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BRIEF MEMOIRS

OF THE LATE RIGHT REVEREND

JOHN THOMAS JAMES, D.D.

LORD BISHOP OF CALCUTTA;

PARTICULARLY

DURING HIS RESIDENCE IN INDIA;

GATHERED FROM HIS LETTERS AND PAPERS,

• >

EDWARl?' JATftfes, M.A.

PREBENDARY OF WINCHESTER, AND EXAMINING CHAPLAIN TO THE LORD BISHOP OF THE DIOCESE.

LONDON :

J. HATCHARD AND SON, 187, PICCADILLY.

1830.

^3r^.

HCNf?Y MORSE STEPHENS

LONDON :

JBOTSON AND PALMER, PRINTERS, SAVOY STREET, STRAND.

TO

SIR THOMAS DYKE ACL AND, BART. M.P.

FOR THE COUNTY OF DEVON,

AND

SIR ROBERT HARRY INGLIS, BART. M.P.

FOR THE UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD, THE EARLY AND LONG-TRIED FRIENDS

OF THE

LATE BISHOP OF CALCUTTA,

THIS VOLUME

IS, WITH MUCH ESTEEM,

INSCRIBED.

.=^^?fir»8

PREFACE.

In offering these short Memoirs to the pub- lic, I have to express my thanks to the Friends of my late Brother, who have kindly contributed the letters they re- ceived from him after he sailed for India. From such sources, and from his own papers and memorandums, the narrative is chiefly drawn. An introductory Memoir has been prefixed for the sake of giving a slight sketch of the previous incidents and pursuits of his life. I feel assured, that to his friends this will be acceptable on its

VI PREFACE.

own account ; and I trust, that even to strangers it may not be uninteresting to trace the growth and formation of a cha- racter destined for so high and important duties — duties, alas ! which, in the climate of India, were too much for his strength, and to the incessant discharge of which he fell an early victim.

East Sheen, April 6, 1830.

INTRODUCTORY MEMOIR.

John Thomas James, D.D. late Bishop of Calcutta, was born on the 23d of January, 1786, at Rugby in Warwickshire. His father, Thomas Jame^, D.D. was well known as a scholar, and held, for many years, the laborious office of Head Master of Rugby School, to which he was elected in 1778, having previously been Fellow and Tutor of King s College, Cambridge. Dr. James's health being impaired by his unre- mitting exertions in the school, he re- signed the mastership in 1794, and on the application of the Trustees of the foundation at Rugby to Mr. Pitt, then

VIU INTRODUCTORY

prime minister, he was shortly afterwards preferred to a prebendal stall, in the Ca- thedral Church of Worcester ; in the en- joyment of which situation he continued to be among the foremost in every work of charity in that city, and equally zealous in the discharge of his duties as a parish priest at his rectory of Harvington in the vale of Evesham, till the day of his death in Sep- tember 1804. An elegant piece of sculp- ture by Chantrey, representing his full length figure has been erected by his scholars in the newly-built chapel at Rugby School ; but his proudest monu- ment, in the present age, is seen in the grateful recollection with which his me- mory is cherished by those, the improve- ment of whose early years was the object of his care.

In mentioning the name of this excel- lent man, it may, perhaps, be permitted to filial affection, to record here one anecdote

MEiMOIR. IX

of his life, especially as it is one, which is not more characteristic of the benevo- lence of the father, than of the same turn of mind and taste for the fine arts which were strikingly displayed in him who is the immediate subject of this me- moir. It happened, while he was an un- dergraduate scholar of Kings, (to which place he removed from Eton in 1767,) that the clerk of the college chapel was reduced to extreme distress by cases of protracted illness in his numerous family : his wife became deranged ; his debts in- creased ; and, despairing of being able to extricate himself from his difficulties, he made known his circumstances to Mr. James. A subscription was immediately raised ; and Mr. James, finding that his means did not enable him to contribute so largely as he could wish in pecuniary re-^ lief, turned his mind to another mode of administering it, and for this purpose wrote an historical account of that chef d' oeuvre

INTRODUCTORY

of Gothic architecture, the chapel of his college, of which he was a great admirer, and he added a short history of the founda- tion of the two colleges of King Henry VI. This little production was embellished with two etchings by the masterly hand of his friend, Mr. Thomas Orde, afterwards Lord Bolton, at that time a Fellow of King's College ; and was first published by subscription in 1769:, under the name of Henry Maiden, chapel clerk ; it went through several editions, and the ready sale it met with among visitors to Cambridge, exceeded even the sanguine hopes of its real author in the regular supply it af- forded for the relief of the suffering fa- mily.

John Thomas was the eldest of eight children Dr. James had by his second mar- riage with Arabella, daughter of William Caldecott, Esq. whose family were long resident at Catthorpe, in Leicestershire.

MEMOIR. XI

He received the rudiments of his education at Rugby School, under the immediate eye of his father ; till at the age of twelve, he was placed on the foundation at the Char- terhouse, by the late Earl of Dartmouth, one of the Governors. Here he soon won the good opinion of the Head Master, Dr. Matthew Raine, and the regard and esteem of his school-fellows, among whom were the present learned master of the school, Dr. Russell, and Robert W. Hay, Esq. now one of the under-secretaries of state, whose friendship he highly valued throughout his life. Besides distinguishing himself in the usual studies of the school, he here began to show considerable talent for drawing, and in 1803, the first prize medal was awarded to him by the Society for the En- couragement of Arts and Sciences, for a drawing of Worcester Cathedral.

The following sketch of his boyish cha- racter is from the pen of his school-fellow

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at the Charterhouse, the Rev. C. R. Prit- chett, now reader and librarian on that foundation: — ''The leading feature in James's character, at school, was excellent feeling ; he always felt kindly, and few, that I have known, seemed to feel more cor- rectly. I should say, that the singleness united with kindness of heart, which so strongly marked his father's course through life, was no less conspicuous in the son. His disposition was particularly amiable, and he was universally beloved. But while he possessed a calmness which en- titled him to be called dispassionate, no one was more warm than he, no one showed greater animation under circumstances which so fell in with his turn of mind, as to rouse him from his usual quiet and thoughtful retirement. He was always con- siderate of the feelings of others ; of this I remember a particular trait. His father used to allow him, during the winter, a fire in a private room, hired for him, with

MEMOIR. Xlll

Dr. Raine's permission, at the gardener's house ; but James would often deny him- self this indulgence rather than appear to enjoy what other boys could not have. With this thoughtfulness he was always cheerful, and had much original humour. In his studies he was diligent and fond of private reading. Retired and sedentary in his habits, he seldom took an active part in the games common at schools . Drawing, in which he greatly excelled, constituted his chief amusement. But still he was always ready to engage in* any exploit that em- braced objects of more than ordinary en- terprise and hardihood.**

His own inclination, at this time, was to go to sea, and he showed great fondness for every pursuit connected with naval tactics ; but at the earnest wish of his mother he forbore to indulge this inclination, and soon began to turn his mind to that profession in which he afterwards attained so high a rank.

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After he had been selected to deliver the annual oration at the Charterhouse, in May 1804, he was removed to Christ Church, Oxford, where he entered as a commoner ; but had scarcely begun to re- side, when the death of his father deprived him, at once, of his best instructor, and his ablest guide. He soon, however, recom- mended himself to the notice of that ready patron of merit. Dr. Cyril Jackson, then Dean, who, according to his yearly cus- tom of rewarding some one of those who had best acquitted themselves at the col- lections or terminal examinations in the college, nominated him the dean's student, having the year before conferred the same honour on an eminent scholar, Mr. Lloyd, the late Bishop of Oxford. It is re- markable, that in after life, the two friends, thus united in distinction at College, were raised to the same high station in the church in consecutive years, and in con- secutive years, also, were cut off from the

MEMOIR. XV

hopes of their respective dioceses, their families, and their friends !

Having been examined for his B.A. de- gree, Mr. James continued to reside at Christ Church ; and, while he was engaged in taking pupils as a bachelor, he was suddenly deprived of his books and draw- ings, and, indeed, of all that he possessed, by an alarming fire, which broke out in the south-western corner of the great quad- rangle, and was not checked in its pro- gress, till it had consumed his rooms, to- gether with several other sets adjoining. The beautiful hall was, at one time, appre- hended to be in danger, but the stre- nuous exertions of the firemen, aided by the members of the University and others, succeeded in saving it. It may easily be believed, that a fire at midnight, in such a place as Oxford, and at such a college as Christ Church, would present many pic- turesque effects to any one who could col-

XVI INTRODUCTORY

lectedly contemplate it ; and it may be worth mentioning as characteristic of Mr. James, that, bereft by it, as he was, of all his little property, as soon as he found that his services were no longer required in helping to extinguish the flames, he calmly selected his spot, and having procured drawing materials at a friend's rooms, sat down, and made a sketch of the fire, from which he afterwards finished a large draw- ing.

It would be wrong to mention Mr. James's loss, without mentioning also, that he was more than compensated for it ; the liberality of the Dean and Chapter replaced his furniture, and his numerous friends took that opportunity of testifying their esteem and affection for him, by useful and splendid presents, which made him, as he often said, "richer than he was before."

After proceeding to the degree of M.A.

MEMOIR. XVll

in 1810, he remained as one of the tutors at Christ Church, till an opportunity oc- curred of indulging his wish to see foreign countries. The events of the war having now begun to open the continent to Eng- lishmen, he went abroad in 1813, with his college friend. Sir James M. Riddell, Bart, and landing at Gottenburg, he visited with him the courts of Berlin, Stockholm, and Petersburg, having entered the Rus- sian empire by crossing the Gulf of Fin- land, from Grisleham to Abo in sledges du- ring winter. From Petersburg, Mr. James proceeded with William Macmichael, Esq. M. D. (who was then travelling as Radcliffe fellow from the University of Oxford) to Moscow at the interesting moment just after the burning of that city ; thence they followed the line of the French retreat to Borodino and Smolensk, and afterwards pursuing the course of the Dnieper as far as Kiev, they visited the cities of Lemberg and Cracow in Poland, and so crossed to

h

XVIII INTRODUCTORY

Vienna. On returning to England, Mr. James published his travels in one volume, 4to. and had the satisfaction to find that two editions in 8vo. also were soon called for in succession.

At the wish of many of his friends he published, the year before he went to India, a series of views, taken during this tour ; which he engraved upon stone with his own hand, and coloured in a manner that gives the effect of the original drawings.

In 1 8 1 6 he visited Italy with another Christ Church friend, the late George Hartopp, Esq. with whom he spent some time most agreeably, both at Rome and Naples, and enjoyed the opportunity of cultivating that taste for painting, which afforded the chief recreation of his mind amidst the graver studies to which it had been at all times habitually directed. Soon after his return from Italy, he was admitted to holy orders,

MEMOIR. XIX

and resigned his studentship at Christ Church on being presented by the Dean and Chapter to the small vicarage of Flitton, with Silsoe, in Bedfordshire. Here, in the leisure hours which his parochial duties af- forded, he followed up those literary pur- suits, to which he had early become attached, iand embodied the observations he had made on his favourite art during his tour in Italy, in a work called *^ The Italian Schools of Painting ;" the success of which led him af- terwards to publish, in 1 822, "The Flemish, Dutch, and German Schools," which he enriched with many interesting anecdotes of the painters. He had it in contempla- tion to proceed to the painters of the English school, and also those of France and Spain, but his attention was now en- grossed by a more serious subject.

He could not be a silent spectator of the attempts which were made to bring re- vealed religion into disrepute; and the

XX INTRODUCTORY

attacks upon Christianity, which had re- cently issued from the EngUsh press, in- duced him, as he had seen much of the evils of infidelity on the continent, to give to the world his own reflections on the most important of all subjects in a volume, which he entitled '' The Semi-sceptic ; or the Common Sense of Religion considered."

He was long employed in arranging his materials for this work, which is one of close reasoning, and in the course of which he examined in detail, and ably confuted, those infidel arguments which had paved the way in France for the overthrow of the altar of religion ; and he pointed out the superior clearness with which the Christian philosopher arrives at his conclusions.

In 1823, he married Marianne Jane, fourth daughter of Frederick Reeves, Esq. of East Sheen, Surrey, and formerly of Mangalore, in the presidency of Bombay,

MEMOIR. XXI

to whom alone, during his illness in India, he was indebted for all the earthly com- fort that smoothed his bed of suffering in the last hours of his life.

Towards the close of the summer of 1 826, when the intelligence reached Eng- land, that the see of Calcutta had become a second time vacant by the lamented death of Bishop Heber, it seemed no easy matter to find a fit successor to such a man ; and the invitation transmitted to Mr. James to fill that highly responsible station could not be considered otherwise than as a token of great esteem for his character and quali- fications . Upon receiving the offer, his first feeling was to decline it, and he made an- swer to that effect ; but being afterwards strongly advised to reconsider the objec- tions he felt, he determined to consult the best medical advice as to the fitness of his constitution to endure the climate of India. Dr. Johnson's long residence in Bengal,

XXU INTRODUCTORY

and the study which his then recent pub- lications shewed him to have bestowed on the effects of its climate on Europeans, pointed him out as eminently qualified to give an opinion on the subject ; him, there- fore, he consulted, and also his intimate and valued friend, Dr. Macmichael, who had long known his constitution, and had been the companion of his travels in Rus- sia, Poland, and Germany.

Finding that both these able physicians coincided in opinion, that there was no- thing in the state of his health which should deter him from going to India, he felt that he could no longer answer it to his own conscience, if he continued to shrink from the offered post on account of its dan- ger. After due deliberation, he made up his mind to accept it ; and from that moment he thought of nothing but the object to which he had devoted himself, and felt it his duty, as his expression was, '' not to look back."

MEMOIR. XXlll

Early in April, on the Sunday before he was to leave Flitton, a day which will not be forgotten in that village, he preached on St. Matthew x. 29, " Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing ? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father," — and in the course of his sermon, he took leave of his parishioners in the following manner : —

'' I have purposely chosen this passage of Scripture for this day's discourse, as conveying a doctrine with which my mind, you may be assured, is deeply impressed, and without which, in embarking for a far distant land, there could be no consolation for me and mine. I do not know that at any moment before the present, I have ever made mention of myself from this pulpit, or ever used a phrase, even person- ally referring, unless while speaking of those common duties which equally belong to you, to me, to all. I cannot, however.

XXIV INTRODUCTORY

quit you, among whom I have lived so long and so happily, without some more particular and especial notice on this day ; nor can I think of my separation from you, as if the tie that exists between a clergyman and his parishioners were one of an ordinary and common nature.

'' I have now entered upon the tenth year of my ministry among you; may Heaven grant that I may pass the next ten years (if God spare me so long) in as much harmony and quiet, in as much peace and happiness with those around me ! Well do I remember the grateful forwardness that met my exertions in form- ing a Sunday school when I first settled here, the gratifying and eager good sense of the parents in sending their children, the willingness of the children themselves, of whom many are now matured in life, and already exemplifying to another gene- ration rising about them, the blessing of

MEMOIR. XXV

being able to read the Bible. Nothing of this has been forgotten by me, and, believe me, never shall be. In other little esta- blishments, which I was desirous to form amongst you, what anxiety did I find to aid and assist my views ! how many judi- cious hints have I received among your- selves ! and when the yearly time of ga- thering has arrived, with what cheerful generosity have the wealthier part of my parishioners contributed to place in my hands the means of promoting good among you ! With what alacrity have they, on every occasion, met my wishes ! Let me hope that these institutions, now so well es- tablished, may not be suffered to fall to the ground ; and that, when the time of year comes round again, though far away, I may yet think, that this union of charity and industry is still flourishing as it used to do ; let me hope that the new year will still be ushered in with as much pleasure as heretofore, and that those who have it

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in their power to give, will still remember, that he that giveth unto the poor, lendeth unto the Lord I

" Among those whom I have attended on the sick bed, how many have I heard express with their dying lips, their Chris- tian reliance in the promise of a better world, and declare their stedfast faith in the merits of the Redeemer. Some, too, I have surely seen, who, having recovered from sickness, have taken the wholesome chastisement, as a warning to lead the rest of their lives in the fear of God, and I trust will continue to go on their way rejoicing. Let me hope that these feel- ings may yet be improved among you, and that my last words may be remem- bered as bidding you to feel in heart that trust in the Lord, which every one pro- fesses with his lips ; let it h^felt as well as uttered ; let it guide your actions ; and the sense of the presence of an unseen Saviour

MEMOIR. XXVii

will not fail to support you under your sor- rows, and confirm your hopes. — Lastly, neglect not family prayer : be assured, again and again, the Lord will ever mercifully hear the voice that crieth unto him daily.

*^ In going from hence to other duties, in a distant land, in God is my hope and my trust. There is One that keepeth Israel — there is He that shall neither slum- ber nor sleeps and he will be our defence upon our right hand, so that the sun shall not burn us by day^ neither the moon by night"

On the following day, he left with much regret the place, which, however small the income it afforded him, had been the scene of his happiest years ; where the vicarage grounds still show the taste of him that laid them out, and many a cottage family around tells how much he did among them, and how dearly he was beloved.

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From the time of his reaching London, he was constantly engaged in preparing for his new duties, and in attending to matters of business connected with his approaching departure for India, The University of Oxford paid him the com- pliment of conferring on him the degree of D.D. by diploma; and on Whitsunday, June 3rd, he was consecrated in the chapel at Lambeth Palace, by the Archbishop of Canterbury, assisted by the Bishops of London, Durham, and St. David s. The consecration sermon was preached by his brother, the Rev. William James, Fellow of Oriel College, and Vicar of Cobham, Surrey, and was printed by command of his Grace the Archbishop.

Every day was now fully occupied : amidst other cares he was actively making inquiry into the Indian relations of the va- rious institutions in London, which have for their object the extension of the knowledge

MEMOIR. XXIX

of Christianity, and particularly those two venerable Societies which have become, as it were, the handmaids of the Church of England. As the concerns of these two societies form a prominent feature in the following memoir, it may not be improper to introduce here an account of his taking leave of each. A meeting of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts was held at the Freemason's Hall, May 25th, when the Archbishop of Canterbury took the chair, and amongst other resolutions . it was moved by the Bishop of Gloucester,

^^That this meeting, while they cannot suf- ficiently lament the loss of Bishop Heber, re- pose great confidence in his successor, whose known desire it is to follow the steps of Bishops Heber and Middleton/'

This resolution being seconded by Dr. Barnes, late Archdeacon of Bombay, the Bishop of Calcutta spoke thus : —

^^I am deeply indebted to the Right Rev.

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Prelate, who moved the resolution, for the kind manner in which he introduced my name ; and well indeed does the suggestion, contained in that resolution, come to me, when seconded by one who has himself so ably discharged the du- ties of the ministry in India, and was regarded with love and veneration by every class of so- ciety there. And yet this suggestion which has been made is one, which, considering the high and deserved reputation of my predecessors, I can never regard without diffidence and awe. If ever there was a man well calculated to lay the corner-stone of the church establishment in a foreign land — ever one whose correctness and precision of judgment, whose uncompromising firmness of mind, whose piety and learning fitted him for such a purpose, it was Bishop Mid- dleton — one who never swerved from that path which his Christianly- formed conscience told him was the true one, — one who, if ever man did, ^ digged deep and laid his foundation on the rock.'

^^ Nor were those peculiarities less striking in themselves, however different in their nature, which belonged to that generous and highly- gifted individual, whose loss we more recently have mourned : his it was to conciliate, to soothe, to subdue : it was his to win over by his openness and frankness of manner, all that had

MEMOIR. XXXI

else beset bis path, and to unite all those vary- ing discordant humours that too often arise to perplex and confound the zealous advocate of the Christian cause ; while, by the splendour of his talents, he kindled a new flame, and all around him felt proud in being able to show a sympathy with a mind like that of Heber.

" For myself, my path is clear and open : an humbler task, and yet one which, if Heaven spares me a term of years, may not pass without fruit : be it mine to aim at producing a closer union of the Christian body in general, and to endeavour to present a less broken phalanx than heretofore to the enemies of the Cross. It is for this purpose that honour, wealth, and dignity, are given to the station to which it has pleased his Majesty's government to appoint me : it is for this pur- pose, to produce Christian harmony and union, that every true church establishment is formed ; not by a system of terror, not by inquisitorial means, but by that mild and genial influence which such institutions shed on those around : — by adopting in those institutions such principles as long experience has taught us are sound and secure, by forming ourselves on those ideas which the habits and practice of the world have shown us are absolutely necessary to the safety of our moral constitution.

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" For those kind feelings which the Right Rev. Prelate has expressed, with regard to the continu- ance of my health and life, I am sincerely obliged. These are points on which it does not become us to enter too far : God's will be done ; but I speak sincerely when I say I go in hope, not in fear. And if ever it should happen that I should revisit this country, if ever I should be happy enough again to appear before the face of this Society, may Heaven grant that I may then be able to feel that I have done my duty !"

On the 13th of June a meeting was held of the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, for the purpose of making a valedictory address to the Bishop, prior to his departure for India. An eloquent address was delivered in the name of the Society by the Bishop of Gloucester, to which the Bishop of Calcutta made the fol- lowing reply : —

^^ If I rise under feelings somewhat over- whelmed by the kind and flattering expressions with which the eloquence of my Right Rev. Friend has honoured me ; if I confess myself

MEMOIR. XXXlll

unable to thank this numerous assembly for the manner in which they have received those sentiments in which I am so deeply and so per- sonally concerned ; I must crave your indulgence for a species of incapacity of which your own generous feelings towards me are the cause. Indeed, I feel as if it were but an act of justice to confess, that some of those encomiastic phrases which have fallen from his lordship on this occasion, appear to me to have been sug- gested and formed rather from his own high and honourable sense of duty, than from any desert of mine. Still I thank him warmly and sincerely : there may be those, on the other side, who will view these matters in a far different way than he has done ; who will suppose that certain allure- ments and temptations pave the way, and prompt the acceptance of every official situation ; and that enough of what the world prize so highly was here displayed to excite a not unworthy ambition.

" I would not make any pretensions to a false humility, nor would I in any degree affect to disregard or undervalue the honours and dig- nities of the profession to which I belong ; but slender were the inducements to journey to a distant land (as 1 have undertaken to do) if that were all. The fancies indeed of a youthful ima- gination may paint such matters with a showy

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and gaudy colouring, but it is under a very dif- ferent aspect that they appear when lapse of time has matured the judgment, and experience and practice of the world has enabled us to view them in all their sober^ sad reality. How un- substantial then seems all the pomp and parade that even in the highest rank attends upon the rich and lofty ones of the earth ! how coldly do such trivialities repay the absence of those do- mestic feelings that form the comfort and the so- lace of the life of man ! What is precedence in the room — what is the sound of title to the ear — what is the value of a few more of the super- fluities of life^ — when compared with the happi- ness one derives from the presence of a mother, a brother, a long-loved friend, or one^s own child ? — these are ties, and these are securities.

" And yet I would not that any one should think harshly of my conduct, or blame me too much, if on these or any other grounds I may seem amenable to the charge of reluctance or delay. If I have not courted this important office, so neither have I shrunk from it when once I thought it my duty to obey : and I trust it will yet be in my power to prove that it is one thing to show zeal to obtain an office, and ano- ther to show zeal in its discharge. Having put my hand to the plough, I turn not back : I

MEMOIR. XXXV

look forward, not indeed to higher duties, (for none can be higher than those arising out of the relation of a parochial minister to his flock,) but to a wider and more extended field of usefulness, and hope to claim a larger share of confidence from my mother Church than that with which I have been hitherto entrusted.

" A clergyman, and the son of a clergyman, I feel a firm affection, a deep and pious veneration for that Church, that visible and apostolic Church of which the Lord Bishop of Gloucester has just now so feelingly spoken, and I look to its wel- fare with the utmost interest and attention. But that Church has higher and better claims upon our regard, than those which are occasioned merely by the habitual feelings of its ministers. It adopts that interpretation of Holy Writ which is best established by the researches of the most learned amidst a thinking and inquiring nation : it follows that which is handed down to us embalmed in the prayers and praises of many a preceding age, and proves the purity and per- fection of its doctrines (as far as, humanly speak- ing, the phrase may be used) by showing itself the only one which is able to defeat all the in- genuity of the libertine, or the malice and so- phistry of the infidel. On these points I speak not as if I feared to be mistaken ; I feel my sin-

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cerity, and trust it will be appreciated by others. But while I regard with the warmest love that branch of our establishment which has been committed to my charge, I must not lose sight of that which our admirable Liturgy styles the Catholic, the universal church of Christ mili- tant here on earth : and while I uphold, as far as I can, that which my manifest duty in a more especial manner requires me to do ; none that Cometh in the name of Christ shall ever be con- sidered as a stranger by me.

*^ On other points to w^hich my Right Reve- rend Friend has alluded, I will not dare to en- large at the present moment. I will not venture upon subjects in which I am still unpractised, or trespass on a field where my footsteps have not yet been seen. Time and diligence will, I hope, give me a clearer view in these matters, and experience may ripen those thoughts, which if now brought forward, might seem rather the offspring of anxiety than of knowledge. And, if ever it should please a kind and indulgent Providence to restore me to this land, with what pleasure shall I look forward to the day — to the hour when I may again be received within these walls : when I may devote myself, with all the fruits of my experience, as one lately returned from Bombay has done, with so much zeal and

MEMOIR. XXXvil

ability, to the noble and exalted objects of this Society.

'Mn this very room, in the midst of our com- mon pursuits, how many new friendships have I formed, how many old acquaintances have I renewed and improved ! and how many are there of those now assembled here, to whom, though I may have been hitherto personally unknown, yet, if I may judge by my own feel- ings, I need not scruple to call my friends ; who will watch hereafter with unceasing interest and anxiety over all that regards myself and my fellow-labourers in the vineyards of the East ; and support us with that fostering and liberal spirit at home, which alone can, under God^s blessing, enable us to be successful abroad.

" Of these, of all, I must now take a long fare- well ; there is a solemnity in the word ; there is somewhat of awfulness in the occasion, and in a ceremony which, it so happens, on this very day, four years ago, was performed to one whom I am not less proud to say I mourn as a friend, than this Society is to lament as an agent lost to her present need. Yet I speak of this singularity only as that which ought to afford matter for serious reflection at the passing moment, rather than as suggesting any thought

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of fear or weakness. Every feeling that I have, is cheered, when I contemplate but for a mo- ment, the liberal and munificent conduct I have every where experienced, when I regard the generous confidence placed in me by this So- ciety, the large sums entrusted to my disposal for the furtherance of our great cause, both at the Cape of Good Hope and in India; and when 1 look forward to the pleasurable duties you have enjoined me to fulfil, as almoner of your bounty. Still more are those feelings en- hanced when I observe the general interest now beginning to be felt by all ranks of people here in that college at Calcutta, which is at once so noble a monument of the sagacity and piety of Bishop Middleton, and whose welfare it shall be my care so to promote as may best appear fitted to realize all the bright prospects of its wise and learned projector.

" For the means thus afforded to me of aiding the Christian cause, and of furthering these blessings to that which is henceforth to be my adopted country, accept from me a feeble ex- pression of that gratitude which will one day be repaid you by the voice of millions ; accept the assurance of my best wishes, of my warmest endeavours, and of those prayers which I trust will be pure, as they will ever be in

MEMOIR. XX XIX

union and accordance with those of this So- ciety."

The Bishop having had the honour to be presented to his Majesty at court, left London, with Mrs. James, as soon as his business permitted, to pass the short time that remained in the retirement of their own family at East Sheen; till on Monday, July Qth, the painful hour of se- paration arrived, and leaving their two elder children under the care of Mr. and Mrs. Reeves, they set out for Portsmouth, expecting to sail the next day.

VOYAGE TO CALCUTTA.

The Bishop and his family, consisting of Mrs. J. T. James, and her youngest boy, five months old, her cousin. Miss Ommanney, and Mr. S. Hartopp Knapp, the bishop^s chaplain, embarked at Portsmouth, on Saturday, July 14th, 1827, on board the ship Mary Anne, free trader. Captain Boucart, and sailed for India the next day. The passage down the Channel was slow and tedious : it was not till the 20th that they were off Ushant, when a summer gale came on so severe as to split three sails ; there were two more such gales in crossing the Bay of Biscay,

The ship was principally manned by Lascars, who came, on the first sight of the new moon, July 26th, to make their salaam to the captain and passengers, previous to the commencement of

B

2 FUNCHAL. f%

their customary songs amd dances in honour of the Hegira, which continued for ten days : the sono:s consisted of lamentations for Hassan, these Indian Mahometans being Shiites. On the fol- lowing Sunday, 29th, when Divine service was over on the quarter-deck, on application being made by the Captain, the Bishop desired that the Lascars might by no means be prevented from their usual ceremonies, which appeared to constitute almost their only idea of religion: they thankfully recommenced their devotional observances, and thus the day was in some sort hallowed by all.

On the morning of the 2nd of August, the party found themselves in sight of the sunny rocks of Madeira, and the glittering white town of Funchal, with its high hills rising nobly at the back. They reached the shore at three o'clock, and were hospitably received at the house of Messrs. Keir and Company.

The following are extracts from letters the Bishop wrote from Madeira to his mother, the late Mrs. James, who was then living at Wor- cester; to Sir R. H. Jnglis, Bart., M. P. ; to

MADEIRA.

Thomas Caldecott, Esq., of Dartford^ and others of his family.

" Funchal, Madeira, Aug. 5th and 6th, 1827.

^^ We arrived here on the 2nd, and expect to sail again on Monday, as soon as our Captain has shipped his cargo of wine. The voyage has been tedious, chiefly on account of the very calm weather we have experienced, though we had some severe summer gales, as they call them. The rolling and pitching of the ship at such times is, as you may suppose, disagreeable enough ; but, I thank God, Marianne and I have suffered very little, either on these occasions or any other : we have indeed both of us escaped the usual horrors of sea sickness, and this from attention to regimen, and the excellent advice we received from Mr. Scott, * as we beg he may be told, with our best thanks. We had the grampus sporting and diving close to the ship, and sharks, and the beautiful pearl-coloured dolphins, to amuse us on our way, as soon as we got clear of the Channel.

* John Scott, Esq., now M. D., of Barnes, Surrey.

B 2

4 MADEIRA.

'^ you may well imagine how much we enjoy this delicious spot, after even so short a confine- ment on shipboard ; though, indeed, the Island of Madeira needs no accessories to enhance its beauty. I have never seen, even in La bella Italia, such exquisitely picturesque scenery as I have here. It is the grandeur and prodigality of leaf, of blossom, of form, of variety, that constitutes the great charm of this luxuriant region, and the novelty of finding oneself among palms, and fusias, guavas, orange-trees, &c. I must add, that it is no small gratification to be welcomed with the hospitality which proverbially belongs to the English factory here. It is the custom with all the merchants to receive the pas- sengers by the East India ships, and entertain them during their stay on the island, depending, of course, on thus increasing their own connex- ions. I have already commenced my orders for my cellars at Calcutta. You may imagine their reception of strangers is in a princely style, when I tell you, that we are now sitting at the house of Messrs. Kier and Co., in a room about forty feet long, twenty high, and thirty broad, which is one of the noble suite allotted to us. The garden belonging to the house is among the most perfect

MADEIRA. 5

things of the sort I ever saw; long walks, covered with trelliage and vines, with fountains, &c. amidst all the luxuriant produce of this almost tropical climate, bananas, papas, pines, cactus, aloes, canes, &c. : add to all this the magni- ficent rock scenery which surrounds three sides of the horizon, with white houses and green vine- yards occupying every level spot that presents itself, and in the distance a sea-view of twenty or thirty miles, and you may have some idea of this enchanting spot.

^^ It is quite new to me to find myself in a country where so great a degree of liberality is manifested by the Roman Catholics towards Pro- testants, and where the ancient rancour seems so much on the wane. Not only the laity, but the priests also, appear very reasonable people. How much better is this gradual change than a revulsion in the nature of things ! — But in truth it surprises me. Some of the Roman Catholic clergy are occasionally seen in attendance at our English church ; it may be, perhaps, from curio- sity, but they observe all our forms, and be- have with great decency and attention ; not in the way that, I am sorry to say, many English

6 MADEIRA.

people do in their churches. One of them was present at the service at our chapel when I preached this morning. It would seem^ therefore^ not to be now, as it formerly was, a crime subject to penance to have been present at such a place of worship. An apology was made to me by the Portuguese governor, Senhor Valdez, for the Roman Catholic Bishop not being able to call upon me during my stay in the island. We were politely received on our visit at the nunnery of St. Clara, and also at the Franciscan con- vent.

*^ I have had pleasure in distributing several copies of a selection of the Homilies, from the Prayer-book and Homily Society in London. One I gave to a Scotchman ; the rest were soon applied for, and there were more applications than I was able to satisfy. The generality of the English here are presbyterians ; but, as at Antwerp, and other foreign factories, they attend the church, if the minister is only temperate and discreet. They moreover raised the building at an expense of fifteen thousand pounds. The English government pays half the chaplain's salary, and the factory subscribes the rest." —

MADEIRA.

Finding from Mr. Deacon, the chaplain, that there was difficulty in obtaining the permission of the Consul to have evening as well as morning service in the chapel on Sundays, the Bishop could only regret that he had no authority to interfere by giving any order on the subject, nor any means of prevailing with the Consul, who was then in London, to give the wished-for consent ; but he promised to use his best exertions to secure to the English residents all the benefits of the religious services of their church ; a promise which he immediately performed.

An application of a more singular nature was made by a friar, who expressed himself desirous to leave his convent, and embrace the reformed religion, if his Lordship would allow him to follow in his suite to Calcutta ; but as the proposal was made just as the Bishop was going on ship- board to leave the island, when there could be no op- portunity of making any enquiry into the pre- vious character of the man, or the probable motives which led to this step ; and, moreover, as the Bishop had no power to land any indivi- dual at Calcutta, without the express permission

8 W MADEIRA.

of the Company being first obtained; he had no choice but to decline receiving him, though it was impossible not to feel compassion for the man, under such circumstances.

On Monday, Aug. 7th, they left Madeira. Mrs. James writes at this date — " It was quite dismal making for the ship again, after enjoying ourselves so much in this paradise, for such it appeared to us ; and I felt as if stepping into a prison, as I went up the side of the ship ! How natural is the feeling of liberty to us all ! — and still our amusements on board are many. We have a good supply of books, and a piano^ besides occasionally finishing drawings, and writing let- ters, when the ship is sufficiently steady, and then our work, and the guitar ; —and yet I have not mentioned my little Freddy, our chief amuse- ment, and sometimes the plaything of the whole ship. I thank God, he has hitherto been par- ticularly well, and, if possible, thrives better on board than on shore. This I feel as a great blessing : had he been sickly, how much should I have blamed myself for having brought him. It would have been hard indeed to have left alL

MADEIRA. y

May I never feel that I ought^ even in this par- ticular, to have still further set aside all selfish feeling for the sake of my children ! * * *

^^ The costume of the Madeira peasant is pretty ; a full white shirt and trousers^ apparently all in one, fastened below the knee, a sash round the waist, a dark blue cloth cap, and boots of yellow tanned leather to meet the trousers. In our little excursions into the country we rode on small horses and mules, which were very sure footed, and went nearly at full speed up some tremendous hills : almost every horse has a man to attend him ; and, when ascending steep places, these men lay hold of the horses^ tails, and hang on till they reach the top : they gain their liveli- hood by attending different parties as guides, and run sometimes the whole day ; neither they nor the horses appearing to feel the heat, which was intense during our stay in the island. At Funchal a rude sledge is used for carrying goods about the town, drawn by two bullocks ; and, to prevent its taking fire from the friction of the pavement, the bottom of it is wetted from time to time with a cloth, dipped in the stream which runs through the streets.''

#

10 AT SEA.

The following observations^ in the Bishop's memorandum book, appear to have been written about this part of the voyage.

*' The punishment of seamen on board Eng- lish merchant-vessels is not regulated by law. They are as apprentices, and hence black eye and fisty-cuff command prevails ; the Americans have a law for this purpose.

^^ Much phosphoric light at sea betokens southerly wind in all latitudes. Seamen observe that sunset, under a bank of dark cloud, denotes westerly wind ; under light clouds, easterly.

^^ Porpoises also are well known as signs of wind; and they are observed to swim in the direction of that quarter whence it is about to come. The blue of the sky is paler in the tro- pical regions, especially towards the line.

" ' Deep and dark blue ocean ;' — why ? — for the same reason that our imperfect black and white colours, when mixed, make a grey; so the gradual darkness in the depth of the sea, combined with the light from above, forms a blue ;

AT SEA. II

for the same reason, again, an unclouded sky is blue.

^^ One may almost hold converse with ^ the deep and dark blue ocean ;' — and yet, after all, it is a melancholy suggester of thoughts. How hard is it to be so far away from one's children ; how hard, that others, and not myself, should hear all they say, and see all they do! — of all troubles, this is the only one that I have not found harder to bear in reality, than it was to regard it in prospect : and well it may be so, for no powers of the imagination can add to the severity of such a feeling : and yet, no doubt, mine is not the hardest part : no man can know half a woman's feeling towards her child. May the day come that we may both have pleasure to think of this, if such be the will of God 1

" Sept. 3. Crossed the line, long. 22 W.

" Sept. 23. Our tenth Sunday. — Better atten- tion in our congregation than heretofore; not, indeed in the ship's crew : for all orderly bodies, have so much of mental discipline within them.

12 AT SEA.

as to make them to all appearance regular. T speak of the passengers.

^^ Oct. 4. Recross the meridian of London. It is no small pleasure to reflect on hours that are now the same with those observed by them we have left at home. Whales seen. Birds in great abundance, pindarries, or cape pigeons, albatrosses," &c.

The following letter to the Rev. William James, Cobham Vicarage, Surrey, bears date from the ship Mary Anne, 32 lat. S.— 1P30; long. E.— Oct. 8, 1827.

^^ My dear William ; # # # # 66 Prom Madeira we have had such constant fine weather, as to have very little ground of complaint of any sort, though we begin to think it long before we arrive at the end of our second stage. A voyage to India is explained in few words. The trade winds north-east above the equator, south-east below, (the only constant winds known,) form the greatest part of it; there being, as far as

AT SEA. 13

this part of the voyage is concerned, only three variable spaces ; namely, first, from England to about 30*^ N., and then again, from about 10^ N. of the equator to about 2^ ; then again, in stretch- ing across the Southern Atlantic, almost from the coast of America, whither ships are carried by the S. E. trade, to the coast of Africa; the two first, in our case, occupied a fortnight each, the last about four weeks, and is not yet over : our wind to-day is contrary, and we may beat about for some time. As for gales, we have experienced nothing like what I formerly did in the Cattegat ; and we thought a slow passage, without those gales, a fair compensation, and the common one, at this time of the year, for a quicker and more stormy one. # * # *

^^ The ship crossed the line about 22° W. long, on Sept. 3. We had received a letter from the seamen of the forecastle, announcing the preparations for the usual ceremonies ; and Neptune^s postman came on board the even- ing before, to congratulate the captain and his crew, and was sent off as usual in a tar-barrel set on fire, which blazed in our wake for many a mile. The procession of Neptune and Am-

14 AT SEA.

phitrite was very amusing, and so you may suppose was the shaving and ducking of the neophytes ; all which, by the arrangements of the captain, we saw from the windows of the cuddy. I had written an answer to the seamen of the forecastle, stating the polite manner in which Neptune received all bishops on their coming upon the line, and understanding it was his practice to admit them to their freedom without any ceremony whatever, I subjoined cer- tain fees for such honorary degree.

^' We have seen abundance of flying fish, (they look just like a flight of swallows skimming the surface of the water,) and we are now sur- rounded with birds of various sorts, that keep eddying round astern, sometimes within four or five yards of the cabin window where I am writing. A whale now and then shows itself; but this is all our visiting company, for we are now out of the usual track of ships, and have not spoken one for six weeks : of those we saw three out of four were English.

*^ I fear you will have some difficulty in decy- phering this epistle ; but though the weather is

AT SEA. 15

'^' fine, the ship is not so steady as to allow of any great perfection of penmanship, and I thought it best to secure a few minutes for my private correspondents now, as I may have difficulties in the way of some of my business ashore which may occupy my whole time.

^^ Half-past four. A whale has just been an- nounced in sight ; but though we all ran on deck, he did not make his appearance again : but, no matter, we shall see more as we approach the Cape, at least, if there should be any wind. We are now in the first month of spring, and find it very cold, 55 of Fahrenheit, which, after our hot weather between the tropics, is to us very severe. It was amusing enough to watch, on a fine night, the gradual development of the southern hemisphere, which is very brilliant; there are many more stars of the first magnitude than in the northern ; the difference, indeed, as I had often heard, is very striking. Magellan's cloud I have not yet seen ; but we have an astronomer, Mr. Fallows, at Cape Town, and if we have time to see the lions, I shall hope to hear more of these matters. It was a great

%

16 AT SEA.

pleasure to watch the north polar star down to the horizon, and the

Arctos Oceani metuentes aequore tingi.

I have been endeavouring to lay out my time for the next five years with reference to the prevailing winds and seasons in India, and ac- cording to the time when previous visitations have taken place in each part of the diocese. Our captain is an admirable seaman, and, as he has long been employed in the country service, can afford me better information than I may, perhaps, at another time, have within my reach. I shall, probably, next year, go up the Ganges, and visit the different stations up to Agra, and Delhi, &c. and return to Calcutta. July 1829 to September 1830, — Madras, Tanjore, Trichino- poly, Madura, Tinnevelly, and the Syrian Chris- tians ; then to Ceylon ; then to Bombay before April, and thence by the Kistnah to Masulipatam and Calcutta. July 1831 to Penang, Sinca- pore, and so to New Holland and Van Die- man's Land, returning to Calcutta in May or June, 1832.

i

•r

AT SEA. 17

^^If I can accomplish this in the five first years, (for I hardly expect a coadjutor before the re- newal of the charter) I shall be well content. Pray learn for me from # * # * whether there would be any objection, ecclesiastically, to my appointing six chaplains. I could wish, as my real patronage is so scanty, to have the power of paying a compliment of this sort to some one, who may seem most deserving, in each of the governments I visit. I should be sorry to trouble # * # # # to write on such a matter, and therefore have taken this mode of referring to him, that you may send me an answer. I am getting on pretty well with the Hindostanee. I hope, however, you may never have to begin a new alphabet at forty-one. If I had not such an overplus of time on board ship, as to have a sort of greediness of employ- ment, it would be tiresome indeed. Half of Gilchrist's words meant for vulgar use are Per- sian, which is, as it were, the French of Asia, not homebred Hindostanee.

"Oct. 10th. The ship rolls terribly ; fair wind right aft. I cannot write.

c

18 THE CAPE.

" Oct. 11th. A dead calm. I have nothing to write. Besides, I fancy I am rather out of humour. I have just calculated that before we get to the Cape, we shall have made a course of more than ten thousand miles from Ports- mouth.

" Oct. 12. Wind S.E. that is, right in our teeth ; however, we make way, and that is some- thing. Two o^clock, — land in sight to our great joy. We are just off Saldanha bay. But the wind is contrary, and we shall hardly get in to- morrow ; at least, so they say.

^ Oct. 13. A dead calm. For employment we tried the old experiment of the bottle. A line of fifty fathoms was procured, and an empty bottle well corked was sunk. It came up full of water, and the cork was reversed, q.e.d.

^^ Oct. 14. A fine breeze springs up. The range of mountains at the Cape, and the en- trance of the bay are magnificent beyond de- scription. What a new source of pleasure is the sight of long wished-for land ! — Six o'clock, — came to anchor.

THE CAPE. W

" Oct. 15. We are now comfortably settled at the Governor's. I am sitting in a room to receive visitors. The window opens upon a garden full of close avenues, and a fountain plays just before it. All the luxuriant flowers of this delicious climate are sparkling around me. We are all well. Love from all, even Freddy.

^^ Believe me,

^' Your affectionate brother,

'' J. T. Calcutta."

As soon as they reached Table Bay, General Bourke, the lieutenant-governor, sent his aid- de-camp, Mr. Rundell, on board, at five o'clock, with the offer of accommodations at the go- vernor's house; and the Bishop and his party were most kindly received on their arrival there.

Cape Town is beautifully situated between the beach and the magnificent mountains which rise behind it ; it is itself prettily built, with wide streets running across each other, and in many parts planted on each side with Scotch fir, which mixed with a pleasing simplicity of architecture, gives the town a lively appearance,

c2

20 THE CAPE.

the interest of which is much increased by- catching here and there a sight of the bay studded with shipping, at the end of a street. They build usually with twisted chimneys, because they say that smoke when uncon- fined is seen to ascend in a spiral form, and hence they assume this to be the best figure for chimneys.

The colony of the Cape of Good Hope is not included as part of the widely-extended diocese placed under the charge of the Bishops of Cal- cutta; but as the church arising there had never hitherto enjoyed the benefit of any epis- copal visitation, which was felt to be much wanted, the Right Honourable the Secretary for the Colonies thought it advisable that Bishop James should be charged with a special com- mission from the Crown to commence his epis- copal functions at that place.

Accordingly, after receiving the visits of the chief officers of the government, his first and most anxious wish was to take measures for calling a public meeting of the inhabitants, with a view to raising subscriptions for building an

THE CAPE. 21

English church ; next, to make arrangements for holding a confirmation, of which he had pre- viously given notice by a letter from England to Mr. Hough, the colonial chaplain ; then, to visit the free schools, the hospital, and other establishments ; and to make inquiry into the means adopted for extending the benefits of re- ligious instruction in the colony, and into some special matters, which had long wanted inquiry, and were now committed to his charge.

Oct. 18. In presiding at a meeting of the District Committee of the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, which was fully attended, the Bishop opened the business of the day in the following manner : —

" I have not risen with the intention of de- taining you by a long harangue, or expatiating on the merits of this Society and its claims to support, as they are familiarly known to you all ; and of your practical views with regard to them, your presence, on this occasion, affords the best and most satisfactory proof. But it would argue something of coldness of heart, if one did not indulge in the expression of some

22 THE CAPE.

feelings of congratulation on an occasion like this, when one sees in a distant and remote quarter of the globe the same Christian feeling — and the same Christian zeal animating the So- ciety here, and appearing, too, to be directed by the same ability and prudence, as we have, perhaps, many of us witnessed in the conduct of the Parent Society at home. Though I had heard, by report, of the establishment of the Branch Society here; yet, it is a matter of gratification to witness, with one's own eyes, the bright and cheering prospect this day affords of its success, and to see the best wishes of our friends at home thus visibly and substantially realized.

'' As far as the British name extends, as far as our arms have been heard, or our institutions known, the knowledge of Christianity is by such means as these promulgated amongst men ; and that, not by any act emanating from the power of government, but by the voluntary and zeal- ous care of individuals, by those means which give to every subscriber a share in promoting the great work ; so that while we look forward to the time when the church of Christ shall be

THE CAPE. 23

one fold under one Shepherd^ we may claim the distinction of having been, under the bless- ing of God, voluntary, but humble instruments of his great design ; and advancing, as far as in us lies, the extension of the saving know- ledge of the best and greatest gift ever offered to the world."

On the 21st, the Bishop preached to the English residents at the Dutch Reformed Church ; and again obtained the use of the same church ihe next day, and, in the presence of a large congregation, administered the rite of Confir- mation to near five hundred persons: after which he delivered an impressive charge to those whom he had confirmed.

Three o'clock, the same day, was the hour fixed for the public meeting at the Commercial Hall, for the purpose of taking into considera- tion the means to be adopted for building an English church, an object the Bishop was most desirous to promote, and the arrangement for which, with the necessary provisions for se- curing the permanence of the grant of land for consecration, had unceasingly occupied his at-

f

24 4\ THE CAPE.

tention from the moment of his landing. All difficulties seemed now to be removed; the grant was made ; every disposition was shown by the wealthier classes to come forward on the occa- sion ; and on taking the chair he made the fol- lowing address.

"This public meeting has been convened, under the sanction of the Governor of this colony, for the purpose of taking into consideration the best mode of fulfilling that eager desire, which has been so long felt by the British inhabitants of Cape Town, of erecting for themselves a place of public worship according to the forms of the Church of England.

" In opening the business of the day, allow me to express my congratulation on seeing so numerous and honourable an assembly around me, who have now by their presence here an- swered the general call, and afforded a con- vincing proof of their public spirit and their Christian zeal. It is, indeed, an honest and a proud feeling that prompts our countrymen to wish to exhibit here some visible and tangible proof of adherence to their own apostolical

THE CAPE. 25

form of faith ; and to show some testimony of their admiration for that Established Church, for which Cranmer, and Hooper, and Latimer died, and which has come down to us pure and unstained, save by the holy blood of its mar- tyrs ; that church, too, which has at all subse- quent periods excelled in theological learning ; and has been enabled so successfully to combat the cunning of worldly wisdom in the sceptic, and to silence the sophistry of the infidel. For these reasons we love, we venerate our church establishment, and the forms of our an- cestors. While, however, we express our pride in these sentiments, I am sure I am borne out in saying, that we do so without any intention of dispraising or undervaluing the zeal and sin- cerity of those who dissent from our forms, though not from our faith ; and who on any conscientious ground are scrupulous of joining our communion, the language of which is free- dom, while our liturgy itself instructs us to pray, not for ourselves alone, but ^ for the whole state of Christ's church militant here in earth.' We are all Christians, and are bound, as a proof pf the love we bear to our common Master, to love one another. We indeed have more es-

•5?

26

THE CAPE.

pecial reason to make such acknowldgenient in this town, where we have received the kindest testimony of this Christian feeling from the Presbytery, ministers, and whole body of the Dutch Reformed Church, who have ever been forward to afford us a place of devotion by accommodating us within their walls as bro- thers in Christ ; and who, when we declare our reluctance to trespass longer upon their kind- ness, will, I am sure, be among the first to ap- plaud our designs and regard our proceedings with a friendly eye. It remains as our duty, that while we indulge these feelings, and admire in others this truly Christian liberality of spirit, we forget not to cherish it in ourselves, but take care to show that the same flame glows most purely and brightly within our own bosoms." ########

^^ I have come amongst you with no power, no jurisdiction; I come on a mission of charity and of peace ; and if in the course of this day I have spoken of our proceedings — if I appear to have identified myself, more than I was in strict reason entitled to do, with the concerns of the colony, you will forgive the expressions, which have

THE CAPE. 2?

arisen only from the warmth and sincerity with which I have felt your cause. Indeed, if ever there shall be a day of ray life that I shall hope to look back upon with renewed feelings of pleasure and gratitude, it will be this, on which I have witnessed so much of British generosity, and, what is still more, so much of the true spirit which Britons are every where forward to show in promoting the sacred cause of Christianity. I shall quit your shores with regret, and carry a pleasing remembrance with me whithersoever I may go."

In the course of the proceedings, the Bishop had the gratifying task of laying before the meet- ing, as he had previously done before the chief inhabitants in private, the liberal offer he was commissioned to make, on the part of the govern- ment at home, to give a grant of land, and to supply lialf the expense of building the church, provided the inhabitants would furnish the other half. This announcement he followed by laying- down his own private subscription, and had the satisfaction of seeing the sum amount to two thousand one hundred and eighty pounds raised on the spot, before he quitted the chair, besides

38 THB CAPE.

subscriptions in kind from those who had not money to £!^ive; — one month's labour from a car- penter, five lumdred feet of cedar from a timber- merchant, &c.

The resolutions being passed, and the arrange- ments completed, the next day, at three o'clock, in the presence of the governor, and nearly all the English inhabitants, the Bishop consecrated the piece of land allotted for the church, and also another to be used as a buryiug-ground, which was much wanted, as the burghers had full use for theirs.

While he was at the Cape, Uie Bishop found an opportunity of sending the following pastoral letter to the Islanders of Tristan d'Acunha.

** My Christian Friends, ** In passing tlirough this quarter of tlie globe, on my voyage to India, I could not but feel anxious to hear something relative to the conduct and happiness of those of my countrymen who are so tar separated from the rest of the world as the settlement at Tristan d^Acunha. I could gain here little or no intelligence of you that was

THE CAPE. 29

of a late date ; but I have beard, with sincere pleasure, that you zealously promote the observ- ance of the Lord's day among you : and let me hope that so sacred a zeal may meet with no relaxation ; let me hope that your children, when baptized by yourselves, will be brought up, as you yourselves were brought up, in the nurture and admonition oftheLordy having a knowledge of the truths of the Christian religion, and of the duties it enjoins. So may they be a blessing to their parents, and live long to inherit the land ! I have been glad to learn that inquiry has already been made after you by the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge established at Cape Town ; and I am happy to tell you, that on your making application to them, any assistance you may want, in the way of religious books, will be cheerfully granted.

" Receive the assurance of my prayers for your welfare both here and hereafter, from

^^ Your sincere friend,

'' J. T. Calcutta."

An interesting reference, made to the Bishop by some Mahometan priests, is related in the

38 THE CAPE.

next two letters^ which contain also an account of his departure from the Cape.

^* TO MRS. JAMES, COLLEGE-GREEN, WORCESTER.

" Government-house, Cape Town, Oct. 24, 1827.

" My dear Mother, ^^ I have scarcely had one moment to myself since I landed, and have not been able to go out to see any thing, except that once, on a public meeting being put off, we went in the go- vernor's carriage to visit Constantia Farm : however, all people seem in good humour, and that is amends enough for any trouble. # # # # J j^rj^y^ ^Q^ finished my official letters, and take up my pen for you. Marianne is gone to see the laying of the foundation- stone of the Scotch Presbyteriau Church. I heartily wish it was ours. Had the English church, for which we have now set on foot a subscription, been begun one year ago, no Scotch church would have been thought of; they would have been well content to have joined us. However, one cannot but feel that they did right.

THE CAPE. 31

^^ At four o^clock 1 go to meet the Imaun, or head Mahometan priest of this place, who defers to my authority as ^ a man of God/ as he says, to compose the differences between himself and some of his followers ; —curious enough. I hope to establish a friendly feeling with them now, and trust, by the blessing of God, I may be able to draw something better from the occasion by- and-by; at any rate it is a very singular oc- currence. Almost all the slaves here are Ma- hometans. * * * *^

^^ Believe me always,

'' My dear Mother,

^^ Your affectionate Son,

" J. T. Calcutta."

^* TO REV. EDWARD JAMES, EAST SHEEN, SURREY.

« E, Long. 87. S. Lat. 6. 27. December 8, 1827.

" My dear Edward,

" I sent you a short note from the Cape, and

in truth it was all I had time to write. We

stayed there eleven days, but that was barely

enough for all that lay upon my hands, at least

:%>

S2 THE CAPE.

to inquire into things in the way I like ; and as we were too late to pick up passengers for our ship^ I really felt that every day, not actually employed in necessary business, was so much of pecuniary loss to our excellent and kind- hearted captain. It was a great satisfaction, however, to find that we left all the people in good humour. They presented me on the morn- ing of our departure, October 19th, with a letter of thanks, signed by fifty-six of the chief mer- chants and residents of the place, some of whom were not Englishmen ; and they met me at the Government-house, together with the English clergy, and accompanied me in a body to the beach, where Marianne and Elizabeth and the baby joined us in the governor's carriage, and from whence we got on board the custom-house boat, and made for the ship.

^^ I mentioned, I think, in a letter to my mother, a singular circumstance which occurred while we were at the Cape. One of the Malay . priests (they are all Mahometans, and generally of the lower and poorer classes) told Mr. Fallows, of the observatory, that he had a dispute with the I maun, and wished it to be referred to me,

THE CAPE. 33

as ' a man of God ;' these were his words. I was surprised, but could not help indulging a hope that some good might result. I appointed a meeting with the Iraaun at four the same even- ing ; and he came, attended by ten of his priests, one of whom spoke English ; and, by his assist- ance, together with that of Mr. Skirrow, the architect, we were enabled to confer. The Imaun laboured hard to get rid of the appear- ance of reference to me ; professing that he wished to pay his respects to me, but no more. By degrees, however, I drew out the story from him, and thus the reference in fact was made. It turned out to be a dispute on a point of dis- cipline, and not, as I had hoped, on a point of doctrine. I had no hesitation therefore in saying that the Imaun had the authority in his own hands, and should be obeyed by those who are placed under him. I then touched on the points in which the Koran agreed with our faith, (not omitting the testimony borne to the preaching of the Apostles,) and lamented that the agree- ment went no further. We then parted very good friends ; it was indeed my object to leave a good and kind understanding with them all, hoping to improve upon any further occasion

D

34 THE CAPE.

that might offer : and this I trust was done^ for the Imaun afterwards sent me word, by one of his priests^ that public prayers would be offered in the mosque^ on Friday^ the day we sailed, for the safe voyage of myself and my family to India. It may be, and probably is the fact, that the real point in dispute was concealed from me, and it might be that it was something more than the interpretation of a text of the Koran relative to discipline ; I have therefore promised to send some books from Calcutta to Mr. Fallows, which he may lend or give to this seceding priest, who has, it appears, about three hundred followers, and we must try what we can.

^* I also wrote a sort of admonitory letter to the se- cluded islanders at Tristan d' Acunha, and was glad to be able at least to point out the means of their beingsupplied with books of religious instruction.*

* The inhabitants of Tristan d'Acunha are now (1829) about thirty in number, including women and children. Glass, who is at the head of the little community, was a corporal in the company of artillery which was stationed there under Captain Clouts, during the residence of Napoleon Buonaparte at St. Helena. When the company was withdrawn, Glass, at his own request, was allowed to remain with the few settlers on the island, and take charge of the stores ; and being a well-dis- posed man, he has been attentive to religion in his little society,

THE CAPE. 35

" The chief hope of introducing Christianity and civilization into the parts about the Cape, must be by means of the new system of licensing natives to be admitted as workmen. This has been till now forbidden, and is yet under con- siderable restraint. The consequence is, that beyond the frontiers we see the bush men with- out employment, and actually starving, while labour within the frontiers is at such a price as to check all advances towards improvement !

*^By all I can learn it appears that the mis- sionaries are much better conducted and better educated men than heretofore; they preach often, and are heard greedily. Translations of parts of the Scriptures into Caffre are advancing under those of the London Society ; Mr. Wright is now employed on the Book of Genesis ; but no translation of the New Testament has yet been made. The Hottentot language prevails on the western, and the Caffre on the eastern side.

while he has had such success in the management of their land and their cattle, that they are now able to afford supplies of pro- visions to any ships that may touch on their shore.

d2

36 AT SEA.

" As for the voyage from the Cape to Calcutta^ it is accomplished usually at this time of the year in about ten weeks, the only constant winds being the S. E. trade, which we fell in with in S. lat. 20^ and lost in 7% and the N.E. monsoon, which will carry us, we hope, from P or 2" N. lat. to Calcutta. The rest of the voyage de- pends on the westerly winds, which generally prevail from 38'' S. lat. to 41% and which carried us as far as St. Paul and Amsterdam islands. We have now almost constant rain, and the hatches down — close work; but we have a little wind, and consider Calcutta as nearly in sight.

" Dec. 12. A dreadfully hot day ; thermom. 87. We have now reached '2^ S. lat. 89*^ E. long. This day last year I preached at the Charter-house ; little did I then think where the next Founder's day would be passed by me. Thank God, however, we are all well. I now read the Persian character tolerably, and begin to see my way in Hindostanee. # # # # " Your affectionate brother,

"J. T. Calcutta."

ON THE WINDS. 37

The Bishop's memorandum book contains the following observations on the winds, written soon after leaving the Cape.

^^ There is no doubt but that the winds blow according to certain fixed laws, and if these were known, we might ascertain when the wind would be favourable, and when not: perhaps one day this may be known.

^^ It appears that even a heavy gale or storm seldom covers a space of more than from three to five degrees at once ; and that a ship sailing one hundred miles distant from another, unless in the Trade winds or the Monsoons, seldom has the same wind, either as to strength, or as to the exact point of the compass. Now if from the returns at Lloyd^s an account were furnished of all the winds encountered by gtll the ships, wher- ever they were, on one day, or a succession of days, we might be able to learn something of this matter ; for it is certain they act on a system of compensation as to one another; and that whenever a westerly gale has prevailed long in a certain space, it must have occasioned a gale or gales to the east, or at least easterly in ano-

38 THE CAPE.

ther space ; and doubtless this must all be ac- cording to some fixed law."

^^ When a compact cloud (not one having arisen from the horizon, but collected afterwards) reaches the zenith^ or is over the mast-head, then comes a squall of wind ; and it is usual to prepare for such by taking in sail, as soon as it is seen approaching the mast-head. The sea- man's expression is, that ^ the gale comes out of the cloud.'"

FROM MRS. J. T. JAMES TO FREDERICK REEVES, ESQ. EAST SHEEN, SURREY.

'* On board the Mary Anne, " Nmy. 17, 1827.

" Dearest Papa and Mamma; ^^ This is only the second quiet day we have had since we left the Cape. The day I enjoyed the most, while we were there, was that on which we made our excursion to Constantia farm, when a public meeting being accidentally put off, the Bishop was able to make one of the party. We had a pleasant drive of twelve miles, and passed through the pretty village of Wynberg, with its white cottages and thatched

THE CAPE. 9S

roofs ; they are the cottages^ however^ of the wealthier families. The vineyard at Constantia is small, but it is the only one from which the celebrated wine is made. In all parts of the road, the surrounding mountains are highly pic- turesque, and the wild flowers so beautiful, that it is quite like driving through a conservatory ; geraniums of every variety, and of the largest size, are seen growing in bushes around you ; aloes in profusion, and arums in all the ditches ; to say nothing of the silver witteboom which they gather for fuel : we saw several waggons laden with it, drawn by eighteen or some- times twenty oxen. On the morning of our leaving the Cape, a large body of the principal inhabitants escorted the Bishop to the beach, expressing their thanks for the interest he had taken in the spiritual affairs of the colony ; they also signed a very gratifying letter to the same effect. After we got on board, the whole of the afternoon was employed in heaving the anchor, which was found to have sunk so deep, that sailing out of the bay was given up for that night. The Serang was much hurt by the sudden breaking of the rope to which the cable was fastened : the captain told us, that he once

40 AT SEA.

saw four men break their legs, one after another, in trying to get up an anchor when it had sunk very deep in the sand. We got out of Table Bay on Friday, October 26, and almost imme- diately met with a fair wind, which took us safe out to sea. We made the first two thousand miles in twelve days, and escaped the heavy seas and gales, which I so much dreaded, off the Cape ; however, we have since had a smart gale in 28^ S. lat. It blew very hard, beginning November the 10th, at six in the evening, with thunder and lightning, and continued the whole night, and the next day, blowing tremendously, during which time the stern cabins were in utter darkness. Alarmed as I was, I felt the comfort of a truly pious-minded husband ; and certainly I never before entered so fully into the beauty of the 107th Psalm, or so warmly expe- rienced the truth of that sublime passage, which declares, that it is only He that can make the storm to cease, so that the waves thereof are still. I think you will give me some credit for going up on the poop to see the beauty of the sea when it was so violently agitated ; though I was, indeed, most thankful when the sea went down, and we were again restored to light and

AT SEA. 41

quiet. Several accidents happened during the storm : the steward had one of his legs broken by a spar ; the first mate received a violent cut on his eye by a fall on deck ; three men were hurt at the wheels and the poor cooks sadly scalded ; but we were thankful that no lives were lost, and the gale, though severe, did not last very long. At its commencement a ball of fire was seen for a long time on the yards of the mast-head, and the sea was beautifully illumi- nated to a considerable distance, apparently by an electric fluid. However, we have since had fine weather, and are all in high spirits again, and still hope to eat our Christmas dinner in Calcutta. We talk of nothing but the delight of finding ourselves on shore, and having space to walk half a mile without turning round five hundred times.

" Sunday, Nov. 18. — There is something pecu- liar in the enjoyment ofa fine calm Sunday on board. The day is very well kept in this ship, and the cap- tain is fond of foretelling a fine day for Sunday. We have only missed having service on deck two Sundays during the whole voyage. The

49 AT SEA.

•hip^l crew are cnllcMJ over about i(^ii o'clock in the luorninf^-; iind, as tlici .seiuncn are |)riiici|)iilly LavScarH, all iastcl'ully drcsHcd in their best, the miiHtor has a strikingly pictnnvsque eftect. The DiHhop always pt rforms part of the servic^e, and Mr. Knn|)p th(* r( si ; niid it is most gnitifying to seethe increased attention paid by the vvhoh^ of the congTet;a1 ion since tlu^ first Sunday. Many of th(^ Portuguese blacks, who are llo- nian Catholics, attiMid regularly, and seem to b(5 devoutly engaged, it must bc^ owniul that the Church Service is particularly imprissive on the quarter-deck of a ship ; the sight of so many in their decent Sunday dresses, assembled for worship under the canopy of heaven, fJl imploring the protection of the same great God, and perhaps each feeling tiiat his protection is, if possible, more necessary when we are sur- rounded by that fathomless ocean, and those mighty waves which are only under his control. There is something pleasing, tilso, in the re- flection that we are employed in tlu* same manner, and, though at so great a distance, still olVering tlio same prayers with tliose dear friends whom we have left in England. U we, on the ocean, are

praying for blcHsirigs on them, they are, in the game manner, praying that eqiial blessings and protection may be showered on us.

^^ Wednesday. Thi« evening the sun-set ha« been extremely beautiful, and reminded me of Danby's picture of the sun-set, which I was struck with at Sir Thomas Lawrence's. The colours were most extraordinary, such as must seem quite unnatural to those who have not seen tlic (effect of a sun-set between the tropics: a bright (jreeM among the golden streaks, small jmrple floating clouds, a red horizon, and bright blue sky.

" Some of the officers going a-head to- day to bathe, brought roe a shell- fish of the Echinus tribe; the seamen call it, a Portugoeie man-of-war ; it floats on the water ; the lower part is sofl, and of a beautiful blue colour ; the upper part stands upright, in shape something like a turban, and is transparent like glass.

" We have seen the boatswain, a snow-white bird, with a single feather of great length, in

44 AT SEA.

the tail. We have also seen immense num- bers of little flying- fish^ which appear in shoals, rise with the waves, and sometimes fly a consi- derable distance before their fins are dry, when they immediately drop into the water. It is a striking sight to watch the larger fish chasing them, and darting out of the water in order to catch them.

^^ Thursday. — Three sharks were caught in the course of this morning, immediately under our cabin. We could watch the little pilot-fish (two of which attended each shark) first disco- ver the bait, and then gradually bring the shark towards it until he was hooked. The poor little things continued to swim under him, one might fancy, in real distress, that they had been the cause of his agony, as he writhed on the hook and dashed the sea with his tail ; nor did they leave him till he was towed forward, and hauled up.

" Nov. 27. — Our wedding-day. It makes me think a gi'eat deal of our dear Georgy and Acland, and all whom we love at Sheen ! May

AT SEA. 45

God bless them, and you, my dear papa and mamma, is the constant prayer of

" Your affectionate daughter,

^^ Marianne J. James."

'^P.S. December I.— The S. E. trade-wind sprung up at three o'clock to-day ; this has given us all great spirits, and we look with much plea- sure to being soon comfortably settled at Cal- cutta/'

FROM THE BISHOP TO ROBERT W. HAY, ESQ., CO- LONIAL OFFICE, DOWNING STREET.

" S. Lat. 5o. 30'. E. Long, 87°. " Decefnber 10, 1827.

** My dear Hay; *^A terribly hot day! sultry, sullen rains; the hatchways battened down ; and the whole ship's crew panting for breath. In this plight I sit down to write to you, so you must not expect a very pleasant letter. Yet I so much wished to write to you from the Cape, and so verily regret that 1 could not, that I must, in spite of my very colliquative condition, endeavour to do something ; for we are now approaching the route of the homeward-bound ships, and hope to

d7

46 THE CAPE.

have an opportunity of speaking some one, and sending letters home. We all enjoyed our eleven days at the Cape extremely; and the more, from the very kind attentions of the lieu- tenant-governor and his family, to whom you were so good as to furnish me with a letter.

^^ I shall, I am sure, always feel great interest in every thing that concerns the welfare of that place ; and am, indeed, glad to think that a better system for the natives is likely to be adopted under certain regulations. It is really very hard that those wretched native tribes, beyond the frontier, should be living in a state of actual starvation, feeding on chance swarms of locusts, or girding their bodies with string to assuage the gnawing of hunger, while the agricultural residents, within the frontier, are suffering from want of a sufficient number of labourers ; the two parties being prevented from affording each other mutual accommodation, on account of the mistaken fears which are entertained on the subject of the slave trade; a question with which, under tolerable regulations, it can never have any concern. But I am chiefly interested.

THE CAPE. 4H

because their being so employed seems the only chance these poor savages have of being intro- duced to the blessings of civilization, and ulti- mately of Christianity. * ^ * *

^^ The people were highly delighted with Lord Goderich's kindness with regard to the building of the church; the public meeting held on the occasion, being a novelty, was ex- tremely well attended, and I have to thank his lordship for placing me in so agreeable a situ- ation. They seemed much gratified by the arrangement made for an episcopal visit, and in consequence I received a handsome letter of thanks at my departure, and was accompanied by the chief inhabitants in a body to the beach, on the morning of my re-embarkation. I am sorry to say that the colony is in a most unhappy condition just now, from the depressed state of their circulating medium ; and it seems to have introduced a ruinous timidity into all their mer- cantile speculations. * * * *

" Dec. 18.— A day of melting heat ; perspira- tion may be a very good word in an European climate, but you can have no conception how very

48 AT SEA.

inadequate an expression it is in N. lat. 2", We have now been these three days becalmed^ with a hot glaring sim just over the main-royals ; but, after all, it is some pleasure to see the sun under any circumstances; and when I think that you are at this hour shivering at the sight of the yet unmelted snow, that whitens the tops of the houses in Curzon Street, and bid- ding your servant see whether there is a north- east wind abroad, I am verily tempted to think that we have the best of it here. By the bye, this same north-easter, here yclept north mon- soon, is in these latitudes most agreeable and refreshing; we are eagerly on the look- out for it every day, as the wind that is to carry us on our way to Calcutta ; and the cap- taints daily toast, is, ^ A speedy monsoon, and soon.'

'^ Dec. 22. — Light wind from the north. We have been beating up the bay for the last twenty- four hours, and find that we have lost seven miles, owing to a strong cun-ent to the south. We have nearly eaten up all our rice — a woeful error ! — and are threatened with short allowance of water. I begin now to think you have the

SAUGOR ROADS. 49

best of it in May Fair, maugre snow and frost. Let us once make Acheen-head however, and I trust all will be well. I have laboured pretty constantly at my Hindostanee, and begin to see my w^ay a little : but that said Arabic or Persian character, composed of variable fish-hooks and harpoons, is really as difficult as it is unseemly : I am glad I have mastered it : and a new alphabet at forty-one (I speak of mine age) is, 1 assure you, no trifling occupation.

^^ Jan. 15, 1828. — We have just got our pilot on board, and are now in Saugor Roads, run- ning up the channel, between the sands at the mouth of the Hooghley. Some people are cu- rious in coincidences, and it is singular enough that we went on board the Mary-Anne at Portsmouth, July 14 ; we landed at the Cape Oct. 14; and reached the Saugor Roads, Jan. 14. It is now just a month since we re-crossed the line, and the prospect of getting to the end of our voyage is very refreshing.

'' Four Chinese men have been executed, we hear, for murder at Calcutta, a measure the

E

50 SAUGOR ROADS.

government had not ventured upon on a similar occurrence three years ago.

^^ Our pilot picked up last night a boat v^ith a hundred and thirty Hindoos, men, women, and children, who had been driven out to sea in crossing the river, on their pilgrimage to the hill of sacrifice in Saugor Island; they had been out four days without any food, and were nearly exhausted : they only asked for water ; but on the pilot giving them our forbidden viands, they fell to and eat in a very liberal manner. By their answers, it would seem that they were not a little sulky that such a disaster, as their being thus driven out to sea, should have happened while they were engaged on such an errand. But perhaps you do not care much about them : — T have done.

" Let me, my dear Hay, beg one favour of you, before I close my letter ; namely, that some day, when you ride down to Sudbrook, you will be so kind as to call at Mr. Reeves's, at East Sheen, and see my two pretty little bairns. It is impossible to express to you how much one's

SAUGOR ROADS. 51

thoughts dwell on them. What would we not give for such a sight; and how easy and com- fortable could I feel, if I could but blot out from my remembrance the few last houi-s of our last morning there! With our united re- gards,

^* Believe me,

^^ Yours affectionately,

" J. T. Calcutta."

TO THE REV. CHARLES ANNESLEY, ALL SOULS

" N. Lat. 3^ 7'. E. Long, 94". " December 24, 1827.

" My dear Annesley; " It is a fine evening, the thermometer ranging at 89% the sea perfectly glassy and smooth, the sky lighted with that peculiar delicacy and brightness, which belong to tropical regions alone. I am lying on the locker of the cabin, sometimes penning a line, as this to you, and sometimes looking into the abyss that shows itself below the ship's keel, as I put my head out of the cabin window. Marianne is exerting

E 2

52 OFF SUMATRA.

herself also to bold her pen in her hand^ (no small matter in this climate,) and your little godson is sprawling on the floor. Overhead we have, at this instant, Lascars hauling upon ropes, and officers chiding and rebuking in the usual marine phraseology. It seems they ex- pect a breeze ; and as we have been becalmed for the last week, I cannot express to you half the joy this word conveys. I must say, how- ever, that it is something to find oneself here, within a few miles of the coast of Sumatra, an island, or rather small continent, hitherto known, to myself at least, only as lying in the extreme corner of a map seldom explored. Just on our beam is Pulo-Nyaz, an island of wretched sa- vages, who subsist by annually exporting five or six hundred of their young females to Suma- tra, whom they rear for sale just as regularly, and sell just as unconcernedly as we should a crop of wheat ! Just below, on our quarter, is Engano island, full of piratical savages, who would per- haps have a bout with us if we lay a little nearer. What a pretty part of the world we are come to ! but I must put by my letter for to-day.

'^Christmas-day. — 1 trust I have forgotten

OFF SUMATRA. 53

no friend at Oxford,, or in England, on this day. We had service, and I administered the sacra- ment on the deck ; and I am happy to say that a very great improvement is observable in the whole of our congregation from the first up to

this time : we have, indeed, been so fortunate, that only two Sundays have occurred, when the

services on deck were prevented by stress of

weather.

" Dec. 26. — Same hot, dry weather ; not a breath of air : we luckily find there is a current which carries us on at about one knot an hour. It is very unpleasant when the sun makes, in this way, as one may say, a shot at us sitting; ma pazienza !

'' Dec. 27. — A plentiful shower of rain. What luxury ! one may see it, smell it, touch it, taste it : all hands are employed on deck in treasuring up the precious liquid. A light breeze has come on with it -, the sun is clouded over, and we have no observation at noon to- day ; but I trust to-morrow we may find our- selves off Acheen-head;— and then for Cal- cutta. But I must go and look at the rain again.

54 SAUGOR ROADS.

"Dec. 28. — After all our delight^ we were again becalmed yesternight, still in sight of the golden mountain of Sumatra. This is now the fourteenth day of continued disappointment, and, if the expression is not quite contradictory, of calm. Your merry little godson (who is Freddy, Freddy, with every one on board, white or black, captain or cabin-boy) is a great resource, but he brings most painfully to mind those we have left at home.

^ Jan. 15, 1828. — We have just taken the pilot on board, and are running up the channel to the Saugor-roads with a light wind. You may imagine the excitement created among all on board by this event, — the long-wished-for pilot, — the long-talked-of roads. In three or four days we hope to reach Calcutta. It is cheering to watch the sea growing green again, and to feel that all the shore delicacies, such as bread, butter, and fresh vegetables, will soon be within our reach; and to think, that we shall be in quiet, that is, tolerable quiet for some months.

CAPE TOWN. 55

*' I do not know whether you heard of us at the Cape. Cape town is the most picturesque spot I ever saw ; the black slave faces^ the carts drawn by from twelve to eighteen bullocks, the tents of the market-people^ and their thatch- like straw hats^ are, indeed, striking ; but no- thing can exceed the brilliancy of the flat- topped white houses against the blue Table Mountain, and the flat-headed pines avenuing the streets, with the mountain- streams running between their rows. I never before knew what it was to be in such a place, and not dare to sit down and draw, though, indeed, I had not time, if I had dared to do so ; my only relaxation was literally a few hours drive to Constantia, on a day that a public meeting was postponed. By the bye, I left a design for an English church, as Lord Goderich desired. It is very simple, and if my plan is executed, wifl afford sittings for a thousand persons ; and I have pleased my- self at least, with its proportions. I hope it wiU be erected.

^^ Remember me to the Warden, and to Ash- hurst, Legge, and Berens, and all my other

56 SAUGOR ROADS.

friends at All Souls, and at Christ Church, and believe me,

" My dear Annesley,

'^ Ever affectionately yours,

'' J. T. Calcutta."

TO MRS. JAMES,* WORCESTER.

" Saugor Roads, Jan. 16, 1828.

" My dear Mother ;

# * # # *

** We are delighted to find ourselves at last in the mouth of the Hooghley River, after so long and tedious a voyage as it has been ; but, I thank Heaven, it has been very quiet, and^ for that sort of thing, pleasant enough. Our cap- tain, Boucart, is a warm-hearted, amiable, man, and an admirable seaman, and our ship in good order; not one death or serious accident on board : and we are glad to think that, at any rate, now you will be relieved from all your fears about us.

'^ It is a fine brilliant evening, the sunset as quiet and cloudless as you see generally repre-

* This letter did not reach England till June. The beloved Parent to whom it was addressed, had closed her pious and useful life, on the 10th of April.

SAUGOR ISLAND. 57

sented in a picture or print from this country. Our cable and anchor have this instant been loosed, and run down with a thundering noise that shakes the whole ship ; and here we remain till the tide sets in again, and carries us on our way up the river. We have been beset the whole day with boats full of natives, brown men, naked, except a white linen cloth about their middle ; and their skins well oiled, in order to resist the heat : the black and white contrast, and the strange form of their boats, their pad- dles, and their odd gestures, give them a very wild appearance. They are the * dandies ^^ or watermen of the river, and come, some to offer to tow the ship, others to sell fruit, others to get employed on any errand that may be wanted on shore. A little way from us on the right, or, as we say, on the starboard quarter, is Saugor Island, where a great fair is being held by the natives ; many thousands are there assembled, and we can plainly make out with our glasses, the boats, and flags, and tents, and all the usual paraphernalia of assemblies of this nature. It is, I understand, a sort of religious festival, the main object being with each individual to stay a certain number of hours, either in the sea, or

58 KEDGEREE.

else in one of the jungles of the island; and if they escape death from the sharks in the one, or the tigers in the other, they imagine that for this service their sins are forgiven them ! Our pilot, in coming down to us the day before yes- terday, fell in with a boat containing a hundred and thirty of these poor deluded creatures, who had been driven out to sea in crossing the river to be present at the festival; they had been four days without food, and must have perished but for his timely assistance."

On Friday, Jan. 17, they had arrived off Kedgeree, and were riding at anchor, waiting for the flowing of the tide, when the long- wished-for steam-vessel was seen making her way towards the ship ; Mr. Corrie, archdeacon of Calcutta, Dr. Mill, principal of Bishop's College, Mr. Eales, senior chaplain, and Mr. Abbot, registrar and secretary to the Bishop, (now the only survivor of those who went out with Bishop Middleton,) were on board to pay their respects to their new diocesan, as were also Mr. William Cracroft, Mr. Augustus Prin- sep, and some other private friends. As it

GARDEN REACH. 59

was late in the evening when the gentlemen reached the Mary- Anne, and the strong tide did not suffer the ship to make much way before dark, it was found necessary to anchor for the night, and the whole party were obliged to put up with such accommodation as they could find till the morning; when, soon after day-break, they accompanied the Bishop and his family on board the steam-vessel, amidst the waving of hats, and the hearty cheers of the whole ship^s crew ; and they proceeded up the Hoogh- ley, the guns of the Mary- Anne saluting them on their way.

As they passed the beautiful point of Garden- reach, and first arrived in sight of Calcutta, the splendid villas on each bank, with their lawns sloping down to the water's edge ; the beautiful Gothic structure of Bishop's College, with the rich foliage of the Botanic Garden, backed by extensive woods of teak, on one side of the river ; with the bold outline of the Fort, and the lofty minarets and magnificent buildings of the city, on the other, formed a coup d' oeil that was exceedingly striking ; and the effect was not a little heightened by the novelty of the objects

60

CALCUTTA.

that appeared on approaching the shore— the natives in their white dresses — the bustle of the watermen^ coolies^ palanquin-bearers, &c.

They landed under a salute from Fort Wil- liam, and the Bishop was immediately conducted by the aides-de-camp of the Governor-general to the government-house, where he was most kindly welcomed by Lord Amherst.

The next day, being Sunday, the whole party went, with grateful hearts, to the cathedral, where the Bishop was received by the Arch- deacon and clergy, and, in the presence of a large congregation, was enthroned with the usual ceremonies in that seat, from which both of his amiable and gifted predecessors had been so suddenly called away ; and which was so shortly to be again left vacant by his own decease !

Early on the following morning, he crossed the river, anxious to make his first visit to Bishop's College, where he found, as he had reason to expect, much to engage his immediate and seri- ous attention.

CALCUTTA. 61

A succession of hospitable entertainments greeted the arrival of the new Bishop in this city of palaces, as Calcutta has been often called; and the striking effect of an eastern dinner on strangers newly arrived, is thus de- scribed by Mrs. James : — " We sat down to dinner at the government- house, a party of seventy or eighty, in a superb hall with a mar- ble floor, and marble pillars on each side; and the brilliant lights, the turbaned servants with their long beards and their various Asiatic dresses, the military music, the chowries (fea- ther-fans) waving gracefully over the heads of the guests to keep off the insects, — all conspired to give the scene an air of enchantment that was almost overpowering, especially after our long habit of the cuddy-table. It seemed quite an affair of the Arabian Nights."

It was a pleasing circumstance to the Bishop, that his Oxford friend. Sir Charles Grey, was Chief Justice at Calcutta ; and at his house he first met Dr. Wallich, the manager of the Botanic Garden, and other scientific and literary men, in whose society he found much grati-

62 BARRACKPOOR.

fication. But the business of the diocese, at all times too much for the charge of one Bishop, had accumulated in enormous arrears during the vacancy of the see ; many important cases had been awaiting his arrival, and he found them to embrace matters of no ordinary delicacy and anxiety. To these, therefore, he immediately di- rected his whole care and unremitting attention ; leaving the arrangement of his household, and all concern about his domestic affairs, to Mrs. James, who met with the kindest assistance from several private friends in ordering these matters.

The receiving necessary visits of ceremony, and attending occasionally to take the chair at public meetings, were his only relaxations from the closest attendance to diocesan business for several weeks, except a visit of a few days to the Governor-general and the Countess Amherst, at their delightful park at Barrackpoor. The party were much pleased with the society of their amiable host and hostess ; and became ini- tiated here in Indian customs, sleeping in bun- galows apart from the house, and riding on elephants to see the beauties of the scenery.

CALCUTTA. 63

and the curious animals that are kept in the park.

They returned to Calcutta on the 12th of February ; and in going to the cathedral on the following Sunday^ they met one of thos'^ living monuments of the degrading superstitions of India, called fakeers, or religious mendicants. It appeared, that it had been this man's vow to hold his arm always perpendicularly erected from his body, as if pointing to heaven ; and for so many years had the poor devotee persevered in holding it in that torturing position, that the limb had become shrivelled and perfectly im- movable. These fakeers are highly esteemed throughout India for their sanctity : it is even accounted an act of religion to support them ; and it is their privilege to take what they please in any shop where they enter, without paying for it. He had, this day, placed himself near the ancient bazaar which unites Chowringhee with Calcutta ; and from the sad spectacle of this devotee the Bishop and his family passed on, with feelings of compassion not unmixed with pain, to the pure and holy worship of the English church, where the Bishop preached on

^

64 CALCUTTA.

that morning with much energy, but on leaving the cathedral was quite overcome with the fa- tigue of the exertion. The consequence of the close and anxious attention he had paid to business since his arrival^ was, that the climate began thus early to show its effects upon his health. He was now unwell for several days; and at the end of the month had a second attack of the disorder so fatally prevalent in Bengal. Mrs. James writes from the palace, March 4 : — ^^ The Bishop has twice been unwell. I thank God, however, each attack was taken early; Dr. Nicholson has given him large quantities of calomel, and, though certainly weakened by it, he is now so much recovered, that he pre- sided at a meeting of the Society for the Pro- pagation of the Gospel, which had been fixed for this morning, and has been out in the car- riage this evening; he has, indeed, had too great a press of business, which began imme- diately on his arrival, and had rather thickened on him than diminished till the beginning of his illness. His table has been literally deluged with papers, and it has been no slight incon- venience that with numerous cases of import- ance before him, he could make no reference to

Jk-

CALCUTTA.

65

his books and authorities for several weeks, as they could not be unpacked and arranged, the palace not being ready for our reception for more than a month after we arrived." The Bishop adds, at the end of the letter, " I am so extremely busy, that I am obliged to give up all private letters for the present. Marianne has, therefore, written for me ; indeed, she has taken the entire charge of all our domestic affairs. I do not yet know the faces of our forty-three servants, or any thing relating to our private matters, except paying for them."

On Saturday, March 8, the Bishop was suf- ficiently recovered to be able to attend Lord Amherst from the Government-house to the Ghaut, at which place he took his leave; and the Earl, after taking leave of the Hon. W. B. Bayley, and Sir Charles Metcalfe, Bart., mem- bers of the council. Chief Justice Sir Charles Grey, Sir Edward Ryan, and the other chief officers of the government, went down the river in the state barge to embark on board His Ma- jesty's yacht the Herald, on his return to England. The yards of all the vessels were manned, and the river was covered with boats. Car-

66 , CALCUTTA.

riages of every description lined the esplanade, and an immense crowd of people, in all the variety of Indian costume^ all eager to testify their respect for the exalted character of the de- parting Governor-general.

The Bishop's palace is situated at Chow- ringhee, the best built and most airy part of the suburb on the southern side of Calcutta, one mile and a half from the cathedral. It is a large Grecian building, with a deep colonnade to each story, and the entrance is by a spacious portico under which carriages drive. The rooms are of noble size and proportions ; the largest, the dining-room, being a double cube, and near eighty feet long. It was now comfortably and handsomely furnished, and the Bishop commenced his din- ners to the clergy and others, by whose agency he had begun to hope he might gradually ac- complish many plans he had already formed for doing good in Calcutta and its neighbourhood.

The first object which had engaged his atten- tion was the advantage which would arise, if each of the Company's chaplains, instead of being left to find his own range, should have some particular

CALCUTTA. 67

district assigned to him, within which it should be his duty to visit the European sick, and to perform all that are usually called parochial duties among those who belong to the Estab- lished Church : for this purpose he divided the city of Calcutta into three ecclesiastical dis- tricts, the new church in Fort William making a fourth. The advantages of these divisions were obvious to all, and the directions for car- rying into effect this plan of the Bishop^s, hav- ing received the sanction of the Governor- general in council, were published, with a plan of the districts annexed, in a Gazette extraor- dinary, on April 3, 1828.

In order to meet the objections which it was natural some of the clergy should feel to this new arrangement of their duties, he thought no time was to be lost in pursuing an object which Bishop Middleton had much desired ; and after great perseverance and laborious corres- pondence, he succeeded in procuring from the government, that the issuing of marriage licences should be placed in the hands of the clergy: and he immediately appointed the chaplains of the cathedral to be surrogates for that purpose,

F 2

68 CALCUTTA.

as a compensation to them for the loss they might sustain from the adoption of parochial divisions. He was most anxious also to enforce the performance of evening as well as morning service every Sunday throughout the diocese, in all the three Presidencies, wherever the circum- stances of the population made it practicable ; thinking it better even to shorten the morning service during the hot season, (which in some cases he found it necessary to allow,) than to make the length of it an excuse for entirely omitting that appointed for the evening.

With regard to those who were placed as missionaries in the parts of the diocese remote from the three seats of government, he well knew, — for it was one of his favourite maxims as a parish priest at Flitton, — how much more rea- dily a man listens to spiritual instruction when it falls from one whom he believes to be liis superior in information in temporal matters also ; and with the hope of giving the mis- sionaries an advantage of this sort, it was his intention to supply them all, by degrees, with such books of practical information on modern inventions and discoveries in the useful arts, as

CALCUTTA. 69

might enable them to establish a superiority of this kind over the natives among whom their ministry might be cast ; and so to obtain an in- fluence among them, that might gradually, as he hoped, by the blessing of God, lead the way to the more successful opening of channels for the communication of religious truth. And he had ordered a selection of the best books adapted to this purpose to be carefully made, and sent out from England. He felt, indeed, the delicacy and caution necessary to be ob- served in every step he might take in the mis- sionary cause. He considered that one indis- creet act might do more harm than many dis- creet ones would do good. He regarded the Indo-Britons (as the half-castes are now be- ginning to be called) as the class most to be looked to for a supply of persons likely to cul- tivate a successful intercourse with the native population, as missionaries and catechists ; and he therefore took particular interest in whatever concerned their education, and used, as often as he was able, to attend the examinations at their different schools in Calcutta.

On the 10th of March, the Bishop had

70 CALCUTTA.

much satisfaction in collating Mr. Robinson, the chaplain and intimate friend of Bishop Heber, whom he had just before appointed to the vacant archdeaconry of Madras. A man whose piety, no less than his talents, and his attainments as an orientalist, as well as a theolo- gian, place his name in the ranks of those who are ornaments to the Indian church. This was the only piece of preferment it fell to the lot of Bishop James to bestow, and he spoke much of the pleasure he had in so bestowing it ; ex- pressing to the new archdeacon, his sense of the service he had rendered to the cause of religion by his translation of the Pentateuch into the Persian language.

A few days afterwards, the Armenian Bishop Paul came to pay his respects. His appear- ance was very venerable, — an old man with a long grey beard, dressed in a gown of black velvet, lined with red, and a black silk cowl over his head ; he was attended by a single monk, and an interpreter; he had come from Dacca, his usual residence, about three hundred miles from Calcutta, to visit those of his church who were resident in that city, where they ap-

CALCUTTA. 71

pear to be numerous. He spoke of the great antiquity of his church, many of his nation having become Christians before Tiridates was converted by St. Gregory, in the fourth century. Echmiatzin, he said, was founded on the spot where that conversion took place, and that its name, when interpreted, is '' Unigeniti de- scensio." He spoke of the extension of Chris- tianity by the Church of England; and dwelt with particular delight on the circumstance of the Armenian church, after having suffered so long persecution from the Persians, being again placed under a Christian power; Echmiatzin, in the province of Erivan, the metropolitan seat of their church establishment, having just fallen under the government of Russia. His visit was a most interesting one.

At six in the morning of the 27th, the Bishop went to consecrate the burial-ground in Fort William, and afterwards the church, a neat Gothic building, dedicated to St. Peter : it had before been licensed, and Mr. T. Procter had been officiating there to a numerous and regu- lar congregation. It was the Bishop's inten- tion, in whatever part of his diocese he might

72 CALCUTTA.

be, to preach, if possible, on all the great festi- vals; and on the 6th of April, being Easter day, he preached at the cathedral, and admi- nistered the sacrament to a large body of com- municants.

On the following day he thus writes to his mother : —

^^ I have been obliged, ever since I arrived, to abstain from private letters, except, I think, one little scrap to you ; but as this is, they say, the last ship that sails this season, I must write to you, and to my uncle at Dartford. I have had much to do, and some matters of so im- portant, others of so delicate a nature, and re- quiring so much caution, that I have had but little time to spare from such occupations, even for the ordinary business of the diocese. I have been twice ill, but not very seriously ; and the little fever that accompanied my illness, is, they say, a good symptom for my health in this terrible climate. We have had no rain, and the heat begins to be excessive, which adds to the tediousness of the way of doing business here. From one's not being able to stir out, what

CALCUTTA. 73

would be an affair of a ten minutes^ interview in England^ is here a matter of lengthy correspond- ence for hours, and even for days.

" We rise at five in the morning, ride our white horses till a little after sunrise, return and bathe, breakfast at eight, then shut ourselves up during the heat of the day; unless any very urgent business obliges me to go out in the carriage, which I have already been sufficiently warned to avoid as much as possible. The sun, our greatest enemy, is totally excluded from the house : three long colonnades, one over the other, protect the southern front; these are fur- nished with green blinds made of cane, besides which, the windows have also Venetian blinds, and thus we exist without even a hint of sun- shine; such is here the necessary caution for the preservation of health. As soon as the sun sets, the European world is alive again; we then take an airing in the carriage, and re- turn to dinner at seven o'clock, and by ten are going to bed. * *

" I have opened a chapel in the palace, where the litany is to be read every morning, and the

74 CALCUTTA.

whole service on Sundays, for ourselves and our immediate neighbours^ for we are a mile and a half from the cathedral, and must save ourselves the hot drive during the intense heat. All my plans have hitherto gone on well, and we are happy enough ; but, at the same time, it is nothing like what we used to enjoy, and never can be. On this day last year I preached my farewell sermon at Flitton ; it has not been out of my head during any leisure moment that I have had. God bless you all."

TO THOMAS CALDECOTT, ESQ. DART FORD.

Bishop's Palace, Calcuttttf April 7, 1828.

"My dear Uncle ;

*****

" I think you would be amused to hear me discussing some very secular matters, which in this country necessarily come under the Bishop^s eye, some of them involving questions of legal difficulty ; and I assure you I have found great use in the principles of law which I gleaned in olden time at Dartford, and for which I cer- tainly never supposed such demand was likely

CALCUTTA. f$

to be made upon me in the course of my life. However, all is for the best. * *

^* I am going to make the Archdeacons more efficient officers, and hope by degrees to esta- blish every thing in an uniform and consistent manner. It is true, I have long journeys to make ; but this is regarded by every one here as the greatest advantage attached to my office, both in point of health and pleasure. I shall, however, as soon as things are fairly arranged, report to government on the requisite addition to our ecclesiastical establishment, and then take with pleasure such coadjutors as they may think pro- per. # # #

" It is a curious sort of life that one leads here ; shut up for fear of the sun during the whole day; and whenever one stirs out, attended by men with silver maces, (such is the necessary eti- quette,) and surrounded by almost papal honours. The Judges seem to live quietly and comfort- ably enough : they are not called on, except the Chief Justice, to keep up the same state that I am, who am placed alone at the head of a de- partment, with a very large palace, and a suit-

76

CALCUTTA,

able establishment, yet nothing too much for my situation. * # * #

^ I think we shall set out for the Upper Pro- vinces with the south winds at the end of June, and return, perhaps, after going as far as Delhi, in the early part of next year. We shall pro- ceed at least as far as Benares or Cawnpoor by water. In our land journey we are to have a military escort, and if I am allowed to choose the officer to command, it will be pleasant enough."

On the 8th of April, Easter Tuesday, the Bishop confirmed about four hundred young persons at the cathedral, among whom it gave him pleasure to see a few native converts. He afterwards addressed to them a plain, but forci- ble exposition of the baptismal covenant, and the duties arising out of it ; which he concluded thus :

^^ A.nd now let me hope that the service of this day may make a due impression, not only on you, who have been confirmed, but on all who are as- sembledhere; that it may serve to suggest to many

CONFIRMATION. 77

the Christian's true and only support under afflic- tion, and teach them to call to mind, in.every moment of trial and temptation, the vows which all have made unto the Lord their God; that having witness- ed your ratification of them on this day, they may look with reverence on this service, which in the seductiveness of worldly occupation might else have been carelessly passed over, or perhaps for- gotten. May the remembrance of it sink deep in every breast ! — and by the blessing of God, may it be the subject of contemplation in your secret hours of retirement and prayer, when you commune with your own hearts, and in your chambers, and are still! For myself, it is im- possible I should not feel an especial interest in the spiritual welfare of those who are, as it were, my first offerings at this altar, the first fruits of my ministry in this land : and I shall not cease to pray for your advancement in that lively Christian faith which alone leads to Chris- tian practice. Remember then that you have now yourselves ratified your vows before God; think of them— observe them — obey them— live in them ;~and his grace will confirm you unto the end, that you may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ."

78 CALCUTTA.

The heat of this day was excessive^ and the Bishop suffered greatly from fatigue. But two days after he went out again at five o^clock in the morning, accompanied by Archdeacon Corrie and Mr. Knapp, to confirm and visit the schools at Dum Dum, a military station, a short dis- tance from Calcutta, on the road to Luckipoor ; Mrs. James was also of the party, and they all remained during the heat with the Chaplain, Mr. Macpherson, and his family, with whom they passed a very agreeable day, and returned to Calcutta in the evening. On the following Monday, the 14th, they went to pass the week with Mr. Charles Prinsep, at his pretty villa at Ishera, on the bank of the river, four miles short of Barrackpoor, thinking that the Bishop would derive benefit from the fresh air of the river : here, however, he was again taken un- well, as was also Miss Ommanney, though her illness was clearly traced to her having staid out sketching till near seven o'clock in the morning. Fortunately for both, medical assistance was promptly at hand from Barrackpoor ; and they were soon able to return to Calcutta, where the Bishop remained some days under Dr. Nichol- son^s care, and was too unwell to appear at the

CALCUTTA. 79

Government-house on the 23rd, St. George's day, when Mr. Bayley, the acting Governor-general, gave a splendid entertainment, followed by a ball, in honour of the King's birth-day.

The heat and the long drought were now felt as unusually oppressive even by those who had long been accustomed to the climate ; and had been much against the recovery of the Bishop's strength. There was no rain till the 27th of April. Mrs. James writes from the palace on that day, '^ How can I express the delicious feeling of the first heavy shower in India ! we have been here since the middle of January, and have not seen rain till now. Last night we had a north-west wind and a little rain, and to- day a most refreshing shower has fallen -, every living thing appears to breathe anew, and every little bird seemed anxious to plume his feathers in the first drops that fell. Before this time last year, fifteen north-westers had taken place ; they usually begin about March, and continue till the rains set in in June. The thunder last night was terrific to English ears, and the light- ning vivid and blue. My dearest husband is

80 CALCUTTA.

still unwell; it is impossible for any one to regain strength and spirits during the excessive heat, but even he appears to be refreshed by the shower."

From that time, however^ he got better^ and recovered his spirits, as the followllng letter will show, addressed, on the 4th of May, to the Editor of these Memoirs, his mind being then full of the duties of his station, and making but slight mention of his late illness.

Bishops Palace, Calcvita, May Ath, 1828.

<c

My dear Edward,

# * # f^ On Holy Thursday I proceed to consecrate the chapel at Bishop^s College, an act to which I look forward with great satisfaction. I mean to provide a breakfast in the College Hall for those who may attend on the occasion. No invitations will be issued, but any may come who please ; and as they have so far to come, they must be provided for. Besides, I am glad of the opportunity of fostering a little the good

CALCUTTA. 81

feelings of people towards our establishment there, which is much needed just now.

^* And yet I have no fear, but that all will be well in a short time; and by the beginning of next year, I trust to have the public voice loud in its favour. The misfortune is, party spirit runs high here, as in other places ; I always dis- courage it by not being a party man, without fearing that either side in the end can think me its enemy. Little ebullitions will occasionally break out, but hitherto I have been fortunate in allaying them. Such things, however unwhole- some to the mind, people tell me belong to this climate; as if, indeed, the heat of India were to be understood in a moral, as well as in a physical sense— an idea truly alarming, and sug- gesting a strict watch over one's self.

^^ I hope, I have secured that my arrange- ments will go on well when 1 leave Calcutta for the Upper Provinces, which will be in the end of June, perhaps.; but I have not been able to fix the time yet. We are, I believe, to have a military escort, and what is in some sort a preventive against the worst dangers, a

G

Sa CALCUTTA.

medical man. # # *

^ tIF t^ W»

^^ I have just received notice of a present of four hundred pounds, for general objects con- nected with the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge. The spirit with which all charita- ble subscriptions are supported here is really gratifying to see : and I have in many respects a most encouraging prospect before me.

^' I have had a great deal to do in what may be called more especially church matters; and several new regulations to make, which cer- tainly were wanted : here one knows what one is about. In the missionary cause it is a little more difficult to get a clear view of the proper line to be taken ; nor, till I have made my visitation, shall I venture on any general views, though T shall have an anxious eye upon them in every part. I am quite clear of this, that there is much which may be improved by and bye. I have had some trouble with the mis- sionaries themselves, as you will probably have heard ; not indeed with many, for I am happy to say, that with the exception of the cases which hdwe occurred here, in general

CALCUTTA. 88

they have all conducted themselves much to my satisfaction.

^' Perhaps I may have been made more cau- tious from seeing that some things have been done latterly rather too much in a hurry ; and hence, as I shall not have a progressive report to make, I may appear to be remiss in the cause. No matter; if it pleases God that 1 live out my time, I have no fear but that justice will be done me in this respect.

^^ As to domestic matters, it sounds alarming to say, that I have now been unwell three times, and that Marianne has been slightly so, for the second time; but we have both of us been more free from fever than is common, and this is an excellent sign. All persons at first coming have their seasoning, and I have had mine three times over. The heat is dreadful ; so great that multitudes of natives are dying of cholera morbus; and some public measures have in consequence been ordered by the go- vernment."^ Many Europeans have also suf-

* The Calcutta papers of March 31, state, trom the returns made to government, that eight hundred natives had died of

o2

84 CALCUTTA.

fered. We are of course very careful of our- selves. I have a chapel in the palace, where I read and preach in the morning, during the in- tense heat, (for Mr. Knapp at present offici- ates at Barrackpoor^) and it is a great accom- modation to the few families in this immediate neighbourhood. We go to the cathedral at eight on Sunday evenings; but during the excessively hot months of April, May, and June, it is too much to drive a distance of one mile and a half to the cathedral and back, during the heat of the day ; and I have already had warn- ing enough that I cannot do such things with impunity. # # #

" I had much pleasure in appointing Mr. Robinson to the archdeaconry of Madras, and he sailed about a month ago. * * *

" By the bye, this clerical letter must be tire- some to Sarah; she had rather hear what we are all about. Marianne is sitting with me in the library, finishing a drawing of the house for

this dreadful scourge in that month. The government had appointed twenty -five native doctors to be stationed at the different thannahs (police stations) with supplies of medicine.

NATIVE FEMALE SCHOOL. 8S

Mrs. Larpent. Elizabeth Ommanney and her brother Walter, are in the drawing-room. Little Freddy is asleep up stairs ; Mr. Knapp employed in his own room below. The Pun- kahs are going merrily, and all is well.'' .

Returning from their early ride on Tuesday, May 6th, the Bishop and Mrs. James stopped in the Cossipoor road to make their first visit to the native female school, an institution pro- mising much good through the indefatigable exertions of Mrs. Wilson, the mistress, who has formed it under the guidance of the Church Missionary Society, from the small schools which were before scattered in different parts of Cal- cutta and the surrounding villages. They were much gratified with seeing the little black chil- dren, some of them in their native dresses and Hindoo ornaments, learning to repeat Christian hymns, and to read lessons from the Gospels. About seventy usually attend this, which is the central school, partly Indian and partly Indo- Portuguese. One little black girl read to them a chapter of St. Matthew's Gospel in Bengalli ; and others seemed anxious to do so too. But the sun was now getting high above the hori-

86 .SCHO0X.S.

zon^ and it would have been dangerous to delay returning to the palace.

About this time the Bishop was making in- quiry as to the general state of the schools in connexion with the English Church, and particularly those supported by the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge : and he found that that Society has four principal dis- tricts or circles of schools in the neighbour- hood of Calcutta, in which it is estimated that near two thousand native children are in course of education upon Dr. Bell's system; the Church Missionary Society has twelve schools, containing about six hundred boys, besides their five schools for native females under Mrs. Wil- son. The free school has near three hundred boys and girls. The orphan grammar school for boys, and that for girls, (both of which are supported by subscriptions raised among the English residents,) contain near four hundred Indo-British children; and the aggregate of these, together with the scholars of missionaries belonging to other societies, the Bishop consi- dered as affording a satisfactory prospect of the harvest that may hereafter be hoped for, when

HINDOO COLLEGE. 87

from this number many a sower shall go out to sow the seed.

Meanwhile, though he had not personally- visited them^ he was no inattentive observer of what was going on in the Hindoo and Maho- metan colleges in Calcutta, both of which are largely assisted by the government from the annual supply for public instruction. The ob- ject of these two colleges is to instruct the Hindoo and Mahometan youth in English litera- ture— but, alas ! without the Scriptures. The exhibition of the students of the former institu- tion, at the public distribution of their prizes in January, had recently attracted much notice; they had acted scenes from Shakespeare with great success, and the astonishing progress they had made had been the subject of frequent discussion among the wealthier Hindoos : the Bishop la- menting deeply the fear which caused the ex- clusion of the Scriptures, saw, from all that was passing around, that both these institutions, in their present state, obviously led to deism ; still, as he observed that it was deism not di- rectly opposed to Christianity, but to Hindoo Polytheism, he could not but regard it as tend-

88 bishop's college.

ing to remove the main bulwark of their ido- latrous superstitions, and gradually opening a way for the admission of the truth and the life.

But he saw also that this great work must be wrought by the ministry of native teachers : — under the blessing of the Almighty theirs must be the agency employed. The education of the Tndo-Britons, therefore^ (which had been strangely neglected till of late,) he regarded as the great means of forwarding the diffusion of Christian truth ; and he looked to the time as not far distant, when a supply of missionaries might be found in India, and not sent out from England. For these reasons he was a watchful Visitor at Bishop's college; and having gone there a few weeks after his first visit in January, for the purpose of examining the students in the college-hall, he intimated his intention to repeat the examination at stated intervals, which he continued to do, as often as he could find opportunity.

To secure the best interests of this noble in- stitution, on which his main hopes of promoting

BISHOPS COLLEGE. 89

the Christianizing of India were centered, was the object of his most anxious concern, and, as has already been seen, had engaged his earliest attention from the very day of his arrival at Calcutta. He had now had the happiness to succeed there in a delicate matter which had given him much concern ; and after paying another visit to the college in March, he thus embodies his reflections on it in a letter to the Secretary of the Society for the Propagation of the Gos- pel in Foreign Parts, by whose munificence, jointly with that of the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, the establishment was first founded and has been since supported : —

'* It is impossible for any one who has ever known Oxford, or Cambridge, not to feel a re- verence and affection for Bishop^s college as soon as he enters within its walls. The manner and appearance of the place, the very dress of the professors, has a charm indescribable ; and I am almost ashamed to confess the weakness into which my feelings internally betrayed me, w^hen I first surveyed such an edifice on the banks of the Ganges. But it would be se- ducing the judgment to let these feelings

90 bishop's college.

carry us too far, and when I ask myself^ whether this institution^ in its present form, will effect all that is expected of it in England^ I am sorry to confess that I feel something more than anxiety as to the result. It is meant to be a school for the students, and a university for the probationers, and both are arranged and go- verned on a collegiate plan approaching as nearly as possible to such institutions in England; but let me ask, admirably as these institutions answer their purpose in England, should we look to Eton or Winchester, to Oxford or Cam- bridge, as places calculated to change raw boys into humble and patient, but zealous and spi- rited missionaries? — are they (except only in such rare instances as prove the rule) found to do so even with men? Ought we then to expect this from an establishment so formed in this country? I must freely say I think not. # # # # #

" It may appear a trivial matter after saying so much, but as far as I know the world, there are few things that contribute more powerfully to the formation of the character of the mind, than the constant memorial suggested to it by the dress or habit a person wears. In order to assist, there-

bishop's college. at

fore, in imparting an ecclesiastical character to the institution^ and giving something more, per- haps, of a clerical turn to the minds of the stu- dents themselves, I have ordered that cassocks of black china crape should be provided for them, and caps; a dress well according with the climate, and which may easily be accommo- dated both to our summer and winter ; it will be preferable to the present European coat and waistcoat ; and besides, will serve instead of limits or bounds which seem otherwise necessary to be imposed. It will also prevent the stu- dents from mixing too indiscriminately with young people around them. A gown and cap, which might be thrown oflf at pleasure, would answer no such purpose as I have here had in

The letter then speaks of other regulations he had made for the college, with the approbation of the principal and professors, and enters into the details of a plan for enlarging its accom- modations ; — then of the provision the Bishop hoped to make for the Garrow mission^ and the impossibility, as he feared, of finding a fit suc- cessor for the lamented Mr. Christian at Bhagul-

SB MISSIONARIES.

poor ; and after expressing a wish that more missionaries might be sent out, it concludes with the following passage : —

** Let me make it my especial request to the Society, that the strictest attention be paid to the temper and deportment of persons selected for the high and important office of missionaries. If they have not steady, sober judgment, and mild manners, whatever other acquirements or abilities they may possess, they will never pro- duce any good effect here. This is true, per- haps, as to every country, but doubly forcible is the application of this truth in this land. All Eastern people learn by the eye rather than by the ear — by example rather than by precept ; and if they see a person offering to instruct them, w^hose habitual deportment and balance of mind are less even and easy than their own, so far from being inclined to look up to him with respect as a teacher of heavenly things, they will, I fear, rather think slightingly of Christianity for the sake of the individual. They have, from all I can see and learn of them, a suspicious acuteness of observation, and a de- licacy of mind that makes them difficult of ac-

MISSIONARIES. 93'

cess to teachers in general, and absolutely un- approachable by a rude and unconciliating man- ner : they must be won, if won at all, by being shown the beauty of Christian holiness demon- strated by Christian example ; in their present state, few truths can be taught them otherwise than this. Let us have another Schwartz in temper, in manner, in judgment, and in Chris- tian feeling, and I fear not to say, that, under the blessing of God, we may look for a Schwartzes success.

" Recent events have induced me to make this my special request. I sliall make it circu- lar to all the societies in London with whom I am in correspondence ; and I trust it will be re- ceived by all with the same good will with which I write it."

The other parts of the above letter relate to the details of matters which are not of public interest, though they show how anxiously the writer was occupied in fulfilling the various duties of his arduous office. He had been engaged in making provision for carrying into full effect the statute of the college

94

BISHOP'S COLLEGE.

for the appointment of a syndicate to superin- tend the press established there, and had been seeking out those who were qualified and willing to become associate syndics in the different oriental languages. In the alterations he pro- posed to introduce in the system of education pursued at the college, and the discipline by which it was governed, he had had the benefit of the experience of his vigilant and active pre- decessor in the see, and had himself paid per- sonal attention to the progress of the students ; and being led to draw a plain distinction be- tween a university education in England, after which professional studies are to begin, and the education at Bishop's college, which is intended to be at once a school to the students and a university to those who are probationers in theology, and are thence to enter immediately on their duties as catechists and missionaries ; he could not but wish that something more pro- fessional, something more of direct preparation for the ministry, above all, more of scriptural study, should be there pursued ; that it should not be forgotten, that it was instituted as a mission college, and that the object should be, not so much to educate the students for classical

bishop's college. 95

scholars^ as to qualify them to go forth as ca- techists and teachers of scripture lessons to the heathen, and hereafter, perhaps, to be ordained as ^ ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God/

The Bishop always spoke with pleasure of his being the almoner of the venerable Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge : he had already been the bearer of their liberal contri- bution to the wants of the church which is rising, notwithstanding all discouragements, at the Cape ; and he had a vote of credit to a consi- derable amount, (^f'lOOO,) with which he hoped to have many opportunites of forwarding their truly evangelical designs in the course of his journeys through the provinces : from this sum he now gave three hundred rupees towards the expense of translating and publishing Bishop Porteus's Evidences in the Armenian language.

Ascension-day, May 15th, was the day fixed for the consecration of the chapel and burial- ground at Bishop's college ; a ceremony which had been expected with much interest by the Christian part of Calcutta. The Bishop

96 bishop's college.

arrived at the college soon after five o'clock in the morning, and was met by Sir Charles Grey, and Sir Edward Ryan, as well as by the learned principal and professors. A numerous com- pany was seated in the chapel, which was quite full ; and the presence of a party of Armenians, with several ladies, full dressed for the occasion in the rich costume of their coun- try> added something of eastern splendour to the solemnity of the scene, when the Bishop entered at the western door, attended by his chaplains, and followed by all the clergy -, and proceeding up the aisle, repeated alternately with them the verses of that sublime Psalm with which the English form of consecration begins.* An excel- lent sermon was preached by the principal of the college, Dr. Mill : and when the services of re- ligion were concluded, all the visitors who at- tended the chapel were received by the Bishop in the college-hall, where he had provided a pub- lic breakfast.

The following note of an address was found, with- out date, among his papers; but it would appear to have been on this occasion, while the guests were

* Psalm xxiv.

bishop's college. 97

still assembled, and the students were present in the hall, that on the Principal making some con- gratulatory address to him on his having by this day's ceremony completed the work which Bishop Middleton had begun, the Bishop re- turned answer in these words : —

^^ I do, indeed, feel it to be a matter of much congratulation, that it should have fallen to my lot to officiate at this most important rite and ceremony in this college — in an establishment devoted by the first Bishop of the diocese to such great and noble objects. But it is not to myself alone that congratulation belongs : to you, sir, to all whom I see assembled here, no trifling share of gratification has been afforded, I am well persuaded, by the religious services of this day. Where is the heart so dull, that does not expand to the prospect here opened before us — that does not feel exultation at wit- nessing the solemn dedication to the service of God, of an institution devoted to the culture of the noblest powers and faculties of man, and directing them to the highest and most ex- cellent of all purposes— the promotion of Chris-

98 bishop's college.

tian knowledge ? Where is the man that feels the benefits of Christianity himself, and does not anxiously wish to impart them to his fellow- men ? Where, indeed^ is the Briton, who, viewing these sacred walls, does not feel honest pride at the spectacle afforded by so magnificent a monument of the spontaneous liberality of our countrymen at home, the voluntary offering of British Christian feeling?

** But if there are many who participate with me in such thoughts as these, on the present oc- casion, there are those to whom they must be doubly cheering, and to whom every idea con- nected with this place has an hourly increasing interest. I mean those who are destined here- after to fulfil the hopes of our Establishment, and preach the pure doctrines of our church to the eastern world. The time surely will come, when many a youthful and aspiring mind, while engaged in the missionary's high career, will look back with an especial reverence on the names of those who first issued forth from these walls to proclaim the power of the Word, and display the light of truth in a benighted

bishop's college. 99

land; — many a Christian heart on distant shores shall glow with double fervour at the recital of the names of those to whom this proud and dis- tinguished privilege was allowed. Reflect long, I beseech you, my young friends, on such thoughts as these ; and while you consider the blessings that may arise to thousands from your labours, let the thought stimulate you to fresh exertions in your preparation for the ministry; let it inspire you with new ardour in your sacred studies, new vigour in all you have to do, and make you, under the blessing of the Almighty, worthy of the name of the first students in

THE MISSION COLLEGE OF CALCUTTA."

In the course of the morning, the Bishop presided at a meeting of the syndicate of the college-press, which, in addition to the usual members, the Venerable the Archdeacon, the Council of the college. Rev. Thomas Procter, Rev. Allan Macpherson, and S. Tytler, Esq., was attended this day, for the first time, by those other learned oriental scholars, whom the Bishop had lately requested to accept the hono- rary appointment of associate syndics in the different languages : —

h2

100 bishop's college.

In the Sanskrit— Horace H. Wilson^ Esq. of Calcutta.

In Bengalli — Lieutenant Hugh Todd, Ex- aminer at Fort William College.

In Armenian — Paron Johannes A vdall, teacher in the Armenian Academy ; Rev. Mesrop David Thaliathin, Deacon of the Armenian Churchy who had been admitted as a theological stu- dent at the College, in 1826, on the recom- mendation of Bishop Heber; and Paron Lazar Agabeg.

In Arabic— Lieutenant Hugh Todd ; and Robert M. Bird, Esq. Judge at Gorruckpoor.

In Hindostanee — Captain Charles Rogers, 20th Native Infantry.

In Persian — Edmund Molony, Esq. Acting Secretary to Government in the General De- partment; Cudbert T. Glass, Esq. Acting Se- cretary to the Revenue Department, and Civil Auditor ; Captain C. Rogers ; Robert M. Bird, Esq. -y and Lieutenant Hugh Todd.

BISHOPS COLLEGE. lOl

At this meeting much important business was settled relative to the revision of translations already made, or in progress, in several of the above languages; some regulations were also made with regard to the press ; and the trans- lation of several scriptural tracts was under- taken, upon a plan suggested by the principal, as the Bishop mentions in a letter which he afterwards addressed to His Grace the Arch- bishop of Canterbury. When the business of the syndicate was concluded, he proceeded, with the members of the Council, to inspect the plans for the proposed addition to the buildings of the college ; and after due consi- deration of the prevalent winds and the nature of the soil, as well as the uniformity of the architecture, it was agreed that the best mode would be to adopt the plan for erecting two buildings on the southern side, similar to the present wings, and so placed as to form a se- cond court, fronting the river, like the present one; these buildings would afford accommo- dation for forty additional students, and the ex- pense would about be met by the votes of credit the Bishop had for the purpose : one of five thousand pounds from the Society for the

102 MISSIONARIES.

Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts, and one, also, of three thousand pounds, from the Church Missionary Society, a certain number of whose students were now to become admissible at the college.

The Principal afterwards gave an entertain- ment at his house, and in the evening the Bishop and his party returned to Calcutta, after a very interesting day. While crossing the river they were overtaken bv one of those tremendous storms of thunder and lightning so common in India, and encountered the whole force of it in the carriage on their way to the palace.

The Bishop had expressed to more than one person his opinion that the system pursued with regard to the missions in India might be advantageously altered, though he would not venture to communicate his views on this sub- ject, further than he had already done, to the Societies at home, until he had had longer ex- perience in the country. Meanwhile, he was eagerly directing his attention to every object that could increase the comfort of the mis- sionaries themselves, or in any way tend to

MISSIONARIES. 103

promote the success of their labours. He had requested the Editor of these Memoirs to make a selection of books as presents to them on his visitation journeys; and he was now en- gaged in correspondence with Archdeacon Ro- binson^ at Madras^ with the hope of maturing a plan they had jointly formed, for establishing a station for sick missionaries on the Neelgherry hills, in order to prevent the necessity of a sea voyage in each individual's case. The follow- ing is the substance of the information they had collected on this subject, which will probably be thought interesting.

Ootakamund is considered the most eligible point on the hills for such a purpose, as far as coolness of climate is concerned ; and it is, be- sides, the residence of Mr. Sullivan, the col- lector, a well-disposed, and intelligent man, who would gladly give his assistance in forwarding any scheme of usefulness. The government, however, are building quarters there for sick officers, and it is therefore probable there will be a chaplain eventually stationed at the place. The Church Missionary Society, also, have pur- chased a house there, as a seminary for the

104 MISSIONARIES.

sons of their missionaries, and of other Euro- pean residents in India; an institution which promises much benefit to the rising generation. The native population of Ootakamund is not more than five hundred, and does not increase. Infanticide was formerly known to be practised there, and its existence is still suspected.

Another station much recommended is Drin- hutty, sixteen miles from Ootakamund. The climate here, though four degress warmer, is preferred by many, as being on the eastern side of the highest point of the hills, and therefore sheltered fi:-om the violence of the Malabar monsoon. The facilities for a missionary es- tablishment at this place have been, and still are, very great, but will decrease every day. The natives, who are a ^ne race of men, and amount, in Drinhutty and its vicinity, to ^ve or six thousand, have no caste, no temples, nor any nearer approach to them than a house of public revelry ; but the great intercourse they have lately had with the men of the plains is daily introducing Hindoo distinctions ; the mark on the forehead, abstaining from meats, &.c. being already partially adopted, but still, it is

MISSIONARIES. 105

said^ without any regular instruction in Hin- duism. The establishment of a missionary sta- tion, and a circle of schools in that neighbour- hood^ both the Bishop and Archdeacon thought would be a most desirable object.

While such were the plans which occupied the Bishop's attention with regard to the southern part of India, the letters he received from the neighbourhood of Delhi, show that his mind was not less anxiously engaged in seeking information how he might best make a similar provision^ which Bishop Heber had contem- plated, for the missionaries of the northern pro- vinces also.

The information sent from Delhi is as follows : —

At Kote-Ghur, which is situated on the hills at the northern boundary of Sirmour, the num- ber of inhabitants is about two hundred ; at Rampoor, the capital of the Bussahur country, there are about five hundred. At this place are two annual fairs, at which the cloth, sugar, cotton, and indigo of the plains, are exchanged for shawl- wool, tea, and China-cloths ] to these great mul-

106 MISSIONARIES.

titudes resort from Kiinawur^ and the Tartar Chinese villages beyond the snowy range, as well as from Cashmere, and other districts, with which a communication might be opened by the residence of an intelligent and judicious mis- sionary, at either of the above places, and copies of the Scriptures eventually introduced. The climate would be well adapted as a re- treat for sick missionaries of the northern sta- tions ; and the hill people, being less enslaved by caste, would be more readily led to abandon their present superstitions. The language, as far as Rampoor, is Hindostanee; beyond that town, it is Tibetian. There is an enterprizing Hungarian gentleman now in Kunawur, pre- paring a dictionary and grammar, which will greatly facilitate the labours of missionaries in acquiring the language.

The hills about Bareilly are nearer than those of Kote-Ghur, but the approach to them is closed for a great portion of the year by a belt of jungle, which it is dangerous even to natives to pass. Still many eligible situations might here be found, and it would be desirable to select one, where Europeans and their Hin-

MISSIONARIES. 107

dostanee camp followers have not penetrated; for it is invariably founds that they corrupt the simplicity of the people, and greatly add to their prejudices. The most advantageous mode of proceeding among these people would be, for the wife of a resident missionary to open a school for girls ; the parents would easily be in- duced to send them, as there is already an opinion gaining ground of the superiority of girls educated in English schools, over the rest of their countrywomen ; and when a father parts with his daughter in marriage, he makes a sale of her, receiving ten or twenty rupees according to her estimated worth, and as the bargain may be. These women, carrying with them the principles in which they are brought up, might be expected to have much influence in after life. The character of the hill people is vigorous and animated, and greatly superior to those of the plains. They are particularly fond of imitating European improvements ; and there can be no doubt, that they are more prepared to lis- ten to missionaries than those of the hills near Bhagulpoor or the Garrow country.

Such were the opinions communicated to the

108 SCHWARTZ.

Bishop from the northern parts of the diocese. It does not appear that there was any spe- cific measure he had in view to recommend; nor is it probable that he intended to do more at present than collect such information as might serve to guide him in his inquiries, when he should reach those provinces on his visitation tour.

It was impossible for an ardent mind like his, to be engaged in the superintendence of the missionary cause in India, without feeling a deep interest in all that relates to the name of the venerable Schwartz, and the circumstances under which his ministry among the natives was blest with such extraordinary success. The Bishop used to say at his table at Calcutta, that he wished ^^ a copy of the Memoirs of Schwartz might be placed in the hands of every student at Bishop^s college, and every missionary through- out the diocese ;" and he took the opportunity of an official communication with Mr. Kohl h off, of Tanjore, the same who had been missionary there when Bishop Middleton visited the place, to make inquiry whether any of that excellent man's writings yet remained in the mission. The insertion of parts of the letter which he

SCHWARTZ. 109

received in answer, besides making known the estimation in which the writer was held by him, may perhaps lead to the appearance in English of more of the papers to which he alludes.

" Tanjore, May 15, 1828.

'' My Lord, ^ I beg leave to express my deep sense of your lordship's kindness, and of the favourable opinion you express of me. Through the mercy of God, I have, indeed, long experi- enced the consolations which religion affords, and can testify that it is, as your lordship justly says, * a never-failing spring of comfort;' but yet, compassed about, as I am, with many in- firmities, * * * it is necessary for me to make my application to the venerable com- mittee for leave to retire from the mission.

" With respect to any papers relative to the Rev. Mr. Schwartz, I am sorry to have to reply to your lordship, as I have already done *to others before, that, though he wrote much, there is scarcely a scrap of his writings left in the mission. He had a great deal to do in civil

110 SCHWARTZ.

and political matters, as well as in the more in- teresting part of missionary labour, and I can only attribute it to the multiplicity of business on his hands, that he kept no copies of what he wrote. There is, however, to be found in the missionary publications in the German language, a great deal of Mr. Schwartz's correspondence, particularly interesting, which has not, to my knowledge, appeared in English print. As I have not a competent knowledge of the Ger- man, at my request, Mr. Sperschneider under- took some time ago the work of selecting and translating parts of this into English, and had made considerable progress in his work ; but as it required more time than he could spare from other duties, he laid it aside. I am sure, how- ever, that there is abundant matter in these volumes for compiling interesting memoirs of the revered Schwartz, and other excellent men who were his fellow-labourers.

* * # ftf Your lordship's proposed visit to the archdeaconry of Madras I was re- joiced to hear of; as I am assured that the same lively interest will be taken in our labours by your lordship, as was felt by the late excel-

ORDINATION. Ill

lent Bishop Heber, whom we greatly loved and respected while livings and whose memory we still hold most justly dear.

# # *

'' I remain, with great respect, '' My Lord, ^^ Your Lordship^s most obedient ^^ and faithful servant,

" J. C. KOHLHOFF."

Sunday, May 18th, was the day appointed by the Bishop for holding his first ordination, which was to take place at the cathedral ; and he had pleasure in acceding to the general wish that it should be at the hour of public prayer. Two gentlemen who had been admitted to the order of deacons by Bishop Heber, the Rev. Charles Wimberley, M.A. of Emmanuel Col- lege, Cambridge, one of the Company^s chap- lains, and Rev. Mr. Adlington, a missionary of promising attainments, who had been sent out by the Church Missionary Society, and em- ployed as catechist at Benares, now received priest's orders at his hands, being presented to him by Archdeacon Corrie. It had a singu- lar appearance, to see a Bishop engaged in the

112 WHITSUNDAY.

highest exercise of his spiritual office, the act of ordination, and a large congregation, wrapt in the devotional feelings which attendance at that solemn rite of Christianity cannot fail to inspire, while the Hindoo bearers y wearing their turbans and cummerbands, were stationed in different parts of the church to keep the punkahs in motion ; — for the heat was great. All the servants of the cathedral are Hindoos. Mahometans would not be present at the Chris- tian worship; and the Indo-Britons are not employed.

The following Sunday being Whitsunday, the Bishop preached again at the cathedral, and afterwards assisted in the service at the commu- nion, though he was unable to administer the elements. Such, indeed, was his state of bodily weakness at this time, from the heat of the cli- mate, that he was obliged to have cushions placed to support him in the pulpit, and actually preached on his knees; and in that posture delivered an eloquent and energetic discourse on Romans iv. 6.

This day was much remembered by him, in

CALCUTTA. 113

the retirement of his closet, as the anniversary of the day of his own consecration at Lam- beth ; the day on which, joining his own prayers with those of his brother bishops, he had de- voted himself to the superintendence of the In- dian church. Weak as he now was in body, he was in good spirits, and looked forward to leaving Calcutta on his visitation journey, as the means of re-establishing his health. His cheerfulness very rarely forsook him. He was, indeed, always a practical admirer of that well- known maxim which Fuller so quaintly ex- presses, ^^ that an ounce of mirth, with the same degree of grace, will serve God farther than a pound of sadnesse."*

On Friday, June 6th, he had much happiness in officiating at the marriage of Mr. Augustus Prinsep and Miss Ommanney, which took place at the cathedral. The bride was given away by the acting Govenor-general, the Hon. W. B. Bay ley. In the evening the party at the palace was enlivened by the musical as well as con- versational talents of the Count De Vidoa, an

* Fuller's Worthies. Ilartfordshire. Ed. 1622.

I

114 CALCUTTA.

extraordinary Italian traveller^ who having first visited Egypt, and then passed through Ger- many, Sweden, Norway, and the whole of the north of Europe, had come through Russia to the northern provinces of India ; and was then at Calcutta, on his way to New South Wales, intending to proceed thence, through China to North America, and so back to Italy.

The weather at this time continued intensely hot ; no rain had fallen for a long time ; there was, as the Bishop expressed it, ^^ a sort of dead whiteness in the atmosphere, that was almost suffocating." The cholera morbus was still making dreadful ravages among the native population, and several Europeans had been amongst its victims ; in few instances, indeed, even at this Presidency, has the progress of this disease been more awfully rapid than in the case of Roger Winter, Esq. as eminent a man in his professional character at the bar, as he was amiable in the relations of private life; who, after his splendid exertions in the discussion on the stamp tax, was apparently in perfect health on the morning of May 24th, and being

BIBLE SOCIETY. 115

seized with cholera, was a corpse at four o'clock that evening, and before sunrise the next day was laid in his grave ! *'

A meeting of the Auxiliary British and Fo- reign Bible Society was held at Calcutta, June 18th, when the Bishop, who was foremost in every undertaking which had for its object the diffusion of the knowledge of the Holy Scrip- tures, became Patron of the society ; and, pre- paratory to the business of the day, was pre- sented with a complete set of the Society's oriental versions of the Bible. In returning his thanks, in answer to the kind address which was made to him by the President, Mr. Udney, in the name of the Committee, on that occasion ; after expressing the high gratification with which he received this testimony of the Society's confidence and regard, and his sense of the im- portant services which it had rendered to the Christian cause in India, he thus concluded : —

"^ The lamented deaths of Sir Edward West and Sir Charles Harcourt Chambers, two out of the three Judges of the Supreme Court at Bombay, which opcurred this same summer, marked it as peculiarly fatal to those whose duties required of them any lengthened exertion of their mental powers.

i2

116 BIBLE SOCIETY.

" How, indeed, should any Christian feel otherwise than anxious for the furtherance of the great and noble object of this Society, when he reflects on the history of Christianity in the East ? When he hears that well-known fact, which the sight of these several transla- tions of the Bible at this moment forcibly brings to one^s recollection, namely, that amidst the deluge of Mahometan superstition which has swept over so many fair portions of the Asiatic continent, and overturned so many Christian churches that had been reared by the primitive labourers of the Gospel ; a successful stand has ever been made by the inhabitants of those countries, who had once been put into posses- sion of the holy Scriptures in their native tongue. The Armenian church, the S3^rian, the Coptic, the Abyssinian, and our own venerable church of Travancore at this day, bear witness to this striking fact ; some, it is true, in a more pure, some in a less pure form, but all in some sort have still preserved their adherence to the faith, and shown themselves founded on " that spiritual rock, which is Christ." Let us hope, in looking at these volumes, that our labours too may so be blessed, that where we have scat-

CALCUTTA. 117

tered the seed, a similar spirit of perseverance may be given, under the providence of God, and that amongst these several nations, churches may thus be founded, against which ^ the gates of hell shall not prevail/"

Mrs. James writes thus to her sister, Mrs. Edward James, from the Bishop's palace, Cal- cutta, June 10, 1828.

* * * ^^ It may seem almost

absurd to say I have been very busy in India, where ladies absolutely do nothing, and certainly one feels little inclination for exertion of any kind ; but nevertheless, I have been very busy working and drawing for a sale of fancy articles for the benefit of the native female schools. The supply of things which has arrived from England being this year smaller than usual, I am anxious, if possible, to make up the deficiency. It is to be on the 17th, so that I have not much time ; and we are to set out for the Upper Pro- vinces on the 25th. I would certainly rather take a trip to see you at Sheen, than to Delhi and Meriit; and yet I look with some plea- sure to it, and shall be delighted to get the

118 CALCUTTA.

Bishop away from the mass of business that daily crowds in upon him here. He is better than he was in health, but certainly has more on his hands than one person can or ought to do. # # *

*^ There will be two pinnaces, and nine or ten boats in company besides — quite a little fleet. Our elephant train does not begin till after Cawnpoor. We are furnished with tents and all camp equipage by government ; and I believe we are to have a surgeon attached to us, and a military escort after leaving our boats, so that we shall be quite a large party. We must hasten the natives in their preparations, for they are slow, even to stupidity ; and al- though we are to set out in less than a month, the only thing apparently in progress is a score of sheep now fattening — for every eatable is to be carried with us. We take our saddle-horses and palanquins, and a light carriage. The Commander-in-chief^ Lord Combermere, has very kindly promised to come and meet us. We are told to take up warm clothing for the winter, so that I expect we shall be quite refreshed, and we shall escape September in Calcutta,

VISIT TO A NATIVE LADY. 119

which is the most unhealthy time, after the rains. # * #

^' June 19. — I must now resume my letter, and tell you what we have done. Last Monday, after preparing for the sale, 1 went with Mrs. Ellerton, in the evening, to visit a native lady, the wife of Rajah Boidonath Roy Bahadur, who gave a munificent donation of twenty thou- sand rupees, some time ago, to the central school, under Mrs. Wilson^s care. She and her daughter-in-law were delighted at our visit, and came out of their apartment to meet us. The Ranee is a pleasing young woman of about twenty-eight, and has good manners -, she had learned to shake hands, and sit on a chair, although she did not seem very comfortable in that position, and appeared much inclined to tuck her feet under her. Her daughter-in-law, a modest, tall, and pretty girl of fourteen, is betrothed to the eldest son, but not yet mar- ried. They were both diligently employed in learning English ; they were delighted when we mentioned their books, and begged us to ques- tion them in English words. They were dressed gracefully in white muslin, edged with pink

120 VISIT TO A NATIVE LADY.

and silver, very narrow ; the girl wore it over her head. They had a profusion of necklaces, ear-rings, and bracelets of beautiful pearls ; pearls, also, in the hair ; and the girl wore a very large ring, with pearls, suspended at her nose. Their conversation showed considerable acquaintance with English fruits, flowers, and animals. We sat with them nearly an hour, and they showed us many curiosities ; amongst others, a turtle from Penang, large enough to carry a man on his back ; its legs were of enor- mous thickness, and in form like those of an elephant. When we took our leave, I pro- mised to visit them again on my return from the Upper Provinces next year. The Rajah is by no means the richest of the natives in the neighbourhood of Calcutta^ he has, however, this splendid place on the Barrackpoor road. The house is large, and built in the style of an Italian villa-— one story high. In one handsome room, in which he receives Europeans, I was surprized to see a grand piano-forte. He is fond of natural history, and has a large mena- gerie and aviary, and last year sent some valu- able animals to England as a present to the King.

NATIVE FEMALE SCHOOLS. 121

^^ On Tuesday, the meeting of the Committee for the Native Female Schools took place in our drawing-room ; a large number of persons^ principally ladies, were assembled, and we were glad to have the palace filled on such an occa- sion. The Archdeacon read the report; and when the business of subscriptions and dona- tions was begun, I was particularly pleased to see the Rajah Boidonath Roy come forward, and state that the Ranee was desirous to give a donation, and he wished to place it in Mrs. Wilson's name. On my saying how much more gratified we should be, if he would allow it to stand in the Ranee^s own name on the books, he consented, and put down her name for two hundred rupees. I did not know at the time, that they are scrupulous about writing or pronouncing their wives' names. This is the first native lady who has given her name or support to the schools, and I certainly thought much of it, and trust the example may be fol- lowed by others. Several other natives came forward immediately, and subscribed different sums to the female schools, for the first time. So that we have now seven or eight ; and we may reasonably hope their deeply-rooted preju-

122 FEMALE SCHOOLS.

dices will by degrees give way, and their poor females may learn to think of something more than how to plait and oil their hair.

^^ After the business of the meeting was over, we had a splendid sale in the large dining- room, which was arranged the day before with tables down the centre, and at the top of the room, like a bazaar. The articles were in part from England, in part made in the palace, and in part contributed by the ladies of Calcutta. The collection amounted to seven hundred and eight rupees. Many natives made purchases, and it was extremely pleasing to see their anxiety to be introduced to JMIrs. Wilson, to whose judicious care and attention the institu- tion of the female schools entirely owes its pre- sent prosperity.

^^ I have been to see our pinnace ; it will be comfortable, and the size and quiet of it will remind me of dear Flitton, and how happy we used to be there. I pray God we may be as happy here! — It makes me sigh to think how far my letter has to go." # # *

FEMALE SCHOOLS. 123

The report which the Archdeacon read, stated the completion of the building of the central school ; and the collecting of the children, who used to assemble in twenty-nine schools, into four, which are situated, as nearly as possible, at equal distances from the central school. The number of children in daily attendance at Shaum bazaar was reported to be eighty, and at each of the three others, thirty : making, with the seventy at the central school, a total of two hundred and forty. All of whom come almost daily under Mrs. Wilson^s immediate inspec- tion. There are also four schools at Burdwan, in which about one hundred girls assemble under Mrs. Deerr.

It was stated also, that the expenses attending the building and support of these establishments must have exhausted the Committee^s funds, but for a munificent donation of one thousand pounds from the Church Missionary Society, in addition to Hwe hundred pounds reported in the preceding year, of which sum four hundred arose from the sale of fancy articles by ladies in England ; and a further sum had been raised in a similar way by ladies in Bengal.

124' FEMALE SCHOOLS.

After the report was read, a subscription was entered into in aid of the funds. The Bishop, in addition to his own subscription, gave one hundred pounds in the name of the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge ', Chief Justice Sir Charles Grey, also, contri- buted liberally, as did the Baboo Cassinauth MuUick, and other native gentlemen, besides the Rajah mentioned in the letter. In all, two thousand sicca rupees were collected in the room. The sale then commenced : it was a gratifying sight to all present, and showed, that however enervating the climate, a benevolent object will always call forth the exertions of British ladies; but it afforded, also, on this oc- casion, the most pleasing demonstration to the natives, of the superior excellence of those holy principles of Christianity, which, if the Hindoo female shall once imbibe them, will assuredly elevate her alike in the scale of moral virtue and of civil life : and the female mind thus raised, we may surely look to more enlightened days for India, and hail the time as approaching, when, ^^ turning from their vain idols," the kingdoms of the East shall " become the kingdoms of the Lord, and of his Christ, for ever."

CALCUTTA. 125

The Bishop^ feeling that he had, at this time, accomplished all he had hoped to do in the first summer at Calcutta, while he was preparing for his journey to the Upper Provinces, wrote the following letter to the Archbishop, stating what he had done.

TO HIS GRACE THE LORD ARCHBISHOP OP CANTERBURY.*

" Bishop's Palace, Calcutta, June, 1828.

" My Lord Archbishop, " I have the honour to inform your Grace, that I was installed in the cathedral church of Calcutta, on the 20th day of January last ; since which period, my time has been almost inces- santly taken up with the various duties belong- ing to my office.

" As the hot season was approaching, I issued a permission to the chaplains of the three Pre- sidencies, in certain cases, to shorten the morn- ing service. * * The permis- sion was only for the hot season, which in most

^ This letter, though sent from Calcutta, does not appear to have reached the late Archbishop ; these extracts, therefore, are published from the Bishop of Calcutta's notes of what he had written.

126 REGISTERS.

parts is during March, April, May, and perhaps June. And I enjoined that no unauthorised curtailment, such as had in many places been common, should in future be made. *

# # #

*^ The Honourable Company having ordered registers to be made, and quarterly returns of all marriages, baptisms, and burials, whether by clerical administration or other, I have ordered that they shall all be received at the Registrar's office of this Archdeaconry : * in the first place, because of the great convenience such a mea- sure affords to the public at large; next, be- cause I think the church ought to be the main organ of the government in such matters ; and, thirdly, because the Bishop will thus always have means of inspecting, and, I hope, reform- ing, any abuse that may occur as to lay minis- trations. I have made a representation to Go- vernment on this latter subject ; but the cases of absolute and undeniable necessity are very numerous in this country.

* The Government Gazette, dated Fort William, April 3, 1828, contains a general order, in which the Governor- general, in council, directs that the certificates of baptisms, marriages, and burials, shall, in future, be transmitted to the Registrar of the Archdeaconry of Calcutta, instead of the Secretary to Government in the General Department.

PAROCHIAL DISTRICTS. 127

'^Finding that Calcutta was considered as one parish, and that much inconvenience arose from the circumstance, that all who belong to the Church of England, except the military, were obliged to attend St. John^s, the cathedral church, for the administration of baptism, or marriage, or for the burial service ; I have di- vided the city, for ecclesiastical purposes, into three parochial districts, the Fort making a fourth, in order that the officiating minister of each may have his duties better defined ; and I trust, also, that a better connexion may thus be established between each chaplain and those who attend his church. The sick will now be visited as the canon enjoins, for they will know to whom to apply ; and a clergyman will not be obliged to refuse baptism most uncanonically, as heretofore, to those who bring their children to his church on Sundays, or holidays. I have taken care that the established custom as to the senior chaplain, should not be interfered with. I shall hope to make the same arrangement here- after at Bombay and Madras.

"On the 8th of April, I administered the rite of confirmation to four hundred and one

128 bishop's college.

persons, seven out of which number were con- verts from Hinduism, sent from a school be- longing to the Church Missionary Society, then under the superintendence of the Rev. Mr. Reichardt.

^^ I am happy to make a good report of the present state of Bishop^s College. In con- formity with the statutes of the College, I have appointed, according to the best selec- tion I could make, a syndicate and associate syndics in most of the several languages of these parts. The Principal, Dr. Mill, who, in addition to his other valuable acquirements, is a competent Sanskrit scholar, suggested the pro- priety of having certain important theological and scriptural tracts translated, first into Sans- krit, as being thus the more easily transferable into most of the other eastern languages. On the 15th of May we met, and with the assist- ance of Mr. Morton, a missionary of the So- ciety for the Propagation of the Gospel, of considerable learning, and of Mr. Wilson, our associate syndic in the Sanskrit, most of the tracts were undertaken ; some few only remain. It has been my object to take care that simpli-

MARRIAGES. 129

city should be observed as much as possible, and fidelity to the original.

'' With regard to the subject of marriages, on which my much lamented predecessor ad- dressed your Grace at length, I too have some- thing to say. No one could with more touching accuracy, have described the evils occasioned by the present system, or have pointed out more forcibly than he has done, the want of a remedy.

Tp Tp ^ Tp ^

^^ I have now heard, and attentively consi- dered, all that the most acute lawyers here have to advance upon the subject; — and licences are in the course of being issued in the same man- ner as in England. The appointment of Sur- rogates in certain districts, perhaps in all, will follow ; and I hope much of the difficulty com- plained of by Bishop Heber will admit of a remedy being applied by me. If there be any hazard, placed as I am here, it is my duty not to shrink from it, but to act for the best ; the evils of the present system calling urgently, as they do, for a remedy, and two long years having elapsed since my predecessor wrote : they were

130 MARRIAGES.

then urgent, and I ought not now to fear to act. I believe^ that originally, marriages were solemnized on the simple permission of the Go- vernor-general as guardian of the parties : in 1813, before the appointment of a Bishop, this was commuted for regular licences.

*^ With regard to the publication of banns in re- mote situations — I can find no copy of the regula- tions issued by Bishop Middleton, and shall there- fore only direct my attention to the best mode under all circumstances of preventing those evils which the publication of banns in parish churches was in- tended to obviate, and shall interfere only with this object. I have commenced a correspondence with his Excellency the Commander-in-chief upon this matter, and shall be glad to find that my view of the subject is confirmed by the law-ofiicers of your Grace's courts in England. # # #

" I have heard from Ceylon, New South Wales, and Malacca, but have at present nothing important to communicate respecting the church in those places.

^^ I have found it my duty to recommence

VISITATION. 131

that inquiry with regard to one of the chaplains at Bombay, which my predecessor left unfinished on account of the absence of the chief witness, and I shall report again to your Grace here- after. I am sorry to say some delay has oc- curred in this matter, but it has arisen from cir- cumstances which I could not control.

** On the 20th, I hold my primary visitation here, and shall then set out for the Upper Pro- vinces. I have circulated letters of inquiry, according to the old English practice, which, I am quite sure, cannot but be doubly useful here. My inquiries have chiefly had reference to the state of the church, as the rock on which all should be founded. I have not been neg- lectful of the missions, which certainly require great attention ; but I feel that I have not yet had that experience in this country which can assure my steps. Nothing, however, shall be wanting on my part which can in any way tend to the advancement of our great and holy cause. ^^ I remain, my Lord Archbishop,

^^ your Grace^s most obedient ^^ and faithful servant^

" J. T. Calcutta.'* K 2

132 CHURCHES.

The Bishop had so arranged his plans for the visitation of his diocese, that he should be able personally to inspect each part of it^ in the first five years, still making Calcutta his principal residence ; at the end of that time, he had reason to hope that he should have coad- jutors in his laborious and gigantic undertaking. With a view to informing himself, as correctly as he could, of the means actually provided for the public worship of God, and for the reli- gious instruction of those who profess the doc- trines of the Established Church, he had, with the assistance of Mr. Abbot, his registrar, during the summer, procured a statement of the number of churches, or other places in which clergymen have been licensed to officiate, and the number of ministers appointed to each. In the whole archdeaconry of Calcutta, which is co-extensive with the Presidency of Bengal, he found, that, exclusive of the city of Calcutta, — which has three churches with four ministers, besides the cathedral with two, and Bishop's col- lege chapel in the neighbourhood — there are only thirty-one stations, with twenty-nine licensed mi- nisters : in seven of these only were churches then built, at Dum Dum, Chinsurah, Dacca, Merut,

CHURCHES. 133

Futty-ghur, Benares, and Penang, and three more were being built, at Ghazipoor, Dynapoor, and Agra; in the remaining twenty-one stations, divine service must still be performed, either in rooms in private houses, or in bungalows, set apart for the purpose. In the archdeaconry of Ma- dras, which is the part of India where the Christian church was earliest planted, he found, that — besides the town of Madras itself, which has three churches, with four ministers, and Masulipatam, which has two — there are only four- teen stations, with a chaplain appointed to each ; in only six of these are churches already built, and no more than one new one in progress, though many are wanted. From the archdeaconries of Bombay, Ceylon, and New South Wales, he had not yet complete returns ; but the accounts which he received from all sides, showed how insufficient is the number of stations, as well as of clergy, throughout the diocese, and that though " the fields are white already to the har- vest,"— "the labourers are but few."

The Bishop had always expressed his opinion with regard to those chapels in London, and other populous places in England, which had been opened for divine worship, without any

.^^

134 PAROCHIAL DISTRICTS.

parochial districts being assigned to them — that it was an innovation on the church, and a departure from its constitution, which our fore- fathers never contemplated, and which our pos- terity will have to lament in the broken attach- ment it will cause, unless a remedy be applied by ourselves ; — and acting upon this principle, when he found a similar system to prevail throughout the extensive diocese over which he was called to preside, he set himself directly to strengthen the establishment of the church, and further the object for which it was first ordained^ by introducing among his clergy that pastoral superintendence of their congregations, which is technically called " cure of souls ;" and thus assimilating, as much as possible, the duties of a minister of the church in India, with those of a parish priest in England, the weekly visitor and friend of his people ; rather than of the Sunday preacher unconnected with his flock. And beginning with the division of Calcutta into such parochial districts, he had the satisfaction to find that the Governor-general, and the mem- bers of the council, entirely coincided with him in his views of the benefits that would arise.

From much that had come under his own eye

VISITATION. 135

at Calcutta, and from much that he had heard from others at a distance, he saw reason to lament most deeply, the frequent examples of the neglect of the sabbath so common among Europeans in India, all works being in full activity on that day, — and the almost total want of that salutary influence which a due' obser- vance of the holy day of rest might have over the natives ; and he hoped that he might here- after prevail in eflecting some improvement in this matter, but felt it could not be while he ,was yet but a stranger in the land.

The time had now arrived, when the Bishop was to commence the visitation of his diocese, and he had fixed to begin with the Presidency of Bengal ; which alone he expected would occupy him for eight or nine months. Notice had been given some time before that he would this year confirm at all the principal stations or districts in the archdeaconry of Calcutta ; and desirous to obtain the best information he could respecting the actual state of the diocese en- trusted to his charge, he had, as he mentioned in his letter to the Archbishop, previously cir- culated questions on the following subjects, to

t

136

VISITATION.

be answered in writing by the chaplain at each station : —

1. As to the extent of the district under his care.

2. The number of churches, or other places of Christian worship^ within its limits.

3. The usual number of the congregations who attend.

4. Whether the sick are visited; and how many such visits have been paid within the last week or month ?

5. Whether the chaplain has been absent during the last year ; and for how many days ?

6. How was his place supplied ?

7. How many schools he inspects ?

8. How often he catechises the children ?

9. Whether there are any funds for charitable purposes within the district ?

10. By whom such funds are managed?

11. How often in the year the sacrament of the Lord's supper is administered ?

12. How the sacramental alms are appro- priated ?

13. Whether there are trustees of the church or bungalow ? or to whose care is it entrusted ?

VISITATION. 137

14. Whether there is any estabh'shment al- lowed for a dQxk.f crashes, bearers, &c. ?

15. Whether there are a Bible and Prayer Book, a surplice, plate and linen for the commu- nion table, &c. ?

16. Whether the chaplain had any remarks or complaints to make ?

The answers to these inquiries would have furnished a mass of valuable information as to the state of the church in India, if it had pleased God that the Bishop should have lived to finish the work he had taken in hand; but the work was to be left to another ; his strength was sinking under it.

Nor ought it here to be entirely concealed, that the delicate nature of the anxiety which had pressed most heavily upon him, was pecu- liarly unfavourable to that mental repose neces- sary for his recovery from the attacks of illness with which he had been affected soon after his arrival. That serious differences should have arisen amongst those whom he trusted to find united in heart, as well as in purpose, and dwelling together as companions and brethren

k5

138 VISITATION.

in love, was, indeed, a source of painful dis- quietude— it was bitterness to his soul. Nor would he rest till he had restored peace, and brought them to *^take sweet counsel together, and walk in the house of God as friends." His papers show how anxiously and unceasingly he laboured to accomplish this end ; how he was ^^in weariness and painfulness" by day, and *^ in watchings often ^' by night, till he had suc- ceeded ; having, '' besides these things which were without," that which also "came upon him daily, the care of all the churches. ^^ These unhappy differences, while they lasted, he felt were against the sacred cause he had at heart. It was his advice to his clergy on every occasion — it was his constant prayer for the Indian church — the very last supplication he ut- tered in concluding his charge at Calcutta, that unity and ^^ peace might be within her walls.'*

On Friday, the 20th of June, he held his visitation, and delivered his charge to the clergy at the cathedral, which was fully attended. An able visitation sermon was preached by the Rev. William Bales, M. A. the senior chaplain.

VISITATION. 139

The day had been fixed with the hope that the rains would, by this time, have set in, and the heat become less oppressive, but unfortunately none had fallen for a long time, and the weather w^as more than ordinarily sultry ; the thermo- meter on that morning being 92 in the shade. The Bishop returned to the palace quite ex- hausted with the heat ; and from this day may be dated the beginning of his last illness. He made an effort to receive his clergy at dinner in the evening, which he was desirous to do, having something that he wished to say to them in private. He passed a restless night, and was very unwell. The next morning Dr. Nicholson pronounced the attack to be of the same nature as those he had suffered before, and to have been brought on by the heat and over exertion of the preceding day, and that he would soon recover if he could be got away from the scene of his anxious occupations at Calcutta, and proceed up the river on his visi- tation journey.

At this time, the Bishop communicated to Dr. Nicholson the fears he could not but begin

140 EMBARKATION ON THE RIVER.

to entertain, that the climate was peculiarly hostile to his constitution ; he had enjoyed good health in England, and found himself fully equal to every exertion he wished to make ; but since his arrival in India, he had undergone repeated attacks of illness, and was much weakened by them. Dr. Nicholson, however, seemed to think that great benefit might be expected from the bracing air of the river ; he saw no reason to doubt that this attack would go off as the others had done, and thought that the Bishop might still enjoy good health in India, if he could hasten immediately from Calcutta, and commence his tour of the Upper Provinces.

Arrangements for this purpose were now made with all possible expedition : every assist- ance was given by his private friends— every attention paid by the government that could facilitate the preparations ; and on the evening of Tuesday, the 24th, the Bishop left the pa- lace, and embarked on board his piimace under a salute from the Fort. The pinnace provided for him and Mrs. James, was a six teen-oared boat, having a good sitting-room, and bed-room.

ISHERA. 141

built on the deck, and a bath-room and servants' offices below ; this was followed by a carriage- boat, two horse-boats, a dhohij or washerman's boat, and a cook-boat, making five, besides the pinnace. Mr. Knapp, and Dr. Spens, the phy- sician, had a pinnace between them, with two boats fiar their attendants ; and Mr. and Mrs. Augustus Prinsep, who were to accompany the party as far as Patna, followed in another pin- nace, with four attendants' boats also.

After some delay in getting clear of the shipping, the little fleet rode gallantly on the tide, and was moored for the night off* Ishera, Mr. Charles Prinsep's place, a few miles above Chitpoor, and eight from Calcutta. The Bishop was very unwell, though he was somewhat ex- hilarated by the fresh air, and the novel scenery about him. The Hooghley is here a beautiful river; on each side are pretty villages, sur- rounded with orchards of mangoes, cocoa-nut, and other fruit trees ; and the ghauts, or landing- places, are many of them splendid flights of stone steps, leading down to the edge of the water, with one or more picturesque temples built on the top.

142 CHINSURAH.

A few hours sail from Ishera, brought them to Chins urah on Wednesday at noon ; the wind and tide failing before they reached the place, they were amused with seeing a dozen of the dandies jump into the water with a rope .to tow the boat, or push it with their hands whenever they clumsily ran it aground^ a mode of pro- ceeding with which they became more familiar afterwards. Chinsurah was an old Dutch co- lony, and was known as a Christian settlement long before the English had possession of Ben- gal. There is a small but neat church here, which at Bishop Heber's request the govern- ment placed at his disposal. It had lately again become vacant ; and as Mr. Jackson, one of the Company's chaplains, whom the Bishop had just stationed there, had only arrived since the visitation at Calcutta, and had had no time to prepare the candidates for confirmation, the Bishop could do no more than make inquiry into the state of the church and the schools, which he found satisfactory : he then proceeded on his voyage, hoping to confirm there when he returned to Calcutta.

As they advanced up the country, the wind-

THE HOOGHLEY. 143

ings of the river^ and the mouths of its various tributary streams^ displayed much scenery that was not devoid of interest, though the land- scape was entirely flat. The sameness of the clumps of tall bamboos, and plantations of sugar-cane, was agreeably relieved by groves of peepul-tree and palm, and all the luxuriant va- riety of Indian foliage ; near the water side, the natives were busily employed in gathering the indigo and pressing it in the fields ; on the banks were many handsome pagodas ; and they '0^ were often reminded, as they passed, of the su- perstitious veneration in which the sacred stream is held. The Hooghley is considered by the Hindoos, who call it " the Gunga,^^ to be the ori- ginal channel of the Ganges, and therefore the most holy for the purposes of ablution and bu- rial. On more than one of the large sandbanks thrown up by the river, the party observed human skulls and bones whitening in the sun ; and in one place, a crowd of vultures eagerly at work, with an adjutant waiting at a distance for his share of the feast, showed that a more recent prey had been washed ashore, and was lying at the edge of the jungle-grass.

144 PLASSEY.

The Hooghley is formed by the union of the Cossimbazar and the Jellinghy rivers, the two most western branches of the Ganges ; the for- mer is usually the best for navigation, and up that channel the course lay to Burhampoor, which was the next station to be visited.

As they approached the town of Plassey, a large drove of cattle crossed their track ; they were the property of the neighbouring Zemin- dar, and were swimming across the river to other pasturage : they were small cows, or buf- faloes, with a hump on the back, and the num- ber of heads and horns appearing above the water, had a singular effect. The Bishop, though weak, was in good spirits, and often left his books to come out on deck, taking an interest in every place they passed. He re- marked that it was near this spot, the celebrated battle was fought in 1757, which decided the fate of Bengal, and ultimately of India ; when Colonel Clive, with about a thousand Euro- peans and two thousand sepoys, entirely de- feated the army of the Suraje ud Dowlah, which was estimated at more than fifty thousand men.

BURHAMPOOR. ]45

On the second of July, they reached Bur- hampoor, a military station, with a modern town rising up around it, and beginning to afford a mart for the silk goods, and beautiful works of carved ivory, which are manufactured at the neighbouring town of Cossimbazar. Here they were kindly received by Mr. Smelt, the col- lector, whose brother was an intimate friend of the Bishop at Oxford, and who now paid him every attention his weak state of health required. He was, at this time, attacked with a violent pain in the right side, for which leeches were abundantly applied, and produced consi- derable relief. Dr. Spens and the medical gen- tleman of Burhampoor, not seeming to ap- prehend that it would return. The pain left him, however, much debilitated, and very unwell.

Unfortunately, too, he was here greatly dis- tressed by letters from Calcutta, which awaited his arrival ; by these he learnt that the matters which he had so anxiously endeavoured to com- pose, again called for his interference, and that his exertions to conciliate had been rendered ineffectual ; the train of evils that he foresaw

L

146 BURHAMPOOR.

would arise from this, and the injury it would be to the Christian cause, made his heart heavy in- deed, and brought new affliction to the bed of sickness.

On the tenth, with great exertion he dressed himself, and administered the rite of confirma- tion to several young persons in Mr. Smelt's drawing-room, there being no church at present at Burhampoor, though it is a large station, both civil and military. Service, however, is re- gularly performed by Mr. Hammond, the Com- pany's chaplain stationed there, in the mess- room at the barracks, or in a bungalow. In the evening of the same day, the Bishop was carried in a tonjon, or sort of open sedan, here much used instead of palanquins, to the water- side, and, returning on board the pinnace, seemed to enjoy the fresh air on the river. Be- fore leaving Mr. Smelt's house, he wrote to congratulate Lord William Bentinck, the new Governor-general, intelligence of whose landing at Calcutta he had just received. An earth- quake occurred one night while the party re- mained at Burhampoor, which awoke and alarmed all the inhabitants ; so severe was the

MOORSHEDABAD. 147

shock, as to make a small crack in Mr. Smelt's house, and a considerable one in the wall of the hospital, which is two stories high.

Proceeding on their voyage early the next day, they passed through the old city of Moorshe- dabad, which extends several miles on both sides the river, and is inhabited by native, as Burham- poor is by European, population. There was something disappointing in the appearance of this former capital of Bengal, and honoured residence of the Nawab. The court was removed to this city from Dacca in 1704, by Jaffier Khan, and it continued to be the capital until the conquest of Bengal by the British, in the middle of the last century ; when Calcutta, on account of the superior mercantile advantages of its situation, began to arise gradually from its marshy jungles, till it now vies in splendour with the most magnificent cities of the world. The Nawab still has his court here, and a fine palace is now being built for him, but his present residence is mean and shabby. He still goes, however, occasionally in great state to pay his visits at Burhampoor, scattering rupees among the crowds that gather round his elephant.

L 2

148 JUNGEYPOOR.

July 12th, they reached Jungeypoor, and spent the day at the house of the Hon. Mr. Ramsey, the resident. Some of the party went to see the Company's silk works, which have been for many years under his superintendence. This is the largest silk station the Company have, and many thousands of persons are em- ployed. The country-people feed their own worms, which are managed by women and chil- dren, and the cocoons purchased for govern- ment. In this climate they reckon on gathering four crops of mulberry-leaves from the same field in each year, the best in December. The silk is all sent to be wove at Moorshedabad. Mr. Ramsay presented the ladies with speci- mens of the coarse, but strong silk, from the jungle or wild silk- worm, of which great quanti- ties are here produced. The jungle-worm feeds from other leaves besides those of the mulberry. The Bishop was unable to visit the works, though he said he felt better this day, and was nearly free from pain: his spirits were good, and he talked with cheerfulness of their near approach to the Rajmahal hills, and of the field of usefulness which would lie before him when he should reach the Upper Provinces.

VISITATION PLAN. 149

It does not appear that at this time he entertained any serious apprehension about his own health; the pain which he had suffered at Burhampoor had now left him, the weather was becoming cooler, and he felt it favourable to the recovery of his strength; he looked for- ward to being able to resume his duties, and he pursued his journey still ^^in hope and not in fear," as he often expressed to her in whose affectionate confidence every feeling of his heart reposed.

There was a full month before he was to reach Patna, where he had given notice that it was his intention to visit the clergy, and hold a confirmation on August the 16th. While there he had hoped to consecrate the new church which Bishop Heber recommended should be built at Dynapoor, and proceeding thence, after visiting Chuprah, and other European stations in the neighbourhood, to consecrate also the new church, at Ghazipoor : by the end of August, he pro- posed to reach Benares, where there is a church ; and he had the pleasure to hear from Mr. Proby, the chaplain, that several candidates were de-

150 VISITATION PLAN.

sirous of the Christian rite of confirmation in the midst of that far-famed seat of Brahminical learning and Buddhist superstition, which is, as it were, the Mecca of the Hindoo pilgrims, and is esteemed so holy above all other places, that they call it, ^^ the Lotus of the world," and many of the wealthier Rajahs, in distant parts of Hindostan, keep vakeels^ or delegates, re- siding there, to perform, for their benefit, the required sacrifices at the Vishvayesa temple, and the expiatory ablutions in the sacred stream on which the city stands.

Early in September he was to visit Allahabad, and leaving the Ganges, either there or at Cawnpoor, as the state of the river and other circumstances might determine, he intended to travel by land from thence, and to visit Lucknow in his way to consecrate the new church at Futteghur, and then to proceed to the stations at Bareilly and Delhi. From thence he had made his plan to come down the river Jumna to Agra, where the pleasing duty awaited him to consecrate another church, or at least the ground for burial, if the church were

AGRA. 151

not finished.* From Agra he was to reach Kalpy in the beginning of December, and, pro- ceeding from Benares, or from Patna, was to spend the Christmas with Mr. and Mrs. Au- gustus Prinsep, at Sheergautty, Mr. Prinsep having been appointed Zillah Judge in that

* The foundation-stone of the church of St. George, at Agra, had been laid on April 23rd, (the king's birth-day,) 1828. The Bishop was to have laid it, but the time did not coincide with his visitation journey ; and he was desirous there should be no delay, hoping, if possible, when he visited Agra in November, to consecrate and open the church. A silver trowel had been presented to him at Calcutta on the occasion, and with it a copy of the following inscription, by Rev. Dr. Parish, the chaplain, which was placed on the stone.

In nomine individuae Trinitatis :

Anno ix Georgii quarti D. G. Britt. Keg. F. D.

Quum rebus societatis Anglicanae

Apud Indos mercaturam facientis

Civilibus praeesset

t Vir honorabilis Gulielmus B. Bayley,

Militaribusque

Dux ille fortissimus ac nobilissimus

Stapleton Combermerensis,

Bharatpur^ devictd

Et ubique felix ;

Anno I. Johannis Thomae,

Tertii sedis Calcuttensis Episcopi ;

Jacta sunt fundamenta

Sumptibus Societatis, &c.

Faxit Deus ut hocce opus ad uberrimos Evangelii

Fructus redujidet !

152 RAJMAHAL.

district ; and returning to Calcutta early in Ja- nuary, the Bishop hoped to visit Dacca and Chittagong from thence, before the hot season again commenced. Such were the plans he had made before he set out on his visitation journey ; and on these his mind dwelt with cheer- ful anticipations of doing good, under the most discouraging circumstances of illness and of pain.

On the party returning to their pinnaces, and leaving Jungeypoor, about an hour's sail, with a fair wind, brought them, before it was dark, to the destined place of anchorage for the night, near the town of Sooty; and on Monday, at noon, the little flotilla entered the main stream of the noble and majestic Ganges, which is here near five miles broad, though above five hundred miles from its mouth. The blue out- line of the Rajmahal hills, now rose in sight in the distance, and was refreshing to the eyes of all the party, being the first rising ground they had seen since their arrival in India. The country was well wooded, and on the nearest shore, besides the usual indigo and paddy- grounds, the people of the neighbouring vil- lages were seen busy with their crops of wheat

RAJMAHAL. 153

and Indian corn. A violent, but passing storm of rain, which fell at the time, added the va- rieties of light and shade to increase the beauty and interest of the scene. When the air was cooled by the rain, the Bishop was carried in a chair on deck, and enjoyed the prospect of the long-talked-of hills. These hills, which appear to be of the primitive or granitic formation, have for ages opposed an effectual barrier to the encroachments of the river, which has so greatly changed its course through the plains of Bengal. It is stated by Mr. Hamilton,* that the quantity of land which the action of the mighty stream has destroyed within a few years, be- tween Sooty and Colgong, in Bahar, a distance less than a hundred miles, will amount, on a moderate calculation, to forty square miles, or twenty-five thousand square acres. But then fresh alluvions have been formed in other places, and the new island of Sundeep alone, is said to contain more than ten square miles.

They passed this day several large Hindoo villages, and the bank opposite the ancient town of Rajmahal was chosen as the place of * Hamilton's Hindostan, vol. i. p. 11.

154 BHAGULPOOR.

anchoring for that night. The servants were here alarmed at a report that there were tigers in the jungle-grass close by, which was of the extraordinary height of nine or ten feet, and topped with a beautiful white down, like swans' feathers; but no tigers were seen or heard. Their fears probably arose in some measure from a little disappointment at not having the town, with one of their favourite bazaars, to go to. But it was found preferable now to fasten the boats to a good bank every night ; and the servants and dandies going on shore to cook their rice, currie, and ghee, formed themselves into picturesque groups, around their little fires, according to their different castes.

About noon, on July the 16th, they reached Bhagulpoor, or Boglipoor, in the province of Bahar. The Bishop was this day so ill, that he could not land till the evening; he was then with diflSculty moved on shore to the house of Mr. Nesbit, the magistrate, where he was most kindly received. Mrs. Nesbit had long known Mrs. James's family in England, and was, indeed, felt by her as a friend, under the dreadful fears which now began to agitate her mind.

BHAGULPOOR. 155

The pain in the side had increased to such alarming violence as to excite the worst appre- hensions^ if it should not be subdued. The medical treatment was prompt and vigorous; profuse bleeding with leeches, and ten grains of calomel, given seven times in twenty-four hours. Dr. Spens, with Mr. Innis, the surgeon of Bhagulpoor, urged an immediate return to Calcutta, in order that Dr. Nicholson's decision might be had upon the necessity of taking mea- sures for the Bishop going out to sea, with as little delay as possible. It was determined to return, and no time was to be lost ; but it was not till the 23rd, that the acute pain was so far alleviated, that it was thought prudent to re- move the patient from Mr. Nesbit's house to the pinnace.

The following letter, sent from Bhagulpoor, was begun by Mrs. James soon after leaving Jungeypoor, as the date shows : —

" From the Jane Pijinace, ''July 14, 1828.

'' Here we are, sailing along briskly on the Hooghley, which in this part is called the Sooty

156 LETTER FROM

or Moorshedabad river, with a delightful breeze, which we hope will carry us into the great Ganges before night. This is the first day, however, that I can say we have really enjoyed it. Before this reaches you, I trust you will have received a letter from Elizabeth, in which J requested her to say how unable I had been to write since we left Calcutta; it is painful, indeed, to send dismal letters to so great a distance, if it can be avoided. My dearest husband was ill when he came on board our pinnace at Calcutta, on the 24th of June, having been over-fatigued on the 20th, the day of his first visitation: the weather was particularly hot,* and the duties of the day were too much for him. I was truly glad to get him away from the constant fatigue of business at home,

* How trying to the constitution the heat of this summer must have been to Europeans in India, may be seen from the following extract from a letter addressed to the Bishop at Bhagulpoor, by a gentleman, who was travelling in the neigh- bourhood of Delhi, at the end of the month of June : —

*' We have suffered greatly from the excessive heat since we left the hills. At Kurnal it was impossible to stir out of doors, and the earth and the air burnt almost as a furnace. The thermometer, to-day, stands at 106 in the shade, and 136 in the sun. It is grievously oppressive. The wind blowing fiercely, and clouds of heated dust passing over us ; but no rain comes to our reliefi^" The drought often reminds

BHAGULPOOR. 157

which was wearing out his strength ; and to move him^ with Dr. Nicholson^s leave^ quietly into his pinnace. From that time till our leaving Burhampoor on the 10th instant, he con- tinued very ill^ the physicians would not call it a decided liver complaint, although his liver was certainly affected, and the pain in his side so violent, as to oblige us to have recourse to strong remedies, the debilitating effects of which I greatly dread. I thank God, he is now quite free from pain of any kind, and though very thin, pale, and weak, is certainly gaining strength, and has begun to take quinine. The least ex- posure to the glare of the sun, even in a car- riage or palanquin, has always brought on faintness, and disordered his whole system, ever since he has been in this country ; he has in- variably guarded against such exposure as much as has been possible, with the duties he has had to fulfil, and still I am alarmed when I think how often his illness has returned. Nicholson, however, (whose opinion is considered the first

me of the words of Scripture, 'I will command the clouds that they rain no rain upon the earth ;' and most applicable are they to this land. When a shower does fall, the alumi- nous smell that first reaches you, is like that of heated bricks quenched in water."

158 LETTER FROM

in India,) says, that he may not be troubled with any more returns of it ; and that he does not at present see that it is of any decided consequence ; we must therefore hope for the best. The hot weather is now over, and I must own, that I look forward with great comfort to the purer and more refreshing air of the Upper Provinces, and to the approaching cold weather : these, I trust, may be of infinite use. I have an eager wish that he should remain on the hills, if possible, during the whole of the next hot season, and march down again in the rains ; but, I fear, this is by no means certain. I think it of material consequence, but you will hear how it is settled in good time.

'^ * * '^ I had left off writing for

a few minutes, to eat some mangoes, which are certainly the most delicious of fruits ; and had just come to the sixth and last, when I found we were entering the mighty Ganges in a squall of rain, which made the distance across it appear still greater ; it is, indeed, a noble ex- panse of water; and I hear, that as we ad- vance, and the river becomes fuller, when more rain has fallen, we shall hardly be able to see

BHAGULPOOR. 159

the opposite banks. The serang has just put his head in^ to tell us of his great skill in having brought us to the ^ Burra Dheria,'* for which he has received a present of a few rupees, and the next thing to be done, is to wash the head of the pinnace in the Ganges' water ! After all this, I hope she will not fail to carry us on in safety. We have now very pleasant wea- ther, two heavy showers usually in the course of the day, and now and then comes quite a pour- ing day ; it is hot only for a short time before the rain falls, which is fortunate for us, as we are only able to have a hand-punkah in our cabin. We are rather crowded, it is true, as I could not bear that little Freddy and his nurse should be in another boat than our own, so that his cot stands in one corner of our sitting-room ; it is, however, a very commo- dious boat ; we have a good sized back cabin, in which we sleep, and a room adjoining, with a cold bath and shower bath ; there is, also, a room for the servants in front of our sitting- room. We really find ourselves very comfort- able and snug, and I enjoy our being quietly together again of all things, it puts me so much

* Great Sea.

160 BHAGULPOOR,

in mind of Flitton. Mr. Knapp^ and Dr. Spens, the physician, who is appointed by government to accompany us, have a similar pinnace be- tween them of a smaller size ; and the Prinseps are in a very pretty one belonging to his bro- ther ; we enjoy meeting in our cabin of an evening soon after sunset, when we come to anchor, which is usually about seven o'clock : the dandies are proverbially timid, and they always take care to fasten the pinnace to the shore under the snuggest bank they can find.

*^ We have just now come in sight of the first rising ground we have seen in Bengal, the Rajmahal hills ; they are not very high, but we see them plainly in the distance. Our next station is Bhagulpoor, and you will be interested to hear that we are going to the house of Mr. and Mrs. Nesbit, our old friends : it will really give me great pleasure to see her again ; she wrote most kindly to me at Calcutta, saying, she hoped we should take up our quarters with them during our stay. There is, I believe, nei- ther church nor chaplain at Bhagulpoor, although it is a large station. Mr. Knapp will preach there on Sunday. The Bishop must not attempt it.

BHAGULPOOR. 161

fC

We are sorry we had left Calcutta before Lord William Bentinck^s arrival^ of which we heard by the same conveyance which brought us a packet of delightful letters from England, at Burhampoor; they were, indeed, a cordial to the Bishop on his sick bed. We were amused with the account of your looking at our pictures at Somerset House ; though I am sorry to think we were not placed nearer to each other. Bishop Heber^s Journal fortunately reached us before we set out from Calcutta, and you may imagine with what interest we have

been reading it.

* * * ♦ *

^^ My little Freddy is now looking better than at any time since we have been in India ; he does not attempt to speak yet, but perfectly understands what is said to him both in Hin- dostannee and English ; and I fear, notwith- standing all my care, he will pick up the former the quickest of the two^ I have had some trouble, as every one has, who has occasion to deal with the tribe of ayahsy^ but he is pretty well off now. You will be surprised to hear that

* Nurses.

M

162 LETTER FROM

I have ventured to engage another European woman, the third I have had : she was strongly recommended; and when I tell you, that she is the daughter of a soldier, born on her mo- ther's passage out, — is at this time only twenty, and has been twice married to soldiers, to the first at twelve years of age, — that she is now a widow with one child, and has spent three years in England since 1821 — you have her history. She has been a great comfort to me during this sad illness of the Bishop's ; his own native servants, the kitmutgars, and the bearers, whom he is obliged to take, are but of little use.

" We have bought for our land journey a very pretty, light, palanquin carriage, which holds four people ; we have our carriage-horses, and saddle-horses, and one palanquin; and when my dear husband recovers his strength, and enjoys himself as he used to do, it will be delightful indeed. I do not at all dislike India, but I own I have my fears that it will never suit him, and he shall never, if I can help it, remain here to sacrifice his health ; indeed, I

BHAGULPOOR. 163

trust he will be as fully prepared to resign the bishoprick, should it become necessary, and will make it as much a point of duty to do so, as he did to accept it."

" Bhagulpoor, July 20th. — We arrived here on Wednesday last, the 16th, and were most kindly and hospitably received by Mr. and Mrs. Nesbit; but I grieve to say, I have only bad news to add to my letter. This is reckoned the most healthy and delightful station on this side of India ; and I had promised myself much benefit to my dear husband from our visit to it, but God has willed it other- wise. The pain in his side has returned : he has been much worse, and I cannot describe the alarm I have suffered. He has certainly two clever men to attend him, but the complaint is, as they say, very obstinate — it is now pro- nounced to be decidedly a liver case, and the sea is strongly recommended. We shall there- fore return immediately to Calcutta, as soon as he can be put on board the pinnace. I am most anxious for Nicholson^s opinion. As soon as the season is fit, we shall probably be sent to sea. This I am persuaded, that he never

m2

164 BHAGULPOOR.

can enjoy health in this climate ; he might make his visitation to Penang, or new South Wales, or even Bombay, which might restore him, and give time, which he thinks it will be right to consider, for his successor to come out before he returns to England. Our trust is in the mercy of Him, in whose hands are the issues of life and death, that the intermediate time may be passed in a manner neither injurious to my poor husband's constitution nor to the interests of the great cause in which his heart is embarked. He now finds it is impossible that he should remain here and fulfil his duties, and this it is which makes him think of re- signing. It is, indeed, with great regret, that he speaks of abandoning all that he is now so deeply engaged in, just as he begins to feel that he really is doing much good, and that all his plans are succeeding exactly as he had wished. He will write soon to the Bishop of London.* He is extremely anxious about his successor, that he should be appointed without

* This letter, together with another written in March, were kindly communicated to the Editor by his Grace the Archbishop of Canterbury, at that time Bishop of London ; but they were of a nature altogether confidential, and there-

BHAGULPOOR.

165

delay, so as to arrive, if possible, before we leave India. Our destination now seems so uncertain that T know not where your next letters may reach us ; but wherever we may be, I will write as often as I can find oppor- tunity. If we return to England, as I pray to God we may, we shall come with empty pockets, but with grateful hearts."

While lying on his sick couch at Bhagulpoor, the Bishop^s attention was occupied with in- quiring about the impression made among the hill people of the neighbourhood, by the mis- sionary labours of Mr. Christian, who had fallen a sacrifice to the climate but a few months before; and whose death has destroyed the fair hopes to which his friendly and successful intercourse with the natives for three years, had begun to give rise.* He was too ill, how- ever, at this time, to commit any thing to

tore not proper to be published ; as was also a letter written by the Bishop of Calcutta, at an earlier date, to the Bishop of" Durham.

* An interesting extract from Mr. Christian's journal may be seen in the Report for 1828, of the Society for the Pro- pagation of the Gospel, p. 180.

166 RETURN TO

writing. Within sight of the room he occupied in Mr. Nesbit's house, stood the Hindoo mut, erected by the Puharrees to the memory of Mr. Cleveland — a monument, at once recording the popularity that amiable man had acquired, and the grateful feelings the native population were eager to evince for the kind consideration with which he had treated them. Several days now passed before the medical gentlemen thought it safe to advise removal, and it was not till Wed- nesday, July 23rd, that, taking leave of their kind host and hostess, the Bishop and Mrs. James returned to their pinnace, and began to retrace their voyage to Calcutta. Mr. and Mrs. Augustus Prinsep had been obliged to take leave of them at Bhagulpoor, in order to pro- ceed up the river to Patna, on their way to Sheergautty.

July 29th, was the first day that the Bishop seemed to regain a little strength ; he was now nearly free from pain ; a little nourishment was allowed, and he was carried every morning into the next cabin. Unfortunately they had lost a whole day, since passing Moorshedabad, be- ing obliged to lie to, in consequence of some

CALCUTTA. 167

of the cook-boats being missing : the serang reported that they were lost during the nighty and there was reason to fear that some sad accident had happened. At last^ however, after having the satisfaction to ascertain that their servants were all safe, and that the alarm had been caused only by their not being able to keep up, the Bishop and Mrs. James left the dhoby^s and the other boats to proceed more leisurely, and determined to make every effort with their own pinnace to reach Calcutta before the sitting of the council should be over for that week. But this was a matter of some difficulty. They had still a great distance to go ; and the wind was di- rectly contrary, so that all use of the sails was necessarily given up ; but the rate of the current was nearly four miles an hour, and by the dan- dies making extraordinary exertions, and rowing incessantly for two days and two nights, they suc- ceeded in reaching the Chandpaul Ghaut at Cal- cutta, on Thursday the 31st, a council day, just in time to send in a letter to the government be- fore the council broke up, which would not meet again till the following week.

The Bishop was now something better, though

168 CHANDPAUL GHAUT.

still SO weak as not to be able to go ashore, nor equal to the exertion of putting on his clothes. The Governor-general and Lady Wil- liam Bentinck most kindly sent immediately to offer the use of the government-house, which was much nearer the river than the Bishop's palace, in case it should be found advisable to move him on shore. But as soon as Dr. Nicholson came on board, he gave it as his decided opinion that it was best he should not be moved from his pinnace ; that no time was to be lost in getting him out to sea ; and that Penang was the destination he should most re- commend for the present, until there should be strength to bear the voyage to England ; for that he ought not, on any account, to think of remaining in India, a decided enlargement of the liver having taken place, though it appeared to have been giving way to prompt and skilful treatment.

Upon hearing this opinion, the Bishop felt it a point of duty immediately to take such mea- sures as should lead to the appointment of his successor ; he dictated a letter to the Right Honourable the President of the Board of Con-

CALCUTTA. 169

trol^ tendering his resignation of the Bishop- rick of Calcutta after a certain date, but ex- pressing a hope that he might still be able to superintend the duties of the diocese from Penang or Bombay, until his successor should have time to arrive from England. Having taken this step, which was a great relief to his mind, he received visits in his pinnace from Sir Charles Grey, and a few other friends, and also from his valued substitute in duty, Arch- deacon Corrie, with whom he entered into the details of much that had occurred during his absence : and repeating most earnestly his for- mer advice, gave the best directions he could, under the unfortunate circumstances, the intel- ligence of which had so greatly distressed him on his sick bed at Burhampoor. Meanwhile Mr. and Mrs. William Prinsep lent their kind assistance to Mrs. James, in making the best arrangements the urgency of the case would allow, for finally leaving the palace.

It was at first proposed that the government yacth should take the Bishop to Penang, and orders were given to prepare her for sea im- mediately. But it was afterwards thought more

170 SAUOOR ROADS.

advisable that he should have a passage in the Honourable Company ^s ship. Marquis Huntlj/y Captain Fraser, which was then lying in Sau- gor Roads, and ready to proceed direct to that island, on her voyage to China.

On Wednesday, the 6th of August, he left the Chandpaul Ghaut, and proceeding down the river from Calcutta, reached Fultah, twenty- five miles, that evening; Dr. Spens accom- panying in the pinnace. For the last two days distressing sinkings and faintings had come on, but he now repeatedly assured Mrs. James that he felt himself better as he approached the sea, and talked, with his usual cheerfulness, of the excellent arrangements she had made for his comfort.

The weather being calm, they were fortu- nately able to go down the whole way to the ship in the pinnace. On the evening of Sa- turday, the 9th of August, they reached the Marquis Huntly, lying at the new anchorage below Diamond Harbour, when every thing was extremely well managed by Captain Fraser for putting the Bishop on board. A cot was

AT SEA. 171

lowered, in which his mattress was placed, and he was swung easily up the side of the vessel, and was soon comfortably placed on a sofa in the cabin. He was much pleased with the way in which it was done; his spirits were raised by finding himself at sea ; he was free from pain ; he thought that he was certainly better, and for some days the hopes of all around him were raised ; but the shivering fits which shortly came on, followed by violent perspirations for three successive evenings, and the increase of distressing hiccups, had convinced Dr. Spens, as well as Mr. Stirling, the skilful surgeon who now attended him, that he was really getting worse ; and Mr. Stirling, a few days afterwards, kindly felt it to be a point of duty no longer to conceal from Mrs. James, that the symptoms, most to be dreaded, were beginning to appear, and that hope was nearly at an end.

None but those who have themselves felt the anguish of watching the close approach of the severest of all the trials to which our fallen nature is liable, can imagine, either what her feelings were on hearing this, or how great the exertions she made to smother them when she

172 AT SEA.

found that it was still necessary for his good that she should do so. Having sought where to weep, and to commune with God, she re- turned to the bedside, from which it was now become doubly painful to her to be absent for a single moment.

On Sunday, the 1 7th, after she had read to him, amongst other scriptures, the eighteenth chapter of St. Matthew, he remained collected long enough to give utterance to a beautiful train of reflections on the ministration of spirits in the immediate presence of God, into which his thoughts fell on her pausing at the tenth verse, where our Saviour, speaking of children, says, " I say unto you, that in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven."

On the following Thursday, a great altera- tion for the worse had taken place, though he still thought himself better, and his mind, when free from delirium, was cheerful as it had always been, and full of hopes of recovery. It now became evident, however, that the most alarming symptoms were rapidly gaining

AT SEA. 173

ground; that human skill could do no more, and that his end was fast approaching. Mrs. James seeing this, made up her mind, with the fortitude which became her, to the trying task of commu- nicating to him the awful truth. Great, indeed, was her agony in this afflicting hour ; but God was merciful, and granted to her prayers that help which is never sought in vain, by them that have learned to seek it right ; her sobs were suppressed for the sake of him whose slumbers she was watching : sad and wan as he looked, she knew it was but sleep : she felt it would be wrong in her to let him wake and find her weeping ; and besides, whenever he opened his eyes, and looked on her, it was always with a smile, and the expression of an affectionate fear lest she should be tired with fanning away the flies and musquitos.

It had been his delight, that she should re- gularly read to him some portion of the Scrip- tures every morning, since illness had rendered him incapable of reading for himself; and on this occasion she made a selection of passages from the Book of Psalms to lead to the com- munication it was her painful duty to make.

174 LAST ILLNESS.

Knowing, as she did, every thought of his heart, — how little he imagined that his death was so near, and at the same time, how calmly and resignedly he would hear it,— she disclosed to him the delusiveness of his hopes, and the reality of his situation. The way in which he received this unexpected intelligence exemplified strikingly the virtues of resignation and pious submission to the will of God, and gave a practical proof, far beyond any that words could give, how prepared he was to die. After a momentary pause, he thanked her most warmly, and said, '^ If it is so, my hope and my firm faith is in Jesus Christ !" He was then silent, and soon fell into a quiet sleep ; on awaking, he again expressed, in the most tender manner, his thankfulness for the unreserved communica- tion which she had made to him. He after- wards fixed that they should receive the holy sacrament together the next morning; and at intervals, in the course of that afternoon, calmly gave directions about his papers ; and having instructed Mr. Knapp to add a few lines, which he dictated, to a document relating to the Bishop's college at Calcutta, (which was now his latest, as, on his arrival, it had been his

AT SEA. 175

earliest care !) with great effort he held the pen, while his hand was guided to make his signature to it; and having done that, he said, " Now every thing is off my mind ! ''

The next morning he received the sacrament with Mrs. James, at the hands of Mr. Knapp. During the administration of the holy rite, he was quite collected, and afterwards showed the subject on which his thoughts were dwelling, by making many Christian reflections on the state of the soul, as strength remained for utterance, which was now only in a low whisper. He ex- pressed, also, his confident hope, that as he had given up his prospects in England, his health, and his life, for the sake of the church, something would be done for his widowed wife, and his fatherless children.

As evening came on, it was evident his strength was sinking, and that the hour which was to close his useful and active life was now drawing near. The pulse, though at 170, could hardly be felt to beat. The feet became cold, and the eyes dull, the hands refused any longer

176 REFLECTIONS.

to answer the grasp of affection — he sunk into a dose, and at nine o'clock quietly breathed his last.

Thus he departed, in the forty-third year of his age, and the second of his consecration, to the great loss of the Indian church, for the go- vernment of which, in all the various situations of difficulty into which its prelates must be thrown, his previous habits, as well as his na- tural endowments, had fitted him in an eminent degree. His mind was by nature quick and vigorous ; and to the acquirements of a scholar, and a highly-cultivated taste in the fine arts, he had added a large stock of general infor- mation, the result, not only of private study, but of much travel in foreign countries, and acute observation of human nature. Such ac- complishments, united with sound judgment, most conciliating manners, and the more ster- ling recommendations of real Christian bene- volence, and a warm and generous heart, rea- dily won for him the esteem and regard of all who knew him, and made him the chosen ad- viser, not of his family only, but his friends.

REFLECTIONS. 177

Above all, he possessed a deep vein of sincere and genuine piety, diffusing an amiable cheerful- ness over his temper, and showing its influence on his whole conduct and habits, as his guide in the daily concerns of life. Hence sprung an impera- tive sense of duty which rose superior to all con- siderations of self in those trying emergencies of life, which are sent to prove what is in the heart of man. To the Church of England he was firmly attached, because he considered it as exhibiting, not merely the best, but, as he often said, the only true scriptural form of Chris- tianity ; though, in some things, he lamented the decay of her discipline, and was desirous to model his own diocese, by adhering as strictly as possible to the spirit of her constitution. In the pulpit, he was an impressive and per- suasive reasoner; — in private exhortation, the less popular, but not less useful walk of minis- terial duty, he was happy in his gentle way of applying the test of Scripture to the con- science of his hearer, and in so doing, always making himself felt as a kind friend, and not a harsh reprover. Mild, frank, and open in his disposition— winning in his address— prompt in

N

178 REFLECTIONS.

decision, and, possessing a peculiar tact in all nice and difficult situations, he had qualifica- tions which, as they fitted him in an eminent degree for the high office he was called to fill in the church, so, if it had pleased God that he should have lived to complete the career which he had so well begun, they would have placed his earthly name among those who shall be recorded to future ages in the ecclesiastical his- tory of India, as having prepared and led the way to the '^ turning of many unto righteous- ness."

He was always of a contemplative and philo- sophical turn ; and how tranquilly, how familiarly, he had accustomed his thoughts to dwell upon the approach of death may be seen from the fol- lowing reflections, found in his pocket-book, and evidently written before he went to India : —

^^ As for death, no one who has, in the course of his life, from illness or any other cause, once made up his mind to contemplate it calmly and religiously — no one who has ever resolutely re- garded the hour of his dissolution as at hand.

CALCUTTA GAZETTE. 179

ever loses the calming and soothing influence which that hour has once produced upon his soul : he will feel, because at such an hour he has felt, how unsearchable are the ways of Him that ruleth over all ; he will believe, because he has then believed, that there is a saving mercy beyond the grave, and that faith in the Re- deemer is the only thing that can bring a man peace at the last. And that feeling once at- tained, the sting and the pain of death are gone, and the joy in believing is full."

As soon as the melancholy news reached Cal- cutta, the following gazette extraordinary was published : —

GOVERNMENT GAZETTE EXTRA.

" Fort William. Ecclesiastical Department, Oct. 17, 1828.

" With deep sorrow the Governor-general in council announces to the public that he has re- ceived official information of the decease of the Right Reverend the Lord Bishop of Calcutta.

n2

180 CALCUTTA

'^ His lordship was seized with severe illness ill the month of July last^ while in progress on a visitation to the Western Provinces ; and a voyage to sea^ which had been prescribed as affording the only chance of recovery, proved inadequate to stay the violence of the disease. > It proved fatal, on the 22nd of August^ on board the Honourable Company's ship. Marquis of Huntly,

" His lordship's exercise of the important functions of his exalted ministry in this country was comparatively short; but the claims he had established to the regard and esteem of the members of this society, and of the community of the settlement, will make his loss a source of sincere regret.

'^ Within the short space of little more than five years, the British community in India have thrice had to bewail the loss of the chief minis- ter of their religion in the country, and the name of Bishop James will be associated in their recollection with those of his predecessors, not more by the similarity of his fate, than by his amiable disposition and exalted virtues.

GAZETTE. 181

^^ As a mark of respect to the high station of the deceased^ and of mournful regret for the loss sustained by this community, the Governor- general in council is pleased to direct that the flag of Fort William shall be hoisted half-mast high, at sunrise to-morrow morning, and shall continue to be so displayed during the day ; and that forty-three minute-guns, corresponding with the age of the deceased, shall be fired from the ramparts in the afternoon.

" By order of the Right Honourable the Go- vernor-general in council,

'' H. T. Prinsep,

^^ Secretary to Government."

The following notice appeared the same day in the Calcutta journals.

^^ We have the melancholy task assigned us of announcing to our readers the death of the Right Reverend John Thomas James, Lord Bishop of Calcutta. This event, for which the previous illness of his lordship had in a great measure prepared us, took place at sea, on his passage to Penang, on the 22nd of August, on

18^ CALCUTTA GAZETTE.

board of the Honourable Company's ship Mar- quis of Huntly,

^^ The career of his lordship has indeed been brief; and, removed by Providence to a better world before he had long entered on the dis- charge of his sacred and important duties in India, Bishop James has left us little record of him, since he arrived among us, except the high esteem in which his character was held by all, and the manifestations he had already given of a zeal and judgment in the faithful discharge of his episcopal functions, from which the hap- piest results to the church in India were fondly anticipated, had it but pleased Heaven to spare his life.

" Before he assumed the episcopal duties in this country, Dr. James had distinguished him- self at home as a traveller and a scholar ; and his name will find a place in the literature of his country. By the few to whom his short residence at Calcutta, and the brief interval of health which he enjoyed during this period, had afforded an opportunity of becoming acquainted

PENANG. 183

with him, his memory is endeared by many re- collections of the piety and excellence of his character, the soundness of his judgment, and the extent and variety of his general informa- tion."

After a dismal and tedious passage, Mrs. James, with her little boy, Mr. Knapp, and her servants, reached Penang, Sept. 1, when a ge- neral order was immediately issued by the go- vernment, announcing the sad intelligence of the Bishop's death, and directing, that, as a tri- bute of respect to his rank, the flag at Fort Cornwallis should be hoisted half-mast high during the next day, and that forty-three minute guns, corresponding with the years of his age, should be fired from the ramparts.

It had been found necessary that the funeral should take place during the voyage, and Mr. Knapp had had the painful duty to perform the last solemn office of the church, in the presence of the captain,passengers,and officers,and the ship's com- pany. An impressive funeral sermon was preached atPenang,Sept. 7th, by the Rev. Robert Denton, the Company's chaplain, from St. Luke, twenty-

184 PENANG.

second chapter^ the latter part of the forty- second verse, ^^ Nevertheless, not my vi^ill^ but thine be done f and the following letter was addressed by him to the Rev. A. M. Campbell, late Secretary to the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, Lincoln's Inn Fields, Lon- don : —

*' Penang, Sept. 1, 1828.

" Reverend and dear Sir, ^^ When I had the pleasure of addressing you prior to my departure from Madras, in Sep- tember last, I little thought that I should have to communicate to you, from this place, the afflicting intelligence, that it has pleased God to visit the Indian church with another severe calamity in the death of the third Bishop of Calcutta. Your accounts from Calcutta will most probably have informed you of the severe indisposition of the late Bishop James, which compelled him to return from Boglipoor to Cal- cutta, when so far advanced on his visitation of the archdeaconry of Bengal. He was too un- well to land at Calcutta, and was removed from his pinnace to the Marquis Huntlyy on which

PENANG. 185

ship the government had provided him a passage to this place.

** It was his intention/ had God pleased to spare his life, to have remained here, until an opportunity offered to convey him to New South Wales ; but another destiny awaited him, and he was removed from this life on the 22nd of August. For a few days, after leaving the river, he seemed to improve in a trifling degree, but his illness had reduced him so much that he sunk under it.

** His lordship's disease was a decided attack of the liver. Mrs. James with her infant son, and his lordship's domestic chaplain, Mr. Knapp, an old friend and school-fellow of mine at Eton, are now living with me, and will most probably remain here until the latter end of next month, when they will move down the straits to meet the first homeward-bound China ship, and pro- ceed to Europe.

" It is impossible to reflect upon the calami- tous blow which has again fallen upon the Indian church, without giving way to the most

186 PENANG.

sincere and poignant sorrow. It seems, indeed, useless to expect any longer that such an ex- tensive diocese, as that of Calcutta, can be superintended by any single individual, how- ever able and zealous he may be. Bishop James had had time only to commence his ar- duous duties, before it pleased the Almighty to call him into his presence ; but knowing what he had to accomplish, he was perhaps induced to leave Calcutta when any thing but strong and well. From the time of reaching India, his lordship had been a sufferer more or less, and a few days before he quitted Calcutta, he exerted himself very much in delivering his charge, and going through the other business at the visitation. Mr. Knapp says, he never con- sidered him well after that day ; and as he as- cended the river, he continued to get worse, until his medical advisers were compelled to order his return, and get him to sea as fast as possible. All their exertions were, however, of no avail, and the church of Christ in India has to deplore the loss of another father, who was strenuous in cherishing and supporting her to the very utmost of his power. His presence on this island alone would have been of immense

PENANG. 187

value, as it has never but once enjoyed the be- nefits of an episcopal visitation.

^^ I imagine it is probable that this letter may reach England, via Sincapore, some time before you can hear from Calcutta or Madras, as it is uncertain when we may have an opportunity of forwarding the melancholy tidings to those places.

*' Believe me, ^^ Reverend and dear Sir,

^^ Yours most faithfully, '^ Robert Denton, ^' Officiating Chaplain,

" Prince of Wales's Island."

It was thought best, that Mrs. James and her little boy should remain at Penang, till the return of the earliest ships from China should afford opportunity of a passage to England. Mr. Knapp had kindly promised that he would not leave her until he had seen her safe to her father's house ; and both he and Captain Eraser paid every considerate attention that her discon- solate situation would admit.,

188 NORTH ISLAND.

Two dreary months she passed on this island, and dreary they could not but be, though under Mr. Denton's hospitable roof, and from Sir John and Lady Claridge, and all the British residents, she experienced every proof of kind- ness and sympathy that could possibly tend to alleviate the poignancy of such grief as hers.

Early in November, she left Penang to touch at Sincapore, on the way to North Island, which is situated off Sumatra, at the mouth of the straits of Sunda, there to await the return of the first China ships, on their homeward- bound voyage. The government had provided a passage to this point in the Honourable Com- pany's ship, the Hastings^ under command of Captain Laughton, of the Bombay marine, who was to convey Mrs. James and her infant boy to North Island, and afterwards to proceed with Mr. Ibbetson on an embassy to Batavia. At six in the morning of November the 5th, several friends came to conduct her on board the Hastings ; and, leaving Mr. Denton's house, she commenced her long, lonesome, and melan- choly voyage.

EAST SHEEN. 189

It is no part of the object of this memorial to give any account in detail of the voyage to England;, which had nothing extraordinary to dis- tinguish it^ but the very painful and distressing circumstances under which it was made. It will be sufficient to say, that having touched at Malacca and Sincapore, the Hastings reached North Island November 27th, and there waited the arrival of the Berwickshire^ China ship. Cap- tain Madan, which was to leave Canton on the 17th. On the 3rd of December, Mrs. James and her small party left the Hastings for the Berwick- shire, and sailing from the straits of Sunda, touched at St. Helena, January 19, 1829, and on the 19th of March landed at Portsmouth, having received from the officers and every one on board both vessels, all the soothing attention her me- lancholy situation called for. On the following day, Mrs. James and her little boy joined the two children she had left, with such different hopes only nineteen months before, at her Father's house at East Sheen.

o 2

190 CONCLUDING REMARKS.

Having now brought these Memoirs to a close, I trust it will not be thought that my anxiety to do justice to the memory of one, who was bound to me by more than the ordinary ties of fraternal affection, will have induced me to outstep my province, if I notice very shortly two remarks which have reached me, respecting him^ and which have, in part, led to this publication.

It would not be for me, even if the cir- cumstances rendered it possible, to institute a comparison between him and those other emi- nent persons whose laborious steps in the same exalted path of duty in India, had before con- ducted them to an early grave. But if it be true, that it has been asked, whether the Bishop lived long enough to render any services to the Indian church ; to this question I trust the foregoing pages may be found to convey a sufl&cient answer. It pleased God, indeed, to remove him before he could see any fruit from the seeds which he had sown ; but as I have shown, that he was not wanting in exertion, I hope the result will prove, that he was not un- wise nor unprofitable in his labours.

CONCLUDING REMARKS. 191

But a reflection, more serious in its nature, be- cause grounded on a matter in which the Bishop might seem to have been free to choose, has been made on his ready acceptance of a situ- ation, for which his constitution, not being ro- bust, is said to have rendered him unfit; — every one who is alive to the peculiar obligations which lie upon a minister of the gospel, will feel how delicate is the ground into which this subject leads. I might content myself with re- minding the reader of these pages, that the Bishop acted under the opinion of his physi- cians, in a matter on which they were far better able to form a correct judgment than himself: but I will further venture to produce from his own memorandum-book, the following reflec- tions, written at sea, in October 1827. The passage is one of touching interest; but it is one which, had it not been thus called forth, would not have seen the light : —

" As sure as one looks upon the sea, England rises upon one's thoughts : the constant and un- varying noise of the ship's motion, the same- ness of the vast expanse on every side, and the listlessness of a passenger's day, contri-

.19*2 CONCLUDING REMARKS.

bute to give a melancholy tinge to all one's thoughts : one thinks of all that is at home ; — sometimes of what might be, and ever and anon of what might have been. Had I been consulted as to my wishes, I am sure my an- swer would have been ever the same ; had any one ever asked me for what I thought myself best fitted, or in what office I thought I might be most efficient, I am sure it would not have been any thing approaching to the awful respon- sibility of a Bishop, or the isolated eminence of any such dignity.

'^ I am sure I should have been a happier man ; and I think, too, I might have been made better use of, in a way more quiet and humble, and, after a fashion, more congenial to my habits and feelings. But it is not for us to choose. I sought it not; and I accepted, after twice declining, what I found I had no longer any excuse for continuing to decline. So far 1 am content with what I have done.

'^ As far as I have entered on a field of most extensive usefulness, instead of one of a more limited range — as far as I have embarked with

CONCLUDING REMARKS. 193

an earnest desire to promote the saving know- ledge of Christianity, by the best means in my power — I make a good answer to my consci- ence, though I feel myself to be but a feeble instrument. I dare not, however, boast of such perfection of feeling, as to think my motives have been so pure, that they have been swayed by no thought, that the welfare of my family, or my own (I blush to write it) earthly name may be bettered. I cannot deceive myself, nor say that these considerations have not, at some mo- ments, had a share in my thoughts; hence, I feel my unworthiness to become an overseer of the flock of Christ ; 1 know my own imperfections, and the need I have of my Redeemer's aid.

^ In not attempting to conceal from myself that these motives have mingled with others of a purer sort, I have acted honestly with my own con- science ; I have deceived neither myself nor others ; and I trust to be justified as a Christian should. I have obeyed the summons, and I repine not, except for those who I hope will one day be the better for it — my children."

194 CHARGE TO THE CLERGY

The best conclusion to this volume, will be the following passage from the Charge, which the Bishop addressed to his Clergy, at the Visitation he held in the Cathedral Church at Calcutta, June20, 1828: —

'* You, who have a parochial or district adminis- tration committed to your hands, labour under a most weighty and important charge; by your care and diligence is to be promoted the Christian character of our countrymen and brethren in the midst of an idolatrous land. Far removed, as they are, from the tombs of our fathers, apart from those persuasions to Christian faith, those incentives to Christian /?r<3^c/ic^, which our domestic circles and family connections are so well calcu- lated to impart — far from those holy scenes which they have been accustomed from infancy to rever- ence and admire ; — on you depends, under God, the preservation of their religious feeling, the mainte- nance of Christian knowledge, and of virtuous practice. It is your's to procure for the edifica- tion of the eastern world, an example of Chris- tian life and manners;— it is your's to furnish illustrations of it in your several congregations^

AT CALCUTTA. 195

such as the missionary may triumphantly refer to as the real fruits of the gospel ; — to form the minds and hearts of your hearers, and, above all, so to fashion yourselves, that, amongst a people, who look but too little on aught but externals, and who learn more aptly by the eye than by the ear, may really be made visible the kingdom of God on earth in the power of his holy word.

^ Let this be held ever in remembrance, that our British establishments have risen to great- ness and eminence in this country, purely through the reputation of the superior justice and inte- grity of our countrymen ; that our acknowledged adherence to the plighted faith, our better de- fined ideas of right and wrong, have won for us the confidence of the Native Powers, and, aided by our practice, confirmed their attachment to ourselves.

" But whence came these principles ? — this notion of equity and truth? It was from Christian Britain ; and if there be some supposed exceptions to the rule, if there be some who have showed a good disposition of mind in these respects, and yet whose conduct in other matters does but little

196 CHARGE TO THE CLERGY

remind us of any sense of religious obligation^ still let it be remembered, that they too had their early habits formed in our Christian land ; they came out ready furnished with those ideas^ and fortified with those habits that belong to our countrymen; and, whatever their after course might be, they derived from thence all their better thoughts, having had their first nurture and ad- monition in the Lord.

" They, too, are of your especial charge, who are now forming so large a class in this country, they who are united with us in all but the locality of their birth — the Indo-British population. They claim, indeed, your particular attention. I mean not to derogate, in any way, from the credit due to those excellent institutions, civil and military, which have been established, as well with a view to their religious instruction, as their advance- ment in the arts of life ; but these afford not all that the youthful mind naturally looks for and re- quires: some staff is wanted, whereon to lean during the weaker stage of youth — some hand to guide and chasten the incorrect wanderings of a young person's first steps in the great world. Having known, as often happens, little more of

AT CALCUTTA. 197

parental care than what an annual pecuniary pro- vision may display; bereft of that fascinating domesticity of sentiment that introduces our du- ties under the guise of pleasure, and ushers us to the busy scenes of opening life, with the con- fidence of those who know they have a home; where should such look for friends or advisers, but to the person whose voice is already known to them in the way of Christian admonition, and of pastoral superintendence; who is known as their friend in the Lord? But I trust I may say, that no youth thus situated as to those around him, will ever have to complain of the want of a friend and monitor to whom he may defer, while there remains an officiating minister of the Church of England in the district in which he lives.

" For the furtherance of the practice of this and of other duties, some facility has lately been af- forded you in the division of the capital, in an ecclesiastical sense, into separate parochial dis- tricts. The sphere of your occupations is thus ascertained by fixed limits, and your particular duties better defined ; nor, do I doubt, but that in this and other matters of superintendence, you will find &c\\\y fresh satisfaction and interest, as

198 CHARGE TO THE CLERGY

your congregations will benefit and advantage. Among those duties the performance of which is by this arrangement materially promoted, and one of those that more especially tend to connect the spiri- tual pastor with his flock, I may mention the visi- tation of the sick. The frightful rapidity of dis- ease in this climate, precludes indeed, in many cases, the possibility of such a duty being performed ; and furnishes the strongest argument for your admonition of those who delay from day to day the time of their repentance. But still there are, with many a sick man, hours of repose not unmixed with fear ; there is oft a trembling period of convalescence, when the soothing pro- mises of the gospel act feelingly, and yet harmo- niously, on the senses ; in such a moment its sacred truths will usually be heard more patiently, and make room for a more lasting impression than would, perhaps, have been formed when the body was full of health and spirits, rejoicing in all the pride and carelessness of pleasure and of ease.

" At such a day, a clergyman, whose influence arises from his professional character, is viewed as the dearest of friends ; he comes to his neigh- bour's dwelling with the voice of Heaven, and

AT CALCUTTA. 199

the peace of God ; nor^ to the sufferer alone, does his labour become profitable, but to all those whose natural affection and attachment have drawn them around the bed of sickness. Parents, bro- thers, friends, as they listen to the fervent prayer, find such words, at such a moment, in the fullest accord with the sentiment of their own souls, and often learn more closely than before to com- mune with their God. It may well be called the office of a friend ; no one but he who, from his manner, conduct, and advice, has inspired in his people the most implicit confidence, can ever expect such confidence in return ; he alone who has seemed to admit them to the pure recesses of his own heart, will ever be called upon to hear the secret workings of the mind of another, or be solicited to console the labouring and anxious spirit of the sick man. It is some time, indeed, as the long experienced parochial clergyman will testify, before any one newly arrived on his charge is ever so confidently invited; with experience alone of his character, conies this pious trust on the part of others, that proves the strongest as- surance of his ability in his profession, and the surest test of the sacred excellence of his cha- racter.

200 CHARGE TO THE CLERGY

" There are, also, amongst us here assembled, those to whom another charge is given— on whom an anxious eye is turned from many a distant land, and whom, indeed, the whole Christian world most attentively regards. Hard, indeed, is the path you have to tread, great your devotion, and high your honour in the Lord. There is an interest in your peculiar sphere of duties, an ap- proximation in the nature of your daily occupa- tions to the earlier ages of Christianity, that throws, in idea, a grateful and refreshing shade over all your toils : —it was thus, Paul planted and Apollos watered ; it was thus, with mild per- suasive grace, that the priests and catechists of the first Christian century, laboured patiently and endured all things in hope. We know not, indeed, much of the minute details of their proceedings in the missionary cause ; we read not enough of their pa- tient practice, their persevering travail. The per- secution of princes, the bloodshed of holy mar- tyrs, the machinations and cabals of evil coun- sellors—these are the striking facts on which the pride and worldliness of the historian is apt to dwell ; these are the showy passages of human life that are held in popular remembrance, and exalted for the gaze and wonder of posterity.

AT CALCUTTA. 201

Yet were there then moments of fear and hope, of anxious solicitation, and sometimes, too, of gratitude towards heaven for the sheep of another fold. Oft, in climates scarcely less torrid than our own, has the matted shed heard the tidings of goodwill to mankind ; and the wildly- gazing, half- conscious assembly, gradually seemed to fasten on the closing words of the preacher. Oft have those been rebuked, that call, " what God hath cleansed, unclean and common ;" or those, that " pray in the corners of the streets and public places.^^ Oft has one been tolerated with true Christian patience, *^^ that is weak and eateth herbs;" and oft have those been chidden, '* that change the glory of the incorruptible God into the image made like unto corruptible men, and to birds, and four-footed beasts, and creeping things." And there were men, sainted in their domestic feelings, hallowed in their quiet obedience to the commands of their Saviour; men, that sought not the seductive praises of their fellows — that talked not of imaginary and impossible perfections, but walked humbly with their God.

" These are the cheering thoughts with which you must often be conversant. Go on, blessing and

202 CHARGE TO THE CLERGY

twice blessed. Be it my duty to guard your interests, to study your welfare, to aid, to advise with you in all spiritual concerns, to strengthen you in all things according to my ability ; and to prove myself (a title I covet more than all) publicly, privately, the missionary's friend. And if there should be any now present who are not of the same communion with ourselves, let me repeat here what I have elsewhere said, ^' None that cometh in the name of Christ, shall ever be regarded as a stranger by me." The curious and carnal questions, which the refinements of European study have brought forth, concern not those whom we have to instruct in '* the first principles of the oracles of God." The plain, and yet saving truths of the gospel, the primary essentials of Christian doctrine, in ^^ the pure word of God," are all that a missionary here can or ought to attempt to exhibit to his hearers. If some of those who, in our native country, dis- sent from our establishment on certain questions, and thus place themselves without our pale, are too apt to regard us with somewhat of an un- friendly view, here, at least, all such feelings ought, and must vanish and disappear in sight of our common adversary ; all those who are Christians in principle are with us, and not against us ; the only

AT CALCUTTA. 203

dissenters in this land should be the idolatrous heathens, or the professed enemies of the cross of Christ.

^ Think not such sentiments as these to be in- compatible with true zeal ; or that because such feelings seem abhorrent from the selfishness of enthusiasm, that enthusiasm's better part is not here. Believe me, it is no lukewarm spirit that forgets all carnal animosities, that lays aside all worldly motives in sight of the altar of God, or that sacrifices the lively gratification of party feel- ing for the sake of the common cause. Believe me, it is no lukewarm spirit that now presses this point upon your attention, and prays sincerely that this accord and harmony of all Christian teachers may be accomplished to forward the work of Christianizing this land.

"But we, brief, trembling mortals, what need we arguments to establish peace and concord ! where so many daily examples occur to remind us of the frail tenure of our lives, and of the absolute worthlessness of our sublunary concerns and un- stable condition here ? Over our heads are now hanging the sad memorials of those who before

204 CHARGE, ETC.

me have addressed you from this chair. Mute and silent now is the voice that once was so at- tentively listened to as replete with knowledge in all our professional studies ; he, whose wise and pregnant sayings are yet remembered as the watch words of his flock. He, too, is gone, whose loss we still are mourning with all the freshness of a recent wound ; whose mild benevolence, whose bril- liant talents, whose warm devotion and sainted heroism of mind won the feelings, as they improved the conversation, of all around him.

^^ I will not press upon the sentiments that these recollections bring heavily home to every man's bosom, but, my reverend brethren, let us not fail to make use of them as we ought; let us all be consenting unto that accord and har- mony which our great Master so unceasingly la- boured after, and so strenuously recommended; let us each in his station do our best to promote this end, and to our endeavours add an earnest prayer for our Jerusalem, that unity and '^ peace may be within her walls, ^^

THE END. LONDON :

IBOTSON AND PALMER, PRINTERS, SAVOY STREET, STRAND.

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