. and Mrs. House a free passage in one of their own vessels which was sailing direct for Bangkok, and there they arrived Dec. 16, 1866.

Again the returning missionaries received a warm welcome on the part of their many native friends.

“We were warmly welcomed by the missionary circle and old
friends out of it, native and foreign. Wish you could have
seen the congratulatory presents our native friends and
neighbours brought to shew their gladness at our return.

“The king (being ill at the time) said ‘He was glad the old
missionaries had returned; he had been very sorry that Maw
House and Maw Mattoon were gone.’”

A few weeks later, when the king was able, he sent for Dr. House and gave a private audience.

“On presenting myself at the palace gate when my name was
announced the king said (so I was told by some around him)
‘Dr. H. is not like other foreigners; let him come to me at
once.’ I was ushered into the royal palace ere he had left
the grand audience hall—his courtiers and pages waiting
upon him. I was received with the cordiality and familiarity
of an old acquaintance.

“He asked me how I came? Did Mrs. H. come with me; what
countries I had seen? Mentioning Egypt, he asked me if the
canal across the isthmus of Suez would succeed. Saying I had
now gone around the world, returning to Siam by crossing the
Pacific Ocean to China, he quickly interrupted, ‘Then you
lost a day!’ and explained to his attendants how it was....