FRQM THE LIBRARY OF
COLLEGE
v
COLLEGI
MJ SSIONARY
LIBRARY
r.
EARLY PROMOTED.
H H&cmmr
REV. WILLIAM SPILLER COX, M.A.,
OF QUEEN S COLLEGE AND WYCLIFFE HALL, OXFORD,
MISSIONARY TO SIERRA LEONE.
COMPILED BY HIS FATHER.
WITH ILLUSTRATIONS.
SECOND EDITION.
LONDON
SAMPSON LOW, MARSTON & COMPANY
LIMITED
St. Dunstan s li ousr
FETTER LANE, FLEET STREET, E.G.
(Lto
f
PRINTED BY
LOVH AND WYMAN, LIMITED,
GREAT QCEEN STREET, LONDON, W.C.
PREFACE.
" HIS Memoir has been compiled to meet
the wish expressed by many to have
some record of one who, during his short life,
endeared himself to all who knew him.
It is hoped that the effort made in these
pages to set forth so attractive a personality,
actuated by so noble a purpose, may be
helpful both as an inspiration and an ex
ample.
In the endeavour to exhibifthat personality
in all its aspects, his letters have been
frequently introduced letters which, with
unconstrained freedom and vivid simplicity,
express the thoughts and feelings cf the
writer in varying circumstances.
The testimony of others respecting him
has also been quoted where it seemed
needful.
iv Preface.
Mr. Eugene Stock has kindly contributed
a note on C.M.S. Missionaries who have
gone forth from Oxford.
The title given to the volume was
suggested by the thought conveyed in the
following extract from a letter lately re
ceived from Bishop Taylor Smith, of Sierra
Leone :
"Bishop Thorold (then of Rochester, after
wards of Winchester), when I consulted him
about my going out to Sierra Leone, said to
me, If you die the world will say you have
made a mistake and thrown your life away ;
but I will say the LORD has excused you the
intermediate service and given you quick
promotion ; for, he added, this is only the
beginning of service.
The portrait facing the title is reproduced
from a photograph taken in 1896, by W.
Blackall, of Oxford. All the other illustra-
Preface. v
lions are reproductions of photographs taken
by the subject of the Memoir.
To GOD be all the glory of any good thing
in His servant which may be manifested in
this memorial of him.
EDWARD W. COX.
8, ELLERDALE ROAD,
HAMPSTEAD, N.W.
\*jtJi November, 1897.
P.S., 3ist October, 1898. The issue of a
Second Edition justifies the announcement
that any profits resulting from the sale of
this book will be given to the Church
Missionary Society.
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I.
EARLY DAYS AND SCHOOL LIFE.
PAGE;
Birth and Home at Hampstead Natural Disposition
and Spiritual Character Mrs. Coghlan s Kinder
garten School Heath Mount School, Hampstead
Westminster School Confirmation Failure for
Indian Civil Service Exhibition to Queen s College,
Oxford I.
CHAPTER II.
OXFORD.
"A Good Set" Genius for Friendship Boating
College Musical Society Choice of Final Schools
Keswick Convention, 1892 Letter to Rev. \V. H.
Finney Change in Spiritual Life Mr. Finney s
Personal Recollections Children s Special Service
Mission, at Eastbourne Life at Oxford Moody s
Mission College Bible Readings Visit to the
North Sea Fisheries Final Honours List Keswick
Convention, 1893 Wycliffe Hall Offer of Curacy
at Peckham Ordination at Rochester Rev. E. H.
Elwin s Reminiscences .....
Contents. vii
CHAPTER III.
PECKHAM.
PACK
Visiting the Poor Sympathy with Temporal Distress
and Spiritual Needs Visit to Oxford in " Eights "
Week Holiday in 1894 Multifarious Duties of a
London Vicar Bible Study Ordination as Priest
Holiday in 1895 Foreign Mission Field Offer
to the Church Missionary Society Acceptance
Return to Wycliffe Hall, Oxford Narrative by
Rev. Thomas Goss 50
CHAPTER IV.
PREPARATION FOR THE FOREIGN FIELD.
Wycliffe Hall, Oxford Work at Queen s College, &c.
Bishop French s Life Destination fixed, Sierra
Leone instead of India Work at St. Martin s,
Gospel Oak Swiss Tour Chaplaincy at Spiez
Farewell to Four Missionary Recruits from Hamp-
stead Farewell at Exeter Hall Livingstone
College, Stratford Leaving Home, January ist,
1897 7i
CHAPTER V.
SIERRA LEONE.
Start from Liverpool, January 2nd, 1897 A Burial at
Sea Grand Canary Study of Temne Arrival at
Sierra Leone First Impressions Visit of Inspec
tion through Temne Mission Work at Fourah Bay
College Second Tour Work at the Cathedral
viii Contents.
Rainy Season Losses by Death Illness of Mr.
Humphrey and Mr. Elwin Telegram announcing
Death on June I2th, 1897 Last Letter Particulars
of Illness Burial at Sea , 85
CHAPTER VI.
CONCLUSION.
Announcement of Death Memorial Services Oxford
Letter in "Record" Resolution of C.M.S. Corre
spondence Committee 108
"In Memoriam," by Miss SPILLER . . . . in
Note on C.M.S. Missionaries from Oxford, by Mr.
EUGENE STOCK .... . 112
BIBLE STUDIES, BY W. S. Cox.
I. The Called of Jesus Christ . . . . . 115
II. With Jesus in the Mount . . .116
III. "Hide and Seek" . .118
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
Portrait , Frontispiece
Queen s College, Oxford .... Facing page 6
"A Bump." The Oxford " Eights " . . 9
Library, Queen s College .... ,, 30
The High, Oxford (from Queen s) . ,,38
St. Mary s Church and Radcliffe Library,
Oxford (from Queen s) . . ,, 48
On the Cherwell, Oxford . . ... 52
St. Mary Magdalene, Peckham ... 64
Porch of St. Mary s, Oxford ... 72
Magdalen Tower, Oxford (from the Cherwell) 74
Spiez, Lake of Thun 77
Upper Glacier, Grindehvalcl ... 78
Three Missionary Recruits for Africa, from
Christ Church, Hampstead ... 80
Reichenbach Falls, Meiringen ... ,, 84
Group of Clergy, Fourah Bay College . ,, 88
Group outside house of King of Makomp . 91
Ambaki house, Sierra Leone Hinterland . 93
Start of Mission Party from Fourah Bay . 94
Native house at Ropoloi ; Mission party
about to start .... ,,96
Missionary Group, Port Lokkoh . . ,,98
CHAPTER I.
Early Days and School Life.
" The childhood shows the man
As morning shows the day." Milton.
W7ILLIAM SPILLER COX, or
W "Willie," as he was always called,
was born at Hampstead on the /th Septem
ber, 1 8 70, the eldest of a family of four sons
and four daughters, of whom he has been
the first to be gathered to the heavenly
home.
From his earliest childhood he was bright,
lovable, and affectionate, but he had an un
usually strong self-will. This strength of
will, which tended to obstinacy, and some
times caused trouble and anxiety, afterwards
became, under the controlling power of the
Holy Spirit, an indomitable determination to
pursue right ends, at whatever personal cost.
2 Natural Disposition.
Willie was indeed a striking and en
couraging example of how even some faults
of character, by the grace of God, can be
transformed into virtues.
He was of a singularly contented and
happy disposition, with a sunny brightness
and cheerfulness that was very attractive ;
and though in later years he often had
seasons of deep depression, these were rarely
caused by personal troubles ; it was the
burden of the sins and sorrows of others
that cast its shadow over him. In his
short pastoral life he bore as much of the
world s great load of sin and care as falls
to the lot of most faithful ministers.
It is impossible to indicate any particular
time when his heart became right with God.
From a child he was taught to love the
Holy Scriptures ; he had early conviction
of sin, and seemed gradually and imper
ceptibly to grow up into the knowledge
and experience of the true life.
At seven years of age he attended the
Mrs. CogJilaiis School. 3
Kinder-garten school so long and success
fully carried on at Hampstead by the late
Mrs. Coghlan. It is remembered that the
late Professor Coghlan, who took some
of the classes, was much impressed with
Willie s power of " continuity "-the faculty
of keeping the mind steadily concentrated
on one subject which he considered a
valuable quality, certain, if cultivated, to
lead to success. While " continuity " and
perseverance might be called Willie s most
distinguishing intellectual qualities, extreme
conscientiousness in the performance of
duty was perhaps his most noticeable moral
characteristic. He never could be tempted,
even as a child, to leave work for play, and
needful recreation was only too much neg
lected during his schoolboy days. At the
same time, he had a keen enjoyment of
many kinds of out-door exercise, and was
an ardent lover of nature.
At the age of ten, Willie went as a
day-boarder to Heath Mount School,
4 HcatJi llount School.
Hampstead, then conducted by Mr. F. W.
Goldsmith, and afterwards carried on by
the late Rev. C. F. Walker, where he
gained a character for sterling goodness
and steady industry.
At Easter, 1883, an Exhibition at West
minster School was won, and in the following
year a Queen s Scholarship. This necessi
tated his boarding at St. Peter s College, and
thus for the first time he found himself
launched on all the temptations and trials
of full schoolboy life. These were ex
perienced in a somewhat intensified form.
His determined total abstinence principles
were specially the subject of persecution
during his Junior Queen s Scholar days.
He usually spent his Sundays at Hamp
stead, so that he was in constant touch with
home and all its hallowing associations.
<r>
His Westminster days were, on the whole,
very happy. He was proud of his school,
and took his full share in all that concerned
its inner life the concerts, &c. and had an
Westminster School. 5
important part assigned to him in the Latin
play at Christmas, 1887 ; but he did not
distinguish himself in any of the school
games, nor did he shine in scholarship,
though he was " fairly good all round."
He frequently availed himself of the
privilege enjoyed by the Queen s Scholars,
of admission to the parliamentary debates,
and, as one of the Senior Queen s Scholars,
he had a good place in Westminster Abbey
at the Jubilee Celebration in 1887.
His pastor, the Rev. E. H. Bickersteth,
had been appointed Bishop of Exeter in
April, 1885, and it was arranged that he
should hold a Confirmation in his old Parish
of Christ Church, Harnpstead, in the June
following, when Willie was confirmed. This
was to him, as it has been to so many, a time
of definite blessing.
o
At Easter, 1888, he left Westminster
School in order to be specially prepared, for
the Indian Civil Service Examination in
July, 1889. He was considered by his
6 I.C.S. Exam.
tutors one of the best of those who were
being prepared together, but he and only
one other of them failed to obtain places
among the successful candidates. This was
a sore disappointment, as there were many
family ties with India. Willie was specially
comforted by his father s confident assurance
that he must have failed because he was
intended for some better work than even
the noble I.C.S. Those who know what he
accomplished during his short career feel
that this anticipation was realised.
In the spring of that year he had com
peted for an open Exhibition at Queen s
College, Oxford. The successful competitor
having gained an appointment in the Indian
Civil Service, was obliged to vacate this
Exhibition, which was then offered to Willie,
thus making the way plain for his going in
the following October to Oxford.
o
CHAPTER II.
Oxford.
" Mind hath much to learn below,
Knowledge hourly must be sought,
Ever seeking truth to know,
Wisdom comes with work and thought."
J. Nevaye.
T^ROM his first entrance upon University
life, Willie was fortunate in getting into
a "good set," and among them he formed
lasting friendships.
He had a real genius for friendship. His
affectionate and sympathetic nature drew
others to him ; and these qualities, com
bined with much practical common sense,
often led people older than himself to confide
their troubles to him, and seek his advice.
Many touching testimonies have been
c
8 College Life.
received since his death as to the way in.
which his friendship was valued.*
He threw himself energetically into the
life of his College, especially the Musical
Society, the Chapel choir, and boating. He
always took the most eager interest in the
intercollegiate boat-races, and rowed several
times for his College. He was an enthusiast
in everything he undertook ; into it he went,
heart and soul, grudging no effort or pains.
Just two extracts from his letters may be
given as showing the keen interest he. took
in the Queen s College boating, and in the
" Eights Week" doings-
Oxford, February 2/th, 1891.
As you will very likely have seen in the papers,;
we succeeded in keeping our high place in the
" Torpids," and ended up on Tuesday, 7th as we
began. We had a tremendous ovation on coming
back to our barge on Tuesday for the last time,
and the performance is considered very creditable
considering all the adverse circumstances. In the
* One of his College contemporaries writes: " His greatest
achievements are written in the silent chapters of daily con
verse with those whose privilege it was to be his friends."
"Eights Week." 9
evening the success was celebrated by a supper,
which the Boat Club Committee provided, and our
health was drunk as the " lightest and pluckiest
torpid on the river."
Oxford, May 2Qth, 1892.
At last this awful (" Eights ") week of dissi
pation has come to an end, and glad I am too,
though it has been a very jolly time, but it is a
good thing it only comes once a year. On>
Wednesday night we had fireworks and a magni
ficent bonfire a really scientifically arranged one,
which it took us a full hour to pile up pro
perly. We chaired all the " Eight " round it and
made a huge noise, and generally enjoyed -our
selves. That night I got to bed at two ; next day
Finney had some people up, and we went down to
Nuneham ten of us in two boats had our picnic
in almost the same spot as two years ago, and
afterwards had a most delightful ramble through
the woods. The day was perfect, a few small
showers of rain only served to keep us from being
too hot. On the way we visited Iffley Church,
which I think I should never tire of inspecting.
Friday was an awful day for me ; work was
impossible, the president of our Musical Society
was laid up, so I was chief in command, and had
to be on the spot seeing to everything connected
with the Concert and that everybody did their
C 2
io College Concert.
duty ; besides having to write cheques for the
orchestra, and do a hundred and one other things,
to say nothing of the appalling thought of my
after-supper speech ! However, I was extremely
gratified at the way everything went off. Thursday
night it poured with rain. Friday night was
beautiful, the hall was packed, as it always is.
The Cantata quite surpassed our expectations, and
went with a swing and go that took everyone by
storm. In the second part both the solos, and one
of the part songs, were most tremendously
received ; people pronounced it as successful a
Concert as we have ever had, and the papers have
been very complimentary. The supper afterwards
was great fun, the speeches good on the whole.
When I rose, every idea I had previously had in
my head vanished, but I managed to say some
thing, and got through with great success and
much applause. We finished up with " Auld Lang
Syne," and separated at I o clock.
Now at last things are over, and we have settled
down again to work and make up for lost time.
Other men s people and attractions of other sorts
have left Oxford, and things resume their old
aspect.
Willie took a Third Class in the "Mods"
examination/ the first Classical Honours
" Mods " Exam. 1 1
School and he wrote as follows to his
father, while smarting under what, in his
view, was a failure :
Oxford, April I5th, 1891.
By this time, doubtless, you will have seen
the "Mods" list in the papers, and know the
unpleasant fact of my having got only a Third
Class. Of course, I need hardly say that my
disappointment is very great, as I quite ex
pected (and I think my tutors did too) that I
would, at all events, get a Second. I was, how
ever, naturally the last of the honours men of
my year, most of the others being Scholars, and
those who were not, had better Exhibitions than
mine; so perhaps I ought not to have anticipated
any more than a Third.
Of course, in such circumstances, it is con
demning myself to make excuses, but still I
cannot help feeling that, but for the row in last
December (which utterly upset me and robbed
me of a fortnight s reading),* and possibly my
* This refers to an unpleasant affair which had divided
the College into two hostile camps, and caused Willie great
mental disturbance. One of his fellow undergraduates, now
a Clergyman, wrote lately respectin? him, evidently having
special reference to this matter : " Many of his contempo
raries at Queen s will remember how nobly he ranged
himself again and again on the side of those things that
were true, honest, and of good report."
1 2 CJioice of Final Schools.
rowing in the " torpid " (which, under the circum
stances, could hardly be avoided), the result might
have been different.
I have certainly learned a lesson which I hope
I shall never forget. I hope to manage my work
for my Final Schools very differently, and to profit
by the experience " Mods " has given me. Above
all I mean to work hard this term.
I do not know what more to say. I can quite
understand how keen your disappointment must
be, and cannot tell how sorry I feel for having
brought it upon you, and how I reproach myself
for not having done better.
Before entering- his third year it became
necessary that a profession should be chosen,
more or less provisionally ; and the College
authorities being of opinion that as the
holder of an Exhibition he should not be
satisfied with the Pass Schools, it was decided
that he should read Honours Theology, with
a view to taking Holy Orders. He entered
upon this course of reading with great zest.
In March, 1892, Mr. Edwin Arrowsmith,
of the Children s Special Service Mission,
visited Oxford, " prospecting for the Long
Keswick Convention, 1892. 13
Vac.," and succeeded in interesting- Willie in
the work so far as to promise, provisionally,
to assist him at Eastbourne, in August. On
o
June 1 2th, however, Willie wrote : "I don t
know what to do about Eastbourne ; the
amount of work to be digested this Vac. is
alarming."
In July he had the opportunity of attending
for the first time the Keswick Convention,
where his spiritual life experienced a mar
vellous uplifting, and his always happy spirit
acquired a new joyousness which he never
afterwards lost.
None who saw him at this time will forget
his bright face, literally shining with the joy
of the Lord, the spiritual tone of his con
versation, and his ringing voice constantly
singing the sweet Convention hymns. Talk
ing to his mother one clay soon after, with
keen appreciation of the lovely scenery in the
Lake District, he quoted the lines beginning :
" Heaven above is softer blue," etc., saying
how true he found it, that having one s eyes
14 Letter to Rev. W. H. Finney.
opened to see the glory of Christ greatly
enhanced one s enjoyment of the works of
His hands.
A letter written to an intimate college
friend, after joining his family for a few
days at Kent s Bank, on Morecambe Bay,
gives so graphic an account of this crisis
in his life that it seems well to insert it
in extenso :
Moorhurst, Kent s Bank, Grange-over-Sands
August 8th, 1892.
My dear Finney, I expect you will have been
wondering at not having heard from me for so
long. The truth is I have been longing to write to
you, but have not had time, as I felt it would have
to be a long letter when it did come. Now at last,.
this wet afternoon, I can sit down and try to tell
you the truly great and wonderful things that God
has done for my soul at Keswick. Even now I
feel it is beyond my power to tell the story pro-
perly, so I must just ask that the Holy Spirit may
direct my pen in every word.
The Convention proper began on Tuesday, the
26th. On the Sunday previous we had two
wonderful sermons from Mr, which stirred.
Heart Searching, 15
me very much, and gave me intense longings for
something, I hardly knew what ; but it was
realised during the week. On Monday night was
the preliminary meeting, and then began a time of
searching such as I had never undergone before ;
God seemed to go through and through me, and
put His finger on thing after thing that I had not
thought of as sin, and say, " this, that, must be
given up." Well, I can tell you I felt fairly
wretched, but the only comfort was that I felt
God would not leave me where I was. Then the
next day the grand truth about "cleansing" came
upon me as it had never come before, and every
thing seemed to open out as clear as daylight ; I
saw clearly that it is only as we ourselves limit
God s power to save, that so we remain unsaved ;
that if only we allow Him to be true to His
promises, and to do whatever He wills with us,
and if only we are willing to sanctify Him in our
hearts as Lord, and as the only Lord, He will do
what He has promised ; He will give us a clean
heart, cleanse our desires, and take away from us
the desire to sin. What has kept me back from
this before, I must confess with shame, has been
the fact that 1 have not been wholly consecrated
and yielded up ; I seem to have gone on with a
sort of idea that a certain amount of sin must re
main in the camp ; and I wished to keep it there,
3 6 Heart Cleansing.
without realising that it was God s will that the- sin
should be entirely taken away, and that He had
.tlie poiver to do it too, if only I would let Him.*
Well, I did give myself up on that Tuesday
night as I had never done before, and I do believe
that God did then and there cleanse me from the
sin in me, and I can certainly testify, without
boasting (for it is not my work at all, but Christ s
in me), that I have been kept from conscious sin, of
certain kinds at all events, which before had been
a constant trouble to me ; specially have I realised
this with regard to wandering thoughts in prayer.
Of course I don t imagine there s nothing else to
be done, no need for watchfulness or prayer ; there
is still the constant need for Christ s keeping power,
as well as for His cleansing power ; only now I
seem to stand in a different position : instead of
* It is only right to explain that " sinlessness," or "sinless
perfection " are not meant here. While strongly holding and
testifying to a "clean heart" as God s purpose in Christ for
believers, Willie never taught any more than the speakers on
.the Keswick platform the impossibility of falling, or in
fallibility. To him a "clean heart" meant one free from any
conscious sympathy with sin, or any desire towards it. Mr.
Eugene Stock writes respecting this letter : " I do not
think anyone should find fault with your dear son s method
of describing the Lord s gracious dealings with him. He was
real, and reality is what we all need, and what we must have
if the Lord is to use us. We may differ in the language we
employ ; but after all the New Testament expressions are
full of the Holy Ghost filled with the Spirit. That is what
the Lord s servants want, at home and abroad.
Consecration. 1 7
trying to grow into a state of cleansing, one now
starts with a clean heart, and then the growth con
tinues ; but it was no use trying to grow without
having the clean heart ; it was like trying to make
a watch go right that was out of order, by winding
it, instead of sending it back to the watchmaker to
be cleaned and started over again.
Well, as I have said, on that Tuesday night all
this came home to me in a new way, and I just
stood up and consecrated myself wholly ; I claimed
the blessing, and I am quite sure I got it. I went
home, feeling very happy, but still I felt there was
something wanting yet. Next evening Dr. Elder
Gumming, of Glasgow, spoke about the " rilling of
the Holy Ghost," showing quite plainly that this
was an experience subsequent to conversion and
to cleansing, and that it was quite a pertinent
-question to ask believers, " have you received the
rilling of the Holy Ghost ? " I was perfectly
certain I had never received this " filling." I
longed to receive it ; but somehow I felt as if it
were too hasty a step to accept the gift then and
there. I said to myself that I must consider the
matter carefully, and not be in too great a hurry to
accept the blessing ; I had got quite enough for
the present, and must wait. That was the sort of
way I reasoned with myself, and I left the meeting
feeling hungry and dissatisfied with myself.
1 8 Claiming the Blessing.
&
But God would not let me rest, and I do praise
Him for that. After supper I heard there was to
be a special night prayer meeting at the Drill
Hall, and something led me to go to it. It really
was a wonderful time; it lasted till about 11.30,
and by that time I am sure every one got every
thing they wanted, and so there was nothing to
remain for except to praise. I don t know exactly
what I expected to get by going there, but I know
this that God told me in unmistakable terms that
He was ready to give me the filling of the Spirit
then, and that it was only my perverseness that
was keeping me back from it. What was I to do ?
God told me to claim the blessing and to believe
that I had received it ; I did so. I didn t feel
anything particular at the moment, but gradually
a conscious joy, such as I had never known before,
began to steal over me, and when the meeting
broke up I felt inclined to go and sing all through
the streets.
I have said the meeting broke up at 11.30,
because there was nothing more to remain for.
I don t think anyone left that room without being
filled with the Holy Ghost, but I, for my part, felt
as if I could have remained there all night for
praise. I walked about the streets for a long time
far too happy to go to bed. I wanted to go-
somewhere where I could sing and make a joyful
Night of Praise. 1 9
noise. I went back to my room and wrote about
it all to father and Mr. S - ; then my candle
went out, or I would have written to you, old man.
I lay down to rest for about a couple of hours or
so, but could not sleep much, so got up about 3
o clock and went out to see the sunrise. I climbed
a crag named Walla Crag (about 1,100 feet high)
and there I had a grand time. I was far away
from the haunts of man, and so could make a
noise without fear of disturbing anyone. I had
my hymn-book with me, and stayed up there till
about 5.30, having a grand time of prayer and
praise ; then I came down, had a bathe in the
lake, and went to the tent for the 7 o clock meeting.
I felt rather shy about breakfast, as I feared the
others would not quite understand my happiness,
but they soon found out something had happened
to me, and then it all came out. On Friday
evening or Thursday, I forget which, they all
got the same blessing, and so we all rejoiced
together.
I see I have already got into the third sheet, so
I must shortly close ; but I could fill sheets upon
sheets with telling of all the wonders God has
done ; of the marvellous answers to prayer ; of the
splendid missionary meetings in the tent and on
the lake ; of the wonderful way in which God gave
us strength to go to the meetings all day long
2O Coining down from the Mount.
without getting tired ; of the wonderful ex
periences related by Mr. G - and his mission
band in India and Australia ; of their marvellous
guidance by God, and how their needs were
supplied. When next we meet soon, please
God I will tell you more about it.
On Saturday morning there was a grand three
hours missionary meeting. I think this time at
Keswick has put a finishing touch to my mind on
this question, and I am ready to go when God
wants me.
The whole atmosphere of Keswick seemed
saturated with the Convention ; everyone you
met carried a hymn-book and Bible, and had a
happy, smiling face. It was like being on the
Mount of Transfiguration, and it seems a bit hard
to come down to an every-day life again ; but
that s just where the test comes in : and I am
sure God s blessing is meant to last, and will last
with me wherever I go at home, at Eastbourne,
back at Oxford, anywhere ; though, when looking
ahead, the difficulties seem to loom like thick-
clouds. Do pray for me, old man, that I may not
get self-confident, but may be kept always full of
the joy of the Lord. Specially will you pray that
I may be fitted for the work at Eastbourne, and
made ready and willing to do anything that God
calls upon me to do there. I won t think about
CJiange in Spiritual Life. 2F
next term yet though I realise my life will have
to be very different but just " do the next thing."
Now I must close, with many prayers for you r
old man, that God may bless you with all the ful
ness of His blessing which I expect you have
already got, but there is " always more to follow "
and may guide you every moment, and fit you
for His work ; and asking your prayers for me.
Yours ever in Him,
WILLIE S. COX.
Rev. W. H. FINNEY.
In nothing was the striking change that
had taken place in Willie s spiritual life more
manifest than the way in which his natural
shyness and reserve in speaking on religious-
subjects disappeared. By a definite act of
faith he sought deliverance from this, which
he had felt to be a oreat hindrance to his
o
usefulness in the past, and according to his
faith so was it unto him, Henceforth, when
fitting opportunity arose, he was always able
to speak without nervousness, and with an
earnestness that was impressive, because all
his utterances came straight from his heart
and he felt his message was God-given.
22 Rev. W. H. Finney s Narrative.
The following personal recollections by
Mr. Finney may find their appropriate place
here :
It was in the year 1889 that I first came in
contact with Willie when he came up to Oxford as
a freshman. There was a good deal in common
between us which naturally drew us together. We
both rowed, and were fond of music, and above all
were both Christian men. It was this latter fact
which cemented our friendship, for though sur
rounded by many friends of a most excellent kind,
there was wanting in many of these that great fact,
so far as we could tell, which was so much to us.
I am afraid that our first two years of intercourse
did little more for us than serve to fan the flame of
faith in our own hearts. I know I was helped by
him. But our testimony to others was not of a
very vigorous or aggressive type, and beyond the
College Bible Reading, and an occasional visit to
the Daily Prayer Meeting and the Common
Lodging Houses for Service with the inmates,
we took no prominent part in the Christian work
of the University.
In the year 1891 to 1892, however, the Lord
began to work in our hearts wonderfully. The
spirit of rebellion and self-will had been crushed in
my own heart, and I had come under the influence
Rev. W.-H. Finnefs Narrative. 23
of the " higher teaching." I naturally told Willie
all about it on my return to College, and found a
ready response in his heart to the yearnings and
questionings of my own. At our meals, which we
almost always took together, we discussed the
possibilities of Christian living ; we read the
Epistle to the Romans together, and after being
puzzled and provoked " were finally " persuaded "
that a life of deliverance from sin was possible and
meant for us.
The subject was mooted at the Bible Reading,
which had now become much quickened. It began
to assume a form of reality, and we were seeking
it. We seldom said good night without first
unitedly asking God for this blessing for our
selves and others in College. -But when, in
June, 1892, I went down to be ordained, neither
of us could say we had " entered in."
It was in the following month, July, 1892, that
Willie went to Keswick, little dreaming as he told
me afterwards, of what was in store for him. Here
he was deeply "convicted for holiness" as -lie
described it, and finally, through the depths; led
out into full experience of cleansing and the filling
of the Holy Ghost.
From this time his whole life was changed. He
was on fire. At Eastbourne, at College, at Wycliffe
Hall, and in his curacy^so far as I could sec from
D
24 Rev. W. H. Putney s Narrative.
a distance, his one purpose was the full salvation of"
souls, especially boys, and the Glory of GOD.
On his return to College he took an unmis
takable stand for the Truth ; his hands were soon
full of Christian work within and outside the
College. Others can, better than I, give correct
impressions of his last year at College and at
Wycliffe Hall, as I was down in my curacy, and
only in touch with the work by correspondence.
Willie came to stay with me at Exeter in April,
1893, a d we had a blessed time. I had now
fully " entered in," and could understand the secret
which possessed him. Together we held a holiness
meeting in the parish, and I don t think anyone
would ever forget his earnest testimony ; reality
rang through it all. There was, too, such a joyous-
ness about him as could not fail to impress every
one, and many times afterwards friends enquired of
me concerning him, and alluded to his bright and 1
happy face and life.
I had the privilege of a visit to the North Sea
fishermen with him and a brother clergyman, and
to this day the men on board the mission ship to^
which we were assigned, ask after him with interest
and affection.
It is not an easy matter to give any adequate
impression of his life, or expression to the feeling
of stimulus and exaltation I always experienced.
Rev. W. H. Finney s Narrative. 25
from a short time with him. All Christians know
what it is to get a real " lift up," and I always got
this from Willie.
One of the last things he said to me I shall
never forget. Speaking of certain discussions in
which the Truth, as we earnestly believed it to be,
was somewhat discounted by a tone of " self" and
contempt for others, he said, " I am persuaded that
what is needed is nothing less than a mighty
baptism of love." He had received it himself, and
I don t think that I can recall a single occasion
on which I heard him speak of another in any
spirit but the spirit of. love and meekness.
I was much struck, too, when paying a visit to
him in his curacy at Peckham, to notice the trouble
he took over any individual soul. I know of a
case in which considerable time and trouble was
spent over one soul, and I could not help thinking
of the words of the Lord, who spoke of the shepherd
going in search of the lost sheep until he find it.
I shall always recall his friendship with deepest
gratitude; I look upon it as one of God s greatest
blessings to me. It is hard, indeed, to think that
his work was done so early, or to readily grasp the
fact that so profitable and delightful a friendship
is over, till the day dawn, and our intercourse is
resumed to know no further interruption.
July, 1897. W. H. FINNEY.
D 2
26 C.S.S. Mission at Eastbourne. .
Willie s engagement to assist Mr. Arrow-
smith at Eastbourne shortened his holiday
and his reading time during the Summer
Vacation. His mind in the matter is shown
in the following letter to his father :
Keswick, July 26th, 1892.
I have written to Mr. Arrowsmith telling him I
cannot decide arrangements, but am leaving it to
you to write to him and say when I am to come, if
at all, Let me tell you what my own opinion is ;
I am perfectly ready for myself to give up going
to Kent s Bank altogether. I know what the
sacrifice involves, but I am quite willing to make
it, and am really longing to get to Eastbourne
to work in however small a way. I know it is a
sacrifice also for all of you, and so I must leave it
for you to decide.
In Mr. G s sermon on Sunday night, on the
three " ye cannots," he said they were the tests of
full submission, " he that loveth father or mother
more than me cannot be my disciple." This seems
to appeal to me with special force just at
present. I do want to give full submission, and if
this is God s message to me now it seems to me
I ought to go at once. I think that GOD wants
me to go to Eastbourne, and that His voice is in
the letter I have received from Mr. Arrowsmith.
General Work of tJie Mission. 27
Such arguments could not be resisted.
That Children s Special Service Mission
at Eastbourne was a time of great happiness
to Willie. The following extracts from his
letters may be interesting as giving a view
of the inner life of the Mission Band as well
as of their more public operations :
Eastbourne, August ipth, 1892.
At present I have no special department, but am
a "general," making myself useful in any way I
can, and there really is any amount to do. All
the various paraphernalia have to be taken down
to the church for the Prayer Meeting, and then to
the beach ; the banner has to be borne aloft along
the parade to collect the people ; hymn sheets, etc.,
to be taken round ; a good deal of work in sending
out notices, etc. When out of doors you have to
be always on the look out for new boys, and then
the boys have to be looked after, in a general way,
always.
The object of the cricket, teas, sports, etc., is,
of course, to draw them in gradually to come to
the meetings and eventually to Christ ; for you
won t get boys to meetings if there is nothing
besides.
Last night we had a splendid boys meeting,
28 Work among the Boys.
about forty-eight to tea first, and then about sixty
altogether in the meeting, in spite of a thunder
storm brewing the whole evening. About twenty
stopped behind to be talked to, and several of
them came right out for Jesus. I got a dear little
boy to talk to ; he is a Christian all right, but was
not happy, felt he had gone back rather ; after a
talk and prayer I walked home with him, and
think he was a bit happier. He has not got the
< cleansing " and " keeping " yet, I think. I don t
know whether such a small boy can receive a thing
like that, and I feel rather diffident about saying
anything on the subject ; but I am praying for
guidance in the matter, and shall get it, I know.
I will write as often as I can, but I foresee that
leisure time will be scarce ; in fact, it makes one
feel guilty almost to have any leisure time.
Eastbourne, August 23rd, 1892.
People talk of religion making children unhappy !
See our boys play cricket, see them at the sports,
their happy faces at the meetings, hear them sing ;
above all, see them work !
I was out on parade to-night for two hours with
a boy trying to get others in ; very successful, got
nearly twenty new ones. May GOD bring them
all ! This boy is as keen as a razor on getting
others to come.
Happy results. 29
Don t forget, all to pray for the boys meeting
on Thursday night ; pray specially for a boy
named , in whom I am much interested. I
do want him to confess Christ on Thursday night ;
may GOD send the right word to his heart. Don t
-forget also the other services round the coast.
Oxford and Cambridge cricket match this after
noon ; I captained Oxford.
Eastbourne, August 3 1st, 1892.
We are still having a glorious time, and are
praising GOD continually. Sunday morning opened
very stormy, but in answer to special prayer it
cleared up before 12, and we had the Church
packed in the afternoon in spite of a flower-service
elsewhere ; 80 boys in the evening, a time of great
^blessing and real decision for Christ on the part of
.many.
Last Thursday was poor in numbers, only 54,
but the power of the Spirit was manifestly shown,
-and several of the bigger boys came right out for
Christ. Wednesday we had a lantern service, an
immense gathering was present, both parades
crammed with people, such a sight as I shall never
forget. Such a meeting must have been blessed of
GOD to many. Went to Pevensey on Monday,
when we had a most delightful day.
To his mother he wrote thus, some difficulty
30 Close of tlie Mission.
having arisen as to prolonging his stay till the
close of the mission, and beyond the time
originally arranged :
Eastbourne, September 5th, 1892.
Do work it for me : I shall be simply miserable
if I leave to-morrow ; I must stop and look after my
boys till the end ; the importance of this last week
with them can hardly be over-estimated ; each
" bro." has his own to look after specially, so do
let me stop and look after mine. I shall be able to-
" read " all the better when I get home, and could
not settle down till this Mission was over.
I shall have a very happy birthday (the /th
September) here, though of course I shall miss all
the dear ones at home, but I know you are all
remembering us specially in prayer and will
continue to do so. We had 105 boys at the
meeting last night. Praise the LORD.
Needless to say, he remained until the
close of the mission. This was not a mere
passing interest ; he kept up correspondence
with many of the boys, and months after we
find him writing thus :
I had such a splendid letter from one of my
boys on Sunday morning ; it rejoiced my heart
Sunday at Oxford. 31
rr:ore than any letter I have had all the term ; I
should think I have read it twenty times since, if I
have read it once. Yesterday I got a letter from
the mother of another of my boys, thanking me
very warmly for writing to him. This is gratifying,
is it not ?
The following letter describes a Sunday
evening s work at Oxford, that Autumn
Term, and shows the spirit which now
animated him :
Oxford, October i/th, 1892.
I had a splendid time yesterday evening. At
seven o clock I went with Ehvin* to a children s
service at St. Clement s Mission Room, in quite a
poor part of Oxford. There were about 180 boys
and girls there in equal numbers, some of the
boys very rough indeed, but they really behaved
wonderfully.
We had some of the evening prayers, plenty of
singing, and an address from myself and one from
Elwin. I gave an object lesson on " a pencil," and
the way they listened was delightful. The service
lasted just under an hour, and was one of the most
* Now the Rev. E. H. Elwin, Vice-Principal of Fourah
Bay College, Sierra Leone.
32 Martyrs Memorial Service.
enjoyable I have ever been at. I had never spoken
to children before, and an audience of 200 was at
first rather alarming ; but I went in trust, and
realised once more that " God s commands are
covenanted possibilities of power."
After that we went off to the open-air service at
the Martyrs Memorial. Elwin, not content with
what he had got out of me, had engaged me to
speak here also. I was rather doubtful whether
my voice could stand it and was loud enough,
having had choir-practice, choir, and children s
service already ; however, " My God shall supply
all your need," lung power included, the promise
came true, and I was able to make myself heard
all right. After this, four of us walked about the
.streets for nearly an hour talking. Then we
separated, and one of them came in with me to
have cocoa and a chat. We were just settling
comfortably down when in came another Queen s
man ! I was rather up a tree at first, and thought
our time together was spoiled, but praise the Lord !
" all for the best ! " we very soon got on to the
subject and had a straight go ; I have talked with
this man before, and last night may be just a " link
in the chain."
Willie soon after resigned his place in the
College choir, because he wanted more time
A Passing Cloud. 33
for reading, and because it prevented him
attending the Daily Prayer Meeting, which
took place at the same hour as the choir
practice. He also gave up the secretary
ship of the College Musical Society, which
had occupied a great deal of his time. But
he continued his connection with the College
boats, for the sake of the influence it gave
him over other men.
Notwithstanding his remarkably happy
disposition, he was not without occasional
times of depression. Thus we find him
wntin " *
Oxford, October 25th, 1892.
As for myself, I am at present under a cloud.
I can t make out what it is, but I am hanging on
to Phil. iii. 15, and trust that it will be revealed
in time. I am almost believing that I ought to
give up the boats, but that seems like giving up
all chance of one s influence being felt. I have
been trying to witness faithfully this term, but, so
far, it does not seem to produce any effect. Oh,
for more heavenly wisdom !
This did not last long, for only six days
ilater he wrote :
34 Moody s Mission.
Oxford, October 3ist, 1892.
That cloud has indeed passed away, and I have
never known such peace as during the last few
days ; peace, too, in the midst of a good deal of
worry and trouble of various kinds. What a
grand thing it is simply to fall back on the ever
lasting arms for rest of body as well as rest of
mind and soul !
His earnest longing for the spiritual
welfare of his beloved University is breathed
in the following extract ;
Oxford, November 5th, 1892.
I am quite convinced of this now, that if Oxford
is to be won for Christ it must be by the conse
crated lives of the Christians themselves rather
than by preaching.
The following letters refer to Mr. Moody s
Mission at Oxford in November, 1892, which
was a very blessed season :
Oxford, November I4th, 1892.
Moody is coming on Friday and will hold
services each night until Monday inclusive. Do
pray that many men may go, out of curiosity
perhaps, and be made anxious about their souls,
and that we may have all fear of man taken away
Res2ilts of Moody s Mission. 35
from us and be bold to ask men to go, and to tell
tJiem u>/iy we want tJicni to go. Oxford was shaken
when Moody was here last. Oh that it may be so
again !
The "Junior Fours " are on next .Saturday, and
we are now in training for them. My boat is
going fairly well. I feel sure GOD has sent me
down to the river to fulfil His purpose and for His
glory, and I am praying earnestly for the conver
sion of the others in my " four " during Moody s
Mission. Oh that grace may be given me to
persuade them to go and hear ! Whether the
LORD will tell me to go on rowing after the
" fours " are over, I don t know, but He will guide
when the time comes. If there is one thing I have
learnt lately it is to seek for guidance for the
present, said not for the future : "as thy days so
shall thy strength be "
Oxford, November 23rd, 1892.
Well, Moody s Mission is now all over, and we
can, indeed, praise GOD. I believe Oxford has
been really blessed, and the effect will be widely
felt ; many men stood up each night at the after-
meetings in evidence of accepting Christ. Sunday
night s meeting for men only was a most thrilling
sight: the Corn Exchange was packed to over
flowing. On Monday night Moody spoke on
36 . College Bible Readings.
" Confessing Christ," and then asked all who were
willing to confess Christ in their daily lives to
rise, when nearly all the audience rose, in truth a
mighty army. But there is a difference between
doing this and " confessing " in the daily life.
Oxford, December 5th, 1892.
After Moody left there was a furious correspond
ence in the " Oxford Review " on the impudence of
the " Evangelical undergrads " who had dared to
bring an American to preach to cultured, intel
lectual Oxford ! This is good, and shows very
plainly that the Mission has not been without
results.
In the general attack on the " so-called Evan
gelical party" one special subject was the preaching
at the Martyrs Memorial. This resulted in our
having a very crowded service there last Sunday,
so the LORD has " made the devices of the people
to be of none effect" and has turned it all to His
honour and glory, Praise to His Holy Name !
Willie was the Secretary of the Queen s
College Bible Reading Society, and its
meetings were generally held in his rooms.
This autumn and winter he often seems to
have led them, and they are frequently
referred to in his letters. Thus :
" The Truest Humility." 37
Oxford, 23rd November, 1892.
We had a splendid time here last Wednesday,,
eleven present The subject taken was the
" Raising of Lazarus," typical of various stages
in spiritual life : dead and buried ; raised to life
(but bound with grave clothes) ; loosed from
fetters ; walking free ; witnessing by the life ;
and feasting with Jesus. I had an indirect
testimony next day to appreciation of the Bible
Reading. Praise the Lord, His word shall not return
void.
Oxford, January 3Oth, 1893.
We had a very good time at the Bible Reading
last Wednesday. Nine present. I took " He is
able," and a discussion followed on Jude 24, in
which some of the fellows did not agree with
me, and practically would not allow that the text
meant what it said. One even said that " we must
keep on sinning, to keep us humble " ; but if so,,
the greater the sinner, the more humility, and
therefore our Adversary would be the most
humble of all ! Surely, relying on Christ for
ALL, " letting go, and trusting," is the truest hu
mility the entire abnegation of self. I know
some of the fellows got a " lift-up " that night ;.
praise the LORD for it ! Pray that we may have
grace to comprehend Christ s ///// salvation.
38 Misinterpreted Motives.
" F on Theatres"* has often formed a sub
ject of discussion. On Saturday I had a long yarn
with a man on the point. Finally he rounded on
me, and said, " Don t let your good be evil spoken
of," and suggested that the texts in my room, blue
ribbon, " Martyrs Memorial doings," c., were
stumbling blocks in some fellows ways ! This was
a new aspect of the question, and for a time rather
dismayed me. It seems hardest of all to have
one s motive 1 ; misinterpreted, but I suppose this is
what is meant by " bearing the reproach of Christ."
I feel sure it was GOD S bidding that I should put
up texts, &c. ; it was not done in a spirit of self-
advertisement. If it has offended others, I can t
help that, and GOD will defend His own honour.
We are going to have the subject of Rom. xiv.
up some Wednesday night, and have a go at the
whole question. I feel sure that to alter my con
duct in these particulars would be a great mistake ;
but I much need guidance now that I find my
actions are watched more narrowly than I ever
dreamed of.
I had a grand day yesterday ; took a Bible
Reading in the afternoon, Is. xii. What a wonder
ful chapter that is ! " Praise, sing, joy, declare, cry
* A sermon by an old Queen s College man on the texts
" Let not your good be evil spoken of," and "Abstain from
all appearance of evil."
Approaching Honours Exam, 39
aloud, SHOUT." In the evening at the Martyrs
Memorial, and then had a good time with a fellow
in my own rooms.
His examination in the Final Theology
Honours School was now impending, and
we find him writing thus :
May 8th, 1893.
The week has been a more or less uneventful
one. I have got through a good week s work, but
the Schools are getting aivfully near four weeks
to-day ; but " He knoweth the way that I take."
What a comfort that is ! I did a paper again on
Friday, and quite came up to my own expectations,
but not to my tutor s, I think he estimates me a
great deal too highly, and expects too much of me.
It is good to think of the time when it won t be
necessary to study so much the Higher Criticism
and ecclesiastical history; when there will be more
time for real " eating " of the living Word of God,
less Theology and more Bible ; yet "we have need
of patience," and patience works on to experience.
And a little later :
I have done my last paper for my tutor, and see
him for the last time to-morrow. I am very " fit "
at present, so shall probably work on till Wednes
day or Thursday, and then take a few days holiday
E
4O " One Things " of New Testament.
before the exam, next Monday, " in quietness and
confidence . . . your strength."
Towards the close of his undergraduate
life, he writes :
Oxford, 8th May, 1893.
We had the Bible Reading on Wednesday before
breakfast, that seeming a more suitable time in
the summer, but only five men turned up. It is
rather discouraging, and I am much afraid the
meeting will fall through when I am gone, there
seems no one at present inclined to take it on. It
seems rather as if my work for the LORD, which
has largely consisted in getting up the Bible Read
ings, will be tried by the fire, and won t stand
the test. I do trust God that it won t be so. I am
conscious of much slackness in the past ; but
latterly, at least, I have been sincere in trying
to let Him work through me, so I do believe He
will own my labour for Him, even though I may
not see it myself.*
Our subject on Wednesday was "one thing."
I don t know whether you may have noticed the
.cue tilings of the New Testament, so I will give
you them ; they make a grand study :
I. "One thing" lacking : Humility. Mark x. 21.
* It is pleasant to record that the Bible Readings at
Queen s continued and flourished.
Visit to North Sea. 41
2. "One thing" needful: "Seek ye first." Luke
:x. 42.
3. " One thing " I know : Assurance of salvation.
John ix. 25.
4. "One thing" I do: Press forward. Phil.iii.iJ.
5. " One thing " forget not : His coming. 2 Pet.
dii. 8.
The following letter refers to a projected
visit that summer to the North Sea Fisheries,
in connection with the Deep Sea Mission,
already referred to in Mr. Finney s personal
recollections :
Oxford, May 2pth, 1893.
Finney, Seaton, and I, are going to sea on the
jrd July. We have not only thought well about
at, but prayed well about it, and believe it is the
LORD S will that we should go ; so I don t see that
there is any reason why we should be called mad
for going. I am a fairly good sailor, and expect
I shall be all right after two or three days.
He wrote as follows while on this
Mission: ,
" The Clulow, North Sea,
July loth, 1893.
The cutter does not go till to-morrow a? there
has been no wind, and consequently no trawling,
so I have time for a regular letter.
E 2
42 Experiences on Voyage.
I don t know how to describe things at all ;
never had such a day in my whole life as
yesterday ; never was at such services, nor heard
such singing.
To begin at the beginning, we did not leave
Gravesend till two o clock on Friday afternoon, as
one of the crew was missing. We sighted the
fleet on Saturday night, but too late to come on
board, so came on about 7.30 on Sunday morning.
The time on the cutter was well, never mind,, the
LORD took us through it all ; but it was trying to
health, both physical and spiritual : three nights
on deck without changing one s clothes was not
pleasant, but we had some grand talks with the
men.
On Saturday I was a little upset, went down to
try and eat some dinner, but soon came up again.
Sunday was calm, and so is to-day, praise the
LORD ! He has thus enabled us to get used to the
motion, and though we were all three a bit upset
yesterday, strength was given us for meetings, &c.
We had a grand service in the fore-cabin yester
day morning, and again in the afternoon, when one
man came out on the LORD S side Glory to GOD !
He was regularly broken down. I never was in
meetings where the power of the. Spirit was so
manifested. To hear these men pray would make
you weep, and I am sure it must make the angels
Work among- the Smacks-men. 43
sing. After tea we had hymns and prayer, &c., on
deck as it was so fine, and finished off with the
Communion Service in our little after-cabin
eleven present a most touching service, the
memory of which will never leave me. Altogether
it was a most glorious day, sunshine without and
sunshine within.
These men out here there s no nonsense about
them. If they are on the LORD S side, then every
body knows it ; they are full of joy and praise, and
it must come out. Thus, at first, to one coming
from staid Hampstead or staider Oxford, it is a bit
difficult to be in the right spirit. Pray that the
LORD may give us all, and me especially, the grace
to be what He would have us to be in our present
circumstances.
This morning was still calm, and we had a
glorious dip over the side. The morning was
spent in visits from various smacks-men, who came
for "baccy," &c., and thus opportunities of saying a
word for the LORD were afforded. In the afternoon,
as several men were still on board, we had a
service in the forecabin, and one man came over
the line Praise the LORD !
The calm still continues, and so long as it does
so the men cannot fish ; which is trying to the
faith, but favours the LORD S work. Still, we must
pray for a breeze.
44 News of Honours List.
The berths, &c., and all the arrangements on
board the Mission Ship are paradise compared
with those on board the cutter. Praise the LORD-
indeed for all His mercies ! It is good to be here.
I can t write any more now, if I did it must be to
praise Him for all His goodness. Excuse bad
writing, as the vessel is rolling.
I suppose the Theological list is now out ; send
it to me as soon as possible.
Very much love to all, and may the LORD keep-
you from being anxious, for " He holdeth the sea in
the hollow of His hand."
While in the North Sea he received the
welcome news that he had gained a Second!
Class in Honours Theology, and wrote thus :
" The Clulow," Abreast of Silts,
July 1 4th, 1893.
Many thanks for the welcome news about the
Schools. I don t quite know at the present whether
I am standing on my head or my heels. Praise
the LORD, indeed, for His undeserved mercies !
Two texts are continually ringing in my mind :
" He will fulfil the desire of them that fear Him,"
and " O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou
doubt ? " I don t feel that I deserve a Second,
but I think it is an answer to prayer. I had a~
The LORD S Goodness. 45
letter from my tutor also, who says I had " luck
but well-deserved luck " (whatever that means),
and was on the border-line between Second and
Third.
Wednesday afternoon was very calm, so we
three went " visiting " with the skipper. Visited
four smacks, and held service on two of them.
We had a good time; the LORD was with us, three
or four pledges were taken, and we believe two
or three came on to the LORD S side. But the
nature of the circumstances makes the work very
difficult and apt to be discouraging. One may
see a man once and have a word with him, and
then not see him again for some time. Truly,
the devil is at work here, and does his best to
hinder ; but the LORD is mightier and must
prevail, and His work does go on in spite of
opposition.
I can t get over the Schools list yet (it is now
evening), the LORD really is too good to me. I
have come out above men who, I believe, are
really worth more than I am. However, it is
His doing, and to Him be all the Glory. He
has done exceeding abundantly above all that 1
asked or thought.
Once more he had the privilege of attend
ing the Keswick Convention, this year in
46 Keswick Convention, 1893.
the Students Camp with many Oxford men.
One letter thereon must suffice :
Students Camp, Keswick,
July 23rd, 1893.
At present there are about 100 men in camp,
including Bishop Hill and Mr. Stewart,* and 60
more arrive to-morrow -30 in all from Oxford.
At 7.0 this morning most of us went to the
Communion at St. John s where there was a good
gathering. I had a glorious time there myself.
How good the LORD has been to me of late ; my
class in the Schools ; the North Sea ; and now
Keswick ; besides numberless other mercies.
Psalm C. 5, seemed to have new meaning this
morning.
Breakfast in camp at 8.20. Went to church at
10, service at 10.30, crammed of course. A
most heart-searching sermon from Rev. H. B.
Macartney on "The single eye." Praise the LORD!
The Convention has begun in the right way for
me at least ; and whatever the light reveals the
blood will cleanse.
I had almost forgotten the weather. It was
lovely yesterday, and the mountains quite clear.
* It is sad to remember that Bishop Hill died from
African fever in January, 1894, and that the Rev. R. \V.
Stewart was one of the victims of the Massacre at Kucheng,
in August 1895.
Ordination as Deacon.- 47
This morning is dull and the mists hanging low :
but never mind, " when He giveth quietness, who
can give trouble ? "
After taking his degree in October, Willie
went to Wycliffe Hall. The original inten
tion was that he should stav there a full
j
year, but he had received from the Rev.
Thomas Goss, of St. Mary Magdalene,
Peckham, himself a Queen s man and the
father of a Queen s man who knew Willie
well, the offer of a Title, conditional on his
joining at Christmas.
The sphere thus presented a London
parish having a population of 12,000
(chiefly poor), with well-filled church,
mission hall, flourishing national schools and
full parochial organisation, but only two
clergy was just the one he desired.
Mr. Goss s offer was, after prayerful con
sideration, accepted, and Willie was ordained
deacon on St. Thomas s Day, 1893, by
Dr. Randall Davidson, the then Bishop of
Rochester.
48 Rev. E. H. Elwiris Reminiscences.
This seems to be the right place for the
following Oxford reminiscences, written from
Sierra Leone, by the Rev. E. H. Elwin :
My acquaintance with Willie began in Novem
ber, 1890, at Oxford, when, on being told he was
secretary of the District Visiting Society, I called
to ask him to tell me how- I could join. His rooms
were full of men, but he was most kind. I dined
with him soon after, but I did not see much of
him, for he was in every sense a College man
and kept to his own College.
In August, 1892 he came down to Eastbourne
to help Mr. Arrowsmith in his work. I was there
too, and he told me what a great blessing he had
received at Keswick. I had never been to the
Convention, and I watched him very carefully. He
was certainly very much changed. His whole
trend was now for the glory of the Master, and
his whole life was lived with that end in view..
We often talked of spiritual things, and I
remember how I would urge that it be not called
the "Keswick blessing," and how readily he agreed
He was used of God much, I believe, during the
mission among the boys.
When he came back to Oxford for the October
term, I remember he was not a little exercised
as to what stand he should now make with the
Rev. E. H. Elwiris Reminiscences* 49
new light given, and in my diary I find we were
often in each other s rooms seeking to know how
best to shine for GOD among the men in our
respective Colleges. In the October of that year,.
Mr. Grubb came to Oxford; and I believe it
was then Willie imbibed a higher view of
the "clean heart" than Scripture would allow,,
and it was a subject of much debate between us.
Gradually he seems to have found what we believe.
to be the true Scriptural doctrine in the matter.
His influence at Queen s College after the blessing
he received in 1892 was, I know, very great, and.
I well remember how he went round to all the
freshmen, and how he purposely threw himself
more into his rowing that he might win some
for GOD.
He then went to Peckham, where I saw him.
once. After being accepted by the Church Mis
sionary Society he came up again to Wycliffe
Hall, but I am sorry to say we saw each other rarely.
In May of last year I came to Sierra Leone, and in.
January he arrived. We often talked together, and
I know how the truths he had learned were life
to him, and how anxious he was for the welfare-
of all around him ; also how, far from having gone
back, he had grown very much and had grown,
deeper.
2ist July, 1897. E. H. ELWIN,
CHAPTER III.
Peckham.
" He liveth long who liveth well !
All else is being flung away ;
He liveth longest who can tell
Of true things truly done each day."
H. Bonar.
T N entering upon his curacy, Willie felt
^ deeply the responsibility of being put
in trust with the Gospel, and devoted him
self especially to visiting at the homes of the
poor. The following extracts from two of
his letters show his sympathy with temporal
distress among his people and with their
spiritual needs :
There are rriany cases of distress here that go to
one s heart ; people who have seen better days, and
are at the last gasp, by no fault of their own, and
would not for worlds have their neighbours know
their state. One such case I visited on Friday ;
the man lost his employment because his em
ployer s methods were not "straight," and it was
Ministerial Responsibility. 5 1
against his conscience to work with him. The
man is an earnest Christian, and I know the case
to be a perfectly genuine one ; and yet one felt it
would be almost insulting to offer help. I think
some must be sent anonymously. There are many
such cases, alas !
And again :
What must not have been " the care of all the
churches " to St. Paul ! One realises now in some
measure the "care of all the streets," and the people
in them the hundreds and thousands one knows
nothing about, and many of whom never attend a
place of worship. But this is the care of only one
" church," and St. Paul had the churches of Galatia,
Ephesus, Corinth, and many more a sort of arch
bishop or primate in some sense. Certainly the
thought of the people in want whom one cannot
relieve, the people in darkness who will not see the
light, the godless homes one visits all this does
weigh heavily upon one at times. The only com
fort is that it weighs far more heavily upon our
blessed LORD Himself.
He was often exercised in mind about the
comparative luxury of life in England, and
writes thus to his mother :
I agree entirely with what you say about home
life being much too comfortable. I am thinking
52 Visit to Oxford.
^o very much at present ; there is but little of
" taking up the cross " in present-day Christianity.
My own quarters here are far too comfortable. I
often think of moving to the other end of the
parish and taking cheaper rooms and living less
expensively. A great deal could be saved thus
and much better spent on home or foreign mission
work. My present circumstances would be but a
poor preparation for Africa or China.
He very seldom took even half a day away
from his parish ; and his family at Hampstead
saw very little of him, unless they paid
Peckham a visit, for which an excuse was
frequently found by one and another of them.
When, however, he did get away from his
work he thoroughly enjoyed himself. Thus,
during the "Eights Week" in May, 1894, he
paid a short visit to his beloved Oxford, and
wrote thus :
It does seem so natural to be writing once more
from Oxford. I feel quite like an undergrad.
again. I have had an awfully jolly time up
here, and it has done me a lot of good. We
have had a little tennis and plenty of boating.
This afternoon we punted right up to Marston
Summer Holiday. 53
and had tea there. The weather has been cold,
but Monday and Tuesday were fine, and to-day
has been lovely. Oxford is looking " A I." Of
course I have had many pleasant meetings with
friends.
Willie spent his first summer holiday from
his curacy, partly in paying visits in the West
of England, and partly with his family at
Ventnor. He enjoyed much the scenery of
the Wye, and wrote thus :
Dingestow Court, Monmouth,
July 5th, 1894.
I am sitting out on the terrace now, writing.
The view from here is perfectly entrancing.
I sat out and basked this morning, and tried to
read, but the view proved too much for me. From
this terrace you look down a gently undulating
slope of about 500 or 600 yards ; then across a
lake (fifty yards or so) studded with lilies, on to a
hayfield ; then a dip, in which the railway lies
-hidden ; and then a wood rising up a fairly steep
knoll ; the whole being most beautifully wooded.
The panorama of hill and dale is simply glorious,
but I am afraid my descriptive powers will not do
justice to it.
It is truly restful to be here. We generally
54 Scenery of tJie Wye.
separate for the night at 10.30 ; prayers in the
morning at .8.20, then Bible-reading together, and
breakfast at nine.
On Tuesday we left here at 10.30, drove to
Monmouth, there took a boat and rowed down
the river to Tintern, having a picnic lunch by the
way. I don t know how to describe the Wye ; it
is quite the richest piece of scenery I have ever
seen. You miss the mountains, but otherwise it is
something- like Borrowdale, only more narrow
and like a gorge. The sylvan verdure is more
luxuriant on the Wye. We had glimpses of sun
light on the way down, but in the afternoon the
sun came out gloriously. Tintern Abbey is most
picturesque. The old monks certainly had an eye
to the beautiful in selecting their sites. We drove
back along the valley of the Wye. I think I
enjoyed this even more than the boat in the morn
ing ; the sun was out brightly, and showed the
valley at its best. We got back here soon after
7.30. Altogether, a most delightful trip.
Being left in charge of the parish during
Mr. Goss s holiday, Willie learned something
of the multifarious duties of a London Vicar.
Thus he writes :-
Peckham, August 2/th, 1894.
Nearly 11.30 p.m., but I have really been so full
The Work of a London Vtcar. 55
of odds and ends to-day that it is only now that I
have leisure to sit down and write, though I have
been looking for an opportunity all day.
From 9.30 this morning my time has been taken
up with one thing and another ; people to see me,
visits to pay, letters to write for people, &c. I see
now something of the secular work that Mr. Goss,
and other Vicars, too, I daresay, have to do, and
how it runs away with time. It makes one wish
that the people who come to see one came more
often about their souls than about their bodies.
Alas ! in how few cases do people think about, or
get anxious over, the question of their soul. But,
on the whole, I have had one or two rather
encouraging talks to-day.
One wants to be so completely under the manage
ment of GOD, that He shall be able to ivork through
one, and use one simply as a channel. What we
also want is more prayer. I don t get half or
quarter enough time to pray ; the things I have on
my mind at this moment would take an hour to
roll off on to the LORD.
With regard to the need of private study
of the Word of GOD, writing to a brother,
Willie says :
I feel with you the danger of letting thought for
the spiritual state of others swamp the care of one s
F
56 Bible Study.
own spiritual life; (see I Tim. iv., 16) "Take heed
(a) unto thyself," (b} " unto the doctrine ; " " thus-
shalt thou save (a) thyself," (b) "others." One s-
influence on others must suffer if one s own soul is
not properly watered and refreshed. Don t be
too introspective, however ; remember Murray
McCheync s " For one look at self, take ten at
Christ."
Willie s Bible bears marks of constant and
painstaking study ; it is full of markings and
notes from beginning to end. He knew in-
o o
deed what it was to feed upon the Word,,
and to meditate therein day and night.
Like most thoughtful students, he had
during his Oxford career passed through a
season of doubt and difficulty concerning
many subjects connected with the sacred
writings ; but the LORD led him through
these into a position of complete acceptance
of the entire Bible as a divine revelation to
man of the being and the will of GOD. This
revelation he acknowledged as the one rule
of life, and he was content to obey what
he knew, leaving what was beyond human
Bishop s Exam. 57
comprehension to be solved in the full light of
the perfect day, when we shall know as we
are known.
Some of his notes of Bible studies are
given at the close of this volume.
The following letter, dated 4th December,
1894, refers to his approaching ordination to
priest s orders, and breathes the humble yet
happy spirit of a true-hearted minister of the
Gospel :
I heard from the Bishop last night that I had
"satisfied the examiners," so that is all right. I feel
deeply thankful to GOD, for I do not think I de
served to get through. We ought all to give a
special thank-offering. It is a relief to feel it is all
over, and one can now look forward to and prepare
for the solemn occasion of Friday, the 2ist. How
this year has flown, and how little one has done in
the time ! But " I will restore to you the years
that the locust hath eaten."
And again, a few days later :
I am looking forward to next week very much.
I badly need a quiet " retreat," which I hope this
will be. There are many things to be pondered
over, and one s whole self and life want a sort of
F 2
58 Ordination as Priest.
overhauling occasionally, for which there is hardly
time in an ordinary busy life. I am looking, more
over, for a more abundant fulfilment of Acts i. 8 in
my own soul. Somehow I seem to know sadly
little of that as yet ; there doesn t seem to be
much spiritual " dynamite " about one s life or
work, and it is of no use to work without the
power.
On the eve of his Ordination he wrote :
Rochester, December, ipth, 1894.
This is a solemn time, and makes one look back
on the past year with many regrets ; so little
done, so much unfaithfulness, so many broken
vows. Truly one cries "Woe is me, for I am a
man of unclean lips " ; but thank GOD for the
next verse ! We are indeed, I trust, getting a
vision of GOD here which may enable us to see
the realities of life more clearly, so that we shall
all go from this place with firmer resolve, and
with real definite dealing with GOD, in our own
souls. But it is very hard to write one s mind
on these matters. I feel and trust that this is
to be an epoch in my life, more so than last year.
May I realise what it is to be poured forth as a
drink offering to GOD on behalf of men.
Willie was always very popular with
children, took a great deal of trouble in
Work among Children. 59
preparing for any instruction he had to
give them, and also threw himself thoroughly
into their recreations. Thus he writes on
1 7th January, 1895 : ~~
To-night we are having a sort of children s
party at the schools, for members of the Scripture
Union and Band of Hope. I am preparing myself
to be torn in pieces it will do me good.
Concerning a similar previous occasion he
had written :
I enjoyed it much, and I fear that at such times-
the fact becomes sadly patent that I am still
very young ; there is no doubt I do thoroughly
enjoy a good romp.
His summer holiday in 1895 was spent
with several members of his family, visit
ing Edinburgh and the west coast of Scot
land. Leaving them at Oban, he extended
his tour northward, alone, and thus described
the scenery on his return journey from
Inverness :
Leith, N.B., August I4th, 1895.
The scenery on the Highland Railway is fine
and varied. I never knew what heather was
o Visit to Scotland.
till I saw it to-day on the moors of Grantown and
Kingussie ; there you have it, miles upon miles.
The chief places of note are : Grantown and the
view of the Spey, 1,000 feet above sea level, where
you are quite up in the clouds ; the view across
the Moray Firth from above Forres ; the view of
the Eastern Grampians, Cairngorm, &c , from
Aviemore they are a fine, noble outline ; the
Pass of Drumouchtcr (1,500 feet), which is wild,
and tends to be dreary, but the beautiful heather
slopes relieve it. Then you get to the beautiful
Glen Garry the finest mountain stream I have
seen swollen with the recent rains, and looking
as if it were trying to run a race with the railway.
Blair Athole is picturesque, and ushers in the more
cultivated part of the journey, beginning with the
Killiecrankie Pass, which is different from any
other pass I have seen, and extremely fine. Soon,
at Pitlochry, you reach the Tay Valley, where the
view all ways is grand ; Ben Vrackie and Ben-y-
Gloe, a fine background ; while towards Loch
Tay you have Schiehallion and our old friend Ben
Lawers, whose shape I easily recognised. The
valley of the Tay reminded me somewhat of the
Wye, it is very luxuriant and well wooded ; Dun-
keld and Birnam pass description.
The demands of the Foreign Mission
Foreign Mission Field. 6 1
Field had long pressed upon Willie ; but it
had been decided for him that he should
have at least two years work at home, in
order that he might gain experience, and
be able to weigh the relative claims of the
home and foreign fields.
He writes thus to his mother :
Peckham, October i/th, 1895.
The question of offering to the Church Mission
ary Society is a good deal in my mind. I rode
over to Richmond to see Aunt L on Monday,
and called on Mr. Squires, and had a long talk
with him about it. He thinks I ought not to delay,
but, having been in work at home for two years,
should put myself into communication with the
C.M.S. soon.
This is the conclusion to which I seem to have
been led up more and more all this year. I kn AV
that there is no obstacle on your part, that you are
quite willing I should offer myself for this work.
My health is no obstacle. The longer one re
mains in work at home, the less likely does it
become that one ultimately goes abroad. The
questions of language and of acclimatisation are
both better settled when one is young. Looking
at it all round, I can see no good reason why I
62 Offer to C.M.S.
should not offer for the mission field, while there
are 10,000 reasons why I should. In fact, it is not
why should I go? but why should I not go?
While all the time perfectly conscious that I have
no special qualifications for this, or indeed for any
other work in GOD S vineyard, yet I trust there is.
the one qualification, a call to do the work, and an
earnest desire to work where GOD places me.
After well weighing the matter, he took
the first step, as recorded in the following
letter :
Peckham, October 24th, 1895.
By this post goes to the Rev. H. E. Fox a letter
from myself offering for the C.M.S.
It seems as if this path has become plainer and
plainer the last few months, weeks, and especially
days. No reason has appeared for delaying the
matter longer. My visit to Oxford yesterday
practically decided me. I talked the matter over
thoroughly with Mr. Chavasse and Mr. Gibbon,,
and they both think my course seems clear.
Most strangely, I had by yesterday morning s
post a letter about the Vicarage at P *. I have
written this afternoon declining. It sounded very
tempting, but I felt as if Luke ix. 62, applied here.
* This refers to a vacant living for which it was proposed
that his name should be put forward.
Offer Accepted. 63
Later on he writes :
Peckham, December 3rd, 1895.
On Sunday night I preached on I Cor. iiL
11-15. What a solemn thought it is that at the
testing day all our work, that is not done
absolutely for GOD, and in GOD, will be burnt up-
like wood, hay, and stubble. It makes one think
there will be little left. Do you know I sometimes-
feel as if I were going to the C.M.S. under false
pretences. I cannot honestly say that I have
been a success here ; and, therefore, what am I
likely to be in the mission field, where many things-
hinder?
Looking back now on the past two years, there
seems precious little that I have been privileged to-
accomplish ; and so much left undone, and what
has been done so badly done. The thought some
times crosses my mind that I have been tried in.
the balances and found wanting. It is very
humbling.
His offer of service was accepted by the
C.M.S., but his destination could not be at
once decided ; and, as he felt the need of a
time of rest and study before going to the
mission field, he returned to Wycliffe Hall
in January, 1896.
<54 Rev- T. Goss s Narrative.
It was with great regret that he parted
from his Peckham friends, from whom he
"had experienced nothing but kindness, and
who presented him on leaving with many
tokens of their goodwill.
The narrative of this period cannot be
better concluded than by the following
.account of his life at Peckham, kindly given
by his vicar the Rev. Thomas Goss :
My first introduction to dear Cox was early in
the Autumn of 1893. Only recently instituted
.then to this important South London parish, I
was most anxious to obtain for it the services of an
earnest, godly, and capable young colleague ; and
by God s grace I found such. My son, then an
.undergraduate at Oxford, had spoken in glowing
terms of young Cox, of his own College, and
thought he might accept a Title for the ensuing
Advent Ordination. An interview with him, and
a visit paid by him to the parish, resulted in the
.offer on my part, and the acceptance on his, of an
invitation to come and work here. He was just
then very full of the spirit of self-dedication, and
opened his heart very lovingly. He had recently
returned from the enjoyment of much spiritual
communion with young fellows like himself at the
ST MARY MAGDALENE, PECKHAM.
Rev. T. Gosss Narrative. 65
Keswick Convention of 1893, about which we had
Jong, earnest, and confidential talk.
My future colleague had graduated with a good
class in the Final School of Theology, but he
-wished, nevertheless to spend the interval between
the Long Vacation and Advent at Wycliffe Hall,
for special reading, which he did, and enjoyed his
work there greatly. Part of that work, and perhaps
of as great importance as any, if it could be ascer
tained, was the impression he left upon many minds
there of a man thoroughly in earnest. It is known
that some even of those who were inclined to
resent his directness of speech came afterwards
to acknowledge the genuineness, and to appreciate
more highly the character, of their fellow-student.
Ordained on St. Thomas s Day, 1893, the new
curate came into residence, and commenced work
at once. His manner from the first was that of a
man intensely in earnest, and in all that he said or
did there was the impress of reality. For a time,
to some, his plainness of speech was somewhat
objectionable, and his manner and tone, in the
pulpit especially, were thought to be beyond his
years. But this difficulty gradually disappeared,
.and before he finished his course here, those who
-were slow to appreciate his worth at first were
among his warmest friends. But then it must be
also said that our friend passed with wonderful
66 Peckham Curacy.
rapidity from stage to stage of spiritual appre
hension and ministerial power.
He always devoted what time he could to-
private devotion and study, ordinarily reserving
his morning for that purpose ; and then going
forth thus equipped, he learnt not less, perhaps
still more, from intercourse with men and women,,
in the visitation of the parish, and in his efforts
especially to bring the Gospel to bear upon cases
of sin and backsliding.
If his personal religion was something very
real, his desire to be helpful to others was no less,
striking. Many a special consultation did he
obtain at the Vicarage over difficult cases ; and
at such times it was touching to see how he felt
for individual souls, often wrongly attributing
blame to himself for the lack of apparent success-
in dealing with them. If it were desirable, several
instances could be named in which his work and
labour of love were manifestly owned of GOD in
rescuing inveterate sinners from the error of their
ways, and in recovering backsliders. He was a.
distinctly good visitor, always following up diffi
cult cases, and continuing to bear them before
God in prayer.
The experience thus gained and the practical
acquaintance with the Gospel of Christ, as the
power of GOD unto salvation, shone forth increas-
Rev. T. Goss s Narrative. 67
ingly in his pulpit ministrations ; so that after the
first year of his ministry it became an increasing
pleasure to listen to his luminous exposition of
Scripture, and a solemn responsibility to hear his
earnest application thereof, and his appeal to the
hearts and consciences of all. Speaking for myself,
I used, during the last few months especially of his
too short stay with us, only just over two years,
to look forward to the occasions of his preaching
in Church, and was never disappointed.
He had very wisely accepted advice to write
his sermons for the Church congregation ; and
they were so carefully prepared, and withal so
well taken in by himself during preparation, that
the delivery from manuscript came to be much
more easy and natural, both in manner and tone
of voice and modulation, and all that goes to
make successful speech, than would have been
the case without manuscript. At the mission
service in the school room on Sunday evenings,
where he much liked to be and was always
welcome, he dispensed with manuscript, and never
failed to interest the people. His labour during
the week was spent chiefly in that part of the
parish in which the school stands, and his growing
acquaintance with the feelings, habits, and wants
of the people served him much in his public
ministrations there.
68 PeckJiam Curacy.
If space would allow, much might be said of his
devotion and usefulness in many departments of
work. At the Day Schools he was much at
home with both teachers and scholars, and besides
frequently instructing in Scripture, was a living
instance to them of a whole-hearted Christian. At
the Mothers Meeting he frequently gave short
addresses, as also at the young people s Band of
Hope and other meetings. The Saturday evening
prayer meeting was always a joy to him, and his
removal was a decided loss to that weekly
gathering. He never failed to take part, and in
his prayers there, as elsewhere, there was always
the impression of another Jacob wrestling with
God. With an utter absence of striving after effect
in mere language, his directness and earnestness
were most marked. Like Samuel or Elijah of old r
he would cry earnestly to God ; but never was
there vain repetition, never any formality in his
petitions. Our dear brother gave himself con
tinually to prayer and to the ministry of the Word.
Great was the regret of very many of his
Peckham friends when the announcement was
made that our dear friend had offered himself to
the C.M.S. for Foreign Mission work. Great was
my regret also, notwithstanding the fact that I felt
it to be right he should act upon what was to his
mind a distinct call. He had cherished the
Rev. T. Gosss Narrative. 6o/
thought from before the time of coming to work
with me, and had made known his intention
before accepting nomination to the curacy. And
certainly his thoughts and prayers were much
thereupon. In evidence of this, at his prompting,,
special prayer on behalf of Foreign Missions was
frequently offered at our Saturday evening meet
ings, in which he always took so large a share ;
and frequently in his sermons he drew attention to,,
and used illustrations from, the mission field. He
devoted considerable energy also to quickening;
missionary interest in the parish ; and besides
acting as secretary to the parochial C.M.S. branch
very successfully for the time being, he was never
better pleased than in preparing special missionary
lectures for school children and young people.
How at last he threw in his lot with the Mis
sionary Band ; how, after hoping and expecting to
be sent to India, he accepted nomination to a post
at Sierra Leone ; how, in the interval of his pre
parations for the foreign field, after leaving us, he
visited us occasionally, and warmed our hearts by
his loving enthusiasm for the Master s cause ; how
many farewells he took, and how solemn the last
parting at our C.M.S. quarterly meeting in the
Church Hall all this would be too much to tell
in detail.
Too sad, alas ! to tell, would be the state of mind
7O PeckJiam Curacy.
into which many of us, all of us, were thrown by
the sad news, which reached us on the very eve of
the Queen s Jubilee Sunday, that our dear brother
had been called away from earthly toil. There
Avere some one fears there were some not
wholly submissive thoughts amongst us at first ;
but better thoughts followed.
Our dear brother died as one of the Noble
Army a martyr, a witness for Christ, a soldier of
the Cross. He leaves a precious memory here,
and will find above some crowns of rejoicing from
amongst us.
;th Oct., 1897. THOMAS GOSS.
CHAPTER IV.
Preparation for the Foreign Field,
" God s will on earth is always joy,
Always tranquillity ! "
Faber
I "HE two terms Willie was now able to
keep at Wycliffe Hall, Oxford, under
his valued friend the Rev. F. J. Chavasse,
was a period of comparative rest combined
with useful study and instruction. It was
also a time of active labour in connection
with his old College, and in occasional
deputation work for the C. M. S. in the
neighbourhood of Oxford.
The following extracts are given from his
letters written during this period :
Wycliffe Hall, January 2/th, 1896.
You can t imagine how perfectly delightful it
seems to be up here again, in this dear old place
at the dear old Hall, with a prospect of steady
G
72 Wycliffe Hall, Oxford.
reading and preparation before one. It seems
like a dream, and I keep thinking that some
moment I shall wake up and find myself back in
Peckham again ; not that I should be sorry, for I
left there with many regrets, but still it is good to
be here.
Yesterday was a restful day, and a change from
my Sundays of late. I actually heard three
sermons from three different preachers, and had a
walk in the afternoon. Mr. Chavasse advises me
not to seek any regular Sunday work or parish
visiting this term, but to read and hear other
people, and try to get amongst men at Queen s
and elsewhere. I hope there may be a work for
me to do in this way while here, as well as getting
good myself.
Wycliffe Hall, February ipth, 1896.
C T. Studd (of China) is up here again ; another
man and I are entertaining him, and some men
to meet him, at breakfast to-morrow morning, at
Queen s. I have been in Queen s to the Bible
Reading to-night, and am trying as far as possible
to enter once more into the College life, and get to
know men. I went to the debate last Friday, and
have been down at the boats, coaching, almost
every afternoon this week and last.
The " Torpids " begin to-morrow, but I do not
anticipate any great things of our boat.
PORCH OF ST. MARY S, OXFORD.
Bishop French s Life. 73
Wycliffe Hall, April 24th, 1896.
I am wondering whether to come up for the
C. M. S. anniversary or not. It would be very
nice, but perhaps rather a religious luxury which
one ought to forego. I sometimes think that if
half the people who come up to town for mis
sionary meetings were to send, instead, the money
they would spend on travelling, GOD S work would
be more forwarded.
I am just now reading Bishop French s life ; it
is intensely interesting, and makes one long to be
out and at the work. To tell the truth, I am be
ginning to get rather tired of not being in active
work, and shall be glad when the time comes to be
aggressively engaged again. What a pity that, as
yet, so few Oxford men have followed French !
Wycliffe Hall, May I4th, 1896.
Bishop French s life lets one into real missionary
work and its difficulties. In reading what he had
to do, and did, one feels more powerfully than ever
one s own weakness and good-for-nothingness. I
very much fear I have in no way the capacity for
an educational missionary sometimes that I have
no capacity for anything. How much closeness of
walk with GOD, and how much prayer, will be
needed when out in the foreign field, if one is to be
anything more than a cumbcrer of the ground !
G 2
74 Influence at Oxford.
From among many letters received since
Willie s death, testifying to the influence
exerted by him at this time and previously,
the following extract from one signed by
four undergraduates of Queen s College is
selected for insertion here :
During the last years of his life in Oxford we
were much in contact with him, and we can hardly
tell how much we owe to the strength and sim
plicity of his character. His devotion to his
Master has made a deep impression upon those
of us who had the privilege of his friendship.
And one of his fellow-students at Wycliffe
Hall narrates the following characteristic
incident :
None of us will forget that morning when a
pitched battle took place between him and a man
who scoffed at foreign missions, until at last
Cox, with tears in his eyes, got up and walked
out of the room.
While at Wycliffe Hall, Willie had been
studying Mohammedanism and Buddhism,,
and preparing more or less definitely for work
in India. But in June, 1896, the Committee
Call to Sierra Leone. 75
of the Church Missionary Society asked him
whether he would be willing to go out as
assistant to the Rev. \Y. J. Humphrey, on
his return at the end of the year to Sierra
Leone.
This proposition was far from welcome
ior many reasons. His father s grandfather,
the late Rev. John Hands, had been one of
the early missionaries under the L.M.S.
to South India ; he had many other family
-connections with that country, and it was
the field to which he had been looking
forward ; the position offered at Sierra
Leone would entail a great deal of secular
business which could not be otherwise than
distasteful ; and. there was the question of
the unhealthy climate of West Africa.
On the other hand, the invitation from the
Committee (they never send anyone to Sierra
Leone), and the urgent needs of that Mis
sion seemed like a call ; his old Oxford
friends, Alvarez and Elwin, were already
labouring there ; there was the fact that he
76
Call accepted.
had the needful physical qualifications, for the
doctors had unanimously declared that he
might "go anywhere"; and finally, as he
himself put it, "The Field is the World."
The proposal was, therefore, deliberately
but promptly accepted.
It may be interesting to give here a copy
of an entry on the fly leaf of Willie s bible,,
which seems to be a succinct record of the
various stages in his offer for Foreign
Mission Service :
7th September. 1894.
(his birthday.)
3 ist December, 1894.
ist January, 1895.
1 9th November, 1895.
(accepted by the C.M.S.)
ist January, 1896.
ist January, 1897.
(date of departure for
Sierra Leone.)
LORD, what wilt Thou have me
to do?
It shall be told thee what thou
shalt do.
Whom shall I send ? Who will
go for us ?
Here am I, send me.
Jf the Son, therefore, shal
make you free, ye shall be
free indeed.
If Thy presence go not with
me, carry me not up hence.
My presence shall go with thee,
and I will give thee rest.
Whither Thou goest, I will go.
Arise, let us go hence.
He knoweth the way that I
take. When He hath tried
me, I shall come forth as gold.
Swiss Tour. 77
From the time he left Wycliffe Hall
Willie had constant clerical work ; assisting
the Rev. T. H. Russell at St. Martin s,
Gospel Oak, regularly for six weeks, and
preaching at Christ Church, Hampstead, the
last Sunday evening in July.
It had been a long-standing arrangement
that his family should spend the month of
August with him in Switzerland, and, he
having been appointed Chaplain at Spiez>
that lovely place on the Lake of Thun
became their centre.
Although Spiez was their headquarters,,
frequent excursions were made to other
places. Willie wrote as follows to a rela
tive, describing some of his experiences
and impressions :
Grindehvald, August 20th, 1896.
We are all charmed with this spot. The
situation right among the mountains is grand.
Yesterday was a splendid day. Most of us
started by the seven o clock train for the Little
Scheidegg ; arrived there, we walked to the Kiger
Glacier. This is finer, I think, than either of the
78 A Daj 1 in tJic Mountains.
glaciers here, shows one more how it is formed,
and impresses one more profoundly with its mass
and the tremendous power of the slowly-moving
ice-stream. These glaciers seem to me a grand
illustration of the way in which GOD often works
slowly yet irresistibly.
At 10.30 we were joined by the rest of our
party, who had come up by the later train, and
all proceeded up the Lauberhorn. Here we had
a magnificent view of the snow mountains on three
sides of us, from the Wetterhorn right away to the
Bllimlisalp.
The walkers (nine of us) then descended the
Wengern Alp, and so on to Lauterbrunnen, the
others going by train. We intended to have gone
straight down into the valley by the Trummelbach,
but lost our way, and wandered about in a wood
on the Mitten Alp for more than an hour. At
last we reached Lauterbrunnen, about 5.30. After
tea we went to see the Staubbach, which is wonder
fully beautiful. The valley of Lauterbrunnen
altogether is a perfect paradise ; I should like a
whole day there with my camera. Finally we
reached here by the rail via Zweilutschinen at
seven o clock, after a tiring but most enjoyable
day.
On Monday we visited the Lower Glacier and
Ice Grotto here. To-morrow, if fine, some of us
UPPER GLACIER, GRINDELWALD.
Chaplaincy at Spies. 79
are hoping to go on to the Eismeer at Baregg.
On Saturday we return to Spiez, spending five
or six hours at Lauterbrunnen and Miirren.
My time at Spiez has been very pleasant. My
camera goes with me almost everywhere ; I have
taken about fifty views already, and have some
good ones of the snow mountains.
Altogether this is a most wonderful holiday. I
feel as if such an abundance of new things and new
ideas had entered into one as never before. It has
altogether surpassed my expectations, and I feel
as if one wanted about a week to think it all over
calmly ; and I suppose we shall see a good deal
more yet in the next fortnight. The Sunday
work has been very pleasant, though responsible
and anxious, but I have been wonderfully helped
so far to deliver the message, and trust there may
be some fruit, though I may not see it.
The memory of that holiday, and especially
of the happy Sunday services in the salon of
the Spiezerhof will ever be fragrant.
Many of the visitors expressed their high
appreciation of Willie s ministry ; and one
of them, a London clergyman, wrote from
Spiez to the Colonial and Continental
-Church Society as follows :
8o Meeting at Hampstead.
I have just spent two Sundays here with my
family with much profit and pleasure, and beg most
heartily to thank your Society for the privilege
afforded in the hotel of a most reverently con
ducted Church service and earnest spiritual
preaching under your Chaplain, whose sermons
were greatly appreciated.
Willie was a delightful travelling com
panion ; always cheerful, full of fun, and
never complaining of little difficulties ; full
of plans and suggestions, taking more than
his share of trouble, and ever thinking of the
o
comfort of others before his own. He was.
the life of that Swiss tour.
Willie and his three friends Dr. Albert
Cook and the Rev. Beresford Wigram going
to Uganda, and the Rev. Harry Durrant
going to India all fresh recruits for the
mission field, and all from the congregation
of Christ Church, Hampstead, had been
commended to the grace of God at a
public meeting held at the Bickersteth
Memorial Hall, on the i;th July, 1896.
The following is an extract from the report
<& &
a
u
Meeting at Haiupstead. 81
of the meeting which appeared in the " Christ
Church Remembrancer " :
Those who were privileged to attend that
gathering will not soon forget the feeling of
solemnity which pervaded it. ... The four
young missionaries were introduced by the chair
man, and each spoke for a few minutes. . . .
The Rev. W. S. Cox told of the unexpected call
to important and responsible work in Sierra Leone r
whereas he had hoped and prepared for India. He
asked for prayer that in obeying this call he might
be endowed with the necessary grace and wisdom.
He appealed forcibly to us as a congregation to-
spare more helpers for the work abroad, asking
how we could be satisfied to send only four more
of our number, when a much larger proportion,
could well be spared without the work at home
suffering. He spoke, too, of the need of a high
tone of spirituality in each missionary, and assured
us that its existence greatly depends upon the
spiritual tone, as well as the prayers, of us at home..
. . . The meeting was drawn to a close by
earnest prayer from Canon Girdlestone for each
of the departing missionaries, and we parted after
singing the hymn, " GOD be with you till we meet
again."
Later on, Willie was among the
82 Livingstone College.
missionaries "sent forth" at the C.M.S.
Farewell Meeting held at Exeter Hall,
on the 29th September, 1896, when he
spoke, as the representative of Oxford, from
2 Sam. xv. 1 5 on the two kinds of readiness,
i.e., Willingness and Equipment.
In October he went i nto residence at
the Livingstone College, Stratford, to gain,
under Dr. Harford Battersby, some practical
knowledge of medicine and surgery, with
special reference to the diseases peculiar to
Africa. The enthusiasm with which he
entered into these studies was almost amus
ing in its intensity. During his one short term
there he learned much that was calculated
to be most valuable in the Mission Field,
and he only regretted that time would not
allow of his undergoing a longer medical
training. But he was eager to enter upon
the work of preaching the Gospel among
the heathen.
Everything in his outfit had reference to
utility in the Mission Field. The photo-
Sunshine in the Home. 83
graphic camera and the magic lantern
parting gifts from his Peckham friends had
been chosen with this view ; and he devoted
much time to the selection of suitable lantern
slides for religious teaching. His violin
would be useless in West Africa, so he
learned the concertina for open-air services.
It is difficult to speak of the family
gathering that Christmas, shadowed as it
was by the impending separation from him
whose presence was always like sunshine
in the house.
None but his home circle knew the full
charm of that presence. To his parents he
was much more than a son, "a brother
beloved," and the intercourse between them
was very close. His mother looks back to
her occasional Saturday to Monday visits
to him in his Peckham curacy as precious
times of communion with one deeply taught
of GOD. His brothers and sisters were
devoted to him, and to each and all he was-
a sympathizing counsellor and companion.
84 Leaving Home.
Those about to part with him felt no
foreboding, but rather joy, in surrendering
one so dearly loved to the LORD for His
work among the heathen.
The brilliant sunshine that flooded the
earth at the hour of his departure on that
New Year s morning, as he bade farewell
o home and friends, was a true reflection
of the inner sunshine which brightened the
sorrow of parting. The old year had been
grayed out in that home, and the little group
gathered at the Throne of grace will never
forget the tender pleading tones of Willie s
voice or the deep spirituality of his prayer.
A few hours later most of them had knelt
with him to receive the memorials of our
LORD S dying love at the customary New
Year s Morning Communion at Christ
Church. The next time, though mercifully
they knew it not, that they were together to
-drink that cup of blessing, it would be " new "
with the Master in the Father s kingdom.
REICHENBACH FALLS, MEIRINGEN.
CHAPTER V.
Sierra Leone.
" Measure thy life by loss instead of gain,
Not by the wine drunk but by the wine poured forth ;
For love s strength standeth in life s sacrifice ;
And whoso suffers most hath most to give."
Hammond.
Rev. F, Baylis, C.M.S. Secretary
for Africa, was about to pay a visit of
inspection to Sierra Leone ; and he, with the
Rev. W. J. Humphrey and Willie, started
from Liverpool on the 2nd of January, 1897.
On the morning of that day Willie wrote
thus to his mother :
Had many helpful thoughts all yesterday, and
now what a grand message in the Scripture Union
portion from Joshua i. for us three, and me spe
cially, brimful of meat, encouragement, exhortation
and promise. " Every place that the sole of your
foot shall tread upon " shall we say from the
wilderness and this Sierra Leone unto the great
river, the river Niger? "shall be your coast."
All must be His at length ; so we must, and may,
claim it now by faith.
86 Voyage out.
A burial at sea took place soon after they
left Liverpool, and Willie remarks in his
journal-letter respecting it, "a very impres
sive ceremony, much more so than on
land." Little did he think that within five
short months his own body would be com
mitted to the same resting place.
He tells of his getting among the sailors
with tracts, etc., "finding them very disposed
to be friendly." He adds :
I must not close without adding a word of
testimony to the wonderful grace and goodness
of our GOD, who has, indeed, been very near to us,
and made His presence felt even in times of
sickness, and when one had no energy for reading,
or thinking, or hardly for prayer. This has been,
I am sure, largely owing to the prayers of many
loving folks at Hampstead, Peckham, and else
where. Home also has seemed very near at
times, and I need hardly add very dear. To Him
be all the glory for these mercies ! It has been
good to have a prayer meeting every day on the
subjects for the week of prayer.
At Grand Canary the missionary party had
a most interesting excursion, visiting the
Grand Canary. 87
peak of the Caldera (1,870 feet), whence
they had a grand view. With his usual
readiness to find spiritual illustrations in
nature, Willie remarks :
The best crater lies just below La Caldera, and
from the peak we looked right down into it. It is
the most perfect specimen known ; one mile
across, nearly four round, and 1,000 feet to the
bottom, which has gradually sunk. There is no
outlet to it, and the sides are very steep ; but a
path leads to the bottom, where, strange to say,
nestles a farmstead, surrounded by vineyards and
other cultivated fields. A beautiful parable, I think,
in fact, the whole island teaches it, being covered
with crops of various kinds, although a mass of
cinders, of how, in the hand of Gop, human
nature can become fruitful and beautiful, even
though our life may seem parched and dry and
useless to start with. (Isaiah xxxv. I, 2.)
After describing the people and their
dwellings, he adds :
We rowed out to our vessel, and in a few hours
Canary was out of sight, leaving us the richer by a
new chapter in one s experience of human nature
and natural scenery.
H
88 Arrival at Sierra -Leone.
In prospect of his future work he writes :
Mr. Humphrey and I pound away at Temne. We
have had several good talks about the work out
yonder, and are very glad to be getting near it.
The first four weeks will probably see a good deal
of travelling about, as I shall accompany Mr.
Baylis on his visits to Leicester, Waterloo, Port
Lokkoh. and beyond. It is good to know that we
are now actually abreast of that vast " Dark
Continent." May the wedge of light soon widen
and spread right across it !
On the 1 8th January he writes from
Sierra Leone :
Here at last ! Came on shore this morning
How wonderfully strange and beautiful it all
seems ! Such crowds of new faces, and all so
much alike ! Had such a warm greeting from
Alvarez and Elwin. Large gathering of clergy
and laity this afternoon to meet Mr. Baylis. The
temperature now (8.30 p.m.) in my room is 84
but I do not find it too oppressive.
Again he writes as to his first impres
sions :
Fourah Bay College, January 22nd, 1897.
Sierra Leone is a lovely place ; beautiful situa
tion ; flowers and trees most luxuriant. The
U s
o
. U
i >
2 <
a
<
K
C3
v O
o ta
H fa
* O
4
^
w
First Impressions. 89
College stands on a promontory, almost sur
rounded by water, and thus we get the breeze if
there is any. The churches and chapels show
that there are many Christians here ; in fact, there
are about 20,000 professed Christians in Freetown,
but there is an equal number of heathen and
Mohammedans. One sees signs of this all around.
Last night we went to the Cathedral School, to
the dismissal of five Africans for the Temne
country. On the way back, along the Fourah
Bay road, we heard the Mohammedans at their
prayers, the noise of the tom-tom for a heathen
dance, and met many people wearing charms. It
is painfully clear that while Freetown has been
evangelised, it has not all been, even nominally,
converted.
The road from here to the town is very busy and
full of interest. All the shop-wares are placed
out in the road, and the noise is indescribable.
Probably fifty languages or so are being spoken
within a distance of one mile, Temne and Yoruba
being the principal ones. All sorts of dresses are
worn. The Christians wear European dress mostly ;
the Mohammedans keep to their own long, flowing,
graceful robes ; while the Heathen wear anything
or nothing.
Three days later a party, consisting of
H 2
90 Visit to Temne Mission.
Canon Taylor Smith (now Bishop of Sierra
Leone), Canon Spain, Mr. Humphrey, and
Willie, accompanied Mr. Baylis on a visit of
inspection throughout the Temne Mission,
which proved most interesting and encou
raging.
The following letter describes some of
their proceedings :
Fourah Bay College,
3Oth January, 1897.
We left here on Monday, at twelve, by the
Mission boat, our party consisting of the Bishop-
elect, Canon Spain, Mr. Humphrey, Mr. Baylis,
and myself. Progress was slow, the wind being
against us, and after having covered only ten
miles in more than six hours, we at length halted
at Tasso Bomp, at 6.15, for dinner.
At this place there is a nice little mud church,
and a small body of Church of England Christians.
One of them places his parlour and kitchen at our
disposal ; we dine, and start again at eight. A
breeze has now sprung up, and we bowl along
merrily in the darkness. The captain fortunately
knows the river well, and avoids the various rocks
and sandbanks that abound. Sleeping in the boat
is not easy, and at length, at one in the morning,
3 W
Pert Lokkoh and Makouip. 91
we halt at Maferi. We are carried on shore, and
stumble up the bank somehow. A certain Mr.
John is known to us ; he most obligingly turns
out for us, and goes to sleep somewhere else, while
we bestow ourselves in various parts of two rooms,
and are glad to be able to sleep horizontally.
At 4.30 we are up again, and off soon after six,
for the last fifteen miles to Port Lokkoh, which we
reach at last about eleven o clock. Here we are
hospitably received by Mr. and Mrs. Alley, break
fast being soon announced and plans talked over.
Port Lokkoh is a large and important town of
2,000 people, mostly heathen and Mohammedan.
There is a nice church, and a little body of 200
Christians or more. In the afternoon we visited
the King, and in the evening had a service.
Next day (Wednesday) we started earl} on a
fifteen mile tramp to Makomp, which we reached
in time for breakfast. Here we have another
station, with two very good workers at it ; a mud
church and school, both well used. The first four
converts were baptised last year, and progress
is really being made. In the evening we were
present at the school, and had a short service
(conducted, of course, in Temne), Mr. Baylis and
Canon Taylor Smith speaking through an inter
preter. The King was present and a good com
pany, and one realised at last what evangelisation
92 Workers Conference.
means. It was a most moving and yet a sad
sight, and yet again one ought to be very thankful
and hopeful for the \vork here.
Next morning we left early to return to Port
Lokkoh, nineteen miles by a new road. We had a
hot march, and no time for preaching, nor any
good interpreter with us.
Friday was a most interesting day for us. All
the Temne workers, about twenty in number, had
assembled there for a conference, which began at
seven with the Holy Communion, and went on,
with two intervals for meals, tttl six in the
evening. For me this was, of course, most instruc
tive, and the Temne Mission which I am in some
sort to superintend is now a good deal more than
a mere name to me. Such a conference has never
been held before, and would not have been possible
a year ago, so greatly has the work developed in
the past twelve months. The country is full of
exceptional difficulties, but we are much en
couraged on the whole, and go forward in faith
to possess the very much land that yet remaineth.
We left Port Lokkoh at seven on Friday, spent the
night (or rather four hours of it) at Makori, and
arrived at Fourah Bay at noon on Saturday. This
morning (Sunday) I preached at Cline Town, and
am just off with the students to the Mohammedan
service.
Heathen Superstitions. 93
During our journeying through the Temne
country we passed at each village an Anibaki
house, i.e., " old man s house." When a man dies
they place a stone on his chest, in order that his
spirit may pass into the stone ; it is then placed in
the Anibaki. At this house they make prayers
and offerings of rice, &c., and when any evil hap
pens to the village, they must appease the spirits ot
the departed by special offerings at the Ambaki.
This illustrates the foolish religion of fear which
these poor people have. On the march one day I
passed a little sort of arch, about 5 ft. high, placed
over a path, with some charms hung from it ; this
is intended to guard the place to which the path
leads from the Krifi (evil spirits) and robbers.
The following letter to a relative, written
while out on a subsequent tour of three
weeks, gives a succinct account of his life
during this period :
Ro-Gbere, Temne Country,
Sierra Leone Hinterland,
April ist, 1897.
I was delighted to get your welcome letter the
other day. It is so nice to get letters out here,
assuring one of all the love and prayer that is
behind one in the dear home-land ; not that one
94 Second Tour.
ever doubts it for a moment, but letters seem an
outward and visible sign of it.
Mr. Baylis visit came to an end in the middle of
February, and then we had a very hard month of
it at Fourah Bay College, many arrears of work
having to be cleared off, and all the various accounts
of the Mission for last year made up and audited.
Besides this, our school inspections came at this
time. All this gave us plenty to do, and a good
deal of it came to my share. Very glad I was to
have it to do so soon, though friends at home
would be astonished and amused at the things we
missionaries have to do sometimes, but all, even
the little things, are the Lord s work and to be
done for Him. One day I spent about three hours
finding out a mistake in a school register !
Our new mission party for the , interior started at
last on March 5th. Alvarez, with two students
from the College fine young fellows, and with
real zeal from the Holy Ghost form the party.*
They have gone N.N.E. from Freetown, about 200
miles, to the district round Falaba (you will find
this marked on the C.M.S. map), a district hitherto
quite untouched by missionary work.
Mr. Humphrey and I left Freetown last Monday
week for a three weeks itinerating tour in this
* An account of this by Mr. Alvarez appears in the " Church
Missionary Intelligencer " for September, 1897.
New Mission Station. 95
country. We have had a most interesting time.
We went by boat to Makori, thence walked E. to
Mapoli ; there we stopped the night and preached
to a very interested congregation ; we also
preached at a stopping place during the day.
Next day we went twenty-one miles N.E. to
Magbankita, where we have a station, lately opened,,
with two agents ; there are no converts yet, but
some catechumens and enquirers. We rested here
a day, and preached in the evening. Moving on r
next day, N.N.W., we got to this place on Saturday
morning. We have two white men and five
Africans here. The place was occupied about ten
months ago. The people are very friendly, and
we are hoping great things for GOD S kingdom
here. But the work must be slow. The people
have little idea about GOD, and think that He and
our message have nothing to do with them. Their
main thought is an intense belief in the devil, whom
they fear, try to propitiate, and almost worship.
You see everyone wearing charms on their body,
and little charms hung about in all sorts of places
in their houses.
We are just building a square mud house for
our men here, and have had endless trouble
over the arrangements, price to be paid, &c. At
last, in answer to prayer, the matter seems likely
to go well. The rains begin in about six weeks,
96 Sunday at Ro-Gbcre.
and it is most important that the house be built
and ready to inhabit before that time.
We had a very happy Sunday here. At 7 a.m.
we had the Holy Communion, a very sweet and
precious time. A mud floor is quite as good to
worship GOD upon as a Cathedral marble. You
can have no conception how real the means of
grace are out here, and how very near and
precious the dear LORD S presence is, right in the
midst of a heathen town. After the service I
Avalked with two of our men to a neighbouring
town, Rokatolori, about two miles off. Here we
had service with a fairly good number present,
very quiet, attentive, and apparently interested. I
preached, through an interpreter, on the " true way
to God," John xiv. 6. In the afternoon our party
at Ro-Gbere separated into parties of two, and
went out, like the disciples, into the neighbouring
towns to preach ; we who had been to Katolori
staying in to rest. In the evening we had a big
lantern service here, and I showed some of my
slides and spoke on them.
This will give you, perhaps, some idea of a real
missionary Sunday. The people seem certainly
interested in what we say, but not much more
as yet ; stony ground is plentiful, and the "fowls
of the air " are very active. But we believe in
the supernatural power of GOD the Holy Ghost,
s rs
Forward Movement at Sierra Leone. 97
Who is surely working, and can and will work
a sense of sin in their hearts. Only He can create
this ; we cannot do it.
On Saturday we go to Karene and spend
Sunday ; then we turn south to our station at
Makomp, strike north-west into some unknown
country for two or three days, thence to Port
Lokkoh, down the river to Makori for the Sunday,
and so home to Fourah Bay. There is a consider
able difference between this sort of work and my
work in Freetown ; here it is right among
the heathen, there it is chiefly business work and
preaching to Christians. Both kinds of work are
intensely happy, because both are the LORD S will
for me ; and there is joy just in doing His will, is
there not ?
In anticipation of this tour he had
written :
On Monday, hurrah ! Mr. Humphrey and I go
off for three weeks. Hard work, too, not a holiday,
but change of work, fresh air, eighteen miles a day
\valking, and life among the dear Temne people.
Good !
It may be interesting to quote here
from a letter recently received by Willie s
father from the Rev. W. J. Humphrey,
98 Work at the Cathedral.
telling of the progress of the Forward
Movement at Sierra Leone :
The C.M.S. have just sanctioned our request to-
be allowed to open up five stations in the Temne
country. It was to select these that your son and
I made our long journey last March. How he
would have rejoiced to have seen eleven men going
up at one time. They start (D.V.) in October
next, when they will have completed their year s
training at Fourah Bay College.
He had studied the Temne language
during the voyage out, and also at every
opportunity afterwards ; but it was a great
happiness that, as English was generally
understood by the professing Christians at
Sierra Leone, he was able to preach at once
to them without an interpreter.
During Canon Taylor Smith s visit to
England, for the purpose of consecration,.
Willie was appointed to assist at the
Cathedral. He writes thus on his return
from the second tour :
Fourah Bay College, 2ist April, 1897.
My work at the Cathedral began directly I got
fc : 2
Ly
U H
la w
1 fa
fa O
> a.
StS ^
:" O
i g
Easter Sunday. 99
back here. Last week I preached there on Tues
day, Thursday, and Friday evenings. My usual
work will be preaching on Wednesday evenings, and
taking half of the regular Sunday work. Easter Sun
day began with the Holy Communion at seven a.m.,
when we had over 230 present. Directly after this
came morning prayer at eight a.m., with sermon (I
preached on Matt, xxviii. 6), followed by the Holy
Communion. The church was packed, over 1,200
were present, and over 200 remained for the Sacra
ment. The service was over at 10.30, and I confess
I was glad ; the heat was tremendous. However,
I soon recovered at Mr. Lucia s house after break
fast and rest. At two p.m. I went to the Colonial
Hospital for service, which reminded me of the old
Hampstead Infirmary days. Then to the gaol,
where I had three short services, with the women,
with the men, and in the hospital. This was quite
new work for me, very sad and touching, and diffi
cult, because probably half the prisoners knew not
ten words of English. This was over at four, and I
retired for tea. At five we had service in the
Cathedral (the Archdeacon preaching), followed by
Holy Communion; finished at seven. I had dinner
with Mr. Lucia, and then walked home, not so tired
as I expected, but quite tired enough. The church
was very pretty, palms forming a very beautiful
and natural adornment. The day on the whole
TOO Unhealthy Season.
was happy, and one felt glad of the opportunity of
preaching and ministering to such a large and im
portant congregation.
The rainy season at Sierra Leone was now
advancing, and this year it proved specially
unhealthy. After telling of the losses by
death of several members of the Sierra
Leone Church, and of other troubles, Willie
says :
The lesson of living the life of faith, one day at
a time, is very needful out here. Much more true
it is here than in England that you never know
what a day, or half a day, may bring forth. One
has to be constantly prepared for the unexpected,
either of news or of work. This would be difficult,
even impossible, if one did not know that the
LORD reigneth, and that even the stormy wind
fulfils His word.
I succeeded in staving off an attack of fever on
Thursday by a timely dose of quinine. All the
morning I lay in my hammock, feebly trying to-
prepare a sermon I was to preach at five o clock.
In the afternoon I was able to go down to the
Cathedral in a chair, preach for 22 minutes, and
walk back in 25 minutes, racing against a tornado.
I succeeded in getting home before it burst. It is
Multifarious Duties. lor
astonishing what different sensations of health one
can have here within 12 hours.
Mr. Humphrey and Mr. Elwin both
being ill, Willie s work was now much
increased. He writes on the 8th May :
Since Monday I have had rather an exciting
time. Elwin is still in bed with continued fever,
though temperature not very high. On Thursday,
after breakfast, Mr. Humphrey developed a tem
perature of IO3 4. By night time he was normal
again, but last night had a slight return. So I
have had two patients on hand, neither of them
seriously ill, but both needing attention. Yesterday
was lively ; being the only able-bodied European
in the place, I took chapel and two of Mr.
Humphrey s lectures, and, of course, had to answer
all notes, messages,. &c., that came for any of us^
You would have been amused at seeing me going
to lecture with books in one hand and medicine ini
the other, which I was taking to Mr. H. on the
way. Other incidents of the day were : a sick
servant, a sick student (nothing serious), and one
of the teachers from the College School who came
to have a tooth extracted (operation successfully
performed). The weather this month is very try
ing, and I feel thankful to have got through so far
without a real attack of fever.
IO2 Last Letter before Illness.
The following is an extract from the last
letter written by him before the fatal
illness :
Fourah Bay College, May ipth, 1897.
My letters have been rather irregular of late,
owing to a combination of causes ; uncertainty of
mails, extra special pressure of work, and the
weather. However, I have decided to cease
excusing myself, or anyone else, on the ground
of " no time " for anything that ought to be done,
with the answer " you have all the time there is,"
so will proceed.
My two invalids are all right again, and
were able to go down to most of the meetings
last week. They say this month is like a foggy
November in England. Several old people have
died. At one time last week ten Government
Officials were down with fever. There can be no
doubt we enjoy great immunity from danger out
here on the Promontory, and the fresh air does
much to keep us well. Three members of the
American Soudan Mission have died quite
recently, two of them being new recruits ;
one missionary of another society has also died
last month. These things impart a solemnity to
the very fact of one s life here, and they teach one
constantly to live literally by faith one day at a time.
Last Letter before Illness. 103
Our men up country are well, though Allen *
has had fever. This is certainly a trying month.
I have had a slight rise of temperature now and
then, but no real fever, and have not had to go
to bed.
I have begun to pray definitely for a revival, and
preached on it last Sunday. The difficulty is to
go on quietly with one s daily hum-drum work.
One would like to spend half the day in prayer and
Bible study, and the other half in visiting and
pleading with the people. However, He knows all
about this, and we can trust Him to use one s
mouth on Sunday, even though one has been at
secular things all through the week. Most of
yesterday I spent correcting exam, papers. A
great deal of time lately has been spent on an
inch-mile map of our Temne district. I have this
morning made a tracing of it for the Government,
and it will probably be copied on to the next
Government map.
The foregoing letter was received on the
3rd June, and then came an interval of
silence.
On the morning of Saturday, the iQth
* The Rev. F. S. Allen succumbed to successive attacks of
fever on the 3oth June.
I
IO4 News of Death.
June, a telegram was received by the C.M.S.
from Grand Canary as follows : " Cox fell
asleep June i2th."
Two days later the African mail arrived
bringing the following letter, written by
Willie to his mother from his sick bed :
Fourah Bay College, June i.
I cannot let you think that I have forgotten the
1 5th (her birthday) or the i8th (confirmation day}
of this month. Am not able to write to the dear
girls, Win, Hilda, and Lil (about to be confirmed),
nor a long letter to you. Have been in bed with
fever since May 22. Much to be thankful for, no
complications, only obstinate high temperature.
Am now decidedly on the mend. No more
except love. W. S. C.
He doeth all things well.
On the arrival, a week later, of the
incoming African steamer " Bathurst," full
details were obtained from those on board,
and letters also came by the same steamer
telling of his illness before leaving Freetown.
The prevalent malarial fever had seized
him. after some premonitory attacks, on the
22nd May.
Particulars of Illness. 105
Fortunately, his friends, Mr. Humphrey
and Mr. Elwin, were then well again, and
able to nurse him, which they did most
tenderly.
He had had no headache or other pain
incidental to fever, indeed no complications
of any sort, only the high temperature, which,
in spite of the repeated use of cold baths
and wet pack, could never be reduced below
1 02 6, and which rose every night, some
times as high as 105. Yet his strength
had been wonderfully maintained, and the
two doctors in consultation advised a trip
to the Canaries, thinking his removal in-
O
volved no great risk, and that to be out of
the malarious atmosphere of the coast would
in all probability enable him to throw off the
fever.
Mr. Elwin writes concerning the departure,
on Friday, the i ith June, from Freetown :
The doctor and I took him downstairs after
Mr. Cole had helped him to dress. At the bottom
he got into my hammock, and we carried him
J 2
iq6 Particular s of Illness.
carefully to the wharf, and into the boat. I sat by
his head all the way, and we chatted together, he
smiling again and again, and expressing hopes of
what we should do on his return in a few weeks
time. When we got to the ship, the sailors carried
him up on the mattress, though we had agreed he
should walk, and he lay on the deck for a while.
We then took him downstairs, undressed him, put
him to bed, and gave him nourishment from time
to time. This was about ten o clock, I believe.
I stayed on board till 4.15 p.m., when the vessel
started. I had had prayer with him and long
talks, but in no way did he show that he thought
he was not likely to recover. The clerk at the
Cathedral came to wish him a safe journey, and I
v/ell remember Willie saying, " Good-bye, Lang, I
hope soon to be back again " ; and he said the
same to Archdeacon Johnson. So the farewell
words were words of hope of speedy recovery. We
all prayed with hope during that week, and were
very astonished and grieved at the telegram.
W T illie had got into all the work so well, was so
kind, so unselfish, and so in earnest for the good
of the people. He was preaching very much about
revival the need, the way, and effect ; and his
words to me when I said I was going to preach for
him at the Cathedral were, " Do preach on a re
vival ; nothing else will do any good."
Burial at Sea. 107
Archdeacon Crowther of the Niger
Mission kindly acceded to Willie s request
that he would pass the night with him. It
was well he did so, for Willie rapidly became
much worse ; he was very restless, delirium
set in, and the temperature rose to 107.
He revived, however, and at 10 a.m. seemed
much better ; but the worst symptoms soon
returned, the heart s action failed, and he
quietly fell asleep at 11.5 p.m., on the I2th
June, 1897.
Archdeacon Crowther read the Burial
Service at ten o clock the following day,
Trinity Sunday, when " in sure and certain
hope " the body was committed to the deep
in Lat, 1 1 o N. and Long. 17 46 W.
" A spot unmarked but holy."
" GOD hath His mysteries of grace,
Ways that we cannot tell ;
He hides them deep, like the hidden sloep
Of him He loved so well."
C. F. Alexanders " Burial of Moses?
CHAPTER VI.
Conclusion.
AT St. Mary Magdalene, Peckham, and
** from several Hampstead pulpits, the
sad news was announced on the 2Oth June-
Jubilee Sunday.
A Memorial Service, attended by a large
congregation was held at St. Mary Magdalene,
on Wednesday, the 3Oth June ; and at Christ
Church, Hampstead, the Evening Service,
on Sunday, July 4th, was made specially
commemorative of the one thus suddenly
called to higher service.
The "Record" newspaper, of June 25th,
had the following from its Oxford corres
pondent :
The death of the Rev. W. S. Cox, of the C.M.S.
Mission, at Sierra Leone, has cast a gloom over the
Christian Union, of which he was a member during
his University course. The memory of his bright,
active, devoted life still lives in Oxford.
The following minute was adopted by the
Committee of Correspondence of the Church
Missionary Society, on the 6th July, 1897 ~~
Resolution of C.M.S. Committee. 109
Resolved : That the Committee have heard
with deep sorrow of the early death of the Rev.
W. S. Cox, of the Sierra Leone Mission, who,
having joined the Mission so recently as January
of the present year, was called home on June I2th,
after some three weeks severe fever. The Com
mittee had received the offer of service from Mr.
Cox, and his acceptance of the post of Assistant
Secretary at Sierra Leone, with much gratitude,
and with great hope for the future ; and while
desiring to acknowledge that for him to die has
been gain, according to the good purpose of Him
in whose eyes the death of His saints is precious,
they cannot but feel the blow to the Mission a
very sore one, and pray that his place may be soon
taken by some one willing and able to take up so
responsible an office. The Committee desire their
sincere sympathy to be expressed to Mr. Cox s
sorrowing relatives.
Numberless were the letters received by
the sorrowing family, and the personal
communications made to them, testifying to
the love and esteem in which their dear one
had been held, and many of them telling how
his influence had been blessed.
Unspeakably comforting was the sympathy
1 1 Testimony and Sympathy.
thus widely felt and expressed ; and very
joyful was the assurance that the short time
of service here had been abundantly fruitful.
They wish to re-echo his last written
words :
"He doeth all things well."
P.S., 3ist October, 1898. It seems fitting
to record that two of those with whom the
subject of this Memoir was closely associated,
and whose names frequently appear in these
pages, have been recently called to their
rest: The Rev. W. J. Humphrey mur
dered last March by the insurgents in the
Hinterland of Sierra Leone, whither he had
gone to carry relief to his brethren; and the
Rev. Thomas Goss, struck down, three
weeks ago, by a fatal brain attack in the midst
of the activities of a large London parish.
"Thus Heaven is gath ring one by one,
In its capacious breast,
All that is pure and permanent,
And beautiful and best."
IN MEMORIAM.
WILLIAM SPILLER Cox.
Tis well ! Yes, though our hearts are sorely riven,
And this deep mystery we fain would spell,
Though faith with dark perplexity hath striven,
Yet still our inmost hearts can say, Tis well.
Tis well for thee, dear, earnest, noble spirit,
Who wentest bravely armed with purpose high,
Counting thy life not dear, so thou inherit
The warrior s portion, or to do or die.
Ready to live for Afric s down-trod races,
To win by word and life the sunk, the lost,
By self-denying love and Christian graces
To show he lives the best who loves the most.
Ready to die to give thy life an ofPring
And sacrifice to God of savour sweet.
Ready to serve in doing or in suffring,
Because thou st laid thine all at Jesus feet.
For four short months mid toil and anxious labor,
Thy light for Jesus shone on Afric s shore ;
And now the call has come to rest for ever,
Burden and heat shall weary thee no more.
Tis well ! All joy for thee, though sad the ending
Of this thy short, bright, happy, fiuitful life ;
The angel minstrels their glad strains are lending
To greet thee victor after noble strife.
Though short thy life, not short as heaven reckons,
There, not as here, they measure life by love,
And when the Master home His servant beckons,
Full the reward awaiting each above.
Tis well ! Thou st entered on the service higher,
Which disappointment never can alloy.
Thou st walked with God on earth ; now holier, nigher,
At His right hand thou walk st in endless joy.
M. A. SPILLER.
June 22nJ,
NOTE ON C.M.S. MISSIONARIES
FROM OXFORD.
ALTHOUGH the number of C.M.S. missionaries,
from Oxford has not equalled the number from
Cambridge, yet the list of sixty-four Oxford men,
who have gone out in connection with the Church
Missionary Society (of whom twenty-two are still
labouring), contains many names of noble servants
of God. No less than ten Oxford C.M.S. Mission
aries have become bishops : William Williams, of
Waiapu ; Hadfield, of Wellington ; George Smith,
of Victoria (Hong Kong); French, of Lahore;
Poole, of Japan ; Hodges, of Travancore and Cochin;.
Hannington and Tucker, of Eastern Equatorial
Africa ; Evington, of Kiu-shiu ; W. L. Williams, of
Waiapu. Add to these such names as John Tucker,.
Henry Watson Fox, W 7 . Hooper, John Sharp, W.
E. Rowlands, Rowland Bateman, J. W. Knott, F..
A. P. Shirreff, H. C. Squires, and we see how much
Note on C.M.S. Missionaries. 1 13
the mission field owes to Oxford. Of younger men
still in the field I will not speak ; nor can I refer
here to the excellent Oxford men who have become
missionaries of other societies. But think of the
five C.M.S. who have been called, in what we hoped
were but the early years of a long and happy
service, into the immediate presence of their Lord,,
within recent memory : Perry (of Worcester), in
Ceylon ; Harvey (of Exeter), in China ; Fremantle
(of Balliol), in India ; Dobinson (of Brasenose), on
the Niger ; and now Cox (of Queen s), in West
Africa. What a muster-roll it is !
A few months ago, Sierra Leone, for the first
time in its history, had four University men at
work in its Missions; and though the senior, Mr.
Humphrey, hailed from Cambridge, the presence
together of Alvarez, Elwin, and Cox, gave us hopes,
that the Church Missionary Society s oldest Mission,
was going to be in the main, an " Oxford Mission."
Why should it not be so still ? Will not some of
the younger clergy who look to Oxford as their
alma mater, and some of the men still studying in.
its classic precincts, dedicate themselves in the
name of the Lord to West Africa ?
Sierra Leone itself is not a romantic field like
Uganda, or the Afghan Frontier, or the heart of
China. But there can be no higher work than that
of taking an existing Native Christian Church, with
Note on C.M.S. Missionaries.
its own pastors and evangelists, and by fervent
prayer and a holy example, helping to lift it up to
a higher life, so that it may itself engage with
greater earnestness in the evangelisation of the
immense heathen lands beyond. The new Bishop
of Sierra Leone, Dr. John Taylor Smith, calls for
volunteers. Will not some come forward at once,
especially from Oxford ?
Of what manner of man a missionary of the cross
ought to be, we have a singularly beautiful picture
in this little volume.
With all my heart I trust that this sketch of
William Spiller Cox will prove to be God s message
to the hearts of many of His people.
EUGENE STOCK.
October, 1897,
BIBLE STUDIES.
By W. S. Cox.
I. "THE CALLED OF JESUS CHRIST," M CALLED
TO BE SAINTS."
Important time in life, when a boy has to decide bis-
" calling " " work. St. Paul often reminds of the heavenly
calling, I Cor. i. 2 ; Phil. iii. 14 ; I Thess. iv. 7 ; Eph.
i. 4; cf. i Pet. i. 15 ; 2 Pet. i. 3. Consider this "calling":
Our business is "to be saints."
I. Choice of the Calling :
(i.) In part made for him by others (e.g., parents,
teachers, friends), but chiefly by himself : so with
the Christian calling. Josh. xxiv. 15.
(2.) One Calling chosen, others must be laid aside ;.
cannot be farmer one day, soldier the next, &c. :
so with the Christian. Matt. vi. 24.
(3.) Calling chosen that is not too full. There are not
too many saints in the world ! A " little flock."
Luke xii. 32.
I 1 . Life of the Calling :
(i.) He must prepare for it ; find out what it means
and requires. Luke xiv 28.
(2.) He must understand his work. A Christian must
know what he ought to be and do. Deut. x. 12, 13.
A saint (a) ore given over to God ; (b) one holy ia
heart and life.
1 1 6 Bible Studies.
(3.) To this end he must give study and his whole
attention to it. Phil. iii. 14. (Apply).
(4.) He must love it. Ps. xl. 8.
HII. End of the Calling :
(i.) A work that will pay. Matt. vi. 33.
(2.) Rest, peace, quietness. i Tim. iv. 8.
(a) How are we doing this work? How far are we
saints yet ? Let us not say it ourselves, but
what might others say ?
(b) How may we become saints ? Not by ourselves.
i Thess. v. 23. "The Holy Spirit which
sanctifieth me." John xvii. 17.
IV. The Reward of the Calling :
Eternal Glory. i Pet. v. 10.
51. WITH JESUS IN THE MOUNT (Luke ix. 28, 51).
T?vo remarkable contrasted scenes :
(a) Mountain Victory, Glory, CHRIST.
(b) Valley Defeat, humiliation, the Devil.
Mountain Life. Solitude, separation from sin. View will
repay the climber. v. 28 : Too little mountain life
now-a-days ; too much hurry, rush, fever, bustle ; not
the spiritual force our fathers had because we spend
less time " in the Mount." Mountain climbers : Moses,
Elijah, Paul, &c. Men of great spiritual power have
always been much in the mount, e.g. Fletcher of Madeley,
Wesley, Moody, &c.
Bible Studies. 1 1 7
I. The Motint is the place to see God
(a) In a special sense Matt. vi. 6.
(b) In a new light (v. 29). Air clear on mountain top
away from mists of sin.
(c) There we really know Him, talk with Him. (Dis
ciples had not heard of His death before). "A
little talk with Jesus " will teach us more than much
talk about Him.
II. The Mount shows our character.
(a) They were sleepy not making the best use of their
marvellous privilege (v. 32).
(b) They did not fix their attention wholly on CHRIST.
" Hear Him" Whom do we go to church to hear ?
Whom do we hear ? (v. 35).
(c) They wanted to remain and be idle (v. 33).
III. The Mount is the place of power.
CHRIST retired to pray before special work or trial.
Luke vi. 12 ; xxii. 41 ; Matt. xiv. 23 ; Mark i. 35 ;
Heb. v. 7. Prayer in the Mount means power in
the valley. More Prayer and fewer Entertainments
would make the Church victorious in her conflict.
Win your enemy, your class, &c., by putting them
on your prayer list.
IV. The Mount must be left for the Valley.
v. 37. Be prepared for immediate conflict. Directly
after a blessing, directly you leave your room,
going home from Church, you will have to meet
the Devil. Back to business ; Gon wants you in
the Valley ; work to be done there.
Let GOD S light shine out from you as from Moses.
Exod. xxxiv. 29.
u8 Bible Studies.
III. "HIDE AND SEEK" (AN ADDRESS TO
CHILDREN).
I. - What is bound to be "found out :
Illustration of discovery after long concealment. A
man once wrote some bad words on a wall in
Pompeii ; the city was buried in ashes and lava ;
after 1800 years the city was laid open and the
words "found out. Hab. ii. 11.
So our sins -will be found out (Num. xxxii. 23) ; for
nothing hid that shall not be revealed. Luke xii. 2,
&c. Illustration : Cain, Gen. iv. 10 ; Joseph s
brethren ; the cup in Benjamin s sack. Gen. xliv.
16. ; Achan, Josh. vii. 18 ; cf. also Ps. xc. 8.
So our words (Matt. xii. 36). What is whispered in the
ear shall be proclaimed on house-tops. Luke xii. 3.
II. How can we escape the result oj being found out?
By the finding of
(i.) A Ransom (Job xxxiii. 24), which sets free, as pay
ment frees fiom punishment for debt.
(2.) A Saviour, John i. 41.
(3.) A Treasure (Matt. xiii. 44). Illustration, diamond
mines of South Africa.
(4.) A Friend, JESUS, who comes to find the lost.
Luke xv. cf. Is. liii. 6.
III. What can never be found? Sin for given. (Jer. 1. 20.)
Because it is put
(i.) Behind God s back (Is. xxxviii. 17). But better
(2.) Into the Sea (Micah vii. 19). Yet some smugglers
cast their brandy kegs into the sea, only to find
them floating to tell the tale. So better still
(3.) As far as the east is from the -west (Ps. ciii. 12).
Neither east nor west can be reached : two points
which never approach each other.
I
BV 3625 S5C6 1898 TRIM
Cox, Will iam Spiller r
Early promoted 140942
BV 3625 S5C6 1898 TRIM
Cox r W i 1 1 i am Sp i 1 1 er ,
Ear 1 y pr omot ed 1 40942
