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diff --git a/old/35873.txt b/old/35873.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..ee2a5ee --- /dev/null +++ b/old/35873.txt @@ -0,0 +1,20390 @@ +Project Gutenberg's Henry Martyn Saint and Scholar, by George Smith + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.net + + +Title: Henry Martyn Saint and Scholar + First Modern Missionary to the Mohammedans, 1781-1812 + +Author: George Smith + +Release Date: April 14, 2011 [EBook #35873] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HENRY MARTYN SAINT AND SCHOLAR *** + + + + +Produced by the Bookworm, Rose Mawhorter, <bookworm.librivox +AT gmail.com> and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team +at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images +generously made available by The Internet Archive/American +Libraries.) + + + + + + HENRY MARTYN + + + PRINTED BY + SPOTTISWOODE AND CO., NEW-STREET SQUARE + LONDON + + + + + +[Illustration: Henry Martyn. From the portrait in the University +Library. Cambridge.] + + + + + HENRY MARTYN + + _SAINT AND SCHOLAR_ + + FIRST MODERN MISSIONARY TO THE MOHAMMEDANS 1781-1812 + + BY + GEORGE SMITH, C.I.E., LL.D. + AUTHOR OF 'LIFE OF WILLIAM CAREY' 'LIFE OF ALEXANDER DUFF' ETC. + + + _Now let me burn out for God_ + + + _WITH PORTRAIT AND ILLUSTRATIONS_ + + + LONDON + THE RELIGIOUS TRACT SOCIETY + 56 PATERNOSTER ROW, 65 ST PAUL'S CHURCHYARD AND 164 PICCADILLY + 1892 + + + + +PREFACE + + +In the year 1819, John Sargent, Rector of Lavington, published _A +Memoir of the Rev. Henry Martyn_. The book at once became a spiritual +classic. The saint, the scholar, and the missionary, alike found in it +a new inspiration. It ran through ten editions during the writer's +life, and he died when projecting an additional volume of the Journals +and Letters. His son-in-law, S. Wilberforce, afterwards Bishop of +Oxford and of Winchester, accordingly, in 1837 published, in two +volumes, _Journals and Letters of the Rev. Henry Martyn, B.D._, with +an introduction on Sargent's life. Sargent had suppressed what Bishop +Wilberforce describes as 'a great variety of interesting materials'. +Especially in the lifetime of Lydia Grenfell it was thought necessary +to omit the facts which give to Henry Martyn's personality its human +interest and intensify our appreciation of his heroism. On the lady's +death, in 1829, Martyn's letters to her became available, and Bishop +Wilberforce incorporated these in what he described as 'further and +often more continuous selections from the journals and letters of Mr. +Martyn.' But, unhappily, his work does not fully supplement that of +Sargent. The _Journal_ is still mutilated; the _Letters_ are still +imperfect. + +Some years ago, on completing the _Life of William Carey_, who had +written that wherever his friend Henry Martyn might go as chaplain the +Church need not send a missionary, I began to prepare a new work on +the first modern apostle to the Mohammedans. I was encouraged by his +grand-nephew, a distinguished mathematician, the late Henry Martyn +Jeffery, F.R.S., who had in 1883 printed _Two Sets of Unpublished +Letters of the Rev. Henry Martyn, B.D., of Truro_. For a time I +stopped the work on learning that he had come into possession of Lydia +Grenfell's papers, and was preparing the book which appeared in 1890, +_Extracts from the Religious Diary of Miss L. Grenfell, of Marazion, +Cornwall_. Except her letters to Henry Martyn, which are not in +existence now, all the desirable materials seemed to be ready. +Meanwhile, the missionary bishop who most resembled Martyn in +character and service, Thomas Valpy French, of Lahore and Muscat, had +written to Canon Edmonds of S. Wilberforce's book as 'a work for whose +reprint I have often pleaded in vain, and for which all that there is +of mission life in our Church would plead, had it not been so long out +of print and out of sight.' + +My aim is to set the two autobiographies, unconsciously written in the +Journals and Letters of Henry Martyn and in the Diary of Lydia +Grenfell, in the light of recent knowledge of South Africa and India, +Persia and Turkey, and of Bible work and missionary history in the +lands of which, by his life and by his death, Henry Martyn took +possession for the Master. Bengal chaplain of the East India Company, +he was, above all, a missionary to the two divisions of Islam, in +India and Persia, and in Arabia and Turkey. May this book, written +after years of experience in Bengal, lead many to enter on the +inheritance he has left to the Catholic Church! + + + + + CONTENTS + + + CHAPTER PAGE + + I. CORNWALL AND CAMBRIDGE, 1781-1803 1 + + II. LYDIA GRENFELL 43 + + III. THE NINE MONTHS' VOYAGE--SOUTH AMERICA--SOUTH + AFRICA, 1805-1806 101 + + IV. INDIA AND THE EAST IN THE YEAR 1806 132 + + V. CALCUTTA AND SERAMPORE, 1806 150 + + VI. DINAPORE AND PATNA, 1807-1809 199 + + VII. CAWNPORE, 1809-1810 257 + + VIII. FROM CALCUTTA TO CEYLON, BOMBAY, AND ARABIA 315 + + IX. IN PERSIA--BUSHIRE AND SHIRAZ, 1811 340 + + X. IN PERSIA--CONTROVERSIES WITH MOHAMMEDANS, SOOFIS, + AND JEWS 370 + + XI. IN PERSIA--TRANSLATING THE SCRIPTURES 417 + + XII. SHIRAZ TO TABREEZ--THE PERSIAN NEW TESTAMENT 461 + + XIII. IN PERSIA AND TURKEY--TABREEZ TO TOKAT AND THE TOMB 492 + + XIV. THE TWO RESTING-PLACES--TOKAT AND BREAGE 515 + + XV. BAPTIZED FOR THE DEAD 552 + + INDEX 573 + + + + + LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS + + + PAGE + + PORTRAIT--HENRY MARTYN _Frontispiece_ + + ST. JOHN'S COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE, IN 1797 13 + + SECOND COURT, ST. JOHN'S COLLEGE, IN 1803 32 + + TRINITY CHURCH, CAMBRIDGE, IN 1803 37 + + ST. MICHAEL'S MOUNT, AT FULL TIDE 45 + + PAGODA, ALDEEN HOUSE 159 + + A BRICK FROM HENRY MARTYN'S PAGODA 161 + + SHIRAZ 357 + + TOKAT IN 1812 518 + + TOMB OF HENRY MARTYN 531 + + + + + Then came another of priestly garb and mien, + A young man still wanting the years of Christ, + But long since with the saints.... + A poet with the contemplative gaze + And listening ear, but quick of force and eye, + Who fought the wrong without, the wrong within, + And, being a pure saint, like those of old, + Abased himself and all the precious gifts + God gave him, flinging all before the feet + Of Him whose name he bore--a fragile form + Upon whose hectic cheek there burned a flush + That was not health; who lived as Xavier lived, + And died like him upon the burning sands, + Untended, yet whose creed was far from his + As pole from pole; whom grateful England still + Loves. + + The awakened gaze + Turned wholly from the earth, on things of heaven + He dwelt both day and night. The thought of God + Filled him with infinite joy; his craving soul + Dwelt on Him as a feast; as did the soul + Of rapt Francesco in his holy cell + In blest Assisi; and he knew the pain, + The deep despondence of the saint, the doubt, + The consciousness of dark offence, the joy + Of full assurance last, when heaven itself + Stands open to the ecstasy of faith. + + The relentless lie + Of Islam ... he chose to bear, who knew + How swift the night should fall on him, and burned + To save one soul alive while yet 'twas day. + This filled his thoughts, this only, and for this + On the pure altar of his soul he heaped + A costlier sacrifice, this youth in years, + For whom Love called, and loving hands, and hope + Of childish lives around him, offering these, + Like all the rest, to God. + + Yet when his hour + Was come to leave his England, was it strange + His weakling life pined for the parting kiss + Of love and kindred, whom his prescient soul + Knew he should see no more? + + ... The woman of his love + Feared to leave all and give her life to his, + And both to God; his sisters passed away + To heaven, nor saw him more. There seemed on earth + Nothing for which to live, except the Faith, + Only the Faith, the Faith! until his soul + Wore thin her prison bars, and he was fain + To rest awhile, or work no more the work + For which alone he lived. + + _A Vision of Saints._ By LEWIS MORRIS. + + + + +HENRY MARTYN + + + + +CHAPTER I + +CORNWALL AND CAMBRIDGE, 1781-1803 + + +Writing half a century ago, as one who gratefully accepted the guidance +of the Church of England, from the evangelical and philanthropic side of +which he sprang, Sir James Stephen declared the name of Henry Martyn to +be 'in fact the one heroic name which adorns her annals from the days of +Elizabeth to our own'. The past fifty years have seen her annals, in +common with those of other Churches, adorned by many heroic names. These +are as many and as illustrious on the side which has enshrined Henry +Martyn in the new Cathedral of Truro, as amongst the Evangelicals, to +whom in life he belonged. But the influence which streams forth from his +short life and his obscure death is the perpetual heritage of all +English-speaking Christendom, and of the native churches of India, +Arabia, Persia, and Anatolia in all time to come. His _Journal_, even in +the mutilated form published first by his friend Sargent, is one of the +great spiritual autobiographies of Catholic literature. It is placed +beside the _Confessions_ of Augustine and the _Grace Abounding_ of +Bunyan. The _Letters_ are read along with those of Samuel Rutherford and +William Cowper by the most saintly workers, persuasive preachers, and +learned scholars, who, even in these days of searching criticism, +attribute to the young chaplain-missionary their early inspiration and +renewed consecration, even as he traced his to Brainerd, Carey, and +Charles Simeon. + +Born in Truro on February 18, 1781, Henry Martyn came from a land the +oldest and most isolated in Great Britain; a Celtic people but +recently transformed from the rudest to the most courteous and +upright; a family created and partly enriched by the great mining +industry; and a church which had been the first, in these far-western +islands, to receive the teaching of the Apostles of Jesus Christ. + +The tin found in the lodes and streams of the Devonian Slates of West +Cornwall was the only large source of supply to the world down to +Henry Martyn's time. The granite porphyries which form the Land's End +had come to be worked only a century before that for the 'bunches' of +copper which fill the lines of fault and fissure. It was chiefly from +the deeper lodes of Gwennap, near Truro, that his family had drawn a +competence. The statement of Richard Carew, in his _Survey of +Cornwall_, was true of the dim centuries before Herodotus wrote, that +the 'tynne of the little angle (Cornwall) overfloweth England, +watereth Christendom, and is derived to a great part of the world +besides'.[1] Tyrian and Jew, Greek and Roman, as navigators, +travellers, and capitalists, had in the darkness of prehistoric days +dealings with the land described in an Elizabethan treatise on +Geography as a foreign country on that side of England next to Spain. +London itself is modern compared with the Cornish trade, which in its +latest stage assumed the Latin name _Stannum_, and the almost perfect +economic laws administered by the Lord Warden of the Stannaries since +King John leased the mines to the Jews, and Edward I., as Earl of +Cornwall, established the now vexed 'royalties' by charter. Even in +the century since Henry Martyn's early days, fourteen of the Cornish +mines have yielded a gross return of more than thirteen millions +sterling, of which above one-fifth was clear profit. + +Whether the Romans used the Britons in the mines as slaves or not, the +just and democratic system of working them--which was probably due to +the Norman kings, and extorted the admiration of M. Jars, a French +traveller of the generation to which Henry Martyn's father belonged--did +not humanise the population. So rude were their manners that their +heath-covered rocks bore the name of 'West Barbary.' Writing two +centuries before Martyn, Norden described the city of his birth as +remarkable for its neatness, which it still is, but he added, there is +not a town 'more discommendable for the pride of the people.' The +Cornish miner's life is still as short as it is hard and daring, in +spite of his splendid physique and the remarkable health of the women +and children. But the perils of a rock-bound coast, the pursuits of +wrecking and smuggling, added to the dangers of the mines, and all +isolated from the growing civilisation of England, had combined, century +after century, to make Cornwall a byword till John Wesley and George +Whitfield visited it. Then the miner became so changed, not less really +because rapidly, that the feature of the whole people which first and +most continuously strikes a stranger is their grave and yet hearty +politeness. Thomas Carlyle has, in his _Life of Sterling_, pictured the +moral heroism which Methodism, with its 'faith of assurance,' developes +in the ignorant Cornish miner, a faith which, as illustrated by William +Carey and taught by the Church of England, did much to make Henry Martyn +what he became. John Wesley's own description in the year of Henry +Martyn's birth is this: 'It pleased God the seed there sown has produced +an abundant harvest. Indeed, I hardly know any part of the three +kingdoms where there has been a more general change.' The Cornishman +still beguiles the weary hours of his descent of the ladder to his toil +by crooning the hymns of Charles Wesley. The local preacher whose +eloquent earnestness and knowledge of his Bible have delighted the +stranger on Sunday, is found next day two hundred fathoms below the sea, +doing his eight hours' work all wet and grimy and red from the +iron-sand, picking out the tin of Bottallack or the copper of Gwennap. +Long before Henry Martyn knew Simeon he had become unconsciously in some +sense the fruit of the teaching of the Wesleys. + +During fifty-five years again and again John Wesley visited Cornwall, +preaching in the open air all over the mining county and in the +fishing hamlets, till two generations were permanently changed. His +favourite centre was Gwennap, which had long been the home of the +Martyn family, a few miles from Truro. There he found his open-air +pulpit and church in the great hollow, ever since known as 'Wesley's +Pit,' where, to this day, thousands crowd every Whit-Monday to +commemorative services. Wesley's published journal, which closes with +October 1790, when Henry Martyn was nearly ten years of age, has more +frequent and always more appreciative references to Gwennap than to +any other town. On July 6, 1745, we find him writing: + + At Gwennap also we found the people in the utmost consternation. + Word was brought that a great company of tinners, made drunk on + purpose, were coming to do terrible things--so that abundance of + people went away. I preached to the rest on 'Love your enemies.' + +By 1774 we read 'the glorious congregation was assembled at five in +the amphitheatre at Gwennap.' Next year we find this: + + 'At five in the evening in the amphitheatre at Gwennap. I think + this is the most magnificent spectacle which is to be seen on + this side heaven. And no music is to be heard upon earth + comparable to the sound of many thousand voices when they are + all harmoniously joined together singing "praises to God and the + Lamb." Four-and-twenty thousand were present, frequently, at + that spot. And yet all, I was informed, could hear distinctly in + the fair, calm evening.' Again: 'I think this is my _ne plus + ultra_. I shall scarce see a larger congregation till we meet in + the air.' + +We are thus introduced to the very spot where Henry Martyn was born: +'About noon I preached in the piazza adjoining to the Coinage Hall in +Truro. I was enabled to speak exceeding plain on "Ye are saved through +faith."' In the evening of the same day Wesley preached in the fishing +village of Megavissey, 'where I saw a very rare thing--men swiftly +increasing in substance, and yet not decreasing in holiness.' + +From such a land and such influences sprang the first missionary hero +of the Church of England in modern times. The Martyn family had for +more than a century been known locally as one of skilled miners, +described by their ablest representative in recent times[2] as 'mine +agents or mine captains who filled positions of trust.' Martin Luther +had a similar origin. There is no evidence that any of them went +underground, although that, if true, would justify the romance for +which Martyn's first biographer is responsible. His great-grandfather +was Thomas Martyn, his grandfather was John Martyn of Gwennap +Churchtown, and his grand-uncle was the surveyor, Thomas Martyn +(1695-1751), who published the map of Cornwall described as a marvel +of minute and accurate topography, due to a survey on foot for fifteen +years. Mr. Jeffery quotes from some manuscript notes written by his +father: + + John, an elder brother of Thomas Martyn, was the father of John + Martyn, who was born at Gwennap Churchtown, and, when young, was + put as an accountant at Wheal Virgin Mine. He was soon made + cashier to Ralph Allen Daniell, Esq., of Trelissick. Mr. Martyn + held one-twenty-fourth of Wheal Unity Mine, where upwards of + 300,000_l._ was divided. He then resided in a house opposite the + Coinage Hall (now the Cornish Bank), Truro, a little below the + present Market House. Here Henry Martyn was born February 18, + 1781, and was sent thence to Dr. Cardew's School in 1788. + +The new Town Hall stands on the site of the house. + +The boy bore a family name which is common in Southwest England, and +which was doubtless derived, in the first instance, from the great +missionary monk of Celtic France, the founder of the Gallic Church, +St. Martin, Bishop of Tours. Born in what is now Lower Hungary, the +son of a pagan soldier of Rome, St. Martin, during his long life +which nearly covered the fourth century, made an impression, +especially on Western or Celtic Christendom, even greater than that of +the Devonshire Winfrith or Boniface on Germany long after him. It was +in the generation after his death, when St. Martin's glory was at its +height, that the Saxon invasion of Britain led to the migration of +British Christians from West and South England to Armorica, which was +thence called Brittany. The intercourse between Cornwall and Britannia +Minor became as close as is now the case between the Celtic districts +of the United Kingdom and North America. Missionaries continually +passed and repassed between them. St. Corentin, consecrated Bishop of +Quimper in Brittany or French Cornwall, by the hands of St. Martin +himself, was sent to Cornwall long before Pope Gregory despatched St. +Augustin to Canterbury, and became a popular Cornish saint after whom +St. Cury's parish is still named. On the other side, the Early British +Church of Cornwall, where we still find Roman Christian inscriptions, +kept up a close fellowship with the Church in Ireland. The earliest +martyrs and hermits of the Church of Cornu-Gallia were companions of +St. Patrick. + +Certainly there is no missionary saint in all the history of the +Church of Christ whom, in his character, Henry Martyn so closely +resembled as his namesake, the apostle of the Gallic peoples. In the +pages of the bishop's biographer, Sulpicius Severus, we see the same +self-consecration which has made the _Journal_ of Henry Martyn a +stimulus to the noblest spirits of modern Christendom; the same fiery +zeal, often so excessive as to defeat the Divine mission; the same +soldier-like obedience and humility; the same prayerfulness without +ceasing, and faith in the power of prayer; the same fearlessness in +preaching truth however disagreeable to the luxurious and vicious of +the time; and, above all on the practical side, the same winning +loveableness and self-sacrifice for others which have made the story +of St. Martin dividing his cloak with the beggar second only, in +Mediaeval art, to the Gospel records of the Lord's own acts of tender +grace and Divine self-emptying. As we trace, step by step, the +unceasing service of Henry Martyn to men for love of his Master, we +shall find a succession of modern parallels to the act of St. Martin, +who, when a lad of eighteen with his regiment at Amiens, himself +moneyless, answered the appeal of a beggar, shivering at the city +gates in a cruel winter, by drawing his dagger, dividing his military +cloak, and giving half of it to the naked man. If the legend continues +to run, that the boy saw in a dream Christ Himself in the half-cloak +saying to the attendant angels, 'Martin, still a catechumen, has +clothed Me with this garment,' and forthwith sought baptism--that is +only a form of the same spirit which, from the days of Paul to our +own, finds inspiration in the thought that we are compassed about by a +great cloud of witnesses. + +Henry Martyn was baptised in the old church of St. Mary, now part of the +unfinished cathedral. He was the third of four children. The eldest, a +half-brother, John, was born fifteen years before him. The second and +fourth were his own sisters, Laura and Sally; the former married Mr. +Curgenven, nephew of the Vicar of Lamorran of that name; the latter +married a Mr. Pearson. Short-lived as Henry himself proved to be, all +three died before him. To both the sisters--and especially to the +younger, who proved to be to him at once sister, mother, and spiritual +guide to Christ--there are frequent allusions in his _Journals and +Letters_. His mother, named Fleming, and from Ilfracombe, died in the +year after his birth, having transmitted her delicate constitution to +her children. It was through his father, as well as younger sister, that +the higher influences were rained on Henry Martyn. In the wayward and +often wilful years before the boy yielded to the power of Christ's +resurrection, the father's gentleness kept him in the right way, from +which any violent opposition would have driven one of proud spirit. A +skilled accountant and practical self-trained mathematician, the father +encouraged in the boy the study of science, and early introduced him to +the great work of Newton. Valuing the higher education as few in England +did at that time, John Martyn ever kept before the lad the prospect of a +University course. Looking back on these days, and especially on his +last visit home before his father's unexpected death, Henry Martyn wrote +when he was eighteen years of age: + + The consummate selfishness and exquisite irritability of my mind + were displayed in rage, malice, and envy, in pride and + vain-glory and contempt of all; in the harshest language to my + sister, and even to my father, if he happened to differ from my + mind and will. Oh, what an example of patience and mildness was + he! I love to think of his excellent qualities, and it is + frequently the anguish of my heart that I ever could be so base + and wicked as to pain him by the slightest neglect. + +Truro was fortunate in its grammar school--'the Eton of Cornwall'--and +in the headmaster of that time, the Rev. Cornelius Cardew, D.D., whose +portrait now adorns the city's council chamber. The visitor who seeks +out the old school in Boscawen Street now finds it converted into the +ware-room of an ironmonger. All around may still be seen the oak +panels on which successive generations of schoolboys cut their names. +A pane of glass on which Henry Martyn scratched his name, with a Greek +quotation and a Hebrew word, probably on his last visit to the spot +before he left England for ever, is reverently preserved in the +muniment room of the corporation buildings. There also are the musty +folios of the dull history and duller divinity which formed the school +library of that uncritical century, but there is no means of tracing +the reading of the boys. Into this once lightsome room, adorned only +by a wood-carving of the galleon which formed the city arms, was the +child Henry Martyn introduced at the age of seven. Dr. Clement +Carlyon, who was one of his fellow-pupils, writes of him as 'a +good-humoured plain little fellow, with red eyelids devoid of +eyelashes'. But we know from Mrs. Sherwood, when she first met him in +India--where his hair, a light brown, was raised from his forehead, +which was a remarkably fine one--that although his features were not +regular, 'the expression was so luminous, so intellectual, so +affectionate, so beaming with Divine charity, as to absorb the +attention of every observer'. His sensitive nature and violent +passionateness when roused, at once marked him out as the victim of the +older boys. In a happy moment Dr. Cardew put 'little Henry Martyn' under +the care of one of them, who became his protector, tutor, and friend, +not only at school but at college, and had an influence on his spiritual +as well as intellectual life next only to that of his father, sister, +and Charles Simeon. That 'upper boy'--named Kempthorne, son of Admiral +Kempthorne, of Helston--delighted to recall to his first biographer, +Sargent, 'the position in which he used to sit, the thankful expression +of his affectionate countenance, when he happened to be helped out of +some difficulty, and a thousand other little incidents of his boyish +days.' This boy-friend 'had often the happiness of rescuing him from the +grasp of oppressors, and has never seen more feeling of gratitude +evinced than was shown by him on those occasions.' + +Even at seven Henry's natural cleverness was so apparent that high +expectations of his future were formed. Dr. Cardew wrote of his +proficiency in the classics as exceeding that of most of his +school-fellows, but he was too lively and too careless to apply +himself as some did who distanced him. 'He was of a lively, cheerful +temper, and, as I have been told by those who sat near him, appeared +to be the idlest among them, being frequently known to go up to his +lesson with little or no preparation, as if he had learnt it by +intuition.' The delicacy of his constitution naturally kept him from +joining in the rougher games of his fellows. Such was the impression +made by his progress at school that, when he was fifteen years of age, +not only Dr. Cardew and his father, but many of his father's friends, +urged him to compete for a vacant scholarship of Corpus Christi +College, Oxford. With only a letter to the sub-rector of Exeter College, +the usual Cornish College, the boy found himself in the great University +city. The examiners were divided in opinion as to the result, but a +majority gave it in favour of one with whom Henry Martyn was almost +equal. Had he become a member of that University at fifteen, with +character unformed and knowledge immature or superficial, it is not +likely that Oxford would have gained what, at a riper stage, Cambridge +fell heir to. His own comment, written afterwards like Augustine's in +the _Confessions_, was this: 'The profligate acquaintances I had in +Oxford would have introduced me to scenes of debauchery, in which I +must, in all probability, from my extreme youth, have sunk for ever.' He +returned to school for two years, to extend his knowledge of the +classics. He spent his leisure in shooting, and in reading travels and +Lord Chesterfield's _Letters_. His early private Journal reflects +severely on that time as spent in 'attributing to a want of taste for +mathematics what ought to have been ascribed to idleness; and having his +mind in a roving, dissatisfied, restless condition, seeking his chief +pleasure in reading and human praise.' + +[Illustration: ST. JOHN'S COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE, IN 1797] + +In this spirit he began residence in St. John's College, Cambridge, in +the month of October 1797, as a pensioner or unassisted student. To +that University he was attracted by Kempthorne, who had been his +protector at school, and had just distinguished himself at St. John's, +coming out Senior Wrangler. Alike from the idleness to which he was +tempted by other fellow-students who were new to him, and from the +variety of study with no other motive than to win glory of men, his +friend gradually weaned his fickle and impulsive genius. But for two +years he halted between two opinions. He was ever restless because +ever dissatisfied with himself, and his want of inward peace only +increased the natural irritability of his temper. He indulged in bursts +of passion on slight provocation, and sometimes on none at all, save +that of an uneasy conscience. Like Clive about the same age, Henry +Martyn on one occasion hurled a knife at his friend, Cotterill, who just +escaped, leaving it quivering in the panel of the dining-hall. The +father and younger sister at home prayerfully watched over him, and +by letter sought to guide him. On his periodical visits to Truro he was +able at least to report success in his examinations, and at the close of +1799 he came out first, to his father's delight. The providence of God +had made all things ready for the completion of His eighteen years' work +in the convictions and character of Henry Martyn, on his return to +college. To him, at the opening of the new century, all things became +new. + +Cambridge, first of all, had received--unconsciously to its leading +men for a time--that new spirit which has ever since identified its +University with the aggressive missionary philanthropy of the +nineteenth century. For nearly the whole period of Martyn's life, up +to that time, Charles Simeon, the Eton boy, Fellow of King's College, +and Christian gentleman, who had sought the position only that he +might preach Christ after the manner of St. Paul, had, from the pulpit +of Trinity Church, been silently transforming academic life. He had +become the trusted agent of Charles Grant and George Udny, the Bengal +civilians who were ready to establish an eight-fold mission in Bengal +as soon as he could send out the men. Failing to find these, he had +brought about the foundation of the Church Missionary Society on April +12, 1799. Some years before that, Charles Grant exchanged his seat in +the Bengal council for one of the 'chairs' of the Court of Directors. +He became their chairman, and it was to Simeon that he turned for East +India chaplains. Cambridge, even more than London itself, had become +the centre of the spiritual life of the Church of England. + +First among the fellow-students of Henry Martyn, though soon to leave +for India when he entered it, was his future friend, Claudius +Buchanan, B.A. of 1796 and Fellow of Queen's College, of which Isaac +Milner was president. Magdalene College--which had sent David Brown to +Calcutta in 1786, to prepare the way for the other four, who are for +ever memorable as 'the Five Chaplains'--had among its students of the +same standing as Martyn, Charles Grant's two distinguished sons, of whom +one became Lord Glenelg and a cabinet minister, and the younger, Robert, +was afterwards Governor of Bombay, the still valued hymnologist, and the +warm friend of Dr. John Wilson. Thomason--seven years older than Martyn, +and induced afterwards, by his example, to become a Bengal chaplain--was +Simeon's curate and substitute in the closing years of the last century, +when to Mr. Thornton of Clapham, who had warned him against preaching +five sermons a week, as casting the net too often to allow time to mend +it, he drew this picture of college life: 'There are reasons for fearing +the mathematical religion which so prevails here. Here, also, is +everything that can contribute to the ease and comfort of life. Whatever +pampers the appetite and administers fuel to sloth and indolence is to +be found in abundance. Nothing is left to want or desire. Here is the +danger; this is the horrible precipice.' Corrie and Dealtry, also of the +Five Chaplains, and afterwards first and second Bishops of Madras, were +of Martyn's Cambridge time, the latter graduating before, and the former +just after him. + +Hardly had Henry Martyn returned to college in January 1800 when he +received from his half-brother news of the death of their father, whom +he had just before left 'in great health and spirits.' The first +result was 'consternation,' and then, as he told his sister, + + I was extremely low-spirited, and, like most people, began to + consider seriously, without any particular determination, that + invisible world to which he had gone and to which I must one day + go. As I had no taste at this time for my usual studies, I took + up my Bible. Nevertheless I often took up other books to engage + my attention, and should have continued to do so had not + Kempthorne advised me to make this time an occasion of serious + reflection. I began with the Acts, as being the most amusing, + and when I was entertained with the narrative I found myself + insensibly led to inquire more attentively into the doctrines of + the Apostles.... On the first night after, I began to pray from + a precomposed form, in which I thanked God in general for having + sent Christ into the world. But though I prayed for pardon I had + little sense of my own sinfulness; nevertheless, I began to + consider myself a religious man. + +The college chapel service at once had a new meaning for the student +whom death had shaken and the Book of the Acts of the Apostles had +awakened. 'The first time after this that I went to chapel I saw, with +some degree of surprise at my former inattention, that in the +Magnificat there was a great degree of joy expressed at the coming of +Christ, which I thought but reasonable.' His friend then lent him +Doddridge's _Rise and Progress of Religion in the Soul_, but, because +the first part of that book 'appeared to make religion consist too +much in humiliation, and my proud and wicked heart would not bear to +be brought down into the dust,' he could not bear to read it. 'Soon, +however,' as he afterwards told his sister, who had prayed for this +very thing all her life, as Monica had agonised for Augustine, 'I +began to attend more diligently to the words of our Saviour in the New +Testament, and to devour them with delight. When the offers of mercy +and forgiveness were made so freely, I supplicated to be made partaker +of the covenant of grace with eagerness and hope, and thanks be to the +ever-blessed Trinity for not leaving me without comfort.' The +doctrines of the Apostles, based on the narrative of the Acts, and +confirming the teaching of the family in early youth, were seen to be +in accord with the words of the Master, and thus Henry Martyn started +on the Christian life an evangelical of the Evangelicals. In the +preaching and the personal friendship of the minister of Trinity +Church he found sympathetic guidance, and so 'gradually acquired more +knowledge in divine things.' All the hitherto irregular impulses of +his fervent Celtic nature received the baptism of the Holy Spirit, and +became centred in the living, reigning, personal Christ. All the +restless longings of his soul and his senses found their satisfaction +for ever in the service of Him who had said 'He that loveth his life +shall lose it. If any man serve Me, let him follow Me, and where I am +there shall also My servant be.' All the pride of his genius, his +intellectual ambition, and his love of praise became purged by the +determination thenceforth to know nothing save the Crucified One. + +His first temptation and test of honest fitness for such service was +found in the examination for degrees, and especially for the greatest +honour of all, that of Senior Wrangler. If we place his conversion to +Christ at the close of his nineteenth year, we find that the whole of +his twentieth was spent in the necessary preparation for the +competition, and in the accompanying spiritual struggles. It is not +surprising that, when looking back on that year from higher experiences, +he should be severe in his self-examination. But the path of duty +clearly lay in hard and constant study, and not alone in religious +meditation. It was not surprising that the experienced convert should +afterwards pronounce the former worldly, and lament that 'the +intenseness with which I pursued my studies' prevented his growth in +contrition, and in a knowledge of the excellency of Christ. But so +severe a judge as his friend and fellow-student John Sargent, who knew +all the facts, and became not less saintly than himself, declares that +there was no reason, save his own humility, for his suspecting a want of +vitality at least in his spiritual life in this critical year. His +new-found life in Christ, and delight in the Bible, reacted on his whole +nature, elevating it to that degree of spontaneous energy free from all +self-consciousness which is the surest condition, divine and human, of +success. He himself used to tell how, when he entered the Senate House, +the text of a sermon he had recently heard quieted his spirit: 'Seekest +thou great things for thyself? Seek them not, saith the Lord.' + +Henry Martyn was not fully twenty years of age when, in January 1801, +he came out Senior Wrangler and first Smith's (mathematical) Prizeman. +His year was one of the most brilliant in the recent history of the +University. Woodall of Pembroke was second. Robert Grant was third, +and Charles Grant (Lord Glenelg) fourth Wrangler. They distanced him +in classics, once his strongest point. But the boy who entered college +believing that geometry was to be learned by committing Euclid[3] to +memory had given the whole strength of his powers during three years +to the college examinations, so as to please his father and win the +applause of his fellows. Until recently it was possible for a student +to enter the University ignorant of mathematics, and to come out +Senior Wrangler, as the late Professor Kelland used to tell his +Edinburgh class. Such was the reverence for Newton that the Leibnizian +methods were not recognised in the University studies till the reform +of the Cambridge course was introduced by Dean Peacock and his +contemporaries. In those earlier days, Dr. Carlyon,[4] who had been +one of his school-fellows, tells us high Wranglers won their places by +correct book-work rapidly produced in oral examination from four set +treatises by Wood and Vince, on optics, mechanics, hydrostatics, and +astronomy; problem papers were answered by the best men. Martyn's +grand-nephew, himself a distinguished mathematician, remarks that he +sprang from a family of calculators, and so had the patience and taste +necessary for mathematical attainments. There is no evidence that he +pursued science even at Cambridge except as a tutor; he does not +appear to have been a mathematical examiner even in his own college. + +The truth is seen in his own comment on a success which at once won +for him admiration and deference in circles that could not appreciate +the lofty Christian aims of his life: 'I obtained my highest wishes, +but was surprised to find that I had grasped a shadow.' He was called +to other service, and for that he brought his University triumph with +him to the feet of Christ. He was too cultured, however, to despise +learning or academic reputation, for they might be made weapons for +the Master's use, and we shall find him wielding both alike in home +and foreign missions. His genius and learning found expression in the +study, the translation, and the unceasing application to the +consciences of men, of the Word of God. His early love of the classics +of Greece and Rome prevailed over his later mathematical studies to +make him an ardent philologist, with the promise, had he lived, of +becoming an Orientalist of the type of Sir William Jones. If he was +known in his college as 'the man who had not lost an hour' when +University honours alone were his object, how much would not his +unresting perseverance have accomplished, when directed by the highest +of all motives, had he been spared to the age of William Carey or John +Wilson? + +The time had come for the brilliant student to decide on his +profession. The same ambition which had stimulated him to his college +successes, had led him to resolve on studying the law, as the most +lucrative. 'I could not consent to be poor for Christ's sake,' was his +own language at a later period. But Christ himself had changed all +that, as effectually as when the young lawyer Saul was stricken down +after the martyr testimony of Stephen. The year 1801 was to him one of +comparative solitude, both in Cornwall and at the University, where +he cultivated the fruitful grace of meditation, learning to know and +to master himself, as he came to know more and more intimately, and to +submit himself to, Christ Jesus. He was admitted to the inner circle +of Simeon's friends, and to unreserved intercourse with men of his own +age who had come to Christ before him. Especially was he drawn to John +Sargent, one year his senior, who was about to leave the university +for the Temple, that he might by the study of law prepare himself to +administer worthily the family estate to which he was to succeed. His +son-in-law, the late Bishop S. Wilberforce, has left us a charming +picture[5] of this saintly man, of whom Martyn wrote, even at college, +'Sargent seems to be outstripping us all.' While Simeon ever, by his +counsels and his example, impressed on the choice youth whom he +gathered around him the attractiveness of the Christian ministry,[6] +Sargent bewailed that only a painful sense of duty to others kept him +from it, and in a few years he succeeded in entering its consecrated +ranks. Among such friends, and with his own heart growing in the +experience of the power of the Holy Spirit, Henry Martyn was +constrained, notwithstanding his new humbleness of mind, to hear and +obey the divine call. He who had received such mercy must tell it +abroad; he who had known such love must bring others to share the +sweetness. Hence he writes to his sister: + + When we consider the misery and darkness of the unregenerate + world, oh! with how much reason shall we burst out into + thanksgiving to God, who has called us in His mercy through + Christ Jesus! What are we, that we should thus be made objects + of distinguishing grace! Who, then, that reflects upon the rock + from which he was hewn, but must rejoice to give himself + entirely and without reserve to God, to be sanctified by His + Spirit. The soul that has truly experienced the love of God, + will not stay meanly inquiring how much he shall do, and thus + limit his service, but will be earnestly seeking more and more + to know the will of our Heavenly Father, and that he may be + enabled to do it. Oh, may we both be thus minded! may we + experience Christ to be our all in all, not only as our + Redeemer, but also as the fountain of grace. Those passages of + the Word of God which you have quoted on this head, are indeed + awakening; may they teach us to breathe after holiness, to be + more and more dead to the world, and alive unto God, through + Jesus Christ. We are as lights in the world; how needful then + that our tempers and lives should manifest our high and heavenly + calling! Let us, as we do, provoke one another to good works, + not doubting that God will bless our feeble endeavours to His + glory. + +The next year, 1802, saw Martyn Fellow of his College and the winner +of the first University prize for a Latin essay, open to those who had +just taken the Bachelor of Arts degree. It ended in his determination +to offer himself to the Church Missionary Society. He had no sooner +resolved to be a minister of Christ than he began such home mission +work as lay to his hands among his fellow members of the University, +and in the city where, at a recent period, one who closely resembled +him in some points, Ion Keith-Falconer, laboured. When ministering to +a dying man he found that the daughters had removed to another house, +where they were cheerful, and one of the students was reading a play +to them. 'A play! when their father was lying in the agonies of death! +What a species of consolation! I rebuked him so sharply, and, I am +afraid, so intemperately, that a quarrel will perhaps ensue.' This is +the first of those cases in which the impulsively faithful Christian, +testifying for his Master, often roused hatred to himself. But the +student afterwards thanked him for his words, became a new man, and +went out to India, where he laboured for a time by his side. After a +summer tour--during which he walked to Liverpool, and then through +Wales, ascending Snowdon--Henry Martyn found himself in the old home +in Truro, then occupied by his brother. From the noise of a large +family he moved to Woodbury: 'With my brother-in-law[7] I passed some +of the sweetest moments in my life. The deep solitude of the place +favoured meditation; and the romantic scenery around supplied great +external sources of pleasure.' + +Along the beautiful coast of Cornwall and Devon there is no spot more +beautiful than Woodbury. It is henceforth sacred as Moulton in Carey's +life, and St. Andrews in Alexander Duff's, for there Henry Martyn +wrestled out his deliberate dedication to the service of Christ in +India and Persia. The Fal river is there just beginning to open out +into the lovely estuary which, down almost to Falmouth town and +Carrick Road, between Pendennis and St. Mawes, is clothed on either +side with umbrageous woods. On the left shore, after leaving the point +from which is the best view of Truro and its cathedral, now known as +the Queen's View, there is Malpas, and further on are the sylvan +glories of Tregothnan. On the right shore, sloping down to the +ever-moving tide, are the oaks, ilexes, and firs which inclose +Woodbury, recently rebuilt. There the Cambridge scholar of twenty-one +roamed and read his Bible (especially Isaiah); 'and from this I +derived great spirituality of mind compared with what I had known +before.' He returned to Cambridge and its tutorial duties, ready to +become Simeon's curate, and ultimately to go abroad when the definite +call should come. In the first conversation which he had with him, +Simeon, who had been reading the last number of the _Periodical +Accounts_ from Serampore, drew attention to the results of William +Carey's work, in the first nine years of his pioneering, as showing +what a single missionary could accomplish. From this time, in his +letters and journals, we find all his thoughts and reading, when +alone, revolving around the call to the East. + + _1803, January 12_ to _19_.--Reading Lowth on Isaiah--Acts--and + abridged Bishop Hopkins' first sermon on Regeneration. On the + 19th called on Simeon, from whom I found that I was to go to the + East Indies, not as a missionary, but in some superior capacity; + to be stationed at Calcutta, or possibly at Ceylon. This + prospect of this world's happiness gave me rather pain than + pleasure, which convinced me that I had before been running away + from the world, rather than overcoming it. During the whole + course of the day, I was more worldly than for some time past, + unsettled and dissatisfied. In conversation, therefore, I found + great levity, pride, and bitterness. What a sink of corruption + is this heart, and yet I can go on from day to day in + self-seeking and self-pleasing! Lord, shew me myself, nothing + but 'wounds and bruises, and putrefying sores,' and teach me to + live by faith on Christ my all. + + St. John's, January 17, 1803. + + My dear Sargent,--G. and H. seem to disapprove of my project + much; and on this account I have been rather discouraged of + late, though not in any degree convinced. It would be more + satisfactory to go out with the full approbation of my friends, + but it is in vain to attempt to please man. In doubtful cases, + we are to use the opinions of others no further than as means of + directing our own judgment. My sister has also objected to it, + on the score of my deficiency in that deep and solid experience + necessary in a missionary. + + _February 4._--Read Lowth in the afternoon, till I was quite + tired. Endeavoured to think of Job xiv. 14, and to have solemn + thoughts of death, but could not find them before my pupil came, + to whom I explained justification by faith, as he had ridiculed + Methodism. But talk upon what I will, or with whom I will, + conversation leaves me ruffled and discomposed. From what does + this arise? From a want of the sense of God's presence when I am + with others. + + _February 6._--Read the Scriptures, between breakfast and + church, in a very wandering and unsettled manner, and in my walk + was very weak in desires after God. As I found myself about the + middle of the day full of pride and formality, I found some + relief in prayer. Sat with H. and D. after dinner, till three, + but though silent, was destitute of humility. Read some of S. + Pearce's[8] life, and was much interested by his account of the + workings of his mind on the subject of his mission. Saw reason + to be thankful that I had no such tender ties to confine me at + home, as he seemed to have; and to be amazed at myself, in not + making it a more frequent object of reflection, and yet to + praise God for calling me to minister in the glorious work of + the conversion of the Gentiles. + + _March 27._--The lectures in chemistry and anatomy I was much + engaged with, without receiving much instruction. A violent cold + and cough led me to prepare myself for an inquiry into my views + of death. I was enabled to rest composed on the Rock of Ages. + Oh, what mercy shewn to the chief of sinners. + + _April 22._--Was ashamed to confess to ---- that I was to be Mr. + Simeon's curate, a despicable fear of man from which I vainly + thought myself free. He, however, asked me if I was not to be, + and so I was obliged to tell him. Jer. i. 17. + + _May 8._--Expressed myself contemptuously of ----, who preached + at St. Mary's. Such manifestations of arrogance which embody, as + it were, my inward pride, wound my spirit inexpressibly, not to + contrition, but to a sullen sense of guilt. Read Second Epistle + to Timothy. I prayed with some earnestness. + + _June 13_ to _24_.--Passed in tolerable comfort upon the whole; + though I could on no day say my walk had been close with God. + Read Sir G. Staunton's _Embassy to China_, and was convinced of + the propriety of being sent thither. But I have still the spirit + of worldly men when I read worldly books. I felt more curiosity + about the manners of this people than love and pity towards + their souls. + + St. John's, June 30, 1803. + + Dear Sargent,--May you, as long as you shall give me your + acquaintance, direct me to the casting down of all high + imaginations. Possibly it may be a cross to you to tell me or + any one of his faults. But should I be at last a castaway, or at + least dishonour Christ through some sin, which for want of + faithful admonition remained unmortified, how bitter would be + your reflections! I conjure you, therefore, my dear friend, as + you value the good of the souls to whom I am to preach, and my + own eternal interests, that you tell me what you think to be, in + my life, spirit, or temper, not according to the will of God my + Saviour. D. has heard about a religious young man of seventeen, + who wants to come to College, but has only 20_l._ a year. He is + very clever, and from the perusal of some poems which he has + published, I am much interested about him. His name is H.K. + White. + + _July 17._--Rose at half-past five, and walked a little before + chapel in happy frame of mind; but the sunshine was presently + overcast by my carelessly neglecting to speak for the good of + two men, when I had an opportunity. The pain was, moreover, + increased by the prospect of the incessant watchfulness for + opportunities I should use; nevertheless, resolved that I would + do so through grace. The dreadful act of disobeying God, and the + baseness of being unwilling to incur the contempt of men, for + the sake of the Lord Jesus, who had done so much for me, and the + cruelty of not longing to save souls, were the considerations + that pressed on my mind. + + _July 18_ to _30_.--Gained no ground in all this time; stayed a + few days at Shelford, but was much distracted and unsettled for + want of solitude. Felt the passion of envy rankle in my bosom on + a certain occasion. Seldom enjoyed peace, but was much under the + power of corruption. Read Butler's _Analogy_; Jon. Edwards _On + the Affections_; in great hopes that this book will be of + essential use to me. + + _September 10._--Was most deeply affected with reading the + account of the apostasy of Lewis and Broomhall, in the + transactions of the Missionary Society. When I first came to the + account of the awful death of the former, I cannot describe the + sense I had of the reality of religion,--that there is a God who + testifies His hatred of sin; 'my flesh trembled for fear of His + judgments.' Afterwards, coming to the account of Broomhall's + sudden turn to Deism, I could not help even bursting into tears + of anxiety and terror at my own extreme danger; because I have + often thought, that if I ever should make shipwreck, it would be + on the rocks of sensuality or infidelity. The hollowness of + Broomhall's arguments was so apparent, that I could only + attribute his fall to the neglect of inquiring after the + rational foundation of his faith. + + _September 12._--Read some of the minor prophets, and Greek + Testament, and the number of the _Missionary Transactions_. H. + drank tea with me in the evening. I read some of the missionary + accounts. The account of their sufferings and diligence could + not but tend to lower my notions of myself. I was almost ashamed + at my having such comforts about me, and at my own + unprofitableness. + + _September 13._--Received a letter from my sister, in which she + expressed her opinion of my unfitness for the work of a + missionary. My want of Christian experience filled me with many + disquieting doubts, and this thought troubled me among many + others, as it has often done: 'I am not only not so holy as I + ought, but I do not strive to have my soul wrought up to the + highest pitch of devotion every moment.' + + _September 17._--Read Dr. Vanderkemp's mission to Kafraria. What + a man! In heaven I shall think myself well off, if I obtain but + the lowest seat among such, though now I am fond of giving + myself a high one. + + St. John's, September 29, 1803. + + How long it seems since I heard from you, my dear Sargent. My + studies during the last three months have been Hebrew, Greek + Testament, Jon. Edwards _On Original Sin_, and _On the + Affections_, and Bishop Hopkins,--your favourite and mine. Never + did I read such energetic language, such powerful appeals to the + conscience. Somehow or other he is able to excite most constant + interest, say what he will. I have been lately reading the first + volume of the _Reports_ of the Missionary Society, who sent out + so many to Otaheite and the southern parts of Africa. You would + find the account of Dr. Vanderkemp's mission into Kafraria + infinitely entertaining. It appeared so much so to me, that I + could read nothing else while it lasted. Respecting my own + concerns in this way, no material change has taken place, either + externally or internally, except that my sister thinks me + unqualified, through want of religious experience, and that I + find greater pleasure at the prospect of it. I am conscious, + however, of viewing things too much on the bright side, and + think more readily of the happiness of seeing the desert rejoice + and blossom as the rose, than of pain, and fatigue, and crosses, + and disappointments. However it shall be determined for me, it + is my duty to crush the risings of self-will, so as to be + cheerfully prepared to go or stay. + + _October 1._--In the afternoon read in Law's _Serious Call_, the + chapter on 'Resignation,' and prayed for it, according to his + direction. I rather think a regular distribution of the day for + prayer, to obtain the three great graces of humility, love, and + resignation, would be far the best way to grow in them. The + music at chapel led my thoughts to heaven, and I went cheerfully + to Mrs. S.H. drank tea with me afterwards. As there was in the + _Christian Observer_ something of my own, the first which ever + appeared in print, I felt myself going off to vanity and levity. + +[Illustration: SECOND COURT, ST. JOHN'S COLLEGE, 1803] + + _October 9._--Rose at six, which is earlier than of late, and + passed the whole morning in great tranquillity. I prayed to be + sent out to China, and rejoiced in the prospect of the glorious + day when Christ shall be glorified on earth. At chapel the music + of the chant and anthem seemed to be in my ears as the sounds of + heaven, particularly the anthem, 1 Chron. xxix. 10. But these + joys, alas! partake much of the flesh in their transitory + nature. At chapel I wished to return to my rooms to read the + song of Moses the servant of God, &c. in the Revelation, but + when I came to it I found little pleasure. The sound of the + music had ceased, and with it my joy, and nothing remained but + evil temper, darkness, and unbelief. All this time I had + forgotten what it is to be a poor humble soul. I had floated off + the Rock of Ages into the deep, where I was beginning to sink, + had not the Saviour stretched out His hand, and said to me, 'It + is I!' Let me never be cheated out of my dependence on Him, nor + ever forget my need of Him. + + _October 12._--Reading Paley's _Evidences_. Had my pride + deeply wounded to-day, and perceived that I was far from + humility. Great bitterness and dislike arose in my mind against + the man who had been the unconscious cause of it. Oh, may I + learn daily my hidden evils, and loathe myself for my secret + abominations! Prayed for the man, and found my affections + return. + + _October 19._--I wished to have made my approaching ordination + to the ministry a more leading object of my prayers. For two or + three days I have been reading some of St. Augustine's + _Meditations_, and was delighted with the hope of enjoying such + communion with God as this holy man. Blessed be God! nothing + prevents, no earthly business, no earthly love can rightfully + intrude to claim my thoughts, for I have professedly resigned + them all. My mind still continues in a joyous and happy state, + though at intervals, through want of humility, my confidence + seems vain. + + _October 20._--This morning was almost all lost, by friends + coming in. At noon I read the fortieth chapter of Isaiah. Amidst + the bustle of common life, how frequently has my heart been + refreshed by the descriptions of the future glory of the Church, + and the happiness of man hereafter! + + _November 13._--I longed to draw very near to God, to pray Him + that He would give me the Spirit of wisdom and revelation. I + thought of David Brainerd, and ardently desired his devotedness + to God and holy breathings of soul. + +When a Fellow of St. John's, Henry Martyn occupied the three rooms in +the highest storey of E block, entered from the right-hand corner of +the Second Court before passing through the gateway into the Third +Court. The Court is that pronounced by Ruskin the finest in the +University, because of the beautiful plum-red hue of the old brick, +going back to 1595, and the perfect architecture. From the same stair +the fine College Library is entered. The low roof was formed of reed, +instead of lath, and plaster, down to a very recent date. On one +occasion, while the outer roof was being repaired, the foot of a +workman suddenly pushed through the frail inner ceiling above the +study table, an incident which has enabled their present occupant[9] +to identify the rooms. Here Martyn studied, and taught, and prayed, +while hour after hour and quarter after quarter, from the spire of St. +Clement's on the one side, and the tower of Trinity College on the +other, the flight of time was chimed forth. When, a generation after, +Alexander Duff visited Charles Simeon and his successor, Carus, and +expressed surprise that so few Cambridge men had, by 1836, given +themselves to foreign missions, Carus pointed to the exquisite beauty +of the Cam, as it winds between Trinity and St. John's, as one +explanation of the fact. Both forgot Henry Martyn, whose Cornish +temperament was most susceptible to the seductive influence, and whose +academic triumphs might have made the ideal life of a Fellow of St. +John's an overpowering temptation. As we stand in these hallowed +rooms, or wander through the four courts, and in the perfect gardens, +or recall the low chapel--which has given place to Sir Gilbert +Scott's, with a frescoed figure of Henry Martyn on its roof--we can +realise the power of the motive that sent him forth to Dinapore and +Cawnpore, Shiraz and Tokat. + +Samuel Pearce--the 'seraphic' preacher of Birmingham, whom a weak +body, like Martyn's, alone prevented from joining his beloved Carey at +Serampore; Vanderkemp, the Dutch physician, who had given up all for +the good of the Kafirs, and whom he was soon to see in the midst of +his converts; David Brainerd, also like himself in the shortness and +saintliness of his career; the transactions of the London Missionary +Society; the latest works on the East; and the experimental divinity +of Augustine, Jonathan Edwards, and Law, with the writings of Bishops +Butler and Hopkins, and Dr. Paley--these were the men and the books he +used to train his spirit for the work of the ministry abroad, when he +had fed it with the words of Jesus Christ, Isaiah, and Paul. He thus +describes his examination for Deacon's orders, and his ordination by +the Bishop of Ely on the title of his Fellowship, after which he +became Mr. Simeon's curate, and took charge of the neighbouring small +parish of Lolworth. + + _1803, October 22._--Went in a gig to Ely with B. Having had no + time for morning prayer, my conversation was poor. At chapel, I + felt great shame at having come so confidently to offer myself + for the ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ, with so much + ignorance and unholiness, and I thought it would be but just if + I were sent off with ignominy. Dr. M., the examining chaplain, + set me to construe the eleventh chapter of Matthew: Grotius: To + turn the first article into Latin: To prove the being of a God, + His infinite power and goodness: To give the evidence of + Christianity to Jews and heathens: To shew the importance of the + miracle of the resurrection of Christ. He asked an account, + also, of the Pharisees, Sadducees, and Scribes, the places of + the worship amongst the Jews, &c. After leaving the palace I was + in very low spirits. I had now nothing to think of but the + weight and difficulty of the work which lay before me, which + never appeared so great at a distance. At dinner the + conversation was frivolous. After tea I was left alone with one + of the deacons, to whom I talked seriously, and desired him to + read the Ordination Service, at which he was much affected. + Retired to my room early, and besought God to give me a right + and affecting sense of things. I seemed to pray a long time in + vain, so dark and distracted was my mind. At length I began to + feel the shameful and cruel neglect and unconcern for the honour + of God, and the souls of my brethren, in having trifled with men + whom I feared were about to 'lie to the Holy Ghost.' So I went + to them again, resolving to lay hold on any opportunity, but + found none to do anything effectually. Went to bed with a + painful sense of my hardness of heart and unsuitable preparation + for the ministry. + + _October 23._--Rose early, and prayed, not without distraction. + I then walked, but could not acquire a right and happy sense of + God's mercy in calling me to the ministry; but was melancholy at + the labours that awaited me. On returning, I met one of the + deacons, to whom I spoke on the solemn occasion, but he seemed + incapable of entertaining a serious thought. At half-past ten we + went to the cathedral. During the ordination and sacramental + services I sought in vain for a humble heavenly mind. The + outward show which tended to inspire solemnity, affected me more + than the faith of Christ's presence, giving me the commission to + preach the gospel. May I have grace to fulfil those promises I + made before God and the people! After dinner, walked with great + rapidity to Cambridge. I went straight to Trinity Church, where + my old vanities assailed my soul. How monstrous and horrible did + they appear in me, now that I was a minister of holy things! I + could scarcely believe that so sacred an office should be held + by one who had such a heart within. B. sat with me in the + evening, but I was not humbled; for I had not been near to God + to obtain the grace of contrition. On going to prayer at night, + I was seized with a most violent sickness. In the pain and + disorder of my body, I could but commend myself faintly to God's + mercy in Jesus Christ. + +[Illustration: TRINITY CHURCH IN 1803.] + + _October 24_ to _29_.--Busily employed in writing a sermon, and + from the slow advances I made in it, was in general very + melancholy. I read on the Thursday night for the first time in + Trinity Church. + + _October 30._--Rose with a heavy heart, and my head empty, from + having read so little of the Scriptures this last week. After + church, sat with ---- two hours conversing about the missionary + plan. He considered my ideas on the subject to be enthusiastic, + and told me that I had neither strength of body nor mind for the + work. This latter defect I did not at all like; it was galling + to the pride of my heart, and I went to bed hurt; yet thankful + to God for sending me one who would tell me the truth. + + _December 3._--Employed all day in writing sermon. The incessant + employment of my thoughts about the necessary business of my + life, parishes, pupils, sermons, sick, &c., leave far too little + time for my private meditations; so that I know little of God + and my soul. Resolved I would gain some hours from my usual + sleep, if there were no other way; but failed this morning in + consequence of sitting up so late. + + _December 4._--Called at two or three of the parishioners' + houses, and found them universally in the most profound state of + ignorance and stupidity. On my road home could not perceive that + men who have any little knowledge should have anything to do but + instruct their wretched fellow-creatures. The pursuits of + science, and all the vain and glittering employments of men, + seemed a cruel withholding from their perishing brethren of that + time and exertion which might save their souls. + + _December 22._--Married ----. How satisfactory is it to + administer the ordinance of matrimony, where the couple are + pious! I felt thankful that I was delivered from all desires of + the comforts of the married life. With the most desirable + partner, and every prospect of happiness, I would prefer a + single life, in which there are so much greater opportunities + for heavenly-mindedness. + +When appointed classical examiner of his college at this time, he +jealously examined himself: + + Did I delight in reading of the retreat of the ten thousand + Greeks; and shall not my soul glory in the knowledge of God, who + created the Greeks, and the vast countries over which they + passed! I examined in Butler's _Analogy_ and in Xenophon: how + much pride and ostentatious display of learning was visible in + my conduct--how that detestable spirit follows me, whatever I + do! + +He opened the year 1804, after preaching in Trinity Church, and +visiting two men whom he exhorted to think on their ways, with a +review of his new-found life. + + Nevertheless, I judge that I have grown in grace in the course + of the last year; for the bent of my desires is towards God more + than when I thought I was going out as a missionary, though + vastly less than I expected it would have been by this time. + +This year he received into his fellowship the young poet, Henry Kirke +White, whom Wilberforce had, at Simeon's request, sent to St. John's. +Southey declares that Chatterton is the only youthful poet whom Kirke +White does not leave far behind him. 'The Star of Bethlehem' is +certainly a hymn that will live. The sickly youth followed close in +Martyn's steps, becoming the first man of his year, but the effort +carried him off almost before his friend reached India. + +Had Martyn been of canonical age for ordination at the close of 1803, +there can be little doubt that he would at once have been sent out by +the Church Missionary Society, which could find only German Lutherans +as its agents abroad, until 1813, when another Fellow of St. John's, +and a Wrangler, the Rev. William Jowett, offered his services, and +was stationed at Malta. But when ordained he lost the little that he +had inherited from his father, and saw his younger sister also without +resources. There was a tradition in the family of his half-brother +John, that Henry and his sisters litigated with him, and farther +lessened the patrimony. However that may have been, while in India +Henry set apart the proceeds of his Fellowship at St. John's for the +maintenance of his brother's family, and bequeathed all he had to his +children. Mr. H. Thornton, of Clapham, was executor, and duly carried +out his instructions, starting the nephews in life. Another incident +at this time foreshadows the self-denial of his Indian career. By +opening the door of his room suddenly he had disfigured the face of +his Cambridge landlady, whose husband was a clergyman. He left to her +the interest of 1,000_l._ as an amend, and she enjoyed this annuity +through a very long life. + +The Senior Wrangler was not allowed to preach in the church where he +had been baptised, nor in any church of his native county, save in his +brother-in-law's. On August 8, 1804, he thus wrote to his friend 'R. +Boys, Esq., Bene't Coll., Cambridge,' after preaching at Plymouth for +his cousin: + + The following Sunday it was not permitted me to occupy the + pulpit of my native town, but in a neighbouring church I was + allowed to testify the Gospel of the grace of God. But that one + sermon was enough. The clergy seem to have united to exclude me + from their churches, so that I must now be contented with my + brother-in-law's two little churches about five miles from + Truro. The objection is that 'Mr. Martyn is a Calvinist preacher + in the dissenting way, &c.' My old schoolmaster, who has always + hitherto been proud of his pupil, has offered his services for + any time to a curate near this place, rather than, as he said, + he should apply to me for assistance. + +It is interesting to remember, remarks Mr. Moule, who has published +this letter for the first time, that 'always now, as the anniversary +of Martyn's death recurs, a sermon is preached in the cathedral of +Truro, in which the great work of Missions is set forth, and his +illustrious share in it commemorated.' + +As confidential adviser of Charles Grant in the Court of Directors, in +the appointment of chaplains, Simeon always sought to attract the best +of his curates to that career, and it would appear from the _Journal_ +that so early as the beginning of 1803 he had hinted at this to +Martyn. Now the way was plain. Martyn could no longer support himself +as one of those volunteer missionaries whose services the two great +missionary societies of the Church of England have always been happy +to enjoy, nor could he relieve his sister out of the subsistence +allowance of a missionary. Mr. Grant's offer of a Bengal chaplaincy +seemed to come to him as the solution. But a new element had entered +into his life, second only to his spiritual loyalty. He had learned to +love Lydia Grenfell. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[1] See the _Statistical Society's Journal_, September, 1888, for +invaluable notes on the 'System of Work and Wages in the Cornish +Mines,' by L.L. Price, M.A., of Oriel College, Oxford. + +[2] The late Henry Martyn Jeffery, M.A., F.R.S., in 1883. + +[3] Rev. Henry Bailey, D.D., Canon of Canterbury, supplies us with +this story from the lips of the late Rev. T.H. Shepherd, who was the +last surviving Canon of the Collegiate Church in Southwell:-- + +'Henry Martyn had just entered the College as a Freshman under the +Rev. Mr. Catton. I was the year above him, _i.e._ second year man; and +Mr. Catton sent for me to his rooms, telling me of Martyn, as a quiet +youth, with some knowledge of classics, but utterly unable as it +seemed to make anything of even the First Proposition of Euclid, and +desiring me to have him into my rooms, and see what I could do for him +in this matter. Accordingly, we spent some time together, but all my +efforts appeared to be in vain; and Martyn, in sheer despair, was +about to make his way to the coach office, and take his place the +following day back to Truro, his native town. I urged him not to be so +precipitate, but to come to me the next day, and have another trial +with Euclid. After some time light seemed suddenly to flash upon his +mind, with clear comprehension of the hitherto dark problem, and he +threw up his cap for joy at his _Eureka_. The Second Proposition was +soon taken, and with perfect success; but in truth his progress was +such and so rapid, that he distanced every one in his year, and, as +everyone knows, became Senior Wrangler.' + +[4] _Early Years and Late Reflections_, vol. iii. p. 5. + +[5] Introduction to _Journals and Letters of Henry Martyn_, 1837. + +[6] See the delightful _Charles Simeon_, by H.C.G. Moule, M.A. (1892), +published since this was written. + +[7] Rev. Mr. Curgenven, curate of Kenwyn and Kea. + +[8] William Carey's most intimate friend. See p. 46 of _Life of +William Carey, D.D._, 2nd ed. (John Murray). + +[9] Rev. A. Caldecott, M.A., Fellow and Dean of St. John's College. + + + + +CHAPTER II + +LYDIA GRENFELL + + +Twenty-six miles south-west of Truro, and now the last railway station +before Penzance is reached for the Land's End, is Marazion, the +oldest, the warmest, and long the dullest, of English towns. This was +the home of Lydia Grenfell; this was the scene of Henry Martyn's +wooing. Running out from the town is a natural causeway, uncovered at +low tide, and leading to the most romantic spot on a romantic +coast--the granite rock known to the Greek geographers as Ictis, and +to English legend and history as St. Michael's Mount. Here it was that +Jack slew the giant, Cormoran; here that the Phoenician, and possibly +Israelite, traffickers found the harbour, and in the town the market, +where they bought their copper and their tin; here that St. Michael +appeared, as on the larger rock off Normandy, to the earliest +Christian hermits, followed by the Benedictines; and here that King John +made a fortress which both sides in the Great Rebellion held and took +alternately. Since that time, possessed by the St. Aubyn family, and +open to all the world, St. Michael's Mount has been a unique retreat in +which castle and chapel, cemetery and garden, unite peacefully, to link +the restlessness of the nineteenth century with the hermit saintliness +and angel-ophanies of the fifth. It was the last spot of English, of +Cornish, ground seen by Henry Martyn, and he knew that the windows of +his beloved looked upon its grassy castellated height. + +In the one ascending street of Marazion on the shore, there still +stands the plain substantial Grenfell House, now boarded up and +falling to ruin for want of the freehold tenure. Opposite it is the +parish church, now on the site of the old chapel of ease of the +neighbouring St. Hilary, which Lydia Grenfell deserted for the then +warmer evangelical service of the little Wesleyan chapel. That is +hidden in a lane, and is still the same as when she worshipped there, +or only a little enlarged. The Grenvilles, Grenviles, or Grenfells, +were long a leading family connected with Cornwall as copper-buyers +and smelters. One, Pascoe Grenfell, was a Governor of the Bank of +England. Mr. Pascoe Grenfell, of Marazion (1729-1810), Commissary to +the States of Holland, was father (1) of Emma, who became wife of +Martyn's cousin, Rev. T. Martyn Hitchins; (2) of Lydia Grenfell; and +(3) of Pascoe Grenfell, D.C.L., M.P. for Marlow and Penryn. This +Pascoe's four daughters--Lydia Grenfell's nieces--each became the wife +of a remarkable man. The eldest, in 1825, married Mr. Carr Glyn, M.P. +for Kendal, and the first Lord Wolverton; the second, Lord Sidney +Godolphin Osborne; the third, Mr. James Anthony Froude; and the +fourth, Charles Kingsley. + +[Illustration: ST. MICHAEL'S MOUNT AT FULL TIDE.] + +Lydia Grenfell, born in 1775, died in her sister's house, the old +Vicarage of Breage, in 1829. She was thus six years older than Henry +Martyn. As the sister of his cousin by marriage he must have known of +her early. He evidently did not know, till it was too late, that she +had been engaged to a Mr. Samuel John, solicitor, of Penzance, who was +unworthy of her and married someone else. This engagement and its +issue seem to have weighed on her very sensitive conscience; it became +to her very much what Henry Martyn's hopeless love for her proved to +be to himself. In the years from October 19, 1801, to 1826, she kept a +diary not less devout, but far more morbid than his own. The two +journals form, where they meet, a pathetic, even tragic, tale of +affection, human and divine. Her bulky memoranda[10] contain few +incidents of interest, rather severe introspections, incessant +communings and heart-searchings, abstracts of sermons, records of +visits to the sick and poor, but also a valuable residuum by which her +relations with Martyn can be established beyond controversy. They show +that she was as saintly as himself. She weighed every thought, every +action, as in the immediate presence of God. + +When Henry Martyn, at nineteen, entered on the higher life, he must +have known Lydia Grenfell as the sister of Mrs. T.M. Hitchins, the +cousin with whom his correspondence shows him to have been on most +intimate, and even affectionate, terms. At that time the difference of +age would seem slight; her it would affect little, if at all, while +common experience suggests that it would be even attractive to him. +With the ardour of a young disciple--which in his case grew, year by +year, till he passed away--he sought spiritual counsel and communion. +On his visits to Cornwall he found both in his younger sister, but it +is evident that, from the first, the riper spiritual life of Lydia +Grenfell attracted him to her. His triumph, at twenty, as Senior +Wrangler put him quite in a position to dream of winning her. His +unexpected poverty was relieved by his Fellowship of St. John's. In +those days, however, that would have ceased with marriage. When it +became more than probable that he would receive an appointment to +Bengal, through Mr. Charles Grant--either as minister of the Mission +Church founded by Kiernander, or as a chaplain of the East India +Company--he was face to face with the question of marrying. + +In these days the course followed by missionary societies as the +result of experience is certainly the best. A missionary and a +chaplain in India should, in ordinary circumstances, be married, but +it is not desirable that the marriage take place for a year or longer, +until the young minister has proved the climate, and has learned the +native language, when the lady can be sent out to be united to him. At +the beginning of the modern missionary enterprise, a century ago, it +was difficult to find spiritual men willing to go to India on any +terms, and they did well in every case to go out married. All the +conditions of time, distance, society, and Christian influence were +then different. If the missionary's or chaplain's wife is worthy of +his calling, she doubles his usefulness, notwithstanding the cares and +the expense of children in many cases, alike by keeping her husband in +a state of efficiency on every side, by her own works of charity and +self-sacrifice--especially among the women, who can be reached in no +other way--and by helping to present to the idolatrous or Mussulman +community the powerful example of a Christian home. Henry Martyn's +principles and instincts were right in this matter. As a chaplain, at +any rate, he was in a position to marry at once. As India or Bengal +then was, Lydia, had she gone out with him, or soon after him, would +have proved to be a much needed force in Anglo-Indian society, an +influence on the native communities whom he sought to bring to Christ. +Above all, as a man born with a weak body, with habits of incessant +and intense application to study and to duty, Henry Martyn required +one with the influence of a wife to keep him in life and to prolong +his Indian service. It was the greatest calamity of his whole career +that Lydia did not accompany him. But, since he learned to love her +with all the rich devotion of his passionate nature, we cannot +consider it 'a bitter misfortune,' as some do, that he ever knew her. +His love for Lydia, in the fluctuations of its hope, in the ebb and +flow of its tenderness, and in the transmutation of its despair into +faith and resignation to the will of God, worked out a higher +elevation for himself, and gives to his _Journals and Letters_ a pure +human interest which places them above the _Confessions of St. +Augustine_. + +The first allusion to the possibility of marriage we find in his +_Journal_ of January 23, 1803, and again in June 12 of the same year: + + I was grieved to find that all the exertions of prayer were + necessary against worldly-mindedness, so soon had the prospect + of the means of competent support in India filled my heart with + concern about earthly happiness, marriage, &c.; but I strove + earnestly against them, and prayed for grace that, if it should + please God to try my faith by calling me to a post of opulence, + I might not dare to use for myself what is truly His; as also, + that I might be enabled to keep myself single, for serving Him + more effectually. Nevertheless, this change in my circumstances + so troubled me, that I could have been infinitely better pleased + to have gone out as a missionary, poor as the Lord and His + Apostles. + +His friend Sargent's 'approaching marriage with a lady of uncommon +excellence rather excited in me a desire after a similar state; but I +strove against it,' he wrote on July 10. Next day, on the top of the +coach from London to Bath, in the cold of a high wind, he was 'most +dreadfully assailed by evil thoughts, but at the very height prayer +prevailed, and I was delivered, and during the rest of the journey +enjoyed great peace and a strong desire to live for Christ alone, +forsaking the pleasures of the world, marriage, &c.' At Plymouth he +spent two days 'with my dear cousin T.H.,' Lydia's sister. After +Truro, Kenwyn, and Lamorran, near Truro, of which his sister Sarah's +husband was vicar, he rode to St. Hilary. + + _1804, July 29._ (Sunday.)--Read and prayed in the morning + before service with seriousness, striving against those thoughts + which oppressed me all the rest of the day. At St. Hilary Church + in the morning my thoughts wandered from the service, and I + suffered the keenest disappointment. Miss L.G. did not come. + Yet, in great pain, I blessed God for having kept her away, as + she might have been a snare to me. These things would be almost + incredible to another, and almost to myself, were I not taught + by daily experience that, whatever the world may say, or I may + think of myself, I am a poor, wretched, sinful, contemptible + worm. + + Called after tea on Miss L.G., and walked with her and ----, + conversing on spiritual subjects. All the rest of the evening, + and at night, I could not keep her out of my mind. I felt too + plainly that I loved her passionately. The direct opposition of + this to my devotedness to God in the missionary way, excited no + small tumult in my mind. In conversation, having no divine + sweetness in peace, my cheerfulness was affected, and, + consequently, very hurtful to my conscience. At night I + continued an hour and a half in prayer, striving against this + attachment. I endeavoured to analyse it, that I might see how + base, and mean, and worthless such a love to a speck of earth + was, compared with divine love. Then I read the most solemn + parts of Scripture, to realise to myself death and eternity; and + these attempts were sometimes blest. One while I was about to + triumph, but in a moment my heart had wandered to the beloved + idol. I went to bed in great pain, yet still rather superior to + the evening; but in dreams her image returned, and I awoke in + the night with my mind full of her. No one can say how deeply + this unhappy affection has fixed itself; since it has nothing + selfish in it, that I can perceive, but is founded on the + highest admiration of her piety and manners. + + _July 30._--Rose in great peace. God, by secret influence, + seemed to have caused the tempest of self-will to subside. Rode + away from St. Hilary to Gwennap in peace of mind, and meditated + most of the way on Romans viii. I again devoted myself to the + Lord, and with more of my will than last night. I was much + disposed to think of subjects entirely placed beyond the world, + and had strong desires, though with heavy opposition from my + corrupt nature, after that entire deadness to the world which + David Brainerd manifested. At night I found myself to have + backslidden a long way from the life of godliness, to have + declined very much since my coming into Cornwall, but especially + since I went to St. Hilary. Sat up late, and read the last + chapter and other parts of Revelation, and was deeply affected. + Prayed with more success than lately. + + _July 31._--Read and prayed this morning with increasing victory + over my self-will. Romans vii. was particularly suitable; it was + agreeable to me to speak to God of my own corruption and + helplessness. Walked in the afternoon to Redruth, after having + prayed over the Epistle to the Ephesians with much seriousness. + On the road I was enabled to triumph at last, and found my heart + as pleased with the prospect of a single life in missionary + labours as ever. 'What is the exceeding greatness of His power + to usward who believe!' + +After preaching to crowds in his brother-in-law's church at Kenwyn and +Lamorran, on the two subsequent Sundays, he walked to St. Hilary: + + _1804, August 26._--Rose early, and walked out, invited by the + beauty of the morning. Many different pleasing thoughts crowded + on my mind, as I viewed the sea and rocks, Mount and bay, and + thought of the person who lived near it; but, for want of + checking my natural spirits, and fixing on one subject of + thought, I was not much benefited by my meditations. Walked in + the evening with Mrs. G. and Lydia up the hill, with the most + beautiful prospect of the sea, &c.; but I was unhappy, from + feeling the attachment to Lydia, for I was unwilling to leave + her. + + _August 27._--Walked to Marazion, with my heart more delivered + from its idolatry, and enabled to look steadily and peacefully + to God. Reading in the afternoon to Lydia alone, from Dr. Watts, + there happened to be, among other things, a prayer on entire + preference of God to the creature. Now, thought I, here am I in + the presence of God, and my idol. So I used the prayer for + myself, and addressed it to God, who answered it, I think, for + my love was kindled to God and divine things, and I felt + cheerfully resigned to the will of God, to forego the earthly + joy which I had just been desiring with my whole heart. I + continued conversing with her, generally with my heart in + heaven, but every now and then resting on her. Parted with + Lydia, perhaps for ever in this life, with a sort of uncertain + pain, which I knew would increase to greater violence + afterwards, on reflection. Walked to St. Hilary, determining, in + great tumult and inward pain, to be the servant of God. All the + rest of the evening, in company or alone, I could think of + nothing but her excellences. My efforts were, however, through + mercy, not in vain, to feel the vanity of this attachment to the + creature. Read in Thomas a Kempis many chapters directly to the + purpose; the shortness of time, the awfulness of death and its + consequences, rather settled my mind to prayer. I devoted myself + unreservedly to the service of the Lord, to Him, as to one who + knew the great conflict within, and my firm resolve, through His + grace, of being His, though it should be with much tribulation. + + _August 28._--Rose with a heavy heart, and took leave of St. + Hilary, where all the happier hours of my early life were + passed. ---- and ---- accompanied me in the chaise a few miles; + but the moment they left me I walked on, dwelling at large on + the excellence of Lydia. I had a few faint struggles to forget + her, and delight in God, but they were ineffectual. Among the + many motives to the subjection of self-will, I found the thought + of the entire unworthiness of a soul escaped from hell to choose + its own will before God's, most bring my soul to a right frame. + So that, while I saw the necessity of resigning, for the service + of God, all those joys, for the loss of which I could not + perceive how anything in heaven or earth could be a + compensation, I said, Amen! + + _August 29._--I walked to Truro, with my mind almost all the way + taken up with Lydia. But once reasoning in this way--If God made + me, and wills my happiness, as I do not doubt, then He is + providing for my good by separating me from her; this reasoning + convinced my mind. I felt very solemnly and sweetly the + excellence of serving God faithfully, of following Christ and + His Apostles, and meditated with great joy on the approach of + the end of this world. Yet still I enjoyed, every now and then, + the thought of walking hereafter with her, in the realms of + glory, conversing on the things of God. My mind the rest of the + evening was much depressed. I had no desire to live in this + world; scarcely could I say where I would be, or what I would + do, now that my self-will was so strongly counteracted. Thus God + waits patiently my return from my backsliding, which I would do + immediately. If He were to offer me the utmost of my wishes, I + would say, 'Not so, Lord! Not my will, but Thine be done.' + + _August 30._--Passed the morning rather idly, in reading lives + of pious women. I felt an indescribable mixture of opposing + emotions. At one time, about to ascend with delight to God, who + had permitted me to aspire after the same glory, but oftener + called down to earth by my earthly good. Major Sandys calling, + continued till dinner conversing about India. I consented to + stay a day with him at Helston, but the thought of being so near + Marazion renewed my pain, especially taken in connection with my + going thither on the subject of my departure. After dinner, + walked in the garden for two hours, reasoning with my perverse + heart, and, through God's mercy, not without success. You preach + up deadness to the world, and yet not an example of it! Now is + the time, my soul, if you cannot feel that it is best to bear + the cross, to trust God for it. This will be true faith. If I + were put in possession of my idol, I should immediately say and + feel that God alone was, notwithstanding, the only good, and to + Him I should seek immediately. Again I weighed the probable + temporal consequence of having my own will gratified; the + dreadful pain of separation by death, after being united, + together with the distress I might bring upon her whom I loved. + All these things were of small influence till I read the Epistle + to the Hebrews, by which my mind, made to consider divine things + attentively, was much more freed from earthly things. 'Let us + come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, + and find grace to help in time of need,' was very precious and + comforting to me. I have found grace to help in this time of + need; I still want a humble spirit to wait upon the Lord. I + almost called God to witness that I duly resigned my pleasure to + His, as if I wished it to be remembered. In the evening had a + serious and solemn time in prayer, chiefly for the influences of + the Spirit, and rose with my thoughts fixed on eternity; I + longed for death, and called on the glorious day to hasten; but + it was in order to be free from the troubles of this world. + + _August 31._--Passed the morning partly in reading and writing, + but chiefly in business. Rode to Rosemundy, with my mind at + first very unhappy, at the necessity of mortifying my self-will, + in the same particulars as for some days. In conversing on the + subject of India with Major Sandys, I could not help + communicating the pain I felt at parting with the person to whom + I was attached; but by thus dwelling on the subject my heart was + far more distressed than ever. Found my mind more easy and + submissive to God at night in prayer. + +St. Hilary Church, in which Henry Martyn preached, is one of the +oldest in England, containing, in the tower of Edward III.'s reign, +two stones with inscriptions of the time of the Emperor Flavius +Constantinus, who was killed by Honorius in 411. What Lydia Grenfell +thought of Martyn's sermon on that day, August 26, thenceforth +memorable to both, we find in her _Diary_ of that date: + + _1804, August 26._--Heard H.M. on 'Now then we are ambassadors + for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you, in + Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God. For He hath made Him to + be sin (_i.e._ sin-offering) for us, Who knew no sin; that we + might be made the righteousness of God in Him.' Exordium on the + honourable employment of a minister of the Gospel. In the text + two things were implied. First, we were at enmity with God. + Second, we were unable to restore ourselves to His favour. + There were two things expressed in the text--the means of + reconciliation, and God's invitation to be reconciled; a + threefold address to saints, backsliders, and sinners; and a + farewell address. A precious sermon. Lord, bless the preacher, + and those that heard him! + +At that time, in 1804, the lady was still preoccupied, in conscience +or heart, or both, by her imaginary ties to Mr. S. John. But six +months before that she had heard of his approaching marriage, though, +in fact, that did not take place till 1810. All that time, if she did +not feel, to one to whom her heart had been more closely united than +to any 'earthly object,' as she had written in her _Diary_, what Mr. +H.M. Jeffery describes as the attachment of a widow with the +responsibility of a wife, her scrupulous introspective habit was an +obstacle to a healthy attachment. The preacher, younger than herself, +was in 1804 evidently to her only an interesting and gracious second +cousin, or perhaps a little more. + +On his way back to London Henry Martyn again visited Plymouth, where +he learned from his cousin 'that my attachment to her sister was not +altogether unreturned, and the discovery gave me both pleasure and +pain.' He left them, his thoughts 'almost wholly occupied with Lydia.' +London, Cambridge, his reading and his walking, his work and even his +sleep, bring him no rest from the absorbing passion. His _Journal_ is +full of it, almost every day. Fortescue's poems recall the happy +mornings at St. Hilary, but his pensive meditation subsided into a +more profitable one on the vanity of the world: 'they marry and are +given in marriage,' and at the end of a few years what are they more +than myself?--looking forward to the same dissolution, and expecting +their real happiness in another life. 'The fashion of this world +passeth away,' Amen. 'Let me do the will of God while I am in it.' + +The first day of the year 1805 led him to review the past five years, +and to renew his self-dedication to God the Father, Son, and Holy +Ghost, to be His servant for ever. The time for his departure to India +was at hand, and his last act, on leaving London for Cambridge, to +complete his arrangements for sailing, was deliberately to engage +himself to Lydia Grenfell in the following letter to her sister.[11] +It is thus referred to in his _Journal_: + + I was in some doubt whether I should send the letter to Emma, as + it was taking a very important step, and I could scarcely + foresee all the consequences. However, I did send it, and may + now be said to have engaged myself to Lydia. + + 18 Brunswick Square (London), January 11, 1805. + + My dear Mrs. Hitchins,--How unaccountable must my long silence + appear to you after the conversation that passed between us in + the carriage! You may well wonder that I could forbear, for + three whole months, to inquire about the 'beloved Persis.' + Indeed, I am surprised at my own patience, but, in truth, I + found it impossible to discover what it is which I wish or ought + to say on the subject, and therefore determined to defer writing + till I could inform you with certainty of my future destination. + But I have it not yet in my power to do this, for no actual + appointment has been made for me yet. I came to town the + beginning of this week to inquire into the present state of the + business, and learned from Mr. Grant that the situation he + intended to procure, and to which he had no doubt of getting me + nominated, was not in the Army, but at Fort William, near + Calcutta. Thus it pleases God to suspend the declaration of His + mind, and I can believe that He acts wisely. These apparent + delays serve to check my youthful impetuosity, and teach me to + look up to God, and wait for Him. If the chaplaincy at Fort + William should be given me, it would seem to be His design not + to call me to the peculiar work of a missionary, but to fix my + station among the English. At present my own inclination remains + almost unbiassed, as to the particular employment or place God + shall assign me, whether to pass my days among the natives, or + the more polished inhabitants of Calcutta, or even to remain at + home. + + But you will easily conceive that the increasing probability of + my being settled in a town rather tends to revive the thoughts + of marriage, for I feel very little doubt in my own mind, that + in such a situation it would be expedient for me on the whole to + marry, if other circumstances permitted it. It is also as clear + that I ought not to make an engagement with any one in England, + till I have ascertained by actual observation in India, what + state of life and mode of proceeding would be most conducive to + the ends of my mission. But why do I mention these difficulties? + If they were removed, others would remain still more + insurmountable. The affections of the beloved object in question + must still be engaged in my favour, or even then she would not + agree to leave the kingdom, nor would any of you agree to it, + nor would such a change of climate, it may be thought, suit the + delicacy of her constitution. + + Must I, then, yield to the force of these arguments, and resolve + to think of her no more? It shall certainly be my endeavour, by + the help of my God, to do it, if need be; but I confess I am + very unwilling to go away and hear of her only accidentally + through the medium of others. It is this painful reflection that + has prompted a wish, which I do not mention without some + hesitation, and that is my wish of corresponding with her. It + is possible you may instantly perceive some impropriety in it + which escapes my notice, and indeed there are some objections + which I foresee might be made, but instead of anticipating them, + I will leave you to form your own opinion. In religion we have a + subject to write upon of equal interest to us both, and though I + cannot expect she would derive any advantage from my letters, it + is certain I should receive no small benefit from hers. But I + leave it with yourself; if you disapprove of the measure, let + the request be forgotten. It will be best for her never to know + I had made it, or if she does, she will, I hope, pardon a + liberty to which I have been drawn only by the love of her + excellence. + + N.B.--I remember _Leighton_; take care not to forget it nor the + desired MS. + +On June 1 he wrote in his _Journal_: + + My departure from my friends, and my deprivation of the sweetest + delight in society, for ever in this life, have rather dejected + me to-day. Ah! Nature, thou hast still tears to shed for + thyself!... I seem to be hankering after something or other in + this world, though I am sure I could not say there is anything + which I believed could give me happiness. No! it is in God + above. Yet to-night I have been thinking much of Lydia. Memory + has been at work to unnerve my soul, but reason, and honour, and + love to Christ and to souls, shall prevail. Amen. God help me! + +Two days after, at the Eclectic Society, after a discussion on the +symptoms of 'the state of the nation,' the subject of marriage, +somehow or other, came to be mentioned. + + Mr. Cecil spoke very freely and strongly on the subject. He said + I should be acting like a madman if I went out unmarried. A wife + would supply by her comfort and counsel the entire want of + society, and also be a preservative both to character and + passions amidst such scenes. I felt as cold as an anchorite on + the subject as to my own feelings, but I was much perplexed all + the rest of the evening about it. I clearly perceived that my + own inclination upon the whole was not to marriage. The fear of + being involved in worldly cares and numberless troubles, which I + do not now foresee, makes me tremble and dislike the thoughts of + such connection. When I think of Brainerd, how he lived among + the Indians, travelling freely from place to place, can I + conceive he would have been so useful had he been married? I + remember also that Owens, who had been so many years in the West + Indies as a missionary, gave his advice against marriage. + Schwartz was never married, nor St. Paul. On the other hand, + when I suppose another in my circumstances, fixed at a + settlement without company, without society, in a scene and + climate of such temptation, I say without hesitation, he ought + to be married. I have recollected this evening very much my + feelings when I walked through Wales; how I longed there to have + some friend to speak to; and the three weeks seemed an age + without one. And I have often thought how valuable would be the + counsel and comfort of a Christian brother in India. These + advantages would be obtained by marrying. I feel anxious also + that as many Christians as possible should go to India, and + anyone willing to go would be a valuable addition. But yet + voluntary celibacy seems so much more noble and glorious, and so + much more beneficial in the way of example, that I am loth to + relinquish the idea of it. In short, I am utterly at a loss to + know what is best for the interests of the Gospel. But, happily, + my own peace is not much concerned in it. If this opinion of so + many pious clergymen had come across me when I was in Cornwall, + and so strongly attached to my beloved Lydia, it would have been + a conflict indeed in my heart to oppose so many arguments. But + now I feel, through grace, an astonishing difference. I hope I + am not seeking an excuse for marriage, nor persuading myself I + am indifferent about it, in order that what is really my + inclination may appear to be the will of God. But I feel my + affections kindling to their wonted fondness while I dwell on + the circumstances of a union with Lydia. May the Lord teach His + weak creature to live peacefully and soberly in His love, + drawing all my joys from Him, the fountain of living waters. + + _June 4._--The subject of marriage made me thoughtful and + serious. Mr. Atkinson, whose opinion I revere, was against my + marrying. Found near access to my God in prayer. Oh, what a + comfort it is to have God to go to. I breathed freely to Him my + sorrows and cares, and set about my work with diligence. The + Lord assisted me very much, and I wrote more freely than ever I + did. Slept very little in the night. + + _June 5._--Corrie breakfasted with me, and went to prayer; I + rejoiced to find he was not unwilling to go to India. He will + probably be my fellow-labourer. Most of this morning was + employed in writing all my sentiments on the subject of marriage + to Mr. Simeon. May the Lord suggest something to him which may + be of use to guide me, and keep my eye single. In my walk out, + and afterwards, the subject was constantly on my mind. But, + alas! I did not guard against that distraction from heavenly + things which I was aware it would occasion. On reflection at + home, I found I had been talking in a very inconsistent manner, + but was again restored to peace by an application to Christ's + blood through the Spirit. My mind has all this day been very + strongly inclined to marriage, and has been consequently + uncomfortable, for in proportion to its want of simplicity it is + unhappy. But Mr. Cecil said to-day, he thought Lydia's decision + would fully declare the will of God. With this I am again + comforted, for now hath the Lord taken the matter into His own + hands. Whatever He decides upon, I shall rejoice; and though I + confess I think she will not consent to go, I shall then have + the question finally settled. + + Discussion in the evening was about my marriage again; they were + all strenuous advocates for it. Wrote at night with great + freedom, but my body is very weak from the fatigue I have + already undergone. My mind seems very active this week; + manifestly, indeed, strengthened by God to be enabled to write + on religious subjects with such unusual ease, while it is also + full of this important business of the marriage. My inclination + continues, I think, far more unbiassed than when I wrote to Mr. + Simeon. + + _June 7._--Oh, the subtlety of the devil, and the deceitfulness + of this corrupted heart! How has an idol been imperceptibly + raised up in it. Something fell from Dr. F. this evening against + my marriage which struck me so forcibly, though there was + nothing particular in it, that I began to see I should finally + give up all thoughts about it. But how great the conflict! I + could not have believed it had such hold on my affections. + Before this I had been writing in tolerable tranquillity, and + walked out in the enjoyment of a resigned mind, even rejoicing + for the most part in God, and dined at Mr. Cecil's, where the + arguments I heard were all in favour of the flesh, and so I was + pleased; but Dr. F.'s words gave a new turn to my thoughts, and + the tumult showed me the true state of my heart. How miserable + did life appear without the hope of Lydia! Oh, how has the + discussion of the subject opened all my wounds afresh! I have + not felt such heartrending pain since I parted with her in + Cornwall. But the Lord brought me to consider the folly and + wickedness of all this. Shall I hesitate to keep my days in + constant solitude, who am but a brand plucked from the burning? + I could not help saying, 'Go, Hindus, go on in your misery; let + Satan still rule over you; for he that was appointed to labour + among you is consulting his ease.' No, thought I; hell and + earth shall never keep me back from my work. I am cast down, but + not destroyed; I began to consider, why am I so uneasy? 'Cast + thy care upon Him, for He careth for you.' 'In everything, by + prayer,' &c. These promises were graciously fulfilled before + long to me. + + _June 8._--My mind continued in much the same state this + morning, waiting with no small anxiety for a letter from Mr. + Simeon, hoping, of course, that the will of God would coincide + with my will, yet thinking the determination of the question + would be indifferent to me. When the letter arrived I was + immediately convinced, beyond all doubt, of the expediency of + celibacy. But my wish did not follow my judgment quite so + readily. Mr. Pratt coming in, argued strongly on the other side, + but there was nothing of any weight. The subject so occupied my + thoughts that I could attend to nothing else. I saw myself + called to be less than ever a man of this world, and walked out + with a heavy heart. Met Dr. F., who alone of all men could best + sympathise, and his few words were encouraging. Yet I cannot + cordially acquiesce in all the Lord's dealings, though my reason + and judgment approve them, and my inclination would desire to do + it. Dined at Mr. Cecil's, where it providentially happened that + Mr. Foster came in. To them I read Mr. Simeon's letter, and they + were both convinced by it. So I went away home, with nothing to + do but to get my heart easy again under this sacrifice. I + devoted myself once more to the entire and everlasting service + of God, and found myself more weaned from this world, and + desiring the next, though not from a right principle. Continued + all the evening writing sermon, and reading _Pilgrim's + Progress_, with successions of vivid emotions of pain and + pleasure. My heart was sometimes ready to break with agony at + being torn from its dearest idol, and at other times I was + visited by a few moments of sublime and enraptured joy. Such is + the conflict; why have my friends mentioned this subject? It has + torn open old wounds, and I am again bleeding. With all my + honours and knowledge, the smiles and approbation of men, the + health and prosperity that have fallen to my lot, together with + that freedom from doubts and fears with which I was formerly + visited, how much have I gone through in the last two or three + years to bring my mind to be willing to do the will of God when + it should be revealed! My heart is pained within me, and my + bodily frame suffers from it. + + _June 9._ (Sunday.)--My heart is still pained. It is still as a + bullock unaccustomed to the yoke; the Lord help me to maintain + the conflict. Preached this morning at Long Acre Chapel on Matt. + xxviii., the three last verses. There was the utmost attention. + In the interval between morning and afternoon, passed most of + the time in reading and prayer. Read Matthew iii., and + considered the character of John the Baptist. Holy emulation + seemed to spring up in my mind. Then read John xvii. and last + chapter, and Rev. i., all of which were blessed to my soul. I + went into the church persuaded in my feelings--which is + different from being persuaded in the understanding--that it was + nobler and wiser to be as John the Baptist, Peter, John, and all + the Apostles, than to have my own will gratified. Preached on + Eph. ii. 18. Walked a little with Mr. Grant this evening. He + told me I should have great trials and temptations in India; but + I know where to apply for grace to help. + +Cecil's final opinion, that Lydia Grenfell's decision would fully +declare the will of God, was not borne out by the result, as we shall +see. Meanwhile, let us trace the steps which led to the final +appointment to India, and the farewell. + +On his first visit to London at the beginning of the year 1804, by the +Telegraph coach, the Cambridge recluse was distracted by the bustle +of the great city, as he walked about the streets and called at the +booksellers'. Dr. Wollaston, the British Museum, and the Gresham +Lecture on Music, of which he was passionately fond, occupied his +first two days. At the old India House, since swept away from +Leadenhall Street, he met Mr. Charles Grant, who, as he took him to +Clapham, the evangelical centre which Sir James Stephen has made so +famous,[12] gave him much information on the state of India, such as +this: + + It would be absolutely necessary to keep three servants, for + three can do no more than the work of one English; that no + European constitution can endure being exposed to mid-day heat; + that Mr. Schwartz, who was settled at Tanjore, did do it for a + time, walking among the natives. Mr. Grant had never seen Mr. + Schwartz, but corresponded with him. He was the son of a Saxon + gentleman (the Saxon gentlemen never enter the ministry of the + Church), and had early devoted himself to the work of a + missionary amongst the Indians. Besides the knowledge of the + Malabar tongue, in which he was profoundly skilled and eloquent, + he was a good classic, and learnt the English, Portuguese, and + Dutch. He was a man of dignified and polished manners, and + cheerful. + +This was the first opportunity that 'the Clapham sect' had to satisfy +themselves that the Senior Wrangler was worthy of the commendation of +Charles Simeon. Accordingly they dined with William Wilberforce at +Broomfield. + + We conversed about my business. They wished me to fill the + church in Calcutta very much; but advised me to wait some time, + and to cherish the same views. To Mr. Wilberforce I went into a + detail of my views, and the reasons that had operated on my + mind. The conversation of Mr. Wilberforce and Mr. Grant during + the whole of the day, before the rest of the company, which + consisted of Mr. Johnston, of New South Wales, a French Abbe, + Mrs. Unwin, Mr. H., and other ladies, was edifying; agreeable to + what I should think right for two godly senators, planning some + means of bringing before Parliament propositions for bettering + the moral state of the colony of Botany Bay. At evening worship + Mr. W. expounded Sacred Scripture with serious plainness, and + prayed in the midst of his large household. + +In _The Life of William Wilberforce_, by his sons, we find this +passage introduced by the remark, 'It is delightful to contrast with +his own language the observation of one who, with as holy and as +humble a soul, was just entering on his brief but glorious course:' +Martyn 'drank tea at Mr. Newton's; the old man was very civil to me, +and striking in his remarks in general.' Next day: + + Read Isaiah. At one, we went to hear the charge delivered to the + missionaries at the New London Tavern, in Cheapside. There was + nothing remarkable in it, but the conclusion was affecting. I + shook hands with the two missionaries, Melchior Rayner and Peter + Hartwig, and almost wished to go with them, but certainly to go + to India. Returned, and read Isaiah. + +From the ever recurring distractions of his soul, caused now by 'a +despicable indulgence in lying in bed,' and again by the interruptions +of visitors, he sought refuge frequently in fasting and ascetic +self-denial, and occasionally in writing verse: + + Composed some poetry during my walk, which often has a tendency + to divert my thoughts from the base distractions of this life, + and to purify and elevate it to higher subjects.... On my way + to Mr. Simeon's, heard part of the service in King's Chapel. The + sanctity of the place, and the music, brought heaven and eternal + things, and the presence of God, very near to me. + +He seems to have competed for the Seatonian Prize. He was an ardent +lover of Nature. + + Walked out before breakfast, and the beauties of the opening + spring constrained me to adoration and praise. But no earthly + object or operation can produce true spirituality of heart. My + present failing is in this, that I do not feel the power of + motives. + +Of another walk he writes: + + I was led to think a good while on my deficiency in human + learning, and on my having neglected those branches which would + have been pleasing and honourable in the acquisition. Yet I + said, though with somewhat of melancholy, 'What things were gain + to me, those I counted loss for Christ.' Though I become less + esteemed by man, I cannot but think (though it is not easy to do + so) that it must be more acceptable to God to labour for souls, + though the mind remains uninformed; and, consequently, that it + must be more truly great and noble, than to be great and notable + among men for learning. In the garden afterwards I rejoiced + exceedingly at the prospect of a death fast approaching, when my + powers of understanding would be enlarged inconceivably. They + all talked to me in praise of my sermon on Sunday night; but + praise is exceedingly unpleasant to me, because I am slow to + render back to God that glory which belongs to Him alone. + Sometimes it may be useful in encouraging me, when I want + encouragement; but that at present is not the case; and in + truth, praise generally produces pride, and pride presently sets + me far from God. + + Oh, what a snare are public ministrations to me! Not that I wish + for the praise of men, but there is some fear and anxiety about + not getting through. How happy could I be in meeting the people + of my God more frequently were it not for this fear of being + unprofitable! But since God has given me natural gifts, let this + teach me that all I want is a spiritual frame to improve and + employ them in the things of God! + + Mr. K. White, of Nottingham, breakfasted with me. In my walk was + greatly cast down, except for a short time on my return, when, + as I was singing, or rather chanting, some petitions in a low, + plaintive voice, I insensibly found myself sweetly engaged in + prayer. + +Such outpourings of his heart must be read in the light of a time when +even the Churches had not awoke to their duty, and the most theologically +orthodox were too often the most indifferent, or opposed, to the Lord's +command. + + _1804, January 13._--Walked out in the evening in great + tranquillity, and on my return met with Mr. C., with whom I was + obliged to walk an hour longer. He thought it a most improper + step for me to leave the University to preach to the ignorant + heathen, which any person could do, and that I ought rather to + improve the opportunity of acquiring human learning. All our + conversation on the subject of learning, religion, &c., ended in + nothing; he was convinced he was right, and all the texts of + Scripture I produced were applicable, according to him, only to + the times of the Apostles. How is my soul constrained to adore + the sovereign mercy of God, who began His work in my proud + heart, and carried it on through snares which have ruined + thousands--namely, human learning and honours: and now my soul, + dost thou not esteem all things but dung and dross, compared + with the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord? + Yea, did not gratitude constrain me, did not duty and fear of + destruction, yet surely the excellency of the service of Christ + would constrain me to lay down ten-thousand lives in the + prosecution of it. My heart was a little discomposed this + evening at the account of the late magnificent prizes proposed + by Mr. Buchanan and others in the University, for which Mr. C. + has been calling me to write; but I was soon at rest again. But + how easily do I forget that God is no respecter of persons; that + in the midst of the notice I attract as an enthusiast He judges + of me according to my inward state. Oh, my soul, take no + pleasure in outward religion, nor in exciting wonder, but in the + true circumcision of the heart. + + _January 16._-- ---- told me of many contemptuous insulting + things that had been said of me, reflecting, some on my + understanding, some on my condition, sincerity, inconsistent + conduct. It was a great trial of my patience, and I was + frequently tempted, in the course of the evening, to let my + natural spirit rage forth in indignation and revenge; but I + remembered Him of whom it was said, 'Who, when He was reviled, + reviled not again; but committed Himself to Him that judgeth + righteously.' As I was conscious I did not deserve the censures + which were passed upon me, I committed myself to God; and in Him + may I abide until the indignation be overpast! + +In July 1804 he again visited London on his way to Cornwall, and to +see Mr. Charles Grant. + + Dined with Mr. Wilberforce at Palace Yard. It was very + agreeable, as there was no one else. Speaking of the slave + trade, I mentioned the words, 'Shall I not visit for these + things?' and found my heart so affected that I could with + difficulty refrain from tears. Went with Mr. W. to the House of + Commons, where I was surprised and charmed with Mr. Pitt's + eloquence. Ah, thought I, if these powers of oratory were now + employed in recommending the Gospel! + +On his way back to Cambridge, through London, he + + Went to St. Paul's, to see Sir W. Jones's monument; the sight of + the interior of the dome filled my soul with inexpressible ideas + of the grandeur of God, and the glory of heaven, much the same + as I had at the sight of a painted vaulted roof in the British + Museum. I could scarcely believe that I might be in the + immediate enjoyments of such glory in another hour. In the + evening the sound of sacred music, with the sight of a rural + landscape, imparted some indescribable emotions after the glory + of God, by diligence in His work. To preach the Gospel for the + salvation of my poor fellow-creatures, that they might obtain + the salvation which is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory, + seemed a very sweet and precious employment. Lydia then, again, + seemed a small hindrance. + +His duties as examiner, tutor, and in charge of Lolworth, and home +mission work in Wall's Lane, the hospital and almshouse, left him +little leisure, and that he gave to the Bengali grammars of Halhed and +Carey, to Carey's Bengali New Testament, to Arabic grammars, and to +the missionary accounts in the _Christian Observer_, for which, also, +he wrote. Referring, evidently, to Carey's convert, he wrote: + + The account of a Brahmin preaching the Gospel delighted me most + exceedingly. I could not help blessing God for thus glorifying + Himself.... I was much pained and humbled at reflecting that it + has never yet, to my knowledge, pleased God to awaken one soul + by my means, either in public or private,--shame be to myself. + + Simeon gave me a letter from Mr. Brown of Calcutta, which gave + me great delight on many accounts. Speaking of me, he says, 'Let + him marry, and come out at once.' I thought of Lydia with great + tenderness, but without pain at my determination to go out + single. I found great affection in prayer for my dear brethren + at Calcutta, for the establishing of Christ's Kingdom among the + poor Gentiles, and for my being sent among them, if it were His + will. + + Thinking my mind was in need of recreation, I took up Lord + Teignmouth's _Life of Sir William Jones_, and read till tea. + + Low spirits at church, through being about to preach old + sermons, which I feel so ashamed of offering to God, that I + believe I shall rather leave everything undone, than not write + one new one at least every week. + + Mr. Thomason preached on Heb. xii. to my edification. + + Dr. Milner and Lord C. called. I was introduced as having been + Senior Wrangler; but how contemptible did these paltry honours + appear to me! Ah, thought I, you know not how little I am + flattered by these intended compliments. + + In the hall was much affected by the sight of Lord B., whose + look of meekness and humility riveted my attention, and almost + melted me to tears. If there is one disposition in the world I + wish for more than another, it is this; but the bias of my + corrupted nature hurries me violently against it. + +Mr. Grant's summons to him 'to sail for St. Helena in eight or ten +days,' reached him a month before his twenty-fourth birthday, before +which he could not legally receive full ordination, in the Chapel +Royal at St. James's. + + Felt more persuaded of my call than ever; indeed, there was + scarcely a shadow of a doubt left. Rejoice, O my soul, thou + shalt be the servant of thy God in this life, and then in the + next for all the boundless ages of eternity. + +Not till August 31 was it possible for the fleet which convoyed the +East Indiamen, in that year of war with France and Napoleon's +Continental allies, to see the last of Ireland. The seven months were +spent by Henry Martyn in elaborate preparations for what proved to be +nearly a year's voyage, and in repeated farewells the anguish of which +is reflected in his _Journal_ and correspondence. Having previously +taken his M.A. degree, he received that of Bachelor of Divinity by +mandate, which required the assent of all the heads of colleges, and +then a grace to pass the senate, and the presenting of a petition to the +King. Dr. Gilchrist, the Orientalist who had just returned from his long +career in Calcutta, where he had been a colleague of Carey in the +College of Fort William, gave him lessons in Hindustani pronunciation. + + On my mentioning my desire of translating some of the Scriptures + with him, he advised me by all means to desist till I knew much + more of the language, by having resided some years in the + country. He said it was the rock on which missions had split, + that they had attempted to write and preach before they knew the + language. The Lord's Prayer, he said, was now a common subject + of ridicule with the people, on account of the manner in which + it had been translated. All these are useful hints to me. + +The mode of appointing to Indian chaplaincies has varied so much since +the time of Charles Grant and Simeon, that it is interesting to see +what was done in Henry Martyn's case. + + _1805, April 1._--Went to Lord Hawkesbury's office, but, being + too early, I went into St. James's Park, and sat down on a bench + to read my Bible. After a little time a person came and sat down + on the same bench; on entering into conversation with him I + found he had known better days. He was about seventy years of + age, and of a very passionate and disappointed spirit. He spoke + sensibly on several subjects, and was acquainted with the + Gospel; but was offended at my reminding him of several things + concerning it. On my offering him some money, which I saw he + needed, he confessed his poverty; he was thankful for my little + donation, and I repeated my advice of seeking divine + consolation. + + _April 2._--Breakfasted with ----. Our conversation was on the + most delightful subject to me, the spread of the Gospel in + future ages. I went away animated and happy. Went with Mr. Grant + towards the India House. He said that he was that day about to + take the necessary steps for bringing forward the business of + the chaplains, and that by to-morrow night I should know whether + I could go or not. In prayer at night my soul panted after God, + and longed to be entirely conformed to His image. + + _April 3._--After dinner, passed some time in prayer, and + rejoiced to think that God would finally glorify Himself, + whatever hindrance may arise for a time. Going to Mr. Grant's, I + found that the chaplaincies had been agreed to, after two hours' + debate, and some obloquy thrown upon Mr. Grant by the chairman, + for his connection with Mr. Wilberforce and _those people_. Mr. + G. said that though my nomination had not taken place, the case + was now beyond danger, and that I should appear before the court + in a couple of days in my canonicals. I felt very indignant at + this, not so much, I think, from personal pride, as on account + of the degradation of my office. Mr. G. pleasantly said, I must + attend to my appearance, as I should be much remarked, on + account of the person who had nominated me. I feel this will be + a trial to me, which I would never submit to for gain; but I + rejoice that it will be for my dear and blessed Lord. + + _April 4._--Went down to Cambridge. + + _April 6._--Passed most of the morning in the Fellows' garden. + It was the last time I visited this favourite retreat, where I + have often enjoyed the presence of God. + + _April 7._ (Sunday.)--Preached at Lolworth on Prov. xxii. 17; + very few seemed affected at my leaving them, and those chiefly + women. An old farmer of a neighbouring parish, as he was taking + leave of me, turned aside to shed tears; this affected me more + than anything. Rode away with my heart heavy, partly at my own + corruption, partly at the thoughts of leaving this place in such + general hardness of heart. Yet so it hath pleased God, I hope, + to reserve them for a more faithful minister. Prayed over the + whole of my sermon for the evening, and when I came to preach + it, God assisted me beyond my hopes. Most of the younger people + seemed to be in tears. The text was 2 Sam. vii. 28, 29. Took + leave of Dr. Milner; he was much affected, and said himself his + heart was full. Mr. Simeon commended me to God in prayer, in + which he pleaded, amongst other things, for a richer blessing on + my soul. He perceives that I want it, and so do I. Professor + Parish walked home with me to the college gate, and there I + parted from him, with no small sorrow. + + _April 8._--My young friends in the University, who have + scarcely left me a moment to myself, were with me this morning + as soon as I was moving, leaving me no time for prayer. My mind + was very solemn, and I wished much to be left alone. A great + many accompanied me to the coach, which took me up at the end of + the town. It was a thick, misty morning, so the University, with + its towers and spires, was out of sight in an instant. + + _April 24._--Keenly disappointed at finding no letter from + Lydia; thus it pleased God, in the riches of His grace, to quash + at once all my beginnings of entanglement. Oh, may it be to make + me more entirely His own. 'The Lord shall be the portion of mine + inheritance, and of my cup.' Oh, may I live indeed a more + spiritual life of faith! Prayed that I might obtain a more deep + acquaintance with the mysteries of the Gospel, and the offices + of Christ; my soul was solemnised. Went to Russell Square, and + found from Mr. Grant that I was that day appointed a chaplain + to the East India Company, but that my particular destination + would depend on the government in India. Rather may I say that + it depends on the will of my God, who in His own time thus + brings things to pass. Oh, now let my heart be spiritualised; + that the glorious and arduous work before me may fill all my + soul, and stir me up to prayer. + + _April 25._--Breakfasted with the venerable Mr. Newton, who made + several striking remarks in reference to my work. He said he had + heard of a clever gardener, who would sow the seeds when the + meat was put down to roast, and engage to produce a salad by the + time it was ready; but the Lord did not sow oaks in this way. On + my saying that perhaps I should never live to see much fruit, he + answered, I should have a bird's eye view of it, which would be + better. When I spoke of the opposition that I should be likely + to meet with, he said, he supposed Satan would not love me for + what I was about to do. The old man prayed afterwards, with + sweet simplicity. Drank tea at C. Our hearts seemed full of the + joy which comes from the communion of saints. + + _April 26._--Met D. at Mr. Grant's, and was much affected at + some marks of love expressed by the people at Cambridge, at the + time of my leaving them. He said that as I was going down the + aisle they all rose up to take their last view. + + _May 4._--Waiting this morning on the Archbishop of Canterbury + at Lambeth Palace. He had learnt from somebody my circumstances, + the degree I had taken, and my object in going to India. He + spoke much on the importance of the work, the small + ecclesiastical establishment for so great a body of people, and + the state of those English there, who, he said, 'called + themselves Christians.' He was throughout very civil, and wished + me all the success I desired. I then proceeded to the India + House, and received directions to attend on Wednesday to be + sworn in. Afterwards walked to Mr. Wilberforce's at Broomfield. + + _May 8._--Reading Mr. Grant's book.[13] The state of the + natives, and the prospects of doing good there, the character of + Schwartz, &c., set forth in it, much impressed my mind, and I + found great satisfaction in pleading for the fulfilment of God's + promises to the heathen. It seemed painful to think of myself at + all, except in reference to the Church of Christ. Being somewhat + in danger of distraction this evening, from many concurrent + circumstances, I found a very short prayer answered by my being + kept steady. Heard from Mr. Parry this evening, that in + consequence of an embargo laid on all the ships by government, + who had taken the best seamen from the Company's ships, on + account of the sailing of the French and Spanish fleets, I + should not be able to go before the middle of June, if so soon. + + _May 15._--Read prayers at Mr. Newton's, and preached on Eph. + ii. 19-21. The clerk threw out very disrespectful and even + uncivil things respecting my going to India; though I thought + the asperity and contemptuousness he manifested unsuitable to + his profession, I felt happy in the comfortable assurance of + being upright in my intentions. The sermon was much praised by + some people coming in, but happily this gives me little + satisfaction. Went home and read a sermon of Flavel's, on + knowing nothing but Christ. + + _May 17._--Walked out, and continued in earnest striving with my + corruption. I made a covenant with my eyes, which I kept + strictly; though I was astonished to find the difficulty I had + in doing even this. + + _May 22._--Endeavoured to guard my thoughts this morning in a + more particular manner, as expecting to pass it, with Sargent, + in prayer for assistance in the ministry. Called at Mr. + Wilberforce's, when I met Mr. Babington. The extreme kindness + and cordiality of these two was very pleasing to me, though + rather elating. By a letter from B. to-day, learnt that two + young men of Chesterton had come forward, who professed to have + been awakened by a sermon of mine on Psalm ix. 17. I was not so + affected with gratitude and joy as I expected to be; could not + easily ascribe the glory to God; yet I will bless Him through + all my ignorance that He has thus owned the ministry of one so + weak. Oh, may I have faith to go onward, expecting to see + miracles wrought by the foolishness of preaching. H., to whom I + had made application for the loan which Major Sandys found it + inconvenient to advance, dined with me, and surprised me by the + difficulty he started. After dinner went to the India House to + take leave. Mr. ----, the other chaplain, sat with me before we + were called in, and I found that I knew a little of him, having + been at his house. As he knew my character, I spoke very freely + to him on the subject of religion. Was called in to take the + oaths. All the directors were present, I think. Mr. Grant, in + the chair, addressed a charge to us, extempore. One thing struck + my attention, which was, that he warned us of the enervating + effects of the climate. + + I felt more acutely than ever I did in my life the shame + attending poverty. Nothing but the remembrance that I was not to + blame supported me. Whatever comes to me in the way of + Providence is, and must be, for my good. + + _May 30._--Went to the India House. Kept the covenant with my + eyes pretty well. Oh, what bitter experience have I had to teach + me carefulness against temptation! I have found this method, + which I have sometimes had recourse to, useful to-day--namely, + that of praying in ejaculations for any particular person whose + appearance might prove an occasion of sinful thoughts. After + asking of God that she might be as pure and beautiful in her + mind and heart as in body, and be a temple of the Holy Ghost, + consecrated to the service of God, for whose glory she was + made, I dare not harbour a thought of an opposite tendency. + + _June 6._--How many temptations are there in the streets of + London! + + _June 14._--Sent off all my luggage, as preparatory to its going + on board. Dined at Mr. Cecil's; he endeavoured to correct my + reading, but in vain. 'Brother M.,' says he, 'you are a humble + man, and would gain regard in private life; but to gain public + attention you must force yourself into a more marked and + expressive manner.' Generally, to-night, have I been above the + world; Lydia, and other comforts, I would resign. + + _June 16._--I thought it probable, from illness, that death + might be at hand, and this was before me all the day; sometimes + I was exceedingly refreshed and comforted at the thought, at + other times I felt unwilling and afraid to die. Shed tears at + night, at the thought of my departure, and the roaring sea, that + would soon be rolling between me and all that is dear to me upon + earth. + +Mrs. T.M. Hitchins, his cousin's wife, having asked him for some of +his sermons, he replied: + + London: June 24, 1805. + + The arguments you offer to induce me seem not to possess that + force which I look for in your reasoning. Sermons cannot be good + memorials, because once read they are done with--especially a + young man's sermons, unless they possess a peculiar simplicity + and spirituality; which I need not say are qualities not + belonging to mine. I hope, however, that I am improving and I + trust that--now I am removed from the contagion of academic + air--I am in the way of acquiring a greater knowledge of men and + of my own heart--I shall exchange my jejune scholastic style for + a simple spiritual exhibition of profitable truth. Mr. Cecil has + been taking a great deal of pains with me. My insipid, + inanimate manner in the pulpit, he says, is intolerable. Sir, + said he, it is cupola-painting, not miniature, that must be the + character of a man that harangues a multitude. Lieut. Wynter + called on me last Saturday, and last night drank tea with me. I + cannot but admire his great seriousness. I feel greatly attached + to him. He is just the sort of person, of a sober thoughtful + cast, that I love to associate with. He mentioned Lydia, I do + not know why, but he could not tell me half enough about her, + while she was at Plymouth, to satisfy my curiosity. Whitsun-week + was a time of the utmost distress to me on her account. On the + Monday at the Eclectic, Mr. Cecil, speaking of celibacy, said, I + was acting like a madman in going out without a wife. So thought + all the other ten or eleven ministers present, and Mr. Foster + among the rest, who is unmarried. This opinion, coming + deliberately from so many experienced ministers, threw me into + great perplexity, which increased, as my affections began to be + set more afloat, for then I was less able than before to discern + the path of duty. At last I wrote to Simeon, stating to him the + strongest arguments I heard in favour of marriage in my case. + His answer decided my mind. He put it in this way. Is it + necessary? To this I could answer, No. Then is it expedient? He + here produced so many weighty reasons against its expediency, + that I was soon satisfied in my mind. My turbulent will was, + however, not so easily pacified. I was again obliged to undergo + the severest pain in making that sacrifice which had cost me so + dear before. Better had it been if those wounds had never been + torn open. But now again, through the mercy of God, I am once + more at peace. What cannot His power effect? The present wish of + my heart is that there may be _never_ a necessity of marriage, + so that I may henceforth have no one thing upon earth for which + I would wish to stay another hour, except it be to serve the + Lord my Saviour in the work of the ministry. Once more, + therefore, I say to Lydia, and with her to all earthly schemes + of happiness, Farewell. Let her live happy and useful in her + present situation, since that is the will of God. How long these + thoughts may continue, I cannot say. At times of indolence, or + distress, or prevalent corruption, the former wishes, I suppose, + will occur and renew my pain: but pray, my dear sister, that the + Lord may keep in the imaginations of the thoughts of my heart + all that may be for the glory of His great name. The only + objection which presented itself to my advisers to marriage was + the difficulty of finding a proper person to be the wife of a + missionary. I told them that perhaps I should not have occasion + to search a long time for one. Simeon knows all about Lydia. I + think it very likely that he will endeavour to see her when she + comes to town next winter. + + (_Addendum at the commencement, before the Address._) + + I never returned my acknowledgment for the little hymn book, + which is a memento of both. It is just the sort of thing. + Instead of sending the books I intended, I shall inclose in the + tea-caddy a little _Pilgrim's Progress_ for you, and another for + Lydia. + +July 2 was spent with Corrie in prayer, and converse 'about the great +work among the heathen.' Martyn gave a final sitting for his miniature +for his sister, to 'the painter lady, who still repeated her infidel +cavils; having nothing more to say in the way of argument, I thought +it right to declare the threatenings of God to those who reject the +Gospel.' On the 8th he sat for his picture, for his friend Bates, to +Russel. After his farewell to Sargent, and riding back, + + Though I was in good health a moment before, yet as I was + undressing I fainted and fell into a convulsive fit; I lost my + senses for some time, and on recovering a little found myself + in intense pain. Death appeared near at hand, and seemed + somewhat different and more terrible than I could have conceived + before, not in its conclusion, but in itself. I felt assured of + my safety in Christ. Slept very little that night, from extreme + debility. Tenth, I went to Portsmouth, where we arrived to + breakfast, and find friends from Cambridge. Went with my things + on board the Union at the Motherbank. Mr. Simeon read and prayed + in the afternoon, thinking I was to go on board for the last + time. Mr. Simeon first prayed, and then myself. On our way to + the ship we sung hymns. The time was exceedingly solemn, and our + hearts seemed filled with solemn joy. + +As tidings from Lord Nelson were waited for, the fleet--consisting of +fifteen sail under convoy of the Belliqueuse, Captain Byng--went no +farther than Plymouth, and then anchored off Falmouth. + + The coast of Devonshire and Cornwall was passing before me. The + memory of beloved friends, then, was very strong and + affecting.... I was rather flurried at the singularity of this + providence of God, in thus leading me once more to the bosom of + all my friends.... I have thought with exceeding tenderness of + Lydia to-day; how I long to see her; but if it be the Lord's + will, He will open a way. I shall not take any steps to produce + a meeting. + +So he wrote on July 20. On the same day, the Rev. T.M. Hitchins wrote +to him, thus: 'Lydia, from whom we heard about ten days ago, is quite +well. She is much interested in your welfare.' Mrs. Hitchins wrote: +'Lydia, whom I heard lately from, is well, and never omits mentioning +you in her letters--and, I may venture to say, what you will value +still more, in her prayers also.' Martyn wrote to Mr. Hitchins on the +23rd: 'A great work lies before me, and I must submit to many +privations if I would see it accomplished. I should say, however, that +poverty is not one of the evils I shall have to encounter; the salary +of a chaplain, even at the lowest, is 600 rupees a month. Give my kind +love to mama--as also to Miss L. Grenfell.' A postscript to the letter +stated that the writer had taken his place in the coach for Marazion: +'Trust to pass some part of the morning at Miss Grenfell's.' He thus +records in his _Journal_ the interviews which resulted in what +amounted to a brief engagement: + + I arrived at Marazion in time for breakfast, and met my beloved + Lydia. In the course of the morning I walked with her, though + not uninterruptedly; with much confusion I declared my affection + for her, with the intention of learning whether, if ever I saw + it right in India to be married, she would come out; but she + would not declare her sentiments, she said that the shortness of + arrangement was an obstacle, even if all others were removed. In + great tumult I walked up to St. Hilary, whence, after dining, I + returned to Mr. Grenfell's, but, on account of the number of + persons there, I had not an opportunity of being alone with + Lydia. Went back to Falmouth with G. I was more disposed to talk + of Lydia all the way, but roused myself to a sense of my duty, + and addressed him on the subject of religion. The next day I was + exceedingly melancholy at what had taken place between Lydia and + myself, and at the thought of being separated from her. I could + not bring myself to believe that God had settled the whole + matter, because I was not willing to believe it. + + TO MISS LYDIA GRENFELL, MARAZION + + Union, Falmouth Harbour: July 27, 1805. + + ... As I was coming on board this morning, and reading Mr. + Serle's hymn you wrote out for me, a sudden gust of wind blew + it into the sea. I made the boatmen immediately heave to, and + recovered it, happily without any injury except what it had + received from the sea. I should have told you that the Morning + Hymn, which I always kept carefully in my pocket-book, was one + day stolen with it, and other valuable letters, from my rooms in + college. It would be extremely gratifying to me to possess + another copy of it, as it always reminded me most forcibly of + the happy day on which we visited the aged saint. The fleet, it + is said, will not sail for three weeks, but if you are willing + to employ any of your time in providing me with this or any + other manuscript hymns, the sooner you write them, the more + certain I shall be of receiving them. Pardon me for thus + intruding on your time; you will in no wise lose your reward. + The encouragement conveyed in little compositions of this sort + is more refreshing than a cup of cold water. The Lord of the + harvest, who is sending forth me, who am most truly less than + the least of all saints, will reward you for being willing to + help forward even the meanest of His servants. The love which + you bear to the cause of Christ, as well as motives of private + friendship, will, I trust, induce you to commend me to God, and + to the word of His grace, at those sacred moments when you + approach the throne of our covenant God. To His gracious care I + commend you. May you long live happy and holy, daily growing + more meet for the inheritance of the saints in light. I remain, + with affectionate regard, yours most truly, + + H. MARTYN. + + _July 28._--(Sunday.)--Preached in the morning, on board, on + John iii. 3. In the afternoon, at Falmouth Church, on 1 Cor. i. + 20 to 26. + + _July 29._--My gloom returned. Walked to Lamorran; alternately + repining at my dispensation, and giving it up to the Lord. + Sometimes--after thinking of Lydia for a long time together, so + as to feel almost outrageous at being deprived of her--my soul + would feel its guilt, and flee again to God. I was much relieved + at intervals by learning the hymn, 'The God of Abraham praise.' + +The lady's _Diary_ has these passages, which show that her sister, +Mrs. Hitchins, had rightly represented the state of her heart as not +altogether refusing to return Martyn's affection: + + _1805, July 25._--I was surprised this morning by a visit from + H.M., and have passed the day chiefly with him. The distance he + is going, and the errand he is going on, rendered his society + particularly interesting. I felt as if bidding a final adieu to + him in this world, and all he said was as the words of one on + the borders of eternity. May I improve the opportunity I have + enjoyed of Christian converse, and may the Lord moderate the + sorrow I feel at parting with so valuable and excellent + friend--some pains have attended it, known only to God and + myself. Thou God, that knowest them, canst alone give + comfort.... Oh, may we each pursue our different paths, and meet + at last around our Father's throne; may we often meet now in + spirit, praying and obtaining blessings for each other. Now, my + soul, return to God, the author of them. + + _July 26._--Oh, how this day has passed away! Nothing done to + any good purpose. Lord, help me! I feel Thy loved presence + withdrawn; I feel departing from Thee. Oh, let Thy mercy pardon, + let Thy love succour, me. Deliver me from this temptation, set + my soul at liberty, and I will praise Thee. I know the cause of + all this darkness, this depression; dare I desire what Thou dost + plainly, by the voice of Thy providence, condemn? O Lord, help + me to conquer my natural feelings, help me to be watchful as Thy + child. Oh, leave me not; or I fall a prey to this corroding + care. Let me cast every care on Thee. + + _Gurlyn, July 30._--Blessed Lord, I thank Thee for affording me + the retirement I so much delight in; here I enjoy freedom from + all the noise and interruption of a town. Oh, may the Lord + sanctify this pleasure. Oh, may it prove the means of benefiting + my soul. Oh, may I watch against the intrusions of vain + thoughts; else, instead of an advantage, I shall find solitude + ruinous to my soul. + + _August 4._--This evening my soul has been pained with many + fears concerning an absent friend, yet the Lord sweetly supports + me, and is truly a refuge to me. It is a stormy and tempestuous + night; the stillness and retirement of this place add to the + solemnity of the hour. I hear the voice of God in every + blast--it seems to say, 'Sin has brought storm and tempest on a + guilty world.' O my Father and my God, Thou art righteous in all + Thy judgments, merciful in all Thy ways. I would humbly trust in + Thee, and confide all who are dear to me into Thy hands. The + anxieties of nature, the apprehensions of affection, do Thou + regulate, and make me acquiesce in whatever is Thy will. + + _August 5._--My mind is relieved to-day by hearing the fleet, in + which I thought my friend had sailed, has not left the port. Oh, + how frequently do unnecessary pains destroy our peace. Lord, + look on me to-night, pardon my sins and make me more watchful + and fight against my inward corruption. Oh, it is a state of + conflict indeed! + +He thus wrote to Mrs. Hitchins: + + Falmouth: July 30, 1805. + + 'My dearest Cousin,--I am exceedingly rejoiced at being + permitted to send you one more letter, as the former, if it had + been the last, would have left, I fear, a painful impression on + your mind. It pleased God to restore peace to my mind soon after + I came on board--as I thought--finally. I was left more alone + with God, and found blessed seasons of intercourse with Him. But + when your letter came, I found it so sympathising, so + affectionate, that my heart was filled with joy and thankfulness + to God for such a dear friend, and I could not refrain from + bowing my knees immediately to pray that God might bless all + your words to the good of my soul, and bless you for having + written them. My views of the respective importance of things + continue, I hope, to rectify. The shortness of time, the + precious value of immortal souls, and the plain command of + Christ, all conspire to teach me that Lydia must be + resigned--and for ever--for though you suggest the possibility + of my hereafter returning and being united to her, I rather wish + to beware of looking forward to anything in this life as the end + or reward of my labours. It would be a temptation to me to + return before being necessitated. The rest which remaineth for + the people of God is in another world, where they neither marry + nor are given in marriage. But while I thus reason, still a sigh + will ever and anon escape me at the thought of a final + separation from her. In the morning when I rise, before prayer + puts grace into exercise, there is generally a very heavy gloom + on my spirits--and a distaste for everything in earth or heaven. + You do not seem to suppose that any objection would remain in + her mind, if I should return and other obstacles were + removed--which opinion of yours is, no doubt, very pleasing to + me--but if there _were_ anything more than friendship, do you + think it at all likely she could have spoken and written to me + as she has? However, do not suppose from this that I wish to + hear from you anything more on this subject--in the hope of + being gratified with an assurance to the contrary. I cannot tell + what induced me to take my leave of the people in the west when + I was last there, as it was so probable we should be detained; + were it not for having bid them adieu, I believe I should pay + them another visit--only that I could not do it without being + with Lydia again, which might not perhaps answer any good + purpose, and more probably would renew the pain. + + If, in India, I should be persuaded of the expediency of + marriage, you perceive that I can do nothing less than make her + the offer, or rather propose the sacrifice. It would be almost + cruel and presumptuous in me to make such an application to her, + especially as she would be induced by a sense of duty rather + than personal attachment. But what else can be done? Should she + not, then, be warned of my intention--before I go? If you + advance no objection, I shall write a letter to her, + notwithstanding her prohibition. When this is done no further + step remains to be taken, that I know of. The shortness of our + acquaintance, which she made a ground of objection, cannot now + be remedied. + + The matter, as it stands, must be left with God--and I do leave + it with Him very cheerfully. I pray that hereafter I may not be + tempted to follow my will, and mistake it for God's--to fancy I + am called to marriage, when I ought to remain single--and you + will likewise pray, my dear cousin, that my mind may be always + under a right direction. + +His _Journal_ thus continues: + + _July 31._--Went on board this morning in extreme anguish. I + could not help saying, 'Lord, it is not a sinful attachment in + itself, and therefore I may commune more freely with Thee about + it.' I sought for hymns suitable to my case, but none did + sufficiently; most complained of spiritual distress, but mine + was not from any doubt of God's favour, for I felt no doubt of + that. + + _August 1._--Rose in great anguish of mind, but prayer relieved + me a little. The wind continuing foul, I went ashore after + breakfast; but before this, sat down to write to Lydia, hoping + to relieve the burden of my mind. I wrote in great turbulence, + but in a little time my tumult unaccountably subsided, and I + enjoyed a peace to which I have been for some time a stranger. I + felt exceedingly willing to leave her, and to go on my way + rejoicing. I could not account for this, except by ascribing it + to the gracious influence of God. The first few Psalms were + exceedingly comfortable to me. Received a letter this evening + from Emma, and received it as from God; I was animated before, + but this added tenfold encouragement. She warned me, from + experience, of the carefulness it would bring upon me; but spoke + with such sympathy and tenderness, that my heart was quite + refreshed. I bowed my knees to bless and adore God for it, and + devoted myself anew to His beloved service. Went on board at + night; the sea ran high, but I felt a sweet tranquillity in Him + who stilleth the raging of the sea. I was delighted to find that + the Lascars understood me perfectly when I spoke to them a + sentence or two in Hindustani. + + _August 5._--Went ashore. Walked to Pendennis garrison; enjoyed + some happy reflections as I sat on one of the ramparts, looking + at the ships and sea. + + _August 7._--Preached at Falmouth Church, on Psalm iii. 1, with + much comfort; after church, set off to walk to St. Hilary. + Reached Helston in three hours in extraordinary spirits. The joy + of my soul was very great. Every object around me called forth + praise and gratitude to God. Perhaps it might have been joy at + the prospect of seeing Lydia, but I asked myself at the time, + whether out of love to God I was willing to turn back and see + her no more. I persuaded myself that I could. But perhaps had I + been put to the trial, it would have been otherwise. I arrived + safe at St. Hilary, and passed the evening agreeably with R. + 8th. Enjoyed much of the presence of God in morning prayer. The + morning passed profitably in writing on Heb. ii. 3. My soul + seemed to breathe seriously after God. Walked down with R. to + Gurlyn to call on Lydia. She was not at home when we called, so + I walked out to meet her. When I met her coming up the hill, I + was almost induced to believe her more interested about me than + I had conceived. Went away in the expectation of visiting her + frequently. Called on my way (from Falmouth) at Gurlyn. My mind + not in peace; at night in prayer, my soul was much overwhelmed + with fear, which caused me to approach God in fervent petition, + that He would make me perfectly upright, and my walk consistent + with the high character I am called to assume. + + _August 10._--Rose very early, with uneasiness increased by + seeing the wind northerly; walked away at seven to Gurlyn, + feeling little or no pleasure at the thought of seeing Lydia; + apprehension about the sailing of the fleet made me dreadfully + uneasy; was with Lydia a short time before breakfast; afterwards + I read the 10th Psalm, with Horne's Commentary, to her and her + mother; she was then just putting into my hand the 10th of + Genesis to read when a servant came in, and said a horse was + come for me from St. Hilary, where a carriage was waiting to + convey me to Falmouth. All my painful presentiments were thus + realised, and it came upon me like a thunderbolt. Lydia was + evidently painfully affected by it; she came out, that we might + be alone at taking leave, and I then told her, that if it should + appear to be God's will that I should be married, she must not + be offended at receiving a letter from me. In the great hurry + she discovered more of her mind than she intended; she made no + objection whatever to coming out. Thinking, perhaps, I wished to + make an engagement with her, she said we had better go quite + free; with this I left her, not knowing yet for what purpose I + have been permitted, by an unexpected providence, to enjoy these + interviews. I galloped back to St. Hilary, and instantly got + into a chaise with Mr. R., who had been awaked by the signal gun + at five in the morning, and had come for me. At Hildon I got a + horse, with which I rode to Falmouth, meeting on the road + another express sent after me by R. I arrived about twelve, and + instantly went on board; almost all the other ships were under + weigh, but the Union had got entangled in the chains. The + commodore expressed his anger as he passed, at this delay, but + I blessed the Lord, who had thus saved His poor creature from + shame and trouble. How delusive are schemes of pleasure; at nine + in the morning I was sitting at ease, with the person dearest to + me on earth, intending to go out with her afterwards to see the + different views, to visit some persons with her, and to preach + on the morrow; four hours only elapsed, and I was under sail + from England! The anxiety to get on board, and the joy I felt at + not being left behind, absorbed other sorrowful considerations + for a time; wrote several letters as soon as I was on board. + When I was left a little at leisure, my spirits began to sink; + yet how backward was I to draw near to my God. I found relief + occasionally, yet still was slow to fly to this refuge of my + weary soul. Was meditating on a subject for to-morrow. As more + of the land gradually appeared behind the Lizard, I watched with + my spy-glass for the Mount (St. Michael's), but in consequence + of lying to for the purser, and thus dropping astern of the + fleet, night came on before we weathered the point. Oh, let not + my soul be deceived and distracted by these foolish vanities, + but now that I am actually embarked in Christ's cause, let a + peculiar unction rest upon my soul, to wean me from the world, + and to inspire me with ardent zeal for the good of souls. + + TO MISS LYDIA GRENFELL + + Union, Falmouth: August 10, 1805. + + My dear Miss Lydia,--It will perhaps be some satisfaction to + yourself and your mother, to know that I was in time. Our ship + was entangled in the chain, and was by that means the only one + not under weigh when I arrived. It seems that most of the people + on board had given me up, and did not mean to wait for me. I + cannot but feel sensibly this instance of Divine mercy in thus + preserving me from the great trouble that would have attended + the loss of my passage. Mount's Bay will soon be in sight, and + recall you all once more to my affectionate remembrance.... I + bid you a long Farewell. God ever bless you, and help you + sometimes to intercede for me. + + H. MARTYN. + +The lady alludes thus, in her _Diary_, to these events, in language +which confesses her love, as she did not again confess it till after +his death:[14] + + _August 8._--I was surprised again to-day by a visit from my + friend, Mr. Martyn, who, contrary to every expectation, is + detained, perhaps weeks longer. I feel myself called on to act + decisively--oh how difficult and painful a part--Lord, assist + me. I desire to be directed by Thy wisdom, and to follow + implicitly what appears Thy will. May we each consider Thy + honour as entrusted to us, and resolve, whatever it may cost us, + to seek Thy glory and do Thy will. O Lord, I feel myself so weak + that I would fain fly from the trial. My hope is in Thee--do + Thou strengthen me, help me to seek, to know, and resolutely to + do, Thy will, and that we may be each divinely influenced, and + may principle be victorious over feeling. Thou, blessed Spirit, + aid, support, and guide us. Now may we be in the armour of God, + now may we flee from temptation. O blessed Jesus, leave me not, + forsake me not. + + _August 9._--What a day of conflict has this been! I was much + blessed, as if to prepare me for it, in the morning, and + expected to see my friend, and hoped to have acted with + Christian resolution. At Tregembo I learnt he had been called on + by express last night. The effect this intelligence had on me + shows how much my affections are engaged. O Lord, I lament it, I + wonder at myself, I tremble at what may be before me--but do + not, O Lord, forsake me. The idea of his going, when at parting + I behaved with greater coolness and reserve than I ever did + before, was a distress I could hardly bear, and I prayed the + Lord to afford me an opportunity of doing away the impression + from his mind. I saw no possibility of this--imagining the fleet + must have sailed--when, to my astonishment, I learnt from our + servant that he had called again this evening, and left a + message that he would be here to-morrow. Oh, I feel less able + than ever to conceal my real sentiments, and the necessity of + doing it does not so much weigh with me. O my soul, pause, + reflect--thy future happiness, and his too, the glory of God, + the peace of my dear mother--all are concerned in what may pass + to-morrow; I can only look and pray to be directed aright. + + _August 10._--Much have I to testify of supporting grace this + day, and of what I must consider Divine interference in my + favour, and that of my dear friend, who is now gone to return no + more. My affections are engaged past recalling, and the anguish + I endured yesterday, from an apprehension that I had treated him + with coolness, exceeds my power to express; but God saw it, and + kindly ordered it that he should come and do away the idea from + my mind. It contributed likewise to my peace, and I hope to his, + that it is clearly now understood between us that he is free to + marry where he is going, and I have felt quite resigned to the + will of God in this, and shall often pray the Lord to find him a + suitable partner. + + Went to meeting in a comfortable frame, but the intelligence + brought me there--that the fleet had probably sailed without my + friend--so distressed and distracted my mind, that I would + gladly have exchanged my feelings of yesterday for those I was + now exercised with; yet in prayer I found relief, and in + appealing to God. How unsought by me was his coming here. I + still felt anxiety beyond all expression to hear if he arrived + in time or not. Oh, not for all the world could offer me would I + he should lose his passage!--yet stay, my soul, recollect + thyself, are not all events at the Lord's disposal? Are not the + steps of a good man ordered by the Lord? Cast then this burden + on Him who carest for thee, my soul. Oh, let not Thy name, great + God, be blasphemed through us--surely we desire to glorify it + above all things, and would sacrifice everything to do so; enter + then my mind this night, and let me in every dark providence + trust in the Lord. + + _August 11._--A day of singular mercies. O my soul, how should + the increasing goodness of God engage thee to serve Him with + more zeal and ardour. I had a comfortable season in prayer + before breakfast, enjoying sweet liberty of spirit before God my + Saviour, God, the sinner's friend and helper. Went to church, + but could get no comfort from the sermon; the service I found in + some parts quickening. On my return I found a letter from my + excellent friend, dated on board the Union. Oh, what a relief to + my mind! By a singular providence this ship was prevented + sailing by getting entangled in the chain; every other belonging + to the fleet was under weigh when he reached Falmouth, and his + friends there had given over the hope of his arriving in time. + Doth not God care for His people, and order everything, even the + most trifling, that concerns them? The fleet must not sail till + the man of God joined it;--praised be the name of the Lord for + this instance of His watchful care. And now, my soul, turn to + God, thy rest. Oh, may the remembrance of my dear friend, whilst + it is cherished as it ought, be no hindrance to my progress in + grace and holiness. May God alone fill my thoughts, and may my + regard for my friend be sanctified, and be a means of + stimulating me to press forward, and animate me in devoting + myself entirely to God. Lord, I would unfeignedly adore Thee for + all the instances of Thy loving kindness to me this week. I have + had many remarkable answers to prayer, many proofs that the Lord + watches over me, unworthy as I am. O Divine Saviour, how shall I + praise Thee? Walked this evening to a little meeting at Thirton + Wood. I was greatly refreshed and comforted. Oh, what a support + in time of trouble is the Lord God of Israel! I am about + retiring to rest--oh, may my thoughts upon my bed be solemn and + spiritual. The remembrance of my dear friend is at times + attended with feelings most painful, and yet, when I consider + why he is gone, and Whom he is serving, every burden is removed, + and I rejoice on his account, and rejoice that the Lord has such + a faithful servant employed in the work. Oh, may I find grace + triumphant over every feeling of my heart. Come, Lord Jesus, and + dwell with me. + + _August 12._--Passed a sweet, peaceful day, enjoying much of His + presence whose favour giveth life, and joy, and peace. Visited + several of the poor near me, and found ability to speak freely + and feelingly to them of the state of their souls. My dear + absent friend is constantly remembered by me, but I find not his + remembrance a hindrance to my soul in following after God--no, + rather does it stimulate me in my course. Thus hath the Lord + answered my prayers, as it respects myself, that our regard + might be a sanctified one. Oh, bless the Lord, my soul, for + ever! praise Him in cheerful lays from day to day, and hope + eternally to do so. + + _August 13._--Awoke early and had a happy season. Visited a poor + old man in great poverty, whose mind seemed disposed to receive + instruction, and in some measure enlightened to know his sinful + state and need of Christ; I found it a good time whilst with + him. This evening my spirits are depressed; my absent friend is + present to my remembrance, possessing more than common + sensibility and affection. What must his sufferings be? but God + is sufficient for him. He that careth for the falling sparrow + will not forget him--this is my never-failing source of + consolation. + + _August 15._--My soul has been cold in duties to-day. Oh, for + the spirit of devotion! Great are the things God has wrought for + me; oh, let these great things suitably impress my soul. I have + had many painful reflections to-day respecting my absent friend, + fearing whether I may not be the occasion of much sorrow to him + and possibly of hindering him in the work. I could not do such + violence to my feelings as to treat him with reserve and + distance, yet, in his circumstances, I think I ought to. O Lord, + if in this I have offended, forgive me, and oh, do away from his + mind every improper remembrance of me. Help me to cast my cares + on Thee to-night, and help me with peace. + + _Marazion, September 2._--My mind has been exercised with many + painful anxieties about my dear friend, but I have poured out my + soul to God, and am relieved; I have left my sorrows with Him. + Isaiah (41st chapter) has comforted me. Oh, what pleasure did + that permission give me when my heart was overburdened to-day. + 'Produce your cause'--what a privilege to come to God as a + friend. I disclose those feelings to Him I have no power to any + earthly friend. Those I could say most to seem to avoid the + subject that occupies my mind; I have been wounded by their + silence, yet I do not imagine them indifferent or unconcerned. + It is well for me they have seemed to be so, for it has made me + more frequent at a throne of grace, and brought me more + acquainted with God as a friend who will hear all my complaints. + Oh, how sweet to approach Him, through Christ, as my God. 'Fear + not,' He says, 'for I am with you: be not dismayed, I am thy + God, I will strengthen thee, yea (O blessed assurance!) I will + help thee, yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of My + righteousness;' and so I find it--glory be to God! Lord, hear + the frequent prayers I offer for Thy dear servant, sanctify our + mutual regard; may it continue through eternity, flowing from + our love to Thee. + + _September 3._--Still no letters from Stoke, and no intelligence + whether the fleet has sailed--this is no small exercise of my + patience, but at times I feel a sweet complacency in saying, + 'Thou art my portion, O Lord.' I have often felt happy in saying + this, but it is in a season such as this, when creature comforts + fail, that we may know whether we are sincere in saying so. Ah! + how do we imperceptibly cleave to earth, and how soon withdraw + our affections from God. I am sensible mine would never fix on + Him but by His own power effecting it. I rest on Thy power, O + God most high, retired from human observation. + +When the commodore opened his sealed despatches off the Lizard, it was +found that the fleet was to linger still longer at Cork, whence Henry +Martyn wrote again to Lydia's sister, Mrs. Hitchins. On Sunday, when +becalmed in Mount's Bay, and he would have given anything to have been +ashore preaching at Marazion or St. Hilary, he had taken for his text +Hebrews xi. 16: 'But now they desire a better country, that is, an +heavenly.' + + Cork Harbour: August 19, 1805. + + The beloved objects were still in sight, and Lydia I knew was + about that time at St. Hilary, but every wave bore me farther + and farther from them. I introduced what I had to say by + observing that we had now bid adieu to England, and its shores + were dying away from the view. The female part of my audience + were much affected, but I do not know that any were induced to + seek the better country. The Mount continued in sight till five + o'clock, when it disappeared behind the western boundary of the + bay. Amidst the extreme gloom of my mind this day I found great + comfort in interceding earnestly for my beloved friends all over + England. If you have heard from Marazion since Sunday, I should + be curious to know whether the fleet was observed passing.... + + We are now in the midst of a vast number of transports filled + with troops. It is now certain from our coming here that we are + to join in some expedition, probably the Cape of Good Hope, or + the Brazils; anywhere for me so long as the Lord goes with me. + If it should please God to send me another letter from you, + which I scarcely dare hope, do not forget to tell me as much as + you can about Lydia. I cannot write to her, or I should find the + greatest relief and pleasure even in transmitting upon paper the + assurances of my tenderest love. + + Cove of Cork: August 28, 1805. + + My dearest Cousin,--I have but a few minutes to say that we are + again going to sea--under convoy of five men of war. Very + anxiously have I been expecting to receive an answer to the + letter I sent you on my arrival at this port, bearing date + August 16; from the manner in which I had it conveyed to the + post-office, I begin to fear it has never reached you. I have + this instant received the letter you wrote me the day on which + we sailed from Falmouth. Everything from you gives me the + greatest pleasure, but this letter has rather tended to excite + sentiments of pain as well as pleasure. I fear my proceedings + have met with your disapprobation, and have therefore been + wrong--since it is more probable you should judge impartially + than myself. + + I am now fully of opinion that, were I convinced of the + expediency of marriage, I ought not in conscience to propose it, + while the obstacle of S.J. remains. Whatever others have said, I + think that Lydia acts no more than consistently by persevering + in her present determination. I confess, therefore, that till + this obstacle is removed my path is perfectly clear, and, + blessed be God! I feel very, very happy in all that my God shall + order concerning me. Let me suffer privation, and sorrow and + death, if I may by these tribulations enter into the kingdom of + God. Since we have been lying here I have been enjoying a peace + almost uninterrupted. The Spirit of adoption has been drawing me + near to God, and giving me the full assurance of His love. My + prayer is continually that I may be more deeply and habitually + convinced of His unchanging, everlasting love, and that my whole + soul may be altogether in Christ. The Lord teaches me to desire + Christ for my all in all--to long to be encircled in His + everlasting arms, to be swallowed up in the fulness of His love. + Surely the soul is happy that thus bathes in a medium of love. I + wish no created good, but to be one with Him and to be living + for my Saviour and Lord. Oh, may it be my constant care to live + free from the spirit of bondage, and at all times have access to + the Father. This I now feel, my beloved cousin, should be our + state--perfect reconciliation with God, perfect appropriation of + Him in all His endearing attributes, according to all that He + has promised. This shall bear us safely through the storm. Oh, + how happy are we in being introduced to such high privileges! + You and my dear brother, and Lydia, I rejoice to think, are + often praying for me and interested about me. I have, of course, + much more time and leisure to intercede for you than you for + me--and you may be assured I do not fail to employ my superior + opportunities in your behalf. Especially is it my prayer that + the mind of my dear cousin, formed as it is by nature and by + grace for higher occupations, may not be rendered uneasy by the + employments and cares of this. + +Hearing nothing accurately of the India fleet after its departure from +Mount's Bay, Lydia Grenfell thus betrayed to herself and laid before +God her loving anxiety: + + _1805, September 24._--Have I not reason ever, and in all + things, to trust and bless God? O my soul, why dost thou yield + to despondency? why art thou disquieted? O my soul, put thy + trust in God, assured that thou shalt yet praise Him, who is the + help of thy countenance and thy God in Christ Jesus. My mind is + under considerable anxiety, arising from the uncertainty of my + dear friend's situation, and an apprehension of his being ill. + Oh, how soon is my soul filled with confusion! yet I find repose + for it in the love of Jesus--oh, let me then raise my eyes to + Him, and may His love be shed abroad in my heart; make me in all + things resigned to Thy will, to trust and hope and rejoice in + Thee. + + _November 1._--My dear absent friend has too much occupied my + thoughts and affections, and broken my peace--but Jesus reigns + in providence and grace, and He does all things well. Yes, in my + best moments I can rejoice in believing this, but too often I + yield to unbelieving fears and discouragements. The thought that + we shall meet no more sinks at times my spirits, yet I would say + and feel submissive--Thy will be done. Choose for my motto, on + entering my thirty-first year, this Scripture: 'Our days on the + earth are as a shadow, and there is none abiding.' + + _November 4._--I think of my friend, but blessed be God for not + suffering my regard to lead me from Himself. + + _November 16._--I have been employed to-day in a painful manner, + writing[15] (perhaps for the last time) to too dear a friend. I + have to bless God for keeping me composed whilst doing so, and + for peace of mind since, arising from a conviction that I have + done right; and oh, that I may now be enabled to turn my thought + from all below to that better world where my soul hopes + eternally to dwell. Blessed Lord Jesus, be my strength and + shield. Oh, let not the enemy harass me, nor draw my affections + from Thee. + + _November 17._--Felt great depression of spirits to-day, from + the improbability of ever seeing H.M. return. I feel it + necessary to fly to God, praying for submission to His will, and + to rest assured of the wisdom and love of this painful event. O + my soul, rise from these cares, look beyond the boundary of + time. Oh, cheering prospect, in that blest world where my + Redeemer lives I shall regain every friend I love--with + Christian love again. Be resigned then, my soul, Jesus is thine, + and He does all things well. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[10] Deposited by Henry Martyn Jeffery, Esq., in the Truro Museum of +the Royal Institution, where the MS. may be consulted. + +[11] Hitherto unpublished. We owe the copy of this significant letter +to the courtesy of H.M. Jeffery, Esq., F.R.S., for whom Canon Moor, of +St. Clement's, near Truro, procured it from the friend to whom Mrs. +T.M. Hitchins had given it. + +[12] _Essays in Ecclesiastical Biography._ + +[13] The _Observations on the State of Society among the Asiatic +Subjects of Great Britain_, written in 1792. + +[14] The parallel between Henry Martyn and David Brainerd, so close as +to spiritual experience and missionary service, hereditary consumption +and early death, is even more remarkable in their hopeless but +purifying love. Brainerd was engaged to Jerusha, younger daughter of +the great Jonathan Edwards. 'Dear Jerusha, are you willing to part +with me?' said the dying missionary on October 4, 1747.... 'If I +thought I should not see you and be happy with you in another world, I +could not bear to part with you. But we shall spend a happy eternity +together!' See J.M. Sherwood's edition (1885) of the _Memoirs of Rev. +David Brainerd_, prefaced by Jonathan Edwards, D.D., p. 340. + +[15] This letter never reached its destination, but was captured in +the Bell Packet. + + + + +CHAPTER III + +THE NINE MONTHS' VOYAGE--SOUTH AMERICA--SOUTH AFRICA, 1805-1806 + + +The East India fleet had been detained off Ireland 'for fear of +immediate invasion, in which case the ships might be of use.' The +young chaplain was kept busy enough in his own and the other vessels. +In one of these, the Ann, there was a mutiny. Another, the Pitt, was a +Botany Bay ship, carrying out 120 female convicts. Thanks to Charles +Simeon, he was able to supply all with Bibles and religious books. But +even on board his own transport, the Union, the captain would allow +only one service on the Sabbath, and denied permission to preach to +the convicts. The chaplain's ministrations between decks were +continued daily, amid the indifference and even opposition of all save +a few. + +At last, on August 31, 1805, the Indiamen of the season and fifty +transports sailed out of the Cove of Cork under convoy of the Diadem, +64 guns, the Belliqueuse, 64 guns, the Leda and Narcissus frigates, on +a voyage which, after two months since lifting the anchor at +Portsmouth, lasted eight and a half months to Calcutta. The Union had +H.M. 59th Regiment on board. Of its officers and men, and of the East +India Company's cadets and the officers commanding them, he succeeded +in inducing only five to join him in daily worship. His own presence +and this little gathering caused the vessel to be known in the fleet +as 'the praying ship.' The captain died during the voyage to the Cape. +One of the ships was wrecked, the Union narrowly escaping the same +fate. Martyn's _Journal_ reveals an amount of hostility to himself and +of open scoffing at his message which would be impossible now. He fed +his spirit with the Word of God, which he loved to expound to others. +Leighton, especially the too little known _Rules for Holy Living_, was +ever in his hands. Augustine and Ambrose delighted him, also Hooker, +Baxter, Jonathan Edwards, and Flavel, which he read to any who would +listen, while he spoke much to the Mohammedan Lascars. He worked hard +at Hindustani, Bengali, and Portuguese. Not more faithfully reflected +in his _Journal_ than the tedium of the voyage and the often +blasphemous opposition of his fellows are, all unconsciously, his own +splendid courage, his untiring faithfulness even when down with +dysentery and cough, his watchful prayerfulness, his longing for the +spread of Christ's kingdom. As the solitary young saint paced the deck +his thoughts, too, were with the past--with Lydia, in a way which, +even he felt, did not leave him indisposed for communion with God. +From Funchal, Madeira, he wrote to Lydia's sister: 'God knows how +dearly I love you, and Lydia and Sally (his younger sister), and all +His saints in England, yet I bid you all an everlasting farewell +almost without a sigh.' His motto throughout the voyage was the +sentence in which Milner characterises the first Christians: + + 'TO BELIEVE, TO SUFFER, AND TO LOVE.' + +Meanwhile Lydia Grenfell was thus committing to her _Diary_ these +melancholy longings: + + _November 22._--Yesterday brought me most pleasing intelligence + from my dear friend, for which I have and do thank Thee, O Lord + my God. He assures us of his being well, and exceedingly + happy--oh, may he continue so. I have discovered that insensibly + I have indulged the hope of his return, which this letter has + seemed to lessen. I see it is my duty to familiarise my mind to + the idea of our separation being for ever, with what feelings + the thought is admitted, the Lord--whose will I desire therein + to be done--only knows, and I find it a blessed relief to look + to Him for comfort. I can bear testimony to this, that the Lord + does afford me the needful support. I have been favoured much + within this day or two, and seem, if I may trust to present + feelings, to be inspired to ask the Lord's sovereign will and + pleasure concerning me and him. I look forward to our meeting + only in another state of existence, and oh, how pure, how + exalted will be our affection then! here it is mixed with much + evil, many pains, and great anxieties. Hasten, O Lord, Thy + coming, and fit me for it and for the society of Thy saints in + light. I desire more holiness, more of Christ in my soul, more + of His likeness. Oh, to be filled with all Thy fulness, to be + swallowed up in Thee! + + _November 23._--Too much has my mind been occupied to-day with a + subject which must for ever interest me. O Lord, have mercy on + me! help can only come from Thee. Let Thy blessed Word afford me + relief; let the aids of Thy Spirit be vouchsafed. Restore to me + the joys of Thy salvation. + + _November 24._--Passed a night of little sleep, my mind + restless, confused, and unhappy. In vain did I endeavour to fix + my thoughts on spiritual things, and to drive away those + distressing fears of what may befall my dear friend. Blessed for + ever be the Lord that on approaching His mercy-seat, through the + blood of Jesus, I found peace, rest, and an ability to rely on + God for all things. I have through the day enjoyed a sense of + the Divine presence, and a blessed nearness to the Lord. + To-night I am favoured with a sweet calmness; I seem to have no + desire to exert myself. O Lord, animate, refresh my fainting + soul. I see how dangerous it is to admit any worldly object into + the heart, and how prone mine is to idolatry, for whatever has + the preference, that to God is an idol. Alas! my thoughts, my + first and last thoughts, are now such as prove that God cannot + be said to have the supreme place in my affections; yet, blessed + be His name, I can resign myself and all my concerns to His + disposal, and this is my heart's desire. Thy will be done. + + _December 11._--I seem reconciled to all before me, and consider + the Lord must have some great and wise purposes to answer by + suffering my affections to be engaged in the degree they are. If + it is only to exercise my submission to His will, and to make me + more acquainted with His power to support and comfort me, it + will be a great end answered, and oh, may I welcome all He + appoints for this purpose. The mysteries of Providence are + unfathomable. The event must disclose them, and in this I desire + to make up my mind from henceforth no more to encourage the + least expectation of meeting my dear friend in this world. O + Lord, when the desire is so strong, how impossible is it for me + to do this; but Thou art able to strengthen me for it. Oh, + vouchsafe the needful help. + + _December 16._--I have had many distressing feelings to-day, and + struggled with my heart, which is at times rent, I may say, by + the reflection that I have bidden adieu for ever in this life to + so dear a friend; but the blessed employment the Lord has + assisted me in, and the thought that he is serving my blessed + Lord Jesus, is most consolatory. Oh, may I never more seek to + draw him back from the work. Lord, Thou knowest all things, Thou + knowest that I would not do this. + + _December 26._--Went early to St. Hilary, where I had an + opportunity of reading the excellent prayers of our Church. I + have been blest with sweet peace to-day--a solemn expectation of + entering eternity. I feel a sadness of spirit at times (attended + with a calm resignation of mind, not unpleasing) at the + remembrance of my friend, whom I expect no more to see till we + meet in heaven. Oh, blessed hope that there we shall meet! Lord, + keep us each in the narrow way that leads to Thee. + + _December 31._--The last in 1805--oh, may it prove the most holy + to my soul. I am shut out from the communion of Thy saints in a + measure; oh, let me enjoy more communion with my God. Thou + knowest my secret sorrows, yea, Thou dost calm them by causing + me to have regard to a future life of bliss with Thee, when I + shall see and adore the wisdom of Thy dealings with me. Oh, my + idolatrous heart! + +These passages occur in Henry Martyn's _Journal_: + + _December 4._--Dearest Lydia! never wilt thou cease to be dear + to me; still, the glory of God, and the salvation of immortal + souls, is an object for which I can part with thee. Let us live + then for God, separate from one another, since such is His holy + will. Hereafter we shall meet in a happier region, and if we + shall have lived and died, denying ourselves for God, triumphant + and glorious will our meeting be.... + + _December 5._--My mind has been running on Lydia, and the happy + scenes in England, very much; particularly on that day when I + walked with her on the sea-shore, and with a wistful eye looked + over the blue waves that were to bear me from her. While walking + the deck I longed to be left alone, that my thoughts might run + at random. Tender feelings on distant scenes do not leave me + indisposed for communion with God; that which is present to the + outward senses is the greatest plague to me. Went among the + soldiers in the afternoon, distributing oranges to those who are + scorbutic. My heart was for some hours expanding with joy and + love; but I have reason to think that the state of the body has + great influence on the frames and feelings of the mind. Let the + rock of my consolations be not a variable feeling, but Jesus + Christ and His righteousness. + +The fleet next touched at San Salvador, or Bahia, from which Henry +Martyn wrote to Mrs. Hitchins, his cousin, asking her to send him by +Corrie, who was coming out as chaplain, 'your profile and Cousin Tom's +and Lydia's. If she should consent to it, I should much wish for her +miniature.' The request, when it reached her, must have led to such +passages in her _Diary_ as these: + + _1806, February 8._--I have passed some days of pain and + weakness, but now am blessed again with health. During the whole + of this sickness I was afflicted with much deadness of soul, and + have had very few thoughts of God. I felt, as strength returned, + the necessity of more earnest supplications for grace and + spiritual life. I have ascertained this sad truth, that my soul + has declined in spiritual fervour and liveliness since I have + admitted an earthly object so much into my heart. Ah! I know I + have not power to recall my affections, but God can, and I + believe He will, enable me to regulate them better. This thought + has been of great injury to me, as I felt no murmuring at the + will of God, nor disposed to act therein contrary to His will. I + thought I might indulge secretly my affection, but it has been + of vast disadvantage to me. I am now convinced, and I do humbly + (relying on strength from on high) resolve no more to yield to + it. Oh, may my conversation be in heaven, and the glories of + Immanuel be all my theme. + + _February 15._--I have been much exercised yesterday and + to-day--walking in darkness, without light--and I feel the truth + of this Scripture: 'Your sins have separated between you and + your God.' I have betrayed a most unbecoming impatience and + warmth of temper. My dear absent friend, too, has been much in + my mind. How many times have I endured the pain of bidding him + farewell! I would not dare repine. I doubt not for a moment the + necessity of its being as it is, but the feelings of my mind at + particular seasons overwhelm me. My refuge is to consider it is + the will of God. Thy will, my God, be done. + +Henry Martyn did not lose a day in discharging his mission to the +residents and slaves of that part of the coast of Brazil, in the great +commercial city and seat of the metropolitan. His was the first voice +to proclaim the pure Gospel in South America since, three hundred +years before, Coligny's and Calvin's missionaries had been there +silenced by Villegagnon, and put to death. Martyn was frequently +ashore, almost fascinated by the tropical glories of the coast and the +interior, and keenly interested in the Portuguese dons, the Franciscan +friars, and the negro slaves. After his first walk through the town to +the suburbs, he was looking for a wood in which he might rest, when he +found himself at a magnificent porch leading to a noble avenue and +house. There he was received with exuberant hospitality by the Corre +family, especially by the young Senor Antonio, who had received a +University training in Portugal, and soon learned to enjoy the society +of the Cambridge clergyman. In his visits of days to this family, his +exploration of the immediate interior and the plantations of tapioca +and pepper, introduced from Batavia, and his discussions with its +members and the priests on Roman Catholicism, all conducted in French +and Latin, a fortnight passed rapidly. He was ever about his Master's +business, able in speaking His message to men and in prayer and +meditation. 'In a cool and shady part of the garden, near some water, +I sat and sang, + + O'er the gloomy hills of darkness. + +I could read and pray aloud, as there was no fear of anyone understanding +me. Reading the eighty-fourth Psalm, + + O how amiable are Thy tabernacles, + +this morning in the shade, the day when I read it last under the trees +with Lydia was brought forcibly to my remembrance, and produced some +degree of melancholy.' Refreshed by the hospitality of San Salvador, +he resumed the voyage with new zeal for his Lord and for his study of +such authorities as Orme's _Indostan_ and Scott's _Dekkan_, and thus +taking himself to task: 'I wish I had a deeper conviction of the +sinfulness of sloth.' + +Thus had he taken possession of Brazil, of South America, for Christ. +As he walked through the streets, where for a long time he 'saw no one +but negro slaves male and female'; as he passed churches in which +'they were performing Mass,' and priests of all colours innumerable, +and ascended the battery which commanded a view of the whole bay of +All Saints, he exclaimed, 'What happy missionary shall be sent to bear +the name of Christ to these western regions? When shall this beautiful +country be delivered from idolatry and spurious Christianity? Crosses +there are in abundance, but when shall the doctrine of the Cross be +held up?' In the nearly ninety years that have gone since that time, +Brazil has ceased to belong to the house of Braganza, slavery has been +abolished, the agents of the Evangelical churches and societies of the +United States of America and the Bible societies have been sent in +answer to his prayer; while down in the far south Captain Allen +Gardiner, R.N., by his death for the savage people, has brought about +results that extorted the admiration of Dr. Darwin. As Martyn went back +to the ship for the last time, after a final discussion on Mariolatry +with the Franciscans, rowed by Lascars who kept the feast of the Hijra +with hymns to Mohammed, and in converse with a fellow-voyager who +declared mankind needed to be told nothing but to be sober and honest, +he cried to God with a deep sigh 'to interfere in behalf of His Gospel; +for in the course of one hour I had seen three shocking examples of the +reign and power of the devil in the form of Popish and Mohammedan +delusion and that of the natural man. I felt, however, in no way +discouraged, but only saw the necessity of dependence on God.' + +Why did Henry Martyn's preaching and daily pastoral influence excite +so much opposition? Undoubtedly, as we shall see, both in Calcutta and +Dinapore, his Cornish-Celtic temperament, possibly the irritability +due to the disease under which he was even then suffering, disabled +him from disarming opposition, as his friend Corrie, for instance, +afterwards always did. But we must remember to whom he preached and +what he preached, and the time at which he preached, in the history +not only of the Church of England, but of Evangelical religion. He had +himself been brought out of spiritual darkness under the influence of +Kempthorne and Charles Simeon, by the teaching of Paul in his letters +to the Roman and the Galatian converts. To him sin was exceeding +sinful. The Pauline doctrine of sin and its one remedy was the basis +not only of his theology, but of his personal experience and daily +life. After a brief ministry to the villagers of Lolworth and +occasional sermons to his fellow students in Cambridge, this Senior +Wrangler and Classic, yet young convert, was put in spiritual charge +of a British regiment and Indiaman's crew, and was the only chaplain +in a force of eight thousand soldiers, some with families, and many +female convicts. At a time when the dead churches were only beginning +to wake up, after the missions of the Wesleys and Whitfield, of +William Carey and Simeon, this youthful prophet was called to reason +of temperance, righteousness, and judgment to come, with men who were +practically as pagan or as sceptical as Felix. + +His second address at sea, on September 15, was from Paul's sermon in +the synagogue of Antioch in Pisidia (Acts xiii. 38-39): _Through this +man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins, &c._[16] It was a +full and free declaration of God's love in Jesus Christ to sinful man, +which he thus describes in his _Journal_: 'In the latter part I was +led to speak without preparation on the all-sufficiency of Christ to +save sinners who came to Him with all their sins without delay. I was +carried away with a Divine aid to speak with freedom and energy. My +soul was refreshed, and I retired seeing reason to be thankful!' But +the next week's experience resulted in this: 'I was more tried by the +fear of man than I have ever been since God called me to the ministry. +The threats and opposition of those men made me unwilling to set +before them the truths which they hated; yet I had no species of +hesitation about doing it. They had let me know that if I would preach +a sermon like one of Blair's they should be glad to hear it; but they +would not attend if so much of hell was preached.' Strengthened by our +Lord's promise of the Comforter (John xiv. 16), he next Sunday took +for his text Psalm ix. 17: _The wicked shall be turned into hell, and +all the nations that forget God._ He thus concluded: + + Pause awhile, and reflect! Some of you, perhaps, by this time, + instead of making a wise resolve, have begun to wonder that so + heavy a judgment should be denounced merely against + forgetfulness. But look at the affairs of common life, and be + taught by them. Do not neglect, and want of attention, and not + looking about us to see what we have to do--do not any of these + bring upon us consequences as ruinous to our worldly business as + any ACTIVE misbehaviour? It is an event of every day, that a + man, by mere laziness and inattention to his business, does as + certainly bring himself and family to poverty, and end his days + in a gaol, as if he were, in wanton mischief, to set fire to his + own house. So it is also with the affairs of the soul: neglect + of that--forgetfulness of God, who only can save it--will work + his ruin, as surely as a long and daring course of profligate + wickedness. + + When any one has been recollecting the proper proofs of a future + state of rewards and punishments, nothing, methinks, can give + him so sensible an apprehension of punishment or such a + representation of it to the mind, as observing that, after the + many disregarded checks, admonitions, and warnings which people + meet with in the ways of vice, folly, and extravagance warnings + from their very nature, from the examples of others, from the + lesser inconveniences which they bring upon themselves, from the + instructions of wise and good men--after these have been long + despised, scorned, ridiculed--after the chief bad consequences + (temporal consequences) of their follies have been delayed for a + great while, at length they break in irresistibly like an armed + force: repentance is too late to relieve, and can serve only to + aggravate their distress: the case is become desperate; and + poverty and sickness, remorse and anguish, infamy and death, the + effects of their own doings, overwhelm them beyond possibility + of remedy or escape. This is an account of what is, in fact, the + general constitution of Nature. + + But is the forgetfulness of God so light a matter? Think what + ingratitude, rebellion, and atheism there is at the bottom of + it! Sirs, you have 'a carnal mind, which is enmity against God.' + (Rom. viii. 7.) Do not suppose that you have but to make a + slight effort, and you will cease to forget Him: it is your + nature to forget Him: it is your nature to hate Him: so that + nothing less than an entire change of heart and nature will ever + deliver you from this state of enmity. Our nature 'is not + subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. They that are + in the flesh cannot please God.' (Rom. viii. 7, 8.) From this + state let the fearful menace in the text persuade you to arise! + Need we remind you again of the dreadfulness of hell--of the + certainty that it shall overtake the impenitent sinner? Enough + has been said; and can any of you be still so hardened, and such + enemies to your souls, as still to cleave to sin? Will you still + venture to continue any more in the hazard of falling into the + hands of God? Alas! 'Who among us shall dwell with the devouring + fire? Who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings?' (Isa. + xxxiii. 14.) 'Can thine heart endure, or can thine hands be + strong, in the days that I shall deal with thee? I the Lord have + spoken it, and will do it!' (Ezek. xxii. 14.) Observe, that men + have dealt with sinners--ministers have dealt with + them--apostles, prophets, and angels have dealt with them: at + last, God will take them in hand, and deal with them! Though not + so daring as to defy God, yet, brethren, in all probability you + put on repentance. Will you securely walk a little longer along + the brink of the burning furnace of the Almighty's fury? 'As the + Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, there is but a step between + thee and death!' (1 Sam. xx. 3.) When you lie down you know not + but you may be in it before the morning; and when you rise you + know not but God may say, 'Thou fool, this night thy soul shall + be required of thee!' When once the word is given to cut you + down, the business is over. You are cut off from your lying + refuges and beloved sins--from the world--from your + friends--from the light--from happiness--from hope, for ever! Be + wise, then, my friends, and reasonable: give neither sleep to + your eyes, nor slumber to your eyelids, till you have resolved, + on your knees before God, to forget Him no more. Go home and + pray. Do not dare to fly, as it were, in the face of your Maker, + by seeking your pleasure on His holy day; but if you are alarmed + at this subject, as well you may be, go and pray to God that you + may forget Him no more. It is high time to awake out of sleep. + It is high time to have done with hesitation: time does not wait + for you; nor will God wait till you are pleased to turn. He hath + bent His bow, and made it ready: halt no more between two + opinions: hasten--tarry not in all the plain, but flee from the + wrath to come. Pray for grace, without which you can do nothing. + Pray for the knowledge of Christ, and of your own danger and + helplessness, without which you cannot know what it is to find + refuge in Him. It is not our design to terrify, without pointing + out the means of safety. Let us then observe, that if it should + have pleased God to awaken any of you to a sense of your danger, + you should beware of betaking yourselves to a refuge of lies. + + But, through the mercy of God, many among us have found + repentance unto life--have fled for refuge to the hope set + before them--have seen their danger, and fled to Christ. Think + with yourselves what it is now to have escaped destruction; what + it will be to hear at the last day our acquittal, when it shall + be said to others, 'Depart from Me, ye cursed, into everlasting + fire.' Let the sense of the mercy of God gild all the path of + life. On the other hand, since it is they who forget God that + are to bear the weight of His wrath, let us beware, brethren, + how we forget Him, through concern about this world, or through + unbelief, or through sloth. Let us be punctual in all our + engagements with Him. With earnest attention and holy awe ought + we to hear His voice, cherish the sense of His presence, and + perform the duties of His worship. No covenant relation or + Gospel grace can render Him less holy, less jealous, or less + majestic. 'Wherefore let us have grace, whereby we may serve God + acceptably, with reverence and godly fear; for our God is a + consuming fire.' + +The officers had seated themselves behind the preacher, that they +might retire in case of dislike, and one of them employed himself in +feeding the geese; so it had happened in the case of the missionary +Paul, and Martyn wrote: 'God, I trust, blessed the sermon to the good +of many. Some of the cadets and soldiers were in tears.' The +complement[17] of this truth he soon after displayed to them in his +sermon on the message through Ezekiel xxxiii. 11. _As I live, saith +the Lord, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked._ + + Men have been found in all ages who have vented their murmurs + against God for the severity of His final punishment, as well as + for the painful continuance of His judgments upon them in this + life, saying, 'If our state be so full of guilt and misery as is + represented, and God is determined to avenge Himself upon us, be + it so; then we must take the consequences.' If God were to reply + to this impious complaint only by silence; if He were to suffer + the gloom of their hearts to thicken into tenfold darkness, and + give them up to their own malignity, till they died victims to + their own impiety and despair, the Lord would still be + righteous, they would then only eat of the fruit of their + doings. But, behold, the Lord gives a very unexpected message, + with which He bids us to follow men, to interrupt their sad + soliloquies, to stop their murmurs. 'Say unto them,' saith He, + 'As I live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death + of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. + Turn ye, turn ye, from your evil ways; for why will ye die?' + + Behold the inseparable connexion--we must turn, or die. Here + there is a question put by God to sinners. Let sinners then + answer the question which God puts to them,--'Why will ye die?' + Is death a motive not strong enough to induce you to forego a + momentary pleasure? Is it a light thing to fall into the hands + of the living God? Is a life of godliness so very intolerable as + not to be repaid by heavenly glory? Turn ye at His reproof--'Why + will ye die?' Is it because there is no hope? God has this very + hour testified with an oath that it is His desire to save you. + Yea, He at this moment expostulates with you and beseeches you + to seek Him. 'Why will ye die?' You know not why. If, then, you + are constrained--now accustomed as you are to + self-vindication--to acknowledge your unreasonableness, how much + more will you be speechless in the last day when madness will + admit of no palliation, and folly will appear without disguise! + + Are any returned to God? Do any believe they are really + returned?--then here they have consolation. It is a long time + before we lose our slavish dread of God, for our natural + prejudices and mistakes become inveterate by habit, and Satan + opposes the removal of them. But come now, and let us reason + together. Will ye also dishonour your God by accounting Him more + willing to destroy than to save you? _Will_ ye think hardly of + God? Oh, that I had been able to describe as it deserves, His + willingness to save! Oh, that I could have borrowed the pen of a + seraph, and dipped it in a fount of light! Could plainer words + be needed to describe the wonders of His love? Hearken, my + beloved brethren! Hath He no pleasure in the death of the + wicked, and will He take pleasure in yours? Hath He promised + His love, His tenderness to those who turn from their wicked + ways, and yet, when they are turned, straightway forgot His + promise? Harbour no more fearful, unbelieving thoughts. But the + reply is often that the fear is not of God, but of myself, lest + I have not turned away from my evil ways. But this point may + surely be ascertained, brethren; and if it may, any further + refinements on this subject are derogatory to God's honour. Let + these words convince you that, if you are willing to be saved in + His way, He is willing to save you. It may be you will still be + kept in darkness, but darkness is not always the frown of God; + it is only Himself--thy shade on thy right hand. Then tremble + not at the hand that wipes away thy tears; judge Him not by + feeble sense, but follow Him, though He lead thee by a way that + thou knewest not. + + There are some of you who have reason to hope that you have + turned from the error of your ways. Ye have tasted that the Lord + is gracious. It is but a taste, a foretaste, an antepast of the + feast of heaven. It was His pleasure that you should turn from + your ways; it is also His good pleasure to give you the kingdom. + Then what shall we recommend to you, but gratitude, admiration, + and praise? 'Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem; praise thy God, O + Zion.' Let each of us abundantly utter the memory of His great + goodness, and sing aloud of His righteousness. Let each say, + 'Awake, lute and harp; I myself will awake right early.' Let us + join the chorus of angels, and all the redeemed, in praising the + riches of His love in His kindness towards us through Christ + Jesus. + +As the fleet sailed from San Salvador, the captains were summoned to the +commodore, to learn that Cape Town and the Dutch settlement formed the +object of the expedition, and that stout resistance was expected. This +gave new zeal to the chaplain, were that possible, in his dealings with +the officers and men of his Majesty's 59th, and with the cadets, to whom +he taught mathematics in his unrewarded friendliness. Many were down +with dysentery, then and long a peculiarly fatal disease till the use of +ipecacuanha. His constant service made him also for some time a +sufferer. + + _1805, December 29._ (Sunday.)--My beloved spake and said unto + me, Rise up, &c. (Cant. ii. 10, 11). Ah! why cannot I rise and + go forth and meet my Lord? Every hindrance is removed: the wrath + of God, the guilt of sin, and severity of affliction; there is + nothing now in the world that has any strong hold of my + affections. Separated from my friends and country for ever in + this life, I have nothing to distract me from hearing the voice + of my beloved, and coming away from this world and walking with + Him in love, amidst the flowers that perfume the air of + Paradise, and the harmony of the happy spirits who are singing + His praise. But alas! my heart is cold and slothful. Preached on + 2 Peter iii. 11, taking notice at the end of these remarkable + circumstances, that made the text particularly applicable to us. + It was the last Sabbath of a year, which had been memorable to + us from our having left our country, and passed through many + dangers. Secondly, within a few days they were to meet an enemy + on the field of battle. Thirdly, the death of the captain. I was + enabled to be self-collected, and in some degree tender. There + was a great impression; many were in tears. Visited and + conversed with Mr. M. twice to-day, and marked some passages for + him to read. His heart seems tender. There was a considerable + number on the orlop in the afternoon. Expounded Matt. xix. and + prayed. In the evening Major Davidson and M'Kenzie came to my + cabin, and stayed nearly three hours. I read Romans vi. and + vii., and explained those difficult chapters as well as I + could, so that the Major, I hope, received a greater insight + into them; afterwards I prayed with them. But my own soul after + these ministrations seemed to have received harm rather than + good. It was an awful reflection that Judas was a preacher, + perhaps a successful one. Oh, let my soul tremble, lest, after + preaching to others, I myself should be a castaway. + + _1806. January 4._--Continued to approach the land; about sunset + the fleet came to an anchor between Robben Island and the land + on that side, farthest from Cape Town, and a signal was + immediately given for the 59th Regiment to prepare to land. Our + men were soon ready, and received thirty-six rounds of ball + cartridge; before the three boats were lowered down and fitted, + it was two in the morning. I stayed up to see them off; it was a + melancholy scene; the privates were keeping up their spirits by + affecting to joke about the approach of danger, and the ladies + sitting in the cold night upon the grating of the after-hatchway + overwhelmed with grief; the cadets, with M'Kenzie, who is one of + their officers, all went on board the Duchess of Gordon, the + general rendezvous of the company's troops. I could get to speak + to none of my people, but Corporals B. and B. I said to Sergeant + G., 'It is now high time to be decided in religion,' he replied + with a sigh; to Captain S. and the cadets I endeavoured to speak + in a general way. I this day signed my name as a witness to + Captain O.'s and Major Davidson's wills; Captain O. left his + with me; I passed my time at intervals in writing for to-morrow. + The interest I felt in the outward scene distracted me very much + from the things which are not seen, and all I could do in prayer + was to strive against this spirit. But with what horror should I + reflect on the motions of sins within me, which tempted me to + wish for bloodshed, as something gratifying by its sublimity. My + spirit would be overwhelmed by such a consciousness of + depravity, but that I can pray still deliberately against sin; + and often the Lord manifested His power by making the same + sinful soul to feel a longing desire that the blessed gospel of + peace might soothe the spirits of men, and make them all live + together in harmony and love. Yet the principle within me may + well fill me with shame and sorrow. + +Since, on April 9, 1652, Johan Anthonie van Riebeck by proclamation +took formal possession of the Cape for the Netherlands East India +Company, 'providing that the natives should be kindly treated,'[18] +the Dutch had governed South Africa for nearly a century and a half. +The natives had been outraged by the Boers, the Moravian missionaries +had departed, the colony had been starved, and yet denied the +rudiments of autonomy. The French Revolution changed all that, and +very much else. The Stadtholder of the United Provinces having allied +himself with Great Britain, Dumouriez entered Holland, and Pichegru +marched the armies of France over its frozen waters in the terrible +winter of 1794-5. To protect the trade with India from the French, +Admiral Elphinstone thereupon took possession of the Cape, which was +administered successively by General J.H. Craig, the Earl of +Macartney, Sir George Young, and Sir Francis Dundas, for seven +prosperous years, until the Treaty of Amiens restored it to the +Batavian Republic in February 1803. It was then a territory of 120,000 +square miles, reaching from the Cape to a curved line which extended +from the mouth of the Buffalo River in Little Namaqualand to the +present village of Colesberg. The Great Fish River was the eastern +boundary. Now the Christian colonies and settlements of South Africa, +enjoying British sovereignty and largely under self-governing +institutions, stretch north from the sea, and east and west from ocean +to ocean, to the great river Zambesi--the base from which Christian +civilisation, by missions and chartered companies, is slowly +penetrating the explored wilds of Central Africa up the lake region to +the Soudan and Ethiopia. + +This less than a century's progress has been made possible by the +expedition of 1806, in which Henry Martyn, almost alone, represented +Christianity. After the three years' respite given by the virtual +armistice of Amiens, Napoleon Bonaparte again plunged Europe and the +world into war. William Pitt's last government sent out this naval +armament under Sir Home Popham. The 5,000 troops were commanded by Sir +David Baird, who had fought and suffered in India when the senior of +the future Duke of Wellington. Henry Martyn has told us how the +squadron of the sixty-three sail had anchored between Robben Island +and the coast. The Dutch Governor, General Jan Willen Janssens, was +more worthy of his trust than his predecessor ten years before. He had +been compelled to send on a large portion of his force for the defence +of Java, soon to fall to Lord Minto, the Governor-General, and had +only 2,000 troops left. He had received only a fortnight's notice of +the approach of the British fleet, which was reported by an American +vessel. He drilled the colonists, he called French marines to his aid, +he organised Malay artillery, he embodied even Hottentot sepoys, and +made a reserve and refuge of Hottentot's Holland, from which he hoped +to starve Cape Town, should Baird capture it. Both armies were equal +in numbers at least. + +All was in vain. On January 8 was fought the battle of Blaauwberg (on +the side of Table Bay opposite Cape Town), from the plateau of which +the Dutch, having stood the musketry and field pieces, fled at the +charge of the bayonet with a loss of 700 men. The British, having +dropped 212, marched on Cape Town, halted at Papendorp, and there, on +January 10, 1806, were signed the articles of capitulation which have +ever since given the Roman-Dutch law to the colony. Sir David Baird +and Sir Home Popham soon after received the surrender of Janssens, +whose troops were granted all the honours of war in consideration of +their gallant conduct. At the Congress of Vienna in 1815 Lord +Castlereagh sacrificed Java to the Dutch, but kept South Africa for +Great Britain. The surrender of the former, in the midst of the +splendid successes of Sir Stamford Raffles, is ascribed to that +minister's ignorance of geography. He knew equally little of the Cape, +which he kept, beyond its importance to India, but God has overruled +all that for the good of Equatorial, as well as South, Africa, as, +thanks to David Livingstone, vacillating statesmen have begun to see. + +Henry Martyn's _Journal_ thus describes the battle and the battlefield. + + _1806, January._--Ten o'clock. When I got up, the army had left + the shore, except the Company's troops, who remained to guard + the landing-place; but soon after seven a most tremendous fire + of artillery began behind a mountain abreast of the ship; it + seemed as if the mountain itself were torn by intestine + convulsions. The smoke rose from a lesser eminence on the right + of the hill, and on the top of it troops were seen rushing down + the farther declivity; then came such a long drawn fire of + musketry, that I could not have conceived anything like it. We + all shuddered at considering what a multitude of souls must be + passing into eternity. The poor ladies were in a dreadful + condition, every peal seemed to go through their hearts; I have + just been endeavouring to do what I can to keep up their + spirits. The sound is now retiring, and the enemy are seen + retreating along the low ground on the right towards the town. + Soon after writing this I went ashore and saw M'K., &c., and + Cecil, with whom I had an agreeable conversation on Divine + things. The cadets of our ship had erected a little shed made of + bushes and straw, and here, at their desire, I partook of their + cheer. Three Highlanders came to the lines just as I arrived, + all wounded in the hand. In consequence of their report of the + number of the wounded, a party of East India troops, with slings + and barrows, attended by a body of cadets with arms, under Major + Lumsden, were ordered to march to the field of battle. + + I attached myself to these, and marched six miles through the + soft burning sand with them. The first we came to was a + Highlander, who had been shot through the thigh, and had walked + some way from the field and lay spent under some bushes. He was + taken care of and we went on, and passed the whole of the larger + hill without seeing anything. The ground then opened into a most + extensive plain, which extended from the sea to the blue + mountains at a great distance on the east. On the right was the + little hill, to which we were attracted by seeing some English + soldiers; we found that they were some wounded men of the 24th. + They had all been taken care of by the surgeons of the Staff. + Three were mortally wounded. One, who was shot through the + lungs, was spitting blood, and yet very sensible. The surgeon + desired me to spread a great-coat over him as they left him; as + I did this, I talked to him a little of the blessed Gospel, and + begged him to cry for mercy through Jesus Christ. The poor man + feebly turned his head in some surprise, but took no further + notice. I was sorry to be obliged to leave him and go on after + the troops, from whom I was not allowed to be absent, out of a + regard to my safety. On the top of the little hill lay Captain + F., of the grenadiers of the same regiment, dead, shot by a ball + entering his neck and passing into his head. I shuddered with + horror at the sight; his face and bosom were covered with thick + blood, and his limbs rigid and contracted as if he had died in + great agony. Near him were several others dead, picked off by + the riflemen of the enemy. We then descended into the plain + where the two armies had been drawn up. + + A marine of the Belliqueuse gave me a full account of the + position of the armies and particulars of the battle. We soon + met with some of the 59th, one a corporal, who often joins us in + singing, and who gave the pleasing intelligence that the + regiment had escaped unhurt, except Captain McPherson. In the + rear of the enemy's army there were some farm-houses, which we + had converted into a receptacle for the sick, and in which there + were already two hundred, chiefly English, with a few of the + enemy. Here I entered, and found that six officers were wounded; + but as the surgeon said they should not be disturbed, I did not + go in, especially as they were not dangerously wounded. In one + room I found a Dutch captain wounded, with whom I had a good + deal of conversation in French. After a few questions about the + army and the Cape, I could not help inquiring about Dr. + Vanderkemp; he said he had seen him, but believed he was not at + the Cape, nor knew how I might hear of him. The spectacle at + these houses was horrid. The wounded soldiers lay ranged within + and without covered with blood and gore. While the India troops + remained here, I walked out into the field of battle with the + surgeon. On the right wing, where they had been attacked by the + Highland regiment, the dead and wounded seemed to have been + strewed in great numbers, from the knapsacks, &c. Some of them + were still remaining; with a Frenchman whom I found amongst them + I had some conversation. All whom we approached cried out + instantly for water. One poor Hottentot I asked about Dr. + Vanderkemp, I saw by his manner that he knew him; he lay with + extraordinary patience under his wound on the burning sand; I + did what I could to make his position comfortable, and laid near + him some bread, which I found on the ground. Another Hottentot + lay struggling with his mouth in the dust, and the blood flowing + out of it, cursing the Dutch in English, in the most horrid + language; I told him he should rather forgive them, and asked + him about God, and after telling him of the Gospel, begged he + would pray to Jesus Christ; but he did not attend. While the + surgeon went back to get his instrument in hopes of saving the + man's life, a Highland soldier came up, and asked me in a rough + tone, 'Who are you?' I told him, 'An Englishman;' he said, 'No, + no, you are French,' and was going to present his musket. As I + saw he was rather intoxicated, and might in mere wantonness + fire, I went up to him and told him that if he liked he might + take me prisoner to the English army, but that I was certainly + an English clergyman. The man was pacified at last. The surgeon + on his return found the thigh bone of the poor Hottentot broken, + and therefore left him to die. After this I found an opportunity + of retiring, and lay down among the bushes, and lifted up my + soul to God. I cast my eyes over the plain which a few hours + before had been the scene of bloodshed and death, and mourned + over the dreadful effects of sin. How reviving to my thoughts + were the blue mountains on the east, where I conceived the + missionaries labouring to spread the Gospel of peace and love. + +At sunrise on the 10th, a gun from the commodore's ship was instantly +answered by all the men-of-war, as the British flag was seen flying on +the Dutch fort. The future historian of the Christianisation of +Africa will not fail to put in the forefront, at the same time, the +scene of Henry Martyn, on his knees, taking possession of the land, +and of all lands, for Christ. + + I could find it more agreeable to my own feelings to go and weep + with the relatives of the men whom the English have killed, than + to rejoice at the laurels they have won. I had a happy season in + prayer. No outward scene seemed to have power to distract my + thoughts. I prayed that the capture of the Cape might be ordered + to the advancement of Christ's kingdom; and that England, while + she sent the thunder of her arms to the distant regions of the + globe, might not remain proud and ungodly at home; but might + show herself great indeed, by sending forth the ministers of her + Church to diffuse the gospel of peace. + +Thus on Africa, as on South America, North India, Persia and Turkey, +is written the name of Henry Martyn. + +The previous government of the Cape by the British, under Sir Francis +Dundas, had been marked by the arrival, in 1799, of the London +Missionary Society's agents, Dr. Vanderkemp and Kicherer. With the +great chief Ngqika, afterwards at Graaff Reinet and then near Algoa +Bay, the quondam Dutch officer, Edinburgh medical student, and aged +landed proprietor, giving his all to Christ, had gathered in many +converts. Martyn, who had learned to admire Vanderkemp from his books, +was even more delighted with the venerable man. Driven by the Boers +into Cape Town, the old missionary, and Mr. Reid, his colleague, were +found in the midst of their daily services with the Hottentots and +Kafirs. In such society, worshipping through the Dutch language, the +India chaplain spent the greater part of the five weeks' detention of +the Union. 'Dear Dr. Vanderkemp gave me a Syriac Testament as a +remembrance of him.' When Martyn and Reid parted, the latter for Algoa +Bay, 'we spoke again of the excellency of the missionary work. The +last time I had stood on the shore with a friend speaking on the same +subject, was with Lydia, at Marazion.' In Isaiah, and Leighton, +especially his _Rules for a Holy Life_, the missionary chaplain found +comfort and stimulus. + + _February 5, 1806._--I am born for God only. Christ is nearer to + me than father, or mother, or sister,--a nearer relation, a more + affectionate friend; and I rejoice to follow Him, and to love + Him. Blessed Jesus! Thou art all I want--a forerunner to me in + all I ever shall go through, as a Christian, a minister, or a + missionary. + + _February 13._--After breakfast had a solemn season in prayer, + with the same impressions as yesterday, from Leighton, and tried + to give up myself wholly to God, not only to be resigned solely + to His will, but to seek my only pleasure from it, to depart + altogether from the world, and be exactly the same in happiness, + whether painful or pleasing dispensations were appointed me: I + endeavoured to realise again the truth, that suffering was my + appointed portion, and that it became me to expect it as my + daily lot. Yet after all, I was ready to cry out, what an + unfortunate creature I am, the child of sorrow and care; from my + infancy I have met with nothing but contradiction, but I always + solaced myself that one day it would be better, and I should + find myself comfortably settled in the enjoyment of domestic + pleasures, whereas, after all the wearying labours of school and + college, I am at last cut off from all my friends, and comforts, + and dearest hopes, without being permitted even to hope for them + any more. As I walked the deck, I found that the conversation of + others, and my own gloomy surmises of my future trials, + affected me far less with vexation, than they formerly did, + merely from this, that I took it as my portion from God, all + whose dispensations I am bound to consider and receive as the + fruits of infinite wisdom and love towards me. I felt, + therefore, very quiet, and was manifestly strengthened from + above with might in my inner man; therefore, without any joy, + without any pleasant considerations to balance my present + sickness and gloom, I was contented from the reflection, that it + was God who did it. I pray that this may be my state--neither to + be anxious to escape from this stormy sea that was round the + Cape, nor to change the tedious scene of the ship for Madras, + nor to leave this world merely to get rid of the troubles of it, + but to glorify God where I am, and where He puts me, and to take + each day as an important trust for Him, in which I have much to + do both in suffering and acting. Employed in collecting from the + New Testament all the passages that refer to our walking in + Christ. + + _February 18._--Completed my twenty-fifth year. Let me recollect + it to my own shame, and be warned by it, to spend my future + years to a better purpose; unless this be the case, it is of + very little consequence to notice when such a person came into + the world. Passed much of the morning in prayer, but could not + succeed at all in getting an humble and contrite spirit; my + pride and self-esteem seemed unconquerable. Wrote sermon with my + mind impressed with the necessity of diligence: had the usual + service, and talked much to a sick man. Read Hindustani. + + _February 27._--Rose once more after a sleepless night, and had + in consequence a peevish temper to contend with. Had a + comfortable and fervent season of prayer, in the morning, while + interceding for the heathen from some of the chapters in Isaiah. + How striking did those words Isaiah xlii. 8 appear to me, 'I am + the Lord, that is My name; and My glory will I not give to + another, neither My praise to graven images.' Lord, is not Thy + praise given to graven images in India? Here, then, is Thine own + express word that it shall not continue to be so. And how easy + is it for the mighty God that created the heavens and stretched + them out, that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out + of it; that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to + them that walk therein; to effect His purposes in a moment. What + is caste? What are inveterate prejudices, and civil power, and + priestly bigotry, when once the Lord shall set to His hand? Who + knows whether even the present generation may not see Satan's + throne shaken to its base in India? Learning Hindustani words in + the morning; in the afternoon below, and much hurt at the cold + reception the men gave me. + + _March 7._--Endeavoured this morning to consider Christ as the + High Priest of my profession. Never do I set myself to + understand the nature of my walk in Christ without getting good + to my soul. Employed as usual through the day. Heard from + M'Kenzie that they are not yet tired with inveighing against my + doctrines. They took occasion also to say, from my salary, that + 'Martyn, as well as the rest, can share the plunder of the + natives in India; whether it is just or not he does not care.' + This brought back the doubts I formerly had about the lawfulness + of receiving anything from the Company. My mind is not yet + comfortable about it. I see it, however, my duty to wait in + faith and patience, till the Lord shall satisfy my doubts one + way or other. I would wish for no species of connection with the + East India Company, and notwithstanding the large sums I have + borrowed on the credit of my salary, which I shall never be able + to repay from any other means, I would wish to become a + missionary, dependent on a society; but I know not how to + decide. The Lord in mercy keep my soul in peace. Other thoughts + have occurred to me since. A man who has unjustly got + possession of an estate hires me as a minister to preach to his + servants, and pays me a salary: the money wherewith he pays me + comes unjustly to him, but justly to me. The Company are the + acknowledged proprietors of the country, the ruling power. If I + were to refuse to go there, I might, on the same account, refuse + to go to France, and preach to the French people or bodyguard of + the emperor, because the present monarch who pays me is not the + lawful one. If there were a company of Mohammedan merchants or + Mohammedan princes in possession of the country, should I + hesitate to accept an offer of officiating as chaplain among + them, and receiving a salary? + + _March 14._--_Suavissima vita est indies sentire se fieri + meliorem._ So I can say from former experience more than from + present. But oh, it is the ardent desire of my soul to regard + all earthly things with indifference, as one who dwells above + with God. May I grow in grace; may the grace of God, which + bringeth salvation, teach me to become daily more spiritual, + more humble, more steadfast in Christ, more meek, more wise, and + in all things to live soberly, righteously, and godly in this + present world. How shall I attain to greater + heavenly-mindedness? Rose refreshed after a good night's sleep, + and wrote on a subject; had much conversation with Mr. B. upon + deck; he seemed much surprised when I corrected his notions on + religion, but received what I said with great candour. He said + there was a minister at Madras, a Dane, with whom Sir D. Baird + was well acquainted, who used to speak in the same manner of + religion, whose name was Schwartz. My attention was instantly + roused at the venerable name, and I eagerly inquired of him all + the particulars with which he was acquainted. He had often heard + him preach, and Mr. Jaenicke had often breakfasted with him; + Schwartz, he said, had a very commanding manner, and used to + preach extempore in English at Madras; he died very poor. In + the afternoon had a service below; much of the evening M'Kenzie + passed with me, and prayed. + + _March 26._--Passed much time before breakfast in sitting on the + poop, through utter disinclination to all exertion. Such is the + enervating effect of the climate; but after staying some hours + learning Hindustani words, 2 Timothy ii. roused me to a bodily + exertion. I felt strong in spirit, resolving, if I died under + it, to make the body submit to robust exercise; so I walked the + deck with great rapidity for an hour and a half. My animal + spirits were altered instantly; I felt a happy and joyful desire + to brave the enervating effects of India in the service of the + blessed Lord Jesus. B. still delirious and dying fast: the first + thing he said to me when I visited him this afternoon, was, 'Mr. + Martyn, what will you choose for a kingdom?' I made no answer to + this, but thought of it a good deal afterwards. What would I + choose? Why, I do not know that anything would be a heaven to + me, but the service of Christ, and the enjoyment of His + presence. + +In this spirit, coasting Ceylon, and getting his first sight of India +at the Danish mission station of Tranquebar, on April 22, 1806, Henry +Martyn landed at Madras. To Mr. Hitchins he afterwards wrote: + + There was nothing remarkable in this first part of India which I + visited; it was by no means so romantic as America. Vast numbers + of black people were walking about with no dress but a little + about their middle, but no European was to be seen except here + and there one in a palanquin. Once I preached at Fort St. + George, though the chaplains hardly knew what to make of such + sort of preaching; they were, however, not offended. Finding + that the people would bear to be addressed plainly, and not + really think the worse of a minister for dealing closely with + their consciences, they determined, they said, to preach the + Gospel as I did; but I fear that one, if not both, has yet to + learn what the Gospel is. I breakfasted one day with Sir E. + Pellew, the Port Admiral at Madras, and met S. Cole, his + captain. I was perfectly delighted to find one with whom I could + speak about St. Hilary and Marazion; we spoke of every person, + place, and thing we could think of in your neighbourhood. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[16] _Twenty Sermons_, by the late Rev. Henry Martyn, B.D. Fourth +edition (from first edition printed at Calcutta), London, 1822. + +[17] _Five Sermons_ (never before published), by the late Rev. Henry +Martyn, B.D., with a prefatory letter on missionary enterprise, by the +Rev. G.T. Fox, M.A., London, 1862. + +[18] George M. Theal's _South African History_, Lovedale Institution +Press, 1873. + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +INDIA AND THE EAST IN THE YEAR 1806 + + +Henry Martyn reached India, and entered on his official duties as +chaplain and the work of his heart as missionary to North India, at a +time when the Anglo-Indian community had begun to follow society in +England, in a reformation of life and manners, and in a corresponding +desire to do good to the natives. The evangelical reaction set in +motion by the Pietists, Moravians, and Marrow-men, John Wesley and +Whitfield, Andrew Fuller and Simeon, John Erskine and the Haldanes, +had first affected South India and Madras, where Protestant Christian +Missions were just a century old. The Danish-Halle men, led by +Ziegenbalg and Schwartz, had found support in the Society for +Promoting Christian Knowledge from the year 1709. So early as 1716 an +East India Company's chaplain, the Rev. William Stevenson, wrote a +remarkable letter to that society,[19] 'concerning the most effectual +way of propagating the Gospel in this (South India) part of the +world.' He urged a union of the several agencies in England, Denmark, +and Germany into one common Society for Promoting the Protestant +Missions, the formation of colleges in Europe to train missionaries, the +raising of an annual income of 3,000_l._, and the maintenance therewith +of a staff of at least eight well-qualified missionaries. By a century +and a half he anticipated the proposal of that union which gives +strength and charity; the erection of colleges, at Tranquebar and +Madras, to train native ministers, catechists, and schoolmasters, and +the opening of free schools in every considerable place superintended by +the European missionaries on the circle system. Another Madras chaplain, +the Rev. George Lewis, was no less friendly and helpful to Ziegenbalg; +he was Mr. Stevenson's predecessor, and wrote in 1712. + +In North India--where the casteless races of the hills, corresponding +to the Shanars around Cape Comorin, were not discovered till far on in +the present century--almost everything was different. By the time that +the Evangelical Church directed its attention to Calcutta, the East +India Company had become a political, and consequently an intolerant, +power. It feared Christian proselytism, and it encouraged Hindu and +Mohammedan beliefs and institutions. Whereas, in Madras, it gladly +used Schwartz, subsidised the mission with 500 pagodas or 225_l._ a +year, and had always conveyed the missionaries' freight in its ships +free of charge, in Bengal it kept out missionaries, or so treated them +with all the rigour of the law against 'interlopers,' that William +Carey had to begin his career as an indigo planter, and seek +protection in Danish Serampore, where he became openly and only a +preacher and teacher of Christ. North India, too, with Calcutta and +Benares as its two Hindu centres, and Lucknow and Delhi as its two +Mohammedan centres, Shiah and Soonni, was, and is, the very citadel of +all the non-Christian world. The same Gospel which had proved the +power of God to the simple demonolators of the Dravidian south, must +be shown to be the wisdom of God to the Koolin of Bengal, the Brahman +of Kasi, the fanatical Muslim from Dacca, and ultimately to Peshawur +and Cabul, Persia and Arabia. The Himalayan and Gangetic land--from +which Buddhism overran Eastern and Southern Asia--must again send +forth a missionary message to call Cathay to Christ. + +The Christianising of North India began in 1758, the year after the +battle of Plassey, when, as Governor, the conqueror, Clive, welcomed +his old acquaintance, of the Cuddalore Mission, the Swede Kiernander, +to Calcutta, and gave him a rent-free house for eight years. Even +Burke was friendly with Clive, writing of him: 'Lord Clive once +thought himself obliged to me for having done what I thought an act of +justice towards him;'[20] and it is pleasant thus to be able in any +way to link that name with the purely spiritual force which used the +Plassey and the Mutiny wars, as it will direct all events, for making +India Christ's. The first church, built in 1715 by the merchants and +captains, had been destroyed by a hurricane; the second had been +demolished by Suraj-ood-Dowlah, in the siege of Calcutta, two years +before, and one of the two chaplains had perished in the Black Hole, +while the other was driven away. For the next thirty years the few who +went to the chaplains' church worshipped in a small bungalow in the +old fort, where Kiernander opened his first school. By 1771-4 he had +formed such a congregation of poor Christians--Portuguese, Roman +Catholics, and Bengali converts--that he built and extended the famous +Mission Church and School-house, at a cost of 12,000_l._, received +from both his marriages. When, by becoming surety for another, the old +man lost his all, and blindness added to his sorrows, he left an +English congregation of 147 members, and a Native congregation of 119, +half Portuguese or Eurasians, and half Bengali. + +Kiernander's Mission Church was the centre of the religious life of +Calcutta and Bengal. Six years after its foundation there came to +Calcutta, from Madras, Mr. William Chambers--who had been converted by +Schwartz--and John Christian Obeck, who had been one of the catechists +of the Apostle of South India. Chambers had not been a year in the +capital when he found out Charles Grant, at that time overwhelmed by a +domestic sorrow, and brought him to Christ. Grant soon after went to +Maldah as Commercial Resident, where he had as his subordinates, +George Udny, Ellerton, W. Brown, W. Grant, J. Henry, and Creighton. +These men, with their families, Sir Robert Chambers, of the Supreme +Court, Mrs. Anne Chambers who was with her sons, Mrs. Chapman, and +others less known, formed the nucleus of a Christian community which +first supported Thomas as a medical missionary, then welcomed Carey, +and, with the assistance of two Governor-Generals, Sir John Shore and +Lord Wellesley, changed the tone of Anglo-Indian society. Sir William +Jones, too, in his brief career of six years, set an example of all +the virtues. Henry Martyn had two predecessors as Evangelical +chaplains and missionary philanthropists, the Yorkshire David Brown, +and the Scottish Claudius Buchanan. + +David Brown, an early friend of Simeon and Fellow of Magdalen College, +was recovering from a long illness in 1785, when a letter reached him +from London, proposing that he should seek ordination, and in ten days +he accompanied Captain Kirkpatrick to Calcutta to superintend the +Military Orphan School. The officers of the Bengal Army had unanimously +resolved to tax themselves for the removal and prevention of the scandal +caused by the number of boys and girls left destitute--no fewer than 500 +at that time. This noble school, the blessings of which were soon +extended to the white and coloured offspring of non-commissioned +officers and soldiers also, was organised at Howrah by Brown, who then +was made chaplain to a brigade, and afterwards one of the Fort William +or Presidency chaplains. He found the Mission practically non-existent, +owing to Kiernander's losses and old age. To save the buildings from +sale by the sheriff, Charles Grant bought them for 10,000 rupees and +vested them in himself, Mr. A. Chambers, and Mr. Brown, by a deed +providing that they remain appropriated to the sole purposes of +religion. Until the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge could send +out a minister, David Brown greatly extended the work of Kiernander. At +one time it was likely that Henry Martyn would be sent out by Mr. Grant. +Under the Church Missionary Society the Mission Church of Calcutta has +ever since been identified with all that is best in pure religion and +missionary enterprise in the city of Calcutta. + +When sending out the Rev. A.T. Clarke, B.A. of Trinity College, +Cambridge, who soon after became a chaplain, the Christian Knowledge +Society, referring to Schwartz and Germany, fertile in missionaries, +declared, 'It has been the surprise of many, and the lamentation of +more, that fortitude thus exemplified should not have inspired some of +our own clergy with an emulation to follow and to imitate these +champions of the Cross, thus seeking and thus contending to save them +who are lost.' That was in 1789, when the Society and Dr. Watson, +Bishop of Llandaff, along with Simeon, Wilberforce, and the other +Clapham men, had before it, officially, the request of Charles Grant, +Chambers and Brown to send out eight English missionaries on 350_l._ a +year each, to study at Benares and attack Hinduism in its very centre. +Not till 1817 was the first Church of England missionary, as such, the +Rev. William Greenwood, to settle in Ceylon and then in Bengal. Even +he became rather an additional chaplain to the invalid soldiers at +Chunar. + +After a career not unlike that of John Newton, who first directed his +attention to India, Claudius Buchanan, whom his father had intended to +educate for the ministry of the Church of Scotland, wandered to +London, was sent to Queen's College, Cambridge, by Mr. Thornton of +Clapham; there came under Simeon's influence, and was appointed to +Bengal as a chaplain by Mr. Grant. That was in 1796. For the next ten +years in Barrackpore and Calcutta as the trusted chaplain of Lord +Wellesley, by his researches in South India, by his promotion of Bible +translation, and by the interest in the Christianising of India which +his generous prizes excited in the Universities and Churches of +England and Scotland, Dr. Claudius Buchanan was the foremost +ecclesiastic in the East. He at once gave an impulse to the silent +revolution which David Brown began and the Serampore missionaries +carried on. His Christian statesmanship commended him to all the +authorities, and soon the new Cathedral of St. John, which Warren +Hastings had erected to supersede the old Bungalow Church, became +filled with an attentive and devout congregation, as well as the +mission church. These two men and William Carey formed the pillars of +the College of Fort William, by which Lord Wellesley not only educated +the young civilians and military officers in the Oriental languages, and +in their duties to the natives, but developed a high ideal of public +life and personal morality. Such was the growth of Christian feeling +alike in the army and the civil service, and such the sense of duty to +the rapidly increasing Eurasian community, as well as to the natives, +that by 1803 Claudius Buchanan submitted to the Governor-General, the +Archbishop of Canterbury, and Bishop Porteus, his _Thoughts on the +Expediency of an Ecclesiastical Establishment for British India_. It +took ten years, covering the whole period of Henry Martyn's activities +and life, from this time for the proposal to be legislatively carried +out in the East India Company's Charter of 1813. + +Practically--except in Maldah residency during the influence of Grant, +Udny, and Carey at the end of last century--the reformation was +confined to Calcutta, as we shall see. It was a young lieutenant of +the Company's army who was the first to draw the attention of the +Governor-General, Sir John Shore, in 1794, to the total neglect of +religion in Bengal. Lieutenant White wrote that he had been eleven +years in the country without having had it in his power to hear the +public prayers of the Church above five times. He urged the regular +worship of God, the public performance of Divine service, and +preaching at all the stations. He proposed 'additional chaplains to +the Company's complement for considerable places which now have none +to officiate. Unless places were erected at the different stations for +assembling to Divine service, it must be impossible for chaplains even +to be able to do their duty, and to assemble the people together.' +The letter delighted the Governor-General, who said of it to David +Brown, 'I shall certainly recommend places to be made at the stations, +and shall desire the General who is going up the country to take this +matter in charge, and to fix on spots where chapels shall be erected.' +Nothing was done in consequence of this, however. It was left to +Martyn, and the other chaplains who were in earnest, to find or create +covered places for worship at the great military stations. Claudius +Buchanan himself could not hold regular services at Barrackpore, close +to Calcutta, for want of a church, and that was supplied long after by +adapting and consecrating the station theatre! + +The figures in Buchanan's published Memoir on the Expediency of an +Ecclesiastical Establishment, enable us to estimate exactly the +spiritual destitution of the Protestant subjects of the British +Government in Asia. Twelve years after Lieutenant White, Sir John +Shore, David Brown, and Claudius Buchanan first raised the question, +and when Henry Martyn began his ministrations to all classes, there +were 676,557 Protestant subjects in India, Ceylon, Java, Sumatra, and +Canton, Roman Catholics and Syrian Christians not included. In the +three Presidencies of India alone there were 156,057, of whom 7,257 +were civil and military officers and inhabitants, 6,000 were the +Company's European troops, 19,800 were the King's troops, 110,000 were +Eurasians, and 13,000 were 'native Protestant Christians at Tanjore.' +In Bengal alone--that is, North India--there were fifty stations, +thirty-one civil and nineteen military, many of which had been +'without the offices of religion for twenty years past, though at each +there reside generally a judge, a collector, a commercial resident, +with families, together with their assistants and families, and a +surgeon;' also indigo planters, tradesmen, and other European +inhabitants and the alarmingly large number of Eurasians. In Bengal +alone there were 13,299 European Protestants, of whom 2,467 were civil +servants and military officers; of the whole 13,299, 'a tenth part do +not return to England,' and desire Christian education and confirmation +for their children. Yet 'at present there are but three churches in +India, the chief of which was aided in construction by Hindu +contribution.' The India _Journals and Letters_ of Martyn must be read +in the light of all this. + +It was thus that the successive generations of soldiers and civilians +who won for Christian England its Indian Empire in the century from +Clive to Wellesley, Hastings, and Dalhousie, were de-Christianised. +Not till the close of the Mutiny war in 1858 did John Lawrence, first +as Lieutenant-Governor of the Punjab and then as Viceroy, and Sir +Robert Montgomery as Lieutenant-Governor, lead the Queen's Government +to do its duty, by erecting, or helping Christians to erect, a chapel +in every station up to Peshawur and Burma--that, to use Buchanan's +language in 1806, 'the English soldiers and our countrymen of all +descriptions, after long absence from a Christian country, may +recognise a church.' Including Ceylon, Buchanan's scheme proposed an +annual expenditure of 144,000_l._ for four dioceses, with 50 English +chaplains and 100 native curates, 200 schoolmasters and 4 colleges to +train both Europeans and natives for the ministry; of this, Parliament +to give 100,000_l._ The ecclesiastical establishment of India--without +Ceylon, but including Church of Scotland chaplains, and grants to +Wesleyans and Roman Catholics--now costs India itself 160,000_l._ a +year, while the annual value of the lands devoted to the non-Christian +cults is many millions sterling. With all this, and the aid of the +Additional Clergy and Anglo-Indian Evangelisation Societies, and of +the missionaries to the natives, Great Britain does not meet the +spiritual wants of the now enormous number and scattered communities +of Christian soldiers and residents in its Indian Empire. + +Henry Martyn went out to India at a time when the government of India +had been temporarily entrusted to one of the only three or four +incompetent and unworthy men who have held the high office of +Governor-General. Sir George Barlow was a Bengal civilian of the old +type, whom Lord Wellesley had found so zealous and useful in matters of +routine that he had recommended him as provisional Governor-General. But +the moment that that proconsul had seated the East India Company on the +throne of the Great Mogul, as has been said, and Lord Cornwallis, who +had been hurried out a second time to undo his magnificent and just +policy, had died at Ghazipore, Sir George Barlow showed the most +disastrous zeal in opposition to all his former convictions. By +withholding from Sindia the lamentable despatch of September 19, 1805, +which Lord Cornwallis had signed when the unconsciousness of death had +already weakened his efficiency, Lord Lake gave the civil authorities a +final opportunity to consider their ways. But Barlow's stupidity--now +clothed with the almost dictator's power of the highest office under the +British Crown, as it was in those days--deliberately declared it to be +his desire, not only to fix the limit of our empire at the Jumna, a +river fordable by an enemy at all times, but to promote general anarchy +beyond that frontier as the best security for British peace within it. +The peace of Southern Asia and the good of its peoples were postponed +for years, till, with difficulty, the Marquis of Hastings restored the +empire to the position in which Lord Wellesley had left it. Sir George +Barlow is responsible for the twelve years' anarchy of British India, +from 1805 to 1817. His administration, which became such a failure that +he was removed to Madras, and was from even that province recalled, must +rank as a blot on the otherwise unbroken splendour and benevolence to +the subject races of the government of South Asia in the century and a +half from Clive to Lord Lansdowne. + +The man who, from dull stolidity more than from Macchiavellian craft, +thus again plunged half India into a series of wars by chief upon +chief and creed upon creed, was no less guilty of intolerance to +Christianity within the Company's territories. On the one hand, in +opposition to the views of Lord Wellesley, and even of the Court of +Directors led by Charles Grant, he made the Company's government the +direct manager of the Poori temple of Jaganath and its dancing girls; +on the other, he would have banished the Serampore and all Christian +missionaries from the country, but for the courageous opposition of +the little Governor of that Danish settlement. All too late he was +relieved by Lord Minto, whom the Brahmanised officials of 1807 to 1810 +used for a final and futile effort to crush Christianity out of India, +to the indignation of Henry Martyn, whose language in his _Journal_ is +not more unmeasured than the intolerance deserves. But in his purely +foreign policy Lord Minto proved that he had not held the office of +President of the Board of Control in vain. He once more asserted the +only reason for the existence of a foreign power in India, 'the +suppression of intestine disorder,' clearing Bundelkhund of robber +chiefs and military strongholds. Surrounded and assisted by the +brilliant civilians and military officers whom Wellesley and Carey had +trained--men like Mountstuart Elphinstone, Metcalfe and Malcolm--Lord +Minto proved equal to the strain which the designs of Napoleon +Bonaparte in the Treaty of Tilsit put upon our infant empire in the +East. He sent Metcalfe to Lahore, and confined the dangerous power of +Ranjeet Singh to the north of the Sutlej. He despatched Elphinstone to +Cabul, introducing the wise policy which has converted Afghanistan +into a friendly subsidised State; and through Malcolm he opened Persia +to English influence, paving the way for the embassy of Wellesley's +friend, Sir Gore Ouseley, and--unconsciously--for the kindly reception +of Henry Martyn. + +It was on April 22, 1806, at sunrise, that the young chaplain landed +from the surf-boat on the sands of Madras. His experience at San +Salvador had prepared him for the scene, and even for the crowds of +dark natives, though not for 'the elegance of their manners.' 'I felt +a solemn sort of melancholy at the sight of such multitudes of +idolators. While the turbaned Asiatics waited upon us at dinner, about +a dozen of them, I could not help feeling as if we had got into their +places.' He visited the native suburb in which his Hindustani-speaking +servants dwelt, and was depressed by its 'appearance of wretchedness.' +His soul was filled with the zeal of the Old Testament prophets +against idolatry, the first sight of which--of men, women, and +children, mad upon their idols--produces an impression which he does +not exaggerate: 'I fancy the frown of God to be visible.' He lost not +a day in commending his Master to the people. 'Had a good deal of +conversation with a Rajpoot about religion, and told him of the +Gospel.' The young natives pressed upon the new-comer as usual. 'Rose +early, but could not enjoy morning meditations in my walk, as the +young men would attach themselves to me.' + +He was much in the society of the Rev. Dr. Kerr[21] and the other +Madras chaplains; one of these was about to proceed to Seringapatam, +where Martyn urged him to 'devote himself to the work of preaching to +the natives.' This was ever foremost in his thoughts. He spent days in +obtaining from Dr. Kerr 'a vast deal of information about all the +chaplains and missionaries in the country, which he promised to put in +writing for me.' Schwartz was not then dead ten years, and Dr. Kerr, +who had known him and Guericke well, gave his eager listener many +details of the great missionary. + + Felt excessively delighted with accounts of a very late date + from Bengal, describing the labours of the missionaries, and was + rather agitated at the confusion of interesting thoughts that + crowded upon me; but I reasoned, Why thus? God may never honour + you with a missionary commission; you must expect to leave the + field, and bid adieu to the world and all its concerns. + +On his first Sunday in India, April 27, 1806, Henry Martyn assisted in +the service in the church at Fort St. George, and preached from Luke +x. 41, 42, 'One thing is needful.' + + There was much attention, and Lord William sent to Dr. Kerr + afterwards to request a copy of the sermon; but I believe it was + generally thought too severe. After dinner, went to Black Town + to Mr. Loveless's chapel. I sat in the air at the door enjoying + the blessed sound of the Gospel on an Indian shore, and joining + with much comfort in the song of divine praise. With young + Torriano I had some conversation respecting his entering the + ministry, as he spoke the Malabar tongue fluently. Walked home + at night enjoying the presence of God. + + _April 28._--This morning, at breakfast, Sir E. Pellew came in + and said: 'Upon my word, Mr. Martyn, you gave us a good trimming + yesterday.' As this was before a large company, and I was taken + by surprise, I knew not what to say. Passed most of the day in + transcribing the sermon. There was nothing very awakening in it. + About five in the evening I walked to Dr. Kerr's, and found my + way across the fields, which much resembled those near + Cambridge; I stopped some time to take a view of the men drawing + 'toddy' from the tree, and their manner of ploughing. + + _April 30._--Breakfasted at Sir E. Pellew's with Captain S. Cole + of the Culloden. I had a good deal of conversation about our + friends at St. Hilary and Marazion. Continued at home the rest + of the day transcribing sermon, and reading Zechariah. In the + evening drove with Dr. Kerr to Mr. Faulkner's, the Persian + translator, five or six miles in the country. We had some useful + conversation about the languages. On my return walked by + moonlight in the grounds reflecting on the mission. My soul was + at first sore tried by desponding thoughts: but God wonderfully + assisted me to trust Him for the wisdom of His dispensations. + Truly, therefore, will I say again, 'Who art thou, O great + mountain? before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain.' How easy + for God to do it! and it shall be done in good time: and even if + I never should see a native converted, God may design by my + patience and continuance in the work to encourage future + missionaries. But what surprises me is the change of views I + have here from what I had in England.--There, my heart expanded + with hope and joy at the prospect of the speedy conversion of + the heathen! but here, the sight of the apparent impossibility + requires a strong faith to support the spirits. + +The 'Lord William' of the _Journal_ is the Governor of Madras, Lord +William Bentinck, whom, at the beginning of his Indian career, it is +interesting to find thus pleasantly brought into contact with Henry +Martyn--just as he became the fast friend of Alexander Duff, at the +close of his long and beneficent services to his country and to +humanity. In two months thereafter the Vellore Mutiny was to break +out, through no fault of his, and he was to be recalled by an act of +injustice for which George Canning and the Court of Directors atoned +twenty years after by appointing him Governor-General. + +After a fortnight off Madras, the Union once more set sail under the +convoy of the Victor sloop-of-war. Every moment the young scholar had +sought to add to his knowledge of Hindustani and Persian. He changed +his first native servant for one who could speak Hindustani. He drove +with Dr. Kerr to Mr. Faulkner's, the Persian translator to Government. +'We had some useful conversation about the languages.' On the voyage +to Calcutta, he was 'employed in learning Bengali. Passed the +afternoon on the poop reading Sale's _Al Coran_.' Only missionary +thoughts and aspirations ruled his mind, now despairing of his own +fitness; now refreshed as he turned from the Church Missionary +Society's reports to the evangelical prophecies of Malachi; again +praying for the young missionaries of the London Society as he passed +Vizagapatam, and for 'poor India' as he came in sight of the Jaganath +pagoda, 'much resembling in appearance Roche Rock in Cornwall ... the +scene presented another specimen of that tremendous gloom with which +the devil has overspread the land.' After taking a pilot on board in +Balasore Roads, where Carey had first landed, the ship was driven out +to sea by a north-wester, and Henry Martyn suffered from his first +sunstroke. In three days she anchored in the Hoogli, above Culpee, and +on May 13 bumped on that dreaded shoal, the James and Mary. 'The +captain considered the vessel as lost. Retired as soon as possible for +prayer, and found my soul in peace at the prospect of death.' She +floated off, exchanging most of the treasure into a tender which lay +becalmed off the Garden Reach suburb, then 'very beautiful.' + +Henry Martyn landed at Calcutta in the height of the hot season, on +May 16, 1806. Claudius Buchanan had passed him at the mouth of the +Hoogli, setting out on the tour of the coasts of India, which resulted +in the _Christian Researches_. David Brown was in his country retreat +at Aldeen, near Serampore. + +The man whom, next to his own colleagues, he first sought out was the +quondam shoemaker of Hackleton, and poor Baptist preacher of Moulton, +the Bengali missionary to whose success Charles Simeon had pointed him +when fresh from the triumph of Senior Wrangler; the apostle then +forty-five years of age, who was busy with the duties of Professor of +Sanskrit, Bengali, and Marathi, in the College of Fort William, that +he might have the Bible translated into all the languages of Asia, and +preached in all the villages of North India. + + _1806, May 16._--Went ashore at daylight this morning, and with + some difficulty found Carey: Messrs. Brown and Buchanan being + both absent from Calcutta. With him I breakfasted, joined with + him in worship, which was in Bengali for the advantage of a few + servants, who sat, however, perfectly unmoved. I could not help + contrasting them with the slaves and Hottentots at Cape Town, + whose hearts seemed to burn within them. After breakfast Carey + began to translate, with a Pandit, from a Sanskrit manuscript. + Presently after, Dr. Taylor came in. I had engaged a boat to go + to Serampore, when a letter from Mr. Brown found me out, and + directed me to his house in the town, where I spent the rest of + the day in solitude, and more comfortably and profitably than + any time past. I enjoyed several solemn seasons in prayer, and + more lively impressions from God's Word. I felt elevated above + those distressing fears and distractions which pride and + worldliness engender in the mind. Employed at times in writing + to Mr. Simeon, Mr. Brown's moonshi; a Brahmin of the name of B. + Roy came in and disputed with me two hours about the Gospel. I + was really surprised at him; he spoke English very well and + possessed more acuteness, good sense, moderation, and + acquaintance with the Scriptures than I could conceive to be + found in an Indian. He spoke with uncommon energy and eloquence, + intending to show that Christianity and Hinduism did not + materially differ. He asked me to explain my system, and adduce + the proofs of it from the Bible, which he said he believed was + the Word of God. When I asked him about his idolatry, he asked + in turn what I had to say to our worshipping Christ. This led to + inquiries about the Trinity, which, after hearing what I had to + say, he observed was actually the Hindu notion. I explained + several things about the Jews and the Old Testament, about which + he wanted information, with all which he was amazingly pleased. + I feel much encouraged by this to go to instruct them. I see + that they are a religious people, as St. Paul called the + Athenians, and my heart almost springs at the thought that the + time is ripening for the fulness of the Gentiles to come in. + + _May 17._--A day more unprofitable than the foregoing; the + depravity of my heart, as it is in its natural frame, appeared + to me to-day almost unconquerable. I could not, however long in + prayer, keep the presence of God, or the power of the world to + come, in my mind at all. It sunk down to its most lukewarm + state, and continued in general so, in spite of my endeavours. + Oh, how I need a deep heartrending work of the Spirit upon + myself, before I shall save myself, or them that hear me! What I + hear about my future destination has proved a trial to me + to-day. My dear brethren, Brown and Buchanan, wish to keep me + here, as I expected, and the Governor accedes to their wishes. I + have a great many reasons for not liking this; I almost think + that to be prevented going among the heathen as a missionary + would break my heart. Whether it be self-will or aught else, I + cannot yet rightly ascertain. At all events I must learn + submission to everything. In the multitude of my thoughts Thy + comforts delight my soul. I have been running the hurried round + of thought without God. I have forgotten that He ordereth + everything. I have been bearing the burden of my cares myself, + instead of casting them all upon Him. Mr. Brown came in to-day + from Serampore, and gave me directions how to proceed; continued + at home writing to E. In the afternoon went on board, but + without being able to get my things away. Much of the rest of + the day passed in conversation with Mr. Brown. I feel pressed in + spirit to do something for God. Everybody is diligent, but I am + idle; all employed in their proper work, but I tossed in + uncertainty; I want nothing but grace; I want to be perfectly + holy, and to save myself and those that hear me. I have hitherto + lived to little purpose, more like a clod than a servant of God; + now let me burn out for God. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[19] _An Abstract of the Annual Reports and Correspondence of the +Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge from 1709 to 1814._ London, +1814, pp. 4-24. + +[20] See a remarkable letter from Mr. Burke to Yuseph Emin, an +Armenian of Calcutta, in Simeon's _Memorial Sketches of David Brown_, +p. 334. + +[21] Simeon thus introduced him to Dr. Kerr, in a private letter quoted +by a later Madras chaplain, Rev. James Hough, in his valuable five volumes +on _The History of Christianity in India_: 'Our excellent friend, Mr. +Martyn, lived five months with me, and a more heavenly-minded young man +I never saw.' In the same year, the Rev. Marmaduke Thompson, an +evangelical chaplain, arrived in Madras _via_ Calcutta. + + + + +CHAPTER V + +CALCUTTA AND SERAMPORE, 1806 + + +'Now let me burn out for God!' Such were the words with which Henry +Martyn began his ministry to natives and Europeans in North India, as +in the secrecy of prayer he reviewed his first two days in Calcutta. +Chaplain though he was, officially, at the most intolerant time of the +East India Company's administration, he was above all things a +missionary. Charles Simeon had chosen him, and Charles Grant had sent +him out, for this as well as his purely professional duty, and it +never occurred to him that he could be anything else. He burned to +bring all men to the same peace with God and service to Him which he +himself had for seven years enjoyed. We find him recording his great +delight, now at an extract sent to him from the East India Company's +Charter, doubtless the old one from William III., 'authorising and +even requiring me to teach the natives,' and again on receiving a +letter from Corrie, 'exulting with thankfulness and joy that Dr. Kerr +was preaching the Gospel. Eight such chaplains in India! this is +precious news indeed.' Even up to the present time no Christian in +India has ever recognised so fully, or carried out in a brief time so +unrestingly, his duty to natives and Europeans alike as sinners to be +saved by Jesus Christ alone. + +Henry Martyn's first Sunday in Calcutta was spent in worship in St. +Johns, the 'new church,' when Mr. Jefferies read one part and Mr. +Limerick another of the service, and Mr. Brown preached. Midday was +spent with 'a pious family where we had some agreeable and religious +conversation, but their wish to keep me from the work of the mission +and retain me at Calcutta was carried farther than mere civility, and +showed an extraordinary unconcern for the souls of the poor heathens.' +In the evening, though unwell with a cold and sore throat, he ventured +to read the service in the mission or old church of Kiernander. He was +there 'agreeably surprised at the number, attention, and apparent +liveliness of the audience. Most of the young ministers that I know +would rejoice to come from England if they knew how attractive every +circumstance is respecting the church.' Next day he was presented at +the levee of Sir George Barlow, acting Governor-General, 'who, after +one or two trifling questions, passed on.' He then spent some time in +the College of Fort William, where he was shown Tipoo's library, and +one of the Mohammedan professors--a colleague of Carey--chanted the +Koran. Thence he was rowed with the tide, in an hour and a half, +sixteen miles up the Hoogli to Aldeen, the house of Rev. David Brown +in the suburb of Serampore, which became his home in Lower Bengal. On +the next two Sundays he preached in the old church of Calcutta, and in +the new church 'officiated at the Sacrament with Mr. Limerick.' It was +on June 8 that he preached in the new church, for the first time, his +famous sermon from 1 Cor. i. 23, 24, on '_Christ crucified, unto the +Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness; but unto them +which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and +the wisdom of God_.' + +This is his own account of the immediate result: + + _1806, June 8._--The sermon excited no small ferment; however, + after some looks of surprise and whispering, the congregation + became attentive and serious. I knew what I was to be on my + guard against, and therefore, that I might not have my mind full + of idle thoughts about the opinions of men, I prayed both before + and after, that the Word might be for the conversion of souls, + and that I might feel indifferent, except on this score. + +We cannot describe the sermon, as it was published after his death, +and again in 1862, more correctly than by comparing it to one of Mr. +Spurgeon's, save that, in style, it is a little more academic and a +little less Saxon or homely. But never before had the high officials +and prosperous residents of Calcutta, who attended the church which +had become 'fashionable' since the Marquess Wellesley set the example +of regular attendance, heard the evangel preached. The chaplains had +been and were of the Arian and Pelagian type common in the Church till +a later period. They at once commenced an assault on their young +colleague and on the doctrines by which Luther and Calvin had reformed +the Churches of Christendom. This was the conclusion of the hated +sermon: + + There is, in every congregation, a large proportion of Jews and + Greeks. There are persons who resemble the Jews in + self-righteousness; who, after hearing the doctrines of grace + insisted on for years, yet see no occasion at all for changing + the ground of their hopes. They seek righteousness 'not by + faith, but as it were by the works of the law: for they stumble + at that stumbling-stone' (Rom. ix. 32); or, perhaps, after going + a little way in the profession of the Gospel, they take offence + at the rigour of the practice which we require, as if the + Gospel did not enjoin it. 'This is a hard saying,' they + complain; 'who can hear it?' (John vi. 60), and thus resemble + those who first made the complaint, who 'went back and walked no + more with Him.' + + Others come to carp and to criticise. While heretics who deny + the Lord that bought them, open infidels, professed atheists, + grossly wicked men, are considered as entitled to candour, + liberality, and respect, they are pleased to make serious + professors of the Gospel exclusively objects of contempt, and + set down their discourses on the mysteries of faith as idle and + senseless jargon. Alas! how miserably dark and perverse must + they be who think thus of that Gospel which unites all the power + and wisdom of God in it. After God has arranged all the parts of + His plan, so as to make it the best which in His wisdom could be + devised for the restoration of man, how pitiable their stupidity + and ignorance to whom it is foolishness! And, let us add, how + miserable will be their end! because they not only are condemned + already, and the wrath of God abideth on them, but they incur + tenfold danger: they not only remain without a remedy to their + maladies, but have the guilt of rejecting it when offered to + them. This is their danger, that there is always a + stumbling-block in the way: the further they go, the nearer are + they to their fall. They are always exposed to sudden, + unexpected destruction. They cannot foresee one moment whether + they shall stand or fall the next; and when they do fall they + fall at once without warning. Their feet shall slide in due + time. Just shame is it to the sons of men, that He whose delight + it was to do them good, and who so loved them as to shed His + blood for them, should have so many in the world to despise and + reject His offers; but thus is the ancient Scripture + fulfilled--'The natural man receiveth not the things of the + Spirit of God' (1 Cor. ii. 14). + + Tremble at your state, all ye that from self-righteousness, or + pride, or unwillingness to follow Him in the regeneration, + disregard Christ! Nothing keeps you one moment from perdition + but the mere sovereign pleasure of God. Yet suppose not that we + take pleasure in contradicting your natural sentiments on + religion, or in giving pain by forcing offensive truths upon + your attention--no! as the ministers of joy and peace we rise up + at the command of God, to preach Christ crucified to you all. He + died for His bitterest enemies: therefore, though ye have been + Jews or Greeks, self-righteous, ignorant, or profane--though ye + have presumed to call His truths in question, treated the Bible + with contempt, or even chosen to prefer an idol to the + Saviour--yet return, at length, before you die, and God is + willing to forgive you. + + How happy is the condition of those who obey the call of the + Gospel. Their hope being placed on that way of salvation which + is the _power_ and _wisdom_ of God, on what a broad, firm basis + doth it rest! Heaven and earth may pass away, though much of the + power and wisdom of God was employed in erecting that fabric; + but the power and wisdom themselves of God must be cut off from + His immutable essence, and pass away, before one tittle of your + hope can fail. Then rejoice, ye children of Wisdom, by whom she + is justified. Happy are your eyes, for they see; and your ears, + for they hear; and the things which God hath hidden from the + wise and prudent, He hath revealed unto you. Ye were righteous + in your own esteem; but ye 'count all things but loss for the + excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus our Lord.' Then be + not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ, 'which is the power of God + unto salvation unto every one that believeth'; but continue to + display its efficacy by the holiness of your lives, and live + rejoicing in hope of the glory of God. + +The opposition of the officers and many of the troops on board the +transport had made the preacher familiar with attack and misrepresentation, +but not less faithful in expounding the Gospel of the grace of God as he +himself had received it to his joy, and for his service to the death. But +the ministrations of David Brown for some years might have been expected +to have made the civilians and merchants of Calcutta more tolerant, if not +more intelligent. They were, however, incited or led by the two other +chaplains thus: + + _1806, June 16._--Heard that Dr. Ward had made an intemperate + attack upon me yesterday at the new church, and upon all the + doctrines of the Gospel. I felt like the rest, disposed to be + entertained at it; but I knew it to be wrong, and therefore + found it far sweeter to retire and pray, with my mind fixed upon + the more awful things of another world. + + _June 22._--Attended at the new church, and heard Mr. Jefferies + on the evidences of Christianity. I had laboured much in prayer + in the morning that God would be pleased to keep my heart during + the service from thinking about men, and I could say as I was + going, 'I will go up to Thy house in the multitude of Thy + mercies, and in Thy fear will I worship toward Thy holy temple.' + In public worship I was rather more heavenly-minded than on + former occasions, yet still vain and wandering. At night + preached on John x. 11: 'I am the good shepherd;' there was + great attention. Yet felt a little dejected afterwards, as if I + always preached without doing good. + + _July 6._--Laboured to have my mind impressed with holy things, + particularly because I expected to have a personal attack from + the pulpit. Mr. Limerick preached from 2 Pet. i. 13, and spoke + with sufficient plainness against me and my doctrines. Called + them inconsistent, extravagant, and absurd. He drew a vast + variety of false inferences from the doctrines, and thence + argued against the doctrines themselves. To say that repentance + is the gift of God was to induce men to sit still and wait for + God. To teach that Nature was wholly corrupt was to lead men to + despair; that men thinking the righteousness of Christ + sufficient to justify, will account it unnecessary to have any + of their own: this last assertion moved me considerably, and I + started at hearing such downright heresy. He spoke of me as one + of those who understand neither what they say nor whereof they + affirm, and as speaking only to gratify self-sufficiency, pride, + and uncharitableness. I rejoiced at having the sacrament of the + Lord's Supper afterwards, as the solemnities of that blessed + ordinance sweetly tended to soothe the asperities and dissipate + the contempt which was rising; and I think I administered the + cup to ---- and ---- with sincere good-will. At night I preached + on John iv. 10, at the mission church, and, blessed be God! with + an enlarged heart. I saw ---- in tears, and that encouraged me + to hope that perhaps some were savingly affected, but I feel no + desire except that my God should be glorified. If any are + awakened at hearing me, let me not hear of it if I should glory. + + _August 24._--At the new church, Mr. Jefferies preached. I + preached in the evening on Matt. xi. 28, without much heart, yet + the people as attentive as possible. + + _August 25._--Called on Mr. Limerick and Mr. Birch; with the + latter I had a good deal of conversation on the practicability + of establishing schools, and uniting in a society. An officer + who was there took upon him to call in question the lawfulness + of interfering with the religion of the natives, and said that + at Delhi the Christians were some of the worst people there. I + was glad at the prospect of meeting with these Christians. The + Lord enabled me to speak boldly to the man, and to silence him. + From thence I went to the Governor-General's levee, and received + great attention from him, as, indeed, from most others here. + Perhaps it is a snare of Satan to stop my mouth, and make me + unwilling to preach faithfully to them. The Lord have mercy, + and quicken me to diligence. + + _August 26._--At night Marshman came, and our conversation was + very refreshing and profitable. Truly the love of God is the + happiness of the soul! My soul felt much sweetness at this + thought, and breathed after God. At midnight Marshman came to + the pagoda, and awakened me with the information that Sir G. + Barlow had sent word to Carey not to disperse any more tracts + nor send out more native brethren, or in any way interfere with + the prejudices of the natives. We did not know what to make of + this; the subject so excited me that I was again deprived of + necessary sleep. + + _August 28._--Enjoyed much comfort in my soul this morning, and + ardour for my work, but afterwards consciousness of indolence + and unprofitableness made me uneasy. In the evening Mr. + Marshman, Ward, Moore, and Rowe came up and talked with us on + the Governor's prohibition of preaching the Gospel, &c. Mr. + Brown's advice was full of wisdom, and weighed with them all. I + was exceedingly excited, and spoke with vehemence against the + measures of government, which afterwards filled me justly with + shame. + +The earnestness of the young chaplain was such that 'the people of +Calcutta,' or all the Evangelicals, joined even by the Baptist +missionaries at Serampore, gave him no rest that he might consent to +become minister of the mission or old church, with a chaplain's salary +and house. Dr. Marshman urged that thus he might create a missionary +spirit and organise missionary undertakings of more value to the +natives than the preaching of any one man. But he remained deaf to the +temptation, while he passed on the call to Cousin T. Hitchins and +Emma, at Plymouth. His call was not to preach even in the metropolis +of British India, the centre of Southern Asia; but, through their own +languages, to set in motion a force which must win North India, +Arabia, and Persia to Christ, while by his death he should stir up the +great Church of England to do its duty. + +[Illustration: PAGODA, ALDEEN HOUSE] + +Serampore was the scene of his praying, his communing, and his +studying, while every Sunday was given to his duties in Calcutta, as +he waited five months for his first appointment to a military station. +David Brown had not long before acquired Aldeen House, with its +tropical garden and English-like lawn sloping down to the river, +nearly opposite the Governor-General's summer-house and park of +Barrackpore. Connected with the garden was the old and architecturally +picturesque temple of the idol Radha-bullub, which had been removed +farther inland because the safety of the shrine was imperilled by the +river. But the temple still stands, in spite of the rapid Hoogli at +its base, and the more destructive peepul tree which has spread over +its massive dome. In 1854, when the present writer first visited the +now historic spot, even the platform above the river was secure, but +that has since disappeared, with much of the fine brick moulding and +tracery work. Here was the young saint's home; ever since it has been +known as Henry Martyn's Pagoda, and has been an object of interest to +hundreds of visitors from Europe and America. + +[Illustration: A BRICK FROM HENRY MARTYN'S PAGODA] + +Henry Martyn became one of David Brown's family, with whom he kept up +the most loving correspondence almost to his death. But he spent even +more time with the already experienced missionaries who formed the +famous brotherhood a little farther up the right bank of the Hoogli. +Carey thus wrote of him, knowing nothing of the fact that it was his +own earlier reports which, in Simeon's hands, had first led Martyn to +desire the missionary career: 'A young clergyman, Mr. Martyn, is +lately arrived, who is possessed of a truly missionary spirit. He +lives at present with Mr. Brown, and as the image or shadow of bigotry +is not known among us here, we take sweet counsel together and go to +the house of God as friends.' Later on, the founder of the Modern +Missionary enterprise, who desired to send a missionary to every great +centre in North India, declared of the Anglican chaplain that, +wherever he went no other missionary would be needed. The late Mr. +John Clark Marshman, C.S.I., who as a lad saw them daily, wrote: 'A +strong feeling of sympathy drew him into a close intimacy with Dr. +Marshman, and they might be often seen walking arm in arm, for hours +together, on the banks of the river between Aldeen House and the +Mission House.' To the last he addressed Dr. Marshman, in frequent +letters, as his 'dear brother,' anticipating the catholic tenderness +of Bishop Heber.[22] Martyn attended those family lectures of Ward on +the Hindus which resulted in his great book on the subject. In the +Pagoda, 'Carey, Marshman, and Ward joined in the same chorus of praise +with Brown, Martyn, and Corrie.' Martyn himself gives us these +exquisite unconscious pictures of Christian life in Serampore, in +which all true missionaries face to face with the common enemy have +followed the giants of those days. + + _1806, May 19._--In the cool of the evening we walked to the + mission-house, a few hundred yards off, and I at last saw the + place about which I have so long read with pleasure. I was + introduced to all the missionaries. We sat down about one + hundred and fifty to tea, at several long tables in an immense + room. After this there was evening service in another room + adjoining, by Mr. Ward. Mr. Marshman then delivered his lecture + on grammar. As his observations were chiefly confined to the + Greek, and seemed intended for the young missionaries, I was + rather disappointed, having expected to hear something about the + Oriental languages. With Mr. M. alone I had much conversation, + and received the first encouragement to be a missionary that I + have met with since I came to this country. I blessed God in my + heart for this seasonable supply of refreshment. Finding my sore + throat and cough much increased, I thought there might be some + danger, and felt rather low at the prospect of death. I could + scarcely tell why. The constant uneasiness I am in from the + bites of the mosquitoes made me rather fretful also. My + habitation assigned me by Mr. Brown is a pagoda in his grounds, + on the edge of the river. Thither I retired at night, and really + felt something like superstitious dread at being in a place once + inhabited, as it were, by devils, but yet felt disposed to be + triumphantly joyful that the temple where they were worshipped + was become Christ's oratory. I prayed out aloud to my God, and + the echoes returned from the vaulted roof. Oh, may I so pray + that the dome of heaven may resound! I like my dwelling much, it + is so retired and free from noise; it has so many recesses and + cells that I can hardly find my way in and out. + + _May 20._--Employed in preparing a sermon for to-morrow, and + while walking about for this purpose, my body and mind active, + my melancholy was a little relieved by the hope that I should + not be entirely useless as a missionary. In the evening I walked + with Mr. Brown, to see the evening worship at a pagoda whither + they say the god who inhabited my pagoda retired some years ago. + As we walked through the dark wood which everywhere covers the + country, the cymbals and drums struck up, and never did sounds + go through my heart with such horror in my life. The pagoda was + in a court, surrounded by a wall, and the way up to it was by a + flight of steps on each side. The people to the number of about + fifty were standing on the outside, and playing the instruments. + In the centre of the building was the idol, a little ugly black + image, about two feet high, with a few lights burning round him. + At intervals they prostrated themselves with their foreheads to + the earth. I shivered at being in the neighbourhood of hell; my + heart was ready to burst at the dreadful state to which the + Devil had brought my poor fellow-creatures. I would have given + the world to have known the language, to have preached to them. + At this moment Mr. Marshman arrived, and my soul exulted that + the truth would now be made known. He addressed the Brahmins + with a few questions about the god; they seemed to be all agreed + with Mr. Marshman, and quite ashamed at being interrogated, when + they knew they could give no answer. They were at least mute, + and would not reply; and when he continued speaking they struck + up again with their detestable music, and so silenced him. We + walked away in sorrow, but the scene we had witnessed gave rise + to a very profitable conversation, which lasted some hours. + Marshman in conversation with me alone sketched out what he + thought would be the most useful plan for me to pursue in India; + which would be to stay in Calcutta a year to learn the language, + and when I went up the country to take one or two native + brethren with me, to send them forth, and preach occasionally + only to confirm their word, to establish schools, and visit + them. He said I should do far more good in the way of influence + than merely by actual preaching. After all, whatever God may + appoint, prayer is the great thing. Oh, that I may be a man of + prayer; my spirit still struggles for deliverance from all my + corruptions. + + _May 22._--In our walk at sunset, met Mr. Marshman, with whom I + continued talking about the languages. Telling Mr. Brown about + my Cambridge honours, I found my pride stirred, and bitterly + repented having said anything about it. Surely the increase of + humility need not be neglected when silence may do it. + + _May 23._--Was in general in a spiritual, happy frame the whole + day, which I cannot but ascribe to my being more diligent and + frequent in prayer over the Scriptures, so that it is the + neglect of this duty that keeps my soul so low. Began the + Bengali grammar, and got on considerably. Continued my letters + to Mr. Simeon and Emma. At night we attended a conference of the + missionaries on this subject: 'Whether God could save sinners + without the death of Christ.' Messrs. Carey, Marshman, and Ward + spoke, Mr. Brown and myself. I offered what might be said on the + opposite side of the question to that which the rest took, to + show that He might have saved them without Christ. About + fourteen of the Bengali brethren were present and spoke on the + subject. Ram Roteen prayed. + + _Monday, May 26._--Went up to Serampore with Mr. Brown, with + whom I had much enlivening conversation. Why cannot I be like + Fletcher and Brainerd, and those men of modern times? Is + anything too hard for the Lord? Cannot my stupid stony heart be + made to flame with love and zeal? What is it that bewitches me, + that I live such a dying life? My soul groans under its bondage. + In the evening Marshman called; I walked back with him, and was + not a little offended at his speaking against the use of a + liturgy. I returned full of grief at the offences which arise + amongst men, and determined to be more alone with the blessed + God. + + _May 29._--Had some conversation with Marshman alone on the + prospects of the Gospel in this country, and the state of + religion in our hearts, for which I felt more anxious. + Notwithstanding, I endeavoured to guard against prating only to + display my experience; I found myself somewhat ruffled by the + conversation, and derived no benefit from it, but felt desirous + only to get away from the world, and to cease from men; my pride + was a little hurt by Marshman's questioning me as the merest + novice. He probably sees farther into me than I see into myself. + + _June 12._--Still exceedingly feeble; endeavoured to think on a + subject, and was much irritated at being unable to write a word. + Mrs. Brown, and afterwards Mr. Brown, paid me a visit. I came + into the house to dinner, but while there I felt as if fainting + or dying, and indeed really thought I was departing this life. I + was brought back again to the pagoda, and then on my bed I began + to pray as on the verge of eternity. The Lord was pleased to + break my hard heart, and deliver me from that satanic spirit of + light and arrogant unconcern about which I groaned out my + complaint to God. From this time I lay in tears, interceding for + the unfortunate natives of this country; thinking with myself, + that the most despised Soodra of India was of as much value, in + the sight of God, as the King of Great Britain: through the rest + of the day my soul remained in a spirit of contrition. + + _June 14._--A pundit came to me this morning, but after having + my patience tried with him, I was obliged to send him away, as + he knew nothing about Hindustani. I was exceedingly puzzled to + know how I should ever be able to acquire any assistance in + learning these languages. Alas! what trials are awaiting me. + Sickness and the climate have increased the irritability of my + temper, and occasions of trying it occur constantly. In the + afternoon, while pleading for a contrite tender spirit, but in + vain, I was obliged to cease praying for that tenderness of + spirit, and to go on to other petitions, and by this means was + brought to a more submissive state. Officiated at evening + worship. + + _June 15._--Found my mouth salivated this morning from calomel. + Attended the morning service at the mission-house; Mr. Marsdon + preached. After service Marshman and Carey talked with me in the + usual cheering way about missionary things, but my mind was + dark. In the afternoon was rather more comfortable in prayer, + and at evening worship was assisted to go through the duties of + it with cheerfulness. Read some of Whitfield's _Sermons_. + + _June 19._--Rose in gloom, but that was soon dissipated by + consideration and prayer. Began after breakfast for the first + time with a moonshi, a Cashmerian Brahmin, with whom I was much + pleased. In the boat, back to Serampore, learning roots. + Officiated at evening worship. Walked at night with Marshman and + Mr. Brown to the bazaar held at this time of the year, for the + use of the people assembling at Juggernaut. The booth or + carriage was fifty feet high, in appearance a wooden temple, + with rows of wheels through the centre of it. By the side of + this a native brother who attended Marshman gave away papers, + and this gave occasion to disputes, which continued a + considerable time between Marshman and the Brahmins. Felt + somewhat hurt at night at ----'s insinuating that my low + spirits, as he called it, was owing to want of diligence. God + help me to be free from this charge, and yet not desirous to + make a show before men. May I walk in sweet and inward communion + with Him, labouring with never-ceasing diligence and care, and + assured that I shall not live or labour in vain. + + _June 24._--At daylight left Calcutta, and had my temper greatly + exercised by the neglects and improper behaviour of the servants + and boatmen. Arrived at Serampore at eight, and retired to my + pagoda, intending to spend the day in fasting and prayer; but + after a prayer in which the Lord helped me to review with sorrow + the wickedness of my past life, I was so overcome with fatigue + that I fell asleep, and thus lost the whole morning; so I gave + up my original intention. Passed the afternoon in translating + the second chapter of St. Matthew into Hindustani. Had a long + conversation at night with Marshman, whose desire now is that I + should stay at Serampore, give myself to the study of Hindustani + for the sake of the Scriptures, and be ready to supply the place + of Carey and Marshman in the work, should they be taken off; and + for another reason--that I might awaken the attention of the + people of God in Calcutta more to missionary subjects. I was + struck with the importance of having proper persons here to + supply the place of these two men; but could not see that it was + the path God designed for me. I felt, however, a most impatient + desire that some of my friends should come out and give + themselves to the work; for which they are so much more fit in + point of learning than any of the Dissenters are, and could not + bear that a work of such stupendous magnitude should be + endangered by their neglect and love of the world. Marshman + recommended that the serious people in Calcutta should unite in + a society for the support of missions, and each subscribe fifty + rupees a month for their maintenance. Ten members with this + subscription could support sixty or seventy native brethren. He + wished me also to see the duty of their all remaining in the + country, learning the language, and instructing their servants. + My mind was so filled and excited by the first part of our + conversation, that I could not sleep for many hours after going + to bed. He told me that the people were surfeited with the + Gospel, and that they needed to be exhorted to duty. + + _June 26._--Employed in translating St. Matthew into Hindustani, + and reading Mirza's translation; afterwards had moonshi a + little. In the afternoon walked with Mr. Brown to see + Juggernaut's car drawn back to its pagoda. Many thousands of + people were present, rending the air with acclamations. The car + with the tower was decorated with a vast number of flags, and + the Brahmins were passing to and fro through the different + compartments of it, catching the offerings of fruit, cowries, + &c., that were thrown up to the god, for which they threw down + in return small wreaths of flowers, which the people wore round + their necks and in their hair. When the car stopped at the + pagoda, the god and two attending deities were let down by + ropes, muffled up in red cloths, a band of singers with drums + and cymbals going round the car while this was performed. Before + the stumps of images, for they were not better, some of the + people prostrated themselves, striking the ground twice with + their foreheads; this excited more horror in me than I can well + express, and I was about to stammer out in Hindustani, 'Why do + ye these things?' and to preach the Gospel. The words were on my + lips--though if I had spoken thousands would have crowded round + me, and I should not have been understood. However, I felt my + spirit more inflamed with zeal than I ever conceived it would + be; and I thought that if I had words I would preach to the + multitudes all the day, if I lost my life for it. It was curious + how the women clasped their hands, and lifted them up as if in + the ecstasy of devotion, while Juggernaut was tumbled about in + the most clumsy manner before their eyes. I thought with some + sorrow that Satan may exert the same influence in exciting + apparently religious affections in professors of the Gospel, in + order to deceive souls to their eternal ruin. Dr. Taylor and Mr. + Moore joined us, and distributed tracts. Mr. Ward, we heard, was + at a distance preaching. On our return we met Marshman going + upon the same errand. In evening worship my heart was rather + drawn out for the heathen, and my soul in general through the + day enjoyed a cheering sense of God's love. Marshman joined us + again, and our conversation was about supporting some native + missions. + + _June 30._--Went up to Serampore in the boat, learning roots. + Spent the afternoon chiefly in prayer, of which my soul stood + greatly in need through the snares into which my heart had been + falling. Called at the mission-house, and saw Mr. Marsdon + previous to the commencement of his missionary career. Now the + plans of God are, I trust, taking another step forward. + + _July 2._--Mr. Brown proposed a prayer meeting between ourselves + and the missionaries previous to the departure of Dr. Taylor for + Surat. It was a season of grace to my soul, for some sense of + the vast importance of the occasion dwelt upon my mind in + prayer, and I desired earnestly to live zealously, labouring for + souls in every possible way, with more honesty and openness. In + the evening went to Marshman, and proposed it. There were at his + house many agreeable sights; one pundit was translating + Scripture into Sanskrit, another into Guzerati, and a table was + covered with materials for a Chinese dictionary. Employed with + moonshi in Hindu Story-teller, and in learning to write the + Persian characters. + + _July 3._--Rose with some happiness in my soul, and delight in + the thought of an increase of labour in the Church of God. + Employed morning as usual, and in thinking of subject for + sermon. Was detained in the house at a time when I wanted + prayer. In the evening walked with the family through Serampore, + the native's part. At night we had a delightful spiritual + conversation. Thus my time passes most agreeably in this dear + family. Lord, let me be willing to leave it and the world with + joy. + + _July 8._--Reading with moonshi all the morning. Spent the + afternoon in reading and prayer, as preparatory to a meeting of + the missionaries at night. At eight, ten of us met in my pagoda. + It was, throughout, a soul-refreshing ordinance to me. I felt as + I wished, as if having done with the world, and standing on the + very verge of heaven, rejoicing at the glorious work which God + will accomplish on the earth. The Lord will, I hope, hear our + prayers for our dear brother, on whose account we met, previous + to his departure for Surat. An idea thrown out by Carey pleased + me very much, not on account of its practicability, but its + grandeur, _i.e._ that there should be an annual meeting, at the + Cape of Good Hope, of all the missionaries in the world. + + _July 9._--Dull and languid from the exertions and late hours of + yesterday. Reading the Sermon on the Mount, in the Hindustani + Testament, with moonshi. In the evening went to the + mission-house, drank tea, and attended their worship. These + affectionate souls never fail to mention me particularly in + their prayers, but I am grieved that they so mistake my + occasional warmth for zeal. It is one of the things in which I + am most low and backward, as the Lord, who seeth in secret, + knows too well. Oh, then, may any who think it worth while to + take up my name into their lips, pray for the beginning rather + than the continuance of zeal! Marshman, in my walk with him, + kindly assured me of his great regard and union of heart with + me. I would that I had more gratitude to God, for so putting it + into the hearts of His people to show regard to one so + undeserving of it. At night had much nearness to God in prayer. + I found it sweet to my spirit to reflect on my being a pilgrim + on earth, with Christ for my near and dear friend, and found + myself unwilling to leave off my prayer. + + _July 10._--Employed during the morning with moonshi. At morning + and evening worship enjoyed freedom of access to God in prayer. + Mr. Brown's return in the evening, with another Christian + friend, added greatly to my pleasure. Marshman joined us at + night, but these enjoyments, from being too eagerly entered + into, often leave my soul carnally delighted only, instead of + bringing me nearer to God. Wrote sermon at night. + + _July 12._--Most of this morning employed about sermon. In the + afternoon went down to Calcutta with Mr. Brown and all his + family; we passed the time very agreeably in singing hymns. + Found Europe letters on our arrival, but were disappointed in + not finding Corrie or Parson in the list of passengers. My + letters were from Lydia, T.H. and Emma, Mr. Simeon, and Sargent. + All their first letters had been taken in the Bell Packet. I + longed to see Lydia's, but the Lord saw it good, no doubt, not + to suffer it to arrive. The one I did receive from her was very + animating, and showed the extraordinary zeal and activity of her + mind. Mr. Simeon's letter contained her praises, and even he + seemed to regret that I had gone without her. My thoughts were + so occupied with these letters that I could get little or no + sleep. + + _July 13._ (Sunday.)--Talked to Mr. Brown about Lydia, and read + her letter to him. He strongly recommended the measure of + endeavouring to bring her here, and was clear that my future + situation in the country would be such as to make it necessary + to be married. A letter from Colonel Sandys, which he opened + afterwards, spoke in the highest terms of her. The subject of + marriage was revived in my mind, but I feel rather a reluctance + to it. I enjoy in general such sweet peace of mind, from + considering myself a stranger upon earth, unconnected with any + persons, unknown, forgotten, that were I never thrown into any + more trying circumstances than I am in at present, no change + could add to my happiness. At the new church this morning, had + the happiness of hearing Mr. Jefferies preach. I trust God will + graciously keep him, and instruct him, and make him another + witness of Jesus in this place. My heart was greatly refreshed, + and rejoiced at it all the day. At night preached at the + missionary church, on Eph. ii. 1-3, to a small congregation. Sat + up late with Mr. Brown, considering the same subject as we had + been conversing on before, and it dwelt so much on my mind that + I got hardly any sleep the whole night. + + _July 14._--The same subject engrosses my whole thoughts. Mr. + Brown's arguments appear so strong that my mind is almost made + up to send for Lydia. I could scarcely have any reasonable + doubts remaining, that her presence would most abundantly + promote the ends of the mission. + + _July 15._--Most of the day with moonshi; at intervals, thinking + on subject for sermon. My affections seemed to be growing more + strong towards Lydia than I could wish, as I fear my judgment + will no longer remain unbiassed. The subject is constantly on my + mind, and imagination heightens the advantages to be obtained + from her presence. And yet, on the other hand, there is such a + sweet happiness in living unconnected with any creature, and + hastening through this life with not one single attraction to + detain my desires here, that I am often very unwilling to + exchange a life of celibacy for one of which I know nothing, + except that it is in general a life of care. + + _July 16._--Morning with moonshi; afterwards preparing myself + for church. Preached at night, at missionary church, on Isa. + lxiii. 1. Both in prayers and sermon I felt my heart much more + affected than I expected, and there seemed to be some impression + on a few of the people. I feel to be thankful to God, and + grateful to the people, that they continue to hear me with such + attention. My thoughts this day have been rather averse to + marriage. Anxiety about the education and conversion of children + rather terrifies me. + + _July 20._ (Sunday.)--Preached at the new church on 2 Cor. v. + 17. Mr. Marshman dined with us, and at four I went to the + bazaar, to hear him preach to the natives. I arrived at the shed + before him, and found the native brethren singing, after which + one of them got up, and addressed the people with such firmness + and mild energy, notwithstanding their occasional contradictions + and ridicule, that I was quite delighted and refreshed. To see a + native Indian an earnest advocate for Jesus, how precious! + Marshman afterwards came, and prayed, sung, and preached. If I + were to be very severe with him, I should say that there is a + want of seriousness, tenderness, and dignity in his address, and + I felt pained that he should so frequently speak with contempt + of the Brahmins, many of whom were listening with great respect + and attention. The group presented all that variety of + countenance which the Word is represented as producing in a + heathen audience--some inattentive, others scornful, and others + seemingly melting under it. Another native brother, I believe, + then addressed them. An Indian sermon about Jesus Christ was + like music on my ear, and I felt inflamed to begin my work: + these poor people possess more intelligence and feeling than I + thought. At the end of the service there was a sort of uproar + when the papers were given away, and the attention of the + populace and of some Europeans was excited. Read prayers at + night at the missionary church; Mr. Brown preached on the + unspeakable gift. + + _July 21._--Returned to Serampore rather in a low state of mind, + arising from deprivation of a society of which I had been too + fond. + + _July 22._--Read Hindustani without moonshi. Not being able to + get to the pagoda from the incessant rain, I passed the latter + part of the day in the house, reading the life of Francis + Xavier. I was exceedingly roused at the astonishing example of + that great saint, and began to consider whether it was not my + duty to live, as he did, in voluntary poverty and celibacy. I + was not easy till I had determined to follow the same course, + when I should perceive that the kingdom of God would be more + advanced by it. At night I saw the awful necessity of being no + longer slothful, nor wasting my thoughts about such trifles as + whether I should be married or not, and felt a great degree of + fear, lest the blood of the five thousand Mohammedans, who, Mr. + Brown said, were to be found in Calcutta capable of + understanding a Hindustani sermon, should be required at my + hand. + + _July 25._--The thought of the Mohammedans and heathens lies + very heavy upon my mind. The former, who are in Calcutta, I seem + to think are consigned to me by God, because nobody preaches in + Hindustani. Employed the morning in sermon and Hindustani. In + the afternoon went down to Calcutta. In the boat read Wrangham's + Essay and some of Mr. Lloyd's letters, when young. What + knowledge have some believers of the deep things of God! I felt + myself peculiarly deficient in that experimental knowledge of + Christ with which Mr. Lloyd was particularly favoured. Walked + from the landing-place, a mile and a half, through the native + part of Calcutta, amidst crowds of Orientals of all nations. How + would the spirit of St. Paul have been moved! The thought of + summoning the attention of such multitudes appeared very + formidable, and during the course of the evening was the + occasion of many solemn thoughts and prayer, that God would + deliver me from all softness of mind, fear, and + self-indulgence, and make me ready to suffer shame and death for + the name of the Lord Jesus. + + _July 26._--My soul in general impressed with the awfulness of + my missionary work, and often shrinking from its difficulties. + + _July 28._--In the boat to Serampore we read Mitchell's Essay on + _Evangelizing India_, and were much pleased and profited. + Whatever plans and speculations may be agitated, I felt it my + duty to think only of putting my hand to the work without delay. + Felt very unhappy at having other work put upon me, which will + keep me from making progress in the language. Nothing but + waiting upon God constantly for direction, and an assurance that + His never-ceasing love will direct my way, would keep me from + constant vexation. I scarcely do anything in the language, from + having my time so constantly taken up with writing sermons. + + _July 29._--Much of this morning taken up in writing to Lydia. + As far as my own views extend, I feel no doubt at all about the + propriety of the measure--of at least proposing it. May the + Lord, in continuance of His loving-kindness to her and me, + direct her mind, that if she comes I may consider it as a + special gift from God, and not merely permitted by Him. Marshman + sat with us in the evening, and as usual was teeming with plans + for the propagation of the Gospel. Stayed up till midnight in + finishing the letter to Lydia. + + TO LYDIA GRENFELL + + Serampore: July 30, 1806. + + My dearest Lydia,--On a subject so intimately connected with my + happiness and future ministry, as that on which I am now about + to address you, I wish to assure you that I am not acting with + precipitancy, or without much consideration and prayer, while I + at last sit down to request you to come out to me to India. + + May the Lord graciously direct His blind and erring creature, + and not suffer the natural bias of his mind to lead him astray. + You are acquainted with much of the conflict I have undergone on + your account. It has been greater than you or Emma have + imagined, and yet not so painful as I deserve to have found it + for having suffered my affections to fasten so inordinately on + an earthly object. + + Soon, however, after my final departure from Europe, God in + great mercy gave me deliverance, and favoured me throughout the + voyage with peace of mind, indifference about all worldly + connections, and devotedness to no object upon earth but the + work of Christ. I gave you up entirely--not the smallest + expectation remained in my mind of ever seeing you again till we + should meet in heaven: and the thought of this separation was + the less painful from the consolatory persuasion that our own + Father had so ordered it for our mutual good. I continued from + that time to remember you in my prayers only as a Christian + sister, though one very dear to me. On my arrival in this + country I saw no reason at first for supposing that marriage was + advisable for a missionary--or rather the subject did not offer + itself to my mind. The Baptist missionaries indeed recommended + it, and Mr. Brown; but not knowing any proper person in this + country, they were not very pressing upon the subject, and I + accordingly gave no attention to it. After a very short + experience and inquiry afterwards, my own opinions began to + change, and when a few weeks ago we received your welcome + letter, and others from Mr. Simeon and Colonel Sandys, both of + whom spoke of you in reference to me, I considered it even as a + call from God to satisfy myself fully concerning His will. From + the account which Mr. Simeon received of you from Mr. Thomason, + he seemed in his letter to me to regret that he had so strongly + dissuaded me from thinking about you at the time of my leaving + England. Colonel Sandys spoke in such terms of you, and of the + advantages to result from your presence in this country, that + Mr. Brown became very earnest for me to endeavour to prevail + upon you. Your letter to me perfectly delighted him, and induced + him to say that you would be the greatest aid to the mission I + could possibly meet with. I knew my own heart too well not to be + distrustful of it, especially as my affections were again + awakened, and accordingly all my labour and prayer have been to + check their influence, that I might see clearly the path of + duty. + + Though I dare not say that I am under no bias, yet from every + view of the subject I have been able to take, after balancing + the advantages and disadvantages that may ensue to the cause in + which I am engaged, always in prayer for God's direction, my + reason is fully convinced of the expediency, I had almost said + the necessity, of having you with me. It is possible that my + reason may still be obscured by passion; let it suffice, + however, to say that now with a safe conscience and the + enjoyment of the Divine presence, I calmly and deliberately make + the proposal to you--and blessed be God if it be not His will to + permit it; still this step is not advancing beyond the limits of + duty, because there is a variety of ways by which God can + prevent it, without suffering any dishonour to His cause. If He + shall forbid it, I think that, by His grace, I shall even then + be contented and rejoice in the pleasure of corresponding with + you. Your letter, dated December 1805, was the first I received + (your former having been taken in the Bell Packet), and I found + it so animating that I could not but reflect on the blessedness + of having so dear a counsellor always near me. I can truly say, + and God is my witness, that my principal desire in this affair + is that you may promote the kingdom of God in my own heart, and + be the means of extending it to the heathen. My own earthly + comfort and happiness are not worth a moment's notice. I would + not, my dearest Lydia, influence you by any artifices or false + representations. I can only say that if you have a desire of + being instrumental in establishing the blessed Redeemer's + kingdom among these poor people, and will condescend to do it by + supporting the spirits and animating the zeal of a weak + messenger of the Lord, who is apt to grow very dispirited and + languid, 'Come, and the Lord be with you!' It can be nothing but + a sacrifice on your part, to leave your valuable friends to come + to one who is utterly unworthy of you or any other of God's + precious gifts: but you will have your reward, and I ask it not + of you or of God for the sake of my own happiness, but only on + account of the Gospel. If it be not calculated to promote it, + may God in His mercy withhold it. For the satisfaction of your + friends, I should say that you will meet with no hardships. The + voyage is very agreeable, and with the people and country of + India I think you will be much pleased. The climate is very + fine--the so much dreaded heat is really nothing to those who + will employ their minds in useful pursuits. Idleness will make + people complain of everything. The natives are the most harmless + and timid creatures I ever met with. The whole country is the + land of plenty and peace. Were I a missionary among the + Esquimaux or Boschemen, I should never dream of introducing a + female into such a scene of danger or hardship, especially one + whose happiness is dearer to me than my own: but here there is + universal tranquillity, though the multitudes are so great that + a missionary needs not go three miles from his house without + having a congregation of many thousands. You would not be left + in solitude if I were to make any distant excursion, because no + chaplain is stationed where there is not a large English + Society. My salary is abundantly sufficient for the support of a + married man, the house and number of people kept by each + Company's servant being such as to need no increase for a + family establishment. As I must make the supposition of your + coming, though it may be perhaps a premature liberty, I should + give you some directions. This letter will reach you about the + latter end of the year; it would be very desirable if you could + be ready for the February fleet, because the voyage will be + performed in far less time than at any other season. George will + find out the best ship--one in which there is a lady of high + rank in the service would be preferable. You are to be + considered as coming as a visitor to Mr. Brown, who will write + to you or to Colonel Sandys, who is best qualified to give you + directions about the voyage. Should I be up the country on your + arrival in Bengal, Mr. Brown will be at hand to receive you, and + you will find yourself immediately at home. As it will highly + expedite some of the plans which we have in agitation that you + should know the language as soon as possible, take Gilchrist's + _Indian Stranger's Guide_, and occasionally on the voyage learn + some of the words. + + If I had room I might enlarge on much that would be interesting + to you. In my conversations with Marshman, the Baptist + missionary, our hearts sometimes expand with delight and joy at + the prospect of seeing all these nations of the East receive the + doctrine of the Cross. He is a happy labourer; and I only wait, + I trust, to know the language to open my mouth boldly and make + known the mystery of the Gospel. My romantic notions are for the + first time almost realised; for in addition to the beauties of + sylvan scenery may be seen the more delightful object of + multitudes of simple people sitting in the shade listening to + the words of eternal life. Much as yet is not done; but I have + seen many discover by their looks while Marshman was preaching + that their hearts were tenderly affected. My post is not yet + determined; we expect, however, it will be Patna, a civil + station, where I shall not be under military command. As you are + so kindly anxious about my health, I am happy to say, that + through mercy my health is far better than it ever was in + England. + + The people of Calcutta are very desirous of keeping me at the + mission-church, and offer to any Evangelical clergyman a + chaplain's salary and a house besides. I am of course deaf to + such a proposal; but it is strange that no one in England is + _tempted_ by such an inviting situation. I am actually going to + mention it to Cousin T.H. and Emma--not, as you may suppose, + with much hope of success; but I think that possibly the chapel + at Dock may be too much for him, and he will have here a sphere + of still greater importance. As this will be sent by the + overland despatch, there is some danger of its not reaching you. + You will therefore receive a duplicate, and perhaps a triplicate + by the ships that will arrive in England a month or two after. I + cannot write now to any of my friends. I will therefore trouble + you, if you have opportunity, to say that I have received no + letters since I left England, but one from each of these--Cousin + Tom and Emma, Simeon, Sargent, Bates: of my own family I have + heard nothing. Assure any of them whom you may see of the + continuance of my affectionate regard, especially dear Emma. I + did not know that it was permitted me to write to you, or I fear + she would not have found me so faithful a correspondent on the + voyage. As I have heretofore addressed you through her, it is + probable that I may be now disposed to address her through + you--or, what will be best of all, that we both of us address + her in one letter from India. However, you shall decide, my + dearest Lydia. I _must_ approve your determination, because with + that spirit of simple-looking to the Lord which we both + endeavour to maintain, we must not doubt that you will be + divinely directed. Till I receive an answer to this, my prayers + you may be assured will be constantly put up for you that in + this affair you may be under an especial guidance, and that in + all your ways God may be abundantly glorified by you through + Jesus Christ. You say in your letter that _frequently every day_ + you remember my worthless name before the throne of grace. This + instance of extraordinary and undeserved kindness draws my heart + toward you with a tenderness which I cannot describe. Dearest + Lydia, in the sweet and fond expectation of your being given to + me by God, and of the happiness which I humbly hope you yourself + might enjoy here, I find a pleasure in breathing out my + assurance of ardent love. I have now long loved you most + affectionately, and my attachment is more strong, more pure, + more heavenly, because I see in you the image of Jesus Christ. I + unwillingly conclude, by bidding my beloved Lydia adieu. + + H. MARTYN. + + Serampore: September 1, 1806. + + My dearest Lydia,--With this you will receive the duplicate of + the letter I sent you a month ago, by the overland despatch. May + it find you prepared to come! All the thoughts and views which I + have had of the subject since first addressing you, add tenfold + confirmation to my first opinion; and I trust that the blessed + God will graciously make it appear that I have been acting under + a right direction, by giving the precious gift to me and to the + Church in India. I sometimes regret that I had not obtained a + promise from you of following me at the time of our last parting + at Gurlyn, as I am occasionally apt to be excessively impatient + at the long delay. Many, many months must elapse before I can + see you or even hear how you shall determine. The instant your + mind is made up you will send a letter by the overland despatch. + George will let you know how it is to be prepared, as the + Company have given some printed directions. It is a consolation + to me during this long suspense, that had I engaged with you + before my departure I should not have had such a satisfactory + conviction of it being the will of God. The Commander-in-chief + is in doubt to which of the three following stations he shall + appoint me--Benares, Patna, or Moorshedabad; it will be the + last, most probably. This is only two days' journey from + Calcutta. I shall take my departure in about six weeks. In the + hour that remains, I must endeavour to write to my dear sister + Emma, and to Sally. By the fleet which will sail hence in about + two months, they will receive longer letters. You will then, I + hope, have left England. I am very happy here in preparing for + my delightful work, but I should be happier still if I were + sufficiently fluent in the language to be actually employed; and + happiest of all if my beloved Lydia were at my right hand, + counselling and animating me. I am not very willing to end my + letter to you; it is difficult not to prolong the enjoyment of + speaking, as it were, to one who occupies so much of my sleeping + and waking hours; but here, alas! I am aware of danger; and my + dear Lydia will, I hope, pray that her unworthy friend may love + no creature inordinately. + + It will be base in me to depart in heart from a God of such love + as I find Him to be. Oh, that I could make some returns for the + riches of His love! Swiftly fly the hours of life away, and then + we shall be admitted to behold His glory. The ages of darkness + are rolling fast away, and shall soon usher in the Gospel period + when the whole world shall be filled with His glory. Oh, my + beloved sister and friend, dear to me on every account, but + dearest of all for having one heart and one soul with me in the + cause of Jesus and the love of God, let us pray and rejoice, and + rejoice and pray, that God may be glorified, and the dying + Saviour see of the travail of His soul. May the God of hope fill + us with all joy and peace in believing, that we may both of us + abound in hope through the power of the Holy Ghost. Now, my + dearest Lydia, I cannot say what I feel--I cannot pour out my + soul--I could not if you were here; but I pray that you may love + me, if it be the will of God; and I pray that God may make you + more and more His child, and give me more and more love for all + that is God-like and holy. I remain, with fervent affection, + + Yours, in eternal bonds, + + H. MARTYN. + + TO CHARLES SIMEON[23] + + Calcutta: September 1, 1806. + + My dearest Brother,--I feel no hesitation about inviting Miss + L.G. on her own account, except it be that she should come so + far for one who is so utterly unworthy of her. I would rather + die than bring one whom I honour so much into a situation of + difficulty; but indeed there is no hardship to be encountered. + In my absence she might, if she pleased, visit the English + ladies who are always to be found at the different stations. The + plan about to be adopted by the Baptists is to establish + missionary stations in the country; while one missionary makes + the circuit of the surrounding country, another shall always be + in the way to receive enquiries and to explain. I should think + that a zealous woman, acquainted with the language, and + especially if assisted by native brethren, might be of use in + this way without moving from her house.... Three such men as + Carey, Marshman, and Ward, so suited to one another and to their + work, are not to be found, I should think, in the whole world. + + _September 13._--Heard of the arrival of Corrie and Parson at + Madras, and of my appointment to Dinapore. + + _September 15._--Called with Mr. Brown on Mr. Udny, then went up + with him to Serampore, and passed much of the afternoon in + reading with him a series of newspapers from England. How + affecting to think how the fashion of this world passeth away! + What should I do without Christ as an everlasting portion! How + vain is life, how mournful is death, and what is eternity + without Christ! In the evening Marshman and Ward came to us. By + endeavouring to recollect myself as before God, I found more + comfort, and was enabled to show more propriety in conversation. + + _September 16._--Passed the day with moonshi in Hindustani and + writing sermon. In the evening wrote to Lydia. + + _September 17._--The blaze of a funeral pile this morning near + the pagoda drew my attention. I ran out, but the unfortunate + woman had committed herself to the flames before I arrived. The + remains of the two bodies were visible. At night, while I was at + the missionaries', Mr. Chamberlain arrived from up the country. + Just as we rejoiced at the thought of seeing him and his wife, + we found she had died in the boat! I do not know when I was so + shocked; my soul revolted at everything in this world, which God + has so marked with misery--the effect of sin. I felt reluctance + to engage in every worldly connection. Marriage seemed terrible, + by exposing one to the agonising sight of a wife dying in such + circumstances. + + _September 24._--Went down to Calcutta with Mr. Brown and + Corrie, and found letters. My affections of love and joy were so + excited by them that it was almost too much for my poor frame. + My dearest Lydia's assurances of her love were grateful enough + to my heart, but they left somewhat of a sorrowful effect, + occasioned I believe chiefly from a fear of her suffering in any + degree, and partly from the long time and distance that separate + us, and uncertainty if ever we shall be permitted to meet one + another in this world. In the evening the Lord gave me near and + close and sweet communion with Him on this subject, and enabled + me to commit the affair with comfort into His hands. Why did I + ever doubt His love? Does He not love us far better than we love + one another? + + _September 25._--Went to Serampore with Mr. Brown and Parson; in + the afternoon read with moonshi; enjoyed much of the solemn + presence of God the whole day, had many happy seasons in prayer, + and felt strengthened for the work of a missionary, which is + speedily to begin; blessed be God! My friends are alarmed about + the solitariness of my future life, and my tendency to + melancholy; but, O my dearest Lord! Thou art with me, Thy rod + and Thy staff they comfort me. I go on Thine errand, and I know + that Thou art and wilt be with me. How easily canst Thou support + and refresh my heart! + + TO LYDIA GRENFELL + + Serampore: September 1806. + + How earnestly do I long for the arrival of my dearest Lydia! + Though it may prove at last no more than a waking dream that I + ever expected to receive you in India, the hope is too pleasing + not to be cherished till I am forbidden any longer to hope. Till + I am assured of the contrary, I shall find a pleasure in + addressing you as my own. If you are not to be mine you will + pardon me; but my expectations are greatly encouraged by the + words you used when we parted at Gurlyn, that I had better _go + out_ free, implying, as I thought, that you would not be + unwilling to follow me if I should see it to be the will of God + to make the request. I was rejoiced also to see in your letter + that you unite your name with mine when you pray that God would + keep us both in the path of duty: from this I infer that you are + by no means _determined_ to remain separate from me. You will + not suppose, my dear Lydia, that I mention these little things + to influence your conduct, or to implicate you in an engagement. + No, I acknowledge that you are perfectly free, and I have no + doubt that you will act as the love and wisdom of our God shall + direct. Your heart is far less interested in this business than + mine, in all probability; and this on one account I do not + regret, as you will be able to see more clearly the directions + of God's providence. About a fortnight ago I sent you a letter + accompanying the duplicate of the one sent overland in August. + If these shall have arrived safe you will perhaps have left + England before this reaches it. But if not, let me entreat you + to delay not a moment. Yet how will my dear sister Emma be able + to part with you, and George--but above all your _mother_? I + feel very much for you and for them, but I have no doubt at all + about your health and happiness in this country. + + The Commander-in-chief has at last appointed me to the station + of Dinapore, near Patna, and I shall accordingly take my + departure for that place as soon as I can make the necessary + preparations. It is not exactly the situation I wished for, + though in a temporal point of view it is desirable enough. The + air is good, the living cheap, the salary 1,000_l._ a year, and + there is a large body of English troops there. But I should have + preferred being near Benares, the heart of Hinduism. We rejoice + to hear that two other brethren are arrived at Madras on their + way to Bengal, sent, I trust, by the Lord to co-operate in + overturning the kingdom of Satan in these regions. They are + Corrie and Parson, both Bengal chaplains. Their stations will be + Benares and Moorshedabad--one on one side of me and the other on + the other. There are also now ten Baptist missionaries at + Serampore. Surely good is intended for this country. + + Captain Wickes, the good old Captain Wickes, who has brought out + so many missionaries to India, is now here. He reminds me of + Uncle S. I have been just interrupted by the blaze of a funeral + pile, within a hundred yards of my pagoda. I ran out, but the + wretched woman had consigned herself to the flames before I + reached the spot, and I saw only the remains of her and her + husband. O Lord, how long shall it be? Oh, I shall have no rest + in my spirit till my tongue is loosed to testify against the + Devil, and deliver the message of God to these His unhappy + bond-slaves. I stammered out something to the wicked Brahmins + about the judgments of God upon them for the murder they had + just committed, but they said it was an act of her own + free-will. Some of the missionaries would have been there, but + they are forbidden by the Governor-General to preach to the + natives in the British territory. Unless this prohibition is + revoked by an order from home it will amount to a total + suppression of the mission. + + I know of nothing else that will give you a further idea of the + state of things here. The two ministers continue to oppose my + doctrines with unabated virulence; but they think not that they + fight against God. My own heart is at present cold and slothful. + Oh, that my soul did burn with love and zeal! Surely were you + here I should act with more cheerfulness and activity with so + bright a pattern before me. If Corrie brings me a letter from + you, and the fleet is not sailed, which, however, is not likely, + I shall write to you again. Colonel Sandys will receive a letter + from me and Mr. Brown by this fleet. Continue to remember me in + your prayers, as a weak brother. I shall always think of you as + one to be loved and honoured. + + H. MARTYN. + + _September 26._--Employed as usual in Hindustani; visited + Marshman at night. He and Mr. Carey sat with us in the evening. + My heart still continuing some degree of watchfulness, but + enjoying less sweetness. + + _October 1._--Reading with moonshi and preparing sermon; found + great cause to pray for brotherly love. Preached at night at the + mission-church on Eph. ii. 4. Had a very refreshing conversation + with Corrie afterwards; we wished it to be for the benefit of + two cadets, who supped with us, and I hope it will not be in + vain. May the Lord be pleased to make me act with a single eye + to His glory. How easy it is to preach about Christ Jesus the + Lord, and yet to preach oneself. + +None of six letters from Lydia Grenfell have been preserved, but we +find in her _Diary_ more self-revealing of her heart than could be +made to Henry Martyn, and also more severity in judging of herself as +in the presence of God. + + _1806, May 23._--Wrote dear H. I have felt to-day a return of + spirits, but have spent them too much in worldly things. I found + it a blessed season in prayer, yet I fear whether my + satisfaction did not rather arise from being enabled to pray + than from any extraordinary communications from above. O Lord, + search and try my heart, let not its deceitfulness impose on me. + + _July 19._--Thought much this week of my dear absent friend. + + _August 2._--My family's unhappiness preys on my mind--sister + burning with anger and resentment against sister, brother + against brother, a father against his children. Oh, what a + picture! Let me not add to the weight of family sin. + + _August 4._--Passed a happy day. Read Baxter, and found in doing + so my soul raised above. Oh, let me have, blessed Lord, + anticipations of this blessedness and foretaste of glory. In Thy + presence above I shall be reunited to Thy dear saint, now + labouring in Thy vineyard in a distant land. One year is nearly + passed since we parted, but scarcely a waking hour, I believe, + has he been absent from my mind. In general my remembrance of + him is productive of pleasure--that I should possess so large a + share of his affection, and be remembered in his prayers, and + have an eternity to spend with him, yielding me in turn + delightful pleasing meditations; but just now nature grieves + that we are no more to meet below; yet, O my blessed Father, I + cry, 'Thy will be done, not as I will, but as Thou wilt.' + + _August 10._--Went to church. My soul was very dull and + inanimate throughout the service--the sermon had nothing in it + to enliven or instruct. Barren as this place is for other means + of grace, I have the Word and leisure to search; I cannot then + complain, but of myself there is cause enough. Oh, how is my + soul so earthly? why cannot I rise and dwell above? Tied and + bound with the chain of sin, fettered and confined, I can only + cast a look above. One year is gone since my dear friend left + England. The number of our years of separation is so much + lessened, and our salvation draws near. + + _October 19._--My birthday. One-and-thirty years have I existed + on this earth, for twenty-five of which all the amount was sin, + vanity, and rebellion against God; the last six, though spent + differently, yet for every day in them I am persuaded I have + sinned in heart, so as justly to merit condemnation of that God + in whose mercy I trust. + + _November 5._--To-day I was reading of David's harp driving away + the evil spirit from Saul, and resolved again (the Lord helping + me) to try the sweet harp of Jesse's son in my first and last + waking thoughts, for sad and disordered are my thoughts upon my + friend. The expectation of letters from my dear friend in India + by this fleet is almost over, and my mind is rendered anxious + about him. + + _November 25._--My very soul has been cheered by accounts from + my dear friend in India, for whom my mind has been greatly + anxious. 'Cast thy cares on Me' is a command badly attended to + by me. + +The formal and first request from Henry Martyn to join him in India +reached Lydia Grenfell on March 2, 1807. We learn from his reply in +October 1807, from Dinapore, that she had sent a refusal in her +mother's name. But, on April 25, the Rev. Charles Simeon called on her +with the result which he thus records: + + With her mother's leave Miss G. accompanied us to Col. Sandys', + when I had much conversation with her about Mr. Martyn's affair. + She stated to me all the obstacles to his proposals: first, her + health; second, the indelicacy of her going out to India alone + on such an errand; third, her former engagement with another + person, which had indeed been broken off, and he had actually + gone up to London two years ago to be married to another woman, + but, as he was unmarried, it seemed an obstacle in her mind; + fourth, the certainty that her mother would never consent to it. + On these points I observed that I thought the last was the only + one that was insurmountable; for that, first, India often agreed + best with persons of a delicate constitution--_e.g._ Mr. Martyn + himself and Mr. Brown. Second, it is common for ladies to go + thither without any previous connection; how much more, + therefore, might one go with a connection already formed! Were + this the only difficulty, I engaged, with the help of Mr. Grant + and Mr. Parry, that she should go under such protection as + should obviate all difficulties upon this head. Third, the step + taken by the other person had set her at perfect liberty. + Fourth, the consent of her mother was indispensable, and as that + appeared impossible, the matter might be committed to God in + this way. If her mother, of her own accord, should express + regret that the connection had been prevented, from an idea of + her being irreconcilably averse to it, and that she would not + stand in the way of her daughter's wishes, this would be + considered as a direction from God in answer to her prayers, and + I should instantly be apprised of it by her, in order to + communicate to Mr. M. _In this she perfectly agreed._ I told + her, however, that I would mention nothing of this to Mr. M., + because it would only tend to keep him in painful suspense. + Thus the matter is entirely set aside, unless God, by a special + interposition of His providence (_i.e._ by taking away her + mother, or overruling her mind, contrary to all reasonable + expectation, to approve of it), mark His own will concerning it. + +We find this account of the crisis in her _Diary_: + + _1807, March 2._--Passed some peaceful happy days at Tregembo. + My return was marked by two events, long to be + remembered--seeing John and hearing from H.M. Great has been my + distress, but peace is returned, and could I cease from + anticipating future evils I should enjoy more. The Lord has been + gracious in affording me help, but He made me first feel my + weakness, and suffered Satan to harass me. I am called upon now + to act a decisive part. + + _Marazion, March 8._--With David let me say, In the multitude of + thoughts within me Thy comforts have refreshed my soul. O Thou! + my refuge, my rest, my hiding-place, in every time of sorrow to + Thee I fly, and trust in the covert of Thy wings. Thou hast been + a shelter for me and a strong tower. I have liberty to pour out + my griefs into the bosom of my God, and doing so I am lightened + of their burden. The Lord's dealings are singular with me, yet + not severe, yea, they are merciful. Twice have I been called on + to act[24] ... in a way few are tried in, but the Lord's + goodness towards me is so manifest in the first, that I have + come to wait in silence and hope the event of this. I am + satisfied I have done now what is right, and peace has returned + to me; yet there is need of great watchfulness to resist the + enemy of souls, who would weaken and depress my soul, bringing + to remembrance the affection of my dear friend, and representing + my conduct as ungrateful towards him. To-day I have had many + distressing feelings on his account, yet in the general I have + been looking to things invisible and eternal, and therefore + enjoyed peace. I must live more in the contemplation of Christ + and heavenly things. Oh, come, fill and satisfy my soul, be my + leader and guide, dispose of me as Thou wilt. The pain of + writing to him is over, and I feel satisfied I wrote what duty + required of me.[25] Now then, return, O my soul, to thy rest. + + _March 22._--A week of conflict and of mercies is over. May the + remembrance of Thy goodness never be forgotten. I bless Thee, O + my God, that Thou hast brought me hitherto, and with more reason + than David, inquire what am I that Thou shouldest do so? + + _April 23._--To-day my mind has been painfully affected by the + receipt of letters from ----. I found in the presence of my + mother I dared not indulge the inclination I feel to mourn; and + believing my Heavenly Parent's will to be that I should be + careful for nothing, I ought to be equally exerting myself in + secret to resist the temptation. How true it is we suffer more + in the person of another dear to us than in our own! Lord, I + know Thou canst perfectly satisfy him by the consolation of Thy + Spirit and communications of Thy grace; Thou canst display the + glories of Thy beloved Son to his view, and put gladness into + his heart. Oh, support, cheer, and bless him; let Thy left hand + be under his head, and Thy right hand embrace him, that he may + feel less than my fears suggest. Oh, do Thou powerfully impress + our minds with a persuasion of Thy overruling hand in this + trial. Let us see it to be Thy will, and be now and ever + disposed to bow to it. Uphold me, Jesus, or I fan a prey to + distracting thoughts and imagination. + + _April 24._--The arrival of dear Mr. Simeon has been a cordial + to my fainting heart. Lord, do Thou comfort me by him; none but + Thyself can give me lasting comfort--instruments are nothing + without Thee. Oh, may I now be watchful, for often, through my + depraved nature, when unlooked-for deliverance comes, I get + careless and light in my frame; then the Lord hides His face, + and trouble comes, which no outward circumstances can relieve. I + need especial direction from on high. Oh, may my dependence be + on the Lord, and I shall not go astray. + + _April 28._--Went on Saturday with Mr. Simeon and Mr. E. to + Helston. Lord, I bless Thy holy name, I adore Thy wonderful + unmerited goodness towards such a base, vile creature, that Thou + shouldest at this particular season send me counsel and support + through the medium of Thy dear servant. I am brought home again + in safety, and enjoyed, during my absence, an opportunity of + seeing how a Christian lives. + + _April 29._--The state of my mind lately has led me to fill too + much of my _Diary_ with expressions of regard for an earthly + object, and now I am convinced of the evil of indulging this + affection. Oh, may the Lord enable me to mortify it; may this + mirror of my heart show me more of love to God and less to + anything earthly. This morning was a sad one, and to the present + I have to mourn over the barrenness of my soul, its + indisposedness to any spiritual exertion. Almost constantly do I + remember my dear absent friend; may I do so with less pain. + + _May 1._--I begin this month in circumstances peculiarly trying, + such as I can support only by aid vouchsafed from above, and + sought in constant prayer. The Lord is a stronghold in this time + of trouble. + + _May 2._--To-day and yesterday I have found more composure of + mind than of late; once indeed the enemy (whose devices I am too + ignorant of to meet them as I ought) succeeded in distracting my + mind, and excited many sinful passions from the probability that + Miss Corrie, who is going to her brother, may be the partner + appointed for my dear friend. This continued for a short time + only, and I found relief at a throne of grace. It is a subject + I must not dwell on--when the trial comes, grace will be given; + but at present I have none to meet it; yet have I prayed the + Lord to provide him a suitable helpmate. Deceitful is my heart; + how little do I know it! O Thou bleeding Saviour, let me hide + myself in Thee from deserved wrath, and oh, speak peace once + more to my soul. + + _May 3._--A day of much sinful inquietude. Oh, that I could + withdraw my affections! Oh, that I could once more feel I have + no desire but after heavenly things! What a chaos has my mind + been to-day, even in the house of God and at the throne of + grace. I have been, in imagination, conversing with a + fellow-creature. Where is thy heart? is a question not now to be + answered satisfactorily. Tied and bound with this chain, if for + a little time I rise to God, soon I turn from the glories of His + face, grieving His Spirit by preferring the ideal presence of my + friend--sometimes drawing the scene of his distress, at others + the pleasure of his return. Oh, let me not continue thus to walk + in the vanity of my mind. Oh, may I find sufficient happiness in + the presence of my God here, and live looking to the things not + seen, looking to that heavenly country where I shall enjoy in + perfection the blessed society and (of?) all I loved below. + + _May 4._--Passed a day of less conflict, though I have very + imperfectly kept my resolution not to indulge vain improbable + expectations of the future; yet I have been favoured with a + greater freedom from them than yesterday. + + _May 5._--I have been suddenly to-day seized with a violent + depression of spirits and a sadness of heart, hard to be + concealed. I have not, as before, fallen into a long train of + vain imaginations, drawing scenes improbable and vain, but my + soul has lost its spiritual appetite. I am looking forward to + distant and uncertain events with anticipations of sorrow and + trial impending. O my Lord and my God, come to my relief! + + _May 9._--Oh, what great troubles and adversities hast Thou + showed me, and yet Thou didst turn again and refresh me! The + whole of this day has been a dark and exceedingly gloomy season, + my mind tossed to and fro like the tempestuous sea. I think the + chief cause of my distress arises from a dread of dishonouring + the name of the Lord, by appearing to have acted deceitfully in + the eyes of my family, and some pride is at the bottom of this + (I like not to be thought ill of), and also pain for the + disappointment my dear friend will soon know. His situation + grieves me infinitely more than my own. I think, for myself, I + want nothing more than I find in Thy presence. + + _May 20._--My chief concern now is lest I should have given too + much reason for my dear friend's hoping I might yet be prevailed + on to attend to his request, and I feel the restraint stronger + than ever, that, having before promised, I am not free to marry. + I paint the scene of his return, and, whichever way I take, + nothing but misery and guilt seems to await me. Yet oh, I will + continue to pray, 'Heal me, and I shall be healed; save me, and + I shall be saved.' Thou art my strength and hope, O Lord; though + shame is my portion among men. Thou who knowest my heart, Thou + wilt not in this condemn me, for oh, Thou knowest these + consequences of my regard for Thy dear saint were not intended + by me, and that first, when I regarded him otherwise than as a + Christian brother, I believed myself free to do so, imagining + him I first loved united to another. When I consider this + circumstance my mind is relieved of a heavy burden, and yet I + must lament the evils that have flown from this mistake. My + thoughts have been called since Sunday into the eternal world by + the sudden death of a very kind friend, H.C. I have found this + event, though the cause of pain, very useful to me at this time. + + _May 22._--The way Satan takes is made plain to me, and I must + resist him in the first pleasing ideas arising from the + remembrance of true affection in my dear and ever-esteemed + friend. When I yield to these, I am presently lost to all sober + thoughts, and plunged soon in the deepest sorrow for the + distress it has brought on him; then my conduct towards him and + every part of my family is painted in the most horrid colours, + till I am nearly distracted. Thus has Satan over and over + oppressed me, and relief been afforded my fainting soul through + the help of a superior power even than Satan. I must watch and + pray, for thus the Lord will bruise Satan under my feet. + + _August 6._--This season recalls a dear friend to my + remembrance. Oh, may he occupy no more of my thoughts and + affections than is consistent with the will of God, and pleasing + in His sight. May these resignations be manifested by us both. + + _August 9._--Just two years since I parted from a dear friend + and brother, whose memory will ever be cherished by me. Blessed + be God! I feel now as if he was the inhabitant of another world, + rather than of another part of this earth. + +On October 10, 1806, on the close of his preparations for departure to +Dinapore, 'at night the missionaries, etc., met us at the pagoda for +the purpose of commending me to the grace of God.' 'My soul never yet +had such Divine enjoyment. I felt a desire to break from the body, and +join the high praises of the saints above.' Next day, in Calcutta, at +evening worship at Mr. Myers', 'I found my heaven begun on earth. No +work so sweet as that of praying and living wholly to the service of +God.' On Sunday, the 12th, 'at night I took my leave of the saints in +Calcutta in a sermon on Acts xx. 32. But how very far from being in +spirit like the great apostle.' On Monday he went up by land to +Barrackpore with Mr. Brown, 'happy in general.' On Tuesday 'Corrie +came to me at the pagoda and prayed with me.' + + _1806, October 15._--Took my leave of the family at Aldeen in + morning worship; but I have always found my heart most unable to + be tender and solemn when occasions most require it. At eleven I + set off in a budgerow with Mr. Brown, Corrie, and Parson. + Marshman saw us as we passed the mission-house, and could not + help coming aboard. He dined with us, and after going on a + little way left us with a prayer. About sunset we landed at the + house of the former French governor, and walked five miles + through villages to Chandernagore, where we waited at an hotel + till the boats came up. With the French host I found a liberty I + could not have hoped for in his language, and was so enabled to + preach the Gospel to him. There are two Italian monks in this + place, who say Mass every day. I wished much to visit the + fathers, if there had been time. A person of Calcutta, here for + his health, troubled us with his profaneness, but we did not let + him go unwarned, nor kept back the counsel of God. At night in + the budgerow I prayed with my dear brethren. + + _October 16._--Rose somewhat dejected, and walked on to + Chinsurah, the Dutch settlement, about three miles. There we + breakfasted, and dined with Mr. Forsyth, the missionary. We all + enjoyed great happiness in the presence and blessing of our God. + Mr. Forsyth came on with us from Chinsurah, till we stopped at + sunset opposite Bandel, a Portuguese settlement, and then we had + Divine service. I prayed and found my heart greatly enlarged. + After his departure our conversation was suitable and spiritual. + How sweet is prayer to my soul at this time! I seem as if I + never could be tired, not only of spiritual joys, but of + spiritual employments, since they are now the same. + + _October 17._--My dear brethren, on account of the bad weather, + were obliged to leave me to-day. So we spent the whole morning + in a Divine ordinance in which each read a portion of Scripture + and all sang and prayed. Mr. Brown's passage, chosen from Joshua + i., was very suitable, 'Have I not commanded thee?' Let this be + an answer to my fears, O my Lord, and an assurance that I am in + Thy work. It was a very affecting season to me. In prayer I was + very far from a state of seriousness and affection. Indeed, I + have often remarked that I have never yet prayed comfortably + with friends when it has been preceded by a chapter of the + Revelation. Perhaps because I depend too much on the feelings + which the imagery of that book excites, instead of putting + myself into the hands of the Spirit, the only author of the + prayer of faith. They went away in their boat, and I was left + alone for the first time, with none but natives. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[22] _The Life and Times of Carey, Marshman, and Ward_, London, 1859. +_The Life of William Carey_ (John Murray), 2nd edition, 1887. + +[23] First published (1892) by Rev. H.C.G. Moule from the autograph +collection made by Canon Carus, the successor and biographer of +Charles Simeon. + +[24] A line has been erased by a subsequent writer. + +[25] 'Her letter was to bid me a last farewell.'--Martyn's _Journal_. +This was received November 23. + + + + +CHAPTER VI + +DINAPORE AND PATNA, 1807-1809 + + +Until, in 1852 and the ten years following, Lord Dalhousie's railway +up the Ganges valley was completed to Allahabad, the usual mode of +proceeding up-country from Calcutta was by the house-boat known as the +budgerow, which is still common on the many rivers of Bengal where +English planters and officials are found. At the rate of twenty-five +miles a day the traveller is towed up against stream by the boatmen. +When time is no object, and opportunities are sought for reading, +shooting, and intercourse with the natives, the voyage is delightful +in the cool season. Henry Martyn rejoiced in six weeks of this +solitary life--alone yet not alone, and ever about his Father's +business. His studies were divided between Hindustani and Sanskrit; he +was much occupied in prayer and in the reading of the Greek and Hebrew +Scriptures. Morning and evening he spent himself among the people on +the banks, and at the ghauts and bazaars of the mighty river, +preaching Christ and spreading abroad the New Testament. The dense +population and the spiritual darkness, as the panorama of native life +moved hourly before his eyes, on river and on land, stirred up the +busiest of Christians to be still busier, in spite of his fast-wasting +body; 'What a wretched life shall I lead if I do not exert myself +from morning till night, in a place where, through whole territories, +I seem to be the only light!' His gun supplied him with small game, +'enough to make a change with the curry.' + +At Cutwa, one of Carey's mission stations, he had fellowship with +Chamberlain, receiving that 'refreshment of spirit which comes from +the blessing of God on Christian communion.' 'Tell Marshman,' he +wrote, 'with my affectionate remembrance, that I have seriously begun +the Sanskrit Grammar.' To Ward he sends a list of errata which he +found in a tract in the Persian character. He had his Serampore +moonshi with him. At Berhampore, soon to be occupied by Mr. Parson as +chaplain, and by the London Missionary Society, he spent some time, +for it was the great military station of the old Nawab Nazim's +capital, Moorshidabad, which Clive described as wealthier than London, +and quite as populous. Henry Martyn at once walked into the hospital, +where the surgeon immediately recognised him as an old schoolfellow +and townsman. But even with such help he could not induce the men to +rise and assemble for Divine service. 'I left three books with them +and went away amidst the sneers and titters of the common soldiers. +Certainly it is one of the greatest crosses I am called to bear, to +take pains to make people hear me. It is such a struggle between a +sense of propriety and modesty on the one hand, and a sense of duty on +the other, that I find nothing equal to it.' At Rajmahal, like Carey +six years before, he met some of the hill tribes--'wrote down from +their mouth some of the names of things.' + +At Maldah he was in the heart of the little Christian community which, +under Charles Grant twenty years before, had proved the salt of +Anglo-Indian society, and had made the first attempt with Carey's +assistance to open vernacular Christian schools. With Mr. Ellerton, +whose wife had witnessed the duel between Warren Hastings and Philip +Francis, and who as a widow indeed lived to the Mutiny of 1857 as the +friend of Bishop Daniel Wilson, he went to Gomalty, and visited one of +the schools. 'The cheerful faces of the little boys, sitting +cross-legged on their mats round the floor, much delighted me. While +they displayed their power of reading, their fathers, mothers, etc., +crowded in numbers round the door and windows.' Here we see the now +vast educational system of Bengal in the birth. Not less striking is +the contrast, due to the progress of that system on its missionary +side, when we find Martyn, in 1806, recording his surprise at the +extraordinary fear and unwillingness of the people to take tracts and +books. One postmaster, when he found what the booklet was about, +returned it with the remark that a person who had his legs in two +boats went on his way uncomfortably. Passing Colgong and Monghyr, he +'reached Patna. Walked about the scene of my future ministry with a +spirit almost overwhelmed at the sight of the immense multitudes.' On +November 26 he arrived at Dinapore--'the multitudes at the water-side +prodigious.' + +Nowhere, in British India as it was in 1807, could Henry Martyn have +found a better training field, at once as chaplain to the troops and +missionary to the Mohammedans, than the Patna centre of the great +province of Bihar. For fourteen miles, Patna, the Mohammedan city, +Bankipore, the British civil station, and Dinapore, the British +military station, line the right bank of the Ganges, which is there +two miles broad. Patna itself--'the city,' as the word means--was the +Buddhist capital to which the Greek ambassador Megasthenes came from +Seleukos Nikator, 300 B.C., and the Chinese pilgrim, Hwen T'sang, 637 +years A.D. But under the Mogul emperors and down to the present day, +Patna has been the focus of the most fanatical sect of Islam. There +Meer Kasim murdered sixty Englishmen in 1763; and so little did a +century's civilisation affect the place, which Christian missionaries, +except Martyn, neglected till recently, that in 1857 it was a centre +of the Mutiny, and in 1872 it was the nucleus of Wahabi rebellion. The +second city in Bengal next to Calcutta, and the fifth city in all +India in inhabitants, Patna with Bankipore and Dinapore commanded an +accessible native population of half a million. Such was Henry +Martyn's first 'parish' in the East. For the mass of these he opened +schools and translated the Word of God; with their learned men he +'disputed' continually, in the spirit of Paul seeking to commend to +them the very Christ. + +Besides the Company's civil servants in Bankipore whom he never ceased +to influence, he was specially charged with the spiritual care of two +European regiments, consisting at one time of 1,700 men and 80 officers +in various positions. Then and up till 1860, when what was known as 'the +White Mutiny' led the Queen's Government to disband the troops, the East +India Company had a European force of its own, specially recruited and +paid more highly than the royal regiments. The men were generally better +educated than the ordinary private of those days, were, indeed, often +runaway sons of good families and disreputable adventurers from many +countries. As a fighting force they were splendid veterans; in all other +respects their history and character as well as his own experience of +them on board ship, justified Martyn's language in a letter to Mr. +Brown. 'My disdainful and abandoned countrymen among the military; they +are impudent children and stiff-hearted, and will receive, I fear, my +ministrations, as all the others have done, with scorn. Yet Jesus wept +over Jerusalem. Henceforward let me live with Christ alone.' How loving +and faithful, if not always tender, his ministry was among them and +their native women, and how it gained their respect till it formed a +little Church in the army, we shall see. + +Having settled down in barrack apartments at 50 rupees a month till he +should get a house against the hot season, and having called on the +general commanding and others, after the Anglo-Indian fashion, he +reported to his longing friends in Aldeen: 'I stand alone;[26] not one +voice is heard saying, "I wish you good luck in the name of the Lord." +I offered to come over to Bankipore to officiate to them on the +Sabbath. They are going to take this into consideration. I have found +out two schools in Dinapore. I shall set on foot one or two schools +without delay, and by the time the scholars are able to read we can +get books ready for them.' In this spirit and by a renewed act of +self-dedication he entered on the year 1807: + + Seven years have passed away since I was first called of God. + Before the conclusion of another seven years, how probable is it + that these hands will have mouldered into dust! But be it so: my + soul through grace hath received the assurance of eternal life, + and I see the days of my pilgrimage shortening without a wish + to add to their number. But oh, may I be stirred up to a + faithful discharge of my high and awful work; and laying aside, + as much as may be, all carnal cares and studies, may I give + myself to this 'one thing.' The last has been a year to be + remembered by me, because the Lord has brought me safely to + India, and permitted me to begin, in one sense, my missionary + work. My trials in it have been very few; everything has turned + out better than I expected; loving-kindness and tender mercies + have attended me at every step: therefore here will I sing His + praise. I have been an unprofitable servant, but the Lord hath + not cut me off: I have been wayward and perverse, yet He has + brought me further on the way to Zion; here, then, with + sevenfold gratitude and affection, would I stop and devote + myself to the blissful service of my adorable Lord. May He + continue His patience, His grace, His direction, His spiritual + influences, and I shall at last surely come off conqueror. May + He speedily open my mouth, to make known the mysteries of the + Gospel, and in great mercy grant that the heathen may receive it + and live! + +The hostility of the officers and civilians to his message sometimes +became scorn, when they saw his efforts to teach and preach to the +natives. These were days when the Patna massacre was still remembered. +So few baptized Christians knew the power of the Faith which they +practically dishonoured, that they had no desire to make it known to +others; many even actually resented the preaching of Christ to the +people, as both politically dangerous and socially an insult to the +ruling race. This feeling has long since disappeared in India at +least, though its expression is not unknown in some of the colonies +where the land is held by the dark savages. Henry Martyn keenly felt +such opposition, and none the less that the natives of the Patna +district--especially the Mohammedans--were in their turn hostile to a +government which had supplanted them so recently. A few weeks after +his arrival we find him writing this in his _Journal_: + + _1806, December 1._--Early this morning I set off in my + palanquin for Patna. Something brought the remembrance of my + dear Lydia so powerfully to my mind that I could not cease + thinking of her for a moment. I know not when my reflections + seemed to turn so fondly towards her; at the same time I + scarcely dare to wish her to come to this country. The whole + country is manifestly disaffected. I was struck at the anger and + contempt with which multitudes of the natives eyed me in my + palanquin. + + _December 2._--On my way back called on Mr. D., the Judge, and + Mr. F., at Bankipore. Mr. F.'s conversation with me about the + natives was again a great trial to my spirit; but in the + multitude of my troubled thoughts I still saw that there is a + strong consolation in the hope set before us. Let men do their + worst, let me be torn to pieces, and my dear L. torn from me; or + let me labour for fifty years amidst scorn, and never seeing one + soul converted; still it shall not be worse for my soul in + eternity, nor worse for it in time. Though the heathen rage and + the English people imagine a vain thing, the Lord Jesus, who + controls all events, is my friend, my master, my God, my all. On + the Rock of Ages when I feel my foot rest my head is lifted up + above all mine enemies round about, and I sing, yea, I will sing + praises unto the Lord. If I am not much mistaken, sore trials + are awaiting me from without. Yet the time will come when they + will be over. Oh, what sweet refuge to the weary soul does the + grave appear! There the wicked cease from troubling, and there + the weary are at rest. Here every man I meet is an enemy; being + an enemy to God, he is an enemy to me also on that account; but + he is an enemy too to me because I am an Englishman. Oh, what a + place must heaven be, where there are none but friends! England + appears almost a heaven upon earth, because there one is not + viewed as an unjust intruder; but, oh, the heaven of my God! the + general assembly of the first-born, the spirits of the just made + perfect, and Jesus! Oh, let me for a little moment labour and + suffer reproach! + + _1807, January 2._--They seem to hate to see me associating at + all with the natives, and one gave me a hint a few days ago + about taking my exercise on foot. But if our Lord had always + travelled about in His palanquin, the poor woman who was healed + by touching the hem of His garment might have perished. Happily + I am freed from the shackles of custom; and the fear of man, + though not extirpated, does not prevail. + + _January 8._--Pundit was telling me to-day that there was a + prophecy in their books that the English should remain one + hundred years in India, and that forty years were now elapsed of + that period; that there should be a great change, and they + should be driven out by a king's son, who should then be born. + Telling this to moonshi, he said that about the same time the + Mussulmans expected some great events, such as the coming of + Dujjel, and the spread of Islam over the earth. + + _January 29._--The expectation from prophecy is very prevalent + hereabouts that the time is coming when all the Hindus will + embrace the religion of the English; and the pundit says that in + many places they had already begun. About Agra, and Delhi, and + Narwa, in the Mahratta dominions, there are many native + Christian families. + +Henry Martyn's occupation of the Aldeen Pagoda had resulted, after his +departure, in the formation, by Brown, Corrie, Parson, and Marmaduke +Thompson, the Madras chaplain, of what would now be called a clerical +club, with these three objects--to aid the British and Foreign Bible +Society, then recently established; to help forward the translation of +the Scriptures into the languages of the East; and especially to meet +the whole expense of the Sanskrit and Greek Testaments, and to send on +to Mr. Brown, for circulation, a quarterly report of the prospects, +plans, and actual situation of each member so far as the Church is +concerned. Of this Evangelical Anglican Brotherhood Martyn seems to +have been the most active member during his brief career. His +translations were made for it, in the first instance. 'The Synod', or +'the Associated Clergy,' as he called it at different times, when as +yet there was no Bishop of Calcutta, consciously linked him to the +fellowship of the Saints, to the Church and the University from which +he had come forth. We find him noting seven years after 'the day I +left Cambridge: my thoughts frequently recurred with many tender +recollections to that beloved seat of my brethren, and again I +wandered in spirit amongst the trees on the banks of the Cam.' + +The letters from these four chaplains cheered him at Dinapore when he +was 'very much depressed in spirits,' and he hastens to write to each, +giving this picture of his life: + + From a solitary walk on the banks of the river I had just + returned to my dreary rooms, and with the reflection that just + at this time of the day I could be thankful for a companion, was + taking up the flute to remind myself of your social meetings in + worship, when your two packages of letters, which had arrived in + my absence, were brought to me. For the contents of them, all I + can say is, Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me + bless His holy name! The arrival of another dear brother, and + the joy you so largely partake of in fellowship with God and + with one another, act as a cordial to my soul. They show me what + I want to learn, that the Lord God Omnipotent reigneth, and + that they that keep the faith of Jesus are those only whom God + visits with His strong consolations. I want to keep in view that + our God is the God of the whole earth, and that the heathen are + given to His exalted Son, the uttermost parts of the earth for a + possession. + +Continually his love of music breaks forth alike for the worship of God +and the association of friendship and affection. His correspondence with +Brown was regular, but as that of a son with a father. His letters to +Corrie, his old Cambridge junior, are frank and free. His joy was great +when Corrie was stationed at the rock-fortress of Chunar, not very far +from Dinapore, so that they occasionally met and officiated for each +other. But up to this time his chief, his almost fearful human, delight +was to think of Lydia by night and by day. + + _1806, December 10._--A dream last night was so like reality, + and the impression after it was so deep upon my spirits, that I + must record the date of it. It was about Lydia. I dreamt that + she had arrived, but that after some conversation I said to her, + 'I know this is a dream; it is too soon after my letter for you + to have come.' Alas! it is only a dream; and with this I awoke, + and sighed to think that it was indeed only a dream. Perhaps all + my hope about her is but a dream! Yet be it so; whatever God + shall appoint must be good for us both, and with that I will + endeavour to be tranquil and happy, pursuing my way through the + wilderness with equal steadiness, whether with or without a + companion. + + _December 14._ (Sunday.)--Service performed by an after order, + at ten o'clock. The general was present, about twenty officers, + and some of their ladies. I preached on the parable of the tares + of the field. Much of the rest of the day I was in great + distraction, owing to the incessant recurrence of thoughts about + Lydia. My impatience and fear respecting her sometimes rose to + such a height that I felt almost as at Falmouth, when I was + leaving Europe, as I thought to see her no more. But in the + evening it pleased the Lord to show me something of the awful + nearness of the world of spirits, and the unmeasurable + importance of my having my thoughts and cares devoted to my + missionary work. Thus I obtained peace. I prayed in sincerity + and fervour, that if there were any obstacle in the sight of + God, the Lord might never suffer us to meet. + + _December 21._ (Sunday.)--In the evening, after a solemn season + of prayer, I received letters from Europe, one from Cousin T., + Emma, Lydia, and others. The torrent of vivid affection which + passed through my heart at receiving such assurances of regard + continued almost without intermission for four hours. Yet, in + reflection afterwards, the few words my dearest Lydia wrote + turned my joy into tender sympathy with her. Who knows what her + heart has suffered! After all, our God is our best portion; and + it is true that if we are never permitted to meet, we shall + enjoy blissful intercourse for ever in glory. + + _December 22._--Thinking far too much of dear Lydia all day. + + _December 23._--Set apart the chief part of this day for prayer, + with fasting; but I do not know that my soul got much good. Oh, + what need have I to be stirred up by the Spirit of God, to exert + myself in prayer! Had no freedom or power in prayer, though some + appearance of tenderness. Lydia is a snare to me; I think of her + so incessantly, and with such foolish and extravagant fondness, + that my heart is drawn away from God. Thought at night, Can that + be true love which is other than God would have it? No; that + which is lawful is most genuine when regulated by the holy law + of God. + + _December 25._--Preached on 1 Tim. i. 15 to a large + congregation. Those who remained at the Sacrament were chiefly + ladies, and none of them young men. My heart still entangled + with this idolatrous affection, and consequently unhappy. + Sometimes I gained deliverance from it for a short time, and was + happy in the love of God. How awful the thought, that while + perishing millions demand my every thought and care, my mind + should be distracted about such an extreme trifle as that of my + own comfort! Oh, let me at last have done with it, and the + merciful God save me from departing from Him, and committing + that horrible crime of forsaking the fountain of living waters, + and hewing out to myself broken cisterns. + +As the delightful cold season of the Bihar uplands passed all too +quickly, and the dry hot winds of Upper India began to scorch its +plains, the solitary man began to think it 'impossible I could ever +subsist long in such a climate.' From April 1807 his hereditary +disease made rapid advances, while he reproached himself for lassitude +and comparative idleness, and put additional constraint on himself to +work and to pray unceasingly. From this time his _Journal_ has +frequent records of sickness, of loss of appetite, and of 'pain' in +his ministrations, ending in loss of voice altogether for a time. +Corrie and Brown and his other correspondents remonstrated, but they +were at a distance. He needed a watchful and authoritative nurse such +as only a wife could be, and he found only lack of sympathy or active +opposition. He lived, as we can now see, as no white man in the +tropics in any rank of life should live, from sheer simplicity, +unselfishness, and consuming zeal. When the hot winds drove him out of +the barracks, the first rainy season flooded his house. At all times +and amid the insanitary horrors of an Indian cemetery he had to bury +the dead of a large cantonment in a sickly season. His daily visits to +the hospital were prolonged, for there he came soul to soul with the +sinner, the penitent, and the rejoicing. And all the time he is +writing to Corrie and each of his friends, 'I feel anxious for your +health.' To marry officers and baptize children he had to make long +journeys by palanquin, and expose his wasting body alike to heat and +rain. But amid it all his courage never fails, for it is rooted in +God; his heart is joyful, for he has the peace that passeth all +understanding. + + _1807, May 18._--Through great mercy my health and strength are + supported as by a daily miracle. But oh, the heat! By every + device of darkness and tatties I cannot keep the thermometer + below 92 deg., and at night in bed I seem in danger of suffocation. + Let me know somewhat more particularly what the heat is, and how + you contrive to bear it. The worst bad effect I experience is + the utter loss of appetite. I dread the eating time. + + _July 7._--Heat still so great as to oblige me to abandon my + quarters. + + _July 8._--Went to Bankipore to baptize a child. One of the + ladies played some hymn-tunes on my account. If I were provided + with proper books much good might be done by these visits, for I + meet with general acceptance and deference. In the evening + buried a man who had died in the hospital after a short illness. + My conscience felt again a conviction of guilt at considering + how many precious hours I waste on trifles, and how cold and + lukewarm my spirit is when addressing souls. + + _August 23._ (Sunday.)--Preached on Job xix. 25-27: 'I know that + my redeemer liveth.' There seemed little or no attention; only + one officer there besides Major Young. At Hindustani prayers, + the women few, but attentive; again blest with much freedom; at + the hospital was seized with such pain from over-exertion of my + voice, that I was obliged to leave off and go away. + +To Brown he writes: 'The rains try my constitution. I am apt to be +troubled with shortness of breath, as at the time I left you. Another +rainy reason I must climb some hill and live there; but the Lord is +our rock. While there is work which _we_ must do, we shall live.' +Again in the early Sunday morning of August he dreamed-- + + That as I was attacked so violently in July, but recovered, at + the same time next year I should be attacked again, and carried + off by death. This, however, would only be awaking in a better + world. If I may but awake up satisfied with Thy likeness, why + shall I be afraid? I think I have but one wish to live, which + is, that I may do the Lord's work, particularly in the Persian + and Hindustani translations; for this I could almost feel + emboldened to supplicate, like Hezekiah, for prolongation of + life, even after receiving this, which may be a warning. + +After six months' experience of his Dinapore-cum-Patna parish, Martyn +sent in 'to the Associated Clergy' the first quarterly report of his +own spiritual life, and of his work for others. + + _April 6._--I begin my first communication to my dear and + honoured brethren, with thankfully accepting their proposal of + becoming a member of their society, and I bless the God and + Father of our Lord Jesus Christ for this new instance of His + mercy to His unworthy creature. May His grace and favour be + vouchsafed to us, and His Holy Spirit direct all our + proceedings, and sanctify our communications to the purposes for + which we are united. + + On a review of the state of my mind since my arrival at + Dinapore, I observe that the graces of joy and love have been at + a low ebb. Faith has been chiefly called into exercise, and + without a simple dependence on the Divine promises I should + still every day sink into fatal despondency. Self-love and + unbelief have been suggesting many foolish fears respecting the + difficulties of my future work among the heathen. The thought of + interrupting a crowd of busy people like those at Patna, whose + every day is a market-day, with a message about eternity, + without command of language sufficient to explain and defend + myself, and so of becoming the scorn of the rabble without doing + them good, was offensive to my pride. The manifest disaffection + of the people, and the contempt with which they eyed me, + confirmed my dread. Added to this the unjust proceedings of many + of the principal magistrates hereabout led me to expect future + commotions in the country, and that consequently poverty and + murder would terminate my career. + + 'Sufficient for the day is the evil thereof'--'As thy days are + so shall thy strength be,' were passages continually brought to + my remembrance, and with these at last my mind grew quiet. Our + countrymen, when speaking of the natives, said, as they usually + do, that they cannot be converted, and if they could they would + be worse than they are. Though I have observed before now that + the English are not in the way of knowing much about the + natives, yet the number of difficulties they mentioned proved + another source of discouragement to me. It is surprising how + positively they are apt to speak on this subject, from their + never acknowledging God in anything: 'Thy judgments are far + above out of his sight.' If we labour to the end of our days + without seeing one convert, it shall not be worse for us in + time, and our reward is the same in eternity. The cause in which + we are engaged is the cause of mercy and truth, and therefore, + in spite of seeming impossibilities, it must eventually prevail. + + I have been also occasionally troubled with infidel thoughts, + which originated perhaps from the cavillings of the Mohammedans + about the person of Christ; but these have been never suffered + to be more than momentary. At such times the awful holiness of + the Word of God, and the deep seriousness pervading it, were + more refreshing to my heart than the most encouraging promises + in it. How despicable must the Koran appear with its mock + majesty and paltry precepts to those who can read the Word of + God! It must presently sink into contempt when the Scriptures + are known. + + Sometimes when those fiery darts penetrated more deeply, I found + safety only in cleaving to God, as a child clasps to his + mother's neck. These things teach me the melancholy truth that + the grace of a covenant God can alone keep me from apostasy and + ruin. + + The European society here consists of the military at the + cantonment and the civil servants at Bankipore. The latter + neither come into church nor have accepted the offer of my + coming to officiate to them. There is, however, no contempt + shown, but rather respect. Of the military servants very few + officers attend, and of late scarcely any of the married + families, but the number of privates, and the families of the + merchants, always make up a respectable congregation. They have + as yet heard very little of the doctrines of the Gospel. I have + in general endeavoured to follow the directions contained in Mr. + Milner's letter on this subject, as given in Mr. Brown's paper, + No. 4. + + At the hospital I have read Doddridge's _Rise and Progress_, and + _The Pilgrim's Progress_. As the people objected to extempore + preaching at church, I have in compliance with their desires + continued to use a book. But on this subject I should be glad of + some advice from my brethren. + + I think it needless to communicate the plans or heads of any of + my sermons, as they have been chiefly on the Parables. It is of + more importance to observe that the Word has not gone forth in + vain, blessed be God! as it has hitherto seemed to do in most + places where I have been called to minister; and this I feel to + be an animating testimony of His presence and blessing. I think + the commanding officer of the native regiment here and his lady + are seeking their salvation in earnest; they now refuse all + invitations on the Lord's day, and pass most of that day at + least in reading the Word, and at all times discover an + inclination to religious conversation. Among the privates, one I + have little doubt is truly converted to God, and is a great + refreshment to me. He parted at once with his native woman, and + allows her a separate maintenance. His conversion has excited + much notice and conversation about religion among the rest, and + three join him in coming twice a week to my quarters for + exposition, singing and prayer. + + I visit the English very little, and yet have had sufficient + experience of the difficulty of knowing how a minister should + converse with his people. I have myself fallen into the worst + extreme, and, from fear of making them connect religion with + gloom, have been led into such shameful levity and conformity to + them as ought to fill me with grief and deep self-abasement. + + How repeatedly has guilt been brought upon my conscience in this + way! Oh, how will the lost souls with whom I have trifled the + hours away look at me in the day of judgment! I hope I am more + and more convinced of the wickedness and folly of assuming any + other character than that of a minister. I ought to consider + that my proper business with the flock over which the Holy Ghost + hath made me overseer is the business of another world, and if + they will not consider it in the same light, I do not think that + I am bound to visit them. + + About the middle of last month, the Church service being ready + in Hindustani, I submitted to the commanding officer of the + European regiment a proposal to perform Divine service + regularly for the native women of his regiment, to which he + cordially assented. The whole number of women, about 200, + attended with great readiness, and have continued to do so. + Instead of a sermon, the Psalms, and the appointed lessons, I + read in two portions the Gospel of St. Matthew regularly + forward, and occasionally make some small attempts at + expounding. The conversion of any of such despised people is + never likely perhaps to be of any extensive use in regard to the + natives at large; but they are a people committed to me by God, + and as dear to Him as others; and next in order after the + English, they come within the expanding circle of action. + + After much trouble and delay, three schools have been + established for the native children on Mr. Creighton's plan--one + at Dinapore, one at Bankipore, and one at Patna, at the last of + which the Persian character is taught as well as the Nagri. The + number of children already is about sixty. The other + schoolmasters, not liking the introduction of these free + schools, spread the report that my intention was to make them + Christians, and send them to Europe; in consequence of which the + zemindars retracted their promises of land, and the parents + refused to send their children; but my schoolmasters very + sensibly went to the people, and told them, 'We are men well + known among you, and when we are made Christians then do you + begin to fear.' So their apprehensions have subsided; but when + the book of Parables, which is just finished, is put into their + hands, I expect a revival of their fears. My hope is that I + shall be able to ingratiate myself a little with the people + before that time; but chiefly that a gracious God will not + suffer Satan to keep his ground any longer, now that the + appointed means are used to dislodge him. But, though these + plans should fail, I hope to be strengthened to fight against + him all my days. For, from what I feel within and see without, I + know enough of him to vow, with my brethren, eternal enmity + against him and his cause. + + Respecting the state of the natives hereabouts, I believe that + the Hindus are lax, for the rich men being few or none, there + are few Brahmins and few _tumashas_ (_fetes_), and without these + idolatry droops. The Mohammedans are numerous and ignorant, but + from the best of them I cannot learn that more than three + arguments can be offered for their religion, which are--the + miracles wrought by Mohammed, those still wrought by his + followers, and his challenge in the second chapter of the Koran, + about producing a chapter like it, all of which are immediately + answered. + + If my brethren have any others brought forward to them they + will, I hope, mention them; and if they have observed any remark + or statement apparently affect a native's mind, they will notice + it. + + Above all things, _seriousness_ in argument with them seems most + desirable, for without it they laugh away the clearest proofs. + Zeal for making proselytes they are used to, and generally + attribute to a false motive; but a tender concern manifested for + their souls is certainly new to them, and seemingly produces + corresponding seriousness in their minds. + + From an officer who had been in the Mahratta service, I learned + some time ago that there were large bodies of Christians at + Narwa, in the Mahratta dominions, Sardhana, Delhi, Agra, Bettia, + Boglipore. To obtain more information respecting them, I sent a + circular letter to the missionaries residing at the three latter + places, and have received two letters in reply. The padre at + Boglipore is a young man just arrived, and his letter contains + no information. From the letter of the padre at Agra I subjoin + some extracts, premising that my questions were: 1. By whom were + you sent? 2. How long has a mission been established in the + place of your residence? 3. Do you itinerate, and to what + distance? 4. Have you any portion of the MSS. translated, or do + you distribute tracts? 5. Do you allow any remains of caste to + the baptized? 6. Have you schools? are the masters heathen or + Christians? 7. Is there any native preacher or catechist? 8. + Number of converts. + + In concluding my report, I take the liberty of proposing two + questions on which I should be thankful for communications in + your next quarterly report. + + 1. On the manner in which a minister should observe the Sabbath; + whether he should make it a point of duty to leave no part of + his discourses to prepare on that day? Whether our particular + situation in this country, requiring redoubled exertion in those + of us at least who are called to the heathen, will justify the + introduction of a secular work into the Sabbath, such as + translating the Scriptures, etc.? + + 2. In the commencement of our labours among the heathen, to + which model should our preaching be conformed,--to that of John + the Baptist and our Saviour, or that of the Apostles? The first + mode seems more natural, and if necessary for the Jews, + comparatively so enlightened, how much more for the heathen, who + have scarcely any notions of morality! On the other hand, the + preaching of the cross has in all ages won the most ignorant + savages; and the Apostles preached it at once to heathens as + ignorant perhaps as these. + +Like Marshman and the Serampore missionaries, Henry Martyn kept up a +Latin correspondence with the missionaries sent from Rome by the +Propaganda to the stations founded by Xavier, and those afterwards +established by that saint's nephew in the days of the tolerant Akbar. +At the beginning of this century, Anglican, Baptist, and Romanist +missionaries all over the East co-operated with each other in +translation work and social intercourse. More than once Martyn +protected the priest at Patna from the persecution of the military +authorities. He planned a visit to their station at Bettia, to the far +north, at the foot of the Himalayas. In hospital his ministrations +were always offered to the Irish soldiers in the absence of their own +priest, and always without any controversial reference. In his +_Journal_ he is often indignant at the Popish perversion of the +doctrines of grace, and in preaching he occasionally set forth the +truth, but in pastoral and social intercourse he never failed to show +the charity of the Christian scholar and the gentleman. + +Major Young, with his wife, was the first of the officers to welcome +Martyn's preaching. Soon the men in hospital learned to appreciate his +daily visits, and to attend to his earnest reading and talk. A few +began to meet with him at his own house regularly, for prayer and the +exposition of Holy Scripture. In January, he writes of one Sunday: +'Great attention. I think the Word is not going forth in vain. In the +afternoon read at the hospital. The steward I found had been long +stationed at Tanjore and knew Schwartz; that Schwartz baptized the +natives not by immersion, but by sprinkling, and with godfathers, and +read the services both in English and Tamil. Felt much delighted at +hearing anything about him. The man told me that the men at the +hospital were very attentive and thankful that I came amongst them. +Passed the evening with great joy and peace in singing hymns.' In the +heat of May he writes: 'Found fifty sick at the hospital, who heard +_The Pilgrim's Progress_ with great delight. Some men came to-night, +but my prayer with them was exceedingly poor and lifeless.' + +In these days, thanks to Lord Lawrence and Sir Henry Norman, there is a +prayer-hall in every cantonment, ever open for the soldier who seeks +quiet communion with God. Then--'Six soldiers came to me to-night. To +escape as much as possible the taunts of their wicked companions, they +go out of their barracks in opposite directions to come to me. At night +a young Scotsman of the European regiment came to me for a hymn-book. He +expressed with tears his past wickedness and determination to lead a +religious life.' On the other side we have such passages as these: 'What +sort of men are these committed to my care? I had given them one more +warning about their whoredom and drunkenness, and it's the truth +grappling with their consciences that makes them furious.' Of the +Company's European regiment he writes to Corrie: 'A more wicked set of +men were, I suppose, never seen. The general, the colonel of the 67th, +and their own colonel all acknowledge it. At the hospital when I visit +their part, some go to a corner and invoke blasphemies upon me because, +as they now believe, the man I speak to dies to a certainty.' A young +lieutenant of fine abilities he recommended strenuously to go into the +ministry. + +Although, fifteen years before, Sir John Shore had given orders as to +the building of churches at military stations, and Lord Wellesley had +set an example of interest in the moral and spiritual welfare of the +Company's servants, nothing had been done outside of the three +Presidency cities. All that Henry Martyn found provided for him, as +chaplain, on his first Sunday at Dinapore, was a long drum, on which +he placed the Prayer-book. He was requested not to preach, because the +men could not stand so long. He found the men playing at fives on +Sunday. All that he soon changed, by an appeal to the general to put +a stop to the games on Sunday, and by holding service at first in a +barrack, and then in his own house. Before leaving Calcutta he had +observed, in a conversation with the Governor-General, on the disgrace +of there being no places of worship at the principal subordinate +stations; upon which directions were given to prepare plans of +building. He wrote to the equally troubled Corrie at Chunar. A year +later nothing had been done, and he draws this picture to Corrie: +'From the scandalous disorder in which the Company have left the +ecclesiastical part of their affairs, so that we have no place fit, +our assemblies are little like worshipping assemblies. No kneeling +because no room; no singing, no responses.' At last Sir George Barlow +sent an order for an estimate for building a church, but Martyn had +left for Cawnpore, only to see a worse state of things there. But the +faithfulness of the 'black' chaplains was telling. He writes, on March +14, 1808: + + The 67th are now all here. The number of their sick makes the + hospital congregation very considerable, so that if I had no + natives, translations, etc., to think of, there is call enough + for my labours and prayers among all these Europeans. The + general at my request has determined to make the whole body of + troops attend in three divisions; and yesterday morning the + Company's European, and two companies of the King's, came to + church in great pomp, with a fine band of music playing. The + King's officers, according to their custom, have declared their + intention not to call upon the Company's; therefore I mean to + call upon them. I believe I told you that 900 of the 67th are + Roman Catholics. It seemed an uncommonly splendid Mohurrum here + also. Mr. H., an assistant judge lately appointed to Patna, + joined the procession in a Hindustani dress, and went about + beating his breast, etc. This is a place remarkable for such + folly. The old judge, you know, has built a mosque here, and the + other judge issued an order that no marriage nor any feasting + should be held during the season of Mohammedan grief. A + remarkably sensible young man called on me yesterday with the + Colonel; they both seem well disposed to religion. I receive + many gratifying testimonies to the change apparently taking + place among the English in religious matters in India; + testimonies, I mean, from the mouths of the people, for I + confess I do not observe much myself. + +Having translated the Church Service into Hindustani, Henry Martyn was +ready publicly to minister to the native women belonging to the +soldiers of the Company's European regiment. From such unions, rarely +lawful, sprang the now great and important Eurasian community, many of +whom have done good service to the Church and the Empire. 'The Colonel +approved, but told me that it was my business to find them an order, +and not his.' + + _1807, March 23._--So I issued my command to the Sergeant-Major + to give public notice in the barracks that there would be Divine + service in the native language on the morrow. The morrow came, + and the Lord sent 200 women, to whom I read the whole of the + morning service. Instead of the lessons I began Matthew, and + ventured to expound a little, and but a little. Yesterday we had + a service again, but I think there were not more than 100. To + these I opened my mouth rather more boldly, and though there was + the appearance of lamentable apathy in the countenances of most + of them, there were two or three who understood and trembled at + the sermon of John the Baptist. This proceeding of mine is, I + believe, generally approved among the English, but the women + come, I fear, rather because it is the wish of their masters. + The day after attending service they went in flocks to the + Mohurrum, and even of those who are baptized, many, I am told, + are so addicted to their old heathenism, that they obtain money + from their husbands to give to the Brahmins. Our time of Divine + service in English is seven in the morning, and in Hindustani + two in the afternoon. May the Lord smile on this first attempt + at ministration in the native language! + + _1807, March 23._--A few days ago I went to Bankipore to fulfil + my promise of visiting the families there; and amongst the rest + called on a poor creature whose black wife has made him + apostatise to Mohammedanism and build a mosque. Major Young went + with me, and the old man's son-in-law was there. He would not + address a single word to me, nor a salutation at parting, + because I found an occasion to remind him that the Son of God + had suffered in the stead of sinners. The same day I went on to + Patna to see how matters stood with respect to the school. Its + situation is highly favourable, near an old gate now in the + midst of the city, and where three ways meet; neither master nor + children were there. The people immediately gathered round me in + great numbers, and the crowd thickened so fast, that it was with + difficulty I could regain my palanquin. I told them that what + they understood by making people Christians was not my + intention; I wished the children to be taught to fear God and + become good men, and that if, after this declaration, they were + still afraid, I could do no more; the fault was not mine, but + theirs. My schools have been heard of among the English sooner + than I wished or expected. The General observed to me one + morning that that school of mine made a very good appearance + from the road; 'but,' said he, 'you will make no proselytes.' If + that be all the opposition he makes, I shall not much mind. + +A week later he wrote: + + _March 30._--Sick in body, but rather serious and humble in + spirit, and so happy; corrected the Parables for a fair copy. + Reading the Koran and Hindustani Ramayuna, and translating + Revelation; a German sergeant came with his native woman to have + her baptized; I talked with her a good while, in order to + instruct her, and found her extraordinarily quick in + comprehension. + + _April 1._--The native woman came again, and I passed a great + deal of time in instructing her in the nature of the Gospel; + but, alas! till the Lord touch her heart, what can a man do? At + night the soldiers came, and we had again a very happy time; how + graciously the Lord fulfils His promise of being where two or + three are gathered together! The pious soldier grows in faith + and love, and spoke of another who wants to join us. They said + that the native women accounted it a great honour to be + permitted to come to a church and hear the Word of God, and + wondered why I should take such trouble for them. + +'How shall it ever be possible to convince a Hindu or Brahmin of +anything?' wrote Henry Martyn to Corrie after two years' experience in +Bengal. + + _1808, January 4._--Truly, if ever I see a Hindu a real believer + in Jesus, I shall see something more nearly approaching the + resurrection of a dead body than anything I have yet seen. + However, I well remember Mr. Ward's words, 'The common people + are angels compared with the Brahmins.' Perhaps the strong man + armed, that keeps the goods in peace, shall be dispossessed from + these, when the mighty Word of God comes to be ministered by us. + +'We shall live to see better days.' For these he prepared his +translations of the Word of God. He wished to itinerate among the +people, but his military duties kept him to the station. When Mr. +Brown made another attempt to get him fixed in the Mission-Church he +replied, 'The evangelisation of India is a more important object than +preaching to the European inhabitants of Calcutta.' To Corrie he +wrote: 'Those sequestered valleys seen from Chunar present an inviting +field for missionary labours. A Sikh, making a pilgrimage to Benares, +came to me; he was very ignorant, and I do not know whether he +understood what I endeavoured to show him about the folly of +pilgrimages, the nature of true holiness, and the plan of the Gospel.' + + _1808, February 12._--Sabat describes so well the character of a + missionary that I am ashamed of my great house, and mean to sell + it the first opportunity, and take the smallest quarters I can + find. Would that the day were come when I might throw off the + coat and substitute the jamer; I long for it more and more; and + am often very uneasy at being in the neighbourhood of so great a + Nineveh without being able to do anything immediately for the + salvation of so many perishing souls. What do you think of my + standing under a shed somewhere in Patna as the missionaries did + in the Lal Bazar? Will the Government interfere? What are your + sensations on the late news? I fear the judgments of God on our + proud nation, and that, as we have done nothing for the Gospel + in India, this vineyard will be let out to others who shall + bring the fruits of it in their season. I think the French would + not treat Juggernaut with quite so much ceremony as we do. + +Above all men in India, at that time and during the next half-century, +however, Henry Martyn was a missionary to the Mohammedans. For them he +learned and he translated Hindustani, Persian, and Arabic. With their +moulvies he conducted controversies; and for years he associated with +himself that extraordinary Arab, Sabat, who made life a burden to him. + +Sabat and Abdallah, two Arabs of notable pedigree, becoming friends, +resolved to travel together. After a visit to Mecca they went to +Cabul, where Abdallah entered the service of Zeman Shah, the famous +Ameer. There an Armenian lent him the Arabic Bible, he became a +Christian, and he fled for his life to Bokhara. Sabat had preceded him +there, and at once recognised him on the street. 'I had no pity,' said +Sabat afterwards. 'I delivered him up to Morad Shah, the king.' He was +offered his life if he would abjure Christ. He refused. Then one of +his hands was cut off, and again he was pressed to recant. 'He made no +answer, but looked up steadfastly towards heaven, like Stephen, the +first martyr, his eyes streaming with tears. He looked at me, but it +was with the countenance of forgiveness. His other hand was then cut +off. But he never changed, and when he bowed his head to receive the +blow of death all Bokhara seemed to say, "What new thing is this?"' + +Remorse drove Sabat to long wanderings, in which he came to Madras, +where the Government gave him the office of mufti, or expounder of the +law of Islam in the civil courts. At Vizagapatam he fell in with a +copy of the Arabic New Testament as revised by Solomon Negri, and sent +out to India by the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge in the +middle of last century. He compared it with the Koran, the truth fell +on him 'like a flood of light,' and he sought baptism in Madras at the +hands of the Rev. Dr. Kerr. He was named Nathaniel. He was then +twenty-seven years of age. + +When the news reached his family in Arabia his brother set out to +destroy him, and, disguised as an Asiatic, wounded him with a dagger as +he sat in his house at Vizagapatam. He sent him home with letters and +gifts to his mother, and then gave himself up to propagate the truth he +had once, in his friend Abdallah's person, persecuted to the death. He +became one of the translating staff of the Serampore brotherhood, and +did good service on the Arabic and Persian Scriptures. Mr. John +Marshman, who knew him well, used to describe him as a man of lofty +station, of haughty carriage, and with a flowing black beard. Delighted +with the simple life and devotion of the missionaries, he dismissed his +two Arab servants, and won the affection of all. When Serampore arranged +to leave to Henry Martyn the Persian translation of the New Testament, +Sabat left them with tears in his eyes for Dinapore. In almost nothing +does the saintliness of Martyn appear so complete as in the references +in his _Journal_ to the pride, the vanity, the malice, the rage of this +'artless child of the desert,' when it became apparent that his +knowledge of Persian and Arabic had been over-estimated. The passages +are pathetic, and are equalled only by those which, in the closing days +of his life, describe the dying missionary's treatment by his Tartar +escort. But to the last, Sabat, according to Colonel MacInnes of +Penang,[27] 'never spoke of Mr. Martyn without the most profound +respect, and shed tears of grief whenever he recalled how severely he +had tried the patience of this faithful servant of God. He mentioned +several anecdotes to show with what extraordinary sweetness Martyn had +borne his numerous provocations. "He was less a man," he said, "than an +angel from heaven."' + +The rest of Sabat's story may at once be told. Moved by rage at the +exposure, by the Calcutta moonshis, of the incorrectness of his +Arabic, and at the suspicions that his translations were copies from +some old version, Sabat apostatised by publishing a virulent attack on +Christianity. 'As when Judas acted the traitor, Ananias the liar, and +Simon Magus the refined hypocrite, so it was when Sabat daringly +departed from the nominal profession of the truth. The righteous +sorrowed, the unrighteous triumphed; yet wisdom was justified of her +children,' wrote Mr. Sargent. He left Calcutta as a trader for Penang, +where he wrote to the local newspaper declaring that he professed +Christianity anew, and he entered the service of the fugitive Sultan +of Acheen, on the north of Sumatra. Thence, when he was imprisoned by +the insurgents, he wrote letters with his own blood to the Penang +authorities, declaring that he was in some sense a martyr for Christ. +All the private efforts of Colonel MacInnes to obtain his freedom were +in vain; he was tied up in a sack and thrown into the sea. In the +light of these events we must now read Henry Martyn's _Journal_: + + _1807, August 24._--To live without sin is what I cannot expect + in this world, but to desire to live without it may be the + experience of every hour. Thinking to-night of the + qualifications of Sabat, I felt the conviction, both in + reflection and prayer, of the power of God to make him another + St. Paul. + + _November 10._--The very first day we began to spar. He would + come into none of my plans, nor did I approve of his; but I gave + way, and by yielding prevailed, for he now does everything I + tell him.... Sabat lives and eats with me, and goes to his + bungalow at night, so that I hope he has no care on his mind. On + Sunday morning he went to church with me. While I was in the + vestry a bearer took away his chair from him, saying it was + another gentleman's. The Arab took fire and left the church, and + when I sent the clerk after him he would not return. He + anticipated my expostulations after church, and began to lament + that he had _two_ dispositions, one old, the other new. + + _1808, January 11._--Sabat sometimes awakes some of the evil + parts of my nature. Finding I have no book of Logic, he wishes + to translate one of his compositions, to instruct me in that + science. He is much given to contradict, and set people right, + and that he does with an air so dogmatical, that I have not seen + the like of it since I left Cambridge. He looks on the + missionaries at Serampore as so many degrees below him in + intellect, that he says he could write so deeply on a text, that + not one of them would be able to follow him. So I have + challenged him in their name, and to-day he has brought me the + first half of his essay or sermon on a text: with some + ingenuity, it has the most idle display of school-boy pedantic + logic you ever saw. I shall translate it from the Persian, in + order to assist him to rectify his errors. He is certainly + learned in the learning of the Arabs, and how he has acquired so + much in a life so active is strange, but I wish it could be made + to sit a little easier on him. I look forward to St. Paul's + Epistles, in hopes some good will come to him from them. It is a + very happy circumstance that he did not go to preach at his + first conversion; he would have entangled himself in + metaphysical subjects out of his depth, and probably made + shipwreck of his own faith. I have, I think, led him to see that + it is dangerous and foolish to attempt to prove the doctrine of + the Trinity by reason, as he said at first he was perfectly able + to do. + + _January 30._--Sabat to-day finishes St. Matthew, and will write + to you on the occasion. Your letter to him was very kind and + suitable, but I think you must not mention his logic to him, + except with contempt; for he takes what you say on that head as + homage due to his acquirements, and praise to him is brandy to a + man in a high fever. He loves as a Christian brother; but as a + logician he holds us all in supreme contempt. He assumes all the + province of reasoning as his own by right, and decides every + question magisterially. He allows Europeans to know a little + about Arithmetic and Navigation, but nothing more. Dear man! I + smile to observe his pedantry. Never have I seen such an + instance of dogmatical pride since I heard Dr. Parr preach his + Greek Sermon at St. Mary's, about the [Greek: to\ o)/n]. + + _March 7._--Mirza is gone to the Mohurrum to-day: he discovers + no signs of approach to the truth. Sabat creates himself enemies + in every quarter by his jealous and passionate spirit, + particularly among the servants. At his request I have sent away + my tailor and bearers, and he is endeavouring to get my other + servants turned away; because without any proof he suspects them + of having persuaded the bearers not to come into his service. He + can now get no bearers nor tailor to serve him. One day this + week he came to me, and said that he meant to write to Mr. Brown + to remove him from this place, for everything went wrong--the + people were all wicked, etc. The immediate cause of this + vexation was that some boxes, which he had been making at the + expense of 150 rupees, all cracked at the coming on of the hot + weather. I concealed my displeasure at his childish fickleness + of temper, and discovered no anxiety to retain him, but quietly + told him of some of the consequences of removing, so it is gone + out of his mind. But Mirza happened to hear all Sabat's + querulous harangue, and, in order to vex and disgust him + effectually, rode almost into his house, and came in with his + shoes. This irritated the Arab; but Mirza's purpose was not + answered. Mirza began next day to tell a parcel of lies about + Sabat, and to bring proofs of his own learning. The manifest + tendency of all this was to make a division between Sabat and + me, and to obtain his _salary_ and work for himself. Oh, the + hypocrisy and wickedness of an Indian! I never saw a more + remarkable contrast in two men than in Mirza and Sabat. One is + all exterior--the other has no outside at all; one a most + consummate man of the world--the other an artless child of the + desert. + + _March 28._--Sabat has been tolerably quiet this week; but think + of the keeper of a lunatic, and you see me. A war of words broke + out the beginning of last week, but it ended in an honourable + peace. After he got home at night he sent a letter, complaining + of a high crime and misdemeanour in some servant; I sent him a + soothing letter, and the wild beast fell asleep. In all these + altercations we take occasion to consider the extent of + Christian forbearance, as necessary to be exercised in all the + smaller occasions of life, as well as when persecution comes for + religion. This he has not been hitherto aware of. One night in + prayer I forgot to mention Mr. Brown; so, after I had done, he + continued on his knees and went on and prayed in Persian for + him. I was much pleased at this. + + Did you read Lord Minto's speech, and his commendation of those + _learned and pious men_, the missionaries? I have looked upon + him ever since as a nursing-father to the Church. + + _April 11._--It is surprising that a man can be so blinded by + vanity as to suppose, as Sabat does, that he is superior to + Mirza in Hindustani; yet this he does, and maintains it stoutly. + I am tired of combating this opinion, as nothing comes of our + arguments but strifes. Another of his odd opinions is, that he + is so under the immediate influence and direction of the Spirit, + that there will not be one single error in his whole Persian + translation. You perceive a little enthusiasm in the character + of our brother. As often as he finds himself in any difficulty, + he expects a dream to set him right. + + _April 26._--These Orientals with whom I translate require me to + point out the connection between every two sentences, which is + often more than I can do. It is curious how accurately they + observe all the rules of writing, and yet generally write badly. + I can only account for it by supposing that they have been + writing too long. From time immemorial they have been authors, + without progressive knowledge; and so to produce variety they + supply their lack of knowledge by overstraining their + imagination; hence their extravagant metaphors and affected way + of expressing the commonest things. Sabat, though a real + Christian, has not lost a jot of his Arabian pride. He looks + upon the Europeans as mushrooms, and seems to regard my + pretensions to any learning as we do those of a savage or an + ape. + + _May 31._--Some days Sabat overworked himself and was laid up. + He does his utmost. He is increasingly dear to me, as I see more + of the meekness and gentleness of Christ in him. Our conflicts I + hope are over, and we shall draw very quietly together side by + side. + +In all this, and much more that followed, or is unrecorded, Henry +Martyn was being prepared unconsciously for his formal and unanswered +controversies with the learned Mussulmans of Persia. His letters to +Corrie tell of his farther experience with his moonshis and the +moulvies of Patna, and describe the true spirit of such 'disputings' +for the truth. + + _1807, April 28._--Of what importance is our walk in reference + to our ministry, and particularly among the natives. For myself, + I never enter into a dispute with them without having reason to + reflect that I mar the work for which I contend by the spirit + in which I do it. During my absence at Monghyr moonshi went to a + learned native for assistance against an answer I had given him + to their main argument for the Koran, and he not being able to + render it, they mean to have down their leading man from Benares + to convince me of the truth of their religion. I wish a spirit + of inquiry may be excited, but I lay not much stress upon _clear + arguments_; the work of God is seldom wrought in this way. To + preach the Gospel, with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven, is + a better way to win souls. + + _May 4._--I am preparing for the assault of this great + Mohammedan Imaum. I have read the Koran and notes twice for this + purpose, and even filled whole sheets with objections, remarks, + questions, etc.; but, alas! what little hopes have I of doing + him or any of them good in this way! Moonshi is in general mute. + + _October 28._--At night, in a conversation with Mirza + accidentally begun, I spoke to him for more than three hours on + Christianity and Mohammedanism. He said there was no passage in + the Gospel that said no prophet shall come after Christ. I + showed him the last verse in Matthew, the passages in Isaiah and + Daniel, on the eternity of Christ's kingdom, and proved it from + the nature of the way of salvation in the Gospel. I then told + him my objections against Mohammedanism, its laws, its defects, + its unnecessariness, the unsuitableness of its rewards, and its + utter want of support by proof. When he began to mention + Mahomet's miracles, I showed him the passages in the 6th and + 13th chapters of the Koran, where he disavows the power. Nothing + surprised him so much as these passages; he is, poor man, + totally indifferent about all religion; he told me that I had + produced great doubt in his mind, and that he had no answer to + give. + + _November 21._--My mind violently occupied with thoughts + respecting the approaching spread of the Gospel, and my own + going to Persia. Sabat's conversation stirs up a great desire in + me to go; as by his account all the Mahometan countries are ripe + for throwing off the delusion. The gracious Lord will teach me, + and make my way plain before my face. Oh, may He keep my soul in + peace, and make it indifferent to me whether I die or live, so + Christ be magnified by me. I have need to receive this spirit + from Him, for I feel at present unwilling to die, as if my own + life and labours were necessary for this work, or as if I should + be deprived of the bliss of seeing the conversion of the + nations. Vain thought! God, who keeps me here awhile, arranges + every part of His plans in unerring wisdom, and if I should be + cut off in the midst of my plans, I shall still, I trust, + through mercy, behold His works in heaven, and be everlastingly + happy in the never-ceasing admiration of His works and nature. + Every day the disputes with Mirza and Moorad Ali become more + interesting. Their doubts of Mahometanism seem to have amounted + almost to disbelief. Moorad Ali confessed that they all received + their religion, not on conviction, but because it was the way of + their fathers; and he said with great earnestness, that if some + great Sheikh-ool-Islam, whom he mentioned, could not give an + answer, and a satisfactory, rational evidence, of the truth of + Islamism, he would renounce it and be baptized. Mirza seemed + still more anxious and interested, and speaks of it to me and + Sabat continually. In translating 1 Timothy i. 15, I said to + them, 'You have in that verse heard the Gospel; your blood will + not be required at my hands; you will certainly remember these + words at the last day.' This led to a long discussion, at the + close of which, when I said that, notwithstanding their + endeavours to identify the two religions, there is still so much + difference 'that if our word is true you are lost,' they looked + at each other almost with consternation, and said 'It is true.' + Still the Trinity and the incarnation of Christ afford a plea to + the one, and a difficulty to the other. + + At another time, when I had, from some passage, hinted to Mirza + his danger, he said with great earnestness, 'Sir, why won't you + try to save me?' 'Save you?' said I, 'I would lay down my life + to save your soul: what can I do?' He wished me to go to + Phoolwari, the Mussulman college, and there examine the subject + with the most learned of their doctors. I told him I had no + objection to go to Phoolwari, but why could not he as well + inquire for himself whether there were any evidence for + Mohammedanism? + + _1808, June 14._--Called on Bahir Ali Khan, Dare, and the + Italian padre; with Bahir Ali I stayed two hours, conversing in + Persian. He began our theological discussion with a question to + me, 'How do you reconcile God's absolute power and man's free + will?' I pleaded ignorance and inability, but he replied to his + own question very fully, and his conclusion seemed to be that + God had created evil things for the trial of His creatures. His + whole manner, look, authority, and copiousness constantly + reminded me of the Dean of Carlisle.[28] I asked him for the + proofs of the religion of Mahomet. The first he urged was the + eloquence of the Koran. After a long time he conceded that it + was, of itself, an insufficient argument. I then brought forward + a passage of the Koran containing a sentiment manifestly false; + on which he floundered a good deal; but concluded with saying + that I must wait till I knew more of logic and Persian before he + could explain it to me satisfactorily. On the whole, I was + exceedingly pleased with his candour, politeness, and good + sense. He said he had nothing to lose by becoming a Christian, + and that, if he were once persuaded of the truth, he would + change without hesitation. He showed me an Arabic translation of + Euclid. + + _June 15._--Read an account of Turkey. The bad effects of the + book were so great that I found instant need of prayer, and I do + not know when I have had such divine and animating feelings. Oh, + it is Thy Spirit that makes me pant for the skies. It is He that + shall make me trample the world and my lusts beneath my feet, + and urge my onward course towards the crown of life. + + _December 5._--Went to Patna to Sabat, and saw several Persians + and Arabians. I found that the intended dispute had come to + nothing, for that Ali had told Sabat he had been advised by his + father not to dispute with him. They behaved with the utmost + incivility to him, not giving him a place to sit down, and + desiring him at last to go. Sabat rose, and shook his garment + against them, and said, 'If you know Mohammedanism to be right, + and will not try to convince me, you will have to answer for it + at the day of judgment. I have explained to you the Gospel; I am + therefore pure from your blood.' He came home and wrote some + poetry on the Trinity, and the Apostles, which he recited to me. + We called on Mizra Mehdi, a jeweller, who showed us some + diamonds, emeralds, and rubies. With an old Arabian there I + tried to converse in Arabic. He understood my Arabic, but I + could not understand his. They were all full of my praise, but + then the pity was that I was a Christian. I challenged them to + show what there was wrong in being a Nazarene, but they + declined. Afterwards we called on the nabob Moozuffur Ali Khan. + The house Sabat lived in was properly an Oriental one; and, as + he said, like those in Syria. It reminded me often of the + Apostles, and the recollection was often solemnising. + + _December 6 to 8._--Betrayed more than once into evil temper, + which left dreadful remorse of conscience; I cried unto God in + secret, but the sense of my sinfulness was overwhelming. It had + a humbling effect, however. In prayer with my men I was led more + unfeignedly to humble myself even to the dust, and after that I + enjoyed, through the sovereign mercy of God, much peace, and a + sense of His presence. Languid in my studies; indisposition + causing sleepiness. Reading chiefly Persian and a little Greek: + Hanway, Waring, and Franklin's Travels into Persia. Haji Khan, a + sensible old man from Patna, called two days following, and sat + a long time conversing upon religion. + + TO MRS. DARE, GAYA + + Dinapore: May 19, 1808. + + Dear Mrs. Dare,[29]--Your letter arrived just in time to save + you from some severe animadversions that were preparing for you. + I intended to have sent by your young friend some remarks, + direct and oblique, on the variableness of the sex, the facility + with which promises are made and broken, the pleasures of + indolence, and other topics of the like nature,--but your kind + epistle disarms me. Soon after you left us, the heat increased + to a degree I had never before felt, and made me often think of + you with concern. I used to say to Colonel Bradshaw, 'I wonder + how Mrs. Dare likes Gya, and its burning hills--I dare say she + would be glad to be back again.' Well, I should be glad if we + had you here again. I want female society, and among the ladies + of Dinapore there is none with whom I have a chance of obtaining + a patient hearing when speaking to them on the subject of their + most important interest. This, you know, is the state of all but + Mrs. Stuart, and it is a state of danger and death. Follow them + no more, my dear friend: but now, in the solitude of Gya, learn + those lessons of heavenly wisdom, that, when you are brought + again into a larger society, you may not yield to the impulse of + doing as others do, but, by a life of true seriousness, put them + to shame. + + I go on much as usual, occupied all day, and laying a weary + head on the pillow at night. My health, which you inquire after + so kindly, is on the whole good; but I am daily reminded that it + is a fragile frame I carry about. + + _August 23._--I rejoice to find by your letter that you are + contented with your lot. Before the time of Horace, and since + too, contentment has been observed to be a very rare thing on + earth, and I know not how it is to be obtained but by learning + in the school of the Gospel. 'I have _learned_,' said even St. + Paul, 'in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.' To be + a little slanderous for once, I suspect Colonel Bradshaw, our + common friend, who will send you a letter by the same sepoy, + must have a lecture or two more read to him in this science, as + he is far from being perfect in it. He has, you know, all that + heart can wish of this world's goods, and yet he is restless; + sometimes the society is dull; at other times the blame is laid + on the quarters, and he must go out of cantonments. To-day he is + going to Gya, to-morrow on the river. Now, I tell him that he + need not change his place, but his heart. Let him seek his + happiness in God, and he will carry about a paradise in his own + bosom. _The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for + him, and the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose._ + + _September 23._--My dear Mrs. Dare, attend to the call of God; + He never speaks more to the heart than by affliction. Such a + season as this, so favourable to the commencement of true piety, + may never again occur. Hereafter time may have riveted worldly + habits on you, and age rendered the heart insensible. Begin now + to be melancholy? No--to be seriously happy, to be purely happy, + everlastingly happy. + +Ever, through the solitude, the suffering, and the toiling of the +first twelve months at Dinapore, the thought of Lydia Grenfell, the +hope of her union to him, and her help in his agonising for India, +runs like a chord of sad music. He thus writes to his cousin, her +sister: + + Indeed, all my Europe letters this season have brought me such + painful news that I almost dread receiving another. Such is the + vanity of our expectations. I had been looking out with more + than ordinary anxiety for these letters, thinking they would + give me some account of Lydia's coming--whereas yours and hers + have only wounded me, and my sister's,[30] giving me the + distressing tidings of her ill-health, makes my heart bleed. Oh, + it is now that I feel the agony of having half the globe + intervening between us. Could I but be with her: yet God who + heareth prayer will surely supply my place. From Sally I expect + neither promptness nor the ability to console her sister. This + is the first time Sally has taken up her pen to write to me, and + thought an apology necessary for her neglect. Perhaps she has + been wrapt up in her dear husband, or her dearer self. I feel + very angry with her. But my dear faithful Lydia has more than + compensated for all the neglect of my own relations. I believe + she has sent me more than all the rest in England put together. + If I had not loved her before, her affectionate and constant + remembrance of me would win my heart. + + You mention the name of your last little one (may she be a + follower of her namesake!). It reminds me of what Mr. Brown has + lately written to me. He says that Mrs. B. had determined her + expected one should be called after me: but, as it proved to be + a girl, it was called _Lydia Martyn Brown_, a combination that + suggests many reflections to my mind. + + And now I ought to begin to write about myself and India: but I + fear you are not so interested about me as you used to be: yet + the Church of God, I know, is dear to you always! Let me speak + of the ministers. The Gospel was preached before the + Governor-General by seven different evangelical chaplains in the + course of six months. Of these five have associated, agreeing to + communicate with each other quarterly reports of their + proceedings. They are Mr. Brown at Calcutta, Thompson at + Cuddalore, Parson at Berhampore, Corrie at Chunar, and myself + here. Corrie and myself, as being most similarly employed, + correspond every week. He gives all his attention to the + languages, and has his heart wholly towards the heathen. He has + set on foot four schools in his neighbourhood, and I four here + along the banks of the Ganges, containing 120 boys: he has + nearly the same number. The masters are heathens--but they have + consented with some reluctance to admit the Christian books. The + little book on the Parables in the dialect of Bihar, which I had + prepared for them, is now in the press at Serampore; for the + present, they read with their own books the Sermon on the Mount. + We hope by the help of God to enlarge the plan of the schools + very considerably, as soon as we have felt the ground, and can + advance boldly. + + Respecting my own immediate plans, I am rather in the dark. They + wish to engage me as a translator of the Scriptures into + Hindustani and Persian, by the help of some learned natives; and + if this plan is settled at Calcutta, I shall engage in it + without hesitation, as conceiving it to be the most useful way + in which I can be employed at present in the Church of God. If + not, I hope to begin to itinerate as soon as the rains are over; + not that I can hope to be easily understood yet, but by mixing + familiarly with the natives I should soon learn. Little + permanent good, however, can be done till some of the Scriptures + can be put into their hands. On this account I wish to help + forward this work as quick as possible, because a chapter will + speak plainly in a thousand places at once, while I can speak, + and not very plainly, but in one. One advantage attending the + delay of public preaching will be that the schools will have a + fair run, for the commencement of preaching will be the downfall + of the schools. I have my tent ready, and would set out with + pleasure to-morrow if the time for this work were come. As there + is public service here every Lord's Day, three days' journey is + the longest I can take. This may hereafter prove an + inconvenience: but the advantages of being a Company's servant + are incalculable. A missionary not in the service is liable to + be stopped by every subaltern; but there is no man that can + touch me. Amongst the Europeans at this station I am not without + encouragement. Eight or ten, chiefly corporals or sergeants, + come to my quarters Sunday and Wednesday nights for social + worship: but it does not appear that more than one are truly + converted. The commanding officer of the native battalion and + his lady, whom I mentioned in my last, are, I think, + increasingly serious--but the fear of man is their snare. Mrs. + Young says that, with Lydia to support her, she could face the + frown of the world. I had been looking forward with pleasure to + the time when she _would_ have such support, and rejoiced that + Lydia would have so sensible and hopeful a companion. + + Dinapore: December, 1807. + + My dear Cousin,--Your letter, after so long a silence, was a + great relief to me, as it assured me of your undiminished + affection; but I regretted you had been so sparing in your + consolations on the subject of my late disappointment. Remember, + it was to you I used to unbosom all my anxieties, and I still + look to you for that sympathising tenderness which no other + person perhaps feels for me, or at least can venture to express. + How every particular of our conversation in the journey from + Redruth to Plymouth Dock returns to my mind! I have reason + indeed to remember it--from that time I date my sorrows--we + talked too much about Lydia. Her last letter was to bid me a + final farewell, so I must not write to her without her + permission; she wished she might hear by you that I was happy. I + am therefore obliged to say that God has, according to her + prayer, kept me in peace, and indeed strengthened me unto all + patience and long-suffering with joyfulness. At first, like + Jonah, I was more grieved at the loss of my gourd than at the + sight of the many perishing Ninevehs all round me; but now my + earthly woes and earthly attachments seem to be absorbing in the + vast concern of communicating the Gospel to these nations. After + this last lesson from God on the vanity of creature love, I feel + desirous to be nothing, to have nothing, to ask for nothing, but + what He gives. So remarkably and so repeatedly has He baffled my + schemes of earthly comfort that I am forced at last to believe + His determination to be, that I should live in every sense a + stranger and pilgrim on the earth. Lydia allows me not the most + distant prospect of ever seeing her; and if indeed the supposed + indelicacy of her coming out to me is an obstacle that cannot be + got over, it is likely indeed to be a lasting separation: for + when shall I ever see it lawful to leave my work here for three + years, when every hour is unspeakably precious? I am beginning + therefore to form my plans as a person in a state of celibacy, + and mean to trouble you no more on what I have been lately + writing about so much. However, let me be allowed to make one + request; it is that Lydia would at least consider me as she did + before, and write as at that time. Perhaps there may be some + objection to this request, and therefore I dare not urge it. I + say only that by experience I know it will prove an inestimable + blessing and comfort to me. If you really wish to have a + detailed account of my proceedings, exert your influence in + effecting this measure; for you may be sure that I shall be + disposed to write to _her_ letters long enough, longer than to + any other, for this reason among others, that of the three in + the world who have most love for me, _i.e._ Sally, Lydia, and + yourself, I believe that, notwithstanding all that has + happened, the middle one loves most truly. If this conjecture of + mine is well-founded, she will be most interested in what + befalls me, and I shall write in less fear of tiring. My bodily + health, which you require me always to mention, is prodigious, + my strength and spirits are in general greater than ever they + were, and this under God I ascribe to the susceptibility of my + frame, giving me instant warning of anything that may disorder + it. Half-an-hour's exposure to the sun produces an immediate + overflow of bile: therefore I take care never to let the sun's + rays fall upon my body. Vexation or anxiety has the same effect. + For this, faith and prayer for the peace of God are the best + remedy. + + Since my last letter, written a few months ago in reply to + Cousin T., I do not recollect that anything has happened. Dr. + Buchanan's last publication on the Christian Institution will + give you the most full and interesting accounts of the affairs + of our Lord's kingdom in India. The press seems to us all to be + the great instrument at present. Preaching by the European + Mission here has in no instance that I know of been successful. + Everything in our manner, pronunciation, and doctrine is so new + and strange, that to instruct them properly _viva voce_ seems to + be giving more time to a small body of them than can be + conveniently spared from the great mass. Yet, on the other hand, + I feel reason to be guarded against the love of carnal ease, + which would make me prefer the literary work of translating to + that of an itinerant: upon the whole, however, I acquiesce in + the work that Dr. B. has assigned me, from conviction. Through + the blessing of God I have finished the New Testament in the + Perso-Arabic-Hindustani, but it must undergo strict revisal + before it can be sent to the press. My assistants in this work + were Mirza Mahommed Ali and Moorad Ali, two Mahometans, and I + sometimes hope there are convictions in their minds which they + will not be able to shake off. They have not much doubt of the + falsehood of Mahometanism, and the truth of the Gospel, but they + cannot take up the cross. + + The arrival of Jawad Sabat, our Arabian brother, at Dinapore, + had a great effect upon them.... He is now employed in + translating the New Testament into Persian and Arabic, and great + will be the benefit to his own soul, that he is called to study + the Word of God: the Bible Society at home will, I hope, bear + the expense of printing it. This work, whenever it is done + properly, will be the downfall of Mahometanism. What do I not + owe to the Lord for giving me to take part in a translation? + Never did I see such wonders of wisdom and love in the blessed + book, as since I have been obliged to study every expression; + and it is often a delightful reflection, that even death cannot + deprive us of the privilege of studying its mysteries.... I + forgot to mention Lydia's profile, which I received. I have now + to request her miniature picture, and you must draw on Mr. + Simeon, my banker, for the expense.... I need not assure you and + Cousin T. of my unceasing regard, nor Lydia of my unalterable + attachment. God bless you all, my beloved friends. Pray for me, + as I do also for you. Our separation will soon be over. + + _July 3._--Received two Europe letters--one from Lydia, and the + other from Colonel Sandys. The tender emotions of love, and + gratitude, and veneration for her, were again powerfully + awakened in my mind, so that I could with difficulty think of + anything else; yet I found myself drawn nearer to God by the + pious remarks of her letter. Nature would have desired more + testimonies of her love to me, but grace approved her ardent + love to her Lord. + + TO CHARLES SIMEON[31] + + Danapore (_sic_): January, 1808. + + My dearest Friend and Brother,--I must begin my letter with + assurances of eternal regard; eternal will it be if I find + grace to be faithful.... My expectation of seeing Lydia here is + now at an end. I cannot doubt any longer what is the Divine + will, and I bow to it. Since I have been led to consider myself + as perfectly disengaged from the affairs of this life, my soul + has been filled with more ardent desires to spend and be spent + in the service of God; and though in truth the world has now + little to charm me, I think these desires do not arise from a + misanthropic disgust to it.... I never loved, nor ever shall + love, human creature as I love her. + +Soon after David Brown of Calcutta wrote to Charles Simeon, whom a +rumour of Henry Martyn's engagement to Miss Corrie, his friend's +sister, had reached: 'How could you imagine that Miss C. would do as +well as Miss L.G. for Mr. Martyn? Dear Martyn is married already to +three wives, whom, I believe, he would not forsake for all the +princesses in the earth--I mean his three translations of the Holy +Scriptures.' + +To Mrs. Brown at Aldeen, who was his confidante in India, Martyn wrote +on July 21: + + It appears that the letter by the overland despatch did not + reach Lydia. Again, the Sarah Christiana packet, which carried + the duplicate, ought to have arrived long before the sailing of + these last ships from England, but I see no account of her. It + is probable, therefore, that I shall have to wait a considerable + time longer in uncertainty; all which is good, because so hath + the Lord appointed it. + + _July 25._--Hard at Arabic grammar all day, after finishing + sermon. Sat in the evening a long time at my door, after the + great fatigue of the day, to let my mind relax itself, and found + a melancholy pleasure in looking back upon the time spent at St. + Hilary and Marazion. How the days and years are gone by, as a + tale that is told! + +At last the blow had fallen. + + _October 24._--An unhappy day: received at last a letter from + Lydia, in which she refuses to come because her mother will not + consent to it. Grief and disappointment threw my soul into + confusion at first, but gradually as my disorder subsided my + eyes were opened, and reason resumed its office. I could not but + agree with her that it would not be for the glory of God, nor + could we expect His blessing, if she acted in disobedience to + her mother. As she has said, 'They that walk in crooked paths + shall not find peace;' and if she were to come with an uneasy + conscience, what happiness could we either of us expect? + + TO LYDIA GRENFELL + + Dinapore: October 24, 1807. + + My dear Lydia,--Though my heart is bursting with grief and + disappointment, I write not to blame you. The rectitude of all + your conduct secures you from censure. Permit me calmly to reply + to your letter of March 5, which I have this day received. + + You condemn yourself for having given me, though + unintentionally, encouragement to believe that my attachment was + returned. Perhaps you have. I have read your former letters with + feelings less sanguine since the receipt of the last, and I am + still not surprised at the interpretation I put upon them. But + why accuse yourself for having written in this strain? It has + not increased my expectations nor consequently embittered my + disappointment. When I addressed you in my first letter on the + subject, I was not induced to it by any appearances of regard + you had expressed, neither at any subsequent period have my + hopes of your consent been founded on a belief of your + attachment to me. I knew that your conduct would be regulated, + not by personal feelings, but by a sense of duty. And therefore + you have nothing to blame yourself for on this head. + + In your last letter you do not assign among your reasons for + refusal a want of regard to me. In that case I could not in + decency give you any further trouble. On the contrary, you say + that '_present_ circumstances seem to you to forbid my indulging + expectations.' As this leaves an opening, I presume to address + you again; and till the answer arrives must undergo another + eighteen months of torturing suspense. + + Alas! my rebellious heart--what a tempest agitates me! I knew + not that I had made so little progress in a spirit of + resignation to the Divine will. I am in my chastisement like a + bullock unaccustomed to the yoke, like a wild bull in a net, + full of the fury of the Lord, the rebuke of my God. The death of + my late most beloved sister almost broke my heart; but I hoped + it had softened me and made me willing to suffer. But now my + heart is as though destitute of the grace of God, full of + misanthropic disgust with the world, and sometimes feeling + resentment against yourself and Emma, and Mr. Simeon, and, in + short, all whom I love and honour most; sometimes, in pride and + anger, resolving to write neither to you nor to any one else + again. These are the motions of sin. My love and my better + reason draw me to you again.... But now with respect to your + mother, I confess that the chief and indeed only difficulty lies + here. Considering that she is _your_ mother, as I hoped she + would be mine, and that her happiness so much depends on you; + considering also that I am God's minister, which amidst all the + tumults of my soul I dare not forget, I falter in beginning to + give advice which may prove contrary to the law of God. God + forbid, therefore, that I should say, disobey your parents, + where the Divine law does not command you to disobey them; + neither do I positively take upon myself to say that this is a + case in which the law of God requires you to act in + contradiction to them. I would rather suggest to your mother + some considerations which justify me in attempting to deprive + her of the company of a beloved child. + + _October 26._--A Sabbath having intervened since the above was + written, I find myself more tranquillised by the sacred + exercises of the day. One passage of Scripture which you quote + has been much on my mind, and I find it very appropriate and + decisive,--that we are not to 'make to ourselves crooked paths, + which whoso walketh in shall not know peace.' Let me say I must + be therefore contented to wait till you feel that the way is + clear. But I intended to justify myself to Mrs. Grenfell. Let + her not suppose that I would make her or any other of my + fellow-creatures miserable, that I might be happy. If there were + no reason for your coming here, and the contest were only + between Mrs. Grenfell and me, that is, between her happiness and + mine, I would urge nothing further, but resign you to her. But I + have considered that there are many things that might reconcile + her to a separation from you (if indeed a separation is + necessary, for if she would come along with you, I should + rejoice the more). First, she does not depend on you alone for + the comfort of her declining years. She is surrounded by + friends. She has a greater number of sons and daughters + honourably established in the world than falls to the lot of + most parents--all of whom would be happy in having her amongst + them. Again, if a person worthy of your hand, and settled in + England, were to offer himself, Mrs. Grenfell would not have + insuperable objections, though it _did_ deprive her of her + daughter. Nay, I sometimes think, perhaps arrogantly, that had I + myself remained in England, and in possession of a competency, + she would not have withheld her consent. Why, then, should my + banishment from my native country, in the service of mankind, be + a reason with any for inflicting an additional wound, far more + painful than a separation from my dearest relatives? + + I have no claim upon Mrs. Grenfell in any way, but let her only + conceive a son of her own in my circumstances. If she feels it a + sacrifice, let her remember that it is a sacrifice made to duty; + that your presence here would be of essential service to the + Church of God it is superfluous to attempt to prove. If you + really believe of yourself as you speak, it is because you were + never out of England. + + Your mother cannot be so misinformed respecting India and the + voyage to it as to be apprehensive on account of the climate or + passage, in these days when multitudes of ladies every year, + with constitutions as delicate as yours, go to and fro in + perfect safety, and a vastly greater majority enjoy their health + here than in England. With respect to my means I need add + nothing to what was said in my first letter. But, alas! what is + my affluence good for now? It never gave me pleasure but when I + thought you were to share it with me. Two days ago I was + hastening on the alterations in my house and garden, supposing + you were at hand; but now every object excites disgust. My wish, + upon the whole, is that if you perceive it would be your duty to + come to India, were it not for your mother--and of that you + cannot doubt--supposing, I mean, that your inclinations are + indifferent, then you should make her acquainted with your + thoughts, and let us leave it to God how He will determine her + mind. + + In the meantime, since I am forbidden to hope for the immediate + pleasure of seeing you, my next request is for a mutual + engagement. My own heart is engaged, I believe, indissolubly. + + My reason for making a request which you will account bold is + that there can then be no possible objection to our + correspondence, especially as I promise not to persuade you to + leave your mother. + + In the midst of my present sorrow I am constrained to remember + yours. Your compassionate heart is pained from having been the + cause of suffering to me. But care not for me, dearest Lydia. + Next to the bliss of having you with me, my happiness is to know + that you are happy. I shall have to groan long, perhaps, with a + heavy heart; but if I am not hindered materially by it in the + work of God, it will be for the benefit of my soul. You, sister + beloved in the Lord, know much of the benefit of affliction. Oh, + may I have grace to follow you, though at a humble distance, in + the path of patient suffering, in which you have walked so long! + Day and night I cease not to pray for you, though I fear my + prayers are of little value. + + But, as an encouragement to you to pray, I cannot help + transcribing a few words from my journal, written at the time + you wrote your letter to me (March 7): 'As on the two last days' + (you wrote your letter on the 5th), 'felt no desire for a + comfortable settlement in the world, scarcely pleasure at the + thought of Lydia's coming, except so far as her being sent might + be for the good of my soul and assistance in my work. How + manifestly is there an omnipresent, all-seeing God, and how sure + we may be that prayers for spiritual blessings are heard by our + God and Father! Oh, let that endearing name quell every murmur! + When I am sent for to different parts of the country to + officiate at marriages, I sometimes think, amidst the festivity + of the company, Why does all go so easily with them, and so + hardly with me? They come together without difficulty, and I am + baulked and disconcerted almost every step I take, and condemned + to wear away the time in uncertainty. Then I call to mind that + to live without chastening is allowed to the spurious offspring, + while to suffer is the privilege of the children of God.' + + Dearest Lydia, must I conclude? I could prolong my communion + with you through many sheets; how many things have I to say to + you, which I hoped to have communicated in person. But the more + I write and the more I think of you, the more my affection + warms, and I should feel it difficult to keep my pen from + expressions that might not be acceptable to you. + + Farewell! dearest, most beloved Lydia, remember your faithful + and ever affectionate, + + H. MARTYN. + + _October 25._ (Sunday.)--Preached on Isaiah lii. 13 to a large + congregation, my mind continually in heaviness, and my health + disturbed in consequence. The women still fewer than ever at + Hindustani prayer, and, at night, some of the men who were not + on duty did not come; all these things are deeply afflicting, + and yet my heart is so full of its own griefs, that I mourn not + as I ought for the Church of God. I have not a moment's relief + from my burdens but after being some time in prayer; afterwards + my uneasiness and misery return again. + + _October 26._--Mirza from Benares arrived to-day; I employed all + the day in writing letters to Mr. Brown, Corrie, and Lydia. The + last was a sweet and tranquillising employment to me. I felt + more submission to the Divine will, and began to be more + solicitous about Lydia's peace and happiness than my own. How + much has she been called to suffer! These are they that come out + of great tribulation. + + TO REV. DAVID BROWN + + Dinapore: October 26, 1807. + + My dear Sir,--I have received your two letters of the 14th and + 17th; the last contained a letter from Lydia. It is as I feared. + She refuses to come because her mother will not give her + consent. Sir, you must not wonder at my pale looks when I + receive so many hard blows on my heart. Yet a Father's love + appoints the trial, and I pray that it may have its intended + effect. Yet, if you wish to prolong my existence in this world, + make a representation to some persons at home who may influence + her friends. Your word will be believed sooner than mine. The + extraordinary effect of mental disorder on my bodily frame is + unfortunate; trouble brings on disease and disorders the sleep. + In this way I am labouring a little now, but not much; in a few + days it will pass away again. He that hath delivered and doth + deliver, is He in whom we trust that He will yet deliver. + + * * * * * + + The queen's ware on its way to me can be sold at an outcry or + sent to Corrie. I do not want queen's ware or anything else now. + My new house and garden, without the person I expected to share + it with me, excite disgust. + + _November 25._--Letters came from Mr. Simeon and Lydia, both of + which depressed my spirits exceedingly; though I have been + writing for some days past, that I might have it in my power to + consider myself free, so as to be able to go to Persia or + elsewhere;--yet, now that the wished-for permission is come, I + am filled with grief; I cannot bear to part with Lydia, and she + seems more necessary to me than my life; yet her letter was to + bid me a last farewell. Oh, how have I been crossed from + childhood, and yet how little benefit have I received from these + chastisements of my God! The Lord now sanctify this, that since + the last desire of my heart also is withheld, I may with + resignation turn away for ever from the world, and henceforth + live forgetful of all but God. With Thee, O my God, there is no + disappointment; I shall never have to regret that I loved Thee + too well. Thou hast said, 'Delight thyself in the Lord, and He + shall give thee the desires of thine heart.' + + _November 26._--Received a letter from Emma, which again had a + tendency to depress my spirits; all the day I could not attain + to sweet resignation to God. I seemed to be cut off for ever + from happiness in not having Lydia with me. + +The receipt of his letter of October 24, 1807, was thus acknowledged, +before God, by Lydia Grenfell in her _Diary_: + + _1808, May 9._--A letter from my dear friend in India + (requesting me to come out) reached me. These words form my + comfort: 'Be still, and know that I am God.' I see my duty + pointed out, and am persuaded, dark as the prospect is, God will + appear God in this matter; whether we meet again or not, His + great power and goodness will be displayed--it has been in + quieting my heart, for oh, the trial is not small of seeing the + state of his mind. But I am to be still, and now, O Lord, let + Thy love fill my soul, let it be supreme in his breast and mine; + there is no void where Thou dwellest, whatever else is wanting. + + _May 11._--My mind distressed, perplexed, and troubled for my + dear friend; much self-reflection for having suffered him to see + my regard for him (and what it is), yet the comforts of God's + Word return--'Why take ye thought?' said our Lord. Yet to-morrow + burdens the present day. Oh, pity and support me to bear the + thought of injuring his peace--inquire if the cause is of God. + + _May 15._--Lord, Thou seest my wanderings--oh, how many, how + great! Put my tears into Thy bottle. Yes, my Lord, I can forsake + Thee and be content; I turn and turn, restless and miserable, + till I am turned to Thee. What a week have I passed! never may + such another pass over my head!--my thoughts wholly occupied + about my absent friend--distressed for his distress, and full of + self-reproaches for all that's past--writing bitter things + against myself--my heart alienated dreadfully from God--and the + duties I am in the habit of performing all neglected. Oh, should + the Lord not awake for me and draw me back, whither should I go? + His Word has been my comfort at times, but Satan or conscience + (I doubt which) tells me I am in a delusion to take the comfort + of God's Word, for I ought to suffer. But am I justified in + putting comfort from me? since I no way excuse myself, but am, I + trust, humbled for my imprudence in letting my friend know the + state of mind towards him, and this is all I have injured him + in. I accuse myself, too, for want of candour with my family, + and oh, let me not forget the greatest offence of all--not + consulting the will and glory of God in indulging and + encouraging a regard He seems to frown on. I have to-day found + deliverance, and felt some measure of calm reliance. I know + there is a particular providence over him and me, but this + belief does not lessen my fears of acting wrong--I am as + responsible as if all were left to me. What shall I do but say, + Because Thou hast been my help, therefore in the shadow of Thy + wings will I trust? I fly to Thy power and take shelter in Thy + love to sinners. Oh, for a continually bleeding heart, mourning + for sin! + + _June 12._--I have peace in my soul to-day. My remembrance of + God's dear saint in India is frequent, but I am still in this + affair, and expect to know more of the infinite power, wisdom, + and goodness of our God in it and by it than I have heretofore. + My prayer for him constantly is that he maybe supported, guided, + and made in all things obedient and submissive to the will of + his God. + +Henry Martyn seems to have written again to Marazion, at this time, a +letter which has not been preserved, for Lydia Grenfell thus refers to +it: + + _August 29._--Heard of my absent dear friend by this day's post, + and was strangely affected, though the intelligence was + satisfactory in every respect. I sought deliverance in prayer, + and the Lord spoke peace to my agitated mind, and gave me what I + desired--liberty of soul to return to Himself, and the + contemplation of heavenly things, though a sadness remained on + my spirit. Heard three sermons, for I thought it best to be less + alone than usual, lest my thoughts should wander. Found great + hardness of heart in the services of the day, but I doubt + whether my affections were spiritual or not, though they arose + from a longing to be in heaven, and a joyful sense of the + certainty that God would bring me there. + + _September 11._--After some days of darkness and distress, sweet + peace and light return, and my soul rests on God as my + all-sufficient help. Oh, the idolatrous state of my heart! what + painful discoveries are made to me! I see the stream of my + affections has been turned from God and on.... An exertion must + be made, like cutting off a right hand, in order to give Thee, O + Lord, my heart. I must hear neither of nor from the person God + has called in His providence to serve Him in a distant country. + Oh, to be resolute, knowing by woeful experience the necessity + of guarding my thoughts against the remembrance of one, though + dear. As I value the presence of my God, I must avoid everything + that leads my thoughts to this subject--O Lord, keep me + dependent on Thee for grace to do so; Thou hast plainly informed + me of Thy will by withholding Thy presence at this time, and Thy + Word directed me to lay aside this weight. + + _October 30._--Thought of my dear friend to-night with + tenderness, but entire resignation to Thy will, O our God, in + never seeing or hearing from him again; to meet him above is my + desire. + + _December 30._--I reckon among my mercies the Lord's having + enabled me to choose a single life, and that my friend in India + has been so well reconciled to my determination. That trial was + a sore one, and I believe the effects of it will be felt as long + as I live. My weak frame could not support the perturbed state + of my mind, and the various painful apprehensions that assailed + me on his arrival nearly wore me down. But the Lord removed them + all by showing me He approved of my choice, and in granting me + the tidings of his enjoying peace and happiness in our + separation. Every burden now respecting him is removed, and my + soul has only to praise the wise and gracious hand which brought + me through that thorny path. It was one I made to myself, by + ever entering into a correspondence with him, and by expressing + too freely my regard. + +On March 28, 1809, Martyn wrote to Mr. Brown: + + Your letter is just come. The Europe letter is from Lydia. I + trembled at the handwriting.... It was only more last words, + sent by the advice of Colonel Sandys, lest the non-arrival of + the former might keep me in suspense.... I trust that I have + done with the entanglements of this world; seldom a day passes + but I thank God for the freedom from earthly care which I enjoy. + +And so end Henry Martyn's love-letters, marked by a delicacy as well +as tenderness of feeling in such contrast to the action of Lydia +Grenfell throughout, as to explain the mingled resentment and +resignation in which they close. The request for a mutual engagement +which would justify correspondence at least seems to have been +unheeded for some months, till the news of his serious illness in July +1808 led her again to write to him, as taking the place of his sister +who had been removed by death. He was ordered to Cawnpore, and set off +in the hot season by Chunar and Ghazipore, writing these last words on +April 11, 1809, from Dinapore: + + My men seem to be in a more flourishing state than they have yet + been. About thirty attend every night. I had a delightful party + this week, of six young men, who will, I hope, prove to be true + soldiers of Christ. Seldom, even at Cambridge, have I been so + much pleased. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[26] Even in 1889 we find a Patna missionary writing of his work from +Bankipore as a centre: 'The people in every village, except those on +the Dinapore road, said that no Sahib had ever been in their village +before. Sometimes my approach was the cause of considerable alarm.' + +[27] _Memoir of the Rev. Thomas Thomason, M.A._, by Rev. J. Sargent, +M.A., 2nd edition, 1834, London. + +[28] Rev. Dr. Milner. + +[29] The names of Capt. Dare and Mrs. Dare occur in the _Journals and +Letters_ between February 17 and March 24, 1808, wherein Martyn's +relations with them are described just as in this set of letters. + +[30] Mrs. Laura Curgenven: born January 1779, died in the year 1807. + +[31] See Moule's _Charles Simeon_, p. 201. + + + + +CHAPTER VII + +CAWNPORE, 1809-1810 + + +Mrs. Sherwood, known in the first decade of this century as a writer +of such Anglo-Indian tales as _Little Henry and his Bearer_, and as a +philanthropist who did much for the white and the dark orphans of +British soldiers in India, was one of the many who came under the +influence of Henry Martyn. This Lichfield girl, whose father had been +the playmate of Samuel Johnson, and who had known Garrick and Dr. +Darwin, Hannah More and Maria Edgeworth, had married her cousin, the +paymaster of the King's 53rd Regiment of Foot. The regiment was sent +to Bengal. On its way up the Hoogli from Calcutta in boats, Mr. +Sherwood and his wife were walking after sunset, when they stumbled on +'a small society' of their own men, who met regularly to read their +Bibles and to pray, often in old stores, ravines, woods, and other +retired places. 'The very existence of any person in the barracks who +had the smallest notion of the importance of religion was quite +unsuspected by me,' writes Mrs. Sherwood in her Autobiography.[32] 'I +am not severe when I assert that at that time there really was not one +in the higher ranks in the regiment who had courage enough to come +forward and say, "I think it right, in this distant land, to do, as +it regards religion, what I have been accustomed to do at home."' At +Berhampore, the chaplain, Mr. Parson, began that good work in the 53rd +which Martyn and Corrie afterwards carried on. When it continued the +voyage up the Ganges, after a season, by Dinapore to Cawnpore, Mr. +Parson gave the Sherwoods a letter of introduction to Martyn, then +about to leave Dinapore. To this fact we owe the fullest and the +brightest glimpses that we get of Henry Martyn, from the outside, all +through his career. We are enabled to supplement the abasing +self-revelation of his nature before God, as recorded in his +_Journal_, by the picture of his daily life, drawn by a woman of keen +sympathy and some shrewdness. + +The moment the boat anchored at Dinapore Mr. Sherwood set out on foot +to present his letter. He found the chaplain in the smaller square, at +some distance, in a 'sort of church-like abode with little furniture, +the rooms wide and high, with many vast doorways, having their green +jalousied doors, and long verandahs encompassing two sides of the +quarters.' + + Mr. Martyn received Mr. Sherwood not as a stranger, but as a + brother,--the child of the same father. As the sun was already + low, he must needs walk back with him to see me. I perfectly + remember the figure of that simple-hearted and holy young man, + when he entered our budgerow. He was dressed in white, and + looked very pale, which, however, was nothing singular in India; + his hair, a light brown, was raised from his forehead, which was + a remarkably fine one. His features were not regular, but the + expression was so luminous, so intellectual, so affectionate, so + beaming with Divine charity, that no one could have looked at + his features, and thought of their shape or form,--the + out-beaming of his soul would absorb the attention of every + observer. There was a very decided air, too, of the gentleman + about Mr. Martyn, and a perfection of manners which, from his + extreme attention to all minute civilities, might seem almost + inconsistent with the general bent of his thoughts to the most + serious subjects. He was as remarkable for ease as for + cheerfulness, and in these particulars his _Journal_ does not + give a graphic account of this blessed child of God. I was much + pleased at the first sight of Mr. Martyn. I had heard much of + him from Mr. Parson; but I had no anticipation of his hereafter + becoming so distinguished as he subsequently did. And if I + anticipated it little, he, I am sure, anticipated it less; for + he was one of the humblest of men. + + Mr. Martyn invited us to visit him at his quarters at Dinapore, + and we agreed to accept his invitation the next day. Mr. + Martyn's house was destitute of every comfort, though he had + multitudes of people about him. I had been troubled with a pain + in my face, and there was not such a thing as a pillow in the + house. I could not find anything to lay my head on at night but + a bolster stuffed as hard as a pin-cushion. We had not, as is + usual in India, brought our own bedding from the boats. Our kind + friend had given us his own room; but I could get no rest during + the two nights of my remaining there, from the pain in my face, + which was irritated by the bolster; but during each day, + however, there was much for the mind to feed upon with delight. + After breakfast Mr. Martyn had family prayers, which he + commenced by singing a hymn. He had a rich, deep voice, and a + fine taste for vocal music. After singing, he read a chapter, + explained parts of it, and prayed extempore. Afterwards he + withdrew to his studies and translations. The evening was + finished with another hymn, Scripture reading, and prayers. The + conversion of the natives and the building up of the kingdom of + Christ were the great objects for which alone that child of God + seemed to exist. + + He believed that he saw the glimmering of this day in the + exertions then making in Europe for the diffusion of the + Scriptures and the sending forth of missionaries. Influenced by + the belief that man's ministry was the instrumentality which, by + the Holy Spirit, would be made effectual to the work, we found + him labouring beyond his strength, and doing all in his power to + excite other persons to use the same exertions. + + Henry Martyn was one of the very few persons whom I have ever + met who appeared never to be drawn away from one leading and + prevailing object of interest, and that object was the promotion + of religion. He did not appear like one who felt the necessity + of contending with the world, and denying himself its delights, + but rather as one who was unconscious of the existence of any + attractions in the world, or of any delights which were worthy + of his notice. When he relaxed from his labours in the presence + of his friends, it was to play and laugh like an innocent, happy + child, more especially if children were present to play and + laugh with him. In my Indian Journal I find this remark: 'Mr. + Martyn is one of the most pleasing, mild, and heavenly-minded + men, walking in this turbulent world with peace in his mind, and + charity in his heart.' + +As the regiment was passing Chunar, after a night in 'the polluted +air' of Benares, the Sherwoods were met by a boat with fresh bread and +vegetables from Corrie. On their arrival at Cawnpore, Mrs. Sherwood at +once opened two classes for the 'great boys' and 'elder girls.' Many +of the former died in a few years, and not a few of the latter married +officers above their own birth. Such were the conditions of military +life in India at that time, notwithstanding the Calcutta Orphan +Schools which David Brown had first gone out to India to organise; for +Henry Lawrence and his noble wife, Honoria, with their Military Orphan +Asylums in the hills, belonged to a later generation. + +When first ordered to Cawnpore, in the hottest months of 1809, Henry +Martyn resolved to apply to the Military Board for permission to delay +his departure till the rainy season. But, though even then wasted by +consumption and ceaseless toil, and tempted to spend the dreary months +with the beloved Corrie at Chunar, as he might well have done under +the customary rules, he could not linger when duty called. Had he not +resolved to 'burn out' his life? So, deluding himself by the intention +to 'stay a little longer to recruit' at Chunar, should he suffer from +the heat, he set off in the middle of April in a palanquin by Arrah, +afterwards the scene of a heroic defence in the great Mutiny; Buxar, +where a battle had been fought not long before, and Ghazipore, seat of +the opium manufacture, like Patna. Sabat was sent on in a budgerow, +with his wife Ameena and the baggage. This is Martyn's account, to +Brown, of the voyage above Chunar: + + Cawnpore: May 3, 1809. + + I transported myself with such rapidity to this place that I had + nearly transported myself out of the world. From Dinapore to + Chunar all was well, but from Allahabad to that place I was + obliged to travel two days and nights without intermission, the + hot winds blowing like fire from a furnace. Two days after my + arrival the fever which had been kindling in my blood broke out, + and last night I fainted repeatedly. But a gracious God has + again interposed to save my life; to-day I feel well again. + Where Sabat is I do not know. I have heard nothing of him since + leaving Dinapore. Corrie is well, but it is grievous to see him + chained to a rock with a few half-dead invalids, when so many + stations--amongst others, the one I have left--are destitute.... + + I do not like this place at all. There is no church, not so much + as the fly of a tent; what to do I know not except to address + Lord Minto in a private letter. Mr. (Charles) Grant, who is + anxious that we should labour principally for the present among + the Europeans, ought, I think, to help us with a house. I mean + to write to Mr. Simeon about this. + + I feel a little uncomfortable at being so much farther removed + from Calcutta. At Dinapore I had friends on both sides of me, + and correspondence with you was quick: here I seem cut off from + the world. Alas! how dependent is my heart upon the creature + still. I am ordered to seal up.--Yours affectionately ever, + + H. MARTYN. + +This is Mrs. Sherwood's description of his arrival: + + On May 30 the Rev. Henry Martyn arrived at our bungalow. The + former chaplain had proceeded to the presidency, and we were so + highly favoured as to have Mr. Martyn appointed in his place. I + am not aware whether we expected him, but certainly not at the + time when he did appear. It was in the morning, and we were + situated as above described, the desert winds blowing like fire + without, when we suddenly heard the quick steps of many bearers. + Mr. Sherwood ran out to the leeward of the house, and exclaimed, + 'Mr. Martyn!' The next moment I saw him leading in that + excellent man, and saw our visitor, a moment afterwards, fall + down in a fainting fit. He had travelled in a palanquin from + Dinapore, and the first part of the way he moved only by night. + But between Cawnpore and Allahabad, being a hundred and thirty + miles, there is no resting-place, and he was compelled for two + days and two nights to journey on in his palanquin, exposed to + the raging heat of a fiery wind. He arrived, therefore, quite + exhausted, and actually under the influence of fever. There was + not another family in Cawnpore except ours to which he could + have gone with pleasure; not because any family would have + denied shelter to a countryman in such a condition, but, alas! + they were only Christians in name. In his fainting state Mr. + Martyn could not have retired to the sleeping-room which we + caused to be prepared immediately for him, because we had no + means of cooling any sleeping-room so thoroughly as we could the + hall. We, therefore, had a couch set for him in the hall. There + he was laid, and very ill he was for a day or two. The hot winds + left us, and we had a close, suffocating calm. Mr. Martyn could + not lift his head from the couch. In our bungalow, when shut up + as close as it could be, we could not get the thermometer under + 96 deg., though the punkah was constantly going. When Mr. Martyn got + a little better he became very cheerful, and seemed quite happy + with us all about him. He commonly lay on his couch in the hall + during the morning, with many books near to his hand, and + amongst these always a Hebrew Bible and a Greek Testament. Soon, + very soon, he began to talk to me of what was passing in his + mind, calling to me at my table to tell me his thoughts. He was + studying the Hebrew characters, having an idea, which I believe + is not a new one, that these characters contain the elements of + all things, though I have reason to suppose he could not make + them out at all to his satisfaction; but whenever anything + occurred to him he must needs make it known to me. + + He was much engaged also with another subject, into which I was + more capable of entering. It was his opinion that, if the Hindus + could be persuaded that all nations are made of one blood, to + dwell upon the face of the earth, and if they could be shown how + each nation is connected by its descent from the sons and + grandsons of Noah with other nations existing upon the globe, it + would be a means of breaking down, or at least of loosening, + that wall of separation which they have set up between + themselves and all other people. With this view Mr. Martyn was + endeavouring to trace up the various leading families of the + earth to their great progenitors; and so much pleased was I + with what he said on this subject, that I immediately committed + all I could remember to paper, and founded thereupon a system of + historical instruction which I ever afterwards used with my + children. Mr. Martyn, like myself at this time, was often + perplexed and dismayed at the workings of his own heart, yet, + perhaps, not discerning a hundredth part of the depth of the + depravity of his own nature, the character of which is summed up + in Holy Writ in these two words--'utterly unclean.' He felt this + the more strongly because he partook also of that new nature + 'which sinneth not.' It was in the workings and actings of that + nature that his character shone so pre-eminently as it did amid + a dark and unbelieving society, such as was ours then at + Cawnpore. + + In a very few days he had discerned the sweet qualities of the + orphan Annie, and had so encouraged her to come about him that + she drew her chair, and her table, and her green box to the + vicinity of his couch. She showed him her verses, and consulted + him about the adoption of more passages into the number of her + favourites. Annie had a particular delight in all the pastoral + views given in Scripture of our Saviour and of His Church; and + when Mr. Martyn showed her this beautiful passage, 'Feed Thy + people with Thy rod, the flock of Thine heritage, which dwell + solitarily in the wood, in the midst of Carmel' (Micah vii. 14), + she was as pleased with this passage as if she had made some + wonderful acquisition. What could have been more beautiful than + to see the Senior Wrangler and the almost infant Annie thus + conversing together, whilst the elder seemed to be in no ways + conscious of any condescension in bringing down his mind to the + level of the child's? Such are the beautiful influences of the + Divine Spirit, which, whilst they depress the high places of + human pride, exalt the lowly valleys. + + When Mr. Martyn lost the worst symptoms of his illness he used + to sing a great deal. He had an uncommonly fine voice and fine + ear; he could sing many fine chants, and a vast variety of hymns + and psalms. He would insist upon it that I should sing with him, + and he taught me many tunes, all of which were afterwards + brought into requisition; and when fatigued himself, he made me + sit by his couch and practise these hymns. He would listen to my + singing, which was altogether very unscientific, for hours + together, and he was constantly requiring me to go on, even when + I was tired. The tunes he taught me, no doubt, reminded him of + England, and of scenes and friends no longer seen. The more + simple the style of singing, the more it probably answered his + purpose. + + As soon as Mr. Martyn could in any way exert himself, he made + acquaintance with some of the pious men of the regiment (the + same poor men whom I have mentioned before, who used to meet in + ravines, in huts, in woods, and in every wild and secret place + they could find, to read, and pray, and sing); and he invited + them to come to him in our house, Mr. Sherwood making no + objection. The time first fixed was an evening after parade, and + in consequence they all appeared at the appointed hour, each + carrying their mora (a low seat), and their books tied up in + pocket-handkerchiefs. In this very unmilitary fashion they were + all met in a body by some officers. It was with some difficulty + that Mr. Sherwood could divert the storm of displeasure which + had well-nigh burst upon them on the occasion. Had they been all + found intoxicated and fighting, they would have created less + anger from those who loved not religion. How truly is it said + that 'the children of this world are wiser in their generation + than the children of light.' Notwithstanding this unfortunate + _contretemps_, these poor good men were received by Mr. Martyn + in his own apartment; and a most joyful meeting he had with + them. We did not join the party, but we heard them singing and + praying, and the sound was very sweet. Mr. Martyn then promised + them that when he had got a house he would set aside a room for + them, where they might come every evening, adding he would meet + them himself twice in the week. When these assemblies were + sanctioned by our ever kind Colonel Mawby, and all difficulties, + in short, overcome, many who had been the most zealous under + persecution fell quite away, and never returned. How can we + account for these things? Many, however, remained steadfast + under evil report as well as good report, and died, as they had + lived, in simple and pure faith. + + I must not omit another anecdote of Mr. Martyn, which amused us + much at the time, after we had recovered the alarm attending it. + The salary of a chaplain is large, and Mr. Martyn had not drawn + his for so long a time, that the sum amounted perhaps to some + hundreds. He was to receive it from the collector at Cawnpore. + Accordingly he one morning sent a note for the amount, confiding + the note to the care of a common coolie, a porter of low caste, + generally a very poor man. This man went off, unknown to Mr. + Sherwood and myself, early in the morning. The day passed, the + evening came, and no coolie arrived. At length Mr. Martyn said + in a quiet voice to us, 'The coolie does not come with my money. + I was thinking this morning how rich I should be; and, now, I + should not wonder in the least if he has not run off, and taken + my treasure with him.' 'What!' we exclaimed, 'surely you have + not sent a common coolie for your pay?' 'I have,' he replied. Of + course we could not expect that it would ever arrive safe; for + it would be paid in silver, and delivered to the man in cotton + bags. Soon afterwards, however, it did arrive--a circumstance at + which we all greatly marvelled. + +Cawnpore, of which Henry Martyn was chaplain for the next two years, +till disease drove him from it, was the worst station to which he +could have been sent. The district, consisting of clay uplands on the +Doab between the Ganges and the Jumna rivers, which unite below at +Allahabad, was at that time a comparatively desolate tract, swept by +the hot winds, and always the first to suffer from drought. The great +famine of 1837 afterwards so destroyed its unhappy peasantry and +labourers, that the British Government made its county town one of the +two terminals of the great Ganges canal, which the Marquis of +Dalhousie opened, and irrigated the district by four branches with +their distributing channels. Even then, and to this day, Cawnpore has +not ceased to be a repulsive station. Its leather factories and cotton +mills do not render it less so, nor the memory of the five massacres +of British officers, their wives and children, by the infamous Nana +Dhoondoo Panth, which still seems to cover it as with a pall, +notwithstanding the gardens and the marble screen inclosing the figure +of the Angel of the Resurrection with the palm of victory above the +Massacre Well. The people of the town at least have always been +disagreeable, from Hindu discontent and Mohammedan sulkiness. The +British cantonment used to be at Bilgram, on the opposite bank, in the +territory of Oudh. Well might Martyn write of such a station as +Cawnpore: 'I do not like this place at all,' although he then enjoyed +the social ministrations of the Sherwoods, and was constant in his own +service to the Master among British and natives alike, and at his desk +in translation work. + +The first use which the chaplain made of his pay was this, according +to Mrs. Sherwood: 'Being persuaded by some black man, he bought one of +the most undesirable houses, to all appearance, which he could have +chosen.' But he had chosen wisely for his daily duties of translation +and preaching to the natives. + + Mr. Martyn's house was a bungalow situated between the Sepoy + Parade and the Artillery Barracks, but behind that range of + principal bungalows which face the Parade. The approach to the + dwelling was called the Compound, along an avenue of palm trees + and aloes. A more stiff, funereal avenue can hardly be imagined, + unless it might be that one of noted sphynxes which I have read + of as the approach to a ruined Egyptian temple. At the end of + this avenue were two bungalows, connected by a long passage. + These bungalows were low, and the rooms small. The garden was + prettily laid out with flowering shrubs and tall trees; in the + centre was a wide space, which at some seasons was green, and a + _chabootra_, or raised platform of chunam (lime), of great + extent, was placed in the middle of this space. A vast number + and variety of huts and sheds formed one boundary of the + compound; these were concealed by the shrubs. But who would + venture to give any account of the heterogeneous population + which occupied these buildings? For, besides the usual + complement of servants found in and about the houses of persons + of a certain rank in India, we must add to Mr. Martyn's + household a multitude of pundits, moonshis, schoolmasters, and + poor nominal Christians, who hung about him because there was no + other to give them a handful of rice for their daily + maintenance; and most strange was the murmur which proceeded at + times from this ill-assorted and discordant multitude. Mr. + Martyn occupied the largest of the two bungalows. He had given + up the least to the wife of Sabat, that wild man of the desert + whose extraordinary history has made so much noise in the + Christian world. + + It was a burning evening in June, when after sunset I + accompanied Mr. Sherwood to Mr. Martyn's bungalow, and saw for + the first time its avenue of palms and aloes. We were conducted + to the _chabootra_, where the company was already assembled; + there was no lady but myself. This _chabootra_ was many feet + square, and chairs were set for the guests. A more heterogeneous + assembly surely had not often met, and seldom, I believe, were + more languages in requisition in so small a party. Besides Mr. + Martyn and ourselves, there was no one present who could speak + English. But let me introduce each individual separately. Every + feature in the large disk of Sabat's face was what we should + call exaggerated. His eyebrows were arched, black, and strongly + pencilled; his eyes dark and round, and from time to time + flashing with unsubdued emotion, and ready to kindle into flame + on the most trifling occasion. His nose was high, his mouth + wide, his teeth large, and looked white in contrast with his + bronzed complexion and fierce black mustachios. He was a large + and powerful man, and generally wore a skull-cap of rich + shawling, or embroidered silk, with circular flaps of the same + hanging over each ear. His large, tawny throat and neck had no + other covering than that afforded by his beard, which was black. + His attire was a kind of jacket of silk, with long sleeves, + fastened by a girelle, or girdle, about his loins, to which was + appended a jewelled dirk. He wore loose trousers, and + embroidered shoes turned up at the toes. In the cold season he + threw over this a wrapper lined with fur, and when it was warmer + the fur was changed for silk. When to this costume is added + ear-rings, and sometimes a golden chain, the Arab stands before + you in his complete state of Oriental dandyism. This son of the + desert never sat in a chair without contriving to tuck up his + legs under him on the seat, in attitude very like a tailor on + his board. The only languages which he was able to speak were + Persian, Arabic, and a very little bad Hindustani; but what was + wanting in the words of this man was more than made up by the + loudness with which he uttered them, for he had a voice like + rolling thunder. When it is understood that loud utterance is + considered as an ingredient of respect in the East, we cannot + suppose that one who had been much in native courts should + think it necessary to modulate his voice in the presence of the + English Sahib-log.[33] + + The second of Mr. Martyn's guests, whom I must introduce as + being not a whit behind Sabat in his own opinion of himself, was + the Padre Julius Caesar, an Italian monk of the order of the + Jesuits, a worthy disciple of Ignatius Loyola. Mr. Martyn had + become acquainted with him at Patna, where the Italian priest + was not less zealous and active in making proselytes than the + Company's chaplain, and probably much more wise and subtle in + his movements than the latter. The Jesuit was a handsome young + man, and dressed in the complete costume of the monk, with his + little skull-cap, his flowing robes, and his cord. The + materials, however, of his dress were very rich; his robe was of + the finest purple satin, and his cord of twisted silk, and his + rosary of costly stones, whilst his air and manner were + extremely elegant. He spoke French fluently, and there Mr. + Sherwood was at home with him, but his native language was + Italian. His conversation with Mr. Martyn was carried on partly + in Latin and partly in Italian. A third guest was a learned + native of India, in his full and handsome Hindustani costume; + and a fourth a little, thin, copper-coloured, half-caste + Bengali gentleman, in white nankeen, who spoke only Bengali. Mr. + Sherwood made a fifth, in his scarlet and gold uniform; myself, + the only lady, was the sixth; and add our host, Mr. Martyn, in + his clerical black silk coat, and there is our party. Most + assuredly I never listened to such a confusion of tongues before + or since. Such a noisy, perplexing Babel can scarcely be + imagined. Everyone who had acquired his views of politeness in + Eastern society was shouting at the top of his voice, as if he + had lost his fellow in a wood; and no less than eight languages + were in constant request, viz. English, French, Italian, Arabic, + Persian, Hindustani, Bengali, and Latin. + + In order to lengthen out the pleasures of the evening, we were + scarcely seated before good Mr. Martyn recollected that he had + heard me say that I liked a certain sort of little mutton + pattie, which the natives made particularly well; so, without + thinking how long it might take to make these same patties, he + called to a servant to give orders that mutton patties should be + added to the supper. I heard the order, but never dreamed that + perhaps the mutton might not be in the house. The consequence of + this order was that we sat on the _chabootra_ till it was quite + dark, and till I was utterly weary with the confusion. No one + who has not been in or near the tropics can have an idea of the + glorious appearance of the heavens in these regions, and the + brilliancy of the star-lit nights, at Cawnpore. Mr. Martyn used + often to show me the pole-star, just above the line of the + horizon; and I have seen the moon, when almost new, looking like + a ball of ebony in a silver cup. Who can, therefore, be + surprised that the science of astronomy should first have been + pursued by the shepherds who watched their flocks by night in + the plains of the South? When the mutton patties were ready, I + was handed by Mr. Martyn into the hall of the bungalow. Mr. + Martyn took the top of the table, and Sabat perched himself on + a chair at the bottom. I think it was on this day, when at + table, Sabat was telling some of his own adventures to Mr. + Martyn, in Persian, which the latter interpreted to Mr. Sherwood + and myself, that the wild Arab asserted that there were in + Tartary and Arabia many persons converted to Christianity, and + that many had given up their lives for the faith. He professed + to be himself acquainted with two of these, besides Abdallah. + 'One,' he said, 'was a relation of his own.' But he gave but + small proof of this man's sincerity. This convert, if such he + was, drew the attention of the priests by a total neglect of all + forms; and this was the more remarkable on account of the + multiplied forms of Islam; for at the wonted hour of prayer a + true Mussulman must kneel down and pray in the middle of a + street, or between the courses of a feast, nay, even at the + moment when perhaps his hands might be reeking with a brother's + blood. This relative of Sabat's, however, was, as he remarked, + observed to neglect all forms, and he was called before the + heads of his tribe, and required to say wherefore he was guilty + of this offence. His answer was, 'It is nothing.' He proceeded + to express himself as if he doubted the very existence of a God. + The seniors of the tribe told him that it would be better for + him to be a Christian than an atheist; adding, therefore, 'If + you do not believe in our prophet you must be a Christian;' for + they wisely accounted that no man but a fool could be without + some religion. The man's reply was, that he thought the + Christian's a better religion than that of Mahomet; the + consequence of which declaration was that they stoned him until + he died. The other example which Sabat gave us was of a boy in + Baghdad, who was converted by an Armenian, and endeavoured to + escape, but was pursued, seized, and offered pardon if he would + recant; but he was preserved in steadfastness to the truth, and + preferred death to returning to Mahometanism. His life was + required of him. + + From the time Mr. Martyn left our house he was in the constant + habit of supping with us two or three times a week, and he used + to come on horseback, with the sais running by his side. He sat + his horse as if he were not quite aware that he was on + horseback, and he generally wore his coat as if it were falling + from his shoulders. When he dismounted, his favourite place was + in the verandah, with a book, till we came in from our airing. + And when we returned many a sweet and long discourse we had, + whilst waiting for our dinner or supper. Mr. Martyn often looked + up to the starry heavens, and spoke of those glorious worlds of + which we know so little now, but of which we hope to know so + much hereafter. Often we turned from the contemplation of these + to the consideration of the smallness, and apparent + diminutiveness in creation, of our own little globe, and of the + exceeding love of the Father, who so cared for its inhabitants + that He sent His Son to redeem them. + + On the occasion of the baptism of my second Lucy, never can I + forget the solemn manner with which Mr. Martyn went through the + service, or the beautiful and earnest blessing he implored for + my baby, when he took her into his arms after the service was + concluded. I still fancy I see that child of God as he looked + down tenderly on the gentle babe, and then looked upwards, + asking of his God that grace and mercy for the infant which he + truly accounted as the only gift which parents ought to desire. + This babe, in infancy, had so peculiar a gentleness of aspect, + that Mr. Martyn always called her Serena. + + Little was spoken of at Mr. Martyn's table but of various plans + for advancing the triumphs of Christianity. Among the plans + adopted, Mr. Martyn had, first at Dinapore and then at Cawnpore, + established one or two schools for children of the natives of + the lower caste. His plan was to hire a native schoolmaster, + generally a Mussulman, to appoint him a place, and to pay him an + anna (1-1/2_d._) a head for each boy whom he could induce to + attend school. These boys the master was to teach to write and + read. It was Mr. Martyn's great aim, and, indeed, the sole end + of his exertions, to get Christian books into the school. As no + mention was ever made of proselytism, there was never any + difficulty found in introducing even portions of the Scripture + itself, more especially portions of the Old Testament, to the + attention of the children. The books of Moses are always very + acceptable to a Mussulman, and Genesis is particularly + interesting to the Hindus. Mr. Martyn's first school at Cawnpore + was located in a long shed, which was on the side of the cavalry + lines. It was the first school of the kind I ever saw. The + master sat at one end, like a tailor, on the dusty floor; and + along under the shed sat the scholars, a pack of little urchins, + with no other clothes on than a skull-cap and a piece of cloth + round the loins. These little ones squatted, like their master, + in the sand. They had wooden imitations of slates in their + hands, on which, having first written their lessons with chalk, + they recited them, _a pleine gorge_, as the French would say, + being sure to raise their voices on the approach of any European + or native of note. Now, Cawnpore is about one of the most dusty + places in the world. The Sepoy lines are the most dusty part of + Cawnpore; and as the little urchins are always well greased, + either with cocoanut oil or, in failure thereof, with rancid + mustard oil, whenever there was the slightest breath of air they + always looked as if they had been powdered all over with brown + powder. But what did this signify? They would have been equally + dusty in their own huts. In these schools they were in the way + of getting a few ideas; at all events, they often got so far as + to be able to copy a verse on their wooden slates. Afterwards + they committed to memory what they had written. Who that has + ever heard it can forget the sounds of the various notes with + which these little people intonated their 'Aleph Zubbur + ah--Zair a--Paiche oh,' as they waved backwards and forwards in + their recitations? Or who can forget the vacant self-importance + of the schoolmaster, who was generally a long-bearded, dry old + man, who had no other means of proving his superiority over the + scholars but making more noise than even they could do? Such a + scene, indeed, could not be forgotten; but would it not require + great faith to expect anything green to spring from a soil so + dry? But this faith was not wanting to the Christians then in + India. + +Besides the 53rd Regiment, the Cavalry Corps called in those days the +8th Light Dragoons, and six companies of Artillery, were stationed at +Cawnpore. At the first parade service, on May 15, 1809, 'two officers +dropped down and some of the men. They wondered how I could go through +the fatigue,' wrote their new chaplain, not many days after his nearly +fatal palanquin journey from Chunar. His voice even reached the men at +the other end of the square which they had formed. Above a hundred men +were in hospital, a daily congregation. Every night about a dozen of +the soldiers met with him in the house. Not only the men but the +officers were privately rebuked by him for swearing. Of the General he +writes: 'He has never been very cordial, and now he is likely to be +less so; though it was done in the gentlest way, he did not seem to +like it. Were it not to become all things to all men in order to save +some, I should never trouble them with my company. But how then should +I be like Christ? I have been almost the whole morning engaged in a +good-humoured dispute with Mrs. P., who, in an instant after my +introduction to her, opened all her guns of wit and eloquence against +me for attempting to convert the Brahmans.' A little later he writes +of a dinner at the brigade-major's with the chief persons of the +station: 'I could gain no attention while saying grace; and the moment +the ladies withdrew the conversation took such a turn that I was +obliged to make a hasty retreat. Oh! the mercy to have escaped their +evil ways.' + +The year was one of alarms of war, from which the history of our +Indian Empire can rarely be free, surrounded as it is by a ring-fence +of frontier tribes and often aggressive States. But in those days the +great internal conflicts for the consolidation of our power, and the +peace and prosperity of peoples exposed to anarchy for centuries, were +still being waged. Marathas, Sikhs, and Goorkhas had all to be +pacified in 1809. Now the infantry were being sent to the conquest of +Bundlekhund and difficult siege of the fortress of Kalinjar, as old as +the Mahabharat Epic in which it is mentioned. Now the artillery were +under orders to march to Lodiana to check Ranjeet Singh. Now the +cavalry were sent off to the, at first, fatal chase of the Goorkhas by +Gillespie. Thus it was that their ever-careful chaplain sought to +prepare them for the issue: + + _October 20._--Spoke to my men on preparation for the Lord's + Supper, and endeavoured to prepare myself for the ordinance, by + considering my former life of sin, and all my unfaithfulness + since my call to the Gospel. My heart was, as usual, insensible + for a long time, but at last a gracious God made me feel some + compunction, and then my feelings were such as I would wish they + always were. I resolved at the time that it should be my special + labour every day to obtain, and hold fast, this humbling view of + my own depravity. + + _October 22._ (Sunday.)--Preached at sunrise to the 53rd, on + Acts xxviii. 29. At ten, about sixteen of the regiment, with Mr. + and Mrs. Sherwood and Sabat, met in my bungalow, where, after a + short discourse on 'Behold the Lamb of God,' we commemorated the + death of the Lord. It was the happiest season I have yet had at + the Lord's Table, though my peace and pleasure were not + unalloyed; the rest of the day I felt weak in body, but calm in + mind, and rather spiritual; at night I spoke to the men on Rev. + xxii. 2; the number was double; afterwards had some conversation + on eternal things, but had reason to groan at the + hollow-heartedness and coldness with which I do my best works. + + _November 18._--At night I took leave of my beloved Church + previous to their departure for Bundlekhund with their regiment. + I spoke to them from Gen. xxviii: 'I will be with thee in all + places whithersoever thou goest,' etc. The poor men were much + affected; they gave me their wills and watches. + + _November 19._ (Sunday.)--Preached at sunrise to the dragoons, + on John i. 17: 'The law was given by Moses.' At eleven at + head-quarters, on Rom. iii. 19. + +Nowhere are eucharistic seasons of communion so precious as in exile, +and especially in the isolation of a tropical station. Not unfrequently +in India, Christian people, far separated from any ordained minister, +and about to part from each other, are compelled, by loving obedience to +the Lord, to meet thus together. But what joy it must have been to have +been ministered to at such times by one of Henry Martyn's consecrated +saintliness! Mrs. Sherwood lingers over her description of that Cawnpore +service of October 22, 1809--the long inner verandah of the house, where +daily prayer was wont to be made, shut in by lofty doors of green +lattice-work; the table, with the white cloth and all things requisite, +at one end; hassocks on which to kneel, and a high form in front of the +table; all 'decent and in good order, according to the forms of the +Church of England.' Still there was no church building. His first parade +service in the hot winds brought on fever, so that he proposed to ask +for the billiard-room, 'which is better than the ball-room,' but in +vain. His next service was in the riding-school, but 'the effluvium was +such as would please only the knights of the turf. What must the +Mohammedans think of us? Well may they call us "dogs," when even in +Divine worship we choose to kennel ourselves in such places.' The +General delayed to forward to Government the proposal for a church. + +Henry Martyn's missionary work among the natives became greatly +extended at Cawnpore, as his scrupulous conscience and delicate +scholarship allowed him to use in public the colloquial Hindustani, +and in conversation the more classical Persian. To Corrie he wrote, +five months after his arrival there: + + What will friends at home think of Martyn and Corrie? They went + out full of zeal, but, behold! what are they doing? Where are + their converts? They talked of the banyan-tree before they went + out; but now they seem to prefer a snug bungalow to + field-preaching. I fear I should look a little silly if I were + to go home just at this time; but more because I should not be + able to make them understand the state of things than because my + conscience condemns me. Brother, what can you do? If you + itinerate like a European, you will only frighten the people; if + as a native, you will be dead in one year. Yet the latter mode + pleases me, and nothing would give me greater pleasure than so + to live, with the prospect of being able to hold out a few + years. + +Again, to an old Cambridge friend: + + _November, 1809._--Respecting my heart, about which you ask, I + must acknowledge that H. Martyn's heart at Dinapore is the same + as H. Martyn's heart at Cambridge. The tenor of my prayer is + nearly the same, except on one subject, the conversion of the + heathen. At a distance from the scene of action, and trusting + too much to the highly-coloured description of missionaries, my + heart used to expand with rapture at the hope of seeing + thousands of the natives melting under the Word as soon as it + should be preached to them. Here I am called to exercise + faith--that so it shall one day be. My former feelings on this + subject were more agreeable, and at the same time more according + with the truth; for if we believe the prophets, the scenes that + time shall unfold, 'though surpassing fable, are yet true.' + While I write, hope and joy spring up in my mind. Yes, it shall + be; yonder stream of Ganges shall one day roll through tracts + adorned with Christian churches, and cultivated by Christian + husbandmen, and the holy hymn be heard beneath the shade of the + tamarind. All things are working together to bring on the day, + and my part in the blessed plan, though not at first exactly + consonant to my wishes, is, I believe, appointed me by God. To + translate the Word of God is a work of more lasting benefit than + my preaching would be. But, besides that, I am sorry to say that + my strength for public preaching is almost gone. My + ministrations among the Europeans at this station have injured + my lungs, and I am now obliged to lie by except on the Sabbath + days, and once or twice in the week.... However, I am + sufficiently aware of my important relations to the natives, and + am determined not to strain myself any more for the Europeans. + This rainy season has tried my constitution severely. The first + attack was with spasms, under which I fainted. The second was a + fever, from which a change of air, under God, recovered me. + There is something in the air at the close of the rains so + unfavourable, that public speaking at that time is a violent + strain upon the whole body. Corrie passed down a few weeks ago + to receive his sister. We enjoyed much refreshing communion in + prayer and conversation on our dear friends at and near + Cambridge, and found peculiar pleasure in the minutest + circumstances we could recollect about you all. + +At Cawnpore, in front of his house, he began his wonderful preaching +to the native beggars and ascetics of all kinds, Hindoo _jogees_ and +Mohammedan _fakeers_, the blind and the deaf, the maimed and the halt, +the diseased and the dying, the impostor and the truly needy. These +classes had soon found out the sympathetic padre-sahib, and to secure +peace he seems to have organised a weekly dole of an anna each or of +rice. + +He wrote to Corrie: + + I feel unhappy, not because I do nothing, but because I am not + willing to do my duty. The flesh must be mortified, and I am + reluctant to take up the cross. Sabat said to me yesterday, + 'Your beggars are come: why do not you preach to them? It is + your duty.' I made excuses; but why do not I preach to them? My + carnal spirit says that I have been preaching a long time + without success to my servants, who are used to my tongue; what + can I expect from them--the very dregs of the people? But the + true cause is shame: I am afraid of exposing myself to the + contempt of Sabat, my servants, and the mob, by attempting to + speak in a language which I do not speak well. To-day in prayer, + one consideration has been made of some power in overcoming this + shameful backwardness:--these people, if I neglect to speak to + them, will give me a look at the last day which may fill me with + horror. Alas! brother, where is my zeal? + + _December 17._ (Sunday.)--Preached to H.M. Light Dragoons on + Rev. iii. 20: 'Behold, I stand at the door and knock,' etc. + There was great attention. In the afternoon the beggars came, to + the number of above four hundred, and, by the help of God, I + determined to preach to them, though I felt as if I were leading + to execution. I stood upon the _chabootra_ in front of which + they were collected. + +To Corrie he thus described his talks with his 'congregation of the +poor': + + I went without fear, trusting to myself, and not to the Lord, + and accordingly I was put to shame--that is, I did not read half + as well as the preceding days. I shuffled and stammered, and + indeed I am persuaded that there were many sentences the poor + things did not understand at all. I spoke of the dry land, + rivers, etc.; here I mentioned Gunga,'a good river,' but there + were others as good. God loves Hindus, but does He not love + others also? He gave them a good river, but to others as good. + All are alike before God. This was received with applause. On + the work of the fourth day, 'Thus sun and moon are lamps. Shall + I worship a candle in my hand? As a candle in the house, so is + the sun in the sky.' Applause from the Mohammedans. There were + also hisses, but whether these betokened displeasure against me + or the worship of the sun I do not know. I then charged them to + worship Gunga and sun and moon no more, but the honour they used + to give to them, henceforward to give to God their Maker. Who + knows but even this was a blow struck, at least a branch lopped + from the tree of heathenism? The number was about 550. You need + not be deterred, dear brother, if this simple way of teaching do + any good. + +Again: + + I spoke on the corruption of human nature, 'The Lord saw that + every imagination,' etc. In the application I said, 'Hence all + outward works are useless while the heart remains in this state. + You may wash in Gunga, but the heart is not washed.' Some old + men shook their heads, in much the same way as we do when + seriously affected with any truth. The number was about seven + hundred. The servants told me it was nonsense to give them all + rice, as they were not all poor; hundreds of them are working + people; among them was a whole row of Brahmins. I spoke to them + about the Flood; this was interesting, as they were very + attentive, and at the end said, 'Shabash wa wa' (Well said). + +Mrs. Sherwood pictures the scene after an almost pathetic fashion: + + We went often on the Sunday evenings to hear the addresses of + Mr. Martyn to the assembly of mendicants, and we generally stood + behind him. On these occasions we had to make our way through a + dense crowd, with a temperature often rising above 92 deg., whilst + the sun poured its burning rays upon us through a lurid haze of + dust. Frightful were the objects which usually met our eyes in + this crowd: so many monstrous and diseased limbs, and hideous + faces, were displayed before us, and pushed forward for our + inspection, that I have often made my way to the _chabootra_ + with my eyes shut, whilst Mr. Sherwood led me. On reaching the + platform I was surrounded by our own people, and yet even there + I scarcely dared to look about me. I still imagine that I hear + the calm, distinct, and musical tones of Henry Martyn, as he + stood raised above the people, endeavouring, by showing the + purity of the Divine law, to convince the unbelievers that by + their works they were all condemned; and that this was the case + of every man of the offspring of Adam, and they therefore needed + a Saviour who was both willing and able to redeem them. From + time to time low murmurs and curses would arise in the distance, + and then roll forward, till they became so loud as to drown the + voice of this pious one, generally concluding with hissings and + fierce cries. But when the storm passed away, again might he be + heard going on where he had left off, in the same calm, + steadfast tone, as if he were incapable of irritation from the + interruption. Mr. Martyn himself assisted in giving each person + his _pice_ (copper) after the address was concluded; and when he + withdrew to his bungalow I have seen him drop, almost fainting, + on a sofa, for he had, as he often said, even at that time, a + slow inflammation burning in his chest, and one which he knew + must eventually terminate his existence. In consequence of this + he was usually in much pain after any exertion of speaking. + + No dreams nor visions excited in the delirium of a raging fever + can surpass these realities. These devotees vary in age and + appearance: they are young and old, male and female, bloated and + wizened, tall and short, athletic and feeble; some clothed with + abominable rags; some nearly without clothes; some plastered + with mud and cow-dung; others with matted, uncombed locks + streaming down to their heels; others with heads bald or scabby, + every countenance being hard and fixed, as it were, by the + continual indulgence of bad passions, the features having become + exaggerated, and the lips blackened with tobacco, or blood-red + with the juice of the henna. But these and such as these form + only the general mass of the people; there are among them still + more distinguished monsters. One little man generally comes in a + small cart drawn by a bullock; his body and limbs are so + shrivelled as to give, with his black skin and large head, the + appearance of a gigantic frog. Another has his arm fixed above + his head, the nail of the thumb piercing through the palm of the + hand; another, and a very large man, has his ribs and the bones + of his face externally traced with white chalk, which, striking + the eye in relief above the dark skin, makes him appear, as he + approaches, like a moving skeleton. When Mr. Martyn collected + these people he was most carefully watched by the British + authorities. + +Shall anyone say that the missionary chaplain's eighteen months' work +among this mixed multitude of the poor and the dishonest was as vain +as he himself, in his humility, feared that it was? 'Greater works' +than His own were what the Lord of Glory, who did like service to man +in the Syria of that day, promised to His believing followers. + +On the wall which enclosed his compound was a kiosk, from which some +young Mussulman idlers used to look down on the preacher, as they +smoked their hookahs and sipped their sherbet. One Sunday, determined +to hear as well as see, that they might the more evidently scoff, they +made their way through the crowd, and with the deepest scorn took +their place in the very front. They listened in a critical temper, +made remarks on what they heard, and returned to the kiosk. But there +was one who no longer joined in their jeering. Sheikh Saleh, born at +Delhi, Persian and Arabic moonshi of Lucknow, then keeper of the King +of Oudh's jewels, was a Mussulman so zealous that he had persuaded his +Hindu servant to be circumcised. But he was afterwards horrified by +the treachery and the atrocities of his co-religionists in the Rajpoot +State of Joudhpore, whither he had gone. He was on his way back to his +father at Lucknow when, on a heart thus prepared, there fell the +teaching of the English man of God as to the purity of the Divine law +and salvation from sin by Jesus Christ. + +Eager to learn more of Christianity from its authoritative records, he +sought employment on the translating staff of the preacher, through a +friend who knew Sabat. He was engaged to copy Persian manuscripts by +that not too scrupulous tyrant, without the knowledge of Martyn or any +of the English. On receiving the completed Persian New Testament, to +have it bound, he read it all, and his conversion by the Spirit of +God, its Author, was complete. He determined to attach himself to +Martyn, who as yet knew him not personally. He followed him to +Calcutta, and applied to him for baptism. After due trial during the +next year he was admitted to the Church under the new name of 'Bondman +of Christ,' Abdool Massee'h. This was almost the last act of the Rev. +David Brown, who since 1775 had spent his life in diffusing Christian +knowledge in Bengal. Abdool's conversion caused great excitement in +Lucknow. Nor was this all. The new convert was sent to Meerut, when +Mr. Parson was chaplain in that great military station, and there he +won over the chief physician of the Rajah of Bhurtpore, naming him +Taleb Massee'h. After preaching and disputing in Meerut, Abdool +visited the Begum Sumroo's principality of Sardhana, where he left +Taleb to care for the native Christians. They and the Sherwoods +together were the means of calling and preparing several native +converts for baptism, all the fruit, direct and indirect, of Henry +Martyn's combined translating and preaching of the New Testament at +Cawnpore. + +Mrs. Sherwood writes: + + We were told that Mr. Corrie might perhaps be unable to come as + far as Delhi, and the candidates for baptism became so anxious + that they set off to meet him on the Delhi road. We soon heard + of their meeting from Mr. Corrie himself, and that he was + pleased with them. Shortly afterwards our beloved friend + appeared, with tents, camels, and elephants, and we had the + pleasure of having his largest tent pitched in our compound, for + we had not room for all his suite within the house. Then for the + next week our house and grounds brought to my mind what I had + often fancied of a scene in some high festival in Jerusalem; + but ours was an assembly under a fairer, brighter dispensation. + 'Here we are,' said Mr. Corrie, 'poor weary pilgrims;' and he + applied the names of 'Christian' and 'Mercy' to his wife and an + orphan girl who was with them. Dear Mr. Corrie! perhaps there + never was a man so universally beloved as he was. Wherever he + was known, from the lisping babe who climbed upon his knee to + the hoary-headed native, he was regarded as a bright example of + Christian charity and humility. On Sunday, January 31, the + baptism of all the converts but one took place. Numbers of + Europeans from different quarters of the station attended. The + little chapel was crowded to overflowing, and most affecting + indeed was the sight. Few persons could restrain their tears + when Mr. Corrie extended his hand to raise the silver curls + which clustered upon the brow of Monghul Das, one of the most + sincere of the converts. The ceremony was very affecting, and + the convert, who stood by and saw the others baptized, became so + uneasy that, when Mr. Corrie set off to return, he followed him. + For family reasons this man's baptism had been deferred, as he + hoped by so doing to bring others of his family into the Church + of God. + + How delightfully passed that Sunday!--how sweet was our private + intercourse with Mr. Corrie! He brought our children many + Hindustani hymns, set to ancient Oriental melodies, which they + were to sing at the Hindu services, and we all together sang a + hymn, which I find in my Journal designated by this title: + + 'WE HAVE SEEN HIS STAR IN THE EAST' + + In Britain's land of light my mind + To Jesus and His love was blind, + Till, wandering midst the heathen far, + Lo in the East I saw His star. + Oh, should my steps, which distant roam, + Attain once more my native shore, + Better than India's wealth by far, + I'll speak the worth of Bethlehem's star. + + There is little merit in the composition of this hymn; but it + had a peculiar interest for us at that time, and the sentiment + which it professes must ever retain its interest. + +Long after this the good seed of the Kingdom, as sown by Henry Martyn, +continued to bear fruit, which in its turn propagated itself. In 1816 +there came to Corrie in Calcutta, for further instruction, from +Bareilly, a young Mohammedan ascetic and teacher who, at seventeen, +had abandoned Hinduism, seeking peace of mind. He fell in with +Martyn's Hindustani New Testament, and was baptized under the new name +of Fuez Massee'h. Under somewhat similar circumstances Noor Massee'h +was baptized at Agra. The missionary labours of Martyn at Cawnpore, +followed up by Corrie there and at Agra soon after, farther resulted +in the baptism there of seventy-one Hindus and Mohammedans, of whom +fifty were adults. All of these, save seven, remained steadfast, and +many became missionaries in their turn. The career of Abdool Massee'h +closed in 1827, after he had been ordained in the Calcutta cathedral +by Bishop Heber, who loved him. His last breath was spent in singing +the Persian hymn, translated thus: + + Beloved Saviour, let not me + In Thy kind heart forgotten be! + Of all that deck the field or bower, + Thou art the sweetest, fairest flower! + + Youth's morn has fled, old age comes on. + But sin distracts my soul alone; + Beloved Saviour, let not me + In Thy kind heart forgotten be. + +As from Dinapore Martyn sought out the moulvies of Patna, so from +Cawnpore he found his way to Lucknow There, after he had baptized a +child of the Governor-General's Resident, he met the Nawab Saadut Ali, +and his eyes for the first time beheld one who had full power of life +and death over his subjects. He visited the moulvies, at the tomb of +Asaf-ood-Dowla, who were employed to read the Koran constantly. 'With +them I tried my strength, of course, and disputed for an hour; it +ended in their referring me for an answer to another.' + +Toil such as Martyn's, physical and mental, in successive hot seasons, +in such hospitals and barracks as then killed off the British troops +and their families, and without a decent church building, would have +sacrificed the healthiest in a few years. Corrie had to flee from it, +or he would never have lived to be the first and model Bishop of +Madras. But such labours, such incessant straining of the voice +through throat and lungs, acting on his highly neurotic constitution, +and the phthisical frame which he inherited from his mother, became +possible to Henry Martyn only because he willed, he agonised, to live +till he should give at least the New Testament to the peoples of +Arabia and Persia, and to the Mohammedans of India, in their own +tongues. We see him in his _Journal_, before God, spiritually spurring +the sides of his intent day by day, and running like the noble Arab +horse till it drops--its object gained. He had many warnings, and if +he had had a wife to see that he obeyed the voice of Providence he +might have outlived his hereditary tendency in such a tropical climate +as that of India--a fact since proved by experience. He had narrowly +escaped death at Dinapore a few months before, and he knew it. But it +is well that, far more frequently than the world knows, such cases +occur in the missionary fields of the world. The Brainerds and the +Martyns, the Pattesons and the Hanningtons, the Keith-Falconers and +the Mackays--to mention some of the dead only--have their reward in +calling hundreds to fill their places, not less than the Careys and +the Livingstones, the Duffs and the Wilsons, the Frenches and the +Caldwells. To all who know the tropics, and especially the seasons of +India, the dates that follow are eloquent. + + _1809, May 29._--The East has been long forsaken of God, and + depravity in consequence more thoroughly wrought into them. I + have been very ill all this week, the disorder appearing in the + form of an intermittent. In the night cold sweats, and for about + five hours in the day head-ache and vertigo. Last night I took + some medicine, and think that I am better, though the time when + the fever has generally come on is not yet arrived. But I hardly + know how to be thankful enough for this interval of ease. + + _September 25._--Set out at three in the morning for Currah, and + reached it on the 26th in the morning, and married a Miss K. to + Mr. R.; the company was very unpleasant, so after passing the + night there, I set out and travelled all day and night, and + through Divine mercy arrived at home again on the 28th, but + excessively fatigued, indeed almost exhausted. At night with the + men, my whole desire was to lie low in the dust. 'Thou hast left + thy first love,' on which I spoke, was an awful call to me, and + I trust in God I shall ever feel it so. + + _November 19._--Received a letter from Mr. Simeon, mentioning + Sarah's illness; consumption has seized her, as it did my mother + and sister, and will carry her off as it did them, and now I am + the only one left. Oh, my dear Corrie, though I know you are + well prepared, how does nature bleed at the thought of a beloved + sister's drooping and dying! Yet still to see those whom I love + go before me, without so much as a doubt of their going to + glory, will, I hope, soothe my sorrow. How soon shall I follow? + I know it must be soon. The paleness and fatigue I exhibit after + every season of preaching show plainly that death is settled in + my lungs. + + _1810, April 9._--From the labours of yesterday, added to + constant conversation and disagreement with visitors to-day, I + was quite exhausted, and my chest in pain. + + _April 10._--My lungs still so disordered that I could not meet + my men at night. + + _April 15._ (Sunday.)--Preached to the Dragoons on the parable + of the pounds. At the General's on Luke xxii 22. With the native + congregation I strained myself greatly in order to be heard, and + to this I attribute the injury I did myself to-day. Attempted + the usual service with my men at night, but after speaking to + them from a passage in Scripture, was obliged to leave them + before prayer. + + _April 16._--Imprudently joined in conversation with some dear + Christian friends to-night, and talked a great deal; the pain in + the chest in consequence returned. + + _May 12._--This evening thrown with great violence from my + horse: while he was in full gallop, the saddle came off, but I + received no other injury but contusion. Thus a gracious + Providence preserves me in life. But for His kindness I had been + now dragging out a wretched existence in pain, and my blessed + work interrupted for years perhaps. + +Henry Martyn was too absorbed in the higher life at all times to be +trusted in riding or driving. Mrs. Sherwood writes: + + I often went out with him in his gig, when he used to call + either for me or Miss Corrie, and whoever went with him went at + the peril of their lives. He never looked where he was driving, + but went dashing through thick and thin, being always occupied + in reading Hindustani by word of mouth, or discussing some text + of Scripture. I certainly never expected to have survived a + lesson he gave me in his gig, in the midst of the plain at + Cawnpore, on the pronunciation of one of the Persian letters. + +All through his Cawnpore life, also, the wail of disappointed love +breaks from time to time. On Christmas day, 1809, he received, through +David Brown as usual, a letter 'from Lydia, containing a second +refusal; so now I have done.' On March 23, 1810, Mr. Steven's letter +reached him, reporting the death of his last sister. 'She was my dear +counsellor and guide for a long time in the Christian way. I have not +a relation left to whom I feel bound by ties of Christian fellowship, +and I am resolved to form no new connection of a worldly nature, so +that I may henceforward hope to live entirely, as a man of another +world.' Meanwhile he has received Lydia Grenfell's sisterly offer, to +which he thus replies in the first of eleven letters, to one who had +sunk the lover in the Christian friend, as was possible to two hearts +so far separated and never to meet again in this world. But she was +still his 'dearest.' + + TO LYDIA GRENFELL + + Cawnpore: March 30, 1810. + + Since you kindly bid me, my beloved friend, consider you in the + place of that dear sister whom it has pleased God in His wisdom + to take from me, I gratefully accept the offer of a + correspondence, which it has ever been the anxious wish of my + heart to establish. Your kindness is the more acceptable, + because it is shown in the day of affliction. Though I had heard + of my dearest sister's illness some months before I received the + account of her death, and though the nature of her disorder was + such as left me not a ray of hope, so that I was mercifully + prepared for the event, still the certainty of it fills me with + anguish. It is not that she has left me, for I never expected + to see her more on earth. I have no doubt of meeting her in + heaven, but I cannot bear to think of the pangs of dissolution + she underwent, which have been unfortunately detailed to me with + too much particularity. Would that I had never heard them, or + could efface them from my remembrance. But oh, may I learn what + the Lord is teaching me by these repeated strokes! May I learn + meekness and resignation. May the world always appear as vain as + it does now, and my own continuance in it as short and + uncertain. How frightful is the desolation which Death makes, + and how appalling his visits when he enters one's family. I + would rather never have been born than be born and die, were it + not for Jesus, the Prince of life, the Resurrection and the + Life. How inexpressibly precious is this Saviour when eternity + seems near! I hope often to communicate with you on these + subjects, and in return for your kind and consolatory letters to + send you, from time to time, accounts of myself and my + proceedings. Through you I can hear of all my friends in the + West. When I first heard of the loss I was likely to suffer, and + began to reflect on my own friendless situation, you were much + in my thoughts, whether you would be silent on this occasion or + no? whether you would persist in your resolution? Friends indeed + I have, and brethren, blessed be God! but two brothers[34] + cannot supply the place of one sister. When month after month + passed away, and no letter came from you, I almost abandoned the + hope of ever hearing from you again. It only remained to wait + the result of my last application through Emma. You have kindly + anticipated my request, and, I need scarcely add, are more + endeared to me than ever. + + Of your illness, my dearest Lydia, I had heard nothing, and it + was well for me that I did not.--Yours most affectionately, + + H. MARTYN. + +To David Brown he wrote, 'My long-lost Lydia consents to write to me +again;' and in three weeks he thus addresses to Lydia herself again a +letter of exquisite tenderness: + + TO LYDIA GRENFELL + + Cawnpore: April 19, 1810. + + I begin my correspondence with my beloved Lydia, not without a + fear of its being soon to end. Shall I venture to tell you that + our family complaint has again made its appearance in me, with + more unpleasant symptoms than it has ever yet done? However, + God, who two years ago redeemed my life from destruction, may + again, for His Church's sake, interpose for my deliverance. + Though, alas! what am I that my place should not instantly be + supplied with far more efficient instruments? The symptoms I + mentioned are chiefly a pain in the chest, occasioned, I + suppose, by over-exertion the two last Sundays, and + incapacitating me at present from all public duty, and even from + conversation. You were mistaken in supposing that my former + illness originated from study. Study never makes me + ill--scarcely ever fatigues me--but my lungs! death is seated + there; it is speaking that kills me. May it give others life! + 'Death worketh in us, but life in you.' Nature intended me, as I + should judge from the structure of my frame, for + chamber-council, not for a pleader at the Bar. But the call of + Jesus Christ bids me cry aloud and spare not. As His minister, I + am a debtor both to the Greek and the barbarian. How can I be + silent when I have both ever before me, and my debt not paid? + You would suggest that energies more restrained will eventually + be more efficient. I am aware of this, and mean to act upon this + principle in future, if the resolution is not formed too late. + But you know how apt we are to outstep the bounds of prudence + when there is no kind of monitor at hand to warn us of the + consequences. + + Had I been favoured with the one I wanted, I might not now have + had occasion to mourn. You smile at my allusion, at least I hope + so, for I am hardly in earnest. I have long since ceased to + repine at the decree that keeps us as far asunder as the east is + from the west, and yet am far from regretting that I ever knew + you. The remembrance of you calls forth the exercise of + delightful affections, and has kept me from many a snare. How + wise and good is our God in all His dealings with His children! + Had I yielded to the suggestions of flesh and blood, and + remained in England, as I should have done, without the + effectual working of His power, I should without doubt have sunk + with my sisters into an early grave. Whereas here, to say the + least, I may live a few years, so as to accomplish a very + important work. His keeping you from me appears also, at this + season of bodily infirmity, to be occasion of thankfulness. + Death, I think, would be a less welcome visitor to me, if he + came to take me from a wife, and that wife were you. Now, if I + die, I die unnoticed, involving none in calamity. Oh, that I + could trust Him for all that is to come, and love Him with that + perfect love which casteth out fear; for, to say the truth, my + confidence is sometimes shaken. To appear before the Judge of + quick and dead is a much more awful thought in sickness than in + health. Yet I dare not doubt the all-sufficiency of Jesus + Christ, nor can I, with the utmost ingenuity of unbelief, resist + the reasonings of St. Paul, all whose reasons seem to be drawn + up on purpose to work into the mind the persuasion that God will + glorify Himself by the salvation of sinners through Jesus + Christ. I wish I could more enter into the meaning of this + 'chosen vessel.' He seems to move in a world by himself, and + sometimes to utter the unspeakable words such as my natural + understanding discerneth not; and when I turn to commentators I + find that I have passed out of the spiritual to the material + world, and have got amongst men like myself. But soon, as he + says, we shall no longer see as in a glass, by reflected rays, + but see as we are seen, and know as we are known. + + _April 25._--After another interval I resume my pen. Through the + mercy of God I am again quite well, but my mind is a good deal + distressed at Sabat's conduct. I forbear writing what I think, + in the hope that my fears may prove groundless; but indeed the + children of the East are adepts in deceit. Their duplicity + appears to me so disgusting at this moment, that I can only find + relief from my growing misanthropy by remembering Him who is the + faithful and true Witness; in whom all the promises of God are + 'yea and amen'; and by turning to the faithful in + Europe--children that will not lie. Where shall we find + sincerity in a native of the East? Yesterday I dined in a + private way with ----. After one year's inspection of me they + begin to lose their dread and venture to invite me. Our + conversation was occasionally religious, but topics of this + nature are so new to fashionable people, and those upon which + they have thought so much less than on any other, that often + from the shame of having nothing to say they pass to other + subjects where they can be more at home. I was asked after + dinner if I liked music. On my professing to be an admirer of + harmony, cantos were performed and songs sung. After a time I + inquired if they had no sacred music. It was now recollected + that they had some of Handel's, but it could not be found. A + promise, however, was made that next time I came it should be + produced. Instead of it the 145th Psalm-tune was played, but + none of the ladies could recollect enough of the tune to sing + it. I observed that all our talents and powers should be + consecrated to the service of Him who gave them. To this no + reply was made, but the reproof was felt. I asked the lady of + the house if she read poetry, and then proceeded to mention + Cowper, whose poems, it seems, were in the library; but the lady + had never heard of the book. This was produced, and I read some + passages. Poor people! here a little and there a little is a + rule to be observed in speaking to them. + + _April 26._--From speaking to my men last night, and again + to-day conversing long with some natives, my chest is again in + pain, so much so that I can hardly speak. Well, now I am taught, + and will take more care in future. My sheet being full, I must + bid you adieu. The Lord ever bless and keep you. Believe me to + be with the truest affection,--Yours ever, + + H. MARTYN. + + TO REV. T.M. HITCHINS, PLYMOUTH DOCK + + Cawnpore: October 10, 1809. + + My dearest Brother,--I am again disappointed in receiving no + letter from you. The last intelligence from the West of England + is Lydia's letter of July 8, 1808. Colonel Sandys has long since + ceased to write to me, and I have no other correspondent. It is + very affecting to me to be thus considered as dead by almost all + my natural relations and early connections; and at this time, + when I am led to think of you and the family to which you are + united, and have been reading all your letters over, I feel that + I could dip my pen deep in melancholy; for, strange as it may + seem to you, I love so true, that though it is now the fifth + year since I parted from the object of my affection, she is as + dear to me as ever; yet, on the other hand, I find my present + freedom such a privilege that I would not lose it for hardly any + consideration. It is the impossibility of compassing every wish, + that I suppose is the cause of any uneasiness that I feel. I + know not how to express my thoughts respecting Lydia better than + in Martial's words--_Nec tecum possum vivere nec sine te_. + However, these are not my general sentiments; it pleases God to + cause me to eat my meat with gladness, praising God. Almost + always I am without carefulness, as indeed it would be to my + shame if I were not. + + My kindest remembrances attend my dearest sisters, Emma and + Lydia, as they well know. You two are such bad correspondents + that on this ground I prefer another petition for the renewal of + Lydia's correspondence,--she need not suspect anything now, nor + her friends. I have no idea that I should trouble her upon the + old subject, even if I were settled in England--for oh, this + vain world! _quid habet commodi? quid non potius laboris?_ + + But I never expect to see England more, nor do I expect that + though all obstacles should be removed, she would ever become + mine unless I came for her, and I now do not wonder at it, + though I did before. If any one of my sisters had had such a + proposal made to them, I would never have consented to their + going, so you may see the affair is ended between us. My wish is + that she would be scribe for you all, and I promise on my part + to send you through her an ample detail _of all my_ proceedings; + also she need not imagine that I may form another attachment--in + which case she might suppose a correspondence with an unmarried + lady might be productive of difficulties,--for after one + disappointment I am not likely to try my chance again, and if I + do I will give her the earliest intelligence of it, with the + same frankness with which I have always dealt (with her). + +Meanwhile, on the silent shores of South Cornwall, Lydia Grenfell was +thus remembering him before God: + + _1809, March 30._--My dear friend in India much upon my heart + lately, chiefly in desires that the work of God may prosper in + his hands, and that he may become more and more devoted to the + Lord. I seem, as to the future, to have attained what a year or + two since I prayed much for--to regard him absent as in another + state of existence, and my affection is holy, pure, and + spiritual for this dear saint of God; when it is otherwise, it + is owing to my looking back. Recollections sometimes intrude, + and I welcome them, alas, and act over again the past--but + Lord, Thy holy, blessed will be done--cheerfully, thankfully I + say this. + + _Tregembo, July 11._--I have suffered from levity of spirit, and + lost thereby the enjoyment of God. How good then is it in the + Lord to employ means in His providence to recall His wanderer to + Himself and happiness! Such mercy belongeth unto God--and this + His care over me I will record as a testimony against myself, if + I forsake Him again and lose that sweet seriousness of mind, so + essential to my peace and safety. Though I have never (perhaps + for many hours in a day) ceased to remember my dear friend in + India, it has not of late been in a way but as I might love and + think of him in heaven. Why is it then that the intelligence of + his probable nearness to that blessed abode should distress me? + yet it did, and does so still. It is this intelligence which + has, I hope, taught that my late excessive cheerfulness was + dangerous to my soul, in weakening my hold of better and calmer + joys. I was directed, I think, to the thirty-sixth Psalm for + what I wanted on this occasion, as I was once before to the + sixty-first, and I have found it most wonderfully cheering to my + heart. The Lord, as 'the preserver of man and beast,' caused me + to exercise dependence on Him respecting the result of my + friend's illness. Then the description of the Divine perfections + drew back my wandering heart, I hope to God. The declaration of + those who trust in God being abundantly satisfied with the + fatness of His house, taught me where real enjoyment alone will + be found; but the concluding part opened in a peculiarly sweet + way to my mind: 'Thou shalt make them drink of the river of Thy + pleasures.' + + _October 23._--I am under some painful forebodings respecting my + dear absent friend, and know not how to act. I am strongly + impelled to write to him, now that he is in affliction and + perhaps sickness himself--yet I dread departing from the plain + path of duty. 'O Lord, direct me,' is my cry. I hope my desire + is to do Thy will, and only Thy will. I have given him up to + Thee--oh, let me do so sincerely, and trust in Thy fatherly + care. + + _1810, January 1._--Felt the necessity of beginning this year + with prayer for preserving grace. Prayed with some sense of my + own weakness and dependence on God--with a conviction of much + sin and hope in His mercy through Jesus Christ. Oh, to be Thine, + Lord, in heart and life this year! Had a remembrance of those + most dear to me in prayer, and found it very sweet to commend + them to God, especially my friend in India--perhaps not now in + India, but in heaven. Oh, to join him at last in Thy blissful + presence! + + _January 24._--Heard yesterday of the marriage of Mr. John--what + a mercy to me do I feel it!--a load gone off my mind, for every + evil I heard of his committing I feared I might have been the + cause of, by my conduct ten years since--I rejoice in this event + for his sake and my own. + + _February 6._--Heard at last of the safety of my friend in + India, and wrote to him--many fears on my mind as to its + propriety, and great deadness of soul in doing it--yet ere I + concluded I felt comforted from the thought of the nearness of + eternity, and the certainty that then, without any fear of doing + wrong, I should again enjoy communion with him. + + _February 24._--Many sad presages of evil concerning my absent + friend, yet I am enabled to leave all to God--only now I pray, + if consistent with His will, his life may be spared, and as a + means of it, that God may incline him to return again to this + land. I never did before dare to ask this, believing the cause + of God would be more advanced by his remaining in India; but now + I pray, without fear of doing wrong or opposing the will of God, + for his return. + + _March 5._--I am sensible of a very remarkable change in the + desires of my soul before God, respecting my absent friend. I + with freedom and peace now pray continually that he may be + restored to his friends and country; before, I never dared to + ask anything but that the Lord would order this as His wisdom + saw fit, and thought it not a subject for prayer. His injured + health causes me to believe that India is not the place for his + labours--and, oh, that his mind may be rightly influenced and + the Lord's will done, whether it be his remaining there or + returning. + + _April 23._--Wrote to India. + + _November 30._--Heard yesterday, and again to-day, from + India.[35] The illness of my friend fills me with apprehensions + on his account, and I seemed called on to prepare for hearing of + his removal. I wish to place before my eyes the blessedness of + the change to him, and, though agitated and sad, I can bear to + think of our never more beholding each other in this world. This + indeed has long been my expectation, and that he should have + left the toils of mortality for the joys of heaven should, on + his account, fill me with praise--yet my heart cannot rise with + thankfulness. I seem stupefied, insensible to any feeling but + that of anxiety to hear again and know the truth, and that my + heart could joy in God at all times; but alas! all is cold + there! Oh, return, blessed Spirit of life and peace. + + _1811, March 28._--Heard from my dearest friend in India.[36] + Rose early. Found my spirit engaged in prayer, but was far ... + otherwise in reading. Such dulness and inattention as ought + deeply to abase me, vanity and a desire to appear of importance + in the school, beset me. + +Corrie had been ordered from his narrow parish of Chunar to the wider +field of Agra, and on his way up was directed to remain at Cawnpore to +help his friend, whose physical exhaustion was too apparent even to +the most careless officer. Among those influenced by both was one of +the surgeons, Dr. Govan,[37] who was spared, at St. Andrews, till +after the Mutiny of 1857, when in an unpublished lecture to its +Literary and Philosophical Society, he thus alluded to these workers +in Cawnpore: + + The Hukeem and the missionary hear native opinion spoken out + with much greater freedom than the political agent, the judge, + or commandant. 'Were there many more of the _Sahibean Ungez_ + (the English gentlemen) in character like the Padre Sahibs + (Corrie and Martyn), Christianity would make more progress + here,' was the unvaried testimony of the natives in their + favour.... I cannot help mentioning the results of various + conversations I had with two natives of Eastern rank and family + employed by the Venerable Mr. Corrie, afterwards Bishop of + Madras, and the Rev. Henry Martyn, in Scripture translation, and + whose assistance I had used in the study of the languages, as + they quite coincide with much which I had the opportunity of + hearing among men of still higher position in the native + educated community, when attached to the staff of the + Governor-General: 'By the decrees of God,' said the Mohammedan + noble, 'and the ubiquity of their fleets, armaments, and + commerce, it appears plainly that the European nations have + become the arbiters of the destinies of the nations of Asia. Yet + this seems to us strange in the followers of Him who taught that + His true disciples must be ready to give their cloaks also to + him who took from them their coats.' To which I had no better + reply than this, that the progress of events in the world's + history seems to us to give evidence that undoubtedly a Divine + message had been sent, both to governments and their subjects, + to which, at their peril, both must give attention. But that, + as a question of public national policy, it seemed generally + admitted and understood that the civil rulers of no nation, + Christian, Mohammedan, or Heathen, were laid under an + obligation, by their individual beliefs, to allow a country, + unable to govern itself by reason of its interminable divisions + and subjects of deadly internal strife, to be occupied and made + use of by their European or other enemies, as a means for their + own injury or destruction, for any criminal or sinful acts, done + in the building up of a nation or government. I may add that I + never heard a native of India attempt directly to impugn the + perfect justice of the British possession of India on this + ground. 'The Padre Sahib has put the subject in its true light' + (said the same Mohammedan authority) 'when he said that + Christianity had higher objects in view, in its influence on + human character, than to enforce absolute rules about meats and + drinks; for should he even induce me (which is unlikely) to + become more of a Christian than I am, believing, as I do, in the + authority of the Old Testament prophets, and in Jesus Christ as + a prophet sent by God, he will never persuade me to look upon + many articles of diet used by Christians with anything but the + most intense disgust and abhorrence, and he will assuredly find + it the same with most of these idolatrous Hindus.' + +We return to Martyn's _Journal_ and _Correspondence_: + + _July 8._ (Sunday.)--Corrie preached to the 53rd a funeral + sermon on the death of one of their captains. In the afternoon I + spoke to the natives on the first commandment, with greater + fluency than I have yet found. My thoughts to-day very much + towards Lydia; I began even to be reconciled to the idea of + going to England for her. 'Many are the thoughts of a man's + heart, but the counsel of the Lord, that shall stand.' + + TO LYDIA GRENFELL + + Cawnpore: August 14, 1810. + + With what delight do I sit down to begin a letter to my beloved + Lydia! Yours of February 5, which I received a few days ago, was + written, I conceive, in considerable embarrassment. You thought + it possible it might find me married, or about to be so. Let me + begin, therefore, with assuring you, with more truth than Gehazi + did his master, 'Thy servant went no whither:' my heart has not + strayed from Marazion, or Gurlyn, or wherever you are. Five long + years have passed, and I am still faithful. Happy would it be if + I could say that I had been equally true to my profession of + love for Him who is fairer than ten thousand, and altogether + lovely. Yet to the praise of His grace let me recollect that + twice five years have passed away since I began to know Him, and + I am still not gone from Him. On the contrary, time and + experience have endeared the Lord to me more and more, so that I + feel less inclination, and see less reason for leaving Him. What + is there, alas! in the world, were it even everlasting? + + I rejoice at the accounts you give me of your continued good + health and labours of love. Though you are not so usefully + employed as you might be in India, yet as that must not be, I + contemplate with delight your exertions at the other end of the + world. May you be instrumental in bringing many sons and + daughters to glory. What is become of St. Hilary and its fairy + scenes? When I think of Malachy, and the old man, and your + sister, and Josepha, etc., how some are dead, and the rest + dispersed, and their place occupied by strangers, it seems all + like a dream. + + _August 15._--It is only little intervals of time that I can + find for writing; my visitors, about whom I shall write + presently, taking up much of my leisure from necessary duty. + Here follow some extracts from my _Journal_.... + + Here my _Journal_ must close. I do not know whether you + understand from it how we go on. I must endeavour to give you a + clearer idea of it. + + We all live here in bungalows, or thatched houses, on a piece of + ground enclosed. Next to mine is the church, not yet opened for + public worship, but which we make use of at night with the men + of the 53rd. Corrie lives with me, and Miss Corrie with the + Sherwoods. We usually rise at daybreak, and breakfast at six. + Immediately after breakfast we pray together, after which I + translate into Arabic with Sabat, who lives in a small bungalow + on my ground. We dine at twelve, and sit recreating ourselves + with talking a little about dear friends in England. In the + afternoon, I translate with Mirza Fitrut into Hindustani, and + Corrie employs himself in teaching some native Christian boys + whom he is educating with great care, in hopes of their being + fit for the office of catechist. I have also a school on my + premises, for natives; but it is not well attended. There are + not above sixteen Hindu boys in it at present: half of them read + the Book of Genesis. At sunset we ride or drive, and then meet + at the church, where we often raise the song of praise, with as + much joy, through the grace and presence of our Lord, as you do + in England. At ten we are all asleep. Thus we go on. To the + hardships of missionaries we are strangers, yet not averse, I + trust, to encounter them when we are called. My work at present + is evidently to translate; hereafter I may itinerate. Dear + Corrie, I fear, never will, he always suffers from moving about + in the daytime. But I should have said something about my + health, as I find my death was reported at Cambridge. I thank + God I am perfectly well, though not very strong in my lungs; + they do not seem affected yet, but I cannot speak long without + uneasiness. From the nature of my complaint, if it deserves the + name, it is evident that England is the last place I should go + to. I should go home only to find a grave. How shall I + therefore ever see you more on this side of eternity? Well! be + it so, since such is the will of God: we shall meet, through + grace, in the realms of bliss. + + I am truly sorry to see my paper fail. Write as often as + possible, every three months at least. Tell me where you go, and + whom you see and what you read. + + _August 17._--I am sorry to conclude with saying that my + yesterday's boasted health proved a mistake; I was seized with + violent sickness in the night, but to-day am better. Continue to + pray for me, and believe me to be, your ever affectionate, + + H. MARTYN. + + _September 22._--Was walking with Lydia; both much affected, and + speaking on the things dearest to us both. I awoke, and behold + it was a dream. My mind remained very solemn and pensive; shed + some tears; the clock struck three, and the moon was riding near + her highest noon; all was silence and solemnity, and I thought + with some pain of the sixteen thousand miles between us. But + good is the will of the Lord, if I see her no more. + + TO LYDIA GRENFELL + + From the Ganges: October 6, 1810. + + My dearest Lydia,--Though I have had no letter from you very + lately, nor have anything particular to say, yet having been + days on the water without a person to speak to, tired also with + reading and thinking, I mean to indulge myself with a little of + what is always agreeable to me, and sometimes good for me; for + as my affection for you has something sacred in it, being + founded on, or at least cemented by, an union of spirit in the + Lord Jesus; so my separation also from you produced a deadness + to the world, at least for a time, which leaves a solemn + impression as often as I think of it. Add to this, that as I + must not indulge the hope of ever seeing you again in this + world, I cannot think of you without thinking also of that + world where we shall meet. You mention in one of your letters my + coming to England, as that which may eventually prove a duty. + You ought to have added, that in case I do come, you will + consider it a duty not to let me come away again without you. + But I am not likely to put you to the trial. Useless as I am + here, I often think I should be still more so at home. Though my + voice fails me, I can translate and converse. At home I should + be nothing without being able to lift my voice on high. I have + just left my station, Cawnpore, in order to be silent six + months. I have no cough, or any kind of consumption, except that + reading prayers, or preaching, or a slight cold, brings on pain + in the chest. I am advised therefore to recruit my strength by + rest. So I am come forth, with my face towards Calcutta, with an + ulterior view to the sea. Nothing happened at Cawnpore, after I + wrote to you in September but I must look to my _Journal_. + + I think of having my portrait taken in Calcutta, as I promised + Mr. Simeon five years ago. Sabat's picture would also be a + curiosity. Yesterday I carried Col. Wood to dine with me, at the + Nabob Bahir Ali's. Sabat was there. The Colonel, who had been + reading by the way the account of his conversion, in the Asiatic + and East Society Report, which I had given him, eyed him with no + great complacency, and observed in French, that Sabat might not + understand him, 'Il a l'air d'un sauvage.' Sabat's countenance + is indeed terrible; noble when he is pleased, but with the look + of an assassin when he is out of humour. I have had more + opportunities of knowing Sabat than any man has had, and I + cannot regard him with that interest which the 'Star in the + East' is calculated to excite in most people. Buchanan says, I + wrote (to whom I do not know) in terms of admiration and + affection about him. Affection I do feel for him, but + admiration, if I did once feel it, I am not conscious of it at + present. I tremble for everything our dear friends publish + about our doings in India, lest shame come to us and them. + + _Calcutta, November 5._--A sheet full, like the preceding, I had + written, but the moment it is necessary to send off my letter I + cannot find it. That it does not go on to you is of little + consequence, but into whose hands may it have fallen? It is this + that grieves me. It was the continuance of my _Journal_ to + Calcutta, where I arrived the last day in October. Constant + conversation with dear friends here has brought on the pain in + the chest again, so that I do not attempt to preach. In two or + three weeks I shall embark for the Gulf of Persia, where, if I + live, I shall solace myself in my hours of solitude with writing + to you. + + Farewell, beloved friend; pray for me, as you do, I am sure, and + doubt not of an unceasing interest in the heart and prayers of + your ever affectionate, + + H. MARTYN. + +Ordered away on six months' sick leave, Henry Martyn had the joy of +once at least ministering to his soldier flock in the 'new church,' +which he had induced the authorities to form out of an ordinary +bungalow. Daily and fondly had he watched the preparations, reporting +to Brown: 'My church is almost ready for the organ and the bell.' On +Sunday, September 16, he had written: + + 'Rain prevented me from having any service in public; the + natives not being able to sit upon the grass, I could not preach + to them.' + +On Sunday, September 30, he thus took farewell of his different +congregations: + + Corrie preached to the Dragoons, at nine the new church was + opened. There was a considerable congregation, and I preached + on, 'In all places where I record my name, I will come unto thee + and bless thee.' I felt something of thankfulness and joy, and + our dear friends the same. The Sherwoods and Miss Corrie stayed + with us the rest of the day. In the afternoon I preached the + Gospel to the natives for the first time, giving them a short + account of the life, death, miracles, manner of teaching, death + and resurrection of Jesus, then the doctrines of His religion, + and concluded with exhorting them to believe in Him, and taking + them to record that I had declared to them the glad tidings that + had come to us, and that if they rejected it I was clear from + their blood, and thus I bid them farewell. + +Mrs. Sherwood thus describes the scene: + + On the Sunday before Mr. Martyn left the church was opened, and + the bell sounded for the first time over this land of darkness. + The church was crowded, and there was the band of our regiment + to lead the singing and the chanting. Sergeant Clarke--our + Sergeant Clarke--had been appointed as clerk; and there he sat + under the desk in due form, in his red coat, and went through + his duty with all due correctness. The Rev. Daniel Corrie read + prayers, and Mr. Martyn preached. That was a day never to be + forgotten. Those only who have been for some years in a place + where there never has been public worship can have any idea of + the fearful effect of its absence, especially among the mass of + the people, who, of course, are unregenerate. Every prescribed + form of public worship certainly has a tendency to become + nothing more than a form, yet even a form may awaken reflection, + and any state is better than that of perfect deadness. From his + first arrival at the station Mr. Martyn had been labouring to + effect the purpose which he then saw completed; namely, the + opening of a place of worship. He was permitted to see it, to + address the congregation once, and then he was summoned to + depart. How often, how very often, are human beings called away, + perhaps from this world, at the moment they have been enabled to + bring to bear some favourite object. Blessed are those whose + object has been such a one as that of Henry Martyn. Alas! he was + known to be, even then, in a most dangerous state of health, + either burnt within by slow inflammation, which gave a flush to + his cheek, or pale as death from weakness and lassitude. + + On this occasion the bright glow prevailed--a brilliant light + shone from his eyes--he was filled with hope and joy; he saw the + dawn of better things, he thought, at Cawnpore, and most + eloquent, earnest, and affectionate was his address to the + congregation. Our usual party accompanied him back to his + bungalow, where, being arrived, he sank, as was often his way, + nearly fainting, on a sofa in the hall. Soon, however, he + revived a little, and called us all about him to sing. It was + then that we sang to him that sweet hymn which thus begins: + + O God, our help in ages past, + Our hope for years to come, + Our shelter from the stormy blast, + And our eternal home. + + We all dined early together, and then returned with our little + ones to enjoy some rest and quiet; but when the sun began to + descend to the horizon we again went over to Mr. Martyn's + bungalow, to hear his _last_ address to the _fakeers_. It was + one of those sickly, hazy, burning evenings, which I have before + described, and the scene was precisely such a one as I have + recounted above. Mr. Martyn nearly fainted again after this + effort, and when he got to his house, with his friends about + him, he told us that he was afraid he had not been the means of + doing the smallest good to any one of the strange people whom he + had thus so often addressed. He did not even then know of the + impression he had been enabled to make, on one of these + occasions, on Sheikh Saleh. On the Monday our beloved friend + went to his boats, which lay at the Ghaut, nearest the bungalow; + but in the cool of the evening, however, whilst Miss Corrie and + myself were taking the air in our tonjons, he came after us on + horseback. There was a gentle sadness in his aspect as he + accompanied me home; and Miss Corrie came also. Once again we + all supped together, and united in one last hymn. We were all + low, very, very low; we could never expect to behold again that + face which we then saw--to hear again that voice, or to be again + elevated and instructed by that conversation. It was impossible + to hope that he would survive the fatigue of such a journey as + he meditated. Often and often, when thinking of him, have these + verses, so frequently sung by him, come to my mind: + + E'er since by faith I saw the stream + Thy flowing wounds supply, + Redeeming love has been my theme, + And shall be till I die. + + Then, in a nobler, sweeter song, + I'll sing Thy power to save, + When this poor lisping, stammering tongue + Is silent in the grave. + +Henry Martyn's continued to be the military church of Cawnpore till +1857, when it was destroyed in the Mutiny. Its place has been taken +by a Memorial Church which visibly proclaims forgiveness and peace +on the never-to-be forgotten site of Wheeler's entrenchment--consecrated +ground indeed! + +On October 1 he left Cawnpore, 'after a parting prayer with my dearest +brother Corrie,'[38] to whom he wrote from Allahabad: + + Thus far we are come in safety; but my spirits tell me that I + have parted with friends. Your pale face as it appeared on + Monday morning is still before my eyes, and will not let me be + easy till you tell me you are strong and prudent. The first + night there blew a wind so bleak and cold, through and through + my boat and bed, that I rose, as I expected, with a pain in the + breast, which has not quite left me, but will, I hope, to-night, + when I shall take measures for expelling it. There is a gate not + paid for yet belonging to the churchyard, may you always go + through it in faith and return through it with praise. You are + now in prayer with our men. The Lord be with you, and be always + with you, dearest brother. + +Ministering to all who needed his services, in preaching, baptizing, +and marrying, on his way down the great Ganges, at Benares, at +Ghazipore, where he met with 'the remains' of his old 67th regiment, +at Bhagulpore, and at Bandel, where he called on the Roman Catholics, +on November 12 he at last came to Aldeen. + + Children jumping, shouting, and convoying me in troops to the + house. They are a lovely family indeed, and I do not know when I + have felt so delighted as at family worship last night. To-day + Mr. Brown and myself have been consulting at the Pagoda. + +After four years' absence he seemed a dying man to his Serampore and +Calcutta friends, Brown, Thomason, Udny, and Colonel Young of Dinapore +memory. But he was ever cheerful, and he preached every Sunday for +five weeks, though in his _Journal_ we find this on November 21: + + Caught a cold, and kept awake much of the night by a cough. From + this day perhaps I may date my decay. Nature shrinks from + dissolution, and conscience trembles at the thought of a + judgment to come. But I try to rejoice in God through our Lord + Jesus Christ. + + _November 25._ (Sunday.)--Preached at the old church, on 'While + Paul reasoned of righteousness,' etc. The Governor-General, Lord + Minto, was present, desiring, as was supposed, to abolish the + distinction which had been made between the two churches. One + passage in my sermon appeared to some personal, and on + reconsideration I thought it so myself, and was excessively + distressed at having given causeless offence, and perhaps + preventing much good. Lord! pardon a blind creature. How much + mischief may I do through mere thoughtlessness! + + _December 2._--Preached at eight, on 'Grace reigns,' and was + favoured with strength of body and joy of heart in proclaiming + the glorious truth. + + _December 25._--Preached, with much comfort to myself, on 'God + so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son,' etc. Mr. + Brown on 'Let your light so shine before men,' etc. The whole + sum collected about seven thousand rupees. At night Mr. Thomason + on 'Through the tender mercy of our God, whereby the dayspring + from on high hath visited us.' This day how many of those who + love the Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity are rejoicing in His + birth. My dear Lydia remembers me. + + _December 31._--Had a long dispute with Marshman, which brought + on pain in the chest. + +He opened the year 1811 by preaching for the new Calcutta Auxiliary of +the British and Foreign Bible Society his published sermon on +Christian India and the Bible, to be read in the light of his own +translation work hereafter. He thus on the same day committed himself +to the future in the spirit of St. Paul: + + _1811._--The weakness which has come upon me in the course of + the last year, if it should not give an entire new turn to my + life, is likely to be productive of events in the course of the + present year which I little expected, or at least did not expect + so soon. I now pass from India to Arabia, not knowing what + things shall befall me there; but assured that an ever-faithful + God and Saviour will be with me in all places whithersoever I + go. May He guide and protect me, and after prospering me in the + thing whereunto I go, bring me back again to my delightful work + in India. It would be a painful thought indeed, to suppose + myself about to return no more. Having succeeded, apparently, + through His blessing, in the Hindustani New Testament, I feel + much encouraged, and could wish to be spared in order to finish + the Bible. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[32] _The Life of Mrs. Sherwood_ (chiefly autobiographical), edited by +her Daughter. London, 1854. + +[33] 'He was at that time married to his seventh wife; that is, +according to his own account. Ameena was a pretty young woman, though +particularly dark for a purdah-walla, or one, according to the Eastern +custom, who is supposed always to sit behind a purdah, or curtain. She +occupied the smaller bungalow, which adjoined the larger by a long, +covered passage. Our children often went to see her whilst they were +at Mr. Martyn's, and I paid her one formal visit. I found her seated +on the ground, encircled by cushions within gauze mosquito-curtains, +stretched by ropes from the four corners of the hall. In the daytime +these curtains were twisted and knotted over her head, and towards the +night they were let down around her, and thus she slept where she had +sat all day. She had one or two women in constant attendance upon her, +though her husband was a mere subordinate. These Eastern women have +little idea of using the needle, and very few are taught any other +feminine accomplishment. Music and literature, dancing and singing, +are known only to the Nautch or dancing-girls by profession. Hence, +nothing on earth can be imagined to be more monotonous than the lives +of women in the East; such, I mean, as are not compelled to servile +labour. They sit on their cushions behind their curtains from day to +day, from month to month, with no other occupation than that of having +their hair dressed, and their nails and eyelids stained, and no other +amusement than hearing the _gup_, or gossip of the place where they +may happen to be; nor is any gossip too low or too frivolous to be +unacceptable. The visits of our children and nurses were very +acceptable to Ameena, and she took much and tender notice of the baby. +She lived on miserable terms with her husband, and hated him most +cordially. She was a Mussulman, and he was very anxious to make her a +Christian, to which she constantly showed strong opposition. At +length, however, she terminated the controversy in the following +extraordinary manner: "Pray, will you have the goodness to inform me +where Christians go after death?" "To heaven and to their Saviour," +replied Sabat. "And where do Mahometans go?" she asked. "To hell and +the devil," answered the fierce Arab. "You," said the meek wife, "will +go to heaven, of course, as being a Christian." "Certainly," replied +Sabat. "Well, then," she said, "I will continue to be a Mussulman, +because I should prefer hell and the devil without you, to heaven +itself in your presence." This anecdote was told to Mr. Martyn by +Sabat himself, as a proof of the hardened spirit of his wife. + +'Ameena was, by the Arab's own account, his seventh wife. He had some +wonderful story to tell of each of his former marriages; but that +which he related of his sixth wife exceeded all the rest in the +marvellous and the romantic. He told this tale at Mr. Martyn's table +one evening, whilst we were at supper, during the week we lived in the +house. He spoke in Persian, and Mr. Martyn interpreted what he said, +and it was this he narrated: It was on some occasion, he said, in +which Fortune had played him one of her worst tricks, and reduced him +to a state of the most abject poverty, that he happened to arrive one +night at a certain city, which was the capital of some rajah, or petty +king--Sabat called this person a king. It seemed he arrived at a +crisis in which the king's only daughter had given her father some +terrible offence, and in order to be revenged upon her, the father +issued his commands that she should be compelled to take for her +husband the first stranger who arrived in the town after sunset. This +man happened to be our Arab; he was accordingly seized and subjected +to the processes of bathing and anointing with precious oil. He was +then magnificently dressed, introduced into the royal hall, and duly +married to the princess, who proved not only to be fair as the houris, +but to be quite prepared to love the husband whom Fortune had sent +her. He lived with her, he pretended, I know not how many years, and +they were perfectly happy until the princess died, and he lost the +favour of his majesty. I think that Sabat laid the scene of this +adventure in or near Agra. But this could hardly be. That such things +have been in the East--that is, that royal parents have taken such +means of avenging themselves on offending daughters--is quite certain; +but I cannot venture to assert that Sabat was telling the truth when +he made himself the hero of the tale.' + +[34] Corrie and Brown. + +[35] By letters written March 30 and April 19, 1810, from Cawnpore. + +[36] By letter written August 14, 1810. + +[37] On leaving the station Henry Martyn presented his French New +Testament to Dr. Govan, a little morocco-bound volume which his son +prizes as an heirloom. + +[38] We have these reminiscences of Henry Martyn's Cawnpore from Bishop +Corrie, when, as Archdeacon of Calcutta, he again visited it. In 1824 he +writes: 'I arrived at this station on the day fourteen years after +sainted Martyn had dedicated the church. The house he occupied stands +close by. The view of the place and the remembrance of what had passed +greatly affected me.... I had to assist in administering the sacrament, +and well it was, on the whole, that none present could enter into my +feelings, or I should have been overcome.' Again: 'How would it have +rejoiced the heart of Martyn could he have had the chief authorities +associated, by order of Government, to assist him in the work of +education; and how gladly would he have made himself their servant in +the work for Jesus' sake! One poor blind man who lives in an outhouse of +Martyn's, and received a small monthly sum from him, often comes to our +house, and affords a mournful pleasure in reminding me of some little +occurrence of those times. A wealthy native too, who lived next door to +us, sent his nephew to express to me the pleasure he derived from his +acquaintance with Martyn. These are all the traces I have found of that +"excellent one of the earth" at the station.' + +In 1833 Corrie was again at Cawnpore, which had two chaplains then, +and thus wrote: '_October 6._--I attended Divine service at the church +bungalow, and stood up once more in Martyn's pulpit. The place is a +little enlarged. The remembrance of Martyn and the Sherwoods, and Mary +(his sister), with the occupations of that period, came powerfully to +my recollection, and I could not prevent the tears from flowing. A +sense of the forgiving love of God, with the prospect of all joining +in thankful adoration in the realms of bliss, greatly preponderates.' + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +FROM CALCUTTA TO CEYLON, BOMBAY, AND ARABIA + + +Two motives made Henry Martyn eager to leave India for a time, and to +cease the strain on his fast-ebbing strength, caused by incessant +preaching and speaking: he desired to prolong his life, but to prolong +it only till he should give the Mohammedans of Arabia and Persia the +Word of God in their own tongues. After his first, almost fatal, +attack at Dinapore, Corrie, who had gone to help him in his duties, +wrote to 'the Patriarch,' as they called Mr. Brown, at Aldeen: 'He +wishes to be spared on account of the translations, but with great +earnestness said, "I wish to have my whole soul swallowed up in the +will of God."' Two years after, Corrie wrote to England from Cawnpore: +'He is going to try sea air. May God render it effectual to his +restoration. His life is beyond all price to us. You know what a +profound scholar he is, and all his acquirements are dedicated to the +service of Christ. If ever man, since St. Paul, could use these words, +he may, _One thing I do_. But the length of his life will depend on +his desisting from public duties.' To Martyn himself, when at last he +had left Cawnpore, Corrie wrote: 'If you will not take rest, dear +brother, come away back;' informing him, at the same time, that he had +returned to a Colonel, whom he had married, 1,600 rupees, he and +Martyn having resolved to decline all fees for marrying and burying in +India, where such were a stumbling-block in the way of morality and +religion, constituted as Anglo-Indian society was at that time. + +When he was leaving Cawnpore, Henry Martyn was about to destroy what +he called 'a number of memorandums.' These afterwards proved to be his +_Journals_ from January 1803 to 1811, some of which were written in +Latin, and some in Greek, for greater secrecy. Corrie remonstrated +with him, and persuaded him to seal them up and leave them in his +hands. Lord Minto, the Governor-General, and General Hewett, the +Commander-in-chief, after receiving a statement of Martyn's object, +gave their sanction to his spending his sick-leave in Persia and +Syria. At first the only ship he could find bound for Bombay, _en +route_ to the Persian Gulf, was one of the native buggalows which +carried the coasting trade in the days before the British India Steam +Navigation Company had begun to develop the commerce of the Indian +Ocean all along East Africa, Southern Asia, the Spice Islands, and +Australasia. But he wrote to Corrie: + + The captain of the ship after many excuses has at last refused + to take me, on the ground that I might try to convert the Arab + sailors, and so cause a mutiny in the ship. So I am quite out of + heart, and more than half disposed to go to the right about, and + come back to Cawnpore. + +His uncompromising earnestness as a witness for Christ was well known. +Fortunately, a month after, the Honourable Mountstuart Elphinstone +'was proceeding to take the residency of Poona,' and Martyn secured a +passage in the same ship, the Hummoody, an Arab coaster belonging to +a Muscat merchant, and manned by his Abyssinian slave as Nakhoda. + +His last message to Calcutta, on the evening of the first Sunday of +the year 1811, was on _The one thing needful_. Next morning he quietly +went on board Mr. Elphinstone's pinnace 'without taking leave of my +two dear friends in Calcutta.' As they dropped down the Hoogli, +anchoring for two nights in its treacherous waters, his henceforth +brief entries in his _Journal_ are these: '8th. Conversation with Mr. +Elphinstone, and disputes with his Persian moulvi, left me weak and in +pain. 9th. Reached the ship at Saugur, and began to try my strength +with the Arab sailors.' He found that the country-born captain, +Kinsay, had been brought up by Schwartz, and he obtained from him much +information regarding the habits and the rule of the Lutheran apostle +of Southern India. This is new: + + It was said that Schwartz had a warning given him of his death. + One clear moonlight night he saw a light, and heard a voice + which said to him, 'Follow me.' He got up and went to the door; + here the vision vanished. The next day he sent for Dr. Anderson + and said, 'An old tree must fall.' On the doctor's perceiving + there was nothing the matter with him, Schwartz asked him + whether he observed any disorder in his intellect; to which the + doctor replied, 'No.' He and General Floyd (now in Ireland), + another friend of Schwartz, came and stayed with him. The next + fifteen days he was continually engaged in devotion, and + attended no more to the school: on the last day he died in his + chair. + +Henry Martyn was well fitted by culture and training to appreciate the +society of such statesmen and thinkers as Mountstuart Elphinstone, +Sir John Malcolm, Sir James Mackintosh, and Jonathan Duncan, who in +their turn delighted in his society during the next five weeks. Of the +first he wrote to Corrie: 'His agreeable manners and classical +acquirements made me think myself fortunate indeed in having such a +companion, and I found his company the most agreeable circumstance in +my voyage.' They walked together in the cinnamon groves of Ceylon, +when the ship touched at Colombo; together they talked of the work of +Xavier as they skirted Cape Comorin, and observed Portuguese churches +every two or three miles, with a row of huts on each side. 'Perhaps,' +he wrote in his _Journal_, 'many of these poor people, with all the +incumbrances of Popery, are moving towards the kingdom of heaven.' +Together the two visited old Goa, the ecclesiastical capital, its +convents and churches. The year after their visit the Goa Inquisition, +one of the cruellest of its branches since its foundation, was +suppressed. Henry Martyn's letters to Lydia Grenfell best describe his +experiences and impressions: + + TO LYDIA GRENFELL + + At Sea, Coast of Malabar: February 4, 1811. + + The last letter I wrote to you, my dearest Lydia, was dated + November 1810. I continued in Calcutta to the end of the year, + preaching once a week, and reading the Word in some happy little + companies, with whom I enjoyed that sweet communion which all in + this vale of tears have reason to be thankful for, but + especially those whose lot is cast in a heathen land. On + New-year's day, at Mr. Brown's urgent request, I preached a + sermon for the Bible Society, recommending an immediate + attention to the state of the native Christians. At the time I + left Calcutta they talked of forming an auxiliary society. + Leaving Calcutta was so much like leaving England, that I went + on board my boat without giving them notice, and so escaped the + pain of bidding them farewell. In two days I met my ship at the + mouth of the river, and we put to sea immediately. Our ship is + commanded by a pupil of Schwartz, and manned by Arabians, + Abyssinians, and others. One of my fellow-passengers is Mr. + Elphinstone, who was lately ambassador at the court of the King + of Cabul, and is now going to be resident at Poona, the capital + of the Mahratta empire. So the group is rather interesting, and + I am happy to say not averse to religious instruction; I mean + the Europeans. As for the Asiatics, they are in language, + customs, and religion, as far removed from us as if they were + inhabitants of another planet. I speak a little Arabic sometimes + to the sailors, but their contempt of the Gospel, and attachment + to their own superstition, make their conversion appear + impossible. How stupendous that power which can make these + people the followers of the Lamb, when they so nearly resemble + Satan in pride and wickedness! The first part of the voyage I + was without employment, and almost without thought, suffering as + usual so much from sea sickness, that I had not spirits to do + anything but sit upon the poop, surveying the wide waste of + waters blue. This continued all down the Bay of Bengal. At + length in the neighbourhood of Ceylon we found smooth water, and + came to an anchor off Colombo, the principal station in the + island. The captain having proposed to his passengers that they + should go ashore and refresh themselves with a walk in the + cinnamon gardens, Mr. Elphinstone and myself availed ourselves + of the offer, and went off to inhale the cinnamon breeze. The + walk was delightful. The huts of the natives, who are (in that + neighbourhood at least) most of them Protestants, are built in + thick groves of cocoanut-tree, with openings here and there, + discovering the sea. Everything bore the appearance of + contentment. I contemplated them with delight, and was almost + glad that I could not speak with them, lest further acquaintance + should have dissipated the pleasing ideas their appearance gave + birth to. In the gardens I cut off a piece of the bark for you. + It will not be so fragrant as that which is properly prepared; + but it will not have lost its fine smell, I hope, when it + reaches you. + + At Captain Rodney's, the Chief Secretary to Government, we met a + good part of the European society of Colombo. The party was like + most mixed parties in England, where much is said that need not + be remembered. The next day we stretched across the Gulf of + Manaar, and soon came in sight of Cape Comorin, the great + promontory of India. At a distance the green waves seemed to + wash the foot of the mountain, but on a nearer approach little + churches were seen, apparently on the beach, with a row of + little huts on each side. Was it these maritime situations that + recalled to my mind Perran church and town in the way to Gurlyn; + or that my thoughts wander too often on the beach to the east of + Lamorran? You do not tell me whether you ever walk there, and + imagine the billows that break at your feet to have made their + way from India. But why should I wish to know? Had I observed + silence on that day and thenceforward, I should have spared you + much trouble, and myself much pain. Yet I am far from regretting + that I spoke, since I am persuaded that all things will work + together for good. I sometimes try to put such a number of + things together as shall produce the greatest happiness + possible, and I find that even in imagination I cannot satisfy + myself. I set myself to see what is that 'good for the sons of + men, which they should do under heaven all the days of their + life,' and I find that paradise is not here. Many things are + delightful, some things are almost all one could wish; but yet + in all beauty there is deformity, in the most perfect something + wanting, and there is no hope of its ever being otherwise. + 'That which is crooked cannot be made straight, and that which + is wanting cannot be numbered.' So that the expectation of + happiness on earth seems chimerical to the last degree. In my + schemes of happiness I place myself of course with you, blessed + with great success in the ministry, and seeing all India turning + to the Lord. Yet it is evident that with these joys there would + be mingled many sorrows. The care of all the churches was a + burden to the mighty mind of St. Paul. As for what we should be + together, I judge of it from our friends. Are they quite beyond + the vexations of common life? I think not--still I do not say + that it is a question whether they gained or lost by marrying. + Their affections will live when ours (I should rather say mine) + are dead. Perhaps it may not be the effect of celibacy; but I + certainly begin to feel a wonderful indifference to all but + myself. From so seldom seeing a creature that cares for me, and + never one that depends at all upon me, I begin to look round + upon men with reciprocal apathy. It sometimes calls itself + deadness to the world, but I much fear that it is deadness of + heart. I am exempt from worldly cares myself, and therefore do + not feel for others. Having got out of the stream into still + water, I go round and round in my own little circle. This + supposed deterioration you will ascribe to my humility; + therefore I add that Mr. Brown could not help remarking the + difference between what I am and what I was, and observed on + seeing my picture, which was taken at Calcutta for Mr. Simeon, + and is thought a striking likeness, that it was not Martyn that + arrived in India, but Martyn the recluse. + + _February 10._--To-day my affections seem to have revived a + little. I have been often deceived in times past, and + erroneously called animal spirits joy in the Holy Ghost. Yet I + trust that I can say with truth, 'To them who believe, He is + precious!' Yes, Thou art precious to my soul, my transport and + my trust. No thought now is so sweet as that which those words + suggest--'_In Christ_.' Our destinies thus inseparably united + with those of the Son of God, what is too great to be expected? + All things are yours, for ye are Christ's! We may ask what we + will, and it shall be given to us. Now, why do I ever lose sight + of Him, or fancy myself without Him, or try to do anything + without Him? Break off a branch from a tree, and how long will + it be before it withers? To-day, my beloved sister, I rejoice in + you before the Lord, I rejoice in you as a member of the mystic + body, I pray that your prayers for one who is unworthy of your + remembrance may be heard, and bring down tenfold blessings on + yourself. How good is the Lord in giving me grace to rejoice + with His chosen all over the earth; even with those who are at + this moment going up with the voice of joy and praise, to tread + His courts and sing His praise. There is not an object about me + but is depressing. Yet my heart expands with delight at the + presence of a gracious God, and the assurance that my separation + from His people is only temporary. + + On the 7th we landed at Goa, the capital of the Portuguese + possessions in the East. I reckoned much on my visit to Goa, + expecting, from its being the residence of the archbishop and + many ecclesiastics, that I should obtain such information about + the Christians in India as would render it superfluous to make + inquiries elsewhere, but I was much disappointed. Perhaps it was + owing to our being accompanied by several officers, English and + Portuguese, that the archbishop and his principal agents would + not be seen; but so it was, that I scarcely met with a man who + could make himself intelligible. We are shown what strangers are + usually shown, the churches and monasteries, but I wanted to + contemplate man, the only thing on earth almost that possesses + any interest for me. I beheld the stupendous magnificence of + their noble churches without emotion, except to regret that the + Gospel was not preached in them. In one of the monasteries we + saw the tomb of Francis Xavier, the Apostle of India, most + richly ornamented, as well as the room in which it stands, with + paintings and figures in bronze, done in Italy. The friar who + showed us the tomb, happening to speak of the grace of God in + the heart, without which, said he, as he held the sacramental + wafer, the body of Christ profits nothing. I began a + conversation with him, which, however, came to nothing. + + We visited among many other places the convent of nuns. After a + long altercation with the lady porter we were admitted to the + antechamber, in which was the grate, a window with iron bars, + behind which the poor prisoners make their appearance. While my + companions were purchasing their trinkets I was employed in + examining their countenances, which I did with great attention. + In what possible way, thought I, can you support existence, if + you do not find your happiness in God? They all looked ill and + discontented, those at least whose countenances expressed + anything. One sat by reading, as if nothing were going on. I + asked to see the book, and it was handed through the grate. + Finding that it was a Latin prayer-book, I wrote in Latin + something about the love of the world, which seclusion from it + would not remove. The Inquisition is still existing at Goa. We + were not admitted as far as Dr. Buchanan was, to the Hall of + Examination, and that because he printed something against the + inquisitors which came to their knowledge. The priest in waiting + acknowledged that they had some prisoners within the walls, and + defended the practice of imprisoning and chastising offenders, + on the ground of its being conformed to the custom of the + Primitive Church. We were told that when the officers of the + Inquisition touch an individual, and beckon him away, he dares + not resist; if he does not come out again, no one must ask about + him; if he does, he must not tell what was done to him. + + _February 18._--(Bombay.) Thus far I am brought in safety. On + this day I complete my thirtieth year. 'Here I raise my + Ebenezer; Hither by Thy help I'm come.' 27th. It is sweet to + reflect that we shall at last reach our home. I am here amongst + men who are indeed aliens to the commonwealth of Israel and + without God in the world. I hear many of those amongst whom I + live bring idle objections against religion, such as I have + answered a hundred times. How insensible are men of the world to + all that God is doing! How unconscious of His purposes + concerning His Church! How incapable, seemingly, of + comprehending the existence of it! I feel the meaning of St. + Paul's words--'Hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and + prudence, having made known unto us the mystery of His will, + that He would gather in one all things in Christ.' Well! let us + bless the Lord. 'All thy children shall be taught of the Lord, + and great shall be the peace of thy children.' In a few days I + expect to sail for the Gulf of Persia in one of the Company's + sloops of war. + + Farewell, my beloved Lydia, and believe me to be ever yours most + affectionately, + + H. MARTYN. + +All through the voyage, in the Bay of Bengal and the Indian Ocean, the +scholar was busy with his books, the Hebrew Old Testament, 'reading +Turkish grammar, Niebuhr's _Arabia_, making extracts from Maracci's +_Refutation of the Koran_, in general reading the Word of God with +pleasure.' + + _February 10._ (Sunday.)--Somewhat of a happy Sabbath; I enjoyed + communion with the saints, though far removed from them; service + morning and night in the cabin. + + _January 14_ to _17_.--When sitting on the poop Mr. Elphinstone + kindly entertained me with information about India, the politics + of which he has had such opportunities of making himself + acquainted with. The Afghans, to whom he went as ambassador, to + negotiate a treaty of alliance in case of invasion by the + French, possess a tract of country considerably larger than + Great Britain, using the Persian and Pushtu languages. Their + chief tribe is the Doorani, from which the king is elected. Shah + Zeman was dethroned by his half-brother Mahmood, governor of + Herat, who put out his eyes. Shah Zeman's younger brother + Shoujjah took up arms, and after several defeats established + himself for a time. He was on the throne when Mr. Elphinstone + visited him, but since that Mahmood has begun to dispute the + sovereignty with him. Mr. Elphinstone has been with Holkar and + Sindia a good deal. Holkar he described as a little spitfire, + his general, Meer Khan, possessed abilities; Sindia none; the + Rajah of Berar the most politic of the native powers, though the + Nizam the most powerful; the influence of residents at Nagpoor + and Hyderabad very small. + + _February 17._--Mostly employed in writing the Arabic tract, + also in reading the Koran; a book of geography in Arabic, and + _Jami Abbari_ in Persian. + + I would that all should adore, but especially that I myself + should lie prostrate. As for self, contemptible self, I feel + myself saying, let it be forgotten for ever; henceforth let + Christ live, let Christ reign, let Him be glorified for ever. + + _February 18._--Came to anchor at Bombay. This day I finish the + 30th year of my unprofitable life, an age in which Brainerd had + finished his course. He gained about a hundred savages to the + Gospel; I can scarcely number the twentieth part. If I cannot + act, and rejoice, and love with the ardour some did, oh, let me + at least be holy, and sober, and wise. I am now at the age at + which the Saviour of men began His ministry, and at which John + the Baptist called a nation to repentance. Let me now think for + myself and act with energy. Hitherto I have made my youth and + insignificance an excuse for sloth and imbecility: now let me + have a character, and act boldly for God. + + _February 19._--Went on shore. Waited on the Governor, and was + kindly accommodated with a room at the Government House. + +The Governor was the good Jonathan Duncan, in the last year of his +long administration and of his benevolent life. In the first decade of +the nineteenth century Bombay was a comparatively little place, but +the leaders of its English society were all remarkable men. In the +short time, even then, Bombay had become the political and social +centre of all the Asiatics and Africans, from Higher Asia, the Persian +Gulf, and Arabia, to Abyssinia, Zanzibar, and the Comoro Isles; +especially had it then begun to be what every generation since has +made it more and more, the best centre from which to direct a +Christian mission to the Mohammedans. With Poona, it is the capital of +the most subtle and unimpressionable class, the Marathi Brahmans, and +it is the point from which most widely to influence the Parsees. But +as a base of operations against Islam it has never yet been fully used +or appreciated. The late Hon. Ion Keith-Falconer preferred Aden, or +the neighbouring village of Sheikh Othman, the British door into +Arabia, of which he took possession for the Master by there laying +down his life in the ripeness of his years, his scholarship, and his +prosperity. But even in Arabia such work may be directed from Bombay. +The city, like its harbour for commerce, stands without a rival as a +missionary and civilising focus. Henry Martyn spent his weeks there in +mastering the needs of its varied races and religionists, Jewish and +Arabic, Persian and Brahman, talking with representative men of all +the cults, and striving to influence them. He kept steadily in view +his duty to the Mohammedans, writing his Arabic tract, and consulting +as to his Persian translation of the Scriptures. It was not given to +him to remain there. Dr. Taylor, whom he had joined with Brown and the +Serampore Brotherhood at Aldeen in commending to God, was hard at +work on the Malayalim New Testament, and he often visited the press to +see the sacred work in progress. It was to be the life task of the +Scottish Dr. John Wilson, twenty years after, to use Bombay as the +missionary key of the peoples who border the Indian Ocean. + +The friend of Mountstuart Elphinstone and guest of the Governor, Henry +Martyn was welcomed by the literary society of the city, which at that +time was unrivalled in the East. It is fortunate that we thus obtain +an impartial estimate of his personal character and scholarship from +such men as Elphinstone, Mackintosh, and Malcolm. In their journals +and letters, written with all the frankness of private friendship, we +see the consistent and ever-watchful saint, but at the same time the +lively talker, the brilliant scholar, and, above all, the genial +companion and even merry comrade. Since he had left Cambridge Henry +Martyn had not enjoyed society like this, able to appreciate his +many-sided gifts, and to call forth his natural joyfulness. In Bombay +we see him at his best all round as man, scholar, saint, and +missionary. + +In Sir T.E. Colebrooke's Life of that most eminent Indian statesman who +twice refused the crown of the Governor-General,[39] we find Mountstuart +Elphinstone writing thus to his friend Strachey: 'We have in Mr. Martyn +an excellent scholar, and one of the mildest, cheerfullest, and +pleasantest men I ever saw. He is extremely religious, and disputes +about the faith with the Nakhoda, but talks on all subjects, sacred and +profane, and makes others laugh as heartily as he could do if he were an +infidel. We have people who speak twenty-five languages (not apiece) in +the ship.' Again, in his Journal of July 10, 1811, Elphinstone has this +entry: 'Mr. Martyn has proved a far better companion than I reckoned on, +though my expectations were high. His zeal is unabated, but it is not +troublesome, and he does not press disputes and investigate creeds. He +is familiar with Greek and Latin, understands French and Italian, speaks +Persian and Arabic, has translated the Scriptures into Hindustani, and +is translating the Old Testament from Hebrew. He was an eminent +mathematician even at Cambridge, and, what is of more consequence, he is +a man of good sense and taste, and simple in his manners and character, +and cheerful in his conversation.' He who, in the close intimacy of +shipboard life in the tropics, could win that eulogy from a critic so +lofty and so experienced, must have been at once more human and more +perfect than his secret _Journal_, taken alone, has led its readers to +believe possible. + +Sir John Malcolm, fresh from his second mission to Persia, was writing +his great _History of Persia_ in the quiet of Parell and Malabar Hill, +with the help of the invaluable criticism of Sir James Mackintosh, +whom he described to his brother Gilbert as 'a very extraordinary +man.' Malcolm introduced Mackintosh and Elphinstone to each other, and +Elphinstone lost not a day in taking Martyn to call on the Recorder. +Although the distinguished Scots Highlander, who had become the +admiring friend of Robert Hall when they were fellow students at +Aberdeen University, was in full sympathy with missionary enthusiasm, +and condemned the intolerance of the East India Company,[40] Martyn +and he did not at first 'cotton' to each other. The former wrote thus +of him: + + _1811, February 22._--Talked a good deal with the Governor about + my intended journey. + + _February 23._--Went with him to his residence in the country, + and at night met a large party, amongst whom were Sir J. + Mackintosh and General Malcolm: with Sir James I had some + conversation on different subjects; he was by no means equal to + my expectations. + +Mackintosh's account of their first interview was this: + + _February 24._ (Sunday.)--Elphinstone introduced me to a young + clergyman called Martyn, come round from Bengal on his way to + Bussora, partly for health and partly to improve his Arabic, as + he is translating the Scriptures into that language. He seems to + be a mild and benevolent enthusiast--a sort of character with + which I am always half in love. We had the novelty of grace + before and after dinner, all the company standing. + +Again, a week after: + + _March 1._--Mr. Martyn, the saint from Calcutta, called here. He + is a man of acuteness and learning; his meekness is excessive, + and gives a disagreeable impression of effort to conceal the + passions of human nature. + +Both had the Celtic fire, but Sir James Mackintosh had not lived with +Sabat. Another month passed, and the two were learning to appreciate +each other. + + Padre Martyn, the saint, dined here in the evening; it was a + very considerably more pleasant evening than usual; he is a mild + and ingenious man. We had two or three hours' good discussion on + grammar and metaphysics. + +Henry Martyn's growing appreciation of Mackintosh is seen in this +later passage in his _Journal_: + + _1811, March 1._--Called on Sir J. Mackintosh, and found his + conversation, as it is generally said to be, very instructive + and entertaining. He thought that the world would be soon + Europeanised, in order that the Gospel might spread over the + world. He observed that caste was broken down in Egypt, and the + Oriental world made Greek by the successors of Alexander, in + order to make way for the religion of Christ. He thought that + little was to be apprehended, and little hoped for, from the + exertions of missionaries. Called at General Malcolm's, and + though I did not find him at home, was very well rewarded for my + trouble in getting to his house, by the company of Mr. ----, + lately from R. Dined at Farish's with a party of some very + amiable and well-behaved young men. What a remarkable difference + between the old inhabitants of India and the new-comers. This is + owing to the number of religious families in England. + + _March 4._--Dined at General Malcolm's, who gave me a Chaldee + missal. Captain Stewart, who had accompanied him as his + secretary into Persia, gave me much information about the + learned men of Ispahan. + + _March 8._--Spent the first part of the day at General + Malcolm's, who gave me letters of introduction and some queries + respecting the wandering tribes of Persia. + +The reference to young Mr. Farish, is to one who afterwards became +interim Governor of Bombay, and the friend of John Wilson, and who, +because he taught a class in the Sunday School that used to meet in +the Town Hall, was for the time an object of suspicion and attack by +the Parsees and Hindus, on the baptism of Dhanjibhai Naoroji, the +first Parsee to put on Christ.[41] + +On Malcolm, according to Sir John Kaye, his biographer,[42] the young +Christian hero appears to have made a more favourable impression than +on Mackintosh. Perhaps the habitual cheerfulness of his manner +communicated itself to the 'saint from Calcutta,' of whom he wrote to +Sir Gore Ouseley, the British ambassador, that he was likely to add to +the hilarity of his party. + + He requested me to give him a line to the Governor of Bushire, + which I did, as well as one to Mahomed Nebbee Khan. But I warned + him not to move from Bushire without your previous sanction. His + intention is, I believe, to go by Shiraz, Ispahan, and + Kermanshah to Baghdad, and to endeavour on that route to + discover some ancient copies of the Gospel, which he and many + other saints are persuaded lie hid in the mountains of Persia. + Mr. Martyn also expects to improve himself as an Oriental + scholar; he is already an excellent one. His knowledge of Arabic + is superior to that of any Englishman in India. He is altogether + a very learned and cheerful man, but a great enthusiast in his + holy calling. He has, however, assured me, and begged I would + mention it to you, that he has no thought of preaching to the + Persians, or of entering into any theological controversies, but + means to confine himself to two objects--a research after old + Gospels, and the endeavour to qualify himself for giving a + correct version of the Scriptures into Arabic and Persian, on + the plan proposed by the Bible Society. + + I have not hesitated to tell him that I thought you would + require that he should act with great caution, and not allow his + zeal to run away with him. He declares he will not, and he is a + man of that character that I must believe. I am satisfied that + if you ever see him, you will be pleased with him. He will give + you grace before and after dinner, and admonish such of your + party as take the Lord's name in vain; but his good sense and + great learning will delight you, whilst his constant + cheerfulness will add to the hilarity of your party. + +In such social intercourse in the evening, in constant interviews and +discussions with Jews and Mohammedans, Parsees and Hindus, during the +day, and in frequent preaching for the chaplains, the weeks passed all +too rapidly. A ropemaker who had just arrived from London called on +him. 'He understood from my preaching that he might open his heart to +me. We conversed and prayed together.' Against this and the communion +with young Farish and his fellows, we must set the action of those +whom he thus describes in a letter to Corrie: + + _1811, February 26._--Peacefully preaching the Word of life to a + people daily edified is the nearest approach to heaven below. + But to move from place to place, hurried away without having + time to do good, is vexatious to the spirit as well as harassing + to the body. Hearing last Saturday that some sons of Belial, + members of the Bapre Hunt,[43] intended to have a great race the + following day, I informed Mr. Duncan, at whose house I was + staying, and recommended the interference of the secular arm. He + accordingly sent to forbid it. The messengers of the Bapre Hunt + were exceedingly exasperated; some came to church expecting to + hear a sermon against hunting, but I merely preached to them on + 'the one thing needful.' Finding nothing to lay hold of, they + had the race on Monday, and ran _Hypocrite_ against _Martha_ and + _Mary_. + +His last message to India, from the 'faithful saying' of 1 Timothy i. +15, was misunderstood and resented, as his first sermon in Calcutta +had been in similar circumstances. + + _March 24._ (Sunday).--Speaking on the evidence of its truth, I + mentioned its constant efficacy in collecting the multitude, and + commanding their attention, which moral discourses never did. + This was considered as a reflection on the ministers of Bombay, + which distressed me not a little. + +Henry Martyn was granted a passage to Arabia and Persia in the +Benares, Captain Sealey, one of the ships of the old Indian Navy, +ordered to cruise along with the Prince of Wales in the Persian Gulf. +At that time the danger was considerable. For a century the Joasmi +Arabs, of 'the pirate coast' of Oman, had been the terror of the +Persian Gulf and the Indian Ocean, driving off even the early +Portuguese, and confining the Persians, then invulnerable by land, to +their own shores. The Wahabee puritans of Islam having mastered them, +they added to their own bloodthirsty love of plunder and the +slave-trade the fanaticism of Mohammed-ibn-Abdul-Wahab, the 'bestower +of blessings,' as the name signifies. The East India Company tolerated +them, retaining two or three ships of war in the Gulf for the +protection of the factories at Gombroon, Bushire, and Busrah. But, in +an evil moment, in the year 1797, the Joasmi pirates dared to seize a +British vessel. From that hour their fate was sealed, though the +process of clearing the southern coast of Asia of pirates and slavers +ended only with the accession of Queen Victoria, in the year when Aden +was added to the empire. In 1809-10 the Bombay Government expedition, +under Commodore John Wainwright, captured their stronghold of +Ras-ul-Khymah, delivered our feudatory of Muscat from their terrorism, +and gave the Gulf peace for ten years. The two ships of war which +conveyed the chaplain missionary with his message of peace to Eastern +Arabia and Persia were sent to complete the work of the Wainwright +expedition,[44] which had been summoned by Lord Minto to the conquest +of Java. Henry Martyn acted as chaplain to the forty-five sailors and +twelve artillerymen who formed the European part of the crew of the +Benares. After two days at Muscat he tells the story of his voyage: + + TO LYDIA GRENFELL + + Muscat: April 22, 1811. + + My dearest Lydia,--I am now in Arabia Felix: to judge from the + aspect of the country it has little pretensions to the name, + unless burning barren rocks convey an idea of felicity; but + perhaps as there is a promise in reserve for the sons of Joktan, + their land may one day be blest indeed. + + We sailed from Bombay on Lady-day; and on the morning of Easter + saw the land of Mekran in Persia. After another week's sail + across the mouth of the Gulf, we arrived here, and expect to + proceed up the Gulf to Bushire, as soon as we have taken in our + water. You will be happy to learn that the murderous pirates + against whom we were sent, having received notice of our + approach, are all got out of the way, so that I am no longer + liable to be shot in a battle, or to decapitation after it, if + it be lawful to judge from appearances. These pestilent + Ishmaelites indeed, whose hand is against every man's, will + escape, and the community suffer, but that selfish friendship of + which you once confessed yourself guilty, will think only of + the preservation of a friend. This last marine excursion has + been the pleasantest I ever made, as I have been able to pursue + my studies with less interruption than when ashore. My little + congregation of forty or fifty Europeans does not try my + strength on Sundays; and my two companions are men who read + their Bible every day. In addition to all these comforts, I have + to bless God for having kept me more than usually free from the + sorrowful mind. We must not always say with Watts, 'The sorrows + of the mind be banished from the place;' but if freedom from + trouble be offered us, we may choose it rather. I do not know + anything more delightful than to meet with a Christian brother, + where only strangers and foreigners were expected. This pleasure + I enjoyed just before leaving Bombay; a ropemaker who had just + come from England, understood from my sermon that I was one he + might speak to, so he came and opened his heart, and we rejoiced + together. In this ship I find another of the household of faith. + In another ship which accompanies us there are two Armenians who + do nothing but read the Testament. One of them will I hope + accompany me to Shiraz in Persia, which is his native country. + + We are likely to be detained here some days, but the ship that + will carry our letters to India sails immediately, so that I can + send but one letter to England, and one to Calcutta. When will + our correspondence be established? I have been trying to effect + it these six years, and it is only yet in train. Why there was + no letter from you in those dated June and July 1810, I cannot + conjecture, except that you had not received any of mine, and + would write no more. But I am not yet without hopes that a + letter in the beloved hand will yet overtake me somewhere. My + kindest and most affectionate remembrances to all the Western + circle. Is it because he is your brother that I love George so + much? or because he is the last come into the number? The + angels love and wait upon the righteous who need no repentance; + but there is joy whenever another heir of salvation is born into + the family. Read Eph. i. I cannot wish you all these spiritual + blessings, since they already are all yours; but I pray that we + may have the spirit of wisdom and knowledge to know that they + are ours. It is a chapter I keep in mind every day in prayer. We + cannot believe too much or hope too much. Happy our eyes that + they see, and our ears that they hear. + + As it may be a year or more before I shall be back, you may + direct one letter after receiving this, if it be not of a very + old date, to Bombay, all after to Bengal, as usual. Believe me + to be ever, my dearest Lydia, your most affectionate, + + H. MARTYN. + + _April 22._--Landed at Muscat with Lockett and walked through + the bazaar; we wished to ascend one of the hills in the + neighbourhood, but on the native guards expressing + disapprobation, we desisted. + +We turn to her _Diary_ for the corresponding passage. + + _1812, February 1._--Heard yesterday from,[45] and wrote to-day + to, India. My conviction of being declining in spiritual life is + deeper and deeper. I would stop and pause at what is before me. + It is no particular outward sin, but an inward loss I mourn. + +Every word of Henry Martyn's _Journal_ regarding Arabia is precious, +alike in the light of his attempt to give its people the Word of God +in their own tongue, and of the long delayed and too brief efforts of +his successors, Ion Keith-Falconer in Yemen in 1887, and Bishop French +in Muscat in 1891. To David Brown, all unknowing of his death, he +wrote on April 23: + + I left India on Lady-day, looked at Persia on Easter Sunday, and + seven days after found myself in Arabia Felix. In a small cove, + surrounded by bare rocks, heated through, out of the reach of + air as well as wind, lies the good ship Benares, in the great + cabin of which, stretched on a couch, lie I. But though weak I + am well--relaxed but not disordered. Praise to His grace who + fulfils to me a promise which I have scarcely a right to + claim--'I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither + thou goest.' + + Last night I went ashore for the first time with Captain + Lockett; we walked through the bazaar and up the hill, but saw + nothing but what was Indian or worse. The Imam or Sultan is + about thirty miles off, fighting, it is said, for his kingdom, + with the Wahabees. + + You will be happy to learn that the pirates whom we were to + scourge are got out of our way, so that I may now hope to get + safe through the Gulf without being made to witness the bloody + scenes of war. + + _April 24._--Went with one English party and two Armenians and + an Arab who served as guard and guide, to see a remarkable pass + about a mile from the town, and a garden planted by a Hindu in a + little valley beyond. There was nothing to see, only the little + bit of green in this wilderness seemed to the Arab a great + curiosity. I conversed a good deal with him, but particularly + with his African slave, who was very intelligent about religion. + The latter knew as much about his religion as most mountaineers, + and withal was so interested, that he would not cease from his + argument till I left the shore. + +To Corrie he wrote on the same day: + + The Imam of Muscat murdered his uncle, and sits on the throne in + the place of his elder brother, who is here a cipher. Last + night the Captain went ashore to a council of state, to consider + the relations subsisting between the Government of Bombay and + these mighty chieftains. I attended as interpreter. The + Company's agent is an old Hindu who could not get off his bed. + An old man in whom pride and stupidity seemed to contend for + empire sat opposite to him. This was the Wazeer. Between them + sat I, opposite to me the Captain. The Wazeer uttered something + in Arabic, not one word of which could I understand. The old + Hindu explained in Persian, for he has almost forgot his Hindi, + and I to the Captain in English. We are all impatient to get + away from this place. + +To the last he was busy with his Arabic translation of Scripture. The +ships of war crossed and recrossed the Gulf from shore to shore, +surveying its coasts and islands in the heat of May, tempered by a +north-wester which tossed them about. On May 6 he wrote in his +_Journal_: + + Much cast down through a sinful propensity, which I little + thought was in me at all, till occasion manifested its + existence. + +On the 19th: + + Preached to the ship's company on John iii. 3. My thoughts so + much on Lydia, whose old letter I had been reading the day + before, that I had a sense of guilt for having neglected the + proper duties of the day. + + _May 20._--We have now a fair wind, carrying us gently to + Bushire. + + _May 22._--Finished the syllabus of Ecclesiastical History which + I have been making all the voyage, and extracts from Mosheim + concerning the Eastern Church. + +On May 21, 1811, Henry Martyn at last reached Persian soil. + + Landed at Bushire this morning in good health; how unceasing are + the mercies of the Lord; blessed be His goodness; may He still + preserve me from danger, and, above all, make my journey a + source of future good to this kingdom of Persia, into which I am + now come. We were hospitably received by the acting Resident. In + the evening I walked out by the sea-side to recollect myself, to + review the past, and look forward to the future. + + Suffering the will of God is as necessary a part of spiritual + discipline as doing, and much more trying. + +But he landed still with the desire 'to go to Arabia circuitously by +way of Persia,' a course which he declared to be rendered necessary by +the advanced state of the season. The people of Arabia were first in +his heart. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[39] In two volumes (John Murray), 1884, see p. 231, vol. i. + +[40] _Memoirs_, edited by his son, second edition, London (Moxon), +1836. See vol. ii. pp. 86, 268. + +[41] _The Life of John Wilson, D.D., F.R.S._ (John Murray), 2nd edit., +p. 137. + +[42] _Life and Correspondence_, vol. ii. p. 65 (Smith, Elder & Co.), +1856. + +[43] _Bap.re_ = 'O Father!' the exclamation of Hindus when in surprise +or grief; hence a noise or row; hence a Bobbery-pack or hunt is the +Anglo-Indian for a pack of hounds of different breeds, or no breed, +wherewith young officers hunt jackals or the like. See the late +Colonel Sir Henry Yule's _Hobson-Jobson, or Anglo-Indian Glossary_ +(John Murray), 1886. + +[44] C.R. Low's _History of the Indian Navy_, chapter x. vol. i. +(Richard Bentley), 1877. + +[45] By letter written April 22 or June 23, 1811. + + + + +CHAPTER IX + +IN PERSIA--BUSHIRE AND SHIRAZ, 1811 + + +The Persia to whose seven millions of people Henry Martyn was the +first in modern times to carry the good-news of God, was just the size +of the India of his day. The Mohammedan majority of its scattered +inhabitants, in cities, in villages, and wandering over its plains and +deserts, had never been, and are not yet, as Shi'ahs, rigid members of +Islam, fanatically aggressive against all others, like the orthodox +Soonnis. After the apparent extinction of the cult of Zoroaster and +the flight of the surviving remnant of Parsees to India, the +successive ruling dynasties were liberal and tolerant in their +treatment of Christians compared with other Moslem powers; more +liberal than Christian Russia is to the Jews and the non-'orthodox' +sects. When those cultured and enterprising brothers, Sir Anthony and +Sir Thomas Sherley,[46] went from Oxford to the court of Persia, then +in all its magnificence under Shah Abbas the Great, two centuries +before Henry Martyn, that Shah sent one back as Persian envoy to the +Christian powers of Europe, to establish an alliance for the +destruction of the Turks. Shah Abbas made over Gombroon to them, +calling it by his own name, Bunder Abbas, which it still retains, and +his Majesty's grant used such language as this: 'Our absolute +commandment, will, and pleasure is that our countries and dominions +shall be from this day open to all Christian people _and to their +religion_.... Because of the amitie now ioyned with the princes that +professe Christ, I do give this pattent for all Christian merchants,' +etc. Only the intolerance of the Portuguese, who, under Albuquerque, +took the island of Ormuz, and so dominated the Persian Gulf till +driven out by the English, led this great Asiatic monarch to except +the power which Prince Henry the Navigator alone redeems from +historical contempt to the present day. + +The Suffavian dynasty gave place to the Afghan, and that to the +short-lived but wide-spreading empire of Nadir Kooli Khan, from Delhi +to the Oxus River and the Caspian Sea. Out of half a century's bloody +revolutions, such as formed the normal course of the annals of Asia +till Great Britain pushed its 'Peace' up from the Southern Ocean, Aga +Mohammed Khan, of the Kajar clan, founded the present dynasty in 1795. +His still greater nephew succeeded on his death three years after. +Futteh Ali Shah became for the next thirty-eight years the close +friend of the British Crown and the East India Company. Shah-in-Shah, +or king of the four kings of Afghanistan, Georgia, Koordistan, and +Arabistan, the ruler of Persia had now incorporated Arabistan in his +own dominion, and had lost Afghanistan. But he still claimed the +allegiance of the two subject-sovereigns of Georgia and Koordistan. +His uncle had avenged on the people, and especially the beautiful +women of Georgia, the transfer of the country by its Wali to the +Russian Catherine II. Placed in the commanding centre of Western Asia, +Futteh Ali almost immediately found himself the object of eager +competition by the representatives of the Christian powers at Teheran. +His revenue was estimated by so competent an authority as Sir John +Malcolm at nearly six millions sterling. The crown jewels, chief of +them the Sea of Light, or Derya-i-Noor, a diamond weighing 178 carats, +were then the most valuable collection in the world; for though the +Koh-i-Noor had remained with the Afghans, whence through the Sikhs it +came to a greater Shah-in-Shah, the Queen-Empress of Great Britain, he +still possessed not a little of Nadir's plunder of Delhi. + +Sir Robert Ker Porter describes him about the time when Martyn reached +his capital, as 'one blaze of jewels,' at the New Year festival of +Norooz. On his head was a lofty tiara of three elevations, 'entirely +composed of thickly-set diamonds, pearls, rubies, and emeralds, so +exquisitely disposed as to form a mixture of the most beautiful +colours in the brilliant light reflected from its surface. Several +black feathers, like the heron plume, were intermixed with the +resplendent aigrettes of this truly imperial diadem, whose bending +points were furnished with pear-formed pearls of an immense size. The +vesture was of gold tissue nearly covered with a similar disposition +of jewelry; and crossing the shoulders were two strings of pearls, +probably the largest in the world. But for splendour nothing could +exceed the broad bracelets round his arms and the belt which encircled +his waist; they actually blazed like fire when the rays of the sun met +them. The throne was of pure white marble raised a few steps from the +ground, and carpeted with shawls and cloth of gold. While the Great +King was approaching his throne, the whole assembly continued bowing +their heads to the ground till he had taken his place. In the midst +of solemn stillness, while all eyes were fixed on the bright object +before them, which sat indeed as radiant and immovable as the image of +Mithras itself, a sort of volley of words bursting at one impulse from +the mouths of the mollahs and astrologers, made me start, and +interrupted my gaze. This strange oratory was a kind of heraldic +enumeration of the Great King's titles, dominions, and glorious acts. +There was a pause, and then his Majesty spoke. The effect was even +more startling than the sudden bursting forth of the mollahs; for this +was like a voice from the tombs--so deep, so hollow, and, at the same +time, so penetratingly loud.'[47] + +That was the man to whose feet the French Emperor Napoleon and the +Tsar Alexander, King George III. and the greatest Governor-General of +the East India Company, the Marquess Wellesley, sent special +embassies; the man from whom they sought secret treaties, lavishing on +his courtiers more than royal gifts. To arrest the march of the Afghan +invader, who a few years before had reached Lahore on his way to set +up again at Delhi the house of Timour, and in order to foil the secret +embassy sent by Napoleon, who had resolved to give England its +death-blow through India, a young Scotsman, Captain Malcolm, was deputed +to Teheran in 1801, following up a native envoy who had been most +successful just before. This soldier diplomatist, who was afterwards to +help Henry Martyn to a very different success, 'bribed like a king,' and +returned with two treaties, political and commercial, but still more +with the knowledge which fitted him to write his classic history, and +make his second ambassage. For England failed to carry out the first so +far as to help the Shah against Russia, and from that hour Persia has +seen province after province overwhelmed by the wave from the north. + +Taking alarm a second time, just before and after the Peace of Tilsit, +both the Crown and the Company appointed plenipotentiaries to Teheran. +It was Lord Minto's wise policy to protect our Indian empire 'by +binding the Western Frontier States in a chain of friendly alliance.' +Hence the Governor-General's four missions, to Sindh, to Lahore, to +Cabul, and again to Persia under Sir John Malcolm. Sir Harford Jones +appeared as ambassador from the Crown after Malcolm had left Teheran, +and took advantage of a change in the political situation to secure +the preliminary treaty of 1809, which renewed the pledge of its +predecessor to assist the Shah with troops or a subsidy if any +European forces should invade his territories. In a modified form this +became the definitive treaty of March 14, 1812 (further altered in +that of 1814), to arrange which Sir Gore Ouseley was sent out, +superseding both Malcolm and Jones.[48] Sir Gore Ouseley became Henry +Martyn's friend. Commended by Sir John Malcolm to his personal friends +among the Persians, and officially encouraged by the British +plenipotentiary, the Bengal chaplain seeking health had all the +facilities secured to him that were possible to pursue the God-given +mission of the apostle of Christ to the peoples of Persia and Arabia. + +The strong and wise rule of Futteh Ali Shah kept Persia itself at +peace, but he could not get the better of Russian intrigue and attack, +even with the friendly offices of the British Government. Up till +Martyn's arrival these vast regions had been wrested from the +Shah-in-Shah: Georgia, Mingrelia, Daghistan, Sherwan, Karabagh, and +Talish. During his presence in the country the negotiations with +Russia were going on, which ended in 1813 in the Treaty of Gulistan, +surrendering to the Tsar all he had taken, and apparently stopping his +advance by a line of demarcation. But as its exact direction had to be +settled by commissioners Russia has ever since continued steadily to +strip Persia of its northern lands, and only the presence of the +British Navy has kept it as yet out of the Persian Gulf.[49] + +Such were the historical and political conditions amid which the +missionary chaplain of India became a resident in the cities, and a +traveller through the villages of Persia and Turkey at the age of +thirty. He went there as the friend of Malcolm Sahib, whose gracious +dignity and lavish gifts had made him a hero among the officials and +many of the people of Persia. He went with letters of introduction +from the Governor-General of India and the Governor of Bombay to the +new British ambassador, who had lived at Lucknow, and must have known +well of his work in the neighbouring station of Cawnpore. He went with +the reputation of a man of God in the Oriental sense, and of a scholar +who knew the sacred books of Mohammedans and Christians alike, and who +sought the good of the people. The Armenian colonies at Calcutta and +Bombay had commended him to the many members of their Church in +Persia. + +Bushire, or Abu Shahr, at which he began his mission to Persia, is the +port of that province of Fars from which the whole empire takes its +name. Its mixed Persian and Arab population, now numbering some +fifteen thousand, its insanitary position on a spit of sand almost +surrounded by the sea, and the filthy narrow streets hardly redeemed +by the Char Burj or citadel, and the British Residency, do not attract +the visitor, and he soon learns that the humid heat of its climate in +summer is more insupportable than that even of the Red Sea. From +Reshire, close by, in the Anglo-Persian War of 1856-7, General Havelock +shelled the town when he pitched the camp of the force to the south of +its gate. Henry Martyn was there in the worst season of May and June, +when the thermometer rises to 100 deg. in the shade, and sometimes 106 deg. He +became the guest of an English merchant and his Armenian wife, and was +received by the Armenians as a priest of great sanctity. His _Journal_ +describes his receptions and daily occupations. + + _1811, May 23._--Rode out with a party in the evening, or rather + in the afternoon, for the heat of the sun made me ill. + + _May 24._--The Governor called on us; also the Armenian priest. + Received an answer from the ambassador, Sir Gore Ouseley, to a + letter I sent him from Muscat. + + _May 25._--In the evening called with the two Captains, the + Resident, and the Captain of his guard, on the Governor. In + consequence of a letter I brought for him from General Malcolm, + he was very particular in his attentions, seated me on his own + seat, and then sat by my side apart from the rest. I observed + that a Christian was not allowed to enter a mosque; he said, + 'No,--do you wish to hear the prayers?' I said, 'No, but the + preaching, if there is any;' he said there were no preachers + except at Yezd. + + _May 26._ (Sunday.)--The Europeans assembled for Divine service, + which was performed at the Resident's. I preached on 1 Cor. xv.: + 'For He must reign till He hath put all enemies under His feet,' + etc. In the evening I went, at the padre's request, to the + Armenian church. There was the same disagreeable succession of + unmeaning ceremonies and noisy chants as at Bombay. I was + introduced within the rails, and at the time of incense I was + censed, as the padre afterwards desired me to observe, four + times, whereas the laity have the honour done them but once. I + asked the old man what was meant by burning incense. He said it + was in imitation of the Wise Men of the East, who offered + incense to Christ. I told him, Why then do you not offer myrrh + and gold? To this he made no reply. Walking afterwards with him + by the sea-side, I tried to get into a conversation suitable to + our profession as ministers, speaking particularly of the + importance of the charge entrusted to us. Nothing could be more + vapid and mean than his remarks. + + _May 27._--Very ill, from head-ache and overpowering sleepiness, + arising, as I suppose, from a stroke of the sun. As often as I + attempted to read, I fell asleep, and awoke in weakness and + pain. How easily may existence be embittered; still I will say, + 'Not my will, but Thine be done.' In the evening a Jewish + goldsmith called with a fine boy, who read the Hebrew fluently. + Grief has marked the countenance of the Eastern Jews in a way + that makes them indescribably interesting. I could have wept + while looking at them. O Lord, how long? Will Thine anger burn + for ever?--is not justice yet satisfied? This afflicted people + are as much oppressed in Persia as ever. Their women are not + allowed to veil, as all others are required to do; hence, if + there be one more than ordinarily beautiful, she is soon known, + and a khan or the king sends for her, makes her a Mahometan, and + puts her into the harem. As soon as he is tired, she is given to + another, and then to another, till she becomes the property of + the most menial servant; such is the degradation to which the + daughters of Israel are subjected. + + _May 28._--Through the infinite and unmerited goodness of God I + am again restored, and able to do something in the way of + reading. The Resident gave us some account this evening of the + moral state of Persia. It is enough to make one shudder. If God + rained down fire upon Sodom and Gomorrah, how is it that this + nation is not blotted out from under heaven? I do not remember + to have heard such things of the Hindus, except the Sikhs; they + seem to rival the Mahometans. + +For personal comfort and freedom from insult or attack, Henry Martyn, +when in Bushire, ordered the usual wardrobe of a Persian gentleman. He +had suffered his beard and moustachios to vegetate undisturbed since +leaving India, as he wrote to Corrie. In conical Astrakhan cap, baggy +blue trousers, red boots, and light chintz tunic and _chogha_ or +flowing coat, mounted on a riding pony, and followed by his Armenian +servant on a mule, with another mule for his baggage, he set out on +May 30, 1811, for Shiraz. His companion was a British officer. The +party formed a large caravan with some thirty horses and mules, +carrying goods to the ambassador. They marched by night, in the +comparative coolness of 100 deg., to which the thermometer fell from the +noonday heat of 126 deg., when they lay panting in their tents protected +from the scorching dry wind by heavy clothing. The journey of some 170 +miles occupied the first nine days of June. After ninety miles over a +hot sandy plain the traveller rises, by four rocky _kotuls_ or +inclines, so steep as to be called ladders, over the spurs of the +Zagros range into a cooler region at Kaziroon, on the central plateau +of Iran, and then passes through the most delightful valleys, wooded +or clad with verdure, to the capital, Shiraz, surrounded by gardens +and by cemeteries. + + _May 30._--Our Persian dresses being ready, we set off this + evening for Shiraz. Our kafila consisted of about thirty horses + and mules; some carrying things to the ambassador, the rest for + our servants and luggage; the animal for my use was a yaboo or + riding pony, a mule for my trunks, and one for my servant + Zechariah, an Armenian of Ispahan. It was a fine moonlight + night, about ten o'clock, when we marched out of the gate of + Bushire, and began to make our way over the plain. Mr. B., who + accompanied me a little way, soon returned. Captain T. went on, + intending to accompany us to Shiraz. This was the first time we + had any of us put off the European, and the novelty of our + situation supplied us with many subjects for conversation for + about two hours. When we began to flag and grow sleepy, and the + kafila was pretty quiet, one of the muleteers on foot began to + sing: he sang with a voice so plaintive that it was impossible + not to have one's attention arrested. At the end of the first + tune he paused, and nothing was heard but the tinkling of the + bells attached to the necks of the mules; every voice was + hushed. The first line was enough for me, and I dare say it set + many others thinking of their absent friends. 'Without thee my + heart can attach itself to none.' It is what I have often felt + on setting out on a journey. The friends left behind so absorb + the thoughts, that the things by the wayside are seen without + interest, and the conversation of strangers is insipid. But + perhaps the first line, as well as the rest, is only a promise + of fidelity, though I did not take it in that sense when I first + heard it. The following is perhaps the true translation: + + Think not that e'er my heart can dwell + Contented far from thee; + How can the fresh-caught nightingale + Enjoy tranquillity? + + Forsake not then thy friend for aught + That slanderous tongues can say; + The heart that fixes where it ought, + No power can rend away. + + Thus we went on, and as often as the kafila by their dulness and + sleepiness seemed to require it, or perhaps to keep himself + awake, he entertained the company and himself with a song. We + met two or three other kafilas taking advantage of the night to + get on. My loquacious servant Zachary took care to ask every one + whence they came, and by that means sometimes got an answer + which raised a laugh against him. + + _June 1._--At sunrise we came to our ground at Ahmeda, six + parasangs, and pitched our little tent under a tree: it was the + only shelter we could get. At first the heat was not greater + than we had felt it in India, but it soon became so intense as + to be quite alarming. When the thermometer was above 112 deg., fever + heat, I began to lose my strength fast; at last it became quite + intolerable. I wrapped myself up in a blanket and all the warm + covering I could get, to defend myself from the external air; by + which means the moisture was kept a little longer upon the body, + and not so speedily evaporated as when the skin was exposed; + one of my companions followed my example, and found the benefit + of it. But the thermometer still rising, and the moisture of the + body being quite exhausted, I grew restless, and thought I + should have lost my senses. The thermometer at last stood at + 126 deg.: in this state I composed myself, and concluded that though + I might hold out a day or two, death was inevitable. Captain T., + who sat it out, continued to tell the hour, and height of the + thermometer; and with what pleasure did we hear of its sinking + to 120 deg., 118 deg., etc. At last the fierce sun retired, and I crept + out, more dead than alive. It was then a difficulty how I could + proceed on my journey: for besides the immediate effects of the + heat, I had no opportunity of making up for the last night's + want of sleep, and had eaten nothing. However, while they were + loading the mules, I got an hour's sleep, and set out, the + muleteers leading my horse, and Zechariah, my servant, an + Armenian, of Ispahan, doing all in his power to encourage me. + The cool air of the night restored me wonderfully, so that I + arrived at our next _munzil_ with no other derangement than that + occasioned by want of sleep. Expecting another such day as the + former, we began to make preparation the instant we arrived on + the ground. I got a tattie made of the branches of the + date-tree, and a Persian peasant to water it; by this means the + thermometer did not rise higher than 114 deg. But what completely + secured me from the heat was a large wet towel, which I wrapped + round my head and body, muffling up the lower part in clothes. + How could I but be grateful to a gracious Providence, for giving + me so simple a defence against what I am persuaded would have + destroyed my life that day! We took care not to go without + nourishment, as we had done: the neighbouring village supplied + us with curds and milk. At sunset, rising up to go out, a + scorpion fell upon my clothes; not seeing where it fell, I did + not know what it was; but Captain T., pointing it out, gave the + alarm, and I struck it off, and he killed it. The night before + we found a black scorpion in our tent; this made us rather + uneasy; so that though the kafila did not start till midnight, + we got no sleep, fearing we might be visited by another + scorpion. + + _June 2._--We arrived at the foot of the mountains, at a place + where we seemed to have discovered one of Nature's ulcers. A + strong suffocating smell of naphtha announced something more + than ordinarily foul in the neighbourhood. We saw a river:--what + flowed in it, it seemed difficult to say, whether it were water + or green oil; it scarcely moved, and the stones which it laved + it left of a greyish colour, as if its foul touch had given them + the leprosy. Our place of encampment this day was a grove of + date-trees, where the atmosphere, at sunrise, was ten times + hotter than the ambient air. I threw myself down on the burning + ground, and slept; when the tent came up I awoke, as usual, in a + burning fever. All this day I had recourse to the wet towel, + which kept me alive, but would allow of no sleep. It was a + sorrowful Sabbath; but Captain T. read a few hymns, in which I + found great consolation. At nine in the evening we decamped. The + ground and air were so insufferably hot, that I could not travel + without a wet towel round my face and neck. This night, for the + first time, we began to ascend the mountains. The road often + passed so close to the edge of the tremendous precipices, that + one false step of the horse would have plunged his rider into + inevitable destruction. In such circumstances I found it useless + to attempt guiding the animal, and therefore gave him the rein. + These poor animals are so used to journeys of this sort, that + they generally step sure. There was nothing to mark the road but + the rocks being a little more worn in one place than in another. + Sometimes my horse, which led the way, as being the muleteer's, + stopped, as if to consider about the way: for myself, I could + not guess, at such times, where the road lay, but he always + found it. The sublime scenery would have impressed me much, in + other circumstances; but my sleepiness and fatigue rendered me + insensible to everything around me. At last we emerged _superas + ad auras_, not on the top of a mountain to go down again, but to + a plain, or upper world. At the pass, where a cleft in the + mountain admitted us into the plain, was a station of Rahdars. + While they were examining the muleteer's passports, etc., time + was given for the rest of the kafila to come up, and I got a + little sleep for a few minutes. + + _June 4._--We rode briskly over the plain, breathing a purer + air, and soon came in sight of a fair edifice, built by the king + of the country for the refreshment of pilgrims. In this + caravanserai we took our abode for the day. It was more + calculated for Eastern than European travellers, having no means + of keeping out the air and light. We found the thermometer at + 110 deg. At the passes we met a man travelling down to Bushire with + a load of ice, which he willingly disposed of to us. The next + night we ascended another range of mountains, and passed over a + plain, where the cold was so piercing that with all the clothes + we could muster we were shivering. At the end of this plain we + entered a dark valley, contained by two ranges of hills + converging one to another. The muleteer gave notice that he saw + robbers. It proved to be a false alarm; but the place was fitted + to be a retreat for robbers; there being on each side caves and + fastnesses from which they might have killed every man of us. + After ascending another mountain, we descended by a very long + and circuitous route into an extensive valley, where we were + exposed to the sun till eight o'clock. Whether from the sun or + from continued want of sleep, I could not, on my arrival at + Kaziroon, compose myself to sleep; there seemed to be a fire + within my head, my skin like a cinder, and the pulse violent. + Through the day it was again too hot to sleep; though the place + we occupied was a sort of summer-house in a garden of + cypress-trees, exceedingly well fitted up with mats and coloured + glass. Had the kafila gone on that night, I could not have + accompanied it; but it halted there a day, by which means I got + a sort of night's rest, though I awoke twenty times to dip my + burning hand in water. Though Kaziroon is the second greatest + town in Fars, we could get nothing but bread, milk, and eggs, + and those with difficulty. The Governor, who is under great + obligations to the English, heard of our arrival, but sent no + message. + + _June 5._--At ten we left Kaziroon and ascended a mountain: we + then descended from it on the other side into a beautiful + valley, where the opening dawn discovered to us ripe fields of + wheat and barley, with the green oak here and there in the midst + of it. We were reminded of an autumnal morning in England. + Thermometer 62 deg. + + _June 6._--Half-way up the Peergan Mountain we found a + caravanserai. There being no village in the neighbourhood, we + had brought supplies from Kaziroon. My servant Zachary got a + fall from his mule this morning, which much bruised him; he + looked very sorrowful, and had lost much of his garrulity. + + _June 7._--Left the caravanserai at one this morning, and + continued to ascend. The hours we were permitted to rest, the + mosquitoes had effectually prevented me from using, so that I + never felt more miserable and disordered; the cold was very + severe; for fear of falling off, from sleep and numbness, I + walked a good part of the way. We pitched our tent in the vale + of Dustarjan, near a crystal stream, on the banks of which we + observed the clover and golden cup: the whole valley was one + green field, in which large herds of cattle were browsing. The + temperature was about that of spring in England. Here a few + hours' sleep recovered me in some degree from the stupidity in + which I had been for some days. I awoke with a light heart, and + said: 'He knoweth our frame, and remembereth that we are but + dust. He redeemeth our life from destruction, and crowneth us + with loving kindness and tender mercies. He maketh us to lie + down in the green pastures, and leadeth us beside the still + waters.' And when we leave this vale of tears, there is 'no more + sorrow, nor sighing, nor any more pain.' 'The sun shall not + light upon thee, nor any heat; but the Lamb shall lead thee to + living fountains of waters.' + + _June 8._--Went on to a caravanserai, three parasangs, where we + passed the day. At night set out upon our last march for Shiraz. + Sleepiness, my old companion and enemy, again overtook me. I was + in perpetual danger of falling off my horse, till at last I + pushed on to a considerable distance beyond the kafila, planted + my back against a wall, and slept I know not how long, till the + good muleteer came up and gently waked me. + + _June 9._ (Sunday.)--By daylight we found ourselves in the plain + of Shiraz. We went to the halting-place outside the walls of the + city, but found it occupied; however, after some further delay, + we were admitted with our servants into another; as for the + kafila, we saw no more of it. The ambassador, Sir Gore Ouseley, + was encamped near us; Sir William and Major D'Arcy, and Dr. + Sharp, called on us, but I did not see the two first, being + asleep at the time. In the evening we dined with his excellency, + who gave us a general invitation to his table. Returned to our + garden, where we slept. + + _June 10._--Went this morning to Jaffir Ali Khan's, to whom we + had letters from General Malcolm, and with whom we are to take + up our abode. After the long and tedious ceremony of coffee and + _kaleans_ (pipes), breakfast made its appearance on two large + trays: curry, pilaws, various sweets cooled with snow and + perfumed with rose-water, were served in great profusion in + china plates and basins, a few wooden spoons beautifully carved; + but being in a Persian dress, and on the ground, I thought it + high time to throw off the European, and so ate with my hands. + After breakfast Jaffir took me to a summer-house in his garden, + where his brother-in-law met us, for the purpose of a + conversazione. From something I had thrown out at breakfast + about Sabat, and accident, he was curious to know what were our + opinions on these subjects. He then began to explain his own + sentiments on Soofi-ism, of which it appeared he was a + passionate admirer. + + _June 11._--Breakfasted at Anius with some of the Embassy, and + went with them afterwards to a glass-house and pottery. + Afterwards called on Mr. Morier, secretary to the Embassy, Major + D'Arcy, and Sir W. Ouseley. Our host, Jaffir Ali Khan, gave us a + good deal of information this evening, about this country and + government. He used to sit for hours with the king at Teheran + telling him about India and the English. + + _June 12._--Employed about _Journal_, writing letters, reading + _Gulistan_, but excessively indolent. In the morning I enjoyed + much comfort in prayer. What a privilege to have a God to go to, + in such a place, and in such company. To read and pray at + leisure seemed like coming home after being long abroad. Psalm + lxxxix. was a rich repast to me. Why is it not always thus with + me? + +At Shiraz Henry Martyn was in the very heart of old Persia, to which +the eldest son of Shem had given his name, Elam. One of the greatest +of the Shahs, Kareem Khan, made Shiraz his capital, instead of the not +distant Persepolis, which also Martyn visited. The founder of the +present dynasty levelled its walls and desolated its gardens, but the +city of the six gates still dominates the fine valley which no tyrant +could destroy, and has still a pleasing appearance, though its Dewan +Khana has been stripped of the royal pillars to adorn the palace of +the new capital of Teheran. Even Timour respected Shiraz; when red +with the blood of Ispahan, he sent for Hafiz, and asked how the poet +dared to dispose of the Tartar's richest cities, Bokhara and +Samarcand, for the mole on his lady's cheek. 'Can the gifts of Hafiz +ever impoverish Timour?' was the answer; and Shiraz was spared. Kareem +Khan long after built mausoleums over the dust of the Anacreon of +Persia, and over that of Sadi, its Socrates in verse, as Sir Robert +Ker Porter well describes the author of the _Gulistan_, which was +Martyn's daily companion at this time. + +[Illustration: SHIRAZ] + +We have an account of Shiraz[50] and the people of Persia, written six +years before Martyn's visit, by Edward Scott Waring, Esq., of the +Bengal Civil Establishment, who, led by ill-health and curiosity, +followed the same route by Bushire and Kaziroon to the city. He is +sceptical as to those splendours which formed the theme of Hafiz, and +describes the city as 'worth seeing, but not worth going to see.' The +tomb of the poet[51] the Hafizieh garden he found to be of white +marble, on which two of his odes were very beautifully cut; a few +durweshes daily visited the spot and chanted his verses. Mr. George N. +Curzon, M.P.,[52] the latest visitor, contrasts the grave of Hafiz +with that of his contemporary Dante, at Ravenna. Sadi's grave was then +quite neglected; no one had carved on it the beautiful epitaph +(paraphrased by Dryden) which he wrote for himself on the _Bostan_: 'O +passenger! who walkest over my grave, think of the virtuous persons +who have gone before me. What has Sadi to apprehend from being turned +into dust? he was but earth when alive. He will not continue dust +long, for the winds will scatter him over the whole universe.' Yet as +long as the garden of knowledge has blossomed not a nightingale has +warbled so sweetly in it. It would be strange if such a nightingale +should die, and not a rose grow upon its grave. Sir Robert Ker Porter, +twelve years later, found both spots alike neglected. One poet had +written of the garden where Hafiz was buried, 'Paradise does not +boast such lovely banks as those of Rocknabeel, nor such groves as the +high-scented fragrance of the bowers of Mosella.' Another now sadly +writes, 'Though the bowers of love grew on its banks, and the sweet +song of Hafiz kept time with the nightingale and the rose, the summer +is past and all things are changed.' + +Six years after Henry Martyn's residence in Shiraz, Sir Robert Ker +Porter entered the city, which to him, as to every Christian or even +English-speaking man, became thenceforth more identified with this +century's apostle to the Persians than with even Hafiz and Sadi. +'Faint with sickness and fatigue,' he writes,[53] 'I felt a momentary +reviving pleasure in the sight of a hospitable city, and the cheerful +beauty of the view. As I drew near, the image of my exemplary +countryman, Henry Martyn, rose in my thoughts, seeming to sanctify the +shelter to which I was hastening. He had approached Shiraz much about +the same season of the year, A.D. 1811, and like myself was gasping +for life under the double pressure of an inward fire and outward +burning sun. He dwelt there nearly a year, and on leaving its walls +the apostle of Christianity found no cause for shaking off the dust of +his feet against the Mohammedan city. The inhabitants had received, +cherished and listened to him; and he departed thence amidst the +blessings and tears of many a Persian friend. Through his means the +Gospel had then found its way into Persia, and, as it appears to have +been sown in kindly hearts, the gradual effect hereafter may be like +the harvest to the seedling. But, whatever be the issue, the +liberality with which his doctrines were permitted to have been +discussed, and the hospitality with which their promulgation was +received by the learned, the nobles, and persons of all ranks, cannot +but reflect lasting honour on the Government, and command our respect +for the people at large. Besides, to a person who thinks at all on +these subjects, the circumstances of the first correct Persian +translation of the Holy Scriptures being made at Shiraz, and thence +put into the royal hands and disseminated through the empire, cannot +but give an almost prophetic emphasis to the transaction, as arising +from the very native country, Persia Proper, of the founder of the +empire who first bade the temple of Jerusalem be rebuilt, who returned +her sons from captivity, and who was called by name to the Divine +commission.' + +As the guest of Jaffir Ali Khan, now in his house in Shiraz, and now +in his orange summer garden, Henry Martyn gave himself up to the two +absorbing duties of making a new translation of the New Testament into +Persian, assisted by his host's brother-in-law, Mirza Seyd Ali Khan, +and of receiving and, in the Pauline sense, disputing with the learned +Mohammedans of the city and neighbourhood. But all through his inner +life, sanctified by his spiritual experience and intensifying that, +there continued to run the love of Lydia Grenfell. + + TO LYDIA GRENFELL + + Shiraz: June 23, 1811. + + How continually I think of you, and indeed converse with you, it + is impossible to say. But on the Lord's day in particular, I + find you much in my thoughts, because it is on that day that I + look abroad, and take a view of the universal church, of which I + observe that the saints in England form the most conspicuous + part. On that day, too, I indulge myself with a view of the + past, and look over again those happy days, when, in company + with those I loved, I went up to the house of God with a voice + of praise. How then should I fail to remember her who, of all + that are dear to me, is the dearest? It is true that I cannot + look back upon many days, nor even many hours passed with + you--would they had been more--but we have insensibly become + more acquainted with each other, so that, on my part at least, + it may be said that separation has brought us nearer to one + another. It was a momentary interview, but the love is lasting, + everlasting. Whether we ever meet again or not, I am sure that + you will continue to feel an interest in all that befalls me. + + After the death of my dear sister, you bid me consider that I + had one sister left while you remained; and you cannot imagine + how consolatory to my mind this assurance is. To know that there + is one who is willing to think of me, and has leisure to do so, + is soothing to a degree that none can know but those who have, + like me, lost all their relations. + + I sent you a letter from Muscat, in Arabia, which I hope you + received; for if not, report will again erase my name from the + catalogue of the living, as I sent no other to Europe. Let me + here say with praise to our ever-gracious Heavenly Father, that + I am in perfect health; of my spirits I cannot say much; I fancy + they would be better were 'the beloved Persis' by my side. This + name, which I once gave you, occurs to me at this moment, I + suppose, because I am in Persia, entrenched in one of its + valleys, separated from Indian friends by chains of mountains + and a roaring sea, among a people depraved beyond all belief, in + the power of a tyrant guilty of every species of atrocity. + Imagine a pale person seated on a Persian carpet, in a room + without table or chair, with a pair of formidable moustachios, + and habited as a Persian, and you see me. + + _June 26._--Here I expect to remain six months. The reason is + this: I found on my arrival here, that our attempts at Persian + translation in India were good for nothing; at the same time + they proposed, with my assistance, to make a new translation. It + was an offer I could not refuse, as they speak the purest + dialect of the Persian. My host is a man of rank, his name + Jaffir Ali Khan, who tries to make the period of my captivity as + agreeable as possible. His wife--for he has but one--never + appears; parties of young ladies come to see her, but though + they stay days in the house, he dare not go into the room where + they are. Without intending a compliment to your sex, I must say + that the society here, from the exclusion of females, is as dull + as it can well be. Perhaps, however, to a stranger like myself, + the most social circles would be insipid. I am visited by all + the great and the learned; the former come out of respect to my + country, the latter to my profession. The conversation with the + latter is always upon religion, and it would be strange indeed, + if with the armour of truth on the right hand and on the left, I + were not able to combat with success the upholders of such a + system of absurdity and sin. As the Persians are a far more + unprejudiced and inquisitive people than the Indians, and do not + stand quite so much in awe of an Englishman as the timid natives + of Hindustan, I hope they will learn something from me; the hope + of this reconciles me to the necessity imposed on me of staying + here; about the translation I dare not be sanguine. The + prevailing opinion concerning me is, that I have repaired to + Shiraz in order to become a Mussulman. Others, more sagacious, + say that I shall bring from India some more, under pretence of + making them Mussulmans, but in reality to seize the place. They + do not seem to have thought of my wish to have them converted to + my religion; they have been so long accustomed to remain without + proselytes to their own. I shall probably have very little to + write about for some months to come, and therefore I reserve the + extracts of my _Journal_ since I last wrote to you for some + other opportunity; besides that, the ambassador, with whose + despatches this will go, is just leaving Shiraz. + + _July 2._--The Mohammedans now come in such numbers to visit me, + that I am obliged, for the sake of my translation-work, to + decline seeing them. To-day one of the apostate sons of Israel + was brought by a party of them, to prove the Divine mission of + Mohammed from the Hebrew Scriptures, but with all his sophistry + he proved nothing. I can almost say with St. Paul, I feel + continual pity in my heart for them, and love them for their + fathers' sake, and find a pleasure in praying for them. While + speaking of the return of the Jews to Jerusalem, I observed that + the 'Gospel of the kingdom must first be preached in all the + world, and then shall the end come.' He replied with a sneer, + 'And this event, I suppose you mean to say, is beginning to take + place by your bringing the Gospel to Persia.' + + _July 5._--I am so incessantly occupied with visitors and my + work, that I have hardly a moment for myself. I have more and + more reason to rejoice at my being sent here; there is such an + extraordinary stir about religion throughout the city, that some + good must come of it. I sometimes sigh for a little Christian + communion, yet even from these Mohammedans I hear remarks that + do me good. To-day, for instance, my assistant observed, 'How He + loved those twelve persons!' 'Yes,' said I, 'and not those + twelve only, but all those who shall believe in Him, as He said, + "I pray not for them alone, but for all them who shall believe + on me through their word."' Even the enemy is constrained to + wonder at the love of Christ. Shall not the object of it say, + What manner of love is this? I have learned that I may get + letters from England much sooner than by way of India. Be so + good as to direct to me, to the care of Sir Gore Ouseley, Bart., + Ambassador at Teheran, care of J. Morier, Esq., Constantinople, + care of G. Moon, Esq., Malta. I have seen Europe newspapers of + only four months' date, so that I am delightfully near you. May + we live near one another in the unity of the Spirit, having one + Lord, one hope, one God and Father. In your prayers for me pray + that utterance may be given me that I may open my mouth boldly, + to make known the mysteries of the Gospel. I often envy my + Persian hearers the freedom and eloquence with which they speak + to me. Were I but possessed of their powers, I sometimes think + that I should win them all; but the work is God's, and the faith + of His people does not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the + power of God. Remember me as usual with the most unfeigned + affection to all my dear friends. This is now the seventh letter + I send you without having received an answer. Farewell! + + Yours ever most affectionately, + + H. MARTYN. + + + Shiraz: September 8, 1811. + + A courier on his way to the capital affords me the unexpected + pleasure of addressing my most beloved friend. It is now six + months since I left India, and in all that time I have not heard + from thence. The dear friends there, happy in each other's + society, do not enough call to mind my forlorn condition. Here I + am still, beset by cavilling infidels, and making very little + progress in my translation, and half disposed to give it up and + come away. My kind host, to relieve the tedium of being always + within a walled town, pitched a tent for me in a garden a little + distance, and there I lived amidst clusters of grapes, by the + side of a clear stream; but nothing compensates for the loss of + the excellent of the earth. It is my business, however, as you + will say, and ought to be my effort, to make saints, where I + cannot find them. I do use the means in a certain way, but + frigid reasoning with men of perverse minds seldom brings men to + Christ. However, as they require it, I reason, and accordingly + challenged them to prove the Divine mission of their prophet. + In consequence of this, a learned Arabic treatise was written by + one who was considered as the most able man, and put into my + hands; copies of it were also given to the college and the + learned. The writer of it said that if I could give a + satisfactory answer to it he would become a Christian, and at + all events would make my reply as public as I pleased. I did + answer it, and after some faint efforts on his part to defend + himself, he acknowledged the force of my arguments, but was + afraid to let them be generally known. He then began to inquire + about the Gospel, but was not satisfied with my statement. He + required me to prove from the very beginning the Divine mission + of Moses, as well as of Christ; the truth of the Scriptures, + etc. With very little hope that any good will come of it, I am + now employed in drawing out the evidences of the truth; but oh! + that I could converse and reason, and plead with power from on + high. How powerless are the best-directed arguments till the + Holy Ghost renders them effectual. + + A few days ago I was just on the eve of my departure for + Ispahan, as I thought, and my translator had consented to + accompany me as far as Baghdad, but just as we were setting out, + news came that the Persians and Turks were fighting thereabouts, + and that the road was in consequence impassable. I do not know + what the Lord's purpose may be in keeping me here, but I trust + it will be for the furtherance of the Gospel of Christ, and in + that belief I abide contentedly. + + My last letter to you was dated July. I desired you to direct to + me at Teheran. As it is uncertain whether I shall pass anywhere + near there, you had better direct to the care of S. Morier, + Esq., Constantinople, and I can easily get your letters from + thence. + + I am happy to say that I am quite well, indeed, never better; no + returns of pain in the chest since I left India. May I soon + receive the welcome news that you also are well, and prospering + even as your soul prospers. I read your letters incessantly, and + try to find out something new, as I generally do, but I begin to + look with pain at the distant date of the last. I cannot tell + what to think, but I cast all my care upon Him who hath already + done wonders for me, and am sure that, come what will, it shall + be good, it shall be best. How sweet the privilege that we may + lie as little children before Him! I find that my wisdom is + folly and my care useless, so that I try to live on from day to + day, happy in His love and care. May that God who hath loved us, + and given us everlasting consolation and good hope through + grace, bless, love, and keep my ever-dearest friend; and + dwelling in the secret place of the Most High, and abiding under + the shadow of the Almighty, may she enjoy that sweet + tranquillity which the world cannot disturb. Dearest Lydia! pray + for me, and believe me to be ever most faithfully and + affectionately yours, + + H. MARTYN. + + + Shiraz: October 21, 1811. + + It is, I think, about a month since I wrote to you, and so + little has occurred since that I find scarcely anything in my + _Journal_, and nothing worth transcribing. This state of + inactivity is becoming very irksome to me. I cannot get these + Persians to work, and while they are idle I am sitting here to + no purpose. Sabat's laziness used to provoke me excessively, but + Persians I find are as torpid as Arabs when their salary does + not depend on their exertions, and both very inferior to the + feeble Indian, whom they affect to despise. My translator comes + about sunrise, corrects a little, and is off, and I see no more + of him for the day. Meanwhile I sit fretting, or should do so, + as I did at first, were it not for a blessed employment which so + beguiles the tediousness of the day that I hardly perceive it + passing. It is the study of the Psalms in the Hebrew. I have + long had it in contemplation, in the assurance, from the number + of flat and obscure passages that occur in the translations, + that the original has not been hitherto perfectly understood. I + am delighted to find that many of the most unmeaning verses in + the version turn out, on close examination, to contain a direct + reference to the Lord our Saviour. The testimony of Jesus is + indeed the spirit of prophecy. He is never lost sight of. Let + them touch what subject they will, they must always let fall + something about Him. Such should we be, looking always to Him. I + have often attempted the 84th Psalm, endeared to me on many + accounts as you know, but have not yet succeeded. The glorious + 16th Psalm I hope I have mastered. I write with the ardour of a + student communicating his discoveries and describing his + difficulties to a fellow student. + + I think of you incessantly, too much, I fear, sometimes; yet the + recollection of you is generally attended with an exercise of + resignation to His will. In prayer I often feel what you + described five years ago as having felt--a particular pleasure + in viewing you as with me before the Lord, and entreating our + common Father to bless both His children. When I sit and muse my + spirit flies away to you, and attends you at Gurlyn, Penzance, + Plymouth Dock, and sometimes with your brother in London. If you + acknowledge a kindred feeling still, we are not separated; our + spirits have met and blended. I still continue without + intelligence from India; since last January I have heard nothing + of any one person whom I love. My consolation is that the Lord + has you all under His care, and is carrying on His work in the + world by your means, and that when I emerge I shall find that + some progress is made in India especially, the country I now + regard as my own. Persia is in many respects a ripe field for + the harvest. Vast numbers secretly hate and despise the + superstition imposed on them, and as many of them as have heard + the Gospel approve it, but they dare not hazard their lives for + the name of the Lord Jesus. I am sometimes asked whether the + external appearance of Mohammedanism might not be retained with + Christianity, and whether I could not baptize them without their + believing in the Divinity of Christ. I tell them, No. + + Though I have complained above of the inactivity of my + translation, I have reason to bless the Lord that He thus + supplies Gibeonites for the help of His true Israel. They are + employed in a work of the importance of which they are + unconscious, and are making provision for future Persian saints, + whose time is, I suppose, now near. Roll back, ye crowded years, + your thick array! Let the long, long period of darkness and sin + at last give way to the brighter hours of light and liberty, + which wait on the wings of the Sun of Righteousness. Perhaps we + witness the dawn of the day of glory, and if not, the desire + that we feel, that Jesus may be glorified, and the nations + acknowledge His sway, is the earnest of the Spirit, that when He + shall appear we shall also appear with Him in glory. Kind love + to all the saints who are waiting His coming. + + Yours, with true affection, my ever dearest Lydia, + + H. MARTYN. + + It is now determined that we leave Shiraz in a week, and as the + road through Persia is impassable through the commotions which + are always disturbing some part or other of this unhappy + country, I must go back to Bushire. + + My scribe finished the New Testament; in correcting we are no + further than the 13th of Acts. + + _October 24_ to _26_.--Resumed my Hebrew studies; on the two + first days translated the eight first Psalms into Persian, the + last all day long thinking about the word Higgaion in the 9th + Psalm. + + _October 27_ to _29_.--Finished Psalm xii. Reading the 5th of + St. Matthew to Zachariah my servant. Felt awfully convinced of + guilt; how fearlessly do I give way to causeless anger, + speaking contemptuously of men, as if I had never read this + chapter. The Lord deliver me from all my wickedness, and write + His holy law upon my heart, that I may walk circumspectly before + Him all the remaining days of my life. + + _November 1._--Everything was prepared for our journey to + Baghdad by the Persian Gulf, and a large party of Shiraz ladies, + chiefly of Mirza Seid Ali's family, had determined to accompany + us, partly from a wish to visit the tombs, and partly to have + the company of their relations a little longer. But a letter + arriving with the intelligence that Bagdhad was all in + confusion, our kafila separated, and I resolved to go on through + Persia to Armenia, and so to Syria. But the season was too far + advanced for me to think of traversing the regions of Caucasus + just then, so I made up my mind to winter at Shiraz. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[46] _The Three Brothers, or the Travels and Adventures of Sir +Anthony, Sir Robert, and Sir Thomas Sherley in Persia, Russia, Turkey, +Spain, &c._, London, 1825. + +[47] _Travels in Georgia, Persia, Armenia, Ancient Babylonia, &c._, by +Sir Robert Ker Porter, 2 vols., London, 1821. + +[48] Mr. J.C. Marshman, C.S.I., who lived through the history of +India, from Wellesley to Lord Lawrence, and personally knew almost all +its distinguished men, writes in his invaluable History: 'The good +sense of Sir Harford and Colonel Malcolm gradually smoothed down all +asperities, and it was not long before they agreed to unite their +efforts to battle the intrigues and the cupidity of the court. Colonel +Malcolm was received with open arms by the king, who considered him +the first of Englishmen. "What induced you," said he at the first +interview, "to hasten away from Shiraz without seeing my son?" "How +could I," replied the Colonel with his ever ready tact, "after having +been warmed by the sunshine of your Majesty's favour, be satisfied +with the mere reflection of that refulgence in the person of your +son?" "Mashalla!" exclaimed the monarch, "Malcolm Sahib is himself +again." ... Sir Gore Ouseley had acquired the confidence of Lord +Wellesley by the great talents he exhibited when in a private station +at the court of Lucknow, and upon his recommendation was appointed to +Teheran as the representative of the King of England.' The two +embassies cost the East India Company 380,000_l._ + +[49] Sir C.U. Aitchison's _Collection of Treaties, Engagements, and +Sunnuds relating to India and Neighbouring Countries_, 2nd edition, +vol. vi. Calcutta, 1876. + +[50] _A Tour to Sheeraz by the route of Karroon and Feerozabad_, +London, 1807. + +[51] In two splendid volumes, printed by native hands under the +sanction of the Government at Calcutta, in 1891, Lieutenant-Colonel H. +Wilberforce Clarke published an English prose translation of _The +Divan, written in the Fourteenth Century_, by Khwaja Shamshu-d-Din +Muhammad-i-Hafiz. The work is described in the _Quarterly Review_ of +January 1892, by a writer who thus begins: 'About two miles north-west +of Shiraz, in the garden called Mosella which is, being interpreted, +"the place of prayer," lies, beneath the shadow of cypress-trees, one +of which he is said to have planted with his own hand, Shems-Edden +Mohammed, surnamed Hafiz, or "the steadfast in Scripture," poet, +recluse, and mystic.... No other Persian has equalled him in fame--not +Sadi, whose monument, now in ruins, may be visited near his own; nor +Firdusi, nor Jami. Near the garden tomb is laid open the book of well +nigh seven hundred poems which he wrote. According to Sir Gore +Ouseley, who turned over its pages in 1811, it is a volume abounding +in bright and delicate colour, with illuminated miniatures, and the +lovely tints of the Persian caligraphy.' + +[52] _Persia and the Persian Question_, 2 vols. (Longmans), 1892. + +[53] _Travels_, vol. i. pp. 687-8. + + + + +CHAPTER X + +IN PERSIA--CONTROVERSIES WITH MOHAMMEDANS, SOOFIS, AND JEWS + + +Henry Martyn's first week in Persia was enough to lead him to use such +language as this: 'If God rained down fire upon Sodom and Gomorrah, +how is it that this nation is not blotted out from under heaven? I do +not remember to have heard such things of the Hindus, except the +Sikhs; they seem to rival the Mohammedans.' The experienced Bengal +civilian, Mr. E. Scott Waring, had thus summed up his impressions: +'The generality of Persians are sunk in the lowest state of profligacy +and infamy, and they seldom hesitate alluding to crimes which are +abhorred and detested in every civilised country in the universe. +Their virtues consist in being most excellent companions, and in +saying this we say everything which can be advanced in their favour. +The same argument cannot be advanced for them which has been urged in +favour of the Greeks, for they have laws which stigmatise the crimes +they commit.' Every generation seems to have departed farther and +farther from the character of the hero-king, Cyrus. At the present +time, after two visits to Europe by their Shah, the governing class, +the priestly order of Moojtahids, and the people seem to be more +hopelessly corrupt than ever.[54] + +So early as the twelfth century the astronomer-poet of Persia, Omar +Khayyam, of Naishapur, in his few hundred tetrastichs of exquisite +verse which have ever since won the admiration of the world, struck +the note of dreary scepticism and epicurean sensuality, as the Roman +Lucretius had done. His age was one of spiritual darkness, when men +felt their misery, and all the more that they saw no means of +relieving it. The purer creed of Zoroaster had been stamped down but +not rooted out by the illiterate Arab hordes of Mohammed. A cultured +Aryan race could not accept submissively the ignorant fanaticism of +the Semitic sons of the desert. The Arabs destroyed or drove out +ultimately to India the fire-worshippers who had courage to prefer +their faith to the Koran; the mass of the people and their leaders +worked out the superficial Mohammedanism identified with the name and +the sufferings of Ali. The new national religion became more and more +a falsehood, alike misrepresenting the moral facts and the character +and claims of God, and not really believed in by the general +conscience. The few who from time to time arose endowed with spiritual +fervour or poetic fire, found no vent through the popular religion, +and no satisfaction for the aching void of the heart. The loftier +natures ran by an inevitable law of the human mind either into such +self-indulgent despairing scepticism as Omar Khayyam's, or into the +sensual mysticism of Sadi, Jami, and Hafiz, of the whole tribe of +ascetic enthusiasts and impostors, the Soofis, fakeers, and durweshes, +who fill the world of Islam, from the mosques on the Bosporus to the +secret chambers of Persia and Oudh. To all such we may use one of the +few rare tetrastichs which Omar Khayyam was compelled by his higher +nature to write:[55] + + O heart! wert thou pure from the body's dust, + Thou shouldest soar naked spirit above the sky; + Highest heaven is thy native seat--for shame, for shame, + That thou shouldest stoop to dwell in a city of clay! + +We must remember all this when we come to the disputations of Henry +Martyn with the doctors of Shiraz and Persia. They, and some fifteen +millions out of the hundred and eighty millions of Islam in the world, +are Shi'ahs, or 'followers' of Ali, whom, as Mohammed's first cousin +and son-in-law, they accept as his first legitimate imam, kaliph, or +successor; while they treat the _de facto_ kaliphs of the Soonni +Muslims--Abu Bakr, Omar, and Othman--as usurpers. The Persians are in +reality more tolerant of the Christians, the Jews, and even the Majusi +(Magi), or fire-worshippers, all of whom are people of the Book who have +received an inspired revelation, than of their Soonni co-religionists. +The people--though not of course their ruler, who is of Turkish +origin--are more tolerant of new sects, such as that of Babism, and even +their spiritual guides or the more respectable among these are in +expectation of a new leader, the twelfth, the Imam-al-Mahdi, who has +once before been manifested, and has long been waiting secretly for the +final consummation. + +We must also realise the extent to which Soofi-ism had saturated the +upper classes and the Moojtahid order, who sought out Henry Martyn, +and even recognised in him the Divine drunkenness, so that they +always treated him and spoke of him as a _merdi khodai_, a man of God. +The first Soofi--a name taken either from the word for the woollen +dress of the Asiatic or from that for purity--was Ali, according to +the Shi'ahs; but this form of philosophical mysticism, often attended +by carnal excesses through which its devotees express themselves, is +rather Hindu in its origin. The deepest thought of the Asiatic, +without the revelation of Jesus Christ, is for Brahman and Buddhist, +Sikh and Soofi, Hindu and Mohammedan, this absorption into the Divine +Essence, so as to lose all personality and individual consciousness. +That Essence may be the sum total of all things--the materialistic +side; or the spirit underlying matter, the idealistic side, but the +loss of individuality is the ultimate aim. But such absorption can be +finally reached only by works--asceticism, pilgrimage, almsgiving, +meditation--and by cycles of trans-migrations to sublimate the soul +for unconsciousness of all that is objective, and of self itself. +Hafiz is as full of wine and women in his poems as Anacreon or the +worst of the Latin erotic poets; but the Soofis, who revel in his +verses, maintain that they 'profess eager desire with no carnal +affection, and circulate the cup, but no material goblet, since all +things are spiritual in their sect; all is mystery within mystery.' + +What Henry Martyn learned to find, in even his brief experience of the +Aryan Shi'ahs, to whom he offered the love of Christ and through the +Son a personal union with the Father, is best expressed in this +description by the most recent skilled writer on the people, before +referred to: + + Persia is the one purely Mohammedan country which, in the + process of a national revolt against the rigid hide-bound + orthodoxy of Islam, has only succeeded in wrapping more closely + round its national and political life the encircling folds of + that 'manteau commode, sous lequel s'abrite, en se cachant a + peine, tout le passe.' Under the extravagances and fanaticism of + the Shi'ah heresy, the old Zoroastrian faith lives on, + transformed into an outward conformity to the forms of the + Moslem creed, and the product is that grotesque confusion of + faith and fanaticism, mysticism and immorality, rationalism and + superstition, which is the despair and astonishment of all who + have looked beneath the surface of ordinary everyday life in + Persia. Soofi-ism, with its profound mysticism and godless + doctrine, has found a congenial home in Persia, often, indeed, + blossoming into beautiful literary form such as is found in the + _Rubaiy[=a]t_ of Omar Khayyam, or in the delightful pages of the + _Gulistan_ of Sheikh Sadi, or in the poems of Hafiz. + +Soofi-ism is the illegitimate offspring of scepticism and fanaticism. +It is tersely described by one Persian writer as 'a sensual plunging +into the abyss of darkness'; by another as 'a deadly abomination'; and +by a third as 'the part of one who goes raving mad with unlawful +lusts.' Nevertheless, as Professor Kuenen has well observed, the true +Soofi is a Moslem no more. + +All Martyn's experience among the Wahabees of Patna and the Shi'ahs of +Lucknow had fitted him for the discussions which were almost forced +upon him in Persia, for he went there to translate the New Testament +afresh. But he had, in his reading, sought to prepare himself for the +Mohammedan controversy. When coasting round India, he made this entry +in his _Journal_: '_1811, January 28._--Making extracts from Maracci's +_Refutation of Koran_. Felt much false shame at being obliged to +confess my ignorance of many things which I ought to have known.' +Soofi-ism met him the day after he reached Shiraz, on the first visit +of Seyd Ali, brother-in-law of his host, Jaffir Ali Khan. Thus: + + _June 10._--He spoke so indistinctly, and with such volubility, + that I did not well comprehend him, but gathered from his + discourse that we are all parts of the Deity. I observed that we + had not these opinions in Europe, but understood that they were + parts of the Brahmanic system. On my asking him for the + foundation of his opinions, he said the first argument he was + prepared to bring forward was this: God exists, man also exists, + but existence is not twofold, therefore God and man are of the + same nature. The minor I disputed: he defended it with many + words. I replied by objecting the consequences, Is there no + difference between right and wrong? There appeared a difference, + he said, to us, but before God it was nothing. The waves of the + sea are so many aspects and forms, but it is still but one and + the same water. In the outset he spoke with great contempt of + all revelation. 'You know,' said he, 'that in the law and Koran, + etc., it is said, God _created heaven_ and the _earth_,' etc. + Reverting to this, I asked whether these opinions were agreeable + to what the prophets had spoken. Perceiving me to be not quite + philosophical enough for him, he pretended some little reverence + for them, spoke of them as good men, etc., but added that there + was no evidence for their truth but what was traditionary. I + asked whether there was anything unreasonable in God's making a + revelation of His will. He said, No. Whether a miracle for that + purpose was not necessary, at least useful, and therefore + credible? He granted it. Was not evidence from testimony + rational evidence? Yes. Have you then rational evidence for the + religion of Mohammed? He said the division of the moon was + generally brought forward, but he saw no sufficient evidence for + believing it; he mentioned the Koran with some hesitation, as + if conscious that it would not stand as a miracle. I said + eloquence depended upon opinion; it was no miracle for any but + Arabs, and that some one may yet rise up and write better. He + allowed the force of the objection, and said the Persians were + very far from thinking the eloquence of the Koran miraculous, + however the Arabs might think so. The last observation he made + was, that it was impossible not to think well of one by whose + example and instructions others had become great and good; + though therefore little was known of Mohammed, he must have been + something to have formed such men as Ali. Here the conversation + ceased. I told them in the course of our conversation that, + according to our histories, the law and Gospel had been + translated into Persian before the time of Mohammed. He said + they were not to be found, because Omar in his ignorant zeal had + probably destroyed them. He spoke with great contempt of the + 'Arab asses.' + + _June 13._--Seyd Ali breakfasted with us. Looking at one of the + plates in Hutton's _Mathematical Dictionary_, where there was a + figure of a fountain produced by the rarefaction of the air, he + inquired into the principle of it, which I explained; he + disputed the principle, and argued for the exploded idea that + nature abhors a vacuum. We soon got upon religion again. I + showed him some verses in the Koran in which Mohammed disclaims + the power of working miracles. He could not reply. We talked + again on the evidence of testimony. The oldest book written by a + Mohammedan was the sermons of Ali. Allowing these sermons to be + really his, I objected to his testimony for Mohammed, because he + was interested in the support of that religion. I asked him the + meaning of a contested passage; he gave the usual explanation; + but as soon as the servants were gone he turned round and said, + 'It is only to make a rhyme.' This conversation seemed to be + attended with good. Our amiable host, Jaffir Ali, Mirza Jan, and + Seyd Ali seemed to be delighted with my arguments against + Mohammedanism, and did not at last evince a wish to defend it. + In the evening Jaffir Ali came and talked most agreeably on + religious subjects, respecting the obvious tendency of piety and + impiety, and the end to which they would lead in a future world. + One of his remarks was, 'If I am in love with any one, I shall + dream of her at night; her image will meet me in my sleep. Now + death is but a sleep; if therefore I love God, or Christ, when I + fall asleep in death I shall meet Him, so also if I love Satan + or his works.' He could wish, he said, if he had not a wife and + children, to go and live on the top of a mountain, so disgusted + was he with the world and its concerns. I told him this was the + first suggestion in the minds of devotees in all religions, but + that in reality it was not the way to escape the pollution of + the world, because a man's wicked heart will go with him to the + top of a mountain. It is the grace of God changing the heart + which will alone raise us above the world. Christ commands His + people to 'abide in Him'; this is the secret source of + fruitfulness, without which they are as branches cut off from + the tree. He asked whether there was no mention of a prophet's + coming after Christ. I said, No. 'Why then,' said he, 'was any + mention made of Ahmed in the Koran?' He said, 'One day an + English gentleman said to me, "I believe that Christ was no + better than myself." "Why then," said I, "you are worse than a + Mohammedan."' + + _June 24._--Went early this morning to the Jewish synagogue with + Jaffir Ali Khan. At the sight of a Mohammedan of such rank, the + chief person stopped the service and came to the door to bring + us in. He then showed us the little room where the copies of the + law were kept. He said there were no old ones but at Baghdad and + Jerusalem; he had a printed copy with the Targum, printed at + Leghorn. The only European letters in it were the words 'con + approbazione,' of which he was anxious to know the meaning. The + congregation consisted chiefly of little boys, most of whom had + the Psalter. I felt much distressed that the worship of the God + of Israel was not there, and therefore I did not ask many + questions. When he found I could read Hebrew, he was very + curious to know who I might be, and asked my name. I told him + Abdool Museeh, in hopes that he would ask more, but he did not, + setting me down, I suppose, as a Mohammedan. + + _June 25._--Every day I hear stories of these bloody Tartars. + They allow no Christian, not even a Soonni, to enter their + country, except in very particular cases, such as merchants with + a pass; but never allow one to return to Persia if they catch + him. They argue, 'If we suffer this creature to go back, he will + become the father of other infidels, and thus infidelity will + spread: so, for the sake of God and His prophet, let us kill + him.' About 150 years ago the men of Bokhara made an insidious + attempt to obtain a confession from the people of Mushed that + they were Shi'ahs. Their moulvies begged to know what evidence + they had for the Khaliphat of Ali. But the men of Mushed, aware + of their purpose, said, 'We Shi'ahs! no, we acknowledge thee for + friends.' But the moollahs of Bokhara were not satisfied with + this confession, and three of them deliberated together on what + ought to be done. One said: 'It is all hypocrisy; they must be + killed.' The other said: 'No, if all be killed we shall kill + some Soonnis.' The third said: 'If any can prove that their + ancestors have ever been Soonnis they shall be saved, but not + else.' Another rejoined that, from being so long with Shi'ahs, + their faith could not be pure, and so it was better to kill + them. To this another agreed, observing that though it was no + sin before men to let them live, he who spared them must be + answerable for it to God. When the three bloody inquisitors had + determined on the destruction of the Shi'ah city, they gave the + signal, and 150,000 Tartars marched down and put all to the + sword. + + _June 26._--We were to-day, according to our expectation, just + about setting off for Ispahan, when, Mirza Ibrahim returning, + gave us information that the Tartars and Koords had made an + irruption into Persia, and that the whole Persian army was on + its march to Kermanshah to meet them. Thus our road is + impassable. I wrote instantly to the ambassador, to know what he + would advise, and the minister sent off an express with it. + Mirza Ibrahim, after reading my answer, had nothing to reply, + but made such a remark as I did not expect from a man of his + character, namely, that _he_ was sufficiently satisfied the + Koran was a miracle, though he had failed to convince me. Thus + my labour is lost, except it be with the Lord. I have now lost + all hope of ever convincing Mohammedans by argument. The most + rational, learned, unprejudiced, charitable men confessedly in + the whole town cannot escape from the delusion. I know not what + to do but to pray for them. I had some warm conversation with + Seyd Ali on his infidelity. I asked him what he wanted. Was + there any one thing on earth, of the same antiquity, as well + attested as the miracles, etc., of Christianity? He confessed + not, but he did not know the reason he could not believe: + perhaps it was levity and the love of the world, or the power of + Satan, but he had no faith at all. He could not believe even in + a future state. He asked at the end, 'Why all this earnestness?' + I said, 'For fear you should remain in hell for ever.' He was + affected, and said no more. + + _June 27._--The Prime Minister sent me, as a present, four + mules-load of melons from Kaziroon. Seyd Ali reading the 2nd + chapter of St. Matthew, where the star is said to go before the + wise men, asked: 'Then what do you say to that, after what you + were proving yesterday about the stars?' I said: 'It was not + necessary to suppose it was one of those heavenly bodies; any + meteor that had the appearance of a star was sufficient for the + purpose, and equally miraculous.' 'Then why call it a star?' + 'Because the magi called it so, for this account was undoubtedly + received from them. Philosophers still talk of a falling star, + though every one knows that it is not a star.' + + _September 2_ to _6_.--At Mirza Ibrahim's request we are + employed in making out a proof of the Divine mission of Moses + and Jesus. He fancies that my arguments against Mohammedanism + are equally applicable against these two, and that as I + triumphed when acting on the offensive, I shall be as weak as he + when I act on the defensive. + + _September 7_ to _11_.--Employed much the same; daily disputes + with Jaffir Ali Khan about the Trinity; if they may be called + disputes in which I bring forward no arguments, but calmly refer + them to the Holy Scriptures. They distress and perplex + themselves without measure, and I enjoy a peace, as respects + these matters, which passeth understanding. There is no passage + that so frequently occurs to me now as this: 'They shall be all + taught of God, and great shall be the peace of thy children.' I + have this testimony that I have been taught of God. + + _1812, January 19._--Aga Baba coming in while we were + translating, Mirza Seyd Ali told him he had been all the day + decrying the law. It is a favourite tenet of the Soofis, that we + should be subject to no law. Aga Baba said that if Christ, while + He removed the old law, had also forborne to bring in His new + way, He would have done still better. I was surprised as well as + shocked at such a remark from him, but said nothing. The poor + man, not knowing how to exist without amusement, then turned to + a game at chess. How pitiable is the state of fallen man! + Wretched, and yet he will not listen to any proposals of relief: + stupidly ignorant, yet too wise to submit to learn anything from + God. I have often wondered to see how the merest dunce thinks + himself qualified to condemn and ridicule revealed religion. + These Soofis pretend too to be latitudinarians, assigning + idolaters the same rank as others in nearness to God, yet they + have all in their turn spoken contemptuously of the Gospel. + Perhaps because it is so decisively exclusive. I begin now to + have some notion of Soofi-ism. The principle is this: + Notwithstanding the good and evil, pleasure and pain that is in + the world, God is not affected by it. He is perfectly happy with + it all; if therefore we can become like God we shall also be + perfectly happy in every possible condition. This, therefore, is + salvation. + + _January 21._--Aga Boozong, the most magisterial of the Soofis, + stayed most of the day with Mirza Seyd Ali and Jaffir Ali Khan + in my room. His speech as usual--all things are only so many + forms of God; paint as many figures as you will on a wall, it is + still but the same wall. Tired of constantly hearing this same + vapid truism, I asked him, 'What then? With the reality of + things we have nothing to do, as we know nothing about them.' + These forms, if he will have it that they are but forms, affect + us with pleasure and pain, just as if they were more real. He + said we were at present in a dream; in a dream we think + visionary things real--when we wake we discover the delusion. I + asked him how did he know but that this dream might continue for + ever. But he was not at all disposed to answer objections, and + was rather vexed at my proposing them. So I let him alone to + dissent as he pleased. Mirza Seyd Ali read him some verses of + St. Paul, which he condescended to praise, but in such a way as + to be more offensive to me than if he had treated it with + contempt. He repeated again how much he was pleased with the + sentiments of Paul, as if his being pleased with them would be a + matter of exultation to me. He said they were excellent precepts + for the people of the world. The parts Mirza Seyd Ali read were + Titus iii. and Hebrews viii. On the latter Mirza Seyd Ali + observed that he (Paul) had not written ill, but something like + a good reasoner. Thus they sit in judgment on God's Word, never + dreaming that they are to be judged by it. On the contrary, they + regard the best parts, as they call them, as approaching only + towards the heights of Soofi-ism. Aga Boozong finally observed + that as for the Gospels he had not seen much in them, but the + Epistles he was persuaded would make the book soon well known. + There is another circumstance that gained Paul importance in the + eyes of Mirza Seyd Ali, which is, that he speaks of Mark and + Luke as his servants. + + _January 24._--Found Seyd Ali rather serious this evening. He + said he did not know what to do to have his mind made up about + religion. Of all the religions Christ's was the best, but + whether to prefer this to Soofi-ism he could not tell. In these + doubts he was tossed to and fro, and is often kept awake the + whole night in tears. He and his brother talk together on these + things till they are almost crazed. Before he was engaged in + this work of translation, he says, he used to read about two or + three hours a day; now he can do nothing else; has no + inclination for anything else, and feels unhappy if he does not + correct his daily portion. His late employment has given a new + turn to his thoughts as well as to those of his friends; they + had not the most distant conception of the contents of the New + Testament. He says his Soofi friends are exceedingly anxious to + see the Epistles, from the accounts he gives of them, and also + he is sure that almost the whole of Shiraz are so sensible of + the load of unmeaning ceremonies in which their religion + consists, that they will rejoice to see or hear of anything like + freedom, and that they would be more willing to embrace Christ + than the Soofis, who, after taking so much pains to be + independent of all law, would think it degrading to submit + themselves to any law again, however light. + + _February 4._--Mirza Seyd Ali, who has been enjoying himself in + idleness and dissipation these two days instead of translating, + returned full of evil and opposition to the Gospel. While + translating 2 Peter iii., 'Scoffers ... saying, Where is the + promise of his coming?' he began to ask 'Well, they are in the + right; where are any of His promises fulfilled?' I said the + heathen nations have been given to Christ for an inheritance. + He said No; it might be more truly said that they are given to + Mohammed, for what are the Christian nations compared with + Arabia, Persia, India, Tartary, etc.? I set in opposition all + Europe, Russia, Armenia, and the Christians in the Mohammedan + countries. He added, at one time when the Abbasides carried + their arms to Spain, the Christian name was almost extinct. I + rejoined, however, that he was not yet come to the end of + things, that Mohammedanism was in itself rather a species of + heretical Christianity, for many professing Christians denied + the Divinity of our Lord, and treated the Atonement as a fable. + 'They do right,' said he; 'it is contrary to reason that one + person should be an atonement for all the rest. How do you prove + it? it is nowhere said in the Gospels. Christ said He was sent + only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.' I urged the + authority of the Apostles, founded upon His word, 'Whatsoever ye + shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatsoever ye + shall loose on earth,' etc. 'Why, what are we to think of them,' + said he, 'when we see Paul and Barnabas quarrelling; Peter + acting the hypocrite, sometimes eating with the Gentiles, and + then withdrawing from fear; and again, all the Apostles, not + knowing what to do about the circumcision of the Gentiles, and + disputing among themselves about it?' I answered, 'The + infirmities of the Apostles have nothing to do with their + authority. It is not everything they do that we are commanded to + imitate, nor everything they might say in private, if we knew + it, that we are obliged to attend to, but the commands they + leave for the Church; and here there is no difference among + them. As for the discussions about circumcision, it does not at + all appear that the Apostles themselves were divided in their + opinions about it; the difficulty seems to have been started by + those believers who had been Pharisees.' 'Can you give me a + proof,' said he, 'of Christianity, that I may either believe, or + be left without excuse if I do not believe--a proof like that of + one of the theorems of Euclid?' I said it is not to be + expected, but enough may be shown to leave every man + inexcusable. 'Well,' said he, 'though this is only probability, + I shall be glad of that.' 'As soon as our Testament is + finished,' I replied, 'we will, if you please, set about our + third treatise, in which, if I fail to convince you, I can at + least state the reasons why I believed.' 'You had better,' said + he, 'begin with Soofi-ism, and show that that is + absurd'--meaning, I suppose, that I should premise something + about the _necessity_ of revelation. After a little pause, 'I + suppose,' said he, 'you think it sinful to sport with the + characters of those holy men?' I said I had no objection to hear + all their objections and sentiments, but I could not bear + anything spoken disrespectfully of the Lord Jesus; 'and yet + there is not one of your Soofis,' I added, 'but has said + something against Him. Even your master, Mirza Abul Kasim, + though he knows nothing of the Gospel or law, and has not even + seen them, presumed to say that Moses, Christ, Mohammed, etc., + were all alike. I did not act in this way. In India I made every + inquiry, both about Hinduism and Mohammedanism. I read the Koran + through twice. On my first arrival here I made it my business to + ask for your proofs, so that if I condemned and rejected it, it + was not without consideration. Your master, therefore, spoke + rather precipitately.' He did not attempt to defend him, but + said, 'You never heard _me_ speak lightly of Jesus.' 'No; there + is something so awfully pure about Him that nothing is to be + said.' + + _March 18._--Sat a good part of the day with Abul Kasim, the + Soofi sage, Mirza Seyd Ali, and Aga Mohammed Hasan, who begins + to be a disciple of the old man's. On my expressing a wish to + see the Indian book, it was proposed to send for it, which they + did, and then read it aloud. The stoicism of it I controverted, + and said that the entire annihilation of the passions, which the + stupid Brahman described as perfection, was absurd. On my + continuing to treat other parts of the book with contempt, the + old man was a little roused, and said that this was the way that + pleased them, and my way pleased me. That thus God provided + something for the tastes of all, and as the master of a feast + provides a great variety, some eat _pilao_, others prefer + _kubab_, etc. On my again remarking afterwards how useless all + these descriptions of perfection were, since no rules were given + for attaining it, the old man asked what in my opinion was the + way. I said we all agreed in one point, namely, that union with + God was perfection; that in order to that we must receive the + Spirit of God, which Spirit was promised on condition of + believing in Jesus. There was a good deal of disputing about + Jesus, His being exclusively the visible God. Nothing came of it + apparently, but that Mirza Seyd Ali afterwards said, 'There is + no getting at anything like truth or certainty. We know nothing + at all; you are in the right, who simply believe because Jesus + had said so.' + + _March 22._--These two days I have been thinking from morning to + night about the Incarnation; considering if I could represent it + in such a way as to obviate in any degree the prejudices of the + Mohammedans; not that I wished to make it appear altogether + agreeable to reason, but I wanted to give a consistent account + of the nature and uses of this doctrine, as they are found in + the different parts of the Holy Scriptures. One thing implied + another to such an extent that I thought necessarily of the + nature of life, death, spirit, soul, animal nature, state of + separate spirits, personality, the person of Christ, etc., that + I was quite worn out with fruitless thought. Towards evening + Carapiet with another Armenian came and conversed on several + points of theology, such as whether the fire of hell were + literally fire or only remorse, whether the Spirit proceeded + from the Father and the Son, or from the Father only, and how we + are to reconcile those two texts, that 'for every idle word that + men shall speak,' etc., with the promises of salvation through + faith? Happening to speak in praise of some person who practised + needless austerities, I tried to make him understand that this + was not the way of the Gospel. He urged these texts--'Blessed + are they that mourn,' 'Blessed are ye that weep now,' etc. While + we were discussing this point, Mohammed Jaffir, who on a former + occasion had conversed with me a good deal about the Gospel, + came in. I told him the question before us was an important one, + namely, how the love of sin was to be got out of the heart. The + Armenian proceeded, 'If I wish to go to a dancing or drinking, I + must deny myself.' Whether he meant to say that this was + sufficient I do not know, but the Mohammedan understanding him + so, replied that he had read yesterday in the Gospel, 'that + whosoever looketh upon a woman,' etc., from which he inferred + that obedience of the heart was requisite. This he expressed + with such propriety and gracefulness, that, added to the + circumstance of his having been reading the Gospel, I was quite + delighted, and thought with pleasure of the day when the Gospel + should be preached by Persians. After the Armenians were gone we + considered the doctrines of the Soofis a little. Finding me not + much averse to what he thought some of their most exceptionable + tenets, such as union with God, he brought this argument: 'You + will allow that God cannot bind, compel, command Himself.' 'No, + He cannot.' 'Well, if we are one with God, we cannot be subject + to any of His laws.' I replied: 'Our union with God is such an + union as exists between the members of a body. Notwithstanding + the union of the hand with the heart and head, it is still + subject to the influence and control of the ruling power in the + person.' We had a great deal of conversation afterwards on the + Incarnation. All his Mohammedan prejudices revolted. 'Sir, what + do you talk of? the self-existent become contained in space, and + suffer need!' I told him that it was the manhood of Christ that + suffered need, and as for the essence of the Deity, if he would + tell me anything about it, where or how it was, I would tell + him how the Godhead was in Christ. After an effort or two he + found that every term he used implied our frightful doctrine, + namely, personality, locality, etc. This is a thought that is + now much in my mind--that it is so ordered that, since men never + can speak of God but through the medium of language, which is + all material, nor think of God but through the medium of + material objects, they do unwillingly come to God through the + Word, and think of God by means of an Incarnation. + + _March 28._--The same person came again, and we talked + incessantly for four hours upon the evidences of the two + religions, the Trinity, Incarnation, etc., until I was quite + exhausted, and felt the pain in my breast which I used to have + in India. + + _April 7._--Observing a party of ten or a dozen poor Jews with + their priest in the garden, I attacked them, and disputed a + little with the Levite on Psalms ii., xvi. and xxiv. They were + utterly unacquainted with Jesus, and were surprised at what I + told them of His Resurrection and Ascension. The priest abruptly + broke off the conversation, told me he would call and talk with + me in my room, and carried away his flock. Reading afterwards + the story of Joseph and his brethren, I was much struck with the + exact correspondence between the type and antitype. Jesus will + at last make Himself known to His brethren, and then they will + find that they have been unknowingly worshipping Him while + worshipping the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel. + + _April 8._--The Prince dining to-day at a house on the side of a + hill, which commands a view of the town, issued an order for all + the inhabitants to exhibit fireworks for his amusement, or at + least to make bonfires on the roofs of their houses, under + penalty of five tomans in case of neglect. Accordingly fire was + flaming in all directions, enough to have laid any city in + Europe in ashes. One man fell off a roof and was killed, and two + others in the same way were so hurt that their lives were + despaired of, and a woman lost an eye by the stick of a + sky-rocket. + + _July 9._--Made an extraordinary effort, and as a Tartar was + going off instantly to Constantinople, wrote letters to Mr. + Grant for permission to come to England, and to Mr. Simeon and + Lydia, informing them of it; but I have scarcely the remotest + expectation of seeing it, except by looking at the Almighty + power of God. + + Dined at night at the ambassador's, who said he was determined + to give every possible _eclat_ to my book, by presenting it + himself to the King. My fever never ceased to rage till the + 21st, during all which time every effort was made to subdue it, + till I had lost all my strength and almost all my reason. They + now administer bark, and it may please God to bless the tonics; + but I seem too far gone, and can only say, 'Having a desire to + depart and be with Christ, which is far better.' + + TO REV. D. CORRIE + + Shiraz: September 12, 1811. + + Dearest Brother,--I can hardly conceive, or at least am not + willing to believe, that you would forget me six successive + months; I conclude, therefore, that you must have written, + though I have not seen your handwriting since I left Calcutta. + + The Persian translation goes on but slowly. I and my translator + have been engaged in a controversy with his uncle, which has + left us little leisure for anything else. As there is nothing at + all in this dull place to take the attention of the people, no + trade, manufactures, or news, every event at all novel is + interesting to them. You may conceive, therefore, what a strong + sensation was produced by the stab I aimed at the vitals of + Mohammed. Before five people had seen what I wrote, defences of + Islam swarmed into ephemeral being from all the moulvi maggots + of the place, but the more judicious men were ashamed to let me + see them. One moollah, called Aga Akbar, was determined to + distinguish himself. He wrote with great acrimony on the margin + of my pamphlet, but passion had blinded his reason, so that he + smote the wind. One day I was on a visit of ceremony to the + Prime Minister, and sitting in great state by his side, fifty + visitors in the same hall, and five hundred clients without, + when who should make his appearance but my tetric adversary, the + said Aga Akbar, who came for the express purpose of presenting + the Minister with a piece he had composed in defence of the + prophet, and then sitting down told me he should present me with + a copy that day. 'There are four answers,' said he, 'to your + objection against his using the sword.' 'Very well,' said I, 'I + shall be glad to see them, though I made no such objection.' + Eager to display his attainments in all branches of science, he + proceeded to call in question the truth of our European + philosophy, and commanded me to show that the earth moved, and + not the sun. I told him that in matters of religion, where the + salvation of men was concerned, I would give up nothing to them, + but as for points in philosophy they might have it all their own + way. This was not what he wanted; so after looking at the + Minister, to know if it was not a breach of good manners to + dispute at such a time, and finding that there was nothing + contrary to custom, but that, on the contrary, he rather + expected an answer, I began, but soon found that he could + comprehend nothing without diagrams. A moonshi in waiting was + ordered to produce his implements, so there was I, drawing + figures, while hundreds of men were looking on in silence. + + But all my trouble was in vain--the moollah knew nothing + whatever of mathematics, and therefore could not understand my + proofs. The Persians are far more curious and clever than the + Indians. Wherever I go they ask me questions in philosophy, and + are astonished that I do not know everything. One asked me the + reason of the properties of the magnet. I told him I knew + nothing about it. 'But what do your learned men say?' '_They_ + know nothing about it.' This he did not at all credit. + + I do not find myself improving in Persian; indeed, I take no + pains to speak it well, not perceiving it to be of much + consequence. India is the land where we can act at present with + most effect. It is true that the Persians are more susceptible, + but the terrors of an inquisition are always hanging over them. + I can now conceive no greater happiness than to be settled for + life in India, superintending native schools, as we did at Patna + and Chunar. To preach so as to be readily understood by the poor + is a difficulty that appears to me almost insuperable, besides + that grown-up people are seldom converted. However, why should + we despair? If I live to see India again, I shall set to and + learn Hindi in order to preach. The day may come when even our + word may be with the Holy Ghost and with power. It is now almost + a year since I left Cawnpore, and my journey is but beginning: + when shall I ever get back again? I am often tempted to get away + from this prison, but again I recollect that some years hence I + shall say: 'When I was at Shiraz why did not I get the New + Testament done? What difference would a few months have made?' + In August I passed some days at a vineyard, about a parasang + from the city, where my host pitched a tent for me, but it was + so cold at night that I was glad to get back to the city again. + Though I occupy a room in his house, I provide for myself. + Victuals are cheap enough, especially fruit; the grapes, pears, + and water-melons are delicious; indeed, such a country for fruit + I had no conception of. I have a fine horse which I bought for + less than a hundred rupees, on which I ride every morning round + the walls. My vain servant, Zechariah, anxious that his master + should appear like an ameer, furnished him (_i.e._ the horse) + with a saddle, or rather a pillion, which fairly covers his + whole back; it has all the colours of the rainbow, but yellow is + predominant, and from it hang down four large tassels, also + yellow. But all my finery does not defend me from the boys. Some + cry out, 'Ho, Russ!' others cry out, 'Feringhi!' One day a + brickbat was flung at me, and hit me in the hip with such force + that I felt it quite a providential escape. Most of the day I am + about the translation, sometimes, at a leisure hour, trying at + Isaiah, in order to get help from the Persian Jews. My Hebrew + reveries have quite disappeared, merely for want of leisure. I + forgot to say that I have been to visit the ruins of Persepolis, + but this, with many other things, must be reserved for a hot + afternoon at Cawnpore. + + What would I give for a few lines from you, to say how the men + come on, and whether their numbers are increasing, whether you + meet the Sherwoods at the evening repast, as when I was there! + My kindest love to them, your sister, and all that love us in + the truth. May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your + spirit, and with your faithful and affectionate brother, + + H. MARTYN. + +The Secretary to the British Embassy to Persia, and afterwards himself +Minister Plenipotentiary to its Court, Mr. James Morier, has given us +a notable sketch of Henry Martyn as a controversialist for Christ, and +of the impression that he made on the officials, priests, and people +of all classes. As the author of the _Adventures of Hajji Baba of +Ispahan_ and other life-like tales of the East, and as an accomplished +traveller, the father of the present Ambassador to St. Petersburg is +the first authority on such a subject. In his _Second Journey through +Persia, Armenia, and Asia Minor to Constantinople_[56] he thus writes: + + The Persians, who were struck with his humility, his patience + and resignation, called him a _merdi khodai_, a man of God, and + indeed every action of his life seemed to be bent towards the + one object of advancing the interest of the Christian religion. + When he was living at Shiraz, employed in his translation, he + neither sought nor shunned the society of the natives, many of + whom constantly drew him into arguments about religion, with the + intention of persuading him of the truth and excellence of + theirs. His answers were such as to stimulate them to further + arguments, and in spite of their pride the principal moollahs, + who had heard of his reputation, paid him the first visit, and + endeavoured in every way to entangle him in his talk. At length + he thought that the best mode of silencing them was by writing a + reply to the arguments which they brought against our belief and + in favour of their own. His tract was circulated through + different parts of Persia, and was sent from hand to hand to be + answered. At length it made its way to the King's court, and a + moollah of high consideration, who resided at Hamadan, and who + was esteemed one of the best controversialists in the country, + was ordered to answer it. After the lapse of more than a year he + did answer it, but such were the strong positions taken by Mr. + Martyn that the Persians themselves were ashamed of the futility + of their own attempts to break them down: for, after they had + sent their answer to the ambassador, they requested that it + might be returned to them again, as another answer was preparing + to be given. Such answer has never yet been given; and we may + infer from this circumstance that if, in addition to the + Scriptures, some plain treatises of the evidences of + Christianity, accompanied by strictures upon the falseness of + the doctrines of Mohammed, were translated into Persian and + disseminated throughout that country, very favourable effects + would be produced. Mr. Martyn caused a copy of his translation + to be beautifully written, and to be presented by the ambassador + to the King, who was pleased to receive it very graciously. A + copy of it was made by Mirza Baba, a Persian who gave us lessons + in the Persian language, and he said that many of his countrymen + asked his permission to take Mr. Martyn's translation to their + homes, where they kept it for several days, and expressed + themselves much edified by its contents. But whilst he was + employed in copying it, moollahs (the Persian scribes) used + frequently to sit with him and revile him for undertaking such a + work. On reading the passage where our Saviour is called 'the + Lamb of God,' they scorned and ridiculed the simile, as if + exulting in the superior designation of Ali, who is called + _Sheer_ Khodai, the Lion of God. Mirza Baba observed to them: + 'The lion is an unclean beast; it preys upon carcases, and you + are not allowed to wear its skin because it is impure; it is + destructive, fierce, and man's enemy. The lamb, on the contrary, + is in every way _halal_ or lawful. You eat its flesh, you wear + its skin on your head, it does no harm, and is an animal + beloved. Whether is it best, then, to say the Lamb of God, or + the Lion of God?' + +Henry Martyn had not been two months in Shiraz when, as his attendant +expressed it, he became the town-talk. The populace believed that he +had come to declare himself a Mussulman, and would then bring five +thousand men to the city and take possession of it. Dissatisfied with +their own government, many Mohammedans began to desire English rule, +such as was making India peaceful and prosperous, and as was supposed +to enrich all who enjoyed it. Jewish perverts to Islam crowded to the +garden, where at all times, even on Sunday, the saintly visitor was +accessible. Armenians spoke to him with a freedom they dared not show +in conversation with others. From Baghdad to Busrah, and from Bushire +to Ispahan and even Etchmiatzin, visitors crowded to talk with the +wonderful scholar and holy man. Thus on July 6 he was presented by Sir +Gore Ouseley to the Governor, Prince Abbas Mirza. + + Early this morning I went with the ambassador and his suite to + court, wearing, agreeably to custom, a pair of red cloth + stockings, with green high-heeled shoes. When we entered the + great court of the palace a hundred fountains began to play. The + prince appeared at the opposite side, in his talar, or hall of + audience, seated on the ground. Here our first bow was made. + When we came in sight of him we bowed a second time, and entered + the room. He did not rise, nor take notice of any but the + ambassador, with whom he conversed at the distance of the + breadth of the room. Two of his ministers stood in front of the + hall outside; the ambassador's mihmander, and the master of the + ceremonies, within at the door. We sat down in order, in a line + with the ambassador, with our hats on. I never saw a more sweet + and engaging countenance than the prince's; there was such an + appearance of good nature and humility in all his demeanour, + that I could scarcely bring myself to believe that he would be + guilty of anything cruel or tyrannical. + + Mahommed Shareef Khan, one of the most renowned of the Persian + generals, having served the present royal family for four + generations, called to see me, out of respect to General + Malcolm. An Armenian priest also, on his way from Busrah to + Ispahan; he was as ignorant as the rest of his brethren. To my + surprise I found that he was of the Latin Church, and read the + service in Latin, though he confessed he knew nothing about the + language. + +The first of Henry Martyn's public controversies with the Shi'ah +doctors, as distinguished from the almost daily discussions already +described in his _Journal_, took place in the house of the Moojtahid +of Shiraz on July 15, 1811. The doctrine of Jesus, represented by +such a follower, was beginning so to tell on Shi'ahs and Soofis, ever +eager for something new, that the interference of the first authority +of Islam in all Persia became necessary. Higher than all other +Mohammedan divines, especially among the Shi'ahs, are the three or +four Moojtahids.[57] They must be saintly, learned, and aloof from +worldly ambition. In Persia each acts as an informal and final court +of appeal; he alone dares to temper the tyranny of the Shah by his +influence; his house is a sanctuary for the oppressed; the city of his +habitation is often saved from violence by his presence. This was the +position and the pretension of the man who, having first ascertained +that the English man of God did not want demonstration, but admitted +that the prophets had been sent, invited him to dinner, preliminary to +a conflict. Martyn has left this description of the scene: + + About eight o'clock at night we went, and after passing along + many an avenue we entered a fine court, where was a pond, and, + by the side of it, a platform eight feet high, covered with + carpets. Here sat the Moojtahid in state, with a considerable + number of his learned friends--among the rest, I perceived the + Jew. One was at his prayers. I was never more disgusted at the + mockery of this kind of prayer. He went through the evolutions + with great exactness, and pretended to be unmoved at the noise + and chit-chat of persons on each side of him. The Professor + seated Seyd Ali on his right hand, and me on his left. + Everything around bore the appearance of opulence and ease, and + the swarthy obesity of the little personage himself led me to + suppose that he had paid more attention to cooking than to + science. But when he began to speak, I saw reason enough for his + being so much admired. The substance of his speech was flimsy + enough; but he spoke with uncommon fluency and clearness, and + with a manner confident and imposing. He talked for a full hour + about the soul; its being distinct from the body; superior to + the brutes, etc.; about God; His unity, invisibility, and other + obvious and acknowledged truths. After this followed another + discourse. At length, after clearing his way for miles around, + he said that philosophers had proved that a single being could + produce but a single being; that the first thing God had created + was _Wisdom_, a being perfectly one with Him; after that, the + souls of men, and the seventh heaven; and so on till He produced + matter, which is merely passive. He illustrated the theory by + comparing all being to a circle; at one extremity of the + diameter is God, at the opposite extremity of the diameter is + matter, than which nothing in the world is meaner. Rising from + thence, the highest stage of matter is connected with the lowest + stage of vegetation; the highest of the vegetable world with the + lowest of the animal; and so on, till we approach the point from + which all proceeded. 'But,' said he, 'you will observe that, + next to God, something ought to be which is equal to God; for + since it is equally near, it possesses equal dignity. What this + is philosophers are not agreed upon. You,' said he, 'say it is + Christ; but we, that it is the Spirit of the Prophets. All this + is what the philosophers have proved, independently of any + particular religion.' I rather imagined that it was the + invention of some ancient Oriental Christian, to make the + doctrine of the Trinity appear more reasonable. There were a + hundred things in the Professor's harangue that might have been + excepted against, as mere dreams, supported by no evidence; but + I had no inclination to call in question dogmas on the truth or + falsehood of which nothing in religion depended. + + He was speaking at one time about the angels, and asserted that + man was superior to them, and that no being greater than man + could be created. Here the Jew reminded me of a passage in the + Bible, quoting something in Hebrew. I was a little surprised, + and was just about to ask where he found anything in the Bible + to support such a doctrine, when the Moojtahid, not thinking it + worth while to pay any attention to what the Jew said, continued + his discourse. At last the Jew grew impatient, and finding an + opportunity of speaking, said to me, 'Why do not you speak? Why + do not you bring forward your objections?' The Professor, at the + close of one of his long speeches, said to me, 'You see how much + there is to be said on these subjects; several visits will be + necessary; we must come to the point by degrees.' Perceiving how + much he dreaded a close discussion, I did not mean to hurry him, + but let him talk on, not expecting we should have anything about + Muhammadanism the first night. But, at the instigation of the + Jew, I said, 'Sir, you see that Abdoolghunee is anxious that you + should say something about Islam.' He was much displeased at + being brought so prematurely to the weak point, but could not + decline accepting so direct a challenge. 'Well,' said he to me, + 'I must ask you a few questions. Why do you believe in Christ?' + I replied, 'That is not the question. I am at liberty to say + that I do not believe in any religion; that I am a plain man + seeking the way of salvation; that it was, moreover, quite + unnecessary to prove the truth of Christ to Muhammadans, because + they allowed it.' 'No such thing,' said he; 'the Jesus we + acknowledge is He who was a prophet, a mere servant of God, and + one who bore testimony to Muhammad; not your Jesus, whom you + call God,' said he, with a contemptuous smile. He then + enumerated the persons who had spoken of the miracles of + Muhammad, and told a long story about Salmon the Persian, who + had come to Muhammad. I asked whether this Salmon had written an + account of the miracles he had seen. He confessed that he had + not. 'Nor,' said I, 'have you a single witness to the miracles + of Muhammad.' He then tried to show that, though they had not, + there was still sufficient evidence. 'For,' said he, 'suppose + five hundred persons should say that they heard some particular + thing of a hundred persons who were with Muhammad, would that be + sufficient evidence or not?' 'Whether it be or not,' said I, + 'you have no such evidence as that, nor anything like it; but if + you have, as they are something like witnesses, we must proceed + to examine them and see whether their testimony deserves + credit.' + + After this the Koran was mentioned; but as the company began to + thin, and the great man had not a sufficient audience before + whom to display his eloquence, the dispute was not so brisk. He + did not indeed seem to think it worth while to notice my + objections. He mentioned a well-known sentence in the Koran as + being inimitable. I produced another sentence, and begged to + know why it was inferior to the Koranic one. He declined saying + why, under pretence that it required such a knowledge of + rhetoric in order to understand his proofs as I probably did not + possess. A scholar afterwards came to Seyd Ali, with twenty + reasons for preferring Muhammad's sentence to mine. + + It was midnight when dinner, or rather supper, was brought in: + it was a sullen meal. The great man was silent, and I was + sleepy. Seyd Ali, however, had not had enough. While burying his + hand in the dish of the Professor, he softly mentioned some more + of my objections. He was so vexed that he scarcely answered + anything; but after supper told a very long story, all + reflecting upon me. He described a grand assembly of Christians, + Jews, Guebres, and Sabeans (for they generally do us the honour + of stringing us with the other three), before Imam Ruza. The + Christians were of course defeated and silenced. It was a remark + of the Imam's, in which the Professor acquiesced, that 'it is + quite useless for Muhammadans and Christians to argue together, + as they had different languages and different histories.' To the + last I said nothing; but to the former replied by relating the + fable of the lion and man, which amused Seyd Ali so much that he + laughed out before the great man, and all the way home. + +The intervention of the Moojtahid only added to the sensation excited +among all classes by the saintly Feringhi. The Shi'ah doctors had +their second corrective almost ready. They resolved to check the +spirit of inquiry by issuing, eleven days after the Moojtahid's +attempt, a defence of Muhammadanism by Mirza Ibrahim, described as +'the preceptor of all the moollas.'[58] The event has an interest of +its own, apart from Henry Martyn, in the light of a famous controversy +which preceded it, and of spiritually fruitful discussions which +followed it, all in India. Before Henry Martyn in this field of +Christian apologetic was the Portuguese Jesuit, Hieronymo Xavier, and +after him were the Scots missionary, John Wilson of Bombay, and the +German agent of the Church Missionary Society, C.G. Pfander. + +Among the representatives of all religions whom the tolerant Akbar +invited to his court at Agra, that out of their teaching he might form +an eclectic cult of his own, was Jerome, the nephew of the famous +Francis Xavier, then at Goa. For Akbar P. Hieronymo Xavier wrote in +Persian two histories, _Christi_ and _S. Petri_. To his successor, the +Emperor Jahangir, in whose suite he was the first European who visited +Kashmir, H. Xavier in the year 1609 dedicated his third Persian book, +entitled _A Mirror showing the Truth_, in which the doctrines of the +Christian religion are discussed, the mysteries of the Gospel +explained, and the vanity of (all) other religions is to be seen. He +has been pronounced by a good authority[59] a man of considerable +ability and energy, but one who trusted more to his own ingenuity than +to the plain and unsophisticated declarations of the Holy Scriptures. +Ludovicus de Dieu, the Dutch scholar, who translated his two first +works into Latin, most fairly describes each on the title-page as +'multis modis contaminata.' Twelve years after, to the third or +controversial treatise of P.H. Xavier an answer was published by 'the +most mean of those who stand in need of the mercy of a bounteous God, +Ahmed ibn Zain Elabidin Elalooi,' under a title thus translated, _The +Divine Rays in refutation of Christian Error_. To this a rejoinder in +Latin appeared at Rome in 1631, from the pen of Philip Guadagnoli, +Arabic Professor in the Propaganda College there. He calls it _Apologia +pro Christiana Religione_. If we except Raimund Lull's two spiritual +treatises and _Ars Major_, and Pocock's Arabic translation of the _De +Veritate Religionis Christianae_, which Grotius wrote as a text-book for +the Dutch missionaries in the East Indies, Henry Martyn's was the first +attempt of Reformed Christendom to carry the pure doctrine of Jesus +Christ to the Asiatic races whom the corruptions of Judaism and the +Eastern Churches had blinded into accepting the Koran and all its +consequences. + +Mirza Ibrahim's Arabic challenge to the Christian scholar is +pronounced by so competent and fair an authority as Sir William +Muir[60] as made by a man of talent and acuteness, and remarkable for +its freedom from violent and virulent remarks. + + This argument chiefly concerns the subject of miracles, which he + accommodates to the Koran. He defines a miracle as an effect + exceeding common experience, accompanied by a prophetic claim + and a challenge to produce the like; and he holds that it may be + produced by particular experience--that is, it may be confined + to any single art, but must be attested by the evidence and + confession of those best skilled in that art. Thus he assumes + the miracles of Moses and Jesus to belong respectively to the + arts of magic and physic, which had severally reached perfection + in the times of these prophets; the evidence of the magicians is + hence deemed sufficient for the miracles of Moses, and that of + the physicians for those of Jesus; but had these miracles + occurred in any other age than that in which those arts + flourished, their proof would have been imperfect, and the + miracles consequently not binding. This extraordinary + doctrine--which Henry Martyn shows to be founded upon an + inadequate knowledge of history--he proceeds to apply to the + Koran, and proves entirely to his own satisfaction that it + fulfils all the required conditions. This miracle belonged to + the science of eloquence, and in that science the Arabs were + perfect adepts. The Koran was accompanied by a challenge, and + when they accordingly professed their inability to produce an + equal, their evidence, like that of the magicians' and + physicians', became universally binding. He likewise dilates + upon the superior and perpetual nature of the Koran as an + intellectual and a _lasting_ miracle, which will remain + unaltered when all others are forgotten. He touches slightly on + Mohammed's other miracles, and asserts the insufficiency of + proof (except through the Koran) for those of all former + prophets. + +To this, which was accompanied by a treatise on the miracles of +Mohammed by Aga Akbar, Henry Martyn wrote a reply in three parts. In +what spirit he conducted the controversy, and what influence through +him the Spirit of Christ had on some of the Shi'ahs and Soofis, this +extract from his _Journal_ unconsciously testifies: + + _1811, September 12_ to _15_. (Sunday.)--Finished what I had to + say on the evidences of religion, and translated it into + Persian. Aga Akbar sent me his treatise by one of his disciples. + Aga Baba, his brother, but a very different person from him, + called; he spoke without disguise of his dislike to + Mohammedanism and good-will to Christianity. For his attachment + to Mirza Abel, Kasim, his brother, sets him down as an infidel. + Mirza Ibrahim is still in doubt, and thinks that he may be a + Christian, and be saved without renouncing Mohammedanism; asks + his nephew what is requisite to observe; he said, Baptism and + the Lord's Supper. 'Well,' said he, 'what harm is there in doing + that?' At another time Seyd Ali asked me, after a dispute, + whether I would baptize any one who did not believe in the + Divinity of Christ? I said, No. While translating Acts ii. and + iii., especially where it is said all who believed had one heart + and one mind, and had all things in common, he was much + affected, and contrasted the beginning of Christianity with that + of Mohammedanism, where they began their career with murdering + men and robbing caravans; and oh, said he, 'that I were sure the + Holy Spirit would be given to me! I would become a Christian at + once.' Alas! both his faith and mine are very weak. Even if he + were to desire baptism I should tremble to give it. He spake in + a very pleasing way on other parts of the Gospel, and seems to + have been particularly taken with the idea of a new birth. The + state of a new-born child gives him the most striking view of + that simplicity which he considers as the height of wisdom. + Simplicity is that to which he aspires, he says, above all + things. He was once proud of his knowledge, and vain of his + superiority to others, but he found that fancied knowledge set + him at a greater distance from happiness than anything else. + +Martyn's first reply in Persian to Mirza Ibrahim thus begins: 'The +Christian Minister thanks the celebrated Professor of Islamism for the +favour he has done him in writing an answer to his inquiries, but +confesses that, after reading it, a few doubts occurred to him, on +account of which, and not for the mere purpose of dispute, he has +taken upon himself to write the following pages.' The reply is signed, +'The Christian Minister, Henry Martyn.' One Mirza Mahommed Ruza +published in 1813, the year after Martyn's death, a very prolix +rejoinder. It is unworthy of lengthened notice, according to Sir +William Muir, who thus summarises and comments on the defence made by +the Christian scholar: + + Henry Martyn's first tract refers chiefly to the subject of + miracles: he asserts that, to be conclusive, a miracle must + exceed _universal_ experience; that the testimony and opinion of + the Arabs is therefore insufficient, besides being that of a + party concerned; that, were the Koran allowed to be inimitable, + that would not prove it to be a miracle; and that its being an + _intellectual_ miracle is not a virtue, but, by making it + generally inappreciable, a defect. He concludes by denying the + proof of Mohammed's other miracles, in which two requisites are + wanting: viz., their being recorded at or near the time of their + occurrence, and the narrators being under no constraint. + + The second tract directly attacks Mohammed's mission, by + alleging the debasing nature of some of the contents and + precepts of the Koran, holds good works and repentance to be + insufficient for salvation, and opens the subject of the true + atonement as prefigured in types, fulfilled in Christ, and made + public by the spread of Christianity which is mentioned as + itself a convincing miracle. + + The last tract commences with an attack on the absurdities of + Soofi-ism, and proceeds to show that the love of God and union + with Him cannot be obtained by contemplation, but only by a + practical manifestation of His goodness towards us, accompanied + by an assurance of our safety; and that this is fulfilled in + Christianity not by the amalgamation of the soul with the Deity, + but by the pouring out of God's Spirit upon His children, and by + the obedience and atonement of Christ. Vicarious suffering is + then defended by analogy, the truth of the Mosaic and Christian + miracles is upheld, and the whole argument closes with proving + the authenticity of the Christian annals by their coincidence + with profane history. + +Sir William Muir agrees in the opinion of Professor Lee that, situated +as Mr. Martyn was in Persia, with a short tract on the Mohammedan +religion before him, and his health precarious, the course which he took +was perhaps the only one practicable. Sir William adds: 'In pursuing his +argument Henry Martyn has displayed great wisdom and skill, and his +reasoning appears to be in general perfectly conclusive; in a few +instances, however, he has perhaps not taken up the most advantageous +ground.' + +The appeal of the Christian defender of the faith, at the close of his +second part, on the incarnation and atonement, is marked by a loving +courtesy:[61] + + It is now the prayer of the humble Henry Martyn that these + things may be considered with impartiality. If they become the + means of procuring conviction, let not the fear of death or + punishment operate for a moment to the contrary, but let this + conviction have its legitimate effect; for the world, we know, + passes away like the wind of the desert. But if what has here + been stated do not produce conviction, my prayer is that God + Himself may instruct you; that as hitherto ye have held what you + believed to be the truth, ye may now become teachers of that + which is really so; and that He may grant you to be the means of + bringing others to the knowledge of the same, through Jesus + Christ, who has loved us and washed us in His own blood, to whom + be the power and the glory for ever and ever. Amen. + + _1811, July 26._--Mirza Ibrahim declared publicly before all his + disciples, 'that if I really confuted his arguments, he should + be bound in conscience to become a Christian.' Alas! from such a + declaration I have little hope. His general good character for + uprightness and unbounded kindness to the poor would be a much + stronger reason with me for believing that he may perhaps be a + Cornelius. + + _August 2._--Much against his will Mirza Ibrahim was obliged to + go to his brother, who is governor of some town thirty-eight + parasangs off. To the last moment he continued talking with his + nephew on the subject of his book, and begged that, in case of + his detention, my reply might be sent to him. + + _August 7._--My friends talked, as usual, much about what they + call Divine love; but I do not very well comprehend what they + mean. They love not the holy God, but the god of their own + imagination--a god who will let them do as they please. I often + remind Seyd Ali of one defect in his system, which is, that + there is no one to stand between his sins and God. Knowing what + I allude to, he says, 'Well, if the death of Christ intervene, + no harm; Soofi-ism can admit this too.' + + _August 14._--Returned to the city in a fever, which continued + all the next day until the evening! + + _August 15._--Jani Khan, in rank corresponding to one of our + Scottish dukes, as he is the head of all the military tribes of + Persia, and chief of his own tribe, which consists of twenty + thousand families, called on Jaffir Ali Khan with a message from + the king. He asked me a great number of questions, and disputed + a little. 'I suppose,' said he, 'you consider us all as + infidels!' 'Yes,' replied I, 'the whole of you.' He was mightily + pleased with my frankness, and mentioned it when he was going + away. + + _August 22._--The copyist having shown my answer to Moodurris, + called Moolla Akbar, he wrote on the margin with great acrimony + but little sense. Seyd Ali having shown his remarks in some + companies, they begged him not to show them to me, for fear I + should disgrace them all through the folly of one man. + + _August 23._--Ruza Kooli Mirza, the great-grandson of Nadir Shah + and Aga Mahommed Hasan, called. The prince's nephew, hearing of + my attack on Muhammad, observed that the proper answer to it was + the sword; but the prince confessed that he began to have his + doubts. On his inquiring what were the laws of + Christianity--meaning the number of times of prayer, the + different washings, &c.--I said that we had two commandments: + 'Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and all + thy soul, and all thy strength; and thy neighbour as thyself.' + He asked, 'What could be better?' and continued praising them. + + The Moolla Aga Mahommed Hasan, himself a Moodurris, and a very + sensible, candid man, asked a good deal about the European + philosophy, particularly what we did in metaphysics; for + instance, 'how, or in what sense, the body of Christ ascended + into heaven?' He talked of free-will and fate, and reasoned + high, and at last reconciled them according to the doctrines of + the Soofis by saying, that 'as all being is an emanation of the + Deity, the will of every being is only the will of the Deity, so + that therefore, in fact, free-will and fate are the same.' He + has nothing to find fault with in Christianity, except the + Divinity of Christ. It is this doctrine that exposes me to the + contempt of the learned Mahometans, in whom it is difficult to + say whether pride or ignorance predominates. Their sneers are + more difficult to bear than the brick-bats which the boys + sometimes throw at me; however, both are an honour of which I am + not worthy. How many times in the day have I occasion to repeat + the words: + + If on my face, for Thy dear name, + Shame and reproaches be, + All hail, reproach, and welcome, shame, + If Thou remember me. + + The more they wish me to give up this one point--the Divinity of + Christ--the more I seem to feel the necessity of it, and rejoice + and glory in it. Indeed, I trust I would sooner give up my life + than surrender it. + + In the evening we went to pay a long-promised visit to Mirza + Abulkasim, one of the most renowned Soofis in all Persia. We + found several persons sitting in an open court, in which a few + greens and flowers were placed; the master was in a corner. He + was a very fresh-looking old man with a silver beard. I was + surprised to observe the downcast and sorrowful looks of the + assembly, and still more at the silence which reigned. After + sitting some time in expectation, and being not at all disposed + to waste my time in sitting there, I said softly to Seyd Ali, + 'What is this?' He said, 'It is the custom here to think much + and speak little.' 'May I ask the master a question?' said I. + With some hesitation he consented to let me; so I begged Jaffir + Ali to inquire, 'Which is the way to be happy?' + + This he did in his own manner; he began by observing that 'there + was a great deal of misery in the world, and that the learned + shared as largely in it as the rest; that I wished therefore to + know what we must do to escape it.' The master replied that 'for + his part he did not know, but that it was usually said that the + subjugation of the passions was the shortest way to happiness.' + After a considerable pause I ventured to ask, 'What were his + feelings at the prospect of death--hope, or fear, or neither?' + 'Neither,' said he, and that 'pleasure and pain were both + alike.' I then perceived that the Stoics were Greek Soofis. I + asked 'whether he had attained this apathy.' He said, 'No.' 'Why + do you think it attainable?' He could not tell. 'Why do you + think that pleasure and pain are not the same?' said Seyd Ali, + taking his master's part. 'Because,' said I, 'I have the + evidence of my senses for it. And you also act as if there was a + difference. Why do you eat, but that you fear pain?' These + silent sages sat unmoved. + + One of the disciples is the son of the Moojtahid who, greatly to + the vexation of his father, is entirely devoted to the Soofi + doctor. He attended his kalean (pipe) with the utmost humility. + On observing the pensive countenance of the young man, and + knowing something of his history from Seyd Ali, how he had left + all to find happiness in the contemplation of God, I longed to + make known the glad tidings of a Saviour, and thanked God on + coming away, that I was not left ignorant of the Gospel. I could + not help being a little pleasant on Seyd Ali afterwards, for his + admiration of this silent instructor. 'There you sit,' said I, + 'immersed in thought, full of anxiety and care, and will not + take the trouble to ask whether God has said anything or not. + No: that is too easy and direct a way of coming at the truth. I + compare you to spiders, who weave their house of defence out of + their own bowels; or to a set of people who are groping for a + light in broad day.' + + _August 26._--Waited this morning on Mahommed Nubbee Khan, late + ambassador at Calcutta, and now prime minister of Fars. There + were a vast number of clients in his court, with whom he + transacted business while chatting with us. Amongst the others + who came and sat with us, was my tetric adversary--Aga Akbar, + who came for the very purpose of presenting the minister with a + little book he had written in answer to mine. After presenting + it in due form, he sat down, and told me he meant to bring me a + copy that day--a promise which he did not perform, through Seyd + Ali's persuasion, who told him it was a performance that would + do him no credit. + + _August 29._--Mirza Ibrahim begins to inquire about the Gospel. + The objections he made were such as these: How sins could be + atoned for before they were committed? Whether, as Jesus died + for all men, all would necessarily be saved? If faith be the + condition of salvation, would wicked Christians be saved, + provided they believe? I was pleased to see from the nature of + the objections that he was considering the subject. To this last + objection, I remarked that to those who felt themselves sinners, + and came to God for mercy, through Christ, God would give His + Holy Spirit, which would progressively sanctify them in heart + and life. + + _August 30._--Mirza Ibrahim praises my answer, especially the + first part. + +It was on the sacred rock of Behistun, on the western frontiers of +Media, on the high road eastward from Babylonia, that Darius +Hystaspes, founder of the civil policy of ancient Persia, carved the +wonderful cuneiform inscriptions which made that rock the charter of +Achaemenian royalty. At Persepolis only the platform, the pillared +colonnade, and the palace seem to have been built by him; the other +buildings, with commemorative legends, were erected by Xerxes and +Artaxerxes Ochus. Lassen, Westergaard, and our own Sir Henry +Rawlinson,[62] did not decipher these inscriptions for some twenty +years after Martyn's visit. How deaf had Ormuzd proved all through +the centuries to the prayer which Darius the king cut on a huge slab, +twenty-six feet in length and six in height, in the southern wall of +the great platform at Persepolis: 'Let not war, nor slavery, nor +decrepitude, nor lies obtain power over this province.' Henry Martyn +thus wrote of his visit: + + After traversing these celebrated ruins, I must say that I felt + a little disappointed: they did not at all answer my + expectation. The architecture of the ancient Persians seems to + me much more akin to that of their clumsy neighbours the + Indians, than to that of the Greeks. I saw no appearance of + grand design anywhere. The chapiters of the columns were almost + as long as the shafts:--though they are not so represented in + Niebuhr's plate;--and the mean little passages into the square + court, or room, or whatever it was, make it very evident that + the taste of the Orientals was the same three thousand years ago + as it is now. But it was impossible not to recollect that here + Alexander and his Greeks passed and repassed; here they sat and + sung, and revelled; now all is in silence, generation on + generation lie mingled with the dust of their mouldering + edifices: + + Alike the busy and the gay, + But flutter in life's busy day, + In fortune's varying colours drest. + + As soon as we recrossed the Araxes, the escort begged me to + point out the Keblah to them, as they wanted to pray. After + setting their faces towards Mecca, as nearly as I could, I went + and sat down on the margin near the bridge, where the water, + falling over some fragments of the bridge under the arches, + produced a roar, which, contrasted with the stillness all + around, had a grand effect. Here I thought again of the + multitudes who had once pursued their labours and pleasures on + its banks. Twenty-one centuries have passed away since they + lived; how short, in comparison, must be the remainder of my + days. What a momentary duration is the life of man! _Labitur et + labetur in omne volubilis aevum_, may be affirmed of the river; + but men pass away as soon as they begin to exist. Well, let the + moments pass: + + They'll waft us sooner o'er + This life's tempestuous sea, + And land us on the peaceful shore + Of blest eternity. + + The true character of Martyn's Mohammedan and Soofi + controversialists comes out in the fast of Ramazan, the ninth + month of the lunar year, when from dawn to sunset of each day a + strict fast is observed, most trying to the temper, and from + sunset to dawn excess is too naturally the rule, especially, as + in this case, when Ramazan falls on the long hot days of summer. + Of this month the traditions declare that the doors of heaven + are opened and the doors of hell shut, while the devils are + chained. At this time the miracle play of Hasan and Husain[63] + is acted in the native theatres from night to night. In scene + xxxi. are enacted the conversion and murder of an English + ambassador. Dean Stanley used to tell that Henry Martyn, + horrified at the English oaths put into the mouth of the Persian + who represented the ambassador in the tragedy, took him and + taught him to repeat the Lord's Prayer instead. + + _September 20._--First day of the fast of Ramazan. All the + family had been up in the night, to take an unseasonable meal, + in order to fortify themselves for the abstinence of the day. It + was curious to observe the effects of the fast in the house. The + master was scolding and beating his servants; they equally + peevish and insolent, and the beggars more than ordinarily + importunate and clamorous. At noon, all the city went to the + grand mosque. My host came back with an account of new vexations + there. He was chatting with a friend, near the door, when a + great preacher, Hajji Mirza, arrived, with hundreds of + followers. 'Why do you not say your prayers?' said the + new-comers to the two friends. 'We have finished,' said they. + 'Well,' said the other, 'if you cannot pray a second time with + us, you had better move out of the way.' Rather than join such + turbulent zealots they retired. The reason of this unceremonious + address was, that these loving disciples had a desire to pray + all in a row with their master, which, it seems, is the custom. + There is no public service in the mosque; every man here prays + for himself. + + Coming out of the mosque some servants of the prince, for their + amusement, pushed a person against a poor man's stall, on which + were some things for sale, a few European and Indian articles, + also some valuable Warsaw plates, which were thrown down and + broken. The servants went off without making compensation. No + kazi will hear a complaint against the prince's servants. + + Hajji Mahommed Hasan preaches every day during the Ramazan. He + takes a verse from the Koran, or more frequently tells stories + about the Imams. If the ritual of the Christian Churches, their + good forms and everything they have, is a mere shadow without a + Divine influence attend on them, what must all this Mahometan + stuff be? and yet how impossible is it to convince the people of + the world, whether Christian or Mahometan, that what they call + religion is merely an invention of their own, having no + connection with God and His kingdom! This subject has been much + on my mind of late. How senseless the zeal of Churchmen against + dissenters, and of dissenters against the Church! The kingdom of + God is neither meat nor drink, nor anything perishable; but + righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost. + + Mirza Ibrahim never goes to the mosque, but he is so much + respected that nothing is said: they conclude that he is + employed in devotion at home. Some of his disciples said to Seyd + Ali, before him: 'Now the Ramazan is come, you should read the + Koran and leave the Gospel.' 'No,' said his uncle, 'he is + employed in a good work: let him go on with it.' The old man + continues to inquire with interest about the Gospel, and is + impatient for his nephew to explain the evidences of + Christianity, which I have drawn up. + + _September 22._ (Sunday.)--My friends returned from the mosque, + full of indignation at what they had witnessed there. The former + governor of Bushire complained to the vizier, in the mosque, + that some of his servants had treated him brutally. The vizier, + instead of attending to his complaint, ordered them to do their + work a second time; which they did, kicking and beating him with + their slippers, in the most ignominious way, before all the + mosque. This unhappy people groan under the tyranny of their + governors; yet nothing subdues or tames them. Happy Europe! how + has God favoured the sons of Japheth, by causing them to embrace + the Gospel. How dignified are all the nations of Europe compared + with this nation! Yet the people are clever and intelligent, and + more calculated to become great and powerful than any of the + nations of the East, had they a good government and the + Christian religion. + + _September 29._--The Soofi, son of the Moojtahid, with some + others, came to see me. For fifteen years he was a devout + Mahometan; visited the sacred places, and said many prayers. + Finding no benefit from austerities he threw up Mahommedanism + altogether, and attached himself to the Soofi master. I asked + him what his object was, all that time? He said, he did not + know, but he was unhappy. I began to explain to him the Gospel; + but he cavilled at it as much as any bigoted Mahommedan could + do, and would not hear of there being any distinction between + Creator and creature. In the midst of our conversation, the sun + went down, and the company vanished for the purpose of taking an + immediate repast. + + Mirza Seyd Ali seems sometimes coming round to Christianity + against Soofi-ism. The Soofis believe in no prophet, and do not + consider Moses to be equal to Mirza Abulkasim. 'Could they be + brought,' Seyd Ali says, 'to believe that there has been a + prophet, they would embrace Christianity.' And what would be + gained by such converts? 'Thy people shall be willing in the day + of Thy power.' It will be an afflicted and poor people that + shall call upon the name of the Lord, and such the Soofis are + not: professing themselves to be wise, they have become fools. + + _October 7._--I was surprised by a visit from the great Soofi + doctor, who, while most of the people were asleep, came to me + for some wine. I plied him with questions innumerable; but he + returned nothing but incoherent answers, and sometimes no answer + at all. Having laid aside his turban, he put on his night-cap, + and soon fell asleep upon the carpet. Whilst he lay there his + disciples came, but would not believe, when I told them who was + there, till they came and saw the sage asleep. When he awoke, + they came in, and seated themselves at the greatest possible + distance, and were all as still as if in a church. The real + state of this man seems to be despair, and it will be well if it + do not end in madness. I preached to him the kingdom of God: + mentioning particularly how I had found peace from the Son of + God and the Spirit of God; through the first, forgiveness; + through the second, sanctification. He said it was good, but + said it with the same unconcern with which he admits all manner + of things, however contradictory. Poor soul! he is sadly + bewildered. + +As a Persian scholar and controversialist Henry Martyn found a worthy +successor in the German, and afterwards Church Missionary Society's +missionary, C.G. Pfander, D.D. When for some twelve years stationed at +Shushy Fort, on the Russian border of Georgia, he frequently visited +Baghdad and travelled through Persia by Ispahan and Teheran. In 1836 +the intolerant Russian Government expelled all foreign missionaries +from its territories, and Dr. Pfander joined the Church Mission at +Agra. In 1835 he first published at Shushy, in Persian, his famous +_Mizan ul Haqq_, or _Balance of Truth_. A Hindustani translation was +lithographed at Mirzapore in 1843, and Mr. R.H. Weakley, missionary at +Constantinople, made an English translation, which was published by +the Church Missionary Society in 1867. This, as yet, greatest of works +which state the general argument for Christianity and against Islam, +was followed by the _Miftah ul Asrar_, in proof of the Divinity of +Christ and the doctrine of the Trinity, and by the _Tarik ul Hyat_, or +the nature of sin and the way of salvation, of both of which +Hindustani translations appeared. In his little English _Remarks on +the Nature of Muhammadanism_,[64] as shown in the _Traditions_, Dr. +Pfander quotes from Martyn's _Controversy_. By these writings and the +personal controversy in India, Dr. Pfander, following Henry Martyn, +was the means of winning to Christ, in tolerant British India, many +Mohammedan moulvies like him who is now the Rev. Imad-ud-din, D.D.[65] + +Henry Martyn's description of the Persian is no less applicable to +the Indian Mohammedan, in the opinion of Sir William Muir; 'he is a +compound of ignorance and bigotry, and all access to the one is hedged +up by the other.' The Koran and the whole system of Islam are based on +partial truths, plagiarised from Scripture to an extent sufficient to +feed the pride of those who hold them. But beyond these corruptions of +Judaism and Christianity, for which the dead Eastern Churches of +Mohammed's time and since are responsible, Persians, Turks, Arabs, +Afghans, and Hindustan Muhammadans know nothing either of history or +Christian Divinity. All controversy, from P.H. Xavier's time to +Martyn's, Wilson's, and Pfander's, shows that the key of the position +is not the doctrine of the Trinity, as the Shi'ah Moojtahids of Shiraz +and Lucknow and the Soonnis everywhere make it, but the genuineness +and integrity of the Scriptures, by which the truth of the whole +Christian faith will follow, the Trinity included. The Bible, in +Hindustani, Persian, and Arabic, with its self-evidencing power, is +the weapon which Henry Martyn was busied in forging. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[54] See article in the _Spectator_ for August 17, 1889, by a writer +who had recently returned from Persia. + +[55] See article on the poet in the _Calcutta Review_ for March 1858 +(by Professor E.B. Cowell, L.L.D., Cambridge). + +[56] London, 1818, pp. 223-4. + +[57] Literally, 'one who strives' to attain the highest degree of +Mussulman learning. + +[58] Persian form of maulvi, the Arabic for a learned man. The word is +said to mean 'filled' with knowledge, from _mala_, to fill. + +[59] The Rev. S. Lee, D.D., Professor of Arabic in the University of +Cambridge for many years, in his _Controversial Tracts on Christianity +and Mohammedanism_ by the late Rev. Henry Martyn, B.D., and some of +the most eminent writers of Persia (1824). + +[60] _The Calcutta Review_, No. VIII. vol. iv. Art. VI. 'The +Mahommedan Controversy,' pp. 418-76, Calcutta, 1845. + +[61] As translated from the Persian by Professor Lee. + +[62] Sir Henry, then Major, H.C. Rawlinson, C.B., visited Persepolis +in 1835. The _Journals_ of the Royal Asiatic Society for 1846-9 +publish his copies of the inscription of Behistun and Persepolis and +his translations. + +[63] See the Play as collected from oral tradition by the late Sir +Lewis Pelly, in two volumes, 1879. + +[64] Second edition published by the Church Missionary Society in +1858. + +[65] 'Some of our most eminent Native Christians are converts from +Mohammedanism. We may particularly mention the Rev. Jani Ali, B.A.; +the Rev. Imad-ud-din, D.D.; the Rev. Imam Shah; the Rev. Mian Sadiq; +the Rev. Yakub Ali; Maulavi Safdar Ali, a high Government official; +Abdullah Athim, also a high official, now retired, and an honorary lay +evangelist.'--_Church Missionary Society's Intelligencer_ in 1888. + + + + +CHAPTER XI + +IN PERSIA--TRANSLATING THE SCRIPTURES + + +Great as saint and notable as scholar, in the twelve years of his +young life from Senior Wrangler to martyr at thirty-one years of age, +the highest title of Henry Martyn to everlasting remembrance is that +he gave the Persians in their own tongue the Testament of the one Lord +and Saviour Jesus Christ, and the Hebrew Psalms. By that work, the +fruit of which every successive century will reveal till the +consummation of the ages, he unconsciously wrote his name beside those +of the greatest missionaries in the history of the Church of Christ, +the sacred scholars who were the first to give the master races of +Asia and Africa, of Europe and America, the Word of God in their +vernaculars. Let us write the golden list, which for modern Africa and +Oceania also we might inscribe in letters of silver,[66] were not most +of the translators still living and perfecting their at first +tentative efforts, which time must try: + + A.D. + 350 ULFILAS Gothic (Teutonic) + 368 FRUMENTIUS and EDESIUS (Brothers) Ethiopic + 385 HIERONYMUS (Jerome) Latin + 410 MESROBES (Miesrob) Armenian + 861 C. CYRILLUS and METHODIUS (Brothers) Slavonic (Bulgarian) +1380 WICLIF (Bede in 735) English +1516 ERASMUS (new translation) Latin +1534 LUTHER (translation from Latin of Erasmus) German +1661 JOHN ELIOT (first Bible printed in America) Moheecan +1777 FABRICIUS (Ziegenbalg & Schultze first 1714) Tamul +1801 WILLIAM CAREY (O.T. in 1802-9) Bengali, &c. +1815 HENRY MARTYN Persian +1816 " (Sabat's N.T. version) Arabic +1822 JOSHUA MARSHMAN (Morrison & Milne 1823) Chinese +1832 ADONIRAM JUDSON (O.T. 1834) Burmese +1865 VAN DYCK Arabic + +It was David Brown who was wont to call the Bible 'The Great +Missionary which would speak in all tongues the wonderful works of +God.' + +From first to last and above all Henry Martyn was a philologist. His +school and college honours sprang from the root of all linguistic +studies, Greek and Latin, in which he was twice appointed public +examiner in his college and the University of Cambridge. For the +uncritical time in which he lived, and the generations which followed +his to the present, he was an enthusiastic and accomplished Hebraist. +No young scholar in the first quarter of the nineteenth century was so +well equipped for translating the Bible by a knowledge of its two +original languages. True, he was the Senior Wrangler of the year 1801, +but to him the honour was a 'shadow,' because the mathematical +sciences could do nothing for him as a translator and preacher of the +words of righteousness, compared with the linguistic. Only once, when +the rapture of his holy work had carried him away to the borderland of +a dark metaphysical theology, did he record the passing regret that +he had abandoned the rationalistic ground of mathematical certainty. +His devotion to the study of the languages which interpret and apply +to the races of India, Arabia, and Persia, the books of the Christian +Revelation, was so absorbing as to shorten his career. Like Carey, he +never knew an idle moment, even when on shipboard, and he jealously +guarded his time from correspondence, other than that with Lydia +Grenfell, Brown and Corrie, that he might live to finish the +Hindustani, Persian, and Arabic New Testaments at least. The spiritual +motive it was, the desire to win every man to Christ, that urged his +unresting course, and in the sacred toil he had the reflex joy of +being himself won nearer and nearer by the Spirit. + + What do I not owe to the Lord for permitting me to take part in + a translation of His Word? Never did I see such wonder, and + wisdom, and love in that blessed book as since I have been + obliged to study every expression. All day on the translation, + employed a good while at night in considering a difficult + passage, and being much enlightened respecting it, I went to bed + full of astonishment at the wonders of God's Word. Never before + did I see anything of the beauty of the language and the + importance of the thoughts as I do now. I felt happy that I + should never be finally separated from the contemplation of + them, or of the things concerning which they are written. + Knowledge shall vanish away, but it shall be because perfection + has come. + +On the other hand, he was ever on the watch against the deadening +influence of routine or one-sided study. 'So constantly engaged with +outward works of translation of languages that I fear my inward man +has declined in spirituality.' + +Canon Edmonds expresses the experience of the present writer in the +remark,[67] that to read Martyn's _Journal_ with the single object of +noticing this point is to discover another Martyn, not a saint only, +but a grammarian. 'He read grammars as other men read novels, and to +him they were more entertaining than novels.' So early as September +28, 1804, in Cambridge we find him at prayer after dinner, before +visiting Wall's Lane, and then on his return finishing the Bengali +Grammar which he had begun the day before. 'I am anxious to get +Carey's Bengali New Testament,' which could not long have reached +London. Five days after, Thomas a Kempis, followed by hymns and the +writing of a sermon, seemed but the preliminary to his Hindustani as +well as Bengali studies. 'Engaged all the rest of the morning by +Gilchrist's Hindustani Dictionary. After dinner began Halhed's Bengali +Grammar, for I found that the other grammar I had been reading was +only for the corrupted Hindustani.' The first traces of his Persian +and Arabic studies have an interest all their own: + + _1804, June 27._--A funeral and calls of friends took up my time + till eleven; afterwards _read Persian_, and made some + calculations in trigonometry, in order to be familiar with the + use of logarithms. + + _November 23._--Through shortness of time I was about to omit my + morning portion of Scripture, yet after some deliberation + conscience prevailed, and I enjoyed a solemn seriousness in + learning 'mem' in the 119th Psalm. Wasted much time afterwards + in looking over _an Arabic grammar_. + +When fairly at work in Dinapore he wrote almost daily such passages in +his _Journal_ as these: + + _1807, August 25._--Translating the Epistles; reading Arabic + grammar and Persian. 27 to 29.--Studies in Persian and Arabic + the same. Delight in them, particularly the latter, so great, + that I have been obliged to pray continually that they may not + be a snare to me.... 31st.--Resumed the Arabic with an eagerness + which I found it necessary to check. Began some extracts from + Cashefi which Mr. Gladwin sent me, and thus the day passed + rapidly away. Alas! how much more readily does the understanding + do its work than the heart. + +On reaching Calcutta in 1806 Martyn found this to be the position of +the Bible translation work. Carey's early labours had led to the +formation of the other English and Scottish Missionary Societies at +the close of the last century. By 1803 his experience and that of his +colleagues had enabled them, with the encouragement of Brown and +Buchanan, to formulate a magnificent plan for translating the Bible +into all the languages of the far East. The Marquis Wellesley, though +Governor-General, approved, and his College at Fort William, with its +staff of learned men, including Carey himself and many Asiatics, had +become a school of interpreters. In 1804, after all this, the British +and Foreign Bible Society was founded, under the ex-Governor-General, +Lord Teignmouth, as its first president. That Society, leaving India +to the Serampore Brotherhood, at once directed its attention to the +three hundred millions of Chinese, who also could be reached only +through the East India Company. But, until six years after, when Dr. +Marshman made the first reliable translation of the Bible into the +language, in its Mandarin dialect, there was no Chinese translation +save an anonymous MS. of a large portion of the New Testament in the +British Museum, probably of Roman Catholic origin. At that time the +infant Society did not see its way to spend two thousand guineas in +producing an edition of a thousand copies of a work about which the +few experts differed. So, while giving grants to the Serampore +translators, it invited the opinions, as to the formation of a +corresponding committee in Calcutta, of George Udny, who had by that +time become Member of Council, and the Rev. Messrs. Brown, Buchanan, +Carey, Ward, and Marshman. The Serampore plan and its rapid execution +had been communicated to all the principal civil and military +officials, who, after Lord Wellesley's tolerant and reverent action, +subscribed liberally to carry it out, and the Society continued its +grants. But when in 1807, under Lord Minto, the anti-Christian +reaction set in, caused by a groundless panic as to the Vellore +Mutiny, and the Fort William College was reduced, Dr. Buchanan +proposed to found 'The Christian Institution,' the Society preferred +its original plan of a corresponding committee, which was formed in +August 1809. + +Martyn had not waited one hour for this. Almost from the day of +landing at the capital he was engaged in Hindustani translation, and +in studious preparation for his projected Persian and Arabic Bibles. +In the brotherly intercourse at Aldeen with the Serampore missionaries +it was arranged to leave these three languages entirely to him, under +the direction of Mr. Brown. Part of the Society's annual grant to +India and Ceylon of a thousand pounds a year was assigned to pay his +assistants, Mirza Fitrut, the Persian, and Nathanael Sabat, the +Arabian, and to print the results. The Corresponding Committee caused +an annual sermon to be preached in Calcutta, to rouse public +intelligence and help. On the first day of 1810 Mr. Brown preached it +in the old church, in the interest chiefly of the thousands of native +Christians who had been baptized in Tanjor and Tinnevelli, both Reformed +and Romanist, and needed copies of the Tamul Bible. Such was the result +of this appeal, headed by the Commander-in-chief, General Hewett, with +the sum of 2,000 Sicca-rupees (250_l._), that the committee resolved on +establishing a 'Bibliotheca Biblica,' combining a Bible Repository and a +Translation Library. The Scottish poet and friend of Sir Walter Scott, +Dr. Leyden, was foremost in the enterprise, and took charge of work in +the languages of Siam and the Spice Islands, as well as in the Pushtu of +Afghanistan. + +On the first day of 1811 it fell to the Rev. Henry Martyn to preach +the second annual sermon.[68] His appeal was for not only the growing +native Church of India, but more particularly for the whole number of +nominal Christians, of all sects, in India and Ceylon, whom he +estimated at 900,000.[69] In 1881 the Government census returned +these, in the Greater India of our day but without Ceylon, as upwards +of 2,000,000, and in 1891 as 2,280,549. Martyn's figures included +342,000 of the Singhalese, whom the Dutch had compelled by secular +considerations outwardly to conform. The sermon, on Galatians vi. 10, +was published at the time, and it appears as the last in the volume of +_Twenty Sermons by the late Rev. Henry Martyn, B.D._,[70] first printed +at Calcutta with this passage in the preface: 'The desire to know how +such a man preached is natural and unavoidable.... His manner in the +pulpit was distinguished by a holy solemnity, always suited to the high +message which he was delivering, and accompanied by an unction which +made its way to the hearts of his audience. With this was combined a +fidelity at once forcible by its justice and intrepidity, and +penetrating by its affection. There was, in short, a power of holy love +and disinterested earnestness in his addresses which commended itself to +every man's conscience in the sight of God.' + +Addressing the well-paid servants of the East India Company in +Calcutta, and its prosperous merchants and shopkeepers, the preacher +said: 'Do we not blush at the offers of assistance from home ... where +all that is raised may be employed with such effect in benefiting the +other three quarters of the globe? Asia must be our care; or, if not +Asia, _India_ at least must look to none but us. Honour calls as well +as duty.' He then continued: + + Prove to our friends and the world that the Mother Country need + never be ashamed of her sons in India. What a splendid spectacle + does she present! Standing firm amidst the overthrow of the + nations, and spreading wide the shadow of her wings for the + protection of all, she finds herself at leisure, amidst the + tumult of war, to form benevolent projects for the best + interests of mankind. Her generals and admirals have caused the + thunder of her power to be heard throughout the south; now her + ministers of religion perform their part, and endeavour to + fulfil the high destinies of Heaven in favour of their country. + They called on their fellow-citizens to cheer the desponding + nations with the Book of the promises of Eternal Life, and thus + afford them that consolation from the prospect of a happier + world, which they have little expectation of finding amidst the + disasters and calamities of this. The summons was obeyed. As + fast as the nature of the undertaking became understood, and + was perceived to be clearly distinct from all party business and + visionary project, great numbers of all ranks in society, and of + all persuasions in religion, joined with one heart and one soul, + and began to impart freely to all men that which, next to the + Saviour, is God's best gift to man.... + + Shall every town and hamlet in England engage in the glorious + cause, and the mighty Empire of India do nothing? Will not our + wealth and dignity be our disgrace if we do not employ it for + God and our fellow-creatures? What plan could be proposed, so + little open to objections, and so becoming our national + character and religion, so simple and practicable, yet so + extensively beneficial, as that of giving the Word of God to the + Christian part of our native subjects?... Despise not their + inferiority, nor reproach them for their errors; they cannot get + a BIBLE to read; had they been blessed with your advantages, + they would have been perhaps more worthy of your respect. + +The brief decade of Henry Martyn's working life fell at a time when +the science of Comparative Philology was as yet unborn, but the +materials were almost ready for generalisation. Sir William Jones, and +still more his successor as a scholar--Henry Thomas Colebrooke--had +used their opportunities in India well. The Bengal Asiatic Society, in +its _Asiatic Researches_, was laboriously piling up facts and +speculations. These awaited only the flash of hardworking genius to +evolve the order and the laws which have made Comparative Grammar the +most fruitful of the historical and psychological sciences. It might +have been Martyn's, had he lived to reach England, to manifest that +genius. His Asiatic career was contemporary with the most fruitful +part of Colebrooke's. He toiled and he speculated, as he mastered the +grammar and much of the vocabulary of the great classical and +vernacular languages which made him a seven-tongued man. But his +divine motive led him to grope for the philological solvent through +the imperfect Semitic. The Germans, Schlegel and Bopp, found it +rather, and later, in the richer Aryan or Indo-European family, in +Sanskrit and old Persian. + +His longing to give the Arabs the Scriptures in their purity +intensified his devotion to the study of Hebrew; had he lived to give +himself to the Persian, he might have anticipated the German critics +who used, at second-hand, the materials that he and Colebrooke, and +other servants of the East India Company, were annually accumulating. +Nor did his Hebraism lead him, at the beginning of the century, to +that fertile criticism of the text and the literary origin of the +books of the Old Testament which, at the end of the century, is +beginning to make the inspired historians and the prophets, the +psalmists and the moralists of the old Jews live anew for the modern +Church. But how true has proved his prediction to Corrie in the year +1809: + + I think that when the construction of Hebrew is fully + understood, all the scholars in the world will turn to it with + avidity, in order to understand other languages, and then the + Word of God will be studied universally. + +Again in 1810: + + I sit for hours alone contemplating this mysterious language. If + light does not break upon me at last it will be a great loss of + time, as I never read Arabic or Persian. I have no heart to do + it; I cannot condescend any longer to tread in the paths of + ignorant and lying grammarians. I sometimes say in my vain heart + I will make a deep cut in the mine of philology, or I will do + nothing; but you shall hear no more of Scriptural philology + till I make some notable discoveries. + +Again in 1811, when at Bombay: + + Chiefly employed on the Arabic tract, writing letters to Europe, + and my Hebrew speculations. The last encroached so much on my + time and thoughts that I lost two nights' sleep, and + consequently the most of two days, without learning more than I + did the first hour. + + Happening to think this evening on the nature of language more + curiously and deeply than I have yet done, I got bewildered, and + fancied I saw some grounds for the opinions of those who deny + the existence of matter.... Oh, what folly to be wise where + ignorance is bliss!... The further I push my inquiries the more + I am distressed. It must be now my prayer, not 'Lord, let me + obtain the knowledge which I think would be so useful,' but 'Oh, + teach me just as much as Thou seest good for me.' Compared with + metaphysics, physics and mathematics appear with a kind and + friendly aspect, because they seem to be within the limits in + which man can move without danger, but on the other I find + myself adrift. Synthesis is the work of God alone. + +Henry Martyn's first practical work was in Hindustani. His position in +Dinapore and Patna, the capital of Bihar with its Hindi dialects, his +duties to the native wives and families of the soldiers whom he taught +and exhorted, his preaching to the Hindus and discussions with the +Mohammedans, all led him to prepare three works--(1) portions of the +_Book of Common Prayer_, which Corrie finished and published seventeen +years after his death; (2) a _Commentary on the Parables_, in 1807; +(3) the _Four Gospels_ in 1809, and in 1810 the whole _New Testament_. +Let us look at him in his spiritual and scholarly workshop. + + _1807, January 18._ (Sunday.)--Preached on Numbers xxiii. 19: a + serious attention from all. Most of the European tradesmen were + present with their families; my soul enjoyed sweet peace and + heavenly-mindedness for some time afterwards. The thought + suddenly struck me to-day, how easy it would be to translate the + chief part of the Church Service for the use of the soldiers' + wives, and women and children, and so have the service in + Hindustani, by which a door would be opened to the heathen. This + thought took such hold of me, that after in vain endeavouring to + fix my thoughts on anything else, I sat down in the evening, and + translated to the end of the _Te Deum_. But my conscience was + not satisfied that this was a Sabbath employment, and I lost the + sensible sweetness of the Divine presence. However, by leaving + it off, and passing the rest of the evening in reading and + singing hymns, I found comfort and joy. Oh, how shall I praise + my Lord, that here in this solitude, with people enough indeed, + but without any like-minded, I yet enjoy fellowship with all + those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus + Christ. I see myself travelling on with them, and I hope I shall + worship with them in His courts above. + + _January 19._--Passed the morning with the moonshi and pundit, + dictating to the former a few ideas for the explanation of the + Parable of the Rich Fool. When I came to say that there was no + eating and drinking, etc., in heaven, but only the pleasures of + God's presence and holiness; and that, therefore, we must + acquire a taste for such pleasures, the Mussulman was unwilling + to write, but the Brahman was pleased, and said that all this + was in the Puranas. Afterwards went on with the translation of + the Liturgy. + + _March 23._ (To Brown.)--It is with no small delight that I find + the day arrived for my writing to my very dear brother. Many + thanks for your two letters, and for all the consolation + contained in them, and many thanks to our Lord and Saviour, who + has given me such a help where I once expected to struggle on + alone all my days. Concerning the character in the Nagri papers + you have sent me I have to say, it is perfectly the same as the + one used here, and I can read it easily; and the difference in + both the dialects from the one here is so trifling, that I have + not the smallest doubt of the Parables being understood at + Benares and Bettia (a Roman Catholic village), and consequently + through a vast tract of country. A more important inference is, + that in whatever dialect of the Hindustani the translation of + the Scriptures shall be made, it will be generally understood. + The little book of Parables is at last finished, through the + blessing of God. I cannot say I am very well pleased with it on + the reperusal; but yet containing, as it does, such large + portions of the Word of God, I ought not to doubt of its + accomplishing that which He pleaseth. + + _July 13._--Mr. Ward has also sent me a long and learned letter. + He is going to print the Parables without delay for me, and the + modern Hindustani version of them for themselves. He says, 'The + enmity of the natives to the Gospel is indeed very great, but on + this point the lower orders are angels compared with the + moonshis and pundits. I believe the man you took from Serampore + has his heart as full of this poison as most. The fear of loss + of caste among the poor is a greater obstacle than their enmity. + Our strait waistcoat makes our arms ache.' + + _December 29._--Translating from Hebrew into Hindustani in the + morning. Wrote to Mr. Udny. Read Arabic and Persian as usual + with Sabat. We had some conversation on this subject, whether we + might not expect the Holy Spirit would endue us with + extraordinary powers in the acquisition of languages, if we + could pray for it only with a desire to be useful to the Church + of God, and not with a wish for our own glory. There seemed to + be no reason against such an expectation. I sometimes pray for + the gifts of the spirit, but infinitely greater is the necessity + to pray for grace, as I know by the sorrowful experience of my + deceitfully corrupt heart. + + _1808, January 7._--As much of my time as was not employed for + the Europeans has been devoted chiefly to translating the + Epistles into Hindustani. This work is finished after a certain + manner. But Sabat does not allow me to form a very high idea of + the style in which it is executed. But if the work should + fail--which, however, I am far from expecting--my labour will + have been richly repaid by the profit and pleasure derived from + considering the Word of God in the original with more attention + than I had ever done. + + _March 31._--I am at present employed in the toilsome work of + going through the Syriac Gospels, and writing out the names, in + order to ascertain their orthography if possible, and correcting + with Mirza the Epistles. This last work is incredibly difficult + in Hindustani, and will be nearly as much so in Persian, but + very easy and elegant in Arabic. + + _June 1_ to _4_.--Employed incessantly in reading the Persian of + St. Matthew to Sabat. Met with the Italian padre, Julius, with + whom I conversed in French. + + _June 6._--Going on with the Persian Gospel, visiting the + hospital, and with the men at night. My spirit refreshed and + revived by every night's ministration to them. Sent the Persian + of Matthew to Mr. Brown for the press, and went on with the + remainder of the Hindustani of St. Matthew. I have not felt such + trials of my temper for many months as to-day. The General + declared he was an enemy to my design in translating the + Scriptures. My poor harassed soul looked at last to God, and + cast its burden of sin at the foot of the cross. Towards evening + I found rest and peace. A son-in-law of the Qasi ool Qoorrat, of + Patna, a very learned man, called on me. I put to him several + questions about Mohammedanism, which confused him; and as he + seemed a grave, honest man, they may produce lasting doubts. + + _1809, September 24._--Began with Mirza Fitrut the correction of + the Hindustani Gospels: _Quod felix faustumque sit._ Began with + my men a course of lectures from the beginning of the Bible. + + _September 25_ to _28_.--Revising Arabic version of Romans; + going on in correction of Hindustani; preparing report of + progress in translating for Bible Society. Reading occasionally + Menishi's _Turkish Grammar_. + +Completed in 1810, Martyn's Hindustani New Testament for Mohammedans was +passing through the Serampore press when the great fire of March 11, +1812, destroyed all the sheets save the first thirteen chapters of +Matthew's Gospel, and melted the fount of Persian type. The Corresponding +Committee of the British and Foreign Bible Society, for which it had +been prepared, put it to press the second time at Serampore, from finer +type, and it appeared in 1814 in an edition of 2,000 copies, on English +paper. The demand for portions for immediate use was such that 3,000 +copies of the Gospels and Acts, on Patna paper, had been previously +struck off. The longing translator--who had once written, 'Oh, may I +have the bliss of soon seeing the New Testament in Hindustani and +Persian!'--had then been two years dead, but verily his works followed +him. Such was the reputation of the version that it was read in the +native schools at Agra and elsewhere; while an edition of 2,000 copies +in the Deva-Nagri character, for Hindus, appeared in 1817, and was used +up till a Hindi version was prepared from it by Mr. Bowley, the zealous +agent of the Church Missionary Society at Chunar, by divesting it of +the Persian and Arabic terms. Bishop Corrie's revision of this work and +portions of the Old Testament were circulated in many editions and +extending numbers, in the Kaithi character also, among the millions of +Hindus who speak the most widespread of Indian languages with many +dialects. The Bible Society in London welcomed Martyn's work, of which +Professor Lee prepared a large edition. Learning that the lamented +scholar had done some work on the Old Testament in Hindustani, and had +taught Mirza Fitrut Hebrew, to enable that able moonshi to carry on the +translation from the original, the Society first published Genesis in +Hindustani, under Professor Lee's care, in 1817, and then issued a +revision of the rough draft of the entire version of the Old Testament, +by Bishop Corrie and Mr. Thomason. In 1843 Mr. Schuermann, of the London +Missionary Society, and Mr. Justice Hawkins, an elder of the Free Church +of Scotland and an accomplished Bengal civilian, issued a uniform +revision of the Old and New Testaments in the Arabic and Roman +characters, in the course of which Mr. Schuermann 'saw reason to revert +in a great measure to the translation of Henry Martyn, especially in the +latter half of the version.'[71] Of the different translations of the +Bible into Hindustani, the Oordoo or 'camp' language understood by the +sixty millions of Mussulmans in India, this criticism is just: 'the +idiomatic and faithful version of Henry Martyn still maintains its +ground, although, from the lofty elegance of its style, it is better +understood by educated than by illiterate Mohammedans.'[72] + +In the first generation, from 1814 to 1847, after the appearance of +Henry Martyn's work, sixteen editions[73] of the Hindustani New +Testament were published and sent into circulation among the then +fifty millions of Mussulmans in India. Before Martyn's work was +printed, he and Corrie used to dictate to inquirers translations of +Bible passages suited to their needs. When Corrie was at Chunar, he +tells us, because 'there was not at that time any translation of the +Scriptures to put into his hands, a native Roman Catholic took down +the translated texts on loose pieces of paper.' Years after, Mr. +Wilkinson, of Gorakpore, was called to visit the man on his death-bed, +and found him so well acquainted with Scripture that he asked an +explanation. 'The poor man produced the loose slips of paper on which +he had written my translations,' says Corrie. 'On these, it appeared, +his soul had fed through life, and through them he died such a death +that Mr. Wilkinson entertained no doubt of his having passed into +glory.' In the forty years since the sixteen editions made the Word of +God known to thousands of India Mussulmans, the Oordoo Bible has +caused the Word to grow mightily, and in many cases to prevail. + +The entire Bible in Hindustani was again revised, by Dr. R.C. Mather, +after many years' experience in Benares and Mirzapore, and was +published, in both the Arabic and Roman characters, in 1869, after +continuous labour for more than six years. He stumbled, in the library +of the British and Foreign Bible Society, on sixteen manuscript +volumes of a Hindustani translation of nearly the whole Old Testament, +beginning with Martyn's Genesis. The folios were interleaved, and on +the blank pages were thousands of notes in English. At the end of the +Pentateuch the copyist records that 'the above has been completed, by +order of Paymaster Sherwood, for the Rev. Daniel Corrie, by me, +Makhdum Buksh.' The copy seems to have been the accomplished +Thomason's, and to have been deposited in the library by his widow +after his death at Port Louis, Mauritius. This practically complete +translation of the Old Testament had been lost for forty years. The +eulogy passed by Thomason on Martyn's Hindustani New Testament, that +it 'will last as a model of elegant writing as well as of faithful +translation,' is pronounced by Dr. Mather,[74] after all that time, +as, 'in the main, just; the work has lasted and continued to be +acceptable, and will perhaps always continue to be useful. All +subsequent translators have, as a matter of course, proceeded upon it +as a work of excellent skill and learning, and rigid fidelity.' + +The modern Arabic translation of the New Testament, by Martyn and +Sabat, was not printed (in Calcutta) till 1816, and the translation of +the Old Testament was continued under the supervision of Mr. Thomason, +who became virtually Martyn's literary executor, and whose labours as +Oriental translator and editor hurried him, like his friend, to a +premature death. Both had the same biographer--the good Sargent, +Rector of Lavington. As Thomason toiled at the Arabic, Persian, and +Hindustani editions, he wrote: 'I am filled with astonishment at the +opening scenes of usefulness. Send us labourers--send us faithful +laborious labourers!'[75] Martyn's Arabic New Testament, produced +with the assistance of an undoubtedly learned Arab, as conceited and +of temper as intolerable as Sabat, did its work among the 'learned and +fastidious' Mohammedans for whom chiefly it was prepared. Professor +Lee issued a second edition in London, and Mr. Thomason a third in +Calcutta. In common with the old translations, made for the land in +which St. Paul began the first missionary work, and reproduced in +various Polyglot Bibles, it has been superseded by the wonderfully +perfect and altogether beautiful Arabic Bible (Beirut) of Dr. Eli +Smith and Dr. Van Dyck, on which these American scholars, assisted by +learned natives of Syria and Cairo, were occupied for nearly thirty +years. In the Beirut Arabic Scriptures, Henry Martyn's troubled life +with Sabat found early and luxuriant fruit. How wisely and humbly the +missionary chaplain of the East India Company estimated his own, and +especially his Arabic, translations, and how at the same time he +longed to live that he might do in 1812-20 what Eli Smith and Van Dyck +did in 1837-65, may be seen from these early letters and journals: + + TO THE REV. DAVID BROWN, CALCUTTA + + Cawnpore: June 11, 1810. + + Dearest Sir,--The excessive heat, by depriving me of my rest at + night, keeps me between sleeping and waking all day. This is one + reason why I have been remiss in answering your letters. It must + not, however, be concealed that the man Daniel Corrie has kept + me so long talking that I have had no time for writing since his + arrival. + + Your idea about presenting splendid copies of the Scriptures to + native great men has often struck me, but my counsel is, not to + do it with the first edition. I have too little faith in the + instruments to believe that the first editions will be + excellent; and if they should be found defective, we cannot + after once presenting the great men with one book, repeat the + thing. + + Before the second edition of the Arabic, what say you to my + carrying the first with me to Arabia, having under the other arm + the Persian, to be examined at Shiraz or Teheran? By the time + they are both ready I shall have nearly finished my seven years, + and may go on furlough. + + I am glad to find you promising to give yourself wholly to your + plans. I always tremble lest Mrs. Brown should order you home; + but I must not suspect her, she has the soul of a missionary. If + you go soon we shall all droop and die. Your Polyglot + speculations are fine, but Polyglots are Biblical luxuries, + intended for the gratification of men of two tongues or more. We + must first feed those that have but one, especially as single + tongues are growing upon us so fast. + + _June 12._--To-day I have requested the Commander of the forces + to detain D. Corrie here to assist me; he said he did not like + to make innovations, but would keep him here for two or three + months. This will be a great relief to my labouring chest, for I + am still far from being out of the fear of consumption. Tell me + that you have prayed for me. + + Yours, etc. H.M. + + _August 22._--I want silence and diversion, a little dog to play + with; or what would be best of all, a dear little child, such as + Fanny was when I left her. Perhaps you could learn when the + ships usually sail for Mocha. I have set my heart upon going + there; I could be there and back in six months. + + _September 8._--Your tide rolls on with terrifying rapidity, at + least I tremble while committing myself to it. You look to me, + and I to Sabat; and Sabat I look upon as the staff of Egypt. May + I prove mistaken! All, however, does not depend upon him. If my + life is spared, there is no reason why the Arabic should not be + done in Arabia, and the Persian in Persia, as well as the Indian + in India. I hope your Shalome has not left you. I promise myself + great advantage in reading Hebrew and Syriac with him. + + _September 9._--Yours of the 27th ult. is a heart-breaking + business. Though I share so deeply in Sabat's disgrace, I feel + more for you than myself, but I can give you no comfort except + by saying, 'It is well that it was in thine heart.' Your letter + will give a new turn to my life. Henceforward I have done with + India. Arabia shall hide me till I come forth with an approved + New Testament in Arabic. I do not ask your advice, because I + have made up my mind, but shall just wait your answer to this, + and come down to you instantly. I have been calculating upon the + means of support, and find that I shall have wherewithal to + live. Besides, the Lord will provide. Before Him I have spread + this affair, and do not feel that I shall be acting contrary to + His will.... Will Government let me go away for three years + before the time of my furlough arrives? If not, I must quit the + service, and I cannot devote my life to a more important work + than that of preparing the Arabic Bible. + + Herewith you will receive the first seven chapters in Persian + and Hindustani, though I suppose you have ceased to wish for + them. The Persian will only prove that Sabat is not the man for + it. I have protested against many things in it, but instead of + sending you my objections I inclose a critique by Mirza, who + must remain unknown. I am somewhat inclined to think the Arabic + not quite so hopeless. Sabat is confident, and eager to meet his + opponents. His version of the Romans was certainly not from the + old one, because he translated it all before my face from the + English; but then, as I hinted long ago, he is inaccurate and + not to be depended upon. He entirely approves of my going to + Busrah with his translations, and the old one, confident that + the decision there will be in his favour. Dear Sir, take + measures for transmitting me with the least possible delay; + detain me not, for the King's business requires haste. + +The King sent His eager servant to Persia, and did not give him the +desire of his heart to enter Arabia. Truly he hastened so unrestingly +that the Spirit of God led him to complete the Persian New Testament, +and then carried him away from the many tongues of mortal men, which +as they sprang from disunion, so they are to 'cease' in the one speech +of the multitudes of every nation and kindred and tribe and tongue who +sing the new song. + +The following letter to Charles Simeon, the original of which was +presented by his biographer, Canon Carus, to Canon Moor, who permits +it to be published here for the first time, fitly introduces Henry +Martyn's translation used in Persia. Simeon received it on January 21, +1812, and thus wrote of it to Thomason: + + From whom, think you, did I receive a letter yesterday? From our + beloved Martyn in Persia. He begins to find his strength + improve, and he is 'disputing daily' with the learned, who, he + says, are extremely subtile. They are not a little afraid of + him, and are going to write a book on the evidences of their + religion. The evidences of Mohammedanism! A fine comparison they + will make with those of Christianity. Oh, that God may endue our + brother with wisdom and strength to execute all that is in his + heart. He is desirous of spending two years in Persia, and is + willing to sacrifice his salary if the East India Company will + not give him leave. I am going in an hour to Mr. Grant to + consult him, and shall call on Mr. Astell if Mr. Grant thinks it + expedient. + + TO REV. C. SIMEON + + Shiraz: July 8, 1811. + + My dearest Friend and Brother,--My last letter to you was from + Bombay. I sailed thence on March 25, in the Company's corvette, + the Benares. As the ship was manned principally by Europeans, I + had a good deal to do during the voyage, but through the mercy + of our Heavenly Father I was so far from suffering that I rather + gained strength, and am now apparently as well as ever I was. On + Easter day we made the coast of Mekran, in Persia, and on the + Sunday following landed at Muscat, in Arabia. Here I met with an + African slave, who tried hard to persuade me that I was in the + wrong and he in the right. The dispute ended in his asking for + an Arabic Testament, which I gave him. We were about a month in + the Persian Gulf, generally in sight of land. At last, on May + 22, I was set down at Bushire, in Persia, and was kindly + received by the English Resident. One day I went to the Armenian + church, at the request of the priest, not expecting to see + anything like Christian worship, and accordingly I did not. The + Word of God was read, indeed, but in such a way that no man + could have understood it. After church he desired me to notice + that he had censed me _four_ times because I was a priest. This + will give you an idea of their excessive childishness. I took + occasion from his remark to speak about the priest's office, and + the awful importance of it. Nothing can be conceived more vapid + and inane than his observations. + + As soon as my Persian dress was ready, I set off for the + interior in a kafila, or small caravan, consisting chiefly of + mules, and after a very fatiguing journey of ten days over the + mountains, during which time the difference in the thermometer + by day and night was often sixty degrees, I arrived at this + place about a month ago. + + I had no intention of making any stay here, but I found, on my + producing Sabat's Persian translation, that I must sit down with + native Persians to begin the work once more. The fault found + with Sabat's work is that he uses words not only so difficult as + to be unintelligible to the generality, but such as never were + in use in the Persian. + + When it is considered that the issue of all disputes with the + Mohammedans is a reference to the Scriptures, and that the + Persian and Arabic are known all over the Mohammedan world, it + will be evident that we ought to spare no pains in obtaining + good versions in these languages. Hence I look upon my staying + here for a time as a duty paramount to every other, and I trust + that the Government in India will look upon it in the same + light. If they should stop my pay, it would not alter my purpose + in the least, but it would be an inconvenience. I should be + happy, therefore, if the Court of Directors would sanction my + residence in these parts for a year or two. No one who has been + in Persia will imagine that I am here for my own pleasure. India + is a paradise to it. All is poverty and desolation without, and + within I have no comfort but in my God. I am in the midst of + enemies, who argue against the truth, sometimes with uncommon + subtlety. But I pray for the fulfilment of the Lord's promise, + and I am assured that He will be with me and give me a mouth and + a wisdom, which all my adversaries shall not be able to gainsay + or resist. I am sometimes asked whether I am not afraid to speak + so boldly against the Mohammedan religion. I tell them if I say + or do anything against the laws I am not unwilling to suffer, + but if I say nothing but what naturally comes in the course of + argument--it is an argument too which you yourselves began--why + should I fear? You know the power of the English too well to + suppose that they would let any violence be offered to me with + impunity. + + The English ambassador, Sir Gore Ouseley, whom I met here on + his way to Tabreez, carried me with him to the court of the + prince, who, though tributary to his father, is a sovereign + prince in Elam, as the S. Scriptures call the province of Fars. + He has also recommended me to the prince's favourite minister, + so that I am in no danger. But there is certainly a great stir + among the learned, and every effort is made to support their + cause. They have now persuaded the father of all the moollas to + write a book in Arabic on the evidences of the Mohammedan + religion, a book which is to silence me for ever. I rather + suppose that the more their cause is examined the worse it will + appear. + + I have had no news from India these four months, so I can say + nothing of our friends there. Let your next letters be sent not + to India, but direct to Persia, in this way: Rev. H.M., care of + Sir Gore Ouseley, Bart., Ambassador Extraordinary, etc., + _Teheran_; care of S. Morier, Esq., _Constantinople_; care of + George Moore, Esq., _Malta_. My kindest love to all your dear + people, Messrs. Bowman and Goodall, Farish, Port, Phillips, etc. + I hope they continue to remember me once a week in their + prayers; to the _four godly professors_;[76] to your young men + though to me unknown, and especially to your brother. Believe me + to be yours ever most affectionately, + + H. MARTYN. + + _1812, January 1_ to _8_.--Spared by mercy to see the beginning + of another year. The last has been in some respects a memorable + year; transported in safety to Shiraz, I have been led, by the + particular providence of God, to undertake a work the idea of + which never entered my mind till my arrival here, but which has + gone on without material interruption and is now nearly + finished. To all appearance the present year will be more + perilous than any I have seen, but if I live to complete the + Persian New Testament, my life after that will be of less + importance. But whether life or death be mine, may Christ be + magnified in me. If He has work for me to do, I cannot die. + +He had just before written this pathetic letter, of exquisite +friendliness: + + TO THE REV. D. CORRIE + + Shiraz: December 12, 1811. + + Dearest Brother,--Your letters of January 28 and April 22 have + just reached me. After being a whole year without any tidings of + you, you may conceive how much they have tended to revive my + spirits. Indeed, I know not how to be sufficiently thankful to + our God and Father for giving me a brother who is indeed a + brother to my soul, and thus follows me with affectionate + prayers wherever I go, and more than supplies my place to the + precious flock over whom the Holy Ghost hath made us overseers. + There is only one thing in your letters that makes me uneasy, + and that is, the oppression you complain of in the hot weather. + As you will have to pass another hot season at Cawnpore, and I + do not know how many more, I must again urge you to spare + yourself. I am endeavouring to learn the true use of time in a + new way, by placing myself in idea twenty or thirty years in + advance, and then considering how I ought to have managed twenty + or thirty years ago. In racing violently for a year or two, and + then breaking down? In this way I have reasoned myself into + contentment about staying so long at Shiraz. I thought at first, + what will the Government in India think of my being away so + long, or what will my friends think? Shall I not appear to all a + wandering shepherd, leaving the flock and running about for my + own pleasure! But placing myself twenty years on in time, I say, + Why could not I stay at Shiraz long enough to get a New + Testament done there, even if I had been detained there on that + account three or six years? What work of equal importance can + ever come from me? So that now I am resolved to wait here till + the New Testament is finished, though I incur the displeasure of + Government, or even be dismissed the service. I have been many + times on the eve of my departure, as my translator promised to + accompany me to Baghdad, but that city being in great confusion + he is afraid to trust himself there; so I resolved to go + westward through the north of Persia, but found it impossible, + on account of the snow which blocks up the roads in winter, to + proceed till spring. Here I am therefore, for three months more; + our Testament will be finished, please God, in six weeks. I go + on as usual, riding round the walls in the morning, and singing + hymns at night over my milk and water, for tea I have none, + though I much want it. I am with you in spirit almost every + evening, and feel a bliss I cannot describe in being one with + the dear saints of God all over the earth, through one Lord and + one Spirit. + + They continued throwing stones at me every day, till happening + one day to tell Jaffir Ali Khan, my host, how one as big as my + fist had hit me in the back, he wrote to the Governor, who sent + an order to all the gates, that if any one insulted me he should + be bastinadoed, and the next day came himself in state to pay me + a visit. These measures have had the desired effect; they now + call me the Feringhi Nabob, and very civilly offer me the + kalean; but indeed the Persian commonalty are very brutes; the + Soofis declare themselves unable to account for the fierceness + of their countrymen, except it be from the influence of Islam. + After speaking in my praise one of them added 'and there are the + Hindus too (who have brought the guns), when I saw their + gentleness I was quite charmed with them; but as for our + Iranees, they delight in nothing but tormenting their fellow + creatures.' These Soofis are quite the Methodists of the East. + They delight in everything Christian, except in being exclusive. + They consider that all will finally return to God, from whom + they emanated, or rather of whom they are only different forms. + The doctrine of the Trinity they admired, but not the atonement, + because the Mohammedans, they say, consider Imam Husain as also + crucified for the sins of men; and to everything Mohammedan they + have a particular aversion. Yet withal they conform externally. + From these, however, you will perceive the first Persian Church + will be formed, judging after the manner of men. The employment + of my leisure hours is translating the Psalms into Persian. What + will poor Fitrut do when he gets to the poetical books? Job, I + hope, you have let him pass over. The Books of Solomon are also + in a very sorry condition in the English. The Prophets are all + much easier, and consequently better done. I hear there is a man + at Yezd that has fallen into the same way of thinking as myself + about the letters, and professes to have found out all the arts + and sciences from them. I should be glad to compare notes with + him. It is now time for me to bid you good night. We have had + ice on the pools some time, but no snow yet. They build their + houses without chimneys, so if we want a fire we must take the + smoke along with it. I prefer wrapping myself in my sheepskin. + + Your accounts of the progress of the kingdom of God among you + are truly refreshing. Tell dear H. and the men of both regiments + that I salute them much in the Lord, and make mention of them in + my prayers. May I continue to hear thus of their state, and if I + am spared to see them again, may we make it evident that we have + grown in grace. Affectionate remembrances to your sister and + Sherwoods; I hope they continue to prosecute their labours of + love. Remember me to the people of Cawnpore who inquire, etc. + Why have not I mentioned Col. P.? It is not because he is not in + my heart, for there is hardly a man in the world whom I love and + honour more. My most Christian salutations to him. + + May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, + dearest brother. Yours affectionately, + + H. MARTYN. + +Martyn's Cambridge Persian studies were continued for practical +Hindustani purposes at Dinapore, in 1809, and the following incident +unconsciously lights up his Persian scholarship at that date. Writing +to the impatient David Brown at Aldeen, from Patna, on March 28, he +says: + + You chide me for not trusting my Hindustani to the press. Last + week we began the correction of it; present, a Sayyid of Delhi, + a poet of Lucknow, three or four literates of Patna, and Baba + Ali in the chair; Sabat and myself assessors. + + I was amazed and mortified at observing that reference was had + to the Persian for every verse, in order to understand the + Hindustani. It was, however, a consolation to find that from the + Persian they caught the meaning of it instantly, always + expressing their admiration of the plainness of their + translation. + +But when the Persian translation of the four Gospels was printed at +Serampore, nearly two years after, Martyn himself was dissatisfied +with it. His Cawnpore and especially Lucknow experience had developed +him in Persian style, and led him to see that in Persia itself only +could the great work be done of translating the Word of God into a +language spoken and read from Calcutta and Patna to Damascus and +Tabreez. + +When Henry Martyn did the noblest achievement of his life, the +production of the Persian New Testament, he unknowingly linked himself +with the greatest of the Greek Fathers, near whose dust his own was +about to be laid. Until the Eastern Church ceased to be aggressive--that +is, missionary--Persia, like Central Asia up to China itself, promised +to be all Christian. Islam, a corrupted mixture of Judaism and +Christianity, took its place. Persia sent a bishop to the Council of +Nicaea in 325, and the great Constantine wrote a letter to King Sapor, +recommending to his protection the Christian Churches in his empire.[77] +Chrysostom (347-407), in his second homily on John, incidentally tells +us that 'the Persians, having translated the doctrines of the Gospel +into their own tongue, had learned, though barbarians, the true +philosophy.' In his homily on the memorial of Mary he puts the Persians +first, and our British forefathers last, in this remarkable passage: +'The Persians, the Indians, Scythians, Thracians, Sarmatians, the race +of the Moors, and the inhabitants of the British Isles, celebrate a deed +performed in a private family in Judea by a woman that had been a +sinner.' The isles of Britain, Claudius Buchanan well remarks, then +last, are now the first to restore this memorial to the Persians as well +as to other Mohammedan nations. Even so late as 1740 the tyrant Nadir +Shah, inquiring as to Jesus Christ, asked for a Persian copy of the +Gospels, and had presented to him the combined work of an ignorant +Romish priest and some Mohammedan moollas, which excited his ridicule. +The traveller, Jonas Hanway, tells us that when Henry Martyn saw this +production he exclaimed that he did not wonder at Nadir's contempt of +it. + +Martyn arrived in Shiraz on June 11, 1811; in a week he began his +Persian translation of the New Testament, and in February 1812 he +completed the happy toil, carried on amidst disputations with Soofis and +Shi'ahs, Jews and Christians of the Oriental rites, while consumption +wasted his body. His 'leisure' he spent in translating the Hebrew +Psalter. Let us look at him, in that South Persian summer and winter and +summer again, now in the city of Shiraz, now driven by the sultry heat +to the garden of roses and orange-trees outside the walls near the tomb +of Hafiz. The Christian poet has pictured the scene--Alford, when Dean +of Canterbury in 1851. Twenty years after, he himself was laid in the +churchyard of the mother church of England, St. Martin's, under this +inscription--'Diversorium Viatoris Hierosolymam Proficiscentis': + + _HENRY MARTYN AT SHIRAZ_ + + I + + A vision of the bright Shiraz, of Persian bards the theme: + The vine with bunches laden hangs o'er the crystal stream; + The nightingale all day her notes in rosy thickets trills, + And the brooding heat-mist faintly lies along the distant hills. + + II + + About the plain are scattered wide, in many a crumbling heap, + The fanes of other days, and tombs where Iran's poets sleep: + And in the midst, like burnished gems, in noonday light repose + The minarets of bright Shiraz--the City of the Rose. + + III + + One group beside the river bank in rapt discourse are seen, + Where hangs the golden orange on its boughs of purest green; + Their words are sweet and low, and their looks are lit with joy, + Some holy blessing seems to rest on them and their employ. + + IV + + The pale-faced Frank among them sits: what brought him from afar? + Nor bears he bales of merchandise, nor teaches skill in war; + One pearl alone he brings with him,--the Book of life and death; + One warfare only teaches he--to fight the fight of faith. + + V + + And Iran's sons are round him, and one with solemn tone + Tells how the Lord of Glory was rejected by His own; + Tells, from the wondrous Gospel, of the Trial and the Doom, + The words Divine of Love and Might--the Scourge, the Cross, the Tomb. + + VI + + Far sweeter to the stranger's ear those Eastern accents sound + Than music of the nightingale that fills the air around: + Lovelier than balmiest odours sent from gardens of the rose, + The fragrance from the contrite soul and chastened lip that flows. + + VII + + The nightingales have ceased to sing, the roses' leaves are shed, + The Frank's pale face in Tokat's field hath mouldered with the dead: + Alone and all unfriended, midst his Master's work he fell, + With none to bathe his fevered brow, with none his tale to tell. + + VIII + + But still those sweet and solemn tones about him sound in bliss, + And fragrance from those flowers of God for evermore is his: + For his the meed, by grace, of those who, rich in zeal and love, + Turn many unto righteousness, and shine as stars above. + +This was the beginning of the Persian New Testament: + + TO REV. DAVID BROWN + + Shiraz: June 24, 1811. + + Dearest Sir,--I believe I told you that the advanced state of + the season rendered it necessary to go to Arabia circuitously by + way of Persia. Behold me therefore in the Athens of Fars, the + haunt of the Persian man. Beneath are the ashes of Hafiz and + Sadi; above, green gardens and running waters, roses and + nightingales. Does Mr. Bird envy my lot? Let him solace himself + with Aldeen. How gladly would I give him Shiraz for Aldeen; how + often while toiling through this miserable country have I + sighed for Aldeen! If I am ever permitted to see India again + nothing but dire necessity, or the imperious call of duty, will + ever induce me to travel again. One thing is good here, the + fruit; we have apples and apricots, plums, nectarines, + greengages and cherries, all of which are served up with ice and + snow. When I have said this for Shiraz I have said all. + + But to have done with what grows out of the soil, let us come to + the men. The Persians are, like ourselves, immortal; their + language had passed a long way beyond the limits of Iran. The + men of Shiraz propose to translate the New Testament with me. + Can I refuse to stay? After much deliberation I have determined + to remain here six months. It is sorely against my will, but I + feel it to be a duty. From all that I can collect there appears + no probability of our ever having a good translation made out of + Persia. At Bombay I showed Moolla Firoz, the most learned man + there, the three Persian translations, viz. the Polyglot, and + Sabat's two. He disapproved of them all. At Bushire, which is in + Persia, the man of the greatest name was Sayyid Hosein. Of the + three he liked Sabat's Persian best, but said it seemed written + by an Indian. On my arrival at this place I produced my + specimens once more. Sabat's Persian was much ridiculed; + sarcastic remarks were made on the fondness for fine words so + remarkable in the Indians, who seemed to think that hard words + made fine writing. His Persic also was presently thrown aside, + and to my no small surprise the old despised Polyglot was not + only spoken of as superior to the rest, but it was asked, What + fault is found in this?--this is the language we speak. The king + has also signified that it is his wish that as little Arabic as + possible may be employed in the papers presented to him. So that + simple Persian is likely to become more and more fashionable. + This is a change favourable certainly to our glorious cause. To + the poor the Gospel will be preached. We began our work with + the Gospel of St. John, and five chapters are put out of hand. + It is likely to be the simplest thing imaginable; and I dare say + the pedantic Arab will turn up his nose at it; but what the men + of Shiraz approve who can gainsay? Let Sabat confine himself to + the Arabic, and he will accomplish a great work. The + forementioned Sayyid Hosein of Bushire is an Arab. I showed him + Erpenius's Arabic Testament, the Christian Knowledge Society, + Sabat's, and the Polyglot. After rejecting all but Sabat's, he + said this is good, very good, and then read off the 5th of + Matthew in a fine style, giving it unqualified commendation as + he went along. On my proposing to him to give a specimen of what + he thought the best Persian style, he consented; but, said he, + give me this to translate from, laying his hand on Sabat's + Arabic. At Muscat an Arab officer who had attended us as guard + and guide one day when we walked into the country, came on board + with his slave to take leave of us. The slave, who had argued + with me very strenuously in favour of his religion, reminded me + of a promise I had made him of giving him the Gospel. On my + producing an Arabic New Testament, he seized it and began to + read away upon deck, but presently stopped, and said it was not + fine Arabic. However, he carried off the book. + +In eight months the Persian translation of the New Testament was done. +The _Journal_, during that period, from July 1811 to February 1812, as +the sacred task went on, reveals the Holy Spirit moving the hearts of +the translator's Mohammedan assistant and Soofi disputants by 'the +things of Christ,' while it shows His servant bearing witness, by the +account of his own conversion, to His power to save and to make holy. + + _December 12._--Letters at last from India. Mirza Sayyid Ali + was curious to know in what way we corresponded, and made me + read Mr. Brown's letter to me, and mine to Corrie. He took care + to let his friends know that we wrote nothing about our own + affairs: it was all about translations and the cause of Christ. + With this he was delighted. + + _December 16._--In translating 2 Cor. i. 22, 'Who hath given the + earnest of the Spirit in our hearts,' he was much struck when it + was explained to him. 'Oh, that I had it,' said he; 'have you + received it?' I told him that, as I had no doubt of my + acceptance through Christ, I concluded that I had. Once before, + on the words, 'Who are saved?' he expressed his surprise at the + confidence with which Christians spoke of salvation. On 1 Cor. + xv. he observed, that the doctrine of the resurrection of the + body was unreasonable; but that as the Mohammedans understood + it, it was impossible; on which account the Soofis rejected it. + + _Christmas Day._--I made a great feast for the Russians and + Armenians; and, at Jaffir Ali Khan's request, invited the Soofi + master, with his disciples. I hoped there would be some + conversation on the occasion of our meeting, and, indeed, Mirza + Sayyid Ali did make some attempts, and explained to the old man + the meaning of the Lord's Supper; but the sage maintaining his + usual silence, the subject was dropped. I expressed my + satisfaction at seeing them assembled on such an occasion, and + my hope that they would remember the day in succeeding years, + and that though they would never see me again in the succeeding + years, they would not forget that I had brought them the Gospel. + The old man coldly replied that 'God would guide those whom He + chose.' Most of the time they continued was before dinner; the + moment that was despatched, they rose and went away. The custom + is, to sit five or six hours before dinner, and at great men's + houses singers attend. + + _December 31._--The accounts of the desolations of war during + the last year, which I have been reading in some Indian + newspapers, make the world appear more gloomy than ever. How + many souls hurried into eternity unprepared! How many thousands + of widows and orphans left to mourn! But admire, my soul, the + matchless power of God, that out of this ruin He has prepared + for Himself an inheritance. At last the scene shall change, and + I shall find myself in a world where all is love. + + _1812._--The last has been in some respects a memorable year. I + have been led, by what I have reason to consider as the + particular providence of God, to this place; and have undertaken + an important work, which has gone on without material + interruption, and is now nearly finished. I like to find myself + employed usefully, in a way I did not expect or foresee, + especially if my own will is in any degree crossed by the work + unexpectedly assigned me, as there is then reason to believe + that God is acting. The present year will probably be a perilous + one, but my life is of little consequence, whether I live to + finish the Persian New Testament or do not. I look back with + pity and shame upon my former self, and on the importance I then + attached to my life and labours. The more I see of my own works + the more I am ashamed of them. Coarseness and clumsiness mar all + the works of man. I am sick when I look at man and his wisdom + and his doings, and am relieved only by reflecting that we have + a city whose builder and maker is God. The least of _His_ works + it is refreshing to look at. A dried leaf or a straw makes me + feel myself in good company: complacency and admiration take + place of disgust. + + I compared with pain our Persian translation with the original; + to say nothing of the precision and elegance of the sacred text, + its perspicuity is that which sets at defiance all attempts to + equal it. + + _January 16._--Mirza Sayyid Ali told me accidentally to-day of a + distich made by his friend Mirza Koochut, at Teheran, in honour + of a victory gained by Prince Abbas Mirza over the Russians. The + sentiment was, that he had killed so many of the Christians, + that Christ, from the fourth heaven, took hold of Mahomet's + skirt to entreat him to desist. I was cut to the soul at this + blasphemy. In prayer I could think of nothing else but that + great day when the Son of God shall come in the clouds of + heaven, taking vengeance on them that know not God, and + convincing men of all their hard speeches which they have spoken + against Him. + + Mirza Sayyid Ali perceived that I was considerably disordered, + and was sorry for having repeated the verse, but asked what it + was that was so offensive. I told him that 'I could not endure + existence if Jesus was not glorified; it would be hell to me if + He were to be always thus dishonoured.' He was astonished, and + again asked why. 'If anyone pluck out your eyes,' I replied, + 'there is no saying _why_ you feel pain; it is feeling. It is + because I am one with Christ that I am thus dreadfully wounded.' + On his again apologising, I told him that 'I rejoiced at what + had happened, inasmuch as it made me feel nearer the Lord than + ever. It is when the head or heart is struck, that every member + feels its membership.' This conversation took place while we + were translating. In the evening he mentioned the circumstance + of a young man's being murdered--a fine athletic youth, whom I + had often seen in the garden. Some acquaintance of his in a + slight quarrel had plunged a dagger in his breast. Observing me + look sorrowful, he asked why. 'Because,' said I, 'he was cut off + in his sins, and had no time to repent.' 'It was just in that + way,' said he, 'that I should like to die; not dragging out a + miserable existence on a sick-bed, but transported at once into + another state.' I observed that 'it was not desirable to be + hurried into the immediate presence of God.' 'Do you think,' + said he, 'that there is any difference in the presence of God + here or there?' 'Indeed I do,' said I. 'Here we see through a + glass darkly; but there, face to face.' He then entered into + some metaphysical Soofi disputation about the identity of sin + and holiness, heaven and hell: to all which I made no reply. + + _January 18._--Aga Ali of Media came: and with him and Mirza Ali + I had a long and warm discussion about the essentials of + Christianity. The Mede, seeing us at work upon the Epistles, + said, 'he should be glad to read them; as for the Gospels they + were nothing but tales, which were of no use to him; for + instance,' said he, 'if Christ raised four hundred dead to life, + what is that to me?' I said, 'it certainly was of importance, + for His work furnished a reason for our depending upon His + words.' 'What did He say,' asked he, 'that was not known before? + the love of God, humility--who does not know these things?' + 'Were these things,' said I, 'known before Christ, either among + Greeks or Romans, with all their philosophy?' They avowed that + the Hindu book _Juh_ contained precepts of this kind. I + questioned its antiquity; 'but however that may be,' I added, + 'Christ came not to _teach_ so much as to _die_; the truths I + spoke of as confirmed by His miracles were those relating to His + person, such as, "Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy + laden, and I will give you rest." Here Mirza Sayyid Ali told him + that I had professed to have no doubt of my salvation. He asked + what I meant. I told him, 'that though sin still remained, I was + assured that it should not regain dominion; and that I should + never come into condemnation, but was accepted in the Beloved.' + Not a little surprised, he asked Mirza Sayyid Ali whether he + comprehended this. 'No,' said he, 'nor Mirza Ibrahim, to whom I + mentioned it.' The Mede again turning to me asked, 'How do you + know this? how do you know you have experienced the second + birth?' 'Because,' said I, 'we have the Spirit of the Father; + what He wishes we wish; what He hates we hate.' Here he began to + be a little more calm and less contentious, and mildly asked + how I had obtained this peace of mind: 'Was it merely these + books?' said he, taking up some of our sheets. I told him, + 'These books, with prayer.' 'What was the beginning of it,' said + he, 'the society of some friends?' I related to him my religious + history, the substance of which was, that I took my Bible before + God in prayer, and prayed for forgiveness through Christ, + assurance of it through His Spirit, and grace to obey His + commandments. They then both asked whether the same benefit + would be conferred on them. 'Yes,' said I, 'for so the Apostles + preached, that all who were baptized in His name should receive + the gift of the Holy Ghost.' 'Can you assure me,' said Mirza + Sayyid Ali, 'that the Spirit will be given to me? if so, I will + be baptized immediately.' 'Who am I that I should be surety?' I + replied; 'I bring you this message from God, that he who, + despairing of himself, rests for righteousness on the Son of + God, shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost; and to this I can + add my testimony, if that be worth anything, that I have found + the promise fulfilled in myself. But if after baptism you should + not find it so in you, accuse not the Gospel of falsehood. It is + possible that your faith might not be sincere; indeed, so fully + am I persuaded that you do not believe on the Son of God, that + if you were to entreat ever so earnestly for baptism I should + not dare to administer it at this time, when you have shown so + many signs of an unhumbled heart.' 'What! would you have me + believe,' said he, 'as a child?' 'Yes,' said I. 'True,' said he, + 'I think that is the only way.' Aga Ali said no more, except, + 'Certainly he is a good man!' + + _January 23._--Put on my English dress, and went to the + Vizier's, to see part of the tragedy of Husain's death,[78] + which they contrive to spin out so as to make it last the first + ten days of the Mohurrum. All the apparatus consisted of a few + boards for a stage, two tables and a pulpit, under an immense + awning, in the court where the company were assembled. The + _dramatis personae_ were two; the daughter of Husain, whose part + was performed by a boy, and a messenger; they both read their + parts. Every now and then loud sobs were heard all over the + court. After this several feats of activity were exhibited; the + Vizier sat with the moollas. I was appointed to a seat where + indeed I saw as much as I wanted, but which, I afterwards + perceived, was not the place of honour. As I trust I am far + enough from desiring the chief seats in the synagogues, there + was nothing in this that could offend me; but I do not think it + right to let him have another opportunity of showing a slight to + my country in my person. + + _January 24._--Found Sayyid Ali rather serious this evening. He + said he did not know what to do to have his mind made up about + religion. Of all the religions Christ's was the best; but + whether to prefer this to Soofi-ism he could not tell. In these + doubts he is tossed to and fro, and is often kept awake the + whole night in tears. He and his brother talk together on these + things till they are almost crazed. Before he was engaged in + this work of translation, he says he used to read about two or + three hours a day, now he can do nothing else; has no + inclination for anything else, and feels unhappy if he does not + correct his daily portion. His late employment has given a new + turn to his thoughts as well as to those of his friends; they + had not the most distant conception of the contents of the New + Testament. He says his Soofi friends are exceedingly anxious to + see the Epistles, from the accounts he gives of them, and also + he is sure that almost the whole of Shiraz are so sensible of + the load of unmeaning ceremonies in which their religion + consists, that they will rejoice to see or hear of anything like + freedom, and that they would be more willing to embrace Christ + than the Soofis, who, after taking so much pains to be + independent of all law, would think it degrading to submit + themselves to any law again, however light. + + _February 2._--From what I suffer in this city, I can understand + the feelings of Lot. The face of the poor Russian appears to me + like the face of an angel, because he does not tell lies. Heaven + will be heaven because there will not be one liar there. The + Word of God is more precious to me at this time than I ever + remember it to have been; and of all the promises in it, none is + more sweet to me than this--'He shall reign till He hath put all + enemies under His feet.' + + _February 3._--A packet arrived from India without a single + letter for me. It was some disappointment to me: but let me be + satisfied with my God, and if I cannot have the comfort of + hearing from my friends, let me return with thankfulness to His + Word, which is a treasure of which none envy me the possession, + and where I can find what will more than compensate for the loss + of earthly enjoyments. Resignation to the will of God is a + lesson which I must learn, and which I trust He is teaching me. + + _February 9._--Aga Boozong came. After much conversation, he + said, 'Prove to me, from the beginning, that Christianity is the + way: how will you proceed? what do you say must be done?' 'If + you would not believe a person who wrought a miracle before + you,' said I, 'I have nothing to say; I cannot proceed a step.' + 'I will grant you,' said Sayyid Ali, 'that Christ was the Son of + God, and more than that.' 'That you despair of yourself, and are + willing to trust in Him alone for salvation?' 'Yes.' 'And are + ready to confess Christ before men, and act conformably to His + Word?' 'Yes: what else must I do?' 'Be baptized in the name of + Christ.' 'And what shall I gain?' 'The gift of the Holy Ghost. + The end of faith is salvation in the world to come; but even + here you shall have the Spirit to purify your heart, and to give + you the assurance of everlasting happiness.' Thus Aga Boozong + had an opportunity of hearing those strange things from my own + mouth, of which he had been told by his disciple the Mede. 'You + can say too,' said he, 'that you have received the Spirit?' I + told them I believed I had; 'for, notwithstanding all my sins, + the bent of my heart was to God in a way it never was before; + and that, according to my present feeling, I could not be happy + if God was not glorified, and if I had not the enjoyment of His + presence, for which I felt that I was now educating.' Aga + Boozong shed tears. + + After this came Aga Ali, the Mede, to hear, as he said, some of + the sentences of Paul. Mirza Sayyid Ali had told them, 'that if + they had read nothing but the Gospels, they knew nothing of the + religion of Christ.' The sheet I happened to have by me was the + one containing the fourth, fifth, and sixth chapters of the + Second Epistle to the Corinthians, which Aga Ali read out. + + At this time the company had increased considerably. I desired + Aga Ali to notice particularly the latter part of the fifth + chapter, 'God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto + Himself.' He then read it a second time, but they saw not its + glory; however, they spoke in high terms of the pith and + solidity of Paul's sentences. They were evidently on the watch + for anything that tallied with their own sentiments. Upon the + passage, 'Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord + Jesus,' the Mede observed, 'Do you not see that Jesus was in + Paul, and that Paul was only another name for Jesus?' And the + text, 'Whether we be beside ourselves, it is to God; and whether + we be sober, it is for your sakes,' they interpreted thus: 'We + are absorbed in the contemplation of God, and when we recover, + it is to instruct you.' + + Walking afterwards with Mirza Sayyid Ali, he told me how much + one of my remarks had affected him, namely, that he had no + humility. He had been talking about simplicity and humility as + characteristic of the Soofis. 'Humility!' I said to him, 'if you + were humble, you would not dispute in this manner; you would be + like a child.' He did not open his mouth afterwards, but to say, + 'True; I have no humility.' In evident distress, he observed, + 'The truth is, we are in a state of compound + ignorance--ignorant, yet ignorant of our ignorance.' + + _February 18._--While walking in the garden, in some disorder + from vexation, two Mussulman Jews came up and asked me what + would become of them in another world. The Mahometans were right + in their way, they supposed, and we in ours, but what must they + expect? After rectifying their mistake as to the Mahometans, I + mentioned two or three reasons for believing that we are right: + such as their dispersion, and the cessation of sacrifices + immediately on the appearance of Jesus. 'True, true,' they said, + with great feeling and seriousness; indeed, they seemed disposed + to yield assent to anything I said. They confessed they had + become Mahometans only on compulsion, and that Abdoolghuni + wished to go to Baghdad, thinking he might throw off the mask + there with safety, but they asked what I thought. I said that + the Governor was a Mahometan. 'Did I think Syria safer?' 'The + safest place in the East,' I said, 'was India.' Feelings of pity + for God's ancient people, and having the awful importance of + eternal things impressed on my mind by the seriousness of their + inquiries as to what would become of them, relieved me from the + pressure of my comparatively insignificant distresses. I, a poor + Gentile, blest, honoured, and loved; secured for ever by the + everlasting covenant, whilst the children of the kingdom are + still lying in outer darkness! Well does it become me to be + thankful! + + This is my birthday, on which I complete my thirty-first year. + The Persian New Testament has been begun, and I may say finished + in it, as only the last eight chapters of the Revelation remain. + Such a painful year I never passed, owing to the privations I + have been called to on the one hand, and the spectacle before me + of human depravity on the other. But I hope that I have not + come to this seat of Satan in vain. The Word of God has found + its way into Persia, and it is not in Satan's power to oppose + its progress if the Lord hath sent it. + +A week after, on February 24, 1812, Henry Martyn corrected the last +page of the New Testament in Persian. As we read his words of +thanksgiving to the Lord and his invocation of the Holy Spirit, in the +already darkening light of his approaching end, before the beatific +vision promised by the Master to the pure in heart, and the blessed +companionship with Himself guaranteed to every true servant, we recall +the Scottish Columba, whose last act was to transcribe the eleventh +verse of the thirty-fourth Psalm, and the English Bede, who died when +translating the ninth verse of the sixth chapter of St. John's Gospel. + + I have many mercies for which to thank the Lord, and this is not + the least. Now may that Spirit who gave the Word, and called me, + I trust, to be an interpreter of it, graciously and powerfully + apply it to the hearts of sinners, even to the gathering an + elect people from amongst the long-estranged Persians! + +FOOTNOTES: + +[66] 'That list, in which Martyn holds a conspicuous place, has grown +long of late years, till we are half tempted to forget that the share +our age has taken and is taking in the work of translating and +distributing the Scriptures, links on to that of those who could +remember men who had seen the Lord.' Canon Edmonds' _Sermon_, preached +in the Cathedral Church of Truro, October 16, 1890 (Exeter). + +[67] _The Churchman_ for September 1889, p. 635. + +[68] See p. 314. + +[69] Evidently taken in detail from Adam's _Religious World Displayed_. + +[70] Fourth edition, London, 1822. + +[71] _Fortieth Report of the British and Foreign Bible Society_, p. +97. + +[72] _The Bible of Every Land_ (Bagster), 1848. + +[73] See _Contributions Towards a History of Biblical Translations in +India_. Calcutta and London (Dalton), 1854. + +[74] _Monograph on Hindustani Versions of the Old and New Testaments_, +by the Rev. R.C. Mather, LL.D. (without date). + +[75] _The Life of Rev. T.T. Thomason, M.A._, by the late Rev. J. +Sargent, M.A., second edition, Seeley's, 1834. + +[76] Dr. Milner, Dr. Rumsden, Dr. Jowett, Mr. Farish (Charles Simeon's +writing). + +[77] _Christian Researches in Asia, with Notices of the Translation of +the Scriptures into the Oriental Languages_, by the Rev. Claudius +Buchanan, D.D., 10th edition, London, 1814. + +[78] See _The Miracle Play of Hasan and Husain_, collected from Oral +Tradition, by Sir Lewis Pelly, two vols. 1879. + + + + +CHAPTER XII + +SHIRAZ TO TABREEZ--THE PERSIAN NEW TESTAMENT + + +The next three months were spent, still in Shiraz, in the preparation of +copies of the precious Persian MS. of the New Testament, and in very +close spiritual intercourse with the company of inquirers whom neither +fanaticism, conceit, nor, in some cases, a previously immoral life, had +prevented from reverencing the teaching of the man of God. Jaffir Ali +Khan's garden became to such a holy place, as the Persian spring passed +into the heat of summer. There the privileged translator, Mirza Sayyid +Ali; Aga Baba, the Mede; Aga Boozong, vizier of Prince Abbas Mirza, and +'most magisterial of the Soofis;' Mirza Ibrahim, the controversialist +leader; Sheikh Abulhassan, and many a moolla to whom he testified that +Christ was the Creator and Saviour, gathered round him as he read, 'at +their request,' the Old Testament histories. 'Their attention to the +Word, and their love and attention to me, seemed to increase as the time +of my departure approached. Aga Baba, who had been reading St. Matthew, +related very circumstantially to the company the particulars of the +death of Christ. The bed of roses on which we sat, and the notes of the +nightingales warbling around us, were not so sweet to me as this +discourse from the Persian.' + + Telling Mirza Sayyid Ali one day that I wished to return to the + city in the evening, to be alone and at leisure for prayer, he + said with seriousness, 'Though a man had no other religious + society I suppose he might, with the aid of the Bible, live + alone with God?' This solitude will, in one respect, be his own + state soon;--may he find it the medium of God's gracious + communications to his soul! He asked in what way God ought to be + addressed: I told him as a Father, with respectful love; and + added some other exhortations on the subject of prayer. + + _May 11._--Aga Baba came to bid me farewell, which he did in the + best and most solemn way, by asking, as a final question, + 'whether, independently of external evidences, I had any + internal proofs of the doctrine of Christ?' I answered, 'Yes, + undoubtedly: the change from what I once was is a sufficient + evidence to me.' At last he took his leave, in great sorrow, and + what is better, apparently in great solicitude about his soul. + + The rest of the day I continued with Mirza Sayyid Ali, giving + him instructions what to do with the New Testament in case of my + decease, and exhorting him, as far as his confession allowed me, + to stand fast. He had made many a good resolution respecting his + besetting sins. I hope, as well as pray, that some lasting + effects may be seen at Shiraz from the Word of God left among + them. + +For the Shah and for the heir-apparent, Prince Abbas Mirza, two copies +of the Persian New Testament were specially written out in the perfect +caligraphy which the Persians love, and carefully corrected with the +translator's own hand. That he might himself present them, especially +the former, he left Shiraz on May 11, 1812, after a year's residence +in the country. The whole length of the great Persian plateau had to +be traversed, by Ispahan to Teheran, thence to the royal camp at +Sultania, and finally to Tabreez, where was Sir Gore Ouseley, the +British ambassador, through whom alone the English man of God could +be introduced to the royal presence. He was accompanied by Mr. +Canning, an English clergyman. + +The journey occupied eight weeks, and proved to be one of extreme +hardship, which rapidly developed Henry Martyn's disease. At one time +his life was in danger, in spite of the letters which he carried from +General Malcolm's friend, and now his own, Jaffir Ali Khan, to the +Persian prime minister at Teheran. Mrs. Bishop's experience of travel +by the same road[79] at a more favourable season, over the 'great mud +land' to which centuries of misrule have changed the populous paradise +of Darius, enables us to imagine what the brief record of the +_Journal_ only half reveals seventy years ago. The old village which +the founder of the Kajar dynasty enlarged into Teheran, straggles +within eleven miles of walls in the most depressed part of an +uninteresting waste. Save for the exterior of the Shah's palace, and +those of some of his ministers, the suburb with the European +legations, and now the large and handsome buildings of the American +Presbyterian Mission, it is unworthy of being a capital city. Eager to +present the sacred volume while life was left to him, Henry Martyn +hurried away to find Mirza Shufi, the premier, and the Shah, who were +in camp a night's journey off at Karach. + + _May 13._--Remained all day at the caravanserai, correcting the + Prince's copy. + + _May 14._--Continued our journey through two ridges of mountains + to Imanzadu: no cultivation to be seen anywhere, nor scarcely + any natural vegetable production, except the broom and + hawthorn. The weather was rather tempestuous, with cold gusts of + wind and rain. We were visited by people who came to be cured of + their distempers. + + _May 16._--We found a hoar frost, and ice on the pools. The + excessive cold at this place is accounted for by its being the + highest land between the Persian Gulf and the Caspian Sea. The + baggage not having come up, we were obliged to pass another day + in this uncomfortable neighbourhood, where nothing was to be + procured for ourselves or our horses, the scarcity of rain this + year having left the ground destitute of verdure, and the poor + people of the village near us having nothing to sell. + + _May 21._--Finished the revision of the Prince's copy. At eleven + at night we started for Ispahan, where we arrived soon after + sunrise on the 22nd, and were accommodated in one of the king's + palaces. Found my old Shiraz scribe here, and corrected with him + the Prince's copy. + + _May 23._--Called on the Armenian bishops at Julfa, and met + Matteus. He is certainly vastly superior to any Armenian I have + yet seen. We next went to the Italian missionary, Joseph + Carabiciate, a native of Aleppo, but educated at Rome. He spoke + Latin very sprightly, considering his age, which was sixty-six, + but discovered no sort of inclination to talk about religion. + Until lately he had been supported by the Propaganda; but weary + at last of exercising his functions without remuneration, and + even without the necessary provision, he talked of returning to + Aleppo. + + _May 24._ (Sunday.)--Went early this morning to the Armenian + church attached to the episcopal residence. Within the rails + were two out of the four bishops, and other ecclesiastics, but + in the body of the church only three people. Most of the + Armenians at Julfa, which is now reduced to five hundred houses, + attended at their respective parish churches, of which there + are twelve, served by twenty priests. After their pageantry was + over, and we were satisfied with processions, ringing of bells, + waving of colours, and other ceremonies, which were so numerous + as entirely to remove all semblance of spiritual worship, we + were condemned to witness a repetition of the same mockery at + the Italian's church, at his request. I could not stand it out, + but those who did observed that the priest ate and drank all the + consecrated elements himself, and gave none to the few poor + women who composed his congregation, and who, the Armenian said, + had been hired for the occasion. + + Before returning to Ispahan we sat a short time in the garden + with the bishops. They, poor things, had nothing to say, and + could scarcely speak Persian; so that all the conversation was + between me and Matteus. At my request he brought what he had of + the Holy Scriptures in Persian and Arabic. They were Wheloi's + Persian Gospels, and an Arabic version of the Gospels printed at + Rome. I tried in vain to bring him to any profitable discussion; + with more sense than his brethren, he is not more advanced in + spiritual knowledge. Returned much disappointed. Julfa had + formerly twenty bishops and about one hundred clergy, with + twenty-four churches. + + _June 2._--Soon after midnight we mounted our horses. It was a + mild moonlight night and a nightingale filled the whole valley + with his notes. Our way was along lanes, over which the wood on + each side formed a canopy, and a murmuring rivulet accompanied + us till it was lost in a lake. At daylight we emerged into the + plain of Kashan, which seems to be a part of the great Salt + Desert. On our arrival at the king's garden, where we intended + to put up, we were at first refused admittance, but an + application to the Governor was soon attended to. We saw here + huge snowy mountains on the north-east beyond Teheran. + + _June 5._--Reached Kum;[80] the country uniformly desolate. The + chief Moojtahid in all Persia, being a resident of this city, I + sent to know if a visit would be agreeable to him. His reply + was, that if I had any business with him I might come; but if + otherwise, his age and infirmities must be his excuse. Intending + to travel a double stage, started soon after sunset. + + _June 8._--Arrived, two hours before daybreak, at the walls of + Teheran. I spread my bed upon the high road, and slept till the + gates were open; then entered the city, and took up my abode at + the ambassador's house. + + I lost no time in forwarding Jaffir Ali Khan's letter to the + premier, who sent to desire that I would come to him. I found + him lying ill in the verandah of the king's tent of audience. + Near him were sitting two persons, who, I was afterwards + informed, were Mirza Khantar and Mirza Abdoolwahab; the latter + being a secretary of state and a great admirer of the Soofi + sage. They took very little notice, not rising when I sat down, + as is their custom to all who sit with them; nor offering me + kalean. The two secretaries, on learning my object in coming, + began a conversation with me on religion and metaphysics, which + lasted two hours. As they were both well-educated, gentlemanly + men, the discussion was temperate, and, I hope, useful. + + _June 12._--I attended the Vizier's levee, where there was a + most intemperate and clamorous controversy kept up for an hour + or two; eight or ten on one side, and I on the other. Amongst + them were two moollas, the most ignorant of any I have yet met + with in either Persia or India. It would be impossible to + enumerate all the absurd things they said. Their vulgarity in + interrupting me in the middle of a speech; their utter ignorance + of the nature of an argument; their impudent assertions about + the law and the Gospel, neither of which they had ever seen in + their lives, moved my indignation a little. I wished, and I said + it would have been well, if Mirza Abdoolwahab had been there; I + should then have had a man of sense to argue with. The Vizier, + who set us going at first, joined in it latterly, and said, 'You + had better say God is God, and Muhammad is the prophet of God.' + I said, 'God is God,' but added, instead of 'Muhammad is the + prophet of God,' 'and Jesus is the Son of God.' They had no + sooner heard this, which I had avoided bringing forward till + then, than they all exclaimed, in contempt and anger, 'He is + neither born nor begets,' and rose up, as if they would have + torn me in pieces. One of them said, 'What will you say when + your tongue is burnt out for this blasphemy?' + + One of them felt for me a little, and tried to soften the + severity of this speech. My book, which I had brought expecting + to present it to the king, lay before Mirza Shufi. As they all + rose up after him to go, some to the king and some away, I was + afraid they would trample on the book; so I went in among them + to take it up, and wrapped it in a towel before them, while they + looked at it and me with supreme contempt. Thus I walked away + alone in my tent, to pass the rest of the day in heat and dirt. + What have I done, thought I, to merit all this scorn? Nothing, I + trust, but bearing testimony to Jesus. I thought over these + things in prayer, and my troubled heart found that peace which + Christ hath promised to His disciples. + + To complete the trials of the day, a message came from the + Vizier in the evening, to say that it was the custom of the king + not to see any Englishman, unless presented by the ambassador, + or accredited by a letter from him, and that I must, therefore, + wait till the king reached Sultania, where the ambassador would + be. + + _June 13._--Disappointed of my object in coming to the camp, I + lost no time in leaving it, and proceeded in company with Mr. + Canning, who had just joined me from Teheran, towards Kasbin, + intending there to wait the result of an application to the + ambassador. Started at eleven, and travelled till eleven next + morning, having gone ten parasangs or forty miles, to Quishlang. + The country all along was well watered and cultivated. The mules + being too much tired to proceed, we passed the day at the + village; indeed, we all wanted rest. As I sat down in the dust, + on the shady side of a walled village by which we passed, and + surveyed the plains over which our road lay, I sighed at the + thought of my dear friends in India and England, of the vast + regions I must traverse before I can get to either, and of the + various and unexpected hindrances which present themselves to my + going forward. I comfort myself with the hope that my God has + something for me to do, by thus delaying my exit. + + _June 22._--We met with the usual insulting treatment at the + caravanserai, where the king's servants had got possession of a + good room, built for the reception of the better order of + guests; they seemed to delight in the opportunity of humbling an + European. Sultania is still but a village, yet the Zengan prince + has quartered himself and all his attendants, with their horses, + on this poor little village. All along the road, where the king + is expected, the people are patiently waiting, as for some + dreadful disaster; plague, pestilence, or famine is nothing to + the misery of being subject to the violence and extortion of + this rabble soldiery. + + _June 25._ (Zengan.)--After a restless night, rose so ill with + the fever that I could not go on. My companion, Mr. Canning, was + nearly in the same state. We touched nothing all day. + + _June 26._--After such another night I had determined to go on, + but Mr. Canning declared himself unable to stir, so here we + dragged through another miserable day. What added to our + distress was that we were in danger, if detained here another + day or two, of being absolutely in want of the necessaries of + life before reaching Tabreez. We made repeated applications to + the moneyed people, but none would advance a piastre. Where are + the people who flew forth to meet General Malcolm with their + purses and their lives? Another generation is risen up, 'who + know not Joseph.' Providentially a poor muleteer, arriving from + Tabreez, became security for us, and thus we obtained five + tomans. This was a heaven-send; and we lay down quietly, free + from apprehensions of being obliged to go a fatiguing journey of + eight or ten hours, without a house or village in the way, in + our present weak and reduced state. We had now eaten nothing for + two days. My mind was much disordered from head-ache and + giddiness, from which I was seldom free; but my heart, I trust, + was with Christ and His saints. To live much longer in this + world of sickness and pain seemed no way desirable; the most + favourite prospects of my heart seemed very poor and childish; + and cheerfully would I have exchanged them all for the unfading + inheritance. + + _June 27._--My Armenian servant was attacked in the same way. + The rest did not get me the things that I wanted, so that I + passed the third day in the same exhausted state; my head, too, + was tortured with shocking pains, such as, together with the + horror I felt at being exposed to the sun, showed me plainly to + what to ascribe my sickness. Towards evening, two more of our + servants were attacked in the same way, and lay groaning from + pains in the head. + + _June 28._--All were much recovered, but in the afternoon I + again relapsed. During a high fever Mr. Canning read to me in + bed the Epistle to the Ephesians, and I never felt the + consolations of that Divine revelation of mysteries more + sensibly and solemnly. Rain in the night prevented our setting + off. + + _June 29._--My ague and fever returned, with such a head-ache + that I was almost frantic. Again and again I said to myself, + 'Let patience have her perfect work,' and kept pleading the + promises, 'When thou passest through the waters I will be with + thee,' etc.; and the Lord did not withhold His presence. I + endeavoured to repel all the disordered thoughts that the fever + occasioned, and to keep in mind that all was friendly; a + friendly Lord presiding; and nothing exercising me but what + would show itself at last friendly. A violent perspiration at + last relieved the acute pain in my head, and my heart rejoiced; + but as soon as that was over, the exhaustion it occasioned, + added to the fatigue from the pain, left me in as low a state of + depression as ever I was in. I seemed about to sink into a long + fainting fit, and I almost wished it; but at this moment, a + little after midnight, I was summoned to mount my horse, and set + out, rather dead than alive. We moved on six parasangs. We had a + thunder-storm with hail. + + _July 1._--A long and tiresome march to Sarehund; in seven + parasangs there was no village. They had nothing to sell but + buttermilk and bread; but a servant of Abbas Mirza, happening to + be at the same caravanserai, sent us some flesh of a mountain + cow which he had shot the day before. All day I had scarcely the + right recollection of myself from the violence of the ague. We + have now reached the end of the level ground which we have had + all the way from Teheran, and are approaching the boundaries of + Parthia and Media; a most natural boundary it is, as the two + ridges of mountains we have had on the left and right come round + and form a barrier. + + _July 2._--At two in the morning we set out. I hardly know when + I have been so disordered. I had little or no recollection of + things, and what I did remember at times of happy scenes in + India or England, served only to embitter my present situation. + Soon after removing into the air I was seized with a violent + ague, and in this state I went on till sunrise. At three + parasangs and a half we found a fine caravanserai, apparently + very little used, as the grass was growing in the court. There + was nothing all round but the barren rocks, which generally + roughen the country before the mountain rears its height. Such + an edifice in such a situation was cheering. Soon after we came + to a river, over which was a high bridge; I sat down in the + shade under it, with two camel drivers. The kafila, as it + happened, forded the river, and passed on without my perceiving + it. Mr. Canning seeing no signs of me, returned, and after + looking about for some time, espied my horse grazing; he + concluded immediately that the horse had flung me from the + bridge into the river, and was almost ready to give me up for + lost. My speedy appearance from under the bridge relieved his + terror and anxiety. Half the people still continue ill; for + myself, I am, through God's infinite mercy, recovering. + + _July 4._--I so far prevailed as to get the kafila into motion + at midnight. Lost our way in the night, but arriving at a + village we were set right again. At eight came to Kilk + caravanserai, but not stopping there, went on to a village, + where we arrived at half-past nine. The baggage not coming up + till long after, we got no breakfast till one o'clock. In + consequence of all these things, want of sleep, want of + refreshment, and exposure to the sun, I was presently in a high + fever, which raged so furiously all the day that I was nearly + delirious, and it was some time before I could get the right + recollection of myself. I almost despaired, and do now, of + getting alive through this unfortunate journey. Last night I + felt remarkably well, calm and composed, and sat reflecting on + my heavenly rest, with more sweetness of soul, abstraction from + the world, and solemn views of God, than I have had for a long + time. Oh, for such sacred hours! This short and painful life + would scarcely be felt could I live thus at heaven's gate. It + being impossible to continue my journey in my present state, + and one of the servants also being so ill that he could not move + with safety, we determined to halt one day at the village, and + sent on a messenger to Sir Gore, at Tabreez, informing him of + our approach. + + _July 5._--As soon as it was day we found our way to the village + where the Doctor was waiting for us. Not being able to stay for + us, he went on to Tabreez, and we as far as Wasmuch, where he + promised to procure for us a fine upper room furnished; but when + we arrived, they denied that there was any such a place. At + last, after an hour's threatening, we got admittance to it. An + hour before break of day I left it, in hopes of reaching Tabreez + before sunrise. Some of the people seemed to feel compassion for + me, and asked me if I was not very ill. At last I reached the + gate, and feebly asked for a man to show me the way to the + ambassador's. + + _July 9._--Made an extraordinary effort, and as a Tartar was + going off instantly to Constantinople, wrote letters to Mr. + Grant for permission to come to England, and to Mr. Simeon and + Lydia, informing them of it; but I have scarcely the remotest + expectation of seeing it, except by looking at the almighty + power of God. + + Dined at night at the ambassador's, who said he was determined + to give every possible _eclat_ to my book, by presenting it + himself to the king. My fever never ceased to rage till the + 21st, during all which time every effort was made to subdue it, + till I had lost all my strength and almost all my reason. They + now administer bark, and it may please God to bless the tonics; + but I seem too far gone, and can only say, 'having a desire to + depart and be with Christ, which is far better.' + + TO LYDIA GRENFELL + + Tabreez: July 12, 1812. + + My dearest Lydia,--I have only time to say that I have received + your letter of February 14. Shall I pain your heart by adding, + that I am in such a state of sickness and pain, that I can + hardly write to you? Let me rather observe, to obviate the + gloomy apprehension my letters to Mr. Grant and Mr. Simeon may + excite, that I am likely soon to be delivered from my fever. + Whether I shall gain strength enough to go on, rests on our + Heavenly Father, in whose hands are all my times. Oh, His + precious grace! His eternal unchanging love in Christ to my soul + never appeared more clear, more sweet, more strong. I ought to + inform you that in consequence of the state to which I am + reduced by travelling so far overland, without having half + accomplished my journey, and the consequent impossibility of + returning to India the same way, I have applied for leave to + come on furlough to England. Perhaps you will be gratified by + this intelligence; but oh, my dear Lydia, I must faithfully tell + you that the probability of my reaching England alive is but + small; and this I say, that your expectations of seeing me again + may be moderate, as mine are of seeing you. Why have you not + written more about yourself? However, I am thankful for knowing + that you are alive and well. I scarcely know how to desire you + to direct. Perhaps Alexandria in Egypt will be the best place; + another may be sent to Constantinople, for though I shall not go + there, I hope Mr. Morier will be kept informed of my movements. + Kindest love to all the saints you usually mention. Yours ever + most faithfully and affectionately, + + H. MARTYN. + + + TO REV. C. SIMEON + + Tabreez: July 12, 1812. + + My dearest Friend and Brother,--The Tartar courier for + Constantinople, who has been delayed some days on our account, + being to be despatched instantly, my little strength also being + nearly exhausted by writing to Mr. Grant a letter to be laid + before the court: I have only to notice some of the particulars + of your letter of February of this year. It is not now before + me, neither have I strength to search for it among my papers; + but from the frequent attentive perusals I gave it during my + intervals of ease, I do not imagine that any of it has escaped + my memory. At present I am in a high fever, and cannot properly + recollect myself. I shall ever love and be grateful to Mr. + Thornton for his kind attention to my family. + + The increase of godly young men is precious news. If I sink into + the grave in India, my place will be supplied an hundredfold. + You will learn from Mr. Grant that I have applied for leave to + come to England on furlough; a measure you will disapprove; but + you would not, were you to see the pitiable condition to which I + am reduced, and knew what it is to traverse the continent of + Asia in the destitute state in which I am. If you wish not to + see me, I can say that I think it most probable that you will + not; the way before me being not better than that passed over, + which has nearly killed me. + + I would not pain your heart, my dear brother, but we who are in + Jesus have the privilege of viewing life and death as nearly the + same, since both are one; and I thank a gracious Lord that + sickness never came at a time when I was more free from apparent + reasons for living. Nothing seemingly remains for me to do but + to follow the rest of my family to the tomb. Let not the book + written against Muhammadanism be published till approved in + India. A European who has not lived amongst them cannot imagine + how differently they see, imagine, reason, object, from what we + do. This I had full opportunity of observing during my eleven + months' residence at Shiraz. During that time I was engaged in a + written controversy with one of the most learned and temperate + doctors there. He began. I replied what was unanswerable, then I + subjoined a second more direct attack on the glaring absurdities + of Muhammadanism, with a statement of the nature and evidences + of Christianity. The Soofis then as well as himself desired a + demonstration, from the very beginning, of the truth of any + revelation. As this third treatise contained an examination of + the doctrine of the Soofis, and pointed out that their object + was attainable by the Gospel, and by that only, it was read with + interest and convinced many. There is not a single Europeanism + in the whole that I know of, as my friend and interpreter would + not write anything that he could not perfectly comprehend. But I + am exhausted; pray for me, beloved brother, and believe that I + am, as long as life and recollection lasts, yours + affectionately, + + H. MARTYN. + + + Tabreez: August 8. + + My dearest Brother and Friend,--Ever since I wrote, about a + month, I believe, I have been lying upon the bed of sickness; + for twenty days or more the fever raged with great violence, and + for a long time every species of medicine was tried in vain. + After I had given up every hope of recovery, it pleased God to + abate the fever, but incessant head-aches succeeded, which + allowed me no rest day or night. I was reduced still lower, and + am now a mere skeleton; but as they are now less frequent, I + suppose it to be the will of God that I should be raised up to + life again. I am now sitting in my chair, and wrote the will + with a strong hand; but as you see I cannot write so now. + Kindest love to Mr. John Thornton, for whose temporal and + spiritual prosperity I daily pray.--Your ever affectionate + friend and brother, + + H. MARTYN. + +Lydia Grenfell's letter, to which Martyn's of July 12, written in such +circumstances, is a reply, was really dated February 1, 1812, and was +the last received from her by him. Her _Diary_ notes that she 'wrote +to India, August 30, September 30, 1812'; and on December 12 of that +year, thus remarks on his letter of July 12: + + Heard from Tabreez from Mr. Martyn with an account of his + dangerous state of health and intention of returning to England + if his life was spared. This intelligence affected me variously. + The probability of his death, the certainty of his extreme + sufferings, and distance from every friend, pressed heavily on + my spirits; I was enabled to pray, and felt relieved. Of his + return no very sanguine expectations can be entertained. + Darkness and distress of mind have followed this information. I + cannot collect my thoughts to write, or apply as I ought to + anything. Oh, let me consider this as a call to prayer and + watchfulness and self-examination. Lord, assist me! + + _December 16._--A season of great temptation, darkness, and + distress. At no period of my life have I stood more in need of + Divine help, and oh! may I earnestly seek it. Lord, I would + pray, give me a right understanding, and enable me seriously to + consider and weigh in the balance of the sanctuary all I + do--yea, let my thoughts be watched. Sleep has fled from mine + eyes, and a fearful looking for of trial and affliction, however + this affair ends, possesses my mind. Oh! let me cast my burden + on the Lord--it is too heavy for me. Lord, let me begin afresh + to call upon Thy name, and, taking hold of Thee, I shall be + borne up above my trials, carried through the difficulties I + see before me, and be delivered. + + _December 17._--I desire, O Thou blessed God, to seek Thy face, + to call on Thy name. Thou hast been my refuge; I have been happy + in the sense of Thy love. With all my sins, my weaknesses and + miseries, I come to Thee, and most seriously would I seek Thy + guidance in the perplexing and difficult circumstances I am in. + O Lord, suffer me not to run counter to Thy will nor to + dishonour Thee. + + _December 25._--Bless the Lord, O my soul; bless His holy name + for ever and ever. I sought the Lord in my distress, and He gave + ear unto me. Gracious and merciful art Thou, O Lord, for Thou + didst bend Thine ear to the most worthless of all creatures. + This is for the glory of Thy name alone, to show how great Thy + mercy is, how sure Thy truth. After a night of clouds and + darkness, behold the clear sky. + + _December 26._--This joyful, holy season calls upon me for fresh + praises, and a renewed dedication of myself to God. I rejoice in + believing Christ was born; I rejoice in the end proposed of His + appearance in the flesh, the recovery of mankind to holiness and + to God. I welcome this salvation as that I most desire. My + happiness, I know, consists in holiness and in the favour of + God. Thought much to-day of my dear friend. I cannot think of + him as having gained the heavenly crown, but as struggling with + dangers and difficulties. Secure in them all of Thy favour, and + defended by Thy power, he is safe, and pass but a few years or + days, and he will enter into the rest of God. Let me, too, + follow after him as he follows Christ. + + _1813, January 4._--After a night and day spent in great + conflict and agony of mind, I, this evening, enjoy a respite + from distressing apprehensions. I was reduced to the lowest, as + to animal spirits and spiritual life, when it occurred to me I + would go to the meeting, where I found a sweet--oh, may it be a + lasting! relief from my cares. Having better things proposed + for my consideration, my burden has chiefly been from a sense of + inward weakness and a conviction of having lost the presence of + God. The state of my beloved friend less occupies my mind than I + sometimes think is reconcilable with a true affection for him; + but the truth is, the concerns of my soul are the more pressing. + Oh! may this trial truly answer this purpose of driving me to + God, my refuge and rest. + + _January 6._--Still harassed and without strength to resist. I + seem divested of the Spirit, yet, oh, let me not give way to + this! I will try, as a helpless sinner, to seek Divine aid. Thou + canst command peace within and increase my faith. I am amazed at + the state of my mind--instead of having my thoughts exercised + about my dear friend, I am filled with distressing fears for my + soul, and left so to myself that all I can do is to pray for the + Lord to return and lift upon me the light of His countenance. O + Thou blessed Redeemer! hear my sighs and put my tears into Thy + bottle. My wanderings are noted down in Thy book. Oh, have pity + on my wretched state and revive Thy work, increase my faith. + Thou art the resurrection and the life--let me rest on this + Scripture. + + _February 1._--My beloved friend remembered every hour, but + to-day with less distressing fears and perplexity of mind. I do + from my inmost soul, O Lord, desire Thy will to be done, and + that Thou mayest be glorified in this concern. Oh, direct us! + + _February 7._--I have been convinced to-day how by admitting + into my heart, and suffering my first, my last, and every + thought to be engrossed by an earthly object, I have grieved the + Holy Spirit, and hindered God from dwelling in me. Oh! let me + have done with idols and worship God. + +More than six weeks after his letter of July 12, the fever-stricken +missionary recovered strength to write to Lydia once again: + + TO LYDIA GRENFELL + + Tabreez: August 28, 1812. + + I wrote to you last, my dear Lydia, in great disorder. My fever + had approached nearly to delirium, and my debility was so great + that it seemed impossible I could withstand the power of disease + many days. Yet it has pleased God to restore me to life and + health again; not that I have recovered my former strength yet, + but consider myself sufficiently restored to prosecute my + journey. My daily prayer is, that my late chastisement may have + its intended effect, and make me all the rest of my days more + humble, and less self-confident. Self-confidence has often let + me down fearful lengths, and would, without God's gracious + interference, prove my endless perdition. I seem to be made to + feel this evil of my heart more than any other at this time. In + prayer, or when I write or converse on the subject, Christ + appears to me my life and strength, but at other times I am as + thoughtless and bold as if I had all life and strength in + myself, Such neglect on our part works a diminution of our joys; + but the covenant, the covenant! stands fast with Him, for His + people evermore. + + I mentioned my conversing sometimes on Divine subjects, for + though it is long enough since I have seen a child of God, I am + sometimes led on by the Persians to tell them all I know of the + very recesses of the sanctuary, and these are the things that + interest them. But to give an account of all my discussions with + these mystic philosophers must be reserved to the time of our + meeting. Do I dream, that I venture to think and write of such + an event as that? Is it possible that we shall ever meet again + below? Though it is possible, I dare not indulge such a pleasing + hope yet. I am still at a tremendous distance; and the countries + I have to pass through are many of them dangerous to the + traveller, from the hordes of banditti, whom a feeble + government cannot chastise. In consequence of the bad state of + the road between this and Aleppo, Sir Gore advises me to go + first to Constantinople, and from thence to pass into Syria. In + favour of this route, he urges that, by writing to two or three + Turkish Governors on the frontiers, he can secure me a safe + passage, at least half-way, and the latter half is probably not + much infested. In three days, therefore, I intend setting my + horse's head towards Constantinople, distant above thirteen + hundred miles. Nothing, I think, will occasion any further + detention here, if I can procure servants who know both Persian + and Turkish; but should I be taken ill on the road, my case + would be pitiable indeed. The ambassador and his suite are still + here: his and Lady Ouseley's attentions to me, during my + illness, have been unremitted. The Prince Abbas Mirza, the + wisest of the king's sons, and heir to the throne, was here some + time after my arrival; I much wished to present a copy of the + Persian New Testament to him, but I could not rise from my bed. + The book will, however, be given to him by the ambassador. + Public curiosity about the Gospel, now for the first time, in + the memory of the modern Persians, introduced into the country, + is a good deal excited here, at Shiraz, and other places; so + that, upon the whole, I am thankful for having been led hither + and detained, though my residence in this country has been + attended with many unpleasant circumstances. The way of the + kings of the East is preparing. This much may be said with + safety, but little more. The Persians also will probably take + the lead in the march to Zion, as they are ripe for a revolution + in religion as well as politics. + + Sabat, about whom you inquire so regularly, I have heard nothing + of this long time. My friends in India have long since given me + up as lost or gone out of reach, and if they wrote they would + probably not mention him, as he is far from being a favourite + with any of them. ----, who is himself of an impatient temper, + cannot tolerate him; indeed, I am pronounced to be the only man + in Bengal who could have lived with him so long. He is, to be + sure, the most tormenting creature I ever yet chanced to deal + with--peevish, proud, suspicious, greedy; he used to give daily + more and more distressing proofs of his never having received + the saving grace of God. But of this you will say nothing; while + his interesting story is yet fresh in the memory of people, his + failings had better not be mentioned. The poor Arab wrote me a + querulous epistle from Calcutta, complaining that no one took + notice of him now that I was gone; and then he proceeds to abuse + his best friends. I have not yet written to reprove him for his + unchristian sentiments, and when I do I know it will be to no + purpose after all the private lectures I have given him. My + course from Constantinople is so uncertain that I hardly know + where to desire you to direct to me; I believe Malta is the only + place, for there I must stop in my way home. Soon we shall have + occasion for pen and ink no more; but I trust I shall shortly + see thee face to face. Love to all the saints. + + Believe me to be yours ever, most faithfully and affectionately, + + H. MARTYN. + +These were Henry Martyn's last words to Lydia Grenfell. Hasting home +to be with her, in a few weeks his yearning spirit was with the Lord-- + + Love divine, all love excelling. + +Tabreez was at this time the centre of diplomatic activity. While the +Shah and his camp were not far off, the Turkish Ambassador was in the +city, and Sir Gore Ouseley was busily mediating between the Turkish +and Persian Governments after their hostilities on the Baghdad +frontier. Turkey, moreover, had just before concluded a treaty with +Russia, with consequences most offensive to the Shah. Only the +personal influence and active interference of the British Ambassador +prevented the renewal of hostilities. Mr. Morier, the Secretary of +Embassy, gives us this contemporary picture of Martyn's arrival:[81] +'We had not long been at Tabreez before our party was joined by the +Rev. William Canning and the Rev. Henry Martyn. The former was +attached to our Embassy as chaplain; the latter, whom we had left at +Shiraz employed in the translation of the New Testament into the +Persian language, having completed that object, was on his way to +Constantinople. Both these gentlemen had suffered greatly in health +during their journey from Shiraz. Mr. Martyn had scarcely time to +recover his strength before he departed again.' + +Had Henry Martyn been induced by his hospitable friends to rest here +for a time, had the physician constrained him to wait for a better +season and more strength, he might have himself presented his sacred +work to the Shah--might have repeated in the north what he had been +permitted to do in one brief year in the south of Persia, and might +have again seen the beloved Lydia and his Cambridge friends. For +Tabreez, 'the fever-dispeller,' is said to have been so named by +Zobeidah, the wife of the Kaliph Haroon'r Rashheed, who, at the close +of the eighth century, beautified the ancient Tauris, capital of +Tiridates III., King of Armenia in 297, because of its healthy +climate. In spite of repeated earthquakes the city has been always +rebuilt, low and mean, covering an area like that of Vienna, but the +principal emporium from which Persia used to receive its European +goods till the coasting steamers of India opened up the Persian Gulf +and, of late, the Euphrates, Tigris, and Karoon rivers. Only the ark, +or citadel of Ali Shah, a noble building of burnt brick, and the fine +ruin of the Kabood Masjeed, or mosque of beautifully arabesqued blue +tiles, redeemed the city in Martyn's time from meanness. The +Ambassador, his host, was then lodged in the house of its wealthiest +citizen, Hajji Khan Muhammed, whom the Prince had turned out to make +room for Sir Gore Ouseley. Now the British Consulate of Tabreez is a +spacious residence, with a fine garden, and the city has become +flourishing again. Henry Martyn left Tabreez on his fatal journey at +the very time when the climate began to be at its best. All around, +too, and especially in the hills of Sahand to the south, with the air +of Scotland and of Wales, or on the natural pastures of Chaman, where +the finest brood mares are kept, sloping down to the waters of Lake +Ooroomia, he would have found in the hot season the loveliest land in +Asia.[82] + +Before we hasten on with the modern apostle of the Persians to the +bitter but bright end, we must trace the history of the influence of +his translation of the New Testament. The 20th August, 1812, he +joyfully entered in his _Journal_ as a day much to be remembered for +the remarkable recovery of strength. He learned from Mirza Aga Meer +that his 'work,' that is, his reply to Mirza Ibrahim, had been read to +the Shah by Mirza Abdoolwahab, and that the king had observed to Mirza +Boozong, his son's vizier, that the Feringhis' (Franks') Government +and army, and now one of their moollas, was come into the East. The +Shah then directed Mirza Boozong to prepare an answer. In consequence +of this information Sir Gore Ouseley, who doubtless desired to spare +the little strength of his guest, directed that a certain moolla, who +greatly wished to be introduced to the man of God, should not be +brought to him. Nevertheless, 'one day a moolla came and disputed a +while for Muhammedan, but finished with professing Soofi sentiments.' + +The great Shah, Fateh Ali Khan himself, and his son, were thus prepared +for the Divine gift of Henry Martyn in due form through the British +Ambassador. How it reached His Persian Majesty from Sir Gore Ouseley, +and how the Shah-in-Shah received it, these letters tell, so honourable +to the writers, even after all allowance is made for the diplomatic +courtliness of the correspondence.[83] The Soofi controversialists and +friends of the translator, who by that time had entered on his rest, +must have, moreover, predisposed the eclectic mind of the always liberal +Shah to treat with reverence the _Injil_, or Gospel. + + _From His Excellency Sir Gore Ouseley, Bart., Ambassador + Extraordinary from His Britannic Majesty to the Court of Persia. + Addressed to the Right Hon. Lord Teignmouth, President of the + British and Foreign Bible Society._ + + St. Petersburg: September 20, 1814. + + My dear Lord,--Finding that I am likely to be detained here some + six or seven weeks, and apprehensive that my letters from Persia + may not have reached your Lordship, I conceive it my duty to + acquaint you, for the information of the society of Christians + formed for the purpose of propagating the Sacred Writings, that, + agreeably to the wishes of our poor friend, the late Rev. Henry + Martyn, I presented in the name of the Society (as he + particularly desired) a copy of his translation of the New + Testament into the Persian language to His Persian Majesty, + Fateh Ali Shah Kajar, having first made conditions that His + Majesty was to peruse the whole, and favour me with his opinion + of the style, etc. + + Previous to delivering the book to the Shah, I employed + transcribers to make some copies of it, which I distributed to + Hajji Mahomed Hussein Khan, Prince of Maru, Mirza Abdulwahab, + and other men of learning and rank immediately about the person + of the king, who, being chiefly converts to the Soofi + philosophy, would, I felt certain, give it a fair judgment, and, + if called upon by the Shah for their opinion, report of it + according to its intrinsic merits. + + The enclosed translation of a letter from His Persian Majesty to + me will show your Lordship that he thinks the complete work a + great acquisition, and that he approves of the simple style + adopted by my lamented friend Martyn and his able coadjutor, + Mirza Sayyed Ali, so appropriate to the just and ready + conception of the sublime morality of the Sacred Writings. + Should the Society express a wish to possess the original letter + from the Shah, or a copy of it in Persian, I shall be most happy + to present either through your Lordship. + + I beg leave to add that, if a correct copy of Mr. Martyn's + translation has not yet been presented to the Society, I shall + have great pleasure in offering one that has been copied from + and collated with the original left with me by Mr. Martyn, on + which he had bestowed the greatest pains to render it perfect. + + I also promise to devote my leisure to the correction of the + press, in the event of your thinking proper to have it printed + in England, should my Sovereign not have immediate occasion for + my services out of England.--I am, etc. + + GORE OUSELEY. + + + _Translation of His Persian Majesty's Letter, + referred to in the preceding._ + + In the Name of the Almighty God, whose glory is most + excellent. + + It is our august command that the dignified and excellent our + trusty, faithful, and loyal well-wisher, Sir Gore Ouseley, + Baronet, His Britannic Majesty's Ambassador Extraordinary (after + being honoured and exalted with the expressions of our highest + regard and consideration), should know that the copy of the + Gospel, which was translated into Persian by the learned + exertions of the late Rev. Henry Martyn, and which has been + presented to us by your Excellency on the part of the high, + dignified, learned, and enlightened Society of Christians, + united for the purpose of spreading abroad the Holy Books of the + religion of Jesus (upon whom, and upon all prophets, be peace + and blessings!), has reached us, and has proved highly + acceptable to our august mind. + + In truth, through the learned and unremitted exertions of the + Rev. Henry Martyn, it has been translated in a style most + befitting sacred books, that is, in an easy and simple diction. + Formerly, the four Evangelists, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, + were known in Persia; but now the whole of the New Testament is + completed in a most excellent manner: and this circumstance has + been an additional source of pleasure to our enlightened and + august mind. Even the four Evangelists which were known in this + country had never been before explained in so clear and luminous + a manner. We, therefore, have been particularly delighted with + this copious and complete translation. If it please the most + merciful God, we shall command the Select Servants, who are + admitted to our presence, to read[84] to us the above-mentioned + book from the beginning to the end, that we may, in the most + minute manner, hear and comprehend its contents. + + Your Excellency will be pleased to rejoice the hearts of the + above-mentioned dignified, learned, and enlightened Society with + assurances of our highest regard and approbation; and to inform + those excellent individuals who are so virtuously engaged in + disseminating and making known the true meaning and intent of + the Holy Gospel, and other points in sacred books, that they are + deservedly honoured with our royal favour. Your Excellency must + consider yourself as bound to fulfil this royal request. + + Given in Rebialavil, 1229. + + (Sealed) FATEH ALI SHAH KAJAR. + +Even here we see Martyn and Carey once more linked together. The same +volume from which we have taken these letters contains, a few pages +before them, these words written by Dr. Carey from Serampore: +'Religion is the only thing in the world worth living for. And no work +is so important as serving God in the Gospel of His Son; if, like the +Apostle, we do this with one spirit, great will be our enjoyment and +abundant our reward.' + +Sir Gore Ouseley carried the original MS. to St. Petersburg, where, +happening to mention the fact to the President of the Russian Bible +Society, Prince Galitzin at once begged that his Society, always an +honourable exception to the intolerance of the Tsar's Greek Church, +might be allowed to publish it. A set of Persian types was specially +procured. Sir Gore Ouseley, assisted by the Persian Jaffir Khan, +corrected the proofs, and the Rev. R. Pinkerton, one of the Scottish +Mission to Karass, carefully superintended the printing. Several +Persians, resident in that city, bespoke copies for their friends. The +British and Foreign Bible Society granted 300_l._ towards the expenses +of an edition of 5,000 copies. The first edition appeared there in +September, 1815, on which Prince Galitzin wrote to Mr. Pinkerton, as +representing the Bible Society in London: + + Praise be given to the incomprehensible counsels of God, who, + for the salvation of man, gave His Word, and causeth it to + increase among all nations: who useth as His instruments the + inhabitants of countries of different languages and tribes, not + unfrequently the most distant from each other and altogether + unacquainted with those for whom they labour! This is a true + sign of the holy will of God respecting this work, who worketh + all and in all. This is the case with the finished edition of + the Persian New Testament, which was translated into that + language in a far distant part of Asia, and prepared to be + printed in another, but brought into Russia (where nothing of + the kind was ever thought of) and printed off much sooner than + was at first intended. Here men were found endowed with + good-will and the requisite qualifications for the completion of + this work, which at first seemed to be so difficult. + +Meanwhile, Martyn himself having directed that a copy of the +manuscript translation should be sent to Calcutta from Shiraz, when he +left that city, four copies were made, lest any accident should befall +it on the way to Bengal. It reached the Calcutta Corresponding +Committee in 1814, and they invited Mirza Sayyid Ali to join them and +pass it through the press. This second edition accordingly appeared +at Calcutta in 1816. Professor Lee, of Cambridge, published a third +edition of it in London in 1827, and a fourth in 1837. The most +beautiful and valuable of all is the fifth, now before the writer, +which Thomas Constable printed in Edinburgh in 1846 (corresponding to +1262 of the _Hijrah_) in three royal octavo volumes. This was also the +most important because it accompanied a Persian translation of the Old +Testament. Mirza Sayyid Ali had early informed the Calcutta Committee +that he had his master's original translation of the Psalter, and this +also appeared at Calcutta in 1816. This formed the nucleus of the +Persian Old Testament prepared by Dr. W. Glen, of the Scottish +Missionary Society's Mission, at Karass, Astrakhan, and printed along +with Henry Martyn's New Testament in the memorable and beautiful +Edinburgh edition. That edition of the whole Bible was presented by +Dr. Glen to the present Shah of Persia, Nassr-ed-Deen, on his +accession to the throne in 1848. With Martyn's New Testament His +Majesty seemed to be well acquainted. Of the volume containing the Old +Testament we read that 'on handing the book to the servant in waiting +he just kissed and then put it to his forehead, with the same +indication of reverence which he would have shown had it been their +own sacred book, the Koran.' Archdeacon Robinson, of Poona, published +another Persian translation of the Old Testament. The Church +Missionary Society's distinguished missionary at Julfa, Dr. Robert +Bruce, has been for years engaged on a revision, or rather new +translation of the Old Testament into Persian, the two versions of +which are far inferior, in the opinion of one who is at the head of +all living experts, to Henry Martyn's translation of the New. Dr. +Bruce's work has now been completed. + + I know no parallel to these achievements of Henry Martyn's, + writes Canon W.J. Edmonds, closing a survey of his powers and + services as a translator of the Scriptures. There are in him the + things that mark the born translator. He masters grammar, + observes idioms, accumulates vocabulary, reads and listens, + corrects and even reconstructs. Above all, he prays. He lives + 'in the Spirit,' and rises from his knees full of the mind of + the Spirit. Pedantry is not in him, nor vulgarity. He longs and + struggles to catch the dialect in which men may speak worthily + of the things of God. And so his work lives. In his own + Hindustani New Testament, and in the recovered parts of the Old + Testament in which he watched over the labours of Fitrut, his + work is still a living influence; men find 'reasons for + reverting' to it. His earlier Persian, and what is demonstrably + distinct from it, his Persic translation, or rather Sabat's, + done under his superintendence, these indeed have gone. They did + not survive his visit to Persia. Nor did the Arabic, which was + the chief acknowledged motive of his journey. But what a gifted + man is here, and what a splendid sum total of work, that can + afford these deductions from the results of a five or six years' + struggle with illness, and still leave behind translations of + the New Testament in Hindustani and in Persian; the Hindustani + version living a double life, its own and that which William + Bowley gave it in the humbler vocabulary of the Hindi villages! + We live in hurrying times; our days are swifter than a shuttle. + New names, new saints, new heroes ever rise and dazzle the eyes + of common men. So it should be, for God lives, and through Him + men live and manifest His unexhausted power. But Martyn is a + perennial. He springs up fresh to every generation. It is time, + though, to take care that he does not become simply the shadow + of an angel passing by. His pinnacle is that lofty one which is + only assigned to eminent goodness, but it rests upon, and is + only the finial of, a broad-based tower of sound and solid + intellectual endowment. + +Henry Martyn's Persian Testament called forth, in 1816, two Bulls from +Pope Pius VIII., addressed to the Archbishops of Gnesne and Moghilev, +within the Russian dominions, and letters from the Propaganda College +at Rome to the Vicars Apostolic and Missionaries in Persia, Armenia, +and other parts of the East. Wherever the Persian language was known +the people were warned 'against a version recently made into the +Persian idiom.' The Archbishops were told 'that Bibles printed by +heretics are numbered among the prohibited books by the rules of the +Index (Nos. II. and III.), for it is evident, from experience, that +from the Holy Scriptures which are published in the vulgar tongue, +more injury than good has arisen through the temerity of men.' Bible +Societies in Russia and Great Britain are denounced as a 'most crafty +device, by which the very foundations of religion are undermined.' So +the Latin Church has ever put from it 'The Great Missionary' which the +Reformation was the first to restore to Christendom and the world, and +Henry Martyn gave to the Mohammedans in their own tongue. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[79] _Journeys in Persia and Kurdistan, &c._, by Mrs. Bishop (Isabella +C. Bird), two vols., John Murray, 1891. + +[80] The fanatical shrine of Fatima. See Mrs. Bishop's first volume +and Mr. Curzon's second. + +[81] _A Second Journey through Persia, &c., between the years 1810 and +1816_, p. 223. + +[82] 'Were I,' writes Mr. Baillie Fraser, 'to select a spot the best +calculated for the recovery of health, and for its preservation, I +know not that I could hit upon any more suited to the purpose than +Tabreez, at any season. A brighter sky and purer air can scarcely be +found. To me it seems as if there was truly health in the breeze that +blows around me.' + +[83] See the _Eleventh Report of the British and Foreign Bible +Society_, 1815, Appendix, No. 51. + +[84] I beg leave to remark that the word 'Tilawat,' which the translator +has rendered 'read,' is an honourable signification of that act, almost +exclusively applied to the perusing or reciting the Koran. The making +use, therefore, of this term or expression shows the degree of respect +and estimation in which the Shah holds the New Testament.--_Note by Sir +Gore Ouseley._ + + + + +CHAPTER XIII + +IN PERSIA AND TURKEY--TABREEZ TO TOKAT AND THE TOMB + + +On the evening of September 2, 1812, Henry Martyn left Tabreez for +Constantinople, on what he describes as 'my long journey of thirteen +hundred miles.' The route marked out for him by Sir Gore Ouseley, who +gave him letters to the Turkish governors of Erivan, Kars, and Erzroom, +and to the British Minister at Constantinople, as well as to the +Armenian Patriarch and Bishop Nestus at Etchmiatzin, was the old Roman +road into Central Asia. Professor W.M. Ramsay describes it as clearly +marked by Nature,[85] and still one of the most important trade routes. +It was the safest and speediest, as well as the least forbidding. 'Sir +Gore, wishing me not to travel in the same unprotected way I had done, +procured from the Prince a _mehmandar_ for me, together with an order +for the use of _chappar_ horses all the way to Erivan.' Thence he was +passed on to Kars similarly attended, and thence to Erzroom. He took +with him 'near three hundred _tomans_ in money,' or about 130_l._ On the +eve of his departure he wrote: 'The delightful thought of being brought +to the borders of Europe, without sustaining any injury, contributed +more than anything else, I believe, to restore my health and spirits.' + +But travelling in Persia and Asiatic Turkey, even at the best and for +the strongest, is necessarily a work of hardship. The _chappar_, or +post-stations, occur at a distance of from twenty to twenty-five +miles, measured by the _farsakh_, the old parasang in Greek phrase, of +four miles each. What Mrs. Bishop has recently described has always +been true: 'The custom is to ride through all the hours of daylight, +whenever horses are to be got, doing from sixty to ninety miles a +day.' Henry Martyn rode his own horses, and his party of two Armenian +servants (a groom and Turkish interpreter), with the _mehmandar_, had +the post-horses. Out of the cities he had to trust, for rest and +accommodation, to the post-stations, which at the best were enclosures +of mud walls on three sides, deep in manure, with stabling on two sides, +and two dark rooms at the entrance for the servants. Occasionally an +erection (_balakhana_) above the gateway is available for the master, +but how seldom Martyn was lodged in any way better than the animals, +will be seen from his _Journal_. He had travelled in this way, in the +heats of two summers, from Bushire to Shiraz, and from Shiraz to +Tabreez, the whole extent of the Persian plateau from south to north. He +had nearly died at Tabreez. + +Yet now, with his Persian New Testament ready for the press and his +longing for Lydia, he again set forth, sustained by 'the delightful +thought.' With intensest interest we follow him in every step of his +march north-west through the Persian province of Azerbaijan, Armenia, +and Eastern Asia Minor, the unconquerable spirit sustaining the feeble +body for forty-five days, as Chrysostom's was fed in his southern +journey to the same place of departure almost within sight of the +Euxine Sea. + + _1812, September 2._--At sunset we left the western gate of + Tabreez behind us. The horses proved to be sorry animals. It was + midnight before we arrived at Sangla, a village in the middle of + the plain of Tabreez. There they procured me a place in the + Zabit's house. I slept till after sunrise of the 3rd, and did + not choose to proceed at such an hour; so I passed most of the + day in my room. At three in the afternoon proceeded towards + Sofian. My health being again restored, through infinite and + unbounded mercy, I was able to look round the creation with calm + delight. The plain of Tabreez, towards the west and south-west, + stretches away to an immense distance, and is bounded in these + directions by mountains so remote as to appear, from their soft + blue, to blend with the skies. The baggage having been sent on + before, I ambled on with my _mehmandar_, looking all around me, + and especially towards the distant hills, with gratitude and + joy. Oh! it is necessary to have been confined to a bed of + sickness to know the delight of moving freely through the works + of God, with the senses left at liberty to enjoy their proper + object. My attendant not being very conversant with Persian, we + rode silently along; for my part, I could not have enjoyed any + companion so much as I did my own feelings. At sunset we reached + Sofian, a village with gardens, at the north-west end of the + plain, which is usually the first stage from Tabreez. The Zabit + was in his corn-field, under a little tent, inspecting his + labourers, who were cutting the straw fine, so as to be fit to + be eaten by cattle; this was done by drawing over it a cylinder, + armed with blades of a triangular form, placed in different + planes, so that their vertices should coincide in the cylinder. + + The Zabit paid me no attention, but sent a man to show me a + place to sleep in, who took me to one with only three walls. I + demanded another with four, and was accordingly conducted to a + weaver's, where, notwithstanding the mosquitoes and other + vermin, I passed the night comfortably enough. On my offering + money, the _mehmandar_ interfered, and said that if it were + known that I had given money he should be ruined, and added: + 'They, indeed, dare not take it;' but this I did not find to be + the case. + + _September 4._--At sunrise mounted my horse, and proceeded + north-west, through a pass in the mountains, towards Murun. By + the way I sat down by the brook, and there ate my bread and + raisins, and drank of the crystal stream; but either the + coldness of this unusual breakfast, or the riding after it, did + not at all agree with me. The heat oppressed me much, and the + road seemed intolerably tedious. At last we got out from among + the mountains, and saw the village of Murun, in a fine valley on + the right. It was about eleven o'clock when we reached it. As + the _mehmandar_ could not immediately find a place to put me in, + we had a complete view of this village. They stared at my + European dress, but no disrespect was shown. I was deposited at + last with a Khan, who was seated in a place with three walls. + Not at all disposed to pass the day in company, as well as + exposed, I asked for another room, on which I was shown to the + stable, where there was a little place partitioned off, but so + as to admit a view of the horses. The smell of the stable, + though not in general disagreeable to me, was so strong that I + was quite unwell, and strangely dispirited and melancholy. + Immediately after dinner I fell fast asleep and slept four + hours, after which I rose and ordered them to prepare for the + next journey. The horses being changed here, it was some time + before they were brought, but, by exerting myself, we moved off + by midnight. It was a most mild and delightful night, and the + pure air, after the smell of the stable, was quite reviving. + For once, also, I travelled all the way without being sleepy; + and beguiled the hours of the way by thinking of the 14th Psalm, + especially the connection of the last three verses with the + preceding. + + _September 5._--In five hours we were just on the hills which + face the pass out of the valley of Murun (Marand), and in four + hours and a half more emerged from between the two ridges of + mountains into the valley of Gurjur. Gurjur is eight parasangs + from Murun, and our course to it was nearly due north. This long + march was far from being a fatiguing one. The air, the road, and + my spirits were good. Here I was well accommodated, but had to + mourn over my impatient temper towards my servants; there is + nothing that disturbs my peace so much. How much more noble and + godlike to bear with calmness, and observe with pity, rather + than with anger, the failings and offences of others! Oh, that I + may, through grace, be enabled to recollect myself in the time + of temptation! Oh, that the Spirit of God may check my folly, + and at such times bring the lowly Saviour to my view! + + _September 6._--Soon after twelve we started with fresh horses, + and came to the Aras, or Araxes, distant two parasangs, and + about as broad as the Isis, and a current as strong as that of + the Ganges. The ferry-boat being on the north side, I lay down + to sleep till it came; but observing my servants do the same, I + was obliged to get up and exert myself. It dawned, however, + before we got over. The boat was a huge fabric in the form of a + rhombus. The ferryman had only a stick to push with; an oar, I + dare say, he had never seen or heard of, and many of my train + had probably never floated before;--so alien is a Persian from + everything that belongs to shipping. We landed safely on the + other side in about two minutes. We were four hours in reaching + Nakshan, and for half an hour more I was led from street to + street, till at last I was lodged in a wash-house belonging to a + great man, a corner of which was cleaned out for me. It was + near noon and my baggage was not arrived, so that I was obliged + to go without my breakfast, which was hard after a ride of four + hours in the sun. The baggage was delayed so long that I began + to fear; at last, however, it arrived. All the afternoon I + slept, and at sunset arose, and continued wakeful till midnight, + when I aroused my people, and with fresh horses set out again. + We travelled till sunrise. I scarcely perceived that we had been + moving, a Hebrew word in the 16th Psalm having led me gradually + into speculations on the eighth conjugation of the Arabic verb. + I am glad my philological curiosity is revived, as my mind will + be less liable to idleness. + + _September 7._--Arrived at Khok, a poor village, distant five + and a half parasangs from Nakshan, nearly west. I should have + mentioned that, on descending into the plain of Nakshan, my + attention was arrested by the appearance of a hoary mountain + opposite to us at the other end, rising so high above the rest + that they sank into insignificance. It was truly sublime, and + the interest it excited was not lessened when, on inquiring its + name, I was told it was Agri, or Ararat. Thus I saw two + remarkable objects in one day, the Araxes and Ararat. At four in + the afternoon we set out for Shurour. The evening was pleasant; + the ground over which we passed was full of rich cultivation and + verdure, watered by many a stream, and containing forty + villages, most of them with the usual appendage of gardens. To + add to the scene, the great Ararat was on our left. On the peak + of that hill the whole Church was once contained; it was now + spread far and wide, even to the ends of the earth, but the + ancient vicinity of it knows it no more. I fancied many a spot + where Noah perhaps offered his sacrifices; and the promise of + God, that seed-time and harvest should not cease, appeared to me + to be more exactly fulfilled in the agreeable plain in which it + was spoken than elsewhere, as I had not seen such fertility in + any part of the Shah's dominions. Here the blessed saint landed + in a new world; so may I, safe in Christ, out-ride the storm of + life, and land at last on one of the everlasting hills! + + Night coming on we lost our way, and got intercepted by some + deep ravines, into one of which the horse that carried my trunks + sunk so deep that the water got into one of them, wetted the + linen and spoiled some books. Finding it in vain to attempt + gaining our _munzil_, we went to another village, where, after a + long delay, two aged men with silver beards opened their house + to us. Though it was near midnight I had a fire lighted to dry + my books, took some coffee and sunk into deep sleep; from which + awaking at the earliest dawn of + + _September 8_, I roused the people, and had a delightful ride of + one parasang to Shurour, distant four parasangs from Khok. Here + I was accommodated by the great man with a stable, or winter + room, for they built it in such a strange vicinity in order to + have it warm in winter. At present, while the weather is still + hot, the smell is at times overpowering. At eleven at night we + moved off, with fresh horses, for Duwala; but though we had + guides in abundance, we were not able to extricate ourselves + from the ravines with which this village is surrounded. + Procuring another man from a village we happened to wander into, + we at last made our way, through grass and mire, to the pass, + which led us to a country as dry as the one we had left was wet. + Ararat was now quite near; at the foot of it is Duwala, six + parasangs from Nakshan, where we arrived at seven in the morning + of + + _September 9._--As I had been thinking all night of a Hebrew + letter, I perceived little of the tediousness of the way. I + tried also some difficulties in the 16th Psalm without being + able to master them. All day on the 15th and 16th Psalms, and + gained some light into the difficulties. The villagers not + bringing the horses in time, we were not able to go on at + night, but I was not much concerned, as I thereby gained some + rest. + + _September 10._--All day at the village writing down notes on + the 15th and 16th Psalms. Moved at midnight, and arrived early + in the morning at Erivan. + + _September 11._--I alighted at Hosein Khan, the governor's + palace, as it may be called, for he seems to live in a style + equal to that of a prince. Indeed, commanding a fortress on the + frontier, within six hours of the Russians, he is entrusted with + a considerable force, and is nearly independent of the Shah. + After sleeping two hours I was summoned to his presence. He at + first took no notice of me, but continued reading his Koran, it + being the Mohurrum. After a compliment or two he resumed his + devotions. The next ceremony was to exchange a rich shawl dress + for a still richer pelisse, on pretence of its being cold. The + next display was to call for his physician, who, after + respectfully feeling his pulse, stood on one side: this was to + show that he had a domestic physician. His servants were most + richly clad. My letter from the ambassador, which till now had + lain neglected on the ground, was opened and read by a moonshi. + He heard with great interest what Sir Gore had written about the + translation of the Gospels. After this he was very kind and + attentive, and sent for Lieutenant M., of the Engineers, who was + stationed, with two sergeants, at the fort. He ordered for me a + _mehmandar_, a guard, and four horses with which a Turk had just + come from Kars. + + _September 12._--The horses not being ready, I rode alone and + found my way to Etchmiatzin (or Three Churches[86]), two and a + half parasangs distant. Directing my course to the largest + church, I found it enclosed by some other buildings and a wall. + Within the entrance I found a large court, with monks cowled and + gowned moving about. On seeing my Armenian letters they brought + me to the Patriarch's lodge, where I found two bishops, one of + whom was Nestus, at breakfast on pilaos, kuwabs, wine, arrak, + etc., and Serst (Serope) with them. As he spoke English, French, + and Italian, I had no difficulty in communicating with my hosts. + + Serope, considering the danger to which the cathedral-seat is + exposed from its situation between Russia, Persia, and Turkey, + is for building a college at Tiflis. The errors and + superstitions of his people were the subject of Serope's + conversation the whole morning, and seemed to be the occasion of + real grief to him. He intended, he said, after a few more + months' trial of what he could do here, to retire to India, and + there write and print some works in Armenian, tending to + enlighten the people with regard to religion, in order to + introduce a reform. I said all I could to encourage him in such + a blessed work: promising him every aid from the English, and + proving to him, from the example of Luther and the other + European reformers, that, however arduous the work might seem, + God would surely be with him to help him. I mentioned the awful + neglect of the Armenian clergy in never preaching; as thereby + the glad tidings of a Saviour were never proclaimed. He made no + reply to this, but that 'it was to be lamented, as the people + were never called away from vice.' + + _September 13._--I asked Serope about the 16th Psalm in the + Armenian version; he translated it into correct Latin. In the + afternoon I waited on the Patriarch; it was a visit of great + ceremony. He was reclining on a sort of throne, placed in the + middle of the room. All stood except the two senior bishops; a + chair was set for me on the other side, close to the Patriarch; + at my right hand stood Serope, to interpret. The Patriarch had a + dignified rather than a venerable appearance. His conversation + consisted in protestations of sincere attachment, in expressions + of his hopes of deliverance from the Mohammedan yoke, and + inquiries about my translations of the Scriptures; and he begged + me to consider myself as at home in the monastery. Indeed, their + attention and kindness are unbounded: Nestus and Serope + anticipate my every wish. I told the Patriarch that I was so + happy in being here that, did duty permit, I could almost be + willing to become a monk with them. He smiled, and fearing, + perhaps, that I was in earnest, said that they had quite enough. + Their number is a hundred, I think. The church was immensely + rich till about ten years ago, when, by quarrels between two + contending patriarchs, one of whom is still in the monastery in + disgrace, most of their money was expended in referring their + disputes to the Mohammedans as arbitrators. There is no + difficulty, however, in replenishing their coffers: their + merchants in India are entirely at their command. + + _September 15._--Spent the day in preparing, with Serope, for + the mode of travelling in Turkey. All my heavy and expensive + preparations at Tabreez prove to be incumbrances which must be + left behind: my trunks were exchanged for bags; and my portable + table and chair, several books, large supplies of sugar, etc., + were condemned to be left behind. My humble equipments were + considered as too mean for an English gentleman; so Serope gave + me an English bridle and saddle. The roads in Turkey being much + more infested with robbers than those of Persia, a sword was + brought for me. + + _September 16._--Upon the whole I hardly know what hopes to + entertain from the projects of Serope. He is bold, + authoritative, and very able; still only thirty-one years of + age; but then he is not spiritual: perhaps this was the state of + Luther himself at first. It is an interesting time in the world; + all things proclaim the approach of the kingdom of God, and + Armenia is not forgotten. There is a monastery of Armenian + Catholics at Venice, which they employ merely in printing the + Psalter, book of prayers, etc. Serope intends addressing his + first work to them, as they are the most able divines of the + Armenians, to argue them back from the Roman Catholic communion, + in which case he thinks they would co-operate with him + cordially; being as much concerned as himself at the gross + ignorance of their countrymen. The Archbishop of Astrakhan has a + press, also an agent at Madras and one at Constantinople, + printing the Scriptures and books of prayers: there is none at + Etchmiatzin. At Constantinople are three or four + fellow-collegians of Serope, educated as well as he by the + Propaganda, who used to entertain the same sentiments as he, and + would, he thinks, declare them if he would begin. + + _September 17._--At six in the morning, accompanied by Serope, + one bishop, the secretary, and several servants of the + monastery, I left Etchmiatzin. My party now consisted of two men + from the governor of Erivan, a _mehmandar_, and a guard; my + servant Sergius, for whom the monks interceded, as he had some + business at Constantinople; one trusty servant from the + monastery, Melcom, who carried my money; and two baggage-horses + with their owners. The monks soon returned, and we pursued our + way over the plain of Ararat. At twelve o'clock reached Quila + Gazki, about six parasangs from Etchmiatzin. The _mehmandar_ + rode on, and got a good place for me. + + _September 18._--Rose with the dawn, in hopes of going this + stage before breakfast, but the horses were not ready. I set off + at eight, fearing no sun, though I found it at times very + oppressive when there was no wind. At the end of three hours we + left the plain of Ararat, the last of the plains of modern + Persia in this quarter. Meeting here with the Araxes again, I + undressed and plunged into the stream.[87] While hastening + forward with the trusty Melcom to rejoin my party, we were + overtaken by a spearman with a lance of formidable length. I did + not think it likely that one man would venture to attack two, + both armed; but the spot was a noted one for robbers, and very + well calculated, by its solitariness, for deeds of privacy; + however, he was friendly enough. He had, however, nearly done me + a mischief. On the bank of the river we sprang a covey of + partridges; instantly he laid his lance under him across the + horse's back, and fired a horse-pistol at them. His horse, + starting at the report, came upon mine, with the point of the + spear directly towards me, so that I thought a wound for myself + or horse was inevitable; but the spear passed under my horse. We + were to have gone to Haji-Buhirem, but finding the head-man of + it at a village a few furlongs nearer, we stopped there. We + found him in a shed outside the walls, reading his Koran, with + his sword, gun, and pistol by his side. He was a good-natured + farmer-looking man, and spoke in Persian. He chanted the Arabic + with great readiness, and asked me whether I knew what that book + was: 'Nothing less than the great Koran!' + + _September 19._--Left the village at seven in the morning, and + as the stage was reputed to be very dangerous, owing to the + vicinity of the famous Kara Beg, my _mehmandar_ took three armed + men from the village in addition to the one we brought from + Erivan. We continued going along through the pass two or three + parasangs, and crossed the Araxes three times. We then ascended + the mountains on the north by a road, if not so steep, yet as + long and difficult as any of the _kotuls_ of Bushire. On the top + we found a table-land, along which we moved many a tedious mile, + expecting every minute that we should have a view of a fine + champaign country below; but dale followed dale, apparently in + endless succession, and though at such a height there was very + little air to relieve the heat, and nothing to be seen but + barren rocks. One part, however, must be excepted, where the + prospect opened to the north, and we had a view of the Russian + territory, so that we saw at once, Persia, Russia, and Turkey. + At length we came to an Armenian village, situated in a hollow + of these mountains, on a declivity. The village presented a + singular appearance, being filled with conical piles of peat, + for they have no fire-wood. Around there was a great deal of + cultivation, chiefly corn. Most of the low land from Tabreez to + this place is planted with cotton, _Palma Christi_, and rice. + This is the first village in Turkey; not a Persian cap was to be + seen, the respectable people wore a red Turkish cap. The great + man of the village paid me a visit; he was a young Mussulman, + and took care of all my Mussulman attendants; but he left me and + my Armenians, where he found us, at the house of an Armenian, + without offering his services. I was rather uncomfortably + lodged, my room being a thoroughfare for horses, cows, + buffaloes, and sheep. Almost all the village came to look at me. + The name of this village is Fiwik, it is distant six parasangs + from the last; but we were eight hours accomplishing it, and a + kafila would have been twelve. We arrived at three o'clock; both + horses and men much fatigued. + + _September 20._--From daybreak to sunrise I walked, then + breakfasted and set out. Our course lay north, over a mountain, + and here danger was apprehended. It was, indeed, dismally + solitary all around. The appearance of an old castle on the top + of a crag was the first occasion on which our guard got their + pieces ready, and one rode forward to reconnoitre: but all there + was as silent as the grave. At last, after travelling five + hours, we saw some men: our guard again took their places in + front. Our fears were soon removed by seeing carts and oxen. Not + so the opposite party: for my baggage was so small as not to be + easily perceived. They halted therefore at the bottom, towards + which we were both descending, and those of them who had guns + advanced in front and hailed us. We answered peaceably; but + they, still distrusting us as we advanced nearer, cocked their + pieces. Soon, however, we came to a parley. They were Armenians, + bringing wood from Kars to their village in the mountain: they + were hardy, fine young men, and some old men who were with them + were particularly venerable. The dangerous spots being passed + through, my party began to sport with their horses: galloping + across the path, brandishing their spears or sticks, they darted + them just at that moment of wheeling round their horses, as if + that motion gave them an advantage. It struck me that this, + probably, was the mode of fighting of the ancient Parthians + which made them so terrible in flight. Presently after these + gambols the appearance of some poor countrymen with their carts + put into their heads another kind of sport; for knowing, from + the ill-fame of the spot, that we should be easily taken for + robbers, four of them galloped forward, and by the time we + reached them one of the carters was opening a bag to give them + something. I was, of course, very much displeased, and made + signs to him not to do it. I then told them all, as we quickly + pursued our course, that such kind of sport was not allowed in + England; they said it was the Persian custom. We arrived at + length at Ghanikew, having ridden six hours and a half without + intermission. The _mehmandar_ was for changing his route + continually, either from real or pretended fear. One of the Kara + Beg's men saw me at the village last night, and as he would + probably get intelligence of my pretended route, it was + desirable to elude him. But after all we went the shortest way, + through the midst of danger, if there was any, and a gracious + Providence kept all mischief at a distance. Ghanikew is only two + parasangs from Kars, but I stopped there, as I saw it was more + agreeable to the people; besides which I wished to have a ride + before breakfast. I was lodged in a stable-room; but very much + at my ease, as none of the people of the village could come at + me without passing through the house. + + _September 21._--Rode into Kars. Its appearance is quite + European, not only at a distance but within. The houses all of + stone; streets with carts passing; some of the houses open to + the street; the fort on an uncommonly high rock; such a + burying-ground I never saw, there must be thousands of + gravestones. The _mehmandar_ carried me directly to the + governor, who, having just finished his breakfast, was of course + asleep, and could not be disturbed; but his head-man carried me + to an Armenian's house, with orders to live at free quarter + there. The room at the Armenian's was an excellent one, + upstairs, facing the street, fort, and river, with a bow + containing five windows under which were cushions. As soon as + the Pacha was visible, the chief Armenian of Kars, to whom I had + a letter from Bishop Nestus, his relation, waited upon him on my + business. On looking over my letters of recommendation from Sir + Gore Ouseley, I found there was none for Abdallah, the Pacha of + Kars; however, the letter to the Governor of Erivan secured all + I wanted. He sent to say I was welcome; that if I liked to stay + a few days he should be happy, but that if I was determined to + go on to-morrow, the necessary horses and ten men for a guard + were all ready. As no wish was expressed of seeing me, I was of + course silent upon that subject. + + _September 22._--Promises were made that everything should be + ready at sunrise, but it was half-past nine before we started, + and no guard present but the Tartar. He presently began to show + his nature by flogging the baggage-horse with his long whip, as + one who was not disposed to allow loitering; but one of the poor + beasts presently fell with his load at full length over a piece + of timber lying in the road. While this was setting to rights, + the people gathered about me, and seemed more engaged with my + Russian boots than with any other part of my dress. We moved + south-west, and after five hours and a half reached Joula. The + Tartar rode forward and got the coffee-room at the post-house + ready. The coffee-room has one side railed and covered with + cushions, and on the opposite side cushions on the ground; the + rest of the room was left with bare stones and timbers. As the + wind blew very cold yesterday, and I had caught cold, the Tartar + ordered a great fire to be made. In this room I should have been + very much to my satisfaction, had not the Tartar taken part of + the same bench, and many other people made use of it as a public + room. They were continually consulting my watch to know how near + the hour of eating approached. It was evident that the Tartar + was the great man here; he took the best place for himself; a + dinner of four or five dishes was laid before him. When I asked + for eggs they brought me rotten ones; for butter they brought me + ghee. The idle people of the village came all night and smoked + till morning. It was very cold, there being a hoar frost. + + _September 23._--Our way to-day lay through a forest of firs, + and the variety of prospect it afforded, of hill and dale, wood + and lawn, was beautiful and romantic. No mark of human + workmanship was anywhere visible for miles, except where some + trees had fallen by the stroke of the woodman. We saw at last a + few huts in the thickest clumps, which was all we saw of the + Koords, for fear of whom I was attended by ten armed horsemen. + We frightened a company of villagers again to-day. They were + bringing wood and grass from the forest, and on seeing us drew + up. One of our party advanced and fired; such a rash piece of + sport I thought must have been followed by serious mischief, but + all passed off very well. With the forest I was delighted; the + clear streams in the valleys, the lofty trees crowning the + summit of the hills, the smooth paths winding away and losing + themselves in the dark woods, and, above all, the solitude that + reigned throughout, composed a scene which tended to harmonise + and solemnise the mind. What displays of taste and magnificence + are found occasionally on this ruined earth! Nothing was + wanting to-day but the absence of the Turks, to avoid the sight + and sound of whom I rode on. After a ride of nine hours and a + half, we reached Mijingui, in the territory of Erzroom, and + having resolved not to be annoyed in the same way as last night, + I left the Tartar in the undisturbed possession of the + post-house, and took up my quarters at an Armenian's, where, in + the stable-room, I expected to be left alone; but a Georgian + young man, on his way from Etchmiatzin, going on pilgrimage to + Moosk, where John the Baptist is supposed to be buried, presumed + on his assiduous attentions to me, and contrived to get a place + for himself in the same room. + + _September 24._--A long and sultry march over many a hill and + vale. In the way, two hours from the last stage, is a hot + spring; the water fills a pool, having four porches. The porches + instantly reminded me of Bethesda's pool: they were semicircular + arches about six feet deep, intended seemingly for shelter from + the sun. In them all the party undressed and bathed. The Tartar, + to enjoy himself more perfectly, had his _kalean_ to smoke while + up to his chin in water. We saw nothing else on the road to-day + but a large and opulent family of Armenians--men, women, and + children--in carts and carriages returning from a pilgrimage to + Moosk. After eleven hours and a half, including the hour spent + at the warm spring, we were overtaken by the dusk; so the Tartar + brought us to Oghoomra, where I was placed in an Armenian's + stable-room. + + _September 25._--Went round to Husar-Quile, where we changed + horses. I was surprised to find so strong a fort and so large a + town. From thence we were five hours and a half reaching the + entrance of Erzroom. All was busy and moving in the streets and + shops--crowds passing along. Those who caught a sight of us were + at a loss to define me. My Persian attendants and the lower part + of the dress made me appear Persian; but the rest of my dress + was new, for those only who had travelled knew it to be + European. They were rather disposed, I thought, to be uncivil, + but the two persons who preceded us kept all in order. I felt + myself in a Turkish town; the red cap, and stateliness, and rich + dress, and variety of turbans was realised as I had seen it in + pictures. There are here four thousand Armenian families and but + one church; there are scarcely any Catholics, and they have no + church. + + _September 29._--Left Erzroom with a Tartar and his son at two + in the afternoon. We moved to a village, where I was attacked + with fever and ague; the Tartar's son was also taken ill and + obliged to return. + + _September 30._--Travelled first to Ashgula, where we changed + horses, and from thence to Purnugaban, where we halted for the + night. I took nothing all day but tea, and was rather better, + but head-ache and loss of appetite depressed my spirits; yet my + soul rests in Him who is 'an anchor to the soul, sure and + steadfast,' which, though not seen, keeps me fast. + + _October 1._--Marched over a mountainous tract; we were out from + seven in the morning till eight at night. After sitting a little + by the fire, I was near fainting from sickness. My depression of + spirits led me to the throne of grace as a sinful abject worm. + When I thought of myself and my transgressions, I could find no + text so cheering as 'My ways are not as your ways.' From the men + who accompanied Sir Gore Ouseley to Constantinople I learned + that the plague was raging at that place, and thousands dying + every day. One of the Persians had died of it. They added that + the inhabitants of Tokat were flying from their town from the + same cause. Thus I am passing inevitably into imminent danger. O + Lord, Thy will be done! Living or dying, remember me! + + _October 2._--Some hours before day I sent to tell the Tartar I + was ready, but Hassan Aga was for once riveted to his bed. + However, at eight, having got strong horses, he set off at a + great rate; and over the level ground he made us gallop as fast + as the horses would go to Chifflik, where we arrived at sunset. + I was lodged, at my request, in the stables of the post-house, + not liking the scrutinising impudence of the fellows who + frequent the coffee-room. As soon as it began to grow a little + cold the ague came on, and then the fever; after which I had a + sleep, which let me know too plainly the disorder of my frame. + In the night Hassan sent to summon me away, but I was quite + unable to move. Finding me still in bed at the dawn, he began to + storm furiously at my detaining him so long, but I quietly let + him spend his ire, ate my breakfast composedly, and set out at + eight. He seemed determined to make up for the delay, for we + flew over hill and dale to Sherean, where he changed horses. + From thence we travelled all the rest of the day and all night; + it rained most of the time. Soon after sunset the ague came on + again, which, in my wet state, was very trying; I hardly knew + how to keep my life in me. About that time there was a village + at hand, but Hassan had no mercy. At one in the morning we found + two men under a wain, with a good fire; they could not keep the + rain out, but their fire was acceptable. I dried my lower + extremities, allayed the fever by drinking a good deal of water, + and went on. We had little rain, but the night was pitchy dark + so that I could not see the road under my horse's feet. However, + God being mercifully pleased to alleviate my bodily suffering, I + went on contentedly to the _munzil_, where we arrived at break + of day. After sleeping three or four hours, I was visited by an + Armenian merchant for whom I had a letter. Hassan was in great + fear of being arrested here; the Governor of the city had vowed + to make an example of him for riding to death a horse belonging + to a man of this place. He begged that I would shelter him in + case of danger; his being claimed by an Englishman, he said, + would be a sufficient security. I found, however, that I had no + occasion to interfere. He hurried me away from this place + without delay, and galloped furiously towards a village, which, + he said, was four hours distant, which was all I could undertake + in my present weak state; but village after village did he pass + till, night coming on, and no signs of another, I suspected that + he was carrying me on to the _munzil_; so I got off my horse and + sat upon the ground, and told him 'I neither could nor would go + any farther.' He stormed, but I was immovable, till, a light + appearing at a distance, I mounted my horse and made towards it, + leaving him to follow or not, as he pleased. He brought in the + party, but would not exert himself to get a place for me. They + brought me to an open verandah, but Sergius told them I wanted a + place in which to be alone. This seemed very offensive to them. + 'And why must he be alone?' they asked, ascribing this desire of + mine to pride, I suppose. Tempted at last by money, they brought + me to a stable-room, and Hassan and a number of others planted + themselves there with me. My fever here increased to a violent + degree; the heat in my eyes and forehead was so great that the + fire almost made me frantic. I entreated that it might be put + out, or that I might be carried out of doors. Neither was + attended to; my servant, who, from my sitting in that strange + way on the ground, believed me delirious, was deaf to all I + said. At last I pushed my head among the luggage, and lodged it + on the damp ground, and slept. + +From Sherean, or Sheheran, out of which, after a night of burning fever +in the stable of the Chifflik post-station, Hassan furiously compelled +the dying man to ride, is a mountain track of a hundred and seventy +miles to Tokat. 'How wearisome and painful must have been his journey +over the mountains and valleys!' wrote the American missionaries, Eli +Smith and H.O. Dwight, eighteen years after, when, in the vigour of +health and at a better season, they made the same journey, called by his +example and memory, to found the Mission to Eastern Anatolia. Think of +him, wasting away from consumption, racked with ague, burning with +fever, as, pressed by the merciless Turk, he 'flew over hill and dale' +all the third day of October, from eight in the morning, then changed +horses at Sheheran, then 'travelled all the rest of the day and all +night' of the 3rd-4th, while the rain fell amid darkness that could be +felt; then, after three or four hours' sleep, on break of day again +hurried on, lest his guide should be arrested for a former offence of +'riding to death a horse belonging to a man of this place,' all the +fourth day, till almost expiring he sat on the ground and found refuge +in a stable, refusing to go farther. 'At last I pushed my head among the +luggage, and lodged it on the damp ground, and slept.' Since +Chrysostom's ride in the same region, the Church of Christ has seen no +torture of a saint like that. + + _October 5._--Preserving mercy made me see the light of another + morning. The sleep had refreshed me, but I was feeble and + shaken; yet the merciless Hassan hurried me off. The _munzil_, + however, not being distant, I reached it without much + difficulty. I expected to have found it another strong fort at + the end of the pass, but it is a poor little village within the + jaws of the mountain. I was pretty well lodged, and felt + tolerably well till a little after sunset, when the ague came on + with a violence I had never before experienced; I felt as if in + a palsy, my teeth chattering and my whole frame violently + shaken. Aga Hosein and another Persian, on their way here from + Constantinople, going to Abbas Mirza whom I had just before been + visiting, came hastily to render me assistance if they could. + These Persians appear quite brotherly after the Turks. While + they pitied me, Hassan sat in perfect indifference, ruminating + on the further delay this was likely to occasion. The cold fit, + after continuing two or three hours, was followed by a fever, + which lasted the whole night and prevented sleep. + + _October 6._--No horses being to be had, I had an unexpected + repose. I sat in the orchard and thought with sweet comfort and + peace of my God, in solitude my Company, my Friend, and + Comforter. Oh! when shall time give place to eternity! When + shall appear that new heaven and new earth wherein dwelleth + righteousness! There, there shall in no wise enter in anything + that defileth: none of that wickedness which has made men worse + than wild beasts, none of those corruptions which add still more + to the miseries of mortality, shall be seen or heard of any + more. + +Sitting in the orchard, thinking with sweet comfort and peace of his +God, and longing for that new heaven and new earth wherein dwelleth +righteousness--such is the last sight we have of Henry Martyn, on +October 6, 1812. Two brotherly Persians, on their way from Constantinople, +had sought to minister to him the day before. The Turkish Hassan, +himself afraid of justice, 'sat in perfect indifference, ruminating on +the further delay' caused by his illness. What happened when the dying +apostle could write no more--in the ten days till God took him on +October 16--who shall now tell? Did the Turk hurry him, as he was +expiring, into Tokat, from 'that poor little village within the jaws of +the mountain,' in which he was 'pretty well lodged,' or did his +indomitable spirit give the poor body strength to ride into the town; +and did the plague, then raging, complete what hereditary disease and +fever had done? He had at least his Armenian servants, the 'trusty' +Melcom and Sergius, with him to minister to his wants. He had written +to Lydia of his journey to her by Constantinople, Syria, and Malta, +saying: 'Do I dream, that I venture to think and write of such an event +as that!... Soon we shall have occasion for pen and ink no more, but I +trust I shall shortly see thee face to face.' He dreamed indeed; for He +who is the only Love which is no dream, but the one transforming, +abiding, absorbing reality, called him, while yet a youth of thirty-one, +home to Himself. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[85] _The Historical Geography of Asia Minor_, vol. iv. of the Royal +Geographical Society's _Supplementary Papers_, John Murray, 1890. + +[86] In his valuable book _Transcaucasia and Ararat_ (1877), Mr. James +Bryce, M.P., gives the meaning as 'The Only-Begotten descended.' + +[87] A few years after, when Sir R. Ker Porter was on the same route, +he wrote: 'This was the spot where our apostolic countryman, Henry +Martyn, faint with fever and fatigue, alighted to bathe on his way to +Tokat.' There, too, Sir Robert was of opinion, Xenophon and the Ten +Thousand Greeks crossed the Araxes 2,300 years ago. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV + +THE TWO RESTING-PLACES--TOKAT AND BREAGE + + +The Armenians were a comparatively strong community in Tokat, where they +formed a third of the population, for whom there were seven churches and +thirty priests. Henry Martyn was known as a friend of this, the oldest +church in Asia. He had sought out their priests and families all over +Persia and the Araxes valley, and ministered to many of this oppressed +people. The two servants with whom he had journeyed as far as Tokat were +Armenians, and he especially trusted Sergius, whom he had engaged at +Etchmiatzin, as one about to visit Constantinople, and not unfamiliar +with the route. The body of the wearied traveller to the city of the +Great King was laid to rest in the extensive cemetery of the church of +Karasoon Manoog. Later research revealed the fact that the body was +buried in simple and reverent Oriental fashion--not in a coffin, but in +such a white winding-sheet as that which for forty hours enwrapped the +Crucified. The story afterwards went that the chaplain-missionary of the +East India Company was carried to the tomb with all the honours of an +Armenian archbishop. That is most probable, for the Armenian clergy of +Calcutta, Bushire, and Shiraz always gave him priestly honours during +life. The other tradition--that his burial was hardly decent--has arisen +from the circumstances that attended the search for his grave and the +removal of his dust to the American Mission Cemetery forty years +afterwards. + +[Illustration: _Sir R.K. Porter_ + +TOKAT IN 1812] + +Far away, in the most distant corner of Asiatic Turkey, or Turkish +Arabia, at Baghdad, there was one[88] Anglo-Indian scholar and +Christian, who hastened to discharge the pious duty of carving on a +limestone slab above the precious remains a Latin inscription. That was +the East India Company's civil servant, James Claudius Rich. Born near +Dijon in 1787--six years after Martyn--and taken in his infancy to +Bristol, he there manifested such extraordinary linguistic powers, even +in boyhood, that Joshua Marshman, before he went out to Serampore, +helped him with books and introduced him to Dr. Ryland. Robert Hall +formed such an opinion of his powers, which the earliest Orientalist, +Sir Charles Wilkins, tested, that he received an appointment to the +Bombay Civil Service, and was introduced to Sir James Mackintosh. He +went to India overland through Turkish Asia, disguised as a Georgian +Turk, so that the Mecca pilgrims at Damascus did not discover him. He +married Sir James's eldest daughter,[89] and had set out as the +Company's Resident at Baghdad and Busrah, not long before Martyn arrived +at Bombay. The two men never met, for Martyn's attempt to enter Arabia +from Persia through Baghdad was stopped. But the young Orientalist +watched Martyn's career with admiration, and seems to have followed his +footsteps. In 1821 he himself was cut off by cholera, while ministering +to the plague-stricken in Shiraz, leaving a name imperishably associated +with that of Sir James Mackintosh, and dear to all Oriental scholars and +travellers, but henceforth to be remembered above all as that of the man +who was the first to perpetuate the memory of Henry Martyn.[90] + +The sacred spot was immediately at the foot of slaty rocks down which +the winter snows and summer rains washed enough of stony soil every +year to cover up the horizontal slab. The first to visit it with +reverent steps after the pious commission of Claudius James Rich had +been executed, was Sir Robert Ker Porter. Although only a few years +had elapsed, he seems to have failed to see the inscription which +fitly commemorated the 'Sacerdos ac Missionarius Anglorum,' so that he +thus beautifully wrote: 'His remains sleep in a grave as humble as his +own meekness; but while that high pyramidal hill, marked with its +mouldering ruins of heathen ages, points to the sky, every European +traveller must see in it their honoured countryman's monument.' + +In 1830, when the American Board's missionaries, Eli Smith and H.G.O. +Dwight, visited Tokat, they had little difficulty in finding the spot, +from which they wrote: 'An appropriate Latin inscription is all that +distinguishes his tomb from the tombs of the Armenians who sleep by +his side.'[91] They urged their Board to make Tokat its centre of +operations for the people of Second Armenia, as Caesarea for those of +the First and Third Armenia, and Tarsus for those of Cilicia. As they, +reversing his northward journey, reached Tabreez sick, they were cared +for, first by Dr., afterwards Sir John McNeill, and then by Dr. +Cormick, the same physician who healed Martyn of a similar disease +when he was at this city. 'He seemed to have retained the highest +opinion of him as a Christian, a companion, and a scholar.' + +In 1841 Mr. George Fowler published his _Three Years in Persia_, in +which a chapter is filled with reminiscences of Henry Martyn. + + Of this distinguished missionary and champion of the Cross, who + fearlessly unfolded his banner and proclaimed Christ amongst the + bigoted Mahometans, I have heard much in these countries, having + made acquaintance with some persons who knew him, and saw (if I + may so say) the last of him. At the General's table at Erzroom + (Paskevitch), I had the honour to meet graffs and princes, + consisting of Russians, Georgians, Circassians, Germans, + Spaniards, and Persians, all glittering in their stars and + orders, such a _melange_ as is scarcely to be found again under + one banner; looking more like a monarch's levy than anything + else. My neighbour was an Armenian bishop, who, with his long + flowing hair and beard, and austere habits, the cross being + suspended to his girdle, presented a great contrast to the + military chiefs. There were many other priests at the table, of + whom he was the principal. He addressed me in my native tongue + very tolerably, asking if I had known anything of the + missionary, Martyn. The name was magic to my ear, and + immediately our colloquy became to me of great interest. + + The bishop was the Serrafino of whom Martyn speaks in his + _Journal_, I happening at the time to have it with me. He was + very superior to the general caste of the Armenian clergy, + having been educated at Rome, and had attained many European + languages. He made Martyn's acquaintance at Etchmiatzin, the + Armenian monastery at Erivan, where he had gone to pay a visit + to the Patriarch or chief of that people, and remained three + days to recruit his exhausted strength. He described him to me + as being of a very delicate frame, thin, and not quite of the + middle stature, a beardless youth, with a countenance beaming + with so much benignity as to bespeak an errand of Divine love. + Of the affairs of the world he seemed to be so ignorant, that + Serrafino was obliged to manage for him respecting his + travelling arrangements, money matters, etc. Of the latter he + had a good deal with him when he left the monastery, and seemed + to be careless, and even profuse, in his expenditure. He was + strongly recommended to postpone his journey, but from his + extreme impatience to return to England these remonstrances were + unavailing. A Tartar was employed to conduct him to Tokat. + Serrafino accompanied him for an hour or two on the way--with + considerable apprehensions, as he told me, of his ever arriving + in his native country.[92] He was greatly surprised, he said, + not only to find in him all the ornaments of a refined + education, but that he was so eminent a Christian; 'since (said + he) all the English I have hitherto met with, not only make no + profession of religion, but live seemingly in contempt of it.' + + I endeavoured to convince him that his impression of the English + character was in this respect erroneous; that although a Martyn + on the Asiatic soil might be deemed a phoenix, yet many such + existed in that country which gave him birth; and I instanced to + him the Christian philanthropy of my countrymen, which induced + them to search the earth's boundaries to extend their faith. I + told him of our immense voluntary taxation to aid the + missionaries in that object, and of the numerous Christian + associations,--for which the world was scarcely large enough to + expend themselves upon. + + He listened with great attention, and then threw in the + compliment, 'You English are very difficult to become acquainted + with, but when once we know you we can depend on you.' He + complained of some part of Martyn's _Journal_ referring to + himself, respecting his then idea of retiring to India, to write + and print some works in the Armenian language, tending to + enlighten that people with regard to religion. He said that what + followed of the errors and superstitions of the Armenian Church + should not have been inserted in the book, nor did he think it + would be found in Martyn's _Journal_. His complaint rested much + on the compilers of the work in this respect; he said, 'these + opinions were not exactly so expressed, and certainly they were + not intended to come before the public, whereby they might + ultimately be turned against me.' + + At Erzroom, on my way to Persia, I had met with an Italian + doctor, then in the Pasha's employ, from whom I heard many + interesting particulars respecting Martyn. He was at Tokat at + the time of our countryman's arrival and death, which occurred + on October 16, 1812; but whether occasioned by the plague, or + from excessive fatigue by the brutal treatment of the Tartar, he + could not determine. His remains were decently interred in the + Armenian burying-ground, and for a time the circumstance was + forgotten. Some years afterwards, a gentleman, at the request of + the British ambassador in Constantinople, had a commemorative + stone erected to his memory, and application was made to the + Armenian bishop to seek the grave for that purpose. He seemed to + have forgotten altogether such an occurrence, but referring to + some memoranda which he had made of so remarkable a case as that + of interring a Feringhi stranger, he was enabled to trace the + humble tablet with which he had distinguished it. It is now + ornamented with a white slab, stating merely the name, age, and + time of death of the deceased. + + I had many reminiscences of Martyn, at Marand particularly. I + quitted this place at midnight, just at the time and under the + circumstances which he describes. 'It was a most mild and + delightful night, and the pure air, after the smell of the + stable, was reviving.' I was equally solitary with himself. I + had attached great interest to my resting-place, believing it to + have been the same on which Martyn had reposed, from his own + description, as it was the usual reception for travellers, the + _munzil_, or post-house. Here I found myself almost alone, as + with Aliverdy, my guide, not three words of understanding + existed between us. Martyn says, 'They stared at my European + dress, but no disrespect was shown.' Exactly so with me: the + villagers stood around questioning my attendant, who was showing + me off, I know not why. + + Martyn's description of the stable was precisely what I found + it; thus--'I was shown into the stable, where there was a little + place partitioned off, but so as to admit a view of the horses.' + He was 'dispirited and melancholy.' I was not a little touched + with this in my solitariness, and sensibly felt with the poet: + + Thou dost not know how sad it is to stray + Amid a foreign land, thyself unknown, + And, when o'erwearied with the toilsome day, + To rest at eve and feel thyself alone. + + At Khoi, on my return, I witnessed the Persian ceremony related + by Martyn in his _Journal_ of the death of Imam Hussein--the + anniversary of which is so religiously observed in that country. + At Tabreez I heard much of him who was + + Faithful found + Among the faithless--faithful only he, + Unshaken, unseduced, unterrifed, + His loyalty he kept--his zeal--his love. + + I scarcely remember so bright an ornament to the Christian + profession, on heathen land, as this hero of the Cross, who was + 'patient in tribulation, rejoicing in hope;' and I heard him + thus spoken of by those who could estimate the _man_, and + perhaps not appreciate the _missionary_--'If ever there was a + saint on earth, it was Martyn; and if there be now an angel in + heaven, it is Martyn.' Amidst the contumely of the bigoted + Mussulmans, he had much to bear, as to the natural man, amongst + whom he was called an 'Isauvi' (the term given to Christians). + + I know of no people where, to all human calculation, so little + prospect opens of planting the Cross. The moollas are by no + means averse to religious discussion, and still remember the + 'enlightened infidel,' as Martyn was called; but so bigoted are + these benighted Moslems, and show so much zeal, as I noticed at + their Ramazan, that they scorn us, and, I may say, they shame + us. It is interesting, when looking at those dark regions, to + inquire--when shall the Cross triumph over the Crescent? when + shall the riches and power of the Gospel spread over their soil, + root up the weeds of error, and produce the fruits of + righteousness? + + Since the days of Martyn but little effort has been made by the + Missionary Society to turn the tide of Christian philanthropy + towards this country; but I would say, spite of the + discouragements, Send your missionaries to this stronghold of + Mahomet; here plant your standard of redeeming love to the + wretched devotee of the impostor; to the sometime worshipper of + the sun hang out the banner of the Sun of Righteousness; kindle + in his bosom the flame of Divine truth, that the Holy Spirit, of + which his former god was the emblem, may enlighten and guide him + into the fold of Christ. + + It is gratifying to find from a paper in the _Asiatic Register_, + the writer of which spent a few weeks at Shiraz, that the love + and work of this distinguished missionary, although he saw no + fruits from them, have in one instance proved that his labour + has not been in vain in the Lord. He relates that in that city + he met with an interesting character, Mahomed Rahim, who had + been educated for a moolla; a man of considerable learning, and + much attached to the English. He found him reading a volume of + _Cowper's Poems_, and was astonished at the precision with which + he expressed himself in English; this led to the subject of + religion, when he acknowledged himself to be a Christian, and + related the following circumstance. + + In the year of the Hegira 1223 there came to this city an + Englishman, who taught the religion of Christ with a boldness + hitherto unparalleled in Persia, in the midst of much scorn and + ill-treatment from the moollas as well as the rabble. He was a + beardless youth, and evidently enfeebled by disease; he dwelt + among us for more than a year. I was then a decided enemy to + infidels, as the Christians are termed by the followers of + Mahomet, and I visited this teacher of the despised sect, for + the purpose of treating him with scorn, and exposing his + doctrines to contempt. Although I persevered in this conduct for + some time, I found that every interview not only increased my + respect for the individual, but diminished my confidence in the + faith in which I was educated. His extreme forbearance towards + the violence of his opponents, the calm and yet convincing + manner in which he exposed the fallacies and sophistries by + which he was assailed (for he spoke Persian excellently), + gradually inclined me to listen to his arguments, to inquire + dispassionately into the subject of them, and finally to read a + tract which he had written in reply to _A Defence of Islam_, by + our chief moollas. The result of my examination was a conviction + that the young disputant was right. Shame, or rather fear, + withheld me from this opinion; I even avoided the society of the + Christian teacher, though he remained in the city so long. Just + before he quitted Shiraz I could not refrain from paying him a + farewell visit. Our conversation, the memory of which will never + fade from the tablet of my mind, sealed my conversion. He gave + me a book; it has been my constant companion; the study of it + has formed my most delightful occupation; its contents have + often consoled me. Upon this he put into my hand a copy of the + New Testament in Persian; on one of the blank leaves was + written, 'There is joy in heaven over one sinner that repenteth. + HENRY MARTYN.' + +The memory of Henry Martyn was borne by Mussulmans to Northern Africa, +and south to India again. The late Rev. Mr. Oakley, of St. Paul's, +Onslow Square, London, when travelling south of Algiers, met +Mohammedans who asked him if he were of the same tribe as Henry +Martyn, the man of God whose controversy at Shiraz and books they +knew. A Persian of gentle manners, who had a surprising knowledge of +the _Mesnevi_, that inexhaustible fountain of Soofi philosophy, +received a copy of Martyn's Persian New Testament. After fourteen +years' study of it, in silence, he applied to the nearest Christian, +an Armenian bishop, for baptism unto Christ. Fearing the consequences, +the bishop sent on the catechumen to the Armenian priests at Calcutta, +who, equally afraid that the news would reach the Persian authorities, +handed him over to the Rev. E.C. Stuart, then the Church Missionary +Society's secretary there, and a Persian scholar, now Bishop of +Waiapu. Mr. Stuart took him as his guest, found that he delighted in +instruction in the New Testament, and baptized him. Ultimately the +convert went back to Persia as one who 'had gained a sincere faith in +Christ from the simple reading of H. Martyn's Persian Testament.' + +In 1842 the learned Bombay chaplain, George Percy Badger, visited +Tokat on a mission from the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Bishop of +London to the Nestorian tribes of Koordistan. He was guided to Henry +Martyn's first tomb by the Armenian priest who had performed the rites +of Christian burial. While Mrs. Badger sought out and planted wild +flowers around the stone, her husband, recalling the fervent zeal and +ardent piety of the departed, 'lifted up a secret prayer that God in +His mercy would raise up many of a like spirit to labour among the +benighted Mohammedans of the East.'[93] + +Adopting the report of their missionaries in 1830, the American Board +at Boston sent out Dr. Henry J. van Lennep, who first visited Tokat +fourteen years after them, and thirty-two years after Henry Martyn's +death. The first object of his attention was the grave, which then he +had great difficulty in discovering and identifying. It was this +experience, and not any earlier facts, that must have led to the +publication of these lines: + + No stone marks the spot where these ashes are resting, + No tear has e'er hallowed thy cold, lonely grave, + But the wild warring winds whistle round thy bleak dwelling, + And the fierce wintry torrent sweeps o'er it with its wave. + +In his _Travels in Little Known Parts of Asia Minor_,[94] Dr. van +Lennep writes: + + The Armenian burying-ground, where he was laid, is situated just + outside of the town, and hard by the wretched gipsy quarter + which forms its eastern extremity. It is a most barren and + desolate spot, overhung by lofty cliffs of clay slate. Its only + verdure, besides the rank weeds that spring up between the + thickly set graves, consists of two scraggy wild pear-trees + nearly dead for lack of moisture. The sexton of the church near + by could give no information, and I was left to search for it + alone. Beginning at the graves lying at the outer edge of the + ground nearest the road, I advanced towards the hill, examining + each in its turn, until just at the foot of the overhanging + cliffs I came upon a slab of coarse limestone, some forty inches + by twenty, bearing the following inscription: + + Rev . Vir . + Gug[95] . Martino . + Sacer . Ac . Miss . Anglo . + Quem . In . Patr . Redi . + Dominus + Hic . Berisae . Ad . Sb . Voc . + Pium . D . Fidel . Q . Ser . + A.D. MDCCCXII. + Hunc . Lap . Consac . + C. I. R. + A.D. MDCCCXIII. + + It was just ten years after this first visit that I was again in + Tokat, not on a transient visit, but with the purpose of making + that city my permanent abode. A little party of us soon repaired + to the hallowed spot. Guided by my recollections and a drawing + made at my previous visit, we were soon at the place; but in the + last few years it had undergone a remarkable change. Instead of + the slab of stone with its inscription, which we expected to + see, we only found a smooth surface of pebbly and sandy soil + overgrown with weeds, without vestige of stone or mound to + indicate the presence of a grave; but the identical surroundings + were there, too well remembered to be mistaken. Could it be + that, as happens in these lawless regions, the stone had been + removed by some ruthless hand and incorporated in the wall of a + neighbouring building? We could not accept that unpleasant + conclusion, and, calling the sexton, we directed him to dig + where we pointed. It was at a depth of two feet from the surface + that the stone came into view: the soil and rubbish accumulated + upon the grave were then removed, and we hoped the place would + hereafter need little attention. But, to our surprise, we found + it again, the ensuing spring, covered to the same depth as + before. The soil was washed upon it by the rains from the whole + mountain side, and we found that were a wall built for its + protection, the gipsy boys, who made this their playground, + would soon have it down. + + Some time after this, a correspondence took place with friends + in London, which resulted in a grant being made by the late Hon. + East India Company's Board of Directors, for the purpose of + erecting a more suitable monument to the memory of Henry Martyn, + to be placed with his remains in the Mission Burying-ground. The + monument was cut out of native marble, and made by native + workmen at Tokat. The remains were removed under the inspection + of the missionary physician, and though it was difficult + positively to identify them, there can be no doubt that what was + found once formed a portion of the earthly tenement of the + devoted and lamented missionary. There were no remains of a + coffin; Orientals never use them, and he was doubtless laid in + immediate contact with the soil, literally 'dust to dust.' The + monument under which we laid these remains was the first grave + in our little cemetery, and well might it be said that it + became sacred ground. The obelisk has four faces, on each of + which the name, encircled with a wreath, is cut, severally in + English, Armenian, Persian, and Turkish. The four sides of the + base contain the following inscription in the same languages: + + REV. HENRY MARTYN, M.A. + + CHAPLAIN OF THE HON. EAST INDIA COMPANY, + BORN AT TRURO, ENGLAND, FEBRUARY 18, 1781, + DIED AT TOKAT, OCTOBER 16, 1812. + + HE LABOURED FOR MANY YEARS IN THE EAST, STRIVING TO + BENEFIT MANKIND BOTH IN THIS WORLD AND THAT TO COME. + HE TRANSLATED THE HOLY SCRIPTURES INTO HINDOSTANEE + AND PERSIAN, + AND PREACHED THE GOD AND SAVIOUR OF WHOM THEY TESTIFY. + HE WILL LONG BE REMEMBERED IN THE EAST, WHERE HE WAS + KNOWN AS A MAN OF GOD. + + The grave now lies in a spot every way adapted to foster the + holy memories which it recalls. It stands upon a broad and high + terrace, overlooking the whole city for whose salvation we + cannot doubt that he offered some of the last petitions 'of the + righteous man, which avail much.' It is a solitude, immediately + surrounded by the thick foliage of fruit trees, among which tall + walnuts are conspicuous. We ourselves planted by its side the + only weeping willows which exist in the whole region. The place + is visited by many, who read the concise inscription and further + inquire into the good man's history. It has always been a + favourite place of resort of our students and native Christians, + and they have many a time sat under its shade and expounded to + wondering strangers the very doctrines to propagate which that + model of a missionary had sacrificed his life. + +[Illustration: TOMB OF HENRY MARTYN] + +Tokat is now for ever memorable as the centre which links the names of +Basiliscus, the martyr, Basil the Great, John Chrysostom, and Henry +Martyn. The cloud-crested fortress points almost straight up from the +Jeshil-Irmak river, the ancient Iris, which, rising in the Anti-Taurus +range of Pontus, finds its way to the Black Sea with a breadth and +volume of water second only to the Halys. Still, as of old, the town +crowds about the foot of the two spiral crags and straggles out with +towered church, mosque and minaret, into the valley. The ruins of the +embattled walls crowning every pinnacle of the insulated rocks of which +they seem to form a part, tell of the days when Greek and Roman passed +along the 'royal road' from Amisos or Samsoon on the Euxine to Sebaste, +Caesareia, and Central Asia; and when the Saracens beat off the Emperor +Michael (860) from what was then called Daximon.[96] The time is coming +when there shall once more be here a highway of civilisation after the +barren centuries of the Moslem. + +Tokat represents Komana Pontica, six miles off, the oracle and +emporium of the royal road, described by Strabo as a little Corinth +for vice and traffic. Another step, and the Apostle Paul himself might +have visited it from Galatia. In 312, in the persecution under +Maximin, Basiliscus, the bishop of Komana, was martyred, being shod +with red-hot iron shoes, beheaded, and thrown into the Iris. The +_Acta_ picture the saint as led on foot by soldiers along the road +without food for four days, till he reached Komana; 'and the road was +much the same as the modern way, Tokat to Amaseia,' along which Henry +Martyn was violently hurried by his Tartar. In the martyrium, built a +few miles out of Komana, in memory of Basiliscus, Chrysostom found +rest in death, and a grave. + +Basilius, the bishop of Caesareia, belonged to the neighbouring +province of Cappadocia, but his missionary influence, and that of his +bishop brother, Gregory Nyssen, and his sister, Macrina, spread all +over Pontus, while Gregory Nazianzen was his fellow-student at Athens, +and his admiring friend, as Julian also, the future Emperor, was for a +time. Like Martyn, Basil owed to his sister his conversion, his call +to the ministry, and his self-sacrifice all through life. It was on +the banks of the Iris above Tokat that, secluded for five years, the +great Father laid the foundation of the monastic communities of the +Greek Church, and learned to be the future defender of orthodoxy +against the Arians, and of the unity of the Oriental Church. + +But it is the exile and death of John Chrysostom, just fourteen +centuries before, that form the most touching parallel to the sufferings +of Henry Martyn. Never has there been a greater missionary bishop than +the 'golden-mouthed' preacher of Antioch and Constantinople. The victim +first of a cabal of bishops, and then of the Empress Eudoxia, whose +vices and sacrilege he rebuked, he was driven from Constantinople to the +scorching plains of Cappadocia in the midsummer heat. His guard drove on +the venerable man day and night, giving him no rest. When a halt was +made, it was always in some filthy village where good water was not. +Fever and ague were provoked, but still he was forced on to Basil's city +of Caesareia, to find Basil's successor his bitter enemy. Taking a +physician with him he reached his destination at Kokussos, where the +Empress had hoped that the barbarians would make an end of him. As it +seemed likely to prove his Tabreez, he was once more driven forth on +foot, under two guards selected for their brutality. It took him three +months to reach Komana--one long, slow martyrdom to the fever-stricken +old man. 'It was evident that Chrysostom's strength was entirely worn +out,' writes Canon Venables, in words which exactly describe the +experience of the young Henry Martyn. 'But his pitiless guard hurried +him through the town "as if its streets were no more than a bridge," +without a moment's halt.' Five miles farther on they halted at the +chapel of the martyr Basiliscus, of whom Chrysostom dreamed that he saw +him and heard him say: 'Be of good cheer; on the morrow we shall be +together.' Canon Venables continues, unconsciously, the parallel with +the experience of the nineteenth-century saint of the Evangel: + + In the morning Chrysostom earnestly begged for a brief respite, + but in vain. He was hurried off, but scarcely had he gone three + or four miles when a violent attack of fever compelled them to + retrace their steps. + +On reaching the martyrium, Chrysostom, led within, stripped on his +soiled garments, clothed himself in white baptismal vestments, joined +in the communion of the body and blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, +offered his last prayer 'for present needs,' uttered his accustomed +doxology: 'Glory be to God for all things,' and, having said 'Amen,' +breathed his last on September 14, 407, in his sixtieth year. His body +was laid beside that of Basiliscus. A generation after, the children +of the Empress and Emperor who had thus slaughtered the saint brought +back his body and gave it imperial sepulture in Constantinople, while +they publicly asked Heaven to forgive the wrong of the past. + +From Basiliscus, Basil, and Chrysostom to Henry Martyn, the fourteen +centuries tell of the corruption of the Church of Christ in the East, +and the rise upon its ruins of Mohammedanism, which covered the northern +half of Africa, and Spain, and reached as far as Tours and Vienna in +Europe. It is to the glory of Henry Martyn that he was the first +missionary of the Reformed Church of the West to the Mohammedans, giving +those of India and Central Asia the Gospel and the Psalms in two of +their own vernaculars, and dying for them before he could complete his +work at the Arabic Bible. + +We shall see whom his example inspired to follow him. His death became +a summons, first to his own evangelical circle in England and India, +and then to the whole Church of Christ, to follow in the path that he +marked out alike by his toiling and his writing. + +Sergius, the Armenian, must at once have pursued the journey from +Tokat to Constantinople, which is distant from Tabreez 1,542 miles, +and not 1,300 as roundly estimated by Henry Martyn. He presented the +letters of his master to Mr. Isaac Morier, in the Sultan's capital, +father of Sir Gore Ouseley's secretary and successor. On February 12, +1813, Charles Simeon wrote thus to Mr. Thomason in Calcutta: + + The day before yesterday a letter arrived from Mr. Isaac Morier, + of Constantinople, announcing that on October 16 (or + thereabouts) our beloved brother entered into the realms of + glory, and rested for ever in the bosom of his God.... But what + an event it is! How calamitous to his friends, to India, and to + the world! Methinks I hear God say: 'Be still and know that I am + God.' ... I had been forming plans in my mind with a view to the + restoration of his health in England, and should now have been + able to carry into execution whatever might have been judged + expedient; but I am denied the joy of ministering to him! + +Again on April 2: + + We are making collections for Mr. Martyn's brother's family, who + in him have lost their main support. We have got about 400_l._, + and Mr. Thornton has sent you a paper for the purpose of getting + them some aid in India. + +The news reached Lydia Grenfell on February 14, 1813. She was then for +a fortnight at Marazion, where every spot recalled the past. She thus +communed with herself and God in her _Diary_: + + Marazion: February 20, 1813. + + I am fearful to retrace the last week on two accounts, lest the + infirmity of nature prevail, and I give way to sorrow,--and + lest, in recollecting the wondrous kindness and love of God my + Saviour, I increase my pride and not my gratitude. Oh, shall I + then remain silent? Shall Thy mercies be forgotten? Teach me, O + Lord, to write and speak for Thy glory, and to my own deeper + humiliation. Heard on the 14th of the removal of my most tender, + faithful, and beloved friend to the joys of heaven. Oh, I could + not wish his absence from them prolonged. What I only wished + was, and now I am reconciled to that too,--I wished to have been + honoured of God so far as to have been near him, or that some + friend had been.[97] Lord, if this was wrong, forgive me. I will + endeavour, yea, I am enabled to say of this too, 'Thy will be + done.' Great has been the peace and tranquillity of my soul, + such nearness to God, such a hold of Christ, such hope in the + promises, such assurance of bliss and immortality, as I cannot + express, and may have to forget. Oh, that I may never + lose,--rather would I lose everything I most prize, every + earthly friend, every earthly enjoyment, than this. Oh, the fear + of doing so, or of the abatement of spiritual perceptions and + affections, is the thing I most dread, and makes me long to die. + It is not for the sake of rejoining that blessed spirit of my + friend, though I have, and do, feel that too,--but to be again + shut out from Thy possession is what I fear. + + _February 28._--A silent Sabbath, at least to me,--to my ears, I + should say, for I trust God speaks to my heart. 'Comfort ye, + comfort ye, My people,' enables me to take comfort. I feel a + submission to the will of God which is more blessed than when I + had my own in the ministry of the Word,--yet this is a time + which calls for prayer. Lord, pour out the spirit of prayer on + me and many, and grant us grace to ask, fervently yet + resignedly, the restoration of Thy preached gospel. Suddenly are + we deprived of it,--may it be as quickly restored. Very weak in + health, so powerless this morning,--I could not but think my + earthly bed was preparing for me too, and that my soul would + soon return to God, but I am better, and willing to stay my + appointed time. True, to perform my work in a little time might + be what I should rejoice in, but I am willing to live, so I may + have the presence of God with me, and be engaged in His service. + I have a pleasure in supposing it possible the blessed spirit of + my friend may be, on some occasions, sent to protect, to + console, and counsel me,--but this is a weakness, and perhaps + should not be indulged. I felt this afternoon as if he was + present, as I sat alone in the garden,--the thought only + disposed me to solemnity and pensiveness of mind. I am afraid of + my dependence on the creature, whether embodied or not, and I + will rather trust to the sure support of God's Word. + + _March 2._--Some sorrowful thoughts will enter my mind + respecting my late dear friend, and call forth some sighs and + tears from my heart,--yet is that heart resigned to the will of + God, and confident of His having done all things well for His + beloved servant. Oh, how shall I, with wonder and praise, listen + in eternity to the relation of his last days! The excess of + affection now, and the unwillingness I feel that he should have + suffered, make it amongst my mercies that a veil is drawn over + that period of his life. It is mercy all, and God is good to me + in everything. I see His hand, I love and I adore. I submit and + resign myself to His blessed disposal and to all His + dispensations. I have been thinking how necessary for me it was + that we are thus separated; for during his life I felt such a + desire to please and to be worthy of the regard he entertained + for me, that it was my bane, and caused me to forget God as the + first object I was to think of and please. I accept the + punishment sent for this offence, may it prove an effectual cure + of this evil in my heart! + + _March 8._--During the last few days I have experienced much of + the Divine support and consolation of the Gospel. It has been a + time of conflict, not inward, blessed be the name of the Lord. I + have enjoyed a constant, uninterrupted peace, a peace past an + understanding, unless experienced. I never was more sensible of, + or rejoiced more in the presence of God, and my heart rises to + my Maker with delight and joy, as easily as I breathe. God, 'as + soon as sought, is found,' through Jesus Christ,--but I have + been put into the hands of a bitter enemy, and that enemy.... + She has left me, and I pray that every uneasy feeling excited in + my breast by her unkind and injurious treatment may depart with + her. Oh, how I rejoice that no storms can molest the dead who + die in the Lord,--they rest from their labours of every kind. + Since the account reached me of the departure of my dear friend + to be with Christ, which is far better than to be here,--every + evil I suffer, or fear, is blessed in its purpose, from knowing + he can never feel the same; and all I enjoy or behold that is + delightful, is the more enjoyed from thinking 'he has all this, + and more, in perfection, and without interruption.' May I + accomplish my work of suffering, or ending, or labouring, and + then enter into rest. + + _March 13._--Nature has its turn in my feelings. To-day I have + been given to feel more of sorrow for the removal of my beloved + friend, and, without desiring it to be otherwise, to mourn my + own loss. The recollection of his unmerited kindness softens my + heart, and I can hardly forbear indulging a tenderness which may + weaken but cannot strengthen my mind. O Lord, I beseech Thee + preserve me from whatever may injure my soul and unfit me for + Thy service. I have the hope of heaven too, and that is enough. + In heaven we shall meet and unite for ever in the work of + praise. Life, with its trials and cares, will be but short. May + I only desire to live to Thee, my God, and finish the work Thou + hast given me to do. Lord, make me faithful, self-denying, and + submissive to Thy will. + + _April 3._--My thoughts revert to the possible circumstances of + my late dear friend's sufferings and death, and I am sunk low by + doing so. It was the last step he had to travel below, and one + necessary to be taken, in order to reach the heights of glory. + There let me view him triumphing with his Saviour, and through + His meritorious sufferings and death made more than conqueror + over all his enemies. I must think more of his glorious Lord, + and less of the servant, either as suffering and labouring or + glorified and resting. Lord, be graciously present, and in the + contemplation of Thy perfections, and the review of Thy mercies, + let me forget everything beside. + + _April 21._--A letter from Tabreez, dated August 28, reached me. + O Thou who readest my heart, direct and sanctify every feeling. + May the anguish of my soul be moderated, and let me endeavour to + exercise faith in Thy Divine goodness, mercy, and power, and to + believe it was well with him in all respects. + + _April 24._--I am tormented with fears that even in eternity I + shall never be capable of enjoying the same happiness my + departed friend does, and it seems as if no other would satisfy + me. O Lord Jesus, weary and heavy laden I come to Thee; let me + behold the light of Thy countenance, and praise Thee, and lose + in the contemplation of Thy glories, and in the sense of Thy + love to my soul,--let me lose the remembrance of every other + excellence. When the sun shines the light of the stars is + eclipsed; thus may it be with me!--Unless the genius which shone + in his character make me admire and love God more, let me turn + from viewing them. Oh, teach me to love Thy saints, whether + living or dead, and for Thy sake and Thyself above them all. I + have never felt I was not resigned to the will of God in our + separation on earth, but my anxious mind dwells on another, + which I cannot bear to think possible. + + _June 3._--For several days my mind has been occupied with + recollections that weaken its hold of spiritual things. I think + more of a departed saint than of the King of Saints. It is + strange that now I should be more in danger of loving too well a + creature passed into the skies than when he lived on earth. But + so it is,--continually my thoughts revert to him. I pray God + this may not be a snare unto me to divide me from Himself. Let + me behold Jesus. + + _June 13._--Passed a very blessed Sabbath. My soul + quickened,--Oh, let it live, and it shall praise Thee! A letter + from my dearest Emma containing wholesome, though at first + unwelcome, counsel, has been of singular use to me. The snare is + seen, if not broken. Yes, I have lost my hold of everything that + used, and ought, to support me by allowing, without restraint, + the remembrance of my late dear friend to fill my mind. My + almost constant thoughts were of him, and pride at the + preference he showed me was fed, as well as affection. Now I + have a painful, difficult part to act. A sacrifice I must offer + of what has become so much my happiness as to interfere with my + enjoyment of God. I must fly from the recollection of an earthly + object, loved too well, viewed too much. Let me follow his + faith, and consider the end of his conversation,--Jesus Christ, + the same for ever. I have had the greatest peace to-day in only + trying to resolve on this,--how merciful is God! + + _1814, January 28._--Found great sweetness yesterday and to-day + in reading and sweet prayer in the garden; was sensibly + refreshed in the exercise, and had a taste that the Lord was + gracious. This evening my heart is sad, not from the withdrawing + of those consolations, or darkness of soul, as is often the + case, but from having the circumstances of my revered friend's + death brought to my recollection. I strive not to dwell on them, + for oh, what a scope do they give to my busy fancy! I would fly + from this subject as too high for me, and take refuge in this: + the Lord did not forsake His servant, and precious was his death + in His sight. Nature is weak, but faith can strengthen me. + + _February 12._--A twelvemonth, this day, since I heard of the + death of my dear friend. My thoughts revert to this event, but + more to the mercies of God to me at that season. + + _October 16._--My thoughts engaged often to-day by the event of + this day in 1812. Twice has the earth performed its annual round + since the honoured servant of God received the welcome mandate + to cease from his labours, and join those who 'see His face' and + 'serve Him,' unencumbered with flesh and blood. He no longer + measures time by days and years, and there is no tedious six + days between Sabbath and Sabbath, as it is here. 'How blessed + are those who die in the Lord.' This expresses my feelings most + at the remembrance of this departed saint. May I abide in + Christ, and be with Him and His saints for ever. O blessed hope + of everlasting life,--I will cherish it, exult in it, and may I + pursue till I attain it. + +It was April 18, 1813, when Corrie and Thomason in India learned what +they had always feared since the dearest of all friends to them had +passed through Calcutta on his way to Arabia. Corrie was at Agra, and +he wrote to his brother-in-law, Mr. C. Shaw, in reply to a letter +'containing the affecting intelligence of Martyn's death, to us +afflictive, to him happy beyond expression. I could find nothing but +lamentations to express--lamentations for us, not for him. He was meet +for "the inheritance of the saints in light." My master is taken from +me; oh, for a double portion of his spirit! The work of printing and +distributing the Scriptures will henceforth go on more slowly.' Again, +to Simeon: 'Could he look from heaven and see the Abdool Massee'h, +with the translated New Testament in his hand, preaching to the +listening throng, ... it would add fresh delight to his holy soul.' +Thomason, at once his disciple and his friend, wrote: 'He was in our +hearts; we honoured him; we loved him; we thanked God for him; we +prayed for his longer continuance amongst us; we rejoiced in the good +he was doing. We are sadly bereaved. Where such fervent piety, and +extensive knowledge, and vigorous understanding, and classical taste, +and unwearied application were all united, what might not have been +expected?' When, soon after, Thomason, as chaplain, accompanied the +Governor-General, Lord Moira, through North India, and arrived at +Cawnpore, he had eyes and thoughts only for his friend. 'In these +sandy plains I have been tracing again and again the days of Martyn. +Close by me is the house that dear minister occupied, leading to which +is the gloomy line of aloes spoken of by Mrs. Sherwood.... Oh, for +Martyn's humility and love!... His standard of every duty was the +highest, and his feelings of joy, sorrow, love, most intense; whilst +his conversation was always in heaven, the savour of his holy +disposition was as ointment poured forth.... Woe unto us if we do not +pray more, live more above the world and deny ourselves more, and love +Christ more!' + +John Sargent, Rector of Lavington, the earliest of Henry Martyn's +intimate friends, at once undertook to write a memoir of his life, for +which Simeon charged himself with collecting 'all possible materials +from India and Persia.' Bishop Corrie accordingly addressed Sargent +thus: + + Agra: November 1, 1813. + + It will be of use for you to know that when he left Cawnpore in + 1810 to seek change of air I was with him, and persuaded him to + leave in my hands a number of memorandums he was about to + destroy. They were sealed up, but on his death, being opened, + they proved to be journals of the exercises of his mind from + January 1803 to 1807 inclusive. They seem to me no less worthy + of publication than the journal of Mr. Brainerd, if more books + of that kind should be judged necessary. Since the beginning of + 1807 Mr. Martyn favoured me with almost a weekly letter, in + which his various employments and engagements for the + furtherance of the Gospel in this country are detailed, with + occasional very interesting remarks. This correspondence ceased + on my being ordered by our Commander-in-chief to assist Mr. + Martyn in the duties of the station of Cawnpore, when I took up + my abode with him from June till his departure, October 1. Other + letters passed between us after that time, and it is my + intention to send you copies of all the above correspondence, + together with his private memorandums. The latter, with copies + of Martyn's letters from February to July 1807, were sent off + this day to Mr. Thomason in Calcutta, to be forwarded to England + by the first opportunity, and the copies of the remaining + letters shall follow as soon as may be. Of course I have omitted + to copy what seems purely personal: yet much remains which you + will perhaps judge unnecessary for publication, and will + exercise your own judgment on that head. All the extracts seem + to me, however, to cast light on the progress of missionary work + in this land, and may perhaps be thought interesting to those + who take a concern in Indian affairs. These extracts give so + full a view of Mr. Martyn's character that nothing remains for + me to add. Only I may say a more perfect character I never met + with, nor expect to see again on earth. During the four years we + were fellow-labourers in this country, I had no less than six + opportunities of enjoying his company; the last time for four + months together, and under the same roof all the time; and each + opportunity only increased my love and veneration for him. + + I conclude the above intelligence will plead my excuse for + writing to you without previous introduction, and I was anxious + it should reach you through the nearest channel. Your brother in + Calcutta has told me several times of your welfare, and during + beloved Martyn's life I used to hear of you sometimes. Your + person, whilst a student at King's College, was well known to + me, and your character admired, though I had not steadiness of + principle sufficient at that time to imitate you, and + consequently had no pretensions to an acquaintance with you, + though I often greatly desired it. To that 'Father in Israel,' + Mr. Simeon, I owe all my comfort on earth and all my hopes + respecting eternity: for through his instrumentality the seeds + of grace, I trust, were, during my residence at Cambridge, + especially during the latter part of my residence, implanted in + my heart, and have influenced, though alas! unsteadily, my after + days. + +Lydia Grenfell was of course consulted as the work made progress, but +none of her letters to Martyn have seen the light. + + _1815, December 26._--Wrote this day to Mr. Simeon. I have + reason to search into my heart and watch the risings of pride + there, both respecting the notice of this blessed saint, and the + avowal to be expected of my being the object of so much regard + from another still more eminent in the Church of Christ. I have + ever stood amazed at this, and now that in the providence of God + it seems certain that my being so favoured is likely to be made + known, vanity besets me. Oh, how poor a creature am I! Lord, I + pray, let me be enabled to trace some evidence of Thine eternal + love to me, and let this greater wonder call off my thoughts + from every other distinction. But how do I learn that in the + whole of this notice my thoughts have not indeed been Thine, O + Lord, nor my ways Thy ways? How much above all I could have + conceived of have been the designs of God! I sought concealment, + and lo! all is made known to many, and much will be even known + to the world. It is strange for me to credit this, and strange + that, with my natural reserve and the peculiar reasons that + exist for my wishing to have this buried in silence, I am + nevertheless composed about it. But, Lord, I would resign + myself, and all things that concern me, to Thy sovereign will + and pleasure. Preserve me blameless to Thine eternal kingdom, + and grant me an everlasting union with thy servant above. + + _1816, January 28._--I feel an increased thankfulness that God + has called me to live free from the many cares which fall on all + in the married state, and for the peculiarly favourable + circumstances He has placed me in here. The privilege of + watching over my mother in the decline of life, the charge of a + sweet child, the occupation of the schools, and a portion of + this world's goods for the use of the poor,--all, all call for + more thankfulness and diligence. Lord, help me to abound in + both, and with and above all I have peace and hope in God + through Jesus Christ, in a measure--though unbelief often robs + my soul of both. Oh, let me seek the grace of steadfast faith, + and I have all I want or desire. + + _April 21._--Thought with delight of my loved friends, Mrs. + Hoare and H.M., both before the Throne, led by the Lamb to + living fountains of waters, and all tears wiped away from their + eyes. Oh, I long to be there; yet I could willingly forego the + joys of heaven if I might, by suffering or labours here, glorify + my Lord and Saviour. + + _June 30._--Often have I thought, when desirous of pursuing a + more consistent deportment, and of introducing spiritual + subjects: 'How can I appear so different before those I have + been so trifling and merely worldly in all my intercourse with?' + The death of my esteemed and beloved brother in Christ, H.M., I + thought would have been the period for my maintaining that + serious watchfulness so essential to my enjoyment of God; but + no, I have been worse since, I think, as a judgment for failing + in my keeping my resolution. + +In 1817 Lydia Grenfell's _Diary_ records the visits of such men as Mr. +Fenn, 'who came to preach in the great cause of the Church Missionary +Society,' and of Mr. Bickersteth, who at Penzance 'stated what he had +met with in Africa.' The author of many immortal hymns, Francis Thomas +Lyte, 'opened his ministry' of two years in Marazion at this time, to +her joy and spiritual growth. She notes on August 31, 1817, that his +hymn 'Penitence' was sung for the first time. + + Marazion: March 6, 1819. + + Received, a few days since, Mr. Sargent's Memoir, and reading + only a few pages has convinced me that, without a greater + resemblance in the spirit to our friend, I never can partake of + that blessedness now enjoyed by the happy subject of it in the + presence of his Saviour. It is chiefly in humility, meekness, + and love I see the sad, the total difference. This may be + traced to a departure from the fountain of grace, Christ Jesus, + to whom, oh, may I return, and I shall be replenished. + + _October 14._--Indulged a wandering imagination, and am sad in + consequence. This season I ought to deem a sacred one. Oh, that, + in my remembrance of Thy blessed ... and servant, I could + entirely forget what feeds my vanity. Lord, help me to check all + earthly sorrow at the recollection of his many sorrows, for were + they not the appointed means of fitting him for his present + felicity, and of manifesting Thy grace, by which Thou art + glorified? I would make this season one of serious preparation + for my own departure, and what does that preparation consist + in?--faith in Jesus. Oh, strengthen it in me, and by following + Thy blessed saint in all virtuous and godly living I may come to + those eternal joys prepared for those that love Thee. + + _1820, June 25._--Oh, what a heaven for a creature, who has no + strength, or wisdom, or righteousness, like myself, to be fixed + in, beholding the glories of Jehovah manifested in Him who is my + Saviour and my Lord. Gladly would I part from this dull clod of + earth and come to Thee, and reach the pure pleasures of a + spiritual state. There, there dwells the blessed Martyn, who + bows before the throne, of a glorious company of saints, washed + with him, and clothed in spotless robes. Oh, (that) I may be + brought to them. + + _December 5._--Thought of the holy martyr, so humble, so + self-denying, so devoted, and of his early-accomplished prayer + for the heavenly country, where he dwells perfect in purity and + love. Oh, to be a follower of him as he followed Christ, and to + walk in the same paths, influenced by the same holy, humble, + heavenly principles, upheld by the same arm of omnipotent grace, + till I too reach the rest above. + + _1821, January 23._--Elevated rather than refreshed and humbled + in worship to-day. Imagination has been too active and + unrestrained. The remembrance of past events, in which that + blessed saint now with God, H.M. (? figured), has been filling + my mind. This should not be. This is not communion with him, now + a glorified spirit, but merely the indulgence of a vain, sinful + imagination. I would turn from all, from the most holy + creatures, to the Holy One, and the just; spiritual, and moral, + yea, Divine glory and beauty I may behold in Him, who is the + chief among ten thousand, and altogether lovely. + + _October 18._--I have now survived my beloved friend eight + years. Eight years have been given me to be prepared for that + world of blessedness he has so long entered upon. Alas! I seem + less so now than at any period. + + _1822, October 16._--The remembrance of the event of the day has + been rendered useless by my absence from home a great part of + it. It should be the occasion for renewed self-dedication, of + more earnest prayer, and of humiliation; for the recollection of + being the cause of increased sufferings to Thy saint, O Lord, is + cause for constant humiliation. I would realise death, and look + to eternity, and to that glorious Saviour, for whom the blessed + subject of my thoughts lived only to serve and honour. Oh, never + more shall I have intercourse with the beloved friend now with + Christ, but by faith in Christ. Lord, help me to use the + recollection of our earthly regard to promote this end. + + _October 19._--My birthday (forty-seventh) follows that of the + anniversary of the death of Martyn. + + _December 31._--Read dear Martyn's sermon on the Christian's + walk with greater enjoyment and unction than has been vouchsafed + unto me for a long season. The holy simplicity of the + directions, and persuasive motives to walk in, as well as + receive, Christ, had influence in my heart. + + _1823, January 11._--Placed in my room yesterday the print of + dear M. Felt affected greatly in doing so, and my tears, which + seldom flow in the presence of anyone, I could not restrain + before the person who was fixing it.[98] With the Saviour now, + and the Saviour, doubtless, was with him in his greatest agony, + even the agony of death--this thought will be the more familiar + to me by viewing the representation of Christ's Crucifixion, now + placed over the picture of His servant. I trust, by a prudent + and not too frequent sight of both, I may derive some advantage + from possessing what is so affecting and so admonitory to me, + who am declining in religious fervour and spirituality. Thus may + I use both, not to exercise feelings, but faith. I cannot behold + the resemblance of M. but I am reminded that God wrought + powerfully on his soul, meeting him for a state of purity, and + love, and spiritual enjoyment, and that he has entered upon it. + His faithfulness, and diligence, and self-denial, and + devotedness; his love to God, and love for souls; his meekness, + and patience, and faith, should stimulate me to earnestness in + prayer for a portion of that grace, through which alone he + attained them, and was what he was. + + _January 19._--Read dear Martyn's sermon on 'Tribulation the Way + to Heaven,' with, I trust, a blessing attending it. + + _1825, October 16._--The anniversary of dear H.M. gaining the + haven of rest after his labours. Oh, how little do I labour to + enter into that rest he enjoyed upon earth. + + _1826, April 2._--God, the ever gracious and merciful God, Thee + would I bless and everlastingly praise for granting me the + favour of hearing 'the joyful sound' of His rich love, and + abounding grace by Jesus Christ, this day, and by a messenger + unexpected, and beloved as a friend and brother. The text was + that I once heard preached from by the blessed Martyn, whose + spirit I pined to join in offering praises to God after sermon: + 'Now then we are ambassadors for Christ.' + + _June 18._--My friends gone to heaven seem to reproach me, that + I aim not to follow them, as they followed Christ. The beloved + Martyn, the seraphic Louisa Hoare, and my dear[99] Georgina's + spirits are employed in perpetually beholding that God whom I + neglect, and remain unconcerned when I do not delight in or + serve (Him). Oh, let me be joined to them in the sweet work of + adoration and praise to Him who hath loved us, to Jesus, our one + Lord and Saviour. Amen. + +So ends the _Diary_ of Lydia Grenfell, the eight last years of her +life afflicted by cancerous disease, and one year by a clouded +mind.[100] To the manuscript 'E. H,'--that is, her sister, Emma +Hitchins--added these words: 'This prayer was answered September 21, +1829; + + And now they range the heavenly plains, + And sing in sweet, heart-melting strains.' + +The motto on her memorial stone in the churchyard of Breage, where she +lies near another holy woman, Margaret Godolphin, first wife of Queen +Anne's prime minister, is 'For a small moment have I forsaken thee, +but with great mercies will I gather thee.' + +FOOTNOTES: + +[88] We must not forget the boyish 'Epitaph on Henry Martyn,' written +by Thomas Babington Macaulay in his thirteenth year (_Life_, by his +nephew, vol. i. p. 38): + + 'Here Martyn lies. In manhood's early bloom + The Christian hero finds a Pagan tomb. + Religion sorrowing o'er her favourite son + Points to the glorious trophies that he won, + Eternal trophies! not with carnage red; + Not stained with tears by hapless captives shed, + But trophies of the Cross. For that dear Name, + Through every form of danger, death, and shame, + Onward he journeyed to a happier shore, + Where danger, death, and shame assault no more.' + +These lines reflect the impression made on Charles Grant and the other +Clapham friends by Henry Martyn's death at a time when they used his +career as an argument for Great Britain doing its duty to India during +the discussions in Parliament on the East India Company's Charter of +1813. + +[89] _Narrative of a Residence in Koordistan, and an Account of a +Visit to Sherauz and Persepolis_, by the late Claudius James Rich, +Esq., edited (with memoir) by his widow, two vols., London, 1836. + +[90] See p. 528 for the earlier, and p. 530 for the later inscription. + +[91] _Missionary Researches in Armenia_, London, 1834. + +[92] It is a custom in the East to accompany travellers out of the +city to bid them God speed, with the 'khoda hafiz shuma,' 'may God +take you into His holy keeping.' If an Armenian, he is accompanied by +the priest, who prays over him and for him with much fervour. + +[93] _The Nestorians and their Rituals in 1842-1844_, 2 vols. London: +Joseph Masters, 1852. + +[94] New York, 1870, 2 vols. 12mo. Also published by John Murray, +London, 1870. + +[95] Mr. Rich, British Resident at Baghdad, who had laid this +monumental slab, was evidently ignorant of Martyn's Christian name. + +[96] Professor W.M. Ramsay's _Historical Geography of Asia Minor_, +1890. + +[97] 'Paucioribus lacrymis compositus es.'--Tac. quoted on this +occasion by Sargent, _Memoir of Martyn_, p. 493. + +[98] Her niece writes of her when she received the news of Henry +Martyn's death: 'The circumstances of his affecting death, and my +aunt's _intense_ sorrow, produced an ineffaceable remembrance on my +own mind. I can never forget the "upper chamber" in which she took +refuge from daily cares and interruptions--its view of lovely Mount's +Bay across fruit-trees and whispering white coelibes--its perfect +neatness, though with few ornaments. On the principal wall hung a +large print of the Crucifixion of our Lord, usually shaded by a +curtain, and at its foot (where he would have chosen to be) a portrait +of Henry Martyn.'--_The Church Quarterly Review_ for October 1881. + +[99] An authoress, and member of the Gurney family, who died in April, +1816. + +[100] _Her Title of Honour_, by Holme Lee, in which an attempt is made +to tell the story of Lydia Grenfell's life under a fictitious name, is +unworthy of the subject and of the writer. + + + + +CHAPTER XV + +BAPTIZED FOR THE DEAD + + +Henry Martyn is, first of all, a spiritual force. Personally he was +that to all who came in contact with him from the hour in which he +gave himself to Jesus Christ. To Cambridge student and peasant alike; +to Charles Simeon, his master, as to Kirke White and Sargent, Corrie +and Thomason, his admiring friends; to women like Lydia Grenfell, his +senior in years and experience, as to children like his cousin's at +Plymouth, and David Brown's at Aldeen; to the rude soldiery of the +Cape campaign and the East India Company's raw recruits as to the +cultured statesmen and scholars who were broadening the foundations of +our Indian empire; to the caste-bound Hindu, but far more to the +fanatical Arab and the Mohammedan mystic of Persia--to all he carried +the witness of his saintly life and his Divine message with a simple +power that always compelled attention, and often drew forth obedience +and imitation. His meteor-like spirit burned and flamed as it passed +across the first twelve years of the nineteenth century, from the Cam +to the Fal, by Brazil and South Africa, by Calcutta and Serampore, by +Patna and Cawnpore, by Bombay and Muscat, by Bushire and Shiraz and +Tabreez, to the loneliness of the Armenian highlands, and the exile +grave of the Turkish Tokat. + +From the year in which Sargent published fragments of his _Journal_, +and half revealed to the whole Church of Christ the personality known +in its deep calling unto deep only to the few, Henry Martyn has been +the companion of good men[101] and women of all the Churches, and the +stimulus of the greatest workers and scholars of the century. The +latest writer, the Hon. George N. Curzon, M.P., in his exhaustive work +on Persia (1892), describes him as 'this remarkable man, who impressed +everyone, by his simplicity and godliness of character,' though he +ascribes the 'effect in the short space of a year' as much to the +charm of his personality as to the character of his mission. + +Perhaps the most representative of the many whom Martyn is known to +have influenced was Daniel Wilson, of Islington and Calcutta. When +visiting his vast diocese in 1838 and crossing the Bay of Bengal, +Bishop Wilson[102] thus carefully compared the _Journal_ with +corresponding passages in his own life: + + It is consoling to a poor sinner like myself, who has been + placed in the full bustle of public business, to see how the + soul even of a saint like H. Martyn faints and is discouraged, + laments over defects of love, and finds an evil nature still + struggling against the law of his mind. I remember there are + similar confessions in J. Milner. It is this which explains the + seventh of Romans. Henry Martyn has now been in heaven + twenty-six years, having died in his thirty-second year. Dearest + Corrie was born like myself in 1778, and died in 1837, aged + fifty-nine, and after having been thirty-one years in India. He + has been at home now a year and five months. When, where, how, I + may be called hence I know not. The Lord make me a follower of + them who through faith and patience have inherited the promises. + In H. Martyn's _Journals_ the spirit of prayer, the time he + devoted to the duty, and his fervour in it, are the first things + which strike me. In the next place, his delight in Holy + Scripture, his meditations in it, the large portions he + committed to memory, the nourishment he thence derived to his + soul, are full of instruction. Then his humility is quite + undoubted, unfeigned, profound, sincere. There seems, however, + to have been a touch of natural melancholy and depression, which + was increased by one of his greatest mistakes, the leaving + England with his affections tied to Lydia Grenfell, whom he + ought either not to have loved or else to have married and taken + her with him. Such an ecstatic, warm creature as Henry Martyn + could do nothing by halves. Separation was martyrdom to such a + tender heart. But, oh, to imitate his excellences, his elevation + of piety, his diligence, his spirituality, his superiority to + the world, his love for souls, his anxiety to improve all + occasions to do them good, his delight in the mystery of Christ, + his heavenly temper! These, these are the secrets of the + wonderful impression he made in India, joined as they were with + first-rate talents, fine scholarship, habit of acquiring + languages, quickness and promptitude of perception, and + loftiness of imaginative powers. + +Henry Martyn's _Journal_ holds a place of its own in the literature of +mysticism. It stamps him as the mystic writer and worker of the first +quarter of the century of modern missions (1792-1814), as his master, +Robert Leighton, was of the more barren period that ended in 1688. The +too little known _Rules and Instructions for Devout Exercises_, found +among Leighton's papers, written with his own hand and for his own +use, was Martyn's 'usual' companion, with results which made that +work[103] as supplemented by the _Journal_, what the _De Imitatione +Christi_ and the _Theologia Germanica_ were to the more passive dark +ages of Christendom. At the close of the eighteenth century the young +and impulsive Cornish student found himself in an age not less, to +him, godless and anti-evangelical than that which had wrung from the +heart of at least one good man the hopeless longing of the _Theologia +Germanica_. He had seen his Divine Master crucified afresh in the +person of Charles Simeon, whom he possibly, as Sargent certainly, had +at first attended only to scoff and brawl. He had been denied a church +in which to preach the goodness of God, in his own county, other than +that of a kinsman. In the troopship and the Bengal barrack even his +official authority could hardly win a hearing from officer or soldier. +The young prophet waxed sore in heart, as the fire burned within him, at +the unbelief and iniquity of his day, till his naturally sunny spirit +scorched the souls he sought to warm with the Divine persuasiveness. He +stood really at the opening of the Evangelical revival of Christendom, +and like William Carey, who loved the youth, he was working out his own +side of that movement, but, equally like Carey, he knew it not. He was +to do as much by his death as by his life, but all he knew in his +humility was that he must make haste while he lived to give the millions +of Mohammedans the Word, and to reveal to them the Person of Jesus +Christ. The multitude of his thoughts within him he committed to a +_Journal_, written for himself alone, and rescued from burning only by +the interference of his friend Corrie. + +The mysticism of Martyn has been pronounced morbid. All the more that +his searching introspection and severe judgment on himself are a +contrast to the genial and merry conversation of the man who loved +music and children's play, the converse of friends and the conflict of +controversy for the Lord, does every reader who knows his own heart +value the vivisection. Martyn writes of sin and human nature as they +are, and therefore he is clear and comforting in the answer he gives +as to the remedy for the one and the permanent elevation of the other. +Even more than Leighton he is the Evangelical saint, for where +Leighton's times paralysed him for service, Martyn's called him to +energise and die in the conflict with the greatest apostacy of the +world. Both had a passion to win souls to the entrancing, transforming +love they had found, but unless on the side against the Stewarts, how +could that passion bear fruit in action? Both, like the author of the +_De Imitatione_, wrote steeped in the spirit of sadness; but the joy +of the dawn of the modern era of benevolence, as it was even then +called, working unconsciously on the sunny Cornubian spirit, kept +Martyn free alike from the selfish absorption which marked the monk of +the Middle Ages, and the peace-loving compromise which neutralised +Leighton. The one adored in his cell, the other wrestled in his study +at Newbattle or Dunblane, and we love their writings. But Henry Martyn +worked for his generation and all future ages as well as wrote, so +that they who delight in his mystic communings are constrained to +follow him in his self-sacrificing service. Beginning at March 1807, +let us add some passages from the _Journal_ to those which have been +already extracted for autobiographical purposes. + + I am thus taught to see what would become of me if God should + let go His strong hand. Is there any depth into which Satan + would not plunge me? Already I know enough of the nature of + Satan's cause to vow before God eternal enmity to it. Yes! in + the name of Christ I say, 'Get thee behind me, Satan!' + + Employed a great deal about one Hebrew text to little purpose. + Much tried with temptation to vanity, but the Lord giveth me the + victory through His mercy from day to day, or else I know not + how I should keep out of hell. + + May the Lord, in mercy to my soul, save me from setting up an + idol of any sort in His room, as I do by preferring a work + professedly for Him to communion with Him. How obstinate the + reluctance of the natural heart to God. But, O my soul, be not + deceived, the chief work on earth is to obtain sanctification, + and to walk with God. + + O great and gracious God, what should I do without Thee? but now + Thou art manifesting Thyself as the God of all consolation to my + soul. Never was I so near Thee; I stand on the brink, and I long + to take my flight! Oh, there is not a thing in the world for + which I would wish to live, except because it may please God to + appoint me some work. And how shall my soul ever be thankful + enough to Thee, O Thou most incomprehensibly glorious Saviour + Jesus! + + I walk according to my carnal wisdom, striving to excite + seriousness by natural considerations, such as the thoughts of + death and judgment, instead of bringing my soul to Christ to be + sanctified by his spirit. + + Preached on Luke xii. 20--'This night thy soul,' etc. The + congregation was large, and more attentive than they have ever + yet been. Some of the young officers and soldiers seemed to be + in deep concern. I was willing to believe that the power of God + was present, if a wretch so poor and miserable can be the + instrument of good to souls. Four years have I been in the + ministry, and I am not sure that I have been the means of + converting four souls from the error of their ways. Why is this? + The fault must be in myself. Prayer and secret duties seem to be + where I fail; had I more power in intercession, more self-denial + in persevering in prayer, it would be no doubt better for my + hearers. + + My heart sometimes shrinks from spiritual work, and especially + at an increase of ministerial business; but now I hope, through + grace, just at this time, that I can say I desire no carnal + pleasure, no ease to the flesh, but that the whole of life + should be filled up with holy employments and holy thoughts. + + My heart at various times filled with a sense of Divine love, + frequently in prayer was blessed in the bringing of my soul near + to God. After dinner in my walk found sweet devotion; and the + ruling thoughts were, that true happiness does not consist in + the gratifying of self in ease or individual pleasure, but in + conformity to God, in obeying and pleasing Him, in having no + will of my own, in not being pleased with personal advantages, + though I might be without guilt, nor in being displeased that + the flesh is mortified. Oh, how short-lived will this triumph + be! It is stretching out the arm at full length, which soon + grows tired with its own weight. + + I travel up hill, but I must learn, as I trust I am learning, to + do the will of God without any expectation of any present + pleasure attending it, but because it is the will of God. Oh, + that my days of vanity were at an end, and that all my thoughts + and conversation might have that deep tinge of seriousness which + becomes a soldier of the cross. + + To the women preached on the parable of the ten pieces of + silver, and at night to the soldiers on Rev. i. 18. Afterwards + in secret prayer drew near to the Lord. Alas! how my soul + contracts a strangeness with Him; but this was a restoring + season. I felt an indignation against all impure and sinful + thoughts, and a solemn serenity of frame. Interceded for dear + friends in England; this brought my late dear sister with pain + to my recollection, but I felt relieved by resolving every + event, with all its circumstances, into the will of God. + + Read an account of Turkey. The bad effects of the book were so + great that I found instant need of prayer, and I do not know + when I have had such divine and animating feelings. Oh, it is + Thy Spirit that makes me pant for the skies. It is He that shall + make me trample the world and my lusts beneath my feet, and urge + my onward course towards the crown of life. + + Spent the day in reading and prayer, and found comfort + particularly in intercession for friends, but my heart was + pained with many a fear about my own soul. I felt the duty of + praying for the conversion of these poor heathens, and yet no + encouragement to it. How much was there of imagination before, + or rather, how much of unbelief now; seeing no means ready now, + no Word of God to put into their hands, no preachers, it + sometimes seems to me idle to pray. Alas! wicked heart of + unbelief, cannot God create means, or work without them? But I + am weary of myself and my own sinfulness, and appear exceedingly + odious even to myself, how much more to a holy God. Lord, pity + and save; vile and contemptible is Thy sinful creature, even as + a beast before Thee; help me to awake. + + Some letters I received from Calcutta agitated my silly mind, + because my magnificent self seemed likely to become more + conspicuous. O wretched creature, where is thy place but the + dust? it is good for men to trample upon thee. Various were my + reveries on the events apparently approaching, and self was the + prominent character in every transaction. I am yet a long way + from real humility; oh, when shall I be dead to the world, and + desire to be nothing and nobody, as I now do to be somebody? + + Throughout the 18th enjoyed a solemn sense of Divine things. The + promise was fulfilled, 'Sin shall not have dominion over you.' + No enemy seemed permitted to approach. I sometimes saw naught in + the creation but the works of God, and wondered that mean + earthly concerns had ever drawn away my mind from contemplating + their glorious Author. Oh, that I could be always so, seeing + none but Thee, taught the secrets of Thy covenant, advancing in + knowledge of Thee, growing in likeness to Thee. How much should + I learn of God's glory, were I an attentive observer of His Word + and Providence. How much should I be taught of His purposes + concerning His Church, did I keep my heart more pure for Him. + And what gifts might I not expect to receive for her benefit, + were I duly earnest to improve His grace for my own! Oh, how is + a life wasted that is not spent with God and employed for God. + What am I doing the greater part of my time; where is my heart? + + Sabat lives almost without prayer, and this is sufficient to + account for all evils that appear in saint or sinner. + + I feel disposed to partake of the melancholy with which such + persons (Lady Mary Wortley Montagu) close their lives. Oh, what + hath grace done for us! The thought sometimes bursts upon me in + a way which I cannot describe. It is not future bliss, but + present peace, which we have actually obtained, and which we + cannot be mistaken in; the very thing which the world seeks for + in vain; and yet how have we found it? By the grace of God we + are what we are. + + Truly love is better than knowledge. Much as I long to know what + I seek after, I would rather have the smallest portion of + humility and love than the knowledge of an archangel. + + At night I spoke to them on 'Enoch walked with God.' My soul + breathed after the same holy, happy state. Oh that the influence + were more abiding; but I am the man that seeth his natural face + in a glass. + + This last short sickness has, I trust, been blessed much to me. + I sought not immediately for consolations, but for grace + patiently to endure and to glory in tribulation; in this way I + found peace. Oh, this surely is bliss, to have our will absorbed + in the Divine Will. In this state are the spirits of just men + made perfect in heaven. The spread of the Gospel in these parts + is now become an interesting subject to you--such is the + universal change. + + Perpetually assaulted with temptations, my hope and trust is + that I shall yet be sanctified in the name of the Lord Jesus, + and by the Spirit of my God. 'Purge me with hyssop, and I shall + be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.' When I + really strive after purity of heart--for my endeavours are too + often little more than pretence--I find no consideration so + effectual as that of the exalted dignity and infinitely precious + privileges of the saints. Thus a few verses of 1 Eph. are more + influential, purifying, and transforming than the most laboured + reasoning. Indeed, there is no reasoning with such temptations, + and no safety but in flight. + + I would that all should adore, but especially that I myself + should lie prostrate. As for self, contemptible self, I feel + myself saying, Let it be forgotten for ever; henceforth let + Christ live, let Christ reign, let Him be glorified for ever. + +Henry Martyn, by service, escaped the weakness and the danger of the +mystic who seeks absorption into God, in the mental sense, as the +remedy for sin, instead of a free and purified individuality in +Christ. He felt that the will sins; he saw the cure to lie not in the +destruction of the will, but in its rectification and personal +co-working with God. Absorption is spiritual suicide, not service. +Martyn realised and taught that a free individuality is the best +offering we can make to God after Christ has given it to us to offer +to Him. With Martyn moral service helped spiritual contemplation to +rise heavenward, and to raise men with it. The saint was also the +sacred scholar and translator; the mystic was the prophet preacher, +the Persian controversialist, the unresting missionary. His Christian +life was guided by the motto, 'To believe, to suffer, and to hope.' +His praying realised his own ideal of 'a visit to the invisible +world.' His working was ever quickened like St. Paul's by the summons, +alike of the Old dispensation and the New, which he cut with a diamond +on the window of his college rooms [Greek: E(/geirai, o( katheu/don, kai\ +a)na/sta], 'Awake thou that sleepest and arise.' When the fierce flame +of his love and his service had burned out his frail body, his +picture, painted at Calcutta the year before he died, spoke thus to +Charles Simeon, and ever since it has whispered to every new +generation of Cambridge men, 'Be serious, be in earnest; don't +trifle--don't trifle.' + +The men whom Henry Martyn's pioneering and early death have led to +live and to die that Christ may be revealed to the Mohammedans, are +not so many as the thousands who have been spiritually stimulated by +his _Journal_. Such work is still 'the forlorn hope' of the Church +which he was the first to lead. But in Persia and Arabia he has had +such followers as Anthony Groves, John Wilson, George Maxwell Gordon, +Ion Keith-Falconer, and Bishop French. Where he pointed the way the +great missionary societies of the United States of America and of +England and the Free Church of Scotland have sent their noblest men +and women. + +The death of Henry Martyn, followed not many years after by that of +her husband, who had been the first to mark his grave with a memorial +stone, led Mrs. James Claudius Rich, eldest daughter of Sir James +Mackintosh, to appeal in 1831 for 'contributions in aid of the school +at Baghdad, and those hoped to be established in Persia and other +parts of the territory of Baghdad.' In the same year, 1829, that +Alexander Duff sailed for Calcutta, there had gone forth by the Scots +Mission at Astrakhan to Baghdad, that Catholic founder of the sect +since known as 'The Brethren,' Anthony N. Groves, dentist, of Exeter. +Taking the commands of Christ literally, in the spirit of Henry +Martyn, he sold all he had, and became the first of Martyn's +successors in Persia. The record of his two attempts forms a romantic +chapter in the history of Christian missions.[104] All theories apart, +he lived and he worked for the Mohammedans of Persia in the spirit of +Henry Martyn. When the plague first, and persecution the second time, +extinguished this Mission to Baghdad, Dr. John Wilson,[105] from his +central and commanding position in Bombay, flashed into Arabia and +Persia such rays of Gospel light as were possible at that time. He +sent Bible colporteurs by Aden and up the Persian Gulf; he summoned +the old Church of Scotland to despatch a mission to the Jews of +Arabia, Busrah, and Bombay. A missionary was ready in the person of +William Burns who afterwards went to China, the support of a +missionary at Aden was guaranteed by a friend, and Wilson had found a +volunteer 'for the purpose of exploring Arabia,' when the disruption +of the Church of Scotland arrested the movement, only, however, +vastly to increase the missionary development in India and Africa, as +well as church extension in Scotland. What John Wilson tried in vain +to do during his life was effected by his death. It was his career +that summoned the Hon. Ion Keith-Falconer and his wife to open their +Mission in Yemen, at Sheikh Othman and Aden. Like Martyn at Tokat, in +the far north, and just at Martyn's age, by his dust in the Aden +cemetery Ion Keith-Falconer has taken possession of Arabia for Christ. +'The _Memoirs of David Brainerd_ and _Henry Martyn_ gave me particular +pleasure,' wrote young John Wilson in 1824. 'Mind to get hold of the +_Life of John Wilson_, the great Scotch missionary of India,' wrote +the young Ion Keith-Falconer in 1878.[106] So the apostolic succession +goes on. + +Gordon of Kandahar, 'the pilgrim missionary of the Punjab,' was not +the least remarkable of Henry Martyn's deliberate followers, alike in +a life of toil and in a death of heroism for the Master. Born in 1839, +he was of Trinity College, Cambridge, and had as his fellow-curate +Thomas Valpy French, when the future bishop came back from his first +missionary campaign in India. Dedicating himself, his culture, and his +considerable property to the Lord, he placed his unpaid services at +the disposal of the Church Missionary Society, as Martyn once did. +Refusing a bishopric after his first furlough, and seeking to prepare +himself for the work of French's Divinity School of St. John at +Lahore, he returned to India by Persia, to learn the language and to +help Dr. Bruce for a little in 1871. The famine was sore in that +land, and he lived for its people as 'relieving officer, doctor, +purveyor, poorhouse guardian, outfitter and undertaker. There is a cry +like the cry of Egypt in the night of the Exodus--not a house in which +there was not one dead.' So he wrote.[107] From Julfa he carried +relief to Shiraz, where he found himself in the midst of the +associations made sacred by Henry Martyn's residence there. 'I have +taken up my quarters in a Persian's house, and have a large garden all +to myself. I am in the very same house which Henry Martyn was in. I +heard to-day that my host is the grandson of his host Jaffir Ali Khan, +and that the house has come down from father to son.' + +Eight years after Gordon was in Kandahar, sole (honorary) chaplain to +the twenty regiments who were fighting the Ameer of Afghanistan. There +he found the assistant to the political officer attached to the force +to be the same Persian gentleman who had been his host at Shiraz, and +with whom when a child Martyn must have played. Gordon learned from +him that the roads and sanitary improvements made as relief works, as +well as the orphanage started on the interest of the famine relief +fund sent from London, were still blessing the people. When, after the +black day of Maiwand, the British troops were besieged in Kandahar, +till relieved by the march and the triumph of Lord Roberts, Gordon as +chaplain attended a sortie to dislodge the enemy. Hearing that wounded +men were lying in a shrine outside the Kabul gate, he led out some +bearers with a litter, and found that the dying men were in another +shrine still more distant. In spite of all remonstrance he dashed +through the murderous fire of the enemy, was struck down, and was +himself carried back on the litter he had provided for others. He did +not live to wear the Victoria Cross, but was on the same day, August +16, laid in a soldier's grave. + +It would seem difficult to name a follower more worthy of Henry Martyn +than that, but Bishop French was such a disciple. More than any man, +as saint and scholar, as missionary and chaplain, as the friend of the +Mohammedan and the second apostle of Central Asia, he was baptized for +the dead. Born on the first day of 1825, son of an Evangelical +clergyman in Burton-on-Trent, a Rugby boy, and Fellow and Tutor of +University College, Oxford, Thomas Valpy French was early inspired by +Martyn's life and writings. These and his mother's holiness sent him +forth to Agra in 1850, along with Edward Stuart of Edinburgh, now +Bishop of Waiapu, New Zealand, to found the Church Missionary College +there. In the next forty years, till he resigned the bishopric of +Lahore that he might give the rest of his life to work out the +aspirations of Martyn in Persia and Arabia, he consecrated himself and +his all to Christ. It will be a wonderful story if it is well told. He +then went home for rest, first of all, but took the way north through +Persia and Turkey on Martyn's track, so that in April 1888 he wrote +from Armenia: 'Were I ignorant both of Arabic and French, I should +subside into the perfect rest, perhaps, which I require.' So abundant +were his labours to groups of Mohammedans and among the Syrian +Christians, that he had nearly found a grave in the Tokat region. + +After counselling the Archbishop of Canterbury as to the project of so +reforming the Oriental Churches as to convert them themselves into +the true apostles of the Mohammedan race, Bishop French returned to +Asia and settled near Muscat, whence he wrote thus on March 10, 1891, +his last letter to the Church Missionary Society: + + Those three years of Arab study will not, I trust, be thrown + away and proved futile. In memory of H. Martyn's pleadings for + Arabia, Arabs, and the Arabic, I seem almost trying at least to + follow more directly in his footsteps and under his guidance, + than even in Persia or India, however incalculable the distance + at which the guided one follows the leader!... + + I have scarcely expressed in the least degree the view I have of + the _extremely serious_ character of the work here to be entered + upon; and the possible--nay probable--severity of the conflict + to be expected and faithfully hazarded by the Church of Christ + between two such strong and ancient forces, pledged to such + hereditary and deep-grounded hostility. Yet _The Lamb shall + overcome them; for He is Lord of Lords, and King of Kings; and + they also shall overcome that are with Him, called and chosen + and faithful_. + +Two months after, on May 14, 1891, at the age of sixty-six, after +exposure and toils like Martyn's, he was laid to rest in the cemetery +of Muscat by the sailors of H.M.S. Sphinx, to whom he had preached. + +Henry Martyn at Tokat, John Wilson at Bombay, George Maxwell Gordon at +Kandahar, Ion Keith-Falconer at Aden, and Thomas Valpy French at +Muscat, have by their bodies taken possession of Mohammedan Asia for +Christ till the resurrection. Of each we say to ourselves and to our +generation: + + Is it for nothing he is dead? + Send forth your children in his stead! + O Eastern lover from the West! + Thou hast out-soared these prisoning bars; + Thy memory, on thy Master's breast, + Uplifts us like the beckoning stars. + We follow now as thou hast led, + Baptize us, Saviour, for the dead.[108] + +Each, like not a few American missionaries, men and women, like Dr. +Bruce and his colleagues of the Church Missionary Society, like Mr. +W.W. Gardner and Dr. J.C. Young of the Scottish Keith-Falconer +Mission, is a representative of the two great principles, as expressed +by Dr. Bruce: (1) That the lands under the rule of Islam belong to +Christ, and that it is the bounden duty of the Church to claim them +for our Lord. (2) That duty can be performed only by men who are +willing to die in carrying it out. + +Henry Martyn's words, almost his last, on his thirty-first birthday +were these: 'The Word of God has found its way into this land of Satan +(Persia), and the devil will never be able to resist it if the Lord +hath sent it.' We have seen what sort of men the Lord raised up to +follow him. This is what the Societies have done. In 1829 the American +Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions began, and in 1871 the +Presbyterian Board shared, the mission to Persia and Asiatic Turkey. +The former has missionaries at Aintab, Marash, Antioch, Aleppo, and +Oorfa, to the south of the Taurus range, being its mission to Central +Turkey; at Constantinople, Adrianople, Smyrna, Broosa, Nicomedia, +Trebizond, Marsovan, Sivas, _including Tokat_, and Caesarea, being its +mission to Western Turkey; at Erzroom, Harpoot, and Arabkir, uniting +with the Assyrian stations of Mardin and Diarbekir, its mission to +Eastern Turkey. Taking up the evangelisation at Oroomiah, the +American Presbyterians unite with that Tabreez, Mosul, and Salmas as +their Western, and Teheran and Hamadan as their Eastern Persia +Mission. In 1876 a letter of Henry Venn's and the urgency of its +principal missionary, Dr. Bruce, led the Church Missionary Society to +charge itself with the evangelisation, by a revised version of the +Persian Bible and medical missions, of the whole southern half of the +ancient kingdom of Persia, the whole of Nimrod's Babylonia, and the +eastern coast of Arabia, from Julfa (Ispahan) and Baghdad as centres. +Very recently the independent Arabian Mission of America has made +Busrah its headquarters for Turkish Arabia. The Latin Church since +1838 has worked for the Papacy alone. The Archbishop of Canterbury's +mission since 1886 has sought to influence the Nestorian or Syrian +Church, which in the seventh century sent forth missionaries to India +from Seleucia, Nisibis, and Edessa, and now desires protection from +Romish usurpation. All these represent a vast and geographically +linked organisation claiming, at long intervals, the whole of Turkey, +Persia, and Arabia for Christ since Henry Martyn pointed the way. Dr. +Robert Bruce, writing to us from Julfa, thus sums up the results and +the prospect: + + I believe there is a great work going on at present in Persia, + and Henry Martyn and his translations prepared the way for it, + to say nothing of his life sacrifice and prayers for this dark + land. The Babi movement is a very remarkable one, and is + spreading far and wide, and doing much to break the power of the + priesthood. Many of the Babis are finding their system + unsatisfactory, and beginning to see that it is only a half-way + house (in which there is no rest or salvation) to Christianity. + Ispahan has been kept this year in a constant state of turmoil + by the ineffectual efforts of two moollas to persecute both + Babis and Jews.[109] They have caused very great suffering to + some of both these faiths, but they have been really defeated, + and all these persecutions have tended towards religious + liberty. Our mission-house is the refuge of all such persecuted + ones, and the light is beginning to dawn upon them. + +While the whole Church, and every meditative soul seeking deliverance +from self in Jesus Christ, claims Henry Martyn, he is specially the +hero of the Church of England. An Evangelical, he is canonised, so far +as ecclesiastical art can legitimately do that, in the baptistry of +the new cathedral of his native city. A Catholic, his memory is +enshrined in the heart of his own University of Cambridge. There, in +the New Chapel of St. John's College, in the nineteenth bay of its +interior roof, his figure is painted first of the _illustriories_ of +the eighteenth Christian century, before those of Wilberforce, +Wordsworth, and Thomas Whytehead, missionary to New Zealand. In the +market place, beside Charles Simeon's church, there was dedicated on +October 18, 1887, 'The Henry Martyn Memorial Hall.' There, under the +shadow of his name, gather daily the students who join in the +University Prayer Meeting, and from time to time the members of the +Church Missionary and Gospel Propagation Societies. 'This was the +hero-life of my boyhood,' said Dr. Vaughan, the Master of the Temple +and Dean of Llandaff, when he preached the opening sermon before the +University. In Trinity Church, where Martyn had been curate, the new +Master of Trinity preached so that men said: 'What a power of +saintliness must have been in Henry Martyn to have affected with such +appreciative love one whose own life and character are so honoured as +Dr. Butler's!' In the Memorial Hall itself, its founder, Mr. Barton, +now Vicar of Trinity Church; Dr., now Bishop, Westcott, for the +faculty of Divinity; Dr. Bailey, for St. John's College and the +Society for the Propagation of the Gospel; Mr. Barlow, Vicar of +Islington, for the Church Missionary Society; and the Christian +scholar, Professor Cowell, for all Orientalists and Anglo-Indians, +spake worthily. + + We would continue his work. The hopes, the faith, the truths + which once animated him are still ours. Still, as on the day + when he preached his first sermon from this pulpit, is it true + that if each soul, if each society, if each heathen nation knew + the gift of God, and Who the promised Saviour is, they would for + very thirst's sake ask of Him, and He would indeed give them His + living water. And still it is the task of each true witness of + Christ, and most of all of each ordained minister of His Word + and Sacraments, first to arouse that thirst where it has not yet + been felt, and then to allay it at once and perpetuate it from + the one pure and undefiled spring. And still each true minister + will feel, as Martyn felt, as St. Paul himself felt, 'Who is + sufficient for these things?' The riper he is in his ministry, + the more delicate his touch of human souls, alike in their + strivings and in their inertness; the closer his walk with God + and his wonder at the vastness and the silent secrecy of God's + ways, the more he will say in his heart what Martyn said but a + few days after his feet had ceased to tread our Cambridge + streets. 'Alas! do I think that a schoolboy or a raw academic + should be likely to lead the hearts of men! What a knowledge of + men and acquaintance with Scriptures, what communion with God + and study of my own heart, ought to prepare me for the awful + work of a messenger from God on the business of the soul!' + +To these lessons of Martyn's life Dr. Butler added that which the +eighty years since have suggested--the confidence of the soldier who +has heard his Captain's voice, and knows that it was never deceived or +deceiving: _Be of good cheer; I have overcome the world._ + +In that confidence let the Church Catholic preach Christ to the +hundred and eighty millions of the Mohammedan peoples, more than half +of whom are already the subjects of Christian rulers. Thus shall every +true Christian best honour Henry Martyn. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[101] In 1816 Charles Simeon thus wrote from King's College to +Thomason, of the _Journal_: 'Truly it has humbled us all in the dust. +Since the Apostolic age I think that nothing has ever exceeded the +wisdom and piety of our departed brother; and I conceive that no book, +except the Bible, will be found to excel this.... David Brainerd is +great, but the degree of his melancholy and the extreme impropriety of +his exertions, so much beyond his strength, put him on a different +footing from our beloved Martyn.' + +[102] _Bishop Wilson's Journal Letters_, addressed to his family +during the first nine years of his Indian Episcopate, edited by his +son Daniel Wilson, M.A., Vicar of Islington, London, 1864. + +[103] See _Journal_, passim, especially in February, 1806. + +[104] _Journal of Mr. Anthony N. Groves, Missionary to and at +Baghdad_, London, 1831. + +[105] _The Life of John Wilson, D.D., F.R.S._, London, 1878. + +[106] _Memorials of the Hon. Keith-Falconer, M.A., late Lord Almoner's +Professor of Arabic in the University of Cambridge, and Missionary to +the Muhammadans of South Arabia_, by Rev. Robert Sinker, D.D., p. 146 +of 1st edition, 1888. + +[107] _George Maxwell Gordon, M.A., F.R.G.S., a History of his Life +and Work, 1839-1880_, by the Rev. Arthur Lewis, M.A., London, 1889. + +[108] Archdeacon Moule in the _Church Missionary Intelligencer_. + +[109] Even of the Soofis the ablest authority writes: 'The remarkable +development, in our own century, which has been given to the story of +the death of Hosein should encourage us to hope that the Divine pathos +of the New Testament will one day soften these hearts still more, and +teach them the secret of which their poets have sung in such ardent +strains. A Sufi has already learnt that Islam cannot satisfy the +longing soul. He is, by profession, tolerant or even sympathetic in +the presence of the Cross. And he believes, like all Moslim, that Isa, +the Messiah of Israel, has the breath of life, and can raise the dead +from the tomb.... To the reflecting mind, however, the lyric effusions +of Hafiz prove that Eastern philosophy is either childlike or +retrograde, and its principles at the mercy of those seas of passion +upon which it has so long been drifting.' _Quarterly Review_, January +1892. + + + + + INDEX + + + Abbas Mirza, 394 + + Abdallah, 226 + + Abdool Massee'h, 286, 543 + + Aberdeen University, 328 + + Acheen, 228 + + Aden, 326, 333 + + Afghanistan, 324, 565 + + Africa, South, 119, 125 + + Aga Boozong, 381, 457 + -- the Mede, 454 + + Agra, 217 + + Aitchison, Sir C., 345 + + Akbar, 218 + + Albuquerque, 341 + + Aldeen, 158, 196, 313 + + Alexander the Great, 330 + + Alford, Dean, on Martyn, 447 + + Algoa Bay, 125 + + Allahabad, 262 + + Ambrose, 102 + + Ameena, Sabat's wife, 270 + + America, South, 107 + + American Missions, 463, 568, 569 + + Amiens, Treaty of, 119 + + Annie, the orphan, 264 + + Arabic, 225, 325 + -- Bible, 226, 418 + + Arabs, 333, 336 + + Ararat, 497 + + Araxes River, 496, 502 + + Armenians, 134, 346, 385, 464, 499, 515 + -- Bible, 418 + + Arrah, 261 + + Artaxerxes Ochus, 409 + + Asaf-ood-Dowla's tomb, 289 + + Asiatics, 232 + + Asiatic Researches, 425 + -- Society of Bengal, 425 + + Associated Clergy, 206 + + Augustin of Canterbury, 7 + + Augustine, 2, 33, 49 + + Azerbaijan, 493 + + + Babington, Mr., 76 + + Babism, 372, 569 + + Badger, Rev. G.P., 527 + + Bahia, 106 + + Bailey, Canon, 19, 571 + + Baird, Sir David, 120 + + Bandel, 197 + + Bankipore, 201 + + Bapre, 332 + + Baptized for the dead, 552, 567 + + Barlow, Rev., 571 + + Barlow, Sir George, 141 + + Basil the Great, 530 + + Basiliscus, 530 + + Battle of Blaauwberg, 121 + + Baxter, 102 + + Bede, 418, 460 + + Behistun Rock, 409 + + Bengal Army, 136 + + Bengali Bible, 418 + + Bengalis, the, 148 + + Bentinck, Lord W., 146 + + Berhampore, 250, 258 + + Bettia, 219 + + Bible Translation, 72, 418 + -- Society, British and Foreign, 314, 421, 484 + -- Russian, 487 + + Bihar, 201 + + Bishop, Mrs., 463, 493 + + Blaauwberg, Battle, 121 + + Black Hole, 134 + + Blair's Sermons, 110 + + Bobbery Hunt, 332 + + Bombay, 325 + + Botany Bay convicts, 101 + + Bowley, missionary, 431 + + Brainerd, David, 2, 33, 60, 91, 564 + + Brazil, 108, 552 + + Breage, 44, 551 + + British India Steam Navigation Company, 316 + + Brown, David, 16, 135, 148, 196, 313, 418 + + Bruce, Dr. R., 489, 569 + + Buchanan, Claudius, 16, 69, 135, 243 + + Buddhism, 134 + + Bundlekhund, 277 + + Bunder Abbas, 340 + + Bunyan, 2 + + Burke, Edmund, 134 + + Burmese Bible, 418 + + Burns, William, 563 + + Bushire, 339, 348 + + Busrah, 519 + + Butler, Dr., 571 + + Butler's _Analogy_, 28 + + Buxar, 261 + + + Caesareia, 534 + + Calcutta, 134, 147, 196 + + Caldecott, Rev. A., 34 + + Caldwell, Bishop, 290 + + Cambridge, 12, 15, 207 + + Canal, Ganges, 267 + + Canning, Chaplain, 468, 482 + + Canterbury, Archbishop of, 75, 566 + + Cape Colony, 119 + + Cape Town, 118 + + Cardew, Dr., 9, 41 + + Carey, William, 4, 25, 133, 147, 418, 487 + + Carlyle, Thomas, 4 + + Carlyon, Dr., 20 + + Carus, 34 + + Cawnpore, 261, 266, 308 + + Cecil, R., 59, 78 + + Cemeteries, Indian, 210 + + Chaman, 483 + + Chamberlain, missionary, 200 + + Chambers, Sir R., 135 + -- W., 135 + + Chandernagore, 197 + + Chaplaincies, India, 72 + + Chaplains, the Five, 16, 150 + + Chatterton, 40 + + Chesterfield's Letters, 12 + + China, 27 + + Chinese Bible, 418 + + Chinsurah, 197 + + Christian Knowledge Society, 136, 226 + + Christians in India a century ago, 139, 423 + + Chrysostom, 512, 534 + + Chunar, 208, 260 + + Church Missionary Society, 40, 136, 399, 489 + + Clapham, 65 + + Clarke, Rev. A.T., 136 + + Clive, Lord, 12, 134 + + Cole, Captain S., 131, 145 + + Colebrooke, H.T., 425 + -- T.E., 327 + + Colgong, 201 + + College of Fort William, 138, 151, 421 + + Columba, 460 + + Confessions of Augustine, 1, 12, 49 + + Constable's edition of Persian New Testament, 489 + + Constantinople, 492 + + Corentin, St., 7 + + Cork, 96 + + Cornwall tin, 2 + + Cornwallis, Lord, 141 + + Corre, Senor, 107 + + Corrie, Bishop, 16, 61, 208, 286, 311, 543 + -- Miss, 245 + + Covenant with the eyes, 76 + + Cowell, Professor, 372, 571 + + Cowper, the poet, 2 + + Craig, Governor, 119 + + Creighton, 135, 216 + + Curgenven, Laura, 239 + + Cury's, St., 7 + + Curzon, G.N., 358, 553 + + Cutwa, 200 + + Cyrillus, 418 + + Cyrus, 370 + + + Dalhousie, Marquis of, 199 + + Dante, 358 + + Dare, Mrs., 237 + + Darius, Hystaspes, 409 + + Darwin, 108 + + Dealtry, Bishop, 16 + + Demonolators, 134 + + Diamonds, 342 + + Dinapore, 201, 258 + + Dissenters, 168 + + Doddridge, 17, 214 + + Dravidian, 134 + + Dryden, 358 + + Duff, Alexander, 24, 34, 146, 563 + + Duncan, Jonathan, 318, 326 + + Dundas, Sir F., 119 + + Dwight, H.G.O., missionary, 520 + + + East India Company, 202, 529 + + East India Company's Charters, 138, 150 + + Eclectic Society, 59, 79 + + Edesius, 418 + + Edmonds, Canon, 417, 420, 490 + + Educational missions, 201, 216, 274 + + Edwards, Jerusha, 91 + -- Jonathan, 28, 91 + + Elam, 356, 441 + + Eliot, J., 418 + + Ellerton, Mr. and Mrs., 135, 201 + + Elphinstone, Admiral, 119 + -- Mountstuart, 316, 327 + + Ely Cathedral, 35 + + English Bible, 418 + + Erasmus, 418 + + Erivan, 499 + + Erskine, Dr. J., 132 + + Erzroom, 508 + + Etchmiatzin, 499 + + Ethiopia, 120 + + Ethiopic Bible, 418 + + Eudoxia, 534 + + Eurasians, 222 + + + Fabricius, 418 + + Fal Estuary, 24 + + Falmouth, 83, 88 + + Farish, Prof., 74, 441 + -- of Bombay, 330 + + Farsakh, 493 + + Flavel, 76 + + Fletcher of Madeley, 165 + + Forsyth, missionary, 197 + + Fowler, George, 520 + + Francis, Philip, 201 + + Franklin's travels, 237 + + Fraser, Baillie, 483 + + French, Bishop, 290, 566 + + Froude, J.A., 44 + + Frumentius, 418 + + Fuller, A., 132 + + + Galitzin, Prince, 487 + + Ganges, the, 199 + + Ganges Canal, 267 + + Gardiner, Capt. A., 108 + + Gaya, 237 + + George III., 343 + + German Bible, 418 + + Ghazipore, 261 + + Gilchrist, Dr., 72 + + Gillespie, Gen., 277 + + Glen, Dr., 489 + + Glenelg, Lord, 16, 19 + + Goa, 318, 322 + + Godolphin, Margaret, 551 + + Gombroon, 340 + + Goorkha war, 277 + + Gordon, G.M., 562, 564 + + Gothic Bible, 418 + + Govan, Dr., 302 + + Graaff Reinet, 125 + + _Grace Abounding_, Bunyan's, 2 + + Grant, Charles, 15, 65, 76, 136, 472 + -- Sir Robert, 16, 19 + + Greek, 330 + -- Church, 487 + + Greenwood, Rev. W., 137 + + Gregory Nazianzen, 534 + -- Nyssen, 534 + + Grenfell, Lydia, 44, 50, 81, 105, 171, 208, 239, 241, 304, 338, 472, + 545, 550 + -- Diary, 84, 91, 98, 102, 106, 188, 191, 298, 476, 537, 546 + -- family, 44 + + Grotius, 400 + + Groves, A., 562 + + Guadagnoli, P., 400 + + Gulistan Treaty, 345 + + Gurlyn, 85 + + Gwennap, 4, 51 + + + Hafiz, 357 + + Haldane, R. and J., 132 + + Hall, Robert, 328, 516 + + Hannington, Bishop, 290 + + Hanway, Jonas, 237 + + Hartwig, P., 66 + + Hasan and Husain, 411, 455 + + Hastings, Warren, 137, 201 + -- Marquis of, 142 + + Havelock, Sir H., 346 + + Hawkins, Judge, 432 + + Heat in India, 261 + + Heber, Bishop, 288 + + Hebrew, 426 + + Helston, 88 + + Henry, the navigator, 341 + + Henry Martyn Memorial Hall, 570 + + Hewett, Gen., 316 + + Hindus, 224 + + Hindustani translation, 157, 199, 243, 422, 431 + + Hitchins, Mrs. T. Martyn, 44, 47, 57 + + Hooker, 102 + + Hopkins, Bishop, 25, 29 + + Horne's _Commentary_, 89 + + Hospitals, military, 211 + + Hottentot sepoys, 120 + + Hough's _Christianity in India_, 144 + + Hweng T'sang, 202 + + Hymns referred to, 17, 27, 40, 83, 84, 107, 287, 310, 547, 567 + + + Idol-worship, 163 + + Imad-ud-din, 415 + + India, North, 134 + -- South, 132 + -- Christians in, 139, 423 + -- evangelisation, 225 + + Inquisition, The, 323 + + Iran plateau, 353 + + Ireland and invasion, 101 + + Isaiah, 24, 95 + + Islam, 133, 174, 202, 326, 536 + + Ispahan, 465 + + + Jaffir Ali Khan, 355 + + Jaganath-worship, 142, 168 + + Jami, 371 + + Janssens, Governor, 120 + + Java, 120, 334 + + Jefferies, Chaplain, 151 + + Jeffery, H.M., 6, 47, 56 + + Jerome, 418 + + Jerusha Edwards, 91 + + Jews, 363, 377, 387, 459 + + Joasmi pirates, 333 + + John, St., 44 + + Jones, Sir Harford, 344 + -- Sir W., 70 + + Jowett, Prof., 441 + -- Rev. W., 40 + + Judson, 418 + + Julfa, 464 + + + Kajar Dynasty, 341 + + Kalinjar, 277 + + Kandahar, 564 + + Karass, 488 + + Kars, 506 + + Kaye, Sir John, 330 + + Kaziroon, 353 + + Keith-Falconer, Ion, 22, 326, 564 + + Kelland, Prof., 20 + + Kempthorne, 10, 12, 17 + + Kerr, Dr., chaplain, 144, 226 + + Kichener, missionary, 125 + + Kiernander, 48, 134 + + King's Chapel, Cambridge, 67 + + Kingsley, Charles, 44 + + Kirke White, H., 27, 40 + + Kirkpatrick, Capt., 136 + + Komana Pontica, 533 + + Koran, 324, 398, 487 + + Kum, 466 + + + Land's End, 2 + + Lassen, 409 + + Latin Bible, 418 + -- Church on the Bible, 491 + + Law, William, 30 + + Lawrence, Honoria, 260 + -- Lord, 140, 220 + -- Sir Henry, 260 + + Lee, Prof., 400, 404 + + Leighton, R., 59, 102, 555 + + Letters to Lydia Grenfell, 82, 90, 175, 181, 185, 246, 256, 292, 304, + 318, 334, 360, 473, 479 + + Lewis, G., 133 + + Leyden, Dr., 423 + + Limerick, Chaplain, 151 + + Livingstone, David, 121 + + Lolworth, 35, 74 + + London Missionary Society, 28, 200 + + Ludovicus de Dieu, 400 + + Lull, Raimund, 400 + + Luther, 418 + + Lyte, F.T., 547 + + + Macartney, Earl of, 119 + + Macaulay, Lord, 516 + + MacInnes, Col., 227 + + Mackay of Uganda, 290 + + Mackintosh, Sir J., 318, 328, 516 + + Macrina, 534 + + Madras, 130, 143 + + Maiwand, 565 + + Malayalim, 327 + + Malcolm, Sir John, 143, 318, 328, 344 + + Maldah, 135, 200 + + Malpas, 24 + + Maracci, 324 + + Marand, 496, 523 + + Marazion, 43, 53, 82 + + Marriage, 39, 49, 79, 86 + -- of missionaries, 48 + + Marrow men, 132 + + Marshman, Dr., 157, 197, 314, 418 + -- John C., 161, 344 + + Martin, St., 7 + -- Church, 447 + + MARTYN, HENRY, birth, 2; + family, 6; + parents, 9; + as a boy, 10; + at Cambridge, 12; + father's death, 17; + conversion, 18; + Senior Wrangler, 20; + at Woodbury, 24; + reading, 26; + his rooms, 33; + ordained deacon, 36; + loves Lydia Grenfell, 42; + considers himself engaged to her, 51; + discussions on marriage, 59; + love of music, 65; + appointed East India Company's chaplain, 73; + farewell to England, 101; + his motto, 102; + at Bahia, 107; + opposition to his preaching, 109; + at the Cape, 118; + describes the Battle of Blaauwberg, 121; + with Vanderkemp, 125; + lands at Madras, 130; + first sermon there, 144; + lands at Calcutta, 147; + 'Let me burn out for God,' 150; + opposition of chaplains to his preaching, 151; + at Serampore, 158; + Carey's opinion of Martyn, 161; + at work on his Hindustani Testament, 168; + a missionary to the Mohammedans, 174; + renews his suit to Lydia Grenfell, 175; + appointed to Dinapore, 183; + a Suttee, 184; + prayer in the pagoda, 196; + up the Ganges, 199; + hostility of Europeans at first, 204; + in Patna, 205; + native disaffection, 206; + dreams and sickness, 208; + first letter to the associated clergy, 212; + correspondence with Romanist missionaries, 218; + evangelisation of India, 225; + life with Sabat, 226; + controversy with moulvies, 234; + refused by Lydia, 246; + ordered to Cawnpore, 256; + described by Mrs. Sherwood, 258; + anecdotes of Martyn, 264; + his conversation, 274; + preaching to _fakeers_, 281; + his convert Abdool Massee'h and others, 285; + overwork, 289; + correspondence with Lydia, 292; + in the new church, Cawnpore, 309; + return to Calcutta, 313; + voyage to Arabia and Persia, 317; + in Bombay, 325; + in the Persian Gulf, 333; + lands in Persia, 339; + in Bushire, 346; + to Shiraz, 349; + in Shiraz, 360; + controversies with Shiahs, Soofis, and Jews, 375; + with the Moojtahid, 394; + at Persepolis, 410; + the Ramazan, 411; + his place as a Bible translator, 418; + as a philologist, 425; + as a Hebraist, 426; + his Hindustani Bible, 431; + Arabic New Testament, 434; + Persian studies, 445; + Alford on Martyn, 447; + Persian New Testament, 450; + Persian New Testament completed, 460; + to Ispahan, Teheran, and Tabreez, 463; + illness at Tabreez, 474; + last words to Lydia Grenfell, 481; + New Testament + presented to the Shah, 484; + as a translator, 490; + the Pope's condemnation, 491; + towards Constantinople, 494; + with the Armenians + at Etchmiatzin, 499; + at Erzroom, 508; + furiously hurried towards Tokat, 571; + last words in his _Journal_, 573; + burial, 515; + Remembrances of Martyn, 520; + the first grave, 529; + the second grave, 530; + effect of the news of his death, 543; + first memoir by Sargent, 547; + last words of Lydia Grenfell's _Diary_, 551; + Henry Martyn's followers, 553; + memorials of Henry Martyn, 570; + the lessons of his life, 571 + + Massacre Well, 267 + + Mathematics in Cambridge, 20 + + Mather, Dr. R.C., 433 + + Mawby, Col., 266 + + McNeill, Sir John, 520 + + Meer Kasim, 202 + + Megasthenes, 202 + + Mekran, 334 + + Mesnevi, The, 526 + + Metcalfe, Lord, 143 + + Methodism, 26 + + Methodius, 418 + + Miesrob, 418 + + Military Asylums, 260 + -- Orphan School, Calcutta, 136 + + Milner, Dean, 235 + + Milner, Isaac, 16, 74, 441 + + Minto, Lord, 120, 142, 231, 313, 316, 334, 344 + + Miracle Play of Hasan and Husain, 411 + + Mirza Fitrut, 230 + -- Ibrahim, 399, 403 + -- M. Ruza, 403 + -- Sayyid Ali Khan, 360, 488 + + Missionary call, 26, 572 + -- societies, 28, 43, 136, 141 + -- council at the Cape proposed, 170 + -- preaching, 173, 213 + -- and the East India Company, 241 + -- life, 279 + -- martyrdom, 290, 513 + + Mohammedan controversy (_see_ 'Islam'), 214, 233, 363, 375, 475 + + Mohammedans, missions to, 225, 524, 572 + + Moheecan Bible, 418 + + Monghyr, 201 + + Montgomery, Sir R., 140 + + Moojtahids, 395 + + Moor, Canon, 438 + + Moorshidabad, 200 + + Moravian mission, 119 + + Morier, James, 356, 391, 482 + + Moule, Archdeacon, 567 + -- Rev. H.C.G., 22, 42 + + Muir, Sir W., 400 + + Muscat, 337, 567 + + Music, Martyn's love of, 65, 207, 265, 296 + + Mutiny, Indian, 202 + -- the White, 202 + + Mysticism, literature of, 554 + + + Nadir Shah, 341 + + Nana Dhoondoo Panth, 267 + + Naoroji, D., 330 + + Napoleon Bonaparte, 120, 143, 343 + + Nelson, Lord, 81 + + Nestorians, 569 + + Netherlands East India Company, 119 + + Newton, John, 66, 75, 137 + + Norman, Sir H., 220 + + + Obeck, 135 + + Oman, 333 + + Omar Khayyam, 371 + + Ooroomia, 483 + + Orme's _Indostan_, 108 + + Ormuz Island, 341 + + Osborne, Lord S.G., 44 + + Oudh, Nawab of, 289 + + Ouseley, Sir Gore, 143, 344, 484 + + Oxford, 11 + + + Pagoda, Henry Martyn's, 158, 313 + + Paley, Dr., 30 + + Papendorp Articles, 121 + + Parasang, 493 + + Parsees, 330, 340, 371 + + Parson, Chaplain, 183, 200, 258 + + Patna, 201 + + Paul, the Apostle, 60, 381 + + Peacock, Dean, 20 + + Pearce, S., 26, 34 + + Pellew, Sir E., 131, 145 + + Pelly, Sir Lewis, 411, 455 + + Penang, 228 + + Pendennis, 88 + + Persepolis, 356, 409 + + Persia, 234, 237, 328, 340, 348, 370, 446 + + Persian Bible, 418, 445, 462, 484, 489 + -- Gulf, 333 + -- travelling, 493 + + Pfander, Dr., 399, 415 + + Philology, 425 + + Pietists, 132 + + _Pilgrim's Progress_, 63, 80, 214 + + Pinkerton, Rev. R., 488 + + Pitt, W., 69, 120 + + Plassey, 134 + + Poona, 326 + + Pope Pius VIII., 491 + + Popham, Sir H., 120 + + Porter, Sir R.K., 342, 519 + + Portraits of Henry Martyn, 80, 307 + -- of Lydia Grenfell, 244 + + Portugal in the East, 322, 341 + + Preaching and missions, 243, 281 + + + Queen-Empress Victoria, 333, 342 + + Quishlang, 468 + + + Raffles, Sir S., 121 + + Rajmahal, 200 + + Ramazan Fast, 411 + + Ranjeet Singh, 143, 277 + + Rawlinson, Sir H., 409 + + Rayner, M., 66 + + Redruth, 51 + + Regiment, the 59th, 101 + -- the 67th, 220, 312 + + Regiment, the 53rd, 257 + -- the 8th Light Dragoons, 276 + + Reid, missionary, 125 + + Reshire, 346 + + Rich, C.J., 516, 563 + + Riebeck, Governor, 119 + + Robber Island, 118 + + Roberts, Lord, 565 + + Robinson, Archdeacon, 489 + + Rodney, Capt., 320 + + Romanist Christians, 217, 318, 569 + + Rumsden, Prof., 441 + + Ruskin, 33 + + Russia, 415, 345, 482 + + Rutherford, Samuel, 2 + + Ryland, Dr., 516 + + + Sabat, 225, 269, 422 + + Sadi, 371 + + St. Andrews, 24 + + St. Hilary church, 55 + + St. John's College, Cambridge, 13, 33, 570 + + St. Michael's Mount, 43, 90, 96 + + Sandys, Major, 54 + + San Salvador, 106 + + Sanskrit, 199 + + Sardhana, 286 + + Sargent, John, 22, 50, 227, 544 + + Sati, 184 + + Schuermann, missionary, 432 + + Schwartz, 60, 65, 139, 144, 317 + + Scott, Sir Walter, 423 + + Scott's _Dekkan_, 108 + + Scottish Missions, 488, 564 + + Seatonian Prize, 67 + + Seleukos Nikator, 202 + + Serampore, 34, 158, 162, 422 + + Sermons by Martyn, 55, 67, 78, 109, 151, 549 + + Serope or Serrafino, 500, 521 + + Shah Abbas, 340 + -- Futteh Ali, 341, 484 + -- Nasr-ed-Deen, 489 + -- Zeman, 325 + + Sheheran, 511 + + Sheikh Othman, 326 + -- Saleh, _see_ Abdool Massee'h + + Sherley Brothers, 340 + + Sherwood, Mrs., 257, 283 + + Shiahs, 373 + + Shiraz, 355, 448, 565 + + Shore, _see_ Teignmouth + + Simeon, Charles, 15, 27, 34, 42, 109, 190, 544, 553 + + Sin, Pauline doctrine of, 109 + + Smith, Dr. Eli, 435, 519 + + Societies, Missionary, 28, 43, 136, 141 + + Soldiers in India, 200, 203, 219, 256, 265 + + Solitude, 462 + + Soofis, 371, 413, 443, 570 + + Soonnis, 373 + + Soudan, 120 + + Southey, 40 + + Spiritual Exercises, 51, 92, 117, 126, 209, 557 + + Stanley, Dean, 411 + + Stannaries, 3 + + Staunton, Sir G., 27 + + Stephen, Sir James, 1, 65 + + Stevenson, W., 132 + + Stuart, Bishop E., 566 + + Suffavian dynasty, 341 + + Sultania, 468 + + Sunstroke, 347 + + + Tabreez, 472, 482 + + Taleb Massee'h, 286 + + Tauris, 482 + + Taylor, Dr., 169, 326 + + Teheran, 356, 466 + + Teignmouth, Lord, 135, 138, 421 + + Teutonic Bible, 418 + + Theologia Germanica, 555 + + Thomas a Kempis, 53, 420, 555 + + Thomas, Dr., 135 + + Thomason, 434, 543 + + Thompson, M., Chaplain, 144 + + Thornton, H., 16, 41, 476 + + Tilsit, Treaty of, 143, 344 + + Timour, 356 + + Tin of Cornwall, 2 + + Tipoo's Library, 151 + + Tokat, 518 + + Tranquebar, 130 + + Translation of Bible, 72, 280, 382, 417 + + Tregothnan, 24 + + Trinity Church, Cambridge, 36, 571 + -- College, Cambridge, 34, 571 + + Truro, 3, 5, 24, 41 + + Tsar Alexander, 343 + + Turks, 512 + + + Udny, George, 15, 135 + + Ulfilas, 418 + + Unwin, Mrs., 66 + + + Vanderkemp, Dr., 29, 123 + + Van Dyck, Dr., 418, 435 + + Van Lennep, Dr., 527 + + Vaughan, Dean, 571 + + Vellore Mutiny, 422 + + Venables, Canon, 535 + + Venn, Henry, 569 + + Vienna Congress, 121 + + + Wahabees, 202, 333 + + Wainwright, Commodore, 334 + + Wall's Lane, Cambridge, 70 + + Ward, Chaplain, 155 + -- missionary, 157, 429 + + Waring, Scott, 237, 357 + + Watson, Bishop, 137 + + Wellesley, Marquess, 135, 343 + + Wesley, Charles, 4 + -- John, 3, 132 + + Westcott, Bishop, 571 + + Westergaard, 409 + + Wilkins, Sir C., 516 + + White, Kirke, 27, 40, 68 + -- Lieut., 138 + + Whitfield, George, 3, 132 + + Whytehead, missionary, 570 + + Wickes, Capt., 186 + + Wiclif, 418 + + Wilberforce, Bishop S., 22 + -- W., 40, 65, 69, 570 + + Wilkinson, missionary, 433 + + Wilson, Bishop D., 201, 553 + -- Dr. John, 290, 327, 399, 563 + + Wolverton, Lord, 44 + + Wood, Col., 307 + + Woodbury, 24 + + Wordsworth, 570 + + Wrangler, Senior, 19, 71, 264 + + + Xavier, Francis, 174, 218, 318 + -- P.H., 399, 416 + + Xenophon and the Ten Thousand, 502 + + Xerxes, 409 + + + Young, Col. and Mrs., 241, 313 + -- Governor, 119 + + Yule, Sir Henry, 332 + + + Zambesi, 120 + + Ziegenbalg, 132 + + Zoroaster, 371 + + + PRINTED BY + SPOTTISWOODE AND CO., NEW-STREET SQUARE + LONDON + + + + + Transcriber's Notes: + + + For this edition of the ebook oe ligatures have been rendered as 'oe' + and a with a macron has been rendered as [=a]. Greek has been + converted to beta code. + Insignificant punctuation corrections have been made without note. + Legitimate variant spellings have been retained. + Variations in hyphenation have been retained. + Pg 95. One instance of the word 'to' was removed from the following + sentence, "I disclose those feelings to Him I have no power to to + any earthly friend." + Pg 167. The word 'ong' was changed to 'long'. + Pg 170. The word 'natives' was changed to 'native's'. + Pg 234. The word 'Crhist' was changed to 'Christ'. + Pg 403. A closing quotation mark was added to the end of the following + phrase: "'... he has taken upon himself to write the following + pages.'" + Pg 498. The following sentence does not appear to be correct, "Though + it was near midnight I had a fire lighted to dry my books, took some + coffee and sunk into deep sleep; from which awaking at the earliest + dawn of". This has been retained. + Pg 498. The following sentence does not appear to be correct, "Ararat + was now quite near; at the foot of it is Duwala, six parasangs from + Nakshan, where we arrived at seven in the morning of". This has been + retained. + Pg 500. The word 'delivreance' was changed to 'deliverance'. + Pg 549. The word 'a' was added to the following sentence: "The + remembrance of the event of the day has been rendered useless by my + absence from home a great part of it." + Pg 574. The word 'Bundelkhund' was changed to 'Bundlekhund'. + Pg 579. The index entry for 'Rich, C.J., 517, 563' was changed to + 'Rich, C.J., 516, 563'. + Pg 579. The word 'Serafino' was changed to 'Serrarfino'. + Pg 579. The index entry for 'Simeon, Charles, 13, 27, 34, 42, 109, + 190, 544, 553' was changed to 'Simeon, Charles, 15, 27, 34, 42, 109, + 190, 544, 553'. + Pg 580. The index entry for 'Wolverton, Lord, 46' was changed to + 'Wolverton, Lord, 44'. + + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's Henry Martyn Saint and Scholar, by George Smith + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HENRY MARTYN SAINT AND SCHOLAR *** + +***** This file should be named 35873.txt or 35873.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/3/5/8/7/35873/ + +Produced by the Bookworm, Rose Mawhorter, <bookworm.librivox +AT gmail.com> and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team +at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images +generously made available by The Internet Archive/American +Libraries.) + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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