{"@context":{"@language":"en","AIPUUID":"https:\/\/open.library.ubc.ca\/terms#identifierAIP","AggregatedSourceRepository":"http:\/\/www.europeana.eu\/schemas\/edm\/dataProvider","CatalogueRecord":"http:\/\/purl.org\/dc\/terms\/isReferencedBy","Collection":"http:\/\/purl.org\/dc\/terms\/isPartOf","Contributor":"http:\/\/purl.org\/dc\/terms\/contributor","DateAvailable":"http:\/\/purl.org\/dc\/terms\/issued","DateIssued":"http:\/\/purl.org\/dc\/terms\/issued","Description":"http:\/\/purl.org\/dc\/terms\/description","DigitalResourceOriginalRecord":"http:\/\/www.europeana.eu\/schemas\/edm\/aggregatedCHO","Extent":"http:\/\/purl.org\/dc\/terms\/extent","FileFormat":"http:\/\/purl.org\/dc\/elements\/1.1\/format","FullText":"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2009\/08\/skos-reference\/skos.html#note","Genre":"http:\/\/www.europeana.eu\/schemas\/edm\/hasType","Identifier":"http:\/\/purl.org\/dc\/terms\/identifier","IsShownAt":"http:\/\/www.europeana.eu\/schemas\/edm\/isShownAt","Language":"http:\/\/purl.org\/dc\/terms\/language","Notes":"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2009\/08\/skos-reference\/skos.html#note","Provider":"http:\/\/www.europeana.eu\/schemas\/edm\/provider","Publisher":"http:\/\/purl.org\/dc\/terms\/publisher","Rights":"http:\/\/purl.org\/dc\/terms\/rights","SortDate":"http:\/\/purl.org\/dc\/terms\/date","Source":"http:\/\/purl.org\/dc\/terms\/source","Subject":"http:\/\/purl.org\/dc\/terms\/subject","Title":"http:\/\/purl.org\/dc\/terms\/title","Type":"http:\/\/purl.org\/dc\/terms\/type","Translation":"http:\/\/purl.org\/dc\/terms\/description"},"AIPUUID":[{"@value":"9d6e78f8-5033-40ed-866c-4942e79ccc0e","@language":"en"}],"AggregatedSourceRepository":[{"@value":"CONTENTdm","@language":"en"}],"CatalogueRecord":[{"@value":"http:\/\/resolve.library.ubc.ca\/cgi-bin\/catsearch?bid=1619051","@language":"en"}],"Collection":[{"@value":"British Columbia Historical Books Collection","@language":"en"}],"Contributor":[{"@value":"Halcombe, J. J. (John Joseph)","@language":"en"}],"DateAvailable":[{"@value":"2016-05-05","@language":"en"}],"DateIssued":[{"@value":"[1874?]","@language":"en"}],"Description":[{"@value":"\"Mission work in British Columbia chiefly from the journals of the Rev. R. J. Dundas: p. 185-229.\" -- Lowther, B. J., & Laing, M. (1968). A bibliography of British Columbia: Laying the foundations, 1849-1899. Victoria, BC: University of Victoria, p. 53.
\"Published under the direction of the tract committee.\" -- Title page.","@language":"en"}],"DigitalResourceOriginalRecord":[{"@value":"https:\/\/open.library.ubc.ca\/collections\/bcbooks\/items\/1.0221803\/source.json","@language":"en"}],"Extent":[{"@value":"iv, 330, 4 pages : illustrations, advertisements ; 19 cm","@language":"en"}],"FileFormat":[{"@value":"application\/pdf","@language":"en"}],"FullText":[{"@value":" THE\nEMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN;\nOR,\nSticks of Missionary life. \nEDITED BY\nTHE KEY. J. J. HALCOMBE, M.A.\nHector of Bahliam, Linton, Cambridgeshire.\nPUBLISHED UNDER THE DIRECTION OF THE\nTRACT COMMITTEE.\nLONDON:\nSOCIETY FOR PROMOTING CHRISTIAN KNOWLEDG1\nSOLD AT THE DEPOSITORIES:\n\/7, GREAT QUEEN STREET, LINCOLN'S INN FIELDS;\n4, ROYAL EXCHANGE; 48, PICCADILLY;\nAND BY- ALL BOOKSELLERS.\nNEW YORK: POTT, YOUXG & CO. \nLONDON:\nPRINTED BY JAS. TrCSCOTT AND SOW,\nSuffolk Lane, City. CONTENTS.\nRECOLLECTIONS OP MINISTERIAL WORK IN NEW SOUTH\nWALES. By the Rev. R. G-. Boodle, formerly Examining\nChaplain to the Duke of Newcastle.\nPAGE\nChapter I.\u2014Eirst Impressions 1\nII.\u2014What a Layman may do 7\nILL\u2014Entering on Work 18\nTV.\u2014Up the Country 29\nV.\u2014Work in a Pastoral District 41\nVI.\u2014A Bush Township and its School 82\nVIL\u2014Bush Labour and Bush Polk 98\nYHI.\u2014Destitution of the Sick in the Bush 109\nIX.\u2014Random Recollections \\ 116\nX.\u2014A Servant of Christ in Training 125\nXI.\u2014Christ's Servant entering on his Work, and released\nfrom ToH 134\nXII.\u2014The Aborigines 151\nXHL\u2014The Formation of the Church Society 168\nXIY.\u2014Growth and Progress of the Church Society 176\nMISSION WORK IN BRITISH COLUMBIA. Chiefly from the\nJournals of the Rev. R. J. DuNDAS.\nChapter I.\u2014Notes from the Bishop's Journal 185\nII.\u2014Camping with Indians 190\nIII.\u2014A Sunday on a Mining Creek 195\nIY.\u2014A Miner's Euneral 202\nY.\u2014Life on a Mining Creek 208\nVI.\u2014Journey Back from the Mines, 1862 217\nVII.\u2014Two years amongst the Indians of Queen Charlotte's\nIsland 229\n! I IV CONTENTS.\nSKETCHES PROM NEW ZEALAND.\nVAC, T.\nChapter I.\u2014Swamplands 241\nII.\u2014A Visit to the Gold Fields 253\nA TRIP WITH THE BISHOP OF GUIANA 259\nSKETCHES FROM INDIA.\nChapter I.\u2014Caste 271\nII.\u2014Christmas in an Indian Mission Station 291\nBURMAH. By the Rev. Henry Rowley 313 THE\nEMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\njjlpltyctums of Pmiatmal Merit in the HH|\nCHAPTER I.\nfirst impressions.\nIt was a bright Sunday morning, on the 16th of January,.\n1848, when the ship \"Medway\" entered the heads of Port\nJackson, having on board the Eight Rev. William Tyrrell,\nthe first Bishop of Newcastle.\nHis party consisted of two clergymen, seven candidates\nfor the ministry, a schoolmaster and mistress, and some\nservants from the Bishop's Hampshire parish of Beaulieu.\nOur voyage had been a long one, 120 days from Graves-.\nend, but the delay had not been unprofitable. A sudden\nchange from English to Australian work would have been\nlike an abrupt transition from a dense to a rare atmosphere.\nThe mental and spiritual constitution would not have been\nfitted for it. The pause gave time to prepare for the\nchange; and the opportunity thus afforded of reviewing\nour past work in England, and considering the duties\nwhich were awaiting us in our new sphere, full as they\nwere to be of untried and novel circumstances, helped us,\nby God's grace, to enter upon our mission with greater THE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\ncalmness and circumspection, and not, I trust, with less\ndetermination, than if we could have passed suddenly from\nthe one part of Christ's vineyard to the other.\nThe two daily services, the Sunday congregations on\nthe main-deck or in the cuddy, and the monthly celebrations of the Holy Eucharist\u2014begun as soon as the seasickness was over, and continued down the Atlantic, across\nthe Southern Ocean, and up the Pacific\u2014had joined us in\nimagination, as they kept us united in soul and spirit, with\nour blessed English Mother Church.\nThe tedium of our ocean-life had been relieved by the\nregularity of our daily lectures to the candidates for the\nministry, and our own studies ; as well as by the various\nlittle incidents of catching sharks in a calm, and dolphins\nin a breeze; watching an occasional whale, or the shoals\nof flying-fish in the tropics, as they sprang ghstening\nout of the water, and, after their few hundred yards' flight,\ndarted again, like a discharge of rifle-balls, into their\nproper element.\nOur first view of Australia had been at Cape Otway,\nnear Port Philip, the chief inlet to the rapidly growing\ncolony of Yictoria.\nI need not say with what interest we had scanned it,\nnor how eagerly, after passing Ninety-mile Beach on the\nsouth, and doubling Cape Howe, we had asked the name\nof each bay, or hill, or green spot, as we sailed up the\neastern coast.\nContrary winds had retarded us almost to the last; but\nat length, having passed the heads of Botany Bay, and\nhaving, a few miles further north, taken the pilot on\nboard, we passed between those tall stern cliffs of sandstone which look down upon the chafing waters of the\nPacific, and guard the entrance of one of the most lovely\nharbours in the world.\nA long, disastrous drought had lately been relieved by\nabundance of rain, and the headlands and islands which FIRST IMPRESSIONS.\nrested on the blue waters were looking bright with fresh\ngreen.\nSeven miles up the harbour lay Sydney, with her\nbeautiful wooded promontories and sand-fringed coves,\nbasking in the early sun. And as we glided up towards\nour anchorage on that calm summer morning, and saw the\ntall spire of St. James's Church rising out of the buildings\nthat were each minute growing more distinct, we felt that\nthe dearest part of old England\u2014her Church\u2014made even\na strange land home.\nAbout 9 a.m., the last bit of canvas was taken in,.the\nanchor let go, and the ship at rest.\nWhat a feeling of security passes over you at that\nmoment, as you find yourself fast by the ground, after four\nlong months of perpetual motion; and how near seems the\nrealisation of all the hopes, trials,, and, if God please,\nsuccesses, to which the heart has long been looking\nforward!\nThe venerable Bishop Broughton, whose body now\nsleeps under the shadow of Canterbury Cathedral, was, at\nthe time of our arrival, absent from Sydney on a visitation;\nbut one of his clergy came on board to greet us. Under\nhis guidance, the Bishop, with some of our party, landed,\nand proceeded to the temporary Cathedral of St. Andrew,\nwhile I was conducted with the rest to St. James's\nChurch.\nWe publicly returned thanks for the mercies of our\nsafe voyage, and received our first Communion with our\nAustralian brethren.\nIt was a happy thing to kneel once more within the\nwalls of a church; and I might have believed myself in\nold England, but for the shrill noise of the tettigonia or\nlocust, whose continuous whirr, like that of. a scissor-\ngrinder's wheel driven by strong steam power, seemed to\nfill the whole air during the hot hours of the day.\nIn the. evening, the mosquitoes awoke with their hum at\nb 2 THE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\nthe top of the room; and a few skirmishers attacked oUr\nhands and faces before making their descent upon us in\nforce.\nI can never forget the open-hearted hospitality with\nwhich we were received by our Sydney brethren. Australian hospitality is not confined to new arrivals from\nEngland; through the whole of a sojourn of thirteen years\nI found it unvarying. But it is especially cheering when\nyou land upon a strange shore, and have everything to\nlearn as to the details of living, to be received, as you are,\nlike .an old friend, with liberty to go in and out as you\nplease, and every one ready to help you.\nThe new diocese having, up to this time, been a part of\nBishop Broughton's vast see, we learnt from his secretary\nwhat cures especially needed filling up.\nThere were three to begin with:\u2014Morpeth, twenty miles\nup the Hunter, where the navigable part of the river ends;\nSingleton, thirty-five miles further up; and Muswell Brook,\nthirty miles further inland on the same river, beyond\nwhich, toward the west, there was no clergyman, but sheep\nwithout a shepherd.\nThe Bishop himself determined to go to Morpeth, to\nlive at first in the parsonage, and to take the duties until\nhe could ordain one of the candidates, and place him there\nunder his own eye. He kindly gave me my choice of the\nother two, and I fixed upon Muswell Brook. My dear\nfriend the Rev. H. 0. Irwin took Singleton as his work;\neach of us having candidates for the ministry to reside\nwith us.\nThe first movement was to despatch Mr. Irwin in charge\nof some of the candidates and all the servants to Morpeth,\nto await the Bishop's arrival, it being an object to remove\nthem from the port and to give them something to do.\nThe Bishop wished me to remain with him, to see the\nBishop of Sydney, our Metropolitan, as soon as he should\nreturn, and to have the benefit of his advice. FIRST IMPRESSIONS.\nI enjoyed this privilege in a few days, and then, with\nmy pupils, followed the first detachment to the Hunter,\nleaving the two Bishops in consultation.\nNewcastle, at the mouth of the Hunter, is sixty miles to\nthe north of the heads of Port Jackson. Its situation on\nthe side of a hill is good; and it looks inland up the river,\nover a broad valley, filled with wood, and bounded on the\nsouth-west by the WoUombi range, and on the north-east\nby the hills of the Paterson and the Williams. At that\ntime its railway was not thought of, nor its harbour\nsecured by a breakwater, or so well filled with shipping as\nit now is. The Sydney steamers touched there to land\npassengers and cargo for the place, and then proceeded\nwith their chief freight up to Morpeth.\nFor the first few miles up the river the banks are low\nand sandy; but by degrees they show some ten feet,\nincreasing as you advance to twenty feet or twenty-five\nfeet of rich alluvial soil above the water. In the midst of\ntall dead gum-trees\u2014which had been purposely barked all\nround for some inches in width, and whose gaunt white\ntrunks and branches had formerly a thick scrub and\ntangled festoons of creepers beneath them\u2014were growing\nrich crops of maize, and lucerne to be cut for hay; and,\nin some places, tall-growing wheat.\nIn the midst of these you might see stumps of large\ntrees, about two feet and a-half in height, where, after the\ncrops of former years had been gathered in, the settler's\ncross-cut saw had thinned some of the dead forest giants,\nleaving the rest to be cut, and afterwards grubbed up at\nleisure.\nHere and there were scattered the slab-built and bark-\ncovered huts of the owners or renters of these lands; and\nnear them, occasionally, a small planked stage would run\nout on posts into the river, to enable the people to get\ntheir bags of wheat and maize, or their trusses of hay, on\nboard the steamer on her way to Sydney; while a boat, D THE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\ntied to the little pier, heaved up and down in the waves\nmade by the passing vessel.\nOn our right, a few villas at long intervals, with their\nverandahs, tasteful gardens, vines and orange-trees, showed\na higher kind of civilisation.\nAfter passing on the same side the \"townships\" or\nvillages of Raymond Terrace at the mouth of the Williams\nRiver, and Hinton at the mouth of the Pater son, we rejoiced\nto find ourselves at last alongside the wharf at Morpeth,\nand some of our party waiting for us, ready to escort us to\nthe parsonage. tm II\nif sit ii\n111\n*;8|\nCHAPTER II.\nWHAT A LAYMAN MAY DO.\nMorpeth, or, as it was originally called, \"The Green Hills,\"\nlies along a sandstone ridge, which rises from the south\nbank of the Hunter, and runs in a westerly direction two\nmiles to the town of East Maitland.\nOn the opposite side of the river stretches a fertile flat\nabout a mile in width, extending many miles up and down\nthe river: where English, Scotch, and Irish settlers exhibit\ntheir respective national characteristics and differences of\nreligion.\nIn most places a furrow alone divides one farm from\nanother; but here and there a small piece of land is enclosed by a post and rail fence for the milch cows, or for\nthe working bullocks which plough the land, carry off the\nproduce, and fetch the supplies.\nAround most of the wooden houses of the settlers are a\nfew young standard peach and nectarine trees, bending\nabout Christmas time under the abundance of their delicious fruit. Melons and pumpkins spread in wild luxuriance over the ground. And, along the verandahs of some\nof the more careful and industrious, vines keep off the\nfierceness of the summer heat, or, tied to stakes, like\nraspberries in England, bear grapes, which in our English\nclimate could only be produced in a hot-house.\nBeyond these rich lowlands, hills of moderate elevation\nbound the view towards the north, rising to a bold outline,\nwhere the River Paterson cleaves them, and opens up a\nvista, along which ridge rises above ridge distinct and\nmmi 8 THE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\ndear, under a sky exquisitely blue; and among these\npicturesque hills He the little townships of Paterson and\nGresford. .\nOnly twenty-seven years before the arrival oi tiie\nBishop's party at Morpeth, this neighbourhood showed\nno sign of civilisation.\nNot a human habitation had been built; not a spade, or\nplough, or implement, however rough, had ever broken the\nsurface of the forest-covered ground. Not a herb, or tree,\nor seed, had ever been grown, which did not spring of\nitself.\nThe poor black natives, who had roamed over the\ncountry and fished the waters from times unknown, had\nleft absolutely no memorial to show that social reasoning\nbeings had ever shared the land with the opossum and\nthe kangaroo.\nIn the twenty-seven years before 1848 a great stride\nhad been made in fulfilment of the command to \"replenish\nthe earth and subdue it.\"\nThe valley had been cleared, and brought into luxuriant\ncultivation. Two wharves received the imports from the\nSydney steamers for the inland towns and settlers, and\nshipped off, not merely the agricultural produce of the\nneighbouring farms, but the still more valuable cargoes of\nwool, tallow, and hides, sent down from the large grazing\ndistricts, which were being taken up into the interior.\nThree long lines of straggling streets had grown up\non the eastern end of 1 The Green Hills,\" containing a\npopulation of some 700 persons; among whom were found\nthe ordinary elements of a rising colonial town.\nEdward C. Close, Esq., the father and founder of this\nlittle community, who was only lately called to his rest,\nfull of years, was one of those men who are so valuable\namong the heterogeneous elements of a young colony.\nEirm enough in Christian principle to stand alone in doing\nright, and to give those who are weaker an example WHAT A LAYMAN MAY DO.\n9\nto follow, without any censoriousness or self-assertion,\nbut ever ready to do good to all classes; he was a\nconsiderate Christian gentleman, and a sincere Churchman.\nIn early life he had served under the Duke of Wellington\nin India and in. the Peninsula.\nAt one of the seven engagements in Spain named on the\nseven clasps of his medal, while lying down with his regiment under heavy fire\u2014himself untouched among his dead\nor wounded comrades\u2014he had made a promise to God\nthat, if spared, he would build a church as soon as he\nshould have the means of doing so.\nIn the year 1817 Mr. Close arrived in New South Wales\nwith his regiment\u2014the 48th.\nA contemporary of his, himself a valuable and highly\nrespected Churchman, mentioned to me a few years ago how\nremarkable Mr. Close was for steadiness and Christian principle from his first years in the colony, when considerable\nlicence was the too general rule, and holy laymen were\nscarce indeed.\nHe would often withdraw from the carousing of the mess-\nroom to enjoy a quiet evening with his steady-minded\nfriend; and on Sundays the two young men would not\nunfrequently read the Holy Scriptures together, and thus\nstrengthen those high principles, of which Mr. Close to the\nend of his life, and his friend to the present day, have been\neminent examples.\nIn the year 1821, at the time of his marriage, Mr.\nClose received from the Government a grant of land,\nwhich he had selected on and about the present site of\nMorpeth.\nHe had not forgotten his vow made in the hour of his\ndanger on the other side of the world. Whether for good\nor for evil, it is still true, \" Ccelum, non animum mutant,\nqui trans mare currunt.'1\nFor a while he had not the means necessary for building 10\nTHE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\nI\na church without assistance. But he was not idle in Christ's\nservice; there was plenty of preparatory work to be\ndone. There was not a clergyman in the whole Hunter\ndistrict.*\nIn his own service, and all around him, were convicts,\nor, as they were called, | assigned servants,\" working out\ntheir sentences. He did much to humanise these men by\nthe kindness, as well as by the justice and firmness, with\nwhich he treated them.\nThe importance of keeping large numbers of men, who\nhad already broken through the laws, from insubordination\nand rebellion, made it necessary to arm their masters, who\nwere generally magistrates, with very summary powers. A\ngreat amount of restraint, which could easily be made very\noppressive and irritating, was left to their discretion. And\nalthough masters could not at their own will order their\nservants to be flogged, it was easy for brother magistrates,\nsitting on the bench together, to order the flogging of each\nother's servants on insufficient grounds or with undue\nseverity. There is no reasonable doubt that this was not\nunfrequently done in the early times. And if anything\nwas likely to turn transportation from a reformatory punishment into a means of completing the hardening of a man's\nheart, it was such absence of fellow-feeling and perversion\nof justice under cloak of legal power.\nMr. Close was too conscientious a man ever to be unjust,\nand too sincere a Christian to be harsh and tyrannical to\nthose who were in his power. As a magistrate he held the\nbalance justly between masters and their convict servants.\nAs a master and a neighbour he acted with consideration,\nalways ready to encourage those who showed signs of im-\n* The first clergyman appointed to the Hunter was the Rev. C. P.\nN. Wilton, who was placed at Newcastle in 1831. He remained single-\nhanded for three years, riding sometimes, as he has told me, to Murru-\nrundi, 130 miles inland. In 1834 the Rev. G-. K. Rusden arrived from\n|||||jland, and was sent to East Maitland. I\nWHAT A LAYMAN MAY DO.\n11\nproving habits. And when there was no medical man\nnear, which was long the case, he was constantly found\n- at the bedside of the convict or of the free settler, acting\nas the doctor and Christian friend, where both body and\nmind wanted relief.\nBut he did more. Before any clergyman visited the\ndistrict, he used to call around him his convict labourers,.\nand any others who would come, for prayers on Sunday,\nusing, as far as a layman could do so, the Book of Common\nPrayer, and reading a printed sermon to the people assembled. And this he continued to do for years, whenever\na clergyman was unable to be present.\nHe opened also a Sunday-school, as the increasing population caused the need of one, and taught in it, with the\nmembers of his family.\nIt need hardly be said that Bishop Broughton warmly\napproved and seconded one, who so truly I laboured much\nin the Lord.\"\nOf his character as a Christian host the Bishop of\nNewcastle says, in a sermon preached on the Sunday after\nhis funeral, | Those who have traversed all parts of this\nnorthern district of the colony, as I have done, have often\nheard the squatter and the settler living hundreds of miles\nfrom hence, describe with grateful feelings how, years ago,\nthey rested for the night under that roof, when not only\nevery want was supplied and every comfort provided for\nthe body, but they had felt years afterwards it was good\nfor them as men and as Christians to have enjoyed the\nhospitality of that home.\"\nIn the earlier days of the colony, when churches were\nrequired, the Government not only gave the site, but met\nthe contributions of the subscribers with an equal sum for\nthe building of the church.\nMr. Close might have availed himself of this assistance,\nbut he would not allow himself thus to be deprived of\nrendering the full tribute which he had vowed.\nII 12\nTHE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\n1\nHaving given the land for the church and parsonage,\nwith garden and paddock attached, he built a substantial\nstone church with a tower; which, though not up to our\npresent improved knowledge of church architecture, was\nin every way vastly superior to anything which the colony\ncould then show. The colonial architect of that day turned\nout such sorry specimens of churches, that it was well that\nMr. Close drew his own plan, and himself superintended\nits erection. He was also the means of getting the parsonage built, which is one of the best and most convenient in\nthe diocese.\nThus had this good layman prepared the way for the\nwork which was to follow.\nUp to the time of the arrival of the Bishop of Newcastle,\ngood Bishop Broughton, having the enormous area of the\nwhole of Australia to provide for, had been unable to\nsupply a separate clergyman to Morpeth. But from this\n. date, not only were its spiritual want's supplied by the\noccupant of its own parsonage, but it became the centre of\nthe diocese, and the source from which the chief Church\nmovements proceeded.\nBishop Tyrrell, having obtained from the Bishop of\nSydney such information as would enable him to enter\nupon the work before him, proceeded to Newcastle; and\nin Christ Church, of which the Rev. C. P. N. Wilton was\nincumbent, he. was formally installed as Bishop of the\ndiocese, on Sunday, January 30, a fortnight after his\nlanding in the colony.\nThe less said about the architecture of that beautifully-\nplaced church the better. It was built in the early days\nof the colony, on the hill above the town, looking from its\neast end, where the low tower stands, down upon the\nbroad blue Pacific; and from the west, where the apse\nstrangely projects, upon the river and the wooded inland\nflats and hills.\nAs this is the cathedral of the diocese, and as many WHAT A LAYMAN MAY DO.\n13\nessential Church works have already been accomplished, it\nis earnestly to be hoped that a building more worthy of\nbearing the name it does, may be raised on that beautiful\nsite\u2014erected, not by the Churchmen of Newcastle alone,\nbut by the united efforts of the diocese. And may I\nexpress one fervent hope besides,\u2014that the daily\nsacrifice of prayer and praise may there be offered, and\naid the growing religious life of the Hunter River\ndistrict ?\nBut we must move up again to Morpeth. The Bishop\nwas soon there, settled in the parsonage, with the two\nsenior candidates for the ministry, whom he purposed to\nordain on the second Sunday in Lent. He set himself\nvigorously to work as parish priest of Morpeth, having\nunder his charge the little hamlet of Hinton, one mile off,\nacross the river, and a considerable district around.\nEven when he had ordained one of these candidates as\ndeacon, to minister in Morpeth and its district, he himself\ndischarged the priestly, and shared to a large extent the\nother ministerial duties of the parish, besides often aiding\nthe clergy of East and West Maitland, and of the parishes\nwithin a radius of some fifteen miles.\nSettlers had located themselves, not in reference to the\nproximity of a church, but according as the land was\nbetter suited for agriculture, or more accessible to means\nof transport. Hence, even in the Hunter Valley, little\nclusters of slab-built houses were often built six or eight\nmiles from the nearest church; and, unless they were to\nbe left uncared for on a Sunday, the clergyman of the\ndistrict was obliged to leave his larger congregations for\ntheir sakes.\nTo meet these wants, the Bishop, whom no fatigue or\nheat withheld from work, was ubiquitous : now at Morpeth,\nor in some portion of its district; now taking the ordinary\nservice for one or other of the neighbouring clergy, that\nthey might gather in some school-room or settler's hut\nUM 14\nTHE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\nthose who were too distant to come in to the church, and\nat other times taking his own turn in ministering to those\nsmall outlying congregations.\nI remember, on one occasion, when I had come down\nthe country to Morpeth for an ordination, riding over with\nthe Bishop to Miller's Forest, some six miles off, for such\na service. Our route, not road, lay sometimes among tall\ndead trees, with rich crops of maize growing among them;\nsometimes through a bit of swamp, which let our horses in\nto the knees; and then over rough log bridges covered\nwith loose saplings, from which much of the earth had\nbeen washed or worn off, and care was needed to avoid\ngetting your horse's leg into some awkward hole, where\nthe sapling had been broken or thrust aside.\nThe population, with the exception of some Irish Roman\nCatholics or Scotch Presbyterians, consisted chiefly of\nWesleyans, or \"Primitive Methodists.\" But they assembled, filling the little building as full as it could hold, and\nwere reverently attentive during the service, and grateful\nfor it afterwards.\nFor the first few months after his arrival, the Bishop\nwas uncertain where he should buy or build a house for\nhis permanent residence. It was not an unimportant\nmatter; for a place badly chosen would have greatly\ninterfered with the usefulness of the Bishop and his\nsuccessors. Obviously the great desiderata were, that he\nshould be at the place most easily accessible to clergy or\nothers coming from the different parts of his enormous.\ndiocese, and where the post from these and from Sydney\nwas most regular and frequent.\nMorpeth possessed nearly all the requirements of the\ncentre of the diocese. Placed at the head of the navigable\npart of the Hunter, it was easily reached by sea from all\nthe northern parts of the colony. With Sydney, the seat\nof government, from which it is distant about ninety miles,\nthe communication was daily; and for travellers or letters WHAT A LAYMAN MAY DO.\n15\nfrom the interior, it was almost as convenient as Maitland,\nand far more so than Newcastle.\nThe only drawback was, that it was not, nor hitherto\nhas it become, populous enough to develop, under the\nBishop's eye, those diocesan institutions which need\nnumbers in order to make them successful. This, however, is of minor importance. Whatever institutions are\nstarted at West Maitland or at Newcastle, the distance of\nfour miles in the one case, and twenty-two by rail in the\nother, is not enough to interfere with the Bishop's complete\nsupervision. That he himself should wo?'Jc them would, of\ncourse, be out of the question anywhere.\nAt first, there was no available house at Morpeth, and\nthe Bishop had some thoughts of buying a large unfinished\nplace beyond Maitland, ambitiously begun in earlier days\nof unhealthy speculation, and never made habitable. But.\nthis idea was soon rejected. Besides requiring too large\nan outlay to finish it, the capital objection to Aberglaslyn\nwas, that it was too much out of the way for ready communication with the Bishop.\nMr. Close solved this difficulty by selling his own house\nas the Bishop's residence. For this it was very well adapted.\nIt is placed on some of the highest ground at the west end\nof Morpeth, and within two hundred yards of the church\nand parsonage.\nSince changing its owner, that house has witnessed\nmany an anxious consultation for the good of the diocese,\nprolonged far into the night. It has welcomed the clergy\nand schoolmasters on their first arrival from England, for\nwhich it is particularly convenient, being distant but five\nminutes' walk from the wharf. It has been the centre to\nwhich the wants, difficulties, and troubles of the various\ndistricts have found their way, and from which has flowed\nout comfort, or advice, or help, or, it may be, needed\nmonition. Thither hard-worked clergy have ridden, to\npour all their plans, their successes, into a sympathising\nIP 16\nTHE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\near; and, if they were worth anything, they have gone\naway refreshed and inspirited, and nerved for fresh\nexertion by the example of the untiring energy which they\nhad witnessed in their Bishop,\u2014at once an indefatigable\nworker and a diligent student. Sometimes those who\nwere staying with him, or had dropped in from some\nneighbouring parsonage, would be asked to join him in his\nfavourite walk up and down the path between his garden\ngate and that which opens into the road opposite to the\nchurch tower. And, as the last phase of the Education\nquestion was discussed (for Mr. Lowe was in the Parliament of New South Wales), or the Synod question, or the\nmeans of supporting the clergy, or some special parish\nmatters, needed a few more words, the pace became\nquicker, and the dinner hour was forgotten, to the no\nsmall displeasure of the good old housekeeper, whose cap\nmight be seen from time to time peering impatiently\nbetween the pillars of the Bishop's verandah.\nOften has the large paddock in which the house and\ngarden stand resounded with the merry voices of the\nschool children, on their annual feast day. And at the\ngarden gate the Bishop would stand with large baskets of\noranges, from the orangery at the back of the house, to\nscramble them among the children, or with barrows full\nof grapes from the vineyard, to give each child a bunch\nor two before the end of the day's pleasure.\nThe school, with master's house attached, was built by\nthe Bishop in 1849, on a block of land separated by a road\nfrom the church enclosure. Since then the Bishop built on\nthe south, or left side of the school, an infant school, a\ndwelling for the mistress, and a room for the use of the\nclergy; and a well-designed and well-built chancel has\nbeen added to the church by a relative of the venerable\nfounder.\nMr, Close retired for a while, after selling his house, to\na large, wood-built bungalow, which he had built when he WHAT\nfirst fixed at Mx>rpeth, but, after a little time, began building\non a piece of land immediately adjoining that which he had\nsold to the Bishop; and there he spent the last years of\nhis useful life, genial and warm-hearted as ever, and taking\npart, almost to the last, in the working of the Church. 18\nCHAPTER HI.\nI\nENTERING ON WORK.\nWhatever traits of old England may be found in her\ncolonies, yet the circumstances of the young progeny differ\nso materially from those of the parent kingdom\u2014rich,\npopulous, and fettered as well as adorned by the labours\nand precedents of centuries\u2014that a fresh immigrant has\nmuch to learn before he can act vigorously and effectively\nin his new country.\nHence every sensible settler, however many improvements he may have in his brain,'follows the routine which\nhe finds around him for a while, until he has become\naccustomed to the peculiarities of the climate and soil, the\nvalue of labour, and the means of transit. A self-willed\ntheorist soon finds himself losing his capital, instead of\ngaining interest for it.\nThe same holds good with Church work. The Catholic\nfaith and the essential principles of the Church are the\nsame everywhere; but a bishop or clergyman, transplanted\nfrom English to Australian soil, finds the circumstances of\nthe Church to which he is introduced very different from\nthose to which he has been accustomed in the old country;\nand time is required to enable him to understand what\nthings he may hope to reproduce after a while, what he\nmust be content to let go altogether, and what new modes\nof working he must adopt in order to meet the new state\nof things in which he finds himself.\nIn the meantime there is abundance of important work\non which he may zealously begin, and through which he ENTERING on wore.\n19\nbecomes acquainted with the people and they with him;\nand when he has learnt to understand the nature of the\nmaterial on which\" he has to work, he may, under God's\nblessing, apply his former experience with good effect.\nIt was, therefore, resolved that we should begin to work\nwith things as we found them, learning by observation\nthe existing needs, supplying them as we were able, introducing improvements in detail as our experience increased,\nand so preparing ourselves and the people for any new\nplans and more general efforts.\nThe first scheme postponed was that which we had\ncherished in England and talked of on the voyage\u2014the\ncommencement of a theological college for training candidates for the ministry; and this has continued in abeyance\nup to the present moment. Neither at the time of our\narrival nor since has there appeared the prospect of a\nsufficient number of candidates to make it worth while\nto establish and keep up a separate college for their\ntraining.\nInstead of establishing a distinct clerical college, which\nwould have been weak from paucity of pupils, those who\nwere candidates for the ministry were placed by the Bishop\nunder some clergyman, from whom they received assistance\nin their reading ; and by working in his school and visiting\nin the parish under his direction they gained experience\nof parochial work. When he was absent at some of his\nmany places of service, they read the prayers and a sermon\nappointed by him to any congregation to which he sent\nthem.\nThis is, no doubt, a state of things far from satisfactory.\nA hard-worked parish priest has not time, and scarcely\nstrength, to devote to keeping up in himself and imparting\nto his pupils a thorough knowledge of theology; and the\nbeneficial training which numbers give to each other is\nwanting. But we were obliged to adopt it as the best\ncourse which the circumstances admitted. Some very\nc 2 20\nTHE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\nPgiod and useful men, who have now for some years been\nordained to the priesthood, have been trained in this way.\nAs to the lay services, the congregations had by this means\nthe opportunity afforded them of hallowing the Lord's\nday; and while they were habituated to the regularity of\nassembling for prayer, praise, and teaching, they never\nconfounded the office of the lay assistant with that of the\nordained clergyman.\nAt the time of our arrival, there was nothing like any\nregular offering from the people towards the maintenance\nof their ministers. The English Churchman, accustomed\nat that day more than now to see his clergyman in the\nold country maintained, without his aid, by tithes or pew-\nrents, or Hving on his own private means, or on the profits\nof pupils, with a mere nominal income from his parish,\ncarried to the colony, almost as a part of his Churchman-\nship, the idea that the voluntary support of the pastor by\nhis flock was a burden to the flock and a degradation to\nthe pastor; and seeing that the ancient offering of tithes\nhad been enforced by the law of the land, he looked to the\nGovernment to provide for his clergyman from the public\nfunds ; and where the sum provided by the State was insufficient, the Church societies of the mother country were\nexpected to come to the aid of the colonial Church.\nIn the early days of the colony, when the convicts were\nmany and the free settlers thinly scattered over the country,\nsuch extraneous aid was necessary. But the more the free\npopulation increased in numbers and in wealth, and the\nmore largely the powers of self-government were conceded,\nto the colony, the more evident it became that the Church\nmust look for her maintenance and growth to her own\ninherent vitality,\u2014in full accordance with the apostolic\nrule, \"Let him that is taught in the Word communicate unto\nhim that teacheth in all good things.\" 1\nThe necessity of ceasing to rely on the Government and\n* Gal. vi. 6. ENTERING ON WORK.\non the English societies was but dimly before the minds of\nthe Bishop and clergy at first: the laity of the Church had\nno better perception of it. It was therefore resolved that\nworking among and for the people, under the existing state\nof things, must precede any organised attempt to obtain\nfrom them support for the maintenance or extension of the\nChurch's work.\nBut though the principle of the support of the ministry\nby the offerings of the laity was not rightly understood,\npecuniary aid for any Church work was expected through\nthe medium of the Bishop. A bishop, as being in connection\nwith the Church societies at home, and as an influential\nperson with the members of the colonial Government, was\napt to be looked on as an inexhaustible source of revenue.\nHence the Bishop of Newcastle, soon after his arrival, had\nrequests poured in upon him on every side for aid in\nbuilding new churches, schools, and parsonages.\nHe had, no doubt, some means at his disposal. But a\nlittle inquiry soon revealed the fact that many of the\nexisting Church buildings were considerably in debt, and\nthat the churchwardens and trustees were contentedly\nacquiescing in this state of things, paying from year to\nyear out of that miserable source of income, pew-rents,\nthe interest due on the debts; but making no endeavour to\nwipe out the principal by fresh subscriptions. Only a few\ndays after his arrival at Morpeth, I received a letter from\nhim, dated Feb. 5,1848, in which he says, \" Certainly the\nstate of our church is most unsatisfactory. Every church\nand building belonging to the Church down here is encumbered with debt.\" The Bishop therefore preferred\nthe less showy course of getting the existing debts cleared\noff, to the more pleasant one of at once beginning new\nbuildings.\nI believe I am correct in saying that he in no case paid\noff all the debt for the people, but that he promised them\na certain amount of aid, on condition that they raised the THE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\nrest, either at once or within a specified reasonable period.\nA little persuasion, backed by a conditional promise of \u00a310,\n\u00a330, or \u00a350, inspirited many who had for some time been\nsitting down hopelessly under their burdens. Fresh subscription lists were opened, and within a short time the\nChurch buildings were free.\nIt is but fair to say that many of these debts had been\ncontracted during the times of prosperity, and that the\nsudden and deep reverses which the colony had suffered,\nand from which it was only slowly emerging when we\narrived, had prevented many who had put down their\nnames for large sums from fulfilling their promises. In\nthe meantime many had been forced to sell their properties\nat a great sacrifice, and to make a fresh start on a more\nhumble scale in some other part of the wide unoccupied\nterritory. Some had migrated to California, in order to\nretrieve their fortunes, Utile thinking that the feet of many\nAustralian flocks and herds were wandering over mines of\ngold, which, in three years more, would attract shiploads\nof energetic men from Europe,, and give a vast impetus to\nthe prosperity of the country.\nThe coming outburst of such prosperity was at that time\nhidden from us; and I remember the Bishop expressing\nto me his disappointment that he could not use the means\nat his disposal in forwarding new works, which he saw\nwere urgently needed. But he rightly considered it most\nimportant to begin with the humbler work of honesty\nfor the past. And he was content to seem to be doing\nlittle, and to bide his time, until he could begin fresh\nworks on a clear foundation. His was a species of self-\ndenial little known and not much appreciated, but very\ngenuine.\nThe pressure of business which came upon the Bishop's\nshoulders on his first arrival at Morpeth may be imagined\nby those who consider what the arrival of one who was\nboth head of a large party and Bishop of a new see implies. -ENTERING ON WORK.\nI had started for my cure at Muswell Brook within a few\ndays after my arrival at Morpeth, as my predecessor had\nleft the parish a fortnight before we landed. Mr. Irwin\nwent up to Singleton the week after the Bishop came from\nSydney. The Bishop therefore kindly undertook the small\ndetails of receiving all our goods from the ship, as well as\nhis own, and forwarding them to us. At the same time he\nwas settling himself and his household in the parsonage at\nMorpeth, looking after carpenters and other workmen, and\nseeing clergy, churchwardens, or settlers who desired to\npay their respects to the new Bishop, and to make known\nto him their wants. Letters began to come in upon him\nfrom distant parts of his diocese, so that it is not to be^\nwondered at that in his first letter to me from Morpeth he\nsays, \"I am here in a perfect whirl of business, with\nscarcely a moment free from intruders.\" Two days later,\nFeb. 7, he wrote, \" My head is nearly splitting, from the\nnumber of things I have to think of. It will be a great\ntreat to me to pay you a visit.\"\nThe same letter mentions that one of his episcopal\ntroubles found him out on the threshold of his work in\nthe loss of one of his clergy, and the need of supplying his\nplace by another. The important district of Moreton Bay,\nwhich has since grown up into the colony of Queensland\nand the bishopric of Brisbane, stretching northward from\nabout the 28th parallel of latitude, had but one clergyman\nin its whole extent. Of this he writes, \" There is another\ndistrict now vacant, Moreton Bay, the Rev. Mr. Gregor\nhaving been unfortunately drowned last week while bath-\ning.\" | I . ' I I\nThe Bishop had never seen him, nor had there been\ntime as yet even to communicate with him by letter. This\nloss could not therefore be felt as that of a friend; but in\nour little band, which we desired to stretch as widely as\npossible to tend Christ's scattered flock, it made a perceptible gap. The death of one clergyman in an English diocese, 24\nTHE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\nunless he be a man of great eminence, is not felt beyond\nthe sphere of his own parish and personal friends, but in\nan Australian diocese one loss is felt through the whole.\nThe whole number of clergy whom the Bishop, on his\narrival, found in his vast see was but twelve.* His two\nnew clergy were at once needed for two vacant cures,\nand now one of the most extensive and distant districts,\nwhich had no neighbouring clergyman to bestow on its\npeople even an occasional service, was suddenly left\ndestitute.\nTo meet this great need the Bishop was obliged to arrange\nwith the clergyman who was vacating Singleton, and had\nintended to leave the diocese, to go up to Moreton Bay.\nHe was only too thankful to be able in any way to\nsupply so serious a vacancy. The arrangement was but\ntemporary, yet, by God's blessing, the present need\nwas met, and the Bishop turned to work vigorously upon\nthe duties which, thick and increasing, were claiming his\nenergies.\nI have seen Bishop Tyrrell, during the thirteen years I\nenjoyed the privilege of working with him, under many\nheavy trials and disappointments. He has sometimes\nwritten to me, mentioning how sharply for the moment he\nhas felt the seeming blighting of some cherished scheme\nfor the Church's good. But he has a happy disposition,\nor rather a clear faith and buoyant hope, which enable\nhim quickly to perceive God's overruling wisdom in such\ncrosses; and he has set himself cheerfully to the task of\nrepairing the loss, and of doing the work next before him,\ninstead of fretting over the vanished hope, or fearing idly\n* The cures which Bishop Tyrrell found provided with clergy were,\non the coast line, Newcastle, Port Stephens, Port Macquarie, Moreton\nBay; on the Hunter River, Raymond Terrace, Hexham, Paterson, East\nMaitland, West Maitland, Jerry's Plains; above it, Scone and Armi-\ndale. But the clergyman of Port Macquarie was, from the infirmities\nof age, able to do very little duty. And before long the Bishop ordained\na clergyman to take the great work of the district.\nmHKBKxgKKK ENTERING ON WORK.\n25\nfor the future. He has seemed to have learned the lesson\nwhich our Keble puts so beautifully :\u2014\nI Live for to-day! to-morrow's light\nTo-morrow's cares shall bring to sight.\nGo sleep like closing flowers at night,\nAnd Heaven thy morn will bless.\" *\nIn the midst of these busy weeks, which claimed his\nattention and care on every side, he was preparing for the\nsolemn time of his first ordination. The letter is before\nme in which he announced that it was to be on the second\nSunday in Lent, March 19. And the dates at three different parts of the letter, with several days' interval between\nthem, will illustrate his words in it: \"I really am incessantly occupied. Last night I was writing till 1.30, and\nwas up again at six this morning;\"\u2014not an unusual event,\nI may remark, when work was pressing him, only that sometimes the hours of rest on the narrow iron bedstead were\nstill fewer.\nThat first ordination, like all the subsequent ones, was\nheld at Morpeth, and the church was crowded with those\nwho came from the neighbourhood to be present at the\nservice. Mr. Irwin said the morning prayer; it was my\nduty to present the candidates ; and the Bishop preached\na sermon, of which I have now no record, but can only\nremember that it was an earnest and valuable one, addressed\nto the congregation as well as to the candidates.\nWith what thankful hearts and solemn hopes did we\nleave St. James's Church that morning! Who can foresee\nat such a time the mighty possibilities of success in Christ's\nservice, which open out before him ? Who can forecast\nthe enemies and battles, and alas! perhaps the failures,\nthat lie before those who then have girded their armour on ?\nOne of these deacons, since made priests, was sent before\n* Christian Year, 15th Sunday after Trinity. 26\nTHE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\nlong.to the Darling Downs, in what is now the diocese of\nBrisbane: where, in spite of weak health, he has laboured\non faithfully, and has been made archdeacon by the Bishop\nof Brisbane. The other was placed at Morpeth, where he\nremained for about two years, and then returned to England. The duties of Morpeth being thus provided for, the\nBishop was enabled to assist the clergy in the neighbouring\ndistricts of the Hunter Valley ; and so to work toward the\nobject which he had proposed in a letter written some\nweeks previously, in which he said, \"It is my purpose to\nwork Well this line of country, that all may see in some\ndegree what our Church is when fairly and efficiently\ncarried out into practice.\"\nIn the course of this first year a second ordination was\nheld in September, at which three deacons were ordained.\nTwo of them candidates brought with us from England,\nand one who had been for many years residing in the\ncolony.\nOn looking back to that first year it seems marvellous\nhow much of his diocese the Bishop was enabled to visit,\nholding confirmations whenever he found candidates prepared for him; and gaining that general view of the wants,\nand acquaintance with the chief inhabitants of the diocese,\nwhich would enable him to lay his plans for the future.\nThe Lent ordination, and Lenten work in and around\nMorpeth, occupied him well through March, and nearly to\nthe end of April.\nAbout the middle of May he went through the district\nof the Upper Hunter for about eighty miles, visiting\nSingleton, Muswell Brook, Scone, and Jerry's Plaius,\nwhere clergy were stationed, as well as the smaller intermediate townships.\nIn June he went by sea to Brisbane, and visited the\ndistant northern portion of his diocese, where settlers had\ngone out, and clergymen were greatly needed to follow\nthem. This visitation occupied about a month. ENTERING ON WORK.\n27\nIn September he rode down almost, if not quite, to the\nsouthern extremity of the diocese: and visited Brisbane\nWater* and its beautiful neighbourhood, where the population chiefly consists of sawyers, and those connected with\nthe timber trade. Tall thick forests cover the hill-sides,\nand in the deep valleys the dense glossy foliage, the\nfestoons of creepers, and the cabbage-tree palms, with\noccasionally a tall ant-hill, three or four feet high, give a\nsemi-tropical character to the shady tracks through which\nyou ride.\nSoon after the ordination in September, the Bishop\npassed up the Hunter to the rich western grazing districts\nof Merriwa and Cassilis, and, having visited these, rode\nnorthward across the Liverpool range to the towns of\nTamworth and Armidale. Thence he worked his way\neastward down the rugged hills, which fall from the tableland of New England towards the coast line ; returning by\nPort Macquarie and Port Stephens to Morpeth.\nI am not aware that he had visited the districts of the\nClarence and the Richmond rivers ; but by the end of his\nfirst year far the larger portion of his huge diocese could\nbe realised in his own study at Morpeth. Besides these\nlong journeyings, he was continually riding to places ten,\nfifteen, or twenty miles off, to give those who were remote\nfrom their clergyman opportunities of Divine service.\nOf course, plenty of work awaited his return, and his\ncorrespondence grew in proportion to the places he had\nvisited. But in the midst of this, his reading was never\nforgotten. He wrote, shortly after his return from his last\nlong visitation : \"I have just been under severe discipline-,\nnot of illness, thank the Lord, but self-discipline, changing\nthe habit of ten hours' daily riding to the same period of\ndaily reading and writing.\"\nifflffl\n* Brisbane Water in the south must not be confounded with Brisbane\nin the north. They are separated by some six degrees of latitude, or\nrather more than 400 miles. 28\nTHE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\nThere are always dark shades in every picture, and some\nof these appeared in the midst of our first year's work.\nTwo out of the candidates for the ministry were instances\nof what is too often found,\u2014men who from their own hypocrisy, or the carelessness of those who professed to know\nthem, obtained recommendations which they did not deserve, and whom it was found impossible to make anything\nof. It was so far well that partly on the voyage, and\npartly soon after their arrival, their entire unfitness was\ndiscovered. The passage of both was paid to England;\nand one, the least unfit, sailed. Of the other, who had\nbeen intrusted to me, and had for some time caused me\ndeep anxiety, I can say no more than that to my bitter\nsorrow I followed him to his grave in Sydney four months\nafter our landing.\nOne more, a gentle, holy-spirited youth, who doubtless\nwould have done good work had he been spared, was\ndiseased in the lungs when he sailed, and he only drooped\nand died. In the September of our first year, I received\nthe following account from the Bishop : I Poor Mr. Ison\nwas released most easily and happily on Monday evening,\nand I followed him to the grave as chief mourner yesterday.\nIt was a melancholy scene.\"\nSuch w.as our beginning\u2014\" Toiling, rejoicing, sorrowing\" CHAPTER IV.\nUP THE COUNTRY.\nWhat strikes most new-comers, when they really get up\ninto the Australian \" Bush,\" is the unfenced and apparently\nunappropriated land through which they travel. And I\nmay add that those who return to England, after a long\nfamiliarity with Australian scenery, are equally struck by\nthe entire enclosing and minute subdivisions of far the\ngreatest part of the old country. In New South Wales the\nfeeling is, as a gentleman once said to me, suiting the\naction to the word, \" Here 's a land where one has plenty\nof elbow-room.\" In England you have hedge-bordered\nroads, and paths to which you are confined, however\ncircuitous they may be. In the Australian Bush you leave\nor follow the track at pleasure; and no one complains of\nyour riding or driving over his grass for a few furlongs, or\nfor twenty miles.\nWhen I started on my first journey to my appointed\ndistrict of Muswell Brook, taking with me two candidates\nfor the ministry, and two servants, there was very little\nfencing to be seen after the first two miles above West\nMaitland. I had engaged the whole of the mail\u2014a two-\nwheeled car, carrying one on the box with the driver, and\nfour behind, with a modicum of luggage for each\u2014and in\na short time we came upon parts of the road where the\nground was so saturated with water, or the ruts in the\nnative soil so deep and wide, from the heavy rains, that\nour driver would frequently strike off among the trees, and,\nafter many a winding, bring us back again into the worn\nand beaten track. 30\nTHE emigrant and the heathen.\nOur journey that day was but thirty miles, from Maitland\nto Singleton. Tie greater part of it was through tall gum*\nand iron-bark trees, growing thickly together, with but\nlittle underwood or scrub; but occasionally we came to a\nplace where the timber was thinner, and the appearance\nnot unlike that of an extensive park.\nAlong the whole route there was but one apology for a\nbridge, consisting of some trees thrown across the little\ncreek, one over another, and covered with earth ; and bad\nenough it was. At all the other \" creeks\"\u2014as the brooks\nor water-courses are called\u2014the banks were cut down,\nsometimes to the depth of twenty feet | and we drove\ndown one side, through the bed of the creek, and up the\nopposite side. Probably in the one exception, at Anvil\nCreek, the creek bed may have been too soft to bear wheels\nat all. As might be expected, traffic was often stopped\nafter heavy rains. Impatient horsemen might swim across;\n* The trees which are most common in New South Wales are known\nby the names of white gum, blue gum, spotted gum, red gum, apple-\ntree, box, stringy bark, and iron bark. They differ very little in the\ncolour or shape of their f oliage. In common with nearly all the trees\nof the country, they are evergreens, of a dull bluish green. The leaves\nare shaped like the willow, but are so thick that the ribs and fibres\nneither project on one side, nor are indented on the other, as in English\nleaves. They hang on their stems, not with their face, but their edge,\nturned to the sky; and being few in number, and high up, they cast but\nlittle shade. On one occasion, being exhausted and unwell, in an\nintensely hot day, I wished to get into shade; and, though riding through\nthinly timbered country, was obliged to sit against the stem of the tree\non the shady side; the leaves afforded no shade. The iron bark and\nred gum are the hardest of the woods mentioned. The former is so\nheavy that I have seen a block of it used to sink the slack of a punt\nrope. The stringy bark is the best for sawing into flooring boards.\nThe hard woods work well, when fresh; but if long dried, turn or break\nthe edge of an axe, break a gimlet, and will not admit a nail. Several\nof these trees shed the outer skin of their bark periodically; and you\nmay see strips hanging from them twelve feet or fifteen feet long, and\nfrom one to three inches wide, and as thick as brown paper. These\nthin strips of bark, and the dry leaves, are of service to the bushman\nwho wants to light a fire to boil his | pot o' tea,\" but they add to the\nreadiness with which a bush fire often sets miles of country in flames. UP THE COUNTRY.\n31\nbut vehicles were detained until the water had run off.\nThe traveller of the present day would find not only a wide\nroad with bridges over most of the creeks, but a railroad\nin use as far as Singleton, and nearly finished to Muswell\nBrook. On our way, we passed through the two small\ntownships or villages of Lochinvar and Black Creek;\ndistant from Maitland seven and fifteen miles. At the\nformer there was no outward mark of worship; at the\nlatter there was a small Roman Catholic chapel, to which a\npriest came at intervals. Soon after the arrival of the\nBishop, a wooden church was built at Black Creek; and\nafter a while at Lochinvar a church and parsonage were\nbuilt, and'a clergyman settled there.\nSingleton, which had then a population of about five\nhundred, now more than doubled, is built on the banks of\nthe^Hunier, on a wide alluvial flat called Patrick's Plains,\nfrom which most of the forest trees had been cleared ; and\ngood crops of wheat, barley, or maize were raised on the\nrich lands. It is in itself singularly devoid of beauty, as\nit is built on .a dead level. But hills rise all around ; and,\nto the north, Mount Royal stands well among the broken\nridges, from which the Paterson, Fallbrook, and the\nRouchel flow. The little town had a brick parsonage, and\na school used as a church ; but in about a year from the\ntime we first saw it, the foundation of a stone church was\nlaid, which has since been considerably enlarged, and the\nwindows have been enriched with stained glass.\nWe were detained here one day, as the mail, which\nstarted on the' following morning, had not room for us.\nv&XLii as it at that time went on to Muswell Brook only two\ndays in the week, we must have remained until the week\nfollowing, had not the proprietor sent down especially to\n$e&ch us'. The river being unfordable, we were put across\ni in a boat, and found the vehicle awaiting us at the other\nside.\nj We had hardly started, when, after pulling through some\nif 32\nTHE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\nheavy black soil, we came to a shallow gully crossing our\nroad, into which we sank with a bump; and one of the\nhorses refused to pull us out of it. He looked the very\npicture of sulks and obstinacy, and probably remembered\nthat soon after the gully a long stiff hill awaited him. The\ndriver gave him a little time, and then tried him again.\nThe other horse was willing, but could not move us by\nhimself; and, when the whip was applied, the only indication our sulky friend gave of movement was to crop his\nears, and show signs of resenting with his heels any further\nuse of the whip. Fortunately, I had a piece of bread in\nmy hand, the -remains of my breakfast; so I jumped out,\nand after patting and talking to the rebel a little, held the\nbread to his nose. The sulks were still strong upon him;\nbut at length his ears came forward, he began to sniff at\nthe bread, lifted his upper lip once or twice, and then fairly\ntook the bait. The victory was nearly won : a few pats on\nthe neck, and rubbing the nose, completed it. I took his\nhead with my right hand, and still patted him with my\nleft. The driver started the near horse; both took the\ncollar ; and with a good jump, that nearly shook the three\ninside passengers into each other's laps, the wheels got out\nof the hollow, and we were off again. I ran on, holding\nthe rein for a short distance, till I saw that all was right,\nand then jumped into my place.\nMuch of our drive was through tall white-stemmed gum-\ntrees, which shut in our view, and enabled us to appreciate to the full the badness of the road, as we bumped\nsometimes into a deep rut, sometimes over a large fallen\nbough; occasionally passing the carcase of a dead working\nbullock, which told of the severity of the late drought,\nwhen the ground, which was now covered with bright green\ngrass, had been bare as the road itself. Pleasanter and\nmore amusing sights were frequently afforded us, as from\ntime to time flights of the lowry, or rosella, or ground parrots,\nwith their gorgeous crimson, green, and blue plumage, \u2022TSsSflsL \u25a0\nPage 32. UP THE COUNTRY.\n33\nrushed screaming over our heads ; or that solemn-looking\nkingfisher, the great \" laughing jackass,\" made the wood\nring with his merry peals of laughter; or a black and yellow\niguana, three or four feet long, waddled along the ground,\nmade for the first tree, and scrambled up out of reach.\nThe road was more hilly than before we reached\nSingleton; and sometimes from the top of a hill we\nobtained a fine view of valleys and hills in endless undulations, clothed universally with forest. At the several\ncreeks which we passed, the view was more open, the grass\nmore abundant; and the graceful casuarina, with its rich\ndark foliage and tapering branches, kept up a pleasant\nwhispering sound over the streams or pools which it\nshaded.\nOn our way we had passed but one small township,\ncalled Camberwell, nine miles from Singleton, on the banks\nof Fallbrook. It consisted of a few wood-built houses, and\na brick inn; but represented a district, in which a few\nyears before there were several establishments of considerable size. On the opposite side of the brook was an\nunfinished stone church, with three lancet lights at the east\nend, and single-pointed windows at the sides. Bishop\nBroughton, who laid the first stone, said that several among\nthose present on that occasion could easily have provided\nthe whole expense. Soon afterwards the reverses which\novertook the colony so impoverished the principal men of\nthe district, that most of them were scattered to distant\nplaces, and the work was stopped. The church remained\nroofless until about the year 1856; when it was so far\nfinished that the Bishop of Newcastle consecrated it But\nthe original design, which included a tower, has not yet\nbeen carried out.\nFrom Fallbrook to Muswell Brook the drive was more1\npleasant, but in that twenty miles we passed but two\ndwellings\u2014one being a good stone-built inn in an open\nspace, crossed by a watercourse, which had given it the\nD\n$$11$ 18 \\\\\\ :-\nI ?A \\ y\n11 Hi\n\u25a0\u25a0a'*' 34\nTHE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\nR:\nname of \"The Chain-of-Ponds Inn;\" the other a shepherd's hut, one of the humble-looking sources of the\nwealth of the country. To our right and left there were,\nno doubt, huts or larger houses a mile or two off the\ntrack; but they were out of our sight, and scattered very\nwidely from each other.\nWe were now fairly reaching the sheep-farming part of\nthe country. And it may be as well to describe the dwellings of the shepherds at once. The simplest kind is the\nbark hut; which is thus made. A framework of posts and\nsaplings is first fixed in the ground, and to this sheets of\nbark.from the eucalyptus, three or four feet wide, half-an-\ninch thick, and from four to seven feet long, are tied with\nstrips of undressed bullock-hide, usually called 1 green\nhide.\" The ridge piece is dried in a curve, laid over the\ntop, and weighted down by heavy saplings slung across\nwith green hides. The door and window-shutters, for there\nis no glass, are often of bark fastened to frames of wood;\nand the tables and bedsteads are not unfrequently made in\nthe same manner. The floor is the native earth; and\ninside the bark chimney boulders from the creeks are piled\nup, to prevent the fire from setting all in a blaze. Sometimes there is a skillen at the back of the hut; and now\nand then some sheets of bark in front form a verandah,\nand add much to the comfort of the inmates.\nSlab huts are built much on the same plan; only that\nslabs, split from the gum or iron-bark, set into the ground\nand nailed to the wall-plates, form the sides and ends\ninstead of bark.\nA watch-box is often used when lambing is going on,\nor when the native dogs are troublesome; and the\nshepherd or hut-keeper has to He near the sheep-yard,\nto be ready to render any help that may be needed\nthrough the night. It is a kind of barrow-frame, long\nenough for a man to lie in, and covered with bark, as a\nprotection against cold and rain. UP THE COUNTRY.\n35\nThere are usually two flocks, of a thousand each, at a\nsheep station, with a shepherd to each flock, who leads\nthem out to feed by day; and there is a hut-keeper, whose\nduties are to clean the sheep-yards, take care of the hut,\nand act as cook. If there is a family at the station, the\nwife acts as hut-keeper; and if there is a boy big enough,\nhe takes charge, under his father's direction, of the\nsecond flock.\nOn our way up the country, we had seen something of\nanother class of men. Many drays had met us, carrying\ndown wool, tallow, or hides to the coast; others we had\npassed on their way up the country, loaded with supplies\nof all sorts for the establishments of the large sheej* and\ncattle masters, for the \"stores\" in the inland towns; or\nfor the publicans. One dray, which we passed the first\nday, was bringing up the furniture which I had purchased\nat Maitland. The drays are large two-wheeled carts, very\nstrongly built, with low sides, and made to open, if\nnecessary, before and behind. Those drawn by horses\nhave shafts, and carry from twelve to fifteen hundredweight. The bullock-drays, which are drawn by eight or\nten oxen, carry two tons. They have a strong pole, to\nwhich the yokes of the pole-bullocks, and the chain of the\nleaders, are fastened. Each night a halt is made, near\nwater, if possible; the horses are unharnessed, cand the\nbullocks unyoked, and turned to feed in the bush, with\nhobbles on their fetlocks. This being done, a fire is made\nof the dead wood, which is lying about in all directions.\nThe quart tin pots are put on to boil, ready for the tea to\nbe thrown in; and the salt beef and \" damper,\" which is\nmade of flour, water, and salt, kneaded on a sheet of bark,\nand baked in hot ashes, are drawn out of their bag for the\nevening meal. If several drays camp together, the men\nusually sit talking over their camp-fire until it is time to\nturn in for the night. They commonly carry a piece of\nsacking stuffed with dry grass; this they lay under their\nd2\nm\n1\nt-tsu 86\nTHE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\n1 I\nif\ndray and lie on it, wrapped in a blanket or in a rug made\nof opossum skins.\nIf the stopping-place is near a township or one of the\ninns which are scattered along the chief lines of road, the\nevening is too often spent in the tap-room, and rum takes\nthe place of tea, to the mischief of the poor fellows, who\nare very apt to drink. A few of the draymen, however,\nentirely avoid this temptation, and stick to their tea.\nA midday halt is also necessary to refresh both man\nand beast.\nThese draymen are a considerable class, and need\nspecial treatment, if the pastor will really try to perform\nthe duties imposed on him at his ordination, and will*\nI seek for Christ's flock that are dispersed abroad.\" *\nThey spend most of their time on the road, seldom\nremaining at their homes longer than to rest their horses\nor bullocks ; and many live in the bush, far from any\nplace of Divine service. A few, but few indeed, take their\nbest clothes with them, so as to be able to go to church, if\nthey stop at a town on Sunday. Therefore, if one does\nnot minister to them on chance occasions, they probably\ngo almost without any ministrations at all.\nI soon felt it to be my duty to walk by their side, if not\npressed for time, and to converse with them; and if I\nfound any encamped at midday or in the evening, having\nmy Bible and Prayer-book strapped in a kind of ecclesiastical holster before me, I offered to read and pray with\nthem, and never found my offer rejected. As they were\nsuch complete wanderers, I did not consider myself to be\ntrenching upon any brother clergyman's sphere of duty by\noffering them such a short service, when I fell in with\nthem by the road-side, even out of my own district.\nOn one occasion, as I was riding down to Morpeth for\nan ordination, I came upon some six or seven encamped\namong the tall gum-trees, five miles short of Singleton.\n* Service for the Ordering of Priests. UP THE COUNTRY.\nIt had been dark some time, and they were sitting on\nfallen trees round their fire before turning in for the night.\nI rode up to them, and said, \"My friends, I am a\nclergyman riding down the country; and as I am accustomed to have prayers with my household when at home,\nI shall be glad, if you like, to read you a chapter of Holy\nScripture and pray with you before I go on.\" They\nassented at once, took my horse, and tied him to one of\ntheir dray-wheels, and threw on some fresh wood to enable\nme to read. I was rather too tired to stand, so they set\nan empty water-keg on end, and, putting their cabbage-\ntree hats beside them, listened attentively to a chapter\nfrom one of the Gospels, and to my comments upon it.\nWe then knelt down on the ground, and prayed from the\nBook of Common Prayer. And as I left them with a\n\"God bless you, my friends,\" they thanked me with\napparent heartiness, and I rode on in the delicious air of\nthe calm starry night.\nI can still see that crackling bush-fire, with its curling\nsmoke leaping up into the darkness, and the bent figures\nof my brethren, the tall white stems of _ the gum-trees\nrising around, and the dim shapes of the loaded drays in\nthe background. Probably we never saw each other again.\nThe effect of that night may have been transient or not,\nGod knows; but a bush clergyman who would do his\nMaster's work must thus continually cast his bread on the\nwaters, and leave the seed to be nurtured by Him to Whom\nit belongs.\nBut we must return to the conclusion of our first\njourney up the country.\nAfter toiling over some very bad road, we reached the\ntop of a high ridge, with the ground sloping down before\nus, and more thinly timbered than we had seen for many\nmiles. And there, to our delight, the driver pointed out\nthe snug little village of Muswell Brook. It lay below us\nabout two miles off. We could not see much of the 38\nTHE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\nI 1\nbuildings; but the general view from the hill was very\nfine, and we longed for some of our dear English friends\nto share it with us. There was no lack of hill and valley,\ncovered with wood as usual; except where, along the\ncourses of the brook and the River Hunter, which here we\nsaw again for the first time since leaving Singleton, man's\nhand had made clearings for the town, and for small\npatches of cultivation on the alluvial soil.\nTo the north, Some thirty-five miles distant, stood the\nbold rugged outline of the Murulla, a portion of the\nLiverpool range, with its attendant crags. And these\nwere followed, all round to the right, by lower ridges,\nvarying in elevation; while, about five miles east of the\nlittle town, a fine abrupt hill, called Bell's Mountain, lifted\nhimself head and shoulders above his neighbours, as if\nlooking patronisingly down on the civilisation that, after\nso many centuries, was beginning to spring up around\nhim, and exchanging glances with his cone-shaped brother\nMount Warrendie, usually called Mount Dangar, who,\nthirty miles to the south-west, stands over the River Goul-\nbourn, which winds round his feet, in the midst of the\nsandstone cliffs and peaks which fill that part of the\npicture.\nI could not but feel thankful that my lot had fallen in\na part of the country where God's hand had made the\nobjects around so pleasant to look at.\nWe were now rapidly approaching our destination. But\nbefore we reached the wooden houses of the white-skins,\nwe were reminded in whose land we were, by seeing some\ndozen of those houseless, homeless children of the bush,\nthe black natives, who had happened to camp close to the\ntownship, and were lying or squatting on the ground, with\ntheir curly heads uncovered; the elders with a blanket\nskewered at the neck by a piece of sharpened stick, or\nwith merely a small girdle round their loins. Two or three\nlittle children were playing round them, clothed simply in UP THE COUNTRY.\n39\ntheir own black skins, which, by the way, even in the case\nof adults, is almost of itself a clothing, and takes away the\nidea of nudity. They had evidently passed the night there,\nas there were several sheets of bark resting with one edge\non the ground, and propped up in a slanting direction, so\nas to make a slight shelter from the windward. Some\nsmouldering ashes, the remains of last night's fire, were\nbefore them; and under one piece of bark an old grey-\nhaired aboriginal was lying on his blankets asleep. They\nturned to look at us ; but we were passing on, and at about\ntwo o'clock we entered the south part of the town, for it is\ndivided into two parts by the deep creek from which it\nderives its name; and, driving over a very substantially-\nbuilt wooden bridge, we drew up in a few minutes at the\nRoyal Hotel. Nine years before this had been the only\nbuilding in the place, a mere bush inn, surrounded by\nforest. And, in spite of its name, it was only a weatherboard cottage, with the royal arms standing, not very\nconspicuously, against the front, and containing two\nsitting-rooms and two small bedrooms, entered from the\nverandah, besides those commonly used by the publican's\nfamily.\nThe first business of hungry travellers, who had breakfasted more than seven hours before, and had had a long\nbush-drive since, was to get something to eat. And then,\nas the Royal Arms could only accommodate two, I left the\ncandidates for the ministry in possession, and went with\nthe servants to the next small-inn, about two hundred\nyards farther on. .\nHaving thus fixed our abode till the furniture should\narrive, we went down to look over the empty parsonage\nand the church. They were both within one fence, and\nthe school about a bow-shot beyond. I found the sexton\npreparing the church, for it was Saturday, and, it was\nknown that we should arrive that day. From him I heard\nof one poor woman who was drawing near her end; so,\n1\n!i\u00bbllii\ni\nill\nmm'\";|\nill 40\nStPHE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\nhaving set my boy to begin upon the weeds, which in the\nlast few weeks had nearly overrun the garden, and were\nchoking the vines, I began my ministrations by the bedside\nof poor Mrs. Wilde, whom I saw twice, and promised to\nadminister the Holy Communion to her on the next day.\nThe rest of that first afternoon was spent in learning\nwhat I could about the parish from the schoolmaster and\nmy host, and in preparing for the services of the morrow.\nI Oh, dream no more of quiet life :\nCare finds the careless out; more wise to vow\nThine heart entire to Paith's pure strife;\nSo peace will come, thou knowest not when or how.\"\nKeble in Lyra Apostolica.\n\" The Watch by Night.\" CHAPTER V.\nWORK IN A PASTORAL DISTRICT\nThe township of Muswell Brook, which was to be my headquarters, is situated on the north-western road leading\nfrom Morpeth and Maitland to the great squatting districts\nof the Liverpool Plains and New England. The southern\nroad to Sydney, surveyed by Sir Thomas Mitchell, joins\nthe mainland road here. But while the north-western road\nis the great line of traffic to the coast from Tamworth and\nArmidale and the surrounding country, the southern road\nis unused, except for some small intermediate townships,\nas Jerry's Plains and Wollombi. The formidable ranges,\nwhich have to be crossed near the River Hawkesbury, have\nalways been a barrier to dray traffic ; and even horsemen\nprefer riding to Morpeth, and taking the steamer to\nSydney, instead of toiling along the rugged and weary\nsouthern line.\nIn 1848 Muswell Brook had a population of about 300,\nincluding a doctor and a clerk of petty sessions. There\nwere four or five storekeepers\u2014most useful men in a colonial\ntown\u2014who kept in stock nearly every article you could\nneed, except books; and five publicans, largely supported\nby travellers, draymen, and shepherds from the neighbourhood, as well as by some of the residents in the town.\nAt one end there was a steam flour-mill, with machinery\nattached to it, which has at times been used in a small\nway for making cloth. And at the other end was a \" boiling-\ndown establishment,\" where, before the influx of the popula- 42\nTHE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\nI \\\\\ntion caused by the gold discovery, the surplus fat stock\nof the settlers was killed, and reduced to tallow for export.\nBlacksmiths, wheelwrights, rough bush-carpenters, joiners,\nmasons, bricklayers, and the other small tradesmen and\nlabourers necessary to supply the wants of their neighbours, some six or eight carriers, and the police force, consisting of a chief and three constables, were the elements\nof the little community.\nLike all young colonial townships, it was laid out in good\nbroad streets, which bore their names on the Government\nchart, but, except in the best situations, were scantily\nbuilt over. Here and there, in the middle of the roadways, might still be seen the stumps of the old forest trees\nstanding, as the cross-cut saw of the first clearing had left\nthem, obliging all drivers to keep their eyes about them for\nfear of an overturn.\nOf the houses only about twenty were built of brick;\nthe rest, including the little, low, four-roomed cottage,\ndignified by the name of \" the court-house,\" were built of\nslabs split from the surrounding trees, or of weatherboards. On the hill to the east of the town stood a\nPresbyterian kirk, served at intervals from Singleton, and\non a twin hill were the foundations of a Roman Catholic\nchapel.\nAlmost in the centre of the township there was an allotment of two acres, on which had been built, only a few\nyears before, a brick school, with a master's dwelling, a\nparsonage, and a church, consisting of a nave, with a\nsomewhat pretentious porch and vestry, built transept-\nwise, and a small tower at the west end. There was no\nchancel, but in the east end were three quasi-lancet lights,\neach with a thin stone moulding over it, and glazed with\nsquare panes in wooden sashes, Q-othicised at the top.\nWithin were high pews of red cedar, the top moulding of\nwhich came well up to the back of the head of the sitter;\nand when the congregation was kneeling the church seemed WORK IN A PASTORAL DISTRICT.\n43\nto be empty. In my journal I have recorded that I was\n1 disappointed\" at the first view. But this was perhaps\nunreasonable, as mine was the westernmost church in the\nnew diocese. Not a building for any kind of worship was\nto be found between it and Western Australia. Besides,\nthere was something in the central position and grouping\nof the buildings which gave the idea that the Church had\nrooted itself among the people, and offered to be their\ntrue mother in God. When, in about eighteen months\nafter, a chancel was added, with a triple lancet in stone,\nand two of the nave windows were replaced by stone-worked\nand muUioned lights! and after a while the seats became\nlow and open, the general view, with all its faults, brought\nto mind \"the old country,\" to which all colonists lookback\nwith affection.\nThe history of that little church is characteristic of the\ncolony in those days. Before a resident clergyman was\nappointed, subscriptions had been raised, and Government\nmoney promised for the building. A captain in the army,\nthen a settler, living about four miles off, took the contract for building the nave, with the porch and vestry.\nThe plan was said to have been drawn from the sketch of\na chapel in Barbados, given in a quarterly report of the\nS. P. G. But whatever was the original of the plan, its\nexecution was intrusted to a convict overseer, and convict\nlabourers. These men, acting upon a well-known principle of convict morality, no sooner saw the master off to\nSydney than they neglected their work, for which, as convicts, they would receive no payment, and worked for any\none who would employ them, spending their earnings in\ndrink. At length they heard that their master was shortly\ncoming up the country, and, knocking off their extra jobs,\nwhich might have brought them under the lash, they\nturned to their neglected task. But, in the meantime,\nthere had been heavy rains, and the trench was half-filled\nwith water. Some of this was dipped up; at one corner 44\nTHE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\nII\nthe foundation was solidly built, the rest was thrown in\nwith careless haste\u2014the stones, small and large, alike\nunsquared, being left, as I was told, to bed themselves;\nand over all a cut base-course was placed, and the brickwork carried up above. In due time a surveyor was sent\nto inspect the work, in order to report whether it was\nexecuted in such a way as to entitle the trustees to the\npayment of the Government grant. On the day of inspection the overseer contrived to open that corner of\nthe foundations which he had built up well. The fraud\nanswered, and the money was paid. But before Bishop\nBroughton came up for the consecration, the faulty foundation had betrayed itself, and the walls were so cracked\nthat the whole building was nearly coming down again.\nWith much trouble the walls were secured; and the\nRev. W. T. Gore, who had a little before that time been\nappointed to the parish, got the tower built at the west\nend, which both improved the look of the church externally, and acted as a buttress to keep it up.\nIt was discovered, however, by painful experience, that\neven good building, with well-laid foundations, would not\nstand. The foundations of the tower and of the chancel,\nwhich was afterwards built, were laid four feet deep on\nwhat seemed a dry, impenetrable soil; but the drought and\nheat penetrated so deeply during the fierce summer months\nthat they have cracked them and other buildings, in all\ndirections. And a noble stone church, which is now being\nbuilt in place of the smaller one of brick, through the\nexertions, and mainly by the friends, of the present\nclergyman, the Rev. W. E. White, and his family,\nfrom plans by Gilbert Scott, of London, is, by order of the\narchitect, placed on a thick bed of concrete, as the only\nsafe foundation.\nThe day after our arrival being the fourth Sunday after\nthe Epiphany, the gospel for the day furnished the morning\nsermon from Matt. viii. 28\u201432, on the power and readi- WORK IN A PASTORAL DISTRICT.\n45\nj>\nness of Jesus to cast out evil, and to restore Satan's thrall\nto his right mind: a message with which I was thankful\nto be able to begin my ministry in a land where, by the\nconfession of all, Satan had held terrible sway. In the\nevening the words of Isaiah lviii. 13, 14, at the end of the\nfirst lesson, were a not inappropriate text, where, in the\nabsence of clergymen, many a Christian man had realised\nat his I station,\" and on his sheep and cattle \" run.\nthe sad but expressive saying, \" There's no Sunday in the\nbush.\"\nTwo days afterwards I had an instance of that change\nof customs which a change to a hot climate necessitates.\nMy poor sick parishioner died on Monday morning, and\non Tuesday afternoon we laid her in the grave. A funeral\nthirty-three hours after death would in England be revolting to the feelings of the friends. In New South Wales it\nis sometimes necessary to bury within twenty-four hours ;\nindeed, in an extreme case, I have buried a corpse within\ntwelve. In the case of this poor woman, I was glad that I\nhad reached the parish in time to administer the Holy\nCommunion to her while, though in extreme weakness,\nher mind was perfectly clear.\nWhat was at that time considered the extent of my\nparish, and the Church services in it, I learned from a\nmemorandum left by my predecessor. There were three\nplaces at which Divine service was held : St. Alban's\nChurch, Muswell Brook, of which I have spoken; the\nlittle wooden court-house at Merton, a small township of\nabout thirty people, eleven miles down the Hunter Valley ;\nand a room in a public-house at' Merriwa, a township with\na population of sixty or seventy people, across the ranges\nto the west, forty-five miles off. Around these townships,\nat distances varying from two to nine miles, a few gentlemen settlers were living,\u2014the owners of sheep and cattle,\nwho had a few dependants close to them, besides their\nhouseholds. These could assemble at the places where 46\nTHE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\nDivine service was held, and were always considered parts\nof the congregation.\nAt Muswell Brook there were two services on one\nSunday and one on the next, which allowed one Sunday\nservice a-fortnight at Merton. Merriwa had but one\nservice a-quarter, held on a week-day. Holy Communion\nwas celebrated at Muswell Brook only four times in the\nyear; and a glass tumbler, and a common plate, not\nappropriated to the purpose, had been used as a chalice\nand paten.\nThe good-will of the people was immediately tested for\nthe supply of the last-mentioned want. They readily responded to the call, and within a few weeks a set of silver\nCommunion vessels and a linen cloth for the altar were\nprocured from Sydney, and we began monthly Communions. The Bishop having authorised the candidates\nfor the ministry to read the service in my absence, I was\nenabled to give two services each Sunday at Muswell\nBrook, keeping to the Sunday service once a-week at\nMerton. On the alternate Sundays I sent one of the\ncandidates over to have prayers, and to read a printed\nsermon selected by me. And I myself went every other\nFriday for a service, and to teach the children for an hour\nbefore the service began.\nWe were not well off for music, but within three weeks\nseveral of the mechanics and a storekeeper in Muswell\nBrook expressed a wish to join a weekly practice of Church\nmusic. And though our attempts were of a very humble\ndescription, they improved the singing; and by the kind\naid of Mr. John Cox and his wife, whose house was two\nmiles off, we advanced to a piano, and thence eventually\nto an organ. Our English friends may smile at a piano,\nbut they will not smile at the loving zeal which, in the\nbush, did the best it could, giving such an instrument as\nwas at hand, and bringing over a fully occupied mother to\nplay at the weekly practice, as well as on Sunday. We WORK IN A PASTORAL DISTRICT.\n47\nall know Who it was that commended an offering with the\nwords, \" She hath done what she could.\"\nAsh-Wednesday came that year on the 8th of March,\nand on Monday the 6th I had the privilege of beginning\nthe daily service. Foreseeing that the distant parts of my\ndistrict and other duties would often call me away, I gave\nnotice that when I was at home the service would be\nregular, but that when the bell did not ring it might be\nunderstood that I was absent. We began with prayers\ntwice a-day, at seven a.m. and at five p.m. But after Lent,,\nby the advice of the Bishop, we only had daily morning\nservice, a service with a sermon at seven p.m. every\nWednesday, and two services with a sermon during Holy\nWeek, and on all holy days. It was so often necessary to\nride out five or twelve miles to visit sheep stations, that\nthe daily evening prayer would have been frequently\ninterrupted; but, except when I was absent on long\njourneys, the daily morning prayer could be regularly\nsaid. To the present day those services are still continued,\nand with fewer interruptions than I found possible.\nMerriwa I first visited on March 14th, and spent part of\ntwo days there, visiting all the houses, and having a service\nin the evening of the first day and the morning of the\nsecond. From that time their service was always once a-\nmonth at least.\nI will at present speak of a part of the country, not so far\noff as Merriwa, where, before long, I established a monthly\nservice, and usually passed the night. The River Goul-\nbourn, which must not be confounded with the town and\ndiocese of that name, far to the south, rises on the eastern\nslope of the dividing range of the colony, which is of\nvolcanic formation, but almost immediately enters' sand-^\nstone ranges, and, flowing through a narrow winding\nvalley for sixty or seventy miles, empties itself into the\nHunter fifteen miles below Muswell Brook.\nIt is a lovely ride up the Goulbourn, and has delighted\nmm S J\n48\nTHE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\nI I\nI\n11\nii\nme on many a weary journey. In some parts bold rocks\nstand up perpendicularly from their base; in others the\nface of the precipice is broken by grassy slopes, which\nthrow back the summits as if buttressed from below; and\nas you look up you may see the little rock wallaby, about\nthe size of a hare, and the form of a kangaroo, bounding\nfrom ledge to ledge, or jumping in and out of the small\ncaves in the face of the rock above your head. Sometimes the rocks close in almost to the river's bank; in\nother parts they sweep away, leaving between their base\nand the casuarinas that shade the river, a quarter or half-\na-mile of alluvial soil, mixed with a large proportion\nof sand, moderately timbered, and covered with long\ngrass.\nIn many parts the rocks are exchanged for steep hills,\nsome of them cone-shaped, clothed with trees and grass,\nthrough which large fragments of rock peep out. Their\ntops are generally crowned with small pines; down their\nsides grow various kinds of the gum-tree and the banksia,\nor bottle-brush; and interspersed with these may be seen\nthe grass-tree, with its dark crooked stem and long grassy\ncrown, surmounted by what looks not unlike a large\nbulrush, its brown head dotted over with little white star-\nshaped flowers, each glistening with a drop of clear honey.\nAt the base of the hills, here and there, are clumps of\narbor vitse, the pretty wattle or acacia bush, with its long\ndelicate leaves and sweet yellow blossoms, like little balls\nof floss silk; and various small flowering shrubs, which\ngive a civilised look to what in parts is quite a natural\npleasure-garden.\nIt is indeed a pretty neighbourhood, and the soil grows\ngood fruit and vegetables around the homesteads. But\nthe grasses are not so nutritious on the soil of the sandstone as they are on the black soil of the volcanic\nformation, some few miles to the north. And it is\nsurprising to see, as I have seen from the top of the high WORK IN A PASTORAL DISTRICT.\n49\nhills, how many miles of country are so rugged as to\nbe unavailable for pasturage. Hence it has not been\ntaken up by the large sheep-masters, with their thousands\nof sheep; but a few men of small capital have fixed\nthemselves by the banks of the river and its tributary\ncreeks, mostly keeping cattle, which can travel farther for\ntheir food, and need no protection, as sheep do, from the\nnative dogs.\nMost of the settlers make cheese; and a wooden\nbuilding beyond the dwelling-house is usually a dairy and\ncheese-room, in which, besides other means adopted for\nkeeping it cool, nearly the whole of the interior is sunk\nseveral feet below the surface.\nI had been at Muswell Brook several months before I\nheard of the Goulbourn. It is situated off the direct track\nto Merriwa, from which in most parts rocky ridges\nseparate it. The Church was at that time only feeling its\nway into the country from the coast; and this valley had\nnever seen a clergyman, and the poor people were living\nwithout any attempt at Divine service or teaching. When\nI was first told of them, and said I should look after them,\nthe reply was that the trouble might be spared, for they\nwould never attend to a parson; and some rather severe\nthings which might have been true of some were applied\nto them generally. Of course this was no check to my\nduty, so I rode up and visited each house. I was most\ncivilly received everywhere; at each place I had a short\nservice, though my coming was unexpected, and I left\nthem, having appointed a day and hour for the next\nservice.\nOn my next visit, at the appointed time, I found in each\ncase that I was not expected, and that no preparation had\nbeen made. At one house they thought my appointed day\nwas in the week following; at another, they had quite 'forgotten what day it was; at a third, they supposed that some\nheavy rain, and the threat of a thunderstorm, would have\nE\nhi 50\nTHE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\nU\nmm\nI\nIf\nprevented my starting. However, ready or not ready, I\ninduced them to assemble, and left them something to\nthink about and some books to read. For several months\nit seemed as if with most of them the time would never\nbe remembered, and the- discouraging prophecy would\ncome true. But at length, on riding up to the several\nverandahs, I used to find that the work had been arranged,\nand preparations made for service; and I have good\nreason to believe that those times were looked forward to\nwith pleasure.\nThe nearest of the houses, called Richmond Grove, was\nseventeen miles from me, where the Wybong Creek joins\nthe sandy bed of the Goulbourn. And there I have often\nfound some green wheat cut ready for my horse to eat,\nwhile we were engaged in the service. One good effect of\nmy visits was that, after a time, several of the family\nwould find out when was the Sunday service at Merton,\nwhich was about six miles from them, and, horses being\nplentiful, would ride over to it.\nThe next house, called Mount Dangar Farm, was\neight miles higher up the river, and was situated about\na mile from Mount Warrendie, generally called, from\na surveyor, Mount Dangar. Between this and the farm\nthe river ran. Immediately behind the house was a\nproductive vineyard, and on the opposite bank of the river\nstood another small settler's house, with its well-stocked\nfruit-garden, containing oranges, grapes, figs, and mulberries. Past this, to the right of Mount Warrendie, was\na pleasant ride through a narrow valley, bounded by high\nrocks, to the Merriwa road, six miles distant. In front of\nthe farm there were two houses, two and four miles off, up\na tributary creek; and before long another house was\nbuilt up the Goulbourn in the same direction.\nIt took some time to find out these outlying families,\nand to gather them into one congregation. My whole\ndistrict, of which this was but a corner, was so large\u2014 WORK IN A PASTORAL DISTRICT.\n51\nmore than 2,500 square miles\u2014that, coming from an.\nEnglish parish of about 1,800 acres, I could not for a\nwhile lay out my plans clearly to visit it all with the least\namount of waste. At first I used to ride out one month\nby the Goulbourn, which was on the south of the district;\nand, after going to Merriwa to the western extremity, work\nhomeward under the Liverpool range on the north side;\nand the next month I used to ride in the contrary direction.\nBut after gaining a knowledge of the whole work, I found\nit best to keep the same direction always, and then I took\nMount Dangar first. Either way, I generally slept there;\nand by degrees all the families within four miles came\nregularly to the service; and sometimes the Richmond\nGrove people came up and joined. We assembled in the\nsitting-room, into which the left of the two front doors\nopened, and which was lighted by an unglazed window on\nthe left of the door. Often the room has been as full of\nfathers, mothers, and children as it could hold; and at\ntimes we had baptisms and churchings during the service.\nAfter which the outlying families found their way through\nthe bush-tracks by starlight, some of them having to cross\nthe river several times. Three different families in succession occupied Mount Dangar Farm while I ministered\nthere, and from all of them I received a cordial welcome.\nOccasionally I stopped at the house of a Mr. Hungerford,,\non a creek four miles off; but Mount Dangar, being the\nmost central, suited the congregation best.\nSeveral of those adventures, common to a clergyman's-\nbush experience, are connected with my recollections of'\nthis place. On one occasion, after working my way down\nthe country, I had stopped for a service at a wayside inn,,\nat that part of the Merriwa road lately mentioned. I\ndelayed some time after the service to give instruction to\na very nice family of children, whose circumstances\nrequired all the spiritual help I could give them. By the\ntime I was in the saddle, twilight, which only lasts half-\ne 2 52\nTHE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\nif:;\nan-hour, was nearly gone, and heavy black clouds were\narching over the narrow valley. Before I had gone a mile\nthe inky black clouds had shut out every ray of light, and\nwere pouring down a steady and very heavy rain, without\na flash of lightning to show me the way. Though I had\ngood night sight, I could not see anything, and rode on\nonly by the sound, listening when my horse stepped off the\nnarrow track on the grass or sticks at the side. After two\nmiles, when we had just passed through a narrow gorge\nin the rocks, my horse lost his track; and after some\nwanderings, in which he was more disposed to pick the\ngrass than to find the way, he brought me up among some\nacacia-trees, at the foot of a bluff rock. I could not afford\nto wander on carelessly, for at my right was a deep creek,\ninto which it would be most unpleasant to fall, but through\nwhich, at two different crossing-places, the track lay. The\npouring rain quite prevented any idea of 1 camping\" out,\"\nif it could be avoided ; so by taking my direction from the\nrock, and feeling the ground, sometimes with hands,\nsometimes with feet, I found the track at last; and in\ntime, after several other losings and findings, reached\nMount Dangar Farm, where the good people had given\nme up.\nOn another occasion, when a confirmation was approaching, there were candidates at Richmond Grove, Mount\nDangar, and at the inn just mentioned. I had too mueh\nto do at home to be absent longer than duty rendered\nnecessary. I therefore started at daybreak, took each\nclass in its order, spending between one and two hours\nwith each, and reached home at ten p.m., after a ride of\nsixty miles, which, I must confess, tired me; but I was\nall right the next day.\n\u25a0Towards the end of the first year, I had, in this part,\none of those misfortunes which horsemen must always be\nprepared for. I left home on a fine, handsome iron-grey\nhorse, which I had lately purchased, and seemed to be in WORK IN A PASTORAL DISTRICT.\n53\nperfect health. During the service at Richmond Grove he\nwas enjoying some green rye, which the good people had\ngiven him. I fear he had. eaten rather greedily, as during\nthe eight miles' ride between that place and Mount Dangar\nFarm he became very sluggish, and on arriving we found\nhim suffering from a bad attack of colic. We did all we\ncould for him; but as after some hours he became much\nworse, I determined to go to the inn I have before spoken\nof, six miles off, where better remedies could be procured.\nThe son of my host, whose name was Hewitt, kindly lent\nme a horse, and, riding another, led my poor grey. He\ncould but walk, and that with increasing slowness; and\nafter passing four miles up the creek by Mount Warrendie,\ncame to a stop at the narrow pass in the rocks before-\nmentioned, and could go no further. Young Hewitt galloped on to the inn to get something for his benefit, and. I\nstood by the poor animal, who was by this time bathed in\na cold sweat, and trembling all over. The sun had set,\nand the twilight had faded, but there was a glorious moon\noverhead, and the stars were shining, as only in such a\nclear, dry atmosphere they can shine. I kept rubbing my\npoor horse, and talking to him, but he was failing fast, and\nfound it difficult to keep on his legs. At length he languidly pricked up his ears\u2014for he heard, before I did, the\nhoofs of the returning horse\u2014and gave a feeble neigh.\nIt was his last, for the exertion seemed too much for him,\nand he staggered and fell. He tried to rise, but could\nnot; and by the time Hewitt had reached us, his head was\nflat on the ground. A vein was opened to no purpose,\nand in a few minutes all was over.\nTwo months afterwards, as I rode through the same pass,\nI saw the bones of my poor steed picked clean. The eagles,\nhawks, crows, and ants had done their part to help the\nmore voracious jaws of the native dogs, and in a few months\nmore no two bones were left together. But eight years later,\nwhen I drove my wife up there, I showed her the skull. %\n11\n54\nTHE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\nI cannot help adding that this loss gave occasion for\none of the many kind acts by which the Bishop lightened\nthe difficulties of the clergy and others. Just after\nChristmas, 1848, I received a kind letter, in which, after\nexpressing his sorrow for the loss of my grey, he made\nthe value of him a New Year's gift, accompanied with his\nblessing.\nOne service, which I held at Mount Dangar Farm, I\nshall not easily forget, from the painful sense of weariness\nwhich oppressed me. I had left Cassilis, the westernmost\ntown in my district, early one morning\u2014had visited, as I\nrode, eight shepherds and hut-keepers, the former on their\n\"runs,\" the latter in their huts\u2014and had had a short service\nwith each. At Merriwa, through which I passed, I had\npresided for an hour at the last meeting before giving the\ncontract for building a church there; and at the meeting\nthere were not a few difficulties to get over. In the evening, at the end of a fifty miles' ride, I dismounted at the\nverandah of Mount Dangar Farm. It was just service\ntime, and the people were assembled. I had therefore\ntime for nothing more than to wash my hands and face,\ndrink a refreshing glass of milk, and, after putting on my\nsurplice, come out of my room and begin the service. The\nfeeling of sleepiness from sheer bodily exhaustion was overpowering, and I earnestly hope that, if the sense of shame\nat the exertions I was obliged to make to keep myself\nawake was distressing to me, the service may not have\nbeen unprofitable to the congregation.\nOne of my last acts before leaving the colony, early\nin 1861, was to draw for Mr. Hungerford, at his\nrequest, a plan for a wooden church, which I have since\nheard has been built on a piece of land close to Mount\nDangar Farm. The Rev. W. E. White, the present\nclergyman, has informed me that a few fresh settlers\nhave added to the population of that neighbourhood ; and\nhe sent me an interesting account of the opening of the WORK IN\nlittle chureh, and of his celebrating, for the first time, the\nHoly Communion within its walls.\n0 Lord\u2014\nI Wherever meets Thy lowliest band\nIn praise and prayer,\nThere is Thy presence, there Thy holy land\u2014.\nThou, Thou art there.\"\nFrom the Author of the 1 Three Wakings.\"\n1 have previously mentioned that, when appointed to\nthe district of Muswell Brook, my farthest limit to the\nwest was the little township of Merriwa, forty-five miles\ndistant. But after a few months our eyes opened to the\ncountry beyond, and the Bishop gave into my charge\nCassilis, another small town twenty-five miles still farther\ntowards the west. This place had, before the formation\nof the diocese of Newcastle, been served by Mr. Gunther,\nthe clergyman of Mudgee; but Mudgee being now in the\ndiocese of Sydney, Mr. Gunther only continued his\nservices at Cassilis until the Bishop of Newcastle provided\nfor it.\nIn colonial Church work one step generally leads to\nanother in the endeavour to supply urgent wants which\nlie around you on every side. And thus, the district\nhaving no definite limits, I soon heard of some stations\nbeyond Cassilis, some of them with large families of\nchildren; and occasionally extended my rides to the\nstations of Uarbry, on the Talbragar, and Coolah, on the\nCoola-burragundy, lying on different lines, fourteen and\ntwenty miles off towards the west.\nThe necessity of attending with regularity to the larger\npopulation of Muswell Brook and its neighbourhood, and\nreading as steadily as I could with the candidates for the\nministry, determined me not to increase my district\nfarther to the westward. Thus it was, before long,\nroughly defined in breadth by the line of the Liverpool HI\n56\nTHE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\nrange to the north, and-the Goulbourn River to the south,\nwhere they run parallel to each other, about thirty-five\nmiles apart; and, in length, from Muswell Brook at the\neast to Uarbry or Coolah at the west end, eighty-four or\nninety miles: not to mention some twelve miles of country\neast of Muswell Brook, where shepherds' huts were dotted\non the sides of the bold hills, and near the bottom of deep\nnarrow valleys, which seemed to close in on every side.\nI have before roughly ^estimated the area of the district as \"more than 2,500 square miles;\" it was really\nabout 3,000 ; or, to compare it with English measurements,\nabout the size of the counties of Somerset and Wilts\ntogether, which are respectively 1,642 and 1,395 square\nmiles.\nThe geological characteristics of the district are remarkable, even to one who, like myself, can make no pretence\nto geological accuracy.\nThe Liverpool range, which divides the waters which\nflow to the Pacific from those which join the Darling, and\nempty themselves through South Australia, is entirely\nvolcanic. Its outline is broken by bold cones and bluffs,\nand it descends to the low lands by the successive steps\nwhich mark the \"trap\" formation. The hills through\nwhich the Goulbourn flows, as already mentioned, are\nsandstone, and show many a precipitous face of rock\nalong the lines of the valleys. Six main creeks or\nrivulets, known by the names of the Wybong, Hall's\nCreek, Smith's Rivulet, Bow Creek, Krui Creek, and the\n.Munmurra, rise on the southern slope of the Liverpool\nrange, and empty themselves into the Goulbourn ; besides\nothers, with which we are not now concerned, which flow\ninto the upper part of the Hunter. And between these\ncreeks lie, in succession, large undulating hills, with their\n. spurs and smaller valleys. These, for the greater portion\nof their length, follow the volcanic formation of the parent\n.range, from which they spring like ribs from some WORK IN A PASTORAL DISTRICT.\n57\ngigantic backbone. But as they approach the Goulbourn,\nin some cases for the last ten or fifteen miles, the sandstone cliffs succeed the volcanic hills. In one part of a\nrange, called the Dartbrook range, the trap may be seen\noverlapping the sandstone. In some of the ranges conglomerate rocks appear.\nIn some places the road is deep with ,sand, in others it\nis a dry hard gravel; while the decomposed \"trap\" makes\na rich black soil, which in wet weather is most tenacious.\nAbout twelve miles east of Merriwa there is a deep sand,\nwhich was the very plague of the draymen, and within a\nhundred yards of it is a treeless or bald hill, from which a\nlarge fragment has been torn by some convulsion. The\ntwo portions are about five yards apart; and as you walk\ndown the small watercourse which divides them, you see\nthe ends of pentagonal basaltic columns on each side,\nlying at about an angle of fifteen degrees.* Within a\nmile and a half from this hill is the only pool fed by its\nown springs which I have met with in any part of the\ncountry which I have visited. Bubbles are constantly\nrising to the surface, and the water, though usually fouled\nby cattle, is strongly mineral. The pool is known by the\nname of the Gingerbeer Springs.\nIn several parts there is a great deal of fossil wood, not\nimbedded in stone, but in loose earth or clay. It occurs\nnear the surface, and appears where the heavy rains have\nwashed off the soil. I have found several trunks of fossilised trees nearly whole, besides considerable quantities\nof fragments. In the neighbourhood of Muswell Brook,\nin a clayey soil, they are largely impregnated with iron.\nAbout ten miles from Merriwa, near the division of the\nvolcanic and the sandstone formations, I have seen several\nlarge pieces almost white, and very hard. Some are in\n* I give these particulars from memory, having no record of observations made at the time, but I believe that what I have said above is\nsubstantially correct. 58\nPHE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\nI\npart crystallised, and others, by their different colours,\nshow very distinctly the rings of the wood.\nWhen speaking of the district of the Goulbourn River I\nmentioned some of the varieties of ornamental and flowering shrubs, which make the sandstone country, though\npoor in soil, so picturesque. The volcanic districts have\nnot the same variety. The timber most prevalent on that\nsoil is a small kind of eucalyptus, popularly called the box-\ntree, from the colour and grain of the wood; and the chief\nvariety in the foliage is made by the currajong, which, in\nbark, and in the colour and shape of its leaves, is very like\nthe pear-tree.1 The black soil is thinly timbered; but\nwhat it loses in shrub and tree, it much more than gains\nin the richness and abundance of its grasses, which make\nit admirably adapted to the support of large flocks of\nsheep and herds of cattle and horses. On this soil there\nare three principal grasses, popularly called barley grass,\nkangaroo grass, and oaten grass; and the last, unlike\nmost of the things in the colony which have a popular\nname, really bears an oat, as it professes to do, in a rich\nbrown sheath. All these grasses grow in tufts, like small\nspecimens of the Pampas grass, and from their centre the\nseed-stems spring. The former two grow about two feet\nsix inches in height; but the oaten grass, in favourable\nseasons, throws up a seed-stem from six to eight feet long.\nIn the midst of these rich pasture grounds a few large\nflock-masters had taken up their stations. And their\nfamilies, the few men employed about their head stations,\nand the shepherds and hut-keepers belonging to them,\nscattered thinly over the face of the country, claimed the\nespecial attention of the clergyman of a pastoral district.\nAmong the owners of these bush establishments men\nof good family are often found, and some who have\ngraduated with honours at Oxford or Cambridge. Many\nof their men, when I first knew the colony, and some of\nthe inhabitants of the small townships, were old convicts,\n& \u25a0MB\nWORK IN\nthe terms of whose sentences had expired, or who were\nstill holding tickets of leave. There were, particularly\namong the cattle-stations, some natives of the colony,\nborn of British parents; and there was also a considerable\nelement of the emigrant class, which year by year\nincreased, while the convict class, not being, replenished\nby fresh arrivals from England, steadily diminished.\nThe religious condition of the district assigned to me,\nwith some most pleasing exceptions, was, generally speaking,\nvery low. Could it have been expected to be otherwise,\nwhen the deteriorating influences at work, and the scarcity\nof good ones, are considered ? In the first place, the colony\nwas founded upon England's convicts, with a few men who\ncame out to make money by their labour. The former\nbrought with them habits of evil, often deeply ingrained,\nand a good many of the latter were men who would rather\nlive below a high Christian standard, even if it were customary around them, than strive to raise the standard in\nthe midst of surrounding difficulties. From time to time\nnot a few wild sons, whom their friends could make nothing\nof at home, were sent out to try their fortune. Many of\nthe emigrants of the labouring classes were badly selected,\nand some of the unthrifty and useless in various English\nparishes were encouraged to go out, not because they were\nadapted by their habits and characters to help the new\ncountry, but because they could not get on in the old one,\nand to be rid of them was a benefit to the employers of\nlabour and to the ratepayers. Even to some who had been\nsteady while they were surrounded by the opinion and\nadvice of friends and the regularity of Church services,\ntheir entire uprooting from all accustomed influences, and\nthe unsettling idleness of a long voyage, proved too great\na trial of their faith. Habits of prayer and reading Holy\nScripture had been broken in upon; and the excitement\nof settling in a new country, new faces, and new circumstances, and the want of any one near them who cared how 60\nTHE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\nthey lived, often made sad havoc of what had been good\nin them.\nIn the townships there were frequent examples among\nall elasses of impurity and drunkenness, not sufficiently\nbranded by any public opinion, which acts as so useful a\npolice on the outskirts of morality. And in the shepherds'\nhuts, where three men usually lived together, the constant\ncompanionship, night and morning, of one corrupt \"mate,\"\nif only one, exerted a very deteriorating influence upon the\none or two who might have been of a better mind. There\nwas some compensating power in the long solitude of the\nday, when each shepherd was following his flock under the\nbrilliant blue sky, and the hut-keeper was left at home\nto do the easy duties of preparing the hut and the sheep-\nyards. Each had then abundant time for reflection, and\nfor any teaching of good in past days to rise up in the\nmind. But the ever-recurring unchaining of the tongue,\nwhen evening and morning brought the tyti-m-ates together\nagain, gave the bad a terrible power of suggesting thoughts\nof evil, which were only too ready to germinate.\nAdd to this the grievous deficiency of clergy, and the\nconsequent impossibility of meeting evil, or strengthening\nweakness, by a sufficiency of holy influences ; and it is not\nto be wondered at, though it is most distressing, that many\nChristian men never said a prayer, and had no thought for\nanything but self and sin, and that even among the more\ndecent there were so few who had any idea of earnestness\nin following God.\nThe shepherds were especially destitute. Services held\nin the small townships were useless to them. The residents\nmight attend, and even the stockmen, who looked after the\ncattle and horses, might easily find time to ride in from\nthe bush to join. But the shepherd must lead his sheep\nout of the sheep-yard early on each of the seven mornings\nof the week, remain with them all the day, while they were\nfeeding or lying down, lest the native dog should fall upon WORK IN A PASTORAL DISTRICT.\n61\nthem, and lead them back to the yard again only a little\nbefore sundown. Even a service held in the evening would,\nin most cases, be quite unavailable to the shepherd; for\nthe greater number of huts were many miles away from\nthe nearest place where a small congregation could be\nassembled. And yet all these, wanderers though they may\nhave been, were Christ's sheep, for whom He shed His\nBlood.\nThe problem of ministering to men scattered over so\nwide an area was a very difficult one. They were\nscattered, one here, and another three or four miles off,\nalong the banks of the \"creeks,\" and near hollows on\nthe higher lands, where wells might be sunk; from the\nLiverpool range to the Goulbourn, and from Muswell\nBrook to Coolah. And yet, as soon as I saw the district,\nI saw that some visitation of these poor fellows must be\nattempted. If the manner of doing it were ever so\nimperfect, it would be better than leaving them quite\nuncared for.\nIt took me some months to feel my way along, and to\nlearn the different features of so large a district, and where\neach little obscure hut was placed. But by information\nafforded by the proprietors as to their huts ; by the kindness of an overseer now and then conducting me; by\nfollowing the tracks of the ration carts, which each week\ntook the supplies for the men; and sometimes by stumbling\non a remote hut by chance, as I might be riding across the\ncountry without a track, I gradually became acquainted\nwith by far the greater number of the huts.\nSoon after the whole district, which I have mentioned,\nwas assigned to me, I was enabled to lay out a general\nplan of the work, with the object of spreading Church\nministrations over as large a surface as possible. Every\nfourth week, including a Sunday, I was absent from\nMuswell Brook, leaving one of the candidates for the\nministry to read the prayers and a sermon which I had\n(1*\n\u25a0 iitifl)\n62\nTHE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\nI IB:\nselected. When at any time no candidate was with me,\nthe Bishop authorised John H. Cox, Esq.\u2014a thoroughly\nconscientious and zealous Churchman, who was in\nvery many ways \"a comfort to me\"\u2014to keep the\ncongregation together in the same manner. That Sunday I spent at Merriwa or Cassilis on alternate months,\nhaving a morning and afternoon service, teaching the\nchildren, and, between the evenings of Saturday and\nMonday mornings, visiting the houses in the township.\nWhichever had not the Sunday services had one service,\nor sometimes two, on a week-day ; and the rest of the day\nwas spent with the children, and in the houses. On each\nother night during the week's journey I stopped at some\nstation, which had previous notice of my coming. In some\ncases as many as twenty people assembled, in others only\nfive or six. Each morning, before leaving, I had prayers,\nand spent the time from nine till sunset in making my\nway to the next halt for the night. During the day I took\nsometimes one line of country, sometimes another, so as to\nvisit in turn all the huts which I had been able to discover.\nBut this would not do the work that was needed; for\nthe hut-keepers were the only persons to be found at home\nduring the day. To get at the shepherds it. was neeessary\nto find them on their runs. A sharp look-out would often\ndetect a flock in the distance, or perhaps a few of the\nsheep just appearing above a ridge; they might be a mile\nto the right or left of the direct route, but with them was\na shepherd, and he must be sought. On reaching him, the\nrein was thrown over the horse's head, and he was left,\nnothing loth, to rest and feed among the rich grass. A\nlittle ordinary conversation followed, often about the old\ncountry, which both of us remembered with affection; and\nthen, upon the offer to read to him and join in prayer, he\nsent his dog round to bring closer the scattering sheep,\nand to sit on the farther side to watch them, while we\ndrew under the best shade we could find\u2014generally little WORK IN A PASTORAL DISTRICT.\n63\nenough; and, without answering for others, I often felt\nhow lovingly our Lord had provided for our wants, by\npromising Has Presence \"in the midst,\" \" where two,\" as\nwell as \"three,\" should be \"gathered together.\" Some\npart of Holy Scripture was read; such teaching given, as\nappeared most suitable; and then we knelt side by side,\nand prayed in the words of the Confession, or part of the\nLitany, and some of the collects of the Book of Common\nPrayer.\nOn one such occasion I had fallen in with a weather-\nbeaten shepherd, who had been a soldier. It was by the\nside of the old Cassilis track, three miles from Merriwa.\nWhen our short service was over, and I was shaking him\nby the hand, before riding on my way, the poor fellow,\nwho had been very attentive throughout, said, with tears\nin his eyes, \"Thank you, sir: you are the first clergyman\nI've seen for sixteen years.\" For so long had this poor\nfellow been without the help of any service. And his was\nno uncommon case. For some time after I began my bush\nwork, I frequently found men, and sometimes women too,\nto whom the sight- of a clergyman, or any approach to a\nservice, were events of long-past years.\nNot a few of the men whom I met were Roman\nCatholics; and some were Presbyterians: to all I offered\nreading and prayer; and in very few instances was the'\noffer declined. Most persons accepted it gratefully, and\nlooked out for the next visit. This was especially the case\nwhere there were children. The mothers would gladly sit\nand listen, while the little ones were being taught: glad that\ntheir children should receive instruction, and welcoming\nthe old, simple teaching, which in some form or other they\nhad themselves received in their early days. I generally\nfound that, though the short teaching which such a visit\nallowed hardly elicited an answer, and the little things\nat first seemed shy and inattentive, what was said was\nremembered afterwards.\nMki 64\nTHE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\nII i\n11! Ill\nWith young and old there was this advantage to balance\ntheir many disadvantages, that whatever was said or done\nwas impressed on them by the rare circumstance of a\nclergyman's visit to their bush home. And there were\nnot, as in our towns and villages, a number of persons\nand events rapidly succeeding each other, to efface impressions which the teaching had left upon their minds.\nBefore leaving, I nearly always drew from my saddlebags some book or tract to be kept till the next visit. And\nas the visits were repeated from time to time, the number\nof Bibles and Prayer-books, which my bush people asked\nme to bring up for them to purchase, increased.\nOne thing which I always endeavour to impress upon\nthem, was to do their best to hallow the Lord's Day by\nespecial prayer and reading, joining with each other in\nthe services of the day, if they could find those with them\nwilling to do so, with the especial view of maintaining\ntheir union with the body of Christ's Church, into which\nthey had been ingrafted. I found it often useful, when I\nmet a man in the bush, to connect our prayer with the\nChurch's hours, the third, sixth, or ninth, as it might be,\nand with the Divine acts which had hallowed those hours.\nThere was this great advantage in this practice, that it\nhallowed something definitely. One of the great difficulties of religion in the bush is, that there is nothing\nexternally hallowed : no church, nothing outward to remind the people that God has a claim upon this world,\nand that He bestows His blessing where His claim is duly\nacknowledged. But wherever shepherds may be, they\nknow by the height of the sun what is the hour; and to\nmake them feel that certain hours are consecrated by\nparticular acts of God's mercy to man, and to teach them\nhow to put up a short prayer from time to time under the\n\" shadow\" of those \" great rocks in a weary land,\" was\none means of reminding them that even in the wild bush\nGod's own sun continually witnessed to His Presence and\nm WORK IN A PASTORAL DISTRICT.\n65\ngracious acts. If they had no recognised places, where\nthe springs of living waters gushed forth, the Church's\n\" hours,\" if they would use them faithfully, seemed to\nbring to them, as to Israel in the wilderness, the \" Spiritual Rock \" following them, from which they might drink.\nNo doubt a good deal of seed was sown \" by the wayside,\" or \" among thorns; 1 and apparently came to\nnothing. And the very extent of the surface over which\nthe work had to be done, hardly allowed it to be deep.\nBut in the famine of the Word of God it seemed better\nto labour to give a small portion to all, if possible, rather\nthan to leave the scattered ones, who could not help themselves, to starve, while providing fully for those who could\nbe gathered together.\nThank God! better times have dawned since then ; the\ndistrict has been divided, and two hard-working clergymen, the Rev. W. E. White and the Rev. W. S. Wilson,\nare zealously and lovingly labouring there; the former\nfixed at Muswell Brook, the latter at Cassilis. But there\nis still need of more labourers to do that work aright.\nWork among sheep and cattle stations is for the most\npart a simple work of faith\u2014casting \" bread upon the\nwaters\"\u2014for not only is it impossible to watch growth,\nas in a parish where you may see your people frequently,\nbut shepherds and stockmen are very apt to migrate.\nThey generally engage with a master for a year, and\nwhen their time is up many leave, and either go to\nanother part of the country, or turn to some other employment. Yet some appeared to do their best with the\nopportunities they had.\nThere was a cattle-station twenty miles from Muswell\nBrook, on the Wybong Creek, where, at one time, I\nused, every alternate month, to stop for the first night on\nmy journeys. The stockman was the chief man at the\nstation, and with him was a hut-keeper, besides two or\nthree occasional helpers. A few hundred yards off, on\np\n'it tin\n.11\nif 66\nTHE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\nIll:\nthe opposite side of the creek, was a sheep-hut belonging\nto another owner, with its three inmates.\nWhen the work of the day was done, and the supper at\nabout six o'clock over, the shepherds came across, and\nwe had service, in which most of the men took their part\nand made the responses. Service ended, we used to sit\nround, and talk on various subjects till we went to bed.\nOn the first evening, during our conversation', I asked,\n\" What do you do, my friends, to try to keep Sunday ? \"\n\" Oh, nothing, sir,\" was the reply. \" What can we do ?\nYou know we have neither church nor clergyman nearer\nthan the Brook.\" \" I know your wants too well,\" said I,\n\" and am sorry for them. Still, even as you are, you\ncould do more than you think.\" I then pointed^ out\nthat although they could not enjoy the peculiar blessings\nwhich Christ's minister could impart to them, they might\nat all events, as Christian men, enjoy the blessings of\nunited prayer and praise in the words of the Prayer-book;\nand the stockman, being the chief man there, might read\nthe lessons and the epistle and gospel to the rest. And\nI suggested that the men from the opposite hut might well\ncome over and join with them.\n\" There are,\" I said, \" two reasons which might prevent\nmen from doing this. First, they may fancy that he who\ntook the lead was assuming the office of Christ's ministers,\nlike the teachers of the sects. But this is not the case.\nYou could not come to the church on Sunday if you\nwished to do so, and, in taking the lead in the prayers,\nwould be doing no more than any parents might do, if\nobliged to stay from church with some of their family that\nwere sick, or than every good captain of a merchantman\ndoes every Sunday, when he is at sea, if he has no clergyman on board. Any Christians may thus pray and read\ntogether most profitably, and without doing anything but\nwhat is strictly right. The other difficulty which men\nmay feel is, that it would be hypocrisy to join in prayer WORK IN A PASTORAL DISTRICT.\n67\ntogether, and then to go out and swear and drink together.\nIt comes, then, to this, that either the drinking and swearing, or the praying and reading Holy Scripture, must be\ngiven up. Which would be your greatest loss ? Don't wait\nuntil you have overcome your evil habits before you begin\nthe prayers. If you desire to overcome them, your\nprayers and reading together, with that desire, will not be\nhypocrisy, and will help your endeavours.\"\nAfter removing what I thought their chief obstacles, I\ndid. not attempt to bind them to any promise, nor did I\nurge them. We then went off to bed. The men had\nlistened very attentively; but I cannot say that I felt very\nsanguine, as I rode away the next morning, that they\nwould follow my counsel. But I wronged them.\nTwo months later, as we were sitting round after our\nevening service, I said, with some misgiving, \" Well,\nJohn, what have you tried to do about the Sunday\nprayers?\" \"Why, sir,\" said John, \"we thought what\nyou said was nothing but reasonable, and the men were\nagreeable, and so we began the next Sunday evening, and\nCox's men came over, and we've gone on with it ever\nsince.\" And they continued as they had begun.\nIn about nine months after this, John, the stockman,,\nwas out of his time of service; and, to my great regret, went,\noff to Moreton Bay, and I have never heard of him since\nThe next month after his departure I met the hut-keeper\ngetting water at the creek, and asked him, \" What have\nyou done about the Sunday prayers since John left you ? \"\"\nI 0 sir,\" he answered, \" we all liked them, so when the\nnew stockman came, we told him what John used to do,\nand he fell in with it; so it goes on as before.\"\nThis was indeed good news to me; but in a year after\nthis all the men left, and a Roman Catholic and his wife\ncame to the place, and these, though civil enough, would\nnot be guided by me. However, after another year or\ntwo, a married Churchman succeeded, and the Church's\nf 2\nSI 1 I\n68\nTHE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\nprayers were again used by the inmates of the hut, when\nthey could not, like their more fortunate brethren, be\npresent at a service.\nMany a time, in hot weary days, I rejoiced to be among\nthose poor destitute brethren in the bush, for it is a happy\nthing to be able to bring a cup to parched lips ; and often,\nthank God! I was enabled to suggest some help for their\nsouls, which seemed very obvious, but had not occurred\nto them, simply from want of a suggestion.\nWithin sight of the shepherd's hut just mentioned, is\na fine gap in sandstone cliffs, through which the road goes\ntowards Muswell Brook. Will the reader forgive me if I\nintroduce here a few stanzas which I wrote one day on\nhorseback after passing it, when the sweet yellow acacias\nwhich studded it, and were relieved by a background of\ncypress, were out in full beauty ?\u2014\nDUTY'S BLESSINGS.\nSept. 14,1852.\nThere are flowers round beauty's pathway,\nWhere'er we toil along :\nAnd the perfumed air is vocal\nWith the bell-bird's liquid song.\nThe viewless breezes whisper\nTo the tall trees as they go,\nAnd fan the wanderer's weary cheek\nWith their balmy breath below.\nAnd standing round, on either side,\nThe tall cliffs' giant forms\nBend their calm grey heads, which have braved\nthe wrath\nOf a thousand Hghtning-storms.\nThey speak of bygone ages,\nOf the days when Earth was young,\nAnd upheaving Nature's tossing throes\nOn her Maker's accents hung. WORK IN A PASTORAL DISTRICT. 69\nAnd oh ! the clear blue heaven,\nWith its fathomless abyss 1\nIts still calmness seems to tell us\nOf the realms beyond of bliss.\nFrom our Father's hand, on every side,\nThere are blessings strewn around :\nDuty's path still leads our footsteps\nO'er hallowed Eden-ground.\nYet seek them not, these joyous things,\u2014\nThey wither as we gaze,\nAnd leave us still, with a yearning heart,\nTo tread deserted ways.\nTo cheer thee on thy pilgrim path,\nFrom thy Father's love they 're given :\nTo gladden, not to stay thy steps,\nOn thy forward road to Heaven.\nSeek the kingdom of thy Cod: 'tis found\nThrough meek and lowly ways;\nWhere calm-cheek'd duty guides thee far\nFrom the siren voice of praise.\nCheer the lonely, soothe the broken heart:\nAnd, where the earth-turn'd eye\nIs dazzled by sin's flickering glare,\nPoint to Heaven's pure joys on high.\nSee a brother in each human form;\nAnd thy toil will gladness be :\nE'en the Cross itself is a blessed thing,\nSince thy Saviour died for thee.\nSeek duty thus : along its course\nThy Lord will joys provide;\nAnd in thy sorrows thou shalt find\nThy Saviour by thy side.\nBless His mercy for all gifts of love:\nYet on this world's mouldering clod,\nOne only fills thy craving soul,\u2014\nThy Saviour and thy God.\n' Church work in a remote bush township has much to\ncontend with, where a clergyman's visits are few and far\nbetween.\n'\u2022 i u- \u25a0\n70\nTHE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\n,'Mip.\nw\nFrom one week's end to another the inhabitants meet\neach other without anything occurring to remind' them\nthat they are united by any other tie than those of\nneighbourhood, or business, or subjection to the same\nlaws. That they are Christian brethren is kept out of\nsight, not only by the petty squabbles and contending\ninterests which are always rife in small communities left\nmuch to themselves, but by that powerful engine of evil,\nreligious division. A tolerably strong infusion of Irish\nRoman Catholics is generally found among them; there\nare a few Irish or Scotch Presbyterians, and usually a\nsmall sprinkhng of followers of some of the sects which\nflourish on English soil. These altogether make about\none-half of the community, the other half being members\nof the Church of England.\nSeparated from each other by differing ideas of religion,\nthey usually ignore the subject of religion in their intercourse with each other; and thus, at each short period of\nhis visits, the clergyman has to lift up the hearts that\nhave been turned to the world during week-days and\nSundays since the last time of service. It is not, therefore, to be wondered at if the seed sown on soil so\nunprepared for it brings forth little fruit.\nStill, the alternative of neglecting to do what one can\ndo, because it is impossible to do more, is not to be\nthought of. People are better for having even infrequent\nministrations than for being left almost absolutely without any; and Christ's truths, even when rarely heard,\nleave a blessing behind them, and prepare the way for\nhappier times. In all ministerial working\u2014but especially\nin places where the services are unavoidably rare\u2014the\nonly way to prevent throwing all up in disappointment, or\ngoing on in cold formality, is to labour carefully, because\nChrist has sent us to take disappointments as part of our\nallotted cross ; and to leave the issue to Him Who, when\nhope seemed extinguished, rose from the dead in triumph. fr.. i awm\nWORK IN A PASTORAL DISTRICT.\n71\n<<\nOne soweth, and another reapeth,\" and so our faith is\ntried. The people are Christ's, the work is His; it will\nprosper, if we do not mar it by our unfaithfulness and\nmismanagement. And the anxious burden of a weight\nbeyond our strength, and the sight of Christian souls, who\nneed the Church's work if they do not desire it, stir up\nthe fervent prayers of many a toiling bush clergyman,\nthat \"the Lord of the harvest would send forth more\nlabourers into His harvest\"\nIt was up-hill work for some time at Merriwa, with only\nthirteen visits in the year that could be paid to it,\nsupplemented by occasional letter-writing. The great\nwant was the presence of some earnest layman, who\nwould in some way make his influence felt for good during\nthe absence of the clergyman; and several years elapsed\nbefore one was raised up.\nIt has been mentioned before that the place where\nDivine Service was first held was a room in a public-\nhouse. One of my first endeavours was to procure\nanother place. At each fresh visit I felt a greater repugnance to assemble the congregation at a house where,-\nat almost all other times, there were scenes of gross\ndrunkenness. The publican was very accommodating.\nHe took what care he could to prevent drinking at the\nbar during the time of service, even on a week-day; and\nif I slept at his house, which on some occasions I did,\nI could rarely induce him to take any payment for\neither my bed or meals. But his civility could not\nreconcile me to use a place, surrounded by such\nassociations, for the holy rites of Christ's faith; and\nI chafed to see that, when each man could get up a\nbuilding for his own use, as a dwelling or an improvement to his establishment, we could not all join together\nto erect a building, however humble, for the worship\nof God.\nThere were certainly legitimate hindrances to under- 72\nTHE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\nP\ntaking anything very costly at that time\u2014the pressure of\npecuniary difficulties, which has already been mentioned,\nand the small number of inhabitants in the township, not\na few of whom were Roman Catholics. But there were\nmeans sufficient, had faith been clearer and love warmer,\nto erect a small, simple church, which would have rescued\nthe services of Christ's holy Church from the loathsome\nassociations of a public-house. Had the chief settlers\nconsented to do their part, every poorer Churchman in\nthe district was prepared to follow; and it was always\nfound that when any district took up its burden their\nbrethren in. other districts helped them. We found this\nthe case afterwards; but then there was an indisposition\nto move, which nothing apparently could overcome; and\nmy infrequent visits could not stir the vis inertia. One\nalternative which was proposed to me was to erect a room\nto be used in turn by the ministers of all denominations, as\neach might require it\u2014a proposal which was urged upon\nme some years afterwards, when I resided at Morpeth,\nand was endeavouring\u2014and, thank God! successfully\u2014to\nget a small stone church built at Seaham, on the Williams\nRiver.\nIt need hardly be said that I could not accept this\nsolution of the difficulty; and we still assembled at the\npublic-house, though several of the congregation felt the\nincongruity of our using such a place. The early\nChristians could worship among the dead in the Catacombs,\nfor fear of persecution. At Philippi,* St. Paul could go\nout I by a river-side, where prayer was wont to be made.\"\nEven in the rhetorical \" school of one Tyrannus,\"f\nSt. Paul disputed daily with the Ephesians, to lead them to\nthe faith of Christ. But when, though ministering among\nChristians, who were not badly off, we were driven by sheer\nnecessity to the room of an inn, we were forced to feel\nhumbled, and to remember that Jesus, Who sat at meat\n* Acts xvi. 12, 13. t Acts xix. 9.\nIff i: WORK IN A PASTORAL DISTRICT.\n73\nwith sinners, could be with us, and rescue from sin those\nof His flock who were living in the midst of it. I may\nmention with thankfulness that I have lately heard from\nthe clergyman of that district, that the publican's stepchildren, whom I have catechised in that house, and who\nare now grown up, are active and earnest Sunday-school\nteachers.\nAfter a few years, I was, thank God! enabled to get up\na wooden church, but I was to be exercised by many a\ndisappointment first. Doubtless it was well, in the very\nlow state of Christian faith and practice then prevailing,\nthat we should have many a check, and that the cross,\nwhich was eventually reared on the little hill that overlooks the town, should in its measure be like Him for Whose\nsheep it was erected, \" a root out of a dry ground,\" stunted\nin growth, for want of the moisture which the worldly\nmeans which God gave ought to have supplied.\nFailing during our early days to get aid for a church,\nI tried to induce those who were able to join me in\nsubscribing for a school. The Bishop would have provided\na master ; and at his request, the \" Denominational Board\nof Education\" had appropriated a salary to supplement the\npayments of the parents. In this school we should have\nheld our services until the time came for building a church.\nAfter some delays, the manager of one of the sheep\nestablishments agreed to assist in raising a subscription\nfor the school-house ; and on my next visit we were to\nmeet, and set the plan at work. The next month, on my\narrival, I found that, in concert with others, he had already\nmade application to the secular board of education, which\nat the end of 1848 was formed by the Colonial Government. That board had promised a master, and the school\nwas to be built forthwith. One of the regulations of the\nsecular board, miscalled the National Board of Education,\nprovided that the school should never be used for religious\nservices. Thus my hope was again frustrated ; and the 74\nTHE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\nsound moral and religious progress of the poor little\ntownship was indefinitely retarded by the exclusion of a\nschool, in which the training and discipline should be\nfounded upon God's truth.\nThere is no need of dwelling at length upon the various\nobstacles in the way of building the church. The\nendeavour was often repeated, and as often resulted in\nnothing. However, we left the public-house.\nSmall as the houses in the township were, being little\nbetter than huts, some of them roofed with bark, and with\nearth floors, we met sometimes in the little room of the\nwidow who kept the post-office; sometimes in the huts of two\nor three others, as it was convenient for them to receive us;\nfor a while, in a wool-shed belonging to a sheep establishment a mile above the township ; and for a few times at a\nnew, untenanted hut, from which we were fairly driven by\nfleas and bugs, which in that warm climate always swarm\nin such places. This wandering was, however, productive\nof good: the discomfort it caused enforced my arguments\nfor building a church.\nTowards the end of 1849 I had, with one of the townspeople, selected a piece of land ; and the Government,\nupon application being made in the usual form, granted\nthe allotment to the Church.\nIt was on a rising ground composed of sandstone, about\nthirty feet above the black trap soil, on which the greater\nportion of the little town was built. As you stood on it looking towards the town, the ground rose gently behind you\nmoderately covered with trees. To the west, on your left\nhand, it sloped down towards Smith's Rivulet, which ran\nover its rocky bed between deep black banks ; and beyond\nthis rose, step after step, the high line of hills over which\nlay several tracks to Cassilis, and thence into the interior.\nTowards the north, the eye looked over the little town to\nanother low hill, half sandstone, half trap, which bounded\nit on that side. And over this, and up the valley that WORK IN A PASTORAL DISTRICT.\n75\nstretched away on the left of it, the fine bold outline of the\nLiverpool range, twenty miles distant as the crow flies,\nbounded the view. But that fine range of hills was not\ndim and hazy, as it would be at such a distance in our\nEnglish climate, but clear and distinct, marking well the\nlights and shadows on its rugged sides. If you could\nclimb to the top of that range and look down on the other\nside, you would see the vast treeless level of the Liverpool\nPlains extended before you as far as the eye could reach,\nrich with luxuriant grass, a perfect ocean of pasturage.\nAnd you would be standing on the line that divides what\nis, at the time when I am writing, the newly-formed\ndiocese of Grafton and Armidale, from the parent see of\nNewcastle.\nFrom different parts of this range issued four small\ncreeks, which, uniting three miles above the township,\nflowed past it to the Goulbourn in one channel, which bore\nthe names of Smith's Rivulet and Gummum, corrupted\ninto Gammon, Creek.\nHaving secured a beautiful site for the church, I was\ndesirous of putting up the most temporary building, which\nwould cost only the labour. I proposed merely a sapling\nframe, with a bark covering, and subscribing month by\nmonth until we had enough to build a stone church. This,\nI am convinced, might have been accomplished, if the\npeople had agreed to the plan; but it is necessary to\nwork with the means at one's disposal, and several of our\nsmall number had not patience to wait for this : if anything was to be done, they must see it at once, so it was\nagreed about May, 1850, to put up as good a slab building\nas possible for \u00a360. Even that was thought by a few an\nunattainable sum. To save expense, I drew out the plan,\nas much like Early English as I could in wood; the timber\nbeing of stout iron-bark. One gentleman gave the hauling,\nsmall subscriptions were collected in the township, and on\nOctober 17th, 1850, in the presence of Mr. Thomas Perry\ni'ti 76\nTHE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\n(who gave the hauling), and twenty of the people, I laid\nthe first iron-bark sleeper of Holy Trinity Church. I\nundertook the collection and management of the small fund.\nAbout \u00a310 more than the whole sum voted was expended\non the shell of the building, which was thirty-two feet long\nby sixteen feet broad, with a vestry attached.\nLittle by little subscriptions trickled in. We got in the\nwindows, and then, with what benches and boards we could\nprocure, began at once using it for Divine service in very\nprimitive form. Soon, as there was a prospect of raising\na little more, some open seats of red cedar were ordered\ndown the country, and the Holy Table. An accident\ncharacteristic of the bush befell the latter. It was being\nbrought up on the top of a loaded dray; and, at some,\npeculiarly bad part of the road, the bullock-driver turned\naside into the bush, when the limb of a tree, under which\nhe was passing, caught two of the legs, and they were\ntorn off with about as much ease as you would snap a twig.\nWhen our seats came up, we were still for some time\nlonger without flooring, and sometimes, as I stood at the\naltar, I sank into the sand up to my ankles.\nBy this time a gentleman had been appointed to superintend one of the sheep establishments, who was heartily\ndesirous to aid in Church work. Wishing to have something permanent among so much wood, we had the floor\npaved with stone, with steps up to the altar ; and my good\nfriend Mr. Marlay presented a harmonium to the church,\nwhich he played himself.\nAt length, when in 1855 all was as far prepared as our\nsmall means would allow, the Bishop crowned the work by\nconsecration. A notice appeared in one of the colonial\nnewspapers at the time, from which the following is an\nextract:\u2014\nI On Monday, March 19th, the Lord Bishop of Newcastle\nvisited this township, for the double purpose of consecrating\nthe church and holding a confirmation, and nearly every WORK IN A PASTORAL DISTRICT.\n77\nmember of the Church of England in the town and its\nneighbourhood came to take part in the service. About\nfive years ago an effort was made to commence a church.\nIt was found impossible to erect one of stone or brick at\nthat time, but the best was done in the way of a slab\nbuilding which the material admitted. It has simply a\nnave and vestry attached; the roof is high-pitched, with\na small bell turret at the west end. There are three lancet\nwindows in the east end, and two in the west, with two\nsingle lancet lights in each side, and one in the vestry.\nThe woodwork inside is relieved by a stone floor ; and- the\ninterior and exterior of the building, with the fittings-up,\nthough simple, have a church-like appearance, which may\nlead some minds to think that what we do, even in a humble\nway, to the honour of God, ought to be taken pains with.\"\nIn a letter I have lately received from the present\nclergyman, he says that it will be necessary to enlarge the\nchurch, as there is no longer room for the congregation\nwhich assembles in it.\nI can never think of that church without calling to\nmind him who gave me the firstsSubscription towards it\u2014\na poor man, and a shepherd. It is now some years since\nI heard that he had been called to his rest. His name\nwas Robert Baird, and I first found him at a remote\nstation, eight miles above the town, towards the Liverpool\nrange.\nHis hut was at the foot of a high ridge, near Coulson's\nCreek, one of the small tributaries of Smith's Rivulet. A\nfew yards before his door was a small bit of ground,\nenclosed, in the roughest bush fashion, by whole trees and\nlarge limbs, heaped one upon another, with the lighter\nwood thrust in at intervals to stop up gaps. Within this\ngarden the rich black soil bore an abundance of pumpkins\nand water-melons, which scrambled luxuriantly over the\nground, or climbed up and hung over the rude fence ; and\non the parts of the enclosure which they did not occupy 78\nTHE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\nI\n1 lis\n\u00bb1Mb;\n1 II\n-\u25a0: ill\n\u25a0\n\u00abtt\n!'.' A\nwere cabbages, quickly grown and excellent when the\nseason was wet, but in dry hot weather hanging exhausted\nand flaccid, and in colour and toughness like \" blue cotton\numbrellas\" as a friend used to call them. Not far off were\na couple of cows ; for where the master encourages the\nmen, calves are cheaply bought, and easily reared. In a\nsmall log pigsty, under the shade of a leafy kind of eucalyptus, called the apple-tree, were two or three pigs, or,\nsometimes a litter. A few fowls were foraging about,\npicking up grass-seeds, and running after grasshoppers\nand insects of various kinds that swarmed everywhere.\nBaird appeared to be thirty-five or forty years old, and\nhad a wife and several young children-^three boys and, I\nthink, two girls. I had heard at Merriwa that there were\nsheep-stations up Coulson's Creek; and, while hunting\nthem up, fell in with Baird and his family in their retired\nnook, about eighteen months before there was any prospect\nof building a church.\nThey had never before been visited by a clergyman, as,\nindeed, was the case with all the stations on that creek;\nand they seemed genuinely grateful for anything approaching to Christian worship and Christian teaching. From\nthis time I made a point of going round by that line of\ncountry as often as possible ; taking it on my way between\nthe upper part of the Wybong Creek and Merriwa. Sometimes I visited it for several months in succession. Sometimes, when I took another line of stations, there was an\ninterval between my visits of two or three months.\nOne thing that distressed me was that, when the good\nwoman knew I was coming, there was always a fowl or\nsomething dressed especially for me. All my entreaties\nthat she would spare herself this trouble were unheeded.\nGudewives in all ranks, all the world over, will have their\nway ; so, although I should have much preferred riding on\nto the next station as soon as my work was finished, taking\nperhaps a bit of damper and some tea or milk, I could not WORK IN A PASTORAL DISTRICT.\n79\ndecline to take what she had so thoughtfully provided for\nmy refreshment.\nWe always had a short service : some of the prayers\nand collects of the Prayer-book, a psalm or two (generally\nthose for the day); and some short part of Holy Scripture\nwas read and explained. Before leaving them I always\ngave the little ones some especial teaching. Little, gentle,\nshy things they were\u2014those children of the bush\u2014very\nrespectful in manner ; but for many a month not a word\ncould I get out of them. Sometimes I told them Bible\nstories, with the youngest standing between my knees ;\nsometimes I asked them questions, and answered them\nmyself; and when I had patted them on the head and\nblessed them, they would run out, and leave me to say my\nlast words to their parents. And as I mounted my horse,\nI could see them clinging together, and peeping round the\nend of the hut at me with timid, roguish smiles, coming\nout from their shelter and having a good stare at me as I\nrode away.\nTheir mother told me that, when she questioned them\nafterwards, they remembered much of what I had said to\nthem; but she could not get them to give their attention\nto the simple books in monosyllables which I left for their\nuse. The first book which seemed really to get into their\nminds was \"First Steps to the Catechism.\" That gave\nthem the end of the clue, and they gradually got out of\nwhat had appeared to them an insuperable difficulty. On\nmy next visit after leaving the book, their mother said that\nthey were beginning to try to read their letters, as well as\nto learn the answers to the questions in the little book.\nA year or two after this, when they had really begun to\nmake some progress with the teaching which their father\ngave them in the evening, Baird told me that he was\nanxious to remove to some place where he could send,\nthem to school. He could not put his plan into effect\nimmediately; and in the meantime heard of our intention 80\nTHE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\nlit'\nmm\n11\nllii\nlliil\n1\u00bb\nof building a church at Merriwa. He did not wait to be\nasked, and did not hesitate from the knowledge that he\nshould need his money when he moved. He came forward\nbefore any subscription list was opened, and begged me to\ntake charge of 10s. for the church, to which, some time\nafter, he added another 10s.\nDoes not this poor man's ready and unsolicited offering\nto the service of God, which he would seldom be able to\nattend, shame many Christians, who, having the talent of\nabundance, spend it readily upon some self-indulgence,\nsome showy dinner-party or ball, some jewelry or dress;\nand become suddenly fearful of expense when an appeal is\nmade to their charity ? They who have squandered money\nby tens, or it may be by hundreds, give some poor pound\nor half-a-crown at a collection, and often evade giving at\nall in the aid of the work of Christ at home or abroad.\nThat poor man's offering always made me look on the\nlittle church at Merriwa with hope. I cannot but trust\nthat God's eye will be over that house of His, towards\nwhich He moved His humble servant's love to contribute\nso readily out of the little that he had.\nBaird sold off his cattle, took his wife and family to\nMaitland, and while he put his children to school his wife\nendeavoured to make their small savings last longer by\nkeeping a little shop, while he earned money in any way\nhe could.\nThe shop was not successful, for bush-life had not made\nhis wife a good shopkeeper. And after two years he came\nback to his old employer as a shepherd; and now his two\neldest boys were able to take turns with a second flock of\nsheep. I had lost sight of him most of the time when he\nwas in Maitland, and for some months was not aware that\nhe had returned to my district. He had been sent to a\nstation some few miles off, which I had never heard of.\nAt length, to my surprise and pleasure, I saw him one\nSunday in the church at Merriwa. He had left his own WORK IN A PASTORAL DISTRICT.\n81\nflock for a few hours in charge of one of his sons, while\nthe second son was tending the other flock. After service\nwe were mutually glad to meet; and he told me he had\nbeen wondering, poor man, at my not having found him\nout. He described where his station was, on a creek\ncalled Middle Creek; and the next month I rode up from\nMerriwa to look after him and his family.\nAfter some six or seven miles' riding, keeping a good\nlook-out, I caught sight in the distance of some sheep;\nand looking carefully, soon made out the figure of a man\nsitting down at the foot of a tree by the bank of the creek.\nAs it was about midday, I thought he might be taking his.\ndinner, but soon saw' a boy by his side; and when I\nreached him, I found that he was hearing one of his sons\nread in the New Testament. I heard the boy read, and\nquestioned him, and found him much improved by his\nschooling.\nBaird then told me that, besides keeping school at home\nevery evening, with much better success than in former\ndays, he made it his practice to take one of his.boys with\nhim each day in turn, to read, while one of the others\ntended the second flock.\nHe continued to come down to the service at the church\nwhile I ministered in the district. A few years after,\nwhen I was at Morpeth, I heard that his work on earth\nwas ended.\n| Go, to the world return, nor fear to cast\nThy bread upon the waters, sure at last\nIn joy to find it after many days.\nThe work be thine, the fruit thy children's part:\nChoose to believe, not see 5 sight tempts the heart\nFrom sober walking in true Gospel ways.\"\nKeble's Christian Year. Ninth Sunday after Trinity.\nG M\n82\nTHE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\nam'!\nI liill:\nCHAPTER VI.\nIk jig \u00a3\nJffg-Sfe\nA BUSH TOWNSHD? AND ITS SCHOOL.\nThe westernmost township in my district, as has been\nalready mentioned, was- Cassilis. It was seventy miles\nfrom my residence at Muswell Brook, and twenty-five miles\nbeyond Merriwa. Its Scotch name betokened the love of\nits founder for the \"land of the mountain and the flood.\"\nTwo miles above it was a place called Llangollen, so that\nScotch and Welsh memories came close together.\nI must say that, in a new country, I prefer using the\nnative names, which, as in North America, are often very\neuphonious, and serve to keep in memory the old and,\nalas ! rapidly fading races which have preceded the white\nman. Still, it is a pardonable attachment to old associations, which makes a colonist give to his new home a name\nthat reminds him of his native village or county. A\nGovernment surveyor is hardly so pardonable when he\nfixes on some old-world name, taken without reference to\nany connection. To a stranger the jumble of old associations is sometimes a little perplexing ; and makes him\nthink he has got hold of a dissected map, the pieces of\nwhich have been shaken up and spread out at hap-hazard.\nI had a good illustration of this when, in 1857, being\nordered off by my doctor for coolness and rest, I paid a\nvery pleasant visit of a month to Tasmania. On a stagecoach journey across the island from Hobart Town I\ncrossed the River Jordan running into the Derwent, and\npassed in succession Bridgewater, Brighton, Bagdad, and\nJerusalem Plains. Jericho, York Plains, Tunbridge, Ross, A BUSH TOWNSHIP AND ITS SCHOOL.\n83\nand Campbell Town followed in the county of Somerset; and\nin a few miles I got off the coach at Perth, being only a\nshort distance from Longford, Launceston, Hadspen, and\nWestbury.\nHowever, such has been the fashion of colonists all the\nworld over. Portuguese and Dutch have given way to it\nin some degree; but British settlers, whether in North\nAmerica or in Australasia, have sowed the seeds of old\nnames broadcast; and a name once given is soon fixed by\nuse, and is rarely changed.\nThe creek on which Cassilis lies keeps its native name,\nthe Munmurra: it is the last creek deserving a name\nwhich flows from the Liverpool range to the Goulbourn,\nand so on to the Pacific. About eight miles further towards the west, the range, which has been growing less\nbold in outline, turns sharply round, and, becoming a\nridge of moderate elevation, stretches towards the south:\n\u2022continuing to be here, as it is in its more mountainous\nform, the division between the eastern and western waters.\nThe valley of the Munmurra is much narrower than that\non which Merriwa lies; and, not having a bold broken\noutline to head it, is less picturesque. But Cassilis is not\nwithout its pleasing views, and the richness of the pasturage makes it and its neighbourhood of great value to the\nflock and herd-master.\nIt was early in October, 1848, when I first visited it.\nAs I reached the brow of the hill which looks down upon\nit the sun was nearly touching the ridge on the opposite-\nside. Without a cloud, without any softening haze, it\nsank glowing to the last of that more than warm spring\nday: and the more distant hills were already becoming\npurpled, as though the olive-coloured gum-trees which\nclothed them had been changed to purple-flowered heather. The road turned to the right, and began a long\nslope of nearly a mile dowm the side of the hill; at the\nend of which, on the other side of the creek, the little\ng 2\nm\nm\nL'd9 m\n'84\nTHE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\ntownship was beginning to enjoy the first cool shadows\nthrown by the black hill behind it.\nThis part of the valley was almost free from trees; and,\nbeing surrounded by wooded hills, had much the appearance of a piece of park land. On the near side of the\ncreek the first building which met the eye was the residence of the mounted police, commonly called the \" Police\nBarracks : \" and a few hundred yards further, also on the\nbank of the creek, stood a strong slab-built cottage, called\nthe Court House, containing a room about eighteen feet by\nten feet, which was the justice-room, lighted by a small\nwindow. At the end of the room, on the left as you\nentered, a small platform, raised about a foot above the\nfloor, with a table and three common chairs, was the\nbench: and facing the presiding magistrate a door opened\ninto a small windowless room, strongly slabbed all round,\nceiling and all, the lock-up of the township ; so that it was\nbut a step from judgment to punishment. Cassilis was\nfortunate in having well-educated men in the commission\nof the peace, two of them representatives of the honour\nschools of Oxford and Cambridge. Hence the decisions of\nthat bench were generally well considered, and were relied\nupon as just and impartial, and free from the pettinesses\nand vulgarity which in some parts deprived the courts of\ntheir due respect.\nAfter riding through two large enclosures called paddocks, about three-quarters of a mile square, fenced with\nthe ordinary post and rail fence, I reached the house of\nMr. Busby, a large flock-master, whose breed of horses\nwas known far and near. A hospitable welcome awaited\nme there : and I was agreeably surprised to find a well-\nchosen library of standard authors so far up in the bush,\nand the taste that could appreciate them. The tide of\nlady-society had not flowed up so far from the coast: but\nthe habits and conversation were such as would have been\nenjoyed in a well-educated household in England. A BUSH TOWNSHIP AND ITS SCHOOL.\n85\nThat evening my good host had asked to meet me his\nnearest neighbour, a brother of the late Bishop Denison, of\nSalisbury, who had ridden down from Llangollen : and in\nhim I recognised a man with whom, ten years before, I had\npassed through the class schools at Oxford. Such links to\nthe old country are not infrequently found at the other side\nof the world; and they make a man feel almost at home\nagain in the midst of the land of cattle and sheep stations.\nOld scenes, old friends, old events, are talked over, until\nimagination does the work of reality, and the emigrant can\nhardly believe that 16,000 miles of ocean roll between him\nand the things that stand up so clearly before his mind's\neye.\nI was sanguine enough to hope that the better-educated\nmen who had come out from England would settle permanently in the country from whose abundant resources they\nwere accumulating wealth; and would therefore take an interest in improving the social condition and moral tone of those\naround them. There are some few who do so ; and it is\nworthy the ambition of a Christian patriot so to labour to\nmould the character of a young colony, which is growing\nup into a nation. But, to my disappointment, I found\nafter a while that the majority of those who made money\nwithdrew, one after another, to spend it in England : and\nthus, even while residing in the colony, they felt too much\nin the condition of sojourners to exert themselves with full\nheartiness to improve the state of things among which\ntheir lot was cast.\nThe personal security in which one lived was remarkable ; when it is considered how recently the colony had\nbeen freed from the annual importation of England's convicts, and that many of the shepherds and labourers were\nstill but ticket-of-leave men. The little bedroom in which\nI slept then, and on most of my subsequent visits, had no\nfastening of any kind : and within twelve inches of it one\nof the outer doors of the house was either unbolted, or, far 86\nTHE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\nmore frequently, stood wide open; so that any one might\nhave walked in at his pleasure at any time during the\nnight, and taken purse or clothes, or, if so disposed, life.\nIt was even more surprising to see with what perfect freedom from apprehension my good host would often on a\nsummer's night leave the silver candlesticks on the table\nof his sitting-room, when we went to bed; and set the\nwindows, which opened to the ground, wide open, that the\nnight air might draw in and cool the room before morning.\nThe same immunity from robbery and violence prevailed\nthroughout the greater part of the colony in respect of\n\" bushranging,\" as it is called, or, in English language,\nhighway robbery. In the thirteen years that I lived in\nNew South Wales I rode more than 36,000 miles, by night\nand by day, in all kinds of places, and never had grounds\nfor the slightest apprehension. There seemed a sort of\nlull in crimes of violence. Since that time bushrangers\nhave occasionally infested parts of the country; and a\nfew years before I came their depredations were frequent.\nDesperadoes lived in remote places, and would make\ndescents upon travellers, or rifle houses. In the very\nhouse where I have slept so securely I have been told that\nit was a common and necessary precaution for each person\nat the dinner-table to have a brace of loaded pistols by his\nside : for the bushrangers often made their attack when\nthe masters of the house were within, being pretty sure\nthat the assigned \"servants would not come to the rescue\nwhen their master's eye was not upon them; and the\nmasters, if unarmed, might be kept quiet by one or two\nmen with pistols, while the rest took anything which could\nbe found in the house.\nThe lock-up attached to the Court House, which has\njust been spoken of, was, during those troublous days,\n-connected with a singular scene of violence. Two assigned\nservants were about to be made use of as witnesses against\nsome evil doers : and to keep them safely they were A BUSH TOWNSHIP AND ITS SCHOOL.\n87\nlodged in the lock-up, under care of a constable. Some\nof the gang, who were at large, declared that they should\nnever give evidence against them. Very early one morning, before daylight, the constable ran up to Mr. Busby's\nhouse, and told him that the lock-up had just been broken\nopen, and the men carried off. Mr. Busby waited until\nthere was light enough to see tracks; and then started\nwith a mounted party in search of the bushrangers. They\nhad taken the way towards the interior, in the direction of\nTongey; and the pursuers followed, with their eyes on\nthe ground, watching the newly made track. Presently it\nwas found that the bushrangers, thinking to leave less\ntrack, had left the dusty road, and taken to the grass. But\nwhat they thought would have baulked their pursuers\nreally gave them the greatest help.\nThe sun was hardly up, and therefore the dew, generally very heavy, was thick upon the grass. The fugitives,\nas they went, had therefore. made through the dew a\ntrack far more clearly visible than they would have left on\nthe road: and Mr. Busby and his party were enabled to\nfollow them at full gallop.\nAfter about eight or nine miles, on reaching the top of\nthe dividing range, they found the body of one of the witnesses, whom the miscreants had shot to prevent his giving\nevidence. The other had by some means escaped from\ntheir hands ; and though shots were fired after him, he got\nsafely off. Leaving a constable to watch the body, Mr.\nBusby galloped on with the rest of his party ; and followed\nthe dew-track up to the hut of some shepherds, where the\nmurderers had gone in to get their breakfast. Their capture was at once effected, and they were taken down the\ncountry. The surviving witness, who had so narrowly\nescaped with his life, filled up the very clear evidence\nagainst them: and, like too many of the desperate characters of those days, they ended their lives upon the\nscaffold.\nfS'lJ 88\nTHE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\nMy first visit to Cassilis was so timed that I preceded\nthe Bishop by a few days. He was on his first visitation to this part of his diocese: and he thence proceeded\nto the northern districts of Liverpool Plains and New\nEngland.\nHe had arranged that I should ride up first; and,\nbesides visiting the people, and having services, that I\nshould search out those at Merriwa and Cassilis, who\nwere so far fit for confirmation that a short preparation\nwould be sufficient for them. These, as might be supposed, were not many in number; but there were a few,\nboth adults and young people, who, even upon so short a\nnotice, desired to avail themselves of this opportunity.\nAnd I was glad to begin with them, on my first visit,\nthose intimate relations, into which a preparation for confirmation brings the pastor and his flock. The day or\ntwo, which was all I had to devote to the work, was not\nspent in teaching and examining classes. The shortness\nof the notice and the smallness of the population made me\ntake each candidate separately; and thus the teaching\nwas more personal and searching than would have been\npossible if several had been taken together.\nMy work of preparation being finished, as well as time\nallowed, I rode back to meet the Bishop, and to accompany\nhim to Merriwa and Cassilis. Starting after my day's\nwork at the latter place, I went by appointment to the\nhouse of Mr. Hamilton, at Collaroy, eleven miles off:\nand had service in the evening with him and his family,\nand the people living around his store and woolshed, about\na quarter of a mile off; Collaroy is finely situated, looking northward from the brow of an abrupt hill, that rises\nin the valley of the Krui Creek. Below it is a rich flat,\nthreaded by a winding line of casuarinas; which, except\nat one reach half-a-mile up, conceal the waters of the\ncreek. Hills rise on all sides, not over-thickly timbered;\nand, twenty miles off, the landscape is backed up by one A BUSH TOWNSHIP AND ITS SCHOOL.\n89\nof the finest views of the Liverpool range. ' As you stand\nin the verandah the eye takes in at one glance the East\nBluff, the Moon Rock, and, if my memory serves me\nrightly, Oxley's Peak. The ride up to the house from the\nCassilis side is remarkably beautiful. A hill not far up\nthe valley breaks the line of the range ; and as you pass\non, the features of the bold background successively\nemerge, or are concealed behind it.\nThe next morning, after a ride of twenty-eight miles, I\nmet the Bishop, followed by his groom, not far from the\nGingerbeer Springs, and turned back towards Merriwa.\nSuch meetings and rides were generally times of much\nrefreshing conversation: and past and future work were\nwell talked over. On.that ride the Bishop kindly rescued\nme from a little difficulty.\nMy first horse having become very much jaded by some\nmonths of hard work, I was looking out for a second;\nand had taken one that morning on trial from a station\nnear Merriwa. It was a fine young animal, with plenty of\nspirit, not long broken in from his bush freedom. After\nriding some few miles with the Bishop, and having reached\nthe top of a high ridge called the Wapingi, we were overtaken by a shower\u2014one of those short, decided showers,\nwhich come down in a hot climate, when every drop\nmakes itself felt. The Bishop put on his macintosh, and I\nproceeded unguardedly to do the same, as if I were on my\nown quiet Dobbin. My steed did not fancy the unstrapping and unfolding; but when, holding him hard with my\nleft hand, I had got the right hand into the sleeve, off he\ndashed; and as I was then unable to get the macintosh\non or off, its flapping against his shoulder in the strong\nwind that had sprung up made him still worse. Of course,\nhe did not keep to the dray track; and, my right hand\nbeing entangled, I had the greatest difficulty in keeping\n'him clear from trees with low branches, which would have\nstruck me off. 90\nTHE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\nIll\nli if\nIlfill\nIn this emergency the Bishop called out to me, \" Stop\ntill I come to you!\" Stop\u2014why, that was the very\nthing I wanted to do, but could not effect. However, I\ndid my best to moderate the speed of my frightened horse,\nguided him clear of trees, and dodged the branches as well\nas I could. The Bishop pushed on his horse to my side,\nand caught my flapping macintosh. I loosed my right\nhand from the bridle for a moment, and with one good\njerk the Bishop relieved me and my horse of the offending garment. Of course a wild, frightened dash followed\nthe movement; but two hands soon guided the terrified\nanimal clear of dangers, and before long brought him\nunder control: and we finished our ride without any\nfurther adventure. We rode to Mr. Perry's, at Terra-\ngong, four miles up the creek from Merriwa : and after a\nride of forty-seven miles, thirty-two of them on a very uneasy horse, I was not sorry to rest.\nThe next day, October 5th, 1848, the Bishop held his\nfirst confirmation in that district at a private house, one\nmile above Merriwa; and one of the candidates was my\ngood friend the tenant of Mount Dangar Farm, who had\nridden up twenty-one miles to be confirmed. The next day\nthe Bishop called with me on most of the people of Merriwa ; and we then rode on to Collaroy.\nOn the 8th the Bishop confirmed in the Court House at\nCassilis; and the next day, after a good deal of talk with\nhim and the gentry there, about future operations for the\ngood of the district, I left the Bishop to proceed on\nhis northern visitation, and myself returned to Muswell\nBrook.\nThe visitation of an Australian Bishop is not like that\nwhich bears the name in England. It is a hand-to-hand\nand heart-to-heart visit to each clergyman, and to his\npeople with him. The Bishop of Newcastle's first visits\nwere necessarily for the sake of gaming a personal knowledge of the districts, and of the chief laymen in them. A BUSH TOWNSHIP AND ITS SCHOOL.\n91\nIn many places there was no clergyman; and, besides\nholding services wherever he went, the Bishop had to discover where clergymen and schoolmasters were most\nwanted; and to form some kind of idea what must be the\narea of which each must at first take charge.\nIn a year or two, when matters had become more set-\ntied, in writing to each clergyman to arrange his visit, he\nwould ask how he could best help him in his work: by\nservices in different parts of his district, with or without\nmeetings ; by visiting any of his people, especially any\nwith whom a misunderstanding might have arisen, or who,\nfrom any cause, were difficult to be dealt with ; by examining schools; by helping forward some disheartened, or\nstimulating some sluggish building committee. In fact,\nwherever a clergyman needed a helping hand in his\nwork, he found a ready sympathiser in his Bishop, and\none who would throw himself heartily into his plans, or\nimprove them if necessary.\nOn his first visit to Cassilis it was considered that a\nschool was the desideratum. The Bishop promised to\nprovide a master and books ; and to procure a salary from\nthe \"Denominational Board\" of Education. And the\ngentry agreed, on behalf of themselves and the district,\nthat a school should be erected by subscription, which\nmight also be used when needed for Divine service, until\nthe time arrived for building a church; which appeared\nto be in very distant perspective. The beginning seemed\nhopeful: but in colonial Church work pre-eminently\nthose whose hearts are in it must learn to labour on under\ndisappointment and delay\u2014only too happy if, by God's\nblessing, their plans are permitted to take effect after a\nseason.\nWithin the next month one of the principal settlers\nwrote to the Bishop, saying that he was informed that if\nsuch a school were established as had been contemplated,\nthe Roman Catholic children would not be sent to it: and 92\nTHE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\n11\nthat so many difficulties had arisen, that he should throw\nhis weight into a plan for a secular school, according to\nthe scheme of Government, which was newly set on foot.\nHe would not break his promise made to the Bishop, if he\nstill held him to it; but to rear a Church school under\nsuch circumstances would be against his judgment. One\nsuch defection in so small a community made the other\nsettlers hopeless of building a Church school: and the\nBishop, with much regret, released the now unwilling\npromise; and it seemed as if the hope of daily Church\neducation had vanished.\nMeanwhile, we were enabled to establish a Sunday-\nschool, with the aid of a well-disposed woman, the wife of\nthe chief constable : and on each visit I found a little\nflock of children assembled to be catechised. Our\nprogress was very small, for want of the day-school to\ncarry on the Sunday's work; but it was better than\nnothing.\nThe establishment of a secular school in such a place is\nan almost irremediable evil; until, as is earnestly to be\ndesired rather than hoped, the whole system crumbles,\nand is discarded. In a large population, if there are some\nwho unhappily think that their children are better taught\nwithout the influence of Christ's Church, and the full\ntruth, which her Lord has committed to her charge, there\nis still room for schools in which the children of the\nGhurch enjoy their full inheritance of clear Christian\ntraining. But in a small population, where a single school\ncould embrace all the adult residents, as well as the\nchildren, there is no place for a second.\nThe Church, no doubt, must always struggle through difficulties for the good of God's children. Should the pecuniary\nresources and worldly power wielded by the State flood'\nher, where she is weak, with the creedless system of teaching, miscalled education, she must not simply throw up\nher hands and sink. She must arouse herself, and in the A BUSH TOWNSHIP AND ITS SCHOOL.\n93\nstrength of her great commission, \" Feed My lambs,\" she\nmust by more diligent catechising, not only through her\nclergy, but through her devout laity also, supply the deficiencies of the schools. But we are not theorising; we are\nonly speaking from many happy examples, when we say\nthat the most beneficial education, which makes itself felt\nthrough the whole population brought into contact with it,\nis that of a school under a master who is thoroughly imbued with the doctrines of the Church, and works intelligently under her. In such cases the intellect is.provided\nfor, and all its powers drawn out; but all is subordinated,\nas it ought to be, to Him Who created, redeemed, and\nsanctifies us, and has given us life in His Church.\nPoor Cassilis ! it seemed as if, as soon as the living\nform of Christian education was offered, it was withdrawn,\nand the dry bones of a worldly system substituted in its\nplace.\nThe two gentlemen who lived nearest to Cassilis,\nthough they would much have preferred the original proposal, despaired of a Church school, and allowed themselves to be made \"local patrons\" of the new \" Board of\nEducation.\" But the wheels of the new institution in\nSydney moved slowly. Month after month nothing was\ndone. The year 1849 slipped away, and 1850 was advancing ; and all concerned had had abundance of time to\nthink over the whole question. I had found out, and told\nthe \" patrons,\" what they had learnt from other sources,\nthat they had been mistaken in supposing that the Roman\nCatholics would not allow their children to attend a Church\nschool. They would have been quite willing that they\nshould have attended, provided they had been permitted,\nwhich we always conceded, to sit apart at certain portions\nof the religious teaching. And the Roman Catholics\nespecially were not at all in love with the secular system,\nin spite of its being sometimes called the Irish 1 National\nSystem.\"\ni 94\nTHE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\nThe people, therefore, had long felt that it would have\nbeen better had they accepted the proposal first made to\nthem, and the \"local patrons\" were good Churchmen\nenough to appreciate the benefit of having their clergyman\nreally working for their school, and with them. However,\nthe step had been taken; and it seemed as though they\nmust He on the bed they had made for themselves.\nAbout the middle of the year 1850 a master was sent\nup by the so-called \"National Board.\" No school was\nyet built; but he was to have a room in one of the houses\nof the township where there was space for all the scholars\nwho would come. On the first or second day one of the\ni local patrons 1 went to visit him; and, on his knocking\nat the door, it was opened to him by the master himself\nin an unmistakable state of intoxication. He at once\nturned away in disgust, went home, and wrote to his\ncolleague to come to Mm. The \"patrons\" consulted;\nand after writing one letter to the board at Sydney, m\ntheir official capacity, announcing that they had dismissed\nthe new master as unfit to be entrusted with the education\nof the children of the township, they sent a second, in\nwhich they resigned their office, and stated that they\nshould throw alT their weight into the scale of the\n\u00ab Denominational Board,\" which, only through misrepresentation of the facts of the case, they had been induced\nto desert.\nWithin a few days after this had been done, I arrived\nfor my monthly visit, and they communicated to me the\nchange in the aspect of affairs. We agreed not to say\nanything in the township, that we might not raise expectations before we could see our way to do something\neffectual: this was on the 25th of July. After the\nservices I rode to Pembroke, a station about twelve miles\ndistant. There are two roads, starting from different\npoints ' at Cassilis, diverging gradually to a distance of\nseven or eight miles, and meeting again at Merriwa. On A BUSH TOWNSHIP AND ITS SCHOOL.\n95\none of these roads lies Collaroy; on the other, to the\nnorth, up the Krai, the small germ of a township called\nCockrabel, consisting of four or five huts.* Two miles off\nthe road from this is Pembroke. Here, after evening\nservice, and before I turned into bed at two o'clock in the\nmorning, I wrote a letter to the Bishop, informing him of\nthe change which had taken place at Cassilis, asking if he\ncould provide a master, and saying that I should ride\ndown to Morpeth soon, to consult him about the whole\nbusiness. When I did so on the 1st of August, he kindly\npromised to look out for a master at once, and send him\nup as soon as possible, and to see that a salary was\nforthcoming for him.\nOn the 22nd of August I was again at Cassilis, and\nafter returning to Mr. Busby's from the afternoon service,\nfound a letter from the Bishop, saying that the bearer was\na very good and earnest man, lately arrived from England,\nand that he had sent him up to supply our want of a\nmaster. In fact, Mr. H was then in the township, and\nhad sent up the Bishop's letter with one from himself.\nOur good fortune, long pent up, had come upon us with\na burst, before we were ready for it, and we felt a little\nperplexed. There are seldom any spare houses in small\nbush townships, and we did not at that moment know\nwhere to house the new master, still less where he might\nassemble the scholars. The people were still in profound\nignorance that any Church schoolmaster was to be sent\nto them.\nThat evening I rode up to Llangollen, and it was\narranged that Mr. Denison, Mr. Busby, and I, should go\nearly the next day to the township, to find some place for\n* A year or two after the time of which I am writing, a carrier who\nowned one of these huts, finding Merriwa a more convenient place for\nhis work, bought an allotment there; knocked his hut to pieces, carried\nit and its contents in several dray-loads to his newly purchased bit of\nland, and put it up there.\n1\nj!. \u25a0\nI - UH\n96\nTHE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\nour new acquisition. Mr. Denison most kindly showed\nhim Australian hospitality in his own house until his\nwhereabouts was settled. The next morning we tried the\nmost likely houses for a spare room, but without success.\nAt last Mr. Busby came to the rescue. He bethought him\nof a house he had two miles off, on a retired creek; and\nthough it was too far off for the schoolmaster, he promised\nit to the clerk of petty sessions, who rented a house in the\ntownship, if he would give up to him that which he\noccupied. There was no difficulty on his part, and the\nlandlord agreed to the transfer of the tenancy, Mr. Busby\npaying the rent. So our first difficulty was overcome.\nThe next point was to announce the arrival of the\nmaster to the people, ascertain what children would be\nsent, and what fees would be paid for each; for it was\ncustomary to have different rates of payment, according\nto the ability of the parents to pay. Not a single parent\nrefused. Whether they were Roman Catholics, Presbyterians, or Church people, all rejoiced in the prospect of\na school; and after two or three hours all the preliminaries\nwere settled. I had a good long talk with-the master, who\nproved to be the very man for the place. There have since\nbeen several masters, but, with varying success, the school\nhas continued until this day, and is now in better condition\nthan ever, having a clergyman resident in a newly built\nparsonage-house just below the township.\nAfter the school had been a few years in the cottage,\nI drew a plan for a school with a master's house attached,\nand saw it nearly up, but was obliged, from a break-down\nof health, to leave the district of Muswell Brook and\nCassilis before its completion.\nIt was Friday evening when my work of preparing for\nMr. H 's establishment in the school was done. I\nstarted a little after sunset, intending to ride twenty-five\nmiles to Merriwa, that I might reach home for my Sunday\nduties. On reaching the inn at Merriwa, I found that the A BUSH TOWNSHIP AND ITS SCHOOL.\n97\nonly bed was occupied. It was a glorious night, with the\nfull moon shining as no English moon ever did shine; so\nI took a cup of tea and pressed on. By the time I\nreached the next inn, sixteen miles further on, it was\nnearly two o'clock, and I knew my horse would receive\nlittle care from the sleepy ostler if I succeeded in getting\nhim out of his bed, so I jogged on, dismounting occasionally,\nand lying down for a few minutes to rest myself and my\nhorse; and about an hour after sunrise I pulled up at my\nown gate, after a ride of seventy miles.\nI have to confess that both my horse and I were\nsufficiently tired ; but I had the thankful feeling which he,\npoor old fellow, had not, that the cloud was removed from\nCassilis, and the Church school established there.\n| How couldst thou hang upon the cross,\nTo whom a weary hour is loss ?\nOr how the thorns and scourging brook,\nWho shrinkest from a scornful look ?\n| Yet e'er thy craven spirit faints,\nHear thine own King, the King of saints;\nThough thou wert toiling in the grave,\n\u25a0 'Tis He can cheer thee, He can save.\"\nKeble's Christian Year. Tuesday in Whitsun Week\n; fc If lull m\n98\nSill!\nCHAPTER VH.\nBUSH LABOUR AND BUSH FOLK.\nSince returning to England, it has occasionally been my\nduty to search for, and aid my brother commissary in\nselecting, clergy for the diocese of Newcastle. In the\nsearch I have fallen in with two very different classes of\nminds: each of which forms a very erroneous idea of the\nwork of a colonial clergyman.\nThe first of these two classes is a high Christian type of\nmind: one which yearns to give up something for its\nSaviour: which longs to sacrifice home and ease, and to\ntoH for Him Who shed His blood for us. For such hearts\nunknown difficulties have a special attraction. \\ They look\nwith satisfaction at the ninety and nine sheep safe in the\nfold; but they yearn for the wanderer. They would\ngladly embrace weariness, painfulness, lone hours and\nsleepless nights, and think them gain, that so Christ might\nj grant them to bring in the lost one, or to rear in the desolate places of the earth slips and shoots of His Holy\nChurch.\nNot a few of these overlook colonial work, as though it\ndid not afford them a fit field for their exertions. Africa,\nIndia, and China, or the Melanesian Islands, they think'\ncan alone furnish what they yearn for.\nNow, I am very far from wishing to draw such spirits\nfrom any call they may have to bear the standard of the\ncross to idolatrous or Mohammedan countries; but such\nspirits are wanted for our colonies also. The most enterprising can find souls enough in them, which, without his BUSH LABOUR AND BUSH FOLK.\n99\nlabours, would be untended: he may exhaust both body\nand mind, and yet find wants lying beyond the powers of\nthe present small band of clergy. In the bush towns, and\nin the outlying stations, there are poor wanderers who\ncannot find their way back without aid, and have no one\nto aid them. And there are not a few, who, when sought,\nresist at first; yet, under God's blessing, are caught and\nbrought in by persevering endeavour.\nTo carry to each of these scattered ones their portion in\nturn, requires careful economy of time, activity, bodily endurance, and determination. And to perceive, during the\nshort occasional visit, what is most needed, and to administer it to the best advantage, often to the unwilling,\ntaxes a man's penetration and resources, and, many a\ntime, his self-command over the exhaustion of a wearied\nbody, and, consequently, a flagging mind.\nIn the larger towns there is abundance of scope for all\nthe powers which God has bestowed on him, to lay solidly\nthe foundations of Christ's Church in the midst of a population swept together from all parts, and imbued with\nvery different shades of opinion and faith.\nAnd if he looks, as he will, beyond his own parish, to\nhis clerical brethren and their flocks, he may be sure that\nthe steady, intelligent working out of the Church's system,\nwith such measured advance as will enable his people to\nunderstand and follow him, will prove the greatest strength\nand help to the whole diocese. I have remarked before,\nthat, for good or for evil, the various clergy and districts\nin a colonial diocese, though many miles apart from each\nother, affect their brethren far more perceptibly than is\nthe case in the denser population of old countries.\nThere are also many vital questions connected with the\nconstitution and the government of the colonial Churches,\nand their intercommunion with each other and with the\nChurch Catholic; which, I am persuaded, must be solved,\non their part, by their internal powers exhibited in their\nh 2\n,' \u2022 I 100\nTHE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\nHi I\nsynodical action, and, on the part of the English mother,\nby her obtaining freedom of action in spiritual things,\nwhich at present she lacks or cannot see her way to grasp.\nThe contradictory judgments of the English law courts,\neach claiming a quasi infallibility, cannot be the support\non which the Church in the colonies rests.\nWhether, therefore, the energetic spirits of whom I\nhave spoken desire to succour the spiritually destitute, to\nenter upon a laborious work, to mould elements somewhat\n.chaotic into a well-organised parish; to act in a body, in\nwhich the .work of each unit tells perceptibly on the rest;\nor to aid in working out the great problem of the union of\nthe newly formed Churches with the rest of Christendom;\nhe may find ample scope for the most devoted and useful\nlabours in the colonies.\nOf the other class of minds, of which I have met with\nspecimens, I cannot speak with the same respect; and\nwould distinctly discourage them from offering themselves\nfor colonial work. We want none of them.\nThey are such as wish to go out to a colonial cure because they think that so far from England they may do\nmore as they like, and find themselves less tied to the\nwork of souls. They have a notion that in the bush they\nwill have more opportunities of indulging in a semi-secular\nlife than if they remained in England. There are some\nwho hope that in a new country they may combine a good\nmeasure of agricultural or sheep-farming pursuits with\nthe work of the ministry; and show pretty plainly, as\nmight be expected, that on the more secular object\na very large share of their interest is fixed, and that\nChrist's ministry would be their second, not their first\ncare.\nThese men, who are really unfit for Christ's service anywhere, are especially mischievous in the colonial Church,\nwhere clergymen are so few and far between, and where\nthe scarcity of the workmen needs to be compensated by BUSH LABOUR AND BUSH FOLK.\n101\ntheir fervent zeal and single-minded devotion to their\nwork. As in the large cities of England a man's whole\nsoul needs concentrating upon the spiritual welfare of the\nmultitudes in alleys and crowded streets; so in the wide\nextent of a colonial district, including perhaps several\nscattered townships, God's servant must be continually\nintent upon his work, that he may penetrate the nooks\nand distant corners, pick up stray sheep anywhere, and be\nready to show to all, according to their needs, how, under\ndifficult circumstances, they may maintain their union\nwith Christ's Holy Church.\nIt should be branded on the heart of every man who\naspires to be a colonial clergyman: | No man that warreth\nmtangleth himself with the affairs of this life, that he may\nplease Him Who hath chosen him to be a soldier.\"* A\nfaithful worker will find many a pleasure by the way, besides those deeper comforts which Christ gives to all who\nhonestly make sacrifices for Him. He will find on his\nrides many an object of interest, many a little adventure\n\u2014if he likes such things; he will find those who become\nwarm and firm friends ; he will find some who welcome-\nhis ministry, and some who learn to do so after a time.\nBut his duty cannot be done without casting aside thoughts\nof ease, and throwing his whole heart and energies into it.\nThere may be few such severe privations in New South\nWales as fall to the lot of Bishops and clergy in Newfoundland and the Labrador; but those who fancy that\nthey will never have to rough it, or that they can take\ntheir work easily, are greatly mistaken.\nFor some time after I had become, as I thought,\nacquainted with the district, outlying places kept opening\nupon me, claiming thought and attention when head and\nhands were already more than full. To meet the new\nclaims it was necessary to abridge times of rest, and to\nencroach as much as possible on the mornings and\n* 2 Tim. ii. 4. mm\n102\nTHE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\nP St !\u25a0\u2022!\nliii\nevenings: generally arriving at a station long enough\nbefore bedtime to have service that night, and starting\nfor the next place early the following morning; or, if I\narrived too late, owing to the distance, or the amount of\nwork I had found to do before, we had an early service\nthe next day, before those at the station dispersed for their\nwork.\nOn one occasion I saw some strange faces among the\ncongregation assembled at the Cassilis Court-House; and\nfound a settler and his wife, named Nevill, who had\ndriven through the bush in a cart, bringing their child to\nbe baptized. When the service was over I had some conversation with them, and found them steady Church\npeople, natives of the colony, born of English parents,\nwho were living many miles off in the Sydney diocese.\nThey had come in from their place at Deridgery, a\nstation on the south of Cassilis, not far from the upper\npart of the Goulbourn; and they were very glad when I\npromised to visit them.\nThe next month Nevill came by appointment to meet\nme at Cassilis, and after the second service escorted me\nto his home. We had ridden nearly sixteen miles, touching once or twice upon the Munmurra Creek, and only\npassing one shepherd's hut on our way. During the last\nfew miles the iron-bark forest, the change from the black\nto the sandy soil, and the thinner grasses, showed that\nwe were approaching the Goulbourn ranges, when, on\nemerging upon a small clearing, we saw the little bush\nsettlement a short distance before us.\nOn our left was a small watercourse, the Deridgery\nCreek, not flowing\u2014those small creeks hardly ever flow\u2014\nbut containing a water-hole or two, which after rains were\nwell filled. On the other side of the creek was a railed\npaddock, where was grown wheat for the household, and\noats or barley for cutting as hay; and there stood also the\nbarn and outhouse, made of the roughest slabs, split from BUSH LABOUR AND BUSH FOLK.\n103\ntrees which had once grown on the spot, and roofed with\nbark. One or two small huts. were before us on the\nright, and just beyond them Nevill's own dwelling, built\nof slabs, not more pretentious, but a little larger. As the\neye looked on beyond these primitive dwellings, it saw, on\na little rise some fifty yards further, that universal accompaniment of a settler's homestead, the stock-yard, with the\ngallows at one corner.\nA stock-yard is an enclosure varying in size according\nto the size of the settler's herd of cattle or horses. It is\nstrongly made with the stoutest poles and rails, six or\nseven feet high, and divided into two or more compartments, so that part of the herd may be drafted off from\none to another, if necessary, for the purposes of taming,\nbranding, or killing. The gallows is made of two young\ntrees let firmly into the ground, with a fork at the top of\neach. Across these a round log is placed, like the windlass\nof a well, having a strong rope, usually of plaited bullock-\nhide, attached to it. By this the bullock or sheep that has\nbeen killed at sundown is hoisted out of the reach of\nnative or other dogs till the next morning to cool, when it\nis taken down and cut up, and the greater part salted for\nfuture use. Fresh meat is rarely used at the stations.\nThe arrival of horsemen at a station is always a signal\nfor getting some tea, with its accompaniments, salt beef\nand damper; and after the first words of welcome, while\nmy good host was taking care of my horse, and his wife\nputting on the kettle, I got a few minutes 'of rest and\nquiet thought.\nIt was always with me a matter of anxious consideration\nhow to spend these visits to the best advantage. Owing\nto the many other calls on my time, I could seldom visit\nsuch outlying places as Deridgery more than two or three\ntimes in the year. To carry on any regular and complete\nsystem of teaching at such long intervals was impossible.\nWritten sermons were, of course, not to be thought of. 104\nTHE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\nKiH-\nrilffr\nI usually chose some striking part of Holy Scripture, and\nendeavoured to point out its bearing upon reconciliation\nwith God, the daily struggles and progressive holiness of\nChristian life, and on future hopes and fears ; and I used\nportions of the morning and evening prayers or the\nLitany, with some of the Collects that seemed most\nsuitable. The Psalms for the day were almost invariably\nused, unless those for the day before or after seemed\nbetter adapted to my small congregation.\nIn conversation many little points were drawn out, and\nsuch advice and encouragement given as might recur to\ntheir minds afterwards. Just before, going to bed I not\nunfrequently read some of the admirable \" Hymns for\nLittle Children,\" which the grown members of the party,\nas well as the younger ones, always appreciated. And\nwhenever there were children, and sometimes when there\nwere not, I tried to find half-an-hour for the Catechism\nand its explanation, in order to leave some systematic\ndoctrine for after use. From time to time, while endeavouring to supply food for their use during their long\nprivation of service, I pointed out the order of the Church's\nseasons, and the great doctrines which they taught; and\nso I was obliged to commit them to His love and care\nWho had senjt me to them.\nThe most serious difficulty in the way of genuine improvement was the inability to bring the poor outliers to\nHoly Communion. Many were too far off to come in to\nthe regular administrations at Muswell Brook, Merton,\nMerriwa, and Cassilis; and I was only able to administer\nit at five out-stations. At the rest various causes prevented my offering it, or the offer being embraced. In\n,many cases, long years of sin, not sufficiently repented of,\nprevented anything but exhortations to repentance and\npreparation for better things. In others, long absence\nfrom all services and my own unfrequent ministrations\nhad not overcome, the grievously wide-spread idea, too BUSH LABOUR AND BUSH FOLK.\n105\"\ncommon even in England, where the church bell can be\nheard all over the parish, that the Holy Eucharist is only\nintended for some advanced Christians, and that others,\nif they neglect it, may safely content themselves with a\nlower Christianity.\nI can hardly see the way out of this difficulty in a bush,\ndistrict, on any sufficient scale, except by providing more\nclergy, and thereby enabling them to see the people more\nfrequently, and thus raise their faith and practice to the\nstandard of the Church.\nOne of the bush huts where I was enabled to celebrate\nthe Holy Communion was Rainbow Station, situated in the\nmidst of abrupt hills and narrow valleys, about twelve\nmiles from Muswell Brook. I found there a shepherd and\nhis wife, lately come from Scotland\u2014Episcopalians, from\nthe neighbourhood of Glencoe. They were unable to\ncome into church at the township, and having been communicants at home, embraced gladly the offer which I\nmade of administering to them at their own hut.\nThe Rev. J. Blackwood, then a deacon, who had been\nfixed by himself at Singleton after Mr. Irwin's removal to\nMoreton Bay,' was glad of the opportunity, and rode up to\nme at Muswell Brook. The next day we rode out together\nto the sheep-station. It was a rough hut, roofed with\nbark, consisting of one room only, and the floor of earth.\nBut, humble though the place was, all preparations had\nbeen made which reverence could have dictated to simple\nminds.\nThe very earth before the door\u2014for the ground round\na hut is usually bare of grass\u2014had been swept for some\ndistance; and no spade, broom, or iron pot, or any of\nthe untidiness usually seen outside a shepherd's hut, was\nvisible. Inside all was neat, and looked as well as the\npoor materials allowed. Some clean curtains screened off\nthe bed. Everything was arranged with scrupulous care,\nand the table, covered with a snowy cloth, was placed at 106\nTHE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\nthe end of the room. M'Coll and his wife, who appeared\nto be some forty-five years old, were in the Sunday clothes\nthey had used at home; and during the whole service\ntheir appearance was that of Christians worshipping with\nthe deepest reverence of Him in Whose presence they\nwere.\nWhen all was over, and we were thinking of getting\nour horses and finding our way back, good Mrs. M'Coll\nbegged us to stay and take some refreshment; and taking\ndown a shawl which hung in one corner across a string,\nshowed us a table with a simple dinner ready prepared\nfor us. A few years later they removed to a place about\nfour miles from the township, and were enabled to come\nin to the service on Sundays. I believe they have now\nbought a piece of land some miles further away, and have\nsettled upon it.\nThe Nevills, of whom I spoke just now, were always\nattentive; and, I believe, made good use of the very little\nwhich I could do for them. She has, since I left the\ndiocese, been called from this world and from her young\nfamily; but I can quite remember her thoughtful look\nwhen I was speaking to her little ones, then very small,\nor showing her what she might do for them as a Christian\nmother, without any school to aid them.\nAt most of the small stations I visited, we used to\nseparate for the night at ten o'clock. I usually remained\nin the sitting-room for an hour or two more, or, if I had\nthe luxury of a table in my bedroom, sat there, to get\nsome quiet time for reading and writing. I had another\nreason in many places for not going early to bed, though\ngenerally very tired with the riding and work of the day.\nInsect life of all kinds is very abundant;. and, on sandy\nsoils especially, fleas swarmed, not unattended by their\nbroader cousins. Happy are they whose skins are thick.\nI have stayed out of bed till I could hardly keep my eyes\nopen, in hope that on lying down I might fall asleep \u2022BUSH LABOUR AND BUSH FOLK.\n107\nbefore my persecutors found me out. But the hope was\noften vain. No sooner was the candle out, and the first\nforgetfulness coming on, than I felt, what Cicero tells us is\na noble sentiment, that I was \" never less alone than when\nalone.\" Several times in a night have I struck a light,\nrubbed my eyes, and killed all I could find, and put out\nmy candle, only to light it again in a short time. Once at\nDeridgery, when goaded beyond endurance, I dressed\nmyself at two o'clock in the morning, went out of the hut,\nand, though there was a slight frost, for it was winter, lay\ndown in my macintosh by the stock-yard fence until\ndaybreak, at about half-past six. Such nights were not\nthe best restoratives after a day's labour; but a good\nwash in the morning, the pure air, and the bright blue\nsky, set one up again for another day's work.\nA case occurred about half-a-mile from the little township of Cockrabel, mentioned in the last chapter, which\nmade me long for additional clergy, to visit the stations\nmore frequently than it was possible for me to do.\nThere was an overseer's station on a rising hill above\nthe bank of the Krui Creek; and calling one day on my\nway to Cassilis, I found a poor shepherd there far gone in\nheart disease. His master had kindly brought him from\nhis station at the Liverpool Plains, where he could get no\nnursing, to be looked after as well as possible for what\nseemed likely to be the last few weeks of bis life. He\nwas unable to move from his bed, which was placed on the\nfloor of a spare room* and the overseer's wife tended him\ncarefully.\nHis pains were often very severe; and she told me that\nduring the paroxysms, or whenever she did not attend to\nhim as soon as he knocked on the floor with his stick, his\nlanguage was fearfully blasphemous. I visited him, and\nreturned two days after from Cassilis, on my way home,\nto minister to him again. The next month he was still\nliving, and seemed glad to see me; and the overseer's wife\niff!\nfrUffl 108\nTHE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\nsaid that after the last visit he was for some days more\npatient, and more watchful over his words. This visit\nalso seemed to have left a temporary effect upon him.\nBut the next month I found the room empty, and the\npoor man buried. About a week before, when he had\nhardly strength to move, and seemed to have but a day or\ntwo to live, he lost all patience; and, putting his stick\ninto the handkerchief which was about his neck, twisted it\nround and round until he choked himself. Had he, in his\nmisery, enjoyed the benefit of constant ministerial visits,\nthe thoughts which seemed to have been awakened in him\nmight have been deepened into repentance, and his end\nhave been ver}T different.\nHad Sodom enjoyed the opportunities which were\nlavished in vain upon Capernaum, it would not have\nperished.\nSurely it is not too much to hope that some at least\nwho have read of these wants of their brethren in the\nbush will make it a part of their fervent daily prayers, if\nthey do not so already, that the \" Lord of the harvest\nwould send forth more labourers into His harvest;\" and\nthat others, who are fitted for the work, will feel called\nupon to leave, for Christ's sake, home, friends, and\ncountry, and to devote themselves heart and soul to\ncarrying His Gospel to the distant corners of the earth,\nwhere'His scattered people are so much in need of help.\nMany Englishmen are led out by the hope of gain: will\nnot Churchmen be led out to help to gather in fruit for\ntheir Lord, and look for a lasting home, friends among\nthe blessed, and \" a better country, that is, a heavenly WSjm\nI Heb. xi. 16. 109\nCHAPTER VHI.\nDESTITUTION OF THE SICK IN THE BUSH.\nThose who realise the inevitable conditions of a young\ncolony will readily understand that many a want and\nmany a difficulty must be occasionally experienced in the\nbush.\nMore especially is this the case in a country where the\nfew aboriginal natives have been so entirely neglectful of\nthe first command of their Maker, to \" subdue \" the earth,\nas those of New South Wales. It must not be forgotten\nthat no civilised man had lived on any part of Australasia,\nor thought of beginning to turn to account its abundant\nresources, before the year 1788. On the 28th January\nin that year, Captain Phillip, at the head of 279 free\npersons and 751 convicts, having found the sandy and\nwaterless shores of Botany Bay, which the English\nGovernment had destined for the settlement, unsuited for\nthe purpose, landed on the site of the present city of\nSydney; and the first tents were pitched, and the iron\naxe rung among the trees of the dense forest which then\nsurrounded Port Jackson, and which had hitherto heard\nnothing but the blows of the stone tomahawk, with which\nthe natives had cut out for their food opossums or the\ntree grubs.\nThe colony was, therefore, only- between sixty and\nseventy years old at the time to which these recollections\nrefer. And it is rather a cause of wonder that so much\nhad been effected within that time at a distance of 16,000\nmiles from the mother country, than that many things,. 110\nTHE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\ni I 111\nstill remained to be done to meet the wants of the settlers.\nIt must be remembered, too, that nearly all supplies had\nto be sent from the coast, so that the further the settlers\npushed inwards to the west in search of grazing country,\nthe longer was the line of conveyance from the port. And\nprofessional men or mechanics had to be brought out\nfrom England, and forwarded by degrees further and\nfurther from Sydney.\nFor several years after our arrival, there was no medical\nman to the west of Muswell Brook. On one occasion,\nwhen I arrived at Cassilis, I found the blacksmith, a tall,\nsturdy fellow, suffering from dislocation of the'shoulder.\nThe day before, he had been trying to shoe a half-broken\ncolt for the first time, and had been kicked across the\nsmithy. No bone was broken, but the poor fellow was\nmuch bruised, and hia shoulder put out. His neighbours\nhad already been doing their very best by pulling at his\narm till they were tired. At last, finding that all their\nwell-meant endeavours had only succeeded in putting the\npoor man to much pain, and increasing the swelling of the\nupper part of the limb, they had sent a man off on horseback for the nearest doctor, seventy miles distant.\nOn entering the hut, I was asked to try my hand at\nthe case. But as the doctor had been sent for, and I had\nnever been present when a dislocated joint was reduced,\nI would not make the attempt, for fear of giving more useless pain. The doctor might have been away twenty or\nthirty miles in another direction; but, fortunately, he was\nat home, and lost no time in setting off. On his arrival,\nhe soon put the shoulder in its right place; but owing\nto the first delay in sending to Muswell Brook, and the\n140 miles which had to be ridden by the messenger and\nthe doctor, the patient had been forty-eight hours without\nsurgical aid.\nA few years later, a medical man was settled at Cassilis;\nand, as the mounted police were no longer wanted, owing- DESTITUTION OF THE SICK IN THE BUSH.\nIll\nto the more settled state of the country, the police barracks\non the bank of the Munmurra were converted into his\nhouse.\nIn 1851, when on a long journey to the Castlereagh\nRiver, far to the west of Cassilis, of which I will speak\nhereafter, I found a settler who had broken his collar-bone\na week or two previously. He had been galloping with\nhis dogs after a kangaroo, and his horse getting his foot\ninto one of those large deep cracks which, in the volcanic\nsoil, open during long droughts, had fallen and thrown\nhis rider heavily. No doctor could be procured,, and those\nabout him set the bone as well as they could, bandaged\nthe man firmly; and, without the aid of a licentiate of any\ncollege of medicine or surgery, the bone united, and a\ncure was effected.\nIf a man has self-restraint enough to avoid interfering\nin serious cases when a regular medical man can be procured, and to abstain from an endless quackery of himself\nor others for slight ailments, it is most useful for him to\ngain some acquaintance both with medicine and surgery\nbefore going out to a colony. My own knowledge of\neither was very small, yet I often found the little I knew\nuseful to those who were suffering, and would have found\nit impossible to get to a doctor.\nAmong all the valuable training which St. Augustine's\nCollege gives its pupils, their medical instruction, and\ntheir access to the practice in the hospital at Canterbury,\nare not least in importance. Had not my time been too\nfully occupied with the discharge of my last duties to my\nEnglish parish, and the preparation for leaving England,\nafter I had accepted the call of the good Bishop of Newcastle to accompany him, I should have put myself under\nsome medical man, or gained admission to some hospital\nfor a while before sailing. I might then have relieved\nmuch misery, which I saw at outlying stations, more\neffectually, at least, than I was able to do. &sp\u00a3j 112\nTHE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\n1 .\nAt the small township of Cockrabel I certainly gained\na credit which I did not deserve. One day, as I was returning by that route from Cassilis, after calling at the\nother huts, I went to that which, in the sixth chapter, I\nmentioned that the owner afterwards packed on his dray\nand removed to Merriwa. He was, as usual, away with\nhis drays, but his wife was in bed suffering great pain\nfrom a bad leg. I visited her simply as her clergyman,\nand, after reading to and praying with her, was leaving\nher with such comfort as I could give, when she said,\nimploringly, \" Please, sir, will you look at my leg ? \"\nI begged her not to unfasten the bandages. But I\ncould not persuade her; and with much care she un-\nbandaged the swollen and discoloured limb. It showed\nso much inflammation that I gently touched it with the\npalm of my hand, and, finding the heat quite as great as I\nhad expected, commiserated the poor woman and proceeded\non my journey. Two months afterwards, when I dismounted at her door, she met me with tears in her eyes,\nand abundant invocation of blessings. \"0 sir!\" she\nsaid, I from the time you touched my leg it began to get\nbetter, and is now quite well.\"\nIt was in vain that I disclaimed the efficacy which she\nattributed to the touch, and bade her thank God for His\nmercies to her, reminding her how we had prayed for such\nrelief as His love and wisdom saw fit to grant. For\nyears after, when I visited her, she would still recur to\nher old idea that the recovery dated from the touch.\nIn one emergency I was really enabled to be of some\nuse to a little sufferer. I had started from home for\nMerriwa in order to select the ground on which the church\nwas afterwards built; and wishing to visit some stations\non the lower part of the Wybong, I altered my usual\nroute a little. It was a delicious spring morning, about\nthe third week in October, 1849, one of those bright, calm\nAustralian days, neither hot nor cool, with a gentle air DESTITUTION OF THE SICK IN THE BUSH.\n113\nbreathing from the east, when existence itself seems a\ndelight.\nAfter a ride of sixteen miles, and having passed round\nthe base of a fine upstanding mass of rock on my right,\nstudded to its summit with flowering shrubs and patches\nof the yellow dendrobium, I had entered the Wybong\nValley through a low gap in the sandstone ridge, which\nbounds its eastern side. Turning to the left down the\nvalley, I soon fell in with a shepherd following his flock.\nAs usual, I dismounted, and remained with him for a\ntime, and then proceeded towards his station, rather more\nthan a mile off, to visit his wife.\nI had not gone more than half the distance, when I met\na child six years old, running in evident terror, crying,\nand calling for his father with all the breath he had left.\nHis fright and haste were so great, that I could get no\nfurther into the cause of his trouble than that something\nhad happened to his little brother. On galloping up to\nthe hut, I found the poor mother wailing over her little\ntwo-year-old boy who had just been severely burnt.\nShe had been washing, and, as is a common practice in\nthe bush, had lighted her fire of dead branches in the\nopen air, neas the bank of the creek, that she might have\na shorter distance to carry the water. Of course, while\nshe was at her tub the child played, as children always\nwill play, with the fire. His only article of dress was a\ncalico night-shirt. This caught fire; and, before his mother\ncould do anything to help him, he was severely burnt from\nthe knees to the throat. When I rode up she had him in\nher lap, and was sluicing him and herself too with soapsuds. The poor little boy was screaming violently with\nthe pain; and the mother kept up a despairing wail,.,\nalternately trying to soothe him, and saying, \" Oh, my\npretty, pretty boy; oh, what shall I do ? My pretty boy!\nSure, and he'll die.\" Those who know how an Irish\nmother laments can guess that I had some difficulty in ! 1 !\n114\nTHE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\nchecking the flow of words, which ran on to the father's\ngoing out in the morning, and his pictured sorrow at\ncoming back, and seeing his little one dying.\nSeeing the state of the child, I said immediately, \" Those\nhalf-warm suds are no good; ,where's your flour-bag?\nFlour is far the best thing to put to the poor little fellow.\"\n\"It's all gone, your reverence; I made up the last into a\ndamper last night.'' \\ \\ When shall you have more ? \" \" Not\ntill to-night, your reverence; the ration-cart will be here\nthis evening.\" 1 Why, the poor child will be dead before\nit comes. Where's the nearest station?\" \"There's a\ngunyeh* over that hill, your reverence, about half-a-mile\noff, where a shepherd of Captain Pike's. is lambing\ndown.\" \"Well, where shall I find a bag?\" She told\nme; and, snatching the bag from the hut, I galloped as\nfast as my good horse could carry me to the gunyeh. You\nare always sure to find the shepherd where lambing is\ngoing on; so I got the flour at once, and hastened back\nwith my bag.\nFrom the bed in the hut I pulled a sheet, which we put\nunder the little sufferer; and as the mother wetted the\ndifferent parts of the body, I sprinkled flour over them.\nBy degrees the screams became less violent; and after\nabout twenty minutes, just as we had finished our work,\nthe little one fell asleep. I charged the mother to keep\n* Gunyeh is the name given by the aborigines to the slight shelter\nwhich they extemporise in a high cold wind or driving rain. To protect them from the former they stick a few boughs into the earth to\nthe windward, sloping slightly to leeward. Against the rain, when it\nis of long continuance, they use sheets of the eucalyptus bark, sloped\nin the same way, and propped to leeward by sticks. They never\nenclose themselves. The name has been applied by the settlers to the\ntemporary shelter made for shepherds, when they are sent for a short\ntime to any place where there is no hut. It is something like a gipsy\ntent, and is made of saplings stuck into the ground, and meeting at the\ntop like the rafters of a high-pitched roof. Over this framework are\nfastened sheets of bark, tied on with bullock-hide. A sheet of bark is\nlaid on the ground to keep the hay bed from the damp, and the fire is\nmade outside. DESTITUTION OF THE SICK IN THE BUSH.\n115\nthe body covered with flour, and to send her husband\nto Muswell Brook for the doctor: and then, thankful to\nhave dropped in just at the time of need, rode on to\nMerriwa, about twenty-five miles further.\nThe doctor came the next day, and applied lime-water\nand oil, and in due time the child recovered from the\neffects of his burn.\nIn severe sickness the condition of a shepherd far in the\nbush is very miserable. There is no medical attendance,\nno nursing, none of those little comforts which relieve\npain\u2014nothing but salt beef, and damper, and tea; and\nthese nauseate a weak and sick man. There is no doubt\nthat pure air and God's blessing on nature work a cure in\nhot a few cases, which with so little assistance would sink\nin the crowded alleys of London; but I have often seen\nsuffering in a hut which a very few of the appliances\nwhich are easily obtained in a town or village would have\nrelieved.\nAt Maitland there was a hospital, to which many a sick\nman or woman was sent from the bush, if able to bear the\njourney. But a distance of 100 or 200 miles, in a horse\nor bullock dray, often under a burning sun, was more\nthan some patients could bear, and I have known some\ndie on the road.\ni 2\ni m IT\niff--*\n116\nCHAPTER IX.\nRANDOM RECOLLECTIONS.\nillii1\nOne hot summer morning, as I was leaving Mr. Perry's\nhouse at Terragong, near Merriwa, for the upper part of\nthe Wybong, I heard that S\u2014, a shepherd, whom I had\noften visited near Robert Baird's,* on Coulson's Creek,\nwas supposed to be in a dying state. I had lost sight of\nhim for some time, as he had been removed to a sheep-\nstation of which I had never heard, two miles from his\nformer hut, high up among the broken volcanic ranges\ntowards Hall's Creek.\nNo track led past it; but having heard in what direction\nit lay, bush instinct guided me to it; and, after climbing\nsome steep ascents, I found it perched on one of those\nsteps which abound in ranges of trap formation. Abrupt\nhills rose behind it, ridge above ridge; beside it a stony\ngully descended rapidly from the higher ridges, and was\nsoon lost among the lower hills, as it went down towards\nthe creek below. In heavy rains this was a brawling\nwatercourse, but in ordinary times it was quite dry. I\ncannot now remember how the station was watered\u2014no\nwater or well was to be seen when I visited it. Probably\nwhat was retained by a dam thrown across the gully\nlasted for some time after rains; but in a long drought it\nwould be necessary to drive the sheep down to the creek\nfor water two or three times in a week; and the supply\nfor drinking would be sent up to the hut. Some such\nstations are only used when the season gives water in the\n* The shepherd mentioned in Chapter Y. RANDOM RECOLLECTIONS.\n117\ndams or gullies. Wells are not always serviceable. I\nhave known several in which the water, when reached,\nheld a strong solution of alum. One, sunk at a sheep-\nstation, two miles from Collaroy, was as salt as sea-water\n\u2014utterly useless, unless salt-works were to be established\nthere; and a cask of water was sent on a dray for the men\nonce or twice a-week.\nThe hut where poor S\u2014 was lying was a very wretched\none. Originally made of the roughest slabs, put up green,\nthe gaps which the shrinking wood had left had never\nbeen plastered up with mud or mortar, and you could see in\nor out all round it at will. A storm had blown off one large\nsheet of the roofing bark, which had not been replaced,\nand a gap was left more than two feet by four feet overhead. Fastening my horse's bridle round a neighbouring\nI box \" tree, I pushed the door open, and walked in.\nThe inside of the hut was very saddening indeed. On\nhis hay bed, on the floor of the hut, with everything in\ndisorder around him, lay. the poor man, unable to raise\nhimself\u2014so disfigured by disease, that I could not have\nrecognised in him the strong, fine-looking man I used to\nvisit in the valley. In spite of the free admission of air,\nthe smell was almost sickening, and the hut was full of\nthe restless buzz of hundreds of blow-flies\u2014like our\nEnglish bluebottle, but of a duller hue\u2014which sometimes\nsettled on the patient's face, and then, darting hither and\nthither in all directions, seemed as if they would warn off\nall intruders from their prey. The temperature in the\nshade was nearly 100\u00b0 Fahr.; and the first words that\nmy poor suffering brother uttered as he saw me enter\nwere, | 0 sir, for the love of God, give me a drink of\ntea.\" Within a few feet of him were a quart pot of tea\nand a tin pannikin, which his son had left there for him in\nthe morning, when he went out with his flock; but he had\nbeen too feeble to reach them.\nIt was now about twelve o'clock, and he had been left\n1 11 118\nJME EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\nquite alone since a little after eight. His wife had been\ndead some years; and he was living with his son, a lad of\nseventeen or eighteen years of age, who had the charge\nof a flock of sheep, while the father was supposed to be\nacting as hut-keeper. I stayed by that sad bedside as\nlong as I could, giving such poor relief as the hut afforded,\nand endeavouring to minister to the soul which would\nso soon be removed from all help on earth. Oh, who\nshall know what the God of mercy may do with souls\nthat have lived the greater part of their time \" in a barren\nand dry land where no water is ?\"\nBefore I left the hut to go on my journey the son\nreturned for a few minutes, to help his father to anything\nhe needed, and then to leave him for some five hours\nmore, until he brought in his flock at sunset. I crossed\nthe gully, and rode over the steep hills beyond it, sadly\nthinking of that dying brother, who with the severe and\nincreasing bodily infirmities of ebbing life, and the more\nawful spiritual needs of a soul which had been sadly\nneglected, was lying in that lonely sheep-station with\nnone to relieve his bodily sufferings, and no man to care\nfor his soul.\nWithin a day or two poor S\u2014 died ; but the knowledge\nof such a case, and the certainty that there are always\nsimilar cases existing in the far-off corners of the earth,\ngive a reality and a wide scope to the petitions in the\nLitany, for \"all in necessity and tribulation,\" for \"all\nsick persons,\" to the commendation of God's-\" fatherly\ngoodness\" in the prayer for all conditions of men, of \" all\nwho are in any ways afflicted and distressed in mind,\nbody, or estate,\" and to the fervent supplication in the\nprayer for the Church militant\u2014\" We most humbly\nbeseech Thee of Thy goodness, 0 Lord, to comfort and\nsuccour all them who in this transitory life are in trouble,\nsorrow, need, sickness, or any other adversity.\" If when\nwe use these prayers we would but remember how the RANDOM RECOLLECTIONS.\n119\nEye of our heavenly Father is over all His creation, and\nwould lift up our heart for those far distant brethren whom\nwe do not see but shall one day meet, the prayer of\ncharity would surely bless the heart that offers it; and\nwho shall say how many a prayer sent up to God in the\ndaily services of an English church may \" drop upon the\ndwellings of the wilderness\n\" in blessing ?\n| The course of prayer who knows ? \" *\nThe cup of suffering may not be removed, and no minister\nof Christ may pass that way; yet an angel may be sent\nfrom heaven, from Him Who knows what anguish is, to\nstrengthen the desolate and afflicted in ways man does not\nknow.\nThe distance from poor S\u2014's hut to the Wybong was\nsixteen miles, without a track, and, until the last two\nmiles, without a hut; and hence, it may be easily inferred,\nwithout water ; for it is not long before sheep-stations are\nput up where water is to be found. In all other respects\nit would have been the very paradise of the sheep-farmer.\nThere was abundance of rich feed, the thick kangaroo grass\nstanding more than knee deep over all the hills and\nvalleys, the timber \"thin, and comparatively small, though\nat a distance seeming to cover the whole country. No\nlarge hollow logs or sandstone caves to afford shelter for\nthe native dogs ;i and only surface-water or wells are\nwanting to cover it with flocks. As it is, such country is\nwell suited to cattle and horses, which travel further for\nwater.\nOh, what a sound is that of water to an Australian in\n* | Christian Year j\" Second Sunday after Easter.\nf The native dog, or dingo, is about the size and make of a fox : it\nhas a brush. Generally the colour is of a lighter shade than the fox ;\nbut some few are of a blackish brown. They are very destructive to\nsheep, and will kill very young calves, but will not touch a man,\nthough they will follow him, when on horseback, for miles.\n5 IPlj 120\nTHE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\nsuch a day! Without a cloud to screen you from that\nblazing sun which looks down upon you from the north;\nwith scarcely a breath of wind to stir those few narrow,\npointed leaves that hang dangling overhead between you\nand the intensely blue sky; with a cloud of flies buzzing\nround your head, and settling on your, face if you intermit\nfor an instant the whisking of your handkerchief, or of the\nlittle spray of gum-tree or native cherry with which you\nare trying to defend yourself; with the shrill whizz of the\ntettigonia all round, now making you feel as if every gum-\nleaf were screaming at you\u2014now changing for a minute or\ntwo to a deep low \" hum, hum, hum,\" only to burst forth\nwith a whizz of fresh intensity, and to recall, under very\ndifferent feelings, Wordsworth's description of the cuckoo's\nnote,\u2014\n| That seems to fill the whole air's space,\nAs loud far off as near.\"*\nAround and on some tree, as you pass it, even the poor\nblack mutton-birds\\ droop their wings, and show their\nwhite bar of feathers, as they sway unsteadily to and fro,\nand gasp with open bills for the cooler air that won't\ncome.\nYour own brow and your reeking clothes seem to have\nthe only moisture that exists for miles\u2014a moisture, by\nthe way, which tends from its rapid evaporation to cool\nthe body, and thus to make the scorching heat of from\n* Wordsworth's Poems of the Imagination, ii.\nf The bird commonly called the \" mutton-bird\" is nearly the size of\na rook, with a bill curved like a honeysucker's, and a tail which wags\nalmost like the motacilla. It is quite black when the wings are closed;\nwhen anything makes it open them, it shows a very marked band of\nwhite feathers on each wing. It builds a large mud-nest, like a swallow's in material, and the shape of a large pudding-basin j this it\nperches on the upper side of some large horizontal branch. The nest\nanswers its purpose so long as the hen is sitting; but when the brood\nis hatched, and the wings no longer thatch it over, the first heavy rains\nsoften itj and it falls off. RANDOM RECOLLECTIONS.\n121\n100\u00b0 to 114\u00b0 in the shade much more endurable than\n85\u00b0 or 90\u00b0 in a damp atmosphere.\nIt is well for you if, under these circumstances, the\nintense thirst does not come on before you are within a\nfew miles of some creek or hut. Hunger you may forget,\nbut not thirst, whenever from any cause it is excessive.\nWhen you have been long in want, if you cannot get a\ndraught of tea or of pure water, you are not particular,\nand swallow eagerly whatever comes first, disregarding its\ncolour and taste. I have gone down on my knees to\ndrink from a wheel-rat water so muddy that you could\nnot see your finger half-an-inch below the surface; and a\nlarge settler now in the colony has told me that he has\ntaken thick mud in his handkerchief to strain off water\nenough to boil his pot of tea when travelling.\nOn one of my monthly journeys, I was nearly paying\nfor my drink more dearly than I had intended. I had\nbeen by no means well; and hence my journey, in very\nhot weather, told on me more than usual. I had left\nMount Warrendie in the morning; and, after a service\nand teaching a family on my way, was proceeding to\nCollaroy by a route now little used, called, from a stone\nbuilding three miles from Merriwa, the \" Stone-house\nRoad.\" Many times I had dismounted and lain down to\nrest, leaving my good horse Dobbin to feed with the\nbridle tied to the stirrup. As I approached Bow Creek,\nI knew that, a little below the point where the road\ncrossed it, there were several rocky holes in the creek-bed\nusually containing water. The first of these had been so\nfouled by cattle that I only let my horse drink; and when\nI had given him enough, tied the bridle to the stirrup, and\nturned him to feed in the long grass, while I went to a\nsmaller hole below where the water was better, and whence\nmy arrival scared a whole flock of bright-green and red\nparrots.\nOn returning, I found that my intemperate drinker had\nm! 122\nTHE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\nreturned to the water; and there, up to his girths in the\npool, and with outstretched neck, he was slowly drinking\non and on, as Baron Munchausen's horse is said to have\ndone after passing the portcullis. My salutation was not\nfriendly\u2014\"Get out, you greedy old fellow.\" He was\nnot accustomed to be scolded; and with a sudden splash,\nwhich sent the water over him in a shower, out he went at\na long trot.\nQuiet as he was, and often as I had caught him in the\ngrass and mounted him that very day, I had no doubt of\nhis allowing me to come up to him. But I was mistaken.\nHolding up his head high, and setting out his tail, he\nstarted off with that long, high, springy trot, which seemed\nto say, \" Catch me who can,\" looking back at his unfortunate master, sometimes over one shoulder, sometimes\nover the other. After running and calling to him until I\nhad hardly breath or strength left, I tried another plan.\nI went off far to the right, walking briskly, trying to get\nbeyond him, and drive him back; for, unfortunately, he had\nstruck off from the road at right angles, and was making\naway from all huts and dwellings of man towards the\nGoulbourn. Seeing me go from him, he began to feed,\nbut kept a good eye on me; and just as I had got on a\nline with him, though far away to the right, he started off\nagain at that provoking long trot.\nMatters began to look serious. It wanted but an hour\nof sundown; I was seven miles at least in each direction\nfrom the nearest stations where I could get a horse to run'\nmy truant in; he had my all on his back, and I was spent\nand weak, and not in condition for camping out. But in\nthe bush you must depend on yourself, and you must\nnever give in when one plan fails.\nI had not long before heard how the natives got near\nenough to kangaroos to spear them; and other means\nhaving failed, I determined to try the same plan. Lying;\ndown on the ground, as if resting, I remained quiet until RANDOM RECOLLECTIONS.\n123\nDobbin began feeding. When he was engaged, I crawled\nalong towards him on my right side with both hands and\nthe left foot. He soon looked up again uneasily; and I lay\nstill again, moving on when he began to feed. I was a\nconsiderable distance from him, but gradually crept nearer.\nAs the space between us became considerably less, my\nstealthy hunt grew more anxious. Several times he looked\nat me suspiciously, and was almost starting off again. The\nleast sudden movement on my part \u2022 would have placed\nseveral hundred yards between us, and made my task\nhopeless. At last I was within a length of him ; he took\na long, doubtful look at me, and then put his head down\nand went on feeding. I did not venture to speak to him,\nbut, sliding a little nearer, jumped up and caught the stirrup, and with it his bridle. Old rogue! I felt sorely\ntempted to give him a cut with my whip for the trouble\nhe had given me ; but more prudential, if not more kindly\nmotives prevailed, and, looking forward to what might be\nmy needs in any like case for the future, I only patted his\nneck, and made him gallop back as fast as he could to the\nroad.\nI reached Collaroy late and a good deal exhausted, but\nfar better off than if I had been forced to walk on, with the\nunpleasant uncertainty whether my horse would not roll,\nbreak the saddle, and perhaps the girths, and stray off\nhomewards, leaving my saddle and saddle-bags in the\nbush.\nIn estimating the fatigue of a colonial clergyman's work,\nsomething more must be considered than the actual length\nof his rides, from twenty to fifty, or sometimes sixty miles-\nin a day, with, occasionally, exhausting heat, and at other\ntimes pouring rains and heavy soil. When a settler travels,\nhe has nothing to think of at his stopping-places, but how\nto make himself most comfortable, and to prepare by rest\nfor the journey of the next day. The clergyman travelling in his district may stop many times in the day at huts\nWi 124\nTHE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\nm\n111\nor stations; but when he stops it is not to rest\u2014the great\nobject of his journey has to be attended to.; and very often,\nat the end of a long day, the ftrst thing he does after dismounting is to prepare for or begin a service, or to visit\npeople with different spiritual wants, prepare a confirmation\nclass, or try to reconcile a quarrel. He has but a short\ntime to do a great work, and enters upon it, very, often,\nwearied in body. He is making up, perhaps, for the\nwants of several weeks, and preparing for a blank of\nseveral weeks to come. He has to think for each, and\ncannot afford to attend sufficiently to himself. Often he\ncontrives to forget his own weariness of body in attending\nto the subjects which occupy his mind.\nBut this kind of work tells surely upon human strength\nin the course of time. It is one of those ways in which,\nthough freed from the terrible persecutions and torments\nof former ages, we must cheerfully take up our cross, and\nfollow whithersoever Jesus leads us, and be ready to spend\nand be spent for Him Who died for us. 125\nCHAPTER X.\nA SERVANT OF CHRIST IN TRAINING.\nIn the fifth chapter of these \" recollections \" mention was\nincidentally made of the little township of Jerry's Plains.\nI did not at that time expect to have occasion to bring\nforward its name again. But it has lately gained an\ninterest in the heart of many a sorrowing brother and\nparishioner as the resting-place of the body of a faithful,\nand holy-minded pastor and priest, whom we had hoped\nmight have been spared to do many years of good service\nin the diocese in which he had so zealously laboured\nhitherto.\nThe dust of the old world is hallowed by hundreds of\nthousands of the bodies of saints : and many a village and\nchurchyard is dear for the sake of those that sleep there.\nIn the.newly Christianised lands, of the South such spots\nare as yet rare. The territories have been taken possession of by British sailors for the Crown of England-. It is\nthe office of the Church to consecrate the hills and valleys\nof those sunny lands for her Redeemer and Lord by the\ndeeds of her children, who take up the cross for His sake,\nand by the bodies of those who have been nurtured into\nsaints through the presence of Christ that resides in her.\nHenceforth Jerry's Plains will be one of those spots to\nwhich the thoughts of many a brother will lovingly turn.\nWilliam Woodman Dove, who was taken to his rest on\nthe 23rd of March, 1867, at the early age. of thirty-five,\nwas one of those many earnest spirits which the great\nCatholic awakening of the Church of England has drawn\nIthiffta 126\nTHE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\ninto her bosom from the dissenting bodies; one of those\nsheep whose forefathers were scattered from the true fold\nthrough our supineness or worldliness, when the \" shepherds fed themselves, and fed not their flock,\"* but who\nhave heard the voice of the Good Shepherd rousing both\nshepherds and sheep, and calling back wanderers \" out of\nplaces where they have been scattered in the cloudy and\ndark day.\"f They have ~ known the Shepherd's voice,\nand have followed Him.\nWilliam Dove's father was a respected Congregationalist\nminister in Gloucestershire. I am unable to say by what\nmeans the son was led to feel the defects of the system in\nwhich he had been brought up, and to believe in the faith\nof the Church. Whatever were the means employed, the\nattraction of the Body divinely appointed prevailed over\nevery earthly consideration ; and the strength of his convictions decided him to emigrate to New South Wales, in\nthe hope that he might be permitted to obtain entrance\ninto the ministry, and devote his life to the service of\nHim Who had called him.\nThose who knew him best will estimate the cost at\nwhich he followed the call which he had received. They\nknow how strong the love of home was in him ; how eminently domestic was his disposition ; and how lovingly he\nthought of those old grey church towers of England, which\nlinked his faith in the present to the hallowed past. But\nall that he had loved and valued, save the Church itself,\nhe had given up to come to a land of strangers, not to\nseek a worldly competence, and to return; not even with\nthe offer of that employment to which he most longed to\ndevote himself; but in the hope that He Who had led him\nthus far would still lead him on.\nAnother point remarkable in him was his devotional\nspirit, as contrasted with the spirit of controversy. There\nEzek. xxxiv. 8.\nf Ezek. xxxiv. 12. A SERVANT OF CHRIST IN TRAINING.\n127-\nwas in him none of the pugnacity of the neophyte, who\nthinks it necessary to justify his change by arguing against\nthe views held by those from whom he has come. In all\nmy acquaintance with him\u2014and some of it was very intimate\u2014I never knew him bring forward unnecessarily\nthe errors of those among whom he had been brought up.\nHe was eminently positive and constructive in his religion;\nyet if it were necessary to prove the wrong to be wrong,\nas well as the right to be right, he did not shrink from\ndoing so ; and he did it clearly, with charity.\nHe arrived in Sydney about the middle of the year\n1853, and soon put himself in communication with the\nRev. Canon Walsh, of the parish of Christ Church, by\nwhom he was temporarily employed in his parochial\nschool.\nA few weeks ago I received a letter from Canon Walsh\nin answer to my announcement of his death. He says,\n11 never can forget those days when he used to come to\nme from the neighbouring police-barracks to consult me\nabout taking holy orders, I was then so much struck\nwith both the depth and the simplicity of his character.\"\nAt that time the See of Sydney was vacant, owing to\nthe death of good Bishop Broughton in England, and the\nBishop of Newcastle had gone to Sydney for a few weeks,\nand was endeavouring to prevent the newly projected\nuniversity from being as much without religious teaching\nas its chief promoters desired. To him Canon Walsh\nrecommended Dove, then about twenty-two years of age, and\nthe Bishop at once resolved to take him into his diocese.\nIt was the Bishop's practice, when any man offered himself for holy orders who was not a graduate of one of our\nuniversities, or who had not been sent out from St.\nAugustine's, to test him by offering him the mastership\nof some parish school. If he failed, or showed any un-\nworthiness, of course all idea of ordination was at an end.\nBut if he bore the trial well, and Showed that -he was able 128\nTHE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\n='i;i\n%i\\\n\u2022n\nIII $ 11\n111\nto influence the young minds for good, he was then sent\nto one of the clergy to read with him, or in some cases\ntaken by the Bishop himself to be prepared, and to aid as\nfar as he could in parish work. The ordeal of the school\n\u25a0was a searching one in many ways, and those who have\nstood it well have proved some of our useful men.\nThe plan was also of service as a means of providing\nmasters temporarily for schools in need, which was often\na sore difficulty. Drunkards and idlers might have been\nprocured in abundance from that class of men who were\nsent out from England by their friends because they could\ndo little with them at home. But steady, painstaking\nmen, who might be trusted in some township far from\ntheir clergyman, were not so easily found.\nOur first master at Cassilis, who had been thus sent on\nprobation, and had proved to be a useful man, was removed about the time that Dove arrived at Sydney.\nOn the Bishop's return to Morpeth he wrote to me promising to send Dove up by the next mail to Cassilis, and\ntelling me of the high character he had gained during his\nshort sojourn in Sydney.\nMy first interview with him was by the roadside on the\ntop of a hill about a mile and a-half from Cassilis. Heavy\nrains, and consequently the heavy black soil, which you\ncannot avoid either on the grass or on the road, had\ndelayed him ; and, as it was Saturday, I had been obliged\nto leave Cassilis before his arrival, to be in readiness for\nthe duties of the next day at Merriwa.\nHe was riding up on one of the mail horses\u2014a very\ncommon way of reaching Cassilis from Merriwa\u2014and\nwhile the mailman proceeded on his way with the bags,\ndismounted ; seating ourselves on a fallen box-tree, we had\na long conversation about the duties which awaited him,\nand the people among whom he would have to live and\nwork.\nThere are persons whose, genuineness impresses you at A SERVANT OF CHRIST IN TRAINING.\n129\nonce\u2014not because they are very demonstrative and forthcoming, for they are rather the reverse, but their quiet\nmanner carries a reality with it; their few thoughtful\nquestions show that they appreciate the difficulties which\nthey are prepared to meet, and you feel that they are only\nanxious to know their duty and to do it. Dove was one of\nthese; and I was thankful to have him provided as my\nfellow-worker, where true and steady work was greatly\nwanted.\nIn addition to his school work, the Bishop had authorised him to read prayers on those Sundays on which I\nwas not there, and sermons, which I should give him for\nthe purpose; and I have still the sermons which I lent\nhim to read to the people, marked with the dates at which\nhe read them.\nAfter my first bush interview with him, I rode on my\nway to Merriwa, feeling confident of one thing, which\ncheered me\u2014that whatever he had to do with things\nsacred, whether in giving religious instruction to the children, or in joining with the people in prayers on Sunday,\nhe would do it with reverence. It required a very short\nacquaintance with him to show that his habit of mind was\nessentially reverential.\nHe arrived at Cassilis on the 13th of August, 1853 ;\nand until he could be settled, Mr. Denison kindly invited\nhim to his house at Llangollen. We had been obliged\nto give up the cottage, where the school was originally\nopened; and the only place we could get was a large slab\nhut, roofed in with bark. It was a rough place enough\nto live in. The greatest luxury about it was its being\npapered all round with sheets of the 1 Sydney Morning\nHerald,\" interspersed with some prints from the \" Illustrated London News.\" Here Dove taught; and here he\nlived alone for five months, preparing his own meals, and\nonly having a woman to come in once a-day to sweep and\nclean the place for him.\nm Ill\nB 11\n;'t\n130\n\u2022THE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\nFresh as he was from England, and from his relations,\nand with feelings wounded by the breaking of old ties,\nwhich the better light and the dictates of his conscience\nhad caused, this lonely life was a sore trial to him. He\noften wrote to me for advice and comfort'; and when I\npaid my regular visits, he used to pour out without reserve\nall his pent-up feelings, and rejoiced in the opportunity of\nfree Christian intercourse. But there was no complaining,\nno shrinking from any cross which was laid upon him;\nand no regret\u2014nothing but thankfulness for the step\nwhich God had enabled him to take.\nHe was especially fond of and beloved by children, for the\none love nearly always begets the other; and he set himself\nwith right good will to his task as schoolmaster. Even in\nthe short time that he was at Cassilis I found the school\nimproved in knowledge, in discipline, and reverent behaviour. He was especially careful in teaching the children their prayers, and guiding them in the use of them.\n* He also made the care of the children a reason for\ncalling often on the parents. And though he called on\nall, whether they had children or not, the parents of his\nscholars were especially made to feel that he and they had\ndeep Christian interests in common\u2014the example to be\nset, and the training to be given to their little ones.\nIn whatever I did for the teaching or training of the\nlambs of my flock he heartily co-operated. What I wished\nto be prepared for me I always found ready; and he\nwould carry on any instruction I had given in my short\nvisits. We both pulled the same way.\n-He was a valuable helper to me in gaining a knowledge\nof my people, and meeting any particular evil which might\nhave been going on during my absence. To have listened\nto what neighbours might be disposed to tell of each\nother would not have elicited the truth, and would have\nfostered a spirit of tale-telling, with all the evils which\nit implies. From him I learned all that it was needful to A SERVANT OF CHRIST IN TRAINING.\n131\nknow; and he directed me at once ta any especial case of\nsickness and trouble. He was himself a most useful\nvisitor among the sick, helping sometimes to nurse, as\nwell as to read to them.\nIn January, 1854, my school at Muswell Brook needed\na master; and a successor having1 been provided at Cas-\n-silis, Dove came down to reside with me, read more\nregularly for holy orders, and managed a mixed school of\nabout 100 boys and girls; a mistress, who resided at the\nschoolhouse, taking charge of the infants and needlework.\nHe left Cassilis with the regret of all. The parents and\nchildren had become attached to him; and Mr. Busby\nwrote expressing his regret at losing so \"exemplary\"\nand useful a man from his neighbourhood. Poor fellow!\nhe brought away an unpleasant reminiscence of his last\ndays there. A large centipede\u2014a giant in size, strength,\nand venom, compared with its puny English namesake\u2014\nhad found its way between his sheets; and as he was\nturning into bed one night gave him a very severe bite on\nthe foot. The pain was excessive, and the subsequent inflammation very great. After his arrival at our house\nmany weeks passed before he recovered from the effects\nof it.\nFrom that time till his ordination as deacon in September, 1855, I was in close communication with him, and\nhad every opportunity of observing his character and\nwork.\nIn the school he was most painstaking; and while firm\nand judicious in enforcing discipline, he was gentle and\nforbearing under very trying circumstances, both with\nchildren and with unreasonable parents; and colonial\nparents are often very unreasonable, from having no such\ncontrol over them as lingers in many country parishes in\nEngland. I remember his coming to me in a state of\ncomical perplexity, one day. when I had gone down to help\nhim in the teaching, to consult me about the treatment of\nk 2 THE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\na boy, the very pickle of the school, who was always in\ndisgrace, and whose ingenuity in wrong-doing was out of\nthe common way. | What shall I do with this boy ? He\nhas been catching bees; and, while avoiding being stung\nhimself, has contrived to pull off their wings, and to drop\nthem down the backs of the little children.\" The culprit\ndid not look one bit ashamed, and had quite the expression of one who would have enjoyed devising some practical joke for us if he could. Of course we visited the boy\nwith condign punishment. But, by perseverance, Dove\nsucceeded in taming this, wild spirit; and this very boy\nbecame his mother's greatest help and comfort, when a few\nyears later his poor father was thrown from his horse and\nkilled on the spot, leaving his widow with six or seven young\nchildren. This little fellow seemed to have imbibed some of\nDove's gentleness to ballast his own vigour ; and he would\nwatch his mother's wishes, and give up his time to help\nhis little brothers and sisters, with a thoughtfulness which\nsurprised all who knew his earlier character, and fancied\nthat he could turn out nothing but a bushranger.\nOut of school, as well as in it, Dove won the heart of the\nchildren ; and on the annual school feast-day he was always\nthe contriver of some popular amusement. With children\nof higher education he was also a universal favourite.\nHis self-forgetfulness and love of children very soon drew\nthem to him.\nBut he never forgot his higher calling. He was a\nthoughtful student, and read early and late, and turned\ngladly from copies, slates, and school routine, to Pearson,\nButler, Hooker, and his Greek Testament. In our lectures\nhe always showed a readiness in catching the point of an\nargument, and was never satisfied with conclusions without taking pains to master the steps by which they were\nreached.\nHe took great delight in the ancients, wisely seeing how\nneedful it is to balance modern views by those which pre- A SERVANT OF CHRIST IN TRAINING.\n133\nvailed nearer the fountain-head. He frequently borrowed\nthe Oxford translation of the Fathers; and as I had not\nthe originals, nor would he have had time to master them,\nhe gladly availed himself of this accessible form, to learn\nhow St. Chrysostom or St. Augustine explained the Gospels, or the Acts of the Apostles, or the Epistles of St.\nPaul.\nThe devotional element in his character was strong and\ndeep. And he felt a great happiness to come from the\nrare services at Cassilis to the opportunity of daily morning service. We were not able to have daily evensong.\nHe made a conscientious use of the fasts of the Church-\nas seasons of humiliation and self-discipline ; and her\nfestivals were to him seasons of holy joy. So surely in*\nthis point, as in others, is the Lord's promise fulfilled,\n1 Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted.\"\nHe was very active, and most useful in church decorations. There were not among us, as may be found in\njmgst well-worked English parishes, a body of willing and\nintelligent helpers. The taste and the ability had to be\nformed; and there were no examples around us to stimulate or guide us. Year by year we found more help, and\nthe helpers understood their work better; but the supply\nwas less than the demand, and the work fell heavily upon\nthose who undertook it. Among these, Dove was one of\nthe most energetic and successful. That it was for God's\nhouse and service was enough to make him throw all his\nheart into it. 134\nII\nCHAPTER XI.\nChrist's servant entering on his work, and\nreleased from toil.\nWilliam Dove was admitted to the Diaconate, at Morpeth,\nin September, 1855. During the examination, and until\nthe day following the ordination, we were both staying,\nunder the roof of the Bishop of Newcastle. And thus, in\nmany ways, all of us who were concerned in the ordination were thrown together, both familiarly at meals, and\nin the. solemn heart-searchings of examination and converse, as well as in the holy services of the Church.\nUnder such circumstances much of the inner man shows\nitself in the demeanour, in answer to questions, in casual\nremarks dropped, and in expressive silence.\nDove's manner had in it nothing over-wrought or excited. There was not a trace of what one has sometimes\nseen with anxiety\u2014the forward, self-satisfied manner of\none who only awaits the reception of his commission to\nbegin setting everything right by his confident inexperience. There was in him a calm, reverent thoughtfulness,\na swiftness to hear and a slowness to speak, as in one\nwho felt great difficulties and responsibilities\u2014great above\nhuman power\u2014which were opening before him; and yet\nhad humble confidence in the guidance provided for him,\nand in the presence of the Lord, Who was sending him\nforth to the work. Ready to go and devote himself to\nChrist's service, he yet looked, after having been pronounced I apt and meet \" for the work, to receive, by\nlaying on of hands \" and prayer, that grace which would\na ENTERING ON HIS WORK, AND RELEASED FROM TOIL. 135\nenable him to go forth in his Saviour's name, and to discharge effectually the duties of the ministry.\nThe latter part of that ordination day was one of those\ncalm, peaceful evenings in the Australian springtide so\nexquisite in their temperature, before the heat of the year\nhas set in. The heavy rains which had fallen early in the\npreceding week had made everything on earth green ; and\nthere was that intensely blue sky above, which, if it. did\nnot bring heaven nearer earth, at least lifted up the heart\nvvith the eye to that place, whither Jesus had ascended,\nand whence He sent the Holy Spirit on His Church. It\nwas to. that young labourer in Christ's vineyard a restful\npause, before he was sent to bear \" the burden and heat\nof the day,\"\nOn that evening, whatever .were the thankful feelings of\nhis heart for the gifts which had been given him, whatever\nwere the steadfast resolutions to use them faithfully unto\nthe end, a colouring must have been given to them by\nthose words of our Divine Master to Peter\u2014\" Lovest thou\nMe more than these? Feed My sheep., feed My lambs.\",\nFor on these words the striking and heart-stirring words\n\u2022of the Bishop to the candidates had been founded. At all\n\u25a0events,, we. who tarry behind him a while in our work can\nfeel convinced, as we think of his ministry, that he did\nindeed love the Lord Jesus fervently, and endeavoured to\nthe last to feed His sheep and His lambs.\nDove was first appointed to assist the Rev. B. Glennie\nin the distant and almost unlimited district of the Darling\nDowns. That, district is now in the colony of Queensland,\nand in the diocese of Brisbane, but was then a portion of\nthe diocese of Newcastle, and in the colony of New South\nWales.\nOne of the most dangerous modes of employing the\nservices of a young deacon is to place him by himself in.\none of the large bush districts. He is thus cut off from\nthe support of the Holy Communion when he especially 136\nTHE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\nneeds it. He is removed from the example, advice, and\ninfluence of clerical brethren; and, while the clerical life\nand duties are new to him, he has to itinerate for weeks\ntogether among settlers, stockmen and shepherds ; among\nthe greater number of whom, to say the least, the tone of\nreligion is very low. It requires some knowledge of men,\nas well as deep habitual piety and soundness of doctrine,\nto enable him to maintain his clerical character wherever\nhe goes, and at the same time to lead on the minds of\nthose among whom he ministers. Some young men have\nfailed grievously under the trial; and have sunk down to\nthe level of those to whom they have been sent, instead\nof raising them up to a higher standard of faith and practice. A colonial Bishop is in continual danger of giving\nway to the temptation of filling up some large destitute\nbush district with a freshly-ordained man, because he sees\nthe people standing in such exceeding need ; and it is not\neasy to get a man of experience to go out so far from\ncivilisation.\nThis evil was mitigated in Dove's case by the Bishop\nconsiderately placing him with a priest, from whom he\ncould obtain the Holy Communion, and take counsel on\nhis return from his long joumeyings. It would be well if\nin every outlying station a priest and deacon were located\ntogether. To do this there are two difficulties which must\nbe faced: one is the paucity of men, which, alas ! we are\neverywhere feeling ; the other, the insufficiency of funds.\nBut, serious as these difficulties are, I believe they are not\ninsuperable; and the gain to the workers of sending two\ntogether, after the pattern of our Lord's Mission of the\nSeventy, and, I believe, the gain to the Church, would be\nvery great.\nThe day following Dove's ordination he started with\nme; and we rode up together in two days to Muswell\nBrook. He rested with me one day, and then, with the\nvery hearty good wishes of all who had known him there, ENTERING ON HIS WORK, AND RELEASED FROM TOIL. 137\nproceeded on his long journey of some 400 miles to the\nnorth. His route lay over the Liverpool range, by Mur-\nrurundi, through Tamworth, and New England ; and, after\nthe late rains, it was not an easy one. But he reached his\ndestination safely, to the great joy of Mr. Glennie, who\ncordially welcomed his fellow-labourer.\nThe small township of Drayton was Mr. Glennie's headquarters. With him Dove lived, and found it a great\ncomfort to get a day or two of his society occasionally,\nand as much reading\u2014little enough\u2014as he could find\ntime to secure. Their joint district extended over the\nDarling Downs, which lie high on the westward slopes of\nthe dividing range, and far away down the course of the\nCondamine River and its tributary creeks, as they wind\ntowards the Darling.\nDrayton is about eighty miles from the coast at Moreton\nBay, and so is within reach of the sea-breeze, which generally reaches it two or three hours before sundown, and\nmakes it more pleasant as a residence. But the farther\nyou go in towards the lower country round the Condamine, the more intense and unrelieved is the heat.\nI have unfortunately lost all the letters which I received\nfrom him during the early years of his ministry, and have\nonly a general recollection that they evidenced hard and\nlaborious work, conscientiously done, among widely-scattered sheep and cattle stations. He often wrote to me for\nadvice; and all his difficulties and questions showed his\nanxiety to do his best for those among whom he laboured.\nHis work as a deacon, as indeed is the case with the\ngreater part of even a priest's work in the early stages of\nsuch a mission, was preparatory. Much simple teaching\nhad to be given, which had never been heard, or had been\nforgotten, since the days of childhood. There were many\nplaces which he could visit but eight or twelve times in\nthe year, and many not so frequently. He had chiefly to\nbreak up ground for sowing seed, or to sow that which 138\nTHE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\nir\nothers might reap ; but whether he taught repentance, faith,\nor holiness, he did it in the spirit of the Church's teaching,\nand with a genuine reverence and love of souls, which no\nwant of the externals and aids to devotion could quench.\nHe served in the diaconate about two years and a\nquarter, and was ordained to the priesthood on the 20th\nof December, 1857. In consequence of a break-down of\nmy health from over-work, the Bishop had most kindly\nurged me to leave Muswell Brook in the August preceding,\nand to take the parish of Morpeth, as being less in area,\nand putting me in the way of his help. We were therefore delighted to be able to have Dove under our roof for\nfive weeks before the ordination, and found him not only\nnot in the least deteriorated by his bush work, but improved by all the discipline he had gone through, and\nmore matured in all his views. He stayed with us nearly\na week after his ordination, and actively aided us in our\nChristmas decorations. Let no one think of frost and\nsnow, and warm clothing without, and holly berries\nwithin, as necessary accompaniments of Christmas. All\nthings are.reversed on the other side of the Hue.\nOur decorations on that occasion were rather a fight\nagainst the difficulties of the climate ; our native cherry\nand the bright foliage of the scarlet Bignonia, on which\nwe relied for our green, were safe enough: and so, at\nsunrise on Christmas Eve, were our Oleanders, which\nwere in the full beauty of their rose-coloured blossoms.\nBut a hot west wind sprang up early, and soon reached a\ntemperature of 104\u00b0 in the shade, and, aided by a scorching sun, quickly reduced all the blossoms which were exposed to their united force to the colour of brown paper.\nThe only ones which escaped were a few on the larger\noushes in the Bishop's garden ; which, growing in the\nmiddle of the shrubs, had been in some degree protected\nfrom the heat.\nDove left us on the feast of St. Stephen, under a blazing ENTERING ON HIS WORK, AND RELEASED FROM TOIL. 139\nsky, which would make it hard for your English carollers\nto realise the favourite carol of \" Good King Wenceslas.\"\nHe went, not overland but by steamer, up the coast to.\nBrisbane ; and thenee rode through Ipswich up to Drayton. There he remained about a year more. But as the\nnorthern- part of the diocese had been apportioned to the\nsee of Brisbane, he requested to be moved, before the new\nBishop's arrival, in order that he might remain^istill\nunder the Bishop of Newcastle.\nThe Richmond River district needed a clergyman, and\nto that post the Bishop appointed him, fixing, him at Lis-\nmore. The scenery of this district is very different from\nthat of the Darfing Downs. It lies on the eastern side of\nthe dividing range, not more than thirty miles from the coast.\nThe country is less open, and more broken by picturesque hills and abrupt valleys than the interior. There is\nmuch rich pasture-land; but there are also large forests\nof valuable trees, and scrubs, from which large quantities\nof red cedar and other timber are sent down to the coast\nfor shipment. Here he only remained till July in 1859,\nbut carried with him, on leaving, the kind regards of the\nsettlers, rich and poor, among whom he had ministered.\nThis move was not his own seeking, but was owing to the\nBishop's kind consideration of him.\nOn the 8th of September in that year he married in\nSydney one whom he had long known in England : and\nthe Bishop offered him the cure of Jerry's Plains, on the\nHunter River, as being better suited than the remote\nRichmond to the circumstances of a married man. He\nbrought his young bride up to Morpeth, and left her to\nour care for six weeks, while he went to Lismore to take\nleave of his parishioners, and remove his furniture and\nbooks. He stayed with us but a few days after his return,\nand then went up with his wife to the new eure, which\nwas to have the labours of the last seven years of his life.\nJerry's Plains is a small straggling township, about fifty\nI1\n11! 140\nTHE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\nfi; J\nmiles north-west of Morpeth, on the most direct line to\nMerton and Merriwa. There is nothing remarkable in\nthe scenery. As you emerge from the monotonous gum-\ntree forest on the Morpeth side, you look down to the\nright across the alluvial flat which gives its name to the\nplace; and by the line of the Casuarinas you trace the\ncourse of the Hunter in its deep-sunk bed. From the\nopposite bank of the river rise low hills; beyond which,\ntwenty miles off to the north, lies Muswell Brook. About\nhalf-a-mile before you, upon a rising ground, on the left\nof the road, stands a small wood-built house with its\nverandah, with a garden sloping down in front of it. This\nwas the house rented as the parsonage. A little beyond\nit, by the side of the road, two rooms of a cottage thrown\ninto one made the school and church: a few houses follow; and on an abrupt rise, about a quarter of a mile\nfarther, are the foundations of a stone church, begun in\nBishop Broughton's time, but checked, almost at the\nbeginning, from want of funds, which, in so small and\npoor a place, it has never as yet been possible to raise.\nThe area of the whole district attached to Jerry's Plains\nis 1,200 square miles, and in it there are two fairly built\nchurches\u2014one of brick, in the Norman style, at Wark-\nworth, about seven miles on the road towards Morpeth;\nthe other of stone, at Fall Brook, about twelve miles off,\nbetween Singleton and Muswell Brook, which was consecrated in 1855.\nIn his first letter, written from an inn in Jerry's Plains,\nwhere he and his wife were awaiting their furniture, he\nsays, \"I am pleased with my new parish; and, from the\nlittle intercourse I have been able to have with my people,\nI think I shall, with God's blessing, get on tolerably well.\nThey all seem very kind and glad to see me, and to have\na clergyman again with them.\"\nHe soon began to set himself steadily to his work, and\nfound much to do in the outskirts of his parish, under\nlift\nJ ENTERING ON HIS WORK, AND RELEASED FROM TOIL. 141\nMount Popong on the south, and round the spurs of\nMount Royal to the north, so that a second horse was\nnecessary to enable him to accomplish his parochial visit-\nings. In February, 1860, he wrote :\n11 am, as you may suppose, very busy, this parish\nhaving got into a sad state. The approaching confirma-\nm ov\ntion gives me additional work. The amount of ignorance\nis quite wonderful. Every one is very kind, but many\nthink me a sad innovator for doing even the commonest\nparts of a pastor's duty. For instance, the candidates for\nconfirmation had never been instructed in any other way\nthan by being heard say the Catechism; and my classes\nhave excited some wonder, though the work in them is the\nmerest rudimentary instruction, such as at Muswell Brook\nwould hardly have been needful, even in the Sunday-\nschool. But in time, by keeping a standing upper class,\nand by care in the school for the younger ones, I do hope\nto break through the barriers of gross ignorance and\ndeadness of heart which seem to hedge round so many\nof our young people. The work is certainly hard ; but,\nafter all, I do not know what I should do without hard\nwork. Sometimes, when I think of all the trials, of our\nChurch at home, the riots in churches \" (we had then been\nhearing much of the profane disturbances at St. George-\nin-the-East), \"the controversies on the Holy Eucharist\nand other high and holy doctrines and practices, paraded,\nas such controversies are, in the newspapers, I often feel\nthat, if I were not a man, I could almost shed tears at the\ndangers and difficulties of so much that I love with all my\nheart. And then I feel how valuable a remedy I have in\nmy work. I jump on horseback, and take a long round,\nand then come back with the bright side uppermost;\nmore ready to give thanks to God for what He has done,\nand to hope in His Name, than to look forward to evil\nbefore it comes. I often find a good round of visiting or\na long ride like a tonic to the mind.\" 142\nTHE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\nThis extract is characteristic ; the same kind of history\nof acts and feelings is ever recurring in the many letters\nhe wrote to me after this. There is the same evidence of\ncareful pastoral labour in many different ways ; the same\nearnest sympathy with the stirrings of the Divine life in\nthe Church; the same genuine feeling of distress at any\nseeming or temporary triumph of unbelief or misbelief\nover the faith of the Church. It must be remembered\nthat this young clergyman was sixteen miles from his\nnearest clerical brother, or from any one with whom he\ncould discuss the deep subjects which were of such vital\nconcern to him. In January, 1863, referring to the onslaught of unbelief made in and after the publication of\nI Essays and Reviews,\" he said : \u2014 \" Through God's\nmercy we shall, I trust, meet once more; in a better\nworld, if the course of our work and duties keeps us apart\nall our lives here. Meanwhile, let me tell you how great\na help and comfort your letters are. . . . Anything which\nstrengthens us against the incoming tide of faithlessness,\nwhich already beats against our ancient landmarks, is of\nthe greatest importance. I hope I do not doubt concerning His care for the Church, Who has promised that the\ngates of hell shall never prevail against her : but one is\nsaddened from day to day by the great want on all sides,\nand even in oneself, of practical faith, a realising and\nliving upon the great verities of our Holy Religion.\" Nor\ndid the difficulties of misbelief meet him merely as the\ndistant sound of what was going on in other parts of the\nworld : he had to cope with them among his people. In\nJanuary, 1864, he wrote: \" We are not altogether free\nfrom scepticism even in this remote diocese. Unfortunately many have grown up in this country without\nopportunities of instruction in Catholic truth, having only\nvery vague ideas of the Christian faith; and yet often\nwith sharp intellects, uncultivated, yet still shrewd and\nthoughtful. Such persons are sadly injured when such\n,;:.; |;.;i ENTERING ON HIS WORK, AND RELEASED FROM TOIL. 143\nbooks as Colenso's, or j Essays and Reviews,' get into\ntheir hands. They cannot see beyond the circle of doubts\nand difficulties, which such as Colenso raise; and they\ntake all they read as true and unanswerable. Too often\nthey do not like to speak of their difficulties to their\nclergyman, who would at least pray for them, and direct\ntheir reading towards a solution of that which has perplexed them.\"\nWhile he was thus anxious about the maintenance of\nthe integrity of the faith against assault, he was indefatigable in building up the devotion which is essential to\nthe growth of Christ's people in holiness. It has been\nmentioned that there was no church at the township of\nJerry's Plains; and in a letter already quoted, written a\nlittle more than three months after his arrival, he thus\nrefers to the place used for Divine service: \"When I\ncame here I found everything dirty and wretched, and\nquite unfit for God's service. The desk was a tower-like\nerection, very shabby, and so high, that in the low hut,\nwhich is our only church here, my head was nearly against\nthe shingles, and the heat made me quite faint.\" He\nsays, \" I got the whole affair removed, and from the material a neat and rather more church-like prayer-desk and\npulpit (in one) made.\"\nLittle as this may seem to those who have more money\nor more assistance, it was all that could be done at first;\nand was a simple first move towards doing all things decently and in order. To carry out the design of the\noriginal stone church was out of the question for a long\ntime. -But he very soon began to prepare for getting up\na more suitable school-church of wood, and early in 1862\nhe began the building. He says in February: \" You will\nbe pleased to hear that our new school-church is begun.\nIt will be a large wooden building, and is to be finished in\nabout three months. It will consist of chancel, nave,\nvestry, and porch.\" As to his own residence, owing to\n\u00abM iHra \u25a0 1\n144\nTHE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\nthe difficulties thrown in the way by the freeholder, it had\nnot been made over to the Church. 11 am sorry to say,\"\nhe adds, 1 that we shall not be able to buy the parsonage\nafter all.\" And so it continued till his death. The\nowner, a few months before he was taken to a better\nhome, sold the house over his head; and had he lived a\nfew months longer his lease would have been out. Like\nAbraham, who \" sojourned in the land of promise as in a\nstrange country,\" he had no place which he could call his\nown, except the \"possession of a burying-place.'' He\nvery truly felt himself a \" stranger and pilgrim upon\nearth.\" Yet in the country which he loved far less than\nthe land of his birth, he expended every energy of mind\nand body, till he sank under the strain, and rests where\nhe toiled for Christ and His Church.\nThe spring from which this faithful labour issued peeps\nout in a letter written June, 1862: \"I have received\nmore than most other men\u2014pardon, guidance, strength,\nespecially the first, and nothing I can do should be too\ngreat an exertion to show my thankfulness.\" His sense\nalso of the blessing of being in, and ministering in, Christ's\nChurch was very deep. In September, 1864, he says,\nafter mentioning both troubles and successes : \" I do hope\nthat I am willing to stay here, or anywhere, all my life, if\nOur Blessed Lord wills it. I do feel most deeply the\ngreat joy and honour of being a priest in Christ's Holy\nChurch.\" JSe was also deeply sensible of the blessing\nand aid of intercessory prayer. There is scarcely a letter\nof his that does not witness to this. \"I know you\nkindly remember me and my work in your prayers. It is\nsuch a comfort and help to remember this; and thus to\nrealise the tie, which no distance nor length of absence\ncan ever break.\" He particularly remembered others,\nand asked that himself and his work should be especially\nlaid before the Lord, in the Holy Communion.\nHe found great comfort in the occasional clerical meet- ENTERING ON HIS WORKj AND RELEASED FROM TOIL. 145\nings which were held in the houses of himself and. some\nthree or four others of his brethren; and in one letter\nspeaks with satisfaction on the increase of devotional tone\nwhich pervaded those meetings, and that several of the\nmembers had joined an \" English Association for Intercessory Prayer.\"\nOwing to some of those troubles which try the constancy and patience of all church builders, his school-\nchurch was not opened till July, 1863. But when\nfinished he fitted up the church, which was kept entirely\nfor holy services, with much care. After this, the congregations steadily increased; and the singing, to which he\npaid much attention, improved. \" You will be glad,\" he\nwrites in January, 1864, \" to hear that our congregations\nhave increased nicely since the new. church has been\nopened. We have now a really good number of regular\nattendants, and often a very fair week-day congregation.\nI am unable, through absence from home, to have the daily\nservice; but I say the Litany every Wednesday and\nFriday, and have full service on all saints' days, and other\nholy days. On Christmas, Easter, and Ascension Days\nwe have Holy Communion over and above the regular\ntimes, which are once in four weeks. Otherwise we have\nnot yet increased the celebrations.\" After thinking much\nabout a Hymnal, he introduced \" Hymns, Ancient and\nModern.\"\nThe northern railroad which was being made between\nSingleton and Muswell Brook, added much to his work,\nas many navvies were for some time in that portion of his\ndistrict near and above Fallbrook; but he laid himself\nout for .these strangers, as well as for his own permanent\nflock, and ministered to them in no perfunctory way, but,\nas he did everything for Christ's service, with thought and\ncare and love.\nHe, in common with most of his brethren, long felt the\nwant of some good reading, of a sound Church tendency,\n!M Smbuh\n146\nTHE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\nill\nfir\nto put into the hands of his people. A paper was started\ncalled the \" Christian Volunteer,\" but all the clergy were\ntoo incessantly working to have time to do it justice, and\nits life was short. After a short interval he joined several\nof his brethren, and sent for Erskine Clarke's \" Parish\nMagazine,\" which they \" localised,\" Dove becoming editor\nof the few added pages.\nSpace does not allow me to mention many things which\nI fain would add. In August, 1855, after many endeavours after synodical action, the first regular synod of the\ndiocese of Newcastle was held at Morpeth: it consisted- of\nclerical and lay members, and Dove was elected honorary\nsecretary for the clergy. In -all matters connected with the\nestablishment and working of the synod he took a warm\ninterest; and, in common with his Bishop and the rest of\nhis brethren, was strongly opposed to asking any legislation from the secular power in such form as would throw\nany doubt upon the spiritual independence of the Church.\nThe Bishop of Sydney and Goulbourn on the other side,\nmost unhappily, took another view. But the diocese of\nNewcastle maintained its ground effectually.\nIn the midst of all Dove's work an hereditary disease\ndeveloped itself. In June, 1865, he wrote: \"I broke\ndown after Easter, and thought it necessary to consult\nDr. B\u2014, who attributed my ill-health to overwork on\nSundays, and the excessive amount of riding needful in\nthis parish. He told me also, which I had suspected,\nthat I had heart disease, which required care to prevent\nits immediate growth. I am giving up the third service\non Sunday, and my kind people have enabled me to buy a\nbuggy, so I shall now drive to many duties\t\nIt is a trial at my age to feel oneself less useful than heretofore.\"\nThat he did not take his work even now very easily is\nclear from a letter written six months later. 1 My symptoms do not leave me, and I do not think my strength ENTERING ON HIS WORK, AND RELEASED FROM TOIL. 147\nincreases. I am quite knocked up for two- or three days\nby a moderately heavy Sunday's work, such as that of last\nSunday: two services, two baptisms, and churchings, and\nforty-two miles. However, I must not complain, for I can\nkeep on steadily, if not very actively.\" Others would\nthink that he worked actively still. His last letter, written-\nOctober, 1866, speaks of his being \"just in the thick of.\nconfirmation work;\" which, where candidates are so\nwidely scattered, implies very heavy fatigue. He says:\nI Our good Bishop visited us on the 8th, and stayed\nuntil the 10th. Nothing could exceed his genial kindness\nand pleasantness. On the 9th he had a confirmation here,\nnineteen receiving the holy rite.\" The Bishop then went\non to some parishes farther up the country, and a week or\ntwo later was to return for a confirmation in another part\nof Dove's district. He says: \" My work is increasing\nmuch at the head of Fallbrook, and round Mount\nRoyal. I have very nice congregations and encouraging\nwork in that direction. Once or twice lately a ] bush\nmissionary,' a kind of ranter, has been round warning\nthe people against me and my teachings. And it has\nbeen quite cheering to find how generally they have\nrefused to have anything to do with him. He has\nmade a point of elaborately shaking off the dust of his\nfeet against them, or rather cleaning it off with a cloth\nhe carries for the purpose. Such things really cure\nthemselves.\nReferring to an offer the Bishop had made him of\nremoving to some other cure, he says: \" One's life is too\nshort and uncertain to throw aside all the confidence and\naffection and readiness to be taught, which I may have\nsucceeded in gaining during my seven years' residence here.\nI would'rather work here till I die or return to England.\nGod is very good in giving me so much sympathy and\nkindness from my dear parishioners, and in leading them\nto make such kind allowances for my^ neglect, when\nl 2\nli ;i \u2022';'*\n148.\nTHE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\nstrength will not hold out for all the work I should like\nto do.\"\nThe work lie did at that time prostrated him severely,\nand for some time he was obliged to take a rest. The\nBishop of Newcastle asked him down to stay with him\nand get advice; and, after about a fortnight's stay at\nMorpeth, he returned home, about the middle of January,\napparently better. He, however, soon fell back again;\nand, in spite of all that could be done for him, faded away\ntowards that land where the saints are made perfect.\nThrough February, and the first three weeks of March,\nhis prostration daily increased. His clerical brethren\ncame from many miles to comfort and to aid in nursing\nhim. The Bishop says of his dear friend at Muswell\nBrook: \" William White has been nursing him day and\nnight, like a brother, and all the neighbouring clergy have\nbeen very kind. In fact, our dear brother is a general\nfavourite, and we shall all feel his loss very much.\"\nMr. White, who was with him to the last, wrote about\nthe last steps of his earthly pilgrimage. \" He never lost\nhis consciousness to the last. He was quite powerless to\nmove or turn in his bed, and I remained with him constantly for more than a fortnight, Wilson kindly taking my\nSunday duty. The kindness of the parishioners could not\nbe surpassed. His mind was most active, almost too active,\nduring his illness. He would discuss the most difficult\nChurch questions. The difficulty was to keep him from\nthinking too much. He was very fond of being read to.\nNeale's Poems,.and the 'ChristianYear'\u2014' Safe Home' in\nthe former, and the piece for the Wednesday before Easter\nin the latter\u2014were his favourites.\"\nMr. White was obliged to go away to the Wybong and\nMount Dangar, parts of his district, on the 19th, 20th,\nand 21st of March, but the Rev. James Blackwood, of\nSingleton, remained with him. Mr. White says : \" When\nI returned, on Thursday, the 21st, to Muswell Brook, I ENTERING ON HIS WORK, AND RELEASED FROM TOIL. 149\nwas grieved to hear a bad account of him. I hurried over\non Friday morning, not knowing whether I should find the\ndear fellow living; dear old Blackwood had remained all\nthe week. At three that afternoon .we all expected his\ndeath, and Blackwood read' the commendatory prayer; but\nhe rallied again for a little while. He never murmured\nthrough the whole. About two hours before his death he\nasked me to read him the last chapter of the Revelation.\nHe said, 'I cannot say much.'a-1 answered, 'You mean\nthat those words expressx^yhat you feel ?' and he said,\n'Yes, even so, come, Lord,Jesus.'\u25a0 He held out his hand\nto feel for poor Mrs. Dove just before he breathed his\nlast. I had gone out .ojy&^e room for a few minutes at a\nquarter past.two on the. moffiuing of the 23rd, when\nBlackwood ran to call me. Dole's spirit passed away just\nas I came in. His end. was as calm and peaceful as a\nsleep. I was so thankful thatiBlackwood was there; we\nwere able to assist poor old-Mrs. A\u2014 to lay out the\nremains of our dear brother in his robes, as he expressly\nwished himself.\"\nTwo days after, on the Feast of the Annunciation, he\nwas buried.\nThe Rev. James Blackwood and the Rev. W. E. White\nwere two of the pall-bearers, and the Rev. Canon Child,\nof Scone, read the Burial Service. .:. All had in their\ntime, though not together, been reading with me at\nMuswell Brook. j*\u00a3;\nMr. Child says: \"At two %\u00a5\u25a0\u2022 wk^walked down from\nthe house, I leading the way^ White and Blackwood\nfollowing as pall-bearers, and the churchwardens behind\nthem; then the people\u2014a large train. The body was\nborne by very wilHng bearers all the way to church and\ngrave. On entering the church the coffin was placed in\nfront of the communion rails, within the chancel. . . .\nThe church was quite full. After leaving the church\nMrs. Dove and the children followed the coffin in the\n\u25a0 150\nTHE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\ncarriage, and got out at the bottom of the steep bank to\nwalk up to the grave, which was made in the north-east\nangle of the chancel foundation of the Jerry's Plain\nchurch, and was built up of stone; so that if ever the\nchurch is built, the pastor will He within its sacred\nprecincts. Here, amid a crowd of anxious parishioners,\nwe laid him in his grave. . . . There were probably\n200 people present, and the coffin, therefore, was not\nimmediately covered, as they seemed so desirous of\ntaking the last look of the coffin which held their pastor's\nremains. The coffin was very plain, of brown cedar\nvarnished; on the name-plate was 'Rev. W. W. Dove, 35.'\nMr. White says, ' It was a touching sight; I don't think\nthere was a dry eye there. ... I feel I have lost\nmore than a brother in dear Dove. He was always with\nus in every good work; and such a gentle, humble spirit!\nWe did not appreciate him fully whilst he was among us.\nWe need not grieve, however, for him; he died a martyr's\ndeath\u2014a martyr to overwork.'\"\nSuch was that dear brother in life and death, leaving,\nnow he has passed from our sight, a train of blessed\nmemories behind him. Will no young man, with the\nhealth and strength which God has given him, devote\nhimself, in his Saviour's service, to take up the pastoral\nstaff which William Dove has laid down ?\ni Mortal! if life smile on thee, and thou find\nAll to thy mind j\nThink, Who did once from Heaven to Hell descend\nThee to befriend:\nSo shalt thou dare forego, at His dear call,\nThy best, thine all.\"\nKeble's Christian Year. Wednesday before Easter. 151\nCHAPTER XII.\nTHE ABORIGINES.\nI cannot put on paper my few recollections of the\naborigines of New South Wales without a feeling of sadness. As an Englishman and a Churchman, I am bitterly\nashamed, nay, I am afraid, of the account to be rendered\nat the Judgment-day, when I reflect how the arrival of my\nfellow-countrymen, bearing the name of Christian, and\nhaving the habits and appliances of civilisation, brought a\ncurse upon those wild children of the forest, debased a\nlarge part of them by fresh sins, instead of raising them\ntowards the God Who made them, and has been the cause\nof their rapid diminution in numbers, if not of their complete extinction.\nSome persons speak very complacently about the law,\nas they call it, by which the savage fades away before a\ncivilised race. But unhappily the working of this law is\nto be traced only too evidently to the human agents. It is\nnot so much to the white man's musket or rifle, used in\nself-defence or in protection of property, that the destruction of the aboriginal inhabitants is to be traced, as to the\nwhite man's drunkenness and the white man's lust, which\nhave imported deadly diseases into the native veins, and\nhave not only caused many premature deaths, but have\nchecked the birth of native children, who might at least\nhave filled up the gaps made in their ranks by death. We\nare accustomed to -see in the returns of the Registrar-\nGeneral of England a large annual increase of population.\nIn New South Wales and other Australian colonies, there 152\nTHE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\nhas been a considerable annual decrease in those tribes\nwhich have been brought into connection with the white\nman, the decrease being in proportion to the intercourse\nbetween the two races.\nCollins, the historian of the early years of the colony,\nmakes mention of several native tribes which he saw on\nboth sides of the Sydney harbour. \"When I landed in\nSydney in January, 1848, not one individual of those\ntribes remained alive. I saw one wretched, drunken native\nin the suburbs, who belonged to a distant tribe ; but those\nmen, women, and children, who used to fish in the waters\nof the north and south shores of the harbour, were simply\nwiped out, and, except in God's book of remembrance,\nand in the future resurrection, were as though they had\nnever existed. There the Englishman had first set his foot\nand multiplied, and there the natives were not driven away,\nbut simply extinct.\"\nThe same result has followed in different degrees in\nmost other parts of Australia. In a report on the Australian aborigines ordered to be printed by the House of\nCommons in 1844, there is a letter from a missionary at\nPort Phillip to Mr. La Trobe, the Government Superintendent, dated 1842 ; in which it is stated that the population of four tribes immediately round the station had,\nsince the beginning of the mission, a period of four years,\ndecreased one-half; and the writer adds, \" Should the\npresent state of things continue, but a very few years will\nsuffice to complete the annihilation of the aborigines of\nAustralia Felix.\"\nWhere my lot was cast, on the Hunter River, the extermination was far advanced, though not quite complete.\nIt must be remembered that before 1831 the white man\nhad not settled on the Hunter Valley from Morpeth\nupwards. Only twenty-seven years later, when I first saw\nit, the sight of two or three natives about Morpeth and\nMaitland was of rare occurrence, and they were, in nearly THE ABORIGINES.\n153\nall cases, those who would hang about public-houses for\ndrink. As you advanced farther from the places which\nhad been longest settled, you might now and then see\nsmall knots of natives. In the district intrusted to me,\nmeasuring roughly, from Muswell Brook to some few miles\nbeyond Cassilis, about 3,000 square miles, there were, of\nmen, women, and children, about sixty remaining: the\nsmall fragments of several independent tribes, who, like\npartridges in the winter, when the sportsman's gun has\nthinned the coveys, had amalgamated ;and at certain times\nwould assemble from various parts of the bush to hold j a\ncorroberee, or native festival, which was but the shadow of\nsuch meetings in former times.\nFarther to the west and to the north, in the districts of\nthe Castlereagh, New England, the Clarence and Richmond\nRivers, and Moreton Bay, the tribes were m'ore populous.\nMr. Oliver Fry, Commissioner of Crown lands on the\nClarence River, made a report in 1843 to the Hon. E. Deas\nThompson, the Colonial Secretary in Sydney; in which\nhe says that on the Clarence River were seven tribes, containing from fifty to one hundred men in each, and on\nthe smaller river, the Richmond, four tribes, numbering\nabout one hundred in each. The aggregate of the district under his charge, including some other tribes besides\nthose mentioned, was about 2,000. I am unable to say\nto what extent the present census of that part of the\ncolony would differ from that which he furnished more\nthan twenty-four years ago ; but he mentions, quite as\nan independent fact, a distinction between the tribes of\nthose parts and others, which I cannot but consider one\nchief cause of the larger native population of that neighbourhood, that they have \" evinced a disinclination to\nalmost any intercourse with the settlers, manifested by the\nexceeding infrequency and short duration of their visits to\nthe stations; nor can they,\" he continues, \"be prevailed\non to allow a white man to approach their camps, and\nfill\nmi 154\nTHE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\n1\nin no instance have they ever become domesticated, or\nattached themselves to any establishment on the river.\"*\nNeither the home Government of those days, nor the\nauthorities in the colonies, are chargeable with indifference\nto the preservation of the natives. On every occasion they\nshowed their anxiety for their welfare, and had the same\nspirit prevailed among the convict population and free\nsettlers, the efforts made for their civilisation and conversion would have had some prospect of success. In a\ndespatch from Downing Street to Sir George Gipps,\nGovernor of New South Wales, dated December 20th,\n1842, Lord Stanley, after commenting upon the unfavourable reports both of the missionaries and of the \"native\nprotectors,\" concludes, \" I should not, without the most\nextreme reluctance, admit that nothing can be done; that\nwith them alone the doctrines of Christianity must be\ninoperative, and the advantages of civilisation incommunicable. I cannot acquiesce in the theory that they are incapable of improvement, and that their extinction before\nthe advance of the white settler is a necessity which it is\nimpossible to control. I recommend them to your protection and favourable consideration with the greatest earnestness, but at the same time with perfect confidence, and I\nassure you that I shall be willing and anxious to co-operate\nwith you in any arrangement for their civilisation which\nmay hold out a fair prospect of success.\"\nThe colonial authorities on their part endeavoured to\nprotect the natives from injury, and to promote their civilisation. Laws were made and penalties enforced for their\ngood. It was made penal to sell spirits to them, and the\npolice were charged to prevent the white men drawing the\nnative women away. Considerable sums were expended\nout of the proceeds of the lands sold to settlers by\nGovernment for the support of native \"protectors,\" whose\nduties were not only to protect the aborigines against\n*\"Keport,\"p. 252. THE ABORIGINES.\n155\nwrong, but to endeavour to teach them the arts and habits\nof civilised life. Lands were set apart for them in different\ndistricts, tools were provided, blankets and food given, and\nencouragements held out to them to betake themselves to\nagriculture and pastoral pursuits.\nAmong the settlers there were some few who interested themselves in the welfare of the natives around\nthem, treated them with kindness, and taught them, as\nwell as made use of their services. But the example of\nthe majority of white men in the bush was so unchristian,\nand their treatment of the blacks so demoralising, that\nthe missionaries desired to be removed as far as possible\nfrom them. And as the sheep and cattle stations were\ngradually pushed farther into the interior and surrounded\nthem, they asked to be removed still farther into the\nunsettled parts. Sir George Gipps, in a letter to Lord\nStanley in January, 1843, endorses the statement of a\nmissionary, that one of the chief causes of the failure of a\nmission, of which he is speaking, is \" the deadly influence\nof ungodly Europeans.\" Mr. La Trobe also, in an official\npaper referring to the bad practice and influence of\nEuropean settlers, says: 11 think it my duty to state\nthat the evil effects of that influence can scarcely be exaggerated.\"*\nThe attempts that were made to bring them to Jesus\nChrist were, from various causes, very disheartening in\ntheir results. And yet, on looking back upon them, one is\nnot surprised at their almost entire failure. Within that\npart of Australia extending from Moreton Bay on the\neastern coast to Geelong on the south, comprising, at the\npresent time, the colonies of Queensland, New South\nWales, and Victoria, four missions were established, and\nreceived pecuniary aid from the Government in addition\nto the land granted to them. No doubt many earnest\nmen were interested in each of them, but the very\nmm\n* \u00ab\nReport of House of Commons on Australian Aborigines,\" p. 243. 156\nTHE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\nenumeration of them is suggestive of disunion, and therefore of weak and desultory attempts at the great work of\nbringing wild, uncultivated heathen tribes to the faith of\nJesus Christ.\nThe earliest mission was that of the Church Missionary\nSociety, at Wellington Valley, about 160 miles north-west\nof Sydney, founded in the year 1832. Within a few\nyears the London Missionary Society had fixed a mission\nnear Lake Macquarie, on the coast, sixty miles north of\nSydney. A Lutheran mission was planted at Moreton\nBay, and a Wesleyan mission near Melbourne, in 1838.\nWithin ten years from the foundation of the first of\nthese, two of them were entirely broken up, and the\nothers were in a state of collapse. A few children had\nbeen taught to read, and read fairly. They could say\nprayers, and had some knowledge of religious truth. A\nvery small number of adults received instruction, and\nsome of them became useful in various kinds of work.\nBut the impressions made on them were in very few\ninstances lasting, the partially-formed habits were soon\ndiscarded; and those who had hoped to see their plans\nfor them succeed lost heart, and gave up the work.\nSir George Gipps, who passed four days at the mission\nstation at Wellington Valley, makes particular mention of\na native, named George, who could both read and write,\nand was superior in every point to any native he had ever\nseen. * As a proof of his civilisation, the Governor states\nthat a gentleman, with whom he was dining, caused\nGeorge to dine at the table with him, and that on this\noccasion he \" behaved with perfect propriety; so much so,\nindeed, that, but for his colour and his modesty in speaking only when spoken to, he might have passed for an\nordinary guest.\" But two years after this, in 1843, the\nclergyman in charge of the mission writes in a desponding\ntone about the whole mission, and adds, \" a young man,\nthe same who was prominently introduced to his Excellency j\u00bb11 x ip . *\\ -%,1-ni *^-\u00bb\nTHE ABORIGINES.\n157\nthe Governor, on his visit two years ago, as one far advanced in civilisation, has almost entirely returned to wild\nhabits,\" i.e., the habits of the natives. \"He has been\nmore unsettled for these eighteen months than I have\never known him before.\"\nThis is only a specimen of the way in which, in nearly\nall cases, the work, which seemed to be progressing for a\nwhile, was stopped, and soon undone. And the consequence was that the Government declined to continue the\naid it had, for a few years, given to the missions; and\nthe missions themselves were discontinued. I believe I\nam, right in saying that the Roman Catholics, of whom\nthere was a-considerable number, never attempted a mission in New South Wales. And it must be sadly confessed that the want of vigour, and the disunion, which\nprevailed in the Church Missionary establishment at Wellington Valley, were ill-suited to cope with the many and\nserious difficulties which were found in the natives themselves, and with the evils of European influence.\nBut it is impossible to accept the ill-success which has\nattended former missions to the aborigines as sufficient to\nabsolve the Church from the duty of renewing her labours\nfor their conversion.\nWiser, more zealous, and more patient efforts may, we\ntrust, receive that blessing from the Lord, which seems in\ngreat measure to have been withheld hitherto. British\nenergy is not usually repelled by a few early failures in\nsome important worldly object. Shall men of the same\nrace and blood lose all their energy when the cause is their\nSaviour's, and the price is the rescue of souls for which\nHe died ?\nAt the present time the state of the white population of\nthe colony, though very far from showing to the heathen\na pattern of the effect which the faith should have on the\nlives of those who embrace it, is less grossly and actively\nantagonistic to Christian teaching than it was thirty years\n\u00aeit'i\niflPfFf\n; 111 it'\n158\nTHE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\nI\nago. And if one or two sound and earnest Churchmen,\nwith a large-hearted and energetic priest to lead them,\nwere appointed to this work\u2014if they would seek out and\nfollow the natives, study their character, and give them\nsuch teaching as they can take in, I believe the seeds sown\nwould, in God's good time, spring and grow up man\n\"knoweth not how.\" It would be very important that\none of the party should be always at the centre; and,\naccording to the plan sketched by the Bishop of Newcastle,\nshould give more regular instruction and training to any\nadults or children who might be persuaded to come to\nhim; but visitation of the wanderers should, I firmly believe, be an essential feature of the mission. This, of\ncourse, could only be done by an exercise of self-denial of\nno common sort: but self-denial is no strange idea to\nthose who have tried in earnest to obey the Lord's words,\n\" If any man will come after Me let him deny himself, and\ntake up his cross daily, and follow Me.\"\nI have no doubt, from what I have seen and heard of\nthe natives, that there are among them intellects more\ncapable of understanding the truths of the Gospel than we\nmay find among some of our baptized labourers in the\nparishes of Christian England, and hearts and consciences\non which the call to repentance and holy living will not\nfall in vain.\nIt would be, I think, most'unwise to make fixed residence\nand regular manual labour necessary conditions of dis-\ncipleship, but there are always individuals among the\ntribes who will, with more or less regularity, join themselves to the white man, tend or wash sheep, act as stockmen (for they are very fond of riding), work about a house\nor garden, reap, or take part in many of the other occupations of civilised life; and these men would acquire useful\nhabits while they were being taught Christian principles.\nIt must be borne in mind that, independently of natural\nindolence Or inferiority of intellect, the circumstances of THE ABORIGINES.\n159\nthe aborigines had for ages been most unfavourable to improvement. Cut off by oceans from all the world besides,\nfor generations unknown, destitute of the example or teachings of their more advanced fellow-men, they had not\nbeen led by opportunities to those pursuits, nor forced by\nnecessity to those inventions, which insensibly elevate and\ncivilise men. They had no grain to encourage them to\ntill the ground, no sheep, oxen, or other useful animals, to\ntrain them to the comparative regularity of pastoral pursuits. The warmth of their climate enabled them generally\nto live without shelter. There were no beasts of prey to\noblige them to seek the protection of a dwelling at night;\nand their mode of procuring subsistence by hunting, fishing, cutting from the hollow trees the honeycomb of the\nsmall native bee,* or the opossum as he slept through the\nday, made a fixed dwelling inconvenient. When the wind\nblew cold from the south, it was warded off by a few\nboughs stuck into the ground to windward; and a sheet\nor two of bark stripped from a gum-tree, and propped by\nsticks, formed a temporary shelter to these black children\nof the forest when the rain was more heavy or of longer\ncontinuance than usual. After (at the utmost) a few\nnights' sojourn on the same spot of ground, they would\nwalk away almost as unencumbered as the kangaroo,\nleaving no home behind them; and, having procured their\nfood for the day, they would lie down in any fresh place\nwhere water was procurable.\nTheir manufactures were of the simplest kind, consisting\nof wooden weapons for war and hunting; the spear simply\npointed or barbed; the nulla nulla, or knobbed war-club ;\nthe waddy, a sort of elongated policeman's truncheon\ndrawn to a point at the end; a small hand shield for\n* The native bee is no more than one^sixth of an inch in length. It\nhas a sting, which, when caught, it attempts to use in its defence, but\nis so weak that it is unable to penetrate the thinnest skin. Hence the\nnatives cut out their nests with impunity.\nill VmW-\n160\nTHE EMIGRANT AND THE.HEATHEN.\nparrying an enemy's spear; and the boomerang, which, if\nit missed its mark, returned through the air. to the thrower*\nThe women made some well-twisted string (of different de-.\ngrees of fineness) from the-fibres of thacurraJDng.hark, which\nthey sometimes netted, sometimes linked together without\nknots, into girdles or headbands for the men, or bags for\nthe women to carry roots, fish, or other eatables; they\nplaited, also, very neatly, bags of rush and.grass; and\nthen there was the blanket-shaped opossum rug made of\nskins, not badly sewn together.with fine.string, or with the\nsinews of the kangaroo. |*||\nTheir j mode of life called for no forethought, exercised\nlittle skill. They lived from hand to. mouth; nothing\ncould be laid up, for they had no home in which to store\nit. In a thousand years the. children were no farther,\nadvanced than their ancestors.\nAmong such a people the arrival of the.white man has\npoured a flood of civilisation and complicated social relations, the aggregate of the experience of ages. And however\nwe, who have been nurtured in them, may appreciate\nthese advantages, we can far less reasonably expect that\nthe free wanderers of the forest will, at our exhortation,\nfix themselves in any large numbers to regular labour, than\nwe could hope to induce the English country lad, who has\nfrom his childhood ridden his master's horses to water or\nfollowed the plough, to consent at once to sit for long\nhours at a compositor's desk in a close room in the city,\nand to work long after midnight setting up the type of\na parliamentary speech; though he might thereby eat\nmeat more frequently than before, or dress in smoother\ncloth and a better shirt on Sunday.\nWe must not push the natives on too fast, but lead them\ngently forward as they are able to bear it.\nI have before stated that when I arrived at Muswell\nBrook, I found but sixty individuals alive out of the five\ntribes that once roamed over the large area comprised in THE ABORIGINES.\n161\nmy clerical district. Very rarely did any considerable\nnumber even of these meet in one place; they generally\nwandered in parties of from two or three to twenty: sometimes camping for a few days near a township, and then\nscattering among the hills, or by the rivers, and disappearing for months. Occasionally, in a long bush ride, a\nfew might be overtaken (with their hatchet, boomerang,\nand waddy stuck in their girdle), with a lump or two of\nfat twisted among the curls of their hair, and perhaps their\ngins, or wives, following, carrying by the tail the newly\nkilled opossums. The clothing of the men was sometimes\na striped shirt, sometimes a blanket given by Government,\nsometimes nothing but their girdle. The women usually\nwore a blanket or opossum rug, unless some white woman\nhad given them a gown.\nI saw at once how little I could hope to effect with those\nwhom I could so seldom see, and whom I had not time to\nsearch out; but it was a plain duty to seize every possible\nopportunity of conversing with them. My first attempt\nwas to learn the language; but it was not very successful.\nI found one of the survivors of the Merton tribe, King\nJerry, who, from intercourse with the white man, had\npicked up a fair stock of broken English; and I agreed\nwith him that he should teach me, and I was to give him\na dinner each time. The first lesson was short, and Jerry\nwas well satisfied; the second time I kept him about an\nhour, which proved altogether too much for his 'patience.\nAs we sat in the verandah he continually stopped me to\nask, \"When you give me what you promise me?\" He\nlooked wistfully towards the kitchen to see if the cook was\ncoming; and showed every symptom of weariness. When\nhis dinner arrived he did full justice to it; but he avoided\nme for the future, and I had no more teaching from King\nJerry.\nFinding that I could get so few opportunities of learning the language, but that many of the natives could talk\nM fl\n.*. V'\n1\n162\nTHE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\nand understand broken English, I devoted my endeavours,\nwhen I could meet with them, to winning their confidence\nand teaching what I could. And I found that some of\nthe teaching, at least, was remembered.\nOne afternoon in 1849, as I was on my monthly journey\nto Merriwa, I overtook a party of about fifteen returning\nto their camp, which was then at the township; some\nwomen and children were among them. One gin had her\ninfant, where they usually carry them, at her back,\nsitting in a fold of her opossum rug, and looking over his\nmother's shoulder. Two or three little boys, fat little\nfellows, full of fun and merriment, were running about by\nthe side of their elders, clothed only in their own black\nskins, and throwing with exuberant glee some toy\nboomerangs, which, I suppose, their fathers had made\nfor them.\nWe were more than a mile from the township; so I\ndismounted, and, after a few ordinary observations,\ndetermined to teach what I could. I had made up my\nmind that my first teaching must be the existence of God,\nHis omnipresence, and His moral government. The sun\nwas towards the west; so, pointing to it, I said, \" See big\nsun! You know Who made him ? \" The only answer\nwas a laugh and a look of inquiry. I took off my hat and\nbowed my head as I said, pointing to the sky, \" Great\nGod make sun.\" The same question was asked in reference to many different objects\u2014the ground on which\nwe were walking, the trees around us, the river, the hills,\nthe beasts and birds ; and, pausing for a few seconds after\neach question, I gave the same answer as before, with the\nsame gestures of reverence; and then said,.\" Great God\nmake me white fellow, great God make you black fellow,\"\nand then, spreading out my hands, | Great God make 'em\nall.\"\nBy this time we were on a ridge, and twenty miles to\nthe north rose clear and distinct the bold Liverpool range. THE ABORIGINES.\n163\nPointing to it, I asked, \" You see black fellow up on big\nrange ? Black fellow on big range see you, me ? You\nsee Muswell Brook?\" (forty-five miles over the hills to\nthe east). \"You see Cassilis?\" (twenty-five miles to\nthe west). And then, as the half-inquiring laugh followed\neach question, I said, uncovering my head, \" Great God\nsee black fellow on big range\u2014see you, me\u2014see Muswell\nBrook\u2014see Cassilis\u2014see all place. Dark night\u2014no star,\nno moon, no camp fire\u2014all dark; you no see, great God\nsee; see in dark, see in light\u2014see you, me, now\u2014see you,\nme, all time.\" In similar broken language, and referring\nto the white man's gardens and fruit, with which the\nnatives were well acquainted, I spoke of Eden as a mark\nof God's love; the prohibition, the sin, and the punishment.\nWe had now reached Merriwa and each went our way, with\na mental prayer on my part that God would bless the seed\nI had been attempting to sow in those poor untaught hearts.\nSeveral months later some blacks came to me at\nMuswell Brook, offering to get me some native honey; for\nwhich (when brought) I paid them in flour and meat. I\nasked them to come into the verandah, as I wished to\nspeak to them. I did not know them, for to an unpractised eye one black is not very easily distinguished\nfrom another. When I began to say much that I had\non the last occasion, one who appeared to be listening\nattentively said, \" That what you tell me up at Merriwa.\"\nIt was evident that, if I had forgotten his features, he had\nnot forgotten my words. \" Have I seen you before ? \"\n\" Oh! you not know me ?\u2014I Peter.\" I Well, Peter,\" said\nI, looking full into his face, which, though certainly not\ngood-looking, had an expression far from unpleasant, \" I\nnot know you now, I know you after. Glad you think\nwhat I told you.\" He said he had thought of it much,\nand had talked of it to other natives, so that to a certain\nextent poor Peter was becoming, like St. Andrew, a\nmissionary to his brethren of some portion of the truth.\nm 2 :'\n164\nTHE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\nIt was but seldom, and usually at considerable intervals,\nthat I could see my poor black friend. The jealousy of\nhis tribe, which feared the influence of the white man,\nkept him much away. From him I learnt a little of their\nnative vocabulary; and when I had the opportunity of\nseeing him, carried on his teaching. He told me that he\nand his people had no prayer or worship of any kind. He\nsaid that when he was a boy he used to hear the voice of\nthe spirit of the woods in the dark stormy nights, but he\nhad heard nothing of him since.\nInto that chaos dark and void I tried to infuse something of the knowledge of God. By degrees I pointed out\nto him that God sent His own Son for us sinners; and\ntold him that, upon repentance and faith (though I put it\nin a less technical form), he could be made by baptism a\npartaker of God's blessings. And I taught him almost at\nthe outset a short prayer, which I taught to every native\nto whom I was able to give any instruction: \"0 Lord,\nmake me to know Thee, and to know Jesus Christ, Thy\nSon.\" I took care to guard him not unfrequently against\nthe idea, which he would naturally imbibe from seeing the\nevil lives of too many white men, that becoming a Christian\nneed not bind him to holy living. I said, \"You no do\nwhat bad white fellow do. Bad white fellow get drunk,\nswear, tell lies, steal. Great God angry.\" Peter's was a\nmild, kindly-disposed, and trustful disposition, and I was\nbeginning to have great hope that ere long I might have\nhad the privilege of baptizing him unto Christ, but it was\nnot granted to me.\nSome time in the winter of 1850, on my return from\nCassilis, my servant told me that a native woman had\nbeen to the parsonage during my absence to ask for some\ntea and sugar for Peter, who was ill, and some had been\ngiven. The next morning I started with Mr. Kemp (who\nwas reading with me for Holy Orders) to see what else poor\nPeter might want. The native camp was a mile out of the fTHE ABORIGINES.\n165\ntownship towards St. Helier's, a station then the property\nof the widow of the late Colonel Dumaresq. The rain was\nfalling in a heavy, determined, business-like way, without\nwind; and on reaching the camp we found poor Peter\nlying on the ground under the partial shelter of a sheet of\nbark, with a log fire burning before him, and suffering\nfrom intense headache. He had been ill for some time;\nand his face had a ghastly look, as if half the blackness\nhad been washed out of it. I persuaded him to walk\nhome with us, had a bed made for him on the kitchen\nfloor by the fire, and gave him some medicine and\nsome gruel. Next morning he told me, \" Cobborn house\nmake him go round, round, round,\" i.e., the big house\nmade him feel giddy. And before midday two of the men\nof his tribe, jealous of my keeping him away from them,\ncame for him, and took him back to the camp. The party\nsoon moved ; and some time after I heard that Peter was\nbetter, and had taken a job of shepherding at a station in\nanother clerical district.\nNot long after this I heard that a native at the gate\nwanted to speak to me. I had never seen him before, but\nsaw he was oppressed with some great grief. He burst\ninto tears as I went up to him, and said, bitterly, \" Poor\nPeter dead! poor Peter, your black fellow, dead ! he my\nbrother.\" He told me that he was far away in the interior\nwhen Peter died; and, having just returned, he had been\nsent by his uncle to inform me of his death, and to bring\nme Peter's dying message.\nThe poor fellow had again been very ill; and one day\nsaid to his uncle, \"Imurry bad; take me to Misser Boodle,\nMuswell Brook.\" He walked a short distance with great\ndifficulty, leaning on his uncle; and then, finding his end\napproaching, said, \"I no go further; I die. You bury me.\nGo to Misser Boodle; say to him, I going to Almighty\nGod.\"\nI mentioned this the next day to my schoolmistress, who\ni\n11\nHill! passp\n: 111 166\nTHE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\ntold me the following story, which I believe she had heard\nfrom her husband, the chief constable. Peter, with other\nnatives, had at one time been employed by a publican to\nstrip some bark for the roof of an out-building, and the\npayment was to be made in tobacco. The job being\nfinished, a good many blacks were crowding into the taproom, some to be paid for the bark, others for mere\ncompanionship ; and some of those who were being paid\nwere trying to get as much as they could. Peter had\nreceived his tobacco in the crowd; but afterwards came in\nagain, and held out his hand for payment. G , the\npublican's son, said, \"No, Peter, go away, I paid you.\"\n\"No, massa,\" was the ready reply; \"you pay another\nblack fellow.\" G , not feeling sure, paid him again.\nHe went out with his prize, and nothing more would have\nbeen thought of the matter; but in a few minutes back\ncame poor Peter, looking very much ashamed, and held\nout his hand with the tobacco, saying, \"Massa say musn't\ntell lies; you did give me 'bacca,\" and restored the ill-\ngotten treasure.\nI thanked God for this evidence of his denying himself\nand confessing his fault for conscience sake. Though my\npoor friend Peter had not been baptized, who shall say\nthat Christ's truth had not wrought in him some fruit,\nwhich, through His precious blood, He may accept ?\nWho shall say what he might have become with less than\nhalf the blessings lavished on the barren hearts of many a\nChristian man and woman ?\nIn my limited experience I found several more of the\naborigines (with less steadiness than Peter, but yet with\nsufficient willingness to be taught) to convince me that\npersevering labour on such a soil, rightly directed, would,\nwith God's blessing, produce fruit. But little can be\nexpected from the desultory efforts of those who are overburdened with the charge of a Christian population, which,\nif not overwhelmingly numerous, is scattered over so wide THE ABORIGINES,\n167\nan area as to leave no time or strength for due attention\nto the peculiar wants of the heathen.\nMen are wanted, able to bear fatigue and hardship,\nsound in the doctrinis of the Church, and zealous in\nheart, and especially gifted with a power of adapting\ntheir manner of teaching to the peculiarities of their\ndisciples. To such men a mission to the aborigines\nshould be given as their one great work, to which they\nmust devote their full energies for the love of Christ.\nI would only add that what is done should be at once\nundertaken by those who have authority; or, while we\nare delaying, these poor souls may have passed away to\nthe presence of the God Whom they have not known on\n. earth, Who seems to have committed them to the care\nof our branch of His Church, that we may impart to them\nthat blessed faith which He has committed as a talent\nto us. 168\nCHAPTER XIH.\nTHE FORMATION OF THE CHURCH SOCIETY.\nFor the first three years from the foundation of the See\nof Newcastle, the Bishop and his clergy found themselves\nfar more than occupied in endeavouring to minister to\nthe people as widely as possible. They increased the\nservices, sought out those who were scattered in the faraway corners of the bush, among hills and valleys, where\nno minister of Christ had before been seen. Fresh\nschools were set on foot, and some much-needed churches\nwere built.\nMany very urgent wants had to be supplied, though in\na most imperfect way, in order to arouse anything like\nChristian life among our flocks. Over the wide area\nassigned to each clergyman it was no small labour,\nespecially during the heats of summer, even to find out\nall Christ's wandering sheep, still more to minister to\nthem regularly. And then we had to learn the character\nand habits of the people, and to gain their confidence\nbefore we could prudently lay down, or ask them to join\nin, any plans of united diocesan action.\nBut from the first we saw that in order to make any\nprogress in the great work which was opening before us,\na society must be organised to collect and manage funds for\nvarious diocesan purposes. Even in the mother country,\nwhere there are tithes for the support of the clergy, and\nwhere old grey churches and parsonages, within short\ndistances of each other, attest the rich inheritance, for\nwhich the present generation is indebted to the piety of THE FORMATION OF THE CHURCH SOCIETY.\n169\nthose long since with God, societies are indispensable for\nthe maintenance or advance of Church work. Far more\nare they needed in a young and growing colony, whose\nbirth is in the recollection of some few who are still\nliving.\nWe did not find old churches and church-buildings\ndotted over and hallowing the land. There was the vast\nstretch of unfenced forest country, with here and there\na town or little village on the banks of a river, and many\na settler's establishment or shepherd's hut in the bush:\nshowing the energy of our countrymen, who had left home\nand friends sixteen thousand miles away, to gain a livelihood or to make a fortune. But there was no provision\nby tithes or endowments which could place Christ's ministers among them, to remind them, as God's children, that\nthey were destined for a better world.\nSome measure of assistance was given by the Colonial\nLegislature; but the principle of Sir R. Bourke's Act,\npassed in 1836, by which grants were annually made to\nthe Church of England, with other religious bodies, was\none which contained the elements of decay within itself.\nThere was no chance of its being allowed to provide in\nany adequate degree for the growing needs of the population ; and attempts were made from time to time by the\nvarious sects which did not share in the grant, and by\npoliticians who sympathised with their aim, to abolish all\nState aid to religion\u2014attempts which, at length, have\nunhappily succeeded, reservation being made of the\ninterests of those individuals who have hitherto received\nsalaries as long as they shall hold their present posts.\nBy the exertions of the Bishop of Newcastle before he\nleft England, subscriptions had been promised to the\nyoung diocese from members of the Mother Church for\nfive years. The cessation of this aid could, of course,\neasily be calculated. And the excellent Society for the\nPropagation of the Gospel, which \" hath been a succourer\nMl .31\n11\nill 1\n170\nTHE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\nm\\\nof many,\" and had, during the seven years from 1840 to\n1846, given to the Church in the whole Australian continent, then under Bishop Broughton, \u00a34,000 per annum,\ngave diminished sums to each of the newly-formed sees,\nand by degrees lessened the amounts given to them, as they\nmight be expected to become better able to provide for\nthemselves.\nIt was, therefore, quite evident to those who would not\nobstinately close their eyes to the present needs\u2014and\nstill more those that were impending:\u2014that funds must\nbe raised in the diocese itself, if the growth of the Church\nwas not to be stunted.\nFor the first public introduction of this subject, the\nBishop took advantage of the presence of some of his\nepiscopal brethren in the colony.\nThe year 1850 was memorable in the annals of our\nSouthern Church for the \"meeting\" of the six Bishops\nof the province of Australasia. That meeting was held at\nSydney, and its objects, as stated in its minutes, afterwards published, were\u20141st. \" To consult together upon\nthe various difficulties in which we are at present placed\nby the doubtful application to the Church in this province\nof the ecclesiastical laws which are now in force in England.\" 2nd. \u00a7 To suggest such measures as may seem\nto be most suitable for removing our present embarrassments.\" 3rd. \"To consider such questions as affect the\nprogress of true religion, and the preservation of ecclesiastical order, in the several dioceses of this province; and\nfinally, in reliance on Divine providence, to adopt plans\nfor the propagation of the Gospel among the heathen races\nof Australasia, and the adjacent islands of the Western\nPacific.\"\nThe session began on the 1st of October, 1850, and\nended on the 1st of November. Those present at it were,\nBishop Broughton, of Sydney, the revered Metropolitan,\nand the Bishops of New Zealand, Tasmania, Adelaide, THE FORMATION OF THE CHURCH SOCIETY.\n171\nMelbourne, and Newcastle\u2014the only Bishops then consecrated in Australia and the islands of the Pacific.\nAt the close of the session, the Bishop of Newcastle\ninvited his old college friend, Bishop SelWyn, and Bishop\nNixon, of Tasmania, to visit Morpeth; and in order to\nmake full use of our episcopal visitors, the 14th of November was fixed for the meeting, at which the general\nwants of the Church in the diocese were to be put before\nthe people.\nBishop Selwyn had already been for some days under\nthe Bishop's roof, had visited with him several of the districts near Morpeth, and had stirred up the hearts of a\ncongregation assembled in Christ Church, Newcastle, by\nhis burning words, in a sermon upon the first part of Joel\nii. 28.\nOn the morning of the 14th of November, Bishop Nixon\narrived by the Sydney steamer. I was appointed to meet\nhim, and to escort him to the service at St. James' Church,\nMorpeth, with which we were to begin our day. The\nsteamer had stuck on the \"flats,\" some-miles-down the\nriver\u2014no uncommon event; and while I was waiting\nimpatiently on the wharf, the church-bell ceased. I quite\ndespaired of our reaching the church before the congregation left it; but at last the steamer came in sight, and, as\nour walk was only five minutes long, we were in time for\nthe celebration of the Holy Communion.\nThe meeting was held in the afternoon at the Courts\nhouse, East Maitland, two miles distant; and there, to a\nlarge number of attentive Churchmen and women, the three-\nBishops, and some of the clergy present, explained how\nmuch, and in how many branches of its work, the extension\nand prosperity of Christ's Church in that newly-settled\nland depended upon their zeal and steady co-operation.\nAn outline was given of the constitution and objects of\nthe proposed society. It was intended that during the\nnext five months the clergy should speak of it in their 172\nTHE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\nseveral districts; that the Bishop should take every\nopportunity of preparing the way for it wherever he might\ngo ; and that in the meantime rules should be prepared,\nin order to be submitted to a meeting to be called for the\nformation of the society.\nBefore the meeting separated an address of hearty and\nrespectful welcome was presented to the Bishops who had\ncome among us; in which, among other things, it was\nsaid: \" We feel assured that your Lordships' visit is not\nto be considered as one of mere friendship to our respected\nDiocesan, but as one made by Bishops of Christ's Church,\ncoming, in the spirit of Christian brotherhood, to aid and\ncheer a brother Bishop and the flock entrusted to his\ncharge. .... On the departure of your Lordships\nfor your respective dioceses, permit us to express the\nearnest hope that you will continually remember us in\nyour prayers, and be pleased to convey to our brethren\ncommitted to your charge the assurance of our love in\nChrist, and of our prayers for their spiritual and temporal\nwelfare We would desire, above all, to render\nour humble thanks to our merciful Father, that while sin\nand infidelity are arousing themselves through the'world,\nHe has graciously stirred up to new life our branch of the\nChurch. We consider it no small sign of His goodness\ntowards us, that six Bishops of the Church of England\nhave been allowed to meet and take counsel in the diocese\nof Sydney; and three to assemble in this diocese, where,\nwithin the memory of man, the Word of God and the\nName of Jesus were unknown.\"\nAt the conclusion of the meeting a collection was made,\nand \u00a322 14s. was collected; which, as the first-fruits of\nthe united action of the diocese of Newcastle, was given to\nthe Bishop of New Zealand for his mission to the heathen\nin the islands of the Pacific. The clergy present returned\nto Morpeth, and spent the rest of the day with the three\nBishops\u2014a day not to be forgotten by those who shared\n' THE FORMATION OF THE CHURCH SOCIETY.\n173\nin its proceedings, and especially refreshing to those who\nfor three years had spent most of their time in labouring\nin the bush, cut off from personal intercourse with their\nbrethren in other places.\nThe seed thus happily sown sprang up into life in the\nEaster week of the following year. On Sunday, April 14,\n1851, after service in Morpeth church, and a very excellent\nsermon by the Bishop, a meeting was held in the schoolroom, at which the Newcastle Church Society was called\ninto being, the rules which had been drawn up for it\nadopted, and its officers appointed.\nThe names of the six different funds, into any or all of\nwhich subscriptions might be paid, show how extensive\nwas the ground which the Church Society covered. They\nwere called\u20141. Education Fund; 2. Book Fund; 3. Building Fund; 4. Clergy Fund; 5. Mission Fund; 6. General\nFund. The young diocese desired to keep before its\nmembers the duty of\u20141st. Training up Christ's little ones\nentrusted to her care, whether in primary or in more\nadvanced schools; 2nd. Of aiding in the supply of God's\nHoly Word, books of sacred reading, and secular literature\nof a sound and improving character; 3rd. Of encouraging\nChurch buildings, whether churches, schools, or parsonages;\n4th. Of providing for an increase of clergy, either by\ncollecting money for salaries where none existed, or by\nadding something to those that were insufficient; 5th. Of\nhelping missions to the heathen according to their power,\nin fulfilment of the Lord's last command, \" Go ye into all\nthe world, and preach the gospel to every creature;\" and,\nlastly, there being many needs which arise, when the Church\nis engaged in its work, which can hardly be foreseen or\nspecified, and, perhaps, are temporary; and yet, if there\nis no fund to meet them, the Church suffers : for these the\n1 General Fund\" was intended to provide.\nThus six distinct purses were provided under one management, enlisting the different sympathies and supplying the in!\nf.\n174\nTHE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\ndifferent needs of the Church, yet without the rivalry, and\nperhaps the jealousy, of different societies.\nIt was also at the option of each subscriber either to\nmake his offering a special one to any particular local or\ndiocesan object, or to pay it, without further Hmitation,\ninto any of the funds.\nAnother feature of the society was that it was intended\nto be rather an aggregate of Parochial Associations, called\n\"District Associations,\" than an aggregate of individuals.\nAny one might pay his subscription to the treasurer of the\nsociety, and some few subscriptions were always so paid,\nespecially those of subscribers not residing in the diocese ;\nbut the bulk of the subscriptions was paid to the district\ncommittees in the several parishes or districts of the\ndiocese.\nTwo-thirds of these local contributions to the \"Education,\" \" Book,\" and \" Building Funds\" might, if desired,\nbe retained in the district in which they were contributed;\nand the remaining third, with the total of the \" Clergy,\"\n\" Mission,\" and \" General Funds,\" were to be remitted to\nthe Diocesan Society.\nThese provisions gave the widely-scattered members of\nthe Church a greater interest in the society; and made it\nmore easy to bring its claims before them, and to look up\nand collect subscriptions, than if all had depended upon\none central committee. The principles of local interest and\nextended Christian brotherhood were both represented.\nThe first years of the existence of the society, beginning\nin the middle of April, contained the subscriptions of less\nthan nine months. That year was also one of great change\nand excitement in the colony, for it was in May, 1851, that\nthe discovery of gold at Sofala, near Bathurst, startled us\nall, and for a while threatened to turn everything upside\ndown. We were, therefore, well pleased and thankful to\nfind that our first year's total amounted to \u00a3531, out of\nwhich the sum given for additional clergy was \u00a3276. THE FORMATION OF THE CHURCH SOCIETY*\n175\nThere were two items which pleasantly marked the\ntime\u2014one contribution of \u00a320, and another of \u00a35, from\nsuccessful gold-diggers, who thus sanctified their gains by\nrendering a tribute to the Lord.\nThe funds of the Newcastle Church Society afterwards\nincreased far beyond our expectations; and in many ways\nit became a great blessing to the diocese.\nMM CHAPTER XIV.\ni\nGROWTH AND PROGRESS OF THE CHURCH SOCIETY.\nIt was an important day for the Diocese of Newcastle when\nthe Church Society was formed. It was a day of hopes\nand fears : of hopes that, by God's blessing, it might be\nthe means of drawing out the energy of the laity to aid in\nthe great work that was before us, and of refreshing the\nthirsty places of the land; of fears, lest worldly selfishness, prejudices, and jealousies might close the hearts and\nhands which should open to help forward Christ's work.\nThe formation of the Church Society was the first\nsteady effort towards making the young diocese self-\nreliant.\nThe Church at home is rightly called upon to provide\nfor planting missions in heathen lands, and aiding the first\nstruggles of a colonial Church, where the shoot newly\nplanted needs watering from without until it has taken\nroot and begun to draw its moisture from the -new soil.\nAnd there are some colonies, like Newfoundland, where the\nbattle for life is so hard that greater and longer-continued\nassistance is required than in others. To supply these\ngreat and increasing needs, the Churchmen of England are\nin Christian charity bound\u2014and are well able\u2014to offer far\nmore largely than they have yet done. Many still give\nnothing; and of those who do give, many do not make\nofferings in a fair proportion to their means. But, however much a colonial Church requires and has a right to\nlook for the help of the Mother Church during the early\nyears of its existence, nothing could be more enervating to GROWTH AND PROGRESS OF THE CHURCH SOCIETY.\n177\nit than to continue year after year trusting to external-\nsources for support, and making no call upon its own\nmembers to supply their spiritual wants.\nThe effort was made in the Diocese of Newcastle after\nthe first three years of its existence, and two years before\nthe cessation of the special subscriptions which had been '\npromised in England to meet its first necessities.\nThere were some real difficulties which threatened us at\nthe outset; for the most important object of the Church\nSociety was the support of additional clergy\u2014not to speak\nof the increase of existing salaries\u2014and the approaching\nneed of providing for the whole number, when the State\naid should cease.\nChurchmen who had come from England were unprepared for this. They had been accustomed to see their,\nclergyman provided for by tithes secured by law, and the\ngreater number of the parishioners, who profited by his\nministrations, were not called to contribute anything to his\nsupport. The old associations of the emigrant Churchman\nwere, therefore, against the Apostolic precept, \" Let him\nthat is taught communicate unto him that teacheth in all\ngood things.\" To the Church of England layman it was,\nfor the most part, a new idea, and new ideas do not generally spring into vigorous action at once.\nThen there was the positive irreligion of many of the\nsettlers and convicts\u2014especially in the bush, where more\nclergymen were wanted. Those whose daily lives were a\ndenial of all religion were little likely to contribute to its\nsupport.\nThere were many, also, who had come to the colony,\nnot to make it their home, but to realise a sum of money\nand return to England. Many of these took no interest\nin improving things around them, and especially grudged\nspending money upon things so unremunerative as clergy,\nand churches, and religious schools.\nThe miserable divisions, which prevail wherever our\nN\n;.\u25a0! i\n11\nill 178\nTHE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\ncountrymen are settled, had their effect in dissipating\nenergies which, if united in Christ's Church, would have\neconomised money and men, and have been able to act\nwith vigour. In each little township, if it had but two or\nthree hundred inhabitants, were found representatives of\nthree or four different sects. Roman Catholics, Presbyterians, Wesleyans, and Baptists or Independents, would\ndivide the little community with the Church. And a flock,\nwhich might have been efficiently tended by one pastor,\nresiding among or near them, was scantily fed at irregular\ntimes by the occasional visits of ministers who lived at a\ndistance, and performed similar desultory work in other\nplaces.\nFrom these and other causes there was, among the\nmajority of the colonists, an unwillingness to contribute to\nthe pressing needs of the Church, up to the time when the\nChurch Society was formed. As an illustration of this,\nthe Bishop of Newcastle has mentioned, that when Bishop\nBroughton was on the point of sailing to England for the\nlast time, he was anxious to send a clergyman to a district\nin the south of his diocese. The full stipend was available, but there was no parsonage. The Bishop, therefore,\nasked a settler, who was a member of Council, and had an\nincome of \u00a35,000 or \u00a36,000 per annum, to guarantee the\ncollection in the district of twenty pounds per annum for\nthe rent of a house. The settler replied that he had consulted with his neighbours, and that they were willing to\nguarantee ten pounds per annum, but would not undertake\nto promise so much as twenty pounds, and this wealthy\nsettler pledged himself to one pound.\nThis is a sample of the spirit against which the Church\nSociety had to win its way, and against which it did win\nits way year by year, with a success that astonished the\nworkers as well as the bystanders.\nFrom its first establishment in 1851, until the separation of the northern portion of the diocese in 1860, and GROWTH AND PROGRESS OF THE CHURCH SOCIETY.\n179\nTotal Amount\nof Collections.\nIncrease on\nPreceding Year\n\u00a3531 ..\n\u25a0 \u2014\n\u00a31,412 ..\n\u00a3881\n\u00a32,247 ..\n\u00a3835\n\u00a33,362 ..\n\u00a31,115\n\u00a34,627 ..\n\u00a31,265\n\u00a35,323 ..\n\u00a3696\n\u00a36,028 ..\n\u00a3705\n\u00a36,849 ..\n\u00a3821\n\u00a37,400 ..\n\u00a3551\nits erection into the see of Brisbane, the numbers of contributors, and the total contributed, not only never fell off,\nbut increased considerably each year. The amounts contributed in these nine years, and their increase, were as\nfollows :\u2014\n1851\n1852\n1853\n1854\n1855\n1856\n1857\n1858\n1859\nWhen in 1860 the receipts from what had then become\nthe new Diocese of Brisbane were cut off from the Newcastle Church Society, the receipts were diminished to\n\u00a35,361; but the responsibilities of the society were also\nlargely diminished. And a comparison of the receipts for\nthe reduced diocese with those of the same portion, before\nits division in the preceding year, shows an increase of\n\u00a3453.\nIt ought to be added that on May 12th, 1868, after\nseventeen years of valuable labour, the Church Society was\nmerged in the then established Diocesan Synod, under\nthe direction of which the same important work of raising\nand administering the funds of the diocese was then\ncarried on. In each of the years, between the reduction\nof the diocese and the transmigration of the spirit of the\nChurch Society into the Diocesan Synod, the funds steadily\nincreased; and the concluding year, so far from showing\nany diminution of the zeal of the members of the Church,\nshows an increase of \u00a31,640 upon the year preceding,\nmaking a sum of \u00a38,546, or \u00a31,146 more than was contributed in the last year of the undivided diocese in 1859.\nIt has not been during a period of uninterrupted pros-\nn 2 180\nTHE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\nir\nperity that the offerings of the Churchmen in the diocese\nhave continued to increase. There have been several years\nsince the foundation of the society, when troubles and\nlosses affecting the colony would have fully accounted for\na falling off of subscriptions ; but the steady rise was maintained, notwithstanding all difficulties. An extract from\nthe Report for 1857 will give one instance of this. It says,\n\" The circumstances of'the year 1857 will long be remembered among us. Agricultural produce swept away by\nthree devastating floods, each more disastrous than the\npreceding; growing crops destroyed, houses submerged,\nmerchandise and stores injured or carried away by the\nrising waters, rents generously forgiven or lowered, from\nwant of ability in the tenants to pay, traffic for several\nmonths almost stopped, and trade at a standstill; then the\ncommercial panic in England and America, which for a\ntime affected even this distant member of the great Anglo-\nSaxon body; and, in the midst of these trials, contributions freely made by those who suffered much, to lighten\nthe burdens of those who suffered more; and more\nrecently, the calls of charity responded to in the colony\nfor the overwhelming afflictions of our Indian brethren.\nAll these circumstances, which impress the past year indelibly upon our memories, ought to be taken into consideration, if we would rightly estimate the amount of the\nfunds raised for our Church Society.\" These words prefaced an announcement of an increase of \u00a3705 on the previous year's subscriptions. The Report went on to add,\nI With this increase in the funds of the society, there has\nalso been a steady advance in the great work which we are\nlabouring to promote. There are more ministers' dwellings\nbuilt, or in progress, more schools, more churches, and,\nwe may thank God, more ministers labouring in this\ndiocese than when we last met together.\"\nThe means which, under God's blessing, produced such\nsatisfactory results, were, in the first place, plain statements GROWTH AND PROGRESS OF THE CHURCH SOCIETY. 181\nof the needs which existed in the diocese, and of the use-\nlessness of looking to external sources for their supply.\nIt was frequently and widely impressed upon the members\nof the Church, that they must themselves provide that\npecuniary support which could not be looked for elsewhere.\nWhen a clergyman was required for any place which had\nnot a Government stipend, the Bishop impressed upon the\nChurchmen in the district, that, if they desired one to be\nsent to them, they must contribute to his support. In\norder to secure the income, the principal laymen were\nasked to guarantee a certain sum\u2014part of which was their\nown subscription, and part was raised from the contributions of the smaller settlers and poorer members of the\nChurch. Many shepherds in the bush gave willingly,\nsome of them 5s., 10s., or \u00a31 a-year.\nThose districts which received Government aid for their\nclergyman were appealed to, as a matter of justice, to\ncontribute towards those who had none; and the duty was\ngenerally acknowledged when laid clearly before them.\nIn several of the districts half of the offertory was paid to\nthe Clergy Fund, in accordance with the Bishop's expressed\ndesire. The Bishop urged upon all the districts that had\n\u00a3200 a-year from Government for their clergyman, that\nthey should each contribute \u00a3100 a-year towards those\nwho had no Government aid. Any sum which a district\ncontributed to the Clergy Fund above this \u00a3100, was paid\nto its own clergyman in augmentation of his income.\nNone of these sums were paid to the clergy directly, but\nto the Church Society itself: and were distributed in quarterly payments by the committee to the clergy who were\nentitled to them.\nThe work was much helped forward in those districts\nwhere the parochial meetings were regularly held, and\ninformation given on Church subjects in general. In these\nthere was greater steadiness in the contributions, and a\ngrowing interest was felt in the progress of the Church. 182\nTHE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\nMuch good also resulted, where, through the influence of\nthe clergy, some of the more earnest laymen undertook to\ncollect from the scattered settlers.\nThere were some districts in which the clergy did not\nunderstand how to make a beginning, or shrank from\nenlisting their better-minded parishioners in the cause.\nHere the Bishop's visits were invaluable. Always ready for\nany work, he sometimes aided the clergyman in a meeting;\nor he would call on the laity and set them in motion ; and\nin some parishes, where nothing had been effected, and\nthe clergyman was disheartened, the Bishop's visit drew\nout willing workers; and the result showed itself in the\nincreased funds of the society.\nIt must not be supposed1 that when success is mentioned,\na whole spiritual desert is represented as brought into\nfertility; nor that it was as easy to effect what was really\ndone, as it is to write or read of it. Very much remained\nand still remains to be done. But that an actual and\nconsiderable success was granted to the Church Society,\neven in its early days, is evident, when it is said that\nin the beginning of the third year of its existence it was\nfound that the colonial resources, partly derived from the\nGovernment aid, and partly from the funds of the Church\nSociety, provided all the stipends for the clergy, and that\nthe Bishop announced to the Society for the Propagation\nof the Gospel, and to his English friends, that henceforth\ntheir aid would not be required for the current expenses,\nbut for the most important object of investments for its\npermanent good. The Bishop says in a letter appended\nto the Society's Report, and dated May 9th, 1853:\n\" Two thousand pounds will be available this year for\nthese purposes, and, I trust, a similar sum during each of\nthe next four years.\"\nThat plan of endowment was, that, as far as there were\nfunds available for the purpose, any donation up to \u00a3500\nshould be met by a similar sum from the investment fund,\nN' GROWTH AND PROGRESS OF THE CHURCH SOCIETY. 183\nand the amount invested as a permanent endowment for the\nobject fixed upon. *\nSeveral schools were partially endowed in this way;\nthree canonries were endowed with \u00a320 a-year each, half\nof the principal for endowment being contributed by the\nBishop and his English friends. Some parishes received\na small endowment for their clergy; the endowment of\nthe bishopric was completed; and to enable the Church\nSociety to pay the clergy their quarterly salaries, when\ndue, before all the subscriptions had been paid in, the\nsociety itself was endowed with \u00a31,000 as a permanent\nbalance; out of which the sums required were advanced,\nand into which they were repaid again as soon as the\nsubscriptions of the districts were sent in.\nThese and other endowments are of the greatest possible\nbenefit where the large bulk of Church funds arises from\nvoluntary subscriptions, and the prudent management and\nforethought of the Bishop have enabled him to raise them\nas an off-growth of the Church Society.\nThe Diocesan Depot, which is most useful, and has\nbeen most successful in its working, is a nursling of the\nsociety, which, for the first eight or nine years of its\nexistence, voted a sum annually to aid the payment of its\noriginal debt. But it would never have succeeded at first,\nnor have maintained its efficiency as it has done, had it\nnot been for the wise care of the Bishop.\nIt has now a stock of \u00a31,600 worth of books, free from\ndebt, replenished by orders from England to the value of\n\u00a3200 each quarter. It is so managed that the Bibles and\nthe Book of Common Prayer are sold in the colony at\nprices charged by the Society for Promoting Christian\nKnowledge to its subscribers; and other publications of all\nkinds are sold at English retail prices; the expense of\ncarriage, packing, &c, from England, being borne by the\nDepot. To meet the wants and tastes of various persons,\nany one is allowed to send, through the manager of the 184\nTHE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\nDepot, any list of books which he may desire to have,\nprovided they are unobjectionable ; and his list is included\nin the quarterly order, so that in about eight months' time\nhe may obtain his books at the Morpeth Depot, for the\nsame price he would have given for them in Paternoster\nRow.\nSuch are some of the instances of progress which the\nNewcastle Church Society has exhibited during the seventeen years of its separate existence. We may well hope\nthat, as a department of the Synod which has taken it to\nitself, it will, be, as before, increasingly a blessing to the\nChurch in the Diocese of Newcastle. Imim Itaft in IriM (Mitmbfc\nCHIEFLY FROM THE JOURNALS OF THE REV. R. J. DUNDAS.\nCHAPTER I.\nNOTES FROM THE BISHOPS JOURNAL.\nYale, Wednesday, June 14, 1866.\u2014Left New Westminster in the Lilloet for Hope and Yale at three o'clock.\nRained all the morning and the whole day incessantly.\n212 passengers, many Chinese. There was a row in the\nevening, and a white man stabbed a Chinaman, and was\nsecured. At night we lay to ; there was much noise, and\nI could get but broken rest.\nServices\u2014Yale and Hope, Sunday, June 18.\u2014Held\nservice at Yale. The attendance was forty. The harmonium was played very fairly by the daughter of the\nschoolmaster. I had the morning prayer and litany. The\ncollection was 13 dollars. In the afternoon I went by canoe\nto Hope, where at six o'clock in the pretty church of that\nlovely spot I held service. Hope is now all but deserted.\nStill we had eighteen persons, besides a few Indians.\nCanoe Voyage to Hope.\u2014The river at this time is at\nits height, some twenty feet above the common level,\nthrough the melting of the snow. It is a tremendous\ntorrent, rushing onwards, carrying in its vast breadth and\ndepth the waters of many great tributary rivers gathered\nin its course of nearly 1,000 miles; at times, whirling\nand upheaving surges seemed enough to overset and\nswallow up in an instant our tiny bark, but with quick, 186\nTHE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\ncool, and unerring eye, our Indian guided us safely\nthrough. At other times there were rapids and canyons,\nor gorges, along which the contracted waters rushed more\nfiercely, as if enraged. The famous and dangerous Em-\nmory rapid and \" Hell's Gate \" warned us long before by\ntheir roar and din; at the latter there was but one passage\nsafe at this time for the canoe. It was on the opposite\nside of the stream, here about a quarter of a mile wide.\nThe current was sweeping us down at the rate of seven\nmiles an hour. It was necessary to begin to cross in sufficient time to prevent our being cast upon the rocks in\nmid-stream. As we were coming down it seemed as if\nnothing could prevent our being smashed to pieces, and\nwe seemed only just to .escape destruction. With our\nthree Indians, however, there really was no danger. They\nknew the water and the ground so well that they could\nmake the exact calculation necessary to avoid a catastrophe.\nIt was exciting, however, even to those who had confidence\nin the Indian canoemen; to others it would certainly be\nalarming. There is no mode of transit so pleasant on a\nfine day as the canoe; there is no concussion, as in a boat\nwith oars, but you glide noiselessly and rapidly along.\nWe did the fifteen miles in an hour and a-half. The\nscenery was magnificent, as one set of mountains after\nanother, with a variety of new beauties, opened up to\nview. The lofty heights, the vast and rapid stream, the\nblue vault of heaven, were calculated to impress the soul\nwith reverential fear, while the flowering shrubs, the dogwood, and the rose, smiling upon us and perfuming the\nair, together with the graceful dress and manner of our\nIndians, made the scene more picturesque.\nVisit to the Leech River Mines\u2014Saturday, July 8.\n\u2014We started about one, my wife, Mr. Alston, and myself\non horseback, with our saddle-bags, for the Leech River\nMines. The road as far as Goldstream, twelve miles, was\npretty good. We rested there an hour, at a wayside NOTES FROM THE BISHOP S JOURNAL.\n187\nhouse kept by two English gentlemen, and then entered\nupon a more difficult path of nine miles, chiefly through\nforest, but over swamps, and up and down steep heights,\nthe trail being such as is common to new and unopened\ncountries\u2014the first path roughly hewn, precursor to a\nroad. It rained a good deal. We reached our destination at Leech River Mines just before dark, having accomplished twenty miles, of which the latter nine could not\nbe traversed at more than a walking pace.\nServices at the Mines\u2014Sunday, July 9.\u2014This morning we rode to the North Forks of the Leech, where I held\nan open-air service. In the afternoon I held service at\nKennedy Flat. It rained in torrents, but the attendance\nof miners was good.\n\"Long Jim.\"\u2014I was told I had a great friend in a\nminer who went by the name of \"Long Jim.\" Miners\nare seldom known except by their nick-names. He had\nspoken with indignation at some evil-speaking and slandering which had been indulged in on the subject of Christ\nChurch Trust property. He thought the Church ought to\nhave the reserve. So talked Long Jim. I called upon\nthe same individual to-day in his log cabin. The storekeeper who was with me discoursed eloquently upon the\nexcellence of his character. \" He was greatly respected on\nthe creek, was a steady and very industrious man, always\nready to serve others.\" Jim was very glad to see me, and\nnot only came himself, but did all he could to induce\nothers to attend the service. Jim was no stranger to\nme, for he had been a patient in the Victoria Hospital.\nI thought him then a rough and uncouth miner ; he did\nnot attend at first particularly to the exhortations, but did\nso latterly, and I had a conversation with him. He got\nwell and left the hospital. I never knew his name, and\nuntil I saw his face to-day was not aware that Long Jim\nwas the patient of the hospital. This is one of those\ninstances where the work of the minister of Christ is more\nMitM 188\nTHE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\neffectual and blessed than he supposes at the time. We\nmay be encouraged, by the cases which thus show results,\nto believe thankfully in good effects in other instances,\nthough hidden from us. We are of course encouraged by\npromises that God's Word shall not go forth and return\nunto Him void. This poor man found blessing in the\nministrations at the hospital, and now shows the result in\nfriendly feeling towards the humble instrument of his good,\nin zeal for God's service, and in doing kind acts for\nothers, letting his light shine before men, even amidst the\nexcitement and exceeding worldliness of a gold-mining\ncommunity. I asked his name; the storekeeper said he\nreally did not know, the man was always called Long\nJim.\nBreak-down of a Steamer\u2014Saturday, August 19.\u2014\nEmbarked to-day on board the Emily Harris for the consecration of Nanaimo Church, accompanied by Archdeacon\nGilson. We ought to have sailed at seven o'clock, but\ndid not get away till eleven. When off the bay beyond\nCadboro' Point, our steamer's head was suddenly pointed\ndirect in to the shore. Something was amiss ; presently\nthe firemen and others were rapidly drawing out the fire.\nThe lead pipe had failed at its connection with the boiler.\nThe fires were therefore put out, and the vessel brought\nto anchor. As it might be some time before the necessary\nrepairs could be effected, I thought it better to come on\nshore and return to Victoria, which we did, thankful to\nhave escaped from what was nearly being a disastrous\nexplosion.\nIndian Fight\u2014Sunday, October 1.\u2014After visiting the\nIndian school this afternoon, I went, accompanied by the\nRev. A. C. Garrett, to visit the Indian village. We heard\na disturbance going on at the Hydah Camp. As we\napproached, we perceived groups of Indians on the surrounding heights in a state of excitement. These were\nsongees and others looking on at a fight between rival\nm NOTES FROM THE BISHOP S JOURNAL.\n189\ntribes of Hydahs. The scene was truly savage. Naked\nmen, wild and distorted, were raging about and hurling\nlarge stones, some with fearful precision, at each other.\nThere were women wild with fury and screaming, urging\non the fight. We went into the midst of them, and with\nsome difficulty got them to desist. It was an exciting\nscene as we stood between the combatants, who continued\nto gesticulate to each other, their blood freely flowing\nfrom wounds, and their countenances showing passion and\nrevenge to reign supreme. Mr. Garrett showed great\ncourage and coolness ; many huge stones were dropped at\nhis bidding, and maniacs became calm at his words. Poor\ncreatures! it was pitiable to see them, as they sobered,\nrealising their wounds and showing them to us. A woman\nbrought her husband to me, whose face, breast, back, and\narms, were bedaubed with blood from many wounds and\nbruises; his face was excited with anger, and in his two\nhands were firmly grasped heavy stones as large as he\ncould hold. At length we quieted them, and there were\nmany voices to be heard as we came away, saying, \"Good!\ngood!\" A chief cause of this excitement, in which probably\nlives were lost, was drink.\nfflifi j^^juuJLffe\n190\nill 1\nCHAPTER H.\nCAMPING WITH INDIANS.\n\\ 1\nr \\\nWe had had a long and hard day's tramp under a hot\nsun, and were beginning to weary for the first glimpse of\nthe wayside \"ranch\" (known as Alkali Lake House, from\nthe piece of water near it), by which we intended to camp.\nI had been separated from my companion, Sheepshanks,\nfor the best part of the day. After getting over the first\nsix miles of our journey in the morning, he discovered\nthat he had left his watch at our last camping-ground. Of\ncourse he had to return, and this added twelve miles to\nhis travel that day. Late in the afternoon I turned up\nfrom the great benches and valley of the Fraser River,\nalong which our route had lain for some days, into a\nsmaller valley running up from it to the high wide plateaus\nthat separate this part of the Fraser from the basin of\nWilliams Lake. I had begun to doubt whether Sheepshanks would catch me up at all that evening, when, on\nlooking back, I could see his tall figure striding along, and\nsoon he overtook me, rejoicing in the recovery of his watch,\nbut, in miners' parlance, \" pretty well played out.\"\nAnother half-hour brought us to where the trail wound\nround the shore of the little Alkali Lake, which gives its\nname to the valley. The settler's house and land, where\nwe purposed to make our camp, lay, we believed, at no\ngreat distance from the lake. Tired of the frugal fare of\nbeans, bacon, and damper of previous days, we began to\nanticipate with feelings of satisfaction the \" good square\nmeal\" for which the ranch was famous\u2014including, we had CAMPING WITH INDIANS.\n191\nheard, even such delicacies as milk, vegetables, and fresh\nbeef. We were not, however, to reach this Goshen.\nThree figures now appeared on the trail in front, coming\ntowards us. They proved to be Indians, two men and a\nwoman. Their tribe (I think an offset from the Shaswap,\nor some other further east in the interior) was in summer\nquarters hard by, on a small plateau above the lake. A\nLilloet Indian, lately come among them, had seen and\nheard us 150 miles down the country, and had told these\npeople that two \"King George\"* priests were on their\nway up. They had watched for us, and now this party\nwas deputed to pray that we would \" turn aside and tarry\nwith them.\" We could not refuse such an invitation;\nand very soon, guided by the three natives, we and our\ntired packhorse had made our way up the bank to the\nlittle plain on which the Indian camp was located. There\nwas no need for us to do much ourselves in the way of\narrangement; plenty of willing hands were soon hard at\nwork. The horse was unpacked and led to water, the\ntent was pitched, and in front of it a blazing fire of pine-\nlogs was quickly provided, at which to bake the bread and\ncook the beans and bacon. While supper was preparing\nand daylight lasted, Sheepshanks was busily engaged in\nvaccinating.\nThe small-pox raged that summer in Vancouver's Island\nand parts of British Columbia, proving, as usual, especially\nfatal among the native tribes. When we started from New.\nWestminster, the surgeon of the R. E. Corps supplied us\nwith lancets and vaccine, and wherever we stopped on our\nway up country near an Indian village or camp, Sheepshanks was ready to operate on all comers. On this occasion, men, women, and children crowded round, all anxious\nto obtain the white man's \" little medicine,\" in which they\nput unbounded faith. Fading daylight put a stop to our\n* The invariable Indian expression for everything English, as Boston\nis for everything American. 192\nTHE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\nsurgical operations; then we had supper\u2014beans and bacon,\ntea, and damper. We always carried on our horse a three\nor four days' supply, in case we might have to camp where\nnothing could be had. After supper, all the Indians assembled in front of the chief's lodge. Sheepshanks and I\noccupied places of honour upon two scarlet blankets just\nat the entrance. The chief was on one side of us; his wife,\nthe woman who had met us, on the other. He was a short,\nsquat man, with a good-humoured face; she was tall and\nelegant, with a fine face and'well-dressed; over her other\ngarments she had a white linen robe, something like a\nshort sleeveless surplice. This, and a large chain and\ncrucifix worn round the neck, gave her a priestly look.\nIn the recesses of the lodge behind us were the family of\nthe chief and others. In front of us a huge fire had been\nkindled, which threw its ruddy light over the scene, and\nround it in a huge semicircle the rest of the Indians were\nclustered, squatting on the ground. Sheepshanks was the\nspeaker, for he understood Chinook. This barbarous jargon, a mixture of English, Canadian French, Spanish, and\nIndian, is universally spoken by the natives of Vancouver,\nbut only to a limited extent by the northern and inland\ntribes of British Columbia. On the present occasion,\nSheepshanks's Chinook had to be translated into their\ntongue by the Lilloet native, who fortunately understood\nit. So far as anything could be made of so poor and\nuncouth a dialect, speaker and interpreter did their best;\nand, all things considered, Sheepshanks's address was a\nfair sketch of the great leading truths of Christianity. The\nnatives were wonderfully attentive; and now and then, as\nsome fact or truth not unfamiliar struck their attention,\na half-suppressed \" agh\" burst from them. When the\nCrucifixion and Death of our Lord were spoken of, one of\nthem instantly drew forth a crucifix and held it up. I\ncould not but think, if so necessarily imperfect a statement,\nsimply of leading heads and facts, through the medium of CAMPING WITH INDIANS.\n193\na rude jargon, could thus rivet their whole attention, what\na mighty effect would be produced by the full, free utterance of the glad tidings in their own language, where all\nthe consolations, the persuasions, the encouragements of\nthe Gospel could be brought to bear. To them it would\nbe as life from the dead. Many of them, in the interior\nof the country, had heard something of the facts of Christianity from Roman Catholic missionaries. While we con- ^i\ndemn the false, soul-destroying system of Rome, let us |\ngive all honour to the self-denying labours of many a\nRoman Catholic missionary in heathen lands. There are\nfew parts of America\u2014North or South\u2014in which these\nmen have not left some mark among the native tribes. As\nin many other cases, the men are often far better than\ntheir system.\nWhen Sheepshanks had finished his address, he dictated,\nthrough the interpreter, a short prayer to be used by them\nall. We closed a most deeply interesting hour and a-half\nby singing in English the Doxology, and offering up the\nLord's Prayer. Truly it was but little we had been able\nto do for these poor natives, and yet their gratitude was\nvery great. What I have described was a very common\nincident in the journeyings of the Bishop and his clergy to\nand fro through the mining districts. We had at this time\nonly two or three permanent mission stations amongst the\nnatives of the two colonies, but we did what we could to\nscatter seed on our way up and down through the interior.\nLet us hope that even a few grains have fructified in that\ngreat human field, where \" the harvest is plenteous, but\nthe labourers are few.\" And if any are disposed to think\nthat such fugitive teachings were profitless, and that we\nmight as well have spared ourselves the labour for any\ngood result that was to come of it, I can only say that,\ndoing what little we could, we remembered the admonition,\nI Have faith in God.\"\nOur tent was pitched some hundred yards or so from the\no\nIlf 194\nTHE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\n*M\nIndian lodges on the open plain. At about three o'clock in\nthe morning, I was awoke by a feeling of suffocation, and\nbecame conscious that, in a tremendous squall of wind and\nrain, the tent had been blown down, and that we were\nenveloped in folds of dripping canvas. As soon as we\ncould disentangle ourselves, we set to work to remedy the\ndisaster. It was no easy work to get the tent up again in\nthe face of the wind; and, being but lightly clad in a\nflannel shirt, we were well washed by the down-pour of\nrain. Some of our things, too, got loose, and almost in a\nstate of nature we had to chase them over the plain. The\nabsurdity of our position and appearance made us shout\nwith laughter; though the discomfort was not slight of\nhaving to creep in under the dripping canvas, and He down\nin wet blankets to soak till the morning. Luckily, the rain\ncleared\" off, and so we spent the forenoon (which ought to\nhave seen us many miles on our journey to Williams Lake,\nwhere we hoped to meet the Bishop) in drying our packs;\nand in the afternoon, as it was then too late to make a\nstart for the next good camping-ground, we remained by\nthe Alkali Lake House, and gathered together as many as\nwe could for an evening service.\nThe heavy rain did one good thing for us ; it regularly\nbeat down the mosquitoes for the next twenty-four hours,\nso that we were but little plagued with them during our\nstay. The place, however, had an evil name for the pest.\nAs a Yankee said, when I asked before we got there,\nI Yes, sir-ee, guess they do bark at you, some.\" 195\nCHAPTER HI.\nA SUNDAY ON A MINING CREEE.\nThe following may serve as .an instance of the rough\nitinerant kind of work done amongst the miners and\nsettlers in British Columbia.\n. . . . The last 100 miles had indeed been enough\nto try the endurance of the stoutest traveller. We. felt\ncompletely \" played out.\" As to our poor pack-horse, it\ngave out completely before our journey's end, and we had\nto leave it on the high ridges of the Bald Mountains, over\nwhich the trail passes between the forks of the Quesnelles\nRiver and Antler Creek, to take care of itself, while we\nsought shelter for the night at a filthy cabin kept by a\nblack man, and known to travellers as \" the Nigger's,\"\nthe only house of refuge within many miles. This was\non Friday night, and we were most anxious not to lose\nthe Sunday on the creek, as already, from various delays,\nand difficulty in getting along, we were a week later than\nthe Bishop had expected we should be. We accordingly\nresolved that one of us should push on next morning\nalone for Antler Creek (it was seventeen miles distant,\nand a good stiff walk), so as to be there the next day and\nsecure the holding of Divine service upon Sunday, while\nthe other stayed upon the mountain to find the strayed\nhorse, and make terms, if possible, with some packer or\nmuleteer, to bring it on with his train, if it should survive,\nwhich we thought doubtful. A man at the cabin, who\nhappened to be going to Antler Creek with two or three\nunloaded animals, consented to take the heaviest part of\no 2\nm \u25a0 1\nMM 196\nTHE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\n! 1\nour pack, the tent, blankets, and flour-bag; for which\nlittle service he only charged twelve dollars (about two\nguineas and a-half) for sixteen or seventeen miles!\nThe day might have been worse for Cariboo. Not infrequently, however, there came sharp, cold squalls of wind\nand driving rain, which soon reduced me to the normal\ncondition of those who travel through these parts before\nthe settled weather of autumn. Still, with the exception\nof the last seven miles, the ground was very different\nfrom our experience of several previous days. No longer\ndense swampy forests, nor tracts of doleful burnt timber,\nnor the stifling heat and insects of deep valleys. I was\nnow at an elevation of some 6,000 or 7,000 feet, going\nupon nearly level ground in places, over the glorious\npasture of these lofty mountain ridges, which are called\nthe Bald Mountains, because devoid of timber, not because\nthey were without verdure. On all sides, especially to\nnorth and east, there was an extended prospect: in the\nlatter direction over the grand, sky line of the Peaked\nMountains to the still higher line of the Rocky Mountains.\nFrequently we passed over beds of unmelted snow. At\nlength we began to descend. The last six miles down\nthrough the forest was enough to break a mule's heart, and\nnever did sounds seem more grateful to me than the\ncreaking of the great water-wheels and other appliances of\nmining, which told me I was nearing the point at which I\nwas bound to deliver my testimony. A small stream of\nwater ran through the valley, thick and turbid from the\noperations of the mining gangs. The valley at the bottom\nwas a narrow flat, from which on either side rose the steep\ndensely-wooded hills. The flat had once been thickly\ntimbered, but was now quite bare, every stick having been\ncut down for lumber. The settlement, or, as it would be\ncalled here, the \" City\" of Antler, consisted of some sixty\nor seventy houses, stores, saloons, &c.; the drinking and\nfeeding saloons being most numerous. There were not A SUNDAY ON A MINING CREEE.\n197\nabove half-a-dozen two-storied buildings; all of course\nwere of wood. They stood in two rows facing each other,\nso as to form a street, not more than twelve feet wide, and\nof course unpaved and filthily dirty, though there was an\nattempt at a wide walk of plank. There were two slaughter-\nyards at each end of the street, which did not smell sweet.\nThe trade in bullocks has been a fortune to a few enterprising men. They purchase for ten dollars a-head in\nOregon, south of the boundary line, poor thin beasts,\nwhich they bring up through stretches of grass country\nby the Okanagan and Shaswap district to the. Cariboo.\nThey feed themselves as they travel, stay for a few weeks\nupon the rich pasture of the Bald Mountains, and are\ndriven down to the different mining creeks to be\nslaughtered at fifty cents, per lb. (two shillings). The\nmeat is cheaper and more nutritious than salt bacon at six\nshillings a pound. Such was the market price in all the\nearly part of the mining season in 1862; provisions\n(except beef) consisting mainly of bacon, beans, and flour,\nwere six shillings a pound. No wonder men without rich\npaying claims (and the fortunate ones were few) broke\ndown completely.\nAs I entered the street of Antler, I was hailed by a\ncertain Mr. C , whom I knew in Victoria, a publican\nand restaurant keeper, a man of not the most respectable\ncharacter. He welcomed me, however, in a friendly way,\nexpressing great astonishment at seeing me, and offering\nme quarters in his establishment, which proved to be the\ncrack hotel of Antler City. I was thankful to find rest\nanywhere, for I was thoroughly beat. The house into\nwhich I was brought consisted of a large-entrance-room,\nthe bar-room, and lounge of customers, an inner apartment, which served as the eating-room, and up a ladder\na great loft, guiltless of windows, which was the general\nsleeping-room for all comers. Behind, as a kind of lean-\nto, was a kitchen and two small rooms, used by Mr. and m\\\\\n198 THE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\nMrs. C , and her mother and sister. I looked at the\nsleeping-loft for a corner on which to lay my blankets;\nbut oh, it was dirty, and alive with worse things than\nfleas! Mr. C good-naturedly promised to let me\nsleep on the floor of the eating-room, which at least was\nclean, and told me that supper would be ready in a few\nminutes. I was nearly famished, and did full justice to\nMrs. C 's cookery, which for Cariboo was extremely\nfair\u2014good bread, fresh beef-steaks, beans, dried apples,\ntea and coffee. After supper, I thought it well to make\nsome inquiries about a place for holding service on the\nfollowing day. On going outside the house to look for\nMr. C , to my astonishment and delight I saw Sheepshanks entering the row of houses. He had found our\nhorse, committed it to the care of a packer to come on\nthe next day (it never did turn up), and then by a forced\nmarch had got in just before dark. His arrival that night\nwas quite unlooked-for, and a source of unbounded satisfaction to me. Two men can do much more than one on\nsuch an occasion. After his wants had been attended to,\nwe got hold of Mr. C , and first of all tried to get his\nconsent to having service in his bar-room, the largest and\nmost convenient room in the place. But his good-nature\ndid not extend so far as to forego trade for an hour on the\nbest pay-day of the week. So we had to go and look\nabout us, but that evening could find no place. Tired\nwith our hard day's work, we were not sorry to unroll our\nblankets, and soon slept soundly on our bed of boards.\nBreakfast over next morning, we still had to fix on a\nplace for service. We looked into several stores, but could\nfind no owner willing to aid us. At length a man said\nthere was a capital new room alongside the Express office.\nWe went, and as I stood outside the door I could hear\nthe sound of many rough voices, and the \" clink, clink 1\nof money. I looked in. What a sight! what bold, hard,\nand in some instances ruffian faces! There were some :&M^JMl%sk\nPage 199. A SUNDAY ON A MINING CREEK.\n199\nthirty round a table with a green cloth, on which lay\ntwenty-dollar pieces, nuggets, gold dust, &c. It was a\ngambling saloon. \"No,\" thought I, \"Satan is master\nhere, it is of no use making terms with him.\" Place after\nplace we tried, but to no purpose. I was nearly giving it\nup in despair. At length we were told that nearly opposite\nMr. C 's a German had a liquor saloon with a room\ninside it which, perhaps, he would \"loan\" for the purpose. He was willing to do so, though he declined to\nstop his trade during service. The room was small: it\ncould not hold more than forty people, or fifty with a\ncram. However, it was an only chance, and we were\nthankful for it. This being arranged, Sheepshanks\nstarted for a walk up and down the creek to give notice of\nservice at eleven o'clock and seven o'clock p.m., while I\nset to work to try and extemporise some sitting accommodation. I was helped by a young fellow against whom I\nstumbled, a young watchmaker from Norfolk, whom I had\nknown in Victoria, a regular member of my congregation,\nand a communicant. Him I at once appointed churchwarden, sexton, and clerk, and with his aid got the room\n\"fixed.\" Mr. C lent a small table for the parson,\nand a green cloth to put over it. To what unhallowed\npurposes, I wonder, was that green cloth put at other\ntimes! By-and-by Sheepshanks returned, having seen\nnot a few whom he knew, some of whom- thought they\nmight \" give us a look.\" About a quarter before eleven we\nrang the bell for church. I stood outside the door with\nMr. C 's triangle, making a horrible din and receiving\na fire of chaff from all sides. Several promised to come\nin if we would \" stand drinks \" all round. All, however,\nwere good-humoured enough. At length it was time to\nbegin. Some forty persons assembled. We distributed\namong them printed cards, two to each: on one was the\nlitany and selected prayers and collects, on the other,\nsome thirty hymns. Thus each man had prayer-book 200\nTHE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\nand hymn-book, and was able to join in worship, which\nvery many did. Sheepshanks said prayers, I preached\nfrom 1 Cor. i. 18. I stood just in the entrance-way to\nthe outer bar-room, so that those who came in might\nhear.\nSeveral, seeing what was going on, kept still, and\nlistened attentively enough. Our notice had been rather\nshort, so we looked for an improvement in the evening.\nAfter a midday meal we strolled down the creek, telling\nall whom we met of an evening service, pressing them to\nattend, and holding conversation with many, especially\nany of our own Victoria or New Westminster people we\ncame across. A few well-disposed ones can do a great\ndeal in a place like this, if a clergyman comes among the\nminers and they back up his efforts. Again, at a quarter\nto seven, we rang the church bell, and this time our\npresence being more generally known, we had more than\ntwice the number of the morning. They filled up half\nthe outer bar-room as well as the inner one. The singing\nled by me was most hearty. I said prayers, and Sheepshanks preached a most excellent sermon upon Felix and\nSt. Paul. Several after service thanked us heartily, and\nsaid it was the first real Sunday they had had upon the\ncreek. Sheepshanks was to remain here, so we bade them\navail themselves regularly of his ministrations.\nOn the same day, another of our body was fifty miles\nto the westward on Lightning Creek, and the Bishop\nhalfway between the two on Williams Creek; thus the\nthree chief centres were all supplied. I was to proceed\nto Williams Creek as my post, the Bishop taking a turn\nat each successively.\nAt supper, there being present some dozen persons, we\nwere waited upon mainly by Mrs. C -'s sister, a girl\nof about fifteen. She had been in my Sunday-school at\nVictoria, and it was painful to see how sadly this rough\nlife had told upon her as regards manner and tone. She, A SUNDAY ON A MINING CREEK.\n201\nher mother, and her sister (I except three women of infamous character), were the only females in Antler Creek,\namid a population of perhaps 1,000 men, and these many\nof them the roughest and most reckless characters. How\ncould any young girl fail of receiving hurt in such an\natmosphere ? Sadly indeed do these gold countries need\nthe elevating and sanctifying influences of family life. The\nfamilies already there being too few to tell upon the\nsurrounding mass for good, are too often themselves\ninfected with evil. By everything he sees as he passes\nthrough mining districts, the conviction is forced upon\nthe missionary that \" it is not good for man to be alone.\" I\n\u00ae>,\n202\nCHAPTER IV.\nA MINER S FUNERAL.\nThere is no more healthy climate anywhere than that of\nBritish Columbia and Vancouver Island. During the many\nyears I was in the colony I do not recollect any serious\ninstance of epidemic sickness, except a year of smallpox\namong the Indians. Cariboo in the summer months, such\ntime at least as I knew it, was splendid. The nights were\nnever hot, and the air upon the mountains is the finest in\nthe world. The miners pn Williams Creek worked at an\nelevation of some 3,000 feet\u2014about the height of Chamouni\n\u2014in a very favourable temperature. There was comparatively little sickness, except what arose in the earlier days\nfrom want of proper food, especially fresh meat and vegetables. Rheumatism, arising from exposure to cold and\nworking in the wet, was the most common, and in weakly\nconstitutions the seeds of consumption were apt to be\ndeveloped. One, out of the two deaths which happened\non the creek while I was there, was from this cause. The\nother case came from a drunken row in a liquor saloon.\nA man was pitched violently out of the door down the\nbank while intoxicated; he fell on his head and broke\nthe spinal cord. He only lived a few hours, insensible\nthe whole time. In poor E 's case the Bishop visited\nhim regularly during his stay on the creek ; I only occasionally, except for the two days after the Bishop left.\nHe did not survive longer. He was a native originally of\nour own country, I think, but had been in Canada or the\nUnited States most of his life. He lay in a miserable A MINER S FUNERAL.\n203\nhovel, waited on by his orother, who though a rude, yet\nproved himself an attentive nurse. The poor man had\nlived a careless enough life, and did not know much, but\nhe expressed great contrition for mis-spent time. I spoke\nmuch to him of God's love, and was thankful to find his\nheart responded to the message. He said the strongest\nproof of it to his mind was that he was not left to die in\nthat remotest and most inhospitable corner of the earth,\nwithout the consolation of the Gospel tidings of pardon and\npeace. He sank very rapidly at the last.\nThe afternoon of the day he died, some of his \" mates \"\ncalled on me to speak about his funeral. He had expressed\na wish to be buried at \" Maloney's Ranch,\" across the\nmountains on the upper part of Antler Creek. It was\narranged that the interment should be next day. They\nthought that starting in the early morning by 7 o'clock\nthey could get the coffin over by noon\u2014eleven miles of\nstiff ascent and descent. Thinking that the Bishop, who\nhad seen so much of him, might like to be present (the\nspot in question being only five miles from the mining\nsettlement where he was then camped), I got a packer\nwho was starting that afternoon to take a note, telling him\nthe hour.\nNext morning I called at the cabin where the poor man\nlay, and finding the cortege was not likely to start before\n8 o'clock, I set off alone. I followed the ordinary pack-\nmule trail. The first few miles was a fearful ascent\nthrough the forest. I sank nearly to the knee sometimes\nin mud. Then I reached more open ground, and followed\nalong the ridge above the valley, the division between\nWilliams Creek and Grouse Creek. Another ascent for\na mile or more over grassy slopes brought me to the\nhighest part of the Bold Mountain that was crossed by the\nWilliams and Antler Creek trail. Near this point was a\nrough cabin, inside some rough fencing, known as the\n| Milk Ranch.\" (In British Columbia, be it remembered, fi\n&tu\n204\nTHE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\nevery location or farm up country is spoken of as a\n\"ranch.\"). Here lived a man who, in the early part of\nthe season, drove a dozen cows into the Cariboo district.\nThey found abundance of feed on the bold summits and\nridges of these green mountains, and every morning their\nenterprising owner took his milk down to the settlement\nbelow, and vended it at three dollars (12s. 6d.) a gallon.\nI had started without breakfast, and was glad now to\nexpend a dollar in the purchase of a pannikin of milk and\na lump of \" damper.\" In the crisp bracing air of the\nmorning I thought it as dehghtful a meal as I had ever\ntasted. I then ascended to a little knoll above the trail,\nand sat down to enjoy the magnificent prospect. It was\nshut off to the west and south by the higher parts of the\noblong mountain mass on which I was. To the north,\nthe eye ranged over a great chopping sea of forest-clad\nmountains, with grassy summits and deep valleys that for\nthe most part trended away towards the northerly bend of\nthe great Fraser River. The grandest view was to the\neast, distant some thirty or forty miles, high above the\nlower ridges of the green Cariboo hills; from north to\nsouth there ran a splendid range, with peaks thrown up\nin every fantastic shape, many of them recalling to mind\nthe obelisk of the Matterhorn. They were streaked in\nplaces with bands and wreaths of snow, but for the most\npart they seemed too precipitous for the snow to rest upon\nthem. Between two of these peaks, but at a much greater\ndistance, probably some hundred miles, I could discern a\nsnowy mass, grander than any of them, which for a short\ntime puzzled me\u2014till it flashed upon me that I was looking\nfull at the giant of the Rocky Mountains, Mount Hooker,\n16,000 feet in height. The day was cloudless, and the\nah- was dehghtful: seldom have I looked upon a grander\nscene.\nAfter an hour's delay I proceeded across the mountain,\nand then by another tremendous descent of mud, through\nTB'ifl,*?Miif*aV8 'rtfyttif ^\"^1\u00b0 A MINER S FUNERAL.\n205\nthe forest, I reached the upper waters of Antler Creek.\nOn the trail, not far from Maloney's Ranch, I met the\nBishop and Sheepshanks. They were waiting for me, and\nthe Bishop explained the order of service he proposed.\nHe had brought with him his printed cards of hymns\nwhich we used in our Mission services. Soon the funeral\ntrain appeared in sight. The coffin had been borne by\nrelays ; there were some forty or fifty following it. We\nheaded the procession when it drew near the place of interment, and having first distributed hymn cards to the party,\nwe proceeded, singing the ninetieth Psalm, to the spot\nwhere the grave was dug. It was on a grassy flat, up a\nbank by which the trail ran, and some little way in the\nrear of the settler's log house. Coming in sight of the\ngrave, the Bishop read the opening sentences. The friends\nclustered round, the Bishop, Sheepshanks, and myself,\nstood together at the head. I read the Lesson, the Bishop\ntaking the rest of the service, and after the prayers were\nended he made a short and seasonable address to those\nassembled. Not a few were listening to a preacher for\nthe first time since their childhood ! All seemed impressed\nwith what, in that wild region, was a striking sight, and the\nbrother of the deceased stood forward and thanked the\nBishop heartily for his great kindness. The attendance of\nso many of poor Emery's \" mates\" was a good instance\nof the great sympathy and cordiality that exists even among\nthese rough men. Many of them were working for wages,\non others' claims\u2014the rate at the time ten dollars (two\nguineas) a day\u2014but simply to show respect for one\nwhose only connection with them was that he had been a\ncomrade in distress, they were ready to forego a day's\nwork and pay, and take a rough fatiguing tramp in order\nto do honour to his memory, and aid his brother in performing his last wish.\nThe Bishop suggested that I should go on to Antler\nCreek with him and Sheepshanks, and spend the evening, 206\nTHE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\n\u00abt!\nin place of returning to my own tent on Williams Creek.\nGlad of their society, I assented, and a smart walk of an\nhour and a quarter brought us to the camp the Bishop\nhad formed some quarter of a mile from the settlement.\nWe enjoyed an open-air supper together, and after dark I\nstarted with Sheepshanks to take up my night's quarters\nin his \"rectory.\" He had appropriated a deserted hut\nabout half-a-mile down the valley, where it narrowed\nalmost to a gorge, and the stream fell in a roaring cataract\nover a steep ledge of rock,. It stood alone; one other\ncabin near him was the onjy sign of human abode. He\nsoon kindled a fire of pine logs on the mud floor, by which\nwe sat and chatted, and smoked our pipes; and in an\nhour or so I was glad to roll myself in a spare blanket,\nand stretch myself on a rude shelf or bunk of boards, soon\nto fall asleep.\nI returned to Williams Creek next morning. At\nMaloney's Ranch I stopped for half-an-hour to rest and\nget some food. I was joined at the table by a man who\nwould say little, but who ate voraciously. We had nearly\nfinished our unsociable meal of fried beef and coffee, when\nan ill-looking rowdy bolted into the log hut, with a warning\ncry of \"Look out, boy!\" Before the words were well\nuttered, my silent friend made a spring at the door, shot\nout, and springing up the bank, was soon hid in the forest.\nWondering at what it all meant, I proceeded to the door,\nand-saw coming along the trail, from Williams Creek, the\nmagistrate's head constable and another man; evidently\nthey \"wanted\" some one, and the object of their search\nwas my silent companion at dinner. It appeared that he\nwas a noted gambler; that the night before he had shot\nand dangerously wounded a man on Williams Creek, and\nthat a warrant for his apprehension had been issued by\nMr. E , the magistrate, in the early morning, but not\nin time to prevent his escape from the creek. His chum\nhad kept watch on the constable's movements, and, starting A MINER S FUNERAL.\n207\nout in advance, had kept ahead to give warning, if he\nshould sight his friend, that he was being followed. He\nwas just in time. Had the constable been 100 yards\nnearer, his revolver would have been brought into play,\nand perhaps answered by Hill's, for he was armed for resistance. However, he got clean off and out of the country,\nand, as the man whom he shot recovered, perhaps the\ncountry was cheaply rid of the notorious gambler and\nruffian. It formed a staple of jest afterwards on WilHams\nCreek, that the parson was found in close and familiar\nintercourse with a man flying from justice\u2014an attempted\nmurderer. \"Noscitur a sociis\" is a good rule. Let us\nhope it has its exceptions. 208\nCHAPTER V.\nLIFE ON A MINING CREEK.*\nAugust 11th.\u2014An express came over to-day from Antler\nCreek, with letters and papers for the magistrate. The\nGovernment profess to have established a regular mail\nservice this season between the lower country and Cariboo;\nthat is to say, they have given an express man several\nthousand dollars to convey letters from New Westminster\nto Antler Creek, at the rate of one dollar per letter!\nThey forgot, however, to include Williams Creek in the\ncontract, and so the contractor charges half-a-dollar more\nfor the sixteen miles between this and Antler\u2014six shillings\na letter, not including the extra colonial postage! Last\nyear one of our brethren had to pay ten shillings a letter\nfor some which were carelessly sent up country to him\ncontrary to his instructions.\nI walked a mile or two down the creek this afternoon,\nnotifying to miners the fact of there being Sunday services.\nReturning again to the \" town,\" as I passed a drinking\nsaloon I was told that a man lay badly hurt in a back\nroom. I asked if I could see him. He had been engaged\nin a drunken row the night before, and, falling out of the\ndoor in a state of intoxication, he was rolled over the\nplank side-walks, with others at the top of him, and\nreceived fatal injury. They think the spine is dislocated.\nHe was paralysed and unconscious. Shortly afterwards\nhe died. I was afraid they would ask me to bury him.\n* The incidents contained in the accompanying paper are chiefly\nnotes taken from the writer's private journal for 1862. LIFE ON A MINING CREEK.\n209\nHowever, as he was professedly a Romanist, some of\nhis own creed took the matter in hand without application\nto me.\nAugust 12th.\u2014There is no flour to be had; the supply\nis exhausted. A man has been offering 10s. a pound for\nit, but cannot get any even at that price. We are told\nthere is none at Antler Creek either. When plentiful, it\nhas been selling for 4s. to 4s. 6d. per pound, other provisions in proportion, beans and bacon. Beef fresh\nslaughtered is the cheapest food ; this can be had for\nabout 3s. per pound, and sometimes as low as 2s. A\nhalf-pound loaf, just such a small twist as an English\nbaker sells for a penny or twopence, costs me a dollar.\nA box of matches, 2s. It is easy to understand how\nmen get \" broke \" with such prices as these. And it\nis also easy to see at how heavy a cost the Church's\nMissions are sustained in mining districts imperfectly\nopened up.\nComing out of the principal restaurant, my eye caught\nan announcement which at first puzzled me. It was a\nnotice, over the bar, to the effect that jawbone was played\nout. In mining parlance, a thing or a person is \"played\nout\" when g^d-for-nothing men are used up, &c. But\n\"jawbone,\" what did that signify? It appeared that\nwhen a man had no money, and went about living on\ncredit, and putting off with promises to \"pay next week,\"\nor with assurances that he was certain to \" strike it rich \"\nin a mining claim in a few days, he was said to be living\nby jawbone, i.e., by a free exercise of that portion of\nhis physiological structure. The. notice, therefore, done\ninto Queen's English, was simply an announcement of no\ncredit given.\nSunday, August 11th.\u2014There was a considerable falling\noff to-day in the attendance at service, morning and\nafternoon. Some pack trains came in, and all was bustle\nand excitement.\n\u00bb: m\n210\nTHE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\nn\\\nThe order of service we use (printed on cards, which\nare distributed) is as follows :\u2014\n1. A hymn is sung. (These, some thirty in number,\nare on another card.)\n2. A short address from the clergyman, explaining the\nnature of Common Prayer and worship, and the duty of\nthe people in bearing their parts.\n3. General Confession; prayer, \" 0 Lord, we beseech\nThee,\" from the Communion Service; Lord's Prayer; and\nVersicles.\n4. Venite, and Psalm ciii.\n5. A lesson from Old or New Testament.\n6. Various collects and prayers from the Morning and\nEvening Service.\n7. Special prayers, compiled by the Bishop for use in\nmission and mining districts.\n8. Prayer for all conditions of men; General Thanksgiving ; Prayer of St. Chrysostom ; and Benediction.\n9. A hymn.\n10. The sermon.\n11. A hymn.-\nThis is our usual morning service. The afternoon\n(printed on a third card) consists of the Litany, other\nselected or compiled prayers, with a lesson, hymns, and\nsermon. It will be seen that the service is varied, the\nbreaks are frequent, and we endeavour to confine it to an\nhour, if possible. Very often I find it impossible to have\nthe closing hymn. My voice is all used up, and of course\nwe have to lead, sometimes wholly to sustain the singing.\nThe plan of service and hymn cards is a most useful one,\nand might be adopted with success, I think, in mission\nservices at home. Here they are absolutely necessary,\nas often there are not three Prayer-books to be found\namongst hundreds of men. As an American told the\nBishop one day after service, they are \"a great institoo-\nshun.\" LIFE ON A MINING CREEK.\n211\nA very great deal of unnecessary work is done on the\nclaims upon Sundays, though, as a rule, the miner observes\nit, so far as striking off work is concerned, for his own\ninterest. He rests, washes his clothes, divides with his\nmates the. yield of the week, does his marketing at the\nstores, and hangs about the gambling and liquor saloons.\nThe drunkenness on a Sunday is appalling.\nSunday, August l&th.\u2014To-day I changed the place of\nservice, and also the hour of the second service, from afternoon to evening. The store we formerly used was let last\nweek, and is now full of goods. I tried in vain in several\nquarters for a place under cover, and at last was driven to\nchoose the open air. I took up my position on the planked\nfootway just outside the bar of the principal eating saloon.\nA tub hauled out and inverted served for my pulpit. I\nborrowed the eating-house triangle, and stood beating it\nfor some ten minutes by the door, as a call to church.\nThen I mounted my extemporised pulpit, and began service\nfor some twelve persons who had boldly seated themselves\nbefore me on a bench. As usual we began with a hymn,\nand the singing quickly attracted others. Before it was\nended I had some forty persons round me. They came\nout in numbers from the adjoining doorway, the principal\ngambling-hell on the creek, which was always crowded on\non Sundays. Seeing that my congregation consisted of\nhearers far more than worshippers, I inverted the usual\norder of service, and proceeded to read a chapter, from\nwhich I preached at great length. I am bound to say I\nhad a very attentive congregation. On such an occasion,\nhowever, preaching seemed more fitly to precede worship,\nand though many moved away when, after my sermon, I\nknelt down and offered up the Church's beautiful prayers,\nyet some thirty remained to the close, not, I trust, without profit to themselves. The -strain to the voice of this\nopen-air service, with singing, is, however, very great, and\nI never could get through more than two such in the same\n1 p 2\nIII THE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\nday, with difficulty even so much. In the evening the\nproprietors of the restaurant let me use the bar-room,\nand took some trouble to help me extemporise plank seats.\nI got some sixty persons together, and standing myself\njust in the open doorway, I had a supplementary congregation of many more upon the plank pathway outside.\nBoth services were an immense improvement upon those\nof the former Sunday, and I rejoiced that necessity had\ndriven me from the store we previously occupied.\nThursday, August 28zA.\u2014A great part of the magistrate's\ntime is occupied daily in trying mining suits. These may\nbe brought before him any day, after twenty-four hours'\nnotice, except when he has given previous notice of a\ncriminal court. The laws which regulate the proceedings\nof free miners are simple enough on the whole, and, save\nin exceptional cases, suits call out the exercise of common\nsense rather than any extended knowledge of law. Mr.\nE\u2014\u2014, in fact, is no lawyer at all, and yet is considered\nan excellent magistrate and gold commissioner.\nWe may stroll in and listen to a case, a sample of the\nordinary suits that come before the magistrate. It is a\ndispute between two companies on the creek respecting\nwater privilege. Company A, requiring extra water for\nwashing up the \"pay-dirt,\" had brought in last year a\nsmall run of water from a gulch or ravine that comes\ndown behind my tent and the court-house. They had\nconstructed a ditch and built a high flume spanning the\nvalley, at a cost of Some four thousand dollars. To\nenable them to do all this, they had proved before the\nmagistrate that by bringing this ditch and lead of water to\ntheir \" claim,\" they would injure no one possessing a prior\nright to the water. Thus they had obtained the sanction\nof Mr. E- 's predecessor, and, on completion of their\ncostly work, they had \"recorded\" their claim to the\nwater, which record, by mining law, became their title -\ndeed. Company B lately took up ground in the ravine, LIFE ON A MINING CREEK.\n213\njust below the spot whence the ditch was led off, and,\nneeding more water, they quietly broke down the dam, on\nthe plea that the waters of that stream could not be\ndiverted from its proper channel to the detriment of the\nminers below. Company B were plaintiffs, Company A\ndefendants in the suit. Company A produced their title,\nformerly recorded. The gold commissioner called upon\nCompany B to prove that they had occupied their claims\nbefore the ditch was made, the water diverted, and the\ntitle granted to A. B thereupon asserted a prior claim.\nThey had worked the ground last year, and when the\nditch water was drawn off had protested, and Commissioner N (Mr. E 's predecessor) had shown gross\npartiality, and refused to entertain their protest. So, for\nwant of water, they had been forced to abandon their\nI claim,\" but they had now determined to go in and contest it again before Mr. E , \" whom they knew to be a\ngentleman,\" &c. &c. All this looked rather | fishy \" for\nCompany B, the attempt to blacken the character of\nMr. N , and then to curry favour with Mr. E at his\npredecessor's expense. However, Company A proceeded\nto argue that, admitting Company B had had any prior\nclaim (which they disbelieved), they.had forfeited it by\nleaving their ground for an entire season, whereas the law\nonly allows \" a claim\" to be unoccupied for seventy-two\nhours. To this B,pleaded that they had been forced to\nleave the ground, and could obtain no redress from the\nthen gold commissioner; that this, therefore, was not such\na voluntary abandonment as the law supposed to bar - a\nmining company's right. Here the magistrate put in a\nquestion to Company B. \" When you sued before Mr.\nN , of course you held Government licences as free\nminers?\" To this an evasive answer was returned, and\na reference to the roll of licensed miners for the previous\nyear did not show their names to have been upon it.\nThis of course ended the suit. Mr. N in the previous\nii'ifi ill 214\nTHE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\nyear could not have entertained any suit or protest of\nCompany B, as the law declares that without a licence,\nrenewed each year, no man can hold or work a claim,\nenter a suit, or enjoy any mining privilege whatsoever.\nSo Company B were ignominiously put out of court, and\nCompany A continued in possession of their ditch.\nSunday, August 31st.\u2014Service, as on previous Sundays,\nin the open air in front of the restaurant at 10 a.m., and\nagain at 7 p.m. in the bar-room. Crowded attendance,\nespecially in the evening. The singing to-day was excellent, thanks to two splendid bass voices, the best in the\ncolony, those of Mr. Begbie, the Chief Justice of B. C,\nand Mr. Mathew, his registrar, who had arrived during the\npreceding week on circuit. They are frequent helpers of my\nchoir at St. John's, in Victoria, during the winter months.\nMy evening sermon was from 1 Cor. vi. 19, 20. After\na few explanatory remarks on the illustration the Apostle\nuses here, and the idea of a Temple, I went on to speak of\nthe heinousness of sin in redeemed, baptized, professing\nChristians\u2014how it is sin against our redeemed nature\u2014a\nnature which is raised and ennobled by being worn by\nGod the Son, and dwelt in by God the Holy Ghost. I\nurged the great practical lesson to be carried out by all of\nus, as redeemed at such a cost, the lesson of the text,\n\" Glorify God in your body and in your spirit,\" dwelling\non the nature of practical religion, as being just this living\nto God's glory, whatever our calling or business might be.\nSeveral friends came round me after service to say goodbye, as I had announced my departure next morning, and\nmy hope that Sheepshanks, who was remaining a few\nweeks longer, would come over from Antler Creek on\nalternate Sundays to hold service.\nI was to start early next morning across the mountains\nto Lightning Creek, where I should find the Bishop, to\ntravel down country with him. I made up my pack over\nnight and gave it to a man who was to start at 2 a.m. ; LTFE ON A MINING CREEK.\n215\nmy own departure I postponed till the more timely hour\nof 6 a.m. I had to borrow a blanket for the night, and\nslept for the last time in my corner on the floor of the\ncourt-house. The building was a plain rough shell of\nsplit logs, some 25 ft. by 15 ft. with a small room built on\nat one end, which was Mr. Elwyn's office, sitting-room,\nbedroom, and kitchen, and in which slept, besides himself,\nhis clerk, two constables, and a friend who was mining!\nWe formed a curious company that night on the floor of\nthe big room. In one corner lay Charles Hankin and myself under a pair of blankets, with our coats rolled round\nour boots for pillows. In another corner lay Mr. Elwyn's\nman-of-all work; near him Mr. Begbie's Indian boy. On\nthe side of the room opposite me lay together Mr. O'Reilly\n(magistrate and gold commissioner on Lightning Creek\nand high sheriff of the colony) and Lieutenant Palmer,\nR.E.; in a corner near them a constable and a manacled\nprisoner ! He had been arrested and brought up about\neight o'clock for drawing a revolver and firing at a man in\na drinking-saloon. They chained him to the tall flagstaff\noutside the door at first, this being the ordinary jail!\nBut about midnight it began to rain, and he made such a\nrow that, in self-defence, we were glad to allow him to\ncome under our shelter in the. court-room, which made\nhim quiet. Such was my last night on Williams Creek.\nIn bidding farewell to Cariboo, I could hot but feel that\na clergyman must submit to a great deal of forced inactivity in these young mining districts, so far as regards\nministerial or missionary work. In fact he is able to do\nlittle more than hold his Sunday services, and visit the\nsick where there are any. Often I used to feel, between\nSunday and Sunday, that I might as well be 500 or 600\nmiles away, at my own regular post. Week-day services\nit was very difficult to hold. Directly the men were off\nwork they had their suppers to prepare, and found themselves fit only to turn in and sleep after the meal was over. 216\nTHE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\nAnd while they were at work during the day they did not\nmuch care to have a parson interrupting them. For days\ntogether I would rove up and down the Creek for two or\nthree miles, as far as \" claims \" were 1 located,\" trying to\neffect something in the way of pastoral and religious conversation with the rough gangs dotted along the little\nstream. Occasionally I might succeed; but still the\ngeneral feeling was, 11 have not done much to-day.\"\nBut yet, in an indirect way, I cannot but believe more\nwas done than I could measure or estimate. The very\npresence, in the three principal mining districts, of three\nclergymen and their Bishop, was a testimony borne to\nhigher truth, and could not be without some effect on the\ncomplex mass of beings. Our mingling, as we did, with\nminers of all sorts tended much to disabuse their minds of\nprejudice against the Church of England and ministers of\nreligion. Sometimes, at least, we were able, during our daily\nwanderings up and down the creeks, or as we sat in the\nevening by a miner's fire outside his tent, to speak \" a\nword in season to him that is weary;\" and how many\nsuch are to be found in that strange region ! Sometimes\nwe have been able to touch deep springs of feeling by\nallusions to home and parents, when the heart seemed callous to other influences. No; I believe that our work,\nsmall as it might seem to people at a distance, was not\nunimportant, or superfluous, or wasted. It Was the work\nof preparation for others to build upon; of breaking up\nground where others might plant seed. Above all, it was\nwork for Him with Whom nothing is lost, not even the\npoor fragments which others who are richly blessed with\nprivileges might have thought valueless. I believe that in\nit all our good Bishop's prayer was simply this\u2014\" Show\nThy servants Thy work, and their children Thy glory.'\"\nHe sowed in faith in this journey with his clergy, and I\ncannot think the seed scattered by these trails and waysides will bear no fruit in days to come. 217\nCHAPTER VI.\nJOURNEY BACK FROM THE MINES, 1862.\nAt the mining town of Lilloet, the consecration of the\nnew church had been fixed for Sunday, the 14th of September. We calculated that a fortnight would suffice for\nour journey down country, and accordingly on Monday,\nthe 1st, the Bishop and I were to start, leaving Sheepshanks and Knipe to carry on the work for a few weeks\nlonger on the principal Cariboo Creeks. As it happened,\nwe did not get away from Lightning Creek until the\nTuesday; the Bishop's horses strayed, and the packer did\nnot get them in till daylight on the Tuesday morning.\nThe magistrate, Mr. O'R , and Knipe were waiting to\nsee us start from camp about ten o'clock. Our train was\nreduced from ten horses to six, there being comparatively\nlittle in the way of provisions to carry down country. On\nmy way up some three months before, in company with\nSheepshanks, I had gone along painfully and ingloriously\non foot. I felt now the dignity, and\" still more the comfort, of a \" horseback ride,\" and held my head high as\nwe started from the little mining town of Lightning or\nVan Winkle. \"You came up like a pauper, but you go\ndown like a king,\" was my reverend brother's comment\nas we parted. Before many minutes I \"went down,\"\nwhether most like a pauper or king I cannot say\u2014but\nthere is no royal method of tumbling in this country.\nEvery one looks like a pauper whose horse rolls with him,\nas mine did, into a liquid bath of Cariboo mud, and so, at\nthe outset, I learned that riding, like everything else, may\nprove dear in this country.\nmm 218\nTHE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\n\u25a0 I\nm-\nl '\u25a0 -tRJ\nCfl\nOur road for the whole day was down the valley of the\nLightning Creek, through forest and swamp, trying to man\nand beast alike. At night we camped by the side of the\ntrail, in a small clearing, hearing that below, near the\nriver, there was coarse grass for our animals. Three or\nfour young men, camping near, came up to our tents.\nOne of them was a young Englishman, newly arrived in\nthe country. He come from Great Yarmouth. It was the\nold story. He had come out with one idea, viz., gold\nmining\u2014the most uncertain, the most costly, the least\nsatisfactory, as a rule, of colonial pursuits. He and his\nchums had been at it during the summer season on\nLightning\u2014made nothing, and spent all their little stock\nof cash. I gave him all I could, which was\u2014advice.\nThey gladly joined us at our little evening service, held\nby the camp fire under the shade of the great pine-trees.\nSeptember Srd.\u2014I was pleased with the appearance of\nCottonwood, which settlement we came to about midday.\nThe situation is very well chosen, just at the confluence of\nthe Lightning and Cottonwood rivers, which eventually reach\nthe Fraser. There are great tracts of beautiful grassy\nplains and meadows, and plenty of hard-wood trees\u2014a\nrelief to the eye that has grown weary of the monotonous\npine forest. As yet there are few houses, the land where\na town would naturally stand having been pre-empted by\none Yankee settler. Lieutenant Palmer, R.E., during his\nsummer surveys through this region, has marked the spot\nas a suitable one for a town site, and probably, therefore,\nthe settler's pre-emption claim will not be allowed, and a\ntown will spring up which will be a point of depot and\nsupply for a large mining district more into the mountains.\nThus it is that fresh centres of population are continually\nforming themselves, and as yet all we can do is to make\nan occasional visit in these missionary towns, and gather\nas many as we can for worship and teaching. A resident\nmissionary in each such locality is a hopeless expectation; JOURNEY BACK FROM THE MINES.\n219\nhe would find, for a long time, little support in his district; and no home fund could supply the number that\nwould thus be needed.\nWhile the Bishop was buying some beef and potatoes,\nfor which he probably paid gold, I rode on a few hundred\n. yards, over beautiful natural lawn, to a small wigwam of\nposts and bark, lightly put together, standing within a\nroughly enclosed paddock. Chief Justice Begbie had described to me, before I left Williams Creek, the position\nof his newly pre-empted estate, and magnificent residence\nat Cottonwood. This seemed to answer the description.\nIt was a decidedly judicial abode. I suppose he had no\nfear of dishonest visitors during his absence on circuit\nthrough the mines, for the door stood open. There was\nnot much to take\u2014a wooden table and stools, and two\nsleeping shelves or bunks, formed the entire furnishing of\nthe one-roomed domicile, and law books were scattered\nabout in various corners.\nWe had to camp again in the forest, a most weird,\ndismal spot. Fires had swept through and destroyed\neverything. There was no feed of any kind. Before us was\nan unhealthy swamp, and except in the swamp there was no\nwater. Our animals tried to eat the swamp grass round\nthe edges ; but, getting engulfed nearly up to their bellies,\nthey gave it up; nor did we encourage them to try, for\nwe could see the decayed remains of various mules and\nhorses, to which, incautiously venturing in, the morass\nhad proved a grave. So the horses had to go pretty well\nsupperless, and we had to forego our \" wash,\" a privation\nwhich none can fully estimate who are not on the tramp\nas we were.\nSeptember 1th.\u2014 The Bishop and I reached Williams\nLake late yesterday afternoon, after a hard ride of forty-\none miles from our camp, three miles beyond Alexandria.\nWe had to leave our man and the packers with four\nhorses to come on alone part of the way, and make a it m\n\u25a0U\n220\nTHE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\nSabbath day's journey this forenoon of some fifteen miles,\nin order to join us here. They could not have come the\nwhole distance, and we could not well stop short of this\nplace, there being no settlement between Alexandria and\nWilliams Lake at which we could have spent our Sunday:\nwhile this is one of the principal centres of population in\nthe upper country. We could not afford to miss the\nSunday here, at the same time we were unwilling to encourage, by an example, the usual custom with traders\nand packers of Sunday travelling. But there seemed no\nhelp for it as regarded our men. They must have joined\nus to-day to start to-morrow, as it will be all we can\nmanage to reach Lilloet by Saturday next, leaving early\nto-morrow.\nThe \" Government house,\" as usual, was our hotel, on\ngetting in tired and hungry; and no praise is too great\nfor the cuisine at Woodward's restaurant \u2014 about the\nonly thing one can praise, for the proprietors are worldly\nmen and gamblers. However, we got a good supper,\nmade arrangements for holding service on the following\nday, and returned to our quarters for the night, where\nwe found some copies of the Times\u2014a rare sight in the\ninterior of British Columbia. They were several months\nold, but contained news to us. Taking up the latest, the\nfirst thing my eye lit upon was the notice of dear Charles\nMackenzie's death in Central Africa. So soon! and yet\nnot too soon for one whose faith had borne him to the\nend of the course appointed for him. Men will say it was\na \" waste of life.\" So Calvary and its sacrifice must have\nseemed to some!\nA great staring placard announces \"races\" to come\noff here on \" the Mission Racecourse,\" two weeks hence.\n(Williams Lake was till not many years back one of the\nprincipal Roman Catholic Missions for Indians.) Of\ncourse the object is to get up a grand saturnalia, and put\nmoney in the pockets of the restaurant proprietors. The JOURNEY BACK FROM THE MINES.\nfirst proof of the notice appeared, about nine or ten o'clock,\nin the shape of a large party of professional gamblers,\nrowdies, &c, from higher up the country, who came to\n\"make arrangements\" for the forthcoming meeting. In\na short time Woodward's establishment was a perfect\nPandemonium. On my going there to make preparations\nfor service, one of the three proprietors came to me and\nadvised that we should \" quit preaching\" to-day, there\nwere so many \"loafers\" and drunken men about, that\nwe should certainly be interrupted, perhaps insulted. I\nsaid I was quite sure the Bishop would not consent to\nforego the service. We had ridden over forty miles the\nday before, simply to spend the Sunday here, where there\nwere plenty of people to whom a chance of joining in\nworship and of hearing God's message was rarely offered;\nthat for ourselves we could stand the risk of interruption,\nwhich, in fact, I did not believe in. But the man was\nobstinate. He raised objection after objection, and I saw\nclearly enough his sole object was to prevent the service\u2014partly because its being held in or outside his house\nwould to a certain extent interfere with what promised to\nbe a paying morning for business, and partly because he\ndid not wish to be identified too closely with parsons or\ntheir doings. At length I asked him plainly, \"Will you\nhelp us, or will you not?\" and I offered to be satisfied\nwith simply the loan of his benches to sit upon the ground\nfor open-air service in the front of his establishment. But\neven this he refused. So I told him that never yet, from\nend to end of British Columbia, had a clergyman been\ncompelled to forego service on Sunday for fear of interruption\u2014not even among the gambling saloons of Cariboo ;\nand that I should take care his refusal was known as the\none refusal we had met with. He expressed himself very\nsorry he should have to refuse, which I told him plainly\nI did not believe a word of.\nThe Bishop, on my return to the house, was greatly\nill\n\u25a01 I;\n222\nTHE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\nannoyed; but there was no help for it. We held our\nservice at another house, in an inconvenient place, and\nhad for congregation five persons, to whom the Bishop\npreached. Last time I held service at Williams Lake we\nhad not less than seventy at each, morning and evening.\nOur afternoon service was held on the grass, close to the\nGovernment building, when we got about ten, including\nour two men, who arrived with the horses at midday.\nRarely has it happened in my experience to be refused\nin British Columbia, as we were to-day. Even the wildest\nand roughest are generally willing to hear what the preacher\nhas to say. To-day there could not have been less than\nfrom 100 to 140 men stopping at or about Woodward's\nhouse on their way up or down country.\nSaturday, September 13th.\u2014We reached Lilloet this\nafternoon, after a glorious week of weather, and a very\nenjoyable journey from Williams. After the first day or\nso, the country we passed through was entirely new to\nme, as it was to the Bishop also. He had travelled up\ncountry to the east of our route; I had come to the.west\nof it. We travelled for the most part over stretches of\ngrassy plain land, studded with beautiful lakes, and belted\nwith forest. To the west, about thirty miles, were the\nmountains which shut in the Fraser River Valley, while\nto the east all seemed level, alternately plain and wood.\nIt seemed only to need farmers to make it a great grain-\nproducing country for Cariboo. So I thought, till the\nBishop ascertained the altitude of these plains along\nwhich he travelled to be some 2,000 feet, while sharp\nfrost at night, after the balmy sunshine of the day\u2014frosts\nwhich are not uncommon here, I believe, in July\u2014boded\nno good assurance for the farmer. We, however, enjoyed\nour journey immensely. The great plague of British\nColumbia in the summer months, the insect plague,\ntroubled us not; the cold nights were too much for them.\nOur packer had a gun, and not a day passed that he did JOURNEY BACK FROM THE MINES.\n223\nnot secure a brace or two of duck and grouse, so that our\ncamp kettles in the evening were well supplied. This\nroute, however, the shortest and easiest to Lilloet, carried\nus by no settlements for the greater part of the way, so\nthat we were unable to minister to the spiritual necessities of our brethren scattered through these remote\nregions.\nOne evening my life was for a few moments in jeopardy.\nWe had made our camp on the edge of a fine prairie, near\na stream of water, which was almost hidden by the thick\nshrubs that lined its banks. After putting my tent to\nrights, I started to have a good wash while supper was\npreparing. The Bishop had preceded me and was in the\nwater, when I came upon him unawares, and without his\nhaving perceived me, I beat a retreat through the thick\nbush, and struck the stream about fifty yards lower down.\nI was quickly in the water splashing about. In a few\nminutes I heard the Bishop calling loudly to the men at\nthe camp fire, \" King, where's the gun ? Load it; make\nhaste!\" and then I could hear King working away and\nramming down his charge of buckshot and old nails. An\nidea occurred to me, and I thought it well to call out to\nthe Bishop, who was hidden by a bend in the stream,\n\"What do you see?\" \"Oh, is that you? I thought\nyou were a bear!\" was the assuring answer. It was well\nI spoke in time, or there might have been cold missionary\nfor supper. I fancy my excellent diocesan rather enjoyed\nthe joke afterwards, though I doubted if it would popularise the mission in England were it to be known that\nthe clergy were apt to be bagged by their Bishop as\ngame.\nThe last two days we had again to part from our\nanimals and kits, and ride on alone, in order to reach\nLilloet. We did not get there till late this afternoon, and\nfound that Mr. Brown, the resident clergyman, had given\nus up in despair. He was greatly relieved at seeing us, 224\nTHE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\nf llll\nifft5 f\nm\nfit\ni\nand for the rest of the evening we were occupied in various\npreHminary arrangements, and making out papers.\nSeptember l&th.\u2014Consecration of St. Mary's Church.\nThe work here, as in all other mining towns and districts,\nis simply the work of pioneering; but Mr. Brown, amidst\nevil report and good report, has proved a most devoted\npioneer; and while he has faithfully borne the. Church's\ntestimony to her Master to them that will not receive it,\nhe can also show some real work of outward Church extension, which can hardly fail of proving a means of real\nspiritual grace to those who will use it, of whom there are\nsome at least even in this wild district. The new church\nis about completed. There only needs some finishing\nwork. It stands at one end of the settlement, on a plot\nof its own. It will hold about 150 persons. His own\nrectory (?), a log cabin, of one room, stands in the centre\nof the village. Its situation for business is good, and two\nmen have accordingly offered to build a proper parsonage,\nafter approved plans, upon the church lot, in exchange for\nthe cabin and lot on which it stands\u2014an offer which the\nBishop has accepted. So, before another summer, Brown\nwill be more comfortably lodged, and the gain to the\nChurch property will be considerable.\nMorning service was at eleven o'clock. The Bishop,\nwith his chaplain (myself), was met at the entrance by the\nRev. R. L. Brown, Mr. E , the resident magistrate,\nand gold commissioner for Lilloet district, and one or two\nother chief traders in the place, who presented the petition, praying him to consecrate. This was read by the\nchaplain; and the Bishop, having signified his assent,\nproceeded to the east end, attended by the clergy, saying\nthe appointed psalm. The preHminary forms were gone\nthrough, and the service continued. Brown said prayers,\nI read the lessons, the Bishop preached an earnest, loving\nsermon, and administered the Holy Communion to five\npersons, besides the clergy\u2014a small beginning. The JOURNEY BACK FROM THE MINES.\n225\nchurch was well filled, and the singing, helped by\nMrs. E 's harmonium and voice, extremely creditable.\nEvening service was at seven o'clock. Again the church\nwas quite full. Brown said the prayers, the Bishop read\nthe lesson, and I preached from Matt. viii. 34. The\noffertory for the day amounted to over 100 dollars.\nThe church, at Brown's especial desire, is dedicated to\nSt. Mary. One would not willingly offend any reasonable\nscruples in a Christian brother, least of all in a land and\na place where even professing Christians are but few.\nStill, it was a very unreasonable scrapie that took exception to the name, as savouring of superstition. The\nobjection, however, was never pressed. It was discovered\nby the people of the place, perhaps by the objector himself, that the church was so called in honour of the\nexcellent magistrate's wife, whose name was Mary, and\nshe being extremely popular, as the only English lady in\nthe place, they \" concluded\" it would do very well!\nThe prospects of Lilloet have greatly improved this\nyear. The place has not grown much, but what there is\nhas improved in appearance. Buildings are becoming\nmore substantial; trade is looking up. It was quite necessary, if the Church's work was to be done, that a church\nshould be built. Of course there is, and must be in such\ncases, a great risk. No one can say that trade will continue here, that travel will go by this route, that population will remain. Two years hence the place may have\n\" gone in,\" and houses, be left to fall to rain\u2014the church\nincluded. Well, these are parts of the trials of faith\nwhich a man in the Bishop's position must be prepared to\nencounter. There must, in the early years of the work in\nsuch countries, be a certain proportion of loss, in hard\ncash, money expended and sunk in places which at last\n\"go in\" when all reasonable anticipations pointed the\nother way. That mistakes will never be made by our\nexcellent chief pastor, I shall not pretend to assert. Even\nfc\nIII , -. ;s\n>r\nQ&P\ny\n226\nTHE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\nour far-seeing Governor, in matters of colonial expenditure\nwhich brought no return, has made mistakes. That the\nBishop makes fewer mistakes than almost any other man\nwould do in his position will, I think, be allowed readily\nby all who have had the high privilege of working under\nthat most self-denying and unwearied servant of his\nMaster.\nMonday, September 22nd.\u2014We arrived to-day at Yale,\nthe head of navigation on Fraser River. We had expected\nto reach it on Saturday in time to share Mr. Reeve's\nduties, but Saturday forenoon only found us entering the\ngreat Canon of the Fraser, below Boston Bar; and coming\nupon the gangs of men who were making the new waggon\nroad from Yale to Lytton, we determined to remain among\nthem for Sunday services. The work in question is being\ncarried out by the brothers T , two of our best colonial\nChurchmen. The elder is one of Mr. Cridge's churchwardens at Christ Church, in Victoria; the younger is one\nof my church committee at St. John's. We camped by\ntheir huts near Chapman's Bar, amidst the magnificent\nscenery of this great gorge, which extends for some sixteen\nmiles or more.\nTwo unexpected arrivals took place just after we got to.\nour quarters. Mrs. T arrived at her husband's camp\nwith Mrs. 0 , the wife of the Attorney-General. They\nhad come up 120 miles from New Westminster to see the\nnew road through the mountains, and of course brought\nus all the latest Victoria and home news. Amongst other\nthihffs we heard of the arrival of the Tynemouth steamer\nfrom England, with forty young women on board, consigned to the Bishop. Let us hope that, as domestic\nservants, they may form a valuable and useful addition to\nthe female population of the colony. There is room for\nhundreds, and, if respectable and industrious, they cannot\nfail to get along well. All, we learned from Mrs. T ,\nhad ,got places, a committee of Churchmen having been JOURNEY BACK FROM THE MINES.\n227\nformed under Mr. Cridge, the Rector of Christ Church.\nThe wages given were from fifteen to thirty dollars a-\nmonth ! This for girls, who in England would have had\nfactory wages of a few shillings a-week!\nWe held forenoon service in the open air at our camp\nyesterday, having got together all who would attend from\nthe gangs of workers within reach. The ladies helped out\nour singing, and the Bishop preached a most appropriate\nsermon from Isaiah xl. 3,4, 5. The scene gave a wondrous\nreality to the words. In the afternoon we had another\nservice at the tents of the nearest road party, with a fair\nattendance, though many, mistaking the hour fixed, had\ngone up the pass, and came back just in time to be too\nlate. A pleasant ride of nineteen miles down the valley,\nand through the Lesser Canon, brought us to-day to Yale.\nMr. Pringle came up in a canoe from Hope and spent the\nnight.\nSeptember 23rd.\u2014Towards evening I got my traps together, and started in a canoe with Pringle to go down\nsixteen miles to Hope, leaving the Bishop to follow tomorrow with Mrs. T and Mrs. C , who were glad\nto avail themselves of our escort again down the river.\nWe passed the dreaded \"Emay's-Bar\" (only to be\ndreaded in the high stage of the water at \"freshets\"),\nand reached our destination in an hour and a-half. It\ntook Pringle seven hours yesterday to come up. I found\nthe place materially changed for the worse since I was\nhere a year ago. The people have almost all deserted it.\nIt is a town of shut-up stores and houses going to ruin.\nThere are not thirty people in it. Yet here we have an\nactive, zealous clergyman, and the prettiest church in the\ncolony out of New Westminster. The Bishop, too, owns\na considerable amount of land in and near the town,\nbought for purposes of diocesan endowment. Three years\nago no town promised better throughout the colony than\nthis. The Governor had faith in it; the Chief Justice\nQ 2\nPi THE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\nand Chief Commissioner of Lands and Works had faith in\nit; and the Bishop was considered very fortunate in\nmaking the investments he did. It may yet become an\nimportant place, as the depot and starting-place for the\nwhole of the country eastward, through the Similkomeen\nand Rock Creek districts, on towards the Kootaine River\nand passes of the Rocky Mountains. In all these western\ncountries towns repeatedly \"go ahead\" for a time, then\n1 cave in\" for some years, and perhaps end by becoming\nimportant places; and such may be the future of Hope,\nwhose situation, for beauty and for other advantages of\nposition and surroundings, is unrivalled. But meantime\nit has ceased to be a fitting post for a clergyman, and\nthat Mr. Pringle feels most keenly. It is an instance of\nthe difficulty the Bishop finds in determining what shall\nbe mere temporary mission posts, and what shall be\nconstituted regular parishes with consecrated churches.\nWe remained here for some days waiting for a steamer\nfrom below, and reached New Westminster on the Saturday.\nHere we spent the Sunday, the Bishop at the Archdeacon's\nhouse, and I in the hospitable quarters of the R. E. camp.\nWe returned to Victoria the following week. I found that\nmy one-roomed shanty, which had been the rectory house\nof St. John's for some three years, had been added to and\nimproved by certain members of the congregation. They\nhad built on a small kitchen, plastered the domicile inside,\nbuilt a fireplace and a chimney, put in a grate, and built a\nporch to the door. It looked quite grand.\nSo ended our Cariboo Mission tour for 1862. 229\nCHAPTER VH.\nTWO YEARS AMONGST THE INDIANS OF QUEEN CHARLOTTE'S\nISLAND.\nTurning my back upon many sincere friends in Canada, I\nhastened to catch the first steamer from New York to\nAspinwall, not without considerable difficulty, owing to the\ngreat rush of gold-hunters for Cariboo. I secured a berth\nby paying a premium. The steamer was an old one,\nof about 1,500 tons register, and carried over 2,000\npassengers. Under British laws, I may mention, such a\nsteamer would not have been allowed to carry more than\n80.0. With this great crowd on board we obtained very\nslight comfort or accommodation; huddled together for\neight days and twenty hours, we. at last reached Aspinwall\n(2,338 miles).\nGlad we were indeed to get on shore for a few hours.\nAt Aspinwall we had now to pass over to the Pacific by\ncrossing the isthmus to Panama by railway, a distance of\nabout forty-seven miles. When this railway was constructed some years ago, ague and other fevers raged\nterribly; it is reported that every yard of rail laid was at\nthe cost or sacrifice of a human being; even now the\nbones of the victim^may be seen jutting out from under\nthe railway sleepers and bleaching in the sun. Fortunately\nfor travellers, in the present day those malignant fevers are\nin a manner unknown, or have wholly ceased. It is well\nit is so, for this is the most dehghtful and interesting part\nof the whole voyage.\nThe chief characteristic which a stranger observes on\nlasts1 230\nTHE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\nm\n&?\nlanding here is the deep green foliage of the cocoanut-tree\nand palm. Pine-apples. were selling at ninepence each,\nsuch beauties ! All the tavern or storekeepers' have monkeys at their doors. Turkey-buzzards are as common here\nas crows are in Britain. A good supply of delicious fruit\nis always to be had from the natives in this wonderful\nvegetable kingdom, where at every stoppage of the train\nthe women and children crowd into the carriages, crying,\nI Bananas, my dear ? Oranges or pine-apples, my dear ?\"\n&c.\nWhat a wonderful contrast is here presented to the eye\nof a stranger from more northern latitudes\u2014every point of\nthe compass discloses magnificent vistas of leaf, bough,\nand blossom, while all outline of landscape is lost under a\nperfect deluge of vegetation. No trace of the soil is to be\nseen. Lowland and highland are the same. Mountain\nrises upon mountain in graceful majesty, covered to their\nvery crests with every variety of vegetation and floral\nbeauty. The loveliness of Nature here is indescribable;\nshe seems decked out in her richest and most costly garb\nto welcome the adventurous pioneer to that Eden of the\nworld and the Eldorado beyond. You simply gaze upon\nthe scene before you with delight.\nI would strongly recommend all those who are lovers of\nmatchless scenery and fond of botanical research, to spend\na few weeks in the vicinity of the railway which crosses\nthe Isthmus of Panama, and divides the Pacific from\nthe Atlantic. Here all the gorgeous growths of an eternal\nsummer are mingled in one impenetrable mass, whilst\nfrom the rank jungle of canes and gigantic lilies, and the\nthickets of strange shrubs that line the water, rise the\ntrunks of the mango, the cocoa, the sycamore, and the\nsuperb palm.\nArriving at Panama, we went immediately on board\nthe steamer's tender, and were conveyed out to the\n.California steamer, anchored about two miles from the INDIANS OF QUEEN CHARLOTTE's ISLAND.\n231\nshore in the Bay of Panama. She was a magnificent\nfour-decker, and American built, with much less crowding\non board, though we had 200 more- passengers direct from\nBritain, by West Indian steamer, which is much the best\nroute from Europe.\nWe kept close in towards the Mexican shore, stopping\nonly once (at Acapulco) before we entered the \" Golden\nGate,\" which protects the harbour of San Francisco.\nThis being the end of the second steamer's voyage\n(thirteen days and eighteen hours), all the passengers\nlanded to re-ship by another steamer for Vancouver Island.\nWe had a very pleasant passage from Panama to San\nFrancisco, there being only one thing that I regretted\nmuch, namely, the want of Divine service, especially on\nSundays, on board ship, such not being the custom under\nthe American flag. However, a few Canadians and myself\ntook possession of the bow of the steamer, and here we\njoined in reading and singing Psalms morning and evening\nduring each Sunday. There was a great difference in the\nsocial habits and national characteristics of the passengers,\nmany of whom, like myself, were in the pursuit of health\nor the acquisition of knowledge ; but the majority of them\nwere braving the dangers of the deep and enduring the\nprivations of the passage for the sole purpose of amassing\nwealth at the gold-fields of California or British Columbia.\nA large majority intending for the latter place were\nCanadians (with the exception of the 200 before mentioned) ; and a more steady, hard-working looking set of\nmen I have never seen .together in such numbers. They\nwere all Protestants, and spent much of their leisure time\non board in reading religious books and in singing sacred\nmusic.\nThose Canadians are the very class of men wanted in\nsuch a country as British Columbia, and who are certain\nto prosper there; in fact, I have good reason to know that\nnearly all those Canadians have since secured good 232\nTHE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\npositions, while a few of them have amassed large fortunes.\nThe contrast, I may say, between the Americans and\nCanadians on board ship was very striking; the former,\nseemingly, were without religious sentiment or devout\nimpressions upon their mind, displaying much discontent\nabout some trifle day after day, while the Canadians were\nof an agreeable and sociable disposition, cheerful and\nhumorous, gay and grave by turns, or like men who\ncould be brotherly to their race and mindful of and dutiful\ntowards their God. Committed to the mercy of a kind\nProvidence, in spite of capricious elements, and such\nregrets as the sensitive mind cannot fail to indulge in, for\nall that had been left behind in the land of our birth, I\nam confident a happier and more joyful company never\npursued the trackless path of the deep.\nWe had four days to wait for the steamer in that\nbustling go-ahead city, San Francisco, with its gold-loving\npopulation, and another five days took us the remainder of\nthe voyage, landing us in the convenient little harbour\nof Esquimalt, distant about three miles from the capital,\nVictoria.\nThe day we arrived at San Francisco was the\nanniversary of the fire-brigades; there was a magnificent\nturn-out of all the firemen and engines in Portsmouth\nSquare, the brilliant silver and brass mountings of the\nengines, with their profusion of gay flags and wreaths of\nnatural flowers, looking very dazzling and imposing to a\nstranger; added to this the reflection of the sun's hot rays\nupon the many different glittering uniforms of the men, at\nonce gave a good idea of the wealth and prosperity of\nSan Francisco. \" Frisco \" is most decidedly a flourishing\ncity, and well worth a visit, or the delay in stopping for a\nfew days before proceeding by steamer to British Columbia.\nOn reaching Queen Charlotte's Island, I went to visit\nthe \" racecourse,\" one of the great and many attractions\nof the place. The afternoon was calm and clear while I INDIANS OF QUEEN CHARLOTTE S ISLAND.\n233\nlounged on the crest of the hill that forms the centre of\nthe I course,\" gazing on the picturesque scenes around.\nSouthward, washing the base of the hill, are the Straits of\nSt. Juan-de-Fuca, with the wide white pebble shores,\nbounded on the north side by Vancouver Island, and on\nthe south by long high mountain chains that form the\nnorthern boundary of Oregon Territory. It was a sight\nwhich, once seen, can never be forgotten ! I felt amply\nrepaid for the little hardships attending the long voyage to\nthis beautiful spot. I paid the course a second visit;\nindeed it is worth a dozen visits, just to stand on the top\nof that elevated grassy slope in the centre of the course,\nand get a commanding view of the city and \" strait,\" with\nthe snow-capped hills of Oregon towering high above\nthe highest clouds. The climate is dehghtful, resembling\nthe south of Scotland, but with a much purer atmosphere ;\nand it is easy to predict that at no distant date this\nbeautiful island will become a perfect Eden ! The soil in\ngeneral abounds with inexhaustible forests of fine timber,\nrich undulating small prairies, extensive fisheries, and\nlarge deposits of coal, copper, and other minerals. The\nisland is about 250 miles long and from fifty to seventy\nmiles wide. The chief timbers are the pine, spruce, red\nand white oak, cedar, arbutus, poplar, maple, willow, and\n\"yew, particularly the first, many of which I have measured\nand found five feet in diameter by 300 feet high, perfectly\nstraight, and without joints. There are many lofty hills\nand mountain peaks in different parts of the island, some\nof them beautifully wooded to their very summits, and\nothers craggy, barren, precipitous, and full of dark caverns\nand frightful ravines, which add to the marvellous beauty\nand solemnity of the grand scenery around.\nEight times have I been round, in, and at every\naccessible point of this island; and I can truly say,\nwithout hesitation, here is a site, a beautiful and profitable\nhome for the surplus labour of the British Isles, where liit'i\njl i; I\nI'd\n\u25a07\n234\nTHE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\nmore than 100,000.men could find immediate homes and\nlive by the gun and fishing-net, and by cultivating its\nmarvellous productive soil. There is only one thing\nwhich this island lacks, namely, convenient and safe\nharbours for large sailing ships; there are, in fact, only\ntwo; but with an enterprising population and assistance\nfrom the mother country this only difficulty could be\neasily overcome.\nI must pass over the rest of the journey to Queen\nCharlotte's' Island. The first thing is to colonise this\nisland. It is, as I have said, teeming with the richest and\nmost valuable mineral ores, wooded throughout with the\nstateliest pines and cedars of the world\u2014an island which\nis, as to extent of surface, as large as Scotland, but the\nhabitation at present wholly of Indian tribes.\nThe Bellacoola Indians now number about 500; they\nare a very industrious people, and encourage the \"whites\"\nto live among them.- This is an advantage, as these\nIndians are remarkably successful fishermen, and can be\nalways employed in catching any quantity of fish in the\nriver for the supply of the settlers. They are a hardy\nrace of people, but rather dirty in their habits. Their\nhouses are very substantially built, and many of them are\nentered by ah opening of a circular form about two feet in\ndiameter, which is made in the building after it has been\nerected; others are constructed with doors, after the\nwhite man's system. These houses vary in size, from\nthirty to eighty feet in length, and from twenty to forty\nfeet in breadth, are one storey high, with nearly flat roofs.\nThe whole building is constructed of wood (cedar), the\nboards generally two inches thick, and averaging from six\nto eighteen feet in length by eighteen inches in breadth,\nremarkably regular and smoothly cut. When I first\nexamined them I was under the impression they were\nsawn and planed by white mechanics, but such was not\nthe case, as I shortly afterwards saw the mode- by which INDIANS OF QUEEN CHARLOTTES ISLAND.\n235\nthe natives manufactured the timber into boards previous\nto their erecting a house for a newly-created chief. The\ntool which they use for planing is a simple piece of iron\nfastened to a round wooden handle by a piece of cord\nmanufactured from the inner bark of the cedar; this tool\nis shaped and worked like an \"adze,\" and is their\nprincipal working implement. Their next tool of importance is an awl-shaped knife: the point of the blade is bent\nup in the form of a half-circle; this instrument they hold\nlike the tool held by English blacksmiths when cutting\nhorses' hoofs, that is, with the back of the hand down\nand drawing the blade towards the body. It is really\nremarkable the number of articles for general purposes\nand for ornament which they make with this last simple\nimplement, all beautifully and artistically finished. I was\nshown a perfect facsimile of a sovereign carved on a piece\nof ivory of the same size as the gold coin.\nBut to complete my description of their houses. The\nframe is supported by posts driven into the ground, an\nopen space of about eight feet in depth being left between\nthe floor and the ground. This space is used for general\npurposes, all filth, refuse, &c, being dropped through the\nopenings in the floor; and when, in course of time, this\nspace gets filled up, the house or \"frame\" is removed\nto another spot, and placed again on the top of new posts,\nand there it remains till the space is again filled up. Thus\nthey continue from time to time to remove their abode.\nThe roofs of these houses generally consist of two great\nlogs or trees, the full length of the building and about\nthree feet in diameter. Each of these requires at least a\nhundred Indians to hoist it up to its place. On these\nhuge logs rest the boards, unfastened, so that when the\nhouse inside is full of smoke, or the weather is fine, they\ncan be pushed aside. This, however, is seldom done,\nowing to the lazy habits of the people.\nOn the centre of the floor is spread a quantity of gravel 236\nTHE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\nto protect the wood from catching fire; on this is placed\nthe fire, before which is placed or spread the mats, which\nserve as seats for squatting on during the day, and are\nused as mattresses at night, the sleepers lying with their\nfeet towards the fire. Overhead, amidst the dense smoke,\nhang their uncured fish; while at the far corner of the\nroom are piled up in large boxes their winter stock of\ndried and cured fish, berries, and their various articles of\nmerchandise.\nThe Indians are very superstitious. They will not\nallow the whites to wash, or throw any water or rubbish\ninto the river, under the impression that it will cause the\nfish to leave it. The fish when caught are strung on a\nrope and moored to a pole stuck into the bed of the river,\nwhile on the top of the pole are fastened bunches of\nfeathers to charm them, and after they have remained in\nthe water for several hours they are taken on shore, one\nat a time, and as they are being landed a crowd of children\nkeep crying at the top of their voices, but in a solemn\nstrain, \"Vil-o-o-o.\" They generally banish one of their\ntribe to the mountains during the fishing season, there to\nexist on berries and what he can find. He is not allowed\nto have a fire, and none of his tribe may hold any communication with him \"while the spell lasts,\" it being\ntheir belief that if the banished Indian once sees any part\nof the river the fish will depart from it for ever. This is a\ncruel fate, even for an Indian, and I shall never forget the\nfirst time I heard one of those poor Indians' heartrending\nand most piercing wails as they came echoing from cliff to\ncliff. Once heard they are never to be forgotten.\nOn reaching Queen Charlotte's Island, I built a log\nhouse, in which I resided about twelve months, which\nwas a most comfortable house to live in, and could be\nquickly and cheaply built after the Canadian bush style.\nThe trees, growing in the morning, are cut down and converted into a comfortable house by sundown. It generally INDIANS OF QUEEN CHARLOTTE S ISLAND.\n337\ntakes about fifty men to build one, every man giving a\nday's labour free, while you give him his food and pay for\na fiddler, to wind up with a merry dance, this being called\na \"house-warming.\" Of course, in the event of your\nneighbour requiring a house, a barn, or stable built, ten\nacres of bush cleared for crop, or fifty acres of potatoes\ndug up and put in pits in one day, you have to reciprocate,\nand in this way you may have to give your services free two\nor three days in the course of a year. But if the section\nin which you are located becomes thickly settled, your\nservices are not required. In a few years, say five or six,\nyou are neither called upon to give nor take, but become\nperfectly independent, and pay for your own labourers.\nOf the climate I may say that it is much milder here\nthan at the capital (Victoria), and milder than in any part\nof Scotland, the summer being not quite so hot during the\nhottest days, while the winter is much warmer, and the\natmosphere always clearer and more pure.\nFish are perhaps more plentiful than in any other part\nof the world. The quantity of game is really marvellous.\nThe natives have been justly considered the finest,\nmost savage, and warlike Indians on the Pacific, but they\nare well disposed towards the whites, and wish us to settle\namongst them. The chief, Kitguna, believing that he had\nthe right to do as he liked with his own islands, actually\nmade me a present of them, on condition that I lived\namongst them and induced all my friends, the \"English,\"\nto settle with me\u2014not a very small gift, considering that\nthe island is nearly 200 miles long, and averages about\nthirty miles wide!\nThe population [all natives) is about 4,500; they are\nexceedingly industrious; they make very creditable earrings, nicely carved, besides pipes and flutes, cut out of\nwood, ivory, and slates. The majority of them, male and\nfemale, wear only a small-sized half-blanket loosely thrown\nover their shoulders, more for the purpose of warmth than\nII 238\nTHE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\nany sense of decency. They five for the most part on\nbears, ducks, geese, and such shell-fish as they find near\ntheir camps.\nSome of the women are exceedingly handsome and\nsymmetrical in shape, but unfortunately they are in the\nhabit of disfiguring their breasts, arms, ears, and under\nlip. One particularly fine woman, the daughter of the\nlittle chief 1 Skilleyguts,\" had her arms tattooed with\nfigures representing chiefs and fish.\nWhen they have resigned their husbands (who take to\nanother wife), and gone into widowhood, their under lips\nare put between two pieces of ivory, each the size of a\nhalfpenny piece, and these are riveted together; sometimes it will be one solid piece, and this is let into the\nhole, which has been gradually enlarging during her\nyounger lifetime, causing the lip to project straight out\nat least two inches from the under jaw. ,\nAmong these simple and primitive tribes marriage is unknown, nor is polygamy one of their institutions. Woman\nis a creature purely of purchase, to be had connubially\nfor a month's trial, and if the man is dissatisfied with her\n(which is too often the case), he returns her to her parents,\nand receives back what he gave for her\u2014a trinket or a\nblanket. I may add that there are no ceremonies whatever performed such as are customary among many savage\ntribes on the occasion of a man and woman undertaking to\nlive together for a short or a long period. It is a simple\nmatter on the man's part of purchase and possession.\nThe beautiful attachment and heroic constancy of affection\nending only in death, amongst civilised or Christian nations,\nis to them unknown.\nThe men are in general a fine raee of men, and only\nlook hideous when they blacken their faces with charred\nwood. Many of them are notoriously lazy and given to\ngambling; and I have always observed that this gambling\nclass were the most troublesome to the whites (we are INDIANS OF QUEEN CHARLOTTE'S ISLAND.\n239\ncalled \"whites\" to make a distinction, yet it is a well-\nknown fact on the American continent that the natives in\nCanada and British Columbia are nearly as white as we\nare; the \" dusky Indians \" stain their skins with the bark\nof trees, and those in our colonies on the North Pacific\npaint themselves black with charred wood).\nIt is painful to be reminded of those unfortunate and\nbenighted creatures, with no religious faith, no elevated\nprinciple of duty; and in bringing these cursory remarks\nto a close, I may perhaps state the mode which I would\nsuggest should be adopted for the colonisation or early\nsettlement of Queen Charlotte's Island.\nAfter the emigrants had arrived at the island, all hands\nwould be set to work to build a large one-roomed log\nhouse, in which all could lodge temporarily, and which\ncould be used afterwards as a Mission station or school-\nhouse. When this is accomplished, positions for fifty\nhouses might be staked out, and then all hands could be\nemployed in building log-house No. 1. When No. 1 is\ncompleted, No. 2 could be commenced and completed,\nand so on till the completion of the whole number\nrequired; and thus, within two or three' months after\nlanding on the island, every family would be comfortably housed. Thus domiciled in substantial wooden\nerections, the attention of the emigrants would be\ndirected to the cultivation of the soil, which is most rich\nand fertile.\nEach family could begin farming operations on a small\nor extended scale, seeds and implements being provided\nfrom the general stock, and my impression is that at the\nend of the first year they would find themselves not\nonly with every comfort,- but on the road to independence. Of course the Government would require to grant\n200 acres free to each family emigrating, or more land,\nif wished by them, under stipulated conditions. I will\nmerely add that I have every confidence in the sue- 240\nTHE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\ncess of such an emigration scheme under Government\nauthority.\nAll that I crave is the sympathy of my countrymen and\ncountrywomen on behalf of those poor \"Hydah \" Indians\non that isolated island, discovered by Captain Cook nearly\na hundred years ago, and explored so recently by me ; and\nI do trust that I may be the means through the present\nchannel of awakening a public interest in their fate. 241\n)Mf$u$ from ftp &$atawt.\nCHAPTER I.\nSWAMPLANDS.\nFar, far away on the Canterbury Plains, in the land of\nthe weka and the booming bittern, and about twenty miles\nnorth of the city of Christchurch, lies Swamplands, our\nrural district.\nA huge morass to the westward borders off all direct\ncommunication with Eliotville, a rising locality and laid-\nout township, where blankets and \" corduroys,\" sardines\nand grog, figure behind the panes of an ambitious store;\nand a zealous blacksmith, splendid in gold ring earned at\n\"the diggings,\" acknowledges to be driving, to use a\ncolonial phrase, a \"slap-up\" trade. To the eastward\nflows the Wainia, incursive, devastating, ever-shifting,\nand unreliable, as is the custom of New Zealand rivers\nto be.\nThis forms the ostensible Rubicon between -Swamplands\nand its neighbours de Vautre cote. The latter are one and\nall in a better position as to worldly means and rank of\nlife, holding large runs, or extensive freeholds ; inhabiting\nfine houses, and having time as well as means for enjoyment\u2014representatives, in fact, of the yeomen or squirearchy of English counties. With these, however, we have\nat present nothing to do. Our subject is the working\nR 242\nTHE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\nfreeholder of from twenty to fifty or a hundred acres ;\none who is practically versed in the science of cross\nploughing, dibbling, and harrowing; who is familiar with\ntents, and conversant with shanties\u2014a simple \" Arcadian\nfarmer.\"\nTen years ago Swamplands did not exist in the maps of\nCity draughtsmen and among the reports of surveyors.\nIt was one of the many hundreds of unlaid-out regions\nfar back in the swamps. Such are constantly uprising,\nhabitations seemingly of a night's growth, with populations .\nspringing into existence as spontaneously as themselves.\nNow, near the spots where Maories camped, to fish and\ndoze away a miserable existence, and where, at a remote\nperiod, their forefathers had held their savage carnivals,\nas the remains of ancient ovens constructed with stones\nagainst the sides of the sandhills may to this day testify,\nthere oats, and green grass, and waving corn, have\ndisplaced indigenous tussucks* and bunches of flax,\nwhich formerly constituted the sole vegetation of the\ndreary spot; a vegetation that, like the features of an\nexpressionless face, overspread the surface, without\nstamping it with any character. Here too, but at\nintervals few and far between, rises the smoke from\nwooden homesteads into the most pure and bright of\natmospheres ; the thriving hedge of broom or gorse\nencircling the low walls, with the saplings and plants of\nEnglish origin, sufficiently attest the nationality and\npersevering industry of the inmates. Sweetly from over\nthe sandhills comes the scent of the potatoe and the\nbean-field, and the traveller on the distant track, whilst\n\" pricking o'er the plain,\" may hear the sound of craning\nkine and bleating sheep, commanded by the shepherd's\nvoice or urged by resounding whips of strong-lunged\nstockmen. In the gullies of the shingly river-bed also,\n* The native grass, growing to a height of two feet, is of a dull\nyellow colour, very monotonous to the eye. SWAMPLANDS.\n.243\nwhere erst the \"noble savage,\" in his stark nakedness,\nwas wont to spear his daily food (\" ki, ki \"), now wander\nthe hardy flocks of divers owners, intent on securing for\nthemselves a meagre and difficult subsistence ; but despite\nthe frugality of their fare, varied, by way of an occasional\nluxury, with a mouthful of English grass, they mostly\npresent a decent and respectable appearance.\nSo much for the scene; now for the people. What\nsort of being is a Swamplandite ? what kind of life does\nhe lead ? and what are his pursuits, aims, and occupations ?\nThe Ultima Thule of his ambition, the subject of his\nnightly prayers, is to gain independence, to leave an\ninheritance to his children. With this view he emigrated;\nfor this he begins life over again, willing to struggle\nonwards though his task be futile as that of Sisyphus,\nand his efforts as vain as those of the unhappy Tantalus.\nToil is the necessity of his life ; no time has he to\ncontemplate aught that may entrench upon his labours.\nAmusements he has none. The difficulties of communication between the few houses there are, and the fact of\nevery one being unexceptionally wrapt up and incrusted in\nhis own affairs, render all interchange of the courtesies of\nsocial life and all freedom of intercourse extremely difficult.\nAnd the encroachment of a dreaded river on one side, and\nthe obstinacy of an irreclaimable swamp on the other, are\nmatters of too deep moment to allow much entertainment\nor diversion of spirit. Yet the Swamplandite is by no\nmeans an unhappy or a discontented mortal. He is rather\napt to pride himself upon having turned his back on the\npollutions, the follies, and conventionalities and restraints\nof a great city. He is a strict conservative in theory and\npractice, carrying out as well as is in his power the\ntime-honoured institutions and prejudices of the old\ncountry. And dearly he loves a social evening, when he\ncan get it, about three times a-year; when he can afford\nto be profusely hospitable and genial beyond measure.\nr 2 244\nTHE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\nWhen thus doing the honours of his own roof, he can\nseldom refrain from extolling the benefits of his peculiar\nmode of life and place of abode\u2014the pure air he enjoys,\nsalubrious water, and free and easy style of living. So far\nfrom bewailing the scarcity of congenial spirits, he is\ninclined to say, with the poet,\nI How sweet, how passing sweet is solitudeI\"\ni:\nConcerning the education of the young in these parts,\nwe may say that it is not a rule as binding as the'law\nof the Medes and Persians that they be initiated into\nmysteries which are not immediately connected with\nthe advancement of their success in that particular mode\nof life for which they may be destined. The spade, the\nplough, and the stock-whip, take precedence, in fact, over\nall other subjects of education.\nOur sturdy youth languish under no terrors of the cane\nand the imposition, nor under any over-excitement of the\nbrain and over-development of the nervous system; unabashed, precocious beyond measure are they. Lusty\nand strong as young eagles; strangers to more than half\nthe ills that infant flesh is heir to, they believe in no other\nland than their own Arcadia.\nSwamplands possesses one blessing, of which many an\nup-country district of equal cultivation still mourns the\nwant. A church\u2014a very modest wooden structure\u2014a\ntabernacle in the wilderness of treeless plain\u2014has within\nthe last few years been erected. Once in six weeks the\nservices are conducted by clergymen from a distance,\nriding fifteen or twenty miles in the course of a day. As\nyet there is no resident minister. If we may judge from\nappearances, making allowance for the scattered and\nsparse population of the district, the number of horses\ntied to posts, and the vehicles of all description seen on\n| church Sundays,\" might shame the lukewarmness of SWAMPLANDS.\n245\nmany an English congregation labouring under no obstacle\nas to route and conveyance. Many of these good people\nhave emerged from nearly uninhabitable wilds of the\nswamp and river-bed. Some have come in drays or\nponderous waggons drawn by six or eight fat bullocks;\nothers in \"traps,\" on horseback, or on foot; over miles\nof tangled grass and \"nigger head,\" and ground made\nhorrible by wild pigs\u2014those ever-pleasing mementoes of\nCaptain Cook's legacy. Then we may sometimes see a\nsmart \"buggy\" or two, the springs of which have been\njeopardised to humour the vanity of the proprietor.\nEspecially we must not forget to notice those very\nfashionable-looking horsemen, with white-covered hats\nand veils dependent, who are talking and flirting with the\nfair equestrians by their side ; which same buxom damsels\nlater in the day may be surprised hard-taxed with milking\nand skimming operations, or actively superintending the\npreparation of a substantial supper.\nIn New Zealand you come upon both people and places\nin the most unexpected manner. Society, like the climate,\nis formed of a hundred mingling varieties. It is a land\nof eccentricities, variabilities, and inconsistencies.\nAt Swamplands people make their appearance at church,\nwhose manner of life and place of abode, though known to\nexist, are involved in mystery even to their near neighbours. With such remotely situated families the journey\nto church occupies the whole day, entailing a veritable\npilgrimage. And we cannot be surprised that friends and\nscattered relations should look forward to the service\nSunday as a time for the exchange of mutual greetings\nand kindly salutations, which the difficulties of communication so effectually interrupt. The effects of extreme\nisolation are always more or less visible in both large and\nsmall families.\nPicture to yourselves (which is a very common case) a\nnumber of boys and girls ranging from the age of six to 246\nTHE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\nm\nmn\nsixteen, all rampant in Swamplands ! Of the boys, nearly\nall of them are great adepts in fishing, shooting, and, of\ncourse, riding; even the little one of six born up there,\nand never having set foot beyond his paternal acres, wins\nand merits the reputation of being able to ride \" any\nhorse.\" He can \"tail the sheep,\" \"head a mob\" (of\ncattle), and help \"cut out a beast,\" with the ease of a\ngrowing Hercules! But this little boy, infallible though\nhe be in the eyes of parents and admiring kinsfolkj has\nnever seen a boat, a bridge, a mill, or a stone building.\nOf these things, and many others equally familiar to our\neyes, he knows only by hearsay and by illustrations. He\nhas never wandered in a lane, nor gathered flowers from a\nhedge-row, nor scrambled over the ruins of an old stone\nwall. His highest notion of a tree is embodied in the\nblue and red gum saplings, the poplars and willows ^f l>ut\nfew years' growth, that are rapidly springing up in his\nfather's garden. He has never listened to the sound of\nbells, nor heard the song of blackbird or of thrash, or\n\"Philomel's soft lay! \" The glories of bird's-nesting, of\nclimbing, or rambling in shady groves, deHghtful copses,\nand \" watery gladis,\" are Eleusinian mysteries to this\nchild of matter-of-fact and unromance. The eggs of the\nlark, the dotted and gorgeous \" swamp hen,\" he stumbles\nupon midst the tussucks of the plain ; but the real English\nenjoyment of bird's-nesting, with its attendant excitements\nand spice of adventure, is unknown, impracticable, to the\ndweller in swamps and treeless wastes.\nWe frequently see in the elder boys and girls of a family\ndispositions to study and improve their minds ; they wish\nto I get up \" what they did know or were beginning to\nknow when they left school in England or elsewhere. In\nthe winter evenings, when the blaze of roots or flax stalks\nfrom the open hearth gleams cheerily upon the wooden or\nthe clay-washed walls, they endeavour to study ; they bring\nout the old books. But now, alas ! the task is harder; SWAMPLANDS.\n247\nthe eyes are sore and heavy from exposure to the wind\n.and sun of a more tropical clime; the hands are grown\nstiff and stubborn from daily toil; and, with so \" few\nappliances and means to boot,\" how can the tired stockman, the fencer, the shepherd, control and subjugate those\ntoo powerful thoughts which, despite his best efforts, will\nwander on \" bullocks ? \"\nThat very equivocal personage \" the tutor,\" whom one\noccasionally meets in the houses of thriving or superior\npeople, is by no means a reliable source of intellectual\nsuperiority or special mental endowments. To some degree he does answer the purpose of a useful walking\ndictionary, or Bibliotheca domestica; and is, therefore, a\nconvenient and proper person to have in an ambitious\nhousehold. But his position is certainly ambiguous, and\ndiffers very widely from our English and European notions\nof a dominie. His real vocation may be summed up in\nthe words of his own advertisement, wherein he styles\nhimself \" a person willing to make himself generally useful\nand agreeable.\" With regard to his pupils, he must have\nentire control over them, i.e., take the little ones entirely\noff the hands of other people, teach them when willing,\nand cram into the heads of the elder ones as much as it\nis possible within a very short compass of time. That his\nduties may be pleasingly diversified, in his spare time let\nhim take up the spade or the rake, and thus learn to be\ncolonial, as it is every one's duty to be. He need not be\nstrict, neither too quiet, nor given to lecturing or commentating ; but in all things let him be the cheerful,\nactive, accommodating, colonial tutor.\nIn the education of girls, also, the tutor often plays an\nimportant part. In very remote places, where the procuring of a governess is impracticable, \"the tutor\" officiates pro tern, as a sort of masculine \" bonne,\" or male\nduenna. He accompanies the young ladies to church on\nhorseback, carrying books or parcels, sits near them, that\nHI 248\nTHE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\nhe may kindly find out their places for them during service, and otherwise conducts himself as a pious guardian.\nIn all long and hazardous rides he is their attendant\ncavalier to guide them through swampy quagmires or\ntroublesome rivers. In short, so complaisant and so kind\na being as a \" harmless, necessary \" tutor, is universally\nesteemed a great gain to a household of growing sons and\ndaughters. Stories have been told (cruelly) of runaway\ntutors, dishonest tutors, and sentimental tutors; but, on\nthe whole, the scheme is decidedly successful, and has\nbeen pretty generally adopted whenever practicable.\nGenteel people view an appendage of this sort as the\nChinese do their long nails. It is so respectable to have a\ntutor! so very colonial! and, withal, so thoroughly convenient !\nBut in extremely isolated households, where neither\ngoverness nor tutor are likely to find their much-desired\nway, the condition of the young people is truly deplorable.\nWe know one family immersed in the innermost recesses\nof Swamplands, who for five years lived in a state of compulsory estrangement. Now, by means of drains and\ncleared lands, matters are daily getting better and better;\nbut in the early days to which I allude, this side of the\nswamp was entirely isolated, both ingress and egress being\nimpracticable on foot. Once a-year the master of the\nhouse, with a servant, brought up their store of provisions\nfrom town, after having first carted and sold his crop of\noats, wheat, turnips, &c. It were vain to attempt to describe the difficulties of his circuitous route, the labours,\nthe hardships, and disappointments that too frequently\nawaited him. All I can say is, that he still performs that\njourney, and thus the family live on. About twice during\nthe lingering summer, when the parching winds have\ncreated dry paths and temporary tracks in the season of\ngrasshoppers and lizards; and when the screams of swamp\nhens, and wekas, and ducks, with the boom of the bittern, SWAMPLANDS.\n249\nseem lulled by a transitory spell, then do the ladies of\nthis secluded mansion venture forth on exploring expeditions and visiting excursions. But as soon as the winter\nrains set in, when the snow on the distant Alps is brilliantly visible in the exquisite sunshine of a June day;\nwhen river and lake, and dismal lagoon, and every solitary and msignificant building that dots the plain is transformed by the mirage into objects of the-wildest significance ; then do these ladies feel that their time of imprisonment is come, and that at least for three months to\ncome must they be confined to the precincts, if not the\nwalls, of their homes, like the inhabitants of some be-\nleagured fortress. Now, what constitutes the routine of\nthis family's life from day to week, from month to year ?\nHard work of almost any kind both in-doors and out, and\nplenty of it. There are three daughters and four sons.\nThe mother and eldest daughter, a stout girl of eighteen,\ndo all the important work of the house, including washing,\nand the management of a dairy. They keep no maidservant\u2014a common occurrence in small houses, especially\nup the country. Notwithstanding their incessant occupations, and their often tired bodies, the mother and grown-up\ndaughter sedulously devote two afternoons in the week to\nslates and copy-books. They gather the children around\nthem, and endeavour by every possible means to concentrate their attention. Alas ! here again is up-hill work ;\na weary, one-sided straggle. The children have been out\nin the (almost tropical) sun all day; the nor'-wester has\nblistered their- eyes and worried their minds ; they are\nrestless and high-spirited, as only colonial children can be.\nThey don't believe in this humbug; \"no fear,\" they are\nnot going to be crammed with a lot of bosh. Then in\ncomes the father, or big elder brother, stock-whip in hand,\nto say it is high time to be seeing after the cows. A loud\n\" too-d \" is heard from distant quarters, instantly claiming\nand rivetting universal attention, and ultimately giving\n11. THE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\nwarning of the dehghtful fact that the horses are all in\namongst the new oats in the far paddock ; the sheep have\nall crossed the rice and must be instantly headed back.\nThe pigs have found out the door of the dairy, are enjoying themselves, and taking it thoroughly easy; and the\ncalves, having first broken their tether ropes, are with\ngusto demohshing the newly-washed linen and bleaching\ncollars upon the lawn. So away fly the urchins in all the\nglee of emancipation, and away are put the lessons, as\nthey have been so many times before, And then the poor\nmother bewails her lot. She is really a well-informed,\neducated person\u2014a lady of birth once familiar with comfort .and luxury; and she willingly consented to come to\nNew Zealand. But she never realised the impediments\nthat were to obstruct her pathway and perplex her career\n\u2014if only this education question did not worry her so\nmuch!\u2014if her husband would but take the boys in hand\nhimself!\nThe evils of isolation are painfully exhibited in bachelors ! Swamplands, like all newly settled places, of\ncourse contains many bachelors. We have every variety\nof them: from the gay, young, would-be \" swell,\" delighting in \"larks\" and \"sprees\" whenever obtainable, who\ntravels to distant races to see and to be seen, and whose\nsaddle and spurs seem part of himself, to the grave, aristocratic gentleman of middle age, who abandoned England\nin grief or disgust, blase and sick of a world whose\npleasures he had exhausted; and there is the old Australian or Californian digger, perhaps an old \" lag,\" or turned-\noff convict, who knows a \" thing or two,\" is up to many a\nclever \" dodge,\" and heeds little what passes around him,\nexcept it be work. Some of these bachelors are remarkable for their neatness in person and attire, the method of\ntheir arrangements, and the prim order of their abodes ;\nothers, we grieve to say, are terribly the reverse ! Many\nyoung men (especially among gentlemen's sons we notice SWAMPLANDS.\n251\nit) of good birth and education, thoroughly reared in\netiquette and the requirements of polite society, appear to\ntake delight in living in a state of barbaric dirtiness, and\nsavage disregard of appearances. We can mention one\ncase in particular,* that of four young men, calling themselves mates or partners in a large block of land adjoining\nthe river-bed, who live in a style that we cannot describe\nas colonial, but truly piggish! The hut which they inhabit, and which they built themselves, is about twelve\nfeet long by twelve. It is made of cob, or native clay\n(often used for building, and which may be made to look\nvery presentable), and through the interstices of the rude\nsods may be seen many a tuft of native grass or weed,\nproving highly alluring to grasshoppers, lizards, and other\ninsignificant and innocuous reptiles that may choose to\n\u25a0Enter. Inside the Irut an extremity Is partitioned off \"to\nform a receptacle for milk, butter, cheese, &c. This is\ncalled \" the dairy,\" and not only forms a sleeping apartment for one of the \" mates,\" but into it a strange medley\nof rags, boots, old bottles, clothes, books, tools, and every\nkind of miscellaneous lumber is tossed as into a common\ndusthole. The larger or i living-room \"\u2014also replete\nwith miscellaneous furniture, such as saddles, guns, boxes,\nand sacks, in picturesque attitudes\u2014is principally devoted\nto huge \" salting-down \" tubs, or crocks, filled with meat\noften in a higher state of putrefaction than preservation.\nThe young lords of the manor spend their days out of\ndoors, sometimes really working, most times riding long\nand furiously after their cattle\u2014an employment far more\ncongenial to their taste ! In the evenings they come in to\ncook their supper, to wash, and, when positively compulsory, to mend their clothes ; then they \" turn in,\" or retire on couches formed of boxes, in \" bunks,\" or on the\ntops of the very odoriferous meat tubs before mentioned.\nOne of the \" mates \" who possesses on a yet more enlarged\n* A notorious but perfectly true case ,\u2022 but one not often equalled. THE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\nscale than his companions the delightful quality of accommodating himself to circumstances, and of not being at all\nparticular, generally retires to rest in an outside building\nformed and planned after the original model, and connected with it by means of an enormous puddle that from\ntime immemorial has been known to exist. This apartment is entitled the \" harness room,\" and is therefore unreservedly dedicated to all species of horse and cattle gear,\nand moreover serves as an additional reserve for lumber,\nrags, &c. >\nThese young men are all sons of gentlemen hving at home\nat ease, who are quite satisfied with the assurance that\ntheir boys are roughing it in the colony, and therefore,\nthey believe, certain to do well. $53>\nCHAPTER H.\nA VISIT TO THE GOLD FIELDS.\nHokitika, Oct. 20th, 1867.\u2014We are in the midst of rather\nbad weather\u2014rain and storms\u2014which seems to be the\nproper commencement of spring in these latitudes. However, I have got a little done to my garden before it began,\nand I can already see some blades of grass growing up.\nI have been hard at work lately at my school, endeavouring to get it into better shape than before. West\nCoast children are like unbroken colts, and will take a\nlong time to learn ordinary habits of discipline.\nLast week I had to go to Ross under peculiar circumstances, which will give you an insight into the ways and\ncustoms of our digging population. Mr. Beaumont had\njust returned from Ross, and was away at Greymouth,\nwhen a letter came to me telling me of a terrible accident\nwhich had happened at Ross. A drive, or tunnel, in a\nmine had fallen in on some men, and had crushed one\nand wounded another. They wanted me or Mr. Beaumont to come to bury him; but, unfortunately, the letter\ncoming up the coast had been mislaid, and only reached\nme two hours before the time appointed for the funeral,\nafter the inquest. However, I made a push for it. Ross\nis about eighteen miles away, south of Hokitika, but there\nare several rivers to cross, one takes half-an-hour in a\nboat; you get a horse at the other side, and then your\nroad lies along the sea-beach, over several streams that\ncan be forded, and, at last, in and out of a river called the\nTotara, some fifteen times, until you arrive at the township, 254\nTHE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\nIRU\nII i- ]\n\u25a0\nwhich is four miles back from the sea. This road up the\nriver is very beautiful, as the river runs down through the\nforest, and trees shut you in on each side. When I got\nover the Hokitika, I had just an hour and a-half to do\nabout seventeen miles of this broken riding; but, by help\nof my own spurs and a hired horse, and no delays, I did\nit just in the time. I had not been at Ross for some time,\nas Mr. Beaumont takes charge of it. The town is situated\non a large cleared space in the heart of the forest, not all\nflat, but rising in terraces, and shut in on all sides by the\nmountains, which are completely clothed with timber. I\nfound preparations for the funeral going on, the greater\npart of the township, which is full of all manner of\n\"diggings,\" machinery for pumping, and a few steam-\nengines, was more or less hushed and quiet. The church\nstands right at the end of the main street, broadside to\nthe street, on the highest terrace, with the porch-door\nlooking down the street. I went up there, and, standing at\nthe door in my surplice, waited for the procession. It was\nvery striking; at least 300 men, all diggers, many of them\nDanes and Swedes, with light blue eyes and yellow hair,\ndressed with neatness in darkish clothes, came in line up\nthe street. The foremost carried the coffin, about which\nthere was no symptom of undertaker's art. They had\nmade it themselves. It was neatly studded with bright\nbrass nails, and on it three wreaths of beautiful ferns and\nthe white flowering creeper which is to be seen in the\nforest here in spring; it had also two white satin ribbons\narranged cross-wise on it; it was carried by means of\nwhite bands, as you may have seen a child's coffin carried.\nThe procession came slowly up to the church, and then I\nwent out to meet it. We entered the church (it holds\n200), which was soon crammed, and crowds stood outside at the open windows: you could not find a more\nattentive congregation in all England. After this part of\nthe service we went in procession up the terrace above the A VISIT TO THE GOLD FIELDS.\n255\nchurch to the grave-yard, which is seen over the church\nroof, and there he was buried. As we stood round the\ngrave on the steep hillside the scene was wonderfully impressive. Some 500 people were there, all silent; below\nus, the diggings and the town, a few flags half-mast high,\nand work at a standstill; all around, hills and terraces\ncovered with the interminable forest, and, over the tree-\ntops, the sea stretching out into far distance. A beautiful\nsunshine lit up everything with a bright glow; you\nwould hardly have expected such a scene in these wild\nplaces, where gold-diggers are supposed'to be semi-\nheathen, and utterly careless of the future. The man\nwho was buried was a Dane,\u2014a sober, hard-working man.\nAfter the funeral, his \"mates\" came to offer \u00a310 to the\nchurch.- I was much struck with the evident fruits of\nMr. Beaumont's work amongst them. Of course he has\nnot come into close personal contact with one-fifth of\nthem, yet he is known and recognised as the pastor to\nwhom they have recourse in time of trouble. No Roman\nCatholic priest, or Wesleyan itinerant, or local minister,\nhas this position. It was very pleasant to hear their\nspokesman say, \" We were afraid, sir, that the letter had\nmiscarried; but we waited as long as possible, for we\nknew that either,Mr. Beaumont or you would come.\"\nThe fuaeral was hardly over when news was spread\nabout of a second equally fatal accident, another man had\njust been killed\u2014this time through carelessness. He\nwas working in a deep shaft with a mate, and \" sending\nup,\" in.a bucket hooked to a rope with an iron hook,\nslabs of wood to those who were at the windlass overhead;\ndiggers are very careless about their buckets and hooks,\nand by some accident, when the bucket and heavy slabs\nwere nearly at the top of the shaft, down they fell, crushing one man to death, and knocking the other senseless.\nThe man was a Cornishman.\nThe next day we held the funeral; there must have 1111\nIII'\n111:--'\nI'M.\n256\nTHE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\nbeen more present even than the day before, and this\nfuneral had its own peculiar features. The long procession of men came up the street singing in beautiful\nharmony one of Wesley's hymns. It was very striking.\nThey continued to sing until I met them and led the way\ninto the church. They carried the coffin, as yesterday,\nin their hands; after the service round the grave, they\nbegan another hymn\u2014words by Wesley, but the tune\nwas a sort of chorale rather than an ordinary hymn tune.\nIt was sung with great expression, at times rising loud\nand full, and then dying away with really exquisite softness. I stood above the great crowd on the upper side\nof the hill, and, as yesterday, looked down on them.\nMany of them were standing with tears in their eyes, and\ntheir faces fixed on the distant sea, as if their thoughts\nwere far away from gold and gold-fields, and wandering to\nold scenes and perhaps holy associations. I suppose the\ncrowd stood thus for nearly a quarter of an hour. Some\none had on the previous evening suggested to me that I\nshould speak to them, but I doubt whether any spoken\nwords could have done more to penetrate the hard crust\nof a digger's indifference to religion than the simple\nstrains which arrested every one's attention.\nI spent one or two days in the place, chiefly amongst\nthe diggers. There is here, as elsewhere, a great mixture\nof people\u2014Germans, Danes, Swedes, English, and Irish;\nbut it is a mistake to think that they are as bad and\nreckless as they are generally supposed to be. Many do\nspend their earnings as quickly as they get them in public-houses, and all are thoroughly possessed with the'\nspirit of speculation; but the larger population in this\nfield are hard-working men, who save something. They\nare all intelligent, many well educated, and with scarcely\nan exception, in spite of their neglect of religion, men who\nhave known what it is to attend church or school; consequently, although the good soil is overlaid with much A VISIT TO THE GOLD FIELDS.\n'257\ndebris of careless, godless living, yet it is there down\nbelow, and can be got at now and then : at least we may be\nsure that the digger's idea of what religion ought to be,\nand what a clergyman should be, is very much the same\nas that which any ordinary Englishman would entertain.\nSo that the work which an English clergyman brings to\nbear on them is not thrown away, however little can be\nseen of its immediate effect.\nWhen I come down to Ross, or when Mr. Beaumont\ndoes, we live in a somewhat colonial style. The \"warden \" of the gold fields, who entertains us, has nothing\nbut the roughest accommodation to offer. He seems to\nlike primitive simplicity, and fives in a sort of \" lean-to,\"\nwhich is part of the Court-house. I was sleeping last\nnight in a shed on a bed formed of two bits of timber and\na strip of canvas, just two feet wide, plenty of blankets,\nbut no sheets; the door is full of holes and cracks; the\nshed contains a basin and jug, a looking-glass, and one\nsmall towel\u2014no chairs, table, or furniture. In the morning I go out to get water at a tank, and to get my boots\ncleaned at another shed partly built of canvas, in which\nthe servants of the establishment five. It is raining a\nlittle, but we don't mind doing part of our toilette out of\ndoors in. this region. I see two policemen saddling their\nhorses, preparing to go off with a heavy gold consignment;\nthey are breeched and booted, with sabre and revolver,\nand they have just announced that they are in a great\nfright lest the river be too high for them to cross without\nswimming. These well-dressed gentlemen who carry the\ngold seem to fear a ducking ten times more than a possible\nbushranger, who is altogether an unknown animal in these\nparts now.\nThe town is astir; diggers are beginning to work. I\nhear the \"warden\" having his bath in the Court-house;\nhe always uses that as his bath-room, and puts his soap\non \"his worship's seat.\" Presently we get breakfast.\ns\nu il 258\nTHE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\nThere is no meat in the place, and has not been for a\nweek, so we eat eggs and bacon; and a talkative servant,\na Devonshire woman, insists on expatiating on the terrible\nprice of meat, Is. 6d. a pound, and the number of rats\nwhich ran under her bed last night. I have just now met\nan old friend, an Oxford man, and we are going to ride\nback together.\ntw 259\nWtiik t\\x$ Ijjidtajj xrf (Smana*\nThe Demerara River, though scarcely known by name to\nthe majority even of well-educated people, is yet a river,\nwith a trade of its own, and a history not without interest.\nThis will appear from the following narrative of a missionary journey on its waters, quite recently undertaken.\nGeorgetown, the capital of the colony of British Guiana,\nis situated at the mouth of the Demerara. About 150\nmiles up are the first rapids, and fifty miles higher the\nGreat Falls; here is the limit of civilisation, there being\nno settlement, except of pure Indians, above these falls.\nUp to the foot of these faUs, however, the European and\nCreole population have advanced their wood-cutting operations ; the country for hundreds of square miles being one\nmass of primeval forest, drained by mighty rivers and\ntheir tributaries, commonly called creeks. The woodcutters, as far as they have gone, have carried with them\nthe doctrines, and, to some extent, the system and discipline of the Church. Hitherto the Indians, or Bucks,\nas they are called by the settlers, have shown little disposition on this river to embrace the Gospel; the Arawaks,\nwho are, of all the tribes, the most open to the influences\nof civilisation, being the only ones gathered into the\nChurch in any numbers. During the last few years, however, there has been a continually increasing desire among\nthe Acawoios to listen to the Gospel; and on the occasion\nat present under consideration, we shall see them flocking\nin by hundreds, to obtain, a share of the same precious\nprivileges as we enjoy.\nOf the aboriginal tribes in general, it may be well to\nq o\nm\nla\u00ab \u2014\"\"-\"-ft\n260\nTHE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\npremise here, that they are of all barbarous people the\nleast barbarous and most gentle, shy and reserved to a\nfault, harmless and inoffensive in every way, with no\nvices but what they learn from their Christian masters.\nThey have wonderfully few wants, and know wonderfully\nwell how to supply them. So they are utterly independent, feeling themselves quite self-sufficient. They\nare adverse, not to hard labour, so much as to continuous\nwork; most loving and peaceable among themselves,\nnever quarrelling, except tribe with tribe. The great bar\nin the way of their civilisation is their roving disposition.\nThey appear to be incapable of remaining more than three\nor four months in the same spot. They mix sparingly\nwith the whites, still more sparingly with the blacks\n(Africans), with whom they seem to have little in common.\nTheir ideas of the Deity, and of the next life, seem to be\nvery few and vague. They have no religious rites or observances, no priesthood, no temples, no prayers. They\nfive in the bush, along the banks, principally, of the rivers\nand creeks, in settlements called Buck-towns, consisting\nof three or four families, in as many huts, constructed in\nthe rudest way of the rudest materials\u2014a few spars and\npalm-leaves tied and sewn together with common vine or\nbush-rope. Their entire suite of furniture consists of the\nhammock and barbra-cut; the former serving the purpose\nof bed, sofa, and chair, the latter of meat-safe, dresser,\nand plate-rack. Their occupations are cutting and planting\n\"fields,\" or provision-grounds, hunting, fishing, making\nbows and arrows, hammocks, goglets, buck-pots, packalls,\nand cutting timber either to sell to merchants, or for wages\nfrom the licensed woodcutters. The rivers and creeks\nare their principal roads, their only crafts the woodskin\nand corial: the former made of the bark of a particular\ntree, the latter of the trunk of a tree, shaped and hollowed\nout. Neither for these, nor for their houses, do they want\nany nail or bolt whatever. They are almost amphibious, WITH THE BISHOP OF GUIANA.\n261\nII\nii si\nand therefore hardly able to exist away from the waterside. They keep no stock of any kind, but are very\nclever at taming the wild animals and birds of the forest.\nSuch are the people whom the Bishop met in greatest\nnumbers on his late missionarv tour. Starting from\nGeorgetown on the evening of Thursday, the 27th August,\nwith a former curate of the Upper Demerara River as his\nchaplain, in a tent-boat manned with four oars\u2014all river\nhands\u2014and provisioned for a fortnight, the Bishop arrived\nabout midnight, on the top of the tide, at the first missionary station, in the village of Hyde Park. Across the\nriver, and nearly opposite the chapel-school here, is the\nmouth of the Camouni Creek, up which is the flourishing Chinese settlement of Hopetown. Here is stationed\nMr. Bispham, superintendent of the Chinese settlement,\nand catechist of Hyde Park. He has living near him a\ngood old Chinaman, a Christian, who is always ready to\nact as interpreter, and assists Mr. Bispham in the study\nof the Chinese language. To the chapel-school at Hyde\nPark, Mr. Bispham brought on Friday morning twenty-\nfive Chinese, nearly all adults, to be baptized; and forty-\nseven, including these adult Chinese, to be confirmed.\nAll of these partook also of Holy Communion with their\nCreole brethren\u2014seventy in all. The services, as may.be\nimagined, were very impressive; and one felt that a great\nwork was being carried on well. On his way down, twelve\ndays later, the Bishop stopped at this chapel-school, and\nexamined the Creole children, to the number of thirty: they\nseem to be well taught and managed. As this station has but\nlately been established, and is in the midst of a considerable\npopulation, it is confidently hoped that both the congregation\nof the chapel and the number of scholars will increase rapidly.\nThe services on Friday lasted till about three p.m. A\nviolent thunderstorm was raging, and as the weather\nlooked ugly, it was arranged that the Bishop's visit to the\nChinese settlement in the Camouni should not be made\n!M M\nill j\nHill II 262\nTHE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\n16111\nhmi!\nthat afternoon, as originally intended, but early next\nmorning. As the tide would begin to flow about eleven\no'clock on Saturday morning, it was necessary to be at\nthe settlement by eight. At this time only a few Chinese\nhad assembled; others, however, kept arriving in driblets,\nand at half-past eight o'clock, when no further delay could\nbe made, the Bishop addressed some sixty or seventy in\nthe school-room through their interpreter; pointing out to\nthem the necessity of being industrious, of getting their\nchildren taught, and of trying to learn themselves as fast as\nthey could. After hearing a few of their grievances, and\nsaving what he could to soften them down, and giving\nsome further good advice, the Bishop left them, evidently\ndelighted with his visit. About half-past ten, the little\nbateau that had carried the party up the creek reached\nthe tent-boat; and, after breakfasting, the Bishop started\nagain at eleven for the next station, Dalgyn, where he was\nto spend the Sunday. The day was very hot, and the\nstage a long one; but, by keeping the oars well at it,\nDalgyn was reached at seven. This is the oldest outpost\noccupied by our Church on the river. The chapel is a\nsubstantial building, raised to a great extent by the people\nthemselves, materially assisted by Mr. George AUeyne, an\nAfrican, the patriarch of the village\u2014who, amongst other\nthings, gave the site. Here the Bishop and chaplain\nwere quite at home, and had a little leisure to talk over\nmatters with the warden, inspect the chapel and school\naccounts, &c. The chapel is served every Sunday by a\ncatechist, Mr. Bowrey, hving in the neighbourhood: an\nearnest, good man, who has brought many Indians into\nthe fold, and otherwise shown himself a faithful and\nvaluable servant to the Church. Every alternate month,\na clergyman in full orders is sent for twelve or thirteen\ndays into the district, to administer the Sacrament on\nSundays, marry, inspect the schools, visit the sick, and\nperform other functions of the pastoral office. WITH- THE BISHOP OF GUIANA.\n263\nThere were no candidates for confirmation here, as the\nBishop had confirmed in this same chapel last year.\nThere was a good congregation at the eleven o'clock\nservice; two children were baptized, of which one was an\nIndian; and the number attending Holy Communion was\nfifty-seven, several of these being Indians. Soon after\nfive in the afternoon\u2014the tide still flowing\u2014the Bishop\nstarted for Christianburgh, about eight miles higher up,\nand reached it a little before seven. Here is a large sawmill, with a capital dwelling-house, always open for the\naccommodation of travellers. The family were in town ;\nbut hospitality was given all the same. This, however,\nwas not the object of the Bishop's visit: his plan had\nbeen to spend Sunday night at Dalgyn; but Mr. Newton,\nthe catechist from above, had come to meet the Bishop\nat Dalgyn, and the report he gave of his work induced\nhim to visit the station in Ducoura Creek on Monday.\nThe best way to manage this seemed to be to walk\n'from Christianburgh through the bush, the path being a\nfair one of about six miles. Time was .valuable, so Christianburgh was reached on Sunday night, and the boat sent\nup early on Monday morning to Ducoura mouth, there\nto wait for the Bishop and chaplain, who reckoned upon*\nbeing sent down the creek in a canoe or bateau. As\nsoon as the boat had started from Christianburgh, early\non Monday morning, the Bishop and chaplain set off\ntoo, with Mr. Newton, to trudge through the bush. The\nwalk, for the most part, was pleasant enough, through\nthe cool forest in the early morning; but towards the end,\n'the path was a little troublesome in the valley of the creek,\nowing to swampy ground, fallen trees, rough timber-paths,\n&c, and the travellers were a little fatigued when they\nreached their destination. They were not expected ; but\nthe good lady of the estabhshment soon got ready a capital\nbreakfast, to which they did ample justice. While break-\n'fast was cooking, the catechist went out to beat up his\ni i si\n264\nTHE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\nschool children ; but the day being Monday, and nothing\nof the kind anticipated, this could not be done in a hurry.\nThe few whom he succeeded in getting together were\nexamined by the Bishop, and acquitted themselves well.\nBut now, when the day was more than half gone, and it\nwas time for the travellers to be. getting to their boat at\nDucoura mouth, a uiit unexpected difficulty presented\nitself. From an accumulation of adverse causes (as events\ndo sometimes conspire together to cheat honest men of\ntheir reasonable expectations), no boat could be found\ncapable of conveying the Bishop to the creek mouth. A\nleaky old canoe was put afloat and an attempt made to caulk\nher, but it would not do ; she could hardly carry a couple\nof boys. Well, they sent up the creek to borrow a craft,\nand they sent down the creek; but nothing but unfavourable\nanswers came from above, and nothing at all in the shape\nof an answer from below. Meanwhile, the weather had\nset in wet, with thunder and heavy showers. The only\nthing seemed to be to spend the night where they were;\nbut not a hammock or change of garment of any kind had\nthey with them, so there was no alternative but to set\nout and walk through the wet bush another five or six\nmiles, to a place called Luckie Spot, about a mile from the\ncreek mouth, where the boat was waiting.\nOff they set, therefore, with the giant trees pouring down\nupon them such great and copious drops that it mattered\nlittle whether it rained or not. The path was anything but\nsmooth, and required a good deal of clambering; this,\ncombined with the slipperiness of the soil and timber\noccasioned by the rain, added immensely to the fatigue of\nthe journey. Luckily there was no sun, but the afternoon\nwas extremely close. After a depressing and tiresome\nwalk, the travellers arrived at last, wet and weary, at\nLuckie Spot, on the river-side. Whatever this may have\nbeen in former days, certainly \" there 's nae luck about\nthe house\" now. To be sure \"the gudeman's awa',\" WITH THE BISHOP OF GUIANA.\n26*\nand his widow, much reduced and aged herself, was fain\nto ask an alms of the Bishop\u2014not for herself, but for one\nof her dependants, who has five fatherless children under\neleven years of age to provide for. What this poor woman\ncould give, however, she did give most willingly\u2014a room\nfor the Bishop to change his clothes in; for the boat was\nsoon fetched on from the creek mouth. This operation\nover, the travellers started again, as the tide was running\nup and no more time could be lost. No dinner that day\nafter their wanderings through the wilderness, but they\nnibbled bread and cheese by the kindly light of the moon,\nand agreed that they might very easily fare worse, and\nthat there was no fear of their dinner interfering with\ntheir slumbers that night. They arrived between nine\nand ten o'clock at a woodcutter's house, where they got\ncomfortable lodgings for the night, and started next morning, about seven o'clock, upwards again.\nHouses and settlements on the river nowbecome fewer and\nfewer, and the tide felt is less and less. A day and a-half\nmore brought them to the Rapids (Maluli), where stands\nthe little chapel of St. Saviour. This is usually the end\nof the route of the visiting clergy, who are sent up every\nalternate month to officiate at the several chapels. For\nlack of men, it is found impracticable to station a clergyman permanently as curate of the district, though there is\na good salary provided, and a residence might easily be\nobtained. The writer of this paper can recommend the\npost as by.no means unenviable to any one in Holy Orders,\nwho is young and active, and has a liking for missionary\nwork. Here first, at Maluli, the Bishop became aware, to\nhis great delight, of the wonderful increase that had been\nvouchsafed to the good seed sown sixteen months before,\nwhen he visited the district with the Rev. W. H. Brett.*\nMr. Brett, the Apostle to the Indians, as the Bishop\n\u2666Author of \"The Indian Tribes,\" several books of the Bible in\nArawak, Acawoio, &c.\nm\n\u25a0IB 266\nTHE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\ndelights to call him, brought with him on that occasion\nhis Indian catechist, Philip. As both of them are perfect masters of the Arawak and Acawoio languages, the\nimpression made by their visit was amazing.\nFrom the Rapids upwards to the Great Falls, and over\nthem again to old Kanaimapo's place (the captain of the\nAcawoios of the Demerara), the good Bishop and his staff\nhad pushed their way on that memorable occasion. And\nall night long, after the work of the day was over, the\nIndians would beset Mr. Brett and his catechist for\ninstruction, and hardly give them time for sleep. \" So\nmightily grew the Word of God, and prevailed.\" And now\nwas seen the fruits of this zeal on the part of the teachers\nand the taught. As the Mission-boat began to round the\nlast point that opens the view of the pond at the fopt of\nthe Rapids, the banks were seen to be alive with Indians.\nOn right, on left, every tree of the forest seemed to be\ntenanted. Fires were gleaming in the shade, and buck-\npots were hanging over them. Groups of Buckines and\ntheir children ran and peered from their covert at the\nadvance of the boat; and, as she came in view of the\npond, the water was alive with redskins\u2014men in crafts\nand men in the water\u2014all hard at work loading timber, to\nsend to town.\nCaptain Kanaimapo had come down with his people to\nsee the Bishop, and beg to be baptized. On the largest\npunt (barge) stood Mr. George Couchman, the principal\nwoodcutter of the Upper River, and friend of the Indians.\nHe was superintending the work for them. From him the\nBishop learnt that all the children of the forest now about\nhim, and many more awaiting him at his (Mr. Couchman's)\nplace above\u2014for there the Bishop had arranged to go\u2014\nwere anxiously looking to be baptized and confirmed, as\nmany of them as were ready. They had been trying\nfor months to make plenty of timber, to send to town for\nthe purchase of cloth, that they might be clad as Christians WITH THE BISHOP OF GUIANA.\n267\nshould be. The Bishop's plan had been to pass the\nRapids that evening in Mr. Couchman's boat, that was\nlighter than his, and manned by Indians used to the falls.\nBut he now altered his purpose, that he might assemble\nthe Indians to evening service in the chapel. The afternoon, however, which had been extremely hot, closed with\na tremendous thunder-storm. The wind was so violent,\nthat it forced the spray of the pelting thunder-drops\nthrough every crevice of the little chapel; and the poor\n\u25a0 Indians, bivouacking in the bush, suffered sadly. After\nthis, it was out of the question summoning them to\nevening prayer. This was a great disappointment, and\ndetermined the Bishop to press on next day quite up to\nMr. Couchman's place, that he might see the Indians\nthere, and get back to Maluli by Friday evening, so as to\nhave all Saturday to give to the Indians there. Accordingly,\nby starting at early dawn and stopping only once, for\nbreakfast, they reached their destination at seven o'clock.\nThe Indians pulled nobly the whole day against a strong\ncurrent, and under a terrific sun.\nAt the little settlement where the party stopped for\nbreakfast, they found a poor Creole woman, who had long\nbeen a communicant at Maluli, but was now, from age and\nsickness, unable to travel so far. To her they administered the Holy Communion: an old Buckine, wife of the\nprincipal man of the place, herself a communicant,\npartaking with them. Next morning the Indians were\nmustered at seven, to the number of one hundred and\nforty, in and around Mr. Couchman's house. The chaplain\nread Pss. xix. and xx., two of the Psalms for that morning;\nMr. Couchman interpreting, verse by verse. After that,\n\u2022 St. Matt. v. 1\u201412, part of the 2nd Lesson, was read,\nand interpreted by Mr. Couchman. Then the Indians all\nrepeated together the Apostles' Creed, in their own tongue.\nSo %soft and sweet is their voice, and so distinctly and\nintelligently did they repeat the several articles of the 268\nTHE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\nCreed, that, as the good Bishop observed, no one\ncould have desired anything more musical, or more\nreverent. Next, all knelt, and the Indians said the Lord's\nPrayer in their own tongue, and with the same exquisite\neffect. It was, indeed, most affecting to hear them.\nThen, after a few Collects, the Bishop addressed them\nthrough Mr. Couchman, telling them how his heart,\nindeed, yearned to them, and how glad he was to see\nthem so in earnest; and how he hoped and prayed that\nthey might continue good Christians after they were\nbaptized ; and how they must try and learn their prayers\nand Catechism in the English tongue, as that seemed\ndestined by Providence to be the one language in which all\nnations should praise God, when the confusion of Babel\nshould be done away. Mr. Couchman then heard them\nsome of the Catechism in Acawoio. They answered most\nreadily and accurately. Then the Bishop dismissed them,\nwith his blessing. Mr. Couchman told him that these\npeople had been at him continually day and night, since\nMr. Brett's visit, to teach them; and that they would\nhave learned four times as much, had they been able to\nget more books. What they have done since Mr. Brett's\nvisit (with the few books he left in their own language), is\ntruly marvellous. Most of them can read the books\nperfectly, and all appear to know them through by heart.\nUnfortunately, the supply is at present unequal to the\ndemand, but it is likely that this will soon be remedied.\nAfter breakfast, the Bishop and his party started, again\nat eleven o'clock, and reached Maluli at six; for it is easy\nwork going down stream. Next day, Saturday, was devoted to the work of baptizing the adult Indians; and\npretty hard work it was, 177 being baptized. On Sunday,\nagain, there were 64 adults to be baptized, besides 152 children ; there were candidates for confirmation; there was\nan Indian couple to be married; and Holy Communion to\nbe administered. How the work was to be got through WITH THE BISHOP OF GUIANA.\n269\ndecently seemed a puzzle. At first peep of day, Mr.\nCouchman was at work, paper and pencil in hand, arranging with the Indians the order in which they should\ncome up to the font, and the names they should there\nreceive. At half-past ten this necessary work was hardly\naccomplished. The congregation had by this time assembled in the chapel, and Divine service began with the\nOffice for the Baptism of Adults; it was absolutely necessary to dispense with the Morning Prayer and Litany;\neven then the Bishop and his chaplain were occupied-\nfour hours and forty minutes, uninterruptedly, about the\nseveral services; the heat of the over-crowded chapel was\nscarcely bearable.\nThere were five young persons confirmed, of whom two\nwere newly-baptized Indians. The Bishop thought it\ngood to let the others, that had just been baptized, have\na few months more of instruction and probation, promising\nto visit them again early next year.\nEngagements below compelled the Bishop to start downwards that same evening. Accordingly, at six o'clock the\nboat left Maluli, with the best.wishes of all the Indians :\nmany of whom ran alongside as far as the path extended,\nwaving their hands, and cheering as they had never done\nbefore\u2014for they are a most taciturn and undemonstrative\nrace. A melancholy event happened to cast something of\ngloom over these happy doings, as though to admonish,\nthat the very purest of earthly delights are liable to a touch,\nat least, of sorrow. Kanaimapo's eldest son had .gone\nfrom Maluli on the Tuesday, leaving behind him his wife\nand family, and intending to be back on the Saturday;\nbut he was detained below, and did not get back till midday on Sunday. Meantime, his wife had been confined\non the Wednesday, and was very ill in the bush. The\npoor Indians did all they could for her, walling-in her hut\nas well as they were able; and the Bishop sent her chloro-\ndyne, which appeared to relieve her. On his return to\nIf 1 270\nTHE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\nMaluli, on Friday evening, she was better; and it was\narranged that she should be baptized in her own hut, as\nthe Bishop passed down after service on Sunday. After\nthe adult baptisms were over on Sunday morning, and\nwhile the infants were being baptized, a message was\nbrought to the chapel, praying the Bishop to wait for her,\nas she was' dressing to come and be baptized in church.\nBut presently after came another message, saying that\nshe was unable to cross the river; for her hut was a little\nway down on the other shore. When the services were\nover, news came that she was dead. * This is a sample of\nthe earnestness of these poor people to become Christians.\nOld Kanaimapo himself had been suffering so much from\nfever all Thursday and Friday, that he fainted in church\nearly in the service, and had to be baptized in his hammock, which was brought in and slung for him in one\ncorner. Two good doses of quinine had been given him,\nand he was better when he shook hands with the Bishop,\nto bid him good-bye on Sunday evening. Three poor\nlads, out of nearly 400 Indians, had to be refused the\ncoveted privilege of Holy Baptism. From the Macousie\ncountry, far, far away in the interior, they had come\u2014a\nsix weeks' journey, probably, according to their manner of\ntravelling\u2014not perhaps in the first instance to hear the\nGospel; but they were evidently sorry, and every one\nwas sorry for them, when they were told they were hardly\nready to be baptized, and had better wait a little longer.\nIt is impossible to over-estimate the importance of this\ngathering-in of the Acawoios, which is going on in the\nother rivers of the country more extensively even than in\nthe Demerara. They are the pedlars of the Caribbean\ntribes in general; and so mix constantly with the other\ntribes, and can make themselves understood by most of\nthem. By them, doubtless, the whole lump will in due\ntime become leavened\u2014\" Hoc erit in votis.\" 271\n^irJws frimi Jntfia.\nCHAPTER I.\nCASTE.\nAt some meetings of the Committee of the Society for\nthe Propagation of the Gospel, the question of caste was\nbrought under consideration, and, after discussion, a\nresolution was passed to the effect that missionaries in\nIndia were \"not to select any converts to Christianity\nfor catechists who had not renounced caste.\" The word\n\" entirely,\" with which the resolution as first proposed\nconcluded, it was thought, on second consideration, advisable to omit. This may be regarded as an intimation that\nthe war against caste in India is not yet over; that\nmissionaries are unable or unwilling to demand the renunciation of it by all their converts, but are satisfied at\npresent that at least the paid agents of the Society, the\nnative catechists and schoolmasters, should not be the\nupholders or retainers of the system.\nWe propose to give our readers some account of caste.\nNot indeed a learned disquisition on it, with theoretical\nsuggestions of how its evils may be met, but simply a\nfamiliar and practical account of how it at present exists,'\nand how it is brought in contact with Christianity.\nThe young missionary in India (supposing him to be\none who is unacquainted with the practical effects of\ncaste) will very soon begin to perceive that there is some\nlatent feeling of disunion and exclusiveness among the\npeople with whom he has cast his lot. He finds that they\nM 272\nTHE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\nn i\nmix, yet do not mingle; that there is some strong lack\nof sympathy and common fellowship even in the ordinary\nconcerns of life which he cannot understand, and to which\nhe has hitherto been a stranger. Thus, for instance, he\nwill perceive that the native moonshee (almost always a\nBrahmin and a heathen) whom he has engaged to give\nhim his first lessons in an Indian tongue, is polite, attentive, even obsequious, yet strangely reserved and repellent; he continually draws himself back like a snail\ninto its shell, shrinks from your touch or close approach,\nand has an anxious \" noli me tangere \" written on every\nline of his countenance. . He sits indeed in the same room,\nand not far from you, on a chair or mat, but he gathers\nhis loose flowing drapery together, so that it shall not\ntouch your person; he will not take the book you are\nreading from your hand, and thus be in momentary contact with you: politely he waits till you lay it on the table\nbefore he will take it up to examine or explain. Should\"\none of your native servants (who are principally of the\nlower castes) enter the room, unmistakable signs of uneasiness and repugnance are expressed, and probably he\nwill ask you before many days are over to give orders that\nyour conferences may not be so interrupted; prepared\nfood of any kind brought into the room would produce\nhorror, the sight of flesh would fill him with loathing,\nand he would not hesitate to leave the room precipitately,\nand beg to be excused, perhaps, from entering it again.\nThis man, the young missionary soon learns, prides\nhimself on his birth as a Brahmin, and as belonging to\nthe highest of the four great castes. He would indignantly deny \"that all men are brethren.\" God, according to his belief, has not made of one -blood all the nations\nof the earth, but has created them differently, and enjoined\nthat they should ever remain separate and distinct. Very\nsoon he will turn the conversation to this very subject,\nand explain to the missionary the existence and the divine II\nCASTE.\n\u00a373\norigin of the institution which gives him his superiority;\nthe reason why, though he is too polite to say so, he still\nconsiders himself immeasurably your superior and also\nthe superior of millions of his fellow Hindus. He will say\nthat \"throughout India there prevails the marvellous\nsystem which the English call caste, and the origin of\ncaste is this: We Hindus are all born out of our great\ngod Brahma, but we sprang from different portions of the\ndeity, and it is because the birth and source of origin of\neach caste is different that we hold it to be the design of\nthe Creator that the members of each division should all\nthrough life remain distinct and unconnected. First, out\nof the head of the god, the Brahmin was born, and as he\nderives his origin from the highest member, the seat of\nthe more noble and intellectual faculties, his is therefore\nthe highest caste. To pray, to read the sacred books, to\nstudy religion and science, to instruct the people, is his\nduty; born from the mouth, the wisdom that proceeds\nout of the mouth is his province. Next in order was born\nthe Chatrya, or warrior, from the shoulders and arms of\nthe deity; and as he issued from the seat of strength and\nvigour, the arms of the warrior, the controlling power of\ngovernment, are entrusted to him. In peace, the land\nfinds her kings and rulers and magistrates in the members of this class; in war, her soldiers and generals were\nto be supplied by the ,second or kingly caste. The third\nis the merchant caste, born from the belly and thighs of\nBrahma, to whom is entrusted the duty of providing for\nthe support and nourishment of a state. And last of all\nis the lowest caste, because born from the lowest member,\nthe Sudra or farmer caste, which sprang from the feet\nof the god, and the duties of which are of the earth,\nearthy\u2014to till the ground, to labour, to serve. In this\nlast division is included the great mass of the agricultural\nand labouring classes in India. The burly ryot, as we\nhave seen him ploughing with six yoke of oxen, the slim\nII 1\n11\nJl THE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\nwomen weeding the rice fields, the coolies in our tea and\ncoffee plantations, those who have died like rotten sheep in\nOrissa, and the troublesome individuals with whom the\nindigo factor is ever at variance.\"\nOur Indian moonshee, from whom we have supposed\nthis account, to proceed, will be ready to quote from the\nsacred books in proof of his account of the divine origin of\ncaste. He will argue, it is not a temporary distinction to\nbe assumed or dropped at pleasure ; it does not consist in\nsome trifling difference of food or dress; but it is a distinct\nbirth, as is expressed in the very word \"caste,\" which is\na corruption of the Portuguese casta, a breed or birth.\nHence it is that, as among many nations, the intermixture\nof different species is regarded with horror, so the mingling\nof the different castes is opposed to the command and the\ndesign of God. God has willed that they should be distinct;\nhe has appointed to each the duties of their province;\ngiven each a rule of life stated in laws as explicit as the\nLevitical code\u2014the dress, the food, the custom of each.\nIt is pious to obey; the well-being of each caste, and the\ngeneral prosperity of the whole state is ensured thereby.\nIt is the height of folly and iniquity to omit, to oppose, to\ninnovate. \" I am a Brahmin,\" he will say; \" but if I am\nborn to high position, high and arduous duties are also\nassigned me; restrictions of various kinds are imposed,\nand I am a Brahmin only so long as I comply with those\nexactions and act up to those requirements. A simple and\npure life is required of me. I live on fruit, and grain, and\nmilk: flesh and spirits of all kinds are forbidden to me.\nI must perform frequent ablutions; I must fast continually. When I go home, after our lesson, I may not\npartake of food till I have changed my garments, bathed\nfrom head to foot, and thus washed off the ceremonial\ndefilement which I have incurred by my connection with\nyourself. The hindrances which hedge me about, the\nvarious enactments to which I and the order to which I CASTE.\n275\nbelong are subject, may be considered vexatious and unmeaning to others; but to me they are a birthright and\ninheritance, and I am content to observe them, because\nthey have come down to me as the necessary conditions of\nthe high lot to which I was born. I declined to sit on\nthat chair, because it was covered with leather, to me an\nimpure substance. I would rather tread on a mat than on\na carpet, because the latter more easily contracts and retains impurity. I cannot receive food or drink at your\nhands, and when your servants, Pariahs and outcasts as I\nhave been accustomed to regard them, approach me, their\npresence is polluting and disgusting; but all these are the\nnecessary conditions of my life. I should not be a Brahmin\nat all unless thus separated and hedged about. Again, I\nhave not the power which attaches to the kingly or Chatrya\ncaste. I am far poorer than the wealthy merchants who\nform the third caste. I know nothing of the self-gratifications and bodily pleasures which are permitted to the hardworking farmer caste; but all this is compensated for by\nthe high position I hold, by the respect which all other\nclasses are bound to pay me. We are the councillors of\nkings, the conscience-keepers of princes; we read the\nstars, we foretell the eclipses, we declare the propitious\ntime at which a king may be crowned, or a journey undertaken. Observe the salute and obeisances which all will,\npay me as I walk down the street. Once, your Pariah.\nservant would have incurred death for his heedless approach ; and even now, among those who are uninfluenced\nby your teaching, the Pariah will get off the high-road\nand crouch in the paddy fields till I pass. Well may we\nBrahmins view with sorrowful indignation the spread of\nChristianity, for with its growth we are every day losing\nour position, our prestige, and our privileges.\"\nSupposing a colloquy such as the above to have served\nin introducing the subject to the young missionary, it will\nnot be long before the workings of the vast system are\nt 2 n\n276\nTHE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\nstill further unfolded to him, and he will become gradually\nconscious of the many-headed hydra, the mighty coils, the\nfar-reaching circlings and windings of the python that\nholds India in its embrace. He learns that caste is not so\nsimple a division as his moonshee has led him to suppose ;\nthat it has, like every evil, 1 increased and multiplied\nexceedingly;\" that, in the first place, not comprised in\nany of the four great castes, is a vast mixed multitude who\nstill boast of their caste; that, secondly, each of the four\nfirst-mentioned castes is split up and divided in itself to\nan inconceivable extent, so that there are wheels within\nwheels\u2014Brahmins who will not eat with Brahmins, and\nSudras who will not intermarry with Sudras; and, thirdly,\nhe will soon observe that so much does this system of\ndivision and exclusiveness pervade all classes of Hindu\nsociety, that the very lowest are not free from it, so that\nwhen you have come to the lowest depth there is still a\nlower; the very Pariahs or outcasts have several divisions\nand castes among themselves, each member of which is as\nexclusive towards the others as the Brahmin is to himself.\nThere may at first have been but four castes; there are\nnow four thousand, the divine origin of which our Brahmin\nmoonshee would find it very hard indeed to prove. '\nLet us take, for instance, the great artizan caste, comprising five classes, the white and the black smith, carpenters,\nmasons, and weavers\u2014a body composing within itself so\nmuch of the skill, the wealth, and especially the intelligence\nof the middle classes. What is to be said of them ? From\nwhat member of Brahma do they spring ? They are the\noffspring of illicit intercourse, and of irregular intermarriage, say the Brahmins: an aspersion which the five\ncastes themselves (for thus are they known) indignantly\ndeny, and, moreover, systematically oppose the rights and\npretensions of the priestly order. Whatever their origin,\nthere they are as a caste, or rather as five more castes,\n-all boasting of it, wearing even the sacred Brahminical CASTE.\n277\ncord over the shoulders as a sign of equality, abstaining\nfrom meat, clinging to little self-imposed ordinances and\nrestrictions, as jealous of the intrusion of others into their\nbody, as they are jealous to encroach on the rights of\nothers. So also every trade has now become a caste\u2014the\nbarber, the washerwoman, the fisherman, the petty retailer,\nthe wandering story-teller, tumbler, and juggler, the musician, and the dancing-girl, each and all cling to their\ncaste, cook their food separately, and will not share it,\nassume some little mark or peculiarity which is considered\ndistinctive and of more value than wealth or even life\nitself. A spot or streak of paint on the forehead, a fold\nof cloth thrown over one shoulder or another, a peculiarity\nin the tie of a turban; any of these suffice, and are retained and clung to from father to son with more than\nreligious pertinacity.\nAnd if there are additional castes, there are also divisional ones. Not merely are there countless castes not\nincluded in the four great ones, but there are also countless subdivisions in each of the first four great divisions.\nIt would be a great mistake to suppose that all Brahmins\nare the same: there are Brahmins and Brahmins, and\neach keep to their own little clique, marrying only within\ntheir own little circle, declining not merely to eat with\notherk of the same great tribe, but even, in some cases,\nrefusing to let others look on while they partake of their\nmeals. The Brahmin of the north looks down with contempt on one born in a more southerly province, and\ntherefore farther from the holy cities, the ancient homes\nof learning and piety. A missionary once succeeded in\nobtaining the services as moonshee of a Brahmin from a\nterritory some 200 miles north of his own district. This\nman, when he came to his employer, could find among the\nBrahmins of the place none of the same clan as himself,\ntherefore none whose house he might enter, whose food he\nmight partake of. He was obliged to have a house for 278\nTHE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\nhimself, a man of his own family to cook his food; he\ndrew a curtain around him when he ate; and every year,\nwhen he was obliged to perform some religious observances,\nat which the presence of two or three of his own particular\nsect were necessary, he was obliged to incur a long and\nexpensive journey till he had found a Brahmin family of\njust that particular caste, to aid in his religious rites.\nNor must this be regarded as at ail an extreme case.\nThere are clerical Brahmins devoted to the service of\nreligion, and lay Brahmins, who may become writers,\nGovernment officials, lawyers, and even soldiers; there are\nVishnavites, or the followers of Vishnu; and Shivites, or\nthe worshippers of Shiva; there are Vedantists or Pantheists, and Smarthas or Eclectics; and all these may be\nconsidered, to all intents and purposes, different castes,\nsome not eating, others not marrying, with their fellow\nBrahmins. As to the subdivisions of the Sudra or farmer\ncaste, they are so numerous that, according to a common\nproverb, there are as many castes among the farmers as\nthere are species of fishes in the sea.\nBut it is when we.consider the case of those tens of\nthousands who are considered beyond the pale of caste,\nand in the eyes of their fellow Hindus are destitute of all\ncaste, that we can understand and appreciate the hold\nwhich caste has obtained upon the Hindu mind\u2014the completeness as well as the complications of its working. What\nwill our readers say when they learn that even the Pariah\nhas his caste, and not merely does he keep himself apart\nfrom the Chandala (the common sweeper and the worker\nin leather), but even in his degraded community there is\ndivision and subdivision, and Pariah will not mingle with\nPariah, but parades his little rag of distinction, and says\nto his fellows, \" I am better than thou.\" Among these\noutcasts, whom others esteem, so wretched and despise, are\nat least four distinct classes or clans ; and among those who\nhave no right to caste at all, caste disputes are perhaps more CASTE.\n279\nfrequent and virulent than among the higher and by all\nacknowledged castes.\nVery soon, indeed, will this fact obtrude itself upon the\nattention of the missionary, and be to him a fruitful source\nof anxiety. Let him be in Tinnevelly, in Tanjore, in Tra-\nvancore, or in Bengal, caste is still a stumbling-block in\nhis way; let his flock be the representatives of high or low,\nor even no caste people, still the manifestations of this all-\npervading spirit are the same; be they the Pariah servants\nof the English, the bond-slaves of Travancore, poor palmyra\nclimbers, or intelhgent Brahmins, artizans, and well-to-do\nfarmers, still caste, disputes crop up eternally, and each\nlittle clique will endeavour to gain over the missionary to\nespouse their cause, to permit them to retain their little\nprivileges and distinctions, to shut out those below, to\nmake themselves equal with those above. We have heard\nthe Brahmin moonshee boasting of his high order and\nprivileges; but we could. also show the Pariah declaring\nhow he is superior to the Madiga; and if the Brahmin\nkeeps himself at a distance from others, the Pariah, too,\nbuilds his hut away from the scavenger and- street-cleaner,\nand, exiled from others himself, will by no means associate\nwith his fellow in misfortune. Bloody strife has taken place\nbetween Mala or Pariah and Madiga because the latter has\npresumed to wear a red turban, to carry a sword or dagger,\nto mount a horse, to .have more than the prescribed number\nof water-vessels before. his door at a marriage feast, all of\nwhich are encroachments upon the quasi caste privileges of\nthe former. Endless litigation also takes place; sums of\nmoney, very considerable in proportion to their means,\nare freely spent in order that it may be decided which\nof these miserable classes of outcasts is still the higher\ncaste!\nIt is in the midst of such a scene of division and strife\nand arrogant self-assertion, among low as well as high, that\nthe. missionary finds himself placed, the teacher of that\nI 280\ntM\nTHE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\nblessed religion whose end and object is \"that they all\nmay be one.\"\nWe have now endeavoured to show how widely spread\nand how deeply seated was the spirit of caste in all classes\nof Hindu society. We placed much stress, moreover, on\nthe fact that not the Brahmin alone or the members of the\nfour legitimate castes were the upholders of the system,\nbut that even the Pariah or outcast maintained pseudo-\ncaste distinctions and differences, with as much pertinacity\nas those who had a right to do so. It will be seen from\nthis that from whatever class or grade our converts to\nChristianity in India may have been drawn, they are all\nto a certain extent the upholders of caste; and therefore\ntroubles and disputes concerning caste take place quite as\nmuch among the low caste converts of Tinnevelly, as among\nthose of a higher caste in Bengal. 1 From the very outset\nI felt persuaded,\" writes Dr. Caldwell, 1 that the Shanars\n(a class but little above the Pariahs or outcasts), who form\nthe large proportion of our Tinnevelly Christians, were as\nmuch influenced by caste feelings as the people of any\ncaste in India;\" and we ourselves can bear testimony that\nthe Malas of the Telugu country, who are regarded as\nimmeasurably inferior to any of the other castes, have still\nthe spirit of caste as strongly developed as in the Brahmin\nor the Rajpoot. The missionary in India, then, must be\nprepared for disputes concerning caste in whatever part of\nthe country he may be stationed, and whatever may be the\nsocial position of his people. In our previous article we\nsupposed the case of a young missionary made aware for\nthe first time of this feeling of exclusion by the conduct\nand explanations of his Brahmin moonshee. Let us complete the picture, and describe the circumstances under\nwhich the strong caste feeling among his own people will\nvery probably be brought to his notice. His moonshee (a\nheathen in most cases) has described to him the hold which\ncaste retains on those who have not yet been brought into iffif\nCASTE.\n281\nthe glorious liberty of the Gospel; and the missionary will\nnaturally suppose that, in the case of the converts under\nhis charge, such distinctions and prejudices have long since\nbeen abandoned. But very quickly will he be undeceived.\nIt is not too much to say that the first disputes which he\nwill be called upon to decide\u2014the first quarrels he will\nfind it necessary to quell\u2014will have reference to this vexed\nquestion of caste. Occasionally the ability of the young\n^ssipnary to govern is tested at the very outset by the\nvillage elders raking up some long-standing caste feud,\nand appealing to him for a decision which will serve to\nshow them whether he intends to keep aloof from such\nmatters, or will lend himself unwittingly to be made the\ntool of the stronger party. Let us see the nature of some\nof these disputes and caste troubles as they crop up more\nor less in every community of converted Hindus. The\nmissionary perceives that occasionally in the same Christian\nvillage various castes five apart. By some tacit consent or\nagreement among themselves, the higher castes have their\nquarter and the lower theirs, and any attempt of the latter\nto encroach\u2014of a Pariah, for instance, to build a house in\nthe street of the Sudras\u2014would be resented and resisted\nto the last. Again, in church all do not sit promiscuously,\nbut certain parties arrogate to themselves certain portions\nof the sacred edifice. This attempt, indeed, of classification and of each caste sitting apart is opposed by\nmissionaries of our Church (the Romish and Lutheran\nmissionaries allow it) to the utmost; but if this matter is\na little lost sight of\u2014if for a few .months it escapes the\nmissionary's notice\u2014things return to their old course; the\nhigher castes are found occupying the \" chief places,\" the\nlower shrink back, and are found farthest from the altar\nand nearest the door. But it is, sad to say, at the Holy\nCommunion, and in the order of approach to the altar to\npartake of the blessed elements, that the greatest difficulties\noccur. There is no difficulty about the bread; that is 282\nTHE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\ndelivered by the priest into the hand of each communicant,\nand therefore the order of precedence is a matter of indifference. With the cup it is different, and the object of\nthe higher caste is to partake before it has been contaminated by the touch and taste of the lower. The missionary,\ntherefore, is forced to be most particular and most observant\non this head, to see that all classes are well mixed together,\nhigh and low approaching together, and the latter partaking\nin the first instance, more commonly than the former. The\nbattle against caste has now so long been fought that the\ncase stands thus: converts of the higher caste will not\nabsolutely refuse the cup because one of a lower caste has\nalready participated, but they will strive perseveringly and\nunceasingly to be admitted first; and if this be permitted\nin a few instances by a young and inexperienced missionary,\nthey will come ultimately to claim it as a right. In thus\ninsisting on the exclusion of all caste distinctions in the\nhouse and at the services of God, the missionaries have,\nindeed, gained a step; but it still requires unceasing\nvigilance to keep the advantage thus gained; and the same\nmay be said of all the devices and schemes which the\nmissionaries have put in effect against caste. They succeed,\nbut only for the time, and only in particular instances;\nthey succeed in the letter, but fail in the spirit. Many\ncaste customs have successfully been opposed, many prejudices almost eradicated; but let the least carelessness\non this subject prevail\u2014let the vigilance of the missionary\ncease\u2014let the systematic opposition to caste be withdrawn\nunder the idea that the victory has been won, that the feeling\nis now extinct\u2014and the old leaven once more begins to\nwork, old customs creep in, and we find that we have only\nannulled the letter of caste in a few particular cases, but\nthat the spirit of caste is still unquenched. Village wells,\nand the exclusive right to them of certain castes, is another\nfertile source of dispute. None but the higher castes may\ndraw from these wells. The lower castes have their own CASTE.\n283\niii i<\nwells, occasionaUy at some distance off, and in cases where\nthey have not they are obliged to beg water from their\nmore fortunate companions. We have ourselves seen in\none of the hottest regions of India unfortunates of this\nclass with their water-pots ranged a few yards distant\nfrom the well, standing patiently by till one of the more\ngood-natured or kindly disposed of their high-caste brethren\nempties the pot he has just filled into the vessel eagerly\nheld forth, and, returns for a second supply for himself.\nEven when a river is the source from which all parties in\na village draw their supplies of water, caste distinctions\nare still observed, and all may not draw water in the same\nspot. The higher castes, like the wolf in the fable, choose-\na spot up the stream, which flows down from them to poor\nPariah lambs, who are glad thus to escape from the charge\nof fouling the stream. When a village adopts Christianity\nit is not an easy matter for members of the higher caste to\ngive up the privileges to which they have been so long\naccustomed; and on no matter are they more sensitive\nthan on this, viz., the exclusive right to their own wells.\nHere there is a source of perpetual discord. One fine\nmorning it is rumoured about that Kulla, the Pariah\nconvert, presuming on his position as gardener to the\nnew missionary, has determined to try again the question\nof his right to draw water in the village well. What a\nhubbub is raised\u2014children roar, women scream, men\ngesticulate. In earlier days a great row would have been\nthe result, and Kulla would probably have been beaten\nwithin an inch of his life. Now a deputation waits upon\nthe missionary, to protest against the act of the innovating\nKulla. He, on the other hand, pleads the new regime\u2014\nare not all now Christians\u2014are not all one\u2014and was not\nthe water for the iyer's (priest's) garden ? It will be very\ndifficult indeed for the missionary to know what step to\ntake, without on the one hand offending prejudices, or, on\nthe other, permitting the lower castes to take the initiative\n1 Ill\n284\nTHE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\nII n .\u25a0\nin acts known to be offensive to their high-caste brethren.\nThe difficulty is met in many villages by digging a new\nwell, and insisting that all parties shall have common\naccess to this, without infringing on the ancient rights of\neach party to the wells formerly in use.\nLet us now proceed to consider the various steps taken\nby missionaries to eradicate the spirit of caste, and to\novercome each manifestation of it, and consider to what\nextent they have succeeded in so doing. It is one misfortune\nthat missionaries themselves are not agreed in the view\nthey take of caste, and that there is no combined plan of\naction against it. Indeed there are a few who uphold\ncaste, on the plea that it is a national custom or a social\ndistinction, which need not interfere with religion; but\nthese are for the most part connected with the German\nLutheran missions. Again, there are others who disapprove of it in theory, but who do nothing in opposition\nto it; who wink at its evils, and conceive themselves\nnot called upon to discountenance it. There are others,\nalso, who as yet have nothing to do with caste, whose\nconverts belong entirely to one and the same caste, and\nwho are not yet called upon to assert their separateness by\nthe admission of other denominations into their body. To\nsuch communities caste troubles have not yet come, and\nthe battle of caste will have to be fought by their missionaries when converts of some lower grade are brought for\nthe first time in connection with them. Lastly, there are\nsome missionaries who, in opposing caste, make the\nmistake of denouncing usages that have nothing to do with\ncaste, but are simply national customs of the Hindus. We\nremember the ill-feeling created when in one mission the\ntop-knot was ordered to be cut off, as savouring of caste. It\nwould, indeed, be well if there could be one plan of combined\naction; but in the absence of this, let us state the several\nsteps which the most advanced reformers have taken, and\nestimate the success with which these have been attended. CASTE.\n285\ni-\nEverything hke priority of position in church or of\naccess to the holy table is steadily discountenanced and\nopposed; and we believe it is coming to be taken for\ngranted by all Hindus, that in the presence of God and in\nHis house all are equal. Love-feasts are held, not merely\nat the head-quarters of the missionary, but in the out-\nstations (where caste is more apt to lurk secure), at which\nall partake of food cooked by a man of the lowest caste..\nIn some missions, prayer-meetings from house to house,\nirrespective of caste, are carried out by those who wish to\ndeclare against the system. High and low sit together\nin all schools without discrimination, and in boarding-\nschools children of all castes eat promiscuously food that\nhas been cooked by a man of the lowest caste. A great\nadvance this since the time when, as described by a\nmissionary of the S. P. G. in the Tanjore district, a young\nchild of about six or seven years of age, in one of the\nboarding-schools, burst into passionate tears because the\nplatter which contained his rice had touched that of a boy of\nlower caste. Lastly, all paid agents of the societies, the\nnative catechists and schoolmasters, who have so important\na share in the work of missions in India, are required to\ngive up caste in toto, and, moreover, to give some proof of\ntheir having abandoned it. With reference to these native\nagents, the missionary is bound to take up a higher and\nmore decisive tone and to demand the utter abandonment\nof caste. If they are to be the teachers of others\u2014if they\nare to work hand in hand with the missionary\u2014if they are\nto labour freely and unreservedly among all classes,\nentering into the houses of high and low caste alike,\npraying at the bedside of the Brahmin, if need be, or\ntending the couch of the cholera-stricken Pariah\u2014no\nvestige of the proud, cold, exclusive systems in which\nthey have been brought up can be permitted to still cling\nto them. And here will be perceived the different line\nwhich the missionary is compelled to take in dealing with 286\nTHE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\nthe teachers from what he adopted in working among the\npeople. The former we have a right to command\u2014the\nlatter we can but exhort, and advise, by patient deed and\nloving counsel, to abandon what is so inconsistent with\ntheir Christian profession.\nAnd now, in conclusion, let us draw the attention of our\nreaders to the point whereunto we have desired that all\nthat has been here written should tend, viz., a just idea of\nthe hold and influence which caste still has upon the Hindu\nmind. We have seen that it pervades all classes of Hindus\n\u2014that four original castes have now become four thousand\n\u2014that there are divisions and sub-divisions\u2014and the\ntendency to exclusiveness which it engenders has led the\nBrahmin to separate from the Brahmin, as well as the\nPariah to set up divisions in his own despised class, and\nto shrink from contact with those whom he esteems still\nlower than himself. We have seen that all the efforts of\nChristian missionaries during upwards of a quarter of a\ncentury have attained but partial success; that caste disputes are almost as rife now as when good Daniel Wilson\nwent down into the. south to set in order the things that\nwere wanting, and vehemently opposed this unchristian\n\"devilish\" practice; that at recent committee meetings\nof the S.P.G. the question of what steps were to be taken\nagainst it in the diocese of Madras came under consideration, and in the resolution passed the Society expresses itself as awaiting with interest the account of farther\nsteps taken by missionaries in this matter. All this is\nsufficient to show how ingrained in the mind of the Hindu\nis the idea of caste, how difficult it is for him to shake\nhimself free of its thraldom, and how. patiently and per-\nseveringly the fight against caste should still be maintained.\nLet the friends of missions in England also endeavour to\nappreciate the marvellous elasticity and pliancy of the\nwhole system^-the way in which caste recovers itself from\nevery blow which was to have laid it prostrate, and con- CASTE.\n287\nforms and adapts itself to even the most adverse circumstances. We cannot do better here than quote from a\nreport of Dr. Caldwell, published in 1860, in which this\nsubject is considered. He writes\u2014\n\"Every arrangement that ignores caste, or that has the\n\u2022effect of bringing the different castes together, is protested\nand contended against as if it were foreknown to be a fatal\ninjury; and yet when the arrangement has actually been\ncarried into effect, instead of admitting itself to be beaten,\nit pretends that what has been done was merely a matter\nof course or of official routine, which goes for nothing, and\nthat it retains-all that it really cares for as firmly as ever.\nWhenever convenience or gain is at stake it lays aside its\nscruples, to be resumed again at a more favourable season.\nIt adapts itself to the new state of things, whatever that\nnew state. may be, with wonderful elasticity, forms new\nalliances instead of those that failed it in the hour of need,\nshifts its front, changes its mode of warfare, bends to the\nblast like the reed, and as soon as the storm is over raises\nits head as vauntingly as ever. It was once supposed\nthat caste would be destroyed if pupils of all castes learned\ntogether in the same school; but this arrangement is now\n.almost universal, and yet caste survives. It was then\nsupposed that it would be a fatal blow to caste if native\nChristians of all castes received the Communion at the\nsame time, and especially if they all partook of one and\nthe same cup; but this arrangement goes for nothing !now;\nit is done in church, only it does not count. It was\nbelieved that if boys were brought up promiscuously in a\nboarding-school or seminary in which food was prepared\nby low-caste cooks, caste would be destroyed\u2014caste could\nnever survive such an arrangement as that; but that arrangement has been made, and caste survives. 'It was\nan unavoidable inconvenience;' i It was done merely for\nthe sake of a situation;' ' They were boys only that did it,\nand boys can submit to anything.' It did not count. It\n:\u25a0 j-Bj Ul\n1 1\n% u\n; fl 4\n288\nTHE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\nwas then said, ' Women are the real upholders of caste.\nEducate girls on anti-caste principles, and caste will be at\nan end.' Multitudes of girls have now received a boarding-\nschool education, in the course of which caste has been\nset at naught daily. Many of them have been married\nalso to young men who had been brought up in a similar\nmanner. In many respects it is unquestionable that girls\nbrought up in our boarding-schools have been very greatly\nimproved, and yet no sooner are they married and settled\nin life than caste reappears in all their domestic arrangements. What they did in school does not count. Those\nwho truly, honestly, and voluntarily carry out in their\nhomes the anti-caste principles on which they were educated\nare but the fraction of a fraction.\"\nWe may add to these instances of the vitality of caste;\nand it does not want much foresight to be able to say that\nit will outlive even the innovations which the railway in\nIndia have rendered necessary. We have heard a hope\nexpressed by many that the railway would do more to\nabolish caste than anything else that had been attempted\nby the missionaries. But how stands the case ? Brahmin\nand Pariah sit side by side in a railway carriage without\nthe caste of the former being injured thereby. \"It is a\nmatter of necessity,\" they say; \"it is altogether a new\ncircumstance, an unforeseen emergency; it does not count.\"\nThose who in the carriage sat side by side, when they\ncome to their native villages will not approach within\ntwenty yards of each other.\nIt is the continual occurrence of anomalies and inconsistencies and new developments such as these that render\nthe struggle against caste so difficult. What is to be said\nof an enemy that, Protean-like, continually changes its\nform; that, like a Mahratta army, when scattered in one\nquarter, only appears in greater array in another; that\nmakes each successive defeat but the prelude to a victory ?\nWhat Napoleon said of an English army is true of caste\u2014 CASTE.\n289\n| It does not know when it is beaten.\" It is marvellous\nto see how like the deadly cobra, or some cold-blooded\nmonster of the deep, after several successive blows has\nlaid it prostrate, it is still tenacious of life, and after a\ntime rears its crest as powerful and triumphant as ever.\nLet not the missionary abroad or the friends of missions\nat home be too sanguine of immediate success, and look\nforward with impatience for some well-devised scheme\nthat may be expected to overcome the subtle spirit of caste.\nRather let patient persevering opposition to each successive\ndevelopment of caste in a mission be their aim, and let\nthis be supplemented by endeavours to alter and raise the\nwhole tone of feeling on this point. No system that forces\na renunciation of caste is likely to succeed, except for a\ntime and in particular cases; it may succeed in opposing\nthe letter, but it will fail to overcome the spirit of caste.\nTo obtain a voluntary relinquishment of caste is what they\nshould strive for, and this can, best be done by raising the\ntone of Christian society, and insisting on the incompatibility of the divisions and distinctions with the \" mind of\nChrist.\" One other proposition remains, and that can best\nbe stated in the words of one of the ablest missionaries\nof the Indian Church: \" The one arrangement by which\n'caste can be extinguished is intermarriage. This unquestionably is the final battle; but before that battle can be\nfought with a prospect of success, a hundred preparatory\nbattles must be fought and won. Intermarriage cannot be\nurged with any prospect of the alliance proving a happy\none so long as there is no social intercourse between the\ndifferent castes, so long as the touch of a low-caste person\nis supposed to communicate' pollution, and so long as\nthere is so great a disparity between the higher and lower\ncastes with respect to modes of life and habits. When all\nideas of caste defilement have been eradicated, when social\nintercourse by eating and drinking has become common,\nwhen the lower castes have risen in cleanliness at least to\nu 290\nTHE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\nthe level of the higher, intermarriage will follow as a matter\nof course.\"\nThis is one of the \"things that are before\" which are\nto be realised; and in attempting to bring it about, the\nworkers in India may well take for their motto the words,\nf'| In quietness and confidence shall be your strength.\" 291\nCHAPTER H.\nCHRISTMAS IN AN INDIAN MISSION.\nI have always been particularly susceptible on the subject\nof Christmas and its due observance. It was, I suppose,\nbecause my own Christmases as a boy at home were such\nhappy ones, that I have always been anxious to make the\nday as bright and cheerful as possible to those with whom\nI have been brought in contact. And the result has been\nthat happier even than the Christmases of boyhood have\nbeen those spent in the solitude of an Indian Mission, and\namong converts but just acquainted with the hallowed\nrejoicing of the day. To each of us, the older we grow,,\nit is the light of the past that sheds a glow upon the\npresent, and he enjoys most the return of that day who.\ncan go back in. spirit and conjure up most vividly the\nhappy hours it brought, and the pleasure with which it\nwas anticipated and greeted.\nSuch reminiscences have always been very sweet in my\nown case. How well I remember our anticipations of its\ncoming, our reckonings and calculations as to its approach,\nand the almost impossibility of believing that at last it had\ncome. I can recall how we woke at midnight to go, a\nlong string of little ones in our white night 'dresses,\nfalling for that one occasion into due order of precedence,\nthe eldest first, the youngest, whom no stratagem could\nkeep asleep, last, to our mother's bedside tojwish her a\nhappy Christmas, and then to wake my father with the\nsame filial but untimely gratulation. I can feel once more\nmy mother's hands about the chubby cheeks that, are now\nconsiderably weatherbeaten, and then from under her\nu 2\nII 29\nTHE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\npillow came forth little parcels\u2014a Christmas present for\neach. We were supposed to know nothing of these tiny\nrewards till the moment of reception, but it was a make- \u2022\nbelieve of ignorance\u2014for had we not heard distinctly\nover-night the locking of the press where such treasures\nwere kept, the wrapping of them in tissue-paper, and had\nwe not speculated during the livelong night as to what\nwould fall to the lot of each ? And then having obtained\neach his toy or reward, what degenerate soul could think\nany longer of sleep ! We sat up in our cribs holding\nwhat might be called a bed of justice, and waited as shipwrecked mariners wait for the dawn, and longed as only\nchildren can long for the morning that is to bring new joys.\nBut I shall picture no more of these early scenes. I\nhave but alluded to them, because long years after, and\nunder far different circumstances, it was the thought of\nwhat Christmas had been to myself as a child that impelled\nand guided me in the endeavour to make it indeed a day\nof rejoicing to those who stood to me in the relation of\ndisciples and children.\nAnd now let me endeavour to describe a Christmas very\ndifferent from those early ones I have just mentioned. It\nis Christmas-eve, and has been indeed a busy day to all at\nthe mission-station. The missionary's little house, which\nis to be the place of common rendezvous, has assumed\nquite a holiday aspect. It has been thoroughly cleaned\nand whitewashed, a great space in front has been swept\nout and kept clean, and a temporary verandah has been\nerected with poles and mats, which are so bewreathed and\ngarlanded that the rough material and the ruder workman-\nship is concealed. I myself have had a great deal to\noccupy me, for by nightfall I expect hundreds of guests,\nand all my preparations for their reception, for our\nChristmas to-morrow, and for the feast which is to succeed\nit, must be completed before they arrive. At least a\nhundred measures of rice have been purchased, half a CHRISTMAS IN AN INDIAN. MISSION.\n293\ndozen or more fat sheep have been selected, a row of\ntemporary fire-places have been prepared in the open air,\nand by them stand great earthen pots and vessels for\nboiling'-the rice and preparing the curry\u2014the beginning\nand the ending of an Indian feast.\nWearied with these many cares, I am glad that they are\ncoming to a close. As it is now the cool of the evening,\nI place my easy-chair under the shade of the verandah,\nand before my guests begin to arrive, before the spot now\nso quiet and almost deserted becomes full of life and\nbustle, let me occupy a few moments in recording the\nsuggestions which the circumstances under which I find\n. myself naturally give rise to.\nThe due observance of Christian festivals in a heathen\ncountry has always appeared to me a matter of great\nimportance. A judgment is formed of the religion itself\nby the festivals which adorn it, and it is not too much to\nsay that many a heathen will take his deepest and most\nvivid impressions of Christianity from what he has seen of\nthe observance of its feasts. And so also with catechumens\nand recent converts. How important a matter is it that\nChristian festivals should be placed before them in an\ninteresting and attractive guise, so that the great doctrines\nthey are intended to teach may be prominently brought\nforth and leave deep and lasting impressions on the mind.\nLet it be remembered that the Hindus, to whatever sect\nthey belong, are not without their own great feasts and\nfasts, and that these are enjoyed by high and low; that\neven among those separated by caste observances and\ndifference of worship, they are regarded as national opportunities for common rejoicing, as seasons when it is\nincumbent to make merry, to eat and to drink, and to\nsend portions to those who have not, and at least as\nseasons when expense in entertainment, in charity, or\nsimply in display, must be incurred. Not to mention\ncountless minor ones, the feast of the .Hindu New Year, :; \u25a0 : S f\n294\nTHE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\nmm\nand in the country the feast of ingathering at the end of\nthe year, when the Great Mother-earth is worshipped, are\nmost commonly and generally observed\u2014in anticipation\nof which the poorest farmer keeps a lamb, and fattens it\nup carefully to be slaughtered on the great day (to tens\nof thousands the only occasion when flesh is partaken of)\nfor the use of his family and that of his friends and\ndependents. The lesser festivals and what may be termed\nthe movable feasts are countless. Each god of any note\nin the calendar has his day; each temple or fane has its\nanniversary or fete, when its votaries gather,together, and\ncontributions are made, and the regalia of the idol is\nbrought forth, and torch-light processions are arranged;\neach little village has its gala day, when the village-potter\nis engaged to mould a form of the rural deity, and a\nhouse-to-house collection is made to defray the expense\nof the sacrifices and offerings. So numerous are the\nfestivals of the Hindu calendar that they are a serious\nhindrance to the progress of the public business; and\nEnglish officials in nearly every department are obliged to\ncomplain that public work of all kinds is thrown back and\ndelayed by the oft-recurring and continued absence of\ntheir native subordinates, on account of the feasts and\nfasts they have to observe.\nAnd here, too, we should state, that these occasions are\nindeed what they profess to be, intervals of rest and\namusement,.highly congenial to the habits of an Eastern\npeople, and very necessary among those whom a burning\nclimate makes peculiarly susceptible of that dolce far niente,\nwhich elsewhere also is appreciated. A gala-day in the\ncountry is not marked with even as much of riot and\ndrunkenness as disgraces the green of an English village\non a fair or market-day. There is a quiet, lazy, sensuous\nenjoyment\u2014a little noise of drum or horn\u2014an attempt at\na procession\u2014a great display of finery\u2014partial cessation\nfrom labour\u2014a somewhat better meal at nightfall\u2014and TW\nCHRISTMAS IN AN INDIAN MISSION.\n295\nthe feast is over. Not very much harm it will be seen,\neven if there has not been much good. Thus in the\nagricultural districts, and among the ryots or farmers : in\ntowns or cities the display is far greater. Any one who\nhas seen the tens of thousands of both sexes and of all\nranks, lining the railway stations for a quarter of a mile,\nand waiting to be conveyed by special train to the great,\ntemple of Tripathy on the feast of the new moon, will not\nquickly forget the sight\u2014he will see in them living evidence to the fact that the Hindus are a holiday-making\nand pleasure-seeking nation.\nNow Christianity does away with all this at one fell\nsweep, and the question presents itself\u2014what does jt give\nin return ? Nothing, I answer unhesitatingly, nothing\nat all commensurate with the necessities of the case;\nnothing to compensate for the loss of all this, to fill up\nthe void that must necessarily take place in the minds of\nthose accustomed to a trivial and showy but chastened\nand innocent gaiety. We require of our converts that\nthey abandon all heathen (I had almost said all Hindu)\nobservances, that they forsake all heathen enjoyments ;\nwe insist that they no longer observe heathen festivals or\nfrequent heathen temples. At one blow the new convert\nis cut off from the great mass of his fellows\u2014the village-\nfete is nothing to him any more\u2014he may no more be seen\nin the idol's temple\u2014he is,brought to task for it if any\nmore he joins himself to his heathen relatives, in the new\nmoons and feasts and solemn assemblies, and takes part\nwith the multitude that keep holiday. And let us see\nwhat is given to him by way of compensation for the utter\nannulling of old feasts and observances. Little more in\nmost cases than a dismal Christmas, an Easter but little,\nobserved and less understood, a love-feast,* a School-\n1\n* In some missions Christians of all castes meet to partake of a\ncommon meal, in defiance of caste prejudice. These assemblies are\ntermed love-feasts.\nil 296\nTHE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\n<-examination or two, and last, not least, that favourite in\nEngland but in India novel form of dissipation\u2014a\nmissionary meeting! Little or no pains is taken in many\ncases to make these great days occasions of marked though\ninnocent rejoicing; little endeavour is used to cull out\nfrom the mass of Hindu observances what is simply\nnational and therefore optional to be retained\u2014what is\nclearly religious and therefore to be undoubtedly rejected.\nAs Christmas or Easter approaches the missionary will\nnaturally endeavour to inform his people of the great\ntruths which those days are intended to commemorate;\nthey will be told that these are the two greatest festivals\nof the Christian Church, and therefore days to be much\nobserved; but how they are to be observed he takes little\npains to inform them; too often concluding that the same\nquiet, cold, spiritual rejoicing which it is to be taken for\ngranted will welcome \u2022 the day to his own soul, will suffice\nto mark the occasions as Christian festivals in the minds\nof his people. And so when the day is come there is a\nlarger congregation it may be than usual; the people are\nexpectant to hear when the note of rejoicing will be\nstruck; they hear the same service as on Sunday\u2014they\nare told in the sermon to welcome the day as that whereon\nthe Saviour of the world was born, and then they are bidden\nto depart with the congratulation that that day may be to\nthem a merry and a happy one. Vain wish indeed if no\npersonal, no persistent endeavours have been taken to\nrender that day happy; to instil a new vein of Christian\nand quiet joy: vain wish indeed if it is supposed that the\ncold, puritanical spirit which has marked our festival\nobservances for the last three hundred years can ever be\nsuccessfully infused into the Hindu mind, and such tame\nrejoicings ever sufficiently satisfy the ardent nature of an\nEastern people.\nBut instead of finding fault with the system adopted bj\nothers, it will be better if I describe the steps I was CHRISTMAS IN AN INDIAN MISSION.\n297\naccustomed to take, in order to make the great festivals of\nthe Church more thoroughly observed by my people. It\nwill be found, I doubt not (indeed I should be the first to\nconfess'it), that many blunders were perpetrated\u2014that\nmany attempts were failures; but at least I have the\n-satisfaction of thinking that I was groping in the right\ndirection, and that the recollection of some of the Christmases in the mission bring with them remembrances of\nearnest efforts in myself and of happy enjoyment to my\npeople.\nWeeks beforehand the preparations for the great feast\nwould begin; in fact, with the first Sunday in Advent is\nsounded the first note of preparation, in the repetition and\npractising of Christmas carols. As our people are unable\nto read or write, they learn these hymns by word of mouth,\nrepeating line after line, as the catechist or schoolmaster\npronounces it. One hymn especially I remember was a\nfavourite one\u2014it was on the subject of the Second Advent,\ncontrasting its glories'with the humility of the Saviour's\nfirst appearance, and was sung to the slow, solemn notes\nof an Indian air, not unlike some grand old Gregorian\nchant. There was something in its beauty and simplicity\nthat rendered it very attractive and very suggestive, and\nwhen year by year upon Advent Sunday it was pealed\nforth in the heartiest manner at our services, people knew\nthat Christmas was drawing near, and that it was time to\nthink of preparing for it. These preparations were not\nconfined to head-quarters, or to the principal station\nwhere the missionary resided\u2014much was to be done in\nevery little village where there was a Christian community.\nThe school-rooms and chapels had to be repaired and put\nin thorough order; and whatever amount of thatch and ,\nwhitewash and plaster was ever expended on the little\nhuts of our people, was applied for purposes of repair\nand ornament in anticipation of the feast. The houses of\nthe natives are plastered over with mud, and on Hindu 298\nTHE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\nfestivals are painted with broad stripes of red and white\nalternately, which give them a gay aspect; but I perceived\nthat the houses of the Christians were, at first, allowed to\nremain neglected from one year's end to another, simply\nbecause there was no fixed occasion on which renovation\nand adornment was incumbent. When they abandoned\nidolatry and were required to refrain from the observance\nof heathen festivals, no opportunity whatever (except\nperhaps the occasional one of a marriage), presented itself\nto them for putting in practice the old custom of brightening up the mud walls from which the heavy monsoons\nhad washed away every trace of adornment; and the result\nwas that in outward appearance the Christian villages\ncontrasted unfavourably with the heathen ones around.\nFor be it remembered, a Hindu will not whitewash his\nhouse save at such time as he and his neighbours have\nbeen accustomed to do so; and when, owing to some\ngreat social revolution, that stated time does not return to\nhim, or its obligations are no longer binding, then he is\nglad of the excuse to save himself time, and trouble, and\nexpense. Christmas brought with it an opportunity for\nintroducing each year more and more of that cleanliness\nwhich is next to godliness; then there was a general\nprevalence of whitewash, sweeping, and painting, and\nfurbishing was the order of the day. Then was the time\nfor the missionary to introduce some design for widening\nthe streets, for enlarging the houses, for removing some\nobstructions, and generally to improve the beauty and the\nsanitary condition of his villages. \" Will you spend\nanother Christmas in that wigwam instead of building a\ndecent house?\" he will say to one. \"I cannot allow\nthat heap of manure to remain any longer so near the\nchurch,\" to another. \"How your relations and Christmas visitors would be astonished if you were to beautify\nyour village, by rebuilding this street and planting a row\nof trees on either side,\" to a third. Of course, where so CHRISTMAS IN AN INDIAN MISSION.\n299\nmuch is done for private dwelling-houses, the little church\nor chapel in the centre of the village cannot be neglected.\nI can assert that as much time and trouble is occasionally\nexpended in repairing and decorating the little huts in\nwhich our native converts assemble together for prayer, as\nis devoted to the adornment of our beautiful churches at\nhome, at the blessed seasons of Christmas or Easter.\nAnd if Christmas presents an occasion for repairing and\ncleansing the houses and churches of the converts, it also\nbrings an opportunity for insisting on improvement in\ndress and in personal cleanliness. The Hindus are, as a.\nnation, scrupulously clean, and naturally fond of bright\ncolours and gay clothing; but some of the converts to\nChristianity are among the lowest of the low, degraded in\nperson, squalid in appearance, and filthy in their dress.\nIf the country parson at home delights to have his choirboys, his Sunday scholars, his school-teachers, looking\nfresh and clean on Christmas morning in holiday attire,\ntenfold greater is the longing of the missionary to exorcise\nthe demon of dirt, and raise his degraded flock to habits\nof cleanliness and to outward comeliness that may more\nassimilate them to the higher castes of the country, and\nlessen in some respects the wide abyss between the\nBrahmin and the Pariah. And Christmas is the season,\nwhen, without making the people too dependent, help\nmay be afforded; without introducing a love of finery,\ncleanliness and decency may be encouraged; without detracting from the dignity of his position, the missionary\nmay condescend even to matters of dress\u2014and by satire,\nby approval, by hint and inuendo, by rewards of clothing\nto deserving children, by improving the appearance of\nthose immediately connected with himself, introduce a\ngeneral desire for outward and personal improvement.\nThe gift of a bright red turban to a school-boy, with\nstrict injunctions that it is to be worn for the first time\non Christmas-day, may be considered by some a trivial Mm\n300\nTHE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\nact, unworthy of second thought to the missionary\u2014but if\nit draws the attention of the boy's relatives and friends to\nthe importance of the approaching occasion, if half-a-dozen\ngrown-up persons feel it incumbent on themselves to discard\ntheir greasy head-dx esses for new jackets and turbans, the\nprice of the red roomal will have been well spent, and\nthe deed deemed not unworthy of careful repetition.\nThese thoughts have occupied the mind of the mission-:\nary while seated in his easy-chair in front of his bungalow\n\u2014he awaits the arrival of his anticipated guests who have\nbeen invited to attend the Christmas service and the\nChristmas feast at head-quarters. A few days before\nChristmas I was accustomed to publish a -kind of encyclical\nletter, which the master in charge of each village and out-\nstation read aloud to the assembled congregation, inviting\nall who were able to do so to attend the morning service\non Christmas-day at K , and to accept for that one\nday of the missionary's hospitality. This, I must observe,\nwas the only occasion on which I permitted myself to\nmake some return for the countless hospitable and kind\ndeeds which I received at the hands of my people. A\nmissionary has to be circumspect and self-denying, even\nin his charities and benefactions, lest on the one hand he\nencourage pauperism and too great dependence on himself,\nor, on the other hand, give cause for the objection that\nconsiderations of temporal gain have attracted followers to\nhis teaching. I can only say in answer to the common\ntaunt that Christian converts in India \"have everything\nto gain and nothing to lose,\" by their adoption of the\nreligion, and in deprecation of the phrase \"rice Christians\"\nas insultingly and unjustly applied to our people\u2014that\nI have received in the way of personal kindness and\ntemporal advantage a hundred-fold more from my people\nthan I. was ever able to give them. How many a kind and\nself-denying deed can I not remember ! how many an act\nof delicate attention and hospitality! the general entertain- CHRISTMAS IN AN INDIAN MISSION.\n301\nment offered in my Christmas dinner was but a tithe of the\nreturn due to unwearying attention and habitual hospitality.\nAnd thus it is that on this Christmas-eve I expect to see\nthe faces of those who have done me kindnesses in stealth\nand shamefacedness; the man who wrung' the neck of his\nsolitary hen, that I might not go supperless; the woman\nwho appeared one day before me and with timid bashfiilness\nproduced a little pot of curds, saying that her \" cow had\nyeaned, and would I honour her by sharing the abundance\nGod had given her ? \" If to-morrow I can send them away\nafter having enjoyed the rare luxury of curry and rice, will\nany carp at or deny my right or privilege to do so ? And\nthat it is which imparts increased satisfaction to the due\nobservance of this sacred season.\nBut now my guests are beginning to arrive. As I look\nacross the plains, now flooded with the rosy light of an\nIndian sunset, I can perceive from various points of the\ncompass processions of men, women, and children, all\ndressed in their gayest and best attire, tending to one\ncommon * centre\u2014the grove where stands the mission\nbungalow. Those from the more distant villages arrive\nover-night, in order to recover the fatigue of a walk of\nseven or ten miles, by a night's rest before the services\nof the next day commence: the Christians of the nearer\nvillages (for there are some half-dozen hamlets vrithin two\nor three miles of head-quarters) will not- make their\nappearance till an early hour on Christmas-day. The\ngreeting between missionary and people, as each group\ncomes up and makes its salutation, is at once graceful and\ngrotesque. There is the beautiful Oriental form of salutation,\u2014raising the folded hands to the forehead and the\nbreast, and repeating- the Christian formula, 1 Praise to\nthe Lord;\" and yet one can hardly refrain from a smile\nto see how some officious head man will insist on arranging\nhis following in due order, and at a given signal firing off a\nvery volley of salutes. And then come kind inquiries:\n1 1 302\nTHE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\nIf\n\"Have you all been well since my last visit? and the\nwomen and children ? any more babies ?\" \" All are well,\nthank. God and the efficacy of your prayers. Star of\nBeauty has been safely delivered of twins.\" \" And how\nare your crops ?\" \" By the grace of God and your favour,\nwe have had the rice harvest earlier this year than ever\nbefore.\" \" Have your houses and the chapel been put in\ngood order ? Do you intend, when you return, to have a\nvillage feast among yourselves ? Whose son is that little\nboy, whose red kerchief shows that he won the first prize\nat school ?\" Then to a head man : \" Why is it that your\nwife has not accompanied you ? it is only once a-year that\nyou come to visit me, and she would have been pleased to\nsee some of the wonders I possess ?\" to which the usual\nanswer is, \"Your servants have many buffaloes, and some\none must stay at home\u2014all the women wanted to come,\nand many wept at being left behind\u2014but can we not tell\nthem what we have seen?\" It will be observed that\ncuriosity as well as kindly feeling attracts many\u2014and as\nthe groups disperse, it is amusing to see how the exterior\nand interior of the missionary's house is scanned; how an\nexcited crowd is gathered to hear the clock strike ;* how\nthe furniture, the few pictures, and especially the laden .\nbook-shelves, formed the subjects of warm debate. Natives\nliving in the interior and removed from any considerable\ntown or city, see but little or nothing of English life, and\n.so even those relics of European art and civilisation, which\nan itinerant missionary clings to, are quite sufficient to\ncreate the highest wonder and admiration. But night is\nclosing over us. By this time several hundreds have come\ntogether. They find shelter in the verandah, in the outhouses, or for the most part under the trees. They do\nII -\n* A telescope and microscope, large mirror and burning-glass, my\nphotographic camera and galvanic battery, powerful magnet and magic\nlantern, were, on these occasions, subjects of intense admiration and\namusement. CHRISTMAS IN AN INDIAN MISSION.\n303\nnot mingle to any great extent: the inhabitants of each\nvillage, unless united by ties of relationship with those of\nother villages, sitting apart or reclining on the ground in\nsomewhat quiet and unsocial groups. Presently the sound\nof a hand-bell summons all to take part in the usual\nevening service of our Church. This arrangement is not\nby any means an exceptional one, or necessitated by the\noccasion; on the other hand, the daily morning and\nevening service is conducted, as a rule, in all our little\nstations and villages. But there is something striking in\nthe scene now represented. The service is held in the\nopen air; the congregation has increased to several\nhundreds, the gathering gloom is partially dispelled by\ncandlesticks almost as novel as the blazing pine-torches of\nAllan McGregor in the \"Legend of Montrose\"\u2014earthen\nsaucers are filled with cotton-seed saturated with oil, and\nthese placed at intervals on split bamboos, throw a wild,\nfitful light over the little thatched cottage, the tall tamarind\ntrees which surround it, the white draped, table at which\nthe missionary stands in his surplice, and the dark-faced\nassemblage that, seated on the ground in long, receding\nrows, listens to the few words that fall from his lips.\nIt is a sight sufficiently strange to attract considerable\nnumbers of heathens of the higher castes; they stand at a\nlittle distance viewing a scene so different from all previous\nexperience\u2014a foreign teacher speaking in their own tongue;\na religious gathering, though not in a temple made with\nhands; worship and adoration, but not to image or idol.\nAnd as the missionary himself looks down on the attentive,\norderly gathering before him, can he repress a little sorrow\nand a little exultation ?\u2014exultation, that God has permitted\nhim to see some of the labour of his hands\u2014sorrow, that\nwhat has been achieved is but a tithe of what might be\ndone, and what ought to have been accomplished. In my\ndiscourse on these occasions, as also on Christmas-day,\nI was accustomed merely to repeat again and again the\ntfil If'\n304\nTHE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\nangel messages of peace and good-will\u2014to describe the\nSaviour's birth in a stable and the appearance of the\nheavenly host to the poor shepherds of Bethlehem, and\nthen lead my hearers to think of the birth of Christianity\namong themselves, and the duties and obligations of the\nblessed day so near to us. And well do I remember the\ndeep and all-absorbing attention with which I was listened\nto. It was the speaking of heart to heart. I could but\npreach in a foreign language with faltering looks and\nuncertain accents. I doubt not there may have been\nmany a blunder, many an ungainly mistake; but there is\nan earnestness to understand, and an innate politeness in\nall classes of Hindus, which renders them lenient critics of\nany who address them in a religious capacity, and so I am\nable to recall the quiet attention, the almost solemn silence,\nthe glittering eye, the outstretched neck, the appreciative\ngesture, which more than satisfied, encouraged, and cheered\nme. When the few short collects of our order of evening\nprayer had been recited and responded to by hearty\namens, one or two of the hymns so long and sedulously\npractised are sung to original Hindu tunes. The effect,\nthough somewhat monotonous, is still very sweet and\nstriking; and as almost every individual joins, and\noccasionally cymbals are struck to mark the time, there\nrises upon the still night air a volume of harmonious\nsound, that may be heard far and wide, and in its soft\nsolemnity contrasts most favourably with the wild music and\nthe discordant cries that mark a Hindu idolatrous feast.\nThe assembled congregation is then permitted quietly to\ndisperse. A certain amount of shelter from the night air\nand heavy dew is afforded to the women, but the men are\nobliged to rough it. They light fires and sit around; they\nproduce the jonna-cakes and cold rice and curds, tied up\nin a cloth, for their supper, and then lie down to snatch a\nfew hours of sleep before Christmas morning and its new\nrejoicings dawn upon them. CHRISTMAS IN AN INDIAN MISSION.\n305\nOccasionally on Christmas eve an entertainment was\nafforded to the assembled people, which never failed to fill\nthem with the utmost wonder and intense gratification.\nThis was an exhibition of the magic lantern. A passage\nin Dr. Livingstone's travels had attracted my attention, in\nwhich he asserts that this was the only means of instruction\nthat he was ever desired to repeat; and the effect of the\nrepeated exhibitions to the African chiefs was such as to\ninduce me to try the efficacy of this toy in conveying\ninformation in India. I had procured, at considerable\nexpense, a lantern capable of throwing a clear disc of fight\nten feet in diameter, and an assortment of slides on all\nsubjects\u2014scriptural, astronomical, topographical, and\nsimply comic. A display of the \" light pictures,\" as they\nwere called, was attended by thousands : not the Christians\nalone, but the surrounding heathen of all classes and\ndenominations thronged to the spectacle. I was accustomed also to invite such of my heathen friends as I had\nbeen brought into close intimacy with, and there were not\na few who came quite uninvited, but whose presence in the\nmidst of a body of low caste Christians I was fain to\nregard as a compliment. In the grove before my little\nhouse two tall poles would be set up, and a great white\nsheet stretched between them, upon which would appear\nsuccessively bright and well-painted representations on\nvarious subjects, calculated to instruct as well as amuse.\nUnfortunately, from the great price demanded for\nthoroughly good Scripture slides, I was obliged to content\nmyself with those of inferior workmanship, some of which\nwere pleasing, but others too roughly executed to produce\nany very elevating impression. My natural history slides\nwere very good, one in especial of a tiger's head with\nmoving eyes and opening mouth, produced a most ludicrous impression of terror; another of a wild boar, life\nsize, elicited year by year the same joke. One of my\npeople was a great pig-sticker, passionately fond of sport;\nx 306\nTHE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\nI\nMI\nI:''\nand the general cry to him would be, \" Now, then, -here is\none of your friends.\" Diagrams that explained the geography of the earth, the phenomena of the eclipses, the\nrevolutions of the planets, &c, were explained as well as\nI was able, and whatever was said was most attentively\n\u25a0listened to; but it was when the slides representing the\nI Tiger and Tub \" were shown that the \" roars of laughter,\"\nso conventional in an English gathering, but exceptional in\nthe case of all Indian assemblies, prevailed. The question\nhas often presented itself to my mind, may not the magic\nlantern be made more use of for the purposes of instructing\na Fsemi-civilised people ? Lectures on Scripture history\nthus illustrated for our converts, and on general subjects\nfor the heathen around, would, I think, leave an almost\nindelible impression on the mind, and convey instruction\nby sight as well as by hearing. This reminds me of\nanother arrangement prepared for the Christmas gratification of my assembled people. My mother had presented\nthe mission with a series of highly-coloured Scripture\nillustrations, and these were hung round the walls of the\nlittle chapels or school-rooms, and never failed to attract\neach a curious and amused group. It was encouraging,\ntoo, to see the self-appointed cicerones on these occasions;\nsome boy of the school, some young man of the preparandi\nclass, was proud to distinguish himself, and to explain as\nwell as he could the incident represented. All these\npreparations were the more interesting because they were\nstrictly exceptional. What is common becomes but little\nregarded : and in India especially, what is easily obtained\nor gratuitously conferred is very likely to be but lightly\nesteemed. I confess that I was chary in my gifts and\nentertainments of this nature, and doled out, so to speak,\nthe yearly amount of pleasurable excitement; but upon the\nsacred feasts of our Church there was nothing calculated\nto afford innocent enjoyment that I scrupled to introduce\nor permit. Some may think that I went too far (and men CHRISTMAS IN AN INDIAN MISSION.\n307\nare ever prone to extremes) in permitting the use of fireworks, of Indian music, of procession, and song and dance;\nbut I would beg such to remember that an eastern Church\ncannot be moulded on strict western principles; that\n\"ceremonies,\" as Disraeli, says, \"are the salt of life;\"\nthat, if these requirements of Oriental life be not permitted\nto a certain extent within authorised Kmits, the probability\nis that the Indian Church will in time break through the\nbarriers of restraint so commonly imposed, and indulge\nin a license on these matters far greater than has ever\npreviously been permitted.\nThe stillness of the night would, in the very first hour\nof the I great day,\" be broken by a short interlude, which\nannounced to the still slumbering crowds that the feast\nhad begun. I had introduced and encouraged the custom\nof singing Christmas carols from house to house, and our\nbook of hymns in the vernacular furnished some very\nsuitable to the occasion; accordingly the village choirs\nthen present, headed by their masters, would, at the untimely hour of one in the morning, break forth into strains\nloud enough to wake me from my first sleep, yet sweetly\nmellowed by distance. How vividly at this moment I\nrecall the feeling of lying awake in my little room, listening\nto the sound as it rose and fell in the still night; now it\nwould come near as the singers passed round my house,\nand again it would die away to the softest notes as they\npassed up and down the streets of the village; and then\nwould ensue a lull and an interval of profound quiet. A\nHindu sleeps comfortably, though the hard ground be his\nbed and the star-lit heavens his canopy, till the morning\ndawns for which all this has been the preparation, and\nfor the cheerful rejoicing of which this -has been but the\nearnest.\nChristmas in India falls during what is called the cold\nseason; and in the district where I was stationed the\nmornings at that time were chilly, and the days bright,\nx 2\nI I\nll 308\nTHE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\nI ml\nbut by no means oppressive. Near by my house ran a\nriver, and on its banks the holiday toilet of numbers of\nmen and women would, at early morning, be scrupulously\narranged. The dress of the Hindu is graceful and becoming, that of the men consisting of two pieces of cloth\nof considerable size, the one bound round the waist and\ntucked up between the legs, the other thrown over the\nshoulder, a turban and occasionally a jacket of the brightest\nhue completing his attire; and that of the women comprising a short-sleeved and very tight bodice, and a long\npiece of native cloth, generally white, but relieved by a\nbroad streak of colour along the border, which is tied\nround the waist fold upon fold, and one end of it brought\nover the shoulder. The hair of the women is worn d la\n-chignon, after a much simpler fashion; it is so arranged\nas to fie, not directly at the back of the head, but either\ndrawn somewhat to one side or the other ; on festival occasions it is filled, not with a padding fearfully and wonderfully arranged, but with a handful of sweet-smelling flowers\nof the Indian jessamine, or of the more brilliant buds of\nthe chrysanthemum. Flowers were rare in the district,\nthe people being too busily engaged in the struggles for\nthe necessaries of life to have time to seek for its luxuries ;\nand in that sterile soil and parched climate flowering\nshrubs are reared with difficulty ; but I was accustomed to\nsend a hurkarah or a porter to the principal town, upwards\nof fifty miles distant, and he returned la\/len, among other\narticles, with garlands of flowers, which were distributed\namong the women and girls, and otherwise made use of\nfor ornamenting the draped table that served as our altar.\nAt the early hour of eight, or at latest nine a.m., our\nChristmas service began. By this time the Christians\nfrom the nearer villages would have arrived, and it was of\nimportance that the services of the day should be over\nbefore the sun's rays became too powerful to admit of our\nsitting in the open air. Once more, then, the bell would CHRISTMAS IN AN INDL1N MISSION.\n309\ngive the signal for assembling\u2014once more in front of the\nmissionary's house a congregation would be gathered, stiff\nlarger than that assembled on the previous evening; and\non the little table, covered with its white sheet and garlanded with flowers, would now be exhibited the plain cup\nand platter of glass and earthenware,* to be made use of\nin administering the sacramental mysteries of our faith.\nIt was with mingled feelings of shame and satisfaction that\nI looked on the scene,\u2014on the simple altar, on the duly\nordered ranks of the worshippers; with satisfaction at the\nabundant evidence of the spread of truth in the midst of\na heathen land, and yet with a tinge of shame and sorrow\nat the poor and meagre development of the externals of\nthat holy faith. How often on such occasions, when a\ndemonstration, so to speak, was made of the power and\nspread of the Gospel, did I long for those outward\naccompaniments of Christianity which in England serve to\nstrengthen the hold and to endear the associations of the\nChurch. Oh, for some temple, however plain, I have\nwished\u2014some small aisle or chancel worthy of the name\nand service of God, where decency and order may be\nenforced\u2014where the beauty of holiness may be exhibited,\nand the Sacraments at all times and in all seasons duly\nadministered!\nThe service began with the ancient greeting, \"Christ\nis born to-day,\" and the response, \"May He be born in\nthine heart;'' and surely for that one moment, when the\nmissionary looks down on the well-ordered congregation,\nstretching rank after rank to the farthest limits of his poor\naccommodation, a body of five or seven hundred persons;\nwhen he sees the reverential posture, the orderly conduct\n\u2014all sitting, standing, or kneeling as the rubric directs;\n* The missionary in charge will feel no longer a twinge of shame,\nand sorrow as he takes in hand the glass tumbler and the willow-\npattern plate once used; the earnestness and self-denial of a young\nlady in England has furnished the mission with small, but beautiful,\nsacramental vessels of silver.\n3I S 310\nTHE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\n..< I!\n11\nm\nabove all, when the voice of that multitude is heard in the\nresponses, like the voice of many waters\u2014for one moment\nthe missionary may be pardoned the happy, exulting\nthought, \" Under God's good providence I have been\ninstrumental in the accomplishment of so great a work.\nThe usual service for the day proceeded just as it would\nin any church in England, except that the Lessons were read\nby two of the catechists, or schoolmasters\u2014young natives,\nwho are being trained up to labour among their brethren\u2014\nand the Te Deum was sung antiphonally, the men singing\none verse, the women another. A short sermon was delivered, and the Holy Sacrament administered to a few of\nthe most advanced Christians, and with this the sacred\nservices of the day concluded.\nBefore, however, the people dispersed to return to their\nown villages, there took place a little exchange of kindness and good feeling between priest and people. They\nbring him small offerings as tokens of congratulation,\nrespect, and affection\u2014he, in return, entertains them all\nat one single meal before he dismisses them to their\nhomes. Seated at the door of his hut, and assuming for\nthe occasion a certain amount of state, it is the missionary's privilege to receive at the hands of his ^people\nsome trivial offering, such as each is disposed to bring.\nA packet of sugar, a few flowers, fruits, or vegetables\u2014\nthe \"little balm, and a little honey, spices, and myrrh,\nnuts, and almonds,\" which Jacob bade his sons to bear to\nthe Governor of Egypt\u2014these are still the offerings with\nwhich an Eastern people are accustomed to present themselves before those they love or respect. The entertainment which the missionary offers to his numerous guests\nis of a far simpler character, and much less expensive in\nitself than our English readers would suppose. To the\npeople of the country, who principally subsist on cholum,\na kind of maize, rice is considered a luxury, and if you\nare able to give your visitors a dish of curry and rice, you CHRISTMAS IN AN INDIAN MISSION.\n311\nare considered to have exercised a princely hospitality.\nTo entertain even five hundred is not, then,-a matter of\ndifficulty, and a few years ago, when grain was cheap, \u00a35\nor \u00a36 would have been the utmost that a dinner for so\nmany would have cost. All that the missionary has to\ndo is to give out a certain quantity of raw grain, and, if\nvery liberally disposed, present them with two or three\nsheep. Soon fires are kindled; the women prepare the\nfood; broad leaves serve as platters ; all sit down on the\nground and in the open air. The missionary asks a\nblessing, and the savoury meal is joyfully discussed. Nor\nis this Christmas dinner destitute of importance in itself\u2014\nit draws the people more together; will help to break\ndown caste distinctions; unites the Christians as one\ngreat family among the heathen by whom they are surrounded, and gives an opportunity to the missionary of\nacknowledging and repaying the countless kindnesses\nwhich he receives at the hands of his people, the liberality\nand hospitality which, poor as they are, they exercise\ntowards himself.\nWith the dinner the proceedings of the day came to a\nclose, and all set out on their return to their separate\nvillages. Soon the missionary's hut was deserted, and\nresumed its quiet, solitary aspect. The great event of\nthe year was over; he must prepare to lay his plans, that\nnext year's gathering shall outdo this year's. Would our\nreaders have one more picture ? They must try to\nimagine it for themselves; and if they think that the rosy\nhue has too much predominated in the above account,\nthe concluding scene will supply the darker trait of missionary life. It is that of the missionary himself, left\nalone, after all are gone to their homes, when, weary with\nthe excitement of the day, the re-action begins; when,\nperhaps, he sits down alone to his own Christmas dinner,\nand finds, in his solitude, that whatever it may be to\nothers, his heart has no response for the festivity and HI!\nm tiwW\nIII 1'\n\u25a0\u25a0 sill 1 ?4\n: J\n312\nTHE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\nrejoicing around. Never, perhaps, does he feel more\nalone; never do the difficulties of his work more press\non his jaded mind; never is he more disposed to be\n\"cast down and disquieted\" within him than when the\ncrowd has left him to himself, and joy, excitement, and\nenthusiasm are succeeded by weariness, and painfulness,\nand solitude. 313\nurmatt.\nThe great and favourable change which has taken place\nin the policy of the King of Burmah towards Christianity,\nand the successful efforts that are being made by the\nmissionaries of our Church at Rangoon, Moulmein, and,\nmore lately, at Mandalay, the capital of the kingdom, may.\ngive to the following sketch, compiled from various sources,\nan interest which otherwise it could not have possessed.\nBefore the wars with England, Burmah was the most\nconsiderable of the Indo-Chinese nations which inhabit the\nfarther peninsula of India. It comprehended the whole\nof the extensive region lying between the latitudes 9 \u00b0 and\n27\u00b0 N. At present its hmits are lat. 16\u00b0 and 27\u00b0 N., and\nlong. 93\u00b0 and 99\u00b0 E.; its area is estimated at 195,000\nsquare miles, and its population at about 5,000,000.\nThe coasts and rivers of Burmah are thickly studded\nwith towns and villages ; the upper portion of the country\nis mountainous,.and its scenery is described as among the\nmost beautiful in the world.\nIn the maritime provinces the year has two seasons\u2014\nthe dry and the wet. The latter bpgins towards the middle\nof May, and lasts until October. The rainy season is the\nonly time when the country is unhealthy for Europeans,\nand even then there are many places where they may\nreside with impunity. In the mountain districts the climate\nis generally healthy, and the cold sometimes approaches\nin severity that of our own winters.\nThe river Irawadi, which, like the Ganges, is regarded 314\nTHE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\nas sacred, issues from the mountains, and, after passing\nthrough the whole of the empire, empties itself into the\nBay of Bengal. It has a course of more than 1,200 miles\nto the sea, and in various parts of its course its breadth\nvaries from one to five miles. Like the Delta of the Nile,\nthat of the Irawadi is exceedingly fruitful; and this river,\nin this also like the Nile, is the commercial highway of the\ncountry. The other rivers of Burmah are of no great importance.\n. The fruits of Burmah are varied in their character, but\ninferior to those of neighbouring countries. Timber trees,\nhowever, are abundant, and the teak forests occupy no inconsiderable portion of the Burmese territory. Like the\nwoody and uncultivated districts of Hindustan, those of\nBurmah are extremely pestiferous ; and though the woodcutters are said to be a hardy and active race of men, on\nwhom climate and suffering appear to have little effect, yet\nthey are very short-lived, e #-.-\nThe mineral riches of Burmah are great. Gold dust is\nprocured in considerable quantities from the head waters\nof the various rivers ; there is also much silver in the land;\nand rubies and other precious stones are so numerous as\nto form a regular portion of the commercial products.\nIron, tin, lead, and many other things which form the\nwealth of every country, are plentiful; and coal is found\nin the inland provinces.\nThe animals of Burmah are numerous. The domestic\nquadrupeds are the ox, the buffalo, the horse, and the\nelephant. The two first are much used throughout the\ncountry, though to the Burmese the ox is an expensive\nanimal, as their religion forbids its use as food, and they\nhave no profitable way, therefore, of disposing of the disabled cattle. The horse is rarely used, except for the\nsaddle, and in some parts of the country it is quite unknown.\nThe elephant is now much more the object of royal luxury\nand ostentation than anything else, and is nowhere used BURMAH.\n315\nas a beast of burden. Dogs and cats, sheep and swine,\nasses and goats, are but little cared for, but are allowed to\npursue their own ways unmolested. Wild animals of\nmany kinds abound in Burmah; but neither wolves,\njackals, foxes, nor hyenas are to be found in the country.\nBurmah is occupied by various races of people. 1. The\nPegu race, or Talaim, who inhabit the delta of the Irawadi,\nand who were in the ascendant for many years. 2. The\nKarens, who five on the borders and low plains in the\nprovince of Bassein; and amongst whom, in days gone by,\nthe Gospel found more favour than with any other of the\nBurmese populations. 3. The Maramas, or Burmans, who\ninhabit the high lands above Pegu, and who are now the\nimperial race. They are supposed to be of the same\nvaliant Malay stock which has colonised so large a portion\nof the globe, and who probably passed by way of Polynesia\nto the American continent. Like the Incas of Peru, the\nBurmans boast a celestial origin; and the similarity of\nsome of their institutions has led to the supposition of\ntheir being of the same original family.\nThe King of Burmah is probably the most despotic\nmonarch on earth. In his titles, he asserts himself to be\nlord, ruler, and sole possessor of the fives, persons, and\nproperty of his subjects. Every Burman, therefore, is\nborn the kihg!s slave; and every Burman thinks it an\nhonour to.be the thrall of such a sovereign. It is, however, to the credit of the law-giver, and the sovereign who,\nthough absolute, obeyed the law, to mention that no\nmarried woman can be seized on by the emissaries of the\nking. This naturally leads the Burmese women to contract marriages very, early, either actually or fictitiously.\nBut, notwithstanding the King of Burmah is absolute, he,\nlike certain absolute rulers in Europe, has two nominal\ncouncils\u2014a public one and a cabinet. But he is not bound\nto follow their advice; and, his measures very frequently\nbeing predetermined, when, his ministers have proved un-\nI 316\nTHE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\n11\n1:\nwilling to give an'immediate and unconditional assent, he\nhas been known to chase them from his presence with a\ndrawn sword.\nThere is no regular Burmese army; but every man is\nliable to serve. When the king requires an army, he fixes\nthe number of soldiers necessary for the enterprise, and\nnominates the general to command them. The conduct of\nthe officers who levy the troops is not unlike that of\nFalstaff. And persons who are able to buy themselves off\ndo so ; and the consequence is, a rabble is assembled,\nwithout subordination or discipline, formidable only to the\nbarbarian tribes of the frontier, but totally unable to cope\nwith the civilised forces in the service of England.\nThe whole country is regarded as the property of the\nCrown; and the waste and uncultivated parts are at the\ndisposition of any one who will settle on them. The only\nduty incumbent on the settler, is that he must enclose and\ncultivate it. If he does not improve the land within a\ncertain period, it reverts to the Crown, and may be occupied by another.\nIn civil disputes, the parties have the right to select\ntheir own judges; while criminal causes are tried before\nthe chief governor of the town or village. But notwithstanding the apparent fairness of this arrangement, the\nutmost corruption appears to prevail in the administration\nof justice; and \"To be put to justice\" is the Burman\nphrase for the severest calamity that can befall any person.\nThe different punishments for offences are: fines, the\nstocks, imprisonment, labour in chains, flogging, branding,\nmaiming, slavery, and death. The last is inflicted by decapitation, drowning, or crucifixion. The killing of slaves\nis not held to be murder, and is atoned by fines.\nThe husband may chastise his wife for misbehaviour,\nand, in the event of continued offences, may divorce her\nwithout appeal. The wife, however, is not without her\nprivileges. Should her husband go away with the army, BURMAH.\n317\nshe may marry again at the expiration of six years ; if he\nbe absent on business, she must wait seven years; and if\naway on any religious mission, ten years.\nChanging a landmark is heavily punished. A person\nhurt in wrestling, or any other athletic exercise, cannot\nrecover damages; but if he be mortally injured, he who\ncaused the hurt must pay the price of his body. An\nempty vehicle must give way to a full one; and when two\nmen laden with burdens meet, he that has the sun at his\nback must give place.\nThe flight of a debtor does not relieve his family of\nhability; but the wife is not obliged to pay the debts\nwhich her husband may have contracted during a former\nmarriage. The property of insolvents is equally shared\namong the creditors, without preference. The eldest son\ninherits the arms, wardrobe, bed, and jewellery of his\nfather ; the rest of the property is divided into four equal\nparts, of which the widow has three, and the family,\nexclusive of the eldest son, take the remaining fourth.\nThe following is the value set upon men, women, and\nchildren:\u2014A new-born male infant, four ticals, or 10s.;\na female infant, 7s. 6cZ. ; a boy, \u00a31 5s.; a girl, 17s. Qd.;\na young man, \u00a33 15s.; a young woman, \u00a34 2s. 6d.\nRich persons, however, are valued in proportion to then-\nwealth and importance.\nThe police are not incorruptible, or, as is the case in\nmost places, so vigilant as they might be, and the country\nis infested with robbers. The fact is, personal government\nis not omnipotence; and among the officials responsibility\nis shifted from one person to another, and great ignorance\nand want of intelligence seems to pervade every department. The condition of the country, however, is probably\nno worse than that of China, where the actual amount of\ncrime is not great in-proportion to the population.\nThe revenue of the Burman Empire is a duty of 10 per\ncent, upon all merchandise coming from abroad; the 318\nTHE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\nIt\n'11j\nproduce of certain mines, export duties, a family tax, and\nan excise on salt, fruit-trees, rice, &c. No inconsiderable portion of the royal revenue, however, is derived from\nthe presents which the officers of the palace receive\nfor the granting of various favours. The sum total of the\nking's income, in consequence of the dishonesty of the\ncollectors and others, is probably not more than \u00a325,000\nper annum.\nThe Burmese have no coined money. At every payment the money is assayed and weighed to ascertain its\nvalue. When a bargain is to be concluded, the seller very\noften asks to see the money the purchaser has to offer\nhim. The circulating medium for small payments is lead;\nsilver, however, is the standard, although gold is also in\nuse, and is considered to be seventeen times the value of\nsilver. A commission of two and a-half per cent, is\ncharged for assaying money ; one per cent, is lost in the\noperation, so that if the operation be repeated forty times,\nthe original amount is wholly absorbed\u2014a fact which\nshows the great waste which attends this rude substitute\nfor a currency.\nBurmah has a considerable foreign trade with Mergui,\nChittagong, Calcutta, Penang, and Madras. The principal\nharbours are Rangoon and Bassein, both of which are\ngood, though foreign vessels never go to the latter.\nThe exports of Burmah are teak-wood, cotton, wax,\ncutch, sticklac, and ivory; also lead, copper, arsenic, tin,\namber, indigo, tobacco, honey, tamarinds, and gems. The\nmost considerable article of commerce, however, is the\nteak-wood, of which the supply is so abundant that, though\nvery dear in other parts of Asia, it is sold to as many\nships as arrive, at a very moderate price.\nThe domestic architecture of the Burmese greatly\nresembles that of the Polynesians. The houses are constructed with timber and bamboos, fastened with fighter\npieces of wood, placed transversely. Pillars made of BURMAH.\n319\nbrick or stone, supporting a frame, are never seen. The\nsides are usually covered with mats, but sometimes with\nthatch, fastened by split canes. Even in the best\nhouses, which are never more than one storey high, the\nroofs are almost invariably of thatch, wrought most skilfully, and forming a perfect security against both wind and\nrain. The floors are elevated a few feet from the earth,\nwhich makes them more comfortable than the houses of\nBengal. The doors and windows are merely of matting,\nin bamboo panes, which, when not closed, are propped up,\nso as to form a shade.\nBut it is in the pagodas that the architectural skill of\nthe Burmans really displays itself, and of these extraordinary temples no mere verbal description can give an\nadequate idea.\nThe dress of the Burmese is very simple. That of the\nmen consists of a long piece of striped cotton or silk, folded\nround the middle, and flowing down to the feet. When they\nare not at work this is loosed and is thrown partly over the\nshoulder, and then covers the body in no ungraceful\nmanner. The higher classes add to this a jacket of white\nmuslin, or occasionally of broadcloth or velvet. The\nturban of muslin is worn by every one. Their shoes or\nsandals are of wood, or cowhide covered with cloth;\nthese are only worn abroad. The women wear a petticoat\nof cotton or silk. In the street they wear a jacket like that\nof the men, and a mantle over it.\nBoth sexes wear cylinders of gold, silver, horn, wood,\nmarble, or paper in their ears. The fashionable diameter\nof the ear-hole is one inch. The boring of a boy's ears is\nthe occasion of much festivity, as it is considered equal to\nthe assumption of the toga virilis among the ancient\nRomans ; yet when youth and the period of dandyism has\ngone by they care but little for such a decoration, and\ngenerally use the ear-hole as a cigar-rack.\nThe hair is always well taken care of, and is anointed 320\nTHE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\nevery day with sessamum oil. The men gather the hair in.a\nbunch on the top of the head, like the North American\nIndians, while the women tie it in a knot behind.\nCompared with our own the food of the Burmese is\nmean and bad, and they will eat many kinds of reptiles\nand insects. They, have two meals a day, one about nine\nin the morning, and the other at sunset. Their usual\nbeverage is water.\nThe bed consists of a simple mat spread on the ground,\n\u2022. and a small pillow, or piece of wood, precisely in the\nmanner of the Polynesians. The rich occasionally have a\nlow wooden bedstead and mattresses.\nIn the treatment of the sick their practice, like that\nof all semi-barbarous nations, is absurd and unskilful,\nalthough some of their remedies are undoubtedly good.\nAt death many ceremonies are observed. While the\nfamily of the deceased give themselves up to lamentation,\ntheir friends make all the arrangements. A great store of\nfruits, cotton cloths, and money is prepared for distribution among the priests and the poor. \u2022 This is accomplished\nby means.of a burial club, which, strangely enough, is one\nof the institutions of Burmah. On the day of the buiming,\na procession is formed thus : first, the people carrying the\npresents; secondly, female priests draped in white,\nbearing some of the funeral paraphernalia; thirdly, a\nnumber of priests walking two and two; then the\nmusicians; then the bier, borne by friends of the\ndeceased ; immediately behind which come the wives, children, and nearest relatives all clad in white ; and lastly, a\nconcourse of people more or less connected with the\ndeceased. At the place where the body is burnt the\nsenior priest delivers a sermon, which generally consists of\nreflections on the five secular commandments and the ten\ngood works of Buddhism. The coffin is then delivered to\nthe burners of the dead, who set fire to it, while others\ndistribute the alms to the priests and people. Burning, BURMAH.\n321\nhowever, is not invariable; persons that have been\ndrowned or have died of infectious diseases are immediately interred. On the third day after the burning,\nthe relatives collect the ashes, which are placed in an urn\nand buried. Until the ninth day after the burning the\nfestivities are kept up, in order, it is said, to divert the\nminds of the relatives from the loss they have sustained.\nThe arts of the Burmese are very simple. Every man\ncan build his own house, and the females of the family can\nmanufacture all the apparel. Wood-carving has been\nbrought by them to some perfection, though of painting\nthey know but little. They are skilful workers in gold,\nand in bell-casting no Oriental nations can compete with\nthem.\nSlavery is very general among the Burmese; though\nthe condition of slaves is not very different from that of free\npersons. The estimation in which they are held is also\nhigh, inasmuch as they are marked in value with 1 a son,\na nephew, and an ox ! \"\nIn character the Burmese appear to differ in many\npoints from the Hindus and other East Indians. They\nare more lively, active, and industrious, and, though fond\nof repose, are seldom idle when there is an inducement for\nexertion. When such inducement is offered, they exhibit\nnot only great strength, but courage and perseverance.\nBut these valuable traits are rendered nearly useless in\nconsequence of the low state of civilisation and morals.\nThe poorer classes, furnished by a happy climate with all\nnecessaries at the price of only occasional labour, and the\nfew who are above that necessity, find no proper pursuits\nto fill up their leisure. Folly and sensuality find gratification almost without an effort, and without expenditure.\nSloth becomes the repose of the poor and the business of\nthe rich; and life is wasted in the profitless alternative of\nsensual ease, rude drudgery, and native sport. No\ninstitutions exist for the improvement of posterity, 322\nTHE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\nII\nand successive generations pass like the crops upon then*\nfields. Servihty, the inevitable consequence of despotism,\nprevails amongst them to a frightful extent, overcoming, in\nmany instances, the sense of right implanted in their\nbosoms as men. Servihty inevitably leads to the remainder of the mean vices. One of the principal precepts\nof their religion forbids lying ; but there is no land where\ntruth is more disregarded. A man who tells the truth is\nconsidered a fool, and incapable of managing his own\naffairs. But as every rule has its exception, so there are,\nside by side with this dark catalogue of faults, not a few\ngood qualities ; and some travellers say, that in Burmah\nare found many persons whose affability and courtesy,\nbenevolence and gratitude, and other virtues, contrast\nstrongly with the vices of others. There are instances on\nrecord of shipwrecks on their coast, when the mariners\nhave been relieved in the villages, and treated with a\ngenerous hospitality which they would probably not have\nexperienced in many Christian countries.\nThe Burmese are probably no worse than other semi-\nbarbarous heathen. That they have great natural capacity\nis certain. With Christianity, the blessings of a higher\ncivilisation, and the peaceful arts that elevate man, as man,\nwill obtain sway; and Burmah may then take a high\nposition in the family of nations.\nWe may now glance at the religious tenets and\nceremonies of the Burmese, and give some account of the\nwork which has been and is being done for Christ in\nBurmah.\nThe reformation under Guadama, in the sixth century\nb.c, which led to the establishment of Buddhism in the\nplace of the ancient Hindu creed, was important in many\nrespects, but in none so much as in substituting the\nprinciple of the unity and indivisibility of the object of\nadoration for the gross polytheism of Hindustan, although\nit presented no clear conception of the Being to be adored. BURMAH.\n323\nThe\ngeneral principles of Buddhism have been thus\nsummed up:\u20141. To take refuge only with Buddha. 2.\nTo be steadfast in the determination of aiming at the\nhighest pitch of excellence in order to arrive at the proper\nstate for death. 3. To be obedient and reverent towards\nBuddha. 4. To make pleasing offerings. 5. To glorify\nand exalt Buddha by music and singing and constant\npraise. 6. To confess sin truly and humbly, with a fixed\nresolution to repent. 7. To wish well toward all. 8. To\nencourage the ministers of the faith in then: mission.\nThe duty of the different classes of Buddhists has been\n' defined in the following manner by an eminent Buddhist\nreformer of the fourteenth century :\u2014\n1. Men of the lowest order of mind must believe\nthat there is a God; and that there is a future life in\nwhich they will receive the reward or punishment of their\nactions and conduct in this life.\n2. Men of the middle degree of mental capacity must\nadd to the above the knowledge that all things in this\nworld are perishable; that imperfection is a pain and\ndegradation; and that deliverance from existence is a\ndeliverance from pain, and, consequently, a final beatitude.\n3. -Men of the third or highest order must believe, in\nfurther addition, that nothing exists, or will continue\nalways, or cease absolutely, except through dependence on\na casual connection or concatenation; so will they arrive\nat the true knowledge of God.\nSuch is Buddhism as recognised in Burmah ; and it is\nnot surprising that to men who have failed to realise that .\nChristianity is a spiritual life system, it represents a creed\nwhich might be taken for Christianity, could its votaries\npoint to Christ as its preacher and the Mosaic dispensation\nas its antecedent. The most perfect of the heathen\nsystems of philosophy however can at best but improve the\nintellect, but Christianity in its integrity restores to man\nthat which he lost by sin ; it quickens him into spiritual\ny 2 .324\nTHE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\nlife ; it enables him to serve God in spirit and in truth; it\nmakes him meet for the inheritance of saints in light.\nThis is the grand feature of Christianity which missionaries,\nwhen dealing with Buddhists and others whose religions\nare systems of philosophy, should labour to make known.\nNo mere placing of precept against precept, no simple\ndetail of duty toward God and man will suffice; but\nwhile preaching repentance and' demanding faith, the\nmissionaries should make known that through the extension\nof the Incarnation by the ministrations of the Church, \"We\ndwell in Christ, and Christ in us; we are one with Christ,\nand Christ with us,\" and that this it is which raises\nChristianity above every other religion in the world.\nCould the disciples of Buddhism act up to its principles,\noppression and injury would be known no more within\ntheir borders. Its deeds of merit are, in all cases, either\nreally beneficial to mankind or harmless. It has no\nmythology of obscene and ferocious deities, no sanguinary\nor impure observances, no self-inflicted tortures, no confounding of right and wrong by making certain iniquities\nlaudable in worship. In its moral code, its descriptions of\nthe purity and peace of the first ages, of the shortening of\nman's life because of the sin of man, &c, it seems to have\nfoUowed genuine traditions ; but all this, in so far as\nspiritual life is concerned, profiteth nothing. The Burmese\nare no better than any other of the heathen: their low\nmoral condition, and the degrading influences everywhere\nat work among them, prove that spiritually Buddhism does\nno more for man than the crude mythology and debasing\nsuperstitions of the Africans.\nThe priests of Burmah are named Ponghees, that is,\n\"great example,\" or \"great glory.\" Rahan, or \"holy\nman,\" once much used in describing the priests, is now\nalmost obsolete. The office of the priesthood is not hereditary, for the Burmans are unshackled by castes, and\nindeed a priest may become a layman again, though after BURMAH.\n325\nre-entering soeiety he cannot again assume the sacerdotal\noffice. The priests' convents serve as places where an\neducation superior to that usually obtained in the schools\nmay be received, and the young men not being bound by\nvows may return to the active scenes of life, and take\nmilitary or political work. The priests have but little\npolitical influence, and are only consulted in ecclesiastical\nand literary matters. They five on the charity of those to\nwhom they minister, and on the whole they do not appear\nto be badly off. Their dress is yellow, and is composed of\ntwo cloths, which are so wrapped round them as to completely envelop them from the shoulders to the heels.\nTheir heads are shaved, and to shade the bare poll from\nthe sun they carry a talipot or palmyra leaf in their hands.\nThe priesthood is divided into regular grades. The\nhighest functionary is called the Tha-thena-byng; he\nresides at Ava, has jurisdiction over all other priests, and\nappoints the president of every monastery. He stands\nhigh at court, and is considered one of the great men of\nthe kingdom. Next to him are the Ponghees, strictly so\ncalled, one of whom presides in each monastery. Next are\nthe Oo-pe-zins, comprising those who have passed the\nnovitiate, sustained a regular examination, and chosen the\npriesthood for life. Both these orders are considered to\nunderstand religion so well as to think for themselves, and\nexpound the law out of their own hearts, without being\nobliged to follow what they have read in books. Next are\nthe Eo-yen-ga-lay, who have retired from the world and\nwear the yellow cloth, but are not all seeking to pass the\nexamination, and become Oo-pe-zins. They have retired\nfor an education or a hvelihood, or to gain a divorce, or\nfor various objects, and many such return to secular life.\nBy courtesy all who wear the yellow cloth are called\nPonghees.\nThe moral law in regard to priests is very strict in\nprecept, but very lax in practice. Deterioration and 326\nTHE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\ndegradation have set their seal upon all the institutions of\nBurmah\u2014all are equally foul and corrupt.\nThe most interesting and most characteristic ceremony\nof the Burmese is the funeral of a priest, as it contains a\nmixture of solemnity and absurdity rarely to be met with.\nWhen a priest dies his body is embalmed, and the embalming process seems to be somewhat like that employed by\nthe ancient Egyptians. The body is opened, the intestines\ntaken out, the spaces are filled with various kinds of\nspices, the orifice is then closed up again and sewn\ntogether. After this the whole body is covered by a\nlayer of wax; over the wax is placed a layer of lac,\ntogether with some bituminous compound, and the whole\nis then covered with leaf gold. About a year after the\nembalming, the body is removed from the monastery to a\nhouse built expressly for such purposes, where it is kept\nuntil the other priests order it to be burnt. The body is\nhere placed upon a platform of bamboo and wood, and the\nhouse itself is gaily ornamented with paper and leaf gold.\nBy the platform the coffin, overlaid with gold, and painted\nwith various figures of death, is placed. In the courtyard\ntwo four-wheel carriages await the time fixed for the\nburning, one being intended for the coffin, the other for\nthe platform and its apparatus.\nThe people of the place prepare rockets and other\nfireworks, as well as images much larger than life, which\nrepresent buffaloes, elephants, horses, and men. These\nimages are drawn on carriages through the streets and\nround the town ; all the citizens, when the ceremonies are\nstrictly observed, being compelled to assist. \" Flags,\ndancing girls and boys, singing men and women, and the\nprincipal persons of the place, carrying umbrellas as a\nsign of their rank, form the procession.\nThe following day the townspeople divide into two\nparties ; the carriage containing the corpse has four ropes\nattached to it, and the two parties pull one against the BURMAH.\nother and strive- to draw away the carriage and its\ncontents. This contest is continued till superior strength\nputs an end to it, or the cable breaks.\nThe third day is spent in discharging the rockets at the\nfigures that were carried in procession, and in the evening\nthere is a grand display of fireworks.\nOn the fourth day the corpse is burnt in a temporary\nhouse, by being made a target for rockets until the coffin\nand pile are set on fire and consumed. Sometimes,\nhowever, the body is blown from a cannon, in order that\nit may be conveyed more quickly to heaven.\nBelieving in a heaven, the Burmese also believe in a\nhell. Of heaven they conceive degrees of happiness,\nagreeing with the deservings of the individual, though all\nin heaven are supposed gradually to attain higher excellence and bliss, until that high state of eternal felicity is\nreached which is known by the name of Nirvan, and which\nconsists of a perpetual ecstacy, where men are not only\nfree from the troubles and miseries of life, from death,\nillness, and old age, but are abstracted from all sensation,\nand have no longer a thought or desire. Of hell they\nimagine four conditions of punishment:\u20141. Where men\nare degraded into beasts. 2. The Pieitta, a state of\nsorrow resembling the Tartarus of the Greeks. 3. The\nAssuricho, like unto the Pieitta in character but of greater\ndegree. 4. The Niria, where the sufferings are by fire\nand cold, and where the worst of mankind are punished.\nNone but infidels, however, are supposed to be condemned\nto an eternal punishment, though the time of confinement\nfor believers is undecided. By good behaviour the\nsufferers, it is said, may gradually rise through all\ngradations and finally obtain Nirvan.\nSuch, briefly stated, is the religious system with which\nChristianity has to contend in Burmah. What is Christianity doing against this potent adversary ?\nFrom a pamphlet, called \" God's work among the 328\nTHE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\nKarens,\" we extract the following:\u2014\" Some who read\nthese lines may already have heard of that glorious and\nblessed work among the Karens in Tennasserim and Pegu,\nby which the gracious Lord has animated the hearts of this\nwaiting people, and by His wonder-working providence has\nconfirmed that promise of His Word on which He hath\ncaused us to hope. These noble people were never known\nto have a separate language or separate traditions till the\nfirst inquirers sought instruction from Dr. Judson, the\nheroic and devoted American missionary in Burmah. But\nnow they appear to the eye of the Church a large distinct\nnation, divided into several tribes, with varying districts,\nbut all worshipping the eternal God; all waiting for the\npromise of the Fathers\u2014a true Book of Revelation, which\nwould be brought to them by the white man over the sea.\"\nIt would seem that a tradition existed among the Karens\nthat God, the very God, had revealed His will to man, and\nthat the \" white man over the sea'' had that revelation in\na written word, and so when Judson and others appeared\namong them, hundreds upon hundreds received the word\nwith all readiness of mind, avowed their faith and their\nthankfulness, and were baptized. \" The facts,\" states the\npamphlet, \" are manifest and, since Apostolic days, unparalleled. These Karen people are signalising in a way\nmost animating and most affecting the power of Divine\ngrace. The first convert, Ko Tha Byn, ' The Karen\nApostle,' was one to whom much had been forgiven, and\nwho loved much. It was his meat and drink to do his\nFather's will; and he went forth warning every one night\nand day with tears, and proclaiming everywhere the one\ngreat truth on which his soul fed, that \" Christ Jesus came\ninto the world to save sinners.\" He died, and his works\nfollowed him. Men flocked in and the truth prevailed.\nDevoted men and women gave their fives to the service of\nGod among these people, teaching the way of God more\nperfectly, but the world knew but little of their labours, BURMAH.\n329\nand even the Church of Christ scarcely heard of them.\nThen came the last Burmese war, and Pegu was annexed\nto British India. New stations were opened: the white\nman went as a friend and a brother to preach salvation by\nJesus Christ, and the hearts of thousands were swayed\nand softened. Native teachers who had but little human\nlearning, were endowed with gifts and graces which enabled\nthem to speak from their hearts, as dying men who had\ntasted that the Lord was precious, to their dying fellow-\ncountrymen, beseeching them in Christ's stead to be reconciled to God; and their work was blessed. The wild\nmountaineers who had braved the Burman despot; the\nchafed survivor who mourned a family carried into slavery\nby wilder tribes, or driven into exile by his cruel Burman\nrulers; the savage chief who had learned no trade but war;\nand the simple child, the lawless youth, even the aged\nleper\u2014all heard, received, and embraced the truth, and\nthen gave themselves to the Lord with all the fervour and\nfrankness of their simple natures.\"\nTo some this may appear to be the expression of an exaggerated feeling, but it seems a faithful summary of what\nwas and is being done among the Karens. We cannot\nenter into the details, but letters are given from the Rev.\nDr. Mason of Tounghoo, at whieh plaee, within three years,\nnearly three thousand adult believers were baptized; from\nMajor Phayre, the Commissioner of Pegu, and others which\ntestify to the truth of the above extracts. Major Phayre\nin his report to the Government of India, says: \" The\nactual number of Christian converts among the Karens\nin the province of Pegu is 10,322 persons; these, with\ntheir families, make a probable number of 50,000 souls\nunder instruction and Christian influence.\"\nDuring the war with England many of the. converts suffered persecution, some death, on the accusation of having\ncalled in the English to take the country; but in all things\nthey are said to have been faithful, and to have clung to 330\nTHE EMIGRANT AND THE HEATHEN.\nmm Hi i\nthe Lord with all the fervour and frankness of their simple\nnatures.\nNow, if so much has been done by the exponents of an\nimperfect form of Christianity\u2014for by the American Baptist\nmissionaries this work among the Karens has been accomplished, what in God's good time, if we be but faithful,\nmay we expect to flow from the work of the Church ?\nMention has been made in a number of Mission Life\nof the really wonderful way in which the work of the\nChurch is progressing in other parts of Burmah, and the\nSociety for the Propagation of the Gospel has given such\na wide circulation to the remarkable report of the Rev. J.\nE. Marks, the missionary through whom this good work\nhas been mainly brought to pass, that recapitulation here .\nwould be unnecessary. Suffice it to say, the King of\nBurmah has been as good as his word,\u2014he has built and\npartly endowed schools at Mandalay, the capital of his\nkingdom, at which nearly a thousand children attend; he\nhas given his subjects full permission to become Christians\nif they be moved thereto; and by the latest intelligence we\nlearn that the foundation-stone of the first Christian\nchurch at Mandalay has just been laid on a plot of ground\ngiven by the king for that purpose. These are but\npromises of greater things in store, and we look and wait\nwith faith and confidence for such things as will testify to\nthe grace vested in the Church\u2014will vindicate the power\nof redeeming love, fill our souls with gratitude and our lips\nwith praise, and make known to all the world that the\nChurch does wield the powers of the world to come; and\nthat God by His ministers does act upon the souls of men,\nas He acts by none other. flUH\nStoig for f OTtftmg C^txstiatt JtotoMrge.\nPUBLICATIONS\nON THE CHRISTIAN EVIDENCES.\nBOOKS. Price.\nFaith and Scepticism.\nBy the Rev. Brownlow Maitland. Post 8vo. Cloth boards 1 6\nModern Unbelief : its Principles and Characteristics. By the Eight Rev. the LordBishop of Gloucester\nand Bristol. Post8vo, Cloihboards 1 6\nSome Modern Religious Difficulties.\nSix Sermons, Preached by the request of the Christian\nEvidence Society, at St. James's, Piccadilly, on Sunday\nAfternoons after Easter, 1876, with a Preface by his Grace\nthe Archbishop of Canterbury. Post 8vo Cloth boards 1 6\nMoral Difficulties connected with the Bible.\nBeing the Boyle Lectures for 1871, preached in Her\nMajesty's Chapel at Whitehall. By the Ven. Archdeacon\nHessey, D.C.L., Preacher to the Hon. Society 6i Gray's\nInn, &c. FibstSeries. Post8vo Clothboards 1 6\nMoral Difficulties connected with the Bible.\nBeing the Boyle Lectures for 1872, preached in Her\nMajesty's Chapel at Whitehall. By the Ven. Archdeacon\nHessey, D.C.L., Preacher to the Hon. Society of Gray's\nInn, &c. Second Series. Post8vo Clothboards 2 6\nPrayer and recent Difficulties about it.\nThe Boyle Lectures for 1873, being the Thibd Series of\n\"Moral Difficulties connected with the Bible.\" Preached\nin Her Majesty's Chapel at Whitehall. By the Ven. Archdeacon Hessey, D.C.L.,Preachertothe Hon. Society of Gray's\nInn, &c. PostSvo Clothboards 2 6\nSeriesI\u20143inavolume Cloihboards 6 0\nThe Analogy of Religion.\nDialogues founded upon Butler's \" Analogy of Religion.\"\nBy Rev. H. R. Huckin, D.D., Head Master of Repton\nSchool. Post8vo Cloihboards 3 0 I EH\n2\nPrice.\n<( Miracles.\" 1 d-\nBy the Rev. E. A. Litton, M.A., Examining Chaplain of\nthe Bishop of Durham. Crown 8vo Clothboards 1 G\nHistorical Illusteations of the Old Testament. By the Rev. Gr. Rawlinson, M.A., Camden Professor of Ancient History, Oxford. Post 8vo ...Cloth boards 1 6\nCan we Believe in Miracles ?\nBy G. Warington, B.A., of Caius College, Cambridge.\nPost8vo f.j|. 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By Sir- F. le -\nGros Clark, F.R.S., President of the\" Royal College of\nSurgeon s of England, &c. Post 8vo ClotfiL oov\/r&k * * 4 0\nThe Story of Creation, as told by Theology\nand Science. By the Rev. T. S. Ackland, M.A. Post 8vo. \u2022\nCloth boards \u201e jui. , 1 6\nMan's Accountableness for his Eeligioto3\nBelief. A Lecture delivered at the Hall of S&ehce, \nDIFFICULTIES OF OLD TESTAMENT CHARACTERS.\nNo. 4.\u2014The Fall of David per 100 2\nNo. 7.\u2014Cain and his Times \nNo. 9.\u2014Abraham's Sacrifice \t\nNo. 10.\u2014Deceit of Jacob \t\nNo. 11.\u2014Cruelty of Joshua \t\nNo. 12.\u2014Jephthah's Vow\t\nSCRIPTURE DIFFICULTIES.\nNo. 1.\u2014The Character of Noah per 100\nNo. 2.\u2014Jesus Christ Came to Send a Sword on\nEarth ,,\nNo. 3.\u2014Commercial Sharpness Exemplified and Exposed\nin the Parable of the Unjust Steward. By the Rev. F.\nMorse,M.A. Preb. of Lincoln per 100\nNo. 5.\u2014is There a God ? Adapted from N. Ronssel, &c.\nNo. 6.\u2014Norwich Cathedral Argumentative Discourses\nin Defence of the Faith. Series 1.\nBy the Lord Bishop of Peterborough.\nDiscourse 1. Christianity and Free Thought each\nDiscourse 2. Christianity and Scepticism \u201e\nDiscourse 3. Christianity and Faith\t\nDiscourse 4. The Demonstration of the Spirit.\nBy the Dean of Norwich.\nDiscourse 5. Above Reason, not contrary to it.\nDiscourse 6. The\nChristianity,\nC ","@language":"en"}],"Genre":[{"@value":"Books","@language":"en"}],"Identifier":[{"@value":"BV2060.H3 E8","@language":"en"},{"@value":"I-0462","@language":"en"}],"IsShownAt":[{"@value":"10.14288\/1.0221803","@language":"en"}],"Language":[{"@value":"English","@language":"en"}],"Notes":[{"@value":"Other Copies: http:\/\/www.worldcat.org\/oclc\/18546824","@language":"en"}],"Provider":[{"@value":"Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library","@language":"en"}],"Publisher":[{"@value":"London : Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge","@language":"en"},{"@value":"New York : Pott, Young & Co.","@language":"en"}],"Rights":[{"@value":"Images provided for research and reference use only. For permission to publish, copy, or otherwise distribute these images please contact digital.initiatives@ubc.ca.","@language":"en"}],"SortDate":[{"@value":"1874-12-31 AD","@language":"en"},{"@value":"1874-12-31 AD","@language":"en"}],"Source":[{"@value":"Original Format: University of British Columbia. Library. Rare Books and Special Collections. BV2060.H3 E8","@language":"en"}],"Subject":[{"@value":"Church of England--Missions","@language":"en"}],"Title":[{"@value":"The emigrant and the heathen; or, sketches of missionary life","@language":"en"}],"Type":[{"@value":"Text","@language":"en"}],"Translation":[{"@value":"","@language":"en"}],"@id":"doi:10.14288\/1.0221803"}