Medina, Jan. 24, 1888. I have just returned from a very satisfactory visit with my mother. She takes the most cheerful view of the situation and is ready to abide by any decision we may make. We hope your plans will allow of a short call in Medina before long. It was a great pleasure to Mr. Ament that he could have his mother with him and that together they could share the happy burdens of a household with the children of his sister among them. It would appear however that Madam Ament, who was in her seventieth year, could not easily accustom herself to being away from her old friends and acquaintances. She was therefore restless and somewhat lonely at Medina, since her son was so busily occupied with the parish cares. It was her desire to return to her old home in Michigan. On the other hand one who has had a share in the work on foreign fields ever feels the drawing again towards the work. Such a feeling Mr. Ament could not resist and at this juncture there came some new and special appeals for the North China work, increasing the old interest, and with a quickened enthusiasm the old work in China fell again to his lot. MY DEAR MISS SCHIRMER : Medina, March 23, 1888. I want to tell you something of our plans. Such representations have come from China and from the secretaries in Boston that we have decided to return to China this fall. Of course we are very contented in Medina, but the call is very loud from across the sea. I hear you say: "How about mother?" Well, she says, "Go. It is your duty." Her niece will make a home for mother and by the sale of some land she is made financially comfortable. Mother is glad that she has a son willing to do such a work, and if the Lord calls, who shall hinder? I know you will look at this in the right light and not look on me as an ingrate, for no man in the land loves his mother more than I do, FROM MRS. AMENT: DEAR FRIEND:-I think it was partly because mother felt convinced that this was not the field where William could do the most good that she decided to go back to Michigan. I think that when he came back from China she thought he could work as well in one place as another, but she came to see that China was the field for him and as soon as she saw that, like a true mother she really wished him to be where he could do the most for Christ and humanity. On visiting her last winter he found her so cheerful and happy in the thought of his going back that he came to the final decision. DEAR MISS SCHIRMER : Medina, May 9, 1888. My mother is with us now and was never more cheerful. Last Wednesday was her seventieth birthday and we had a company of old ladies to greet her. She enjoyed the tea party very much. The dear creature is a general favorite. All love her, for no one could help doing that. Do you not suppose that when God told me to go to China, He also prepared my mother for the work as well as myself? She counts it a privilege to have a son at the front. We break up here in about two weeks, and I leave for good in June. I do wish you could see Mary and the babies before we go. TO THE SAME : Painesville, Ohio, July 9, 1888. Arrived at Painesville, Mary and the babies gave me a warm welcome, and in the family carriage we drove to her aunt's together. I do trust that you will remember that I appreciate your beautiful treatment of me while I was in New York. Such kindness was more than I deserve, and I shall never forget it and will try to enrich others by your example of unselfish kindness and generosity. Some day but not now I may have eloquence enough to tell you how much you have done to make the world brighter for me. What courage you give by your cheerful spirit and what hope by your kindness! It is peculiarly fitting to place here a summary of his experiences at Medina, given as a part of the later memorial services, on his behalf by the present pastor of the Medina church, the Rev. J. Edward Kirbye, D.D., recently the president of Drury College, Missouri: "The influence of a truly great pastor is cumulative. Measured by this standard, the Rev. William S. Ament, D.D., was a great pastor as well as a great missionary. During his ministry here of three years many notable advances were made, and influences left are easily discernible in the life of the church to-day. There are three abiding impressions in the community as the result of his ministry. "The people remember distinctly his heroic aggressiveness. He was never afraid to undertake a task if it promised success. There was the spirit of venturesome faith and he sought to make the church the embodiment of this ideal. The people are fond of telling how the Standing Committee were reluctant about adopting certain measures which he proposed. After presenting the case as clearly as he could with its promised advantages and seeing their reluctance, he arose from his chair and strode across the room remarking: 'I wish I had a walking committee instead of a standing committee.' There was a buoyant enthusiasm in his endeavor which drew the people about him in ardent devotion. "The second abiding influence was his consecration to the work of the Master. He was not concerned with eloquent sermons but was trying to minister faith to the discouraged, and to rescue those who had lost their bearings in life. He was interested in the outcasts of the community. There was a drunkard who enlisted his full sympathies and help. This man professed conversion and joined the church, but only through the steady and persistent ministries of Mr. Ament was he kept until the last. "The third influence which he left among the people was an enthusiasm for missions. The needs and the opportunities of the heathen world pressed heavily upon his heart. He was the wise master builder in the church. He knew that if the children and the young people could be grounded in missionary zeal that it would be a cumulative force widening over the years. "Our church is a great missionary church to-day because Mr. Ament instructed the junior and senior Christian Endeavor Societies in the meaning of world-wide responsibility. He felt that it was a great battle to win the world for Christ. He believed with all his heart and soul in the supreme necessity of the effort and the ultimate victory. The church in Medina loved him, and he in turn loved the church, but he believed with all his heart that he was divinely called to return to China. There was ease and comfort here, there was duty in China. "The little road said go, The little house said stay, And, oh, it is bonny here at home, "That was the spirit in which he went out from the Old First Church, Medina, to his work in China." We are not here to play, to dream, to drift. -Babcock. VII THE RENEWAL OF LIFE IN CHINA T HE plan to return to China involved questions which had a large bearing upon the coming home life in Peking. There were the two small children who needed alike constant care and teaching as they should grow. There was the large women's work in Peking for which Mrs. Ament was fully equipped and which she desired to aid in every possible way. There was also the problem of Mrs. Ament's aunt, Miss A. M. Wyett, who had now resigned her position at Oberlin. It was a happy thought which came unwittingly at first that Miss Wyett accompany them to Peking, share in their home and aid Mrs. Ament in the care of the children that she might give the more time to the Chinese. It was a part of the plan that Miss Wyett should, if she so desired, use her remarkable skill in colors and drawing in giving lessons. Mrs. Ament felt especially desirous of having her aunt in her home, since in the early days of their motherless condition, Miss Wyett had given her nieces most faithful and loving care. It would be a suitable return for such thoughtful care, if their Peking home could be hers also. TO DR. SMITH: San Francisco, Aug. 30, 1888. In a few hours we set sail for China. Our party is now complete; all in good health and spirits. En route from Portland we narrowly escaped plunging through a burning trestle work but were mercifully preserved. Our last word is one of |