e overtaxed at home; what then
must be the case abroad, where there are wide stretching plains
already white to harvest, with scarcely here and there a solitary
reaper? To me the soul of an Indian seemed as precious as the soul
of an Englishman, and the Gospel as much for the Chinese as for the
European; and as the band of missionaries was few compared with the
company of home ministers, it seemed to me clearly to be my duty to
go abroad.

'But I go out as a missionary not that I may follow the dictates of
common sense, but that I may obey that command of Christ, "_Go into
all the world and preach_." He who said "_preach_," said also, "Go
ye into and _preach_," and what Christ hath joined together let not
man put asunder.

'This command seems to me to be strictly a missionary injunction,
and, as far as I can see, those to whom it was first delivered
regarded it in that light, so that, apart altogether from choice
and other lower reasons, my going forth is a matter of obedience to
a plain command; and in place of seeking to assign a reason for
going abroad, I would prefer to say that I have failed to discover
any reason why I should stay at home.'

On February 22, 1870, James Gilmour embarked at Liverpool upon the
steamship Diomed, and thus fairly started on the work of his life. Among
his extant correspondence is a long letter which describes the voyage to
China, and the way in which he utilised the opportunities it afforded
for trying to do his Master's will.

'We sailed from Liverpool, and my father saw me off. The passengers
were few--nine or ten. We had a cabin each. There was a Wesleyan
medical missionary named Hardey going out to Hankow. We soon drew
together. The doctor of the ship was a young fellow from Greenock,
and had been at Glasgow College when I was there last. Among the
1,200 we had not stumbled upon each other. The married man was
something or other in the Consular service. A young lady passenger
was the daughter of a judge in China. A young man was going out to
try his fortune in China: his qualifications were some knowledge of
tea and a love of drink. Another decent young fellow was going out
to China as a tea-taster. Another young fellow was going out to
Australia _via_ Singapore. Thus, you see, I was the only parson on
board; and as the s