Here and there, amid the sands of the wide desert once
parched by sin and consumed by the fiery blaze of heathenish cruelty,
the plants of grace are beginning to appear, and Christian churches are
springing up to spread themselves like green vines upon the broken ruins of
demolished idols.
It is too late now in the world's history, too late in the progress
of thought, to vindicate the course pursued by the two pioneer female
missionaries. When the Caravan sailed down the harbor of the "City of
Peace," there were enough to curl the lip and point the finger of scorn.
The devoted messengers of Jesus were charged with indelicacy, with a false
ambition, with a spirit of romance and adventure, with a desire for
ease and gain. As time rolled on, all these charges were withdrawn; the
characters, views, and feelings of these heroic women were raised above
suspicion, and now they are enveloped in a flood of glory.
"They left not home to cross the briny sea
With the proud conqueror's ambitious aim,
To wrong the guiltless, to enslave the free,
And win a bloodstained wreath of dreadful fame
By deeds unworthy of the Christian name.
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