=SAMUEL REYNOLDS HOUSE “THE MAN WITH THE GENTLE HEART”= [Illustration: REV. SAMUEL REYNOLDS HOUSE, M.D.] “_The Man With the Gentle Heart_” Samuel Reynolds House of Siam Pioneer Medical Missionary 1847-1876 By GEORGE HAWS FELTUS, A. M., B.D. ILLUSTRATED [Illustration: (Publisher colophon.)] NEW YORK CHICAGO Fleming H. Revell Company LONDON AND EDINBURGH Copyright, MCMXXIV, by FLEMING H. REVELL COMPANY _Printed in the United States of America_ New York: 158 Fifth Avenue Chicago: 17 North Wabash Ave. London: 21 Paternoster Square Edinburgh: 75 Princes Street Preface Quaint, old-time title pages sought to present an epitome of the contents of the volume. While the name of Dr. House occupies the sole post of honour on this present title page, none would be more urgent than he to have that place shared by his wife, Harriet Pettit House, and her assistant, Arabella Anderson-Noyes, and by their godson, Boon Itt, whose achievements occupy a good share of the pages that follow. The essential material in this book has been drawn from the letters and journal of Dr. House, now for the first time available for the purpose. This material has been supplemented by correspondence with various individuals connected with the principal persons mentioned. The facts thus ascertained have been interpreted and amplified by the careful reading of nearly every book in English on Siamese subjects. For this reason, the narrative may claim to be fairly complete and authentic. Two reasons have prompted publication. One reason is to make accessible valuable historical materials. In the archives of the Presbyterian Board of Foreign Missions no records covering this period have been found other than the meagre references in the annual reports of the Board. The diary of Dr. House’s co-worker, Rev. Stephen Mattoon, was destroyed by fire; and, so far as is known, no other private records for those early years are in existence. The only primary source of information is the chapter, “History of Missions in Siam,” from the pen of Dr. House, in the volume _Siam and Laos_, in which his modesty has obscured the importance of his own labours. So this book is offered as a contribution to the history of the Church in Siam.