Page:Malabari, Behramji M. - Gujarat and the Gujaratis (1882).djvu/226

210 complains—there is the same bright smile on his face as in the morning, and the early supper and cup of tea are gone through with much pleasant chit-chat.

Such is the Missionary in the mofussil. He is not so stiff as he used to be, and many of his foibles, too, he is getting under. But the good that is in him would compensate for weaknesses a hundredfold. He has a pronounced predilection for sermons; but then that is his craft, his calling, the very mission of the Missionary. It may be that he sometimes emphasizes "hell," "damnation," and such other words with a sort of frenzy, but he always means what he says.

It is ridiculous to expect the Missionary to "retire" for good. He has taken deep root in the soil. He has a firmer hold on our hearts than any earlier growth. The Collector may go, the Engineer may be turned out, the Governor may be recalled, aye, the very Government of the country may change, but the Missionary will remain. He will endure to the end of time, a monument to the silent influence of his faith. As a friend of all people, adviser of the State,