Ethel's trial: in becoming a missionary

"Ethel's Trial" by Lucy Ellen Guernsey is a didactic Christian novel written in the late 19th century. It follows timid, well-bred Ethel Dalton as she confronts her debilitating fears while aspiring to missionary work, guided (and tested) by her missionary brother Henry and the practical household of Dr. and Mrs. Ray. The story centers on spiritual growth, courage, and usefulness, set against everyday challenges and a budding local mission among working families.

The opening of the novel introduces Ethel’s extreme timidity—first with a gentle foundry boy at the garden fence—contrasted with Henry’s calm charity and plain-spoken counsel. Domestic scenes deepen the theme: Ethel’s panic over burglars leads her to bolt the doctor out of his own house, prompting Henry’s searching talk about trusting God and admitting cowardice as a moral hindrance. He then reveals his long-held hope to take her to Persia to assist in girls’ schools, a plan her fears presently make impossible. A visit to the foundry district brings Ethel’s public stumble (literally, over a dog and a cow) but also warm hospitality from Richard Trim and his mother, and Henry’s practical move to start a Sunday-school in a rented room. Ethel admires Henry’s ease with all sorts of people, asks to help, and is told her fears would undercut her influence; she compensates by redoubling pious efforts with her classmates. At the start of this story, she ends in inner turmoil, having told small evasions about her travel home and feeling the sting of conscience, yet still resisting open acknowledgment of her fault.