hen we enter on the work in this spirit it will begin to
prosper, and God will give us success.
As I was leaving New York to go to England in 1867, a friend said to
me: "I hope you will go to Edinburgh and be at the General Assembly
this year. When I was there a year ago I heard such a speech as I
shall never forget. Dr. Duff made a speech that set me all on fire. I
shall never forget the hour I spent in that meeting." Shortly after
reaching England I went to Edinburgh and spent a week there, in hopes
that I might hear that one man speak. I went to work to find the
report of the speech that my friend had referred to, and it stirred me
wonderfully. Dr. Duff had been out in India as a missionary. He had
spent twenty-five years there preaching the Gospel and establishing
schools. He came back with a broken-down constitution. He was
permitted to address the General Assembly, in order to make an appeal
for men to go into the mission field. After he had spoken for a
considerable time, he became exhausted and fainted away. They carried
him out of the hall into another room. The doctors worked over him for
some time, and at last he began to recover. When he realized where he
was, he roused himself and said: "I did not finish my speech; carry me
back and let me finish it." They told him he could only do it at the
peril of his life. Said he: "I will do it if I die." So they took him
back to the hall. My friend said it was one of the most solemn scenes
he ever witnessed in his life.
They brought the white-haired man into the Assembly Hall, and as he
appeared at the door every person sprang to his feet; the tears flowed
freely as they looked upon the grand old veteran. With a trembling
voice, he said: "Fathers and mothers of Scotland, is it true that you
have no more sons to send to India to work for the Lord Jesus Christ?
The call for help is growing louder and louder, but there are few
coming forward to answer it. You have the money put away in the bank,
but where are the laborers who shall go into the field? When Queen
Victoria wants men to volunteer for her army in India, you freely give
your sons. You do not talk about their losing their health, and about
the trying climate. But when the Lord Jesus is calling for laborers,
Scotland is saying: 'We have no more sons to give.'"
Turning to the President of the Assembly, he said: "Mr. Moderator, if
it is true that Scotland has no more sons to give to the service of
the Lord J
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