679 India: MEEK (R.) MEMORIALS OF ENSIGN
CHEEK, 6th Native Bengal
murder-1 "« atAllahkbad,'
12mo, M jg-j
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THE LIBRARY
OF
THE UNIVERSITY
OF CALIFORNIA
LOS ANGELES
THE MARTYR OF ALLAHABAD.
V
*
-
:-
V
THE MAETYR OF ALLAHABAD.
MEMORIALS
OF
ENSIGN ARTHUR MARCUS HILL CHEEK,
MURDERED BY THE SEPOYS AT ALLAHABAD.
BY
THE REV. ROBERT JHEEK, M.A.,
KECTOB OP BUTTON BONNINGTON, NOTTS;
AUTHOR OF " THE MUTUAL RECOGNITION OP OLOEIFIED SAINTS,'
"HEAVENLY THINGS," ETC., ETC.
trti €f)ousan&.
LONDON :
JAMES NISBET AND CO., 21, BERNERS-STREET.
1857.
MACINTOSH, PRINTER,
GREAT NEW-STREET, LONDON.
D3 '
C4IMM7
THE RIGHT HONOURABLE
THE LORD ARTHUR MARCUS CECIL HILL, K.T.S.,
HIS GODSON, ARTHUR MARCUS HILL CHEEK,
(WITH HIS LORDSHIP'S PERMISSION,)
ARE RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED
BY
THE AUTHOR.
WELLINGTON PARK,
DURDHAM DOWN, BRISTOL,
Octobers, 1857.
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I.
Page
EARLY DAYS — DEPASTURE FOR INDIA — JOINS THE
REGIMENT AT ALLAHABAD ..... 1
CHAPTER II.
THE MUTINY AT ALLAHABAD ...... 12
CHAPTER III.
MARCUS CHEEK'S ESCAPE, SUFFERINGS, NOBLE CONFES-
SION, AND DEATH ....... 22
CHAPTER IV.
LETTERS OF SYMPATHY AND CONDOLENCE . . .41
CHAPTER V.
CONCLUDING REMARKS , , 67
THE YOUNG MARTYR OF ALLAHABAD.
CHAPTER I.
EARLY DAYS.— DEPARTURE FOR INDIA.— JOINS
THE REGIMENT, ETC.
THE year 1857 will be long remembered as a time
of sore trouble, and of deep and wide-spread afflic-
tion, from the fearful outbreaks of mutiny and violence
in India. The progress of these mutinies among the
native soldiery has from the beginning been marked by
fearful massacres and atrocities, unparalleled in the
history of ancient or modern times. The accounts ot
the massacres of British officers, of the dishonour and
cruelty inflicted on their wives and children, have stirred
up a deep feeling of sympathy and of just indignation
throughout the nation. Numerous are the families
who mourn the loss of beloved friends and relatives
thus cruelly cut off by the treacherous mutineers.
How many once happy wives have been made widows, —
children made orphans, — and parents bereaved of
beloved children ! Yet, amidst these appalling, heart-
B
X THE YOUNG MARTYR OF ALLAHABAD.
rending calamities, there have been exhibited many
shining examples of British heroism, of devotion, and
piety, the remembrance of which deserves to be re-
corded for the encouragement and instruction of sur-
vivors and posterity.
The design of the following narrative is to supply
some particulars of the short life, sufferings, and noble
and Christian death of Arthur Marcus Hill Cheek, a
young ensign of the 6th Bengal Infantry, who, under
the age of seventeen years, when enduring cruel suffer-
ings from Mohammedans, exhibited that Christian
fidelity and heroism which justly entitle him to the
glorious distinction of the young Christian martyr of
Allahabad. The first notice of this noble boy appeared
in the ' ' Times " newspaper, in an extract from a letter
of a British officer in India : —
"When the wretched 6th Regiment mutinied at
Allahabad, and murdered their officers, an ensign only
sixteen years of age, who was left for dead among the
rest, escaped in the darkness to a neighbouring ravine.
Here he found a stream, the waters of which sustained
his life for four days and nights. Although desperately
wounded, he contrived to raise himself into a tree during
the night for protection from wild beasts. Poor boy !
he had a high commission to fulfil, before death released
him from his sufferings. On the fifth day he was dis-
covered, and dragged by the brutal sepoys before one of
their leaders, to have the little life left in him extin-
guished. There he found another prisoner, a Christian
catechist, formerly a Mohammedan, whom the Sepoys
EARLY DAYS. 3
were endeavouring to torment and terrify into a recan-
tation. The firmness of the native was giving way, as
he knelt amidst his persecutors, with no human sym-
pathy to support him. The boy officer, after anxiously
watching him for a short time, cried out, ' Oh, my
friend, come what may, do not deny the Lord Jesus
Christ ! ' Just at this moment, the alarm of a sudden
attack by the gallant Colonel Neile, with his Madras
Fusiliers, caused the flight of the murderous fanatics.
The catechises life was saved. He turned to bless the
boy whose faith had strengthened his faltering spirit,
but the young martyr had passed beyond all reach of
human cruelty — he had entered into his rest ! "
Thousands in whose hearts this touching, though,
in some respects, imperfect story, has awakened
admiration, and gratitude to God who strengthened the
faith of this gallant youth boldly, in the hour of suffering
and death, to confess and glorify Christ, will be inter-
ested to receive further particulars respecting him. An
opportunity the writer has lately had of converse with
the bereaved parents, and the sight of letters received by
them from India, and other quarters, will enable him to
supply many additional and interesting details.
Arthur Marcus Hill Cheek, the second son of Oswald
Cheek, Esq., the highly-respected town clerk of Evesham,
was bom at Evesham, July 31, 1840. He was the god-
son of the Right Hon. Lord Arthur Marcus Cecil Hill,
formerly M.P. for Evesham, who attended as sponsor at
his baptism, and after whom he bore the name of
Arthur Marcus Hill. His great-grandfather was Nicholas
B 2
4 EARLY DAYS.
Mosley Cheek, formerly Rector of Rollestone, Stafford-
shire, and afterwards founder and first minister of St. Ste-
phen's Church, Salford, Manchester, and nephew to the
late Sir John Parker Mosley, Bart., of Rollestone. His
grandfather is John Mosley Gilbert Cheek, in his 85th
year, formerly an eminent solicitor at Evesham, but
who for many years has retired from the profession.
Our young Christian hero, Marcus, for so he was
generally called, was one of a large family, nine of
whom, with the afflicted parents, live to mourn his
early death. There is but little to record of his early
days. His parents speak of him as an affectionate and
dutiful son, as remarkably steady and correct in conduct,
having and manifesting at all times a conscientious
regard to truth ; as most attentive to his religious
duties, fond of attending the services of the Church,
and serious in his attention when in the house of God,
and careful to keep the Sabbath-day holy. He first
went to a school, as a child, near Birmingham, kept by
a lady; then removed to the Proprietary School at
Edgbaston, near Birmingham; thence he went to the
Grammar School at Cheltenham, under the care of Dr.
Humphries, who speaks of him as a youth of great
promise. Here he received several valuable prizes for
good conduct and improvement in his studies. He
afterwards studied and resided at Brussels for one year
tinder the care of the Rev. C. Jenkins, a British Chap-
lain in that city. The mother of this gentleman, in a
letter of condolence addressed to the parents, thus tes-
tifies of Marcus, while under their care : —
EARLY DAYS. 5
" It was with overwhelming sorrow I read his name
in the 'Times' yesterday. I cannot resist expressing
to you the sincere sympathy I feel for that heavy loss
his family have sustained by the death of so promising
a youth. Of his good qualities I could give many
proofs, but I will not harrow up your feelings, already
too sorely tried, and only add, that poor Marcus was a
favourite with us all, and deeply his early death is
lamented by my son, myself, and his late school-
fellows."
The following extract of a letter to his father, from
Brussels, is interesting. In the haste of leaving home
Marcus had neglected to pay a small boyish debt he
had contracted. His fond father, anxious to impress
on the minds of his children a scrupulous regard to
honesty and the avoidance of thoughtless expenditure,
had kindly remonstrated with him. This will explain
the allusion in the following extract : —
" MY DEAR FATHER, — I am extremely sorry to hear
that Mamma is unwell, but I hope her visit to Brether-
ton will do her good. As yet, my dear father, I have
never owed more than two or three shillings, which I
forgot to pay Mr. H., for fishing tackle, before I left,
and which I had intended to pay, but quite forgot : and
the other day, having no money to pay for some
letters, one of the boys kindly lent me some until I had
some chance of paying him. Thus you have the extent
of my debts. I can assure you that I have felt very
uncomfortable since I posted the letter, thinking that I
6 EARLY DAYS.
owed a few francs. I think I can safely promise never
to get into debt, and, at least, this I can safely say,
that I detest debt as much as you possibly can. I
think it is the root of immense evil, and all manner of
temptation ; and regarding it in this light I will shun
it through life as my worst enemy. God only knows
how I can resist the temptation of various vices when I
am left to act for myself, — but it shall be my earnest
prayer to be delivered from them."
The principles and feelings avowed in this letter of a
boy of sixteen are too important to our young readers
to be overlooked. It should ever be borne in mind
that honesty is an essential branch of the religion of
Christ, which requires us to " live righteously and godly
in the presqnt world." How many young men would
have been spared difficulties which crippled their exer-
tions in after-life, had they commenced their career
with the same honest principles which are expressed by
the youthful writer of this letter. It is a lamentable
fact that many young people seem to have no idea of
the sin and disgrace of contracting debt by thoughtless
expenditure. This habit is especially to be avoided in
boyhood as the forerunner of many evils. The resolute
self-denial of our young hero was but the first demon-
stration of that firmness of character and conscientious-
ness which afterwards enabled him to resist the solicita-
tions of those who tempted him to save his life by
renouncing his religion.
The fear expressed by this youth as to his endurance
and triumph over temptations to evil is also worthy of
EARLY DAYS.
notice. In the gay capital of Brussels, removed from
the watchful eye of parents, he felt his exposure to
danger on this score. It was indicative of true religious
principles germinating in his mind that he felt this, and
was distrustful of himself. Such feelings are among
the best pledges of safety, as they will lead the young
Christian to shun the scenes and occasions of tempta-
tions ; to watch against the danger, and to pray
earnestly to God for upholding and preserving grace.
It is to the want of such holy fear, and distrust of
themselves, and neglect of prayer, that many young
persons, in an unsuspecting hour, fall a pray to temp-
tations which have proved to them the commencement
of a career of folly and misery. The religious principles
here avoved by young Marcus, sown in the youthful
mind and nurtured there, are the elements of true
greatness of character, and will be the source of pure
joys in after-life.
Before he left Brussels, Marcus, at his own desire,
was confirmed, and the first Sunday after his return to
England, when the Sacrament was to be administered
at the church of his native town, he expressed his desire
and intention to his mother to partake of the Holy
Communion with her, which he did with great serious-
ness and devotion. About this time, on an occa-
sion of a collection being made in the church,
his aunt supposing that he had but little money
with him, offered to give him a part of what
she intended for the collection, to put in the plate.
His reply was, " Oh no, aunt, you know that would not
8 DEPARTURE FOR INDIA.
be my gift, but yours. I intend to give my own, and
have something to give." Marcus at this time was
fond of drawing, and several of his sketches, which the
writer has seen in his little room, and which remain as
he left them, evince considerable talent in this way ;
one or two show considerable wit and humour. He was
remarkably tall; at the age of fifteen, his stature was
within an inch of six feet. Discovering a decided pre-
dilection for the military profession, his father, through
the kind interest of Lord Marcus Hill, who was
attached to him as his godson, obtained an appointment
for him, through the Right Hon. Robert Vernon Smith,
President of the Board of Control, who gave him a
" direct " appointment to India. Though such an ap-
pointment rendered his going through the usual course
of studies for two years at Addiscombe unnecessary, he
had to pass an examination there, which he did with credit
to himself and satisfaction to those who examined him.
The time was now come for Marcus to quit the scenes
of his early youth, and to leave those beloved friends
and that home which he was not again to revisit. He
was cheerful in spirit, buoyant in hope of future scenes
and days, though at times a little depressed, as the time
drew nigh of separation from those he loved. His
father accompanied him to Southampton, where he
embarked for India on the 20th of March, 1857,
reaching Calcutta by the overland route on the 28th of
April, and received his appointment of ensign of the
6th Regiment of Bengal Infantry, stationed at Alla-
habad. He was allowed three weeks to visit his uncle
JOINS THE REGIMENT, ETC. 9
and family resident in India before he joined his regi-
ment. The short letters from himself, and others from
his relatives, show that these hasty visits were to them
all a source of great pleasure and satisfaction. Alas,
these were the only, the last visits our young ensign
was permitted to make to his Indian relatives ! Little
did they imagine they should see his face no more.
Such was the will of God, and they bow, though with
sorrowing hearts and sweet reminiscences of the de-
parted youth, to Him, who "doeth all things well."
Young Marcus reached Allahabad on the 19th of May,
1857, and joined his regiment. The brief communica-
tions received by his friends in England speak -of his
being pleased with Allahabad as a fine city, and of the
satisfaction he realized in his new position, and the
novel circumstances in which he found himself. It is
much to be regretted that a diary, which he promised to
keep and send monthly to his mother, has not been
found, as it would have conveyed interesting information
concerning him ; this diary, his sword, the Bible given
to him by his aged grandfather before he quitted Eng-
land, and other valuables, are supposed to have been
irrecoverably lost.
This brief notice of the early days of Marcus Cheek,
— though presenting nothing remarkable above that of
many young people, yet viewed in connexion with his
future short history, furnishes one among many in-
stances that times of great trouble call forth from their
obscurity persons of eminent talent and faith who
would have remained unknown had all things gone on
10 THE YOUNG MARTYR, OF ALLAHABAD.
quietly and smoothly as usual ; just as the earthquake
and the torrent, rending the mountain side, reveal to
sight the rich minerals before concealed. Where there
is nothing more than what is commonly expected to
take place in the ordinary affairs of life, the man of
high courage has no opportunity of distinguishing him-
self from his timid and irresolute companions. He may
not himself even be aware that he possesses those
higher virtues that are commonly called forth by
difficult and dangerous circumstances. The latent
virtue existed before the trial came ; it would be too
late to learn how to do the duty when the time of ac-
tion arrived. The great task of those who educate the
rising generation must be to implant those high princi-
ples of Christian faith, of justice, mercy, and truth,
which will render it difficult, if not impossible, for a
man to do an act of criminality, of injustice and
cruelty, or to violate the strictest rules of honesty and
truth. The parent and guardian must strive, in de-
pendance on Divine guidance, to awaken the latent
powers of mind, and to kindle high and holy feelings ;
but there is no teaching more powerful than example.
The anxious parent, therefore, who sends forth an in-
experienced and darling son to encounter the tempta-
tions and difficulties of the world, will look with eager-
ness for some shining examples of virtue among the
comrades of the boy, or those of similar age, that may
hold forth to him a pattern by which to form his own
conduct. Hence, it is important that every deed of
heroism, every shining example of piety, should be
THE YOUNG MARTYR OP ALLAHABAD. 11
remembered, that those who hear of it may be stimu-
lated and encouraged to do likewise. Surrounded as
the inexperienced youth is with the many bad examples
whose influence is to draw to evil, it is refreshing to find
some who, though young, have been strong in faith,
and have held fast their Christian hope in the darkest
hour of temptation and peril. It is, therefore, a sacred
duty to preserve the records of the faithful who have
stood out bravely to confess Christ before men. In
thus gathering up the few precious memorials of
Marcus Cheek, as we proceed, we hope to hold up a
shining example of Christian fidelity, to stimulate other
young persons to cultivate by prayer and diligence
those Christian graces which can arm the unprotected
sufferer with the same courage to bear affliction, even
captivity and torture, without giving up their trust in
the power and love of their Saviour.
12 THE MUTINY AT ALLAHABAD.
CHAPTER II.
THE MUTINY AT ALLAHABAD.
THE fearful storm, of the near approach of which
there were unmistakeable signs, — was now about
to burst over Allahabad, its 100,000 inhabitants,
and its devoted garrison. What had occurred at
Meerut, Neemuch, Benares, and other places, —
the fearful massacre of British officers and Euro-
peans,— the flight of the mutineers to Delhi, and its
possession by them, with all its mighty stores of
military materials, could not fail to excite alarm at
Allahabad. It was manifest to all that the mutiny was
not, as at first supposed, of a partial or local character,
but the result of a deep-laid, well-ordered, and widely-
spread conspiracy for the overthrow of British dominion
• — for the expulsion of Christians and Christianity from
India. A time was fixed for striking the final blow,
and for a general rising and massacre of the Europeans.
The somewhat premature outbreak at Meerut antici-
pated this — led to the discovery of the fearful plot, and
thus providentially put the Europeans on their guard.
In Allahabad, with about 100,000 inhabitants, with a
large Sepoy force, and with comparatively small
THE MUTINY AT ALLAHABAD. 13
European forces, in the event of an outbreak, the worst
of consequences were apprehended. The Rev. Mr. Hay,
an American missionary, stationed there and in the city
at the time, states : — " There had been several panics in
the city for some time before the revolt broke out there,
and three weeks before there was any fighting the city
was patrolled, and European women and children were
ordered into the Fort. At times the alarm died away,
and the women would come out of the Fort. The
expectation was that the city would be attacked by
mutineers from Benares. At length a chief raised the
standard of insurrection. No European knew who he
was ; some said he was a Moulvie — that is, a Moham-
medan religious teacher, something like the padre of the
Portuguese ; others, that he was a native officer ; others,
that he was a weaver by trade. He, however, repre-
sented himself as a Viceroy of the King of Delhi. He
commanded about 4,000 of the mutineers. Mr. Hay
speaks in the highest terms of Major Brasier and
Colonel Neile. He (Brazier) commanded the Sikhs at
Allahabad, and exercised great influence over them. It
was to him that the Europeans were indebted for pre-
venting the rebels from taking the fort. Had they
done so, scarcely anything could have driven them out
of it, for it is constructed on a European model.
Nothing could induce the rebel Sepoys who besieged it
to come near, so much did they dread its guns. On
the 13th June, Colonel Neile cannonaded Darghung, a
suburb of Allahabad. Brasier behaved there with dis-
tinguished gallantry. The chief of the mutineers was
14 THE MUTINY AT ALLAHABAD.
taken prisoner. He was a young man magnificently
dressed, and was said to be a nephew of the Moulvie
who headed the mutiny inside the walls. Major Brasier,
surrounded by a few Sikh soldiers, ordered the chief to
be brought before him to be interrogated. After being
questioned, he was ordered to be taken to a place of
confinement. His arms were loosely fastened behind
him. Before he left the presence of the Major, he by
a great effort caught at a sword that was within his
reach, and made a cut at one of the Sikhs. Brasier
and all the Sikhs fell upon him, and the foi'mer wrested
the sword from the prisoner's hand ; but the enraged
Sikhs, while the chief was prostrate, placed their heels
on his head and literally crashed out his brains, and
the body was thrown outside the gates there. "
Within the city all was intense anxiety and alarm.
The 6th Native Regiment of Bengal Infantry, of which
Marcus Cheek was an ensign, was for a time considered
to be faithful and to be relied on. They had, with
great apparent sincerity, professed their loyalty, and
great attachment to their officers, and had prayed to be
led to Delhi, to rescue that city from the rebels; and
had received with hearty cheers the thanks of the
Governor-General for their loyalty. But in the hour
of need the 6th Regiment proved treacherous and broke
out into open mutiny, arid massacred their officers, to
whom they had professed submission and attachment !
The sad story of all this is best told in the extracts from
letters of several of the survivors.
THE MUTINY AT ALLAHABAD. 15
FROM A CIVIL SERVANT.
"Allahabad, June 28.
" I told you in my last letter that we were apprehen-
sive of an outbreak on the part of the city people, and
that I had taken up a position at the gaol, ready to
make a stand — that the officers of the 6th Native
Infantry had all confidence in their men, though we
had not, for now no one can trust those wretched
natives. Well, matters went on quietly enough till
Friday the 5th, when news of the disturbance at
Benares came up, with a report that a number of the
insurgents were on their way to attack this station.
On the same day an order came from the Brigadier at
Cawnpore to ' man the Fort with every available
European, and make a good stand/ We non-military
men were instantly ordered into the Fort, being formed
into a militia under the orders of the officer command-
ing the garrison. We slept in the Fort on that Friday,
the 5th, doing duty upon the ramparts, and returned
to the station the following morning, but only for the
morning, going into the Fort again in the afternoon.
About this time we had in the Fort about fifty invalid
artillery soldiers, some few commissariat and magazine
sergeants, and we volunteers, mustering above 100
men. There were also 400 Sikhs, and 80 of the
wretched 6th guarding the main gate. A great
number of the European merchants and half-castes
remained outside, believing the report to be only a cry
of ' Wolf' and supposing it to be a false alarm. The
16 THE MUTINY AT ALLAHABAD.
report of the approach of the insurgents was false ; but,
alas ! would that the poor creatures had taken advice,
and joined us in the Fort ! Among those outside were
poor Captain Birch, the Fort-Adjutant, a married man,
poor fellow ! with a family ; Innes, the Executive
Engineer, who had the previous day resigned his
appointment in the Fort from ill-health, and had gone
up to his bungalow. My poor dear friend, Alexander,
of the Irregulars, was in a garden near the Fort with
150 of his troopers. Two guns, under Harward, of the
Artillery, had been sent down to the river to guard the
bridge of boats over the Ganges towards Benares.
Hinks, of the 6th Native Infantry, and two little griffs
(young men not long in India), were also stationed
there, in charge of two companies of that regiment.
Well, all these poor fellows were out, and we were
inside the Fort, through the mercy of the Almighty.
We were told off on our guard, and had laid ourselves
down on our beds (those who were not on watch), when
about half-past nine we heard firing in the station, and
on the alarm-bugle being sounded we ran up to the
ramparts in breathless silence. The firing grew heavier,
and we all thought that the insurgents had entered the
station, and were being beaten off by the regiment. So
steady was the musketry, regular the firing ; on, on it
continued, volley after volley. ' Oh ! ' we all said,
' those gallant Sepoys are beating off the rebels/ — for
the firing grew fainter in the distance, as if they were
driving a force out of the station. But before long the
sad truth was known. Harward rode in, bringing the
THE MUTINY AT ALLAHABAD. 17
tidings that the wretched Sepoys had risen, had seized
his guns, and had marched them up to the station. He
had escaped, and had run up to poor Alexander's camp,
who jumped on his horse and rode up towards the
lines, with as many of his men as could be got ready;
he had been caught in an ambush by a body of Sepoys
lying in wait in an empty tank, and had been killed by
a musket being placed to his side, blowing out his heart.
His poor body was brought in later in the night, and I
gave his hand a last shake and shed tears over his last
bed.
" The officers were at mess when the wretches sounded
the alarm-bugle to bring them to the parade, and shot
them down right and left. Wretched murderers, may
they receive their reward ! Nine poor little ensigns
doing duty with the regiment were bayoneted to death
in the mess-room, and three of the officers who escaped
heard their cries as they passed ! Poor boys ! who had
never given offence to any native, nor caused dissatis-
faction to the Sepoys. Five officers were shot belong-
ing to the regiment, besides the nine poor boys. Birch
and Innes, with the Sergeant- Major — in all, seventeen
military men, — many merchants and others, were most
cruelly murdered. In all, fifty Europeans fell that
night by the hands of the murderous Sepoys. The
treasury was plundered, the prisoners escaped from
gaol, and the work of destruction commenced. The
whole station was destroyed — house after house plun-
dered and destroyed ! Each moment we expected the
Sikhs would turn on us, and then ! . . . But the
c
18 THE MUTINY AT ALLAHABAD.
Almighty mercifully decreed otherwise. We disarmed
the 6th guard at the main gate, and found the villains
with loaded and capped muskets ready to turn out !
" What an escape we had ! Five officers came in,
all having escaped in a wonderful manner — three naked,
having had to swim the Ganges. "VYe were all night
under arms, and in the morning lay down in our cots
sad and weary, each moment expecting to be called up.
The streets of the city are about half a mile from the
fort, and during the four or five following days troops
of the rioters were to be seen, rushing from place to
place plundering and burning. Day and night we
manned the ramparts in the hot blasting sun, and day
and night the guns and mortars belched forth, throwing
shell and grapeshot, burning down houses, and scatter-
ing the demons wherever they were seen.
" We dared not leave the Fort, for who knows what
the Sikhs would have done if it had been left empty ?
However, let us not breathe one word of suspicion
against them, for they behaved splendidly, &c.
"The wicked 6th had marched out on the 7th,
leaving two guns, and a Mussulman had set himself up
in this city calling himself the agent of the King of
Delhi, and calling on all natives, Hindoos, and true
believers, to massacre all Europeans ; and many poor
fellows who had been in hiding fell into his hands and
were murdered."
However painful it is to pursue this view of the
horrors and atrocities of this mutiny at Allahabad, we
THE MUTINY AT ALLAHABAD. 19
must add to the above painful narrative an extract from
the letter of the son of a clergyman to his father, dated
"Chunar, June 6:"—
" And now I have a tale of fearful horrors to tell you
of what happened at Allahabad. God grant it may be
exaggerated ; I fear it is too true. Let it stir up our
English friends to send us with the utmost expedition
the troops we so urgently require. On Saturday even-
ing last, the 3d Oude Cavalry and 6th Native Infantry
rose, and destroyed the bridge of boats, and murdered
every European they could find. Out of seventeen
officers at mess at 9.30, fourteen of them were butch-
ered by 9.40, by the mutineers and mess-guard.
And this is a regiment that volunteered to go against
the Delhi rebels ! Many of the poor residents had left
the Fort, on account of the intense heat and the apparent
security of everything. The mob and cut-throats rose
with the soldiery. They burnt one whole family, from
grandfather to grandchildren, alive ! Others they killed
by inches, cutting off the nose, then the ears, then
fingers, then toes, &c. Children they killed, little
innocent babes, before the mother's eyes, and then
killed her!"
How fearful the exhibition, the confirmation, exhibited
in the massacre and atrocities at Allahabad, at Cawnpore,
and other places, of the representations of Holy Scrip-
tures, that the heathen are " without natural affection,"
and the " dark places of the earth are filled with the
habitations of cruelty." Of all cruelty to which man is
impelled, none is greater than that which is called forth
c 2
20 THE MUTINY AT ALLAHABAD.
by religious bigotry ; and to this we must trace what is
occurring in India. The various reasons assigned for
this fearful outbreak are for the most part mere pretexts.
British dominion in India has proved the forerunner of
civilisation, and most beneficent to the many millions
thus placed under British sway. It is the success and
wide-spreading influence of British Christianity shaking
the superstitions of Hindooism and Mohammedanism —
the diffusion of Christian knowledge by our schools for
the instruction of the natives — the spread of railways,
and other advances in civilisation, — these have excited
in the minds of the Brahmins and Mohammedans the
fear of the approaching downfall of their old super-
stitions and false religions, and of the final and near
ascendancy of Christianity. Hence, though opposed
to each other, Hindoos and Mohammedans combine
together with maddened bigotry to uproot, to destroy,
and to banish Christians and Christianity from India.
A prophecy, long current among them, that British
dominion in India was only to last for a hundred years,
which period is now rapidly drawing to its close, may
also have had its influence in hastening the calamities
we now deplore. But however these events may for a
time retard the progress of Christianity in our Eastern
Empire, no one who believes the Word of God can
doubt the ultimate triumphs of Christianity, and final
downfall of all those systems of idolatry and super-
stition opposed to it. The present fearful events which
are taking place in India, however painful and
mysterious to us, we cannot doubt will be overruled
THE MUTINY AT ALLAHABAD. 21
by God to these grand ends. The ploughshare of war
will break up and prepare the ground for the reception
of the Word of eternal life, and thus will be hastened
onward that glorious consummation for which every
sincere Christian devoutly prays, when the Saviour of
the world shall " receive the heathen for his inheritance,
and the uttermost parts of the earth for his possession."
How appropriate to the present times, and how consol-
ing, is the prophetic language of Holy Scripture : —
" Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine
a vain thing ? The kings of the earth set themselves,
and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord,
and against his anointed, saying, Let us break their
bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us. He
that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh : the Lord shall
have them in derision. Then shall He speak unto
them in his wrath : and vex them in his sore dis-
pleasure. Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill
of Zion. I will declare the decree : — the Lord hath
said unto me, — Thou art my Son; this day have I
begotten thee. Ask of me, and I shall give thee the
heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts
of the earth for thy possession. Thou shalt break them
with a rod of iron ; thou shalt dash them in pieces like
a potter's vessel. Be wise now therefore, 0 ye kings ;
be instructed) ye judges of the earth" (Psalm ii.)
22 THE ESCAPE OF MARCUS CHEEK
CHAPTER III.
THE ESCAPE OF MARCUS CHEEK FROM THE MAS-
SACRE—HIS SUFFERINGS— HIS HEROIC FAITH—
HIS DEATH.
IN the fearful outbreak and massacre of British officers
and Europeans at Allahabad, what became of Marcus
Cheek, our young Christian hero ? Providentially on
that night of horrors, when nine young ensigns were
murdered by the treacherous Sepoys, whose dying
shrieks were heard by the passers by, Marcus had left
the mess-room at an early hour and retired to his own
private lodgings. An overruling and merciful Provi-
dence thus rescued him from instant death, and pre-
served his life a few days longer, to fulfil his high
commission of testifying his faith in his Saviour, and to
strengthen others boldly to confess Christ in the face of
cruel suffering and death. How the short interval was
employed is known only to that God who seeth in
secret. It was a time of seriousness, as danger was
anticipated. It is no undue stretch of imagination to
suppose that our young hero opened and read at that
solemn evening hour that precious Bible his pious
grandfather had given him before he quitted his Eng-
FROM THE MASSACRE. 23
lish home, and that he prayed to the God of his fathers
to prepare him for and protect him in anticipated trials
and dangers. Soon the sound of sudden alarm, the
rushing of multitudes, and the rattling noise of firing,
roused him from reflection and rest. It is supposed
that on leaving the house where he was, he was cut
down by a Sepoy and left for dead. We must here
give the few particulars which have been gathered in
the words of his uncle, G. N. Cheek, Esq., communi-
cated in a letter to his brother, the bereaved father : —
" Bancoorah, June 27, 1857.
"My DEAREST OSWALD, — I have tried all in my
power to get correct accounts regarding the death of
your dear Marcus, and what I have obtained I have
enclosed. You will see that after he was wounded he
was left for days in the hands of the mutineers. Some
accounts say that he must have had a little care taken
of him, or he would not have lived so long ; others say,
the rascal of a landholder who had him neglected him,
and the consequence was, when he was rescued and
sent into the fort of Allahabad, he sank from exhaus-
tion. Poor dear lad, he has been called early indeed
to suffer. But it is a consolation to me (little though
it may be to some), that he was not killed on the spot : —
likely this short respite was given him to be more pre-
pared to meet his God. Another comfort is, he had
Christian burial : the others who were massacred were
devoured by jackals and dogs; so in all your severe
affliction your dear wife and self will have some little
24 THE ESCAPE OF MARCUS CHEEK.
consolation. May He who can alone pour balm into
your bleeding hearts abundantly bless and support you.
The letters I enclose are all the information I can
obtain to this date. I shall persevere and see if I can
glean anything more, if so you shall have it.
"We have not come to a turn in our favour yet.
Delhi is not taken. At Cawnpore and Lucknow we
have great difficulty to hold our own, and shall not hold
out long unless reinforcements reach these places.
The deaths in Oude are fearful — not known yet in full.
All India in a blaze ! Prisoners let out of the gaols,
and the treasuries robbed — more than a million and
a-half of pounds sterling — besides stores taken by the
rebels. We are in a fearful state; all the ladies from
this have been sent into Calcutta — my dear wife gone
too. Jane is coming down in the steamer to Calcutta.
No civil station is safe. Here, at present, all is
quiet, but in these days we may in an hour be attacked.
I sleep with two revolvers loaded under my bed, and
my gun loaded in my dressing-room. I hope my trust
is in God, not in man ; it is my duty to leave no stone
unturned for defence, but results must be left to Him,
who, though his providence may to us mortals be dark
and mysterious, He does all things well : blessed be
his holy name ! My wife has suffered dreadfully on
account of Marcus ; she loved him and he loved her. I
send a letter which came for him — it reached me after
his death. I suspect it is from his dear mother. I
have written to inquire about all the things Marcus
had, and told them to sell nothing, but send all to me.
HIS SUFFERINGS. 25
If I get anything I will send them to you, but I fear
everything is gone." *
Among the papers sent by the uncle is the following
extract from " The Englishman," of Calcutta, June 24,
1857:—
" Cheek, a young ensign, who had been wounded
when the rest of the officers of the 6th Regiment were
shot down by the miscreants of that corps, came in
to-day (to the Fort). He had been kept by a zemindar
(a landholder), a known scoundrel, who starved him.
Cheek is rapidly sinking, poor fellow, from exhaustion."
The uncle adds to this brief statement in his letter
to the father : —
"Your noble boy was not only a soldier, but a
Christian. The zemindar, into whose hands he had
fallen, wanted the dear, dear departed lad to become a
Mussulman, giving him the choice of doing so, or
death ! The noble lad replied, ' Anything but resign
my faith and hope in my Redeemer ! ' So, my brother,
the noble boy died a martyr, and although his name
may not be mentioned among those noted as martyrs,
to all intents he was a blessed one. He, glorious boy,
acknowledged Christ before Christ's enemies ; and
Marcus will be acknowledged by his Saviour in the
realms of bliss ; one, who though young, has fought the
good fight and not denied the faith ; to such a crown of
glory is promised, and none of Christ's promises shall
fail. I pray God, if in my grey hairs I am called on
as he was, the Holy Spirit may be given me to act as
26 HIS SUFFERINGS.
he, dear lad, has done. I ask no more ; then come life
or death, it little matters. How much more impressive
is the conduct of dear Marcus than ten thousand
sermons. Let us, my brother, follow his example ; let
us be ready, as he evidently was, and then we shall
meet him in glory ! "
So far as can be gathered from the various accounts
which have come to hand, our young hero, after he had
been dreadfully wounded by a sabre cut on the night of
the outbreak of the mutiny and massacre of the officers,
was able to effect his escape and to hide himself, as the
affecting notice of him in the " Times " states, in a ravine
on the banks of the Ganges. " Here," as that notice
says, " he found a stream, the waters of which sustained
his life for four days and nights. Although desper-
ately wounded, he contrived to raise himself into a tree
during the night for protection from wild beasts. Poor
boy ! he had a high commission to fulfil, before death
released him from his sufferings. On the fifth day he
was discovered, and dragged by the brutal Sepoys before
one of their leaders, to have the little life in him extin-
guished." (The leader before whom he was dragged
appears to have been the Moulvie, the head of the
insurgents.) " There," this account proceeds to state,
"he found another prisoner, a Christian Catechist,
whom the Sepoys were endeavouring to torment and
terrify into a recantation. The firmness of the native
was giving way, as he knelt amidst his persecutors,
with no human sympathy to support him. The boy
HIS HEROIC FAITH. 27
officer, after anxiously watching him for a short time,
cried out, ' Oh, my friend, come what may, do not deny
the Lord Jesus Christ ! } "
It was just at that critical moment the gallant
Colonel Neile, with his heroic Madras Fusiliers, came
to the deliverance of Allahabad and the beleaguered
fort. The insurgents, with their leader, were put to
flight, and the noble confessors at the Moulvie's head-
quarters were mercifully delivered.
The following interesting letter communicated by the
uncle will throw light on this statement and supply
some very important, interesting particulars as to the
sufferings, faith, and death of our young Christian
martyr : —
" Fort Allahabad, June 19, 1857.
"My DEAR MR. CHEEK, — I received this morning
your letter of the 12th inst., and proceed to answer it
as well as I can, and give you what particulars I have
been able to obtain regarding poor Marcus Cheek's
death. On the night of the 6th inst. he had left the
mess-room before nine p.m. and gone to his own house,
which was not far distant, and retired to rest. From
that period till for four or six days afterwards nothing
was heard regarding him, and it was supposed he had
been killed amongst the many who fell victims to the
treachery of the 6th Regiment. About the 12th we
heard he was lying, badly wounded, at the Khowhs or
Gardens, where the Moulvie, the head of the insurgents
at Allahabad, had established himself. Holding the
28 HIS HEROIC FAITH.
Fort with so few men we could make no offensive move-
ments, and could only hope that the poor survivors might
yet remain alive when means were at our disposal to
punish. On the 17th inst. the Moulvie fled in conse-
quence of our small force moving out, and burning
Durghabad and chasing the insurgents from Kydgunge,
a portion of the native city; and in the same morning
poor Cheek was brought into the Fort, having been sent
from the gardens in a dooly to the American Mission-
house, about a mile distant from the Fort, by some
friendly people ; from whence we brought him by send-
ing some men of the Madras Fusiliers in a steamer up
the Jumna river, the Mission-house being on its bank.
Poor fellow, he was in a sad state, at times slightly
sensible, and at times the reverse; but from what fell
from his lips we believe that he was attacked in his
own house, and in the attempt to escape was cut down
at the door by a sabre cut across the brow or head,
where he had a most severe wound. When he came
among us he remembered nothing but the fact of some
people having been kind to him and giving him water
and melons ; all else was confused. Evidently he had
suffered much, and his body exhibited signs of great
suffering in the marks of bruises and sores caused from
exposure to the sun. He died the same evening, and
was buried in the covered way of the- Fort, near the
river side, and at the salient angle of the Jumna
battery. But if I am necessitated to be so open with
you in detailing particulars of the manner of his death,
I am happy, also, to be able to tell you of matters pre-
HIS HEROIC FAITH. 29
ceding which may comfort those to whom he was dear.
A conductor of my establishment, a Mr. Coleman, and
his wife, were seized by the insurgents and taken to the
gardens, where they saw poor Cheek. Every effort was
made by these rebels to induce them to abjure their
faith and become Mohammedans, and threats were
made, that, unless they did so, they must forfeit their
lives. Poor Cheek, in his almost last moments of sensi-
bility, called Mrs. Coleman to his side, and bade her
remember, and to do everything but that ; — to be true to
her faith and hope ; and after these few words of exhor-
tation she and he were parted ; and we know no more ;
but amidst the records of heaven these few words of his
may have been written, and brought down a message
of pardon and acceptance to the dying soldier.
"W. C. RUSSELL.
"P.S. I have just heard from another source that
poor Cheek's last wish before he died, in a few moments
of seeming consciousness, was to write to his mother."
The following, from one of the American mission-
aries, of the name of Joseph Aben, addressed to Mrs.
Cheek, will supply additional particulars : —
"Allahabad, June 23, 1857.
"Mv DEAR MRS. CHEEK,— Your kind letter of the
12th inst. has just reached me, the Benares Dak having
been closed up for several days. It is indeed pleasant
to hear from friends once more. I have also just
30 HIS HEROIC FAITH.
received a letter from my dear wife, giving me good
accounts of her own and our dear boy's continued wel-
fare. From the Cawnpore side we have had no dak
for about three weeks. You ask me about your dear
nephew. On the night of the 6th instant, about nine
o'clock, the 6th Regiment of Native Infantry broke out
into mutiny, sounded an alarm, called the officers to
the parade-ground, and then and there shot seven of
their officers. Others were also wounded. Indeed, the
number of Europeans and East Indians who were
victims of the massacre amounts to about thirty. The
incendiarism has been dreadful, far more destructive
than at any other station; very few bungalows at our
once large station have escaped. All our Mission
property has been destroyed. I have lost all my
private property, and a library which cost me about
10,000 rupees, but which no money can ever replace.
I had a large collection of precious, old theological
volumes, long since out of print, collected from various
parts of Europe ; also a large classical, and a German
and an Oriental library of valuable books and manu-
scripts. The authorities would not allow me to take
anything into the Fort, so I lost everything, except
a few changes of clothes and a few volumes. "\Ve
in the Fort heard the firing from cantonments shortly
after nine o'clock at night, but for some time
knew not the cause. Our chief apprehension had been
regarding the arrival of mutineers from Benares, hav-
ing heard that that station was in a blaze ; but those
mutineers never came. Our troubles came only from
HIS HEROIC FAITH. 31
the loyal (!) 6th, who had offered their services to go
and fight the rebels at Delhi, and who had at six o'clock
in the evening of the 6th received the thanks of the
Governor- General, at a special parade ordered for the
purpose, and returned the same with three hearty
cheers ! Three hours afterwards they shot their officers !
Of the seventeen who sat down to dinner at mess that
evening, only three are known to survive, viz., Colonel
Simpson, Captain Gordon, and Lieutenant Currie.
Colonel Simpson's horse was riddled with bullets, but
he managed to reach the Fort in safety. Lieut. Currie's
horse was shot from under him, but he got another, and
reached the Fort. Seven officers were shot on the
parade ground, and their bodies were never recovered.
Others were murdered elsewhere, and their bodies
shared the same fate. Some of the bodies of the
young ensigns were believed to be in the mess-house
when that was burnt. A week ago to-day (Tuesday,
16th inst.) my mind was relieved by receiving a letter
from our dear brother, the Rev. Gopenauth Nundy,
regarding his safety. We had heard most distress-
ing rumours about him. He said he was in the
Mission school-house with Ensign Cheek, and Conductor
Coleman and his family. On having escaped from the
insurgents, who had left the place that morning, I went
immediately to Mr. Court, the magistrate, who had just
received a similar letter. I could not get writing
materials, and, therefore, sent a verbal message that we
would come immediately. We went up on a steamer,
32 HIS HEROIC FAITH.
with a party of 100 Sikhs and 80 Fusiliers, and a 12-
pounder, but met with no opposition. "When we
reached the place, they having misapprehended my
message, had left. On returning to the Fort, I found
Gopeenauth' (Gopeenay) in my quarters. He and his
wife and two children had been in the hands of the
Mohammedans more than four days, and very badly
treated. Immediately on our disaster here the Moham-
medans set up a government of their own, which
lasted nine days. They took the way of making
converts which is peculiarly their own. Gopeenauth's
feet were in the stocks four days and nights, and his
wife was treated with great cruelty. On the night of
the outbreak your nephew escaped to the Ganges, and
was there found by the Mohammedans, and thence
brought to their head- quarters. There Gopeenauth met
with him, saw him wounded with sword-cuts, and
showed him all the kindness in his power. The Mo-
hammedans seeing this, separated them, and made
GopeenauthV feet fast in the stocks. Your nephew
suffered greatly from thirst. Gopeenauth tried to get
milk for him, but the Mohammedans prevented even
this trifling kindness ; nor would they allow him to give
him a drink of water. Gopeenauth was enabled, by
Divine grace, to witness a good confession. He pub-
licly declared his faith before the scoffing Moham-
medans; had worship with your nephew, and the
other Christians who were with him, and showed that
he was not ashamed of Jesus. He was frequently
HIS DEATH. 33
threatened with death by the Mohammedans, and
told them he was not afraid ! Your nephew said to
him, e Padre Sahib ! hold on to your faith — don't give it
up
i >
" On Tuesday, the 16th, after the party had reached
the Fort, I was engaged in trying to make Gopeenauth
and his family comfortable, and arranging for their
immediate passage to Calcutta. While thus engaged I
heard that young Cheek was very ill. Some one also
said, that he had a relative living at Bancoorah. I
instantly thought of you and Dr. Cheek, and without
a moment's delay ran down to the hospital to see him.
But it was too late j he was insensible, and died shortly
afterwards. I never had the pleasure of his acquaint-
ance, nor did I know, till too late to get a message from
him, that he was related to you. After his recovery
from the hand of the Mohammedan savages all was
done for him that could be done; but his severe
wounds, and exposure to the sun, and want of nourish-
ment were too much for his physical frame. It will be
a comfort to his friends to know that he received Chris-
tian burial from the Chaplain, the Rev. A. B. Spry, in
the trenches of the Fort, on the morning of Wednesday,
June 17th, — a blessing denied to many of his brother
officers, whose bodies were never recovered after the
massacre, and have probably been devoured by wild
birds and beasts. These are mysterious dispensations
of Divine Providence : but Jehovah reigns, and will
doubtless bring good out of all this evil. The move-
ment appears to be a Mohammedan one ; the cartridges
D
34 HIS DEATH.
are dexterously used as a handle for laying hold of the
Hindoos. " With best regards,
" Yours most sincerely,
" JOSEPH ABEN."
The remarks of the uncle, to whom these letters
were addressed, in his letter to his brother in England,
must not be withheld : —
" He (Marcus) is now clothed in white robes — the
righteousness of his blessed Saviour — is crowned with
the crown of glory. Happy Marcus ! So soon taken
from a world of sin and misery to a state of happiness
in glory, and enjoying the presence of the Saviour,
whom he boldly confessed before men. Do you not
feel this, my brother and sister? Can you wish the
beloved one back again? Does it not call for great
thankfulness that he was permitted to show his
faith in Jesus, while his comrades were killed on the
instant ? Think not of the sufferings the dear departed
went through the few days he was in the rebels' hands ;
think of the manner in which he has glorified his God
and Saviour, and of the happiness he is now enjoying,
purchased through the blood of Christ, to whom be all
the glory ! "
A better idea will be formed of the amount of suffer-
ing endured by our young hero, of the strength of faith
he displayed, and of the sustaining grace of God which
supported him, from the following statement of the
medical gentleman who attended him in his last hours.
The letter is addressed to Dr. Cheek, of Benares : —
HIS DEATH. 35
" Allahabad, June 30.
" MY DEAR CHEEK, — Your poor young cousin was
brought into the fort in a very exhausted state between
eleven and twelve o'clock on the 16th, and died a few
minutes before four o'clock the same evening, and was
buried in the fort. Brettingham and I saw him, and
did all we could for him. He had an incised wound
over the right ear, through the scalp, an inch and a-half
long ; another in the left elbow, and left humerus frac-
tured; his mind wandering ; the skin was literally off his
chest and thighs from exposure to the sun, fyc., fyc."
What, but strength from God, could have supported
our young hero under such sufferings, during those
four days and nights of solitary agony on the banks of
the Ganges, and nerved him with such faith and
endurance in the midst of scoffing and blood-thirsty
Mohammedans, threatening him with death unless he
denied his Saviour ! We have in this evidence of God's
faithfulness to his promise : " As thy day, thy strength
shall be." He who calls his children to great trials and
sufferings will impart special " grace to help in time
of need." What striking proof have we of this in the
case before us, and also in that of the martyrs. The
weakness of youth and womanhood has waxed strong
in the hour of trial, thus strengthened from on high.
Weak humanity has never exhibited such super-human
power, or appeared in more grandeur, than when thus
called to the endurance of " cruel mockings," and cruel
deaths for Christ. How many and how striking have
D 2
36 HIS DEATH.
been the instances of this during the late troubles and
appalling atrocities !
The following extract from a letter of a dear friend,
the wife of a Christian missionary, will supply proof of
this : —
" Bangalore, July 20, 1857.
" MY BELOVED FANNY, — You will be anxious to have
a line from us in these troublous times ; and, just now,
it is to us no small comfort that we have your sympathy
and prayers. We cannot doubt that many a fervent
supplication is ascending from our beloved country on
our behalf, and for this sorely tried land; and may it
not be in answer to these, coupled with those we have
presented here, that hitherto we have been kept in
.safety ?
" Since we last wrote, we have suffered the most
painful alarm. Every day has brought tidings from
the north of the most harrowing nature, either of fresh
outbreaks, or of plots discovered, just in time to
prevent their being executed ; or of barbarities on the
part of the mutineers only equalled by the atrocities of
the North American Indians, or those fierce Fingoes'in
South Africa. We have been watching the increasing
storm with the intensest anxiety, — and seeing it draw-
ing nearer to us, until at last came this unwelcome
truth, that it was around and among us. I cannot tell
you the feelings with which we first realized this. Some
of us felt that a natural death, or even being suddenly
massacred, was a small thing compared to the indig-
HIS DEATH. 37*
nities and lingering tortures which might await us.
The great perfidy of the (native) troops, everywhere,
made us feel safe at no moment. The Lord's people,
at least many of them, drew together, and united
in earnest prayer to Him who alone can protect and
save us: We met, and still meet, in one of our school-
rooms, at seven in the evening. The flushed cheeks
and tears of the ladies, and the trembling voices of
those (often officers) who lead our devotions, tell how
deep is the general feeling. But these have already
been seasons of much blessing. We have felt it good
to unite in humbling ourselves before God, confessing
our sins and the sins of our people, and have found our
little strength renewed, and our hope and trust con-
firmed. We have been quite astonished to see how
numerous were the portions of Divine truth just
adapted to our peculiar position and circumstances.
Some histories, which we before regarded as belonging
to a past age, have contained such appropriate instruc-
tion and consolation that we have admired and blessed
the wisdom that left them on record. One evening,
dear Fanny, I shall long remember with thankfulness.
In addition to alarming accounts in the papers, we had
that day received letters from the different places, con-
taining the most harrowing details. My dear husband
and I felt extremely depressed; we felt that, before
night was over, we and our beloved boy might be called
to undergo similar treatment. We took the Bible, and
read the Saviour's last instructions to his disciples in
38 HIS DEATH.
anticipation of the persecutions they would be called to
endure ; and as we lingered over and pondered his
words of comfort, the Holy Spirit the Comforter came
to us, removed the load that oppressed our hearts, and
made us feel that we could accept anything with Christ
and for Christ. May the love He has shown us in
these times of trial bind our hearts more closely
to Him!"
Such precious records of the faith and patience of
many of our countrymen and countrywomen in India,
shed a halo of heavenly glory over those trying scenes
through which many of them have passed to that
bright and better world, where they now experience
"fulness of joy at God's right hand;" and "sorrow
and sighing are for ever done away."
Such was the noble conduct of Marcus Cheek in the
hour of trial and death. Who that contemplates this
noble youth in the presence of cruel and scoffing
Mohammedans,- threatening him with torture and death
unless he denied his Saviour, yet boldly confessing Him,
and exhorting others to the same fidelity, can hesitate to
enrol him in that " noble army of martyrs " who, " out
of weakness were made strong, and waxed valiant in
the fight " of faith ? There is something touching in
his last moments of consciousness, in the allusion of
the dying youth to his mother. The last earthly desire
which he expressed was to write to his mother ! The
love, the tenderness, the gratitude expressed in so
HIS DEATH. 39
touching a remembrance, breathes in it the spirit of
Jesus, who in His last moments of unparalleled agony
on the cross regarded his mother with affection, and
cared for her comfort. To the sorrowing heart of the
bereaved mother of our young martyr such a remem-
brance of her in such an hour may well prove a
precious consolation in the season of her sorrow. Under
whatever circumstances it may have been permitted
to happen, " precious in the sight of the Lord is the
death of his saints." It was the desire of an apostle
" that Christ might be glorified in his body, whether by
life or by death;" this privilege was granted to Marcus
Cheek. A long life of distinguished piety and useful-
ness could not have glorified the Saviour more than our
young Christian hero did by his stedfast, suffering, and
triumphant faith in Christ, in suffering and dying
hours. We must estimate life not by length of days,
but by the fruits of faith, by which the Saviour is glo-
rified. What though, as in the case of Marcus Cheek,
the mortal remains of our beloved ones may slumber in
distant lands, in unknown and unvisited graves, the
Saviour watches over their sleeping dust ; " they rest
in their graves." Those graves contain precious
"jewels," which Jesus purchased with His own blood.
He will ransom them from the grave, and will claim
and acknowledge them as his " own" in that day when
He will "make up his jewels." The word of Christ
abideth for ever : " Whosoever shall confess me before
men, him will I confess also before my Father which is
in heaven." (Matt. xi. 32.)
40 HIS DEATH.
" His soul to Him who gave it rose,
God led it to his long repose,
Its glorious rest.
And though the Warrior's sun is set,
Its light shall linger round us yet,
Bright, radiant, blest."
Longfellow,
LETTERS OF SYMPATHY. 41
CHAPTER IV.
LETTERS OF SYMPATHY AND CONSOLATION TO
THE PARENTS OF MARCUS CHEEK.*
SYMPATHY of man with man in joy and sorrow is one
of those benevolent laws of human nature, implanted
and provided by God for human happiness ; for the in-
crease of our mutual joys, and the mitigation of our
mutual sorrows. How powerful and valuable is the
manifestation of this sympathy at all times, but espe-
cially so in the hour of sorrow and bereavement ! It
is so universal, that we cannot behold sorrow in others
without being in some measure touched with it our-
selves. The tears of the bereaved parent appeal too
strongly to the tenderness of our nature, and we can
no more resist the contagion of grief, or be unmoved
by the smile of rejoicing thankfulness, than the mirror
refuse to give back the image placed before it, or the
face of nature resist the glow of sunshine in the
unclouded light of noon. The Christian religion, so
* The Author is bound to apologise to the sympathising friends
whose letters are given in this chapter, for the liberty taken in
publishing them, without previously asking their consent. His
excuse must be the difficulty of obtaining the consent of so many
parties, and his unwillingness to delay this publication a day
longer than necessary.
42 LETTERS OF SYMPATHY AND CONSOLATION
wonderfully adapted to the wants of man's nature, as to
assure us that He who made the one is the author
of the other, supplies the most powerful motives to the
exercise of this sympathy. It reveals to us the charac-
ter of God, as " the God of consolation" * " God that
comforteth those that are cast down." f He hath
given us in his holy Word, " many .exceeding great and
precious promises," all adapted to comfort us in the
seasons of our sorrow. We have revealed to us a sym-
pathizing Saviour, of whom we read that " He wept "
at the grave of Lazarus, whom He loved ; of whom the
prophet declares, " He hath home our griefs and carried
our sorrows;" and who, though He hath passed into
the heavens, and is far beyond the reach of sorrows,
"can yet he touched with the feeling of our infirmities,"
because, when on earth, " He was in all points tempted
and tried like as we are, yet without sin." J
" Touched with a sympathy within,
He knows our feeble frame ;
He knows what sore temptations mean,
For He hath felt the same."
We have sympathizing friends, who "weep" with
us when we weep, and "rejoice" with us when we
rejoice. How grateful ought we to feel for this merci-
ful provision made for our comfort — for that sympathy,
which flowing through so many channels, cheers and
sustains the mourner in times of sadness and affliction !
It has been the privilege of the bereaved parents of
Marcus Cheek to experience this. The sufferings,
* Eom. xv. 5. f 2 Cor. vii.6. J Heb. iv. 15.
TO THE PARENTS. 43
faith, and death of their noble boy have awakened
sympathy in thousands of Christian hearts, and called
forth precious expressions of it in numerous letters to
them, some of which the writer is privileged to tran-
scribe. The following selection from the many before
him, must suffice : —
LOED MARCUS HILL (TO THE FATHER.)
" MY DEAR OSWALD, — I thank you much for the
perusal of the several letters which I return. They
are of no small interest to me in connexion with the
early fate of my godson.
" What a melancholy gratification it is to know that
he was so much appreciated.
" God give you all resignation and consolation !
" I am, very sincerely yours,
"Aug. 7." "A. MARCUS C. HILL.
THE EARL OF SHAFTESBURY.
" Spa, Sept. 14, 1857.
" SIR, — A letter from you to the Editor of the
( Times ' reveals the name of that noble boy who died
by the hands of assassins near Allahabad.
" I cannot repress the desire I feel to express my
deepest sympathy with yourself, and my unbounded ad-
miration of the heroism and conduct of your precious
son.
" But we must do more than this ; — we must (we, I
44 LETTERS OF SYMPATHY AND CONSOLATION
mean every Englishman, nay, every true Christian) —
we must give humble and hearty thanks to Almighty God,
who raised up one of such tender years to bear such
testimony, at such a time and in such circumstances.
Surely, never were the words of the Liturgy more
applicable : ' We also bless thy holy name for all thy
servants departed this life in thy faith and fear; be-
seeching thee to give us grace so to follow their good
examples, that with them we may be partakers of thy
heavenly kingdom/
" As a father, you must deeply feel the loss, for the
flesh is strong ; but as a Christian, you will rejoice to
have been the father of such a child; and remember,
too (we cannot see into futurity) that his end, had he
lived longer, might not have been equal to his begin-
ning. But now he is in everlasting security, beyond all
the harm that might have reached him from the world,
the flesh, and the devil.
" It is not given to many parents to produce such
sons ; and it is given to still fewer to have such com-
plete and unmistakeable assurance that they are entered
into their rest.
" You will excuse this intermeddling with your
sorrows ; but I have myself experienced something very
similar ; and I have the comfort of these considerations.
" I am, Sir, with much sympathy,
" Your faithful servant,
" SHAFTESBURY."
TO THE PARENTS. 45
THE ARCHDEACON OF MEATH.
" Archdeaconry, Kells, Ireland,
Sept. 13, 1857.
" DEAR SIR, — Your loss is one that must engage the
sympathy of thousands whom you can never know.
Will you permit a stranger to express it ?
" When the great and good Duke of Ormond heard
of the death of his brave son, fighting against an enemy
as barbarous as Sepoys, he exclaimed, fl would not
exchange my dead son for any living son in Christen-
dom/
", Where could this apply so well as to one who has
early won his heavenly crown, with a spirit so unsub-
dued by suffering, so faithful unto death ?
"But the expression needs some change for him.
He is not dead, but liveth unto God.
" I thank God that his words have been preserved, to
be an example to many, and I trust a comfort to
yourself.
" I remain, with sincerest sympathy,
" Your faifrhful servant,
. A. STOPFORD,
" Archdeacon of Meath."
46 LETTERS OF SYMPATHY AND CONSOLATION
THE HON. AND REV. BAPTIST W. NOEL, M.A.,
ON THE DEATH OF ENSIGN CHEEK, AND FIVE OTHER
YOUNG ENSIGNS, MURDERED AT ALLAHABAD (AGED
SEVENTEEN).
" Treason in Delhi's walls had risen ;
Bengal's battalions rose ;
And every fort became a prison
Begirt with Sepoy foes.
" Throughout the lines of Allahabad
Fanatic fury grew ;
And mutineers, with hatred mad,
Their own commanders slew.
" One only from the gory heap
Crept out to die alone ;
He did not wail, nor groan, nor weep,
But said, ' Thy will be done ! '
" "Within the covert of a wood,
Close by a streamlet's play,
Wounded and destitute of food,
Four days the soldier lay.
" And now they find him 'midst the trees —
Not friends who bring relief —
But Sepoys, who with fury seize
And drag hin> to their chief.
" One brandishes a bloody knife ;
All hate to Christians bear ;
Fresh stabs will take his ebbing life —
New curses wound his ear.
" But who is he that elder man,
Bound, beaten, fearing worse,
On whom each fierce Mahommedan
Is pouring out his curse ?
TO THE PARENTS. 47
" Why are those guards around him set ?
Those cords upon his wrist ?
He teas the slave of Mahomet,
And now he preaches Christ.
" ' Repent ! ' exclaimed the Sepoy crew,
' Or Allah's vengeance taste ! '
' Repent ! ' exclaimed their Captain too,
' Or this day is thy last !
" ' Seek then the prophet's aid by prayer,
Abjure the Christian lie ;
Or by his sacred name I swear,
Apostate, thou shall die ! '
" The drops are standing on his brow,
His quivering lips are pale;
Who will sustain his weakness now,
For hope and courage fail ?
" Then spake the wounded boy, while faith
Lighted his languid eye :
1 0 Brother ! ne'er from dread of death
Thy Saviour's name deny ! '
" Trembling no more, no more afraid,
The prisoner hears them crave ;
Those words, that dying look, have made
His faltering spirit brave.
" ' Hark ! hark ! it is the tramp of men ;
The Fusiliers are here ! '
And, rushing headlong down the den,
The Sepoys disappear.
" The Teacher clasped his hands with joy, —
1 We are saved ! — Our foes are fled ! '
And then he turned to bless the boy, —
The heroic boy was dead !
48 LETTERS OF SYMPATHY AND CONSOLATION
" They bore his placid corpse away,
And dug a quiet grave
Far from his childhood's home, which lay
Across the Western wave.
" But ye who love him still shall greet
Your loved one once again ;
For all who trust in Jesus meet
Beyond the reach of pain !"
B. W. N.
THE REV. DR. WILLIAMSON.
" Per shore Vicarage, Sept. 26, 1857.
" DEAR SIR, — I hope you will not think that
I intrude too soon, stranger as I am, upon your
domestic sorrow, if I send you a few words expressive
of my deep sympathy with you in the loss of your son
in India.
" I do not know when I have read so touching
a story, as given in the newspapers, as his, poor boy !
And that noble confession of faith with which he
closed his life, when he encouraged his fellow-sufferer
to stand firm, and not to deny his Lord — as one cannot
read without tears. Surely, if the recollection of his
heroism and truth can soften the grief which his loss
must cause you, you have that consolation abundantly
granted you, by his and your common Saviour.
" I am, dear Sir, with much respect,
" Yours faithfully,
" R. WILLIAMSON."
TO THE PARENTS. 49
FROM A LADY.
" SIR, — I trust you will excuse a stranger for
intruding upon you in your time of poignant sorrow,
by writing a few lines of sincere and heartfelt sympathy.
No one in our domestic circle could read the touching
details of your noble son's steadfast faith and manly
fortitude, amid his solitary and acute sufferings at
Allahabad, without shedding tears. We wept when we
thought of the lonely, mourning hearts of his parents,
bereaved of such a son, so worthy of being the object
of the warmest parental affection ; and even then, there
were mingled tears of holy joy with those of sorrow, as
we thought on the bright transition to his pure eman-
cipated spirit, as it winged its flight from the dreary
scenes of rapine and bloodshed, to the sheltering arms
of that compassionate and sympathizing Saviour,
to whom he had been firmly " faithful unto death."
The crown of life now gleams on his purified
brow ; he has ' washed his robes, and made them white
in the precious blood of the Lamb/ In the lonely
ravine, where his last suffering days were past, I believe
many thoughts of his far distant home would come
over his weary spirit, and perhaps the blessed memory
of instruction received there in happier days might con-
tribute, under God's blessing, to the completion of the
work of sanctification within him and to his final
ripening for glory. The last efforts of his expiring
nature were given in his Redeemer's cause ! Oh, Sir !
E
50 LETTERS OF SYMPATHY AND CONSOLATION
what comfort to you in thinking of this fact. Among
all the incidents which I have read from India not one
has touched my heart with the same interest as that of
your dear son. Do excuse my boldness in writing. I
have five sons ; one dear daughter is, I believe, in the
same bright land with your precious departed one ;
therefore my heart would mingle its sympathy in your
grief. My husband begs also to join me in this, and
commending you to Jesus' care and love,
" I remain, faithfully yours,
"ELIZA BANKS THOMSON."
AN INCIDENT IN THE WAR.
(From the " Essex Herald")
OH earth, earth, earth ! thy loud deep cry,
Full of intensest agony,
Comes mourning o'er the surging wave,
"With shrieks for succour from the brave ;
Thy sunlit morn, thy midnight air,
Echo the fever of despair ;
Thy social fabric rent and riven,
Breathes its sad prayer for help from heaven.
Resting upon yon Christian's doom,
One brightening ray pervades the gloom ;
It permeates his earthly night,
With beams of everlasting light.
Weary, exhausted, faint, and worn,
In frantic demons' battle storm ;
He sees a little streamlet play
With the frail insect of a day, —
And slowly drags his sinking frame
TO THE PARENTS. 51
To the cool current of the plain ;
Where, sinking on the blood-stained sod,
He bathes his lips and seeks his God.
Night closes round, too well he knows
Darkness releases other foes —
Foes framed by nature to be wild ;
The forest and the jungle child.
He finds a shelter in a tree,
And from their hungry jaws is free ;
But man, far fiercer than the beast,
Seeks in his Christian blood a feast,
And gloats with fiendish joy his eyes
Upon the hapless youth his prize ; —
His weakened limbs, resistless now,
Before his heathen conqueror bow ;
In very helplessness he yields,
Nor dares to show the scorn he feels,
But what to him the road he treads,
While God his soul with manna feeds ?
His earthly home, his youthful life,
Must pay the penalty of strife ;
Death's shadow, like a veil of love,
Gently descending from above,
Is hovering near to strike a blow,
To free him from his tyrant foe.
Yet stay, poor youth, one trial more
Awaits thee, ere thy mission's o'er ;
Thou hast an aged Christian friend,
On whose pale, quivering lips suspend
The name of his new worshipped Lord,
The hatred of the Hindoo horde ;
By cruel tortures he must die,
Or Jesus' blessed name deny.
Oh, in this struggling conflict, Lord,
Do Thou thy strength and grace afford ;
Give vigour to that feeble youth,
That he may plead the cause of truth.
E 2
52 LETTERS OF SYMPATHY AND CONSOLATION
He gently whispers in his ear,
" Behold by faith a Saviour near."
He pleads that Saviour's suffering name,
And bids the aged man proclaim
To heathens, that " He dies to live
In bliss which Christ alone can give."
He needs no more ; that living faith
Invests him with a hope in death ;
Then turns to bless the Christian boy
Who fills his dying ears with joy ;
But he is not ; the spirit band
Had borne him to a happier land ;
And through that night the old man's dream
Was full of Jesus' precious theme, —
" Whoso on earth confesses me
Will I confess eternally."
ALPHA.
FROM A LADY.
" HONOURED SIR, — I must honour the parent of
the young hero, saint, and martyr of Allahabad, in
proportion to the reverence I feel for his son, in common
with all who have or shall read the details of his most
glorious and triumphant death, supported and supporting
another with his latest breath, by his most holy faith,
amidst sufferings and terrors at which the stoutest
hearts might quail. Yours is indeed a rich consolation ;
your soldier of Christ promoted to 'the holy army of
martyrs/ whom we reverently remember in our Church
prayers ! May we all be given grace to follow their
good examples !
" But I must, as a perfect stranger, apologize for
TO THE PARENTS. 53
the liberty I have taken in addressing you. A very
dear godson of mine was a fellow-voyager with your
precious son, reached that ill-fated station one day
before him, and would, on this day, have completed
his eighteenth year. He fell on that sad Gtk of June,
but how, or when, we cannot learn, and the accounts of
that dreadful night given in the papers are so vague and
various, that his poor parents and friends are constantly
torn by the conflicting accounts given, without know-
ing which to believe. His name was Thomas Lane
Bayliff; and if in any letters you may have, his untimely
and much lamented death is mentioned, you would
confer a great favour on the writer and his sorrowing
and bereaved family, by letting me know any particulars
of his melancholy fate which may have reached you.
He, too, was a jewel ; but few find grace early or late
to shine with lustre such as your dear lost son's. May
the God of consolation support you under your bereave-
ment !
" I have the honour to be, yours, &c.,
"E. B. LANZEEN."
FROM A LADY.
" DEAR SIR, — "Will you accept this poor expression
of a stranger's sympathy with your sorrow and your
consolation ? —
"THE LAST BREATH.
" Dark faces thronged around them,
Beneath an Eastern sky ;
Two helpless captives hunted forth
To suffer and to die.
54 LETTERS OF SYMPATHY AND CONSOLATION
" Dark faces swarmed around them,
Raging with hate and scorn ;
They stood amid a host of foes,
Weak, wasted, and forlorn.
" The one, an English stripling,—
What thoughts are with him there ?
His father's blessing on his head —
His mother's parting prayer.
" So late, their tears and kisses
Seem warm upon his brow !
Their voices murm'ring in his ear —
Oh ! could they see him now !
" And one, a swarthy native
Who, in some hour of need,
Had learned to serve a holier God,
And teach a purer creed.
" Well might his spirit falter,
Well might his heart be wrung ;
The taunts and curses heaped on him
Were in his native tongue.
" The memories of his childhood,
The friendships of his youth —
Life, home, and freedom proffered still,
Would he but spurn the truth.
" What marvel if that moment
A wavering thought might crave —
An aching doubt, Is mine a God
Who will not smite or save ?
" But clear above the tumult
Arose a warning word
In English accents, — ' Oh, my friend,
Deny not Christ the Lord ! '
TO THE PARENTS. 55
" And, strengthened for endurance,
He gazes on the foe —
Yet, hark ! what mean those rushing sounds ?
Well do the traitors know !
" Nearer the tramp of horsemen !
Nearer that ringing shout !
And wild, wild yells of baffled rage, —
They flee in headlong rout.
" The rescued native utters
A cry of thanks and joy ;
But mute and lifeless at their feet
Lies the brave English boy !
" Sees not the friendly faces,
Hears not the victor's cheer ;
But who may tell what sights or sounds
Woke on his eye and ear ?
" The faithful, the true-hearted —
Far shall his tale be heard ;
His spirit had departed,
E'en with the warning word."
FROM A LADY.
" 9th September, 1857.
"MY DEAR SIR, — As human sympathy seems the
best consolation in sorrow, next to the comfort which we
know will be bestowed by a gracious God upon those
whom He has permitted to suffer affliction for some
hidden good to those who trust in Him, I cannot
forbear telling you that I know a wide circle wherein
56 LETTERS OF SYMPATHY AND CONSOLATION
your noble son has been distinguished above all the
sufferers in this dreadful time of crime and sorrow.
"We think the faith which shone so brightly in
your son's fearful trial must have been learnt at the
home he had so recently left.
"The faith which supported the son will, I trust,
enable the father to seek and obtain comfort from
whence only it can be obtained.
" Sincerely wishing that your eldest son may return
in safety,
I remain,
"THE MOTHER OF AN OFFICER NOW
BEFORE DELHI."
FROM A LADY.
" Richmond-hill, Surrey.
" SIR, — I have sent you by this day's post a little
book, entitled ' Gone Home to be with Jesus.' It is
out of print, so you must excuse its being dirty. It
may interest you to hear that an excellent discourse
was preached on the account given of your son (I
was told) at Marylebone Church, on Sunday last.
The little book is on the death of a child, but will, I
trust, comfort you. What are all the sufferings of the
body — the shell — compared to the triumphs of the
emancipated spirit? My own heart is mourning the
loss of a darling child, so I can feel for you under your
acuter affliction. But how glorious was your noble
TO THE PARENTS. 57
boy's death after all ! — glorious in the sight of angels
and the Great Redeemer, whose faith he confessed, and
who will not deny him when He comes again in the
clouds of heaven attended by all his saints.
" Yours sympathizingly,
" JULIA A. BARRETT."
BY THE SAME.
"LINES ON THE NOBLE YOUNG OFFICER AT
ALLAHABAD.
' Those were well-spoken -words, young Ensign brave —
' Deny not' Him who died thy soul to save !
' Deny not' Him who suffered pangs untold !
Oh ! ' Come what may,' the faith of Christ uphold !
Thy mission was fulfilled, thy Lord was nigh ;
Angels rejoiced, and wafted thee on high !
For ever free from all thy foes and fears,
Jesus will thee confess ' when He appears ! '
"J. A. B."
FROM A LADY.
" SIR, — Your great grief is borne upon thousands of
hearts in this country ; but condolence for your natural
distress must mingle with high congratulations in being
the father of a Christian hero, who, having proved
himself ' a child of God ' upon earth, is now (we may
not doubt it) an 'inheritor of the kingdom of heaven/
58 LETTERS OF SYMPATHY AND CONSOLATION
" I venture to beg your acceptance of two copies of
the accompanying stanzas, to the memory of your son.
"I remain, Sir, with much sympathy, &c.,
"RACHEL ELIZ. CRESSWELL.
" Bank House, King's Lynn,
Sept. 10, 1857.
"THE YOUTHFUL MARTYR.
" Four weary nights and days,
In danger and distress,
By the river brink he laid,
In utter helplessness.
" He hears the wild beasts' howl,
And the jackal prowling nigh ;
But 't is music to the sound
Of the Sepoys' cry.
" The boy was scarce sixteen
When he left his parents' side
For India, with her storied pomp,
And her military pride.
" A few short, busy months !
Bleeding and wounded, he,
By the mutineers in Allhabad
Unseen, in misery,
" Crawls from the crimson field,
Drinks of the running stream,
Then sinks exhausted, slumbers,
And dreams — 't is all a dream !
" He has nobly done his work,
Nor grudged his young life-blood ;
For the mother and the children
To the death he stood.
TO THE PARENTS. 59
" Now life is ebbing fast ;
But he deems the hour blest,
When, on his Saviour's bosom,
He shall sink to rest.
" Not yet, not yet, young hero !
Though thy work be well nigh done,
There is a nobler deed before thee,
Ere the victory be won !
" The fiendish traitors find him,
They drag him to their lair —
A man in tortured agony
Is writhing there.
" It is a Christian convert,
Not daring to deny
The Lord of life and glory,
And yet afraid to die.
With promises of freedom, life,
They ply their victim still ;
But death, in every hideous shape,
If he refuse their will.
" Oh ! 'twas a fearful moment !
A soul endangered then —
The immortal for the mortal
Perilled from fear of men.
" There is a hush, a stillness ;
For a voice, soft, calm, and clear,
Issues from lips so deadly white —
The murderers pause to hear :
" ' Oh ! whatsoe'er you suffer —
Oh ! whatsoe'er you do,
Deny not Christ the Saviour,
The Lord who died for you !
60 LETTERS OF SYMPATHY AND CONSOLATION
" 'T is past ! the sound has died away,
Drown'd in the war cry loud
Of British warriors, bursting
Upon the murd'rous crowd.
" The rescued convert turns to bless,
And for the boy to pray ; —
He needs it not ! the victory's won —
The spirit has passed away !
" K. E. C."
THE REV. M. M. HUMBLE.
" Suit on Rectory, Chesterfield,
Sept. 11, 1857.
"Sin,— * * * *
" I feel impelled to express to you, in however feeble
a way, my intense admiration of your child's Christian
courage and example, and, at the same time, my real
sympathy with you as a sorrowing parent. And yet,
let me say, Why sorrow in the way and to the extent
named in your letter ? Will not your noble son be
numbered with the glorious army of martyrs? And
what an honour is that to him, the coming crown
making even more bright and blessed the rest and light
of paradise, — and to you, the instrumental author of his
existence ! Had he been spared to you on earth, could
any worldly honour — any princely preferment — any,
the highest, place in the kingdoms of this world, have
given him such a position as he now holds in the
TO THE PARENTS. 61
' Peerage ' Book of the King of kings ? Though
' sorrowing/ yet surely you can and will ' rejoice/ I
only know that I have read of your son's confession
unto death as though I were carried back to the
apostolic age ; and, whilst I sympathize with your
sorrow as a parent, I rejoice and am thankful that out
of the evil and misery of this cruel Indian rebellion the
Great Head of the Church has brought to light such a
witness (the literal meaning of the word martyr) to His
truth and the power of His grace, — and that at a time
when faith so much fails, and love is growing cold."
TO THE MOTHER.
SORROW NOT AS THOSE THAT HAVE NO HOPE.
" T was not a cruel hand that tore
Thy blossom from the bough,
And traced another line of woe,
Bereaved one, on thy brow.
" The sever'd cord will be reknit,
That wrung thy heart's deep core,
Where shears of death can enter not,
And life is evermore.
" There was a scar upon his brow,
The farewell mark of death ;
It changed into a martyr's crown,
A holy victor's wreath.
" Thou scarce hadst deem'd the grain was ripe
To harvest it so soon ;
Thou scarce hadst deem'd the morning full,
When, lo ! the light of noon.
62 LETTERS OF SYMPATHY AND CONSOLATION
" Scarce was the earth-light kindled, when
Its flame was fast a-gone ;
But death could not extinguish it ;
For, lo ! a star it shone.
" Thou would'st not have him fading here
'Mid earth's cold winds and showers,
Rather than blooming even now
'Mid Heaven's gathered flowers.
" Then deem not thou as sad the life
That had so short an even :
Think of his martyr glories now —
A chosen one of heaven.
" Think of thy hero, not thy boy —
Thine angel, not thy son ;
And let thy worn heart yearn to know
The heaven he hath won.
" And yet we cannot still the sigh,
Forbid the dropping tear —
He was too bound to us, too close,
Too well-belov'd, too dear.
" Oh ! may the God that claimed His ow«.
Be near thee in thy sorrow !
Life is but short — thy martyr'd son
Shall greet thee on the morrow.
" LIZZIE FOSTER."
" Evesham."
FROM A LADY.
"Westow Hall, York, Sept. 16.
" SIR, — I hope that even a stranger may venture to
TO THE PARENTS. 63
offer to you some expression of the deep sympathy with
which she — in common, doubtless, with thousands —
has read that most touching account of the manner in
which it has pleased God that you should be deprived
of a most noble son. Deep, indeed, must be the
anguish of his parents and friends; and yet surely,
dear Sir, you have the highest consolation in your
intensity of grief. Is it not blessed indeed to think
that you had been enabled so to bring up your child as
he must have been brought up, and to think that at an
age so early he should have been permitted to win the
martyr's glorious crown ?
" A few days ago, I met with a passage relating to
the unspeakable horrors of this Indian war, which I
thought so beautiful and so consoling that I copied it,
and now I will venture to send it to you. I should be
indeed thankful if it should bring you any thought of
comfort : —
" ' One thought, and one alone, can give any support
to the mind when these agonizing scenes are forced upon
it. There was One Spectator, whose thoughts are not
as our thoughts, and in whose eyes every pang, every
indignity, borne in submission to His will, was no stain
or pollution, but a fresh claim to glory. And among
the sufferers there may have been those who were sup-
ported by something above ordinary Christian patience,
by the knowledge that as by their labours in his service
they had not feared to risk the most fiery persecution, as
in his service they did not refuse to suffer it, — so He was
admitting them through this gate of brief but terrible
64 LINES TO THE MEMORY
anguish, to a place in that glorious rest under the altar
reserved for those " which were slain for the Word of God
and the testimony which they held," to cry out till their
number is accomplished, "How long, O Lord !"
"Many, many are the daily prayers offered for the
mourners, among whom you are now included ; and little
children join in these prayers. I have just now been
hearing a dear boy, Arthur, and his little sister, repeat
their prayers, and one prayer is for our countrymen in
India, adding the words, ' Comfort all their friends, and
bring all at length to heaven ! '
" May our most loving Lord, who ' healeth the- broken
in heart and giveth medicine to heal their sickness/ heal
and comfort you and yours, and give you at length a
blessed meeting with the beloved one whom you have
not lost !
" Allow me to remain, dear Sir,
" Yours in true sympathy,
"SARAH DONKIN."
LINES TO THE MEMORY OF THE LATE
ENSIGN CHEEK.
" ' How is he numbered among the children of God, and his
lot among the Saints.'— First Evening Lesson for AH
Saints' Day.
" Basking in the light of summer,
England saw the red bolt fall,
And the plenteous joys of harvest
Quench'd by tidings from Bengal.
OF THE LATE ENSIGN CHEEK. 65
" Then too came the mournful story
Of a youthful hero's death,
With his holy breast-plate round him,
Couch'd upon the shield of faith.
" Thinking of his pleasant childhood,
And his parents' sadden 'd years,
We a little while kept silence,
For we could not speak for tears ;
" And we said, such grief is sacred,
Let no careless foot intrude
On the holy ground of sorrow,
Till its anguish be subdued.
" When the months have faded slowly
We will give a song for him,
With the music of our dirges
Blending rapture's loftiest hymn, —
" Turning with a deep thanksgiving
From his grave beneath the sod,
To the happy saints that slumber
'In the faith and fear of God.'
" Only such high song of triumph
Should be poured above the dead
As exulting angels chanted
When the early martyrs bled ;
" When, like parting sunlight, falling
Swiftly on the dying year,
Comes that day of pure rejoicing
Many a striving heart to cheer.
" We departed saints remember,
' Meekly kneeling on our knees.'
Oh, thou young and brave confessor,
Come and take thy place with these !
F
66 LINES TO THE MEMORY OF ENSIGN CHEEK.
" With immortal hope to cheer thee,
Strong the waves of death to stem,
Thou wert tempted, slain, tormented —
Come and share the crown with them.
" Witnessing a good confession,
With a courage high and calm,
Comforting a wavering brother,
Thine shall be the victor's palm.
" Rest — thy burning thirst is over,
All thine agony and pain ;
Thou hast quaffed the living water,
And shalt never thirst again.
" D. S. W."
CONCLUDING REMARKS. 67
CHAPTER V.
CONCLUDING REMARKS.
THE preceding memorials of the early life, sufferings,
faith, and death of Marcus Cheek, suggest some impor-
tant remarks, which will form a suitable conclusion to
this work.
We see the importance of having the mind well
instructed and established, in early life, in the principles
of the religion of Christ. The season of childhood and
youth is the best time for sowing the seed of religious
instruction. The mind is then most tender, more sus-
ceptible of religious impression, and more free from
those evil principles by which advancing youth is sure to
be assailed ; and thus, with the blessing of God, becomes
fortified and strengthened against temptations. To
withhold religious training from the child, is to launch
inexperienced youth on a treacherous ocean, without
rudder or compass, the sport of every wind that blows,
to be driven on the rocks or engulphed in the deep.
Religious principles implanted in childhood are the
seeds of future excellence and usefulness. They may
be long buried, and may be thought to be lost ; but
F 2
68 CONCLUDING REMARKS.
though in some cases it may be so, yet we know that,
unless the seed be sown at the proper season, there can
be no harvest. Though, for a time, the field may give
no promise of fruitfulness, it is a ground of hope that
the seed has been sown — that the seed is there. It is a
further ground of hope that the Divine promise assures
us of the blessing : " In due time ye shall reap if ye
faint not." The time will arrive in which it will be
manifest that religious principles, early imparted, have
been the seeds of those excellencies which are developed
in after years, — that thus the mind has been trained
and moulded for new and untried circumstances, and
strengthened to resist temptation, to endure affliction,
to bless others, and to glorify God. Let parents and
guardians of our youth, by assiduous religious teaching,
and with earnest prayer, thus implant religious princi-
ples, and right practice and religious fruitfulness will be
the result. If they neglect this, and yet expect that
our youths will be virtuous and holy, they are guilty of
the folly of those who expect to reap the harvest, but
have neglected to sow the seed. What pleasing proof
of this have we in the case of Marcus Cheek. His
voluntary dedication of himself to God in Confirmation
at Brussels, his own desire to renew that dedication at
the Lord's Table, on the first opportunity that offered
on his return to England, are proofs of this. The
religious principles implanted in childhood, developed
their vitality and efficacy in India, sustaining him in
the time of suffering, and nerving him with Christian
courage, rather to die for Christ than to deny Him.
CONCLUDING REMARKS. 69
Oh, that like Marcus Cheek, every young reader of this
work were persuaded, and enabled by Divine grace, to
give up the heart early to God, and to walk in his ways.
Such know not the future circumstances of their coming
days, — what temptations, what trials, what dangers, are
before them. The only sure way to happiness, to
safety, and comfort, under trouble, — to courage and
support in the face of peril and death, is, in sincerity
and prayer, early to give up the heart to God and his
service.
We have in the narrative of Marcus Cheek an
instructive instance of the value and power of living
faith in God, to sustain under suffering and give courage
in death. Where we see the fruits of faith, we cannot
doubt its reality and vitality. It is one principle end
and use of biography, especially of religious biography,
to show us how men of like passions with ourselves
have acted in difficult circumstances, and to develop
the principles by which they were influenced and
sustained. There are some situations and circumstances
in life in which some deem it next to impossible to
maintain real dignity and consistency ; but holy Scrip-
tures, which are adapted for all conditions of life, and
furnish rules and examples for conduct under all diffi-
culties, record how Joseph and Daniel served God and
benefitted their fellow-creatures when captives to
heathen masters. The unlooked-for calamities which
have overwhelmed our countrymen in India may have
been in many cases rendered yet more dreadful by the
idea of the difficulty of retaining true dignity and
70 CONCLUDING REMARKS.
honour in such circumstances ; and brave men and
high-minded women, fearing shame more than death,
may be almost tempted to despair and desperation
rather than fall under the power of their enemies. Such
despair and desperation are both alike equally forbidden
by the lessons and examples of holy Scripture. Living
faith in God is the best and only sure preservative in
these temptations and dangers. The concluding verses
of that history of the power of faith recorded in Heb.
xi. 32 — 40 show us what great things faith can do and
suffer. The case of Daniel and his young companions
in Babylon seems recorded on purpose to meet such
cases as are now occurring in India, and such as that
in which Marcus Cheek was placed. Daniel and his
companions resisted the temptations from the royal
table : thus commencing their brilliant course with that
self-denial which was the foundation of future greatness,
by perseverance in the strictest temperance, and main-
taining the habit of prayer even when it exposed them
to danger and death. May we not remark the pleasing
indication of this in the fact of Marcus Cheek's early
retirement from the mess-room, on the fatal night, to
his own house, most likely for meditation and prayer ?
We mark in Daniel and his companions, when tempted
and threatened to deny God by an act of idolatry, how
living faith in God sustained and triumphed ! When
threatened with a fearful death unless they bowed down
to worship the idol, what fidelity to God, what true
heroism, is shown in their firm reply : — " If it be so,
our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the
CONCLUDING REMARKS. 71
burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us out of
thine hand, 0 King. But if not, be it known unto
thee, 0 King, that we will not serve thy gods, nor
worship the golden image which thou hast set up ! " *
Here is the power and triumph of living faith in God.
Such was the faith of Marcus Cheek, when threatened
with death unless he denied his Saviour : " Anything
but give up my faith in my Redeemer ! " was his noble
reply, and such was the faith to which he exhorted and
encouraged others. Noble boy ! thy example speaks to
a thousand hearts the power of faith to impart true
courage and triumph in hours of suffering and death !
May the youths of your loved native land learn from
thy example the necessity and value of living faith in
God, to protect them in the hour of temptation, to
deliver them in peril; and then, whatever may befall
the fleshly tabernacle, their spirits will be happy and
safe ; for " the souls of the righteous are in the hand of
the Lord, and there shall no torment touch them."
Such a faith, founded in assured belief of the Divine
promises, and a realizing sense of the Divine presence,
takes firm hold of the strength of the Almighty, and
gives unearthly support and triumph in danger,
suffering, and death.
We learn also from the case of Marcus Cheek the
duty and honour of boldly confessing Christ before men.
The case of Daniel and his companions, before referred
to, is one among many instances to show that such
courage and heroic faith, contrary to the ideas of some
* Daniel iii. 17, 18.
72 CONCLUDING REMARKS.
timid and unfaithful professors, is crowned with respect
and even temporal advancement ; for we read, " Then
the King promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego,
in the province of Babylon ! " * Nothing is lost, even
in a temporal point of view, by fidelity to God and his
service. But we must take higher ground. Such the
promise of the Saviour sets before us : — " Whosoever,
therefore, shall confess me before men, him will I con-
fess also before my Father (and before the angels of
God) which is in heaven." f The connexion in which
this promise is found clearly points to similar circum-
stances as those in which Marcus Cheek confessed and
honoured the Saviour. " Fear not them which kill the
body, but are not able to kill the soul : but rather fear
Him which is able to destroy both body and soul in
hell; whosoever shall confess me before men, him will
I confess also before my Father which is in heaven."
How glorious the promise ! When our. young hero
sunk in weakness into the arms of death, the Saviour,
whom he boldly confessed, received his emancipated
spirit and confessed him before his Father. And when
the Saviour shall come again " in glorious majesty " to
raise his sleeping saints He will confess before an
assembled universe Marcus Cheek as one of that
"noble army of martyrs," who thus honoured him
" before men." Marcus has received .from his Saviour
the martyr's crown : for He hath said, — " Be thou
faithful unto death, and I will give thee the crown of
life ! " But how fearful 'the alternative : — " Whosoever
* Dan. iii. 30. f Matt. x. 32 ; Luke xii. 8.
CONCLUDING REMARKS. 73
shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before
my Father which is in heaven ! "
The present fearful state of India and its future
prospects cannot, in conclusion, properly pass unnoticed.
British dominion there has now existed for nearly 100
years. Though its beginning was small, its increase
and extension by conquest and cession is extraordinary.
That so mighty an empire, with a population of little
short of two hundred millions of Hindoos and Moham-
medans, should have been brought under British sway,
is in itself indicative of some great design of Providence
to be accomplished by this country for the welfare of
India. This design will not be overlooked or mistaken
by a Christian people. It was not that Britain might
be enriched by the treasures of the East; but that
India might receive from her what is far more necessary
and valuable, "the unsearchable riches" of the know-
ledge of a Saviour ; not that Britain might be aggran-
dised by an Empire, on which it is vauntingly said,
" the sun never sets/' but that India might be added
to the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is for
this high and holy object British dominion has been
established in India ; our tenure of India depends upon
our fulfilment of this high trust and destiny. It is by
Evangelizing India we can only hope to civilize her.
Our duty as a Christian nation and Church to attempt
this is not doubtful or optional, but clear and impera-
tive. The Saviour's command, that his Gospel shall be
preached in " all nations/' and compassion for the souls
of the millions held under cruel and debasing super-
74 CONCLUDING REMARKS.
stitions, demand this of Christian Britain. Alas ! how
little has been done by us to fulfil this great duty of
christianizing India. The aggregate of all Christian
efforts and success is thus summarily stated : —
" Missionaries have been established in more than
300 stations throughout India: mission-schools have
amounted to the number of 2,015. There have been
nearly 80,000 children in these schools. Missionaries
have itinerated in all directions, singly and in company,
with native Christians, and nearly 80,000 Christian
converts have been made in Southern India."
But great as this effort and success may appear, and
full of promise as it is for the future, it is mostly the
result of the Divine blessing on the voluntary efforts of
the Christian Church. The Government, whether at
home or abroad, has made no decided effort as a
Government for the religious instruction and conver-
sion of the millions of its heathen subjects in India.
It has established the Eastern Episcopacy, and provided
chaplains for the English residents, its military and
civil officers ; but as a professedly Christian nation and
Government no provision has been made for the conver-
sion of the heathen. On the subject, the remarks of
the Bishop of Durham, in a speech delivered lately at
Durham, will find an echo in thousands of hearts.
The Bishop expressed regret " to be obliged to say that
he thought England, in all her dealings with her empire
in India, had not been true to the Christian principles
and faith she professed. He did feel they had been
over-indulgent in dealing with the hideous superstitions
CONCLUDING REMARKS. 75
which pervaded that land. They had given, as a
Government, their full confidence and support to the
idolatrous religions of the country, while, as a Govern-
ment, they had given no encouragement to the propaga-
tion of the Gospel of Christ ; and it was with feelings
of deep sorrow that he heard with his own ears in the
House of Lords the charge brought against the present
Governor-General of India, that he had given a contri-
bution to a Missionary Society. That was imputed to
him as a crime, and as a grievous wrong to the religion
of the country over which he was called to govern.
Did it not seem that this was a retribution for their
conduct towards that empire ? If they had civilized, if
they had christianized those who had now turned round
upon them with such barbarous ferocity, they would
not have been exposed to those calamities which have
befallen them. They were guilty as a nation for not
having boldly taught that religion to others which they
professed themselves. Earnestly did he hope that the
result of the war might lead to the adoption of a
different policy by this country." The unworthy fear
that our empire in the East would be endangered by our
discouragement of and interference as a Christian
Government with the superstitions of the people, is
refuted by the fact that in those parts of India where
missionary labours have been most active and most suc-
cessful, there order and safety are enjoyed, and this
rebellious outbreak, with its attendant horrors, are but
little felt or feared.
It is an opinion, confirmed by the testimony of mis-
sionaries and others resident in India, and best
76 CONCLUDING REMARKS.
acquainted with the feelings of the people, that this
fearful outbreak of violence and insurrection is to be
traced not to any real or imaginary wrongs done
to India, but that it is mainly a religious, a Moham-
medan movement, having for its object not only the
overthrow of British dominion, but the expulsion
and extirpation of all Christians and Christianity from
India. The violence, the unparalleled cruelties on Chris-
tians, is but acting out the principles inculcated in the
Shasters of the Hindoos, and especially in the Koran
of the Mohammedans. And is it not humiliating and
astounding that in the schools established for native
instruction by the Indian Government, that the Shaster
and the Koran should be received in those schools as
books of instruction while, at the same time, the holy
Scriptures are ignored and proscribed? An Indian
officer in the Madras Presidency thus writes : " You
will have seen that we are now passing through what is,
without doubt, the greatest peril to which our Indian
Empire has ever been exposed. I do not feel at all
doubtful as to its ultimate issue, because I feel per-
suaded that our mission in India has not yet been ful-
filled; and because the present fierce outbreak, what-
ever may be its real cause, has been distinctly put by
the mutineers themselves, Mohammedans as well as
Hindoos, upon the ground of religion. It has the cha-
racter, consequently, of an open contest for Satan
against Christ, and ' He shall have them in derision.5 '
What, then, is the duty of the Home and of the
Indian Government, on the putting down of the present
rebellion in India, with a view to the re-settlement and
CONCLUDING REMARKS. 77
re-construction of the government of our Eastern
Empire ? It is required that we act towards India as a
decidedly Christian Power. That no direct encourage-
ment be given to idolatry, no favouritism or preference
be shown to idolaters, or to castes, the existence,
tolerance, and influence of which are the source of so
many social evils in India, and the cause, in a great
measure, of the present calamities. In the administra-
tion of righteous and equal laws for all, in our civil and
military employments, caste must not be recog-
nized as a qualification or a ground of preference,
or conversion to Christianity a disadvantage or dis-
qualification. In the Indian schools patronized by
'the Government, the Holy Scriptures must be admitted
and used for instruction. "Mere secular education
without the Word of God," as a missionary justly
remarks, " is training up a race of infidels, and not the
right way to make loyal subjects for Queen Victoria —
to say nothing of aught else/' Though it is not the
duty of a Christian Government to attempt by coercion
the putting down of the false religions and debasing
superstitions of India, it is clearly its duty as a Chris-
tian Power that full means of Christian instruction be
provided for the natives, that eveiy part of the country
be fully and freely opened to Christian missionaries^
and that all protection and encouragement be given to
them. The Church of God must awake and arise to a
deeper sense of the duty of doing more, and of making
greater efforts and sacrifices for the christianization of
India than she has ever yet done.
78 CONCLUDING REMARKS.
Though at present dark clouds brood over our Eastern
Empire, yet the Christian believer in the revealed pur-
poses and promises of God — not doubting for a moment
that what is now happening " will turn out rather unto
the furtherance of the Gospel " — will look forward with
faith and hope to brighter and better days for that dark
land. The Gospel, which has triumphed over the for-
midable superstitions of olden times, has lost nothing of
its heavenly power. It has already achieved glorious
triumphs in India. The seed of the Word of God has
been widely sown there, and will yield a glorious harvest.
The light of the Gospel which has broken upon those
dark places of the earth heralds a coming glorious day.
What though as yet it resembles the dim twilight of the
morning breaking gently on the long deathlike slumbers
of the millions there, it is surely leading on the full
splendours of the day when God will " destroy the cover-
ing cast over all people, and the vail that is spread over
all nations." India shall one day cast away her idols
and her superstitions, and become " the Kingdom of our
God and his Christ, — "As surely as I live, saith the
Lord, the whole earth shall be filled with his glory."
" Come forth out of Thy royal chambers, 0 Prince of
all the kings of the earth ; put on the visible robes of
Thy imperial majesty, take up that unlimited sceptre
which Thy Almighty Father hath bequeathed Thee;
for now the voice of the Bride calls Thee, and all
creatures sigh to be renewed/' — MILTON.
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