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BRITISH 
 FEMALE MISSIONARIES. 
 
MEMOIKS 
 
 BRITISH FEMALE MISSIONARIES 
 
 WITH A SURVEY OF THE 
 
 CONDITION OF WOMEN IN HEATHEN COUNTRIES, 
 
 REV. THOMAS ^IMPSON; 
 
 AUTHOR OF THK " COMPANION TO THE BIBLE," THE "KEV TO THE BIBLE," &C. 
 
 ^n fintrotiuctor^ (JB^^aj) 
 
 THE IMPORTANCE OF FEMALE AGENCY IN EVANGELIZING 
 PAGAN NATIONS, 
 
 BY MISS THOMPSON. 
 
 Dedicated, by Permission, to the Right Hon. Lady Barham. 
 
 LONDON : 
 WILLIAM SMITH, 113, FLEET STREET. 
 
LONDON: 
 HRADBURV AND KVANS, PRINTERS, Will fFFRl ARS. 
 
TO 
 
 THE RIGHT HONOURABLE LADY BARHAM, 
 
 THIS VOLUME OF 
 
 " MEMOIRS OF BRITISH FEMALE MISSIONARIES," &c., 
 
 ILLUSTRATING 
 
 THE MORAL DIGNITY AND J5XCELLEN0Y OF CHRISTIAN WOMEN 
 
 OF 
 
 GREAT BRITAIN, 
 
 THE DEPLORABLE DEGRADATION OF 
 
 WOMEN IN PAGAN AND MOHAMMEDAN NATIONS, 
 
 AND THE 
 
 NECESSITY FOR FEMALE AGENCY IN THEIK EVANGELIZATION, 
 
 IS, 
 
 WITH SENTIMENTS OF PROFOUND RESPECT 
 
 FOR HER LADYSHIP'S CHRISTIAN CHARACTER, 
 DEDICATED 
 
 BY THE COMPILER. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 " British Fe3iale Missionaries" have, especially 
 during the last forty years, most beautifully illustrated 
 the power, the benevolence, and the divinity of our 
 holy religion. The edifying "Memoirs" of their truly 
 honourable and useful lives have, however, been very 
 sparingly given to the public ; scarcely any of them 
 being extensively known to the friends and supporters 
 of Missions to the Heathen, except, perhaps, those of 
 IVIrs. Ellis, Mrs. Stallybrass, and Mrs. Wilson. 
 
 Judicious persons regard those remarkably instructive 
 pieces as deserving to be universally read, and as form- 
 ing some of the most valuable specimens of " British 
 Female Biography:" they are by no means inferior, 
 and in some particulars they even surpass, those delight- 
 ful Memoirs of Mrs. Newell and Mrs. Judson, the 
 devoted American Missionaries. 
 
 Protestant scriptural Christianity requires such agents 
 in evangelizing the degraded nations of the world ; and 
 it may confidently be affirmed, that, according to tlie 
 manifest arrangements of Divine Providence, witliout 
 
Vlll PREFACE. 
 
 that efficient class of agency, the Heathen cannot be 
 brought to the knowledge of salvation by our Lord 
 Jesus Christ. 
 
 Female Christian labourers were honoured to bear a 
 part in the Missionary work among the immediate 
 ambassadors of the Redeemer. Divine inspiration 
 influenced the Apostle Paul to record the names of 
 several of those worthy persons ; leading him to give 
 directions concerning the Female Missionaries, — pro- 
 bably Asiatic women, — labouring at Philippi, in Europe ! 
 "I intreat thee also, true yoke-fellow, help those 
 women which laboured with me in the Gospel." 
 Phil. iv. 3, 
 
 Many of such exemplary women there were among 
 the primitive Christian Missionaries, occupying various 
 stations in life, and filling several departments of invalu- 
 able labour for the salvation of immortal souls. Happily 
 there are still such in the church, devotinsf their talents 
 and their lives to the advancement of the kingdom of 
 Clirist amone: the Heathen. Dr. Adam Clarke, there- 
 fore, in his " Introduction " to the " Memoirs of Mrs. 
 Clough, Missionary to Ceylon," truly remarks, " Many 
 excellent women have adorned, and still adorn, our 
 foreign missions ; — full of love to the perishing Heathen, 
 and of zeal for the honour and glory of the Saviour 
 of men." 
 
PREFACE. IX 
 
 Missionary biography ought not, therefore, to be 
 limited to Schwartz, Henry Martyn, Drs. Morison, 
 Milne, Carey, and such laborious and apostolic men ; 
 more especially now that the heathen in every region 
 of the globe are calling for help to British Christians. 
 Women, possessing those indispensable qualifications 
 which have conferred imperishable honour and shed 
 such sacred lustre on the cause of the Redeemer, are 
 needed to accompany the servants of Christ in their 
 evangelical missions. And for the purpose of fur- 
 nishing correct views of the degraded condition of 
 women in Heathen countries, of inflaming a mis- 
 sionary spirit among our families, and of engaging 
 many of our daughters to seek the gifts and grace of 
 the Holy Spirit to endow them for that most dis- 
 tinguished service, these memorials of departed female 
 excellence have been compiled. 
 
 Instructive and valuable as the biographical series 
 may be esteemed, the volume will be considered as 
 much enriched by the admirable " Essay on the 
 Importance of Female Agency in Evangelizing Pagan 
 Nations." It has been written at the request of the 
 compiler by a devoted friend of the Heathen world, and 
 it may justly be regarded as a subject of thankfulness 
 to have drawn forth a communication affording most 
 judicious counsels to those females who aspire to that 
 
X PREFACE. 
 
 particular branch of service in the cause of our blessed 
 Saviour, and so well calculated, by the force of its 
 arguments and the warmth of its appeals, to render 
 essential service to our Missionary Institutions. 
 
 Designed especially to interest Christian women in 
 the most elevated department of benevolent labour, this 
 work is commended to their best regard, and, with 
 humble hope, to the blessing of the Divine Author and 
 Exemplar of missions, the great " Apostle and High 
 Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus ; " that his glory 
 may be promoted among all the tribes of mankind, 
 particularly in our vast colonies, and among all denomi- 
 nations of Christians in the British Empire ! 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 PREFACE ... 
 
 ESSAY ON THE IMPORTANCE OF FEMALE AGENCY 
 
 SURVEY OF THE CONDITION OF WOMEN 
 
 MEMOIR OF MRS. ELLIOT .... 
 
 MRS. COULTART 
 
 MRS. WILSON .... 
 
 MRS. HARVARD 
 
 MRS. MUNDY .... 
 
 MRS. NORTON 
 
 MRS. CLOUGH .... 
 
 MRS. JOWETT 
 
 MRS. KILHAM .... 
 
 MRS. STALLYBRASS 
 
 MISS BIRD 
 
 MRS. ELLIS .... 
 
 MRS. M. WILSON 
 
 AIRS. LOVELESS 
 
 - MRS. TAYLOR .... 
 
 - MISS SMITH .... 
 
 PAGE 
 
 vii 
 
 sill 
 
 xlvi 
 
 20 
 
 27 
 
 50 
 
 60 
 
 6G 
 
 85 
 
 95 
 
 110 
 
 139 
 
 152 
 
 190 
 
 200 
 
 21G 
 
 238 
 
IMPORTANCE OF FEMALE AGENCY 
 
 EVANGELIZING PAGAN NATIONS. 
 
 Evangelization of the Heathen imperative on Christians. — Christian 
 Women especially responsible.— Lander's Account of the Sacrifice 
 of Two Wives of the late Governor of Jenna. — Distress of the Elder, 
 in prospect of Death by Poison.— Rev. W. jNIorton's Account of a 
 Rajah sacrificing his own Daughter.— Mrs. Porter's Account of a Tele- 
 goo Mother.— Rev. S. Wolfe on Female Education in India. — Mrs. 
 Leidler's Success in the Egyptian Royal Harem.— Female Qualifications 
 as Teachers.— Pious Females peculiarly qualified for the East.— Obser- 
 vations of intelligent Foreigners regarding Women in England, and 
 in the East.— Mrs. Wilson of Bombay.— Mrs. Gutzlafi', " the Woman of 
 Ten Thousand."— Success of Mrs- Winslow in Ceylon.— Phebe.— Miss 
 Crossthwaite in Colombo.— Claims of India, China, Africa.— Appeal to 
 Women in England.— Spirit of Piety necessary.— Advantages of Young 
 English Ladies.— Few recognise correctly their obligations.— Early 
 Piety of Mrs. Judson, Mrs. Winslow, and Mrs. Wilson.— Intellectual 
 Discipline.— Reading — Plan for.— Select Books.— History.— Church 
 History.— Biblical Criticism.— Evidences of Christianity.— Practical 
 Divinity.— Mental Philosophy.— Education.— Missionary AVorks.— 
 Biography.- Accomplishments.— Mental Application.— Cultivation of 
 Talents.— All sanctified by Piety.— Christian Virtues.— Missionary 
 Zeal.— Missionary Hour of Prayer Monthly.— Pecuniary Aid.— Present 
 active Zeal.— Female Influence with Fathers, Brothers, Husbands. 
 Sons.— Future Prospects for Missions.— Review of the past Forty 
 Years of Missions.— Application, and Anticipation. 
 
 Christianity, with a daily-increasing urgency, re- 
 quires from its professors devoted exertions for the 
 conversion of the heathen world. The pulpit, the plat- 
 
FEMALE AGENCY 
 
 form, and the press are continually bringing the 
 subject before us ; and an augmenting amount of testi- 
 mony from all quarters leaves the duty no longer a 
 matter of mere surmise, and our neglect no longer a 
 sin of ignorance or of inadvertence. The rapidly-in- 
 creasing population of the world, the numerous appli- 
 cations for missionaries from the heathen themselves, 
 and the admirable facilities placed in our hands for 
 conveying both the preached and the written word to 
 every region of the globe, are all so many incitements 
 to prompt and general exertion. It is not merely the 
 great question of the ultimate evangelization of the 
 world which is thus brought before us, as a thing about 
 which we may take our time, and quietly concert 
 measures for the benefit of future ages ; the present 
 generation of heathens must look to the present gene- 
 ration of Christians for the means of salvation. Those 
 who come after us will not be able to make reparation 
 for our neglect. No prayers, no sacrifices, will bring 
 back the dead. It is with the living that we have to 
 do, and these are they whom we must meet face to face 
 at the Day of Judgment ! Each day that we linger, 
 they are passing by thousands into eternity ; and in 
 thirty years the thousand millions who now cover tlie 
 earth's surface will be beyond our reach ! If we indeed 
 believe that " tliere is no other name given among men 
 whereby we can be saved, except the name of Jesus," 
 and that " without holiness no man shall see the Lord," 
 we must beheve also, that the large majority of this 
 overwhelming number of immortal souls, each of which 
 
IN EVANGELIZING PAGANS. XV 
 
 in value outweighs the world, will then be irrecover- 
 ably lost ! How, with these tremendous convictions, 
 can we sit still ? 
 
 If all Christians are bound to exert themselves in 
 this cause, surely the obligation which rests on Chris- 
 tian v/omen is fourfold ! They, far more than men, 
 owe to Christianity their present free and happy state 
 — while it is on their sex that, in other lands, the hard 
 bondage of heathenism presses with the heavier weight. 
 The number of distressing facts, in proof of the latter 
 assertion, which the compiler of this volume has brought 
 together in his " Survey," renders it unnecessary to 
 adduce many more. Yet a few striking instances it 
 may be expedient to introduce. There is one scene so 
 vividly described by Lander, in his " Expedition to 
 the Niger/' that it may be worth while to quote his 
 expressions. 
 
 While the Expedition were at Jenna, in Africa, the 
 governor died, and " two of his wives w^ere expected, 
 according to custom, to quit the world on the same 
 day." They hid themselves ; but the elder one being 
 discovered, "the alternative of a poisoned chalice, or 
 to have her head broken by the club of the Fetish 
 priest, was offered her." "She has," writes Lander, 
 " chosen the former mode of dying, as being the less ter- 
 rible of the two, and has come to our yard, to spend 
 her last hours in the society of her faithful slaves. Not- 
 withstanding the representations and remonstrances of 
 the priest, and prayers of the miserable victim to her 
 gods for fortitude to undergo the dreadful ordeal, her 
 
XVI FEMALE AGENCY 
 
 resolution has forsaken her more than once. She has 
 entered our yard twice, to expire in the arms of the 
 women ; and twice she has laid aside the fatal poison, 
 in order to gaze on the splendour of the sun and the glory 
 of the heavens ; for she cannot bear the idea of losing 
 them for ever. She is still restless and uneasy, and 
 would gladly run away from death if she durst. Die 
 she must, and she knows it ; nevertheless she will tena- 
 ciously cling to life to the very last moment. Mean- 
 while her grave is preparing, and preparations are 
 making for a wake at her funeral. She is to be buried 
 here, in one of her own huts, the moment after the spirit 
 has quitted the body." 
 
 The Rev. W. Morton of Calcutta relates an incident 
 of later date. The wife of a Rajah had five daughters, 
 who were all, according to custom, successively put to 
 death ! At the birth of a sixth, maternal feeling awoke ; 
 and having no son, and longing for something on which 
 to place her affections, she managed, by the assistance 
 of a faithful domestic, without the knowledge of her 
 husband, to have the infant conveyed to a place at some 
 distance, and there brought up. Some time after, she 
 died. When the child, which grew up a remarkably 
 beautiful girl, had reached tlie age of eleven, some rela- 
 tives thought that the father's heart would be softened 
 by the appearance of his daughter, and they ventured 
 to present her to him. She fell at his feet, clasped his 
 knees, and, looking up in his face, exclaimed, " My 
 father!" Enraged at having been over-reached, he 
 seized her by the hair of the head, and drawing his 
 
IN EVANGELIZING PAGANS. XVU 
 
 sabre from his belt, he cut off her head at one 
 blow! 
 
 Let it be remembered, when circumstances like these 
 are brought under our notice, that they are not solitary- 
 instances, eagerly sought for, to make out a case, or to 
 substantiate a theory, but such as are of every-day 
 occurrence in most parts of the heathen world ! How- 
 ever strongly such details may appeal to our compassion, 
 the violent close should perhaps less excite our pity than 
 the cheerless existence of abject degradation which has 
 preceded it. An additional illustration may be given 
 from a letter of Mrs. Porter of Vizagapatam : — 
 
 " At a native mothers' meeting, which was held some 
 time since, composed of Malabar, Malay, Burmese, and 
 Telegoo women, out of nearly forty, there was scarcely 
 one who could be called ' a happy mother/ One poor 
 Telegoo woman I shall never forget. I asked her,— 
 ' Have you any children ? ' She said, ' Ah ! five sons 
 I have got. ' I said, ' Do you love them ? ' Slie replied, 
 ' Do I not love my own ? But what for I love them, 
 I not know. Though plenty love I have for them, not 
 one love me, their poor old mother I' — and, bursting into 
 tears, she repeated, ' Not one love me — not one care for 
 me, their poor old mother ! ' " 
 
 Such is tlie rule throughout the heathen world. If 
 any happy wives or mothers can be found there, they 
 are the exceptions. Were these poor creatures, as their 
 own masters suppose them to be, " without souls," 
 humanity would plead for the alleviation of their pre- 
 sent misery. But when we consider the short term of 
 h 
 
XVm FEMALE AGENCY 
 
 their earthly life but as an imaginary point in their 
 eternal existence, and regard eternity as stamping per- 
 petuity on that moral state in which heathenism leaves 
 them and death finds them, we shall feel that their 
 condition in the present life is far from being the most 
 powerful argument for attempting their deliverance and 
 renovation. 
 
 Setting aside their own personal claims on our 
 Christian compassion, and supposing for a moment that 
 we were bound only to attempt the conversion of the 
 male part of the heathen population, the influence of 
 women, as wives and mothers, on the next generation 
 would alone be a sufficient argument for endeavouring 
 to rescue and to raise them. In the language of Rev. 
 S. Wolfe of Singapore, " To whatever extent we may 
 succeed in giving a proper education to the males, if 
 the females are left without education, we can rationally 
 expect nothing but a failure as to our great object. Let 
 us suppose the present generation of male youth to grow 
 up to maturity, under the favourable influence of the 
 best education, if the females are uninstructed, who will 
 be the wives of these youths, but persons with all the 
 degraded feelings and habits which now prevail ? With 
 what other feelings, in that case, would the husband be 
 able to regard his home than those of disgust ? And 
 what maternal influence but the most pernicious would 
 be exerted on their offspring? The better thoughts 
 and feelings of the husband, induced in infancy, would 
 be incapable of shaking the confirmed habits of his 
 wife. Far more likely is it that, instead of raising 
 
IN EVANGELIZING PAGANS. XIX 
 
 her, he would sink to the same level. Thus our partial 
 labour would be completely destroyed ; and it would be 
 our painful task to commence again sowing our seed at 
 the time we had anticipated reaping the harvest. It is 
 self-evident that none but educated wives can be the fit 
 companions of educated husbands. And equally evi- 
 dent it is, that no permanency can be given to the 
 advantages of good education, without enlisting on our 
 side maternal as well as paternal authority. Indeed, 
 it is universally admitted that the mother has far more 
 influence in forminof the mind of the child than the 
 father. How effectually, then, should we be stultifying 
 our own operations, if we willingly left the mother to 
 blast the fruits of our labour, instead of leading her to 
 cherish those fruits, and to bring them to perfection !" 
 
 Christianity is the only remedy for the suJBPerings of 
 women in heathen and IMohammedan countries ; and 
 Christian education can be imparted on no large or 
 efficient plan, but through the interposition of their 
 own sex in this country. Much less can their services 
 be dispensed with, where the jealous habits of eastern 
 nations suffer none but women to have access to them. 
 Mrs. Leider, who went in IMay 1836, from the " Society 
 for Promoting Female Education in the East," is a 
 striking proof of the availableness of such interposition. 
 The interesting details of her admission into the harem 
 of the Pacha of Egypt, for the purpose of instructing 
 his wives and daughters, will be found in the Society's 
 "extracts." The impulse given by her example and 
 instructions has induced the ladies of the harem, of 
 62 
 
FEMALE AGENCY 
 
 their own accord, to found a " Society for Promoting 
 Female Education in Egypt." Through her agency, also, 
 several excellent works, among which were Paley's Natu- 
 ral Theology, one of the Bridgewater Treatises, Dunn s 
 Normal School Manual, &c. &c., were last year placed 
 by the Pasha in course of translation, for the use of the 
 Arab schools. Whatever effect the issue of the present 
 war may have upon Mrs. Leider's proceedings, there is 
 reason to hope that the seed she has been permitted to 
 sow will not be lost. 
 
 Apart from the appropriateness of employing women 
 to teach women, other pleas might be urged for invit- 
 ing their aid. " There is a patience of endurance, a 
 buoyancy of hope, and a fervour of devotion, in the 
 female character," as Dr. Swift observes, in his Intro- 
 duction to Mrs. Lowrie's Life, " so well adapted to the 
 work of foreign missions, as to make it manifest that 
 women are to sustain an important part in this honoured 
 enterprise." It might, perhaps, be added, that if less 
 capable of what is bold and hazardous in action, pro- 
 found in thought, or laborious in investigation, they 
 possess a tenderness of feeling, a depth of compassion, 
 a quickness of perception, and a forgetfulness of self, 
 which are commonly found to less extent elsewhere. 
 They appear also generally to manifest a greater facility 
 for the acquisition of languages, as far as the mere 
 power of conversation is concerned ; and they can sooner 
 adapt themselves to the prejudices, and win their way 
 to the hearts, of those on whose welfare they are bent. 
 
 If, moreover, we desire to break down the prejudices 
 
IN EVANGELIZING PAGANS. XXI 
 
 of the East against female education, no means can 
 perhaps be more efficacious than the introduction of well- 
 educated, pious women, exemplifying the charms of 
 social virtues, as well as the attractions of courteous 
 manners and cultivated minds, and all the charities of 
 human nature when renewed after the image of Christ. 
 For the most part, the specimens of our countrywomen 
 who have lived among the heathen in past years, have 
 not been such as to impress them with a high idea of 
 the superiority of our system. Vain, heartless, indolent, 
 and enervated as much by habits of self-indulgence as 
 by the influence of a tropical climate, they could exer- 
 cise little influence for good. But examples of active 
 and Christian women would, even from their novelty, 
 produce a more impressive effect on the heathen mind 
 than an equal number of examples from the other sex. 
 The anxiety which intelligent foreigners, after residing 
 a while in this country, have manifested for raising 
 their countrywomen to the state in which they find 
 ours, may be adduced to strengthen the above position. 
 The respectful admiration which has been paid to de- 
 voted female missionaries, by those who had never 
 before cherished any other feeling than that of contempt 
 for the sex, may be traced in almost all the memoirs 
 which have come before the public. Those of Mrs. 
 Judson and others are sufficiently known. Of JMrs. 
 Wilson of Bombay, Dr. Wilson observes : — " She was 
 a principal attraction to many of my native visiters, 
 and particularly to those distinguished among their 
 countrymen for their education and intelligence; and 
 with much ingenuity and tact did she seek their im- 
 
XXU FEMALE AGENCY 
 
 provement, and promote their welfare. Our native 
 Pundit frequently expressed his astonishment at the 
 intelligence and aptitude of his female scholar, and de- 
 clared, what his naturally perverted views of the sex 
 made him slow to admit, that woman is intended by 
 God to be more than the toy of man, even ' a help-meet 
 for him ' in all that concerns his happiness and useful- 
 ness*." Miss Newell also, afterwards Mrs. Gutzlaff, 
 who went to Malacca in 1828, to devote herself to the 
 instruction of Malay and Chinese children, went by the 
 name of " The woman of ten thousand." 
 
 Perhaps the most powerful, as well as the most en- 
 couraging, plea in favour of the missionary exertions of 
 females is to be derived from the blessing which has 
 rested on their labours in various instances. The bene- 
 ficial results of Mrs. Wilson's exertions in Calcutta are 
 indisputable. Some interesting anecdotes of girls brought 
 up in her schools may be seen in Mrs. Chapman's works 
 on " Hindoo Female Education." This little volume 
 contains various examples of a similar kind. Of the 
 late Mrs. Winslow we are informed, that all the girls 
 in her schools, twenty-four in number, became hope- 
 fully pious. And in a large school at another American 
 missionary station in Ceylon, of eighty-seven girls, out 
 of one hundred and fifty-four, the same hopes are en- 
 tertained. The results of present experience correspond 
 with arguments deducible from Scripture. When 
 " Phebc, a servant of the church at Cenchrea," was 
 sent from Athens to Rome, a voyage more formidable 
 
 * Memoirs of Mrs. Margaret Wilson, &c., p. 631. 
 
IN EVANGELIZING PAGANS. XXlll 
 
 then than one to Africa or to India now, with the 
 charge that she should be " assisted in whatsoever busi- 
 ness she had need of," the principle pleaded for received 
 the sanction of the apostle of the Gentiles ; and a greater 
 than Paul, even He, who appearing first to Mary Mag- 
 dalene, commissioned her to bear the glad news of his 
 resurrection to his sorrowing disciples, refuses not to 
 make some of like spirit his happy and honoured mes- 
 sengers now, and by his presence and blessing, gives 
 proof that He has sent them. 
 
 Many difficulties yet lie in the way of the extensive 
 or successful prosecution of Female Education in the 
 East. Our own lukewarmness is perhaps the greatest. 
 When prayer and exertion have indeed been tried to 
 their utmost, we may hope that God will break down 
 the strong prejudices still existing throughout its popu- 
 lous regions, and open for us a wider door. It is pos- 
 sible that such may be the case before we are expect- 
 ing it ; and long before we are prepared to improve the 
 opportunity. Some faint signs of such a crisis may 
 even now be occasionally discerned. The school for the 
 dauohters of " headmen," which ]\Iiss Crossthwaite has 
 for some years carried on successfully at Colombo, 
 though small, exhibits a signal triumph over native 
 prejudice. And the fact, that some of the compara- 
 tively enlightened Hindoo youths in the government 
 schools are secretly teaching their mothers and sisters 
 to read, is a bright omen for the next generation. 
 
 India, from its extent and vast population, and above 
 all from its dependency on our government, has 
 
XXIV FEMALE AGENCY 
 
 stronger claims on us than any other part of the heathen 
 world. So small and scanty, however, have been the 
 supplies which we have sent thither, that instead of 
 wondering how so little general effect has been produced, 
 we should feel both humbled and grateful at the fruit 
 that has appeared. All Indian missionaries agree that 
 a work of preparation has been silently proceeding for 
 years, which must, before long, be followed by great 
 results. There is every reason to hope that the pre- 
 sent movements in Syria, Africa, and China, will turn 
 out for the furtherance of the Gospel. It may be, that 
 before long, such a cry shall come from the heathen 
 world as none shall be able to resist — that at the same 
 time the Spirit shall be poured upon the church, and 
 the eager response of every heart to that call will be, 
 " Here am I, send me ! " Both sexes, and all classes, 
 may then be called upon to take their respective por- 
 tions of work, and to assist in gathering in the harvest 
 of the world. Let us seek to be ready,— intellectually, 
 morally, spiritually ready for such a juncture, lest we 
 should be unable to share in its joy, and should be in 
 the condition of him to whom it was said, " Thou slialt 
 see it with thine eyes, but shalt not eat thereof." 
 
 To what extent, and under what circumstances, Chris- 
 tian women may even now engage in personal service 
 among the degraded of their sex in foreign lands, must 
 be left to the consciences of individuals, and to the Pro- 
 vidence of God, to determine. " Let every one be fully 
 persuaded in her own mind." There is far less ground 
 to question whether we ouglit not to embrace opportu- 
 
IN EVANGELIZING PAGANS. XXV 
 
 nities of preparing for such employment, in contempla- 
 tion of the possibility of a divine call to the work. To 
 make His Gospel known to every creature under heaven 
 is the great duty of the Christian church ; and nothing 
 but obstacles interposed, or pious duties appointed by 
 God Himself, can absolve us from taking our part in its 
 diffusion. Ought we not all, therefore, to be ready to 
 do so, in case those obstacles should be removed ? The 
 more so, as preparation for foreign labour will fit us for 
 greater usefulness at home. Genuine missionary spirit 
 — far from exhausting itself in imaginary anticipations 
 of what may be done at a distance, — will animate our 
 anxiety for the souls within our reach. Entire devot- 
 edness to God, willingness to wait his pleasure, to stay 
 or go as he pleases, to work here or in distant lands as 
 he may appoint, is the frame of mind which we ought 
 to cherish. Only, wherever we are, let us be in some 
 way engaged in the work ; and if unable to go abroad, 
 let us feel bound to use double exertion at home. Let 
 us give our hearts to this object ; and if we hope to 
 serve God in heaven, let us pledge ourselves to his 
 service on earth. If we have not yet proved that service 
 perfect freedom, — if we have not yet found the Saviour's 
 yoke easy and his burden light, — it is because we have 
 not engaged in the one, or taken up the other with our 
 hearts. No constrained, half-hearted service will be 
 acceptable to God, or delightful to ourselves. Let us 
 count the cost, and ascertain whether we are willing to 
 give up all ; for there is no middle course. 
 
 All human beings, whether they are men or women, 
 
XXVI FEMALE AGENCY 
 
 require an object for which to Hve ; i. <?., not merely the 
 grand object of preparation for the future life, but a 
 subordinate and immediate one for the present. Women, 
 a little removed from the humbler classes of society, 
 commonly labour, in this respect, under a disadvantage 
 not experienced by men. The latter have some profes- 
 sion on which to enter, as soon as what is usually deno- 
 minated education is completed ; but women, at that 
 period, for the most part, have none. Many girls 
 leave school at sixteen or seventeen, and spend several 
 years of the most valuable part of their lives in a kind 
 of restless indolence. Had they before them some great 
 and benevolent object, such as taking a share in the 
 regeneration of the world, they w^ould be much happier, 
 and much more amiable. Their mental powers, instead 
 of being frittered away, would be increased, — their 
 moral character would acquire a higher tone, — they 
 would be more, rather than less, fitted for the enjoyment 
 of domestic life in after years, — and many of the regrets 
 of a death -bed would be avoided. 
 
 If, on the one hand, woman, when familiar only witli 
 fashionable accomplishments, and superficial arts, serves 
 but to languish in sickly scntimentalism, or at the best 
 to throw a gorgeous veil over the emptiness of a useless 
 life, — on the other hand, when adorned witli the light of 
 practical wisdom, and invigorated by the daily exercises 
 of active philanthropy, will not the gloomy and selfish 
 passions shrink from her presence ? Is she not a sun- 
 beam, to disperse the clouds of care, and dissipate the 
 mists of sorrow, and to irradiate the vista to a happier 
 state ? 
 
IN EVANGELIZING PAGANS. XXVU 
 
 The seasons of leisure and the freedom from care 
 which God has allotted to the earlier years of women in 
 the rank of intelligent society, render them doubly 
 responsible to devote these advantages to his service. 
 Few, perhaps, even of those who are really pious, feel 
 the extent of the obligations under which such circum- 
 stances place them. They are too apt to view religion 
 as a thing ybr themselves^ and to regard the little they 
 may do for the poor, for Sunday or day-schools, or for 
 missionary societies, almost in the light of popish works 
 of supererogation. They measure what they do for 
 these objects more by the conduct of others, than by the 
 standard of God's word, or by the vastness of the work 
 to be done. It is to be feared that young Christians in 
 the present day generally content themselves with too 
 low an aim. They have been sheltered from tempta- 
 tion, and every hopeful indication has been marked 
 with joy. They have encountered no storms which 
 might have uprooted a wavering faith, or made it, if 
 genuine, take a firmer hold. The affectionate partiality 
 of pious relatives has, perhaps, contributed to self- 
 deception; whilst union with a Christian church, and a 
 tolerably consistent deportment, have put an end to 
 questions on either side. It is not by sucli piety as 
 this that God can be honoured, or the world instrumen- 
 tally converted. 
 
 The first qualification for a missionary life is eminent 
 piety. All those who have been peculiarly honoured in 
 winning souls to Christ have been, in tlicse respects, 
 distinguished. Of Mrs. Judson, when seventeen years 
 
XXVIU FEMALE AGENCY 
 
 of age, it is said, that such was her thirst for religious 
 knowledge, that she often spent great part of the night 
 in reading religious books. That " the throne of grace 
 was her early and late resort," and that " she would 
 spend cold winter evenings in a room without a fire, 
 and return to the family with a solemnity spread over 
 her countenance, which told of Him w^ith whom she 
 had been communing." Of Mrs. Winslow, that at the 
 age of thirteen, she used to retire to an attic four times 
 every day for prayer. And of Mrs. Wilson of Bombay, 
 that at the age of sixteen, " so wholly absorbed was 
 her mind in the contemplation of holy things, that 
 secret and social prayer, meditation, and attendance on 
 the public ordinances of God, might be said to have 
 been her meat and her drink." If we would be as 
 useful as these excellent women, we must prepare in 
 like manner. Prayer and the Scriptures must have our 
 first, our best hours : those, when the mind is most 
 vigorous, — when there is least probability of being 
 disturbed ; and, as far as possible from being observed. 
 " Enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy 
 door, pray to thy Father who is in secret," has respect 
 to the spirit as well as the letter. There are many 
 excellent works on the cultivation of personal piety; 
 but perhaps none are more stimulating than the lives of 
 eminent Christians. We can hardly read the lives of 
 such men as Leighton, Howe, Allcine, Martyn, 
 Payson, &c., without feeling both humbled and 
 quickened. 
 
 Piety, however, though it be the chief, is not the only 
 
IN EVANGELIZING PAGANS. XXIX 
 
 qualification. Years are commonly spent in preparation 
 for any profession, or even trade ; and shall we enter 
 upon the greatest and noblest of all employments 
 without any intellectual discipline ? Shall we offer to 
 God that which costs us nothing ? Shall we return the 
 talents which he has intrusted to us unimproved, and 
 allow the world to continue to think lightly of religion 
 by giving so much reason to think lightly of us? 
 No ! let every power, every faculty which God 
 has given us, be engaged in his service; and not 
 content with bringing thirty^ or even sixty fold^ let 
 it be our earnest aim to bring forth " hundreds " to 
 his glory. 
 
 Those branches of mental culture which are most 
 important for missionary objects are accessible to most 
 young persons who have their time at command, even 
 without assistance from others. There is a general 
 intellectual preparation of the greatest use in strengthen- 
 ing the mind, and fitting it for application to any parti- 
 cular object, which it is to be supposed that young 
 persons, if brought up at a good school, or still more if 
 carefully educated at home, have enjoyed. If they wish 
 to devote their energies to the missionary enterprise, it 
 will be well for them to make themselves, as far as 
 possible, mistresses of the subject by a course of suitable 
 reading. A vigorous application of mind to the under- 
 taking will dispel the romance that may have been 
 thrown around it, but by no means diminish its genuine 
 interest. The object will bear to be contemplated : it 
 is ennobling and animating, and the conviction of its 
 
XXX FEMALE AGENCY 
 
 immense importance must grow with knowledge and 
 reflection. 
 
 With a view to assist the missionary student, a list 
 of works, having more or less reference to the subject, 
 is subjoined. It is supposed that the intelligent student 
 has become acquainted with ancient history from the 
 works of Rollin, Mitford, and others ; and with that of 
 modern days, from such authors as Robertson, Russel, 
 and Hume ; and is also familiar with the most popular 
 works on general subjects. Any judicious friend might 
 revise or add to the selection, and recommend in what 
 order or connexion they should be read. One hour a 
 day set apart for reading would be sufficient for the 
 perusal of thirty ordinary pages. Time would thus be 
 affiDrded, Sundays omitted, for reading 9390 pages in a 
 year, or twenty-three volumes of 400 pages each in the 
 course of a year. Can any one, who is not obliged 
 to work for her living, say that she could not, by 
 a little persevering effi)rt, or by an hour's earlier rising, 
 find so small a portion of time for reading ? Yet many 
 who spend hours in music and fancy-work, and even in 
 sheer idling, say that they ^have no time to read ! Let 
 us not deceive ourselves on this point any longer. If 
 we wish to keep pace with the growing intelligence of 
 the times — if we wish to glorify God, and to serve our 
 generation, we must set it down as a duty to give at 
 least so much time daily to the cultivation of our 
 minds, and as much more as other duties will permit. 
 
 Some attention to Biblical Criticism, to Church 
 History, and to the Evidences of Christianity, is particu- 
 
IN EVANGELIZING PAGANS. XXXI 
 
 larly recommended, on account of the numerous forms 
 of error now abroad, as well as with reference to the 
 instruction of the young and to other missionary 
 pursuits. Such of the works of Dr. Chalmers, Isaac 
 Taylor, and other authors, as bear upon the present 
 state of the world are mentioned, and large additions 
 might be made to this most improving class. A few 
 are named which may be of use in home, Sunday, and 
 Infant school instruction, and works of a more direct 
 missionary character are mentioned last. It is a 
 desirable plan in reading to make a brief written 
 analysis of every few pages, both to keep up the atten- 
 tion and to fix the author's train of thouojht or argument 
 in the mind. This need not take much time. Such 
 writers as Butler and Charnock, and others of the o;ood 
 old school, cannot indeed be so speedily dismissed, but 
 the pages of many modern writers may usually be 
 summed up in as many lines : — 
 
 HISTORY. 
 Heeren's Works, translated in America, 
 Sharon Turner's Sacred History of the World. 
 Ditto Ditto History of the Anglo-Saxons. 
 
 Ditto Ditto English History. 
 
 Hallam's History of the Middle Ages. 
 Ranke's History of the Popes. 
 
 CnURCn HISTORY. 
 Milner's Church History. 
 Mosheim's, Murdock's translation; Mosheim's and Milner's 
 
 should be read together. 
 Fuller's English Church History. 
 
XXXU FEMALE AGENCY 
 
 Waddington's Church History. 
 Timpson's Church History through All Ages. 
 Merle d'Aubigne's History of the Reformation. 
 Life and Times of the Countess of Huntingdon. 
 
 BIBLICAL CRITICISM. 
 Horne's Introduction to the Study of the Scriptures. 
 Davison on Biblical Criticism. 
 Henderson on Divine Inspiration, 
 Scott's Commentary on the Scriptures. 
 Cobbin's Condensed Commentary. 
 Doddridge's Family Expositor of the New Testament. 
 Lowth's Translation of Isaiah. 
 Newcome's Translation of the Minor Prophets. 
 Campbell's Preliminary Dissertations on the Gospels. 
 Macknight's Translation of the Epistles. 
 Cruden's Concordance to the Scriptures. 
 Timpson's Key to the Bible. ; 
 Calmet's Dictionary of the Bible. 
 
 EVIDENCES OP CHRISTIANITY. 
 Paley's Natural Theology. 
 Butler's Analogy and Sermons. 
 Gregory's (Dr. O.) Evidences. 
 Chalmers' Evidences. 
 Sumner's Records of the Creation. 
 Paley's Horse Paulinse. 
 Campbell on Miracles. 
 Wardlaw's Christian Ethics. 
 Newton on the Prophecies. 
 Keith's Evidence of Prophecy. 
 Bogie's Crisis. 
 
 Bridgewater Treatises, particularly Chalmers', Whj 
 well's, and Prout's. 
 
IN EVANGELIZING PAGANS. XXXIU 
 
 PRACTICAL DIVINITY. 
 
 Dwight's Theology. 
 
 Charnock on the Divine Attributes. 
 
 Howe's Works, ''Delighting in God," "Living Temple," 
 
 " Redeemer's Tears over Lost Souls," and *' Blessedness 
 
 of the Righteous." 
 Flavel's Fountain of Life: and. Saint Indeed. 
 Griffiths' Spiritual Life. 
 Hall's Contemplations. 
 Leighton's Commentary on St. Peter. 
 Baxter's Saint's Rest. 
 Edwards on the Affections. 
 
 MENTAL PHILOSOPHY AND MISCELLANEOUS 
 WORKS. 
 Watts' Improvement of the Mind. 
 Payne's Elements of Mental Science. 
 Abercrombie on Moral Culture. 
 Ditto Moral Feelings. 
 
 Ditto Intellectual Powers. 
 
 Foster's Essay on Decision of Character. 
 Ditto Ditto Popular Ignorance. 
 
 Douglas's Advancement of Society. 
 Dick's Improvement of Society by Knowledge. 
 History of Enthusiasm. 
 Saturday Evening. 
 
 EDUCATION. 
 I. Taylor's Home Education. 
 Dr. and Miss Mayo on Infant Schools. 
 Ditto Lessons on Objects. 
 
 Stowe's Moral Training. 
 Ditto Bible Training. 
 
XXXVl FEMALE A.GENCY 
 
 delineated on a black board, would delight them even 
 more than a finished picture in the gayest colouring. 
 As to needle-work, besides working for the poor, the 
 opportunity is open to us of making garments to send 
 to half-civilized missionary stations, or children's 
 clothes to sell for the orphan-schools in India. It is to 
 be feared, that what is called plain work has of late 
 years been almost superseded by fancy work^ of com- 
 paratively little value or use. It is but folly and 
 indolence to say that we do not like the one so well as 
 the other. A little effort and perseverance would 
 soon make both equally easy and pleasant. We are 
 accountable for the way in which we employ our 
 fingers as well as our minds. Unless necessary relaxa- 
 tion or immediate duty requires, it seems also a waste 
 of time to sit down to needle- work alone. If one 
 relative or friend reads, and the other works, the time is 
 doubled, as well as the profit and pleasure. 
 
 Facility in imparting knowledge to others, and more 
 particularly in teaching children, is invaluable for 
 missionary purposes. The care and instruction of the 
 young seem to be woman's peculiar province ; but much 
 study as well as practice are necessary to enable any 
 one to teach with success. 
 
 If you have any decided talent, cultivate it : God 
 may have given it to you for future employment in his 
 service, though the mode may not for a time be apparent. 
 Some truly excellent young persons have relinquished a 
 favourite occupation in which they excelled, from the 
 fear that it might become a snare. In such cases great 
 
IN EVANGELIZING PAGANS. XXXVU 
 
 watchfulness is doubtless indispensable : but resolutely 
 to reject the gifts of our heavenly Father, is to evince a 
 disregard of which we should not be guilty to a dear 
 friend on earth. Let us receive both them and the 
 pleasure we have in them with thankfulness, and 
 earnestly seek to improve them to His service. 
 
 Everything tliat is likely to secure influence should 
 be cultivated, provided only that one sanctified end is 
 always kept in view. Mere mental superiority will 
 have little effect, unless accompanied by pleasing man- 
 ners, conversational power, cheerfulness, consideration, 
 and urbanity. There should be special attention to 
 domestic concerns, and minute and varying attention to 
 the comforts of relatives at home. There should be 
 habits of punctuality, method, neatness and good taste. 
 Let time be well arranged, and the duties of every day 
 previously marked out. Let us acquire the habit of 
 doing things for ourselves, and let us most vigilantly 
 watch against every temptation to self-indulgence. On 
 the cultivation of moral dispositions I need not dwell. 
 There must not only be energy and perseverance, but 
 sweet temper and humility. " Put on therefore, as the 
 elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kind- 
 ness, humbleness of mind, meekness, long-suff'ering." 
 '■' Beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith, 
 virtue ; and to virtue, knowledge ; and to knowledge, 
 temperance ; and to temperance, patience ; and to 
 patience, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness ; 
 and to brotherly kindness charity. For if these things 
 be in you and abound, they make you that ye shall 
 
XXXVllI FEMALE AGENCY 
 
 neither be barren nor unfruitful in tbe knowledge of our 
 Lord Jesus Christ!" Beautiful summary of Christian 
 ethics ! How it brightens upon us by contrast with 
 the dark systems of heathenism ! May God enable us 
 to test our own characters by it, and to walk more 
 closely according to it day by day ! 
 
 And w^hat meanwhile can we do to aid the missionary 
 cause in this country ? Just those things which would 
 prepare us for foreign service ! We can pray. If young 
 persons could conquer the reluctance they feel to unite 
 in prayer with each other, and could do so with simplicity 
 of mind and unembarrassed manner, as is customary 
 among Christians on the Continent, they would feel it 
 a source of much comfort and mutual spiritual improve- 
 ment. If they would accustom themselves to the effort, 
 in the first instance with the sick poor, or with young 
 children, the difficulty might by degrees vanish. These 
 meetings for prayer should, however, be strictly private^ 
 — if possible unknown to any one but those engaged in 
 them. Whatever difficulties may be in the w^ay of 
 uniting in prayer for the heathen world, there can be 
 none to prevent us from praying alone. A request was 
 some time since made by one body of Christians tliat 
 the rest would set apart an hour every Saturday morn- 
 ing, from seven to eight o'clock, for this purpose. Friday 
 morning is the time mentioned by the " Society for 
 Promotino- Female Education in the East :" and the first 
 Monday evening in the month, at seven o'clock, is that 
 of the Missionary Prayer Meeting. Cannot we observe 
 in the coming year all these seasons ? And if the whole 
 
IN EVANGELIZING PAGANS. XXXlX 
 
 Christian female population of England were thus to 
 unite, can we suppose that God would disregard such 
 honour put upon his own gracious ordinance, and not 
 pour forth the gifts of his Spirit and the blessings of his 
 grace ? 
 
 Pecuniary aid we can also contribute. Let us study, 
 not how little, but how much we can do for this great 
 object in the new year. Have we not all reason to blush 
 when we compare what we spend in dress, or in the 
 merest trifles, with what we offer for the glory of God, 
 and for the evangelization of the world ! Let us try to 
 give all w^e can ourselves, and to induce others to do 
 likewise ; and each endeavour to inculcate, in our 
 respective circles, a new standard of liberality and self- 
 denial. All that we do for the general missionary 
 societies must tend to the advantage of our heathen 
 sisters. The orphan schools in India also present a 
 large and interesting field for our exertions. When we 
 hear of twenty^ thirty^ or forty thousand female infants 
 annually destroyed in one province alone, and learn that 
 these might be saved from death, and trained up in the 
 love and service of Christ, at a cost of two^ or at most 
 three pounds per annum each, we must be callous indeed 
 if we feel no wish to assist in this labour of love. There 
 is a society expressly for the purpose of " Promoting 
 Female Education in the East ;" and there is a school 
 at Walthamstow for the daughters of missionaries, which 
 bids fair, if well supported by the Christian public, to 
 furnish valuable agency for the object more expressly 
 contemplated. There is, therefore, at present, no want 
 
xl FEMALE AGENCY 
 
 of channels, in which the streams of Christian charity 
 may flow. 
 
 Qualified agents are greatly needed by the Missionary 
 Societies, and such are to be furnished by our churches. 
 Every efibrt which we make for unconverted individuals 
 under our roof or within our reach may have an influ- 
 ence on the conversion of the world ; and when our 
 country shall have become like " the garden of the 
 Lord," there will be enough of goodly trees to transplant 
 into foreign climes. Let there be, therefore, increased 
 exertion for the conversion of souls, by the distribution 
 of tracts, by visits of mercy, conversation, and corre- 
 spondence. Let us try to encourage those who may be 
 younger in knowledge than ourselves, and endeavour 
 to raise their standard and to assist their progress. 
 
 We may do much for the young. Are there no 
 children under the same roof, or in our neighbourhood, 
 whom we may train up for God and for usefulness ? 
 Can we instil into their minds no sentiments of love to 
 the Saviour, and of compassion for the heathen, which 
 may bring forth rich fruit when some few years are 
 past ? From that gallery of little children who have 
 been listening with eager attention to your missionary 
 anecdote, some may be his chosen successors in days to 
 come. That little girl with deep earnest eyes, with the 
 look of enterprise and the brow of high resolve, may be 
 a Mrs. Judson. That sprightly affectionate child who 
 sits by her side may be a Margaret Wilson ! That fine 
 little fellow, in whom a warm heart and a resolute will 
 seem to be contending for the mastery, may be a 
 
IN EVANGELIZING PAGANS. xli 
 
 Whitefield ; and that one with a more thoughtful but 
 not less intelligent countenance, and with a gentle plead- 
 ing expression, may be a Henry Martyn ! If all who 
 have leisure and education would turn their attention to 
 the formation or improvement of Sunday and day schools, 
 our poor might be far more generally and efficiently 
 taught ; and who can calculate what influence might 
 thereby be exerted on the next generation ? 
 
 But there is yet another means, more powerful than 
 any which have been adduced, by which the influence of 
 women may be exerted in favour of the missionary 
 cause. It is their influence over fathers and brothers, 
 husbands and sons. If all the power which God has 
 given them to win, to interest, and to persuade, were 
 daily though almost imperceptibly devoted to the noblest 
 objects, how great and general would be the prompt 
 results ! If when gathered around the winter fire-side, 
 or walking on a summer's evening, we were to read or 
 relate the most striking pieces of intelligence or passages 
 in books that have come under our notice during the 
 day, — if when asking them to inform us of the aspect of 
 political events, we could modestly suggest their possi- 
 ble influence on the cause of missions, — if the smile of 
 afiectionate satisfaction could be awarded to every 
 effort made for the cause of God, and we could let it be 
 seen that there is no way of gratifying us so much as by 
 a repetition of such efforts, — and if, on suitable occa- 
 sions, we could more directly and earnestly plead for the 
 duty and delight of entire consecration to the service of 
 God ; would not the powers of our example be felt, and 
 
Xlii FEMALE AGENCY 
 
 the tone of our spirits be caught ? Let us try the experi- 
 ment for the year to come. 
 
 When the great principles of Sir Isaac Newton's 
 philosophy first suggested themselves to his mind, many 
 a long year of careful experiment and laborious investi- 
 gation elapsed before he ventured to offer them to the 
 world as trutli ; and longer still was the period that 
 intervened before their adaptation to many questions of 
 science and purposes of art was fully proved. And so 
 one may say of the great principle of missions, after the 
 lapse of ages, re-discovered in modern times. Between 
 forty and fifty jeavs ago, it suggested itself, or rather, 
 was suggested by higher influence, to the minds of the 
 Fathers of our English Missionary Societies. They and 
 their children have tried its adaptation to the circum- 
 stances and peculiarities of almost every nation under 
 heaven, and have found it suited to all ! — as suitable, as 
 efiicacious now, under every conceivable modification of 
 human sin and misery, as when, eighteen centuries ago, 
 it was proclaimed by inspired lips at Jerusalem. Its 
 suitability and efficacy have been proved by ample and 
 manifold experiments, but the glorious application to 
 earth's teeming millions is yet to come ! 
 
 To refer to another principle, which if less imposing 
 in its aspect, has been attended with scarcely less effect 
 in our times ; namely, the power of steam. For many 
 a year after its discovery, this power was applied only 
 to manufacturing machinery or the management of small 
 coasting vessels. There was a pause, and men did not 
 appear to dream that it would admit of any more 
 
IN EVANGELIZING PAGANS. xHli 
 
 extensive application, when suddenly there arose a Avider 
 estimate of its energy, not only altering the aspect of 
 trade and science in our own country, but approximat- 
 ino- continents, and leavinof us to wonder w^here its 
 gigantic power will find a limit. And so of the spirit 
 of missions ! It seems to be making a pause. The 
 income of the missionary societies is just now stationary, 
 and the required missionaries are called for in vain : but 
 we need not fear lest tlie work of God should stand 
 still ; far less that it should retrograde : for, in the 
 forcible language of Mr. Jay, " when He seems to be 
 making a pause, He is but as a giant stepping back to 
 take a surer aim, and to fetch a more determined blow." 
 
 Whence shall come the required impulse at this crisis ? 
 Who shall awake tiie slumberincj churches, and infuse 
 into them the spirit of the primitive ages ? Why should 
 not Woman ? She was first in transgression. Let 
 her be foremost in brinsfino; about the world's re- 
 storation ! Let that influence, which she owes to Christ, 
 be consecrated to Him ! It is an influence interwoven 
 with all the fabric of society, and can scarcely be other- 
 wise than irresistible when fully exerted. God delights 
 to use the weak things of this world to accomplish his 
 grand designs, and it may be that He will see fit to 
 employ her services on this occasion. We know not, 
 but of this we are assured, that He would not despise her 
 humblest efibrt ; and that toil, trial, and disappoint- 
 ments w^ould be well repaid, were He to say of any, or 
 of each at lest, " She hath done what she could !" 
 
 Some, to whom these pages are addressed, are yet 
 
Xliv FEMALE AGENCY 
 
 young : some twenty, thirty, forty years may yet be 
 theirs, to live and labour in the service of God on earth, 
 and who can tell what glorious times may arrive before 
 those periods sliall have passed away ? Have not our 
 hearts thrilled, and our eyes overflowed, when we have 
 heard of the partial successes of the gospel among 
 Bechuanas, or South-Sea Islanders, or the widening 
 circle around Kishnagur? And if tidings should come 
 pouring in, that tribe after tribe and nation after nation 
 had received the word of the Lord, would not the joy 
 be almost too great for human nature to bear ? and 
 should we not be ready to say, in the words of Simeon, 
 " Lord, now lettest thy servant depart in peace, for our 
 eyes have seen thy salvation ! " Oh, if we indeed long 
 for those days of heaven upon earth, when the pure and 
 blessed principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ shall have 
 an ascendency over all hearts, let us, with united heart 
 and hand, labour by the help of God to hasten on their 
 arrival ; and let the prayer ascend with greater frequency 
 and fervour, " Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, 
 on earth, as it is in heaven !" 
 
 Should any object, that all this is the mere excitement 
 of imagination, that no solid argument can be drawn 
 from speculations like these, — let us turn to realities. 
 There will come a time, though the remaining unbelief 
 •which lies concealed even in the Christian heart may 
 distance it so far as to throw an indistinctness about its 
 reality, when, if permitted, from " the sparkling 
 turrets " of tlie City in the skies, to look down over that 
 " great gulf" which none may pass, it will be with far 
 
IN EVANGELIZING PAGANS. xlv 
 
 different emotions from those with wliich we can too 
 often think of it now. Then, when introduced into the 
 realization of all the glorious promises of the future life, 
 we feel for the first time, in all the vividness of reality, 
 what it would have been to lose heaven ourselves, 
 shall we not feel a deeper compassion for the loss and 
 misery of others ! In that world of sanctified intellect, 
 shall we feel no wish that our degraded human sister- 
 hood had been rendered capable of tasting of those 
 streams of knowledge which flow hard by the throne of 
 God ! In that world of purity, shall we not wish that 
 they too had been standing there in robes washed 
 " white in the blood of the Lamb ?" In that world 
 of joy, shall we not wish that their voices had been 
 heard mingling in the chorus of the "new song?" 
 And as we range those " many mansions," which bound- 
 less Love has prepared for the redeemed from " every 
 nation, and kindred, and people, and tongue," and find 
 that there would have been "room "enough for all, if 
 regret can be felt in heaven, will it not be with unutter- 
 able regret that we shall then sigh, " Oh that they had 
 been here ! " 
 
 Pursuing such a strain of anticipations, can we not 
 almost find it in our hearts to bless God that we are 
 not yet in heaven ? and still more, that there is a genera- 
 tion who are not yet in hell ? " Whatsoever thy hand 
 findeth to do, do it with thy might ; for tliere is no 
 work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the 
 grave, whither thou goest !" Eccles. ix. 10. 
 November 1840. 
 
SURVEY OF THE CONDITION 
 
 OF 
 
 WOMAN IN HEATHEN COUNTRIES. 
 
 Woman among all heathens most degraded.— Cruelty in pagan nations.— 
 Present survey limited chiefly to British colonies and dependencies. — 
 British India.— General condition of women in India.— Mrs. Wilson 
 of Bombay regarding Hindoo women. — Mr. Massie's testimony con- 
 cerning women in Continental India. — Hindoo estimate of women. — 
 Female human sacrifices.— Prevalence of the Suttee. — Fi/ly-eight 
 Queens sacrrficed in one fire. — " Facts and Opinions," by Dr. Johns. — 
 Sacrifices in 1812. — Thirteen widows burnt in one fire. — Twelve in 
 another.— Tki7-ty-seven in aMOther.— Eighteen in another.— Number of 
 females sacrificed annually.— Rev. Mr. Peggs's work on Suttees.— 
 Description of a Suttee by a Lady. — Lord W, Bentinck prohibits 
 Suttees in 1829. — Hindoo opposition.— Suttees in the independent states. 
 — Foiir Queens and seven female slaves sacrificed in the funeral 
 obsequies of Rajah Runjeet Singh in 1839.— Stated in " Bombay 
 Times." — Col. Osborne's account. — Recent Cases. — Hindoo infanticide. 
 —Atrocities of the Rajpoots.— Women in China described by Lady 
 Morgan. — Testified by Rev. C. Gutzlaff. — By Mrs. Morrison. — Female 
 infanticide in Pekin.— Woman in Polynesia.— Infanticide at Tahiti — 
 Facts by Rev. J. Williams.— Woman in Africa.— Ordeal of " red 
 water," or poison — Mokhara slave-market. — Woman in Madagascar. — 
 
 Early marriages — Divorces Female miseries. — Mohammedan nations. 
 
 — Character of Mohammed. — Ilis vile laws degrade woman. — Polygamy 
 in Turkey. — Lady Montague regarding Turkish women. — Lady Hamil- 
 ton respecting the ladies of the Seraglio.— Tiaffic in female beauties.— 
 Dr. Pouqueville's visit to a female bazaar.— Mr. Morton's testimony 
 
 relating to an Armenian slave-dealer Appeal to British women by 
 
 the Ladies' Association for Female Education.— Woman can be restored 
 only by the doctrine of the Holy Scriptures. 
 
 Woman's condition In lieathen nations, even now in 
 the nineteenth century oi Christianity, presents the most 
 
WOMAN IN HEATHEN COUNTRIES. xlvii 
 
 frightful picture of human wretchedness. Her misery 
 furnishes deplorable evidence of human depravity. A 
 transient survey of her circumstances cannot fail to be 
 instructive to those who are blessed with the Gospel of 
 Christ ; while his holy religion lays every one under the 
 most powerful obligation to consider those who suffer, 
 seeking their relief and salvation. 
 
 Woman's rightful dignity, as restored and established 
 by the doctrine of Christianity, will remarkably appear 
 to the advantage of our divine religion, in contrast with 
 her degradation in the populous pagan nations. Igno- 
 rance, and its natural consequent, superstition, generate 
 the most dreadful crimes. Hence the inspired prophets, 
 contemplating the condition of the heathen tribes, in their 
 state of alienation from God, and corruption, poured forth 
 their benevolent souls in fervent supplication for their 
 moral renovation. Instructed in the merciful desio^ns of 
 God, through the ^lediator, whom they foretold, they 
 prayed, " O Jehovah ! have respect unto the covenant : 
 for the dark places of the earth are full of the habita- 
 tions of cruelty ! " Psalm Ixxiv. 20. 
 
 This inspired petition has through all ages been appro- 
 priate, with regard to' heathen lands : and it is peculiarly 
 suitable at the present time, for the use of Christians, 
 in relation to the nations sitting in pagan darkness ; to 
 Christian females more particularly, as they are called 
 to reflect on the degraded condition of Woman, and tlie 
 various forms of cruelty under which she is compelled 
 to suffer, and groan, and perish. 
 
 British Christians are especially appealed to; and 
 
Xlviii CONDITION OF WOMAN 
 
 their tenderest sympathies are solicited in behalf of 
 woman, still enduring miseries most extreme, even now 
 in the nineteenth century of the full revelation of the 
 Gospel of Jesus Christ. Brevity being indispensable in 
 this dissertation, the appalling wrongs of woman, as 
 they are endured in all heathen countries, cannot here 
 be noticed at any length : the present remarks and tes- 
 timonies must be limited chiefly to those countries 
 which are the possessions of the British crown, or 
 which are greatly influenced by the power and autho- 
 rity of Great Britain. 
 
 British India may fairly be regarded as faithfully 
 representing the heathen world, especially as it relates 
 to the general treatment of women. Every Christian 
 writer on the aff*airs of Hindoostan has mentioned the 
 deplorably miserable condition of women in that vast 
 peninsula. The eminent authors of the popular " His- 
 torical and Descriptive Account of British India" 
 remark : — 
 
 " Domestic life, a most important branch of the social 
 condition of any people, is peculiarly interesting as it 
 applies to the Hindoo, whose regards are in a great 
 measure confined within her family circle. The jealous 
 character of Oriental despotism views with aversion all 
 public assemblies ; it checks even that mingled inter- 
 course among mankind which we call general society. 
 With the exception of great men, whose vanity is gra- 
 tified by public display, the Hindoo forms few con- 
 nexions beyond those of his household. Marriage, the 
 basis of family ties, is considered not only desirable and 
 
IN HEATHEN COUNTRIES. xllx 
 
 agreeable, but absolutely indispensable. A youth of 
 twenty-five and a girl of fifteen unmarried, are regarded 
 not less particular than unfortunate. Mr. Ward (late 
 a Baptist Missionary of Serampore) mentions a party 
 of old maids, who, to escape from the reproachable con- 
 dition, united themselves in marriage to an old Brahmin, 
 as his friends were carrying him to die on the banks of 
 the Ganges ! Yet the felicity enjoyed in the matrimo- 
 nial state corresponds very little with the anxiety they 
 feel to enter into it. Hindoo laws and institutions 
 doom the fair portion of the species to the most depressed 
 and pitiable lot. Every avenue by which an idea 
 could possibly enter their minds is diligently closed. It 
 is unlawful for them to open a book ; they must not 
 join in public worship in the temples ; and any man, 
 even their husband, would consider himself disgraced 
 by entering into conversation with them. The degra- 
 dation of the wife is rendered deeper by the despotic 
 power which usage grants to the mother-in-law, 
 who regards her son's spouse as little better than a 
 slave*." 
 
 Mrs. "Wilson, the devoted wife of the Rev. John 
 Wilson, D.D., of the Scottish Mission, Bombay, in a 
 letter dated November 14, 1834, remarks: — "The 
 wretched state of females in India calls loudly for our 
 assistance, and for our prayers. A female child is 
 hated and frowned upon, even from its birth. The 
 unhappy mother is disappointed that she has not o^iven 
 
 * Historical and Descriptive Account of British India, vol. ii. pp. 
 34.3, 344. 
 
 d 
 
1 CONDITIOxN OF WOMAN 
 
 birth to a male child ; and seldom or never fails of be- 
 coming an object of aversion to her husband, if she is 
 so unfortunate as to have a large family of daughters. 
 Happily for the females of India, the funeral torch has 
 been extinguished, and the right of Sati (suttee) abo- 
 lished. But infanticide still prevails, and the number 
 of female children slaughtered among the Rajputs is 
 truly deplorable. Oh, that we could do more to rescue 
 them from their hard and cruel fate ! Christianity 
 alone can effect this ; but the establishment of female 
 schools is one important step to it, as it is well to pour 
 the light of truth into their benighted minds*." 
 
 Mr. Massie, one of the most recent and intellioent of 
 those who have been eye-witnesses of the degraded 
 condition of Hindoo society, states, in his "Chapter" 
 relating to " Woman in India : " — 
 
 " Woman, as a mother, while her husband lives, is 
 seldom allowed in India to bear any rule in the family ; 
 children are without natural affection ; so that the place 
 assigned to females in Hindoo society is, to appearance, 
 abject in the extreme. In childhood's years a female 
 must be dependent on her father ; in youth, on her hus- 
 band ; and, should she survive his decease, her depend- 
 ence must be on her son. The nature of this dependence 
 may be imagined, when it is added, that at no period 
 of life, in no condition of society, should a woman do 
 anything according to her own mere pleasure. Their 
 fathers, their husbands, their sons, are verily called 
 their protectors ; but it is such protection ! day and 
 
 * Life of Mrs. Wilson, pp. 504, 605. 
 
IN HEATHEN COUNTRIES. ll 
 
 niglit must women be held by their protectors in a state 
 of absokite dependence. A woman, it is affirmed, is 
 never fit for independence, or to be trusted wuth hberty. 
 They exhaust the catalogues of vice toaffix its epithets 
 to woman's name : — infidelity, violence, deceit, envy, 
 extreme avariciousness, an entire want of good qualities? 
 with impurity, they affirm, are the innate faults of 
 womankind. And their duty has allotted to women 
 a love of their bed, of their seat, and of ornaments, 
 impure appetites, wrath, flexibility, desire of mischief, 
 and bad conduct. Though her husband be devoid of all 
 good qualities, yet, such is the estimation they form of 
 her moral discrimination and sensibilities, that they 
 bind the wife to revere him as a god, and to submit to 
 his corporeal chastisements, whenever he chooses to in- 
 flict them, by a cane or a rope, on the back parts. The 
 observation was justly deduced from the fact of woman's 
 history in India, when the historian said, a state of de- 
 pendence more strict, contemptuous, and humiliating, 
 than that which is ordained for the weaker sex anions 
 the Hindoos, cannot easily be conceived ; and to con- 
 summate the stigma, to fill up the cup of bitter waters 
 assigned to woman, as if she deserved to be excluded 
 from immortality as w^ell as from justice, from hope as 
 well as from enjoyment, it is ruled that a female has no 
 business with the texts of the Yeda — that having no 
 knowledge of expiatory texts, and no evidence of law, 
 sinful woman must be foul as falsehood itself, and in- 
 competent to bear witness. To tliem the fountain of 
 wisdom is sealed, the streams of knowledge are dried 
 d 2 
 
lii CONDITION OF WOMAN 
 
 up ; the springs of individual consolation, as promised 
 in their religion, are guarded and barred against woman 
 in the hour of desolate sorrow and parching anguish : 
 and cast out, as she is, upon the wilderness of bereave- 
 ment and affliction, with her impoverished resources, 
 her water may well be spent in her bottle ; and, left as 
 she is, will it be matter of wonder that, in the moment 
 of despair, she should embrace the burning pile and its 
 scorcliing flames, instead of lengthened solitude and 
 degradation, of dark and Immiliating suffering and 
 sorrow'^'." 
 
 Female Human Sacrifices, among the Hindoos, is 
 a horrid custom still existing in some parts of India, 
 though it has recently been forbidden by the Governor- 
 General in the British provinces. The practice pre- 
 vailed till lately to an astonishing degree, and it may be 
 a long time before it can be totally abohshed : it is thus 
 spoken of by the authors before quoted : — 
 
 " The suttee^ or sacrifice of widows on the funeral 
 pile of their husbands, is a well-known form of self- 
 immolation. The practice does not appear to be exclu- 
 sively religious, being connected with the tenderest of 
 domestic ties, to which the secluded life of Indian fe- 
 males adds a peculiar force. Their sacred books, how- 
 ever, decidedly attach a pious character to their unna- 
 tural sacrifice, and lavish promises of divine blessing on 
 the performance of it. The widow is assured that she 
 shall thus gain an abode in heaven during as many years 
 as there are hairs on the human head, which is stated 
 
 * Contincnta' India. By J. W. .Alassie, M.R.I.A. Vol. ii. pp. 151—154. 
 
IN HEATHEN COUNTRIES. llil 
 
 at thirty-five millions ; that her husband, also, though 
 sunk in the depths of hell, will be drawn up to the 
 same happy region, and the sins of both entirely wiped 
 away. The deluded female, who acts her part well, 
 proceeds gaily to the spot in her finest attire, and decked 
 in her most precious jewels and ornaments. On her 
 arrival she calmly and courteously addresses her sur- 
 rounding friends, and distributes among them various 
 articles of value. Mandelso, the traveller, when present 
 only as a spectator, had a bracelet thrown to him by 
 the lady, which he kept ever after as a memorial of the 
 same. Often, however, when the dreadful moment 
 approaches, she shrinks from the performance of her 
 rash vow, gives way to despair, and even refuses to 
 ascend the pile ; but the relations considering the ho- 
 nour of their family implicated, employ every species of 
 urgency and even compulsion to induce her to complete 
 the sacrifice. A scene peculiarly distressing occurs at 
 the death of those opulent Hindoos who have carried 
 polygamy to a great extent, when ticelve^ fifteen, or 
 eighteen wives are known to have perished on the same 
 pile. Ward mentions a case in which the fire was kept 
 burning for three days ; and during that time, thlrty- 
 seven widoics of one Brahmin came in parties, at dif- 
 ferent times, and threw themselves into the flames ! 
 But perhaps the deepest of these tragedies ever acted 
 in India was on the untimely death of Ajie, one of the 
 most distinguished princes of JNIarwar, described by 
 Colonel Tod, in his second volume. Fifty -eight queens, 
 'the curtain wives of affection,' determined to offer 
 themselves a sacrifice to Agui, exclaiming, ' The world 
 
liv CONDITION OF WOMAN 
 
 we will abandon, but never our Lord ! ' Tliey went, 
 ' radiant as the sun, dispensing charity like falling rain,' 
 and threw themselves together on one mighty pile, which 
 soon blazed to the skies ; and, according to the Hindoo 
 writers, ' the faithful queens laved their bodies in the 
 flames, as do the celestials in the lake of ]\Iansa-wara.' 
 It is painful to peruse the expressions of applause and 
 veneration in which their conduct is mentioned, and of 
 the honour it is supposed to confer both on themselves 
 and their deceased spouse. What renders this practice 
 still more revolting, is the fact that the son is made the 
 instrument of his mother s death, the ceremonial requir- 
 ing that his hand should apply the fire to the pile*/' 
 
 Dr. Johns, a physician of Mancliester, having spent 
 some years in a medical practice in India, deeply af- 
 fected with the miseries of the Hindoo women, as wit- 
 nessed by himself, published, in 1816, on his return to 
 England, a volume entitled, " Facts and Opinions re- 
 latingr to the Burnino; of Widows in India." In this 
 valuable work, that humane and Christian physician 
 says — 
 
 " For several months during the year 1812, the Mis- 
 sionaries at Serampore kept an account of the names, 
 &c., of those who were burnt on the funeral pile within 
 a few miles of that place. They remark that, ' as the 
 information respecting these comes without any effort to 
 obtain it, the number actually burnt in that period 
 within these bounds, can by no means be ascertained 
 by these memoranda. '" 
 
 * Historiciil and Descriptive Account of British India, vol. ii. pp. 
 343. 344. 
 
IN HEATHEN COUNTRIES. Iv 
 
 Dr. Johns then mentions the places where these shock- 
 ing human sacrifices were made; and states the women's 
 names, age, husbands' castes, and the number of children, 
 which, by this custom, were left orphans ; of which the 
 following is a summary : — 
 
 •'In January, 1812, 6 widows burnt, leaving 32 cliildren. 
 
 In February — 9 . . . 28 — 
 
 In March — 18 . . . r,6 ~- 
 
 In April — 22 . . 59 — 
 
 In May and June 70 . . . 185 — 
 
 125 widows burnt, leaving 3G0 children. 
 
 "In this month, (February, 1812) at Saudabad, a 
 little below jMoorshedabad, thirteen widows were 
 burnt with their husband Ram-narayuna, a Koolina 
 Brahmin, aged 81, leaving nineteen sons and thirteen 
 daugJders ! 
 
 " At Chinakuli, a Koolena Brahmin died, in May 
 1812: he had married twenty-five women, thirteen of 
 whom died during his life-time ; the remaining twelve 
 perished wuth him on the funeral pile, leaving thirty/ 
 children to deplore the fatal effects of tins horrid 
 system. 
 
 " The nephew of Gopee-nat'hu, (a brahmin employed 
 in the Serampore printing-office), in the year 1799, saw 
 THIRTY- seven females burnt alive with the remains of 
 Ununtu-ramu, a brahmin of Bagna-para, near Nu- 
 deeya. This koolena brahmin liad more than a hun- 
 dred wives. At the first kindling of the fire, only tliree 
 of them were present ; but the fire icas kept burning 
 three days ! When one or more arrived, the ceremo- 
 nies were performed, and they threw themselves on the 
 
Ivi CONDITION OF AVOJIAN 
 
 blazing fire ! On the first day, three, were burnt ; on 
 the ^QQ,ovi^ fifteen ; and on the third nineteen ! Among 
 them were some forty years old, and others as young as 
 sixteen. The first three had lived with this brahmin ; 
 the others had seldom seen him. From one family he 
 had married four sisters ; two of these were among the 
 slaughtered victims. 
 
 "• Some years ago, a Koolena brahmin, of consider- 
 able property, died at Sookhu-churu, three miles east of 
 Serampore. He had married more than forty women, 
 eighteen of whom perished on the funeral pile. On this 
 occasion a fire extending ten or twelve yards in length 
 was prepared, into which they threw themselves, leaving 
 more i\\^n forty children /" 
 
 Dr. Johns remarks, " From the latest and most mo- 
 derate calculation, a calculation believed by competent 
 judges to be very far short of the actual number. Five 
 
 THOUSAND WIDOWS ARE DESTROYED ANNUALLY ON 
 
 THE FUNERAL PILE IN HiNDosTAN. The wholc num- 
 ber computed to perish annually by these destructive 
 practices generally, is ten thousand five hun- 
 dred'"!" 
 
 " Facts and Opinions," relative to this truly "-' horrid" 
 custom, have been published in England since the work 
 of Dr. Johns, especially in the " Suttees' Cry to 
 Britain," by the Rev. J. Peggs, late missionary in 
 India ; and from that stirring appeal to Christians, the 
 following description is given in a letter to the author 
 from a lady who had resided in India, and dated 
 December 8, 1827, from Salisbury: — 
 
 * Facts and Opinions, &c. pp. 36—59. 
 
IN HEATHEN COUNTRIES. Ivii 
 
 " At a Ghaut near SeramiDore I witnessed the burning 
 of a respectable woman about thirty years of age, whom 
 I found with five children, the eldest a boy about thir- 
 teen. As soon as she saw me, she asked me if I icere 
 come to deliver her ? I told her I had no power to de- 
 liver her, but was come to persuade her not to burn. 
 She shook her head and said, ' / icill hum ! Hoic can 
 I go hack ? Hoicever^ the servant is gone to the Eyiglish 
 Magistrate ; at his return my fate will he decided ! ' 
 Two hours elapsed before he returned, the greater part 
 of which I spent in conversation with her. She often 
 turned to her children, and with affection pressed her 
 hand on the face of her youngest child, who could just 
 lisp i/«, ma. At length the servant returned with 
 permission for her to burn. As soon as she saw him 
 her countenance changed, her eyes sunk into her head, 
 the furrows deepened in her face, and when she heard 
 her fate, resolution failed, and nature took possession of 
 her hreast. When the eldest son saw that his mother 
 was so timid, he said, he would not set fire to her head. 
 But her brother-in-law said, '-Now she must hum., for 
 the horo Sahah (the great Gentleman) has sent her per- 
 mission to hum.' He then began to anoint her, and 
 put a little oil into her hand to pour over her children 
 as her blessing. The eldest son refused oil, and persisted 
 that he could not set fire to her. But neither the tears 
 nor the screams of the boy, nor the agonizing fear of 
 the mother, prevented her being hound to the dead hody 
 of her hushand^ and pressed down with tico hamhoos. If 
 I had had any authority merely to have said., ' You are 
 not to burn,' all this icould have been prevented. I am 
 
Iviii CONDITION OF WOMAN 
 
 sure both the people and the Brahmins would have dis- 
 persed without a murmuring word. Many call it a 
 bad custom^ and are quite tired of it^'." 
 
 Customs so inexpressibly atrocious, observed in the 
 name of religion, under the direction of Priests, and 
 with the permission and sanction of the British Go- 
 vernment, being thus made known chiefly by our mis- 
 sionaries, could not fail to awaken the Christian part of 
 the community in Great Britain. Memorials and peti_ 
 tions were, therefore, presented to the Government in 
 England, by individuals, by Christian churches, and 
 especially by the Directors of the Missionary Societies : 
 but it was considered hazardous to interfere with the 
 religious observances of the natives in India, lest there 
 should arise a revolt of the Hindoos. Mr. Poynder's 
 able appeals to the East India Company, and the Rev. 
 Mr. Peggs' work, the " Suttees' Cry to Britain," 
 witli the publications of the Baptist, London, and 
 Church Missionary Societies, produced a most powerful 
 effect on the public mind ; and at length that dreadful 
 practice was forbidden in Bengal, by a proclamation of 
 the late lamented Governor- General of India, that 
 enlightened nobleman. Lord William Bentinck ! 
 
 India will, to tlie latest ages, revere the honoured 
 name of Lord Bentinck, for his humane policy in favour 
 of injured woman ; and it deserves recording here that his 
 memorable " Order in Council," was made December 4, 
 1829 ; but the prohibition, it is believed, has not been 
 universally obeyed. A large party of Hindoos at Cal- 
 cutta, soon afterwards formed themselves int^ a society in 
 
 =*■• Suttees' Cry t6 Britain, p. 16. 
 
IN HEATHEN COUNTRIES. Hx 
 
 support of their ancient institutions, renouncing all social 
 intercourse with those who oppose the murderous cus- 
 tom, sanctioned generally by the priests and Brahmins ! 
 
 British authority in our East Indian dominions may, 
 to a great extent, prevent suttees; but the dreadful 
 practice still prevails in the regions beyond our immedi- 
 ate controul. We, in England, hear of but few of these 
 cases, because of the difficulty of obtaining information 
 relating to the remote regions of India ; but the follow- 
 ing statement of the case in the funeral of the Mahara- 
 jah of Lahore, Runjeet Singh, who died June 27, 1839, 
 will confirm the representations here made. The " Bom- 
 bay Times" of the 27th of July states: — 
 
 " Among the remarkable incidents connected with the 
 death of Runjeet Singh, none is more worthy of being- 
 recorded and noted than the fact of four princesses, his 
 wives, and seven slave girls, having been permitted to 
 burn themselves on his funeral pyre. The sacrifice of 
 his slaves is indeed an atrocious cruelty, enacted appa- 
 rently for no other purpose than that of adding dignity 
 to the funeral pageant. As regards the four princesses, 
 there are circumstances which render their sacrifice 
 inexcusable. We are convinced that suttee was an in- 
 stitution originating in a principle of the most heroic 
 devotion in an heroic age ; that it was to one sex, under 
 a perverted view of human duty, what the equally 
 suicidal custom of duelling is at this day to the other, 
 under a similar perversion — the guardian of their ho- 
 nour. This, at least, from every reference to the custom 
 in Hindoo books, appears to have been the conception of 
 suttee. But its practice has been different. In the 
 
IX CONDITION OF WOMAN 
 
 case under consideration it appears that with the prin- 
 cesses, not with the slaves, (be it remarked, they were 
 not worth the ceremony,) the form of dissuasion was 
 gone through. But the queens were not wanted ; their 
 jewels, their jaghires, their pensions — all these were 
 wanted, and they themselves were in the way. The 
 perpetration of this tragedy shows, in the first place, 
 how low our moral influence is even where our political 
 influence is most powerful. It shows, in the second, 
 how futile is the hope that India would ever regenerate 
 herself under native rulers ! " 
 
 This dreadful tragedy is described with more minute- 
 ness of detail, in a letter from the Hon. Colonel Osborne, 
 Military Secretary to the Governor -General of India : 
 his account of the funeral obsequies states, however, 
 only jive female slaves instead of seven. That gentle- 
 man says : — 
 
 '''' Simla^ July 12, 1839. — Runjeet Singh is dead, 
 poor fellow ! and died as like the Old Lion as he had 
 lived. He preserved his senses to the last, and was 
 (which is unusual with native princes) obeyed to the 
 last by all his chiefs, though he tried them high, as you 
 will think, when I tell you that two hours before his 
 death he sent for all his jewels, and gave the famous 
 Diamond, called the ' Mountain of Light,' said to be 
 the largest in the world, to a Hindoo temple ; his cele- 
 brated string of pearls to another : and his favourite 
 fine horses, with all their jewelled trappings, worth 
 £300,000, to a third. 
 
 " His four wives, all very handsome, burnt them- 
 selves with his body, as did five of his Cashmerian 
 
IN HEATHEN COUNTRIES. Ixi 
 
 slave-girls, one of whom, who was called the ^ Lotus,' 
 or ' Lily,' I often saw last year in my first visit to 
 Lahore. Everything was done to prevent it, but in 
 vain. They were guaranteed in their rank and in all 
 their possessions, but they insisted upon it, and the ac- 
 count from the European officers who were present 
 describe it as the most horrible sight. The four 
 wives seated themselves on the pile with Runjeet 
 Sing's head upon their laps ; and his principal wife de- 
 sired Kurruck Sing, Runjeet's son and heir, and Dheean 
 Sing, the late prime minister, to come to her upon the 
 pile, and made the former take the Maharajah's dead 
 hand in his own, and swear to protect and favour 
 Dheean Singh as Runjeet Sing had done ; and she made 
 the latter swear to bear true allegiance to the son which 
 he had faithfully borne to his father. She then set fire 
 to the pile with her own hands, and they are dead ! — 
 nine living beings having perished together without a 
 shriek or a groan. Dheean Sing threw himself twice on 
 the pile, and said he could not survive his master, but 
 was dragged away by main force. You have no idea 
 what a sensation the poor old man's death has caused*." 
 
 Intelligence reached London last month, (January 
 1841,) by the overland mail from India, stating, that 
 *' Kurruck Sing, king of Lahore, died on the 5tli of 
 Noveniber ; and on the 6th, his favourite wife. Ranee 
 Tsour Kour, and three of her attendants, were sacrificed 
 , on the funeral pile ! His successor, No Nepal Sing, 
 was wounded by a fiilling beam, through the pressure 
 
 * The Court and Camp of Kuiijcet Siiig, by the Hon. ^V■ G. Oslorne, 
 pp. 223, 235. 
 
Ixii CONDITION OF WOMAN 
 
 of the elephants, on returning from the funeral ; and on 
 the 8th, the revolting rite of suttee was again performed, 
 and two wives of the deceased were burnt. A third 
 was saved by the timely arrival and interference of 
 Shere Sing ! " These horrors were practised so late as 
 November 1840 ! ! 
 
 Woman's degradation in India is seen in other horrid 
 popular customs. Infanticide evinces their misery. 
 This subject also is decribed by the distinguished 
 authors already quoted. They say : — '• The very fre- 
 quent destruction of female infants among the Rajpoot 
 tribes in the West of India, is imputed by Mr. Ward 
 to superstition; but Colonel Tod and Sir John 
 Malcolm, who had much better information concerning 
 this quarter of India, are convinced that it arises from 
 the difficulty of suitably disposing of daughters in 
 marriage. While resident in Guzerat, General Walker, 
 with his characteristic benevolence, endeavoured to 
 persuade the chiefs of that country to renounce the prac- 
 tice of infanticide^ and enjoyed at one time a prospect of 
 success, which, however, proved ultimately fallacious. 
 
 " The Jharajas, a Rajpoot tribe, who hold sw^ay in 
 the territory of Cutch, are, by an intricate operation of 
 the system of caste, placed in such a situation that they 
 cannot by any means find a single individual with 
 whom a daughter of theirs can be suitably matched. 
 In this dilemma, they have not hesitated to adopt the 
 horrid expedient of putting to death all their female 
 children ; so that, as Mrs. Elwuod mentions, in a 
 population of 12,000, there were not, in 1818, more 
 than tJm^y women alive. The infants are either 
 
IN HEATHEN COUNTRIES. Ixlii 
 
 drowned in milk, or poisoned by opium applied to the 
 breast of their mother. The English have made 
 vigorous attempts to abolish this inhuman practice : by 
 a condition of the treaty with Cutcli in 1819, full 
 protection was guaranteed to Jharijah chiefs on con- 
 sentingf to discontinue tliis criminal custom. Since 
 that time it has not been perpetrated openly : but the 
 interior of palaces and castles affords ample means of 
 concealment; and the very small number of girls in 
 families make it too clear that it prevails extensively *." 
 
 Woman, throughout the Chinese empire also, is 
 deplorably degraded. Her wretched condition in that 
 vast region is thus described by Lady Morgan, in her 
 elegant work, " Woman and her Master : " — 
 
 "• In China, polygamy prevails virtually, if not by 
 name; and the sovereign, self- imprisoned in his golden- 
 roofed palace, with his one empress, six queens, and 
 three hundred (or if he please, three thousand) concu- 
 bines, reflects, on the great scale, the domestic esta- 
 blishment of those among his subjects, whose wealth 
 may permit the irrational indulgence of their passion or 
 their pride. The female slave, who, at the head of 
 a band of inferior slaves, is dignified with the name of 
 superior (adequate to that of wife), who has been 
 purchased with gold, and may be returned, if on trial 
 not approved, is not deemed worthy to eat at her 
 master's table. Crippled from her cradle, morally and 
 physically, ignorant of any one of the many thousand 
 letters of her husband's alphabet, referred to the fertile 
 
 * Historical and Descriptive Account of British India, Vol. ii., p. 370. 
 
Ixiv CONDITION OF WOMAN 
 
 amusements of infancy for all resource against utter 
 tedium, to dress and to smoke are her pleasures ; and 
 to totter on the flat roof of her golden cage her sole 
 privilege. She, too, feeble and imbecile as she is, 
 is outraged in the only feeling that nature may have 
 rescued from the wreck of man's oppression : for the 
 Chinese wife, like the odalisque of Turkey, yields up 
 her offspring a sacrifice to the murderous policy of her 
 master. 
 
 " If such is the destiny of the lady of the Celestial 
 Empire, woman of the middle and the lower classes 
 submits to a yet severer fate. — The female peasant 
 in China presents a still more extraordinary example of 
 plodding industry. Exposed to the inclemency of the 
 seasons, with the infant tied to her back, which she 
 may have rescued from the wild beast, or from the 
 devouring wave, she ploughs, sows, reaps, and performs 
 the thousand ofl&ces of toil and drudgery attached to 
 the cultivation of the soil, from which she derives so 
 little benefit and enjoyment. Denied, too, all moral 
 rights, she incurs, nevertheless, a fatal responsibility for 
 her husband's delinquencies ; and suffers dcatli with 
 him, as his dependant, for crimes in which she could 
 have no moral participation. The natural death of her 
 husband gives her over to the family, who, to recover 
 the money expended in her purchase, may resell her to 
 the highest bidder ; while her own is very frequently 
 the work of her own hand. Suicide, it is asserted, is of 
 frequent occurrence among the Chinese females of the 
 lowest classes ; and well may they seek death to whom, 
 
IN HEATHEN COUNTRIES. IxV 
 
 from the cradle to the tomb, life holds forth not one 
 solitary good." 
 
 China, in 1813, according to the " Government 
 census," contained a population of 362,447,183 souls, 
 of whom probably half, or 180,000,000, were females ! 
 On their behalf, the British Association of Ladies for 
 Promoting the Education of Females in the East, made 
 an especial appeal for pecuniary assistance in their 
 benevolent undertaking ; and they state in their address 
 to Christian women of Britain : — 
 
 "The condition of the Chinese women is thus 
 described by the Missionary Gutzlaff : — ' Such a general 
 degradation in religion makes it almost impossible that 
 females should have their proper rank in society. They 
 are the slaves and concubines of their masters, live and 
 die in ignorance, and every effort to raise themselves 
 above the rank assigned them is regarded as impious 
 arrogance. As long as mothers are not the instructors 
 of their children, and wives are not the companions of 
 their husbands, the regeneration of this great empire 
 will proceed very slowly/ 'As might be expected, 
 suicide is a refuge to which thousands of these ignorant 
 idolaters fly. Many of them evince great violence of 
 passion, and express their revenge for the indignities 
 received from their husbands or mothers-in-law, by self- 
 destruction. Mrs. Morrison, who has lately returned 
 from Macao, mentions that three women committed 
 suicide in that settlement near to her own residence, and 
 that not long before her departure four others perpe- 
 trated the same deed in an adjoining province. One of 
 e 
 
Ixvi CONDITION OF WOMAN 
 
 the latter number had been recently married, and 
 returned to make a short visit to her family. She gave 
 her young companions such an account of the treatment 
 of many, and their mothers, that they all concluded 
 immediate death was preferable to such a miserable life. 
 The consequence was, that they went to an adjacent 
 river, and holding each other by the hand, plunged in 
 and were drowned.' Where women are so ill-treated, 
 it is not surprising the female infants should be mur- 
 dered. It is a general custom among them (the 
 population of the city of Amoy and the country adja- 
 cent) to drown a large proportion of the new-born 
 female children. This unnatural crime is so common 
 among them, that it is perpetrated without any feeling, 
 and even in a laughing mood — and to ask a man of any 
 distinction whether he has daughters, is a mark of great 
 rudeness. There is also carried on a regular trajSic 
 in females. — Even in Pekin, the residence of the 
 emperor, about 4000 female infants are annually 
 murdered by their unnatural parents ! " 
 
 Woman, in most of the islands of the Southern 
 Ocean, is reduced to the lowest state of degradation. 
 This has been testified by all our numerous mission- 
 aries, and by others who have visited those distant 
 regions ; and though, in many delightful instances, the 
 gospel of Christ has been crowned with success, as 
 the means of salvation to individuals, and of reforma- 
 tion to whole tribes, the unevangelized islands and 
 districts still retain their debasing, cruel, and horrid 
 practices. 
 
IN HEATHEN COUNTRIES. Ixvii 
 
 Messrs. Bennet and Tyerman, in their instructive 
 volumes, speaking of the former customs of Tahiti, 
 say : — " AVe conversed with Mr. Nott, who had resided 
 from the commencement of the mission, on the subject 
 of infanticide, and learned, with horror, that it had been 
 practised to an extent incredible, except on such testi- 
 mony and evidence as he and his brethren on other 
 stations had been the means of accumulating. He 
 assured us, that three-fourths of the children were wont 
 to be murdered as soon as they were born, hy one or 
 other of their unnatural parents, or by some person 
 employed for that purpose — wretches being found who 
 might be called infant assassins by trade. He men- 
 tioned having met with a woman, soon after the aboli- 
 tion of the diabolical practice, to whom he said, ' How 
 many children have you ? ' ' This one in my arms,' 
 was her answer. ' And how many did you kill ? ' 
 She replied, ' Eight ! ' Another woman, to whom the 
 same questions were put, confessed that she had de- 
 stroyed seventeen! Nor were these solitary cases. 
 Sin was so effectually doing its work in these dark 
 places of the earth, that, full as they are with the 
 habitations of cruelty and wickedness, war, profligacy, 
 and murder were literally exterminating a people 
 unworthy to live ; and soon would their cities have 
 been wasted without inhabitants, the liouses without a 
 man, and the land been utterly desolate. But the 
 gospel stepped in, and ' the plague was stayed.' Now 
 the married, among the Christianized population, are 
 exceedingly anxious to have offspring ; and those who 
 e 2 
 
Ixviii CONDITION OF WOMAN 
 
 have tliem nurse their infants with the tenderest 
 affection*." 
 
 " Infanticide was carried," says the Rev. J. Williams, 
 "to an almost incredible extent in the Tahitian and 
 Society Islands ; " and this he illustrates by the fol- 
 lowing statement : — 
 
 "During the visit of the deputation, our respected 
 friend, G. Bennet, Esq., was our guest for three or four 
 months ; and on one occasion, while conversing on the 
 subject, he expressed a wish to obtain accurate know- 
 ledge of the extent to which this cruel system had pre- 
 vailed. Three women were sitting in the room at the 
 time, making European garments, under Mrs. W.'s 
 direction ; and, after replying to Mr. Bennet's inquiries, 
 I said, ' I have no doubt but that each of these women 
 has destroyed some of her children.' Looking at them 
 with an expression of surprise and incredulity, Mr. B. 
 exclaimed, ' Impossible ! such motherly, respectable 
 women could never have been guilty of so great an 
 atrocity.' ' Well,' I added, ' we'll ask them.' Address- 
 ing the first, I said to her, ' Friend, how many children 
 have you destroyed ?' She was startled at my question, 
 and at first charged me with unkindness, in harrowing 
 up her feelings, by bringing the destruction of her babes 
 to her remembrance; but, upon hearing the object of 
 my inquiry, she replied, with a faltering voice, ' I have 
 destroyed 7iine!' The second, with eyes suffused with 
 
 * Journal of Voyages and Travels, by the Rev. Daniel Tyerman and 
 George Bennet, Esq., deputed from the London Blissionary Society, &c., 
 between 1021 and 1929, vol. i. pp. 71,72. 
 
IN HEATHEN COUNTRIES. Ixix 
 
 tears, said, ' I have destroyed seven;' and the third 
 informed us that she had destroyed Jive. Thus three 
 individuals, casually selected, had killed one-and-twentr/ 
 children ! but I am happy to add that these mothers 
 were, at the time of this conversation, and continued to 
 be so long as I knew them, consistent members of my 
 church. 
 
 " On another occasion, I was called to visit the wife 
 of a chief in dying circumstances. She had professed 
 Christianity for many years, had learned to read when 
 nearly sixty, and was a very active teacher in our adult 
 school. In the prospect of death, she sent a pressing 
 request that I would visit her immediately ; and, on 
 entering her apartments, she exclaimed, ' servant of 
 God ! come and tell me what I must do ? ' Perceiving 
 that she was suffering great mental distress, I inquired 
 the cause of it ; when she replied, ' I am about to die !' 
 * Well/ I rejoined, ' if it be so, what creates this agony 
 of mind?' ' Oh, my sins, my sins !* she cried ; ' I am 
 about to die ! ' I then inquired what the particular sins 
 were which so greatly distressed her, when she ex- 
 claimed, ' Oh, my children, my murdered children ! I 
 am about to die, and I shall meet them all at the judg- 
 ment seat of Christ.' Upon this I inquired how many 
 children she had destroyed ; and, to my astonishment, 
 she replied, ' I have destroyed sixteen ! and now I am 
 about to die ! ' As soon as my feelings would allow 
 me, I began to reason with her, and urged the consider- 
 ation that she had done this when a heathen, and dur- 
 ing ' the times of ignorance, which God winked at ; ' 
 
IXX CONDITION OF WOMAN 
 
 but this afforded her no consolation, and again she gave 
 vent to her agonized feelings, by exclaiming, ' Oh, my 
 children, my children ! ' I then directed her to ' the faith- 
 ful saying, which is worthy of all acceptation, that Christ 
 Jesus came into the world to save sinners/ This im- 
 parted a little comfort ; and after visiting her frequently, 
 and directing her thoughts to that blood which cleanseth 
 from all sin, I succeeded, by the blessing of God, in 
 tranquillizing her troubled spirit ; and she died, about 
 eight days after my first interview, animated with the 
 hope, ' that her sins, though many, would be forgiven 
 her,' and what but the gospel could have brought such 
 consolation ? I believe that without the grand truth of 
 pardon by the blood of Christ, I might have reasoned 
 with her from that time to the present in vain. But I 
 forbear all comment, for if such facts fail, no observa- 
 tions of mine will demonstrate the value of IMissions ! " 
 Paganism in Africa may w^ell be supposed to afford 
 sorrowful illustrations of female degradation and misery ; 
 and it would be easy to select most affecting examples. 
 A few paragraphs only, however, can be given, from 
 the recent volume of Sir T. F. Buxton on the " Slave 
 Trade and its Remedy." Referring to the Landers' 
 Narrative, he says, towards the close of his " gloomy 
 catalogue of barbarities,'' " We are informed that at 
 Jenna it is the custom for Urn of the governors wives to 
 quit the world on the same day with himself; and that 
 the governor of that place, himself, of necessity goes 
 down to the grave on the demise of his sovereign, the 
 kins: of Yarriba. 
 
IN HEATHEN COUNTRIES. Ixxi 
 
 " Mr. Laird speaks of the decease of an aged chief 
 while he was at Fundah, who left Jiftee7i wives ; and lie 
 tells us that on the night this man was to be buried, 
 the king went to the woman's apartment, and selected 
 one, who was to be hung, in order to accompany her 
 husband to the next world ! 
 
 " Of the other barbarous customs of Africa, the con- 
 tinual appeal to the ordeal of ' red water,' or poison, is 
 one of the worst. At Fundah, Mr. Oldfield saw a pro- 
 cession of the wives of the king's son, just deceased, who 
 were proceeding to establish their innocence of his death 
 by drinking poison ; and he says, that out of su't^ of 
 these poor infatuated wretches, thirty-one died ! " 
 
 Africa is still cursed with the horrid Slave Trade ; 
 and in that abominable traffic woman is a dreadful 
 sufferer. A paper was read on the 11th of February 
 1839, at the meeting of the Royal Geographical Society, 
 giving " an account of tlie survey of the south-east coast 
 of Arabia, by Captain Haines of the Indian navy." After 
 describing Aden, he says, " The next town of import- 
 ance is Mokhara, containing 4500 inhabitants, with a 
 very considerable trade, particularly in slaves. The 
 writer has seen exposed for sale in the market, at one 
 time, no less than 700 Nubian girls, subject to all the 
 brutality and insults of their masters ; the prices which 
 they fetch varying from £7. to £25." 
 
 Madagascar exhibits woman in a truly deplorable 
 condition, though its numerous people have been con- 
 sidered as rising from their original barbarism. The 
 state of women in that great island will, however, be 
 
Ixxii CONDITION OF WOMAN 
 
 best represented by the valuable work of the Rev. W. 
 Ellis. That well-informed writer states : " The practice 
 of betrothing children at a very early age prevails to a 
 great extent in Madagascar ; the parents frequently make 
 an arrangement for their children with a view to marriage, 
 before the latter are capable of thinking for themselves 
 on the subject. Domestic manners in Madagascar do not 
 impose the restraints usual in most Oriental countries; 
 very frequent opportunities therefore occur in the social 
 intercourse of families, for young persons of both sexes 
 to see each other ; and, as elsewhere, love and courtship 
 precede matrimony. Many of both sexes are married at 
 the age of twelve or fourteen. 
 
 " Mothers in Madagascar are usually anxious to have 
 their daughters married while the latter are very young ; 
 but the early marriages of the Malagasy are attended 
 with painful and disastrous effects to the females ; 
 especially those contracted in consequence of betroth- 
 ments arranged by the parents, totally irrespective of 
 the inclinations of the parties themselves, and often 
 before they were able to understand the nature of the 
 engagements, or feel either preference for or aversion to 
 those with whom they were pledged to sustain one of 
 the most binding and sacred relations of life. The 
 consequence is, the unhappy wife soon ceases to please, 
 the affections of the husband are fixed on others, and 
 unfaithfulness or divorce is the result. 
 
 " Concubinage, or polygamy, with all its train of 
 miseries, prevails very generally. The very term by 
 which polygamy is designated in the native language 
 
IN HEATHEN COUNTRIES. Ixxui 
 
 implies the evils of which it is the fruitful source — 
 famporo fesana^ that is, ' the means of causing enmity ; ' 
 as if referring to the interminable jealousies and hostilities 
 created among the several wives of one husband. With 
 all its admitted and numerous evils, polygamy, however, 
 exists under the sanction of the highest examples and 
 authorities to which a native can appeal. Every 
 monarch is complimented as having twelve wives ; and 
 most of the nobles or chieftains, who can aiford to 
 maintain a plurality of wives, deem it essential to their 
 happiness to take more than one wife. The only law 
 to regulate polygamy seems to be, that no man may 
 take twelve wives excepting the sovereign ! 
 
 " Polygamy here, as elsewhere, is demonstrated to be 
 a system of evils. It is the chief source of nearly all 
 the domestic disputes and jealousies existing among the 
 Malagasy : wives become jealous of one another, and 
 tlie husband suffers from the jealousy of all. The 
 children by different wives are frequently the subjects 
 of secret heart-burnings, or in open variance give vent to 
 their malevolent feelings and criminating animosities. 
 Divorces are multiplied, and, with them, envy, hatred, 
 and interminable family resentments. Property is also 
 wasted, claimants are multiplied, and litigation fre- 
 quent. In a word, polygamy is a curse to the land, and 
 its final abolition is a consummation ardently to be desired 
 by all who prefer peace to wrath, affection to bitter- 
 ness, domestic comfort to domestic strife, and Christian 
 virtues to the jealousy, malice, and uncharitableness of the 
 excited andturbulent passions of depraved human nature. 
 
Ixxlv CONDITION OF WOMAN 
 
 " One great evil consequent on polygamy is the 
 frequency of divorce — the immediate causes of which 
 are numerous and often very trivial. The woman 
 is at liberty to marry again as soon as she pleases 
 after the lapse of twelve days, though the divorcing 
 husband has, according to law, or usages which 
 have equal authority, the power of divorcing his 
 wife in such a manner as to prevent her ever marrying 
 again. On these occasions she is often treated per- 
 sonally with extreme cruelty, and during the formal 
 process of being divorced, receives first, a hlack fowl^ 
 expressive, it is supposed, of the wish of her husband 
 that she may ever be a repulsive object ; second, a 
 walking -sticky indicating that for the future she is to 
 have no home, but is to be an outcast on the road ; 
 third, a small piece of money ^ signifying that she is to 
 be dependent on what is given by others ; and fourth, 
 a piece of white gun-waddings to signify that she is to 
 continue in that state till her hair is white with age. 
 
 " Though the females in Madagascar are not reduced 
 to the humiliating state of degradation in which they 
 are found among some uncivilized portions of the 
 human race, the usages here noticed show that, as 
 among all other nations unblessed by the elevating and 
 softening influence of the gospel, she is far from being 
 esteemed as the equal, the companion of man, excepting 
 in his humiliation and disgrace. If the husband be 
 guilty of any crime for which he is reduced to slavery, 
 his wife, however innocent she may have been, is also 
 deprived of her liberty. "Woman is held in estimation 
 
IN MOHAMMEDAN COUNTRIES. IxXV 
 
 chiefly as the creature of convenience to man, and often 
 suffers as the victim of his caprice and ungoverned 
 passion, or of his sordid and heartless avarice. The 
 state of society in Madagascar, in reference to the 
 females, adds another to the already extended catalogue 
 of facts which show the obligations of the sex to the 
 Christian religion, and prove that it is only where the 
 principles of Divine Revelation prevail, that woman is 
 raised to the position in the social relations of life for 
 which she was qualified by her Creator ; while the 
 happy results that have followed the partial diffusion of 
 Christianity, the introduction of Christian marriage, 
 among the natives of this interesting country, as well as 
 the choice and abundant fruits in social peace and 
 hallowed affection, which they have brought forth 
 among communities still less civilized, show that it has 
 lost none of its power to refine, to elevate, and to enrich 
 with the highest privileges the female portion of every 
 community in which it prevails." * 
 
 Mohammedan nations are not commonly ranked with 
 pagans, as they possess a system of religion composed 
 of pagan traditions and corrupted Christianity. Woman, 
 however, in the countries where that creed prevails, are 
 cruelly degraded, scarcely less so than among the more 
 civilized heathen : a passing glance at their state will 
 therefore be necessary in this place, illustrative of the 
 importance of Christian missions. 
 
 Mohammed's abominable laws, illustrating one part 
 of his personal character, allow four wives to each of 
 
 * History of Madagascar, vol. i. pp. 163—175. 
 
IXXVI CONDITION OF WOMAN 
 
 his followers, with the liberty of divorcing them thrice ; 
 and as many concubines as he is able to support. 
 
 Lady Montague remarks of the Turks : — " Any 
 woman that dies unmarried is looked upon to die in a 
 state of reprobation. To confirm this belief they reason, 
 that the end of the creation of woman is to increase and 
 multiply; and that she is properly employed in tlie 
 work of her calling only when she is bringing forth 
 children or taking care of them, which are all the 
 virtues that God expects from her. The vulgar notion 
 that they do not admit women to have souls is a 
 vulgar mistake : it is true, they say women are not of 
 so elevated a nature, and therefore must not hope for 
 admission into the paradise appointed for the men, who 
 are to be entertained with celestial beauties. But 
 there is a place of happiness destined for souls of the 
 inferior order, where all good women are to be in 
 eternal bliss ! " 
 
 Lady Augusta Hamilton remarks ; — '' The ladies 
 of the palace of the Grand Signior are a collection of 
 beautiful young women, chiefly sent as presents from 
 the provinces and the Greek islands, most of them being 
 children of Christian parents. The brave prince 
 Heraclius abolished the infamous tribute of children 
 of both sexes, which Georgia formerly paid to the Porte 
 yearly. The number of women in the harem depends 
 on the taste of the reigning Sultan; Selim had Uco 
 thousand^ Achmet had but three hundred^ and the late 
 Sultan had nearly sixteen hundred. These ladies are 
 never suffered to go abroad, except when the Grand 
 
IN MOHAMMEDAN COUNTRIES. Ixxvii 
 
 Signior removes from one place to another, when a 
 troop of black eunuchs conveys them to the boats, 
 which are enclosed with lattices and linen curtains : 
 when they travel by land, they are put into close 
 chariots, and signals are made at certain distances, to 
 give notice that none approach the roads through which 
 they pass ! " 
 
 Traffic in female slaves is common in Mohammedan 
 countries, the natural consequence of the laws regarding 
 wives and concubines ; and bazaars for the sale of 
 beautiful girls are found in different parts. "Dr. 
 Pouqueville," as remarked by Lady Hamilton, " had a 
 transient entry into one of these bazaars of beauty^ and 
 observed the women, in number three hundred^ on sale ! 
 The Turkish purchasers examined them merely to feel 
 out their qualities ; selecting the sleekest and best 
 conditioned from the different groups, freely handling 
 their persons, and examining their size and shape, and 
 opening their mouths to inspect their teeth ! " 
 
 Mr. Thornton, in his work on the " Present State of 
 Turkey," in 1807, says, " The slave-market is a qua- 
 drangle, surrounded by a covered gallery, and ranges of 
 small and separate apartments. The manner of pur- 
 chasing slaves is described in a plain and unaffected 
 narrative of a German merchant, which, as I have been 
 able to ascertain its general authenticity, may be relied on 
 as correct in this particular. He arrived at Kaffa, in 
 the Crimea, which was formerly the principal mart 
 slaves ; and hearing that an Armenian had a Georgian 
 and two Circassian girls to dispose of, feigned an inten- 
 
Ixxviii CONDITION OF WOMAN 
 
 tion of purchasing them, in order to gratify his curio- 
 sity, and to ascertain the mode of conducting such 
 bargains. A Circassian maiden, eighteen years old, 
 was the first who presented herself: she was well 
 dressed, and her face covered with a veil. She ad- 
 vanced towards the German, bowed down and kissed 
 his hand : by order of her master, she walked backwards 
 and forwards in the chamber, to show her shape and the 
 easiness of her gait and carriage ; her foot was small, 
 and her gesture agreeable. When she took off her veil 
 she displayed a bust of the most attractive beauty. She 
 rubbed her cheeks with a wet napkin, to prove that she 
 had not used art to heighten her complexion ; and she 
 opened her inviting lips, to show a regular set of teeth 
 of pearly whiteness. The German was permitted to 
 feel her pulse, that he might be convinced of the good 
 state of her health and constitution. She was then or- 
 dered to retire while the merchant deliberated upon the 
 bargain. The price of this beautiful girl was four 
 thousand piastres !" 
 
 Reflecting on these most heart-rending details, the 
 spirit of every reader must be intensely moved by the 
 deplorable debasement to which females are reduced in 
 the nations of the heathen. British Women, elevated 
 to their rightful station and dignity, the equals and 
 beloved associates of men, raised by the heavenly prin- 
 ciples of " the glorious gospel of the blessed God," will 
 peruse these brief and imperfect representations of the 
 present degradation of their sex in Pagan and ]\Ioliam- 
 medan countries with blushes and tears for our fallen 
 
IN HEATHEN COUNTRIES. Ixxix 
 
 nature. And no one can fail to be interested in the work 
 of evangelical missions, or in any means of promot- 
 ing their present and eternal welfare. The truly noble 
 and benevolent Ladies of the " Association to Promote 
 Female Education in China, India, and the East," are 
 especially drawn to commiserate their woes ; and they 
 may reasonably make the following heart- stirring appeal 
 for aid in carrying forward their God-like undertaking : 
 " Wives, who are happy in the affectionate esteem 
 of your husbands — mothers, who enjoy your children's 
 reverence and gratitude — children, who have been blessed 
 by a mother's example and a mother's care — sisters, 
 who have found in brothers your warmest friends, — 
 Christian women, who feel that you can lend to society 
 its charm, and receive from it a loyal courtesj^ in re- 
 turn — protected, honoured, and loved — impart your 
 blessings to those who are miserable, because they are 
 without them. If your minds are intelligent and culti- 
 vated — if your lives are useful and happy — and if you 
 can look for a blessed immortality beyond the grave, do 
 not, for the love of Christ, whose sufferings have been 
 the source of all your blessings, and of all your hopes, 
 do not refuse to make Him known, that the deo-raded 
 
 o 
 
 millions of the East may, like you, ' be blessed in Him,' 
 and like you, may ' call him blessed.' " 
 
 Ignorance and superstition, in apostate mankind, na- 
 turally produce the crimes anrl miseries here surveyed ; 
 and " tlie dark places of the earth are still full of the 
 habitations of cruelty." They can be illuminated only 
 by the " Sun of Righteousness :" the atrocious delusions 
 
IXXX CONDITION OF WOMAN, &C. 
 
 which generate such enormous evils can be corrected 
 and annihilated only by the gospel of Christ ; and the 
 only means of restoring woman is the divine doctrine of 
 our Lord and Saviour. Such most manifestly is the 
 wise and merciful ordination of the Lord God Almighty. 
 Christian Missions, therefore, to this end, are indis- 
 pensable; and God has graciously granted abundant 
 evidences of the power of their appointed agency, in 
 every part of the world where they have been esta- 
 blished. Missionaries must promulgate the doctrines 
 of the Holy Scriptures : they must fill the minds of men 
 with the light of God's law and of his soul-renewing 
 gospel; and so, under the Divine blessing, establish, 
 throughout the world, the holy, benevolent, and trans- 
 forming religion of the blessed Redeemer ! 
 
MEMOIRS 
 
 BRITISH FEMALE MISSIONARIES. 
 
 MRS. ELIOT. 
 
 DIED IN 1687. 
 
 Mrs. Eliot belongs to the "Pilgrim Fathers" of America.— Wife of the 
 •' Apostle to the Indians." — Mr. Eliot's early Life. — His Emigration to 
 New England. — Mrs. Eliot's early Life. — Her Emigration to America. 
 — Dr. Mather's account of her.— Her Fortitude. — Their Marriage. — 
 Their Family. — Dr. Mather's Testimony to their Domestic Religion. — 
 Mr. Eliot's Missionary Labours.— Aided by Mrs. Eliot.— Her Useful 
 Qualifications. — Her Death and Character. — Death of Mr. Eliot. 
 
 Mrs. Eliot was associated with the venerated band 
 of " Pilgrim Fathers," who colonized New England, 
 laying the foundation of all the greatness which now 
 distinguishes the United States of America. She was the 
 excellent wife of that truly reverend man of God, John 
 Eliot, deservedly called, on account of his extraordinary 
 and successful missionary labours among the native 
 tribes of North America, "The Apostle to the 
 Indians." 
 
 Mr. Eliot, so worthily honoured in the Church of 
 God as a faithful minister of Christ, was born in 
 
2 BRITISH FEMALE MISSIONARIES. 
 
 England about the year 1604. He was educated at 
 the University of Cambridge ; and, after completing 
 his studies, he resided for some time, in the capacity of 
 tutor, with the family of the Rev. Thomas Hooker, at 
 Little Baddow, in Essex. At that time intolerance 
 continued to prevail under Charles I., as it had done 
 under his father James I. ; and on account of persecu- 
 tion, many of the faithful ministers of the gospel, with 
 thousands of their attached people, fled for the enjoy- 
 ment of religious liberty to the wilds of the " New 
 World." The first settlers landed on the rock at 
 Plymouth, November the 9th 1620; and Mr. Eliot 
 followed those servants of God in 1631. His ministry 
 was highly appreciated by the pious colonists of New 
 England, and their rising families ; and he became the 
 devoted pastor of the infant church in the newly-esta- 
 blished town of Roxbury, near the city of Boston. 
 
 Mrs. Eliot was a lady of respectable connexions 
 in Essex ; and, by means of her esteemed pastor, she 
 became acquainted with his valued young friend, whom 
 Divine Providence graciously designed for her future 
 husband. Mr. Eliot had been greatly indebted to Mr. 
 Hooker's able ministry, as the means of raising his hopes 
 to immortal glory through faith in the Lord Jesus 
 Christ ; and now, by his paternal kindness, he found 
 opportunity to gain the affections of that beloved 
 person, who afterwards became his " admirable wife ; " 
 and to whose care and love he principally owed the 
 comfort and blessings of the present world during the 
 long period of fifty-five years, through which, in that 
 
MRS. ELIOT. 3 
 
 distant land, they enjoyed each other's society in the 
 fear and service of God. 
 
 Dr. Matlier, in mentioning this connexion, in his 
 " Life of Eliot," says, " He left behind him, in his 
 native land, a virtuous young gentlewoman, whom he 
 had pursued, and to whom he proposed marriage ; and 
 she coming hither the year following, they were 
 united. And this wife of his youth lived with him 
 until she became the staff of his age." 
 
 Mrs. Eliot's fortitude in this hazardous under- 
 taking to cross the mighty Atlantic, is hardly to 
 be estimated by the courage of a lady, in our 
 times of improved navigation and almost perfect 
 accommodation for passengers, venturing on a voyage 
 to America ; or even of a missionary's wife accom- 
 panying her husband in their long passage to India, or 
 the South Sea Islands : two centuries aofo it w^as an 
 exceedingly bold enterprise for a single lady, in an 
 ill-furnished ship, to proceed on a voyage to New 
 England. Intelligent piety and affectionate attachment 
 to one whom she esteemed as a servant of the Redeemer, 
 however, sustained the courage of this amiable female, 
 and enabled her to triumph over every real or imagined 
 difficulty. 
 
 Welcomed in the distant wilderness of America by 
 many Christian friends, notwithstanding privations, her 
 best anticipations were realized. She was married to 
 her chosen partner, and several children were the fruit 
 of their union : but particular details of their domestic 
 economy are not afforded. Dr. Mather briefly refers 
 b2 
 
4 BRITISH FEMALE MISSIONARIES. 
 
 to their circumstances ; and, in commending the dili- 
 gence and fidelity of Mr. Eliot as a pastor, he remarks, 
 that " in his family too he was not less vigilant and 
 exemplary than in his church. The wife of his bosom 
 he loved, prized, and cherished, with a kindness that 
 strikingly represented the compassion whicli he thereby 
 taught others to expect from the Lord Jesus Christ. His 
 family was a little Bethel ; for the worship of God was 
 constantly and exactly maintained in it ; and unto the 
 daily prayers of the family his manner was to prefix 
 the reading of the Scriptures. His house might be 
 called a school of piety. Whatever decay there might 
 be," the Doctor adds, " in family religion among us, as 
 for Eliot, we knew him that he would command his 
 children and his household after him, that they should 
 keep the way of the Lord." 
 
 Mrs. Eliot is doubtless entitled to no small share of 
 the commendation thus given by Dr. Mather to his 
 venerated father in the ministry of the gospel ; for 
 almost everything in the domestic arrangements de- 
 pended on his " admirable wife." " The Apostle to the 
 Indians" had his hands and his heart fully occupied in 
 his multifarious duties connected with his pastoral 
 relation, his missionary work, and his correspondence 
 with many in England, by whom he was aided in his 
 expensive labours. His astonishing missionary opera- 
 tions among the native Americans — his successes in the 
 conversion of very many to the faith of Christ — the 
 character and influence of their numerous "praying 
 towns of Indians " — and his translation of the Holy 
 
MRS. FLIOT. 5 
 
 Scriptures, and of other valuable books, for their reli- 
 gious instruction, deserve to be contemplated by a 
 perusal of the truly interesting " Memoirs of his Life" — 
 though they cannot be included in this brief sketch of 
 his wife. 
 
 Mrs. Eliot, as is abundantly testified, was most 
 eminently qualified to be a " help-meet" for this extra- 
 ordinary servant of Christ; and the benediction of 
 Heaven rested largely upon her active labours in the 
 family, and among those around her. Such was the 
 continued afi*ectIon which subsisted between him and 
 his endeared wife, during the extended period in which 
 they were preserved together ; so exemplary was their 
 holy conversation, and so evident was their participation 
 of the Holy Spirit, by which they walked with God in 
 all his ordinances and commandments, that they were 
 commonly designated by the large number of their 
 fellow Christians, "Zacharias and Elizabeth." Mrs. 
 Eliot lived till about three or four years before her 
 husband's decease, regarded as a woman of superior 
 mind and uncommon intelligence, of rare personal 
 holiness, and a pattern of female prudence. She was a 
 common blessing, not only to her own family, but to 
 the whole circle of her neighbours ; for she possessed 
 considerable skill in "the practice of medicine and 
 surgery ; " and in that infant state of the colony of New 
 England, her knowledge was most important among 
 the poor, enabling her to dispense many benefits as a 
 " practical physician." 
 
 " Goodness and mercy followed " this honoured couple 
 
6 BRITISH FEMALE MISSIONARIES. 
 
 through a long series of years ; and Mrs. EHot, at 
 length, completed her mortal course, to enter the ever- 
 lasting kingdom of her Lord and Saviour : but the loss 
 of such a wife was felt by her venerable partner as 
 most truly grievous. " They had lived so long together, 
 that the idea of separation seemed scarcely to have 
 entered their minds : the mother of his children, the 
 companion of nearly three-score years, was laid in the 
 grave by his own hand. When she died," says Dr. 
 Mather, " I heard and saw her aged husband, who 
 seldom wept, yet now with a flood of tears, before a 
 large concourse of people, say over the coffin, 'Here 
 lies my dear, faithful, pious, prudent, prayerful wife : 
 I shall £0 to her, and she not return to me ! ' " 
 
 Affection and piety, united as they were in this truly 
 Christian couple, were here beautifully illustrated in 
 this expression of genuine feeling : but the widowed 
 "apostolic missionary" had nearly finished his mortal 
 course. Exhausted with persevering labours, especially 
 among the Indians, this eminent and successful servant 
 of God, about three years after the decease of his wife, 
 entered, early in 1690, into the joy of his Lord, aged 
 eighty-six years, leaving a character behind him which 
 is held in the highest veneration by the Christians of 
 America ! 
 
MRS. COULTART. 
 
 DIED OCTOBER 8, 1817. 
 
 Mrs. Coiiltart, a native of Worcestershire — Edified by the Ministry of Rev. 
 T. Biddulph of Bristol.— Her Religious Joys.— Unites with a Church at 
 Stourbridge. — Her Brother, Mr. Hiram Chambers, a Student at 
 Cheshunt College.— Devotes himself to the Missionary Work.- Corre- 
 spondence of Miss Chambers with her Brother.— Her Desires to become 
 
 a Missionary Her Anticipations of that Service. — Her acquaintance 
 
 with Rev. J. Coultart.— Relinquishes her School.— Is Married to Mr. 
 Coultart. — Her Letter to her Brother. — Embarkation for Jamaica. — 
 Her Testimony regarding the Negroes. — Progress of Religion among 
 them.— Her last Letter to her Brother.— Her Illness and Death.— Her 
 Brother's Missionary Course in India. 
 
 Mrs. Coultart, formerly Miss Mary Ann Chambers, 
 was born February 11, 1787, near Stourbridge in 
 Worcestershire. For several years before the path was 
 opened for her to enter the destined field of labour, she 
 breathed most ardently a missionary spirit, and it 
 became her unceasing desire that she might serve her 
 Redeemer among the heathen. Extracts from her own 
 letters and diary will, however, afford the interesting 
 exhibition of the disposition and ardour of her mind. 
 
 Miss Chambers lived, as the multitude around her, 
 until her twentieth year, "without God in the world:" 
 at that age she became impressed with the worth of her 
 soul, and her need of salvation : but three years elapsed 
 before she found peace in believing on Jesus Christ. 
 Being on a visit at Bristol, she was led by the ministry 
 of Rev. T. Biddulph, to cast the burden of her sin and 
 sorrow on the Divine Redeemer : and she was enabled 
 
8 BRITISH FEMALE MISSIONARIES. 
 
 by the Holy Spirit to receive the atonement, rejoicing 
 in God, as reconciled to him by the blood of Christ, so 
 as to walk henceforth " in newness of life." From 
 that period her principles became confirmed, and her 
 character formed : and though surrounded by opposi- 
 tion, she was not ashamed to confess Christ as her Lord 
 and Saviour. The following from her diary exhibits 
 her intelligent and pious mind. 
 
 ''June 29, 1810. — This day the Lord has been 
 pleased to assist me. Never did I feel such inward 
 peace before. Oh the comfort of religion ! Would to 
 God tliat others knew what I feel ! What a mercy 
 for such an unworthy creature to know that she is 
 a child of God ! Dearest Lord, give me the grace of 
 thy Holy Spirit, that my prayers and praises may 
 be accepted by thee!" 
 
 Miss Chambers united in Christian communion with 
 an Independent church near Stourbridge, in connexion 
 with Rev. John Richards ; and she thus records that 
 fact in her private diary. 
 
 ''April 10, 1815. — Especially would I note this 
 day — a day that I hope was registered in heaven ; a 
 day that united me to God's visible church here ; to a 
 people that are very dear to me. I have been again 
 permitted to commemorate our dear Lord's death : 
 blessed privilege for sinful worms ! Again, in the 
 presence of God and man, have I dedicated myself to 
 my God. ! that his Spirit may lead and guide me, 
 and enable me to glorify him in my daily walk ! May 
 I never bring any disgrace upon the Christian name or 
 
MRS. COULTART. 9 
 
 profession ! Hold thou me up, and I shall stand : if 
 thou leave me, I must perish. Guide me, dearest 
 Lord, by thy counsel, and at last receive me to glory. 
 Preserve the church thou hast formed here from hypo- 
 crisy : may they all be numbered as thine in the day 
 when thou makest up thy jewels. Make us very 
 useful to each other, and enable us to show forth to an 
 ungodly world whose we are, and whom we serve. 
 Oh Father of mercies, answer according to the good 
 pleasure of thy will, for Jesus Christ's sake. Amen." 
 
 Miss Chambers felt the constraining influence of the 
 love of Christ, especially leading her to regard others 
 with a great degree of concern for their spiritual 
 welfare, and a lively interest in the enlargement of the 
 Redeemer's kingdom throughout the world. She 
 exerted herself with zeal and diligence for the salvation 
 of her relatives ; and God was pleased to crown her 
 pious efforts with encouraging success. Hence she felt 
 such a spirit of compassion for the perishing heathen, as 
 appeared to designate her for missionary service, long 
 before the leadings of Providence opened the way for 
 her actual engagement in that work of the Lord. 
 
 Mr. Hiram Chambers having, at this period, devoted 
 himself to the service of Christ among the heathen, cor- 
 responded with his sister on his state of mind and 
 prospects, while pursuing his studies at Cheshunt 
 College, and afterwards at the Missionary Seminary, 
 Gosport. The following glowing extracts of her letters 
 will strikingly illustrate this state of the spiritual 
 exercises of ]Miss Chambers. 
 
10 BRITISH FEMALE MISSIONARIES. 
 
 '•^ June 1, 1816. — I thank you for the account your 
 letter contains of the missionary cause. May our dear 
 Redeemer hasten the time when his kingdom shall 
 come ! I feel more life in praying for it than ever I did 
 before. How should I have rejoiced to be with you ! 
 My heart was indeed in the midst of you. What a 
 noble cause ! to be employed in preaching Jesus to the 
 poor heathen ! Oh my soul, is not this all thy desire ? 
 Dearest Lord, wilt thou make a way ? May I see that 
 thou hast ordained it ! it is, thou knowest, my only 
 earthly wish. My soul does indeed long to be wHth the 
 poor heathen. Why is it that I feel so anxious, unless 
 thou hast designed it ? 0! my dear Redeemer, grant 
 it, if consistent with thy will." 
 
 " August 2. — ! to be employed for and by God in 
 convertino- the heathen ! What an honour ! Should 
 
 o 
 
 you cross the seas to be the instrument of saving one 
 soul, even at the hazard of your life, you will be more 
 than repaid for your trouble. Can you hear the poor 
 destitute heathen cry, ' Come, tell us of salvation 
 through Jesus Christ,' and yet be deaf to hear it ? 
 Cannot you follow^ the steps of your Redeemer ? He 
 left the abodes of glory for you ; for you he suffered 
 more than you possibly can. He had no earthly friend. 
 You have a sister ; and, though unworthy, her very 
 soul pants to go with you : but what am I saying ? 
 My dear brother, count not then your life dear to you, 
 so that you may win souls to Christ I do, indeed, 
 love the missionary cause ; it is nearer my heart than 
 anything else : my soul seems in the work." 
 
MRS. COULTART. 11 
 
 ^^ August 21. — I have not ceased to bless God for 
 your last letter. Should your next convey the news 
 that you are going, and give me to hope that I may 
 accompany you, do pray that the vessel may be 
 enlarged, as I think the poor clay tabernacle will 
 almost break." 
 
 '^ August 24. — But oh, distracting thought, I may 
 be left in England, while you are labouring among the 
 heathen ! O, no, never, I never can, neither do I 
 think I shalh I think it has been given me to believe 
 that our God will take me. Oh that, if it were the will 
 of God, these eyes that are now bathed in tears, may 
 before that take place, be closed in death ! Oh, my H., 
 my very soul is there in the midst of the heathen ! 
 You ask me if you shall mention it to the Directors. 
 You must answer it at the last day if you do not. My 
 life was lengthened in answer to prayer ; and was it 
 not my prayer that it might not be spared, unless to be 
 devoted to my God, and to his cause ? How often have 
 I prayed that you might be called to the work ! and 
 now I trust my prayers are answered, fear arises lest I 
 should be left." 
 
 " September 14. — Sometimes I think that, from what 
 I have experienced in prayer, our covenant God designs 
 to send me, unworthy me, on so great a work ; and 
 sometimes I think that the heavenly consolations I now 
 feel are given to prepare me for a refusal ; but surely it 
 cannot be so, when they only tend to heighten the flame 
 which already burns. Yes ! this life must be sacrificed 
 for our Redeemer. Had I ten lives to give, I would 
 
12 BRITISH FEMALE MISSIONARIES. 
 
 not, I could not, I durst not withhold one. My soul 
 has been purchased with that blood which flowed from 
 the wounds of a dying Saviour ; and the blessed Spirit 
 of our God is a witness how ardently it longs to relin- 
 quish all earthly prospects of a temporalkind, and go forth 
 to the poor dear heathen ! Were it to be made useful 
 only to one soul, or should a watery grave await me, 
 I die happy. What is my life ? What is its worth, 
 in comparison with one soul ? " 
 
 " Decemher 4. — Our dear Redeemer hath given me to 
 believe that prayer is answered, and that the unworthiest 
 of his creatures is to be sent on the noblest of errands, 
 and in the most glorious of causes that ever mortal man 
 was engaged in, even in becoming a missionary to the 
 poor dear heathen. Language fails to speak my feelings : 
 how does my soul anticipate the day when I shall leave 
 my native land, and enter upon that blessed work ! It 
 will not be long we shall have to labour in this blessed 
 employ, and then with what joy shall we have to relin- 
 quish it, knowing that a better house awaits us ! I 
 often see it by faith, although detained within mud 
 walls. Joyfully could I quit it all, except the poor 
 heathen. Yes ! and if called, our God would enable me 
 to do that also." 
 
 Miss Chambers was a lady of considerable reserve 
 and retirement ; yet she could not refrain from commu- 
 nicating her desires to some of her Christian friends, to 
 be consecrated to the service of Christ among the hea- 
 then, especially when conversing about the prospects of 
 her beloved brother. Her state of mind became thus 
 
MRS. COULTART. 13 
 
 known to a gentleman in Birmingham, a friend of 
 Rev. James Coultart, of the Baptist College, Bristol ; 
 and previously to his embarkation for Jamaica, visiting 
 his early religious connexions in that town, he was 
 introduced by his friend to that lady. Her elegant per- 
 son and accomplished mind at once engaged his heart ; 
 while she regarded the whole affair as the gracious 
 leadings of Providence. Having, therefore, transferred 
 her school to her sister, in about a fortnight they were 
 married, February 6, 1817. 
 
 While waiting for a ship at Bristol, Mrs. Coultart 
 wrote again to her dear brother, and from which we 
 perceive her holy ardour : — 
 
 " February 28. — I cannot leave England without 
 addressing another letter to my dear H., who has ever 
 been to me the kindest of brothers, the tenderest of 
 friends — from childhood my companion until the present 
 year ! I hope I feel thankful that the love and affection 
 we have ever felt for each other will not be confined to 
 time, but be matured in eternity ; and when we meet 
 again, it will be to say 'Farewell ' no more. I believe the 
 hand of God hath separated us, and that the same kind 
 hand will lead us all our journey through. I hope I do 
 feel thankful that he has given me so kind and affec- 
 tionate a friend to lead me on my way to Zion. O ! 
 pray that he may ever find me worthy of his regard ! 
 Had I ten lives, and those ten laboured indefatigably 
 for twenty years, and were made useful only to one 
 soul, eternity would be too short to praise God for it. 
 Who can know the value of a soul, but a Saviour, who 
 
14 BRITISH FEMALE MISSIONARIES. 
 
 in his human nature sweat drops of blood, caused by 
 the heavy load of guilt he sustained. Should this, my 
 dear brotlier, be the last letter I am permitted to write 
 you, forget not that a sister, who loves you very ten- 
 derly, entreats you to consider it an unspeakable privi- 
 lege to be called to convey the glad tidings of the 
 gospel to perishing sinners. Labour, dear H., in your 
 study ; labour in the pulpit ; and, above all, labour in 
 prayer to God for the conversion of the souls of guilty 
 men. Let your life be a continual sermon. ! forgive 
 me, if I have gone too far : I cannot, I would not pre- 
 tend to teach you ; but I feel so anxious that every 
 power may be spent in glorifying so kind, so gracious a 
 God, and in extending his kingdom — 
 
 ' Go, spread abroad a Saviour's name, 
 And sound aloud his praise.' 
 
 We go to the west, you perhaps to the east ; our labours 
 will soon be ended, and then we meet in the kingdom 
 of God." 
 
 Mrs. Coultart embarked with her husband, March 
 14, 1817, with a heart beating high with holy antici- 
 pations of labour and usefulness ; and writing to her 
 beloved brother on the voyage, she said, " When I put 
 my foot in the boat that was to convey us to the ship, 
 I prayed — ' If thy presence go not with me, carry us 
 not up hence.' O ! that it may really be the case ; for 
 I dread living without God ! be very importunate, 
 that God may make us useful ; that my dear Mr. C. 
 may have a double portion of the Holy Spirit granted to 
 him ; that very many souls may be given him, who 
 
MRS. COULTART. 15 
 
 shall be his joy and crown of rejoicing in the world to 
 come ; and may I sink to the bottom of the deep, rather 
 than bring any disgrace on rehgion, or in the least 
 prove a hindrance or snare to my husband, by going to 
 Jamaica." 
 
 They landed May 9th, when her heart was truly 
 enlarged ; and she looked on the scene of labour, ardently 
 praying that she might be very, very long permitted to 
 prove her love to the Saviour, by telling of his great 
 salvation. The day after their landing, she wTote : — 
 
 " May 10. — We are are now in Jamaica. O ! my 
 God, how great are thy mercies to the unworthiest of 
 beings ! I might say I am filled with wonder at the 
 condescension of God. My daily petition has been — 
 ' If thy presence go not with me, carry us not up hence/ 
 O, Jamaica ! what is our message to thy inliabitants ? 
 Farewell, England ! I still love thee ; my dearest 
 friends dost thou contain; but I would not return to 
 thee. In Jamaica would I live and die, and spend and 
 be spent, for God and his people. The heat is exces- 
 sively great. May God preserve the health of my dear 
 Mr. C, and smile upon his labours." 
 
 Many of the negroes had already been turned from 
 darkness to light ; and she found not a few amono- the 
 converted slaves who had made great progress in the 
 divine life. She had cause of joy also, that Mr. Coul- 
 tart's labours were acceptable to the people, and crowned 
 with the grace of the Spirit of God. She therefore wrote 
 to her brother, June 10th : — 
 
 "We have a good attendance at public worship, of 
 black and brown people. Their prayers are very simple, 
 
16 BRITISH FEMALE MISSION ARIES. 
 
 and these have convinced us that the grace of God is 
 extended to people of all colours. Their singing, too, 
 for the first time, almost overpowered me. To hear 
 the praises of Immanuel sung by them, and to see the 
 tears trickling down their sable cheeks, filled my mind 
 with gratitude to God, who had brought me to witness 
 such a sight. ! my H., I find communion with 
 God as dear in Jamaica as it had used to be in England. 
 Last Sabbath the ordinance of the Lord's Supper was 
 administered, and nearly five hundred persons, black 
 and brown, partook of it." 
 
 She wrote to Miss S. " July 2. — I rejoice to find 
 so much real religion in Jamaica. You \vould be 
 pleased to see our congregation, consisting of more than 
 a thousand people, black and brown ; and I think it 
 would nearly double the present number, if the chapel 
 would hold them. Many of them seem thirsting to 
 hear the Word : they are ignorant people, and may be 
 led, but not driven. To hear them talk of the work of 
 the Holy Spirit in their hearts would delight you. 
 Believe me, my dear friend, I am perfectly happy in 
 Jamaica, and can with sincerity bless God that he 
 brought me hither. His mercy towards me has indeed 
 been unbounded. Let us be remembered by you at the 
 throne of grace." 
 
 Mrs. Coultart's missionary career was but short. 
 She fell soon after she entered upon her work, by a 
 mortal fever, within five months of her landing in 
 Jamaica I The last letter which she ever wrote w^as to 
 her brother. 
 
 " Kmgstown^ August 6, 1817. — I think you would 
 
MRS. COULTART. 17 
 
 feel thankful, if you knew how greatly the Lord has 
 appeared for Mr. C. The cause seems flourishing ; the 
 people united ; and the congregation increases every 
 Sabbath. I often look back, and retrace those past 
 scenes, which will never return. ! England, how 
 dear are those friends which thou containest ! Still I 
 have no wish to return. The cause of Christ lies nearer 
 my heart than even all these. It is very little we can 
 do for God ; and ought we to withhold anything, if 
 called on to make the sacrifice ? Surely not. Believe 
 me, my dear brother, I am very happy. I am at a 
 loss for words to give you an adequate idea of the 
 goodness of God towards us. Help us to praise him ; 
 for his mercy is great unto the heavens, and his truth 
 unto the clouds. I have found the Saviour to be ' a 
 friend that sticketli closer than a brother ; ' and have 
 lately anticipated, with real delight, the time when I 
 ' shall see him as he is ; ' when I shall no more grieve 
 the Holy Spirit, but be transformed into his glorious 
 image. I do long to live without sin ; I think I can 
 say — 
 
 ' Haste, my Beloved, fetch my soul 
 
 Up to thy bless'd abode ; 
 
 Fly, for my spirit longs to see 
 
 JMy Saviour and my God.' 
 
 Farewell, my beloved brother, we shall soon meet again. 
 Heaven will, I hope, be our eternal home. Until we 
 meet there, may God be your friend ; may he smile 
 upon your labours, and crown them with abundant 
 success. To him I commend you. He will never leave 
 nor forsake you. — M.A.C." 
 
18 BRITISH FEMALE MISSIONARIES. 
 
 This affectionate and spiritual letter closed up the 
 written communications of this valuable and devoted 
 woman : within two months from the date of it, she 
 was called to exchange time for eternity, and to realise 
 her heavenly aspirations in the presence of God and the 
 Lamb. Her health had been somewhat affected ; but 
 nothing serious was anticipated, more than is usual from 
 the change of climate on Europeans. She attended 
 public worship on the morning of September 28 ; but 
 was unable to stay the whole service : a violent palpi- 
 tation of the heart was succeeded by fever, in the after- 
 noon. Medical aid, at first, seemed to remove apprehen- 
 sions ; but in the space of ten days her husband's hopes 
 were for ever clouded ; and he had to take a present 
 farewell of one so qualified for a missionary's wife ; 
 " one," to use his own words, " so evidently a Chris- 
 tian indeed. Her heart," he adds, " was plainly engaged 
 in the cause of Him under whose banner she had 
 enlisted,"especially in h er female school. 
 
 Mr. Coultart, in a letter to Dr. Ryland of Bristol, 
 says, " My dear and invaluable partner appeared to 
 have a presentiment of her approaching release, about a 
 fortnight before her fatal disease commenced. But I 
 fondly hoped, that God would spare a life so eminently 
 devoted to himself, and in pity to me grant me the 
 advantage I derived from her very holy life, pure conver- 
 sation, and fervent frequent prayers. Divine Goodness 
 lent her for a little while, and the same goodness recalled 
 her. She was known through a very limited circle; 
 but her qualifications for her great undertaking com- 
 
MRS, COULTART. 19 
 
 manded tlie respect of all who knew her. She lies in 
 Kingston church-yard, as no white person is ever 
 buried in the Baptist ground. Mr. Man, Rector of 
 this city, performed the last solemn office, and would 
 have preached a funeral sermon, had not indisposition 
 prevented him ; for which purpose he employed the 
 Rev. Mr. Philips, of St. John's." 
 
 Short as is this conjugal acknowledgment of her 
 worth as a Christian, added to what w^e have perused in 
 her own record, it cannot fail to inspire admiration of 
 her excellence, and regret that a character so exemplary 
 and consistent, formed by faith and love so manifestly 
 the fruit of the Spirit, was not longer permitted to bless 
 her husband and the world. Yet she lived not in vain. 
 
 " Long do they live, nor die too soon, 
 AVho live till life's great work is done." 
 
 If that be to prepare for death, to be meet for heaven, 
 and to glorify God on earth, then it was answered in 
 the life of 3Irs. Coultart. May each reader search for 
 evidence of possessing her essential attainments, follow- 
 ing her as she followed Christ. 
 
 Mrs. Coultart's brother. Rev. Hiram Chambers, was 
 ordained in Birmingham, August 2, 1820, as a mission- 
 ary to India ; in connexion with the London Mis- 
 sionary Society. His character resembled that of his 
 devoted sister ; but his course was short in the service 
 of his Lord and Saviour : as he died January 7, 1826 ! 
 
 c 2 
 
MRS. WILSON. 
 
 DIED DECEMBER 11, 1821. 
 
 Mrs, Wilson, formerly Miss Hill, a Buckinghamshire lady.— Married to 
 Rev. J. Wilson.— They embark for Madras.— Her Plans for Useful- 
 ness. — Her Religious Experience. — Her exercises on Ship-board. — Her 
 Views of the Heathen in India — They proceed to Tranquebar. — Her 
 Studies.— Birth and Death of her first Child.— Her Hlness.— Her 
 Address to her Husband. — Her Death. 
 
 Mrs. Wilson, wife of the Rev. Isaac Wilson of the 
 Church Missionary Society, was formerly Miss Hill, 
 of Olney, Buckinghamshire. She was highly respected 
 for her sincere piety ; and she had been an active col- 
 lector of contributions for the Church Missionary Auxi- 
 liary in her native town, and for many years a teacher 
 in the Girls' Sunday School, in connexion with her 
 esteemed pastor, the Rev. Henry Gauntlett. 
 
 Miss Hill was in her twenty-eighth year when, in 
 April 1820, she was married to Rev. Mr. Wilson ; with 
 whom, in about ten days after their union, she set sail 
 for Madras, where they landed about the middle of 
 September ; and she closed her mortal career on the 11th 
 day of the following December. Mr. Wilson's account 
 of his wife strikingly illustrates the, power of vital 
 Christianity. 
 
 " We had no sooner commenced our voyage from 
 England," ]Mr. Wilson writes, in the biographical sketch 
 of his wife, " than she laid out plans for the best im- 
 
MRS. WILSON. 21 
 
 provement of her time. She paid strict attention to 
 reading the Word of God and prayer. I have often 
 been waked by her fervent prayers in the night, when 
 there was no noise to disturb her devotions. Besides 
 our regular family devotions, she would always have 
 nearly an hour in the middle of the day for secret 
 prayer ; which, considering all the inconveniences 
 attending a sea-life, is not to be always enjoyed with- 
 out watchfulness and self-denial. 
 
 *' While on the voyage, she was ever ready to turn 
 the conversation upon the great work to which she had 
 devoted herself ; and often expressed a fear that she was 
 unfit for duties so sacred and important as those which 
 naturally devolved on the wife of a missionary. Some- 
 times , when talking together of the work of the Lord 
 in heathen lands, she would rejoice, and praise God for 
 giving her a prospect of being permitted to do some- 
 thing for her Redeemer. She would say, ' If I be 
 instrumental in saving one soul, it is worth all my 
 labour and toil ; yet,' she would add, ' why do I thus 
 speak? — perhaps I may not live long. It is much 
 impressed on my mind, that I shall soon leave you to 
 labour alone in India. It is not for me, I think, to be 
 so highly favoured ; but I hope my Saviour will be 
 glorified, either by my life or by death. What, if I 
 am soon to be called away, death will not surprise me. 
 I am not afraid to think on the solemn change : it is my 
 privilege to feel, that to me to live is Christ, and to die 
 is gain /' 
 
 " The Lord's Day was closely observed by her. She 
 
22 BRITISH FEMALE MISSIONARIES. 
 
 frequently spent the whole of it in reading and prayer^ 
 Her soul seemed to cry out for the house of the Lord ; 
 and she longed to see the day when she should again 
 worship with God's people, in whom she took delight. 
 "When thinking of the privileges w^hich our friends in 
 England enjoyed, she would watch the hours, and cal- 
 culate the time when many of her Father's household 
 were bowling before the throne of grace ; and would 
 rejoice if any part of the divine service was at the same 
 time performed in our cabin. 
 
 '^ On the first Sunday in the month we had the Lord's 
 Supper. This she enjoyed very highly : it was a season 
 when she more particularly spoke of the interest that 
 she felt in the work of her Redeemer ; for as one who 
 spiritually ate the bread which came down from heaven, 
 she made it manifest that her soul was nourishing up 
 to eternal life. But she was not w^illing to possess 
 these blessings alone ; and for this end gave herself to 
 prayer, that those whom she had left behind to enjoy 
 the Christian ordinances, as well as those among whom 
 we were going, might rejoice in that same Divine Lord, 
 before whom we all must soon appear. 
 
 " When the sea was very high, and the wind vehement, 
 we were occasionally deprived of light in our cabin. 
 At such seasons she used to employ herself in reading 
 by a lamp, and singing hymns ; and would compare our 
 dark situation to that of the Christian pilgrim on earth, 
 who walks in light or darkness, as it pleases his heavenly 
 Father, expecting that his days of gloom will soon end, 
 and the shadows of the night be turned into eternal 
 
MRS. WILSON. 23 
 
 day. Her journal^ on these occasions, breathes a blessed 
 spirit of resignation to the Divine will, and shows how 
 near she was living to God in holy aspirations and a 
 devout mind. Her diaiy closes on the 28th of July 
 with the passage of Scripture which she chose for her 
 funeral text : Genesis xlix. 18. — ' I have waited for thy 
 salvation, Lord ! ' 
 
 " When we arrived at Madras, her mind was deeply 
 affected with the state of the heathen. For a few of 
 the first nights, she was much disturbed by the drums 
 and other instruments which they use in their supersti- 
 tions and feasts : this led her to fervent prayer that the 
 day might soon come when they would remember them- 
 selves, and turn unto the Lord. The degraded state of 
 the females and children was a grief no less heavy on 
 her mind, and excited in her strong d^ires to know the 
 lanofuacve, that she might at least have a little school 
 about her. 
 
 " During our passage to Tranquebar, it was pleasing 
 to witness the state of her mind ; prayer seemed to be 
 her employment ; and conversation on the shortness of 
 life and the important work which we had to do, was 
 her delight. We had no sooner arrived here, than she 
 began to plan her time for devotional exercises, and the 
 study of the language. It is usual to take exercise in 
 India early in the morning, and it is of the greatest 
 importance to do so ; but, when I had risen for this 
 purpose, never could I prevail on her to go out, though 
 she rose at the same hour. I generally left her engaged 
 in devotion, and as often found her when I returned 
 
24 BRITISH FEMALE MISSIONARIES. 
 
 wrestling with God in prayer. When at breakfast, she 
 generally had some religious book with her ; and if 
 she could get but a few minutes, they were usually 
 employed in reading it. At noon she retired for 
 reading the Scriptures, with Scott's notes, and prayers : 
 these occasions I shall ever remember — how much of 
 God and heaven appeared in her approaches to the 
 throne of grace. 
 
 " Thus had she been long preparing for heaven, and 
 was like a shock of corn fully ripe ; but the time was 
 now come, when her knees could no longer bend in 
 prayer, nor her eyes trace the sacred page." 
 
 Mrs. Wilson had, during the short time that she had 
 resided at Tranquebar, endeared herself to all connected 
 with the mission ; and the journal of John Devasa- 
 gayam, the native superintendant of the Church Mis- 
 sionary Society's schools at Tranquebar, contains many 
 interesting references to this beloved lady. The follow- 
 mg extracts only can be given, as they are needful to 
 supply the omission of facts in Mr. Wilson's me- 
 moirs. 
 
 " Novemher 30.— Heard that Mrs. Wilson had been 
 delivered of a dau filter. In our evening prayers we 
 praised the Lord for his great mercy. 
 
 " December 1.— After morning prayer in the school, 
 we heard that Mrs. Wilson's child died last night, and 
 was buried this morning. Mrs. Wilson is danger- 
 ously ill." 
 
 Mrs. Wilson's experience of the divine consolation of 
 the gospel, during her illness, corresponded with her 
 
MRS. WILSON. 25 
 
 profession of faith on the Son of God, and finely illus- 
 trates the efficacy of Christianity. 
 
 Mr. "Wilson records, " When her illness had com- 
 menced, she soon began to set her soul in order for the 
 solemn approach of death. Her mind was thoughtful, 
 but calm and cheerful in the prospect of eternity : she 
 said to me, ' I think, my dear husband, we must now 
 soon part. I shall shortly leave you alone, in your 
 blessed Master s work : the Lord is now calling me 
 home.' Her mind was much affected that our union 
 should be so soon dissolved upon earth. ' Oh ! ' said 
 she, ' if I could but take you with me to heaven, then 
 I should be happy ; ' but added, ' though I love you 
 very much, I love my Saviour Jesus far better — we 
 are only to be separated for a short time, and then our 
 union will be consummated in glory.' 
 
 " Her advice to me on this occasion, relative to do- 
 mestic concerns and the great work in which I am 
 engaged, deserves a place in my memory. ' Oh ! 
 remember,' said she, ' what a serious charge you have 
 undertaken — Mind that you be faithful — preach Jesus, 
 and him crucified — tell poor heathens of his love ; but 
 I need not advise you — I know you will, by the help 
 of God.' 
 
 " We were expecting her to breathe her last : she lay 
 in agony commending herself to God, saying, ' There is 
 not one pain too many ! What is all this compared 
 with what my Saviour suffered ? Oh, pray that I may 
 not repine at my heavenly Father's will. These 
 will soon be over ! Lord Jesus, receive my spirit ! 
 
26 BRITISH FEMALE MISSIONARIES. 
 
 Heaven ! heaven I blessed rest ! Jesus is now precious, 
 precious to me ! ' When she was requested to keep 
 herself easy, she replied, ' Oh no ! let me speak of the 
 Saviour while I can. I shall soon be in eternity ! ' A 
 few^ hours before her death, I inquired whether she 
 repented that she had come out to India : she answered, 
 with peculiar emphasis, — ' Repented of my choice ! 
 No, no ! I have never once repented ! Tell all my 
 dear friends that I die quite happy — all has been 
 ordered for me in much mercy and love ! ' I asked 
 whether she had anything to say to us who stood by ; 
 she said, ' Make yourself a friend of Jesus.' As to her 
 dear friends in England, she said, ' Give my love to 
 them, and tell them to think of eternity^ These were 
 her last words ; and shortly she slept in Jesus." 
 
 Mrs. Wilson was evidently a sincere Christian, who 
 enjoyed "fellowship with the Father, and with his 
 Son Jesus Christ." It may, however, be presumed, 
 that even for the important privileges of devotion, she 
 might be too inattentive to her health, neglecting 
 exercise early in the morning, so essential to Europeans 
 in India. Still it is difficult for us to pass a judgment, 
 from our limited knowledge of her case : nevertheless it 
 may furnish a profitable hint to other ladies who thus 
 devote themselves to the cause of the Redeemer ! 
 
MRS. HARVARD.* 
 
 DIED MARCH 5, 1823. 
 
 Mrs. Harvard born in Kent. — Her Parents become pious. — Her Mother 
 dies. — Her Father's Religion. — Her own spiritual State until fifteen 
 years of age. — Miss Parks' active Christian zeal. — Her Labours as a 
 Sunday School Teacher. — Her Religious Advancement. — Her Engage- 
 ment to Mr. Harvard. — He desires to become a Missionary. — Miss Parka 
 consents to accompany him. — He offers himself to the Wesleyan 
 Society. — Renewal of the East India Company's Charter.' — Protection 
 of Missionaries secured by Parliament. — Dr. Coke proposes a AVesleyan 
 
 Mission to India Miss Parks willing to go to India. — Mr. Harvard 
 
 appointed to aid Dr. Coke, who marries them Her Father consents, and 
 
 they Embark for India — Their Exercises on Shipboard. — Mrs. Ault 
 and Dr. Coke die on the Passage.— They land at Bombay.— Their 
 Reception. — They remove to Ceylon.— Settle at Colombo. — Friends in 
 that City. — A Ceylonese Nobleman.— Mr. Harvard's Endeavours among 
 the Native Females. — Budliist Idolatry. — Conference for Ceylon. — 
 Native Preachers.— Budhist Priests ccmverted. — Mr. Harvard appointed 
 to Madras.— Another Priest converted. — Illness of Mr. Harvard. — 
 Voj'age to England.— Missionary Friends at the Cape of Good Hope.— 
 Africans. — Touch at St. Helena. — Land at Falmouth. — Attend the 
 Bristol Conference. — Mr. Harvard stationed at Deal.^ — And Colchester. 
 — Death and Character of Mrs. Harvard. 
 
 Mrs. Elizabeth Harvard, wife of the Rev. W. H. 
 Harvard, for several years a Wesleyan missionary in 
 Ceylon, was born November 3, 1788, at Sittingbourne, 
 in Kent. Her parents were named Parks, in respect- 
 able circumstances : but for some years after her birth 
 they seem to have been only nominal Christians. 
 During her infancy, however, they possessed the power 
 
 * See " Memoirs of Mrs. Elizabeth Harvard, late of the Wesleyan Mission 
 to Ceylon and India, with extracts from her Diary and Correspondence. 
 By her Husband, price 1*. 6d., Mason, London." 
 
28 BRITISH FEMALE MISSIONARIES. 
 
 of religion, by a saving knowledge of the truth as it is 
 in Jesus. 
 
 Mrs. Parks died of consumption in the year 1799, 
 leaving the character of an Israelite indeed, manifesting 
 the lovely spirit of genuine Christianity : she departed 
 this life witnessing a good confession, and piously 
 committing her husband and their eight children to the 
 care and protection of her faithful Creator. And that 
 gracious Providence in which she had trusted, raised up 
 a pious and tender mother to them, by their father's 
 second marriage, and a kind and helpful fellow-traveller 
 with him on the road to the heavenly Zion. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Parks having become the subjects of 
 heartfelt religion, their family became what might be 
 properly termed a religious household. Within their 
 domestic circle the Sabbath was respected, and kept 
 holy ; the public ordinances of God were observed ; his 
 divine authority acknowledged in holy habits of life; 
 and worship rendered to Him morning and evening. 
 At those seasons of family exercise, Mr. Parks regu- 
 larly read the Scriptures, his wife keeping order among 
 the little ones, while their father offered some expository 
 remarks on the lesson ; a short hymn was generally 
 sung, and prayer offered up to our heavenly Father. 
 "Diligent in business, fervent in spirit, serving the 
 Lord," was the family motto ; and Mr. Parks found 
 by happy experience that " godliness is profitable imto 
 all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of 
 that which is to come." 
 
 Miss Parks profited by her religious privileges ; and 
 
MRS. HARVARD. 29 
 
 the measure of her improvement will, in some degree, 
 appear from the following extracts of an account of her 
 religious experiences, written for the private perusal of 
 a friend. 
 
 " I can remember that at a very early period the 
 Spirit of God strove with me. My father constantly 
 attended to the Christian duty of reading and ex- 
 pounding the Holy Scriptures in his family. For this 
 I shall ever have reason to bless God. 
 
 " When about eight years of age, I w^as greatly 
 affected while hearing my dear father read the ninth 
 psalm. The seventeenth verse especially struck me; 
 and I was filled with amazement at the awful condition 
 into which I then saw I had been brought by my 
 childish thoughtlessness and folly. ' The wicked shall 
 be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.' 
 I knew that I had forgotten God ; and heartily longed 
 that I might forget him no more. At that time I had 
 not a clear understanding of the way in which the 
 guilt of my past sins might be removed. I resolved, 
 however, to be more attentive to the concerns of my 
 soul for the future ; and to endeavour to cherish in my 
 heart, more frequently, devout recollections of God and 
 heavenly things. It occurred to my mind that if I 
 thought of Him once a day, it would be enough : but 
 this did not satisfy me. I felt, to my constant uneasi- 
 ness and dread, that my foolish heart was prone to 
 forget and to wander from God ; and was often led to 
 fear, lest, after all my advantages, I should at last be 
 turned into hell with all the nations that forget God. 
 
30 BRITISH FEMALE MISSIONARIES. 
 
 But alas ! tlieso powerful and salutary convictions 
 wore off. I again forgot God and my own soul ; and 
 through the dissipation of childish vanities, continued 
 in that state of mind until I was full eleven years 
 of age ; when it pleased God, by a rapid consumption, 
 to remove from this world my most tender and affec- 
 tionate mother, leaving eight children (and six of them 
 younger than myself) to mourn her loss. 
 
 " My dear mother died exceedingly happy, triumph- 
 ing in God, and professing the fullest assurance of a 
 glorious resurrection. During her last illness I was 
 very much with her ; and frequently neither the nurse 
 nor my father could prevail on me to leave the room. 
 Sometimes I was employed in reading to her, when she 
 used to talk most sweetly to me respecting the interest 
 of my soul, entreating me to seek the Lord in my 
 youth, and not to defer it to a death-bed. ' Health,' 
 she would say, ' is the time to seek the Lord.' 
 
 " After her death, the nurse, who was a religious 
 person, told me my mother was gone to glory ; and in 
 my anxious inquiries, endeavoured to describe to me 
 that glorious heaven to which she had been removed. 
 This made me earnestly wish to follow lier there. But 
 the thought, ' I am not fit for glory,' thrilled through 
 my heart, and filled me with unspeakable distress. I 
 begged of the nurse to instruct me in the way of being 
 made meet for this happy state ; and when she told me 
 to seek the Lord by prayer, the dying advice and 
 cautions of my departed parent were brought afresh to 
 my mind ; and the good Spirit striving with me again 
 
MRS. HARVARD. 31 
 
 I saw more fully my danger as a sinner, my unhappi- 
 ness increasinof so miicli that I knew not what to do. 
 
 " My dear father, jDerceiving my uneasiness, inquired 
 one day into the cause of it. (' Bless the Lord, O my 
 soul ; and all that is within me bless his holy name !') 
 On my informing him, with tears, that I felt I was a 
 poor lost sinner, he expressed the pleasure it gave him 
 to find my trouble arising from that cause, and endea- 
 voured to lead my soul to the Saviour. From that 
 time, he seemed ever to have his eye on my soul's wel- 
 fare. Often has he embraced opportunities of convers- 
 sing with me, and encouraging me, when I have hap- 
 pened to be with him ; and I know I shall have cause 
 to bless the name of the Lord for such a parent. But 
 it was not only for myself that I felt concerned — the 
 eternal interests of my beloved brothers and sisters lay 
 very near my heart. I could not but tenderly love 
 them, even for the sake of my dear and lamented 
 mother, knowing how greatly we were all loved by 
 her. 
 
 " After twelve months, my serious impressions were 
 in some measure counteracted, if not effaced, by the 
 company and pursuits of my early associates ; and then 
 I thought, as I was still but very young, I would be 
 as others of my own age a little longer — at all events, 
 until I should be fifteen, when it was my decided pur- 
 pose heartily to enter on the service of God. My 
 childish heart was io;norant of Satan's devices. Though 
 this procrastination caused me to relax in some of my 
 secret duties of self-examination and prayer, I continued 
 
32 BRITISH FEMALE MISSIONARIES. 
 
 to attend public and family exercises of religious wor- 
 ship ; and was unable, after all, to avoid being some- 
 times very unhappy on account of my sins. But yet 
 it was a very plausible plea, by which the vile enemy 
 of souls kept my heart from God. ! the long for- 
 bearance of God with me ! Had I died in that state, 
 without doubt I should have been lost to all eternity. 
 
 " Arriving at the prescribed age of fifteen, on my 
 birth-day my procrastinating promise was brought with 
 a, peculiar force to my mind ; my convictions of sin and 
 danger became stronger than ever ; and though I can- 
 not say that I was at that time fully converted to God, 
 yet, by the gracious influence of the ever-blessed Spirit, 
 I was then again brought to return to the Lord, never more, 
 I trust, to wander from him. Retiring into an apart- 
 ment alone, I humbly and penitently bemoaned my past 
 levity ; and solemnly begged of God that, for the sake 
 of Jesus Christ, he would help me to seek him in 
 earnest. 
 
 " By the grace of God, I was now enabled to read 
 the Bible with more seriousness and holy determination, 
 and, I hope, with more self application and profit. The 
 Olney hymns were rendered useful, and were very fami- 
 liar to my mind ; and I derived great pleasure from 
 reading the memoirs of pious characters, whose holy 
 and useful lives have been closed by happy and trium- 
 phant deaths. It pleased the Lord, however, to make 
 me more sensible of the vilencss and depravity of my 
 fallen nature, and not to suff'er me to find any lasting 
 comfort in anything short of the light of his counte- 
 
MRS. HARVARD. 33 
 
 Miss Parks exhibits, in this brief outline of her 
 spiritual character, the case of thousands of young 
 persons who have been favoured with the invaluable 
 privilege of a religious education : such need the wise 
 counsel of an experienced pastor or parent to guide 
 them in seeking the full enjoyment of sacred liberty, in 
 the spirit of adoption, " the Spirit itself bearing witness 
 with their spirits that they are the children of God." 
 That high privilege Miss Parks afterwards attained, by 
 which, " she rejoiced with joy unspeakable and full of 
 glory ; " and having been so favoured, she was soon 
 persuaded by a friend to engage herself as a teacher in 
 the Sunday-school, at the Land of Promise, in Iloxton, 
 her father leaving Kent to reside near London. In- 
 fluenced by love to souls, she aimed to lead her pupils 
 to an acquaintance, not only with letters, but w4th them- 
 selves as sinners, and with the doctrines of salvation by 
 our Lord Jesus Christ. Thus she found high satisfaction 
 in her Sabbath occupation ; and that God has con- 
 nected with the proper discharge of the duties of a 
 Sunday-school teacher, a divine reward of his blessing. 
 Besides her engagements at the school, she redeemed 
 leisure to visit the sick children, to seek those w^ho 
 were wandering, and to distribute religious tracts ; and 
 in these services she w^as engaged for several years. 
 The following extracts of her diary will illustrate her 
 state of mind in her twenty-second year : — 
 
 '•^Sunday, March 3r<i, 1810. — At family- worship 
 this morning, my father read, Matthew xiii. 'Lord, may 
 my heart be like the good ground; may I hear and 
 D 
 
34 BRITISH FEMALE MISSIONARIES. 
 
 keep thy word.' In the forenoon heard Mr. Campbell 
 with much profit, from Rev. ii. 8 — 17? on the hidden 
 manna^ and the ichite stone. Thank God for the good 
 I received. After dinner I went to school as usual, had 
 a goodly company of children, and felt my heart much 
 interested in their improvement and salvation. Lord, 
 give me to feel more of the worth of souls. May the 
 dear children lie very near my heart. Help me to do 
 all things for thy glory. 
 
 " Tuesday^ bth. — This morning I awoke in great 
 depression, owing to a severe trial through which I 
 have lately been called to pass; and I felt a strong 
 temptation not to return thanks for again having been 
 brought to see the morning light ! But I bless God I 
 had grace to resist the shameful thought ; and in a 
 measure, I trust, came off more than conqueror. 
 
 *'' Sunday^ l^th. — Last evening my heart was much 
 drawn out in prayer that this might prove a profitable 
 Sabbath to my soul, and that I might have that sweet 
 union and communion with God which would afford 
 me a foretaste of the eternal Sabbath ; and I bless the 
 Lord that my prayer has been heard and answered. 
 At the school this morning, I felt my mind and heart 
 much eno-aofed for the real welfare of the dear children 
 committed to our care. 
 
 " After taking tea with Mrs. S this afternoon, 
 
 her husband prayed : she then took me into her chamber 
 alone, and we there had a refreshing season in prayer 
 together. In the evening, at City Road, heard Mr. 
 Kelk, from, ' Say ye to the righteous, it shall be well 
 
MRS. HARVARD. 35 
 
 with him/ &c. We had a most excellent and profitable 
 discourse. Lord, impress on my mind what I have 
 heard this day." 
 
 INIiss Parks had already been engaged to Mr. 
 Harvard, one of the Wesleyan preachers, with whom 
 she had been long acquainted, and, he says, " I had 
 long entertained serious intentions of being proposed as 
 a Missionary to the degraded and enslaved Africans, in 
 the West Indies." On his communicating his feelings by 
 letter to his beloved friend, she gave him a favourable 
 reply. She says, " Before I opened your letter, being 
 apprised of its contents, I went to the Lord in prayer, 
 begging that he would enable me to consider your 
 communication with calmness and resignation to the 
 Divine will ; and after I had read it, I was led to follow 
 the example of Hezekiah ; and spreading the letter 
 before the Lord, entreated him to direct us both in the 
 right way. — Should you be appointed by Conference, I 
 hope I shall be able to afford you a proof of my regard ; 
 for I have now left it in the hands of the Lord. It is 
 my own desire to be useful, whether in my native land, 
 or on a foreign shore. I feel my own weakness : but 
 surely, shall one say, ' In the Lord have I righteousness 
 and strength : ' and to me, Christ is all and in all." 
 
 Mr. Harvard having offered himself for Missionary 
 service, was accepted ; but some of his friends advised 
 him rather to direct his attention to the East than 
 the West Indies, and to wait the openings of Provi- 
 dence. His wishes were now made known to many, 
 and Miss Parks was regarded with increasing friend- 
 D 2 
 
36 BRITISH FEMALE MISSIONARIES. 
 
 ship by the Ministers of their society in London, and 
 looked upon as a future female Missionary. 
 
 Divine Providence appeared to open a wide door in 
 the year 1813, especially by the renewal of the East 
 India Company's Charter. Religious liberty gained a 
 most glorious triumph over avarice and infidelity in the 
 new charter : for Christians of various classes, especially 
 the " Ministers of the Three Denominations in London 
 and Westminster," the committees of the London and 
 Baptist Missionary Societies, who had Missionaries in 
 India, the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, 
 and the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 
 sent 900 petitions to Parliament, for permission to 
 propagate the gospel in Hindostan ; and after great 
 opposition, a clause, introduced by the government, was 
 carried in the House of Lords, July 20th, securing 
 protection to Christian Missionaries residing in India ! 
 
 Mr. Harvard remarks, in relation to this auspicious 
 event : " To this period, India had appeared entirely 
 closed as to the probability of establishing a Wesleyan 
 Mission within its boundaries ; " and some of her friends 
 opposed Miss Parks' leaving England : but the new 
 East Indian policy encouraged her; "and when the 
 late admirable and venerable Doctor Coke laid the 
 foundation of the Mission to Ceylon, she had the 
 honour to be the first female who put her hand to the 
 plough ; and this when she had no expectation of any 
 female companion." Her state of mind may be learned 
 from the following extract of a letter, dated July 
 17th, 1813. 
 
MRS. HARVARD. 37 
 
 " My dear father has been conversing with a friend 
 upon the East India business ; from whom I under- 
 stand he intends to oppose my going, if he can. He 
 says, he feels it impossible to give his consent to my 
 going. Dear man ! No doubt he feels : but I hope 
 the Lord will enable him to make the sacrifice, should 
 the Conference appoint you to the Mission. Pray for 
 him. I must get you to write to him. However, I 
 am firm. If the Lord will that you go, I am ready to 
 accompany you to the ends of the earth. Hearing of 
 my fathers feelings on the subject rather discomposed 
 my mind ; but I wish to leave it all in the hands of our 
 God, trusting in him to make rough places plain, and 
 crooked paths straight before me." 
 
 " Her zeal and firmness in this new and difficult 
 engagement," says Mr. Harvard, " gave her a consider- 
 able share of the esteem of the venerable founder of the 
 Mission ; who used every means in his power to recon- 
 cile the minds of her father and family to her Mis- 
 sionary prospects ; and not altogether without success. 
 And it was as an expression of his regard, that the Doctor 
 engaged to perform the service at her marriage, which 
 took place on the 23rd of November, and honoured the 
 nuptial party with his presence and prayer in the after 
 part of the day." 
 
 Mr. Parks at length consented to his daughter pro- 
 ceeding with her husband to India ; and early in 
 December they hastened to the south coast to embark 
 for the East. " She had in her previous life," says Mr. 
 Harvard, " appeared to manifest a highly nervous timi- 
 
38 BRITISH FEMALE MISSIONARIES. 
 
 dity ; yet when walking from Portsea to Portsmouth, 
 she for the first time in her life saw the ocean, and 
 heard its rolling waves thundering upon the shore, — 
 with the self-command of a missionary heroine, she 
 cheerfully expressed the pleasure she felt on being so 
 contiguous to the mighty element which was about to 
 convey us to the unenlightened inhabitants of Asia." 
 
 Mrs. Harvard, writing from Portsea to her parents, 
 remarks, " I fully expected to be a little frightened 
 with my first view of the sea ; but was not in the 
 least. I feel I am in the hands of a praying father^ 
 and a good God ; and about to embark in a good 
 cause ; and this affords me great comfort ; and, 
 by divine grace, renders my heart equal to my circum- 
 stances.'' They embarked at Portsmouth Point, De- 
 cember 31, 1813, on board the Honourable Company's 
 ship Cabalva, with their missionary colleagues. Rev. 
 B. Clough, and Dr. Coke : with an agreeable large 
 family of cabin passengers, and an excellent com- 
 mander. 
 
 " The parental affection which our venerable leader 
 cherished for her," Mr. Harvard writes, " met all the 
 returns of a daughter's regard. It was her hapjDiness 
 to have it in her power to be frequent in offices of kind- 
 ness and attention towards that truly good, gTeat, and 
 invaluable man. And she considered herself well 
 repaid in his friendly and patriarchal visits, in his 
 enlivening and edifying conversation, and in his ardent 
 prayers for herself and hers. The Rev. B. Clough was 
 tenderly recognised by her as a brother; and the regard 
 
MRS. HARVARD. 39 
 
 was mutual. Our daily seasons of devotion were 
 interesting and memorable. In the evening we gene- 
 rally sang together in our apartment some Portuguese 
 hymn, composed by Dr. Coke in -the previous part of 
 the day : and thus our foreign engagements became 
 anticipated, before we had reached our place of destina- 
 tion and labour." 
 
 Their long voyage was prosperous; but a gloom 
 overspread the devoted band. " Early in February," 
 says Mr. Harvard, "the respected Mrs. Ault was 
 removed by death ; and on the 3rd of May, our mission 
 family were bereaved of the venerable Dr. Coke. 
 Mrs, Harvard mourned for him as for a beloved parent : 
 and in the various anxieties in which his death involved 
 us, she was forward to bear her part ; encouraging us 
 to prosecute the great object of our mission, with all 
 those Christian considerations, with which, from a 
 child, it was her happiness to have been made familiar. 
 Her affection for the Doctor led her to obtain several 
 locks of his silvered hair ; with small portions of which 
 she afterwards found a pleasure in gratifying his per- 
 sonal friends on her return to England." 
 
 They reached Bombay on Saturday, May 21, 1814 : 
 " but as missionaries, unknown, unexpected, and even 
 undesired," Mr. Harvard remarks, " we were thankful 
 to accept the kind invitation of our esteemed captain to 
 make his vessel our home, until we were provided with 
 a residence on shore. And this accommodation was 
 continued to us for some days. The difficulties of our 
 situation arose principally from the loss of our venerable 
 
40 BRITISH FEMALE MISSIONARIES. 
 
 leader : a strong and prevailing antipathy to missionary 
 objects, at that juncture, tended to increase our difficul- 
 ties. At length, by the goodness of God, our path 
 began to brighten, and our friends to multiply. 
 Through the kind offices of Captain Birch, we were 
 interested in the friendly regards of W. T. Money, Esq., 
 one of the principal merchants in Bombay ; whose lady 
 invited Mrs. Harvard on shore, and, with some other 
 ladies, was particularly kind to her. The late worthy 
 Sir Evan Nepean, Bart., the Governor, having desired 
 that we would occupy one of his own country houses 
 during our continuance at Bombay, after dining at Mr. 
 Money's on the first day of Mrs. Harvard's landing, we 
 were conveyed in his carriage to the Governor's man- 
 sion, or rather palace, at Parell, about six miles in the 
 country." 
 
 During their stay at Bombay, which was about 
 eight months, Mrs. Harvard's first child was bom, 
 September 27th ; and they made acquaintance with 
 several valuable friends, particularly the Rev. S. 
 Newell, American Missionary, recently become a wi- 
 dower, by the loss of his singularly excellent wife, 
 Mrs. Harriet Newell. They proceeded in a small vessel 
 of sixty tons to Ceylon. From this place Mrs. 
 Harvard writes to her parents. 
 
 " Colombo, Ceylon, March 2Qth, 1815.— By the 
 Divine blessing we were brought in safety to Point-de- 
 Galle, on the 24th of last month, after a most perilous 
 voyage from Bombay. We remained three weeks at 
 the former place with brother Clough ; who gave us an 
 
MRS. HARVARD. 41 
 
 affectionate welcome, and made iis feel quite at home 
 at his delightful missionary residence. We arrived at 
 this place on Tuesday the 21st. Our journey was per- 
 formed in bullock-carts ; the distance is about eighty 
 miles : and we were six days on the road ! Europeans 
 are generally carried in palanquins, when on a journey ; 
 but as the Koolies, or palanquin-carriers, are now so 
 much eno-acred in the interior, we had no alternative. 
 
 " Ceylon, and especially that part of it where we are 
 stationed, is generally reckoned by all old Indians 
 (Europeans who have been long in India) to be one of 
 the most beautiful countries in this quarter of the globe. 
 It abounds with cocoa-nuts, coffee, and cinnamon ; with 
 plantains, oranges, and pine-apples ; and a plentiful 
 variety of excellent Indian fruits. It also produces the 
 diamond, the pearl, and other precious stones. And, 
 what is best of all, with reference to its religious aspect, 
 the fields are white already to harvest ; but, alas ! ' the 
 labourers are few.' O ! that tlie Lord of the harvest 
 would send forth more labourers into this part of his 
 vineyard ! Thirty missionaries would be but a scanty 
 supply for the work that is to be done. 
 
 " W has waited on the senior chaplain (the late 
 
 Hon. and Dr. Twistleton), and found him very friendly. 
 The other chaplain, tlie Rev. G. Bisset, is on a Bible 
 Society journey. I understand they are both friends to 
 the missionary work. We have formed an acquaint- 
 ance with Mr, and Mrs. Chater of the Baptist Mission. 
 They are pious ; and I hope to find a Christian friend 
 and sister in Mrs; C. Also with a Mr. and Mrs. 
 
42 BRITISH FEMALE MISSIONARIES. 
 
 Amour. Mr. A. was formerly a member of our Society 
 in Ireland and in Gibraltar, and is now employed by 
 Government to preach to the native Singhalese and 
 Portuguese. On Good Friday we had an excellent 
 sermon at church from Dr. Twisleton. His subject was 
 the atonement of Christ. The same day we dined with 
 our Baptist friends ; and in the evening saw the Gover- 
 nor come in from the Kandian country, where he has 
 been to organise the newly-acquired territory. A few 
 of the natives have been truly converted to God ; and 
 brother Clouoh has been made an instrument in the 
 hands of God in the conversion of one of the principal 
 native priests. Yesterday, Easter Monday, I was 
 much pleased in seeing about three hundred children 
 assembled in the Wolfendahl Dutch church, to whom 
 W preached, through an interpreter, from — ' Re- 
 member now thy Creator,' &c. Tlie greater part were 
 the children of native heathens. May these dear little 
 ones be drawn from the errors and vices of their parents. 
 "While at Point- de-Galle, I had the honour of a visit 
 from a moodeliar, or native nobleman, of that district, 
 accompanied by his wife, and a long train of attendants. 
 They came in kindness to welcome me to their country. 
 Mr. Clough's house has been freely furnished by the 
 generosity of this moodeliar ; and his son, we believe, 
 has a good work of grace begun in his soul. He holds 
 a respectable place under Government ; but willingly 
 acted as interpreter; while brother Lynch preached 
 a sermon to his poorer countrymen, on the lawn of 
 Mr. Clough's house." 
 
MRS. HARVARD. 43 
 
 Mr. Harvard states :—" On the 4th of June, 1815, 
 our Colombo Sunday-school was commenced, which 
 afforded Mrs. Harvard an opportunity of having a 
 number of Ceylonese females placed under her more 
 immediate care. The whole of the female department 
 was superintended by herself ; and her pupils will long 
 preserve a recollection of her regard for them." She 
 accompanied her husband on several missionary tours ; 
 and while she beheld the abominable idolatries of the 
 people, her soul was stirred within her on contemplat- 
 ing their dangerous follies. In a letter to her father, 
 she writes : — 
 
 '•^ Pomt-de-Galle^ Ceylon^ March 1816. — By a box 
 we have been sending off to our Missionary Committee, 
 we have forwarded to you one of the most important 
 articles which can be produced by the natives of this 
 country — a god ! or rather, an idol ! The name of the 
 deity is Budha. The religion of which he is the object 
 is the prevalent one in this island, two-thirds of the 
 inhabitants professing subjection to it. The image you 
 will have is only a few inches high ; but in some of the 
 temples the idol may be seen lying on one side, between 
 twenty and thirty feet long. Five or six of the priests 
 have embraced Christianity. One of these is with the 
 brethren at this station, and another resides at Co- 
 lombo." 
 
 Again, in a letter to her parents, she writes : — 
 
 '•^ Missionary -House ^ Colombo, Auyust 26^ 1816. — "We 
 have just had our small conference for Ceylon. The 
 newly-arrived brethren made up the number of ten 
 
44 BRITISH FEMALE MISSIONARIES. 
 
 missionaries ! — a very reviving sight in this distant and 
 dark part of the earth. Tlie hrethren have at this con- 
 ference taken out upon trial two native missionaries ; 
 one a respectable, country-born, young man, and the 
 other a native Malabar, recently a Mahometan. This 
 letter is written in our new mission-house : the chapel 
 will be opened before the end of the year. We have a 
 very pretty and compact estate here ; it includes in one 
 compound, a chapel, dwelling-house, printing-office, 
 bookbinder's rooms, a type-foundry, school-room, &c. 
 &c. It is situated in a healthy part of the Pettah, or 
 suburb native town. The Colombo chapel is the iirst 
 that has been erected by our denomination in this 
 quarter of the globe. Glory to our God ! 
 
 " We have lately had another Budhist priest, a man 
 of great learning and influence, brought to embrace the 
 religion of our Lord. You will have an account of him 
 in our Magazine in England. His name is George 
 Nadoris. When speaking of the Almighty, he always 
 says, ' My God/ A few months ago this priest was 
 ignorant as to who made him, and the world in which 
 he lives, and the heavens above him. Indeed, he says, 
 it never occurred to him that there was any great 
 Creator. Before he left his temple, where he was the 
 
 chief priest, he invited W to preach there ; and I 
 
 had the pleasure to hear him discourse, in consequence, 
 at the temple- door, to a congregation of Budhist priests 
 and others, from 1 Cor. viii. 4. — ' We know that an 
 idol is nothing in the world, and that there is none 
 other Gods but one.' One of the provincial judges was 
 
MRS. HARVARD. 45 
 
 present. I afterwards went with our party to inspect 
 the priest's dwelling-house and his library, which is a 
 very extensive and valuable one, containing many royal 
 and noble presents, which he received in the countries 
 where he has travelled ; but all this he has lost by 
 embracing Christianity." 
 
 Mr. Harvard having received an appointment to 
 proceed to Madras, by the Missionary Committee in 
 London, Mrs. Harvard adds in her letter : — " The 
 climate of Madras is much hotter than that of Colombo ; 
 and feeling greatly relaxed here, of course we shall feel 
 much more so there. However, I am willing to go 
 anywhere where God may call us, even to the end of 
 the earth. I should be happy to traverse those parts 
 of Africa where our friend Mr. Campbell has been. 
 I feel my mind quite given up to the missionary work. 
 I should like to go from hut to hut, and talk to the 
 poor heathen." 
 
 Mr. Harvard referring to the opening of the new 
 chapel at Colombo, December 22, 1816, called "The 
 Wesleyan Mission-House," remarks: — "She claimed 
 the honour of making with her own hands the cushion 
 which was to bear the pulpit-Bible. By the blessing 
 of God, our Colombo Sunday-school prepared the minds 
 of the native objects of our mission for the establish- 
 ment of day-schools for the youth of both sexes. The 
 female department of each school on the Colombo sta- 
 tion, naturally fell under Mrs. Havard's superintendence ; 
 and in this new labour of love, she greatly rejoiced to be 
 employed." 
 
46 BRITISH FEMALE MISSIONARIES. 
 
 Mrs. Harvard writes again to her father : — 
 ^^ Mission- House^ Nov. 28, 1817. — I believe in my 
 last I told you we have several more Budhist priests in 
 a very hopeful state of mind. One of them has, I trust, 
 been brought in sincerity to worship the true God. He 
 appears to be a happy Christian, and loves divine things 
 so far as he is enlightened. He has travelled in several 
 countries, being a friend of George Nadoris, the cele- 
 brated Ava priest. He is living with our brother 
 Newstead, at Negombo, who is much pleased with 
 him. Out of respect to our dear father and brother 
 Clough, we named him Benjamin Parks. When I told 
 him that Parks was the name of my father, and showed 
 him your portrait, he said, he hoped he should never 
 bring any disgrace upon that name. I know my dear 
 father will pray for his namesake, that he may prove a 
 faithful follower of Christ." 
 
 Mrs. Harvard's health now appeared seriously to 
 decline, and that of her husband was so affected as to 
 lead his medical friend to advise his returning with his 
 wife to England. In a letter, dated October 4, 1818, 
 
 she says : — " My dear W has been brought very 
 
 near to the gates of death. The doctor has forbidden 
 his preaching any more in his present state ; and says 
 he must depart for England as soon as possible." A 
 detachment of invalids being about to return to Eng- 
 land, arrangements were made for Mr. and IMrs. Har- 
 vard to sail with them in the ship Princess Charlotte. 
 On this occasion Mrs. Harvard happily found a skilful 
 surgeon, and an experienced nurse among the soldiers' 
 
MRS. HARVARD. 47 
 
 wives, as she gave birth, on the third day of the voyage, 
 to her fourth son. Several important particulars are 
 detailed by Mr. Harvard, in relation to their voyage, of 
 which the following are most interesting to the friends 
 of Christian missions : — 
 
 " Mrs. Fox, during her last illness, expressed a wish 
 that Mrs. Harvard should take charge of her only 
 daughter, and deliver her to her friends in England. 
 The little voyager was brought on board as we were 
 under weigh, by Mr. Fox. Our dear brother Clough 
 remained till it was necessary for the boat to return to 
 the shore. Mrs. H. had taken an affectionate leave of 
 Mrs. M'Kenny, and of Mrs. Griffith, both of them 
 resident at Galle, the latter in connexion with the 
 Baptist Missionary Society. 
 
 "After some serious storms in the latitude of the 
 Isle of France, and a providential escape from running 
 on shore near Delagoa Bay, in South Africa, we were 
 safely brought to the Cape of Good Hope. A liberal 
 and respectable individual, the Rev. John Melville, in 
 connexion with the London Missionary Society, wel- 
 comed us to his house; and there Mrs. Harvard had 
 the pleasure to meet her venerable and early friend, the 
 Rev. John Campbell, then about to commence his 
 second journey into the interior of that country. Our 
 own missionary brother, the Rev. Barnabas Shaw, with 
 his excellent and intrepid wife, happened at the same 
 time to be at Cape Town, on account of ill health. 
 
 " While at Cape Town, Mrs. H. paid a visit to the 
 celebrated Mrs. Smith, a true mother in the missionary 
 
48 BRITISH FEMALE MISSIONARIES. 
 
 Israel. That aged saint, since deceased, received her 
 with Christian affection, and in the spirit of primi- 
 tive devotion, pronounced a blessing upon her. With 
 several other members of the London Society's Mission 
 she formed a cordial friendship. And the late noted 
 Africaner, then on a visit from the interior — formerly a 
 terrifying freebooter, but subsequently converted to the 
 faith of Christ, through the instrumentality of that 
 Society — particularly attracted her attention. The lion, 
 in his character, was indeed converted into the lamb. 
 Not having beheld a ship, or even seen the ocean, but 
 at a distance, Africaner, with his friend, the Rev. Mr. 
 Moffat, accompanied us to our vessel when we em- 
 barked, to gratify his natural curiosity. On his leaving 
 the ship in the shore-boat, Mrs. H. pointed with her 
 finger heavenward, as an expression of the hope she 
 felt that they might meet again in glory. The vener- 
 able African chief, understanding her meaning, imitated 
 the signal with glistening eyes. 
 
 " At length, after touching at St. Helena and Ascen- 
 sion, by the goodness of God, we came once more in 
 sight of the beloved shores of our native land. It was 
 early in the morning of the last day in July 1819, that 
 we landed at Falmouth. The female missionary and 
 the Indian children had many a congratulation, and 
 many a blessing ! But we hastened forward to Bristol, 
 where Conference was at that time assembled, to 
 communicate information relative to the cause of Chris- 
 tian Missions in Ceylon." 
 
 Mr. Harvard was appointed by Conference to exer- 
 
MRS. HARVARD. 49 
 
 cise his ministry at Deal, in Kent ; and in about two years 
 he was removed to Colchester, where he lost his excel- 
 lent and beloved partner, March 5, 1823, after a union 
 of more than ten years, aged 35 years ! 
 
 Mrs. Harvard cherished and displayed her missionary 
 spirit even to the last, so that only a few months before 
 her decease, she expressed her readiness, if her health 
 had permitted, to re-engage in that department of service 
 in the cause of the Redeemer. Her husband thus refers 
 to this in the following terms : — " In a conversation 
 with our venerable father, the Rev. Walter Griffith, and 
 the Rev. Richard Watson, one of the General Mission- 
 ary secretaries, both since deceased, she expressed her- 
 self as perfectly willing to accompany me to any station 
 to which I might be appointed ; and on the intended 
 mission to Malta being mentioned, she had the honour, 
 as in the Asiatic Mission, to be the first female volun- 
 teer in the undertaking." Hence, in a letter to a friend 
 at Deal, September 22, 1822, she says, ''We have 
 some thoughts we shall go abroad again. If so, and 
 we go through the Downs, we will strive to come on 
 shore and see you. Pray for us, that the Lord may 
 direct us." She was not, however, permitted again to 
 leave her native land : but w^iile she continued in the 
 body, she cherished her missionary zeal, and rendered 
 what service she was able to the cause of her Saviour, 
 until her spirit entered into the joy of her Lord ! 
 
MRS. M U N D Y. 
 
 DIED JULY 30, 1824. 
 
 Mrs. Mundy, formerly Miss Cobden, of Chichester.— Her early Piety.— The 
 Answer of her Mother's Prayers and Instructions.— Her Religious 
 Experience. — Her Sister married to Rev.W. Reeve, Missionary to India. 
 —She dedicates herself to the Service of Christ among the Heathen. 
 — Sent by the London Missionary Society to aid her Sister at Bellary. 
 Miss Cobden's Labours in Education and Study.— Her Marriage with 
 Rev. G. Mundy of Chinsurah.— She establishes a School for Native 
 Females.— Her ardent Piety.— Attacked with Fever — Prematm-e 
 Labour.— Her Peace of Mind.— Her Death.— Her Funeral — Monument 
 to her Memoryc 
 
 Mrs. Martha Mundy, the excellent wife of the 
 Rev. G. Mundy, missionary at Chinsurah, was born 
 in the year 1804, at Chichester. Her parents were 
 respectable, and highly esteemed for their Christian 
 character, training up their " children in the nurture 
 and admonition of the Lord," so that three of their 
 daughters were induced to devote themselves to the 
 service of the Redeemer among the heathen, and became 
 wives of missionaries ! 
 
 Miss Martha Cobden appears to have been from her 
 infancy the subject of religious impressions. She 
 retained a distinct recollection of emotions of a spiritual 
 nature having been produced in her mind, as early as 
 the age of three years, and of the peculiar pleasure 
 which at that tender age she felt in lisping that beauti- 
 ful hymn of Mr. Newton — 
 
MRS. MUNDY. 51 
 
 ** Come, my soul, thy suit prepare, 
 Jesus loves to answer prayer ; 
 He himself has bid thee pray. 
 Therefore will not say thee nay." 
 
 Mrs. Cobden had been led in an especial manner to 
 consecrate herself to God, a few months previously to 
 the birth of this child ; and in imparting instruction to 
 her infant she pursued a line of conduct worthy of uni- 
 versal imitation. Before the child was introduced into 
 this sinful world, its spiritual life had been with its 
 mother the subject of many prayers ; which there is 
 reason to believe were graciously heard and answered 
 by her heavenly Father. From the age of three years, 
 her mother, more deeply to impress the mind of her 
 child with a proper idea of the glorious majesty of God, 
 frequently retired with her into her chamber, for the 
 purpose of unfolding to her the mystery of redemption. 
 She urged upon her the importance of giving the morning 
 of her days to the service of the Saviour ; and closed 
 these sacred exercises kneeling by her side, and pouring 
 out her soul in prayer, that God would bless the in- 
 structions thus imparted, and make the child a subject 
 of renewing grace. 
 
 These private exhortations and prayers, as may natu- 
 rally be supposed, produced the most beneficial effects 
 on the mind of Martha. She remembered having been 
 deeply impressed by them ; and was led thereby to feel 
 the natural depravity of her heart ; and to see the dan- 
 gerous state of one who was alienated from God. This 
 caused her frequently to weep, and led her to earnest 
 prayer. Timidity, however, prevented her from un- 
 E 2 
 
52 BRITISH FEMALE MISSIONARIES. 
 
 burthening her mind to her parents; and for many- 
 years the strivings of the Spirit, and the secret work- 
 ings of the mind, were confined in her own bosom; 
 and, unknown to her most intimate friends, she had 
 been led by the hand of God into the valley of humi- 
 liation ; had experienced the bitterness of being estranged 
 from him ; and, like the Psalmist, bad made her bed to 
 swim with her tears, because she had not kept his law. 
 Miss Cobden's convictions were so deep, and so ear- 
 nestly did she desire to experience the regenerating 
 influences of the Holy Spirit, that she never went to 
 the house of God, without first imploring that the ser- 
 mon to be preached might be the means of her conver- 
 sion ; and on returning, finding the natural dispositions 
 of her mind not subdued to the extent desired, she 
 would retire into secret, and weep at the footstool of 
 her heavenly Father. The 51st Psalm, on these occa- 
 sions, was repeatedly perused, and turned into prayer. 
 She identified her circumstances with those of David ; 
 and whilst she acknowledged her transgression, and 
 declared that her sin was ever before her, she implored 
 that her heart might be cleansed from iniquities, and 
 that she might be made wliiter than snow. It was 
 not, however, until she was about thirteen years of age 
 that a decided change was produced in her religious 
 character ; this was effected by hearing read the expe- 
 riences of her brother-in-law, the Rev. W. Peeve, of 
 Bellary, in India — a circumstance which she did not 
 know until she became a member of that mission. It 
 would probably be incorrect to consider this as the 
 
MRS. MUNDY. 53 
 
 period of her conversion. Her holy and heavenly 
 deportment was the surest evidence of tliat change 
 which has now brightened into eternal glory. 
 
 Mrs. Reeve, her sister, was united in marriage to a 
 missionary in 1816, and sailed to the East Indies: 
 Martha's mind became thus led to contemplate more 
 than before the degraded condition of the heathen, and 
 to regard the missionary field as a sphere of usefulness, 
 in which, if Divine Providence permitted, she would 
 like herself to engage. She made it, from that time, a 
 subject of her secret prayers and aspirations, solemnly 
 dedicating herself to the service of God in heathen 
 lands. About the time of her sister s departure for 
 India, Martha was placed under the superintendence of 
 Mrs. Towne, wife of the Rev. T. Towne, of Royston, to 
 enjoy further educational advantages : and while dili- 
 gently pursuing her studies, the convictions which she 
 had formerly received were renewed and strengthened. 
 There being an opening of great usefulness in the mission 
 family at Bellary, Martha was invited by her sister and 
 other missionaries, to come and aid them in the schools ; 
 and in 1819, when she was eighteen years of age, she 
 entered the work in the service of the heathen, under 
 the patronage of the London Missionary Society. She 
 entered, with the greatest ardour, into the missionary 
 work in India ; and considered no sacrifice too great, 
 and no fatigue too much to be endured, so that she 
 might win souls to Jesus. Owing to the indisposition 
 of her sister, the w^hole of the domestic concerns of their 
 family devolved upon her, together with those of the 
 
54 BRITISH FEMALE MISSIONARIES. 
 
 family of the Rev. Mr. Hands, who, in a letter ad- 
 dressed to her afflicted partner since her decease, thus 
 speaks concerning her : — " She was very much beloved 
 at Bellary, but perhaps by none more than myself. I 
 loved her for her eminent piety, humble and amiable 
 disposition, and especially for her kind attentions to my 
 dear motherless children ; and I cannot tell you how 
 much I was affected when I read in the papers, a few 
 days ago, an account of her death." 
 
 To the labours above stated, she added the charge of 
 a small boarding-school, the profits of which were 
 devoted to the support of the native schools connected 
 with the mission. Her leisure was occupied in study- 
 ing the Canarese language, in which she made consider- 
 able proficiency; in storing her mind with heavenly 
 truths, and in private devotion, to which she allotted a 
 considerable portion of her time. 
 
 Whilst residing there, she gave the most decided 
 proof of her attachment to the cause of missions. 
 Bellary is a military station, and it has likewise a civil 
 establishment ; and she there had various opportunities 
 of settling herself in life, where both piety and worldly 
 affluence presented themselves to her view. But she 
 had set her heart on missionary work, and, therefore, 
 persevered in her determination, either to share with 
 such a partner the trials of his arduous labours, or to 
 remain in sino-le life. 
 
 o 
 
 During her residence at Bellary, her talents, piety, 
 and devotedness secured her the respect and esteem of 
 all classes. But her continuance at that mission was of 
 
MRS. MUNDY. 55 
 
 short duration, having, in the year 1820, formed an 
 acquaintance with the Rev. G. Mundy, of Chinsurah, 
 in Bengal; and in the spring of 1821, she w^as united 
 in marriage with that devoted missionary. 
 
 Mrs. Mundy, being, in March, settled at Chinsurah, 
 entered very diligently into a variety of plans for the 
 benefit of the natives, the Dutch, and other inhabitants 
 of that place : she immediately commenced the study 
 of the Bengalee language, which she acquired to a con- 
 siderable extent. The deplorable state of the native 
 females affected her heart, and caused her to adopt such 
 measures as appeared most likely to benefit their con- 
 dition. She, therefore, in connexion with Mrs. Townley, 
 opened a school for the instruction of native female 
 children ; and to this school others have since been 
 added ; and frequently her heart bounded with love and 
 gratitude to God, when she heard these once neglected 
 infants singing the Saviour's praise, and repeating those 
 lessons which were able to make them wise unto salva- 
 tion. She also directed her attention to the education 
 of a few young ladies in the settlement, who could bear 
 testimony with how much affection and concern she 
 sought their welfare. 
 
 " She watch'd and wept, she pray'd and felt for all r 
 And as a bird each fond endearment tries. 
 To tempt its new-fledged offspring to the skies ; 
 She tried each art, reproved each fond delay, 
 Alliired to brighter worlds, and led the way." 
 
 Mrs. Mundy's religion consisted not in name only, 
 but in power, and in the demonstration of the Spirit. 
 Amidst the various duties which devolved upon her. 
 
56 BRITISH FEMALE MISSIONARIES. 
 
 she always redeemed time for secret devotion. For the 
 purpose of preventing these devotions from degenerating 
 into mere formality, she had formed a resolution that 
 she would not rise from her knees or discontinue the act 
 of prayer, until her heart was engaged in the exercise 
 and she enjoyed communion with God. And speaking to 
 her partner on the subject only a few days previously to 
 her death, she said she had been enabled in general to 
 adhere to this resolution, and had always enjoyed the 
 blessings she sought. And he can testify that she 
 always returned from her closet, like Moses upon the 
 Mount, with a heavenly glow upon her countenance, 
 and evident marks of her whole soul liavinp- been with 
 
 o 
 
 the Spirit of God. 
 
 The habitual spirituality of her mind was testified by 
 the heavenliness of her conversation. Religion was the 
 delightful subject on which she always appeared most 
 at home, and many living witnesses could testify the 
 benefit they derived from her in this respect : not only 
 did she enjoy spiritual conversation in others, but 
 entered into it herself with the zest and feelino- of one 
 
 C5 
 
 who could not but speak of the things which she had 
 handled and tasted of the good word of life. And 
 frequently she lamented the backwardness of Christians 
 to enter on such conversation. But perhaps what 
 shone most in her Christian character was her deep 
 humility. This she had indeed put on as a robe, and 
 had learned to esteem others better than herself; and it 
 was only the day before her death that she was lament- 
 ing her little usefulness in the mission, and almost 
 
MRS. MUNDY. 57 
 
 regretting, on this account, that she had ever entered on 
 the great work. 
 
 Her affections were naturally strong, and her dispo- 
 sition amiable, while her general deportment was 
 marked with such prudence and kindness as greatly- 
 endeared her to her acquaintance ; so that she still 
 continues to live in many hearts. 
 
 Mrs. Mundy was attacked, on the 25th of July 
 1824, with the epidemic fever, which had raged 
 through puf^atcutta, and had now penetrated the 
 districts round about her habitation. This brought on, 
 it is Supposed, a premature birth ; and on the evening 
 of the 29th she was safely delivered of a little boy, who 
 though deprived of the affectionate regard of such a 
 parent, experienced maternal attention from one of her 
 sisters in the same mission. Soon after this event, the 
 hearts of her family and friends were filled with joy in 
 the prospect of her speedy recovery — they united in 
 their thanksgivings to God, and fondly anticipated a 
 continuance of their joy. But alas ! soon they had to 
 exclaim, " Yerily, thou art a God that hidest thyself." 
 
 The song of rejoicing was changed for the voice of 
 weeping, the anticipation of gladness gave place to the 
 corrodings of grief — and the beating of grateful hearts 
 was paralysed by cold despair. "Within two hours 
 after her delivery, death spread its awful gloom over 
 the house ; and the dear departed calmly announced 
 her hour to be at hand. The acuteness of her pain 
 rendered conversation impossible ; but it was evident 
 from a few expressions which dropped from her lips, 
 
58 BRITISH FEMALE MISSIONARIES. 
 
 that a holy peace reigned in her soul. She manifested 
 an entire submission to the will of her heavenly Father, 
 and no rising doubt obscured her view of that celestial 
 country on which she was about to enter. In the 
 midst of the distressing scene, her afflicted partner said 
 to her, " Oh ! my dear, my dear Martha, you are going 
 to leave me, what shall I do ? " " God," she replied, 
 in great pain, " will take care of you." Some time 
 after, he said, " My dear, do you know where you are 
 going ? is Jesus precious to you now ? do you feel his 
 presence ? " She answered, " Yes." The same or 
 similar questions were afterwards repeated, to which 
 she uniformly gave the most satisfactory answers. 
 When very near her end, her husband said, "• My dear, 
 do you know where you are ? are you sensible of your 
 state ? " She opened her eyes but could not speak ; he 
 then said, " If you are sensible of your state, and feel 
 perfectly happy, then make me a sign if you are unable 
 to speak." She then raised her hand, and as it fell, 
 said with much emphasis, " There;" and surviving the 
 birth of her infant only seven hours, shortly after slept 
 in Jesus ! 
 
 Her remains were deposited in the burial-ground 
 belonging to the settlement of Chinsurah, where her 
 death was deeply regretted; and tlie inhabitants, by 
 whom she was much and deservedly beloved, showed 
 her every possible mark of respect and affection. Her 
 funeral was attended by the Honourable D. A. Over- 
 beck, (resident) and by almost all the Protestant 
 Christian population ; an appropriate address was de- 
 
MRS. MUNDY. 59 
 
 livered at the grave by the Rev. Mr. Lacroix, and on 
 the following Sabbath, the event was improved by the 
 Rev. J. Hill, in a sermon on 2 Cor. v. 1. " We know,'' 
 &c. preached to a deeply affected congregation ; and in 
 Union Chapel, Calcutta, on the subsequent Sabbath. 
 Since her removal, it has been intimated to her afflicted 
 partner, that her Christian friends wish to erect, as a 
 token of their respect and affection, a monument to 
 perpetuate her memory ; and the usual duty or tax of 
 two hundred and fifty rupees, for the erection of such 
 a monument, was kindly remitted by the Honourable 
 the Governor. 
 
 Mr. Lacroix, in a letter to the Rev. Henry Townley, 
 says: — "You know, my dear brother, her piety, and 
 how she constantly lived in the practice of all Christian 
 virtues ; so there is no doubt that she now rests from 
 her labours, and enjoys, in the regions of undisturbed 
 bliss, the presence of that Saviour whom she loved, and 
 whom to please was her chief delight." 
 
MRS. NORTON. 
 
 TIED JANUARY 15, 1826. 
 
 Mrs. Norton's Biography by Rev. J. Fenn.— Daughter of a Gentleman in 
 Devonshire — Her Accomplishments. — She supports her Widowed 
 Mother.— Her Conversion to God — She endures Persecution from her 
 Relatives. — Commences a Boarding School — Her Mother becomes 
 Pious— She engages as Governess in the family of Sir James Campbell 
 —And accompanies them to Ceylon.— She is Married to Rev. T. Norton. 
 —Her Educational Labours.— Her last Illness.— Her Piety and Death. 
 
 Mrs. Norton's biography is contained in a funeral 
 sermon delivered by the Rev. Joseph Fenn, one of the 
 Church Missionaries in Travancore. Mr. Fenn, having 
 returned to England on account of his health, became 
 minister of the New Church, Blackheath Park, near 
 Greenwich ; but supplied this memoir for the Mis- 
 sionary Register. 
 
 " Mrs. Norton's name before her marriage was Lee. 
 She was born in the parish of Salcombe, Devonshire, in 
 December 1794, so that she had but just completed her 
 thirty-first year, and had thus reached the most useful 
 period of life. Her father had been a private gentle- 
 man of fortune : he died when she was young, and left 
 her mother in great straits. She early manifested a 
 vigorous activity ; and, by her extraordinary proficiency 
 in some of the fashionable accomplishments of life, 
 supported both herself and her mother for some years. 
 She was an instance of what may be effected by dili- 
 gence and an ardent spirit ; for, though engaged in the 
 
MRS. NORTON. 61 
 
 duties of her profession from early in the morning till 
 late at night, she used to devote two or three hours 
 daily to the cultivation of her mind ; seizing, for that 
 purpose, some of the hours required for sleep. From 
 eleven o'clock at night till two in the morning were, for 
 some years, her hours of study : this excessive applica- 
 tion, it is very likely, laid the foundation of diseases 
 under which she suffered in after life. But when it 
 had pleased God to direct her thoughts to another and 
 nobler life, and had made known to her the love of 
 Christ — a love which passeth knowledge — she used to 
 look back, with shame and sorrow, on these years of 
 sin and vanity ; wondering at, and admiring the grace 
 of God, which then sought her out, and united her to 
 the people of God. 
 
 " Immediately on the change which took place in her 
 views and character, she could no longer conscien- 
 tiously follow the occupation in which she was engaged; 
 and, in relinquishing it, she showed the reality of her 
 profession — the truth and the strength of her love to 
 her Saviour ; for she renounced an ample income, and 
 became the scorn and reproach of her former gay 
 companions, and of some relatives whom she tenderly 
 loved and respected. She w^as in fact deprived of her 
 home — rendered altogether destitute — and leTt to expe- 
 rience the kindness and disinterestedness of Christian 
 friendship. 
 
 " Through the influence of her Christian friends, she 
 was enabled to commence a boarding-school; a task 
 for which she was eminently gifted, and in which she 
 
62 BRITISH FEMALE MISSIONARIES. 
 
 had the most flattering prospects of success, though 
 bitterly opposed by her former companions in gaiety and 
 dissipation. But it pleased her heavenly Father, whose 
 ways are far above out of our sight, to try our sister with 
 such severe and constant indisposition as obliged her to 
 give up her school. This trial, however, was effectually 
 relieved by the delightful change which she was 
 permitted to witness in her beloved mother, whose 
 heart was brought under the powerful influence of 
 divine grace, and who ever after continued her steady 
 companion in her course. From this period she engaged 
 herself as private governess in some families of distinc- 
 tion; and, in this capacity, came to Ceylon in the 
 family of Sir James Campbell, appointed to the com- 
 mand of that station. One great inducement to her 
 quitting her native land and leaving her mother, was 
 the peremptory advice of her medical friends at 
 Bristol. 
 
 " Miss Lee had been at Ceylon about two years, 
 when God was pleased to crown her wishes of being 
 employed in His service, by uniting her in marriage to 
 the Rev. Thomas Norton ; an event which took place 
 at Ceylon, October 1, 1824. At Ceylon, our dear 
 sister had enjoyed nearly uninterrupted health : but, 
 just previously to her marriage, indications of a liver 
 complaint appeared, and those spasms in her chest 
 began, to which she continued subject till within a 
 month of her decease. 
 
 " She arrived at Allepie, in company with her 
 husband, toward the latter end of October; and en- 
 
MRS. NORTON. G3 
 
 tered, with real joy and alacrity, on the work in 
 which she so greatly delighted, and for which she 
 was remarkably qualified. She soon began the daily 
 instruction of several of the youths in the school 
 previously established here ; a task which occupied 
 her from ten in the morning till three, in the afternoon. 
 Her evenings before family worship were spent in 
 reading aloud to her immediate family ; and the last hour 
 prior to her own private devotions was given to the ser- 
 vants. The morning, from half-past four o'clock, she 
 often devoted to the study of Malayalim ; and I am 
 witness how ardently she longed for a perfect acquaint- 
 ance with the language, that she might be able to 
 converse freely with all around, and tell them of the 
 preciousness of her Saviour. But her labours were too 
 great for her frame. Often have I found her sinking 
 under them, and used my influence to break up the 
 school for the morning. 
 
 " But I must pass on to her last illness, which began 
 between three and four months since ; and which, 
 with occasional interruptions, lasted till the period 
 of her decease : she suffered under chronic or tropical 
 dysentery ; and from the period of its commencement, 
 she was persuaded that she should not recover. Her 
 paroxysms of pain were of the acutest kind : never 
 did I witness such intense suffering. As the disease 
 advanced, the paroxysms succeeded one another more ra- 
 pidly ; and on the last day, there was scarcely any interval 
 of ease from ten o'clock in the morning till half-past 
 ten at night, when her sufferings were closed by death. 
 
64 BRITISH FEMALE MISSIONARIES. 
 
 Just before the commencement of each attack, of which 
 she always liad a presentiment, she expressed a fear, 
 lest, through the intensity of her suffering, she should 
 deny her Saviour ; and, after the attack was over, 
 eagerly asked if she had uttered or done anything to 
 dishonour Him. It was an affecting and impressive 
 sight, to see her, as the pain gradually increased, and 
 before it reached the degree which produced delirium, 
 grappling with her agony, clinging to her Saviour, 
 and, with increasing strength and rapidity, exclaiming, 
 ' Yes, He is precious ! — He is sufficient ! — What 
 should I do now without my Saviour ? ' — and then 
 turning, with eyes of inexpressible entreaty, to those 
 around, and saying, ' Pray for me ! — pray for me ! ' 
 Often in such seasons, she requested of those near her 
 to sing, and would repeat the most expressive lines 
 with clasped hands. This was particularly the case 
 the morning of the day of her death. 
 
 " On the Wednesday preceding her death, an 
 abscess burst on the liver, from which moment all 
 hopes of her recovery on the part of her medical friend 
 ceased. She then took a solemn and affecting leave 
 of all her friends, accompanied with most impressive 
 admonitions adapted to their circumstances ; and mani- 
 fested the greatest anxiety that her affliction and death 
 might be blessed to those around her. She lay in 
 a state of peculiar humiliation and suffering till the 
 Sunday following. About one or two o'clock on that 
 day her pulse ceased, and the coldness of death began 
 to creep over her : yet her pains ceased not : at length, 
 
MRS. NORTON. 65 
 
 her afflicted husband, seeing the intensity of her pain, 
 prayed that if it were the purpose of God to remove 
 her. He would be graciously pleased to spare her 
 further suffering : she turned toward him with a look 
 of inexpressible gratitude, fell into a state of rest, and 
 gently breathed her spirit into the hands of her Lord 
 and Saviour ! " 
 
 Mrs. Norton's important and influential course, as 
 the wife of an estimable missionary, was thus very 
 short ; and her exemplary laborious progress was greatly 
 interrupted by disease and weakness. Probably, how- 
 ever, she accomplished more than is generally known ; 
 and it has been regretted that we have no particular 
 detail of her labours and successes in the cause of the 
 Redeemer in the island of Ceylon, or in her more 
 elevated station in continental India. From the brief 
 notices, however, which are here given by her reverend 
 friend Mr. Fenn, it is manifest that she must have 
 honoured her missionary character ; and that her truly 
 amiable temper towards her family, — her patient resig- 
 nation to the will of her heavenly Father, — her firm 
 faith in the promises of the gospel, — and her humble 
 confidence in her Almighty Saviour, — beautifully illus- 
 trated her scriptural piety, and adorned her profession 
 as a sincere Christian ! 
 
MRS. CLOUGH*. 
 
 DIED, JUNE 30, 1827. 
 
 Mrs. Clough, daughter of Mr. Morley of Doncaster.— Her early Piety.— Death 
 of her Mother.— Her progress in Religion.— Her active Benevolence.— 
 Her Manners.— Becomes a Teacher in the Sunday-school.— Her Public 
 Spirit.— Ker Spirituality of Mind.— Her visit to London at Missionary 
 Meetings. — Her Reflections on attaining her twenty-first year. — Her 
 acquaintance with Mr. Clough— His account of it, and of their Mar- 
 
 riage.— Mrs. Clough's account of her State of Mind Of her Marriage, 
 
 and embarkation for Ceylon.— Her experience at Sea.— Her Letter to 
 her Parents from the Isle of France.— Friends on the Island.— Arrival 
 at Ceylon. — Union of the different Missionaries. — Religious Society at 
 Ceylon.— Religious Tract Society — Mrs. Clough's first Child. —Mis- 
 sionary Prospects.— Public Meeting.— Her Illness by Fever.— Her Reli- 
 gious Experience — Her Health and Prospects.— Her last Letter to her 
 Mother.— Her Death.— Account of her Illness, and her Character by Sir 
 R. Ottley. 
 
 Mrs. Margaret Clough, wife of the Rev. Benjamin 
 Clough, Wesley an Missionary in Ceylon, was the 
 daughter of William Morley, Esq. of Doncaster, where 
 she was born, November 3, 1803. When four years of 
 age she was taken to reside with her grand-parents at 
 Hull ; her mind seems to have been impressed with the 
 necessity and value of religion at an early period ; and 
 her seriousness appears to have been increased by means 
 of the death of her mother. This lamented event is 
 thus recorded by her biographer : — 
 
 "When Margaret was only nine years of age, God 
 
 * See " Extracts from the Journal and Correspondence of the late Mrs 
 M. Clough, wife of the Rev. Benjamin Clough, Missionary in Ceylon, with 
 an Introduction by Dr. Adam Clarke, Mabon, London." 
 
MRS. CLOUGH. 67 
 
 was pleased to take her excellent mother to himself. 
 In every relative and social capacity her conduct was 
 exemplary. As a Christian she was humble, circum- 
 spect, and sincere. After suffering a tedious illness 
 with the greatest patience, she fell asleep in Jesus, 
 November 27, 1812, aged thirty-seven years/' 
 
 Miss Morley, at the age of ten years, returned to 
 Doncaster, where she shortly after joined the Me- 
 thodist Society, and continued a member of it till her 
 early and lamented death in 1827. After she left 
 school, at the age of sixteen, she devoted herself more 
 fully to God ; and soon attained that assurance of the 
 Divine favour, which enabled her to rejoice in the 
 forgiveness of her sins, by the ministry of the Rev. W. 
 Harrison. 
 
 She was remarkable for her diligence in the means of 
 grace, and for her early attendance on divine ordinances. 
 Her visits to the poor were frequent ; " soothing their 
 minds by her gentle behaviour ; softening their hearts 
 by her pious addresses and earnest prayers, and re- 
 lieving their wants bountifully, from the liberal supply 
 which she received from her parents. 
 
 " Her manners were peculiarly engaging, open, 
 modest, humble, with great sweetness of temper, 
 although naturally warm and hasty. Truly dignified 
 in her deportment, she, however, visited the poorest 
 persons with the greatest affability, and won their 
 affections by her engaging condescension. Among 
 those in more exalted stations, these graces, refined by 
 the Holy Spirit, and confirmed by her Christian 
 
68 BRITISH FEMALE MISSIONARIES. 
 
 propriety of conduct, caused her to be universally- 
 esteemed. 
 
 " As a teacher in the Doncaster Wesleyan Sunday- 
 school, a visitor belonging to the benevolent institution, 
 and collector for the Bible and Missionary Societies, she 
 was patient, diligent, and eminently successful. The 
 cause of missions ever lay near her heart : but her 
 general feeling of deep piety will be best exemplified by 
 extracts from her letters written to a very particular 
 young friend." The following will beautifully illustrate 
 her spiritual frame of mind : — 
 
 « Fehruary 22, 1822.— My dear Friend. I am glad 
 to hear that you are longing after a greater conformity 
 to the Divine will. I am fully persuaded that it is 
 religion alone that can afford real happiness in this 
 world, and prepare us for another. Let us, my dear 
 friend, forget the things which are behind, and be 
 ambitious to excel in piety, to show to all around that 
 we are the children of the Lord Most Hioh. The Ian- 
 
 o 
 
 guage of my heart is, 
 
 ' O for a closer walk with God, 
 A calm and heavenly flame, 
 A light to shine upon the road 
 That leads me to the Lamb! " 
 
 I long to have every thought of my heart brought into 
 subjection to God's will, that I may be pure as thou, 
 my Lord, art pure. — M. M." 
 
 " June 19, 1823. — I have lately had the pleasure of at- 
 tending our Missionary Anniversary in London, and also 
 that of the British and Foreign School Society ; also of 
 
MRS. CLOUGH. 69 
 
 seeing Mrs. Fry, and conversing with her. About sixty 
 convicts were present, the greater part of whom were to 
 quit the prison for Botany Bay the Monday following. 
 Mrs. Fry read and expounded two chapters of the 
 Bible, and they appeared much affected. Various 
 specimens of their industry were shown to the visitors 
 for sale. As to my experience, I am desirous that all 
 my thoughts, words, and actions should be brought 
 into subjection to the Gospel of Christ. 
 
 ' Were the whole realm of nature mine, 
 
 That were a present far too small ; 
 Love so amazing, so divine, 
 
 Demands my soul, my life, my all ! ' 
 
 Surely it does; and shall we not give God his 
 due?~M. M." 
 
 " Congleton, November 3, 1824. — This day I have 
 completed my one-and-twentieth year: upon reviewing 
 my past life, I feel considerable cause of complaint 
 against myself. IMy good and gracious God has hitherto 
 been my defender and keeper; he has screened my 
 naked head in every storm ; and I know, by heartfelt 
 experience, that Jesus died for me. I have in some 
 measure appropriated the merits of his death to my 
 own soul : but I see an infinitely greater salvation, 
 which I feel I am desirous to obtain ; yet I am too 
 lukewarm, not sufficiently determined to press resolutely 
 into all the fulness of Christ. I have of late felt some 
 gracious visits from the King of kings. I trust I am 
 endeavouring to evidence the reality of my religion by 
 conformity to the will of God. O may I at all times 
 
70 BRITISH FEMALE MISSIONARIES. 
 
 be graciously kept from the spirit and temptations of 
 the world, and constantly have an eye to the recom- 
 pense of reward. I should wish my motto to be, ' Say 
 what you mean, and mean what you say.' Grant this, 
 I pray, indulgent Lord ! " 
 
 Miss Morlcy had just completed her twenty-second 
 year, when she was called to leave her parents and her 
 native country, for the service of her Redeemer in 
 missionary work. She cheerfully obeyed what she 
 regarded the leadings of Divine Providence, the parti- 
 culars of which are thus related by her biographer : — 
 
 " December 1824, Mr. Clough, returning from Brad- 
 ford to London, stopped a night at Doncaster, when he 
 first saw Miss Morley ; and as he expected to sail 
 immediately for India, it was not probable he would 
 ever see her again. An impression, however, was made 
 on Mr. Clough, which was not easily erased, and his 
 intended voyage having been delayed, in January 1825 
 he wrote to her father. Mr. and Mrs. IMorley having 
 seriously weiglied the subject, communicated to their 
 daughter the interesting and important contents of Mr. 
 Clough's letter, prudently reminding her of the difficul- 
 ties and dangers she would necessarily have to en- 
 counter, and, without expressing any opinion, left the 
 matter to her own consideration and choice. In a few 
 days she expressed her decided conviction that it was 
 her duty to go to India, if her honoured and beloved 
 parents, and her aged grandmother, would give their 
 consent. Miss Morley communicated the affair to her 
 grandmother, who, after many struggles of affection, and 
 
MRS. CLOUGH. 7l 
 
 conversations with her children, was yet unable to 
 decide, but left her beloved Margaret to determine. 
 Mr. Morley then wrote to Mr. Clough, candidly stating, 
 that dearly as he loved Margaret, and great as the 
 sacrifice would^ be in surrendering her, yet he could 
 not oppose her views on so important a subject ; that 
 he left it to her decision, which he believed would still 
 be in subordination to that of her most affectionate 
 grandmother. Mr. Clough then visited Doncaster two 
 or three times, and on Thursday, March 21, 1825, was 
 happily united to the object of his choice, at St. 
 George's Church, by the Rev. Mr. Sharpe, vicar ; his 
 dear friends and missionary colleagues, JMessrs. Harvard 
 and Newstead, being present on the interesting occa- 
 sion. The same day Mr. and Mrs. Clough set off for 
 London, accompanied by their honoured mother. On 
 Saturday, Mr. Morley joined them there, and took an 
 affectionate and, as it proved, a final farewell of his 
 amiable and beloved daughter. Mr. and Mrs. Clough 
 departed for Portsmouth, and their parents returned 
 home." 
 
 Mrs. Clough's own account of this change in her 
 condition, and of her frame of mind on entering her new 
 state of life in the character of a missionary's wife, 
 cannot fail to be interesting : this will appear in the 
 following extracts from her journal : 
 
 '-'• Sunday Evening^ Fehruavy 20, 1825. — The last 
 ten days have been a time of extreme anxiety and 
 depression of spirits, arising from a temporal cause : a 
 matter of the greatest importance has come before me, 
 
72 BRITISH FEMALE MISSIONARIES. 
 
 a subject in which I am particularly concerned, and 
 which may in a degree contribute to my welfare, or add 
 to my crosses for life. I have hourly been praying, — 
 ' Lord, guide me by thy Spirit, make my way plain 
 before me ; — what is thy will concerning it ? ' I have 
 generally been enabled firmly to believe that the Lord 
 will accomplish the purposes of his grace." 
 
 They embarked on board the Africa, at Portsmouth, 
 and left England, April 11 : and in her journal on ship- 
 board, Mrs. Clough wrote :— " April 17, 1825. — Since 
 I last recorded the loving-kindness of my heavenly 
 Father, the most important event of human life has 
 occurred. On Thursday, March, 31, in the fear of 
 God, and I firmly believe w^itli the approbation of 
 Heaven, I was united to Mr. Clough, Wesleyan 
 Missionary to Ceylon. The circumstances of this con- 
 nexion seem to my friends in general, as well as myself, 
 to be partly providential ; — the conscience bearing 
 witness that I never sought such a circumstance ; nor 
 even when the offer was made should I have dared to 
 accept it, but from a conviction that the Lord's hand 
 was in the affair. I feel most sensibly how much 
 wisdom and prudence I need, to act consistently, and as 
 a decided follower of Christ. Much will devolve upon 
 me as a missionary's wife : that I may adorn the 
 cause I have espoused ! I feel alarmed at the idea of 
 entering into such a public sphere of life. I feel my 
 own youth and inexperience unqualify me for so great 
 an undertaking ; but relying on tlie promised assistance 
 of God, T go forth with a determination to be useful in 
 
MRS. CLOUGH. 73 
 
 my day and generation ; and after a life spent in the 
 Saviour's cause, I doubt not of receiving a crown of 
 reward. When my mind seems to shrink from what is 
 in prospect, I betake myself to a throne of grace, and 
 feel quite happy in retracing the motives which have 
 induced me to enter into the sphere in which I am at 
 present placed. O thou good and eternal God, be 
 pleased to continue unto me thy promised assistance, 
 and the consolations of thy Holy Spirit, and I will 
 cheerfully take up my cross, suffer reproach, or any 
 deprivation. that I may but be instrumental of 
 some good, either to my dear husband, or to thy 
 militant church ! May the desire of my heart be 
 granted ! " 
 
 Mrs. Clough experienced the ordinary trials of a long 
 voyage, and the ship was in extreme danger more than 
 once. After " a tremendous pfale all nioht," on one 
 occasion, she recorded various particulars relating to the 
 late storm, and wrote : — 
 
 " Sunday/, June 26, 1825 — My reason informed me 
 that we were more than 2000 miles from land, in the 
 most spacious, widest, and most dreary part of the 
 South Atlantic Ocean • our latitude 27°, longitude 12°, 
 W. — I also felt additional cause for unfeigned thank- 
 fulness, when my dear husband informed me that the 
 carpenter had told him, that not one ship in fifty would 
 have weathered the storm of the preceding night, but 
 that they must evidently have foundered, from the wind 
 blowing so violently on the beam, and the waves 
 striking her at the same time with overvvhelmino: force 
 on the head. Though weak in body, I am happy, con- 
 
74 BRITISH FEMALE MISSIONARIES. 
 
 tented, and comfortable in mind, having many, many 
 blessings, which most of my friends, in similar circum- 
 stances to myself, are quite unacquainted with. In 
 the first place, I have an exjjerieyiced^ kind, indulgent, 
 tender, managing hiishand ; secondly, a most excellent 
 ship, with delightful accommodations ; so much so, 
 that I can scarcely sometimes fancy myself from my 
 father's house; and above all, the Maker of the uni- 
 verse. He who holds the wind in the hollow of his 
 hand ; who saith to the furious sea, ' Hitherto shalt 
 thou go : here shall thy proud waves be stayed ; ' and 
 He who died on Calvary, to redeem a ruined world 
 from that punishment they so justly deserved ; — this 
 God of love I can with humble confidence claim as my 
 Father. Under his protection, my dear husband and 
 myself are going to endeavour, in every prudent way, 
 to extend the Saviours kingdom, and publish, to the 
 perishing sons of men, the great salvation purchased by 
 the Lamb that was slain for those who repent and 
 believe in his all-powerful soul-restoring name. 
 
 " thou God of boundless compassion, give success 
 to the important mission to thy servant ; and may he 
 shine as a star of the first maonitude in the kino;dom of 
 thy glory, as the reward of being enabled, through thy 
 direction, to turn many from darkness to great light, 
 and from the kingdom of Satan unto God ! " 
 
 They reached the Isle of France on Sunday evening, 
 July 31st, and stayed there above a fortnight. INIrs. 
 Clough wrote to her parents from that place, concerning 
 which the followino^ will be interesting : — 
 
 " Port Lewis, August 13, 1825. — With unspeakable 
 
MRS. CLOUGH. 75 
 
 feelings of gratitude and pleasure, I inform you of our 
 voyage and safe arrival at this place. We left Madeira 
 May 8th, after staying three days : the climate is most 
 delightful. June 4th, we crossed the equinoctial, with 
 a fine breeze. The heat was oppressive, and rendered 
 me unfit for any exertion. The latter end of June we 
 drew near the Cape ; squally, cold weather commenced. 
 Our rigging, not being in very good order, frequently 
 trembled and disappeared before the strong blast. This 
 was quite a new scene to me ; but I retained the same 
 confidence in God, who I believed would bring us 
 safely through. For a whole month the water was 
 washing over the decks, and frequently was three or 
 four feet high. We now began to make full sail for the 
 Isle of France ; but, from opposing winds, were obliged 
 to run seven hundred miles to the eastward. Our 
 stock of water and provisions was low, so that we were 
 placed on short allowance for three weeks. When two 
 hundred miles from land, our last cask of water was 
 opened, and we were utterly uncertahi as to the conti- 
 nuance of the wind. However, the God who can and 
 will protect and satisfy those who put their trust in 
 him, interfered, in our behalf, causing the wind to be 
 propitious; and on Sunday, August 1st, we safely 
 arrived. My dear husband j^roposed that we should go 
 on shore; but, on inquiry, we found the charges so 
 enormous, that I wished to remain on board. Some 
 military gentlemen came on board, and invited us into 
 the country to dine. The day following I received a 
 polite invitation to dine at the Government-house, and 
 
76 BRITISH FEMALE MISSIONARIES. 
 
 met there tlie Adjutant-General and his lady, who 
 requested us to spend the Sabbath with them. The 
 Colonel sent his carriage for us, and afterwards drove 
 us to the resident London Missionary's house. Another 
 invitation we received from Major Bates, whom Mr, 
 Clough slightly knew at Colombo. The Comptroller 
 of the Customs also paid us every kind attention, 
 taking my brother and nephew to his house. Yester- 
 day, his Excellency the Governor requested Mr. Clough 
 to spend the day with him at his country house. Here 
 also we met witli Commodore Owen, who so liberally 
 supported the mission at Delagoa Bay, and who is 
 desirous of establishing one at Madagascar. Mr. 
 Clough has preached three times, and Mr. Hardy once. 
 The kindness of all we have met with on this island is 
 unbounded. I have made some progress in Portuguese. 
 My health is much improved. — M. M. C." 
 
 Again she wrote to them, on arriving at Ceylon : — 
 " Colombo y Septemher 9, 1825.— We left the Isle of 
 France, August 19th, with a fine breeze, and proceeded 
 rapidly towards Ceylon, which we made on Monday, 
 September 6th, and on Tuesday cast anchor in Colombo 
 roads. Mr. M'Kenny brought two boats to take us 
 and our little party on shore, and expressed great delight 
 at Mr. Clough's return. A gig and palanquin awaited 
 our arrival at the port, and took us to the mission- 
 house, where JMrs. M 'Kenny received me with the 
 kindness and affection of a parent. I cease not to 
 return my unfeigned thanks to God, who hath in so 
 remarkable a way touched the hearts of this people 
 
MRS. CLOUGH. 77 
 
 towards the Wesleyan Mission. The Church, the Bap- 
 tist, and our missionaries, go hand in hand, and mutually 
 assist one another. Colombo appears to be one of the 
 healthiest places within the tropics. The Bishop of 
 Calcutta (Dr. Heber) is here, and I hope to hear him 
 preach to-morrow. I am soon to l)e introduced to Lady- 
 Barnes, who stands very high in the estimation of the 
 people. Mr. Clough has introduced Messrs. Exley and 
 Hardy to his excellency the Governor, who received 
 them in the most kind and courteous manner. — 
 M. M. C." 
 
 In another letter, she writes : — " November 11, 1825. 
 — Mr. Clough looks considerably better thau ever he 
 did in England. The mission premises are extensive; 
 consisting of a handsome chapel, mission- house, school- 
 room, and library, in the front ; and behind, the printing- 
 office, schools, &c. We have English preaching twice 
 on the Sabbath, and the congregation in the evening is 
 good ; on Tuesday evening, Portuguese preaching, which 
 is well attended ; and we have class and prayer meetings 
 almost every evening in the week. We have some holy, 
 devoted men amonost us in the hioher walks of life. 
 
 o o 
 
 Our highly-respected friend, Sir Richard Ottley, is one 
 of the first. From him we have received the most 
 marked attention. He has honoured me by coming to 
 our house, to meet a few friends at tea ; and Mr. Clough 
 and myself have the honour of visiting at his house. 
 He is always the first to promote every good design. 
 We enjoy the privilege of holding Christian commu- 
 nion with this pious judge. His meekness, gentleness. 
 
78 BRITISH FEMALE MISSIONARIES. 
 
 and heavenly-mindedness, are ever conspicuous. An- 
 other very warm friend and truly pious man is R, 
 Mooyart, Esq., a magistrate. A female class is now 
 appointed. May the Lord give his blessing, and bap- 
 tise us afresh with his Holy Spirit ! There is a little 
 meeting held here, which I am sure you will be glad to 
 hear of ; viz. a missionary meeting, held at different 
 friends' houses once a month. After singing and prayer, 
 the state of missions in general is related, an exhortation 
 given, and after breakfast some time is employed in 
 considering what is best to be done for promoting the 
 spread of Christianity ; and then conclude with earnest 
 prayer to God for the promised outpouring of his Holy 
 Spirit.— M. M. C." 
 
 To a friend, she wrote : — " August 1, 1826. — An 
 Auxiliary Tract Society has lately been established in 
 Colombo, which I trust will be productive of much 
 good ; 6000 copies of the tract No. 2, on Drunkenness, 
 have already been distributed ; and we have heard of 
 several who, having read it, have been so powerfully 
 awakened, that they have promised never more to take 
 anything stronger than water. The cordiality subsist- 
 ing between missionaries of all denominations is very 
 pleasing — ' The joy of one is the joy of all.' How 
 mysterious are the ways of Providence ! The Bishop 
 of Calcutta is dead ! Oh the amazmg loss that India 
 has sustained ! Never did any man appear so likely 
 to be, in very truth, a burning and shining light. — 
 M. M. C." 
 
 Mrs. Clough's circumstances may be further under- 
 
MRS. CLOUGH. 79 
 
 stood, as well as the progress of the mission in Ceylon, 
 from the extracts of a letter to her parents : — 
 
 " Colombo^ August 5, 1826. — Doubtless, my dear 
 parents, you have heard ere this of our little stranger, 
 Benjamin Morley Clough ; whom we have dedicated 
 to God by solemn baptism. Through mercy he enjoys 
 uninterrupted health. The missionary prospects are 
 really deliglitful. Our congregations, Singhalese, Por- 
 tuguese, and English, increase rapidly. Class and 
 prayer meetings are well attended, and the native 
 schools are in prosperity. Several new ones have been 
 established during the past year, and upwards of 600 
 have been added. Mr. M'Kenny, the resident mis- 
 sionary at Caltura, informed me, that in examining the 
 society in that place he found, to his great surprise and 
 satisfaction, that all the members (except one or two) 
 had been educated in our schools. This I consider a 
 very encouraging circumstance : it shows, too, the pro- 
 priety of placing children early under religious instruc- 
 tion. In the month of June we held our missionary 
 meeting; Sir R. Ottley in the chair. Several of the 
 military officers and civilians gave us good speeches ; 
 and the collection exceeded every former one. The 
 monthly missionary meetings increase in number and 
 interest — at the last there were most pleasing accounts 
 of the conversion of the heathen. — M. M. C." 
 
 Mrs. Clough wrote her last entry in her journal as 
 follows : — 
 
 ^^ August 17, 1826. — I had a severe attack oi fever. 
 My dear husband called in medical assistance ; and, by 
 
80 BRITISH FEMALE MISSIONARIES. 
 
 the blessing of God, the means made use of considerably 
 abated the disorder, and removed the alarming sym- 
 ptoms : but these means were so powerful that I was 
 reduced to a state of indescribable weakness. My 
 spirits were greatly depressed on account of my dear 
 baby, whom I was nursing, fearing he would partake 
 of my illness ; but my distress was greatly augmented 
 when Dr. Whitfield informed me, that he must insist 
 on my giving up nursing. His decided and candid 
 opinion was, that, if I continued doing it, I should 
 throw myself into a rapid decline, and probably be in 
 my grave in the course of a few months. Oh may I 
 from this time unreservedly give up my own will, and 
 in all things be guided by the unerring Spirit of God I 
 
 ' Good when He gives, supremely good. 
 Nor less when He denies ; 
 Afflictions from his sovereign hand 
 Are blessings in disguise.' " 
 
 During the next ten months Mrs, Clough's health 
 was happily restored ; and she entered, as far as her 
 circumstances would allow, into the labours of her hus- 
 band. Ceylon being a British colony, many English 
 resided there, and several with whom she was privi- 
 leged to associate occupied superior stations in life, and 
 even in the government ; fewer disadvantages were 
 therefore experienced by her than in many places by 
 the wives of missionaries : still, being in exile far from 
 her native land, she felt the separation from her friends. 
 But, " for these privations," she says, in a letter, January 
 25, 1827, "we shall find ourselves compensated — nay, 
 indeed, highly honoured, by seeing sinners converted 
 
MRS. CLOUGH. 81 
 
 from the error of their ways, and accepting the Lord 
 Jesus as their only Saviour. The Religious Tract 
 Society appears to be a means of extensive usefulness. 
 We have heard of many of the most depraved charac- 
 ters forsaking drunkenness, which is extremely common 
 here, as spirituous liquors are remarkably cheap." 
 
 " March 4, 1837," she wrote : " I am truly thank- 
 ful, my dear parents, to inform you that we are all 
 well and happy. My dear husband is enabled to attend 
 to all his numerous enoagrements with unabated dilio^ence. 
 Our charming little Morley grows finely, and is a very 
 interesting child for eleven months. My own health is 
 very good, though I have lately felt the heat excessively, 
 the thermometer beino- 88^ in our bed-room. We do 
 not spend our strength for nought. The Lord graciously 
 owns our labours. We have great cause for encourage- 
 ment among the European soldiers. Many little occur- 
 rences have lately transpired to encourage us in the 
 belief that the Lord will pour out his Spirit upon us 
 more abundantly. There appears to be a great degree 
 of faith in exercise among all denominations for the 
 conversion of the heathen. I do verily believe that the 
 thousands of faithful prayers offered up in England will 
 be speedily answered. My beloved husband has just 
 returned from Kornegalle, in the interior of the country, 
 and brings pleasing accounts of the willingness of the 
 poor heathen Kandians to hear the word of God. — 
 M. M. C." 
 
 Thirteen days only before she was called to her 
 eternal rest, Mrs. Clough wrote to her mother, June 17, 
 
82 BRITISH FEMALE MISSIONARIES. 
 
 1827, remarking, — " Your kind letter I have the plea- 
 sure to receive by the ' Sepping.s/ It is no small comfort 
 to me to know, in my various little sufferings and 
 trials, that I have so many kind and sympathising 
 friends in England, who, I am sure, daily remember 
 me before the throne of grace. Indeed, I consider the 
 healthy peace^ and prosperity, with which we have been 
 favoured, to be given in answer to the fervent and 
 unceasing prayers of God's peculiar people at home. 
 I assure you, my dear mother, I often find that I 
 require a little of your judicious and prudent advice in 
 the important situation in which I stand as mistress of 
 a large establishment, a wife, and a mother. The eyes 
 of many are fixed on us ; and it is very necessary that 
 we should be careful in every part of our conduct, so 
 that we may bring no reproach on the cross of Christ. 
 I feel very sensibly the necessity of divine aid and 
 instruction in the management of our dear boy. The 
 Lord has committed to us the training of a young 
 immoi'tal^ and his future conduct may depend on the 
 good or bad management of his parents. Our Society 
 in the fort is in a very prosperous state. It is really 
 delightful to attend their meetings ; there is so much 
 simplicity, zeal, and devout attention. I very frequently 
 accompany my beloved husband, and never come away 
 without being greatly stirred up and quickened in 
 my own mind. It is a singular fact, that we have 
 lately had several applications from Mohammedans, to 
 establish schools for the religious instruction of their 
 children. I hope this is the prelude to a glorious era 
 in our missionary work. — M. M. C." 
 
MRS. CLOUGH. 83 
 
 Mrs. Cloiigli's work on earth had now been finished; 
 and she closed her exemplary and useful life in giving 
 birth to her second child, June 80, 1827. Her elevated 
 spirituality of mind will be evident to every reader of the 
 preceding pages ; but the manner of her departure will 
 be best learned from the following extracts of a letter to 
 her father, from Sir R. Ottley : — 
 
 " Ceylon, July 7, 1827. 
 
 " Sir, — Although not personally acquainted with 
 you, the interest I have taken in her who has recently 
 been called from this scene of trial to the habitations of 
 the just made perfect, will, I hope, convince you that 
 I am not acting officiously in communicating intelligence 
 of the loss we have sustained. 
 
 "Your amiable, pious, and deeply-lamented daughter, 
 Mrs. Clough, departed this life on Saturday the 30th of 
 June in childbed. 
 
 " Antecedently to the period of her sudden and fatal 
 illness, she had enjoyed good health. On the evening 
 of the 29th of June she felt the pains of labour ; and 
 for several lijurs the appearances were favourable. 
 But about eleven at night she was attacked by a con- 
 vulsive fit. From that time the ordinary effects of 
 nature subsided. Every exertion was made which 
 could afford hope of saving the mother ; but frequent 
 repetitions of the convulsive fits rendered all those 
 efibrts unavailing. The best advice was obtained : one 
 of our most skilful medical men attended her from the 
 commencement, and he called in the assistance of the 
 principal medical officer. Her frame, however, at all 
 
 G 2 
 
84 BRITISH FEMALE MISSIONARIES. 
 
 times feeble, was incapable of sustaining the violence of 
 the disorder. At six or seven in the mornincj of the 
 30th, all hope of recovery was abandoned ; and at about 
 ten o'clock your beloved daughter expired. The poor 
 infant — a female — was saved, and is still alive, very 
 diminutive indeed, but at present indicating no symp- 
 toms of approaching dissolution. 
 
 " The nature of this climate rendered speedy inter- 
 ment necessary; and on Sunday the 1st of July we 
 attended the funeral of Mrs. Clough. In England, 
 where so many excellent and exemplary women are 
 found to adorn society, the loss of one, however valu- 
 able, is less felt, except by her kindred and relations : 
 here your daughter shone forth with pre eminent lustre. 
 The sweetness of her temper, the goodness of her heart, 
 and the fascinations of her mild and cheerful demeanour, 
 increased the esteem which her deep piety, and the vir- 
 tuous tenor of her conduct, were so well calculated to 
 inspire. 
 
 '^ The religious society in Ceylon forms but a small 
 flock. Amongst that society we had the happiness to 
 see Mrs. Clough a steady and conspicuous member : 
 she was an example to us all, and particularly a pattern 
 to her own sex. Thus she arrived a truly virtuous 
 young woman ; she maintained a consistent character 
 during the whole period of her residence among us, 
 and died a happy and devoted servant of the Lord. 
 " I am, sir, with perfect respect, 
 
 " Your obedient servant, 
 
 " K. Ottley." 
 
MRS. JOWETT. 
 
 DIED JUNE 24, 1829. 
 
 Mrs. JowETT's'Biography, by her Husband. — Her Early Life. — Piety of her 
 Sister. — Her Conversion. — Her Active Piety. — Married to Rev. W. 
 
 Jowett. — Accompanies him on his INIission to the Mediterranean 
 
 Birth of her First Child.^Her Studies — Her Co-operation with Blrs. 
 Wilson of the London INIissionary Society, at jMalta. — Her INIaltese 
 Girls' School. — Secretary to the School Society. — Missionary and Bible 
 Operations at INIalta.— Mrs. Jowett's Labours among the Native Females. 
 Her Domestic Occupations.— Her Account of the Death of a German 
 Missionary. — Her Care of the Dying Wife and Children of an Ameri- 
 can Missionary.— Her Return to England. — Her Illness. — Birth of her 
 Seventh Child. — Declining Health. — She Dies at Lewisham.— Her Letter 
 to her Mother two days before her Decease. 
 
 Mrs. Jowett was the excellent and devoted wife of 
 the Rev. William Jowett, of the Church Missionary 
 Society. She was born October 22, 1789; but little is 
 known of her early history. Her husband has given 
 to the public an interesting biographical sketch of his 
 admirable partner, from which the following particu- 
 lars are derived: — 
 
 Mr. Jowett says, — " Of the earlier part of Mrs. 
 Jowett's life I am not able to say much, not having 
 known her till the year preceding our marriage. 
 Decided and permanent religious impressions on her 
 mind may probably be dated from about the year 1804. 
 On coming home from a boarding-school, where, in 
 addition to much useful knowledge, she had imbibed 
 not a little youthful vanity, she found her elder sister 
 
86 BRITISH FEMALE MISSIONARIES. 
 
 teaching a Sunday-school of poor children of the village. 
 At this she at first took offence : but throuo^h her 
 sisters mild persuasions and exemplary psrseverance, 
 she was herself brought to labour with earnestness for 
 the instruction and salvation of these Very children. 
 
 " The mutual love of these two sisters, jMary and 
 Martha, now become similar in their relio-ious feelings 
 and employments, from this period constantly increased. 
 In conducting Sunday-schools, in visiting the sick, and 
 in promoting a Bible and missionary association in their 
 parish, they were of one heart and one mind. It was 
 painful, more especially to the elder, to part with her 
 younger sister, quitting England, to accompany me in 
 my mission to the Mediterranean ; and a no less painful 
 stroke was it to my wife, five years after, to hear, on 
 her first return to England, that her beloved sister had 
 been called to her eternal home only a few weeks before 
 our arrival in our native country. But these wounds 
 of their affectionate hearts are now healed, where nothing 
 will separate them from the love of Christ. 
 
 "At school, though many vain thoughts had en- 
 snared her heart, yet my dear wife had diligently 
 improved her time and opportunity for the cultivation 
 of her mind. She was well acquainted with French, 
 which proved a good step toward her employment in 
 after life. She also, before my acquaintance with her, 
 began, by herself, to learn Hebrew ; but this she did 
 not find it necessary to resume ; it must, however, have 
 had its use in preparing her mind for the Maltese, which 
 is altogether an Oriental dialect. 
 
MRS. JOWETT. 87 
 
 " We were iinitecl in marriage June 26, 1815 ; from 
 this period an entirely new scene opened upon us : we 
 were going to a foreign land, upon an untried mission, 
 and with very uncertain views as to what might be the 
 course proper to be adopted. Since that period as many 
 as fifty missionaries have traversed the waves of the 
 Mediterranean : but on our arrival in Malta, Novem- 
 ber 1, we were alone; we had indeed Christian friends, 
 but not one missionary brother or sister with whom to 
 take counsel. During this most trying period, I must 
 ever regard it as a singular blessing from God tliat I 
 had a partner who was steadfast in the faith, patient 
 through hope, and rooted in charity. 
 
 " In the spring of 1816 our first child was born ; and 
 in a few months after I began my 'Researches,' by making 
 a visit of five months in the Ionian Islands. During 
 this year she was perfecting herself in Italian — feeling 
 her way toward the Maltese, in which there were then no 
 printed books, except a lexicon and grammar. At this 
 time also, and for several subsequent years, she was my 
 amanuensis ; which, considering the extensive journal- 
 writing and correspondence that I had to conduct in 
 duplicate, was by itself alone an occupation of no small 
 magnitude. In the commencement of 1817, the suffer- 
 ings of the poor Maltese engaged the attention of some 
 benevolent gentlemen and ladies. The city of Yaletta 
 was divided into districts, and carefully visited. This 
 first presented a clear opening for direct intercourse with 
 the natives ; and my wife very readily visited the 
 poorest parts of the city, and offered to teach some of 
 
88 BRITISH FEMALE MISSIONARIES. 
 
 the children. It was a new thing to see ladies per- 
 sonally inspecting the close rooms of the people, their 
 miserable clothes, and their domestic wants: this has since 
 been carried on more extensively by a regularly organ- 
 ised sick-society, of which Mrs. Wilson of the London 
 Missionary Society is secretary— but at that early 
 period the thing was scarcely comprehended in Malta. 
 
 " In the beginning of the year 1817 she began, quite 
 in a private way, a school for young Maltese girls ; 
 and which she continued, without interruption, till we 
 left Malta in 18*29. For five mornings in the week 
 she had her room filled. Some came only for a week 
 or two, and were withdrawn by the parents, acting 
 under the influence of the priesthood. The total num- 
 ber which had attended at different times, and for dif- 
 ferent periods, was upwards of 150, during these three 
 years ; thirty had received as much as two years' edu- 
 cation : a very few had remained nearly the whole three 
 years. They were taught habits of cleanliness, silence, 
 and order ; needlework ; reading and writing — reading 
 both English and Italian. They repeated and sang 
 many of Watts's Divine Songs for Children ; but we 
 obtained the Gospels to be translated into the Maltese, 
 and portions of these Mrs. Jowett read regularly to the 
 school — she always began and ended with a prayer in 
 Maltese. 
 
 " In the beginning of 1820, when the treasurer of the 
 British and Foreign School Society, Mr. AV illiam Allen, 
 visited Malta, schools on a much more extensive and 
 public plan were established, for the young of both 
 
MRS. JOWETT. 89 
 
 sexes. The affiiirs of these schools were conducted by 
 two committees, one consisting of gentlemen, the other 
 of ladies ; in tliat of the ladies, Mrs. Jowett was 
 one of the joint-secretaries. It was a matter of un- 
 feigned regret to her, as also to many other Christian 
 friends, the opposition of the Roman Catholic clergy 
 to the free use of the Holy Scriptures, which wholly 
 precluded the hope, for the present, of introducing 
 Bible-lessons : the attempt was made more than once, 
 but completely failed. She did not, however, feel her- 
 self called upon by this circumstance to withdraw her 
 aid from a society which was useful, and likely to prove 
 an introduction to future measures of higher utility ; 
 she was herself also, in a more private way, constantly 
 labouring to make the Word of God known to the 
 poorest classes in the city. 
 
 "At the end of 1820 we returned to England, to 
 recruit our health, and consult with the Society on our 
 future measures. On our return to Malta, in the 
 beginning of 1822, she found the attempt to re-establish 
 her school impracticable. Such was tlie successful foot- 
 ing which the School Society had obtained, and such 
 was the zealous activity of those who opposed the 
 Scriptures, that her endeavours to form a Maltese 
 Sunday-school failed. The printing of the Gospel of 
 John in the native language had also augmented the 
 apprehensions of those who feared the progress of the 
 Bible Society. Notwithstanding these circumstances, 
 Mrs. Jowett began in 1823, and for five years, without 
 intermission, continued the reading of the Maltese 
 
90 BRITISH FEMALE MISSIONARIES. 
 
 Scriptures to the very poorest class of old and infirm 
 women, whom she received for that purpose into our 
 house every Monday morning for two hours. As she 
 spoke Maltese fluently, these poor women heard her 
 gladly. She not only read, but explained to them the 
 Scriptures ; and examined them each time concerning 
 what they had heard on the preceding Monday. Of 
 two of them she had good hopes that their minds were 
 savingly affected by what they heard. 
 
 " Mrs. Jowett spoke to them, from a deep and ex- 
 perimental knowledge, upon the doctrines of the sole 
 mediation of Jesus Christ, the insufficiency of our own 
 good works for salvation, and the effectual grace of the 
 Holy Spirit for our conversion, and for our performance 
 of any good work. Nor was she backward to show 
 them the vanity and sinfulness of their having recourse 
 to images, to saints, and to the Virgin Mary, in their 
 prayers. This excited surprise in some of them, and 
 indignation in others. One of the women attended for 
 some time as a spy : a kind of petty persecution was 
 raised, and more was threatened ; but she went on in 
 the work with her wonted simplicity, steadfastness, 
 and composure. 
 
 " In the years 1823-4, we received into our house a 
 German missionary, who was in a very precarious state 
 of health, the Rev. Mr. Deininger. As he came back 
 from a visit to Italy, before I was able to reach JMalta 
 on my return from Jerusalem, the care of him, in addi- 
 tion to that of her family of four children, devolved on 
 Mrs. Jowett, till within eighteen days of his death. 
 
MRS. JOWETT. 91 
 
 Her sympathy and Christian conversation were felt by 
 him to be very consolatory; and a brief memoir of him, 
 drawn up principally by her, was inserted in the Mis- 
 sionary Register for September ] 824. 
 
 " In the year 1826, we received into our house, for 
 periods of various continuance, ten missionaries, and the 
 wives of two of them, all in the service of the Church 
 INIissionary Society. Wliile these cares and claims of 
 an increasing family engaged Mrs. Jowett's attention, 
 she never intermitted the reading of the Maltese Scrip- 
 tures to the poor women who came weekly. 
 
 " In January 1827, one of the American missionaries, 
 the Rev. Daniel Temple, had the affliction to lose his 
 excellent and amiable partner, a very few days after 
 giving birth to her fourth child. As there seemed to 
 be no one else who could, with so much propriety and 
 satisfaction to his family, take the charge of these four 
 motherless and young children, Mrs. Jowett received 
 them into our house. The youngest two, however, 
 which were very feeble, did not long enjoy or need her 
 care, as they soon followed their mother to the land of 
 rest. The elder two remained with us till the spring 
 of 1828, when we quitted Malta for England .a second 
 time ; Mr. Temple also sailing shortly after, with his 
 two children, for America. 
 
 ••' On reaching our native shores, and after having 
 had a sight of all our relatives, Mrs. Jowett was led, 
 by some circumstances, to take a more particular review 
 of her past missionary course ; and this faithful servant 
 of Christ reckoned that she had done nothing — such 
 
92 BRITISH FEMALE MISSIONARIES. 
 
 was her unfeigned humility. In the autumn of 1828, 
 she gave birth to her seventh child ; and shortly after- 
 ward had a return of rather a suspicious cough, such 
 as she had formerly suffered at Malta. As, however, 
 she got through the winter tolerably well, my appre- 
 hensions were not seriously excited ; and in the spring 
 of 1^29, as I had preached very little for the Society 
 since my return, it seemed expedient that I should join 
 in the missionary journey to Durham ; but before I was 
 able to return, her letters began to indicate an unfavour- 
 able change in the state of her health. On my reaching 
 home in April, hopes were still entertained, by myself 
 at least, that, by care and a little delay, I might be able to 
 take her and all the children to Malta, in the autumn. 
 But in another month her brother. Dr. Whiting, com- 
 municated to me that her health was in a very preca- 
 rious state, and that our return to Malta must, for the 
 present, be laid quite out of the question. 
 
 " We then removed her to visit a valued friend at 
 Homerton, where she remained ten days ; while some re- 
 sidence was sought for, sufficiently near to London, and 
 yet favourable for good air. A suitable place was found 
 on Lewisham-Hill, well sheltered from the cold winds 
 of Blackheath, as well as from the air of London. She 
 was brought to Lewisham on the 29th of May, and had 
 not been there three weeks, before her symptoms began 
 to look more decisively serious than they had ever done 
 before." 
 
 Mrs. Jowett continued rapidly to decline, notwith- 
 standing every effort of medical skill to prolong a life 
 
MRS. JOWETT. 93 
 
 SO desirable ; but her mind was preserved in peace and 
 joyful hope, tlirouoh Jesus Christ. Mr. Jowett details 
 the minute events of the last few days ; but only the 
 closing scene, as described by him, can be given in this 
 place. He records : — 
 
 "About ten o'clock the family began to separate. 
 Some arrangements were made, preparatory to the 
 event, which it seemed very evident must take place 
 during the night, as my dear wife drew her breath 
 more and more faintly. She did not appear at all 
 insensible ; but gave no response or sign which at all 
 indicated that her mind was present with us. I 
 remained with her, too^ether with one of the servants, 
 and occasionally dropped in her ear some short word from 
 Scripture. It was just at a quarter of an hour before 
 midnight, when the servant suddenly made a signal to 
 me, and I hastened to the bed-side. Her change was 
 evidently near : I sent for her brother, who was in an 
 adjoining room : and in a few moments, without any 
 apparent pain or struggle, she dropped her head on one 
 side, and her cheek resting on the pillow, fell asleep. 
 We then a few of us assembled, and united in returning 
 thanks to our heavenly Father, for her peaceful release ; 
 and for the good hope^ through, grace^ that she had rested 
 in glory. It was night to us : but, to her, eternal day ! 
 Her remains were interred at Lewisham, on June the 
 29th : and on her tomb — after statino- that she was 
 born October 22, 1789, and died June 24, 1829— the 
 following text is inscribed : — 'Wno shall separate us 
 
 FROM THE LOVE OF ChRIST ?'" 
 
94 BRITISH FEMALE MISSIONARIES. 
 
 Mrs. Jowett's personal piety must be evident from 
 this brief record of her works ; and her state of mind in 
 the prospect of dissolution cannot be so well exhibited 
 by anything as by the following letter, which she only 
 wrote two days before her decease : — 
 
 " My dearest Mother, — I cannot help, with my 
 own hand, thanking you for your very kind letter, and 
 the truly Christian consolations it contained. I received 
 it when my spirits were particularly low ; and it was 
 a real cordial to my mind to have my Saviour's love so 
 set before me in so motherly and kind a way : such a 
 cordial I greatly needed. I trust, indeed, that He is 
 my shepherd, and that he will never leave me, nor for- 
 sake me. My spirits are sometimes very low at the 
 thought of being taken so early from my dear children, 
 •whom it would have been the delight of my heart to have 
 been permitted to train up in the nurture and admoni- 
 tion of the Lord. But if the Lord sees fit to take me, 
 I know that he can do better for them than I could : 
 therefore I desire to say, ' Not my will, but thine be 
 done.* Since I have been at this place, I think I have 
 been weaker and weaker every day ; but, through 
 mercy, I suffer very little, scarcely any, pain of body, 
 except the pain of weakness. I must not write any 
 more, only to beg that you will not cease to pray for 
 me and mine : and may our mutual prayers for each 
 other come up with acceptance, through our dear 
 Redeemer ! " 
 
MRS. HANNAH KILHAM^ 
 
 DIED MARCH 31, 1832. 
 
 Mrs. Kilham, a native of Sheffield.. — A remarkable Child in the Vlcarago 
 School.— In a Boarding-school at Chesterfield. — Testimonj' of a Friend. 
 
 — She joins the Methodists Extract of her Diary — New Connexion of 
 
 Methodists.— Mr. Kilham, its leader.— Attached to Miss Speers.— The 
 Correspondence.^ — Their Marriage.. — His Ministry, and Death. — His 
 Dying Testimony. — Her Widowhood. — She becomes a Mother. — Joins 
 the Society of Friends. — Establishes a Boarding-school — Her Religious 
 Zeal.. — She projects a Mission to Ireland. — Her Benevolent Labours in 
 Sheffield. — Contemplated Mission to Africa.^IIer Step-Daughter en- 
 gages as a Schoolmistress for Russia. — Hannah Kilham studies the 
 Zaloof and Mandingo Languages.— She goes on a Mission to Ireland. — 
 She embarks for Africa. — Returns to London, and labours among tho 
 poor Irish — She makes a Second, and a Third Voyage to Africa. — 
 J^ -^iberia and the Colonizatiim Society. — Her Last Entry in her Diary. — 
 She dies at Sea, on a Missionary Voyage. — Testimony of her Character 
 and Labours, by Mr. Montgomery. 
 
 Mrs. Hannah Kilham, a devoted missionary to 
 evangelise the natives of Africa, and in the prosecution 
 of which holy purpose she fell a sacrifice, was the 
 daughter of Mr. Peter Speers and his wife Hannah, 
 who were respectably engaged in trade at Sheffield. 
 She was born August 12, 1774 ; but her mother dying 
 while she w^as very young, she was greatly indebted 
 to the judicious and affectionate care of a married sister, 
 who watched over her with all the solicitude of a 
 parent. 
 
 * See Memoirs of the late Hannah Kilham, chiefly compiled from her 
 Journal, and edited by her sister-in-law, Sarah Biller, of St. Tetersburgh. 
 Darton & Harvey, London. 
 
96 BRITISH FEMALE MISSIONARIES. 
 
 An early associate says, in a letter to her daughter, 
 " Our acquaintance commenced at the vicarage day- 
 school, when your beloved mother was about ten years 
 of age ; she was then a most amiable, talented, and 
 serious girl ; and set an example w^orthy the imitation 
 of her school-fellows. At that time she regularly 
 attended the evening prayers at the parish church ; 
 and, however she mioht be enora^ed with her com- 
 panions, she always left at the hour for worship." 
 
 When fourteen years of age, she was sent to a board- 
 ing-school in Chesterfield, where she made great pro- 
 gress. At the age of sixteen, she returned home ; and, 
 from changes in the family, was thrown into gay life ; 
 but its vanities never were relished by her, and her 
 compliance was principally to satisfy her relations and 
 friends. When about nineteen or twenty, she was 
 interested in the profession of religion made by some 
 of her intimate acquaintances, and being herself under 
 serious impressions, she conversed much with them 
 concerning their views and feelings, and intimated a 
 desire for special association with them. One of these 
 friends makes the following record of her history : — 
 " The work of conviction for sin was carried on in her 
 heart more by the drawings of the Holy Spirit than by 
 any deep awakenings of conscience. After associating 
 awhile with her intimate friends, she declared herself 
 more openly on the Lord's side ; and soon being enabled 
 to believe with her heart unto righteousness, she became 
 ready to make confession of the same to others. About 
 this period she joined the society of Methodists. In 
 
MRS. HANNAH KILHAM. 07 
 
 our love-feasts and band-meetings, she often testified of 
 the God of orace, to the edification of the Church. 
 We, and many wlio were present, remember well the 
 first time in which she arose publicly to express her 
 gratitude to God for the change He had made in her 
 soul ; she was so overcome as to be constrained to fall 
 on her knees, and in that posture to pour out her full 
 heart before God." 
 
 Her diary at the age of twenty-two exhibits her 
 scriptural piety, which the following extract will 
 illustrate : — 
 
 " Fehruary 16, 1796. — I had no spiritual solid peace 
 till I came with all my imperfections on my head, in 
 obedience to the call of my Saviour, simply as a little 
 child, weary and heavy laden, casting my care and 
 burden before him. Then I was willing to take ' His 
 yoke upon me, and learn of Him,' endeavouring by the 
 grace of God to copy His humility, convinced that 
 ' His yoke is easy, and His burden is light.' I would 
 fix my soul on Jesus ; I would endeavour in all things 
 to follow His steps. Oh, that I could glorify the God 
 of my salvation ! The whole world and all its pleasures 
 have nothing to be compared with one single spark of 
 Divine love. Oh, let all my soul, let all the world unite 
 in blessing God, the Father of light and life I I thank 
 Thee, O Lord, for thine abundant goodness to me. 
 Carry on thine own work in my soul. Let me be 
 indeed to all eternity thy child in Jesus Christ." 
 
 Miss Spurr witnessed, the following year, the divi- 
 sion of the "Wesleyan Methodist body, and the formation 
 
 H 
 
93 BRITISH FEMALE INIISSIONARIES. 
 
 of the " New Connexion and New Conference." She 
 investigated the causes of the secession, and united 
 with that section of which Mr. Alexander Kilham, a 
 preacher of eminent worth and talents, was a chief 
 leader. With this gentleman she became at this 
 time acquainted ; and she approved of his decision and 
 proceedings, as in her judgment they were according to 
 the will of God. Hence she encouraged him, in a 
 letter dated, '' September 18, 1797. I entreat you not 
 to shrink from suffering, if such be the will of God 
 concerning you. Be actuated by the charity which 
 beareth all things: l)e willing to be reviled, despised, 
 and rejected of men : let your name be cast out as 
 evil, — only take care that it be undeservedly! — You 
 have real enjoyment while in Clirist Jesus, and doing the 
 will of God ; the Lord will support you under the 
 burdens He himself lays upon you. You have nothing 
 to fear but sin ; then determine by the grace of God to 
 stand unmoved in the fire ; — your Saviour wdll be with 
 you ; but rather let the flame consume you, than that 
 you should do anything to grieve the Spirit of God. 
 Your sincere friend, Hannah Spurr." 
 
 Mr. Kilham's character may be in some degree 
 understood from the following addressed to Miss 
 Spurr : — " October 1, 1797. — It is impossible to de- 
 scribe the joy I feel in seeking the salvation of my fel- 
 low-creatures. I feel a lively hope that God will grant 
 His protecting cloud, that we may adore and love Him 
 for ever. My soul does enter within the veil and seeks 
 her meat from God. Oh, that I may be fed more 
 
MRS. HANNAH KILHAM. 99 
 
 abundantly, and rejoice continually in His salvation. 
 After preaching I returned home weary and faint. One 
 of my brothers came from Epworth, and informed me 
 my aged father is well ; he has known the grace of God 
 more than fifty years. Your aftectionate friend, 
 Alexander Kilham." 
 
 Frequent correspondence was carried on between 
 these two attached friends; and the following will 
 evince the high esteem in which Mr. Kilham held Miss 
 Spurr : — "December 31, 1797. I know not a person 
 in the world whose disposition is so suitable to mine as 
 that of my beloved Hannah. I think our heavenly 
 Father has in mercy brought us acquainted with each 
 other for the best purposes. I hope if I am not worthy 
 the name of ' Pliable,' my dear Hannah will not merit 
 that of ' Obstinate ! ' If we can only do each other 
 good, and be useful to mankind, God shall have the 
 praise. I shall conclude with observing, on this last 
 day of the year, that, next to the blessings of Divine 
 grace to my soul, thou art the choicest favour that earth 
 could afford, and of which I am unworthy ! — A. K." 
 
 Miss Spurr was married to Mr. Kilham in April 
 1798, but their union was of short continuance, only 
 eight months ! and during this period they were much 
 separated, as he was travelling in the work of the 
 ministry in various parts of England and Wales. On 
 Wednesday, December 12, 1793, he took a violent cold 
 in walking home between four and five miles, after 
 preaching. He was extremely ill most of the following 
 week ; and on Thursday, the 20th, he vomited much 
 n 2 
 
100 BRITISH FEMALE MISSIONARIES. 
 
 blood. " I was much affected," says Mrs. Kilham, 
 " with the thought that if an uncommonly sweet and 
 heavenly frame of mind were to be considered as a sign 
 of an approaching change, my dear husband would soon 
 be called away. He said he was much relieved, and I 
 expressed my thankfulness to God with tears. About 
 ten o'clock he threw up a much larger quantity of 
 blood than before ; and soon after he vomited again, 
 and appeared as if the hand of death was upon him. 
 The soul of my dear husband appeared to be engaged 
 with God as he said, ' Though I walk through the 
 valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, 
 for Thou art with me.' In a little time, the vomiting 
 came on more violently than ever ; and as soon as he 
 was able to speak, he said, ' If I am dying now, tell all 
 the world that Jesus is precious ! ' He added, ' He is 
 working gloriously in my heart, glory to God ! ' A 
 friend who was present said he would go for a physi- 
 cian. My husband answered, ' No, no doctor ; I want 
 none but Jesus Christ ! ' When we were distressed at 
 the thought of his sufferings, we heard him say, 'As the 
 afflictions of Christ abound, His consolations abound in 
 my soul.' He appeared sensible that life was now 
 wearing away very fast ; and left a dying profession of 
 his confidence of the goodness of the cause in which his 
 heart had been engaged : he said, ' "What I have done 
 with regard to the methodist connexion, so far from 
 repenting, I rejoice in it at this moment ! What I have 
 done in opposing the corruptions in the church I 
 believed my duty ; I bless God that he made me 
 
MRS. HANNAH KILHAM. 101 
 
 an instrument of doing it ! Oh, that I had done it 
 more faitlifully ! ' The last words he was heard to 
 speak were, ' Jesus Christ, receive my spirit ! ' My 
 mind had till now been suspended between hope and 
 despair, and I was silent ; but now I began to speak to 
 him. I saw his faithful soul was goino^ to his 
 Redeemer, and in the fulness of my heart declared, 
 ' I would call on all the world never to seek happiness 
 in anything but God.' I assured him if a human 
 being could have given happiness, he had given it 
 to me." 
 
 Mrs. Kilham, thus left in a state of widowhood, 
 about four months after the decease of her husband, 
 became, in April 1799, the mother of a lovely little 
 girl, which, with a daughter of her husband by a 
 former wife, engaged her attention, and soothed her 
 sorrows. But soon after her recovery, she took charge 
 of the female part of a day-school, which was opened 
 among the methodists in Nottingham. This occupation 
 she followed with conscientious zeal for about two 
 years, during which time her mind was exercised by 
 certain views on religious subjects different from those 
 entertained by the methodist connexion. The progress 
 of this change in her sentiments led her to retire from 
 her former associates, and to join the religious Society of 
 Friends, in 1801. In the summer of this year she 
 removed to Sheffield. Here also she engaged with a 
 friend in conducting a day-school. In the beginning of 
 the year 1803, Mrs. Kilham was received fully into 
 membership with the Society of Friends ; and about 
 
102 BRITISH FEMALE MISSIONARIES- 
 
 the year 1805 or 1806, began a day and boarding 
 school in Sheffield, in which she was occupied till the 
 year 18^1, imparting to many, not only the knowledge 
 of letters, but the saving principles of Christianity. 
 She entered into the spirit of her office, and cherished 
 her enlarged benevolence of heart, which had distin- 
 guished her from her first profession of the gospel : this 
 will be evident from the following extracts of her 
 diary : — 
 
 December 26, 1813. — "Fifteen years have now 
 passed since I was left in a state of widowhood, and 
 nearly twelve since I lost my beloved infant. There 
 has been much to combat since that time, from within 
 and from without : yet a hand of mercy and goodness 
 has led thus far through all, and fixed my faith and 
 hope in increasing stability. What my future lot may 
 be is wholly unknown, unseen. Oh, that my only 
 object may ever be to choose that path in which I may 
 act most for the glory of my Creator ! I believe that 
 true religion may lead its votaries to unite the diligence 
 in business of the most industrious with the most disin- 
 terested benevolence. 28;A. — Read with much satisfac- 
 tion and pleasure some of the Religious Tract Society's 
 books, and a few of the Cheap Repository tracts ; and 
 selected about twenty for lending-libraries. Concluded 
 to send some of the Scripture Selections to various 
 schools. It is a privilege I hope gratefully to enjoy, to 
 appropriate every year some of the first fruits of the 
 increase of my school to the dispersing of religious 
 books, especially to children and young persons. Are 
 
MRS. HANNAH KILHAM. 103 
 
 not Friends peculiarly called upon to act as school- 
 missionaries, since they might do this in conformity 
 with their best principles ? and miglit they not in 
 each place or station have meetings for religious 
 worship ! " 
 
 Hannah Kilham pursued her scholastic duties at 
 Sheffield, cherishing, at the same time, the most en- 
 larged benevolence of heart, devising and executing 
 various plans of usefulness. She projected a mission to 
 Ireland, to promote schools among the distressed people 
 of that country ; and she contemplated the degradation 
 of the Negroes with a generous sympathy, entering upon 
 a course of preparation to be enabled to undertake a mis- 
 sion to Africa, to found schools and teach the natives of 
 the western provinces of that continent. A friend and 
 fellow-labourer in benevolence gives the following ac- 
 count of her activity at Sheffield : — 
 
 " During her residence at Sheffield, the attention of 
 Hannah Kilham was particularly directed to relieving 
 the wants of the poor and distressed, and endeavouring 
 to promote their moral and religious welfare. We 
 believe it was in the year 1815, that she took so 
 active and conspicuous a part in the formation and 
 establishment of the ' Society for Bettering the Condi- 
 tion of the Poor in Sheffield,' which originated with 
 her, and has proved a model for many similar institu- 
 tions throughout the nation ; the objects of this society 
 engaged a large portion of her attention during the 
 remainder of her residence at Sheffield. Her benevo- 
 lent labours were not confined to this society, as we 
 
104 BRITISH FEMALE MISSIONARIES. 
 
 learn that her attention was much devoted to the 
 ' Girls' Lancasterian School,' and that she took an 
 active and valuable part in the ' Society for Visiting 
 and Relieving Aged Females.' She also assisted greatly 
 in the establishment and management of the ' Sheffield 
 Bible Associations.' Our truly respected friend, Hannah 
 Kilham, with whom 1 was favoured to be intimately 
 acquainted, and often privileged to co-operate, from 
 about 1802 to 1818 or 1819, for years had an influ- 
 ence in the circle in which she moved, beyond that of 
 any other individual, among the great number of excel- 
 lent persons, who, during those years, gave their ser- 
 vices to benevolent institutions m Sheffield. Hannah 
 Kilham's good sense, clear discernment, decided firm- 
 ness of purpose, unusual business-like habits and plans, 
 untiring industry, united with her winning, but unob- 
 trusive manners, all conspired to make her influence 
 great, and her services valuable." 
 
 Hannah Kilham, in August 1817, inserted the fol- 
 lowing in the Sheffield Iris : — " To the Friends of 
 Missions. What would be the most easy and efficient 
 method of arranging and reducing to letters an un- 
 written language ? Any considerations which can 
 throw light on this interesting point would essentially 
 oblige A Correspondent." And at the close of the 
 year she recorded in her diary the following : — 
 " 12th mo. 20th. The time is come in which it appears 
 to me to be right to inform a few friends of the pro- 
 spects before me, of a duty to my younger bretliren and 
 sisters of the African continent. I wish to go to Sierra 
 
MRS. HANNAH KILHAM. 105 
 
 Leone^ as a school-missionary, for the instruction of the 
 children in that colony and neighbourhood." 
 
 Her step-daughter appears to have possessed much 
 of the same spirit : for, in her biographical Memoir, she 
 says : — " In 1819, it was my precious mother who first 
 proposed my leaving England, and this she was led to 
 do from an expression of countenance she observed in 
 me, when a friend mentioned a person being wanted in 
 Russia for girls' schools on the system of mutual instruc- 
 tion. She made every arrangement for this step with 
 the utmost cheerfulness and alacrity, talked with inte- 
 rest of the new field of occupation, &c. ; and I could 
 not imagine the separation would be painful to her ; 
 not from any previous marks of want of affection, be- 
 cause of her love I had had continued, and strong proofs ; 
 only I thought her expansive benevolence had so far 
 conquered her natural feelings, as to render her able to 
 make any sacrifice which she deemed likely to promote 
 the public good. When, however, the parting hour 
 drew near, the struggle was so difficult, and her suffer- 
 ings so acute, that I have often wondered how I could 
 tear myself from her, and why I did not abandon the 
 enterprise. After these emotions had subsided, she 
 accompanied me to the vessel, and finally separated 
 from me with the meek and peaceful submission of one 
 who counted her Lord's will more to be desired than all 
 earthly comforts." 
 
 Hannah Kilham, before the close of the year 1819, 
 as she records, " went up to London to converse with 
 some missionaries leaving for Sierra Leone, on the re- 
 
106 BRITISH FEMALE MISSIONARIES. 
 
 duction of unwritten languages, particularly African. 
 I remained some time in the neighbourhood of London, 
 in order to proceed in my purpose of reducing the 
 Jaloof language, which was spoken by two African 
 sailors, altliough one was a native of the Mandingo 
 country." She continued the study of these two lan- 
 guages till the Friends' Yearly Meeting in May, 1820, 
 and afterwards returned to Sheffield. Still she perse- 
 vered in this difficult work : as she records, March 3, 
 1821 : — "With all my cares it feels difficult to give 
 time to the study of the African languages, yet it must 
 be done, it is quite necessary. Oh ! that this might 
 induce me from this day, to appropriate a part of every 
 morning to the practice of Jaloof and French." 
 
 Ireland has frequently presented scenes of most de- 
 plorable distress : and the miseries arising from the 
 failure of the potato crop in the year 1822, occasioned 
 the collection of a large sum of money for the relief of 
 the poor, and the formation of the " British and Irish 
 Ladies' Society ;" designing the improvement of the 
 female poor of Ireland. Having relinquished her school 
 at Sheffield, Hannah Kilham undertook a mission to 
 Ireland in 1823, for tliis Society ; and after several 
 months' exertion in that country, she returned and 
 delivered an affiscting report of her labours. 
 
 Hannah Kilham, with three other Friends, embarked 
 for Africa, October 20, 1833 ; and, after various ef- 
 forts to promote schools in several places, including 
 Sierra-Leone, and the Cape, she returned in August, 
 1824, to England. She spent much of her time in 
 
MRS. HANNAH KILHAM. 107 
 
 1825 and 1826, in various benevolent labours among 
 the miserable Irish , in St. Giles's, London ; and in the 
 latter end of 1827, she undertook a second voyage, to 
 carry forward her benevolent plans at Sierra-Leone. 
 About a month after her arrival, she was seized with 
 fever, and prevailed on again to return to England ; after 
 a favourable passage, she landed at Plymouth, in March 
 1828. She was actively engaged in doing good the 
 remainder of tlie year, through J 829, and the greater 
 part of 1830; and in October, she sailed, a third time, 
 for Africa, and landed, December 17, at Free Town, 
 Sierra-Leone. She established a school in the village of 
 Charlottee, under the sanction of the Governor, and 
 laboured among the children with gratifying success. 
 Her efforts were beneficial in various ways for the libe- 
 rated African children ; while she expresses her sym- 
 pathy with them, declaring " the horrid iniquities which 
 the trade in these little sufferers involves, discovered by 
 receiving children direct from the slave-ship." 
 
 Liberia, established by the American " Colonization 
 Society," for free'd blacks, deeply aff'ected the mind of 
 Hannah Kilham at this period, and she resolved on 
 visiting it. She accorhplished her object in February 
 1832, and inspected the several schools. On her re- 
 turn, in March, she wrote in her diary, " African and 
 American Christians from Sierra-Leone and Liberia, 
 must one day unite their efforts in the great cause of 
 Christian instruction and civilisation on this wide conti- 
 nent. Real Christians of America and of England 
 must lose sight of every minor distinction, in the great 
 
108 BRITISH FEMALE MISSIONARIES. 
 
 and soul- reviving appeal of, ' Have we not one Father ; 
 did not one God create iis ? ' " 
 
 Her last entry was March 25 — " On the passage to 
 Sierra-Leone. True religion is the heartfelt acknow- 
 ledgment of God, and of His redeeming power and love 
 in Christ Jesus our Lord," 
 
 " Here closes,'' says her daughter, " the journal 
 written by our precious mother. — The next account we 
 have of this tenderly loved relative is contained in the 
 following communication: — 'Free-Town, Sierra-Leone, 
 May 7, 1832 — We are sorry that we are not at present 
 acquainted with all the particulars respecting her ill- 
 ness and death. The information we have received is 
 the following : — Mrs. Kilham left Liberia in good health 
 to return to Sierra- Leone : when very nearly within two 
 days' sail the vessel was struck by lightning, and put 
 back to Liberia ; she was taken ill the day following, 
 complaining only of sea-sickness ; whether country- 
 fever, or some other disease followed, we have no inti- 
 mation further than this ; on the third day, the 31st of 
 March, she died quite insensible. Her grave is the 
 boundless deep !' " 
 
 Sincerely has it been deplored that we have no fur- 
 ther information concerning the views and feelings of 
 this truly Missionary labourer in her last hours. But 
 her record is on high : as she lived, she doubtless " died 
 in the Lord, she rests from her labours, and her works 
 follow her," giving abundant evidence of her heart-felt 
 piety, and of her intelligent faith on the Son of God for 
 salvation. 
 
MRS. HANNAH KILHAM. 109 
 
 Mr. Montgomery, the poet, residing at Sheffield, 
 knew this devoted servant of the Redeemer. That ju- 
 dicious philanthropist says of this excellent woman : — 
 " It may be truly said of Hannah Kilham, that it was 
 given her not only to believe in the name of the Lord 
 Jesus, but also to suffer for his sake ; nor can we doubt 
 but that she was ready, at any moment, to lay down 
 her life in the service of those for whom He laid down 
 his life in sacrifice. Having known her for many 
 years, and having often had occasion to glorify God in 
 her, I can honestly testify that during all that period, 
 either at home or abroad, she was one of the most ac- 
 tively and influentially benevolent persons with whom 
 it was ever my privilege to be acquainted. She is now 
 gone to her reward, — not of merit, but of grace ; the only 
 ground upon which she ever ventured to believe that 
 she might one day enter into the joy of her Lord. 
 
 ' Thy light, dear saint, put out in darkness, sleeps 
 Beneath the gulf o'er which the Negro weeps 
 When borne to bondage ; from the ship of slaves 
 His tears are wafted homeward on the waves ! ' " 
 
MRS. STALLYBRASS*. 
 
 DIED FEBRtlARY 10, 1833, 
 
 Mrs, Stallybrass, daughter of Mr. Robinson, deacon of a church at Stepney. — 
 Ilor early piety. — Letter to her Sister, — Reference to her Mother. — Her 
 Sister's testimony, — Miss Robinson's estimate of ^Missionary work, — Her 
 new year's reflections — Project of a mission to the Buriats of Siberia- — 
 Miss Robinson married to Rev, E. Stallybrass, — They proceed on a 
 mission to Siberia, — Arrive at St, Petersburgh, — Joined by the Rev, Mr. 
 and Mrs, Rahmn. — Anticipation of their journey, — Their arrange- 
 ments, — Arrive at Tobolsk, — Mrs, S,'s letter to her brother, — Stay at 
 Irkutsk, — Settle at Selenginsk, — Her efforts in the education of native 
 females,— Mrs. Rahmn's illness and return to England, — Mrs, Stally- 
 brass perseveres, — Arrival of Rev, Messrs, Swan and Yuille — Mrs. 
 Stallybrass's labours, — Expense of educating Buriat girls. — Buriat 
 female degradation. — They remove to Khodon, — Labours among the 
 Buriats. — Buriat heathenism..— Lamaism, — Pagan customs, — Habits of 
 the Lamas. — Of the Mongols. — Trials of a Missionary's wife in Siberia 
 — The Mission -house destroyed by fire — Mrs. S.'s perseverance. — Her 
 ill health.— Her state of mind.— Her death.— Her character by Rev. 
 Mr, Rahmn,— Record of her by the Directors of the Missionary So- 
 ciety,— Testimony of her excellence by Rev. W. Ellis.— Her importance 
 to the Siberian Mission, by Dr, Fletcher, 
 
 Mrs. Stallybrass, " though dead, yet speaketh," in 
 the following brief sketch of her life and character ; it 
 was partly given by the Rev. W. Swan, the estimable 
 colleague and fellow-labourer of her husband, the Rev. 
 Edward Stallybrass, stationed in Siberia, in connexion 
 with the London Missionary Society. Particulars have 
 
 * See Memoir of Mrs, Stallybrass, wife of the Rev. Edward Stallybrass 
 Missionary to Siberia, By Edward Stallybrass. With an Introduction by 
 Joseph Fletcher, D.D, Fisher, London. 
 
MRS. STALLYBRASS. Ill 
 
 been added to complete the blograpliy of this excellent 
 female Missionary to the heathen, from the instructive 
 Memoir published by her husband, with an Introduc- 
 tion by the Rev. Dr. Fletcher. 
 
 Mrs. Stallybrass was a daughter of the late Mr. T. 
 Robinson, of Green Bank, London; for many years a 
 highly-respected and exemplary deacon of the Christian 
 church at Stepney, under the pastoral superintendence 
 of the Rev. George Ford, and subsequently of the Rev. 
 Dr. Fletcher. She was born April 7th, 1789, and 
 became devoted to God in her early years. Parental 
 influence and examples were felt by her from her in- 
 fancy, producing pious impressions on her mind; and 
 these were deepened by means of the catechetical exer- 
 cises of the venerable Mr. Brewer, predecessor of the 
 Rev. Mr. Ford. She derived much benefit from the 
 labours of her pious teachers in the seminary of Mrs. 
 Shepherd, of Hackney, especially of Miss Hyde, after- 
 wards the excellent wife of the Rev. Mr. Gordon, a re- 
 spected and devoted Missionary in India. 
 
 Miss Robinson's state of mind in early life will appear 
 from the following beautiful letter, written to her 
 youngest sister, when at school together : — 
 
 " My dear sister A. — If you knew how much your 
 depression affects my spirits, and the influence it has 
 upon my feelings, you would hide that despondency 
 which veils your mind. Will not the animating senti- 
 ments of last evening chase away your sorrows ? Why 
 should the heirs of glory indulge in gloomy sadness ? 
 All nature revives with the dawn of the morninof ; and 
 as the sun displays his beams, clouds and darkness fly 
 
112 BRITISH FEMALE MISSIONARIES. 
 
 away. Shall the Sun of Righteousness arise in the 
 dispensation of His goodness which you continually 
 enjoy, and you not display His heavenly influence upon 
 your soul ? Remember the Holy Jesus here on earth 
 poured out strong cryings and tears on our behalf. 
 ' He bore our griefs, and carried our sorrows, and on 
 Him was laid the iniquity of us all.' Is His interces- 
 sion less prevalent than it was ? No ! He advocates 
 our cause before the throne of God; and whilst He 
 pleads, we may go boldly to the throne of grace. Cast 
 all your burdens upon the Lord ; for He has promised 
 to sustain them. I have not time to add more, than 
 that I am," &c. 
 
 Miss Robinson lost her beloved mother in 1804 ; and, 
 at a remote period of her life, referring to that amiable 
 " guide of her youth," she writes in her journal : — 
 " This day twenty-three years ago, I was listening with 
 deep solemnity to the explanation of that sweet portion 
 of Scripture, ' Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, 
 and afterwards receive me to glory;' Psal. Ixxiii — 24, 
 and this passage formed the subject of our meditation 
 this morning. 
 
 " My thoughts naturally reverted to the scenes of my 
 youth, and my privilege, above many, in having pious 
 parents, who trained me in the fear of God, and turned 
 aside my devious steps from the paths of vanity. For 
 the memory of my dear mother, in particular, I have 
 the most devout affection, for putting restraints upon 
 my carnal and vain propensities, and for engaging my 
 youthful affections on the side of religion." 
 
 Miss Robinson, '-growing in grace and in the know- 
 
MRS. STALLYBRASS. 113 
 
 ledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ," was ad- 
 mitted a member of the Church at Stepney, September 
 '2, 1808, in the middle of her nineteenth year ; and from 
 that period she studiously " adorned the doctrine of 
 God her Saviour." 
 
 Her sister, from whom she was never separated till 
 she left England, states, " She united with the principal 
 societies formed at Stepney, and in her own locality, 
 for works of benevolence, and was constantly going 
 about doing good, and searching out objects of distress, 
 which, as far as her means allowed her, were relieved. 
 She possessed a large share of benevolence ; and I recoU 
 lect one circumstance w^hicli proves it in a remarkable 
 manner. When young, she was visiting a family, in 
 which one of the daughters was in a deep consumption. 
 The family had been reduced from great respectability 
 to deep distress, and did not possess the means of af- 
 fording the sufferer the comforts requisite for her situa- 
 tion. My dear sister had saved a pound-note for some 
 particular purpose ; and it was nearly all she possessed 
 at that time. Not wishinoj to hurt the feelinos of the 
 family by a direct offer of help, and thinking the note 
 she had saved could not be better applied, on taking 
 leave she left it, and hastily withdrew, promising to 
 call again. I merely mention this as one circumstance 
 that falls within my recollection, and shows the bias 
 of her mind. There were, I doubt not, many such, as 
 her heart was always open to do good." 
 
 Miss Robinson's enlarged, discriminating, and truly 
 Christian mind will appear remarkably illustrated, by 
 I 
 
114 BRITISH FEMALE MISSIONARIES. 
 
 the following extracts of a letter, regarding a devotedly 
 pious and respectable minister of another denomination, 
 with whom her family were on terms of friendship, and 
 who had resolved on leaving^ his charoje in England, to 
 accept the situation of Chaplain in one of our foreign 
 settlements, where opportunity would be afforded of 
 preaching the gospel of Christ to the heathen : — 
 
 '■'March 1th, 1812. — My dear A., A little time 
 spent with my friends at the vicarage enabled me to 
 gratify my desire of knowing the motives by which 
 they were actuated in leaving England for foreign 
 climes. Had society, situation, domestic comfort, or 
 convenience, been consulted, they had probably still 
 been residents in their native country ; for of any circle 
 in which it has been my lot to move, theirs is the most 
 refined, and, in many instances, equally spiritual. But 
 it is not these that can gratify the mind that is ardent 
 to glorify God by doing good to its fellow-creatures. 
 I have a striking instance of this fact in the short and 
 concise sketcli of the character of a truly honourable 
 servant of God, whose death the ' Times ' of yesterday 
 announced ; which, for your gratification, I shall tran- 
 scribe : — ' Died at the Cape of Good Hope, on the 1.5th 
 of December 1811, after an illness of eight days. Dr. 
 Vanderkemp, a distinguished missionary to the Hot- 
 tentots, and other nations of South Africa, under the 
 patronage of the Missionary Society of London,' &:c. 
 &c. Who, that has a spark of divine love in his breast, 
 does not wish to go and do likewise ? Permit me here 
 to digress, by indulging a momentary reverie. If there 
 
MRS. STALLYBRASS. ' 115 
 
 are degrees in glory — nearest to the throne of the Lamb, 
 and transcendently glorious, will be the crown of a 
 Schwartz, a Des Granges, and a Vanderkemp. But, to 
 return to my friend, whose intrepidity of mind and 
 confidence in God induced him to undertake a voyage 
 of six or eight weeks, with his wife and three dear 
 infants, to embark in the glorious work of pointing a 
 heathen world to the bleeding Lamb. If I may be 
 allowed a private opinion respecting their eligibility to 
 so important an undertaking, I must confess, of the 
 two, I consider Mrs. A. most likely to be useful to 
 untutored Indians. My heart warms with so interest- 
 ing a subject, and disposes me to say, I could almost 
 give up a brother^ for so godlike an undertaking. Oh, 
 A. ! — if duty has not pointed the way for us to embark 
 in such a cause, yet let not ours be the terrible reflec- 
 tion of having forgotten it in our prayers ; yea, let it 
 be our daily supplication, that the knowledge of the 
 Lord may cover the earth as the waters cover the sea ! " 
 Little did Miss Robinson at that period imagine that 
 she should one day make the sacrifices, share the 
 trials, and, as it is now confidently believed, receive the 
 gracious reward, of a faithful missionary. A few years 
 afterwards, however. Divine Providence opened the way 
 of duty for her in that honourable service, and in a most 
 difficult and trying station. Her Christian character 
 had greatly matured, qualifying her for the duties which 
 she was about to be called to discharge ; this will, in 
 part, be evident, from the following extract from her 
 journal, on having completed her twenty-seventh year, 
 I 2 
 
116 BRITISH FEMALE MISSIONARIES. 
 
 and on her entering that in which she engaged as a 
 missionary : — 
 
 ''April!, 1816.— Shall the epoch of my birth be 
 known only by the date from another day ? Oh, no ! 
 it is preserved in my recollection by all the mercies 
 that have followed me ever since I drew my breath. 
 If by my mercies I were to calculate my days, I might 
 make them twenty-seven years twice told ; if by my 
 returns, they would dwindle into nothing ! My hap- 
 piest moments I find to be those spent in the closet : — 
 
 ' The calm retreat, the silent shade. 
 With prayer and praise agree.' 
 
 How thankful do I now feel in stealing from the busy 
 multitude ! Oh, when shall I live more to the glory of 
 God, and have no design but this in view I But why 
 think this peculiar to one situation in life ? May not 
 the Christian glorify God in the metropolis, as well as 
 the village ? Lord ! help me ever to recollect, whether 
 in the closet, the parlour, the village, or the city, that 
 I am a pilgrim — a stranger — a traveller — a candidate 
 for another world ! " 
 
 Circumstances havinor led the Committee of the 
 
 o 
 
 London Missionary Society, in 1816, to project a mis- 
 sion to the Mongol- Tartars, inhabiting both sides of 
 the Lake Baikal, in Eastern Siberia, chiefly by the 
 representations of Drs. Paterson, Pinkerton, and Hen- 
 derson, who were employed in promoting the objects 
 of the Bible Society in Russia, Mr. Stallybrass was 
 appointed to that distant region. He had been ac- 
 quainted with Mr. Robinson's family, and appreciated 
 
MRS. STALLYBRxVSS. 117 
 
 the piety and talents of Miss Robinson ; but regard for 
 her revered father, and diffident of her own qualifica- 
 tions, led her at first to decline his proposals. Dr. 
 Fletcher's sermon before the Missionary Society, how- 
 ever, determined her mind as to the path of duty, and 
 her beloved father gave his consent ; so that, after some 
 delay, on account of the unfavourable season for a voy- 
 age to Russia, they w^ere married March 5, 1817, and 
 left London, May 16th, to join the vessel Oscar, which 
 was to convey them to St. Petersburgh. " They were 
 privileged to have for their fellow- passenger on the 
 voyage, that second Howard, and devoted friend of 
 humanity and Christianity, Walter Yenning, Esq., who 
 then took leave of his country, to devote the remainder 
 of his life — which, alas ! proved but short — to the pro- 
 motion of the best interests of his fellow men." 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Stallybrass arrived, June 11th, at St. 
 Petersburgh, where they were kindly received by Dr. 
 Henderson, then residing- in the house belonoinor to the 
 Bible Society ; and they continued in that city the 
 remainder of the year, waiting the arrival of companions 
 in their journey ; acquiring the knowledge of the Rus- 
 sian language ; and obtaining the patronage of the 
 authorities there to their mission. Opportunity w^as 
 afforded also, special permission being granted, to preach 
 to the English residing in that city; "for which pur- 
 pose the chapel of the United Brethren was kindly 
 granted on one part of the Lord's day. This service 
 was commenced by the Rev. W. Glen, who arrived 
 about the same time at St. Petersburgh, from the Edin- 
 
118 BRITISH FEMALE MISSIONARIES. 
 
 burgli Missionary Society, on liis way to Astracan. 
 Upon liis departure, which took place after lie had 
 preached four Sabbaths, Mr. Stallybrass continued the 
 service, till he left this city for Siberia." 
 
 During their stay at St. Petersburgh, they were 
 joined by the Rev. Mr. Rahmn and his wife, Germans, 
 appointed to the same mission ; on which occasion Mrs. 
 Stallybrass wrote : — 
 
 " November 9th. — This is the first Sabbath evening 
 since my arrival at St. Petersburgh, or rather since the 
 commencement of public worship, in which I have been 
 deprived of the privilege of worshipping God in his 
 tabernacles. A slight indisposition keeps me at home 
 — not by my own desire, but by the advice of friends. 
 Oh, Lord ! make my chamber as profitable to me as 
 thy house. Give me only thy presence, and all will be 
 well. 
 
 "And now that God, in his adorable providence, 
 has sent to our help these pious and worthy persons, 
 Mr. and Mrs. Rahmn, oh, that he would afford us grace 
 to act, in all respects, to and by them, as becometh 
 fellow-helpers in the noblest of all causes. May we 
 be enabled to cultivate towards each other the most 
 tender and affectionate dispositions, bearing one an- 
 other's burdens, and so fulfilling the law of Christ." 
 
 Anticipating her formidable journey, Mrs. Stallybrass 
 wrote in her journal as follows : — 
 
 *-^ Decemher 7th, 1818. — Mine is a higli and holy 
 calling. Oh, for a sanctified heart, to fulfil the duties 
 of it ! Oh, for more of the mind and Spirit of Christ I 
 
MRS. STALLYBRASS. 119 
 
 Without this, I fear greatly that I shall become a 
 stumbling-block, instead of an example, to the heathen. 
 Oh, Lord ! pour out thy Spirit upon my soul ; sanctify 
 me ; quicken mc ; purify mc ; fit me for thy work ! 
 And when thou sUalt call me to go forward into it, may 
 I go with the temper of a Christian, the zeal of an 
 apostle, and the faith of a martyr." 
 
 Arrangements having been made for tliis missionary 
 party, they found themselves ready, at the beginning 
 of tlie year 1818, to commence their long journey. 
 " By the foresight and indefatigable exertion chiefly of 
 the Rev. Dr. Paterson — who may justly be denominated 
 the father of the mission — all that could contribute to 
 their comfort and well-being had been provided. 
 
 " Through the singular and almost unprecedented 
 favour of the late excellent Emperor Alexander, who 
 manifested o'reat interest in this mission to a tribe of 
 
 o 
 
 his heathen subjects, all that could possibly tend to 
 facilitate their journey was effected. Letters were 
 written to the governors of provinces through which 
 they had to pass, and to the directors and masters of 
 the post, under whose jurisdiction horses for travelling 
 are placed in Russia ; and a post-courier was ordered to 
 accompany them, in order to render every assistance, 
 and prevent delay." 
 
 Having assembled with their Christian friends at the 
 house of the Bible Society, in the afternoon of Friday, 
 January 2nd, to commend each other to God in united 
 prayer, the missionaries set out the same day from the 
 Russian capital, on their journey oifoiir thousand miles 
 
120 BRITISH FEMALE MISSIONARIES. 
 
 over the snow to the city of Irkutsk, the eastern capital 
 of Siberia. Mrs. Stallybrass enjoyed good health and 
 spirits through the whole course of this formidable 
 migration, and kept a regular journal of their progress, 
 narrating in a brief but graphic manner the new and 
 remarkable scenes which every day and night presented 
 themselves during nearly three months, occupied in 
 travelling in sledges over those " most forlorn and 
 desolate of all the regions on the globe." Her journal 
 contains many interesting notices of various places 
 through which they passed, particularly of Moscow 
 and of Tobolsk. In relation to this latter city, the 
 capital of Western Siberia, she writes : — 
 
 " February ^bth. — Arriving at Tobolsk, we expe- 
 rienced the greatest hospitality. Upon our arrival, our 
 husbands delivered their first letter to the post-director 
 of all Siberia, expecting to learn from him whether 
 lodgings were provided for us. But immediately upon 
 their making the inquiry, this generous and hospitable 
 gentleman led them through a range of elegant apart- 
 ments, saying they should be extremely welcome to 
 what his house would afford ; and ordering his servants 
 to take charge of our vehicles ; and we, in all our dis- 
 habille, were introduced to him, for he would admit no 
 apologies. He sent for his valet-de-chambre, who, he 
 said, would be our interpreter in French. 
 
 *' On the next day we dined with the governor. 
 His family, which is numerous, . and several friends 
 invited to meet us, were the companions for this day. 
 And though we could convey our ideas to each other 
 
MRS. STALLYBRASS. 121 
 
 only in an imperfect way — sometimes in French — some- 
 times by speaking a little English (for this the governor 
 understands imperfectly) — and sometimes by German 
 and Russian, all seemed much entertained. This was 
 Thursday, and the hope of having a quiet room to our- 
 selves on the ensuing Sabbath, induced us to resolve 
 upon remaining till the following Monday. 
 
 " The politeness and attention of his excellency, the 
 post-director, exceed almost everything I ever met with 
 from a stranger. 
 
 '''■ Sahhath^ March \st. — Part of this day of the Lord 
 we have spent most happily. Having told his excel- 
 lency candidly that w^e wished our apartments to be 
 quite retired, as we have no opportunity of worshipping 
 God in public, he kindly assented. Afterwards he told 
 us, that a person of distinction had called to make our 
 acquaintance ; but that he had told him we were at our 
 prayers, and must not be disturbed. Could this kind 
 friend have joined us in our religious exercises this day, 
 how gladly should we have invited him to be a guest 
 with us at the table of the Lord ! All the return we 
 can make him for his kindness is, by praying that he 
 may be a partaker in the kingdom of heaven." 
 
 Writing to her brother on the 27th, she says : — 
 " Looking forward to the half of our journey yet un- 
 finished, we behold it with diminished anxiety, regard- 
 ing only the place of our destination. You would be 
 much amused at the variety of accommodations with 
 which we meet. The last chamber in which we lodged 
 
 o 
 
 before reaching this place, formed the sleeping apart- 
 
122 • BRITISH FEMALE MISSIONARIES. 
 
 ment of both our families, our host and his wife, two 
 other women, and all the live stock of the family. 
 Leaving this uncomfortable situation at an early hour, 
 we cheered ourselves with the hope that the city of 
 Tobolsk would afford us more convenience for the 
 ensuing night. Thus you have a true picture of a 
 missionary's checkered life. The intelligence which 
 you gave us of the proposed prayer-meeting on our 
 behalf, afforded us much pleasure. The same post 
 brought us similar tidino-s from St. Petersburoh . 
 
 o e o 
 
 While the hearts of our Christian friends are thus 
 raised to heaven on our behalf, what may we not 
 realise by the divine blessing ! " 
 
 Leaving Tobolsk on the 3rd of March, they pro- 
 ceeded on their tedious and dreary course of about two 
 thousand miles further ; and reached on the 26tli the 
 city of Irkutsk. This city contains about 15,000 
 inhabitants. Mrs. Stallybrass states, — " Tliere are 
 fourteen churches, and other public buildings — as a 
 spiritual seminary, monastery, gymnasium, &c. And 
 at one end of the town are situated large barracks, with 
 military grounds, schools, &c., capable of accommodat- 
 ino^ two thousand soldiers and fifteen hundred Cossacks. 
 The town is pleasantly situated on the north-east bank 
 of the Angarci, into which the small river Irkut — 
 whence the town takes its name — empties itself. The 
 fortifications of this, as of most other Siberian cities, 
 is inconsiderable. The merchandise from China and 
 from other parts is productive of considerable profit, 
 and the greater part of it is carried on by bartering 
 
MRS. STALLYBRASS. 123 
 
 furs. The town is well supplied with provisions from 
 the neighbouring villages ; but the principal market- 
 day is, unhappily, the Sabbath. The inhabitants are 
 numerous, and generally gay; and the higher orders 
 dress after the fashions of Petersburgh and Moscow." 
 
 Mr. Stally brass, with his missionary colleague, Mr. 
 Rahmn, continued upwards of a year at Irkutsk, pro- 
 secuting various labours, and enduring a series of trials. 
 " It was found that the city of Irkutsk did not appear 
 at all a favourable situation for carrying into effect the 
 designs of the Society. As the Buriats do not reside 
 in Russian towns— except a few, for the sake of em- 
 ployment — but, on account of their flocks and herds, 
 dwell in the wilderness, the missionaries found them- 
 selves cut off from almost all intercourse with them^ 
 It gave them, how^ever, the desired opportunities of 
 studying their language. In addition to this, the cir- 
 cumstances of the Buriats near Irkutsk did not offer 
 so many facilities for the comme7icement, at least, of a 
 mission, as another tribe did. They had no books, and 
 spoke a very corrupted dialect of the Mongolian lan- 
 guage. The missionaries were already furnished with 
 Gospels and tracts, printed at St. Petersburgh, for 
 distribution : but here, of course, there were none 
 to whom they could be useful. Whereas a consider- 
 able proportion of the Buriats, on the south side of the 
 lake Baikal, have books, are able to read, and use a 
 much purer dialect. These discoveries were made 
 principally during an exploratory tour in the regions 
 jiround the lake; when they fixed upon Selinginsk, 
 
124 BRITISH FEMALE MISSIONARIES. 
 
 in the vicinity of which town they established the 
 mission. 
 
 Mr. Rahmn was obliged to return to England, on 
 account of the declininfj health of his wife : but Mrs. 
 Stallybrass entered upon this new station with her hus- 
 band, and found here, with him, an inviting door of 
 usefulness opening to them. During her residence at 
 Irkutsk, on the 6th of August, Mrs. Stallybrass gave 
 birth to her first child, in this land of strangers ; but 
 she was enabled to enter upon some important labours 
 among the Pagan Buriats. She saw the female part 
 of the population, as in most heathen countries, crimi- 
 nally neglected, and fearfully degraded : the benefits of 
 education were denied to the girls, even where the boys 
 were taught to read and write. Amidst "numerous 
 domestic avocations — which, to persons accustomed to 
 European conveniences, cannot easily be conceived" — 
 she set herself to the task of educating as many as she 
 could receive into her house, or as could be induced to 
 attend for instruction. These were, indeed, but few ; 
 for such is the force of custom, and such the aversion 
 to change, especially in the way of moral improvement, 
 that it required much self-denying perseverance, and un- 
 wavering resolution, to struggle on in these attempts to 
 do good to those whose welfare she laboured to promote. 
 
 Mrs. Stallybrass, however, persevered, and in a 
 measure succeeded, though with an increasing family ; 
 so far, at least, as to collect and keep together a number 
 of interesting Buriat girls, whom she taught to read in 
 their own language, and instructed in several branches 
 
MRS. STALLYBRASS. 125 
 
 of useful industry, particularly the plaiting of straw, 
 and the making of it up into bonnets, an art which she 
 had acquired solely as a qualification for her work as 
 a missionary before she left England ; but she attended 
 especially to their education in the great principles of 
 the saving doctrines of Christ by the Scriptures. 
 
 Mr. Stally brass was aided in his important labours 
 of preaching and translating the Scriptures by the 
 valuable services of the Rev. Messrs. Swan and Yuille, 
 who joined them, after Mr. Rahmn s return, contribut- 
 ing greatly to the happiness of the enlarged mission 
 family. Still it is not easy to conceive of the courage 
 and self-denial required in the circumstances of Mrs. 
 Stallybrass, with three children, among the heathen of 
 Siberia. " One part of the day," she says, in a letter 
 to her sister, October 8, 1822, " I devote to improve- 
 ifaent in the Russian language ; another to the Mongo- 
 lian ; a third to the instruction of three native pupils ; 
 and a fourth to the education of my own boys. Now, 
 from what you know of domestic concerns, in circum- 
 stances where much less care is required than in mine, 
 I think you will admit that I do, not what I would, 
 but what I can. 
 
 " The Bible is a mighty engine, capable, indeed, of 
 raising the world. But as yet its force here is little 
 known, for ' darkness covers the earth, and gross dark- 
 ness the people.* The strongholds of Satan are many ; 
 anfl, but for the promise, ' Not by might, nor by power, 
 but by my Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts,' tlio heart of 
 a missionary would soon become faint, and his hands 
 
126 BRITISH FEMALE MISSIONARIES. 
 
 feeble. We are anxiously looking forward to the time 
 when both the Old and New Testament shall be in the 
 hands of the heathen tribes around us." 
 
 Buriat females are grievously degraded, as will 
 appear from the following extract of a letter from Mrs. 
 Stallybrass to her brother, under date July 21, 1825 : — 
 
 " You kindly inquire what is needful to carry for- 
 ward the plan for educating Buriat girls. Shall I put 
 bounds to your generosity ? Ten subscribers of £5, or 
 fifty subscribers, of £1 annually, would clothe and 
 educate ten girls ; or, if that sum were doubled, twenty 
 — the most that could be collected at one station. So 
 that £100 per annum would rescue from poverty, give 
 habits of industry, and aftbrd the means of learning the 
 way of salvation, to twenty females, now sunk in 
 wretchedness and heathenism. If, as has been justly 
 observed, upon the education of my own sex depends 
 greatly the state of society, what might not be expected 
 from the education of Buriat women ? In the prime 
 of life they are sold^ like cattle^ to the highest Udder ; 
 and when old age overtakes thcm^ they are laid aside as 
 useless ; or the grave is the wished-for receptacle of such 
 a burden to society ! " 
 
 Patiently persevering in her multiplied and arduous 
 duties, Mrs. Stallybrass continued until August 18:^8 ; 
 when, with her husband and family, she exchanged 
 Selenginsk for Khodon. This was a station nearly 
 200 miles distant from Selenginsk, in a north-easterly 
 direction, among the Chorin-Buriats ; and it had been 
 fixed upon as affording peculiar facilities for extended 
 
MRS. STALLYBRASS. 127 
 
 intercourse with the numerous ignorant tribes in that 
 quarter. She was therefore compelled to break up her 
 class, and allow the girls to return to the tents of their 
 parents, though with much regret. Her feelings on 
 this occasion she thus expresses :-^- 
 
 ^' August 2nd. — I find it difficult to cut asunder 
 many ties to this spot. My dear babe, and the other 
 branches of our once extensive families; the remaining 
 child of my dear sister Yuille ; my Buriat young people 
 — all bind my heart to it. Yet w^iy should we call any 
 spot our home ? Our home is any place which God 
 appoints. Adieu, then, ye gardens — inclosures of sacred 
 dust ! Adieu, my little closet — sacred to retirement ! 
 Adieu, Buriats ! My brother and my babe, adieu ! 
 
 " 6th. — The time of our stay is drawing to a close. 
 Our young people have all taken their leave of us. 
 My heart yearns over some of those who have shared 
 our chief care. From some of them I have obtained a 
 promise, that they will read the Scriptures frequently, 
 and commence teaching their sisters, or near neighbours. 
 Yet, unless the Holy Spirit influence them, these pro- 
 mises will be in vain. I have endeavoured to make 
 their circumstances a subject of earnest prayer, particu- 
 larly when I met them for examination, and I desire 
 to do so." 
 
 During the preceding year, the whole family had 
 made a journey to the neighbourhood of Khodon, and 
 stayed a month at the Ona, near to which an out-station 
 had been occasionally occupied for several years. Mrs. 
 Stallybrass sent home a very interesting journal of their 
 
128 BRITISH FEMALE MISSIONARIES. 
 
 residence among the Buriats during that month, and of 
 their journey to and from that place: that journal, and 
 the missionary details in her various papers, contain 
 incidents and facts, not only of private interest, but of 
 permanent value and importance to the friends of Chris- 
 tian missions, 
 
 Buriat heathenism consists principally of the system 
 of absurdity and wickedness known under the name of 
 Lamaism. The Delai Lama^ or Grand Lama^ is at 
 once the high -priest, and the visible object of adoration, 
 to the Thibetians ; to the numerous hordes of Tartars ; 
 and to all the other tribes inhabiting the north and east 
 of Asia, including a large proportion of the vast popu- 
 lation of China. The Grand Lama resides at Patoli, 
 a vast palace on a mountain, near the banks of the 
 Burampooter, about seven miles from Lassa, in Thibet. 
 Twenty thousand Lamas, or priests, inhabit a multitude 
 of apartments around the mountain, more or less near, 
 according to their respective quality, in attendance upon 
 the Sovereign Pontiff, who is regarded as the vicegerent 
 of the Deity on earth ; but the more remote Tartars are 
 said to regard him as the Deity, and call him 6W, the 
 everlasting Father of heaven ! 
 
 Mrs. Stallybrass writes :— " July 17, 1823.— On one 
 of the distant hills a feast has been held to-day. Having 
 never witnessed these annual amusements, I felt a desire 
 to go, which Mr. S. gratified. The road soon became 
 known to us by the company, who were all mounted on 
 horseback. The women were richly dressed, and their 
 horses handsomely caparisoned. They would not be 
 
MRS. STALLYBRASS. 129 
 
 distinguished from men at a little distance, (as they ride 
 astride, and wear broad hats like the men,) but for their 
 costly beads, of which an immense number are suspended 
 in long rows from a tim^a worn on the head : these, 
 together with the hair, which is plaited on each side 
 reach to the elbows. The saddle-cloths, &c. of their 
 horses are mounted with ornaments of metal, and small 
 shells, in a very tasty manner, and, when several are in 
 company together, make a great noise like a number of 
 little bells. From this scene of gaiety, my thoughts 
 reverted to that day, when * there shall be bells upon the 
 horses, holiness unto the LORD !' On a hill, commanding 
 an extensive view of the surrounding country, a sort of 
 booth is formed of trees, called by the Buriats Oboga, 
 or Obo, and in front a large circle of Lamas seated them- 
 selves upon their mats, leaving a space in front for the 
 offerings to the gods. These consist of flesh, corn, &c. 
 The head Lama, dressed in costly array, seated first in 
 the circle, began the service, giving signals, by a little 
 sceptre which he held in his hand, and by various mo- 
 tions of his fingers. These were observed by the others, 
 who stood in the centre, scattering, by a dexterous motion 
 of the fingers, these different offerings; while the whole 
 circle, consisting of about fifty other Lamas, were read- 
 ing prayers in the Thibetan language, wholly unintelli- 
 gible to the common people, and nearly so to the Lamas 
 themselves. Around this group were seated all the 
 spectators, the men taking the right and the women 
 the left side — no one taking his seat till he had been in 
 the circle to obtain a blessing from the chief Lama." 
 
 K 
 
130 BRITISH FEMALE MISSIONARIES. 
 
 '^Jidy 12, 1826. — Paid a visit to the Shiretu-Lama 
 to-day, and saw the Ona temple. It is surprising how 
 much these superior Lamas assume. Seated on cushions, 
 and surrounded by all the appendages of the Lama 
 faith, this proud old man sat like a god, diffusing 
 his blessing to the deluded worshippers, who, as they 
 entered his presence, bowed three times to the earth, 
 and then received a touch on the head from his book. 
 Here we met the Taisha, who accompanied us to the 
 temple, whither the old Shiretu was drawn by the 
 people, without horses. Although the Taisha had 
 bowed to the Shiretu, we observed that he evaded 
 passing through the usual ceremonies when he entered 
 the temple. It is probable that the conversations of our 
 brethren might have produced shame, if not conviction 
 that the worship would be false. Oh, when shall the 
 time come, when these people shall declare themselves 
 the worshippers of the true God, and when the Spirit 
 of God shall new create their hearts? We returned 
 home, to lament more deeply the bondage in which 
 Satan holds his vassals." 
 
 Buriat morals, as taught and exhibited by the 
 Lamas, and practised by the people, may be under- 
 stood by the following record in the journal of Mrs. 
 Stallybrass : — 
 
 " February hth^ 1829. — I have taken a separate 
 sheet to record the transactions of this day, because 
 I should regret to stain the leaves of my book by 
 recording the scenes which I have witnessed. As this 
 is the first day of the new year, according to the 
 
MRS. STALLYBRASS. 131 
 
 Buriat method of lunar calculation, having provided 
 ourselves with some little gifts, we went to see our 
 neighbours in turn. In every tent except one, whose 
 owner is too poor to purchase the new mode of worship, 
 was an exhibition of their deities painted on canvas. 
 Many of these paintings are similar to the Hindoo 
 objects of worship ; but most of them appeared demons 
 of their own creating. Many of the Buriats are skilled 
 in this art, far too obscene to describe. As we entered into 
 the tent of an old Lama, who lives near the temple, we 
 found his mistress (for Lamas are not allowed to marry) 
 in the act of emitting tlie contents of her stomach. She 
 made an apology by saying that she had been drinking 
 and smoking till she was sick. Her eldest daughter, a 
 good-lookmg young woman, and well dressed, waited 
 upon the visitors, most of them Lamas, and most 
 of them worse for liquor. This young woman has 
 recently left her husband, and wishes to separate herself 
 from him. The remaining part of the family was 
 a sweet-looking boy, dressed and in training for his 
 father's craft. In anotlier tent, the father and mother 
 of two interesting children were in a state of intoxica- 
 tion. And in a third, a good-looking young woman, 
 with her husband and two children, all extremely 
 filthy ; while six or seven large exhibitions, of the most 
 indecent kind ever witnessed, hung on the side of the 
 tent, and offerings, with a burning taper, were placed 
 beneath these filtliy figures. 
 
 " The feelings of a virtuous mind, which a parent, 
 independently of religion, generally feels for his tender 
 K 2 
 
132 BRITISH FEMALE MISSIONARIES. 
 
 offspring, are all lost here. Virtue can have here 
 no place in the character of husband, wife, brother, 
 sister, friend, or even child. My heart sickened at the 
 sight. Oh, when shall these times of ignorance pass 
 avi^ay ! When will the Holy Spirit dart some rays of 
 light upon this land of the shadow of death ? 
 
 " "While I write this, perhaps not less than eighty 
 Lamas are sitting within the walls of their temple, 
 vociferating their own praises ; and, from morning 
 to evening, reading, in a language which is alike unin- 
 telligible to themselves and their hearers, — who, one 
 by one, walk through the building, bowing to the 
 Lamas with their heads to the ground, and to all the 
 gods in rotation. The deep-sounding drum, and the 
 shrill trumpet, are within hearing of our dwelling. 
 But no voice is heard crying for pardon of sin, for the 
 mercy of God, for the salvation of the soul. Oh, when 
 shall these glad sounds once more salute our ears ? 
 When shall we perceive this thirsty land sending forth 
 her fragrance as a fruitful field ? " 
 
 Circumstances, for the trial of their faith, were 
 allowed to exercise their minds in their new station ; 
 and a few months after their arrival at Khodon, the 
 house they occupied, and which formerly belonged to 
 one of the chiefs, was burned to the ground. This cala- 
 mity happened on the 31st of December, 1828, in the 
 depth of a Siberian winter, — in the centre of a Buriat 
 steppe, — with no other house, except a few Buriat 
 tents, for a distance of twenty miles, — when they were 
 able to procure but wretched accommodation in a small 
 
MRS. STALLYBRASS. 133 
 
 adjoining barn, that was providentially saved from the 
 flames ; and it was not till the following spring that 
 preparations could be made for erecting a new dwelling. 
 Amid these, and all the other trials of a missionary's 
 life, in one of the most unfavourable stations in the whole 
 heathen world, Mrs. Stallybrass maintained unshaken 
 faith in the precious promises of God in Jesus Christ, 
 displaying an energy truly sublime, and a firm devoted- 
 ness of character, which were most edifying and en- 
 couraging to all who beheld her Christian temper. 
 The mission had repeatedly been threatened with 
 utter extinction ; but in contemplating such an event, 
 she shrunk from the idea of returning to England. 
 With all the powerful attractions her native land 
 might possess, and all the delights she might have 
 anticipated from restoration to the beloved circle of her 
 relatives and Christian friends, she was fixed in her 
 purpose and ardent in her desire to live and die if 
 possible on missionary ground, the devoted servant of 
 the Lord her Redeemer. 
 
 Mrs. Stallybrass, worn with labours, experienced, in 
 the autumn of 1831, an attack of illness from which 
 she never perfectly recovered. In August, the following 
 year, she undertook a journey to Selenginsk, and 
 " enjoyed a residence of two weeks," says her husband, 
 " in the family of our brother Yuille : she again 
 dropped a tear of afi"ection, not of regret, over the tomb 
 of her beloved infant, and those of her departed sister 
 and her babe ; and upon her return home in the begin- 
 ning of September, thought herself strengthened by the 
 
134 BRITISH FEMALE MISSIONAllIES. 
 
 excursion. This, however, was a deceptive hope : early 
 in October her disease returned ; and till the beginning 
 of January 1833, hope and fear respecting her recovery 
 alternately prevailed. Till the 23rd of that month, the 
 birth- day of one of our dear boys, she appeared to be in 
 a state of convalescence. Still, however, the energy of 
 her mind appeared greatly impaired. Conformably 
 with her custom for many years, she called him into 
 her room, conversed, and prayed with him ; and, in a 
 short time after, apparently quite unconscious that she 
 had performed what she esteemed a sacred duty, she 
 again called for him, and repeated what she had done 
 before. 
 
 " Whenever her mind was not under the enervating 
 influence of disease, its prevailing state was that of a 
 humble, penitent sinner at the foot of the cross. She 
 deeply felt and deplored her own unworthiness and sin- 
 fulness ; denounced all idea of merit ; and relied solely, 
 yet firmly, upon the finished work of the Almighty 
 Saviour." In this peaceful state of mind, her bodily 
 and intellectual powers declined until Lord's day, 
 February 10, 1833, when she entered into "that rest 
 which remains for the people of God." 
 
 " Having spent a number of years under the same 
 roof, and as a member of the same family, 1 may be 
 considered," says the Rev. Mr. Rahmn, *' qualified as a 
 witness to testify what I have seen and heard of Mrs. 
 Stallybrass ; and much I could say of her mental excel- 
 lence, her relative worth, and her spiritual elevation, in 
 whatever may be regarded as illustrative of the faith 
 
MRS. STALLYBRASS. 135 
 
 and hope of the gospel. Her virtues were eminently 
 Christian ; they sprang from the influence of the cross 
 of Christ ; and in her, God was glorified. Her faith 
 in the doctrines of the gospel was steadfast and influen- 
 tial : ' for to her to live was Christ, and to die was 
 gain.' Under the influence of disease, her mind was so 
 affected, that for weeks before her death she was seldom 
 sufficiently collected to give a calm and correct utterance 
 to her feelings. But one of the last acts of her life, while 
 she had possession of her faculties, was to converse and 
 pray in her own apartment with her second son on his 
 thirteenth birth-day ; and the impressions of that hour, 
 as they are not yet effaced, will, it may be hoped, be 
 happily connected in his history, with the promotion of 
 his highest spiritual interests. Her death left an affec- 
 tionate husband and Jim beloved children to mourn 
 their irreparable loss, and deprived the mission of its 
 last female member. But while we mourn that she 
 was taken so soon, we ought to be thankful that she 
 was spared so long. Sixteen years is not a short pe- 
 riod, and is beyond the usual average of a missionary 
 life. May they who remain follow her as she followed 
 Christ!" 
 
 Mrs. Stallybrass was a lady of superior talents, of 
 richly furnished mind and high attainments for her 
 important office ; as is evident from this brief sketch of 
 her life and character. Her labours in her chosen 
 sphere of service in the Redeemer s cause were diligent, 
 persevering, and indefatigable, in a region of the 
 globe the most cheerless, and under circumstances 
 
136 BRITISH FEMALE MISSIONARIES. 
 
 the most discouraging. Her mental energy, sanctified 
 and strengthened by the grace of the Spirit of God, was 
 peculiarly adapted to her difficult position, and every 
 reader must admire her unreserved devotedness of heart 
 to her self-denying duties. Her mourning husband, in 
 his truly lonely condition, must have deeply felt his 
 extraordinary loss, in the removal of such a wife and so 
 eminently gifted a counsellor and fellow-labourer in 
 the gospel field. Her death was felt as a serious 
 loss by the Directors of the Missionary Society ; and, 
 in their Report for 1833, they bear the following tes- 
 timony to her pre-eminent worth and valuable ser- 
 vices : — 
 
 " It has pleased the Lord, whom she devotedly and 
 cheerfully served, to call to himself Mrs. Stallybrass, 
 who fell asleep in Jesus on the 10th of February of the 
 present year. Her health had been for some time de- 
 clining under the weight of the duties of the interesting 
 charge which devolved upon her, both as a mother and 
 the only female Missionary in Siberia. Mrs. Stally- 
 brass possessed a well-cultivated mind, an enterprising 
 spirit, and a cheerful disposition, and had, by a resi- 
 dence of fifteen years among the people for whose salva- 
 tion she laboured and prayed, acquired that knowledge 
 of their language, habits, and character, which rendered 
 her eminently qualified for usefulness. While we 
 deeply sympathise with our bereaved brother and his 
 afflicted family, we hold in high esteem the memory of 
 our departed friend, who was one of the first engaged in 
 the communication of the Gospel of Christ to the wan- 
 
MRS. STALLYBRASS. 137 
 
 dering Inhabitants of the wild deserts of South Eastern 
 Siberia." 
 
 Rev. W. Ellis, Foreign Secretary to the London Mis- 
 sionary Society, remarks, concerning this distinguished 
 labourer for the spiritual and eternal welfare of a de- 
 graded portion of her sex : — " The life of Mrs. Stally- 
 brass furnishes an instructive comment on those pas- 
 sages of Holy Writ, which assure us that the word of 
 God shall ultimately prosper in the thing whereto he 
 has sent it. Fifteen years had this eminently gifted 
 •woman toiled in Siberia, with a cheerfulness of spirit, a 
 buoyancy of hope, and a steadiness of faith, that had 
 mitigated the heaviest trials, and diffused light and 
 gladness over the prospects of the darkest hour ; yet at 
 her death she knew not that 07ie mind had been enlight- 
 ened, or one heart changed ; but the snows of a single 
 winter did not fall on her grave, before the heart of her 
 mourning survivor was gladdened by the evidences of 
 the conversion of several, who had been her pupils ; and 
 the changes manifest are ascribed, under the Divine 
 blessing, to the influence of her example, instruction, 
 and prayers." 
 
 Dr. Fletcher remarks : — " The Mission to Siberia 
 has attracted less attention than it deserves ; though, 
 when its probable results are contemplated, it will be 
 found to have been closely associated with extensive 
 fields of enterprise, and to have involved the destinies 
 of a scattered but immense population. The nomadic 
 state of the Tartar tribes, their unsettled habits, their 
 defective civilisation, and almost invincible indolence ; 
 
138 BRITISH FEMALE MISSIONARIES. 
 
 the fatal influence of Mohammedism in some districts, 
 and of Lamaism (the prevailing idolatry) in others, both 
 generating principles and habits alike hostile to Chris- 
 tianity, are obvious sources of difficulty, which must, 
 for a long time, require the patience of believing exer- 
 tion and of importunate prayer. This is not the place 
 to enter into the details of the Siberian Mission ; but 
 the records of the London Missionary Society will 
 be found to contain interesting accounts of the Buriat 
 schools^ and of the translation of the Scriptures both 
 into the Calmuc and the Mongolian dialects. There 
 have recently been most encouraging instances of con- 
 version ; and several of the first converts were amongst 
 those who had been under the pious care of Mrs. Stal- 
 lybrass. It is a delightful confirmation of the Divine 
 promises, and an encouragement to parental duty, that 
 after her decease, several of her own children were re- 
 ceived to the communion of the Christian church, and 
 w^ere thus numbered with the first-fruits of the Siberian 
 Mission." 
 
MISS BIRD. 
 
 DIED IN MAY, 1834. 
 
 iliss Bird related to Dr. J. Bird Sumner, bishop of Chester.— Born in 
 London. — Mr. Bird emigrated to America. — Miss Bird makes the 
 acquaintance of Mrs. Graham of New York, and becomes pious. — Her 
 zeal. — Mr. Bird returns to England. — Miss Bird's active piety. — She 
 goes to reside with her brother in India. — She learns Hindoosthanee. — 
 Her benevolent labours. — She settles at Calcutta. — Her endeavours to 
 instruct Hindoosthanee females.^Her labours in the Orphan-school at 
 Alipore. — Her literary works. — Her various excellences. — Her sudden 
 death. — Testimony to her valuable services, by the Governors of the 
 Free School.— Her Character. —Her humble faith in Christ.— The 
 
 manner of her decease Testimony of a friend at her last moments.— 
 
 Her funeral Public respect for ^Miss Bird. 
 
 Miss Bird, the last eleven years of -whose life was 
 devoted to the public good in India, was a relative of 
 Dr. John Bird Sumner, bishop of Chester, and a 
 daughter of R. Bird, Esq. She was born in London, 
 May 29, 1789 ; and her early years were passed in the 
 bosom of her family, enjoying the care of an excellent 
 mother : but though obedient and affectionate to her 
 parents, she manifested no particular anxiety respecting 
 spiritual subjects during her childhood. 
 
 Nothing remarkable appeared in the openings of 
 divine grace upon the soul of Miss Bird, though she 
 often spoke of the early instructions which she received 
 from her pious mother ; adding, that it was the observ- 
 ing how much she desired for her children the salvation 
 
140 BRITISH FEMALE MISSIONARIES. 
 
 of their souls, beyond any earthly good, that led her to 
 consider her own eternal interests to be a matter of deep 
 personal concern. That important change, by which 
 she became so eminently distinguished as a religious 
 character, took place about the twentieth year of her 
 age. Mr. Bird, about that period^ with his family, 
 crossed the Atlantic, and settled at New York. There 
 his daughter became acquainted with the venerable Mrs. 
 Graham, whose philanthropic labours were so great a 
 blessing to that city. The conversation and instructions 
 of that devoted Christian lady were greatly blessed to the 
 edification of Miss Bird, leading on her mind in divine 
 things, and maturing her habits of practical piety and 
 active benevolence. 
 
 Miss Bird's zeal to be useful to others, and her per- 
 severance in carrying on her plans for their good, began 
 to be apparent at this time ; for though much engaged 
 in the instruction of the younger members of her family, 
 she yet laboured diligently among the poor and igno- 
 rant; and her delight and activity in these employ- 
 ments induced her to carry them on even to the appre- 
 hended injury of her health. 
 
 Returning to England in 1812, she was greatly 
 afflicted for some years ; and more than once she was 
 brought to the borders of the grave. This, which was 
 peculiarly a trial to her, being of an ardent disposition 
 and active habits, and accompanied at times by much 
 mental conflict, God mercifully made the means of 
 deepening the work of his grace in her heart, and 
 doubtless of preparing her for future usefulness. 
 
MISS BIRD, 141 
 
 During the last seven years of her abode in this 
 country she was diligently engaged in the instruction of 
 the poor in the neighbourhood in which she resided ; 
 and there are some now rejoicing with her before the 
 throne of God, to whom she was blessed, as the instru- 
 ment of " opening their eyes, and turning them from 
 darkness to light ;'' and not a few, it is believed, are 
 on their way to heaven, who will be her crown of re- 
 joicing in the gi-eat day of the Lord. 
 
 Miss Bird's character was formed for usefulness among 
 others beside the poor, to whom she had devoted the 
 greater part of the period from 1816 to 1823. God had 
 endowed her with natural abilities of a high order ; these 
 she had diligently cultivated ; and this, together with 
 the influence which a spiritual mind always gives its 
 possessor, made her society not less acceptable among 
 those of her own class than to those who were the 
 objects of her charitable care. But her earnest desire 
 and endeavour were to use every talent to the glory of 
 the Divine Giver. 
 
 Miss Bird had a widowed brother in India ; and on 
 hearing of the loss of her sister, she was induced by 
 affection to him, in 1823, to leave her beloved home for 
 the alleviation of his sorrows ; and in taking this step, 
 she was not a little influenced by the hope that she 
 might in some way be useful to the ignorant and de- 
 graded females of the East. With this idea she com- 
 menced the study of Hindoosthanee during her voyage, 
 and diligently prosecuted it after her arrival in India, 
 till she attained such proficiency as to be able to compose 
 
142 BRITISH FEMALE MISSIOI< ARIES. 
 
 and converse in the language with great facility. Pro- 
 vidential circumstances some time after rendering her 
 abode in India no longer necessary, the question arose, 
 whether she ought not to return to her native land ; 
 but, after serious deliberation, she resolved to remain, 
 for the purpose of devoting herself to missionary la- 
 bours. In the pursuit of this object, the path which 
 she marked out for herself was peculiar ; the particu- 
 lars of which are well narrated in the following extracts 
 of a paper, published in the Calcutta " Christian Intel- 
 ligencer," for June, 1834, from the pen of one of her 
 friends, a lady in that city : — 
 
 " Miss Bird arrived in this country in 1823, and 
 proceeded to her brother, R. M. Bird, Esq. of the Civil 
 service, then stationed at Goruckpore, a place well 
 suited to her taste. A Mission of the Established 
 Church had already been formed there, in which she 
 immediately became warmly interested ; and besides 
 assisting in attending the boys' schools, she collected 
 one on her own premises for native females. She was 
 thus occupied in the same benevolent way she had been 
 in England, visiting and instructing the young and 
 ignorant. Nor was this all ; for here she commenced 
 translating elementary works into Hindoosthanee, and 
 continued to devote some portion of her time daily to 
 this useful employment, till her lamented death. In 
 this interval she paid some short visits to the neigh- 
 bouring missionary stations, and also to Calcutta, for 
 the purpose of contributing to the comfort of a younger 
 brother, suffering severely under the bereavement of an 
 
MISS BIRD. 143 
 
 amiable wife, who fell a victim to cholera, — the same 
 frightful disease that so suddenly terminated the life 
 and labours of his amiable sister. 
 
 " In 1830 she finally quitted Goruckpore, and came to 
 Calcutta, with the intention of remaining as long as she 
 could be useful ; and with a courage which those only 
 who knew the real sensitiveness of her nature could 
 estimate, she commenced seeking where she could do 
 good; and when once this was found, nothing could 
 deter her from prosecuting her labours till fruits of suc- 
 cess were visible. 
 
 "No power but love could thus have animated a 
 feeble and delicate female : love to God, in the first 
 place ; in the next, love to her fellow-beings. Though 
 most acutely alive to the opinions of those among whom 
 she lived, she still pursued her way through evil and 
 good report. The path she marked out for herself, new 
 and hitherto untrodden, was to visit in their homes the 
 numerous females descended from Christian parents, 
 with whom Calcutta abounds, who speak Hindoosthanee, 
 but are totally unable to benefit by instruction in Eng- 
 lish, or to read any language at all. To those persons 
 Miss Bird was the messenger of glad tidings, explaining 
 and teaching the gospel of peace, with such earnestness 
 and sincerity, that she seldom failed to make a deep 
 impression. She devoted Thursday evening in every 
 week to the instruction of these Hindoosthanee females 
 at their own residences. By degrees the number in- 
 creased ; and in the afternoon of Sunday, for two years 
 past, they were joined by a few native converts, under 
 
144 BRITISH FEMALE MISSIONARIES. 
 
 the instruction of a Christian Moullovee, who assisted, 
 by reading the prayers and expositions of Scripture 
 which Miss Bird had previously prepared. At the 
 time of her death, there were no less than fifty females 
 who were thus receiving instruction in the way of life 
 eternal. This work alone would have satisfied many, 
 and would even have been too laborious for most ; but 
 it was only part of her exertions for the benefit of 
 others. Her method of communicating instruction was 
 so happy, that she was requested by several of the ladies 
 conducting schools in Calcutta, to devote some time 
 each week to impart religious knowledge to their pupils ; 
 and this she most readily did. For the same purpose 
 she visited the Orphan School at Alipore. She esta- 
 blished a Bible class, consisting of about thirty young 
 females, who regularly assembled every Monday even- 
 ing. She afforded her most cordial assistance in forming 
 the Sunday school assembled at the Free-school church. 
 She also, once aweek, instructed a class of native boys, 
 under the care of the Christian Moullovee, in geography. 
 During this time her labours in English and Hindoo- 
 sthanee composition did not cease. Besides her Com- 
 mentary on the Book of Genesis, well calculated for the 
 improvement of families and schools, she published, 
 both in English and Hindoosthanee, ' England Deli- 
 neated ; ' and fitted several valuable school-books for 
 more general use in India. She completed the outline 
 of ' Ancient History,* and translated the whole of it 
 into Hindoosthanee. She finished a tract on the Ten 
 Commandments, which had been commenced at Goruck- 
 
MISS BIRD. 145 
 
 pore, besides several smaller tracts. She translated also 
 a small work on Geography, of her own composition ; 
 Brewster's valuable treatise on Astronomy, with maps ; 
 and was engaged on a History of England, which she 
 had brought down to the reign of William II., when 
 she died. The above is a very imperfect sketch of what 
 she did ; and few can describe how she did it, or deli- 
 neate all the excellences of her character. Her mental 
 powers were very uncommon ; she was ready at acquir- 
 ing, and retaining, and applying knowledge. In trans- 
 lating the work on astronomy, she encountered many 
 mathematical difficulties which were new to her ; but, 
 till she fully understood them, she did not give up the 
 study, or attempt to continue the translation. As a 
 remarkable instance of this, we may mention, that, 
 having to explain the computation of the distance of 
 the earth from the sun, she was not satisfied till she 
 had made herself mistress of the mathematical demon- 
 stration of the mode of doing so by the transit of Venus, 
 for the purpose of inserting it in her translation. She 
 was perfectly conversant with the best English and 
 French authors, and possessed a fine taste. But all 
 these literary qualifications, which would have been 
 worthy of remark in others, were totally lost sight of 
 in the superior excellences of her character as a 
 Christian. 
 
 " Jane Taylor remarks, — ' What an honour, to have 
 been noted by St. Paul as one of the excellent and 
 worthy women of hife day ! Amongst such how pre- 
 eminent would the deceased have been ! Devoted, in 
 
146 BRITISH FEMALE MISSIONARIES. 
 
 more than a common degree, to her parents and family; 
 dwelling with enthusiastic delight on their pleasures, 
 and sympathising with their pains, she could still give 
 up all for Christ. She could relinquish the comforts 
 and elegances of home, and devote her time, her means, 
 and her talents, to the poor and neglected of the land, 
 and to imparting a knowledge of salvation to them that 
 sit in darkness and the shadow of death. Her affec- 
 tions were as warm, her spirits as joyous, her heart as 
 guileless, as though she had never known the cares or 
 sorrows of this world. Wherever she went she was a 
 bond of union and love ; incapable of giving, as she was 
 equally slow at taking, offence ; and would not believe 
 that any one would willingly distress her. Though 
 delicately formed, and exceedingly lame, in consequence 
 of an accident which occurred many years before, her 
 enthusiasm enabled her to endure such fatigue as many 
 robust men would have shrank from. The evening 
 before her death she passed at the Kidderpore orphan 
 school, apparently in perfect health, or, at least, as 
 well as any one could be during the extreme heat of the 
 weather. On retiring at night, she felt indisposed, but 
 delayed disturbing any one, or sending for medical aid, 
 till near morning, when the fatal disease was confirmed. 
 Whatever remains that we could have said has been so 
 beautifully expressed in the last Report of the Free 
 School, that we cannot do better than conclude in its 
 words : — 
 
 " ' The governors cannot close this Report without 
 adverting to the irreparable loss which the Free School 
 
MISS BIRD. 147 
 
 has sustained by the sudden and unexpected death of 
 Miss Bird, one of their lady-visiters. To her unwearied 
 diligence, active piety, and cheerful disposition, no 
 commendation of theirs can do justice. Regardless of 
 bodily weakness, and a climate quite enough to excuse 
 inactivity, she went about doing good to those whom 
 few care to seek after. From house to house she carried 
 consolation ; teaching the young and aged of her own 
 sex, where, without fear of disappointment, they might 
 find rest for their souls. The unsearchable riches of 
 Christ — the faithful saying, that Jesus came into the 
 world to save sinners — was her delightful theme. On 
 this she loved to dwell, with that happy cheerfulness 
 of heart which imparted a peculiar charm to her cha- 
 racter, and w^on the affection of all who listened to her 
 discourse. On the Free School she conferred benefits 
 which will be remembered with lasting gratitude by 
 many, long after their connexion with the institution 
 has ceased. A week never passed in which she was 
 not twice or thrice found seated among the children, 
 patiently conveying instruction, as tliough she had been 
 a hired servant, rather than a gratuitous friend. One 
 so disinterested, so zealous, so indefatigable, so desirous 
 of doing good, is seldom found. Her memory will be 
 dear to a multitude of sorrowing friends, by whom she 
 will be honoured as one of those excellent women who 
 have patiently laboured in the gospel, and whose names 
 are written in the book of life.' " 
 
 These expressions may be thought by some to assume 
 too much of " the tone of panegyric : but they would 
 L 2 
 
148 BRITISH FEMALE MISSIONARIES. 
 
 not have beea inserted, wore it not cordially believed 
 that their basis is strict truth. It is not desifjned to 
 hold her up to admiration, but Him, whose image she 
 exhibited in her life and temper, and by whose grace 
 she Was what she was." They have been brought for- 
 ward, because they show forcibly tlie excellent charac- 
 ter of her whose unwearied exertions were devoted to 
 His service whom she loved. The shortness of her 
 illness, and the entire prostration of her strength from 
 the very beginning of the attack, prevented her from 
 expressing her feelings on the prospect of death ; but 
 the following passage from a letter, written sixteen 
 months before, will show what was the habitual state 
 of her mind. After giving an account of a fall from 
 her horse, when she was taken up in a state of insen- 
 sibility, she proceeds : — 
 
 " People will say, what an escape I have had ! but 
 I cannot help thinking how pleasant it had been to 
 have joined ' the church of the first-born,' and to have 
 done for ever with the perplexities and temptations of 
 this evil world. However, as it pleased God to pre- 
 serve my life, I know I ought to be thankful, and to 
 receive it anew as His gift, to be used in His service ; 
 and I hope I do feel something of wliat I owe to the 
 love of Him, who redeemed me by liis cross from the 
 fear of death." 
 
 Miss Bird's friends have abundant reason to bless 
 God that no dying testimony was needful for their 
 comfort ; and a short sentence from the last letter 
 received by them, dated only ten days before her 
 
MISS BIRD. 149 
 
 removal, has been a great comfort to them ; her mind 
 appearing to have been mercifully prepared either for 
 life or death. Speaking of one of whom she had just 
 taken leave, on his departure for England, she remarks: 
 — " He asked me when I should take my furlough. I 
 cannot think of it, and would not wish it, as long as I 
 have such health, and such a field of labour; and 
 sometimes, undeserving as I am, refreshings from on 
 high, and ardent longings to be with His (Christ's), 
 and to live for Him only." 
 
 Enough, how^ever, passed during the last few^ hours 
 of her earthly pilgrimage to show that her mind was 
 kept in perfect peace. Before the arrival of the medical 
 gentlemen, who were summoned upon the first alarm 
 being given of her illness, and when no idea was enter- 
 tained of the nature of her disorder, she called to her 
 bedside the friend with whom she resided, and gave her 
 some directions respecting her papers, should her sick- 
 ness terminate in death. This was the only sentence 
 respecting worldly things which she uttered. A friend 
 writes : — 
 
 " The first intimation I had of her illness was received 
 by me about half-past six in the morning, in a note 
 from Dr. J., her medical attendant, who begged me to 
 lose no time in coming to her, as there was every pro- 
 spect of a fatal termination. Taking with me the 
 archdeacon (Mr. Corrie), I went, and found her, with 
 Mrs. M. by her bedside, free from pain, and with a 
 most peaceful smile upon her countenance. She told 
 me she felt better, and thought she should recover ; 
 and, like Moses, she wished to remain, for the sake of 
 
150 BRITISH FEMALE MISSIONARIES. 
 
 tlie people. She soon after said it was her birth-clay ; 
 upon which Mr. C. said, ^Perhaps it maybe your ever- 
 lasting birth-day.' She was not able to speak, except 
 in a whisper ; and to the observations made by Mr. C. 
 with reference to her state, such as, ' Thou wilt keep 
 him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on Thee ; — 
 He doeth all things well ; — His time is best; — His w^ay 
 is best; — His will is best;' she could only smile assent." 
 
 Having at this time called her female friend to her, 
 and asked if the doctors had any hope of her ; and the 
 reply being given, " Very little," she made no remark, 
 nor was the slightest agitation apparent. She seemed 
 inclined to sleep, and perfect quiet being enjoined, her 
 friends left her. Immediately after their departure life 
 began to ebb ; and before they could obey the summons 
 to return, her happy spirit had left the body, and was 
 present with her Lord. 
 
 The estimation in which Miss Bird's character and 
 labours were held in Calcutta was evinced in a most 
 affecting manner at her funeral. Short as was the 
 notice — for it was thought necessary to commit her 
 remains to the earth within eight hours after her death 
 — the number of persons, of all ranks and classes, that 
 assembled spontaneously, showed their deep feeling of 
 the loss they had sustained. The friend already alluded 
 to writes : — 
 
 " I returned to Mr. M.'s to assist in the performance 
 of the last melancholy duties. I found the house 
 crowded with persons to whom she had been of service 
 in one way or other, anxious to pay their last tribute 
 of respect, and surrounding the table on which the 
 
MISS BIRD. 151 
 
 coffin was placed. The scene was quite overwhelming. 
 Presently came most of the clergy, and her female 
 friends. The chapters were then read, and a most 
 impressive prayer was offered up by Mr. D,, which 
 would have melted the hardest heart. We then pro- 
 ceeded to the burial-ground, the archdeacon and myself 
 occupying the first mourning-coach. On our arrival 
 we witnessed a scene such as I never saw at any funeral 
 before, and shall probably never have occasion to see 
 again. Crowds of young women were at the gate, all 
 dressed in white, with black bands, collected on the 
 impulse of the moment from the different schools which 
 she was in the habit of frequenting ; and no sooner was 
 the coffin taken from the hearse than they surrounded 
 it, many deep, and escorted it to the grave, leaving 
 Mr. C. and myself at the head of the procession to 
 follow as we might. Mr. F. performed the service, 
 interrupted occasionally by the expressions of feeling 
 which it was impossible to restrain, and which testified 
 too truly the deep sense which all entertained of the 
 calamity which had befallen them. The bishop, on the 
 following Sunday, from the pulpit of the cathedral, 
 adverted to it in the most touching manner ; and at 
 the Hindoostanee service, Mr. C. was so overpowered 
 by the feeling evinced on the part of the congregation, 
 on commencing to advert to the circumstance, that he 
 was unable to proceed. In short, there is but one 
 feeling upon the subject, among high or low, and this 
 is evinced in every possible way. In the native papers 
 her loss is lamented as a public calamity." 
 
MRS. ELLIS. 
 
 DIED JANUARY 11, 1835. 
 
 Mrs. Ellis, a native of London.— Her pious Mother, a daughter of Rev- 
 J. Hart.— Early Piety of Miss Moor.— Left an Orphan.— Her active 
 Religion. — Housekeeper to her Brother. — Interested in Missions, by the 
 Details of the Rev. J. Campbell. — Married to Rev. Mr. Ellis. — Antici- 
 pation of a Voyage to the South Seas. — Land at Eimeo. — Missionary 
 Triumphs at Tahiti. — They settle at Eimeo. — Remove to Huahine. — 
 Mrs. Ellis's Labours among the Native Females. — Arrival of Mission- 
 aries. — Visit to Raiatea, Tahaa, and Borabora. — Various Services 
 among Native Females. — The Deputation and Mr. Ellis visit the 
 Sandwich Islands. — Native Teachers accompany them. — Mrs. Ellis in 
 her Husband's long absence. — Invited to the Sandwich Islands — Mrs. 
 Bingham's Letter to Mrs. Ellis. — Mrs. Thurston's Letter.— Mr. Ellis 
 seemed to be called by Providence.— Review of Mrs. Ellis's Labours at 
 Huahine. — They proceed to Oahu. — Mrs. Ellis to IMrs. Williams. — 
 American Missions to the Sandwich Islands. — Conversion of some 
 chief Women. — Queen Keopulani removes to I\Iani. — Missionaries 
 accompany her to Lahaina. — Mr. and Mrs. Ellis visit the dying 
 Queen. — Her Death, and Funeral. — Mrs. Ellis's Illness. — Voyage of 
 the King and Queen of the Sandwich Islands to England.— Mrs. 
 Ellis grows worse. — Dr Blatchly advises her Return to England. — 
 They prepare for the Voyage.— Embark in the "Russell" whaler fbr 
 America. — Visit several Islands. — Arrive in America — Mrs. Ellis 
 kindly received by Christian Friends. — Becomes worse — She embarks 
 for the " Hudson."— Arrives in London.— Visited by Rev. Rowland 
 Hill, and others.— Her state of Mind.— Visited by Rev. Mr. Nott.— Her 
 happy Experience. — Partial Recovery, and Journeys. — Visited by 
 Rev. J. Williams. — Her Decline. — Anxiety for her Children. — Her 
 Death — And Character. 
 
 Mrs. Mary Mercy Ellis, wife of the Rev. "William 
 Ellis, missionary to the South Sea Islands, was born 
 October 16, 1793, in St. Mary's Hill, London. She 
 was distinguished as being the child of pious parents, 
 
MRS. ELLIS. 153 
 
 who sought her spiritual welfare as the best portion. 
 Her father, Mr. Alexander Moor, was a native of Perth, 
 in Scotland, and a worthy son of those who feared God ; 
 and her mother, Mary Mercy, was the youngest daughter 
 of the Rev. Joseph Hart, well known as tlie author of a 
 volume of " Experimental Hymns,'' and minister of 
 Jewin Street chapel, London. 
 
 Miss Moor became " the child of Divine Providence" 
 at an early age, being, by the death of her affectionate 
 parent, left a fatherless infant before she was three 
 months old. Her widowed mother was spared to train 
 her in the way of life ; and she directed the thoughts 
 of her daughter to Jesus Christ, and to the blessings of 
 his redeeming love. In her fifth year some remarks of 
 her mother concerning a minister being the servant of 
 God in preaching Christ, deeply impressed her mind ; 
 and from that age her memory became stored with pas- 
 sages of Scripture, and appropriate hymns. When six 
 years old, she received lasting benefit by the present of 
 a book, with a request that she would learn as many 
 hymns as she could ; and she committed to memory an 
 entire collection of about sixty, and about one hundred 
 and fifty of those written by her grandfather Hart. 
 
 Mrs. Moor departed to her eternal rest when her 
 daughter was only eight years old, leaving, besides her, 
 a son, only two years older ; but these orphans became 
 the peculiar care of Divine Providence, and at an early 
 period devoted to the service of Christ. " Mary, don't 
 weep for me," said her dying mother, the last time she 
 spoke, while reason held its seat : " lam going to glory; 
 
154 BRITISH FEMALE MISSIONARIES. 
 
 we shall not long be separated; we shall meet again 
 soon." Her mother s death was the means of spiritual 
 life to Mary ; and all her good impressions were 
 cherished by a valuable Christian friend, who kept a 
 boarding-school, and who had taken her before her 
 mothers decease, evincing towards her an affectionate 
 and maternal reo;ard. 
 
 Miss Moor, at this time, attended the ministry of the 
 Rev. E. J. Jones, at Silver Street chapel, London ; and 
 by a sermon from him, on Whit-Monday, in the year 
 1804, addressed to young people, from the words, "I 
 love them that love me ; and they that seek me early 
 shall find me," it appears the Holy Spirit led her to 
 make an entire surrender of herself to her Creator and 
 Redeemer. That sermon was designed to prepare for 
 the establishment of a Sunday school, which was opened 
 in connexion with Silver Street chapel, September 14, 
 1 804 ; to this school, Miss Moor, then in her eleventh 
 year, and a pupil in a boarding-school, was admitted, 
 and her knowledge of the Scriptures became, by the 
 exercises of the Bible class, greatly promoted. At a 
 public examination, in 1806, she was rewarded for her 
 diligence and improvement with a handsomely-bound 
 Bible ; and this she was accustomed to place under her 
 pillow, for the purpose of perusal before her companions 
 at school were risen in the mornings. At the same 
 time she frequently committed to memory from twelve 
 to fourteen hymns during the week, besides her portions 
 of Scripture and catechism. She was punctual in her 
 observance of private devotion, and used to attend, with 
 
MRS. ELLIS. 155 
 
 some pious members of the family, the early prayer- 
 meetings at the chapel on the Sabbath mornings ; and 
 shortly afterwards she became a teacher in the Sabbath 
 school. 
 
 AVhen about sixteen years of age, in consequence of 
 temporary illness, she left the house of her friend, and 
 resided with a near relative, who lived regardless of 
 religion ; her own piety, therefore, declined, though the 
 forms of godliness were not disregarded by her ; but 
 the gracious guardian of her early life, by his good 
 providence, opened a way for her restoration. Her 
 brother havino- in 1812, commenced business on his 
 own account in London, invited her to take charge of 
 his domestic concerns. She accepted his proposals ; 
 and was thus mercifully delivered from the unfavour- 
 able circumstances which had occasioned her spiritual 
 declension ; so that she soon found peace and joy 
 through believing, by the grace and power of the Holy 
 Spirit. 
 
 Miss Moor knew the sober character and exemplary 
 habits of her brother ; but she had not been fully aware 
 of the extent of his religious attainments : on the even- 
 ing of the day, therefore, on which she entered his 
 dwelling, she was both surprised and delighted to hear 
 him speak with affection and gratitude of the mercy of 
 God in protecting them while orphans, raising them up 
 valued friends, giving them a comfortable home, and 
 providing them with so many enjoyments. He expressed 
 his conviction, also, of their duty to worship the Lord 
 in the family, and declared his intention to persevere in 
 
156 BRITISH FEMALE MISSIOISAllIES. 
 
 thus seeking and serving the God of their fathers. He 
 then read a chapter in the Bible ; and kneeling with 
 his sister at the footstool of the Divine mercy, poured 
 forth his soul in fervent prayer and grateful praise. 
 They regularly attended the worship of God where 
 their mother had worshipped; and, after a distressing 
 conflict and deliverance from a painful sense of guilt, 
 arisino- from her conscious backslidino- in heart from 
 God, she was admitted to the fellowship of the church, 
 March 7, 1813, by the Rev. Mr. Jones, with another 
 female friend, who afterwards became the wife of a 
 much-honoured missionary of Clirist. 
 
 Miss Moor continued her useful services as a Sunday- 
 school teacher; and, in 1814, her mind was excited to 
 the consideration of missionary labours among the 
 heathen, especially by the affecting accounts which 
 were given by the Rev. J. Campbell, after his return 
 from visiting the stations of the Missionary Society, in 
 the colony of the Cape of Good Hope, concerning the 
 deplorable wretchedness of the Hottentots, and other 
 native tribes in South Africa. Her missionary predi- 
 lections were cherished under the influence of much 
 serious prayer and intelligent reflection; and though 
 her health was but delicate, a warmer climate than 
 England was judged likely to be favourable to her con- 
 stitution : she was therefore married, November 9, 1815, 
 to the Rev. William Ellis, who had been appointed to 
 aid the successful labourers among the degraded island- 
 ers of the South seas. 
 
 Mrs. Ellis, with her husband, and the Rev. Mr. 
 
MRS. ELLIS. 157 
 
 Threlkeld, embarked at Portsmouth, in Jamiary 1816 ; 
 and her state of mind in her new circumstances may be 
 judged of from the following extract of a letter to her 
 beloved pastor, dated Gosport, January 16, 1816 : — 
 
 " We are now waiting for Him who commands the 
 winds and waves, and they obey him, to commission 
 them to be favourable, and waft us to our desired port. 
 Did we not believe that an overruling Providence orders 
 all thino^s for the best, we midit be inclined to murmur 
 at being sent out in a transport vessel, (for we find 
 that the convicts are a desperately wicked company ; 
 they have made several disturbances already, and 
 threaten mutiny on the voyage,) but we know that we 
 are in the hands of God ; therefore we cheerfully go 
 forth, assured that, if the Lord has anything for us to 
 do among the heathen, we are safe until our work is 
 done. If our Saviour be at the helm, we need fear no 
 evil ; rather let us say, — 
 
 ' Christ is our Pilot wise, 
 
 Our compass is his word ; 
 Our soul each storm defies, 
 
 While we have such a Lord ; 
 We trust his faithfulness and power. 
 To help in every trying hour !' 
 
 " But we are aware that we need great grace, to 
 enable us to walk wisely, and as becometh the gospel 
 of Christ ; that we are safe only while kept by the 
 mighty power of God ; and that if left but for a 
 moment, we fall into sin. I hope we shall be constantly 
 looking to Jesus : may we be found in him when we 
 shall next meet you again, not in this sinful world ; 
 
158 BRITISH FEMALE MISSIONARIES. 
 
 not in these mortal bodies, which clog our devotions, 
 and chain our spirits down to earth when they would 
 fain soar to heaven ; but at the right hand of our 
 heavenly Father, in a world where sin and sorrow can 
 never enter, clothed upon with immortality, in a body 
 like our dear Saviour's. Surely we can say, if we had 
 a thousand souls and bodies, we would devote them all 
 to the service of Him who hath done so much for us." 
 
 They sailed from England, January 23rd, and on the 
 22nd of July the vessel cast anchor in Sydney Cove. At 
 Sydney they remained five months, during which period 
 Mrs. Ellis gave birth to a daughter. At length a pas- 
 sage to the Islands was secured in the Queen Charlotte, 
 a brig bound to the Society and Marquesas Islands ; 
 and on the 10th of December the mission- family em- 
 barked for Tahiti. Ten days after leaving the colony, 
 the Queen Charlotte entered the bay of the islands in 
 New Islands in New Zealand ; and the last week of the 
 year 1816 was spent in profitable intercourse with the 
 missionaries of the Church Missionary Society, who 
 had about two years before commenced that mission. 
 Here, for the first time, they came in contact witli 
 heathen and savage life ; but Mrs. Ellis gained inter- 
 course with some excellent Christian women, and some 
 lessons which prepared her for future usefulness. On 
 resuming the voyage, they touched at the island of 
 Rapa ; and on the 10th of February 1817, they beheld 
 the elevated land of Tahiti ; on the following day many 
 came on board, among whom was the queen, with her 
 infant daughter ; on the 13th the vessel reached Eimeo, 
 
MRS. ELLIS. 159 
 
 where they were welcomed by resident missionaries, 
 with whom they were to labour in the work of the 
 Lord. 
 
 Mrs. Ellis iiad contemplated the difficulties of the 
 service upon which she had entered ; and now she 
 directed her attention and her energies to acquire the 
 native language, that she might be able to co-operate 
 more efficiently with her husband in his important 
 undertaking to aid his fellow-labourers in their mani- 
 festly successful ministry. 
 
 Eighteen years of persevering labour had been ex- 
 pended by the first Tahiti, to little purpose apparently, 
 except in teaching some of the natives to read, and 
 translating parts of the Bible; infanticide, human sacri- 
 fices, and war, continued; but in the year 1815, a 
 wonderful change took place, as is well known to all 
 who take an interest in missions : the Spirit of God 
 was manifestly poured forth upon the miserable idola- 
 ters ; their wooden deities were cast into the fire, some 
 of the priests renounced idolatry, and Christianity 
 became triumphant among the people thus brought to 
 God ; parts of the sacred Scriptures, in their own lan- 
 guage, were dispersed among the numerous believers ; 
 all sought to the missionaries for instruction ; and 
 Pomare the king sent all his former family gods to the 
 Missionary Society in England, as evidence of his sin- 
 cere faith in the gospel of Jesus Christ. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Ellis entered into the labours of their 
 faithful predecessors, admiring this dispensation of 
 Divine Providence, and diligently prosecuting their 
 
160 BRITISH FEMALE MISSIONARIES. 
 
 efforts to perfect themselves in the native language. 
 Mrs. Ellis directed her attentions to the females, teaching 
 them various European arts, as well as the elementary 
 principles of Christianity. 
 
 Having selected a new station on the other side of 
 this land of Eimeo, Mr. Ellis, with two others, removed 
 thither. " There were no mission-families to receive 
 the strangers, and afford the rights of hospitality ; no 
 hotel in which they could live, until able to suit them- 
 selves. Mr. Davis, who had previously reached the 
 . port, bade them welcome ; and the inhabitants of a 
 large bird-cage sort of a house, thatched with palm- 
 leaves, and enclosed round the sides with small poles, 
 vacated it for their temporary accommodation. Mr. 
 and Mrs. Crook took up their lodgings at one end of this 
 building, and Mr. and Mrs. Ellis at the other. Here 
 Mrs. Ellis and her companions found themselves sur- 
 rounded by native society in its rudest form. The 
 wars, in which Eimeo had taken its full share, had 
 greatly diminished its population ; and as no European 
 had ever resided in the district, the remaining inha- 
 bitants were much in the same state as when the island 
 was visited by Captain Cook. 
 
 " The curiosity of many was excited by Europeans, 
 with their wives, and little ones, coming to reside amongst 
 them ; and, having little else to do, for a long time they 
 thronged the dwelling of the missionaries in such num- 
 bers, as to render some degree of patience and self- 
 possession requisite to maintain good-humour. Daily 
 inconveniences and privations were inseparable from 
 
MRS. ELLIS. I6l 
 
 such a state of society ; as the totally different kind of 
 food used in the islands, and which for a long time was 
 far from being palatable to a European. There was no 
 reofular market at which even this could be bouoht : 
 and this supply, obtained for presents, or bartered for 
 knives and scissors, fish-hooks, or other European 
 articles, was always uncertain, and exceedingly irregu- 
 lar." Fetching water, washing linen, cooking the food, 
 or performing other acts of drudgery connected with 
 their incommodious habitations, and the necessity, in 
 consequence of the heat of the climate, of removing the . 
 fire from their dwelling-houses, added to the daily 
 inconveniences of the wives of the missionaries, until 
 they had been long enough among the natives to induce 
 some of the young people to become permanently 
 attached members of their families. 
 
 Mrs. Ellis had not, however, fallen into the lament- 
 able error of selecting the work, without endeavouring 
 to count the cost; and, therefore, an uncomfortable native 
 house, with the various inconveniences inseparable from 
 her situation, was not deemed so heavy a trial as to 
 interfere with her cheerful devotedness to her work. 
 Her first object was to seek, and her next, in depend- 
 ence on the Divine blessing, to improve, every means of 
 doing good that her circumstances might afford. " For 
 instruction Mrs. Ellis was eminently qualified ; it was 
 an employment in which she ever found great satisfac- 
 tion ; and, anxious to relieve the pressure of care on her 
 only female companion at the station, she undertook, 
 while studying the native language herself, to superintend 
 
162 BRITISH FEMALE MISSIONARIES. 
 
 the education of six of Mrs. Crooks' children; and 
 when thus engaged, she was frequently attended by a 
 number of native females, who came to be instructed in 
 needlework." 
 
 Various important labours were carried forward 
 among the people of this station ; to some of which 
 Mrs. Ellis refers, in a letter to her late pastor, dated 
 Afareaitu, May 14, 1817 :— 
 
 " On the 15th of March, we removed to the place of 
 our present residence, which is about a day's journey 
 from our fellow-missionaries. The natives willingly 
 came forward to build a school-house and printing- 
 office. We have a tolerably large place of worship, 
 where Mr. Davis preaches twice on the Lord's day, and 
 once on Wednesday evenings ; the place is usually 
 crowded. On Monday evenings Mr. Davis resolves 
 any questions or doubts that may arise in the minds of 
 the people : great numbers attend, and often put some 
 very interesting and important questions. 
 
 " On the first Monday in the month, or, I should say, 
 Tuesday morning, we hold our missionary prayer-meet- 
 ing, which is conducted partly in Enghsh, and partly 
 in Tahitian. If the people in England, who support 
 missions, were but present at one of these meetings, 
 they would think they never could do half enough for 
 the promotion of a work followed by such results. I 
 assure you we think it is worth enduring ten times the 
 privations and trials we have experienced, or coming a 
 tenfold greater distance, to behold what our eyes see, 
 and .hear what our ears hear. On Tuesday evening we 
 
MRS. ELLIS. 163 
 
 have an English prayer-meeting ; and on Thursday 
 evening we meet for reading, reciting, andimprove- 
 ment in the Tahitian Language, which we are very 
 anxious to acquire perfectly. — The printing-office has 
 been finished, and Mr. Ellis has begun printing an 
 edition of the spelling-book." 
 
 Again, December 4, 1817, she writes to some 
 friends : — 
 
 "On November 17th, our ears were agreeably sa- 
 luted with the shout of, ' E pahi ! e pahi !' namely, * A 
 ship ! a ship !' Shortly afterwards, by a letter from the 
 brethren on the other side of the island, we were in- 
 formed that a vessel had anchored bringing six addi- 
 tional labourers; Messrs. Threlkeld and Barff having 
 joined the four who left England in November 1816. 
 This joyful news gladdened our hearts. My dear partner 
 went down to see them, and in two days returned with 
 abundance of letters from dear friends : the letters were to 
 us as cold water to a thirsty soul. Do not cease to pray 
 for us ; I assure you we much need your prayers, and 
 daily find that nothing but the exercise of strong faith 
 will keep religion alive in the soul. We have but few 
 spiritual privileges; but, blessed be God, we are not 
 deprived of the best of all privileges, that of holding 
 sweet fellowship with the Father and the Son, through 
 the Holy Spirit." 
 
 " The chief object for which the station at Afareaitu 
 was temporarily occupied having been accomplished," 
 says Mr. Ellis, " the mission families repaired to the 
 settlements in which it was expected their labours 
 
164 BRITISH FEMALE MISSIONARIES. 
 
 would be more permanent. On the 18th of June, 
 1818, in company with Mr. Davis, Mr. and Mrs. 
 Williams, Mr. and Mrs. Ormond, Mrs. Ellis, with her 
 husband and children, embarked for the Society, or 
 Leeward Islands. On the evening of the following day 
 they reached Huahine, the most easterly island of the 
 cluster, and anchored in the beautiful harbour of Fare 
 on the 20th. There the work of fitting up a habita- 
 tion, and also of commencing a mission, was to be per- 
 formed again ; but the people welcomed them with 
 demonstrations of joy, and appeared anxious to receive 
 their instructions." Mr. and Mrs. Williams proceeded 
 to Raiatea. 
 
 Exercised with unavoidable cares and afflictions, these 
 excellent women devoted themselves to the improvement 
 of the native females, correcting their excessive indo- 
 lence, and inducing them to give special attention to 
 their children, and to learn the methods of preparing 
 decent articles of dress, and of manufacturing bonnets 
 from the beautiful grasses of the islands. Mrs. Ellis 
 Laving increased in her acquaintance with the language 
 of the people, so as to be able to converse with them in 
 their own tongue, discoursed with them concerning 
 Jesus Christ and his salvation. " During some periods, 
 Mrs. Ellis went down to the native school every morn- 
 ing soon after sun-rise, taking her two children with 
 her, and confiding them to the care of native girls, who 
 nursed them in the school, while she taught in her 
 class, or superintended the whole. She had always 
 delighted in teaching the young, but never entered upon 
 
MRS. ELLIS, 165 
 
 the enjoyment with so much pleasure as among the 
 South- Sea Islanders." 
 
 Mrs. Ellis, with Mrs. BarflP, pursued her benevolent 
 labours among the young and their mothers ; for, be- 
 sides their attention to the schools, they had a weekly 
 class of inquirers after the way of salvation ; and these 
 meetings with the females in Huahine were exceedingly 
 beneficial in preparing those who were desirous of spi- 
 ritual instruction for admission to the ordinances of 
 Christ. " Sometimes between sixty and seventy per- 
 sons belonged to this class ; but not more than half that 
 number ever attended at one time. Many of them were 
 mothers, and often brought their infant children with 
 them to these meetings. The exercises, which were all 
 in the native language, were usually commenced by 
 singing a hymn and reading a portion of Scripture, 
 after which a prayer was read by one of the Christian 
 females; the remainder of the time was occupied in 
 communicating instruction in reference to the obligation 
 of those who desired to profess the Saviour, and in 
 resolving the doubts or answering the questions they 
 might propose. 
 
 " Another department of benevolent effort in which 
 at suitable seasons Mrs. Ellis engaged, was visiting the 
 sick. Her visits of this kind, and those of her sister 
 missionary, were always welcome. They were greeted 
 as angels of mercy by those who heretofore had been 
 abandoned to helplessness and despair ;" as they sympa- 
 thised with them in their sufferings, and led them 
 to seek pardon and eternal life by the Redeemer. 
 
166 BRITISH FEMALE MISSIONARIES. 
 
 The wives of tlie Missionaries were generally regarded 
 as oracles of wisdom, especially by the native females ; 
 and their counsels and example were employed by 
 Divine Providence to elevate them from their degrada- 
 tion, and to establish them in their rightful dignity as 
 the redeemed children of God. 
 
 Fortitude and self-denial were required on many pe- 
 culiar occasions in the Missionaries' wives, especially in 
 seasons of sickness. " The circumstance of there being 
 only one individual in the Leeward or Society Islands 
 (properly so called) possessing medical knowledge or 
 skill, with the occasional occurrence of illness in the 
 mission families, rendered voyages from one island to 
 another frequently necessary ; and twice on these ac- 
 counts Mrs. Ellis visited Raiatea during the year 1819. 
 The distance from Huahine to Raiatea was nearly thirty 
 miles, and between the islands the billows of the Pacific 
 rolled in all their majesty and force. The means of 
 conveyance were, usually, small boats, rudely constructed 
 by the Missionaries themselves, and worked by native 
 seamen. The weather was generally pleasant ; and 
 when the wind was favourable, the passage from one 
 island to another was seldom more than five hours. 
 But a promising morning was occasionally followed by a 
 stormy day ; and, besides the inconvenience of exposure 
 to the scorching sun, the voyage was at times attended 
 with peril ; but He who controls the winds and the sea 
 graciously preserved the Missionaries, in the frequent 
 voyages they were under the necessity of undertaking. 
 
 '-^ During the early part of the mission, the labours of 
 
MRS. ELLIS. 167 
 
 the Missionaries at Raiatea were more extensive than 
 those in Huahine, in consequence of the claims of the 
 adjacent islands of Tahaa and Borabora, at that time 
 destitute of teachers. It was the practice of the Mis- 
 sionaries to visit Tahaa every Sabbath, for the purpose 
 of preaching to the people; and when any of the Mis- 
 sionaries from Huahine were at Raiatea, they cheerfully 
 shared these labours. Mr. Ellis was occasionally thus 
 engaged, and Mrs. Ellis accompanied her husband 
 whenever he went to Tahaa, for the purpose of con- 
 versing with the females, or teaching in the Sabbath 
 schools. The voyage was sometimes made in a little 
 boat, the planks of which were sewn together with 
 cords of cocoa-nut husk, and which were so small as 
 to be scarcely capable of conveying more than three 
 persons !" 
 
 Mrs. Ellis' state of mind in these labours she thus 
 expresses, in a letter to a friend, dated June 21, 1821 : 
 — " What with our meetings for spiritual conversation, 
 our domestic employments, the instruction of our dear 
 little ones, &c., we do indeed find every day too short 
 for the much we have to do. But, I am happy to say, 
 we find our reward in our work ; and those are indeed 
 our happiest seasons, when we are so employed as to 
 have reason to believe we are in some small measure 
 following the footsteps of Him who went about doing 
 good. Oh that we possessed more of the mind that 
 was in Christ, and followed more nearly his blessed 
 example ! Continue to pray for us ; our work is ardu- 
 ous and important, our enemies numerous and powerful, 
 
168 BRITISH FEMALE MISSIONARIES. 
 
 while we are weak and feeble ; but if strengthened by 
 the arm of Omnipotence, we shall come off more than 
 conquerors through Him that hath loved us. We desire 
 to press onward, knowing that in the end we shall 
 reap, if we faint not : rm/», not the reward of our poor 
 imperfect services, but the rich blessings purchased for 
 us by the blood of the Lamb." 
 
 Mrs. Ellis was called to the exercise of peculiar self- 
 denial in February 1822, when her husband accompa- 
 nied the Rev. D. Tyerman and G. Bennett, Esq., the 
 Deputation from the Missionary Society, then at the 
 island, with two native Missionaries and their wives, to 
 the Sandwich Islands. Speaking of their departure, 
 Mrs. Ellis wrote thus to a friend, under date March 
 31, 1822: — 
 
 " Sister Barff and I continue our meeting with the 
 females. We often find it a season of refreshing to our 
 own souls, and do hope it is beneficial to the dear natives. 
 We had a very affecting meeting with them at the 
 parting of our two dear sister (native) Missionaries. 
 Many of them could not speak for tears ; indeed, there 
 was not a dry eye in the room. ' We grieve to part 
 with our dear sisters,' said they ; ' we shall never again 
 see their faces at our meetings for conversation, at our 
 meetings for prayer, at our meetings for public worship. 
 We have been used to listen to them with delight, when 
 they have exhorted us with affection, and prayed with 
 and for us ; but now we shall hear their voices no more. 
 But we will not keep them back : the work is God's ; 
 and if the teachers had not been sent to us, we should 
 
MRS. ELLIS. 169 
 
 now have been dwelling in darkness and the shadow of 
 death ; we should now have been killing one another, 
 murdering our dear babes, and sinking into hell. But 
 God had compassion on us ; he has sent his good word 
 to us, and caused our hearts to believe that Jesus Christ 
 alone is the Saviour of sinners, and to desire him for 
 our Saviour : and shall we not be willing that others 
 may know this good word and Saviour also ? Yes ! 
 Go, sisters ; and we will not cease to pray that Jehovah 
 may bless you, and that all the world may know the 
 only true God, and Jesus Christ the Saviour of sinners.' 
 This, and much more to the same purport, was the lan- 
 guage of their lips, and, we believe, the language also of 
 their hearts." 
 
 During her husband's absence, in compliance with 
 the earnest solicitations of Mrs. Orsmond, who was the 
 only European female in Borabora, Mrs. Ellis accom- 
 panied Mrs. Orsmond, on liis return, to share with 
 Mrs. Orsmond for a season the labours of the station, 
 and render those attentions which her situation would 
 make peculiarly acceptable. Her state of mind is thus 
 expressed : — 
 
 ''Borabora, April 10, 1822. — I am now a solitary 
 widow ; my dear husband has left me, to accompany 
 the deputation sent out by the Society on a visit to the 
 diiferent islands. They have taken with them two 
 native missionaries from our church, whom they intend 
 to leave at the Marquesas, if the people are willing to 
 receive them. The missionaries and their wives are 
 very pious, worthy people ; the language of the Mar- 
 
170 BRITISH FEMALE MISSIONARIES. 
 
 quesans is similar ; and it is likely the people may pay 
 attention to tliem when they observe their superiority 
 in knowledge. They are both good workmen, and mean 
 to build themselves houses, to make tables, seats, &c." 
 Speaking of her husband being frequently ill, she 
 says : — 
 
 " We often think he will not live long ; and to be 
 left here with a family of young children, is a trial, of 
 which the anticipation makes me tremble ; but if called 
 to bear it, I trust He who sends the trial will give 
 strength to sustain it with becoming fortitude, and be a 
 husband to the widow, and a father to the fatherless. 
 I am sometimes very low-spirited, and the dear 
 children are a great charge here. 
 
 " We have a comfortable house and garden at our 
 station. The king and chiefs behave kindly to us, and, 
 what is better than all, the work of God continues to 
 prosper in our hands. We have ni7ie hundred bap- 
 tized, and candidates for baptism, and about forty 
 members in our church. My dear husband has lately 
 finished printing an edition of upwards of 3000 copies 
 of the Gospel by John, which are now in the hands of 
 the natives. The children are getting forward, and 
 attend school very regularly." 
 
 Mr. Ellis expected to be absent on this visit about 
 three months, as stated by the captain of the Mermaid ; 
 but ei^ht months elapsed before the return of the vessel ; 
 during which period, his wife's fears were greatly excited, 
 apprehending that her husband had been lost at sea, 
 or, perhaps, murdered by lawless and bloody-minded 
 
MRS. ELLIS. 171 
 
 men : but, happily, her fears were removed by his safe 
 return, with pressing letters from the wives of the two 
 American missionaries, who had then recently entered 
 upon that extensive field of labour, to come to their 
 assistance in the Sandwich Islands. 
 
 Mrs. Bingham wTote : — " Honoruru Oahu, August 
 19, 1822.— My dear Mrs. Ellis,— It is with feelings 
 of no ordinary kind that I address you by the tender 
 appellation of friend and sister, and commence an inter- 
 change of thought, which, if our heavenly Father will, 
 ere long shall be sweetened by personal intercourse. 
 Separated by beloved sisters, who in infancy and child- 
 hood shared with me the paternal blessing; separated 
 from beloved sisters in Christ, with whom I have wept 
 and have rejoiced ; I feel a peculiar pleasure in hoping 
 that another is about to be added to the little number, 
 allowed to fill, in some measure, the place of those so 
 dear ; and one, too, whom I have learned to love, and 
 whose name is already dear to many chosen from 
 among the heathen. Your anticipations, while with 
 cheerfulness you acquiesce in what our Divine Master 
 appoints, cannot be joyful as mine. He who first led 
 you to adopt this language, ' Father, not my will, but 
 thine be done,' and made you willing, for the blessed 
 cause of our Divine Jesus, to set your face towards 
 a strange land, we trust, will now make duty very 
 plain to your mind, and pleasant to your heart. Led 
 by Him, experience can decide, that pleasant is every 
 path, though it lead through the wilderness, or over the 
 deep — to Christian, or to heathen lands. On another 
 
172 BRITISH FEMALE MISSIONARIES. 
 
 point most tender, dear sister, has my heart sympa- 
 thised with you — the absence, and to you the dis- 
 tressing absence, of your beloved friend. I have tried to 
 make your case my own. I have thought that, should 
 the friend of my bosom be so long and so strangely 
 separated from me, should my sweet little one ask for 
 papa, when my distracted breast harboured the thought 
 that barbarians had devoured him — oh, should I have 
 faith in God ! I have thought, till tears have filled my 
 eyes, and I have longed to see some messenger flying, 
 if with a message no more than this, ' Trust in God ; 
 all is safe.' Then I have thought, messengers unseen, 
 ever delighting in errands of mercy, commissioned by 
 Him who, ' as a father pitieth his children, pitieth 
 those that fear Him,' may convey consolations rich and 
 abundant. 
 
 " Brightening prospects cheer our hearts with respect 
 to this dark land. We do believe that the beams of the 
 ' Sun of righteousness' will ere long be felt here. Many 
 have been the providences, since God first put it into 
 the hearts of his children to ofi'er special prayer for this 
 poor people, which have called forth their wonder and 
 their grateful praise. This late cluster of providences, 
 leading our dear brother Ellis here, detaining him, 
 saying to him in so clear a manner, ' Leave the little 
 spot in the vineyard, which, through the Divine 
 blessing, you have been so successfully cultivating, and 
 with your dear companion join this faithful few in 
 breaking up the uncultivated ground ' — we hail as 
 among the auspicious omens of the near approach of tlie 
 
MRS. ELLIS, 173 
 
 shilling of the Divine word in these long- benighted 
 minds. Affectionately yours, Sybil M. Bingham." 
 
 Mrs. Thurston also wrote, to Mrs. Ellis, saying : — 
 "August 28, 1822.— My dear Mrs. Ellis, — Your 
 portrait is before me ; I view it with pleasing anticipa- 
 tions of future happiness. The trying circumstances in 
 which you have been placed have called forth my 
 sympathies, my tears, and my prayers for you ; the 
 providences of God have opened a prospect of intro- 
 ducing you as a fellow-labourer into this missionary 
 field : under these circumstances, and with these feel- 
 ings, you will allow me to give expression to a full 
 heart, and address you with all the freedom, interest, 
 and affection of a dear sister. While I now write, 
 I fancy you, in all the sorrows of widowhood, pressing 
 to an almost agonizing heart your tender babes. But 
 during this season of deep affliction, and of awful 
 suspense and uncertainty, God is, I trust, by Divine 
 support enabling you, imder the most distressing ap- 
 prehensions, to resign yourself, and those most dear, 
 into his sovereign hand, to be disposed of according to 
 his Divine will. — While all your anxieties have been 
 employed lest your beloved husband should be engulfed 
 in the mighty deep, or have met a more dreadful death 
 among the Marquesans, he was standing before heathen 
 kings and rulers, who were just beginning to inquire 
 after God, declaring in their own language the unsearch- 
 able riches of Christ : their hearts are softened, their minds 
 are changed, and Jehovah is about to take possession 
 of their isles. But where are the instruments to accom- 
 
174 BRITISH FEMALE MISSIONARIES. 
 
 plish the mighty work ? To yourself, and your beloved 
 partner, are turned for help the eyes of rulers, on whose 
 movements hang suspended the immortal interests of 
 thousands. We are aware of the sacrifices you will be 
 called to make. We who sojourn as pilgrims in this 
 benighted land for the up-building of the Redeemer's 
 kingdom, will liail your arrival with joy, tender you our 
 sympathies and affections, and help to smooth the 
 rugged path in which you will be called to walk. 
 Should Providence hedge up your way from coming to 
 our aid, and no personal interview ever be afforded, still 
 I shall retain a lively interest in yourself and family ; 
 you will often have my kindest thoughts, and, as I 
 value the image, I shall love the original. This day 
 our friends will leave us, to embark for Huahine. 
 Painful will be the separation. My spirit and my 
 prayers will accompany them across the tempestuous 
 ocean. Christian salutations to Mr. and Mrs. Barff : I 
 often hear them spoken of in the most affectionate 
 terms. The little ones are tenderly remembered, and 
 all the dear missionary families are viewed with pecu- 
 liar interest and affection. My dear sister, adieu. Be 
 ' faithful unto death, and you w^ill receive a crown of 
 life.' Yours most affectionately, Lucy G. Tuurston." 
 Divine Providence appeared to his fellow-missionaries 
 evidently to call Mr. Ellis to labour, at least for a sea- 
 son, in the Sandwich Islands ; and arrangements were 
 made for his speedy removal thither ; but this was a 
 measure which occasioned extreme sorrow among the 
 native females, especially those of the chief's family. 
 
MRS. ELLIS. 175 
 
 Christian principle, however, led them to concur in the 
 measure. Mrs. Ellis and Mrs. Barff felt deeply the 
 contemplated separation. " They had studied and toiled 
 to promote the spiritual benefit of their own sex, with 
 a degree of union and co-operation which had diminished 
 every difl&culty, and doubled the influence of every 
 eftbrt. During the first year spent in Huahine, the 
 early part of the day, -when sickness did not prevent, 
 was devoted to the schools. The forenoon was usually 
 appropriated to their own children and domestic arrange- 
 ments ; part of the afternoon was employed in teaching 
 the natives needlework, and imparting instruction by 
 familiar conversation. The meetings with the natives 
 were, alternately, for five days in the week, at each of 
 the missionaries' houses, where the missionaries' wives 
 met their scholars in one united class, and where the 
 missionaries joined them, after the public engagements 
 of the day ; and while the females spent the evening in 
 needlework, their husbands engaged unitedly in the 
 study of the language, or in writing for the benefit of 
 the people." 
 
 Mrs. Ellis left this scene of labour with sincere regret, 
 notwithstanding the truly Christian assurances of the 
 American missionary-sisters at Oahu ; and she ever 
 regarded the four years spent at Huahine as one of the 
 most happy and useful periods of her life. The meet- 
 ings held previously to their departure were most 
 affecting. A female, who had long been an intelligent, 
 active member of the church, and teacher in the school, 
 accompanied Mrs. Ellis, as well as the native teacher and 
 
176 BRITISH FEMALE MISSIONARIES. 
 
 his wife, appointed by the church to labour with their 
 countryman, Auna, already in the Sandwich Islands. 
 They embarked December 31, 182-2, and reached Oahu 
 February 5, 1823, a distance of about 3000 miles. 
 Huahine contained comparatively but few inhabitants, 
 but Oahu comprised a population of 20,000 people. 
 Their field of labour was greatly enlarged; and the 
 influence of the missionaries was brought here to bear 
 upon 180,000 or 200,000 souls. 
 
 Mrs. Ellis' state of mind on entering this new field 
 of labour will be evident from the 'following extract of 
 a letter, dated Oahu, February 17, 1823 : — 
 
 "Dear sister Williams, — We were welcomed 
 with the greatest cordiality by the missionaries, the 
 king, and principal chiefs, and we were happy to find 
 things greatly improved since Mr. Ellis was here ; 
 thouo-h there is plenty of room for amendment still ; but 
 the people give the hearing ear, and seem willing to re- 
 ceive instruction. Let us hope and pray that the Spirit's 
 influence may be showered down in rich abundance, 
 and that the words spoken may profit those who hear. 
 The climate is delightfully cold, and, I tliink, would well 
 ao-ree with you. I was quite delighted with the view 
 of the snow-topped mountains of Hawaii, but felt glad 
 to be at a respectful distance from them. We are at 
 present with the missionaries; but the king has pro- 
 mised to put us up a native house to live in, till we 
 get one built. There is a great work to be done here. 
 I trust the Lord will send more faithful men into this 
 part of his vineyard, and cause a great shaking among 
 these dry bones. 
 
MRS. ELLIS. 177 
 
 " If you should be obliged to go to dear England, 
 and we should not have the pleasure of seeing you on 
 your way thither, pray for us, that we may have grace 
 given to perform the important duties that devolve 
 upon us ; and if we meet not again, my dear sister, on 
 earth, may we have a happy meeting at the right hand 
 of our Divine Saviour, with our dear children, and all 
 whom we love, to sing the praises of Him who washed 
 us from our sins in His own most precious blood." 
 
 Divine grace had already triumphed by the American 
 mission in the Sandwich Islands ; and it was at this 
 time in an interesting state. The idols of the natives 
 had been generally destroyed, and their temples over- 
 thrown ; and though the veneration arising from ancient 
 usages, traditionary legends, early deep impressions of 
 the power of senseless deities, and fear of their displea- 
 sure, had led many to hide their objects of superstitious 
 homage for the present in the caves of the rocks, or 
 under the floors of their houses, where they still might 
 pray to them secretly, there was throughout the nation 
 no public idol-worship. By the labours of the Ameri- 
 can missionaries, and the Hawaiian youths, much 
 information respecting the nature and claims of Chris- 
 tianity had been diffused ; and several of the principal 
 chiefs, of great decision of character and extensive in- 
 fluence, were favourable to its propagation, while a few 
 had made such progress in tlie use of letters, as rendered 
 them enthusiastic in the pursuit of greater knowledge, 
 and excited the desire of many to follow their example. 
 
 " Among the chief women most favourable to Chris- 
 
 N 
 
178 BRITISH FEMALE MISSIONARIES. 
 
 tianity were Keopuolani, mother of the king ; Kapio- 
 lani, the heroic wife of the national counsellor, who 
 afterwards distinguished herself by challenging the pro- 
 phetess of the great volcano to a trial of the power of 
 the fire-gods of the island ; Kamehamaru, the favourite 
 queen, who accompanied the king to England, where 
 she died ; Kaahumanu, and Karaimoku, who were, in 
 fact, the rulers of the island ; and Piia, also a queen- 
 dowager, a woman of great influence, and one of the 
 earliest and most consistent Christians in the island. 
 These were amona: the most earnest for Christian in- 
 struction ; and some of them almost daily visited the 
 dwelling of the missionaries. In their progress as 
 scholars Mrs. Ellis took a lively interest, and joyfully 
 improved every opportunity of aiding the American 
 sisters in their plans of usefulness." 
 
 Queen Keopuolani, the consort of King Tamehameha, 
 was the first of her nation who received Christian bap- 
 tism. She removed in May 1823 from Oahu to Maui, 
 and engaged some of the missionaries to accompany 
 her, to communicate instruction to herself and the inha- 
 bitants of that island. Her request was complied with ; 
 and Messrs Stewart and Richards, with their wives, 
 accompanied by Taua and his wife, sailed with her, in 
 the Cleopatra's barge, to Lahaina. To tlieir instruc- 
 tions, and especially the representations that were given 
 of the love of God in the gift of his Son, and the suit- 
 ableness, freeness, and fulness of salvation by Christ, 
 she gave the most prayerful attention, and afforded 
 delightful evidence that slie had received the grace of 
 
MRS. ELLIS. 179 
 
 God in truth. After about four months, she became 
 alarmingly ill : and, as is customary on such occasions, 
 the chiefs of the nation gathered round her. Keopuo- 
 lani being viewed as tlie first convert to Christ from 
 Hawaii, and the period being important, from the 
 heathen usages wliich might be observed in the event 
 of her death, it appeared exceedingly desirable that one 
 of the missionaries acquainted with the language should 
 be present, and Mr. Ellis was requested to proceed to 
 Lahaina. Mrs. Ellis was so far recovered from illness 
 as to allow her to undertake the voyage ; and the sisters 
 of the American Mission persuaded her to make the 
 visit to Maui, hoping the change would be beneficial 
 to her health, and kindly taking the charge of her 
 children. They reached Lahaina on the 15th of Sep- 
 tember ; Mr. Ellis baptised the queen, and she died the 
 following day, affording satisfactory evidence of her 
 interest in the gracious Redeemer. 
 
 Mrs. Ellis, with the female members of the royal 
 family, made the arrangements for the funeral, and was 
 among those who followed to the grave the first native 
 of those islands who had been interred with Christian 
 obsequies ; no heathen usage, according to the wish of 
 the deceased, was permitted on that occasion. 
 
 During this visit of Mrs. Ellis at Lahaina, her health 
 somewhat improved; and she was able frequently to 
 visit the natives in their houses, inviting them to send 
 their children to school, and encouraging them to attend 
 the means of religious improvement by the Christian 
 teachers. On the 24th of September it was her un- 
 N 2 
 
180 BRITISH FEMALE MISSIONARIES. 
 
 speakable happiness to unite with the dear brethren and 
 sisters in Christ, the mission-famiUes at Maui, and 
 members of the church in Oahu then at Lahaina, in 
 commemorating the dying love of the Redeemer, the 
 first time that sacred ordinance, designed to show forth 
 the Lord's death till he come, was ever administered in 
 the long-benighted and pagan shores of Maui. 
 
 "Within a few days after this solemn commemoration 
 of the Saviour's love, Mrs. Ellis returned with her hus- 
 band to Oahu; and soon after she suffered another 
 attack of illness: it was then recommended that she 
 should, in November, accompany the king and queen of 
 the Sandwich Islands, when they left their native shores 
 to pay their long-projected visit to England. Though 
 this was desired by the king and suite, who offered any 
 sum that might be required in payment, the American 
 captain declined to take them : but this disappointment 
 was for a season relieved by the return of a measure of 
 health, and some faint hopes of ultimate recovery, as 
 she was able to sit up for a whole day. Little improve- 
 ment, however, took place ; and she wrote to her brother, 
 June 11, 1824, in the true spirit of a Christian. She 
 says : " My illnesss, mentioned in my last, will have 
 excited your sympathy ; and your prayers will have 
 ascended to your God and our God in my behalf — but 
 I am still languishing in pain and disease. I have been 
 favoured with the privilege of going to the house of God, 
 with the multitude who keep holy day, only once since 
 September last. I think my dear Mr. E. suffers as 
 much in mind as I do in body : but our dear children, 
 
MRS. ELLIS. 181 
 
 more than all, for want of instruction, &c. None but a 
 mother in a heathen country can know what it is to 
 bring up children, exposed to innumerable dangers, as 
 missionaries' children are, even where the parents enjoy 
 health. "We thought ere this to have visited our 
 beloved land, 
 
 ' That spot of earth supremely blest ; 
 A sweeter, dearer spot than all the rest ;* 
 
 to US our home. But hitherto our way has been com- 
 pletely hedged up ; and at present it seems to be the 
 design of our heavenly Father, that we should wait the 
 issue here. Well, be it so. It is honourable to die at 
 our post. The Christian missionary has a sweet source 
 of consolation in the contemplation of his heavenly home," 
 Towards the close of July her sickness returned, with 
 other distressing symptoms ; and on the 29th of August 
 the feeble suiFeref* was carried to a place of w^orship in 
 Oahu, for the last time. One week afterwards, on the 
 first Sabbath in September, the brethren and sisters in 
 the Sandwich Islands met in her dwelling, to comme- 
 morate, as a church of Christ, his dying love. Mrs. 
 Ellis was removed from her bed to unite in this hallowed 
 celebration. On the 9th of September, Captain Cole- 
 man, of the Russell, American whaler, arrived at the 
 island; and on being made acquainted with the cir- 
 cumstances and desires of the afflicted family and their 
 friends, stated that he was homeward-bound, and would 
 very cheerfully furnish such accommodations as the 
 ship afforded, if Mrs. Ellis chose to take a passage to 
 America." 
 
182 BRITISH FEMALE MISSIONARIES. 
 
 Dr. Blatchley, the physician attached to the Ameri- 
 can mission, and the brethren and sisters, after united 
 prayer, concurred in representing it as the duty of Mrs. 
 Ellis to avail herself of the offer of Captain Coleman. 
 " The sisters of the American mission manifested the 
 most tender solicitude to relieve Mrs. Ellis as much as 
 possible from anxiety, by supplying her, chiefly from 
 the scanty wardrobes of their own families, with suitable 
 clothing for her children, during their passage round 
 Cape Horn, where snow and storms were expected, and 
 on their arrival in America." The Christian natives, 
 especially the females, were scarcely less active, bringing 
 presents of every variety of necessaries. '' On the 24th 
 of October the vessel reached Huahine. The natives 
 seemed anxious to give e^ery possible expression of 
 their sympathy and affection, by bringing some little 
 token of their regard. The little children of the Sunday 
 school, also, brought their present of arrow-root, sugar- 
 cane, fruit, and fowls, for the children, their former 
 companions, and, as they had hoped, their future 
 teachers. Their fond mother was affected into tears 
 when she heard of this present. While the ship re- 
 mained in harbour, the people held one of their social 
 entertainments, at which about 1,400 were present. 
 At their earnest request, Mrs. Ellis was carried to the 
 place of meeting on a couch, and reclined during the 
 repast by the side of the queen and the young princess, 
 who had been her ward, and who still called her guar- 
 dian, or mother." 
 
 Sixteen days they remained at Huahine ; " the ship 
 
MRS. ELLIS. 133 
 
 afterwards called at the islands of Rurutu and Raivavai, 
 where the wives of the native missionaries, some of 
 whom had formerly been among Mrs. Ellis's pupils, 
 visited her on board the vessel ; and, while they cheered 
 her spirits with the tidings of the Divine blessing resting 
 on their labours, afforded grounds and cause of thanks- 
 giving to God." 
 
 Leaving these islands, tlie vessel pursued her way to 
 the south, and the cool, bracing atmosphere of the 
 region over which they were now sailing proved, by 
 the mercy of God, so beneficial, that in the beginning 
 of December the invalid passenger was able to walk 
 once or twice along the deck, which, being the first 
 time for very many months that she had enjoyed the 
 pleasure of walking a few yards, excited lively feelings 
 of gratitude and hope. 
 
 Divine Providence conducted them safely to America : 
 they reached New Bedford, in Massachusetts, in the be- 
 ginning of March 1825. The owners of the ship Russell 
 expressed their entire approval of the captain's having 
 afforded a passage to the Missionary family, and not only 
 refused to accept any remuneration for the same, but 
 kindly tendered assistance towards defraying the ex- 
 penses which were occasioned by their detention in 
 America. Mrs. Ellis received every possible attention 
 from medical and religious friends, at Bedford, Boston, 
 Dorchester, Hartford, and New York ; while Mr. Ellis 
 gave the most encouraging information to large assem- 
 blies of Christians, at New York, respecting the pro- 
 gress of the gospel by the missions in the Sandwich and 
 other islands of the South seas. 
 
184 BRITISH FEMALE MISSIONARIES. 
 
 Mrs. Ellis' state of mind and health, at this period, 
 may perhaps be best judged of by the following letter 
 to her husband, at that time attending the great Mis- 
 sionary anniversaries at New York : — 
 
 ^'Missionary Booms, Boston, May 14, 1825. — My 
 dear Sir, — Mrs. Ellis does not gain strength, as we 
 hoped and expected she would, and last evening we 
 were apprehensive. Mrs. Ellis desires me to say to 
 you, that she enjoys the presence of her Lord, and is 
 happy. She appears to have no anxiety with respect 
 to the future. Of this I am sure, that whenever I see 
 her, my mind is borne away to the contemplation of 
 the mercies of our God, rather than of his judgments. 
 Even in her distress, I perceive the hand of a Father. 
 The sanctified efi^ect is most clearly to be seen. M — 
 has just called at the rooms to say that Dr. Warren has 
 advised to send for you ; for although we hope Mrs. 
 Ellis will be relieved from this attack, it is uncertain. 
 
 " My dear Sir, you must stay yourself on God ; do 
 not be over anxious. I think you will again see your 
 beloved partner ; still we know not what a day may 
 bring forth. The physician has been quite in doubt as 
 to her prospects, and is now. What then can I know ? 
 But the Lord reigns. He holds her breath ; He will 
 do wisely, will act mercifully. Let no engagements 
 detain you. Yours, very affectionately, R. Anderson." 
 
 Dr. Warren's medical attentions were happily the 
 means of considerable relief under the blessing of God ; 
 and every possible arrangement was made for Mrs. Ellis 
 to be removed to New York : where she was carried on 
 
MRS. ELLIS. 185 
 
 board the excellent packet ship " Hudson ;" and after a 
 pleasant voyage of twenty-one days, in all which time 
 she was confined to her bed, she again beheld the British 
 coast, after ten years' absence on the service of her 
 Saviour. On the morning of the 18th of August she 
 reached London ; and, being carried on her bed to the 
 conveyance provided for her at Tower Stairs, in an hour 
 after she was welcomed with tears of joy under the 
 hospitable roof of her beloved brother and his amiable 
 wife ! 
 
 Mrs. Ellis was deeply sensible of the goodness of God 
 towards her ; and she had peculiar satisfaction in de- 
 claring this to all who visited her chamber. '•' Through 
 the winter of 1825, and the spring of 1826, she suffered 
 from frequent attacks of fever, and acute pain in the 
 head and region of the spine, with few and transient 
 intervals of alleviation. Much enjoyment was derived 
 by her from the conversation and prayers of the minis- 
 ters of Christ, who visited the afflicted sufferer. The 
 Rev. Rowland Hill occasionally called on her, and she 
 evinced much pleasure in listening to his remarks on 
 the grace and love of the Saviour, and the blessedness 
 of heaven. This venerable servant of Christ appeared 
 conscious that he was himself on the borders of eternity ; 
 and there was a power and sweetness in his conversa- 
 tion on the glories of the Divine purity, the ineffable 
 felicity of the redeemed in the Divine presence, and the 
 wonders of the Divine love, which were peculiarly 
 grateful to one in circumstances of affliction. On the 
 11th of June, when her esteemed friend, the Rev. 
 
186 BRITISH FEMALE MISSIONARIES. 
 
 Matthew Wilks, and the wife of another excellent mi- 
 nister, called, she remarked, ' My mind is overwhelmed 
 with a sense of my iin worthiness, and the condescending 
 mercy of God. I am nothing, I have nothing, I can 
 look at myself only as an unworthy and ungrateful 
 sinner : all in myself is sinful, but it is the mercy of 
 God in Christ which supports me.'" 
 
 Through the following winter her sufferings were 
 very great : but she possessed her soul in patience. " I 
 am now raised," said she, " above the influence of suf- 
 fering ; and immediately after the most agonising pains 
 that I endure, I can sing of the Saviour's love. I am 
 grateful that the enemy is not permitted to distress my 
 mind : I know the Spirit of God supports me, and I 
 have no fears respecting the future ; though I sometimes 
 feel a dread of suffering, yet I dare not doubt that I shall 
 be sustained, though I could almost say, ' If it be pos- 
 sible, let this cup pass.' Oh ! what must have been 
 the anguish of the Saviour, when he exclaimed, ' My 
 God ! my God ! why hast thou forsaken me !' God 
 has never forsaken me in the midst of the most acute 
 suffering. Passages of Scripture, or verses of hymns, 
 committed to memory in former years, are often brought 
 into recollection with a power which constrains me to 
 believe them applied by the Holy Spirit." 
 
 Mrs. Ellis received, on the 22nd of November, a visit 
 from an old friend and fellow-labourer, the Rev. H. 
 Nott, from the South Sea Islands ; and to him she ex- 
 pressed her conviction that she was rapidly sinking into 
 the grave. Mrs. Townley visiting her, and all expecting 
 
MRS. ELLIS. 187 
 
 her end very near, she spoke much of her anticipations 
 of heaven. " I am waiting," said she, " for the coming 
 of my Lord. In one half hour in heaven, more will be 
 known than by years of conjecture here." One present 
 remarked, " There will be no half-hours in heaven : " 
 to which slie replied with animation, " No, all will be 
 one eternal noio ! I am happy,'' she continued, " that 
 God has condescended to employ me on earth. I do 
 not regret having engaged in communicating the gospel 
 to the heathen : had I to spend again the early periods 
 of life, I would make the same choice. I do not regret 
 having lost my health in it, and have never thought 
 that had I remained in England, I should have lived 
 longer. I dare say Mr. Smith of Demerara did not 
 regret dying in prison for the cause of Christ." 
 
 During many months Mrs. Ellis had renounced all 
 hope of recovery : but in the spring of 1827, her pains 
 decreased, and she was much restored. Her medical 
 friend recommended an invalid carriao;e for her, and she 
 was enabled to pay a visit to a relative at Lincoln, and 
 to other friends at Sheffield. Nailsworth in Gloucester- 
 shire, and Brighton, at different periods ; and she so far 
 recovered in 1827, as to entertain the hope of resuming 
 her labours at the Sandwich Islands : but in January 
 1828, unfavourable symptoms again appeared ; her 
 spirit was, however, joyful, and " though faint and cast 
 down, the meek sufferer was not allowed to murmur or 
 repine, but was, by the Divine mercy, enabled to exer- 
 cise a cheerful hope and a filial affiance in the tenderness 
 and love of her qpmpassionate Redeemer." 
 
188 BRITISH FEMALE MISSIONARIES. 
 
 Alternations of great suffering and alleviation conti- 
 nued through several years till 1833 ; and in the month 
 of June in that year, she had the privilege of meeting 
 once more in the present world, the Rev. John Williams 
 and Mrs. Williams, her fellow-labourers, from Raiatea ; 
 they having, on account of Mrs. Williams's declining 
 health, visited England. The renewal of personal inter- 
 course with these beloved friends was a source of un- 
 speakable pleasure to her ; she was delighted especially 
 by letters which they brought from several of the 
 Christian females, her pupils among the natives of the 
 South Sea Islands. 
 
 Mrs. Ellis continued to decline in strength and to 
 suffer great pain from the disease in the spine : but her 
 consolations abounded, sustaining her spirit. She was 
 spared, however, to see her children, three daughters 
 and one son, grow up towards manhood; and she 
 evinced the most exemplary solicitude for their spiritual 
 and eternal welfare ; conversing with them " on the 
 Lord's goodness, the mercy, sympathy, love, interces- 
 sion, and grace of the Divine Saviour, and the blessed- 
 ness of reconciliation and fellowship with the Father of 
 Spirits, through the mediation of his Son." Her care 
 will be best illustrated by the following extract of one 
 of her last letters, addressed to one of her daughters : it 
 is dated " October 22, 1834 : — 
 
 " I am exceedingly anxious to hear from you, as I 
 wish to know whether these impressions on the most 
 important subjects continue and increase. Do not be 
 afraid to write on this subject to your dear and afflicted 
 
MRS. ELLIS. 189 
 
 mother. — Seek intimate communion with your heavenly 
 Father, and, in the diligent use of the appointed means, 
 cultivate holy dispositions, with every grace of the 
 Holy Spirit mentioned in the Bible, meekness, forbear- 
 ance, humility of heart, &c. ; and you will enjoy a peace 
 which passeth understanding, a happiness that only 
 those can know who are under the blessed guidance of 
 the Spirit of God." 
 
 On the new year's day, 1833, her children assembled 
 with their parents in her sick chamber, to exchange, as 
 had been their custom, their tokens of affectionate 
 regard. Several relatives and friends were present, and 
 the day was closed with singing a hymn and prayer, 
 while she was extremely weak, confined to her bed. On 
 Saturday, January 10th, after the reading of the Scrip- 
 tures by the family, in her bedroom, for evening wor- 
 ship, Mrs. Ellis presented, as usual, when her husband 
 was from home, the prayers of the family at the throne 
 of the Divine mercy ; and a little before midnight, on 
 Sunday, the 11th, her reason failed, and she then finished 
 her course, entering into the joy of her Lord. 
 
 Mrs. Ellis was a person of the rarest Christian qua- 
 lities ; and on the perusal of the account of her, drawn 
 up by her husband, one of her medical friends says, — 
 ^' I have perused the Memoir with deep interest and 
 with great satisfaction. It is indeed a most instructive 
 recital of devoted ness of heart and life to the adorable 
 Saviour. How many in America and in England may 
 have had their faith confirmed, and their hopes elevated, 
 by such a convincing display of the power of Christ ! " 
 
MRS. MARGARET WILSON.* 
 
 DIED APRIL 19, 1835. 
 
 Mrs. M. Wilson, daughter of the Rev. K. Bayne of Greenock.— Her pious 
 Mother. — Her Blother's death. — Her religious care of her younger 
 sisters.— Completion of her education.— Death of her Father. — Her 
 active piety. — Removal to Edinburgh. — Ordination of Mr. Wilson.— 
 Her prayer for him. — Her marriage with him. — They proceed to 
 Bombay. — Her labours among the native females. — Her illness. — Her 
 
 last letter to her son Dr. Wilson's testimony as to her excellence. — 
 
 Her Character from the " Bombay Corrector."— Testimony of the 
 Scottish Missionary Auxiliary at Bombay. 
 
 Mrs. Margaret Wilson, the devoted wife of the 
 Rev. John Wilson, D.D., Missionary of the church of 
 Scotland to Bombay, was a daughter of the Rev. 
 Kenneth Bayne, M.A., Greenock. She was born No- 
 vember 5, 1795. She enjoyed from her earliest years 
 the highest spiritual and intellectual advantages, from 
 her father, who was a minister of Christ held in high 
 estimation ; and from her mother, a daughter of the 
 Rev. James Hay, D.D., worthy from her education and 
 piety to be the wife of a clergyman of the church of 
 Scotland. 
 
 Mrs. Bayne's death, when her daughter was in her 
 sixteenth year, devolved upon Margaret duties of an 
 important character ; but she participated largely of the 
 
 * See, •' Memoir of Margaret Wilson, of the Scottish Mission, Bombay. 
 By John Wilson, D.D. Johnson, Edinburgh." 
 
MRS. MARGARET WILSON. 191 
 
 spirit and excellences of her exemplary mother. Two 
 years after that lamented event, she received, for a 
 time, the peculiar care of the other members of the 
 family ; and one who experienced her sisterly affection 
 says, — " I well remember how every day only increased 
 my love and admiration of her, and how there blended, 
 with something like the veneration due to a parent, 
 feelings at once joyous, happy, and unrestrained." " Her 
 feelings in relation to the younger members of the fa- 
 mily," writes Miss , " were at times almost over- 
 powering ; and many a prayer did she offer, many a 
 tear did she shed, on their account. She often said, 
 that, having been deprived of a mother's care and in- 
 structions, tlie responsibility of training them up for God 
 lay upon the elder members. And, ' Oh, if they should 
 fall short, from any neglect of ours, how awful the 
 thought, how deep the responsibility ! ' On these occa- 
 sions, I have known her retire with one after another 
 of her younger sisters, that she might instruct, entreat, 
 and pray with them. Was not this a portion of the 
 same spirit, which when expanded, enlightened, and 
 sanctified, afterwards carried her across the mighty 
 ocean, induced her to devote herself to the conversion 
 of the heathen, and made her a blessing to many on the 
 distant shores of India ? " 
 
 Some time after this Miss Bayne went to Aberdeen 
 for the completion of her education, being placed in the 
 house of an old and confidential friend of her father, to 
 whose care he could with all security commit his child. 
 " Here," says Miss , " I can trace a part of the 
 
192 BRITISH FEMALE MISSIONARIES. 
 
 mighty training which was more fully to prepare her 
 for that extended sphere of usefulness she was after- 
 wards to fill. For a time, however, the charms of 
 science and literature greatly fascinated her. Her ta- 
 lents were admired, her society was sought after, and 
 she failed not to win the friendship and the affection of 
 many of whose acquaintance she miglit well be proud. 
 She delighted in the study of mathematics and astro- 
 nomy. She read much and deeply on almost every 
 subject ; and her conversation was at once brilliant and 
 attractive." 
 
 Miss Bayne's application to learning with extraordi- 
 nary avidity and diligence was observed to occasion a 
 considerable degree of declension in her former spiritu- 
 ality of mind : but on her return home, she was trained 
 in the school of affliction, which was mercifully designed 
 as the means of recovering her to her wonted tone of 
 
 o 
 
 piety, and of leading her to more unreserved consecra- 
 tion to God her Saviour. Her venerated father de- 
 parted to his rest April 1;^, 1821, leaving the character 
 of an able and useful minister of Christ. 
 
 " Greenock continued to be the residence of the 
 family," Dr. Wilson remarks, " for five years after the 
 death of their venerated parent. During that time 
 Margaret, in conjunction with one of her sisters, taught 
 a Sabbath school, and displayed much Christian faith- 
 fulness to those who were placed under her care. Her 
 rule was that of love and gentleness, tempered by 
 firmness. Her instructions were admirably adapted to 
 the capacities she had to address. As a visitor, in con- 
 
MRS. MARGARET WILSON. 193 
 
 nexion with a Female Benevolent Society, in which she 
 took a great interest, she devoted much of her time and 
 strength to the relief of suffering humanity. ' She 
 delighted/ says a friend who knew her self-denial and 
 exertions, ' to visit, to instruct, to comfort, and to pray 
 with the poor, and the afflicted, and the dying. She 
 ministered, in every practicable way, to the temporal 
 and spiritual necessities of all who came within her 
 reach. I doubt not that many now before the throne 
 will eternally bless God that he put it in her heart to 
 visit them.' Of the institutions for the spread of the 
 gospel in heathen lands she was the warm friend and 
 supporter ; and in the conversion of the Jews, she 
 manifested a particular interest. Subsequently, how- 
 ever, when she referred to the time of which we now 
 write, she was conscious that her exertions bore no 
 just proportion, on the one hand, to opportunities of 
 usefulness which presented themselves to her, and, 
 on the other, to her own obligations to Divine 
 grace." 
 
 Miss Bayne removed with the family in 1826 to 
 Inverness- shire, and the following year to Edinburgh, 
 improving and maturing in her Christian character, and 
 preparing thus for her future sphere of labour as a 
 fellow-labourer with her husband as a missionary to 
 the heathen. 
 
 " My own solemn ordination," says Dr. Wilson, " as 
 a minister of the Church of Scotland, by the Presbytery 
 of Lauder, took place on the 24th June, 1828. — She 
 wlio was to be my fellow -worker in my ministry 
 
194 BRITISH FEMALE MISSIONARIES. 
 
 among the Gentiles was not able to be present with 
 me. How much I enjoyed, however, her sympathy, 
 and her fervent aspirations to the Great Head of the 
 church, and how much her soul was engaged in other 
 heavenly exercises becoming the situation of both, will 
 appear from" extracts of her letters which he gives, 
 and of which the following are paragraphs : — 
 
 " I was cheered by the assurance that the throne of 
 grace was open to my approach, and that the Great 
 High Priest, now set over the house of God, is the sole 
 and absolute proprietor of that rich treasury of spiri- 
 tual blessings which he dispenses in varied proportions to 
 his believing people. I had much enjoyment in com- 
 mitting you to God, and in reflecting upon your future 
 prospects. The presence of Jesus encompassing you 
 — all his high perfections enlisted for your support — 
 and your happiness becoming purer by being assimi- 
 lated to the joys of heaven, were brought to mind with 
 a certainty of belief, which made my unbelieving heart 
 ashamed of its former doubting, and caused me to lift 
 my feeble voice in thanksgiving to God. I hope you 
 continue to enjoy much of the Divine presence, and to 
 feel an entire and simple dependence upon the promised 
 aid of the Holy Spirit." 
 
 " Our marriage," says Dr. Wilson, " was celebrated 
 on Tuesday, the 12th of August 1828.— The late Rev. 
 Dr. Andrew Thomson officiated on the solemn occasion. 
 Our circumstances awoke the strongest sympathy of all 
 our acquaintances, as well as many of the friends of the 
 Missionary Society : and, I doubt not, we were aided 
 
MRS. MARGARET WILSON. 195 
 
 by their prayers, while we felt cheered by their 
 benedictions." 
 
 These devoted missionaries left Scotland for London, 
 and thence to Portsmouth, where they embarked, 
 September 8th, for India, and cast anchor at Bombay, 
 February 13, 1829. With determination they entered 
 upon their important duties, encountering many diffi- 
 culties and enjoying numerous blessings. Mrs. Wilson, 
 as her domestic occupations and trials would allow, laid 
 herself out in various important services, acquiring the 
 knowledge of the native languages, in two of which she 
 wrote for the periodicals, to advance the cause of the 
 Redeemer. She made some important translations, and 
 composed some school-books, for sia^ female schools, 
 containing from 150 to 200 scholars. These, and other 
 invaluable services of Mr. Wilson are fully detailed in 
 the " Memoir " written by her husband : but a few 
 paragraphs only, relating to the termination of her 
 course, can here be given, illustrative of her spirit and 
 character as a Christian missionary. 
 
 Dr. Wilson states, in relation to her last illness, 
 " Her prayers for her children were frequent and 
 fervent beyond conception. To use her own expression, 
 she ' agonized with God for their sanctification,' and 
 being set apart for the Lord's ministry among the 
 Gentiles in India. ' Do let me see the dear babes,' she 
 said; 'they do not pull me back to this world. Oh, 
 no ! the sight of them only quickens my prayers on 
 their behalf. I have devoted them to God, and I 
 know that he will care for them. How happy am I to 
 2 
 
196 BRITISH FEMALE MISSIONARIES. 
 
 have them to leave with you ! ' When told of the 
 birth day of Andrew, she prayed that the God of 
 Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, might bless them. In the 
 most solemn circumstances, and in the presence of 
 several Christian friends, she dictated verbatim the 
 following letter : 
 
 " Bombay, April 8th, 1835. 
 " My beloved Andrew, — This is the last letter 
 that your dearest mama will ever write to you. In a 
 few hours I hope to be with Jesus, and with all the 
 glorious company of the redeemed. I am transported 
 at the prospect of what awaits me. I have often com- 
 mitted you to Jesus ; and I do in more solemn circum- 
 stances than ever, with nothing but eternity before me. I 
 have prayed to God to inspire you with zeal to become 
 a missionary to the heathen in this land. No work at 
 present appears to me so important and glorious as the 
 work of a missionary. But my prayer will be of no 
 avail, if the Divine Spirit does not put it into your 
 heart. Pray, then, my dear child, that the Lord may 
 put it into your heart to follow the footsteps of your 
 beloved father. What I say to you, I say to my 
 beloved Johnny. Tell your affectionate aunts and 
 uncles how much mama loved them. She wished to 
 write to them, but cannot hold the pen. Never forget 
 the inestimable obligations you are under to them, nor 
 cease to cherish toward them the tenderest affection. 
 If your aunts accompany your beloved uncle to 
 Canada, I wish Mary Isabella to be placed under their 
 charge ; and 0, let them feel their deep responsibility 
 
MRS. MARGARET WILSON. 197 
 
 in having her, a little immortal, to train for heaven. I 
 commit you to God. Your own devoted mother, 
 Margaret Wilson." 
 
 " Havinof written the words. Your own devoted 
 mother^ Margaret Wilson^ with her own hand, she laid 
 down the pen," says Dr. Wilson, " never more to take it 
 up, and said, ' Now am I ready to die.' I felt over- 
 powered with gratitude, and every spectator was most 
 deeply affected, at this consecration of her offspring to 
 the cause of the Redeemer among the heathen. I view 
 it as a legacy to my dear children, immensely more 
 valuable than silver and gold, houses and lands. May 
 the Lord incline the hearts of the two boys who remain 
 to regard it as such. Their sister did not long survive 
 her sainted mother." 
 
 Mrs. Wilson continued to decline; and on the morning 
 of Sabbath the 1 9th April, sacred to the commemo- 
 ration of the Redeemer's triumph over the grave, her 
 spirit winged its flight to its eternal rest. " The last 
 words I heard from her lips," says her mourning 
 husband, " were, 'The Kingdom of the Saviour ! '" 
 
 " Three days after this," (on the 21st of April,) 
 says Dr. Wilson, " the following notice appeared in the 
 Bombay Corrector. It is from the pen of the Editor, 
 an individual, it is worthy of remark, who engaged in 
 public controversy with me a few years before " : — 
 
 "On Sunday, the 19th instant, Margaret, the wife of 
 the Rev. John Wilson, quitted this world for the abodes 
 of the blessed. This deceased lady was highly distin- 
 guished for her acquaintance with European literature, 
 
198 BRITISH FEMALE MISSIONARIES. 
 
 and proficiency in the Marathi, Hindusthani, and other 
 native languages. She was a mother to hundreds of 
 poor destitute children. She was unexampled for 
 charity, adorned by humility, and unrivalled for polite- 
 ness. To natives, as well as to Europeans, her friendly 
 attachment was unbounded. This faithful wife, leaving 
 several young children, and a devoted and tender-hearted 
 husband, to bewail her loss, has bent her course 
 towards the dwelling-place of Jesus Christ. The de- 
 parture has filled with overwhelming sorrow the hearts 
 of all classes of the community, who will not, while 
 they exist, lose the impression of her friendship and 
 virtue." 
 
 Mrs. Wilson's removal to her eternal rest in heaven 
 was not only felt as a loss by her husband ; the death 
 of a lady so eminently endowed and so truly conse- 
 crated to the honour of the Redeemer and the advance- 
 ment of his kingdom in the world, was regarded as a 
 calamity to India. It was particularly felt as a serious 
 loss to the Scottish Mission, of which she was so bright 
 an ornament. 
 
 The Honourable James Farish, President of the 
 Bombay Auxiliary Scottish Missionary Society, at the 
 request of their Committee, wrote to the bereaved 
 servant of God ; and the following is a part of his 
 communication to Dr. Wilson. 
 
 " In performing this duty, I have to express our 
 deep and unfeigned sorrow under the dispensation of 
 our heavenly Father, who has removed from the 
 Christian Church, and from the Scottish Mission, one 
 
MRS. MARGARET WILSON. 199 
 
 whom he had peculiarly qualified as a most useful, 
 talented, and indefatigable labourer; and from her 
 family and friends, the most amiable and affectionate 
 parent and partner. I cannot but feel that in this 
 expression of our sorrow, — a ' sorrow not without hope for 
 them who sleep in Jesus,' — I but inadequately convey 
 the Committee's sense of the value of Mrs. Wilson's 
 varied and arduous labours in different branches of the 
 mission, which, in her removal, has sustained so great 
 a loss." — 
 
 Numerous were the testimonies to the distinguished 
 excellences of this lamented lady, communicated to her 
 sorrowing husband, from private friends and his fellow- 
 labourers in India : and in their expressions of sympathy 
 and condolence, they confirm all that has in this brief 
 sketch been intimated of her eminent talents and quali- 
 fications, as a devoted Missionary of Jesus Christ to 
 the heathen. 
 
MRS. LOVELESS*, 
 
 DIED SEPTEMBER 20, 1837- 
 
 Mrs. Loveless's history .^Rev. R. Knill her Biographer. — Bom in New York. 
 — Educated by Mrs. Graham, as her Mother — Her Illness. — Her Voyage 
 to India.' — Arrival in England. — Proceeds to Madras. — English Mis- 
 sionaries in the same ship. — Miss Farqiihar married to Mr. Loveless. — 
 Mrs. Graham's Letter to her. — They settle in Madras. — Mr. Loveless 
 Superintendant of the Military Orphan Asylum. — His Success.— His 
 Preaching.^He builds the Missionary Chapel.— Schools attached. — 
 Expense defrayed. — They open a Boarding-School. — Mrs. Loveless's 
 qualifications. — Her Establishment.— Her Children. — Death of three of 
 them Mrs. Graham's Letter — Mrs. Loveless promotes Female Educa- 
 tion. — Aided by other Missionaries. — Her kind care of Mr. Knill in 
 Sickness. — Missionary Breakfast. — Building of a new Chapel. — Mrs. 
 
 Loveless' illness She leaves India. — Arrives in London. — Resides at 
 
 Heme Bay.— Settles at Canterbury.— Her active piety.— Her example. 
 —Her Religious Experience.— Her Death. 
 
 Mrs. Loveless, wife of the Rev. W. C. Loveless, of 
 the London Missionary Society, w^as a native of New 
 York. She was regarded, however, as scarcely Ame- 
 rican, as she was adopted and educated by a Scotch 
 lady ; she spent the vigour of her life in British India ; 
 she honoured her character for nearly thirty- two years 
 as the wife of an English Missionary ; passed her last 
 thirteen years in England ; and closed her useful life in 
 the city of Canterbury. 
 
 Rev. Richard Knill has drawn up a memoir of this 
 
 * See " The Missionary's Wife, or Brief Account of Mrs. Loveless, of 
 Madras ; The First American Missionary to Foreign Lands. By Richard 
 Knill. Tract Society, London." 
 
MRS. LOVELESS. 201 
 
 excellent lady; and from his account principally the 
 following sketch is taken, admirably illustrating the 
 importance of the missionary's wife. In his peculiar 
 style, Mr. Knill says : — 
 
 " In this brief memoir of an excellent female mis- 
 sionary, I shall endeavour to interest the feelings, 
 inform the judgment, and clear the hearts of my readers 
 by presenting her under the various characters of a 
 pupil, a wife, a mistress, a mother, a promoter of 
 female education, the friend of missionaries, and a 
 pattern to us all. 
 
 " Mrs. Loveless was an American ; she was born on 
 Long Island, State of New York, 23rd of September, 
 1774. Her maiden name was Sarah Farquhar, and 
 she was the first American who engaged in foreign 
 missions. 
 
 " At an early age she was placed at school with that 
 eminently gifted and pious lady Isabella Graham^ of 
 New York, and afterwards became an assistant in her 
 school. Like her esteemed instructress she was a 
 Presbyterian, and a member of the church under the 
 pastoral care of the celebrated Dr. Mason. 
 
 " In 1798, when Mrs. Graham retired from the 
 arduous duties of her school. Miss Farquhar was 
 solicited to become her successor ; but this she declined, 
 choosing rather to enjoy the society of her patroness and 
 friend. The attachment between them was so great, 
 that Mrs. Graham always addressed her as her child. 
 But instead of enjoying the society of her friend, she 
 was removed far from her. The Lord, by whom the 
 
202 BRITISH FEMALE MISSIONARIES. 
 
 bounds of our habitation arc fixed, had designed her 
 for another sphere, and to live and die in foreign lands. 
 An epidemic, which in 1804 carried many persons to 
 the grave, brought Miss Farquhar also to the gates of 
 death ; and, as she vs^as recovering, her medical 
 attendant said, the only means of saving her life would 
 be a voyage to a hot climate. 
 
 " About this time, a son-in-law of Mrs. Graham, 
 Andrew Smith, Esq., was trading to the East Indies, 
 and was then preparing to sail with his family to Lon- 
 don, and thence to Madras and Calcutta. With them 
 she embarked in the ship ' Alleghany,' and arrived 
 safely in England. She sojourned several weeks in 
 Birmingham ; and here the circumstances commenced 
 which eventually led Miss Farquhar to become a mis- 
 sionary's wife. The London Missionary Society were 
 preparing to establish a mission in the idolatrous city of 
 Surat ; but the East India Company would not allow 
 Christian missionaries to sail in their ships ; therefore 
 Dr. Carey, Mr. Loveless, and many others, were glad 
 to sail to British India in the ships of foreigners ! 
 The London Missionary Society thankfully availed 
 themselves of the privilege of sending Dr. Taylor and 
 Mr. Loveless in the American ship 'Alleghany.' They 
 embarked on the 4th of December 1804, and arrived 
 in Madras June 1805. 
 
 " During the voyage that attachment was formed 
 which death only could sever, and which for more than 
 thirty-two years was a source of the purest earthly 
 delight. It was a saying of Mrs. Graham's, that 
 
MRS. LOVELESS. 203 
 
 ' Religion and conjugal love will sweeten almost any 
 lot ; ' and this happy couple found it so amidst all the 
 trials of a missionary life. On their arrival at Madras, 
 the peculiar circumstances of the mission rendered it 
 desirable for Miss Farquhar to proceed with Mrs. Smith 
 to Calcutta, whence she returned the next year to Ma- 
 dras ; and, on the 9th of May 1806, she was married 
 to Mr. Loveless, in the Fort Cliurch, by the Rev. Dr. 
 Kerr." 
 
 Mrs. Graham was informed at the earliest period of 
 Miss Farquhar's union with Mr. Loveless. " That 
 extraordinary lady,'' Mr, Knill remarks, " was half a 
 century before most other people in her views of mis- 
 sionary work." Her opinion was, that "to publish the 
 glad tidings of salvation is the highest post of honour 
 that men can have on earth ; and among these the 
 missionary is the nearest to the apostle." She wrote 
 therefore to her beloved young friend ; and the follow- 
 ing is part of her letter : — 
 
 " My dear Sally. — Many tears have I shed over 
 your letter. What a changing lot has been that of my 
 family ! The Lord's providences to me and mine have 
 not been of the ordinary kind ; and you, as one in it, 
 seem to be a partaker with us. Surely, of all others, 
 we have most reason to sav, ' "We are strano^ers and 
 pilgrims on the earth.' Oh, that we may drink into 
 the true spirit of that phrase, and enjoy the genuine, 
 firm faith of an everlasting habitation of living at home 
 with God ! 
 
 " My dear Sally, take the comfort of this, that it is 
 
204 BRITISH FEMALE MISSIONARIES. 
 
 the Lord who hath led you all the way by which you 
 have gone. Many a pang it has cost me, on reflection, 
 to think how positive I was that you should take a 
 voyage. But it was of the Lord. The physician urged 
 it, as the only chance you had for life. The Lord, by 
 wonderful means, called you from your native land, 
 and led you to the very spot where you met Mr. Love- 
 less. You ask my blessing. I have carried both of 
 you to my God and Saviour ; and have prayed, and 
 continue to pray, that the Lord will bless you indivi- 
 dually and unitedly. May he bless Mr. Loveless as a 
 missionary, and give him the spirit of his office, and 
 much fruit among the heathen, as seals to his ministry ; 
 and may you be a helper with him, and both be blessed, 
 and made a blessing. 
 
 " My dear Sally, I have ever considered you as my 
 child. You are very dear to my heart. Tell Mr. 
 Loveless he must ever consider me as his mother. — 
 Your affectionate mother. — Isabella Graham." 
 
 Mr. Loveless had the honour of being the first 
 English missionary to Madras, and his situation had 
 peculiar difficulties. The city of Madras is the resid- 
 ence of the governor, and the capital of the presidency: 
 it stands near the sea, on the coast of Coromandel, and 
 contains about 300,000 inhabitants. " As the policy 
 of the East India Company's government prevented 
 missionaries from going to India in their ships," IMr. 
 Knill remarks, " so the same policy made it very diffi- 
 cult for a missionary to labour there, having come in a 
 foreign ship. The Baptist missionaries in Bengal had 
 
MRS. LOVELESS. 205 
 
 sheltered themselves at Serampore, a Danish settlement; 
 and John Thompson had been hunted as a partridge on 
 the mountains^ until he was put into the grave. The 
 Kev. Dr. Kerr, senior chaplain, and a few other friends 
 who took an interest in missions, advised Mr. Loveless, 
 as the only way to get a footing at Madras, to become 
 the superintendant of the Military Orphan IMale Asy- 
 lum, and there to impart religious instruction to 350 
 boys. He yielded to their advice ; and in this asylum 
 he remained about six years, under Dr. Kerr and his 
 successors. Mrs. Loveless united in various ways in 
 promoting the best interests of the rising generation ; 
 many of whom lived to fill useful stations in the pre- 
 sidency, and became members of the church, under the 
 pastoral care of her husband. 
 
 " One of these boys, who has become a pious and 
 intelligent man, once said to me, ' When Mr. and Mrs. 
 Loveless first took me by the hand, and gave me good 
 advice, I did not know that I had a soul ; and I always 
 consider a hymn which they gave me to learn, as the 
 instrument of leadinor me to seek salvation through the 
 Lord Jesus Christ.' Another youth, who had enjoyed 
 the privilege of living with Mr. Loveless from his ninth 
 year, made a similar confession to me. This youth 
 knew more of the Bible than any person I ever met 
 with ; and he has up to this day maintained an honour- 
 able character as a disciple of Christ." 
 
 Mr. Loveless was engaged, during this time, in 
 preaching in various places in the city and suburbs to 
 that important class of the community called " country- 
 
206 BRITISH FEMALE MISSIONARIES. 
 
 born" — descendants of Europeans by the father's side, 
 and likely to form an influential part of the British 
 empire in India. Two free day-schools were established 
 for the same class, in whose prosperity Mr. Loveless 
 took a deep interest. 
 
 " In 1810, Mr. Loveless commenced his great work 
 of building the missionary chapel known by the name 
 of ' Loveless's Chapel.' It is one of the most complete 
 missionary chapels in the world ; and the laying of the 
 foundation-stone of that edifice was a grand day for 
 India. The chapel is built in Black Town, and is sur- 
 rounded on all sides by Pagan temples. A fine mis- 
 sionary free-school for boys adorns it on the right, and 
 a similar school for girls on the left, and a school for 
 heathen children in the rear. The congregation is of 
 vast importance to the missionary cause in India, not 
 only from the fund which it supplies, but as being the 
 nursery of a few of our most devoted missionaries. 
 Mrs. Loveless took a very active part in the erection of 
 this house of God ; and the business habits which she 
 had acquired in America now shone forth to great 
 advantage by her wise arrangements. Mr. Loveless 
 never received any salary from his congregation; neither, 
 at. this time, were they receiving any from the Mission- 
 ary Society : but, by her prudential domestic economy, 
 she enabled her husband to give largely to the building 
 fund. 
 
 " This building cost about £3000, not a shilling of 
 which came from Europe. Some generous and noble- 
 minded Episcopalians were Mr. Loveless's best friends 
 
MRS. LOVELESS. 20/ 
 
 in tills matter ; but, notwithstanding all their efforts, a 
 debt of 300 pagodas, or £200 still remained. This 
 pressed heavily on the mind of Mr. Loveless ; but the 
 load was soon suddenly removed, in the following 
 manner : — A stranger called, and requested a private 
 interview. He spoke to this effect — ' I knew that you 
 had a debt of 300 pagodas on your chapel, and I made 
 a vow, that, if a certain plan of mine succeeded, I 
 would liquidate your debt. Tliat plan has succeeded ; 
 and I am come to pay my vow. Here is the money ; 
 and you must not refuse it. No mortal knows of this 
 but you and me ; and my name must remain a secret.' 
 The debt was paid, and my friends were joyful." 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Loveless left the Military Asylum in 
 1812, and opened a boarding-school for their support. 
 Mr. Loveless, speaking of this, says — " It is, in strict 
 justice, due to the memory of my departed wife, to 
 acknowledge that, through the blessing of God on her 
 agency, in advice and management, 1 owe chiefly my 
 temporal prosperity in India, and the enjoyment of it 
 in England." " It appeared to me" Mr. Knill remarks, 
 *' that her three cardinal virtues were, industri/^ eco- 
 nomy^ and punctuality : these she learned of Mrs. 
 Graham, and found them of the greatest advantage in 
 her large establishment. 
 
 " Mrs. Loveless had one of the largest families in 
 India ; but everything was in order, and every one in 
 his place. Sometimes they had thirty boarders, besides 
 day-scholars, several of whom were girls ; and Mrs. 
 Loveless took the whole weight of the domestic con- 
 
208 BRITISH FEMALE MISSIONARIES. 
 
 cerns, that her husband might be more at leisure for 
 the work of the mission ; while, for some hours every 
 day, she taught the girls, and some of the younger 
 boys. 
 
 " Mrs. Loveless must now be considered as a mother. 
 She had four children of her own : three of whom she 
 followed to the grave. The first that she buried was a 
 daughter. I know what a father feels on the mournful 
 occasion, but I cannot describe what mothers feel. 
 But Mrs. Loveless knew, and sought resignation and 
 consolation from, the right source. Soon after this, a 
 second daughter died ; and before the tears were well 
 dry, her son, John Thompson, died also. This last was 
 a fine little boy, who was born at the time when a 
 young missionary, named John Thompson, lived at 
 their house, and afterwards died in their arms. The 
 sincere attachment which they felt to their brother led 
 them to call their son after him, hoping that he would 
 follow his steps ; and he soon followed him indeed, not 
 as a missionary to the heathen, but as a glorified spirit 
 to heaven. 
 
 " Their only surviving child was named AVilliam 
 Kerr, after Dr. Kerr, the senior chaplain, who had 
 always been Mr. Loveless's warm friend. At the time 
 when their son John died, the health of William was 
 so delicate, that their medical friend assured them the 
 only means of saving his life was to send him to Eng- 
 land ; and before that day month William was on the 
 mighty waters. Thus all her children were removed 
 from her sioht, and she was left childless." 
 
MRS. LOVELESS. 209 
 
 Mrs. Loveless found no small consolation in her 
 afflictions in the letters of her beloved friends, especially 
 in those of her venerated mother in spiritual things, 
 Mrs. Graham. In one of her communications, she 
 says : — " It is all well, my Sally ! You devoted your 
 dear children to the Lord : you gave them to him 
 without articleing with him how he was to dispose of 
 them. He has put you to your word. It is well, my 
 Sally, and you shall be a gainer at his hand. I hope 
 your young Missionary may be spared, blessed, and 
 made a blessing to many. I am in my seventieth 
 year, and am looking daily for my Saviour's promise : 
 ' If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, 
 and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there 
 ye may be also.' Faith in promised forgiveness, through 
 the death and merits of my great High-Priest, is his 
 gift ; and I do feel his love in my heart, and earnest 
 desires of conformity to his image. His name, his 
 word, his ministers, his people, are precious, and are my 
 delight. My pains often keep me awake in the night ; 
 but I have kept on my memory some sweet hymns, and 
 I sing one after another, and find my pains diverted ; 
 and I often drop asleep with the word in my mouth, 
 and the sentiments as it were sleeping with me." 
 
 Mrs. Loveless' heart was long set upon the education and 
 elevation of females in India. Popular feeling was, how- 
 ever, against this : the natives said, " It is not the Malabar 
 custom to teach women to read;" and this was echoed 
 from many voices respecting the "country-born" children, 
 whom Mrs. Loveless wished first to elevate ; for they 
 
210 BRITISH FEMALE MISSIONARIES. 
 
 were almost as much deoraded as their heathen sisters. 
 
 o 
 
 She commenced, therefore, her Free girls' school, in con- 
 nexion with the Chapel ; and some particulars of the 
 work are thus narrated by Mr. Knill : — 
 
 " Mr. Loveless had laboured alone for nearly thirteen 
 years, except now and then he was visited for a short 
 time by a brother missionary, who was passing through 
 Madras to some other station; but, in 1815, the di- 
 rectors of the London Missionary Society appointed me 
 to be Mr. Loveless's coadjutor in the work of the mis- 
 sion. In August, 1816, I arrived in company with 
 five other missionaries and their wives, appointed to 
 other stations, and two young ladies, who were after- 
 wards the wives of missionaries. This was a great day 
 with the friends at Madras, and none enjoyed it more 
 than the affectionate and generous-hearted friend about 
 whom I am now writing. The arrival of a fellow- 
 labourer enabled Mr. and Mrs. Loveless to devote some 
 part of their time to objects which they could not at- 
 tempt alone. The first was, this long-cherished wish of 
 her heart, the Missionary Free-school for girls. She 
 had the complete arrangement of it in all its branches, 
 and a beautiful picture it was. Pious and benevolent 
 ladies of the presidency often visited it, and took great 
 delight in promoting its success. The school-mistress 
 was well suited to her station, and great good was 
 done. The school was built, and supported by friends 
 on the spot." 
 
 Mrs. Loveless was also a generous friend of mission- 
 aries ; and Mr. Knill bears his most willing testimony 
 
MRS. LOVELESS. 211 
 
 to her excellencies in this character. He refers to the 
 fact of Madras being the seat of government, and the 
 chief sea-port ; " it often happens that missionaries from 
 various societies touch there, and remain for a short 
 season. JNIany of these beloved brethren," he remarks, 
 " have shared in the sisterly kindness of Mrs. Loveless. 
 Her house was their home, and her well-spread table 
 supplied them during their stay with plain, wholesome 
 food. Newly-arrived missionaries, if not more than 
 three or four in number, never needed to seek any ac- 
 commodations while Mr. and Mrs. Loveless were at 
 Madras. In this way they contributed largely to the 
 missionary cause. By this means also many experi- 
 enced their kindness ; but none so greatly as myself. I 
 lived two years in their family ; and through their ge- 
 nerous treatment, I was able to support several native 
 schools with my salary. A few of the last months that 
 I was with them, my health failed ; most of my friends 
 thought I should die, and I attribute the preservation 
 of my life, in a great degree, to her unremitting care. 
 Yes ; if any among the millions of Russia have been 
 benefited by my labours, or if any good has been done 
 by my tongue or my pen in Britain or America, I must 
 ever connect it with the tender care of my good sister 
 Loveless. 
 
 " The last day that I saw her in India, she was 
 superintending a JNIissionary Breakfast : a repast quite 
 common now, but a rare sight under a tropical sun in 
 the year 1819. On this occasion there were Church 
 Missionaries, Baptists, AYesleyan?, and those of tlie 
 p 2 
 
212 BRITISH FEMALE MISSIONARIES. 
 
 London Society. We had assembled to commence the 
 erection of a missionary chapel at Persewankum, exactly 
 of the same dimensions as that in the Black Town ; and 
 as it was the day on which I was to sail for England, 
 and thus take leave of my beloved fellow-labourers, 
 they requested me to lay the foundation-stone. A 
 parchment-roll, containing the names of the Mission- 
 aries present, was sealed up in a bottle, and deposited 
 in the stone, that future ages might read what we at- 
 tempted to do for the evangelisation of India." 
 
 Mrs. Loveless, though improved in health by her re- 
 sidence in India, began to feel the dire effects of disease, 
 and the last four years that she remained at Madras 
 were a period of suffering : her medical attendant, there- 
 fore, urged a speedy return to England or to America. 
 After some hesitation she at last consented ; and as soon 
 as it was known in Madras that Mr. and Mrs. Loveless 
 had determined to revisit Europe, a handsome purse 
 was presented them by the congregation, containing 
 about two thousand rupees ! This delightful token of 
 the love cherished for them by their Christian friends 
 was increased in value by the manner in which the 
 present was made to them. Some of their oldest friends 
 accompanied them to the ship, January 14, 1824; they 
 thus left the scene of their numerous and useful la- 
 bours ; and in the month of June following, they arrived 
 at the house of kind friends in London. 
 
 Mr. Knill remarks further of his amiable friend, that 
 she was a " Pattern to us all." After Mrs. Loveless 
 and her husband returned to England, tliey lived for 
 
MRS. LOVELESS. 213 
 
 some years at Heme Bay, on the coast of Kent, where 
 Mr. Loveless exercised his ministry; but for several 
 years she resided at Canterbury. In both these places, 
 as she was able, she pursued the same diligent course of 
 active benevolence. At Canterbury, she attended the 
 ministry of the Rev. H. Cresswell, and became much 
 attached to him and his people. And " there are four 
 things," as stated by her biographer, " connected with 
 her residence in this city, which are well worthy of the 
 imitation of Christians in every city and in every 
 country. 
 
 " 1. Her love to the rising generation led her, in ad- 
 vancing years, and amidst many infirmities, to become 
 one of the superintendants of the Sunday-school. 
 
 "2. She never grieved her minister's heart by desert- 
 ing her pew on the Lord's day. She loved her minis- 
 ter, and his Master, and the sanctuary ; therefore she 
 was never absent unless compelled by necessity. 
 
 " 3. No cooking or unnecessary work was suffered 
 to be done in her house on the sabbath. As her son 
 was a surgeon, it was necessary for some person to 
 remain at home ; but it was always a day of rest. 
 
 " 4. Though she had not the pecuniary means for 
 doing what she had been accustomed to do at Madras, 
 yet she frequently visited the sick, the aged, and infirm, 
 and administered to their temporal comfort, nor did she 
 overlook their spiritual state. 
 
 " She was of a most retiring disposition, and could 
 speak but little, from natural diffidence ; yet, when in 
 the presence of friends, and especially when among the 
 
214 BRITISH FEMALE MISSIONARIES. 
 
 poor of her own sex, and among children ; then her 
 embarrassment was removed, and she would reprove 
 their sin, and direct them to Christ as the only Saviour, 
 with peculiar tenderness and becoming faithfulness. 
 
 '*" As she drew near eternity, she found the advantage 
 of the good old orthodox truths which she had learned 
 from Dr. Mason. She gloried in the doctrines of grace, 
 and their genuine effects in a holy life. She said but 
 little to strangers, but she used to speak with delighted 
 feeling to her husband on the consolation she enjoyed as 
 a sinner, from the completeness of the work of Christ. 
 She viewed the efficacy of the atonement, as arising 
 out of the glory of his character, as God equal with the 
 Father. In this she trusted for eternal life. Hence she 
 delighted to read those parts of the sacred Scriptures 
 which speak so fully of the divinity of Christ, and of 
 the work of the Spirit in applying these truths to the 
 heart. All her hopes for salvation centred here. 
 
 " One of the last books we ever read together," 
 says her bereaved, but divinely supported husband, 
 " was the Great Teacher. She was peculiarly charmed 
 with that book, because it exhibits, in almost every 
 page, the glory of Christ shining forth in all its meri- 
 dian splendour ; not only on the mount of Transfigura- 
 tion, and at the grave of Lazarus, but in the most 
 minute circumstances of his life ; proving him to be 
 indeed, ' God manifest in the flesh.' " 
 
 This desirable state of mind resulted from her cordial 
 regard to the glorious gospel of the blessed God. Her 
 soul to the last was fixed on Christ, and she enjoyed 
 
MRS. LOVELESS. 215 
 
 holy tranquillity through faith in the Divine promises. 
 3he enjoyed heaven before she left the earth : all that 
 she said in her departing moments w^as cheering. To 
 the inquiry, " Do you w^ant anything ? " she an- 
 swered, "No:" and again, "Are you liappy?" she 
 replied, " Yes : peace, peace." At another time, referring 
 to the inspired expression, " Unto you which believe he 
 is precious," she added, " Precious Jesus ! " and de- 
 parted to her eternal rest in the kingdom of God, on 
 the 20th of September, 1 837, within three days of com- 
 pleting the 63rd year of her age. 
 
 Adorning thus the doctrine of God her Saviour, this 
 amiable, devoted, and useful missionary closed her truly 
 honourable course. Her valuable life was prolonged 
 to a rather greater extent than that of many whom 
 Divine Providence has employed in the same depart- 
 ment of Christian labour ; and her memory is endeared 
 to many who knew her in Canterbury. Mrs. Loveless 
 was truly exemplary in all the important relations of 
 life ; her character shone with a heavenly lustre, which 
 cannot be contemplated without admiration, by any 
 who are capable of correctly estimating the power and 
 grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. 
 
MRS. TAYLOR.* 
 
 DIED, NOV. 7, lii3S. 
 
 Mrs. Taylor daughter of Mr. E. AVilshere of Greenwich.— Descended frors 
 Sir II. Myddleton.— Her early piety.— Her early advantages.— Her 
 habits.— Engages in a family in Somersetshire. — Letter to her brother. 
 —Her return home.— Joins a Bible class of Rev. H. B. Jeula.^Engages 
 again as teacher. — Reflections in her diary. — Unites with a Christian 
 Church Her reflections after the Lord's Supper.— Returns to Black- 
 heath.— Her active benevolence —Her missionary spirit.— Engages to 
 unite with Mr. Taylor.— Her state of mind.— Visits the Isle of Wight. 
 — Is married. — Her farewell to her parents. — Voyage to Demerara. — 
 Labours at George-town. — Settles at Leguan.— Mrs. Taylor's labour.— 
 Debased state of the Negresses.— Their instruction.— Mrs. Taylor's 
 account.— Excessive duties.— Loss of her second child,— Her devotedness 
 to missionary labours.— Emancipation of Negroes.— Religious services. 
 —Negresses eager for instruction.— Mrs. Taylor's illness.— Birth of her 
 third child.— Visit to George-town.- Her disease increases.— Her death. 
 —Her funeral and character. 
 
 Mrs. Elizabeth Anne Taylor, wife of the Rev. 
 R. B. Taylor, Missionary to British Guiana, was born 
 October 19, 1812. She was the eldest daughter of 
 Mr. Edward Wilshere, of Greenwich, Kent ; and *' on 
 the maternal side a direct lineal descendant of the cele- 
 brated knight and baronet. Sir Hugh Myddleton, the 
 spirited projector of the New River." 
 
 Miss Wilshere's parents regarded her spiritual wel- 
 farp as far more important than her temporal interests ; 
 and they endeavoured to " bring her up in the nurture 
 and admonition of the Lord." From a child she knew 
 
 * See Memoir of Elizabeth Anne Taylor, wife of Robert Barry Taylor, 
 jSIissionary to British Guiana. Snow ; London. 
 
MRS. TAYLOR. 217 
 
 the Holy Scriptures; and she states, " I tliank my God 
 tliat from a very early age I can say that many sweet 
 seasons of communion with himself has he granted me, 
 and I can look back to many delightful moments spent 
 at the foot of the Cross, which is the only foundation of 
 my hope." 
 
 But " what it was," Mr. Taylor remarks, " which led 
 her thus early to seek the God of her fathers, she never 
 could tell with certainty. But from the remarks which 
 would fall from her occasionally when speaking upon 
 the subject, it would appear that the weakly state of 
 her health first induced serious reflection, and that the 
 impressions thus made were deepened by a sermon on 
 the brevity of life, and the importance of early religion, 
 preached by the Rev, W. Chapman, of Greenwich, her 
 parents' pastor." 
 
 Miss Wilshere possessed many advantages in relation 
 to her education ; and her choice of books indicated her 
 superior and decided mind. " Her study of the sacred 
 Volume was regular and systematic — she read it daily 
 a.nd as a ickole, comparing spiritual things with spiritual, 
 and pressing into her service whatever of human know- 
 lege came within her reach, of a nature to illustrate or 
 confirm. The greater part of the Book of Psalms and 
 of the Gospels she committed to memory, and very 
 many of our modern Christian poets." 
 
 " These studies, as might be expected, were attended 
 with the most pleasing results. Her natural sweetness 
 of disposition, gentleness, goodness, and self-denial, be- 
 came more and more conspicuous and lovely, and 
 
218 BRITISH FEMALE MISSIONARIES. 
 
 endearing. By her brothers and sisters especially she 
 was looked up to as their presiding genius, and over 
 them she exercised almost unlimited controul, solely 
 through her affectionate and consistent example. To 
 her parents ^he never occasioned an anxious thought. 
 But her views of herself were of the most humbling 
 description. Her journal is full of complaints over her 
 pride, vanity, and general unworthiness ; displaying 
 evidences at once of the most jealous watchfulness over 
 the secret workings of the heart, and of the natural 
 effect of such a habit — profound humility. 
 
 " Hitherto we have seen, and that very imperfectly, 
 what she was only at home and among her immediate 
 friends : and what she was at the age of ten, describes 
 what she continued to be during the five succeeding 
 years, except that with the lapse of time her character 
 and conduct became amiable, corresponding to her ad- 
 vancing age. About this time her parents were desirous 
 of her enjoying the advantages of sea-bathing for a few 
 months : and while devising various plans for the accom- 
 plishment of this wish, an application was made to 
 them from a lady residing near B — in Somersetshire, 
 offering the very facilities which they were desiring to 
 secure, in consideration of their devoting part of her 
 time to the instruction of the applicant's family, con- 
 sisting of two or three children. With this lady and 
 her family she spent some months on the north coast of 
 Devonshire." 
 
 During her absence from home, Miss Wilshere wrote 
 several letters to her friends ; and the following extracts 
 
MRS. TAYLOR. 219 
 
 of one to her eldest brother, will illustrate her charac- 
 ter at this period : — 
 
 ^'•February 2, ]828. — My dearest Edward. — I have 
 heard from papa that he has not been able to get you 
 into any situation. I think for some reasons you must 
 be glad of it : but I hope, my dear brother, that where- 
 ever your future lot may be cast, you will be enabled 
 to act with decision and firmness ; that you will scorn 
 the narrow limits of fashion, pride, and prejudice, and 
 not resemble one of those minds which, Foster says, 
 ' Nature has made by the gross.' Seek, above all 
 thinos to be conformed to the image of Christ. In 
 doing this you will find, as I do, ten thousand sins and 
 follies continually keeping you from that enjoyment 
 which you might otherwise experience from the light 
 and favour of the Redeemer s countenance ; but nothing 
 short of perfection must be your standard. It is true 
 we can never attain unto it in this world ; but from 
 beholding it in the Lord our Righteousness, we shall go 
 on from strength to strength. 
 
 " I trust, my dearest Edward, that the instructions 
 which you have received, and the means of grace with 
 which you have been blessed, have often been instru- 
 mental in leading you to the Saviour. I say instrumental, 
 because they will avail nothing without the blessing of 
 God. But remember this blessing must be sought, and 
 prayer is the appointed means. Never neglect this 
 duty. Oh! how sweetly will you pass through this 
 world if you live by faith in the Son of God. Do not 
 rest till you can call him yours. Pray write to me and 
 
220 BRITISH FE3IALE MISSIONARIES. 
 
 tell me your thoughts on these subjects. I cannot tell 
 you what pleasure it would give me to know that you 
 were desirous to sit at the feet of Jesus, and to learn of 
 Him ; and endeavouring, by your example and prayers, 
 to arrest the attention of dear Ebenezer and Alfred to 
 the concerns of their souls. 
 
 " I feel quite unworthy and unable to give you any 
 advice ; but what I pant after, that I wish to see you 
 striving for — an interest in Christ. — I have sent you a 
 Bible, which I hope you will carefully study ; it is the 
 most precious gift that I can present to you ; its value 
 increases with its use. Never let a day pass without 
 reading at least one chapter, and do not read in a desul- 
 tory manner. I should advise you to go regularly 
 through the New Testament, and seek to do so with 
 self-examination and prayer. God must be youis. 
 Think what love that must be which moved Him to 
 give his only Son, our blessed Lord, to die the just for 
 the imjust, that he might reconcile us to Himself. Pray 
 write to me soon, my dear brother. Your affectionately- 
 attached sister — Anne ! " 
 
 Miss Wilshere returned home to aid her mother, then 
 in an indifferent state of health, in the care of a large 
 family ; yet she redeemed leisure for her own improve- 
 ment, and made some progress in the study of the 
 Greek and German languages. She enjoyed also, for 
 some time, the advantages of a Ladies' Bible Class, 
 formed by the Rev. H. B. Jeula, minister of Maize-Hill 
 Chapel, Greenwich, where her parents worshipped. 
 But her mother's health improving, she engaged her- 
 
MRS. TAYLOR. 221 
 
 self, in the autumn of 1830, for two years, as a gover- 
 ness in a family, strongly recommended by the lady 
 with whom she had spent some time on the coast of 
 Devon. In this situation she experienced considerable 
 difficulties from the undisciplined children ; for whose 
 welfare she was prayerfully solicitous, as will appear 
 by the following extract of her journal : — 
 
 " What should I do without an Almighty friend ! 
 My duties overwhelm me ; the children are an unceasing 
 source of anxiety. I fear lest my friends should think 
 me unfaithful. I am deeply sensible of my insufficiency. 
 Pity, my beloved Redeemer, the sorrows of my heart. 
 Bless my labours with the children; and though 
 characters are not formed in a day, teach me to take 
 such steps as may lead to the formation of a good 
 foundation. 
 
 " Dear E — is again the burden of my prayer. How 
 long, Lord ! how long shall this dear child be the 
 slave of sin and Satan ! Was engaged in earnest prayer 
 for her before tea. All my endeavours, Lord, are 
 powerless without thy blessing. I have sown in tears. 
 Thou knowest. Oh, have mercy upon thy poor servant, 
 for I am as a worm before thee." 
 
 Miss Wilshere's state of mind will further appear 
 from the following : — " December 31. — The last day of 
 the year 1830, still finds me surrounded with innumer- 
 able mercies ; and still finds, alas ! my poor sinful heart 
 too unmindful of its Creator. The more T look into 
 myself, the more am I astonished at the love of God. 
 How can he bear to look upon me ; my thoughts are 
 
222 BRITISH FEMALE MISSIONARIES. 
 
 continually wandering from Him, although I desire to 
 love Him ahove all on earth. Lord, send down thy 
 Holy Spirit into my heart ! Oh, renew the spirit of my 
 mind ! Oh, fill my heart with thy love ! 
 
 ''In the distance I hear the bells of the different 
 churches ringing out the old year. One year nearer to 
 eternity ! There is something very awful and solemn 
 in that word : yet why should it be awful to the Chris- 
 tian ? The nearer heaven the better ; the sooner will he 
 get rid of his wicked heart, and be enabled to praise his 
 Redeemer without one distracting thought. Oh ! bliss- 
 ful moment, draw nigh, when, freed from this fleshy 
 tabernacle, my soul shall triumph in eternal day." 
 
 Miss Wilshere, now in her nineteenth year, in Feb- 
 ruary 1831, made an open public profession of faith in 
 the Lord Jesus, by uniting herself with the church of 
 Clirist under the pastoral care of the Rev. Mr. L — , of 
 B — . This important and interesting step had for some 
 years previously occupied her thoughts. She applied to 
 her kind friend in whose family she was living, and at 
 once received that attention and encouragement which 
 the state of her mind required. An introduction to Mr. 
 L — followed, and soon after she had the happiness of 
 enjoying that privilege which she had desired for so 
 long a time." 
 
 She enjoyed her privileges; as she wrote in her jour- 
 nal, — " To-day I joined in the celebration of the Lord's- 
 supper. I am very tired to-night, sleepy, and cold ; 
 but I must just record God's mercy to my soul to-day. 
 How beautiful he lias appeared to me, especially while 
 
MRS. TAYLOR. 223 
 
 seated at his table ! My Saviour ! oh, how dehghtful 
 to think I can call him mbie. Unworthy as I am, He 
 stoops to love me, and condescends to grant me his 
 presence. Lord, wdierever I go, be Thou with me ; in 
 all that I do enable me to do it with a single eye to thy 
 glory, looking ever to the blessed Author and Finisher 
 of my faith. A few more years, and if Thou wilt pre- 
 pare me for that heavenly kingdom, I shall see Thee 
 face to face, and never leave Thee more. Eternity 
 shall roll in ceaseless praises to Him who hath loved 
 me, and hath redeemed me by his own precious blood ; 
 hath sanctified me by his Spirit, and clothed me in his 
 beautiful robe. I shall mingle, exulting thought ! with 
 angels and archangels in celebrating his boundless 
 praise." 
 
 Having completed the term for which she had been 
 engaged as governess, she returned, in 1832, to her 
 parents, at Blackbeath, where she prosecuted various 
 plans of usefulness. " She opened a sabbath school for 
 the children of the poor people living in the neighbour- 
 hood of her father's residence, dividing the labour of 
 instruction with her sister M. This, besides affording 
 to herself a pleasant and useful occupation for some 
 hours on the sabbath, and to the poor children the means 
 of obtaining scriptural knowledge, opened the way for 
 many visits of mercy during the week. In these she 
 read the Scriptures, conversed, and prayed ; and to such 
 as needed assistance, her heart and her hand were cheer- 
 fully opened. Once in every week, also, it was her 
 custom to visit a village a short distance from home. 
 
224 BRITISH FEMALE MISSIONARIES. 
 
 for the purpose of distributing religious tracts. Visiting 
 the sick was another favourite occupation of her leisure 
 hours, andfor which she was eminently qualified. In 
 one family she was the instrument of much good. The 
 daughter, a young girl in the last stage of consumption, 
 to whom she paid frequent visits, became the subject of 
 converting grace, and died in possession of a hope full of 
 immortality. The parents next became concerned for 
 the salvation of their souls, and the whole family soon 
 felt the happy change, if not by all becoming partakers 
 of precious faith, at least by experiencing many of the 
 comforts of home, produced by the benign influence of 
 religion." 
 
 Miss Wilshere, thus actively devoted to the service of 
 the Redeemer, could not be uninterested in the progress 
 of the gospel in the regions of pagan darkness. For 
 several years her thoughts had been directed to the state 
 of the heathen and the labours of missionaries. Still, 
 although she thought much of the degraded condition 
 of the world lying in wickedness, and prayed earnestly 
 for the comino- of Messiah's kingdom on the earth, she 
 had not the most distant idea of ever being personally 
 engaged as a missionary, Circvim stances, however, 
 arose which required her serious attention to the subject 
 by the fact of Mr. Taylor, a friend of the family, having 
 devoted himself to the work of the Lord in heathen 
 lands, and who had been accepted by the directors of 
 the London Missionary Society, who had appointed him 
 to a station among the negroes recently delivered from 
 slavery. Mr. Taylors attachment to Miss AVilshere 
 
MRS. TAYLOR. 225 
 
 was well known, and on his proposing to her to ac- 
 company him, as his companion tlirough life, in the 
 work of God, she deliberated, prayed, and, with the 
 consent of her beloved parents, engaged thus to conse- 
 crate herself to the service of her Saviour. 
 
 Her state of mind after this momentous decision will 
 appear best from an extract of her diary; in which she 
 says — " Have just returned from the missionary prayer- 
 meeting, where I trust I have been enabled once more 
 to renew my dedication to God. Never was there .one 
 so unworthy of the Saviour's love, so very sinful as I am. 
 For although I commit no open sin, yet my thoughts 
 are so unholy, so very little with God my Father. But, 
 blessed be his holy name, he permits me to kneel with 
 his people. He has made this world seem a blank to 
 my soul without his endeared presence. Oh, blessed 
 Saviour, poor sinner though I am, I love thee, I delight 
 to dwell on thy sacred name, there is a sweetness in it 
 which no other name bears. I desire nothing so much 
 as thy love. With thee I think I could be happy in a 
 dungeon ; without thee I could not be happy in a 
 palace. 
 
 " If I did not feel, and had I not experienced, God's 
 watchful, and unceasing care, I should, under present 
 circumstances, frequently experience great misgivings ; 
 indeed I do so now. But, 
 
 ' His love in times past, forbids me to think 
 He'll leave me at last, in trouble to sink.' 
 
 My eyes fill with tears, and my heart swells to bursting, 
 when I think of the responsibility of the station which 
 Q 
 
22d BRITISH FEMALE MISSIONARIES. 
 
 I may sooner or later be called to occupy. I do not 
 wish to look at things through a false medium. I wish 
 to glorify God in whatever relation I shall ever stand, 
 but I feel my utter helplessness. Give me strength, O 
 Lord ,• for who else can support me? May the Lord 
 strengthen me ; for without Him I can do nothing. 
 Helpless as infancy, I would throw myself on his arm 
 of mercy for strength." 
 
 A few months previously to her marriage, Miss 
 Wilshere spent a few weeks at Ventnor, in the Isle of 
 Wight, in company with several young friends of her 
 early life. During her stay in that place she occupied 
 a portion of her time in visiting the cottages of the poor, 
 distributing religious tracts, and occasionally reading the 
 Scriptures to such as were willing to receive her visits ; 
 so intent was she on doing good, and so anxious to im- 
 prove every opportunity of imparting the glad tidings of 
 salvation by Jesus Christ. 
 
 Returning to her much loved home, she employed her 
 time in preparing for her marriage, which took place in 
 the parish church of St. Paul's, Deptford, December 
 16, 1834, to her long esteemed friend, Mr. Robert Barry 
 Taylor, who had been appointed by the London Mis- 
 sionary Society to labour in the county of Essequibo, in 
 British Guiana. Mrs. Taylor s letter to her parents, the 
 day before she embarked for Demerara, will exhibit her 
 state of mind in the prospect of her important under- 
 taking : — 
 
 " January 25, 1825 My dearest Papa and Mamma. 
 
 With a trcmblino- hand I must now endeavour to take 
 
MRS. TAYLOR. 227 
 
 my leave of you, the dear protectors of my infancy, the 
 guardians of my childhood, and the dear companions 
 and friends of my later years. Were you not so dear, 
 the task would be less painful : as it is, I know not how 
 to get through it, for the past beams full upon me. — 
 How shall I begin ? What shall I say ? Lord, when my 
 dearest parents read these lines, may the feelings which 
 thou hast given them be sanctified and restrained ! 
 Having given their child to God, and devoted her to 
 Him from earliest infancy, may they be enabled to trust 
 her to thee, even to death ! May every feeling, and every 
 heaving emotion, be stilled and calmed by the assurance 
 that the Lord will do still more and better than they 
 can ask or think, for Jesus' sake ! 
 
 " My dearest parents, think of the love of Jesus in 
 thus choosing your first-born, and thus setting her apart 
 for his service. What honour is put upon her ! how 
 deeply unworthy is she of it ! God has done very much 
 for me, eternity alone can disclose how much, in answer 
 to your prayers. — I thank you now for all your care, 
 your watchfulness, and love, and pray you to forgive 
 all that has been wanting in my dutifulness and affec- 
 tion. The debt of gratitude which I owe you will ever 
 glow and kindle in my heart when distance shall separate 
 us, and will lead me continually to pray for every bless- 
 ing for you. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy. 
 He will make up to you abundantly what you have been 
 enabled to devote to him. Jesus, our adorable Redeemer, 
 left the throne of his glory and underwent sufferings 
 innumerable for us, and for our salvation ; and having 
 q2 
 
228 BRITISH FEMALE MISSIONARIES. 
 
 redeemed us by his precious blood, and promised us the 
 gift of his Spirit, we should be willing iwid joyful to 
 devote our lives to him. I trust the Lord will have 
 mercy upon me, and enable me to be useful. His good- 
 ness and loving-kindness have followed me in a peculiar 
 way ; and I can set to my seal that the promises of God 
 are all yea and amen in Christ Jesus. I tell you this, 
 my dearest parents, because I know it will administer 
 peace to your troubled minds. — May God indeed be with 
 you, and bless you exceedingly, and keep you very near 
 to himself, and grant an abundant supply of his Spirit, 
 to be your comfort in every sorrow. May your souls 
 1)6 like well-watered gardens, your graces brighter from 
 the continual contemplation of the Saviour's perfect 
 righteousness. Once more, my dearest parents, farewell, 
 and believe me to remain, your ever affectionate daughter, 
 E. A. Taylor." 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Taylor embarked on board the 
 Albinia, on the following day, January 26, 1835, and 
 "made land" at Demerara on the 9th of March. 
 After a few days' rest, and recovery from an alarming 
 attack of fever, Mrs. Taylor devoted herself to aid in 
 the labours of the Infant Missionary School, at George 
 Town. They expected to have found a station pre- 
 pared for them on the " Arabian coast," Essequibo ; 
 but they were disappointed, through the disinclination 
 of the planters, after their fears of the " Emancipation 
 on the 1st of August, 1834," had been dissipated. Mr. 
 Taylor remained, therefore, with his brethren at George 
 Town, labouring among his ignorant neighbours, and at 
 
MRS. TAYLOR. 229 
 
 the out-stations, making several missionary excursions, 
 seeking to secure a permanent settlement, which he at 
 length obtained on the island of Leguan. This island lies 
 at the mouth of the grand river Essequibo, and about 
 twenty-five miles from George Tov^n, the capital of British 
 Guiana. The length of the island is about ten miles, and 
 its breadth four miles ; nearly the whole surface is in a 
 high state of cultivation, being divided into twenty-six 
 estates, all of which, except two, " are in sugar : " it 
 has a fine port, and it is usually styled " the garden of 
 Demerara." The population of the island is about 
 5000, of whom about 400 are whites; a free black 
 man, desirous of the gospel, nobly ofi'ered the gift of a 
 piece of land for a " Mission- house." This was re- 
 garded as a remarkable interposition of Divine Pro- 
 vidence, as the planters used every eff'ort to prevent 
 Mr. Taylor, as a missionary, settling on the island : but 
 ill-will and hostility were in a great degree overcome 
 by his benevolent labours among them, especially the 
 self-devotion of his amiable wife. 
 
 Mrs. Taylor, having now become a resident on the 
 island, "felt," to use her own language, "just in her 
 own element, and commenced without delay the instruc- 
 tion of the females." The state of degradation, how- 
 ever, in which she found them it is utterly beyond the 
 power of mere words to describe : " apparently desti- 
 tute of moral sensibility, following all uncleanness with 
 greediness ; lascivious, proud, irascible, treacherous, 
 deceitful, suspicious." For some time, the deplorable 
 state in which they were sunk so appalled and pained 
 
230 BRITISH FEMALE MISSIONARIES. 
 
 the mind of their teacher, that she shrank from the 
 arduous and disgusting task of attempting their 
 improvement. ''The most abandoned characters in 
 Britain," Mr. Taylor remarks, "can understand an 
 allusion or a hint ; but owing to the extreme ignorance 
 of the negresses in Leguan, and the dreadful familiarity 
 which they had acquired, through debasing slavery, 
 with vices and practices of the most infamous and 
 abominable character, allusions and hints were entirely 
 lost upon them. To impress them, therefore, with any 
 suitable sense of the sinfulness and odiousness of those 
 practices in which they had so long indulged, it was found 
 absolutely necessary to descend to particulars and 
 to explanations of the plainest nature : this she did at 
 the sacrifice of much personal feeling. The extent 
 of her labours may be judged of from the following 
 summary : — 
 
 " Classes of adults she held regularly four evenings in 
 the week, and in the mornings and afternoons of the 
 Sabbath-day. Besides these, she always occupied her 
 place in the girl's school during the hours of instruction 
 in the week. These were from ten o'clock to twelve 
 A. M., and from two to half-past four, p. m. Added to 
 these she had an extra class, which usually assembled 
 either before the time of school, or in the interval 
 between twelve and two o'clock. This last comprised 
 females desirous of receiving Christian baptism, or 
 more particular instruction in the principles and precepts 
 of revealed truth. 
 
 " In this epitome the reader may consider himself 
 
MRS. TAYLOR. 231 
 
 presented witli an accurate, unexaggerated statement of 
 the direct missionary labours in which Mrs. Taylor was 
 engaged until her death, subject only to those interrup- 
 tions which domestic afflictions and other casualties 
 rendered necessary and unavoidable." 
 
 Mrs. Taylor herself, in a letter addressed to her 
 parents, thus describes her labours on the Sabbath : — 
 " I have the classes after service : the room quite full, 
 almost more than I can possibly attend to. The first 
 thing I do when they come up is to seat all the women 
 around me. I then teach them the text, and question 
 them upon the sermon. After this they learn a hymn, 
 repeating the words after me. They are now learning, 
 ' Alas, and did my Saviour bleed,' &c., and, ' Now for 
 awhile aside I'll lay,' &c. These afford fresh matter for 
 instruction and inquiry. I next exercise them in Dr. 
 "Watts' Second Catechism. While thus employed with 
 the women, I set the children, with their monitors, to 
 learn the alphabet and repeat their hymns. When I 
 have done catechising the women, they parcel off 
 according to their classes, — most of them to learn the 
 alphabet ; some to read the New Testament, and others 
 easy lessons; and then I take the children a short 
 time." 
 
 Such multiplied labours, in the heat of the climate 
 near the equator, by a mother and head of a family, 
 will excite astonishment in British ladies at home. 
 But, as her husband remarks, " Her habit of early 
 rising and love of order may in part resolve this diffi- 
 culty. She usually rose at half-past five o'clock ; and 
 
232 BRITISH FEMALE MISSIONARIES. 
 
 this, with the excellent tact with which she arrranged 
 all her plans, enabled her to get through her domestic 
 duties before ten o'clock, the hour of school." 
 
 Mrs. Taylor gave birth to her second child in 
 August 1837 ; but the infant lived only a very few 
 days. " Oh ! then I knew anguish," says this devoted 
 mother, " such as I had never felt before : but I cannot 
 any more of this — it harrows up my soul. God does 
 all things well. My Father, I know, does not willingly 
 afflict his poor child. My chief concern at present is, 
 that this deep^ deep cut may not be in vain, but that it 
 may answer the end Infinite Wisdom designs." 
 
 This painful visitation was the more distressing, on 
 account of the self-denial requisite in arranging for the 
 funeral. Mr. Taylor states, in a letter written at the 
 time, " This is a sore trial in any country ; but here it is 
 attended by circumstances that make it doubly severe. 
 I have had to measure with my own hands the length 
 and breadth of the dear remains, and supply the boards. 
 and nails, and cloth, and all the other little necessaries 
 for the coffin ; to help to dig the grave ; and this evening 
 it will be my lot to bury my dear infant's corpse, the 
 only alternative presented between this torture and that 
 of seeing it treated like the carcase of a dog. These, 
 and many other bitter ingredients in my bitter cup, 
 which I could mention, are as so many additional goads 
 steeped in gall, that wound and pierce my already 
 bleeding heart." 
 
 Mrs. Taylor's parents, hearing of her loss, and of an 
 attack of fever with which she w\as afflicted soon after- 
 
MRS. TAYLOR. 233 
 
 wards, wrote, desiring her to return to England in 
 order to recruit her health ; but she declined entertain- 
 ing their proposal, in a letter, from which the follow- 
 ing is an extract : — 
 
 " You seem, my dearest parents, to feed on the hope 
 of our return ; but still you must lend me to the Lord, 
 and trust me in his faithful hands. He has mercifully 
 removed afflictions from our dwelling ; and the desire of 
 our hearts, if they do not deceive us, is to be faithful 
 unto death. You must pray, my dear papa and 
 mamma, that we may be true missionaries, not count- 
 ing our lives dear unto us, being willing to spend and 
 be spent in the best of services, the service of Christ." 
 
 Particular details of Mrs. Taylor's subsequent history 
 must be sought for in her instructive " Memoir," by 
 her mourning partner ; but his record of the memorable 
 day of " Negro emancipation from slavery" cannot be 
 omitted here, as it will at once illustrate the moral 
 power of the gospel of Christ, and the valuable labours 
 of this excellent female missionary. 
 
 Mr. Taylor remarks, " The first of August (1838), 
 that great day which brought freedom to so many 
 thousands of our fellow- creatures in British Guiana, 
 and other British colonies, conferred on them the long- 
 wished- for privilege of being able to attend regularly 
 on the means of instruction. 
 
 " As a preparatory measure, an evening or two 
 before the day of freedom, the apprenticed labourers 
 attached to one of the estates near the mission premises, 
 and which Mr. Taylor was in the habit of visiting every 
 
234 BRITISH FEMALE MISSIONARIES. 
 
 Friday evening, were addressed from the words found 
 in 1 Samuel, xii. 23, 24, ' Moreover^ as for me^ God 
 forbid that I should sm against the Lord in ceasing to 
 pray for you : hit I tcill teach you the good and the 
 right icay. Only fear the Lord, and serve him in 
 truth with all your heart : for consider how great 
 things he hath done for you.' The first moments of 
 the auspicious day were ushered in by prayer and 
 praise : a special meeting having been convened in the 
 school-house at the mission station. At seven o'clock 
 the people again assembled ; and after some time 
 spent in prayer and praise, an address was delivered, 
 founded on Nehemiah, viii. 6, ^ And Ezra blessed the 
 Lord, the great God : and all the people answered^ 
 Amen, Amen, icith lifting up their hands ; and they 
 bowed their heads and worshipped the Lord u'ith their 
 faces to the ground.' At eleven o'clock another public 
 service was held, and a sermon preached, at the request 
 of Mrs. Taylor, from Exodus xii. 42, ' It is a night to 
 be much observed unto the Lord for bringing thetn out 
 from the land of Egypt : this is that night of the Lord 
 to be observed of all the children of Israel in their 
 generations' The appearance of the people was pecu- 
 liarly interesting and solemn. For some minutes after 
 the service had closed, they seemed as if unable and 
 unwillinsf to rise from their seats. This state of feeling 
 was instantly embraced by the missionary and his wife 
 to go to each one separately, and endeavour to press 
 home upon the conscience, by a personal appeal, the 
 supreme happiness and importance of becoming the 
 
MRS. TAYLOR. 235 
 
 ' Lord's freemen.' Not only during the time of public 
 worship, but throughout the whole day, the greatest 
 decorum and quietness prevailed. It was remarked, 
 even by many who viewed the day with feelings far 
 removed from gratulation, that they never could have 
 believed the Negroes would be so quiet and orderly. 
 Not a single dance was given, nor the sound of a drum 
 heard. Their conduct surprised even those who had 
 hoped and expected the best. All classes, indeed, 
 seemed to be under the influence of a pleasing dream 
 rather than that of a sober reality. 
 
 " Many of the young females residing on the estate 
 near the mission station embraced the opportunity now 
 afforded them to place themselves under Mrs. Taylor's 
 care in the day-school. Many of the adults would have 
 done so too ; but as such a course would have involved 
 the neglect of domestic and positive duties, they were 
 not allowed to follow their inclinations. They were 
 advised to come to school early every Sabbath. The 
 increase which thus took place in the number of 
 scholars materially added to Mrs. Taylor's labours ; but 
 she would remark, when urged to curtail the time of 
 her attendance in the school, ' Work while it is called 
 to-day, for the night cometh, in which no man can 
 work ;' adding, ' I cannot expect to be about much 
 longer ; and I do not like to give up till I am obliged.' 
 
 " Within tw^o weeks after the day of freedom, this 
 ' night' came, and forced her to abandon her work. On 
 INIonday, the 13th of August," she was seized with an 
 attack of fever : its violence increased, till it " seemed 
 
236 BRITISH FEMALE MISSIOxNARIES. 
 
 actually to scorch the hand that touched her, and Mr. 
 Taylor was constantly dashing raw rum on her head, 
 hands, and feet. On Friday evening she gave birth to 
 a female infant, which died almost as soon as it was 
 born." 
 
 Happily, Mrs. Taylor recovered in a great degree 
 from this dreadful fever ; but soon after she experienced 
 disease in another form, evident by an abscess in the 
 leg. Her medical friend advised a voyage to Barbadoes, 
 and a return to England. Her state of weakness, how- 
 ever, rendered this impracticable ; but she removed to 
 George Town, where every possible attention was paid 
 to her, especially by the generous hospitality and un- 
 remitting kindness of Mr. and Mrs. Buttivant. Her 
 state will, perhaps, be best understood by the following 
 extract of a letter to her parents, dated October 29, 
 1838, only nine days before her lamented death : — 
 
 " I cannot walk yet ; and to-morrow the doctor is 
 going to put a seton in my leg, which rather resembles 
 an elephant's. My side is better ; the abscess appears 
 to have almost discharged its load. My face is deadly 
 pale, and swells very much ; but Dr. C. says there is 
 much more appearance of blood about me than there 
 was. We are still at the Buttivants', where we receive 
 every attention and kindness. They not only gave up 
 their sleeping-room to us, but had it enlarged by pulling 
 down a partition. Thus you see, my dear parents, 
 you need not be uneasy. You must not reckon upon 
 our coming home. If it is the will of God, we shall ; 
 if otherwise, we shall not. You must try, my dear 
 
MRS. TAYLOR. 237 
 
 parents, to banish the idea for two or three years. IMy 
 last loss was greatly softened ; for what could an in- 
 sensible mother have done with a livinor child ? It 
 
 o 
 
 was all in mercy, and I felt it so from the hour of its 
 birth, for I was sensible then." 
 
 ]\Irs. Taylor never wrote again ! The abscess in her 
 side became worse : it was opened, but it would not 
 heal ; and she consented to take a voyage to Barbadoes, 
 as the will of the Lord, so repeatedly urged by Dr. C. 
 and another medical gentleman ; but the undertaking 
 was impossible. She lingered a few days longer ; and 
 thus died, at the early age of twenty six years, this 
 devoted servant of the Lord Jesus. 
 
 In the afternoon of the day she died, Wednesday 
 November 7, 1S38. her remains were conveyed, at the 
 request of her husband, to Leguan, and interred early 
 next morning in the mission premises, beside the 
 remains of her two infants, by one of the brethren 
 from George Town. On the following Sabbath, Mr. 
 Taylor was obliged to fulfil his ministerial duties, 
 though with an aching heart. He preached on Rev. 
 xiv. 13, " Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord," 
 &c., to a truly sorrowful people, who deplored the 
 removal of one whom they so greatly revered and loved, 
 as a faithful missionary labourer for their spiritual wel- 
 fare ; and one of the planters pronounced her merited 
 eulogy, declaring, — " I consider the death of Mrs. 
 Taylor to be a great public loss ! " 
 
MISS SMITH. 
 
 DIED APRIL 30, 1839. 
 
 Miss Smith, a Missionary to India, connected with the Female Education 
 Society.— Born in London.— Educated in Somersetshire.— Her juvenile 
 Character.— Engaged as Governess in a Family.— Resides in London. 
 —Her serious Impressions. — Her religious Character. — Further engaged 
 as Governess.— Her religious activity.— Her progress in Piety.— Her 
 desire for Missionary Service.— She is accepted by the Female Educa- 
 tion Society.— She arrives at Bombay.— Labours among the Indo-Britons. 
 —Removes to Nasik.— Is attacked by the Small-Pox.— Her Illness, 
 Joys, and Death, described by Mrs. Stone.— Influence on her Family. 
 
 Miss Mary Augusta Smith, for some time until 
 her death, was a missionary labourer in India, in con- 
 nexion with the " Society for Promoting Female Edu- 
 cation in the East *." She was born in London, on 
 
 * This very excellent and important institution is far too little known 
 among British Christians ; and therefore the first three " General Regula- 
 tions of the Society" are here given, to aid in making public its noble 
 design : — 
 
 " I. The object of this Society shall be, the establishment and superin- 
 tendence of schools in the East, where favourable opportunities are presented 
 —the selection and preparation in this country of pious and well-educated 
 persons to go out as superintendants— and the training and encouragement 
 of subordinate native teachers. 
 
 " II. The requisite funds shall be raised, as in other institutions, by 
 annual subscriptions, donations, and all other advisable methods. 
 
 " III In the schools c(mnected with this Society, the end chiefly kept in 
 view shall be, to bring the pupils to an acquaintance with Scripture truth, 
 and to a belief in Christ as their Saviour ; all other useful knowledge which 
 circumstances may render desirable being at the same time imparted." 
 
 The following are among the " Bye-L^iws " of the Society :— 
 
 " 25. Each agent, previous to her dei)arturc, sliall be required to sign an 
 
MISS SMITH. 239 
 
 the 23d of December 1809; but while she was very 
 young, her parents removed into the country, a consi- 
 derable distance from the metropolis, and, under their 
 eye, she was placed for education in a genteel seminary 
 in a town in Somersetshire. Her friends perceived in 
 her an excellent understanding, and remarkable docility 
 of mind, from a child ; but they did not consider that 
 she possessed extraordinary talents. Parental influence 
 and watchfulness happily governed her in early life ; 
 and its moral power, though not characterised by evan- 
 gelical religion, was highly beneficial. Her regard to 
 truth was scrupulously exact; and in this respect 
 especially she enjoyed the utmost confidence of her 
 
 engagement, in the presence of two witnesses, binding herself, in case of her 
 voluntarily relinquishing her situation within five years, or in case of her 
 marriage within five years, to repay to the Committee the sum expended 
 by them on her account, a fifth part being deducted for every year during 
 which she shall have complied with the terms of her engagement, and 
 remained unmarried ; the said five years to be reckoned from the period of 
 her arrival at the post of labour. She shall also bind herself to give the 
 Committee previous notice of any such proposed change, or of any inten- 
 tion of marriage, that proper measures may be taken for supplying a suc- 
 cessor. A copy of this engagement shall be furnished to the agent. 
 
 " 29. A friendly intercourse shall be maintained with other Protestant 
 Societies engaged in the same benevolent design of propagating the Gospel 
 of Jesus Christ." 
 
 The following is from the "Summary of Proceedings during the Sixth 
 Year of the Society's existence," dated " July 184U." 
 
 •' Within the last year, twelve new labourers have been dismissed to their 
 respective stations, viz.— Miss Holland to Smyrna ; Miss Woodman to 
 Neyoor, Travancore; Miss Puddicombe to Poonah, Bombay; Miss Tunstall 
 and Miss Huntly to the Cape ; Miss Wilson to Burdwan ; .^liss IMacklin to 
 Bangalore ; MissHobbs, MissTwiddy, and IMiss Douglas to Ceylon ; the two 
 Misses Baynes to Singapore. The total number sent out since the forma- 
 tion of the Society is thirty-six, of whom twenty-five remain in direct con- 
 nexion with the Society, and two have died," 
 
240 BRITISH FEMALE MISSIONARIES. 
 
 friends : so that once, when she was grown up, one of 
 her parents, mentioning this impression in her favour, 
 said, " I don't think, Mary, that you ever told a false- 
 hood in your life;" she replied, with much emphasis, 
 and peculiar emotion, '' Yes, I did once, to screen a 
 friend from punishment ; but it made me wretched for 
 a long time." 
 
 Miss Smith, at the age of seventeen years, went 
 from home, being engaged as a governess in a small 
 family in a neighbouring town ; and afterwards she 
 went to reside, for about twelve months, with a pious 
 lady in London. Previously to this event, her manners 
 had been correctly moral : but her heart had not yielded 
 to the gracious invitations of God in the Gospel : she 
 had the form, but not the power of the godliness. " I 
 have heard her say," her sister remarks, " that she 
 never knew what true piety was, till she saw it exhi- 
 bited in this lady." The amiable spirit and the scrip- 
 tural sentiments of this exemplary Christian, impressed 
 the mind of Miss Smith that religion was a divine 
 reality, and prepared her to receive further impressions, 
 which resulted in her conversion. 
 
 Having returned to the country, Divine Providence 
 led her into another family, where she was brought out 
 of darkness into the marvellous light of the Gospel of 
 Christ. From her infancy she had attended the public 
 worship of God ; and in ^London she had heard the 
 Gospel fully preached with all fidelity; but at the time 
 it seemed to make little or no impression upon her self- 
 righteous mind. The Bible was to her both a sealed 
 
MISS SMITH. 241 
 
 and neglected book, as she never studied its blessed 
 testimony with prayer ; but now her privileges became 
 prized, her understanding was enlightened, and she felt 
 the sanctifying power of the Gospel, rendered effectual 
 by the Divine Spirit, renovating her Avhole soul. Havinfy, 
 therefore, been solemnly convinced of her danger as a 
 sinner against God, and having been led to believe on 
 Jesus Christ for life and salvation, feeling the power of 
 the glorious Gospel draw her heart from earthly to 
 heavenly things, she was delightfully engaged to a 
 serious and diligent searcli into the word of truth, as 
 the means of her sanctification and consolation. 
 
 Although Miss Smith's time was much occupied in 
 the education of three young ladies, to whom she w^as 
 governess, she devoted daily many hours to her fa- 
 vourite pursuit, redeeming the time for sleep. She 
 committed large portions of the Scriptures to her 
 memory : she was able to repeat the Books of Psalms, 
 Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Solomon's Song, the Apostolical 
 Epistles, and the Book of the Revelation. She had 
 contrived also manv methods of arranofino- texts of 
 Scripture, to promote her own spiritual edification. 
 Her piety, by these means, became matured : it was of 
 a deep and solid character; and she might emphati- 
 cally be called a Bible Christian, — that sacred volume 
 being the only visible source from which she sought 
 daily wisdom and strength, for direction in all things 
 regarding the performance of her various duties. 
 
 Miss Smith, having finished her eno-ao-ements with 
 her young friends, entered, in July 1830, another 
 
 R 
 
242 BRITISH FEMALE MISSIONARIES. 
 
 family, in which she was again entrusted with the 
 education of three young ladies. Her religious princi- 
 ples and character were honoured in this situation, and 
 she had the happiness of seeing her amiable pupils, not 
 only increase in knowledge, and make satisfactory 
 progress in learning, but every one of them, through 
 the Divine blessing on her instrumentality, brought 
 to devote themselves to God, by the reception of the 
 truth as it is in Jesus. 
 
 She now directed all her eneroies to the dissemina- 
 
 o 
 
 tion of the knowledcre of those doctrines which had 
 
 o 
 
 been so blessed to herself: she established a Sunday- 
 school on her own plan, and she gave a weekly 
 cottage lecture in the village — a mile and a half 
 distant, — never allowing the inclement weather to 
 prevent her attendance, although her constitution vvas 
 far from strong. It pleased her heavenly Father to 
 bless her labours greatly, many being thus brought to 
 see their lost and ruined condition as sinners, and to 
 cherish heart-felt belief in the gospel, fleeing for salva- 
 tion to the Lord Jesus Christ. She was also active in 
 visiting the sick and poor in their cottages, and in cir - 
 culating religious tracts and books. " She was impor- 
 tunate," her sister remarks, " at the throne of grace, 
 never allowing anything to prevent her kneeling and 
 making supplication to her God three times a day, after 
 the example of the venerable prophet Daniel : besides 
 which she walked in a sweet spirit of prayer; she 
 enjoyed much comfort in religion, many delightful 
 seasons, in which she felt, with overpowering consola- 
 
MISS SMITH. 243 
 
 tions, the gracious presence of God. The name of 
 Jesus was peculiarly sweet to her, and in her daily- 
 walk and conversation there was a holy savour of the 
 things of Christ. She dwelt with peculiar delight 
 on the glorious covenant of Jehovah ; her views of the 
 subject were deep and solid, and her meditations were 
 particularly directed to the all-sufficiency of her Lord 
 and Saviour." 
 
 Missions to the heathen could not fail to be subjects 
 which would be deeply interesting to a person influenced 
 by the principles of the gospel as was IMiss Smith. A 
 Christian friend, a respected minister, about this time 
 informed her of the recent establishment of the " Society 
 for Promoting Female Education in the East." Her 
 mind dwelt mucli upon the arrangements of Divine 
 Providence in favour of the deoraded females in India. 
 She was now especially led to earnest prayer frequently 
 for the heathen; and many times in secret did she 
 entreat the Lord, if it were his holy will, to open the 
 way for her to put in practice the purpose she had now 
 most fully at heart, — that of consecrating herself more 
 entirely to His service, by becoming a missionary. It 
 pleased the Lord to hear her prayer in this matter, and 
 to grant her request. " She offered herself as a candi- 
 date to the Female Education Society; she was 
 accepted by the committee ; and, in July 1838, she 
 forgot her own people and her father's house, that she 
 might more unreservedly devote herself among tlie 
 natives of India, in the service of God and Saviour." 
 
 Miss Smith arrived at Bombay on the 13th of 
 R 2 
 
244 BRITISH FEMALE MISSIONARIES. 
 
 November. Nasik was fixed on as the place to which 
 she was to proceed in her appointed labour ; but in 
 consequence of unforeseen circumstances, it was ar- 
 ranged, that for a time at least, she should remain at 
 Bombay. She was, therefore, received into the family 
 of a Christian minister, with whom she laboured among 
 the Indo-Britons ; at the same time she continued 
 studying the Marathee language. She remained at 
 Bombay a few months, and then proceeded to 
 Nasik, to aid Mrs. Stone, wife of the American 
 Missionary, in the schools established there. Imme- 
 diately on her arrival, she commenced her labours 
 among the young; in which she found great delight, 
 hoping to see, at an early period, some divine fruits 
 from her endeavours. 
 
 Miss Smith's sojourn at Nasik, however, was very 
 short: it was the Lord's will to dispense with her cheerful 
 services in his cause, removing her from this selected 
 station in the church on the earth, to the abodes of blessed- 
 ness in heaven. The small-pox had already carried off 
 some of her young charge, and she knew of the disease, 
 but felt no alarm, as she had been vaccinated. She 
 was, nevertheless, soon attacked by that dreadful 
 disorder, and her illness was unhappily fatal, termi- 
 nating her engagements with this world in the short 
 space of a week. During part of the time her mind 
 wandered in delirium, through the prevalence of the 
 fever : however, in her lucid moments, she expressed 
 herself as quite happy through faith in the promises of 
 God in Christ Jesus, her hope and confidence, the fruit 
 
MISS SMITH. 245 
 
 of the Spirit, being strong in the Lord. But her state 
 of mind in her hist days, and the estimate of her 
 character in relation to her missionary labours, will be 
 best understood from the following account oiven in a 
 letter from Mrs. Stone, wife of the Rev. C. C. Stone, 
 American Missionary at Nasik, to the wife of the 
 Rev. G. Candy at Bombay : — 
 
 '•'• May 1, 1839. — Knowing your Christian attach- 
 ment to, and the deep interest you have taken in the 
 welfare of, our highly esteemed, greatly beloved, and 
 now lamented sister. Miss Smith, I feel it to be my 
 Christian duty, however painful, to give you some 
 account of her, since her arrival in Nasik, until her 
 sudden transit from this vale of tears, this dark world 
 of sin and sorrow, to the world of light, life, and bliss in 
 presence of God and of the Lamb. Her sojourn among 
 us was short, but sufficiently long to make us feel the 
 loss we and tlie Nasik Female Schools have to sustain 
 by her deatli. I was much pleased w^ith the humble 
 and ardent piety and devotcdness in the cause of our 
 blessed Lord and Master which she uniformly evinced, 
 and felt that I had great cause for gratitude to you for 
 sending a helper of so excellent a spirit and so much 
 promise, to share with me in the arduous duties, trials, 
 and joys, in the female department of labour in this 
 mission. The field seemed already white for the 
 harvest : but, alas ! how soon are our fondest hopes 
 and most sanguine anticipations blasted ! God has, in 
 a mysterious providence, seen fit to remove our beloved 
 sister from her labours in the churcli militant, to the 
 
246 BRITISH FEMALE MISSIONARIES. 
 
 higher employments and purer joys of the church 
 triumphant. He can and will carry on his purposes of 
 mercy among the nations of the earth by such instru- 
 ments as shall abase the pride of man, and make it 
 manifest that all the glory and excellency of the work 
 redound to Him. How easily He can dispense with 
 any of our labours, and still carry on His work of 
 converting His heathen people without us ! 
 
 " From the time of Miss Smith's arrival at Nasik 
 until her last illness, she often spoke of having much 
 less head-ache, and feeling better otherwise, than while 
 in Bombay, and said she thought the Nasik climate 
 would agree with her better. On Monday, the 9th of 
 April, Miss Smith took charge of the education of the 
 boarding girls, which was a very great relief to me, and 
 enabled me to devote more time to the Marathee school 
 and native females. From that time to the 21st, she 
 continued to instruct them almost entirely herself. 
 Thursday evening, the 18th, when she got into her pa- 
 lankeen to go out to take the air, the hamals were taking 
 it up, she at the same time attempting to shut the door, 
 and leaning upon one side of the palankeen, it rolled over, 
 and she fell from it on the pavement, which quite 
 stunned her for a few moments. She soon recovered 
 herself, however, and was helped vip stairs, and laid on 
 her couch. She suffered a good deal that night, and the 
 next day a good deal from head- ache, and scarcely had 
 recovered from the shock, before she was taken with 
 the small-pox. She did not, however, suppose she was 
 attacked with this disease, until it made its appearance 
 
MISS SMITH. 247 
 
 in eruptions on her hands, face, &c. On Tuesday, the 
 23rd ult., the assistant apothecary was called in, and he 
 said she would have it very slightly; indeed he thought 
 she would suffer very little from it. Every thing went 
 on favourably as w^e could wish until Friday, the 26th. 
 The usual remedies were duly administered, and she 
 was very comfortable : but on Friday noon her 
 symptoms assumed a less favourable appearance : her 
 head was greatly affected, and her mind became 
 wandering. We sent for the apothecary ; who came and 
 ordered five dozen of leeches to be applied to her 
 temples, which seemed to afford her relief. She had, 
 however, before this complained of a wandering state of 
 mind ; but it was not perceptible to me. I often 
 conversed with her about her situation, and she always 
 expressed herself as resigned to the will of God in her 
 severe affliction; and said, she believed it was sent 
 upon her for her good, and, if rightly improved, would 
 work out the peaceable fruits of righteousness. This 
 day, in her lucid moments, I spoke to her of her 
 situation, and inquired of her if God, in his righteous 
 providence, should see fit to take her away in this sick- 
 ness, if she had any fear of death ? She said, ' 0, no ! 
 not the least.' Her hope and confidence were strong 
 in the Lord. I asked her if she would like me to read 
 a portion of Scripture and pray w^th her : she said, 
 ' Yes ! ' and selected the Iv. chapter of Isaiah. I read 
 it, and she spoke of the comforts of the gospel, and the 
 promises therein contained, as being very precious to 
 her. After prayer she seemed much more composed 
 
248 BRITISH FEMALE MISSIONARIES. 
 
 and calm in her mincL In the course of the day, slie 
 said to me, ' I understand the mysteries of providence 
 in regard to these afflictions, and I have understood 
 them from the beginning;' referring, I supposed, to 
 her fall from the palankeen. I said to her, what do you 
 understand by them ? Will you not tell me ? ' Yes,' 
 she said, ' I will tell you and Mr. Stone : but I cannot 
 tell you now. I will tell you bye and bye.' I inquired 
 of her again respecting this subject ; but she said she 
 could not tell me. She was very anxious that ]Mr. 
 Stone and I should remain in her room with her, and 
 could not bear to have me away from her a moment ; 
 and said she wanted ' to have only those about her, who 
 had a Christian mind.' I was with her the greater part 
 of the day, as much as my other duties would allow. 
 Even after this I conversed with her frequently, when 
 her mind was clear, upon the subject of death, of the 
 comforts, and precious promises of the gospel to the 
 humble and believing soul, and she ever seemed to 
 receive great consolation in these promises. 
 
 " Sabbath evening she appeared quite comfortable, 
 and sat up in her chair by the window to breathe the 
 fresh invigorating air. Her mind was then quite 
 clear : I asked her if the Saviour was still precious to 
 her, and if she could commit the keeping of her soul to 
 Him ? ' Oh yes ! ' she replied, ' I have great comfort 
 and consolation in Him.' I asked her which would be 
 her preference, to die and go to the Saviour, where she 
 should be for ever happy, and where she would be free 
 from sin, or recover! She said she had a desire to 
 
MISS .SMITH. 249 
 
 r^^cover, that she might do good to the boarding-girls, in 
 whom she took great interest. I told her we had 
 special prayers in our churcli for her, and that w^e also 
 remembered her in our family and private devotions. 
 She seemed to have been quite lost for some time, and 
 was surprised to hear me speak of its being Sunday. 
 She complained much of her mind wandering, and that 
 she could not fix it upon the Saviour, or any other 
 object as she desired ; yet she was happy and peaceful. 
 " Yesterday about noon, I went into her room, and 
 said to her, ' How do you now feel ? ' ' Oh,' slie said, 
 ' I feel much better ; the girls have been singing some 
 sweet precious hymns, and I am so happy, my dear 
 Mrs. Stone. I cannot tell you how happy I feel. 
 Jesus ! how precious is He to my soul ! Oh, what 
 comfort and consolation do I find in Him ! ' ' Yes,' I 
 said, ' He is indeed a very precious Saviour, and your 
 faith and hope are so strong in Him, that if even death 
 itself should come, you would fear no evil ! ' ' Oh, no ! ' 
 she replied. I then spoke to her of the joys of the 
 eternal world, and the unspeakable happiness and 
 blessedness of those who enter there, where they Vv^ill 
 sing. Glorify and honour^ and praise to Him tcho sittetJi 
 upon the throne, and to the Lamb, for ever and ever ! 
 Her soul seemed to be elevated above the world, and 
 her mouth was full of the praise of her Redeemer ; 
 and she said to me, ' Dear Mrs. Stone, do pray for me.' 
 I did so: she seemed to enjoy the season much. In the 
 course of the afternoon, she held up her hands, and 
 looking at them, said to me, ' My dear Mrs. Stone, did 
 
250 BRITISH FEMALE MISSIONARIES. 
 
 not the doctor say, in two days more, by tlie blessing 
 of God, these hands will look much better, and the 
 swelling will have gone down ? ' I said, ' Yes, he said 
 so : and we hope this will be the case.' She appeared 
 much better durinoj the afternoon, took the congie and 
 other nourishment with much better relish than she 
 had done for some days, so that I felt quite encouraged 
 about her. But about sunset the fever returned, her 
 mind became wandering, and she was heard to be 
 talking about her parents, brothers, and sisters, &c. ; 
 after which she uttered a short prayer, and closed with 
 saying, ' Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to 
 the Holy Ghost— Amen; ' which were her last words 
 she was heard to utter. She remained in a state of 
 insensibility, until she expired without a struggle, at 
 half-past nine o'clock ! Our great and unexpected loss 
 is her great and unspeakable gain ; as she is now gone 
 where she is singing with the happy there around the 
 throne of God ! " 
 
 Miss Smith's labours in the church of Christ on earth, 
 compared with those of many others, were but very 
 inconsiderable ; her missionary career was painfully 
 short ; and her mortal course was closed in a manner 
 altogether anticipated. Such was, however, the wise 
 and holy appointment of her heavenly Father. But 
 her friends have this satisfaction, that she lived to good 
 purpose after she became a decided Christian. Her 
 several pupils, who were privileged to enjoy her dili- 
 gent care in her native land, have reason to bless God 
 for her instructions, her example, and her prayers. 
 
MISS SMITH. 251 
 
 Divine Goodness also honoured her endeavours to pro- 
 mote the spiritual welfare of her beloved connexions 
 and friends ; and her living illustration of the gospel of 
 Christ was made instrumental in conveying imperish- 
 able benefits to her ow^n family : for, chiefly through 
 her influence, several members of it were led to attend 
 seriously to the things belonging to their everlasting 
 peace, and thus to seek their own salvation. The loss 
 of so truly amiable and endeared a relative was deeply 
 felt by them ; but they bowed with humble resignation 
 to the Divine will ; and wdiile they admired her self- 
 devotion to the cause of the Redeemer, her early removal 
 from this world appears to have been rendered the 
 means of their confirmation in the ways and service of 
 God her Saviour ! 
 
 THE END. 
 
LONDON : 
 I.RADBIRV AND F.VAXS, PKlNrEKS, WHITEFKIARS. 
 
WORKS RECENTLY PUBLISHED 
 
 BY WILLIAM SMITH, 113, FLEET STREET, LONDON. 
 
 In one large and elegant volume, 14*., cloth. 
 A 
 
 KEY TO THE BIBLE, 
 
 CONTAINING 
 
 A SUMMARY OF BIBLICAL KNOWLEDGE, 
 
 A DICTIONARY OF ALL THE PRINCIPAL WORDS IN THE OLD 
 AND NEW TESTAMENTS. " 
 
 BY THE REV. THOMAS TIMPSON, 
 
 AUTHOR OF THE " COMPANION TO THE BIBLE," &C. &C. 
 
 Illustrated tvilh three Maps and a hundred and twenty-Jour Engravings. 
 
 TESTIMONIES OF REVIEWERS : 
 
 The title of this work is A-ell sustained by the subject-matter, which entitles, in 
 the strictest sense, to be regarded as a Key to the inspired Oracles. Upon all the 
 interesting topics of the Dissertations, Mr. Timpson has supplied an abundance 
 of sound and valuable information, well-fitted to aid the youthful inquirer in 
 au enlightened perusal of the sacred volume. The Dictionary has been 
 compiled with much care from the best authorities, and it is always correct in 
 doctrinal statement. The pictorial embellishments embrace most of the sub- 
 ject» vital to the illustration of the sacred text. The maps, too, are got up 
 with care and accuracy ; and with the two chronological tablfs, which conclude 
 the volume, render it at once the most complete and elegant companion to the 
 reading of the Bible yet extant — Evangelical Magazine. 
 
 The design of this work is to assist young persons of education in obtaining 
 a knowledge of the Holy Scripture ; and it is well adapted to this end. We 
 have great pleasure in recommending it to the parties for whose use it is 
 designed. The engravings are beautifully executed. — Wesleyan Methodist 
 Magazine. 
 
 It is due to Mr. Timpson to say, that this work is a monument of his patience, 
 industry, and laborious research ; that it contains a mass of hiylily useful in- 
 formation, and is illustrated with very spirited and instructive wood cuts, and 
 is altogether got up in a manner highly creditable to its imihor.— Congrega- 
 tional Magazine. 
 
£. WORKS PUBLISHED BY WILLIAM SMITH, 
 
 Mr. Timpson richly deserves, and will doubtless receive, the thanks of the 
 nunaerous and happily increasing class of English Bible students, to whom his 
 Dictionary will afford a ready means of elucidating phrases, for the satisfactory 
 understanding of which the borrowed lights of sacred erudition are indispens- 
 able.— Mr. Timpson has brought together in the " Dissertations" many papers 
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