I I I I I 1 1 I I I |d!l:H<H If I II
 
 Ex Libris 
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 THE LIFE OF ARTHUR VANDELEUR, 
 
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 * 
 
 
 ' ;.hen -will I 
 ore in death 
 r Christ's death my ; : 
 com the :;.;'ain . 
 
 .

 
 THE LIFE 
 
 ARTHUR VANDELEUR, 
 
 BY THE AUTHOR OF 
 
 'MEMORIALS OP CAPTAIN HEDLEY VICARS," " KNGLISH HEARTS 
 AND ENGLISH HANDS." 
 
 NEW YORK: 
 
 ROBERT CARTER & BROTHERS, 
 
 No. .130 BROADWAY. 
 
 1862.

 
 MEMORIALS 
 
 OP THE 
 HOLT LIVING AND DYING OF A SOLDIER OP THE CROSS AND OP HIS COUNTRY. 
 
 WITH TENDER SYMPATHY 
 
 TO HER 
 
 WHO WAS THE CROWN OP HIS EARTHLY JOY, 
 
 AND WHO IS NOW LEFT TO BE HIS DEBPEST MOURNER, 
 
 AND 
 
 TO HIS ORPHANED CHILDREN ; 
 
 WITH EARNEST PRAYER THAT, LIKE THEIR BELOVED FATHER, THEY MAY BK 
 
 STEADFAST IN FAITH, JOYPUL THROUGH HOPE, 
 
 AND ROOTED IN CHARITY. 
 
 1" O-< 4 r
 
 " He taught the cheerfulness that still is ours, 
 The sweetness that still lurks in human powers ; 
 If heaven be full of stars, the earth has flowers. 
 
 " His was the searching thought, the glowing mind, 
 The eager will, but soon to God resign'd, 
 And, more than all, the feeling just and kind. 
 
 " His pleasures were as melodies from reeds ; 
 In books, sweet music, and unselfish deeds, 
 Finding immortal flowers in human weeds. 
 
 " He deem'd man's life no feverish dream of oare, 
 But a high pathway into freer air, 
 Lit up with golden hopes and duties fair. 
 
 " He shew'd how wisdom turns its hours to years, 
 Feeding the heart on joy instead of fears, 
 And worships God in smiles, and not in tears. 
 
 " His thoughts were as a pyramid up-piled, 
 On whose far top an angel stood and smiled ; 
 Yet in is heart was he a simple child."
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 IT may be thought superfluous to adtt another to those 
 records of the lives of brave and Christian soldiers 
 which are already before the public. " Memoirs," it 
 may be said, " like those of Sir Henry Havelock and 
 Captain Hammond, have sufficiently answered the ques- 
 tion, ' Can a gallant soldier be a consistent and devoted 
 Christian ?' Why, then, need another example be added 
 to the list?" 
 
 Possibly the little book now edited may itseir answer 
 that inquiry. 
 
 It is the history of one who was a Christian, by the 
 grace of God, from the cradle to the grave, one whose 
 path of shining light, trodden at the first by infant 
 feet, although here and there indeed some shadow may 
 have crossed it, still shone brighter and brighter unto 
 the perfect day. 
 
 And it is the history of one who never felt that his
 
 Vlil PREFACE. 
 
 early consecration of himself to the service of his God, 
 could be marred by embracing the service of his Queen 
 and country. 
 
 That the snares of his profession were not permitted 
 to alienate his heart from the life of faith upon the 
 Son of God, will be proved by this brief but faithful 
 record. 
 
 It has been compiled from the testimonies of those 
 friends and relations who could most truly tell what 
 Arthur Vandeleur's character was in the various stages 
 of his life, and at the desire of her with whom alone 
 rested the right and privilege to sacrifice the sacred 
 privacy of her husband's thoughts and feelings and 
 springs of action, as an offering to her God. This sacri- 
 fice has been made, in the humble hope that he, whose 
 lips were early sealed by death, might in this manner 
 yet speaU lor that Saviour whom in life he delighted to 
 honour, " to the praise of the glory of His grace/' and, 
 through the might of the Lord and Giver of life, for 
 the winning of many who are now dwelling in the 
 region and shadow of death, to the kingdom of light, 
 and life, and glory. 
 
 It is earnestly requested that each one who reads 
 this book would pause here for a moment, to pray 
 GOD, OF HIS FREE MERCY, GRANT THIS, TO THE 
 HONOUR OF HIS WELL-BELOVED SON.
 
 PREFACE. IX 
 
 The world has seen with what calm courage the 
 Christian can meet death, amidst the fierce excitement 
 and mortal terrors of a battle-field. But this Chris- 
 tian soldier met death alone, step by step steadily 
 advancing face to face with the " last enemy," and yet 
 "feared no evil" " There is NO DEATH," he said, "for a 
 man who believes in the Saviour. He cannot die. He 
 is in ' the Life/ for he is in JESUS ; and thus he is a 
 part of Life Eternal." 
 
 If one child should be persuaded to seek the Saviour 
 early, by learning from this story of a Christian child, 
 the truth of the promise, " They that seek Me early 
 shall find Me : " if one boy or youth should be led, in 
 the spring-time of health and spirits, and joyful sense 
 of life and its pleasures, to follow the example of him 
 by whom the words were obeyed, and in whom ful- 
 filled, " Keep innocency, and observe the thing that is 
 just, for that shall bring a man peace at the last:" if 
 one young soldier or civilian, who may have more 
 clearly recognised the duty of " believing with the 
 heart unto righteousness " than that of " confessing 
 
 o o 
 
 with the mouth unto salvation," should be induced 
 henceforth never more to be ashamed to confess the 
 faith of Christ crucified, and manfully to fight under
 
 X PREFACE. 
 
 His banner ; by the narrative of this young soldier, 
 who was "valiant for the truth upon earth," and, 
 boldly confessing his Saviour before men, found the 
 promise true, "Them that honour Me, I will honour:" 
 if one soul be brought, in humble faith and de- 
 pendence upon HLL " without whom nothing is strong, 
 nothing is holy," to realise that " He that believeth 
 on the Son of God hath everlasting life," and to say, 
 " Henceforth I live ! no longer a bare, self-centred 
 existence, but, like him of whom I have read, I will 
 live a life of faith upon the Son of God ; and, re- 
 deeming the time, I will seek on every side, by my 
 life and by my words, to persuade others to learn to 
 know Him whom to know is life eternal, holiness 
 eternal, happiness eternal : " then will the writer of 
 these memorials bless God for the call given, thus to 
 attempt to embalm the memory of another CHRISTIAN 
 SOLDIER.
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAP. PAGB 
 
 I. THE MORNING OF LIFE 1 
 
 II. THE FIRST SORROW, 13 
 
 III. CLOUDS AND SUNSHINE 19 
 
 IV. ONWARD AND UPWARD 25 
 
 V. TRUE HEROISM 67 
 
 VI. THE LIGHT BURNING 65 
 
 VII. EARNEST WORKING 77 
 
 VIII. THE CAMP 103 
 
 IX. ACTIVE SERVICE 115 
 
 X. THE HOSPITAL 137 
 
 XL THE SIEGE 147 
 
 XII. HOPES FULFILLED, 177 
 
 XIII. MARRIED LIFE ..211
 
 Xii CONTENTS. 
 
 XIV. THE SHADOW OF DEATH 229 
 
 XV. NEAR HOME 249 
 
 XVI. THE LAST SLEEP ..279 
 
 ADDRESS BY MAJOR VANDELEUR. 
 
 THE CAMERA ; OR, THE BELIEVER CHANGED INTO THE IMAGE OF 
 
 His SAVIOUR ..289
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 fuming of fife. 
 
 " He walked with God in holy joy, 
 Whilst yet his years were few; 
 The deep, glad spirit of the b<?y, 
 To love and reverence grew/'
 
 ARTHUR VANDELEUR was boni on the 21st of January, 
 1829, at Ralahine, the home of his forefathers, in the 
 county of Clare. This place although not situated in 
 the finest scenery of the south-west of Ireland, has still 
 a distinct character of its own, in the beauty of the rocks 
 amongst which it is cradled, now bold an-1 rugged, now 
 clothed with verdure. Ralahine possesses also the charm 
 of historic association, in the gray ruin of an ancient 
 castle, which still towers in melancholy pride ; vener- 
 able not with age alone, but also with traditions of the 
 gallant deeds of its hereditary po ssessors in the olden 
 time. 
 
 It would be impossible to say how much the asso- 
 ciations of his earliest years, passed in the wild scenery 
 of Ralahine, and in playing beneath those ruins, rich 
 with their legends of the olden time, may have aided 
 in developing those gifts of a keen delight in the 
 beautiful, and a romantic ideal of chivalrous courage 
 and honour, which gave so bright a glow to the charm 
 of Arthur Vandeleur's mind and character in after 
 life.
 
 4 THE MORNING OF LIFE. 
 
 He was the youngest of five children. Two of his 
 sisters died of decline, in the first bloom of their youth ; 
 and his only brother was drowned when bathing, whilst 
 Arthur and his surviving sister were still very young. 
 
 Little seems to have been recorded of the days of 
 his childhood at home. But the excellence of his con- 
 duct when he was launched into school-life his 
 truthfulness, industry, and docility indioate a careful 
 and wise training of his mental and moral being in 
 early years. That he owed this chiefly to his mother, 
 there can be little doubt ; for his father appears to 
 have been so wholly engrossed in agricultural pursuits 
 and speculations, that the entire charge of the family 
 devolved upon Mrs Vandeleur. 
 
 In the year 1835, circumstances, into which it is 
 unnecessary to enter here, induced Mrs Vandeleur to 
 remove with her children to Limerick, where they 
 resided during the greater part of the four succeeding 
 years. 
 
 At that time, it was a not unfrequent custom, in 
 Ireland, for the children of gentlemen to be sent to 
 Sunday-schools, in order that they should share in 
 those religious instructions which are so readily ac- 
 corded to the poor, but which are, too often, out of 
 reach of the conventional habits of the rich. 
 
 Accordingly, the little Arthur, in his sixth year, 
 was sent every Sunday to a school in connexion with 
 the Chapel of the Asylum for the Blind, at Limerick.
 
 THE MORNING OF LIFE. 5 
 
 Here, by the good hand of his God upon him, he was 
 placed under the teaching of Lieutenant Carter of the 
 1st Royals; a young soldier of the Cross, who, con- 
 strained by the love of Christ, consecrated some of 
 his Sabbath hours to the task, shunned by many a 
 professing Christian as irksome, of instilling into 
 the minds of children the truths of the gospel of 
 Christ. 
 
 In a letter dated May 25, 1861, Captain Carter 
 writes : " Although twenty-six years have passed since 
 that time, I have a very distinct recollection of the 
 little Arthur Vandeleur of those days. There was no 
 one in his class (which was the first) whom I can re- 
 collect so well ; indeed, I could never forget his sweet 
 countenance, with his dark-blue, animated eyes beam- 
 ing with pleasure as he took his seat amongst the little 
 circle around me. I was deeply impressed with his 
 evident pleasure in attending the school. He seemed 
 much gratified when I accosted him, which I never 
 failed to do; and I was sure of receiving in return 
 ' childhood's fondest look.' 
 
 "I used to attend the school in my regimental 
 uniform, and can well believe that his very youthful 
 mind was considerably impressed by his teacher in 
 consequence. His lessons were always well prepared : 
 these consisted in answering questions on a chapter, 
 or portion of a chapter, in the New Testament, and in 
 repeating texts of Scripture learnt by heart, proving
 
 6 THE MORNING OF LIFE. 
 
 some cardinal doctrine, such as justification by faith, 
 the Divinity of the Saviour, &c., &c. 
 
 " After I left Limerick, my friend the Rev. Dr Carr, 
 one of the ministers of the Blind Asylum Chapel, told 
 me that ' little Vandeleur often used to inquire for me 
 with earnest and grateful affection.' But since then, 
 until this month of May 1861, I had heard nothing- 
 more of him. It would have been a great pleasure to 
 have met him in after-life, for I am sure the endearing 
 traits I remember must have developed into a charm- 
 ing character." 
 
 To the kind and earnest instructions of Captain 
 Carter, Arthur often and thankfully referred in later 
 years. For to those instructions he traced, under the 
 blessing of God, the first desire of his heart, in early 
 childhood, to give himself up to the love and service 
 of that Saviour of whom his teacher delighted to speak 
 to him. 
 
 " And thankfully we praise the grace, 
 
 Which him thus led to be 
 An early seeker of that Face- 
 Which he should early see." 
 
 Perhaps it would be difficult to over-estimate the 
 importance of young men of education and position 
 coming forward to teach in Sunday schools. Their 
 very example is a lesson which cannot be forgotten 
 by their pupils, and the truths which they teach, with 
 the clearness of a manly understanding, and in the 
 warmth of a first love to their Master and only Saviour,
 
 THE MORNING OF LIFE. 7 
 
 sink down into children's hearts as good seed sown imto 
 life eternal. 
 
 Arthur Vandeleur's first trial of school-life was 
 made at the grammar-school at Ennis, when he was 
 in his ninth year ; but as the little boy was not 
 happy there, his tender mother removed him at the 
 end of three months ; and in the summer of 1839, he 
 was sent to Mr Hare's school, at Delgany, county 
 "Wicklow. 
 
 Here, the good work begun by Captain Carter was 
 not neglected. Arthur had the privilege of being 
 placed under the pastoral care of the late Kev. William 
 Cleaver, Eector of Delgany, a man of God, whose name 
 is a password to love and reverence. 
 
 "Young as we were at that time," writes one of 
 Arthur's schoolfellows,* "we used often to speak to- 
 gether of the heart-searching, spiritual sermons which 
 we heard in that church. We regularly took notes of 
 the sermons, and were each expected to repeat a por- 
 tion of the Sunday morning sermon before leaving the 
 dinner-table. 
 
 " We boys used always to be glad when we saw Mr 
 Cleaver, and next best to him, Mr Ormsby, one of 
 his curates, in the preacher's seat. 
 
 " It was Mr Cleaver's custom, alternating with one 
 of his curates, to come once a fortnight to catechise us 
 in the Scriptures, and he had a weekly lecture to which 
 
 * Rev. E. Anderson, Hockering Rectory.
 
 8 THE MORNING OF LIFE. 
 
 we were frequently taken. The instructions and ser- 
 mons of such good men tended, I feel sure, in no 
 slight degree, to produce those early impressions on 
 dear Arthur's mind and heart which were so lasting, 
 and, through God's blessing, led to such glorious re- 
 sults." 
 
 It was at Delgany that his military ardour was first 
 excited ; unless, indeed, we may trace it to the impres- 
 sion made by the weekly sight of Captain Carter's 
 uniform in the Sunday-schoolroom at Limerick ! A 
 retired captain of a Highland regiment lived in the 
 neighbourhood ; and so great was his love of his old 
 military pursuits, that, for his own amusement, he 
 used to visit Delgany twice a-week, for the purpose of 
 drilling the boys, who seemed to have heartily fallen in 
 with his martial spirit, " so that we became," adds Mr 
 Anderson, " quite a disciplined corps, and attained a 
 very fair proficiency in company drill" 
 
 This school was broken up in the spring of 1840, in 
 consequence of the death of Mr Hare. In the month 
 of August of that year, Mrs Vandeleur placed her son 
 under the care of the Rev. William Spedding of Green- 
 field, county Cork. At this school he remained for 
 three years, and won golden opinions both from tutors 
 and companions. Here, in addition to an able school- 
 master, Arthur enjoyed the blessing, so rare in those 
 days, although, thank God, lees uncommon now, of a 
 kind and motherly friend, not only to watch over his
 
 THE MORNING OF LIFE. 9 
 
 physical welfare, and to sympathise with his daily little 
 joys and sorrows, but also to foster the growth of that 
 good seed which was springing up in his young heart. 
 
 It was Mrs Spedding's custom, at the conclusion of 
 family worship in the evening, to allow any of the 
 boys who chose, to remain with her, in order to repeat 
 a few verses of some hymn which they had selected to 
 commit to memory. Arthur always shewed peculiar 
 pleasure in this exercise, and never failed to bring 
 his hymn perfectly learned. To encourage the boys, 
 Mrs Spedding gave little prizes, at the end of the 
 half-year, to those who could best repeat the greatest 
 number of hymns ; and Arthur invariably obtained the 
 first prize in his class. He was by this means laying 
 up in his memory a rich store, from which, in after 
 years, he was enabled. so frequently to speak to him- 
 self, " in psalms, and hymns, and spiritual songs, sing- 
 ing and making melody in his heart to the Lord." 
 And to this, indeed, much may have been owing of his 
 eminent possession of that spiritual mind "which is 
 life and peace," and of that overflowing gratefulness 
 of heart which made his whole life a psalm of thanks- 
 giving unto his God. 
 
 In alluding to his school-days at Greenfield, Mrs 
 Spedding writes: "During the three years Arthur 
 Vandeleur spent with us, he was beloved by Mr Sped- 
 ding and all his tutors, for his peculiarly affectionate 
 and gentle disposition ; which also made him a great
 
 10 THE MOENING OF LIFE. 
 
 favourite with his schoolfellows. He possessed both 
 talents and industry ; so that he gave little trouble 
 to his teachers, to please whom seemed to be his con- 
 stant desire. Mr Spcdding says he does not remember 
 ever having been obliged to find fault with him." 
 
 The same little light which had shone in his home, 
 and at Delgany, burned brightly at the Greenfield 
 school. 
 
 " When quite a little boy," writes his only surviving 
 sister, " he was always very fond of reading the Bible. 
 And when he went to school at Greenfield in his 
 twelfth year, he used regularly to retire to his room 
 for this purpose and for prayer, during the half-hour 
 granted for recreation after breakfast. At first he 
 was ridiculed and even persecuted on this account by 
 some of his companions ; but, by and by, his stead- 
 fastness induced two or three to follow his example, 
 and then by degrees more joined them, until at last 
 the numbers so increased as to cause them to be 
 missed from the playground by Mr Spedding. After 
 some considerable search, he found them, to his great 
 surprise and gratification, assembled on their knees 
 round Arthur, who was praying with them."* 
 
 An early friend, ) in alluding to this circumstance, 
 says : " As long as Arthur remained at the school, this 
 prayer-meeting was sustained, and continued to prosper." 
 
 * The same fact is recorded by Mrs Spedding 
 J- The Rev. George Pakenham Despard.
 
 THE MORNING OF LIFE. 11 
 
 Shortly after he arrived at Greenfield, he had the 
 pleasure, keenly enjoyed by a heart so alive to friend- 
 ship and affection, of being joined there by the beloved 
 companion of his days at Delgany. Mr Anderson 
 writes : 
 
 " I followed him to Greenfield on the 17th of Au- 
 gust, and can never forget the hearty welcome he gave 
 me, as he ran to meet me. He had a wonderfully bright 
 and cheerful countenance, which was very delightful 
 to see, and seldom failed to shed some of its own light 
 over the faces of those who looked upon it. 
 
 " Arthur was always very attentive to his studies ; 
 but though diligent in school-hours, there was no boy 
 who entered with more spirit into the games than he 
 did. 
 
 "I do not remember one instance in which he re- 
 ceived or deserved punishment for ill conduct; and 
 very seldom did he receive any correction on account 
 of his lessons ; although our excellent master quite 
 carried out the directions of Solomon ; and cannot be 
 accused of having spared the rod ! " 
 
 Another of his schoolfellows thus writes :* " I have 
 a distinct recollection of Arthur Vandeleur as a play- 
 fellow. His disposition was kindly yet sensitive ; his 
 temper was quick, but not calculated to provoke. I 
 thought him very good-looking, and careful of his 
 personal appearance. I never knew him connected 
 
 * The Rev. Henry O'DonnelL
 
 J2 THE MORNING OF LIFE. 
 
 with anything vicious ; on the contrary, I regarded 
 him as a boy incapable of corrupting influence. I 
 valued his friendship because he was in every way a 
 superior boy, and an improving companion. When 
 we were together we did not commit ourselves to any 
 of the besetting sins of boys, such as idleness, mali- 
 cious mischief, untruthfulness, or disobedience. I was 
 not at all surprised to find, by the Memoir of the late 
 Captain Hedley Vicars, that Major Vandeleur had be- 
 come one of those who fought under a more glorious 
 flag than that of any temporal monarch, that he had 
 enlisted as a soldier of the Cross of Christ. My ac- 
 quaintance with him in his boyhood left this impres- 
 sion on my mind, that if he professed to live in Christ, 
 that profession could not fail to be unquestionably 
 sincere."
 
 CHAPTER IL 
 
 f (ft first gomrto. 
 
 'In childhood's hour I lingered near 
 The hallowed seat with listening ear ; 
 And gentle words that mother would give, 
 To fit me to die, and to teach me to live. 
 She. taught me that shame would never betide 
 With truth for my creed, and God for nay guide 
 And I almost worshipped her as she smiled, 
 And turned from her Bible to bless her child."
 
 A CLOUD was now about to darken the sunny path- 
 way of Arthur Vandeleur's young life ; the shadow of 
 which, although traced more dimly, as time brought 
 him new hopes, new loves, new joys, had not vanished 
 all away before he had himself entered " the valley of 
 the shadow of death." 
 
 Grief for the loss of her elder children, and a life- 
 sorrow which was even more deeply-seated, had preyed 
 upon Mrs Vandeleur's delicate constitution, until at 
 length she sank into a lingering decline, and died in 
 the month of June, 1 843. 
 
 It was in watching by his mother in many an hour 
 of her weakness and suffering, and in seeking to soothe 
 her sorrows, that the warm affection of Arthur's boyish 
 heart ripened into that delicate yet intense sympathy 
 which, in the friendships of his after years, mingled 
 an almost womanly tenderness with the strength of 
 a manly mind and character. One felt that, earlier or 
 later, there had been a deep well sunk in the ground 
 of his heart, from which such pure, fresh fountains of 
 affection had sprung up.
 
 16 THE FIRST SORROW. 
 
 Often would he sit by his mother's side, and smooth- 
 ing her hand in his, gaze upon her worn face, and 
 into her sorrowful eyes, until his own overflowed with 
 
 
 
 tears ; whilst fondly and fervently he pleaded with her 
 to tell him every source of her trouble. But of her 
 deepest grief, she could not as a wife speak to her 
 child, one with her though he was in every other 
 feeling. 
 
 But although that wound lay too deep for healing, 
 the hopefulness of her son's buoyant youth and happy 
 temperament had a sustaining and a cheering power, 
 as he gently strove to assure her of his belief in days 
 of health and happiness still in store fond hopes of 
 sanguine boyhood, too soon to be destroyed by the 
 dread reality of death ! 
 
 This love for his mother, with the memory of her 
 love for him, was destined to be like a guardian-angel 
 to Arthur, even when her earthly presence had long 
 been withdrawn. No lapse of time seemed to have 
 power to lessen its tender and holy influence. 
 
 " To the last," writes one whose heart was the 
 trusted depository of his thoughts and feelings, " to 
 the last, he cherished the little book of Prayers and 
 Promises, which had been one of her favourite com- 
 panions, and delighted in repeating the hymns she 
 loved." 
 
 And well do I remember the deep emotion with 
 which he spoke to me of the blessing granted through
 
 THE FIRST SORROW. 17 
 
 her dying words to him, when he was himself within 
 four days of meeting her again in glory. 
 
 Notwithstanding the tender and watchful care which 
 Mrs Vandeleur had bestowed upon the moral training 
 of her son, she saw, when the light of eternity was 
 streaming over her past life, that, whilst pruning the 
 tendrils, she had missed the root of the matter. This 
 was a subject of deep regret to her throughout her 
 dying illness ; and, redeeming the time which yet re- 
 mained, she sought to lead her child to Him who is 
 " the Way, the Truth, and the Life " of all godliness. 
 
 At their last parting (for she died whilst Arthur was 
 at school) she laid her hand upon the head of her pre- 
 cious boy, and entreated him to seek with his whole 
 heart that Saviour, whose gracious forgiving love she 
 was then learning to realise. 
 
 She took from the young truthful lips so dear to 
 her, a solemn promise, that as long as he lived he 
 would never allow a day to pass without reading a 
 chapter in his Bible, with prayer ; and that, in every 
 hour of temptation, he would pray to his Saviour for 
 grace and strength to resist and to overcome. 
 
 With an earnestness only less intense than her own, 
 Arthur gave the promise ; and every day of his after 
 life, save those passed in the unconsciousness of fever, 
 witnessed its faithful fulfilment.
 
 CHAPTER IIL 
 
 Cometh sunshine after rain, 
 After mourning joy again, 
 After heavy, bitter grief 
 
 Dawneth surely sweet relief ; 
 And my soul, who from her height 
 Sank to realms of woe and night, 
 Wiugeth now to heaven her flight."
 
 WITH his mother had departed the solitary influence 
 which might have led Arthur Vandeleur to fix upon a 
 less wandering life than that of a soldier. His early 
 fancies for the military profession, no longer receiving 
 any check from the considerate tenderness of his filial 
 affection, now resolved themselves into a decided choice. 
 
 A nomination to the Eoyal Artillery having been 
 procured for him by the late Lord Fitzgerald and 
 Vesey, he was placed by his guardian at Mr Miller's 
 academy at Woolwich, where his studies were con- 
 ducted with a view to his future profession. 
 
 He passed the examination for his cadetship, suc- 
 cessfully ; and in his sixteenth year he was admitted 
 into the Royal Academy. 
 
 Similar trials awaited him here to those which he 
 had encountered at school. " But he exhibited/'' writes 
 his early friend, Mr Despard, " the same faithfulness ; 
 and in the end gained the same respect. In this, and in 
 the more stirring part of his life, I need scarcely tell 
 you, he continued faithful to the promise he had given 
 to his dying mother. Nor need I say how eminently
 
 22 CLOUDS AND SUNSHINE. 
 
 his stability of Christian principle, his growth in grace, 
 and his powers of usefulness, are to be attributed to the 
 honour he put upon the Word of God, and to his 
 habit of daily meditating upon it. 
 
 " He triumphed, in early life, over that false shame 
 which the young often entertain on the subject of 
 personal religion in the presence of their companions ; 
 and the result was a strength of character, an inflexi- 
 bility of purpose, and a consistency of life, which none 
 of the trials nor temptations of his professional career, 
 however formidable, were able to destroy." 
 
 When referring to this period of his youth, only five 
 days before his death, Arthur Vandeleur remarked : 
 " The Royal Academy was a vortex of iniquity at that 
 time. At once, on entering it, I saw what was before 
 me either to go all lengths in sin, or to make a stand 
 on the Lord's side. But I was very young then, not 
 sixteen ; and I felt utterly unequal to standing alone. 
 Suddenly, I remembered my mother's farewell words to 
 me, the last time we parted, shortly before her death : 
 ' Put your trust in your God and Saviour,' she said ; 
 ' keep close to Him ; and He will keep you and sus- 
 tain you in every temptation and trial of your future 
 life.' 
 
 " I remembered this, and the promise I had given 
 her ; and made my choice for her God and mine her 
 Saviour and mine. And, oh, how faithful, how mer- 
 ciful, how forgiving, have I found Him to be ! How
 
 CLOUDS ANp SUNSHINE. 23 
 
 He has borne with my shortcomings and sins ; and 
 has never, never forsaken me ! " 
 
 Once, only once, in the course of his life, and that 
 was during his residence in the Academy, did he wil- 
 fully lead another into sin and folly. To his dying 
 day, the remembrance of this was anguish to his soul. 
 He repeatedly alluded to it in hours of health as 
 well as in those of sickness in conversation with one 
 who was nearest and dearest to his heart, and who 
 loved him only the more devotedly for his truthful 
 and confiding transparency. " I led him on," he would 
 exclaim ; " and now I cannot win him back ! I have 
 not even been able to trace his course. And what, if, 
 by encouragement to one sin, I may have given an im- 
 petus to an immortal soul, in a downward course, 
 which may end in everlasting misery ! " 
 
 It may have been owing to the enduring remem- 
 brance of this sin against a brother's soul, so deeply 
 impressed upon the tender ground of an unseared con- 
 science, that Arthur Vandeleur, in his years of man- 
 hood, was known to plead so frequently in prayer, these 
 petitions of the royal Psalmist, " Remember not the sin 
 of my youth, nor my transgressions ; but according to 
 thy mercy remember thou me for thy goodness' sake, 
 Lord." " Keep back thy servant from presumptuous 
 sins : let them not have dominion over me ; then shall 
 I be upright, and I shall be innocent from the great 
 transgression."
 
 24 CLOUDS AND SUNSHINE. 
 
 In allusion to the time passed at the Academy, he 
 thus wrote in his diary some months after he had re- 
 turned to Woolwich as a commissioned officer : 
 
 " Oh, my God ! Thou hast watched over me, and 
 hast strengthened me to resist the varied and subtle 
 assaults of my dreadful enemy. Thou didst enable me 
 to resist, in some measure, the temptations to which I 
 was exposed at the Koyal Academy. I desire to render 
 Thee all the glory ; for what am I but a vile, miserable 
 creature, not worthy of Thy notice, great and good 
 God!" 
 
 A brother officer * of Arthur Vandeleur's, who was 
 a cadet at the same time that he was, and who has of 
 late years not only been brought to the Saviour him- 
 self, but has likewise been greatly owned and honoured 
 of God in winning others to his Eedeemer, thus writes, 
 in answer to a request that he would furnish some 
 details of Arthur's daily life at this period : 
 
 " Alas ! I cannot help you as I would ; for, when 
 Arthur Vandeleur, at the Academy, was confessing 
 Christ, under most trying circumstances, I was living 
 in wilful sin ; consequently, I had but few opportuni- 
 ties of knowing anything of his inward life. I only 
 saw and despised that in the outward life, which I 
 afterwards learned, by the grace of God, to love and 
 honour." 
 
 * Captain Orr, R.A.
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 nfoarfc anfc 
 
 " Onward for the glorious prize, 
 
 Onward yet ; 
 
 Straight and clear before thine eyes 
 In the homeward pathway lies : 
 Rest is not beneath the skies; 
 Onward yet. 
 
 "Onward till the dawn of day; 
 
 Onward yet : 
 
 Tarry not, around thy way 
 Danger lies : oh ! fear to stay ; 
 Rouse, then, Christian, watch and pray : 
 
 Onward yet."
 
 His course of military education successfully com- 
 pleted, and his commission obtained, Arthur was now 
 at liberty to enjoy himself amongst his friends in 
 Ireland for a short time, previous to his joining the 
 regiment. This "leave" was chiefly spent at the 
 delightful home of his kind relative and guardian, 
 James Molony, Esq. of Kiltanon, county Clare. Here 
 he enjoyed all the pleasures of country life in a scene 
 of singular beauty, combined with the happiness of a 
 home, in the society of his young cousins and their 
 honoured parents. 
 
 Such society had ever a peculiar charm for him, and 
 few persons had a more remarkable power than he 
 possessed, of throwing himself into the very heart of a 
 home-circle ; of becoming one with its every interest, 
 and even reckoned among its most cherished members. 
 Bat at Kiltanon, there was a centre of deeper feeling, 
 from which a ray of distant hope diverged, pointing 
 towards another home in years of coming manhood a 
 hope held indeed in a trembling heart, but with a grasp 
 of manly vigour and unvarying constancy. Vain were
 
 28 ONWARD AND UPWARD. 
 
 the warnings that from these dreams he must one day 
 awaken to disappointment. Arthur Vandeleur's was 
 just the knightly character to 
 
 " Cherish a dangerous hope, 
 Dearer for danger." 
 
 And in this young heart, not only was there a strength 
 of purpose to battle with difficulties, but also a realis- 
 ing faith that every event of life was in the hands of 
 an Almighty Father ; assuring him that if this bright 
 dream were indeed the blessing he believed, no earthly 
 obstacle should prevent its fulfilment. 
 
 About this time, or rather almost immediately upon 
 quitting the Academy, he commenced writing a diary, 
 which he kept with great regularity. Amidst the 
 simple records of a young man's amusements, interests, 
 and duties, it is remarkable to find so much unsparing 
 self-investigation, watchful circumspection, and warm 
 religious feeling, as may be traced in its pages : 
 
 "Sunday, September 26th, 1847. I am shortly to 
 be commissioned, and to commence a new career. 
 Yes ; then all restrictions which have hitherto bound 
 me will be withdrawn, and I may be said to be my 
 own master. But no ; thanks be to God, I have a 
 Master in heaven, and a very merciful, kind, and 
 indulgent Master He is. Shall I not, then, serve Him 
 with reverence and godly fear? Yes ; I will serve Him 
 with all my strength, and soul, and spirit ; and not
 
 ONWARD AND UPWARD. 29 
 
 only serve, but love and honour Him. But who am 
 I that say, 'I will do this ? ' or what power have I to do 
 anything of myself ? None ! trusting in my own 
 strength. But my earnest prayer is, that God would 
 give me such a measure of His grace and Holy Spirit, 
 that I may glorify Him in my body and in my spirit, 
 which are His." 
 
 " Tuesday, October 5th. The text for the clay is, 
 'My soul doth magnify the Lord.' Truly it does. Oh, 
 may I be enabled to glorify Thee for Thine infinite 
 mercies ; but especially for bringing my soul ' out of 
 darkness to light, from the power of Satan unto God ! ' 
 
 " Much has occurred since I last wrote. The public 
 examination at Woolwich, getting my commission, and 
 travelling from Woolwich here, (Kiltanon). Thou 
 hast watched over me, my heavenly, holy Father 
 yes, my FATHER, for such Thou hast condescended to 
 call Thyself in Thy holy Word. Hold me up by Thy 
 providence; keep me by Thy power; and, above all, 
 teach me to know and love Thee as much as my frail 
 nature is capable of ; for my Redeemer's sake. Amen." 
 
 "Friday, 8th. Glorious Lord God, who knowest 
 every thought of my heart, enable me to realise Thy 
 presence at all times ; let me ever be fearful of offend- 
 ing Thee, from whom I have received so many signal 
 mercies, and strive to shew forth my gratitude both 
 
 with my mouth and by my daily actions Oh, 
 
 have mercy upon this country, and I beseech Thee pre-
 
 SO ONWAED AND UPWAED. 
 
 serve those whom I love from all evil. Keep them from 
 the deadly shot of the cowardly assassin, and from all 
 spiritual and bodily injury. Oh, let Thine eye be ever 
 over us, for Jesus Christ's sake. Amen." 
 
 "Friday, 22?id I left dear Kiltanon on Monday 
 last. Vouchsafe, God, Lord of heaven and earth, 
 to watch over one whom I love. Keep her as the 
 apple of Thine eye ; hide her from all that might harm 
 or grieve her, under the shadow of Thy wing. 
 
 " Saturday, 23rd. Had a long argument with one 
 of my relations about the uselessness of my ever think- 
 ing of M as a wife ; but although all things are 
 
 now apparently against it, my trust is in the infinite 
 mercy of my God : and if it be His will that my 
 prayers should be answered, He can, by His almighty 
 power, cause such to be the case ; and this I most 
 earnestly beg of Him for the sake of His dear Son. 
 But if, on the other hand, He knows it to be best that 
 the desire of my heart should not be granted, then 
 enable me, God, to say from the bottom of my heart, 
 ' Thy will be done.' 
 
 ' If Thou shouldst call me to resign 
 What most I prized, it ne'er was mine ; 
 I only yield Thee what was Thine ; 
 Thy will be done.' 
 
 " October 23rd great and glorious Jehovah, hast 
 Thou already answered one of my prayers, and so glori- 
 fied Thy servant in making me the humble instrument
 
 ONWAED AND UPWARD. 31 
 
 in Thy hands of shewing to my dear aunt the way 
 of salvation ; of pointing out to her Christ crucified 
 as her atonement, and of leading her to Thee as her 
 reconciled Father ! Thy works are unsearchable and 
 past finding out. Put Thy Holy Spirit into my heart 
 in much more abundant measure, that He may shew 
 me what I ought to speak ; help me to set before my 
 dear aunt, Jesus Christ and Him crucified, as ' the Way, 
 the Truth, and the Life ; ' to shew her that, through 
 His merits, she may approach boldly to the throne of 
 grace, to obtain mercy, and find grace to help in every 
 time of need ; and so draw her close to Thee that she 
 may rest her entire hopes upon Thy blessed Son. 
 
 " Sunday, 24^. How easy is it to speak and write 
 seriously, compared to what it is to think seriously ! 
 How difficult it is to resist the tempter, and how well 
 Satan knows every person's weakest points ! O gra- 
 cious Saviour, put Thy Holy Spirit into my heart, 
 that He may enable me to resist Satan in whatever 
 disguise he presents himself. Grant, I beseech Thee, 
 that I may grow in grace, and in the knowledge of 
 my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Let me learn 
 to resist the devil more ; that, gaining daily more 
 experience under the banner of my dear Saviour, I 
 may at last be able to interpose the ' shield of faith ' 
 before every dart which my malignant and active 
 enemy can hurl at my soul. 
 
 " October, Monday, 25/i. This evening I have been
 
 32 ONWARD AND UPWARD. 
 
 much delighted with some examples of Divine grace in 
 the Army and Navy, (which I read of in a book called 
 ' The Church in the Army,') particularly by that of a 
 young midshipman who heard the truth one evening, 
 and, immediately upon hearing it, God brought it home 
 with such power to his soul that he, that very night, ' re- 
 joiced with joy unspeakable and full of glory.' Would 
 to God that I might be like him ! Oh, give me, gra- 
 cious God, that 'peace which passeth understanding, 
 and which the world can neither give nor take away.' 
 For in Thee, Lord, do I trust ; yea, all my hope is 
 in the all-sufficient merits of my Redeemer. I do 
 heartily repent me of my former sins, and utterly ab- 
 hor them. I believe that thou hast pardoned them, 
 for my Saviour's sake. Then, God, open Thou my 
 lips, that my mouth may shew forth Thy praise. The 
 greatest desire of my heart is, that Thou wouldst per- 
 mit me to speak before men to Thy honour and glory. 
 Yea, Lord, let me glorify Thee, both in my body 
 and in my spirit, which are Thine. Am I Thine? 
 Wilt Thou have me, unworthy me, for Thy servant? 
 Oh, what an honour dost Thou confer on me, to be 
 a servant of that great and glorious God who dwell- 
 eth in eternity, whose name is ' Jehovah ' ! Oh, teach 
 me to value this aright ! Put Thy grace and strength 
 into my heart, and grant me a most abundant measure 
 of Thy Holy Spirit, that I may confess Thee before all 
 men, and not be ashamed."
 
 ONWAED AND UPWARD. 33 
 
 ****** 
 
 " October 27th. For how much have I to be thank- 
 ful to my gracious God ! Truly He has watched over 
 me for good, and raised up dear kind Mr Molony 
 to be my guardian, when I was most in need of his 
 wise and kind care. And has he not been a goof* 
 and kind guardian to me? Yes, truly the best 
 kindest, and most judicious friend. And my mouth 
 shall praise Thee, my God, for this gift, with 
 joyful lips ; and may I set forth Thy praise with my 
 life also ! 
 
 " October 28th. "Went to a quiet little party at Mrs 
 
 C 's, where we were silly enough to play small 
 
 plays ; but we enjoyed ourselves immensely, laughing 
 very heartily, and returned home at about half-past 
 eleven o'clock. 
 
 " I took a long walk to Monastereven to-day, and 
 enjoyed some very sweet .communion with my God ; 
 for which I give Him thanks and praise. Oh, what 
 honour Thou didst confer upon me this day, good 
 Lord, in permitting me to see so much of Thy wonder- 
 ful love towards mankind, in giving up Thine only 
 Son to die that we might live, the just for the unjust, 
 that He might bring us to God ! 
 
 ****** 
 
 " October 29th. How hard it is to strive between 
 the world and your conscience ! ' Ye CANNOT serve 
 God and mammon.' Oh, my gracious God, let me not
 
 34 ONWAED AND UPWAED. 
 
 halt between two opinions! Let me take up my cross 
 daily to follow Thee, and joyfully fight under Christ's 
 banner against the world, the flesh, and the devil !" 
 
 " October 31s. This day I partook of that blessed 
 sacrament of which Christ Himself hath said, ' Do this 
 in remembrance of me.' 
 
 " Oh, let me never forget, gracious Saviour, that I 
 have given up myself to Thee, to be Thy zealous and 
 devoted follower here on earth ; and I trust, through 
 Thy merits, also to be a partaker of those joys which 
 are at Thy right hand for evermore. May I never 
 disgrace Thee or that blessed cause in which I have 
 embarked ; but be so endued with grace and power 
 from on high, that I may stand out boldly for the 
 cause of truth, and not be afraid of, or be put to 
 silence by, the scorn of a frowning world ! 
 
 " November 1st, Monday. Went out shooting this 
 morning, with Trevor Hamilton, on Derryleague bog. 
 This evening we went to a quadrille party, and returned 
 home at a reasonable hour. It will not do for me 
 to go to all these parties. And as, if I go to one, I 
 must go to all, I must give up going to any. my 
 God, why halt I between two opinions ? Let me choose 
 to follow Thee, despite all the assaults of my adversary 
 the devil ! I find, by sad experience, that he always 
 attacks me on my weakest side ; and, grieved I am to 
 say, he too often succeeds. Oh, strengthen me by Thy 
 might in the inner man."
 
 ONWARD AND UPWARD. 35 
 
 ****** 
 
 " November 6th. Good and merciful Lord God, 
 I bless Thy holy name for permitting me daily to 
 have such an opportunity of intercourse with Thee 
 as Thou didst graciously afford by making me to keep 
 this journal. Oh, bring me close to Thee, day by day ; 
 and let me hold sweet communion with my own 
 gracious Saviour, Redeemer, Shepherd, and Friend, 
 daily nay, hourly by faith. Oh, let me rejoice in 
 Thee. Shew me more of the vanity and folly of this 
 perishing world, that I may gradually and effectually 
 be weaned from placing either my hopes or my hap- 
 piness upon it. No ; I will have my all in Thee 
 all my affections, all my wishes, all my hopes, centred 
 in Thee, and in Thee alone ! " 
 
 " November 8th. Began the day very badly, by get- 
 ting up late. Pardon my sinful idleness, God, for 
 my Saviour's sake, and put away all my transgressions 
 
 " Went out shooting in the afternoon. In the even- 
 ing wrote a letter to Garden, and read ' Church in the 
 Army.' Oh, how wicked is my heart still ! The old 
 man still clings to me with fearful tenacity. Come, 
 then, gracious Holy Spirit, into my heart, and enable 
 me to give it up wholly to God, for Satan still struggles 
 for possession. Yes, Lord, I feel him now. Oh, make 
 him let go his grasp ! Keep me close under the shadow 
 of Thy wing, for there and there only shall I be secuiv. 
 from his murderous darts.
 
 36 ONWAED AND UPWAED. 
 
 ' Holy Saviour, friend unseen, 
 Since on Thine arm Thou bidst me lean, 
 Help me, throughout life's varying scene, 
 By faith to cling to Thee. 
 
 'Blest with this fellowship divine, 
 Take what Thou wilt, I all resign ; 
 While as the branches to the vine, 
 Saviour, I cling to Thee. 
 
 An exile now, fatigued, opprest, 
 E'en here I find a place of rest, 
 A captive still, but not unblest, 
 
 While I can cling to Thee. 
 
 ' Blest be my lot, whate'er befall, 
 Who can affright, or who appal ? 
 While as my God, my Hock, my All, 
 Saviour, I cling to Thee.' " 
 
 In alluding to a painful conversation with an aged 
 relative, who was at that time opposed to the dearest 
 earthly wish of his heart, he writes : 
 
 " She is nervous and easily excited. But she is a 
 dear, and most kind creature, and I am very fond of 
 her; I must endeavour to be more cautious how I 
 speak on certain topics to her, as it is very easy to 
 hurt her feelings." 
 
 " November 1 3 h. This evening, went to dine at Mr 
 
 's, and enjoyed the evening very much indeed ; 
 
 because they were all so kind and agreeable, and 
 also because we spent our time in quiet, rational con- 
 versation, like creatures endowed with understanding, 
 which certainly is much better than dancing and skip-
 
 ONWARD AND UPWAED. 37 
 
 ping about, as is generally the way at parties. I met 
 a man there who appeared to me to be extremely con- 
 ceited. How completely conceit veils all the good 
 qualities a person may possess, and makes a man al- 
 most unbearable. Oh, may I never become conceited ! 
 And what have I got to be conceited about ? Nothing ; 
 and less than nothing, for I am a grievous sinner, who 
 cannot fulfil the law of God for a single day. Then 
 away with conceit, away with pride, which is intoler- 
 able, and let me walk humbly with my God ! " 
 
 Towards the close of November, 1847, Arthur Van- 
 deleur joined the regiment, at the Royal Artillery 
 Barracks, Woolwich Common. He entered upon his 
 life as a soldier, with an earnest desire thoroughly to 
 fulfil the duties of a profession to which he was, from 
 first to last, ardently attached ; and with fervent prayers 
 that he might be enabled to witness a good confession 
 for his Divine Lord and Master ; and to glorify Him 
 in his daily life. This is expressed in the first entry of 
 his journal, on his return to Woolwich, as a commis- 
 sioned officer : 
 
 "Monday, November 29th, 1847. So here I am, 
 through the mercy of my good God, comfortably settled in 
 my quarters in the Royal Artillery Barracks. my God, 
 open Thou my lips, that my mouth may shew forth Thy 
 praise. Lord, I am Thy servant ; let me rejoice that
 
 38 ONWARD AND UPWARD. 
 
 Thou hast taken me into Thy service. My humble 
 prayer to Thee is, that Thou wouldst give me strength 
 of mind and courage in an abundant measure ; that 
 Thy Holy Spirit may enable me to resist, without 
 flinching, the laughing scoff of an ungodly world. Yea, 
 Lord, why should 1 be ashamed to own that Thou hast 
 chosen me ; that I am an adopted son of that great 
 and glorious God who inhabiteth eternity. Oh, teach 
 me to rejoice, and to bless Thee for having made 
 me 'an heir of God, and a joint-heir with Christ.' 
 What infinite love and condescension ! Oh, for ever 
 will I praise and magnify Thy holy name, which alone 
 is worthy to be praised and had in honour ! To Thee 
 will I give glory, both here and throughout the endless 
 ages hereafter." 
 
 And on the first Sabbath following this new era in 
 his life, we find him writing, "Gracious and Holy 
 Spirit, come with power to my soul, and warm it with 
 love to my dear, my own Saviour. Oh, shew to my 
 heart His gracious image, that I may love Him with an 
 intense affection ! " 
 
 That these holy aspirations received an abundant 
 answer, we are assured by the testimony of those who 
 knew him best at that time. 
 
 Whilst taking an eager interest in acquiring the 
 knowledge requisite for distinguishing himself in the 
 noble branch of the service, to which he belonged ; and,
 
 ONWABD AND UPWARD. 39 
 
 at the same time, entering with light-hearted gaiety 
 into many of the amusements and interests of his brother 
 officers, he still diligently persevered in keeping and 
 recording, a daily watch over his thoughts, words, and 
 conduct, "as one who must give account." This will 
 be seen in the extracts which follow : 
 
 "Monday, December 6th. Broken off drill to-day 
 by Colonel Cruttendon, having just been a fortnight at 
 it. Been employed writing out the local standing orders 
 all the evening since mess. 
 
 " For how much quietness and comfort in my new 
 profession have I to be thankful ! Yes, truly, my God 
 has been very merciful to me. He has upheld me 
 through all the slippery paths that I have walked in, 
 and well may I say with David, ' When my foot slipped, 
 Thy mercy, Lord, held me up.' " 
 
 " Wednesday, December 15th. Played seventeen 
 games of racket to-day, and worked myself very hard. 
 Went in the evening to De Havilland's room, and met 
 there Bruce, who is a great friend of mine, and whom 
 I like very much. He fears and loves Thee, God, as 
 far as my shortsightedness can see. I beseech Thee, 
 gracious Lord God, to give him a much more abundant 
 measure of Thy grace and Holy Spirit, to make him 
 fear and love Thee much more than he now does. 
 May he be a burning and a shining light in Thy true 
 Church!"
 
 40 ONWAED AND UPWAED. 
 
 At this time, Arthur had not only the privilege of 
 hearing the gospel of Christ clearly preached in the 
 Barrack chapel; but also he deeply enjoyed attending 
 the ministry of the Rev. Capel Molyneux, then In- 
 cumbent of an Episcopal chapel at Woolwich. Mr 
 Molyneux's gifts of eloquence and powerful reason- 
 ing were peculiarly calculated to fascinate a mind at 
 once so impressionable and so logical as Arthur Van- 
 deleur's : whilst his faith was nourished and strength- 
 ened by the grand yet simple Truth which the preacher 
 taught, of a free pardon offered by a holy GOD to sin- 
 ful man, through the atoning death of His Son ; " one 
 Sacrifice for sins for ever," 
 
 Several extracts from Mr Molyneux's sermons appear 
 in Arthur's journal. They are chiefly marked by a 
 practical character, and were evidently applied by his 
 honest heart to his daily life and conversation. The 
 following is given as a specimen : 
 
 "Sunday, January 2nd, 1848. Heard this evening, 
 from Mr Molyneux, a most beautiful sermon. His 
 text was, ' Giving all diligence, add to your faith/ (2 
 Peter i. 5.) He shewed us the value of time; and how 
 we ought to give all diligence to redeem even those 
 two or three minutes which we continually waste ; and 
 how much good might thereby be effected. He also 
 shewed us how sinful we are, (and I feel it to be most 
 true as regards myself,) in giving our worldly concerns
 
 ONWAED AND UPWARD. 41 
 
 the preference above the time given to our God : how, 
 in the morning, if we get up rather late, we slur over 
 our prayers, and perhaps hurry through a chapter in 
 the Bible, in order to get to our worldly business in 
 good time ; and in the evening, if we feel drowsy, 
 how we again slur them over, in order that we may 
 get to sleep. Now, Lord God, I beseech Thee not 
 to let this be my case any more, but enable me to re- 
 deem my spare moments to read Thy holy Word with 
 reverence and devotion; and to meditate practically 
 thereon, and also to pray to Thee with that earnestness 
 and sincerity which Thou by Thy Holy Spirit canst 
 alone enable me to do." 
 
 " Wednesday, January 5th, 1848. Played a good 
 deal at rackets to-day, and two games of chess with 
 De Havilland. In the evening, went, very much against 
 
 my inclination, to play a game of billiards with B 
 
 and A , and lost my temper in a great measure, 
 
 which, besides making me the laughing-stock of my 
 companions, was very wrong in the sight of that great 
 God whose eyes are always upon me, and who sees into 
 the most inmost recesses of my heart. B after- 
 wards asked pardon of me ; and when I was coming- 
 over to my room, asked me to read a little prayer on 
 meekness of temper. God Almighty, pardon my 
 sin this night. Against Thee have I sinned, and done 
 this evil in Thy sight. Oh, pardon me, I beseech Thee, 
 for the sake of Thy dear Son. Oh, intercede for me,
 
 42 ONWARD AND UPWARD. 
 
 blessed Saviour ! Thou wast tempted like as I have 
 been, and yet Thou wast without &in. Thou knowest 
 all my infirmities, and the ignorance of my heart ; and 
 still Thou lovest me. May I ever return Thy love. En- 
 able me to put a guard over my temper ; and to watch, 
 and steadfastly to strive against, all occasions of evil." 
 
 " January 1 2th. Went twice to the gymnasium to- 
 day, to learn the sword-exercise and fencing, also the 
 riding-school and battalion duty. Went round the 
 coffees at five o'clock. Got a newspaper from Ireland, 
 and spent the greater part of the evening in reading 
 it ; particularly interested in a letter of the Duke's on 
 the National Defences. On guard in the arsenal with 
 
 Captain G ; had severe cold and headache all day ; 
 
 visited the boring department in the arsenal, and in- 
 spected the enlarging of the bore of brass guns." 
 
 "January 18th. Came up from guard at twelve 
 o'clock Played a game of billiards with Dickson for 
 an hour. Afterwards went to the gymnasium, and re- 
 mained practising fencing and gymnastics till time to 
 dress for mess ; after mess, very tired and sleepy, which 
 occasioned me to lose the whole evening. 
 
 "Oh my dear Saviour, do not I owe Thee the best part 
 of my time, and yet how little do I give Thee ! Does 
 not Thy great love towards me, which Thou dost mani- 
 fest every day, shew me that I ought to live for Thy 
 glory, and for it alone ; and yet how far is this from 
 being the case ! Oh, pardon me, my beloved Saviour I
 
 ONWAKD AND UPWARD. 43 
 
 Do put into my Leart a greater desire for Thy glory ; 
 and enable me to give up much more of my time 
 to Thy service, and to studying Thy blessed "Word. 
 Oh, put into my heart a steadfast resolution so to do, 
 and I shall sing of Thy mercies and of Thy love for 
 ever and ever." 
 
 "January 2lst. My nineteenth birthday 
 
 Oh, my God, Thou who hast brought me to the com- 
 mencement of a new year in my life ; Thou who hast 
 kept me in health and safety during that which is 
 past ; let Thy Fatherly care watch over me during the 
 year which I am now commencing ; so that if it be 
 Thy holy will I should see the close of it, grant that 
 it may find me far advanced on the road to heaven. 
 Come, come, Holy Spirit, and aid me by Thy mighty 
 power in all my efforts to lead a more holy and con- 
 sistent life. How much is there to be corrected, how 
 much to be struggled with, how much to be over- 
 come ! I need an entirely new heart ; for mine is 
 so utterly vile, so ready to do all that Satan wishes ; 
 so full of sin, of cowardice, and of foolishness, that I 
 cannot keep it any longer. I will have a new one : 
 give it to me at once, God ; a heart that will love 
 Thee supremely, 
 
 ' A heart resign'd, submissive, meek, 
 
 My dear Redeemer's throne, 
 Where only Christ is heard to speak, 
 Where Jesus reigns alone.'
 
 44 ONWARD AND UPWARD. 
 
 Yes, that is the heart I will have ; give it to me, give 
 it to me, God, for the sake of Thy dear Son, Jesus 
 Christ ; for hast Thou not said, ' A new heart will I 
 give you,' and ' Ask, and ye shall receive.' " 
 
 "Sunday, January 30th. This afternoon I finished 
 reading ' Mason on Self-Knowledge.' I find it a very 
 profitable book ; for it has opened to me quite a new 
 way of examining my own heart : and may my be- 
 loved Saviour, by the Holy Spirit, grant that I may 
 be enabled to search into my vile heart, and to root 
 out all that wickedness which lies so strongly embedded 
 at the bottom of it. Spent the early part of the evening 
 very unprofitably, by sleeping when I might have been 
 reading and meditating on Thy Holy Word. Pardon, 
 pardon, Almighty Father, my many sins and in- 
 firmities, and give me moral courage and determina- 
 tion that, when I know a thing to be right, I may 
 accomplish it, and not allow Satan to triumph over me 
 in any way." 
 
 "February ]st. Finished reading the history of 
 the Seven Years' War in Germany ; by which I have ac- 
 quired some knowledge of the relations of the several 
 powers of Europe to each other towards the close of the 
 last century. 
 
 "February 2nd. Before I left the arsenal to-day I 
 visited the foundry and boring departments, and in- 
 spected the method of getting the correct curve for the 
 swell of the muzzle of a brass gun."
 
 ONWARD AND UPWAED. 45 
 
 In the course of this journal we find occasional allu- 
 sions to the billiard-table, which Arthur was beginning 
 to find an unprofitable amusement ; but it was not 
 until after many struggles, and much prayer for grace 
 and strength, that he was enabled entirely to give it up. 
 
 "February 4ith. Went to the billiard-room, and 
 very foolishly played a game of pool, whereby I lost a 
 good deal of money. I have no doubt it was wisely 
 ordered, that I might not get fond of the game. Oh, 
 have I not had a lesson to prevent me from getting 
 into the habit of gambling. Save me from it. Save 
 me from it, my God. 
 
 " 5th. I went to the billiard-room again, and played 
 a game of pool with some of the best players in the 
 garrison, and won some money. I have fully deter- 
 m ined in my own mind I will not play any more pool, 
 as I feel that it excites me too much, and may God, by 
 the help of His Holy Spirit, enable me to keep this 
 resolution sacredly. I cannot do it of myself, for I am 
 a poor, weak creature, and Satan knows that if I trust 
 in my own resolution, I shall assuredly fall into his 
 clutches. But I can do all things through Christ who 
 strengthened me. gracious Saviour, save and de- 
 fend me from my dreadful adversary. Let me lean on 
 Thy arm : let me cling closer to Thee day by day. 
 Grant that I may wish to associate with those who 
 love Thee in sincerity and truth, that I may learn to
 
 46 ONWARD AND UPWARD. 
 
 know myself better, and by talking and thinking more 
 of Thee, may grow daily in grace, and in Thy know- 
 ledge and love. 
 
 "Sunday, Qth. .... Went to Mr Molyneux's 
 ehurch in the evening, and heard a good sermon, 
 though I was unable duly to appreciate it, as I felt 
 very sleepy. I struggled hard against it, but I lost 
 several sentences. This is because I allow myself to 
 go to sleep after mess every evening, which I must for 
 the future try to prevent." 
 
 " Sunday, I3th. Bruce, Dickson, and De Havilland, 
 dined in my room, and we went in the evening to Mr 
 Molyneux's, and heard a most excellent sermon. The 
 text was Ezek. xv. 2, which verse he compared with 
 John xv., and contrasted the two as representing true 
 and nominal believers, and carried out the parallel to 
 shew the utter waste and misery of that represented 
 by Ezekiel, and the worth and beauty of the other de- 
 scribed by St John. heavenly Father, of Thine 
 infinite mercy grant that my case may be represented 
 by St John ; that I be not found a dead and worthless 
 branch, only fit to be cast into everlasting fire. Oh, 
 no, my beloved Saviour ! graft me firmly, truly, and 
 for ever into Thyself, that I may be a living branch, 
 depending solely upon Thee for life and support, and 
 living closer to Thee day by day, that when Thou 
 comest clothed in Thine awful majesty, I may be found, 
 not having my own righteousness, which is but filthy
 
 ONWARD AND UPWARD. 47 
 
 rags, but having the righteousness of God by faith in 
 Thee. 
 
 ' 14-th. In the evening went to 's room to play 
 
 a game of chess. A game of cards was proposed, 
 about which (though I did not join in it myself) I 
 acted very wrongly, in not endeavouring with all my 
 might to prevent its taking place, whereby I injured 
 
 the yet tender conscience of poor . Pardon me, 
 
 O God, for I have sinned against Thee. Pardon me 
 for Jesus Christ's sake, and enable me to watch better 
 my deceitful heart for the future." 
 
 " 22ncZ. Bruce breakfasted with me. At twelve / 
 o'clock went down and played a game at rackets, and . 
 afterwards went to the gymnasium. This evening I 
 have had a commune with my own heart about my 
 life, and the way in which I spend my time, and I / 
 have come to the conclusion that it is inconsistent/^- 
 with my Christian profession to frequent the billiard- 
 room : therefore it must bo given up, for what saith 
 the Scripture : ' Mortify therefore all your evil and cor- 
 rupt affections.' Strengthen me by Thy Holy Spirit 
 that I may adhere steadfastly to this resolution ; come 
 and fill my whole heart with love to Thee, and I shall 
 sing of and praise Thine infinite mercy to all eternity. 
 
 " 23rd Played some games of rackets with Bruce, 
 and got beaten, which put my temper to a severe test. ^/ 
 And yet why should I care for these trifling things ? I 
 want more of Thy grace, holy Saviour, more of Thy
 
 48 ONWARD AND UPWARD. 
 
 Holy Spirit to raise my thoughts and affections above 
 these passing things." 
 
 " 26th. Went after mess to the Artillery Institution, 
 and saw various instruments, and learned the method 
 of making several calculations relative to the weather. 
 Read part of the life of Captain Gordon out of ' The 
 Church in the Army.' The comparison ought to 
 humble me in the dust. Still the old man of sin 
 cleaves to my poor soul, and makes me think too 
 much of the things of the world. Oh, gracious Father, 
 may I always look upon them and the pleasures of 
 sense, as things which perish in the using ; and may 
 I ever be mindful that the joys of the world to come 
 will last through all eternity. Keep this continually 
 before my eyes ; withdraw my affections from things 
 temporal, and fix them entirely on Thyself. Quicken 
 my faith, pardon my lukewarmness, and strengthen my 
 courage, that I may be able to look every one in the 
 face, feeling a consciousness that I have peace with 
 Thee, through Jesus Christ my Lord. Amen. 
 
 "27th. God, my humble prayer to Thee is, that 
 Thou wouldst open my lips that my mouth may shew 
 forth Thy praise ; that Thou wouldst endue me with 
 powers of persuasion and eloquence, that I may speak 
 of all the wondrous things that Thou hast dene for 
 my soul ; that I may not blush to own Thy cause, but 
 rather that I may glory in it, for Christ my Saviour's 
 sake. Amen."
 
 ONWAED AND UPWARD. 49 
 
 "March 1st. Went to London to-day to be pre- 
 sented to Prince Albert, but when I got to the palace I 
 felt very unwell, and the crowd was so oppressive, that 
 I was obliged to come away without being presented. 
 Came back to Woolwich, and had the surgeon to see me. 
 It is an attack of fever. 
 
 " 2nd. Heard very bad news indeed of poor little 
 
 , that he had forsaken the cause of Christ, and 
 
 had put Him to open shame. Oh, have mercy on him, 
 gracious God ! leave him not to the dominion of Sa- 
 tan. Thou who knowest the frailty of the human heart, 
 look not upon him in Thine anger, but grant him 
 Thy Holy Spirit and of Thy infinite mercy bring 
 him back to Thy fold. May it be a warning to me to 
 keep close to the holy Saviour ; and do Thou watch 
 over me with a shepherd's care, and let me never 
 wander from Thy side. Give me more, oh, much 
 more of Thy Holy Spirit, to enable me effectually to 
 resist the subtle devices of Satan, and his too willing 
 coadjutor the flesh. For Thine own sake. Amen." 
 
 "8th. My beloved Saviour, bring me into closer 
 communion with Thyself. I feel my many infirmities, 
 but with Thee is the well-spring of life ; oh, give me 
 out of Thy fulness. Lord, I am faint for want of 
 spiritual food, satisfy the cravings of my hunger, then 
 shall I praise Thee with joyful lips." 
 
 "2lst. Went out riding with Oldershaw. Visited 
 the Repository, and saw the method of raising a sea- 
 
 D
 
 50 ONWARD AND UPWARD. 
 
 mortar out of its bed by means of a pair of shears, and 
 of working guns on traversing platforms." 
 
 During these months at Woolwich, Arthur Vande- 
 leur gained the friendship of Colonel, now General 
 Anderson ; for which, from the date of its commence- 
 ment until the day of his death, he gave thanks to 
 God. In this friendship there was an element of 
 fatherly love and wisdom, which proved of inestimable 
 value, not to Arthur only, but also to many other 
 young officers under Colonel Anderson's command, 
 who availed themselves of his frank and friendly kind- 
 ness. It was offered to all who were within his reach ; 
 and to how many that Christian and fatherly influ- 
 ence has been made the means of the beginning of a 
 new life, or of the stablishing, strengthening, and 
 settling of that life already begun, will never be known 
 until the day when it shall be revealed how much of 
 the living water has been permitted to flow through 
 human channels. 
 
 The atmosphere of genial piety in Colonel Ander- 
 son's house was rendered yet more delightful to these 
 young men, by the ready extension of a true motherly 
 affection and regard, and a kindness which never set a 
 limit to itself, on the part of Mrs Anderson. 
 
 Arthur Vandeleur's charming manners and disposi- 
 tion made him, from the first, a special favourite with 
 these valued friends ; whilst his orphaned heart, always
 
 ONWARD AND UPWARD. 51 
 
 yearning for affection peculiarly rejoiced in the home 
 thus thrown open to him. 
 
 With reference to this period, General Anderson 
 writes : 
 
 "Arthur Vandeleur joined the field batteries of 
 the Royal Artillery under my command as a subal- 
 tern, and was an entire stranger to me; but I was, 
 from the first of my intercourse with him, struck by 
 his manly and gentlemanlike bearing, and polished 
 and refined manners. 
 
 " I soon found that he possessed all the elements of 
 a thorough soldier. He evinced the greatest possible 
 zeal, smartness, and activity in the discharge of his 
 duty ; and, as I was led to believe that he was in- 
 fluenced by Christian principle, although not fully 
 developed, I felt my heart all the more drawn out to- 
 wards him, and I soon formed a warm affection for him." 
 
 On one evening in the week it was Colonel Ander- 
 son's custom to open his house to' any officers who 
 were willing to partake of his hospitality, and to join 
 in the study of the Holy Scriptures, and in prayer. 
 At these meetings Arthur's bright presence was ever 
 warmly welcomed. And we find in his journal many 
 notices similar to the following of the profit and plea- 
 sure he derived from this intercourse : 
 
 "February llth. Went to Colonel Anderson's to 
 breakfast. I like and value him very much indeed :
 
 52 ONWARD AND UPWAED. 
 
 he is a truly Christian man, and leads a most ex- 
 emplary life. 
 
 " J 2th. Teach me to recognise and trace Thy 
 Fatherly hand, my God, in everything that occurs. 
 I see this particularly in the friendship which I have 
 been permitted to form with Colonel Anderson. Oh, 
 may his example and precept stimulate me by Thy 
 assisting grace, to walk more consistently in my pro- 
 fession, and to serve Thee with my whole heart. En- 
 able me to converse and commune more with Thee 
 both in public and in private. Let me delight to talk 
 about Thee ; and, whatever I do, in word or deed, 
 may I do all to Thy glory, for my Saviour's sake. 
 Amen/' 
 
 " 15^. After mess, went to Colonel Anderson's, and 
 spent a most pleasant evening. Glory be to God for 
 permitting me to join in prayer and praise with those 
 who really love Him. We read Acts x., and conversed 
 a good deal over it." 
 
 Thus did the watchful care of his God and Father 
 provide for the fostering of the heavenly flame, so 
 early kindled in his soul, even in the midst of those 
 floods of temptation incident to the first entrance 
 upon a military life. But the faithful ministry of the 
 gospel, and the holy example and advice of Christian 
 friends, would have availed him little, had he not, by 
 the grace of God, steadfastly and prayerfully set him-
 
 ONWARD AXD UPWARD. 53 
 
 self to gain, through these means, all the spiritual 
 blessing which they were intended to impart. 
 
 With Arthur Vandeleur, religion was not a mere 
 occasional emotion, but an abiding principle. Nor 
 was it a subject only for one half-hour in a day, or 
 one day in a week ; but rather was it the first pursuit 
 of his life to become conformed, as far as he perceived 
 it, to the will of his God. Although he had not yet 
 attained to the full knowledge that the peace which 
 passeth all understanding was so left by the Redeemer 
 of the world, as to be claimed by all who believe in 
 Him, as their immediate and abiding portion ; still he 
 was one of those to whom the promise could not fail to 
 be fulfilled : " Then shall they know, if they follow on 
 to know the Lord/' 
 
 And whilst he had not yet entered upon " the glori- 
 ous liberty of the children of God," he was doing Battle 
 manfully against the enslaving forces of sin and Satan. 
 And those who lovingly watched and aided his pro- 
 gress, foresaw that the end of these upward strivings of 
 his earnest spirit, in God's good time would be, the 
 emerging from every mist into the bright and holy 
 calm of a conscious fellowship with the Father, and 
 with His Son Jesus Christ. 
 
 Excepting in times when the very windows of 
 heaven are opened for the pouring out of blessings ; 
 " times of refreshing from the presence of the Lord/' 
 cases of sudden conversion have been comparatively
 
 54 ONWARD AND UPWARD. 
 
 rare. The more frequent manner of God's dealing 
 with the heart of man, in common seasons, seems to 
 correspond with its type, as given in Holy Writ, of the 
 gradual development of the seed which has been sown 
 in the earth ; in taking root, then springing up " first 
 the blade, then the ear, after that, the full corn in the ear." 
 
 But not because we trace in the lovely life of Arthur 
 Vandeleur, the rich harvest which was raised by the 
 Divine husbandman through rainy days and stormy 
 winds, and days of warm sunshine and balmy breezes, 
 would we depreciate the glorious work of the Holy 
 Spirit in a sudden and abiding conversion. God forbid 
 we should limit Him to our slow ideas of progress ; or 
 hinder Him from " doing many mighty works amongst 
 us, because of our unbelief." 
 
 In the sacred story of the early days of a triumphant 
 gospel, have we not repeated records of instantaneous 
 conversions ? 
 
 Zaccheus, the chief of a class who amassed their 
 fortunes by fraud or violence, hears the voice of an 
 unknown Saviour saying to him, " To-day I must 
 abide at thy house." He makes haste, and receives 
 Him joyfully ; and is transformed into a just and a 
 generous man, by that ennobling Presence. " Behold, 
 Lord," behold what Thou hast wrought in one brief 
 hour " the half of my goods I give to the poor : and if 
 I have taken anything from any man by false accusa- 
 tion, I restore him fourfold."
 
 ONWARD AND UPWARD. 55 
 
 A sinful woman of Samaria hears the Divine voice 
 of a wearied Stranger, resting on a well, saying, " If 
 thou wouldst have asked, He would have given thee 
 living water." " Whosoever drinketh of the water that 
 I shall give him, shall never thirst ; but the water that 
 I shall give him shall be in him a well of water, spring- 
 ing up into everlasting life ; " and from the draught of 
 that pure water given her in her communing with a 
 holy Saviour, the unholy one goes forth, with purity 
 and peace in her bosom, to become a preacher of Jesus 
 to her fellow-sinners. " COME, SEE A MAN who told 
 me all things that ever I did ; is NOT THIS THE 
 CHRIST ? And many believed on Him for the saying 
 of the woman." 
 
 A Saul of Tarsus goes forth from Jerusalem to 
 Damascus, " exceeding mad against the faith ; " 
 " breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the 
 disciples of the Lord ; " and suddenly, at mid-day, there 
 shines about him a light from heaven, above the 
 brightness of the sun ; and as he falls to the earth, he 
 hears the voice of Him who saith to His people, "Whoso 
 toucheth you, toucheth the apple of mine eye," asking 
 " thou sought out, thou sought out,* why perse- 
 cutest thou Me ? " And meekly, out of the depths of 
 a broken and a contrite heart, Saul replies, in words 
 which condense into their brief compass the fealty 
 
 * English rendering of the name of " Saul."
 
 56 ONWARD AND UPWARD. 
 
 of the servant with the duty of the son, " Lord, what 
 wilt Thou have me to do?" 
 
 Ananias is sent at once, to call the great persecutor 
 of the day a " brother ; " for he is a chosen vessel 
 unto the Lord, to suffer, in his turn, great things for 
 His name's sake ; and to bear His name before the 
 Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel. And 
 he is to be sent unto them " NOW ; " " to open their 
 eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and 
 from the power of Satan unto God." 
 
 Three thousand men, whose hands were red with the 
 blood of the innocent Lamb of God three thousand 
 of those from whose crime the very sun had turned 
 away, shutting out its glories from a world which had 
 consented to the murder of its anointed King were 
 pricked to the heart at one moment under the preach- 
 ing of Peter ; and they, too, at once received remission 
 of sins and the gift of the Holy Ghost, with their open 
 confession of faith in a crucified Saviour, and the 
 outward seal of the covenant. 
 
 "And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' 
 doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and 
 in prayers."
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 tnu i 
 
 " Promptness to aid in one another's needs, 
 With self-denial, yea, heroic acts, 
 The more heroic, as not knowing themselves 
 For such at all."
 
 IN the autumn of the year 1848, Arthur Vandeleur 
 was promoted to be first lieutenant ; * and was posted 
 to a company in Jamaica. 
 
 Unfortunately no letters written by him at this time 
 have been preserved ; but one who well remembers 
 having read many which he then wrote to her father 
 and brothers, recalls, with no slight regret for their 
 loss, their manly and spirited tone, and vivid descrip- 
 tions of the beautiful scenery of the island, with the 
 tropical brilliancy of its colouring, and of its gorgeous 
 birds and flowers. He had purchased a pleasure-boat 
 at this time, and greatly delighted in sailing expedi- 
 tions with his brother officers at Port-Royal. Their 
 favourite amusement was the pursuit of the devil-fish ; 
 and many an exciting race out to sea they had after 
 these creatures. At this period of his life, Arthur's 
 daring was scarcely tempered by " the better part of 
 valour;" and he not unfrequently found himself in 
 considerable danger in the midst of sudden squalls on 
 
 * At that time, there were first and second lieutenants in tbe 
 Royal Artillery.
 
 CO TEUE HEKOISM. 
 
 the somewhat impracticable coast of the island. But 
 his frequent escapes from perilous adventures rather 
 added to the charm of putting to sea again for 
 fresh chases in doubtful weather, unstated to his frail 
 Kttle yacht, and his exulting spirits ever rose with the 
 breezes, and the tossing of the sea. 
 
 This little yacht of his was destined to a noble pur- 
 pose before he left the island, as we find recorded in a 
 letter from General Armstrong, K.A., to General An- 
 derson. Whilst Arthur Vandeleur was under Colonel 
 Armstrong's command in Jamaica, in the month of 
 October, 1850, Asiatic cholera suddenly broke out in 
 the garrison, and seventeen persons died of it in the 
 course of a few hours. Immediate burial was necessary 
 to save the rest of the garrison. The burial-place was 
 a considerable distance off, along the coast, and the 
 land-way to it lay through very deep sand. In conse- 
 quence of this, funeral-parties always went thither by 
 water ; but at this time the panic was so great, that 
 no boats could be procured at any price for the pur- 
 pose of conveying the bodies of those who had died 
 of cholera. In this emergency, Arthur Vandeleur came 
 forward at once with the offer of his pleasure-boat; 
 and, with the aid of one man, who volunteered his 
 assistance, he carried the dead on board, and conveyed 
 them to their last earthly resting-place. 
 
 We learn from General Armstrong's letter that, but 
 for this heroic effort, they must have remained uji-
 
 TRUE HEKOISM. 61 
 
 buried, and that terribly fatal might have been the con- 
 sequences to the remainder of the garrison. Shortly 
 afterwards, Arthur was himself seized with cholera, 
 and was brought down to the very gate of death. But, 
 by God's blessing on the remedies applied by loving 
 hands for he was nursed by his servant with devoted 
 attachment he was spared for ten years more of use- 
 fulness in his Master's service, and of making happy, 
 with no common happiness, those who were privileged 
 to enjoy intimate intercourse with him. 
 
 One of the married soldiers and his wife died in one 
 day, of this visitation of cholera. And the wife's sister 
 still tells with overflowing gratitude how Mr Vandeleur 
 cared for them in their short illness ; and that, when 
 they were dead, he took their little orphaned babe, and 
 kept it, and fed it, until he had found a trusty nurse, 
 whom he engaged to take care of it ; nor even then 
 ceased to watch over his little charge. "Oh," said 
 the poor woman, as she told the story, "he was a 
 loving-hearted gentleman ! You should hear the 
 black people talk of him, and of all his goodness to 
 them!" 
 
 Whilst he was in Jamaica, he obtained the valuable 
 friendship of the Rev. V. J. P. Donet, Rector of St 
 Elizabeth's, Annetto Bay ; for whom, as well as for 
 Mrs Donet, he ever retained a grateful and affectionate 
 regard. 
 
 His bright cheerfulness and ready good nature made
 
 62 TRUE HEROISM. 
 
 him a great favourite with the children at the Eectory, 
 and two of them used to write to him occasionally 
 after his return to England. 
 
 Mr Donet thus speaks of the period of his acquaint- 
 ance with him: 
 
 " . . . . Mrs Donet and myself formed a very great 
 attachment for him, as he completely became one of 
 us during his sojourn of six weeks in our family. . . . 
 We first met him at Port-Royal, at the house of my 
 brother-in-law, Mr Hale, the late Rector, where he al- 
 ways spent his Sabbath afternoons, so as to be quiet 
 with him, away from the bustle of the garrison, and to 
 be ready for the evening service. On our leaving, we 
 asked him to come down to St Elizabeth's ; which he 
 did, and was so happy, that he applied for a renewal of 
 leave, and spent six weeks with us instead of three, as 
 at first proposed. I have every reason to believe that 
 this was made a time of blessing to him, as he frequently 
 said how much good he had derived from his visit, 
 especially in regard to separation from the world. He 
 had ever found it difficult to draw the line, as to 
 how far he should mix up with it, and enjoy its plea- 
 sures ; but he said, the evening before he left, ' I have 
 to thank God from my heart that I came here, I see 
 now the path of duty more clearly than I have ever 
 done before; and, through God's grace, I have resolved, 
 cost what it may, to 'come out, and be separate/
 
 TRUE HEROISM. 63 
 
 " We devoted every morning to religious conversa- 
 tion and reading the Scriptures ; he questioning me on 
 several difficult passages, and sitting as a disciple to be 
 instructed in the things of God ; and I assure you it 
 was pleasant to see how greedily he received the Word- 
 Often have I seen him melted to tears, when I have 
 related some striking anecdote which at one time or 
 another had occurred during my ministry. But one 
 especially affected him. It was of a dying man, who, 
 when his medical adviser told him that he had not an 
 hour to live, exclaimed, ' I cannot die I cannot stand 
 before an angry God.' 
 
 " This had a great effect on him, and as he occupied 
 the room immediately under mine, I could hear him 
 during the former part of the night, agonising with 
 God in prayer. My wife had an equally deep affection 
 for him with my own ; and she and I have often re- 
 gretted that we had not a more frequent correspond- 
 ence with our truly valued friend." 
 
 He did not remain long in Jamaica after this visit, only 
 a few weeks, as the cholera broke out among the troops, 
 and they were removed away as early as possible. 
 
 With reference to that time, we have this additional 
 testimony, in a letter dated November 29, 1861, from 
 General Armstrong, for whom Arthur ever retained a 
 most grateful regard : 
 
 " . . . . The cholera broke out amongst us in Sep-
 
 64 TRUE HEROISM. 
 
 tember 1850, and carried off about one-third of our 
 little garrison at Port-Royal within a month. Nothing 
 could exceed the unwearied attention, affectionate kind- 
 ness, and moral courage displayed by poor dear Van- 
 deleur during his voluntary attendance upon the sick 
 and the dying, until the disease attacked him, amongst 
 the last of the sufferers, and he very nearly fell a vic- 
 tim to it. 
 
 " His whole life, ever since I have known him, in 
 Jamaica and elsewhere, was always that of a kind, 
 noble-hearted, truly Christian gentleman. 
 
 " He was beloved by me nearly as a son, on account 
 of his numerous virtues and many endearing qualities, 
 and his death I most sincerely and deeply deplore."
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 f Ije I igfot 
 
 Lord, in the strength of grace, 
 With a glad heart and free, 
 
 Myself, my residue of days, 
 J consecrate to Thee."
 
 AETHUK VANDELEUR'S kind and thoughtful guardian 
 was anxious that his ward should return for his coming 
 of age, on the 21st of January, 1850 ; in order that 
 the attachment between himself and his tenantry 
 might have the additional tie of this eventful day being 
 spent amongst them, with the usual rejoicings on such 
 an occasion. But Arthur found that it would be un- 
 desirable to press for his leave, before the return of 
 his company ; which did not take place until the 
 month of February, 1851. 
 
 Immediately on his arrival, as he was now in his 
 twenty-third year, he undertook the management of 
 his own affairs, the prosperous state of which he owed 
 to the wise and generous care of his deeply-valued 
 guardian, Mr Molony. 
 
 One of his first desires was to atone, as far as it 
 was possible, for the heavy losses his father had oc- 
 casioned to several persons, in various positions of life, 
 by failures in wild speculations. And although they 
 had no legal claim upon the son for the debts of the
 
 68 THE LIGHT BURNING. 
 
 father, Arthur Vandeleur borrowed a large sum of 
 money on mortgage of the estate, in order to make repay- 
 ment as far as possible ; thereby not a little impover- 
 ishing himself for the rest of his life. 
 
 On his return to Woolwich, he resumed his old 
 and beloved position of a son with a father, towards 
 Colonel Anderson. In his diary, which was either 
 not written, or not preserved, during his residence 
 in Jamaica, but which was now resumed and kept 
 with great regularity, we find frequent records of the 
 happy evenings spent at " his colonel's " house ; and of 
 the portions of Scripture which were read and dis- 
 cussed there. 
 
 His mind was developing itself rapidly at this time ; 
 and the natural love of reading which he had shewn in 
 his boyish days, now led him to devote a good deal of 
 his leisure time to study. The cast of his mind caused 
 him chiefly to choose those books which required reflec- 
 tion ; and which tended to increase and strengthen his 
 mental powers. He was not satisfied, with reading 
 merely in a desultory manner, to pass the time plea- 
 santly ; but he exercised a considerable amount of 
 determination and self-control, in turning this reading 
 to the best account. This appears in the following 
 rules which are worthy of notice, especially as having 
 been framed, and, for the most part, rigidly observed, 
 by so young a man ; although they may have been 
 rather too stringent to allow free play to his intellect.
 
 THE LIGHT BUENING. 69 
 
 Remarks. 
 
 " Having found that I do not remember for any con- 
 siderable length of time what I have read, and knowing 
 that memory consists, to a great extent, in attention, 
 I conclude that I do not read with attention. To make 
 myself do so, I propose the following plan, which, 
 though undoubtedly a slow one, is, I think, a sure 
 one ; for, as the victorious tortoise said to the hare, 
 
 ' Slow and steady wins the race.' 
 
 " My plan is this 
 
 " 1st, To write down all the principal ideas and 
 sentiments, &c., of every book which I may. read, as 
 concisely as possible, in my own words. 
 
 "2nd, To write each day what I have read on the 
 previous day. 
 
 " 3rd, On Saturday to read only religious works 
 that I may be able to write on Sunday what I have 
 read on the previous day, without transgressing the 
 commands of my good God and Saviour. Reading 
 these works alone, on Saturday, (not on Saturday only,) 
 will tend to prepare my mind for closer communion 
 with my holy Father on His own day. 
 
 " 4th, To suffer nothing to interfere with this writ- 
 ing. Should duty or disinclination prevent me from 
 keeping this rule, resolved to read nothing (save one 
 newspaper) but God's Holy Word and the little com- 
 mentary, until I have performed this duty, though
 
 70 THE LIGHT BURNING. 
 
 the condemnation should last some days; except under 
 unusual circumstances, such as a journey. 
 
 " 5th, Should I fail to remember (without referring 
 to the book) what I have read, resolved to recommence 
 reading at the place of failure, till I can express the 
 author's meaning properly. 
 
 " 6th, To make what remarks I can on the subject 
 treated of, so as to accustom myself both to reflect on 
 what I read, and to express, in suitable language, my 
 ideas. 
 
 " 7th, To commence reading in this manner to-day. 
 Oh, Almighty God, Thou who knowest how impossible 
 it is for man either to think a good thought of himself, 
 or to act aright in his own strength, as it is Thou who 
 hast put the wish into my heart to improve my mind 
 for Thy service, do Thou give me energy and determi- 
 nation, that I may persevere in doing my best, to Thy 
 glory." 
 
 "Saturday, September 6th. Played chess in the 
 evening with De Havilland. We are a good match ; 
 but my wretched pride, whenever I am beaten, tries to 
 make me deny the superiority of his play to mine 
 during that game. Oh, my God, humble me, over- 
 come this horrid pride in me, for Jesus' sake. Amen." 
 
 "Saturday, September 13th. Eose very late this 
 morning. This is very bad. Seven hours' sleep is as 
 much as I require ; so, if I go to bed at eleven, I
 
 THE LIGHT BURNING. 71 
 
 ought to get up at six ; but I am so lazy and slothful, 
 that I seldom get up till my servant has called me two 
 or three times. I fear that in this, as in other ways, 
 I may dishonour my Christian profession. Lord, 
 teach me to overcome it. Give me grace and strength 
 to do so. Now, Lord, I will make a new start ; to- 
 morrow I will try to rise at six, and, for the future, 
 will always try and get to bed at eleven. Read little 
 to-day. Evident sign that I rose too late. Whenever 
 I do that, the day slips through my fingers before I 
 can do anything." 
 
 " Tuesday, September 16th. Dined with dear Colo- 
 nel Anderson. Mr Yorke and many Christian friends 
 came in the evening. Colonel Anderson requested me 
 to pray ; but oh, because I was filled with self, I was so 
 nervous that I could hardly express an idea. Oh, sub- 
 due self and pride, wretched pride, my Saviour, and fill 
 me with Thyself, Thy gracious self. Give me the power 
 of expressing my thoughts, for Jesus' sake. Amen." 
 
 " September 18th. Read a good deal of Young's 
 ' Night Thoughts ' in the omnibus. The thoughts are 
 deep ; but the subject, ' The Glory of God, as shewn 
 by the Stars and the Heavens/ causes it to be unusually 
 fine, even for him. Felt my mind benefited by it, and 
 my thoughts kept from wandering in forbidden and 
 unhallowed regions. For this I praise Thee, my 
 Father, through Jesus Christ. Determine, in conse- 
 quence, frequently to take this book with me."
 
 72 THE LIGHT BURNING. 
 
 "Sabbath-day, September 2lst. Dr DufF, the cele- 
 brated Scotch missionary from India, preached, and I 
 thank God that I heard him. His text was Psalm 
 cxxx. 3, 4 " If Thou, Lord, shouldst mark iniquities, 
 
 Lord, who shall stand? But there is forgiveness 
 with Thee, that Thou mayest be feared." Through the 
 mercy of my Saviour, I have derived much benefit from 
 Dr Duff, and I trust, from this time forth, to take an 
 active interest in the evangelisation of the poor heathen. 
 
 1 must begin at once, and will do so. Oh, my God, 
 do Thou cleanse my heart in the blood of Thy dear 
 Son. Now that I here give Thee my heart, surely the 
 outworks will all become Thine. Yes, Lord, I devote 
 myself, my life, my all, to Thy service. What wouldst 
 Thou have me to do ? I implore of Thee, the living 
 God, never to leave me, but to perfect Thine own work, 
 and to make me altogether like my glorious Lord and 
 Master ; and oh, was not He holy and humble ? Oh, 
 make me holy and humble for His sake. Amen." 
 
 The dangerous amusement of billiard-playing, for a 
 short time, again became a snare to him. Games of 
 hazard, like deeds of adventure, could not fail to have 
 an ensnaring fascination for such a character as his. 
 But when he heard that his mere appearance at the 
 public billiard-table brought a reproach upon the name 
 of his Lord, and did an injury to the souls of some who 
 were keenly watching the consistency of his Christian
 
 THE LIGHT BURNING. 73 
 
 example, he renounced the long-questioned amusement 
 at once and for ever, for the honour of his Master, and 
 for the sake of immortal souls, " for whom Christ died ; " 
 in the spirit of the great heart of an Apostle, who said, 
 " I will eat no meat while the world standeth, if it 
 cause my brother to offend." 
 
 Arthur was now fast losing all sense of the need of 
 exciting pleasures, for he was daily discovering more 
 and more of that "kingdom of God/' into which he 
 had entered, and which is " righteousness, and peace, 
 and joy in the Holy Ghost." In grasping more firmly 
 the higher pleasures, the lower fled away, and were 
 desired no more. And in the new interest of winning 
 souls to Jesus, he found a deeper stake and a more 
 glorious gain than aught that he had dreamt of before. 
 
 A few more short extracts from his journal will give 
 an idea of the conscientious watch which he maintained, 
 at this time, over his progress in the spiritual life : 
 
 " September 30th. On looking back over this month, 
 I find that I have much reason to thank and praise my 
 God for giving me perseverance to continue to keep 
 my journal, which helps me to hold communion with 
 Him ; and also for enabling me to be more careful of 
 my time during the past month ; and for keeping me 
 from the billiard-roorn and racket-court, where my 
 energies used to be exhausted and my mind (too often) 
 corrupted. I give my God hearty thanks for His help
 
 74 THE LIGHT BU11NING. 
 
 granted me to resign these ensnaring amusements ; 
 but much more for the insight He has given me into 
 the evil of my own heart, and for leading me to flee to 
 Christ for salvation. ALL my hope is in Jesus Christ, 
 my Lord and Master. Truly, His yoke is easy, and 
 His burden is light. And I pray, by His might in 
 the inner man, to be enabled to withstand Satan, self, 
 and sin. 
 
 " October 9th. arrived from Jamaica, and 
 
 came to see me. He was not fortunate or happy there, 
 and is now very ill with rheumatic gout. He stayed 
 with me for sometime, and I was enabled by God's grace 
 to speak seriously to him, and gently (I hope) to shew 
 him how foolish his former conduct had been. I was 
 also helped to bear my small testimony to the happi- 
 ness which is to be found in Jesus, if we place all our 
 dependence upon Him, and determine with all our 
 heart to serve Him. I pray and trust that the Lord 
 will lead him to Himself." 
 
 "October Vtijh. Had a pleasant day at the Sunday- 
 school My boys are getting on pretty well. I was 
 helped to speak to them earnestly and affectionately. 
 Oh, may the word take root in their little hearts, that 
 they may be brought to know and love their Saviour." 
 
 At this time, Arthur was making frequent visits to 
 the Great Exhibition in Hyde Park ; and both taking 
 sketches, and writing copious notes in his diary, de-
 
 THE LIGHT BURNING. VO 
 
 scribing the various models of machinery, and represent- 
 ations of scientific discoveries and improvements. 
 In such details he was always remarkably correct and 
 clear. He took great delight in these visits, and also 
 in spending leisure hours in various picture galleries. 
 Yet in the midst of these pleasurable engagements, 
 we find him not unmindful of his Master's work 
 
 "October ISifi. Went with P to Dulwich 
 
 Picture Gallery to-day. Had a very pleasant ride ; 
 but did not speak of the things of God to him, so ear- 
 nestly as I ought to have done. Ah, how often does a 
 casual and cold observation compose the sum-total of 
 my exertions in the cause of Christ. Pardon, oh par- 
 don, my miserable selfishness, blessed Saviour. How 
 can I, upon whom Thou hast bestowed Thy mercy and 
 Thy Love, be ashamed of speaking of Thee ; or at least, 
 if not ashamed, wanting in patience and in persevering 
 energy, to bear the first adverse remark with meekness, 
 and at the same time to continue my purpose. I feel 
 sure that if I did this, Thou wouldst bless the effort. 
 Give me more faith and more grace and courage, gra- 
 cious Saviour." 
 
 With reference to this time, Colonel Anderson writes : 
 "Arthur Vandeleur was for some months under my 
 immediate command ; and as my valued friend, Sir 
 Hew Ross, the Adjutant-General of the Artillery, was
 
 76 THE LIGHT BURNING. 
 
 in the habit of frequently interrogating me with regard 
 to the character of the young officers under my charge, 
 I had peculiar pleasure in pointing out Vandeleur as 
 one in every way deserving of his approbation ; and he 
 was pleased, at my recommendation, to note his name 
 for the Horse Artillery, to which branch of the service, 
 he was shortly afterwards appointed ; and joined Captain 
 Maude's troop in Ireland.*
 
 Earnest 
 
 * Yes ! He is mine ! And nought of earthly things, 
 Not all the charms of pleasure, wealth, or power, 
 The fame of heroes, or the pomp of kings, 
 
 Could tempt me to forego His love an hour : 
 ' Go, worthless world,' I cry, ' with all that 's thine 1 
 Go ! I my Saviour's am, and He is mine,' 
 
 " The good I have is from His stores supplied ; 
 
 The ill is only what He deems the best : 
 He for my Friend. I 'm rich with nought beside, 
 
 And poor without Him, though of all possess'd. 
 Changes may come, I take, or I resign, 
 Coctent while I am His, while He is mine I*
 
 THE two years spent in Dublin by Arthur Vandeleur, 
 appear to have been a delightful time of refreshing to 
 his own soul, and to those with whom he held chief 
 intercourse. Nor did he feel it necessary now to con- 
 fine himself to efforts to win his personal friends and 
 acquaintance to the knowledge and love of that Saviour 
 who was every day manifesting Himself more fully 
 to his soul, as the " altogether lovely One ; " nor to 
 set as boundaries to his zeal, the gates of the barrack- 
 yard. But whilst the soldier, and the gunner especially 
 amongst soldiers, ever claimed his deepest interest and 
 his most loving effort, Arthur's large heart embraced 
 in its desires the spiritual welfare of all his fellow- 
 creatures in the lost world, which has been redeemed 
 by the blood of Christ. And remembering the example 
 of his Lord, who came to call sinners to repentance, 
 and who told the depth and the breadth of His love in 
 the brief sentence, " The Son of Man is come to seek 
 and to save that which is lost ; " he set himself earnestly, 
 prayerfully, and lovingly to work amongst the outcast 
 population of the " St Giles's " of Dublin.
 
 80 EARNEST WORKING. 
 
 Finding how necessary were combination and system, 
 to extensive success in so wide a field, he united with 
 great ardour in assisting in the formation of a large 
 Eagged School in one of the poorest and wildest dis- 
 tricts in Dublin ; and himself undertook to be its 
 superintendent. 
 
 " His task there," writes the Rev. G. W. Fleury,* 
 " was a difficult one at first ; when a multitude of 
 uninstructed creatures were assembled from Sun- 
 day to Sunday ignorant of all religion save the worst 
 form of Romanism ; destitute of all respect for every 
 one superior in education and position ; and habituated 
 from infancy to every grossness of language and man- 
 ners. These assemblies numbered amongst them some 
 of the vilest characters ; and to their depredations he 
 was constantly exposed ; having often to recount to us 
 his losses of money, trinkets, and handkerchiefs, which 
 were purloined during the exercise of his arduous 
 office." 
 
 But his undaunted heart never failed him ; cheered 
 on by Christian hope and faith, his patient perse- 
 vering love worked wonders with those uncivilised 
 creatures, rarely leaving any as he found them ; and to 
 many, his instructions were a source of thanksgiving 
 for both this life and the next. His removal from 
 Dublin was to them a source of the most genuine and 
 bitter sorrow. 
 
 * Incumbent of the Molyneux Episcopal Chapel.
 
 EARNEST WORKING. 81 
 
 The dear and valued friend of Arthur Vandeleur, to 
 whom we owe these details, bears the following testi- 
 mony to his character during his stay in Dublin : 
 
 " Our intimacy grew out of spiritual things. He 
 was a member of my congregation in the Molyneux 
 Asylum Chapel ; and our friendship ripened, as I 
 became gradually acquainted with the high qualities 
 with which he was endowed. He was a diligent and 
 animated attendant at regular evening meetings held 
 in my house ; which were arranged with a view to win 
 literary men to take an interest in religion. Our re- 
 creation consisted generally, in the early part of the 
 evening, in reading original and well-selected papers 
 and passages, and subsequently in studying critically 
 and prayerfully an appointed portion of Scripture. 
 
 " Our young friend, Mr S , who was one of the 
 
 regular attendants at these meetings, we watched with 
 much anxiety, as he possessed great amiability, and 
 had what would be termed deep convictions, but con- 
 fessed with great candour, and deplored with much 
 bitterness, his frailties and infirmity of better purpose. 
 He was subject to epilepsy, under an attack of which 
 he suddenly died. To him, poor fellow, Arthur was an 
 object of the utmost wonder, as well as a friend for 
 whom he entertained the most profound respect. 
 
 " The cheerfulness, manliness, steady piety, and un- 
 ostentatious zeal for all good things which Arthur ex- 
 hibited, added to his well-known virtues as a son and 
 
 F
 
 82 EARNEST WOEKING. 
 
 relative, gave him a degree of weight and dignity which 
 overwhelmed every small opposition to his pure reli- 
 gion, which might naturally spring up in the mind of 
 an unconverted stranger on first meeting him. 
 
 "Hence, amongst his brother-officers at Portobello 
 Barracks, as well as amongst the soldiers who passed 
 under his care, there was ever exhibited towards him 
 the most unconditional respect. 
 
 " Twice every Sunday he attended the services in my 
 church, notwithstanding his arduous labours at the 
 Ragged School. 
 
 " At our evening meetings, which he heartily enjoyed, 
 we frequently entered into the study of unfulfilled pro- 
 phecy. And when rumours of a war in the East be- 
 came strong and decisive, he was much interested in 
 the views we entertained ; and he endeavoured to 
 prove from Ezekiel xxxvii. and xxxviii., that the war, 
 then on the eve of commencement, was not the final 
 war in which the Czar of Russia was to take so promi- 
 nent a part, and which is reserved for the period im- 
 mediately succeeding the approaching restoration of 
 the Jews to the Holy Land. He therefore conjectured 
 that the war which then required his removal from 
 home, would be but short, and that, by God's good 
 Providence, he might soon be meeting his friends in 
 Ireland and England again ! 
 
 " God did spare him for that meeting again ! And 
 we had the joy of receiving him under our roof soon
 
 EARNEST WORKING. 83 
 
 after his return home, prior to his entering on the 
 duties of his appointment at Woolwich. A joy which 
 was not marred by any apprehension that his removal 
 to another world was drawing near ; for he was then, 
 apparently, in the highest health as well as spirits. 
 
 " His noble character and wonderful amiability, all 
 under the controlling influence of his genuine Christian 
 piety, have left an impression for good on the minds 
 and hearts of all who knew him. In fact, whilst we 
 fondly look back upon our intimacy with him as one 
 of the brightest spots in our lives' history, we rejoice 
 to know that the same happy and hallowed influence 
 accompanied him wherever he went." 
 
 Arthur Vandeleur found a second home in Dublin, 
 in the house of Mr Despard, whose friendship he es- 
 teemed as a peculiar gift, when he was quartered in 
 a gay capital, where there was much to tempt him into 
 frivolous and unprofitable amusements. He frequently 
 left the mess- table to spend his evenings in the society of 
 his friend. " His delight," writes Mr Despard, " was to 
 converse about his Master's kingdom and its interests ; 
 and never have I known any Christian to whom mere 
 worldly topics of conversation were so distasteful ; or 
 who had a happier method of bringing other minds to 
 centre on what was the grand subject of thought with 
 his own mind. 
 
 " His Sundays at that time were nearly always spent 
 with us. Every Sabbath afternoon we used to go down
 
 84< EARNEST WORKING. 
 
 together to a Sagged School consisting chiefly of adult 
 Roman Catholics, in one of the most degraded districts 
 of Dublin. His earnest anxiety to find an avenue of 
 approach to the ignorant and superstitious minds of 
 the poor, miserable-looking creatures who formed his 
 class ; and his warm-hearted, affectionate addresses to 
 the whole assembly at the close of the school, (of 
 which he was superintendent,) will long be remembered 
 by those who were so favoured as to be able to observe 
 and to hear them. It was indeed a privilege, for the 
 couple of years that he was quartered in Dublin, to be 
 an eye-witness of his consistent and devoted Christian 
 life." 
 
 An index to his mind and to his motives of action, 
 at this time, is given in the following letters : 
 
 "R. A. BARRACKS, PORTOBELLO, 
 "August 1st, 1853. 
 
 " MY DEAR BRUCE, .... I have had so much 
 official correspondence to carry on, that I have for 
 some time neglected nearly all my friends. However, 
 I trust that this is now at an end, and hope to be 
 more regular for the future in replying to your kind 
 and welcome letters. It was indeed a disappointment 
 to know that you could not pay your promised visit 
 to me this year, but I hope you will come before I 
 leave Ireland, that we may have the pleasure of going 
 together to see some of its numerous, though some-
 
 EARNEST WORKING. 85 
 
 what scattered beauties. Speaking on this subject, 
 where do you think I have been playing the truant to ? 
 No less a place than the far-famed Killarney. It 
 came to pass in this way : I had to go down to Clare 
 to record my vote at the late election for Colonel Van- 
 deleur, and to bring a few of my 'tinants' with me 
 to the poll, so, having to get leave from the General 
 for that purpose, I got a few extra days, and went to 
 Killarney. Its beautiful scenery charmed me very much; 
 but, being quite alone, I found it rather solitary work, 
 and much wished to have you with me. You must 
 really come over to Old Ireland, if it were only to see 
 that one charming spot. Much as I had heard of its 
 beauties, I was not in the least disappointed, but rather 
 the reverse. It is just the place you would delight in, 
 being well calculated to store your mind with poetic 
 ideas, having, within the compass of twenty miles, 
 every species of beautiful scenery, and not an ugly or 
 uninteresting spot in it all mountains craggy and 
 bare, with magnificent precipices and bold outlines, and 
 with very fine echoes, many times repeated. Then, 
 within a short distance, mountains with gentle, un- 
 dulating slopes, clad to the very summit with oak, fir, 
 and arbutus trees. You have also various waterfalls 
 and rapids, rivers and lakes of all shapes and sizes, old 
 abbeys and modern churches, ruined castles situated on 
 islands and peninsulas, and modern ones, their rivals in 
 beauty and elegance, if not in age. But it is a place of
 
 86 EARNEST WORKING. 
 
 which description would fail to give you any adequate 
 idea ; therefore, I say, you must come over when you 
 can, and see and judge for yourself, and if you will 
 make me your travelling companion, I shall be truly 
 rejoiced, dear Bruce. I could only remain there three 
 days when on leave ; but it is a place which affords 
 points of interest for a much longer time, had one but 
 the leisure. But enough of Killarney for the pre- 
 sent. You will be glad to know that I continue to like 
 Dublin very much. I think it one of our best stations. 
 It has many spiritual advantages. I do not now attend 
 the controversial lectures, not because I feel less in- 
 terest in them than formerly, but because I really have 
 not time to do so. Our Ragged School is progressing 
 favourably ; it is a very valuable institution, and is the 
 means of doing much good. My class of old women 
 continues to interest me as much as ever. I have 
 some who are very regular attendants, and who ap- 
 pear to take an interest in what they hear ; indeed, 
 I trust the Lord has touched the hearts of some of 
 them. This is to me a matter of deep thankfulness to 
 Almighty God ; may all the glory and praise be to His 
 most holy name. Oh, dear Bruce, it would delight 
 you to see the eyes of these poor creatures, taken from 
 amongst the lowest of the Irish paupers, sparkle with 
 delight, and their miserable, haggard countenances 
 grow happy, for the time, when they are told of the
 
 EAKNEST WORKING. 87 
 
 love of Jesus. You can imagine what encouragement 
 these little circumstances give me. I sometimes feel as 
 if one such were sufficient reward for a year's labour. 
 The priests hate us most cordially, and curse any one 
 who will come to our school ; still they come, and our 
 numbers increase. So much for the priests' influence 
 in Dublin. Would to God they had no more else- 
 where ! but it is being undermined, I trust and think, 
 everywhere. It afforded me pleasure and happiness 
 of the most intense kind, to learn from your ownself 
 of your temporal and spiritual welfare, and that Jesus 
 is becoming every day more precious to your soul 
 Praised be His holy name for His great mercies to 
 you. Indeed, Bruce, since I last wrote, I too have 
 received signal mercies at the hand of God, for which, 
 I think, I am not ungrateful. I trust, also, that I have 
 progressed somewhat on my road Heavenward ; but 
 not so much as I might have done. Oh, how I long 
 
 to see you, and converse with you I hope that 
 
 we shall yet be quartered together the sooner the 
 better. Meantime, let us pray for each other more 
 earnestly than ever. I send you a little paper given 
 me by a valued friend a few days since. It will, I 
 hope, stir you up to oppose the Man of sin, even more 
 than you have yet done. Tell me what you think of it, 
 
 in your next. W , whom you well know, is my chief 
 
 here ; he is very kind to me and all of us, and is very
 
 88 EAENEST WORKING. 
 
 much liked ; but for the sake of my profession, I could 
 wish that he was somewhat more strict and regular. 
 It is good for young fellows to be under tight hands ! 
 It is just possible that I may go to Chobham and 
 Woolwich in about ten days to get my shot tried, &c. 
 &c. Your affectionate friend, A. V." 
 
 TO COLONEL ANDERSON, E.A. 
 
 " PORTOBELLO, Augmt 18th, 1852. 
 
 "MY DEAR COLONEL, Your kind and welcome 
 letter afforded me the greatest pleasure, and I have 
 to thank you in the warmest manner for your kind 
 wishes and advice, which prove that you still con- 
 tinue to remember me. We do indeed require con- 
 stant exhortation to persevere in the conflict against 
 Satan and indwelling sin, by making diligent use of 
 the means of grace. These are the weapons which 
 are provided for our warfare, and is it not comforting 
 to know that their effect upon our enemies depends, 
 not upon the strength of the arm that uses them, 
 but rather upon the almighty power of the great Cap- 
 tain of our Salvation ? 
 
 "It requires to be impressed constantly upon the 
 mind, that the work of sanctification has to be per- 
 formed in us and by us, as fellow- workers with God. 
 We are so prone to think that we have nothing to do
 
 EARNEST WORKING. 89 
 
 but to sit still and wait for our hearts to be renewed. 
 But though it is quite true that we cannot change our 
 own hearts, yet we can lay ourselves under the changing, 
 transforming influences of God's Holy Spirit. Though 
 we cannot turn of ourselves, yet we can frame our doings 
 to turn ; and it is for the neglect of this duty that 
 Rehoboam is so much blamed ' He did evil because 
 he prepared not his heart to seek the Lord.' 
 
 " The work of reformation is, I hope, still progress- 
 ing in Ireland; and I fervently pray, that it may 
 never cease till the whole island become ' full of the 
 knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea/ 
 
 "My time is at present well occupied, as besides 
 being in battery, I am doing Quartermaster duty, 
 during the absence of Mr Murray on leave. Captain 
 Fitzgerald has been very ill for some time past ; he has 
 suffered great pain, which he bears with truly Chris- 
 tian patience and resignation. When I saw him, four 
 days ago, he was quite unable to move his right arm, 
 and looked very much reduced. It is a pleasure to me 
 to visit him, as I derive benefit from his conversation. 
 I told him that I was going to write to you, and he 
 
 desired to be most affectionately remembered 
 
 I shall never cease to remember your kindness to me 
 with the deepest gratitude. Ever, my dear Colonel 
 very sincerely yours, 
 
 " ARTHUR VANDELEUFW"
 
 90 EARNEST WORKING. 
 
 The long residence of Arthur Vandeleur in Dublin, 
 necessarily involved him in a larger circle of acquaint- 
 ance than he would have met with in other quarters. 
 The singular charm of his manners, and the combina- 
 tion of brilliant personal attractions with a graceful 
 readiness in communicating the resources of a cultivated 
 understanding, could not fail to render him a welcome 
 addition to any society. Every evening might have 
 been spent by him in the pursuit of pleasures which 
 assuredly would not have eluded the grasp of such a 
 votary. 
 
 But now that he had wholly surrendered every 
 power and every affection to that Saviour who loved 
 him and gave Himself for him, Arthur arrived at 
 the conclusion, that the great object of life, for a 
 Christian, is not how much he may enjoy of the 
 pleasures of a world which has not yet crowned his 
 King ; and the spirit of which is so much in opposition 
 to its rightful Sovereign, as to be described in His 
 Word, as "enmity with God;" but rather, how much 
 he may attain of blessed fellowship with his Saviour, 
 and what are the things to be avoided, as endangering 
 the possession of that chief joy. 
 
 He was already acting upon the principle of four 
 simple rules, his ready acceptance of which, when con- 
 versing on this subject, a few years later, I well re- 
 member : 
 
 " Let me never be found where I could not expect to
 
 EARNEST WORKING. 91 
 
 meet my Saviour, if He were still a man on the earth : 
 where I could not ask Him to be present with me, by 
 His Spirit, now : where I could not be occupied in seek- 
 ing, as opportunity offered, to win others to Him : or 
 where I should not like Him to find me, when 
 ' coming suddenly/ " 
 
 The attraction of mere amusement would now, in- 
 deed, have been easily resisted by him. But sometimes, 
 by his young imagination, there was thrown over those 
 scenes of gaiety the same golden glow which the early 
 morning of his heart had shed over different scenes, in 
 a sweet home of the wild country of the west. 
 
 It was a trial of his faith, when he felt it to be his 
 duty to avoid seeking out anywhere and everywhere, 
 that gentle companionship, the charm of which had 
 never lessened for his steadfast heart. But he stood 
 the test, " strong in the grace which is in Christ Jesus :" 
 and, shunning the labyrinth of human probabilities 
 and means of success, he trusted the garnered hopes of 
 boyhood and manhood on the venture of an absolute 
 confidence in the power and kindness of that God, who 
 pledges Himself to each of His children still, as surely 
 as He did to the man after His own heart, three 
 thousand years ago " Delight thyself also in the 
 Lord, and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart." 
 
 " Strong faith/' said a man of God, " must have 
 strong trials." And the Word of God gives the reason 
 for it : " That the trial of your faith, being much more
 
 92 EARNEST WORKING. 
 
 precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried 
 with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and 
 glory, at the appearing of Jesus Christ." 
 
 The faith of Arthur Vandeleur was destined to be 
 thus proved. Obstacles, apparently almost insur- 
 mountable, stood opposed to the fulfilment of his 
 wishes. But whilst keenly feeling the present trial, he 
 possessed his soul in patience ; for in his heart there 
 was a sea of peace, and the current of those troubled 
 waters could only ruffle the surface. 
 
 The following letter to his friend Captain Bruce, 
 was written at this time : 
 
 "FASSEROE, Co. WICKLOW, 
 October 28th, 1852. 
 
 " MY DEAR BRUCE, Amidst severe sorrows, it has 
 been to me a source of much comfort that in you I have 
 a friend upon whose regard and affection I can rely. 
 The day before I received your valued letter, my 
 attention was drawn by one of our brother-officers to 
 that paragraph in your journal which announced the 
 death of poor dear Orme. Though I had no definite 
 reason for disbelieving the statement, still, until I heard 
 direct from you, I did not believe it ; because, I suppose, 
 my hopes and wishes were against my doing so. 
 
 " It is indeed, my dear Bruce, a heavy blow to both 
 of us ; but especially so to you ; and I do sympathise 
 most deeply with you. He was to each of us a most 
 valued friend, and to me a kind and able adviser, for
 
 EARNEST WORKING. 93 
 
 he understood more of the workings of my mind than 
 did any other of my friends or acquaintance. I do 
 therefore deeply deplore his loss. How much more 
 must you ! for I saw long ago that your minds were 
 so similar, that they almost seemed to have been cast 
 in the same mould. It was no wonder, then, that you 
 should be drawn together in such strong bonds of 
 friendship, almost immediately on coming into contact 
 with each other. I do therefore deeply feel for you, 
 my dear friend, for I know when the string of a power- 
 ful bow gives way, how dreadful is the recoil 
 
 "It seems very sad that Orme should have been 
 called away so early when his career of usefulness in his 
 Master's cause was, to our eyes, but just begun. And 
 at a time, too, when those who are entirely devoted to the 
 service of God, especially in the army, can but ill be 
 spared. But the Master knows best about it ; and we 
 are therefore bound to believe that our dear friend has 
 been called &vray just at the proper time. We know 
 too that he has fulfilled the great end for which he 
 was born ; he has glorified God in his generation. 
 And now he is with, and like, his Saviour. What hap- 
 piness ! Oh, that the same testimony with regard to us 
 and our conduct may be able with truth to be borne by 
 those who have known us best, when we, likewise, shall 
 be called out of this world of sin and sorrow. Orme 
 was one of those few whose ' whole body was full of 
 light' because 'his eye was single/ What a cold
 
 94 EAENEST WORKING. 
 
 heartless wretch I feel myself to be, when compared 
 with him ! 
 
 " You will pardon my apparent neglect in not writing 
 to you about this loss, at once ; but it arose neither 
 from indifference nor laziness. My heart was over- 
 whelmed with the severity of another affliction, different 
 in kind, but more painful than I could tell you. It 
 occurred a few days after your letter reached me, and 
 so completely occupied my mind that I could give my 
 thoughts to nothing else. However, my dear Bruce, 
 God Himself has comforted my soul, and has given me 
 grace to say from my inmost heart, ' Thy will be done, 
 my God!' 
 
 " He has made me to see His merciful hand even in 
 those things in which at first I could trace only His 
 displeasure. From the 145th hymn in the second 
 volume of Sacred Poetry I have derived great comfort, 
 particularly from verses two and three. 
 
 " I am trying to get ' leave ' from the 1st of November 
 to travel on the Continent I think in France and 
 Italy. How I wish you could come. Many reasons 
 combine to make me wish to go at this time ; and I 
 am given to understand that I shall be unable to get 
 away after next March. However, if you are going 
 early next year, I will try my best, but am not sanguine 
 about it. 
 
 " The only letter I have had lately from Woolwich 
 was from Desborough. He says they are all getting on
 
 EARNEST WORKING. 95 
 
 well You, I suppose, hear from the dear old Colonel 
 Ever your affectionate friend, 
 
 " ARTHUR VANDELEUB." 
 
 In the end of 1852, having obtained leave of absence, 
 he was able to fulfil his desire of spending a short 
 time upon the Continent 
 
 His journey through Paris, Lyons, Marseilles, Genoa, 
 and Florence, to Koine, afforded him many opportunities 
 of satisfying that thirst for knowledge which was, from 
 his childhood, a distinguishing feature of his mind. He 
 found great enjoyment in a careful study of the chief 
 objects of interest in the great towns through which he 
 passed ; and in a long letter to his kind friend Colonel 
 Anderson, he describes minutely the fortifications of 
 Paris and Lyons, which he had opportunities of examin- 
 ing ; and draws a comparison between the advantages 
 of the French and English artillery, in system, dress, 
 &c.; besides alluding to other matters bearing upon 
 the profession in which he was so deeply interested. 
 
 In the same letter, he writes that circumstances pre- 
 vented his having his friend, Captain Bruce, for a com- 
 panion, which was a great disappointment to him; but 
 adds : " I had the pleasure of the company of Lieu- 
 tenant Leahey, RE. ; and I believe it was ordered 
 of God for our mutual good that we should travel 
 together. I found him alive to, and anxious 
 about, the concerns of his immortal soul : and after
 
 96 EARNEST WORKING. 
 
 our day's work, we often read the Word of God and 
 prayed together. This was a great pleasure to me, 
 and, I trust, of benefit to us both. 
 
 "You will be glad to hear that, when I was at Florence, 
 I made the acquaintance of the chief friend of the 
 Madiai, who gave me a full account of those most 
 interesting persons ; and though he said he had but 
 little hope of their being released prior to the expira- 
 tion of their sentence, yet, he told me, they gloried in 
 being counted worthy to suffer, not only shame, but 
 cruel persecution, for the name of Jesus. He added 
 that, notwithstanding the utmost efforts on the part of 
 the Jesuits, backed by the government, neither in 
 Florence nor in Rome itself were they able entirely to 
 check the circulation of the Protestant Bible, or to 
 eradicate the effects which, when read, it had produced 
 on the minds and. conduct of those who had received 
 it. He also said that the spirit of religious inquiry was 
 much on the increase in Italy. Is not this, my dear sir, 
 glorious news ? The hand of our God is not shortened, 
 that it cannot save ; neither is His ear heavy, that it 
 cannot hear. May He accomplish His work in this 
 benighted land, and thoroughly overcome the Man of 
 sin, who, in this (so-called) Eternal City, in all his 
 pride and pomp, ' setteth himself above all that is called 
 God.' ' He is faithful that hath promised ' ' who 
 also will do it.' " 
 
 To the same friend, a few months later :
 
 EARNEST WORKING. 97 
 
 " PORTOBELLO, DUBLIN, April 16, 1853. 
 
 " MY DEAR COLONEL, Since your most kind letter 
 of the 28th February arrived, I have been anxiously 
 expecting the arrival of a schooner from Leghorn, 
 on board of which I had placed one or two little 
 packages for conveyance to England ; and as there 
 was, amongst other Italian curiosities, one which I 
 purposed presenting to yourself, I deferred writing 
 till I could make satisfactory mention concerning it. 
 The vessel has just arrived in safety, and I therefore 
 lose no time in forwarding to you what I hope you will 
 kindly accept, as a very small token of the esteem and 
 affection which I have long borne towards yourself and 
 Mrs Anderson. It is a vase sculptured at Florence 
 out of ' Verde Antica ' marble ; and it will afford me 
 sincere pleasure should you deem it worthy of a place 
 in that drawing-room where I have received so much 
 kindness. 
 
 " Since I last wrote to you, Colonel Savage has been 
 so kind as to appoint me his adjutant while he re- 
 mains in command here, and I am now sanguine of 
 being re-appointed when Colonel Warde arrives from 
 Limerick, as my kind and much esteemed friend 
 Colonel Armstrong has recommended me to him. It is 
 an office of considerable responsibility, and at times the 
 duties require much bodily and mental exertion, but I 
 like it the better on these accounts, for one is always 
 happier when one has plenty to employ one's mind ; and
 
 98 EAENEST WOKKING. 
 
 I humbly trust that God will give me grace and strength 
 to fulfil these duties as becomes a good soldier, and a 
 faithful servant of Christ. I was greatly obliged to you 
 for taking so much trouble about my shot. I have 
 determined to follow your advice, and have got twelve 
 more shot and shells made. There are one or two alter- 
 ations, and I hope improvements, in my plan. I am 
 not a little sanguine of success. Before I went on 
 leave to the Continent, I made trial of the principle 
 with a rifle, and succeeded beyond my utmost expecta- 
 tions, so far as the experiments were carried on. I am 
 about to resume them, and, on Thursday next, will 
 practise at the Pigeon-house at long ranges, in order 
 that I may be able to inform the select committee of 
 the result of the trials of my invention, as far as I could 
 carry them on with my own resources. Should the 
 committee consent to the trial of my shot, I will avail 
 myself of your very kind offer to watch for me the 
 progress of these trials, as I think it is unlikely they 
 will grant me leave during the summer for any pur- 
 pose. 
 
 "During the past week, the usual April meetings 
 of the Irish Clergy took place in the Eotunda. I had 
 the privilege of attending three of the morning ones, 
 when they all assembled for prayer and reading the 
 "Word of God at 7 A.M. We then breakfasted together, 
 and re-assembled in the Rotunda to discuss various 
 pre-arranged subjects. Several spoke admirably, but
 
 EARNEST WORKING. 99 
 
 none more so than the Eev. E. Bickersteth. It was, 
 indeed, delightful to hear those men of God telling of 
 their experience during a long and laborious life in 
 their Master's vineyard. We could not but feel our 
 hearts warmed within us at the recital of so many in- 
 teresting facts. I am convinced that these meetings 
 are sources of great good to this land. I learned that 
 those clergymen who attend them, some of whom were" 
 at first lukewarm, are eveiy year becoming more inter- 
 ested in the great work now going on. Can you con- 
 ceive a more encouraging sight than that of four hun- 
 dred ministers of the Gospel coming together for the 
 purpose of uniting in prayer to God, that He would 
 carry on the work amongst us more effectually ; whilst 
 at the same time, an opportunity was afforded the aged 
 and more experienced servants of Christ, to tell their 
 younger brethren how they might best promote the 
 interests of His kingdom. I must confess I never saw 
 a more heart-stirring scene. 
 
 " I saw Fitzgerald the other day ; he is now quite 
 well, and his wife and infant are progressing favour- 
 ably ; he desired me to send his most affectionate 
 regards. I have to thank you very much for 
 your kind letter about the Horse- Artillery. I have 
 not made, nor do I purpose making, any further 
 application for an appointment than that which you 
 recommended. If I get one, it will be altogether owing 
 to your great kindness. Please give my kindest regards
 
 100 EARNEST WOEKING. 
 
 to Mrs Anderson and Harry, who, I suppose, is the 
 only one of your family now with you. You must all 
 miss your daughter much. Believe me, dear Colonel, 
 your sincere young friend, A. VANDELEUE." 
 
 During the two years that he was quartered in Ire- 
 land, Arthur Vandeleur had frequent opportunities of 
 "taking a personal interest in his tenantry. They were 
 justly proud of his soldier-like spirit and high char- 
 acter. And whilst his kindly affections and generous 
 sympathies drew out their wannest attachment, he be- 
 came doubly sensible of his responsibilities as a land- 
 lord. Distinctly did he feel, that all that he had was 
 his only to hold as a steward, for an unseen Master, to 
 whom he must render a faithful account. 
 
 Besides his efforts to promote the comfort of the 
 poor on the estate, by improving their cottages and gar- 
 dens, and in other ways ; he also established a school, 
 and paid an able master for five years, in sanguine 
 hope of a success which was never realised. During 
 the whole of this time, the Romish priests would not 
 allow their people to send a single child to the school, 
 because the Bible was to be read there ; although there 
 was a distinct engagement that no controversial subject 
 should be introduced. 
 
 This disappointment grieved him to the heart. But 
 his personal influence, whenever he was able to be 
 amongst his people, was irresistible. No priest could
 
 EAENEST WORKING. 1 1 
 
 gainsay the truth and love of that honest, warm nature ; 
 nor veil " the shining light " of that beautiful presence, 
 and happy, holy life. The peasantry were deeply im- 
 pressed by his earnest devotion to his Divine Master and 
 Saviour, and would listen by the hour to the winning 
 tones of his pleasant voice, as he sought with all the 
 fervour and fire of his heart, to persuade them to come 
 to Jesus for pardon and peace. Many of them still 
 speak of him with tears, and exclaim, " Ah, he was too 
 good to live ! The Lord loved him too much to spare 
 him to us any longer." 
 
 " The memory of the just is blessed."
 
 CHAPTER VIIL 
 
 ' His love possessing, I am blest; 
 
 Secure, whatever change may come : 
 Whether I go to east or west, 
 
 With Him I shall be still at home."
 
 DEEP in every English heart lies the memory of the 
 Crimean war. The first storm oversweeping a sky of 
 forty years' serenity, startled a tranquil country into an 
 enthusiasm of military ardour, and of chivalrous sym- 
 pathy with her noble and gallant soldiers. 
 
 None can forget the tremendous excitement and 
 emotion stirred by the first tidings of the battle of 
 the Alma ; how a conquering nation walked in pride, 
 whilst loving hearts were trembling in dread suspense 
 until the list of the names of the wounded and the slain 
 crushed them with anguish ; or, by its blessed omissions, 
 filled them with joyful thanksgiving. 
 
 It was then that Arthur Vandeleur, and hundreds 
 of other young Englishmen who had grown up in the 
 long summer of peace, knowing war but in name, found 
 themselves for the first time face to face with a hos- 
 tile army. And it fell to Arthur's hand to fire the first 
 shot at the foe. He rode beside the foremost gun up 
 the slope at the affair of Bulgarnac, the day before 
 the battle of the Alma. It was his first step in a 
 career of gallantry a career shared by such numbers
 
 1 33 THE CAMP. 
 
 as hardly to be remarkable. Yet, in allusion to his 
 conduct throughout that campaign, General Anderson 
 writes: " Vandeleur was a living proof that there is 
 nothing incompatible in being a noble and chivalrous 
 soldier, and a warm and earnest Christian. He served 
 in the Crimea under that distinguished officer Captain 
 (now Colonel) Maude ; and quite bore out the expec- 
 tations I had formed of his proving an ornament to 
 his profession. He was in all the actions in which 
 Captain Maude's troop was engaged ; and I received 
 a letter from a lieutenant-colonel in the Artillery, 
 whilst in the Crimea, in which were these memor- 
 able words : ' Vandeleur, I love. He is brave as a 
 lion ; a polished gentleman, and, above all, a devoted 
 Christian.' " 
 
 The troop of Horse- Artillery to which he belonged > 
 under the command of Captain Maude, had embarked 
 in the Sultana, at Woolwich Dockyard, on the 25th of 
 April 1854, and entered the Dardanelles on the 4th 
 of June. 
 
 The residence of our troops at Varna, the landing 
 on the Russian shore, with the whole of the Crimean 
 campaign, are now only chapters in an old and oft- 
 repeated story. Very slight extracts will therefore 
 suffice, from Mr Vandeleur's correspondence upon 
 subjects of military interest ; and from his diary, which 
 is a complete history of the war, given with considerable 
 force, and great distinctness of detail
 
 THE CAMP. ] 07 
 
 TO CAPTAIN BRUCE. 
 
 " CAMP DEVNA, BULGARIA, 
 July 17, 1854. 
 
 ". . . . You may easily imagine to how great an 
 extent this kind of life militates against our growth in 
 grace ; we are thrown together so constantly, and have 
 so many little trifles to annoy us, that our tempers are 
 much tried. I find the use and the comfort now more 
 than ever, of the ' Thoughts of Peace/ and Bogatzky's 
 ' Golden Treasury,' and Newton's ' Cardiphonia.' The 
 great pleasure I derive from the perusal of the first of 
 these, I have to thank you for, and the dear Colonel, 
 for the benefit and help of the last two. I hope you 
 continue to read the 'Thoughts' as we arranged. 
 That for to-day is very beautiful, No. 157, page 207 : 
 'Thus saith the Lord, like as I have brought all this 
 great trial upon this people, so will I bring upon them 
 all the good that I have promised them.' Well may 
 we say, 'Faithful is He that hath promised, who also will 
 do it.' I much feel the want of Christian intercourse, to 
 keep eternal things more before my eyes. The things of 
 this world at times seem to shut them almost out of 
 my sight. Once I thought myself grateful to my Lord 
 for His great mercy to me, but I fear He has found 
 my gratitude only as the morning dew soon passed 
 awpy ; still my trust is in His word, ' I will never leave
 
 108 THE CAMP. 
 
 thee, nor forsake thee.' Hammond of the Rifle Brigade 
 is almost the only person I have met, with whom I could 
 converse freely. I had a long ride with him a few days 
 since, and enjoyed it excessively. The weather cool, the 
 scenery exquisite, and a real Christian for my com- 
 panion, could it be otherwise than delightful ? 
 
 " Would that you were here. Absence teaches me the 
 value of a true friend. I often think, were you here, I 
 should prize you more and trust you better than I have 
 ever done before. Now for some account of myself 
 and my doings. We have been here nearly three 
 weeks at Devna, nineteen miles north of Varna, This 
 place is well suited for an encampment, being a large 
 plain seven miles by two, surrounded by low mountains, 
 covered with brushwood, and with a small river running 
 through the centre. The whole of the cavalry and 
 ourselves occupy the north of the river, the Light 
 Brigade and the rest of the Artillery, the high ground 
 on the other side. It is said that this plain is hotter in 
 summer and colder in winter than any other part of 
 Turkey : and I quite believe it, for I can answer for a 
 tolerable degree of heat, having seen the thermometer 
 in my tent one day at 1 02 ; however, this intense heat 
 does not last long, but we find the sudden and great 
 changes very trying, a variation of 40 between mid-day 
 
 and midnight being not uncommon We have 
 
 at present nothing to do but drill, and provide food 
 for ourselves and our horses. You may laugh, but
 
 THE CAMP. ] 09 
 
 neither of these is such an easy operation as you 
 suppose, as you would soon find out were you a 
 subaltern on duty. Watering- order three times a- 
 day, and two hours grazing at some distance from 
 the camp twice a-day ; barley to be cut in its green 
 state and carried home ; with stable-duty as at Wool- 
 wich, and the poor subaltern when on duty has but little 
 time to do anything but eat his meals ; however, on other 
 days, when drill and camp-mess are over, there is little 
 to be done, so we ride into the country on exploring 
 expeditions, and sketch, or hunt the wild dogs across 
 the plain ; the latter is getting a very favourite amuse- 
 ment, and one generally finds fifteen or twenty horse- 
 men, in very motley costumes, drawn out to the meet. 
 The dogs are forbidden to be killed, being the scaven- 
 gers of the district, and therefore these gallops generally 
 
 end harmlessly We all have little ponies about 
 
 thirteen hands, of all shapes and colours. I have been 
 extremely fortunate, (?) and bought for \ (5 being the 
 average price here,) an Arab, universally allowed to be 
 the handsomest in the army, he certainly is a perfect 
 beauty. Should he and 1 live, I hope to bring ' Omer 
 
 Pasha ' to England I expect soon to be promoted, 
 
 I trust not, however, till we have met the enemy. I 
 shall try and get some months' leave, if promoted, and 
 get home, if there is nothing doing here. Suppose you 
 try to get leave at the same time, and join me some- 
 where in these countries how I should rejoice. Adieu
 
 110 THE CAMP. 
 
 my beloved friend. God bless you and keep you ! Ever 
 
 yours, 
 
 " A. VANDELEUR." 
 
 " CAMP DEVNA, August 27, 1854. 
 
 " MY DEAR MR FLEURY, I am indeed obliged for 
 your most kind and welcome letter, which arrived by 
 last mail ; you can hardly imagine how much a friendly 
 letter enlivens and cheers one's drooping spirits in 
 
 these desolate, inhospitable regions This is, 
 
 indeed, a dry and barren land, where no water is, both 
 physically and spiritually ; and when we see in the 
 distance the peculiar balance-draw-wells of the coun- 
 try, which can be discerned a long way off, the chances 
 are, that we find, to our disappointment, either the 
 wells empty or the buckets broken off, which makes 
 one feel the force of the simile employed by St Peter 
 to describe the false prophets of his day 'Wells 
 without water.' True emblems also of the ' prophets ' 
 of this country. You, I am sure, must know well the 
 lamentable state of infidelity and ignorance in which 
 these people live. They ignorantly worship an unknown 
 God, and deny altogether the only revelation He has 
 
 ever given of Himself There is, I understand, 
 
 not a single Christian missionary in the country, with 
 the exception of one or two sent to the Greeks and 
 the Armenians. 
 
 " It is the greatest pity to see a magnificent country,
 
 THE CAMP. Ill 
 
 such as this naturally is, running to waste in every 
 direction. God has given it natural capabilities far 
 above those of most countries, perhaps of any, and, as 
 is too often the case, man works in exactly the inverse 
 
 ratio I have seen acres and acres of thistles 
 
 seven and eight feet high, and so close that you can 
 hardly walk between them. Every hedge is composed 
 of the bushes which are so abundant everywhere 
 all thorns and the most common weed by the way- 
 side is a little thorn bush, somewhat resembling young 
 gooseberry bushes. The cultivation, such as it is, is 
 of the rudest description ; and I imagine the quantity 
 of land under cultivation does not exceed one-fifth 
 of the whole surface. This, then, being the country 
 in which I have been living for nearly three months, 
 will account, in some degree, for my not having written 
 to you long since, because I really had nothing interest- 
 ing to tell you, and will shew how acceptable letters 
 from one's friends must be, as breaking, in a delightful 
 manner, our dull routine of campaigning life. 
 
 " An attack of the combined fleets and armies on Se- 
 bastopol has at last been evidently determined on, and 
 we are on our march from Jani-Vaza in Shumla, where 
 we have been for the last month, to Varna, there to 
 embark and take our share in the expedition. I trust 
 and pray that the Lord of hosts may be on our side ; if 
 so, 'through Him shall we do valiantly, for He it is 
 that shall tread down all our enemies.' I am confident
 
 112 THE CAMP. 
 
 in the result being such as we could wish for, because 
 I know that thousands of earnest Christians are striv- 
 ing with the Lord in prayer for us. 
 
 " One thing is necessary above all others to me, and 
 to all here at the present moment to prepare to meet 
 our God. Oh, may He to whom alone the future is 
 fully revealed, lead me and all of us to put all our 
 trust in the merits and blood of His beloved Son ; 
 then, indeed, may we look forward with perfect con- 
 fidence, and do our duty, even in the battle-field, as 
 unto the Lord and not unto men, heartily and cheer- 
 fully. But, oh ! what difficulties do we encounter in 
 living to God anywhere. At home, there are the 
 charms of the world and the host of Satan's allure- 
 ments to pleasure, ease, and vanity ; here, where re- 
 moved in some degree from contact with these things, 
 he takes another line, and tempts us to become selfish, 
 overbearing, disagreeable, and unhappy, discontented 
 with ourselves and with everything around us, .... 
 as if we came out here to enjoy ourselves, and for that 
 alone. We have, to be sure, suffered a good many 
 privations, and our work has been very severe. For 
 instance, I have never tasted good bread since I have 
 been in the country, and we have often been many 
 hours without food ; our breakfasts have often consisted 
 of tea without milk, some black bread, and raw onions ; 
 and our dinner, sometimes, of tough beef and biscuit. 
 This is all owing to the difficulty of procuring trans-
 
 THE CAMP. 113 
 
 port We marched from Devna yesterday with 
 
 the llth Hussars, and we are now encamped within 
 two miles of Varna, overlooking the bay, which is very 
 full of shipping. At last we know that we are destined 
 for Sebastopol. * * * * With kind regards to Mrs 
 Fleury and all your family, believe me to remain, with 
 great regard, very sincerely yours, 
 
 " ARTHUR VANDELEUR."
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 jlerbm. 
 
 " We climb'd the hard- won heights at length, 
 
 Baptized in flame and fire, 
 And saw the foeman's sullen strength 
 Which grimly made retire. 
 
 " Saw close at hand then saw more far 
 
 Amidst the batt'ry's smoke, 
 The ridges of his scatter'd war 
 That broke, and ever broke."
 
 " Thursday, August 31st Late last evening Maude 
 returned with orders for us to embark in the Pyrenees) 
 No. 1 ; Kenilworth, No. 40 ; Harbinger, No. 61 ; and 
 Burmah, No. 85. This news caused universal joy, and 
 will do wonders towards our recovery. I already feel 
 better; the strong coffee a la mode Turque doing 
 wonders for me. Shakespear was taken ill last night 
 with fever, and has gone into Varna to Mr Angel's, of 
 the post-office. 
 
 "Friday, September 1st. Embarked yesterday, 
 with two guns, two waggons, and fifty-four horses, in 
 the Pyrenees. 
 
 "Saturday, September 2nd. Like the ship very 
 well, also the captain and chief officers. Plenty of 
 room for men and horses accommodation not as good 
 as that of the Sultana only two spare stalls. We 
 are the only troop who have brought their baggage 
 animals ; all owing to Maude's good management." 
 
 " Wednesday, 6th. This morning took a sketch 
 of the fleets at anchor. On the look-out the whole 
 day for the signal to weigh anchor, but none made.
 
 118 ACTIVE SERVICE. 
 
 In the evening, signal made from the Emperor for all 
 agents, and shortly afterwards another, 'Prepare for 
 sea to-morrow morning/ This set our minds at rest 
 for the night. Yesterday I paid a visit to De Havil- 
 land, and was delighted to have once more the oppor- 
 tunity of reading and praying with him. How thank- 
 ful I ought to be ! 
 
 " Thursday, 7th.-^- About half-past seven the move 
 became general. The French and Turkish fleets also 
 got under way, and being to the east of us, were ahead 
 for some time. Their steamers had three, four, and 
 five vessels astern, and were much more scattered than 
 our fleet. At one, we passed astern of them, apparent- 
 ly to let them get on our right ; wind favourable for 
 Sebastopol a gentle breeze and beautiful day an 
 auspicious beginning may the end exceed our most 
 sanguine expectations ! A more magnificent sight it is 
 impossible to conceive we are all keeping our places 
 beautifully, moving along about six miles an hour, con- 
 voyed by our three-deckers and the rest of our mag- 
 nificent fleet. What an assemblage of power ! the two 
 finest fleets in the world numerous representatives of 
 our splendid merchant navy, led by the best of our 
 merchant steamers these having on board 60,000 
 men, all in excellent health and high spirits. Well 
 may the Russians take shelter in their strong forts, 
 under cover of their numerous artillery. 
 
 " Friday, Sept. 8th. Pound ourselves at daylight
 
 ACTIVE SERVICE. 1 1 
 
 several miles short of our rendezvous ; many ships 
 were out of sight went very slowly to let them come 
 up. At 11 A.M., came up with the French and Turkish 
 fleets, had to close-in to keep clear of them. They 
 were all lying- to on the port tack ; they amounted to 
 about twenty sail of the line, and a dozen frigates. 
 We passed very close to them, and could see their decks 
 crowded with soldiers. It was a glorious sight out 
 of sight of land, the sea perfectly smooth, and sur- 
 rounded by ships and steamers of all kinds and 
 sizes. 
 
 " Our rendezvous disappointed us sadly; we expected 
 to have seen No. 9 (13 miles west of Sebastopol) made, 
 and we are losing all patience at our slow rate of pro- 
 gression. The band of the 95th, on board, is a great 
 acquisition, and enlivens us every evening, Irish and 
 French airs predominating. My horses are doing 
 famously, and the men are quiet and attentive, the 
 sick improving. Have been reading the Life of Dr 
 Gordon attentively, and admire it excessively; it 
 affords a convincing proof that all great minds do not 
 reject religion. He studied the theory and evidence of 
 Christianity very deeply, became convinced of their 
 truth ; and also saw that head knowledge availed 
 little. In this state he remained a long time, but at 
 length was enabled to go as a little child to Jesus, to 
 cast all his care upon Him, and felt joy and peace in 
 believing. From that time forth, his life, always useful
 
 120 ACTIVE SEEVICE. 
 
 in no ordinary degree, was devoted to his God, and 
 the conversations which took place during his last long 
 illness, are edifying, and deeply interesting. Oh, that 
 I were more like him, unselfish, active, and benevo- 
 lent ! 
 
 " Jesus, beloved Saviour ! grant that I may become 
 so, more and more every day I live." 
 
 " Sept. 1 "2th. Sighted the Crimea at daybreak, kept 
 steady course until 4 P.M., then altered course to N. by 
 W., and continued so for one hour, when the Emperor 
 again steered E., and we all followed her ; land right 
 a-head, at 5, stood in for it, men-of-war getting 
 to the front, Arethusa leading in a dashing manner. 
 Most of them anchored about eight miles off shore ; we 
 held on and anchored, in the order specified, at 7 
 P.M. A most beautiful sunset, the last rays of the sun 
 shooting through innumerable summer clouds of singu- 
 lar loveliness, a fine sandy beach, and grass land 
 behind. A town in sight, and forts at the water's edge 
 (uncertain)." 
 
 "Thursday, Sept. I4<th. Started at four o'clock 
 this morning, and moved again twenty miles down 
 the coast, nearer to Sebastopol ; anchored at nine, 
 having got into a nice mess just before, the Simla, 
 Pyrenees, Colombo, and London all together run- 
 ning foul of each other. Fortunately the sea was 
 smooth as glass, and hardly a breath of wind stirring, 
 so they got clear without damage. The French landed
 
 ACTIVE SERVICE. 121 
 
 first, and immediately planted the Tricolor. About 
 two miles to our right, our first boat reached the 
 land twenty minutes after, right opposite us, 7th 
 Fusiliers and some Sappers in her. Many more fol- 
 lowed immediately. No Eussian troops in sight, 
 except a Cossack officer, and three of his men, quietly 
 surveying us from the shore with a telescope. Herds 
 of cattle, and plenty of hay to be seen, and a village 
 about five miles off, a lake immediately behind the 
 landing place. We are about seventeen miles from 
 Sebastopol. 
 
 "Friday, Sept loth. The men on shore suffered a 
 good deal from the weather during the night> as they 
 had no tents. A heavy surf rolled on shore, and the 
 ships rode so uneasily that it was deemed inexpedient 
 to land the horses, and accordingly the signal was made 
 for some of the cavalry and artillery transports to 
 prepare to get under way ; towards mid-day, how- 
 ever, the surf abated so much that it was deter- 
 mined to land us, and we commenced disembark- 
 ing at half-past one o'clock, having previously put all 
 our carriages into a boat or flat, and taken them out 
 again. When we got to the beach with my No. 2 gun 
 and fourteen horses, the surf was still high, but the 
 horses stood it famously, though we were detained in it 
 for upwards of half-an-hour, by the stage on which they 
 were to run out of the boats unshipping. At last we 
 secured it, and the sailors, tar-like, stripped, and tak-
 
 122 ACTIVE SERVICE. 
 
 ing the breakers one by one, swam ashore to draw 
 up the flat. No accident of any kind occurred ; the 
 sailors took the horses and ran them down, our men 
 pushing them from behind. At half-past three, I first 
 set foot on the enemy's land. May the good and gra- 
 cious Lord bless, preserve, and keep me while here 1 
 In thousands of ways He has blessed me. Oh that I 
 may seek to glorify His name, may watch and pray 
 that I enter not into temptation ! We landed No. 1 
 gun just before dark, and had hard work, getting all 
 square for the night ; but the men worked famously, 
 and by ten I got to my tent, which we had taken care 
 to bring on shore, and three more for the men. The 
 night was fine, and we were undisturbed. 
 
 " Saturday, September 1 6th. All astir early made 
 inquiries after water, which, it appears, is very scarce- 
 nobody knew anything about it ; so I went with my 
 men, in fatigue dress, saddles, and swords, in search of 
 some. Saw Colonel Strangways. Went up the hill to 
 the right, and out towards the Light Division. Sa^y 
 the French and our men getting water at the upper end 
 of the lake, and went there. Waded through much mud, 
 and when we tried to water our horses, sank in the 
 mud ; so I turned about and went to a village two miles 
 further off, and there got water. Fed with corn in the 
 fields. When returning, the Duke of Cambridge spoke 
 to me about the horses, and admired their condition. 
 When I got back, after a twelve-mile ride, found we
 
 ACTIVE SERVICE. ] 23 
 
 were wanted to go out with Lord Cardigan and all the 
 cavalry, to make a forced reconnaissance. Got ready in 
 marching order three days' provisions and started 
 at 1 P.M. His Lordship took us fourteen miles in an 
 east by north direction, over a country as flat as a bil- 
 liard-table, without a ravine or hillock of any kind, or 
 any water ; crossed an arm of the sea. Cavalry lead- 
 ing, guns ready to open while they crossed a village 
 within range, where Cossacks were supposed to be. 
 Entered the village ; only one or two Turks to be seen. 
 Went on to another village, the plain gently rising, till 
 we attained the top, and had a most extensive view. 
 I never saw so uninteresting a country. We could see 
 as far as the Putrid Sea, with a horizon as level as 
 the sea itself, and twenty or thirty miles towards the 
 south-east. Not a Cossack to be seen. A Turk said 
 that three days before, twelve thousand Eussian cavalry 
 had passed through towards Sebastopol. (Don't believe 
 a word of it, as they could get no water in such a 
 country.) An officer set the example of plundering 
 ducks and geese, which our men were not slow to fol- 
 low. I forbade it, and made them disgorge. We after- 
 wards bought a few very cheap one turkey, four 
 ducks, and one chicken, for two shillings. Eggs four- 
 teen a-penny. I thought this good, but we have been 
 outdone. Lieutenant Taddy having purchased four- 
 teen pigs for a piastre (twopence) ! ! ! Remained an 
 hour at this village, and returned by the same road,
 
 124 ACTIVE SERVICE. 
 
 which appeared endless, now the chance of fighting 
 was gone. 
 
 "Sunday, September Ylih. What a Sabbath-day 
 was this ! Work, work all day. No time for anything 
 but work. Thank God, He enabled nue sometimes to 
 think of His goodness, and to bless His name ! Saw 
 Captain Anderson in the evening, and was delighted 
 to have a few words of serious anc^ profitable conver- 
 sation with him ; he told me he now longed more than 
 ever to glorify God, and to live for Him. May his 
 prayers be answered, for Jesus' sake ! 
 
 "Monday, September 18th. Busy getting all in 
 order for to-morrow's march. Six horses joined to fill 
 up vacancies. 
 
 " Tuesday, September 1 9th. Marched at 6 A.M., 
 and formed in order of march at the outposts, with the 
 rest of the army. Cavalry leading, I. Troop support- 
 ing them, the several divisions of infantry in double 
 column of divisions, according to seniority, rifles 
 bringing up the rear. Four miles before us we saw our 
 enemies, the Russians. At first a few Cossacks, but 
 presently heavy columns of cavalry, were seen just be- 
 hind the hills. We crossed a little rivulet guns by a 
 bridge cavalry and infantry fording. The cavalry 
 were then ordered up the hill, and disappeared from 
 our sight. Presently our troop and Captain Brand- 
 ling's (C) were ordered up to support Lord Lucan and 
 his two squadrons, which consisted of 8th, llth, and
 
 ACTIVE SERVICE. 1 '25 
 
 13th. When we got to the top, we found on the op- 
 posite ridge several masses of cavalry, with skirmishers 
 out, prepared to dispute our further progress ; they 
 were about two thousand two hundred yards off. 
 We formed line to the front, and halted for a few 
 minutes, while the cavalry advanced eight hundred 
 yards, to allow time for the infantry to come up ; we 
 had some rifles w\fh us. The infantry came up quickly, 
 and formed line two hundred yards behind us ; while 
 this was going on the cavalry advanced still further, 
 throwing out skirmishers ; and the affair commenced by 
 the enemy's skirmishers, twice as numerous, firing at 
 them. They did not reply, being out of range of car- 
 bines. Our two squadrons formed across the road ; 
 presently down came ten guns and began firing at our 
 squadrons at nine hundred yards' range. Lord Raglan 
 refused to allow the Horse- Artillery to fire, as he said it 
 would bring on a general action ; however, after seve- 
 ral casualties among the cavalry, he consented. We 
 galloped to the front, with C Troop, and came into 
 action range rather long however we peppered them 
 well ; our first shot, fired by No. 2, pitched into a gun, 
 and caused a quick retreat from it so the staff say. 
 We then limbered up, and moved to the left, having 
 silenced the guns after a round or two, and caused 
 them to retreat with the cavalry. The enemy extended 
 their right, in order to outflank us, but were now with- 
 out guns ; so we pitched shot and shell right into their
 
 126 ACTIVE SEEVICE. 
 
 masses, and again caused them to retreat out of range 
 to the next ridge. Their guns were 8 or 12-pounders, 
 and the shot came bounding along through our sub- 
 divisions, and over our heads; however, (thank God!) 
 we suffered no loss. Five amputations were performed 
 upon poor fellows of the cavalry, and they lost five 
 horses. One shell burst in the stomach of a horse 
 we found on the field four men and five horses dead 
 of the enemy, but afterwards ascertained that their 
 casualties amounted to thirty-two men and thirty-five 
 horses. This action goes by the name of ' the Cavalry 
 Affair of Bulgarnac/ 
 
 " Wednesday, September 20th. We marched from 
 our encampment at Bulgarnac at 9 A.M. passed 
 several dead men and horses where the Russian guns 
 had been. At eleven we arrived within three miles of 
 the Russian army, and halted for half-an-hour, while 
 our generals reconnoitred their position. It was 
 evidently one of enormous strength, and was well 
 chosen, as the Russians had every advantage over 
 their opponents. The river Alma flowed along their 
 entire front; and on its banks were the upper, lower, and 
 middle villages of Alma. Trees and vineyards abound- 
 ed also, and tended to conceal the enemy's riflemen, 
 while they seriously impeded our advance. On the 
 other side of the river the ground sloped upwards in a 
 kind of natural glacis for three quarters of a mile. 
 The heights were crowned with intrenchments, and
 
 ACTIVE SERVICE. 127 
 
 defended by many guns. On the left of their position 
 the ground was veiy precipitous, and on their right it 
 sloped gently off ; but the river was deeper higher up, 
 and we could not turn their right without becoming sepa- 
 rated from the French. It was, with great judgment, 
 determined to attack in front ; for the French, who were 
 on the right, had thus the support of their steamers, 
 which shelled the heights opposite their right flank 
 most beautifully during, the whole of the attack, at a 
 range of about 3000 yards. The Turks, 7000 strong, 
 supported, or formed the French reserve. We had the 
 post of honour given to us, on the left of our allies, to 
 attack the village of Alnia, and storm the strongest 
 part of the Russian position, where all their intreuch- 
 nieuts were, and the greater part of their forces drawn 
 up. The strength of the Russian army is estimated 
 at 40,000 infantry, 12,000 cavalry, and 108 guns. 
 The battle began by the advance of the French at half- 
 past twelve o'clock, the fleet shelling the Russian heights. 
 We were halted just out of range, and had time to 
 admire the glorious scene. The sun shone with un- 
 clouded rays ; which, (reflected from thousands of 
 bayonets, swords, helmets, and ornaments,) together 
 with the celerity of the French movements, the steadi- 
 ness of the Russians, and the, imposing, yet quiet, 
 appearance of our own columns, presented a scene 
 seldom to be equalled, never excelled. The French 
 shells burst with wondrous accuracy, which called forth
 
 1 28 ACTIVE SERVICE. 
 
 continuous expressions of astonishment : they must 
 have done great execution. The English ships looked 
 on in dignified silence. At last, when the French had 
 had half-an-hour's start of us, the order to stand to our 
 arms was passed along our columns, and we were 
 instantly in the saddle. We had not advanced many 
 hundred yards, when a 24-pounder shot came booming 
 along, and the white wreath of smoke ascended from 
 the centre intrenchment, which commanded several 
 roads. It only just reached us, and did no harm. 
 Presently Mini bullets began to whiz about us rather 
 thick, and the order was given for the columns of 
 attack to deploy into line ; the Rifles, as skirmishers, 
 getting well to the front. The enemy's Riflemen were 
 covered by the trees, and walls of the villages; but 
 though ours were at first entirely without cover, they 
 quickly forced the former to retreat across the river. 
 The Light and 1st Divisions formed the first line the 
 7th Fusiliers on the right, and the Highlanders on the 
 left. The 2nd and 3rd Divisions formed the second 
 line, and the 4th in reserve. The Field Batteries and 
 C Troop were with their respective Divisions ; the 
 Cavalry in two lines on the left, with our troop of 
 Royal Horse-Artillery. 
 
 " The enemy's guns were of very large calibre, and 
 were well served, the ranges well known, and the ground 
 marked with posts. Their shot reached to great dis- 
 tances, and did much execution. We lost a shaft horse
 
 ACTIVE SERVICE. 129 
 
 from a 1 2-pound shot when we were on the extreme 
 left the range must have been, at least, three thousand 
 yards. Our Riflemen having splendidly driven back 
 the Russian skirmishers to the other side of the river, 
 the line advanced to its edge, and our field batteries, 
 which had till then been silent, opened a heavy and 
 effective fire, under cover of which our men crossed the 
 river with a rush, and re-formed under the steep bank 
 at the other side, where they were, to some extent, 
 defended from the severe artillery fire from the in- 
 trenchments. Between the bank and these intrench- 
 ments was a sloping plateau of, at least, twelve hundred 
 yards, but nothing daunted, our incomparable infantry, 
 having re-formed, and had a moment's breathing time, 
 suddenly appeared in line on its further edge, and, led 
 in the most gallant style by their officers, the 19th, 
 23rd, 33rd and 95th rushed up the slope. 
 
 " Instantly grape and cannister poured through and 
 through them, sweeping down whole sections at a time. 
 They broke, but not to turn ; on, onwards they pressed, 
 halting only occasionally for an instant to make some 
 return in answer to the dreadful fire which had now 
 decimated their ranks. At this critical moment, when 
 our fire from the north side of the river was necessarily 
 becoming more slack for fear of injuring our own men, 
 a battery (Captain Turner's) having succeeded in 
 crossing to the other side, galloped up the slope on 
 
 their flank, and began to enfilade, with a most effective 
 
 I
 
 1 30 ACTIVE SERVICE. 
 
 fire, the guns in the main intrenchment. The fire of 
 the latter now gradually slackened, and the Russians 
 began to remove their guns and retire. Some, however, 
 still remained, and our gallant red-coats, feeling the 
 good effects of Captain Turner's movements, again 
 rushed on, stormed the intrenchment, put every Russian 
 to the sword, and took two guns. Great was the cheer- 
 ing from the whole army when the British colours 
 floated from the parapet of the work. At this time 
 the French appeared on the top of the hill to the right, 
 and began to fire on the Russian columns in retreat, 
 but from some unexplained cause they left off firing in 
 a very short time, and thus only rendered half the 
 assistance they might have done. While all this battle 
 was going on, we were kept standing at ease on the 
 left flank, watching a very large body of the enemy's 
 cavalry on the other side of the river; now, how- 
 ever, the order at last arrived for us to advance, and 
 down we went at a trot, through the upper village of 
 Alma, and along a narrow lane, the intrenchment at the 
 top of the hill right opposite still firing shot and shell. 
 In this lane, unfortunately to all appearance, but not 
 so as it afterwards turned out, two of our guns upset, 
 and delayed us for ten minutes. No. 1 gun which got 
 through safe was thus detained on our side of the river 
 and under cover of the steep bank of the other side. 
 While there, we saw several shells burst in the very 
 ravine we were to have gone through ; this firing lasted
 
 ACTIVE SERVICE. 131 
 
 the whole time we were waiting for the gun, and ceased 
 just as we got the order to advance. Up we went with 
 the llth, and, when on the plateau, pushed our horses 
 into a gallop, and away we went at a rattling pace. We 
 got to the top just in time, and saw a column of infan- 
 try and artillery retiring up the ravine in front about 
 eleven hundred yards off. We came into action at 
 once, and plied them with shot and shell for a quarter 
 of an hour and did great execution. We were the only 
 artillery that fired on this column, and yet the next 
 day we found there upwards of two hundred dead 
 bodies ; so that allowing for the proportion of wounded, 
 their loss at this point must have been great. That 
 they suffered severely from our fire was evident 
 because, though in retreat, they brought a 12-pouiider 
 battery into action on the opposite ridge, out of range 
 of our 6-pounders, and began to fire at us ; not, however, 
 before we had ceased firing at their column as being 
 out of range, and were limbering up to retire. 
 
 " Captain Maude begged of Lord Lucan and Sir 
 Colin Campbell to be allowed to advance down the 
 hill, but Sir Colin said Lord Raglan's positive orders 
 were that no one should go beyond the ridge on which 
 we then were. Had we then been allowed to advance 
 with the cavalry, we must have taken many guns and 
 prisoners, and inflicted severe loss on their rear. 
 Neither Wellington nor Napoleon would have stopped 
 short at this point.
 
 132 ACTIVE SERVICE. 
 
 " "When we retired, we found the Highlanders in line 
 on our flank, they cheered us lustily, to which we as 
 heartily responded. The Duke of Cambridge, who 
 witnessed our advance up the slope, told General 
 Strangways that Captain Maude's troop came up the 
 hill and into action in the most gallant style. After 
 resting for half-an-hour, and feeding, we again 
 advanced, the Russians being sufficiently far off, 
 went down the hill, and up the next ridge more to the 
 right ; the whole army soon followed, and we found our- 
 selves on a table-land seven miles by one-and-a-half. 
 The Russians had now re-formed on the nearest line 
 of hills ; no pursuit was allowed, and we retired to 
 rest, tired out with our day's work, and deeply thank- 
 ful to Him who had given to our arms so glorious a 
 victory." 
 
 " Thursday, September 21 st. Having hurt my leg a 
 good deal, and suffered much pain, was scarcely able to go 
 from our camp at all to-day. The field of battle was still 
 strewed with dead, wounded, and dying men. Many 
 of the 33rd regiment were without medical assistance 
 during the whole night. As for the poor Russians 
 who thickly covered the ground at all the principal 
 points, they, of course, had to wait till our own men 
 had been attended to, and most patiently they endured 
 their dreadful sufferings. One group I went to with 
 our surgeon, consisted of five, out of which number 
 four had to undergo amputations ; yet they sat or lay
 
 ACTIVE SERVICE. 133 
 
 together, without uttering a groan, or shewing the least 
 impatience. I assisted Thornton to take off a leg, hold- 
 ing the arteries, while he tied them. 
 
 " Despatches with the news of the victory were this 
 day sent home, but we were unable to write, having so 
 much to do. The bodies of English and Russians 
 foes while living now lay peacefully together in 
 every conceivable attitude of death. In the main 
 intrenchment at least five hundred were lying together. 
 Some had both hands clasped in the attitude of prayer, 
 one with his left arm broken, had the right extended 
 upwards as if he prayed. .... It was a sickening 
 and horrible sight ; and I rode away, now fully im- 
 pressed with a sense of the awful calamity of war. 
 May God in His goodness teach us to be merciful to 
 our enemies, and soon bring to a close this awful 
 war." 
 
 "Monday, September 2oth. Marched at 8 A.M. 
 along the main road, turned to the left about three 
 miles from the fortress, and went along a very narrow 
 road, making it wider with our wheels. The road led 
 through the bush. The cavalry soon took the wrong 
 road, which Maude found out at once, and halted his 
 troop. Providential it was that he did so, for had he 
 gone on without escort, we should have found ourselves, 
 with six guns, opposed to the rear-guard of Menschi- 
 koffs army. He sent me back to inform Lord Raglan, 
 but I missed him in the wood, and galloped back along
 
 134 ACTIVE SERVICE. 
 
 the road, looking for him. I retraced my steps to a 
 house where I had last seen him, and there asked which 
 road Lord Raglan, had taken. They all said he went 
 down the road to the left, which I thought very odd ; 
 but, with an officer on the Quartermaster-General's 
 Staff, I went down. He presently stopped to water 
 his horse; I rode on, and at last found myself in 
 Sebastopol, at the head of the harbour, not five hun- 
 dred yards from one of their steamers. I was quite 
 astonished, and looked around me in wonder. There 
 was a long low line of fortification before me, about a 
 thousand yards off. As I stopped my horse to look, 
 three Minie' bullets came whistling about me, and I 
 heard the reports not far off. I put spurs to my horse, 
 and galloped off round the corner. When I got back 
 to the troop, I found them about one mile in advance of 
 where I had left them, and was told that the Russians 
 were in force in our front, and not more than three 
 hundred yards off. The guns were at once brought into 
 action, but we found that the enemy was retreating. 
 
 " Tuesday, September 26th. Marched to Balaklava, 
 and encamped amongst vineyards and orchards. Bala- 
 klava taken chiefly by C. Troop. 
 
 " Wednesday, September 27th. Marched up to the 
 heights of Sebastopol. The whole army made a demon- 
 stration above the town. Got into a comfortable resi- 
 dence and outhouses. It had been sacked by the 
 Cossacks, and all the furniture destroyed.
 
 ACTIVE SERVICE. 1 35 
 
 "Thursday, September 28th. Russians fire occa- 
 sionally at our lines. 
 
 " Friday,. September 29th. Went up the hill with 
 General Burgoyne, to make a reconnaissance, within 
 two thousand yards of the fortress. As we were ad- 
 vancing, General Airey was sent for by Lord Raglan, 
 and the reconnaissance was at an end. Russians threat- 
 ening our rear." 
 
 "Sunday, October 1st. Maude read service at our 
 bivouac at the Poplars/' 
 
 " Tuesday, October 3rd. Ordered back to Bala- 
 klava, Lord Raglan wanting our house for head- 
 quarters. Our troop required to protect the cavalry." 
 
 " Saturday, October fth. An orderly galloped round 
 by our camp at 5^ A.M., ordering us to turn out 
 at once, our outposts being engaged. We were on 
 parade in twenty minutes. Advanced with all the 
 cavalry to the front, our videttes firing all the time. 
 Our outposts at last retired. We were halted for a 
 quarter of an hour under cover of the ridge, while Lord 
 Lucan and staff went forward to reconnoitre. We were 
 presently ordered up by Maude. The moment the Rus- 
 sians saw our now well-known troop coming over the hill, 
 they turned and fled; twelve hundred cavalry retreat- 
 ing before six guns. We came quickly into action, and 
 gave them a round or two, but the distance was too 
 great. We then directed our attention to five hundred 
 more on the hill opposite, and fired ; but some of the
 
 1 36 ACTIVE SEKV1CE. 
 
 staff calling out, ' These are French,' we left off firing, 
 and they retreated in time. The cavalry are much 
 disgusted with this affair. Lord Lucan has ordered a 
 parade for the cavalry and our troop every morning 
 at 5 A.M."
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 1 Hast Thou not given Thy word 
 To save my soul from death ? 
 And I can trust my Lord 
 To keep my mortal breath. 
 I '11 go and come, 
 Nor fear to die, 
 Till from on high 
 Thou call me home."
 
 ON the 19th of October, Mr Vandeleur was seized 
 with a serious attack of fever and ague ; and on the 
 21st, was sent on board the Shooting Star, off Bala- 
 klava. 
 
 " Tuesday, October 24<th. Spent a most awful night, 
 frightful dreams. When I awoke, felt quite paralyzed ; 
 unable to move hand or foot; began to be alarmed about 
 myself, but found great comfort when I thought of the 
 promises of God to me, and His great mercy hitherto. 
 This made me trust Him now with all my heart. 
 
 " Wednesday, October 25th A sad day for the army. 
 Troops on parade as usual at five. The parade was 
 about to break up at eight, when the videttes began 
 to circle right and left, and immediately retired. The 
 Russians were now seen coming in force on our right 
 front, and the Turks (the cowardly rascals) in charge 
 of the five forts on the ridge and hills, left all our guns 
 loaded, and bolted without even firing a shot, or spiking 
 a single gun. The Russians of course at once took 
 possession of all these forts, and turned the magnificent
 
 140 THE HOSPITAL. 
 
 guns in them upon us, and pounded us well. This was a 
 severe and dreadful blow to us, who depended on the 
 Turks keeping them against any odds. How misplaced 
 was our confidence, the result proved ; and dearly bought 
 was the experience. The Russian cavalry, encouraged 
 by this unexpected success, now advanced boldly in great 
 force, at least five or six thousand strong, and were 
 supported by the fire of the forts. The only artillery 
 we had at first, to oppose them, was our troop and 
 Barker's Battery ; we opened fire at once upon them, 
 and of course with effect ; our cavalry now formed up 
 in line, charged them successively by regiments, and at 
 last succeeded in driving them back. Nothing could 
 exceed the gallantry of our cavalry, or the impetuosity 
 of their charges, they fought the foe for the first time 
 to-day. The Greys were particularly remarked during 
 two splendid charges. Having driven the cavalry back 
 with loss, we now began to feel the effects of the fire 
 of the redoubts, and the cavalry were ordered to retake 
 them. A strange order! Cavalry to retake forts!! 
 However, our Light Brigade went at them, and succeeded 
 in getting three of them from the enemy, but the guns 
 were gone, our splendid guns ! thirty guns taken of 
 ours ! Enough to break an artilleryman's heart, and 
 all through those rascals, the Turks. 
 
 "Thursday, October 26th. Sailed from Balaklava 
 for Scutari"
 
 THE HOSPITAL. 141 
 
 Mr Vandeleur arrived at Scutari Hospital, seriously 
 ill ; and was entirely disabled from returning to active 
 service until the following December. 
 
 As strength began to return, he resumed his journal, 
 and united his testimony with thousands of others, to the 
 wonder-working genius and self-sacrificing benevolence 
 of that noble and heroic woman, whose name is ever 
 breathed by the British soldier with blessings which 
 find an echo in every British heart. 
 
 Who can read the oft-told story, and not pray, God 
 bless FLORENCE NIGHTINGALE ! God grant her, if yet 
 it may be, renewed health for a continuance of her 
 devoted labours for the soldier's benefit. Or, if that be 
 denied to a nation's prayers, God grant to her, who, " in 
 feeding the lamp of charity," has well-nigh exhausted 
 the lamp of life, in the darkness of her chamber of sick- 
 ness, to realise the glorious presence of her Divine 
 Redeemer; the Man who has suffered, the God who 
 saves. 
 
 " Saturday, December 2nd Still at Scutari, and in 
 the same room with Maude and Yates Yates very ill 
 with low fever. Anxious to get back to the Crimea, as 
 I now feel quite well. Applied for a passage to Major 
 Sillery, and sent in a medical certificate of my recovery 
 from Mr Munn, who has been so very kind and atten- 
 tive to us all No vessel going up. 
 
 "Sunday, December 3rd. Enjoyed the inestimable
 
 142 THE HOSPITAL. 
 
 privilege of again partaking of the Holy Communion 
 service read by Mr Sabin, Mr Freeman, and Mr Lawless. 
 Two of the clergymen now attached to the hospital are, 
 I know, excellent men, who devote themselves to the 
 welfare and comfort of the sufferers. There are seven 
 chaplains here, and eleven with the army/' 
 
 " Wednesday, December 6th. Went to see Taswell 
 in the hospital great difficulty in finding him ; he is 
 fast recovering, and very cheerful. While there, Miss 
 Nightingale appeared outside, attended by one of her 
 nurses, and talked for some time to a wounded man of 
 the 13th Light Dragoons. No one in the room but 
 myself had seen her. She is no enthusiast, but a 
 woman of uncommon energy of mind, and strength of 
 character ; no one can help admiring and respecting 
 her, for she devotes her whole time and attention to 
 the work of charity which she has undertaken ; and a 
 wonderful reformation has taken place in almost every 
 department since her arrival. She has shirts distri- 
 buted to all new comers, clean sheets given to those 
 who require them has engaged cooks for the sick 
 officers, so that they can have everything they wish for, 
 cooked at any hour ; and many similar improvements 
 have taken place. 
 
 " Thursday, December 7th. Mrs Morris, wife of 
 Captain Morris, 17th Lancers, so very kind to me to- 
 day. Though a perfect stranger, she gave me two tins 
 of chocolate and a basin, and some silks, &c., to take
 
 THE HOSPITAL. 143 
 
 to the Crimea, saying she had brought them for her 
 husband, but being of no use to him, as he returns 
 home, I might have them. Captain Hastings of the 
 Curagoa, also most kindly offered me a passage with 
 him to the Crimea, and told me to be on board on 
 Saturday morning. This I most gladly accepted. 
 
 " Friday, December 8th. Busy shopping, and pre- 
 paring for my departure to-morrow. Tins of mar- 
 m i lade, pots of anchovy, and other pastes, tongues, bis- 
 cuits, sauces, butter, and chocolate, being the edibles ; 
 fur coats, India-rubber coat, long boots of .Russian 
 leather, being the clothing most in request. Got also 
 a cotton-wool quilt, a substitute for eider down ; bought 
 also a pair of long boots for Anderson capital things. 
 Cavalry soldiers ought to have no others. It would be 
 much better, too, if the infantry soldier had something 
 of the same kind, only made of lighter material, and 
 not to come up so high. At camp the mud is almost 
 knee-deep, and they find it next to impossible to dry 
 their trousers. 
 
 "Saturday, December 9th. Packed up my traps, 
 and went on board H.M. Steam Frigate Curagoa, 31 
 guns, at 9 A.M. we sailed at twelve. Captain Hast- 
 ings exceedingly kind, has given me half of his outer 
 cabin to myself, and makes me dine with him. I swing 
 my cot in the evening at eight, and it is taken down 
 before breakfast. 
 
 "Sunday, December IQth. Towed a ship through
 
 THE HOSPITAL. 
 
 the Bosphorus. Making 9*8 knots this morning, hav- 
 ing set fore and aft sails. At noon, one hundred miles 
 from Balaklava. The captain has prayers every morn- 
 ing and evening. 
 
 "To-day we had service at 10 A.M. He makes 
 attendance voluntary. Few sailors came, but all the 
 officers, boys, and most of the marines, were present. 
 Service full, except Litany impressively read by the 
 chaplain, and short sermon. It is a delightful thing 
 to see those in such absolute authority aiming in ail 
 they do to glorify God. Captain Hastings is indeed a 
 Christian man : kind and affable in his manner no 
 quarter-deck humbug and much unaffected humility. 
 Sunday School for the Naval Cadets in the chaplain's 
 cabin what an example ! He lent me a valuable 
 work on Christian retirement ; by whom, I know not, 
 as the title-page is out. 
 
 "Monday, December \\iti. Made the land soon 
 after daybreak, and we cast off the Barque, and lay- 
 to at 11 A.M. I went with Webb in the jolly-boat 
 ashore ; he for orders, I to learn news. Saw Anderson 
 on the wharf he is looking well he is Commissary 
 of Ordnance now. Met Shakespear, and went out to 
 the troop, one and a half mile north-west of Balaklava, 
 Found them admirably situated, as far as protection 
 from the weather is concerned, on a little hill, sur- 
 rounded by much higher ones the cavalry close to,
 
 THE HOSPITAL. 145 
 
 and the French on the heights above us. The roads 
 dreadful even now what must they be in wet weather? 
 Our troop looks much better than I expected horses 
 thin and ragged, but not starving ; men satisfied, and 
 not overworked ; officers fat, and good-humoured ! 
 Returned to the Curafoa, and got my traps on shore/' 
 
 It is from the journals and letters of others that we 
 chiefly learn how, as soon as he began to recover from 
 his own illness, Arthur Vandeleur devoted himself to 
 reading the Bible, and speaking words of consolation 
 to the sick and dying men in Scutari Hospital ; and in 
 like manner, when in the Crimea, he was continually 
 to be found by the side of the wounded, bringing help 
 and comfort both for body and souL
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 " Few, few shall part where many meet, 
 The snow shall be their winding-sheet, 
 And ev'ry turf beneath their feet 
 Shall be a soldier's sepulchre."
 
 DTJEING that terrible time, every fresh account from 
 the Crimea concentrated upon our army all sympathy 
 and thought at home ; and numerous were the schemes 
 formed for alleviating sufferings borne by oUr noble 
 soldiers, with such heroic fortitude as, in the mere 
 retrospect, still sends through otir hearts a throb 
 of pain with a thrill of triumph. One day, when a 
 bale of warm clothing and of books was in process 
 of packing at Beckenham Rectory, our ever-welcome 
 and honoured friend, Colonel Anderson, arrived from 
 Woolwich, and inspected the goods with kindly and 
 cheering commendations as to the selection. After 
 noticing parcels of books addressed to friends of ours 
 in several different regiments, " And will you not send 
 some," he asked, " to the Royal Artillery ? * On our 
 inquiring to whose care they might be sent, he at 
 once named his young friend, Mr Vandeleur ; and, 
 after describing him in language of tender admiration 
 and regard, he added, "And will you write to him, 
 when you send the parcel? He would greatly value 
 a letter from you, and you will find that his is indeed
 
 150 THE SIEGE. 
 
 a lovely young spirit to enter into Christian communion 
 with." 
 
 From that date commenced a correspondence, which 
 rapidly ripened into a friendship of no ordinary charm 
 and value to me. To him it seemed, as time proved its 
 truth, to answer, -in some little measure, the constant 
 yearnings of his orphaned heart for an affection which 
 should recall to him, however faintly, a mother's love 
 and care. 
 
 He answered my letter whilst ill of fever in Scutari 
 Hospital ; and brightly and warmly grateful was his 
 ready response to it. Often did he refer to it after- 
 wards, as the " morning star of our friendship/' But 
 it was not until that last long conversation, already 
 alluded to, which he held with me a few days before 
 his death, that I heard from his own lips that he owed, 
 under the blessing of God, to that letter, his enjoyment 
 of the full liberty of the children of God, the undoubt- 
 ing and abiding assurance of the forgiveness of sins to 
 the believer in Jesus. 
 
 Enclosed in that letter was a note of introduction 
 for him to Captain Vicars, 97th Regiment ; which he 
 delivered immediately on his return to the Crimea. 
 This introduction resulted in a brief but blessed friend- 
 ship, ending, in four short months, with Hedley Vicars' 
 death. "Ending!" Oh no, not ending ! That which 
 came from Heaven must return thither. Like water, it 
 must find its level. Like the living water, poured from
 
 THE SIEGE. 151 
 
 the eternal centre into the mortal heart of man, and 
 springing up again, with that dying life absorbed into 
 it, unto life everlasting. Such Christian friendship as 
 that of Hedley Vicars and Arthur Vandeleur is im- 
 mortal likewise. 
 
 If our state in this world be but the infancy to the 
 glorious maturity promised us beyond the grave, shall 
 we 'forget, in the manhood of the soul, the friends of our 
 childhood ? Did He who is the type and head of all 
 humanity, who has combined and concentrated in Him- 
 self the double nature, the tenderness of the woman 
 with the strength of the man, did He forget His own 
 familiar friends, in His resurrection life ? 
 
 Had He not a heart for penitent Peter ; and an ap- 
 propriating love for John, from the time of His various 
 appearances after His rising from the dead, to the date 
 of His withdrawing the beloved apostle from the arena 
 of missionary duty to the exile of Patmos, there to re- 
 veal Himself to the Seer's enraptured eye ? 
 
 And was not the conficlatioii given by St Paul to the 
 Thessalonian mourners, weeping over open graves, an 
 assured hope of mutual recognition for renewed and 
 delightful intercourse with their " dead in Christ," in 
 a new and glorified life, when he assured them that 
 they should be " caught up TOGETHER WITH THEM in the 
 clouds, to meet the Lord in the air." Together, and not 
 recognising each other, like friends that meet in mist, 
 and that mist for ever unsunned away ! Could the
 
 152 THE SIEGE. 
 
 apostle have ventured with such feeble bands to bind 
 up broken hearts or to offer such a hope as the great 
 message of comfort from Him ? For those two noble 
 friends, then, so manly and so tender in heart, so chival- 
 rous in spirit, and so full of Christianity's genial and 
 cheerful love, who first met and parted in the dreary 
 night of war, and starlike threw a light upon its gloom, 
 what a meeting can we imagine ! 
 
 "Within a land of pure delight, 
 
 Where saints immortal reign, 
 Infinite day excludes the night, 
 And pleasures banish pain." 
 
 "Saturday, December IGth. A dreadful day for 
 the horses ; hail, rain, and snow all the morning, with a 
 bitterly cold wind. Three of our horses died during 
 the night. The men have hard work in clearing the 
 mud away. Had stones put in front of the horses to 
 put the hay on, and others to keep the saddles out of 
 the mud. Ordered No. 1 to close in their horses to the 
 centre after grooming them, to give them the benefit of 
 mutual heat and some little shelter. The roads are 
 covered with dead horses, mules, and bullocks." 
 
 " Tuesday, December 19th. The long-expected mail 
 has arrived, bringing me several most welcome letters. 
 Fifteen suits of warm clothing for the horses received j 
 also bales of blankets, and the clothing for the men due 
 next April. Old England is at last roused to a sense 
 of our misfortunes, and is determined to atone for her 
 dilatorinefis by her liberality,"
 
 THE SIEGE. 153 
 
 " Saturday, December 23rc?. Eode the Czar to the 
 front to see Colonel Dacres, Captain Vicars, 97th, and 
 Willy Anderson. I saw Captain Vicars, and we talked 
 a long time together ; poor fellows they are dreadfully 
 uncomfortable. His bed consists of a few bushes laid 
 on large stones. He says two hundred of the men of 
 his regiment have to go daily into the trenches. They 
 have also to find out-lying pickets and three regimental 
 guards. So the men are sometimes on duty thirty-six 
 out of forty-eight hours too much, this ! They have 
 great difficulty in getting anything brought up fo^them 
 from Balaklava. Found it very cold ; my fur coat and 
 long boots hardly kept the piercing wind out. Thank 
 God that I have them ! 
 
 " Sunday, December 24>th. This afternoon the ther- 
 mometer sank almost to freezing point, and in the 
 evening all the tents began to freeze. (10 P.M.) 
 Thornton has just called out to me to say that the 
 inside of his tent is all bespangled with icicles. Mine 
 is not so for I have a little charcoal burner with a few 
 embers still alight in it. We had no service to-day, the 
 weather and duty preventing it. Thornton always 
 reads it in the hospital on Sunday. The poor fellows 
 there were so glad to get the little books dear Colonel 
 Anderson sent me. Little books are much more readily 
 received than tracts, for a careless soldier hates the 
 name of tract. I have also lent them several of my 
 own books."
 
 154 THE SIEGE. 
 
 "Monday, December 25th. Another Christmas-day. 
 How different in every respect from those happy Christ- 
 mas days I have spent in Old Ireland. 
 
 " Tuesday, December 26th. Got on well with our 
 stabling to-day, and put in twenty horses. Commenced 
 digging a hole for my hut ; it is to be very small, as I 
 shall probably not be with the troop long nine feet 
 by seven just room for my bedstead and a fire-place. 
 The clay is very suitable for the purpose. I saw my 
 name in the Gazette to-night as Captain, Times 9th 
 Decenober ; Gazette 4th." 
 
 "Thursday, December 28th. Went into Balaklava 
 to see Anderson, having received a note from him last 
 night. It turned out that he had recommended me to 
 Colonel Morris, 1st Division, as his adjutant. I wrote 
 and applied for the post, and have got it. For this 
 piece of good fortune, I have, under God, to thank my 
 dear kind friend Anderson, who exerted himself strongly 
 in my favour. 
 
 "Friday, December 29th. Went up to see Colonel 
 Dacres about my appointment ; he had no objection, 
 and at once asked Lord Raglan if he might give me 
 the appointment. His Lordship consented, and called 
 me up, and spoke to me : he asked about Maude, and 
 expressed his regret at losing him from the army." 
 
 "Sunday, December 31st. On awaking found the 
 ground covered with snow cold and frosty. Thermo- 
 meter in my tent 34. Great discomfort everything
 
 THE SIEGE. 155 
 
 upside down in my tent. No servants no mess. Break- 
 fasted with Woodhouse and Co. Went to church a u 
 eleven, with the 1st Division, viz. Guards and 97th Regi- 
 ment Litany and sermon. Mr Jackson, late a mission- 
 ary, preached ; very short sermon, but very good one, all 
 to the point ; subject, " This do in remembrance of me," 
 Luke xxii. 19 ; chiefly drawing our attention to the 
 fact of this being a command, not a permission only, 
 and that he did not wish to see officers only, when the 
 sacrament should for the future be administered, but 
 soldiers too. He gave notice that every Sabbath after- 
 noon at three, it would be administered in his tent : and 
 (which I like much) he invited every soldier to come 
 and speak to him at any hour he liked. He is a worthy 
 successor of that good man, Mr Halpin." 
 
 " Tuesday, January 2nd. The Russians fired last 
 night with cannon on our advanced pickets from 
 Inker-man valley. Am in a greater state of discomfort 
 than I have been since I left England. The interior of 
 my tent is quite a slough, the rain having dribbled in 
 under the door during the night. Have neither servant 
 nor groom, our horses, too, got no hay to-day, there 
 being none at Balaklava ; owing, I have no doubt, to 
 further mismanagement. Rained unceasingly. Trying 
 to dry my famous Russian leather boots, burned the 
 front out of one of them. Great misfortune this. On 
 dit, Prince Menschikoff says he has three generals of 
 great renown coming to his assistance, which the allies
 
 156 THE SIEGE. 
 
 know nothing about, viz. January, February, and 
 March !!! I imagine there is some truth in the state- 
 ment, whether he ever said so or not." 
 
 "Thursday, January 4th. My poor horses suffer 
 dreadfully. The horse clothing was all frozen over 
 them to-day when I first saw them. Have had no 
 hay for two days. I give them a little biscuit, which 
 they devour ravenously." 
 
 "Saturday, January 6th. Went down into the 
 trenches to-day with Colonel Morris and Maxwell. 
 Entered the 21 -gun battery, which is on the crest of a 
 hill, about a mile in advance of the Light Division 
 picket-house. The Woronzoff road passes close by this 
 house, and leads down near the battery. The snow lay on 
 the ground a foot thick in many places; but notwith- 
 standing this, we could see thousands of shot strewing 
 the ground. When we got near the battery there was 
 hardly a square yard without one or two 30-pounders, or 
 40-pounders. I can only compare its appearance with 
 that of a turnip field with the turnip-tops eaten off. 
 It is hardly credible that the Eussians could have fired 
 so many shot and shell at us, and yet have done so 
 little damage. A naval officer said, that in one place, 
 five yards by one, he counted 250, and even then left 
 off before he had reckoned them all. 
 
 " It was on this road that Richards and Maxwell 
 had, on two or three occasions, in open daylight, to 
 take down five or six waggons together, loaded with
 
 THE SIEGE. 157 
 
 powder. A pleasant position, truly, to ride close to 
 five tons of powder, exposed to a storm of shot and 
 shell from thirty heavy guns. Every shot which missed 
 our battery came up close to them, and each had a 
 marvellous escape. On one occasion, a shell stuck in 
 the nave of one of the wheels when Richards was in 
 charge. He imagined it was a shot, and went up to 
 it ; when close he saw the smoke, and instantly threw 
 himself on his back; at that moment the shell burst, 
 blew the wheel to pieces, and a fragment passed close 
 over his body. Every one here testifies to Maxwell's 
 coolness under fire/' 
 
 "Sunday, January \kth. No service to-day on 
 account of the snow. It is now so deep (20 inches) 
 on the ground as to make it almost impossible to get 
 firewood. Even the little branches which used to indi- 
 cate the proper place to dig, are now covered. To-day 
 the wind was very high and cold, and the drift so 
 great as to make it most unpleasant travelling. We 
 expected to have no dinner to-day from want of fuel, 
 however we managed at last to get some, and had an 
 excellent dinner. No one would believe (except those 
 who have lived the same kind of life as we now are 
 doing) how our spirits rise and fall in almost exact 
 proportion to the supply of our animal comforts. This, 
 'however, is a sad truth, and has a most important 
 bearing on the progress of the war. We expected to 
 have no dinner to-day, and we all (very much in con-
 
 158 THE SIEGE. 
 
 sequence) wrote doleful letters to our friends, and no 
 doubt said the army was suffering extreme hardships. 
 The staff, I have no doubt, wrote in their private cor- 
 respondence that the army was hardly suffering at all, 
 because they enjoy every luxury and comfort. 
 
 " Monday, January 15th. Weather still cold, and 
 blowing hard. Nothing important doing. Yesterday 
 afternoon went over to see Vicars, 97th, and found that 
 he has had a second escape from his charcoal stove. 
 Thank God he is still alive, and tolerably well. With 
 what signal manifestations of mercy and love the Lord 
 our God preserves His own. Had some conversation 
 with him on the subject of a prayer-meeting, which I 
 think it would be so desirable to establish in the Divi- 
 sion. Graydon, Vicars, Major Ingram, 97th, W. An- 
 derson, and myself, might very well form such, and we 
 are all within a few hundred yards, except W. Ander- 
 son. Who can tell the amount of benefit our souls 
 might receive were we thus to meet for mutual edifi- 
 cation, and prayer, and studying the Word of God. 
 May He bless our efforts ! " 
 
 " CAMP BEFORE SEBASTOPOL, January 19th, 1855. 
 
 "MY DEAR COLONEL, Having been in a state of 
 uncertainty and extreme discomfort the last three 
 weeks, I have hitherto been unable to comply with 
 your very kind request, that I should write frequently 
 to you. The thermometer indicating cold of 7 or
 
 THE SIEGE. 159 
 
 8 in my tent, the floor of which consisted chiefly 
 of frozen mud, you can imagine such a state of 
 things was not calculated to induce me to sit down 
 quietly for the purpose of transferring my thoughts to 
 paper. Having, however, yesterday had the pleasure 
 of seeing your dear son William at Inker man, I can 
 no longer forbear giving you the pleasure, which I 
 know you will feel, when I tell you he was then quite 
 
 well and very cheerful He has managed to 
 
 make himself tolerably comfortable, and though so 
 great a distance from Balaklava, tells me they are well 
 
 supplied with rations His brother John watches 
 
 over him just like a father, and is continually sending 
 him up comforts of one kind or another ; there never 
 was a more affectionate brother in the whole world. 
 Indeed, my dear Colonel, I have good cause to speak 
 of your son in terms of warm gratitude ; for he has 
 obtained for me the appointment which I now hold, 
 that of Adjutant to Colonel Morris, commanding Royal 
 Artillery, 1st Division, and this without any suggestion 
 on my part. He kindly obtained the promise from 
 Colonel Morris ; and in consequence of his recom- 
 mendation alone, Colonel Morris acceded to my request. 
 This is thus the second appointment which I have 
 obtained through you and your family. .... John, 
 when I saw him last, some days ago, was quite well, 
 and fully employed as usual. I suppose he will get 
 one of the packets that are going, and hope so for his
 
 1GO THE SIEGE. 
 
 sake, he is so anxious to get home. This, by the by, 
 is the great failing with all the married men ! . . . . 
 Concerning the state of affairs out here, there is little 
 worth mentioning, which the newspapers do not give 
 in full ; their accounts, especially those in the Times, 
 
 are, I regret to say, only too true However, 
 
 thank God, we have, I think, seen the worst, and are 
 now improving much I trust permanently. The 
 severe frost has at last given way, and a steady thaw 
 set in, with a S.S.E. wind, and we all rejoice in the 
 probability of its continuance. The greater part, too, 
 of the warm clothing, of which there is a most abun- 
 dant supply, has been received and distributed, much 
 
 to the benefit and comfort of the whole army 
 
 We have now hardly any chaplains with the army. 
 Mr Watson has arrived, and is at Balaklava with 
 the Highland Brigade ; I trust his health will enable 
 him to remain. When I next go to Balaklava, I purpose 
 calling on him. After your account of him, I am sure 
 I should enjoy his society very much, and shall try to 
 know him intimately ; there are so few out here with 
 whom I can converse on these subjects, which I can 
 truly say, notwithstanding all our bustle, excitement, 
 and annoyance, are still dearest to me. With Captain 
 Vicars, 97th, I had the other day some sweet com- 
 munion. He is indeed, ' a man of God.' I hope to 
 see much of him, 
 
 " Willy, to my great delight, has promised to come
 
 THE SIEGE. 161 
 
 and spend a few hours with me on Sunday next, and I 
 hope Vicars will come too. Surely these are times 
 when we ought to think much of another and a better 
 world. Ever your affectionate and obliged 
 
 " ARTHUR VANDELETJB." 
 
 "Sunday, January Zlst. My birthday twenty- 
 six years old. How many mercies have surrounded ine 
 during the past year ; may my life, as well as my lips, 
 shew forth my gratitude ! No Division church-parade ; 
 so Wodehouse read the service to his company. Poor 
 fellows in hospital very glad to get some books ; may 
 the Lord impress the great truths contained in them 
 on their hearts. They were also glad to have service 
 read to them in the evening ; hope I shall be able to 
 continue this. Went over to see Vicars, 97th had 
 some conversation with him and Major Ingram pur- 
 pose going over to see them often. It is very sweet to 
 have some one within reach with whom I can commune 
 oil sacred subjects. Here trifling, chaffing, and noisy 
 conversation, engross the whole of our evenings, except 
 that time which is occupied with whist, to the ex- 
 clusion of anything sensible, charitable, or refined. I 
 Avish I had my dear friend Bruce out here ; but I must 
 not be selfish, and wish my dearest friend to come out 
 to such a life as we now have one of hardship, annoy- 
 ance, and selfishness ; a life to all but a Christian (who 
 
 can at times abstract himself from all around, and 
 
 L
 
 162 THE SIEGE. 
 
 have his mind watered, comforted, and re-strung, by 
 communion with our blessed Redeemer) detrimental to 
 every kindly feeling and noble sympathy. I almost 
 repent of my decision to remain out ; but no, I will 
 trust my covenant God, and believe that He has great 
 stores of mercy laid up for me ; and that He has a 
 glorious purpose of love with regard to myself and 
 those among whom I am placed. Oh, to honour Him 
 before men ! " 
 
 "Sunday, February 4>th. Read service to men in 
 hospital, and went to Ingram's tent, but they had had 
 their service. 
 
 'Monday, February 5th. Lord Rokeby takes com- 
 mand of the Brigade of Guards, 540 bayonets. Com- 
 menced my stables, and worked hard myself, sledging 
 and picking. Got one well finished, and put in ' Czar/ " 
 
 The following letter was written at this date : 
 
 TO REV. C. FLEUEY. 
 
 "CAMP BEFORE SEBASTOPOL, 
 February 5th, 1855. 
 
 "MY DEAR FRIEND, It requires a considerable 
 amount of moral courage and perseverance, to accom- 
 plish even a single letter, in these cold and dreary regions. 
 But so grateful do I feel for your last kind and most 
 welcome letter, that I cannot suffer this mail to leave 
 without thanking you for it. It is difficult for you to 
 conceive how the scenes and circumstances in the
 
 THE SIEGE. 163 
 
 midst of which I am placed, add to the value of letters 
 such as yours ; how they are hailed with delight, read, 
 re-read, and pondered upon, with feelings which it is 
 easier to imagine than describe. 
 
 "How happy I should be again to find myself in 
 dear old Dublin, where I enjoyed so many delightful 
 privileges ; amongst the chief of which I reckon my 
 " sitting " in the Molyneux, and our much-enjoyed and 
 often-remembered evening readings at your house. 
 
 " I trust you and all yours continue well, and that 
 your school succeeds. The principle on which you 
 have established it appears a singular one ; but if you 
 get the boys young, I see no reason why you should 
 not succeed. All depends on the correct discernment 
 of character ; and I know well that the rod is often 
 most unnecessarily and injudiciously applied; that 
 such treatment often ruins delicate and sensitive na- 
 tures ; and such natures are the most valuable, as 
 being generally found allied to a high degree of in- 
 telligence and a high ' tone of moral feeling, which, 
 if properly nurtured and delicately handled, might 
 prove a blessing to all with whom they are after- 
 wards thrown, when life's hard toils begin. So, they 
 might be an honour, instead of a disgrace, to the 
 instructors of their youth. 
 
 " I imagine that one of the greatest errors committed 
 by many, is the leaving boys quite to themselves during 
 the hours of play, when the rougher natures and the
 
 164 THE SIEGE. 
 
 older boys aoon get the upper Land, and (unless un- 
 usually generous) use their authority only to crush the 
 weakest. I had a long experience of the effect of such 
 conduct, when preparing for the army. This it is that 
 constitutes the great difference between school and 
 home, where the boys are not under strong constraint, 
 and yet never left quite alone. 
 
 " How many, many mercies I have experienced from 
 Him whom I do indeed regard as the great Captain 
 of my salvation I Amongst them are the wonderful 
 manner in which I have been preserved in the day 
 of battle, and the health and strength which I now 
 enjoy. Oh that both these and all else that belongs 
 to me might be more and better used for His hon- 
 our and glory ! I find these lines peculiarly applicable 
 to me just now : I have been given to feel something 
 of their truth, depth, and comfort : 
 
 Know, iny soul, thy full salvation ; 
 
 Rise o'er sin and fear and care j 
 Joy to find in every station 
 
 Something still to do and bear. 
 Think what Spirit dwells within thee I 
 
 Think what Father's smiles are thine ! 
 Think that Jesus died to save thee ! 
 
 Child of Heaven, canst thou repine ? ' 
 
 "To all, this is a life of trial and hardship, in some 
 sense or other; 'but there remaineth a rest to the 
 people of God.' May we not come short of it ! May 
 we work while it is day, and work for God and for our
 
 THE SIEGE. 1 65 
 
 fellow -creatures. ... Oh for a speedy end to this war 1 
 Oh that the Prince of Peace may soon restore to us the 
 blessings of peace ! I think we should know how to 
 appreciate it now." 
 
 " Wednesday, February 7th. Weather still delight- 
 ful. Still at work at the stables. Read much to-day. 
 
 " Thursday, February 8th. Had pistol practice 
 to-day with Pennycuick and Harply. The arming of 
 the Inkerman batteries commenced this evening is 
 chiefly done by the French we furnish wheelers. 
 Took up three mortars and beds. 
 
 " Friday, February 9th. Two more new batteries 
 are to be constructed ; one of nine guns, close to our 
 advanced trenches in front of Gordon's battery, and 
 one of fifteen, on the inner slope of the Inkerman hill; 
 both to fire on the Round Tower ; under cover of 
 which fire an advance is to be made on a hill only 700 
 yards off from this tower, which commands it ; where 
 a sand-bag battery is to be erected in one night for 
 fifteen guns. A strong sortie will of course be made 
 on this, which we are to beat back, and entering 
 pell-mell with the enemy, are to take possession of the 
 works around the tower and keep them. How well 
 this reads may it be successful in stern reality ! 
 
 " This is a most memorable day for me. A good 
 hope granted of a blessed answer to the prayer of 
 many years. New and greater mercies than ever
 
 166 THE SIEGE. 
 
 have been lavished upon me before, by my all-mer- 
 ciful God. Glory, glory, glory, be to His most holy 
 Name for ever ! How true are His words, ' Let the 
 hearts of them rejoice, that seek the Lord ! ' 
 
 "Saturday, February 10th. One of the most severe 
 days we have had during the whole whiter. A strong 
 wind from the N. by W., with sleet and snow. Very 
 trying it must be for the poor fellows in the trenches. 
 Eemained at home writing and reading all day. 
 
 "Sunday, February llth. Weather too unsettled 
 for church-parade. Read to men in hospital, and wrote 
 in the afternoon." 
 
 " Tuesday, February 1 3th. This evening we break 
 ground in advance of Gordon's battery, for a new battery, 
 about 300 yards to the right front of Gordon's. The 
 firing has been very heavy and constant this evening; 
 so I dare say they have already commenced to break the 
 ground. Got hold of a most valuable little book, 
 called ' Spring's Fragments,' this evening, and read the 
 chapter on 'a useful Christian/ Very truthful and 
 forcible. I must be a useful Christian, must try to 
 give up my lazy habits, and become much more useful 
 in my generation than I have ever yet been. I can- 
 not do this of myself, but I look to God the loving 
 God to strengthen and support me in my determina- 
 tion. Christian knowledge, activity and energy, zeal 
 tempered with discretion, ardent uniform piety, earnest 
 prayer, mortification of an aspiring spirit, the absence
 
 THE SIEGE. 1 G7 
 
 of an earthly mind, and great consistency of character ; 
 these are some of the requisite graces ; and heavenly 
 Father, for the sake of Jesus Christ, grant them to me, 
 and may all Thy dealings with me be sanctified and 
 made to conspire to this great end ! 
 
 " Wednesday, February \4ith. Another lovely day, 
 just like May in England. Thermometer 55. The 
 French (200 Zouaves) commenced their battery on the 
 right front of Gordon's last night, and it looked very 
 respectable to-day from a distance. In the afternoon, 
 went with W. Anderson over to the 97th camp, where I 
 enjoyed the inestimable privilege of joining with a 
 chosen few in the worship of God in a tent. Ingrain 
 read prayers, and Vicars read a sermon. There were 
 also present, Cay, Coldstream Guards ; Smith, 97th ; 
 Le Couteur, Coldstream Guards ; Anderson and myself. 
 We all enjoyed it much." 
 
 TO REV. G. DESPARD. 
 "CAMP BEFORE SEBASTOPOL, March 2nd, 1855. 
 
 " MY DEAR GEORGE, You must have often thought, 
 'What can prevent Arthur from answering my last 
 letter?' That letter, so kind, so interesting, so full of 
 details, was, I assure you, most welcome. I received it 
 just after the skirmish of the Bulgarnac, the day before 
 the battle of the Alma. It was almost the first spare 
 moment I had had since landing, and, lying full length on 
 the ground, dead tired and very hot, I read your letter ;
 
 1 68 THE SIEGE. 
 
 so you see you did not make a bad gue.ss as to the cir- 
 cumstances in which it would find me. How applicable 
 did I then find its concluding passages to be. The 
 Lord our God had then, for the first time, (blessed be 
 His Holy Name !) ' covered my head in the day of 
 battle/ My dear George, though I have never since 
 written to you, I did, I assure you, feel most grateful for 
 your kind wishes and earnest prayers on my behalf. 
 
 "As regards myself, I have little of interest to commu- 
 nicate. I was for six weeks sick at Scutari ; but, thank 
 God, I got better under excellent medical treatment, 
 and was able to leave that horrible place and return to 
 my duty. Shortly after my return I was promoted, and 
 fell to a company at Corfu. I was very sorry indeed to 
 leave my old troop, to which I was proud to belong. But 
 preferring to remain and see the campaign out, I suc- 
 ceeded in getting the Adjutancy of the 1st Division 
 Eoyal Artillery, and have been consequently, since the 
 beginning of the new year, encamped on these heights. 
 While down at Balaklava, our hardships were nothing 
 to speak of ; but it has been very different since we 
 came up here. Personally, I have not suffered, beyond 
 being sometimes rather short of food, and feeling the cold 
 to be very severe. But I have seen suffering, misery, 
 and death in almost every form, and to a vast amount ; 
 and arising, too, I regret to say, chiefly from misman- 
 agement and want of thought I have myself seen the 
 horses eating the clothing off their own backs to satisfy
 
 THE SIEGE. 1C9 
 
 the cravings of hunger, and whole blankets have been 
 
 devoured in one night Large reinforcements of 
 
 artillery are daily arriving, and more have been sent 
 for to the Mediterranean stations ; and when they 
 arrive, we shall, I think, be able to commence our fire. 
 .... The Eussians have now got twenty-two guns in 
 their new work, and we have to throw up two batteries 
 of fifteen guns each to oppose it. But anything is 
 better than inaction. We are all anxious to commence. 
 I humbly trust and pray that we may be wise now, and 
 look for strength and support to the Lord God of 
 hosts. My great confidence is in the prayers that are 
 daily offered up for our success. Ever your affectionate 
 friend, AKTHUK VANDELEUK." 
 
 " Tuesday, March 13th. Went down to the Tcher- 
 naya to cut sticks, gather violets, and make a sketch, 
 all of which I accomplished. It is a most lovely spot. 
 I wish I could do justice to it. The underground town 
 of Inkerman was built, I hear, by the Arians, in the 
 third or fourth centuries, to escape persecution. 
 
 " Wednesday, March \th. Rode with Ingram, 9 7th, 
 to the Monastery of St George had a fine day, and 
 enjoyed our ride excessively. We rode round by some 
 of the cliffs, and were much struck with their beauty 
 and arrangement. They resemble the cliffs of Moher 
 on a much smaller scale. After I returned I walked 
 up to the Victoria Redoubt to see the French work.
 
 170 THE SIEGE. 
 
 They are now about fourteen hundred yards in advance 
 of the redoubt, and only eight hundred from the Mame- 
 lon, which they are approaching by sap. At seven 
 o'clock we were surprised by hearing the musketry 
 become very sharp, and presently the great guns on 
 both sides joined in, and the firing all round became 
 general, but strongest in front of the Victoria Redoubt ; 
 it lasted nearly an hour, when there was a lull of half- 
 an-hour's duration ; and then they again began to fire, 
 and the engagement became sharper than ever ; it lasted 
 upwards of another hour, and then ceased. It has 
 been, I imagine, a Russian sortie, in force on the new 
 French Parallel. The whole of the French Divisions 
 near this have turned out, and marched up with their 
 artillery. Our Light Division also marched up the 
 hill, and the Siege Train Companies fell in. \Ve 
 remained quiet, knowing we should not be wanted. 
 After two hours' fighting, all is over. Many poor fel- 
 lows, I fear, lie weltering in their blood now, and why 
 am I spared? Great is the mercy of my good God to 
 me. Last evening, at 5 P.M., one of my dear friends, 
 Captain Craigie, Royal Engineers, was killed by the 
 splinter of a shell, as he was returning from his work ; 
 it struck him in the side, and entered his heart death 
 was instantaneous. Poor dear fellow, his loss is much 
 felt JH every way, both in his profession, of which he 
 was an active and zealous member, and in private life,
 
 THE SIEGE. 1 71 
 
 being a most kind and affectionate friend, always fall 
 of good humour and fun, and a sincere Christian." 
 
 " CAMP BEFORE SEBA.STOPOL, March 16th, 1855. 
 
 " MY DEAR COLONEL, Shortly after I had written 
 my last letter, I heard of your re-appointment to the 
 Horse Brigade, and in its highest rank. Truly delighted 
 was I to hear that you had rejoined your old and 
 favourite branch of the regiment. I can quite imagine 
 the feeling of legitimate pride and joy with which dear 
 Mrs Anderson must have regarded you, when you had 
 resumed the dress which she knows always becomes 
 you so welL John, too, I had much pleasure in con- 
 gratulating on the birth of the son and heir. 
 
 " I often go into Balaklava on foraging expeditions 
 and have always the pleasure of a little chat with John, 
 and I am often privileged with a peep of some of your 
 letters. He is, like most of us, very anxious to get 
 home ; and I hope his wish may shortly be gratified, 
 as I, along with all his friends, think he is fairly en- 
 titled to some good appointment at home, or even to the 
 great aim of his ambition, a troop. I know well that 
 all his superiors, (and they alone are fit to judge,) con- 
 sider that he has effected the laborious work of super- 
 intending the disembarkation and transmission of the 
 vast amount of gun, shot, and material required for 
 this siege, with energy, ability, and success. The Lord
 
 172 THE SIEGE. 
 
 God has made all that he has undertaken to prosper, 
 and has fulfilled many of the precious promises con- 
 tained in His Word to him, because he puts his trust 
 
 in Him 
 
 " For the last few Sabbaths, we have enjoyed the 
 inestimable privilege of joining with Major Ingram 
 and Captain Vicars, 97th Regiment, Dr Cay of the 
 Coldstream Guards, and one or two other of God's 
 dear children, to worship Him in Captain Vicars' tent. 
 We read the Evening Service and a sermon. You 
 can well imagine how great -is the pleasure, how last- 
 ing the benefit, which we derive from this sacred em- 
 ployment. For my own part, I can truly say, that 
 these moments are among the happiest and most un- 
 alloyed which I have spent since I have been in the 
 Crimea. We are all within a convenient distance of 
 each other ; and I sincerely hope we shall be able to 
 continue these meetings, which remind me always of 
 those I so often had the delight of joining in at your 
 house. Poor Captain Craigie, R. E., was with us last 
 Sunday but one ; he is now, I feel sure, in the land 
 ' where the wicked cease from troubling, and where the 
 weary are at rest.' He met his death on Wednesday 
 evening, on returning from the trenches. A fragment of 
 a shell which burst a hundred and fifty yards from him, 
 struck him on the left side, and is supposed to have 
 entered his heart. Death was instantaneous. Poor 
 fellow ! there are few who make themselves so univer-
 
 THE SIEGE. 173 
 
 sally respected as he did, or so beloved for his temper 
 
 and good-hurnour at all times. He is a great loss 
 
 " We all desire peace, but without Sebastopol, it is 
 out of the question. May the Lord God be with us 
 and prosper us. I have hope now. The 21st inst. 
 has been appointed as a day of humiliation at home. 
 Many praying souls in this army will join you, and I 
 am sure we shall be heard. Please give my kind love 
 
 to all your family, and Christian regards to B . 
 
 Ever your deeply - indebted and affectionate young 
 friend, A. VANDELEUR." 
 
 Captain Vandeleur's Journal has copious details of 
 the action of the night of the 22nd of March ; which he 
 terms " a glorious affair/' 
 
 This passage is not inserted here ; having been pub- 
 lished, in substance, in the Memorials of Captain 
 Vicars. He thus concludes : 
 
 " My dear, noble Vicars ! valued friend ! there were 
 few like him out here. Cheerful, gentle, unassuming, 
 his society was enjoyed by all who knew him. Warm- 
 hearted, affectionate, and honest, he was valued by those 
 whom he made his friends. Brave, conscientious, kind 
 and considerate in the discharge of his duty ; he was 
 respected by his superiors, loved by his inferiors, and 
 deeply lamented by all. A God-fearing, righteous man, 
 he has, I fully believe, been removed from the evil to
 
 174 THE SIEGE. 
 
 come, and is now amid angels and archangels, praising 
 Him who bought him with His blood, before the throne 
 of God and of the Lamb. How little we thought when 
 the very day before, we heard him read the beautiful 
 Church service with the deepest solemnity, that so soon 
 he should be taken from the midst of us. He could ill 
 be spared, as praying souls are but few among us ; and 
 his was a noble work amongst the sick and wounded." 
 
 "Saturday, March 24<th. A suspension of hostilities 
 took place to-day for two hours to bury the dead. 
 Great numbers of our officers took the opportunity to 
 go out in front of the French trenches, and see or 
 talk to the Russian officers. I could not go, for I was 
 anxious to get over my work, in order to be able to 
 attend the funeral of my dear and lamented friend 
 Vicars. Some of our officers walked over the grounds 
 almost as far as the Mamelon. Many of the Russian 
 officers spoke English and most of them French, so 
 great cltatt went on between us and them." 
 
 " Monday, April 2nd. No oper.ing to day. Rode 
 with Ingrain to the Monastery and made a sketch of 
 that lovely spot. 
 
 " Tuesday, April 3rd. Paid a round of visits to 
 my friends. Saw Bambrigge of the Royal Engineers, 
 who has lately returned from Ceylon. He goes into 
 the trenches this evening. 
 
 " Wednesday, April 4<th. The first thing I heard to- 
 day was the death of poor Bambrigge, who was killed
 
 THE SIEGE. 175 
 
 by a shell from a mortar in our advanced sap last 
 night. He saw it coming, and generously got all the 
 men inside the work ; he was last, and the shell fell close 
 to him, and blew him literally to atoms. Poor fellow, 
 he was a contemporary of mine, and a great friend ; a 
 very talented officer." 
 
 "Sunday, April 8th. Easter-day. Enjoyed the 
 inestimable privilege of partaking of the holy Com- 
 munion in the school-room, 77th Regiment. Many 
 officers attended, and I enjoyed it exceedingly. May I 
 ever esteem and prize the opportunities which may be 
 afforded me of growing in grace and love. We were 
 under orders to turn out, and march to Balaklava, with 
 four guns from each battery, if there should be an alarm 
 during the night, as Lord Raglan expected an attack 
 but none came off." 
 
 "Saturday, April \^th. A general assault has, it is 
 said, been fixed for this evening, or rather just before 
 daylight to-morrow morning. The French to attack 
 the Round Tower, or Mamelon, Flagstaff Battery, and 
 Quarantine Fort ; while we are to go in at the Redan 
 and Barrack Battery. Firing kept up very brisk. We 
 opened the eight-gun battery on the right yesterday, 
 with excellent effect, and the six-gun battery on the 
 left, which was, however, soon shut up ; the Russians 
 brought such a number of guns to bear on it, four 
 guns were disabled out of five a sergeant and seven 
 men killed in half-an-hour. So much for our advanced
 
 176 THE SIEGE. 
 
 batteries. Captain Oldershaw was almost the only 
 man unwounded, when he shut up the embrasure and 
 inarched the remnant of his detachment off. 
 
 "Sunday, April 15th. No assault; firing con- 
 tinued. 
 
 "Monday, April IQth. Firing still kept up, but 
 weaker. 
 
 "Tuesday, April VJth. Firing ordered to be re- 
 duced; and so the second siege is virtually ter- 
 minated!''
 
 CHAPTER XD, 
 
 " When I His yoka do bear, 
 
 And seek my chiefest joy 
 Bat in His righteousness, and sweet employ, 
 
 He maketh me His care ; 
 
 Early and late doth bless, 
 And crowneth work and purpose with success. 1 * 
 
 I
 
 fc BTZAMEH ' CANADIAN/ OFF CONSTANTINOPLE, 
 Mail 4</t, 1855. 
 
 "My DEAR COLONEL, You will doubtless be sur- 
 prised when you read the above address. I must explain 
 that having been laid up for ten days with an attack of 
 low fever during the latter part of our second and, I 
 regret to say, fruitless bombardment, I was ordered 
 a month's sick leave to Constantinople to recruit : but 
 just at this time my chief, Colonel Morris, applied 
 for leave on private affairs to England, and obtained 
 it to the end of July, .... and I join my company 
 at Corfu. I am now on my way thither in this magnifi- 
 cent vessel, which sailed from Balaklava on the 2nd. 
 She goes direct to Corfu to bring up a regiment. Wo 
 stop only a few hours at Constantinople. I cannot tell 
 you how happy I am to get away from the scene of 
 strife and carnage, and again to become a quiet mem- 
 ber of society. Many causes have conspired to bring 
 about this change of feeling in me, which I can better 
 explain when I have the pleasure of seeing you. This,
 
 1 ?0 HOPES FULFILLED. 
 
 I trust and expect, please God, is not very far distant, 
 as I purpose applying for leave to England immediately 
 on my arrival at Corfu 
 
 "What a pleasure it will be again to enjoy the 
 society of my excellent and valued friend Bruce. It 
 is a most cheering prospect to me. I left dear John 
 two days since : he accompanied me on board. How 
 the dear fellow longs to be in England : though labour- 
 ing energetically and very successfully here, his heart 
 is with you all at home 
 
 "A secret expedition sailed yesterday, (3rd,) as is 
 supposed, to take Kertch, and force a passage into the 
 Sea of Azoff. It consisted of the 71st, 93rd, 42nd, and 
 43rd Eegiments, and Barker's Battery, with all the 
 small steamers and gun-boats the land forces under 
 the command of Colonel Cameron. I am glad of this, as 
 the variety will rouse up the spirits of our troops, who 
 are only anxious to get at their foe on something like 
 fair terms. The English spirit of perseverance is now 
 
 thoroughly aroused Out here we want a man 
 
 accustomed to success even in small affairs, and one who 
 knows the value of TIME. Napoleon said once, ' These 
 Austrians are not accustomed to estimate the import- 
 ance of MINUTES in war, but I know their value/ 
 The Russian general, no doubt says, 'These English 
 don't know the value of weeks or even of months ! ' 
 Ever your affectionate young friend, 
 
 "A. VANDELEUR."
 
 HOPES FULFILLED. 181 
 
 On the 25th of May, he landed in England ; and in 
 the course of a week from that time, paid his first visit 
 to Bcckenham Rectory. A beginning was then made of 
 frank and frequent intercourse, and of delightful friend- 
 ship, which during the five following years struck its 
 roots deeper and firmer, and grew and blossomed un- 
 checked and unchilled ; culminating only as to its 
 earthly existence, with his withdrawal from our sight, 
 into the "general assembly and church of the first- 
 born." 
 
 It would not be easy to give an idea of the charm 
 of living sunshine which seemed to radiate about him ; 
 uniting, as he did, the most polished manners with the 
 frank simplicity of a high-hearted, eager boy ; mellow- 
 ing and merging both in the tender glow of " love to 
 the brethren," which overflowed a heart in which his 
 Saviour's love was " a spring, whose waters failed not ;" 
 few could meet him without being conscious of an 
 atmosphere of light, warmth, and freshness diffused 
 around. 
 
 From that time, no joy of ours was unshared with 
 him. And never did he hear of illness in our home 
 or anxiety in our hearts, without riding over from 
 Woolwich at the earliest time he could command, to 
 comfort us with his most understanding sympathy, and 
 to strengthen us with his prayers. 
 
 During the summer and autumn after his return, he
 
 182 HOPES FULFILLED. 
 
 frequently accompanied us on our visits to the navvies 
 and other workmen, then applying for admission to the 
 Army Works Corps, who assembled daily for hours in 
 the grounds of the Crystal Palace ; and once was able 
 to go with my sister and myself to Greenhithe, for one 
 of our farewell interviews with these men, on board the 
 ships sailing for the Crimea. The manly simplicity, 
 clearness, and vigour of his addresses to them, and 
 the fervour of his prayers, wore \eng remembered by 
 those who heard them. 
 
 The impression which his brave and blameless char- 
 acter produced i^u* young nib A <;i i.:s own position 
 in life, may be gathered from the following sketch 
 of his character, by a member of our family-circle, who 
 was at that- time at home whilst awaiting his commis- 
 sion ; and who was regarded by Arthur with great and 
 increasing affection from their first acquaintance : 
 
 " You have asked me to give you my impressions of 
 dear Arthur Vandeleur, and I must thank you for thus 
 putting it in my mind to look upon the pattern which 
 he has left. For it is always an edifying work, as well 
 as a labour of love, to think upon the finished course 
 of those, who through faith and patience, inherit the 
 promises. 
 
 " It is only impressions, indeed, that I can give you ; 
 for though I saw him often during the five last years
 
 HOPES FULFILLED. 183 
 
 of his life, yet it was only for a little while at a time. 
 I never was so fortunate as to live with him. I only 
 had passing glimpses of the fair stream of that pleasant 
 life. 
 
 " But I will try and recall what I thought of him, the 
 first time I saw him ; my first impression of him ; I 
 like that word as applied to him, because nobody could 
 see him without being impressed by him ; his manner, 
 his voice, his face, all impressed you. 
 
 " His manners were those of a thorough gentleman, 
 and something more. Your true English gentleman is 
 not a man to be liked very much at first sight ; there 
 is too little geniality about him for that. But you 
 liked Vandeleur at once, because you felt as if he liked 
 you. 
 
 " There was a frank openness and a readiness ' to be 
 friends,' that was very engaging. 
 
 " His was one of those clear ringing voices, that re- 
 mind one of distant bells. His face was altogether an 
 uncommon one. It was handsome, manly, expressive, 
 and even more than all these. It seemed to me, beyond 
 any other man's, to deserve the epithet of ' beautiful.' 
 
 " The high colouring of the cheeks, although it told 
 the sad story of a setting sun, added to the beauty of 
 the face in repose. It was when thus quiescent in 
 thought, that his countenance made the greatest im- 
 pression upon me. 
 
 " At such times the deep, quiet look of that liquid
 
 1 84 HOPES FULFILLED. 
 
 blue eye used to seein to me to be beaming with high 
 hope, or rather with a high resolve. 
 
 " And later, towards the close of his life, all could 
 see in that clear, earnest gaze, that he carried this 
 banner through the field of life : ' I believe in God the 
 Father Almighty.' 
 
 " There are men that are flattered, and so there are 
 men that are slandered by their faces. His was not 
 only an expressive face, but it was truly a key to his 
 character, as well as an index to his mind. One could 
 have said from it that his affections were very strong ; 
 and though manly and fearless, yet his look had much 
 of woman's gentleness in it. And his was a tender man- 
 hood. I am inclined to think it was all the greater and 
 braver for being so. Moreover, from his face I should 
 have said that perhaps his feelings were slightly too 
 sensitive for his own comfort in this work-a-day world. 
 I should have imagined, too, that his sense of duty and 
 honour would be very high pitched, and more so than 
 would consort with selfish, worldly wisdom. His mind, 
 too, I think, set its mark upon his features. His talents 
 were rather those of acute observation and delicate per- 
 ception, than of striking originality, excepting in scien- 
 tific inventions, in which he excelled. His accurate 
 knowledge of his duties, his love for his profession, his 
 readiness and steadiness, or as we soldiers call it ' smart- 
 ness,' together with his dashing gallantry, and, no less 
 than these, his cool intrepidity, moral and physical; these
 
 HOPES FULFILLED. ] 85 
 
 \ 
 
 things, I say, were well known in that branch of the 
 service to which he belonged ; that service which of 
 all others makes the greatest calls upon those totally 
 different species of power patient tenacity and prompt 
 activity. His religion might almost be seen in his 
 face. It was eminently natural religion. I do not 
 mean that much-vaunted, easily-attained, but valueless 
 and powerless thing that men often call 'natural re- 
 ligion ;' nor that simple and sublime creed of a fruitful 
 earth and benignant Providence that St Paul taught the 
 men of Athens, which is the only form of natural religion 
 that has this principle for its essence that ' God is Love.' 
 But I mean rather that his religion was just like him- 
 self. You never saw Vandeleur without his religion. 
 
 " I have said that I saw him at intervals ; and I must 
 add that each successive meeting shewed me that his 
 light was one ' which shineth more and more unto the 
 perfect day.' His was Christianity hopeful and happy, 
 advocated in words, recommended by practice, accepted in 
 heart, adorned in life, triumphant in death, and, thanks 
 be unto God, now perfected in glory. How good and 
 pleasant a thing it is in thought to follow such a one 
 as he ' went up through the regions of the air,' ' being 
 swallowed up with the sight of angels, and with hearing 
 of their melodious notes, on within the gate of the city.' 
 And how fully one can enter into those two sentences, 
 which to my mind express most truly the feelings of 
 the Christian as he thus lingers on the threshold just
 
 186 HOPES FULFILLED. 
 
 crossed by a departed brother. The one, John Bun- 
 yan's, when he tells of Christian's entrance into glory, 
 ' which, when I had seen, I wished myself among them.' 
 The other, the language of our Church, when, after 
 praying for all members of Christ's Church militant 
 here on earth, she recalls with fond remembrance and 
 triumphant thankfulness, those who have fought the 
 fight, and kept the faith, and finished their course with 
 joy, and says, ' We also bless Thy holy Name for all 
 thy servants departed this life in thy faith and fear.' 
 
 "Surely these two thoughts the longing to follow 
 where they have entered in, and the deep sense of 
 thankfulness that they have been kept by the power of 
 God through faith unto salvation are those most 
 befitting the Christian, when he thinks of one ' who all 
 his weary length of life has trod/ and is now ' a pillar 
 within the temple of his God.'" 
 
 Shortly after Arthur Vandeleur's return home, he 
 went to Ireland, and spent some time with his friends 
 at Kiltanon. He returned to England, brilliant with 
 joy in the realisation of the hope which had been his 
 cherished dream from boyhood. A dream cherished 
 alike through sunshine and shade, in presence and 
 hope, in silence, absence, and hopelessness, by the un- 
 wavering truth of that steadfast heart. God be praised 
 for the four bright years of married happiness which 
 crowned his faithful love !
 
 HOPES FULFILLED. 187 
 
 Somewhat of a little chart of his heart and life 
 during the remainder of the year may be seen in the 
 following letters : 
 
 " KILTANON, June 18th, 1855. 
 
 "I grieve to think that my silence should have 
 caused you anxiety as to my voyage, &c. How un- 
 worthy I am of such kind and tender care. Your long 
 letter gave me the greatest pleasure. 
 
 " I forgot to enclose Duncan Matheson's letter in 
 my last. I rejoice to know that his health is sufficiently 
 restored to enable him to resume that most glorious 
 work of winning souls to Christ. As I read his letter, 
 I regretted that I had not known more, when in the 
 Crimea, of such a devoted Christian missionary. I am 
 glad to hear the last supply of books which you sent out 
 to my care was not lost by missing me. But (don't think 
 me partial !) I wished that Artillerymen rather than the 
 Highlanders should have benefited by your kindness ; 
 for the Highlanders are so well looked after in that 
 way. Mr Matheson speaks of the prevalence of card- 
 flaying in the camp. I can confirm his testimony, for 
 I, too, saw much of it. Long have I looked with horror 
 upon this vice of gambling, which engenders selfishness, 
 envy, hatred, and other evil passions. It is a powerful 
 weapon in Satan's hands for ruining souls. Idleness 
 has nourished this vice ; and so I trust that a general 
 move of our forces, from the heights more into the
 
 188 HOPES FULFILLED. 
 
 interior, will tend to cheek it, by removing the oppor- 
 tunities afforded by long residence in one spot. 
 
 " Will you be so very good as sometimes to let me 
 see your Crimean letters, particularly any from a 
 soldier or a navvy. Their letters are generally so 
 charming. Yesterday, I saw one from a man (a 
 countryman of mine, I need hardly tell you after you 
 have heard the quotation) to his wife ; the first half of 
 the letter was written in ink, the last in pencil, ' because 
 a cannon-shot had just come in and knocked over his 
 ink-bottle ! and killed four men alongside of him ! ! ' 
 
 " I am so glad you hear from Major Ingram. He is 
 a fine fellow ; so steady and consistent in his Christian 
 conduct graces which I so much need. Do, my very 
 dear friend, pray God to give me these, especially. I 
 prize your prayers so much. It seems to me that ' He 
 heareth you always.' Bless you for praying for me. 
 
 " Major Ingram and I have several times prayed 
 together in camp. When you write, tell him that I 
 remember him most affectionately. 
 
 " I cannot wonder at your faith for answers to prayer 
 for the things of this temporal life, being shaken by the 
 death of one so precious and so much prayed for as 
 Hedley Vicars. It is hard to understand the where- 
 fore. But as that which you loved best in him was 
 the image of Jesus ; as He was ' all in all ' even in 
 Hedley Vicars to you ; He still remains ' all in all ' to 
 you, and to one still more deeply afflicted by this great
 
 HOPES FULFILLED. 189 
 
 loss But if it was contrary to some of your 
 
 earnest prayers, it was and is in answer to others of 
 your prayers, perhaps overlooked by you now, but 
 surely not less earnest, nor less remembered of God. 
 You asked for spiritual blessings for him almost with- 
 out measure, and who shall number them now ? And 
 you asked for the outpouring of the blessed Holy 
 Spirit upon our soldiers and our sailors, and you are 
 still imploring the same, with ten thousand others of 
 Christ's people. Perhaps God knew that the Memoir 
 you have been requested to write of our beloved friend, 
 would be the very thing to promote spiritual life 
 amongst those whose souls you plead for. 'A real 
 Christian and a fearless soldier ; is there in the world 
 a finer character ? ' is a question on the lips of many 
 now. And Hedley Vicars' Life and Correspondence 
 will go further towards answering the question whether 
 the two can be combined, and settling the point on the 
 side of our God and His Christ, than even the grand 
 old Life of Colonel Gardiner at least, so I think 
 And I earnestly pray that it may prove to be so. And 
 then your hearts will be cheered by the knowledge that 
 'he, being dead, yet speaketh' to his Master's honour. 
 Surely this will be a comfort to you and to her. * * * 
 " Kiltanon is a delightful spot ; one of the most 
 beautiful places in the country. I am enjoying the 
 society of my cousins most entirely. This is a family 
 in which I have long found the delights of Christian
 
 J 90 HOPES FULFILLED. 
 
 intercourse and fellowship. I should be glad if you 
 knew them. 
 
 " You asked me to let you know what I was doing 
 at Ralahine. On Saturday, I went over to see my 
 tenants, about ten miles from this place. They were 
 all delighted to see me, and I felt my heart warm 
 towards them as their honest welcome rang in my ears. 
 A better-disposed set of men are not to be found in 
 this country. I was deeply grieved, however, to find 
 my school still unattended, and called them all in there, 
 and earnestly expostulated with them about the neglect 
 of their children, till I actually found myself giving 
 them something like a sermon. 
 
 " But I fear, as yet, that all my efforts will be in vain : 
 the priests have too much influence, and have already 
 commenced their persecutions. On Friday, I found 
 
 that Father had held a ' station ' at the house of 
 
 one who seems most to favour my views. (A ' station ' 
 is a public meeting.) He made the poor man's wife 
 kneel before him, and then, in the presence of the 
 assembled crowd, refused to give her absolution, unless 
 she would promise never again to admit the school- 
 master to read the Bible to her : she would not promise, 
 and had to rise unabsolved. 
 
 "But, with the blessing of God, I will persevere in 
 doing my duty by them ; and I have a strong hope 
 that our efforts will one day be crowned with success, 
 as their eyes are being gradually opened, and many of
 
 HOPES FULFILLED. 191 
 
 them continue to read the Word of God, notwithstand- 
 ing the denunciation of Father . Pray for them 
 
 sometimes, will you? Give them a corner in your 
 heart, with the five hundred navvies just sailing for 
 the Crimea." 
 
 " July 5th. The very day I wrote to you last, I re- 
 ceived a letter informing me of my appointment to the 
 Arsenal (as Captain Instructor) being sanctioned, and 
 requiring my immediate presence at Woolwich. Of 
 course, I set-off the following day. 1 have, as you 
 may imagine, plenty to do, and am in a very unsettled 
 state, without a house or servants as yet ; but for all 
 this, I would not have let three days elapse before writ- 
 ing to inform you of my good fortune. I know well 
 from whom this blessing comes, and most truly do I 
 desire to fill my new post entirely to His glory. Most 
 cordially do I join with you in praying that, hour by 
 hour, God the Holy Spirit would give us more of Him- 
 self ; having Him, we need no more. Oh, how much do 
 we need His enlightening and sanctifying influences in 
 
 these days of error, of ungodliness I had the 
 
 very great pleasure of meeting dear Mr Chalmers and his 
 pleasant son yesterday evening, at the house of our mu- 
 tual friend, Colonel Anderson. A most delightful even- 
 ing we spent, with the 10th of St John for our subject." 
 
 ". . . . July 16th. I long to introduce my Mary 
 to you. I know you will keep your promise to love
 
 1 92 HOPES FULFILLED. 
 
 her ; and find it easy work, indeed. For twelve years 
 I have loved her, and every successive year more and 
 more, as I saw deeper into her character. 
 
 " I am looking for great blessing to us both from 
 your mother-sisterly love and friendship. Yet all 
 earthly love is but a faint reflection of the infinite, 
 everlasting, and most glorious love of our God and 
 Saviour. Oh, to realise the depths of that ! We shall 
 know it deeply here, and perfectly hereafter, and in that 
 will be fulness of joy. Ever your son and brother in 
 Christ Jesus our Beloved/' 
 
 " ROYAL ARTILLERY BARRACKS, WOOLWICH, 
 
 MIDNIGHT, July 26th. 
 
 " 1 cannot rest without sending a line of thanks to 
 you, for your trusting kindness in allowing me to carry 
 away for a day, that splendid, characteristic letter of 
 him who is still and for ever so deservedly loved by 
 you all. It is charming, from beginning to end ; but it 
 is in that part of the letter in which he speaks of the 
 separation from sympathising spirits making the 
 Lord Jesus so precious to his soul, that the force of 
 his religious character, or rather the reality of his 
 faith, comes out. But a short time, comparatively, 
 a soldier of the Cross, how quickly he had passed 
 through all the lower grades, and to what a high 
 position had he attained. 
 
 " Independently of the large measure of grace re-
 
 HOPES FULFILLED. 193 
 
 quired, before any one could feel that the loss of fellow- 
 ship with Christians increases the enjoyment of fellow- 
 ship with Christ ; it also demands a determination of 
 will and mental energy, to overcome the difficulties of 
 such a position ; such as Joshua shewed, when he said, 
 * As for me, I WILL serve the Lord.' 
 
 <k I fear I am not nearly so far advanced. In the 
 Crimea, my heart was not so happy, because not so 
 holy, as when I enjoyed more frequently the external 
 means of grace. At times, I was permitted to drink 
 deep at the Fountain-head ; but I missed the streams 
 sadly. It is only character of the highest order that 
 can thoroughly overcome the force of circumstances. 
 But the promise stands true for the weakest, of over- 
 coming strength from above : ' My grace is sufficient 
 for thee.' Oh, for a deeper insight into the fulness of 
 grace and weight of glory that is in Christ Jesus, for 
 s. 
 
 " God for ever bless you ! I am unworthy to be 
 placed (however much smaller the niche) beside that 
 noble Christian, Hedley Vicars, in your 'mother- 
 sisterly ' heart ; and yet I believe God has given me a 
 place there, and will keep it for me always. God for 
 ever bless you and yours. Ever your most grateful 
 and affectionate AKTHUK VANDELEUE." 
 
 " ROYAL ARTILLERY BAIIRACKS, WOOLWICH, 
 Awjust 22nd. 
 
 " Most warmly and sincerely do I sympathise with 
 N
 
 194 HOPES FULFILLED. 
 
 you in these new trials : but oh ! how much of comfort 
 is there in the thought that our heavenly Father sepa- 
 rates us but for a short time from those whom He 
 takes away, and that they are happy in the presence 
 of the King of kings. And there is also that still 
 more precious thought of consolation to those bereaved, 
 that the void left in a Christian heart when deprived 
 of a friend most dear, is always filled by Him who 
 ' well deserves the name of Friend,' and whose love 
 alone is satisfying to an immortal soul. You have no 
 doubt often thought deeply on that beautiful passage, 
 ' These are they which came out of great tribulation, 
 and have washed their robes, and made them white in 
 the blood of the Lamb,' &c. Oh, what a world of 
 meaning and joy to the Christian there is, in the whole 
 of that passage. It is not only trouble, but the state 
 of trouble, ' tribulation,' and not only that, but ' great 
 tribulation ; ' and yet every one of that countless multi- 
 tude came safe out of all, preserved by boundless- 
 power and grace. Oh, that at the cost of any amount 
 of sorrow or suffering, we may be included among that 
 multitude of redeemed and sanctified ones." 
 
 "August 27th, 
 
 " So, many thanks for your two notes. My spirits 
 are just like a barometer, easily raised or depressed, 
 but your dear notes always cause the index to point 
 very high indeed.
 
 HOPES FULFILLED. 1 95 
 
 " I hope you found tolerably calm ; how I 
 
 should have liked to hear you speaking words of com- 
 fort to her troubled heart. How difficult it is so to 
 do ! But I know you take the Saviour's own way, and 
 ' weep with them that weep/ and then point to the un- 
 speakable blessing of a certain and glorious, because 
 Christ-like, resurrection : and that must give comfort. 
 
 " I hope, God willing, to go over and see you all to- 
 morrow. Dear Colonel Anderson's absence in Scotland, 
 for a month, sets me free on that evening ; but Wednes- 
 day evening is devoted to my trumpeters' class, in the 
 Barrack Chapel. 
 
 " I have achieved a glorious triumph with the fever 
 tincture : I have made a Doctor (I) a convert to its 
 efficacy by personal experience. He has suffered from 
 ague for eighteen months, and is now cured. One 
 bottle effected it. I enclose his letter. 
 
 " With very kind love, and a multitude of blessings, 
 ever your deeply-attached son and brother." 
 
 " WOOLWICH, August 31st. 
 
 " That I have found a second home, within reach of 
 Woolwich, in 'blessed Beckenham Rectory/ is, I am 
 satisfied, one of the greatest proofs of the mercy and 
 love of my God which could be given me. In the bright 
 future, which I humbly trust, if it be my God's will, is 
 before me, one of my brightest day-dreams of anticipa- 
 tion is, to have you and yours staying with us and bless-
 
 196 HOPES FULFILLED. 
 
 ing us by your society, counsel, and encouragement. 
 I know you will come and make our hearts glad by 
 your presence. 
 
 "How truly delightful to me are those few hours 
 which from time to time I can spend at Beckenham. 
 I often wish I could get away at more seasonable 
 hours, but I fear that is impossible without defrauding 
 her Majesty; and, as I 'honour the Queen' with my 
 whole heart, I try to give her the best service I pos- 
 sibly can, by remaining diligently at my post, and 
 working to the best of my ability while I am there. 
 
 " I am glad you like my thought about Christian 
 and Faithful, and Christian and Hopeful. Did any 
 ever better deserve the name of 'Faithful' than Hedley 
 Vicars ? To me it describes him exactly. Strong in 
 faith, vigorous and unswerving in practice, and devoted 
 to the grand and soul-absorbing idea, ' Christ All in 
 all.' Such was the impression he left upon my mind 
 when we communed together, in camp before Sebas- 
 topol. And the simile bears to be drawn out further ; 
 he died truly in 'Vanity Fair;' and I verily believe 
 that what was said of the martyrs of old, will be found 
 true of him, ' The blood of the righteous is the seed 
 of the Church.' 
 
 " God grant me grace always to be ' looking unto 
 Jesus/ as Hopeful was! How greatly I desire to 
 be able to reckon myself among the diligent of the 
 earth, in the cause of Christ f I am not yet, I fear,
 
 HOPES FULFILLED. 197 
 
 though I am constantly aiming at it. May grace, 
 mercy, and peace be multiplied to you and yours, is 
 the prayer of your ever affectionate son and brother, 
 
 " AKTHUK VANDELEUR." 
 
 " ROYAL ARTILLERY BARRACKS, WOOLWICH, 
 September Uth, 1855. 
 
 "Your precious little note I found awaiting my return 
 from London, yesterday evening. How shall I thank 
 you for it, and for lending me those two invaluable 
 letters ; they refreshed and delighted my heart and 
 soul They do give me an insight into Hedley's noble 
 mind and tender heart. It must be an unspeakable 
 comfort to you all, to know that that heart and soul are 
 now where they long wished to be, and where we hope 
 (in its full meaning implying expectation) to meet again, 
 where there shall be no more separation, even in the 
 presence of the God of Love. 
 
 ' Will he there no fond emotion, 
 
 Thought of early love, retain ? 
 Or, absorb'd in pure devotion, 
 Will no mortal trace remain ? 
 
 'Can the grave those ties dissever 
 
 With the very heart-strings twined f 
 Must he part, and part for ever, 
 
 With the friends he leaves behind ? 
 
 'No, the past he still remembers I 
 Faith and Hope, surviving too, 
 Ever watch those sleeping embera 
 Which must rise and live anew.'
 
 198 HOPES FULFILLED. 
 
 " And now I must say ' adieu/ which in its original 
 and full significance comes from my inmost soul." 
 
 "September 5th, 1855. 
 
 " I have been sadly disappointed at not being able to 
 find any leisure time for the last three days, in which to 
 write a few lines to express my heartfelt thanks for 
 your charming little present. Even now I have but a 
 few moments, while the workmen are at dinner ; but I 
 can no longer deny myself the pleasure that it always 
 gives me to chat with you on paper. You will be glad to 
 know that this little volume of Sacred Poetry is, and 
 ever will be, one of my greatest treasures. A thousand 
 thanks for it, and still more for all you have written 
 in it. It has long been a favourite book with me, but 
 my former copy was given away, before I went to the 
 Crimea, and has not since been replaced. So this one 
 is doubly welcome, coming from such loved hands. It 
 shall be my constant companion in railway and steam- 
 boat it made a trip with me yesterday to London, 
 and warmed and cheered my heart beyond measure. 
 The hymn which I learned was that delightful one, so 
 full of harmony of heart and sound, 
 
 ' How sweet is morn's first breeze that strays 011 the mountain, 
 And sighs o'er its bosom and murmurs away ; 
 
 ****** 
 But sweeter, my God, is Thy voice of compassion, 
 That soft as the summer-dew falls on the mind.' 
 
 You know it, no doubt, and if so, I am sure you will
 
 HOPES FULFILLED. 199 
 
 join with me in loving it. I see you have marked 
 another of my favourites, 'The Reverie.' That one 
 falls in more completely with my mind and feelings 
 than perhaps any other. Every thought it contains 
 I have laid up in my storehouse of wisdom and know- 
 ledge. The said storehouse has, however, as yet, few 
 bales of goods ! But I rejoice to think that more are 
 being added to it daily, and much through your kind- 
 ness, several of my best being from Hawker's ' morning 
 portion.' 
 
 " It made me quite happy when I read your extract 
 from Jeremy Taylor ; it was one of the first extracts I 
 ever made, when I began to think seriously, and act 
 from those solemn thoughts. You could not have 
 chosen a more acceptable passage, particularly when I 
 think of the application you intended to make of it. 
 You are too good and kind to me. 
 
 " I rejoice to tell you that the elder of my cousins 
 has been successful, and has obtained a very good place 
 among those who have received provisional commis- 
 sions. The dear fellow, when, after the examination, 
 I spoke to him earnestly on the importance of at once 
 deciding for Christ, said that, with God's help, he would 
 do so. Blessed be God, I think His grace is deep in 
 that young heart. You must have a long and encour- 
 aging talk with him, when I bring him to Beckenham. 
 I am sure you will like him he is so clever, sensible, 
 and well-informed.
 
 200 HOPES FULFILLED. 
 
 " I am almost bewildered with firing great guns all 
 the morning, and have to be at it again now ; so 
 please excuse all blunders ; and give my reverential 
 love to your beloved father ; and much love to all be- 
 longing to him." 
 
 "EOTAL ARTILLERY BARRACKS, WOOLWICH, 
 October 5th, 1855. 
 
 " .... It is so very good of you to tell me from time 
 to time about the work you are engaged in for our be- 
 loved Lord and Master : it has a wonderful influence 
 over my failing energies, and invariably rouses me up 
 (thank God !) to renewed activity. Oh, how precious and 
 delightful is it, to be permitted to speak a word or do 
 the most trifling deed from love and gratitude to Him. 
 How strange, then, that we are not or rather, that / 
 am not always engaged in this blessed work. I know 
 well how deeply you have enjoyed the calm and precious 
 satisfaction, of soul which Jesus gives to those who, in 
 simple faith, endeavour to work for Him ; and, I trust 
 that I am beginning but, oh, at what a great distance 
 to follow in the same steps and to drink of the same 
 river of life. What a joy to think, that though our feel- 
 ings of love wax faint and cold, and even appear to 
 ourselves to die, His love is unchangeable, and shall 
 never cease, either in this world or in the world to come. 
 
 " Put me in any garret when I go to you, if your 
 ' sea-villa ' is as well filled as Beckeuham Rectory. I
 
 HOPES FULFILLED. 201 
 
 rather prefer a small room ; it makes one feel one's-self 
 of more importance : one is lost in a great space. I 
 should fancy this kind of idea must have been in the 
 minds of the Romans ; for, as a nation, they built im- 
 mense palaces and public halls ; but their private dwell- 
 ings were so small that one wonders how a great 
 Roman senator, with his toga, could ever manage to 
 get into his own house. So you see, if I have a little 
 room, you must allow me to consider myself of some 
 importance, while in it and fast asleep ! " 
 \ 
 
 Whilst we were spending a short time by the sea-side, 
 I received a letter from Arthur, alluding to, rather than 
 explaining, some great trouble which had come upon 
 him. This was connected, as I afterwards learned, 
 with those trials of his mother's, of years before, 
 which, in his boyhood, he had vainly sought to in- 
 duce her to share with him. The whole tone of the 
 letter was so unhappy, that I could not but feel 
 that his mother, or his sister, had she been within 
 reach of him, under such circumstances, would have 
 tried to make a home for him, for a few days' change 
 of scene, and of quiet thought and prayer as to 
 the best course for him to take. Accordingly, I re- 
 turned at once for a few days to Beckenham Rectory, 
 where some members of my family were remaining, 
 whilst the rest were by the sea-side ; and we invited him 
 to join us there.
 
 202 HOPES FULFILLED. 
 
 The calm of a Sabbath in that happy home, and the 
 companionship and counsel of my brother-in-law,* 
 between whom and Arthur Vandeleur there was an 
 affection almost fatherly on the one side, and filial on 
 the other, contributed not a little to soothe and cheer 
 his spirit a spirit so child-like and buoyant, that when 
 the immediate pressure of a burden was removed, even 
 for a day, it sprang up again as joyously as ever ; and 
 his light, pleasant, ringing laugh would rejoice the 
 hearts of those around him. 
 
 It was for the little act of friendship just alluded to, 
 that his grateful heart overflowed in the following 
 words : 
 
 "KoYAL ARTILLERY BARRACKS, 
 October Utk, 1855. 
 
 " How shall I thank you as I would, for your true- 
 hearted mother-like kindness and goodness to me ; for 
 the comfort of your prayers and faithful counsel, and 
 for your deep, entire sympathy. Never shall I forget 
 the promptness of that unselfish friendship ; nor the 
 feeling of being a son at home, which came to me with 
 a sight of your kindly face. 
 
 " For all this, and for those two strengthening, 
 cheering days at Beckenham, in such a time of need, 
 I bless you now ; and shall be able to thank you bet- 
 ter, in the world to which my friendships in that sweet 
 homo have drawn me nearer. 
 
 * Rev. Frederick Chalmers, Rector of Beckenham.
 
 HOPES FULFILLED. 203 
 
 " God for ever bless you with all the riches of His 
 grace and love in Jesus Christ ! Had He not revealed 
 Himself to me so graciously during those two ever-to- 
 be-remembered days, my distress of mind would have 
 been great indeed, during the whole of this trial. But 
 since those days, (the Sabbath, especially,) I have utterly 
 trusted Him, that out of this great evil He would bring 
 glory to Himself and good to my soul 
 
 "I intrust to you my warm thanks to dear Mr 
 Chalmers. Gratefully do I prize his kindness, his affec- 
 tion, and his counsel ; and feel the value of his sound, 
 clear understanding, and tender sympathy. 
 
 " On my return to Woolwich, I referred the matter 
 (as he and I had agreed upon) to three of the most 
 judicious of my brother-officers at Woolwich. And 
 now you will see how satisfactory is their decision 
 upon the subject." 
 
 * * * * 
 
 " Oh ! for the spirit of praise and thanksgiving, that 
 I might be able to express in words and acts, the in- 
 tense gratitude and love which fill my soul, to Him 
 who has turned away His anger from me, and is now 
 beaming forth in all the beauty of His glorious counte- 
 nance, upon His unworthy servant, from behind the 
 thick thunder-cloud. Surely it becomes me to join heart 
 and soul with the Psalmist, and exclaim, ' What shall 
 I render to the Lord for all his kindness towards me ? ' 
 He will shew me what, and how, and where ; and will
 
 204 HOPES FULFILLED. 
 
 give me strength to perform my vows. I even now 
 fancy you sent me the very text suited to me ' Peace, 
 always, by all means ;' and sent of God, in His, not my 
 way. I hope to write to dear Mr Chalmers to-morrow, 
 and tell him all that has happened since we parted. 
 Pray send him my affectionate love for his great sym- 
 pathy and kindness. I fear all is not over yet. ' The 
 Lord is my rock, and my fortress and DELIVERER,' and 
 out of even that trial, He will bring me safe, if He 
 suffer me to be led into it. May He do anything that 
 will bring me closer to Himself, and make me lean 
 
 more completely upon Him Grace, mercy, and 
 
 peace be multiplied unto you God bless you/' 
 
 " November 3rd. 
 
 " . . . . Surely the great lesson those painful part- 
 ings are meant to teach, is that we should endeavour 
 more constantly than we do to realise the presence of 
 our Great Friend, Counsellor and Brother, from the 
 fullest enjoyment of whose society no power need ever 
 separate us, no not for one moment ; and whose love 
 for us is so tender that He is grieved when we forget 
 or undervalue this promise, ' I will never leave thee, nor 
 forsake thee/ And then the truth and love of our 
 covenant God enables us to cast all our care for those 
 we love upon Him who ' careth for us/ And we do 
 know that the Lord loveth to comfort His people 
 
 "We had a delightful army prayer-unipn meeting
 
 HOPES FULFILLED. 205 
 
 at Captain Tilley's house on the 1st, to remember our 
 brothers in the Crimea. Our chapter was Hebrews iv. 
 We had a good deal of conversation on the point as 
 to whether that verse, ' The Word of God is quick 
 and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword,' 
 referred to the Bible, or whether the whole passage re- 
 fers to the Lord Jesus. I should like to know what you 
 think ; and please ask your beloved father, who is wis- 
 dom itself. 
 
 " And now it is already Sunday morning, so I must 
 close. A thousand thanks for your dear letter of sym- 
 pathy and congratulation it is very dear to me. May 
 God the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost bless, preserve, 
 and keep you. 
 
 " ROYAL ARTILLERY BARRACKS. 
 
 " How glad I am that Frederick Chalmers has been 
 appointed to the Rifle-Brigade. It is a charming 
 corps, and bears a noble character, in every way. 
 
 " God grant that the career of a soldier may prove to 
 dear Fred, one of honour, prosperity, and joy : and 
 that he may never forget to hold as his guiding prin- 
 ciple, the promise of the Lord Jehovah, ' Them that 
 honour Me, I will honour.' May he be led to fix his 
 whole choice at once upon God for his Master. It 
 will be easier now than ever again. And the undi- 
 vided heart, surrendered in youth to the best of Mas- 
 ters, has a double blessing resting upon it in the years
 
 206 HOPES FULFILLED. 
 
 of manhood. May his prayer be ' Unite my heart to 
 fear Thy name/ 
 
 "How truly has it been said, our Divine Kedeemer 
 did not say ' Ye must not,' or ' Ye shall not,' but ' Ye 
 CANNOT serve God and Mammon.' 
 
 " A whole heart for the Lord Jesus, ' who loved us 
 and gave Himself for us ; ' and a whole life to follow it, 
 is that which you, and I too, desire for ourselves, and 
 all those dear to us. 
 
 " Give my love to Fred., and tell him how glad I 
 am to have him as ' one of us ; ' though he is not in 
 the branch of the service that I love best. 
 
 " Tell him, he must get leave to be present at my 
 marriage. I look to him as an important actor on that 
 occasion, now, I trust, not very far distant. Oh how 
 can I bless and praise my good God as I would, for all 
 the happiness and blessings which He has rained down 
 upon me." 
 
 " ROYAL ARTILLERY BARRACKS, WOOLWICH, 
 November 28th, 1 855. 
 
 ". . . . Well, I do feel for you, most heartily, in 
 this mysterious loss of two of your manuscript chap- 
 ters of the Memoir ;* and at a time when every hour 
 of your day is interrupted by arrivals of the men of 
 the Army Works Corps. It was a subject worthy of 
 having a good cry over! But now that is done 
 
 * Of Captain Vicars.
 
 HOPES FULFILLED. 207 
 
 take heart again ! I am looking for very great bless- 
 ing from our God through that record of His grace 
 and especially to see it made useful to many of 
 our soldiers. Therefore, I pray that nothing may 
 discourage you from finishing it and that right 
 quickly. 
 
 " How that humble and holy-hearted Christian will 
 bless and praise his God, in Heaven, when he learns 
 (as learn he will, I doubt not) that the simple record of 
 the grace of Christ, which was so strong in him, is 
 made use of by the Holy Spirit, to light others on the 
 way to glory. In a word, to lead them to Jesus, ' the 
 Way, the Truth, and the Life/ .... 
 
 " What can it matter to one who is a saint in 
 Heaven, if every thought of his heart were revealed to 
 an audience, consisting of the whole world on earth, if 
 the grace of God were to be magnified by it ; and the 
 salvation which is by faith in Jesus Christ, made more 
 glorious and precious in the eyes of others. 
 
 " Do not fear that it will fail to speak with power to 
 many a heart, by the blessing of God, if only you will 
 tell the whole story, the story of a sinner saved by 
 grace, who washed his robes and made them white in 
 the blood of the Lamb ; and who overcame the world, 
 and sin, and the devil, by the blood of the Lamb, and 
 the power of His Holy Spirit. And the story of 
 a man with affection, friendship, and love, warm in his 
 heart ; a brave, good soldier, too ; and all this simply
 
 208 HOPES FULFILLED. 
 
 and entirely consecrated to the glory of his God and 
 Saviour. .... 
 
 * * * * * 
 
 " Frail, human nature is prone to think of, and look 
 out for, only its own happiness and honour ; but what- 
 ever we may look for, His glory is the grand result 
 which the Christian's God will manifest unto him ; and 
 will train him up to seeking, as his first object. Thank 
 God, both you and I can say, Be it so, Lord ; may 
 we see Thy glory, and delight ourselves in it, and Thy 
 likeness in ourselves and those dear to us ; then, in- 
 deed, shall we be satisfied. 
 
 "Thank you and bless you for your most valued 
 letter. I will say nothing now about its contents ; as I 
 
 must be off in a few minutes to teach my class 
 
 I am hoping to write to dearest Mr Chalmers to thank 
 him for the book he brought over for me yesterday ; 
 please give him my most grateful thanks, and tell him 
 I shall enjoy its perusal excessively. May he and you, 
 and I, and all we love, daily know more of the depth 
 of the love which is in the heart of Christ Jesus, our 
 beloved Lord and Master, for us ; and may He now 
 and ever be our ALL in all things, and in every body. 
 
 " How much do we see of His likeness, in your most 
 beautiful and venerable father. The atmosphere of 
 love and peace which seems ever around him, is indeed 
 a breath of heaven's own air. God grant he may be 
 long preserved to you, and to the Church of God !"
 
 HOPES FULFILLED. 209 
 
 "December SQtk, 1855. 
 
 " .... I cannot retire without first sending you a 
 short note, to bless you from mine inmost heart for 
 your most welcome and invaluable letter of advice, 
 and for the precious and beautiful Paragraph Bible, 
 and all that is written inside. It would be quite in 
 vain for me to attempt to express all I feel ; but be- 
 lieve me, the remembrance of all you have done for 
 me, and these kindnesses in particular, will remain in 
 my heart as long as life shall last. The Lord reward 
 you for all your prayers for us ! My precious Mary 
 and I do fervently desire to live entirely according to 
 the will of God; to be 'not conformed to this world, 
 but to be transformed by the renewing of our mind.' 
 .... There is so much joy and happiness in receiv- 
 ing tokens of friendship and affection, that one would 
 be inclined to doubt the truth of that saying of Holy 
 Writ, 'It is more blessed to give than to receive/ 
 were it not that giving is the special property of our 
 God ; it is one of His peculiar enjoyments, and He 
 has pronounced it to be even more delightful than 
 that which makes us so happy, receiving and possess- 
 ing His good gifts. 
 
 "The delightful feeling which we have in denying 
 ourselves in any way to be able to give that which 
 will be valued by a friend, or may relieve the poor, 
 does teach us in some small degree, but oh, how great 
 the gulf between! what must be the depth of the
 
 210 HOPES FULFILLED. 
 
 blessedness which God feels in giving to all men liber- 
 ally and upbraiding not." 
 
 Perhaps few people have a better right to make a 
 little dissertation on the happiness of giving, than Ar- 
 thur Vandeleur had. He was always on the alert for 
 an excuse for making little gifts to his friends ; gifts 
 which seemed to be chosen with a sort of intuition as 
 to that which would afford most pleasure. Birthdays, 
 Christmas-day, New-Year's-day, Midsummer-day, days 
 of parting, and days of meeting ; all alike were pressed 
 into this service ! And to the needy and destitute, his 
 charity was only bounded by his righteous dread of 
 debt, and desire neither to spend nor to give a single 
 farthing which did not positively belong to him ; in 
 order that, like Longfellow's ' Blacksmith/ he might 
 
 "Look the whole world in the face. 
 For he owes not any man."
 
 CHAPTER XIIL 
 
 gforriefr fife. 
 
 * So have I sometimes seen a Christian bear 
 A brightness, not of earth, but from above, 
 Lighting his countenance with rays of love, 
 As he descended from the mount of prayer : 
 Benevolence, affection, holy peace, 
 Serene and humble trust a soul at rest, 
 A faith establish 'd, and a peaceful breast ; 
 A confidence, a joy, which cannot cease : 
 These, these have shed a glory pure and bright 
 Aa that which clad the prophet's face with light !'
 
 ON the 3rd of January, 1856, Arthur Vandeleur was 
 married at the parish church of Lee, to Mary, eld- 
 est daughter of James Molony, Esq. of Kiltanon. 
 
 In addition to the large family circle who were 
 present at this marriage, Mr Molony's hospitality 
 assembled many friends of both his daughter and 
 his son-in-law, who came with more than common 
 gladness in their hearts, to see so steadfast an affec- 
 tion rewarded at last. 
 
 It was this which gave a distinctive character to the 
 day ; casting the glow of romance over the common- 
 place incidents and details of a wedding-party. 
 
 Few who were present could forget the fatherly and 
 almost solemn tenderness of General Anderson's words, 
 that day ; nor the half-triumphant note in his voice, as 
 he spoke with thankful confidence and delight, of the 
 character of his young friend, as he had watched its 
 gradual development, from the first day of their ac- 
 quaintance up to that hour. 
 
 In referring to that happy morning, General Anderson 
 now writes : " Little did I imagine, when we met at
 
 214 MAERIED LIFE. 
 
 the marriage of my beloved friend, that his earthly 
 career was to be of so short a duration ; radiant as he 
 then was with health and strength, and sanctified joy. 
 
 " Vandeleur was a rich trophy of the grace of God. 
 He was a most beautiful exemplification of living 
 Christianity, in a true soldier, and a man of a natur- 
 ally generous and lovely disposition." 
 
 In addition to these strong foundations for happiness 
 in married life, there was in the character of Arthur 
 Vandeleur, that crown of a high-toned morality in 
 itself one of the marks of a noble manhood a rever- 
 ence for woman. " To give honour unto the weaker," 
 as well as to give succour and support, was a law of his 
 strong nature. Combined with a firmness of resolve in 
 all matters of conscience and duty, which nothing could 
 shake, was a genial, natural chivalry of character 
 ever called into play by the thousand little opportuni- 
 ties, in daily life, for considerate and self-sacrificing 
 tenderness, to a degree which became so completely a 
 part of his very existence, that it extended throughout 
 his dying illness. 
 
 The following letter was received from him, about a 
 week after his marriage : 
 
 "HOTEL MEXJRICE, PARIS, January 8th, 1856. 
 " Our first day here was a Sabbath, and a very blessed 
 one we both felt it to be. We went to the English 
 Chapel, Rue d'Aguesseau, and were delighted to find it
 
 MAKH1ED LIFE. 215 
 
 was Sacrament Sunday. We knelt together at the 
 table of the Lord, our hearts filled with gratitude, and 
 onr mouths with praise, for the great things our cove- 
 nant God had done for us. It was unspeakably pre- 
 cious thus to be able to shew our Lord and Master, 
 that in the midst of our joy and happiness, we remem- 
 bered Him and His wondrous love to us, and were de- 
 termined to devote our married life to His glorious 
 service. And He did meet with us, and cause us to 
 feel with joy that the ' light of the King's counte- 
 nance ' was lifted up upon us." 
 
 Our intercourse, during the following year, was so 
 frequent, that light were the labours of correspondence 
 on either side. 
 
 It was delightful to see him in his own home, and 
 in his sphere of duty. To the song of praise and 
 thanksgiving wherewith he made melody in his heart 
 to the Lord, his life gave back its faithful echoes. 
 
 The service of his heavenly King seemed a refresh- 
 ment to him, after his regular duties in the Arsenal 
 had been thoroughly performed ; and even his exceed- 
 ing happiness in his home, wrought no diminution of 
 his spiritual energies. " The time is short ; " " Work 
 while it is day : " were words continually on his lips. 
 
 Not only were soldiers cared for, but the souls 
 of the thousands working in the Arsenal, were also 
 borne upon his heart. Books, tracts, and cards of
 
 216 MAKEIED LIFE. 
 
 prayer, were distributed amongst them ; a library was 
 formed ; and, not satisfied with using only these means 
 of good, Major Vandeleur* and his friend, Captain Orr, 
 organised two associations amongst these men, one for 
 those who worked in the Gun-factories, the other for 
 those who were employed in the Laboratory, for the 
 purpose of inducing them each to purchase, at a some- 
 what reduced cost, a copy of M'Phun's Family Bible, 
 price thirty shillings. One shilling a-week was the 
 average sum subscribed. 
 
 On the evenings when the subscriptions were paid, 
 Arthur and his friend conducted Bible-readings with 
 the men, commencing and concluding with prayer. I 
 have seen them riveted by his words, and still more 
 by the holy joy which lighted up his countenance, as 
 he spoke to them of the blessed privilege of the daily 
 study of the Word of God ; and pointed out some of 
 its glorious riches and beauty. 
 
 " ROYAL ARSENAL, February 29tk, 1856. 
 "We did so enjoy seeing you in our little home: 
 next time you come, you must pay a much longer 
 visit. You will rejoice to hear that even your short 
 sojourn in the Arsenal will, through the blessing of 
 God, be productive of good to those in it; to say 
 nothing of the words of comfort and advice you spoke 
 
 * Arthur Vandeleur was promoted to the Brevet-rank of Major 
 for his services in the Crimea,
 
 MARRIED LIFE. 217 
 
 to the poor fellows in Dial Square ; for I have been 
 thinking very seriously over your question, ' Is nothing 
 to be done, to rescue the ten thousand poor fellows at 
 work here, from the hands of Satan ?' and I think that 
 one plan which we talked over can be carried out. I 
 mean that relative to the lending library. I am certain 
 that it would be highly valued by the workmen, and 
 might effect much good. I am going to ask Colonel 
 Wilinot to take the matter in hand ; and if I suc- 
 ceed in this, you may consider it as settled, for he 
 is always successful ! God grant it may be so in this 
 instance ! " 
 
 " ROYAL ARTILLERY BARRACKS, WOOLWICH. 
 *' I feel happy when I know that you speak to our 
 covenant Grod about me, whether in prayer or praise, 
 and entreat you to continue to do this, for it does me 
 a world of good, more than I shall ever know in this 
 life. I often remember you and your work for Jesus, 
 when on my knees before the ever-open throne of 
 grace. There is a pleasure in prayer, intercessory pray- 
 er, which becomes deeper and truer as it is indulged 
 in the of tener. Oh, to know more of such pleasure ! " 
 
 The date of the following letter has not been ascer- 
 tained. In its closing paragraphs, we trace an indica- 
 tion of his earnest love and reverence for the Sabbath. 
 Few persons could more closely follow the injunctions
 
 218 MARRIED LIFE. 
 
 with respect to it, given in Isaiah Iviii. 13 ; or more 
 freely enjoy the privilege annexed to such obedience,- 
 "Then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord : " 
 
 "My soul owes you much, very much, and as it 
 cannot repay you, goes to the living Fountain to ask to 
 have you rewarded out of the fulness of Christ Jesus 
 our Lord. Faithful is He that promiseth, who also 
 will do it. 
 
 " Were you not delighted to see the Times yester- 
 day? How every Christian's heart must bound with 
 joy, gratitude, and thankfulness, at the information it 
 contained relative to the Sabbath question. What a 
 triumphant majority, 376 to 48 ! 
 
 " The Lord Jehovah has wrought, and they have not 
 been able to make void His law. Blessed be His holy 
 Name for evermore !" 
 
 " ROYAL ARSENAL, September 3rd, 1857. 
 " One line to tell you the happy tidings of my pre- 
 cious wife's safety, and that she has a sweet little 
 daughter. Oh, how shall I express half the gratitude 
 and thankfulness that fill my heart towards Him who 
 is indeed the Giver of all good gifts ! The Lord my 
 God be praised ! I well know how deeply you and all 
 your dear family will sympathise in our joy. An 
 eternity will not be sufficient to shew forth His praise 
 for all His tender mercy towards us."
 
 MARRIED LIFE. 219 
 
 " ROYAL ARSENAL, October \Wi, 1857. 
 
 " We propose to have our darling little child made a 
 member of the visible Church of Christ on earth, on 
 Wednesday next, during the morning service at Lee 
 Church. Will you and your niece come over and be 
 present on this solemn yet joyful occasion. It will de- 
 light our hearts if you will. I know how earnestly you 
 will both pray that the Holy Spirit would make her 
 His own little ' living temple.' 
 
 " Again we unite in fond love and thanks to you, for 
 consenting to be our darling's godmother. Her name 
 is to be Lucy, which alone would give her a claim on 
 your heart. .... It is the name of her mother's be- 
 loved mother, who is now in heaven, with her Saviour. 
 .... Come as early as you can, and stay as late as 
 you can. Mary and I have set our hearts on having 
 a long day's enjoyment of you both ; and you will 
 love our lovely little child." 
 
 During these three years at Woolwich, Major Van- 
 deleur devoted the larger number of the evenings in 
 each week to conducting Bible-classes amongst the 
 soldiers and the workmen in the Arsenal, and to 
 taking part in various prayer-meetings. The hospital 
 in the Arsenal was a great object of interest to him ; 
 and many of the sufferers derived comfort and bless- 
 ing through his prayers and counsel, and reading of the 
 Word of God.
 
 220 MAEEIED LIFE. 
 
 One afternoon he heard that a man in the Arsenal 
 had met with a serious accident ; and as soon as his 
 work there was over, he hastened to the hospital, to 
 see what could be done for the comfort of the poor 
 fellow. The doctors had just decided upon immediate 
 amputation of his foot. The man was lamenting, not 
 his own suffering, but the prospect of starvation before 
 his poor wife and little children, if he were to leave the 
 hospital a cripple for life. Arthur earnestly requested 
 the doctors to postpone the amputation until the next 
 day. They did not consider that the delay would 
 involve any serious consequences, and therefore con- 
 sented to it. 
 
 Arthur went home, to plead earnestly with his God 
 on behalf of this poor man, whose distress had so moved 
 his heart. That prayer of faith met with an immediate 
 answer. The next morning, the doctors pronounced the 
 foot to be so much better, that there was every reason 
 to hope that it might be saved ; and in a short time, 
 the man entirely recovered. 
 
 But a better blessing still was given, in answer to 
 that prayer of faith. 
 
 "The Major spoke kindly," said he, "and prayed 
 with me, and told me about the Saviour who had 
 bought me with His own blood. And then I began to 
 see that I, who thought I had not a friend anywhere, 
 had found two friends, an earthly and a Heavenly Friend. 
 After that, I made up my mind to live a new life, by
 
 MAEKTED LIFE. 221 
 
 the help of God. There was room for a change, for I 
 had never been to a school, nor to a place of worship 
 from the time I was ten years of age. I never had a 
 mother's prayers ; and if any one spoke to me about 
 religion, all I did was to laugh at them. As soon 
 as I came out of hospital, I went to church, and felt 
 very odd at first, my clothes being so shabby. But by 
 the help of God, I got over that, and learned to love 
 it. For the last two years I have been a teacher in a 
 Sunday-school, and it is a blessed work." 
 
 From the time of his leaving the hospital, this man 
 has been steadfastly walking with God; and he has 
 been prospered in every way. His grateful love for 
 Major Vandeleur never lessened ; he rejoiced in his 
 presence, mourned when military duty called him 
 away ; and few, amongst the many true mourners, 
 sorrowed more sincerely over his open grave. 
 
 In the autumn of 1857, and the winter of 1857-58, 
 Major Vandeleur took an active part in the efforts 
 made to alleviate the distress of the families of those 
 soldiers who had been sent off suddenly to India, when 
 the great cry for help had reached these shores, amidst 
 the uproar of the Indian mutiny. But no new call for 
 exertion ever caused him to relinquish any labour of 
 love which he had previously undertaken. Besides his 
 week-day work for his Divine Master, he threw himself 
 with all his heart into the superintendence and instruc- 
 tion of the Sunday-schools at Plumstead ; and sowed
 
 222 MARRIED LIFE. 
 
 seed of life there, which has since sprung up and borne 
 much fruit. 
 
 The following letter shews in what manner he began 
 a new year of his life : 
 
 " ROYAL ARSENAL, January 2\st, 1858. 
 
 " I must not let the whole day pass without telling 
 you how your kind little note has warmed, and com- 
 forted, and strengthened my heart. It is an unspeakable 
 blessing to be remembered by those one most loves 
 when passing the milestones of our pilgrimage towards 
 the Celestial City. 
 
 "May God bless you for your constant kindness 
 towards one so little worthy of being loved by any one 
 in the world ! 
 
 " You know that I do desire to be thankful, and to 
 shew that gratitude not only in words, but in deeds, 
 to Him who has done and continues to do such wonders 
 for me and mine. I know how little I have served 
 Him, and I do desire during this new year of my life 
 to cleave closer to Jesus, to sit more constantly at the 
 foot of the Cross, and to dwell under the outpouring 
 of the Holy Ghost, and, above all things, to have a 
 larger and more unselfish heart of love to all the world, 
 for Christ's sake. Pray for me, and ask all that your 
 letter contains mercy, peace, and love ; this is what 
 I have asked, and do, and will ask for you. May you
 
 MAREIED LIFE. 223 
 
 be filled with all the fulness of Christ, both now and 
 evermore ! " 
 
 iil;a>:ij '::.: .-.' 
 
 In allusion to the years following his marriage, she 
 who could best testify to his daily life, thus writes : 
 " In his own home, he never for one moment laid aside 
 his religion. Indeed, only those who saw him there, 
 could tell how heavenly was his spirit. It often struck 
 me with a kind of awe, how intense was his longing 
 after a state of perfect holiness ; and how his spirit 
 used to pant for the full enjoyment of his Saviour's 
 presence." 
 
 From the same sacred memories, we have this touch- 
 ing insight given us into his inner life : " If anything 
 had ruffled or annoyed him, he would take his Bible 
 and shut himself up with it in his own room for a few 
 minutes ; and then would come forth from that lonely 
 communing with his God and Saviour, with a counte- 
 nance beaming with peace and love." 
 
 In the month of April, 1858, he resigned his appoint- 
 ment of Captain-Instructor in the Arsenal, considering 
 it to be his duty, for professional reasons, to do so. 
 Consequent upon this resignation, he was posted to a 
 company at Gibraltar ; for which station he sailed from 
 England on the 17th of July, to the deep regret of his 
 many warmly-attached friends. But the emphasis of 
 the sorrow lay with his wife and himself ; as her state
 
 224 MARRIED LIFE. 
 
 of health rendered it impossible for her to accompany 
 him, in the height of summer. 
 
 The following letters were written in the months 
 intervening between his leaving Woolwich and sailing 
 for Gibraltar : 
 
 TO GENERAL ANDERSON, R.A. 
 
 " LEE, April 28th, 1858. 
 
 "MY DEAREST COLONEL, I cannot tell you how 
 much your very kind note of sympathy and love com- 
 forted and refreshed our hearts. It found us busy 
 packing up ; so I determined to finish that work before 
 answering it, that I might be able to write at some 
 length 
 
 " To look beyond second causes, I cannot but think 
 it probable that my heavenly Father saw that my heart 
 and thoughts were becoming of late too much engross- 
 ed with professional matters, and too little devoted to 
 Himself. Great, eternal realities may not have been 
 sufficiently present to my mind. It seems as if, while 
 working for Him at the Sunday-school and at meet- 
 ings of all kinds, I had not had sufficient time for 
 meditation and prayer. ' He made me keeper of the 
 vineyards, but mine own vineyard have I not kept.' 
 May this be altered now ! We shall, in truth, be very 
 glad of a little quiet, especially for my precious wife's 
 sake ; for she really was overworking herself every day, 
 and I could not prevent her.
 
 MARRIED LIFE. 225 
 
 " Every one at Woolwich is rejoiced to have Colonel 
 and Mrs Travers back again : they are such a happy, 
 useful, delightful pair. I was so thankful to be able to 
 transfer into such able hands the Plumstead Sunday- 
 school 
 
 "The Tuesday evening readings, which we all so 
 much enjoyed at your most hospitable house, are now 
 held at our friend Mr Acworth's. They are still well 
 attended, and are most harmonious and profitable. 
 
 " With our united affectionate love to Mrs Anderson 
 and yourself, and all your family circle, believe me 
 most affectionately and gratefully yours, 
 
 "ARTHUR VANDELEUB." 
 
 " KILTANON, June 1858. 
 
 " Thank you for a letter which has warmed my heart 
 and refreshed my soul Thank you, too, for the simple 
 and beautiful ' revival ' hymn. I doubt not that such 
 hymns as that, have been powerful instruments in for- 
 warding the glorious revival in America. God grant 
 it may increase day by day ! and oh that the heavenly 
 flame may light up the darkness of this land, still so 
 firmly held in the deadly grasp of Rome ! However, I 
 rejoice to say that the good seed is being steadily and 
 constantly sown in the minds of the people ; and our 
 one great effort is to get them to read the Word of the 
 living God. My Scripture-reader at Ralahine tells me 
 
 that they converse freely with him, listen to all he says, 
 
 P 
 I
 
 226 MARRIED LIFE. 
 
 are quite unable to answer his arguments, but still 
 retain their former opinions ! This makes it very up- 
 hill work ; but it is still our duty to labour on, and 
 believe the promise that His own Word will not return 
 unto Him void. And oh for such a gift of the Holy 
 Spirit on all who by name are Protestants such a 
 fresh baptism of that Spirit upon us who do believe 
 and trust alone in the Lord Jesus, that our lights may 
 be burning, and the brightness may spread, and num- 
 bers around be brought from darkness to light, from 
 the power of Satan unto God ! . . . . 
 
 " This is one of the most lovely spots in Ireland ; 
 and its magnificent trees are now in all their beauty. 
 I am regaining health and strength, thank God, every 
 day, in this most enjoyable place ; but still I should 
 not wish to spend much time here. I miss the calls 
 for active usefulness which were on every side at Wool- 
 wich. A life of ease and comparative idleness, and of 
 country pleasures, would stunt my spiritual growth. 
 
 " My darling Mary is the better for her native air. 
 The time of our parting is drawing near, very near, 
 now. Monday, the 21st, is the day at present fixed 
 for it ; and a bitter trial it must be to us both. But, 
 if it lead us to seek a closer union with the Lord Jesus, 
 and if it bring us into a fuller enjoyment of His 
 blessed presence, and increased earnestness and use- 
 fulness in His service which we pray and trust that 
 it may then surely we ought to say, < It is well.' "
 
 MAEEIED LIFE. 227 
 
 A brother-officer of Major Vandeleur's, who was one 
 of his most intimate friends, from the time of his join- 
 ing the Royal Artillery, in looking back over the years 
 of their acquaintance, thus wrote : 
 
 " It was the uniform calm tenor of his whole life, 
 his steadfast holy walk unchecked by inconsistency, 
 that was to me the distinction of his character ; not 
 anything calling for special notice, or challenging ob- 
 servation. 
 
 "He was generous, chivalrous, and full of sympa- 
 thy; tender and sensitive in his affections, more so 
 almost than women ; and, consequently, was susceptible 
 of feeling keenly any unkindness from one he loved. 
 
 "In his opinions he was sometimes obstinate, and 
 his temper was quick and hot But if cause of dif- 
 ference arose, the slightest yielding or admission of 
 wrong on your part was enough to disarm him instantly, 
 and to subdue him into the gentleness of a child. He 
 was most forgiving. 
 
 " His disposition was a cheerful one, and the purity 
 and simplicity of his mind enabled him, I think, to 
 taste pleasure with a freshness that perhaps natures less 
 chaste seldom know. There was a frankness and 
 sincerity about him, combined with a courtesy truly 
 winning and attractive. 
 
 " But above these qualities, for which he might well
 
 228 MAKEIED LIFE. 
 
 be loved, there dwelt within him a spirit of deep and 
 ardent love to God, and attachment to His service. 
 He devoted himself, and all that was his, I believe, to 
 his Lord and Master with fervent, supreme affection. 
 All he said and did with reference to things sacred, was 
 marked by a reverence and awe so rare as to be most 
 impressive. This was such a deep and settled condi- 
 tion of his inner life, visible in every tone and gesture, 
 as to be the most striking feature of his character. 
 
 "To him prayer and the study of God's Word were, 
 I believe, the atmosphere of his spiritual life, and its 
 necessary food." 
 
 We saw him as he passed through London on his 
 way to Gibraltar. A shadow had fallen upon that 
 bright brow, and the joyous smile and manner were 
 chastened. Something like a presentiment came over 
 our hearts that he was going through his last and ripen- 
 ing trial
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 * What is it, Lord ? Dost Thou intend 
 That patience should take root in me ? 
 Is it Thy will my will to bend, 
 That I more like a child may be ? 
 
 ** Is it to raise my heart above 
 AH earthly joy and earthly pleasure, 
 And loose my hands from earthly love, 
 To fill them full of heavenly treasure ? 
 
 " To hinder this poor mortal clinging, 
 And set my heart from earth-bonds free ? 
 God, my spirit art Thou bringing 
 Nearer to leaving all for Thee ? 
 
 " Whatever be Thy gracious thought, 
 Let me not lose its sweet design ; 
 Since Jesus hath the blessing bought, 
 Oh, for His sake, may it be mine 1 "
 
 MAJOR VANDELEUE arrived in Gibraltar, at an un- 
 healthy season of the year. His letters from that 
 station were written in a tone of depression unusual 
 for him, which wr.s sufficiently to be accounted for by 
 the separation it involved from those he loved best on 
 earth. 
 
 Yet beyond this, like a distant knell, there fell upon 
 our hearts a dull sense of undefined dread, as again 
 and again, in his letters, we traced that the subject of 
 death was frequently recurring to his mind. The 
 following extract is but one amongst many of this 
 nature : 
 
 "GIBRALTAR, November llth, 1858. 
 
 " Thank you again and again for your letter, so full 
 of the truest sympathy and comfort. How I wish you 
 could see my beautiful book-stand, filled with all my 
 favourite books ! I have just added to them ' The Story 
 of Thomas Ward/ which has returned to me from a round 
 of visits. The evening it arrived, I read it aloud to a dear 
 young friend and fellow-disciple of the Lord Jesus. How
 
 232 THE SHADOW OF DEATH. 
 
 striking is the description of the awful struggle which 
 Satan makes to secure his prey, when he feels it elud- 
 ing his grasp ! This is a subject which has occupied 
 niy thoughts much of late. David could say in antici- 
 pation, ' Though I walk through the valley of the 
 shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for Thou art 
 with me;' but when we are actually entering the 
 dark valley, and we feel life ebbing fast, then must 
 it be much more difficult to say, 'I fear no evil.' 
 But, as God taught you to shew poor Ward, and as 
 Ryle points out in that powerful tract, ' Never Perish,' 
 then, as at all times, what we must do is to take our 
 great God and Saviour simply at His word ' No man 
 is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand ; ' 
 ' Neither shall any pluck them out of my hand.' Oh 
 for grace and strength to rest upon these precious, 
 blessed truths when the solemn hour of death shall 
 come ! . . . . You will rejoice to know that God has 
 enabled me to do a little work for Him since I have 
 been out here. Indeed, I now see many good reasons 
 why He has sent me out, and I know that they are 
 all full of mercy. Thank you dearly for writing to 
 my darling wife. As far as I can see my way at 
 present, it is best that she should not come out to me, 
 as I hope to return by the end of February. But it 
 is a sore trial, especially in such a place as this, the 
 monotony of which is almost overwhelming. I work 
 almost daily at my photography, and have lately been
 
 THE SHADOW OP DEATH. 233 
 
 very successful. It is a good thing to have such a 
 source of recreation 
 
 "There is a great spirit of religious inquiry alive 
 amongst our officers ; and I have had some interesting 
 and hopeful conversation with several of them ; but 
 the great difficulty with some is to take the next step 
 the all-important one of deciding for God. Some of 
 us meet every Tuesday evening, for reading the Scrip- 
 ture and prayer, and I hope not without spiritual im- 
 provement. 
 
 " Dearest Mr Chalmers wrote to me so affectionately 
 some time since ; and your beloved sister added some 
 of her kind, sweet words, which I greatly prized. Mr 
 Chalmers' letter was a real blessing to me. I have 
 been hoping to hear again from one of the beloved 
 family. 
 
 " With earnest blessings, and affectionate love, your 
 ever grateful and loving 
 
 " ABTHUE VANDELEUB." 
 
 EXTBACTS FEOM LETTEES TO HIS WIFE. 
 
 " SOUTHAMPTON, July nth, 1858. 
 
 " My heart is growing deeply sad at the prospect of 
 going so very far away from you, my most beloved 
 one, and from my sweet little child. My work being 
 all over now, I have more time to think, and more 
 time to pray for you and her. Indeed, though sad, I
 
 234 THE SHADOW OP DEATH. 
 
 am far from being without much to comfort me. I 
 cannot tell you how the excessive kindness of all our 
 friends has overwhelmed me. What a blessed, holy 
 thing is Christian love and friendship ! Oh for a 
 grateful heart to Him who has bestowed such wondrous 
 and constant proofs of His love upon me, the most 
 unworthy of His servants ! " 
 
 " October \Ztk. 
 
 " Blessed be God for continued good tidings of you, 
 and of the darling babe, and our sweet little Lucy. 
 .... You will, I know, rejoice with me that another 
 officer has joined our little Tuesday readings. We have 
 had four meetings, and as none of us are very learned, 
 we bring all kinds of books and commentaries to bear 
 on our subject. We have just finished the seven churches 
 in Revelations. I think we all enjoy them, and I am 
 sure they are profitable to our souls. I think I am 
 gradually finding out why God has sent me here. I 
 trust He is making me of some use amongst the young 
 officers. Pray earnestly for me, that I may be enabled 
 to lead some of them steadily to Jesus, and pray that 
 my example may be of as much use as anything I 
 may say to them. Oh for a consistent and holy walk 
 and conversation ! " 
 
 " November 25th. 
 
 " You will be glad to hear I have at length roused 
 my coward heart to visit the hospital, and speak to
 
 THE SHADOW OF DEATH. 235 
 
 the poor men who are on the brink of eternity. I 
 think some of them were pleased with my visit. 
 Yesterday I took them our dearest friend's cards of 
 prayer, and read aloud in one of the rooms her 
 letter to the navvies. May it please God to bless 
 these feeble efforts to the making known the glori- 
 ous gospel of Jesus Christ among our soldiers ! 
 The hospital-sergeant Sergeant Batson is a truly 
 good man ; and one of the orderlies, named Cole, is 
 also a devoted Christian. Our little Tuesday meetings 
 have gone on regularly. I think they are a blessing 
 to us all All but myself are young Christians, and 
 it is delightful to see the earnestness of their first 
 love." 
 
 " Nearly Midnight, December Z\st. 
 
 " The remembrance of the wonderful goodness of 
 our God to us of old time is still present to my mind, 
 and it makes me fully trust His infinite love. Still, 
 the continuance of this painful separation, and the 
 uncertainty of our time of meeting again, out of which 
 I can see no way, is a great trial. 
 
 " January 1st. 
 
 " It has now struck twelve, and I have just risen 
 from my knees, after earnestly seeking forgiveness for 
 all my sins that are past, from Him who has pro- 
 mised that He will, for Jesus Christ's sake, blot out as 
 a cloud our transgressions, and as a thick cloud our 
 sins. I have asked that, during the year now opening,
 
 236 THE SHADOW OF DEATH. 
 
 we may both bo strengthened with His glorious might 
 in our souls, and enabled to serve and glorify Him 
 more than we ever yet have done. 
 
 " For my precious wife and children I have asked, 
 from the bountiful Giver of all good, multitudes of 
 the richest blessings. It went straight to my heart, a 
 little while ago, to read, in ' Nelson on Infidelity,' the 
 following note : ' They believe that the Man of Cal- 
 vary can do whatever He pleases, and that, if any love 
 Him, He frequently does please that they shall have 
 almost anything for which they ask. None but His 
 obedient children, however, know this fact by experi- 
 ence.' That you may know it now and ever experi- 
 mentally, my beloved wife, is my constant and earnest 
 prayer." 
 
 "January 21s<. 
 
 " My birth-day. I believe you have remembered 
 it, and are thinking of me. For thirty long years 
 has my life been spared ; and, oh, how few of them 
 have been heartily spent in His service who died to 
 redeem me, and how multiplied have been my trans- 
 gressions against all His love ! I have been cast down 
 to-day by the remembrance of my guilt ; but my hope 
 is truly in His never-failing mercy ; and He has, and 
 does comfort me with all the precious promises in the 
 31st and 32nd Psalms. May our blessed Lord and 
 Master so strengthen me with the promised aid of 
 His Holy Spirit as to enable me, for the short re-
 
 THE SHADOW OF DEATH. 237 
 
 mainder of my stay here, constantly, and with self- 
 denial, to serve and glorify Him, whose service is joy 
 and peace, and whose gift not wages is eternal life 
 through Jesus Christ our Lord ! 
 
 " Grace, mercy, and peace be multiplied unto thee, 
 my own precious wife, now, and through life ; and 
 through life to our sweet little children, too. Ever 
 your own loving husband." 
 
 "February llth. 
 
 " This prolonged separation, my own darling wife, 
 is indeed a severe trial. I feel it has been ordered 
 for us, to prevent our thinking too much of each other, 
 and to cause Him, whom we should love infinitely 
 more than any earthly being, to become dearer and 
 more precious to our souls. I often wonder whether 
 it has really had this effect upon my stubborn, sel- 
 fish, indolent heart ; but I do not know that I can 
 say so. I long, and try oftentimes, to realise truly 
 the invisible presence of my Saviour God ; but all 
 seems in vain. If I could feel Him close to me every 
 hour of the day, how different would my life be 
 from what it now is ! but I almost think that if it 
 were so, my joy and peace would be almost more 
 than this poor body could endure. In His own good 
 time, this corruptible shall put on incorruption, and 
 this mortal shall put on immortality, and then shall 
 I see Him as He is all beauty, light, holiness, and 
 love."
 
 238 THE SHADOW OF DEATH. 
 
 "Febntary 18th. 
 
 " My beloved wife, you must not long or pray too 
 much for my return to you. Our first, most con- 
 stant, most earnest wishes and prayers, must be for 
 a growing likeness to Jesus, a more intense sense of 
 dutifulness, and more true Christian humility. All 
 things beside must be far below these in our hearts, 
 if we would walk so as to please Him ; and not re- 
 quire the check of His correcting hand It is 
 
 Sunday morning now. May it be a holy, blessed, soul- 
 refreshing day to my own wife ; and may the infinite 
 love of the Triune Jehovah rest upon her and upon 
 our darlings, for all eternity ! " 
 
 " March 3rd. 
 
 " My heart bounds for joy as I read the sweet over- 
 flowings of yours, on the most momentous of all sub- 
 jects. Indeed, it will be delightful when we can 
 again kneel together before the Throne of Grace, and 
 pour out our souls in praise and prayer. 
 
 " The Mabeilys have been kindness itself to me, 
 ever since they arrived. I dine with them, on an 
 average, twice a-week, and like them so very much. 
 They have three dear little children, who are great 
 churns of mine. 
 
 " I am now safely ensconced in my new house. How 
 glad I am that I may have but a few short weeks to 
 spend in it ! Hope tells me I have really some chance 
 of going home in April, and this is March. I trust I am
 
 THE SHADOW OF DEATH. 239 
 
 not too anxious about it ; indeed I desire to be patient, 
 and to submit to the infinitely wise arrangements of 
 Him who so truly loves us ; but the longing desire to 
 be with you and my beloved children, is almost irre- 
 pressible occasionally. I feel our lives may not be 
 long spared ; indeed I often fancy mine is held by a 
 more than usually precarious tenure, and this makes 
 my heart yearn the more for the enjoyment, while I 
 may be spared, of the society of those who are so un- 
 speakably precious to me. 
 
 " Oh for grace truthfully to say, ' Nevertheless, not 
 what I will, but what Thou wilt !"' 
 
 Notwithstanding this burden on his spirits, and these 
 deep yearnings to spend all that was left of life to him, 
 with those whom he so fondly loved ; yet, without one 
 exception, all who associated with him bear testi- 
 mony to the serene cheerfulness of his daily companion- 
 ship, and to his earnest delight in the work of His 
 heavenly Master. A young officer who was speaking 
 of him to me some months ago, said "Everybody 
 on the Old Rock liked Vandeleur, and regretted him 
 when he left us. He was ' blue ' * you know ; but then 
 he was such a bright blue ! No gay man, I should 
 think, was ever half so truly cheerful and charming as 
 a companion." 
 
 And a young friend of my own, who was also 
 
 * A slang term for being religioua
 
 240 THE SEIADOW OF DEATH. 
 
 quartered with him at Gibraltar, * bears a similar 
 testimony, with still more earnest personal affection : 
 " Major Vandeleur was always consistent and cheerful ; 
 and was wonderfully liked and looked up to by all who 
 knew him. I shall ever remember his joyous smile 
 when he read to me some text which had reference to 
 our subject of conversation, or which he particularly 
 loved, or found comfort from, in the trial of separation 
 from his wife and children." 
 
 Captain Warden, C.B., of the Royal Navy, who com- 
 mands the harbour at Gibraltar, thus writes of Major 
 Vandeleur (by whom his friendship had been greatly 
 valued) : 
 
 " He was in the habit of attending a weekly meeting 
 at Mr Crozier's, for prayer and Scripture-reading ; and 
 he was accompanied by several young officers of the 
 corps, who were first led thither, I believe, by his in- 
 fluence and by his example. 
 
 " He was one of the few men to be met with in the 
 world, in whose company it was impossible to be, with- 
 out discovering that his heart and life were devoted to 
 that Master and Saviour, of whom he was so distin- 
 guished a servant. 
 
 " For myself, I can truly say, that I never took to any 
 one more readily, or with more hearty admiration." 
 
 With Captain Jackson, R.A., Arthur had also formed 
 a true friendship. 
 
 * Lieutenant Hamilton, R.A.
 
 THE SHADOW OF DEATH. 241 
 
 " He knew when be was here," writes Captain Jack- 
 son, from Gibraltar, " that he was not to be long for 
 this world ; and he used to talk to me about it 
 
 " Five or six years ago, I met him for the first time 
 in a railway carriage between "Woolwich and Black- 
 heath. We were perfect strangers, but in the course 
 of conversation he remarked, 'How happy it was to 
 know that one had a Saviour ! ' 
 
 " I have always remembered his saying that ; it led 
 
 me often to think and wonder how it could be 
 
 And now I have reason, indeed, to be very thankful to 
 him for the many happy and profitable hours which I 
 spent in his company here." 
 
 A faithful servant who was with Arthur at Gibral- 
 tar, remembers hearing one of the hospital-sergeants 
 remark, that, " of all who visited the sick men, Major 
 Vandeleur seemed to feel the most hurt at their suffer- 
 ings." 
 
 This servant also recollects that he was in the habit 
 of speaking earnestly to the men in the batteries, both 
 about their duty as soldiers and about the happiness 
 offered them, through believing in the Saviour of the 
 world. 
 
 There was one man who was continually getting 
 into disgrace, from drinking and other snares. The 
 week before Major Vandeleur left Gibraltar, he spoke 
 words of kind advice and sympathy to this poor man, 
 
 Q
 
 242 THE SHADOW OF DEATH. 
 
 who was then undergoing punishment. From that 
 day forth, the soldier transgressed no more. It was 
 his last disgrace. He said to Major Vandeleur's ser- 
 vant, " Those kind words did more for me than all the 
 punishments in the world." 
 
 From the same person, we learn that Major Vande- 
 leur seemed never to be weary of well-doing. When 
 his failing health obliged him now and then to stop 
 for an hour, to recruit his exhausted strength, he would 
 rise up afterwards with fresh ardour to return to his 
 blessed work. And when military duty called him up 
 early, or kept him up late, he never allowed himself to 
 shorten the time which he had set apart for reading 
 the Bible and for prayer. 
 
 The following sketch of his life at Gibraltar ia 
 written by Sergeant-Major Garnham : 
 
 "Major Vandeleur joined the brigade of Royal 
 Artillery at Gibraltar during the month of July, 1858. 
 His appearance, though delicate, was not such as to 
 cause any immediate apprehension. 
 
 " The weather at that season is very sultry, and the 
 place not unfrequently enveloped by Levanters, a heavy 
 mist caused by an east wind from the Mediterranean, 
 which is very injurious not only to the health of new- 
 comers, but even of ' Old Rockers.' It is known by 
 the name of ' Kill- Johnny.' In fact, almost the
 
 THE SHADOW OF DEATH. 243 
 
 whole of the summer season is unfavourable to persons 
 in delicate health. 
 
 " Major Vandeleur, however, at once assumed, and 
 performed with his accustomed cheerfulness, those 
 various and arduous duties which devolve upon an 
 artillery officer in a large fortress. Not long before 
 this, an order had been issued from the Horse Guards, 
 directing that the armaments of the more conspicuous 
 batteries should be replaced by guns of a heavier 
 calibre. This remodelling was afterwards carried out 
 so extensively, that scarcely a battery remained un- 
 affected by its provision. It will be easily understood 
 that, at such a crisis, the duties and responsibilities of 
 the artillery officer were much increased, and that it 
 required the greatest vigilance on the part of those 
 under whose immediate superintendence this re-orga- 
 nization was carried out, to avoid the occurrence of 
 serious accidents. 
 
 " Firm in maintaining his command, gentle in its 
 exercise, laborious in his regimental duties, affable and 
 courteous to all, the influence of his graceful kindli- 
 ness was widely felt. Kich veins of anecdote, interest- 
 ing in style and eminently Christian in tone, distin- 
 guished his address. Many of the men to whom, 
 without disdain of their humbler rank, he would often 
 address himself, remember them well, and the beauti- 
 ful manner in which they were told. 
 
 " Chiefly must his brother officers have felt the
 
 244 THE SHADOW OF DEATH. 
 
 holy influence that breathed around him. His ex- 
 ample told most powerfully. Many of them resolved 
 to ' go with him,' convinced ' that he would do them 
 good.' They were not disappointed. God acknow- 
 ledged his intercessions, and blessed his efforts, and 
 they his sons or brothers in Christ Jesus -joined 
 him in his holy enterprise for the recovery of ruined 
 souls. 
 
 " On Sunday mornings, in the regimental school, and 
 from day to day throughout the week, in one place or 
 another, they were to be seen meeting him, to receive 
 his counsel as to their work, and his loving encourage- 
 ment concerning it. Several ladies, too, joined him in 
 earnest efforts for the spiritual good of the children of 
 the Sunday-school. They were of all religious denomi- 
 nations ; they numbered generally about eighty, girls 
 and boys ; their ages ranged from about four to twelve 
 years. As it was conducted on liberal principles, when 
 the classes were dismissed the pupils were allowed to 
 go to their several places of worship. Major Van- 
 deleur was greatly beloved by the children ; especially 
 by those in his own class. This was owing to the 
 kind and affectionate manner with which he taught 
 them, and his happy mode of management. And he 
 was reverenced as much as he was loved. 
 
 "Each child had a portion of Scripture to commit 
 to memory, and to repeat. The Major would then 
 catechise them upon what they had learnt. A chapter
 
 THE SHADOW OF DEATH. 245 
 
 in the Bible was next read and explained, questions 
 being asked from time to time. Should their attention 
 slacken, he would tell some short, striking Christian 
 anecdote, at which their faces used to brighten up, 
 while they listened with an eager and delighted atten- 
 tion. As a further encouragement, he purchased refer- 
 ence Bibles for his class, teaching them their use. He 
 also lent them books and periodicals to read at home, 
 and would occasionally mark his sense of their good 
 behaviour by inviting one of their number to his quar- 
 ters. This indeed was a treat not to be forgotten. He 
 was always most liberal in everything that tended to 
 the advancement and the amusement of the children ; 
 and his abrupt departure, with its sorrowful explanation, 
 was long and deeply regretted by them all He very 
 kindly left as a memento in the school, a beautiful 
 concertina, which had been previously lent by him to 
 accompany the children in their singing. 
 
 " As an officer, he took the deepest interest in the 
 temporal and spiritual welfare of the men under his 
 command ; and, as a natural result, was much beloved 
 and respected by them. 
 
 " He was most successful, whilst detached with his 
 battery at Europa Point, in assembling, in conjunction 
 with the chaplain, evening classes for the purpose of 
 reading and explaining the Scriptures, as well as in 
 giving short Bible lectures, at once most interesting 
 and impressive. The men would frequently express
 
 24)6 THE SHADO'.V OF DEATH. 
 
 in earnest terms their gratitude for what they had 
 heard, and for the kindly manner in which they had 
 been addressed. 
 
 " On wet Sundays, it is the custom in Gibraltar, to 
 have prayers read by the officers in the several barracks. 
 I well remember a sergeant telling me after one of these 
 services, ' that the lieutenant on duty had read prayers, 
 and that the Major had given them a sort of sermon 
 in a most feeling and striking manner, and that he 
 should never forget his earnestness.' He said he had 
 never seen the men more riveted. 
 
 " The Major was most assiduous in encouraging men 
 who were anxious to read and improve themselves, by 
 lending them books. 
 
 "He was a regular visitor at the hospital, and 
 always shewed deep interest in the temporal and spirit- 
 ual welfare of the patients, and particularly directed 
 his attention to those who were seriously afflicted. 
 Often would he fervently pray by the bedside of the 
 sick and suffering soldier, after reading a suitable 
 portion of Scripture. He would also leave behind a 
 goodly supply of religious tracts and periodicals. ' God 
 bless you all ! ' came so warm from his heart, on leaving 
 the various wards, that they were cold hearts indeed 
 which did not respond to its affectionate fervour." 
 
 Month after month of Arthur's sojourn at Gibraltar 
 had been passed in awaiting the anticipated recall of
 
 THE SHADOW OF DEATH. 247 
 
 his company, at this time rendered probable by changes 
 which were being made in the organisation of the 
 Artillery, and by the augmentation of the Eegimcnt. 
 But, towards April, increasing illness made it plain 
 that duty no longer claimed him at Gibraltar. The 
 regimental surgeons ordered him home lor three 
 months ; and, immediately on his arrival in London, 
 the Medical Board, before which he appeared, ratified 
 the order, with an addition of five months more.
 
 CHAPTER XV, 
 
 " My Jesus, as Thou wilt ! 
 
 Oh, may Thy will be mine I 
 Into Thy hand of love 
 I would my all resign. 
 
 " Through sorrow, or through joy, 
 
 Conduct me as Thine own, 
 And help me still to say, 
 My Lord, Thy will be done 1 
 
 " Straight to my home above 
 
 I travel calmly on, 
 And sing, in life or death, 
 My Lord, Thy will be done 1 "
 
 WITH failing health, but with a glad and thankful heart, 
 Arthur Vandeleur hastened to Ireland, to rejoin his 
 wife and children. 
 
 The first letter which he wrote to me, after that 
 blessed meeting, is an overflow of a heart, in the full 
 tide of grateful adoration to a prayer-hearing God. 
 He said nothing about his own state of health. 
 
 It was from Mrs Vandeleur that we learned the un- 
 favourable opinion of his case, which was entertained 
 by his medical advisers ; and still the darkest side of 
 it was partially concealed from her. On him, it made 
 but a passing impression. That hopefulness of dis- 
 position which was his characteristic, had sprung up 
 with regard to his recovery, the moment he felt a little 
 better, and was restored to his wife and babes. 
 
 The first few happy weeks, after their long separa- 
 tion, were passed in the lovely scenery of Killavney. 
 In the midst of this time of deep and tranquil enjoy- 
 ment, some business which required immediate atten- 
 tion, obliged Major Vandeleur to be in London for a
 
 252 NEAB HOME. 
 
 few hours. Allusion to that flying visit is made in 
 the following letter : 
 
 "RAILWAY HOTEL, KILLARNEY, May 24th, 1859. 
 
 " It almost made up for my great disappointment 
 at missing you, both at Beckenham and in London, on 
 Wednesday, to receive such a dear letter of hearty 
 regret. Blessings on you for it ! But still I should 
 so have enjoyed even a few minutes' meeting. What 
 a charming tea-party and meeting dear Anstruther 
 had for the members of the Guards' Bible-classes, at 
 Wellington Barracks ! It did my heart good to listen 
 to all that he and dear Mr Chalmers and Captain 
 Trotter said. It seemed to me that God was present 
 there, giving a time of refreshing and blessing, both to 
 those who spoke and those who listened. 
 
 " Oh, what a happiness to be at home, amongst be- 
 loved friends again ! Goodness and mercy are indeed 
 following me all my days, and by and by I shall dwell 
 in the house of the Lord for ever. And not alone, but 
 with all those whom I love so much in Jesus. Glory 
 be to the grace of our God ! " 
 
 "KILTANON, July 15th, 1859. 
 
 " We have had a most delightful time in this much- 
 loved home of my darling wife. Dearest Hattie's 
 marriage was a very cheerful one ; and she has a bright 
 prospect of happiness before her. God bless her and
 
 NEAR HOME. 253 
 
 her husband, and realise it to them both, to the utter- 
 most ! 
 
 " A large number of relatives were congregated for 
 the marriage, and they helped to cheer her dear father, 
 for whom we were dreading the departure of his last 
 daughter, from daily life under his roof. 
 
 " Their aunts from Leamington were here. Such 
 dear people ! ' Aunt Agnes ' is always on the look- 
 out to do kind and unselfish things. I believe it is 
 from the motive, which I long to have in fuller force 
 in my own heart grateful love of the Lord Jesus 
 Christ Constantly do I wish and pray that this love 
 may be my all in all, the centre and fountain of all 
 other love ; and the ruling, sruiding, consecrating 
 power of every feeling 01 my neart. 
 
 " It is so difficult to regard every one around you in 
 the light that God ofces them as immortal souls 
 who must live or die eternally. "What I desire is, to 
 be made so Christ-like as to love, for their souls' sake, 
 those whose natural characters do not attract me. 
 Souls, 'for whom Christ died/ whom the Father 
 loved so well as to spare His only Son that He might 
 redeem them by His blood, and in whom the Holy 
 Ghost is willing to come and dwell should have points 
 enough of interest for us ! 
 
 " It was so kind of you to write whilst you are en- 
 joying a few days at pleasant Terling. Darling Mary 
 and I would greatly like to pay another visit to the
 
 254) NEAR HOME. 
 
 dear friends there. How nice it would be if you could 
 meet us, as in those few days when they so kindly 
 allowed me to join that family-gathering, soon after 
 my return from the Crimea. 
 
 " What glorious news is this of the Eevival in the 
 north of Ireland ! There is too much of the stamp 
 of heaven about its blessed results to leave any doubt 
 that the work is of God. 
 
 " I quite agree with you that one would be thank- 
 ful, if there were none of those distressing outward 
 symptoms. But try to prevent our friends in Eng- 
 land from disbelieving the reality of the work, because 
 of this accompaniment. They should remember the 
 excitability of the national character ; and especially 
 that, wherever there is a work of God, Satan will try 
 to do all the damage to it that he can. 
 
 " Will you ask our friends to pray that the Eevival 
 may spread towards the south-west of Ireland ? I have 
 great hopes that it may. About four thousand persons 
 have been attending open-air preaching in Limerick. 
 Ah, if the warm Irish hearts should receive ' the 
 truth as it is in Jesus/ nothing more would be wanted 
 to make the country that which Dan O'Connell so 
 often boasted 
 
 ' First flower of the earth, 
 And first gem of the sea ! ' 
 
 " God be praised for the welcome news of peace ! We 
 can hardly expect it to be of long continuance ; but
 
 NEAB HOME. 255 
 
 any respite from the dire calamity of war is a blessing 
 indeed" 
 
 During this visit to Ireland, having occasion to meet 
 his tenantry with reference to an election, he assembled 
 them afterwards by his mother's grave ; and there, in 
 words which touched every heart, besought them to 
 follow her, and to come with him, to Jesus Christ and 
 glory. 
 
 For a time after his return to Woolwich, our hearts 
 were cheered by his evident power of rallying. There 
 seemed too much life and energy about him to be 
 associated with the idea of a hopeless malady. He 
 believed himself to be recovering, and rejoiced in the 
 thought of prolonged life devoted to his Saviour's 
 service. 
 
 " OSMASTON MANOR, September 24th, 1859. 
 " We are thoroughly enjoying our little holiday. It 
 is most refreshing to us to be in the midst of a family 
 so entirely given to the Lord, and to His work ; and, 
 most of all, to enjoy communion and fellowship with 
 that most dear fellow and devoted Christian, Stevenson 
 Blackwood, and his truly noble wife. We have had some 
 delightful meetings for reading the Bible, conversation, 
 and prayer, suggested by him ; and both darling Mary 
 and I have felt it ' good for us to be there.' You will, 
 I know, pray for us, that all we have seen and heard here
 
 256 NEAE HOME. 
 
 may rouse us up to a more thorough devotion of body, 
 soul, and spirit, to our blessed Master's cause, the win- 
 ning souls of every age and rank and race to serve in 
 the great army of Jesus Christ the Lord. I hope and 
 pray that it may be so, and I think it will, and, oh, 
 how full of joy and unalloyed delight that blessed ser- 
 vice is ! No tongue can tell but they who have been 
 permitted to enlist under the blessed banner of the 
 great Captain of our salvation." 
 
 " MABTON ROAD, WOOLWICH, 
 December 3rd, 1859. 
 
 " It has been a great sorrow to me not to be able 
 for so many days to answer your very precious letter. 
 Duty of all kinds, not to be avoided or neglected, must 
 plead my excuse. I have been worked to the utmost 
 of my strength, but, thank God, not beyond it. How 
 shall we thank you enough, for all your prayers for us 
 Surely they have been heard, for in every way, both in 
 spiritual and temporal things, the hand of the Lord 
 has been over us for good. Oh for hearts filled to the 
 brim with gratitude and love ! Since our delightful 
 visit to you, we have been to Birch Hall, and enjoyed 
 our stay there, thoroughly. We came in for the An- 
 nual Bible Society Meeting at Colchester, which we 
 liked so much. We returned to our home, greatly re- 
 freshed, both in soul and body. 
 
 " The work here is going on very nicely and steadily.
 
 NEAR HOME. 257 
 
 Our adult gunner classes on Friday evenings give us 
 all much pleasure and encouragement. I have given 
 to many of mine those dear little red books ; and last 
 night they told me so earnestly that they liked them 
 very much indeed. I do believe that God is touching 
 the hearts of many by the mighty power of His Holy 
 Spirit. Glory and praise be unto Him, to all eternity ! 
 " Our best love to all beneath that blessed Rectory 
 roof." 
 
 A staft'-sergeant of the Royal Artillery who met 
 Major Vandeleur one evening in a street of the town 
 of Woolwich ; remembers that after conversing with 
 him earnestly, and encouraging him to persevere in 
 seeking to follow that Saviour whom he had already 
 chosen to serve, Major Vandeleur told him how 
 much interest and sympathy he felt with those ser- 
 geants who had been selected to visit their sick com- 
 rades in the hospital ; and then alluding to a book called 
 the " Sunday-school Teacher's Treasury," from which 
 he had derived great help in imparting instruction, he 
 said he thought it would be a valuable aid to them in 
 their labours of love. Finding that the non-commis- 
 sioned officers did not possess it, he gave the sergeant 
 a sovereign for the purchase of four copies, one for 
 himself, one to be deposited in the Soldiers' Insti- 
 tute, and two to be given to the other sergeants ap- 
 pointed to read in the hospital. Then, shaking hands
 
 258 NEAR HOME. 
 
 with him, he bade him " Look to Jesus, the author and 
 finisher of his faith." 
 
 "This commendation to a Saviour's love and grace," 
 writes the sergeant,* who has requested that this anec- 
 dote be recorded, "appears as if it were repeated to 
 me, in those kind, earnest tones, every time I revisit 
 the grave where lie the loved remains of Major Van- 
 deleur." 
 
 " 28 MAKYON ROAD, WOOLWICH, 
 December 22nd, 1859. 
 
 " MY DEAR GENERAL, Among the many blessings 
 it has been my privilege to enjoy since my return to 
 Woolwich in August last, not one has awakened a 
 deeper thrill of gratitude and thankfulness than the 
 arrival of your most kind, affectionate, and welcome 
 letter. We most heartily thank God for it, and for all 
 it contains. It is delightful to know that you and dear- 
 est Mrs Anderson continue to remember us in any way, 
 but especially in prayer. Who can tell how many of 
 our multitude of blessings we owe to those prayers of 
 yours, our dear and very valued friends ! 
 
 " There is much going on about us that I know will 
 interest you ; and as you ask me to be minute, I must 
 try to obey, like a good soldier. 
 
 " I will first speak of Woolwich generally. In 
 spiritual matters you will rejoice to know that there 
 is a great extension of the Lord's work going on 
 * Sergeant-Major Revill.
 
 NEAE HOME. 259 
 
 around us. You were permitted to sow much seed, 
 and I trust, please God, that you may live to see and 
 know that it is bearing much fruit unto life eternal. 
 There is as yet nothing that should be called a revival 
 in Woolwich, generally, but there are evident signs 
 that the reviving shower is gradually coming over us, 
 and we are beginning to feel the first drops of the 
 longed-for blessing. The Plumstead Sunday-schools, 
 and those in the Arsenal the former under that de- 
 voted man Travers, the latter under dear Orr are giv- 
 ing evident token that the Holy Spirit is working in an 
 unwonted and special manner. Colonel Travers assures 
 me that the whole tone of the schools is changed, and 
 that many of the children are evidently converted ; and 
 so much heartfelt interest and earnestness is manifested, 
 that it only remains for him to guide and regulate its 
 expression, and to direct it into the proper channel. 
 
 "Mr Hare has obtained the consent of the Com- 
 mandant who, I rejoice to say, favours everything 
 which would tend to promote the best welfare of 
 the soldier to allow any of the men who might feel 
 so inclined, to devote an hour of their school-time on 
 Friday evenings, to religious instruction. Classes have 
 been formed, and many volunteers come to them ; and 
 we have thus a better chance than we ever had before 
 for getting at the hearts of the full-grown soldiers. 
 We have about seven classes, and an average attend- 
 ance of about one hundred; and it is delightful to
 
 260 NEAR HOME. 
 
 observe the sober and even anxious earnestness, with 
 which these men listen to the gospel call. Oh that 
 He who has thus opened a wide door, may of His 
 mercy bring many lost sheep back into the only true 
 Fold Jesus Christ ! 
 
 " Mr Hare is now the rallying-point for the officers 
 of the garrison. I never go to his house on Tuesday 
 evenings without thinking of the happy meetings we 
 have so often enjoyed in your well-remembered house 
 on the common. The meetings are very well attended, 
 as many as thirty-five sometimes being present. 
 
 "You most kindly ask after ourselves. I had, at 
 last, to come home from Gibraltar on sick leave. My 
 lungs were much affected, but, thank God, only with 
 chronic bronchitis ; and since my return, I have rapidly 
 and steadily gained health and strength, although I 
 feel this severe weather. It is delightful to have 
 sufficient strength to work for our blessed Lord and 
 Master ; and this we try to do every day. Our little 
 ones are both flourishing, and are growing most at- 
 tractive ; indeed, my very dear friend, we are sur- 
 rounded with blessings, and have every moment fresh 
 occasions for praise. 
 
 " Ever your very grateful and affectionate friend, 
 " ARTHUR VANDELEUR." 
 
 On Friday, in the second week of January I860 
 that week which encircled the globe with an atmo-
 
 NEAR HOME. 261 
 
 sphere of prayer, the warmth and light of which, by 
 the grace of God, have not yet faded away a special 
 prayer-meeting for the army was held at the Barn at 
 Beckenham. 
 
 Arthur Vandeleur came over to us for that meeting ; 
 and then, for the first time, we began to realise that he 
 was in a hopeless decline. Seldom, if ever, have I seen 
 a spirit so brave and strong, in a frame so weakened 
 and attenuated. He was as cheerful as ever; but it 
 was a most hallowed cheerfulness, like that of one who 
 kept the eternal realities ever before him. 
 
 A dear young friend was with us that night, to 
 whom, when he was entering on his course of military 
 education at Addiscombe College, Arthur Vandeleur 
 had spoken words of wise and loving counsel, which 
 had been greatly blessed to his stablishing and strength- 
 ening in the Christian life. To learn that those brief 
 words had been thus owned of God, was one of the 
 many good gifts, of a similar nature, which seemed to 
 have been kept, through the tender love of the Divine 
 Master, to cheer His faithful servant during the last 
 suffering months of his life. 
 
 Ill as he was, he still insisted upon accompanying 
 us to the meeting ; and there he poured out his soul in 
 prayer for the army, with a holy fervour which few 
 who heard him could forget. 
 
 A solemn and sorrowful impression was left upon 
 our hearts that night. Passing, as it did, like a com-
 
 262 KEAE HOME. 
 
 inon evening, and mingled, though he was, in all our 
 interests, we still silently felt that he stood apart from 
 us, as the dying from the living, and that in the place 
 where that beloved voice had so often been lifted up in 
 prayer, it would be heard no more for ever. 
 
 "MABYON ROAD, January 2lst, 1860. 
 
 "I cannot dream of allowing this happy day to 
 close, without sending some answer, however unworthy, 
 to that loved letter, so full of precious prayer and birth- 
 day blessings, which greeted me this morning. .... 
 
 " I trust you will have such a blessed day with Mr 
 Eadcliffe, as we had last Sunday, in the Scottish church. 
 It was deeply solemn and awakening. His appeal to 
 the unconverted was very powerful. The impression 
 on my mind the whole time was, that, as of old, ' the 
 power of the Lord was present to heal.' .... How 
 earnestly we should pray for one who has been so owned 
 of God, that he may be kept humble and holy, and have 
 
 a right judgment given him in all things Could 
 
 you come and stay with us for a few days, it would be 
 better than pounds of tonics and quinine to my Mary 
 and me. If it might seem good to my God, I would 
 desire of Him rather more health and strength than I 
 possess at present. But He knows what is most for 
 His glory and my good ; and on this day I especially 
 desire to commit myself, body and soul, to His blessed 
 keeping. Thus, and thus only, ALL is WELL."
 
 NEAR HOME. 263 
 
 Up to the middle of February, notwithstanding his 
 gradually increasing weakness and illness, he still 
 scrupulously performed all his duties as a field-officer ; 
 and almost every leisure evening which he had, was 
 devoted to attending the prayer-meetings at Woolwich, 
 or to holding a Bible-class of soldiers. His gunners' 
 class was a source of the deepest interest to him. He 
 loved the men, and was repaid by their warm and 
 reverent affection, and far more than rewarded by the 
 good hope that many of them were led to seek and find 
 salvation through Jesus Christ. 
 
 On the 10th of February, he attended the annual 
 meeting at Woolwich, for the Soldiers' Scripture Society. 
 It was his last public effort of the kind. Some who 
 heard him compared his speech to a silver cord, which 
 drew the hearts of all the hearers to himself, and with 
 him, up to the very gate of heaven. 
 
 After this, he was for some time confined to his 
 house by an attack of fever and ague. But his sym- 
 pathies were as fresh as ever, as will be seen by the 
 letter which follows : 
 
 " WOOLWICH, Saturday Evening. 
 
 "Your welcome letter of sympathy and love has 
 been a cordial to my heart ever since it came. We 
 prayed most earnestly for you, that your visits to the 
 
 ships at , might be productive of great results, in 
 
 bringing many souls to Jesus by the power of His
 
 264 NEAR HOME. 
 
 Spirit. May He cause His own work to spread on all 
 sides ! 
 
 " I have heard to-day that a few of the cadets, at 
 Woolwich, are making a stand on the Lord's side. Will 
 not this rejoice the heart of our dear friend, Major Gibb? 
 How charming it will be if a little band should unite 
 together here in prayer and in reading the Bible, like 
 those dear young Christians at Addiscombe ! I have 
 already been requested to lend a helping hand to one 
 ' who earnestly desires to be kept from falling into sin.' 
 That is a call to be attended to, at once. 
 
 " Your dear Bob was down at Woolwich last week. It 
 did my heart good to look upon his face again ; and to hear 
 his pleasant cheery talk, with his clear, bright thoughts 
 upon subjects of highest interest. I love him dearly. 
 
 " There are some very earnest Christians now, thank 
 God, amongst my brother-officers here ; and the work 
 of the Lord is prospering in their hands. If you will 
 come and spend a day with us soon, we shall have a 
 great deal to tell you which will cheer your heart, and 
 make you bless and praise our God and Father in 
 Christ Jesus." 
 
 In the month of March, Major and Mrs Vandeleur 
 spent a few days at Hastings, and the sea-breezes 
 seemed for the time to rally his failing powers. He 
 returned to Woolwich to find that, through the influ- 
 ence of his friend Colonel Tulloh, he had been ap-
 
 NEAR HOME. 265 
 
 pointed Assistant-Inspector of Artillery. It was witli 
 peculiar pleasure that he found himself again employed 
 in the Arsenal : the appointment was especially suited 
 to his tastes and talents, and the prospect of holding 
 it under Colonel Tulloh, who had treated him with 
 unvarying kindness, and whose friendship he had long 
 valued, gave an additional zest to his gratification in 
 the matter. But deeply touching was it, to all who 
 watched his declining health, to witness the efforts 
 he made to battle with rapidly-increasing disease, and 
 to fulfil his duties to the uttermost. Each day his 
 kind and considerate " chief " urged him to take more 
 rest ; but almost every morning found him at his post, 
 with unabated spirit and energy, determined to go 
 through the work of the day, although returning 
 home each afternoon, completely exhausted in mind 
 and body ; for he had now reached that advanced stage 
 of consumption, which deprives most of its victims of 
 the power of even rising from their beds. 
 
 No one could be a visitor under his roof, at this time, 
 without marvelling at the exceeding grace of God that 
 was in him. His warmth of temper which was not 
 without its charm for those who loved him, because 
 they knew so well that one gentle word was enough, 
 at any moment, to melt him into generous tenderness 
 and touching acknowledgment of error was now kept 
 under the most watchful control. 
 
 There had always been a remarkable contrast be-
 
 266 NEAR HOME. 
 
 tween his almost morbid sensitiveness to the slightest 
 ridicule, touching himself or his friends, and his holy 
 boldness and utter disregard of the sneer of the world 
 when directed against his fearless religion, and the 
 open honour which he set upon all things belonging to 
 his King, and for His sake, upon all those whom he 
 believed to be serving Him. But now, the love of 
 that Eedeemer seemed to flow as the river of God, 
 which is full of water, through the channel of that 
 human soul. Every concern of His kingdom to the 
 remotest end of the earth, had an interest and a charm 
 for him. And his " love of the brethren/' seemed to 
 give one a glimpse into the world of love beyond the 
 veil, which was already almost transparent to his eyes. 
 On the 1 2th of April, he wrote " I am now, blessed 
 be the holy name of my Lord and Master, much better 
 as to the attack of fever and ague, although very 
 weak still. During my long illness, many indeed have 
 been the striking and most beautiful tokens of my 
 precious Saviour's love ; and at times I have been able 
 to rejoice in Him with all my heart and soul. At 
 other times, my mind seems to have partaken of the 
 feebleness of my body, and I could hardly even bear 
 to think. It has been a long trial for my Mary ; bufe 
 she bears up most nobly, and never seems to remember 
 herself. It is a great comfort to have her brothers, 
 dear Trevor and Charles, here ; they are so full of 
 affectionate kindness and sympathy.
 
 NEAR HOME. 267 
 
 "I am writing from my birthday inkstand my 
 drum with arms piled. How lovely it is ! I believe 
 it was cut out of a nugget ! ! And the rifles are per- 
 fect. It stands always on the little table by my side ; 
 and it seems to speak to me of one who has (now, for 
 years past,) with a mother's watchful tenderness, cared 
 for my welfare and happiness and comfort. Blessings 
 on her, exceeding abundantly above all that I can ask 
 or think I 
 
 " I have two books to send as Easter gifts for dear 
 Kennie and little Dalzell, when your beloved sister 
 drives over again. How refreshing is all intercourse 
 with her sweet and loving spirit ! " 
 
 Thus, to the last, was all that could give pleasure, 
 by word or deed, to friend or child, ever thoughtfully 
 remembered by him. 
 
 TO GENERAL ANDERSON, RA. 
 
 "28 MARYON ROAD, CHARLTON, 
 April 17 th, 1860. 
 
 "MY DEAR GENERAL, Your most kind letter of 
 sympathy and congratulation on my recent appoint- 
 ment to the Arsenal, was a true cordial to my own and 
 my precious wife's heart. 
 
 " Truly, such a letter is more to be prized than a bag 
 of gold placed in the hand. 
 
 " Since I last wrote, we have been at Hastings on
 
 268 NEAR HOME. 
 
 leave, for the sake of the mild, pure air, as I have 
 been seriously ill, the last three months ; but I am 
 now, through God's mercy, nearly well again, though 
 very weak. My beloved wife also is far from strong ; 
 but it is most cheering to see her untiring energy in 
 the work of the Lord. 
 
 "Shortly before the Himalaya started for China, 
 with troops, our excellent friend Mrs Thompson had 
 prayed and read the Scriptures with one or two ser- 
 geants, and they promised to try to get together a 
 Scripture-reading class on board. They did so ; and 
 one of them wrote from Alexandria to Mrs Thompson, 
 to tell her that eleven non-commissioned officers and 
 several men had joined the class. What noble in- 
 fluence these pious men may exert in China, among 
 both English and Chinese ! May they be given grace 
 and strength to 'endure hardness as good soldiers of 
 Jesus Christ ! ' 
 
 " Travers continues to speak with deep thankfulness 
 of the work of God's Holy Spirit in the Plumstead 
 School ; so many lads and girls are decidedly con- 
 verted to God. In Orr's school, in the Arsenal, there 
 is also a great deal to delight and encourage. Ever 
 yours most affectionately, 
 
 "A. VANDELEUE." 
 
 In the month of May, whilst Major and Mrs Van- 
 deleur were spending a few days in London with their
 
 NEAE HOME. 2G9 
 
 sympathising and beloved friends, Mr and Mrs Round, 
 the medical advisers whom he then consulted, urged 
 upon him the duty of at once resigning his appoint- 
 ment in the Arsenal. 
 
 "After taking a short time for prayer on the sub- 
 ject," wrote Mrs Vandeleur, "my beloved husband 
 resigned his will with the most lovely and cheerful 
 submission to the will of his Father in heaven. For 
 some weeks past he had felt that, should he be called 
 to make this sacrifice, it would be a terrible trial, and 
 he had feared that he would not be able to bear it 
 patiently. But when the trial came, the needed grace 
 came with it ; and beautiful it was to see the smile 
 which lighted up his face, as he said, ' Then, my Mary, 
 it must be given up Yes ! and without one murmur.' " 
 
 In the course of the following day I received this 
 letter from him. It proved to be the last which he 
 ever wrote me: 
 
 " 5 SUSSEX SQUARE, LONDON, 
 May \5th, 1860. 
 
 " You shall be the very first to receive a letter from 
 me, in our deep trouble. Our heavenly Father sustains 
 us both ; but it is a terrible blow. Dr Watson has this 
 morning declared me quite unfit for work at present, 
 and could not even give me any hope of being ready 
 for it soon. 
 
 " You know what all this involves ; the giving up of 
 the appointment so pleasant to work in, and so suited
 
 270 NEAR HOME. 
 
 to me in every way ; the leaving Woolwich, perhaps 
 England, and all those I love so truly, and whose 
 society and counsels have been so precious to my be- 
 loved wife and myself. It is grievous ; but she, the 
 true wife, smothers her own sorrow, and comforts me 
 constantly by pointing to the love of Him who sends 
 this trial, ' that we might be partakers of His holiness/ 
 We are with the dear Rounds, who are all kindness 
 and love. 
 
 " I have no strength to write more. We return home 
 to-morrow. Ever precious friend, mother, and sister 
 your own loving and grateful son and brother." 
 
 Up to this time, and even on the following Sabbath, 
 he still persevered in going to church ; and devoutly 
 welcomed every opportunity of receiving the sacrament 
 of the Lord's Supper. 
 
 On the 23rd of May, he went with Mrs Vandeleur, 
 for change of air, to East Coombe, near Blackheath, the 
 residence of his valued Christian friends, Mr and Mrs 
 Mentor Mott. Here he was tended with the most 
 considerate and affectionate care. His friends were 
 painfully struck with his extreme weakness ; and it 
 was evident to them that he was rapidly sinking. From 
 himself, it seemed, at this time, to be hidden. But 
 those who loved him best, felt that this was a matter of 
 no moment for one whose heart was filled with the 
 Saviour's peace, and whose lips were continually
 
 NEAR HOME. 271 
 
 breathing that Saviour's name. She who was just 
 then bearing alone the burden of the dread of their 
 approaching parting, was thankful for each day that 
 his tender spirit was spared from fully realising the 
 trial which was falling upon herself; strangely sad 
 though it was, for the first time since their marriage, to 
 bear a sorrow unshared and unsoothed by him. 
 
 On the 2-ith, Mrs Mott's sister, Mrs Thompson, (who 
 has since devoted herself to a missionary labour of love 
 amongst the Maronites,) drove over to Beckenham with 
 Major Vandeleur ; as he had set his heart on making 
 arrangements for a visit to the Rectory early in the en- 
 suing week, with the earnestness of an unacknowledged 
 consciousness that he was coming to take a last long 
 leave of friends who were, one and all, so deeply 
 attached to him. 
 
 At that time, two beloved members of our family 
 circle were seriously ill ; but we all felt, alike, that 
 nothing must be allowed to delay his visit. 
 
 On the morning of the 26th, whilst still at East 
 Coombe, he awoke at sunrise with a sense of suffoca- 
 tion, and panting for breath. Mrs Vandeleur opened 
 the window ; and as the glorious rays of the rising 
 sun fell around him, he raised his beaming eyes, ex- 
 claiming, " Oh for the blaze of the Sun of Righteous- 
 ness !" 
 
 The next day was Whitsunday. It was a lovely 
 morning; but his days for joining the worshippers in
 
 272 NEAE HOME. 
 
 an earthly temple were over. His wife read part of 
 the Service, and the Lessons, to him ; and then they 
 strolled out upon the lawn, and spent the remainder of 
 the morning quietly there, amidst the calm of the 
 sheltering trees, soft summer breezes, and still sunshine ; 
 taking sweet counsel together of the things that be- 
 longed to their everlasting peace. A treasured memory 
 is that Sabbath morning, to the one who is left sorrow- 
 ing on earth, and not forgotten, we believe, by the one 
 who is bearing a victor's palm before the throne of the 
 Lamb. In the afternoon, their friend Mrs Hare came 
 to spend an hour with him ; and an hour of delightful 
 intercourse it proved to be. Several times Arthur re- 
 ferred to it, as having been to him a foretaste of the 
 converse of Heaven. 
 
 The day before he left East Coornbe, Mrs Vandeleur 
 was obliged to return to Woolwich for an hour or two, 
 and Mrs Thompson remained with him. He was un- 
 usually depressed, and after telling her that at times he 
 believed that his end was near, the real source of his 
 grief burst forth like a torrent, as he bitterly mourned 
 over what he called " the uselessness of his life." 
 
 " What have I ever done for my Master ? How I have 
 wasted my opportunities ! I am going to give an account 
 of my stewardship, and what an account it must be!" 
 
 Mrs Thompson felt that this was but a device of the 
 great enemy, to mar his peace ; and endeavoured to 
 comfort him by asking, if he could not remember any
 
 NEAK HOME. 273 
 
 instance in which it had pleased God to bless his words 
 to some poor sinner. His face brightened as she 
 spoke, and, with expressions of the deepest thankful- 
 ness, he recalled, one by one, encouragements merci- 
 fully given to him by a gracious Master, and many 
 instances in which He had made use of him to bring 
 sinners to the foot of the Cross. He was at all times 
 extremely silent on this subject, seldom speaking of it 
 even to the one nearest and dearest to him. But we 
 know that both his example and his words were widely 
 blessed Even in the short interval between the time 
 when his death was known in Woolwich, and the day 
 on which he was laid in his last resting-place, many 
 testified with tears as to what he had been to them 
 the instrument in God's hands of bringing them to a 
 knowledge of their Saviour. 
 
 The following morning, his kind and sympathising 
 friend, Sir Richard Dacres, Commandant of the Garri- 
 son, and several of Arthur's brother-officers, came over 
 from Woolwich, to see him. There was evidently an 
 impression on the minds of all that it was for the last 
 time. 
 
 Many non-commissioned officers and men also came 
 to inquire after him ; and some lingered about, hoping 
 to catch another glimpse of one so well-beloved.
 
 CHAPTER XVI, 
 
 ft* fast SlMj. 
 
 " So He giveth His beloved sleep.* 
 
 * They say he died ; it seem'd to me, 
 That after hours of pain and strife, 
 He slept one evening peacefully, 
 And woke in everlasting life."
 
 JUST at the same season of the year, in which he had 
 arrived at Beckenham Rectory, five years before, in joy- 
 ous health and spirits, for his first visit on his return 
 from the Crimea, Arthur came once more a dying man. 
 Yet, even then, it was almost impossible to associate 
 with him, any thought that was not bright with life and 
 hope. Again we heard that welcome sound of his clear, 
 pleasant laugh, ending with a little shout of glee pecu- 
 liar to himself. Again we found him ready for cheerful 
 converse, happiest when it dwelt on the Christian's 
 highest hopes, but ready to enter with zest into all that 
 interested us. 
 
 Not allowing himself to fall into the usual ways of 
 invalids, he joined the family circle at meal-times, 
 excepting at breakfast only ; and was not unmindful 
 of any of the little courtesies of life. His early friend, 
 Mr O'Donnell, might even have recalled that impres- 
 sion of Arthur's boyhood to which he alluded in his 
 description of him : " I thought him very careful of 
 his personal appearance/' Yet, mingling with the un- 
 conquered spirit, which seemed to triumph over the
 
 278 THE LAST SLEEP. 
 
 weakness and suffering of a dying illness, there was, at 
 times, an almost childlike dependence, which his brave 
 endurance only rendered the more deeply touching. 
 
 The last of May was a day of unbroken sunshine 
 and soft westerly wind ; and Arthur expressed a wish 
 to sit on the lawn for an hour, under the shade of an 
 old spreading chestnut-tree, which he had always par- 
 ticularly admired. It was my privilege to be his 
 companion, during that time ; for which I thank God 
 to this day. 
 
 " I wished to ask you," he began, in a tone of deep 
 solemnity, "whether it is possible that I may have 
 been deceiving myself all along, in the belief that I 
 have loved my Saviour. Now that I feel drawing near 
 to death, I shrink from leaving that little tender, pre- 
 cious wife, and our sweet children, to battle with life 
 without me. The thought of parting with them, in 
 itself, is a terrible pang. Would this be so, if I had 
 truly loved my Saviour ? Should I not be longing to 
 go to Him ? Can I have deceived myself all along, in 
 believing that I have loved Him ? " 
 
 After a moment's pause for prayer, I replied, "Your 
 safety, as you well know, does not depend upon your 
 love for the Lord Jesus Christ, but upon His love for 
 you. ' He loved you, and gave Himself for you.' And 
 He has told you, ' He that heareth my word, and be- 
 lieveth on Him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and 
 shall not come into condemnation ; but is jxissed from
 
 THE LAST SLEEP. 279 
 
 death unto life.' If you had deceived yourself, in the 
 time that is past, He can never deceive you. The life 
 once given you through believing in Him or, if you 
 had never believed before, which would be given you 
 now, as you believe ' His Word ' it is IMPOSSIBLE that 
 He should withdraw, for any infirmity on your part. 
 But my own entire conviction is, that that blessed 
 Saviour one of whose last thoughts, when dying to 
 redeem a world, was for the comfort of His mother 
 far from deeming that there is unfaithfulness towards 
 Him, in your tender love for your wife and children, 
 would be much less pleased if you were so occupied 
 with your own near prospect of immeasurable gain, as 
 to forget the grievous loss which it must involve for 
 them." 
 
 "Do you think so?" he said, his trustful spirit 
 receiving the suggestion at once. " Oh, that is com- 
 fort indeed I And perhaps, after all, then I do love 
 Him. For if the cry, ' Behold the Bridegroom cometh !' 
 were to be sounded now, and I could go up, with 
 Mary and our babes, to meet my Lord in the air, 
 I should rejoice 'with joy unspeakable, and full of 
 glory/ " 
 
 As he spoke, the colour flushed over his cheek, and 
 his deep, spiritual eye, upraised to heaven, seemed to 
 drink in fresh lustre from the Source of light. For a 
 while he appeared to be unconscious of earthly com- 
 panionship, in his fellowship of soul with his Lord and
 
 280 THE LAST SLEEP. 
 
 Saviour. Like the saintly Eutlierford, he seemed to say, 
 " I only ask now a further revelation of the beauty of the 
 unseen Son of God." With the prophet, he could sny, 
 in faith, Mine "eyes shall see the King in his beauty." 
 
 After a time, he turned to me, and said, " I want to 
 speak of my mother, to one whom she would bless out 
 of her holy heaven, for having so truly and tenderly 
 represented her on earth to me, for five years." He 
 then told me what she was to him in his childhood, 
 and the history of their last interview, in minute 
 detail. "I loved her as an angel of God," he said, " and 
 1 love her still, as entirely and devotedly as I did the 
 day of her death. I have never ceased to miss her, and 
 to mourn her." 
 
 After this, he spoke of the meeting before us all 
 which he believed to be drawing very near the meet- 
 ing in the air to go in together to " the marriage- 
 supper of the Lamb." Not the faintest doubt of 
 mutual recognition there, crossed his mind. He spoke 
 of those gone before, whom he had known and loved, 
 as waiting to welcome him into Paradise. " I should 
 not be surprised if 'Faithful' that is Hedley, you 
 know would be one of those who will come to meet 
 ' Hopeful ' as he crosses Jordan/' said he, alluding to a 
 former half-playful comparison of Captain Vicars and 
 himself to those beloved companions of Christian, in the 
 " Pilgrim's Progress," on his way to the Celestial City.
 
 THE LAST SLEEP. 281 
 
 I could but rejoin in Christian's words, " You have 
 been Hopeful ever since I knew you." 
 
 " There is no such thing as death for a man who 
 believes in the Saviour," he added. " He cannot die. 
 He is in ' the Life,' for he is in Jesus; and thus he is 
 a part of Life Eternal/' 
 
 Whilst thus speaking, his brother-in-law, Mr Charles 
 Molony, arrived from Woolwich ; and I left them 
 alone together for a few minutes; thankful for the 
 opportunity of withdrawing to bless God for having 
 permitted me to hear, from this beloved friend, so 
 glorious a confession of faith. 
 
 During the following day, he had further conversa- 
 tion with Mr Chalmers, whom his eyes often followed 
 with a wistful look when he was called from the room 
 by parish duties ; and he liked to have his chair placed, 
 in the evening, where he could best see my father's 
 serene and beautiful countenance. " I cannot make 
 my voice heard through his trumpet now," he said to 
 me, rather sadly ; then brightening again immediately, 
 " but we shall have plenty of time for talking together, 
 when we meet in the everlasting Home." 
 
 Interested, to the last, for the welfare of the soldier, 
 he collected donations on that day, as on several pre- 
 vious days, for the Soldiers' Institute at Woolwich ; 
 and he carried back thither the sum of 30, to keep 
 it going. Eegarding it as a great benefit for the
 
 282 THE LAST SLEEP. 
 
 men, he was most anxious that the Institute should 
 be placed upon a permanent foundation. 
 
 In the night-time, latterly, he frequently prayed in 
 his broken sleep. He awoke very early ; and if his ten- 
 der and devoted wife herself looking scarcely less fra- 
 gile than he who watched him unweariedly througli 
 his wakeful hours, had closed her eyes for brief repose 
 after seeing him fall asleep, he would quietly rise to 
 light the fire, rather than disturb her whom he so 
 anxiously cared for, and so deeply loved ; or even than 
 ring, at that early hour, for the aid of a servant. 
 
 He dreaded giving the least trouble. But the last 
 night or two, from extreme weakness and breathless- 
 ness, he submitted to being assisted to his room by a 
 dear young friend himself a soldier then staying 
 with us, to whom Arthur's heart had warmed from their 
 first interview ; and by a faithful servant of Mr Chal- 
 mers, who had loved him with no common love. But 
 readily and tenderly as this little service was performed, 
 and much as he prized the love which rendered it, it 
 was an evident pain to him to be obliged to avail him- 
 self of it. 
 
 On Friday, he said to me, "I should like to go 
 to Heaven straight from this dear home. But whilst 
 your beloved sister and niece are so ill, I feel it is 
 wrong to add a third invalid to the house. I mean 
 to go back to Woolwich to-day, to see my little chil- 
 dren ; and then Mary and I will come again, in a few
 
 THE LAST SLEEP. 283 
 
 days, and stay to the end. And the end will be the 
 beginning of glory." 
 
 He hoped, then, that he should return. But I do 
 not think that he believed it, a few hours later, when 
 he parted from us. My sister, who had been suffering 
 from an attack of bronchitis, had rjsen that afternoon 
 for the sake of getting a last glimpse of one who was 
 so dear to her, and to us all When he looked up, and 
 saw her sorrowful face watching him from the gallery 
 as he crossed the hall, the tender solemnity of a last 
 farewell overspread his countenance ; and as he entered 
 the carriage, he hid his face, in a sudden burst of 
 tears. 
 
 The next day, he began to complain of great pain in 
 his throat, and seemed weaker, and less able to exert 
 himself. In the evening he said, " What a blessing, 
 my Mary, that I have not now to seek Jesus ! " 
 
 On Sunday, he rallied considerably, and was again 
 able to converse, fully and clearly. In the course of 
 the morning, he spoke to his Avife of his approaching 
 death, and then said to her, "Come and bit by my 
 side, and speak to me about it. I shall realise it if 
 you talk of it; I do not, when others allude to it." 
 She drew a low chair to his side, and sat by him, 
 calmly speaking of that which was to bring her own 
 deepest sorrow. He said, "It is a solemn thing to 
 appear before the King of kings the Holy God ; but 
 I have no fear;" and then expressed his perfect trust,
 
 284 THE LAST SLEEP. 
 
 and peace, and joy in Jesus, as his own and all-suffi- 
 cient Saviour. 
 
 That afternoon, his beloved brother, Captain Trevor 
 Molony, read a sermon to him, which he much enjoyed, 
 on his favourite words, " CHRIST is ALL." 
 
 Soon afterwards, his kind friend, Colonel Tulloh, 
 who had shewn him the truest sympathy throughout 
 his illness, and his dear friends, Captain Bruce and 
 Captain Hutchinson, called to inquire after him. He 
 was able to see Colonel Tulloh and Captain Bruce, 
 who came the earliest ; and they found that he was 
 quite cheerful in manner and conversation. 
 
 On Tuesday, the 5th of June, his sister, Mrs Car- 
 den, arrived. She found that, for the first time, he 
 had felt himself too weak to rise from his bed. On 
 perceiving the great change in him, she could not 
 restrain her tears. He raised his eyes, so full of the 
 peace of Jesus, and said, with the most earnest ten- 
 derness, "0 Louie, don't cry for me. I am going 
 home. I have long known that in my Father's house 
 there is a place prepared for me. I know it I am 
 sure of it. Do you know, dearest sister, that there is 
 a place prepared for you? If you do not certainly 
 know it, never rest, never cease to agonize in prayer 
 till the assurance is given you." 
 
 In the afternoon, he seemed tolerably easy, and was 
 very animated. Captain Molony, whose presence and 
 sympathy were amongst the chief comforts of his long
 
 THE LAST SLEEP. 285 
 
 illness, was sitting by his side, and then Arthur asked 
 for something pleasant to be read to him ; and smiling 
 at his wife, added, " I wish to be amused, Mary!" 
 
 In the evening he was much exhausted, and spoke 
 very little. But twice he was heard to repeat the 
 words, " JESUS ONLY" as if all other lights were 
 paling before the everlasting day, just dawning for 
 him, when the Sun of Righteousness should arise and 
 shed its glories upon his soul for ever, without a cloud 
 between. 
 
 About eleven o'clock at night, he asked his wife to 
 read to him the 19th chapter of the Gospel of St Luke; 
 which he seemed greatly to enjoy, making remarks 
 upon some of the verses. 
 
 At one o'clock, the lonely watcher by his side, 
 scarcely able to see him in the shaded light, knew by 
 his gentle breathing that he had fallen asleep ; and he 
 seemed to sleep so peacefully, that she began to have a 
 trembling hope that he might awake refreshed and 
 better. 
 
 But that quiet sleeper awoke not. As the sun arose 
 that morning, it shone upon the face of the dead. 
 Without one pang of parting, his mortal life had been 
 exchanged for Immortality. He had fallen asleep in 
 Jesus, " the Life of them that believe, and the Resur- 
 rection of the dead."
 
 286 THE LAST SLEEP. 
 
 So, when the Christian's eyelid droops and closes, 
 
 In nature's parting strife, 
 A friendly angel stands where he reposes, 
 
 To take him up to life. 
 
 He gives a gentle blow, and so releases 
 
 The spirit from its clay ; 
 From sins, temptations, and from life's distressed, 
 
 He bids it " Come away." 
 
 It rises up, and from its darksome mansion 
 
 It takes its silent flight, 
 And feels its freedom in the large expansion 
 
 Of Heavenly Light. 
 
 Behind ! it hears Time's iron gates close faintly | 
 
 It is now far from them, 
 For it has reach'd the city of the saintly 
 
 " The New Jerusalem." 
 
 The voice is heard on earth of kinsfolk weeping 
 
 The loss of one they love ; 
 But he is gone where the redeem'd are keeping 
 
 " A Festival of Love." 
 
 The mourners throng the ways, and from the steeple 
 
 The funeral bell tolls slow ; 
 But on the golden streets the holy people 
 
 Are passing to and fro ; 
 
 And saying as they meet, "Rejoice ! another 
 
 Long waited for is come ! " 
 The Saviour's heart is glad ; a younger brother 
 
 Hath reach'd the Father's Home.
 
 THE CAMERA; 
 
 OB, 
 
 THE BELIEVER CHANGED INTO THE IMAGE 
 HIS SAVIOUK, 
 
 " But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of tha 
 Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even 
 as by the Spirit of the Lord." 2 COB. iii. 18. 
 
 of the most striking features in those discourses of our" 
 blessed Lord, to the multitudes who flocked to listen to the 
 gracious words that proceeded out of His mouth, of which 
 short summaries are handed down to us in the Gospels, is 
 the elegant simplicity of the language He invariably em- 
 ployed. 
 
 He well knew, not only the exact circumstances of every 
 soul that heard Him, but also the power of mind, the grasp 
 of memory, and the amount of education, possessed by each 
 individual. This He knew when Pharisees and doctors of the 
 law sat by, and when even the highest iu the land listened 
 to Him gladly. How eloquent, pointed, and appropriate was 
 
 * This address was found, with many others of the same kind, among 
 the papers of Major Vandeleur, and is printed as a specimen of tho 
 lectures which he was in the habit of delivering to the soldiers at 
 \VooIwich. 
 
 T
 
 290 THE CAMERA ; OR, THE BELIEVER 
 
 His language on such occasions ! yet how simple how 
 easy to be understood ! And the reason of this is obvi- 
 ous. The great majority of His hearers were the ignorant, 
 uneducated, uncared-for poor ; and He who was anointed to 
 preach the gospel to the poor, took good care to convey the 
 glad tidings of salvation to their minds in language so simple 
 and beautiful, as could not possibly be misunderstood by the 
 weakest mind among them desirous of being taught. 
 
 It is well known that every truth which weak minds can 
 comprehend is perfectly intelligible to those of greater 
 power. In speaking, then, to the uninformed and illite- 
 rate, in language suited to their capacities, not only did 
 our Lord convey His meaning to all the rest of His audience ; 
 but, with that infinite wisdom which pertains to the great 
 Creator of all things, He considered the wants and capabili- 
 ties of generations to come throughout the whole world ; and, 
 looking forward to the time when the gracious words which 
 proceeded out of His mouth should be translated into the 
 languages of heathen and savage as well as of civilised 
 nations, He made use of such symbols and illustrations as 
 are well known and familiar to all the nations of the earth as 
 well as to the Jews. And then, having fixed the minds of His 
 hearers on the material scene, (probably in many cases exist- 
 ing, or being enacted before their eyes,) He made use of their 
 natural senses for impressing on their memories the import- 
 ant spiritual truths which He designed to teach them, it was 
 thus that lie turned the daily and ordinary occurrences of life 
 into spiritual food for famishing souls. It is probable that, 
 while the parable of the sower fell from His lips, the eyes 
 of the multitude frequently changed from the person of our 
 blessed Lord himself to the figure of the husbandman pur- 
 suing his work in the distance. 
 
 It is probable also, that the parables of the vine and its 
 branches, the sheepfold, the householder hiring labourers in 
 the market-place, and most of His other parables, were either 
 suggested by the circumstances of the moment, or that He
 
 CHANGED INTO THE IMAGE OF HIS SAVIOUR 291 
 
 waited for an opportune instant, not only to point out the 
 close connexion between natural and revealed religion, but 
 also to fix their attention powerfully on the great truths 
 which formed the subject of His discourse, by making their 
 outward senses contribute to the development of the correct 
 klea in their minds, instead of (as is too often the case 
 amongst ourselves) having quite the contrary effect. And 
 further, He might intend that whenever a similar scene, un- 
 der similar circumstances, was presented to their view, it 
 should recall His weighty and solemn words, and so cause 
 them to be stored up in their memories and bring forth fruit 
 unto life eternal. 
 
 Though these discourses of our Lord Jesus Christ are the 
 most striking and forcible examples extant of this mode of 
 teaching, still it was not altogether new to His Jewish 
 hearers, the same Divine Spirit which spake in Him having 
 dictated a similar mode of expression to the prophets and 
 fathers of old. Moses, David, Isaiah, and Jeremiah, all made 
 use of material symbols to convey their meaning ; and David, 
 in some of the most beautiful of his psalms, only turns to 
 spiritual profit an event of every-day life. I need only refer, 
 for illustration, to the 23rd and 42nd Psalms, where, in the 
 one case, a shepherd leading his flock, and in the other, a 
 tired hart panting after the water-brook, suggest a series of 
 meditations delightful to read, but still more delightful to 
 experience. 
 
 In our own day, too, the best and most successful writers 
 depend much upon similitudes, in working out their happiest 
 ideas. "Wilberforce, in his " Practical View," when wishing to 
 express his conviction of the necessity of minds of great 
 power submitting implicitly to the declarations of the in- 
 spired Word of God, compares the Bible to the grass of 
 the field. As the latter is food alike for the greatest as 
 well as the least animal in creation, so is the Bible for the 
 greatest as well as for the weakest mind. But the grass is 
 food for large animals only on condition that they bow the
 
 292 THE CAMEKA ; OR, THE BELIEVER 
 
 head; and, by analogy, he argues that the mightiest intellect 
 should receive unhesitatingly as truth whatever God declares, 
 though beyond its power to comprehend. I will mention 
 only one other instance. When anxious to express the awful 
 facility with which the remembrance of the uncertainty of 
 life passes from the mind, one of our most terse and power- 
 ful poets, Dr Young, uses these expressions : 
 
 " As from the wing no scar the sky retains, 
 The parted wave no furrow from the keel, 
 So dies in human hearts the thought of death." 
 
 In accordance, therefore, with our blessed Master's mode 
 of argument, I propose to draw your attention to some im- 
 portant truths, through the medium of a similitude. 
 
 Among the recent discoveries of science, there is none 
 which has made such rapid progress towards perfection, or 
 contributed so powerfully to the social comfort and happiness 
 of millions, as the art of photography. 
 
 Eut few years have elapsed since Daguerre discovered that 
 certain substances, such as the iodide of silver, are so sensi- 
 tive to light as to be influenced by, and permanently to retain, 
 the pictures presented to them in the camera obscura. The 
 subject was at once seen to be of such vast importance as to 
 induce the ablest chemists of both Europe and America to 
 turn their attention to it. Their patient investigations and 
 reasonings have been followed by, if not complete, still at 
 least very great success. Many knoivn substances have been 
 ascertained to be of great value to the art, and others, pre- 
 viously unknown, have sprung into permanent existence. The 
 operations or manipulations of the art are so simple, that 
 success is sure to attend the steps of the patient, persevering 
 artist, a rigid attention to the rules and formulas laid down, 
 and a certain amount of manual dexterity, being all that is 
 required. It is these circumstances, combined with the 
 rapidity of the operation, which has placed photographic 
 pictures within reach of the humblest in the land ; and it is
 
 CHANGED INTO THE IMAGE OF HIS SAVIOUR. 293 
 
 their extraordinary faithfulness and truth which makes them 
 such favourites with all classes. 
 
 We may well ask, " From whence do these characteristics 
 come ?" Chiefly because the result is so much the work of 
 nature, so little that of man; for man merely places the sub- 
 stances, of which he has discovered some properties, in cir- 
 cumstances favourable for the development of those properties, 
 and leaves the rest to nature, or to nature's God. In this 
 respect it somewhat resembles the seed sown in the earth. 
 If we take seed of any description, and sow it at the proper 
 season in soil suited to it, manure, watch, and weed it ; in due 
 course of time nature being left to follow its inviolable laws 
 in the interval we reap the fruit of our labours. In this case, 
 man might as properly claim to himself the credit of having 
 produced several ears of corn from a single grain, as imagine 
 that the wonderful truthfulness, minuteness, and beauty of 
 the photograph, resulting from his work, is due to his skil- 
 ful manipulation. No ; it is God's work. He merely makes 
 use of man as an instrument, and to Him we should invari- 
 ably give the praise. It is thus that the Almighty works in 
 everything that man does. While we lay out plans for our 
 own action, whether individual or social, God is the great 
 guiding Spirit ; and whether we succeed or fail in accomplish- 
 ing that which we proposed to effect, everything that we have 
 done is made use of by Infinite Wisdom and Power for the 
 furtherance of His own great plans of love and mercy. In 
 fact, every great mental and social stride which man has 
 accomplished in the progress of the world towards civilisa- 
 tion, has also been a step in furtherance of Christianity. 
 
 The art of printing is a remarkable proof of the truth of 
 this position. It is supposed to have been discovered by 
 Lawrence Costa about the year 1442, and was introduced by 
 Caxton into England about 1471. From this period till the 
 commencement of the Reformation in Germany, by the post- 
 ing of Luther's ninety-five theses on the walls of Wittenburg 
 in 1517, was only forty-six years. This period we may easily
 
 294 THE CAMERA ; OR, THE BELIEVER 
 
 suppose to have been just sufficient to bring the art to a for- 
 ward state ; and when thus perfect and ready for its work, it 
 was made use of by Infinite Wisdom to multiply immensely 
 the number of copies of the Holy Scriptures in the world, 
 and thus defeat the designs of Satan, and push forward the 
 great work of Reformation in the Church. A moment's 
 reflection would suffice to convince us that the discovery of 
 the mariner's compass, the art of navigation, and the power of 
 steam, have all tended remarkably to forward what we know 
 to be the grand design of Jehovah, the infinite God, in His 
 management of the world as it exists at present, viz., the 
 salvation of sinful man by the death of His Son ; and to this 
 end the sciences of astronomy, chemistry, and geology, have 
 all given most valuable aid ; whether we regard them as 
 exposing the false theories and dreadful delusions of all false 
 religions, or as confirming and illustrating, directly and indi- 
 rectly, the infallible statements of Holy Writ. 
 
 Thus, for instance, astronomy exalts and enlarges our ideas 
 of the power and glory of the Triune Jehovah, by proving 
 that this world, so stupendous to our eyes, is but a little 
 speck in comparison with the millions of suns and worlds 
 which He has created by His Word, and preserves for ever in 
 their station and circuit in accordance with His will. 
 
 Chemistry reveals to us many of the hidden wonders of the 
 material world, explains to us the reasons and objects of the 
 marvellous changes that are incessantly going on around us, and 
 shews how God, with smallest means, effects the noblest ends. 
 
 Geology, searching out the inmost recesses and depths of 
 the globe we inhabit, points out the order, design, and system 
 which prevail there ; confirms most strikingly the Mosaic 
 account of the formation and arrangement of the present 
 order of things above, around, below us ; and lends its power- 
 ful aid in corroboration of the statements of our blessed Lord 
 Jesus Christ, as well as of St Peter, and others of the sacred 
 writers, who have foretold that it shall surely come to pass 
 " that the heavens, being on fire, shall be dissolved, and tho
 
 CHANGED INTO THE IMAGE OF HIS SAVIOUR 29-3 
 
 elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also, and the 
 things that are therein, shall be burnt up." It shews how 
 easily, by means of agencies now in active operation within the 
 earth's crust, merely by a sudden increase of that activity, all 
 these prophecies may how much in accordance with former 
 occurrences on our globe it is that they should how prob- 
 able it is that they WILL be performed ! And, by pointing 
 out the tremendous and heart-appalling character which 
 this event will assuredly assume, it speaks most strongly to 
 each soul. Oh that we may all listen to its voice ! Flee 
 from the wrath to come, close with the easy terms which 
 God offers, " escape for thy life," " escape to the moun- 
 tain," the sinner's only refuge, Jesus Christ, " lest thou ba 
 consumed." 
 
 As yet, the art of photography can hardly be considered 
 to have contributed to the progress of the gospel. But we 
 cannot doubt, judging from analogy, that God will, in His 
 own good time and way, cause an art which is already prac- 
 tised in every country of the world, and will soon be univer- 
 sally known, to lend its powerful aid to urge forward the 
 cause of Christianity and peace. The way in which it may 
 please Almighty God to do this, I pretend not to explain, or 
 even to conjecture. 
 
 The use I propose to make of photography to-day, is to 
 furnish a symbol or series of comparisons between the manip- 
 ulations of the art and the operations of God's grace in the 
 soul of a sinner, in bringing him to a knowledge of the work 
 of Christ for him, and making him fit and meet to be a par- 
 taker of the inheritance of the saints in light. 
 
 And may the Holy Spirit of our God deign graciously to 
 bless the words which shall be spoken, and so to impress 
 upon the souls of all who hear, the absolute necessity of the 
 new birth, as regards themselves, while yet there is time, that 
 in the day of Christ's appearing to judge the world, you may 
 every one of you be found among the number of those who, 
 being clad in the spotless robe of Christ's righteousness, and
 
 296 THE CAMERA ; OR, THE BELIEVER 
 
 having on the wedding garment, shall be counted worthy to 
 enter in to the marriage supper of the Lamb ! 
 
 It is desirable that I should first describe, in as general 
 terms as possible, the ordinary mode of manipulation in use 
 among photographers, in order that the similitude which 
 I shall subsequently draw may be thoroughly understood. 
 
 There are two processes which produce strikingly success- 
 ful results. In the first, that of the daguerreotype, the sen- 
 sitive surface which is to receive the picture is formed on 
 a metal plate, generally copper, coated with silver ; in the 
 other, it is formed on a thin layer of a substance called " col- 
 lodion," stretched on a glass plate. The latter is the cheaper 
 and more ordinary mode, and I propose to allude to it alone. 
 
 The camera, or instrument in which the pictures are taken, 
 is, as most of you are aware, a box, nearly square, and stained 
 black on the inside. The lens, or glass through which the 
 image is transmitted, is fixed at one end of this box, and in a 
 brass cylinder. The frame, containing the sensitive plate, is, 
 when the plate is ready, placed in this box opposite to the 
 lens. When the slide is in its place, and the lens is covered, 
 the inside is perfectly dark. On the cover of the lens being 
 removed, light enters, and only through this medium. The 
 construction of this glass lens is such, that the rays of light 
 which enter are those only which are reflected from the object 
 placed opposite at suitable distance ; these rays, falling upon 
 the sensitive plate, there form a picture of that object exactly 
 as it exists. Some parts are light, others of a medium shade, 
 and others again quite dark ; and the plate being affected by 
 the light in exact proportion to its intensity, it follows that 
 the picture will exhibit corresponding degrees of light and 
 shade. 
 
 The mode of preparing the plate to receive the impression 
 is as follows : 
 
 After being thoroughly cleaned, some collodion is poured 
 over the surface, and the surplus drained off. The volatile 
 liquid part having evaporated, which it does almost irnmedi-
 
 CHANGED INTO THE IMAGE OF HIS SAVIOUR. 297 
 
 ately, it is then placed in the sensitising bath ; after remain- 
 ing there a few minutes, it is transferred to the frame, and 
 carried to its position in the camera, which has previously 
 been directed and focussed on the object to be taken. 
 
 An exposure of a few seconds or minutes is sufficient to 
 effect the required change. The frame and plate are then 
 returned to the developiug-room ; and when first taken out 
 of the frame, hot the slightest vestige of a change can be dis- 
 covered on the surface of the plate. 
 
 The application of the developing solution produces a speedy 
 change, and resemblance to the object taken may at once be 
 traced ; the resemblance becomes more and more decided, till 
 the operation has been carried on to the proper point. This 
 liquid is then washed off, and another applied, the effect of 
 which, though quite dissimilar to that previously used, is es- 
 sential to the perfection of the picture. It removes all the 
 parts of the opaque film which have not been affected by the 
 light, and which now tend only to obscure the image. It is 
 called the fixing solution, and when the surplus of this has 
 been removed, the picture is completed. 
 
 The resemblance between these details, and the work of grace 
 in the soul, may not at first sight appear obvious ; but a little 
 reflection will enable us to discover many and beautiful points 
 of similarity. It will be remembered that the plate, covered 
 with its collodion film, was at first perfectly insensible to the 
 strongest light. It required a certain definite operation to 
 be performed, and when that had been effected it became sen- 
 sitive to the faintest ray. The condition of the plate, previous 
 to this operation, fitly illustrates the condition of man by 
 nature. The gospel may have been proclaimed in his hearing 
 a thousand times ; he may have been a regular attendant on 
 divine ordinances ; may never have bf^n absent from his seat 
 in the house of God ; may have much head-knowledge of the 
 truth ; may be strictly correct in his moral conduct, and a 
 highly esteemed member of society, and yet all this time he 
 may remain ignorant of Christ, be living without God in the
 
 298 THE CAMERA ; OR, THE BELIEVER 
 
 world, a child of wrath, and in danger of eternal damnation. 
 Why is this ? Because his heart has never been touched, never 
 been " sensitised" by the Holy Spirit. But when this has been 
 done mark, what a change ! The man now sees things in a 
 new light, discovers how severe are the requirements of God's 
 law how utterly hopeless it is for him ever, by any amount 
 of self-denial or other works, to work out his own salvation. 
 He now sees that having once failed (though it were but for 
 a moment) to keep the first commandment in all its integrity, 
 which commands him " to love the Lord his God with all his 
 heart, and with all his soul, and with all his mind," (Matt. 
 xxii. 37,) " he is guilty of all." A moment's recollection serves 
 to convince him that he has failed in this, not only for a single 
 moment, but for whole days and even years of his life. He 
 must then look out of himself for salvation and where shall 
 lie turn to ? No mere mortal can save him, for God, he 
 knows, has said that " none of them can by any means redeem 
 his brother, nor give to God a ransom for him," (Ps. xlix. 7 ;) 
 and finding at last that there is no hope for him but in Christ, 
 and being now most anxious to obtain eternal life, he flees at 
 once to Christ, casts himself at the foot of the cross, and on 
 his knees, in secret, implores the pardon of his sins that are 
 past ; he desires to be made a child of God, and begs for the 
 gift of the Holy Spirit to enable him to lead a new life. 
 
 This brings us to the second point of the simile. The plate 
 during the process of sensitising, and while the picture is 
 being impressed upon it in the camera, as well as during the 
 time of developing and fixing, has carefully to be shielded 
 from light and external influences ; in fact, all the various 
 operations, from the commencement of the picture to its 
 completion, have to be performed in the dark room, and in 
 the dark camera. May not this suggest to us the Christianas 
 closet his place of prayer where, alone with God, he pours 
 out his inmost thoughts, confesses his sins, and implores 
 forgiveness ? Here, too, it is that God makes known His 
 will to His child, reveals Christ to his soul in all the ful-
 
 CHANGED INTO THE IMAGE OF HIS SAVIOUR. 299 
 
 ness of His infinite love, imparts fresh supplies of grace, and 
 strengthens his heart to fight the good fight of faith against 
 his powerful spiritual enemies. In fact, the Christian's closet 
 may be considered as the workshop of the Almighty, where 
 He prepares His servant to work for Him here below, and fits 
 him for heaven hereafter. 
 
 My dear friends, when speaking upon this subject, I cannot 
 forbear urging upon your most serious and earnest considera- 
 tion the importance and necessity of prayer. It is not that I 
 would for one moment underrate the value of other Christian 
 duties and observances. God forbid ! But that I would now 
 wish to raise in your estimation, and fix in your memories, 
 the obligation and privilege of prayer. It is a sure sign of 
 spiritual life. Does any soul that listens to me, know in him- 
 self that he is constantly at the throne of grace, and that his 
 supplications there, offered up in his Saviour's name, are 
 humble and earnest ? Let him take comfort. His feet are 
 surely on the Rock of Ages, and though perhaps now cast 
 down and ready to despair, let him continue as he has begun. 
 The Lord Jehovah will perfect that which concerneth him, 
 He will never forsake the work of His own hands. 
 
 On the other hand, does any one, who has seemed to be a 
 believer in the Lord Jesus, feel within himself that he is dif- 
 ferent from what he was ; that now his prayers are less fre- 
 quent and shorter than they used to be ; that he does not take 
 so much delight as he once did in bending before the throne 
 of grace ; that his prayers are more formal and less earnest ? 
 Oh, my brother, or sister, beware, I beseech you. Satan is 
 desirous of having you, that he may sift you as wheat. He 
 has taken new and firmer hold on your heart. He has 
 wounded you grievously in a vital point. Let me exhort you, 
 again, instantly to return unto the Lord. Confess your wan- 
 dering ; repent and do your first works, lest your candlestick 
 be removed out of its place, and you perish for ever. " Re- 
 turn unto the Lord, and He will have mercy upon you ; and 
 to your God, for He will abundantly pardon."
 
 300 THE CAMERA ; OK, THE BELIEVER 
 
 In truth, dear friends, it would be impossible for me, or 
 any other mortal, to overrate the value and importance of 
 prayer. It is not only a sign of spiritual life, but it is the 
 authorised channel in which flow all good and perfect gifts to 
 the soul of man. A Christian poet has well expressed its im- 
 portance in that beautiful hymn 
 
 " Prayer was appointed to convey 
 
 The blessings God design'd to give. 
 Long as they live should Christians pray, 
 For only while they pray they live. 
 
 *' Prayer is the Christian's vital breath, 
 
 The Christian's native air, 
 His watchword at the gates of death ; 
 He enters heaven by prayer." 
 
 To prove that these statements are not made without 
 scriptural authority, I need only refer you to St Paul's in- 
 junction to the Philippians " In everything by prayer and 
 supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made 
 known unto God." And also to our Lord's own precepts and 
 promises in regard to prayer " Ask, and it shall be given 
 you ; seek, and ye shall find ; knock, and it shall be opened 
 unto you." " Whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will 
 I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son." And 
 even more in accordance with the point now under con- 
 sideration " But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy 
 closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy 
 Father which is in secret, and thy Father which seeth in 
 secret, shall reward thee openly." 
 
 I need hardly explain to you, that whatever place the 
 Christian chooses for secret prayer, that is the Christian's 
 closet. Under the ever-varying circumstances of life, seasons 
 must occur when it is quite impossible for us to separate 
 ourselves completely from our fellow-creatures, even for a 
 short time. We may be so poor as to occupy a single room 
 in common with many others. We may be on board ship, 
 in a railway train, or in a crowded tent ; but under all these,
 
 CHANGED INTO THE IMAGE OF HIS SAVIOUR. 301 
 
 or indeed under any possible circumstances in which we may 
 be placed, it is quite possible for us to be alone with our 
 heavenly Father, and to enjoy communion with Him. That 
 young sailor well understood the spirit of our Saviour's com- 
 mand, who said, when on board a crowded man-of-war, that, 
 on the ere of battle, he had spent an hour alone with his 
 God in the crown of his cap. Oh, how many of us ought to 
 blush when we compare such noble conduct with our own ; 
 when we remember how easily we suffer little trifles to in- 
 terfere with the time which should be given to God by us 
 every day ! 
 
 But the Christian's time in his closet is not altogether spent 
 in prayer. He there reads God's sacred Word, and meditates 
 thereon ; he strives to ascertain what God would have him 
 to believe, and what to do, and what to leave undone. And 
 his search is never in vain. As, when the plate is uncovered 
 in the camera, the rays from the object placed before it pass 
 through the lens, and, falling upon it, effect the change that is 
 required ; even so God, through the glass of His Holy "Word, 
 presents Christ to his soul, makes him to see and know 
 something of the length and breadth and depth and height 
 of His infinite love. Not all at once, but gradually, He unfolds 
 to him the exceeding beauty and perfection of the perfect 
 man Christ Jesus ; and while constantly viewing His spot- 
 less and sinless character, the believer is himself gradually 
 conformed to the likeness of Christ ; so that others do now 
 take knowledge of him that he has been with Jesus ; or as the 
 words of our text beautifully express the same thought, mak- 
 ing use of this very image : " But we all, with open face be- 
 holding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into 
 the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of 
 the Lord." Yes, as in the case of the photograph, all has to 
 be done in the dark room ; so in the instance of the believer, 
 it is when apart from the world, and alone with God, that 
 Christ is presented to his view, through the glass of His Holy 
 Word. It is in the closet that the image is developed ; it is
 
 302 THE CAMEKA ; OR, THE BELIEVER 
 
 in the closet that it is perfected. True, external circumstances 
 may be, and often are, the means which God employs both to 
 build up His child in the faith, and afterwards to purge out 
 all the old leaven whfch still clings so close to hirn, and 
 seems so likely for ever to mar the image of his blessed Lord ; 
 but it is not until these external circumstances, whether sick- 
 ness, or bereavement, or trial, or persecution, or whatever else 
 they may be, are brought into the workshop, are pondered 
 over, are prayed over, are made to sink into the soul, are seen 
 as coming from God's hands for some special purpose; it 
 is not, I say, until these external circumstances are brought 
 into the closet, that they prove of any use or value towards 
 perfecting the Christian character of the child of God. 
 
 Then, dear friends, let me from this take occasion to urge 
 you seriously to let all your external circumstances and mat- 
 ters of everyday life be made by you, individually, subjects 
 of private meditation and prayer. All things which happen 
 to us are ordered of God for us, and He does not order things 
 without reason. Nay, He has great and good reasons for even 
 the trifles which occur in daily life. Then, if we attend to 
 those trifles, and endeavour to see God's hand in them, not 
 only will the attempt be successful ; but if we obey the indi- 
 cations of His will thus afforded, we may save ourselves many 
 great and sore troubles. If we suffer ourselves to be guided 
 by His eye, He will lead us gently ; we shall not need His 
 chastening hand to be laid heavily upon us ; nor, to use the 
 words of Scripture, shall we require to be restrained by bit 
 and bridle, like horse and mule. 
 
 These are the chief points of the resemblance. I might also 
 trace many minor ones. 
 
 For instance, the slightest speck of dust getting on the 
 plate considerably mars, and may even destroy the whole pic- 
 ture ; and thousands of pictures are daily destroyed in this 
 way. 
 
 Oh, how many fair Christian characters has one sin blighted ! 
 Let us beware lest it be so with us, the stain must be re-
 
 CHANGED INTO THE IMAGE OF HIS SAVIOUR. 303 
 
 moved, the darling sin must be renounced and abandoned, or 
 we perish for ever. 
 
 Again, a weak picture is useless, or almost so, for taking 
 impressions from, or making similar pictures. From a strong 
 " negative," as it is technically termed, any number may be 
 taken. The weak picture is only valuable to be itself set in 
 a frame. 
 
 So with Christians, it is the strong, earnest, confirmed 
 Christians that are chiefly made use of as instruments in 
 God's hand for the conversion of other souls. But the simple, 
 weak brother, though not made use of so openly, still glorifies 
 God by his holy life and conversation, and will doubtless shine 
 as a jewel in our glorious Saviour's crown. 
 
 Lastly, Even with the rapid strides which this wonderful 
 art has made, how inferior is the picture to the original from 
 which it was taken ! How poor, how feeble, how harsh, how 
 diminutive ! How exactly the type of the Christian, even 
 the most advanced and holy Christian, as compared with His 
 glorious pattern, his Divine Original ! But as, in the one case, 
 we look forward to the time when the power of transferring 
 through the camera, not only the outlines of the object, but 
 the colours also, shall arrive : so on the other, we Christians 
 are justified in looking forward to the coming time, when we 
 shall be with, and near, and like our God ; when we shall see 
 Him face to face, and know even as also we are known. May 
 this be the happy lot, the blessed portion of each soul now 
 present, for Jesus Christ our Saviour's sake ! Amen.
 
 mO> Broadway, March, 
 
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 Carters' Catalogue. 
 
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 The Mine. 40 
 
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 QLD MARGIE'S FLOWER STALL, 
 
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 D. D. i8mo, 25 
 
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 BY THE SAME AUTHOR. 
 
 Footsteps of St. Paul, 
 Family Prayers. i6mo, . 
 Woodcutter of Lebanon, . 
 The Great Journey, 
 Child's Book of Divinity, . 
 Evening Incense. i6mo, 
 Memories of Bethany, 
 Memories of Gennesaret, . 
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 The Story of Bethlehem, . 
 Hart and Water-Brooks, . 
 Cities of Refuge, 
 Grapes of Eshcol, . 
 
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 75 
 5 
 3 
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 40 
 60 
 
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 60 
 
 3 
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 vol., 32mo, pocket edition. 
 
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 LIFE AND LETTERS OF JOHN 
 
 ANGELL JAMES, including an unfinished Autobiog- 
 raphy. Edited by Rev. R. W. DALE. 8vo, . . 2.00 
 
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 8 Carters' Catalogue. 
 
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 ministers. 
 
 T. A. MORRIS, E. S. JANES, L. SCOTT, 
 
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 Springfield, Ohio, Dec. 14, 1S61." 
 
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 Central Presbyterian.


 
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