r who had finished his work. It is sad, dear boys, to lose a
father such as he was, but it is a great blessing to have had such
a father, one so brave, so courageous, one who for the sake of
Christ suffered bodily discomfort and pain, suffered terrible
loneliness that he might win some of God's sinning children back
to their Father's arms. He lived and suffered for the Mongols, and
though God denied him the honour of baptizing even one of them, yet
so faithful was he to his work that he toiled on to the very last.
"Faithful unto death" are words fully exemplified in your father's
life.'

In his first letter from Mongolia after his prompt return to carry on in
a like spirit of faith and devotion the work from which Mr. Gilmour had
been summoned away Mr. Parker depicts the grief of the native Christians
on learning their loss. 'The sorrow of the converts here (Ch'ao Yang) at
the news of Gilmour's death was very touching Grown-up men burst into
tears and sobbed like children when they were told he was dead. All
along the route where Gilmour was such a familiar visitor, in the
market-place, and at their fairs, the first question they asked as soon
as they saw me was, "Has Mr. Gilmour come?" And at my reply there was
always great astonishment, accompanied by expressions of sorrow. Every
day at evening prayers I can hear Gilmour's name mingled with their
petitions. The Christians here have sent a letter of sympathy to his two
boys.

'Here in Ch'ao Yang there are any amount of Mongols, not nomadic,
tent-loving, but settled here, and hence they do not have to be
sought. Right in the centre of the town is an immense Mongol temple
with two or three hundred priests. Every day I have several of the
priests in here, and yet I have heard again and again that this
mission is misplaced. Some such words often pained the heart that
is now still in death. But this is, and shall be, essentially a
Mongol mission in this, that as the best efforts of dear Gilmour
were for making Christ known to the Mongols, my best endeavours
shall be to this end. But if some hungry Chinaman, standing by as I
hold out the bread of life to his Mongol brother, seeks to eat of
it, he shall have it, and be as welcome as the other.'

The letter to the children referred to in Mr. Parker's report is a
fitting description of James Gilmour's life, and he himself