I tihxavy of tire theological ^tminavy PRINCETON • NEW JERSEY PRESENTED BY Mr. Samuel Agnew BV 3269^TC3 C25 Carey, Eustace, 1791-1855. ^Bm Memoir of William Carey, D, fli D. Ji x'^ Could. J^ndail JhZuu-olri . MEMOIR WILLIAM CAREY, D.D LATE MISSIONARY TO BENGAL; PROFESSOR OF ORIENTAL LANGUAGES IN THE COLLEGE OF FORT WILLIAM, CALCUTTA. By EUSTACE CAREY. WITH AN INTRODUCTORY ESSAY, FRANCIS WAYLAND, D. D. PRES. OF BROWN UNIVERSITY. BOSTON : GOULD, KENDALL AND LINCOLN. 1836. Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1836, by Gould, Kendall and Lincoln, In the District Clerk's Office of the District Court of Massachusetts. FOWER PRESS OF WILLIAM S. DAMRELL, 39 Washington Street.... Boston .REC.JUN188I THEOLGGICiL PREFACE. The ensuing Memoir was composed at the request of the Committee of the Baptist Missionary Society. The subject of it was their first and principal agent, by whose instrumentality they sought to confer the blessings of the gospel upon the heathen world. To perpetuate some memorial of his character and labors, appeared a just tribute of their esteem for him ; whilst it offered a suita- ble occasion for renewing the recollection of those events and incidents which marked the origin and early progress of the institution whose affairs they administer. The of- fice of biographer was devolved upon me, it is presumed, from my relationship to Dr. Carey, and from my suppos- ed intimate conversancy with the history of their Eastern Mission. I have endeavored, throughout the work, to exhibit the Christian and the missionary, rather than the philosopher and the scholar. The materials to which I had access were more applicable to this purpose ; and it appeared, also, that a work so prepared, would be more accordant with the purposes of such a Society. IV PREFACE. Dr. Carey has been made, as much as possible, his own biographer. I might have taken the original docu- ments, and have woven them into a tissue of my own ; and, instead of transcribing naked details and references, personal and incidental, have invested them with a style more brief, general and covert. But I conceive that the design of such a work is to describe character, and to commemorate labors. To do the former, it is requisite, not only to point out its leading constituent elements, but also to mark well the external providential discipline un- der which they have been consolidated, wrought up, and moulded to their ultimate consistence and perfection. And to appreciate the labors of an individual, we must not on- ly know their nature and their magnitude, but the pecu- liar trials under which they are commenced and prose- cuted. All that I can desire is, that the volume may commend itself to the candid and Christian reader, as a whole, without presuming that each part, in detail, will command his approval. And if, when such exceptions are taken, and such deductions made, as those to which I am con- scious it may be thought liable, it be found of any reli- gious utility, my labor will be well compensated. E. C. Camberwell, May 14th, 1836. CONTENTS. Page. Introductory Essay, ,...., ix CHAPTER I. SECTION I. His own Account of his early Life — Memorial from his Sister — Brief Notice from his Brother — Recollection from Mr. Scott, . . 1 SECTION II. Editorial Remarks — Various Circumstances connected with the Formation of the Baptist Missionary Society — Fragment of Me- moir, &c., from the hand of Mr. Fuller, 29 CHAPTER n. SECTION I. Review of Difficulties attending the Commencement of the Baptist Mission — Rejection of the Missionaries from the Earl of Oxford, and the Consternation it occasioned — The Revival of their Hopes, and their Reembarkation, under Circumstances more propitious, . 53 SECTION II. Brief Account of the Voyage, by Mr. Thomas — Remarks by the Editor — Selections from Mr. Carey's Journal — Retrospect by Mr. Carey, in a Letter to the Society — Letter to his Sisters, ... 65 1* VI CONTENTS. CHAPTER III. SECTION I. Page. le unusually trying Circumstances of Mr. Carey, while in the Neighborhood of Calcutta — Letter to Mr. SutclifF— His Remov- al into the Sunderbunds — The timely Hospitalities he receives — Subsequent Dejection and Perplexities — He is relieved and comforted by an Invitation to Malda, 85 SECTION II. Mr. Thomas's Account of his Visit to Malda — ^Invitation of him- self and Mr. Carey to remove thither — Mr. Carey's Journal continued — Account of Demoniacs — Journey to Malda, Arrival, &c., 103 CHAPTER IV. SECTION I. Improvement in Mr. Carey's secular Circumstances — Commences his Engagements — Proposes to relinquish his Support from the Society— Letter to Mr. SutclifF, 122 SECTION II. Journal — Christian Society — Languages, &c., 132 SECTION III. Letter to his Sisters — Letter to the Society — Letter to Mr. Pearce — Brief Notice respectmg him — Letter to his Sisters — Letter to the Society — Remarks on secular Employments — Mission to Af- rica referred to — Letter from Mr. Thomas, 159 SECTION IV. Letters to Mr. Fuller — Female Agency — Letter to Mr. Sutcliff — Letter from Mr. Fountain to Mr. Fuller — Letter from the same to the Society — Letter from the same to Mr. Smith, of Eagle Street, London — Letters from Mr. Carey to his Sisters — Letter to Mr. Fuller, 177 SECTION V. Letter to Mr. Fuller — Journey into JBootan — Letter to Mr, Fuller — CONTENTS. Vll Page. Aspect of the Mission, Conversation with a Brahmun — Discour- agements — Description of Fruits, &c. — Letter to Mr. SutclifF — -Letter to the Baptist Missionary Society — Another to the Socie- ty — ^Letter to Mr. Fuller — The Arrival of new Missionaries, . . . 198 CHAPTER V. SECTION I. Remarks on the State of the Mission preparatory to its removal to Serampore — Letters from Mr. Cunninghame — Newly arrived Missionaries — Letter from Mr. Fountain — Letters from Mr. Brunsdon, 234 SECTION II. Letter to Mr. Fuller — Letters to his Sisters — Letter to Dr. Ryland — Mr. Carey and Brethren to the Society — Letter from Mr. Ca- rey and Mr. Fuller, 250 CHAPTER VL SECTION I. Letters from the Missionaries to the Society — i^marks on the Pro- gress of the English Language — Letter from Mr. Carey to Mr. Fuller— Letters to Mr. Sutcliff— Affliction of Mr. Thomas— Let- ter to Dr. Ryland, 267 SECTION II. / Various Circumstances in Letters to his^ Sisters^^o Mr. Fullei and Mr. SutclifF — Baptismal Contrq-x^rsy — jv^rm^ancement of the Work among the Heathen — Alki^n to Sanscrit Oration — Re- marks on Native Laborers-v-Ppposition from Government, .... 306 SECTION III. Dr. Carey's Affliction — His Reflections upon the Advancement of the Mission — A crucified Person rescued by his Son, Mr. Felix Carey — The Work in Calcutta — Cannibalism in Sumatra — The Importance of his Labors to succeeding Missionaries — Destruc- tion of the Printing-Office by Fire — Sympathy of other Chris- tians — His pressing Engagements — Death of Mr. Fuller — rTj; Manner in which Translations are prepared — His Anxiety and Advice as to the future conducting of the Mission, 337 Vlll CONTENTS. SECTION IV. Page. Formation of the Agricultural Society in India — Death of Mrs. Carey — ^Pleasing Notice of religious and other Improvement in India and throughout the World — Recollection of his religious and ministerial Associations in England — Is appointed Translator of Government Regulations — Death of Mr. Ward — Election to the London Linnaean, Geological and Horticultural Societies — Account of his Accident and severe Illness — Death of his Son, Felix— Death of Dr. Ryland, 363 CHAPTER Vn. Dr. Carey's declining Health and Decease — His last Will — Reso- lution of the Committee of the Baptist Missionary Society — No- tice of Life and last Illness, by Mr. Jonathan Carey — Critique upon the literary Character and Productions of Dr. Carey, by Professor Wilson — General Review w^ith Reflections, 377 INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. In no case, perhaps, is the principle of curiosity more worthily displayed, than in the enthusiasm with which we survey the sources from which have arisen any thing that is vast in nature, or magnificent in result. How many a mountain has been scaled, how many a ravine has been threaded, by the enterprising European, in search of the Cow's mouth, that gap in the Himalaya mountains, from which the sacred river of India rushes forth, to pursue its course over a thousand provinces! How many a traveller has perished in the sandy deserts of Africa, in fruitless search for the source of the Nile! In such enterprises, every one of us sympathizes. There is a grandeur in the conception, that awes whilst it arouses us. The inconsiderable beginning borrows grandeur from the greatness of the result, and we easily persuade ourselves into a consciousness of some indefinite power, when we feel that we have taken up a mighty river in the hollow of our hand. Thus is it in moral events. We dwell with intense interest upon the origin of a revolution, or of any strik- ing transformation in the social character of man. We X INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. love to trace out the individuals by whom this change in the character and condition of their fellows was first effected. We observe the working of their minds, and mark how and when the great principle which was to work out so mighty transformations, first gained the ascendancy over their spirit. We scrutinize the cir- cumstances that first stripped oflTfrom it the covering of ages, and revealed it, in all its native simplicity, to their view. We observe the changes which it first wrought in them, and how, gradually, as by a sort of moral in- fection, the same changes were produced in others who were brought within the circle of its immediate influence. In doing this, we not unfrequently obtain deeper and more profound views, both of our duty and of our desti- ny, and awaken, with shame, to the consciousness, that we might also have done well and nobly, if we had only willed it. These remarks, it will be at once perceived, have a direct bearing upon the subject before us. The estab- lishment of Christianity throughout the British posses- sions in Eastern India, is of itself a mighty undertaking. The people among whom the gospel is to be introduced, are numbered by hundreds of millions; they have been sunk, for ages, to the lowest level of civilization, if civ- ilization it may be called, and they are bound in the chains of a most unrelenting and firmly rooted supersti- tion. For many years, the very idea of ever subverting Boodhism, was looked upon by philosophers and states- men, and even abbes, as one of the dreams of bewildered enthusiasm. Nor was this all. A very strong prepos- session evidently existed in the councils of the East India Company against making the attempt. The Com- pany was annually draining the East of its treasures, the worship of Juggernaut was yielding to the mercan- tile lords of India a handsome revenue, and the civil and military ofiices, which the government had to be- INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. XI stow, were very convenient situations for those younger sons of gentlemen, for whom their native country could find no employment, either in the army, the navy, or the church. It was very natural to ask, why should so pleasant a state of things be jeoparded. All parties were ready with the prudent maxim, let well alone. And to every appeal on the ground of obligation to the Hin- doos, to every call of Christian philanthropy, the suffi- cient answer was. The East India Company's stock is a very good investment. But we are happy to say that all this is now changed. Not only is it now granted that it is the duty of the British nation to attempt the moral renovation of India, but it is avowed that the work must be done. What was once considered the dream of an enthusiast, has already become a principle of cabinet policy. Already have three or four bishoprics been created by the gov- ernment in Hindostan, and, over one of them, a once despised missionary has been called to preside; but, actually, energetic efforts are now in operation to send the word of God over the whole land, and translate it into every dialect; and even missionaries of other sects are allowed to labor without molestation, and have even been treated, by the dominant power, with respect and consideration. In fact, though every step in the im- provement of the policy of the Company, is made with the cautious timidity of men who are walking over rocks and pit-falls, in darkness and gloom, surrounded by spectres and hobgoblins, yet it is just to them to say that their measures look decidedly to the universal dif- fusion of Christianity in India. It must, surely, be interesting, to trace this great revolution in public sentiment to its source, and behold from what feeble beginnings so mighty results have originated. It will give us additional reason to have confidence in the power of goodness. It will show us Xll INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. how great may be the consequences of one single man's existence, when his efforts have been so directed as to please God. And if the success of those efforts has depended on moral, rather than intellectual causes, it will also teach us that we are not more useful, only because we are not better and holier, and that, if our lives are valueless, the fault is not in the circujnstances under which God has placed us, but in our own indo- lence and sensuality, our own infidelity and purblind worldliness. In a higher sense, we may apply to our- selves the saying of a pagan: " The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, But in ourselves, that we are underlings." Julius CdBsar. It is manifestly history, that the first conception of all this change originated with William Carey. The corner-stone of this edifice was laid by his hand. And, in order to establish this more firmly, and lay the weight of all this honor upon him exclusively and without ques- tion, the providence of God so ordered it, that, at first, everyone was glad to stand aloof from him, and to make it known that they did so. It was a considerable period after his own mind was decided, before he could enlist even the sympathies of a single fellow-Christian in his favor. A longer period elapsed before any one was willing to aid him by actual exertion. And, when every thing was ready for the commencement of the undertak- ing, he was refused a passage in one of the Company's ships, and the narrative even leaves it doubtful, whether he was not also unceremoniously defrauded of his pas- sage money. After he arrived in India, he was obliged to undertake a secular employment in order to secure to himself the privilege of a residence in that country, inasmuch as the government, which allowed any Eng- lishman to come there for the purpose of cheating and INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. XllI oppressing the natives, had benevolently resolved that no one should be permitted to enter their territory for the sake of preaching to them the gospel. And, after he had resided there for a considerable number of years, so many difficulties were thrown in his way by the regu- lations of the Company, that the whole undertaking must have been relinquished, had he not found an asylum in the little Danish territory of Serampore. Such being the facts in the case, it must be interesting to examine the character of the man in whom this work had its commencement. From these circumstances, the following memoir derives much of its interest. It is an unpretending narrative of the events which could be gleaned from the various sources that exist, of the life of a remarkable man. In many parts, we could wish that it had been more copious and specific, and had been more richly stored with domestic and daily inci- dent, and illustrative anecdote. But material of this sort is rarely (perhaps never but in the case of Johnson) recorded during the lifetime of the individual. And if it so happen that he survive most of his contemporaries, whatever had been treasured up in the memory of actual witnesses, has descended before him to the tomb. What remains is commonly so defaced by careless recollection, or exaggerated by the love for the marvellous, that it is not worth preservation. And, hence, when what is known to be actual fact, comes to be recorded, the pub- lic is surprised that so little can be stated concerning a man of whom it seemed before that every one knew so much. Such is, in some respects, the case in the pres- ent instance. Dr. Carey, in the vigor of his life, re- moved to India, and resided there until his death, in the 72d year of his age. For some time before this event, all his early friends in Europe, and most of those whom he had known intimately in Asia, had been gathered to their fathers. Hence, the sources of information had 2: XIV INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. been prematurely dried up. He seems to have written very little concerning himself, as he considered the ivork in which he was engaged, of vastly greater importance than the workman. While, therefore, we regret that we have not the means of becoming more intimately acquainted with the man, we are grateful for this attempt to collect whatever is at present known of his trials and his success, his labors and his perseverance. And here we may add, by the way, that the work is done with modesty and good sense, and is written with piety, candor and simplicity. The author rarely indulges his imagination, and seldom diverges from the plain path of beaten narrative. Whatever he says may be relied on with confidence, and will be perused with interest. We would gladly have had more, but we are thankful that we have so much. In the intellectual character of Dr. Carey, there were none of the elements of what is commonly spoken of, under the appellation of genius. His understanding was strong and clear. His power of acquiring language was great, and his taste for physical science decisive. He was said to be almost destitute of imagination. In rich intellectual endowments, therefore, he was not peculiarly distinguished. The secret of his power resided in energy of will, in indomitable perseverance, and in unconquerable resolution. Hence, whatever he possessed, he used to the uttermost; and, by so using, he every day made it greater. In this, more than in any thing else, he differed from other men. Without this, he would have sunk into the common level, and have been scarcely known out of his native village. By means of it, he made himself one of the first men of his age, and has sent abroad an influence, which will continue to increase with every year of our world's duration. He seems to have had a tolerably correct estimate of his own character. To his nephew, the author of the INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. XV Memoir, he said, "Eustace, you may know by this, whether what they say of me is true. If they say I am a plodder, it is true. I have no genius, but I can plod.''^* This, if we use the word plod to signify the steadfast, unimaginative direction of the intellect to a single sub- ject, is the fact. Whenever Dr. Carey saw a work to be done, without any peculiar mental excitation, or any pompous flourish of trumpets, he resolutely set himself to accomplish it. Without complaining of difficulties, or bemoaning the want of sympathy, he labored at it as a daily avocation. The result was, that while men of genius would have been speculating upon the results, while the work remained untouched, and while men of feeling would have been mourning over the heartless- ness of the world, which left them to do so good a thing alone, he was already in medias res, and, before they had awaked from their reverie, he had accomplished his labor. This is only one of the many illustrations to the truth, that, if not the very highest, yet certainly one of the very highest gifts of Heaven to an individual, is an energetic and well-directed will. Every other attribute of man has frequently balked our expectation. This has deceived us never. Dr. Carey possessed, also, in a remarkable degree, a childlike simplicity of character, and, also, that which is commonly united with it, a stern and uncompromising moral integrity. Concealment was apparently out of his power. It seemed as though nature had rendered him incapable of any thing other than perfect transparent openness of purpose. When he went out to India, as we have remarked, he was registered as an agriculturist, and truly, since he, for several years, superintended an indigo plantation, and from this employment derived his sustenance. But he scorned to make any concealment * We have not the book at hand, but quote from recollection. XVI INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. of his business in India, and, in conversation with men in power, always spake of it with the same frankness as he would have used on any other subject. Hence, he was utterly destitute of what may be called diplomatic talent. He never imposed upon others, and he so rarely suspected them, that he was somewhat lia- ble to be imposed upon himself. In this respect, he differed from the celebrated Swartz. Swartz, with all his simplicity, was cautious, shrewd and foresighted, and endowed with all those instincts which give a man influence over others. He was really the Bishop of India, and, like the apostles, he has had no successor. Carey was entirely unlike him, in all these respects. How what he said would strike others, in what manner it would affect their estimation of him, he never consid- ered. When he had any thing to say, he said it all, and he said it at once, without thinking whether saying the half of it would or would not answer his purpose better, or, whether or not, a part might not be re- served with advantage for another audience, or another occasion. In matters of conscience, he was, as was meet, scru- pulously punctilious. He doubted the lawfulness of oaths, and hence, no matter to what inconvenience his refusal to take them might subject him, he held undevi- atingly to his principle. He chose to suffer the incon- venience of postponing his last marriage for three weeks after the appointed time, rather than certify, on oath, to the facts necessary to procure a license. But while he was, in the intellectual structure of his mind, plain, practical and unimaginative, he was endow- ed, in a remarkable degree, with the attribute of faith, a principle of vastly greater active and enduring effi- ciency than poetic and sympathetic enthusiasm. His confidence in the promises of God was unshaken, and his trust in the results of the laws of God unwavering. INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. XVli Hence, when he had a moral end in view, he set him- self at work to bring about the means necessary to effect it, without wasting any mental energy upon the calcula- tion of the different chances of success or failure. His motto was, "attempt great things, expect great! THINGS." Hence, although he was really a very hum- ble man, and had by no means an exaggerated estimate either of his own power, or of the power of the human race, yet, when he had made up his mind in respect to a course to be pursued, or an end to be effected, it is surprising to observe how little regard he paid to the opinions or the opposition of others. If the thing was right, he felt that it must succeed, let men say what they would. At all events, while he left other men to the same liberty, he considered himself bound to pursue steadfastly and kindly, his own course, and leave the question of success or failure to be settled by the future developments of an all-wise Providence. The temper of Dr. Carey was kind, and his habit that of uniform cheerfulness. Though never enthusiastic, he seems to have been rarely desponding. This happy equanimity was of great importance to the accomplish- ment of the vast labors which devolved upon him. It enabled him to pursue his studies without those interrup- tions, to which, from change in nervous temperament, many sedentary men are exposed. He went to his work light-hearted, and he rose from it physically wearied, but with spirits unbroken, and feelings undepressed. It would add very much to the active efficiency of literary men, if they would cultivate this habit more assiduously; and medical science would confer a valuable gift upon the other professions, if it would inform them how it may be cultivated with the best hope of success. To this, I am aware, that it may be replied, in the words of Macbeth 's physician, " In this, the patient must minister unto himself" But such a reply is behind the spirit of XVlll INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. the age, and testifies to an ignorance of the intimate connexion between the mind and the body, and of the effect that may be produced upon the intellectual and impulsive, by a proper management of the physical sys- tem. Much of the sadness of sedentary men is owing to irregularity of diet and of sleep, to over-eating, and the want of sufficient and systematic exercise. Another fact to be remarked in Dr. Carey, was his unwearied diligence and most scrupulous employment of every moment of his time, to the purposes to which he had consecrated it. He would scarcely allow him- self to write a letter, unless it was demanded by an im- perative command of duty. Early and late, he was at his table, with his pundits; and we are given to under- stand, that his powers of labor were so great, as to consume the strength of three of them incessantly. Not only was he thus constantly employed, he was also select in the objects to which his labors were devoted. Hence, he seems to have denied himself the pleasures of litera- ture, properly so called, and was contented to be a thorough-going Oriental linguist. He knew, that he who meant to excel in every thing generally succeeds in nothing; and here he left unattempted much that was pleasing, for the sake of that which was useful. Yet, whilst acting upon these principles, he took no narrow or exclusive views of his duties. He considered him- self not merely a missionary, and a translator of the Scriptures, but also a man and a citizen of India. Hence, he cheerfully undertook any labor, which, in any manner, tended to the physical or intellectual bene- fit of the natives, or to the advancement of the arts of peace among the European residents. At his instance, an Asiatic Agricultural Society was formed, of which he was, for several years, the president and the most active supporter. In conformity with the same views, hie de- voted a considerable portion of time to the study of botany, and became one of the most distinguished bota- INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. XIX nists of the East. His garden and his collection of specimens and illustrations in physical science were among the most valuable (I believe the most valuable) in the country; and he has the honor of first describing several species of plants, which had eluded the search of preceding naturalists. It will also be interesting to the reader of the follow- ing pages, to observe the manner in which Dr. Carey was prepared, by a course of providential discipline, for the important station which he was destined to occupy. Like most of the master minds of all ages, he was ed- ucated in the school of adversity. From early life, he was called to struggle with poverty, and from the walk of life in which his path lay, derived neither assistance in his pursuits, nor encouragement in his studies from any of his associates. His first acquaintance with the learned languages was formed at the shoemaker's bench. When he left this employment, and devoted himself to the ministry of the gospel, he and his family, not unfre- quently, knew by experience what it meant to be actu- ally in want of bread. And during the most flourishing period of his residence in England, he never emerged from the most straitened circumstances. Hence, he learned hardness, and became familiar with self-denial; and, hence, the personal inconveniences which would have daunted the resolution of a man delicately brought up, were to him so much matters of course, that he seemed scarcely to be conscious of their existence. The natural independence of his character was strong- ly and painfully tested. I have already alluded to the fact, that, at first, no one stood by him. After his breth- ren had been persuaded to embark in the enterprise, the whole power of the East India Company was exerted in resolute opposition to it. But this was not all. When he went out to India, he was accompanied by Mr. Thom- as, who had resided there as a surgeon, and who return- ed for the purpose of being of moral benefit to the na- XX INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. tives. But Mr. Thomas proved an unfortunate associate ; of irritable temper, and utterly destitute of pecuniary forecast, he was perpetually involved in personal diffi- culties. Though warm and enthusiastic, he was fickle and inconstant, at one time quitting preaching for pro- fessional practice, and, at another, relinquishing profes- sional emolument for preaching. Hence, at the outset, the only friend on whom he had relied, out of his own family, in India, proved one of his severest trials; and he found himself obliged to form his own plans, and car- ry out his own suggestions, without advice and without assistance. But a severer trial awaited him in his own family. To the domestic circle, a man instinctively resorts for conso- lation, when buffeted by the world without. But Dr. Carey resorted thither in vain. His wife seems to have labored under a hereditary tendency to insanity, which exhibited itself in various shapes, long before it assumed the form of permanent mental alienation. She was, it appears, querulous and unreasonable, capricious and obstinate. Hence, his home must have been the abode of every thing but cheerfulness. When every thing around him was dark and lowering, he retired to his family for sympathy and encouragement, and he found that he had exchanged the mists of the evening for the gloom of midnight. Yet amidst all this, he abated "not a jot of heart or hope." Always serene, always cheerful, always ready to confer happiness on others, he pursued the plan which he had marked out, with the same unruffled calm- ness as though every one cheered and every one encour- aged him. The whole circle of literary biography pre- sents no more interesting or impressive instance of patient, uncomplaining, steadfast perseverance in the acquisition of knowledge, amidst every discouragement, and under circumstances which would have sunk almost any other man in blank and hopeless despondency. INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. XXj And under these discouragements he would have sunk, had it not been for his religion. The love of Christ sus- ■ tained him, while he looked not at the things that are seen, but at the things that are not seen. It was faith in the promises of God that buoyed him up, and the ex- ceeding weight of glory that shed light on his path, when that path led him through the thickest darkness. He felt that he was a stranger and a pilgrim, and he knew that such things are to be expected by strangers and pilgrims. He was seeking a better country, even a heavenly, and what happened to him here, seemed but of secondary consequence, if it occurred to him on the road to his eternal resting-place. His was preeminent- ly a life of faith, and it wrought out in him, as its natu- ral result, the labor of love. His efforts, even in this life, were not, however, unre- warded. His talents and learning raised him, eventual- ly, to the highest rank among the eminent men of his age, and his benevolence has enrolled his name among the benefactors of India and of the world. He was, for several years, professor of Bengali and Sanscrit, in the College of Fort William, in Calcutta, was translator of the laws and ordinances for the government, besides holding some other offices of honor and emolument. Hence, his income, during the latter years of his life, was large, and his expenses considerable. Yet, in his own habits and manners, he retained his original sim- plicity, and though in frequent intercourse with the great, came away from the contact untarnished. Whatever he earned, he considered a sacred deposit for the missionary cause. He died poor, and, in his will, disavows any and every personal right to the mis- sionary premises, which he had mainly contributed to purchase and erect. Thus he lived, honored and belov- ed, and when his sun sunk in the west, it sunk spotless and in a cloudless horizon. XXll INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. The lesson from all this may be very easily told. It teaches us how much usefulness and distinction depend upon moral elements. Dr. Carey's mere intellect, dis- joined from his steadfast resolution, his untiring labor, his cheerful perseverance, and his unconquerable faith, would never have given him the rank which he attained. It was then, either moral, or directly the result of mor- al elements, that made him what he was. Let those, then, that complain of their circumstances, look at his. Let those who look with loathing at the smallness of their field of labor, compare theirs with that of Dr. Ca- rey at the commencement, and learn, from him, how a small field may be enlarged. The world is surely large enough for any common man's effort. If he has the spirit which prompts him to attempt great things, let him attempt them, but let him never expect them, until he has summoned energy to make the attempt. But let him emulate Dr. Carey's humility and kind- ness, his plain, unvarnished honesty and common sense, as well as his energy of character. He embarked in nothing but the attempt to fulfil one of the explicitly re- vealed commands of God, and to fulfil it precisely in the way that God had commanded. And though he was frequently called to be a pioneer, and to act alone, he acted with uniform mildness and unobtrusive modesty. Instead of abusing others, because they would not co- operate with him, he only worked the harder himself He thus overcame their opposition by example, instead of embittering it by recrimination and abuse. Hence, very few men have opposed inveterate prejudice with so little loss from friction, or added so largely to the list of his friends, from the number of his formerly decided enemies. Brown UNivERsixy, August 6, 1836. 'flOPERTV PBIKCETGIT .REC.JUNia^i TEBOLOGICitL MEMOIR. CHAPTER I. SECTION I. HIS OWN ACCOUNT OF HIS EARLY LIFE MEMORIAL FROM HIS SISTER — BRIEF NOTICE FROM HIS BROTHER RECOLLECTION FROM MR. SCOTT. It seems due alike to the social as to the religious interests of our nature, gratefully to commemorate, and diligently to ponder, the lives of men, who, with more than ordinary inten- sity and success, have consecrated themselves to the welfare of their species. A just exposition of those principles which have mainly governed them, and a faithful record of their developments, by quickening the zeal of other minds, may multiply their influences far beyond the sphere in which they were first exerted, and prolong their effects to succeeding ages. When Christian virtues are offered to our view, in living exem- plifications, and in striking prominence, amidst impediments such as beset ourselves, we are at once reproved for our supineness, and incited to imitation. God himself has conde- scended to instruct us through this medium ; as much, perhaps, as by prescriptive rule. The principal and immutable law of our salvation, was illustrated, in the very infancy of the world, by the creation of a bright exemplar of it in the case of Abra- ham. Thus, too, our blessed Savior, whilst, by his vicarious sufferings, he laid the foundation of our recovery, and paid the 2 MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. price of our ransom, by his holiness and his love, he brightly irradiated those essential morals, in which the beauty and per- fection of evangelical obedience consist. Christians are ex- horted to be imitators of God, as dear children ; and, as they conform to their fair original, they are fitted to exert a melio- rating and transforming influence upon each other and upon the world. Faithful religious biography is a department of Christian literature of acknowledged importance ; and of this, no varie- ty meets with more general acceptance among pious readers, or is of greater practical utility, than that which has been fur- nished of late years, by the annals of Christian missions. The life of Henry Martyn, in which the tenderness, simplicity, and glowing fervor of Christian love are so eminently conspicuous ; and that of John Chamberlain, whose devote dness to God has seldom been surpassed in modern times; who displayed a seraphic fervor, combined, as it was, with a peasant-like plainness, unabated through all the painful details of mission- ary labor, for twenty years in succession ; well desei-ve the diligent perusal of persons of every religious persuasion, and to become the daily manuals of all those who design to assay their principles in a similar enterprise. The subject of the ensuing memoir has been long before the public ; and his literary and religious labors have been refer- red to with frequent and lofty eulogy. Yet, a full and consist- ent view of his character, and his engagements, such as cannot be collected from the occasional panegyrics of individuals, or from the documents of official bodies, may prove agreeable to many, to whom no other medium of information has hitherto been open, and not unacceptable to any class of persons, who take an interest in the advancement of saving truth in the world. Much of the matter incorporated in this volume is from Dr. Carey's own hand ; whilst other portions are supplied from sources which, it is presumed, cannot fail of being high- ly gratifying to the reader. The compiler trusts, also, that this circumstance may be allowed to exonerate him from the charge of temerity, in undertaking to prepare this work for the public. Dr. Carey had his own views upon the subject of biograph- ical composition, and expressed to me, during my early resi- MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. 3 dence in India, his wishes with respect to any record of himself. These are hkely to be best complied with, by allowing him, as much as possible, to retrace the steps of his own history, and to delineate his own character. The first document presented to the reader, addressed to Mr. Fuller, at his request, is one in which he narrates the circumstances and events of his early life, up to the period of his entrance on the ministry, and his succeeding to a pastoral charge. While it cannot but interest, as describing the early condition and the mental predicament of a person destined to become of such ultimate service to the church of God, and to mankind, and as faithfully recording the incipient movements of that Providence, which, from means and instruments of little original promise, completes the grandest issues ; it yet possesses a much higher value, as it incidentally portrays the moral features of his character. So that, from this brief sketch, with which he has favored the world, more may be known of Dr. Carey than a volume could furnish coming from the hand of another. The unvarnished plainness of this narration, and the deep compunction with which he adverts to the imperfections he supposed to attach to him tlii-ough life, will commend themselv^es to the judgment of all those who prefer truth to fable ; a pictm-e, the just simili- tude of the subject for which it stands, to any finished com- pound of reality and fiction, which, when detected, never fails to shock and deeply to impair the moral feeling. There is no blinking of the former obscurity of his condition, from a mor- bid apprehension of disparagmg his afi;er celebrity; nor is there any such minute detailing of unimportant cu'cumstances, as might gratify the cm-ious, without answering any valuable purpose; and which, under the guise of humility, would subtilly derive to him additional lustre, fi-om the contrast it would exhibit, to the eminence he subsequently attained. He had too much real dignity, to permit himself to feel that sen- sitiveness, which would expose him to the former infirmity ; whilst a genuine Christian simplicity, and an almost intuitive sense of moral propriety, rendered him abhorent of the latter. During the first part of my residence in India, my intercourse with him was unrestrained and intimate. I was the only sur- viving son of his only brother. At this time, there was no circumstance, of personal or relative interest, that did not pass 4 MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. under tender and lively review. The events of his early days he related with as much freshness, as though they had occur- red but yesterday : and then, when he referred to the graver incidents and pursuits of advancing life, he did so with the candor and seriousness, becoming the man and the Christian. He has said to me, ' Eustace, as to the circumstances of my former life, I recur to them with humility and thankfulness. They were the allotment of Providence, and no doubt subserv- ed a good purpose. I would not make them matter of parade, as though they were to be gloried in. If I am not esteemed the less for them, that is all I can desire. I have known the time when I wanted the necessaries of life ; but I do not rec- ollect ever to have murmured. I now have every thing in abundance, and I enjoy what God has given me. I think I can say, " I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound ; I am instructed, both to be full and to be hungry ; both to abound, and to suffer need." ' Upon one occasion, he expressed to me his utter want of sympathy with some Christian friends in England, whose in- tense curiosity in little things led them to search out, and exhibit sundry relics of his early days, as the ' board ' which was said to advertise his business, and the crockery out of which he drank, when at Hackleton. All exaggerated state- ments, moreover, of his acquirements or his labors, were unwelcome and offensive. When one of his brethren refer- red to the terms of commendation in which Mr. Wilberforce mentioned him in the House of Commons, during the debate upon the renewal of the Company's charter, in 1813, he repli- ed, ' I wish people would let me die before they praise me.' 'August Uth, 1804. *My dear Brother, 'You have desired me to write you an account of the prin- cipal occurrences in my life. I will try to do it ; but it is accompanied with as strict an injunction, as I can give, that it may not be published as mine, so long as I live. Of course, if any part of it be inserted in any magazine, it ought to be so altered, that places and persons may not be recognized. Hav- ing laid this injunction upon you, as a Christian brother, by me very dearly beloved, I give you the following particulars. MEMOIR OF DR. CARET. 5 ' Of my family, I know nothing more than that my grandfa- ther, who I have heard was born at Yelvertoft, was master of the school which my father now superintends. He died while my father was very yomig, and left two sons ; Peter, who was a gardener, and Edmund, my father, who was put apprentice to a weaver, which business he followed till I was about six years of age, when he was nominated master of the small free-school in which his father died. ' I was born in the village of Paulerspury, in Northampton- shire, August 17, 1761. My education was that which is generally esteemed good in country villages, and my father being schoolmaster, I had some advantages which other chil- dren of my age had not.* Li the first fourteen years of my life, I had many advantages of a religious nature, but was wholly unacquainted with the scheme of salvation by Christ. During this time I had many stirrings of mind, occasioned by my being often obliged to read books of a religious character; and having been accustomed, from my infancy, to read the Scriptures, I had a considerable acquaintance therewith, espe- cially with the historical parts. I also have no doubt but the constant reading of the Psalms, Lessons, &c., in the parish church, which I was obliged to attend regularly, tended to fur- nish my mind with a general Scripture knowledge. ' Of real experimental religion, I scarcely heard any thing till I was fourteen years of age ; nor was the formal attendance upon outward ceremonies, to which I was compelled, the mat- ter of my choice. I chose to read books of science, history, voy- ages, &c., more than any others. Novels and plays always disgusted me, and I avoided them as much as I did books of religion, and perhaps from the same motive. I was better pleased with romances ; and this circumstance made me read Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress with eagerness, though to no purpose. ' My companions were at this time such as could only serve to debase the mind, and lead me into the depths of that gross conduct which prevails among the lower classes in the most neglected villages : so that I had sunk into the most awful * His father, Mr. Edmund Carey, in a letter to Mr. Thomas Blundell, dated Pau- lerspury, August 9, 1815, says, that ' he was always attentive to learning, when a boy, and was a very good arithmetician.' 2* 6 MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. profligacy of conduct. I was addicted to swearing, lying, and unchaste conversation ; which was heightened by the company of ringers, psalm-singers, foot-ball players, the society of a black- smith's shop, &c., &c. ; and, though my father laid the strictest injunctions on me, to avoid such company, I always found some way to elude his care. ' A very painful disease paved the way for my being brought under the gospel sound. From about seven years of age, I was afflicted with a very painful cutaneous disease, which, though it scarce ever appeared in the form of eruption, yet made the sun's rays insupportable to me. This unfitted me for earning my living by labor in the field, or elsewhere out of doors. My parents were poor, and unable to do much for me ; but being much aflfected with my situation, they with great difliculty put me apprentice to a shoemaker at Hackleton.' His account to Dr. Ryland is a little more explicit, and dis- credits the report, somewhat current in Northamptonshire, that he was a very incompetent workman. ' At about fourteen years of age, I was bound apprentice to Clarke Nichols, of Hackleton, a shoemaker. He died when I had been with him about two years. I engaged to pay his widow a certain sum, for the remainder of the time for which I was bound, and from that time worked as a journeyman with Mr. T. Old, of Hackleton, till his death. The childish story of my shortening a shoe to make it longer, is entitled to no credit, though it would be very silly in me to pretend to recollect all the shoes I made. I was accounted a very go- workman, and recollect Mr, Old keeping a pair of shoes wl^ I had made in his shop, as a model of good workmaii^h^p. But the best workmen sometimes, from various causes, put bad work out of their hands, and I have no doubt but I did so too / 'My master was a strict ChuflKiman, and, what! thought, a very moral man. It is true he Sometimes drank rather too freely, and generally employed me in carryi;?^ out goods on the Lord's-day morning, till near churchtm^; but he was an inveterate enemy to lying, a vice to whlcF I was awfully ad- dicted: he also possessed the qualification of commenting upon a fault, till 1 could scarcely endure his reflections, and sometimes actually transgressed the bounds of propriety. A 7 MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. that time under religious impressions, yet frequently engaged with me in disputes upon religious subjects, in which my mas- ter frequently joined. I was a Churchman ; had read Jeremy Taylor's Sermons, Spinker's Sick Man Visited, and other books ; and had always looked upon Dissenters with contempt. I had, moreover, a share of pride, sufficient for a thousand times my knowledge ; I therefore always scorned to have the worst in an argument, and the last word was assuredly mine. I also made up in positive assertion what was wanting in ar- gument, and generally came off with triumph. But I was often convinced afterwards that, though I had the last word, my antagonist had the better of the argument, and on that accoimt felt a growing uneasiness, and stings of conscience gradually increasing. The frequent comments of my master upon certain parts of my conduct, and other such causes, in- creased my uneasiness. I wanted something, but had no idea that nothing but an entire change of heart could do me good. ' There was a place of worship, and a small body of Dis- senters in the village ; but I never attended it, and thought myself to have enmity enough in my heart to destroy it. As my uneasiness increased, my fellow-servant, who was about this time brought under serious concern for his soul, became more importunate with me. I was furnished by him now and then with a religious book, and my opinions insensibly under- went a change, so that 1 relished evangelical sentiments more and more, and my inward uneasiness increased. ' Under these circumstances, I resolved to attend regularly three churches in the day, and go to a prayer-meeting at the Dissenting place of worship in the evening, not doubting but this would produce ease of mind, and make me acceptable to God. I also resolved to leave off lying, swearing, and other sins to which I was addicted, and sometimes when alone, I tried to pray ; but was at present unacquainted with the wick- edn ess of my heart, and the necessity of a Savior. ' A circumstance, which I always reflect on with a mixture of horror and gratitude, occurred about this time, which, though greatly to my dishonor, I must relate. It being customary in that part of the country, for apprentices to collect christmas- boxes from the tradesmen with whom their masters have 8 MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. dealings, I was permitted to collect these little sums. When I applied to an ironmonger, he gave me the choice of a shillmg or a sixpence : I of course chose the shilling, and put- ting it into my pocket, went away. When I had got a few shillings, my next care was to pmxhase some little articles for myself; I have forgotten what. But then, to my sorrow, I found that my shilling was a brass one. I paid for the things which I bought, by using a shilling of my master's. I now found that I had exceeded my stock by a few pence. I expected severe reproaches from my master, and therefore came to the resolu- tion to declare strenuously that the bad money was his. I well remember the struggles of mind which I had on this oc- casion, and that I made this deliberate sin a matter of prayer to God, as I passed over the fields home. I there promised, that if God would but get me clearly over this, or, in other words, help me through with the theft, I would certainly for the future leave off all evil practices ; but this theft and con- sequent lying appeared to me so necessary, that they could not be dispensed with. * A gracious God did not get me safe through. My master sent the other apprentice to investigate the matter. The iron- monger acknowledged the giving me the shilling, and I was therefore exposed to shame, reproach, and inward remorse, which increased and preyed upon my mind for a considerable time. I at this time sought the Lord, perhaps much more earnestly than ever, but with shame and fear. I was quite ashamed to go out ; and never, till I was assured that my con- duct was not spread over the town, did I attend a place of worship. *I trust, that under these circumstances, I was led to see much more of myself than I had ever done before, and to seek for mercy with greater earnestness. I attended prayer-meet- ings only, however, till February ]0, 1779, which being ap- pointed a day of fasting and prayer, I attended worship on the day. Mr. Chater, of Olney, preached, but from what text I have forgotten. He insisted much on the necessity of follow- ing Christ entirely; and enforced his exhortation with that passage, Heb. xiii : " Let us therefore go out unto him without the camp, bearing his reproach." I think I had a desire to follow Christ ; but an idea occurred to my mind upon hearing MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. 9 those words, which broke me oft* from the Church of England. The idea was certainly very crude, but useful in bringing me from attending a lifeless, carnal ministry, to one more evan- gelical. I concliided that the Church of England, as established by law, was the camp in which all were protected from the scandal of the cross, and that [ ought to bear the reproach of Christ among the Dissenters ; and accordingly I always after- wards attended divine worship among them. ' In a village near that in which I lived, were a number of people who had drank deeply into the opinions of Law, and other mystics. I had heard of these people, but knew none of them. After some time, and after, by reading some few books, I had formed to myself what I thought a consistent creed, one of these persons, the clerk of that parish, sent me word that he wished to have some conversation with me upon religious subjects. I had been informed that he was a great disputant, and violent in his temper ; but I at that time thought every thing in the gospel system, as I had received it, so clear, that I had no hesitation about meeting him ; I had also a stock of vanity, which, though then unperceived, prompted me to dispute with any one who would dispute with me. I there- fore promised to meet him. At the appointed time a heavy rain prevented our meeting ; but this only made me the more anxious to embrace another opportunity, which soon occurred. In about six hours' warm dispute upon various subjects, in which he frequently addressed me with tears in his eyes, in a manner to which I had been unaccustomed, and controverted all my received opinions, which I still think were, in the main, the doctrines of the gospel, I was affected in a manner which to me was new. He proved to my conviction, that my con- duct was not such as became the gospel, and I felt ruined and helpless. I could neither believe his system of doctrines, nor defend my own. The conversation filled me with anxiety ; and when I was alone, this anxiety increased. I was by these means, I trust, brought to depend on a crucified Savior for pardon and salvation ; and to seek a system of doctrines in the word of God. This man and I frequently met, and he generally left with me some of Law's writings, or something in that strain. I have always thought that this man was really possessed of divine grace, and still think so. 10 MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. ' Some old Christians in the village where I lived had fre- quently taken me by the hand, and communicated their ovv^n experience and feelings to me, which had much encouraged me. But after I had conversed with this man once or twice, and they knew that I read books which he lent me, all began to suspect that I leaned to erroneous opinions, and for a long time said but little to me. * The minister whose preaching I attended (Mr. Luck) was but ill qualified to relieve my spirit, or to clear up my doubts : I therefore sometimes attended at Northampton ; sometimes on Mr. Deacon, at Road ; and sometimes on Mr. Scott, at Ra- venstone ; but was always in an inquisitive and unsatisfied state. During this time, the people at Hackleton formed themselves into a church, and I was one of the members who joined it at that time ; but I never was witness to the ordi- nances being administered there, except the sprinkling of an infant by Mr. Horsey, of Northampton, might be so called. About the time of that church being formed, there was a con- siderable awakening, and prayer-meetings were more than ordinarily attended. A sort of conference was also begun, and I was sometimes invited to speak my thoughts on a passage of Scripture, which the people, being ignorant, sometimes applauded, to my great injury. ' When 1 had been apprenticed about two years, my master died. This involved me in some pecuniary difiiculties, as I purchased the remainder of my time, and was obliged to work for lower wages than usual, on account of my imperfect knowledge of the business. This occasioned me to labor very hard, and kept me very poor. Some circumstances relating to my temporal concerns are so impressed on my mind, and the spiritual experience they gave rise to so imprinted on my soul, that I can never long lose sight of them ; they produce in me a mixture trembling and thankfulness. I thought these sea- sons very painful then ; but it was better with me than it is now. ' One circumstance I may mention, because it was the intro- duction to others which I must not pass over. Not having the circular letter to refer to, I cannot say in what year it was, but you will recollect. At the Association at Olney, when Mr. Guy preached from ' Grow in grace,' &c., and you in the eve- MEMOIR OF DR. CARET. H ning, the very first time that I heard you, from * Be not chil- dren in understanding, ' I, not possessed of a penny, that I recollect, went to Olney. I fasted all day because I could not purchase a dinner ; but, towards evening, Mr. Chater, in com- pany with some friends from Earl's Barton, saw me, and asked me to go with them, where I remember 1 got a glass of wine. These people had been supplied once a fortnight by Messrs. Perry, Chater and Raban, in rotation. Mr. C. advised them to ask me to preach to them ; in consequence of which, about a fortnight afterwards, three persons came to ask me to preach at Barton. I cannot tell why I complied, but believe it was because I had not a sufficient degree of confidence to refuse : this has occasioned me to comply with many things which I would have been glady excused from. I went to Barton ; and the friends asked me to go again. Having thus begun, I con- tinued to go to that place for three years and a half I gener- ally went on the Lord's-day morning, and returned at night, as the distance was but about six miles. Soon after this was known, the few people at Paulerspury, my native village, ask- ed me to preach to them once a month. This was ten miles ; but as I had the pleasure of seeing my parents, I went. On this occasion, I frequently went to Towcester in the day, to attend Mr. Ready, and afterwards Mr. Skinner, who often gave me much encouragement, and sometimes asked me to preach for him. ' I had remained in the state of uncertainty and anxiety about gospel doctrines already mentioned, till this time ; and having so slight an acquaintance with ministers, I was obliged to draw all from the Bible alone. Mr. Skinner one day made me a present of Mr. Hall's* Help to Zion's Travellers; in which I found all that arranged and illustrated which I had been so long picking up by scraps. I do not remember ever to have read any book with such raptures as I did that. If it was poi- son, as some then said, it was so sweet to me that I drank it greedily to the bottom of the cup ; and I rejoice to say, that those doctrines are the choice of my heart to this day. ' A sermon preached by Mr. Horsey, of Northampton, at the rhantism of an infant, and some conversation with Mr. Hunne, * The father of the celebrated Robert Hall. i^ / 12 MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. then on probation at Road, had drawn my mind to the subject of baptism ; but I do not recollect having read any thuig on the subject till I applied to Mr. Ryland, Sen., to baptize me : he lent me a pamphlet, and turned me over to his son, who, after some time, baptized me at Northampton. ' The people at Barton had a great wish to embody them- selves as a church, and wished me to settle with them ; and Mr. Sutcliff was invited to give them his advice, and preach a sermon on the occasion. I staid to hear him ; and he then discoursed with me very affectionately upon the propriety of joining some respectable church, and being appointed to the ministry in a more regular way. I saw the propriety of what he said ; but having no acquaintance with any church in par- ticular, I at last concluded to offer myself to that at Olney. This I did, and was received ; and, what I still wonder at, was appointed to the ministry. I perfectly recollect that the ser- mon which 1 preached before the church, and on hearing of which they sent me out, was as weak and crude as any thing could be, which is or has been called a sermon. ' Soon after this a number of circumstances, which it would be tiresome to read, and- which may be better known on the spot, removed me to Moulton. From that time I became more known to the ministers, so that any further enlargement is unnecessary. The causes of my removal from that place to Leicester, and fi-om that place to India, are known to you. I may only obsei-ve, that reading Cook's voyages was the first thing that engaged my mind to think of missions. ' A few reflections on the above shall conclude this account. '1. It is still to me a matter of thankfulness that I had so general a knowledge of the Bible when I was a child. By that means, my mind was furnished with a body of subjects, which, after I had more acquaintance with evangelical truth, were ready upon every occasion, and were often influential upon my heart when I had but little leisure to read. To this the constant reading of parts of Scripture in the chm*ch con- tributed not a little, and, perhaps, the reading of the Bible when at school still more. '2. If I am a converted person, of which I have great rea- son to doubt, I must say that it is entirely by the grace of God, and in full opposition to the natural bias of my mind. MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. 13 I practised falsehood, and, even after I was under concern, attempted to make the great God a party in a scene of dislion- esty and lying. Yet I have reason to believe that the greatest change which ever took place in me was about that time, — a time in which I had evidently gone to a greater length in sin than ever before. '3. I am convinced that some sins have always attended me, as if they made a part of my constitution : among these I reckon pride, or rather vanity, — an evil which I have detected frequently, but have never been free from to this day. Indo- lence in divine things is constitutional : few people can think what necessity I am constantly under of summoning all my resolution to engage in any thing which God has commanded. This makes me peculiarly unfit for the ministry and much more so for the office of a missionary. I now doubt seriously, whether persons of such a constitution should be engaged in the Christian ministry. This, and what 1 am going to mention, fill me with continued guilt. A want of character and firmness has always predominated in me. I have not resolution enough to reprove sin, to introduce serious and evangelical conversa- tion in carnal company, especially among the great, to whom I have sometimes access. I sometimes labor with myself long, and at last cannot prevail sufficiently to break silence ; or, if I introduce a subject, want resolution to keep it up, if the com- pany do not show a readiness thereto. '4. The proofs I have of the evil tendency of my heart, and my frequent and often reiterated falls into sin, convince me that I need the constant influence of the Holy Spirit; and that, if God did not continue his loving-kindness to me, I should as certaiidy depart from Him, and become an open profligate, as I exist. I see that there is no temptation but would be sufficient to destroy me, if God did not interfere ; and that I as much need pardon, and divine influence to support me, and maintain the work in my heart, as I formerly did to convert me. If I ever get to heaven, it must be owing to divine grace, from first to last. 'I have now only to desire of you that the above may not be published ; though I have no objection to your publishing any parts thereof, provided you so conceal names and other al- lusions, as that it may never be known that it is an account of 3 14 MEMOIR OF DR. CARET. me. Every publication of this kind, if the author be known, makes hini more pubhc ; and, as it is very uncertain whether I shall not dishonor the gospel before I die, so as to bring a public scandal thereupon, the less is said about me the better.' It may occur to some who read these pages, that so bare and rii-r.Ted a representation of his juvenile conduct should either have been spared from the record, or accompanied with some qualifying statements. Had it been so, I am aware it would have rendered it less revolting to the taste of many, and have gratified the feelings of some whom I affectionately esteem, and to whose judgment I could have wished to defer. But, in committing this document to the press, I neither felt at liberty to withhold any part of it, nor so to remodel and disguise it, as that, though it might have accorded better with general taste and the frequent usage of biographical writing, would yet de- stroy its identity. More harm is often done in morals, by that squeamish sensibility, felt or feared, which leads to the exhibi- tion of vice under thin and flimsy veils, than is likely to follow from showing it forth in its coarse and naked deformity. Both painters and biographers should portray and describe faithful- ly, or resign their office. But they are sometimes painfully anxious to make their subject and their hero perfect. We wish a career to bo brilliant throughout, first and last, a character altogether consistent and homogeneous ; and are impatient of anomalies and incongruities, which yet are inces- santly occurrmg in the intellectual and moral world. Hence, the delicacy with which any adverse disposition, or militant principle, will be touched ; and the pains sometimes taken to invest a positive delinquency with something of a romantic air, beguiling the unwary heart of the careless reader into a partial tolerance of evil, because it happens to be in associa- tion with one destined to ultimate distinction. Hence, too, the singular avidity with which every thing is seized up and re- ported upon, which may seem to be a scintillation from a promising intelligence ; though perhaps the question asked, or the sentence uttered, may possess but httle not to be met with in the sayings of ten thousand others. It is readily conceded that, if the literal faithfulness which Mr. Carey has observed in describing his early character and youthful conduct, were to be an indispensable law to all who undertake a similar office MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. 15 for themselves, there would be found but one here and there, who would consent to ' write memoirs of himself.' The following account of him* is from an endeared sister, who yet survives him. I am not aware that much will be found in the composition requiring apology. But were it oth- erwise, the benevolent reader would readily find it, when informed of her singularly afflicted condition. She has been confined to her chamber, without the exception of a day, for these forty years: nearly the whole of that period she has been speechless, and the hand with which she writes is the only limb she can use. ' You wished me to give you some account of my brother William's childhood and youth. I shall gladly comply with your request, though I do not know that I can recollect any thing that will be interesting to you or the public ; and perhaps my brother might be hurt to see any account respect- ing himself made public while he lives. However, I will try to comply with your request, and leave it to your prudence to make what use of it you please. 'My brother was born August 17, 1761, at Paulerspury, a village in Northamptonshire. His parents, Edmund and Eliz- abeth Gary, had five children, — William, Ann, Mary, Thomas and Elizabeth. Elizabeth died in infancy. Our grandfather, Mr. Peter Carey, kept a free-school in the same place. I be- lieve the free-school was built for him, with some money that was found and appropriated to that use : the house was after- wards built for him. He had likewise five children, — William, Peter, Edmund, Thomas and Ann : the two last died in child- hood. William, the eldest, was a young man of very promis- ing abilities, settled in a school at Towcester, a small market- town about three miles from Puiy. His prospects appeared flattering ; but v/hen about twenty-one or twenty-two, he was cut oflT by death, after a few days' illness. Thus were the fond hopes of his indulgent parents blasted. This stroke had such an effect on his father, that he never got over it ; and, in about a fortnight after, he was removed by death also. By these strokes, his wife, a woman of remarkable tenderness, and of a very delicate constitution, was deprived of her son and * Addressed to Mr. Dyer. 16 MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. her husband, and soon after, her home, as she had no child then capable of supplying the father's place. Her second son, Peter, at that time quite a youth, was gone out of the land with a neighboring gentleman ; and, at that time, I believe his mother was uncertain whether he was in the land of the liv- ing. My father was only seven years old at tiie time of his lather's death. He was afterwards put apprentice by his mother in the same village ; and I have often heard him speak of the pleasure he took in spending his leisure hours in atten- tion to his mother. She was a person of a very delicate habit of body; but her calm and even disposition, and, I hope, her patient resignation to the divine will, enabled her to bear up under all her troubles with Christian fortitude. After her son's marriage she lived with him till some time after the bu*th of his two first children, whom she called William and Ann, after her own. Thus, like Naomi, she nursed them in her own bosom, and seemed to think the Lord had dealt bountifully with her in her captivity. I have often heard my mother mention her with great tenderness. Had she been spared a little longer, she might have been restored to her former home again. The person that occupied the school after the death of her husband, was suddenly removed by death. My father was then judged a proper person to succeed him; which he did, when his son William was in his sixth year. At that early period he discovered a great aptness for learning. I have often heard my mother speak of one circumstance she had remarked with pleasm-e in him, even before he was six years old. She has heard him m the night, when the family were asleep, casting accounts ; so intent was he from childhood in the pursuit of knowledge. Whatever he began he finished : difficulties never seemed to discourage his mind ; and, as he grew up, his thirst for knowledge still increased. The room that was wholly appropriated to his use was full of insects, stuck in every corner, that he might observe their progress. Drawing and painting he was very fond of, and made considerable pro- gress in those arts, all acquired by himself Birds, and all manner of insects, he had numbers of. When he was from home, the birds were in general committed to my care. Being so much younger, I was indulged by him in all his enjoyments. Though I oflen used to kill his birds by kindness, yet, when MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. 17 he saw my grief for it, he always indulged me with the pleas- ure of serving them again ; and often took me over the dirtiest roads to get at a plant or an insect. He never v/alked out, I think, when quite a boy, without observation on the hedges as he passed ; and wdien he took up a plant of any kind, he always observed it with care. Though I was but a child, I well re- member his pursuits. He always seemed earnest in his recreations, as well as in school. Like the industrious bee, he was always gathering something useful. It seemed as if na- ture was fitting him for something great, — from a child forming him for future usefulness ; while, at the same time, he was generally one of the most active in all the amusements and recreations that boys in general pursue. He was always beloved by the boys about his own age. Though his manners were rather awkward, and there was nothing in his person prepossessing to a superficial observer, yet the more intelli- gent could discover marks indicating greatness of mind and genius, even from childhood. An intelligent neighbor of ours used often to say, he was sure, if he lived to be ever so old, he would always be a learner, and in pursuit of something fuj-- ther. This remark has hitherto been verified. At the time brother lived at Leicester, a gentleman in our neighborhood was making particular inquiry of me about him. He seemed to think it a lamentable thing that he was a Dissenter. Never a youth promised fairer, he said, to make a great man, had he not turned a cushion-thumper. His natural fondness for a garden w as cherished, I think, by his uncle, Mr. Peter Gary, who was then settled in the same village, and at times, when able, fol- lowed that occupation, and often had his nephew with him, not having any child of his own. While brother continued at home, he seldom left any part of his father's garden unculti- vated, he was so fond of flowers. ' While brother Carey was a boy, he was much afflicted with a scorbutic disorder in his face and hands. When he had been exjDosed to the sun in the day, he was in distressing agony thi-ough the night. On that account he never could work in the field, or do any thing that exposed him long to the heat of the day. Nothmg seemed to relieve this complaint for a long while. This induced our parents to put him to some trade. He accordingly was put apprentice to a cordwainer at Pid- 3# IS MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. diiigton, a respectable person, when he was in his sixteenth j^ear. We were brought up to the Estabhshment ; and brother Carey was ratlier prejudiced against Dissenters, though never permitted to discover his dislike to them ; for though my fa- ther's situation in the school was connected with the clerk's place, as many others were at that time, yet father was always a lover of those he thought good people, and a gi-eat reader. He was particular, in his example as well as precepts, to incul- cate the strictest habits of integrity and uprightness, in words and actions, before his childi-eu ; and the person my brother was placed with was of the same disposition. He had an older apprentice, who was brought up a Dissenter, and I be- lieve was, about that time, under serious impressions. It was in disputes with this yomig man that brother first discovered he was wrong ; yet he would not give up his argument, or own he was vanquished, for some time : he was such a strenuous advocate for his church, it was mortifying to yield till he could no longer resist. He had before been rather inclined to be gay, which gave his parents, as well as his master, some little uneasiness ; but the conduct, together with the powerful argu- ments, of his young friend, connected with some other trifluig cu'cumstances, made an impression on his mind, which was soon after much strengthened by the death of his master, after a short illness. The master, before his death, I believe, felt his need of a Savior, and exhorted those about him to flee to Jesus as the smner's friend ; though before, he was a person of strict morality ; he was whole, and felt no need of a jDhysician, I believe, till his last illness. ' At the time of his master's death, brother was not master of his business, and was then put to a Mr. Old, of Hackleton, who agreed to pay his former master's widow so much for his time. This was not a necessaiy step, as the apprentice is free on the death of his master ; but his father felt so much for the widow's loss, that he inclined to the side of mercy rather than add to her distress. After he had been some little time with Mr. Old, he also was removed by death, I believe before the time of my brother's apprenticeship Avas expu-ed. At that time he had formed a connexion with a young person, sister to Mrs. Old, whom he married soon after or before he was twenty. MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. 19 'After Mr. Old's death he took the stock and busmess. Trade at that time bebag very good, his prospects seemed promising, but soon after failed. A large order Mr. Old had engaged to supply was retm-ned on my brother's hands, just after it was executed, so that he felt considerable embarrass- ment from it, and was obliged to dispose of the goods to great disadvantage. ' At this time he was increasingly thoughtful, and very jealous for the Lord of Hosts. Like Gideon, he seemed for thi-owing down all the altars of Baal in one night. When he came home, we used to wonder at the change. We knew that before he was rather inclined to persecute the faith he now seemed to wish to propagate. At first, perhaps, his zeal exceeded the bounds of prudence ; but he felt the importance of things we were strangers to, and his natural disposition was to pm'sue earnestly what he undertook ; so that it was not much to be wondered at, though we wondered at the change. He stood alone in his father's house for some years. After a tune he asked permission to have family prayer when he came home to see us ; a favor which he very readily had granted. Often liave I felt my pride rise while he was engaged in prayer, at the mention of those words in Isaiah, ' that all our righteous- ness was like filthy rags.' I did not think he thought his so, but looked on me and the family as filthy, not hmiself and his party. Oh, what pride is in the hmnan heart ! Nothing but my love to my brother would have kept me fi'om showing my resentment; but I could not bear that others should think dimmutively of him ; so kept it to myself My attachment to him was great, and, as brothers and sisters, I trust it was firm and unshaken, and ever will remain so. We always felt each other's joys and sorrows our own, so far as we loiew them. O that an eternity may be spent in happy union with each other, where nothing exists to deplore ! 'About this time a few of the friends of religion wished our brother to exercise his gifts, by speaking to a few friends in a - house licensed at Pury ; which he did with great acceptance. The next morning a neighbor of ours, a very pious woman, came in to congratulate my mother on the occasion, and to speak of the Lord's goodness in calling her son, and my broth- er, two such near neighbors, to the same noble calling. My 20 MEMOIR OF DR. CARET. mother replied, 'What, do you think he will be a preacher ?' 'Yes,' she replied, 'and a great one, I think, if spared.' From that time till he was settled at Moulton, he regularly preached once a month at Pury, with much acceptance. He was at that time in his twentieth year, and married. 'Our parents were always friendly to rehgion; yet, on some accounts, we should rather have wished him to go from home, than come home to preach. 1 do not think I ever heard him, though my younger brother and my sister, I think, generally did. Our father much wished to hear his son, if he could do it unseen by him or any one. It was not long before an oppor- tunity offered, and he embraced it. Though he was a man that never discovered any partiality for the abilities of his childi-en, but rather sometimes went too far on the other hand, that often tended a little to discourage them, yet we were convinced that he approved of what he heard, and was highly gratified by it. ' After our brother's marriage, I think he first settled in a small neat house at Hackleton. Here he soon cultivated a neat garden. His first child was born there, a fine girl, named Ann. She died of a fever, in her second year. My brother at the time was in great danger fi*om the same disorder. He sent over for his mother : but the Lord mercifully spared his life, though his child was taken away. My mother observed at that time, that they seemed much distressed in circumstan- ces. We knew of his diflficulties respecting his business after Mr. Old's death ; but he studiously kept every thing he could from us, not to grieve us. After the fever was removed, an ague followed, and for more than a year and a half, I think, never could be removed. Often has he travelled from place to place, to dispose of his stock, with the greatest diflficulty, from the affliction. At this time, his brother, — then quite a youth, — had so great concern for him, that he saved out of his own earnings, and other little trifles he had for his own pro- perty, keeping it together till it was a considerable sum ; he then presented it to his brother, who received it with emotions of tenderness and gratitude. The kindness was felt very ten- derly, when he considered the age of his brother, and the small privations he had felt on his account. This trifle, with a small collection made by some of his friends at Pury, afforded MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. 21 our dear brother a seasonable relief at the time. We often had him home for change of air, but nothing removed the ague for long, till he left Piddington for Moulton. He had left Hackleton, and resided at Piddington at the time of the child's death : there he also cultivated a garden ; and near the garden, which he seldom failed to occupy early and late, was a marshy piece of ground, and a fog arose often from the damp. This he thought was one cause why the ague never wholly left him till he removed to Moulton, to a drier soil. The ague was the cause of his hair coming off, which never grew again. It was likewise attended by a very affecting cough, that never wholly left him in England. It always affected him more or less in the winter. The scorbutic disorder he had when a boy, he always felt while in England, if he was for a short time ex- posed to the sun. Yet he has remarked, that the hottest day in Lidia never affected him ; till in one letter, of so late a date as 1810, he said that he had felt a little alarmed of late, at findmg some return of his old disorder, after it had lain dor- mant for nearly thirty years. It was not, however, he said, so as to occasion much pain ; and having recourse to a medicine, much used in India in similar diseases, he had no doubt but it would prove effectual through a divine blessing. He adds, ' The medicine is nitric acid, perhaps better known to you by the common name of aqua fortis, I take eighteen or twenty di-ops twice a day, diluted in water, and wash my hands in the same : the effects are astonishing.' 'Thus we may observe much of the goodness of Jehovah, not only in forming his mind, even fi'om childliood, for the great work he had to accomplish by him, but even in the tem- perature of his bodily constitution and natural disposition. Difficulties to him never appeared insurmountable : from child-1 hood always earnest in all his pursuits, whether recreation or! learning, perseverance was a leading featm-e in his character. ' I believe it was not till the whiter before he left Piddington for Moulton, that he had any ground for hope that the Lord had answered prayer respecting his relations. During that winter the Lord first began to work on the mind of my sister and some others of our acquaintance. At the autumn, Mr. Scott, then of Olney, was invited to preach at Pury ; his being a church minister, and the novelty of the place he preached in^ 22 MEMOIR OF DR. CARET. induced me and most in the village to hear him. The text was alarming: 'Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.' The efFects never quite left me ; and, in the winter, our family was visited by a fever, which left an alarmhig effect on the spuits. My sister had such a flow of spirits as hurt her very much, while I had as great a depression. My brother, observ- ing it, said, with some emotion, ' Sister, read your Bible.' I did not feel inclined to follow his advice, because I had often read the Bible before, but found no beauty in it. However, I felt secretly inclined to follow his advice, and began with a determination to pursue with diligence. I found no relief till I got to the thirty-first chapter of Jeremiah, those words, ' There is hope in thy end.' From that time his God enabled him to see that he was a prayer-hearing and answering God, though he long called him to wait. He often spoke afterwards - of what he used to feel when he came home and saw us so insensible of our danger, yet seldom could summon courage enough to speak on the subject of religion to his dearest fi-iends. For me, in particular, he felt, because he often saw me reduced apparently to the borders of the grave, quite in- sensible of the hand which brought dovm and raised up again. Often did we obsei^ve the emotions of his mind ; but did not thmk his concern at all necessary. O what a privilege to have praying relations ; and what a mercy to have a God that waits to be gi-acious ! ' At the time my brother went to Moulton there was a pros- pect of a good school, though that was soon blasted by the return of the former schoolmaster.' There might be another reason why his school succeeded so ill. He probably had much less faculty for teaching than for acquiring. And then he could never assume the carriage, nor utter the tones, nor wield the sceptre of a schoolmaster. He would frequently smile at his incompetency in these respects ; and used to say, facetiously, ' When I kept school, the boys kept me.' ' The people being poor, could not support a minister com- fortably ; but brother had the satisfaction to know it was not for want of a willing mind, but for want of ability. This made him cheerfully submit to any privation, rather than dis- cover it to grieve them. But as his family increased, we were MEMOIR OF DR. CARET. 23 witnesses of the difficulties they often feh. Yet, under all, he steadily persevered in the pursuit of knowledge, making con- siderable progress in the study of Greek. Here also, with the help of his friends, he cultivated a neat garden, by removing the rubbish of an old barn. It is a little remarkable that, as soon as my brother had got a garden into a state of cultivation, he was generally called to leave it. This, to one so fond of it, must have been a little self-denial ; yet, to a mind like his, no doubt, it was a lesson of some importance, and led him more to see that this is not om- rest, that sin has polluted all our enjoyments. ' At Moulton he had three sons, — Felix, William, and Peter. Peter died at Mudnabatty, in the East Indies. ' From Moulton he removed to Leicester with his family. Wliether he had a new garden there to cultivate, I never heard. At Leicester he had some difficulties to encounter from the state in which the church was at that time. Mr. Sutcliff said once to us, that the difficulties he met there would have dis- couraged the spirits of almost any man besides hiin ; but he set his shoulder to the work, and steadily persevered till it was accomplished, and soon had the pleasure to reap the fruits of his steady perseverance. While he continued at Leicester, he was blessed with another daughter, named Lucy : this child also died m its second year. This was a painful stroke both to parents and chikh-en ; they all seemed so fond of her. He used to mention the death of this child in every letter for some time, yet with a degree of resignation and submission to the divine will. We were convinced, however, that he was touch- ed in a tender point. ' Just before he left Leicester, brother Carey went into York- shire to take his last farewell of his only and beloved brother and family. Brother Thomas had then three sons, — Peter, named after our uncle ; Edmund, called after our dear father ; and Eustace, then only two years old. Little did we think he was to follow his dear uncle on the same delightfid errand. How good is God ! What am I, and what is my father's house, that such favors are shown to us ! and that so many so dear to us should be devoted to the work of so good a Master ! * In that visit our dear brother had the pleasure of witness- ing the exertions of the friends of religion in Yorkshke, in 24 MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. raising a good collection for the cause his heart was so fully bent upon. At that time also he met with dear brother Ward, and said, ' If we go to India, and succeed in our work, of which I have no doubt, we shall have need of your help.' This was the first thing that set dear Mr. Ward seriously to reflect ; and his God strengthened him heartily to engage in the good work. Little did our dear brother think he was to be the instrument, in the hand of God, of the conversion of his two eldest sons. How mysterious are the ways of Jehovah ! yet all right. All his plans are before hun ; nothing at random or without design. 'At the time he left England he was very much attached to Phebe Hobson, his sister's eldest child. She was then three years old, and fond of her uncle. Sister had but two children at the time, one a little boy only a year old. The last time my brother was here, he said, 'In your fii'st letter, I shall ex- pect to hear of the death of that child.' But he is yet spared. ' It was a little remarkable that Phebe always wished to fol- low her uncle, and, we hope, imbibes a little of his spirit. We think it an honor conferred on us by the King of kings, that he has called one out of my sister's family, and my youngest brother's only surviving son. Oh, may these earnests encour- age our future hopes, that all ours may be a seed to serve him in their day and generation ! ' Jabez Carey, my brother's fourth son, was born at Hackle- ton, at the time his father was going first to India. Sister con- cluded for him to go the first voyage without her ; but being detained at the Isle of Wight longer than they expected, his wife was delivered in the mean time. He wi'ote us the account from thence. Providence so ordered it that they came back. He had only Felix with him then. He said, when they went in, he pleaded by silence and tears ; while Mr. Thomas pleaded by arguments, till his wife consented to go. No time was then lost in getting ready, lest she should change her mind, or the vessel sail without them; so, from ignorance and want of time, they had many difficulties on board the ship. Jabez was only six weeks old when they left England. Jonathan was born at Mudnabatty, the place where Peter died. Then he had four sons lefl;, and he lives to see them all engaged for that God to whom, he has often said, that from the first of his engaging in the work of the mission, he had given himself MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. 25 with all he had, and on that account could not draw back, as he considered the success of the work he had engaged in de- pended upon it. Though no one could feel more tenderly than he did the affliction of his dear relatives, yet the cause of his God was dearer to him. And in this, I think, most of his rela- tives rejoiced, rather than wished it otherwise, whatever afflictions or privations it caused them to feel. ' It has greatly encouraged me of late, in reading over some of the first letters he sent, to see how he was enabled to act faith on a faithful God ; and in how many instances God has answered his prayers for his own children, and the children of his brother and sister, as well as other relatives ; and as for the work he has engaged in, God has far exceeded his desires. He lives to see more than his most sanguine hopes asked for. What a God is our God ! May our few remaining days be more devoted to his praise ! Whether called to do or suflTer, may but the gloiy of His name be increasingly dear to us ! ' In some of our brother's last letters, he expressed great feeling on account of the heavy and long continued afflictions of some of his relatives ; and, as soon as it was in his power, he administered to their necessities, his dear partner cheerfully appropriating part of her income to their relief He did not stand to confer with flesh and blood, and say, I have a family of my own ; but still cast them on the care of that God who had so far exceeded all his hopes. May he ever possess the same disinterested spirit! ' I have often thought, one cause of the sympathy and long continuance of kindness I have met with, in my long affliction, was occasioned by the kindness of my parents, to one person in particular, who lay nearly dependent on them for support for a long time. I know God is able to return even to a cup of cold water ; and I hope it is my earnest request, that every instance of care and sympathy shown to me, or any dearer to me than my own life, may be returned by that God who is able to make all grace abound. Yours, &c., 'Mary Carey.' In a subsequent letter Mrs. M. C. adds : ' I forgot to mention that he was always, from his first being thoughtful, remarkably impressed about heathen lands, and the 4 26 MEMOIR OF DR. CARET. slave-trade. I never remember his engaging in prayer, in his family or in public, without praying for those poor creatures. The fii-st time I ever recollect my feeling for the heathen world, was from a discourse I heard my brother preach at Moulton, the first summer after I was thoughtful. It was from these w ords : ' For Zion's sake will I not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem's sake will I give him no rest.' It was a day to be remembered by me ; a day set apart for prayer and fasting by the church. What hath God wrought since that time! What encouragement for earnest and united prayer, that the heavens may pour down righteousness, and the glorious dawn soon open in the splendor of noon.' Thomas, the brother of Dr. Carey, says : * I only recollect that he was, from a boy, remarkably studi- ous, deeply and fully bent on learning all he could, and always resolutely determined never to give up any point or particle of any thing on which his mind was set, till he had arrived at a clear knowledge and sense of his subject. He was neither diverted from his object by allurements, or driven from the search of it by threats or ridicule. He was firm in his purpose, and steady in his endeavors to improve ; of a very strong and retentive memory, and extraordinary genius. Thus much of his char- acter, when a boy, I have a perfect recollection of ' At the request of Mr. Ivimey, Mr. Scott, the respected com- mentator, supplied the following relation of his acquaintance with Mr. Carey : ' Aston Sandford ( Thame) ^ ' January 31, 1815. 'Rev. AND Dear Sir, ' I feel myself much gratified with the present you sent me of my highly esteemed friend, Dr. Carey. I have indeed been acquainted with those who instituted and conducted your Missionary Society from the very first ; and I have always been a cordial friend to it, though not able to do much in supporting it, beyond my daily prayers, which have not been often omit- ted. I now think that it bears the jialm among Missionary Societies, and I rejoice in the opening prospects of usefulness beyond what its most sanguine friends once expected from it. ' I am glad that you remitted to me the anecdote which you MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. 27 have heard concerning me, respecting Dr. Carey, but do not think it was from Mr. SutcHfF. It is indeed wholly unfounded, not one tittle of truth in it ; I therefore hope to stop its circu- lation. 'I will, however, give you more authentic information con- cerning my first acquaintance with our beloved and revered friend. In the year 1780, Mr. Newton left Olney ; and in 1781, I succeeded to his curacy. Very soon after, I walked from Olney to Northampton, to see old Mr. Ryland, and to meet Mr. Hall, of Arnsby, as I recollect. Before this, it pleased God to make me the instrument of conversion to a deaf old widow, in good circumstances, between seventy and eighty : she had at- tended my ministry some time, though she heard little, and I thought understood less. But when she was confined to her house, and could only hear me when I spoke loud, she gave such proof of repentance, and faith, and love, that none doubt- ed of a saving change in her, which made way for good to some of her relations. Among other relations, she had a sis- ter, or, as I think, a brother's widow, named Old, who lived at Hackleton, in the road to Northampton, whom she desired me to call on. Her son was a shoemaker, and young Carey was apprentice to him. I believe both the widow and her son were pious persons. When I went into the cottage, I was soon recognized, and Mr. Old came in, with a sensible looking lad in his working dress. I at first rather wondered to see him enter, as he seemed young, being, I believe, little of his age. We, however, entered into very interesting conversation, es- pecially respecting my parishioner, their relative, and the excellent state of her mind, and the wonder of divine grace in the conversion of one who had been so very many years con- sidered as a self-righteous Pharisee. I believe I endeavored to show that the term was often improperly applied to conscienr tious but ignorant inquirers, who are far from self-satis/led, and who, when the gospel is set before them, find the thing which they had long been groping after. However that may be, I observed the lad who entered with Mr. Old, rivetted in at- tention, with every mark and symptom of intelligence and feeling; saying little, but modestly asking now and then an appropriate question. I took occasion, before I went forward, to inquire after him, and found that, young as he was, he was 28 MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. a member of the church at Hackleton, and looked upon as a very consistent and promising character. I lived at Olney till the end of 1785 ; and in the course of that time, I called per- haps two or three times each year at Mr. Old's, and was each time more and more struck with the youth's conduct, though I said little ; but, before I left Olney, Mr. Carey was out of his engagement with Mr. Old. T found also that he was sent out as a probationary preacher, and preached at Moulton; and I said to all to whom I had access, that he would, if I could judge, prove no ordinary man. Yet, though I often met both old Mr. Ryland, the present Dr. Ryland, Mr. Hall, Mr. Fuller, and knew almost every step taken in forming your Missionaiy "Society, and though I sometimes preached very near Moulton, yet it so happened, that I do not recollect having met with him any more, till he came to my house in London, with Mr. Thomas, to desire me to use what little influence I had with Charles Grant, Esq., to procure them license to go m the Company's ships as missionaries to the British settlements in Lidia, perhaps in 1792. My little influence was of no avail. What I said of Mr. Carey, so far satisfied Mr. Grant, that he said, if Mr. Carey was going alone, or with one equally to be depended on along with him, he would not oppose him ; but his strong disapprobation of Mr. T., on what gromid I knew not, induced his negative. I believe Mr. Old died soon afl;er I left Olney, if not just before; and his shop, which was a little building apart from the house, was suffered to go to decay. While in this state I several times passed it, and said to my sons and others with me, that is Mr. Carey's college. As it was at that time a mean and ruinous place, and as I stated that Mr. Carey was apprenticed to him who owned it, I was, by some means or other, charged with saymg that he was a parish apprentice. This I neither said, nor meant, nor thought. The Olds were rather a respectable family as to temporal things, and I knew nothing of Mr. Carey's family till after- ward I was informed by a letter, from an afflicted sister of his, that a sermon, which I preached at Creaton, had been the aneans of her conversion. ' I from the first thought young Carey an extraordinary per- son : I augured the most happy consequences from his mission, provided his life were spared : I had no doubt but, in despite MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. 29 of disadvantages of education, he would be a learned man. But he has lived to go beyond, in all respects, my highest an- ticipations. May God still preserve and prosper him and his ! My time of life, and many infirmities, lead me to suppose my race nearly run ; but the Lord is very gracious, and I still keep busily employed. My thanks and best respects to the com- mittee, and my thanks to you for the publication. ' I remain, dear Sir, ' Your friend, and fellows-laborer, 'Thomas Scott.' SECTION II. EDITORIAL REMARKS VARIOUS CIRCUMSTANCES CONNECTED WITH THE FORMATION OF THE BAPTIST MISSIONARY SOCI- ETY FRAGMENT OF MEMOIR, &C., FROM THE HAND OF MR. FULLER. The reader is already in possession of the leadhig facts and incidents of Dr. Carey's life, to the period of his regular en- trance upon the duties of a minister and a pastor. But, there being others of more public interest, and of closer relevancy to that great work, in which the main vigor of his mind, and the two thirds of his days were devoted ; and there bemg other documentary materials, of equal interest to those preceding, it has been deemed convenient to present them in a separate section. Various and oppressive difficulties attended him during his continuance at Hackleton ; such as would have repressed the ardor, and utterly drunk up the spirits of an ordinary mind. He had a wife of exceedingly fi-ail constitu- tion, an increasing infant family, and the widow of his deceas- 4# 30 MEMOIR OF DR. CARET. ed master to provide for, from the proceeds of a business in which, whatever might be his proficiency as to the mechanical part of it, he was confessedly very incompetent as a prmcipal. Nor were his circumstances less inauspicious to the forma- tion of his religious life and principles, than they were to his secular comfort. Though subject to certain moral restraints, and compelled to attend the regular service of the Establish- ment, as is commonly the case where a just exposition and a spiritual enforcement of the word of God is absent, it sei-ved only to invest him with a veil of ceremonial sanctity, leaving him a stranger and an alien to evangelical religion. When the light of divine truth fii'st broke in upon his mind, and the earli- est emotions of a spiritual life commenced their struggle in his heart, he had the fiercest prejudices to surmount, and every militant passion to subdue. The few Christians with whom he fii'st united m fellowship, were not in circumstances to con- tribute to his intellectual improvement ; and were too rigidly bound to a jejune heartless system of doctrine, to aid him in the acquisition of correct and comprehensive views of the gospel, or aflTord him encouragement in diffusing them. He was thirsting for every species of knowledge, without the slightest facility for its attainment, and with scarcely a kindred mind near him interested in his welfare, or in sympathy with his feelings. Yet, amidst all this pressure of discouragement, he made sensible improvement in the cultivation of his mind, and strenuously exerted himself in preaching the gospel, in places distant some miles from the village in which he resided. But now, mcidents occurred, and a rapid, but perfectly easy, succession of events were put in motion, which smoothed his access to ultimate eminence in literature and science, and conducted him to a sphere of religious activity, which, for ex- tent and importance, has seldom been paralleled in the annals of human enterprise. At this crisis, the acquaintance he formed with Mr. Ryland, junior, of Northampton, afterwards Theological President of the Bristol Academy, and with Mr. SutcliflT, of Olney, Bucks., contributed greatly to his encourage- ment. The latter friend often congratulated himself, that he lent him a Latm grammar, the first elementary book, he be- lieved, that Mr. Carey ever perused in that or any other lan- guage. He also invited him, as the reader has already learned, MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. 31 to exercise his talents before the members of his own church, and thus more regularly authenticated his call to the ministeri- al office. His settlement at Moulton, a village a few miles distant from the one in which hitherto he had resided, was variously bene- ficial. He had now a regular charge, and the diligent study of the word of God, with other reading, and the mental effort necessary in publicly ministering to the same people four times every week, made him a rigid economist of time, and was no doubt favorable to that stern and almost sovereign con- trol which he ultimately exercised over his own faculties, commanding them in concentrated force to any object, and almost at any time he pleased. Here, also, he become intimate with other ministers ; as with Mr. Fuller, Mr. Hall, of Arnsby, in Leicestershire, Mr. Morris, of Clipston, and Mr. Samuel Pearce, of Birmingham. Mr. Hall was then venerable for age, admired through the denomination to which he belonged, for the greatness of his talents ; but more so, if possible, for his elevated piety, and the condescension of his deportment. The last feature of his character especially endeared him to his junior brethren. At regular intervals Mr. Morris and Mr. Carey met at Mr. Hall's, to benefit by his conversation and his critical remarks upon their pulpit exercises, the outlines of which they rehearsed to him. If ministers of good attain- ments and long standing in the church of Christ, would court the society of their youthful brethren who happen to live within the sphere of their influence, and would lay open to them the results of their own theological studies, and their ex- perience in the practical, and often painful, details of pastoral life, it would be of incalculable benefit both to ministers and people. Valuable hints might often be suggested for the solu- tion of particular passages, for the confirmation of important principles in biblical criticism and in morals ; and such in- formation afforded upon the economy of Christian churches, as might prevent those painful collisions which sometimes mar the comfort of societies, and impair the usefulness of their pastors. Mr. Carey was never heard to speak of his inter- course with Mr. Hall but with the deepest emotion, such as often impeded his utterance. But among his ministerial acquaintance, there was no one with whom he assimilated 32 MEMOIR OF DR. CARET. entirely as with Mr. Fuller. In decision, simplicity, and native mental vigor, they perhaps were equal ; though, in other res- pects, their endowments were sufficiently dissimilar to mark them out each one for eminence in very distinct departments. That intimate union between them which proved of such im- portant consequence to the cause in which each exerted so mighty an influence, and which continued for nearly thirty years, without abatement and without alloy, commenced at Northampton, at a periodical meeting of ministers. The per- son who was exjDected to occupy the pulpit failing to fulfil his engagement, Mr. Carey was requested to supply his place. He discoursed from Matt, v, 48 : ' Be ye perfect, as your Father in heaven is perfect.' Upon his descending the pulpit, Mr. Fuller, seizing him by the hand, expressed the pleasure he felt in finding that their sentiments so closely corresponded ; and hoped they should know each other more intimately. He has often told me, that no event weaned him so eflTectually from his native country, as the death of this beloved coadjutor and valued friend. Two subjects at this time engrossed the attention and drew forth the energies of Mr. Fuller and Mr. Carey. The first was,, the duty of all men to believe the gospel to whom it is made known. The other, the duty of the Christian church to pub- lish it throughout the world. A spurious system of Calvinism prevailed so extensively in the churches of the Baptist de- nomination, through the midland counties, as to delude and obdurate the consciences of the unconverted ; whilst it chilled the sympathies, and utterly paralyzed the efforts, of professing Christians. The broad common-sense principle, that every human soul, when hearing the gospel, is bound to believe and obey it, and is eligible to its mercies, was then but dimly seen by many preachers, and seldom candidly announced. The total denial of this principle by some, and the very partial ad- mission and timid avowal of it by others, was disastrous in the extreme, as must ever be the case where the same course is followed, and which may well impress ministers with the im portance of attaining clear, consistent, and comprehensive views of divine truth, and of making them known without hesitation or reserve. For, if ministers do not perceive it to be the duty of men to believe the gospel, their hearers will MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. 33 readily enough conclude that the sm of rejecting it is propor- tionably doubtful. While the errors of this system were detected and exploded by the able pen of Mr. Fuller, and the way was preparing for the more salutary exercise of the ministry at home, the other subject, of equal legitimacy and force, employed the unremit- ted and anxious attention of his friend. I have been often told by his sisters, and by the deacon of his church at Leices- ter, that for several years he never engaged in prayer, to the best of their remembrance, without interceding for the con- version of the heathen, and for the abolition of the slave-trade. The straits to which he was reduced whilst at Moulton, were almost incredible. It has been already remarked, in his sis- ter's memorial in the previous section, that he was compelled to teach a school for his subsistence ; and that the former schoolmaster, contrary to expectation, returning to the village, and recommencing in the same line, frustrated his attempts. The person had some degree of reputation already established, and the village was too small to supply scholars in sufficient number for them both. Mr. Carey's school, therefore, gradu- ally dwindled. To compensate for this failure, he had recourse to his business, working somewhat with his own hands, and giving out work to be done by others, for a gentleman residing at Kettering. But my respected friend, Mr. Gotch, the son of the above, who well remembers Mr. Carey at this time, bears no very flattering testimony to his skill, either in making up, or in superintending the work of others. There can be no difficulty in accounting for his disappointment. He had other objects of thought, and other purposes inceptively forming, the injEluence of which could not be supplanted, and the pro- gress of which was not to be arrested, by other and lower pursuits, however imperative the necessity for an attention to them. The people were so exceedingly poor, that they raised scarcely any thing for his support. Yet, I confess, it is difficult to conceive of any church, however small, and however indi- gent, which, with due economy and union, might not contribute something for the comfort of their minister, in many instances far beyond what is done at present. An attention to that common sense, and a deference to those principles of univer- 34 MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. sal equity, which regulate the conduct of men in the ten thousand transactions of ordinary life, might prove of no small advantage to Christian societies. The want of sys- tematic arrangement for the securing both labor and contribu- tion, are, in many instances, lamentably evident. The giving and the doing are often devolved upon less than one third of the attendants. One or two deacons, necessarily inefficient by age and its inseparable infirmities, are oppressed with the secular burden of the whole duty ; whereas every member of a church should hold it a sacred duty to consecrate somewhat of labor and of substance to the interest of the body. This is indubitably the law of the New Testament ; that every one, receiving spiritual benefit, should yield some appropriate return. And, unless the poor as well as the rich recognize and act up to this obligation, thej'e can be no approach to perfection in any society of Christians. The poor are not generally disin- clined to give to any just and benevolent object, whether for- eign or domestic ; and no sum, even to a fraction, should be refused, or reluctantly received, when offered in obedience to a divine injunction, and flowing, as we may trust it often does, from a righteous and holy principle. But no more ought to be expected from them than what is in proportion to then' known condition ; and that should be punctually obtained at the stipulated periods. Should their donations be deemed too small to be collected in detail, the poor cannot be expected to give in aggregate amounts ; they will feel disparaged and wounded by the neglect ; and their prayers and donations are forfeited together : and another inevitable consequence is, that a few persons in competent circumstances, having more to subscribe than could in justice be apportioned to them, begin to wince under their burdens ; the minister is ill provided for ; he sighs in secret over the severity of his condition, and the hardness of his people's hearts ; and that reciprocity of inter- est, and that unity of aflfection and of eflTort, which are the soul of voluntary compacts, is annihilated.* Both the church and congregation at Moulton considerably augmented under *' Hints for the Regulation of Ciiristian Churches, by C. Btovel,' both for the principles it avows, and the details it recommends, is well entitled to the serious attention of all members of Dissenting churches, but especially to that of ministers and deacons, MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. 35 Mr. Carey's ministry ; the chapel was rebuilt and enlarged for their accommodation ; they felt growingly fervent in attach- ment to him, so that they parted from him upon his removal to Leicester with extreme reluctance ; and yet, I have it upon undeniable evidence, that he and his family have lived for a month together without tasting animal food. It was not to be wondered at, therefore, that he should entertain the invitation of another church, a connection with which might both en- large his sphere of usefulness, and somewhat meliorate his outward condition. His feelings in reference to this subject, he expresses in the following letter to his father: 'Moulton, Feb. 21st, 1789. 'Dear Father, ' I am exceedingly divided in my own mind, and greatly need your prayers. It is well known what my situation is here, and on that account I this week received an unanimous invitation from the Baptist church at Leicester, to go and settle with them, which was joined by some of the church people, who sit under the ministry of Mr. Robinson, of St. Mary's. If I only regarded worldly things, I should go without hesitation ; but when I reflect upon the situation of things here, I know not what to do, though I think the state of things would justify my removal. Wm. Carey.' Whilst instructing his pupils in geography, his attention was drawn by a transition, easy enough to such a mind, from the physical to the religious condition of the tribes inhabiting the regions which passed successively under review. The subject, as he pursued it, became more intensely interesting, until at length it was the all-absorbing theme. He then sought op- portunities of pressing it upon the attention of his brethren. At a meeting of ministers holden at Northampton, about this time, Mr. Ryland, senior, called upon the young ministers to propose a topic for discussion. As no one else obeyed the challenge, after waiting some time, Mr. Carey proposed for consideration, ' the duty of Christians to attempt the spread of the gospel among heathen nations.' The old gentleman received the announcement of the subject with great surprise. 36 MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. Mr. Morris, now the only surviving friend * w^ho was present upon the occasion, says, that Mr. Ryland called him an enthu- siast for entertaining such an idea. I am aware that Dr. Ryland questioned the accm-acy of Mr. Morris's recollection as to this matter ; and when he inquired of Dr. Carey some years ago, he was of the same mind. But, with me, this does not invali- date the correctness of Mr. M.'s testimony. I well recollect my relative's speaking to me, soon after my arrival in India, respecting this meeting, and Mr. R.'s remark. I do not re- member his repeating that precise expression, which indeed is of very little moment ; but I distinctly recollect that some strong epithet was said to have been used : and when it is considered how novel the subject of foreign missions was at that time, and the characteristic vehemence of Mr. Ryland is taken into account, I conceive there can be little to except against in Mr. Morris's statement. It is w^ell known, that per- sons accustomed to utter themselves in extreme terms, are not unfrequently heard with an attention diminished in proportion to the known intensity of their manner. It ought not, there- fore, to be deemed conclusive against the truth of what is related to have been said by such an one, because, after, the lapse of thirty years, only one out of three persons who were present deposes to the truth of it. Mr. Ryland's indisposition to encounter this subject, had no other effect upon the mind of Mr. Carey, than to quicken his attention to it. It was at this time, during his short residence at Moulton, that he composed his inquiry into the obligations of Christians, &c., one of its leading topics being suggested by the conversation above referred to. In this pamphlet he discusses the perpetuity of our Lord's commission ; and re- capitulates the efforts made in each century and in every country for its fulfilment. He then exhibits a tabular view of the various countries in each quarter of the world, their geo- graphical limits, the number of their respective inhabitants, and their several religious denominations, with the relative numbers included under each. The last section demonstrates * Between the time of composing the above paragraph, and correcting it in pas- sing through the press, Mr. Morris also has ceased his sojourn on earth. MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. 37 the practicability of making further attempts for the conver- sion of the heathen than any hitherto made. Various objec- tions are then stated and solved, and the work concludes with a judicious and spirited appeal to ministers and people. The latter are exhorted to cultivate a benevolent spirit, and to make such pecuniary sacrifices as became their profession, and would prove commensurate with the object ; whilst the former are besought to consider their official as well as their common obligations, to make every effort, and to submit to every privation, and even to sacrifice life itself, if such be the will of God, — a minister being, as he remarks, ' in a peculiar sense, not his own.' His removal to Leicester, wliich took place in 1789, gave him increased opportunities for the acquisition of every species of knowledge. Dr. Arnold, a great lover of polite literature, gave him free access to his library, — a circumstance Avhich, together with other attentions he received from that gentleman, nourishing his love of science, and making him acquainted with the best works then extant upon its several branches, prepared him to pursue his studies more effectively when abroad, and shut up to his own resources. By his removal to Leicester, his temporal circumstances were somewhat improved ; yet, here also he found it necessa- ry to increase his income by again teaching a school ; and a letter is extant, addressed to Mr. Abraham Booth, signed by himself and his deacons, acknowledging an exhibition from the Baptist fund, an institution for the relief of necessitous ministers and churches, and requesting the committee to re- new the grant. He here regularly distributed his time, apportioning to every day, and almost to every hour, its appropriate labor. A few lines, extracted from a letter addressed to his father, will show the method he adopted, and which, being modified as his vari- ed circumstances in after life required, was the main cause of his being able to conduct every thing to which his energies were directed to so successful an issue. ' Leicester, JVov. 12th, 1790. ' Dear and Honored Father, ' I have no excuse to make for not writing to you before 5 38 MEMOIR OF DR. CARET. now, except an indisposition for writing in general may be pleaded in excuse. But I cannot with propriety plead my faults as an excuse for my faults. However, my many avoca- tions, which take up all my time, make me wish for a little relaxation from business when a few spare moments offer. Indeed, I often condemn myself for not corresponding oftener with my dear relations, and other acquaintance ; but when I review my hours, I am sometimes inclined to think that it is out of my power. 'Polly's affectionate letter I received with pleasure and shame ; pleasure to hear of your welfare, and shame that she has any occasion to complain. I hope to amend for the future ; but if I send you an accomit of the partition of my time, you will see that you must not expect frequent letters. ' On Monday, I confine myself to the study of the learned languages, and oblige myself to translate something. On Tuesday, to the study of science, history, composition, &c. On Wednesday, I preach a lecture, and have been for more than twelve months on the book of Revelation. On Thursday, I visit my friends. Friday and Saturday are spent in preparing for the Lord's day ; and the Lord's day, in preaching the word of God. Once a fortnight, I preach three times at home ; and once a fortnight, I go to a neighboring village in the evening. Once a month, I go to another village on the Tuesday evening. My school begins at nine o'clock in the morning, and continues till four o'clock in winter, and five in summer. I have acted for this twelvemonth as secretary to the committee of Dissent- ers ; and am now to be regularly appointed to that office, with a salary. Add to this, occasional journeys, ministers' meetings, &c., and you will rather wonder that I have any time, than that I have so little. ' I am not my OAvn, nor would I choose for myself Let God employ me where he thinks fit, and give me patience and dis- cretion to fill up my station to his honor and glory. ' Polly complains much. All I can say to her is this : A sinner on this side hell will have reason to despond, when the blood of Christ has lost its efficacy ; when the nature of God is changed, and he ceases to be good and gracious; or when the gospel is repealed, and all its glorious declarations obliter- ated. Then, and not till then, may my dear sister have reason to despair. Abhor herself she ought ; and ought to be sensi- MEMOIR OF DR. CARET. 39 ble, in the most exquisite manner, of her rebellion and deprav- ity; but till her sins are greater than God can forgive, or surpass the value of her Savior's blood, she may hope. Nay, if she herself had chosen on what terms God should have ex- pressed his willingness to save, she could not have chosen language more exiDlicit, or declarations more unlimited. There is a ground of hope ; and here all is ' solid rock.' 'I trust I have some pleasing enjoyments, though to my shame I live very far below my privileges. On the one hand I am filled with shame and horror; on the other, with the greatest hopes and expectations. ' I am yom- dutiful Son, Wm. Carey.' 'Leicester, May 5ih, 1791. 'My Dear Father, ' God is, I trust, reviving his work among us. Several } oung l^eople appear under concern of soul; and at a village about three miles off, an amazing alteration has taken place ; and hence I opened a lecture there about nine months since ; sev- eral have been converted, in all probability. Mr. Wesley's congregation before that, at preaching, was from twelve to twenty ; now, about three weeks ago, one hundred and nine were counted out of a prayer-meeting. ' I exjiect to baptize six persons in about a fortnight. The time of my ordination is fixed for the 24th instant. 'Your dutiful Son, Wm. Carey.' Though the church at Leicester was comparatively small, and in much derangement when he succeeded to the pastorate, he nevertheless restored it to order, and much increased the communicants and the attendants upon his ministry. His consistency of deportment, both as a Christian and a public character, became generally known, and speedily advanced him in the estimation of the inhabitants, as well as that of his immediate religious connections. He enjoyed the intimate friendship of Mr. Robinson, an eminently successful minister in the Establishment, the author of 'Scripture Characters,' whom he frequently accompanied in his pastoral visits, from whom he always spoke of himself as deriving much benefit. But nothing in his present labors, or in the cheering success 40 MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. with wliich they were crowned, could divert his mind from the design of a mission to the heathen. By degrees, he suc- ceeded also in exciting the attention of his brother ministers to the same object. By frequent discussion, free interchange of thoughts, accompanied with united importunate prayer, their sentiments assimilated, and their zeal and benevolence were soon provoked into some external demonstration. So early as 1784, a few of these devout servants of God met in association at Nottingham, resolved to set apart an hour on the first Monday evening in every month, ' for extraordinary prayer for the revival of religion, and for the extending of Christ's kingdom in the world.' Thus commenced the united missionary prayer-meetings, now prevalent through every part of Christendom. No one can calculate the ultimate good to which a single attempt, justly principled, and wisely directed, may lead. Within half a century, some of the most potent and comprehensive agencies that ever influenced the moral world, have originated in the devotions and unpretending ef- forts of a few individuals, or of a single mind. Thus the design, simple as it was devout, of circulating the volume of inspired truth, entire and without human accompaniment, within a very few years, has multiplied its copies as the ' sands of the sea-shore,' rendered it available to every nation on earth, and placed it within reach of almost every soul of mankind. The projection of the monitorial common-sense method of in- struction by Joseph Lancaster, has antiquated the stupidities of former ages, and laid open the blessings of a sound ele- mentary education to the whole globe. The pious, and at first almost unaided, labors of Mr. Raikes, to rescue from profane- ness the juvenile poor, to imbue them with scriptural knowl- edge, and train them to the habits of religious life, have created in every tov.n in Great Britain and America, a fruitful nursery for the church of Christ, and sent forth a living supply of efficient laborers to disseminate the gospel both at home and abroad. The humble attempt of the subject of this memoir, to excite the zeal of his immediate brethren, was not only effectual for the purpose and to the degree he primarily med- itated ; it was an impulse destined to move, ere long, the whole Christian world, and to diffuse an influence which the ex- tremities of the earth should feel, to be perpetuated to the end MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. 41 of time, and the final results of which, the light of eternity must develop. The sympathies of every community were shortly awakened, their energies were provoked, and, from the period now under review to tJie present, faithful brethren have been sent forth, charged on errands of mercy, to every region whither the commercial enterprise of this mighty empire has adventured her sails. The simple proposition for devoting a single hour in one evening of every month in i)rayer for a specific object, has united the aspirations of pious men by myriads through every section of the universal church, and, if maintained with vigor and unaffected unity of spirit, may yet prove the ordained means of bringing down from the ' Father of lights,' and the 'Father of mercies,' those final effusions of his renewing spirit, the grand burden of prophetic and evan- gelical promise, unspeakably transcendent of any thing yet experienced among men, by which, 'the wilderness shall be converted into a fruitful field;' and that which before was deemed fruitful, shall be esteemed a forest. It cannot be too deeply regretted that these special occasions of devotion are frequently, and in many places, very ill attended. Denomina- tional prejudice and local collision are allowed to interrupt the harmony for the promotion of which they were at first iiisti- tuted; and in some instances to suspend, and altogether to dissol\^e it. Nor need it be disguised, that the hnprovement derivable from these catholic exercises is of\en prevented, and the comfort of them marred, by the monotony with which they are conducted, and the wearisome length to which every part of them is carried. The petitions and the phraseology are not sufficiently specific, and closely relevant to the profes- sed object of the meeting; but are fetched promiscuously from the whole circle of devotional topics. The mind, instead of being refreshed, is wearied with the requisite attention; and, before a prayer is concluded, the half of the congrega- tion have resumed their seats. The Wesleyan brethren, in this, as in some other parts of their practical economy, are worthy of imitation. They will engage five or six persons in praying, and sing portions of as many hymns, within the com- pass of an hour. By degrees, Mr. Carey succeeded in bringing his ministerial brethren to sympathize with him in his missionary views. 5* 42 MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. Several opportunities were also offered by their periodical meetings, for maturing them into some ultimate and feasible plan of operation. The first of these was at Clipston, in Northamptonshire, in the spring of 1791, when Mr. Fuller and Mr. SutclifF preached sermons appropriate to such a design. After which sermons, Mr. Carey m-ged his brethren to form themselves into a Society. But they wished for time, and requested him to publish his pamphlet which they knew him to have in manuscript. A second meeting was holden at Not- tingham one year afterwards, when further progress was made. It was then he preached his memorable sermon from Isai. liv, 23. This discourse ripened the convictions of his brethren that it was imperative upon them, with as little delay as possi- ble, to organize their plan, and commence operation. The outline of this plan was offered for acceptance at Kettering, in October, of the same year, when a committee was formed, and the first fruits of its benevolence were offered to advance the institution wliich their piety and zeal originated. This contribution amounted to thirteen pounds two shillings and sixpence. At a fourth meeting, which took place shortly afler at Northampton, further deliberations were entered into, and Mr. Pearce, of Birmingham, was added to the original com- mittee. Thus a simple machinery was formed and set in motion, which led the way in that mighty career of Christian benevolence for which the present generation stands dis- tinguished beyond all precedent. At the Kettering meeting, just referred to, Mr. Carey had signified his willingness to be- come the first to adventure himself in the enterprise, and was accepted. He thus alludes to this solemn fact, in a letter to his father : ' Leicester, Jan. 17th, 1793. 'Dear and Honored Father, * The importance of spending our time for God alone, is the principal theme of the gospel. I beseech you, brethren, says Paul, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, — holy and acceptable, which is your reasonable service. To be devoted, like a sacrifice, to holy uses, is the great business of a Christian, pursuant to these requisitions. I consider myself as devoted to the service of God alone, and MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. 43 now I am to realize my professions. I am appointed to go to Bengal, in the East Lidies, a missionary to the Hindoos. 1 shall have a colleague who has been there five or six years already, and who understands their language. They are the most mild and inoffensive people in all the world, but are enveloped in the greatest superstition, and in the grossest ignorance. My wife and family will stay behind at present, and will have sufficient support in my absence ; or, should they choose to follow me, their expenses will be borne. We are to leave England on the third of April next. I hope, dear father, you may be enabled to surrender me up to the Lord for the most arduous, honorable, and important work that ever any of the sons of men were called to engage in. I have many sacrifices to make. I must part with a beloved family, and a number of most affectionate friends. Never did I see such sorrow manifested as reigned through our place of wor- ship last Lord's day. But I have set my hand to the plough. ' I remain, your dutiful Son, Wm. Carey.' The reader may be tempted to smile that such a design should be commenced with a contribution of thirteen pounds two shillings and sixpence ; but he must view it as an earnest, by which the depositors pledged themselves to more ample exertions, when the divine hand should point out the way in which they could be available for the purpose they contem- plated. Such discovery was presently made, and more liberal donations succeeded. The church and congregation of Can- non-street, Birmingham, under the influence of their eminent- ly zealous minister, Samuel Pearce, raised the sum of nearly one hundred pounds. They thus became examples to the whole denomination, and showed clearly enough that the work need not be abandoned, nor long postponed, for want of pecuniary help. The first auxiliary society was formed by these same friends ; and from the commencement of the Bap- tist mission to the present hour, none have proved more steady in their adherence to its interests, or more uniformly liberal in its support, than the Christian friends at Birmingham. When the desires and these fu-st movements of the committee be- came known through various parts of the kingdom, they were somewhat encouraged to advance. A companion to Mr. Carey 44 MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. soon offered himself. The circumstance of his becoming the correspondent of the committee, and their willing servant in this work, determined also the sphere of their labor. The church at Leicester listened to the remonstrances of their minister, and his compassionate entreaty for the heathen ; and after suitable devotional exercises, surrendered him for the work, ' whereunto the Holy Ghost had called him.' In pre- vailing with them to make this surrender, he reminded them of the many prayers they had presented to God of late years for the conversion of the heathen ; and that they were called upon to offer an appropriate sacrifice to verify the sincerity of their devotions ; and, moreover, that, if they willingly gave him up, he felt assured the blessing of God would attend them. They obeyed the call. They honored God ; and he has hon- ored them in return. With the exception of only a very few years, in which they were in a depressed condition, they have been attended with a regularly advancing prosperity. For twenty years, they enjoyed the ministry of the most eloquent sacred orator in Christendom. Nor have the labors of thek present pastor been crowned with less success than were those of his predecessor. The house of worship, since Mr. Carey's departure, has been twice considerably enlarged ; a secession has taken place, forming a second respectable and flourishing interest ; and the original church and congregation are both more numerous and more united than ever they were before known to be. The first and highest designation of a Christian minister respects Christ and his universal cause ; the pastorate of a particular church is a thing secondary and subordinate. The obligation involved in the first is absolute and perpetual ; that of the latter is voluntary, casual, and precarious.. It is granted, that the relation of pastor and flock is too solemn and too tenderly interesting to be assumed and dissolved with levity. But, on the other hand, it is easily conceivable that pastors and people, from motives not always the most spiritual, may be so wrapped up in their attachment to each other, as to be lamentably insensible to the more catholic claims which the cause of Christ may present to them. The church at Leicester having generously consented to yield up their pastor for foreign labor, and this infant society MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. 45 being somewhat recruited by an accession to its numbers, and an augliientation of its resources, a service was holden there, to set apart Mr. Carey and Mr. Thomas his colleague, as mis- sionaries to the heathen world. Their passage was taken on board an East Indiaman ; and they proceeded to Ryde, in the Isle of Wight, to await the summons for embarkation. The difficulties and disappointments which befell them, almost to the extinction of their hopes and those of the Society, with the singular manner in which they were surmounted, await the attention of the reader in the ensuing chapter. But we shall previously offer for his perusal a valuable fragment from the hand of Mr. Fuller, entitled ' an attempt at a memoir of brother Carey.' That the respected writer conducted it to no later a period than to a few months subsequent to his arrival in India, will be regarded with unfeigned regret. ' From his first religious concern, his mind was much em- ployed in obtaining just and scriptural sentiments. He thought the notions of many who called themselves Calvinists, but who in fact were hyper-Calvinists, — were, in various important particulars, unscriptural, and unfriendly to all attempts for the conversion of sinners ; and as to Arminianism, he had no leaning that way, considering it as subversive of the doctrine of grace. He therefore endeavored to form a system of his own, without any human help ; and which for substance proved the same with that of the ministers with whom he afterwards associated. I have heard him say, that he did not recollect to have received his views of divine truth from any writer or preacher, but merely from reading his Bible ; but that, when he found a number of brethren whose sentiments and feelings accorded with his own, it yielded him great satis- faction. The writings of president Edwards were afterwards of much use to him ; and he drank in the leading principles of that great writer with approbation and delight. 'While he was at Moulton, the congregation being few and poor, he followed his business, in order to assist in supporting his family. His mind, however, was much occupied in ac- quiring the learned languages, and almost every other branch of useful knowledge. I remember, on going into the room where he employed himself at his business, [ saw hanging up against the wall a very large map, consisting of several sheets 46 MEMOIR OF DR. CARET. of paper pasted together by himself, on which he had drawn, with a pen, a place for every nation in the known world, and entered into it whatever he met with in reading, relative to its population, religion, &c. The substance of this was after- wards published in his ' Inquiry.' ' Those researches, on which his mind was naturally bent, hindered him, of course, from doing much at his business; and the people, as was said, being few and poor, he was at this time exjjosed to great hardships. I have been assured, that he and his family have lived for a great while together without tasting animal food, and with but a scanty pittance of other provision. 'I have been told that, about this time, some person made him a present of a folio volume m Dutch, and that, for the sake of reading it, he obtained a grammar, and learned that language. This I know, that soon afterwards a Dutch pamphlet was put mto his hand, and he actually translated it, and made a present of the translation to me, which I have still by me. ' It was while he was at Moulton that he wrote the manu- script which was afterwards printed under the title of 'An In- quu-y into the Obligations of Christians to use Means for the Conversion of the Heathen.' He would also be frequently con- versing with his brethren in the ministry on the practicability and importance of a mission to the heathen, and of his willing- ness to engage in it. At several ministers' meetings, between the years 1787 and 1790, this was the topic of his conversation. Some of oiu- most aged and respectable ministers thought, I believe, at that time, that it was a wild and impracticable scheme that he had got m his mind, and therefore gave him no encouragement. Yet he would not give it up ; but would con- verse with us, one by one, till he had made some impression upon us. 'His labors at Moulton, notwithstanding all his difficvdties, were blessed to the increase of the church and congregation. Their place of worship was rebuUt, and he spared no pains in assisting his congregation to get through the expense of it. But, after all, it was not a situation suited to him, either for ac- quiring or imparting knowledge. ' The church at Leicester, about this time, was sunk into a melancholy state. Antiuomianism, both in principle and prac- MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. 47 tice, had gained the ascendancy, so that the upright part of the church were unable to make any effectual resistance. An as- sociation of ministers and churches being held there in June, 1787, a solemn remonstrance was made by them against the corrupt state of that church. The consequence was, the best part of them took courage, and some of the principal offenders were separated. Both the deacons were excluded ; and Black- well, the pastor, resigned. They were now supplied by the pastors of other churches, till they might be provided with a pastor of their own. Amongst others, Mr. Carey sometimes went as a supply. His labors being acceptable, and it being understood that his usefulness, as well as his comfort, was much confined at Moulton, it became a matter of consideration whether he should be invited to remove. At length he was in- vited. After carefully weighmg matters on both sides, he wrote down on a sheet of paper his own thoughts and feelings, both for and against it, and gave it to some of his brethren in the ministry for advice. In this paper, I well remember, there was much of the upright, disinterested man of God. The result was, however, that, in 1788, he removed to Leicester. ' Soon after his arrival, he paid his respects to the Rev. Mr. Robinson, with whom, to the last, he maintained a good under- standing. It has been said, though I do not recollect to have heard Mr. Carey mention it, that Mr. R., in that conversation, asked him if he approved of Dissenting ministers getting hear- ers from those churches where the gospel was preached, or, as he pleasantly called it, sheep-stealing'^ To this, Mr. C. answer- ed, 'Mr. R., I am a Dissenter, and you are a Churchman ; we must each endeavor to do good according to our light. At the same time you may be assured, that I had rather be the instru- ment of converting a scavenger that sweeps the streets, than of merely proseljting the richest and best characters in your con- gregation.' ' On looking into the state of the church, he soon found that antinomianism had taken deep root in it, and that many who stood as members were unworthy of a place in the house of God. After some attempts at purgation, which he found dif- ficult if not impossible to accomplish, he, with the advice of the best members, proposed their dissolving their church relationship, and beginning anew. This proposal was acceded to. They did 48 MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. not, however, refuse any one who had been a member before ; but merely required the signature of a declaration that they ivere willing and determined to keep up, in future, a strict and faithful dis- cipline, according to the JVeiv Testament, let it affect whom it might. This requisition answered the end. A considerable number of loose characters kept back, who of course were, after a time, declared by the church to be no longer members. Thus the church was in a manner renovated. Days of fasting and prayer were set apart, in which there was much of a spirit of importu- nity and brotherly love; and regular prayer-meetings were constantly and well attended. ' The party who refused to renew covenant, however, became Mr. Carey's deadly enemies. They reproached him as a man who did not preach the gospel ; and when he was ordained pastor, one of them, more bold than the rest, threatened, when the members should hold up their hands, to make a public protest against the proceedings of the day. When he came to the trial, however, his heart seems to have failed him, as he made no opposition. Yet they gave Mr. Carey much trouble, and on some occasions his mind was greatly dejected. At the associa- tion at Olney, in June, 1790, he appeared to be distressed be- yond measure with the trials of his situation. By degrees, however, the people of that description left him and his friends to themselves, and have ever since had preachers after their own heart. He also rose in esteem superior to the influence of detraction. ' His zeal and unremitted labors in preaching the word, not only in Leicester, but in the villages near it, wherever he could have access, endeared him to the friends of religion ; and his thirst for learning rendered him respected in others. He has sometimes regretted his want of early education : ' I was so rus- ticated (he would say) when a lad, that I am as if I could never recover myself.' Yet the natural energies of his mind, accom- panied as they were with a generous, manly, and open disj)osi- tion, together with an ingratiating behavior towards men of every degree, soon rendered him respected, not only by those who attended his ministry, but by many other persons of learn- ing and opulence. Dr. Arnold, who had a large and valuable library, desired him to make what use of it he pleased. Others esteemed his acquaintance on account of his taste for botany, MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. 49 as has been the case since he has been m India: but though he has indulged occasionally in such pursuits, they do not appear to have diverted him from the chief end of his life; but rather to have been made subservient to it. They have been his amusement, by which he occasionally mibent his mind, that he might return to his proper employment with renewed vigor. 'So fully had the troubles and divisions of the cluu'ch subsi- ded, that when, in the year 1792, he entertained thoughts of engaging as a missionary to Hindostan, the idea of parting be- came a serious trial to both him and them. There were per- sons, indeed, who, being strangers to all great and disinterested feeUngs themselves, insinuated that Mr. Carey was unhappy in his connections, and therefore wished to quit the kingdom to get rid of them : but neither was he unhappy with his people, nor they with him. Perhaps there never was a time in which part- ing would have been so great a trial ; yet, incredible as it may appear to some, they were both willing to part ! He had taught the church to regard the general increase of Christ's kingdom above their own interest as individuals, or as a congregation, and he had not taught them in vain. But to return. 'At the Clipstone Easter meeting of ministers, of 1791, the two sermons that were preached wore an aspect towards a mission among the heathen. The first was from Hab. i, 2, 3 : ' This people say the time is not come, the time that the Lord's house should he built,'' ^'C. The other was from 1 Kings xix, 10 : ' / have been very jealous for the Lord Godofhosts.'' ' After worship, Mr. Carey, who was present, and most inter- ested in the discourses, moved that something should be that day agreed upon, relative to the formation of a society for pro- pagating the gospel among the heathen. The other ministers had, it is true, been in a manner compelled to think of the subject, by his repeatedly advancing it, and they became desirous of it, if it could be accomplished ; but feeling the difficulty of setting out in an unbeaten path, their minds revolted at the idea of at- tempting it. It seemed to them something too great, and too much like grasping at an object utterly beyond their reach. However, partly to satisfy brother Carey, and partly to gain time, they recommended him to revise his manuscript on the subject, and to print it. This measure, they observed, would serve to sound the mmds of the religious public. This propo- 50 MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. sal was complied with, and the manuscript was prepared for the press, and, in 1792, printed, under the title of 'An Inquiry into the Obligations of Christians to use Means for the Conver- sion of the Heathen.' At the Oakliam association, in June, 1791, the two sermons also that had been delivered at the Clipstone ministers' meeting, were requested to be printed. 'About this time Mr. Carey paid a visit to Birmingham, where he became acquainted with Mr. Pearce. In him he found a warm and fast friend, who entered into his views with all his heart. Some of Mr. Pearce's friends also encouraged Mr. Carey to go forward, with the promise of every kind of support that was within the compass of their power. 'At the Nottingham association, in June, 1792, Mr. Carey preached from Isaiah liv, 2, 3 : ' Enlarge the place of thy tent^ and let them stretch foHh the curtains of thine habitations : spare not, lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes ; for thou shall hreak forth on the right hand and on the left ; and thy seed shall inherit the Gentiles, and make the desolate cities to he inhabited.^ After observing, by way of introduction, that the church was here compared to a poor desolate widow, who lived alone in a small tent ; that she who had thus lived in a manner childless, was told to expect an increase in her family, such as would require a much larger dwelling ; and this because her Maker was her husband, whose name was not only the Lord of Hosts, the Holy One of Israel, but the God of the whole earth ; he proceeded to take up the spirit of the passage in two exliorta- tions, which he addressed to his brethren: 1. Expect great things from God ; 2. Attempt great things for God. The dis- course was very animated and impressive. After it was con- cluded, the ministers resolved that, at the next Kettering min- isters' meeting, on the first of October of the same year, the plan of a society should be brought forward, and, if found prac- ticable, a society formed. ' At the Kettering meeting, brother Carey was present ; and after the public services of the day were over, the ministers withdrew into a private room, and there, in a solemn vow pledged themselves to God and one another, as a society, to make at least an attempt for carrying the gospel somewhere into the heathen world. A committee was chosen, and Mr. Carey was a member of it. MEMOIR OF DR. CARET. 51 ' The events which succeeded, in which Mr. Carey bore a principal part, and how he became united with Mr. John Tho- mas, in a mission to Bengal in the following spring, are already before the public, in the first number of the periodical accounts, which therefore it would be superfluous to repeat. I sliall only take a review of certain particulars of his conduct in this important undertaking, which have hitherto been but little known. 'He seemed, in this undertaking, to have his work before him,, and to possess almost a foresight of the issues of things. In his Inquiry, he wrote as if all denominations of Christians were to be stirred up to the same efforts, and expresses his judg- ment of what should be their conduct. He also, a little before he went, saw Mr. Ward, who was then a pious youth, and by trade a printer. 'We shall want you,' said he, 'in a few years, to print the Bible : you must come after us.' And these few words, as Mr. W. has confessed, so remained on his mind, that he could never forget them. ' When he had made up his mind to engage in missionary labors, he expected Mrs. Carey and his family to accompany him ; but to this she was for a long time utterly averse. This was a heavy trial to him, and to the society, who could not but foresee that, though men are allowed to leave their wives and families for a time in mercantile and military expeditions ; yet, in religion, there would not only be a great outcry against it from worldly men, but even many religious people, who had thought but little on the subject, would join in the general censure. He determined, however, to go ; and if Mrs. C. could not be persuaded to accompany him, he would take his eldest son with him, and leave the rest of his family under the care of the society. She might afterwards be persuaded to follow him ; or, if not, he could but return, after having made the trial, and ascertained in some measin*e the practicability of the un- dertaking. Under these circumstances he went aboard a ship for Bengal. But when they were just ready to sail, it was un- derstood that his going out in one of the Company's ships, without expressly stating his object, and obtaining their con- sent, was illegal and dangerous. He and his colleague were therefore both obliged to quit their places. On tliis, they both made another visit to Mrs. Carey (who was then at Piddington) 52 MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. renewing their persuasions for her to accompany them. At length, her sister (now Mrs. Sliort) agreeing to go with her, she consented; and a Danish ship passing by soon after, they all took a passage in her. Thus the Lord prevented their de- parture in the first instance, that Mr. Carey's family might accompany him, and that all reproaches on that score might be prevented. ' It was afterwards objected, that their going to settle in the British territories without the permission of the directors, though in a foreign ship, was after all illegal and dangerous ; but to this it is replied, the apostles and primitive ministers were commanded to go into all the world, and preach the gos- pel to every creature ; nor were they to stop for the permission of any power upon earth ; but to go, and take the consequen- ces. If a man of God, conscious of having nothing in his heart unfriendly to any civil government whatever, but determined in all civil matters to obey and teach obedience to the powers that are, put his life in his hand, saying, 'I will go, and if I am persecuted in one city, I will flee to another,' whatever the wisdom of this world may decide upon his conduct, he will assuredly be acquitted, and more than acquitted, at a high- er tribunal.' CHAPTER II. SECTION I. REVIEW OF DIFFICULTIES ATTENDING THE COMMENCEMENT OF THE BAPTIST MISSION REJECTION OF THE MISSIONARIES FROM THE EARL OF OXFORD, AND THE CONSTERNATION IT OCCASIONED THE REVIVAL OF THEIR HOPES, AND THEIR RE- EMBARKATION UNDER CIRCUMSTANCES MORE PROPITIOUS. The projectors of the Baptist Mission commenced their design amidst unusual discouragements. The reader has al- ready seen how very slender were then* resources. But this was the least of the many adverse circumstances with which they had to contend. No principal denomination had at that time entered the field. And, not having originated any plan of foreign labor themselves, it was, perhaps, more than could reasonably be expected, that they should look with unmingied complacency upon one launched by an inferior body ; or that they should contribute materially to augment its funds. A long, querulous, and crabbed letter is yet extant, from a gentle- man in one of the midland counties, expostulating with Mr. Fuller upon the impropriety of making such a work a denom- inational undertaking, and the sort of sentimental absurdity, which he discerned and felt very tenderly, of commencing labors and exhausting resources in distant countries, while so much remained to be effected at home. Such objections, it may be, are not utterly extinct to the present day. But those who entertain them, upon the first head, would do well to ask themselves, whether they are prepared to maintain perpetual and perfect silence, as to those views of truth and forms of duty which distinguish that portion of the church to which they pertain from every other ? If they hesitate at this, they should cease to expect the sacrifice in others. But, suj^pose they 6* 54 MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. willingly consent to bate whatever is peculiar to their own body, and should succeed in prevailing upon all their fellow- Christians to adopt the same determination, what advantage would accrue to the world from such an achievement ? Must not some portion of truth be sacrificed, and some matter of positive obedience be neglected ? Or will it be contended, that no part of the Christian church either believes or practises correctly ; or, that it is a less evil, in things holden to be non- essential, absolutely and totally to neglect, than involuntarily and partially to err. It is far better for Christians to promulge the truth of Christ, according to their own conceptions, and to inculcate obedience to his authority agreeably to their own views, than to speculate upon a Catholicism incompatible with their present circumstances to realize. Nor is it likely that the heathen, or those converted from amongst them, would be half so stumbled at witnessing any diversity in the external modes of Christian practice, as they would at the detection of any designed neglect or concerted scheme of compromise. As the efforts of all devout persons will be regulated much more by those truths and principles which are deemed of essential and universal interest, than by any distinguishing peculiarities; so will there be unsjieakably more in the general results of their labor in Avhich to rejoice, than of denominational pecu- liarity against which to except. It is better to become at once auxiliary to an attempt at effecting some immediate and sub- stantial good, made, as we suppose, with some attendant im- perfection and error, than to speculate ever so sincerely upon schemes of union, or entertain ourselves and the world with mere hjpotheses of agreement and coalition, until life is wast- ed, and our opportunities for usefulness retire. Our Christian love cannot desire more appropriate or ample exjDression than is suggested to us in the prayer of the apostle : ' Grace be with all them who love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity.' Nor ought we to expect fellowship with other Christians upon terms different from those intimated in another passage, where our zeal and our love are solicited at once into fervent action, and chastised into forbearing tenderness. 'Whereunto we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us mind the same thing : and, if in any thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you.' MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. 55 It is also equally incorrect, and, it is to be feared, far more disingenuous, to entertain with repugnance, or treat with indif- ference, a project for conveying the gospel to distant nations, because much corresponding labor is in requisition at home. It is of far greater importance to commence such labors, than accurately to resolve the comparative claims of different lati- tudes of the globe to become their primary scene. The ' great salvation' is the patrimony of the world ; and every portion of the human race, accessible to Christian agency, is equally eligi- ble to its mercies. The early dispensers of the gospel did not tarry in one region until all its population received it. Some, it is confessed, were driven from their native province by the terror and force of persecution ; but others risked the perils of a missionary life, amongst remote and even barbarous tribes, from the purest charity to the souls of men. Nor is it suppo- sable, that the devotion indispensable to originate, and keep in vigorous movement, a system of exertion and sacrifice such as foreign missions require, should be long prosecuted without producing a decisively salutary influence at home. That ' love of Christ,' which constrains a tender and obedient heart, is too impatient to effect the good it meditates, to be holden in arrest, until a cautious, calculating, secular wisdom, has formed its decisions ; and too deferential to supreme authority, to regard them when enunciated. A prudential worldly man, aye, and many a ' sober' Christian, may deem the votary of such a prin- ciple to be ' beside himself;' whilst he, conscious of no desire but to please God, is content to appeal from the judgment of men to His. ' If we be beside ourselves, it is to God.' It is too often assumed that men, fervent and prompt, must be in- discreet ; and that those of cool temperament and slow move- ment must be wise. But what hinders the combination of a feeling heart with a bright, sound, and discriminating intelli- gence ? And why should we deem it conclusive, that the man who cannot feel, must therefore think profoundly and judge rightly ? Must the noblest nature on earth be the least of all consistent with itself, and be destined to so great an absurdity, as to present its main attributes in necessary and ceaseless hostility ? If a fair liistory of our moral nature could be exhib- ited, it would perhaps be found that the most feeling men were the most reflecting. The very attention they give to 56 MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. great and benevolent objects renders them vigilant observers of providential occurrences, and anxious to adopt the most promising means for compassing them. The sensibilities of a Christian heart being once excited, they will be easily provoked into new^ and further develop- ments, and wrought to higher intensity, as legitimate occasions are supplied. More than half the popular charities of this kingdom have been devised and brought into active operation since foreign missions commenced ; and the wealth by which they are replenished, is derived principally from the same source. But, persons who demur at contributing to evangel- izing the heathen abroad, because, as they allege, ' they have heathen at home ' will be found to be those to whom these ' heathen at home ' are least of all indebted. When makmg some slight effort a few years ago in Philadelphia, in behalf of ' female schools in India,' a department of missionary labor then of recent origin, those who met me with rigid mien, de- claring they could not consistently, nor in conscience, divert their benevolence into a foreign channel, while so much re- mained unaccomplished at home, I found very seldom dis- turbed the repose of their own vicinity by their labors or their donations; while, on the other hand, those who wished 'God-speed' to my distant object, were known to respond most freely, and to give lilce princes to every domestic claim, whether civil or religious. A gentleman who had been con- spicuous in aiding a missionaiy collection, was met the follow- ing day by one of dissimilar habits, who chided him for the absurd eccentricity of which he deemed him guilty, in giving to such an object, and in such profusion. It was preposter- ous, he said, to be sending heaps of money abroad, to be spent, no one knew how, while there were so many unemployed stanang poor in . ' I will give £ to the poor of , if you will give an equal sum,' said the Christian friend. ' I did not mean that,' replied the objector. ' But,' continued he, ' if you must go from home, why so far ? Think of the miserable poor of Ireland.' ' I will give £ to the poor of Ireland, if you will do the same.' * I did not mean that, either,' was the reply. No, it is neither this nor that, which this class of ob- jectors exactly mean ; but, simply to veil their criminal parsi- mony by excepting against the proceedings of liberal men. MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. 57 whom, if they could not condemn, they must, for very shame, in some degree imitate. In the Baptist denomination itself there were strong difficul- ties to encounter. Many, from the doctrinal views they had embraced, were deeply prejudiced against all missionary la- bors. Others objected, or held back from directly giving en- couragement, or sharing in the responsibility, from prudential considerations. The project arose in an obscure part of the kingdom, and among brethren, at that time, but little celebra- ted. The scene chosen on which first to assay it, was remote, and but little known. To reach and occupy it would of course be very expensive ; whilst the issue was doubtful. To make such an attempt and fail, must incur disappointment, and per- haps dishonor. They were not disposed to commit them- selves, and to compromise the denomination to a mere experi- ment. Of all the metropolitan ministers, only one, it appears, was of a different mind ; and when a meeting was liolden in the city, to consider the propriety of forming a Society auxil- iary to the one originated in Northamptonshire, the proposi- tion was negatived by an overwhelming majority, and a very respectable and pious gentleman, nominated to receive sub- scriptions, was not induced to accept the office. I have heard Dr. Carey, notwithstanding, speak with gratitude of the per- sonal respect with which he was treated, both by Dr. Stennett and the venerable Abraham Booth. He also, when in Lon- don, made the acquaintance of Mr. Newton, who advised him with the fidelity and tenderness of a father ; and encouraged him to persevere in his purpose, despite of all opposition. ' What,' says Mr. Carey, ' if the Company should send us home upon our arrival in Bengal ? ' ' Then conclude,' said he, ' that your Lord has nothing there for you to accomplish. But, if he have, no power on earth can hinder you.' The reader is already apprised that Mr. Carey was proceed- ing to embark for Lidia without his wife. All persuasions to induce Mrs. Carey to accompany him, at present, were utterly vain. To resign her eldest son, Felix, was the utmost to which her consent could be obtained. His mind was ir- revocably fixed upon the mission, whatever pain, or perplexity, or odium the pursuit of it might involve. Some will find it difficult to award their approbation to his conduct. But, to 58 MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. judge accurately, we must do our best to realize his circum- stances. The conviction, that it was his duty to go and preach the gospel to the heathen, unless an absolute physical impos- sibility should present itself, was, in his judgment, as impera- tive as that of discipleship itself He could as soon cease to be a Christian, in other words, as he could consent to relin- quish his purpose of discipling some portion of the idolatrous world to Christ. As to the piety and integrity of the proce- dure, none who knew him entertained the shadow of a doubt; the wisdom of it was a secondary matter, capable of distinct consideration, and upon which different parties might pro- nounce differently, as they were able to appreciate the mo- tives of the individual, and according to the estimation in which they held his design. Subsequent occurrences, as the reader will presently see, resolved this dilemma. It may be just to remark, however, in passing, that it was his full determination to return to England when the mission should have obtained a footing, hoping that he might then persuade Mrs. Carey to re- turn with him, as it might seem to her less perilous than it was to adventure at first, when the path was untrodden. Another difficulty arose out of the circumstances of his companion. He was in pecuniary embarrassment; and, though he candidly avowed this in a very early, if not the first, of his communications to the committee, it yet proved to be of more serious inconvenience than they seemed to be then aware of Mr. Thomas was brought up to the medical profes- sion ; and, for some years, practised in London. ' But finding it,' as he expressed himself, ' more easy to give than to obtain credit,' he was compelled to sell all off, and wait in lodgings until an offer was made him of going to Bengal as surgeon, in one of the honorable Company's ships, in 1783, which he ac- cepted. In 1785, he returned to London, was received into church-fellowship by Dr. Stennett, and, soon after, began to exercise his talent as a preacher. In 1786, he again proceeded to India, when he ma ^ the acquaintance of some pious Epis- copalians, who, witne g his fervent piety and 'aptness to teach,' prevailed upon ^ to remain in India, engaging to contribute to his suppoi ., liile he should be making the ac- quisition of the language, and communicating, as he might be able, the gospel to the natives. He also labored hard in at- MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. 59 tempting to translate the New Testament into the Bengali language. In the course of two or three years he and his friends separated their connexion. Upon this he revisited England, designing, should he be able, to realize sufficient encouragement from the religious public, to return to Bengal, and spend the residue of his life as a missionary. His attempt to compass this object, and the formation of the Baptist Mis- sionary Society in Northamptonshire, were consentaneous events, which, becoming known to the respective parties, Mr. Thomas relinquished his purpose of forming any distinct agency on his own account, and became the Society's mission- ary. This arrangement becoming known to Mr. Thomas's former creditors, one of them came to Ryde, while the mis- sionaries were there awaiting the summons of embarkation, to enforce his claims. Mr. Thomas was out when the unwel- come visiter made his appearance for this purpose. His com- panion was, as it may be supposed, in no small measure annoyed at the occurrence. But another disaster followed, far more withering to his hopes. The missionaries, having obeyed the summons for embarkation, and gotten their baggage on board, an anonymous letter was received by the captain, admonishing him at his peril to proceed with persons unlicensed by the Company. They were forthwith compelled to disembark. The anxiety and desolation which seized the mind of Mr. Carey cannot be described. The strong sturdy heart of Mr. Fuller upon this intelligence sunk within him. The feelings of each of them are best conveyed in their own words. ' Ryde, May 21, m. 'My very dear Friend, ' I have just time to inform you that all our plans are entire- ly frustrated for the present. On account of the irregular manner of our going out, an information is laid against the captain (I suppose by one of Mr. T.'s o '-editors) for taking a person on board without an order frc ;;he Company. The person not being specified, both he, jd myself, and another passenger, are ordered to quit the .p, and I am just go'ng to take all my things out. ' Our venture must go, or it will be seized by the Custom 60 MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. house officers. Mrs. Thomas and daughter go. I know not how to act, but will write you more particularly as soon as I get to some settled place. I leave the island to-day or to-mor- row, and on Thursday the ship sails without us. All I can say m this affair is, that however mysterious the leadings of Provi- dence are, I have no doubt but they are superintended by an infinitely wise God. ' I have no time to say more. Mr. T. is gone to London again on the business. Adieu. 'Yours, affectionately, W. Carey.' Mr. Fuller transmitted the foregoing letter to Dr. Ryland, and ^vi-ote on it as follows : ' Kettering, May 2ith. 'My dear Brother, ' Perhaps Carey has written to you — We are all undone — I am grieved — yet, perhaps 'tis best — Thomas's debts and em- branglements damped my pleasure before — Perhaps 'tis best he should not go — I am afraid leave will never be obtained now for Carey, or any other — And the adventure seems to be lost — He says nothing of the £250 for voyage — 'Tis well if that be not lost — Yours, ever, A. F.' Mr. Carey and his companion returned to London, depres- sed and almost overwhelmed with their disappointment. In the course of a few days, however, the scene began to brighten, and their spirits to rally. The elasticity of Mr. Thomas's mind, his alacrity and enterprise, and the self-denial he mani- fested at this trying juncture, were astonishing, and justly entitled him to the grateful remembrance of all who feel an interest in the welfare of this mission. And so speedy and evidently propitious were the interpositions of Providence, that before the various friends of the institution could well be apprised of this apparent frustration of their counsels and their hopes, they saw it resolved into one of the most bene- ficial dispensations that could have been conceived of, circum- stanced as it then was. Immediately a ship is heard of, bound to Bengal, under a foreign flag, and therefore not subject to the control of the Company. Mrs. Carey, too, contrary to all MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. 61 expectation, is prevailed upon to accompany her husband. A passage is secured on most advantageous terms ; and, in a few days, after being forcibly rejected from the Earl of Oxford, they re-embark, and actually set sail for the distant East. These remarkable circumstances are vividly detailed by Mr. Thomas, in the following letter to Mr. Fuller : ' Buddaul, March, 10, 1794. 'Rev. AND DEAR Sir, ' This place is about sixty miles to the eastward of Malda. I am come hither on a journey, with Mr. Udney's family. Mr. Carey and his family are about 300 miles off, to the eastward of Calcutta ; and my own family are on a journey from Cal- cutta to Malda, where Mr. Carey and all will meet, we hope, in a short time. We have been greatly distressed with diffi- culties, troubles, and fears on every side; but the Lord is making room for us, and compassing us about with songs of deliverance. 'You remember what I told you at Kettering, of my being in debt, though having sent home muslins, camphor, &c., to the amount of 18,000 rupees, which sold, when the market was very low, for little more than £1,100. This was distribu- ted among my creditors as far as it would go, and this was £500 short of their demand. I entertained some hopes of a computation with my creditors when I saw^ you, by paying them a sum, which I found afterwards I was not able to raise. Having nothing to offer by way of payment, I neglected wait- ing on them, till they came after me. I then told them all the truth ; appealed to my own experience, testifying my intention of paying them, but now I was very poor. Still, as they saw me bent on an expensive voyage, they could not believe this. I had a secret hope that money would come from some quarter or other, just to help us over the sea, through the kind provi- dence of God, but had no assurance or possession of money, yet was as fully bent on going, as if I had. My creditors could not see through all this, and suspected my integrity. They began to hunt, and I to flee as a partridge, yet still con- tinuing to preach publicly wherever I was asked. Every day I had fears without, that I should be arrested, and hopes within, that 1 should escape ; till at length the happy day was 7 62 MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. come when I was relieved by a chain of providences, and embarked with my family and my fellow-laborer on board the Earl of Oxford. We sailed off* with great joy to the Mother- bank : but here we were detained longer by many weeks than we expected. Matters being left in London not quite so well settled as I could wish, I returned to that city by land ; and I had not been gone many hours, before one of my creditors called at my lodging in the Isle of Wight, with a writ and bailiff; to arrest me for £100 or less. Mr. Carey and my wife were in great apprehension and fear for me, and I trembled to think of my situation. But, of his own accord, the man drop- ped the pursuit, after several menaces to the contrary : the time of sailing drew very near, and I ventured to join my family. 'W^e were in exjDectation of sailing within four days, when the purser of the ship came to inform us, that the captain had received an anonymous letter from the India House, saying that a person was going out in his ship without the Company's leave, and information would be lodged against him, if the person alluded to proceeded on the voyage ; and that, in con- sequence of this letter, the captain could not think of taking brother Carey or me, suspecting it to mean one of us. Our distress on this occasion was very great. I went up to Lon- don to search for the author of this letter, hoj)ing to satisfy the captain 'twas neither of us meant. I took the letter with me ; but finding all in(iuirJes vain, I returned to Portsmouth. There I met brother Carey in tears, telling me the captain was now fully determined to take neither of us ; and the season grew so late, we had little hopes of any other ship, but con- soled ourselves with some broken hopes of going by land. In the midst of these dark and gloomy circumstances, we could not help wondering to find Mrs. Thomas, who had with much difficulty been persuaded to come at all, determined now to go without us, with her child, upon the hope of our following soon after. ' The next day, Mr. Carey got all his baggage out of the ship, and, with a heart heavier than all, came away with me. That which would have made us leap for joy before, added to our grief now, viz., to see all the ships get under weigh and sail oflf: at the same instant, we, leaving our baggage at MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. 63 Portsmouth, returned to Loudon. Carey was for asking leave of the Company now; but they had just set their wicked faces against a mission to the East Indies, by sending some of their ablest advocates for total darkness to plead against all mission- aries in the Commons of Great Britain. While Carey wrote to his wife, I would go to a coffee-house, with eager desire to know whether any Swedish or Danish ship was expected to sail from Europe to Bengal, or any part of the East Indies this season ; when, to the great joy of a bruised heart, the waiter put a card into my hand, whereon were written these life-giving words : ' A Danish East Indiaman, J\^o. 10, Cannon streeV No more tears that night. Our courage revived ; we fled to No. 10, Cannon street, and found it was the office of Smith and Co., agents ; that Mr. Smith was a brother of the captain's, and lived in Gower street ; that this ship had sailed, as he supposed, from Copenhagen ; was hourly expected in Dover roads ; would make no stay there ; and the terms were £100 for a passenger, £50 for a child, £25 for an attendant. We went away wishing for money. Carey had £150 returned from the Oxford: this was not half sufficient for all, and we were not willing to part. Besides, our baggage was still at Portsmouth ; and Carey had written to Mrs. Carey that he was coming to see her ; and also he entertained some faint hopes that she might now join us, if she could be so persuaded, for she had lain in only three weeks : but the shortest way of ac- complishing all this would take up so much time, that we feared we should be too late for the ship. That night, there- fore, we set off, and breakfasted with Mrs. Carey the next morning. She refused to go with us, which gave Mr. Carey much grief I reasoned with her a long time to no purpose. I had entreated the Lord in prayer to make known his will, and not to suffer either of us to fight against him, by per- suading her to go on the one hand, or stay on the other. This expression moved her, but her determination not to go was apparently fixed. We now set off to Mr. Ryland, of North- ampton, to ask for money ; and on our way thither I found Mr. Carey's hope of his wife all gone. I proposed to go back once more ; but he overruled it, saying it was of no use. At last I said, 'I will go back.' — 'Well, do as you think proper,' said he : ' but I think we are losing time.' I went back, and 64 MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. told Mrs. Carey her going out with us was a matter of such importance, I could not leave her so — her family would be dispersed and divided for ever — she ivould repent of it as long as she lived. As she tells me since, this last saying, frequently repeated, had such an eifect upon her, that she was afraid to stay at home ; and afterward, in a few minutes, determined to go, trusting in the Lord : but this should be on condition of her sister going with her. This was agreed to. We now set off for Northampton, like two different men ; our steps so much quicker, our hearts so much lighter. ' The counting of the cost, however, was still enough to damp all our hopes. No less than eight persons' passage to be paid for, besides the necessaries to be bought, for fitting all out for so long a voyage, would require £700 at least ! Mr. Ryland gave us to understand, that there was not so much in hand by far ; but what there was, he was heart- willing should go, and faith gave credit for the rest. So within the space of twenty-four hours, the whole family packed up, and left all, and were in two post-chaises on their way to London, where we were authorized to take up money if we could. Dear Mr. Booth, Thomas, and Rippon, helped us with their whole might ; while I went to bargain with the captain's agent. I rejoiced to hear him say that the ship was not arrived. I told him that, in hopes of being time enough, I had been down to Northampton, and brought up a large family to go in the ship. He was struck with the despatch that had been made ; and I continued to say, that their finances were slender, and ex- penses very great ; that the terms I had to offer him were these : that two people should be at the captain's table only (Mr. and Mrs. C); that two cabins only would be required; and two persons (Mrs. C.'s sister and myself) would go as at- tendants, and receive their dinner from or with the servants, or any way whatever, that would be convenient to the captain ; that for these accommodations I had three hundred guineas to offer him. 1 was moved with wonder, to see the hand of God on this occasion, in his accepting these terms, the lowest, I suppose, that ever were heard of He said what wi'ought the most with him, was such a large family being actually ad- vanced to go. ' Within twenty-four hours after our arrival in London, Mr. MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. 65 Carey and his family embarked for Dover, to catch the ship in passing, while I set off for Portsmouth to fetch the baggage. It would be too late if I brought it by land; and it was so dangerous to go by water, that the boatmen refused large sums, saying the channel was full of privateers from France, which came hovering close on our coasts. At last, one man under- took to go in an open boat for twenty guineas. Terrified as I was lest the ship should pass by, yet I refused to give this sum; and I spent two whole days in searching for a man, till a fisherman took me for nine guineas. In twenty-four hours more I arrived at Dover, having ran through all the privateers in the dark, if there were any, and met my brother Carey with great gladness of heart, and, without any other evil occurrent, embarked on board the Kron Princessa Maria, as you have heard. There, indeed, we could not expect the captain to treat us all as passengers, or to be very well pleased with such a crowd of people and such little money. But who can cease wondering, or praising, to find the captain gladly receive us all with the utmost tenderness and concern, admitting all to his table, and furnishim? us all with handsome cabins?' SECTION 11. BRIEF ACCOUNT OF THE VOYAGE, BY MR. THOMAS REMARKS BY THE EDITOP^ SELECTIONS FROM MR. CAREY's JOURNAL RET- ROSPECT BY MR. CAREY, IN A LETTER TO THE SOCIETY LET- TER TO HIS SISTERS. The devout reader cannot have passed over the facts nar- rated in the foregoing section, without admiring the wisdom and benignity of the divine providence, in opening a way for an elevated devotion to display itself, at a crisis, and under circumstances, of such eminent discouragement. Nor can we 7* Qij MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. fail, from such interpositions, to gather confidence in attempt- ing the most arduous service, and offering the most costly sacrifice, to which the dictates of an enlightened conscience can urge us. The following documents, rehearsing the circumstances of the voyage of Mr. Carey, and his friend Mr. Thomas, it is pre- sumed, will be found of some interest to the Chi'istian reader. Extract of a letter from Mr. Thomas to , dated, ' Bengal Bay, October 26, 1793. ' On Thursday morning, the 13th of June, we put to sea, in expectation of writing to you by the Triton frigate, which con- veyed us out of the track of privateers, who might otherwise have detained us ; but when we took leave, it blew so fresh we could not hoist out a boat, so that a large packet of letters, written by each of us, was not sent you. ' On our coming on board, we felt ourselves a little awkward, thinking that some of them seemed very sensible that they were passengers of a better rank than we were, and consider- ing they had paid £100 each, and we, who were eight persons, only 300 guineas ; wherefore, we expected to be treated accor- dingly, and determined to endure it. For my part, I expected a very uncomfortable and lonely passage, having agreed to mess with the sei-vants. We agreed for two cabins only, and two per- sons to mess at the captain's table ; but he that gave Joseph favor in the sight of Pharaoh, had graciously provided for us and our little ones, far beyond our expectation. We found the captain a very well-bred Englishman. He neither would suffer me nor Mrs. Carey's sister to a:bsent ourselves from his table, and received and entertained us all along as though we had been people of consequence ; so that he has often shown kindnesses, that we could no otherwise account for, than by the good hand of God being upon us. On our coming on board, he immediately ordered the very best accommodation in the ship, and the largest to be prepared for Mrs. Carey and her children, and a cabin for me, and another for her sister was granted, while two of the gentlemen, who paid £200, slept in one cabin of the same size. On their being sea-sick, he ordered them soup, sent wine and other comfortable things, and would cpme himself and visit them, to see they wanted nothing he could MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. 67 supply them with. Who can see the lovely accomplishments and shining abilities with which some are endowed, without grief of heart to see the ' one thing needful ' visibly wanting ! ' Poor Mrs. Carey has had many fears and troubles ; so that she was like Lot's wife, until we passed the Cape ; but ever since, it seems so far to look back to Piddington, that she turns her hopes and wishes to our safe arrival in Bengal. She has had good health all the passage, and her little babe has grown a stout fellow. All the children are remarkably healthy, which we cannot but feel as a great kindness towards us. Mrs. Carey's sister also shares good health, and all bear the heat much better than I expected. Mr. Carey was at one time ill with a complaint in his bowels, which he has been used to at home ; but the Lord had mercy on him and me: he is now as well, I suppose, as he ever was in his life, and has been for some months. We have preached twice on each Lord's day, and have a tolerable choir of singers : some that came to hear us at first have entirely left us, and others have heard us con- stantly ; but, to our great sorrow, we do not see the blessing of God on our labors : some profane customs on the Sabbath, and in common conversation, have been left off, but the one thing needful is lacking ; and now we remember the words which the Lord spoke to Ezekiel, iii, 6, ' Surely,' &c. We have reason, nevertheless, to be thankful for some sweet and precious seasons of grace on board, which we have relished among ourselves, both on Sabbath days, and in family worship, which we enjoy regularly twice a day. We have finished a translation of the book of Genesis on the passage ; and broth- er Carey helped me out in passages which I could have made nothing of without him. So let the goldsmith help the carpenter, and the carpenter the goldsmith, that the work of God be done. ' We have had some remarkable favors of providence on our passage besides those already mentioned. About six or eight weeks ago we began to fear a want of water, and to talk of an allowance ; which, however extraordinary it may appear, we have never been limited by yet ; well, the next day the Lord sent down abundance of rain, in two showers, and we filled many casks. About five or six days ago, we thought ourselves driven to the southward by a strong current, as far as Vizaga- 68 MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. tapam, and the captain determined to put in there. We began to be a little troubled in our mind as to what we should do for money, and, if we had it, how we should bear the charge of an expensive house, «fec. ; when the captain, very unexpectedly, came and told Mrs. Carey that he should take a house at Vizagatapam, and all her family would be welcome to stay there till the ship's departure. Moreover, he has promised to recommend us to the Danish governor of Serampore, sixteen miles from Calcutta ; which will be no small favor or conven- ience, if the Company should consider us as trespassers on their ground. But what is more, he has offered to recommend us to the secretary of the supreme council, that we may pro- cm-e land; and if this should be of God, we shall rejoice; if not — contented. But, in one sense, we are sure these kind favors from men are of God ; and we have good hope that he will make room for us and our little ones, especially when we look back and see ourselves on the brink of sailing, but sud- denly stopped and sent back ; no prospect of another ship ; I and my family become two bands ; all darkness and threaten- ing, fear and dismay ; but in three days another ship appears, takes us, and the whole family ; which we just before thought, on many accounts, impossible to be done. When we think of these things that are past, we trust Him for all that is to come.' Amongst the many points of unavoidable secular detail in the conduct of missionary societies, the transit of their agents is one desei*ving no small attention. Comfort and economy are the points to be secured. The missionary himself, it is hoped, will generally pay as studious an attention to the latter, as the society that sends him forth ; and the society, whilst justly anxious to husband well, and wisely apply, the resources placed at their disposal, should carefully avoid an inconvenient and pinching parsimony. The public, the missionary, and the society should consider that they are all mutually obliged in this work, and neither party should conceive it has any interest separate from the other. The public, that their devotion can be in some degree represented, and their obligations to the heathen world discharged, and the fruits of their benevolence profitably applied, through the labors and sufferings of one specially consecrated to this particular service. The mission- MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. 69 ary is equally so, as, by the bounty of the public, and the pat- ronage of a particular society, he is enabled to gratify desires which he would be incompetent to do in his insulated capacity. The society is also both obliged and honored, because, in their associated capacity, whilst they can effect more good than would -be possible by their solitary efforts and contributions, they are constituted the depositaries of the concentrated bounty of the Christian world, and the directors and guardians of its devoted agents. Christians in commercial life, whose property is in the shipping interest, may become the largest benefactors to the missionary cause at no very great sacrifice, whilst the fact of their proprietorship will be a guarantee for the proper treatment of the parties. Gentlemen might be referred to, who have in this way repeatedly rendered the Baptist Missionary Society their debtors, and who, we trust, will be imitated by others. Tliose to whom societies refer the negociation of passages for their brethren, should be solicitous to obtain a good ship and a reputable captain ; and a keen regard should be had to the accommodations, especially when females are to be arrang- ed for. No society should become a party to the mission of a single lady, except she can go under protection. The expense of a passage is of secondary importance. A crazy and crank vessel, with a rude and vulgar captain, bad fare, and low fellow- passengers, without the charge of a single farthing, would render a voyage far too costly. The inconvenience and mor- tification accruing from such sources would be a sufficient trial for a single day ; but recurring every day, and every hour, for six months in succession, become intolerable, and are such as no missionary and his wife should be obnoxious to, if there exists a possibility of their prevention. Some painful tales might be told upon this subject, were it discreet to relate them, and such as might prove admonitory to those intrusted with the transaction of such affairs. In negociating terms, no such severity should be observed as might disparage a missionary in the estimation of the captain. And, then, when a society has done its part, let the brother take special care he does not disparage himself Without such care, this may very soon be done. No scene is more trying to character and to temper than a ship, particularly to young and inexperienced persons. 70 MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. such as missionaries and their wives ordinarily are, and such as they must be, until those of some age and standing in the Christian church embark in the work. Great circumspection is desirable in our intercourse with fellow-passengers, many of w^hom are of very dissimilar principles and habits to those which a missionary is supposed to hold and cultivate. A Christian in these, as in all other circumstances, should not be deficient in the civilities of life ; yet he will find it convenient to put his social tendencies under more restraint than is need- ful at other times. The close and almost unavoidable contact into which you are thrown in the living details of every day, without care, will originate annoyance and collisions. Reserve will prove less inconvenient than familiarity. The former, though it will make you apparently less amiable, will yet throw a defence about you, and render insult and encroachment difficult. All altercation with fellow-passengers upon secular matters should be studiously avoided, though the temptation to it may be strong. The commencement of a voyage is often the most trying period ; and, from the novelty of the predica- ment in which we find ourselves, very difficult to be borne. Do not expect too much from ship-servants. The morhent you most require them, they have ten calls, each one of which is as urgent as yours. In bad weather you are not likely to find your fellow-passengers bland and courteous. The inconven- ience that all share will make every one careful only for him- self And, even at other times, some will be found, who, though on shore they might pass moderately well as gentlemen, through their constitutional impatience and the tedium of a sea-life, will be always misanthropic, and, whether the wind blow foul or fair, will quarrel with a straw. It is preferable to reconcile oneself to neglect or injury in such a case, than to risk remonstrance or complaint. Not but that a minister will meet with sympathy and defence under insult and ill-treat- ment ; yet worldly gentlemen will oflTer it in their own way, which will incur an evil, perhaps, tenfold more aggravated than the one they resent. A Christian minister, being once abusively spoken to by a fellow-passenger, was generously defended by another; but the resentment of the injury was shown by threatening the offender with a duel. Thus, his high-minded fi-iend grieved him a thousand times more than his enemy. MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. 71 A missionary will witness much on board a ship to shock religious feeling. It will require as much wisdom as zeal to resolve how and when to reprove. A mistake in either of these particulars, may exasperate and excite repugnance. Missionaries are generally allowed to conduct public re- ligious exercises ; though some captains have been, and still are, sufficiently prejudiced and absurd to prohibit them, judg- ing that, if they take hold of the mind of a sailor, they dis- qualify in some way, they scarcely know how, for duty. Now and then, upon a very fine Sunday, they think it may do no harm to read the prayers of the Church of England. When that is done, they consider 'there is an end of it;' but what praying and preaching may lead to, is hard to tell. But this narrowness and misconception, once so common among sea- faring officers, are fast wearing away. The good that inissona- ries have effiacted on their vo} age has its living testimony in every part of the globe. Better behaved hearers are not to be met with through all the gradations of society than sailors and soldiers. Their habits of obedience are favorable at least to attention, and that, again, to a correct perception of what is ad- dressed to them; and my belief is, that, according to the means of instruction they enjoy, the preaching of the gospel has been more successful among them than amongst any other portion of mankind. The religious reader will, perhaps, recur to some painful notices in the life of Henry Martyn, which may appear to militate against the correctness of such remarks. But two things should be remembered; first, that the contempt and bitterness he met with were from gentlemen passengers, who, when it can be done with impunity, will sometimes allow themselves in improprieties which surprise common sailors, and make them blush. Secondly, those who have read atten- tively the life of that pious and truly excellent man, must have perceived that his main excellences lay in the holiness of his aftections, and the intensity of his zeal : a discriminating wis- dom was that for which he was least of all distinguished. He was absorbed in the greater virtues, but was, perhaps, less con- siderate than he might have been, in their circumstantial developments. Nor does he appear at all times so patient 72 MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. under resistance, and so tranquil under disappointment, as would have been corroborative of his principles, and just to his motives. On finding, after a Sabbath exercise, that some pas- sengers had taken in bad part some ultimate and alarming truths which he had addressed to them, and that they were profane enough to turn them into ridicule, he records, that, the next time he preached, he took for his text, ' The wicked shall be turned into hell, with all the nations that forget God.' To induce the conviction that men are in utter ruin, and shut up to the faith of Christ, a direct criminating style is not the most judicious. Paul ' reasoned of temperance, righteousness, and a judgment to come ; and Felix trembled.' If any class of men apprehend that you address them under an impression that their religious state is more desperate than that of other men, their self-righteousness will be provoked, and they will not scruple at seizing the first occasion to manifest their disgust. I have been informed by those who sailed with Mr. Martyn, that he was subject to much vexation the greater part of his voyage; which they attributed partly to the superior sanctity of his character, and partly to the style of his preaching. One of these witnesses continues to this day a memorial of his faithfulness and zeal. An incident occurred, at the regimental 'mess' at Dinapore, which strikingly evinced, and did honor, to his dauntless courage. The commanding officer, an aged man, having uttered himself profanely, Mr. Martyn reproved him, at which the colonel was revolted, and said, with indigna- tion, ' I think, if nothing else could do it, my gray hairs ought to defend me from such remarks.' ' Sir,' replied the man of God, ' if your good sense cannot defend you, your gray hairs ought not.' Mr. Carey's Journal. 1793. ' Thursday, June 13. After being prevented from going in the Oxford (by reason of the abominable East India monopoly), we embarked, by divine Providence, in the Kron Princessa Maria, a Danish ship, commanded by captain Christmas, an Englishman, at five in the morning, from Dover, and by night were off Beachy Head. This, I hope, was a day of joy to my soul. I was returned to take all my family with me, and to MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. 73 enjoy all the blessings which I had surrendered up to God. This is an ebenezer which I raise to God. and I hope to be strengthened whenever I reflect upon it. ' 16. Lord's day. A little recovered. Met for prayer and exhortation in my cabin. Had a dispute with a French deist' Lat. 46° 12' N., Lon. 5° W. ' 17 — 23. All this week nothing of moment occurred. We met every morning and evening for family prayer, and met with innumerable civilities from every body on board ; but have most awful proof of the effects of human depravity when heightened by bad principles. The old deist (Barnard) is one of the most daring, presumptuous wi'etches that ever I heard. Calms the last five days. ' 23. Lord's day. Had two public meetings. Mr. T. preach- ed once, and I once. In the morning we had but one person more than our own family: in the afternoon we had three ; the surgeon and two of the passengers. God grant that it may be useful ! '24, 25. Fell in with the trade-wind in lat. 39° N., and the next day passed the island of Madeira. It was in sight the g)-eatest part of the day. A French privateer hoisted English colors, and pretended to be bound for Sierra Leone. ' On the 24th saw a number of flying-fish. Have begun to write Bengali, and read Edwards's Sermons, and Cowper's Poems. Mind tranquil and serene. I have of late found my mind more impressed than ordinarily with the importance of the work upon which I am going. God grant that I may feel it more and more ! ' 29. This day, about three o'clock in the afl;ernoon, passed the tropic of Cancer. The heat is very moderate, and has been all the voyage : the thermometer at 72°, and has never been more. I find some delight in reading, and in preparing for my work by writing the Bengali ; only, however, because it relates to my great work. ' 30. Lord's day. A pleasant and profitable day. Our con- gregation composed of ten persons. But no good done yet. Lat. 21° 5'. ' July 1. But little wind. Had a long conversation with the deist to-day ; but never found a man so hardened and determin- 8 74 MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. ed to turn Scripture into ridicule as he. Oh how dreadfully depraved is human nature ! '5. But little wind. A busy day, but happy within. Yet a most unprofitable creature. I have need to read the word of God more ; and, above all, I want a heart to feed upon it. ' 7. Lord's day. A pleasant, and I hope a profitable one. Our congregation increased by one. Had much sweetness and enjoyment of God. ' 10 — 21. Contrary winds, by which we were detained, and prevented from making much progress. Was very ill, owing to a bilious complaint, and obstructed perspiration, which is very dangerous in hot countries. Find my mind somewhat drawn out to God, but in general quite spiritless. On the 21st passed the Line, and the whole day was spent by the sailors in mirth : but my soul was sad. '23 — Aug. 2. Last night passed the trojoic of Capricorn. This time has been filled up with various exercises of mind. I have in general reason to mourn that I have no more of the spiritual warfare maintained in my soul, and no more commun- ion with God. I feel myself to be much declined upon the whole, in the more spiritual exercises of religion ; yet have had some pleasant exercises of soul, and feel my heart set upon the great work upon which I am going. Sometimes I am quite dejected when I see the impenetrability of the hearts of those with us. They hear us preach on the Lord's day, but we are forced to witness their disregard to God all the week. O may God give us greater success among the heathen. I am very desirous that my children may pursue the same work ; and now intend to bring up one in the study of Sanscrit, and another of Persian. O may God give them grace to fit them for the work ! I have been much concerned for fear the power of the Company should oppose us ; but though we have spent much time in contriving, we have at last concluded to apply to them for land to settle upon, and leave the success with God. ' 20. Nothing very material having occurred since we passed the tropic of Capricorn, I have not written any account ; but this day we are oflTthe Cape of Good Hope. We expected to MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. 75 have gone iii there ; on account of which, I had written to friends in England some time since : but now, having some hopes of arriving in Bengal before the breaking up of the nionsoon, we pass by. I have some reason to regret tliis, as I had hopes of persuading one of the ministers there to engage in a correspondence with England: but the Lord is wise. I have reason to lament over a barrenness of soul, and am some- times much discouraged ; for if I am so dead and stupid, how can I expect to be of any use among the heathen ? Yet I have of late felt some very lively desires after the success of our undertaking. If there is any thing engages my heart in prayer to God, it is that the heathen may be converted, and that the society which has so generously exerted itself may be en- couraged, and excited to go on with greater vigor in the important midertaking. My wife, through mercy, is well satisfied with our undertaking, and we are all now in remarkably good health. Our course was by the islands of Trinidad, Saxem- burg, Tristan D'Acuuha, and then from lat. 27° S., Ion. 29° W., due east to this place. '25. A very pleasant day; had much enjoyment in public worship. But about half past one on Monday morning, was awakened by the violent motion of the ship, and in about half an hour was informed that she had carried away her main-top and fore-top masts. I went upon deck, where a dreadful scene presented itself; the masts and rigging hanging over the side, and the ship violently rolling and pitching. Once I thought she must have gone down ; but through mercy all were preserved. ' 29. All day a hard gale. 'Nov. 9, 1793. From the time of my last journal to this, nothing of so much importance occurred as to be worth re- cording. I think that I have had more liberty in prayer, and more converse with God, than for some time before ; but have, notwithstanding, been a very unfruitful creature, and so remain. For near a month we have been within two hundred miles of Bengal, but the violence of the currents set us back when we have been at the very door. I hope I have learned the neces- sity of bearing up in the things of God against wind and tide, when there is occasion, as we have done in our voj^age. We have had our jiort in view all along, and there has been every 76 MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. attention paid to ascertain our situation by solar and lunar ob- servations : no opportunity occurred that was neglected. Oh that I was but as attentive to the evidence of my state, as they to their situation ! A ship sails within six points of the wind; that is, if the wind blow from the north, a ship will sail E. N. E. upon one tack, and W. N. W. upon the other : if our course is north, we must therefore go E. N. E. for a considerable way, then W. N. W. ; and if the wind shifts a point, the ad- vantage is immediately taken. Now, though this is tiresome work, and (especially if a current sets against us) we scarcely make any way; nay, sometimes, in spite of all that we can do, we go backwards instead of forwards ; yet it is absolutely necessary to keep working up, if we ever mean to arrive at our port. So in the Christian life, we often have to work against wind and currents ; but we must do it if we expect ever to make our port. Mr. Carey to the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel amongst the Heathen : 'Bay of Bengal, 17th Oct., 1793. 'Dear Brethren, ' Twice before this have I written, in expectation of an op- portunity to send to you, but was disappointed. Once was in the Bay of Biscay, by the frigate which convoyed us on ; but when she parted with us, the sea ran too high to send a boat. Again, we expected to put in at the Cape of Good Hope ; but as there was a prospect of arriving at Bengal before the change of the monsoon, we did not put in there, or any where else. Thus far, through the mercy of God, we are arrived safe, and all in good health. Thinking we shall be engaged after we arrive, I begin my letter here. ' The whole of our stay in England is known to you, and all that befell us. We waited at Dover till Thursday morning, the 13th of June, when we were called up, and saw the ship lying off the harbor. About five o'clock we came on board, and met with the greatest civility, which has continued till this day. The ship is called Kron Princessa Maria, Captain J. Christmas, an Englishman, whose own are the ship and cargo, one of the most polite, accomplished gentlemen that ever bore the name of a sea-captain. He immediately ordered MEMOIR OF DR. CARET. 77 the great cabin to be separated, that we might be accommoda- ted ; so that we have a large cabin, half the width of the ship, with sash windows, and the sides papered, besides a smaller one. Mr. Thomas has likewise a cabin ; and though we went for so small a sum (the other passengers paid 100 guineas), yet no kind of distinction has been observed, but we have all met with the same kind treatment. Four men passengers ac- companied us, two of them English and two French. One of the Frenchmen is the most presumptuous, hardened deist I ever saw or heard of I have almost every day been engaged in disputes with him, but to no purpose ; his dernier resort is to turn all into badinage. His credit, however, has sunk very much in the ship on that very account. The captain is a man of very extensive reading, but never meddles with any thing written upon religion : he is half brother to lady Langham, of Cottesbrooke. The men are Danes and Norwegians ; and if there is no religion among, them, there is nmch less irreligion and profaneness than among the English. Our first mate is son of a superintendent of a district of Norway ; and, from what I can learn, there is more real godliness among the estab- lished Lutherans of those countries, than in the English estab- lishment. They seem to be more on a level with the Scots ; but toleration is more extensive there than in England, for no civil penalties or disabilities are imposed upon any people for re- ligion. ' Our voyage has been, upon the whole, very agreeable and pleasant, though we have had some rough weather, and ex- perienced many great deliverances. June 13th, sailed from Dover ; 15th, in the Bay of Biscay ; 24th, fell in with the trade- wind ; 25th, passed the island of Madeira ; 27th, passed Pal- ma, one of the Canaries ; saw Gomorra and Tera, but could not see TenerifFe : saw flying-fish. 29th, passed the tropic of Cancer ; heat 72°. July 2d, becalmed between Cape Verd Island and Africa; heat 86°. 21st, passed the Line. Aug. 1st, passed the tropic of Capricorn; 20th, oflT the Cape of Good Hope: our course was by the islands of Trinidad, Saxemburg, Tristan D'Acunha; thence, from lat. 72° S., Ion. 29° W., straight to the Cape. Hitherto, our voyage had been very prosperous, and nothing of a disastrous nature had happened ; but in the morning of the 26th, we had a very distressing ac- 8* 78 MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. cident. A bank extends about eighty leagues into the sea, from Cape des Aquilas, the most southern part of Africa, upon which runs a very strong current, which, when it meets the wind, raises the sea in a very tremendous manner. We were, in S. lat. 38°, and thought ourselves secm-e from that danger ; but, about one in the morning, I was awakened by the violent rolling of the ship, and found stools, tables, &c., rolling about the cabin, and presently pots, glasses, and every thing in the ship, not secured, were crashing at once. 1 arose, and put all to rights in our cabin, and was just got into bed again, when Mr. Thomas came to the door, and told me we had carried away our main and fore-top masts. I begged my wife and children to keep in bed, for fear of having their bones bro- ken, and went upon deck, where the scene was shocking in- deed. Li the night (though very providentially the moon shone) the sea rose like mountains, beating the ship in all di- rections, the masts, yards, sails, and rigging hanging over the sides, and beating against the ship, and the men upon them in every part to unrig them and let them loose. All on board have uniformly declared they never saw any thing like it, and at one time we concluded she was going to the bottom. Our ship is about 130 feet long in the keel, burthen about 600 tons ; she was mounted on the top of a sea which could not be less than fifty or sixty yards in height, from which she descended head-foremost, almost perpendicular, or quite as nearly so as the roof of a house. I saw her going, and with others conclu- ded she could not recover it. I had but a moment to reflect ; I felt resigned to the will of God ; and to prevent being tossed overboard by the motion, caught hold of what was nearest to me. The plunge was dreadful. Her bowsprit was under water, and the jib-boom, which is fastened to the bow- sprit, was carried away. But, in a moment, she recovered the plunge, and mounted upon another sea, without shipping a hogshead of water. At last, we cleared the wreck and set our main-sail, which kept the ship a little steady. In four days after this, we had a violent gale ; but, except the uncomfort- able rolling of the ship, we sustained no damage. It took us eleven days to repah- our loss ; and, only two days after that, a violent squall carried away our new main-top mast. Our fore-top mast was weak, and would not bear a gallant-mast ; MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. 79 SO that we were forced to put up a tung mast, for the main-top mast ; and as the ship was victualled for fom* months only, and we had but little water left, we determined to go into the Mauritius to refit, but strong northerly winds prevented our going that way. With care we came to this place. The rains have supplied us with plenty of water ; and, except a black woman and child, who were very ill when they came on board, and died off the Cape of Good Hope, and the carpenter, who, by his great exertions in our misfortunes, caught cold, to which a pleurisy succeeded, followed by the scurvy, of which he died when we were within six days' sail of Bengal : we have had good health. Our infant has thrived more than if it had been on land, and the children are as well satisfied. ' We have not been entirely destitute of religious opportuni- ties. Family w=orship has been constantly attended, and every Lord's day we had preaching twice in our cabin. Our con- gregation consisted sometimes of six people besides our own family : they consisted of Holsteins, Norwegians, Danes, En- glish, Flemish, and French, or rather one of each. With respect to religious persuasions, they were Lutherans, papists, and Calvinists. We had some very pleasant seasons ; but have been of no use, that I know of Many private seasons I have enjoyed of great pleasure, and have a growing satisfaction in having undertaken this work, and a growing desire for its suc- cess ; though I feel so much barrenness, and so little lively continual sense of divine things upon my mind, that I almost despair of ever being of any use. But in general I feel a pleasure in the thought that Christ has promised to be with his ministers until the end of the world, and that as our day is, so shall our strength be. I have often felt much pleasure in recollecting the times of public worship in the churches in England, and reflecting that hundreds, if not thousands, are now praying for me. You will also easily believe that my friends have not been forgotten by me on these occasions. Your ten o'clock in the morning is our four in the afternoon, there being six hours difference of time between you and us. 'Mr. Thomas has labored indefatigably in translating the book of Genesis, which he has now accomplished. We ex- pect in a few days to join Ram Boshoo and Parbotee. 80 MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. ' I hope the society will go on and increase, and that the multitudes of heathen in the world may hear the glorious words of truth. Africa is but a little way from England ; Madagascar but a little way further ; South America, and all the numerous and large islands in the Indian and Chinese seas, I hope will not be passed over. A large field opens on every side, and millions of perishing hea- thens, tormented in this life by idolatry, superstition, and ignorance, and exposed to eternal miseries in the world to come, are pleading ; yea, all their miseries plead as soon as they are known, with every heart that loves God, and with all the churches of the living God. Oh, that many laborers may be thrust out into the vineyard of our Lord Jesus Christ, and that the Gentiles may come to the knowledge of the truth as it is in Him ! ' You will do us very great service, if you send us a poly- glott Bible (there is one at Collis's) by the next conveyance. Ram Boshoo is a good Persian scholar, and it will certainly help us much. If you can get a copy of the gospels in Malay, it will be a help to us. I would wish you to send all that are published of Curtis's Botanical Magazine, and Sowerby's En- glish Botany, from 11 Cmtis, and No. 31 Sowerby. Contmue sending them regularly, and deduct what they cost from my allowance. Whatever is published of note in England, es- pecially among the Baptists, I hope you will be sure to send ; and, in return, I hope we may be able to send you tidings that will rejoice your hearts.' * JVbvemfeer 14. ' After beating about, and driven back by currents for nearly a month, we arrived in Balasore roads, on the 7th instant, and on the 10th, Mr. Thomas and I began our labors. We came in a ponsowah from the ship, and at slack water we lay to at a bazar or market, when Mr. T. preached to the people. They left their merchandise, and listened for three hours with great attention. One of them prepared us a dinner, which we had on a plantain-leaf for dish and plates; and instead of knives and forks, we used our fingers. When we left them, they de- sired us to come again. MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. 81 ' Poor Ram Boshoo was waiting for us, but, to our grief, has been bowing to idols again.* He was forsaken by European Christians, and discarded by Hindus, and he says, ' I was very ill; nothing to support me or my family: all said Mr. T. would not return. I knew the Roman Catholics worshipped idols ; I thought that I had seen but a small part of the Bible ; perhaps the worship of images might be commanded in some part of it ; but it was for a piece of bread, and I still love Christianity the best.' ' 25th. Ram Boshoo still keeps close to us. I have engaged him as a mounshi. I am also much pleased with his conver- sation. We also hear that Parbotee stands well, and that he and Mohun Chund are coming down to us. We are, to-day, making application to the governor, for uncultivated lands to settle upon ; which, if we can obtain them, will be an asylum for those who lose caste for the gospel's sake. I have had several conversations with a Brahmun who speaks English well, and, being unable to defend himself against the gospel, intends to come attended by a pundit, and try the utmost of their strength. ' Having so many letters to write, I must leave off. We are all well. The climate at this, which is the cold season, is not disagreeable, except it be the great difference between the heat of day and night, which is often ten degrees ; but the heat is quite tolerable. Mr. T. will give an account of proper articles of trade to send out ; and as our families are so differ- ent, and I have the expense of a mounshi too, I hope the society will settle the proportion between us. The more I know, the more I love him. He is a very holy man ; but his faithfulness often degenerates into personality: though not to me, for we live in the greatest love. My family is well. All join m love to you, your people, all ministers and Christians that you see or write to, and the society especially. ' I am yours, most affectionately, ' To Mr. Fuller. ' W. Carey.' * This was a Hindu who, Mr. Thomas hoped, was converted by his labors when before in India. 82 MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. To HIS Sisters. ' Bandell, Dec. ith, 1793. 'Dear Sisters, ' You are, undoubtedly, very desirous to hear of me and my family; and though I have nothing of any consequence to communicate, yet I take the fii-st opportunity of writing to you. The wonderful leadings of Providence, in so ordering it that my whole family should come with me, you are ac- quainted with. ' We sailed from Dover, June 13th, and arrived all safe and well at Calcutta, the capital city of Bengal, on the 11th of November, after a voyage of five months all but two days ; all which time we never were out of the ship, though we were in Europe, America, Africa, and Asia. ' Our captain was an Englishman, and half brother to Lady Langham. His original name was Smith ; but now he is a naturalized Dane, and his name is changed to Christmas. We found him a remarkably kind, attentive man ; and, excepting one or two days, in which we lost our top-masts through the violence of the sea, and several long and tedious calms, our voyage was very pleasant and agreeable. The childi-en were complete sailors; and the women were much better than I ever expected. 'We had opportunities of family worship every day, and preachmg on Lord's days ; and though our congregation was but small, yet I trust we were not without enjoyment of God, and his blessing. No one was converted, nor any good done that I know of, yet the work was to us a reward. ' I am more and more convinced of the real piety of Mr. Thomas, though he is a man of like passions Avith others. And now that we are upon land, we preach in our own fami- lies, and are at present much occupied in settling ourselves in this situation. The place where we live is about thirty miles from Calcutta, and is a Portuguese settlement. Here we in- tend to reside. All the people are Catholics and Mahomedans ; but many Hindus are at the distance of a mile or two ; so that there is work enough for us here ; and ten thousand ministers would find full employment to publish the gospel. ' The country is amazingly populous, and the inhabitants are very attentive. It is astonishing to see the different kinds MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. 83 of business carried on, and the diligence of the people. They are remarkably talkative and curious ; but, go where you will, you are sure to see something of an idolatrous kind ; flowers, trees, or little temples by the way-side, consecrated to religious uses ; and I have seen two or three who have swimg by flesh- hooks, with the mark in their backs : yet they are very willing to hear, and you are sure of a congregation, go where you will. Li short, every thing combines to encourage us ; and to see such kind people so ignorant and brutish, is enough to stir up any one who has any love for Christ in his heart. ' The country is very fruitful, but more than half uncultiva- ted. We have now many sorts of fi-uits unknown in England. Pine-apples grow under the hedges. It is now the height of harvest with us. The days are as hot as June in England ; but the nights are as cold as September. All Bengal is a flat country, with not a hill in it, and scarcely a stone. Wild beasts are plentiful. Jackals are every where. Mrs. Thomas had a favorite little dog, for which she had been offered 200 rupees, carried off" from the door by one, while we were at prayer one evening, and the door open. Yet they never at- tack man. Serpents abound. To-day I found the skin of one, about six feet long, which was just cast off* in my garden. We have no tigers nearer than eight or ten miles, and indeed have no more fear of them than you have in England. Upon the whole, it is a charming country. ' I have no doubt but I shall soon learn the language. Ram Boshoo, my mounshi or interpreter, is a very sensible man, and, I hope, a very pious man. I have not yet seen Parbotee, but expect soon to have him down here. I have great hope of success ; but their superstitions are very numerous, and their attachment to their caste so strong, that they would rather die than lose it upon any account. This is one of the strongest bonds that ever the devil used to bind the souls of men ; and di-eadfully effectual it is indeed. May God put on his great power, and attend his word with great success ! 'I hope your souls are prospering, and pray you not to be too much attached to this present world. It will soon perish, and then they who sow to the flesh will find that to be car- nally minded is death. Embrace Christ, with all the conse- quences of Christianity, and commit all your ways to the 84 MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. Lord. Choose affliction always rather than sin ; and let it be your daily business to walk near to God, and to endure as seeing him who is invisible. ' For my own part, I must confess my wretched carnality, indolence, and worldliness ; yet, if I find satisfaction in any thing, it is in the things of God, and in the exercises of re- ligion. ' I am at present incapable of preaching to the Hindus. I am unacquainted with their language ; and my whole congi-e- gation is om- two families ; so that the work of the ministry is to me yet a very dull work ; yet I find some sweet pleasures in it, notwithstanding ; and I promise myself much, when I am able to go and publish among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ. ' I am your most affectionate brother, 'Wm. Carey.' CHAPTER III SECTION I. THE UNUSUALLY TRYING CIRCUMSTANCES OF MR. CAREY WHILE IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD OF CALCUTTA LETTER TO MR. SUT- CLIFF HIS REMOVAL INTO THE SUNDERBUNDS THE TIMELY HOSPITALITIES HE RECEIVES SUBSEQUENT DEJECTION AND PERPLEXITIES HE IS RELIEVED AND COMFORTED BY AN IN- VITATION TO MALDA. The compiler cannot open to the reader the ensuing chapter without bespeaking his candor, by intimating the serious dif- ficulty he experienced in the selection of its contents. There were some delicate points, which, upon first consideration, it seemed desirable to escape from noticing. Facts are called into review, which a feeling heart would rather wish to con- ceal, and even to obliterate ; a mere advertence to which may convey such reflection upon individuals, that Christian charity may not very easily tolerate. Yet, silently to pass over every incident and every characteristic remark, how important soever it might be to the design of such a volume, because of their seemingly unfriendly aspect upon particular persons, would have thrown this part of the narrative into so very general a style, and have required the substitution of so much vague and editorial, for vivid autobiographical composition, as to have marred its interest, if it did not interfere with its integrity. The embarrassments and afflictions to which Mr. Carey was subject the first year and a half from his arrival in India, were such as few have encountered in modern times, and which, yet, were borne with a holy heroism and a pious constancy, entitling him to the admiration of the Christian world. So much so, that the ardor and the patience he evinced, in pur- 9 86 MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. suing the paramount objects of his mission, and in sustaining the adversities surrounding him, would justify an apostoUc declaration in his case: 'None of these things move me ; nei- ther count I my life dear unto myself; so that I may finish my course with joy, and the ministry I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God.' The reader will remember, that Mrs. Carey, in the fii'st instance, refused, and was afterwards, with much difficulty, pre- vailed upon to accompany her husband. Though at length she yielded to the entreaties of Mr. Thomas, her acquiescence was reluctant, and her devotion to the work but partial. When severe trials arose, therefore, as they soon did upon their landing in India, she was quite unequal to their en- durance. Their resources, slender from the first, were fast exhausting ; their little comforts, becoming more circumscribed and scaiity, were every hour diminishing, without the least prospect of replenishment from any known source. But will not the Christian female be slow to censure, and be rather tender to commiserate ? A mother, with a young and infant family, in a foreign land, without the presence of a single friend to soothe her, or the power of uttering or miderstanding a sentence beyond the limits of her household, the very abode they lodged in, incommodious as it was, secured to them only by the daily sufferance of a native. Week after week passed away, until they were brought almost to the brink of starvation. Let it be remembered, too, that every thing in her former life and her physical constitution, was unfavorable to the stern and sublime exercise of the Christian virtues to which her circum- stances now called her. Brought up in an obscure village, without any advantages of mental, and few of religious culture, with a spirit unusually timid, and a bodily frame always feeble, it was no wonder she should be dismayed when such trials befell her, as might make ev^en firm and disciplined minds falter and quail. Besides all this, it is now past doubt that the incipient inroads of monomania, which so distracted the last years of her life, and the malignant influence of which con- tinued to her death, was unhinging her intelligence, and corroding her passions. And this is the main plea of the compiler for introducing a subject of such painful delicacy. Had this been clearly apprehended by Mr. Carey, at the time MEMOIR OF DR, CAREY. 87 the events of which we are now describing-, melancholy as was the fact, it would in some degree, have eased the angtiish of his heart, it being certain that the bitter anxiety she occa- sioned him then, and to the close of her life, was justly imputable to her awful malady, and not to be reckoned as her sin. -AnQthei;_agLictioii, and almost equally severe with that just brought into view, which exercised the patience of Mr. Carey, arose from the character of his companion. He was unthink- ing, unthrifty, versatile, and capricious ; characteristics the very opposite of those which constituted the mind and deter- mined the conduct of Mr. Carey. He was deliberate, frugal, and self-denying ; clearly defining to himself some great mas- ter object, and pursuing it, through fire and through water ; whilst, in all minor interests, he was compliant to the will of others, and was always ready to resign the secularities of life to any one disposed to assume their management. The little money they had in hand was in Mr. Thomas's keeping, who took his measures, and disbursed funds, almost independently of the advice, and frequently with too little apparent regard to the comfort, of his friend. Having been twice a resident in India before, it was not surprising that, in temporal arrangements, and during the early part of their residence, Mr. Carey should defer to his opinion, and yield himself to his guidance. This was so far the case, that in a few months they were all reduced to destitution. He also appeared for a time as though disposed to relinquish the mission, and actually commenced business in his own profession. Not that his companion conceived him to entertain any purpose of ultimately renouncing their united work ; but a temporary and seeming recession from it, was to him a source of most poignant sorrow. Nevertheless, he always referred to Mr. Thomas with marked tenderness, and attributed those parts of his conduct most difficult to interpret, and most destructive to his own comfort, to some infelicity in his constitutional temperament, rather than to any deliberate pur- pose of. doing wrong, or of acting unkindly. When we recur to Mr. Thomas in a subsequent part of this work, the reader will meet with the true solution of what at this period may seem eccentric in his character, and strangely erratic in his de- meanor. Those notices, in the mean time, which may present 88 MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. him in a light, less gratifying than that in which a benevolent mind would desire to view him, must be perused with forbear- ing tenderness. Long and circumstantial religious diaries are a species of composition, to many readers, not very agreeable or edifying. That they may be serviceable, in some instances, to those who keep them, may be easily conceived. A faithful record and a rigid review of our religious experience and affections, may be helpful to a better control of our minds and deportment in future : but that great circumspection is needful, in those who preserve such memorials of their spiritual life, is evident ; nor less so, that great patience is ordinarily required in those who read them. The often reiterated and severe animadversions of David Brainerd, upon his own mental feelings and conflicts, are tiresome and oppressive. He was imitated to an extreme by Mr. Martyn ; though the copy is a great improvement upon the original, it being far less tedious, and in a measure freed from its irrelievable gloom. With how much more of that ' hope ' by which ' we are saved ' does a person rise from pe- rusing the memior of Jesus Christ, given by the Evangelists, than he attains by the study of that of his servant above refer- red to ! Before Mr. Carey left England, he was deeply imbued with North American theology. President Edwards, its great master, was his admired author. The strong and absorbing view in which he exhibited some leading principles in the systeni of revealed truth, seeming so clearly to explode the errors of Arminianism on the one hand, and of pseudo-Calvinism on the other, and to throw such a flood of irresistible light on the mediatorial dispensation, as perfectly cai)tivated, and almost entranced, the ministerial circle with which Mr. Carey was connected. David Brainerd was supposed, by President Ed- wards, to exemplify and irradiate the main features of his own system. This, indeed, was a principal reason why he com- piled the history of his religious experience and labors: and hence it became the constant manual of the devoted admirers of that gi-eat man's theological system; v/hilst its intrinsic worth, as offering a sublime and experimental display of re- ligious affections, through a scene of arduous labor and patient suffering, rendered it the devotional guide of multi- MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. tudes who remained strangers to that grand theory of evan- gelical sentiment it was conceived to illustrate. Dr. Ryland, the intimate friend of the subject of this memoir, was often heard to. say, that ' Brainerd's life ranked with him next to his Bible.' In his esteem of this eminent saint and prince of mis- sionaries, Mr. Carey was not behind him. His trials, during the early period of his residence in India, were not inferior to those of Brainerd ; they were even more severe, complicated, and perplexing, and the religious devotion he manifested under them Avas equally pure, if not equally intense. Of this the read- er will presently have proof I have simply desired to record so much of his experience as appeared relevant to his mis- sion ; so much of his pleasures or his pains, his hopes or his fears, his successes or his disappointments, as met him while pursuing the grand purpose of his life : for the missionary spirit was so much incorporated with all he thought, and felt, and did, that to commemorate the missioiiary, is to describe the Christian. ' Nov. 9th, 1793. To-day was the first time of an interview with the Hindus. Two boats came to sell us fish ; and Mr. T. asked the men in one of them, whether they had any shastras? Their answer was, ' We are poor men ; those who have many cowries (or are rich) read the shastras, but we do not know them.' I like their appearance very much : they appear to be intelligent persons, though of the lowest caste ; rather beneath the middle stature, and apparently attentive to whatever was said to them. We have not yet been ashore ; but on Monday we intend, God willing, to go. O may my heart be prepared for our work, and the kingdom of Christ be set up among the poor Hindus ! ' 1794, Jan. 13. For these two months past, I have seen nothing but a continual moving to and fro. For three weeks w^e were at Calcutta selling our venture ; but the great expense into which Mr. T. had inadvertently given, of servants, &c., filled my mind with anxiety and wretchedness ; and the con- tinual hurry of business took up all my time, and preyed upon my soul: so that the prospect of worldly poverty, and the want of a sense of divine things, filled me with constant dis- content and restlessness of mind. We therefore went an excursion into the country, when we had the offer of either 9* 90 MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. buying or renting a house at Bandell. Wc thougiit at first of purchasing ; but, the time approaching when we must pay, and money not being at hand, we changed our minds ; and, from that moment, my mind was fully determined to go up into the country, and build me a hut, and live like the natives. Mr. T. had entertained thoughts of settling in his professibn at Calcutta, on account of his creditors ; but, upon my deter- mination to go up the country, he resolved not to leave me. One day, however, he went to Calcutta, and while he was there, he was informed by captain Christmas, that the Com- pany had been looking out for a person of botanical .ability, to superintend the Company's garden. Being advertised of this, I went to Calcutta, but found the station disposed of already. Mr. T. having determined to reside there, I inquired of a Banian whether land could be procured near Calcutta, who informed me that it might. I went, therefore, and we brought our families down to Calcutta again ; he in expectation of settling there, and I in expectation of having land to settle tipon. Upon our arrival, I found that I had only been trifled with about land, and that no free land could be got now. The Banian offered me to live in his garden-house, till some could begot; at which house I now am, at Manicktullo, and have sent a trusty old native to procure jungle land, at Deharta, about sixteen coss, or thirty-two miles, from Calcutta, to the eastward, where, if I succeed, I intend to build a bungalow, or straw-house, and cultivate about fifty or one hundred biggahs of land. The uncle of Ram Boshoo being zemindar in that place, I have hope of succeeding ; but have had much trial for both faith and patience. I shall be thirty-two miles from Mr. T. My wife, and sister too, who do not see the importance of the mission as I do, are continually exclaiming against me ; and as for Mr. T., they think it very hard indeed that he should live in a city, in an affluent manner, and they be forced to go into a wilderness, and live without many of what they call the necessaries of life, bread in particular. But I not only am convinced of the impossibility of hving in Calcutta, but also of the importance of a missionary being like, and living amongst, his people. The success of future missions, also, lies near my heart ; and I am fearful lest the great expense of sending out my family should be a check upon the zeal of the MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. 91 society : how much more, if I should now live upon a European plan, and incur greater charge. Now I see the value of faith, in some measure, and think I feel more than ordinary sweet- ness in the word of God. O may I again taste the sweets of social religion, which I have given up, and see, in this land of darkness, a people formed for God ! ' Mr. Carey describes some of the painful circumstances of his predicament at this time, in a letter to his friend, Mr. SutclifF. ManicktuUo, Jan. 3, 1794. ' My dear Brother, * I shall not be able to communicate more to you by this, than what you will hear through the medium of other letters sent to England ; yet, I think I should be wanting in friendship if I neglected to write to you, especially considering the ties of Christian affection by which I am bound to you. ' Our voyage was very long, as you will find from my letter to the society, but it was also very agreeable ; though the com- pany on board a ship is the most injurious to the soul that can be conceived. All is carnal gentility, and religion is the furthest from their thoughts of any thing in the world. 'We arrived at Calcutta on the 11th of November, and have been in an unsettled state ever since. We found Mrs. T. in a house there ; but the expense of living there being very great, we removed to Bandell. This was, however, a place where we could not enter into that state which missionaries should live in, namely, a state of similarity to that of the people among whom they labor : we, therefore, intended going further up the country, and mixing with the natives; but one of Mr. Thomas's creditors had sent his bond to India, and he is not sure that others have not done the same, so that he is in perpetual danger of being put under an arrest. In this state of perplexity, we knew not what to do. We went to Nuddea, and he, myself, and Mounshi sought the Lord by prayer for direction. Several of the most learned Pundits and Brahmuns much wished us to settle there ; and, as that is the great place for eastern learning, we seemed inclined, especially as it is the bulwark of heathen- ism, which, if once carried, all the rest of the country must be laid open to us. Our captain had promised to apply to some U2 MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. of the Company's officers for waste lands for us to settle upon; we therefore agreed to wait till we heard of his success. In the mean time, several of Mr. Thomas's friends entreated him to settle at Calcutta, and follow his profession ; and some of the most opulent natives offered him their business, and at the same time expressed a desire that we would settle there, and instruct them, especially as there are 200,000 natives or more in this town, besides the suburbs, which are as populous as the environs of London. He was afraid of his creditors, who, if he did no business, would be quite out of patience ; yet, determin- ed to go with me if I went up the country. While we were hesitating, he went down to Calcutta, where he was informed that waste land could not be obtained of the Company ; but the captain had often spoken of me as a person of botanical taste, and had lent a botanical work of mine to one who is high in the service. He desired that I might call upon him, which I did ; when I found that a person of botanical taste had been sought for some time, to superintend a part of the Company's botanical garden, but that a person had lately been put into it. He invited me to dine with him, and offered me considerable kindness ; and there is reason to suppose, that I may be pre- sented with a place there. This, concurring with other cir- cumstances above mentioned, induced Mr. T. to determine upon Calcutta for his residence ; and I intend to take land of Brahmuns, or other natives, and settle in the neighborhood, and wait till I see the event of things. You see that I have not been following my own plan ; but I confess that I have com- plied with Mr. T.'s wishes contrary to my own private judg- ment. I think it the most practicable of any, notwithstanding; and am, myself, going to adopt it immediately, unless the Lord should appear, and more liberally supply me, by giving me the employment I mentioned. This would be a pleasant and pro- fitable amusement, and would take up very little of my time. This, however, I leave with God. 'I have already learned so much of the language, as to miderstaud a few phrases, and many words ; but having so many who speak English about me, is a disadvantage. The characters are about six hundred, which I send you a specimen r\-r ^ Tf vf' 9F 7p ^ ' Since I have been here, my family has been much afflicted : MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. 93 my wife and two eldest children have been very ill for a month past, and my eldest son is now far from being out of danger. These things are a great affliction, and severely felt ; but I trust that all will work for good, and in the end bring forth fruit to the praise and glory of God. Through divine mercy, I have all along enjoyed very good health, and so has my sister; the rest of us are all much better, except Felix. If my family were but hearty in the work, I should find a great burden removed ; but the carnal discourse of the passage, and the pomp and grandeur of Europeans here, have intoxicated their minds, so as to make them unhappy in one of the finest countries in the world, and lonely in the midst of a hundred thousand people- These are burdens and afflictions to me ; but I bless God that I faint not ; and when my soul can drink her fill at the word of God, I forget all. Mr. T. is a very good man, but only fit to live at sea, where his daily business is before him, and daily provision made for him. I own, I fear that his present under- taking will be hurtful rather than useful to him: the fickleness of liis mind makes him very unfit for such an undertaking. I love him, and we live in the greatest harmony ; but I confess that Ram Boshoo is much more a man after my heart. He is a faithful counsellor, and a discerning man. He is very inquisitive and intelligent, tliough, I am sorry to say, his timidity has been a snare to him. He is, I doubt not, a truly converted man ; and if he wants any thing, it is zeal. I have been seriously talking with him to-day, and hope that in a little time I may see a church formed for God ; but time alone can show this. The superstitions and religious follies of this people I know too little of to say much about, and long obser- vation alone can tell precisely what they are. They worship one God, and have tolerable notions of his moral perfections, except that they uniformly believe him to be the cause of sin. Their ideas of redemption are very confused. All their sup- posed gods are good men departed, or useful creatures ; and they suppose that offerings made to them are acceptable to God. Polygamy is very common, but lying and cheating are their national character. As I observe more, I shall communi- cate more. 'I hope, when you sold my furniture, you did not forget to pay yourself what I was indebted to you. But I must conclude, 94 MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. with my warmest love to all your friends, all ministers of my acquaintance, and all who love God ; but, esx^ecially, I am very affectionately yours, W. Carey.' 'Rev. J. Sutcliff;01ney.' Journal continued. ' Jan. 15, 16. On the first of these days, I received an ac- count that I may have as much land as I please, for three years, for nothing, and after that, to pay a small rent per annum. 1 therefore went to Mr. T. to consult him, and to obtain money ; when I found that my all was expended, and that Mr. T. was already in debt. I was much dejected at this. I am in a strange land, alone, no Christian friend, a large family, and nothing to supply their Avants. I blame Mr. T. for leading me into such expense at first, and I blame myself for being led ; though I acceded to what I much disapjproved of, because I thought he knew the country better, and was in earnest to go and live up the country ; and that, for a week or two, while we sold our venture, it would be a greater expense to have a separate house and servants than for us to live together. I am dejected, not for my own sake, but my family's, and his, for whom [ tremble. He is now at the certain expense of £400 per annum ; and unless he has speedy practice, he must be irrecoverably involved. I must borrow five hundred rupees, if I can ; with which 1 intend to build a hut or two, and retire to the wilderness. There are many serpents and tigers, but Christ has said his followers shall take up serpents, &c., unhurt. ' 1794, Jan. 17. Went to Calcutta to Mr. T. for money, but to no purpose. Was very much dejected all day. Have no relish for any thing of the world, yet am swallowed up in its cares. Towards evening, had a pleasant view of the all-suf- ficiency of God, and the stability of his promises, which much relieved my mind ; and as I walked home in the night, was enabled to roll my soul and all my cares in some measure on God. On my coming home, I found all much more calm than I expected ; for which I bless God, and pray that he may direct us into the patient waiting for Christ. What a mercy it is to have a God ; and how miserable must they be who have no knowledge of or value for the throne of grace ! MEMOIR OF DR. CARET. 95 ' 18. I find the ardor of my mind after divine things less, and my soul too much swallowed up with the things of this present world. O that I could live entirely to and for God! ' 19. This day, as every Sabbath since we have been in the country, we went among the natives. For these three last Lord's days we have discoursed to a pretty large congregation at Manicktullo bazaar or market; for we have just the same business done here on that day as any other. Our congrega- tion consisted principally of Mahomedans, and has increased every Lord's day. They are very inquisitive, and we have ad- dressed them upon the subject of the gospel with the greatest freedom, and in the following manner. A burial-place, with a consecrated tomb, where offerings are daily made to the spirit of the departed person, was near ; some inquiries about the reason of their offerings were made, which led on to questions on their part ; and then the gospel and the Koran insensibly became the subject of conversation. They alleged the divine original of the Koran ; we inquired, ' Have you ever seen or read it ? ' The universal answer was, No ! But to-day a man came who pretended to have seen it. We asked him if he knew the beginning of every chapter, for the chapters all begin with these words : ' In the name of God, gracious and merci- ful ; ' but he said no, for it was written in Arabic, and no one could understand it. The question now was, ' Then how can you obey it ? ' and ' wherefore are you Mahomedans ? ' To this they could not reply. They said, and so says the Koran, that the Koran was sent to confirm the words of Scripture. We insisted that the Bible said, ' Whosoever shall add to or dimin- ish from the word of God, shall be under the curse of God;' but the Koran was written after the Bible, and pretends to divine authority ; therefore, if the gospel be true, Mahomed must be accursed, and the Koran of no authority ; and if the Bible be not true, the Koran cannot, for that, you say, was to confirm it. They answered, that the Jews and Christians had corrupted the Bible, which was the reason why God made the revelation by Mahomed. We answered, ' then how could the Koran come to confirm it? if it was corrupted, it needed cor- rection, not confirmation.' Being driven to the last shift, they said, 'Mahomed was the friend of God, but Esu, by whom they 96 MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. mean Jesus, was the spirit of God :' to which Mounshi shrewdly rephed, ' Then which would you think highest, your friend, or your soul or spirit?' All this they bore with great good temper; but what effect it may have, time must determine. Many more things were said to recommend the gospel, and the way of life by Christ; and as night came on we left them. '20. This has been a day of seeking money. Had an offer of a bungalow, belonging to the Company, at Deharta, till I can get a place made for myself and family : so that it has been a day of mercy, though, to my shame, of spiritual bar- renness. '21. Felt some pleasure in the morning in prayer, but all the rest of the day was at an awful distance from God. This evening I had a very profitable conversation with Mounshi about sjjiritual things ; and I do hope that he may one day be a veiy useful and eminent man. I am so well able to under- stand him, and he me, that we are determined to begin cor- recting the translation of Genesis to-morrow. ' 22. I am full of perplexity about temporal things ; but the word of God is sure, which abundantly promises every thing that 1 can want. My wife has, within this day or two, relapsed into her afHiction, and is much worse than she was before ; but in the mount the Lord is seen. I wish I had but more of God in my soul, and felt more submission in my heart to his will ; this would set me above all things else. I feel happy, however, in this, that I am in my work, and that is the work of God ; and the more I am employed in it, the more I find it a rich reward. ' 23. This day I feel what it is to have the testimony of a good conscience, even in the smallest matters. My temporal troubles remain just as they were. I have a place, but cannot remove my family to it for want of money. Mr. T. has now begim to set his face another way. At his motion I went to Calcutta ; then to Bandell, at which place all our money was expended. He ordered all the expenses, and lived in his own way ; to which I acceded, though sore against my will. He was inclined first, then determined, to practise surgery at Calcutta. I agreed to come and settle as near him as possible, though I had previously intended to go to Gowr, near Malda ; MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. 97 and all this that I might not be first in a breach of our mutual undertaking. Now he is buying, and selling, and living at the rate of I know not how much, I suppose 250 or 300 rupees per month, has twelve servants, and this day is talking of keep- mg his coach. I have remonstrated with him in vain, and I am almost afraid that he intends to throw up the mission. How all these things can be agreeable to a spiritual mind, I know not. But now all my friends are but one ; I rejoice, however, that he is all-sufficient, and can supply all my wants, spiritual and temporal. My heart bleeds for him, for my family, for the Society, whose steadfastness must be shaken by this report, and for the success of the mission, which must re- ceive a sad blow from this. But why is my soul disquieted within me ? Things may turn out better than I expect : every thing is known to God, and God cares for the mission. O for contentment, delight in God, and much of his fear before my eyes ! Bless God, I feel peace within, and rejoice in having undertaken the work, and shall, I feel I shall, if I not only labor alone, but even if I should lose my life in the undertaking. I anxiously desire the time when I shall so far know the language, as to preach in earnest to these poor people. ' 24. I wish to feel myself always in the exercise of a spirit of meekness, but feel it hard work. Yesterday my mind was much hurt to see what I thought a degree of selfishness in my friend, which amounted to an almost total neglect of me, my family, and the mission ; though I do not think he seriously intends to neglect either, but inadvertently runs into such things as make it impossible to attend to either. This morning went to visit a professor of religion to whom I was recom- mended at the Isle of Wight ; but, to my sorrow, found him at dice. From thence went to visit the Rev. .* He is an evangelical preacher of the Church of England, and received me with cool politeness. I staid near an hour with him ; found him a very sensible man ; but a marked disgust prevails, on both sides, between him and Mr. T, He carried himself as greatly my superior, and I left him without his having so much as asked me to take any refreshment, though he knew I had * This same gentleman, to his commendation we record it, became afterwards one of the best friends of the Baptist Mission. 10 98 MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. walked five miles in the heat of the sun. To-day found my mind more cahn, but tlie evening was turbulent and stormy. ' 25. Was employed in buying some necessaries for our re- moval into the wilderness, and after that was done, further en- gaged in correcting Genesis. There are some things that have no name in Bengali, being utterly unknown, as whales : but found no very great difficulties to-day. Have reason to bless God for a day of quietness and calmness, though I must mourn over my barrenness, and the strange stupidity of my heart. I have abundant cause for thankfulness, but have an unthankful heart. I feel pleasure in the work and ways of God, but have a disobedient soul. When will the Lord take full possession of my mind, and abide there for ever? '26. Lord's day. All the morning I had a most unpleasant time, but at last found much pleasure in reading Edwards on the Justice of God in the damnation of sinners. Then went to visit our congregation of natives again; they gave very great attention, and all the Mussulmans present (except the keeper of the consecrated place, and one or two fakirs) ac- knowledged that the offerings made to the Peer, or soul of the dead man whose tomb was consecrated, were made without any command, either in the Koran or elsewhere. The person who acted as priest or keeper of the place, was so ashamed when we told him that all the offerings were made to his belly, that he went away confounded with the laughter of the people. Their inquisitiveness and numbers increase ; and one Hindu appeared more than ordinarily anxious to know what was the right way. I wish that we might see some good fruit of our labors ; and doubt not but we shall soon have some reason to rejoice in the salvation of God. ' 27. This morning went to Bahayut to procure a boat to carry us over the lakes to the place wliere we hope to go. Through the delays of my companion, I have spent another month and done scarcely any thing, except that I have added to my knowledge of the language, and had opportunity of see- ing much more of the genius and disposition of the natives than I otherwise could have known. This day finished the correction of the first chapter of Genesis, which, Mounshi says, is rendered into very good Bengali. Just as we had finished MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. 99 it, a Pundit and another man from Nuddea came to see me. I sJiowed it to them, and the Pundit seemed much pleased with the account of the creation; only they have an imaginary place somewhere beneath the earth, and he thought that should have been mentioned likewise. I said that the earth was a planet, and that heavens and earth included all the ma- terial creation. There are several minutiae of geography and chronology which it is necessary to explain, as they have many superstitious opinions which enter deeply into their system of idolatry. '28. This morning I was at Calcutta. Again disappointed about money. Was much dejected and grieved. Advised with Mounshi, who is my trusty friend, but could find no set- tled plan. In the evening had much relief in reading over Mr. Fuller's charge to us at Leicester. The aflfection there mani- fested almost overcame my spirits, for I have not been accus- tomed to sympathy of late. O ! I think again, I am not only ready to be offered, so as to suffer any thing, but if 1 be of- fered, upon the service and sacrifice of the faith, I joy and re- joice in it. O what a portion is God, and what a shame that I am not always satisfied with him ! ' 29. This has been a day of calmness, but the calm has been rather of the unprofitable kind: I may rather call it a day of idleness, than any thing else. Have spent part of it in my study of Bengali, and yet no communion with God, which only can produce comfortable reflection at night. Had a very pleasant evening in studying and criticising upon the second chapter of Genesis, and comparing the different lections and renderings. There is an obscurity in the phrase , created and made,' occasioned by departing from the Hebrew, which is ' created to make ; ' that is, created the original matter, in order that he might modify and adorn it, in the manner in which it now is : thus most render it. The 4th, 5th, and 6th verses ap- pear to be designed to recapitulate the work of creation, and to show that, antecedent to the existence of second causes, God produced every thing by his own power. I have rendered it like the English, except the sixth verse, where I have follow- ed Junius Tremellius, and many others, in continuing the negation of second causes, and have rendered it thus, ' Or vapor ascending from the earth, which might water the face of 100 MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. the ground.' The Hebrew will bear this quite as well as 'But, &c. ;' and it seems more consonant to the design of the narration. ' 30. The blessings of the gospel are far greater than we can think, unless we discourse with those who never had them. This evening I had a conversation with the Mounshi about his first opinions concerning God ; but his ideas of angels were much more consistent than those of our artists. Seeing a picture in which an angel was represented, he made this inquiry: 'Sir, are angels women, or birds? I see they have got feathers, therefore they must be birds ; and then I can see them, and catch them. Now we think that they are great powers which can go any where in an instant, without wings, or any such helps.' These simple inquiries were put to Mr. Udney, as soon as he became acquainted with Mr. T. He is now much hurt at seeing pretended pictures of God, or the Holy Spirit with wings like a dove, and many of those repre- sentations in cuts with the Bible are to him, and others who are still heathens, a very great stumbling-block. ' Feb. 1. Spent to-day in preparations for ova- departure on Monday to the intended place of our residence. Was veiy weary, having walked in the sun about fifteen or sixteen miles ; yet had the satisfaction of discoursing with some money- changers at Calcutta, who could speak English, about the im- portance and absolute necessity of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. One of them was a very crafty man, and tried much to entangle me with hard questions ; but at last, finding him- self entangled, he desisted, and went to his old occupation of money-changing again. If once God would by his Spirit convince them of sin, a Savior would be a blessing indeed to them : but human nature is the same all the world over, and all conviction fails, except it is produced by the effectual work- ing of the Holy Spirit. '4. Proceeded on our journey through salt rivers and a large lake. In the afternoon saw an offering made to the god of learning, viz., of writing and reading. The idol was placed under a shed, and all around her (for I believe it is a female) were placed large dishes full of rice, fruits, &c., which the people had brought. The Brahmun was employed in laying the whole in order, after w hich a little was distributed to the MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. 101 attendants, and the Brahmun had the rest. The whole was attended with horrid music, and the next day the idol was to be thrown into the river. I felt very much concerned for these poor people, but could not speak to them. ' 5. There not being water enough for us to go the nearest way, we were necessitated to go through the Sunderbunds which is a very large, impenetrable forest, only intersected with large rivers, by which our boats went. These forests are some hundreds of miles in extent, and entirely uninhabited by man ; they swarm with tigers, leopards, rhinoceroses, deer, buffaloes, &c. I thought I heard the roar of a tiger in the night, but am uncertain. Had a little sweet pleasure in medi- tation in this place ; but no one dares go on shore, so as to venture a hundred yards from the boat. '6. Arrived early in the morning at Deharta, where the company have a bungalow. The person, whose name is Mr. Short, who resides there to superintend the salt-works, im- mediately sent to me, and invited my whole family to stay there till our own house is finished. Here, therefore, we are at present, and he, though an utter stranger to me, and to all godliness, insists upon supplying all our wants while here.' When the house of Mr. Short came into vieAv, Mr, Carey and his family were so far reduced that they had not provisions remaining sufficient for one day. This testimony was borne by Mrs. Carey's sister, who was afterwards united in mar- riage to this gentleman, and in a few years returned to England. Mr. Fuller concludes the fragment of the memoir he had commenced of his friend, given in the first chapter, with the following pathetic lines. ' Soon after Mr. Carey's arrival in India he was reduced to great extremities ; the goods which they had taken with them for their immediate support were disposed of, and the money, in far less time than they apprehended, was gone. 'In a strange land, with a wife's sister, a wife, and four children, without money, without friends, and without employ- ment, he must needs feel himself in a delicate situation. Taking a boat, he went with his family, and Ram Boshoo for his guide, up the country. It was now, as Mr. Ward lately 10* 102 MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. observed, on visiting the place, that, like the father of the faithful, he went out, not knowing whither he went. As they were rowing along the river, about forty miles east of Calcutta, at a place called Deharta, they espied a house which seemed to be English built. Mr. Carey asked his guide if he knew the owner; he answered he was an English gentleman. 'Then (said Mr. C.) I will call upon him.' They all left the boat, and walked towards the house. Some of the servants, looking out, saw them, and went in and told their master that an English gentleman, two ladies, and several children were walking in sight of the house, as if they meant to come in. The owner, who proved to be the late Charles Short, Esq., unmediately came forth to meet them, and veiy politely in- vited them in. Mr. Carey frankly told him his object and his present straits. Mr. S. had no conceit of the former, for he was an unbeliever, but told him he was at perfect liberty to make his house a home for himself and family till he should see what to do ; he might stop, he said, for half a year, or longer if he pleased ! Kindness like this, and in such circum- stances, must have greatly affected him ; yet, perceiving in his hospitable benefactor a total contempt of religion, the idea of a dependence upon him could not but be unpleasant.' Mr. Carey continues his journal as follows : '8. Went this morning to Hashnabad, where 1 expected to have land. I had the choice of the whole country, and at last pitched upon a place at Collatullah, which is a fine soil and pleasant situation, and nearly opposite to the place where I now am, on the other side of the river. Several villages are in the neighborhood, and provisions are as cheap as at any place in Bengal. The river Jubona, which i« as large as the Hoogly at Calcutta, separates us from Deharta. ' From that time to the 23d, employed in the same work. I meet with great kindness from Mr. Short, with whom I am ; but he is a stranger to religion, and I cannot therefore enjoy that freedom which I could at home. My soul is barren, and absorbed in temporal things. Lord, enlarge my heart !' MEMOIR OF BR. CAREY. 103 SECTION 11. MR. Thomas's account of his visit to malda — invitation or himself and mr. carey to remove thither — MR. Ca- rey's journal continued ACCOUNT OF DEMONIACS JOUR- NEY TO MALDA, ARRIVAL, &C. A DISPENSATION of proviclence now occurs, as decisively favorable to Mr. Carey's desires as every thing heretofore had been adverse and thwarting. As in securing the ship and arranging for the voyage to India, so in dissipating Mr. C.'s present gloom, and supplying the means of relief and future comfort and usefulness to him, Mr. Thomas was the active agent. George Udney, Esq., then of Malda, was a religious friend, well known to Mr. T. during his former residence in Bengal, and liberally contributed to his support whilst ac- quiring the language, and making his first missionary efforts ; but, from some disrelish of his constitutional peculiarities, was induced to withdraw his countenance. This gentleman is now overwhelmed with domestic afiliction. Mr. Thomas, with prompt, ingenuous kindness, as though no contrariety of feeling between them Imd ever arisen, interposes the expres- sion of his sympathy : this is acceptable to his Christian friend. Mr. T. then goes a journey of two hundred miles to offer his condolence in person : mutual greetings and floods of tears testify their sincere and fervent affection, and the readiness of each party to obliterate all that was painful in the recollections of their former connexion. Mr. Udney was at this time erecting two additional indigo factories in the same district, to the superintendence of which he invites Mr. T. and his desolate and all but heart-broken friend, with such overtures as would afford competent support to their respective families, and leave a surplus applicable to the furtherance of their missionary labors. By this means, too, Mr. C. became introduced to associations, both European and native, favorable to his ministerial influence, and was able 104 MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. to commence and vigorously pursue studies preliminary and indispensable to those final and momentous labors, a retrospect of Avhich justified his declaration upon his dying bed : 'I have not a single wish ungratified.' Mr. Thomas's statement shall introduce the reader to the knowledge of this eventful crisis in Mr. Carey's life and plans. Mr. Thomas to Mr. Fuller. 'Ever since we have been here we have found it impossible to. keep within our income, though we all lived in one house to save rent, and kept but one table. In the midst of our con- trivances to live, one of my creditor's agents came upon me with a bond in hand, who seemed not violent, though hardly satisfied. I took a house at Calcutta, thinking my attention to some business might relieve us, and recover my circumstances. As to Mr. Udney, I had entertained hopes of his helping us in any emergent distress ; but as he had declined the support of the mission, I never applied to him for help, though I find since, I should have been sure to have had it. And now being just got into my new house, I received a letter from Mr. Ud- ney, which has given a wonderful turn in its issue to all our aflfairs and situation, especially with respect to the mission. This letter was in answer to a consoling epistle I had sent to him on the sickness of his mother, which was occasioned by the very afifecting loss of her son, who was drowned with his wife, by their boat oversetting as they were crossing Calcutta river. In this letter I had said that, on hearing she was sick, I nearly set ofi" to Malda, but business prevented. Mr. Udney replied, with a very pressing and aflfectionate invitation, with proposals to accommodate me at his expense, &c. I went : we met, with two hearts overflowing with affectionate remem- brances of each other, and recollection of the sad occasion of our meeting now. Many tears fell, and many steps were taken, before one word was uttered on either side. We went and mingled our tears with his dear mother, who lay smarting under the afflicting hand of God, in body and mind, carrying about with her deep marks of heart-breaking grief The same morning I directed her to get a word from Christ, by preaching from Cant, viii, 13. I fatigued her body Avith long MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. 105 walks, hoping thereby to make the mind less capable of grief; and the Lord blessed, &c.' Mr. Carey's Journal. ' March 1. After having been employed in building me a house, and almost finished it, I received an invitation this day to go up to Malda, to superintend an indigo manufactory. This appearing to be a remarkable opening in divine provi- dence, for our comfortable support, I accepted it ; so that we are still unsettled : but I only wait to receive another letter, in order to set off this long journey of two hundred and fifty miles with all my family. '2 — 4. In this state of uncertainty, nothing but suspense and vacancy of mind is experienced; though I have the great pleasure of hoping that the mission may be abundantly for- warded by having a number of the natives under my imme- diate inspection, and at the same time, my family be well provided for. Though I have no doubt respecting provision, even here, yet, too great a part of my time must have been necessarily employed in managing my little farm with my own hands. I shall likewise be joined with my colleague again, and we shall unitedly engage in our work. O that my soul were not so barren and unfruitful in the work and ways of God! ' 5. Still I mourn my barrenness, and the foolish wander- ings of my mind. Surely I shall never be of any use among the heathen, I feel so very little of the life of godliness in my own soul. It seems as if all the sweetness that I have formerly felt was gone ; neither am I distressed, but a guilty calm is spread over my soul, and I seem to spend all my time, and make no progress towards the desired port, either in a public or private way. I am full of necessities, yet am not distressed ; I want wisdom to know how to direct all my concerns, and fortitude and affectionate concern for the glory of God, and faith and holiness in all its branches : then my soul would be like a v/ell-watered garden, but now it is a mere jungle. ' 6. This day I feel much remains of my past carelessness and absorption in the affairs of the world, though somewhat more of an inclination to the things of God than for some 106 MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. time back. I hope my soul, like a pendulum, though it swings to and fro about the necessary things of the world, yet can rest nowhere but in its centre, God; and I trust I feel that there is an inclination to rest there. O when shall I serve God uninterruptedly, and pursue every thing in a subserviency to his divme will, and in such a manner as to commune with him in every thing that I do. ' 7. Li the morning, had a very miserable, unhappy time for some hours. O what a body of death do I carry about! How little can I bear ! How little patience have I under the contradictions I meet with ; and the afflictions I meet, how little are they sanctified! Instead of growing in grace, I almost conclude myself to be destitute of the grace of God at all. How can a wretch like me ever expect to be of use to the heathen, when I am so carnal myself! 'I see much now of the value of Christian society. When I had that advantage, I have often felt that visiting a friend was like throwing oil upon the fire ; or, like as iron sharpeneth iron, so have the countenances of my friends stirred me up to a I oly activity and diligence in the things of God. Towards evening, however, had some more enjoyment, and felt a little dr' wn forth in prayer to God. 9. This has been one of the most pleasant Sabbaths that I he e ever enjoyed smce I have been m this country. Spent mo ^t of the day in family exercises. Particularly, had much enjoyment in reading Edwards's sermon upon the manner in which the salvation of the soul is to be sought. Through the whole day enjoyed pleasure and profit. ' 10. Felt some di*awings of soul after God, and prayer has especially been pleasant. Tiie study of a language, though a dull work, yet is productive of pleasure to me, because it is my business, and necessary to my preaching in any useful manner. The soul and spirit of preaching must be wanting, unless one has some command of language. * 11. I begin to find my soul more at home. The multi- plicity of other things which I have been forced to attend to, had drawn my mind from God, and employed it too much upon the world ; but now I begin to feel again, that to live after the flesh, or to myself, is entirely contrary to the spirit of MEMOIR OF DR. CARET. 107 the gospel, and that no happiness or usefulness is to be ex- pected unless we live near to God. ' 12. I am very defective in all duties, both with respect to the matter and manner of them. In prayer I wander, and am formal, not having that lively sense of my wants which is necessary to wrestling with God. I ask for blessings, yet seem almost contented to go without obtaining them. I soon tire ; devotion languishes ; and I do not walk with God, con- sidering myself always as in his sight. O what a mercy it is to live near to him, and to realize his perfections and relations to us constantly. '13. A day of sacred pleasure. The conversion of the heathen, and the setting up of Clii'ist's kingdom, has been a pleasant theme of contemplation. ' 15. In this wilderness, O how my soul wanders ! I thirst, but find nothing to drink. O Lord, I beseech thee, deliver my soul! ' 16. Such another Sabbath I hope I shall never pass. What a hell it would be to be always with those who fear not God, as is the case with the benevolent man with whom I reside. This is one of the Bengal holidays, and in the afternoon a number of people, smeared over their heads with red powc* r, who had been to celebrate the Obitar, or incarnation* f Krishnu, returned, and danced and played their idolatr us tricks before the door. O how much more zealous are id''»la- ters than Christians ! I suppose that not less than ten thousand people met at the temple of Krishnu, many of whom 'had travelled twenty or thirty miles to worship. And this is the case all over the country ; and upon one of these holidays many of the rich spend perhaps a lack, or 100,000 rupees ; and they would rather undergo the greatest distress, than labor upon these days. Though the most timid people on the earth at other times, yet now they are enthusiastic, intrepid and fearless. ' 20. A most unhappy day ; yet much affected with some instances of generosity in my Mounshi, such as I am sure would have done honor to the most eminent Christian in the world. '21. The conversion of the heathen is the object which above all others I wish to pursue ; yet a long course of un- 108 MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. foreseen things, and changing circumstances, have hitherto prevented my making that active effort which I wish. I how- ever am daily employed in learning the language, and as Mounshi can understand a considerable of English, we are going over Mr. Thomas's translation of Genesis. I find this both a pleasing and profitable employment, and now begin to see that the Bengali is a language which is very copious, and abounds with beauties. If my situation at Malda should be tolerable, I most certainly will publish the Bible in numbers. ' 22. Still in suspense ; waiting in daily expectation of a letter from Malda, to direct how we may go up. Have much pleasure oftentimes in conversation with Mounshi. In this country there is, he informs me, something similar to the scriptural demoniacs ; they call the spirits of bad men depart- ed, Bhoot, and say that oftentimes when a woman walks near the woods, the Bhoot comes from some tree and possesses her, upon which she becomes in a manner insane. A man of learning is employed to expel the demon, which is performed in the following manner : He repeats by heart the substance of some book, and then commands the Bhoot to go out ; upon his refusing, he threatens to flog him out, and then draws with his finger the figure of a woman upon the earth, which he beats most violently, till at last the Bhoot begins to capitulate, and declares that he will go, and directs the learned man to take some very heavy weight, as a large jar of water, or the like, which the woman is commanded to lift with her teeth: after much labor she performs this task, and immediately swoons ; then the learned person, by command of the Bhoot, calls her three or four times, and she revives ; but if he ap- points ten or twelve times, she dies. He also gives as a sign, that when he goes out, such a tree, or some branches thereof, shall fall, and the woman immediately recovers. They say that the Bhoot causes the woman to pronounce his words in a whining tone.. What this singular thing may be, I cannot teU. Moimshi says that he has often seen it, and I am determined to investigate it; if true, it is, like Indian powowing, a striking proof of the power which the devil exercises even over the bodies of people in countries wholly under his dominion, and must be a complete answer to all the objections which Socini- ans or others make to the Scripture account of demoniacs. MEMOIR OF DR. CARET. 109 It is to be regretted that ministers and commentators should hesitate to receive and expound the evangehcal statements upon this awful subject literally, as they find them. Why can- not the divine writers be allowed to mean what they say, and to describe things as actually they were, and to call things by their proper names ? Why should we seek to evaporate the force of their narration of some of the most important inter- positions of the power which incarnate Deity put forth to verify the truth and illustrate the merciful purposes of his mission, by affirming that they so write that they may assimi- late their phraseology to the known prejudices and unphilo- sophical views and diction of the Jewish nation ? All serious Christians admit an adverse spiritual agency, seductive or terri- fying, as the infernal prince is permitted to put it forth. Hence we are taught to pray for deliverance from the evil one ; to 'resist him steadfast in the faith;' to 'be sober, to be vigilant, for your adversary the devil goeth about as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.' Most devout persons accept these passages as they find them, without affecting to explain away or abate their force, and without regard to the difficulty they may feel, of making it square with their ideas of the spontaneity of human actions and their consequent moral tur- pitude. Why, then, should we esteem it more hard of belief that the great adversary, or some part of the apostate agency over which he presides, should mischievously assail our intel- lectual nature, and disturb the connection between it and that part of our animal economy through the medium of which it acts, than that he should criminally operate to our spiritual detriment? In both cases, Satan is under the control of Om- nipotence ; and beyond this a pious mind can desire no stronger guarantee for its defence and comfort. It has indeed sometimes been assumed, that the possessions referred to in the Gospels, took place by a special providence, during the incarnation and ministry of our Lord, to supply oc- casions for the more splendid demonstrations of his power — a weak and hazardous hypothesis, and calculated to create far more scepticism than ever it can remove. In what a circle of absurdity would it involve us, to suppose one miracle, or one series of miracles, should be created, to offer an occasion for the display of a second ! We should act quite as reasona- 11 110 MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. bly, and confer as much honor upon the evangelical testimony, if we were to believe and affirm, that all the sick, and all the blind, and all the deaf, the maimed, the leprous, and the dead, were brought into their respective conditions, that the com- passion and power of the Savior should be evinced in their recovery. Besides, these possessions are never referred to by our Lord or his apostles, neither at any time by their bitterest ad- versaries, as new creations ; but always as existing, and well known and acknowledged calamities. ' If I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your sons cast them out ? therefore they shall be your judges.' The Hindus entirely agree with the Jews in their ideas of this mysterious and affecting sub- ject, and their language precisely accords with that used by the divine historians. If a sufferer of this class attract the at- tention of an European, and he inquire of a native as to his malady, the reply will be, 'He is possessed; a spirit hath gotten or seized him.' *23. Lord's day. Enjoyed much happiness in reading to and instructing my family. Had much pleasure, and a revival of ancient friendship in my soul, by reading dear Mr. Ryland's Circular Letter on Zeal ; but sorely feel the loss of those pub- lic opportunities which I enjoyed in England. Hope, however, to have something more to do for God at Malda. * 24. Devoted in some measure to God ; but O how little is my will swallowed up in his ! Long delay and unsettledness have filled me with discouragement, and drank up my spirit ; but I feel some rising composure in reflecting, that all my times are in the hand of God. This evening I was enabled to contend for the truth as it is in Jesus, with my host. O that God would requite his kindness to us by converting his soul ! ' 25 — 28. Days spent in a mixture of pleasure and pain, and every day in expectation of being removed from hence. I am loaded with civility from the kind Mr. Short, but I am ashamed to receive the tokens of his friendship : was it not that my wife is so ill as to be unable to sustain the fatigue of an incommo- dious voyage to Malda, I would set out at any rate ; but as it is, I cannot till Mr. Thomas sends me a letter. I rejoice to find and feel that all my times are in the hand of God. O what must those persons undergo in affliction, if their con- MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. Ill sciences are at all awake, who have no sense of the infinite wisdom and goodness which order all things here below ! but eyeing a covenant God, I can say, with exultation, 'Though the fig-tree should not blossom, and there be no fruit in the vine; tliough the labor of the olive should fail, and the herds be cut off from the stall ; yet will I rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.' '29. Through mistake spent this day as the Sabbath. I have, however, abundant reason to be thankful for the mis- take ; it has been a time of refreshing indeed to me. O what is there in all this world worth living for, but the presence and service of God ! I feel a burning desire that all the world may know this God and serve him. O how long will it be till I shall know so much of the language of the country as to preach Christ crucified to them ! But, bless God, I make some progress. '31. A day of hard labor at Bengali, and I trust some en- joyment in divine things. This evening the long expected letter from Malda arrived, at which my heart was made glad : the prospect of reunion with my colleague, and of our being so provided for as to carry on the work of printing the Bible, gladdened my heart. I am resolved to write to the Society that my circumstances are such, that I do not need future help from them, and to devote a sum monthly for the printing of the Bengali Bible. 'April 1, 2, 3. These three days have not at all been favorable to the growth of grace. The company of four of the first gentlemen in the settlement, though civil, genteel, and kind, is yet unfriendly to the work of God within. However, this good end is answered, — I become more known, and have assurances that even the officers of government will help me in the work which I am engaged in ; though the cause, I am well assured, will thrive without any of their help. However, if offered, I think it would be criminal to reject any thing that may tend to the advancement of the work, and the comfort of my family. Nothing yields me more pleasure than the pros- pect of Mr. Thomas and I being reunited in the work ; and particularly as he has, of his own accord, written to me that he knows his conduct at Calcutta was wrong, and he was Il2 MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. desperately drinking into the spirit of the world, to the destruction of godliness. ' 5. How wicked is the heart of man ; and what a curse must it be to be wholly under its wicked dominion ! Then all mercies are repelled, all privileges neglected, and all God's authority slighted. This awful spirit so prevails in me, that I can scarcely tell whether I have the grace of God or not. If I have it, how very low is the degree ! And if not, then how shall I teach others! I can scarcely determine; but be it as it may, I am resolved to spend and be spent in the work of my Lord Jesus Christ. 'C. Had some sweetness to-day, especially in reading Ed- wards's sermon, 'The Most High a prayer-hearing God.' What a spirit of genuine piety flows through all that great man's Avorks! I hope I have caught a little fresh fire to-day; but how desirable and important is it that God should con- stantly fan the heavenly flame ! I need abundance of grace, in order to communicate divine things to others ; but to my comfort, Christ has said, ' He that believeth on me, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living waters ;' no doubt meaning, that faith is a communicative principle, and that true believers will as naturally speak of the things of God, as a fountain casts forth streams of water. I wish I could speak so as to be understood : I can say a little, but not sufficient to answer the objections brought against the gospel. ' 7. I have enjoyed some pleasure in God to-day, and spent the evening in a long dispute with my friendly host. I was enabled, through mercy, to be faithful, and speak of the neces- sity of faith in Christ in order to salvation. This was called illiberal and uncharitable, as it excluded unbelievers, and event- ually adjudged the heathens to eternal misery. I argued that I was no more uncharitable than the Bible ; and that if that was the case, God would appear gloriously just. But my friend is a deist, though not hardy enough to avow it. I can see that he is glad of every thing that he can think of to in- validate the Bible. I feel a pleasure in being valiant for the truth, and much wish that God would convert his soul. He is indeed a kind and hospitable man. '8. A day of business, hurry, sorrow, and dejection. MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. 113 seem cast out of the Christian world, and unable yet to speak to the heathen to any advantage ; and daily disappointment discourages my heart. I not only have no friend to stir me up, or encourage me in the things of God, but every discour- agement, arising from my distance from Mr. Thomas, the infidelity of Europeans, w^ho all say that the conversion of the natives is impossible, and the stupid superstition of the natives themselves. In England, I should not be discouraged by what infidels say; but here, I have not the blessing of a Chris- tian friend to sympathize with me, nor the ability to make the trial of preaching the gospel. All my hope is in and all my comfort arises from, God ; without his power, no European could possibly be converted, and his power can convert any Indian : and when I reflect that he has stirred me up to the work, and wrought wonders to prepare the way, I can hope in his promises, and am encouraged and strengthened. ' 13. Lord's day. This has been a day of real enjoyment to my soul, and of true profit. I think that if it were not for some opportunities of this nature, the wheels of religion would be entirely clogged ; but these seasons of refreshing oil them anew, and I move on again. ' 14. Still a time of enjoyment of God. I feel that it is good to commit my soul, my body, and my all, into the hands of God. Then the world appears little, the promises great, and God an all-sufficient portion. '15. Bless God, that his presence is not departed. This evening, during the approach of a violent storm of thunder, I walked alone, and had sweet converse with God in prayer. O ! I longed to have all my fetters knocked oflf, that I might glorify God without any hindrance, either natural or moral. ' 18. This day was tumultuous in its beginning, but was afterwards more calm. Yet a burden of guilt is not easily removed : nothing short of infinite power, and infinite good- ness, can remove such a load as mine. O that I had but a smiling God, or an earthly friend to whom I could unbosom my soul ! But my friend is at a great distance, and God frowns upon my soul. O may his countenance be lifted upon me again. '19. O how glorious are the ways of God! 'My soul longeth and fainteth for God, for the living God, to see his IJ* 114 MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. glory and beauty as I have seen them m the sanctuary.' When I first left England, my hope of the conversion of the heathen was very strong ; but, among so many obstacles, it w^ould en- tirely die away, unless upheld by God. Nothing to exercise it, but plenty to obstruct it, for now a year and nineteen days, which is the space since I left my dear charge at Leicester. Since that I have had hurrying up and down ; a five months' imprisonment w^ith carnal men on board the ship ; five more learning the language ; my Mounshi not understanding Eng- lish sufficiently to interpret my preaching; my colleague separated from me ; long delays, and few opportunities for social worship ; no woods to retire to, like Brainerd, for fear of tigers (no less than twenty men in the department of De- harta, where I am, have been carried away by them this sea- son from the salt-works); no earthly thing to depend upon, or earthly comfort, except food and raiment. Well ; I have God, and his word is sure ; and though the superstitions of the heathen were a million times worse than they are, if I were deserted by all, and persecuted by all, yet my hope, fixed on that sure word, will rise superior to all obstructions, and triumph over all trials. God's cause will triumph, and I shall come out of all trials as gold purified by fire. I was much humbled to-day by reading Brainerd. O what a disparity betwixt me and him ! He always constant, I as inconstant as the wind ! '22. Bless God for a continuance of the happy frame of yesterday. I think the hope of soon acquiring the language puts fresh life into my soul ; for a long time my mouth has been shut, and my days have been beclouded with heaviness ; but now I begin to be something like a traveller who has been almost beaten out in a violent storm, and who, with all his clothes about him dripping wet, sees the sky begin to clear : so I, with only the prospect of a more pleasant season at hand, scarcely feel the sorrows of the present. '23. With all the cares of life, and all its sorrows, yet I find that a life of communion with God is sufficient to yield con- solation in the midst of all, and even to produce a holy joy in the soul, which shall make it to triumph over all affliction. I have never yet repented of any sacrifice that I have made for the gospel, but find that consolation of mind which can come from God alone. MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. 115 *24. Still a continuance of the same tranquil state of mind. Outwardly the sky lowers, but within I feel ' the soul's calm sunshine, and the heart-felt joy.' Hope more strongly operates, as the time of my being able to speak for Christ approaches; and I feel like a long confined prisoner whose chains are knocked off in order to his liberation. '25. Blessed be God for a continuance of his mercy to me this day. I feel a calm, serious frame of heart ; but yet have cause to mourn the want of a contemplative mind. Things come and go, and seem to make but very little impression upon my heart. O what need I have of a spirit of importunate intercession with God ! I pray for divine blessings, yet rest too well contented without obtaining them. '27. Some lowering circumstances served to distress me this morning, and threatened to spoil all the comfort of the whole day ; but, blessed be God, I found him a sufficient friend, and a sufficient portion. Had much pleasure and affection in instructing my family, and have seen some such impressions upon my two eldest children as are matter of great encouragement to me. O that they may be followed up by God to good purpose ! '29. This has been a time of abundant mercy to me in every respect. My soul has been strengthened and enlightened ; I only want a heart endued with gratitude and love. I want to be filled with a sense of the mercy of God, and to feel my heart warmed with a hearty regard to him and all his ways. I find great reason to fear lest I should contract an unfeeling, carnal form of godliness, without the power. ' 30. I have reason to bless God for all the benefits with which he loads me. O how apt we are to overlook all his goodness and all his beauty, and to dwell on those parts of our experience which are dreary and discouraging! But I feel that the light afflictions and momentary sorrows which I endure, diminish in their bulk and lose their nature, while we look not at temporal but at eternal things. While concerned about temporal things, I see all temporal troubles magnify themselves ; and, on the contrary, when I see the beauty of holiness, and the importance of my work, all that I have to meet with in the prosecution of it disappears and is scarcely perceptible. 116 , MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. ' May 2. Still I have reason to bless God for serenity and composure of soul : but the state in which I am, is such as precludes me from action, and almost discourages me. Yet, blessed be God, the translation goes on, and I find much pleas- ure in the prospect of being able to print it soon. '4. I have had considerable sweetness to-day in duty, and particularly in reading some part of Witherspoon on Regenera- tion. I have frequently feared that a day would end in wretchedness, when the Lord has cleared my skies, and I have felt the sun of righteousness arise with healing under his wings. ' 8. Mounshi is employed in preparing boats to carry us up the river to Malda. The translation stands still, and my soul is awfully barren. O what a wilderness I am without God! May he soon restore to me the light of his coun- tenance ' 12. A Sabbath not quite unprofitable, but attended rather with perplexity than any enjoyment. I hope the Sabbath above will more than compensate for the loss of so many below, and I hope not to have many more such as these on earth. God grant that I may see much more the beauty of his ways! ' 13, 14, 15. Days that have accumulated my guilt, for I have done nothing for God ; and, what is worse, have no desire, or scarcely any. O what a blessing is the gospel, which provides a Savior and a Sanctifier ! ' 16. Tempestuous without, but, blessed be God, calm and serene within. O what are all earthly pleasures or pains, if we have God's presence, and that which is its companion, the testimony of a good conscience, that in simplicity and godly sincerity we have had our conversation in this world ! ' 17. Feel very much degenerated in my soul ; scarcely any heart for God ; but a careless indolence possesses my spirit, and makes me unfit for any thing. I need much of the pres- ence of God to conquer indolence, to which the heat of the country probably contributes ; but my own disposition would much nourish it, though I bless God that I never enjoyed better health. ' 18. I hope that not many days will be spent like this. We expect our boats this night, and hope we may even go one tide towards Malda. MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. 117 ' 19. A Sabbath almost fruitless. I think that I never saw so much of my ignorance as now. Very distressing circum- stances have put my wisdom to the proof, and I feel myself to possess very little indeed; but the gracious declaration of promise in James, 'If any man lack,' &c., is, when considered as the word of a faithful God, like balm to my soul. ' 20, 21, 22. Have been days of delay, and barrenness to my soul. I think that I have too much impatience under disap- pointments ; yet I can in general feel a pleasure in thinking that my times are in the hand of God, and that whatsoever becomes of me, yet he will be glorified at last. '23. This morning, at three o'clock, set out on our journey to Malda, which is about three hundred miles, and will take us about three weeks. I feel thankful to God for thus providing, and also that we have a place of our own, though not a house, but a boat : my sister stays behind us. '24. On the river Jubona passed Buddareea, and have felt that satisfaction and pleasure which I have for a long time been a stranger to. But 1 long for fresh anointing with the Spirit of God. ' 25. Arrived at Chundareea, on the river of Isamuty ; my soul somewhat more barren than yesterday. Towards evening, I felt myself somewhat more drawn towards God, especially when I was surrounded by a large body of the natives at this place. I had a little talk with a few of them, but found myself much at a loss for words ; however, I find myself begin to im- prove in my knowledge of the Hindu language. It is a con- siderable disadvantage that two languages are spoken all over the country ; the Brahmuns and Costs or Csests speak Bengali, and the common people Hindostani. I understand a little of both, and hope to be master of both ; but in this I need wisdom from above, as in all things else. ' 26. This day kept Sabbath at Chundareea ; had a pleasant day. In the morning and afternoon addressed my family, and in the evening began my work of publishing the word of God to the heathen. Though imperfect in the knowledge of the language, yet, with the help of Mounshi, I conversed with two Brahmuns in the presence of about two hundred people, about the things of God. I had been to see a temple, in which were the images of Dukkinroy, the god of the woods, riding on a 118 MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. tiger ; Sheetulla, goddess of the small-pox, without a head, riding on a horse without a head ; Punchanon, with large ears ; and Colloroy, riding on a horse. In another apartment was Seeb, which was only a smooth post of wood, with two or three mouldings in it, like the base of a Tuscan pillar. I therefore discoursed with them upon the vanity of idols, the folly and wickedness of idolatry, the nature and attributes of God, and the way of salvation by Christ. One Brahmun was quite con- founded, and a number of people were all at once crying out to him, 'Why do you not answer him? Why do you not answer him?' He replied, 'I have no words.' Just at this time a very learned Brahmun came up, who was desired to talk with me ; which he did, and so acceded to what I said, that he at last said, images had been used of late years, but not from the beginning. I inquired what I must do to be saved ; he said, I must repeat the name of God a great many times. I replied, would you, if your son had offended you, be so pleased with him as to forgive him if he were to repeat the word 'father' a thousand times? This might please children or fools, but God is wise. He told me that I must get faith ; I asked what faith was, to which he gave me no intelligible reply, but said I must obey God. I answered, what are his commands ? What is his will ? They said God was a great light, and as no one could see him, he became incarnate, under the threefold character of Brhumma, Bishno, and Seeb, and that either of them must be worshipped in order to life. I told them of the sure word of the gospel, and the way of life by Christ ; and, night coming on, left them. I cannot tell what effect it may have, as I may never see them again. '27. Still pursuing our course up the Isamuty. This day nothing material occurred. My soul tranquil, but not so spiritual as I could wish. Peace is little worth, unless it arises from seeing Him who is invisible. This day translated a chapter. '28. • Arrived this night at a place which I named Musquito creek, from the great number of those insects which infested us. Blessed be God, we all enjoy much better health than we have done ; though I have reason to be thankful that the climate agrees with me better than England did. Could I but see the cause of God prevail here, I could triumph over all MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. 119 affliction which ever I have had the fear of going through : for indeed I have gone through very little yet ; but my carnality I have daily, nay, constant, reason to deplore. ' 29, 30, 31. Made very little way, on account of the crooked- ness of the river ; we labored two days to make about four miles in a straight line. I thought that our course was very much like the Christian life, sometimes going forward, and often apparently backward, though the last was absolutely necessary to the prosecution of our journey. Had some inter- vals of pleasing reflection on my journey. 'June 1. Blessed be God, this has not been a day totally lost ; when I can feel my soul going out after God, what pleas- ure it yields ! and an hour spent with a near and endearing sense of the divine perfections, how very pleasant and refresh- ing it is ! '2. Li many respects this has been a time of refreshing to me. I thought of trying to talk to some poor people at Sultan- pore this evening; but just before I was going to begin, a fire broke out which consumed three houses, and called the attention of the few people who were here, till it was too late. '3. Had some serious thoughts this morning upon the necessity of having the mind evangelically employed. I find it is not enough to have it set upon duty, sin, death, or eternity: these are important ; but as the gospel is the way of a sinner's deliverance, so evangelical truth should, and will, when it is well with him, mostly occupy his thoughts. But alas, in the afternoon I felt peevish and uncomfortable. ' 4, 5, 6. Deadness and carnality prevailed these days. I have no opportunities for retirement, and, what is worse, little heart to retire : perhaps this is the reason why I excuse myself, by saying, I have no place. ' 7. Arrived at Bassetpore, at the place where Isamuty river runs out of the Ganges. I was busied most part of the day in procuring sails, making ropes, &c., for our boats, to go up the Ganges. Towards evening, went into the river, but ran upon a sand-bank, and was forced to come to under an island. The river at this place is eight or nine miles wide, but abounds with sharllows. Was in a very unpleasant state most art of the day. 120 MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. '8. Sailed in the Ganges, and in the evening arrived at Bowlea, where we lay to for the Sabbath, to-morrow. Felt thankful that God had preserved us, and wondered how he can regard so mean a creature. Was enabled this evening to wrestle with God in prayer for many of my dear friends in England. Several of my friends at Leicester lay very near to my heart; and several ministers of my most intimate acquaint- ance : I seemed to feel much on their account. The society was an object of my desires likewise. This was a time of re- freshing to my soul indeed. ' 9. I have this day had more enjoyment of God than for many days past. I trust that the reading of the Bible has been truly useful to my soul. Had some affecting views of the value of Christ, and grace, whilst reading part of M'Laurin's Treatise on Christian Piety. Felt enlarged in prayer, and thankful for the many mercies which 1 daily receive from God ; but my un- profitableness has been a source of humiliation to me. Kept Sabbath to-day near a place called Rampore Bowlea, on the banks of the Ganges. ' 10. Pursued our journey on the Ganges ; twice were stuck fast on some shallows, which hindered us much, and were the cause of some anxiety ; but yet had a day of mercy, though yet a day of negligence, and disregard, in a great measure, of the loss of communion with God. ' 11. This evening arrived at the entrance of the river Maha- nunda, which goes to Malda. Had some little enjoyment of God to-day ; but travelling with a family is a great hindrance to holy, spiritual meditation. * 12, 13, 14. Proceeded up the river Mahanunda, and arrived this evening at Boolahaut, about six miles from Malda. Much mercy has followed us all through this journey ; and, consider- ing the very weak state of my wife, we have been supported beyond expectation. Travelling, in general, I have always found unfriendly to the progress of the divine life in my soul ; but travelling with a family more particularly so. Yet, through the mercy of God, I have not been without some seasons of enjoyment and inward delight in God, though mixed with an awful degree of coldness and inattentiveness to that which, when attended to, has always been productive of the greatest pleasure and satisfaction to my soul. MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. 121 ' 15. Received a note from Mr. TJdney, inviting us all to the factory ; to w^liich place w^e went, and arrived there about twelve o'clock. Found Mr. Udney and his mother very agree- able people indeed, and had once more the happiness of join- ing in prayer with those who love God. ' 16. This day I preached twice at IVlalda, where Mr. Thomas met me. In the morning had much enjoyment, and though our congregation did not exceed sixteen, yet the pleasure that I felt in having my tongue once more loosed, I can hardly de- scribe : was enabled to be faithful, and felt a sweet affection for immortal souls. ' 17, 18. Had much serious conversation and sweet pleasure these days. I feel now as if released from a prison, and enjoy- ing the sweets of Christian fellowship again. O that our labors may be prosperous, and our hearts made glad to see the work of the Lord carried on with vigor. Surely the Lord is not thus making room for us, and removing every flifRculty, without some gracious design! I much desire a spirit of activity and affection. ' 19. To-day Mr. Udney told me that my salary was to be two hundred rujiees per month, and commission upon all the indigo that is sold ; and that, next year, he intended to present me with a share in the works ; so that my situation is very eligible. His manner of conferring these favors upon us (for our situations arealike) was admirable: 'I always,' said he, 'join the interest of those I employ in places of trust with my own ; so that no obligation lies upon you whatsoever more than others.' Resolved to write immediately to the society in England, that they send me no more snpplies, as 1 shall have an ample sufficiency. This gives me great pleasure, as I hope they may the sooner be able to send another mission some- where ; and I should much recoinmend Sumatra, or some of the Indian islands. If they send to any part south or east of Bengal, it will be best to send them in a foreign ship to Bengal, from whence their passage may be taken in a country ship to any place ; and as we have houses here, they may stay with either of us till an opportunity offers, which will save much expense. 12 CHAPTER IV SECTION I. IMPROVEMENT IN MR. CARETS SECULAR CIRCUMSTANCES COMMENCES HIS ENGAGEMENTS PROPOSES TO RELINQUISH HIS SUPPORT FROM THE SOCIETY LETTER TO MR. SUTCLIFF. We have hitherto met w^ith little in the life of Mr. Carey but discouragement and affliction. The scene is now relieved, and he is introduced to comparative comfort; at least delivered from w^ant, and its consequent humiliation and anxieties. Not that his engagements yielded him any very large return ; two hundred rupees per month, which was the salary apportioned him, could have left him but a trifling surplus when the wants of a large family were supplied. Mrs. Carey's indisposition so increased upon her, that she was quite incapable of regulating the domestic economy ; nor need any who are acquainted with social life in India be informed, that the peculation of native servants is so universal and unremitted, through all the details of expenditure, that no item is ever excepted from it ; and managed, too, with such perfect system and so much subtlety, as to escape detection under the most wakeful superintendence, and to defy all control. Yet, notwithstanding these social disadvantages, he spared from one third to one fourth of his income for missionary purposes. For, from the first day he could command a single fraction not absolutely required for his subsistence, he began to practise that rigid and unreserved consecration of his substance, for which he continued so bright an example through life ; and which, though for thirty years he was in receipt of a large income, gave him the privilege and the dignity of dying poor. The labor requisite for discharging the duties of his present MEMOIR OF DR. CARET. 123 situation, might be deemed sufficient for the time and strength of any common man ; but, besides fulfilling these with a dili- gence and a fidelity reaching to the minutest circumstances, he attempted native education, acquired the dialect of the pro- vince in which he lived, daily addressed the idolatrous natives, often travelled considerable distances to preach in English, maintained an extensive correspondence, and, withal, laid a broad foundation of oriental grammatical science, by mastering the elements of one of the most difficult and classic languages in the world. His journal is now continued, by the perusal of which the reader will be competently informed of his exertions, his en- couragements, and his conflicts. ' June 19, 1794. This evening, set out with Mr. Thomas for Mudnabatty, which is to be the place of my residence, and is thirty-two miles north of Malda, in a straight line, but nearly seventy by water, and is upon the river Tanquam. '20, 21. We were employed in journeying, and about the middle of the night arrived at Mudnabatty. ' 22. Set out again for Malda, and, as it was down the stream, arrived there in about fifteen hours. ' 23. Enjoyed a very pleasant day indeed. I preached twice with much affection ; one time from Eph. ii, 13, ' Ye, who sometime were afar ofl^, are brought nigh by the blood of Christ;' and in the evening, from the words, 'By grace ye are saved.' There was much seriousness among us, and I hope the Sabbath has not been in vain. ' 23. Had. some sweet conversation upon divine things, and affection in praying with dear Christian friends. '24. Employed in sending off" my boat, which I intend to meet to-morrow morning. Had some pleasure and pain, I trust of the truly evangelical kind, to-day. ' 25, 26. Journeyed to Mudnabatty ; arrived about two in the afternoon, and spent the day in regulating the concerns there. '27. Employed in the works, but had a pleasant season of retirement. It is now just one year and fourteen days since I left England, all which time I have been a sojourner, and wandering to and fro; at last, however, God has pro- 124 MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. vided me a home. May he also give me piety and grati- tude. '28. I am at ])resent busily employed in arranging all my people and my affairs, having about ninety people under my management ; these will furnish a congregation immediately, and, added to the extensive engagements which I must necessarily have with the natives, will open a very wide door for activity. God grant that it may not only be large, but effectual ! I felt not much spirituality to-day, but had the pleasure of detecting a shocking piece of oppression practised by those natives who managed the affairs of this place before my coming. They had hired laborers for two and a half rupees per month, but when the poor people came to be paid, they deducted two anas * from each man's pay for themselves. I am glad of this detection on two accounts ; namely, as it affords me an opportunity of doing justice among the heathen, and of exposing the wickedness of their leaders, one of their oppress- ors being a Brahmun ; and as it so discouraged the poor people from working for us that we could scarcely procure laborers at any rate. This will serve a little to remove the prejudices of the people against Europeans, and prepare a way for the publication of the gospel. '30. This has been the first Sabbath spent at the place of my intended abode. I passed the day in reading and prayer. Found some sweet devotedness to God towards evening, and much concern lest I should become negligent after so great mercies. But if, after God has so wonderfully made way for us, I sliould neglect the very work for which I came hither, the blackest brand of guilt and infamy must lie upon my soul. Found myself desirous of being entirely devoted to God, and disposed of by him just as he pleases. I felt also much con- cern for the success of the gospel among the heathen. 'Julyl, 2, 3. Much engaged in the necessary business of preparing our works for the approaching season of indigo making, w^hich will commence in about a fortnight. I had, on the evening of each of these days, very precious seasons of fervent prayer to God. 1 have been on these evenings much drawn out in prayer for my dear friends at Leicester, and for * Sixteen anas make one runee, MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. 195 the society, that it may be prosperous ; likewise for the minis- ters of my acquaintance, not only of the Baptist, but other denominations. I was engaged for the churches in America and Holland, as well as England ; and much concerned for the success of the gospel among the Hindus. At present I know not of any success since I have been here. Many say that the gospel is the word of truth ; but they abound so much in flattery and encomiums, which are mere words, of course, that little can be said respecting their sincerity. The very common sins of lying and avarice are so universal, also, that no European who has not witnessed it can form any idea of their various appearances : they will stoop to any thing whatsoever to get a few cowries, and lie on every occasion. O how desirable is the spread of the gospel ! ' July 4. Rather more flat, perhaps owing to the excessive heat; for in the rainy season, if there be a fine day, it is' very hot indeed. Such has been this day ; and I was necessitated to be out in it from morning till evening, giving necessary direc- tions. I felt very much fatigued indeed, and had no spirits left in the evening, and in prayer was very barren. ' 5. Very poorly to-day, from being exposed to yesterday's heat, and obliged to be rather more cautious ; felt little heart for the things of God till evening, when I was much comforted by reading of the fidelity and constancy of Job, in the first two chaptei*s ; wished for the same spirit, and afterwards was much enlarged in prayer to God ; my soul was drawn out for the success of the gospel among the heathen. Had some pleasant and spiritual conversation with Mounshi, who I hope will lose caste for the gospel, which, with a Hindu of his rank, is a greater sacrifice than life, his being the highest, except the Brahmun. Their strong attachment to caste may appear by the following incident. As I was coming up hither I was in great want of a servant-boy. At a place which we passed through, a poor boy of the shoemaker caste, which is the very lowest of all, so that no Hindu, or even Mussulman of credit, will suffer one of them to come into his house, but they are universally despised, much more than can be conceived, came begging to Mounshi, and said that he had neither food, clothing, nor friends, but was an orphan. Mounshi asked him to come 12* 126 MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. as my sei-vant, and told him that he should have a sufficiency of all necessaries, and, if he behaved v^-ell, be taken good care of; but, for fear of losing caste, he refused. Perhaps this is one of the strongest chains with which the devil ever bound the children of men. This is my comfort, that God can break it. ' 7. Busy all day, but rather more inclined to contemplate spiritual things. This evening was enabled to plead a little with God for the heathen ; but it was so flat, and destitute of strong crying and tears, that it scarcely deserves the name of prayer. Had some profitable conversation with Mounshi this evening ; and, indeed, he is the only conversable person in this place, all the natives here being very ignorant, and speaking a dialect which differs as much from true Bengali, as the Lancashire dialect does from true English; so that I have hard work to understand them, and to make them understand me. 'July 9. — Aug. 4. Employed in visiting several factories, to learn the process of indigo making. Had some very pleasant seasons at Malda, where I preached several times, and the people seemed much affected with the word. One day, as Mr. Thomas and I were riding out, we saw a basket hung in a tree, in which an infant had been exposed ; the skull remained, the rest having been devoured by ants. On the last of these days I ar -ived with my family at Mudnabatty, the place of my future residence and the seat of the mission. ' ,6,7. Much employed in settling the affairs of the build- ing , &c., having been absent so long, and several of our maiaging and principal people being sick. It is indeed an awfid time here with us now ; scarcely a day but some are seized with fevers. It is, I believe, owing to the abundance of water, there being rice-fields all around us, in which they dam up the water, so that all the country hereabouts is about a foot deep in water ; and as we have rain, though moderate to what I expected the rainy season to be, yet the continual moisture occasions fevers in such situations Avhere rice is cultivated. Yet the rainy season is the most pleasant weather in this coun- try ; nor do I think the rains any more violent than summer rains in England. Felt at home and thankful these days. O MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. 127 that I may be very useful ! I must soon learn the language tolerable well, for I am obliged to converse with the natives every day, having no other persons here except my family. ' On the two last of these days the Mahomedans were em- ployed in celebrating the Mohurrum, the time of lamentation for the slaughter of Mahomed's family. They were going about with pipes, drums, &c., incessantly for two days and nights ; and, on the last day, upwards of a thousand people of all ages came just before our door, the house being built on the bank of a tank, part of which is consecrated to a peer, or spirit of some saint who was buried there. They wished much to display the whole scene to us ; though perhaps half of them came out of curiosity, having never seen a white woman, and many not a white man, before ; and it was very curious to hear them inquiring one of another, which was Saib, and which was Bibby Saib, that is, which was I, and which my wife. They brought four or five ornamented biers, in which the dead family of Mahomed are supposed to be repre- sented; and after the whole exhibition was ended, they buried or drowned tliem in the tank, and then dispersed. Their zeal on these occasions is very great ; every thing is sacrificed to their religion, and every Mussulman, rich or poor, joins in the ceremony.' 'To THE Baptist Missionary Society. ^ Mudnahatty, Aug. 5, 179^. 'Dear Brethren, 'lam, through the mercy of God, still in the land of he living, and have been led by divine providence throughi an amazing labyrinth of circumstances, till I am in a very unex- pected manner settled in this place, and surrounded with the most pleasant circumstances and flattering prospects. ' My last letters to England were from Manicktullo, from which place I removed to Dayhotta, and was there preparing a house, and had taken land to cultivate for the support of my family. Mr. T. had likeAvise engaged in his own profession at Calcutta, on which account we were separated about forty miles. But Mrs. Udney at Malda being very ill, through grief on account of the death of her son and his wife at Calcutta, who were both drowned in crossing the river in the night, Mr. 128 MEMOIR or DR. CAREY. T. was sent for to attend her. It was remarkable that Mr. Udney, of Malda, had just begun to erect two indigo manufac- tories at some distance north of Malda, but without knowing of any persons to superintend them ; he therefore engaged Mr. T. to take the oversight of one, and wrote to me to superintend the other. This seemed to me such a remarkable appearance of providence, so unexpected, unsought for, and furnishing so ample supplies for our wants, and at the same time opening so large a field for usefulness, putting us each in a state of direct or indirect influence over more than a thousand people, that I could not hesitate a moment in concluding it to be the hand of God ; I therefore left my unfinished house and farm, and set out to Malda, about two hundred and fifty miles. 'My place is about thirty miles further north, and Mr. T.'s sixteen or seventeen miles further than mine. We are sit- uated between the rivers Tanquam and Purnabudda, in the district of Dinagepore, and within a hundred and twenty miles of Thibet. The name of my place is Mudnabatty ; that of Mr. T., Moypaldiggy. Here, then, is the principal seat of the mis- sion ; and if any lose caste for the gospel, we have good and profitable employment for them. Mr. Udney allows us each two hundred rupees per month, with commission for all the indigo we make, and promises next year to present us each with a fourth share of our respective works. In consequence of which I now inform the society, that I can subsist without any further assistance from them ; and at the same time sin- cerely thank them for the exertions they have made, and hope that what was intended to supply my wants, may be appropri- ated to some other mission. At the same time it will be my glory and joy to stand in the same near relation to the society as if I needed supplies from them, and to maintain the same correspondence with them. The only favor that I beg is, that I may have the pleasure of seeing the new publications that come out in our connexion, and the books that I wrote for before, viz., a polyglot Bible, Arabic Testament, Malay Gospel, and Botanical Magazine. 'Whatever you send, Mr. Savage will contrive to get on board some ship ; and if directed to me at this place, to the care of Tulloh and Co., Calcutta, will be sure to reach me. I wish you also to send me a few instruments of husbandi-y, viz., MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. 129 scythes, sickles, plough-wheels, and such things ; and a yearly assortment of all garden and flowering seeds, and seeds of fruit-trees, that you can possibly procure ; and let them be packed in papers, or bottles well stopped, which is the best method : all these things, at whatever price you can procure them, and the seeds of all sorts of field and forest-trees, &c. I will regularly remit you the money for every year ; and I hope that I may depend upon the exertions of my numerous friends to procure them. Apply to London seedsmen and others, as it will be a lasting adv antage to this country ; and I shall have it in my power to do this for what I now call my own country. Only take care that they are new and dry. 'A large door is opened, and I have great hopes. I cannot speak the language so well as to converse much, but begin a little. Mounshi is not yet baptized. Moliun Chund is either a Christian or a great impostor. Parbotee I have not yet seen : he is at a great distance from us. We are upon the point of forming a church ; but our beginning will be but small, — five or six persons. Mr. Udney is, I think, a truly pious man, and his mother a serious woman ; but they are not Baptists. We have a pretty congregation at his h0ise, perhaps twenty per- sons, who live in the compass of 80 or 100 miles, consequently are all there together but seldom. I have hopes of about half of them: they are praying people. ' The obstacles in the way of the gospel are very great, and were it not that God is almighty and true, would be insur- mountable. The caste is such a superstition as no European can conceive, and more tenaciously regarded than life. It was, I think, originally political, but is now interwoven with every circumstance of their lives ; and their deceit and avarice are unparalleled. But the work was begun by God, and I doubt not but he will carry it on. ' My journal I intend to send by the ships of this season, in which, though the greatest part is personal, relating to myself, yet some hints will be found relative to what I have observed among the Hindus. 'I was much disappointed on the arrival of the Nancy, packet, by the return of which I send this, at not receiving one European letter. Surely you have not forgotten us. As 130 MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. the packet is expected every day to sail, and I have been re- moving so much from place to place till this week, I must refer all my friends to this letter, and desire to be remembered to all the churches and ministers of Christ, especially my Christian acquaintance. 'I am, with warm affection, yours, W. Carey.' To Mr. Sutcliff. 'Mudnahaity, Aug. 9, '94. 'My dear Brother, 'I scarcely think this letter can be in time for the packet; but write, hoping that it may. I have hastily written to the , society ; but many particulars I have reserved to write to my friends which are not there mentioned. The packet sailing much sooner than was expected, will however make it impos- sible for me to write to many. ' The particulars of my situation I mentioned in that letter, and only observe to you that a more eligible situation could not have been chosen. Mr. T. and I are only sixteen miles distant from each other, and our respective factories will fur- nish support for severalMiousands of people ; so that there will be a comfortable and honorable asylum for all who lose caste for the gospel. ' I have not yet seen Parbotee. Mounshi is with me, and I hope is a real Christian, but wants zeal and fortitude : he has not yet lost caste. Mohun Chund professes more zeal than Mounshi, but there is something suspicious in him. It is very difficult to get these people together : travelling is expensive, and they are all poor ; though Mounshi's was one of the first families in that part of Bengal, till ruined by Mr. Hastings. We are now just upon the point of forming a gospel church, which I hope may be prosperous. ' As for the dangers and difficulties of the country, we think very little about them. Some diseases are very common here ; as dysentery, which generally arises from the coldness of the night air, after the heat of the day. With this disorder my wife and eldest son have been afflicted for eight months ; my wife is nearly well, but my son very ill now. Fevers are fre- quent in the rains, or rather agues ; perhaps arising from the MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. 131 number of rice-fields which are full of water. But the coun- try agrees better with my health than England did : I never was better in my life. ' We have no fear of beasts, though there are many buffa- loes, hogs and tigers in our neighborhood. Tigers seldom attack men, but commit dreadful devastation among cattle ; except those of the Sunderbunds, a very large forest near the sea, where there are no cattle ; there they seize men. Ser- pents are numerous; and some so mortal that the patient never survives two hours, and often dies in five minutes ; but they give us no concern, or very little. Crocodiles no man minds : I have one in a pond about ten yards from my door, yet sleep with the door open every night. The whole country is one large valley or plain, without a hill ten feet high, unless made by art, or a single spring of water. The Ganges and Berhampooter run quite through it ; each of them about three miles wide upon an average, though in many places ten, with large inhabited islands in the middle ; and these branch out into some hundreds of rivers more, many as large as the Thames. Major Rennel's map, or rather atlas, of India, will give you a very just idea of the geography of this country; and Sonnerat's voyage will furnish you with the best epitome of Hindu mythology extant : allowing for the different writing of names in different dialects, he has related the whole in a very just and impartial manner. ' The language is very copious, and I think beautiful. I be- gin to converse in it a little ; but my third son, about five years old, speaks it fluently. Indeed, there are two distinct lan- guages spoken all over the country, viz., the Bengali, spoken by the Brahmuns and higher Hindus; and the Hindostani, spoken by the Mussulmans and lower Hindus, which is a mixture of Bengali and Persian. I intend to send you soon a copy of Genesis, Matthew, Mark, and James, in Bengali ; with a small vocabulary and grammar of the language, in manu- script, of my own composing, to which you will afford a place on one of the shelves in your library. I have written to the society to stop my allowance, as I am amply provided for; perhaps it might be acceptable to Mr. Thomas to continue his a little longer on account of his debts. 'I cannot say much about myself. I intend to send my 132 MEMOIR or DR. CARET. journal soon ; but it only relates to myself, or very little to other things. However, I may express my hope, nay, I may say confidence, that God, who has so astonishingly made our way plain and clear, will bless the word to the conversion of many, and thus crown the wishes of the praying ministers and people in England. ' At present, being incapable of preaching, I can say nothing of success ; but my heart is engaged in the work, and I know that God can convert the most obstinate and superstitious, and has promised to do it. This is the foundation of my hope, and in this confidence I engage in the work. Adieu, ' Affectionately yours, ' W. Caret.' SECTION II. JOURNAL CHRISTIAN SOCIETT LANGUAGE, &C. ' Aug. 16 — 24. Nothing worth recording passed. I feel too much sameness to be spiritual. If I were in a more spiritual frame, the holy war would be carried on in my soul with greater vigor, and the fresh discoveries of sin would cause new hopes, new fears, and new struggles ; but when I am at ease, it is like a calm at sea, where there is a contrary current: I not only get no ground, but am insensibly carried back. ' The last of these days was Lord's day ; I spent it in read- ing to and praying with my family. Towards evening I went out, when the workmen who have built the works came to me, and said that, as I was to begin making indigo to-morrow, it was much their wish that I would make an offering to Kally, the goddess of destruction, that I might have success in the work. This Kally is the most devil-like figure that can be MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. 133 thought of: she stands upon a dead man; her gh'dle rs strung with small figures of human skulls, like beads upon a bracelet ; she has four arms, and her tongue hangs out of her mouth below her chin; and, in short, a more horrible figure can scarcely be conceived of I took the opportunity of remon- strating v/ith them upon the wickedness and folly of idolatry, and set my face as much as possible against their making any offering at all, and told them that I would rather lose my life than sacrifice to their idol ; that God was much displeased with them for their idolatry, and exhorted them to leave it and turn to the true God. But I had the mortification of seeing, the next day, that they had been offering a kid ; yet I doubt not but I shall soon see some of these people brought from darkness to the marvellous light of the gospel. '25. Had some little spirituality, but much interrupted, through the carelessness of our head man. Had some sweet wrestling and freedom with God in prayer. These seasons are but of short duration, but they are little foretastes of heaven. O may God continue them long, and frequently thus visit my soul ! '27. Nothing new. My soul is in general unfruitful ; yet I find a pleasure in drawing near to God, and a peculiar sweet- ness in his holy word. I find it more and more to be a very precious treasure. '28 — .30. Nothing of any importance, except, to my shame, a prevalence of carnality, negligence, and spiritual deadness; no heart for private duties ; indeed every thing seems to be going to decay in my soul, and I almost despair of being of any use to the heathen at all. ' 31. Was somewhat engaged, more than of late, in the things of God ; I felt some new devotedness to God, and de- sire to live entirely to him and for his glory. O that I could live always as under his eye, and feel a sense of his immedi- ate presence ! This is life, and all besides is death to my soul. ' Sept. 1 — Oct. 1. During this time I have had a heavy and long affliction, having been taken with a violent fever. One of the paroxysms continued for twenty-six hours without intermission, when, providentially, Mr. Udney came to visit us, not knowing that I was ill, and brought a bottle of bark with him. This was a great providence, as I was growing worse 13 134 MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. every day ; but the use of this medicine, by the blessing of God, recovered me. In about two days I relapsed, and the fever was attended with a violent vomiting and a dysentery ; and even now I am very ill, Mr. Thomas says, with some of the very worst symptoms. On the last of these days it pleased God to remove, by death, my youngest child but one ; a fine engaging boy of rather more than five years of age. He had been seized with a fever, and was recovering ; but relapsed, and a violent dysentery carried him oflT. On the same day we were obliged to bury him, which was an exceedmgly difficult thing. I could induce no person to make a coffin, though two carpenters are constantly employed by us at the works. Four Mussulmans, to keep each other in countenance, dug a grave ; but, though we had between two and three hundred laborers employed, no man would carry him to the grave. We sent seven or eight miles to get a person to do that office ; and I concluded that I and my wife would do it ourselves, when at last a servant, kept for the purpose of cleaning, and a boy who had lost caste, were prevailed upon to carry the corpse, and secure the grave from the jackals. This was not owing to any disrespect in the natives towards us, but only to the cursed caste. The Hindus burn their dead, or throw them into the rivers to be devoured by birds and fishes. The Mussulmans inhume their dead ; but this is only done by their nearest rela- tions ; and so much do they abhor every thing belonging to a corpse, that the bamboos on which they carry their dead to the water or the grave, are never touched or burnt, but stand in the place, and rot ; and if they only tread upon a grave, they are polluted, and never fail to wash after it. ' The points of coincidence between the Jewish people and the Hindus are so very numerous, that both in their religious, ceremonial, and throughout their domestic economy, you are continually reminded of some scriptural term, inci- dent, or usage. When engaged in preparing a harmony of the four Gospels in the Bengali language, my Pundit would often interpose the remark, ' Sir, there can be no doubt but the Jews were originally Hindus.' 'During this affliction my frame of mind was various ; some- times I enjoyed sweet seasons of self-examination and prayer, as I lay upon my bed. Many hours together I sweetly spent MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. 135 in contemplating subjects for preaching, and in musing over discourses in Bengali; and when my animal spirits were somewhat raised by the fever, I found myself able to reason and discourse in Bengali for some hours together, and words and phrases occurred much more readily than when 1 was in health. When my dear child was ill, I was enabled to attend upon him night and day, though very dangerously ill myself, without much fatigue ; and now, I bless God that I feel a sweet resignation to his will. I know that he has wise ends to answ^er in all that he does, and that what he does is best; and if his great and wise designs are accomplished, what does it signify if a poor worm feels a little inconvenience and pain, who deserves hell for his sins ? ' Oct. 12. This day Mr. Thomas came to see me, and we spent the Sabbath together. We agreed to spend the Tuesday morning every week in joint though separate prayer to God for a blessing on the mission. I felt a sweet resignation to the divine will this day. ' 13. This day a very disagreeable circumstance turned up. Though the Mussulmans have no caste, yet they have imper- ceptibly adopted the Hindu notions about a caste, and look upon themselves as a distinct one ; in consequence of this they will neither eat nor drink with any but Mussulmans. On ac- count of the four men above mentioned digging a grave for my poor child, the Mundal, that is, the principal person in the village, who rents immediately under the Rajah, and lets lands and houses to the other people in the place, forbad every per- son in the village to eat, drink, or smoke tobacco wdth them and their families, so that they were supposed to have lost caste. The poor men came to me full of distress, and told their story. Mr. Thomas being with me, we sent for the principal Mussulmans in the neighborhood, and inquired whether they thought these men had done any thing amiss ; and they said, no. Then we sent two Hircarrahs * to call the Mimdal who had forbidden the people to have any intercourse with them, but with secret orders to bring him by force if he refused to come. He soon came, however, and then said that they had done no fault, and that he would smoke but not eat * Messen^er^. 136 MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. with them. As we knew it to be a piece of spite, and a trick to get money, we placed two guards over him, and told him that he must either eat and drink with the men before the men of his own village, or stay here till we had sent the four men to Dinagepore, to the judge, about the matter. He stood out, however, till about dinner-time ; when, being hungry, he thought fit to alter his terms, and of his own accord wrote and signed a paper, purporting that the men were innocent, and he a guilty person. He then went away and gave them a dmner, and ate and drank with them in the presence of the people of the village, and persons whom we had sent to wit- ness it. Thus ended this troublesome affair, which might also have proved a very expensive one if it had not ended thus. I feel these things ; but, blessed be God, I am resigned to his will, and that makes me easy under all. ' 14 — 20. Very ill, and scarcely able to crawl about ; but supported through all by the upholding hand of a gracious God. 'Mr. Udney, having for some time past designed to settle me in a more healthy spot, this having proved remarkably un- healthy, had projected a journey towards Thibet for me and Mr. Thomas. This was designed in part for my health, and in part to seek for a more eligible spot for new works. Accord- ingly I set out this day, the 20th, in Mr. Udney's pinnace, with my family, up the Tanquam river ; but I was so weak and poorly that I could scarcely hold up my head. I felt, hovy^ever, secret drawings of soul after God, and a desire to be directed by him in all things. ' 21. Arrived this evening at Moypaldiggy, at Mr. Thomas's. Company and conversation raised my spirits, and I hope the time was profitably spent. '22. At Moypaldiggy, somewhat better, but very weak. We had some profitable discourse, and spent some time in prayer with each other. It is good to enjoy the communion of saints ; and its value can scarcely be estimated, unless in a situation like mine, where I am surrounded with Pagans and Mahomedans, and have no other to converse with. ' 24, Still going on our excursion. This evening we were forced to come-to in the midst of a jungle ; and in the night I, who was the only person awake, heard some animal make a MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. 137 very violent spring at the boat ; it awoke Mr. Thomas, and we immediately concluded that it must be a tiger. We therefore arose, and counted all the men, who, to the number of eight or ten, were sleeping upon the open deck; but providentially all were safe. All concluded that it was a tiger springing at a jackal, and that the jackal, to avoid him, had jumped to the boat. We could, however, discover no marks of any animal in the sand but jackals ; yet, as they never spring at their prey, it is certain it must have been a tiger or leopard ; and the people told us that a male and female tiger had their nest, with young, near the place where we were, and had killed a buffalo the day before. We were, however, mercifully pre- served ; indeed, the men, and not we, were in danger. ' 27. This day arrived at Ranee-gunge, where we spent the evening, and had a little discourse with a Brahmun, about spiritual things ; but I have only deadness and coldness my- self; my soul is like the heath in the desert, which withereth before its beauty appears, and is scarcely profitable for any thing. ' This day a buffalo stood in the river ; and, as the men dare not pass it, Mr. Thomas shot at it ; but, though three or four bullets entered his body, and tlie blood ran very copiously, he got away. ' 28. There not being a sufficient quantity of water in the river for the pinnace to go, Mr. Thomas and I left it, and pro- ceeded in a dinghy, or small boat, to Govendagur, and intended to have gone to the mountains which part Bengal from Boutan or Thibet ; but we found here a lieutenant Sloane, who is stationed with seventy seapoys at this place to guard the fron- tier from the depredations of the Fakirs, who sometimes, to the number of some thousands, lay waste a considerable part of the country. It is but a little time since they attacked a factory under Mr. Udney's care, but far from his residence, and robbed it of property to a very considerable amount. We spent the afternoon with this officer ; but a very unpleas- ant one it was. I am sure an eternity with such as he, would be a hell indeed to me. He said that, owing to the jungles of grass, fourteen or fifteen feet high, which we must pass through, it will be impossible for us to get there at this season ; and that, as the water was rapidly decreasing, we should run 13* 138 MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. a great hazard of leaving the pinnace behind us for want of water. He said that we were about forty coss, or seventy miles, from the highest mountains. '29. Returned to Ranee-gunge, and spent the afternoon there. Mr. Thomas was the greatest part of the day trying to kill a buffalo ; but though he had three or four bullets in his body, and one in his head, he got away. They are amazing animals ; I believe it was six feet from tip to tip of his horns ; and the largest ox in England is a small creature when com- pared to one of them. There are two kinds, one much smaller than this. Tliey are very destructive to the rice-fields, — very sluggish ; but, when enraged, so swift that it is impossible to escape them on a very good horse. I was in great fear for Mr. Thomas for some hours, not seeing or hearing any thing of him ; for, as I am no hunter, I staid at the boat. He at last, however, came safe, to my great joy. ' This day my soul was somewhat revived, and I felt some desires after God. ' 30. Came down to Corneigh, a pretty large place ; went to look at two temples of Seeb, which were built by the Rajah and Ranee, or the king and queen of Dinagepore. They are elevated, and you ascend several steps to go to them. On these steps Mr. Thomas preached to a pretty large concourse of people, who heard the word with great attention. '31. Arrived at Moypaldiggy, at Mr. Thomas's house, about nine this evening. This has been a somewhat more profitable day than many heretofore. I feel that God is my portion, and then I feel that I desire no other. O that he would give me grace to live to his glory, and spend my strength in his service ! If I could but always view his excellency and all-sufficiency, then his work must be delightful and pleasant, and all suffering for his sake easy. ' Nov. 3, 4. Returned to Mudnabatty, where I arrived early on Tuesday morning. Feel in some measure humbled before God under a sense of my own unprofitableness, yet am not without hope that the Lord may soon work. Mounshi has been very ill for three months with the fever, so that I could scarcely derive any benefit from him, and as an assistant in preaching, none at all. I am therefore prevented from much discourse with the natives ; for though I €an discourse a little, MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. 139 yet not long together ; and when they say much, I find it dif- ficult to understand it ; for by ignorance of one or two words, or peculiarities of construction, the thread of the discourse is broken, and rendered unintelligible to me in a great measure. May God give me wisdom, and a spirit of application, till all these difficulties are overcome ! ' 5. Set out to Malda, where I staid till the 10th. Had some return of the fever, but preached twice on the Lord's day, though very weak and full of pain. The congregation appeared very serious ; but I did not perceive that affection, either in myself or the audience, that I have seen at some other times. The interval spent at this place was very agree- ably filled up, and, I trust, with profit and pleasure on all sides. Mr. Udney signified his wish for me to remove to Sadamaht, as a more healthy place, and to go up immediately and try to get a pottah* for land of the Rajah: he seems desirous to abandon Mudnabatty. ' 14, 15. Journeyed with my family to Moypaldiggy, where I left them, having received an intimation from Mr. Udney that he intended to improve Mudnabatty yet more, and that I must return from Sadamaht as soon as the pottah was obtained, to superintend those improvements. So now I am all un- certainty and doubt, and know not which place I am to be at. O ! I long to be settled ; but God does not see proper. Yet I feel a calm pleasure in waiting the will of God. '17. Was detained in fitting up dinghies f to go the rest of the journey, there not being water for the pinnace to proceed further. Found this a day of hurry and business, and was much fatigued at night, yet had some desires after God. ' 22. Was much busied in surveying the country, and set- tling for my stay in this place. Found my heart much carried away with the business of the world, and had only wretched- ness to mourn over. '23. A solitary Sabbath. In the afternoon tried to preach to the people who were with me, but could not even fix their attention. They seemed shockingly unconcerned, and were all the time gazing about upon the objects around them. Was grieved with their inattention, yet felt a pleasure that I had * Agreement. f Small boats. 140 MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. addressed them upon the great concerns of another world. Besides, I know that God can bless that which we are most wretched in delivering, and which is the weakest attempt. ' Dec. 1 — 4. Continued at the same place, and with much the same frame of mind. My fever was also comfortably re- moved by taking bark ; and on the last of these days 1 left Sadamaht without obtaining the object for which 1 went thither. Arrived at a place called Aslabad, and spent the night there. ' 6. Left Moypal, and arrived at Mudnabatty. Blessed be God for preserving me during this journey, which cannot be less than two hundred miles by water, though not more than eighty by land. Feel thankful to God for his great goodness in providence to me. ' 7. This morning felt somewhat barren, but in the evening had much pleasure and freedom in preaching to the natives at Mudnabatty. These were more attentive also than those at Sadamaht, and I doubt not but God has a work to do here. It has been his general way to begin among the poor and de- spised, and to pass by those who imagine themselves to be wise ; but here we have only poor and illiterate people, and scarcely any pf those who value themselves on account of being the higher caste. ' 8. Having been so long from home, I was busied very much in settling my books, and in giving directions for several new works which will be necessary to be made, on account of the very great increase of business for next year : but though I mourn want of retirement, yet 1 feel happy in being at home and in my work. On Lord's day, the 13th, preached to the natives of another village, who were very attentive, and raised my expectations very much. On the last of these days set out for Malda, with my family, to spend the Christmas with Mr. Udney and other European friends who are met together there. x'Vrrived at Bomangsthak in the evening. ' 19, 20. Journeying to Malda ; my mind as full of wretched- ness as I can think of; but principally from outward causes, which are like a shower of the fiery darts of the enemy. Ar- rived in the evening, and ^vas much refreshed and relieved by the conversation of Christian friends. ' 21. Preached in the morning from Heb. vi, 18, ' That by MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. 141 two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation,' &c. Dwelt much on this, that it is the will of God that his saints should have strong consolation. In the evening preached from Jude 24, ' Now unto him who is able to keep us,' «&c. Myself and the whole con- gregation were much edified, I hope ; and the word seemed to take good effect. ' 22 — 31. Spent this time at Malda in very agreeable society. Preached on Christmas day, and twice on Lord's day, the 28th ; and I think I may say with truth, that the whole of this time was a time of real refreshing to my soul, which had long been in a barren and languid state. O that I could indeed praise the Lord for his goodness towards me ! On the last of these days left Malda to return home ; and towards night, met Mr. Thomas and his family going down to begin the new year at Malda. I have gone through many changes this year; but how much has the goodness of God exceeded my ex- pectations ! '1795. Jan. 1 — 15. Much cause to complain of want of spirituality, and really have not had time to write my diary, having between four and five hundred men's labor to direct. On the Lord's day I have preached to the natives in the surrounding villages, and I hope not without some good effect; the Mussulmans of one village having appeared much struck with the word, and promised to cast off their superstitions. Last Lord's day they continued in the same resolution, and were joined in it by several others who had not heard the word before. Yesterday 1 was much dejected on finding that one of our workmen, a bricklayer, had almost made an idol of the same kind as that mentioned in my journal of Feb. 4, last year, Sorosuadi, the patroness of learning, and which was to be con- secrated on the 4th of Feb. following. I might have used authority, and have forbidden it ; but thought this would be persecution. I therefore talked seriously with the man to-day, and tried to convince him of the sinfulness of such a thing, as well as its foolishness ; when he acquiesced in all I said, and promised to throw his work away; so that I hope the idol will be put an end to here. O may God turn them from idols to himself! ' 16. Had much to struggle with outwardly and inwardly. 14 MEMOIR OF DR. CARET. Have great reason to complain that there are not more and stronger struggles. O that I were but more in the spirit of Christ ! This would make sin a burden to me, and earthly things light ; but I am a poor, unfeeling, and ungrateful wretch towards God, and much under the deception of living to my- self: yet I know that this is diametrically opposite to the spu'it of Christ. ' 17. In the morning was in the same wretched state as yesterday ; but in the afternoon Mr. Thomas came. I trust his spiritual conversation was blessed, and served to arouse my drowsy soul in some degree. Had some reviving in prayer with him, and feel that as iron sharpeneth iron, so doth the countenance of a man his friend. ' 18. Bless God for this day. I trust my soul has been quickened in it. In the morning read part of Flavel on Prov- idence, which was truly refreshing. In the afternoon Mr. Thomas preached with much affection to a company of Hindus, who were met to sacrifice to the sun. This is a species of idolatry in which both Hindus and Mussulmans unite, and is peculiar to this part of the country. Plantains and sweetmeats were brought by the women, and exposed opposite to the set- ting sun, while singing and music were performed. Just be- fore the sun set, the women placed pots of burning coals on their heads, which were so made as not to burn them, and walked round the offering several times, which ended the sacrifice. Many left the sacrifice and discoursed all the way home about the things of God. We formed a plan for setting up two colleges, for the education of twelve youths in each. I had some months ago set up a school, but the poverty of the natives caused them fi-equently to take their children to work. To prevent this, we intend to clothe and feed them, and educate them for seven years in Sanscrit, Persian, «fec. ; and particularly to introduce the study of the holy Scriptures and useful sciences therein. We intend also to order types from England at our own expense, and print the Bible, and other useful things, in the Bengal or Hindostani languages. We have reason, indeed, to be very thankful to God for his kind providence, which en- ables us to lay out any thing for him. May our hearts be always ready ! ' 20. Blessed be God for a continuance of calm sweetness ! MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. 143 This being a season in which idolatrous worship is most com- mon, I have frequent occasion to warn the people against it. To-day an idol, Kally, was made in the neighborhood. Had some conversation with some natives on the great wickedness of idolatry. '21. Much barrenness, but some sweet pleasure in the things of God. Had another opportunity of pressing the neces- sity of obtaining pardon from God for their idolatry and other sins. Was enabled to be serious and faithful. ' 22. I have continual reason to complain on account of the barrenness of my soul towards God. Surely no one who has received such uncommon favors can be so ungrateful as my- self I have need of more spiritual life, and a more evangelical turn of mind. I want true faith, and in a great degree ; and I have great need of an aptness or readiness to teach. Lideed, I always was very defective in this ; and now I need more of this spirit than ever I did in my life. I have often thought, on this very account, that I never was fit for the gospel ministry ; but how much less fit for the work of a missionary among the heathen. O may God give me his Holy Spirit, to furnish me for every good work! '23. Still barren. O! if I did but see and feel any thing! Better feel the severest pangs of spirit on this side hell, than live from one day to another in this most wretched, unfeeling state. If I felt the weight of sin, shame for it, resolutions against it, or any thing else, it would be much better than the miserable state that I now am in. O Lord, I beseech thee, de- liver my soul. ' 25. I bless God for some little revival of soul, and pleasure in his work. This was the day for the worship of the patron- ess of literature. The idol was prepared near the place where I live. In the morning I was enabled to speak feelingly to two or three people about the sinfulness of idolatry, and was determined to go and preach to them in the evening, when the offering would be at its height. I accordingly went ; and after asking what that thing was, the Brahmun, who attended the offering, said it was God. I said, pray did that make men, or men make that ? He confessed that it was made by men. I then asked him how many gods there were ? He said, one. I inquired who made the world ? He said, Brahmah. I asked 144 MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. whether he was God ? He said, yes. Then, said I, there may be a lack, or 100,000 gods, at this rate. He then said, that he did according to his faith, and that the Shastra commanded this. I inquired what Shastra ? He said, the Byacorran. I said, that Shastra is only a Sanscrit grammar, and commands no such thing; have you read it ? He acknowledged that he had not. Then, said I, you can have no faith about the matter ; for faith is believing some words ; but this thing cannot speak, and the Shastra you have never read. He then said, that it was ^he custom of the country. Said I, are all the customs of this country good ! He said, yes. I asked whether the custom of thieves, to steal and murder, was good ; and, said I, it is a common custom in this country to tell lies, so that you will not find one man in a thousand who does not make lying his constant practice : is this a good custom ? Is whoredom a good custom? He was quite stunned with this, but presently said that his ancestors had always done so. I inquired whether there was a heaven and a hell ? He said, yes. Then, said I, how do you know but they are gone to hell ? He inquired why God sent the Shastras, if they were not to be observed. I answered, how do you know that God sent the Hindu Shastras ? Did he send the Mussulmans' Koran also ? He answered, that God had created both Hindus and Mussulmans, and had given them different ways of life. I said, then God could neither be wise nor unchangeable to do so, and that all such foolish worship was unworthy of either God or men. I then took an opportunity of pointing out the justice of God, and the gospel way of salvation by Christ, and then entreated the people to cast away those fooleries, and seek pardon through the blood of Christ ; for, said I, you see your Brahmun is dumb; he can say nothing. If he can defend his cause, let him speak now; but you hear that he cannot tell whether this thing is God, or man, or woman, or tiger, or jackal. I felt a sweetness and great affection for them in my own soul, and was enabled to speak from the heart ; and God assisted me much, so that I spoke in Bengali for nearly half an hour with- out intermission, so as to be understood, and much more than ever before. Blessed be God for this assistance. O that I may see the good fruits of it, and that God may bless it for their eternal good ! As to the people, they care just as much for MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. 145 their idol as carnal men in England do for Christ at Christmas: a good feast and a holiday is all in all with them both. I ob- served before, that this idol is worshipped on the 4th of Febru- ary ; but now find that it is regulated by the time of the moon, like English easter. ' 26. Had some longing of soul for the conversion of the poor natives, and an opportunity of discoursing to some of them upon the danger of their state, and the evil of their prac- tice ; but was in my own soul barren, and had little com- munion with God, consequently but little of the enjoyment of true godliness. ' 27. Was employed considerable part of the day in detecting a cheat practised by one of the overseers of the works, and am obliged to discharge him. These dishonest tricks are so com- mon with them, that they play them without a blush. O that God would make the gospel successful among them ! This would undoubtedly make them honest men ; and I fear nothing else will. ' 28. Some little enjoyment in prayer. I find it a blessed thing to feel the plague of my own heart and my spiritual wants in any measure ; then, it is a pleasing, though a melting^ sorrowful enjoyment, to pour out the soul to God. O that I had this spirit of prayer at all times ! But, alas, I soon lose all that is good. ' Much engaged in writing, having begun to write letters to Europe ; but having received none, I feel that hope deferred makes the heart sick. However, I am so fully satisfied of the firmness of their friendship, that I feel a sweet pleasure in writing to them, though rather of a forlorn kind ; and having nothing but myself to write about, feel the awkwardness of being an egotist. I feel a social spirit, though barred from society. ' 30. My great crime is neglect of God, and a spiritual stupidity. I always am best pleased when I feel most, but live from one day to another without seeing or feeling to any con- siderable degree. I am sure that my deadness and stupidity, want of a spirit to admire God, and honor him, is the very re- verse to that of Christianity. O may God make me a true Christian ! 14 146 MEMOIR OF DR. CARET. ' 31. Mercy has brought me through another month. Many mercies have been received from God, and many evils warded off: blessed be his holy name ! But this day has increased the measure of my ingratitude and neglect. O that I had much faith and grace, and more of the meek and lowly spirit of God ! ' Feb. 1. Through the day had not much enjoyment. Yet I bless God for any. My soul is prone to barrenness, and I have every day reason to mourn over the dreadful stupidity of my nature, and the wickedness of my heart, so that I need daily cultivation from the hand of God, and from all the means of grace. Had a little liberty in addressing the natives ; but was for some time much dejected, — seeing them inattentive, and afterwards putting all the quirking questions they could think of I was, however, enabled to be faithful, and at last God seemed a little more to fix their attention, and they de- sired me to set up a weekly meeting to read the Bible to them, and to expound the word. '2. Had a miserable day; sorely harassed from with- out, and very cold and dead in my soul. I could bear all outward trials if I had but more of the spirit of God. ' 3. This is indeed the valley of the shadow of death to me, except that my soul is much more insensible than John Bunyan's Pilgrim. O ! what would I give for a kind sympa- thetic friend, such as I had in England, to whom I might open my heart ! But I rejoice that I am here, notwithstanding ; and God is here, who not only can have compassion, but is able to save to the uttermost. '4. I believe my fault is this: magnifying every trouble, and forgetting the multitude of mercies that I am daily loaded with. I have been reading Flavel on Providence, lately ; but under every new shadow of a trial I find myself to be a iearn- er, and even to have made no new advances in the necessary science of improving all mercies to promote thankfulness, and all trials to promote patience. ' 5. O what a load is a barren heart ! I feel a little forlorn pleasure in thinking over the time that is past, and drown some of my heaviness by writing to my friends in England, and some by going about the various works carrying on here ; MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. 147 but the only effectual way is to cast it upon God : this I feel such a backwardness to, that the load is rendered much heavier by the consideration. ' 6. I sometimes walk in my garden, and try to pray to God ; and if I pray at all, it is in the solitude of a walk. I thought my soul a little drawn out to-day, but soon gross darkness re- turned. Spoke a word or two to a Mahomedan upon the things of God, but I feel to be as bad as they. ' 7. O that this day could be consigned to oblivion ! What a mixture of impatience, carelessness, forgetfulness of God, pride, and peevishness have I felt! God forgive me ! ' 8. I had more enjoyment to-day than for many days past. Had two pleasing opportunities, and felt my heart encouraged. Went to a village called Maddabatty to preach to the natives, but found very few. I felt much for them, but had not the freedom I wished : yet I know God can bless a weak attempt. '9 — 14. I cannot say any thing this week, except proclaim my own shame. I think that it is a wonder indeed that the goodness of God endureth yet daily. ' 15. This day had some little reviving. Preached in the evening to a pretty large assembly of the natives ; but when I told them of the immortality of the soul, they said they had never heard of that before this day. They told me they wanted instruction, and desired me to instruct them upon the Lord's days. ' 16. Had some little continuance of yesterday's frame. I ardently wish for the conversion of the heathen, and long for more frequent opportunities of addressing them; but their poverty requires them to labor from sun-rise to sun-set. I have opportunities of privately instructing them very frequent- ly. O may I never want a heart to do so ! ' 17. I have to complain of abundance of pride, which I find it necessary to oppose, and the more as is always blaming me for putting myself on a level with the natives. I have much to conflict with on this score, both without and within. I need the united prayers of all the people of God, and O that I had but the spirit to pray more for myself! ' 19. Have reason to be thankful for any degree of enjoy- ment of God. My soul is so much swallowed up in its own indolence and stupidity, that I have scarcely any enjoyment of 148 MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. divine things, or sense of my own necessities ; but from day to day the state of my soul is exceedingly forlorn. But to-day I felt rather more inclined to God and heavenly things. All this light, however, was only like the peeping out of the sun for a minute or two in very rainy weather, and soon I felt my gloom return. '20,21. I think I feel some longings of soul after God; but yet my soul feels exceeding solitary and comfortless, and I want every thing, in my ow^n apprehension, that belongs to godliness. I have no zeal, no love, no aptitude for contem- plation. '22. A somewhat lowering morning. Read a sermon of Flavel's on these words, 'Now if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature ;' but felt scarcely any thing. In the afternoon I was much cheered by a considerable number of the natives coming for instruction, and I endeavored to discourse with them about divine things. I told them that all men were sin- ners against God, and that God was strictly just, and of purer eyes than to approve of sin. I endeavored to press this point, and to ask how they could possibly be saved if this was the case. I tried to explain to them the nature of heaven and hell ; and told them that, except our sins were pardoned, we must go to hell. They said, that would be like the prisoners in Dinagepore gaol. I said, no ; for in prison only the body could be afflicted, but in hell the soul ; that in a year or two a prisoner would be released, but he never would be freed from hell ; that death would release them from prison, but in hell they would never die. I then told them how that God sent his own Son to save sinners ; that he came to save them from sin ; that he died in the sinner's stead ; and that whosoever be- lieved in him would obtain everlasting life, and would become holy. They said they were all pleased with this, but wished to know what sin and holiness were. I told them that there were sins of the heart, the tongue, and the actions ; but as a fountain cast out its waters, so all sin had its source from the heart ; and that not to think of God, not to wish to do his will, not to regard his word, and also pride, covetousness, envy, &c., were great sins ; and that evil and abusive language was very sinful ; that not to be strictly upright in their dealings was very sinful, I told them that God was under no obligation to MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. I40 save any man ; and that it was of no use to make offerings to God to obtain the pardon of sin, for God had no need of goats, kids, sheep, &c., for all these are his at all times ; and that if God forgave them, it must be from his own will ; but that he was willing to save for the sake of Jesus Christ. After this, part of the 5th chapter of Matthew was read by Mounshi, and explained to them, and they went away promis- ing to retin-n next Lord's day ; and my spirits were much revived. I am encouraged much, as this is the beginning of a congregation, and that they came of their own will, and de- sired to be instructed. They are collected from the villages where I have preached before, and from some where I have not been. Most of them, also, were men of influence, being Mundals, or heads of villages. Their attention was very great, and their questions serious and pertinent; and had I a greater command of their language, I might be able to convey much instruction to them. They, however, understood what was delivered. Another pleasing circumstance is, that they already remember some religious terms, as the name of Jesus Christ, and his mission, with its design, and the necessity of pardon in order to salvation. They have a word for heart, as the seat of the affections, viz., untuccura ; but here it is not understood ; so that when I speak of sin coming from the heart, I am forced to use the word dele, which only signifies the heart as a part of the body, and means a sheep's heart as well as a man's heart. Much circumlocution is therefore necessary ; but God's cause, I doubt not, will triumph over all obstacles soon.' One of the greatest difficulties a missionary has to encoun- ter, especially during the two or three first years of his work, arises from the poverty and perversion of language. In com- municating ideas upon spiritual subjects, it is hard to find a corresponding word with the one with which he is familiar^ This is felt severely in a rural district, and where the popula- tion is degraded, such as that was amongst which Mr. Carey and his colleague were now settled. They must have been ignorant, however, beyond what it is common for the i)oorest of the inhabitants to be in towns and cities. For it is certain, you may always find, in fair Bengali, words such as all under- stand and speak, for ' heart, love,' &c. ; and though there is no 14* 150 MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. single word answering to our single word ' conscience,' yet, by the slight periphrasis of only two or three words, as ' the knowledge or judgment of good and evil,' we express the idea, perhaps, more satisfactorily than could be done by a single word, as by our word conscience, had it not been that its long conventional use had sufficiently appropriated it to a specific moral purpose. But a missionary finds far greater hindrance to his work from the metaphysical and idolatrous use of language, than simply from paucity of words. The former has restricted all the terms applicable to intellectual and spiritual subjects to mere abstractions and subtle speculation. And to disengage them from their long philosophical application, and appropri- ate them to a simple, popular, and religious use, is a work of time and labor. By the Hindu system, the Supreme Essence is itself merely an abstraction, an ideal existence, without positive attributes, natural or moral, a mere figment of the imagination. And yet this mere metaphysical abstraction, this essential 'nihil,' is the primordial of all mind, and of all spiritual existence in the universe : besides it, indeed, there is no mind, no sj)irit, no mover, no cause, no final end. It per- vades every thing, it contains every thing, nay, it is itself every thing, and every thing is it, whether on earth, or in the lowest hell, or in the highest heaven. And, again, since there is strictly but one doer of all things, all spontaneous agency and all accountability are annihilated ; and all distinction in morals is lost, and only tolerated in discourse as a vulgar absurdity. The contact and union of mind with matter, ani- mal or otherwise sensitive, throughout the universe, with all its agencies and susceptibilities of pleasure and pain, yea, and with all we understand by virtue and vice, and their retribu- tions through the horrors and all but interminable mazes of metempsychosis or transmigration of souls ; all are illusion in the estimation of an oriental philosopher and religious devotee, whose ultimate and only proper good is in the loss of their identical existence in final absorption. Hence, with them, all things are involved in a circle which nothing can dissolve, and from which no power on earth can move them. So extremely, also, have poetry and the popular idolatry combined to poison the current of human thought, that no MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. 151 religious conception is ever formed apart from the fictitious and the monstrous ; and so effectually have they abused and perverted the use of language, that scarcely a single w^ord can be safely used M^ithout periphrasis. Neither God, nor holiness, nor heaven, nor hell, nor sin, nor any other word M^ithin the compass of religious phraseology, can convey any just impres- sion to the mind of a Hindu, without explanation ; his idolatry having invested every possible term with something fabulous and alien from truth. There is, indeed, no language in the world which idolatry has not profaned. The English is scarcely purged from it to this day, though many generations have passed since heathenism was professedly renounced. Hence the frequent use of the words 'fortune, fate, muse, nature,' and many others ; not merely by poets, but by other writers ; and, in common conversation, not shunned by some who would think it hard not to be deemed Christians.* Journal continued. ' 23. I felt some encouragement through this day, arising from the circumstance of the people coming yesterday for instruction, and was enabled to plead with God for them. I long for their deliverance from their miserable state on two accounts ; principally, because I see God daily dishonored, and them drowned in sensuality, ignorance, and superstition ; and, likewise, because I think that news of the conversion of some of them would much encourage the society, and excite them to double their efforts in other places for the propagation of the glorious gospel. ' 24, 25. I think one of the greatest blessings on earth is Christian society ; for if one becomes somewhat dull, conver- sation serves to enliven his spirits, and to prompt him on in godliness. I have but little of this help, and, to my sorrow, often fall when I have not one at hand to lift me up again. I think my peevishness, fretfulness, and impatience is astonish- * See some excellent strictures upon this subject, in Mr, Hum's 'Reasons for Secession,' p. 289, and onward; where the influence of polytheism upon the litera- ture and language of this country is stated with great force. The work throughout is pregnant with sound sense and deep seriousness ; and exhibits a mass of informa- tion upon painfully controverted subjects, without a bitter or provoking sentence. 152 MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. ing. O that the grace of God might but be in me, and abomid !' A missionary living among the heathen is shut up to his own resources. His feelings, his objects, his labors are known and appreciated by no human creature. In the midst of a teeming population, he lives a solitary life. It w^ould be vain to expect sympathy from unconverted heathens. Home and friends are thought of as far remote, to remain so, perhaps, for ever. Between his daily engagements, commenced with dif- ficulty and persevered in with discom*agement, and their antici- pated results, innumerable and mortifying disappointments intervene. His faith and patience are therefore brought to severe tests. Nothing short of a constant recurrence to the promises of God's word, and a simple reliance upon the renewing agency of his Spirit, the principal subject of those promises, can sustain the mind under such circumstances. It is matter of devout joy when the gospel is so far success- ful as to induce any to renounce idolatry and assume the Christian profession ; but the burden of a missionary is thenceforward rather augmented than relieved. He has then unremittingly to watch the renewing process. He has daily to inform the ignorant and excite the torpid mind, before a stranger to truth and righteousness, and hitherto unsus- ceptible of any impressions but such as abominable idolatries and sensible objects exert upon a depraved, feeble, and sensual nature. The errors which beset native converts, are so nu- merous and insinuating, and the perils to which their princi- ples and character are liable so imminent, that the solicitude of a missionary on their behalf is more painful than what he feels in making known the truths of revelation to the unthinking heathen. The wisdom of our blessed Lord can- not be too much admired, nor too scrupulously imitated, in sending forth his disciples two and two. This ought never to be disregarded by missionary societies. It is as important to the religious life and comfort of a missionary, as it is conso- nant to his social nature. In no case should it be departed from in breaking up new ground, and in stations remote from European society. The mind of Mr. Chamberlain suffered agonies from the desolation he felt in laboring and suffering alone. Few men, perhaps, were ever less dependent upon MEMOIR OF DR. CARET. 153 the social influences than was Mr. Carey ; and few men ever had a yoke-fellow less in accordance with their own disposi- tions and habits than his was ; yet the society of this Christian brother was a refreshment to his spirit, exceeded only by what he experienced in fellowship with God, and in anticipating the success of his labors. But, when brethren are unavoidably insulated, they are the more entitled to the sympathies of their foUow-Christians and of ministers at home. Were the mem- bers of the committees of the various societies under whose auspices they go forth, to cultivate their correspondence, it would be a solace to the missionaries, and of no small ad- vantage to the public. It is not possible that the executive of the different societies should fully perform so onerous a duty. The unavoidable secular details devolving upon secretaries, in receiving calls, arranging for engagements in all parts of the empire, preparing abstracts of labor and reports, watching the pecuniary interests, and attending public meetings, render it necessary to confine their foreign communications princi- pally to matters of official interest. But were the different ministers, each one as his convenience and predilections might dictate, to select some one missionary as his correspondent, a mass of various and interesting intelligence would be elicited acceptable to the public mind, — the hearts of the missionaries would be cheered by such demonstrations of brotherly esteem, and a community of affection between the laborers in the different portions of the Lord's vineyard thus secured and maintained with fervor. Journal continued. '26. Rode to Moypal to-day to visit Mr. Thomas; found him well, and had some comfortable enjoyment of his com- pany. We had much conversation, and I hope it has been very profitable ; yet I feel distressed with the thought that the letters to be sent as specimens for types will scarcely be ready this season. It is a considerable work, and requires much care and attention. '27. Returned home to-day. On my return, had an op- portunity of discoursing with some people upon divine things, and of telling them of the danger that they were in. Arrived at home very poorly, and much tired. 154 MEMOIR OF DR. CARET. ' 28. Very busy all day, and engaged in the concerns of the world ; yet not without some desires after God and goodness. What a pleasant life must it be to be quite devoted to him ! ' March 1. Felt my mind somewhat set upon the things of God, and had some real pleasure in the public exercises which were engaged in, in my house, this day. I felt a concern for the gospel and its spread in other parts, and for the churches and ministers of my acquaintance. I was in hopes that my last week's congregation would have come to-day, but was disappointed. I went out, however, to a market at about two miles' distance, called Nullagunge, and preached to the people there, who were very attentive, and promised to come for fur- ther instruction the day after to-morrow. I hope some good may be done soon. ' 8. To-day I preached once, and Mr. Thomas once, in our house, to our visiters : hope it was a time of some little re- freshing to our souls. About the middle of the night they left us. ' 9, 10. Much to complain of: such another dead soul I think scarcely exists in the world. I can only compare myself to one banished from all his friends, and wandering in an irk- some solitude. ' 12 — 14. Much to do in the world, and almost all my time taken up therein. Have had a few serious solitary reflections, but want that tenderness and that peace of conscience which I have experienced in time past. Mine is a lonesome life indeed. O that my soul may be quickened in divine things ! * 15. A miserable day. I did not suspect that my soul was so absorbed in the world as I find it to be. If I try to pray, something relative to the completing of our works starts up, and my thoughts are all carnal and confused. I have been very unhappy, and would not have to manage all the business of so great a concern again for another person, for the world ; but it is my own carnal spirit that is to be blamed : this is the station which God has, in great mercy, put me into, and has thus presei^ved and provided for my family. Mounshi was gone to see a relation for about a fortnight, but I went out to preach to the natives. Found very few ; tried to discourse to them, but my soul was overwhelmed with depression, and I left them after some time. By the way, I tried to pour out MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. 155 my soul in prayer to God, but was ready to sink under its burden. ' 16 — 22. Had a little converse with God. Very barren, and much discouraged. On Saturday, Mr. Thomas and his family came to see us ; and on the Lord's day Mr. Thomas and I went to Lulla, a village about two miles off, where he preached, and had great liberty of expression. The people appeared to be much impressed with the word of God, and I hope it may be of use to them eventually. '23 — 29. Nothing important occurred. On Wednesday, Mr. Thomas left us. I trust his visit has been of some use to my soul. Spiritual conversation is a great and invaluable blessing. Preached on Lord's day to a few people at a village near my house. '30 — April 5. Had an opportunity or two, which I was enabled to embrace, of speaking to some natives upon the wickedness of the horrid practice of swinging, &c. That season is now approaching ; and on Lord's day I appointed to preach twice to the natives. Li the morning the congregation was about five hundred ; and after Mounshi had read a chap- ter in Matthew, I endeavored to preach, and had more enjoy- ment than for some time past. The people, having attended with great seriousness, went away shouting, 'Alla!' that is, O God ! In the evening had about four hundred, and was enabled to speak to them of the necessity of a sinner's union with Christ. They appeared serious, and departed shouting as in the morning, which is a way that the Mussulmans use to invoke the divine Being, Alla being derived from the Hebrew El, and the Arabic and Persian word for God. This the Mus- sulmans universally use here. 'April 6 — 10. Had frequent opportunities of discoursing with the natives about the horrid self-tormenting mode of worship which is practised on the 8th. 9th, and 10th of this month; as falling on spikes of iron, dancing with threads or bamboos thrust through their sides, swinging, &c. This is practised on the three last days of their year. But the princi- pal is what they call Churruk Poojah, that is, the worship of swinging. Poojah is their word for worship, and Poodjah for the object of worship. I find that this worship is only prac- tised by the Harry, or lowest caste of the Hindus, who are 156 MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. hunters, bird-catchers, tanners, shoemakers, &c., and are esteemed execrable among the other castes ; but great num- bers always go to see them. The other modes of self-tor- menting besides swinging are not practised in this part of the country ; but on the tenth, that was attended to in many places, and the night was spent in dancing and mirth. This day I had a serious conversation with a man about his soul. ' 11, 12. On the last of these days preached twice to the natives. Had a large assembly in the morning, about two hundred, and in the evening about five hundred. Mounshi first read to them a part of the gospel by Matthew, and I after- wards preached to them upon the necessity of repentance and faith, and of copying the example of Christ. They heard with considerable attention, and I felt some sweet freedom in pressing them to come to Christ. Afterwards had some med- itation on the effects of the fear of God on my soul, and saw plainly that I was restrained from much evil thereby, not merely as if I were hindered from action by bands put upon me, but by its operation upon my will, and exciting me to fear doing that which God disapproves of. '13 — J 9. Passed the week in a tolerably calm manner. Had a few opportunities of discoursing about the things of God. On Lord's day preached twice to a pretty large con- course of people, I suppose five or six hundred each time. Was very poorly with a cold, and dejected, thinking I could say nothing ; but, contrary to my expectation, I was enabled to pour out my soul to God for them, and afterwards for God to them. I felt liberty and pleasure, much more than I could expect, in speaking a hard language, with which my acquaint-, ance must necessarily be slender, though I believe I spoke more than half an hour so as to be well understood, without any help from Mounshi. I have hope that God may at last appear and carry on his work in the midst of us. 'May 9. I have added nothing to these memoirs since the 19th of April. Now I observe that, for the last three Sabbaths, my soul has been much comforted in seeing so large a con- gregation, and more especially as many who are not our own workmen come from the parts adjacent, whose attendance must be wholly disinterested. I therefore now rejoice in see- ing a regular congregation of from two to six hundred people, MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. 157 of all descriptions : Mussulmans, Brahmuns, and other classes of Hindus, which I look upon as a favorable token from God. I this day attempted to preach to them more regularly from a passage of the word of God, Luke iv, 18 : ' The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor,' &c. ; in which I endeavored to prove the miserable state of unconverted men, as spiritually poor; as bound by a sinful disposition and by pernicious customs, and false expectations of happiness, from false and idolatrous worship ; in which I took occasion to observe, that both in the Shastras and Koran there were many good observations and rules, which ought to be attended to ; but that one thing they could not inform us of, viz., how God can forgive sin consist- ently with his justice, and save sinners in a way in which justice and mercy could harmonize. I told them that their books were like a loaf of bread, in which was a considerable quantity of good flour, but also a little very malignant poison, which made the whole so poisonous that whoever should eat of it would die ; so, I observed, that their writings contained much good instruction mixed with deadly poison. J appealed to them whether any of their idols could give them rain, a blessing much wanted now, or whether they could do them any service at all; when an old Mussulman answered, 'No, they have no power at all;' and in this he included the Mus- sulmans' peers, or spirits of their saints, as well as the heathen idols. I observed that the caste was a strong chain by which they were bound, and afterwards spoke of the suitableness and glory of the gospel, which proposed an infinitely great sacrifice for infinite guilt, and a free salvation for poor and perishing sinners. In the afternoon I enlarged upon the same subject, felt my own soul warmed with the opportunity, and hoped for good. Of late God has given me a greater concern for the salvation of the heathen, and I have been enabled to make it a more importunate request at the throne of grace. ' Blessed be God, I have at last received letters and other articles from our friends in England. I rejoice to hear of the welfare of Zion. Bless God that the Leicester people go on well. O may they increase more and more ! Letters from dear brethren Fuller, Morris, Pearce, and Rippon ; but why not from others? I am grieved for Carleton church. Poor 15 158 MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. brother West ! I am grieved for England. A residence there with propriety is extremely difficult. Bless God we have no such spies or informers here ; we are in peace, and sit under our vines and fig-trees. 'June 14. I have had very sore trials in my own family, fi-om a quarter which I forbear to mention. Have greater need for faith and patience than ever I had, and I bless God that I have not been altogether without supplies of these graces, though, alas, I have much to complain of from within. Mr. Thomas and his family spent one Lord's day with us. May 23. He was much pleased with our congregation ; and we con- certed means to get all the old Hindu professors together, having it now in our power to furnish them with some em- ployment. We spent Wednesday, 26th, in prayer, and for a convenient place, assembled in a temple of Seeb, which was near to our house. Mounshi was with us, and we all engaged in supplication for the revival of godliness in our own souls, and the prosperity of the work among the natives. I was from that day seized with a dysentery, which continued nearly a week with dreadful violence ; but then I recovered, through abundant mercy. That day of prayer was a good day to our souls. We concerted measures for forming a Baptist church, and to-morrow morning I am going to Moypal, for the purpose of our organizing it. Through divine mercy our congregation of natives is very promising: we have rather fewer people now, owing to this being their seed-time, the rains being just now setting in. I hope for and expect the blessing of God among us. Though it is painful to preach among careless heathens, yet I feel preaching the gospel to be the element of my soul. Had much seriousness to-day in addressing them from the words of Paul, — ' Come out from among them, and be separate, and touch not the unclean thing, and I will receive you ;' and I thought the people behaved seriously. The trans- lation also goes on ; Genesis is finished, and Exodus to the 33d chapter. I have also, for the purpose of exercising my- self in the language, begun translating the gospel by John, which Mounshi afterwards corrects ; and Mr. Thomas has begun the gospel by Luke. O Lord, send now prosperity ! ' MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. 159 SECTION III. LETTER TO HIS SISTERS LETTER TO THE SOCIETY LETTER TO MR. PEARCE BRIEF NOTICE RESPECTING HIM LETTER TO HIS SISTERS LETTER TO THE SOCIETY REMARKS ON SECU- LAR EMPLOYMENTS MISSION TO AFRICA REFERRED TO LET- TER FROM MR. THOMAS. ' Mudnabatty, March 1 1, 1795. 'My dear Sisters, 'Many changes have taken place with me smce I left Eng- land ; but I find that all have been conducive to my good, and I trust will be found so to the promotion of the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ ; though I have abundant cause to com- plain of my leanness from day to day, and the exceedingly un- grateful returns that I make to God for all his very great good- ness and bounty towards me. I am surrounded with favors, nay, they are poured in upon me ; yet I find the rebellion of my heart against God to be so great as to neglect, nay, forget him, and live in that neglect day after day without feeling my soul smitten with compunction. I trust that I am not for- gotten in the prayers of my friends ; and perhaps it is in answer to their requests that the spark of love to God is not quite ex- tinguished. ' The inestimable blessing of Christian society is enjoyed but scantily here to what it is in England ; for though we have very valuable Christian friends, yet they live twenty or thirty miles distant from us ; and as travelling is very difficult here, there being no way of travelling but by water, we have the pleasure of seeing each other but seldom ; though when we do, it makes our meetings much more sweet and agreeable than they might be if we met oftener. We have in the neighbor- hood about fifteen or sixteen serious persons, or those I have good hopes of, all Europeans. 'With the natives I have very large concerns; almost all the farmers for near twenty miles round cultivate indigo for us, and the laboring people working here to the number of about 160 MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. five hundred, so that I have considerable opportunity of pub- lishing the gospel to them. I have so much knowledge of the language as to be able to preach to them for about half an hour, so as to be understood, but am not able to vary my sub- jects much. I tell them of the evil and universality of sin, the sins of a natural state, the justice of God, the incarnation of Christ, and his sufferings in our stead, and of the necessity of conversion, holiness, and faith, in order to salvation. They hear with attention in general, and some come to me for in- struction in the things of God. I hope in time I may have to rejoice over some who are truly converted to God. ' Poor Peter is removed from us by death. — ' I have had much better health here than in England ; but was attacked with fever, &c., for near two months Last year was a very unhealthy one ; we had so many people ill as to be scarcely able, sometimes, to carry on the works. The quan- tities of rice which grow here are the occasion of this un- healthiness ; for rice grows half up the straw in water, and the water is confined in the fields, and stagnates there, in order that the corn may grow. 'I am, your affectionate brother, W. Carey.* *To THE Society for Spreading the Gospel among the Heathen. 'Mudnabatty, Aug. 13, 1795. 'Dear Brethren, 'An opportunity now presents itself for me to write you a few words of my welfai'e and state; and by this opportunity I send my journal, by which you will see a little of the manner of my life. Some things in it, as Mr. Thomas's engaging in business, &c., at Calcutta, I desire to have for ever suppressed and buried in oblivion ; as I am convinced that it was only oc- casioned by temporary circumstances, and from that time to this, the utmost harmony and affection has prevailed between us. I think the whole of it can only present a melancholy picture of sameness, and be tedious as a twice-told tale. ' I trust we have not been altogether idle, t4iough I know not as yet of any success that has attended our labors. Moun- shi and Mohun Chund are now with me ; but I do not see that disinterested zeal which is so ornamental to a Christian in MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. 161 either of them. Yet they have good knowledge of the things of God, considering their disadvantages. With their help we have divine worship twice on the Lord's day in Bengali, which is thus conducted: first, Mounshi reads a chapter in Bengali; then we sing ; afterwards I pray, and preach to them in that language. Partly from local circumstances, and partly from paucity of words, my preaching is very different from what it was in England ; but the guilt and depravity of mankind, and the redemption by Christ, with the freeness of God's mercy are the themes I most insist upon. I often exhort them in the words of the apostle, 2 Cor. vi, 17. 'The translation of the Bible is going on, though but slowly, it may be thought. I have got Genesis and Exodus nearly ready for the press, and Leviticus is begun ; if we are spared, I hope we may be able to put Genesis or more to the press by Christmas. We have for the present given up the idea of getting types from England, and as there are types in Bengal, we think to print in the ordinary way, though the expense is about ten times what it would be in England. This will, however, be much more than compensated by the reflection, that we have put into the hands of many heathens a treasure greater than that of diamonds, and, by multiplying copies, made a probability of those Scriptures being preserved in the Bengal tongue. 'One great difficulty in speaking to the Hindus arises from the extreme ignorance of the common people, who are not able to understand one of their own countrymen who speaks the language well, wdthout considerable difficulty. They have a confined dialect, composed of a very few words, which they work about, and make them mean almost every thing ; and their poverty of words to express religious ideas is amazing, all their conversation being about things earthly. 'Tis far other- wise, however, with them who speak the language well : the language is rich and copious, and publishing the Bible must make it more known to the common people. 'You will perceive by the journal the superstitions w^e have to encounter, and I doubt not will sympathize with and pray for us. We have need of your prayers and advice, in every respect, and trust you are not without a share in ours. 15* 162 MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. 'We have received letters from Mr. Fuller, Mr. Pearce, Mr. Morris, and Dr. Rippon, which were a great refresh- ment to us. I hope we shall not have so great a scarcity of letters from Europe again. The articles likewise all ar- rived safe. 'Through the mercy of God, we all enjoy very good health, and I think much more so than last year ; though I have had much better health than in England, and like the climate much. 'I have only to add, that I suppose you will have great difficulty in reading my diary: the damp air of the rainy season had extracted all the size out of the paper, and I was short of that article, so could not replace it. I have discontinued it for some time; but no new occurrence has taken place since I wrote my last journal. I intend, now, immediately to resume it, and send you regular accounts thereof. I am, dear brethren, affectionately yours, ' W. Carey.' ' To Mr. S. Pearce, Birmingham. Oct. 2, 1795. 'My very dear Brother, 'Yours of the 27th of March, 1795, I received a few days ago, which was the second receipt of letters from England, since I have been in Bengal ; and, except the stationery and shoes sent out in the Royal Admiral, by Mr. Savage, no article, no remittance, or letter has reached us ; so that, had you come instead of your letter, the surprise would have been great in- deed. No books of any kind have reached us, except brother Fuller's piece on Socinianism, which is admh-able ; Mr. R. H.'s piece on politics, which I wish had been on divinity; and "Rippon's Register," to No. viii inclusive. I have not seen the Register you mention (ix), in which the account is given of the arts used to inveigle poor Ram Boshoo. I wrote an ac- count of it to somebody, but am sorry to hear of its being pub- lished, especially that any names were made use of; a n would now give this caution, once for all, that every thing like personality be avoided, in every publication respecting the mission, as all connexions here are a thousand times more conspicuous than in England. When I write, I write freely? and hope my correspondents will be prudent ; otherwise, more MEMOIR OF DR. CARET. 163 hurt will be done to the mission than a thousand people can easily repair. 'I wrote to Mr. Fuller, for a number of books ; among them, a polyglott Bible, and "Botanical Magazine," by Curtis and Sowerby, but have not yet received them. All other publica- tions of any account will be great treats to us. 'All I can say must be about ourselves, and egotism is tedious. But 1 will send you all the news I can. I cannot send you any account of sinners flocking to Clii'ist, or of any thing encouraging in that respect ; but I can send you an ac- count of some things which may be viewed as forerunners to that work which God will certainly perform. The name of Jesus Christ is no longer strange in this neighborhood. And the hymn of Mounshi is well known, especially the chorus, O who can save sinners except the Lord Jesus Christ ? ' We have divine worship constantly every Lord's day, and conduct it in the manner of the English churches; and on the week days, I take opportunities of conversing with the natives about eternal things. 'The Bible has, that part which has been translated, been read to several hundreds of natives, and I trust will gain ground. ' But now I must mention some of the difficulties under which we labor, particularly myself. The language spoken by the natives of this part, though Bengali, is yet so different from the language itself, that, though 1 can preach an hour with tolerable freedom, so as that all who speak the language well, or can write or read, perfectly understand me, yet the poor laboring people can understand but little; and though the language is rich, beautiful, and expressive, yet the poor people, whose whole concern has been to get a little rice to satisfy their wants, or to cheat their oppressive merchants and zemindars, have scarcely a word in use about religion. They have no word for love, for repent, and a thousand other things ; and every idea is expressed, either by quaint phrases, or tedious circumlocutions : a native who speaks the language well, finds it a year's, work to obtain their idiom. This sometimes dis- courages me much ; but, blessed be God, I feel a growing de- sire to be always abounding in the work of the Lord, and I know that my labor shall not be in vain in the Lord. I am 164 MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. much encouraged by our Lord's expression, ' He who reapeth' (in the harvest) 'receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto eternal life.' If I, like David, only am an instrument of gath- ering materials, and another build the house, 1 trust my joy will not be the less. ' The translation of the Bible is going on, and is, to me, a very pleasant work: Genesis, and Exodus, and Matthew, Mark, part of John, and James, may be reckoned ready for the press. I am surprised to find that one third of the words in the Hebrew Bible are known to Mounshi, and great numbers are in constant use in this country, as kophar, a sin-offering. Kophar means here, the vilest character and actions imagin- able ; and if you mean to affront a Mussulman, no word will do it so effectually. It appears to have been given by the Arabs to all negroes ; hence Caffraria, the country of the Caffres. So Hosannah is much used in Persian, and is an ex- clamation of the multitude to a great man or king, on his entering into any city or place : the populace then cry Asanta, that is, the bringer of happiness, or Osianna, viz., this is the bringer of all good or happiness to us. So the word used for the crown of the altar, &c., (-)t) is in common use, and the thing too may be seen on most of the natives' palanquins. I have, in the translation, sounded the Hebrew Jod, and the Greek Iota, like Y, and believe them to be the true pronunci- ation, and by this pronunciation many words are familiar to learned men here : as Yosuf, Yakoob, Izhak, Mooseh, Kooresh, &c. This may appear trifling to you ; but when translating, I find multitudes of such apparently trifling things, which have considerable weight. Printing, here is uncommonly dear; but if types could be got from England, there are natives who could do the business of compositors and pressmen ; and this would be the cheapest way. Mr. Thomas has a set of letters fit for types to be founded by, written for that purpose by a native who writes an excellent hand. I will persuade him to enclose them to the society this season ; they may then use their pleasure about having them made or not. We intended to have done it at our own expense, but at present are not able. 'Nothing could give me more heartfelt pleasure, I believe, than to see my dear brother Pearce at Mudnabatty ; but I am MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. 165 not quite clear that a person of your usefulness in England, should quit his station. You are certainly qualified by God to fill an important post at home ; and the thought is painful, of seeing you cut off from all possibility of preaching for two years, or more. Besides, preaching among the natives is very different from preaching among Europeans : it must consist much in assertion, and, among the common people, much proof will be in vain. Your method of a warm address to the heart is necessary, and almost the whole, in preaching here : but you have other talents, which, perhaps, are not over plentiful in England. I think persons whose hearts burn with love to Christ, if other qualifications for the ministry are rather fewer, will equally answer the end. I much rejoice to hear of the willingness of the two young men at Bristol ; may God confirm their hearts ! and if successors to us are sent in time, it will be a wise step, as our lives are uncertain, and it will be a great pity for the mission to be vacant two or three years, for want of persons acquainted with their language and customs.' It is well known that the mind of Mr. Pearce was zealously inclined to missionary labor. And, considering the nature of his complaint, and the intense ardor of his desire to proceed to India, it has sometimes been doubted by those who well knew him, whether he acted rightly in relinquishing his pur- pose. He besought a number of his brethren to make it matter of intercession with God, that he would indicate the designs of his providence. After such exercise, and the best consideration they could bestow upon so solemn a subject, they expressed their opinion as adverse to the procedure, and he abided by their decision. For these twenty years past, the son of Mr. Pearce has been honored to bear an important and successful part in those labors, from which, by an inscrutable providence, the father was withholden. Letter continued. ' You think of Africa. I rejoice, and hope you will perse- vere ; and I will give you one or two words of advice, if a little experience may entitle me to that privilege. When your missionaries leave England, they will, of course, be supplied with all proper necessaries. If they land at an English fac- 166 MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. tory, they may procure most things necessary, if they have money ; but it will be to their comfort to set out on a low scale of living, and to be determined, previously, what course of life to pursue for a livelihood. I still think farming preferable to any; but there are many difficulties and disappointments to be overcome, for birds, beasts, and insects will combine to destroy all. I would advise them to avoid all woody and un- frequented places, — they are full of danger ; and to choose an open, high spot, for their habitation. These are very neces- sary cautions, if the lives and health of the missionaries are regarded. I would also advise them to avoid sleeping on the ground. If they carry out bedsteads and gauze curtains, to prevent the musquitoes biting them, it will be a good pre- caution : without them, they cannot live long. They will do well to associate, as much as possible, with the natives, and to write down every word they can catch, with its meaning. But if they have children with them, it is by far the readiest way of learning, to listen to them, for they will catch up every idiom in a little time. My children can speak nearly as well as the natives, and know many things in Bengali which they do not know in English. I should also recommend to your consideration, a very large country, perhaps unthought of: I mean, Boutan or Thibet. Were two missionaries sent to that country, we should have it in our power to afford them much help. We could also, if we knew of their coming previously, order matters for their settling there ; could assist them with many necessaries ; sometimes see them, and keep up a regular communication with them once m three weeks or a month, at a very small expense, as we are within about a hundred miles of the borders of that country : I myself have seen the moun- tains that border it. Mr. Thomas and I intend making a jour- ney into that country very soon, and have thought of securing a place there for some such purpose. I much wish the socie- ty to turn their thoughts to that part of the world. ' The day I received your letter, I set about composing a grammar and dictionary of the Bengal language, to send to you. Perhaps you may obtain ' Halhed's Bengal Grammar ' in England: it will be a great help. There is a dictionary and grammar, of Hindostani, published by a Mr. Gilchrist, a very good one ; but this will not be very useful for Bengali : it is, MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. 167 however, a useful and very excellent w^ork, in three volumes, quarto. The best account of Hindu mythology extant, and which is pretty exact, is ' Sonnerat's Voyage,' undertaken by order of the king of France. 'Now, dear brother, adieu! Mercy and truth be Avith you! I hope the scarcity of European letters will be recompensed to us by a multitude in future. I have received no letter from my dear brethren Ryland, SutclifF, Blundel, Edmonds, or dear father Fawcett, nor from my dear friends at Leicester. I re- joice much to hear of their welfare. Tell them, I still love them in the Lord. Tell Mr. Cave, I love him. My sincere love to Mr. and Mrs. King, Potts, Rounds, &c., — to all the dear ministers, churches, and acquaintance in England. I know you pray for us ; I trust we do so for you. May God answer all our prayers ! 'I just say we are well, which is a great mercy, as this is the breaking up of the rains. ' The utmost harmony prevails between Mr. Thomas and myself; and I trust Mr. Thomas's assistant, a Mr. Powel, who is added to us, may be of use to us in our undertaking. My assistant is a Portuguese, a Catholic ; his wife, a coast Protest- ant, and he attend the preaching every Lord's day. I hope God may work on his heart effectually. Sincere love to you and yours accompanies this. ' I am, affectionately yours, W. Caret.' ' Mudnahatty, Oct 5, 1795. 'My dear Sisters, 'Yet in all these things I rejoice ; and find comfort in God. The w^ork of preaching to the heathen is, to me, a very pleas- ant work: and translating the Bible, peculiarly so. But I mourn want of success. However, I feel disposed to double my diligence rather than to despair. God's promises are true ; and will, in his own time, be surely accomplished. ' Mr. Thomas and I live on the most agreeable terms ; and dear Mr. Udney is a steady friend. We should have formed a church before now, but a young man, who was to have been baptized, was taken ill with a dangerous disorder ; and the rains setting in, prevented it. I expect now, however, in the 168 MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. space of a month, a church will be formed, which, though small, will yet be, 1 trust, as a light shinmg in a dark place. ' Bless God, we abound in every comfort of life, and have a good income ; a good brick house, which, together with the works which I have had the building of here, amount to about five thousand pounds, English money. ' This season has been a bad one, owing to the very great overflowings, which are greater than were ever known. A small river, which runs by our house, was swelled to be three or four miles wide ; and our boats went the same way, for ten or twelve miles, which we used to go on foot before. But we hope next year will be better ; this is all in the hand of God, and he does all things well. I am, &c., ' Wm. Carey.' To THE Society. ' Malda, Dec. 1795. ' I can with pleasure inform you of our welfare, and that of our children ; and further, that a Baptist church is formed in this distant quarter of the globe. Our members are but four in number, viz., Mr. Thomas, myself, a Mr. Long, and a Mr. Powel, the last of whom accompanied Mrs. Thomas from England. Mr. Long had been baptized by Mr. Thomas when he was in Lidia before ; and on the first of November this year, I baptized Mr. Powel. At this place, Malda, we were solemnly united, that day, as a church of Christ, and the Lord's supper has since been twice administered among us. Mr. Powel is a very hopeful young man, burns with zeal for the conversion of the heathen, and I hope will prove a valuable acquisition to the mission. ' With respect to the heathen, T wish I could write more fa- vorably. Our lives, however, are not quite spent in idleness, nor our labors quite without effect. I am just returned from a tour through about half the district in which my business lies, and the whole of which consists of about two hundred vil- lages. In this tour I took a boat for my lodging and the convenience of cooking my victuals, but performed the jour- ney on foot, walking from twelve to twenty miles a day, and preaching, or rather conversing, from place to place, about the things of the kingdom of God. This plan I intend to pursue MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. 169 Statedly, the whole of the dry season, though often travelling- less journeys. I have not yet seen much fruit of my labors. The most I can say is of a young man about eighteen years of age, a Brahmun, who has appeared very thoughtful for some time, and frequently conversed with much feeling about his eternal concerns. I pray God it may end well. His concern has continued now nearly three months, and appears rather to increase ; his name is Cassinath Mookhurgee. Mounshi has been gone to visit his family for three months, and Mohun Chnnd is now with me. ' Mr. Thomas and I have also received letters from some people at Dinagepore, the capital of the district, whom we had never seen, and who had heard of the gospel. They wrote requesting part of the translation to be sent to them. I will inclose a copy of that letter to you. Upon the whole, I trust the prospect of the conversion of the heathen is not so gloomy as to give room for despondency. The natural obstacles, such as ignorance of the language, are in some measure surmount- ed ; and we have the promise of God that the moral ones shall also be overcome.' **#*#* Serious demur was felt by the Society in England, upon their learning that Mr. Carey and his colleague had accepted secular employment. Their doubts were entertained most conscientiously, and arose from a tender solicitude for the welfare of their brethren, and the prosperity of their mission- ary work. They feared, lest the time and care such engage- ments might require, and the worldly associations they might necessitate, should divert them from their appropriate pursuits. But too little attention was shown in this case to the actual circumstances of the missionaries ; their pecuniary supplies from England had hitherto been so very meagre, and transmit- ted so irregularly, that the missionaries, without having re- course to some such means, or a miracle had been wrought for them, must have perished for want of subsistence. Their employment offered itself providentially, coming without so- licitation on their parts, and at the time of the greatest ex- tremity. It was also as favorable to their grand object as any thing worldly could be, whilst their obtaining it opened to them a ready access to Europeans and to natives of all classes, which otherwise they were very unlikely to realize ; 16 170 MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. besides which, Mr. Carey was more simple and more exalted in his devotion to the mission, than even his most attached friends, at that early period of his public career, conceived. The little resources he now commanded were no otherwise grati- fying to liim than as they gave him an opportunity of verifying his professed renunciation of the world, in all respects but those by which he could make it subserve the spiritual and everlasting welfare of his fellow-men. Yet the scruples of the Society, though not called for in their immediate reference to Mr. Carey, were nevertheless commendatory of their wisdom and piety. Asa general prin- ciple, missionaries cannot be too free from secular labors, whatever be their nature, and how ample soever their returns. One missionary out of twenty may encounter them, and reap and apply their results, without prejudice to his principles and liis spirit ; yet in the nineteen instances the influence upon both might prove adverse. In some missionary stations, in- deed, the labors are so various, that unless means were origin- ated on the spot, or ampler remittances were sent from home than the general claims of the heathen would perhaps justify, the hands of a missionary must be bound. In India, more than the half of all the outlay for schools, chapels, and native preachers, has been raised upon the spot, either by contribu- tions from the public, or from the labors of missionaries. But it would not be easy to lay down a universal law for regulating the conduct of missionaries and societies in this matter. The exclusive devotion to spiritual pursuits should be the rule, the assumption of any secular vocation, be it what it may, the exception, consented to reluctantly, and continued with cau- tion. But much more depends upon the character of the men who are selected for this work, than upon any rules, however judiciously devised, for the government of their conduct. Let them be men of elevated principle, pure devotion, and fervent zeal, with preponderating good common sense to preserve them from fruitless airy schemes and absurd vagaries ; and they may be trusted throughout every latitude of the globe, and in all vicissitudes : but, if these qualifications be wanting, societies may write volumes of prescriptive rules, and then commit them to the flames as soon as written, for their proper- ty and their hopes will be wrecked together. memoir of dr. carey. 171 Journal continued. 'Jan. 11, 1796. Malda. On my journey hither I met a letter from the Society, which accompanied the Sierra Leone report ; but as Mr. Thomas was with me I gave him the letter, and have lost the date. I am, from not having it by me, much in- capacitated for answering it; and one part, I acknowledge, ratlier surprised me : I mean that respecting our engaging in employment for our support. I always understood that the So- ciety recommended it ; it is true they did not specify indigo business, but the trade in timber was recommended, and the cultivation of the ground was also looked upon as eligible. But I am astonished to find an indigo manufacturer called a merchant, which is just like calling a journeyman tailor a merchant : were we proprietors, the name might be proper, but we have only had a promise of a share, and whether it will or will not be given we know not, nor do wa trouble ourselves about it. We receive wages adequate to the maintenance of our families ; and now our buildings are over, I think no line of life could afford us more leisure or opportunity for doing good. To vindicate my own spirit or conduct, I should be very averse ; it is a constant maxim with me, that, if my con- duct will not vindicate itself, it is not worth vindicating; but we really thought we were acting in conformity with the uni- versal wishes of the Society. Whether we are indolent or laborious, or whether ' the spirit of the missionary is swallow- ed up in the pursuits of the merchant,' it becomes not me to say, but our labors will speak for us. I only say that, after my family's obtaining a bare allowance, my whole income, and some months much more, goes for the purposes of the gospel, in supporting persons to assist in the translation of the Bible, write copies, teach school, and the like. This is to me a cer- tain and constant expense of thirty-three rupees per month. But this I rejoice in, and would not lose the pleasure of it for three hundred per month. I only mention it to show that the love of money has not prompted me to pursue the plan that I have engaged in. I am indeed poor, and shall always be so, till the Bible is published in Bengali and Hindostani, and the people want no further instruction. I may also just remark, that the whole of our buildings gave me more assistance in 172 MEMOIR OF DR. CARET. learniiig the common dialect, than any thhig else could have done ; and the numher of the laborers who were constantly to be attended to, could not make less than a year's difference in that acquisition. Since the acquiring just knowledge enough to be barely understood, and sometimes to have my meaning only guessed at, I have felt my heart more and more enlarged, and have found it a great pleasure to discourse upon the things of the gospel to them ; but I cannot command success. 'I wish to say something about the manner of my preach- ing, but scarcely know how. As a specimen, however, I will just describe one season at a large village, about four miles from Mudnabatty, called Chinsurah. I went one Lord's day afternoon to this place, attended by a few persons from Mud- nabatty. Wlien I got into the town, I saw an idolatrous temple, built very finely with bricks. In order to excite attention, I asked what place that was ; they said it was Thakoorannee, that is, a debta. I asked if it was alive ; they said, yes ; well, said I, I will see her, and accordingly went towards the place, when they all called out, 'No, sir, no; it is only a stone.' I hov/ever mounted the steps, and began to talk about the folly and Avickedness of idolatry. A bazar or market, near, was very noisy ; I therefore removed to a little distance imder a tamarind tree, where we began by singing the hymn, ' O who besides can deliver.' By this time a pretty large concourse of people was assembled, and I began to discourse with them upon the things of God. It is obvious that giving out a text, and regularly dividing it, could not be of any use to those who never heard a word of the Bible in their lives ; I therefore dwelt upon the worth of the soul and its fallen state, the guilt of all men who had broken God's righteous law, and the im- possibility of obtaining pardon without a full satisfaction to divine justice. I then inquired what way of life, consistent with the justice of God, was proposed in any of their Shastras. They, said I, speak of nine incarnations of Vishnu past, and one to come, yet not one of them for the salvation of a sinner. They were only to preserve a family, kill a giant, make war against tyrants, &c. ; all which God could have accomplished as well without these incarnations. An incarnation of the Deity, said I, is a matter of too great importance to take place MEMOIR OF DR. CARET. 173 in so ludicrous * a manner, and for such mean ends and pur- poses. The Mutchee Obeetar, or fish incarnation, said I, was to become tlie rudder of a boat, and preserve a family in a great flood ; and the wild hog incarnation was to kill a giant, and draw up the earth out of the sea when it was sinking ; but this, God, who created it, coukl have accomplished without any such interposition. I then observed how miserable they were, whose religion only respected the body, and whose Shastras could point out no salvation for the sinner. I then spoke of the way of life by Christ, his substitution in our place, suffering in the sinner's stead, and the like. 'At another place I preached from Christ being a blessing, sent to bless in turning every one from his iniquities. I ob- served the superiority of the gospel to all other writings, and Christ to all pretended saviors in that point ; that believing on Christ was universally accompanied with turning from iiiiqui- ty ; and that their worship must be false, for they made images and offerings to them, and were abundant in their worship, but, said I, there is not a man of you yet turned from his iniquity. There are among you liars, thieves, whoremongers, and men filled with deceit.f And as you were last year, so you are this, not any more holy ; nor can you ever be so, till you throw off your wicked worship and wicked practices, and embrace the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. 'This is the method of preaching that 1 use among them; nothing of this kind affronts them ; many wish to hear ; many, however, abhor the thoughts of the gospel. The Brahmuns fear to lose their gain ; the higher castes, their honor ; and the poor tremble at the vengeance of their debtas. Thus we have been unsuccessful. ' I sometimes preach twice a week, sometimes twice a day, as opportunity presents itself; and the translation of the word of God is my every day's work. * As a fish ; a wild hog; a tortoise; a thing half lion and half man ; a little dwarf, who begged three steps' space of land to build him a hut, and then became so large as to measure earth with one pace and heaven with another, and could not find room for the third in the universe. f These are all sins for which the Hindus are notorious ; and there is not a com- pany of ten men, I believe, to be fallen in with, but you might safely say the above words to. All the good that can with justice be said of them, is, they are not so furious as many other heathens. 16* 174 MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. 'I must now conclude, having scarcely ever written so long a letter in my life, and retaining to this day an aversion to writing which always did, and I fear always will, attend me. ' I am glad the mission to Africa is intended. God make it prosperous ! Think of Thihet, Pegu, and the astonishingly large part of Hindostan to the west and to the north. Thibet is near us ; we could correspond with a mission at Pegu, or any part of the Rohillas country ; Oude, Kashmeer, Khabool, &c., though very far from us: but I know your zeal ; may God give you resources equal to .it ! 'I long to know more of the state of the churches. My ac- counts in every letter are lamentably deficient. I have to write to twenty correspondents ; and though this is a country in which scarcely any new sceiies appear, but all is the same dull round of stupidity and superstition from day to day, yet I am expected to say much about this wonder- ful country and people. Yet all my friends who live in the midst of bustle say nothing almost about it ! I am not con- cerned about politics ; I see the Calcutta papers, and T think that as the people of Europe have fallen out, so they must fall in. But the religious state of the world is very important, and the aspects of the political world towards prophecy and the church of God, I wish to be more and more acquainted with. ' With my warmest wishes for your prosperity, as individu- als, as ministers, as members of the churches, and as a society, I remain, very affectionately yours, ' W. Caret.' About this time the Baptist Missionary Society sent two missionaries to Sierra Leone ; but one of them falling ill, and being compelled to return home, and the other, through some interference in local disputes, being advised to leave the settle- ment, the society thenceforward concentrated their strength on the continent of India. The following extract of a letter from Mr. Thomas, it is presumed, will not prove uninteresting. It shows how esteem, and even harmony and affection, may exist between persons united in the faith of great principles, and in the promotion of an important work, in connexion with much and even painful diversity of individual taste and temperament. MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. 175 ' You see in Mr. Carey and myself some differences in taste, manners, &c. ; and there are many differences between us which you do not see. Do not be alarmed, for our very noses are not alike, but our hearts are one : we may differ in faces, but not in hearts. One heart, one soul, one Lord, one faith, one baptism. There may be one Lord, one faith, and two baptisms ; but this is like a house on fii-e at one corner. I ad- mire the grace of God, for knitting together different people like brother Carey and myself; for we never differ but we agree to differ, and in things respecting which it is no matter whether we differ or not. We often fall into one another's opinions, always delighted to see each other, and we love each other fervently. This information, though you have had it be- fore, I consider far from uninteresting. 'We often lay our heads together, and form large plans, for all we produce such little executions ; but we have difficulties you know nothing of Sore troubles ; implacable enemies ; jealous eyes over us ; and a variety of opinions formed on our conduct and designs. Some think we intend at bottom to turn this part of the world upside down, as missionaries ; others think we have quite forsaken the mission, and gone after filthy lucre, in the way of Balaam: some think us wise, others think us foolish ; some sober, others mad : and all these contrary opinions have their use, perhaps. On this paragraph, I could fill a ream of paper. 'I will tell you of one of our difficulties. The people here- abouts speak a mixed language, part Persian, part Bengali, and part Hindostani, or the Moor language ; so that we do not un- derstand them, nor they us, half so well as though we were nearer Calcutta ; but wherever we meet with Brahmuns, the case is different. The majority of the people here are not Hindus, but Mahomedans. Good night.' 'Jan. 13, 1796. 'Government has required of every individual European, who is not in the Company's service, to give in their names, places of abode, time of arrival in this country, and occupation ; in order, if permitted to stay, to enter into covenant, and find two securities for the due performance of it, in £2000 each, or in some cases, £500 each. What w^ould have become of us, 176 MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. by this time, 1 know not, if we had not been engaged in the indigo line. This matter is, however, reckoned highly im- proper and oppressive on the part of the Company, and some persons have refused to comply with it altogether ; particularly Mr. Fairleigh, in Calcutta, a man of very large property, who told them they might send him home if they dared. But these great words cannot be uttered out of little mouths. 'If you should, at any time, be a long while without hearing from us, never suspect us of neglecting to write, for in these times many letters fall short of their destination ; and it does not appear, by your letter, that you have received all the letters we have sent you ; and we are sure we have not received all you have sent us. I was going to say, I should be sorry if the Society had any body belonging to it more firmly attached to it, and more concerned for its interests, than we are: in a qualified way, you will understand me. 'I wrote you word that I had sent for a Bootan Mounshi, but he is not yet arrived. The Bootan people have no caste ; neither have the Rajemal Hill people, which hills are inhabited by a people of a very different appearance, habits, language, and religion from the Hindus. These hills are situated about thirty miles from Malda, to the N. E. of us, and Bootan about eighty or a hundred miles to the northward of us. I wish, with all my soul, that three or four young men and their families were settled among the Bootan people, and four on Rajemal Hills. Dr. Coke talked of sending missionaries there ; and if he did, we should be bound to help them all in our power. At present, indeed, we have but maintenance for our- selves, for the indigo was almost all drowned by the flood of last year : otherwise, we had agreed together to lay out about £300 of our profits in printing the gospel, in such parts as are ready; and other large sums we had both appropriated to similar purposes. Indeed, it is possible that one good season would enable me to pay all my debts, and furnish me with overplus. When I am out of debt, however, I intend to have less to do with indigo than I have now, for the sake of the work of the mission. I was obliged to borrow £100 last month to send to a lawyer, who perhaps had put me in gaol before now, if I had not been in my present connexion and circumstances: being driven by my creditors, whose patience MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. 177 is worn out, he might have done so ; but I must acknowledge the great civility the Calcutta lawyers have constantly shown me, and civility seems an expression hardly good enough for them. I praise God, I am out of gaol ; and I should have praised him more, perhaps, if I had been in it.' SECTION IV. LETTERS TO MR. FULLER — FEMALE AGENCY LETTER TO MR. SUTCLIFF LETTER FROM MR. FOUNTAIN TO MR. FULLER LETTER FROM THE SAME TO THE SOCIETY LETTER FROM THE SAME TO MR. SMITH, OF EAGLE STREET, LONDON LETTERS FROM MR. CAREY TO HIS SISTERS LETTER TO MR. FULLER, To Mr. Fuller. ^ Mudnabatty, June 17, 1796. *My very dear brother, ' A few days ago I received yours and brother Pearce's, of August last, which gave me very great pleasure ; and, could possibly give you reciprocal pleasure, by relating the success of the gospel, my heart would rejoice ; but, instead of success, we have to lament appearances being more against us than they were. I have been forced, for the honor of the gospel, to discharge the Mounshi, who, though not guilty of that want of fidelity which both Mr. Grant and Mr. Udney have charged him with, was yet guilty of a crime which required this step, considering the profession he had made of the gospel. The discouragement arising from this circumstance is not small, as he is certainly a man of the very best natural abilities that I have ever found among the natives, and being well acquainted with the phraseology of Scripture, was peculiarly fitted to as- sist in the translation ; but I have now no hope of him. The 178 MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. translation is going on, though more slowly than when he was here. However, almost all the Pentateuch and the New Testament are now completed. I have a young Pundit with me now, who, I hope, will prove useful, though I yet see nothing promising with respect to the great point of all. 'You very encouragingly tell us not to faint, if we see no fruit yet. I hope and trust we shall not, and hope you also will be kept from discouragement on our account. I feel very much, lest the friends of religion should faint at our want of success ; and, by the doubts, &c., which I find have been plentiful, on account of our engaging in business, I fear some such discouragement has already taken place. I hardly think it worth while to notice the slander, that we are become slave- drivers ; but observe, that there are no slaves allowed in this country. The inhabitants are as free as in England, for what I see, and are paid their full earnings : indeed, were it refused, the English laws would oblige to it. But Mr. G 's opposi- tion to the work I think abominable : if any one wounds Mr. Thomas, he wounds me ; and when this man answers every inquiry with ' 1 could say — but ' — or, ' I say nothing about Mr. T., because I shall be thought prejudiced;' this is wounding his character deeper by a half silence than he could possibly do by the most direct accusation. The fact is this, as can be proved by a long correspondence between him and Mr. T., now in preservation, that Mr. T. left a much more lucrative employment, and the society of his family, at Mr. G.'s desire, to preach the gospel among the natives ; who afterwards, be- cause he would not conform to his peremptory dictates, in matters which he could not conscientiously do, cut off all his supplies, and left him to shift for himself in a foreign land, and is now, by inuendoes, ruining his character. I feel nothing at what he says of my credulity and sanguineness. I may have thought better of the natives of this country at my first coming than I find a more intimate acquaintance with them wall war- rant, and I certainly expected more success than has attended us at present. But I wrote the warm effusions of my own heart at the moment to friends, not dreaming of the severity of criticism being spent upon it ; and so I write now, and I be- lieve always shall. I make it a point to think well of a person till I see sufficient reason to alter my opinion. I had seen only MEMOIR OF DR. CARIIY. 179 flattering appearances then, and on the basis of those appear- ances I wrote. It does not belong to me to vindicate Capt. Christmas. I did not know or inquire whether he was a Dane or an Englishman ; but if it were as Mr. G. says, I think he took a lawful method to trade where the English law forbade him to trade as an Englishman ; but I believe he had a station in the Danish army or navy, prior to his naturaliza- tion, and was naturalized on that account: but I am not sure. ' Mr. T. and I are men, and fallible ; but we can only desert the work of preaching the word of life to the Hindus with our lives, and are determined, through grace, to hold on, though our discouragements were a thousand times greater than they are. We have the same ground of hope with our brethren in England, viz., the promise, power, and faithfulness of God ; for unless his mercy break the heart of stone, either in Eng- land, India, or Africa, nothing will be done effectually; and he can as easily convert a superstitious Brahmun as an English- man. ' With respect to printing the Bible, I fear that is distant enougli. As in the forementioned case at Day-hotta, so here, we were perhaps too sanguine ; but, though means have hitherto failed, we are as much resolved as ever to give our all to that work. But, for the reasons mentioned by brother Pearce, I think it will be better for at least £100 per annum to be remitted hither by the Society, which shall be applied to the purposes of printing the Bible and educating the youth ; and what we do shall be done as a contribution to the Society. ' I think it very important to send more missionaries hither. We may die soon, and if we have no successors in the work, it will be a lamentable circumstance, and very much retard the spread of the gospel. It is very important to have a suc- cession to hold forth the word of life where the work is begun. 'I am obliged to finish, as the post is going; but must say, that the pleasure afforded by the two missionaries being sent to Africa is very great ; and much heightened by the account of the other denominations of Christians uniting in a society to send the word of life to the South Seas. Surely God is on 180 MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. his way. If success does not immediately attend every effort, do not be discouraged. God will surely appear, and build up Zion ! ' My kind Christian love to all your friends, especially those of my more intimate acquaintance, and all the ministers of the gospel. Best remembrances to Mrs. Fuller. We are well in health, except that my poor wife is in a very distressing state of mind: not maniacal, it is true, but afflicted with the species of insanity described by Dr. Arnold under the name of ideal insanity. ' I conclude. ' Very affectionately yours, 'W.Carey.' To Mr. Fuller. 'Mudnabatty, :N'ov. 16, 1796. ' My very dear Brother, 'I have within a few days received your letters, and a P. S. to a letter from our dear brother Pearce. From this irregular- ity in my receiving your letters, and my other correspondents' also, you will easily account for apparent neglect in answering them. Had I received these communications in proper time, some answers to your former letters, in vindication of our- selves, would have been spared, as I now see that the Society have very effectually done what we thought was reasonable to be done ; but some letters from the Society have been first seen by us in Rippon's Register. ' You have heard that Mr. U. has had great losses. I will, depending on your not uttering any thing on that head, men- tion some of them, because they are connected with our affairs. The house that failed at Calcutta, happily did not hurt Mr. U.'s credit, but ruined him in his property. It was conducted under the firm of his brother and two others, but Mr. U. was the sup- porter of it: all their bills were signed by him, and he has had bills returned upon him for payment to the amount of nearly £20,000 sterling, on account of that house. A ship, the reputed property of the house, but really his, and almost wholly laden with his property, of a very rich kind, was taken by the French ; and other particulars have occurred which are very calamitous. Previously to this, Mr. U. had begun these two indigo works! MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. 181 and had sent natives to choose the places, who, very unhappil3^, chose the most improper that coukl be thought of, owing to their ignorance in agricuhure. My place cannot be tenable much longer. Moypal may ; but, owing to large floods which have destroyed the whole crop almost every successive year, it follows that the whole expense of erecting the works, amounting to about £10,000 sterling, is outstanding, without any adequate returns. We have, in consequence, only our two hundred rupees per month, our commission being nothing worth mentioning. All these circumstances have much re- duced dear Mr. U., and he cannot help as formerly. 'Mr. Thomas is a man of great closet piety, and has lately preached much among the natives. I have great hope of some people there, and am not without hope of one here. Mr. T. is very compassionate to the poor ; and in instructing those who are inquiring, he is indefatigable : he has excellent aptness for that work, being perhaps one of the most affectionate and close exhorters to genuine godliness, and a close walk with God, that can be thought of The natives who appear under con- cern heie, are all Mussulmans. 1 went out one Monday morn- ing, when a poor laboring man, named Sookman, very earnestly desired to know ' what he must do to be saved.' Two more made the same inquiry, adding, ' We heard you yesterday, when you, having showed the danger we were in of going to hell, in- quired 'Whither will you flee from his spirit? whither will you flee from his presence?' We knew we were unacquainted with the way of life, and our peers (canonized saints, long since dead) cannot help us; for if the master be angry, what can the servant do? You have told us of Jesus Christ, but who is he ? How shall we be saved?' I talked much with them almost every day ; but two, whose names were Tuphanee, and Jung- loo, soon ceased their inquiries. Sookman still gives me hope, though it is three months since the inquiry began. I wrote this immediately to brother Thomas, who informed me that some were also inquiring at Moypal. When brother Fountain arrived, I went over with him ; and I am sure he saw much more encouragement the first Sabbath than we had seen in three years. Three people there are under very hopeful con- cern indeed ; they are all laborers, Mussulmans ; their names are Yardee, Doorgottea, and another whose name I have for- 17 182 MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. gotten. There was another named Assamtiilla, and a blind woman; but these do not appear so hopeful to me as the others. Yardee is a man of good natural abilities, and has a great aptness in conveying his ideas, and is a hlessing to the rest; the other two have notiiing of those fine natural abilities that Yardee appears to have, but the work seems to be solid. I was in hopes of sending you an account of their baptism, but that has not yet taken place. I however expect it soon. There is a stir at Moypai all around the country, and many come to hear the word ; I suppose near a hundred. Here it is not so, and poor Sookman stands alone. * I must now just tell you my thoughts about the mission. Brother Fountain is safely arrived, and gives us pleasure ; but our affairs, as a mission, are in a delicate situation. I have written what I think of brother Thomas's affairs. This place I expect must be given up. Mr. U. has not mentioned any thing, but I have written to him all that I think about it. However, the experience obtained here I look upon as the very thing which will tend to support the mission. I now know all the methods of agriculture that are in use. I know the tricks of the natives, and the nature of the lowest rate of housekeeping in this country. Having had a monthly allow- ance, I have made all experiments on these heads, which could not have been made without ruin, had I not had these resources; and I will now propose to you, what I would re- commend to the Society : you will find it similar to what the Moravians do. Seven or eight families can be maintained for nearly the same expense as one, if this method be pursued. I then earnestly entreat the Society to set their faces this way, and send out more missionaries. We ought to be seven or eight families together; audit is absolutely necessary for the wives of missionaries to be as hearty in the work as their husbands. Our families should be considered nurseries for the mission ; and among us should be a person capable of teaching school, so as to educate our children. I recommend all living together, in a number of little straw houses, forming a line or square, and of having nothing of our own, but all the general stock. One or two should be selected stewards to preside over all the management, which should, with respect to eating, drinking, working, worship, learning, preaching, MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. 183 excursions, &c., be reduced to fixed rules. Should the above- mentioned natives join us, all should be considered equal, and all come under the same regulations.' In the work of missions, especially in the educational de- partment, as much depends upon the endowments and devoted- ness of females, as upon those of their husbands. The work of female education in India is conducted entirely by the wives of missionaries, or by such pious females as are sent out under the auspices of different institutions for that purpose. A society is now in operation, consisting of ladies of piety and evangelical sentinjents, without regard to denominational peculiarity, for selecting and affording protection, and, if need- ed, support, to ladies who are deemed suitable for the work, and are disposed to consecrate their talents for the literary and religious improvement of their own sex in China and the East. Its designs and its principles well entitle it to the approbation and cordial support of the religious world. The usages of society in eastern countries are such as to bar access to the female population, except by their own sex; and when women are converted to the faith, their religious principles and con- duct require a constant vigilance, and wisdom, and condescen- sion in their superintendence, different from, and far beyond what men either can or will bestow. 'The utility of this community of goods in the beginning of the gospel church here, will be obvious, by considering the following things: 1. Our finances being small, it will be necessary to live economically; but one set of servants will do all the work for the whole, if thus organized, when, if other- wise, every separate family must have the same number as would be necessary for the whole if united : and, if God con- verts the natives, they would in time supersede all want of servants, being partakers of the public stock, and therefore bound to labor for the public benefit. 2. Education of our own and converted heathens' children is a very important object, and is what might, if followed by a divine blessing, train up some of them to be useful preachers or other members of the mission themselves. 3. The example of such a number would be a standing witness of the excellence of the gospel, and would contribute very much to the furtherance of the cause of Christ. 4. Industry being absolutely necessary, every 184 MEMOIR OK DR. CAREY. one would have his proper work allotted him, and would be employed at his post ; some cultivating land, some instructing, some learning, some preaching, and the women superintend- ing the domestic concerns. 'In order to this, I recommend about one or two hundred biggahs to be cultivated for the mission, which would produce most of the articles necessary for them and their cattle; that all these people should not come at one time, but one or two families in a year, or in two years or so. But as brother T., for obvious reasons, could not join this family, and for others as obvious to me would not, except he had the sole direction, in which case all would fail, and as there is a far greater prob- ability of his being torn from the work than not, we are in immediate want of more, say one family more, of missionaries ; and I entreat the Society to send them, as the only Avay of keeping the mission together: but pray be very careful what stamp missionaries' wives are of. ' Should this place be continued to me, I recommend the seat of the mission to be here ; and my income and utensils will be immediately thrown into the common stock. Or any part of Bengal Avould do ; though the north is most agreeable, and will produce wheat, a very necessary article: the heat also is more moderate. Should we go south, the neighborhood of Nuddea is most eligible ; but I fear too near Calcutta. All provisions also are much cheaper in the north ; and by keep- ing a small boat, which can be bought for thirty rupees, two persons may travel any where at a time. Cultivation, and all except superintendence, must be performed by natives. * Expense. The number of servants kept would fall under two hundred rupees per montli, I think about a hundred and thirty : and the expenses of clothing and articles of furniture would be near one hundred for the number mentioned. The table might be well supplied for all above mentioned, for one hundred rupees at furthest, I think for sixty ; but I say the utmost. Now, if eight families were distinct, their monthly expenses could not, with the utmost frugality, come under one thousand rupees per month : the whole of this would onh^ be four hundred, and the produce of the land would be to lessen even that; so that we should receive from the Society, for such MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. 185 a number, £30 per month, or £3G0 per annum, till we were able to say we could do with less. It would be a great saving of even this, if the Society were to send £50 a year of this in woollen cloths, light shoes, strong stockings, hats, and garden seeds: this £50 would save the mission about £100 or £150 a year. Having said thus much, I recommend it to your serious consideration. The calculations may all be de- pended on. 'Translating the Bible. I have, through the good hand of my God upon me, now nearly translated all the New Testa- ment. I have begun the seventh chapter of Revelations, and all the other is translated except the Acts of the Apostles, which I left to Mr. T. He has not, however, touched it scarcely ; the gospel by Luke is all he has done in translating since he came into tlie country. 1 have a Pundit, who has, with me, examined and corrected all the Epistles, to the second of Peter; we go through a chapter every day. The natives, who can read and write, understand it perfectly ; and as it is corrected by a learned native, the style and syntax cannot be very bad. I intend to go through it again, and, as critically as I can, compare it with the Greek Testament ; but wish to have a Greek Concordance sent by the very next conveyance. I expect the New Testament will be complete before you receive this, except a very few words, which may want altering on a third and fourth revisal. 1 have made much use of Doddridge's Family Expositor in the work, and now wish the printing to be thought of It will be at least two years, now, before com- munications, &c., respecting printing, will arrive from Eng- land ; in which time every correction may be certainly put to it. I was in hope of printing it at my own expense ; but the unfavorable situation of these works for the production of indigo, has kept me incapable of doing that. I thought of going to Calcutta and ascertaining the expense of printing, but cannot go now. Mr. Thomas, however, has ascertained that some years ago, paper and printing here must amount to two anas a sheet, or about fourpence English. Owing to the large- ness of the tyi)es, the number of sheets could not be less than thirty-five, or two hundred and eighty pages, quarto. Suppose ten thousand copies were printed, as they must be given away, the expense would be 43,750 rupees, or £4,400 sterling, an 17* 186 MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY* enormous sum. Now Caslon promised to cut founts for five shillings each. If the number of characters is six hundred, the punches would be cut for £150, and the number of types necessary would be bought for half a crown per pound, amounting to about £500 to print the whole Bible. Should this plan be eligible, a press must be sent out; and if a serious printer could be found willing to engage in the mission, he would be a great blessing to it, to superintend, for natives would do the work. Paper should also be sent from England, it being near two hundred per cent, dearer here than there, Such a printer I knew at Derby before I left England. We can get thirty-two thousand letters written for a rupee ; but this is a great expense, and the errors that must get into every copy could not possibly be all corrected. Mr. T. has had letters written near two years for types, by a native, a very good writer; but they require examining, which are proper for types to be cast to. He has not done that in all this time, and is so backward, I fear he never will. He talks of making all the letters himself, but I fear it will never be done. I will try and get those written by the native, and send them, if he will part with them. ' Thus I have opened all my mind to you respecting the mission and all my connections. I only entreat you to be careful not to make known some circumstances, as they may do much harm, but cannot do any good. I was in hope Mr. T. might have had a very favorable season or two, which would have extricated him ; but I have no hope now : if I had, I should not have been so explicit. ' Should more missionaries come over, it will be necessary for the Society to devise some means to give us leave to use the names of some individuals, as bondsmen to the Company on their account. The Company sent out orders that all Euro- peans who are not in the Company's service shall take out certificates as free merchants, or persons permitted to stay in India for a certain time. The bonds for the first are very great, for the second more moderate ; but I cannot specify the particulars. Bondsmen are to be creditable people, either in England or here ; and the obligation is, that the persons res- ident in India shall not, on any account, become chargeable to the Company, or on any account sue the Company in a court MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. 187 of law. I imagine the orders to this purpose may be obtained in England, and then you would see the whole. Mr. U. and a Mr. Creighton offered themselves as my securities, and Mr. U. and 1 are offered as security for Mr. T., and Mr. T. and I for Mr. Powel. I have now proposed that Mr. Powel and I should offer ourselves for brother Fountain. The whole is a mere matter of form, and is designed to prevent people of desperate fortunes coming to India. Numbers have obsolutely refused to regard the regulations at all ; but I think we should study peaceableness and obedience to the laws. It will therefore be necessary that we should be able to propose two respectable names, on an emergency, and to produce letters authorizing us to do so. Query, also, whether it will be better at once to avow our errand, or to do as we have hitherto done, that is, appear as people of a secular profession ; for it is necessary to specify our abode and employment. Though Sir John Shore well knows our real business, yet we have always been de- nominated indigo-makers hitherto. By the by, I have heard some very favorable accounts of Sir John Shore's possessing genuine religion in his heart; he is certainly very friendly to Mr. Brown, and Mr. Brown speaks very highly of him. 'Mr. Fountain arrived quite unexpectedly, and, except a hint or two in a letter from England, some months before his arri- val, we had not heard a syllable of his coming out. He there- fore arrived at Mudnabatty before I knew of his arrival in In- dia, and took me quite by surprise. He appears to be a very promising person, and I hope his abilities will be good. He is learning under my Pundit. I advise him to keep only one servant ; and with him, and now and then giving a small pres- ent to my servants, I think he will do very well. On this plan he may do with about thirty rupees per month, which will be necessary for clothing and other small expenses. A sin- gle person, if he keep no Mounshi, may live for sixty rupees per month, and not less ; but on this plan thirty will do. I wish I could maintain him altogether, but cannot : I just make both ends meet, and bless God I can do that. Servants are the grave of money here, and are indispensable: the caste makes so many necessary. Be very careful that the mission- aries be charged to say nothing about politics on their first ar- rival, during their stay in Calcutta ; and for the first three 188 MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. months, is all the danger ; afterwards, political fire will go out for want of fuel. I believe brother Fountain was pretty watchful there, but some expressions uttered here must be buried. We have warned and charged him, and I believe he will be careful. Thirty pounds, the sum given to Mr. Fountain, is too little for pocket money on an Indian voyage : if the ship puts in any where, the missionaries will be dis- tressed, as stay at any place depends on winds, weather, &c., and at all places where ships put in, all accommodations are very exorbitant. Brother Fountain was obliged to contract debt at Calcutta to enable him to get up here. Travelling here is amazingly expensive, and a new comer is cheated through both ears. Should I have occasion to draw on the Society on Mr. Fountain's account, it shall not exceed the thir- ty rupees per month, and I trust the Society will honor the draft, which must be on the treasurer. ' I have now, I believe, said nearly all about ourselves. I rejoice to hear of such a spirit of activity and holiness pre- vailing in England : surely God is on his way, and great things are on the eve of accomplishment. I am glad at my heart to hear of the prosperity of Leicester. Wars may not end yet, perhaps, for God has said, ' The nation and kingdom that will not serve thee shall be utterly destroyed,' and perhaps it will be by war. I wish you had sent me Edwards's piece (Miscel- lanies) just published: not Edwards of Portsea. I know him, and his piece, I suppose, cannot be without much self-confi- dence in it. Your piece on Socinianism I bless God for, and rejoice in its run. I trust it will be productive of good. My love to your four friends who sent me the magazines ; I do not know them, but this testimony of their esteem is so much the greater. 1 hope you will yearly send us a volume of this ex- cellent work. ' Give my most aflfectionate regards to all your people, es- pecially those with whom I am more immediately acquainted. Mrs. Fuller, though unknown, will accept of my Christian re- spects ; and my love in Christ, and every other way, most heartily flows to you. ' Yours, very aflfectionately, ' W. Carey. ' My family are well. I have lost one son, and had one son MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. 189 born since here, so that my number is now four. My sister is well, and I have heard very encouraging accounts of her hus- band. ' With regard to myself, I am very low respecting the prog- ress of the work of God. Yet we never had so much reason for encouragement as we have now ; and I trust we have some general revival in our own souls. 1 love the work, and trust it will triumph. ' Should you want missionaries, Mr. Yates, of Leicester, has told me in a letter, that he will come, if it can be proved that he can be more useful here than at Leicester ; which is self- evident, and therefore wants no proof. Such men as farmers, gardeners, potters, &c., would be the most useful men, if other qualifications are not wanting. It will be proper for them to have exercised their gifts before their being sent. It is also singular that no letter from the Society accompanied brother Fountain. My warmest Christian love to all the ministers. I intend to write to as many as I can.' To Mr. Sutclipf. ' Mudnabattij, JVov. 22, 1796. * My VERY DEAR BrOTHER, 'Yours of Jan. 5, reached me very lately, and I am sure was a messenger of good to my soul. I am, blessed be God, in good health. I have had a very painful abscess in the side of my throat, for which I was obliged to undergo a surgical ope- I'ation ; but it is now well. My family are well. I have anoth- er son, named Jonathan, instead of Peter, who died. Brother Fountain arrived about a month ago. He came into our house, and found me, with my Pundit, poring over old Sanscrit words, before I had any intelligence of his arrival in the coun- try. ' We have had great discouragements, especially through the fall of poor Ram Boshoo, who was guilty of adultery, and is gone far from us. Mohun Chund was with me ; but I had supported him some months, and found that my income would not be suffi- cient to continue to do so. My schoolmaster also went with Mounshi, so that at once Mounshi and Mohund Chund went away, and the school was broken up. I, however, pursued preach- ing, expounding and translating, and trust a gleam of light again 190 MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. presents itself. A laboring man here, named Sookman, and three at Moypal, named Yardee, Doorgottea, and another, whose name I have forgotten, appear to be in earnest about eternal things. Two others here began to inquire when Sook- man did, but soon got cool. I am not without hope that some good may be found in others at Moypal. At this place, all ap- pear dead and discouraging, except Sookman ; but there is a great stir all over the neighborhood, and many come to hear the word. This is, in some degree, owing to Yardee, who is a man of a sweet natural temper, good abilities, a readiness to discourse with others, and a zeal for Cluist. I hope some of them will be soon baptized. The officer about whom 1 wrote, I fear, is different from what I and others thought him ; his name is Capt. . Mr. U. has been in his company since I wrote to you ; thinks him a good man, but amazingly enthusi- astic, and perhaps a little deranged. 'The translation of the New Testament is nearly finished, and once corrected. The eleventh chapter of Revelations is done, and the second Epistle of Peter corrected. Only the other eleven chapters of the Revelation, and the Acts of the Apostles, remain now to be translated ; v/hich I hope to get through by the end of January. The Old Testament is trans- lated, and corrected to Numbers, and some of that translated. It is well that Exodus and Leviticus are translated, as they are extremely difficult, and perhaps no man w^as so well qualified to do it well as the Mounshi who is now gone. ' I have received Parkhurst's Greek and Hebrew Lexicons, and the sermons of the Missionary Society ; also M. Home on Missions. I am very much obliged indeed by the receipt of them. 1 will also write to the society to pay you for them, as they propose to send us assistance. '23. Yesterday I went out to preach to the inhabitants of a neighboring village. Found considerable pleasure in addres- sing them from 1 John iii, 8: 'For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.' The people behave well, but constantly use this very disheartening observation, ' Sir, we hear and understand, but nothing stays in our minds ;' and their common excuse is, ' We are poor ignorant creatures, what can we ever understand ?' Nay, they will often say, ' We are not men, we cannot possibly MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. 191 know any thing;' and Mr. Thomas was one day under the necessity of proving his auditors to be human ; for they assert- ed that they were jackals and not men. These very degra- ding assertions respecting themselves are very common ; though certainly used with no other design than to excuse their indolence in not examining the difference between their own superstition and the gospel, or their total neglect of every thing religious. It is also very common for them to say, ' We have no God but our bellies.' Some dancing Brahmuns came one day to me, and I asked them why they pursued so vile an employment ; they answered, ' For our bellies.' I said, 'A hog tears up your fields for his belly, a jackal destroys your kids and lambs for his belly, and thieves rob only for their belly ; you are therefore only on an equality with them.' They assented; nor was any thing I could say sufficiently strong to prove to them that any thing else was necessary. Only God can break the carnal heart. 'Mr. Fountain had read my letters about farmers in our neighborhood, and had pleased himself with the hope of sitting in a farmer's chimney corner, and getting a basin of milk, and such hospitality as may be experienced in the house of an English farmer. But alas ! he found that our farmers were not distinguishable from other people, and that houses in Ben- gal have no chimneys ; that we are never asked to any one's house, and if we were, that there is nothing in them ; that a farmer's whole stock is a cow or two, and three or four half- starved bullocks, and a few pigeons ; for a Hindu will not touch a fowl, nor either Hindus or Mussulmans a hog, except the lowest class of all. A goat or two, tied on a bare highway, may now and then be seen, but no sheep in a whole parish. Thus was he disappointed: he is, however, not shaken in mind, and I doubt not will be a blessing to us. 'Blessed, blessed be God, for all that is doing to promote the cause of Christ ! Surely, much is to be expected. My Christian love to all Olney friends. My Christian love to Mrs. Sutcliff.' I am, very, very affectionately yours, ' W. Carey.' 192 MEMOIR OF i)R. CARElf. From Mr. Fountain to Mr. Fuller. 'Mudnabatty, JVov. 8, 1796. .^ ###*#* * * * * After getting a boat at Calcutta, and other necessary things, I left it on the 24th of September, and arrived at Mudnabalty on the 10th of October. Brother Carey most kindly received me. When I entered, his Pundit stood by him, teaching him Sanscrit. He labors in the translation of the Scriptures, and has nearly finished the New Testament, being somewhere about the middle of Revelations. He keeps the grand end in view, which first induced him to leave his country, and those Christian friends he still dearly loves. He reads a chapter and expounds, every morning, to twelve or sixteen persons. On a Sabbath morning, he also expounds, and preaches twice in the day besides, to forty or fifty persons ; after which, he often goes into some village in the evening. In the intervals of preaching to the natives, we have worship in English. He indeed appears to be the character he describes in his publi- cation, where he says, ' A Christian minister is a person who, in a peculiar sense, is not his own ; he is the servant of God, and therefore ought to be wholly devoted to him.' 'Brother Thomas is also lively in the work, and the Lord, we trust, is blessing his labors. Two or three of the natives there are under great concern about their souls. They meet together every day for prayer, and Mr. Thomas daily instructs them in the Scriptures. He has a very large congregation twice on the Sabbath day : he also preaches in the adjacent villages two or three times. There is the utmost cordiality, friendship, and union subsisting between him and brother Carey. One spirit indeed seems to actuate both in the con- cerns of the mission.' Mr. Fountain to the Society. 'Mudnabalty, JVov. 11, 1796. ' Brother Thomas delights in doing good to the bodies and souls of his fellow-men. His medical skill is a great blessing to this country. People come to him from thirty or forty miles round, so that there are almost always patients at his doors. He does all gratis. I have seen some of his remarkable cures. 'As to brother Carey, his very soul is absorbed in the work MEMOIR or DR. CAREY. 193 of the mission. His dear friends in England had no ground for their fears, that riches might alienate his heart from that work. He does not possess them. I am persuaded there is not a man who has not learned to deny himself, but would prefer his situation when at Leicester to that in this country. But he, like a Christian minister, as described in his own pub- lication, considers himself as having 'solemnly undertaken to be always engaged as much as possible in the Lord's work, and not to choose his own pleasure or employment, or pursue the ministry as a thing which is to serve his own ends or interests, or as a kind of by-work.' He has told me, that, whatever his future circumstances may be, he durst not lay by a shilling for his children, for his all is devoted to God. The utmost harmony and love subsist between him and brother Thomas. They are fellow-laborers in the gospel of the grace of God.' To Mr. Smith. ' December 8. ' The first Sabbath after my arrival was a very affecting one. We spent it at brother Thomas's, who had sent for brother Carey to come over and see the people there, as he hoped the Lord had begun to work upon some of their hearts ; and in- deed we yet hope that is the case. As I have related the particulars of that day to the Society, I shall not liere repeat them. It is impossible to raise an adequate idea in your mind of what I felt at seeing near a hundred people assembled by sunrise, to whom brethren Thomas and Carey both preached. They heard with great attention, and assembled more numer- ous in the afternoon, and heard two more sermons. I stayed there near three weeks ; a good congregation attends every Sabbath day, though a Sabbath was unknown in this part of India till the missionaries came ; nor is it now regarded, save by a few of our neighbors. There is nothing like such an at- tendance here, as there is at Moypaldiggy, though brother Carey preaches twice every Sabbath, and reads and expounds every morning. In the intervals of preaching to the natives, we have worship in English ; at which times we read sermons, except on those Sabbaths when we and brother Thomas's family meet together ; then we always have preaching. Last 18 194 MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. Sabbath day we all met together, and besides preaching to the natives, we each of us preached once in English. In the afternoon we celebrated the dying love of Jesus, according to his own appointment; and the next day, being the first Mon- day in the month, we remained together, and in the evening, united our prayers with those of our dear brethren in England, and other parts of the world, for the coming of the kingdom of Jesus Christ.' ' It shan't be said that praying breath Was ever spent in vain.' 'I think the Society, and all who feel for the ^vi-etched millions in India, perishing for lack of knowledge, can never be sufficiently thankful to God that brother Carey so cheerful- ly embarked in the mission. His amazing knowledge of the languages and customs of countries; his assiduity in trans- lating the Scriptures, his diligence in preaching, his patience under trials, and his perseverance, though without apparent success, are admirable. He seems every way fitted to lay the foundation of future good in this country. Brother Thomas possesses an earnestness and plainness of address in preach- ing, that is equalled but by few. But two or three missionaries here can do but little ; a request is made for more, and we trust they will be sent.' 'Mudnahatty, Apil 10th, 1796. My dear Sisters, *I know not what to say about the mission. I feel as a farmer does about his crop : sometimes I think the seed is springing, and thus I hope ; a little time blasts all, and my hopes are gone like a cloud. They were only weeds which appeared ; or if a little corn sprung up, it quickly died, being either choked with weeds, or parched up by the sun of per- secution. Yet I still hope in God, and will go forth in his strength, and make mention of his righteousness, even of his only. *I preach every day to the natives, and twice on the Lord's day constantly, besides other itinerant labors ; and I try to speak of Jesus Christ and him crucified, and of him alone : but my soul is ofi:en much dejected to see no fruit. MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. 195 ' This morning I preached to a number, from Eph. iii, 19 : ' To know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge.' I was much affected ; filled with grief and anguish of heart ; because I knew thej^ were going to idolatrous and Mahomedan feasts immediately after, this being the first day of the Hindus' year, and the new moon, Ilamazon, of the Mahomedans. They are gone, I suppose, to their abominations at this moment ; but I hope to preach to them again in the evening. J spoke of the love of God in bearing with his enemies ; in supporting and providing for them ; in sending the gospel to them ; and in saving many of them from eternal wrath. ' The work of translation is going on ; and I hope the whole New Testament and the five books of Moses may be com- pleted before this reaches you. It is a pleasant work, and a rich reward ; and I trust, whenever it is published, it will soon prevail, and put down all the Shastras of the Hindus. 'I remain your affectionate brother, W. Carey.' * Tanquam River, Dec. 22, 1796. *My dear Sisters, 'I am now on my journey to Calcutta, to see Mr. Short, who is very ill Avith a consumption, and his life despaired of *I have received all your letters, to last April; and while I commiserate you in all your distresses and difficulties, I yet praise God to find that you are in the land of the living ; and I think, while we complain of the greatest distresses, we must put all to the score of divine mercy, and say, ' It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because his com- passions fail not.' On this side hell — door of hope — praying ground ; all these are astonishing expressions, and while there is a propriety in employing them, we have abundant cause for thankfulness. ' Were I disposed to complain, I have enough, both within and without, to complain about. My heart is so bad, and in some respects worse than that of any other person in the world ; my coldness in the ways of God ; success little ; car- nality great ; yet were I to do nothing but complain, it would add greatly to my criminality. It^ there are all these pull- backs, and so much opposition, what is the inference but this, 196 MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. that we ought to use so much the more dihgence to make our calling and election past all doubt; and if the days are evil, let it be remembered that this is an argument for using the more circumspection and care that we may redeem the lost and misspent time of our past lives. Let me recommend Ps. xxxiii, ], to you for your consideration, and it will appear that it is comely to change your voice, and unite with the ransomed of the Lord in songs of praise to God and the Lamb. ' The translation of the Scriptures I look upon to be one of the greatest desiderata in the world, and it has accordingly occupied a considerable part of my time and attention ; and, through great mercy, the New Testament is now so near com- pletion that 1 hope to have the translation and first revision of it finished by the end of March. This journey will, it is true, hinder the revision, but will procure me much information respecting it, which may be equally useful to the mission. ' Your affectionate brother, W. Caret.' ' Mudnabatty, December 20, 1796. 'My dear Brother, ' With respect to myself and all my own affairs, I have but little to say. We are all well, through great mercy, and in our station at Mudnabatty, where we have been now three years and upwards. We have four fine children, who are now all well ; indeed, though we live in one of the wildest parts of the country, yet we all enjoy remarkably good health and spirits. ' My work as a missionary is not so successful as I wish ; and yet I trust we are neither of us (I or Mr. Thomas) without seals to our ministry : though so great is the difficulty of losing caste for the Lord Jesus, that none have yet avowed his name by an open profession, and joining us as a church of Christ. We have a church consisting of four members, in full com- munion, and one (Mr. Fountain) at present an occasional com- municant. I have hope of seven natives, and some others appear to be a little upon the inquiry. Indeed, I am much encouraged, and have no doubt but they will all, in some little MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. 197 time, make an open profession, and cast off their old profes- sions. ' The whole of the New Testament, and part of the Old, are translated, except a very few chapters of the Acts of the Apostles ; and I have reason to suppose that the translation is free from gross errors which will at all affect the sense. It is still going on, and should my life and health be preserved, I trust it will be completed in the space of two more years, that is, the whole of the sacred Scriptures, which will be a blessing that you, who live in a land enlightened with the gospel, can- not possibly estimate; indeed, the difference between a people who have only the common light of the gospel, and one who have not, is incredible, were you to witness the foolish fears, gross superstition, meanness of mind, and abundance of vice, which reign triumphantly in a country devoted to the service of Satan, and immersed in the awful ignorance of heathenism. 'Not that the natives of this country are ignorant of many useful arts. They are very good book-keepers ; many of them speak Persian well ; many others Sanscrit ; and many are very good workmen at various trades and businesses, as weavers, smiths, carpenters, bricklayers, and the like ; but I speak of the state of their minds and country. Here are no new pub- lications, Jior have been for hundreds of years ; yet they have numbers of books, most however in foreign languages, as Arabic, Persian, and Sanscrit, which of course are only read by the learned ; and the art of printing not being in use, all kinds of books are very dear and difficult to be obtained. I have not in all this time found one perfect book, though I have detached parts of several, and have begun to learn the Sanscrit language. ' We must not expect, I suppose, ever to see each other in this world any more. I account this my own country now, and have not the least inclination to leave it, though repeated experience proves to me that I have nothing to expect in it but a bare living. Yet even this is as much as 1 ever did expect, or indeed wish for, except for the sake of being more exten- sively useful. But I am well satisfied, and only mention this to rectify a mistaken opinion of our having grown rich in India, perhaps originating from my mentioning what miaht 18* 198 MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. probably be our income. We are neither rich, nor in situations equal to what mine was at Leicester, considering the great losses we have met with from large floods, and the amazing expense of servants necessary here. ' Your aflTectionate brother, ' W. Carey.' SECTION V. X.ETTER TO MR. FULLER JOURNEY INTO BOOTAN LETTER TO MR. FULLER ASPECT OF THE MISSION, CONVERSATION WITH A BRAHMUN DISCOURAGEMENTS DESCRIPTION OF FRUITS, &C. LETTER TO MR. SUTCLIFF LETTER TO BAPTIST MIS- SIONARY SOCIETY ANOTHER TO THE SOCIETY LETTER TO MR. FULLER THE ARRIVAL OF NEW MISSIONARIES. To Mr. Fuller. 'MudnabaUy, March 23, 1797. 'My very dear Brother, 'I received yours of May 2, 12, 13, 26, Sept. 1, and Oct. 11, ult., a few days since, for which I very sincerely thank you. The contents are both pleasing and painful. It rejoices my heart much to hear of our brethren in Scotland having so liberally set themselves to encourage the mission ; and that on two accounts, independent of the pecuniary assistance which they afford. First, the unequivocal proof that it affords of their heartily coinciding with the mission plan ; and, secondly, the amazing assistance which must be derived to the work in answer to their prayers. The acquisition of a new multitude of helpers, all pouring out their requests to God for success on our undertaking, does not a little encourage my heart to MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. 199 proceed in the pleasing work. Want of success is very dis- couraging to me in one point of view, as I fear it may operate to the tiring out the patience of our numerous and hearty helpers in England ; for their hopes, having been very san- guine, and now meeting with so long a disappointment, may at last decline, and their hearts be ' made sick.' On any other account I am not discouraged. I am sure the work of God must prevail, and I think it cannot be long first ; for God hav- ing graciously brought the gospel here, and excited some to attend to it in a hopeful manner, is a kind of pledge to me that he will not forsake his work ; and though caste, and a great number of superstitions, are great obstacles, yet I know there are only two real obstacles in any part of the earth, viz., a want of the Bible, and the depravity of the human heart. The first of these God has begun to remove, and I trust the last will be removed soon ; and when the Spirit is poured down from on high, all superstitions will give way. Be en- couraged, therefore, brother, and encourage others, for now 'the darkness is past' in India, 'and the true light shineth.' Perhaps it may be as brother Ryland suggests: general knowl- edge may first prevail, and pave the way for losing caste and joining to the Lord. I thank you for your opinion upon and advice about receiving the natives while they retain their caste. I have since found it to be impracticable, for they would un- doubtedly be cast out of society, in that case as well as the other. Mr. Schwartz's people have all lost caste, who are joined to his church. I have enough within myself to discourage me for ever ; but I know the work is God's, and will therefore continue to go on in the strength of the Lord, and mention his righteousness only. The failure of the African mission is a very distressing circumstance, and shows the importance of being very careful what men are sent on a mission. ' Bless God, we are all as cold as a stone in a political sense, except brother Fountain, and I believe he is cooling : he also hears perpetual lectures upon prudence in that particular. I know not how it may fare with him, but the Company have rejected his application for leave to stay in the country, and have ordered him down to Calcutta. Mr. Udney has gener- ously proposed to appoint him my assistant, in order to pre- vent his meeting with any disagreeable occurrence. Orders 200 MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. are issued for every ship that arrives to give in a list of all passengers, without which she would not be permitted to land ; and all magistrates, and officers of districts, have orders to make returns of all Europeans, British subjects not in the ser- vice of the King or Company. Such orders must be strictly observed. The magistrate of Dinagepore sent to me, Mr. Thomas, and all others resident in his district, to send in our names, abodes, business, &c., and we did so. They give out covenants to some persons, licensing them to stay in India for a limited time. Mr. Fountain applied for these covenants, but, not being able to ascertain that he was in any employment, was refused ; the covenants are granted to Mr. Thomas, my- self, and Mr. Powel. I hope Mr. F. may obtain them after a time ; but you see by this that some worldly employment is necessary to our being permitted to remain in this country. 'Mr. Thomas and myself are just arrived at home from an excursion to Bootan, in which we preached Christ in many places, where his name was never heard before, and were attended to with great ardor. The name of our Redeemer has been declared in that unknown country, and we have the greatest encouragement to hope a mission may be begun to great advantage in those parts. I will relate a little of our expedition. We set out from Moypaldiggy on the 6th instant, and arrived on the 10th in the Bootan country, viz., that part which is below the hills ; for we did not ascend the mountains, our time not being sufficient to permit us to go through all the formalities required thereto. We went to a place called Gopalgunge, and waited on a Bootea officer, called the Jinkof ; he received us very kindly, and we presented him with a few articles with which he was much pleased. Here we found that it would be necessary to see some more officers, and to get a regular permission to ascend the hills. The greatest part of the day we were in his house, which is large, and made with bamboos and mats, with saul-tree pillars, and has an upper floor, on which he lives, made with split bamboos. He made us a present of some pieces of bacon about a foot long, but which were so stale as to be smelt at a great distance. After that, he treated us with tea, which they call runga. The teapot is a large bamboo, with a hole perforated through one of its knots on the inside, which is the spout; the tea is made MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. 201 into cakes with some composition, and is, when used, mixed with boihng water, ghee,* and salt. We tried in vain to swallow it, though the Bootea drank very copiously of it. His kindness, however, was very conspicuous, and he drank our rum more than we wished him. The Booteas are greatly addicted to drinking spirits, and pride themselves in drinking much, though drunkenness is reckoned a shame among them. However, all will intoxicate themselves if they can get Eng- lish spirits ; they are taught to drink spirits as soon as they can talk ; and in all their houses you see large pitchers, (Culsees) about as large as a small bucket, full of Bengal arrack, which they drink as we should water. They are very stout, robust people, and with respect to dress, color, and ap- pearance, are like an amazing stout, athletic English wagoner, much weather-beaten. They have no stockings, but their dress is like a wagoner's frock, except the higher ranks, who have a garment much like an English gentleman's morning gown, of blue, red, or green stuff, with large figures wrought in it, like diaper. The women are tolerably white ; their dress a petticoat, and a cloth which is so fastened from the shoulders to the waist as to appear like a monstrous pouch over the breasts, in which they keep every portable article, as in a pocket. Their hair is parted on the top of their head, and we saw no covering for the head of the females, though men in office had different coverings for the head. ' From Gopalgunge we went to Bote Haut (the natives call themselves Botes, but the Hindus call them Booteas), to see the Soobah, who is the greatest officer, that is, a kind of vice- roy, below the hills. A letter having been sent to him from the Jinkof, he sent two horses to attend us, and the Jinkof himself went with us. The procession was the most comical and singular that could be imagined, yet strongly proved their great attention to us. We were preceded by a band of Ben- gal music, if such it can be called; we were six horsemen, and servants, people to carry our baggage, tents, &c. (which, in travelling by land in this country, must be carried on men's shoulders), and spectators. We had near a hundred attendants Ghee is butter melted down and then preserved for use, and is much used in all parts of Bengal. 202 MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. on foot. On one horse was the Jinkof, led by two men, not- withstanding which lie was sometimes first, sometimes last, and sometimes turning round, his horse being ungovernable : every mile or two he was stopping to drink spirits. A Hindu on another horse was much like him, except drinking ; and we had enough to do to keep our horses out of their way, to effect which, we were always wheeling to the right or left. At our approaching the town, a number of females met us, and made their salam,* after which they ran before the horses, and all the inhabitants of the place, I should suppose tAvo or three thousand, all Hindus, joined the procession. *We went in this manner to the Soobah's house, who re- ceived us with great politeness, made us presents of silk, viz., a white scarf, in the name of the Grand Lama, a red one, in his own name, and another red one, in a friend's name. After receiving the presents, we ascended the ladder to his house, which was like the Jinkof's, but much larger, and more elegant ; it had four rooms on the upper floor, which were entirely covered with mats. At the further end of the princi- pal room was the seat of the Soobah, raised about two feet from the floor, and covered with red cloth. Thin gauze cur- tains were hung round it, and on this we were seated by the Soobah. On two sides of the same room were seats for the servants, raised about six inches from the floor, and, like the Soobah's, made with planks of saul timber, but covered with sackcloth. A window, of about a foot deep, made of lattice- work, ran throughout the two sides on which the servants' seats were placed, those only being the outward walls ; and a curtain of white cotton cloth was placed just above the win- dow. On this curtain were hung shields and helmets; and under it, matchlocks, bows, and arrows. The under part of the house serves for a stable, &c. 'The genuine politeness and gentleman-like behavior of the Soobah exceeded every thing that can be imagined, and his generosity was astonishing. He insisted on supplying all our people with every thing they wanted ; and if we did but cast our eyes to any object in the room, he immediately presented * Salam, the common way of bowing in India, performed by putting the right hand to the head, and gently bowing. MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. 203 US with one of the same sort. Indeed he seemed to interpret our looks before we were aware ; and in this manner he pre- sented each of us that night with a sword, shield, helmet, and cup, made of a very light beautiful wood, and used by all the Booteas for drinking in. We admiring the wood, he gave us a large log of it ; which appears to be like fir, with a very dark beautiful grain : it is full of a resin or turpentine, and burns like a candle if cut into thin pieces, and serves for that use. In eating, the Soobah imitated our manners so quickly and exactly, that though he had never seen a European before, yet he appeared as free as if he had spent his life with them. We ate his food, though I confess the thoughts of the Jinkof's bacon made me eat rather sparingly. We had much talk about Bootan, and about the gospel ; and the appellation of Lama was given to us, which appears to mean teacher, and which title is emphatically given to the Grand Lama. ' We found that he had determined to give all the country a testimony of his friendship for us in a public manner ; and the next day was fixed on to perform the ceremony in our tent, on the market-place. Accordingly we got instructed in the necessary etiquette ; and informed him that we were only coming a short journey to see the country, were not provided with English cloth, &c., for presents. The time being come, we were waited on by the Soobah, followed by all his servants, both Booteas and Hindus. Being seated, we exchanged each five rupees and five pieces of betel, in the sight of the whole town ; and having chewed betel for the first time in our lives, we embraced three times in the eastern manner, and then shook hands in the English manner; after which, he made us a present of a piece of rich debang, wrought with gold, each a Bootan blanket, and the tail of an animal called the cheer cow, but we could not ascertain what animal it was. The Soobah says it is kept tame, is as large as a buffalo, and lives only on the tops of the highest mountains, which are covered with snow. The tail is as bushy as a horse's, and is used in the Hindu worship. ' When the ceremony was over, we were conducted to the Soobah's house, and found there another officer, I believe the Vakeel, or attorney of the court below the hills. This man was just the reverse of all we had seen. He had been to Cal- 204 MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. cutta, and was a man of great consequence in his own eyes. He sat on the Soobah's seat like a statue, and never rose when we went in, which the Soobah, a much greater man, always had done. When we sat down, he began a long discourse with the others in the Bootan language, which, as we did not understand ; we also talked to each other in English. All this time a servant, by his orders, was poking a lighted torch just in our faces, that he might stare at us. Mr. T. ordered it away. He then asked how many servants we kept. Mr. T. told him if he would go to our houses, he might satisfy himself about that. He then inquired if we had a tent : we answered in the affirmative. All this was to see whether we were great men or not. We treated him with as little ceremony as he did us, and after exchanging a few angry words with the Soobah, he took an abrupt leave. The Soobah was then transported with rage, and threatened him dreadfully ; tore off his upper gar- ment, seized a cresse (a kind of dagger), struck it into the table, beat his breast, and threatened to go after and kill him. We tried to appease him, and were successful ; but declined going up the hills, as we found it was necessary to wait for an order from Pargong, the seat of Pelen Rajah, who is a kind of minister of state to the Deb Rajah ; or perhaps to have waited till an answer had been returned from the Deb Rajah himself, whose palace, if we were not misinformed, is at Tassasooden. Our people were much afraid ; for, though the Hindus had, till now, expressed the greatest confidence in the gentleness of the Booteas, they now began to propagate a great number of bloody tales, and nothing was heard but the insincerity of the Booteas. We were not quite so timid, though we were not without our cogitations. We, however, laughed at the people, and told them to run away for their lives, if any danger ap- peared; and we then ordered that no gun should be loaded (we had taken a gun or two for fear of wild elephants, &c.), and no additional care whatsoever manifested, though we were certain the people would not sleep much that night. We then committed ourselves to God in prayer, and slept till morning. 'In the morning, the Soobah came with his usual friendship, and brought more presents, which we received, and took our leave. He sent us away with every honor he could heap upon us ; as a band of music before us, guides to show us the way, MEMOIR or DR. CAREY. 205 &c. ; in short, the whole of his conduct towards us was un- variedly as generous, poHte, and friendly as I have ever witnessed. I suppose the unhappy quarrel above mentioned arose from the Vakeel thinking himself a great man, and some- what slighted in not having any present from us : but in truth we had nothing to present. The Soobah is to pay us a visit in a little time, which I hope to improve for the great end of settling a mission in that country. ' So great a contrast I have never before seen between two neighboring nations, as the Booteas and Hindus. The latter are small, puny, fearful people ; the former, athletic and fear- less. They have a great curiosity: we gave them several articles, as a looking-glass, and a pocket compass, which were examined in every point of view. They have a written language, and, I am informed, many books (I suppose religious) written in it. The names of the letters are the same as the Bengali language, with a few exceptions, and are written in the same order, with only this difference, that the Bengali has five letters in a series, or line of the alphabet, but the Bootea only four. I intend to inclose a part of a letter which accidentally fell into my hands there : it is imperfect, one end being torn, yet is a fine specimen of their writing. I think the accent of the Bootea language not much unlike that of the French ; but more acquaintance with it may alter my mind in that particular. I am to be furnished with a Bootea Mounshi, and Mr. T. with another. 'Dr. Ryland inquires whether Bootan and Thibet are the same country ; and in your circular letter you speak of it as on the borders of Thibet. Mr. Thomas thinks that Bootea is a province of Thibet ; b»it I have not found that the people of Bootan know the name of Thibet, nor can I say any thing certain about it. Bootan is a very large country, subject to the Deb Rajah. The Lama Gooroo, as they call him, is, I think, only considered as a representative of God ; and they have his image in their houses, about the size of a large man's thumb. The Soobah said there was a greater object of worship, who could only be seen by the mind. ' March 25. I this day received yours of June 21, and one from brother Ryland, with additions by yourself, of June 13, 19 206 MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. which contain Mr. 's animadversions, and inquiries by brother R} land ; to all which I shall now reply, lest I should forget it afterwards. And it may be proper to say that I do write things as they strike me at the time, as Mr. says ; yet I shall be able to prove that I am right in most of those instances mentioned by him. I cannot then justify my style, or accuracy of pointing, and phraseology; I have always written as fast and much as I could, but have seldom revised my letters ; always trusting to the prudence and judgment of my friends, to extract, to correct the style, &c. I shall now reply particularly to Mr. 's animadversions, and to brother Ryland's remarks, as follows :' 'I have been with the printer, at Calcutta, to consult him about the expense of printing the New Testament, which is now translated, and may be got ready for the press in a little time. It has undergone one correction, but must undergo several more. 1 employ a Pundit merely for this purpose, with whom I go through the whole in as exact a manner as I can. He judges of the style and syntax, and I of the faithfulness of the translation. I have, however, translated several chapters together, which have not required any alteration in the syntax whatever: yet I always submit this article entirely to his judg- ment. I can also, by hearing him read, judge whether he un- derstands his subject, by his accenting his reading properly, and laying the emphasis on the right words. If he fails in this, I immediately suspect the translation ; though it is not an easj^ matter for an ordinary reader to lay the emphasis j)rop- erly in reading Bengali, in which there is no pointing at all. The mode of printing, i. e., whether a printing-j)ress, &c., shall be sent from England, or whether it shall be printed here, or whether it shall be printed at all, now rests with the Society. 'To say anything of my own personal exercises, would only be filling up paper with a long, tedious tale about myself: I therefore decline it, and only say that I have daily cause to complain, yet complain in reality but little, and am what I have been for many years, that poor sluggish, phlegmatic creature, who needs all the advantages of godly society to set MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. 207 the springs in motion ; yet have but little of that. Brother F. is a great advantage ; but we can scarcely vary conversation so much with one person as to keep up its zest. ' I labor on the word ; and public exercises are pleasant to my soul, though I want that aptness to converse closely about the things of God, which is so conspicuous in brother Thomas. The accounts of Yardee, Doorgottea, Sookman, and another, which I before wrote, I trust will give some pleasure to the Society, and the numerous friends of Christ in England, and will show that their prayers have not been in vain, while it affords a new encouragement to us. One of these persons has, however, entirely deserted us, viz., the man whose name I had forgotten. I have great reason to hope that the others are really converted to Christ: they speak in a savory manner about the things of God, and grow in knowledge, and, I trust, in grace. So great an opposition to their baptism has been stirred up, that I am not sure when we may have the happiness to receive them as members of our commun- ion ; but I hope it will be the case before a very long time has elapsed. ' Brother T. labors with greater and greater vigor in preach- ing the word, and appears alive. I have much pleasure in preaching, expounding, and translating. O that God woidd graciously grant us some more evident success ! Brother Fountain is making very considerable progress in the language : the climate suits him very well at present, and I hope will do ; though it is the rainy season that tries European constitutions, which begins about the tenth of June. He is alive in the things of God, and helps us much. 'I have many anxieties still about the mission, as you will see by the variety of objects I have proposed, or rather hinted, respecting the seat of the mission, and the steps to be taken to avoid our being ousted by the Company. It is true the Com- pany have given covenants to Mr. T., Mr. Powel, and myself, which will secure us for five years : but their being refused to brother Fountain causes sorrow and anxiety, though I think they will never meddle with him. I have thought of the borders of Bootan, as commanding Hindostan, Bootan, and Assam, at once, and being out of the Company's dominions ; but permission to settle there must be first obtained. Nor do 208 MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. I know that we should be more secure there ; for the Company can negotiate with any other power, and might be provoked to do it if they found us evading them. If we, who are per- mitted to reside in India, get permission from the board of trade at Calcutta to carry on any business, that business might include all future missionaries, Vv^ho, if they could certify their being employed in any business, would not, in probability, be refused covenants, as brother F. was, only on account of not being able to say he was in employment. But, in this case, the mission would not be avowed to government; though it naight be pursued equally as if it were, and worldly business might be carried on upon as small a scale as we could wish, merely for the maintenance of the missionaries. There is a passage in Mr. Home's Letters, which is to this import : 'Thank God, we can assert the rights of Englishmen in preaching the gospel at Calcutta.' Query, can Europeans settle at Calcutta and its environs for ten miles round, without the consent of the Company ? If so, our difRculties would be at an end. 'That a considerable number of additional missionaries are necessary, I am fully persuaded ; and that, if something like what I have proposed in my last letter could be done, it would be an incalculable advantage to the undertaking. This mission should be strengthened as much as possible, as its situation is such as may put it in our power, eventually, to spread the gospel through the greatest part of Asia, and almost all the necessary languages may be learned here. 'I hope the African mission may teach us more and more; though we have always made it a point to avoid every word or action, that looks like intermeddling with politics. . We have no disposition to it ; and if we were at all dissatisfied, which we are not, yet it is a point of conscience with me, to be sub- missive to the powers that are, for the time being ; so that, let my opinions about the best mode of government be what they might, yet the Bible teaches me to act as a peaceful subject under that government which is established where Providence has placed or ever may place my lot ; provided that govern- ment does not interfere in religious matters, or attempt to constrain my conscience : in that case, I think it my duty peaceably to obey God rather than men, and abide by all MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. 209 consequences. My paper is at an end. A number of people are just come in. The post is going off, and I add no more ; only request you to remember my warmest love to the Society, to all ministers, especially my acquaintance, and to all, either in your own or any other church, with whom I am ac- quainted. I am, dear brother, ' Affectionately yours, ' W. Carey.' To Mr. Fuller. ' Mudnahatty, June 22, 1797. 'My very dear Brother, 'I have yoiu's of August 9, 16, vv'hich informs me that the seeds, &c., were shi})ped. I have received those seeds and other articles in tolerable preservation, and shall find them a very useful article. An acquaintance which I have formed with Dr. Roxburg, superintendent of the Company's botanic garden, and whose wife is daughter of a missionary on the coast, may be of future use to the mission, and make that in- vestment of vegetables more valuable. ' Mr. Fountain had agreed to take thirty rupees ])er month for his support, for which I have drawn on the treasurer two bills in triplicate, one payable to Mr. B. Powell, or order, the other to George Udney, Esq., or order. But soon after this, I received yours of August 9, 16, 1796, agreeing to give him the amount of the seeds, &c. As he wishes to give some en- couragement to the school, by rewards to the children, &c., I have agreed that he shall receive from me to the amount of £50 sterling, the sum which Maddock has agreed to receive : in which case, the amount of the two bills drawn on the treasurer will be received by me, and I shall be responsible to the Society for it ; it may therefore be accounted as a part of my intended allowance, or applied to any other purpose the Society may think proper to direct. You some time ago mentioned a wish to contribute regularly to our assistance, but have sent no account to what amount, except for 1795. I having drawn on the Society, it may raise some jealousy in Mr. Thomas's mind, if they do not make him an allowance, or otherwise say what he is to expect ; though I think [ may venture to say that if you would determine to pay his allowance 19* 2J0 MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. to his creditors in England, on his account, it might tend more to the advantage of liim, and also to the honor of the mission, than any other method. 'Thus much I have said respecting the regulation of what- ever is sent in future ; my thoughts respecting the carrying on of the mission, 1 have formerly written to you ; and I am more and more convinced, that more persons are absolutely neces- sary to the work of the mission being carried on with any degree of spirit. Whether the Company will or will not molest us, must be left to His care who holds the seven stars in his right hand, and without whose permission a sparrow does not fall to the ground ; but that no human means may be wanting, having now entered into covenants with the Com- pany, I have it now in my power to engage in any line of business, either nominal (that is, ] can take a dozen acres of land, and cultivate a rood of sugar-canes, and be called a sugar manufacturer, or any other business, for it is absolutely neces- eary to be nominally in some employment, if not really) or actual, which last I think will be necessary to a certain degree for our support, after the example of the Moravians; and in that case, whoever comes may be denominated assistants to Mr. Thomas and myself on their first arrival. And as we are now permitted by the Company to live in the country, and trade therein, and mutual covenants for that purpose being signed, we may, with boldness, pursue any line of conduct that may be proper ; not to mention that I have reason to be- lieve that we are respected by the magistrates, &c., of the district, who perfectly understand our errand: indeed, the judge of Dinagepore * expressed very great approbation of the translating of the Bible; and has shown us several acts of kindness, which may be serviceable to the mission in future. 'I think the aspect of the mission not quite so cloudy as it was some time ago. Mr. Fountain is a great assistance ; and 1 may say, for the purpose of quieting all your fears, that I think you need not be under any apprehension on account of his political fire : there is but little fuel for it here, and it is much suppressed. The persons I mentioned in my letters of * 'Do not, on any account, print any thing in which officers (civil) are parties.' MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. 211 January last still stand, but do not appear so lively as they did then. The heat, and also the coming on of the rains, which are just setting in, prevent much going out to preach at pres- ent ; but our congregation at home is larger. We have also, just now (about a month ago), set up a school again ; the former having been discontinued from Ram Boshoo's defection. We have now thirteen scholars, and others doubtless will soon come in. They write part of the Scripture for their exercises, and learn common arithmetic. I mean to introduce some other branches of useful knowledge, of which the Hindus are yet ignorant. 'A gentleman at Dinagepore, whose name is Fernandez, born at Macao, in China, of Portuguese or Italian parents, I am not sure which, has heard us preach ; since which time he has shown great regard to us, and is now erecting a brick house at Dinagepore for the preaching of the gospel, to either natives or English, entirely at his own expense. He writes that it will be finished in about a month, when he intends to have it opened with prayer and preaching. This is the more re- markable as he was intended to be a popish priest himself; but, he says, being shocked at the worship of images, he began to examine, and the more he examined the more he was in- clined to Protestant principles, and so gradually relinquished the church of Rome. I cannot say that there is sufficient proof of his being a converted man ; yet he is very attentive, and more tender in his mind than almost any other with whom I am acquainted, and I hope that God may carry on his work in his heart. He often talks to the natives, and being of a communicative disposition, he has much contributed to prepossess the Hindus there with favorable sentiments of the gospel. ' I am very much obliged to you for the American magazines. There are some things rather wide in them, but others very much please me, particularly those signed O. Pray do you know who O. is ? The piece on ' Slander,' in No. Ill, I think, goes to the subversion of church discipline, and seems extrava- gant. Simon and Peter, in No. \, will not bear the test of Scripture. If a heathen can worship the sun with a holy mind, it will follow that he may worship an image with a mind as pure, and may as easily attribute all the perfections of Deity 212 MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. to one as to the other. But, query, whether it be not as difficult, or rather as impossible, to believe in reality that a created being possesses divine perfections, as it is to worship God in spirit and in truth, if our ideas of him are carnal and false. Yet, as the magazine opens a door for free discussion, I think it a good undertaking, and hope it will answer valuable ends. I wish you would send us a few more of your own Circular Letters ; we are now three persons in number, and we have many opportunities of putting such a publication into other people's hands ; and some people must have one, even if we go without ourselves : indeed, I am at this time without the letters for 1794, 1795, and 1796. If the association is so very poor that it cannot afford us a dozen of letters, do charge the amount to me: I will repay it. 'July 4. I have not been able to add any thing for several days past, but I now resume the pen. 'It may not be disagreeable to you to have an account of a conversation which I had a little time ago with a Brahmun, as it will show how uniform the carnal mind is in its opposition to God, and that the very arguments used in England to op- pose the gospel, are also used in Bengal. 'I was pressing upon him the necessity of believing in Christ for salvation, when he asked how it was that the worship of idols had been followed from the beginning, and how it was that, according to the Scripture itself, the worship of the Debtas * was professed through the whole world, except one small nation, from the beginning. And, says he, ^if the gospel be the way of life, how is it that we never heard of it before?' I answered, 'God formerly suffered all nations to walk in their own ways, but now commandeth all men every where to repent.' 'Indeed,' said he, 'I think God ought to repent for not sending the gospel sooner to us.' I then tried to convince him that God had never done injustice to men, and that it was his settled purpose finally to overcome all the power and craft of the devil. To this I added, suppose a *' Idols, or supposed powerful intelligences, inferior to God, and represented by images. They seem to answer exactly to the Greek word ^utffol'iOP; and the character of these supposed intelligences is well described according to the Hindu notion in Parkhurst's Greuk Lexicon, under the above word. The Hindus, however divide them into two kinds, viz., Dehta, or Soor ; and Doxjtyo, or jBsoor ; the first dignifying the good or benign, the last, the bad or malignant povvers.' MEMOIR OF DR. CARET. 213 kingdom had been long overrun by the enemies of its true king, and he, though possessed of sufficient power to conquer them, should yet suffer them to prevail, and establish them- selves as much as they could desire, would not the valor and wisdom of that king be far more conspicuous in exterminating them, than it would have been if he had opposed them at first, and prevented their entering the country ? Thus, by the diffusion of gospel light, the wisdom, power, and grace of God will be much more conspicuous in overcoming such deep- rooted idolatries, and in destroying all that darkness and vice which have so universally prevailed in this country, than they would have been if all had not been suffered to walk in their own waj^s for so many ages past. ' Jan. 1, 1798. The ships having been despatched before I had finished this, and before I saw the newspapers, it has lain unfinished till now. I shall add a little more, and send it by the present ships. ' Since the above date, a letter-foundry has been set up at Calcutta for the country languages ; and I think it will be cheaper and better to furnish ourselves with letters, for print- ing the Bible in this country, than to have them cast in Europe. I have also been talking with Mr. Udney about setting up a printing-press at Mudnabatty, which he highly ap})roves of, and I believe will contribute liberally towards it. Mr. Powel will be able to construct a press, and workmen may be ob- tained from Calcutta. I shall therefore immediately set about it ; but ready money will be required : with Mr. Udney's assist- ance, however, I hope to get through that difficulty. It will, however, be absolutely necessary for you to appoint a banking- house in London, on which we may be authorized to draw to a certain amount yearly, and also what may be necessary to set up this great work at first. I should recommend the house of Raiches and Co., that being the house with which Mr. Udney's business is carried on ; and it will consequently be easier to get money for bills drawn on that than on any other house. 'Mr. Udney strongly recommends the printing of the Persian Pentateuch and Gospels in the Polyglott ; and as multitudes of the higher classes of people in India are well acquainted with that language, I think it may be of great advantage. Mr 214 MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. Udney, who well understands the Persian, says the transla- tion is just, and is setting some Mussulmans to transcribe it for the press. By setting uj) a press we shall be able to publish many little things in Bengali, which we can circu- late through the country, though all must be given away at the beginning. 'For want of keeping copies of my letters, I have really forgotten what I wrote respecting our allowance, to which yours of December, 1796, was an answer. I have, therefore, now begun to keep copies of my letters, which will, in future, prevent such mistakes. I shall, however, now inclose a copy of my account with the Society. I also think that, excepting a few articles of apparel, such as a piece of light fine cloth for coats, a piece of velveteen, or such like, for waistcoats, &:c., with trimmings, which might be sent yearly, it would be better to draw as above mentioned, for our allowance, than to send goods, which are often sold for less than prime cost. I should also like to have about £10 a year put into the hand of some friend in London, to be laid out according to my order, in a few trifling articles which I may want; and I think Mr. Benjamin Powell, of St. John's street, would very properly and carefully execute any such orders, and he would ship them with any other articles which he may have to send to his son at Moypal. I shall, in that case, give him orders. Whatever he has sent has arrived much quicker and better than the goods sent by the Society. ' Jan. 9. I have been going to and fro ever since the last date, when I was at Malda. Yesterday I returned from Dinagepore, distant from Malda sixty-lour miles, where 1 preached to the Bengal natives, and also to the European inhabitants, who all attended except two persons. This also being the time of the assizes, the judge of the circuit attended the word. The congregation consisted of Mr. Rock, the judge of the circuit; Mr. Parr, judge of the district; Mr. Cunning- hame, registrar of the court; our good friend, Mr. Fernandez; and Mr. Powel, who accompanied me. Also, from Rungpore, Dr. Todd, Mr. Marsh, and Mr. Long ; Mrs. Rock, Mrs. Todd, and Mrs. Bird, the collector's wife. The three judges, viz., Messrs. Rock, Parr, and Cunninghame, also attended the Bengali preach- ing. I afterwards dined with them at Mr. Parr's, where Ave MEMOIR OF DR. CARET, 215 had much talk about the gospel, and particularly about the mission. Either your periodical accounts, or Rippon's Regis- ter, I am not sure which, are come to India; so that our errand is well known to all. Mr. Colbrook, nephew to Mr. Dundas, M. P., had them sent out to him, and has lent them abroad ; and Lady Elgin sent them to the Hon. Mr. Bruce, who lent them to Mr. Parr. ' Thus you see 1 have discouragements. Mr. Long we have been obliged to exclude from our church for dishonesty. Mr. Thomas is gone far away ; and my domestic troubles are sometimes almost too heavy for me. I am distressed, yet sup- ported, and I trust not totally dead in the things of God. I do a little, and I wish to do more ; but the whole weight lies on me. Brother Fountain is diligent, has good preaching abili- ties, and is a great encouragement to me, though he cannot speak the language so as to be understood in preaching. Mr. Powel is a good man, and gives me great pleasure ; but he is not professedly a missionary, and it is doubtful to me whether he has abilities to speak in public ; he is, however, very useful in other respects, and is now going to undertake the making of our printing press. The prospect among the natives is more encouraging. Our school prospers, and I trust there is some revival among the religious Europeans in this neighbor- hood. I have written to Mr. Schwartz, at Tanjore, but have no answer yet : he is further from us than Rome is from you. 'I intended giving you some account of the natural pro- ductions of this country ; but at present must conclude with only mentioning a few, and those of the vegetable kind, for I have not had sufficient leisure to examine animals properly. I am, however, preparing accounts of them, w^hich I hope to send to you. ' The fruits of India, though so much famed in Europe, will be found far short of those in Europe, both in quality and flavor, except a very few.' ' W. Carey.' 216 MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. To Mr. Sutcliff. ' Mudnahatty, Jan. 16, 1798. 'My dear Brother, ' I have yours of February 7, 1797, which is the only one of your favors which remain unansv^^ered. I now sit down to answer it, and must say that, though short, yet it contains multum in parvo, and has been a cordial to my heart. ' You are among the number of my dear friends, whose names I often mention in my poor prayers to God, and, give me leave to say, one to whom my heart is truly attached in the gospel. I rejoice to hear of your health, of your marriage, of your people, and of your happiness with them. They are a people whom I love, so far as I know them. The account of deaths, revivals, and other changes in your parts, is to me peculiarly interesting; and I trust, upon the whole, there appears, a de- gree of melioration in mundane affairs, so far as they relate to the church of Christ. ' I am fully convinced of what you say respecting the i)ro- priety of keeping two journals ; but owing to my numerous avocations, which engross all my time, I have long since drop- ped the practice of keeping any journal at all. I might plead my great disinclination to writing as an excuse, but I am ashamed to do it ; though that undoubtedly has its bad effect. Yet if you consider my situation, you will say that I have my hands full of labor ; and yet I am scarcely perceived among the millions of Bengal. The translating the Scripture, and correct- ing former translations, constantly occupies all my candle-light, and often all my afternoons. This you will easily believe, when you consider the difficulty of translating into a foreign lan- guage, and the labor of collating my translation with all the versions I have ; as also the writing the whole with my own hand in the Bengal character, which is considerable labor, notwithstanding I write it nearly as quick as I do English. I have had no assistance from Mr. Thomas in this work, except his old copies of Matthew and Mark, James, and part of Luke ; all which were so very imperfect and incorrect, that, setting aside the labor of writing, it would have been as easy to have translated the whole myself. At this time the Pentateuch, the New Testament, and eighty-five of the Psalms are done, and I hope, in the course of this year, to finish all, except the his- MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. 217 torical books from Joshua to Job. Besides this, I am learning the Sanscrit language, which, with only the helps to be pro- cured here, is perhaps the hardest language in the world. To accomplish this, 1 have nearly translated the Sanscrit grammar and dictionary into English, and have made considerable pro- gress in compiling a dictionary, Sanscrit, including Bengali and English. 'I also maintain the worship of God, and expound in Ben- gali every morning ; when about twenty people attend, and we sing Bengali hymns, which I have composed, I suppose in the style of Sternhold and Hopkins ; but I did what I was able to do, and hope it may be attended with a blessing. When at home I constantly preach to them twice on the Sabbath. I now preach at Dinagepore once a month, the particulars of which brother Fuller will inform you of ' I have written to Mr. Schwartz, but have not his answer yet. You know that those good men are supported by the English Society for promoting religious knowledge, and that their accounts are printed. I rejoice much at the missionary spirit which is lately gone forth. Surely it is the prelude to the universal spread of the gospel ! I also see in the Calcutta papers that the pope was dying, the cardinals fled, and priests marrying, last June. I hope it was true ; and also that the old gentleman is dead and buried, and that no more of his seed or sort may any more exist in the earth. Your account of the German Moravian brethren's affectionate regard towards me is very pleasing. 1 am not much moved with what men in general say of me ; yet I cannot be insensible to the regards of men eminent for godliness. ' What you hint respecting the natural histor}' or other par- ticulars of Bengal, I have adopted some time ago, and have separate books for every distinct class, as birds, beasts, fishes, serpents, &c. I intend, however, to trouble you a little from time to time with some account of their mythology and re- ligion ; and as the worship of the sun was performed in my sight last Lord's day, I shall begin with that ; especially as I have not seen it noted by any writer on India. I preached on the spot to them, just in front of a long row of offerings, in the evening. 'The sun, called Soorjyo, or Deebahar, is supposed to be 20 218 MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. the governor of all bodily diseases, and is therefore wor- shipped, to avert his anger, and to prevent diseases. Some valetudinarians worship him every Sunday, by fasting and offerings; but he is annually worshipped the first Sunday in the month of May, which was last Lord's day, Jan. 14. The name of this worship is Dhomma Bhau, or Soorjyo Bhau. In these parts (for the manner, I am informed, is different in some circumstances, in different places) women appear to be the principal actors in the worship, though none are excluded, and even Mussulmans have so far Hinduized as to join in the idol- atry. It was thus conducted: At the dawn of the morning a great number of offerings were carried into the open field, and placed in a row. The oflTerings which I saw consisted of fruits, sweetmeats, pigeons, and kids; and I suppose other things, as deer, buffaloes, &c., might be offered. By each person's offering is placed a small pitcher-like pot, containing about a pint and a half of Avater. A device, made of a water- plant, a species of phylanthus, made to represent the sun, is placed on the edge of the pot, as people in England place flowers. The pot, with all its appendages, represents the sun, perhaps as the vivifier of nature. By each offering also is placed a what shall I call it? — an incense altar, or censer. It resembles a chafing dish, is made of copper, and stands on a pedestal about a foot long. It is called a dhoonachee. It contains coals of fire, and has a kind of incense from time to time thrown into it, principally the pitch of the saul tree, called here dhoona. By each offering also stands a lamp, which is kept burning all day ; and the women who offer take their station by their offerings. At sun-rise, they walk four times round the whole row of offerings, with the smoking dhoonachee placed on their heads, and then resume their sta- tions again, where they continue in an erect posture, fasting the whole day, occasionally throwing a little dhoona into the dhoonachee. Towards evening, the Brahmun who attends the ceremony throws the pigeons up into the air, which, being young, cannot fly far, and are scrambled for and carried away by any one who gets them, for the purpose of eating. The Brahmun also perforates the ears of the kids with a pack-needle ; after which, the first who touches them gets them. About sun-set, the offerers again take up the smoking dhoonachees, MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. 219 and make three more circuits round the row of offerings, making the whole number seven times in the day. I have not learned the reason of this number. After this, each one takes his or her offering home, and eats it, the worship being ended. Then the lamps are extinguished. I had some of these things presented to me ; but in order to bear testimony against the idolatry, I not only refused them, but others also brought on purpose for me by one present, — telling them that it was a very wicked thing to eat things sacrificed to idols, which are God's enemies. I preached to them from Rev. i, 16 : ' His countenance was as the sun shining in his strength,' and told them of the glories of the Lord of the sun, as Creator, Gov- ernor, and Savior. I had a rich Fakir Mussulman come in the morning to hear me ; he came from a distance. I had much talk with him afterwards, in the hearing of the people, who were so credulous as to believe that he had actually, that morning, turned a pot of water into milk. I asked him to dine with me (this no native would do on any account), and observed to the people, that if he could change water into milk, he could change pork into mutton, — pork being never eaten by Mussulmans. ' Thus I have given you a short account of this remarkable worship. They have a book of directions for the performance of it, which I am trying to get. If I succeed, I may in a future letter send you a translation of its contents. ' You inquire after the officer I mentioned : his name is Frole. Mr. Udney, who has since dined with him, thinks him enthusiastically insane. He is gone to England. The mis- sionary's son I never saw : he soon left Malda. I have seen his daughter, who is the wife of Dr. Roxburg, the superintend- ent of the Company's botanic garden, and my intimate friend. I learnt no particulars from her. ' We have a prospect of soon setting up a printing-press at Mudnabatty. A letter foundry is set up at Calcutta for country characters. Mr. Powel is making a press. Mr. Udney will advance ready money on the credit of bills on the Society, and I believe will contribute generously. Our friend Fernandez sets his hand to the work. I wish the Society would present us with a fount of English letter, and some Greek and Hebrew. Arabic we shall get here. I hope soon to get the Bible published. 220 MEMOIR or DR. CAREY. ' My Christian love to the Rev. Mr. Home, and to all your friends, and to all the jninisters or others who care for us. Brother Fountain is well, and joins in love. We are all well. I have four sons. Brother Thomas went to Calcutta some time ago ; then concluded to practise surgery there ; to-day writes me that he is coming back. ' Indeed I am, very affectionately yours, W. Carey.' To THE Baptist Society. ' Hoogly River, near Plassy, Jan. 10, 1799. ' Dear and honored Brethren, 'I am now on a journey to Calcutta; and when I tell you that the continual motion of the boat I am in, occasioned by the oars, shakes me all the time I write, you will excuse the shortness of my letter. Yet I must embrace this opportunity of writing, because the ships are under despatch, and I shall scarcely arrive time enough to send this by them. 'I am sensible of the honor you have done me by appointing me your treasurer in India; and accordingly I send enclosed the accounts of the Society in this country, brought up to the fii-st instant, by which you will understand the whole of our temporal concerns. '1. The success we meet with in preaching the gospel. This, we must confess and lament, is very far short of what we wish, and I fear very short of what you expect. Yet our state is not desperate. The object of our mission is better known than it was, both to the natives and to Europeans ; and though I cannot positively speak of conversions, yet we have a few concerning whom appearances are so hopeful, and so long continued, that, should they fail, the disappointment would be very great indeed. We preach to the natives once every day, when we are at home, and twice on Lord's days ; also once a month at Dinagepore, and once a month at Malda ; besides our preaching to Europeans. Brother Thomas is now at Nuddea, and has written me word that he has great hopes concerning several persons there, and expects to baptize one Brahmun, Raji Krishnu, if not more, on the 29th instant, when I hope also to be with him. ' Our sphere of action among Europeans is also very con- siderably enlarged the past year ; for we preach to a congre- MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. 221 gation of Europeans at Malda, and to another at Dinagepore, each once a month, and I trust not without success: but lime must determine whether our hopes are well founded or not, though I can scarcely doubt. Brother Fountain frequently preaches in English and in Bengali, at home, where the peo- ple, being accustomed to him, can understand him mucli better than they can at other places. He is a good man, and greatly desires the salvation of the heathen. '2. Translating and publishing the Scriptures. This is an object which has been always very near my heart. I have now finished the Pentateuch, Psalms, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, part of Daniel, and the New Testa- ment, except Matthew, Mark, and James, which were formerly translated by brother Thomas ; and brother Fountain is trans- lating from Joshua onwards. He has got through Judges and Ruth, except the correcting, which is reserved for me to do. ' We thought of publishing the New Testament alone, and have received advice from brother Fuller, that the Society had agreed to print ten thousand copies, and afterwards that they had agreed to print two thousand, and are sending paper for that purpose. 1 wish paper had been sent for the ten thousand, because I hope to be able to print an impression of one or two thousand copies of the whole Scriptures by the beginning of next year, and am, for that purpose, setting up a press at Mud- nabatty. I some time ago saw a printing-press advertised for sale in one of the Calcutta papers. This I considered as an opportunity not to be neglected, and accordingly made a pur- chase of it for four hundred rupees, and it is set up at my house. A friend has since made a present of it to the Society, as you will see by the enclosed accounts. I am now going to Calcutta, to bespeak types, and to engage workmen ; and the same friend has generously engaged to advance money for this purpose, on the credit of the Society, and which, at the lowest computation, will amount to £2000 sterling, to strike off one thousand copies, and pay for press, types, paper, and workmanship. I am not without hopes of getting a good sub- scription towards it ; but I fear to set it on foot till the print- ing-house is complete, lest some unforeseen accident should put it out of my power to accomplish it. The Society must be ready to pay bills to the amount of at least £2000 sterling, 20* 2^ MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. whenever I shall find occasion to draw upon them, though the whole will not be drawn at one time. '3. The School. This now consists of nearly forty scholars, and has till now been wholly supported by brother Fountain and myself. The school would have been much larger, had we been able to have borne the expense ; but, as among the scholars there are several orphans whom we wholly maintain, we could not prudently venture on any further expense. A subscription, however, which was made at Malda on the first instant, after I had preached a sermon on the occasion, will enable us to support it on an enlarged scale during the present year ; and if the Society would allow a sum yearly for the same purpose, I think the money would not be expended in vain. The boys have hitherto learned to read and write, especially parts of the Scriptures, and to keep accounts. We may now be able to introduce some other useful branches of knowledge among them. Our friend Fernandez, who, with a Mr. Xavier, accompanies me to Calcutta in the same budgerow or boat, intends to set up a school on our plan at his own expense, at Dinagepore. I trust these schools may tend to promote curiosity and inquisitiveness among the rising gener- ation, — qualities which are seldom found in the natives of Bengal. I now mention our wants. * 1. We want more missionaries ; men of mild tempers, good sense, genuine love to our Lord, and zeal for his glory. Brother Pearce wrote to me, wishing me to advise how they should be sent out. There are no difficulties here, except at their first landing, and I know of no serious ones then. But I advise that they come out cabin passengers, in a foreign ship ; and immediately on their landing at Calcutta, to procure a boat, and a servant who understands English, and having pur- chased a few necessary articles for the journey, such as bread, wine, biscuits, beds, mosquito-curtains, &c., to proceed imme- diately to Mudnabatty, without saying any thing to any person about why they came into the country. They will get all necessaries in one day, and must be very careful not to put any confidence in their servant, who will infallibly cheat them. They should send a letter up to me the moment they land (by post), and I would take care for them. Every difficulty with government will be got through afterwards, if they behave MEMOIR OF DR. CAREV. 223 peaceably and well. Missionaries ought to follow some secular employ, both for their own support, and also for the following reason : The governor-general in council annually issues an order to the magistrate of every district to make a return of all Europeans in his district, not in the service of the king or the Company, specifying their names, time of arrival, ship in which they came, employment, &c. Was any one on this occasion to avow himself to be a missionary, government must come to a point whether they would permit persons to remain in the country who were avowed missionaries. But we have no need to conceal our real work at any other time, or on any other occasion ; and were I to be in company with Lord Mornington, I should not hesitate to tell him that I am a missionary; though I should not profess myself so to be to the governor-general in council, unless I was driven to it to pre- serve an unblemished conscience. '2. I submit it to the consideration of the Society, whether we should not be furnished with medicines gratis. No medi- cines will be sold by us, yet the cost of them enters very deeply into our alloAvance. The whole supply sent in the Earl Howe, amounting to £35, besides charges amounting to thirty per cent., falls on me ; but the whole will either be administered to sick poor, or given to any neighbor who is in want, or used in our own families. Neighboring gentlemen have often supplied us. Indeed, considering the distance we are from medical assistance, the great expensiveness of it, far beyond our ability, and the number of wretched, afflicted objects whom we continually see, and who continually apply for help, we ought never to sell a pennyworth. Brother Thomas has been the instrument of saving numbers of lives. His house is constantly surrounded with the afflicted ; and the cures wrought by him would have gained any physician or surgeon in Europe the most extensive reputation. We ought to be furnished yearly with at least half a hundred weight of Jesuit's bark. Other medicines we have plenty of for some time to come. ' But I finish, by expressing our hope that the Society will not be discouraged by our want of success. Consider, breth- ren, that that depends on the divine blessing. My — I may say our, for were brethren Fountain and Thomas with me, they 224 MEMOIR OF DR. CARET. would join me in — love to you all, to all our beloved brethren in the ministry, and to all the churches ; also to our Scotch brethren, who have shov^^n themselves so ready to assist you ; and believe me to be your affectionate brother in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, W. Carey.' To THE Baptist Society. ' Mudnabatty, April 1, 1799. ' Dear Brethren, ' By the last newspaper, I see that there are two ships under despatch for Europe. I therefore stop translating a day, to get time to write a letter or two. ' I wrote to you, date Jan. 10, current, on my journey to Cal- cutta, and now inform you, that I fully succeeded in accom- phshing the end of my journey thither, which was to get types cast for printing the Bible. The types are now casting. A gentleman in this neighborhood has already advanced two thousand four hundred rupees, for the expense ; and I have drawn a set of bills in triplicate, dated March 19th, current, on Mr. Thomas King, of Birmingham, for the amount, in favor of George Udney, Esq., at two shillings and sixpence per rupee, viz., £300 sterling, which I hope will be duly honored. I shall have occasion to draw for £200 more, to finish the furniture of the printing-house, besides what I shall want for workmen, paper, &c. ; which, I suppose, will make the whole expense about £2000, or sixteen thousand rupees. The whole Bible and New Testament will be printed in four volumes, octavo ; and if I can perform it for the sum I have mentioned, it will be the cheapest work that was ever published in India, by one half I propose to print one thousand copies, for it will not be in our power to buy more paper, unless the Society should anticipate our wants. Of this, however, if five hundred copies can be disposed of at thirty-two rupees each, it will pay the whole expense ; and we shall have five hundred copies to give away. 1 think this may probably be done. ' You, my dear friends, must expect nothing but what relates to the immediate business of the mission, in so short a letter as I must be forced to write at this time. The translation is going on. There remains to be done now from 1 Samuel to Job, (which brother Fountain is hard at work on, only I shall MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. 225 correct the copy,) and Job, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, The Song of Songs, Zechariah, and Malachi, which I shall translate. We now have the end of this part of our labor in view, and feel much animated thereby, and induced to labor with more diligence. Our friends in England, however, must be con- tented to receive fewer letters till this important work is fin- ished. ' Our school is considerably increased, and there is a pleas- ing improvement among the children. We arc enabled this year to carry it on upon a rather enlarged scale, by a voluntary contribution thereto, made amongst a circle of our friends in this neighborhood. 'Of our labors in preaching, I wish to say nothing, till I can say, without a doubt, that we have wrought some deliverance in the earth. We preach at Malda and Dinagepore regularly once a month, and at home as we have been accustomed to do. Appearances are much as when I wrote to you before. 'Brother Thomas is somewhere in the neighborhood of Cal- cutta, with his family. Brother Fountain is with me, and is indefatigable in his attention to improvement: he improves much in the language. ' A Mr. Forsyth is lately arrived in this country, I suppose from the London Missionary Society ; but it is uncertain, as he has brought no letter to any one that I know of I was several times in his company, and think him a valuable man. He is at Calcutta. ' A Calcutta paper also mentions that all the missionaries are come from Otaheite, and the neighboring islands, to New Holland. This is a singular providence, but the ways of God are inscrutable. ' You, as a body, are not forgotten by us in our addresses at the throne of grace. We also have confidence that we are not forgotten by you. Brethren, pray for us. 'Thus I have written a mere letter of news. I hope the So- ciety will not be discouraged by the little positive success that has hitherto attended our labors ; but rather consider it as a call to persevere, to double exertions, and to send out more missionaries. God may refuse to succeed our attempts, and yet may greatly bless those of others. At any rate, 226 MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. Hindostan must be among the all nations that shall call Him blessed. I am, dear brethren, ' Most affectionately yours, 'W. Caret.' To Mr. Fuller. ^ Mudnahatty, July 17, 1799. 'My very dear Brother, 'I have received yours of April 27 and August 22, 1798; also one from the Society, dated Sept. 20, and a letter from Mr. Ward, written at a meeting of ministers, at Kettering, date Oct. 22. All these letters have given us much pleasure, particularly the two last mentioned, which acquaint us with the probability of our being soon joined by other mission- aries. I do not know of any ships being likely to sail soon, but begin to write, that I may be ready when a despatch takes place. ' The success of the gospel, and, among other things, the hitherto unextinguishable missionary flame in England and all the western world, give us no little encouragement, and animate our hearts. 1 wish we could warm yours with good tidings in return. ' Yours of Aug. 22 demands a reply to several things which I shall first attend to, and afterwards conclude with what respects ourselves. ' I am very sorry that you were so much hurt by brother F.'s letter ; and once for all 1 think I may assure you that you have nothing to fear from him. He is not without sentiments upon the head you mention, and sometimes defends them perhaps further than might be wished, though I have not seen him for- ward in obtruding conversation on that subject. It is true he now and then throws out an idea rather jocose to an intimate friend, on particular occasions, without intention of giving the least oflTence. I think your fears arose from the best of prin- ciples, but also think they were carried to excess on this occasion, and also tliat your observations thereon were too strong. The miscarriage of the African mission is a sufficient apology for the greatest jealousy, yet I wish you to be tender. You were near killing him. Be assured, however, MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. 227 that he is a good man, and fear not to place a proper confi- dence in him. ' The visit which you propose for us to make to the governor- general, Lord Mornington, though proposed in the utmost simplicity of your heart, yet excited a little risibility in us. I wish I could make you understand a little about legal settle- ments, &c. ; but you must first drop your English ideas, and get Indian ones. No such thing as a legal settlement, in the English sense, can ever be made here ; because a general law has passed, prohibiting Europeans from settling in this coun- try. This general law cannot be reversed, unless by the English p 1. All Europeans, therefore, only reside here by connivance, and some are permitted to stay in the country for a term of years, the Company having covenanted to protect such persons while they observe the laws. Once a year the magistrate of every district has orders to make a return to government of all persons (Europeans) in his district, with their employment, and whether they have executed covenants or not. ' Were a person on this occasion to return his name as a missionary, it would be putting government to the proof, and obliging them to come to a point on the subject whether missionaries sliould be allowed to settle in the country, as such, or not; and there cannot be much doubt but it would be negatived. But when a person returns his name as a manufacturer, no suspicion can arise, if his conduct be good in other respects ; and it would be more proper for new persons to appear as assistants to those in covenant with government than otherwise. 'I would not, however, have you suppose that we are obliged to conceal ourselves, or our work : no such thing. We preach before magistrates and judges; and were I to be in the com- pany of Lord Mornington, I should not hesitate to declare myself a missionary to the heathen, though I would not on any account return myself as such to the governor-general in council. 'You should also know that Europeans are not permitted to purchase or occupy more than fifty biggahs of land, or about twenty acres ; so that all business is carried on by purchasing the produce of the soil of the natives ; and whoever engages 228 MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. in any business mvist acquaint the board of trade therewith; so that such a settlement as you propose for us to make is impossible. I am, however, doing what will approximate as near to it as circumstances admit, if the Society approve of the plan. 'A little time ago I took a small indigo work near this place, on my own account. I took it of Mr. Udney, at the rate it stood at in his books, viz., with a debt of three thousand rupees lying on it. It was an appendage to Mudnabatty, but too distant to be of any use, unless detached. My reasons were these : I have long thought that Mudnabatty must be evacu- ated, and have been expecting it every year ; in that case it would be an asylum for my family. If I should (contrary to all expectation) remain here, it would be a situation for my sons, in the neighborhood, who are now large lads, and must be brought up to business. Or, if more missionaries should arrive, it might be converted into a missionary set- tlement. ' Since this, I learn by yours of Sept. 20, 1798, that more missionaries are coming out, and am therefore ready to give up the place for a settlement ; and have done so, provisionally, till I hear from the Society on that head. ' Sept. 28. Since writing the above, the indigo works at Mudnabatty are actually given up; and my allowance from that place ceases on the 31st of December. The indigo was almost totally destroj^ed by an inundation, which came on just after sowing the seed. I think Mr. U. is perfectly right in the step he has taken : the place was absolutely unfit for the pur- pose which it was designed for. His loss is great : I am truly sorry for him. Our difficulties also will not be small ; but I am not discouraged. If we are all of one heart, and God grant his blessing, all will be surmounted. ' We are now necessitated to settle at Kidderpore (the name of the place I have taken), where I am erecting houses and other buildings, in expectation that our brethren, Ward and Brunsden, are not far off. You are informed that a debt of five thousand rupees to Mr. U. lies on the place ; to pay which, he is to receive the indigo made at the works till the whole is paid off. I have also nearly expended the little money I had saved upon the concern, and must expend the whole. Brother MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. 229 Fountain and myself have consulted on our situation, and think it necessary that we should draw on the Society for £200 sterling, to erect dwelling-houses for four families, and other conveniences ; and that the allowance which the Society make the missionaries be appropriated to forming a common table (a small reserve excepted), the debt on the works, and necessary outlay, to be repaid by the concern. We must endure much, struggle hard, and perhaps be obliged to draw an additional £100 from the Society, till this end is accom- plished : but I see no other way to preserve the existence of the mission. 'Kidderpore is only twelve miles from Mudnabatty. Look in Runnell's chart, No. 9, for Tanquam river, on which you will see a place called Pattergotta (it ought to have been Pathurghatta, from pathur, a stone, and ghatta, a way, or wharf, it being the ruins of a very ancient stone bridge). Just on the top of the last t in gotta is the situation of Kidder- pore. Your letters may be directed to us, as they always have been, at Malda, or at Dinagepore : we shall be sure to get them. ' Before this time I think you must be tired with reading such a letter as this, about nothing but things temporal. I much wish I could say any thing calculated to gratify the friends of vital godliness; but respecting myself 1 have nothing interesting to say ; and if I had, it appears foreign to the design of a mission for the missionaries to be always speaking of their own experiences. I keep several journals, it is true, relating to things private and public, respecting the mission^ articles of curiosity and science ; but they are sometimes con- tinued and sometimes discontinued: besides, most things contained in them are of too general or trivial a nature to send to England, and I imagine could have no effect, except to mock, the expectations of our numerous friends, who are waiting to hear of the conversion of the heathen and overthrow of Satan's kingdom. 'I therefore only observe, respecting myself, that I have much proof of the vileness of my heart, much more than I thought of till lately: and, indeed, I often fear that, instead of being instrumental in the conversion of the heathen, I may 21 230 MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. some time dishonor the cause in which I am engaged. I have hitherto had much experience of the daily supports of a gracious God; but I am conscious that if those supports were intermitted but for a httle time, my sinful dispositions would infallibly predominate. At present I am kept, but am not one of those who are strong, and do exploits. ' I have often thought that a spirit of observation is necessary in order to our doing or communicating much good; and were it not for a very phlegmatic habit, I think my soul would be richer. I however appear to myself to have lost much of my capacity for making observations, improvements, &c., or of retaining what I attend to closely. For instance, I have been near three j^ears learning the Sanscrit language, yet know very little of it. This is only a specimen of what I feel my- self to be in every respect. I try to observe, to imprint what I see and hear on my memory, and to feel my heart properly affected with the circumstances ; yet my soul is impoverislied, and I have something of a lethargic disease cleaving to my body. I feel no pain, or decay of strength, but an abundant inclination to sleep, attended with a great sense of weariness, even when I have not walked a mile. I know that this coun- try requires more sleep than a colder one ; and a sleep in the afternoon, especially in the hot season, relieves me more than any thing. Indeed, without it I could not do any thing. My inertness of mind may be in some measure owing thereto, though many other causes contribute to it. Perhaps my sinful propensity to ease and negligence, added to sameness of society and employment, and the few opportunities I have of varied religious discourse, may act powerfully to the injury of my soul. ' At no time have the affairs of the mission appeared more gloomy, in point of success, than at the present. Yardee has not only left Christ, but seems to have forgot the very things about which he so pleasingly conversed. Sookman sometimes talks about religion ; but after so many disappointments, I al- most fear to hope. Hurry Charon appears in a more promis- ing situation than any other. It is, however, with difficulty that we can converse with him, because his pronunciation is very mumbling and indistinct. He is a very poor man, in- MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. 231 volved in worldly difficulties, which depress him much, and yet he walks consistently. No one has appeared to be awakened this year, or even to have* been stirred in the least degree. ' The school is promising, and God has provided means to carry it on another year. Mr. Parr, of Dinagepore, a gentle- man I have often mentioned, sent me a note a little time ago, informing me that it was the wish of the gentlemen there to contribute to the support of our school, and desiring me to preach a sermon and make a collection for that purpose, the next time I went to that place. This I did on the 15th instant. 1 preached from Luke vi, 36: 'Be merciful, as your Father is merciful.' The collection amounted to two hundred and thirty-four rupees, or about thirty pounds. Blessed be God, another school is also set up in that town in imitation of ours, which I hope may be useful. ' The translation is nearly finished. I am now about the twelfth chapter of 1 Chronicles, which is the last book I ex- pect to translate. Brother Fountain has got 2 Kings and 2 Chronicles to go through, when the whole will be completed. Brother Fountain's part of the translation is Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 and 2 Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings, and 2 Chronicles ; brother Thomas's, Matthew, Mark (ii — x), Luke, and James. All the rest is mine, as also the correction of the whole. ' This work has been long in hand, yet has engrossed very much of our time : when it is finished, we shall be more at leisure for itinerant labors. I had a letter, a month ago or more, informing me that the types and furniture for printing would be finished in about eight days ; so that I conclude they are coming up by this time ; but at any rate, brother Fountain, who is going to Calcutta, to meet our brethren. Ward and Brunsdon, and a female companion for himself, will bring them up. ' Though we have had no success among the heathen or Mahomedans this year, yet we have reason to rejoice in the conversion of Mr. Cunninghame, registrar of the court, and assistant to the judge at Dinagepore. I look upon this as the greatest event that has occurred since our coming to this country. He has a soul far above the common size. His 232 MEMOIR OF DR. CARKY. coolness and consistency are very great, and his understanding commands respect from all. 'Oct. 16. On looking back, I see that it is now twelve months since I wrote to you before. I am ashamed, and can make no better excuse than that I frequently intended it, and indeed began this long ago, as you will see. I have, however, had more engagements, and far less leisure, this year, than ever I had before. And now, the affairs of the mission press harder than ever, as we are just removing and erecting new houses for ourselves to live in. The whole of the manage- ment of these temporal concerns has hitherto fallen on me. I have to find money, and to lay it out, which require much attention and care. 'If our brethren arrive as expected, we must erect four dwelling-houses, a house for worship and social concerns, and another for printing. We have laid the expense of these buildings at two hundred pounds sterling, for which we must draw on the Society ; also for the expenses of a Pundit and a writer, whom I have hitherto kept at my own expense, amount- ing to about eighteen rupees, or forty-five shillings, per month. I have expended my own money on Kidderpore, and my sal- ary from Mr. U. is ceasing, which obliges us to this step. The two servants mentioned are absolutely necessary to the trans- lation, therefore they cannot be discharged. Brother F. and myself have consulted about our situation, and have concluded that it is absolutely necessary to draw for the expense of erect- ing our habitations, and desirable that the settlement should clear its owi] debt by its produce. If the mission can but be established, I am content. 'I would communicate something on the natural history of the country, in addition to what I have before written ; but no part of that pleasing study is so familiar to me as the vegetable world. This, however, may not much entertain others; I shall therefore say something of the quadrupeds. ' Oct. 27. The brethren and sisters all arrived safe, on the 12th instant. We received a letter from them only to-day, it having lain twelve days on the road. They are well; but I can add no more about them till I know more. Brother Foun- MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. 233 tain sets off to-morrow morning to meet them. I hope very soon to write again, but send this by him. My second son is now dangerously ill with a fever : it appears uncertain wheth- er he will recover. ' My Christian love to all the churches and ministers, and such in your church whom I have often expressed by name. ' I am, very affectionately yours, 'W.Carey.' 21* CHAPTER V. SECTION I. REMARKS ON THE STATE OF THE MISSION PREPARATORY TO ITS REMOVAL TO SERAMPORE LETTERS FROM MR. CUNNINGHAME NEWLY ARRIVED MISSIONARIES LETTER FROM MR. FOUN- TAIN ^LETTERS FROM MR. BRUNSDON. Several incidents at this time produce a perfectly new epoch in Mr. Carey's missionary life. The district in which he resided had, indeed, nothing to recommend it as the per- manent seat of an important mission. It was no place of public resort ; and had no celebrity attached to it, either reli- gious, literary, or commercial. Nothing could have been more decisively providential than were the circumstances which led Mr. C. thither. His residence there had also answered some important ends. His object had become known, and his character appreciated, throughout a respect- able circle of European observers, whose esteem he had conciliated, whose liberality in the cause of the gospel now began to evince itself, and whose respect and fervent attach- ment he continued to enjoy, unimpaired, to the close of life. Here, too, he had, by the most sedulous industry, prepared himself for future and far more eminent service. Here the mission to India was well cradled ; but to mature its strength and to put forth its energies, it must be translated to another and more favorable region. The indigo works which Mr. Udney erected at Moypaldiggy and Mudnabatty, the superintendence of which had furnished support to Mr. Carey and his colleague in the time of their MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. 235 extremity, had entirely failed ; and the successive and severe losses which their benevolent friend had experienced, deter- mined him to break them up. Mr. Carey had commenced in the same line for himself at Kidderpore, about ten miles dis- tant, at considerable outlay, and without any advantage to his circumstances, but rather to their detriment. His way was hedged in, and his temporal resources, there is reason to fear, were fast drying up. At this time, in the close of 1799, four new missionaries arrived from England. The harsh and jealous policy of the honorable Company, forbad their settling in the British domin- ions. About fourteen miles up the country, on the western bank of the Hoogly, was a small Danish settlement. Thither they fled, to seek the patronage which their own countrymen sternly withheld. The governor of this station had enjoyed the instructions of the celebrated missionary Schwartz. lie gladly received them, and never withdrew from them the shield of his protection in any one of the trying many vicissitudes which subsequently befell them. The conduct of the British authorities in India, upon the subject of religion, was strangely anomalous and absurd ; arising partly from ignorance of the true genius of Christianity, and the legitimate means of dif- fusing it; and partly from a profane indifference to the spirit- ual v/elfare of the millions they governed, and a repugnance and hostility to whatever might seem only to interfere with their own secular ambition and cupidity. It is matter as un- deniable as justly to be deplored, that no class of persons are to be found less acquainted with the nature and design of Christianity, than are professedly Christian legislators and Christian rulers. How should it be otherwise, while so few among them ever give it an hour of their serious attention ? Is it to be supposed that their spirits should be found in affini- ty with principles they never study, and to the majesty of which they never design to bow? And yet, they hesitate not to make laws, and to interpose their authority, to regulate the faith and to control the religious profession and conduct of mankind. What, then, have professedly Christian legislators nothing to do, — no function to discharge, with respect to the religion they profess ? Yes, two things : one in common with all other men, which is, to become religious ; and another, 236 MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. connected with their office, that is, to afford equal protection to all who are so ; that they may safely profess and freely promulge what they believe. It is the bane of rulers, and the calamity of those whom they govern, that they never view Christianity, any more than they do other systems of religion, but in combination with legislative authority, and as constituting national distinction. It is therefore difficult, with them, to dissociate its promulga- tion from reasons of state and measures of coercion. Some such ideas seem to be the legitimate result of all human estab- lishments of religion. For, whether we view them in their principles, or trace them in their practical details, in all coun- tries, and through every generation, it is almost impossible to conceive of them, but as prejudicing some important truth, violating some attribute of our intellectual, moral, and ac- countable nature, and incurring some spiritual detriment, or inflicting some social wrong. Gentlemen, therefore, who constitute the presiding authorities abroad, though of the establishment of their country, yet resolving all religions, of whatever denomination, into a matter of mere expediency, and with the page of history open to them, it is no wonder if their apprehensions should be somewhat wakefuh When, many years ago, an interference on the part of gov- ernment was sought to be averted, it was said, by his excel- lency the governor-general of India, ' Do you not think. Dr. Carey, it would be wrong to force the Hindus to become Christians?' ' My lord,' it was replied, ' the thing is impossi- ble ; we may indeed force men to be hypocrites ; but no power on earth can force men to become Christians ! ' But it is one thing for governors to exert a direct authority for the forcible establishment of Christianity ; and quite anoth- er, to thwart and formally to obstruct those who, by rational methods, seek to diffuse it. The missionaries desired nothing beyond simple permission to preach the gospel. But this was denied them ; and for many years they continued to be watched narrowly, to be viewed with suspicion ; and were sometimes threatened with an arrest of their labors, and an expulsion from the country. The period now under review was one of great and extensive darkness and demoralization. Whilst the government frowned upon Christian efforts, it did but sympa- MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. 237 thize with the spkit and echo the tone of European society throughout the whole extent of the Indian empire. By the almost total absence of an evangelical ministry, and, in many remote stations, the total destitution of all means whatever of religious improvement, there was nothing to restrain the exor- bitancy of human passions, or prevent renunciation of princi- ple. The Sabbath was universally desecrated; the primary law of social existence, the safeguard of virtue, was despised ; and concubinage, with its concomitant abominations, was awfully common. A practical assimilation to heathenism soon obliterated the influence and almost the recollection of a nominally Christian education ; and ' the filthiness of the flesh' made way for ' the filthiness of the spirit,' and, by their mutual corroboration, both became fearfully rancorous. Men feared to read their Bible, because it denounced their crimes and awakened their dread of punishments. The next thing was, to hope the Bible they had neglected was not true ; then to feign to think it false ; and soon, being able to believe the lie which depravity had led them to forge, they openly impugned and denounced it. Hence Hinduism was ' a most beautiful reli- gion,' Mahomedanism had but little in it objectionable ; but Christianity was as revolting to the prevailing habits and tastes of that day, as was its Holy Founder to that of the generation who witnessed his incarnation and ministry, and in whose esteem he was ' without form and comeliness.' Englishmen wei'e literally a * by- word and a proverb' among the heathen, who used sarcastically to remark, that English people were distinguished fi^om all others; for, whereas all people per- formed some religious offices, and had some god whom they acknowledged, the English neglected all, and were atheists. So anomalous was the conduct of government, that whilst it proscribed the simple unaided dissemination of the gospel, it not only protected idolatry, but condescended to regulate its rites, and even to profit by some of its practices. Witness its interest in the temple of Juggunnath and the pilgrim tax. What was worse, if indeed worse could be, their judicial agents were compelled to sign and issue the order by virtue of which widows were burned upon the funeral pile, and thus to become accessory to deeds of blood. To the praise of some benevolent individuals in this country, especially to John 238 MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. Poynder, Esq., and Mr. James Peggs, general Baptist mission- ary, whose patient assiduity in collecting all available informa- tion upon the subject, and plying the proper authorities and the public mind with every argument which humanity and the gospel could suggest, yielded to no discouragements, until the suttee flames were quenched. And they might as easily have been quenched twenty years before, for any valid reason that existed to the contrary. ' How awful a thing it is,' said a mis- sionary one day to his Pundit, ' that you Hindus should burn the living with the dead ! ' ' Do you think so ?' was the reply. ' Why then do not you English put a stop to it ? you are now the lords of the soil.' ' Why, we fear, lest we should hurt your prejudices.' 'Indeed!' he answered, 'and do you not think our prejudices are as much hurt by paying you taxes, as they would be by keeping our daughters alive ?' No terms of eulogy can equal the merits of Lord Wm. Bentinck, late gov- ernor-general of India, whose enlightened and intrepid policy enabled him to effect the abolition of this rite with so much judgment and promptitude. A petition was afterwards for- warded from some devotees of the Hindu superstition to the king in council, for its restitution ; but, happy for the interests of humanity, and for the British name, it was disallowed. Lamentable to say, this petition found very respectable profes- sional talents to urge its prayer. What would have been the feelings of those who employed such talents in such a cause if their advocacy had succeeded ! The religious reader can be no stranger to the name of Wm. Cunninghame, Esq., of Lainshaw, author of a work on prophecy. He was, at the time to which this part of our memoir refers, filling a judicial situation at Diuagepore, whith- er Mr. Carey and his fellow-laborer, Mr. Fountain, had often gone, by invitation, to preach. He had benefitted by their ministry, and now, hearing they were in straitened circum- stances, he communicated to their necessities, and in a manner so truly courteous, and simply pious, that one knows not whether more to admire in him the perfect gentleman, or the humble, genuine Christian. His letters, whilst they are very brief, manifest so benign a spirit, and show so clearly the high estimation in which Mr. Carey and his companion were holden, and cast, at the same time, so much light upon their MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. 239 present circumstances, that they cannot be omitted, without prejudice to the narrative, and injustice to the parties. W. CUNNINGHAME, EsQ., TO Mr. FOUNTAIN. 'Dear Sir, ' Though your man is not yet come for the paper, I sit down to write you a few lines, in expectation of his arrival. ' I am sorry, on Mr. Carey's account, as well as yours, that you are to be deprived of that support which you have hitherto derived from Malda, and that, in consequence thereof, your condition is likely to be uncomfortable : it will be peculiarly hard on Mr. Carey, with so large a family. 'Though, in offering you or Mr. Carey any small assistance which it may be in my power to afford you, I am sensible that I may subject myself to the imputation of intrusion ; yet, as I think the ideas generally received on this subject false, and that there can be no real indelicacy in such an offer, when made in an unreserved way, I shall, without scruple, do that which I consider as a duty, the more especially, as I have so frequently benefitted by the ministry both of Mr. C. and yourself. ' If, then, the small sum of two hundred rupees can be of any service to Mr. C. or you, till you receive more substantial supplies from England, I shall be most happy to pay that sum immediately to any person whom you may send to receive it ; and I shall consider myself as obliged to you for making use of my offer, only regretting that it is so unworthy your ac-^ ceptance. 'If this letter should give you any offence, I beg that you will consider it as quite unintended on my part, and that, in writing it, I only perform what I consider to be my duty. In such a case let this note be burnt, and let it be considered as never having been written. ' I am, dear sir, yours sincerely, ' W. CUNNINGHAME.' W. CUNNINGHAME, EsQ., TO MeSSRS. CaREY AND FOUNTAIN. ' Dinagepore, August Slst, 1799. 'Dear Sirs, ' Had I not been convinced that you came to this country for 240 MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. far nobler purposes than the acquisition of wealth, it is proba- ble that I should not have made you the offer which I did ; for I may truly say, that I have been influenced as much by the consideration of the work in Avhich you are engaged as by other motives. 'I thank you for so readily accepting the small assistance I tendered you ; and I hope that on all future occasions, when exposed to inconvenience from the same cause, you will accept any assistance I may be able to afford you. 'By the bearer I have the pleasure to send you twelve and a half gold mohurs, which is, I believe, equal to the sum of two hundred rupees. ' Wishing you every happiness and success in your labors, 'I remain, dear sirs, yours, most sincerely, ' W. CUISNINGHAME.' The newly arrived missionaries not being allowed by the government to join their brethren up the country, no course seemed open to the latter but the breaking up of the new undertaking at Kidderpore, and removing to Serampore. The difliculty in the way of this conclusion arose from the recent and necessary outlay of property, which had absorbed all, and more than all, Mr. Carey's little accumulations at Mudnabatty But the success of the attempt, if persevered in, was very problematical ; for if, with all the advantages of abundant capi- tal at command, the owner was compelled to break up that establishment ; and if the superintendent, with two hundred rupees per month, could save but little from his stipend, it is improbable he could realize any ultimate advantage from a small factory, having to borrow part of the capital required for its working, and being dependent exclusively upon its pro- ceeds for his subsistence. It was wise in Mr. Carey, therefore, to relinquish it. In doing so, he made a present, but in all probability prevented a future sacrifice more heavy, and escaped the mortification and inconvenience which secular disappointments infallibly procure. Mr. Carey was always known to be eminently diligent, persevering, and undeviatingly punctual in all his worldly engagements; and yet nothing worldly ever prospered in his hand. His first business at Hackleton hardly saved him from starvation ; a second attempt MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. 241 in the same line, and keeping school in addition, when at Monlton, served him as ill a turn ; for both would, sometimes, not furnish him with animal food for a month together. And, last of all, the indigo business, though called to it most oppor- tunel}^, and deriving from it for a season the supply of his daily necessities, yet at length proves a failure, and, if he had not escaped from it, might at no distant period have involved him in perplexity. The facts which concurred in calling Mr. C. from his rustic retreat, and which settled him in the vicinity of the Indian metropolis, with the important consequences issuing from the event, may be gathered from the ensuing letters. The two first are from the hands of Messrs. Fountain and Brunsdon, brethren ardently devoted to the work of the Lord, tenderly beloved, and who gave promise of extensive usefulness ; but whom a mysterious providence removed from the vineyard, — the one after very few years' labor, the other just as he had entered it. From Mr. Fountain to Mr. Fuller. ' Moheepal, September 5, 1799. 'My very and ever dear Brother, 'Though most of your letters, like those of other ministers, are addressed to my colleague, I cannot cease to think of you, to love you, or to Avrite to you. If, indeed, communication with me is not desirable, do but mention it, and I have done. The last dawk brought seven letters for brother Carey ; for me not one ! Think how many I have written to you, and have received but two in return ! I have also received two from brother Pearce. To brethren Ryland, Blundell, Sutcliff, Hogg, Morris, Rippon, &c., I have written, but none of them all have deigned to give me an answer. I know the labors of these dear brethren are great, and they may all have correspondents more worthy of their notice than I. But after all, I think it hard that not one of them, in the long space of three years, should devote a single hour to convey intelligence, instruction, or comfort to the least of their brethren, laboring in a heathen country, so far removed from all he once held dear. ' Ten days ago I closed a letter to brother Pearce. Since 22 242 MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. then, nothing has transpired respecting ourselves ; but every thing that concerns the pubhc cause in which we are engaged must, and ought to be, far more interesting to you than any thing that merely affects us as individuals. When we die, that shall live. When we, resting from our labors, shall sit down with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, in our Father's heavenly kingdom, myriads and millions of gentile sinners shall come from the east, as well as from other quarters of the world, to share our bliss, augment our joy, and join the everlasting song of praise to Him through whose name remission of sins was preached to them. Wishing, my dear brother, to excite your gratitude to God, who shows us at least some tokens for good, I cannot refrain from acquainting you thereof 'You will remember we have often mentioned our dear Cunuinghame, as a hopeful character. In my last to Pearce, I spoke of him as one growing in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ: the two letters of his which I have now the pleasure to inclose, appear to us as good and indubi- table proofs of it. He knows not how to compliment. The first was written in consequence of hearing that Mudnabatty factory was broken up, and our support from thence cut off. After receiving it, and reading it with tears of sacred joy, I sent for brother Carey. We wrote to him jointly as follows : ' 'Moijheepal, August 29, 1799. ' ' Very dear Sir, ' ' Like him who before us was a missionary to the heathen, we can say, with sincerity, ' We have coveted no man's silver, or gold, or apparel.' We came not to seek wealth, but to win souls to Christ. We bless God that hitherto he hath provided for us beyond our expectations when we left England. Our salaries, you have undoubtedly learned from the periodical accounts of the Society, have to the present been suffi- cient for us, with the assistance of Mudnabatty. In this time of straitness, we cordially thank you for your kind offer of two hundred rupees, which we shall be glad to receive by the bearer of this. We look upon it as an expression of your love, not only to us, but to Christ ; at the same time assuring you that all the wealth of India would not have given us so much MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. 243 satisfaction as to hear that our ministry has been beneficial to your soul. ' ' We are, very affectionately yours, (Signed) ' ' Wm. Carey. ' ' J. Fountain.' ' ' His second letter, as you will see, accompanied his pecun- iary donation. 'Next morning, just as brother Carey was leaving me, a note was brought in from Mr. Parr, the judge, written in the name of the gentlemen there, requesting that a charity sermon might be preached the next time we go to Dinagepore. Mercy upon mercy! Praise ye the Lord! This latter instance of favor seems to have originated with our very hopeful young friend, Webb, whom I mentioned in my letter to brother Pearce. The last time he was with me, he inquired pretty much respecting the school, and how we supported it. I told him, the first year we bore the expense of it ourselves ; but that, last Christmas, we had a charity sermon at Malda, when our friends there made a collection for the present year. He said, he wished he had known of it, and desired that in future he might have the pleasure of subscribing too. I suppose his mentioning this among the gentlemen gave rise to the judge's letter. On the third Sabbath of the month the requested sermon will be preached. ' Surely, brother Fuller, these prospects must cheer your hearts in England, as well as ours in India. The Lord, per- haps, may work in a way we have not thought of. We have been praying, and longing, and laboring for Mussulman con- versions, but perhaps we may see some of the first among our own countrymen. We continue to grow in favor with all who know us. If you knew how many Europeans had heard the gospel from our lips, who never would have heard it, had we not come, you would be far from thinking the Society's money thrown away. Military officers, judges, collectors, &c., have repeatedly joined us in worship, both at Malda and Dinagepore. When our brethren arrive, I hope we shall preach oftener at both places, and perhaps at others where now we cannot go. If the Lord should turn the hearts of these great men towards himself, or to favor his cause, I have no doubt but some stable 244 MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. plan will, in a few years, be adopted for the dissemination of Christian knowledge, without any expense from England. After this, the Spirit from on high may be poured down, and men every where cast away their idols to serve the living God. my brother, tell it to your churches, tell it to the Society, tell it to the whole Christian world, that their prayers are not in vain. Lately they have been praying with importunity for Bengal: Jehovah hath heard; and answers, 'For the oppress- ion of the poor, for the sighing of the needy, now will I arise; 1 will set him in safety from him that puffeth at him.' 'I am, my very dear brother, affectionately yours, 'J. Fountain.' Mr. Brunsdon to Mr. Sutcliff. extract from a journal. ' 1799. Lord's day, Oct. 6th. This was a strange Sabbath day. The noise and confusion were so great that we could not attend to divine worship. About mid-day, a pilot of supe- rior rank came on board and took charge of us, and sent the other on board his vessel. In the afternoon we came to anchor in the mouth of the Hoogly river, almost stunned with the bawling of the pilot, and the boatswain's whistle. 'Nothing particular occurred going up the river. The cap- tain sent, as soon as he could, to Calcutta to a friend of his, to inquire for Tliomas. We found he was not there : we there- fore determined to go directly to Serampore. Accordingly we left the ship, Saturday evening, the 12th, a little below Calcut- ta, and proceeded up the river in two vessels. We arrived at Myer's tavern, Serampore, early on Lord's day morning. We found the inn-keeper a civil man. Here again we found it impossible to have divine sei-vice. The hardened state of the inhabitants of this town is truly astonishing. Openly to play at billiards is as common on this day here, as to go to church is in England. 'Monday, 14th. We waited on the governor. We found him very friendly, and disposed to do us all the service he could, Avhich will extend no further than his own territory. To-day our hearts were gladdened by the arrival of our MEMOIR OF DR. CARET. 245 brother Forsyth, sent out by the Missionary Society. He ap- pears to be a solid good man, disposed to give us all the advice and information he can, and would be happy to render us any service in his power. His visit was quite unexpected, as we had forgotten that any information had been given us that there was such a person in India. He resides at Calcutta chiefly, and preaches to a number of Europeans in a room there. In the evening our captain arrived: he informed us that his ship was forbidden an entry at the custom-house, un- less he would find us, and we should either obtain permission to live in the country, or give security for our going back as soon as convenient. We were alarmed at the intelligence, not so much on our own account as on the captain's. If not ad- mitted to trade, his loss would be very great, while we were entirely safe here, as much out of their power as in England, with all the support we could desire from the governor. We laid it in prayer before our God, and retired to rest. On Tuesday, we waited on the governor again. He advised us U- go to Calcutta, and state our case to the governor, and he had no doubt of our succeeding, with the interest of a few friends: if not, we should have his protection, if we would remain at Serampore. Brother Ward and myself went with the captain to Calcutta. We took your address with us, intending to show that part of it which related to politics. We waited on Mr. Poignard : he expected Mr. Brenard on the morrow, whose experience was greater than his own, and to whom we had a letter from Mr. Short. 'Wednesday, 16tli. We w^ent on board the ship. The captain informed us Mr. Frances had made interest and got the ship entered. He assured them oin' coming out was no secret in England, that we had regularly passed the customs, &c., and offered to show correspondence between Mr. Fuller and himself. The police-officers required our attendance there to-day; but this we did not think well to comply with. We sent word we would remain at Serampore, till our friend from the country arrived. We found all this arose from mis- representation. It was published in the papers that we were popish missionarieSj and therefore it was supposed our view was to propagate French principles. The captain waited on Brown : he was much surprised to find whom we were sent 22* 246 MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. out by, and promised to do every thing in his power, at the same time advising us to remain at Serampore, from whence we might travel and preach the gospel all through India. ' In the afternoon, we returned to our friends. They had taken a house, and moved into it; rent, thirty-two rupees a month. Here we wait the coming of our dear brother Carey.' 'N. B. When you send out other missionaries, do not tell one what you think of the others : the consequences of this might have been bad ; but the Lord helped us, and all is peace and harmony.' Mr. Brunsdon to Mr. Sutcliff. ' Serampore, Dec. 5, 1799. 'Very dear Sir, ' Our blessed Lord says, ' In the world ye shall have tribula- tion, but in me ye shall have peace ;' and the latter is infinitely more than a counterbalance for the former. This is true as it respects all God's children, but not alike in all. If you have tribulation, we are ready to think we have it seven-fold : yet we can join with the Apostle in saying, 'We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed ; perplexed, but not in des- pair,' &c. ' Our heavenly Father hath been pleased to afflict us, and to weaken us, and reduce us, that we may not glory in the flesh, but in himself He has been pleased to call home to himself our very dear brother Grant: he died the 31st of October, after a few days' illness. I have written to the Doctor most of the particulars of this truly mournful event, and shall not repeat them here. We buried him on the following day, in the Danish burying-ground in this place. ' You will not wonder to see Serampore at the head of our letters, after what we wrote to you in our last. When unjust suspicions are raised in the jealous mind, they are not easily removed. We find every attempt to go up the country would only irritate government, and expose us to its censure ; and more, we have it from good authority that the governor-gen- eral in council said that he would send either of us on board ship, that should be found in the Company's territory. ' We received a letter from brother Carey, Nov. 23d, saying that they had heard we had arrived, and were afraid they MEMOIR OF DR. CARET. 247 should miss us on the river, or brother F. would have come down, but that now he would set off immediately ; that Mr. U. had given up the works at Mudnabatty, and was coming to Calcutta ; and that they had taken land at Kidderpore for the seat of the mission, and were beginning to build. Brother C. wrote at the same time to Dr. Roxburg ; but all in vain. The fact is, the government will not suffer us to set up a press and colonize in their dominions. This, governor Bie plainly told brother M. and me a few days since ; at the same time, he told us it would meet with every encouragement and support here ; and that, if we opened a subscription toward printing the Bible, we should get a very considerable sum. He asked us if we would print any thing else besides the Bible. ' Brother Fountain arrived on Saturday, the 9th of Novem- ber, and was married at Calcutta the Tuesday following, by Mr. Buchanan, assistant chaplain. Brethren Ward and Foun- tain set off for Mudnabatty on the 14th, to consult with brother Carey, and, if possible, to bring him to Serampore. We have received a letter from brother Carey since these brethren lefl us, a part of which I copy.' ' ' I am really incapable of giving advice in the very impor- tant things you mention, but shall just state a few particulars. " I. I shall be free from Mudnabatty on the 31st of Decem- ber ; so that then no connexion with Mr. Udney can be any hindrance to my joining you. "2. With you at Serampore, we maybe unmolested by government, if not protected: here we could only live by connivance. "3. No obstruction will lie in the way of setting up the press at Serampore : here there may. ' ' 4. In that part of the country there are at least ten inhab- itants to one here. ' ' 5. Other missionaries may join us there. All this is for settling at Serampore. On the other hand : " 1. T have engaged in a concern which is designed for the use of the mission, which involved me in debt three thousand rupees, about two thousand of which will be paid off in a few days ; and then I am one thousand rupees in debt, and desert- ing the place. 248 MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. ' ' 2. When I have paid that, I have not a rupee to subsist on, except by anticipating a year's allowance. "3. An allowance like mine of £100 from the Society, amounts to only sixty-six rupees per month. At Serampore, house-rent alone will come to thirty or forty. If so, how can we subsist on the rest? ' '4. Here our church is formed, and God has given us two Europeans as our hire. A considerable number of the natives also have some light, though the conversion of any is un- certain. "5. I am now at a great expense erecting houses and con- veniences, planting a garden, &c. ; which, with the three thousand rupees, will be entirely lost. ' ' There are many other considerations which would weigh much with me, were not the case so urgent as it is. Should you, however, think it best for us to remove to you, I will doit." ' Thus far brother Carey. To this I can add nothing now, till we hear from them. 'We have had several letters from brother Thomas since we have been here, and expect he will be down in a few weeks. He is at Soorool, in the district of Beerbhoom : I be- lieve he superintends a sugar manufactory. He expresses a great deal of love to us, and to the cause of Christ. If he had but prudence equal to his zeal and ability, what a useful mis- sionary he would be ! I am grieved at the accounts I have heard : but as I know but little, I will say less. ' I wish we may be able to subsist somehow, without en- gaging in the affairs of this world. There will be no good done if our whole hearts, and souls, and time, and talents, are not employed in the mission. As the work is not ours, but God's, we hope he will direct us in all our ways to his glory. ' Dec. 13. Yesterday we received a letter fiom Mudnabatty, in which brother Carey says he is preparing his stuff for removing, but not as one going into captivity. We expect them all at Serampore in about a month. This was none of our contrivance ; we did not think of it when we left England : the Lord orders all things after the counsel of his own will. But though things are as it were turned upside down, we are MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. 249 not discouraged. He surely would not have induced Governor Bie to have shown us so much kindness, if he did not design to bless this country with his truth. Why were we not per- mitted to go up the country and set up the press, and then have been in the power of the governor of Bengal, who would inevitably have sent us home ? Governor Bie constantly at- tends divine worship, and his attention to the truth is serious : we cannot but hope the Lord will bless it to his soul. He is a man of unblemished character, open and familiar in conversa- tion, and of sound judgment and penetration. This flourishing settlement has entirely risen under his care. He appears old, I suppose more than sixty, having been in India more than forty years. He has long wanted a church here, and has got- ten a large subscription towards building it Who can tell what God will do here .^ ' We sent accounts of the voyage, &c., to England, about six weeks ago, which we hope you will receive in due time. A letter from brother Carey to Mr. Fuller, and one from brother Fountain to you, were sent by the Alligator packet, a fortnight ago. We hope some of the Society will correspond with our dear captain. I know not how to speak with sufficient respect and esteem of him. He has lent us one thousand rupees for the use of the mission, without interest. He said he had about £100 he did not immediately want, and he would leave it, for fear we should be short before we could have remit- tances from England ; and some time, when convenient, the Society or we are to refund him. He wishes to become a subscriber, if he knew how to send his subscription. He is not certain but he may be in London again next summer, or rather winter, and make another voyage to India: if so, he will send you timely notice. His address is Capt. Benjamin Wickes, sen., Philadelphia. 'I am, dear sir, ' Your unworthy servant, for Christ's sake, 'D, Brdnsdon.' 250 MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. SECTION II. letter to mr. fuller letters to his sisters letter to dr. rtland mr. carey and brethren to the soci- ety letter from mr. carey and mr. fuller. Mr. Carey to Mr. Fuller. ' Moypal, Dec. 21, 1799. 'My dear Brother, 'I am now at this place, on my way to Dinagepore, whither I am going, in company with brethren Ward and Powel, to pay my last visit before I leave this part of the country. ' The occasion of our going from hence you have already heard, viz., government having refused to permit our brethren to come up to us to this part of the country. The death of our dear brother Grant you have also been informed of, I sup- pose, by others of our brethren. It is my intention to write more largely before the ships go ; but lest I should not have time, or they should sail sooner than ordinary, I write this just to inform you of our situation. 'Brother Ward and myself, yesternight, made a calculation of our probable expenses for one year. 'I think that we probably may bring them within six or six hundred and fifty pounds per annum, but certainly cannot live upon less, even if we can live for less than the £810. At Serampore, the place to which we are going, every thing is dearer than here by nearly one half; and we must pay more attention to the article of clothing than we should do here. Powel, who is very economical, thinks that we cannot do for less than the £810, which is only 405 rupees a year, or 32-12 rupees each per month ; accounting two children equal to one grown person, and laying the whole at sixteen persons : my two eldest sons are counted as full grown. If we should have rent to pay, that alone would amount to one hundred and eighty rupees more a month, at the least calculation, or two MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. 251 thousand one hundred and sixty, viz., £270 a year. We have, therefore, agi*eed to purchase land of the Danish government, and erect eight bungalows or straw houses : this will cost near three thousand rupees, a sum very little more than one year's moderate rent in houses. Besides this, there is the loss on Kidderpore, amounting to about £500, of which I shall send particulars. ' We are affrighted at all this expense, and fear that you will be so too ; yet it cannot be lessened. We have thought that it would be the best thing you can do, to send the whole of your funds, which you say amounts to £3000, to this country, and lend it to government on interest at twelve per cent. This would be a regular fund of £360 a year, without any of the difficulties and uncertainties attending drawing on persons in England. We propose to teach a school, which, together with the profits of our press, may amount to two hundred rupees a month, or more : but this is uncertain. 1 believe we all * have a mind to work ;' and every one will do his utmost to take all the burden he can from the Society : but you must be apprised of our true situation. 'Perhaps you may start at the proposal of investing your money in the Company's hands, lest they should become bankrupts, or be dissolved by any means : to this 1 can only say, that in that case the government of England would, in all probability, become responsible for their debts. You might also fear that it would be taking the reins too much out of the Society's hands, and that however well you may be satisfied at present with the conduct of the missionaries, some unhappy circumstance may arise Avhich may cause you to repent of put- ting the purse in the hands of the missionaries. This, how- ever, would not be the case. The treasurer in India is not the missionaries' but the Society's treasurer, and, consequently, must be responsible to them. ' Should you approve of this step, the money must be sent out to this country in hard cash, viz., dollars, on which also we should have a gain. This would be a great saving to the Society, furnish a permanent fund, and render the Indian mis- sion much lighter to you, and much more pleasant to us. We have got now, press, tj^pes, and English paper, all paid for; and a printer. The types were got for fifteen hundred rupees 252 MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. less than the estimate, so that what I have drawn for that purpose has paid for them. The whole Bible is translated, except 2 Kings and 2 Chronicles, which brother Fountain is doing. I am preparing the copy for the press ; and unless forbidden by the Society, we mean to print one thousand copies of the whole, instead of two thousand of the New Testament. We shall want a little more paper, which we may get here : so that we shall not want very much more money to print the whole, say four thousand rupees, or £500, more than we have. If so, the whole expense will only be £300 drawn 300 paper 500 more £1100 ' It is impossible to be exact, but I think we shall not want more ; and as we expect to sell some copies, that will be lessened. ' My paper is gone. Farewell: may the Lord bless you. My love to all ministers and friends. We are well ; set off, pack and package, for Serampore, on Wednesday next. Intend to visit these parts at least once a year. Hurry Charon and Sookman express a real attachment to the gospel. The pro- posal about investing your money in the goveriunent funds in this country is brother Ward's : I think it a very good one. It will also give us respectability in their eyes. 'I am, very affectionately yours, W. Carey.' ' Powel and brother Ward join in love.' ' I have no copy of this.' ' Mudnabattij, JVov. 30, 1799. ' My dear Sisters, ' I have long, very long, been designing to write to you, and should have done so before now, had not the very unsettled state of the mission prevented it ; and even now I am not perfectly certain how or where we shall be. ' Owing to repeated loss by floods, the works at Mudnabatty are now given up : in consequence of which I had prepared to go to another place which I had bought for myself; I however gave it up to the mission, on hearing that more missionaries MEMOIR OF DR. CARET. 253 were expected out; and had begun to erect buildings, &c., at a jjretty large expense, and also to remove from Mudnabatty to that place. On the 13th Oct. they arrived, all safe and well ; and we expected them up here by the 5th Nov. ; but how un- certain are all our prospects ! Government refused to let the captain have a cargo, unless he produced them all at the po- lice-office, to enter into agreement to return to Europe as soon as convenient, or get the Company's leave to reside in the country. No sooner did we hear this news, than brother Foun- tain set out for Calcutta. In a few days, however, and before he could arrive, it had pleased the Lord to remove brother Grant, one of the missionaries, by death, after ahout ten days' illness. This was a heavy stroke in the midst of all our other perplexities ; but I was enabled to see that all is done in infinite wisdom. He has left a widow and two children. ' On their first arrival they went to Seramporc, a Danish settlement, v/here the English government cannot touch them ; and the governor has shown them the utmost attention and kindness ; he also has promised to protect us, and to give us passports at any time to any part of the country, and to indent us for Danish subjects ; and even says he will build a church at the place, if we will settle there. On this, I have resolved to give up our other plan, and to remove with my family to that place as soon as possible ; this appearing to me to be the spot that Providence is pointing out for our residence. ' Dec, 12th. This day Mr. Fountain, with a quantity of my furniture and the efifects of the Society, is gone to Serampore. Brother Ward is with me, where he will stay till I go down, which I expect will be at the end of the month. May the blessing of our God attend us, and his grace make our labors useful ! ' The past year has been a year of labor, disappointment, and perplexity. My mind has been almost absorbed in the temporal concerns of the mission ; and but little fruit has appeared to encourage our labors in the gospel. Among the Europeans, however, God has given us some success. Ithink I can speak with confidence of a young gentleman of the first abilities, who was deistically inclined before we came to these parts, and indeed till last year. He gives good evidence of a work of grace on his heart; and, indeed, several of the gentle- 23 254 MEMOIR OF DR. CARET. men at Dinagepore are much altered for the better in their conduct. Among the natives things rather go backwards than forwards ; yet I indulge a hope that we have not labored alto- gether in vain ; and we are quitting this part of the country with the best wishes of the inhabitants. < Serampore, Jan. 14th, 1800. I, with my family, have left Mudnabatty, in consequence of government refusing to permit our brethren to go up thither. Kidderpore is also given up on the same account, at a very heavy loss. We arrived at this place on Friday last, and are settling under the Danish govern- ment. The governor protects us, and is very kind to us. As we are going to Calcutta to-morrow morning, I sit up veiy late to finish this, that I may send it by this despatch. ' Such a scene of wandering up and down and perplexity as Ave have had, may, I trust, sufficiently apologize for my not filling my paper, and for my writing to so few friends. But we have been so unsettled that I could not think of writing, when every week, and almost every day, seemed likely to pro- duce some changes or other. We are going to purchase a house if we can, rent being very high here. Brother Grant's death was a most distressing event ; otherwise we are all well. We have almost all things common. All are desirous to labor in the mission. This part of the country is much more popu- lous than Mudnabatty; and as the providence of God has evidently brought us hither, I trust he will bless our labors. Be assured of my love. 'Your affectionate brother, W. Carey.' ^Serampore, Oct ]1, 1800. 'My dear Sisters, 'It is now near twelve months since I received a letter from you, and it is a long time since I wrote also, which was owing to the very unsettled state in which we were all the season for writing. I wrote several letters last year to different persons, but almost every letter contradicted the preceding, owing to the rapid succession of unexpected changes in our circum- stances ; which, though very painful at that time, were certainly accomplished by the God who has a tender concern for the mission, and has continually watched over it till now ; and, indeed, in circumstances in which it was impossible for us to MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. 255 know what would be the consequence of our doing this or that, He has directed our way in a very singular manner. The consequence is, that we are now at Serampore, a settlement belonging to Denmark, about fourteen miles from Calcutta, where we have purchased a house for the mission, and now live together a happy family, in the most populous part of the country. ' Had we staid at Mudnabatty, or its vicinity, it is a great wonder whether we could have set up our press: government would have suspected us, though without any reason to do so : and would, in all probability, have prevented us from printing ; the difficulty of procuring proper materials would also have been almost insuperable. As it is, though the first removal was attended with pecuniary loss, yet the advantage upon the whole has far balanced it. We have printed several small pieces, which have been dispersed : we have circulated several copies of Matthew's Gospel, I suppose near three hundred. We have printed the New Testament, as far as the Actsof the Apostles, and it will be wholly printed before this reaches you, unless some unforeseen obstruction lie in the way. 'I have, however, the melancholy news of brother Foun- tain's death to write. He died at Dinagepore, at the house of our dear friend Fernandez, on the 20th of August last. His death was brought on by a dysentery, which he had labored under for about three months. Sister Fountain was with him. He died with that trust in Christ, and bore his affliction with that calmness, that left a very strong impression on the minds of those who saw him. ' I am, very affectionately, your brother, 'W. Caret.' Mr. Carey to Dr. Ryland. ' Serampore, Jan. 17, 1800. 'My dear Brother, ' Some time ago I began a letter to you, in which I intended to describe some of the manufactures of the Hindus ; but a variety of very perplexing circumstances have turned up, which have prevented me from making such minute inquiries 256 MEMOIR OF DR. CARET. as are necessary to give j^ou .a just idea of them. I must therefore leave that subject till 1 have a little more leisure ; and, before the ships sail, shall give you a brief account of our ])resent situation, and the very reinarkable leadings of Divine Providence with respect to us. ' The last ^-ear was very calamitous, the early floods destroy- ing all the crop of indigo at Mudnabatty; which determined Mr. U. to give up the place at the end of the year. I had agreed with him, in May, to purchase a part of that concern, at about six coss* distance, with an encumbrance of 3000 ru- pees on it ; and, when I received accounts of the expected coming of the missionaries, I agreed to give it up to the mis- sion, as a place for our settlement, and had begun to erect houses for their accommodation. On the 13th of October they arrived, and soon got up to this place (Serampore), on their journey to Mudnabatt\% Government, however, refused to permit the captain to trade, unless he would produce the passengers at the police-office, to enter into agreement to return to Europe, or get the Company's leave to reside in the country. Their arrival had been published in the Calcutta Gazette, and, either by a mistake of the printer, or by design, they had been denominated papist missionaries. I wrote to some gentlemen of my acquaintance to interest themselves in the business, which they very kindly did, but in vain. The report of papist missionaries made government fear that they were Fixncli missionaries, as I heard this week. A standing rule of government was therefore enforced in this instance, to our great distress at that time, and also to the great temporal loss of either me, or the Society, in giving up the first designed settlement; though, perhaps, it may eventually turn out for the furtherance of the gospel. ' About seventeen days after the arrival of our brethren, viz., Oct. 31, it pleased our wise Lord to remove our dear brother Grant from us, by death, after an illness of ten days. This was a very afflicting providence to us ; but no doubt it was done in infinite wisdom. Sister Grant and her two children are well : brother Marshman also, from whom I have great expectations. He is very diligent and very prudent. Brother *A coss is two miles. MEMOIR OF DR. CARET. 257 Brunsdon I have not yet seen. He and his wife went up to Beerbhoom, to see brother Thomas, on account of the ill health of Mrs. B. I have heard an excellent account of him. Brother Ward will, I trust, be a very great acquisition to us : he possesses an active mind. I believe all our brethren have a great share of prudence, and 1 am sure their hearts are much in the work. ' Serampore, the i)lace at which we are, is a handsome town, belonging to the Danes. It stands on the banks of the Hoogly river, about seven coss from Calcutta, northward. This is the city of refuge for all who are in debt, and afraid of their creditors, on which account a degree of disgrace is attached to an inhabitant thereof. And, indeed, the natives appear to me to be some of the vilest of the vile. There are also many native Portuguese, who are full as bad. Europeans are so transitory in their abode here, that little can be said about them. The most respectable are the Danes : the gover- nor, Colonel Bie, has been peculiarly attentive to us. 'We have a prospect of a tolerably good congregation of Europeans. I counted about thirty persons last Lord's day, among whom was the officer I once mentioned to brother Sutcliff as a second Colonel Gardiner. He is stationed at Barrackpore, which is on the opposite side of the river, just facing this town. He has constantly attended, and generally brings over some other officers with him, I have had several conferences with the natives, the particulars of which brother Ward is writing to brother Fuller. As every thing, being new, strikes him more forcibly, I think he will be more particular than I should have been. I therefore sliall not say any thing more respecting them. ' Indeed, I have such a press of labor, till we are quite set- tled, that I cannot add much more. I still hope well of Hurry Charon and Sooknian ; though they are now as sheep without a shepherd. God has also this year converted Mr. ,* a young man of Scotch extraction, possessed of such depth of thought and mature judgment, that when he speaks no one answers again. Give my love to all your friends, especially to * Major Prowle. 23* 258 Memoir of dr. caret. the dear students and ministers in your connexion. 1 rejoice to hear of them. My Christian love to Mrs. Ryland. ' I am, very affectionately yours, W. Caret.' The foregoing M^as copied by Dr. Ryland to his friend Mr. Sutcliff, and the following, it is presumed, was a postscript to the same letter, as it also is in Dr. Ryland's hand writing, and without a separate date : ' Carey says, I shudder at the heavy expenses to which we shall necessarily subject our brethren in England, and can only say that they are unavoidable. Though I did to the best of my knowledge, and indeed acted originally for myself, in the purchase of Kidderpore ; yet, should the Society think me to blame, I am willing to sink my own money which I have laid out, and which was all I had in the world ; but this is gone, and the place w ill require near three thousand rupees more to clear it. Though it would have suited me on account of its nearness to Mudnabatty, yet it w^ould never be saleable to any body else, and the vats for manufacturing are not erected. There is only the place, and an unsaleable crop on the ground. I believe it would have answered our purpose, could we have all settled there ; but Providence forbade it. ' The very heavy rent we should have to pay here made it desirable to purchase a house, which we have done : but this is an additional expense of six thousand rupees. The pur- chase will require so much of our money as to reduce us to very grertt distress, unless the Society send us out a sum im- mediately. We need three thousand rupees for Kidderpore debt ; six thousand for our house at Serampore ; four thousand for printing the Bible ; which makes thirteen thousand rupees, or £1625 sterling, besides our support, which I think cannot come under £750 a year. We intend to teach a school, and employ our press, which we hope may bring us in £250 per annum. We have thought, and in this we are joined by those in the country who wish well to our undertaking, that it will be well if the Society can agree to send all their money that comes to this country in dollars, and put it in the Company's funds, where it will produce twelve per cent, interest. If you had £5000 to send into the country, it would clear off our MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. 259 incumbrances. If you send £5000, therefore, we should have, after clearing these expenses, a remainder of £3,325, which, if, by the sale of the Bible, or any other means, we could make up £4000, would produce us £480 per annum. Sending dol- lars also would be attended with a good profit. For the differ- ence between sending £5000 in dollars, at four shillings and sixpence each, and drawing for that amount, will be £926, at only two rupees for a dollar: but, as we sell one hundred dollars for two hundred and eight rupees, the gain may be fairly estimated at £1000. So that £5000, sent out in dollars, would pay off every incumbrance, print the Bible, purchase a good house and garden for the mission, in a situation where we shall be always safe, and to which more missionaries may be sent, without fear ; and also raise a fund for the maintenance of the mission, of nearly or quite £500 per annum. This would make it comfortable both to us and to you. For the mission would then be established without any more labor of begging ; and we should have a fund to resort to, without the very precarious expedient of trading, viz., having goods from England, or of drawing on England, and without any danger of loss. Our success may be long delayed, though all our brethren are very hearty in their work ; and it is impossible to say that the public mind will not be tired out, if hope be de- layed much longer. Those also who have hitherto been pillars to this work, may soon be cut off by death, and the work might then fall to the ground; but in case of our having such funds in this country, the mission would be established. I have written thus to you and to several others, lest any of the letters should miscarry, and because we all think this plan so impor- tant. Money also is so scarce here, that hardly any one will advance it for the best bills on Europe. ' I need not say any more. Do not print the names of Eu- ropeans. I was sorry to see that you printed that Dr. Roxburg had named the saul tree by my name. As he is in the habit of publishing his drawings of plants, it would have looked better if it had been mentioned first by him. I think Marsh- man to be one of the best men you could have chosen. I heartily love him ; so, indeed, I do them all. They are men of God.' 260 memoir of dr. carey. Messrs. Carey, Fountain, Marshman, and Ward, to the Society. ' Serampore^ Jan. 25 larly the Mugdhabodha, of Vopadeva, should be read at the same time with it. All that is strange and perplexing will then disappear, and the work of the English grammarian will be found a most serviceable illustration and interpreter of the brief and technical compilation of the Indian philologist. It is some disadvantage, however, to Dr. Carey's work, that the system which he followed, and which the circumstances of his situation recommended, is that which is peculiar to Ben- gal, and is of comparatively local and limited currency. The unwieldy size of the volume, arising, not only from the abun- dance of materials, but from the unnecessary size given to the Sanscrit types in the early stages of Hindu typography, is another venial imperfection : but, notwithstanding these draw- backs, Carey's Sanscrit Grammar is a work of very great merit; and in the immense accumulation of useful examples and illustrations which it affords, especially in the paradigmas of the verbs, and in the development of derivative nouns, it is of invaluable assistance both to the beginner and to the more advanced student. Dr. Carey never engaged to any considerable extent in the prosecution of Hindu literature unconnected with philological research. The only published work in which he is known to have been concerned, is the text of the epic poem, the Rama- yana, which he edited, and to which he subjoined a translation, in concert with Mr. Marshman.* This publication originated with the Asiatic Society of Bengal, and the Council of the College of Fort William, and was the first of an intended series of translations from Sanscrit, designed ' to disseminate a just idea of the religion and literature, the manners and customs, of the Hindus.' f The Ramayana was the work first selected by a committee of the Asiatic Society and the Col- lege Council, and the translators were employed under their patronage and instructions. The work, which was begun in * ' The R4m&yana of Valmeeki, in the original Sanscrit, with a Prose Transla- tion and Explanatory Notes. By Dr. Careit and Joshua Marshman, Serampore.' Vol. I, 1806; vol. II, 1808; vol. Ill, 1810. The latest lists of Serampore transla- tions announce four volumes of the Ramayana, but it is not known when the fourth, was published. t Preface to the 1st vol. 35 398 MEMOIR OF DR. CARET. 1806, had advanced, in 1810, as far as three volumes, comprising only two out of the seven books of the original. It was either then or shortly afterwards discontinued ; the patronage, it is believed, being withdrawn, and the means of its prosecution having therefore ceased. The task, in truth, was not very congenial to the talents or the pursuits of the translators. A mytho-epic poem was scarcely within the scope of mission- ary study, except as subsidiary to the acquirement of the lan- guage, or to an acquaintance with the belief of the Hindus. The text is printed with considerable care ; but the translation, in which the translators avow that 'elegance of expression, and even perspicuity, has been sacrificed to a strict conformity to the original,' does not adequately or truly represent the origin- al, although it is written in a style of exceeding simplicity. The book was also printed in an injudicious form, and would, if the work had been completed, have extended to a very in- convenient and expensive multiplication of volumes. The remaining contributions of Dr. Carey to Sanscrit liter- ature are less easy to be defined. Mr. Colebrooke has ac- knowledged his assistance in conducting the Amara Kosha through the press at Serampore ; and the same gentleman, in his introductory remarks to the edition of the Hitopadesa, ascribes to Dr. Carey the office of editor.* In this publica- tion, the text of the Hitopadesa, the original of Pilpay's Fables, was first printed upon a careful collation of six manuscript copies ; and although many errors require correction, yet they are not more than might have been expected from the vari- ations and defects of the manuscripts, and the novelty of the task, it being the first Sanscrit book ever printed in the Deva- nagari character. The same volume comprehends an epitome of a collection of Tales, called the Dasa Kumara, and the three Satakas, or Poetical Centos of Bhartri Hari. Besides this acknowledged aid to the cultivation of Sanscrit, it seems probable that Dr. Carey assisted Mr. Ward in his Account of the Hindus, especially in the abstracts and translations of the philosophical works there given. It was understood, also, that he had prepared for press some translations of treatises on the metaphysical system called Saukhya ; but these were * ' The editor, Mr. Carey, undertook the publication on a suggestion from the council of the college of Fort William, and under the patronage of government.' MEMOIR or DR. CAREY. 399 never published. It was not in Dr. Carey's nature to volunteer a display of his erudition, and the literary labors already ad- verted to arose in a great measure out of his connexion with the college of Calcutta, or were suggested to him by those whose authority he respected, and to whose wishes he thought it incumbent upon him to attend. It may be added, that Dr. Carey spoke Sanscrit with fluency and correctness. The department of Oriental literature which may be con- sidered in an especial manner as that over which Dr. Carey presided, was, however, the language and literature of Bengal. The situation of the capital of British India; the extent and importance of the province, comprehending a population, it has been computed, of '25,000,000; and the multiplied and intimate relations which have grown out of its long-continued connexion with British rule, have always rendered it advisable to rear a body of public functionaries, competent to discharge in Bengal the duties of their appointments for themselves, and without the intermediation of native agents. Hence a con- siderable proportion of the junior members of the Bengal civil service were enjoined or induced to acquire a knowledge of Bengali, during their early career as students in the college of Fort William ; and the tuition of a permanently numerous class devolved therefore upon the Bengali professor. When Mr. Carey commenced his lectures, there were scarce any but viva voce means of communicating instruction. There were no printed books. Manuscripts were rare ; and the style or tendency of the few that were procurable, precluded their employment as class-books. It was necessary, therefore, to prepare works that should be available for this purpose ; and so assiduously and zealously did Dr. Carey apply himself to this object, that, either by his own exertions, or those of others, which he instigated and superintended, he left not only the students of the language well provided with elementary books, but supplied standard compositions to the natives of Bengal, and laid the foundation of a cultivated tongue and flourishing literature throughout the country. According to a highly competent authority. Baboo Ram Comol Shen, the compiler of a valuable dictionary, English and Bengali, which has recently arrived in England, it ap- pears, that no book was even written in the language of Ben- 400 MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. gal prior to the sixteenth century. From that date, to the commencement of the nineteenth, a few legendary tales were composed, and some Sanscrit compositions were translated, but no elementary books were written ; and the cultivation of the language, insignificant as it had been, was on the decline when the college of Fort William was founded. 'From this lime forward,' says our author, 'writing Bengali correctly may be said to have begun in Calcutta, and a number of books were supplied by the Serampore press, which set the example of printing works in this and other eastern languages. The college pundits, following up the plan, produced many excellent works; amongst them the late Mrityunjaya Vidyalaukara, the head pundit of the College, was the most eminent.* 1 must acknowledge, here, that whatever has been done towards the revival of the Bengali language, its improvement, and, in fact, the establishment of it as a language, must be attributed to that excellent man. Dr. Carey, and his colleagues, by whose liberality and great exertions many works have been carried through the press, and the general tone of the language of this province has been so greatly raised.' No individual is better qualified than the talented native whose words are here cited, to appreciate accurately the share taken by Dr. Carey in the improvement of the language and literature of his country. The first grammar of the language of Bengal was com- piled by Mr. Halhed, of the East India Company's civil service, and printed at Hoogly in 1783. It is a work of merit ; but in the interval that had elapsed between its appearance and the institution of public lectures in Bengali, it had probably become scarce, and was no longer available for the wants of the students of the college. Dr. Carey printed the first edition of his grammar in 1801 ; and whilst acknowledging the aid he had derived from Halhed, observes, 'I have made some distinctions and obser- vations not noticed by him, particularly on the declension of nouns and verbs, and the use of particles.' In the preface to * Mrityunja}'a pundit was especially attached to the service of Dr. Carey as professor in the college, and was held by him in high and deserved estimation. He is the individual whose portrait is included in the picture taken by Mr. Home of Dr. Carey, and which has been engraved. He continued until his death associated with his master and friend in useful literary occupatiuns. MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. 401 his second edition, printed in 1805, he remarks, ' Since the first edition of this work was published, the writer has had an opportunity of obtaining a more accurate knowledge of this language. The result of his application to it he has endeavor- ed to give in the following pages, which, on account of the variations from the former edition, may be esteemed a new work.' The variations alluded to were chiefly of the natare of additions, particularly in the declension and derivation of nouns, and in the conjugations of the verbs, extending the grammar to nearly double its original size. Several editions have been subsequently printed, but they have not differed in any material respect from the second and more perfect form. The Bengali grammar of Dr. Carey, explains the peculiarities of the Bengali alphabet, and the combination of its letters; the declension of substantives, and formation of derivative nouns; the inflexions of adjectives and pronouns ; and the conjugations of the verbs : it gives copious lists and descriptions of the inde- clinable verbs, adverbs, prepositions, &c., and closes with the syntax, and an appendix of numerals, and tables of weights and measures. The rules are comprehensive, though ex- pressed with brevity and simplicity ; and the examples are sufficiently numerous and well chosen. The syntax is the least satisfactorily illustrated ; but this defect was fully reme- died by a separate publication, printed also in 1801, of Dia- logues in Bengali, with a translation into English, comprising a great variety of idioms and phrases. This work, also, has passed through several editions ; and, independently of its merit as a help to the acquisition of the language, it presents, in many respects, a curious and lively picture of the manners, feelings, and notions of the natives of Bengal. A more laborious and important publication was effected at a later period by Dr. Carey, in his Bengali and English dic- tionary. The first volume was printed in 1815 ; but the typo- graphical form adopted, being found likely to extend the work to an inconvenient size, it was subsequently reprinted in 1818: a second and third volume appeared in 1825. These three volumes comprehend above two thousand quarto pages, and about eighty thousand words; a number that equally demonstrates the copiousness of the language, and the indus- try of the compiler. Besides the meanings of the words, their 35* 402 MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. derivation is given wherever ascertainable. This is ahnost always the case, as the great mass of the words are Sanscrit. Mr. Halhed long since maintained ' the impossibility of learn- ing the Bengal dialect without a general and comprehensive idea of the Sanscrit, from the close and intimate connexion between the two ;' and Dr. Carey observes, with regard to the materials of his dictionary, 'considerably more than three fourths of the words are pure Sanscrit, and those composing the greatest part of the remainder are so little corrupted that their origin may be traced without difficulty.' Dr. Carey also states, that he endeavored to introduce into the dictionary every simple word used in the language, and all the compound terms which are commonly current, or which are to be found in Bengali works, whether published or unpublished. It may be thought, indeed, that in the latter respect he has been more scrupulous than was absolutely necessary, and has inserted compounds which might have been dispensed with, their analysis being obvious, and their elements being explained in their appropriate places. The dictionary also includes many derivative terms, and privative, attributive, and abstract nouns, which, though of legitimate construction, may rarely occur in composition, and are of palpable signification. The insertion of such words, however, is no otherwise objectionable, than that it tends to swell the dictionary to an inconvenient and costly bulk, and must have added materially to the trouble of the compiler; at the same time it evinces his careful research, his conscientious exactitude, and his unwearied industry. The English equivalents of the Bengali words are well chosen, and of unquestionable accuracy. Local terms are rendered with that correctness which Dr. Carey's knowledge of the manners of the natives, and his long domestication amongst them, en- abled him to attain ; and his scientific acquirements, and con- versancy with the subjects of natural history, qualified him to employ, and not unfrequently to devise, characteristic de- nominations for the products of the animal or vegetable world peculiar to the East. The objection taken to this dictionary, on account of its bulk, was subsequently obviated by the pub- lication of an abridgment, prepared under Dr. Carey's own superintendence, by Mr. J. Marshman, printed in 1827. Most of the compound and derivative terms were omitted, and the MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. 403 publication was reduced to a thick octavo volume. Although, however, this has the advantage of being more readily con- sulted, it by no means obviates the necessity of the original, to all who seek to acquire any thing beyond the rudiments of the Bengali language, in which the dictionary of Dr. Carey must ever be regarded as a standard authority. In addition to these elementary works, which were es- pecially his own. Dr. Carey took an early and active part in the promotion and preparation of works intended to facilitate the acquisition of the Bengali language. This duty was most urgent in the early period of his career, when Bengali works, as we have seen, had scarcely any existence even in manu- script, and printing was utterly unknown to the natives of Bengal. A press was speedily established by Dr. Carey and his colleagues at Serampore, and in subordination to its espe- cial purpose of multiplying copies of translations of the Scriptures, it was devoted to the printing of the first efforts of native literary talent. Various translations from Sanscrit into Bengali, as the Hitopadesa, the Buttees Sinhasan, and others, were prepared and printed in 1801. In 1802 the early trans- lations of the Ramayana and Mahabharat, were published; and from that time to the present day many useful works in Bengali, as well as in other languages, have issued from the Serampore press, to most of which Dr. Carey contributed encouragement or aid. The indirect promotion of Bengali literature, effected by the example and impulse of the press of Serampore, has been still more important, and of late years has rendered it less necessary for the directors of that estab- lishment to originate compositions in the language of Bengal. Calcutta now abounds with printing-presses, belonging either to Europeans or to natives, which are kept actively at work upon the productions of indigenous talent and attainment : a striking contrast witli the state of things thirty years ago, when the means of promulgating knowledge were as defect- ive as the disposition to seek or the ability to impart it, and an alteration for which Bengal is mainly indebted to Dr. Carey and the missionaries of Serampore. Of a less prominent, but equally useful character, were the labors of Dr. Carey in other Indian dialects. The political re- lations that arose between the British government and the 404 MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. Mahratta states, about the date of the institution of the col- lege of Fort William, recommended the introduction of the study of the Mahratta tongue, and to Dr. Carey was assigned the office of teaching it. In this, as in the other dialects, ele- mentary books were wanting, and Dr. Carey, to use his own expressions, ' thought it his duty to do the utmost in his power towards facilitating its acquisition by attempting a grammar.' A Mahratta grammar, he states, had been written many years before in the Portuguese tongue, but he was not able to pro- cure a copy, and was therefore obliged to reduce the language to its rudiments for himself This work was published in 1805, and five years afterwards he printed a Mahratta diction- ary, containing about ten thousand words. Of late years considerable attention has been paid to the cultivation of Mahratta in the presidency of Bombay, and more perfect and elaborate grammars and dictionaries have been given to the public. To Dr. Carey, however, belongs the merit of having set the example, and of having, under the most un propitious circumstances, first rendered the language attainable by Euro- pean students. The same merit applies to his grammars of the Telinga, Kurnata, and Punjabi dialects. The Telinga was the first published grammar of that tongue in English. For the Kur- nata grammar, also, no model existed, nor was there any for the Punjabi. The two former have been succeeded by works prepared in the countries where these languages are spoken, and with the benefit of more protracted and regular cultiva- tion ; but the Punjabi grammar of Dr. Carey is still the only medium through which a conversancy with the dialect spoken between the Indus and the Setlej, is to be obtained. These works are all characterized by the same features, — succinctness and perspicuity ; and are excellently adapted to the wants of young students. The intentions of their author, and the modest estimate he formed of the value of his productions, are thus stated in the preface to his Telinga grammar: 'A wish to contribute to the more extensive cultivation of the Indian lan- guages, has induced the writer to undertake this work. Should this object be in any measure accomplished hereby, he will feel gratified ; and still more so, should it induce any one who has opportunity and leisure to execute any of these MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. 405 elementary works which are necessary to render us familiar with the languages of India, so highly deserving of cultivation.' The wish here expressed has been, of late years, satisfactorily complied with ; and its fulfilment is, in a great degree, owing to the example set by the venerable scholar by whom it was entertained. In addition to the works which were intended to facilitate the acquirement of the vernacular languages. Dr. Carey took an active interest in every attempt to make India familiarly known, both to its rulers and its people. He was an early associate of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, and furnished one or two instructive papers to the Researches ; and he was a diligent contributor to the Agricultural Society of Calcutta, of which he was one of the founders, and for some time presi- dent. Besides a valuable catalogue of the plants of the Com- pany's Botanical Garden at Calcutta, which he printed in 1814, Dr. Carey was engaged, for several years, in the publication of a Flora Indica, in concert with Dr. Wallich: two volumes only of this work have appeared. He had contemplated other works on the natural history of India, and particularly on its ornithology, with which view he had at one time formed a collection of birds, that he might observe their living habits. But his public duties, his literary pursuits, and the task to which his best energies were dedicated, prevented him from accomplishing this desirable object. There can be no doubt that he also bore a part in the periodical publications of the Serampore press, particularly in the journal denominated The Friend of India, which was published monthly or quarterly, for several years, at Serampore, and in vv^hich, questions of high importance to the moral and political improvement of British India were discussed with ability, experience and judg- ment. These various pursuits were, however, all secondary to the main end of multiplying and disseminating translations of the Holy Scriptures, which has been steadily pursued by the So- ciety of which he was the chief ornament, for about forty years. It appears that Dr. Carey commenced his labors in this depart- ment before 1794,* and that he had completed a version into * ' Tenth Memoir of Translations by the Serampore brethren.' 406 MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. Bengali of the whole of the New Testament, and of part of the Old, by 1796. The former was printed and circulated in 1801, and a translation of the Psalms and of the prophecies of Isaiah was printed in 1803. His next undertaking was a Sanscrit translation, in which the New Testament was printed in 1808, the Pentateuch in 1811, the historical books in 1815, and the hagiography in 1816. Subsequently, improved editions of both versions were taken in hand by the original translator, and a revised version of the Bengali was prepared and pub- lished in 1832.* Considerable advance had been also made in the revisal of the Sanscrit translation, and the Pentateuch and historical books had been printed. It is to be hoped, therefore, that Dr. Carey may have been spared to put the finishing hand to the work, at least in manuscript, and thus wound up his pious labors and his well-spent life together. The revised edition of Dr. Carey's Sanscrit translation will, no doubt, be exempt from many of those imperfections which its preparation at so early a period of Sanscrit study rendered unavoidable. These defects were neither incorrectness nor obscurity; but inelegance of expression and harshness of con- struction. The latter was, in a great measure, inseparable from the principle which appears to have influenced all the S^'ampore versions, — that of translating as closely to the letter of the text as practicable; a rigor of fidelity that cannot fail to cramp and distort the style of the translation. The novelty of the subject, also, and the necessity of employing words to designate meanings which, although admissible, were unusual and unknown, contributed to disfigure the composition ; and the Sanscrit version has, accordingly, never been popular with the learned natives of India, for whose use, more particularly, it was designed. The intimate and long-continued intercourse maintained by Dr. Carey with all classes of the natives of Bengal, and the repeated opportunities of revision afforded by the multiplied editions of his Bengali translations, have very naturally im- proved their character, and rendered them generally intelligi- ble and acceptable to the population of the province. The * This forms the third edition of part of the Old Testament, and the fourth of the rest, the sixth edition of the New Testament, and the seventh of the gospels. —Tenth Memoir, p. 7. MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. 407 latest editions, however, still retain something of the newness of the first; and the style is less easy and idiomatic than might have been expected. They are, however, performances'^ of real merit, and have been very extensively serviceable in dif- fusing accurate notions of gospel truth amongst the millions of Bengal. Shortly after the establishment of Dr. Carey and his breth- ren at Serampore, they devised and carried into execution a comprehensive scheme for the translation of the Scriptures into all the languages of India. Accordingly, they published, in the course of about five-and-twenty years, translations of portions of the Old and New Testament, more or less consid- erable, in forty different dialects. It was not to be supposed, nor did they pretend, that they were conversant with all these forms of speech. The mode they adopted has been explained by the missionaries in several of their reports. Each version was made by a competent native, to whom the language of the translation to be prepared was vernacular, and who was also conversant with one or more of the languages into which the original had been previously translated. The individuals employed on the task usually sat and wrote in the same room ; and, when any difficulty arose, had thus an opportunity of referring to some one or other of their associates, who was qualified to give them information and assistance. Their per- formances were also superintended and finally revised by their European employers. The language of the version might not, it is true, be familiar to the reviser ; but a knowl- edge of Sanscrit, and of one or two vernacular dialects, was usually sufficient to enable him to appreciate the general char- acter of the translation. 'Above three fourths,' say the mis- sionaries, 'of the words in most of the secondary cognate languages, were understood in all their bearings, through the Sanscrit, the Bengali, and Hindee, before those secondary languages were begun; and in some of them, even seven eighths of the words, to say nothing of the construction, the idiom, and the usual figures of speech, in which there is little variation throughout the whole of the Indian family.'* There can be no question of the general accuracy of this statement ; * Eighth Memoir of Translations, &c., p. 4. 408 MEMOIR OF DR. CARET. and a conversancy with Sanscrit affords a highly useful key to all the dialects spoken in India: a knowledge of it, and of one or two of its principal derivatives, would, no doubt, enable the possessor to follow a pundit in his explanation of aversion in a form of Indian speech not regularly studied, and to ascer- tain its general conformity with a given original. It may be doubted, however, if such preparation is sufficient to estimate the precise force even of simple terms in all cases ; and still less can it appreciate idiomatic phraseology. It is to be ap- prehended, therefore, that many of these versions are written in too scholastic a style, and partake too much of the nature of Sanscrit compositions, to be universally understood by the unlettered population of the districts in which they were de- signed to circulate. At the same time, it must be acknowl- edged that this difficulty is insuperable in the actual state of most of the dialects of India. They are inadequate to the ex- pression of new ideas: terms for these must, therefore, be borrowed from the kindred or parent tongues, with a certainty that these equivalents are as unfamiliar to the people at large as the notions which they are employed to convey. It was scarcely possible, therefore, to have published versions essen- tially dissimilar from those which have been printed ; and the only question is. Whether time was ripe for such translations at all ? Admitting their expedience, it cannot be denied that the plan devised for their preparation was judicious; and it is equally indisputable, that surprising industry and uncommon attainments were displayed in its execution. In this depart- ment. Dr. Carey took a leading part ; and it was in connexion, especially, with his duty of revising the different translations, that he added, to his great proficiency in Sanscrit and Bengali, a knowledge of those dialects whose elements he first investi- gated. Possessed, in this way, of at least six different dialects, and of Sanscrit, the parent of the whole family, and endowed with a genius for philological investigation. Dr. Carey was peculiarly qualified to superintend the translation of the Scrip- tures into a number of cognate languages; and it may be granted that, in combination with his colleagues, he carried the project to as successful an issue as could have been ex- pected from the bounded faculties of man. The review which has been thus attempted of Dr. Carey's MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. 409 labors in Oriental literature, wlietlier for purposes of general utility, or the special objects of his mission, is necessarily brief and imperfect. The books referred to are not all in the writer's possession, and are not procurable, perhaps, in this country. Had they been at hand, however, a more detailed examination of them would have been of interest only to the few oriental- ists who have already formed their opinion of the merit of the works in questioo. Enough has, perhaps, been said to show that Dr. Carey was a man of no ordinary powers of mind ; that he was endowed with prompt and acute apprehension ; that he must have been capable of vigorous and enduring applica- tion ; that his tastes were varied, and his attainments vast ; and that he perseveringly and zealously devoted all his facul- ties and acquirements to the intellectual and spiritual improve- ment of his fellow-creatures in the East. Summary View or Dr. Carey's Character, with Re- flections. The reader who has consecutively perused the foregoing narrative, will have perceived that, by the native force of his own mind, and the providential circumstances through wdiich he passed, the main features of Dr. Carey's character have been made to stand out with so much prominence, as almost to supersede the necessity of any final review from the hand of the biographer. Yet, a brief reflection or two may not be deemed impertinent to the design of such a volume; it being composed, not so much for the purpose of exhibiting the man of science or of literature, — though in each character it will be allowed he greatly excelled, — as to portray a sound, and vig- orous, and simple Christian mind, yielding itself to the light of truth, and obeying, without reserve, the force of great prin- ciples; to show to what religious eminence a man of no origi- nal pretension, and with many adverse influences to resist, under the guidance of such light, and the iujpulse of such principles, may attain, and the great good he may possibly accomplish. We may certainly perceive of how great importance it is to investigate the word of God for ourselves, and to come to our ow^n conclusions, and to follow up our own convictions of 36 410 MEMOIR OF DR. CARET. duty, with but a measured deference to the sentiments and practices of the world around us, even of the Christian part of it. A plain and discreet man, under the legitimate influence of right views of divine truth, and correct impressions of duty, will often form designs beyond the range of other men's thoughts, and cheerfully pledge himself to a line of conduct from which they will shrink with dismay. If he discern his object clearly, as within the compass of divine prescription and promise, and if his conviction of its importance be such as that he can consecrate to its achievement all his capabilities of doing and of suffering, the opinions of his fellow-men nei- ther will nor ought to excite in him much solicitude. He cannot expect, indeed, of a sudden to infuse his light into other minds, so as to carry their decisions with him ; nor can he at once force their feelings into sympathy with his own. He must be content, for a while, to follow his convictions, without the strength and without the solace he might wish to derive from the concurrent judgment of others. He must rest, and may well do so, in the award of his own conscience. I he be patient in the prosecution of his plans, and judicious in the methods he adopts, he will, in due time, conciliate to him- self the wise and the good, and secure their patronage to his cause ; and even the timid and the calculating may at length commend his wisdom as well as his zeal. But, should such encouragement continue to be denied him, this will not arrest his virtuous progress. He will hold on his way, looking only to God for approval and for succor. 'It is a light thing for me to be judged of man's judgment.' 'When it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb, and called me by his grace, to reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen, immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood, neither went I up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me: but I went into Arabia, and returned again unto Damascus.' It is, doubtless, gratifying to think and to act consentiently with the feelings and the received maxims of others, especially of those whom we highly respect, and to whom we are accustomed willingly to defer. But no Chris- tian should conceal a sentiment because it may yet be novel to other men ; nor cease to urge home its consequences be- cause others may be reluctant to follow them. The man who MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. 411 fears to announce his judgment upon practical subjects, and hesitates to make the needful sacrifice in demonstrating their importance, until the opinions of others are coincident with his own, may be induced to wait too long for it to prove prac- tically availing, or he may never realize it at all. The nobler virtues, such as perfect a man's own soul, and exert any deci- sive influence upon the minds of other men, and the blessed results of which will stretch into eternity, require a daring and spirited devotion, and are often matured by a stern and somewhat rugged discipline. But, as every man must stand alone in the final judgment, so in the principal designs of life, and in every great plan of action, he should anticipate, as much as is possible, the solemnities of that last event, by realizing his exclusive accountability to God, and exercising a naked dependence upon him. When the subject of this memoir mentioned to his own father his purpose of becoming a mis- sionary to the heathen, ' William, are you mad ?' was the reply to him ; and when he sought to impress the importance and practicability of missionary efforts upon some of the more enlightened of his brethren, and of his own age and standing, the answer was, ' If the Lord open windows in heaven, then may this thing be.' His life, indeed, was so long protracted, and so successful were his labors, that he won the good opin- ion and the suffrages of all whose principles and moral worth entitled them to any regard. But, had he died at an early period of his career, and had circumstances continued unpro- pitious to his object, and little apparent success attended his efforts, he might then have been lightly esteemed ; and yet without one fraction less of real excellence attaching to liim, and without the slightest diminution, it may be, of his final rcAvard. ' Let every man, therefore, prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in an- other.' In Dr. Carey's mind, and in the habits of his life, there is nothing of the marvellous to describe. There was no great and original transcendency of intellect; no enthusiasm and impetuosity of feeling : there was nothing in his mental char- acter to dazzle, or even to surprise. Whatever of usefulness and of consequent reputation he attained to, it was the result of an unreserved and patient devotion of a plain iutelHgence, 412 MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. and a single heart to some great, yet well defined, and withal practicable objects; — objects, to achieve which, indeed, de- manded great labor ; but were of such intrinsic and immeas- urable worth, that, being once seriously resolved upon, appear- ed of augmented importance the more intimately they were contemplated, and the more resolutely they were grappled with ; and which threw out attractions the more irresistible and absorbing, in proportion to the vigor and the intensity with which they were pursued. No one who knew him, will con- tend that his talents were of the brilliant and attractive cast. He had no genius, no imagination. He had nothing of the sentimental, the tasteful, the speculative, or the curious, in his constitution. He had no endowments and inclinations such as vividly and pleasurably excite the soul to put forth its ener- gies in what may gratify the less thinking, and secure the ad- miration of the less devout, while it leaves the things which are truly great and useful unattempted. He had no help, therefore, from that warmth of feeling, that sensible glow of the spirits, partly animal and partly mental, that fervor and fire, to which painters and poets are so deeply indebted, and without which a thousand theorists and zealots in philosophy, and morals, and religion, would scarcely have been known to have had an intellectual existence, beyond what was needful to keep them out of 'fire and water.' To this want of excitation from the passions may be justly referred those very frequent and bitter upbraidings of himself, for his conceived inactivity, and his want of zeal and fervor. He has often been heard to say, 'I think no man living ever felt inertia to so great a degree as I do.' He was every way a man of principle, not of im- pulse. I need scarcely observe, as the intelligent reader will have anticipated the remark, that the leading characteristics of Dr. Carey were his decision, his patient, persevering constancy, and his simplicity. A more decisive character, as to the main objects to which his life was consecrated, the page of history has seldom recorded. There was in the constitution of Dr. Carey's mind nothing dubitating, no painful vacillation: not a fraction of his strength, therefore, ever seemed to be applied to objects not distinctly relevant to some selected, specific, and sovereign purpose. He could clearly discern and firmly grasp. MEMOIR OF DR. CARET. 413 and well define to others, whatever fixed his attention and invited his pursuit ; and could then follow it up with inexhaust- ible patience and untiring diligence. The force of his char- acter in these respects was seen in the earliest developments of his mental powers. It was the case when at school, under the tuition of his father, that he never failed to master what- ever came before him, and would have time always to spare to help the younger and unsuccessful boys. My grandfather, who was singularly averse to the practice of eulogizing the mem- bers of his own family, never hesitated to bear testimony to the assiduity, good conduct, and proficiency of his son William. In his voluntary juvenile engagements, he was always in earnest, was persevering, and adventurous. His strong desire to collect subjects in every branch of natural history, he con- ceived from his very childhood ; and in gratifying it, he would spare no pains, nor shun any danger, however imminent. lie has told me, that if there was a tree, the height and difliculty of climbing which daunted the courage of all besides, he would be sure to feel provoked to the attempt. Endeavoring to effect his purpose upon one such occasion, he failed and came to the ground : but, notwithstanding the peril, and the bruises he incurred, the first thing he did, when he was able to leave his home, was to climb that same tree, and take that identical nest. The most obscure and least promising portion of his life, was his apprenticeship, and residence at Hackleton ; but even then and there, some degree of interest attached to him, and a measure of expectation was awakened in the minds of those whose observation he attracted, beyond what his situation and very scanty advantages would seem to favor. The reader has already seen what impressions the judicious Mr. Scott enter- tained of him at this time; impressions of liis good sense, clear judgment, and the modesty of his demeanor. In my youth, I often preached at this same village ; at which time some of his contemporaries were living, and who felt no ordi- nary pleasure in reciting the incidents which related to him, the indications of unusual talents which they thought they observed, and the leading tendencies of his mind ; and would dwell upon the different occurrences which marked his ad- vancing history with no common satisfaction. I am unable to 36* 414 MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. recollect any of these circumstances, explicitly enough to justify my repeating them. It is well known, also, that in retailing actions and events respecting persons who have been raised from obscurity and depression, to reputable life and eminent usefulness, there is an evident desire to invest cir- cumstances the most trivial with somewhat of the marvellous, and to rehearse sayings as almost proplietic, which in them- selves were perhaps of no great significance, or of any serious import ; and which, but for the subsequent reputation of the individual, would have been allowed to pass by, never to be recalled. On this account, I feel the less regret at my inca- pacity minutely to record many things which I then heard. And when the task was devolved upon me of composing this memorial of my honored relative, it was a fixed determination with me to relate nothing, of the almost literal accuracy of which I had not clear and indubitable evidence. His proper religious life no sooner commenced, than his true character began clearly to display itself He threw into it his whole soul. He investigated truth with the utmost ardor; and when he found it, 'he rejoiced as one who had obtained great spoil.' He sought to ascertain the will of God, with a simple and intrepid purpose to obey, no matter to what it conducted him. He always held it, that eveiy discovery of divine truth was to be held precious, and hailed as the light of day ; and that every conviction of duty should be implicitly and at once complied with, saying, that ' the judgment would speedily warp, if its decisions were unwelcome ; and the con- science soon cease to importune, if its calls were slighted.' Commencing thus, a diligent and ingenuous inquiry after truth, and holding himself to an uncompromising submission to its dictates, his mind was never thwarted in its purposes, nor weakened and corroded by its own criminal indecision, and his intellectual and moral powers thrown into confusion and conflict. Every impression being justly entertained, it was corrected or corroborated and confirmed by each succeeding one ; the soul gathered fresh vigor to itself with every step of its advancement, and was enabled undeviatingly to maintain an ascending progress. In pursuing his religious inquiries, one attribute of the gos- pel, its infinite benevolence, and one paramount duty, that of MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. 415 universally diffusing its blessings, indelibly impressed him. That, as God's own command ascertained this duty, so his own promise clearly guaranteed the success of those who obeyed it. When that success should be granted, and in what degree 5 and what difficulties, afflictions, and perils he might be called to encounter in its achievement, he could leave with God. To engage unreservedly in the work, was the only thing he deemed essential. He seemed to think a dispensa- tion was committed to him; and, in fulfilling it, he counted not his life dear unto him. The trials he endured upon his first arrival in India, in the neighborhood of Calcutta, at Bandell, Dehartta ; the peculiar severity of his domestic affliction at these places, with the increased distress it occasioned him, during his several years' residence at Mudnabatty ; and, above all, the continued disappointment of his hopes as to the con- version of the heathen, will doubtless recur to the mind of the reader. When, throughout these poignant afflictions, and these complicated vicissitudes, does he seem to swerve from his purpose, or falter in his course ? When, in process of time, other brethren join him in the work, and the requisite facilities are at his command, he chooses from the general objects of missionary life, one, the most appropriate to his talents, and congenial with his taste, we witness a still greater concentration of his energies, and are furnished with a still further help to the just appreci- ation of his character. The supplying the Holy Scriptures to the millions of the East, was the master purpose of his life. With this, nothing in his esteem was of importance sufficient to justify even a comparison. After he had fairly entered upon his labor, the writing of an unnecessary letter, or the diversion from it of his attention for an hour, he deemed a sacrilege. To read a 'proof on the Lord's day, he considered as holy an act, as to study and preach a sermon, or to engage in any of the solemnities of worship, and, in its consequences, of far higher importance. In pursuing this work, he was scarcely sensible of any obstacles he had to surmount. Grammars, dictionaries, &c., he generally had none. He learned different languages in the use of them ; and then furnished such ele- mentary works as the digests of his own acquirements, for the help of his successors. 416 MEMOIR OF DR. CARET. It need hardly be remarked, that he was perseveringly steady, and imperturbably regular, in all his engagements. This, indeed, was the main secret of his sm-prising success. No novelty in speculation or in practice ever seduced him from the plain line of his duty or his labor. He had a calm and dignified satisfaction in the paramount interest of his work, which, arduous as it was, converted it into his rest and his solace. Hence, his mind could submit to the same unvaried routine every day, for thirty years in succession, without re- laxation and without tedium. He was subject to many and various interruptions; had many unexpected, irregular, and often unprofitable calls, from the learned, the scientific, the curious, and the idle : yet he would suspend his engagement, whatever it might be, and attend to them ; not, either, with impatient aspect, and with hurried gait, as though their ap- proach was unwelcome, and their departure longed for ; but with simple ease, and honest courtesy. So long as anything remained to be shown them, or any question for them to pro- pose, he was as much the gentleman of perfect leisure, and remained as entirely at their command, as though to form his museum and display its subjects, and to plant his garden and describe its productions, were the principal and even the sole employments of his life. But, upon the moment of their de- parture, he resumed his chair ; and that same moment, too, ended the interruption. There was no alienation of mind to be corrected ; for he and the proper object of his attention had never been separated ; nor were any recapitulations or mental effort to recover either words or thoughts necessary, — except, perhaps, through the dozing of his pundit, who had remained firm to his seat, a statue-like fixture, during the ab- sence of his employer ; but he himself had forgotten nothing, and was therefore ready at once to resume his work at the point at which his attention had been suspended. His col- legiate engagements, his distant and extensive correspondence, the claims preferred by scientific, literary, and other useful institutions, in the origination and conducting of Avhich he bore so conspicuous a part, were enough to absorb the strength and capabilities of an ordinary man ; but to him they formed a relief and refreshment, rather than his task. It will be readily concluded, he was a very strict economist MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. 4J7 of time. By regularly apportioning it to specific objects, and rigidly adhering to the division, he could keep a number of works consentaneously advancing, without seeming to retard the progress of any, transferring his attention from one to another, without distraction or inconvenience. By devoting to them, without ijitermission, mere fractions of time, he brought several massive works to a successful issue. Hence, his Sanscrit grammar of a thousand pages. Hence, too, his Bengali dictionary of three quarto volumes, conceived and executed upon a painfully elaborate plan. And hence, also, his translation of the celebrated Sanscrit poem, the Ramayana ; which last work, to the extent of several volumes, he effected by dictating to an amanuensis about two hours only once in seven days. By this means it was, that his Scriptural trans- lations advanced in slow, but regular degrees, until, in the com*se of years, the work arrived to so prodigious an aggre- gate, as to require no ordinary effort to believe it possible that any one man, let his advantages be what they might, should accomplish so vast an achievement. But invincible patience in labor, and uninterrupted constancy, secured his triumph over every obstruction. He once said to me : ' Eustace, if, after my removal, any one should think it worth his while to write my life, I will give you a criterion by which you may judge of its correctness. If he give me credit for being a plodder, he will describe me justly. Any thing beyond this will be too much. I can plod. I can persevere in any definite pursuit. To this I owe every thing.' But, how few can plod! Many can devise a splendid scheme, a magnificent enterprise ; but the plodder is the man who will rise to respect and eminence ; and, should he live sufficiently long to effect his designs, will make the world his insolvent debtor. But the characteristic for which those who best knew most of all admired him, was his great simplicity. Here lay the charm of his character. This was its main element. This constituted its moral beauty and its strength. It was the mould into which he was cast. It was not so much a distinct attribute of character, distinguishable among many others, and capable of separate delineation, as the modifying, con- trolling principle of them all, giving transparency and force to all his sentiments, his affections, his motives, his conduct, and 418 MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. his discourse; rendering him, at once, both venerable and lovely. It secured to him the respect and admiration of the great, and the unhesitating confidence of the poor and the humble ; and rendered him, whilst respected and deferred to by the learned, the easy benevolent companion of the child. It w^as apparent, alike, in the solemnities of religious belief and practice, and in the minute and common secularities of life. In science he would hear of nothing but facts, and pure rigid induction. The great Linnaeus was preeminently ad- mired by him ; and the Count de BufFon almost contemned. So in religious life and principle, no matter who theorized, who speculated and refined ; he read the Scriptures, from the beginning of his religious career to its close, simply as a dis- ciple, to learn and to obey ; being ever anxious, in their expo- sition for the edification of others, as well as in his own practice, to maintain the very letter of divine truth. Hence, nothing could induce him to make oath in a court of ju- dicature, or to administer to a will ; and hence, therefore, in his third marriage, he submitted to the publication of banns. How he came to adopt a theological diploma, I am not pre- pared to say, much less to justify ; it always appearing to me as little reconcilable with his general views and conduct, as it must be confessed to be with the letter of our Lord's in- structions. In his preaching he was more remarkable than any man I ever knew, for his choice of plain and elementary subjects. He found them the life of his own spirit, and never seemed to imagine they could be exhausted or become trite in the esti- mation of others. The gratuitous justification of a sinner before God, for Jesus Christ's sake, with the motives and the duties it originates, formed the grand basis of his ministry, and suggested almost every topic upon which he dwelt. His manner of treating his subjects was always easy and natural. His introduction would be clearly explanatory of the sense of the sacred writer, and of the precise portion of Scripture then under discussion ; and by a very few simple sentences, and the easiest possible division, he would approach his subject, and lay open its principal moral so clearly, that none, by any chance, could mistake it. There was no excursiveness, it is MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. 419 acknowledged, no great variety and range in his illustrations of his subjects ; nor was there, as indeed may be well sup- posed, from the character of his mind, the least approach to the imaginative and the poetic. There was no style about him in any thing. He never seemed to think of it. The things he said and did must intrinsically recommend them- selves. His diction was contracted, his voice inharmonious, and his manner somewhat rustic and without ease, yet never offensive. He commended 'the truth to every man's con- science in the sight of God ;' but it was by its naked exhibi- tion. The superficial, therefore, and the unthinking, would be little likely to receive much impression ; and all who heard him must have been sensible of the almost entire absence of those melting and sweet attractions with which Christ himself so commonly invested the doctrines he promulged and the duties he enjoined, and which caused his hearers to wonder at the gracious words proceeding out of his mouth. It was this which called forth the following quaint remark from Mr. Hall, of Arnsby, when criticising upon one of his pulpit ex- ercises: 'Brother Carey, you have no likes in your sermons. Christ taught that the kingdom of heaven was like to leaven hid in meal, like to a grain of mustard, &c. You tell us what things are ; but never, what they are like.' Yet, I never remember to have felt weary under a single discourse ; and I think those who attended his ministry will agree with me in the remark, that his preaching was never tedious ; but, on the contrary, refreshing, and invariably profit- able, in proportion to the seriousness of the hearer. There was little enough to excite in the congregation at the mission- house at Serampore, it being composed rarely of any others than the members of the family, the school children, and a few insolvent and superannuated settlers. Yet, he seemed as lively and as deeply in earnest, as though he had had before him an audience of a thousand people. He has told me that he never wrote a sermon in his life, and that he should feel quite unable to set about such an exercise. And, when it is recollected, that from an hour to an hour and a half was the utmost he ever gave to the meditation of a sermon, the Avonder will be, that he could preach so instructively, and with so much precision and acceptance as he usually did. But he 420 MEMOIR OF DR. CARET. had gone through the sacred books so often, and with so much critical attention, and in so many languages, that there was scarcely a passage, with the insulated or connected sense of which he was not perfectly familiar. Then, too, he was al- ways reading; so that his mental resources never wore out, nor ever became obsolete. His information was incessantly augmenting, or undergoing correction ; whilst the regular and vigorous exercise of his powers made him capable of com- manding, at any time, whatever he knew, for the purpose for which it was available. And, though he paid little or no at- tention to composition, yet he could express a very clear judg- ment of what constituted its real excellence. 'Never,' he would say, 'have recourse to a figure, unless it render the idea, in connexion with which you use it, more clear or more forci- ble than it would be without it. Let your figures, also, be congruous and agreeable.' His own illustrations were gener- ally derived from some great object in nature ; as the sun, the air, the light, or some grand law in the economy of the mate- rial universe : but he very seldom, so far as my recollection serves me, descended to any thing feeble and common-place. In general conversation he never excelled. Of this he seemed conscious ; and was often heard to utter grievous complaints against himself for what he denominated his mis- anthropy. Though, if the subject happened to turn upon early friendships, or upon missions, no one's sympathies would sooner kindle, and no one could exceed him in spirit and energy. But to the unpretending, to the poor, and to children and youthful persons, he was always affable, conde- scending, and communicative. But to the inferior social ac- complishments, the talking much to little purpose, the sitting patiently and being at ease, or seeming to be bland and com- plaisant when the topic or the spirit of remark was not strictly in accordance with his principles or his feelings, to all this he was unequal. And, it must be confessed, that some .'/hat more of ease and spring, and a greater facility in assimilating to the feelings of others, would have added to the agreeableness of his society. But he thought promptly, and always uttered with frankness the first impressions of his mind. To flattery he was utterly and innately averse. Compliments and com- mendations he used but seldom, and very measuredly. And MEMOIR OF DR. CAREY. ' 421 when he once deviated from his own manner, as he told me rather facetiously, he met with so little encouragement, that he felt no great inclination to renew the attempt. A nephew of the celebrated Jonathan Edwards, calling upon him in Calcutta, and who, being congratulated by him upon his re- lationship to so great a man, stopped him short, saying to him very drily, ' True, sir, but every tub must stand upon its own bottom.' Excellent as was the simplicity of Dr. Carey in point of morals, and the essential worth of his character, I am not without my conviction, that, in the social and economical de- tails of life, it was excessive, and not without detriment to his own comfort, and the interests of that department of the mis- sion with which he was connected. It left his mind too little his own property; rendering it too naked and defenceless, and too accessible to any influence which persons of different mental habits might feel disposed to put forth in controlling his practical decisions. Mr. Swan, pastor of the Baptist church. Cannon street, Birmingham, in a missionary address, in which he adverted to Dr. Carey's decease, has the following discreet and appropriate remarks: 'Dr. Carey was meek, hum- ble, benevolent, kind, unassuming, undesigning; without what some call tact. You never felt as though he had some object in view, in rendering you subservient to him or his interests. If he had any defect in his character, I think it was, that he was too easy. He once said to me : ' Brother Swan, I am not fitted for discipline. I never could say — no. I began to preach at Moulton, because 1 could not say — no. I went to Leicester, because I could not say — no. I became a missionary, because I could not say— no.' ' This defect,' continues Mr. Swan, ' is often intimately associated with great virtue. His failings leant to virtue's side. Let us rejoice, that he could not say no, in reference to missionary work.' But, in his religious feelings and experience, his simplicity was most to be admired, and was worthy of unqualified imi- tation. The plain, substantial, unvarnished doctrines of the gospel, were the basis of his hope, the stay and consolation of his spirit. 'I see no one thing in all my past life,' he observes to his friend Dr. Ryland, after recovering from a serious ill- ness, ' upon which I can rest ; and am persuaded of the daily 37 422 MEMOIR OF DR. CARET. and hourly necessity of trusting my perishing soul in the hands of my Redeemer.' #***## ' Should you outlive me, and have any influence to prevent it, I most earnestly request, that no epithets of praise may ever accompany my name ; such as, ' the faithful servant of God,' &c. All such expressions would convey a falsehood. May I but be accepted at last, I am sure, all the glory must be given to divine grace from first to last. To me belongeth shame and confusion of face.' It was in this spirit he at length finished his course, 'looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.' DATE DUE Ji m ^^^-^ !«=«^ HIGHSMITH #45230 ■ 77012 010398891