4 RELIGIOUS IMPRESSIONS. Ixtrod. 



Religion,' and ' The Philosophy of a Future State,' it was 

 gratifying to find that he had enforced my own conviction, 

 that religion and science were friendly to each other. 



Great pains had been taken by my parents to instil the 

 doctrines of Christianity into my mind, and I had no difficulty 

 in understanding the theory of free salvation by the atonement 

 of our Saviour, but it was only about this time that I began 

 to feel the necessity of a personal application of the doctrine 

 to my own case. The change was like what it may be sup- 

 posed would take place were it possible to cure a case of 

 " colour blindness," The fullness with which the pardon of 

 all our guilt is offered in God's book drew forth feelings of 

 affectionate love to Him who bought us with His blood, which 

 in some small measure has influenced my conduct ever since. 

 But I shall not again refer to the inner spiritual life which I 

 believe then began, nor do I intend to specify with any promi- 

 nence the evangelistic labours to which the love of Christ has 

 since impelled me : this book will speak not so much of what 

 has been done, as of what still remains to be performed before 

 the gospel can be said to be preached to all nations. 



In the glow of love which Christianity inspires, I soon re- 

 solved to devote rny life to the alleviation of human misery. 

 I felt that to be a pioneer of Christianity in China might lead 

 to the material benefit of some portions of that immense 

 empire ; and therefore set myself to obtain a medical educa- 

 tion, in order to be qualified for that enterprise. 



In identifying the herbs mentioned in my first medical 

 treatise, that extraordinary old work on astrological medicine, 

 Culpeper's ' Herbal,' I had the guidance of a book on the 

 plants of Lanarkshire, by Patrick. Limited as my time was, 

 I managed to scour the whole country-side, " collecting sim- 

 ples." Deep and anxious were my studies on the still more 

 perplexing profundities of astrology, and I got as far into that 

 abyss of fantasies as my author said he dared to lead me. It 

 seemed perilous ground to tread on farther, for the dark hint 

 appeared to my youthful mind to loom towards " selling soul 

 and body to the devil." These excursions, often in company 

 with brothers, one now in Canada, and the other a clergyman 

 in the United States, gratified my intense love of nature ; and 

 though we generally returned so hungry and fatigued that the 



