heart was set on Calabar, but so eager was she to be accepted that she
said she would be willing to go to any other field. Women agents had
long been engaged in Calabar. The first, Miss Miller, had gone out with
Mr. Waddell in l849-she became the "Mammy" Sutherland who did such
noble service-and they were playing an ever more important part, and
were stated to be both "economical and effective." Requests had just
been made for additions to the staff. The application was, therefore,
opportune. Her personality, and the accounts given of her character and
work, made such an impression on the officials that they reported
favourably to the Board, and she was accepted as a teacher for Calabar
and told to continue her studies in Dundee. In December it was decided
to bring her to Edinburgh, at the expense of the Board, for three
months, for special preparation....

The night before she left Dundee, in March 1876, she stood, a tearful
figure, at the mouth of the "close" where she lived. "Good-bye," she
said to a friend, and then passionately, "Pray for me!"




VII. THE THREE MARYS

A stranger in Edinburgh, Mary Slessor turned instinctively to Darling's
Temperance Hotel, which was then, and is still, looked upon as a home
by travellers from all parts of the globe. The Darlings, who were
associated with all good work, were then taking part in the revival
movement of Messrs. Moody and Sankey, and the two daughters, Bella and
Jane, were solo-singers at the meetings. The humble Dundee girl had
heard of their powers, and she entered the hotel as if it were a